Floors vacuumed and supplies out and ready!

I am excited for all the scratches and imperfections to be history!  Hopefully we know what we are doing!

My mom found grey curtains that work perfectly with the purple walls!  Redbeard put them up for me and I love them!

My new curtains are finally up!  Woohoo!

 Next up I will share the products we are using to make my dream room complete!

For a look at the process, check out My Purple Palace.

Hunting outer layer

The middle layer is complete with Redbeard's oversized green zip up jacket and my new hunting pants with a pair of socks.  They are furry inside and soft on the outside so they make zero noise while walking!

Middle layer

Bottom layer

This was a lot of clothes to wear while hunting.  I received many looks from Redbeard as I waddled into the blind.  There was a lot of noise being made by me since I could hardly walk.  Here is the proof of my many layers.  I am smiling, but really I am freezing from being out in the blind for over two hours.

Can you see me shaking from being cold?  Well, I was.

Little Custer was glad to see us when we got back.  I was excited to be home and warm up too!

Now to show what the snow has messed up in 24 hours.  Sunday we were supposed to have a potluck at church to celebrate new members.  That means us.  Our transfer to First Lutheran is finally complete.  It was hard to say goodbye to St. Paul's, but that is part of growing up.  I knew the recent snow would interfere with our plans.  Redbeard has cattle to give food and water to and with snow and frigid temperatures that means chopping a lot of ice.  Plus, the roads were less than ideal.  

While he was off tending to cattle, I made a dish for the potluck.  I decided macaroni and cheese would be a good addition to the potluck since I didn't have any eggs left to make a dessert.  In a short thirty minutes, I let the noodles stick to the pan and boil its slimy noodle juice onto the stove.  Yuck!  I was trying to do too many things at once.  Next time I will focus only on the noodles.  I blame it on the yucky snow!  It has me going crazy!

Redbeard finally got home right before 11 and church starts at 10:30.  We hopped in the truck and made the trip to town.  We entered right as they started playing the closing song, but at least we made it for the potluck.  Better late than never, right?

Here is what the roads looked like on our way to church

We had a great time at the potluck.  I think it was the best potluck I have ever attended!  Between cheesy potatoes, macaroni and cheese, beef and pepperoni Pizza Hut pizza, and Hawaiian rolls, I was stuffed!  I didn't even eat supper last night!

The road on the way back from church...much better, but still not great.

After church and the potluck, Redbeard and I went out to give a few bunches of cattle some more water.  They sure drink a lot, even though it is cold out!  Custer came along for the ride and loved every minute of it!

I blame my long, cold, yucky day on the snow and my long-time hatred for it.  It causes problems in our days, but it is nice to go chop ice and feed with Redbeard and Custer even though it is cold.

I never liked roast beef.  I thought it was bland and stringy.  After having my own freezer of beef, I realized roast is a large portion of animal.  Basically, I was forced to find a desirable recipe for roast.  I combined my mom's and Redbeard's meat preparation secrets and made my own!  

Start with a thawed out roast.  Rub my (Almost) World Famous Seasoning on it and put in a ziplock bag.  Add Italian dressing to the bag and seal.  Let sit in the refrigerator over night.  The next morning cover the bottom with Italian dressing and place the roast and all marinate in a crockpot on low for the whole day.  The roast will be ready for supper that evening.

I forgot to take pictures while it was cooking, but I assure you it was yummy!

2 T paprika

3 T cinnamon

3 T chili powder

3 T garlic powder

4 T onion powder

5 T sugar

Up to 1 T cayenne pepper (optional if you want some heat to the seasoning)

2 T Grill Mates Sweet and Smoky (optional)

3 T Dillo Dust (optional - free with a LaRue Tactical purchase)

I love the way the ingredients look before mixing!

Put the ingredients in a bowl with an airtight seal and shake until mixed.

The final product!

Use a funnel to put the seasoning in a shaker if you desire.

Like I said, I use this seasoning for everything.  Tomorrow I will share my special roast beef recipe.  It is cooking right now!  Yummy!!

What are your favorite seasonings?

1. I am not super woman - No matter how hard I try I can not do it all.  I feel like I should be able to keep the house clean, be active in the community, help out on the farm, and work on my hobbies, but I can't.  Something has to give.  Sometimes the house isn't as clean as I would like it to be because of everything else going on in my life.  It is definitely a balance.  I am learning to be okay with balance instead of perfection.

2. I get mad at the long days - I know, I know...I grew up on a farm, I knew what I was getting into, right?  No amount of preparation can truly get you ready to marry a farmer.  I will admit I had an idea, but an idea and real life are far from the same.  It is hard when all the plans in the world won't guarantee a trip to town with your man.  It gets easier as time goes by.  I find things to keep me busy when the hours get long and thank God for every minute I have with him.

3. I don't mind getting dirty...as long as I have WORK clothes on! - I have never been accused of being a REAL country girl.  I love participating in activities like working on the farm, hunting, and fishing, but I really like being girly, also.  I suppose I don't let people see the "farm girl" side of me much.  Most people see the dress and heels on Sunday morning kind of girl.  I am learning to embrace my "farm girl" side.  This starts with putting on Redbeard's hunting clothes and walking around the wilderness in oversized head to toe camoflauge.  Would I rather be dressed in purple head to toe with jewels and sparkles all over?  Yes, but somehow I think the deer would see me.

4. I cry...sometimes a lot - People who really know me, know that I am an extreme crier.  Every emotion causes me to cry.  I will let tear gush out of my face when someone I love has happy news and will share the pain with someone who is hurting.  This is the way I was built.  As I have matured, I have learned how to control my tears.  Sometimes all the control in the world isn't enough to stop me from crying...and that is okay.

5. Life didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but I do have the life I needed - I am a control freak.  I LOVE to be in control.  That is probably why I tend to get over-involved.  I dive head first into activities.  At one point in college I was taking 18 credit hours, helping teach a class, serving as president of three organizations, and trying to be a good girlfriend all at the same time.  Redbeard told me I was crazy and I thought it was normal.  This led to me taking a break from the craziness after college.  I only planned a wedding with my mom, helped my dad on the farm, and prepared to marry my best friend for four months after graduation.  When we got married, I decided it was finally time for life to be the way I wanted it to be.  I would be this trophy wife, dressed up every day with full makeup catering to my husband's every need.  That didn't happen.  I take care of him, but I also take care of me.  I never thought I would be sitting in north central Kansas as a stay at home farmer's wife, but I am sure thankful for the life I didn't know I wanted.

Flavor                        = 4/5

Ease of preparation    = 5/5

Time to make             = 4/5

Wyrill overall rating   = 4.5/5

Will I buy again? YES

We are excited to have our new puppy, Custer!