*Be Reasonable*

I have decided that over this last year and a half of marriage to my hard working, very smart husband; with all the things we've already been through and with all the work, sacrifice and smarts and budgeting it takes to live the kind of life we've chosen to live... That there are a lot of things that are better to be reasonable about then not.  For instance: (BTW: This is a semi-long post, just with my thoughts and I don't mean to offend anybody.  It's just been on my mind and it's what makes sense for me and Joe)

Vehicles- We have two pick-up trucks.  First off, I know it's not that great with mileage on fuel, but it's what works best for us.  Joe has a 1 ton Dodge cummins, completely stock, no frill's on it what-so-ever.  That's because it's the work truck.  It pulls the huge horse trailer.  My truck is the commute, future baby haulin' truck.  Now, we prefer trucks in Randolph on the ranch because the cars just get beat up from the roads, and unlike SUV's we have a bed in the back to haul "dirties" as I call them (anything that would dirty up or ruin the inside of the vehicle). Also, our for hauling our wolf pack around haha.

I used to (and still kinda do) think these huge, 8" lifted, 35+ mud tires, chromed out, custom painted trucks were dead sexy.... until I got a reality check.  I bought my GMC earlier this year while we lived in town and I thought it was just so pretty with it's small lift, clean inside, and slightly chromed out exterior (I even added a couple chrome detailing after we bought the truck).  And then we moved to Randolph.  After one week you could barely even make out that it was a white truck with chrome detailing because we live down and 1 1/2 mile dirt road and I've had to take it off into muddy, bumpy fields numerous times.  When all that was said and done I had a muddy red/brown truck that could be beat to crap for all anyone else knew.

If you have the money to have a super nice truck, with all this extra detailing to it than that's awesome, good for you, I'll probably envy you for a second or two.  But then I'll think about how for us, we'll save our money that we could use to lift, primp, sexy-up our trucks for when the tranny goes out or the brakes, tires and oil need changed (which they do A LOT).

Clothes- Now this subject I'm not too picky about but still, where we live it's kind of ridiculous not to be reasonable.  It's a cold, muddy, snowy, windy and hairy (from the horses, dogs, cats, cows exc.) life here.  So, I'd rather not walk outside and in my cute heels, expensive jeans, tee, or jacket on just to have a dog jump up and muddy my jeans or accidently rub up my jacket up on my dirty truck.  I've also realized that I'd rather be toasty warm in a makes-you-look-20lbs-heavier-than-you-really-are Carhartt jacket and thick unflattering Wranglers than freeze my tush off in a cute little sweatshirt and skin-tight, paper thin jeans.  It's also pretty hard to save up for a nice pair of durable boots that I'll get a lot of use from when I'm spending all my money on unnecessary clothing.

I do love though to have a few "nice" articles of clothing for church, or when we go out somewhere not ranch related.  I used to spend all my money on clothes, now I'm learning how to keep clothes looking nice for as long as possible by learning how to wash different kinds of material, and steering clear of the color stripping clothing detergents.

Pets- I LOVE my pets (as you all know too well).  I've realized after having pets whom I paid good money for, who I spent so much money on throughout the time I had them and who I spent so much time, care and love on.  Just to see them die.  I love my pets but, from now on if I am going to have them I need reasonable pets.  I need dogs who are our companions but who are also going to work.  Our pets are our family members, so with the life we have all of our family members have to work.  I've always wanted a big cuddly St. Bernard or a cute little Pug.  But, it just makes more sense for our family to have a good cow dog who'll help us out on those long rides in the mountains, or in those tight corners of the cattle shoots where we can't reach to keep the cows moving but the dogs can.

Same with cats.  I adore a sweet cat to cuddle up with on the couch.  I would have 20 inside cats (Yes, I could totally see myself as the old cat lady, with a house full of just me and my 100 cats haha) but, with our little old house we only need one cat inside to take care of the mice.  And she does a great job.

This post is mostly for me, as much as I would love to have a fully-loaded, beautifully brand new vehicle, or super nice, expensive clothes, shoes and jewelry, or a cute little AKA Pug to keep me company and buy cute little dogs things for, or manicures every week(they would need to be every week  because they get ruined after 10 minutes outside around here), getting my hair done at steep priced salons(I get trims every once in a while, no coloring, no hairstyles that require $100 worth of hair product and my sis-in-law usually cuts it for free... Bless you Druc {muah}), the fact is that I simply can't afford these things and they are not reasonable!

So here is me saying, think about what is and is not reasonable to you, in your circumstances, and eliminate any unreasonableness in your life. It really is a smart idea!