Promises, promises, PROMISES

I have had a difficult time these past few months in keeping up with my life. Whomever said that life is what you make of it, spoke the absolute truth.

I came here from Colorado with hopes and dreams to be fulfilled and while I see so much of that coming true, I still face disappointments such as we all do. The grass is INDEED greener here for me here but recently I sort of.....uuuummmmm....scorched some grass.

I signed with a certain rehab company and it was a wonderful deal for me. It got me to Arizona, although 3 of my horses and my goats remain in Colorado waiting for me to come and get them. But with the job that I have currently had any sort of outside of work life has been pretty much obliterated. And I like BALANCE.

If I come home from work and am SO stressed that I spend the rest of the time either A: soaking in a bathtub trying to unwind or B: sitting in front of Pinterest so I can do something mindless and unwind or C: eat everything in site to relieve the stress, SOMETHING is not right. When I get up in the morning and find myself getting to work later and even later because I dread going in? It needs to change.

I have HORSES for crying out loud! I should be loving on them and riding them on a regular basis! I don't even COOK any more because I am too stressed to actually plan a meal.

So I started praying about all of this and all I have to say is...be careful for what you pray for. I prayed that God would allow me to see if what I had chosen was where I should be. And? Through various situations that literally slapped me in the face, I began to rethink. Every time something happened, I'd get enraged (inside), calm down, (inside) and think..."oh it isn't THAT bad"(inside).

But you know what? IT REALLY WAS THAT BAD.

So I thought..."I'll see what my options are in the job market around here" and before I even finished that thought, (honestly), I was presented with a new position. WITHOUT LOSING ANYTHING BENEFIT WISE. Only God can do those sort of things! I decided that I would give the expected 30 day notice (typical for therapists), but before I could do that another situation occurred that made me rethink and think that maybe 2 weeks would be a better thing. Before THAT could happen, 2 MORE incidents occurred that made me say, "Know what? I can't do even that.

Right now? I am happy with where I work. This week was an absolute delight and I remember why I got into being a rehab therapist in the first place. To HELP people recover. My patients are not just numbers. They have names. And lives they want to return to. They have my respect and my attention and if I need to spend extra time with them, I can because I am not SO overloaded with people who cannot tolerate 72 or 120 minutes of therapy, but have to be seen to make those numbers. I have missed this.

I hate like heck to not be able to keep my promise to my former company, but enough is enough. Life is about more than numbers. And sometimes you have to stand for what you believe in, regardless of the cost.

Which for me, in this situation, was absolutely nothing because my Father stood in the gap and kept me safe.

I wish it happened like this all the time. But now? I can have a life OUTSIDE of work because I am not hiding in the bathtub. I am however still spending an inordinate amount of time on Pinterest.

Oh well. One cannot have everything, eh?!

cate

Rise and SHINE!

Fall or Autumn? Whatever name you call it by....don't you just LOVE it?

 



 

Even if you do not live in a place that has tons of maple and aspen trees and the sumac is not visible any place but in your minds eye, you can FEEL fall! The air holds a magic quality of expectancy and you just KNOW everything is teetering on the brink of change. Even when the sun reaches down to warm you, the warmth is all that more special because you can feel that tang in the air!

 

 

 

 





Throughout my life fall has always been a time of big changes for me and I can feel a change coming soon! I am excited, of course, but stepping out in faith sometimes is a tad difficult for me. Okay. Sometimes it is MONUMENTALLY difficult for me. And even though I am moving forward, albeit in trepidation, I am praying along the path and know that where I go, my God goes before me. He will, in His timing, give me the wisdom and courage to handle this change with grace.

 

Yesterday, I got out of the house and did a little site seeing. Not much, but just enough to make me realize how closed off I have allowed myself to become lately. Part of that was because of a vehicle that was less than safe, and I did not want to take on the commitment of a *gasp* car payment. But when The Beast bit the dust, I just did not have any choice! And I really AM in love with a truck I now call "Gaston"! So yesterday was a real treat!

 

 

Arizona is so beautiful in the fall! The sunlight has a quality in October that defies description! I had forgotten that until I went out into that beautiful Arizona fall day!

 

 

 

Everything is changing....

 

 

 

God is up to something good. Something REALLY good!

 









Helloooooooo Prince Charming!!!

Good bye Beast. You have served me well and I appreciate your time and your service, but all good things must come to an end. Especially since you have no back lights and have developed a stinky, no good habit of leaking gas.

 

 

Helloooooooo Prince Charming! I know this is shallow, but I LOVE the way you look! Handsome, sleek, LEATHER interior and best of all? 4X4 and tow package! My heart is yours! 

 

 

But honestly. I really am NOT a materialistic girl. I just have expensive exquisite taste and demand  prefer good performance. Besides. I am SO worth it.

 

I shall name you.....Gaston`.



The Great GoatBoy Adventure

Cannot tell you when I have been this excited! LOOK at this picture!

No...I am not building another barn for my horses. I am building a barn for Red and Blue. But more than just a GoatBoy barn, I am building a barn for 2 new additions that are coming to my little homestead in the spring! THIS will be my goat dairy barn!

I found a great deal on Ebay. Anytime one cannot find a great deal anywhere else, one can always find it on Ebay! And THEY install it as well!

 

 

I am sure that Red and Blue will enjoy being able to have their own bedrooms and not have to share anymore. Actually? I am NOT sure that will work as they have always been together, but I am going to give it a try! I am also certain that my Goatzillas, (they are Nubians and weigh about 200 pounds EACH) will be happy to welcome their new sisters. I have decided to go with Nigerian Dwarf Goats, (they only get to be about 60 pounds), and as I have learned with the GoatBoys, Nubians can grow quite large and be quite a handful!

 

 

I am excited not just for the girls to arrive, but to begin a new learning adventure as well. I first will have to learn how to milk a goat properly. Fortunately, you can find anything and everything on Pinterest!

 

 

I have done quite a bit of research and prayer over this venture and feel that I will be more than able to handle all that comes with this awesome responsibility. Except for this...

 

 

Are they not just the most adorable little creatures? I just want to hold them and hug them! Unfortunately, if you want milk, you have to have babies which means breeding your girls. Rutroh. NOT good. Especially when the babies look like this and you cannot have 5 million goats running around! Solution? Find a 4-H group that needs projects! Yep. I am going to give my extra bucklings to the local 4-H kids who need them for projects. I will most likely keep a couple if they turn out to be doe, but for what I want, I will not need a huge herd, so I will need to truck some of them down the road!

 

 

Although I will enjoy the fresh milk, butter and cheese that will be forthcoming, my real anticipation is to be able to make goatmilk soap! There are SO many recipes, not to mention molds and lovely ideas on how to shape your homemade soap. LOOK at a few of these ideas!

 

 

Fresh Rose Buds and spices!

 

 

Lavender and vanilla!



                                                            

 

Even cupcake shaped soaps!

 

Now tell me. Wouldn't YOU love to receive a lovely box of soaps shaped like chocolates and wrapped up with a pretty red ribbon? ME too! And so.....the adventure begins!

 





 





About time...

I read a quote this morning and I would like to share it with you, my friend.

"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality." - Lao Tzu

 

How true is this? I find that in my life changes are inevitable, and yet, I am one resistant to change. I love roots. And continuity. However, my choices to stand for what I believe in are often the beginnings of that difficult and painful thing called change.

 

Last night, I watched the most wonderful movie. It was titled, "About Time", and it starred Rachel McAdams, one of my favorite young actresses.

 

I have always been fascinated by time travel. Many people say it is an impossibility, but those wonderful writers who dabble in this subject, find me watching and reading, again and again. My favorite movie of all time is "Somewhere In Time" where Richard Matheson's lovely book, "Bid Time Return", was transformed to film and into a love story that defied time. (I also long to have hair like Jane Seymour so that I can wear that Gibson Girl hairstyle!)

 

H.G. Wells and his wonderful imagination created "The Time Machine". A man well beyond his time, his book was written and published in 1895! And though I love the book, I have yet to see a movie rendition that is its equal.

 

Why am I so fascinated by time travel? Perhaps it would be useful to go back and change certain aspects of my life. (Like using sun screen when I was much younger and change these age lines and wrinkles into smooth skin once more) Even if I were able to travel back, I doubt there would be much I would change. I would still remove those same people from my life I chose to remove. I would not miss the chance to love those whom I have been privileged to love. The one thing I am certain of though, and even though I know it is impossible, I would take away words I said that hurt others whether intentionally or not. I have yet to learn how to be tactful in all situations.

 

I think the movie last night taught a valuable lesson, in that we really SHOULD live life joyfully and make every second one we do not regret. But some things are not meant to be changed. For without the trials and heartaches, we would not grow and become all He meant us to be. Each lesson we truly learn is one step closer. And although I do not have love in the form of a man, I have it in so many other ways.

I would not change that for anything you could offer me.

 

                                                                                          

 





When it rains....it pours. At least in Arizona!

It rained again today. Not as much as it did yesterday, but it was steady throughout most of the day. Yesterday, my road looked like THIS  


Where's my canoe?

And so I did not go to work today. The entry road to my subdivision had washed out. Oh gee. Notice how upset I am? I stayed home and sewed today.....a rarity, but sometimes it happens. I started a new outfit. Hot pink and black with silver and opalescent rhinestones. STUNNING!

 

I have so many ideas running through my brain right now. Colors and fabrics, design and embellishment....it is a wonder I sleep at all. I can hardly wait to get the shop opened up! I know I said November, but I am thinking now it will be closer to the first of December that I can get enough accomplished to have enough to feel comfortable in opening. I am keeping a pad and pencil next to my bed because it seems that right before I fall asleep, a wonderful and perfect idea comes into my brain. I stop and write it down, because if I do not, my fuzzy, sleepy brain will never remember in the morning!

 

The Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show will be in February! I am flying Beth in from Colorado and we will be attending at least 2 days. I want to go for the costume classes, but most of all, I want to look at the vendor section and see what is displayed in show clothing. It may not be this coming year, but someday...SOMEDAY...I will be in the vendor section.

 

In the meantime, I will keep designing and enjoy this rain.

 

cate

 

 



Raining blessings...

I love living back here in Arizona. I am indeed a desert dweller. And living out in the country is absolutely the best.

I have missed the mountains. I know. You are thinking...but Colorado HAS mountains. And you are correct. But they are not the same as Arizona mountains. Until you have seen the difference, you would not understand. Colorado, at least the part I lived in, IS a mountain. Unless you get out to the plains of the east, you are living in or on a mountain. I think. Living in Denver totally sucketh for a country girl. One city leads to another and another and another. How many Red Lobsters can you have on ONE street, for the love of mike?!?! And let us not even mention the cold!

Okay. Let's DO mention the cold. Colorado is one of the most beautiful states I have been in. There are streams (when not in a drought) and green and foxes and.....COLD. You better LIKE cold, because there is a lot of it. Winter sports rein supreme and there are actually ice carving contests up in Breckenridge. Lovely. Truly lovely. But the fact is, you had better like winter sports and have an indoor arena. Both of which I do not. Even though living in Colorado is not for me, I am glad to have had that experience. It only made me realize what I truly love.

So needless to say, I am glad to be back home in Arizona. I arrived in time for the monsoon season and I had forgotten how fun that can be. Today, Scarlett and Rhett and I  splashed in the muddy and swiftly running waters in the road in front of the house. Max had to stay in the yard as he is not much of a swimmer and certainly not a Labrador. :0(
                                                    

Scarlett, Rhett and Maximoose

During the rain, I took the opportunity of researching a lot of things I had not taken the time to do. I am finding myself more and more interested in a true homesteading situation, such as my Daddy and mom created when I was young. I draw the line at butchering though...do not think I can do that. But dairy goat farming, chicken keeping, gardening and canning? I can do that.

5 acres is more than what I need to support myself. Now it is just the laying out of the area and lots of hard work. But in reality, what else have I got to do? Well, beside work and teaching riding lessons, designing and sewing...I am sure I can fit in a homestead.

 I am glad to be home. Not just in Arizona, but in the country as well.