Finding Home: Day 22 Home on the Farm

Day 22

Yesterday I talked about Home in the City. 

But today, I am taking it the other way. Home on the Farm.

Yes, I live in the country....but we are just hobby farmers on a small acreage....

I am talking about a REAL FARM: 

And this is more than a Home on the Farm....when you live like this...this is also your career:

Come rain or shine, sunny or snowy:

To be honest....BaileyHusband and I wish that we would have been able to be REAL FARMERS.

I think that lifestyle would suit us perfectly....we could be home, work together, and do what we absolutely love.....

I often wonder about the decisions we make in life...if you have chosen plan A instead of plan B, where would life have taken you?

I'm so glad that I chose plan B! For THIS life is what I "NEVER KNEW I ALWAYS WANTED".

Even on our small little farm:

~Kim

Linking to: The Nester's 31 Days Challenge

Finding Home: Day 21 Home in the City

If you are just tuning in, I have taken on a challenge by the Nester to pick one topic and blog about it for 31 Days in October. Here we are at Day 21....and wanted to look into Finding Home in the City.

To find a list of all the other days in my challenge, click here.

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Day 21

Have you ever dreamed of living in the city?

I have...when I was a teenager, my dream was to move to NYC and live in a loft! 

Yep, I am soooo far away from THAT lifestyle. But sometimes, it is still fun to dream about the "what ifs".

And how MY loft would look.....

These are a little stark for my taste...I need a little bit of comfy cozy.....

This is getting a little closer to me.....the warm colors and the fireplace:

But I do love the exposed brick and concrete floors of this one:

There are so many ideas and styles...I love the mix of Industrial and Natural elements.

And look at this one with the Glam element added:

And this one has a Rustic vibe mixed with the Industrial....so warm and inviting:

The view is a lot different than the one that I have of rolling hills and farmland...but the split personality in me thinks this is breathtaking also:

When I have free time on my hands...I love to peruse the For Sale Listings in big cities.

And dream of the "what ifs".....

~Kim

Days 19 and 20: Excuses

Days 19 and 20

Yep....I failed at this challenge, almost 3 weeks into it...and I FAILED!!!

Want to hear some excuses?

Besides the fact that I work full-time, and weekends are now my only time to work on things around home, and this little blog....I have been under the weather....which really cramps your creativity!

And while I couldn't be tied to my home computer (no, I don't own a laptop, insert sad face) :(

LIFE HAPPENED:

Pumpkin patches, school concerts, college football cheerleading, little boy's tackle football, and (sigh) HighSchool dances....our children are keeping us EXTREMELY busy. 

Ok, enough excuses......back to my regular posting......

31 Days of Finding Home.....still trying to find mine behind all the mess we've made while I have been under the weather!! 

~Kim

Linking to: The Nester's 31 Days Challenge

Day 18: Lessons from The Notebook

Day 18

Today is a rainy, cold day. I want nothing more to cuddle up on the sofa with my favorite blanket,

my favorite man,

watching one of my favorite movies.

Wishful thinking! 

But here is some inspiration from one of the BEST LOVE STORIES EVER!!!!

Which sort of goes with my 31 Days of FINDING HOME theme.

Here is the home that Noah fixed up for his beloved: (the "After")

I love this old house and it's porches.

This is what he had to work with: (the "Before")

And since I am a huge quote lover...I had to add these:

So sorry, Baileyhusband....but this guy is one incredibly hot dude!

He can also dance, looks great in a tool belt, heck, he can just stand there in the rain and yell at me....and he would still be hot! 

Yes, feeling silly today! Must be my migraine I've been fighting.

~Kim

Linking to: The Nester's 31 Days Challenge

Finding Home: Day 17 Where would YOURS be?

Day 17

If you woke up to learn that you had just won the Lottery....

Where would you find yourself wanting to live?

Would you go completely nuts and build the biggest mansion your town has ever seen?

Would you retire and go live on a beach somewhere? Your OWN beach maybe??

Or would you "buy the farm"?

Recently our little town was all a-buzz because a local family won the great big Powerball Jackpot!

And so of course, we all can't help but dream and discuss what WE would do with all that money...

after giving to charities, church, and local schools, naturally :)

~Kim

Linking to: The Nester's 31 Days Challenge

31 Days of Finding Home: Day 16 What Makes a Home?

Day 16

What makes a house a home? Sites, smells, sounds, the textures?
 Everyone probably has different opinions on this subject. I have spoke of the feeling that a home should have....but I actually thought about what items, to me, that I have in our house that makes it feel like home.

The sites:

• Pictures- I have tried to de-clutter recently, but really hard to remove pictures! I love to be surrounded by memories.

• Memorabilia: history and memories are so important

The picture shown above is FULL of our memories. From albums and items from vacations, to Bibles given by loved ones...most things in my home tell the story of us.

•   Plants, give the house LIFE- There is a plant in almost every room in my home, including my bathroom!!

• Books- I have become sort of a book collector. I should probably have a larger library to store them all, but I do sprinkle them around my house....

The sounds:

• Pets/ animals- for me it is peacocks screaming, chickens clucking, cows mooing, a donkey braying, a dog barking, cats meowing, guineas crying, and turkeys gobbling....most people just have a dog! :)

• Music to dance to or to comfort you- I literally cannot clean without music, it can change the whole mood in a home!

• Water-why do you think newborns are soothed by the sounds of running water? My favorite springtime chore is to get my fountain up and running...and it stays on until the snow falls.

The textures:

• Cozy place to rest (or watch movies!)- My favorite family nights are spent on our sofas...cuddled up watching movies, eating popcorn and m&ms.

• Pillows-I admit that I have an addiction to pillows....have a whole stash of them to change out different rooms, much to Baileyhusband's chagrin. 

The smells or scents:

• Candles- If I am home....the candles are burning!

• Coffee- every morning this aroma is so comforting. And don't bother talking to me until I have had at least 1/2 cup!

• Baking or cooking in the kitchen- I love that my kids are becoming more and more active in the kitchen!! This is the Heart of the Home. (and I don't particularly like to cook myself....but there is no child labor laws against this, right?) :)

This picture makes me laugh! Brother and Sister baking goodies for a bake sale! :)

The spaces:

• For gathering with friends and family-I love to have family gatherings in our home. When my house is filled with family, making memories, this just adds to the feeling of HOME.

• Time alone to recharge (bath or reading nook)-everyone needs their own personal relaxation space...my bathtub is MINE!!

Home definition # 2:

What are some things that you think of when you picture "Home"? Is it anything I've listed?

~Kim

Linking up with: The Nester's 31 Days Challenge

31 Days of Finding Home: Day 15 Home on the Range

Day 15

Home, Home on the Range....

You knew I couldn't go a whole MONTH without talking about my babies!!!

So this is all about Finding Home...for our COWS! :)

Meet our newest lil one...the one we picked out here:  Eeny Meeny Miny Mo

We chose #19. And now she has a REAL name: Carmele -A- Rae. And she has joined our little mini-herd. (literally, our miniature hereford herd) Although, she is full bred Black Angus. 

We hope that Carmele trains and shows just as good as sweet Clover did at this past year's County Fair!

We are in the process of training SEVERAL little calves here at Irishman Acres.

Our cute little bull, Hawkeye:

The beautiful (and freakishly strong) Cassie-Dee:

And since we are talking cows.....we had a first here at the farm.

We had a vet come out and actually ULTRASOUND our girls to see if/when they got bred.

So we washed the girls up and awaited the arrival of the doc.

Carly Jo

Claire-A-Belle

And the shy Clover (this will be here FIRST CALF!)

So in came the (pregnant) doctor..who looked so cute in her coveralls!

And she was happy to report that Claire-A-Belle is actually about 3 months pregnant! Yeah! Nervous because we didn't actually "See it happen".

And sadly: Carly Jo did not show a baby inside :( Doesn't mean she is NOT pregnant, but if she was, she was only a couple weeks into it. Which is not good, her cycle is WAY off. But we will keep our fingers crossed.

And lastly....our sweet Clover....this was a mystery because as I reported back in June: Beware of our Farm, we didn't know if miniature hereford KEN got the job done...because she looked to have been "Cycling" again in July, we took her to a farm that had an Angus Bull for a couple months.
So WHO IS THE BABY DADDY???

And the good doctor was happy to report that Clover was indeed pregnant....

 ....with at least a 3 month old fetus calf!!! Oh GOODNESS!!! So Ken DID get the job done!!

And now we will have a half-breed. But we know that she will calve easy being that it is half miniature hereford. And hopefully will have a beautiful white face like it's mama.

~Kim

Linking up to: The Nester's 31 Days Challenge