There are no coincidences???

Earlier this week on Pinterest, I spotted this most awesome, altered guitar, and pinned it. I don't play but it  was so awesome, I loved it, maybe one day I would find a guitar and do something like it! It's gorgeous, right?

Then yesterday I was googling around looking for stuff for my sale, in the junk, gypsy, cowgirl type theme, didn't find too much, till about three pages in this guitar pops up with a link to Etsy......could it be true? Could delicious, eye candy guitar actually be for sale? I clicked.....thinking, this is a really old link, no way it will still be there, but what if it is? And since we live with the slowest internet in the land, I really and truly had the time to think all of this stuff......finallly the page starts to open and lo and behold there she is! Still available and at a price I could totally afford. In my giddy excitement, I send the artist a note, how I'm in awe, and can't believe I get to have this, and how much I love her work, and blah, blah, blah......afterwards, I'm thinking WOW you freaky Etsy stalker. Then I quickly buy gorgeous Soul Guitar, Paypal, so the money is there instantly. What a great day.

But wait.....it gets better!! I KNOW!!

This is the reply from my purchase:
You sent a payment of $XXX.XX USD to Shelly Boles (shelboles@att.net)

Are you freaking kidding?? Her name is Shelly.........my name is Shelley!!! I KNOW!!
Of course, I can't stand it one second and quickly send her another e-mail (this kind of harassment might cost me the guitar but I have to let her know!!):

"And then I get the confirmation and we are both named Shelley!! Sometimes stuff is just too freaky!! Can't wait to hear from you and see if you think this is amazing?? Shelley"

 

But she is a kindred spirit and replies:

Hi Shelly!

Im about to head out of town tomorrow or I might write a book here, but YES I think its amazing too. Love it in every way!! Can't wait to ship the guitar out to you! Of course I would love to do some wholesale for you...Ill email when I return home on Tuesday. Thanks so much for the emails. It just made my weekend fabulous!

WOW! WOW! I can't wait till I can really find out the whole story behind my guitar and tell her about being a renaissance soul and we have the same name and.........................................

Cast iron hearts!! LOVE!!

Gorgeous!! Cast iron hearts, some painted white and red, others just natural!! My two favorite things, hearts and metal, combined!! For sale at Born in a Barn, October 14 and 15, Sheridan, Wyoming (my favorite place!).

It's out, it's public, no going back now!!

My extremely talented sister did a logo for me and the ads come out in our little local weekly paper next Tuesday!! Seeing in in print and posters makes it feel very real!!

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps!

These are so good and it makes a TON!!

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps



This delicious, healthy recipe can be served as a family-style meal, an appetizer, or a party buffet. It makes a big batch - enough to eat now, freeze more for later, or feed a crowd.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon canola oil

• 3 pounds ground turkey breast

• 1-1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled (1 tablespoon minced)

• 3 garlic cloves (1 tablespoon minced)

• 4 medium carrots

• 10 green onions (white and green parts);

• 1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts

• 1 (8 oz) can bamboo shoots

• 1 cup hoisin sauce

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 1/3 cup dry sherry

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

• 1 tablespoon Sriracha or other hot chili sauce or paste

• Boston Bibb lettuce (for a meal, allow 3-4 leaves per person); may substitute other lettuce with small, cup-shaped leaves

• Brown rice, cooked (optional)

• TOPPINGS (optional):

• chopped peanuts

• cilantro

• Sriracha chili sauce

• Asian Peanut sauce (recipe at www.theyummylife.com/recipes/16)

• Asian Spicy Lime & Ginger Sauce (recipe at www.theyummylife.com/recipes/138)



Directions

MINCE THE VEGGIES: Vegetables may all be minced by hand; however it's easier to use a food processor (FP) if you have one. Process in this order: 1. mince the garlic and ginger together in FP; 2. chop the carrots into 1" chunks and add them to FP and process until minced; 3. remove garlic/ginger/carrots to separate bowl; 4. chop green onions into 2" pieces and add with bamboo shoots and water chestnuts to FP; process until minced.



COOKING INSTRUCTIONS: Add canola oil to skillet and heat on stove-top on med-high heat. Add turkey, cook until browned with no pink remaining; break apart chunks with spatula as turkey browns. Add minced veggies (garlic, ginger, carrots, onions, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts) and cook 5-10 min., until tender. In separate bowl, whisk together hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, and chili sauce; add to turkey mixture. Stir and cook until heated through, approx. 5 minutes.



TO SERVE: Spoon rice and turkey mixture into a lettuce leaf. Add toppings, if desired. Roll the lettuce leaf and eat.

TO FREEZE: Add turkey mixture to ziploc freezer bags - 2 cups of turkey mix per quart size bag. Flatten the bag, press out as much air as possible, and seal. Put in the freezer on a tray to keep it flat. Once frozen, remove from tray and stack bags in your freezer. May be frozen for several months. Reheats quickly in microwave.

FOR APPETIZERS: Use endive instead of lettuce. Fill leaves with turkey mixture and arrange on platter.

Egg cups and eating clean!!

Eating clean, here is a great idea for breakfast! Packed with protein, quick to prepare an you are off to a great start!! Get a quart of Lucerne Best of the Egg, (15-1/4 cup servings) mix in 2 teaspoons seasoning salt, onion, green pepper, mushroom and 1 cup mozzerella or any lowfat cheese. Pour mix into muffin tins sprayed liberally with Pam, about 1/3 c. per muffin. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.....they will come out puffy but then deflate (ha ha just like about everything!). Have two with salsa and 1 cup of milk for a really filling 200 calorie breakfast! One egg muffin has 54 calories, 2 g carb, 2 g fat and 8 grams of protien! Fed it to my sidekick in crime and fitness, Jilly, and she loved it!! Now back to work!! And oh ya, don't forget, water, water, water to flush the FAT!!

Losing weight.....it's time!

Here is a picture of me, cutting my nephews hair, 4 years ago when we moved out to our ranch. I lifted weights or did cardio, 6 days a week, I was eating good clean food and it showed! I kept at it sporadically that year after moving, then I had surgery, then I got this really bad cold that lasted a whole summer, and then I never got back to it. Well, that hasn't worked out so well for me. Because I went through menopause very early (at 38, the year after I had Sammie) and chose not to take hormone replacement. I'm am a walking magnet for pounds and have managed to attract 30 extra's!! Holy smokes!!

The picture below taken at Brave Girls camp was a real eye opener!! I'm not someone who gets dressed and looks in the mirror at all angles.....not much of my summer stuff fit, but I was okay with that , went up a size, and I must have my jeans really STRETCHED out or they are making those size 8's awfully big!! This is me now!

And the "L" sign we are showing is for "Lock it Up", that can mean pretty much anything, but for me it means I'm lockin it up and losing this flippen weight! And that little gem started today! Got me a new trainer, I know exactly what I need to eat to shed it. 30 pounds is my goal so lets go, lock it up!!

Barn Cleaning..........

Every step we take brings us that much closer to our goal. This week, the mission was to clean the barn. This is not a very fun thing to do, so Jill came over and we literally puked the entire contents of the two bigger sheds onto the barnyard.............upon returning home with Mr Renaissance, oldest daughter Cloie dramatically rolls her eyes so she can see her brain, and declares our place a junk yard. We sorted, stashed, stacked and then power washed. Here are our empty spaces, on for me, one for Jilly!

 

I couldn't wait and had to have Mr. Renaissance put up these cute metal awnings, inside, yep, inside. Jill's space is on the left, mine on the right! Can't wait to transform them!!

Then these two little Renaissant's in training cleaned out and powerwashed the main barn, and here are all of the stalls, bright and shiny, ready to be filled with vendors goodies!!

It's all ready for beautiful, rusty, restored, refurbished, ready to be loved again goods to grace a new home! What a joy this is to work on, stay tuned for more news from the ranch, and Born in a Barn!