Transplanted in Texas

Well. My first blog post will be up on The Baker's Help Meet on Wednesday. That means this post right here, the 118th, is the final one at Transplanted In Texas. We've covered a lot in the two-plus years I've been blogging here. From my wreck with Sneaky within the first month, to the pregnancy and birth of Yance, the journey to financial security (of which we are on step 3 of 7), the writing of a book, the loss of not one but TWO family members in less than two months' time last year...., and the blessing of a second pregnancy and anticipated birth. The journey continues over at The Baker's Help Meet , where I will try my best to show you how I am a happy, contented, joyful, madly-in-love wife and mother - and how you can be, too (y'know, if you're a woman who wants to be like that). It will be less personal, less scatter-brained, and more focused on keeping the family healthy, learning to handle money, training children, and stealing your husband...

Well, Monday marks two years of marriage for me and D. In that time, we've gotten a colt, gelded the colt, gotten a son, written a book, installed electricity and water in our home (yay!), installed a wood stove, installed a washing machine and dryer, repaired said dryer twice, had several work days, sold a horse, gone through three phones and one laptop between the two of us (and my third phone is suffering... oops), met Dustin Ellermann, gotten two dogs, gone through several cats (but managed to keep one), and gotten two more siblings between the two of us - via marriage and also birth. Our first niece or nephew is due early May. Through it all, we've stuck by each other and look forward to many more years together. We will be out of debt and have at least three months of expenses in an emergency fund by our third anniversary. So here's a selection of pictures from the last two years. This weekend, we're going away. Just for two days and one nig...

This is the essence of Cookie. Ever since he was a kitten (shown here at six weeks of age), he has been a lazy, sleepy kitten. Too lazy to fend off the dog, and sleepy enough to be lying on the chair right now by the table, fast asleep. It's Duke who drags up mice and rats, among other things. The cat wanders around, fends for himself at night and while we're away, and then stays inside during the day while we're home. Because he won't keep the dog away from his food, so he has to have it inside or starve. He's a gentle soul, but still a kitten. He can be crazy one minute and asleep the next, crashed on the floor. And he is quite lazy. He's not very good at cleaning up in the litter box, often scraping the wall instead of the litter. It gets pretty annoying. Cookie enjoys curling up on or beside people, and does pretty well when Yance wants to clobber him. He also likes to knead us and has a terrible time getting the hint when we want him to leave. B...

I have decided to do a series of posts where I put a picture on here and then describe the feelings, thoughts, and events behind it. I have no idea how long this series will last, so at the end of each post I will do a recap of the previous week and also tell of plans of the future. And post something from Amazon for you to purchase if you want. November 5, 2016. That is when this photo was taken. It was the morning of Breeders' Cup Saturday, and I thought it fitting to play with horses on a Breeders' Cup day. The day had begun with writing, working on the first draft of my A.P. Indy book. I had haltered Sneaky and Sue J, as they were in the arena together at the time, and played a little with each of them. Cookie followed me around, and when I was done I removed the gear from the horses and took pictures of them. Sneaky was curious about the cat, and the kitten was a bit scared and decided to climb up to his "safe space" (Cookie is a wimp). His safe ...

It's been a year since I felt this good. It's been a year since I felt like giggling and play-fighting with my sweetie, running, working, and being adventurous. And being myself again feels awesome. I've changed over the past year - but what could one expect for a year full of house improvements and body changes related to pregnancy and delivering a baby? I can't do as much as I did then - I find myself with less free time and muscle tone - but I am throwing myself whole-heartedly into my book (which will be published in November), and into getting my body better than it was pre-pregnancy. I have a three-and-a-half-month extroverted baby boy who is easily bored by toys and a kitten about his age who likes to ruin Xbox games (sorry, D...). Yeah, Midget gets on the Xbox and hits the eject button while jumping off of it. Hmmm. And Yance likes his mobile for only five minutes at a time. Usually, more than ten minutes on his back at one time is too much. He has fig...

Yance has a new uncle. His aunt looked beautiful in her lacy, modest wedding gown. My brother ended up "DJ-ing" the wedding (there was no music at the reception), and my own husband was quite handsome in his blue and gray outfit. This weekend, we go to my parents' place to see my grandparents. It's been more than a year since we've seen each other, and so they have not held their first great-grandchild yet. I've been battling a sinus infection all week, so I haven't gotten a chance to ride or play with any horses... But Yance has! On Sunday, we went outside and he sat on Jack and then Windy. D held him and I took pictures. The little boy was just fine with it. Kelly has adopted nieces and nephews - two girls and two boys out of her late sister, Jadzia. Two tortoiseshells, a blue lynx point boy, and a black male. They are about the same age as her own two blue lynx point sons, and she took to them as soon as she heard their meows. She now has...

It's 2am. My alarm goes off under my pillow by my head. I wake up, yawn, and shut it off. Then I lie there for a couple minutes before getting to my feet. I go through the bedroom door and out into the hall. Directly across the hall is the spare room, and I open the door and enter. On the bed in there is a little baby-bed thing, with my half-awake and hungry little boy inside. I pick him up and bring him back to the master bedroom. Once there, I get comfortable and feed the baby, who guzzles his nighttime meal in 20-25 minutes. I struggle to stay awake while my sweetheart snores quietly. Then Yance is finished, so I bring him back to his bed, close the doors, and fall asleep in my own bed again. The next thing I know, my husband's first alarm goes off. It's 5:30. After a minute or so, he rolls over and turns it off - and then we're asleep again. My alarm goes off again. This time it's 6, time for Yance's next meal. I repeat what I did at 2, this time with my...

Well, I had my 36 week appointment yesterday. Apparently I need to do a better job stretching (surprise, surprise), and drinking water (again, surprise....), but other than that everything is fine. I got my blood drawn for the third and final time this pregnancy, which went well - after I went and got some food and water. It was 9:30 in the morning and I hadn't eaten breakfast yet or remembered to get a drink. Whoops. My husband had to take me back to the birth center about 11:30 to get the blood drawing done. Fortunately we had planned other stuff in town anyway so we could go get food and such before going back. I'm glad he puts up with me NOT doing stuff.... Let's see... The bathroom is well covered in drywall mud, and Dad plans to come back next weekend (not tomorrow) to prime it so we can shower. We've been able to take baths, but not showers. At the moment we are just grateful to have running water to the bathtub after a year of owning the house! ...

My year... in review! January: The house was prepared for moving, and its new location prepared, too. February: Our house was moved, and work began to remodel it and fix mold and water damage issues. Also, D had his first-ever gun show, and I had my bridal showers. Thrown in the mix was a reenactment. March: My birthday, then bachelorette party, and then continued work on our house. I hauled the horses down (with my dad’s help), and it was the first time driving a loaded horse trailer anywhere. We got the engagement photos done, and then there was the bachelor party. Finally, there was the wedding! April: We got home from the honeymoon to an improved home, and began to unpack and get what we needed in proper places. We had a reenactment, and then two more open weekends for working around the place before another reenactment. The cats (Kelly and Odo) also came down. Kelly immediately went feral, but Odo w...