Thursday’s Inspiration

Happy Thursday<3 Remember to practice self-love today because you are beautiful!

Wednesday’s Inspiration

If you can’t be you, with the people you are with, then who really are you?

Tuesday’s Inspiration

Take a few minutes out of your day to reconnect with nature – we need the Vitamin D to uplift our emotional well-being and energy<3

Monday’s Inspiration

True happiness is when you have fully accepted who you are, with all your strengths and weaknesses.

Montana Here We Come

Two girls and a ranch is moving to Montana! We’re packing our warm clothes and cowboy boots and heading out.

At times, I didn’t think our ranch was going to come to fruition, but I’m happy to say it is. I thought I had lost my way and my faith, but it has been restored.

What does faith mean to you? Faith, to me, means that there is something bigger out there, that we have no control over. It’s like driving the boat across the lake in the dark, without any headlights. You are being guided by faith, you don’t know what is out there in the dark, but you are lead by trust. You trust that you are being guided down the path that you are meant to go down.

And although it may be scary, you go anyway. Don’t let fear control you, as it has controlled me and the people closest to me. I want to trust life again.

Photograph & Written By: Jayne Wilkinson

AskMsMandi and Riots

Good Morning,

I just read that people are starting to riot because as citizens, we have the freedom to work – however, we are being forced, by our Government, to stay at home by mandating non-essential businesses to close due to the Governmental lock-down.

I agree that our rights, as citizens, are being taken away from us, by causing us to stay home and not work.

Any thoughts?

AskMsMandi and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ms Mandi Photo 1   AskMsMandi

Wow!  There are days when that is all I can say … is wow.  What has happened?  Is anyone else out there wondering how this virus got out of control?  It isn’t even the virus that concerns me, but the effect it is having on our economy and will continue to have on it, and inevitably even worse.  Theorists are predicting history to repeat itself with an even more devastating Great Depression.  That is very scary.

I’ve converted this website to offer those who would like to share their theories and opinions about the COVID-19 pandemic.  You may speak your mind clearly, but I ask you to stay respectful with the words you offer to contribute to this site.

What are some of your theories?  AskMsMandi would like to know.

Peace<3

LITTLE REMINDERS

LITTLE REMINDERS

I’m driving home from a weekend in the Eastern Sierra Mountains. A place that has always brought me peace; except for recently, the peace has been replaced with the deepest sadness and despair.

Am I crying as I drive through the winding hills and valleys? I must be, although I don’t seem to notice much anymore, considering this an everyday occurrence.

Hopelessness washes over me as I fiddle with the iPod left behind, but has somehow become my security blanket into her mind.

Randomly the song changes from the Eagles to Blink 182, one of her favorite bands. It’s a song I have not heard, called Not Now. I intently listen to the lyrics… instantly mesmerized by them.

The song calls out to me…”God has a plan for you”
“I will be waiting”
“I wish I could give you one last kiss”

As the tears stream down my face, I look up to the mountains, covered with powdery, white snow and see a cross. As clear as day… a cross in the mountain formed from the melting snow.

At that moment a sense of comfort washes over me…she is always here with me and waiting for the day I will see her again.

Written By: Ask Ms Mandi
Photograph By: Ask Ms Mandi
Copyright March 30, 2017

 

Two Girls & A Ranch

We found the perfect piece of land in Temecula.  It’s a corner lot and it is twenty-two acres of usable land.  What is usable land you may ask?  It is land that is flat enough to grade (level off) into buildable land for us to build our horse stables and teen center.

We are so excited to buy it; the serenity and tranquility of the fresh air and peace.  But some questions come up that we aren’t so sure about the answers.  Where does the water come from?  A well they say.  What is a well?  We’re really not that blonde, but almost.  Do we get a bucket to pull water up out of the well, so that we can heat it up on our stove and  take a warm bath?

This isn’t too far from the truth.  We do not have water, nor electricity, nor a sewer line, which means, we do not have a workable bathroom.  What does this mean, you may ask?  Trust me…I had the some questions.

A well means that we need to hire someone to come out and dig a well, about four-hundred feet deep into the earth, install a pump, and a bladder.  What is a pump and a bladder?  A pump will pump our water into our lines once it is installed into our homes and barn and a bladder is a holding tank of water that doesn’t need to be pumped because it has already been pumped from the well and into the bladder.  Who the hell knew all this stuff?  Not us.  Trust me, this is last time I take my running water, out of my faucet for granted.

Now I ask…what is a sewer line?

october-2016-207

 

Written By:  Ask Ms Mandi

Photography By:  Ask Ms Mandi

Copyright:  May 19, 2019

TWO CITY GIRLS & A RANCH

Let’s start our adventure.

Our first task, seeking out some potential land for sale.  Let me tell you, Temecula and Hemet have a lot of land for sale, but is it usable…that is the question.  Mandi and I decide to spend a day looking at a few locations.  Easy enough, right?  Not really when there isn’t anything on the land as you drive by, such as a house, but thank goodness for modern day conveniences, like Google Maps.  I honestly don’t know how people found their way around back in the day before cell phones existed.  Yes I know, it was called a Thomas Guide, but then again that wouldn’t have helped because undeveloped land doesn’t have a physical address.  Perhaps relying on directions from the realtor.  Anyway…it was a challenge and this was even with modern day necessities.

However, the biggest challenge is when you’re driving a Ford Fusion and discover the map wants you to drive up this narrow, steep dirt road, that drops off hundreds of feet off the edge on both sides of you.  Some of you may laugh, but for two city girls, this is quite a dilemma.  First note to ourselves, we must buy a 4×4 truck!

Needless to say our adventures were short lived.  We made it to one of the properties on our list, but the other three just caused too much anxiety.  Besides, our rationale was, if we can’t drive up our own driveway, then how in the heck will we expect our clients to do the same:)

When all else fails…find a place to eat, relax, and have a beer!

BLOG 05.17.2018 IMG_6549

Some days may seem impossible, but all we can do is take one step at a time.