Sunny Days & Scotch Cap Smiles

Wake up. Grumble at your alarm clock and hide from the bedside light that chases the early morning darkness away. Stoke up the fire, turn the coffee on to brew, let the rat dog out and bounce back into bed, teeth chattering. Do homework until you feel that your head will surely explode. Throw back the curtains at first light and glory in the beginning of a new day…this chance to use all your resources, talents and determination to make yourself into something extraordinary.

Feed horses, break water, think about your friends feeding cows in the snow. Laugh at the ridiculous tinge of green grass starting to show. Drink coffee, visit with family, build another fire in a different house and suffer from the familiar feelings of fire making anxiety. Breath when fire roars hot and laugh at yourself. Saddle horses and let them stand tied. Scrape hide hanging in barn. Daydream about roping horses for the first time in town, team roping and lunch. Ride horses. Unsaddle and put horses away. Eat entirely too much for lunch and lie on the couch and watch a movie. Do laundry. Feel thankful. Haul yourself to your feet and shuffle out to your lovely, girly cave, sarcastically referred to as the “bunkhouse.” Try and bring some order to the mess you’ve created. Abandon folding clothes and go rope the dummy. Hike up a little mountain with your best friend and watch the sun set. Be completely overwhelmed with your life. Give thanks. Enjoy your Saturday. 

xo xo Liz 

Stay Steady!

Just a few weeks into the new year and it's about time for people to slack off on their resolutions. It happens, right? I began to wonder: why do we falter just after a few weeks on what we set out to accomplish with such vigor previously? The word the Holy Spirit placed on my heart was diligence.

God spoke specifically about this when He gave the children of Israel the condition upon which He would bless them. Deuteronomy 28:1 says, "If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God...." Then God lists what will happen *if* His children are obedient listing a myriad of blessings.

To "fully obey" the Lord is to be diligent.  According to Websters dictionary, diligence is: constant in effort or exertion to accomplish what is undertaken, steady; not careless, not negligent; attentive and persistent. 

Notice in Deuteronomy 28 the promise says the blessing doesn't come until you are STEADY. Often times, people wonder why God allows bad things to happen or they question why God does things? Why do they question God? Because they aren't being steady and constant in application. The difference between winners and losers is the same difference between stayers and leavers! 

There are people who will do what God says, every so often, if it fits their dream for their life. But they won't obey the Lord if it doesn't fit what they want to do.

If you're beginning to question *if* God will come through for you on your need, you're not being steady with your faith in Him and what He wants to accomplish in your life.

(Barbie's first book, Forecasts & Faith: 5 Keys to Weathering the Storms of Life, is now SOLD OUT.)                                                                                                                

Lady Legs & Stretching Hides

A few stormy days ago I was sitting in front of my wood stove, toasting my feet and working on the How To Hair: Vintage Roll Updo post and feeling rather poorly. Our sorta neighbors, the Dunlaps, blew in with a gust of wind after checking their cows and some great news: there was an old cow down who would be perfect for braiding if I wanted her. I could go get the hide the next morning once she had expired. After giving me directions to where she was, Jim and Julie blew back away. I was a happy little gal. The next morning I woke up seriously under the weather. Like bad sick. Like, can't get out of bed sick. I was so upset, there was a hide down there waiting for me and I couldn't go get it!! It turns out that Jim and Julie are actually angels in disguise because that night there was a freshly skinned hide waiting for me on the fence. I might have even shed a little tear of happiness. Thank you both. :) 

I don't have a frame right now and since I wanted to stretch this hide now, I improvised and pretended that the barn frame was my frame. I don't need to do my arm-workout this evening. I also wore my Pretty Westy cap, which actually made me feel pretty westy. hehehe And I used my new lady's leg knife from Lil' Red Roan. I'm pleased to announce that this knife holds an edge and can also double as a can opener. BAM. Awesomeness. 

You're looking at my future pair of reins right there....happy dance! 

Hope you all have a wonderful evening! 

xo xo Liz 

Romantic or Dramatic?

Voila 3 versions of pink-intensity. Perfectly suitable for St Valentine day
pink + violet eye shadows + black pencil

Hopeful Mornings & Homework

Oh what a day!!

When I woke up this morning I dreamed lofty dreams about all the things I would get done: I would build a frame to stretch a hide on, I would stretch said hide, I'd ride my horse, shoot a little, get ALL my math homework done and maybe even mop the floor of my bunkhouse. Sounds like a good day, right? This is what I actually got done: Math homework, math homework, math homework, math homework, hauled some wood, fed the horses, roped the dummy and now I'm doing MORE math homework!!

Life is like that sometimes though, right? You lay your carefully crafted plans and they disappear with the wind. I think if I'm going to enjoy life and not go absolutely bonkers (wait, I already am...) being continuously chained to my homework, I'm going to have to start waking up super early again and getting work done in the wee hours so I can enjoy the rest of the day. The whole of the year is stretching out in front of me and I intend to enjoy it! There is so much I want to accomplish before 2013 chimes its last breath and I know with some hard work, determination and carefully planned goals, I'll get there.

I'm not going to lie to you, the last couple years or so I've gotten really lazy with sleeping in. When I was in high school I used to bounce out of bed with a smile on my face at 3am, reveling in the quietness that allowed me the time to get my school work done before the other work of the day was begun. I don't really bounce any more. In fact, last spring I literally FELL out of bed...but I was in Italy and had drank some grappa the night before, so maybe the grappa had more to do with the falling rather than the early hour. Hmm.....good point, Liz.

Anyway, back to the point at hand: I'm going to write my to-do list tonight (an attainable to-do list, by the way!), set out my clothes so the cold morning air doesn't discourage me and set my alarm for 5am! See you in the morning, Dolls and Gents!!

What time do you guys normally wake up? And if you have any tips for me, please comment below and share!

Cute little daffodils I found when I roped the dummy this evening...so pretty! 

xo xo Liz