STOMP! Let's Beat This.

In this day and age, I'm fairly confident that most of us have been touched by cancer. In one form or another, we have all cried, rejoiced, hugged, fought, and prayed in the name of cancer. That ugly "C" word has crept into your life through dear friends, family, or even personally. However it has affected your life. Whatever the outcome, we all have one thing in common.  When it comes to this dreadful disease, Cancer SUCKS, and we all hate it!

As for me, I have had enough of this nastiness. 7 years ago I lost my beautiful birth mother to Pancreatic Cancer. 

This is Pat, Pat meet world. I only" knew" her for about 7 years, but the gifts she gave me are endless. 

Love you Mom.

The next year, I lost my Grandpa. (sorry I don't have a digital image. Ill have to work on that) 

So why, you ask, am I writing a blog post about this. Well...I'll tell you. 

First, there is another person in my life who is battling. Second, I am tired of loosing. 

Most importantly the first reason. She battles daily, with all her heart, mind, soul, faith, love and strength. This battle has been on-going for the last 9+ years. Her name is Paula Takacs, and she is my cousin's wife. She might as well be a cousin herself. I love this woman like she was born into our family. 

Hi Paula!

Paula is battling Sarcoma. A very rare form of cancer for the adult body. As such, this type of cancer needs all the recognition and funding it can get. 

Paula has taken this battle by the horns. She has been through hell and back, but it has not stopped her. You can read more of her journey here http://paulatakacsfoundation.org/Paula_s_Story.html

Three short years ago she founded The Paula Takacs Foundation. The foundation then started The Sarcoma Stomp (http://sarcomastomp.com/). A 5K fun run/walk for Sarcoma awareness. In three years they raised over $200 Thousand for Sarcoma research. Yes, I said $200K!!!!!! An awesome feat!  Amazing job thanks to all the community, businesses, friends, and family that surround Paula. 

My son and I had the pleasure of traveling to the first Stomp. (I felt so great being there, it was on my birthday) 

Jonathon with his very first "race" shirt. 

Paula with Jonathon and her son Gray. I love this picture.

Paula, Geof and Gray.

Sadly, this year the Foundation is unable to hold their annual "Stomp". The park is closed for renovations and this year has brought about extremely difficult health challenges for this very courageous woman. 

Because the stomp is unable to happen this year, there has been a Facebook page set up in Paula's honor.

 https://www.facebook.com/virtualstomp

This page is dedicated to getting out and walking or running along with a thought or prayer for Paula and/or all those affected by Sarcoma. 

While there is not a dedicated date, place and time. Please pick one for yourself, like the page and post a picture of you walking in the name of Sarcoma. Take the first sunny day in your area. Grab a couple of friends & a cup of joe. Use the opportunity to chat and catch up. If not for Paula and all those on this same journey, do it for you. For your health and well-being.  On second thought, ditch the coffee and use the money you saved as a donation ;). Donate here http://paulatakacsfoundation.org/

So why this post now? Well, this week we celebrate Valentine's Day. A day to honor our loved ones. The 14th also happens to be Paula's Birthday. 

Lets do this. Like the page, Honor the people, Go for a walk, & Donate if you can.. It doesn't have to be this week or even this month. Whenever you  thaw out, dry up, or chill out works for us. Just Do, please. 

 Thank you. Looking forward to all those "boots were made for walking" images coming to the FB page soon. 

one last note: Do to the rare form of this cancer, The American Cancer Society is not able to contribute to the research.

Job Widow Blues, do you get them?

It's no secret that farmers have busy seasons.

Busy seasons that keep them away from their families and homes for hours at a time, days, weeks, even months on end. If you have ever spent time with anyone involved in agriculture, you most likely know that its easy to tell when these times roll around. How? Well, the family unit suddenly looks a little different. The farmer, in our case "daddy", disappears. Daily duties get done a bit differently.
Some common busy time activities are as follows: kids might be taken out to the field or tractor to share a meal. Wives/girlfriends might take themselves to the field for some much needed "date" time with their favorite man. (Yes, you can have a date in a tractor!) Many times a group of us, "farm widows" will get together to commiserate. Talk about how much we love our hard working men, but how much we hate that they are so absent at home sometimes.

This is where my truth comes in. See, I have had many pitty parties with myself. A few with fellow farm-wife/moms. But many, countless even, with myself. Thinking of how much I love our life, but why does he have to be gone so often? Is it possible for this man to so love his "job" that he sacrifices time with his family? And yes, I even travel down the path of what is wrong with me that he would rather be out working. 16+ hours a day, seven days a week, for months at a whack then be home.  My head knows that this man loves us so much that he is willing to sacrifice some time to build a strong, solid life for us. He loves his kids so much that he is willing to work tirelessly so that they will have the opportunity to farm on their own one day, if they choose. He loves the land and the bounty of its harvest. This man has spent hours caring for the soil, plants, and trees so that they might give back to many. 

My heart is, however, selfish and just wants her husband around. A date to go to the parties with, someone to help wrangle cranky kids or just help with bedtime routines.
Clearly, my head wins on the Pros/Cons list. Sadly, my heart can't help but scream a little louder than my head.

Okay, well that was a bit more truth then I had expected. So here is where I intended that to go.

We will call it truth #2.  My ta-da moment came from a simple facebook post.
I have spent lots of time thinking that I, we (farmers wives) were the only ones that get left in the lurch. That turn into widows of a trade. That is, until I read a facebook post. Posted by a friend from high school. Her one post about her love/hate relationship with football made me realize how selfish I have been. Her husband is a coach. My ta-da moment... So many people have busy seasons. Times when they are pulled from their families for their job. So I want to know, what's the busy season in your house? Do you have a certain time of year when your heart is screaming over your head? How do you get through it? Do you have one fool proof remedy to pull yourself out the busy season funk?



Trick or Treat!!!!

Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!

 

Ahhhh, the good ol' days!  As a child I remember the excitement & anticipation of Halloween. Dressing up, pretending to be someone/something else for a time. Playing your favorite superhero or ghastly Halloween character. All that play time, topped off with running through the neighborhood, knocking on doors, and collecting candy! Do you remember barely being able to contain yourself as you ran home to dump your sack on the table so you could see how much loot you scored?

 

 

This picture was a gift from mom, given to me just a few weeks ago.

I think I was about 6 here...Oh the memories.

 

In the last two years I have found that one of the best parts of the mommy "job"

is watching your children live all fun, excitement & anticipation of all those "big" days.

Holidays, graduations, vacations, the list goes on.

We watch. We see the smiles and we hear the squeals of joy.  We remember being there.

I feel like it's Gods way of taking those moments and giving them back with a much greater joy and a

appreciation. My heart smiles.

 My son is five now and my daughter 18 months.  I find that, especially now, I love the conversations we have preparing for these moments.

With today being Halloween we have done lots of preparing.  LOTS.

The pumpkin patch.

Picking the pumpkin, at a another pumpkin patch.

A preparatory meal.

A preparatory movie in jammies.

This is us watching said movie.

(daddy was out workin hard)

Carving the pumpkin. Sister is getting ready to dig in.

Love it!

The finished pumpkin.

 

As a parent, is all this preparation always easy? No.

Can it be stressful? Yes.

I'm not going to lie and say it's all fun all the time, but in the end my heart is always smiling.

I love making my own memories and traditions with my kids as I relive the memories from my childhood.

It is kind of like stopping to smell the roses, just for an mere second as you try to catch up

with your wild & crazy, excited kids!

 

The rest is on its way. A class party, dinner & trick-or-treating with  Nana & Grandad.

Then finally home to check out how we, sorry I mean they, did!

What memories are you making/remembering today?

Will you be going through that candy sack stealing the best of the best?

BOO! Happy Halloween

~Amy G.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheater Spaghetti

It seems that, lately,  there has been an extra lot of questions, posts, & discussion about quick weeknight meals. Well, last night, as I found myself short on time until dinner and in desperate need of a grocery store trip,  I went to one of my "go-to's". I call it "Cheater Spaghetti"
I use one of the inexpensive, bottom shelf cans of spaghetti sauce and doctor
it up a bit until it tastes more like I enjoy my sauce.

 

I'm going to warn you ahead of time. I thought to post late, so I only used my phone to take pictures.

I am a home cook that hates to measure. I know what my family likes so there is a lot of

a little of this and a little of that.

The good news, this recipe is so easily transformed into what you and your family like that the measurements don't matter!

Here we go...

 

 

 

I start with half a large onion, diced. And a couple cloves of garlic. Or in this case

a really big honkin' clove. Finely chop the garlic.

Sauté the onion in olive oil. Add garlic, just for a minute, when the onion is done.

 

Next, add in one pound your favorite sausage and brown.

 

Drain off the sausage so your sauce doesn't wind up greasy.

Now comes the fun part!

(and this is where I got bad at the picture part)

 

Pour in 1/2 to 1 cup of a full bodied red wine. I used a Pinot Noir

this time. I have also used a Cab.

The most important thing here it to use something that you won't mind

enjoying while you eat your dinner.

Let the wine reduce by at least half.

Pour in the sauce and a couple tablespoons of the Worcestershire sauce.

Next, add in your favorite Italian type seasonings. I used garlic, onion powder,

Italian Seasoning mix, chili powder and chili pepper flakes.

What's with the Baking Soda?

I find that these pre-made sauces tend to be on the more acidic side.

Adding about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda will help to reduce that

acidity.

(Just fyi, if you do this be prepared for your sauce to bubble/fizz up. Don't panic, it will

return to its normal state in just a moment.)

 

Here's what it looks like once the fizz has subsided.

 

Stir in a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese for the nutty undertones.

At this point you are done! This can simmer for a couple of hours or while you

cook your pasta.

 

Serve with a salad and some garlic bread.

Enjoy!

 

So this is it, one of my quick weeknight meals.

Hope you enjoy it!

Amy G.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time Flies.

We all say it at one point in our lives. Time Flies.  It could be said regarding having fun, talking about our kids, a relationship, or a milestone that is quickly approaching. We have all most certainly said it, at least once!
Never before has this saying rang more true for me than in the last 18 months.

With the birth of our daughter

 

                 and our son starting pre-school just a few months later, my life started to fly by.

 Long gone were the lazy, spontaneous (do those things even go together?)  days of an     unscheduled life.

Before I knew it, I was attending my son's Pre-School Graduation and looking forward to a whole summer of those lazy days.

Well, guess what? I know it was a whole summers worth of time and fun (just ask my neglected house). Not to mention all the photos and memories we have to prove it was a good time, but I think I blinked.

How are we we headed off to our first day of kindergarten?

OY!

I can only blame it on Facebook & #TBT, throw back Thursday. As I was checking all that happened while I was asleep, I saw the hashtag. That's when it dawned on me! I have a #TBT of my very own.

 

So I posted this.

 My baby girl! The oxygen tube? That was a very long week and another blog post.

I posted this today because today was the day 

my baby girl had her 18 month pictures taken.

 

Hug your babies, tell those you love that you love them, and stop to smell the roses.

Wow! Time Flies!

See you soon & thanks for sharing my special moments

~Amy G.

 

 

 

 

 

We Invite You to Join Us!

In my post yesterday I mentioned that there were exciting things to come. That time has finally come! I am very honored & humbled, as a contributor,  to invite you all to meet the Real Housewives of Rural America! You can find myself and eight other fabulous farm wives from across the country at http://ruralhousewives.com/! You can LIKE us on facebook at Real Housewives of Rural America.
Together we will share our stories about agriculture, our farm wife life trials and tribulations, recipes and/or just plain chat. All of us have a different perspective, making this the perfect forum for our readers to contribute their stories, ask questions or share concerns. Let's not forget support for each other! This is the best and most challenging role I have ever played. It sure is nice to know that I am not alone on this crazy ride.
Please follow our journey and share with your friends.  After all, you never know when you might find a fun new topic to talk about around your "water cooler".
If your not involved in agriculture directly, meaning you eat, come on over. We would love to have you join us!
Come on in! How about a cup of coffee? Maybe even a guest spot...you know you want to.
Looking forward to seeing you!
www.ruralhousewives.com

So here we are again.

I guess I am not so good at this blogging thing. I must apologize. After another very long blogging hiatus, I have been "gently nudged" by a few friends to pick up where I started. I have also been inspired by a social media friend whose very awesome, spot-on blog post just went viral! Check out http://jldphotographblog.com/2013/10/07/10-ways-marrying-a-farmer-will-change-your-life/.

I suppose I am worried that what I have to share won't be of interest to you all. I guess, in the end I should just say whoever wants to read will and the rest doesn't matter! So here we go again.

There's some very exciting stuff in the works for this countrified city girl. Stay tuned until Tomorrow.
In the meantime, lets say a prayer for our hard working, tired farmers. Harvest has been a rough one this year. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Here's a shot of what one part of rice harvest looks like. This is the combine emptying into the bankout. The bankout then takes the rice to the trailers. This process allows the combine to keep moving!

 

Until next time friends!