Von Dohre Family Farm

Common Sense for Dog Owners

2009-10-28T21:28:00.002-04:00

Occasionally I feel the need to remind people that they are being idiots. Unfortunately, many of the people I feel the need to say this to are driving down the road and cannot hear me yelling at them from my car. Today's victims are dog owners. We've all seen them, dogs precariously hanging out of windows or over the sides of truck beds. Heads sticking as far out of the left hand windows as the dog can get it while semis whip by only inches away. So, today I am going to address a few of these dog owners whose judgement is somewhat lacking.

Heads Out the Window

We've all done it and let our dogs hang their heads out the windows. The exhilaration of all of those smells rushing into their nostrils is too much for most dogs to resist. It's the same type of exciting curiosity that drives children to stick metal objects into electrical outlets. Do yourself a favor and educate yourself on the damage that can occur to dogs when all of that air is rushing into their lungs at 80 mph. If you just can't help yourself and restrict your dog to amusing himself inside the car, please do me a favor and only open the window far enough for his head to fit through. You see, the problem with letting dogs hang their heads out the window is that they often want to hang most of their body out of it as well. I've seen one of two things happen that I'd rather not see again: the dog will be decapitated by an on-coming vehicle or street sign or he will lean a little too far out and land head first on the asphalt at 80 mph. Since I know you're being a good driver and looking forward, you will not be the one with the front row seat to this tragedy. I however, following at a safe distance behind you, will be. Leave the window at least half way up and try to restrict your dog to the passenger side window. Here's a little secret: if that's the only window that you leave open, that's the one they'll sit by. Whatever you do, do not let them put their paws out the window. That is a recipe for disaster.

Small Dogs Out the Window

Really, I don't like having small dogs loose in the car period. It's a lot like having a cat loose in the car. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Like children, they are best left in the back seat. Better for them to hit the back of your seat than the dashboard or windshield. And under no circumstances should they be allowed to hang out the window. Believe me, even if you think you have a hold of them, they can find a way to fall out the window. Unlike big dogs, by the time their head is out the window, the rest of their body isn't far behind. Keep them on the seat or in your lap if you insist on having them out of a crate. You do not want to see what your pup looks like after hitting asphalt. It isn't pretty.

Dogs in the Truck Bed

I understand that sometimes dogs need to travel in the truck bed. It's a way of life in the country. However, even the seasoned truck bed traveler should be tethered. I have known dogs who have ridden in a truck bed for years to suddenly decide to jump from the moving vehicle for one reason or another. Unfortunately a couple of them made that jump right in front of another vehicle that was following behind the truck. Then there was the lab puppy I saw in the back of one truck traveling 80 mph down the highway. The pup couldn't have been older than 6 months and obviously didn't know what to do about being in the bed of the pickup. The puppy paced from one side of the bed to the other watching other cars whizzing by. Twice I watched him put his paws up on the side of the truck bed and look for all the world like he was going to jump out. I quickly sped up and passed the truck before I saw what happened next.

Now, that doesn't mean that just any tether will do. Too long of a tether can cause more harm than good if the dog does jump and ends up hanging himself or being dragged. The tether should be anchored at the center of the bed without enough slack for the dog to put his paws up on the truck bed. Also beware of tethers long enough to allow dogs to stand on the top of tool boxes. Just a couple months ago I watched in shock and fear as a truck traveled down the highway with the dog standing on top of the tool box looking over the cab of the truck. Let me give you a little lesson in physics: if the truck stops, the dog's body will keep going. The result will be either the collar coming off the dog and him hitting the road in front of the truck or the dog being decapitated by the collar and his body hitting the road in front of the truck. Either way, not a result I want to be witness to.

Unruly Dogs in the Vehicle

This is different than small dogs in the vehicle, but it can apply to them as well. Point blank: it is best for your and your dog's safety to keep them crated when in a vehicle. That being said, I rarely if ever crate my own dogs when traveling. That is because my dogs know two rules of the road: 1) They stay in the back seat and 2) They stay seated or lay down. If their feet so much as touch the center console, I tell them "back" and they get back in the back seat. I've been lucky that they stay calm in the car and do not pace. If your dog cannot follow these rules, then for everyone's safety please take proper precautions. If you have a larger vehicle, you can get a pet grate installed that will keep the dogs restricted to the back of the vehicle. That is the best option if you have large dogs period. Even if they travel well, do you not want to be fighting to keep a Great Dane in the back seat when you are trying to drive and he sees something worth barking at. And good luck trying to fit a Great Dane crate in your car, much less put the dog in it. I can barely fit my Great Dane crate in my car when it's broken down. Your other option, crating, is a great idea if you have a smaller car and especially for smaller dogs. Having a dog in your lap while driving should never be an option. Not only would they be crushed if you were in an accident, but they can easily get tangled in the steering wheel while you are making a turn and quite literally run you into the ditch. Believe me, I have first hand experience on that one, except it was a cat. If there aren't laws against it, there should be. And then, another reason for keeping your unruly dogs contained is for when you inevitably have to get out of the car. At the very least, you want to be able to get out of the driver's seat without a dog trying to climb over your lap to get to whatever is outside the car. It might be cute if he's excited to play at the park, but it could be a lawsuit if he wants to eat the Toy Poodle.

Now, I know what a lot of you are probably saying, "I haven't had anything bad happen YET." Yes, well, I've been driving a car for 13 years and haven't totaled one yet either. But I still wear a seat belt every time I get in the car. I still drive defensively to avoid hitting all of the other idiots on the road. The problem is that accidents happen. You can't predict what's going to happen in the next minute. Most accidents aren't caused by your bad judgement, but by someone else's. Do you want to take that risk with your pet's life? I don't know about you, but these guys are my kids. I would be devastated if something happened to one of them, especially if I could have prevented it. Yet I see people treating their dogs with such disregard that I hope they don't have human children. Perhaps they just don't know the risks, but I'm afraid that it's often because they've always done it this way and nothing bad has happened...yet.

Then again, maybe not

2009-10-12T08:55:00.002-04:00

Well, the roosters got a stay of execution. There just aren't enough hours in a weekend. And given the fact that next weekend is our Halloween Party and the Hope Equine Rescue Poker Ride, it won't be happening next weekend either. Matt says he'll do it while I'm gone for my military weekend, but I have my doubts. This is the same man who wanted to keep Red "because he's pretty." Oh well, I love him anyway. Now I need to rush off to a dental appointment. Adios.

B-Day

2009-10-11T09:35:00.003-04:00

Today is B-Day for three of our roosters. No, it's not their birthday. It's their butchering day. I had really hoped to find someone else to do the deed for me, but I have yet to find a single butchering shop that will take chickens. The one facility in Ocala, Seely's Ark, that does slaughter chickens doesn't find it necessary to return my phone calls or e-mails. So now we're going to do the deed ourselves. Hubby and I compromised and decided to keep two of the boys. Red is a Brown-Red Maran and my other boy is a Cuckoo Maran. I guess I'm going to be getting into the Maran breeding business. I also need to name my other boy. These two are the most docile, but they are also the most vocal. Red is also the dumbest bird I've ever met, but you know what I say about breeding for looks...you don't get brains. The other three have been attacking us and the hens, so they have got to go. I can't keep getting up every morning to nurse an injured hen.

Step number one is to keep the roosters off food for 24 hours. Well, since we didn't learn about that step until tomorrow afternoon, they're going 12 hours without food. It's better than nothing. We let our two keepers out of the pen and the other three are pissed. The two keepers aren't doing much to endear themselves, however. I've already had to physically kick them off of one of the hens once. I guess being gang-raped by two roosters is better than by five. I'm chalking it up to the excitement of being out of the pen for the first time in three days. If they keep it up, we'll be going for round two next weekend.

I can't keep them all

2009-09-20T08:39:00.002-04:00

The chances are good that Rojero will have a new home soon. The rescue seems to be getting a lot of interest in her recently. I should be relieved. This horse has cost us a lot of money between feed and vet bills. She came here with no medical history and teeth that looked like mountain ridges. She got a full round of wormer and vaccines. I also had her teeth floated and her feet done every 4 weeks. Add to that the emergency vet call, the colic, and the miscellaneous first aid supplies. Then there is the time applying ointments and changing bandages. That doesn't even take into account the 4 a day feedings, the round bale a week, and the double rations of oats. We should be able to save a lot of money when this horse leaves.

But with all of that time and money spent, there is the rewarding feeling of accomplishment. There are the pictures of her progress throughout the summer and seeing her fill out and gain weight. There is the time riding her and seeing the proof of her building strength. There was the trail ride when she was surprisingly well behaved and fun to ride. There was the day she came to watch me bleach buckets just so I could rub on her afterwards. There is the sight of this once weak, tired rescue coming running from across the paddock at meal times.

Then I have this fear that I'm sure all rescues experience that she'll leave me to get passed around again. It's already happened to her once in her life. It is obvious that she was once a well cared for, well trained horse that someone loved. Then she went on to be starved and neglected in someones too small backyard. And she's only eight. How much more of that will she be forced to experience over the next 20 years? Is it wrong to want a forever home for a horse? Horses like stability. How does it make them feel to go to a home and not know if they'll be staying there 6 months or 6 years? Or worse yet to go from one home where they enjoy a good life with plenty of food and knowing that they are cared for to going to a home where their bellies are empty and they don't get any attention. It's no wonder that Rojero had such an empty expression when we picked her up. The superficial sores were only the outward scars. I wonder who it was who put so much time and training into her once upon a time. I wonder if they know the fate she suffered or that she's now up for adoption.

I have to keep reminding myself that I cannot keep them all. Having six horses has put a real financial strain on us this summer. She needs to go to a new home so I can continue to care for my other five horses. My other five horses who eat half of what she does in a given day. My other five who are less of a fall from the ground not if, but when I do fall off. Like Lisa Aldridge says, "I'm not the only person who can take care of my horses." I just wish I had more faith in humanity. I wish humanity gave me more reasons to have faith in it.

Operation Matt's Birthday

2009-09-17T08:54:00.003-04:00

Overall, I would say that Operation Birthday was a success. It didn't go over quite like I had planned, but what does?

I found a great recipe for chicken cordon bleu using panko crumbs for the breading. It's hubby's favorite dish, so I decided that I just had to serve it for dinner. I decided to serve it with roasted red potatoes and asparagus. While I was at it, I picked up a chocolate cake from Sweet Bay, had them inscribe "Happy Birthday Matt" on it and got a bottle of Walnut Crest Chardonnay. The Chardonnay was the wine that we had at our wedding, but I'm sure Matt doesn't remember that. He's not much of a wine drinker, but he does like that one.

So yesterday morning I had a post-op follow up in Tampa, after which I went shopping for Matt's birthday. I knew that Matt needed some new shoes, so I went to Ross and found the perfect pair. They're Polo brand slip-ons with leather uppers and a rubber sole. Then there is a tongue that comes across the top with a magnet that sticks to the other side. They only had one pair and they just happened to be size 11. Ah, fate. I also got me a dress because I decided it would be nice to dress up for my husband. Then, since it was next door, I went into Bed, Bath & Beyond to pick up gifts for the rest of Matt's family who also have birthdays this week. I swear, I am not having children in September. There I found another addition to Matt's gift, a Betty Crocker Grilling cookbook. He does insist that he's the Grill Master, after all. So, got the gifts, picked up the food from Sweet Bay and headed home.

By this point it was a little after 2 pm and Matt was expected home at 7 pm. No problem. Of course, part of my plan included cleaning the house, feeding the animals, prepping and cooking the food, and getting me bathed and dressed up all before he got home. Keep in mind that I still have a bandage, albeit smaller, on my nose that cannot get wet when I wash my hair and face. Problem. Well, long story short, I managed to clean and reorganize the bathroom, vacuum the living room, couch and under the couch, clean off the kitchen counter tops and dining room table, feed all the animals, prep the food, and get a bath all before Matt got home. He also didn't get home until 7:30. So I stick the chicken and potatoes in the oven and start getting ready.

The chicken recipe said to cook at 350 for 20 minutes. Yeah right. The potatoes were still hard and the chicken breading was barely brown. Five minutes more, ten minutes more, it's not much better. Well, I need to get the bread in because it takes 15 minutes, but it needs to cook at 375. So, turn up the temp, rearrange some cookie sheets, and in it all goes at 375, but this time I got smart. I put my digital remote meat thermometer in the center chicken breast. Yeah, it was still at 120 degrees. Needs to be at 180. Well, half an hour later, the chicken was finally done. I'm changing my recipe card to read 375 for 60 minutes. Then we finally got to sit down to dinner and enjoy the perfectly cooked chicken cordon bleu, roasted red potatoes, asparagus and French bread with our Chardonnay. Actually, I think I was on my 3rd glass by that point and realizing that I hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch. Oops.

Then it was time for the cake. I, being the funny person that I am, decided to get trick candles for my husband's cake. Unfortunately for me, my husband can spot trick candles from a mile away, or at least from the dining room to the kitchen. He pointed this fact out to me, but proceeded to play along anyway. Then much to both of our surprise, the candles blew out. I always knew my husband was full of a lot of air, but come on! So he relights then off of the candles on the table and tries again. And they go out again. Leave them lit for longer, try again, and still they go out. This is not cool. We gave up because we realized we were spending way too much time trying to figure out the candles instead of eating the cake. Matt says he's going to write to the manufacturer.

In the end, Matt loved his gifts and his dinner. He really liked his drunk wife in her new dress that shows way too much cleavage. We restarted Glee on the DVR and watched that until long after Matt passed out on the couch. We now have enough chicken cordon bleu to make dinner for tonight and I think I can squeeze one more glass of wine out of that Chardonnay bottle.

Random Updates

2009-09-15T13:16:00.003-04:00

It's one day until Matt's birthday, and once again I don't know what to get him. I have a couple ideas, but they're all out of my budget. I need to come up with something. I'm tired of shopping the day of his birthday. I was supposed to stop by Dick's Sporting Goods yesterday after my doctor's appointment, but I started talking on the phone and completely forgot. I have another appointment in town tomorrow so maybe I'll try again tomorrow. If Dick's doesn't have anything, TJ Maxx and Ross are also right there. And if all else fails, Toys R Us is in the same complex.

It's almost time to replant the vegetable garden. My spring garden was pretty much a bust, between getting the seeds in too late and the soil being too poor. Then the weeds took over. I'm going to get some weed killer and spray down the whole garden. Then I plan on tilling in a combination of manure and bagged fertilizer. I'll probably do the manure first, then do my soil testing to determine what type of bagged fertilizer I should add. In the mean time, I need to determine which seeds to plant for the fall and get those ordered. I also need to figure out a better type of fencing to keep the raccoons out. I actually think that orange barrier fencing used with electric fence posts will do the trick. We've been using a similar set-up in dog training and it seems to be really sturdy.

I had my second and hopefully last surgery on my nose last Thursday. My surgery in May was fairly non-invasive. The surgeon used scopes to go through my nostrils and straighten my septum and make my sinus cavity larger. There were no bandages and I was off work for less than a week. That surgery worked very well. I went from having headaches every day to about once a week. The problem was that I still felt congested every time I breathed through my nose. It turns out that I have small valves in my nose. Breathe Right strips helped tremendously, but they were causing sores on my nose and cheeks from wearing them every day. So I was referred to a second surgeon who decided to put cartilage grafts inside my nose to make the valves larger. That means cutting my nose across the bottom, harvesting cartilage from my septum, and wearing a splint over my nose to keep the grafts in place. I am 5 days post surgery and my nose is itching like crazy. The splint covers my nose from the tip to between my eyebrows. Tape holds the splint in place and stretches across both cheeks, up my forehead and down the sides of my top lip. I look like Hannibal Lecter. I cannot wash my face. I cannot take a shower. I have to take bathes and Matt has to wash my hair for me. My ears have dead skin pealing off of them in sheets. I can only imagine what my nose is doing under this bandage. I'm going to need a facial when this is all said and done. I really hope it's worth it.

Ah, country life

2009-09-06T08:00:00.003-04:00

So Friday was a day of mysteries. First, Matt and I get home from work and are only greeted by one dog at the back door. Odd. Then we hear Greta whining from...the hall bathroom? See, the hall bathroom has been dubbed the "cat's bathroom." It contains their food, water, and litter box. It is also blocked off by a 3 ft tall child gate, the very purpose of which is to allow the cats the ability to escape Greta. And this is where we found Greta, behind the child gate. The gate has a door so that people can walk through, but that was latched. Matt's thinking that maybe he accidentally locked her in there that morning. I certainly hope that's the case and not that she jumped it sometime during the day. That means she's been in there for 12 hours and likely ate the cat's lunch when it dropped from the automatic feeder. I would say that's a highly likely scenario since she now runs for the hall bathroom every time she hears the feeder drop food.

Then, after much arm twisting, I convinced Matt to go running with me. No, that's not the surprise, lol. We get to the end of the driveway and do our stretches. Then I turn up my music and take off running. I get about a quarter of a mile down the road when it occurs to me that Matt should have passed me by now. I turn around to look, no Matt. Oh no, he's not getting out of running that easily. So I pause my workout (using the Nike+ app) and give him a call. Turns out he had to go back and put Rusty in one of the horse paddocks. Why? Because right after I took off running, Rusty came running from the neighbor's house to greet Matt. I told you our goats are like dogs with hooves. He must have walked through the fence because the electric was left off. No idea how long he's been out or how much he may have eaten in that time period. Keep in mind, this is the same neighbor who bought a shot gun to keep squirrels from eating his Bird of Paradise plants. Really hoping Rusty stuck to the weeds.

In other news, I've decided to give my Shure Pets business a kick in the pants. I may not go back to the Brooksville Farmer's Market for a while. I want to get my focus back on pet-centric events. I still want to start going to dog shows, but I'm going to have to expand my business if that is going to be a success. I'm going to be hosting my annual Mutts & Margaritas Party at my house on Sept. 19. Then on Sept. 26 I'm going to be at San Antonio's Paws in the Park. I'm also planning a Mystery Hostess Party for sometime in Nov., but I want to get a park pavilion locked down before I start advertising date and time. The home office is offering a lot of great incentives right now, so I'm hoping that will increase interest in party bookings. The parties really are the heart of the business and it hasn't been as much fun since bookings have been down. If you want more information or would like to be added to my mailing list, just let me know.

Well, that's really all for now. I'm waiting to go trail riding, but I have to hear back from a friend of mine first. It's really my fault for not having everything planned out yesterday. I got so wrapped up in the Shure Pets stuff that I spent all day yesterday inside. Then I ended up with a colossal migraine last night. After laying on the couch with ice packs on my head, I took a vicodin, went to bed, and hoped it would be gone by morning. For the most part, it is, but I need to drink some water.

Territorial Chickens

2009-09-01T22:40:00.005-04:00

I have some of the strangest animals. First of all, I have to start by explaining the habits of my chickens. I have 5 roosters and 2 hens. When we are home to watch them, we will let them out of their coop and instantly run to the front horse paddock to pick through the manure. I can't complain. They do a great job spreading the manure for me and keeping the bug population down. My guess is that they are actually looking for left over grain that has passed through the manure. There is one big, black rooster who is certainly the head of the flock. He will watch the flock, crow when he can't see any of the chickens, and herd them to where he wants them to go. He will usually keep the flock in the front paddock or under the Gardenia hedge. Occationally they will also wonder over to the side paddock to clean up the manure there. When the sun goes down, he will make sure they all go back to the coop where they belong.

So Sunday night I decided to ride Lilly, who happens to live in that front paddock. We are riding around the pen when this black rooster comes over to check us out. He then proceeds to come inside the round pen and chase us around the circle. Matt and I were cracking up laughing. I can only guess that he considers Lilly to be part of his flock and he felt that she needed to go to the coop with the rest of the flock. He even went back to the coop and came running back to the pen when we continued riding. He then stood in the middle of the ring and started crowing at us. It had to be one of the funniest things I've seen these chickens do yet. He wasn't be agressive and he kept his distance from her hooves, but he was running at us like he does when he wants the rest of the chickens to move a certain direction. I just wish we could have gotten it on video. He did eventually go back to the coop and leave us alone, but you could tell that he was very upset that we were not with the rest of the flock. Silly birds.

Personal Perspectives

2009-09-01T22:13:00.004-04:00

I am quickly becoming more and more disappointed with the attitudes fostered in the military today. It’s the mentality that if you aren’t skinny and can’t run well, then there must be something wrong with you as a person. I am beginning to come across this attitude more and more these days. Many of the people I meet are vein and superficial. Their attitude extends beyond the reach of other military members, but to the general public as well. Are they so conceited to overlook how privileged they are? Not everyone works for an employer who gives them a free gym membership and time off from work to workout. Not everyone lives 5 minutes from work and has the extra time in the day to dedicate to fitness. And, even more incredibly, not everyone chooses running as their hobby of choice. There are many, many ways to be fit and healthy without running a step. And what about those of us that are trying? Has it been so long since you've gotten into running that you forget that not everyone can run a 9 minute mile? And, please, spare me your pat on the back. I don't do any of this for your approval.

There are also many circumstances that may have lead to people not being as fit and skinny as you think they should be. To blame their condition solely on laziness is simply arrogance on your part. I’m not even talking about people who blame their thyroid or genetics as you are so often to dismiss as excuses. There are thousands of people in this country who suffer from back and joint problems which restrict their mobility. They fight every day to get back of piece of what you so arrogantly take for granted. There are also those who have gone through surgery after surgery and several periods of bed rest to fix a problem that doctors can’t even diagnose. Each time it gets more and more difficult to regain their strength, not to mention their motivation. Who are you to judge these people when you know nothing about them or their situation? And, no, that does not mean that you have a right to know their whole personal history. You deal with your life. Let them deal with theirs.

Likewise, I’ve seen this same attitude towards people in debt. Some of these people forget that from the time they came into the service most of their expenses were either covered or discounted. They didn’t have to worry about covering college expenses that were not covered by financial aid or even the added expense of living in the dorms. They never had to worry about being laid off or taking a pay cut. They’ve led a reasonably sheltered life. Granted, there are those military members who have debt and struggle like the rest of us, but there are a great many more who take for granted the good fortune that has been handed to them, albeit at a price. It simply adds insult to injury when one of these service members looks down their nose at someone who is working diligently, in a down economy, to get out of debt because, in their mind, the individual wasn’t “smart enough” to stay out of debt in the first place.

Do not presume to think that you are better than me because I do not choose your lifestyle.

And while we are on the subject of lifestyles, the way I choose to live my life is my choice. It may be different from yours, but that does not make it better or worse. So what if I do not want to move every three to four years? That is fine if it is what you are accustomed to in the active duty military. I chose not to go active duty for that very reason. I happen to like having the choice to move when and where I want. So what if I do not want to stay in a career field that almost always requires you to relocate every time you change jobs? There is more to life than money and certainly more ways to make money than this job.

I am a country girl. Period. I enjoy having my hands in the dirt. I enjoy living off the land. My hobbies of choice include horseback riding and gardening. It is what makes me happy and relieves my stress. I like the peace and quiet of the country. Granted, I may need to live further away from my job in order to afford what I want, but it is a sacrifice that I make willingly. Better than the constant worry over traffic, crime and stupidity. I want to have a family. I want my children to know where their food comes from and the joy of playing outdoors. I want my family to know the stability of living in one place and having friends and neighbors to rely upon. I am sorry if you think those are stupid and old-fashioned ideals, but then I think that shows a greater reflection upon your life than mine.

Summer's Here

2009-06-06T16:37:00.006-04:00

Gosh, where has the time gone? On my path to self sustainment, I've started a garden and gotten chickens. Of course, we got chicks and it'll be August before we get any eggs from them, so I turned around and got two adult hens so I can have eggs. We are now up to two dozen eggs in the fridge and can't eat them fast enough. I'm going to boil the batch of them and made salad and deviled eggs for the fundraiser next weekend.

And why would I be hosting a fundraiser? Because we took on another horse. We're actually fostering her for Heart Land Horse Rescue. She's an 8 year old, 16h Thoroughbred mare named Rojero. I'm going to change the name, but I don't know what I'm going to change it to just yet.

Matt's back to work at his old firm. It's not truly full time, but they aren't taking taxes out either so it's almost the same take home pay. I'm worried about what it will mean come tax time. I change my deductions at work so more will be taken out and I'm putting money aside whenever possible. We're starting to pull out ahead. I've also gotten back to paying down the credit cards. I hope to have them all paid off in three years. I hope it works out because I will be so glad when I am done with them.

Matt has also gotten into the handy man business. He built me a chicken coop and then had another lady call asking for one. Now all of her neighbors want one. Bat houses will be next. I have to have something to combat these

mosquitoes.

More Drama

2009-03-09T16:22:00.002-04:00

First Sergeant decided to have a talk last night with the girls about the hotel situation. Two girls who I thought were rooming with me and my roommate decided to room with two other girls, leaving us to split a room between just the two of us. I can't afford that. It brought all of my money fears to a head, in addition to how I'd been feeling all day. I hate crying in front of people, yet I ran out of the room sobbing. I locked myself in a bathroom stall for a while, then walked to the phones to call Matt.

I can only imagine what he thought when he answered the phone to my crying. He made me feel better though and told me to go on the trip anyway. Sgt Wills & SrA Vincent stopped me on the way back to my room to talk to me and offer support. Sgt Wills prayed with me. When we got done with our prayer, the black dog who hangs out on base walked by. I think God knew I needed an animal to comfort me. He happily came up to me and I petted and cried on him for a few minutes.

The First Sergeant found me when I got back to the dorms. He told me that the Commander was going to help pay for my room. He also let me know about some assistance funds available through the Air Force and the state of Georgia. That made me feel a little better. I think I finally got to bed around eleven.

Today, the two girls who made me so angry yesterday won't look at or speak to me. That's ok, I'm not exactly in the mood to deal with them. Tears were close to the surface this morning, but work did me good for all that it was messed up. I think we've got a handle on it. We've made a lot of progress today. We got the faces for all of the soffits measured and half of them cut. We should be able to finish mounting the panels this week and do finishing work next week. If not, that's up to the next team to do. Hopefully we get through the rest of these panels with the saw blades we have. I don't know when we'll get more. But the day went fast aside from some stomach issues. Nothing a little Pepto can't fix. I wish I could figure out which food is doing it.

Then tonight I called Matt in much better spirits. He's applying for a couple jobs today. Hopefully something comes of it. I need a reason to celebrate.

Eilat

2009-03-08T16:13:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we went to Eilat and the Red Sea. It was a beautiful ride out. The land here looks more like canyons than sand dunes. Lots of rock with mountains in the distance. The strangest things to see were dairy farms in the desert. There is not a single blade of grass, but all of these cows were living under sun shades, living off of hay and grain. I don't know where they find the hay, but the bales were huge. They were also bleached yellow by the sun.

The Red Sea was beautiful. I wish I'd had the money to go snorkeling. It's probably best I didn't bring a swimsuit because I would have spent money I didn't have. We did eat at a really good place called Boston Seafood and Grill. I had a shrimp and calamari salad. Very tasty. Then we walked around. We didn't get to see much beyond the boardwalk. The shops were mostly trinkets. I decided to save my shekels for Jerusalem. I did get a couple postcards though. Now I just need to find stamps. I tried calling Matt when we got back. I really miss him. I couldn't reach him at the house or on his cell, so I called my parents instead. Dad was home, so I got to talk to him, Mom and Tyler. Ryan and Anna were at a retreat. I tried Matt again and still couldn't reach him so I went back to my room.

I spent this morning shoveling bird poop out of a warehouse. I spent the afternoon feeling ill. Part of it was the heat, part of it was needing a break. There are people everywhere. I can never get time alone. My roommate interrupts me when I'm reading. People try to make polite conversation or ask what's wrong when I'm lost in thought. Everyone seems to annoy me. Maybe it's because I don't feel well. Maybe I just miss Matt and how well he understands me. I should try calling him, but I just don't feel very talkative right now. I think I'll just throw my clothes in the dryer, take a shower and go to bed.

Second Day in Israel

2009-03-06T15:57:00.004-05:00

I'm amazed I even know what day it is. We left Robins AFB Tuesday evening. I hated to say bye to Matt, but I'm glad he drove me. It was good to spend a few more hours together before I had to leave. This is going to be a long two weeks. Ok, almost three weeks, but who's counting? Then we spent Wednesday in Sicily. I would have loved to stay there longer. I tried speaking a little Italian. I ended up ordering five deserts when I only wanted two. We walked around Catania and tried taking pictures, but it got dark. Then it started raining and we got soaked. Umbrella vendors kept following us, trying to get us to buy them. I think I said no out of spite. Beautiful city. I really hope to go back someday.

Then Thursday we got into Israel. We haven't seen much of it yet, but we're going to Eilat and the Red Sea tomorrow. Today we went to Arad for a bit. Everything was closed because of Shabat. There were a lot of cats though. The one I stopped to pet would have stood there all day if I hadn't needed to catch up to the group. Sheep herding is big here too. It's like the old days before fence laws and shepherds took their flocks from place to place in search of grass. I noticed a lot of underground rivers and oasis here that had herds grazing on them. We also saw a lot of folks riding donkeys. Saw a few horses and camels as well.

Tonight was Shabat. There were Hebrew prayers followed by a banquet. It was delicious and there was so much of it. I shouldn't have eaten as much as I did, but I couldn't help myself. A lot of veggies too, so it was kind of healthy. Got a chance to talk to Matt after dinner. I hate when there is drama at home and I'm not there to help. He lost his job Monday and is having trouble filing unemployment. He's trying to work on the taxes and doesn't know his password. He got into a car accident Wednesday (not his fault) and now has to get a quote to fix it. The dogs are getting loose and not listening. Apparently he's forgotten when he learned in dog training. Now I'm stressed and feel guilty about being here. I did send him a post card from Sicily. Hopefully it cheers him up. I'll have to send him one tomorrow as well. I don't want him to feel forgotten. All I think about is how much I wish he was here to share this with.

Organization

2009-01-30T21:42:00.002-05:00

Wow, has it really been November since I posted last? The holidays really got away from me. December was a rough month for us financially, but we came through it and I think we've learned some lessons from it. I've put a plan into place to pay off all of our credit cards. Hopefully that will happen in the next five years; sooner, if we can ever refinance the house. Let me just say this right now, if you don't have credit card debt then keep it that way. There are better ways to earn credit then a revolving account. Much better ways. We would have a lot more money in our pockets if we didn't have to pay so much in credit card payments every month. They have gotten out of control. Some of our minimum payments have tripled. It's just not worth it. We have also stopped using the credit cards. It's tough to feed all these animals and still only spend the money when we have it, but we're getting there. Which brings me to my main New Years Resolution: stick to a budget.

Budgeting means a lot of changes. First of all, I've gotten back to keeping a ledger with my checkbook so I always know exactly what we have available. That has really helped a lot. I shouldn't have waited so long to start keeping one, but the computer that I had kept the ledger on finally bit the big one, so I didn't have much of a choice. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Second of all, that means translating that ledger to the budget. I'm finding that we don't spend the money on the things I thought we spent it on. Too bad that also means we've spent more money in some areas than we should have. I'm definitely working on that. The tough one has been the grocery bill. We have expensive tastes when it comes to food. A couple of new resolutions have come of that. First of all, only buy meat when it's on sale. Second of all, stick to locally grown, in season vegetables. That's easy since we have Beasley's around the corner; however, I am in the process of starting my garden in the next month. We are also packing lunches and limiting dining out to only very special occasions, or at least no more than once a month. It's also causing us to eat healthier which is never a bag thing. I'm drinking water like it's going out of style.

But the biggest project of all it getting all of this organized. Lately, we have taken to throwing all of our bills in the filing cabinet drawer. Now I can't find a darn thing. That's bad when I have medical bills that need paid off and I don't trust these people to apply my payments correctly. So I came up with a great filing system that will organize our bills by payee and make everything easy to find. The only problem is that I now have to organize two drawers full of bills (some dating as far back as 2002) and putting them into said files. So guess what I'm supposed to be doing right now instead of posting this blog. oops

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T09:35:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'm sick, so it looks like I'm staying home today. Not a big loss. I don't particularly enjoy spending Thanksgiving at my father-in-law's house. It's mostly due to his wife, but I don't really want to get into it. If I wasn't sick, I would still go. As it is, I can't talk and would rather lay low under my heating blanket. I do have a little more energy then I did yesterday, so I'm working on cleaning the house and making a Thanksgiving dinner of our own. I need to get rolling though if we plan on eating some time today.

I'm not overly surprised that I'm a walking petri dish. This happens almost every time I travel, especially in winter when the climates are so different. Kansas City was very dry and I had a bloody nose all week. I also came home with chapped hands and lips. Then Monday the scratchy throat started. By Tuesday morning it hurt to talk and swallow. I suffered through a day of work, but ran by CVS for a strep test. Came back negative which I guess is a good thing. Down side is that it means I have to wait it out and can't just get antibiotics. It's starting to look like a monster of a sinus infection. I'm not sleeping well. I have a little cough syrup with codeine left from the last time I was sick. It seems to be helping, but I only have one dose left. I'll probably need to go to the doctor tomorrow if I don't feel any better.

Kansas City wasn't bad. The BBQ is awesome. I would have been happier if I was there as a civilian. Aside from the usual BS that associates the military, there was some contention between the military and the civilian emergency managers. I tried to network with the civilians as much as possible and I think I made a good impression. I didn't see many more of the military members making the same attempts. I did get a little annoyed that I was left playing babysitter for the week. The guy wanted to take every woman who gave him the time of day home with him. You could tell these girls were uncomfortable which he attempted to flirt with them. And then I get to hear about how he wants to take each one of them home with him. And what makes you think these girls would even want to go on a date with you? They were already regretting saying hello, which since they were there as sales people was kind of a requirement of their jobs. It's not like he was in any way charming or attractive. Then he tells me that it's my job to find a single woman to join the shop for him. Umm, yeah, I am not taking part in the sexual harassment suit that would likely follow. I was so glad to come home.

In other news, the law of threes is in effect again. You see, when it comes to my life, all things good and bad come in threes. This law holds especially true when it comes to my ex's. I haven't had it happen with my ex's in quite some time, but every time I hear from one out of the blue it is almost guaranteed that I will hear from two others. It comes as an even greater surprise when I have moved 1000 miles away and changed my e-mail, name, and phone number. Yet, somehow they go out of their ways to find me. It's not always bad. For one, it's good for me to see that I can have a civil conversation with them without getting all wrapped up in my emotions. And I can see all the reasons that my life is better now because I am no longer with them. There is only one ex in particular that I truly hate for the way he used and manipulated me when we were together. He was abusive, both mentally and physically, and I have tried very hard to forget he was ever a part of my life. Naturally, he's one of the ex's who is almost sure to contact me during the law of threes. He likes to see if he can still get to me. I am happy to say that this time he will not get so much as a reply.

He contacted me on myspace today to let me know that one of his friends killed himself. This is one of his friends who was the world's biggest ass when I was with him. He was also a severe alcoholic. It got to the point that I liked him better drunk then sober. Does it make me a bad person for considering the world a better place now that he's not in it? But that's not the ex who threw me for a loop. There was another who broke up with me after two years over an e-mail. I will admit that the break up was a long time coming, and I know how that it was for the best, but it hurt that he refused to talk it out or even see me afterwards. I fell into a deep depression and eventually made the decision to move to Florida to escape his memory. I see now that it was all for the best, but it still took a long time for me to get over it. Part of what helped me was the thought that he wanted to forget about me. Imagine my surprise when I get an e-mail out of no where apologizing for him being such a jerk when we broke up six years ago. He actually googled my name to get my current e-mail. It really surprised me. We e-mailed back and forth a couple times and then he dropped off the map again, as quickly as he appeared. I'm trying not to think about it too much. I really think it was the surprise of it all that threw me for such a loop.

It was about three weeks between the two contacts. That means it'll probably be three more weeks before I hear from someone else. It makes me wonder who will be the third to contact me. I've only had a few truly serious relationships, but it would probably be even more surprising to have one of those very short term relationships contact me. I know, I'm sure everyone thinks I'm crazy for believing in this stuff. I'm not some weird religion or anything, I'm a Christian, but I do believe in the power of numbers. Take a look at your own life and you may find patterns as well. All things good and bad comes in threes. 19 is my lucky number because significant events in my life happen on the 19th of the month. I also think that seven is the number of perfection. It's a little creepy if you think about it.

I rock the grill

2008-11-06T22:46:00.002-05:00

Sometimes it's a good thing to be told that you suck after your husband finished his dinner. That would be because I made an awesome dinner tonight which included steak that kicked his steak grilling butt. Literally, he told me he's supposed to be king of the grill, not me. hahaha Dinner was very good though. I wish I could stay home more often. Maybe one of these days. I marinated the steaks in Tabasco sauce, A-1, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Then I also steamed asparagus in the skillet with olive oil, crushed garlic, and sea salt and threw red potatoes in the oven with olive oil, rosemary, and sea salt. Yum. I was worried that the steak would be too spicy, but it was just right. I timed it on the grill so I wouldn't over cook it, six minutes on each side. Matt swears that the only reason the steak was that juicy was because I marinated it. Maybe, but I don't think that's the whole reason. I will say one thing though: from now on I'm getting all of my steaks from the butcher case. I love hand picking my steaks and they really do seem to be better quality and fresher. Plus I can better control my portion sizes that way.

Not much else to share. Like I said, I stayed home today. My stomach has really been acting up the last couple days. I don't think it liked the butter popcorn I had yesterday. I guess I can put that on my list of foods I can't eat since having surgery. It looked like a beautiful day for a ride, but I stayed inside. I did get a little housework done though. I wish I could have done more, but I guess something is better than nothing. And of course I had the opportunity to make a wonderful dinner that I usually don't have the time or energy to make. I was about to beat the dogs though. I didn't feel good and really wanted to sleep. They wanted to spend the whole morning barking. In fact, on at least one occasion I think they were barking at me because I was still in bed. I put the shock collar on Greta and that helped the problem tremendously. Greta knows better than to bark with it on and Woody doesn't bark nearly as much if he doesn't have another dog to bark with him. But now it's time to drag the hubby away from his study materials and have him come to bed. For having slept all day, I'm tired.

Daily Musings

2008-11-03T22:34:00.002-05:00

Pizza Bites are the dinner of champions. I have all kinds of healthy food in the fridge. Really, black eyed pea soup would have been easier and faster to cook then Pizza Bites, but Pizza Bites are what we ate. And I wonder why I can't lose weight.

Well, around here Mondays are dog training night. Tonight we were building jumps, so the dogs stayed home. It was fun to just hang out and relax. I put my jump together, but quickly passed it off to hubby so he could glue it. Not sure if that was such a good idea. I swear the boy had a glue high the rest of the night. He was even more hyper and obnoxious than usual. Afterward we went to the grocery store. I was very good about staying with my grocery list, but I still spent more then I would have preferred. That's also how we ended up with the aforementioned Pizza Bites. They were buy one get one free. We got home and I swear our dogs were on crack. Greta was using me as a spring board while she went running and jumping around. I showed her the new jumps and she gave them a spin.

Well, I'm glad the temperatures are pretty nice right now, not too cold, not too hot, because I think our air compressor went out. Since it runs both the heat and air that means that we don't have either. It was a little chilly for a few nights there. Thankfully, the furry animals were more than happy to sleep on top of me to keep me warm. Plus we had the space heater and heating blanket. Yes, I was cold. Yes, I live in Florida. No, I don't care how cold it gets in Ohio. I'm afraid to have someone come out and look at the compressor. We can't afford another expensive fix right now. Home ownership is highly overrated.

Halloween

2008-11-02T22:55:00.010-05:00

Halloween was fun. On Thursday, we went to a party at our dog trainer's place. Nothing like torturing dogs for the amusement of others. Naturally, we were late. We missed all the games, but it was still a lot of fun. Our friends Bonnie and Dave were there with two of their dogs. Their Dobbie, Akima, was so well behaved. She's not in training there, but everyone got a kick out of her. She makes me like Dobbies. Greta went dressed like a witch, but you can't tell in any of the pictures because it's as black as she is. Woody went dressed as a football ruf-fur-ee. He was adorable as always. The boy lives for attention. The only downside is that Matt was right about his cosutme: not made for a boy. He peed all over it. Oops. Matt went dressed in his cow costume. Surprisingly, the dogs did not growl at him. However, he ended up taking it off because he realized that you can't see what the dog's doing when you have the giant head on. I went in my fail-safe elf costume. It was a hit as always. Plus the cape was so warm now that the nights are getting cold.

Then Friday we went to Miss Kitty's dressed as Frankenstein's monster and his bride. We didn't win anything, but we still got a lot of compliments. Most of the night we hung out with our neighbors at the bar and learned all the Brooksville gossip. Plus we got to know our neighbors better. That was probably the best part. We then ended up hanging out at their house Saturday and today. Makes for a cheap weekend. But we did bring a couple horses by today for pony rides for the birthday party. They fed us cake, what more can you ask for?

Matt also took some time this weekend to learn how to drive a horse. It was an interesting process. Imagine my surprise when I looked outside today to see him walking Dolly around with the cart hooked to her. Guess I forgot to tell him that he should always have assistance when hooking a horse to a cart for the first time. Not first time for her, but it is for him. Plus it's been a while since she was worked. She was nice and stubborn because of it. It all went well and no one was injured in the taking of these pictures. Well, hate to make this brief, but it's way past my bed time.

Wow, I haven't posted in a while

2008-10-26T15:38:00.002-04:00

You know, I think if I could post during the day that this blog would be much more interesting to read. As it is, by the time I can consider writing everything thought in my head has gone to sleep for the night. I always have the most wonderful things to write about during the day, mostly my opinions on things which of course I find wonderful and most other people find highly offensive. Oh well, can't please everyone.

Today is one of those days that's pretty boring really. We slept in because we were up so late last night with our Halloween party. I wish I would have spend less time cooking and decorating and more time cleaning. We only had three people come to the party, one of whom was a neighbor from across the street whose first time seeing the inside of our house was with a sink full of dirty dishes and junk piled on the counter tops. I made cookies, but never iced them. Never even started on the cupcakes. Made Carmel apples, but never refrigerated them. Then no one ate them anyway. But we still had fun. We stayed up late just chatting and hanging out. Matt and I dressed as Frankenstein's monster and his bride. I actually did get my hair to stand up on end (kind of). I'll update with pictures later. The bolts refused to stay on Matt's neck and then his green paint kept dripping from his sweat, so he wiped it off. He looked pretty funny with only half of his face green. Bonnie and Dave came dressed as pirates. I truly admire Bonnie's mom. She made her a fantastic pirate costume in only a week. I of course forgot to get pictures. Hopefully they'll wear them again next Friday and I can get pictures then.

The rest of today has been spend cleaning out the cupboard because I've discovered that our weevil infestation didn't go away as easily as I had hoped. I've thrown out a lot of food, most of which was expired anyway. I'm now repackaging everything in hard plastic and glass jars. It's a pain, but at least then everything should be safe, unless it already has bugs in it. Then I won't risk them spreading to the rest of the food. Plus it will probably keep a lot of food fresh for longer and be easier to organize since the jars can stack on each other. I just wish it wasn't taking so long. The weather is finally cooling off and suddenly I'm in the mood to clean the house. It's a beautiful day to go riding, but I know that if I don't clean now, it'll never get done after the mood passes.

Pippen is such a momma's boy. I'm sitting in here and all he wants me to do is pet him. He doesn't want anything to do with anyone else, but he wants me to pet him all day long. Go figure. My children are spoiled. He's also a spaz. He's taken to leaping as far up the door jam as possible and slidding back down. It's pretty funny because all you hear is a thump and you see him with his paws wrapped around the door jam and a wild look in his eyes. Ok, I better go now. I have a roast to get started and more organizing to do. Joy.

When Husbands Sing

2008-08-04T22:30:00.003-04:00

Is mine the only husband that sings badly on purpose? Or at least I hope it is on purpose. I have to bite my lip to keep a straight face when we're riding in the car and he starts making up his own lyrics. And heaven forbid I actually pay enough attention to notice what the lyrics are. Let's just say they are usually PG-13. I can't believe some of the things he can come up with on a whim. Don't get me wrong, it's hillarious. But it's the kind of humor that makes you groan and roll your eyes at the same time. I'm really going to be in for it if we have boys. The last thing I need is someone for him to teach his humor to.

Where Does All the Money Go

2008-07-31T21:47:00.004-04:00

Well, Rena is going to have to come home this weekend. Her training isn't finished, but I'm going to keep taking her over for lessons on Saturdays. I hope that I'll have the money again soon to put her back into training, but it just isn't in the cards right now. Maybe after my Shure Pets business takes off. It seems that going into the hospital took a greater toll on my budget than I anticipated. I still have medical bills that need paid, but a lot of my savings is gone. We're still above water, no worries there. Thankfully, hubby and I have good jobs. I just wish they were closer to home so that so much of our budget didn't get into gas. My car gets good gas mileage, but we are still spending about $150 a week on gasoline. That is insane. Figured I'd add a few photos, even if they are old. These are Christmas photos I took back in 2005. Check out those dapples! Such a pretty girl.

We have also started Western Pleasure lessons on Maverick and Lilly. I need to get some updated pictures of them. They are looking really good. I know, I am really slacking off on the pictures. I was doing so good too. Anywho, Matt has been riding Lilly and I've been riding Maverick. I guess I can't ignore Mavericks issues any more. He's coming along nicely though. I need to see about getting a lesson Sunday. We've been doing a lot of round pen work. He's moving really nicely at the walk and trot, but then the canter is like riding a run away freight train. Tuesday's ride was much better and he was even getting better about picking up the canter. Man, is that boy lazy. Plus he hasn't quite made the connection between canter and getting his butt underneath him, so his canter is pretty rough. I have to hold his head up in an attempt to shift his weight back. It's coming together, it's just a slow process. It would be great if it would stop raining for more than two days in a row so I could get some real riding time in on him.

I had my first Shure Pets party. I was actually the hostess, since I still haven't gotten any of my friends to do a party. It was fun. I made way too much food and then we only had half the people show who I was expecting. I was exhausted by the time everyone went home. Hubby was literally having to take my clothes off for me. I guess this is what a crash feels like after an adrenaline high. I did get a few bookings out of it though. And I found out that Brooksville is now doing Farmer's Markets every Saturday morning, so I am going to try to get a spot next weekend and start peddling my goods.

And now to wrap this up, just a few pictures of my fur-kids. Woody got his first peanut butter jar. As you can see, he was quite content with himself. I had to lock Greta in the bedroom to prevent any fights from breaking out. And Greta on her favorite spot in the house, curled up with her teddy bear. And last but not least, one of the amazing critters we have hanging around outside. Isn't he beautiful? It's just killing me that I still haven't started the process for getting my falconry license. I am determined to join the fraternity in January, I swear.

I suck and I know it

2008-07-07T21:31:00.002-04:00

Really quick post while I'm thinking about it and in the five minutes I have left before dinner comes out of the oven. Yes, I know that it's after 9:30 pm and we haven't eaten dinner yet. Kind of a fact of life around here. Guess I should have realized the shoulder roast was in the fridge and not the freezer on Sunday when I had more time to cook it.

It's still raining. No, it hasn't been raining non-stop, just any time that I would like to do something outside. We did manage to squeeze in a trail ride with friends on the 4th, but we literally had to run back to the house to try to avoid another storm. Surprisingly, it didn't rain, but the risk of lightning was enough to get me back to shelter in a hurry. Something about spending your work week researching the hazards of natural disasters is enough to give you a new found respect for mother nature.

We didn't end up taking the dogs to the trainer's party on the 4th. With all the trees around us, our neighbors aren't ones for setting off fireworks, so the dogs didn't really need the distraction. Matt, however, really wanted to see fireworks. We actually got a bit of a fireworks show all the way down CR 41 to Dade City. We could even see another town's display from the top of one hill. Zephyrhills maybe? Dade City's show had already started when we got there, but there was still a good bit of it left. We pulled off the side of the road, being sure to position the car for an easy escape. It was a fun little outing. And we calculated our escape just right. It took the same amount of time to get home as it took us to get there. Pretty good considering I talked to one woman at Publix who spent two hours trying to get home from the Weeki Wachee fireworks.

Gosh, now that I'm writing, I'm thinking of so many other things to write about. Pretty good considering I started out not knowing what to write about. Oh yeah, dinner's already been served and eaten. Anyway, we actually had a really good 4th. I mentioned that we had friends over for a trail ride. Well, we got to a late start, partially because of an uncooperative pony who preferred to visit rather than have shoes nailed to her feet. So we opted to cook lunch before going on our ride. I had just gone to the farmer's market the weekend before and was looking for an excuse to cook up some green tomatoes, zucchini, and egg plant. I was quickly replaced as head chef when one of the girls asked why I was using flour instead of corn meal to coat the veggies. Now, for my grandmother's sake, I was taught to use corn meal; however, over the years I've gotten lazy and usually never had corn meal in the pantry, so I started using flour. Leave it to a southern cook to point out my mistake. I'm not mad at her in the slightest though. She can make some damn good veggies. We had a lot of fun cooking in the kitchen. I cut the veggies, Marcy cooked, and Theresa sprinkled with parmesan cheese. And we gabbed. The guys disappeared outside for most of the time. Three women in the kitchen probably scared the crap out of them. Men are safer with their power tools. Then, like I said, we went on our trail ride. Note to self: when the farrier tells you to take bug spray on the trail, take the bug spray. The deer flies were horrible. They were swarming all over my gelding's face. And Maverick, being the coward that he is, thinks that the solution to anything that he doesn't like is to run from it. My shoulders are still sore from holding him back. Not like I could keep him walking anyway. Marcy and Theresa were riding gaited horses and it was everything my quarter horses could do to keep up at the trot. Then our frantic race back home on out of shape horses, carrying out of shape riders, to quickly untack and race into the house before the onset of the impending storm....that never came. Ah, story of my life.

Rain rain go away

2008-07-03T21:06:00.002-04:00

Just so you know, "The Sunshine State" is very close to being considered false advertising. They should call it the "If it's not raining, it's sunny state". They probably couldn't fit that on a license plate. But no joke, no sooner than I have the grain bins uncovered, the sky opens up and just completely soaks me. Then the two fat mares didn't want to get caught. And the Aussie wouldn't stay out of the paddock and kept barking at the horses. And it was muddy and I was wet and grrrrrr. Dolly's ears are scabby and bloody again. I'm pretty sure it's mites, but she makes matters worse by scratching her ears on the trees and causing scabs on the outsides of her ears. She's the only one of the horses with it and it just doesn't seem to go away. I've been putting Swat on it, but apparently not often enough. I need to get back to treating it daily. That and the scratch on Lilly's shoulder. I'm worried that's going to turn into a scar. It started growing proud flesh on me, but I got it caught early. I'm just worried that the hair won't grow back. I'll try to update this blog with pictures tomorrow. It's tough taking pictures in the rain.

So, as if my evening wasn't eventful enough, I had obedience class with the dogs. Notice how "I" is singular and "dogs" is plural? Yes, for the second night in a row now, Matt has been asked to work late. And I'm not talking an extra hour or two. Last night he didn't get home until midnight. Tonight will probably be more of the same. And we carpool so he doesn't have a car. See, the payback for me letting his boss keep him late is that his boss has to drive out here to BFE to bring him home. hehehe Anyway, lets just say that obedience class was amusing. I need to be extra nice to my trainer because I think she's starting to find me and my dogs annoying. The class started out with Woody in a crate and me working Greta. That lasted about five seconds until Woody started barking as loud as possible to get our attention. He's never been crated to my knowledge, so I shouldn't have been surprised. I ended up having to start with Woody and put Greta in the crate. Then the rest of the class was spent working with one dog and switching. Woody did get better about the crate as class went on. Overall, they did pretty good. One big problem is that my dogs like to snap at other dogs. Greta never had this problem before so it really frustrates me that she's doing it now. I knew that Woody could be that way. He has very little training and plus Aussies are known for being protective and territorial. Well, out of my frustration, I smacked Greta in the face when she did it...not once, but twice. I know better than that, especially in front of a trainer, but she really made me angry when she did it. So I got reprimanded and I need to work on punishing her correctly. My trainer is having a July 4th party tomorrow, so we'll see how the dogs do then.

So now I'm home with the realization that I have friends coming over at 8 am and my house is a mess. I'll be lucky if I get dishes done before I go to bed. We'll just have to entertain ourselves outside.

Life Happens

2008-07-02T20:25:00.003-04:00

Well, June was certainly an interesting month. It started with me in the hospital. I've never had to stay in the hospital before and suddenly I found myself there for two weeks. I was losing my mind. I missed my house, my bed, my husband, and my animals. The thought of one more night in the hospital had me in tears. I wasn't sure if I'd ever get out of there. Then, to top things off, my laptop started going down the toilet. It finally crashed on me over the weekend. Just won't turn on. My husband is going to see if he can recover my information from my hard drive, then it's off to the shop to get fixed. I'm actually rather enjoying the computer in the office though. I feel more productive. It's even motivating me to write in my blogs. Hopefully I can keep this up. Considering the amount of actual business I've been doing on the computer, I've got high hopes for my blogging success.

So on to what's new in a good way. I've taken up a new business venture. Face it, the economy sucks and we all need to find ways to make more money. Plus I have a horse in training and I need to find a way to keep her there. More on that later. So I wanted to find a home based sales company to start with because of the variety of products with a limited need for start up capital. Bascially think Avon and Mary Kay. The problem is that I'm not much of a girly girl. I live on a farm. I don't wear make-up on a daily basis. I love Pampered Chef, but my kitchen is already overflowing with gadgets. So I'm looking on the work from home websites for ideas and I found one that had a listing of all of the various party planning and home based sales companies. I had to do some research because a few of the companies had gone out of business. Then I found a couple businesses that sold pet products. Now that is something I can sell. I certainly do buy enough of it. It was easy to pick between the two companies. Company #1 didn't have squat that I would actually buy for my pets. Company #2 had a whole catalog full of stuff that I wanted to buy. So I inquired a little further and I am now a Pet Consultant for Shure Pets. Check out my website for more info: http://shurelovemypets.shopshurepets.com/ I'm excited. I got my sample kit last night and have already started playing with stuff. The kids love the toys and treats. I love how good the shampoo makes them smell. I better be careful or I'll use up all my samples before my first show.

Now on to my poor pony who's being forced to become a productive member of society. A little background first. I started riding Poco Steppin Rena when I first moved to Florida in 2005. She's only 14.1h and the owner was afraid of her. I found out why. The little snot is cutting bred and is quick as a cat. For those who don't know horses: that means she dumped me on my butt the first time I rode her....TWICE. But I figured out her trick and went on to really enjoy her. It came to the point where I actually wanted to buy her, but the owner didn't want to sell. Then I tried to convince the owner to send her to a trainer for cutting or reining, but she didn't want to ride her western. Well, time went by, two of my horses from Ohio moved down to Florida, and soon I didn't have time to ride Rena anymore. By the time the owner actually decided to sell her, I knew that I couldn't take on a third horse. Instead, I agreed to help sell her. Let me preface this by saying that I hate selling horses. People send you a million questions via e-mail, waste your time, lie about their experience, and then never call you back. That's basically what happened with both of the people who came out to see Rena. By the time the second family came out to see her, she had been on the market for a few months and I was attached to her again. This is where my wonderful husband comes in. He bought her to be a "project horse." That was a year and a half ago. Guess what, I think she's here to stay.

The problem is that she's 10 years old and never really been "finished." Plus she is a very independant thinker. In front of a cow, that's great. Riding in an arena it means that she's going to try to get out of everything you ask her to do. I was making progress with her, but I still could not get her to canter on the right lead. It got to the point that she would have a temper tantrum every time I asked for the canter. I finally had to admit that I needed professional help. I was getting no where fast with her. Plus, she's too good of a horse to go to waste. I was trying to take reining lessons on her, but we couldn't get anything accomplished because of her problems at the canter. So I saved my pennies and sent her off the end of May. She's already made a lot of progress. I was able to ride her again on Saturday. We still didn't canter but that was in part because I was coming off surgery, in part because my balance needs work, and in part because she's still very hesitant to pick up her leads. I didn't want my balance issues to throw her off. Hopefully I can get back out there this weekend and I'll be able to report that I did canter her, but right now I'm just happy to report that I saw the trainer's assistant canter her. She picked up both leads with minimal temper tantrums.

McCain Gets My Vote

2008-05-22T23:13:00.002-04:00

McCain Rejects Parsley Endorsement

I really try to avoid politics. McCain had my vote before this incident, but I will admit that I wasn't totally behind him. But I'm from Canal Winchester, Ohio where the esteemed Mr. Parsley leads his cult...I mean church. I have never been a fan. To see McCain turning Parsley away because of some of the rediculous things that he has said is just music to my ears.

The Gardenias are in Bloom

2008-05-22T18:10:00.005-04:00

I really need to post more often. Part of the reason I even started this blog was to work on my writing. I guess I should also use it to work on my discipline. What's laughable is that I thought I could manage two blogs at one time. I am notorious for over stretching myself.

So the gardenias are in bloom. I've been waiting two months for them to finally bloom. I guess I got jealous seeing them in bloom at the nursery and not at my house. Yes, I know that those bushes are forced in a green house, but I never claimed to be realistic. Part of the reason that I love to see them in bloom is because of the way they smell. Gardenias and Peacock Orchids are two flowers that amaze me with how much fragrance can come from one flower. Even with the few gardenia blooms that we have right now, I can smell them as soon as I step from the car. Granted, by the time the whole bush is in bloom, I may find the smell sickening, but that's another story. See, my gardenia is more like a hedge than a bush. It's four bushes in fact. Or at least I think it's four bushes. They're planted close together so it's difficult to tell. The whole hedge is over five feet tall and it's easily ten feet long. And it is loaded with giant buds ready to bloom at any moment.

So, in an attempt to keep the hedge trimmed and my house smelling sweet, I've been taking cuttings every few days and putting them in a vase in the house. I love fresh cut flowers. Last week it was all roses. This week it's mostly gardenias. The way my garden is looking, there could soon be some lilies in the mix. I didn't expect lilies so early. It's been very dry here lately and lilies typically need an inch of water a week in order to bloom. I guess it goes to show that the soaker hose has been doing it's job. By the way, wonderful invention soaker hoses. Only about $10 for a 25 ft hose and it's much more effective at watering my garden than a sprinkler.

The gardenias blooming really have been the highlight of my week. My gall stones are back and eating anything with the tiniest bit of fat gives me more pain than even Vicodin can take away. I really don't see what all the hype is about regarding Vicodin. It takes two hours to kick in and then it still barely masks the pain. Then it only lasts for a couple hours after that before I need to take another one, but I digress. Needless to say, it's been a crappy week complete with a trip to the ER, a follow up with my doctor, missed days from work without pay, and the possibility of having my gall bladder removed. The pain tells me to get the dang thing out of me, but faith tells me that I shouldn't be so quick to take an organ out of my body that God put there for a reason. Even if the doctors think it's a useless organ.

I always like to end on a happy note, so I give you frolicking goats. I'm sorry that the picture is so blurry, but they always run up so quickly it's next to impossible to get a clear picture of them. Plus Bella kicking up her feet is just so cute. I guess it's good that the goats are always so happy to see people. Some people would call them trained, I just call them spoiled. And yes, that would be the male, Rusty, whose stomach that looks fat enough to be pregnant.

New Dog

2008-05-07T14:30:00.012-04:00

We got a new dog. No, I definitely did not need a new dog, but how many of the things that we have do we actually need? Anyway, his name is Woody. I'm not totally sold on the name, but I guess I'll get used to it. I won't change it unless my hubby says that he wants to change it. He is a pure bred Australian Shepherd. The story as I know it is that his original owners got tired of him and set him loose hoping that he would run away. Someone found him, found the owners, was told to keep him and gave him to the girl I got him from. She had him for about a month before her 4 year old little boy stepped on him and he snapped at the toddler. That prompted her fiance to say the dog's got to go. A girl who rides with her found out about the dog's situation and posted a call for help on Flahorse, which is how I found out about Woody. The fiance pretty much agreed to keep him for a couple days so that they could find him a home. After that he was taking him to Animal Control.

So I took a rather reluctant husband out to Lakeland after work yesterday to go look at him. The girl was meeting us at an arena there where she was going to be barrel racing. We got there about an hour and a half early, so we went to Olive Garden for dinner. The arena was really in the most unlikely of locations. Probably a victim of development, the arena is in a fairly developed part of town with soccer and baseball fields next door. I'm sure those soccer moms loved the dust from the riders blowing their direction.

Woody was very sweet. He's only about 18 months old, so he still has that floppy puppy body. He wasn't as obedient as I was told, but he did stick close really well and came back when called. Nothing a little positive reinforcement training won't fix. He seems a little under weight. The hair hides his body pretty well, but he just feels like bones when you scratch him. He otherwise seems very healthy. His second eyelid doesn't completely retract on one eye, but it doesn't seem to bother him. Since I'm guessing that's something that would have to be fixed with surgery, I'm not in that much of a hurry to get it looked at. The girl didn't know any of his medical history or even if he's been vaccinated. Greta was due for shots anyway, so I figured I'd take them both in together. So with minimal arm twisting, hubby agreed to take him and Woody hopped in the back of the car.

Hubby said that Woody absolutely had to take a bath before he was allowed to stay in the house, so we did his and Greta's introductions outside, fed the horses, and then he was escorted promptly to the bathroom. Why I bothered wearing a white shirt is beyond me. The water coming off of him was almost black. And of course he has tons of hair, so we went through several rinses before the water finally started to run clear again. I'm just glad that my bathtub is semi-contained. Every time he shook, muddy water covered the walls and me. What I wasn't expecting were the fleas. The poor boy was infested. He shook and dead fleas stuck to the walls. The rinse water would run down his legs and leave dead fleas stuck in the white hair on his paws. I'm sure they were elsewhere, those were just the ones I could see. He was still scratching last night. I doubt the bath got all of them.

This morning was filled with obedience training, horse trims, and vaccinations. I don't have any doubts on his ability to learn obedience. Aussies are very smart dogs and Woody is very motivated by cheese. He followed me every time I went to get a horse and laid under the farrier's truck during the trims. He's a very content dog. Although, I was told that he herds and he was less than helpful when I was trying to catch the buckskin. We'll have to work on that after we get his basic commands down. Then off to PetLuv spay/neuter clinic for cheap vaccinations. Rabies, 5 way, bordatella, & heart worm test for two dogs plus a microchip for Woody for less than $90. Of course then there were the heart worm and flea preventatives for the dogs and flea preventative for the cats, but we won't go into that. Just suffice to say that it's just as cheap as the company I was ordering it from online. I was surprised to find that the girl who checked us in had no idea that collie breeds shouldn't get ivermectin. I got a pat on the back for being an informed pet owner. Yeah, you work in a vet clinic and sell heart worm preventative. That really should have been in the job training. She did manage to find one of their heart worm preventatives that doesn't have ivermectin in it and it just happens to include flea preventative (Advantage Multi). So much for giving Comfortis a try. Not that I'm complaining. I like Advantage and I've been using spot treatments for years. Comfortis is just the latest and greatest. It has a drug that kills adult fleas within the first 4 hours, then another drug that continues to break the flea life cycle for the next 30 days. So, given Woody's flea infestation, I got him a single dose of Capstar just in case. He got the Capstar today. He just had the bath yesterday, so I'll wait until this weekend to give him the Advantage. Gotta wait for those coat oils to build back up or else the spot treatments don't work.

So two lazy dogs are now napping and I am once again avoiding housework. Yep, life is pretty much back to normal.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

2008-05-05T22:28:00.002-04:00

I will admit that I'm not usually one to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. I'm more a St. Patrick's Day kind of girl. But I do enjoy me some margaritas. So I suggested to hubby that we stop by this little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant for dinner. Now, while this little restaurant is truly a hole in the wall, it is one of only two restaurants in "downtown" San Antonio, Florida. The other is the deli next door. It is definitely a small town and usually gets mistaken as part of nearby Dade City. Most of the residents are actually migrant workers from the nearby farms and ranches. No wonder they have such a great food.

So we get to San Antonio. The first thing I noticed was a band setting up in the street and a lot of cars in the parking lot. Turns out Pancho's (the restaurant) was hosting a Cinco de Mayo street party. Among the festivities was a pinata and face painting for the kids. By the time we got out of dinner they had the street blocked off, the kids were on their second pinata, and folks were setting up lawn chairs in the street to watch the band. It was just a great atmosphere. I really enjoyed it. I love small towns. Plus Pancho's makes a great margarita.

Pippen

2008-04-30T22:51:00.002-04:00

This post is long overdue; however, given that my kitten thinks that the camera is going to steal his soul, its tardiness is not unexpected. I present to you Pippen:

Apparently, naming him such is a bit of jinx. He is accident prone, has an apparent death wish, and is mildly psychotic. I'm telling you, the kitten is crazy. But he's just too cute and fluffy. Every time I see him, I just want to squeeze him, much to his dismay. He's like a little boy that doesn't want to be seen getting a hug from his mom. This is the same kitten who had a broken leg not all that long ago. He's great friends with the dog now. They nap together and Pip goes out of his way to terrorize the dog. Karma has not been Greta's friend.

Happy Saturday

2008-04-12T14:40:00.002-04:00

It's funny how much more I enjoy weekends now that the wedding is behind me. I'm finally able to spend my weekends getting things done around the house and riding my horses. Not that I disliked planning my wedding and I certainly don't regret marrying my husband, but it's just nice to have my life back.

So far today, I spent my morning riding. It's really a beautiful day, but by 1 o'clock it was time to move things inside. I love Florida, but you really have to watch the heat. My poor pleasure mare, Lilly, was covered in sweat by the time we were done. I think she really enjoyed that cold water rinse afterwards. I put her out in the front paddock to enjoy the grass since she gave me such a nice ride. Today was the first day that she's truely slowed down at the lope. She kept her head down and her body collected on a loose rein. I'm so excited. She's still not as slow as she should be, but I love to see progress. It seems to come so slowly, but when it does it comes in leaps and bounds. Side passing is also much improved, btw. We've been working on it from the ground this past week and when I asked from the saddle today she did it easily both directions. I can't wait to get this mare into the show pen. She's going to blow everyone away.

Now I need to get cleaned up and run out to Davenport to look at a new cart for Dolly. Hopefully it'll work out.

Amusing Animal Antics

2008-04-05T08:11:00.004-04:00

Well, I promised amusing animal antics and the goats just couldn't stand to disappoint.

Let me set the scene. Last night, hubby comes home and immediately starts working on the fence. It isn't all that unusual since that's been the routine for the last several months. He finally comes in around 8:30 pm to tell me that electric has been run on the 4th wire of one paddock and it is now hot. Don't worry about the gap in the fence of said paddock, he got some gate panels and tied them in place. That should have been the first red flag. I love hubby dearly, but the Boy Scouts apparently never taught him to tie knots. Plus I'm pretty sure goats can and will untie anything. That or they just stand on it until it gives way.

So I wake up this morning to Greta (my greyhound cross) whining and barking out the window. I'm thinking there's a cat because that's what she's usually whining and barking at out the window. Nope, it's goats standing on my front porch. Lovely. And all I can think about is all the new landscaping I just did in the front yard. Also remember my fear of having them eat my roses since I had been feeding them cut roses from the wedding. Well, good news, other than pulling a pot of ivy off the picnic table and knocking some leaves off the roses, everything else seems to be intact.

Anyway, so I throw on jeans and a t-shirt, grab my shoes, and run outside. One reason I like these goats is that they're easy to catch. Of course, that is because they're so damn spoiled. So they come right to me and I grab their collars. The front paddock, while not-electrified yet, seems to hold them pretty well, so I led them over there. I need to have a talk with hubby. He clips the gate chain as tight as he possibly can so that the gate won't move. But then it won't unclip. Especially when I'm trying to hold on to two goats. I ended up having to let go of both goats. Again, luckily, they're easy to catch. Once the gate was opened, I grabbed Bella's collar and called for Rusty. Once Rusty realized Bella was going with me, he trotted on through the gate and I once again had both goats contained. I needed them to eat some acorns in the front paddock for me anyway.

Meet the Goats

2008-04-01T21:38:00.007-04:00

Meet my self-propelled weed whackers. Rusty is the red and white male and Bella is the blue female. They are great. I didn't expect to like goats. I was honestly looking for sheep to help clear the property. Then a friend offered free goats. On our budget, free is a very good thing. Especially since sheep were going to cost us around $100 a piece. And they are much more well behaved than other goats I've had the "pleasure" of meeting. They're like dogs with hooves, only less picky about what they'll eat. I can even lead them around by their collars. But boy are they strong.

They are always good for some comic relief. Rusty will climb on anything. We should really build him a tree house. We gave them a round bale that had molded. It only took about a week before Rusty learned how to climb up the side of it. After that, it became his permanent hang out. He's such a lazy little stinker. He would lay on the top of it and reach down to pull hay out of the side of the bale.

I did find a use for all of those left over wedding flowers. Rusty enjoyed my orchid blooms so much, it's only fitting that he would eat my roses. Now let's just hope he doesn't get loose any time soon and eat all of the roses out of my garden.

An Introduction

2008-03-31T12:41:00.000-04:00

The purpose of this blog is to keep the world abreast of updates at our little ranch and share little bits of information.

We purchased our property in July 2007. It had a house on it, but was otherwise unfit for horses. All five acres were densely wooded and unfenced. We managed to get two goats to help clear out the weeds and vines. They did a great job. I recommend goats for anyone needing help clearing land. The only problem was that as they ate the vines I found dozens of down trees that now need cleared out as well.

In the month before we were able to move in, we had to repaint the walls, replace the carpet, and lay new tile. It was a lot of work and all of the credit goes to my wonderful husband. The old owners smoked in the house causing the walls to yellow and the entire house to smell like cigarettes. We took down the blinds, tore out the carpet, and primed the walls. That's when we discovered the horrible cat pee smell. The smoke smell was so bad that it actually covered the smell of cat pee. So along with priming the walls we ended up also priming the floors.

Painting was an interesting adventure. Don't be fooled into thinking that just anyone can paint your house. We had a combination of family and friends come help us paint and it probably took us longer as a result. Face it, no one is as committed to making your home look nice as you are. It took us as long to go back and fix the mistakes of others as it did to paint.

Part of the problem came from texture on the walls. The texture made it easier for paint to bleed under the painters tape. The easiest way to avoid the problem was to do two or three thin coats of paint rather than one thick coat. Of course, no one else wanted to listen when we explained that to them since they just wanted to get the painting over with and they weren't the ones fixing mistakes. My advice: just hire a professional.

The tile was another story. There was linoleum in both bathrooms and tile at the front entryway. I hate linoleum with a passion, so it had to go. Plus the toilet had leaked in the master bath, causing the linoleum to peel away from the floor. The tiles at the entryway were also popping away from the floor from moisture coming in the front door. We found out that was from a bad seal on the door that the old owners never replaced. The wood under the tile was rotten and carpenter ants were living in the insulation below. So, sprayed for ants, replaced the insulation, replaced the wood, and were ready to go on tile. Once again, my husband did it himself. He did a fantastic job. And it definitely looks better than the linoleum.

The front yard was nothing but dirt and weeds. It was the most cleared section of the property. The goal was to fence and cross fence the entire property as well as clear and improve the pastures. That has probably been the most difficult task since buying the property. One big problem is the down trees laying everywhere. We did buy a tractor with a front end loader which certainly helps to move them from point A to point B, but it doesn't help to cut them up and put them in the bucket of the tractor. Then there are the hundreds of small trees that still need to be cut down. I do enjoy having a lot of trees though. It keeps the property cool and our energy costs are much lower in the summer. It just makes it difficult to train horses when you have to worry about running into trees in the process.

It took us from September to February to get the fencing finished. We still plan to do more fence, but we at least have a good start. We put a perimeter fence around the five acres and cross fenced so that we have two acres of turn out in the back and about an acre in the front. So far only the front paddock has grass growing, but I'm planning to seed the back soon. We're going to section off the back first so that we can still turn out on part of it while the other part grows. Half of the back will not be seeded because it is going to be an arena at some point.

I'm finally getting some landscaping done in the front. We'll get this place looking presentable one of these days. The next big project is a barn, but we want to finish up a lot of these little projects first. Then we can refinance and hopefully come up with the money for a nice barn in the backyard. If you're gonna do it, might as well do it right.