That Rainy June Friday Afternoon

I still consider June 2012 one of the worst months ever. It is coming upon one year now and although time doesn’t heal all wounds it does make each day a little easier.

My husband (fiancé at the time) and I really wanted a dog and not just any dog we wanted a purebred German Shepherd. Steve’s family has always had German Shepherds, when Steve and I started dating, Toby was the lovely pup who graced the farm and after he passed we always knew we needed another Shepherd on the farm.

We knew we wanted a puppy because we wanted to be the main influence in our dog’s life and all the blame could be put on us for whatever bad habits he picked up {which wouldn’t be any, our dog would be perfect right?!}. After many internet searches and deciding that sending a dog via airplane was not what we wanted to do to our new ‘baby’, we found a breeder in Western ND and couldn’t wait for the road trip.

The litter was due in August of 2012 and we had a deposit down on a boy {praying there was a boy}. August 19^th the fluffy little bunch was born, 2 boys and 4 girls! Steve and I were so excited and couldn’t wait until October to go pick up our little guy.

On October 16th it was time for our 750 mile round trip to pick up Gunner. He was perfect in every way {love at first sight} and he did an amazing job on the long car ride home!

I could tell Gunner had a big personality right away, I laughed at him all the time. He was so easy to train and even though we didn't plan on him being a house dog at least we taught him early on that you don't pee and poop in the living room! 

Photo by Milestones Photography

As much as I wanted him to be a momma's boy he was definitely Steve's baby. With me being at work all day and Steve working on the farm him and Gunner were attached at the hip. Gunner was Steve's tractor buddy amongst other things and anytime Steve had a few beers Gunner got to come sleep with us; spoiled little thing I think he forced Steve to drink so he could hog the bed! 

He was our Pride and Joy and we both loved him to pieces. If you noticed I'm using past tense and that is because Gunner is no longer with us. 

June 1, 2012. 

I will never forget that rainy Friday when Steve called me at work and told me that Gunner was dead. I don't think a person is ever prepared to hear that type of bad news. Knowing full-well we live in the country I thought for sure he was hit by a vehicle, even though he had gotten really good at staying in the yard and not chasing passing traffic. That is an outcome I could have handled more than the actual one; Gunner wasn't hit by a car but instead shot point blank in the head. << Sorry for that picture but in actuality there isn't a good way to sugarcoat this story. This wasn't an accident and I know 'hate' is a strong word but I hate the person who did this to our poor sweet puppy and even more I hate that there is nothing law enforcement could have done even if they knew who killed him. To this day we still don't know who took our Gunner from us but I just pray they aren't doing this for fun because it is sick and wrong and I don't wish this feeling of loss upon anyone. Anyone who has {or ever had} a pet knows they become your family.

My last photo of Gunner

I will admit I am now jealous of people with old dogs knowing that we didn't even get to spend a year with Gunner. Thinking back and reminiscing though those were definitely 7 of the happiest months with my fiancé and our puppy. I miss that 'little' guy so much but look forward to the day when we begin the search for our next German Shepherd. 

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.

-Roger Caras 

Vino2Go :: A Giveaway

I'm having a giveaway, the first one all by myself and I'm so excited!! 

I recently reached 100 followers {welcome lovely new readers} on Google Friend Connect (GFC) and I thought that was reason enough for a celebration! 

If you have read my blog you know that I love wine and today just happens to be National Wine Day so I decided to have a giveaway in honor of my love for wine and this AWESOME holiday!! 

Via

A Vino2Go Wine Tumbler in your choice of Merlot Red or Party Pink!! If you like wine and don't have one of these you MUST enter this giveaway!! 

Good Luck and Thanks for following along!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


 

The Little Things

I am so beyond excited for this long weekend. This week went by SOOOOO slow and by Tuesday I was hoping it was Friday plus it was rainy in the beginning of the week so that really made work drag on. 

Here is what I've been up to lately : 

1 : Wine + Mac & Cheese 

2 : The gravel road to the farm :-)

3 : My Hubby and his sisters

4 : Celebrating Kayla's 21st with some tequila shots

5 : All us girlies at the bar

6 : I have 100 followers on Blogger … exciting

7 : Brought the Hubby supper while he was planting beans

8 : Green Giant Steamers … yum

Hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!!

Happies & Crappies May 12-19

Hello lovely readers … I had a crazy busy weekend, but because I love this link-up so much I'm gonna throw together my Happies and Crappies quick. 

Happies

1. Mother's Day - great time celebrating my Mom and Grandma at my parent's farm
   
   
   

   

   Thanks to my sister's Boyfriend for the photos!

2. Planting corn with my Hubby - quality time in the tractor around 3.5 hours to plant 60 acres

   

   Love my New iPhone App * This is my new lock screen!! 

3. Sunshine - Ahh the weather was beautiful this past week, Monday-Wednesday I took full advantage
   
4. DVR - caught up on a lot of shows, I'd seriously be lost without my DVR
5. Classmate from high school got married - so great to catch up with people I haven't seen forever!
   
6. Love seeing family that I don't see often - yippie for weddings and graduations
7. Nominated for my 2nd Liebster Award - stay tuned for that post

Crappies

1. I am not as young as I use to be; staying up til 4 am makes for a sleepy unproductive next day ;-)
2. Headaches - ugh I hardly ever get them but have had some bad ones lately
3. I've already mentioned this on the blog but I'm going to be a bad summer blogger so sorry in advance for that but you can always follow me on my other social media spots to keep up!! Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Pinterest

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!!

The Little Things

I hope you guys aren't opposed to this giant photo dump I'm about to throw at you but I just want to let you know what I've been up to lately! 

1. I bought a gel nail kit that you do yourself at home. It made my nails super hard and the color was amazing, but doing the dishes by hand has worked against me on this polish because it is chipping like crazy.
2. Our niece had her Spring dance recital. Watching all those girls in their little tutus was so fun! 
3. I hung out with a good friend and a fellow Farmer's Wife. We had a great afternoon catching up - sipping on pink lemonade, watching Sex and the City {from season 1 episode 1}, eating orange sherbet push-up pops, and talking about the little baby in her belly ;-)
4. Sunset over the ND plains … I love this place
5. My doodles for a possible new tattoo
6. Had a great time on Mother's Day with my momma and the rest of my family
7. Do you ever try and recreate photos? It is so fun to see the changes - this was a 20 year difference
8. Riding with my hubby in the tractor - Oh I just love that man. They are currently busy planting corn, stay tuned for my Corn Reports!
9. We have had some amazing sunshine here and there is no way I could sit inside, I apologize in advance because I may be a bad blogger in the summer - if there is sunshine I'll be siting in it! I started Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks this is one of the first books I've read after I have seen the movie; this has only reminded me why I should always read the book first I don't like knowing the ending of my books :-)
10. It's not summer without sunshine and a cold drink
11. Our nieces crack me up and I love when they drop by and visit
12. Soaking up more Sunshine!
13. Finally opened my wine shipment - this is happiness! 

PS. the last 3 photos were edited with the new app called 'A Beautiful Mess' if you love doodles and super cute stuff you should probably download this ;-)

I'm really excited for the weekend. My cousins are coming : I have a wedding to go to : I get to see old friends : I have 2 cousins with grad parties … It should be a weekend filled with great family and friends, and if it rains I may even get to see my husband for more than 2 hours {pray for some rain people}!! 

The Day ALL about Mom!

Today is All about Moms. My Mom, Your Mom, and {I guess} You if you are a mom!! Happy Mother's Day to all those lovely ladies out there who are called Mom by someone - You are appreciated for all you do and have done and today is the day to talk all about it! 

Now lets talk about my mom shall we?!

My Mom is amazing, she is a hard worker, caring, compassionate, funny, loving … my list could go on with adjectives describing my mom and I think you get the drift. 

I appreciate my mom so much and thank her for shaping me into the woman I am today. I thank her for the little things like: helping me wash my dishes; teaching me how to plant flowers; taking silly pictures with me; being supportive; being a great Mother-In-Law; always leaving little love notes; teaching me to LOVE taking pictures; introducing me to popcorn & hot tamales … and most of all teaching me the importance of Family and Love!! 

I hope you are taking the time to show a little extra TLC to your mom today because let's face it, She Deserves It!! 

I Love You Mom! 

*Happy Mother's Day*

Happies & Crappies May 6-11

I'm doing my Happies and Crappies on Saturday instead of Sunday because Tomorrow will be All about my Mommy!!

Happies

1. My First Ever Blog Giveaway went live on Monday -- Ends the 13th you can still enter >> HERE
2. As a result of the giveaway my blog is growing, welcome to all my new lovely readers - I can't wait to get to know all of you
3. Beautiful weather = playing volleyball * Evening walks * Happy People
4. Got a gift I ordered for my Best Friend's wedding … Ahhh I can't wait for October!! 
5. Celebrated a good friend's birthday - I just love birthdays!
6. Hanging out with my Mom
7. Married 8 months - whew time flies >> This was us 6 years ago
   
8. Got a message from another ND blogger … Um Awesome!
9. Our {oldest} Niece had her dance recital yesterday. Oh she is so Adorable - Just Love Her
   
10. The Hubby Started Planting Yesterday {finally}

Crappies

1. This is kind of a half crappie {because it's not all bad} but now that planting has started {yippie}, I will be a Farm Widow. Steve is going to have super long hours and pretty much just be home to sleep - guess I'll just have to go ride in the tractor!! 
2. Sooo behind on my blog reading, that unread bloglovin' number gives me anxiety haha 

Now Stay Tuned Tomorrow for a Post All About My Mom!

2013 Kentucky Derby

Now the race is on, and here comes Pride in the backstretch, Heartaches goin' to the inside … And the Winner is Orb! 

We had our First Annual Kentucky Derby Party at my sister-in-law's house and it was a so much fun and I can't wait for next year already.  

My Mother-in-Law thought of everything for the party, Roses, Prizes and all. We each got to choose what horse we thought would win. My pick was Revolutionary and although he wasn't the winner he did get 3rd and that made me the Winner at our Derby Party. No one picked the 1st or 2nd horse so I got a pack of my Mother-in-Law's awesome photography stationary cards, 5 roses and a wine plaque {it is like she knew I'd win}!! 

We had so much fun with this little event even though the race itself was only 2 minutes we made a day out of it!! Next year I think I'm going to take after my Hubby and throw a little money down! 

The Little Things

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

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I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

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I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

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I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

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I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

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I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

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I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

. . .

I got the above "I wish you enough" passage in an email forward and it kind of stuck with me. It makes you think about the little things that can change your day, your week, your month or even your year. Wow sorry the F.R.I.E.N.D.S theme song got away on me there; but honestly doesn't reading that little passage make you smile thinking that sometimes you need the rain and the pain to appreciate the joys and sunshine. 

We have had enough snow here that the sunshine is abundantly appreciated, here is what I've been up to Lately. 

1. A coworker and I had a wonderful Monday evening, the weather was wonderful so we met up with some ladies at the sand volleyball courts and had fun getting back in the groove of things. After that we took a little speed walk around town and by the river. 
2. I hung out at the farm a little bit Tuesday evening then it was off to celebrate my husband's cousin's birthday at the place with the giant burgers. 
3. I just love when my mom comes over. She helped me wash all {we are talking piles} of our dishes, then we repotted this beauty. It is an Hawaiian Orchid from the Hubby's Grandma, she brought it home from their recent trip to the Big Island and I can't wait for it to bloom - really hoping I can have a green thumb on this one. 

Stay tuned for tomorrow's recap of the Kentucky Derby Party. 

Oh and if you haven't entered the Sunglass Hut and Starbucks giveaway … Honestly what are you waiting for?! >> CLICK HERE

Chain or Adventure??

We are a trip taking family. When I was younger I was fortunate enough to go a lot of places with my Mom, Dad and Sister. Most of the time trips were taken in the car, long trips with my sister and I fighting and the age old question "Are We There Yet". Ya it wasn't always fun but the memories I remember most are the good times and the laughs {well except for that one time in Napa when the Wine Tasting got the best of me}.  

One thing that has really stuck with me from all of our numerous vacations is something my Dad likes to do … Not Eat At Chain Restaurants. I love trying new places in our own area but sometimes when you are in a state and town that is kinda sketchy and you can hardly find it on a map do you really want to eat at Joe's Bar on the corner?! Well it sure makes lunch interesting let me tell you … Oh and you know the place I'm talking about, when you walk in and EVERYBODY and their dog stares at you because it is a local hangout and "you're not from around here" - yep that place! Okay it isn't like that all the time but usually those are the places that have the best food, the real homemade stuff and not the frozen triple-processed crap that you could get at the same restaurant 5 states away. I'm with my Dad on his philosophy and it sure does keep it more interesting than always going to Applebee's or McDonalds!

I am from a small town so if you walk in to one of the places I go out to eat I'll be the one staring and whispering about who you are; but please don't turn and walk out, have a drink, have a burger and stay awhile - we don't bite {I promise}! 

There is a newer bar/restaurant in a neighboring town that we just love, especially on the 1st Saturday of the month for $1 Beers! They have GREAT food, drinks, decor, and hospitality I mean what more could you ask for?! Maybe a Burger the size of your face?? Not kidding on this one my hamburger the other night was giant and of course Delicious! If you are ever in my neck of the woods, you should really stop by. 

Where is your favorite place to eat? Do you agree with my Dad's philosophy or would you rather stick to your chain restaurant?

Don't Forget To ENTER the Giveaway!