Still Kickin'

Hi EVERYONE!!!!

Been a long time!  Things are busy here on the farm and at the shop.  That's good!!  I just thought I would stop in and catch up on a few things.  One thing I've noticed is that Google Blogger has changed since the last time I was on here.  Not liking it.  I have to jump through too many hoops just to do what I want. May look into changing places.  We shall see.  It all depends on time and effort.  I'm not really writing that much here so not real sure what I'm going to do.

Anyway, I'll update you a bit on things around the farm.  We are inheriting two hives of honey bees.  Hubby is pretty excited about it.  Well, I am too!  Although, I'm not going to be doing anything with the actual bees.  Nope.  No way.  No how.  I'll do the honey work, not going to mess with the bees.  Me and anything that craws or flies do not get along.  That will be Hubby's work. He thinks it's fun, so I'm all for him doing it too.  We haven't gotten them yet, but we will be in the near future.

The dogs are doing good.  Although right before I went to work this morning, I let them out to run and play for a bit.  Holley came back with cow poop all over her.  She rolled in it.  She rolled in it A LOT!  I didn't have time to wash her or I would be late for a client, so I left her in the house.  Hopefully she will just go to her bed and sleep there until I get back home.  I know they both needed a bath, but I was hoping to wait until this weekend.  I guess not. Going to have to get that smell out of the house too.  Good thing I don't mind the smell of cow. lol

Speaking of cows, we've had two calves in the last month or two.  They are cute little bulls destined for the freezer or the sales.  It all depends on if we can get our corral fixed.  We tried moving two bulls last fall and one of the bulls tried jumping the corral fence.   Well, he kind of went up and through it instead of over it, so we have to fix that.  We need to completely go and build a new corral.  The old one is just falling down.  We may just have to have a corral raisin'.  Bunch of people get together and build a corral and I'll fix them all some good dinner.  Anyone up to it? lol

I wanted to take the time to write today since I honestly feel like I've been neglecting my blog.  I do get ideas of what I want to write, but by the time I can sit down and write, I'm so tired all I want to do is relax.  I'm not going to promise that I'll be on here more, I'm not going to promise that I am going to take more pictures, and I'm not going to promise that it won't be a long time before I'm back here.  I just going to write when I do get time.  Hopefully it won't be too far apart. Thanks for sticking with me.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, still here.

Nope

Not going to be able to post today. Sorry. Lol!!

SFG

Don't Give Up On Me!!!!!

Don't give up on me folks!!! I'm been so busy of late. I've even gotten to where I have to schedule writing or practicing my fiddle. And of course, this time of year has me itching to get back into homesteading full force! I have to keep reminding myself that I have a business and a house to take care of. I also am still trying to get healthier.

The doctor has me doing physical therapy twice a week. Ya, like I have time for that. It's helping the back, but not the knees. It's actually hard for me to go grocery shopping before I'm almost crying in pain. But, the doctor says I will get better with a little help from him, so we are working together towards that.

I actually went out and took some pictures of  the farm just to give you a few updates. The good and the bad of it all. As of right now, nothing major is planned Wednesday, so I'm hoping to be able to sit and edit the pics. Hopefully put up a more in-depth blog post.  I might even use my computer. I'm typing this from my phone.

So hopefully I can rework my schedule and put my blog and the homestead back toward the top. This past winter has really kicked my butt.

So until next time,
Small Farm Girl, still keepin on.

Hurricane Holley

Well, if you read my last post, you know I got some good news.  I just have to go back now and have it checked every so often to see if there is any change.  I'll take it!  I wanted this year to be the year that I got healthy but, I didn't want to get scared to death doing it. lol

Let's change the subject now. Hopefully no more talk of cancer. EVER.

Holley, our tri colored Australian Shepherd decided that she was going to give me a heart attack. She came in one day with a huge gash down her side. Now, if I can only figure out how to take photos off of my phone and put them on the computer, I would show you.  But since I'm computer and phone illiterate, I'm not able to as of now.   It was so big they did surgery on her and had to put in a drain tube.  It was horrible.  The poor pup hated to be confined.  Worse than that, she hated the dreaded "Cone of Shame" that we had to put around her neck.  We kept the cone on her for 4 days until the tube came out.  Then she got to wear a modified t-shirt that we cut down the back and them cut strips to tie together on her back.  It worked, but she didn't like that either.  Finally after 11 days, she got to get her stitches out.  She still stuck to me like glue but, she is coming out of it and acting like herself again.  This whole ordeal hasn't slowed her down one bit.  She's not nicknamed Hurricane Holley for nothing.

We never did figure out what happened to her.  She wasn't outside for 5 minutes.  Honestly.  I let them out, went to put clothes on and came back and she was waiting outside the door.  Weird.  I'll get some pictures of her side tonight and put them on here.  It will be the "after" but, no one really wants to see the "before" pictures.  They were gross.

I plan on trying to be back blogging again.  I really missed you guys!!!  Also, if you are on the dreaded Facebook,  you can find me there.  Just look for Small Farm Girl.  You may even get to hear me and my friends play some good ole bluegrass music.  lol. I put some things on there every once in a while.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, back to normal. (I hope.)

Results Are In

And, it's BENIGN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The "C" word.

Hi everyone!  It's been a while since I've posted anything on here.  I'm trying to not feel guilty about it.  I really like writing on here, but between a budding business, a farm, and a husband, well, time just gets away from me.  There have been many things going on around here.  One of the many things is my health.

This year's resolution was to get healthy.  Not just lose weight, but to get healthy.  One of the first things was to change my doctor.  The one I used was nice and all, but he didn't really "doctor" me.  I went in and told him what was wrong with me, what I needed, and how I was going to take it.  Of course, when he would call in my medication, like my blood pressure meds, he would get it wrong EVERY TIME!!!!  That's every time twice a year for over 6 years.  I had had enough.  So I asked around to see about good doctors.  One thing that I consider good is not waiting too long to see the doctor.  Don't even get me started on time I've spent in the waiting room waiting on my old doctor.

Anyway, I found a good doctor.  A doctor that didn't have me waiting, and one that actually doctored me.  The first appointment, he had me do blood work to check that out, I had to have my first mammogram, and he wanted to get a ultrasound of my thyroid.  Plus, he wanted to have all that done before I was to see him in 3 weeks.  Oh, ya, he also wanted me to see a bone and joint dr about my knees and my back.  See, I told you I was going to get healthy this year.

Well, I done all those things one Friday morning.  All but see the bone and joint Dr.  That was going to be the following Monday.  That Friday afternoon, the nurse from my new Dr called me and told me the results of my tests.  They had found that my knees were shot, (duh)  there was "something" on my mammogram that they wanted to check out again, and they found a nodule with slight vascularity on my thyroid.   So,  I had to redo my mammogram because they wanted a better look at something, a possible ultrasound too.  Then they dropped the bomb.....  They wanted me to go to Columbus to the James Cancer Center to have my nodule on my thyroid, checked out.  What!?!?!?!?!  So what would any person do?  I checked Google.

DO. NOT. CHECK. GOOGLE!!!!  It scared me to death.  I just knew that I had thyroid cancer.   So much in fact, that I cried for days.  I felt that I was just a shell of myself.  I am a planner, I always look forward to the future.  It's hard for me to live in the moment.  So this was extremely hard for me.
I ended up having an appointment with the cancer doctor almost 2 weeks from the time I took the tests.  I was a complete mess those two weeks.  Many times I would wake up in the middle of the night not able to breath.  I just knew that that nodule was growing and shutting off my windpipe. lol.  But, what it really was was drainage from where I had been crying the day before.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not afraid of death.  I know I'll go to Heaven and see many family members that have passed.  It's just hard for me not to know what was going to happen.  This not knowing really freaked me out!!!!  We needed a new four wheel drive for me. Should I get it now? What if I die? Then Hubby would be left with the payment.  What about my shop? It was just getting to where it was starting to go good.  Would I have to give up that dream?

I joined a thyroid cancer group on Facebook.  In a way, it helped me, but in another way, it freaked me out more.  I kept reading about the "Bad Stuff".  Then I started talking to just a few people about my problem.  I realized more people had thyroid cancer than I even knew.  Most of these people come out of it doing okay.  I got to meet people who, in fact, said they came out a better person.  This gave me hope, but I would still have some bad days.

I didn't want to talk to many people about it.  When I talked about it, I found myself obsessing about it.  I didn't tell a lot of people actually.  I just didn't want the, "Oh, I'm so sorry." look.  I wanted things to be the same with people.  I didn't want to turn into the "cancer" person.

Anyway, fast forward to the doctor's visit at the James Cancer Center.  I was sooooo nervous.  I didn't want anyone to go with me other than Hubby.  I know my parents wanted to go, but I had to just focus on me.  And if it was bad news, I would worry more about how they would react than how I would react. So, I had them to stay home and I would call and let them know how things went.

Well, I went into the appointment thinking that I had cancer.  I was 98% sure that I had cancer.  I prayed and prayed. I prayed for the strength to go through this. I prayed for strength for how other people were going to react to the news.  I prayed that I would be okay going through the journey of having cancer and the changes that would come.  But, as I was on the passenger side of my truck, I realized I hadn't prayed for healing.  I just knew that it was cancer and that was that.  So right there in the truck, I prayed to be healed.  And for the first time since I got the news of the nodule, I felt that God heard me.

We arrived at the doctors and they got to get me in early.  Now when have you ever heard of a doctor getting you in early?  They did.  A half hour early to be exact.  All of the nurses were extremely nice.  And then I got to meet the doctor.  He was very nice and I could just tell he knew what he was doing.  He told me that we needed an ultrasound for his own and then he would do a needle biopsy.   As he was looking at the nodule, he said that the color was good, the shape of the nodule was good, the size wasn't TOO big, and all my lymph nodes were all fine.  He actually didn't think it was cancer, but just because of the size of the nodule, he was going to do a fine needle biopsy.

Wait, WHAT?  He didn't think it was cancer.  HE DIDN'T THINK IT WAS CANCER!  HE! DIDN'T! THINK! IT! WAS! CANCER!!!!!!!!!    Pull it together Sherri, don't start crying now.  You are going to have a big needle sticking in your neck.  lol.

He did the fine needle biopsy.  I can say, it wasn't fun, but I wanted this done. I wanted to KNOW that this wasn't cancer.  He sent off the biopsy and now I am in the wait mode.  He said it will take a few days for the results to come back.   I can say I'm a little nervous, but I've decided I can't do to myself like I have been doing.  I was making myself sick thinking all bad stuff.  I'm living day to day.  And, whatever the results are that come back, I have got to keep a positive outlook and NOT obsess about it.  I've got to keep my hopes up.  If I lose hope, all is gone. I'm not going down into the pit of dispare again.

So I would really use some prayers out there that the results are good.  I believe the more people pray, the better off everything is.  I know that God has me in his hands and whatever comes of this is for his glory.  And, I'm okay with that.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, hopeful.

Just Checking In

Hi everyone!!!!  WOW! We've had a whirlwind of a year here on and off the farm!  We have been VERY busy!!. (I also am trying to see how many exclamation points I can use!!!!!  hehehe)

Anyway, I've been wanting to get back on here and start posting more. Many things going on. The nail business has been steadily growing so that has kept me very busy. Hubby has been working his job and just hoping he won't get laid off.  If only one person would get laid off, he would be that person.   Of course, I think everyone who works an off the farm job, is hoping not to get laid off right now.

The dogs are doing great.  I wish I had more time to spend with them. I hate leaving them by themselves throughout the day.  Luckily it's not too long after I leave that Hubby is home and he spends time with them.  Australian Shepherds who are left alone for too long usually find "something" to do.  In fact, we were gone a little extra yesterday, and they found where I keep my potatoes and chewed one up and scattered it all over the house.  Lovely.  It's a good thing we have a concrete floor.  It's little easier to clean up than if it were a rug.  But, ya gotta love the little faces that look at you as if they want you to be proud of the "art" that they'd made.

To help with their energy levels, I take the dogs for a run.  And when I say run, I mean they run and I ride the four wheeler.  This body doesn't run. hehehehe.  I've been running them around the back fields and around the pond.  They love these times of days.  Somehow, they always seem to find the ONE cockle burr bush and get those little prickly burrs all over them.  We have to have a "deburring party" at least once a day.

I'm just rambling on here. So many things have changed, but so many things have stayed the same around here.  Every once in a while I'll check in and tell you all a few things happening around the farm.  Like, we are putting in an outdoor wood furnace, I'm going to be putting in raised beds soon, and I'm also getting ready to make some deer jerky.  See, little things ARE happening around the farm.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, Checking In.