What I'm Thankful For

I got the idea for this post from my friend Adrienne’s blog, and since I thought it was pretty creative, I decided to do a version of my own!

There are so many things in our lives (and in particular my own) to be thankful for this year.  While there are many things that are apparent to us, and others around us, I’m going to give you the things I’m most thankful for (other than the obvious).  Let me preface this by first stating that, of course, I thank God every day for my husband, my marriage, my health, my family, and my friends.   Tradition has it to list all these things in order of importance to you, then go down the list from Husbands to health, dogs to dinner.  Here’s my rendition of the “thankful” list (in no particular order, of course)….

1.       Montana Sunrises/sunsets – if you haven’t experienced one, you just don’t know what they are like.  They call this place the “Big Sky Country” for a reason.  The skies God created up here go on forever.

2.       My Dishwasher – who wants to wash dishes by hand?  Not.  Me.

3.       Our New Pickup – while we’ve had it since August, I just haven’t said anything about it.  But the heated & cooled seats are pretty awesome this time of year (or anytime, really).  And, since it’s the pickup I’ve wanted since I was a little girl (F-250, lariat, 4X4, 4 door), its just icing on the cake!

4.        Coffee – because without it our house would probably start every day malfunctioning

5.       Jiggs & Jake, Reno, Champ, Blaze, Stetson (Stetty), Squirt, Steele – these are our “children”.  I hope I didn’t forget any or I’d feel terrible!  Jiggs is getting a little brother we are (tentatively) naming “Jake”.  Reno, Champ, Blaze, Stetty, Squirt & Steele are all horses of ours.  We love them all dearly & I am so attached to all of them.  Whenever you have a bad day, sit on the back of a horse & just ride.  You will feel much better, trust me.  Reno is my baby and he always takes care of me.  I’ll never forget Reno’s kind eyes looking at me when we were lost in the pasture.  I knew he’d take me home.

6.       Airplanes – because without them, it’d take us a hell of a lot longer to get to Texas!

7.       Black Friday – the sales just wouldn’t be as good without this one day a year that everything seems to be discounted so deeply that you just have to get it or your life wouldn’t be complete without it.  Ok…that may be dramatic.  But my sister, mother, and I always used to do black Friday sales, and as crazy as it may have been, we loved every minute of it together!  And ladies, just be honest, beating someone else to the deal that you’ve dreamed about since the black Friday ad’s started appearing is a thrill most won’t admit they get.  But, I just did!  Now, if you have to work on Black Friday, I guess you’d hate it (as was the case for me this year).

8.       Christmas decoration – if my previous post didn’t make it clear enough – I LOVE Christmas decorations!  We are going shopping this weekend for the rest of our concoction of decorations!

9.       Blue Bell Ice Cream – even though we only get it once a year, we are SO thankful when we do get it.  There is NO other ice cream in the country that compares to Blue Bell…and I mean that.

10.   Diet Coke – I only have 1 diet coke a day, and I savor every last drop.  I used to be a Diet Dr. Pepper fan, until I found out the taste of Diet Coke was much more appealing to my palate.

11.   Skype/Facetime – thru these simple little aps Wesley and I are able to see & talk to my family face to face.  We love it!

12.   Cattle & the Beef Industry – lets face it, without cattle Wesley & I wouldn’t be able to do what we love – be around & raise beef.  And without us (and the thousand other ranchers out there) you wouldn’t be able to enjoy that delicious steak for dinner.  Support all of us cattle ranchers.  Eat More Beef!

13.   Bulls – because with their help, they make more babies for us to raise!

14.   My Sewing Machine – I love sewing.  Some people find it boring, but I love it.  It was a trait passed down to me from my great-grandmother (Busha) and I will never forget all the times I “helped” her with quilts, pillows, dresses, & such.  She taught me a lot, and now I thoroughly enjoy crafting/sewing.

15.   Red Beers – our favorite drink in the evenings.  Wesley and I both enjoy a red beer after coming home from work.  No one down south has ever heard of them (and neither did I until I met Wesley) but they are about the only way I enjoy beer these days.  You take a beer (BudSelect is my flavor of choice) and add about ¼ of a glass of tomato juice to your beer.  No need to stir, the two liquids mesh well together.  Add a few green olives to have a snack (as Wesley calls it) when you’ve reached the bottom of the glass and you’re done.  Perfect red beer.  And the perfect way to enjoy a cold one!

16.   My iPhone – what the hell did we all do without our smartphones?  While my phone does piss me off (regularly, it seems), my lunch hours wouldn’t be the same without Pinterest, or talking to Wesley, or surfing amazon for the latest deals. 

17.   Brand Laws – while the brand laws in Texas are much different than the ones here in Montana, I’m thankful we have them.  Without our brand, it would be VERY easy for someone to steal our cattle.  But, since they are branded, everyone knows they belong to us.

18.   Deadwood, South Dakota – the place we always go for mini-vacations.  Have I mentioned we love Deadwood?  I haven’t?  OH well we do!

19.   Conversations with Katy – this could technically go under the “obvious”, and while I treasure conversations with my husband, parents, and sibling, our days usually end with a quick conversation with each other.  Sometimes they aren’t long enough, but they are just enough to fill each other in on the happenings in both Texas & Montana.

20.   Jeopardy – Wesley and I LOVE watching Jeopardy every evening when we get home

21.   Dancing – we LOVE to dance.  Wesley and I only sat down for a very short time at our wedding reception here in Montana, and we can’t wait to dance the night away at our Texas reception.  Not only is it a good workout (always a plus!) but it is just plain fun!

22.   Living 37 miles outside of town – no one bothers you…literally…no one.  Its peaceful.  Its quiet.  We love it.

23.   Hand Sanitizer – germs are gross.  Working with money every day presents ALL kinds of germs.  Thank goodness for hand sanitizer.  I use it all the time.  I’m a little germaphobic (is that a word?) and hate to think about all the germs on my hands.

24.   Hot Showers – especially on cold days/nights.  A hot shower is the best.

25.   Cowboy Boots – a necessary accessory to any outfit.  I love my cowboy boots.

There you have it.  25 of the most random things I am thankful for…in no particular order of importance.  I’m sure there are tons of other things I could have added to this list, but you get the idea! 

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We spend the afternoon with Wesley’s parents eating good food & playing cards.  We ended the evening by watching a classic – “Happy Thanksgiving Charlie Brown”!  We will continue our holiday spirit thru the weekend by going to a the downtown Christmas parade of lights this evening, followed by Christmas decoration shopping tomorrow, and more decorating Sunday!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Deadwood & Decorations

With the passing of the date of November 15^th (the date that my husband & I agreed) came the most joyous time of the year…Christmas decorating time!  You see, I wanted to start putting Christmas decorations out at the beginning of November.  However, my sweet Wesley told me that I should probably do justice to the Thanksgiving holiday before skipping it completely & moving straight to Christmas.  *Sigh* Ok…I’ll wait.  Until the 15^th.  And then we’ll commence with the Christmas decorating!

This past weekend Wesley and I decided we would go to Deadwood (since we couldn’t go the weekend after our wedding due to the icy roads).  We both got home Friday evening, both thought of going to Deadwood during the day without even saying a word to one another, and then both decided (rather quickly) that would head to Deadwood first thing Saturday morning!  We had SUCH a great time together, but that’s nothing new.  We always do!  Wesley was up at 5:00 AM he was so excited.  He quietly woke me up, and we were out of the house by 6:30 AM heading to South Dakota!  We dropped Jiggs off at his grandparents (i.e. the ranch with Moo Moo & David) and were on our way.  We got to Deadwood about 10:00 AM after making a quick shopping trip stop in Belle Fourche, SD.  As soon as we got there, we checked into our room, and headed straight for the slots!  We gambled, got some lunch, and gambled some more.  We headed back to the room that afternoon to take a quick nap, and change for the evening.  I got some really cute clothes down in Deadwood, so I was anxious to wear them out that evening!  We ate a nice prime rib supper at our favorite steakhouse down there (Mom & Dad – you know which one we are talking about!) then it was off to win some money!  We went to our hotel’s casino because they have “hot seat” drawings every 15 minutes from 6:00-9:00 PM.  As luck would have, BOTH Wesley & myself got drawn for the hot seats!  $30 in free play…not a bad way to start the evening!  After winning some at that casino, we headed up the street to gamble, and order our favorite brick oven pizza before heading back to the room that night.  When we arrived at that particular casino they were having a drawing for one of those money machines – you know, the ones where you get in the glass case & they turn a fan on & money blows everywhere & you have to try to get as much money as you can in a certain amount of time.  After much persuasion (no, Wesley did NOT want to do it) we finally signed up for the drawing.  And once again, we were BOTH picked to go in the glass case!  Wesley was first, and after 30 seconds came out $65 richer!  I was next, and I came out with $31!  SCORE!  We ordered our pizza, and hit the slots while it was being made.  Wesley’s little hands were H-O-T hot that night, so we decided we’d go for one of those quick hit machines (anyone who has gambled knows what I’m talking about).  He put in a $5…yes, a $5…and won $120!!  NICE!!!  He did most all of the winning that weekend, and we ended up coming home with more money than we went with…not a bad weekend for us!!!

Sunday it was CHRISTMAS decorating time!!!!!!!!  We got home, unloaded the car, and then went to the man cave to get our Christmas totes.  I was so excited.  I couldn’t wait to have all our cute decorations out in the house again!  Wesley helped me bring the boxes in the house, and as I started opening the first tote I noticed a gross smell.  Wesley came over, and discovered most ALL of our Christmas decorations had mold on them.  That’s right, mold.  One might ask how mold got in a sealed tote?  Well, I put a beautiful snow globe (that I got at the last Christmas my great Grandparents were alive) in that tote.  This snow globe has been to Lubbock, Austin, Brenham, and finally Montana with me.  Apparently the harsh winters here in Montana are too much for the snow globe because the seal broke (not the glass, just the seal) and caused water to slowly leak out into the tote, creating mold all over everything.  Our stockings, stocking holders, blankets, figurines, Gund bears, Nativity scene, and a tree skirt…all victims of the mold.  I washed everything I could, 3 times to be exact.  NO such luck.  It was ruined.  I just cried.  We had no Christmas decorations for the inside of the house!  And I was so looking forward to decorating.  Wesley comforted me & promised me we’d go shopping this weekend & find much better decorations for our house & we would decorate again together this weekend.  The thought of that dried my tears, and I was once again in the Christmas spirit.

Not only did my sweet husband tell me we would go shopping together, he took it one step further.  Without my knowledge yesterday, he went to town and  bought me new Christmas decorations for the house.  I got home before him, and I could hear him rustling with things at the back door.  He yelled to me to close my eyes, go away, and I couldn’t look until he was ready!  He set out all his little findings on our kitchen table, took me there, and said “ok, open your eyes”!  What a sight!  I had new bears, new SINGING Rudolph & Abominable Snowman (they come in a set at Wal-Mart…and are super cute), 3 new stocking holders for the 3 of us, and he told me that we are still going to go shopping this weekend together, but he figured this would give me a start on my decorating.  He is the most thoughtful person I know.  This meant so much to me, and he knew that!  I love him so much!!!! 

I can’t wait to go shopping with him for more things as we are going to get yard decorations, more house decorations, and I get a new stocking too!!  He’s my angel…and I love him so! 

I’m going to try to post once more before Thanksgiving, but if I don’t get a chance, we hope everyone has a very Blessed Thanksgiving holiday surrounded by the people they love!!

Introducing...Mr. & Mrs.

What an amazing time Wesley and I shared together last week.  We had everything from sunshine to snow, and went from being engaged to married all in one week!!  Let me start from the beginning….

Wednesday of last week (11/7/12) started out beautiful.  In fact, I was wearing short sleeves & jeans out that day!  Wesley and his Dad began Wednesday by finishing up the pipeline they dug on our property.  We put self-filling trough in for the cattle right behind our property & ran a pipeline off of our well so they would have water in that pasture when they are in it!  Anyway, while they did that I ran to Colstrip to finalize the floral order with the shop there.  Then, Wesley and I (along with Jiggs) loaded up in the pickup & headed for Forsyth to do our errands.  We picked up the liquor license from the bar that was doing the alcohol catering at the wedding, then went to the courthouse to get our marriage license!!  That evening we went over to Wesley’s parents to have a drink with his sister Christi & her husband Clint, and Mandy & Matt. 

Thursday morning we tried (although it was a failed attempt) to relax before having to run to Miles City for the afternoon/evening picking up last minute wedding things.  We left the ranch about 11:30 so Wesley could get his hair cut in Miles City, then went & picked up our rings, went to Wal Mart to get a few things, then met up with his family for a quick celebratory drink at the Bison Bar in Miles City, and finally ended the night with a delicious steak at the Montana Bar & Steakhouse.  They were DELICIOUS by the way!  We didn’t stay out too late Thursday evening because Friday was our BIG DAY!!

Friday was the day we had been waiting for…our wedding day!  We got dressed that morning, and left our house about 9:00 AM to head to the courthouse.  We were met there by our best friends Clint & Sarah Boucher, and Wesley’s family came also.  My Mom was on Skype so she could be a witness to our union as well.  With the Judge ready and our witnesses at hand, Wesley & I exchanged vows in front of family & close friends.  We were so excited!  We were now Mr. and Mrs.!  We got our marriage recorded at the courthouse, then it was off to decorate the hall with Clint & Sarah.  It didn’t take us long to decorate, about an hour and a half, and after that we went & had lunch with them to celebrate.  Friday evening we were supposed to head to Miles City to have a celebratory dinner with Clint & Sarah, but the weather wasn’t wanting to cooperate.  So, we ended up staying home Friday evening.

Saturday morning we woke up to a winter wonderland…literally!  There was snow everywhere!  Not only was there snow, but there was ice too.  Had it not been that I HAD to go to Miles City that morning to get my hair done, we would have definitely stayed at home!  We braved the roads, going ever so slowly, and made it to Miles City.  By the time we got there, we realized just how bad the roads really were…they were solid ice all the way in.  It was time to make a decision – to have the reception or not.  After much help & encouragement from Clint & Sarah, it was decided we WOULD have our reception!  We had great friends & neighbors pull together to help make our reception the best one ever.  We met our photographer in Forsyth about 2:15 and we headed out to take pictures in the countryside.  We got back to the hall about 4:00 PM that Saturday afternoon, just in time to start welcoming guests.  We had a wonderful meal, a great band, and good people at our reception congratulating us.  We danced the night away surrounded by great people, and we can’t wait to do it all over again in Texas in December!!  The best part...is that we are married!  We are best friends, and I love him with everything I have!

Sunday we were supposed to go to Deadwood, SD, but since the roads were so crappy we opted to stay at home.  We ended up getting some much needed rest from the week before, and actually enjoyed our time together just relaxing at the house.  I was off work Monday for Veteran’s Day, so we spent the day in Miles City returning things from the caterer and spending a few gift cards we got for our wedding ;-)

And now, it’s back to work!  We are so lucky to have such wonderful family & friends to celebrate this special time in our lives with us.  We are so blessed to have found each other, and to be married!  We can’t wait to see everyone in Texas!  Although we don’t have any wedding pictures back yet, we do have one.  So I thought I’d share it with you for now. 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!  It’s almost the weekend!! 

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Davenport

The Countdown Is On

For the next week (or two) I will apologize if I don’t update you as often as I normally do.  As you know, Wesley and I will be saying “I DO” next week, and we are so very excited!  With that said, we have lots of last minute errands to run & things to do before the big day!! 

While I had a somewhat quiet weekend last weekend, Wesley worked his butt off both Saturday & Sunday last weekend.  Saturday was pretty cold outside, so I stayed indoors & fixed a nice big pot of stew, cornbread, and a cake.  After that I got out my new sewing machine my great Aunt gave me & started learning.  Boy do I have lots to learn!  But, it was a lot of fun.  I’m starting to sew new projects & things for around the home and for gifts so I’m definitely excited that I got a nice sewing machine that does all kinds of neat things.  While I was inside, Wesley was out in the elements.  He & his dad moved some cows Saturday then went & searched for some that we needed to get out of our big pasture.  Then he came and got me and we both went out to feed the calves. 

Sunday morning he got up early and was out of the house by 7 AM to go help the neighbor gather their pasture so they could ship cattle.  He didn’t get home until after 7:30 PM that day.  He was flat exhausted, and I don’t blame him.  It was cold, it was raining off & on, and he hadn’t had anything to eat except for breakfast that morning.  I was so glad to have him home so I could take care of him after his long day.

While the beginning of this week seemed to drag on, the end is going by quite nicely.  Tomorrow is FRIDAY and I am excited for the weekend!!  This weekend we have to go to Miles City Saturday to drop our rings off so my wedding band can be put together with my engagement ring, and I’m having something special done to Wesley’s ring as well!  Sunday we are getting up and heading to Billings so I can go pick up my wedding dress!  I can’t wait to see it once it has the final minor alterations done to it.  I can’t wait to share pictures with everyone as well!! 

I hope that I will have pictures soon after the wedding, but if not I’ll share them as soon as I get them!  And just in case I don’t get to write before next weekend, please say a prayer for Wesley and me that our wedding goes well, and the weather cooperates (to the best of its ability)!  The next time I write I’ll have the letters “MRS” in front of my name and Wesley will have bling on his left hand!  :)