Writer's Workshop

I decided to try Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop after reading about it on This, That & My Blog (http://jessicaelizabethr.blogspot.com). I couldn't decide on just one so I chose two.

1.) What is your life's anthem? You know...that song that is ALWAYS in your head. The one you'd go to sing first if someone told you to sing a song right NOW. What is it and what does it mean to you?

And again, my indecisiveness shows through. I chose "Shine" by The Newsboys and "Always Be My Baby" by Mariah Carey. Hilarious duo, right? The first one goes "shine make 'em wonder whatcha got make 'em wish that they were not on the outside looking bored shine let it shine before all men let 'em see good works and then let 'em glorify the Lord" It's a Christian song that always reminded me of how I want to live my life. The second one I just LOVED growing up and my roommate and best friend in college, Whitney, and I used to drive around Stillwater, OK blaring it loudly. It just brings back good memories.

4.) Describe in what ways you expect too much from your significant other. Do they deserve an apology?

Marty is an A-MAZING husband. But, we are both perfectionist...he is SO good about helping around the house whether that means loading and unloading the dishwasher, putting in a load of laundry, whatever...I just don't acknowledge those things enough. I'm working on it, though. When I got in from my run this morning I made him sausage and eggs.

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Memorial Day Weekend

I realize that once again I am behind as it is now Thursday, but work has been NUTS this week.

This past weekend was fairly low key for us. We just picked up around the house Friday night. Saturday my cousin, Dee, got married.

But, before we left the Fed Ex man delivered a small package. I am now officially "one of those people" I was on Biscuits and Belly Rubs blog (http://biscuitsandbellyrubs.blogspot.com) and they had a post about these adorable Ralph Lauren dog clothes. Granted they were on sale and I reasoned that I spent less on this shirt than I have most of the other coats and things Tyke has. Unfortunately, it was sweltering Saturday and I put the shirt on to take his picture and then took it right back off, but isn't he so cute? (There's a little lime green polo guy on the side of the collar you can't see.)

Mom & Me before going into the church.

Here's a shot of M & me at the wedding. I LOVE this picture, but it's a little blurry.

My adorable grandparents.

After the wedding we headed back to my parents to spend the night. We went to church with them Sunday morning and then just lounged around that afternoon.

Monday we headed to a friend's ranch to help them work cattle. I was riding Marty's Tennessee Walker, Blackjack, and toting my camera so I wasn't expecting to see much of the action other than from behind my lense. Well, they were short handed so I did ALL of the branding. It was fun, but being the blonde I am I applied sunscreen generously, multiple times to my arms, face and neck, but I forgot my back. I have a nice square, lobster-colored sunburn now. I went from pasty to fire engine red in less than 12 hours.

Here's a few shots from that day.

Marty and Jason flankin'.

Marty sortin' calves off the cows.

Rader aka "the gate keeper".

BeAuTiFul day in the Texas Panhandle.

Rader ropin'.

Of course, I got something on my lens and didn't realize so the ones of Marty roping have a fuzzy spot in the middle.

We got finished and Rader's mom and two sisters had fixed the most delectable meal possible. We ate, recooped and then headed to the house to shower and freshen up for a cookout and pool party we had that evening.

It was a fun weekend. I'm glad it's Thursday and the weekend is almost here once again!

Gonna Be a Bear...

I got this e-mail this morning and thought it was too cute not to share. Image By: Bryan Harry - NPS

Gonna Be a Bear

In this life I'm a woman. In my next life, I'd like to come back as a bear. When you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do NOTHING but sleep for six months. I could deal with that.

Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that too.

When you're a girl bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake to partially grown, cute cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that.

If you're mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that.

If you're a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.

Yup, gonna be a bear!

My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys...Part II

Last night we cooked out at a friend's house. He doesn't know many people in town so he hosted and I did the inviting. I of course, was too busy to take pictures, but we had such a good time! There's nothing like getting to entertain without having to clean your own house!

Some of you may be tired of my cowboy pictures, but I took a lot of them and I still had a few that I wanted to share.

Here's Marty and Jeremiah. The "nice guys" who got stuck with the dudes.

62, my dad's horse.


My daddy on the start of day two. It was YUCKY outside. Can you tell?


Brock's son.

Brock

The next generation. Stormy and Boudreaux. I kid you not.


Big 'ol bull...

Levi

Dazed and confused calves.

The "overseers"


The end.

Hope you all have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend!

New Blog Design

I have to give a HUGE shout out to Sharon of Redbud Designs. She patiently helped me with my design and to not know each other personally I think she captured my personality to a "T". I'm only slightly indecisive and OCD. She is amazingly talented and super sweet! You can check out her designs here...

http://redbuddesigns.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much, Sharon!

"That's What I Love About Sunday..."

I waited to post about Sunday afternoon because I hadn't uploaded my pictures from my Canon Digital Rebel, yet.

After the luncheon at church Marty and I went home and prepared for an afternoon outdoors. We loaded up and headed northeast of town to turkey hunt and fish. It was a B-E-A-UTIFUL day! I was glad to be outside and I hadn't really been hunting at all with my husband this year, so I agreed to go. I always take my camera along because there are SO many pretty things you miss if you don't.

I took a lot of pictures of the wild flowers. I realize some of these are probably weeds, but it makes no difference to me. They are pretty nonetheless!

Here's my handsome hunting guide.

I thought this little bridge was SO neat! It's tucked away (as you can see) and runs over the most beautiful creek called Oasis Creek. I tried to get pictures of the creek itself, but none of them turned out very good.

THIS is why I go with him...

It was a wonderful day. We rarely spend an entire day together anymore...especially on the weekends. It was oh so nice. We didn't get a turkey *(which I'm ok with) and we caught a couple of bass. They weren't big enough to keep, though.

Weekend Recap...

Friday night was slightly stressful. Marty and I were supposed to attend a fundraiser that my grandmother, the Director of a local Meals on Wheels organization had put together. My mom was also planning on taking part in the fundraiser and had taken off work early to be there to help set up.

There had been a chance for severe storms in the forecast so we left the office a little earlier than usual. I went home and turned on the TV only to discover that they had issued tornado warnings about 45 miles away where my mom and grandparents happened to be. So, I immediately called my mother who was completely unaware of the weather. She went to by a nearby church and my grandparents were worried about their vehicles so they went to their house.

All in all, there were about four tornadoes, grapefruit size hail and they shut down the main highway because the storm was moving along it and people were still driving through the storm. Luckily everyone was ok, but I got a call from one of my friends shortly after this asking if my parents were home because their was a fire just south of their house. It was a wild night!

I went outside and took a picture of the clouds. They were freaky looking!


Saturday Mom and I headed to Amarillo for a spa day with the girls. We met Randi, her mom, sister and future mother-in-law for lunch. Here's a picture of our group. Randi's soon to be mother-in-law had shirts made.

Then we headed to the spa. I had never had a facial before and it was glorious! We left town right after our pampering so we could make it back from one of my best friends mother's 50th birthday party. It was an action packed day!

Sunday was our last day to teach Sunday school for this term. The kids were so sweet! They were like, "you know you can teach back to back terms if you want to?" We had a senior luncheon after services and the food was YUMMY! I swear we have the best cooks around...I had a slice of Kentucky Derby Pie that was to die for. This isn't the original recipe, but I found this one online at http://www.americanfood.about.com/.

Kentucky Derby Chocolate Walnut Pie Recipe

This delicious Kentucky bourbon chocolate walnut pie is traditionally served at the annual Kentucky Derby Horse race. This pie recipe is similar to the Melrose Inn's famous "Derby Pie," which has been served at the race for over 50 years. Makes 1 Kentucky Bourbon Chocolate Walnut Pie
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons Kentucky bourbon
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 ready-made piecrust
Preparation:Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs and butter; mix to combine. Stir in the bourbon, walnuts, chocolate chips, vanilla, and salt. Pour the mixture into the unbaked piecrust. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

Etsy Love...

So, I've been seeing the adorable headbands everywhere...blogs, magazines, etc. However, I had yet to find them in any of my latest shopping ventures. So, I did the only reasonable thing a girl in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE would do...I found them on Etsy.

Yes, Lindsey...I know you made your own and they were adorable...however, I am NOT that crafty. The first one I purchased is a feather headband that has pink and feathers with rhinestone accents. I love this one. The first time I wore it everyone thought I had put streaks in my blonde hair. Those of you who know me know that I'd never do something that drastic.

The second one I decided on is a navy blue and white curly feather flapper barette. Isn't it adorable? I was going to wear it Mother's Day, but the navy in my dress wasn't quite the same.

You can find them by going to Etsy's site and then select "Sellers" from the dropdown menu and type in JustLiv. She has some amazing pieces...

I am currently lusting after this one...

Happy Friday, everyone!


I am off to a lovely mother/daughter spa day tomorrow that I'm throwing for one of my friends who is getting married in three weeks! I'll post pictures next week!

Progress...

Well, I've been using "My Daily Plate" and consciously eating better for a week and four days now. I've lost three pounds, although yesterday when I figured this out I almost through a hissy fit. That means I still have 9 lbs to go and even though, I know it doesn't fall off over night, it feels like I gained it over night. I've only been walking moderately and not consistently at all. I think I'll start running come Monday morning.

Last night I was laying in bed watching TV and I almost got sucked in by this...Ab Circle Pro. You can view this lovely contraption by going here http://www.tryabcircle.com/. Granted the infomercial was SUPER cheesy, but I almost believed it!

I am one of those people that don't believe in going out and buying new equipment until I've fully committed to something. For example, my mom told me I probably needed new running shoes. Although, this is true until I've run consistently for a couple weeks buying new running shoes would be a waste of money. I also think that typically people buy workout equipment thinking, "I'll buy this and it will motivate me to workout." Wrong. If you aren't disciplined enough to work out before you probably aren't going to be motivated by having a new piece of equipment. I am however, going to buy Jillian's 30 Day Shred. I can handle 20 minutes a day and I've heard such great things.

Enough rambling...I'm still curious about the Ab Circle Pro. Has anyone bought one or used one? Was it worth it?

Mother's Day...

I know I am behind, but I couldn't NOT post my Mother's Day pictures.

I seriously, have some of the most A-MAZING women in my life. They are Godly, strong and independent and I hope I am half the woman that they are someday.

We started out the weekend by spending a couple of nights with my Grandad in Amarillo. He is retired and lives alone so we try and get up to see him as often as we can. For some reason I didn't get any pictures of the two of us...

Saturday morning Tyke & I had hair appointments. Yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds to some of you...I dropped him off at PetSmart and I headed to the salon. Mom met me as soon as I finished and we went shopping for some final touches for her newly remodeled kitchen.

Here's a picture of Tyke and me that evening.

He was tuckered out. Getting groomed and going to Doggie Day Care are tough!

Sunday morning we grabbed Starbucks and headed for my parents. We met my parents and grandparents at church and I got to visit with Miss Michaela afterwards.

Michaela's dad was my high school coach. She's growing up on me, but we're still super close.

Speaking of church, we're still "technically" teaching Sunday school, but my cousin filled in for us since we had planned to be gone. I couldn't decide what kind of craft for the kids to do for their mothers, but I came up with these flowers and they decorated the pots and then wrote their favorites qualities about their mom's on the cards. And we have more than three kids in our class, I just didn't figure that 15 little plants would make as good of a picture.

Afterwards, we went back to Mom and Dad's to open gifts and relax. I just got Mom some pretty tulips because I am working on finishing her scrapbook from her 50th birthday party. I just have to add the cards and pictures from the party. And we got Grandmom some lovely solar lights for her garden.

Mom and I

Mom and Grandmom

Mom, Dad & Me

My hubs with two very lovely ladies!

My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys...Part I

Every year we have a week long cattle working. It's old school style. Sixteen to 20 cowboys gather and work around 500 head of cattle a day along with chuck wagon meals. There are quite a few big ranches left around here, but the cowboy way of life is not something a lot of people practice anymore. I absolutely LOVE it, though. It's how I grew up and what I know. There's just something sexy about a cowboy on horse back...especially if he knows what he's doing.

Although, these are just a portion of my pictures...I couldn't wait any longer. These are COMPLETELY unedited, raw shots I took Monday and Tuesday. (*Note: Please don't copy or reuse any of these photos without my permission.)

I got up at 4 a.m. so I could be at our ranch before sunrise. It was worth it. This is why I LOVE Texas!

It was overcast and rainy both days. My equipment was WET, but I was still able to get a few shots that I am REALLY proud of!

Here's one of my dad's best friends, Buddy or "Uncle Bud".

I don't know why, but I always love shots that make you think of cowboys without them actually being in the picture...


Brandin', Flankin', Cuttin', Givin' Shots, Ear Taggin'

One of these days my best pictures will be of my husband, but for some reason, he's never around when I am. This year he had to babysit some "dudes". There is a dude ranch about 45 minutes from our ranch and they called my dad to see if they could bring "dudes" and suprisingly he agreed. There were about 20-25 of them four from Delaware, a couple from the Chesapeake Bay area, Germany, London, Canada, etc.

I always have a "favorite calf" in each group. It's usually the smallest, most feeble looking one. I always trying and beg Dad to let me bring it home and bottle feed it...*LOL* In this shot it's the one right in the middle.

Levi doing a little roping.

Uncle Bud and my dad.

L.W. He was literally the first person Marty met when he moved up here. I don't think he could've met a nicer guy.

Trent flanking a calf.

Gathering some cattle.

L.W. and Marty

Anoter one of my favorite calves...

Boots & Spurs.

Jeremiah