Drum roll please,

We have finally named the cows!

Tippy Tumbleweed and Ace Fender Bender!  Tippy is slightly larger now but we hope Ace catches up. They had a breathing problem for several days. Tippy in particular really seemed to be under the weather.

Yesterday was brutally hot (97 degrees!) and we were very worried that it might make their condition worse. We gave them a healthy dose of antibiotic two days before and I am hoping that it's starting to kick in. They did seem to be better last night but we have more hot weather on the way.

Hang in there guys!

This weekend we will have our 2nd annual 4th of July barbeque! (3rd annual for the Brunks and me) I am really excited. I hope that we are able to keep this tradition going for a long time. I so enjoy the summer and I feel it's our best opportunity to really enjoy the space we have.

We will barbeque for dinner, hopefully play a few games (ladder ball). Next year I hope to have bean bag toss as well. I really like that game. And then fireworks and a bon fire for smores. This is probalby my favorite part of the barbeque. Everyone is sitting and relaxing.

My goal is to take a number of pictures. I love to have pictures of these but never seem to take the time to grab the camera and start shooting. I hope to change that this year.

I have decided to up the ante this year and make a great 4th of July inspired cake. Here's what it is supposed to look like:


Cool, huh? With a little luck we may dine on something that resembles this artwork. And cake with homemade cream cheese frosting will put everyone in a patriotic mood right?!

Burger VonQuarterPoundersteakington

or Heffer Locklear... or Kareem Abdul Kabob... Or Cud Rock... or The Great Barrier Beef.
Just a few of the ideas we came up with for the new cows.

Here they are coming off the trailer.

Checking out their new pen

Having their first meal at their new home. They were very hungry.

Then we invited the cat to come meet the new cows.

Gatita spots them and is not so sure she wants to go any closer.

Then she decides that since we are there, it's ok to move in closer.
Besides, they aren't looking anyway.

So Gatita decides to be the first to try out their bedding,
a far cry from her cozy bed in a climate controlled house.

"Gatita's Last Stand"?!?!

If you look closely you can see Gatita with a very unhappy look, she is seriously considering not letting the cows go into the barn. This from the cat that won't be in the same room as a dog.

So there's the first night. Hopefully we are as enthralled in a year from now. Hopefully, we don't loose a cat to a tete a tete with the cows.

It's not a real farm until...

... we have livestock.

And now we do! We now are the proud new parents of two calves. We will raise them up and then when they are big and healthy, we will eat them up. I approach this with a lot of enthusiasm and just a little bit of hesitation. I have visions of this changing quickly to lots of hesitation and very little enthusiasm.

When the Farmer and I first discussed raising cattle, I expressed my severe disinclination for the smell. He explained if we have 2 acres of pasture and only a couple of cows, it probably won't smell much if, at all. So I agreed. Reluctantly at first but then got to thinking of the benefits. 1. It would be like a real farm 2. It's a learning experience. 3. Maybe I would like it. (This is highly doubtful) 4. Maybe I won't hate it. 5. Meat. I love meat and meat raised by us should be profoundly tasty meat. 6. It will be cheaper, without clipping coupons.

Today, our new cows weigh about 175 lbs each. We hope the will grow to a whopping 1,200 lbs in about 18 months. (Can you even imagine the caloric intake for that?!).

So we took lots of pictures because the way I figure it, one day, when they are big and smelly I will want to remember that at one point I thought they were cute and in total support of this endeavor.

Last night I told Farmer that we would have to think of cute names for them. He promptly replied "We are not naming them! They are not pets." Now, I get that they are not pets. But I am still naming them but what to name them is the real question.

My first thought: Salisbury and Stroganoff. Pros: it's funny, because that's what they will be. Cons: It's a bit obvious and maybe a bit cruel to the cows to consistently remind them they are just food.

My second thought: Something literary. Like Hemingway and Mark Twain. I love books. So why not name them after a great author. Pros: it's funny because they will never read, or write great books. Cons: I will have to explain it to everyone.

My third thought: Something clever. Like Ferris Mooler. Pros: It's funny and witty. Two of my favorite things. Cons: I am not clever enough to come up with these things. The best I could do was Moo Radley from To Kill a Mockingbird.

My fourth thought:  A long title like Captain Moolington the Third. Pros: It's funny and fun to say. Cons: Coming up with something truly original.

So far here are the names we've considered: Salisbury, Stroganoff, Hemingway, Mark Twain, Moo Radley, Ferris Mooler, Captain Moolington III, Sargent Cudinski. Stay tuned. Hopefully we can make up our minds tonight.

What's in a name?

In less than 3 months I will walk down the aisle and forever change the course of my life.

I have no qualms about getting married to this man. I don't believe in soul mates, I believe all marriages have ups and downs, pitfalls and blessings. But I do know we have what it will take to make it through all of the roller coasters ahead of us.

We are already living together, desperately trying to merge two into one. Two houses, two couches, two sets of ideals, two dining tables, two bank accounts, two lives, two, two, two. Now into one.

I left my house in the city and moved to a world yet unknown to me, a farm in the country. It's more the same than different, but different enough to notice...everyday.
Don't get me wrong, 5 acres and no neighbors can have it's appeal. But there's a lot to get used to. The smells, for one. The commute for another.

And yet, there is so much to enjoy. We have a barn, a garden, a pumpkin patch, a raspberry patch, two apple trees (that we are hoping produce actual edible apples one day.) And... a bon fire pit. I love to have bon fires at home, to me it's the best part of camping ( and the best part of home...my own bed. I have a love/hate relationship with camping so this a great compromise for me.

We are also trying to merge our families. To get used to each others' family eccentricities. Neither family is perfect but we are both familiar with our own and dealing with new can be challenging.

But on that day, filled with emotion, flowers, expensive apparel, family, friends and best wishes, I have the added weight of changing my identity. My last name will change. Somehow this piece seems to give me more pause than any other part of the wedding and marriage.

I have worked hard for 31 years to create the person I am. Despite my many flaws I am happy with who I am, and who I plan to become.
I have no doubt that I will change my name. I want to have a united household. If there are to be children I want to have the same last name as my kids. But still I am nagged by this. I feel like I am headed into the unknown. I don't know this name, will I feel like myself when I am signing things, getting mail, checking email, being called Mrs... 

So what will I lose when that surname changes? What might I gain? I guess we will find out on September 14.

Book clubs?

Where are they? How do you find one? Or set one up?

I would give just about anything to belong to a book club with my peers. But where do these elusive clubs advertise? Do they exist? I have heard that they do but I can't seem to find one anywhere.  A old co-worker of mine said that she used to belong to a book club who's motto was "Our book club can drink your book club under the table." Ha! Now that is a book club I can hang with.
I know that my cousin's mother in law has a book club, but do I really want to crash a club of retired teachers and librarians? Perhaps not.
I have googled 'til my fingers are numb looking for a book club but to no avail. I have found an occasional online book club but I have found the discussions are clumsy and I don't feel that they build the camaraderie around books that I would like.

You see, I ADORE books. Really. I can't get enough of them. I am always in the middle of several, at the same time. And I usually have an audio book in the car to help pass the time in my commute.

We have a very large bookshelf in the spare bedroom overloaded with books, each shelf has a line of books two deep. When we finally got the bookshelf in the house (through the second story window!) and I loaded my books onto it, my ever clever fiance says "the library is now open." We live in a very small farm town, without a dedicated library. I would love to have enough books to suffice as a small town library. Just having them near me makes me happy and content.

I have considered a time or two to host one at my house but I am not sure that I would have enough people willing to drive at least 30 minutes each way to my house. And would they like the books that I picked? I have an eclectic library and I wouldn't want to read only one genre. Would we have enough attendance to make it worthwhile?

But what fun I would have! The food, small bites to be passed around, wine to be sampled, made in Michigan of course, and books to be discussed! I would be in heaven. I can imagine the many recipes I could try out. Fiance is not very adventurous when it comes to food so I would have an audience to try out all of these dishes I have saved but have been not allowed to serve.

The Knot...Helpful or Overwhelming

So one of the first steps in planning my wedding was to go to theKnot.com. It can be a fantastic site with a trillion wedding ideas, they even have helpful tools to keep you organized: favorites lists, guest list manager, wedding website builders, budgets, and a checklist of to-do's before the big day.

I look forward to getting married and I have enjoyed, to some extent, the wedding planning.

However, I don't buy all of the hype the wedding industry has put on the planning. It's one day, one really big party, probably the biggest party of my life (Unless Princess Kate and I become best friends like I am sure we could be). But doesn't marriage afterward deserve just as much effort? Theknot.com doesn't have a checklist of compatibility, or what to expect your first year, or "Marriage, it's not for wimps" articles. They do however have articles on hair, makeup, handling unruly guests, picking colors and themes. Do these make a wedding great? Or a bride overwhelmed?

When I first started on theknot.com I had over 200 to-dos on my checklist and those were just the generic wedding checklists based on a timeline, not any of the items I felt were necessary. And though we are only 3 months away (ahhhhh!) I still have over 100 of them on the checklist and it's adding to my stress, to see a visual of all of the things that should be done and (heaven forbid) a little alarm clock next to some of them indicating I am behind schedule. I do not need to be reminded that I am behind in these things. But I do appreciate the organization the site provides.
And thus I continue my love/hate relationship with theknot.
So what's bride to do?

The First

I have considered starting a blog for sometime but never quite felt like I had anything noteworthy enough to put out there. I read so many blogs on so many different topics, travel, adoption, food, books and reading lists but what would I have to say about any one of those subjects for any length of time. I love to travel but other than the upcoming honeymoon; have no plans to do so. We enjoy our foster baby immensely but she will be adopted by a family in PA this summer and we will only have updates via Facebook. I love to cook but I tend to be not quite as adventurous as the recipes I see featured in so many of my favorite blogs. I read incessantly but do I have an opinion on those books that anyone else would want to read? Not to mention the pictures they post...does everyone who has a blog have special photography skills too?! But... But...But and the self doubt sets in.

Recently, an old colleague of mine stopped by my new office and asked if I was still writing. Writing? Professionally, no. I was the Communications Director and the Editor in Chief of a State trade magazine (award winning!) for years and we worked together on a number of articles. She then asks about writing personally? She says "You've got talent, you should keep it up." Really? Talent? Me? Writing? Not a sentence I ever expected to hear however it really got me thinking.  An author I will never be BUT maybe there is something to this blog thing. It's an opportunity for me to keep a journal of sorts, however public or private this may be. It may be my opportunity to chronicle my thoughts and feeling on things that are changing right now. Which it seems everyday more is changing than staying the same. Maybe it can be a bit of therapy, a bit of adventure, a bit of self reflection. And I love all the mommy blogs, maybe one day I will be among them.