Hi Shenanigan Enthusiasts!

Another week has come and gone! I hope your week was full of love and SHENANIGANS! Here at the FUNNY FARM, we have had days of sunshine and 70 degrees followed by 10 degrees, and snow, lots of snow! The funny farm crew enjoyed soaking up the sunshine while it lasted. The goats have started losing their thick winter coats, so the cold days are a little rougher right now. Little Jerry was shivering when I was down there loving on them this morning. Bonnie and Clyde love to hover below the heater Jeff hung for them in the barn, Betty and June (the pigs) bury themselves in the extra straw I pile in the barn. Rowdy and the other goats snuggle up in the barn on the real cold days too. The alpacas or "pacas" as I call them love to sit out in the snow as it falls. Always shenanigans around here! Moo is one of our baby goats who looks like a cow and talks a lot, hence the name MOO, got his head stuck in the grain bucket the other day. After enjoying the entertainment and laughing a lot, Allie (my son Kolton's girlfriend) helped him get it off. Poor Mooie! And me, I am just here living my BEST LIFE shoveling s**t and listening to my favorite tunes. 

Best Life......

Most people's idea of living their best life would not include shoveling s**t. It's not my favorite part of having a funny farm either but I make the best of it! So many of life's blessings and lessons can be reflected upon down at the funny farm. You gotta find the humor when things go sideways, and things will always go sideways sometimes. It's OK to ask for help, we can't do it all, all the time. Sometimes we need a friend to help us pull our head out of a bucket. Sometimes we just need to snuggle with someone we love to keep warm and once in a while we just need to sit and let the snow fall around us, magic! Most of all we need to adapt to this ever-evolving gift we call life. So, when I say I am living my best life, what I mean is I am living each day with purpose, learning, growing, getting better than I was yesterday, loving like crazy, sipping good sips, eating yummy yums, listening to good tunes, dancing when I want too, crying when I need to, talking to God, standing backup when I get knocked down, being GRATEFUL for the blessings and the lessons, and looking for the MAGIC in each day to CELEBRATE!

Stand Back Up....

Our little Moo is often the odd goat out.  I love his little spirit. He climbs up the pallet perch Jeff and the boys made in the barn only to be bucked off by the other goats. As a funny farm mamma, it breaks my heart. I want to protect him, but I know this is how he will find his strength. He falls down but he always STANDS BACK UP and tries again. (Oh boy there it is, one my favorite songs, Stand Back Up by Sugarland, click to listen.  This is one of the many theme songs on the soundtrack of my life. I happened upon it during one of my most challenging seasons when I was questioning everything, I thought I knew about life and love. When I was having a hard moment, this song was my therapy and I always "stood back up". It was during this season of growth and uncertainty that I found my strength. Moo is finding his strength, aka, inner BADASS too! What I know now, is the ability to stand back up during the hard times is what allows us to weather the storms of life (lessons), coming out of the other side to discover the rainbows of life (blessings). 

I'll stand back up

I've weathered all these storms
But I just turn them into wind, so I can fly
What don't kill you makes you stronger
When I take my last breath
That's when I'll just give up

Lemonade out of Lemons...

Maybe because I am ready for flip flops and lemon drops, or maybe because I am thinking of Moo, and the trials of life, this phrase popped in my head, MAKE LEMONADE OUT OF LIFE'S LEMONS. It's a great motto for helping us all live our best lives. We can't control everything that happens to us. All we can do is CHOOSE how we respond to what happens. LIFE AIN'T FAIR, yep, I did it again, more lyrics from a country song by Maddie and Tae, (click to listen).  

Life ain't fair
S**t goes wrong.....
I'm gonna take
All of these lemons and make some lemonade
You bring the crown
I'll bring the chairs
And we'll laugh at how life ain't fair

I love it! Such a toe tapper and I love tapping my toes!!! Mostly I love living this crazy, tragic, almost magic, awful, beautiful life to the fullest, and laughin' and  sippin' with people I love. 

Fun or not so fun fact.... As I typed these words from the heart yesterday to share with all of you, I got to the end and accidently deleted the whole thing!!! Ugh... my words gone! That said, life ain't fair, s**t goes wrong, so I had to make some lemonade out of lemons. I choose to believe there was purpose in all of it. I found it, more to come on that next week. 

Lemon Drop Recipe

In case you need a little help making Lemon Drops out of Lemons. Here you go!

LEMON SUGAR

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Zest from 1 lemon

LEMON DROP MARTINI

2 ounces (1/4 cup) quality vodka, try a citron vodka

3/4 ounce (1 ½ tablespoons) Cointreau or triple sec

1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh squeezed lemon juice (Juice from 1/2 large lemon)

3/4 ounce (1 ½ tablespoons) simple syrup

Ice

Lemon sugar, for glass rim

Cheers!

Until we connect again, may you laugh 'til you snort, take the bull by the horns (GRIT), give yourself and others some GRACE, live a good story, always look for the MAGIC to CELEBRATE!

Much Gratitude, 

Zanna

SHENENIGAN ENTHUSIAST

p.s. Help share the LOVE & SHENANIGANS...Every time you share a post from Love & Shenanigans on social media you will be entered to win a goodie from the store! We will do a drawing each Sunday! Share away, tag us and check to see if you are the lucky winner! xoxo

Congratulations to last week's winner, Kari Scoggins!