Livin the country dream

Rhett in his field of beans (2010 I think)

It's that time again...farming season is beginning. Now I am not an official farmer's wife yet but I think I qualify as pretty close. I know how things work around here. When it's time to work that means WORK!! Early mornings and late nights for my man. On my days off when I am around & Rhett is super busy I pack whatever lunch I have made & tote it out to the field. I don't really do much to help with the farming but I do give him rides or make runs to pick up parts or items he might need from Nobbe's, Hartmann's, Auto Tire & Parts. I have ridden in the tractor a time or two. (that's not very much fun) Lol I have many a times drove the truck while bales are being picked up and thrown on. I have to say that's not my favorite thing to do either. I don't think I would make a good farmer lol good thing I'm only a farmer's wife to be. Sometimes it does sucks bc it gets really crazy during busy busy time but that's just how it is. He would not be happy doing any thing else (except hunting 24/7) He puts in a lot of time, effort, & thought into everything he does. I hope we have a child who follows in his father's footsteps and continues the Simpson Farming.

Sometimes their is tension as their always can be when working with family. Those are the days when you just listen to your significant other vent and support him. When we really need rain or we really don't we pray together! When its time to buy a piece of equipment we trek all over hrs away to Kentucky, Tennesse, northern IL......the list could go on. When we write out the bills we cringe together on the really expensive ones that include many digits. Everyday we keep track of grain prices hoping we can outsmart the markets. Whenever a new baby cow is born he is always sending me pics of the little cuties. Here is Buddy one of the bottle calves we had a few years ago. That was A LOT of work. He was born in the summer which wasn't bad but once the months passed. Whew that sucked running over to the farm to feed him in the cold. We shared that duty! Omg Brooke & Madi loved to feed him!!!

Now nobody is perfect or has a perfect relationship but we have a pretty darn good thing going here. I think that is because Rhett & I are both pretty laid back. He does his thing, I do my thing, we do stuff together too. To be a farmer's wife you must be understanding, supportive, hopeful, & most of all loving. I try not to fuss at him too much when he spends $. I always feel he earns it he can spend it. Although it is so nice when Rhett says to me, "How do you feel about me buying this?" He asks all most of the time before just doing it. 90% of the time my answer is YES or I say whatever!

Monday night he comes home from work and says "I got you something today. It's on the table." To my surprise he has bought this:

Mind reader!!!! The day before I seriously said I wanted one of these pictures. This guy takes an aerial view of your home and then just shows up at your house asking if you want to buy it. I was beyond ecstatic! Everyone knows I am a picture freak so this is right up my alley. You see all those pine trees...I have to mow around every single one of them suckers. Rhett planted all 110 of them!!!! It is probably difficult to see but in the woods behind the house is a baby pool. One windy day it blew from behind our shed into the woods. It layed there probably couple weeks. I guess the guy took the pic in those 2 weeks. It was the first thing I noticed LOL too funny!!! I'm actually kinda glad its there bc it made Rhett & I laugh. I'm sure in 25 years when we look at the picture it will make us laugh over and over again. Since we didn't do any anniversary gifts on Friday I'm going to claim this as mine!!

Here's a video I found that is so cute! Enjoy

This & That!!

Well first of all just have to say The Hunger Games was AWESOME!! Just like I knew it would be!!!!!!! Of course the books are always better but I have to say the movie def did it justice. If you haven't read the books I reccomend it. I had never been to a midnight showing of a movie before so this was a treat. We went to Casey's and I let the girls get a drink of their choice. These crazy ladies wanted red bull. They were so excited when I said YES! Why not lol they were going home after the movie. Haha!! They were totally fine at 3 am when I dropped them off. I am a book lover so I'm a little biased when it comes to books vs. movies. (except The Notebook) Hands down the movie is way better!! You could ask my Mom how long but I have always loved to read for as long as I can think back. I can remember her buying me books at Wal-Mart & reading them after tumbling the entire drive home from Sparta on Wednesday nights. I dearly hope that when I have kids they love reading as much as I do. Here I am reading one of the many babysitters clubs books I owned! I looooved those & Sweet Valley High too.

Friday our trip to David's Bridal was Successfull. It was smooth sailing. Brooke tried on the same dress that all the other girls got. They didn't have her size so we made do with what they had. It is going to look great on her! Madi ended up trying on a jrs dress that is very similar to the adult one we got. It has straps on it and has the same beading. Perfect dress for her!! She will look great as well. I am getting so excited as the months keep passing. October is going to seriously be here in no time. We spent the rest of the day shopping at the mall & Plato's Closet. In the evening Rhett & I just hung out and ate out for supper to celebrate the BIG "11" yrs. It was a wonderful day. I remembered this time to take a pic of the mannequin in the front of the store. My girl's lovely dresses!!!

I worked Sat & Sun. Saturday night we attended the Turkey Banquet dinner at St. Johns. It was good to see a large amount of people in the space since we are holding our reception there. I think it is really going to turn out nice having it at that location. Sunday evening once I got off work The Simpson Fam had a bonfire/weinie roast/fishing get together. Even though I was soooo tired going on 4 hrs of sleep and working 12 hrs just looking foward to our evening kept me peppy! Every single person in our fam was there. That is all 23 of us!!!! Everyone brought random food & drinks. Heck I even sucked down a michelob ultra. It was fantastic!! So blessed to be marrying into this family!

Today I was off which was heaven!! I slept in which was much needed. Spent the morning cleaning, doing laundry, & cooking and cleaning mushrooms. Rhett went mushroom hunting Sunday and found quite a few. If you have never eaten a morel mushroom you need to. They are delish! Finding them is the easy part though. I spent a good 2 hrs preparing them suckers. This evening I took my little Ammo Carl for a walk down the driveway. His vet says he should take 2 15 min walks a day. (fat chance that ever happens) It doesn't sound like much but taking the time to take those 2 walks with him always seems to get by me. I need to be better about this!! He is quite slow but still loves taking walks & playing fetch. When I throw the ball for him I only throw it like 3 feet so he doesn't have to go far. Love love love him!! If he could be in our wedding I would totally do it. LOL That would be sight to see. Ammo with a little tux outfit on sulking down the aisle. He would be sulking bc once I tried putting a halloween costume on him and he hated it. I do plan to take pics with our dogs on the day of the reception. As long as its not muddy!! *Fingers crossed* No rain on either day!

Tag Your IT!

Whoo HOO!! I have been tagged. I probably sound so silly but its a nice fun game to play along with!! (kinda like the chain letters I remember from my gradeschool days) Cassie my fellow Rocher childhood friend from Our Walter Life has tagged me so here we go!

 

•You must post the rules.
•Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you; then create 11 questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
•Tag 11 people and link them in your post.
•Let them know you have tagged them

And these are my questions

 

 

1. What's your summer must have?

flips flops

 

2. If you could vacation to the same spot every year where would you go?

Branson of course!! You all know we love it there

 

3. If you could only have five apps on your phone what would they be?

 

facebook, words with friends, my fitness pal, netflix, email

Really the email is the only extremely important one. I check it constantly all day every day

 

4. What is the one thing you can't go a day without?

This is totally so crazy and wierd but...wiping the sleep out of my dog's eyes. It drives me nuts. It is like the first thing I do in the morning once we all get up. It grosses me out when their poor little eyes are caked with it.

 

5. If you could pick one Fast Food restaurant to be in your town what would it be?

Lion's Choice=Love   Enough said!!

 

6. Explain the worst hair cut you have ever had.

I would have to say gradeschool 4th gradeish. Not that is was a bad haircut but I just didn't know how to fix my hair yet. Certain boys used to call me brillo pad. (you heard me right) They were soooo mean. Def didn't help me out in the confidence department. Big Boobs and brillo pad hair

 

7. If you had to buy one color of skinnies what color would they be?

Black bc I always feel like me butt looks smaller in that color!

 

8. Would you rather only have FB or only have texting?

Hmm that is a hard one bc I do both every single day. But I would have to say I could deal without fb but not texting. I would be lost with no texting.

 

9. What's your perfect day like?

I don't have to work. Sleep in, no plans, just go with the flow! Getting to lay in bed and read for as long as I want and not feel guilty bc their are 5 million other things I need to do 

 

10. If you didn't have a Dad who would walk you down the isle?

Rhett's Dad

 

11. What would you do if someone gave you $100?

Put it towards one of my many wedding bills I need to pay!

 

 

I am not passing this tag along bc all the people I would've tagged have already been done. But it was fun to play along!

 

 

Wedding Thoughts for the week

 I would be LOST without Pinterest!! Everyday I get new & creative fun ideas from it.

 

 

Now I showed this picture to Rhett & the first thing out of his mouth is....Oh Wow that's a huge shed. Geez Louise lol what a hunter!! He thought it was a nice idea but then was quick to state, "You are not writing on any of my big antlers."

Guess I am going to have to get antler hunting in the woods to find my own!

 

 

 

 

Tonight I am taking my niece & her friend to the midnight showing of The Hunger Games!!!! So excited for that but I think I am going to take a little nap to ensure I don't fall asleep. Uggh I am getting so old. I can't even stay up past 11 anymore. Tomorrow we are going dress shopping for Brooke & Madison who are my little jr bridesmaids in the wedding. They are going to try on the same dress all the bridesmaids got so (fingers crossed) same dress works!!!!!!

Weekend Wrap Up!

Alrighty folks I am have not been on here for a while now. All I have to say is working five days a week is for the stinking birds. I worked day shift last week Mon-Fri (which was lovely to get off during day light) but def not what I am used to. ++++++ I got to go to kettlebell 3 nights in a row. Who hoo! Except my body is not thanking me. I enjoyed seeing certain co-workers every day. I got to spend time with Rhett every evening. I got all weekend off!! ----------- I had to get up early 5 days in a row. Remember this is coming from someone who normally works at noon and gets to sleep in quite a bit. My house was a disaster by the end of the week. I got nada done with wedding planning. Maybe it was good to have a little break to refresh myself. This week I must get something productive done with my planning!!

In Other News.....

Saturday I did the St. Patricks Day run/walk in downtown St. Louis. I had never done this particular race before so it was new & exciting. It was not a 5K but a 5 miler! My 5K buddy is preggo & has been quite sick so I needed a new sidekick for this one so I asked my sister-in-law Meghan to join me. I look like a total lunatic but I didn't care. It was great!!! I found the cute tights at Wally World, my Mom bought me the glasses, Erin gave me the bandana, & I borrowed Rhett's shirt. Yes I did wear the glasses the entire 5 miles! A group of people from our kettlebell class all carpooled and it worked out really well. Some of us ran and some of us walked & afterwards we all met back up and ate lunch together. Our time was 1 hr 39 minutes. We did take like a 15 min potty break & it took us a few minutes to make it to the start line. Regardless we had a very nice time & the weather was perfect. Thanks Meghan for coming along!

Sunday I attended a bridal shower for my beautiful & sweet friend Lindsey. It was such a nice day. Allie & I rode together to the Highland Country Club. We were a little nervous with the gps but it turned out getting us there pretty easily. It was a brunch which was yummy!! Breakfast is my favorite. Our gift was a wine box holder. I was really hoping she would like it & she did!  Yay!!
We got to take home one of these cute wine glasses. It really made me start getting excited for my bridal shower. Although it is months away I can't wait!!!




When I got home in the evening on Sunday it was my favorite time of the day. 6ish...its cool, the sky is just so inviting looking, def had to do something outside so Rhett & I did some yard work. We pulled weeds from around flowers and out of the mulch. I hate hate getting my hands dirty. I need to buy myself some gardening gloves bc it freaks me out big time. Cotton balls freak Rhett out & dirt under the fingernails freaks me out!! We had a big wood pile going behind our shed and all the scraps needed to get cleaned up. We raked them into a nice little pile and we got this...

A wonderful bonfire and all we needed was hot dogs!!! Can you see them in the pic?? LOL We of course didn't have any bc who ever has what you need or want when you really want it so what did I do...What I always do when I don't have food or ingredients I need. i called my mother in law and she said come on over! Advantages advantages of living close to your family!! She also supplied me with some awesome homeade hot dog cookers too. I'm not even going to tell you what they really are, you can use your imagination. So we then spent the rest of the evening watching the fire burn, cooking hot dogs, & playing with the dogs. What a life!!!! I had a great weekend hope you all did too!! Hopefully this work week goes fast bc Friday is the BIG day!! Our 11 yr Anniversary but more important......The Hunger Games comes out in movie theatres. Haha!!

Our Wish List.......

One thing I have not really put a huge amount of thought into regarding the wedding is our registry. My first thoughts are what in the heck do you need when you have lived together for like 9 years...... I mean really we have a lot of crap but we do have a huge basement to put more crap in!!! After some thought their are a few big items I can think of that I would like and that includes a new set of these. Not really even this specific brand or kind but just an efficent brand new washer & dryer! I can't wait!!!!!!! Maybe we will register at SEARS. Although Rhetts first comment was oh then we can register for a bunch of tools. Oh boy. Our dryer that we have now sucks. I sometimes will have to run the dryer cycle twice if the load is really large in order for it all to dry completely. It will be so wonderful to get a new set.

Another set of something that we really need is bar stools. We originally bought a pair from Lowes but 1 of them has since broken. So we have a regular chair & a bar stool at our island. Looks pretty silly but it works for now. I always make Rhett use the regular chair bc I am short and hate sitting down that low. We never ever sit at our kitchen table to eat supper always at the island. I def want bar stools with backs on them. I also want them to be extremely sturdy and durable so they last many many many years. Maybe I need to get in touch with the Amish people! They probably make nice sturdy ones. Something along the lines of these two would be lovely but whew they are expensive. So if we get a good chunk of $ I wouldn't mind putting some towards a set of these!

I was trying to think of small random items that we could use around the house. New hand towels, silverware, crockpot (the one I have is my grandma's and it is Old), our pots and pans aren't horrible but it would be nice to have some new ones. I love to bake so really the list could go on and on for kitchen stuff. I stated one day that I didn't have any quilts and my sister-in-law said, "Get Married." I hope she is right and we get a quilt or 2!! Here a few things that we def don't need wine glasses, regular bathroom towels (every year for Easter Rhett's Gma gives us 2). Thats all I can really think of now. I still really don't know a good specific place or places to register so I am going to have to start thinking about it more.

Now if it were up to Rhett this is what our registry list would look like:

Goose Decoys

Hunting Clothes

Ammunition

New gun

Trailer to haul decoys

This list could go on FOREVER....... & EVER!!

Good thing I am going to be in charge of the registry. Ha Ha

 

I love anything personalized so I hope we get some stuff like that! Man this post is really starting to sound like want want want. Note to everyone reading these are not hints just my dream wish list. Although I do have to say I saw this item on personal creations and I really want it!!!! (I think I already told my sister this so I hope she remembers) Hint Hint MOH

 I am in love with it!!

 

Another thought I had is that we will put any $ we receive towards our honeymoon "Alaskan Cruise"

Whatever we decide to do we still have some time so I don't have to start stressing YET!!

Wonderful Wednesday

It is Wednesday March 7th and that could only mean one thing........my nephew Jake's 4th Birthday! I think that he had a wonderful day considering he got to eat many yummy spider man cupcakes that he & his Mommy made, he got to feed the geese at Baldwin Lake, had a picnic, & he got a nice dinner of fried chicken legs. What a great day & I am so lucky that I got to spend part of it with him. Here is a video I received first thing this morning

I also had a great workout today with Darla & then at KB class.

In the wedding world I got most of my glasses etched with the initials of our wedding party. I stayed up late last night applying the stencils. I think since it was the end of the day and was pretty late I put half of them on crooked. Opps lets just say that gives them character. Hopefully no one will even notice (unless you read this blog) & examine them at the reception. Lol I only ruined like 2 of the stencils so I think that was pretty good.

Here is what they look like & I only took like 20 pictures and still couldn't get any great ones with the glass reflection but you get the gist. Mine says BRIDE!!! Let me tell ya this is way cheaper than getting each glass engraved for $12/glass. Mason jars have a thicker glass so they are more expensive.

Here are some I found online that I think are so cute!

Bridesmaid dress shopping was productive on Sunday. The girls found a dress they all agreed on. It is very lovely & I think they are all happy with it. ( I hope they are) Here is a link to check it out

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Long-Sheer-Chiffon-Dress-with-Beaded-Neckline-F14867_Bridal-Party-Bridesmaids-All-Bridesmaid-Dresses

I was STRESSED out with a capital S while the dress trying on was going on. That was way harder than when I dress shopped for myself. Everyone kept asking my opinion and I just kept saying I don't care.... I really didn't except for one dress was super ugly. When they tried it on I was like ahhhh get it off now its yucky!!! Next thing on agenda for bridesmaids is their jewelry and shoes. Jewelry is going to be part of my gift so I need to get shopping. Shoes are up to them! I tried my wedding gown on while we were at David's Bridal. (size smaller than what I bought) It almost zipped all the way up & fit so hopefully I am getting there! My goal is 2 sizes down from what I bought and they said they will exchange it for smaller size. I ordered a gift from online for my friend's upcoming bridal shower and that came today! So excited it looks great and I can't wait to give it to her. Her wedding is April 14th going to be here soon!! Yay for Lindsey & Ben! Another plus on Sunday I got my ring cleaned so now it is soooo sparkly. I love getting it cleaned & the people who work there probably know me on a first name basis by now. I checked out Party City while up in Fareview and will most likely get my table cloths from there. That place was awesome tons of great stuff. I got the decorations from my Aunt Patti. They are wonderful. Right up my alley!!! Love love love I know you all probably think I'm completely wacko but the more branchy & rustic like the better.

On that note I will leave you with this thought!

Happy Friday!!

Well it is the end of another work week (not really for me bc I work weekends) but NOT this one!! I am off Saturday & Sunday so looking forward to it. Saturday I will be spending the day at a mammogram seminar at Rend Lake College in Ina IL. Sunday I will actually be able to attend church & then going to spend the day dress shopping with my bridesmaids! I scoured the David's Bridal website looking for dresses for them. I think they are all leaning towards a one shoulder strap so hopefully we have a successful day. I have already decided on the color and that is the beautiful regency (aka one of the five million shades of purple that are offered) I would like for them all to have the same dress but we will just play it be ear. I just want them all to be happy & comfortable.

                             Now I just loooove this picture. It is so sweet & such a cute idea!

                                          Might just have to steal this one for my book!

 

I have been in kinda a funk lately between work & family & everything in between so this is what I have to say about that

 

An uneven design element that creates interest; it may be gathering of fabric on one side, an uneven hem or a one-shoulder strap. A sheer, flowing fabric that drapes well on the body. A sheer, flowing fabric that drapes well on the body. I have been working on all kinds of odds/ends for the wedding. Filling in my excel spreadsheet invitation list of address for people. I collected a crap load of baby food jars and have been doing this with them....   Everyone keeps telling me the burlap is going to catch on fire. I lit a votive in one of them the other day & forgot about it.........5 hrs later house was still standing!! (Thank goodness) just have to say holy burlap That stuff makes a MESS when geting cut.       I tried doing this pinterest project unsuccesfully uuggghhh Not sure where I went wrong but maybe another day I will try again

 

 

Hmmmm what else...I worked on our guest book for people to sign at the wedding/reception. It is looking pretty good so far. I included some oldies of Rhett & I and will also put our engagement pictures in it too. Love Walgreens! I am doing etching on my mason jar glasses instead of getting them engraved. A wonderful sweet woman i work with is helping me out with that. Thank you Deb!!!  I am supposed to get some decorations from my Aunt Patti this weekend so excited about seeing those. I spent practically 2 hrs working on our program for the wedding. (That was so much fun work) Now Erin is doing the drawing for the front and it will be absolutely beautiful. Can't wait. Once Rhettdecides who else is in our wedding party I can get them printed. Yay!!!!  We did add a groomsman to the wedding party though his friend Garret.

 

 

 

My Dad picked out the song we will dance to at the big reception!!! Thanks Dad!! Too many decisions I have so at least have to get some people to make a few for me.

 

(Click anywhere inside this popup to close it)

That's all for now. I hope everyone has a great weekend and eats lots of fish today!!!!!!!!