Sláinte

Cheers Everyone!!! Saint Patty’s Day is just around the corner and I am so happy because Shamrock shakes are delicious :p lol.  Those little 3 leaf clovers supposedly were used to symbolize the “Holy Trinity” encompassing the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  How did that become a minty frothy cup of green goodness???

What else do you think of when you hear of St. Patrick’s Day? What about the other green beverage so adamantly consumed with this holiday?  That’s right, I’m referring to your good old green beer.  Now this one I get…kinda.  First off, the color green…said by some to represent Catholosism in Ireland and by others to be reminiscent of the lush tall grassy fields of their land.  And secondly, Beer. Okay so fun fact: Arthur Guiness signed a 9000 year lease in 1759 for the over 60 acres of the Guiness Brewery which is the world’s largest stout brewery.  Ireland is populated by over 4.75 million people who each on average consume 369 12oz. vessels of beer yearly.  That is over 1.3 billion pints of beer sold to a country a little larger than the state of West Virginia, on a yearly basis….Insane!!! So, if we put 2 and 2 together we find we drink green beer once a year to celebrate the lushyness of the Irish fields of grass and the people (HA!). Okay, no offense meant C:. I personally know a non lushy and fabulous partially Irish girl that will probably want to toss something at me when she reads this…and she doesn’t even like beer! 😀 But to all of you that do, raise your glass. Sláinte!

   What else comes to mind?  How about the word blarney? Supposedly, this word was said to have been used by Queen Elizabeth in the 1400s when referring to Comac MacCarthy because he could deceive people without offending them in his letters.  This practice dubbed both his Castle and the Blarney Stone.  The stone was said to have been cut from the same type of rock that makes up Stonehenge and people have visited the castle for centuries to try to hang up side down to kiss it hopes to be blessed with the gift of gab.  The stone itself was, in story, introduced to MacCarthy by a witch that he saved from drowning and has quite a history of its’own.  I have to admit… I would like to kiss the Blarney Stone some day but can you imagine how many pairs of lips have been on that thing!!?!! ({})  C3  ({}) Ahhhh!

Some people might think of leprechauns when they hear Saint Patrick’s holiday is coming up.  These little green clad shoemakers are said to be derived from a small bodied fairy that drinks too much. Poor little chaps! Supposedly, You only have to listen to the hills for the sound of their little hammers tinkering and merry singing to catch one and blackmail them into forking over their pot of gold in exchange for the little Irish dudes’ freedom.  I don’t know about ya’ll but I would be very hesitant to kidnap a… uhhh.. being and then try to barter their freedom back to them.  That just seems so wrong on so many levels.  Plus,  they kinda seem a little creepy to me..no thanks!

I hope you guys have enjoyed my Saint Patty’s special and while I don’t know how to segue into Smittysrancho with this one, I was able to learn and share all of these tidbits with you today because my wonderful Mommy (the owner) of Smittysrancho.com believes in my sharing and communicating abilities.  I assure you, this company was created with the hopes of not only success but bringing my family closer together while providing a Christian based shop for gun, camo and wilderness enthusiasts to easily find their needs.  Every person should have and try to attain their own goals in life.  Smittysrancho.com is one such goal for my family and if you believe in supporting a family run small business with wonderful personal customer service and the willingness to provide the best, for the best, i urge you to visit the site right now.  Plus, this is exceptional timing as almost every piece of women’s clothing in the entire wilderness dreams line up is on sale.  In closing, however you choose to spend your Saint Patrick’s Day, take this with you: Wherever you go and whatever you do,
May the luck of the Irish be there with you.

 

Saint Valentine

Oh what a tangled web we weave……….

Hi guys!!! You might have noticed this but the title, image and first line of this blog are all totally unrelated.  First off, let me say, Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤  Now for a bit of a history lesson.  Saint Valentine:  There were actually a couple of Catholic priests with the name of Valentine but it is believed that back in the mid 200’s AD there was  a Roman Emperor who felt he could not grow his army because men didn’t want to leave their wives and families.  Because of this, he outlawed marriage in order to, in his mind, increase the number of soldiers fighting for him.  Despite what the emperor wanted, Valentine (a romantic at heart) would still marry men and woman.  His actions did not go unnoticed and when he was found out, he was beaten and sentenced to death.  While he was in jail he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and before he was killed on February 14th 270 AD, he passed a note to her with the endearment “from your Valentine”.  Sound familiar? :*  Now, you might ask, what the heck does that have to do with the price of rice in China!?  Nothing…HA!  Buuuut, before Valentine’s death, Romans already used to celebrate a fertility festival succeeding a holiday directly tied to Juno, Goddess of Women and Marriage.  My guess would be that in Rome’s urge to convert everyone to Catholicism they merged the Holiday with the untimely death of the now “Saint Valentine”.

“Oh what a tangled web we weave” was a quote by Scottish author and novelist Sir Walter Scott.  The rest of the quote goes somberly like this: “when first we practise to deceive”.  Nope, practice is not spelled correctly via today’s English standards…it was bugging me too 😛 aaand not very uplifting, I admit, but I somehow felt like this spidery and seemingly hairy first portion of this quote seems to go hand in hand with love.  What do you think?  Share with me your favorite quotes that make you think of love?

That brings me to the image at the top of the screen.   The first person who can correctly comment who created this sculpture and where the prime version of it resides will win a $15 Smittysrancho gift card.  So let’s hear it people…give!

Now let me tell you a little bedtime story about this beautiful representation of love.  These lovers are Cupid [also know as Amor (french for love) or the God Eros] and Psyche.  Listen in for what some consider the most romantic story of all time.  There once lived 3 princesses, the youngest of which was Psyche.  She was so beautiful that she made the goddess Aphrodite jealous of her.  Because no man wanted to anger the goddess of love, Psyche remained single while her sisters married and moved away.  The king was distraught that no one wanted his youngest child, so he went to an oracle who told him to dress Psyche in her Death clothes and throw her from the highest mountain.  The king was aghast but did as the oracle suggested.  Unbeknownst to anyone else, Eros (Cupid) who was also the son of Aphrodite had fallen in love with Psyche and didn’t allow her to die in the fall.  He took her to his home and cared for her and told her stories and loved her every night.  His only rule for Psyche was that she could not look upon him to know who or what he was.  He allowed her sisters to visit and when they did they planted evil seeds in her mind that her lover might be a gruesome monster and she wouldn’t know better unless she tricked him and looked at him in the light.  Though she trusted Eros her curiosity got the better of her and when she saw he was the god of Love she was cast out and away from him.   She wandered, broken hearted, searching for Cupid.  She finally came to the house of Aphrodite and begged her forgiveness that she might see her lover.  Aphrodite was still so jealous she forbade Psyche to see her son, saying he was suffering from a broken heart and would only allow them to meet again if she could accomplish several nearly impossible tasks.  She completed the first 3 tasks by befriending beings sent to her by her smitten Eros.  Finally, Aphrodite sent Psyche to retrieve a box of the charms of beauty from Persephone (the goddess of the Underworld).  After passing through the many of levels of Hell to get the prized container she was warned not to look into the box on her travels back to Aphrodite.  She made it to just outside the gates of hell and again her curiosity was her down fall.  When she opened the box a deep sleep came upon her.  Eros could no longer stay away and flew to Psyche to wipe the sleep from her eyes and bid her arise with his kiss (this is the moment I believe the sculpture depicts).  As soon as she recuperated Eros took Psyche to Zeus to beg his favor.  Not only did Zeus allow Psyche and Eros to be wed, he also bestowed immortality on her.  Aphrodite had to except her new daughter in law and they forgave each other and everyone celebrated their joining.  That is the story, in my words, of Amor and Psyche (goddess of the Soul).

Now, I know this is unlike my other blogs but I was captured by these notions and thought you might enjoy a little, mythology and history about the Holiday that American’s spend almost 20 billion dollars (wowza) on every year.  Don’t forget that I’m giving away a $15 gift card so let’s hear those responses.  Also there are still some very sexy and adorable pieces of lingerie available for 40% off on Smittysrancho.com.

Again, Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone! God Bless and good night!

February! Already?

      Sunday marked the end of hunting season and football season…already!  Yep, I guess it’s time for Elmer Fudd and the Panthers to give up until the leaves decided to turn golden once more and fall to the ground (Ouch… too soon?! :P).  Ok that might have been a low blow and actually, I’m totally impartial to NFL football teams so I have no room to run my mouth…i just couldn’t  stop myself from spouting the dig and all though I have total control of my keyboard right now and my fingers aren’t running rampant without me I can’t bring myself to depress the backspace button.  Terrible self control…SMH :D.

I really can’t believe how fast time is sweeping by though.  Pretty soon the moss and buds will be sprouting and the flowers will be blooming.  I will definitely be more likely to crawl out of my hibernation and stretch my limbs.  I can’t wait!!! Don’t get me wrong I love the snow.  I like snowball fights and snow angels and skiing and snowmen.  I get great thrills from doing donuts in every parking lot I come across and Ohio is just downright beautiful laden in snow.   However,  I cannot wait to peel off the sweaters and scarfs, ditch the gloves, dismantle the hardtop from the jeep and cruise doorless in a tank top and cutoffs…maybe even shoeless…shhhhh…dont tell!  Ahhhh, swimsuits and butterflies, cocoa butter and shades, ice cream and flipflops. Man I can’t wait and while I can’t wait I am glad I have a few months to prepare.  My goal this year is to lose 20-25 lbs by the end of the summer.  Every couple of years I get this bug to be more healthy.  I’ve dropped and kept off about 50 lbs over the last several years.  More importantly, I changed some very bad eating and cooking habits.  Well it’s time for me to expand my knowledge and trim my waistband once again.  I’m an active person by nature so it isn’t that difficult for me to get my butt up and get going.  This year I have added Yoga to my list of passions.  Whether you prefer yoga or dancing(my other love), running (blech), lifting or swimming.  You can look hot and be comfortable whilst playing your day away.  These are just a few of the options for active and swimwear clothing at Smittyrancho.com.  Now, I’m putting myself out there by telling you what my personal goal is so I must be held accountable.  I urge you to comment and share what your personal goals are with me. I’m all ears(that’s a silly saying) and I am here to cheer you on as I know you are silently cheering for me :).  On Saturday I accomplished the Crow Pose. I was very impressed with myself (teehee) even though it was only for a few seconds lol.  What have you done or do you yearn to accomplish?  We’ve got this!!

There is one more thing that if I didn’t mention I would be doing you all a disservice.  As you know, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.  That most likely means that you just might be getting jiggy(nah nah nnahnahnah) with somebody here shortly.  In celebration of this day for lovers Smitty’s Rancho is having a 40% off sale on all lingerie! Check these out and more for your honey bunny, sugar cookie or snookie wookums.  I personally love the camis with matching boy shorts.  They are super comfy and so adorable.  You had better act fast though because when they are gone you will be out of luck.    Well I guess “that’s all folks!”  Till next time Good night and God Bless!!

The Citadel

Well Hello! I’m back…I warned ya! 😛 So this week I want to talk about a little historical building in downtown Massillon.  For those of you out there with vast detective skills you might have figured it out…The Citadel.  If you are familiar with the area you probably remember seeing a red and white Salvation Army sign hanging from the Southern side of the building.  I found out some pretty cool stuff when I googled it.  According to The Evening Independant printed in June of 1953 the building located at 143 1st ST SE cost $93,000 to build at the time.  Is that nutso or what?! Especially considering the vast expansion it just took on over the last few months.  I know, I know your dying to know what said expansion contains…I have a feeling you are gonna be just as elated as I am about this tidbit of knowledge.  Just so happens, the Citadel houses a brand new gun range…two actually! One upstairs for shooting rifles and shotguns and also a pistol range on the lower level along with AJ Harris Tactical gun shop.  And guess what else it also has in it?  Smitty’s Rancho resides nestled right in the corner room.  Of course, it’s just a small display of all of the goodies available on the site but there is a beautiful representation of the purses and totes.

So picture this for a Saturday…you get up kinda early (ugh) be down to the Citadel in time for your CCW course.  Learn how to truly respect, handle and gain confidence with your firearm in the classroom.  Then you take a couple hours at the range were you will be guided how best to aim and fire your weapon at different distances and become more acquainted with the processes of loading and “unloading” (:D) your gun.  This is also a great opportunity to check out other peoples choice of firearm as there will be plenty of people learning right along with you.  When you’ve packed your brain with as much knowledge as you think you can for the day, then you get to check out the shop.  You peruse the glass case and wall for the firearm of your dreams.

(Mine being a set of 50 cal dessert eagle platinum gold tiger striped glorious pieces of art with slides as smooth as butter that I would love to don just like Lara Croft [I got to hold one once!!] lol) Is that hot or what… I digress sorry.

So, now that you have your new firearm picked out you hop into Smittys Rancho and find that perfect concealed carry purse for you or your girlie (now of course there are dozens of products available on Smittysrancho.com that couldn’t be contained by these four walls so don’t forget to check out the website).  Does this sound like an awesome way to spend a Saturday or what? If so, I think we might get along just fine 🙂 🙂 🙂  So now you might be able to see the appeal that the The Citadel holds for me and all under one roof? I believe if you take a moment to drop in you will find it to be a tantalizing use of your time…and who knows…maybe I’ll see you there!

That’s all for now kids,

Good night and God Bless

Hey there!!!

Let me introduce myself.  My name is Keri.  I have never blogged before and am the daughter very briefly spoken of in the last SmittysRancho Blog.  My extremely beautiful, intelligent and insightful mother (:D) asked me if I was interested in trying my hand at this.  You guys let me know what you think.

First, a little bit about me.  I’m 35 years old, I have 5 kids ranging from 7 to 17 (egads lol) and have been married for almost 11 years.  I was introduced to the ammunition industry a few years ago but already had an interest in weapons of all sorts.  If you had walked into my childhood home you would be likely to see swords and knives hanging on our basement walls, my brother downstairs sitting at the pool table cleaning a pistol and maybe even my mom foot sweeping me onto the kitchen floor (with love of course :P) whilst my dad would be grading taekwondo tests in the office.  My grandmother actually has a rifle and shotgun nitch built into her kitchen wall right next to the telephone.  Now that I look back, I wonder how many people had experiences like this.  Do others think this lifestyle is weird or the norm?  What I do know is that all these things made me…well… Me!

     When my career took a turn a few years back and my mom brought me into the ammo business, she pointed out that it was predominantly populated by men and while it still is today, there are many more female hunters and shooters out there now and every year the numbers grow.  Thus the birth of SmittysRancho.com, geared towards woman’s wants and needs in a world where there are so few options to choose from.  My mom spent months searching for the best made and most reputable companies making conceal carry purses, hunting equipment, jewelry (cause face it…us girls wanna look cute even if we are all a little different), regular clothing…”for chicks that dig camo”…lol and pretty much every accessory she could conjure up.  Now she is even making her own items like personalized bow cases, totes and….what I got for Christmas, a white camo wheel cover for my Jeep!!! Is that freaking awesome or what?! And, you heard me right, she made it!

     So now that I have properly introduced myself and shared a little side dish of my life with you I’m gonna wrap this up for the night.  But don’t you worry your pretty little heads… I will be back next week (same time and same place). See you here? And in the mean time head over to Smittysrancho.com and peruse the proverbial shelves to your hearts content.  Oh yeah and for you boys out there..I’m positive the we have something for your mother, sister and/or daughter and maybe even a little something for you too!!

     Good night folks and God Bless

To Conceal or Not to Conceal

My hubby and I struggled for several years about the decision to get our Concealed Carry Licenses, but after considering questions like (1) Why? (2) How? (3) When?, not to mention the Social, Legal and Moral issues, we finally agreed to take the plunge. So a few years back we signed up with our daughter and a friend to take the course. We chose a reputable and highly recommended NRA Instructor who we felt would not only teach the safe handling, but the technical and legal issues of carrying a weapon. He even addressed the current Social implications, and took us down the very personal road of moral issues. At the time it was a 12 hour course, with 10 hours of class time and 2 hours of range time. I believe it’s been reduced to a 10 hour course, but be sure to check with your local instructors. Being fairly experienced gun handlers already, we still found the whole experience to be completely enjoyable and ultra informative. I recommend you look into a Concealed Carry Weapons course even if you’re not prepared to get your license yet.

Shopping for my firearm was fun and I settled on my Charter Arms Chic Lady .38 Revolver. It’s pink! It’s quick and easy to load, and ready to fire at a moment’s notice.  The very next thing I did was pick out a CCW purse. On the Smitty’s Rancho Site we have unique, hand made Concealed Carry Totes like the one below. http://www.smittysrancho.com/camo-concealed-carry-tote/

We have some very affordable,blingy, cool, and updated styles like this Montana West,

 http://www.smittysrancho.com/montana-west-braided-and-studded-concealed-carry-western-handbag/ , but the one I finally chose on that day was this multi-purpose go-with-everything Gun Tote’n Mama’s Legacy Handbag for it’s classis beauty, suede and leather construction and roomy-ness, as well as the holster that is included in every Gun Tote’n Mama’s Concealed Carry Tote. :http://www.smittysrancho.com/concealed-carry-legacy-hand-bag-by-gun-toten-mamas/

So, the question remains: Have you taken the plunge to get your Concealed Carry License or are you still contemplating? Whatever your answer is I hope I have provided you with a little more info.

TTFN (TaTa For Now),

Jeannie

Smitty’s Rancho Brand – The Beginning

The desire for a unique Compound Bow Case, in the colors and patterns of camo that have recently hit the market, is what motivated me to design the first compound bow case. Since then some varied and beautiful color combinations have emerged from the many customer requests for this case.

 

Smitty’s Rancho Camo Compound Bow Case has evolved into a Long Bow Case as well. Also available in your favorite patterns and colors.

Long Bow/Recurve Bow Case

You can buy the quiver by itself, but it comes with the bow cases.

I’m thinking of designing an arm protector similar to this to match the bow cases. What do you think? I’d love to hear your feedback.

TaTaForNow,

Jeannie

A New Beginning

Smitty’s Rancho blog is taking on a new look!

We’ll have recipes (for the game you harvest), video’s and photo’s (of the outdoor games and sports we play (and harvest)), the clothes we like to play in, and the people we like to hang out with. From time to time we’ll post new products we’re excited about, new places to visit, and new adventures we embrace.

So, to start I wanted to share with you what I do to stay in shape so I’ll be as strong as possible to play outside when the opportunity arises. It’s called ReZist, a brand new form of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout developed by Gino Caccavale in New York, http://www.canyourezist.com/

but brought to our area by Theresa McFadden. An awesome strength training, core training and cardio workout all rolled into 1/2 hour, and I love it! https://www.facebook.com/jaguarmetcon

What do you do on those days when you can’t get out, but really, really want to?

I’ve found that some of my favorite workout clothes come right out of Smitty’s Rancho!

http://www.smittysrancho.com/camo-loungewear/?sort=featured&page=2

http://www.smittysrancho.com/activewear-black-shorts-with-mossy-oak-pink-breakup-camo-trim-by-wilderness-dreams/

http://www.smittysrancho.com/activewear-racer-back-tank-top-by-wilderness-dreams/

 

 Enjoy your weekend!

Jeannie

The Best Gun and Rifle Cases for Women

Source: The Best Gun and Rifle Cases for Women

Smittys Rancho – Passing the Torch… It’s Time to Grow….

Well folks, it is with some sadness that today I submit my final entry into the Smittys Rancho blog.   Since February of 2014 I have tried my best to inform as well as entertain our audience, and I would like to think I have done so adequately… but I need to move on in respect for my own plans for the future.

Not many of you know it, but I have been quietly growing a sewing business for the last two or so-ish years… and while I didn’t actually plan to have a business, I guess it just kind of evolved from something I considered a hobby at first.   Now I am considering it my retirement plan… since we all have a pretty good clue how it is going to go with social security when it’s our turn – yep.

I am also involved in a very interesting and important recycling project in the oil and gas industry as project manager, researcher, and social media content developer (this helps pay for some pretty bad-azz sewing equipment I now own in my sewing workshop I might add).

So with all this going on, I feel that it is time to back off my involvement with Smittys Rancho and focus on my own doings – not because I don’t love you all (because you know I do).   I will still be making all of the awesome bow cases and other Smittys Rancho gear you love, but the social media end will have to be passed along to someone else.   My apologies.

Borrowing words from Thomas Edison… “If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.”    I’m ready to go astound myself now – but before I do, I wanted to show you my very favorite products I have constructed (and designed in some cases) in my sewing workshop for all of you lucky Smittys Rancho fans & customers over the last two years.

Here they are….

     

There are dozens more items we carry that I just love, but I have to get going here – owning a small business is not always as easy or fun as it sounds – but you can find all of the great Smittys Rancho products seen above by clicking on any of the pictures.

Thanks for having me and it has been a pleasure (and FUN) meeting and hearing from you as well as exploring all kinds of cool topics each week.

Come visit me on Facebook if you’re so-inclined… look for “Ree in Stitches” and you found me!  I have a group page as well as a business page… and FYI the group page is where all the fun things happen 😉

Take care – Ree 2015