And the journey begins...

aow

I havent really started much, but I guess just the decision to do so and be serious about it, has given me more confidence. I am feeling better about myself before its even working. KEEP GOING!

So it is December 1st, 12:10 am. I cant sleep so I figured I would update my progress.

I have had absolutely no cigarettes since my last post! yay me. I have wanted one a couple times. But I bypassed the thought, by eating grapes and chewing gum.



Yesterday we had a calf get stomped on and go down. So I spent most of my morning out in the cold and the rain trying to get the little guy on his feet. He only weighed 250# but that is still quite a workout. We would get him up and he would fall back down. We repeated this process for what seemed like eternity. These kind of things always happen when my husband is out of town working. He would have been able to lift him right up with no problem. But whatever I wont give up. This was my exercise for the day. It was quite a workout! We made a makeshift stretcher for him and about that time he stood up on his own. We had to get him about 50 yards to shelter before the big storm hit. So we made a halter from a rope and lead him while grandma pushed from behind and the kids helped on the side. For such a small guy, when he put the brakes on, he wasnt going no where. Of course at this point, we still were unsure the extent of his injuries, so we didnt want to force him too much. We finally got him situated under the old barn, covered with hay and given plenty of food and water. He was eating just fine. By that night he was up and moving around like nothing ever happened!


Dr gave me Adipex to aide in the "get healthy" battle. So yesterday, from breakfast until lunch, I ate a banana, some grapes, and 1/3 of a granola bar. All I drank all day was water. Yuk! I love carbonated drinks. Cant stand water. But I stood by my promise. I am missing my sodas! :(

Now I did fudge a little during supper. I went to see my husband at the rig and he is in the middle of nowhere. So not a lot of choices for supper. I did eat a salad though which is unlike me! But I did have some pizza rolls from Pizza Hut. They are pretty good. :)
Even had more cardio that evening :D


I will post before and after pictures later.
The Dr weighed me when I went there, and I used my personal evil device to get a # at home to see how different they were. The home scale was zeroed out first but still was quite a bit off from the Drs ofc. But at least I have something to go by for day to day progress.

So, with that in mind, checking the home scale today, it was 2 lbs less than 2 days ago. YAY!

I have done pretty good so far with the food (choices, portions, etc). I have gotten plenty of exercise in the last couple of days (on the farm). I have not had 1 cigarette since Saturday. And already feeling good. All in all thats a good start.

The downside? Ah yes, although some of these things as hard as they are, arent as hard as the other task at hand. I want to try and clean up my language. I am married to a roughneck who is also an ex-marine. So getting rid of the foul language is not easy! So far that is the only task I am failing miserably at. :/ But I wont give up :)

Interesting

Ok, not so sure as to what happened to my last few posts. They were made from my cell phone. Its supposed to text/post right to my blog. Yeah ok.
For that matter, I dont even recall what the heck they were about. O well. I guess the moral of the story is only use the computer to post.



Ok so here it goes. We are rolling into the new year. Not quite there yet, but close. I have decided to make some personal life changes. Such as getting healthy, quitting smoking...the hardest is trying to stop that sailor mouth :D lol
It wont be easy, but I want to change things. One of my problems is that I am a procrastinator. I have the desire for the changes...I just put them off. :/
Ok...no more.

High blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and more run rampant in my family and my attitude has always been "who cares, we wont get out alive. just enjoy life" I still believe that, but hey my husbands company pays $$ for us to quit smoking and to be healthy! lol So what the hell. So there you have it.

So as of right now I am putting my MIND to it. It is Saturday November 28, 2009, 11:55 pm. I am making the pledge to quit smoking right now. I was never "addicted", just did it out of habit and because of stress. This shouldn't be too hard, as I only smoke when my husbands home, out of habit.
I am also going to eat right. I like vegetables sometimes. More of a meat eater. But I am going to make it more of a habit to eat better things. This one is going to be tougher. I have a food addiction. I admit it. No more fast food places! Which we are often on the run, but I will have to come up with a solution, but no more fast greasy crap! Even though thats the stuff that tastes the best! :(
Along this line I would like to lose some weight. Would be nice to be back to my pre-pregnancy size. I wont hold my breath. It is possible, but who knows if it'll go that far. I'll put #s in here later. lol I do have a # goal. Changing my eating habits will help that. Although they say stopping smoking makes you put on weight. :/ Uh, well this is going to be a battle.

I shall document my trials and tribulations on here. For 2 reasons, maybe it will inspire someone, and hopefully it will help keep me motivated and honest. lol

To all of those who have rescued, fostered, or taken in a stray

If Not For You

I would've given up on life, if not for your kind eyes.
I would have used my teeth in fear, if not for your gentle hand.
I would have left this life believing that all humans don't care
… there is no such thing as fur that isn't matted
... skin that isn't flea bitten
… good food and enough of it
... beds to sleep on
... someone to love me, to show me I deserve love, just because I exist.

Your kind eyes…
Your loving smile…
Your gentle hands…
Your big heart saved me!!!!!

You saved me from the terror of dying on the street.
You have soothed away the memories of my old life.
You have taught me what it means to be loved.
I have seen you do the same for others just like me.

I have heard you ask yourself in times of despair, “Why do I do it… When there is no more money... No more room... No more homes???” I see you open your heart a little bigger... stretch the money a little tighter... make just a little more room... to save one more… like me.

I tell you this with all the gratitude and love that shines in my eyes. It is the best way I know how to remind you why you go on trying....

I AM THE REASON

The others before me are the reason,
As are the ones who come after.
Our lives would've been wasted...
Our love never given...

I WOULD HAVE DIED THAT DAY IF NOT FOR YOU!

Author Unknown

Help people wih your old cellphones

I was reading a magazine today and came across some interesting facts.
If you are like me, I have dozens of old cellphones laying around from when we would change companies or upgrade.

I found that you can send your outdated cellphone to "Secure the Call". It is a coalition that converts phones into 911 only devices for needy families.
Check out www.securethecall.org

And Verizon collects cellphones for the HopeLine program which assists victims and survivors of domestic violence.
Check out www.aboutus.vzw.com/communityservice/hopeline.html

"A letter from a shelter manager"

I think our society needs a huge "Wake-up" call.

As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all...a view from the inside if you will.

First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know.

That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays", that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.

The most common excuses I hear are; "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving too that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog".

Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door.

Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are.

If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.

Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down".

First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to "The Room", every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves.

When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?

I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work.

I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter.

Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.

My point to all of this DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!

Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say "I saw this and it made me want to adopt". THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT

Location: Everywhere




GIVE A SHELTER PET A CHANCE!

What the hell is going on?

Well, pardon the language...but I am kinda tired of it.

I do not know when exactly the problem set in...I have been dealing with it for a few years at the least. I would be in a store (especially Walmart) and I would just get a feeling of dizzyness or lightheadedness. It wouldnt last long, but about the duraction of the time I was in the store. Sometimes my vision would be "off" during the spell.

I never really paid attention to it, until this one time we took my kids to a indoor fluorescent minature golf place. Man, the lights in there messed with me so bad! Not only did I feel dizzy and have blurred vision, but I had a headache I thought I was going to die from. It had a burning sensation at the back of my head. After the headache was gone the spot that was hurting had a spot that left a "bruised" feeling.

I have the lightheaded feeling at least every time I am in Walmart. I told my husband and my mom and I am sure they thought I was making it up. However I have had enough and I come home and did some research...I found out I am NOT alone. Many people suffer from these symptoms from fluorescent lighting!

But the problem? There is no "fix" yet. Getting the stores to go to different lights that might cost them more money, because I was the only one brave enough to step up...unlikely to happen. So what now?

I prefer working at home, but I dont see being able to stay away from places with fluorescent lights, because they are everywhere!

Setting up appointments this week with doctors to discuss this more. Will keep you posted.

How Could You

HOW COULD YOU? - By Jim Willis, 2001

When I was a puppy, I entertained you with my antics and made you laugh. You called me your child, and despite a number of chewed shoes and a couple of murdered throw pillows, I became your best friend. Whenever I was "bad," you'd shake your finger at me and ask "How could you?" -- but then you'd relent and roll me over for a belly rub.

My housebreaking took a little longer than expected, because you were terribly busy, but we worked on that together. I remember those nights of nuzzling you in bed and listening to your confidences and secret dreams, and I believed that life could not be any more perfect. We went for long walks and runs in the park, car rides, stops for ice cream (I only got the cone because "ice cream is bad for dogs" you said), and I took long naps in the sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the day.

Gradually, you began spending more time at work and on your career, and more time searching for a human mate. I waited for you patiently, comforted you through heartbreaks and disappointments, never chided you about bad decisions, and romped with glee at your homecomings, and when you fell in love. She, now your wife, is not a "dog person" - - still I welcomed her into our home, tried to show her affection, and obeyed her. I was happy because you were happy. Then the human babies came along and I shared your excitement. I was fascinated by their pinkness, how they smelled, and I wanted to mother them, too. Only she and you worried that I might hurt them, and I spent most of my time banished to another room, or to a dog crate. Oh, how I wanted to love them, but I became a "prisoner of love." As they began to grow, I became their friend. They clung to my fur and pulled themselves up on wobbly legs, poked fingers in my eyes, investigated my ears, and gave me kisses on my nose. I loved everything about them and their touch -- because your touch was now so infrequent -- and I would've defended them with my life if need be. I would sneak into their beds and listen to their worries and secret dreams, and together we waited for the sound of your car in the driveway.

There had been a time, when others asked you if you had a dog, that you produced a photo of me from your wallet and told them stories about me. These past few years, you just answered "yes" and changed the subject. I had gone from being "your dog" to "just a dog ," and you resented every expenditure on my behalf. Now, you have a new career opportunity in another city, and you and they will be moving to an apartment that does not allow pets. You've made the right decision for your "family," but there was a time when I was your only family.

I was excited about the car ride until we arrived at the animal shelter. It smelled of dogs and cats, of fear, of hopelessness. You filled out the paperwork and said "I know you will find a good home for her." They shrugged and gave you a pained look. They understand the realities facing a middle-aged dog, even one with "papers." You had to pry your son's fingers loose from my collar as he screamed "No, Daddy! Please don't let them take my dog!" And I worried for him, and what lessons you had just taught him about friendship and loyalty, about love and responsibility, and about respect for all life. You gave me a good-bye pat on the head, avoided my eyes, and politely refused to take my collar and leash with you. You had a deadline to meet and now I have one, too. After you left, the two nice ladies said you probably knew about your upcoming move months ago and made no attempt to find me another good home. They shook their heads and asked, "How could you?"

They are as attentive to us here in the shelter as their busy schedules allow. They feed us, of course, but I lost my appetite days ago. At first, whenever anyone passed my pen, I rushed to the front, hoping it was you that you had changed your mind -- that this was all a bad dream... or I hoped it would at least be someone who cared, anyone who might save me.

When I realized I could not compete with the frolicking for attention of happy puppies, oblivious to their own fate, I retreated to a far corner and waited. I heard her footsteps as she came for me at the end of the day, and I padded along the aisle after her to a separate room. A blissfully quiet room. She placed me on the table and rubbed my ears, and told me not to worry. My heart pounded in anticipation of what was to come, but there was also a sense of relief. The prisoner of love had run out of days.

As is my nature, I was more concerned about her. The burden which she bears weighs heavily on her, and I know that, the same way I knew your every mood. She gently placed a tourniquet around my foreleg as a tear ran down her cheek. I licked her hand in the same way I used to comfort you so many years ago. She expertly slid the hypodermic needle into my vein. As I felt the sting and the cool liquid coursing through my body, I lay down sleepily, looked into her kind eyes and murmured, "How could you?"

Perhaps because she understood my dog speak, she said, "I'm so sorry." She hugged me, and hurriedly explained it was her job to make sure I went to a better place, where I wouldn't be ignored or abused or abandoned, or have to fend for myself -- a place of love and light so very different from this earthly place. And with my last bit of energy, I tried to convey to her with a thump of my tail that my "How could you?" was not directed at her. It was directed at you, My Beloved Master, I was thinking of you. I will think of you and wait for you forever. May everyone in your life continue to show you so much loyalty.


A Note from the Author: If "How Could You?" brought tears to your eyes as you read it, as it did to mine as I wrote it, it is because it is the composite story of the millions of formerly "owned" pets who die each year in American & Canadian animal shelters. Please use this to help educate, on your websites, in newsletters, on animal shelter and vet office bulletin boards. Tell the public that the decision to add a pet to the family is an important one for life, that animals deserve our love and sensible care, that finding another appropriate home for your animal is your responsibility and any local humane society or animal welfare league can offer you good advice, and that all life is precious. Please do your part to stop the killing, and encourage all spay & neuter campaigns in order to prevent unwanted animals.

Please pass this on to everyone, not to hurt them or make them sad, but it could save maybe, even one, unwanted pet. Remember...They love UNCONDITIONALLY. Now that the tears are rolling down your face, pass it on! Send to everyone in your address book and around the world! This IS the reality of dogs given up to shelters

New Farm Website

I have created a new website for our farm. On this site I will post information about the current animals we have, animals we have rescued, etc.

There is a blog and a forum on the farm site. Feel free to post ads on there about animals for adoption, lost and found, animals for sale, etc.

There are pictures of some of our animals and many more to come! Come join us.

SM Family Farms
http://www.smfamilyfarms.webs.com

Leg update

It has been about 3 months since the ill-fated accident with Mufasa accidentally stepping on my leg.
Although at times, the swelling is not as bad as it "usually" is. I have to report that it is still swollen MOST of the time. I have complete strangers ask me if my ankle was "broken" because of how swollen it is. It doesnt hurt until I have had a long day on my feet and it has really swelled up.
I never got much of a bruise, which is amazing. I have barely bumped things and gotten NASTY bruises before. I do however, still have a dadgum knot on my leg where he stepped on it and still can not totally feel my leg from the knot down to my ankle. I guess I will have permanent nerve damage.
O well at least I can walk and thank the good Lord, nothing was broken!

My poor baby went to the hospital today!

Awww! How sad...I have been so worried all afternoon. No word as to the condition. :/ I am on pins and needles!

Man o Man I Wish I could have that Dream again

I dream a lot...anyone who knows me knows that. Usually they dont make a lick of sense whatsoever. I do have alot of dreams of tornados...Ive been told that means my life is in turmoil. Ah well that has always been the case. I wouldnt know "normal" if it slapped me in the face...

Anyhoo...one Tuesday a while back, I dozed off while we were watching a movie. My cute lil husband thinks its funny to wake me up. He says I snore...but I dont! :P Anyways, so naturally he woke me up...damn him! I dreamt very clearly 4 of the 6 numbers, and I was on number 5. All I got of it was that it ended in "0". He woke me before I could get number 6! UGHHHH!!!! Are you kidding me? I dont usually take my dreams seriously...but could it be?

My stepdad dreamed the winning lotto numbers 2 days before a draw nearly 10 yrs earlier. Mom told him to go get a ticket, but he was an old curmudgeon who didnt believe in buying lotto tickets. So he didnt. Sure as the sun rises, those numbers came up the next lotto draw! (I know some people wont believe, but whatever) The ONLY problem was, he never bought a ticket. So he missed his chance at redneck retirement.

Well I was determined to buy some tickets anyways. I figure Ill pick several "0" numbers and Ill pick several tickets with different last numbers. Ah well...we great in theory. Yes I know the mathmatical probability and how many different dadgum choices there would have been...But as fate had it, my son got sik at school and I had to take him to the ER. We we in the ER til well AFTER midnight. (lotto shuts off at 9:45 pm for those that dont know) *sigh*

But as unfreakinbelievable as it may be...the very next day, the winning numbers included my 4, one that ended in "0" (10), and a 6th number...So...needless to say...i COULDVE been Texas' newest millioniare. Ah well, that may have been my one shot, but I never give up. Ill keep trying.

Moral of the story: If the person next to you is sleeping...DONT WAKE THEM! They could hold your financial future in the palm of their hands...or dreams.

Apple Juice and Alzheimers

I read in one of my girly magazines this week that a glass of apple juice at least 3 times a week will help ward off Alzheimers...

I dont think its working...as I can not recall what I was originally going to post :/

There’s no place like (an office at) home

As reported on Today/msnbc.com


Telephone agents are a company’s first line of defense in tackling calls. And employing people to work from home is a growing trend



By Jean Chatzky
"Today" Financial Editor
TODAY
updated 6:54 p.m. CT, Wed., Oct . 12, 2005


Long commute, noisy coworkers, little flexibility — there are some things that can make going into the office every day a real drag. For some, working in an office can be an impossibility, due to a disability or family situation. But increasingly, some companies are finding out that employees may not need to head to the office to get their work done. "Today" financial editor Jean Chatzky takes a look at interesting career opportunities that have some people saying there's no place like home.

Peter Catanese handles hundreds of calls each week for the Internal Revenue Service, and he does it all from his home in southern New Jersey.

"I have a cup of coffee and go to work. Just like anybody else does," said Catanese.
National Telecommuting Institute, a nonprofit organization that places disabled workers with at-home employment, uses Internet technology to enable call center work to be done at home.

"The federal government has out-sourced call center work overseas," said Michael Meyer of the National Telecommuting Institute. "And so we're saying to the federal buyers, if you're willing to do that, we have a workforce here that suffers a 75 percent unemployment rate that is ready to go to work."

For Catanese, who was hit by a car nearly 30 years ago, traditional employment is not an option.

"I have an awful lot of pain from my knees and from other parts of my body,” he said. “I can't work eight hours a day. I can work two, three, maybe four hours a day."

But those few hours mean more than just a paycheck.

"When you are disabled you don't have a work identity,” he said. “It's given me back my identity as someone that can walk around and be proud of himself."

How can a company know whether it should consider telecommuting as an option? According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the key is for each company to figure out whether the employee would be able to handle the job without telecommuting, and if the job would be conducive to a work-at-home environment. While these decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis, the EEOC has issued a fact sheet, available on http://www.eeoc.gov/, describing situations where allowing disabled workers to work from home would be reasonable under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

However, there are concerns about this trend. Some disabled workers would have no trouble getting into the office, and you don't want to make the disabled feel shunted to the side, as if they’re not a part of the office environment. You also don't want to put the disabled in a position where they feel as if they aren't eligible for promotion or mentoring.

In addition, disabled people often receive Social Security benefits and are allowed to earn only a certain amount without losing those benefits. For example, a disabled person working full-time can earn up to $830 a month, and part-time up to $590 a month. A person earning more than that would lose their disability payments, though if their income once again fell below those thresholds, the disability payments would be reinstated.

Colorado-based Alpine Access has been placing employees with home-based employment for years. Big name businesses like 1-800-FLOWERS and Office Depot turn to their 4,000 employees to take calls.

“It's very hard to find work that you can do part-time, that’s good work, that has good pay, that you can do from home,” said Reg Forster of Alpine Access. “It results in happier employees.”

Laura Voigt-Jiminez knows all too well the difficulties of going in to an office every day.

“My little boy was 8 weeks old when we discovered that he had a brain tumor, and so with all of his medical issues it just became impossible to work outside of the house."

Now this stay-at-home mom finds time to be a stay-at-home employee for a credit finance company.

"I give them a schedule of my availability, and then they just schedule my hours in those time frames," she said.

Another benefit of working at home? Not having to deal with a commute.

Martha Libby's love of gardening made her the perfect match for 1-800-FLOWERS, as did the chance to avoid getting in the car to go to work.

“I still like associating outside of the home, and talking to people, and doing customer service,” said Libby.

Though she's not ready to stop working, her husband is retired and the flexible hours mean more time together.

Back in New Jersey, Cantanese has discovered an unexpected benefit of working.

"It's also a pleasure to pay my own taxes for a change," he said.

© 2009 MSNBC Interactive.

For these and nearly 1,000 more legitimate work from home companies, please visit The Ultimate Job Directory.

Zenzuu

Hmm...
This one is still new. I joined Zenzuu (which is FREE). Not sure where I found out about it or who referred me. ts another social networking type site. Seems to be more business related so far.
Their claim is "make friends, make money". So we will see. If you want to join me there https://join.zenzuu.com/ultimatejobdirectory

Will let you know how it works out.

New eBooks Added

We are always expanding. We are in the process of adding hundreds of ebooks with very valuable information.

The list of topics is endless. Business success tips, business ideas, self help, cookbooks, making money on the internet and so many more.

At this time, most of the books are being offered up to 50% discount. With the occasional freebie ;)

Newly added today: The Craigslist Cashcow, Mystery Shopping Secrets, Blogging for Profits, Achieving Self Serenity, Delicious Diabetic Recipes, The Fun of Getting Thin, Home Based Business Ideas, The Absolute Beginners Guide to Starting a Website. More to come.

As always you can find The Ultimate Job Directory there. The most comprehensive work from home company resource.

Keep checking for new listings :)

Update on Lasik

Well as some of you know I had bladeless custom lasik surgery back in April of 2007.

Here it is more than 2 years later and I am still seeing better than 20/20! I love being able to see without the aid of glasses or contacts. I am still able to see things that I hadnt been able to see in years. I can even see better than my husband now! No complications up to this point.

Do I recommend it for anyone out there that qualifies? You bet! It was the best money we have ever spent.

Doors open again :)

Response has been good. Quite a few people have been placing their farm animals that they can no long keep with us. I have had MANY contacts about people needing to place dogs. Unfrtunately at this time I can not take in any dogs due to not having the proper fencing established to keep them away from our small farm animals. I am not taking in any more horses at this time either. (Any one able to take in dogs, or horses, please contact me as the need for homes for those is great).

We are receiving 2 new little bunnies today. A lady in town is bringing them. They got the bunnies for their girls. However, the mom is the one that is taking care of the bunnies not the girls. And with 5 kids, she has alot on her plate. They just dont have time for them.

So, we have opened our doors up to them. I will know more about them this afternoon. All I know right now is that they are both male, and one is a lionhead. And they are both friendly.

Uplifting

I do not remember where I got this from. I believe it was forwarded in an email to me a long time go. I thought it was something uplifting and inspiring so I kept it. Pass it on and god bless ;)


For attractive lips, speak words of kindness...
For lovely eyes , seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure , share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair , let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone...
People, even more than things, have to be restored,
renewed, revived, reclaimed,and redeemed;
never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,
you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older,you will discover that you have two hands;
one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

Whats happening

I know its been a bit since I posted last. We have been very busy as usual. Seems like we are always running and going. Not to mention, when my husband is on his "off" week from work, I dont get to post much because we spend all of our time together.

Hmm what has this week brought? Well, getting closer to the paperback version of The Ultimate Job Directory to be completed this round. The CD and the downloadable version are still available though. I cant wait for the new version to get here! I have added some more work at home companies and information. I love the new publishing company we are going with this time.
Also getting ready to put a billboard up on I30. Cant wait for that either!

We switched from AT&T on our phones to Verizon...Im still up in the air on this one. We had good coverage most of the time. But our dadgum bill was almost $300 every month (for 4 lines). Cheese n rice! Anyways, we could get the same plans for 4 lines, for half the price with Verizon. Which Verizon and Alltel just merged. We didnt have "friends and family" type deal with AT&T, so that sucked. So Im thinkin...Verizon has the biggest "network". So well be good and they go the friends n family deal...for half the price...WOOHOO! yeah well coverage sucks with them. I have been round and round with them, the excuses I have been given is that the merger is still new and they are still switching over towers so the phones are still trying to find the towers which is why we hardly ever have a dang signal. Hmm...I might buy that, if my neighbor hadnt told me that a year ago, that was the excuse they gave her for not being able to get a signal..and that was BEFORE the merger...so I am thinkin this may not be worth half the price.
The customer service is a little lacking also. I know if I ever had a problem with AT&T, they fixed it immediately with no questions asked. My husband had a problem with his phone, and we had to go round and round with them to get the problem solved. Even had to take it to higher ups to get it fixed. They even implied that we were not telling the truth on what happened to the phone. If theres one thing in this world that I dont take lightly...thats being called a "liar"! Anyways, I told them they had 24 hours to fix our problem or I was taking my money back to AT&T. Needless to say they did fix the problem by the end of the day. So we will see what transpires with the future service.

The animals are great. We have been putting up more fence this week. Only a couple hundred more panels to go I think. We had the pasture baled, and trees cleared in the back 10. Of course they left a mess, so we offered the tops to the people who have land next to us. Free firewood if you come get it and clear it. So they have been here all week cleaning up the mess. I almost have 10 usuable acres back there. We have 57 total. The PLAN is to aquire the 50 next to us too. But that is in time. The big girls are getting so big. My lil boys are growing up so fast. The goats are absolutely loving the new pasture! Poor snowy has been spending more time outside now. I still bring her in when it rains or if its too hot. But I am trying to get her used to being outside. Sh thinks "mama" dont love her no more. :( Bless her heart.
The LGDs are growing like weeds. The just had their 2nd shots recently. Doing pretty good at barking at strange things. Only problem is Ivana has taught them to "roam". Lil boogers. Soon though they wont be able to get out of the gate.
Turned the last few baby ducks out yesterday. They are loving it. The birds love to hang out under the bug light. They have prctically dug a hole from here to China trying to get all the bugs.

Update on my leg...not good. It has been what? almost 2 months since the accident? My leg and foot still stay swollen most of the time. I have a knot on my leg in the spot where his hoof landed and from the top of that knot all the way down my leg is still numb! So we are thinking maybe theres nerve damage. Dont know that theres anything they can do for it. Of course when the accident happened, was before the new insurance kicked in. It will kick in next week, so if there is more treatment needed it wont be covered.

We went to church Sunday. The music was great. Although they are still looking for a replacement pastor, so the sermon left a little to be desired. Still enjoyed it.

I am so ready for school to start back up! Anyone else with me on that one? :)

I have downloaded all the files from the memory card in my phone to the PC. So I will be adding pics and more videos soon!

Well thats all folks. Yall come back now ya hear! ;)

My crafty husband

My husband is a very hard worker. He is a mechanic by trade but found that he could make more money working in the oilfield. So thats where hes at now. He is working for one of the best companies out there. God love him, he works his butt off in the most extreme weather situations, 12 (sometimes 16 hours a day), 7 days away from home at a time.

I have been trying to decide for months now the "design" of the new space I want for the rabbits. Ive had several ideas but no definite idea yet. I had told him sort of what I wanted and he gave me no specific time on when we would start working on it.

However, this last weekend out of the blue, he went and got a ton of materials and just started building. We are still working out the specifics on the building, but the frame is up. It is awesome! :)

I didnt even ask. He just started doing. Its cute because he loves all the animals we have and loves doing these things for them.

Blaze

I wish I would have taken a picture of this beautiful horse when we rescued him. We saw him at a livestock auction. He was about 2 years old according to the coggins report. The poor guy barely weighed 400 lbs. He was literally all skin and bones. You could see the outline of every bone in his body. No one wanted him because the feared he might be sick since he was so thin.

You never know what you are getting at a livestock auction. But I looked at my mom and we decided to take action. Bidding was down to $12.50 because no one wanted him. We figured heck, for $12.50 if the horse is sick and isn't going to make it, at least we can give him a good home until the end. We brought him home and he was the sweetest and gentlest horse. We started feeding him 3 times a day and giving him weight booster. And literally a month later he looked like a normal horse.

Mom says there was nothing wrong with him except for he suffered from "lack of groceryitis". Which after seeing how he has improved, I agree.

Blaze had "brain surgery" about 6 weeks ago, so he is indeed a happier lil boy. But contrary to the coggins report we were given, Blaze is not 2 years old, he is more like 5. The level of neglect on this horse waas pitiful.

He is a very sweet and very smart horse. He has come along way and is learning to trust people again. He warms up to others over time. But I am just about the only one that can handle him. I guess he figures I "rescued" him and fed him when he was on his last leg. So he trusts me. That is an awesome feeling.

We turned him out into the big pasture today with the big boys. He loved it. Mom speculates that he has cutting lines by the way he runs and turns...if he doesnt, I do believe he would be a great candidate for a cutting horse!

Update on Casey

Casey (before)

We rescued Casey at the beginning of May 2009. Not sure of alot of details about him. Casey is a white (what we believe to be a charolais) bull calf. Well he would have been a bull if they hadn't banded him.

How Casey was rescued...We had driven by a house many times on our way other places. We noticed this place had alot of "junk" all over the yard. The had no fenced yard. But tied on a short green rope to a pine tree right beside the highway was a tiny white calf. That bothered me. Everytime I drove past this house I wanted to stop so badly. There was nothing for this poor calf to eat. Finally after a few weeks, I stopped and went to the door and just flat out asked the people if they would consider selling him. The guy first said "naw", then about 10 seconds later said "I'll take $50 for him". I said "SOLD!". Poor Casey had a small cooler with stagnant green water and was wrapped around that pine tree so tight he could barely lay down. The rope around his neck was so tight the guy couldn't untie it. He had to go get a knife to cut it off. As we were leaving, he brought out a bucket of "feed" for us to take with us for Casey. The bucket had stale moldy feed in it. No wonder this calf was malnourished.

Immediately I felt this poor calf would be happier. We took Casey to the vet and had him examined. According to the guy we got him from, he should be about 2-4 months old. We loaded up a couple of our 2 month old bull calfs to take the the vet and found that Casey was HALF their size. So poor Casey's growth has been stunted pretty bad. He also hasd a pretty bad case of mites. He was in sad shape.

He loves having all the other lil boys to play with. He gets plenty of food now and can run all over the green pasture, which he absolutely loves. He is so happy. He will let me pet on him some but is still leary of people. He will come around eventually. The mites have cleared up. He is healthy now except for the fact that he is still small. Probably wont get nearly as big as he should have if he had been raised right in the beginning. But thats ok, hes still cute as a button! :)

New residents

Lotta travelin...but we have some new residents on the farm. It was worth the drivin.
Both families that I met up with today to give their animals a good home, were great people with big hearts. They had their circumstances that led them to rehoming their critters. They really cared for the animals they had. Its hard to have to let go, but I was all for giving them a home.

The first stop brought us 2 very cute lil rabbits. They are just too pretty. Will post some pics soon. I enjoyed meeting that family. They really cared about what happened to the rabbits. Awesome!

Next stop brought me more than what we initially thought. They also were very friendly people who cared alot about their animals. I enjoyed meeting them also. We were intially going to get 8 goats from them because of their circumstances. But the longer I stayed the more animals I adopted. LOL

We did get the goats. They are cool, I think theyll fit in perfectly here. They made the mistake of telling my kids they could have A kitten...well after we get on the road, low and behold my son had conned them out of every kitten they had. So now we have 6 new kittens. Ah...they are cute tho. We also adopted a rabbit family. (mom, dad and baby) They are just cute too.

We didnt get home until about 1:27 am...got everyone unloaded. The kittens went right for food. The rabbits snuggled up for the night. The goats got out and made themselves at home at the hay bale. Everyone is adjusting fine. Cant wait til morning so I can spend more time with them.

Will try to get some good pictures of everyone tomorrow.

"Locks of love"

My daughter, who is now 11, used to have the longest most beautiful hair. I never cut it when she was little. Everyone complimented on how beautiful it was.

When she reached 3rd grade was wanted to cut it...SHORT. Well I guess I was more attached to her hair than she was. I hated for her to cut it. I wouldnt let her cut it all off. So she did a little at a time. I guess so I wouldnt have withdrawals. LOL

She has a friend who is 10 and looks almost identical to her, whose hair is long like hers was. She is about to cut hers all off and give to Locks of Love. I think that is awesome, and had I thought about it at the time my daughter wanted hers cut all off, we would have done the same thing. Her friend grows her hair long frequently then cuts it all off to give to Locks of Love.

I tried to get my daughter to grow hers back out long so when she cut it she could donate it to them, but she doesnt want to let it grow long again, not even for a great cause. :(


WHAT IS LOCKS OF LOVE?
Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.

Snowy

"Snowy" is the new nickname we have given to "snow white" the baby goat. She is now almost 2 weeks old. Just so full of energy.

My aunt wanted the nanny, so we started bottle feeding snowy after the first couple of days. Snowy kept escaping from every pen we had her in and it was always a goat hunt the next day trying to find her. Lil Houdini is what we should have called her. But anyways, so that nothing happened to her, we brought her inside fed her. She would eat then sleep. After a few days she was all over the place. I actually have her housebroken. She knows that she eats then she goes outside to tinkle and stuff. Like clockwork. We got her a lil playpen for her to sleep in. She loves it.

Now she thinks she owns the house :)

Proud mommy

We led the "big babies" down to the pond today for their first BIG swim. I was such a proud mommy. :) They graduated to the "big pool". They loved every minute of it especially since its been so dadgum hot here. Of course they didnt stay there. Once they were done they headed back towards the house. Silly babies.

We had 2 visiting ducks that stopped off from their trip to somewhere. They just sat in the pasture and watched the other ducks and geese. Not sure exactly what kind of ducks they were. Definitely different than any I have ever seen before. They stayed for a while, then headed back out.

wow another death...

Another celebrity death all in one day. First it was news of Farrah Fawcett...now just in, Michael Jackson has died. Altho I have never been a big Michael Jackson fan. Hes always been kinda WEIRD! Ok, really weird. I liked the thriller video...I was about 8 or 9ish when it came out. But that was back when he was almost still black. He started going white, and just went weird.
Not that theres anything weird about being white (as I am myself LOL), just wanting to go from black to white, or vice versa is odd. Be happy with who you are.

Giving a good home to unwanted animals..

We have decided to take in some unwanted animals. Since we have 57 acres near Sulphur Springs and a love for animals...I have decided to take in unwanted or neglected animals as space allows to give them a good home.

At this time are not taking in any dogs, however I have a couple of sources for placing unwanted dogs. I just do not have proper fenced in area for them and we have had bad juju with strays killing some of our farm animals. I will NOT take snakes either...sorry but they rate high on my EWWIE scale!

However, we have taken in turkeys, geese, ducks, chickens, cows, horses, birds, rabbits, goats, sheep, kittens, turtles, and more. We have rescued a horse that was nothing more than skin and bones. We have rescued a steer calf that was malnourished and his growth was stunted. Both the horse and the calf are healthy and happy now.

We are bringing home a new goat, a couple chickens and a couple new rabbits tomorrow. We opened our home to 2 young slider turtles this week and 2 kittens that needed a home.

We are not a non profit. All the money for feed, vet, shelter, etc comes from our own pockets.

Updates will be posted periodically of the animals.

Texas Heat!

Holy cow batman!

That is what my poor animals are screaming. Not long ago we were having severe floods for nearly a month straight. Animals were standing in several feet of sloshy crap...now the extreme opposite. We have had no rain in I dont know when. Everything is dried out now...but we are stepping into the "too dry" area.

Yesterday the temperature was 99 with a heat index of 110! You could just stand outside for a minute and sweat would be pouring off of you. Its very miserable. And I get to come inside to the air conditioning. My poor babies who have to fight for a sliver of shade :(

Our ponds were once running over...now they barely exist. Which is not good for the waterfowl. Its miserable. Not even cloudy days. No rain in sight....just SUN...SUN...and lots of SUN and HEAT! With all the precautions we are taking, we still lost 1 animal to heat stroke. :/

I still have more fence to build...but I think Im goin to hold out and wait for a cloudy day!

Aww Farrah Fawcett died

Seems impossible. Couldnt believe that she was even 62. Heck shes only a couple years younger than my mother in law. I did NOT know that. Man, until the last few years, she aged very well. And THAT signature hair!

Well, I didnt know her personally, so all I can say is that shes in a better place now and not suffering anymore.

ALAS! The baby has arrived!

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting...our new lil baby has finally arrived! ITS A GIRL! She is healthy and just absolutely beautiful :) Day one and she is letting us love on her. Shes such a sweetheart.

We have not yet come up with a name for her tho...any suggestions??

Found Somebody's Dog

I found your dog today.
No, he has not been adopted by anyone. Most of us who live out here own as many dogs as we want. Those who do not own dogs do so because they choose not to.

I know you hoped he would find a good home when you left him out here, but he did not.

When I first saw him, he was miles from the nearest house and he was alone, thirsty, thin, and limping from a cactus burr in his paw.
How I wish I could have been you as I stood before him. To have seen his tail wag and his eyes brighten as he bounded into your arms, knowing you would find him, knowing that you had not forgotten him.

To see the forgiveness in his eyes for the suffering and pain he had known in his never ending quest to find you...
But I was not you.

And despite all my persuasion, his eyes beheld a stranger. He did not trust and he would not come to me.

He turned and continued his journey, one he was sure would soon bring him to you.

He does not understand you are not looking for him. He only knows you are not there. He only knows he must find you.

This is more important than food or water or the stranger who can give him these things.

Persuasion and pursuit seemed futile. I did not even know his name. I drove home, filled a bucket with water and a bowl with food and returned to where we had met.

I could see no sign of him but I left my offering under the tree where he had sought shelter from the sun and a chance to rest.

You see, he is not of the desert. When you domesticated him, you took away any instinct of survival out here. His purpose demands that he travel during the day. He doesn't know that the sun and heat will claim his life. He only knows that he has to find you.

I waited, hoping he would return to the tree. Hoping my gift would build a an element of trust so I might bring him home, remove the burr from his paw, give him a cool place to lie and help him understand that the part of his life with you is now over.

He did not return that morning and at dusk the water and food were still untouched. And I worried.
You must understand that many people would not attempt to help your dog. Some would run him off, others would call the county and the fate you thought you saved him from would be preempted by his suffering from days without food and water.

I returned before dark. I did not see him. I went again early the next morning only to find the food and water still untouched.

If only you were here so you could call his name. Your voice is so familiar to him.

I began pursuit in the direction he had taken yesterday, doubt overshadowing my hope of finding him. His search for you was desperate. It could take him many miles in 24 hours.

It is hours later and a good distance from where we first met, but I have found your dog. His thirst has been stopped. It is no longer a torment to him. His hunger has disappeared. He no longer aches.

The burrs in his paws bother him no more. Your dog has been set free from his burdens.

You see, your dog has died. I kneel next to him, and I curse you for not being here yesterday so I could have seen the glow, if just for a moment, in those now vacant eyes.

I pray that his journey has taken him to that place I think you had hoped he would find.

If only you knew what he went through to reach it....

.....and I agonize, for I know that were he to awaken at this moment, and if I were to be you, his eyes would sparkle with recognition and his tail wag with forgiveness.

Author Unknown
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Now I can add to my "trade" list

I spent the day in the hot texas sun...building fence. Since we live on a farm...it has to be done. And since my adorable husband is out of town working...that leaves me and the kiddos to build it. PIECE OF CAKE!

Putting up the 256 ft of sheep/goat fence was the easy part. The pain in the butt part was coaxing the big boys (bull calves) back over to the right side of the pasture so we could fix it, and cutting all the weeds and underbrush on the fence line down by hand since the weedeater bit the dust.

There was a nice wind blowing for a while, so that helped since the heat index was a billion and one today. But we trucked right along and got quite a bit done. Soon well be able to turn the goats n sheep out to the big pasture.

As soon as the loggers finish clearing the 10 acres in the back of the pasture, we will turn the big ducks and geese out to the ponds! yay :)

I have found a new love

Man...I am 34 years old...about to be 35...and I have never been to the races.
I even lived within stones throw of a race track for a couple years and still never went.
We went to the drag races 2 weekends ago on a whim. We were actually headed some place else and I said we should go, jokingly. My husband agreed...so we did.

I loved it!!!! So much so that I had to go back this last weekend.

My personal faves are the Camaros. '67-'69! Man they had alot of them. Gorgeous ones! Altho this particular night...the camaros sounded awesome...they didnt actually win the races :(

I have found my new hobby...so if you want to find me on Friday or Saturday night...check the races! :)

People in General are Stupid

As much as I like to find the good in people...Most people in general are stupid and make me realize why I love working from home!

You got the people who love to drive about 20 miles an hour BELOW the speed limit. A girl was driving on a country road yesterday in Louisiana...(that says it all doesnt it?) ha anyways...posted speed limit is 70...she is going MORE than 10 under. Its a 2 lane winding road...no passing zones everywhere. About 2 feet of soulder off to the right. The dingbat moved over to the shoulder and motioned for me to pass ON A BLIND CURVE in a no passing zone...then got pissed because I wouldnt pass her and started cussing me to no end...yeah ok sister!

O ok...or what about this guy?
we had a bunch of garage sale leftovers that we just didnt want to mess with anymore...so we loaded them up to take to goodwill...clothes, electronics, baby stuff, etc...
All i can say is...dont ever think about buying any electronics from a goodwill store. if all the employees hate their jobs as much as this guy did...ull never know what ur getting!
So the guy starts unloading the trailer full of things. hes tossing bags of clothes out on the ground...ok i get that. then he grabs a computer monitor BY THE CORD and throws it out on the ground...um it DID work!
Lets see...he tossed a lil tv out onto the pavement and it shattered all over the place. dropped a stereo equalizer...threw the toys haphazardly everywhere...the list goes on...
So just a word to the wise...buyer beware in buying electronics from goodwill! I wanted to say something...but left it alone cuz its their problem now.

O yeah...then theres the RUDE front desk woman at the electric coop named "Donna". She got snappy with a 80 year old lady. Now I did step up and say something to her. Didnt make much difference. By the accent you could tell she was from up north...and Ive heard they are like that up there.

Ok, then theres the semi truck driver who moved over on the interstate to let us on from the ramp...thanks. That was polite.
Then in the same breath...the crazy man started to merge back over once he got up beside us and just about pushed us off an overpass! WTH? I honked repeatedly and had to slam on my brakes in order to not get creamed by the trailer of his truck and/or go off the overpass.
General Transport truck #499 (its red) from IL. Beware of this guy! Hes dangerous!

Ha ha then there was the pond stocking guy. We bought a 100 catfish for our pond for $35. Well supposedly. We only live a few minutes from where they were. The guy threw some fish in the big bag. Half of them were dead. On count we got around 80 fish of which half were goners...
I placed a call to the company they told me they would replace the whole 100! THANKS! Again that was a nice gesture.
She told me when they would be back out. So we showed up for our new 100 replacements. Talked to the guy there and explained what happened. The fish counter guy was there again. The boss guy made fish counter guy count out EVERY fish to guarantee 100+ and that they were all healthy. They counter guy was cussing n throwing stuff...all mad cuz he actually had to work. AWW poor guy.
Happy to say...we DID get 100 this time, and only lost 1!! Excellent.

Thats all of my stupid people rant for today! Have a great day :)

Awe inspiring

I love taking pictures of nature...

this particular day...my husband and I were driving along a country road...and I looked up to see this huge cloud over the trees. When we were down the hill and the treeline was higher it looked as if the cloud was a tornado that was touching down...

It was an awesome sight...altho it turned out to be nothing more than a truly awesome cloud. :)

New lil baby

Awww...nanny had a lil baby on June 13th. Shes so cute. We call her "snow white". Not a lick of color on her. Just white. So adorable.

Isnt she lovely? We thought mama was gonna have twins...nah...shes just fat! ha

But thats ok, we were blessed with 1 healthy lil girl :)

Finally healing after close call

It has been a week and a half since I was stepped on accidentally by my 600-700 lb bull. (the picture was of Mufasa when I first got him, he has grown so much!) I guess I should refresh. I havent posted much since the accident....

Ok here it goes, my dear husband came home from working all week on the rig. As always we were hanging out with the animals after we fed them that evening. We enjoy sitting out there and just watching them. All of our animals are big babies and soooo spoiled!

Anyways, "Mufasa", my gorgeous gray brahma bull, wanted to be petted on. So I started petting onhim. When I would quit he would nudge me to scratch on his head and neck again. So I did. Hes just a big baby. Alhough this big baby weighs between 600-700 lbs by now.

He layed down and I got my bucket and sat near him on the backside from where he was facing and continued to scratch his neck. He had me doing this fo almost an hour. Then my sweetie came over and leaned down in front of him, with both hands on his head, and was being quite loud, and poor Mufasa jumped to run for the hills....

Ugh...I mostly made it out of the way! :( I went off the bucket backwards very quickly, however my leg was still on the ground. Mufasa TRIED to jump over me but missed by a hair and his back left leg came down on the inside of my left calf!

OMG...I have never felt such a pain. We thought for sure it was broken. Well my husband did. I was in denial. I do not like doctors or hospitals, so I did not want to go. He had to help me to the house. He tried to put ice on it, but it was already swollen and you couldnt touch it anywhere under my knee all the way down to my ankle. Excruciating pain! Even just sitting still, my leg was constantly burning.

My husband forced me to go to the ER to get xrays just to be on the safe side. The wind hitting my leg from riding in the wheelchair was killing me. Childbirth wasnt even this painful! WTH?

The Dr came in and talked to me after many hours of waiting...funny thing was, no one believed my "story". They giggled and kept saying "your kidding me?". HA no. LOL

Anyways, xrays came back. Nothing was broken, even though it sure felt like it. Thank GOD! But I still couldnt walk for days. Here it is a week and 4 days later, and although MOST of the pain is gone...it has not completely subsided. My calf is still completely numb. My ankle (which didnt even get stepped on) is extremely swollen and badly bruised still. My foot is very swollen but doesnt really hurt. My leg on the other hand, is still sensitive to any slight touch. Walking is irritating, because when I walk I have a sensation in between my calf and my ankle that feels like a popping sensation. No one seems to know what that is.

I can walk better, still limp at times. Ugly bruises...people ask if I am scared to go around my bull because of that. No way! I will go back out and pet on all my babies again. They are all tame, it was an accident, one that hurt like the dickens, and I care not to relive...but they would never hurt me intentionally. :)

New critters on the farm

Well besides all the new additions we are anticipating...
yesterday we got a yearling brahma heifer, and today we got another 5 month old brahma heifer. Tomorrow we are picking up a 2 month old brahma bull calf. They are all awesome looking.

The bull calf is used to people and gentle...the big girls on the other hand, are going to take some working on. The young one is crazy...but shell lighten up :)

We also got 7 new lil bunnies. Not the litters we were waiting on. From a completely different source. Newly weaned lil lops. And one of my lil lop girls from Easter just came back to live with us. Her "human" couldnt take care of her anymore. Tis fine with me. :) Shes a doll.

Its about time for the sugar glider baby to go to a new home. Have not been able to tell yet if its a he or she. So no name yet.

Jipped at the auction

Well I visited my favorite livestock auction today in Emory. Never had any problems before. Except the heavy set lady at the "seller" window is a CRAB! Shes always bitchy. I cant stand bitchy people.

All of the goats they had, they had one teeny lil boy who looked just like "Hammy" (the one that got eaten by the coyote recently). I wanted him. So naturally I bid and I got him for $28. I was tickled. He was the only one I got...for that I was proud of myself because we have no self control when it comes to the auction. We are always bringing home trailer loads of animals we didnt intend to get. lol

But anyways, I check out, and all is good because I had to deal with "buyer" girl instead of "seller" crab. "Buyer" girl was friendly. I was ready to go. So I head out to get my little boy and be on my merry way...

But wait...all the goats were loaded up and GONE! And mine was nowhere to be found! Uh...WHAT THE...?!?!? O hayell no! We looked all around...called one of the lil loader upper guys over there and was like...um hey? Hes speaking in broken english...i THINK he was telling me to tell the people inside...which you bet your pants I was about to. I was about to raise the roof on that place. So then I go inside and proceed to get quite upset. Not only have I paid for my lil goat that is not there...some jerkoff loaded him up (he was the ONLY baby so he could tell that he didnt buy that goat) and took off with a goat he didnt pay for.

I was HOT! Then another girl in the office starts getting smart with me because I asked her assistance with the matter since the "buyer" girl wasnt there. The lil broken english loader upper guy didnt write on the paper "no animal", so now I have to go back out there and chase him down to have him write on this damn paper. Well he is in the alley way dodging cows and wont come back. Hes telling another guy to come handle it. That guy is saying he cant because he is busy. O man, Im ready to open a can right about now!

A second guy FINALLY comes over there, looks for the missing goat, which is STILL not there. So he comes inside with me to tell the girl, who is still being a witch might I add. He asks her if she can get the info of the guy that took all the other goats so I can get my goat from him. She threw the drawer open, handed me my money and snottily replied "he lives hours from here and all we have is a home number". Ok well...hey fine so u refund my money for the goat that I WANTED...hey but what about this creep that STOLE a goat? Not only did I not get my goat, but this peckerhead made off with a free got that wasnt rightfully his.

Personally if it was my place, Id ban this jerk from ever coming back! Of course, now I am contemplating taking my business elsewhere after todays fiasco and their lack of concern. We have spent lots of money with them buying goats, sheep, cows, horses, donkeys, etc...Hate to have to go elsewhere, but I wont stay and patronize a place that cant treat the customers any better. My money will spend just as good somewhere else!

Anticipation of new babies

Well tis the season...we are anticipating lots of new babies anytime.

One of our ducks hatched 10 of 12 eggs she was sitting on just recently. 9 of them survived. With all the new lil ducks and geese we turned out to pasture recently, our goose decided she wanted to sit on an egg. She there she sat for what seemed like eternity. We began to think that she was sitting on a dud. Thursday, the egg was gone but no baby. :/ We felt bad for her. Then Friday we were loading our calves to take to the vet and in the pasture was the teeny baby goose. YAY he made it! :)

Our lil duck is again sitting on 12 eggs due to hatch anyday now. But now another one of our ducks is sitting on 5 eggs and a chicken egg.

Our nanny goat is about to pop. Not sure if shes carrying 1 or 2. But we cant wait for them to get here. Any day now also.

"Jenny", our donkey, is about to explode also. She is so big we are questioning whether she might be carrying twins also. If it is not twins, it is one LARGE baby! Im excited but concerned.

We had one tabby who had a litter of kittens a couple of days ago, and "spots" had her litter last night. We have lots of field mice waiting on those babies to get bigger.

And last but not least, "Bonnie" our lop rabbit, is about to have another litter any moment. The last litter she had was just gorgeous. Cant wait to see what this one brings.

We also brought home 3 new baby girl boer goats yesterday. They are just adorable too.

Thats all on the baby homefront for now. :) Will put up pictures soon.

Lost in Missouri

By the way...if you are ever traveling on Hwy 71 in Missouri around Lamar. There is a convenient store that has maps for sale. However there is a crabby old woman that works in that store that doesnt like you to look at the maps to figure out where you are if you are lost.

I did not get her name, but youll know her. She very rudely asked me if that was "my map". I replied no. So she proceeded to tell me that I need to put it back because if I put a crease in it she cant sell it. (As if maps dont have creases)

Anyways, my husband bought that map...then tossed it to her and told her to stick it where the sun dont shine (thats the nice version). So the moral of the story is...if you are ever there and you are lost...stop in and use the map. Cuz it IS mine and I am telling you that you can use it to find your way!

Trip to the twilight zone

I am a Texan...I love Texas. But we had to make the trip to Iowa for my stepdaughters graduation. The drive took about 13 hours when you figure in tinkle stops, fuel fills, and meals. Not a whole lot to look at. Most of the drive was turnpike. Now that part was most definitely boring! Except for paying a large chunk of our retirement at every toll booth. Always fun.
Make sure if you see a gas station that you fill all the way up cuz there may not be another one for an eternity. And if mother nature calls out there, youre screwed!

I must say Des Moines sucks. I did not find one thing about that town that I liked. (except for my husbands friends) The neighborhods are crowded and cluttered. Every neighborhood looks like a ghetto. One way roads EVERYWHERE! We traveled with a Garmin, which in most cases is a nice tool to have. But between the road construction and the new roads, the Garmin had no clue where to tell us to go. It was telling us to take roads that were closed off by concrete baracades. "Look kids, Big Ben...Parliament" However, after 3 days the Garmin was so tired of this place that it literally told us to drive off an overpass! TWICE!

Then I had a dream that no matter how many times and ways we tried to leave, we were stuck in Des Moines! Nightmare! So we travel on our way home. Garmin gives us a different route back. Which strangely enough seemed to all be heading back to Des Moines. We did finally make it out of that craphole place after lots of wrong turns. Thank God!

If I never have to go back, it will be too soon!

The Invisible Woman, by Nicole Johnson

The Invisible Woman, by Nicole Johnson

Posted using ShareThis

Oh Poor Babies

DDAY...the day I have been dreading for a long time. We had to take our heifers and our lil bull calves in to have them dehorned. UGH! Our cows are like huge puppy dogs...and we have done all the shots and worming at home. They have been healthy so no need for vet trips yet. So they were freaked out when they had to go today.

I have seen the vet dehorn cows before so that wasn't a shocker. I know for our safety and the safety of the oher cows, that they needed it. We even had the vet give them lidocaine and pain meds. But it was still hard. Its like the feeling when you take your baby into the pedi doc to get shots and you cringe.

The made it thru alright, altho they are sulking. "Nita" (our brahma heifer) wont have anything to do with me at the moment other than takin the feed. Other than that she is still pissed. The lil boys arent that mad. I think they have a shorter memory span.

The weather is supposed to be nice for at least 7 more days, so we are praying for no complications. I hope by in the morning, Nita is back to her lovable lil self.

Do good things and it comes back to you

On a lighter note, I always teach my kids to do good things for others. I love the movie "pay it forward". That was just an excellent idea.

My son with his emotional instability, in convinced that the world is bad and you shouldn't do good because it gets you nowhere. Where he came up with this I'll never understand.

We were driving down the interstate a week ago or so. There was a severe storm moving through. We saw a vehicle stopped on the side of the road and a gentleman under the hood tinkering around. We decided to turn around and see if they needed help. (I am always nervous about that. As much as I want to help everyone, nowadays, there are just too many dangerous people)

My husband is a mechanic so I was confident that we could be of some assistance. The sky was dark from the heavy storm cloud. Rain was falling so hard you could barely see the road. Turns out a belt was broken and the couple couldn't get a signal on their cell phones to call for roadside assistance. They were on their way to his mother's funeral.

The gentleman said that we were the answer he had been praying for. We got them out of the rain and my husband took the gentleman into town to help him get a belt.

They were a very sweet couple from AR. We hope that they made it to their destination safely and wish them the best.



The next day, totally unrelated, my daughter and I were carrying out a cart of feed for the animals. We always lift these 50# bags of feed never thinking anything of it. An older gentleman followed us over to the truck and said he would get them for us. I thanked him and told him I could get them. But he insisted. This gentleman had a brace on his wrist and a brace on his back, and wasn't walking that well, but he was adamant about helping us get the feed into the truck. I was very appreciative.

I do notice all the little nice things that people do for us. Was a small thing, but I thought it was a very nice gesture.

I never would have thought

This is Nellie, our green quaker. We got her and a slew of other birds from a lady in Missouri. Nellie is one that thinks shes a person and not a bird. She also has become the "other woman" with my husband. She is obsessed with him. No one can touch her if he is around. If he is gone, she is just fine with anyone else. But let him come home and if you touch him she will attack.

She is very smart and talks up a storm. She will say "give me a kiss", "merry christmas", and even meow like a cat. Nelie's favorite thing to do (besides obsess over my husband) was to fly up to the ceiling fan blade and use it as her personal merry go round. The fan would be off. Nellie would get on the end of th blade and bounce up and down to make the fan move. Then shewould walk to the inside of the blade and start bouncing and make the fan stop and turn the other direction. Pretty cute to watch.

I posted several personal videos of some of our animals on youtube. But I never thought that the video of Nellie on the fan would be the most popular.

CALGON! Help me!

This is a very hard and touchy subject to deal with. My son is 14 and has bipolar disorder which is comorbid with numerous other disorders. He started showing signs at age 4. However he wasn't diagnosed until age 5. We have been fighting this battle every since.

It was hard enough when he was a small boy having rages all the time. I did tons of research on bipolar disorder. I read over family histories. I read so much I could quote the PDR by heart.

Over the years I have fought with the schools for his rights. I have ridden the roller coaster right beside him. And I don't like roller coasters. He was homeschooled for 3 years after being kicked out of one school for threatening to stab a teacher. But it got to where I could not teach him. He would manipulate and defy me when it came to the school work.

I finally decided to put him back into public school. I desperately needed the break. He had more problems. Then he was hospitalized for the 8th time. I have exhausted all the resources at my disposal (meds, counseling, etc). Nothing seems to help this boy. He is now physically bigger than I am and totally refuses to comply with anything. Everything sets him off. I have reached the point where I can not handle him anymore but I have nowhere to turn.

I desperately need a vacation and a solution.

Rain rain go away

I hate to complain about the rain, however we have had so much rain in the last month that we are about to float away. Our pastures are flooded. If the weather keeps going this way, then my husband will need to start building an arc.

The good part is that our pastures are the most beautiful green you have ever seen. The cows are loving all the green grass. But the flip side is that it has been so wet we cant get anything done. We need to dehorn the cows, but we cant because of the amount of severe weather we have had. We need to move calves out of the pen they are in to the pasture, but we cant because we cant move the cows yet. All my sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and geese are wading in about 3 feet of watered down poo. (the ducks and geese like it tho) Its so nasty, but there has been no way to dry anything out. Everyday is the same forecast. It has become very frustrating. Again I hate to complain because I know just a couple years ago we were desperate for rain. Pastures were dead and to get good hay people had to get it from other states. I dont want a drought, but a reprieve would be great. At least long enough to let things dry out so we arent wading thru knee deep poo!

Our ponds are nice and full though :) The only problem is our little geese and ducks are so spoiled they dont want to hang out in the pond. They want to hang out by the house waiting for me.

New Addition

(Donna-Bellas sister)

Well due to the circumstances with the coyotes returning, we talked to a few people that also had goats and sheep and they recommended getting a flock guard. They said that we need to raise it up with the flock.

So we searched for someone locally that had any Great Pyrenees pups. We had not been able to find any. However, we came across some people who did refer us to a man who did just happen to have a litter of pups. His pups were 6 weeks old and are 1/4 Anatolian Shepherd and 3/4 Great Pyrenees. Both of which are supposed to be excellent livestock guards. So yesterday we brought home our newest addition "Bella". She is currently rooming with a boer kid who we got the day before, "Sammy". She is the prettiest thing and we are saying some prayers that this does the trick.

(Sammy and the girls)

Meanwhile, we are taking every other precaution to try and deter the predators and ward them off.

Sad week on the farm

I usually try to find the silver lining in every cloud. But sometimes there is just a time when you just can't find it.

Earlier this week one of our rabbits (who had a litter of 8 of the CUTEST babies in the world) decided for some unknown reason to start attacking her babies. They were 2 weeks old. She has had litters before. We are still unsure as to what her reason was. 5 were killed. We took the other 3 away from her, fearing that they would hold the same fate if left with her. We brought them inside to bottle feed them. The first day everything went ok. Then oe of the girls started not eating. She just refused to drink. She got weak and passed away. But the ONLY light at the end of the tunnel is that we do have 2 very cute, very healthy babies left. They are growing like weeds.

Just when we thought the worst was behind us...

We had a 2 month old boer goat we have raised from day 1 on a bottle. He was the cutest thing. When we got him he was very sick and very weak. We werent even sure that he was going to make the ride home. But he did. My son named him "Hammy". Appropriate name as he was a HAM! He did not think he was a goat. He thought he was one of us. He would follow us everywhere we went. If you called his name he would come running. He wasnt happy unless he was getting your attention, then he was the happiest goat in the world...even tho he didnt think he was a goat.

We went out this morning to feed all the animals and Hammy was no where to be found. We called and called. I started to panic. Wasn't sure if he got out of the pen and ran off looking for us...or if he got "taken". We kept calling for him. I walked the whole pen. As I got towards the back end of the pen, I saw what looked like a rock...after further investigation...I realized what it was (I will not go into details b/c it was NOT a pretty sight!). I started to cry. But I was angry at the same time. Mom came around asking if I had found him. I let her in on what I had discovered. She was upset too. But both of us knew that it was going to really kill my son. I walked around the pen to chase the baby geese back in and on the other side of the fence, I found the spot where the coyotes dug under the fence and beside the whole was a gruesome discovery (again I will not disclose what was found). But it boils down to...our precious Hammy was gone! :*(

This has been a difficult week, but a tremendously difficult day.
We did meet some nice people today who gave us one of their boer billy babies. He is a cute thing. A little nervous around people. But he is lightening up. I think he will be a good goat, but he is no Hammy.

They did put us in contact with some people who have great pyrenees puppies. We are getting one tomorrow for a herd dog. I have been told they are the best at guarding the herd. I HOPE SO! I can ot take another loss because of the coyotes.

Our Press Release

Our press release went out just recently and I am totally thrilled with it. Things have been going good lately. I attribute my faith to that. I turned everything over to Him.
Here is the press release that went out for us recently:



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The Truth About How to Make Money Working From Home
Pickton, Texas, (PRWEB) April 23, 2009. -- A new website has been created that cuts through the endless layers of hype and false promises, and offers solid information on how to find work-from-home jobs that pay real money.
The Ultimate Job Directory lists nearly 1,000 work from home companies and business opportunities that have been thoroughly checked out and verified as legitimate. Listings include companies that hire telecommuters for customer service and sales, hundreds of direct selling companies and mystery shopping companies, transcription jobs and more. All information is checked regularly, and is constantly updated.
"Working from home is coming into its own," says Amber Scanlon, creator of The Ultimate Job Directory. "The daily commute just costs more time and money than a lot of families can afford -- plus, parents want to spend more time with their kids, rather than turning them over to day care and hoping for the best. Working from home is the perfect solution -- IF you can find real jobs that pay enough."
Scanlon, who spent years as a single mom, has always chosen to work from home, and knows all too well that most "work from home opportunities" are not opportunities at all.
"People get disillusioned," she says. "They answer an ad, and it turns out to be either a dead end or an expensive mistake."
With that in mind, Scanlon set out to create a resource that people could trust. A detective at heart, she did months of research, weeding out schemes and scams, and "zeroing in on the good stuff".
"If it's a come-on," she says, "it's not in there. And, if it's in there, you can bet it's for real."
For additional information, go to http://www.ultimatejobdirectory.com/.