Toot your own horns, cause baby sometimes you just need to.......

For what seems like forever looking back on it....I had very very very low self esteem.....I didn't believe in myself and definitely partook in self deprecating activities.  I let myself be told over and over again that I was unworthy and unable to do so many things....My career choice was stupid and unattainable, my thought processes about life were silly and unrealistic....Simply said, I was being told that being me was just not an option. 
Fast forward to almost 3 years ago now.....I divorced my old life and moved onto a much more supportive and exciting new adventure.  I returned to college and have reached the bars set for me over and over again...more often than not reaching them and hurtling right over the top. Just recently being named STUDENT OF THE YEAR AT YCCC...I couldn't be more humbled and thrilled to have been chosen....still in awe of it all....
  I have purchased the dream farm...that in my mind I can see finished and full of excited friends, family and interesting visitors....WE are in the midst of renewal in the form of baby goats and the return to making cheese and ice cream and whatever else can be made with goats milk....
Its an incredibly exciting time, and I have to thank my support system for it....For my husband, for my parents and siblings...for my friends and family supporting me on facebook and reading this blog....if it wasn't for you all, I wouldn't have had to courage to success in this thing we call life....
I have learned so much in such a very short period of time....but the most important thing I have learned is to give of your TRUE SELF....be not afraid of that person that may be hidden underneith....Tell him or her to burst forth and be real....When you come out....GIVE...as much as you can....because when you do....amazing things happen...Wonderful people fall in love with you...Amazing role models and leaders come into your life and the neat little world of networking comes into play...you might be surprised by what happens....
and beyond all that....TOOT your own horn....if you are really good at something...do it and tell people about it....

A hardened farm girl.......

Losing animals on the farm is a part of life....Because I know this is going to happen, doesn't not however make it any easier to experience.  Going to the barn and finding 3 dead kids was heartbreaking.  Having to deal with their lifeless bodies even more so.  These times call for introspection and deep thoughts.  There is always a bit of doubt when death occurs, even thought you know its not your fault.  Questions like, am I doing the right thing?  Am I really cut out for this life?  Even thought I know the answer is indubitably YES!  Farming isn't easy, and its far from glamorous....and even though we have experienced a loss.....hopefully we will be blessed with a healthy set of kids from the next goat to give birth....
I think experiencing this with calmness and reflection has helped me to see that....I am human, and can experience loss and still go on with a positive attitude...
Be strong in all you do....take a minute to reflect and then move forward....always with positivity in your mind....
There is a reason that all things happen......

Enjoy this lovely spring day...and thanks for hanging in there with me....Exciting things are happening....For me and my husband, and our farm....

the friendly female farmer....

I'm on a Quest....a quest for the perfect PICKLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ya you heard it folks, I'm on a quest for the perfect pickle......Pickles just so happen to be my favorite food...or at least its up there in the top 5 for sure....very close to the top of the top 5..just so you know how serious I am.  I LOVE PICKLES.....there its out in the open for all to hear and see....
Ok people...lets get serious.  I know how I feel about pickles....how about you.  Did your grammy or memere make the best pickles ever and you wish right at this very moment you could have one....I know I am planning a trip to my memeres in hopes of absconding with the recipe for dilly beans...Oh did I mention I love all kinds of veggies pickled....green beans, carrots and cauliflowers...cabbage and red onions etc etc.......each requiring a special recipe to enhance the flavors of the veg...
So why am I telling you this you are probably wondering....well I am hoping you will comment on this blog with a recipe....Part of the reason I am on this quest is because my husband has thrown down a challenge to me, to put away all our food for a year in the soon to be constructed root cellar. So a years worth of pickles is a lot of pickles....and imagine if you could a year full of crappy pickles.....oh the horror....I am not sure I could make it through....So I need your help, your expertise in the field of pickle making....
Here are some very simple stipulations.  The pickle must have crunch...a pickle is not a pickle without some serious texture...I need the snap and crunch....
It can be of any flavor...such as dilly or garlic, kosher or bread and butter, mustard or gherkin...I would really love to have a recipe for cornishons...Variety is the spice of life right...
So I will post picks of the canning process and finished products and tell you all how each one turns out....Here is your chance to help out the friendly female farmer..
Thanks Ya'll
the friendly female farmer......