Choosing the road less travelled...

I've always been a bad sheep. I don't follow very well, and if I must (as there are times we all must be followers), I try to do so in a way that I'm still different even if it's only in my own little mind. (A scary place to wander indeed)

Some big decisions and changes in my own and my family's life again is proof of my unconscious choices to be different:

1. Stay At Home Mom

Ok, ok, I'm not inventing something new here obviously! But how many of you know Moms who work when the babies are babies.. then transition to home full-time when the children start school?

Backwards? Not in CeeCee land!!

We have reasons, but it is humorous to see the reactions from people trying to figure out why we have made this move now. I don't even try to explain that it took me 6 years of marriage and two children now out of diapers to decide I like being domestic and want to do it full-time...

2. New family dog

So we move to the acreage and decide we want a guard dog. Nothing out of the ordinary there... so I complicate it and pick a breed that has few breeders in this area. Why? Just look at him! Now that's different.

Ok, ok.. again, there are other very good reasons we(I) chose this breed, but it does help that he's so different. (Poor, poor Buster - we're going this weekend to pick up his replacement).

3. Cattle

So with our new acreage I can finally have a few cattle once again. Grass fed, natural (hormone free) beef to put in the freezer is something that interests me greatly. I could walk, literally, down my driveway and buy cheap cows or heifers to realize this goal. But nooooooo... I want Highland Cattle! If you need to know why click the pic, there's more adorable pictures and breed history. (They are healthier beef in addition to being so cute).

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It's me and my family showing our personality and way of life. We're different, and I like it. Do you purposely make yourself different? I'd love to hear it! (I won't feel so alone, ha!) If you post it on your blog, send me an email or comment your address so I can link it here for everyone to see. Perhaps we can find some common ground in our differences, eh?

A Peek at Buster

We're planning on buying a puppy to grow up on the acreage. After doing a bunch of research, I fell in love with the Louisiana Catahoula Leopard. While we had been planning on a Blue Heeler (Austrailian Cattle Dog), we decided the houla was the breed we want.

Of course, I wanted a rescue, or even a cast-off mutt or x-breed. That is still a possibility, much to Mark's chagrine (haha). But right now, I need to raise a dog to guard the kids and the home place, and a puppy from a proven set of parents is the best option for us right now. As wonderful a dog as our yellow lab, Sasha, is - she is no guardian. She can't even leave the kitchen if a cat is sitting in the doorway...

We're going to see him tonight to decide, and then will be leaving a deposit if all goes as expected. Because we won't be officially moved until November, they've agreed to hold him until then. The Martins generally keep their puppies for 12 weeks to be socialized with the adults, and being he's only about 8 weeks now, it should work out perfectly!

So, I thought Howie (from Haward, Guardian) would be a good name for our new little boy. But somehow he's already been christened Buster. Conner flat out shot down Howie with an emphatic no and strong head shake. Damn. If I'd have gotten the boy on my side I would have been golden!

Buster it is! I can live with that :)