There's Nothing Romantic or Poetic About Being a Cowboygirl

There's nothing romantic or poetic about doctoring calves in a foot of snow.  When it's cold, and slick.  And you have to keep the vaccine bottle in your bra so it stays warm enough you can actually draw vaccine out of the bottle when you need it.

 

There's nothing romantic or poetic (or even cool poems about....) processing yearlings in the rain.  In mud up to your knees.  With wet gloves.

There's nothing romantic or poetic about classing calves in the alley.  In 6 inches of oozy, sticky, gummy mud.  Buried under 8 inches of snow.  One hour before the truck shows up.

There's nothing romantic or poetic about trailing cows down the highway in subzero temperatures.  Leading your horse because you can't feel your feet.  When you can see your breath.

There's nothing romantic or poetic about calving out 1500 heifers.  In 4 weeks.  Twelve hour days.  Each black heifer looks exactly like the black heifer you just rode past.  In January.  By week 2 you won't remember your own name.

 

But....

It is kind of cool to watch the sun come up over the canyon rim as you trot out of camp in the morning.

There is definitely some poetry in a perfect heel loop that scoops up two feet, or a bridle horse working a cow in a gate.

I'll admit, it is romantic, holding hands with your CowBoss while driving home from the sale after selling a trailer load of your own calves.

I guess drinking Carlo Rossi out of a tin coffee cup by gaslight after a long day doing cowboy stuff is rather romantic and poetic!

Me in a Nutshell

My favorite candy holiday is Easter.  Who doesn't love Mini Cadbury Eggs and Peeps?

I only like the pink and yellow peeps though.  The blue ones look like they are suffocating under the cellophane wrapper, and the green ones look like they've gone bad.  Purple are okay in a pinch.

I threaten my kids with taking away Christmas to make them behave but it never works.

I love listening to the cowboss read to the boys at night after he tucks them and the puppies into bed.

I look forward to TR getting home from school at night, almost as much as I look forward to him getting on the bus in the morning!

Lean Finely Textured Beef

I have started to branch out with my writing career.  This is an article of mine recently published in the Nevada Rancher.  The magazine isn't on line and I've had a few requests for this article, so I thought I would share it here!  Enjoy!

Recently on a social media site there was a post claiming that a certain fast food chain “is changing the recipe for their hamburgers.”  Jaime Oliver (a British chef/media personality who has made it his mission to prevent the use of processed foods in our American school systems), claims “the fatty parts of beef are “washed” in ammonium hydroxide and used in the filling of their hamburgers.”  He calls this the “Pink Slime Process.” 

When heifers make weight they will be shipped to the feedlot to finish and then to a harvesting facility.  Before being portioned, they are misted with ammonium hydroxide to prevent bacterial growth.

There is no “pink slime” in hamburgers.  The correct term is Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB).  LFTB is lean meat that is used in part to make ground beef.  Ground beef is made up of lean beef trimmings and other beef trimmings that are combined and ground together.  The benefit of LFTB is that the fat from the lean in the beef trimmings is separated from the meat and we are able to make a leaner and more affordable ground beef. 

Unfortunately, it is impossible to trim the meat from the fat by hand.  This is where technology comes in.  Before this technology was utilized, roughly 13 pounds of beef was wasted on each carcass.  When beef carcasses are portioned, the pieces that are cut off often have lean meat remaining.  It is virtually impossible (not to mention time consuming) to manually remove the meat from the fat by hand.  To separate the fat from the meat, the trimmings are warmed to their pre-chilled temperature, and then sent to a centrifuge where the fat is removed using a centrifugal force (think spun really really fast until the meat and the fat separate, similar to how milk and cream are separated).  You now have a meat product that is 94% to 97% lean.  It is 100% beef and fully inspected and regulated by the USDA.

Ammonium Hydroxide is another phrase that is used to scare people.  You know ammonia is used in several household cleaning agents and fertilizers.  It is toxic and if mixed with bleach a toxic gas will result.  Did you know that ammonium hydroxide is naturally found in beef, other proteins, and virtually all foods?  So what is ammonium hydroxide? Ammonium hydroxide is a combination of ammonia and water, two things that naturally occur in our bodies.  It is administered in the form of a puff gas which is misted over each carcass, and is used to slightly raise the pH on the surface of beef (where bacteria and germs like to congregate) to create an environment that prevents the growth of deadly pathogens like E coli and salmonella, helping to prevent bacterial contamination of our food. 

Ammonia based compounds are naturally occurring and found in every component of a bacon cheese burger.  In fact, the beef in a bacon cheese burger makes up about 9% of the total 2,013 ppm (parts per million) of ammonium hydroxide in that burger.  It is estimated that people ingest about 17 grams of ammonia daily.  Essentially you could consume 1,000 hamburger patties containing LFTB daily without any adverse effects.

Ammonia based compounds are naturally occurring and can be found in every component of a bacon cheeseburger (bun, bacon, cheese, condiments, and beef). 

According to the World Health Organization, the world population is increasing by 220,000 people every day.  Red meat consumption is rising and the available supply is declining.  LFTB production makes it possible to have more of the leaner ground beef blends consumers want at an affordable price.  If LFTB were not produced, it would be equivalent to throwing 5,700 cattle away each day.  In an era where thousands of Americans do not have access to enough food and we are encouraged to conserve our resources, utilizing lean finely textured beef makes a lot of sense to me.

Mama's Broken Heart

The boys watched Black Beauty the other night.  I won't watch the movie.  I'm afraid it will be too different from the book by Anna Sewell, and frankly, the book makes me cry.  (If you've spent your entire life under a rock and are unfamiliar with the story, here is a little recap: "As a young horse, Black Beauty is well-loved and happy. But when his owner is forced to sell him, his life changes drastically. He has many new owners--some of them cruel and some of them kind. All he needs is someone to love him again...
Whether pulling an elegant carriage or a ramshackle cab, Black Beauty tries to live as best he can. This is his amazing story, told as only he could tell it.").  So I hid out upstairs, trying not to think about it.

Here is a trailer to the movie:

When the movie ended QT came upstairs and found me, on the verge of tears.  I asked "What's the matter?"  With a slight stutter and quivering lip he told me "Ginger died," and with that he broke down into sobs.  I did my best (not to start crying myself, and) to explain that while it was very sad that she died, it was just a story and not real life.  That seemed to make things a little better, so with a big hug, I sent him on his way to get ready for bed.

I heard TR sobbing before I found him.  He grabbed me in a big bear hug and wouldn't let go.  I asked him "Are you upset about Ginger too?"  He nodded and told me between sobs "Ginger is dead and they didn't take very good care of her."  If the boys being upset that Ginger died bothered me, TR's comment broke my heart.  I want them to think there is good in the world and not to notice all of the bad just yet.  I want them to think everyone takes care of their animals like mom and dad do, and nobody or animal anywhere is mistreated.

I tried again to explain to him that it was just a story and not real life, which he understood.  It just really bothered him that the horse was mistreated.  I told him that I was proud of him for realizing that Ginger was mistreated and that he knew that it was wrong to treat any animal like that.  I shared with him this quote from Black Beauty, which is actually one of my favorite quotes ever:   “My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt.”  ~Anna Sewell  I tried my best to explain to him that we should always try to prevent wrong doing when we see it because if we don't, we are just as wrong as the wrong doer.  

I am happy that they are growing up and able to comprehend what they are seeing and hearing, and willing to come to me when something bothers them.  I'm glad (to an extent) that they cried when Ginger died.  It tells me that they are compassionate and hope nothing ever happens to change that!

The Cowboss and I are currently compiling a list of movies and books to not watch or read with the boys.  So far it includes Where the Red Fern Grows and Old Yeller.  Please let me know if you have any other suggestions of sad stories to avoid.  This mama can't handle too much of this!

Things That Make Me Smile

Picking up 2 feet with both Twain and the Cowboss neck calves at the same time and I'm the only other roper in the trap while the rest of the crew is trying to psych me out.

Cuddling with QT in the pickup while we wait for the Cowboss and Twain to get back from putting cattle away.

Watching Sheldon (Big Bang Theory) with my boys.

Indian Paint Brush, Wild Onions, Arrowleaf Balsam Root.

TR coming to the branding fire and saying "Ok mom, I'm ready to work," then helping give the Nasalgen vaccine during the first 30 calves.

Knowing I have blue painted toenails with little white flowers inside my cowboy boots.

TR leaving his spurs on his cowboy boots even when he isn't wearing them cause that's how mom does it.

Wearing the pink of my nylon rope.

Thoughts

I'm 95% sure that 910 isn't bluffing, and I don't want to find out for myself.  Everytime I step into a pasture or corral with her, her head comes up and she follows my every move.  I sure wish she would come up open!

I love Marie Calendar's Chicken Potpies.  Possibly it is because they are pie?  I don't know, but I love them like a fat kid loves cake!

I'm proud of the fact that my boys are morning people.  They wake up early.  Some days they wake up entirely too early.  I would rather have boys that wake up in the morning instead of kids that you have to drag out of bed at 7 a.m.!

We shipped out Cow number 111 this morning.  (She is the one that got me down and stomped all over me this winter while the Cow Boss laughed.  He PROBABLY wouldn't have laughed if I got hurt, but I was sore for a few days!)  I'm not gonna lie, I did do a happy dance when the vet pregged her open (twice just to be sure....I think the Cow  Boss liked her).  I would have celebrated today if I didn't feel so sick!

If anybody needs me, I am snuggled up on the couch with a rat terrier and a cup of tea, watching PBS cartoons, wishing I had some chicken soup!

Why I Don't Bake Cookies

All I wanted was to make TR cookies for his lunch for the first week of school.  I wanted them to be oatmeal chocolate chip.  I got to the part of the recipe that reads "Add 2 cups of oatmeal" to find out I only have 2 tablespoons of oatmeal.  Seriously.  Who leaves 2 tablespoons of oatmeal in the box and doesn't add oatmeal to the grocery list?  So I scrapped that plan and went to Pinterest to find a different recipe that looked easy and I had all the ingredients for.  Do you have any idea the number of recipes for cookies on Pinterest that include oatmeal?

I finally found a recipe for Brown Sugar Cookies.  Brown sugar, butter, flour, eggs, salt, vanilla, and baking powder.  Sounds easy right?  So I mix up the dough and put the first batch of cookies in the oven and move on to my next task, Baked French Toast.  One of our favorite recipes, that you refrigerate over night and bake in the morning.  I got to the part in the recipe where you slice your french bread and put it over the brown sugar/butter mixture in your 13x9 pan, and guess what?  My loaf of French bread was moldy.  Grrrr! I finally found some hamburger buns in the freezer to finish the baked French toast.

Off goes the timer.  My 16 cookies on my insulated cookie sheet have morphed into one large, flat, gooey, doughy mess.  They don't look anything like the beautiful cake like cookies in the picture.  I thought to myself when I put them in the oven that I should have done a test cookie.....

1/4 of cup of flour more and I over cooked the test cookie, but it does resemble a cookie.  The Cowboss comes into the kitchen.  He took one look at the pile of dishes in the sink, the failed nasty doughy mess on the cookie sheet and asked if he could take me to dinner.  He's a smart man!

To Recap:

1.  I hate cleaning the kitchen after I've attempted to bake cookies.
2.  We live too far away from town to run to the store to pickup oatmeal because we are out.
3.  Things like chocolate chips and peanuts mysteriously disappear in our house.
4.  For the record, I think insulated cookie sheets are the worst invention ever.
5.  Oreo's are pretty dang good!

Love

Listening to my boys play in the other room while I drink my breakfast tea and catch up on current events.

Leaves changing colors and sweaters!

TR's passion and enthusiasm.

QT's free spirit.

The fact that I have a much better handle on my Rat Terrier than I do on my kids.

My fat sorrel horse and how we click on good days and tolerate each other on our bad days.

I have learned....

Vodka and grapefruit juice isn't nearly as good as you would think it is....especially after a diet of cottage cheese and jerky while the Cowboss is gone and you are too lazy to cook because the boys are happy with cold cereal 3 meals a day.

It is inappropriate to respond to a text to the babysitter when she states "I would appreciate a little more notice in the future" with an "I would appreciate you learning my name, it's Jennifer not Jessica!"  Especially after drinking vodka and grapefruit juice.

Just because you want to tell someone exactly what you think of them, you probably shouldn't.

Laughter really is the best medicine.

Vodka and Grapefruit does get better the closer you get to the bottom of the glass.......

I Love Love Stories, But I Love Ours the Best!

The Cowboss and I officially met at a wedding.  Not our wedding, but at my cousin's wedding.  I say "officially" because we had seen each other around a time or two, but that was the first time we were actually introduced to each other and had a conversation that didn't consists of hey or head nods.  When it was time to leave, (my sister and I had a 100 mile drive to get home to ship calves in the morning), neither of us had a pen, so I told him I was in the phone book and to give me a call.  By Wednesday I had given up on him.

You can imagine my surprise when I was at my parent's house (they lived 1 1/2 miles from me and I would hang out there, in the afternoons to unwind from work), and  he called.  I was running through the house, headed out to catch my colt when the phone rang.  So I answered it.  A male voice said "Do you know who this is?"  Luckily I guessed the right name.  Took me a minute to place his voice, but he doesn't know that.  As far as he knows I had been sitting there next to the phone, willing him to call me!

He talked me into meeting him for a drink at the Steakhouse in Mountain City.  I learned he had been living 8 miles from me for about 2 years, and he had been trying to call me all week but I would never answer the phone.  Kind of hard to do when he was calling the wrong house, and never would leave a message!  We would have met sooner, but instead of hanging a left at the highway, he always turned right and headed to the Steakhouse.  I didn't stay out long, I had to teach the next morning.  Before I left, he talked me into helping him move cows that Sunday.  (How romantic, right)?

That Saturday we shipped out some more calves at my parents, and that evening I loaded up my bedroll and saddle and drove to Simplot Headquarters to help trail pairs into Idaho early the next morning.  He cooked me dinner that night, breakfast the next morning, and did all the dishes while I watched.  I was in love!  We saddled in the dark and it was dang cold.  I couldn't figure out how to put my cinch on my off billet (I still get confused when changing cinches to this day, and I tie cinches!).  I had forgot my spurs at home and had to borrow his.  They had a funky shank and I put them on upside down.  Talk about embarrassing.  I got stuck riding on the drag and never even saw him until we got the pairs to where they were supposed to be.  On top of that, his boss and crew thought I was only 16 years old.  His boss actually asked him "Aren't you ashamed of yourself bringing that little girl out here?"  The Cowboss didn't even correct him and tell him I was 24!  Before I left that afternoon we made plans for him to come to my house for dinner on Tuesday.

Of course the one evening I make plans to do anything would be the one my dad would need my help moving cows, so I left a note for the Cowboss saying I would be home just as soon as I got home and to make himself at home until I got there.  He sat in his pickup in my drive way for 45 minutes waiting for me.  Then, I was so frazzled by having him there and being so late I burned the pork chops.  It took a large glass of wine to sooth my nerves and relax.

But, my dog adored him and the Cowboss didn't quit me there.  Our weekends turned into taking turns driving 100 miles to see each other.  My dog Buck would go to school with me Fridays so we could spend the weekend in Bruneau with the Cowboss.  I would take my saddle and help him with calving, doctoring, and processing, when he came to my house we slept in and watched tv.  By May we were talking about getting married and I knew I couldn't teach another year.  The past year had been too hard on me, so he talked me into moving to camp with him when I got done with school and got me a job cowboying.

We were engaged in June and married in August.  My sister and maid of honor in her toast said "I hope as you look back on your lives together you remember today as the day you loved each other the least, and your love for each other will grow more each day."  We will have been together for 9 years in October, married for 8 in August, and I love him a lot more today and I did when we got married.  Shoot, I love him a lot more today than I did yesterday.  Yesterday he really pissed me off!  ;)

(Photo Courtesy of "Awesome" Heidi Stevens)!

Sometimes....

All you need is a hug and a nice cup of tea to make everything better.

I wish I had little girls.  Lets be honest.  Little boys are no fun at a tea party!

I just want to hide away from the world and do my own thing.

I lay awake at night and thank god that we made it through another day with minimal injury.  I love all 3 of my boys so much, and they scare me!

I eat cake for breakfast.

I spend more time in my garden than in my house.

Life is all about how you handle plan b.

Life Lessons

Pulling up to a rodeo or horse show, you are bound to see all kinds of different rigs.  There are the people like us with a Toyota Tundra pulling a little 2 horse goose neck.  Or maybe the guys borrowing the ranch flat bed that has never seen a car wash and the goose neck trailer that has obviously seen better days.  Then you have the people with a little money driving nicer pickups with matching trailers, or maybe even the mini semi pulling the 6 horse trailer with built in tack room and living quarters.  You will also see all kinds of different abilities, from the seasoned showman to the young guys just starting out.

TR and QT showed their horses "Cowboy" and "Cricket" today at the NENHA Show (you  can learn more about them here).  It is always so much fun to watch these little guys.  I think there were 7 of them all together, all under 6 years old.  The first class was the Stick Horse Showmanship.  Talk about controlled chaos!  They had a wonderful judge, and not that we have been to a lot of shows, but the best kids judge we have seen at a show.  She was so good with these wild kids!

As you can tell, they hardly stood still long enough for a non blurry picture!

Then we waited for what felt like forever for the Lead Line class.  In lead line, the little guys ride their real horses for a horsemanship class, just mom or dad has to be in the arena with them and their horse on a lead rope.  We just use under bridles and neck ropes since we never ride with a halter under our bridles.  I think we must have waited an hour, and it was too long for most of these little guys.  They are pretty easy on these 6 and under kids when they do the horsemanship.  All they had to do was walk in a big circle, then the judge came up and asked each kid if they could back their horse up. Cake really for our guys, as much riding as they do with us around the ranch.  The highlight of the show was after TR finished backing up his horse, the judge told him something like good job, nice horse.  TR piped up "But he isn't for sale!"  The judge replied "Good thing!  Don't let your dad trade him off either.  There's a big guy [meaning her husband] standing out there who would like to have him!"  We got a pretty good giggle out of that.

We are so proud of our boys for getting out there and showing their horses (neither the Cow Boss or I had the nerve or ambition to do it...maybe next show!).  Riding into an arena with a bunch of people you don't really know and being asked to perform can be kind of daunting for an adult, let alone 4 and 6 year old boys.  I'm also proud of the fact that they are not afraid to talk to other adults (I just wish they would avoid random strangers in WalMart, but that's a post for another day).  When they were all said and done, TR placed first and QT placed second.  Not too bad, if I do say so myself!

Here they are posing with their ribbons.

I know I've taken a bit to getting around to it, but I do have a lesson here I am getting to, honestly I didn't just pop on to brag on how wonderful I think my kids are!  =)  I know I am very (very!) biased when it comes to my little cowboys.

While we were waiting for their lead line class, we had to watch what felt like 100 English Equitation classes, which were really hard for us to get excited about.  In the final class before our boys showed, there were 3 young girls.  I believe it was a Hunter-Hack class?  I don't know, I really don't know my English Equitation at all.  The first girl made a flawless run (I assume anyway, she won the class).  Everything looked great, she did all the jumps, didn't knock anything down, the horse didn't balk at anything, and she had a smile plastered across her face from the moment she entered the arena till she left it.  She was in and out, and I thought great, this will go very fast.  

Then came the next girl.  She didn't look scared or frown or anything, but she just didn't have the same smile as the first girl.  The first and second jumps looked alright, then came the third.  She got right to it, all poised to leap over like the last 2 and her horse stopped, and refused to move ahead.  So she backed off, trotted a little circle and tried again.  Same thing.  She tried 3 times before the judge told her to just go on to the next one.  We went through this same little ritual for the next 2 jumps before she was able to find a jump her horse would go over.  She never got mad, she definitely didn't cry in the arena.  She was composed, and patient with her horse.  She could have gone to whipping and spurring and throwing a fit, but instead every time she just regrouped, patted him on the neck and tried again.  When she left the arena, she still had her little smile and gave the impression "We'll do better next time."  I was more impressed with her run than the first girl.

A little while later, I went up to her mom and told her how impressed the Cow Boss and I were with her daughter (we had discussed it over lunch), and that she did a good job in the Hunter-Hack class.  I explained how impressed I was with her for not getting frustrated or upset and that she just kept trying.  I also told her that I hope when my boys get bigger they ride horses like the one her daughter was riding, horses that will challenge them and make them better riders.  She thanked me and confided how much she appreciated it because someone else had kind of given her a hard time about putting her daughter in the class.

Too often we see kids "riding their parent's money."  Their parents are wealthy, and can afford the well trained horses that all the kid has to do is sit on the horse and the horse does everything.  Which is great.  I wish I had the money to do that for my boys some days.  Only some days.  I know it would be awesome to be guaranteed a win every time you entered the arena.  But wouldn't it feel better to take a horse you made yourself?  

Imagine this:  You have been working with a horse for a year or two.  It is a horse you raised from a leppy colt you bottle fed for 4 months.  You are the youngest kid in your age group and you are showing (or barrel racing, or roping, or whatever) against kids that are riding $15,000 horses that they bought, and you out ride them.  Wouldn't that be awesome?  I would rather have that experience for my boys instead of "Yeah, I won.  We bought this horse at such and such sale 2 months ago."

"Show Dad"

I've been thinking about this all afternoon, and just wanted to share with you.  I hope when my boys face the same situation some day (not that they will be riding Hunter-Hack or anything), but whether it is showing a horse, in the rodeo arena, or branding trap, that they show the same determination, calmness, and try that this girl had, and maybe a little bit of her grace as well.

Obsessions

I am seriously obsessed with this tree.  It is across the road from my house in the neighbor's horse pasture.  I take several pictures of it.  I'm thinking about making a book just about this tree.  The other night I was getting ready for bed and looked out my skylight and the light was awesome.  (I know I go to bed with the chickens, but my kids get up before daylight and by 8 at night I am done)!  I just had to run down the stairs in my pj bottoms and flip flops to take a picture.  As you can tell, it was partly cloudy, and the tree was illuminated in the setting sun light.  It looked so cool.

(Straight out of the Camera)

Of course I am never satisfied with sotc pictures, so I had to play on photoshop a little!  Here, I blurred out everything but the tree, and brightened the color.

I'm kind of digging the black and white these days, so after blurring and brightening the color, I made it all black and white, and added a vignette (the darker ring around the outside of the picture).  Now I just need to decide which I like the best!

Have you heard this song?  It is my absolute favorite song right now.  So I have it on repeat and am going to listen to it until I can't stand it anymore!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!  I'm trying to get back into the blogging swing of things!

A Good Ending to a Not So Good Day

I got QT dumped off  my horse on Friday.  Talk about breaking a mom's heart.  I'm not 100% sure what happened.  I suspect he lost his hat and that spooked Cricket.  When Cricket spooked, QT screamed, which really spooked Cricket, and he sucked to the side and QT came off.  When the dust settled, QT was fine, but mom was pretty shook up.  I got to him as quick as I could, and got him gathered up.  He was shook up too.  No injuries, but scared.  He informed me that he was "never riding that mean horse again."

We had a long talk about how Cricket wasn't a mean horse, but a prey animal and that he was constantly on the look out for scary things like mountain lions and monsters that might get him.  I explained that something scared him and his only thoughts were to get away, and when he (QT) screamed, that scared him even more and so he was trying to get away from whatever was so scary.  He didn't mean to dump QT, because he isn't a mean horse, he just got scared.

I am so proud of QT.  As scared as he was, he didn't think twice about getting back on, (with mom of course).  I did a quick saddle swap, the horse I was riding isn't very kid friendly.  I got on Cricket and the Cow Boss handed QT up to me.  I was a wreck, so I just headed back to the pickup with QT steering while I led the other horse.

We jumped them in the trailer, and headed to the house.  As I drove, I told QT how proud I am of him.  When he asked why, I explained that he got right back on his horse.  That's what cowboys do when they get bucked off, they get right back on their horses.  He looked at me and said "But I cried when I fell off."  I have to admit I almost cried when he said that.  I already felt 2 inches tall, and that made me feel even smaller.  I reached over and grabbed his hand and told him that it is okay to cry when you get hurt, and even if you do fall off your horse and cry, if you get right back on, it is okay.

This made me realize that I wasn't setting a good example for QT.  You see, the Cow Boss and I got into a tiff when QT fell off.  I won't go into details, but we weren't very nice to each other, and instead of toughening up and getting back on my horse and finishing the job, I gathered up QT and was heading home.  So I asked QT if he thought we should go and set up the gates for the Cow Boss and TR, and help them get the bulls to the Rose field.  He of course thought we better get our horse and go help.

I have so much awe and respect for my soon to be 5 year old.  Cricket is a big horse, and it really scared him to fall off, not to mention the fact it didn't feel very good either.  He thought about it a little bit and made the right decision on his own.  When the Cow Boss shut the gate on the Rose field behind the bulls, TR informed me that he was riding his horse home.  I told QT we had to go get the pickup and he informed me that I could get off and walk, he was riding "his horse" Cricket home with his dad and brother.

Obviously I couldn't do that, and we finally talked QT into riding Cowboy with his brother home.  I realize that kids are going to fall off horses, and it's not an if, but a when and how bad.  I'm just so glad that it was on a Friday, he didn't get seriously hurt, and even though he cried and didn't think he was very tough, he was tough and got right back on that horse.  I'm so thankful that he is a thinker and able to process things before making up his mind.  I am also proud of him for teaching me a little lesson on Friday as well!

Some Insight....

I'm a sucker for a sad story and a puppy.

I root for the underdog.

I love happy endings.

Sad stories make me cry.

I have a very definite sense of black and white, or right and wrong.  There aren't many gray areas in my life.

I try to live by this:  

One of my favorite quotes is: "If we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt." ~ Black Beauty

Some Things in My Head...

I hate dealing with adults that act like children.  Especially when my children act like little adults.

When I was waitressing between college and teaching, one of the Mexican cooks called me "Sweety Heart" and asked me every night after to work to go to the Horseshoe Club with him for drinks.  I never did, and looking back I think that was wise.

I was once told by a return missionary neighbor that I would "probably like hell."  Some days I think he may be right.

Days like today give me a severe case of spring fever.  The sun is shining and my daffodils are nearly ready to bloom.  I see several buds ready to open.  It is supposed to storm tomorrow.  Will it bring snow?

I have yet to meet a horse I didn't like, and our herd reflects that.  I once told my dad that one day I would have enough horses to ride a different horse every day of the week, and never ride the same color twice.  We are almost there, much to the Cow Boss’s dismay.  I secretly hope my boys feel the same about horses as I do. 

I miss.....

I miss being able to saddle up a horse and ride somewhere where I don't see another person for hours if I don't want to.

I miss the jingle of my old dog "Buck's" tags as he follows me through the brush in the early morning when I would ride my colt.

I miss the days when going to class required a roll out of bed into whatever clothes I felt like and a ball cap.

I miss late nights in Elko and early mornings back to home to help at the ranch.

I miss watching the sun rising as we left Stockman's.

I love waking up cuddled between a little boy and a rat terrier.

I love going to bed at a decent hour and waking up early, knowing what I will be doing that day.

I don't miss roommate drama.

I don't miss feeling lousy all day because I played to hard the night before.

Isn't it funny how our lives and priorities change?

I still miss saddling a young horse and riding somewhere, nowhere in particular and not seeing or hearing anyone else.

Me

I am fairly certain that given a new pair of boots and a string of pearls, I could rule the world.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I've ended up where I need to be ."  (Douglas Adams).

A tiger doesn't loose sleep over the opinion of sheep.

"I still find each day too short for all of the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see."  (John Burrounh).

You can't buy happiness, but you can buy cupcakes and that's kind of  the same thing.

"Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise."  (Victor Hugo ~ Les Miserables).

I love pretty things and clever words!

Me

I buy books like some women buy shoes.

Those who are the hardest to love are the ones who need it the most.  Some days I am hard to love (hard to believe huh?!!).

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference," is my mantra.  I repeat this several times a day, often as I am beating my head against the wall.

I strive to be the person my dog thinks I am.

I am trying to remember "Don't feel bad if people only remember you when they need you," and to "feel privileged that you are like a candle that comes to their mind when there is darkness."

I believe "A successful relationship requires falling in love multiple times, but always with the same person."

I Like....

Soggy calves that beller and buck when you neck them.

Tight horses on cold mornings.

Shooting guns.

Coffee with my Baileys.

Cake, unless there's pie.  I really like pie.

Down comforters and electric blankets on a cold fall morning.