Life on the Farm, and other random, vague things.

Bad TV Saturday

2009-04-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

You know how there is never anything good on TV when you actually have time to watch it? Well, I always seem to find some sort of "bad" TV that I can become engulfed in, especially on Saturdays. Today I am catching up on The Hills, Making the Band, and a Hillary Duff movie is on ABC Family. This is the perfect bad tv day.

Okay, I'm mostly just watching bad tv because I already watched Twilight once today and Travis was giving me a lot of grief about watching that movie 5 times in the last week.

Easter Bunny!

2009-04-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

Check out this happy Bunny!

So, I went out to worm my horses the other day, and this is really no big deal. Usually. I only took one halter.

It was pretty windy. There was a stray dog who had been chasing my horses all day. Yellow was in a MOOD. It was a total recipe for disaster.

I shook the boxes and the boys come to snoop. I threw a lead rope around Yellow and grabbed the tube. Well that goofy horse was too busy looking for crazy stray dogs and keeping Okie away from his food tub (that was empty) to have anything to do with holding his head still. So I put the halter on. He was still being a knucklehead, so I had to use my teacher voice and get after him. He held still for about 3 seconds so I could shoot the paste into his mouth, and then jerked at the last second so I got a good chunk of it on his lips.

As soon as I turned Yellow loose, he chased Okie to the opposite end of the corral. Turkeys.

So I re-caught Yellow and tied him up. He was jumping around and being a knucklehead again while I was trying to the rope tied, so then he really got told. He has been in that corral without anyone telling him what to do for way too long.

I went and grabbed another halter and headed out the the big corral to catch Okie. He saw me and I thought he was actually trotting up to me, but right on by he went! Then Yellow kicked at him (even though he was tied up!) and Okie came running back by me. We did this at least 3 time before I finally said, "Okie, WHOA!" He stared at me like, "Listen lady. I'm playing. What the french do you want?"

I haltered Okie, and, seeing as how he puts absolutely everything in his mouth, I let his natural curiosity take over and he put the wormer tube in his mouth on his own. But of course, because I'm always in a hurry, I squirted while his mouth was just a tad open and got some on our lead rope. But at least he got wormed!

So, anyway, my little crack heads were in fine form this windy weekend. But we got it done.

Here's another pic of my Easter Bunny:

Roll On!

2009-04-11T21:10:00.001-07:00

Barn Cats!

2009-04-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

So, on our farm, we used to have about 10 acres of grapes. Now we only have about 2 acres. Instead, we have a large clearing and a 24oo sqft shop. But you know what stayed behind when the grapes left? Mice. Lots of 'em! They are getting in the shop and being really gross and annoying.

Last Fall I asked my mom if we should get some barn cats to go to work around our shop. She said that we should, but we should wait until Spring when the weather is nicer. Guess what? It was 70 degrees on Tuesday, time for some barn cats!

I started looking in the paper for kittens, and thought it would be really fun to have a kitten for Gracie to play with. Travis hates cats, but he agreed that as long as it was outside, he was okay with it.

Well, I got to thinking, and realized that I really don't want to pay for a couple of kittens to be fixed. And I don't want to get too attached, because things sometimes happen to outdoor cats. Of course, I'm already slightly attached because I love all animals! But the less attached I can get, the better.

I got online and decided to check out petfinder.com - pet listings for animals at humane societies across the nation. I saw a line for Barnyard Cats. These cats are listed as wild cats who are being altered and then given away to people on farms.

CHA-CHING!

I shot off a quick email, and made contact with a gal named Nicole. After a few emails back and forth, Nicole finally called me and told me that she had a female half-wild full grown cat ready for a home on Wednesday. Nicole will bring "Eva" to my work on Wednesday of next week and I will take her home.

I decided a while ago that I would like a boy and a girl and I will name them WallE and Eva.

Anyway, I am very excited to get this little lady to her new residence and put her to work! Good luck mice.

It's in the Bag

2009-03-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

My darling cousin, Pony Girl, participated in this really fun tag, so I thought I should play along! Especially because I am very fond of my current hand bag.

Here's the story: There is man who loves me very much, and who got very tired of me oohing and aahing over other women's giraffe handbags. He also got tired of me constantly going into Nordstrom's to look at said giraffe handbags. So he bought me one! He works at Macy's, so he had it all wrapped up and decorated when he gave it to me. Other than the handbag, it was just an average Thursday night!

Here's the rules:

Post a picture of whatever bag you are using today - not last weekend when you and your hubby went out to that fabulous restaurant. No cheating!!!
Tell us how much it cost. This is a no-judgment zone -- there will be no ridiculing or eye rolling here. And, if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I'd love to hear it.
Then tag some friends.

So here it is, the handbag:

The matching clutch, that now is usually either hooked to the diaper bag or the car seat. Loverly.

Every new mom has to have pictures of her munchkin! I carry around 200 or so, just incase I encounter someone who has an hour to analyze how much my punkin matured during her first month of life!

Ah yes, my FABULOUS zebra Nine West sunglasses. These are definitely my favorite shades. I will be hearbroken when I finally break or lose them. I should have bought two pairs!

The necessities: hand cream and chapstick. Right now I'm toting around Irresistable Apple hand cream from Bath and Body Works and Cherry Carmex. Carmex is the only chapstick I use. I don't know why. But I wouldn't be caught dead without it! As a matter of fact, one of my biggest fears about having my baby was not being able to find my chapstick, so I bought an extra one and put it in our hospital bag, just to be safe.

The Blackberry. My lifeline to the world! I know that I have mentioned before that I used to have 2 cell phones, and the cousins teased me about constantly having to be "connected" with my laptop and what-not. Well, I've consolidated and now I can be a lot more discrete about needing to check email or always being reachable. I went ahead and got the World Edition, which means I can make calls anywhere in the world. This'll be handy for my Mexican cruise wedding this Fall!

Reading glasses, that I never wear. But I should!

What's this? A cap to a baby bottle. Yet another sign of being a mom! Baby remnants everywhere! When Gracie was about a month old, Travis and I went shopping and while digging in my handbag, I found one of her little hats...I just about had a meltdown and told Travis I wanted to go home and see my punkin right away! Instead, he just had me look at the 50 pictures I had just printed and he reminded me that she was just sleeping, and we had more shopping to do! Since then, I've tried not to keep baby things in my handbag.

Okay, so that was what was in my bag! And yes, that is the bag I carry every day. I LOVE it!

Thanks Pony Girl!

Things I learned this week:

2009-03-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

1. There are no bad bits, just bad hands.

2. Sliding your boot further into your stirrup prevents you from putting too much weight in your stirrup and makes you sit down.

3. Riding a horse like he's broke will help make him a broke horse.

4. The 5 most important things in cattle work is: 1. Stop, 2. Stop, 3. Stop, 4. Stop and 5. Stop.

5. The 6th most important thing in cattle work is backing up.

6. Look where you're going, and keep your eyes up all the time. If you're headed straight forward, look up and straight forward. If your cutting a cow out of herd, look at the cow you're cutting, no where else. Sounds simple, it's not!

7. Ninety-five percent of the time your horse's nose is tipped outside, it's because your reins are uneven.

8. Keeping your reins perfectly even is a lot harder than it seems, especially if you're not used to riding with a loose rein.

9. It's better to use 3 or 4 different bits all the time, because different styles of bits rub different areas of your horse's mouth, and then they callus. Move on to a different bit until a new part of the mouth gets tough and when you "hang up" your previous bridle, it recharges on the wall. If you cycle through 3 or 4, the bit will be effective again when the calluses are gone.

10. Expect your horse to succeed and be behaved, and he probably will. Let him fail you, don't expect him to fail.

More detail about our week at "boot camp" later!

Quicky

2009-03-04T13:41:00.001-08:00

Not much time to write, but Okie is doing AWESOME at sorting! We've had two lessons, and the instructor and the entire barn absolutely adore the Oklahoma man! Yesterday they had him all saddled and warmed up for me when I got there.

He's a completely different horse than the one I took up there! More later!

Honest Scrap - What?!?

2009-03-01T07:06:00.000-08:00

It's true...I have been selected to receive the prestigeous "Honest Scrap" Award. I think this means...well, I'm not really sure. But one thing is certain, I am following the rules to a T because I certainly don't want this award revoked!

First, the seven blogs I would like to pass this along to:

1. Middle of the Road, naturally.

2. Jesse's Desert Rose - check this sassy cowgirl out!

3. Dusty Devoe - Gracie's "Grammy!" She's got some great words of wisdom!

4. Adventures of a Horse Crazed Mind - This lady is SO fun!

5. Swamp Suburbia - Always a new adventure going on with this cowgirl and her "cowpokes

6. Flying Lily - She has a yellow horse, for Pete's sake!

7. Cabbage Stew - My good friends tell the tales of being new parents and always being ready to try something new and exciting!

Now, for my 10 honest things:

1. I love being at work and I love being busy at work.

2. I hate talking on the phone, unless I'm driving.

3. I wish I was more athletic, like my brother. That's not the only way I wish I was like him, but it's one of them.

Yes, this is an actual picture of my little brother. He is amazing!

4. I don't think all babies are cute, but mine definitely is.

Just check out that mug! Have you ever seen a cuter baby?! Haha!

5. I have absolutely no patience, and I think people who think it is a virtue are slow, lazy, and obviously have nothing to do if they have time to sit around and wait.

6. When I travel, I like to stay low-key. This includes arrival times. What time will I be there? When I get there. The traveling is often as fun as the trip, if you're not late and stressed!

7. When I grow up, I want to be just like Ari Gold from Entourage. True story.

8. If my job in television doesn't pan out, I plan on going back to school to become a teacher. Either 2nd grade, 5th grade or high school journalism or maybe a librarian.

9. Because I don't like or wear a lot of pink, neither does my baby. This leads people to believe she is a boy. What is wrong with our society?? Right now she is wearing her blue jammies with a brown pony wearing a red hat. Too cute! But, dressed like this, Travis calls her our son.

When I showed this picture to a friend, she thought Grace was on the right and she asked, "Who's the little boy?" Wearing brown cow overalls does not make her a boy!!

10. I am so spoiled. Between my parents, my man and my brother, I almost always get my way and have never really had to go without. I am what some refer to as a "lucky duck."

Now, to my selected bloggers:

Here are the rules, if you have been chosen:
1) Write a post (on your own blog), announcing that you have received the Honest Scrap award. Be sure to mention LifeontheFarm, the blog that conferred the Honest Scrap Award upon you. Add the Honest Scrap Award graphic.

2) Choose at least seven blogs that you admire. List these (with links) in your Honest Scrap Award blog entry.

3) Visit the blogs you have selected, and leave comments to let the bloggers know you have chosen to honor them with the Honest Scrap Award. Include a link to your blog post in each comment.

4) Visit the blog that offered you the Honest Scrap Award, and leave a comment with a link to your post.

5) List ten honest things about yourself. Try to have fun with this one, and include facts others may not already know about you.

6) Display the Honest Scrap Award proudly on your blog sidebar.

Thank you, It's Sunny in SD for this wonderful award!

The Lesson

2009-03-01T06:20:00.000-08:00

The sorting lesson did not happen.

Instead we had a lesson on respect and trailer loading.

I have never had an issue with Okie getting in the trailer until yesterday, when he decided he would rather die by carrot stick beatings than get his OSU butt in that horse trailer.

We worked for about 2 hours before I got him in. Lots of swearing. I used the same method that I used with Yellow last summer, but it's such a pain to go through this.

Once the Oklahoma horse decided to go backward, he would back down the driveway, past the barn, and all the way back to the horse corrals, with me cursing at him and notifying him that it was in his best interest to head to my left, unless he wanted to run into that carrot stick again.

There was a point that I put the lunge line on him, took him into the corral, and lunged the s**t out of him. It was only another 30 minutes or so, from that point, that he got in.

He was in a white lather.

Once in the trailer, he was stomping around, being a crack head.

I called the ranch that I was supposed to be at, and she said to bring him anyway, keep him there for a week, and ride him. I decided this was a win-win. Not only do I get to get him away from Yellow, but once I got there I could load him another dozen times or so, and I get a few wet saddle blankets on him this week.

I'm headed back to the ranch this morning for my lesson. Lord help Okie if he doesn't cooperate today.

Peg Leg

2009-02-25T08:54:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. This is my third blog in a row without pictures. But think of this as more of a book than a blog...use your imagination for Pete's sake!

So yesterday the vet finally came out to look at Yellow's leg. I have been kind of nervous about it because it just doesn't look like it's healing right, and it's been almost a month. I wasn't there for Yellow's appointment, but my mom seemed to have things under control.

She told me the vet recommended that we saw off his hind leg, and replace it with a peg leg. I asked my mom if we could at least do a titanium peg leg so it won't rot or warp, and she said we needed to skimp on the leg for now so we could afford the parrot and pirate patch. Rude.

In short, the vet informed us that my little peg legged horse is healing up pretty well. He said it didn't look that bad and it wasn't infected, but unfortunately it's located in a place where activity is going to keep opening the wound, preventing it from healing. He said that when I left with Okie last weekend and Yellow was running around like a mad man, that probably did a little unnecessary harm. He recommended that we keep Yellow in the small pen to prevent him from running around and re-opening his wound.

The vet cleaned up the wound a little and gave us a syringe and bottle of some sort of substance to spray on the wound, and then rub it in with your finger. Ew. My mom said Yellow lifted his foot as if to say, "OW!" when the vet touched the wound, but he wasn't trying to kick or anything. She said he stood really still and was a good patient. I wouldn't have expected anything less.

The bottom line is, I can't ride him for a month. SERIOUSLY!?!? A month!! At least he'll be good-to-go for our wine tour in May.

So, I guess it's me and the Oklahoma boy this Saturday for my lesson. That's right, I am taking a lesson! Two hours of me learning how to get a cow out of a herd. Should be a good time, as long as it's not two hours of me having to get after Oklahoma and remind him that he is a broke horse. Wish me luck.

Riding My Noodle/Colt/Crackhead

2009-02-22T06:59:00.000-08:00

So, I finally did it. I sorted! Sort of.

Yellow's leg is still a little icky, so I finally just said "to hell with it!" and got that goofy little Oklahoma horse loaded up and headed to sorting practice. As I was leading Okie out of the corral, toward the horse trailer (which I hitched up at record speed, thanks to my one-shot at getting the ball lined up under the hitch, thank you very much!) I heard Yellow start to run and celebrate that he had the place to himself for awhile. Little turkey. It would have been him in that horse trailer had I known his leg wasn't really bothering him!

Anyway, last summer Okie was getting a little stubborn with his trailer loading. Not today! He just followed me right in. He wouldn't move over so I could fasten the divider, so I told him that he was going to win that battle, and he could just fall down for all I care!

We got to the arena and no one was there! I got nervous that maybe it had been cancelled. I drove 45 minutes for nothing? I ran to the office to ask and they said that yes, there was indeed practice, but that people didn't usually show up until 11:. It was 9:45. I said, "That's okay...my horse is REALLY fresh!" Truest story I've ever told.

So as I'm leaving the office another member, and the guy who has helped me out the most, pulled in. He jumped out of his rig and helped me back into my spot. Shyeah, like I needed it! I'm really becoming a wiz at this horse trailer stuff!

So out came Oklahoma, and I didn't even bother to tie him up. Straight into the arena we went to lunge for respect. And let me tell you, when we started, he had NONE! He was very environment aware and was pretty much a crack head.

I could describe in great detail how our lunging for respect went, but I'm not going to. Suffice it to say that every naughty thing a horse can do while being worked with on the ground, Okie did. He bucked, kicked, reared, pulled back, shyed, crow hopped, you name it. The other rider was looking at me like, "Is that horse broke?" So then I went to saddle him up. I thought, "You know, he's not standing super still while I'm saddling. I wonder if he doesn't have a few more kinks I should work out."

And boy did he! The real rodeo didn't even start until I lunged him for respect with the saddle on him! The way that horse rounded out his back and crow hopped around, you would have thought that was the first time he'd ever had a saddle on his back! After getting that worked out of him, I mounted up....FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE I'VE HAD A BABY!

Last summer, The Desert Rose was talking about how her legs kind of give out on her sometimes when she's mounting. Well, that was me today! Where did all my leg strength go?! I would get about 1/2 way up and the saddle would start to slip because I was putting all my weight on my leg, not swinging into the saddle in one graceful movement. It was terrible! Just another example of how I am now that girl that I used to make fun of!

Anyway, after I started walking him around in the arena, he FINALLY started to blow out. That's Okie's big tell. At the beginning of every ride, he holds all of his air in. Once he's relaxed and his crack is out of his system, he blows out air like you wouldn't believe. He put his head down and went to walking like a Quarter Horse should. Eventually I felt that he was relaxed enough to jog. I forgot how smooth that Oklahoma horse is! He doesn't have a real western pleasure jog yet. He doesn't even have one speed that he can stay at for any good amount of time. He needs a lot of miles at the jog. But even his extended jog is so smooth.

Then I saw a woman head for the back door, to let the cows in. I faced Okie toward the door and braced myself. I sat deep in my seat and took some deep breaths. These are the cows that had created quite a tantrum from Okie when he saw them through the fence when we first entered the arena! So in walk the cows, and Okie looks at them, and then puts his head down. He couldn't care less! Thank goodness he remembers something from his training!

So we walk around a couple more times, and a horse lopes up behind us and a bird flies out from the stands at the same time, and Okie decides this is the perfect opportunity to shy, crow hop, and bolt across the arena, all in one swift movement. It would be one thing if he just chose one of these movements, but why does the damned horse have to pick all three? Because he's goofy-assed, is why. I get he head up and to my knee, and he stops, and starts snorting. Ridiculous.

Then the sorting starts. After the first go, the friendly guy asks me if I'm ready. I say sure. I didn't even have time to play my worst case scenario game. I just did it. Mike told me to go get my cow, and I just rode Okie into that herd like we've been doing it all our lives. Okie was not very responsive off my legs in trying to cut our cow off, but he had absolutely no reservations about riding right up to the cow's behind. If a cow cut across the pen to get back to his herd I would get on Okie to catch him, and I'd get a little crow hop out of him, but I just lifted his head up and kept pushing him forward, basically telling him, "I don't have time for this nonsense! We're on the clock!"

By our third round, I wasn't getting much resisitence from Okie. No crow hopping, and we had a pretty decent little run. This horse has all the capabilities in the world, just not as much training and sometimes not as much common sense. But this morning, as I am up at 6:49 because I can't go back to sleep after feeding the munchkin, I'm wishing I wasn't so tired and sore (and I'm sure Okie is too!) so we could head up to team penning practice. I think I'd have a completely different horse today.

Anyway, that was my very first sorting practice. No pictures, I was too busy handling my colt. I have to say, when Yellow kicks up his heels, it's kind of scary because he's so large and does everything with so much force and power. With Okie, it's more like playing with a cat on a string. And riding him is like riding a noodle. Riding Yellow is like riding a log.

Today Gracie and I are headed to a barrel race. She is so excited, she didn't want to go back to sleep after she ate this morning, but I think her excitement finally got the best of her and she's passed out. Wish the same would work for me!

Nothing in Particular

2009-02-21T06:40:00.000-08:00

Well, I wouldn't quite call it insomnia, but for some reason it's almost worse when your baby sleeps all the way through the night on a Friday night, because then when she wakes up around the time you're used to waking up you can't go back to sleep! I'm so proud of my little girl for sleeping from 10P to 5:30A last night! But now, here I am, wishing I could sleep in like you wouldn't believe, at 6:42A. Lovely.

This week has been absolutely manic at work. The best part of my work day is making my to-do list in the morning, and then crossing things off of it throughout the day. Before I went on maternity leave, a to-do list wasn't completely necessary. I absolutely love being busy!

I went ahead and invested in a new blackberry to keep myself organized. My Pony Cousins will laugh, because it was not long ago that I had two cell phones, and I was at a Pony Cousin weekend with a phone in each hand and a computer on my lap! I need to stay connected! And now I can, in one simple little device. I have all sorts of fun reminders in there, like horsey events, babysitting hours, and of course email access!

I'm trying to think of other new or exciting things that have gone on in my world in the last week...but nothing is coming to mind. Maybe if I go lay down and try to re-hash my week, it'll have a "counting sheep" effect...it's worth a shot.

The Gun Show

2009-02-15T09:14:00.000-08:00

***WARNING*** This is going to be a long blog, because I have a lot to report. Might want to run to the potty and grab a beverage before getting invested!

So, I joke that when Travis found out we were having a little girl, he went to his friend Lee and purchased an assault rifle. It's what every new family needs, right? Well, a few weeks ago he also picked up a hand gun. He used to have all kinds of guns, but the girl he was dating made him get rid of them because she thought they were dangerous. Well no shit! They're freaking guns! But we don't need to talk about the twits Travis used to date.

I don't know much about guns, but ours seem pretty nice. They look fake to me--a testament to how realistic toy guns look these days! And the assault rifle is REALLY heavy? Oh, and what is Travis going to do with an assault rifle, besides scare away potential suitors? Apparently he's going varmit and coyote hunting.

So, we've been working on our Valentine's Weekend plans for a while. I mentioned that my favorite restaurant in town was doing a special Valentine's dinner on Friday and Saturday, and Travis told me we had plans for Friday night, so I assumed he made reservations. But first, as I was packing up to leave work on Friday, a very handsome man brought me a vase filled with tea roses!! A coworker and I had just been talking about how in high school, Valentine's Day really showed you who was who. It was a silent competition to see who could get the most notes that they had something in the office. Well, my parents were always above that. I'm sure they thought it was a distraction from the school day. And I have vowed to Gracie that I will send her something from me and something from her dad every year at Valentine's Day! And I'll probably do the same for my niece, because I doubt her parents will.

Anyway, at work I got to be the popular girl who got flowers from her man!! Hand delivered, no less! I rushed home to get ready for our date, with Travis right behind me. He pulled in the the driveway, slowed down, and then raced back out the driveway like a bat out of hell. I called him. "Did you forget the baby?!?" "Uh...no!" It was his turn to pick her up from the nanny's!

We got to Bon Vino's right on time for our reservation, and it was gorgeous. Great mood lighting, decorations everywhere, candles, you name it. I had studied the menu prior to our date, so I already knew I was going to start with the fresh fruit cup, then have the tomato bisque soup, followed by the pannco chicken with garlic red mashed potatoes, and the chocolate dessert. Everything was absolutely amazing!! Travis and I cleaned our plates at each course! He got a wild alaskan salmon and a salad, which he loved. But my soup was definitely one of the highlights of the whole meal. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a fancy meal so much! And there was live music! It was the best Valentine's Day meal ever.

We came home and kissed our baby good night and went to bed.

The next day, we got up and going pretty early to head to the...you guessed it! GUN SHOW!

What does one wear to a gun show? Gracie selected her pony overalls, a long sleeve white onesie with a short sleeve pink onesie over it, and some pink socks!

We drove about 45 minutes south to the event center, only to find out it was an RV show and the gun show was 45 minutes north from where we started!! HAHA! So, we decided to check out the RVs. Gracie slept through that show, but we picked out an RV that we think we could live in instead of a house, which doesn't even move or have an attached bbq or have a sauna in the 2nd bathroom!

After a brief look around the RV show we headed to the local mall to wonder around. As we were leaving the mall, we drove by the Red Lion and there was a big sign that said: GUN SHOW. Travis nearly peed his pants. We got the baby in her stroller and headed in to what can best be described as the oddest place to take a two month old. Inside she woke up and enjoyed being carried around by her dad, who was explaining all the different caliburs and guns specs to her.

Gracie helping her dad pick out bullets!

Don't shoot my pony!

Daddy, I want my own assault rifle!

"A gun rack? A gun rack. I don't even own A gun, let alone many guns that would necessitate and entire rack. What am I gonna do with a gun rack?"

We headed home from the gun show, but not before a quick stop at Toys R Us to buy some sort of light up toy for our little Valentine. Do you know how hard it is to find a toy that lights up for a baby? It's like they only make the good stuff for the older kids! I was walking through the aisles thinking, "Man, it sucks to be a newborn." Out of the whole store, there is 1/3 of an aisle dedicated to toys for babies Gracie's age, and they SUCK! I found a cool little lap top for 6months+, but I figure Gracie is plenty advanced and will enjoy this way before 6 months. We also got our Bumbo chair!! I can't wait to prop her up in it...these chairs are so stinkin' funny!

Too funny!

Working on her laptop in her Bumbo chair...just like her mom!

I know what you're thinking. Crazy/busy/fun Valentine's Weekend, right? I'm just getting started!

We got home around 5:30 and packed up the baby and sent her to the babysitter's for the evening. My mom and Travis and I headed to my dad's work to pick him up, and we flew down to Pendleton to the Wild Horse Casino where an Elvis impersonator was doing a wedding ceremony for married couples who wanted to renew their vows! We got there late, but definitely made it in time for his performance.

The 'rents, getting their vows renewed.

Elvis = AWESOME!

If you have not seen and Elvis impersonator, DO SO IMMEDIATELY! This guy was so entertaining! I guess we have to give some credit to the King himself, for being such a good performer, because even the impersonators who probably aren't capturing 100% of a genuine performace are way more fun to watch than a lot of today's artists. We had a blast! And my parents got their picture taken with Elvis, but I couldn't get a good shot because we were stuck at the door, trying to weasel our way in. Which we eventually did, by the way!

Awww...we're so cute!

We got home around 1:00 a.m. and tipped our babysitter extra for having to stay up so late! She didn't want to take any money because she said that Gracie was absolutely, hands down the best baby she had ever watched. She said she didn't cry a single time but talked up a storm. She also said her parents were all over Gracie and couldn't get enough of her, and she'd love to watch her again. Well duh!! She's a princess!

So, I think that wraps up the synopsis. And it's only 10:a.m. on Sunday! Who knows what today will hold! Actually, I was going to ride my ponies, but it's 32 degrees out and I think I'm going to need to do some doctoring to Yellow's wound today, so that's probably going to take up my cold tolerance of the day.

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Whirlwind PG!

2009-02-07T14:29:00.000-08:00

So...things have been going well. I am back at work and the pace is definitely faster than when I left in December. We got rid of some "dead weight" and because of the economy, we are not replacing him anytime soon. Therefore, the work load just falls on the rest of us! Don't get me wrong, this is fabulous! Our team is more energetic, is getting along better, and is focused on finding the silver lining in the fact that we are working twice as hard to make half as much money.

Look what my boss had waiting for me on my desk! My coworkers had their "gifts" in my inbox--lots of projects needing to be completed ASAP! :D

In other news, Baby Pooey continues to thrive. While I do miss that little mug while I'm at work, I know she's in good hands with Nana or Nanny Beth. We are so blessed to have found such great help with our little monkey! And yes, she is a cheeky little monkey!

Well, I guess in this outfit she's a bear, not a monkey...

Yellow and Oklahoma have an appt on Tuesday to get their new spring shoes. I am pretty bummed that this had to wait until Tuesday because I didn't get to go to another sorting practice this weekend, but you can't win them all, can you?

I don't know that I've ever blogged about this, but on top of my horses and baby and work, I am also the commissioner of our town volleyball league and I play in the power league on Wednesdays. On Thursdays I go to a friend's house and scrapbook. I used to only scrapbook pictures of Yellow, but now it's mostly baby pics. Don't worry Yellow! Once we get that baby on you, you'll be back in my scrapping focus!

I think that pretty much covers the update. Hopefully in the next few weeks I can quit living vicariously through my horse friend's blogs and start having my own adventures again!

I'll leave you with some pictures from when Gracie went to visit the pony cousins!

Who sleeps like that?!?

Extreme Cowboy Race

2009-01-21T15:36:00.000-08:00

Oh man, I love me some Extreme Cowboy Racing!! And even more so, I love Craig Cameron's commentary. Have you ever seen a more good natured cowboy than Craig Cameron? After one particularly good run, Craig told the cowboy, "That Badger's a pretty good cow pony, isn't he? I think you could get $50 and a pocket knife for him any time." Haha! I love it! It reminds of me something my grandpa would have said.

If you haven't seen the Extreme Cowboy Races, definitely check them out. You can watch 5 seasons of episodes here!

Or check out this gal, quite a run...make sure you watch this trailer load!

Maybe this will be my goal for 2010? I think I'll give my man a heart attack!

Effing Sugar.

2009-01-19T16:16:00.000-08:00

So, because I am a fairly talkative person, I'm sure my daughter is going to be a talkative person. And she'll probably start talking pretty soon. Today she was full of noises of varying kinds during her workout in her gym. That's right, all you Fergie fans, she was up in the gym workin' on her fitness! Haha!

Anyway, I'm trying to explain the title of my blog. Unlike Pony Cousin Desert Rose, I have to save my 25 cents for diapers, and am really trying to cut down on the swearing anyway. The last thing I need is for my precious little girl's first word to be "shit."

But, hopefully you get the jist of what I really wanted to title this blog.

This blog is about my rotten yellow horse, and his love of hay.

Yesterday, around 11: a.m., my dad came inside and said he and my mom could use my help, and that Yellow was stuck. Oh Lord...this could mean any number of things. I'm just glad he's not Okie, cause that horse is absurd.

I love you Okie, but you are a member of the Goof Troop, fo sho!

Once I got outside, I saw my horse laying next to his 1,000 lb hay bale, with his front legs on one side of the bale and his hind legs on the other side. It looked like he was spooning with his favorite thing in the world, his food. The first thing I thought is, "I am a terrible horse owner and he's probably been like this all night and I didn't know because I'm too busy inside taking care of Baby Pooey." But my mom assured me that my dad had been out there for a half hour or so and Yellow was standing when my dad first checked on the horses. Phew!

I was in charge of talking to Yellow while my mom wrangled Okie, whose only problem was that he wanted to be in the center of all the action! My dad drove the truck into our corral and tied a rope onto the hitch. My mom and I wrapped the rope around the bale, and in a matter of 10 minutes from the time I first came outside, we had Yellow upright again!

So, what's the big deal, right?

THIS!

Ewwww!

My damn horse cut his leg up while he was trying to get up, and this means he's a little too stiff and sore to be shod this week and definitely not rideable this weekend for my very first sorting/team penning practice!! My goofy-assed horse did this THE MORNING after I paid my club dues and was just so amped up to go to this practice!

Now, his wound looks a little worse today because of the huge amount of salve I put on it yesterday. It kind of looks seepy--it's not. And it's not deep, just a nice flesh wound.

I would also like you to know that in order to get these fantastic photos, courtesy of my new camera, I had to wear my dad's very colorful snowmobile jacket, slip on my mom's boots (I think they look pretty snazzy with my sweats!),

PS, Mom, I am SO borrowing these...

and keep Oklahoma from eating my camera.

Okie loves to be all up in my business! ;) Gotta love this curious pony!

I asked Okie a couple of times how he would feel about going to play with some cows next weekend...he seemed interested, but not sold on the idea.

Riiiiiiigggggghhhhhhtttttt...about that, Palomino Girl. I'm just gonna need to go ahead and check with Yellow on that one...I don't want to get beat up when I get back from an adventure that he doesn't get to go on...so if you could go ahead and hold on to that thought, that would be grrrreeeeaaatttt, thanks. (Any Office Space fans out there?!?)

I think Yellow was annoyed that I would even CONSIDER taking Okie while Yellow just stayed at home, watching soap operas and eating bon bons while his leg heals.

NOT a happy camper!

I'm sorry, Yellow. I still love you!

Both my ponies look SO fuzzy!

Princess Gracie

2009-01-16T11:19:00.000-08:00

Watch your tiara, Her Royal Highness Paint Girl!! Gracie is already practicing her rodeo wave!

Sorted Out

2009-01-11T20:06:00.001-08:00

So today my mom, Baby Pooey and I ventured about an hour from our home to a good sized covered arena in Selah. It was pretty darn cold today, although not as cold as it could have been. About 35 degrees. Baby Pooey stayed in the car while mom and I checked out the 20 horses and riders there for sorting practice.

For those who aren't familiar with Ranch Sorting, it's very simple. You have a pen divided in half by a few panels with about a 10 foot gap in the middle. On one side of the pen there are 10 cows numbered 1 through 10. Two riders are on the other side of the pen. Your time starts when one horse crosses into the pen with the cows. The announcer calls out a number, and that is your first cow to sort out of the herd and drive into the opposite pen. One horse is sorting the cow, the other is blocking the "gate." Time is stopped when one of three things happens: 60 seconds elapses, all 10 cows are herded into the other pen, or a cow gets through to the other side out of order.

Like I said, it's very simple, but also looks like an insane amount of fun! I went to a sorting last Fall and decided this was going to be my goal for 2009. Some people make resolutions, I think of awesome new things to try on my horse! So this month I'm joining the Yakima Valley Team Penning Club! And yes, I will be learning to team pen as well, but I'm a little more excited for the sorting. It's kind of like ghetto-cutting!

Anyway, I promised my dear cousin I would get some sweet sorting footage. I, of course, wasn't riding today. But in 2 weeks they have another practice and I'm hoping to be doctor cleared by then so I can join in on the fun! Anyway, here's some sorting:

These girls are practically pros!

This run was too funny! The poor guy couldn't get that cow moving to save his life!

The 2008 Recap

2009-01-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

1.

Where did you begin 2008?
Trick Shot Dixies, a classy joint in Spokane Washington that used to be a cowboy bar by day, dance club by night. Right around this time last year this fine establishment got some new owners who fired all the bartenders (the females had some cute dance routines they did on the bar a la Coyote Ugly, the males knew me by name and credit card--I'm a great tipper--and I always got served first and charged less) and moved the mechanical bull up against the wall...the clientele got more "ghetto" and the music did the same. Travis and I met up there and danced the night away! Boy, that was a different time...

2.

What was your status by Valentines Day?
Taken, but still trying to decide what I thought of that. Ha!

3.

Were you in school anytime this year?
Sort of, I was a substitute teacher for a few months. I love school and I definitely enjoyed being a sub! I came home with the best stories every day! And I think I was fairly decent at it.

4.

Did you have to go to the hospital?
More this year than in my entire life! I had two ultrasounds, bloodwork, and a diabetes test. And then, of course, the grand finale! Giving birth to Grace Lauryn on December 14th! And another couple of check-ups after that.

5.

Did you have any encounters with the police?
I had a couple. I got pulled over for going VERY much over the speed limit. For you family members, I was on hwy 12 between I-5 and Morton...definitely going closer to 85 than the speed limit of 55! And then, the following weekend we went to our favorite cliff jumping spot in Cheney and, apparently, it's been made private property. We completely ignored the No Trespassing signs and headed out anyway, and the sheriff was called. He was trying to be pretty hard core, but my group and I weren't amused. Small town sheriffs...gotta love 'em.

6.

Where did you go on vacation?
I went camping a time or two. Of course the famous Pony Cousin trip this summer, then the Stiltner Family Campout. No official vacation, but since I was unemployed most of the summer, it seemed like most of my year was a vacation!

7.

What did you purchase that was over $1,000?
I have not made any major purchases this year. I am now leaving that to my man!

8.

Did you know anybody who got married?
This was the year of marriage! College friends Lindsay & Dan, hometown Everett and new friend Carrie, very old friends AJ and Lizzy, hometown family friends Heidi and Joe, high school friend Melissa married a man named Jordan, cousin Tena married long-time LOVER Aaron (haha! Aaron would be so embarrassed, I'm sure!), and then I know of a couple other marriages of people I'm not close to.

9.

Did you know anybody who passed away?
Yes, unfortunately. In 2008 we said goodbye to a high school friend of my brother's (was 23) and a motocross racer and friend who was 24. I know there were others who passed, but these have actually been very recent and so they're fresh on my mind.

10.

Did you move anywhere?
I moved from Spokane to Sunnyside at the end of March. I lived in Spokane for over 5 years, and sometimes I miss it, but right now they are experiencing record snow, so I'm glad I'm here, where I can actually drive around without getting stuck!

11.

What sporting events did you attend?
I went to some Eastern Washington University volleyball games, where my brother coaches and we both went to school. I also run a volleyball league in Sunnyside so I went to plenty of other volleyball events. I think that's about it for this year...kind of lame!

12.

What concerts/shows did you go to?
I definitely saw Chicago at the Benton County Fair, and they were fantastic! Baby Grace was in my tummy, but I think if you played some Chicago for her now, she would recognize it!

13.

Describe your birthday:
Despite my friend Sarah's best efforts, my birthday was kind of weak this year. She made me an awesome tube top with rhinestones to wear out, and I won a radio contest! Then we met up with some friends and had some drinks, then went to Fast Eddies so I could spin the prize wheel and I think I won a gift certificate for food, and then we went to The BLVD, where I was completely exhausted and way too sober at 11:pm when I begged Sarah to take me home. We got some Taco Bell on the way and I passed out watching Dazed and Confused.

14.

Did you meet anyone new?
I met all the people I work with and some people at the school I was teaching at. As far as new people to hang out with, not really. I have all my same people and I can barely make time for them, so I don't know how I could possibly add anyone new! Oh, except I did meet all of Travis' family this year, and they are wonderful.

15.

What has been your favorite moment?
Oh man. Either getting engaged, my fabulous baby shower, or giving birth. I had some awesome stuff going on this year!

16.

Any new additions to your family?
GRACE LAURYN!!! And we did get OSUs Look Whos Slidin aka "Okie" this year. He's definitely the goofiest addition to our family!

17.

What was your best month?
December.

18.

Who has been your best drinking buddy?
Well, considering I didn't drink much this year, it would probably be either my girl Loo or the aforementioned Sarah.

19.

Made new friends?
My blogger friends! And a few work people.

20.

Favorite Night out?
Hmmm...its hard to remember back that far! Possibly either New Years Eve last year or the night my mom came to Spokane and met Travis, and we went to a martini bar with Sarah, her friend Wade, my brother and a friend from home, Ben. Then, after several martinis, Sarah, Wade, Travis, my mom and I decided to head downtown to the gay bar to catch the midnight drag show! We had too much fun and I ended up driving the "drunk bus" home, where I am sure Travis and my mom would have continued to party had I let them!

21.

Other than home, where did you spend most of your time?
At work. But I am home, A LOT. Especially now.

22.

Be honest - did you watch American Idol?
Absolutely. A) I worked for FOX and was writing an American Idol blog for work, and B) it's the most successful show in tv history--there's a reason, and that reason keeps me watching.

23.

Change your hairstyle?
No...but I'm craving something different for 09!

24.

Have any car accidents?
No, thank goodness!

25.

How old did you turn this year?
24...super old. Almost as old as 25! Get ready for a nervous breakdown blog, appearing around March 26th!

26.

Do you have a New Years resolution?
Heck no! Not only would I not keep it, but I would never be able to remember it to start with!

27.

Do anything embarrassing?
Like be let-go from a position that I sucked at and then move back in with my parents and then find out I was pregnant? Naw...

28.

Buy anything new from eBay?
I'm sure I did. I love the eBay! Definitely got some Christmas presents there!

29.

Get married or divorced?
No, but close enough!

30.

Get arrested?
No, but with all my police interaction, that was probably just sheer luck. Oh! And my mom and I had to file a report with the police earlier in the year regarding a stolen cockapoo who answers to the name Rory.

31.

Been snowboarding?
No...and I'd really rather not talk about it. I guess there's still hope that I could make it this season, but I'm not counting my chickens.

32.

Did you get sick this year?
Not really. And considering the circumstances, I am a very lucky girl!

33.

Are you happy to see 2008 G0?
It's been a year I'll never forget, thats for sure! But I'm excited to see what the future holds.

34.

Been naughty or nice?
Probably mostly naughty...hormones and all!

35.

What was the best part of last year?
Travis, and all the wonderful and horrible things we experienced.

36.

What was the worst part of last year?
Being let go is tied with in-law issues (which are now pretty much resolved) and being broke as a joke.

37.

What are you most looking forward to next year?
Watching Gracie grow and mature, excelling at work, learning to SORT on my horse!!

38.

Is there anything you are not looking forward to next year?
Paying for childcare. Adapting to how much notice I get from the general public now that I'm not pregnant. Boo!

39.

Which new years resolutions did you keep last year?
I don't make resolutions.

40.

What did you do on new years eve?
I stayed home with my man and my baby. He had to wake me up at 11:30 because Gracie was hungry, and we managed to catch the ball dropping on TV. Pretty stinkin' romantic, if you ask me!

41.

Who was with you be with on new years eve?
Travis and Grace Lauryn and Stella.

42.

Who did you kiss to see the new year in?
Everyone I could!

43.
Are you making a resolution for 2009?
Nope, I don't make resolutions.

44.

What was the best TV show of last year?
Oh man...I love so much tv, I don't know that there was a best...Project Runway was pretty fantastic as usual, as was Top Chef. But there is also Top Model, Psych, Real Housewives of Orange County, Real Housewives of New York, The Office, and of course, Entourage. There are so many more fantastic shows that I watch (and by fantastic, I mean they are SUCH guilty pleasures that I'm not going to list them...yes, even more of a guilty pleasure than Real Housewives!) but I just don't have time to type them all out...*wink*

45.

What change would you like to make to your life next year?
This year I will have a whole different focus, and that is to be nominated as Mother of the Year. Last year, I was ready to apply to be on The Real World. So, a bit of a change there.

46.

What change would you like to see in the world next year?
Oh man, a new, fantastic president? I think we're going to see all kinds of change, and I would like nothing more than for this country to just embrace it!

47.

Did you do something you would never do?
Many things. My whole life and perspective is different. Hopefully in a good way! I don't want to be that stick-in-the-mud mom who completely forgets everyone but her child and completely stops living, thinking that will somehow benefit her baby. Happy moms make happy babies, in my opinion!

48.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Sort of...my sister-in-law can't have children, but a wonderful woman in Idaho gave birth to a baby girl and gave her to Stephynie and Shaun, so Gianna was born into our extended family this year.

49.

Did you visit any countries?
No. Bummer.

50.

What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Money would be nice. :) Feel free to send any extra you may have my way!

51.

Will any date from 2008 stay etached in your memory forever?
April 26th, June 16th, December 14th.

52.

What was the best thing you bought in 08?
I didn't buy much besides baby merchandise. However, I am still really digging my Clinton Anderson halter and 16 ft lead rope...that came in VERY handy several times this year, especially when Yellow had his trailer loading issues.

53.

Did your behavior change over the year?
Of course.

54.

Where did you spend most of your money?
Baby stuff and food. I was a ravenous woman most of this year!

55 Are you happier than this time last year?
No offense to Stella and Travis, but Gracie really just fills out this family, so yes. I am happier.

56.

What song will remind you of 2008?
Forever, by Chris Brown.

57.

What do you wish you would have done more of?
Exercise. I wish I hadn't felt so terrible the latter half of the year and stayed in shape a little better.

58.

What do you wish you would have done less of?
Cry. I was a waterworks show at least twice a week, which is incredibly unusual for me! I'm not a crier.

58.

What did you do for Christmas?
The usual family-quality time stuff. And tried to figure out this baby/mommy stuff.

59.

Did you fall in love in 2008?
I had the fortunate blessing of falling in love with two people, and I didn't even have to fall out of love with one to fall in love with the other!

60.

Did you get your heart broken in 2008?
Nope!

61.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hmmm...hate is a really strong word. There are two people who I have lost a lot of respect for that I greatly admired this time last year. But I don't hate them.

62.

What was the best book you read and/or movie you saw?
The best book I read was Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay, and the best movie I saw was either Iron Man or Dark Knight. I love me some comic book characters!!

63.

What was your greatest discovery?
That I was going to have a GIRL!

64.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If people hadn't been so hung up on the fact that Travis and I aren't married.

65.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2008?
Maternity.

66.

Who was the best new person you met?
Grace Lauryn, and my boss Sheri who is fantastic.

67.

Who did you wish you did not meet?
Oh geez, that's kind of harsh. Um...I don't know that there's anyone I met in 2008 that I wish I hadn't.

68.

Who was your enemy?
I don't have enemies, I have frenemies. ;)

69.

Who do you miss?
It's not who I miss, it's what I miss. Riding my horse, being able to wear my designer jeans, mojitos, Nordstrom, dance nights with the girls, and the seasonal dark chocolate peppermint ice cream from Coldstone.

A Moment of Silence

2009-01-02T09:45:00.001-08:00

The baby is at sleep...the men are at work...the crazy mother is at a meeting...I have the house to myself (mostly) and it's quiet!! What a perfect time to write a quick blog! Now if only I had a riveting, horse related topic! But seeing as how I haven't so much as sniffed my horse in three weeks, I don't have a lot of new news.

OH WAIT! So, the Pony Cousins are beginning to plan our big horse trip this summer. At the culmination of the trip last summer, our extremely experienced Trail Boss passed on her torch to me.

I am not a trail rider. In my youth, I trail rode very little. There always seemed to be some sort of mishap on the trail, and when you're out in the open, what's to stop your horse from taking off with you--or worse, dumping you and taking off without you? I remember taking my 20 year old thoroughbred mare on a trail ride with several other 4-H riders, and we had to face dogs, horses balking on the canal rode (one of my greatest fears was getting thrown into the canal), and a horse even jumped the fence he was in and tried to come with us. Scary stuff, especially for a 12 year old!

I think the next time I went rode out of the arena, my horse was fine, but the gal who was riding with me was on a horse who had a rib out right in his cinch area, and he jumped, bucked and kicked all the way down the trail. Poor guy.

Several years later I tried to trail ride my show horse during Christmas break, and in the pasture next to my house she reared up and came over backward on me. We were both okay, I just had some severe whiplash, but that was definitely my last trail ride for a while.

I'm not a person who comes off horses often. I know how that must sound, but for some reason I just don't come off. Twice I've slid off horses while riding bareback, I was dumped once when a horse was stung and jumped straight up in the air with no warning, I came off once when my horse balked at a jump, and one time she caught me off guard in a corner and went to bucking, and really I think that's about it.

My Yellow horse would never let me slide off his back!

So, back to the purpose of this blog. I am interested to know what my fellow horseman would consider good skills for a Trail Boss. What are the duties? What is acceptable and unacceptable? What should I be prepared for?

I should mention that in the year since I've owned Yellow, I have done more trail riding than I had in the previous 20 years of riding horses. And never once did I have an incident with him. Well, nothing serious, anyway. He was the lead horse once and refused to go through a fence, but once the other horses went through, he charged right through it. And really, the gals on the ride who went through before us didn't really give us a chance to work through it. I think the only other "issues" we've had were because I was apprehensive and nervous. I just really prefer an arena! But I am beginning to enjoy the scene change and obstacles of a nice, long trail ride.

Returning from a successful trail ride in Portland with Middle of the Road and Pony Cousin JW.

Because the trail bosses I have ridden with have been seasoned pros, I've really only had issues with other riders being inconsiderate or maybe just ignorant. On a ride I took last spring, we stopped at a bluff to have lunch, and as soon as three of the riders were done they mounted up and headed back to the trail. Well, even Yellow wasn't a fan of this! He jigged his yellow butt back to the trail trying to catch the missing horses! Our trail boss gave the three women a fairly stern talking to, but I don't know that they got the point. I think my horse gave me the least amount of issues. The trail boss had recently had hip surgery and had a hell of a time getting his horse to stand still next to a rock so he could mount up. And once he did jump on his horse, his horse went to bucking. The poor guy didn't even have his feet in the stirrups! But he's a hell of a cowboy, so he rode it out and then did a little rodeo wave once he had things under control!

Our lunch spot on the Hat Rock trail ride.

And this is why they call it "Hat Rock."

Anyway, I've just realized that during my few remaining moments of silence, I should probably get some food. There are just so many things I want to do in my 30 minutes of Palomino-Girl Time!

Maternity Leave

2008-12-30T10:58:00.000-08:00

So I am now in my 3rd week of maternity leave. Not quite what I had planned...but then again, neither is motherhood.

Call me naive, but I thought this whole baby thing would be a lot easier and not nearly as time-consuming. I haven't even had time to bundle Gracie up and introduce her to her "pony" yet!

Everyone said that babies sleep a lot, but what they don't mention is that the whole time they're sleeping, the new mom is "on call" and trying to calculate what chores can be done in 15 minutes or less and which chores can be abandoned at the half-point in order to feed the less-than-patient infant screaming in her 3rd soiled onesie of the day. And my sweet baby loves to be awake. She just sits and stares at things, sometimes for 15 minutes before she starts screaming again,

sometimes for only 3 minutes.

I guess the good news is that I have completely caught up on my Entourage, Gossip Girl, Psych (new addiction, thanks to the after Christmas marathon), Law & Order, and Top Chef. So, I guess it hasn't been a completely wasted couple of weeks! Thanks, again, to my wonderful fiance for putting cable and a dvr in the baby room!

Wordless Wednesday...my daughter Grace

2008-12-17T10:16:00.000-08:00

Book Tag

2008-11-05T09:58:00.000-08:00

That crazy brod over at the Middle of the Road tagged me! Naturally, the book closest to me is The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. So here we go:

1)Grab the nearest book.
2)Open the book to page 56.
3)Find the fifth sentence.
4)Post the text of the next two to five sentences.
5)Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one.
Pick the Closest.
6)Tag five people to do the same.

"You check each other out with uncontainable curiosity but with the friendliness of comrades. You try to guess how pregnant your new comrade is (and whether she is looking as good or as bad as you are at this point), and you will have no qualms about asking this complete stranger her entire gestational history. If you are pregnant at the same time as a celebrity, you will develop a familiarity with her pregnancy that will make you feel "related" to her in some way. For example, you may be pregnant with Gwen Stefani, Reese Witherspoon, one of the president's daughters, or maybe Kate Bosworth or Sienna Miller, and Britney's probably game for a few more--and you'll feel maternal about their children, even though you don't know them. (Though I can't help but feel I know Sean Preston.)"

So there you have it, some great "girlfriend" advice from the Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine.

Now, I suppose I should tag a few folks:

1. Twinville

2. Nuzzling Muzzles

3. Sunny SD

4. Pony Girl

Btw, my man hooked me up with some sweet cable action in the baby room. I may never leave now!

Wordless Wednesday--The Baby Room

2008-11-05T09:34:00.000-08:00

The dashboard melted but we still have a radio.

2008-11-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

So...I got to see my horse!! Not only that, I got to sit on him! And even better yet, I walked him through the barrel pattern! Just once though...I could tell it was making my mom a little nervous. But, my Dr said I could ride as long as I could mount from the ground, and mount from the ground I did!!

But maybe I should start from the beginning. I got outside around 10:30 and noticed that our boys were in need of a haircut. I did Yellow first, because he's closer to the gate and super easy.

Last time I shaved his bridal path a little long, so I left some that I clipped before. So that sticky-up part? Yes, that's how long his entire bridal path was. Loverly.

And being the evil horsewoman that I am, I clip my horses so that they face the most temping thing you ever saw...

I really don't care that the horses are practically standing on a 1,000 lb bale of hay while I clip them. They'll stand there, they'll not grab for food and they'll like it!!

But I'm not completely heartless. After all was said and done, I let Yellow have a bite. His sister Stella came to supervise.

It looks like she's counting calories or something!!

The reason for all this? A friend of ours has their 13 year old niece visiting from Germany, and she rides horses! So I had her over, threw her in a western saddle and taught her the barrel pattern. She is a wonderfully natural rider and got my horse moving very well.
Look how she has Yellow nice and relaxed and behind the bit!! No wonder those Germans win so many medals in the Olympics. It's practically natural for them! And the poor gal kept asking if we would raise her stirrups...sorry sweetie! This is how us American Cowgirls ride!!

And then, I couldn't resist. I told my mom to hold my camera, and, with shortened stirrups, I pulled my preggo ass up on that yellow horse.
This is probably the most uncomfortable I have ever been on this horse. And I'm in my old saddle. But dammit, I made it up there and I walked that horse around the barrel pattern and then I managed to get down, somehow, without ripping my pants. I'd say it was a successful day.

Does anyone else think my horse looks smaller with me on him now?? :P

Wine Country Horse Ride

2008-10-28T14:08:00.001-07:00

So, I am in the process of planning a Wine Country Horse Ride for my lovely cousins and friends. You may not know this, but next to the Napa Valley, the Yakima Valley and Columbia Valley are the second biggest wine producing regions in the country. And I live smack dab in the middle of the two!

About a month ago I found a Bed, Breakfast & Barn that gives wine tours on horseback! You can bring your own horses or rent them. You stop at 5 wineries over 5-6hours of trail riding. Sounds like a dream come true to me! I can't wait until it's easy for me to get on a horse again...

I am planning on treating my mother to this ride because her birthday is in May and that's when the weather and the wine will be just about perfect! I'm going to insist that my mom ride Yellow so she doesn't have to worry about anything. I'll ride her goofy horse, and hope for the best. I'm a lot more, agile, mobile, and hostile and can handle shenanighans better than most. I'm sure they'll both be fine. But it's nice to get those rides, every now-and-then, where you just put your horse on cruise control and enjoy the scenery.

The day after the wine tour I'm arranging to use a friend's arena. This arena is HUGE! And it never gets used. He used to have ropings there all the time, but is pretty much retired now. Actually, I'm hoping he'll come down from his house on the hill and give us a little roping demonstration! We might get to work with some cattle, work on our barrel racing and pole bending skills, and just goof off and show off our horses. My mom's horse has actually done a fair amount of roping, so I might ride him and see if he remembers anything or if he's become a completely girly horse now and just likes to go in little circles and hit the trail. Yellow has been roped on twice and definitely isn't scared of it. But really, what is he scared of? Oh yeah, baby cows. Ridiculous horse.

It's been a wonderfully mild Fall and there have been several days where an afternoon ride would have made my day...but I've been pretty busy working on a nursery, trying to keep my feet up so I don't get spider veins, and bugging my fiance about every little thing that still needs to be done.

The nagging of a pregnant woman is never done!

Hello? Is it me you're looking for?

2008-10-13T15:41:00.001-07:00

Well, I finally saw my horse! I barely recognized him, and he hardly recognized me after our month away from each other! I'm carrying another person around, he's getting his winter coat, we both had things to marvel at!

I don't like it when my horse gets fuzzy. I think he looks funny. But I REALLY don't like it when he first sheds out because, as any of you who have or have had palominos know, they look like they have a skin disease. All horses shed out in patches, depending on blankets and such, but with a yellow horse it's SUPER obvious!

Yellow during his "fuzzy" phase last year.

My poor neglected horse wasn't too interested in me. I showed up right around feeding time and his attitude was, "If you're not gonna feed me, what good are ya?!?" I can't really complain, I'm the same way, especially to my poor fiance. "Of course I missed you today, dear, but I really need some potato chips right now."

Oh, and I just got baby shower pics on Friday and was out of town all weekend, so I'll try to get some up asap! But, with my crazy schedule, don't go holding your breath or anything!

MIA

2008-10-07T04:20:00.000-07:00

So, I can only write until my fiance wakes up and realizes I'm not in bed at 4:30 in the morning! But I have certainly been EXTREMELY MIA the last few weeks!

I have to blame most of this on starting a new job where I commute 35 minutes or so each way. I haven't even seen my horse since I started this job--when I leave it's dark, when I get home it's dark! So if anyone is going to complain about my absence, I'd like to think it would be him...in reality he's probably relieved.

Also, I have officially reached the point where I cannot ride. Bummer.

And on top of the job, last weekend was my baby shower! It donned on me about 3 weeks ago that we were about to have a baby shower and the nursery was FAR from complete, so we were not going to have anywhere to put our gifts once we got them!

So that has been the focus while I have been absent from BlogLand. I apologize! I know my advice (usually opposing all the other advice) has probably been missed around here! I do check in and read blogs when I can, but no time to comment when there's a crib to build! Is this how the rest of my life is going to work? I have a feeling it is.

When I woke up about a half hour ago, I thought, "Hmmm...I should really read and try to fall back asleep...or maybe I should go do something semi-productive and get used to waking up at all sorts of hours of the night!" A lot of the advice I got at the baby shower was to get as much sleep as I could now, because it was soon to be a thing of the past. So now that I've written the shortest blog in Palomino Girl history, I think I'm going to follow some of that advice and try to cruise back to bed.

Pictures of the baby shower to follow--while it was not horse themed, I did get a BEAUTIFUL boots and spurs quilt for the baby that I will have to show off...as soon as I find it in the pile of baby stuff sitting in the middle of the nursery!

Happy Trails--please, enjoy your horses for me. I am now living vicariously through you!

My New Peg Position

2008-09-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

Some may have noticed I have been pretty quiet in the blog world lately. This absence has been a time of reflection for me. You see, on Tuesday I loaded up Yellow and we drove about an hour to see The Cowboy. I had arranged to get a lesson from him because, while Yellow has been doing pretty well, I felt like his hip was locked up a little and wanted to get some help.

We pulled in at 10:00 a.m., right on time. The Cowboy gets VERY irritated when I'm late. He unloaded Yellow and tied him up at a hitching post. He ran over him with a curry comb quickly and commented on how Yellow has put on a good amount of weight and looks real good. I actually think Yellow is a TAD heavy right now...he blew through a 1,000 lb bale in a little over 2 weeks, and has a small pot-belly. I think it's sympathy weight.

I thought he was going to groundwork Yellow and would see the work I'd put into keeping him alert and focused while "sending" him. No groundwork. The Cowboy just mounted right up and went to work. First he disengaged Yellow's hind end, which he said worked fine. Then he went to move the shoulder and something got jammed up. Yellow would rather sit on his butt and jump around on his haunches than step through his turn. The Cowboy was not impressed. He went to work fixing this problem, which required a few "motivators" to get him moving forward instead of stepping back. This irritated Yellow, who would then put his head down and jump around and get pretty light on his front end and do just about everything he could to get out of having to USE his front end.

While this is occurring, the Cowboy is cursing at the horse for trying to fight with him, and yelling at me that I've spoiled him and have him all jammed up for a number of reasons. I don't have him in the poll, and without that I can't do anything. Then I've been backing him into turns and he bangs into himself and that makes him not want to turn. After the first mini-rodeo, the Cowboy tried out Yellow's lateral flexion, something that I work on EVERY time I get on. I know he's soft. Well, the Cowboy told me Yellow isn't soft because I've been letting him twist his head and just bring his nose around instead of keeping his face vertical and making him give at the poll and the neck. So Yellow put up another big fight...backing into the fence, jumping around, and pretty much doing everything he could think of, besides buck and rear. I think even Yellow knew either of those actions was going to result in something really, really bad for him.

The Cowboy is not one to back down from a fight. When Yellow gets defiant, he would get a quick over-under and a spur. The Cowboy has a good seat and wasn't going anywhere. I could see Yellow's eyes rolling back in his head, his mouth gaping, and a total expression that said, "Listen lady...I don't know what you were thinking bringing me here, but was I really so out-of-line that I deserved THIS?!?"

Once the fighting was over and Yellow went through his paces with ease, the Cowboy dismounted. I asked if I could ride a bit to get a feel for what I needed to be doing instead of what I was doing. He said sure, but that I needed to walk him around a bit to make sure his new mindset was gonna stick.

So at this point, I've seen my horse be re-programmed, and kind of fight his way through it. And through out the whole process, I've been told what I've done to cause all this. Now, it's my turn to get re-programmed. But do you think the Cowboy is going to lecture Yellow on how he's trained me to let him get away with stuff? Hell no.

My hand position wasn't right, I wasn't pulling back in the correct position, I wasn't releasing fast enough, and at one point, the Cowboy told me I wasn't listening. Well, I was listening, but my mind doesn't translate to my body that quickly!

After about 15 minutes, the Cowboy thought I had it down okay. He told me I need to get the baby business done and then bring Yellow back for a month, and I need to come twice and week and ride. At the end of 30 days, I'll have a finished horse and I won't have to worry about messing any of his basic cues up. I think the Cowboy likes my horse (actually, I know he does) and wants to ride him for a month.

Everything ended on a good note. Yellow sometimes has issues getting in the trailer...not that day! I've never seen that horse more willing to jump into the safety of his horse trailer! On the way home I called one of my favorite cousins and attempted to find humor in the situation. I've had Yellow for almost a year now, and I suppose I could have ruined a lot more than just his front end!

The next day the Cowboy called me to see when we purchased our Oklahoma horse from him, and I told him February, and then he launched into an apology for being a little hard on me the day before, and said he just really wanted to get his point across. I think maybe his girlfriend, who was there the whole time, layed into him that night. I told my mom that had any of our horsey cousins been in my shoes, they probably would have cried. Or been pissed. But I know he's right. Everything that came out of his mouth made perfect sense, so I couldn't really get too upset. But sometimes, delivery is everything!

I told the Cowboy I knew he was right, and that I'm just a little sensitive with all the hormones. He really felt bad when I said that because he knows I can't ride as much as I'd like to, and that my poor pregnant mind can be a little unfocused.

But let me tell you, there is nothing like a day like that to knock your confidence and peg and make you think twice about jumping on your horse and doing whatever you feel like! I haven't had time to ride since we got back, but hopefully my horse will still be talking to me the next time I jump on his back. After all, if he won't, I can just threaten to take him back to the Cowboy.

Re: Forever Homes

2008-09-13T07:31:00.000-07:00

Most of you, I'm sure, read Pony Girl's blog about "forever homes." Well, being the college debate club officer that I am, I feel it is my duty to present the other side. I started to leave a comment on her blog, and then realized my comment was blog-length! So I might as well state my case here. Here we go.

Horses are not children, and really shouldn't be considered pets either.

Novice riders should never buy their first horse thinking it will be his/her forever horse.

Horses don't feel, reason, or depend on humans emotionally the way a lot of riders/owners hope they do.

Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Okay, so horses are not children. That part is obvious, I'm sure everyone will agree with me there. I joke a lot that I hope horse training and parenting are similar so I'll have a little more luck raising Baby Grace. Well, they are and they aren't. Horse's CANNOT reason. They don't predict the consequences of their actions. They don't say, "If I listen to all my rider's cues today, that will make my rider happy, so I'm going to do that!" Sorry. Not how it works.

Now, the "horses not as pets" statement may be a little more controversial. I know of several horses who have been raised by someone with the mindset, "I will raise this horse from a baby and we will have the most amazing connection." They picture bareback, bridleless gallops through pastures, a horse so intuitive it seems like he/she can read your mind. Immediately, they adopt this horse as a pet. It's cute when the horse rubs on you when she's younger, she must like you! It's okay to let your baby snack on grass during a training session...she must be hungry. Be careful when putting fly spray on her, you don't want to scare your baby!

In other words, when people start seeing their horses as pets, they start spoiling them. This is how horses become dangerous! They are very large animals, and the second they think you are equals is the second they realize, "I don't have to do this. I'm bigger." They don't care that it will make you mad. They just want to see what it takes to go back to the pasture. They are waiting for their RELEASE!

Just an example, everyone and their dog has seen the Stacey Westfall bridleless video. It's fun to think that that horse works so well with her because he loves her and can read her mind. Not so much the case. Stacey rides that horse PERSONALLY 5-6 days a week. That horse is broke. No other explanation.

Moving on, I've already mentioned that horses don't feel or reason. Everything a horse does is based on release. A horse doesn't "like" fly spray, so he starts jumping around when you spray it on him. You stop spraying. His release? Yep, he got it when he started jumping around. Also, I would like to point out, THIS DOES NOT MEAN HE WAS ABUSED WITH A FLY SPRAY BOTTLE!! I will be the first to admit there are legitimate cases of horse abuse. But it is usually not training-related! It's just that bad behavior has been rewarded with a release, so why should a horse straighten up and fly right? All he has to do is jump around a little, and he avoids the issue all together?! Shoot, if I could avoid household chores by jumping around a little, and my fiance finally said, "Just go outside and play with your dogs," I would do it EVERY time. And horses remember the last thing that happened. Not the time before that, where they stood perfectly still and it was no big deal. They remember the last time, where they got YOU freaked out and got away with it!

With all this said, I think it is a huge responsibility for horse owners to only own the horses they are using. Dead-broke horses who have taken 5 kids through 4-H and are being passed on to a new, novice rider are how we get more people in the business! We need that turn-over. We need new riders to be on safe horses, and then when they have outgrown that horse, to pass it on to a new, novice rider! Then they go in search of that junior level horse that will--not just take them to the next level of the show ring--but take them to the next level in their horsemanship skills!

It can be extremely dangerous for a new rider to own a horse that isn't broke. My definition of broke might be different than some people's, but my definition of broke means you can take a horse anywhere and have anyone ride him and he's the same horse. So, you get a novice rider who picks out a pretty horse. The horse isn't broke. The rider has no idea how to handle this horse, and becomes afraid. But she loves the horse because the horse is pretty. She will never sell the horse, but she doesn't want to ride him because she is terrified the horse will kill her. Then you have the gal who has been riding the 22 year old thoroughbred mare who has put 4 kids through 4-h and one through pony club. The gal assumes all horses stand quietly when being saddled, can be taken to a show, a roping, or on a trail ride and behave the same (so why all the fuss with safety guidelines that don't apply to her horse?) and will never sell this horse because she is comfortable and confident. We have two trainwrecks, waiting to happen. Horses that don't match rider capabilities for different reasons. We know that both horses are probably happy. Neither of them is ever challenged. But this is bad news for the industry! And it's just not reasonable.

Been there.

Done that.

How many of us would be competent riders if we were on push-button horses all of our lives? And how many of us would have felt confident riding these more complex horses if we hadn't started out on the push-button horse? This is the way my horse progression worked, and I should really thank my mom every day. It's probably the reason I am so confident on my horse now. I can count on one hand how many times I've been thrown off a horse in 19 years of riding. I have never owned a horse I couldn't handle or that I didn't feel confident on.

Now, I am not saying that no one should ever keep their horse forever. Shoot, I've said plenty of times that I will never sell Yellow. But there is a reason for this: He's earned it. And if you met my horse, you would know why. He is tried and true in every aspect we've exposed him to. And, I take him back to the trainer for tune-ups every so often to make sure I'm not spoiling him. (See my future blog about that!) I just would like to point out that before we start assuming every horse that has ever been sold or passed along has seen a Black Beauty-type life, we need to consider that horses are animals, and most are not needy. They like being in the pasture with other horses, some like going to work, some like human affection, but they lack the mental capability to be sad that the girl who used to ride him never comes to visit.

I love my horse just as much as the next girl (or maybe more!) but I've waited quite a while for a horse like this to come along, and I made damn sure I was a good enough rider for him before I found him!

And my last controversial statement for this blog: Horses don't trust the way people trust. It's based off respect, herd mentality and pecking order. As long as your horse sees you as the herd leader and knows that he is below you in the pecking order, he will work for you and even do things he's uncertain of because he knows you're the boss. He doesn't sit there and think, "Well, she's never lied to me before! Except for that time she said she would feed me alfalfa and gave me grass hay...but I guess I can forgive her for that and trust her one more time!"

Ignore all this if you would like, I sing a completely different tune if we're talking about my dog and many dog trainers have told me I've spoiled her beyond repair! Well, I don't care. She's 9 lbs of spoiled yorkiepoo and I am pretty sure her sun rises and sets on whether or not she gets to be by my side all day long. And no one is going to convince me different!

She likes being dressed up, I swear!

You like me, you really like me!

2008-09-03T08:40:00.001-07:00

I have received my first (but certainly not last) blog award!! This is a proud day for my blog team, consisting of me, Stella, and sometimes I borrow my mother's assistant, Rory. I might even have to treat myself to a decaf extra powdered white chocolate americano with an inch of unsteamed soy!! Got all that? Anyway...

Courtesy of TWO wonderful fellow bloggers, Saddle Mountain Rider at Middle of the Road and Crazy Horse Woman at Adventures of a Horse Crazed Mind. Thank you ladies!!

Here are the details about this award;

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you have nominated.

I believe that most of the blogs I read have already received this award. For good reason. I don't want to read some blog that no one has ever loved! So for that reason alone, I am not going to nominate any blogs at this time...I would like to reserve the right to nominate a blog or two in the future. I think it's only a matter of time before more horse-crazy bloggers find us!

So, for my acceptance speech, I would like to thank all the people who made this possible.

First, my fiance, for knowing to leave me alone when I'm at my laptop because I am CLEARLY either reading about horses or writing about horses.

Second, my wonderful pony cousin Pony Girl, who has inspired many of us and continues to humor me almost every day with her adventures with My Boy. Who, you should all be jealous to know, I have ridden. And let me tell you, he is lovely. Well, once he figured out I'm not a beginner who is going to let him wonder back to the herd...but lovely, nonetheless.

And finally, to Yellow. My dream man. He is the peas to my carrots, the Coco to my Chanel, the wind beneath my wings.

Thank you all for reading, and stay tuned. Life is only going to get more interesting from here on out.

Michael Caine and John Wayne

2008-09-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

I'm watching a re-run of The View, and Michael Caine is being interviewed. Joy Behar just asked him about some advice he once received from John Wayne, and that advice was, "Talk low, talk slow, don't say too much, and never wear suede shoes." Well, obviously the suede shoe comment raises a few questions. As John Wayne explained it, "Because you'll be in the restroom taking a pee, and the man next to you will recognize you. He'll turn and say, 'John Wayne?!?' and pee all over your shoes."

Hahahaha! Isn't that the truth? And aren't we lucky to be females??

So, then I had to do a little research and see where Michael Caine and John Wayne worked together...but as it turns out I don't think they did. They were just good friends, and Michael Caine visited John many times while John was hospitalized toward the end of his life.

Who knew?

Lesson Horse

2008-08-31T13:57:00.000-07:00

Just a few days after Yellow arrived in Spokane, I had some friends out to the barn to meet him. These friends were Becky, her husband Chris, and daughter Brooke (7) and Grace (4). Yellow, was also 4. Grace found that very entertaining.

Grace and Brooke brought their new riding helmets and I had been on Yellow enough that day to know he would be fine just carrying them on his back while he walked around the arena. And sure enough, that's exactly what Yellow did. Pretty soon each of the girls was in control of the reins, and I walked around with them, just in case.

Becky and Chris held a very strong point of view that if their girls were to ever get a horse, they must first understand all the work that goes into caring for one. During the months that the girls received "lessons," they were encouraged to groom, pick up after, and feed Yellow. There were a few times when the ride only lasted 15 minutes or so, because there was a lot of other care that needed to take place. As all of you with horses know, this is a very realistic occurrence.

When Yellow came to live on the farm in February, Brooke and Grace were pretty sad. Grace drew me several pictures of Yellow, most of them were of him getting to eat tons of apples (which the girls found out were his favorite!), and they write emails to check in on him.

In June, a former teacher of mine contacted me and told me her daughter, Audrey, was about to turn 5 and LOVES horses. Well, what 5 year old girl doesn't? She would love to pay me to let Audrey come pet the horse, brush the horse, feed the horse, and if it wasn't too much trouble, ride the horse. Of course!!

So on a beautiful Monday in June I got Yellow out and had my fiance saddle him up. We practiced having an adult ride behind the saddle because I knew both mother and child were anxious about riding a "big horse." He's 15 hands, only 2 inches taller than a pony, but most people don't realize that.

Audrey and her mother on Yellow.

Little sis Maggie and mom take their turn.

Audrey was quite nervous about getting on, and was very quiet. After her mom mounted and moved into position, we got Audrey in the saddle and off we went in a small loop in my back yard. After about 15 minutes, it was younger sister Maggie's turn. We took a short break to have some hot dogs and cupcakes, and then Audrey was ready to try it by herself. She was getting a little more assertive about wiggling her little legs to have him move forward, and gently pulling on the reins and saying, "Whoooooaaaaaa" to have him stop.

Just a week later another young lady, this time the daughter of a friend of my mom's, came over to ride the Amazing Lesson Horse. She was a lot more confident and sure of herself on my horse's back, and had lots of fun getting Yellow to go wherever she wanted.

Since these young cowgirls have ridden Yellow, he has also been ridden by many a novice cousin. He never loses his patience or his will. It's truly remarkable to watch a 5 year old horse respond to a 5 year old child the way he does. I will have absolutely no doubts putting my daughter on Yellow. And that will happen as soon as she can sit up on her own!

Cousin Brooklyn on Yellow.

Cousin Haley on Yellow.

Cousin Jamie on Yellow.

Cousin Tena on Yellow.

Me on Okie, because Yellow was too tired after all the cousins getting to ride him!

The name of the game is...

2008-08-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

...TAG!

So I've been tagged by Middle of the Road. Apparently, she doesn't get enough of me every day and would like me to share some unusual facts about myself. Well, here goes...

1. I LOVE TV! I worked for FOX for about a year, and was much more in love with the atmosphere than my specific job. I'm hoping to go back to work for a TV station soon. I love knowing what shows are performing the best, what demographics watch what show, I love seeing good actors work with good writers, I love quality TV.

2. Before I got pregnant, I used to drink 2 coffees and 2-3 diet cokes every day. Caffeine addict!! I blame part of the reason I was so tired during my first trimester on the pregnancy, the other part on the absence of caffeine.

I sure love me some diet coke!!

3. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the low-key, minimal planning of Thanksgiving. No buying gifts, just a wonderful meal with several of my favorite foods. I also love Fall, all the colors and the smell of apple cinnamon. So Thanksgiving incorporates all of that!

4. My favorite hobby is starting new hobbies. I love learning new things, getting new supplies, and becoming good at something new. This has included (in the last 5 years) rock climbing, golfing, wakeboarding, knitting, snowboarding, guitar, dog training, and getting back into horses after a short hiatus. Oh, and photography. I even downloaded instructions for turning your bathroom into a darkroom, just in case I ever have a spare bathroom! I might still like to do that...I wonder if I still have all the darkroom supplies...

The guitar I bought and played 3 times.

My candle making class...shortly after the class I purchased all the necessary equipment to make my own candles...but, sadly, never made a single one.

5. I have a designer jean problem. My fiance used to think what I spent on jeans was ridiculous. Until he got his first pair of 7s, and now he doesn't want to wear American Eagle jeans. I haven't bought a new pair in quite a while, but having spent so much money on nice jeans gives me EXTRA incentive to get back into them when Baby Grace is here!

6. I don't care for a lot of the natural horsemanship hooey. I know Pony Girl is a big fan, and we actually have a lot of similar ideas about things, but I don't think you need to make everything a game for a horse to like it. Some horses like work. Sure, some are more lazy than my perfect Yellow horse, but some horses like to compete! So I see our time together as "work," and work can be fun! Haha! And I don't "spoil" my horse. I don't feed out of my hand, I don't let him graze on grass (especially not with a bit in his mouth!), I don't have any tolerance for goofiness. Now, I say "spoil" not because the act in itself is going to do harm, but because that's what I see a lot of horses spoiled on. You know, the horse that is constantly trying to eat on the trail, or nips anytime a hand is near his face because he thinks that hand contains a treat?

7. I think I had a very special connection with Clinton Anderson. He came to a town nearby for his clinic, and we signed up right away. On the first day of the clinic, he was giving away prizes. He was sitting on Diaz right in front of me, and he started to ask a question about rollbacks. I shot my hand right up in the air and he said, "I haven't even asked the question yet! How can you know the answer?" to which I replied, "I bet I do!" and he said, "Okay, what is it?" I said, "Slow to turn, quick to get out." Well of course that was right! So I won an advanced riding DVD set. The next day I had him autograph it and I made sure he was going to do more horsemanship clinics in 2009. Rumor has it he's about done with the traveling clinics. Anyway, he said he was, and I told him all I could do for the next 9 months was groundwork so we should be pretty amazing by the time he comes back. He asked why and I told him I'm pregnant, and he told me to be careful. See? Clinton Anderson definitely cares about me. Me. He didn't tell anyone else to be careful. But he was concerned for my and Gracie's safety. We have a connection.

Okay, so that just about sums it up for my moderately interesting facts! In turn, I must tag a few unsuspecting bloggers, and I choose:

Adventures of a Horse Crazed Mind

Photog Chic at Equine Mine

fssunnysd at It's Sunny in SD

and

Flying Lily at When Lilies Fly

My Excuse

2008-08-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

My poor horse, Yellow, must think I've lost it. First, I'm riding him almost every day like we're training for some sort of Olympics. Then, I stop riding him for three months. Then, I start riding him sporadically, and start putting on some serious pounds which causes me to be off-balance, especially when posting. I'm posting a lot more frequently, and all of a sudden he's become a walk-trot horse...no loping. No rollbacks. No galloping into a sliding stop. And certainly no cattle work.

Worse yet, I don't even saddle him anymore! All of a sudden I would rather poke around riding bareback, or try this new saddle, a hunt seat saddle.

It's all very odd.

Yellow, it's because you have a sibling on the way. Well, sort of. If this baby comes out looking or shaped like you, I'm going to have a heart attack. But I did find out in April that I am pregnant, and have had to be cautious ever since. And who pays the price? My darling Yellow horse.

Baby Grace Lauryn Kendall, ready to ride, I think!

I had to wait for doctor clearance to be able to ride, and she said second trimester was safer. But I'm not allowed to lift more than 30 lbs, and throwing a saddle was completely out of the question. Well a fat-lot of good that does me! So I just started riding bareback if there was no one around to throw my saddle for me.

And then one day I became inspired...I remember back at the barn in Spokane, someone told me my Yellow horse had a lot of good English action. "WHAT?!? You mean I bought this western pleasure/roping/reining horse, and he looks like one of those sissy English horses that prance around like fricken unicorns?!?" No offense, to all you English riding folk. But it's just not what you expect to hear about your stock horse, you know?

We're riding western, but we look rather...English...guess those gals at the barn had a point!

So I drove my hiney to the local feed store and got a new dressage-style pad. I managed to find a larger girth (my former mare that I showed on in 4-H was not quite as...round, we'll say.) and my breast collar. I saddled up Yellow and explained to him that this wasn't supposed to be pretty, but functional. And it would hopefully help me get a little posting balance back. Or I would fall off, and in that case, he needed to drag me by my foot down to the hospital. I quickly told him the quickest route. Then I asked him to get up next to the fence so I could mount.

I wish you could see the look Yellow sometimes gives me. This was one of those times. I never have to use objects to get on, and he was just thinking, "Listen lady, if you can't mount from the ground, you really shouldn't be riding. Don't make me call your doctor."

"The Look" is something like this...

So, we headed to the riding area, doing one-rein stops all the way there. He seemed perfectly comfortable with this half-saddle on him, and oddly enough, I was comfortable too! I think I have better posture when I ride hunt seat, and it took some pressure off the belly.

We didn't ride for very long because it was crazy-dusty in our riding area. Quite the opposite from Pony Girl's riding area! Wanna trade, PG? But I did lope him in a few small circles...shhhh! Don't tell! He was EASIER to lope in this danged English saddle! Or maybe I was using my seat and legs more efficiently? Whatever the case, it was FUN!

I have only ridden English once since, and that was for our pony cousin roundup in Cle Elum. I have it on video, and it doesn't look too shabby, especially for not having had an English lesson in over 5 years, and being on a horse who has NEVER been ridden in that manner. But I think he likes it!

Looking mighty pregnant in Cle Elum! No wonder I have trouble balancing, I'm front-heavy!

Anyway, Yellow, I am very sorry that soon I will have to stop riding again. And realistically, once this little one is here, who knows how much time I will have to devote. We will remain members of the Back Country Horsemen, I would still love to take you to a Clinton Anderson 3-day clinic, and we will be joining the Yakima Valley Team Penning Club, and either get into team penning or sorting, or both. But, about this time next year, you're going to have to be your old, solid self so Baby Grace can get her first few rides in on you. Of course, I won't let her steer. I know you don't like to be tugged on, but it will be a lot like when you gave Stella her pony rides, except that Travis and Nana will be snapping about a million pictures and Travis will probably be a nervous wreck and threaten your life just before he hands our daughter over to me, sitting on your back.

From LtoR: Yellow, Travis, my dad, Rory, Me, Yellow's butt.

The good news, Yellow, is that we have the horse trainer looking for a small QH for Gracie. I have spent many nights explaining to the bouncing baby after a particularly exciting horse day that Yellow is Mommy's horse, and we will get her a beautiful horse of her own...just don't get too excited and start thinking Mommy will give you Yellow. Mommy and Daddy will give you a lot of things...Mommy's horse is not one of them.

Cowgirl Baby Shower...yep, this baby is being raised correctly right from the start!

On a side note, I have to say that while I am not yet a parent, I have heard that many horse training techniques can be directly applied to children. Is this true? What techniques might some of you parents or aunts or uncles use?

Hey Stella!

2008-08-27T09:33:00.001-07:00

I have a wonderful helper on the farm. Her name is (get ready for this) Stella Louise Madonna Ashley Nicole Carmit Jessica Kimberly Melody Jaquish Kendall. And no, I'm not joking. I can say the whole thing, in that order, as many times as you would like.

Stella in her Halloween costume.

Stella will be celebrating her 3rd birthday on September 15th. Her father was a yorkie, her mother was a poodle, therefore she is a yorkiepoo. I received her for Christmas 2 years ago, and it has never been her choice to leave my side since.

Stella, 12 weeks old.

Unfortunately, last summer, she had to come stay with my parents on the farm because I was moving around in Spokane and struggled to find a place that would allow dogs. I just knew if each of these landlords could meet my little Stella they would feel differently about allowing dogs in their rentals!

Anyway, that summer is when Stella really became a farm dog. I was concerned about her getting out of the fence and getting on the hiway, but she never once challenged the fence.

Farm dog in training, herding geese at Manito Park in Spokane.

Yep, Stella had all those geese headed back for water in no-time!

During that summer Stella got to go on a camping trip where she had the very important job of picking out scrapbooking papers, ordering lattes, and keeping chipmunks, squirrels and large bugs out of the camp. I'm told she was fabulous.

Stella on a latte run.

Stella in her pink camping sweater.

Stella helping with scrapbooking layouts.

Stella did get to come back to Spokane for a while, right around the time Yellow arrived. I would take her to the barn with me and she would run up and down the aisle, keeping all the birds up in the rafters. The horses would stick their heads out of their stalls and watch this black, bouncing object run back and forth, back and forth. Then, she would come over to Yellow in the crossties, and I would pick her up and Yellow would smell her. At first Stella was scared, but then she realized, "This is just a big puppy!" and would give him kisses right on the nose!

In the indoor arena Stella had a chair she would sit on and watch me ride. Most of the time she watched quietly, but one time she was whining quite a bit. So I rode Yellow over to the chair, reached down and grabbed Stella's harness, and hoisted her up in the saddle with me, and off we went. Of course, Yellow doesn't neckrein so steering was interesting while holding a 9 lb. dog, but I think Stella really enjoyed her pony ride! A few of the other boarders were so impressed with her abilities they snapped some pictures! Of course, they didn't give them to me, so I have no proof...I guess you'll just have to believe me.

When I moved home this summer my little farm dog began helping me with all sorts of chores. We feed the horses, she picks up hoof trimmings after a shoeing, she LOVES anything having to do with the garden hose, so watering horses is another favorite job. As a matter of fact, she is even laying next to me right now, helping me write this blog. I'm tellin you now, if you do not have a farm dog to help you with all sorts of chores, large and small, you should get one.

Stella in my lap, Ernie on the floor, ready to load up the Pro Hauler.

"McLintock!"

2008-08-22T15:16:00.000-07:00

People! People! People! Last week I re-watched one of my favorite movies of all time, and definitely my favorite western, McLintock.

John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara team up in this western comedy that lacks the goofiness of Blazing Saddles, but absolutely has its fair share of chuckles! I don't know how old I was when my mom brought this movie home, but it's one of those I probably quote more often than I realize.

The story is about George Washington McLintock, a well-off rancher with a rather callus way of dealing with women. His wife, Kate, comes back to the town of McLintock to welcome their daughter home from school. She has been off attending swarees with the Governer. For some reason Kate has a lot of contempt toward her husband, but always with a sly smile behind every insult. The story is of McLintock and Kate rekindling the passion their relationship once had, through mud brawls, drunken serenades, and finally a big city celebration with a rodeo and "march" down the main street!

John Wayne's son, Patrick Wayne stars in the movie, as well as Jerry Van Dyke, who most people will remember as "Luther" on the TV show Coach.

Some of the better lines from McLintock include:

George Washington McLintock: If these settlers get burned out, there'll be a lot of hollerin' that this country is too wild to be a state. We'll go on bein' a territory some more, with a lot of political appointees runnin' it according to what they learned in some college where they think cows are somethin' you milk and Indians are somethin' in front of a cigar store.

George Washington McLintock: I know I'm gonna use good judgement. I haven't lost my temper in forty years, but pilgrim you caused a lot of trouble this morning, might have got somebody killed... and somebody oughta belt you in the mouth. But I won't, I won't. The hell I won't
[belts man in the mouth]

Drago: I'm sorry Katherine - that Katie just slipped out from times when I remember you as being nice people...
Katherine McClintock: Are you going to stand there with that stupid look on your face while the hired help insults your wife?
George Washington McLintock: He can't help it - he's just ignorant. He doesn't know any better than to tell the truth. And I can't help this stupid look. I started acquiring it as you gained in social prominence!

And finally:
George Washington McLintock: Don't say it's a fine morning or I'll shoot ya!

And here is one of my favorite scenes from this beloved movie...don't worry, no spoilers here!

Yellow

2008-08-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

Yellow is the name of my horse. No, not his actual name, silly! His registered name is Skips Sport (who comes up with these?!?), and then he has his barn name, and then there is his color: Yellow. When I first heard about Yellow, the horse trainer said, "I got this yeller horse I think you would like." That's the way my horse trainer (aka The Cowboy) names his horses. In all the time I spent with The Cowboy, I think my mom's colt was the only horse he had a name for that was not color related. Of course, "Sumbitch" is not something we wanted the little colt to be called, but if you tried to ride that little horse, you might have had a similar name for him.

I rode The Cowboy's rope horse, or, "that big bay horse." I rode "that appy horse." And finally, I bought "that yeller horse."

Did I mention Yellow can rope too? Well, the cowboy can rope...Yellow can chase a cow or a donkey. This donkey's name is Leroy!

I was pretty intent on giving Yellow a very sophisticated barn name. After all, shortly after I purchased him I moved him from the country life he was accustomed to to a fancy-shmancy barn in Spokane, WA. Our side of the barn was mostly reining horses with a few dressage horses mixed in. Surely "Yellow" on his stall card would never fly! Not next to horses with real barn names!

Yellow's arrival in Spokane.

Now, I'm not saying I don't like his barn name. I gave it to him, and it works. I combined his registered name with a person very close to me, and it suits him. It's easy to call out in a pasture, easy to use with nicknames, all the things a good barn name should be. It's kind of like our city alias.

But then in March, I moved him back down to my parent's farm. And soon after that, my mom got a new colt. Amazingly, "Sumbitch" didn't work out the way we had hoped. So her chestnut colt came home, and to help my dad remember who's blanket fit who, we adopted the saying "white fleece on Yellow, green fleece on Brown." And thus, my horse became Yellow once again.

Yellow and Brown, hanging out on the farm.

Yellow is a simple kind of horse. He comes from every Skip, Skippa, or Skipper horse you've ever heard of. He's 15hh and slightly long, but everything is proportionate. The main thing about Yellow is, he has a lot of "try." That's a phrase I think even non-horse people can understand. Yellow will try anything. If you have a leg or a rein on him, and he's not sure what you're asking, he's not just going to stand there. He will do something. He's almost never goofy (sans the 2 months he was on stall rest and then I decided to break him out and chase a mechanical flag while still in my work attire...bad Palomino Girl!) and loves to go to work. I wish I could say the same about myself!

All in all, Yellow is my dream horse. And who gets to have his/her dream horse at the ripe ol' age of 24? Well, me, I guess.

A cousin recently told me that my mom's horse, Brown, needs to learn that the sun does not rise and set on the butt of that yeller horse. Well, clearly I disagree!! And I'm sure there are plenty of you who feel the same way. I had another cousin tell me that all she had in the world was her husband and her horse. Well, to that I say, "Who needs the man when you've got a Quarter Horse?" Of course, shortly after saying that I found a man worth keeping around...but even he knows to respect my time spent with Yellow. That is Palomino Girl and Yellow time, not anything else.

Note the Ipod headphones? I don't like to be bothered by anyone or anything when I'm with Yellow.

Last week at our cousin horse camping trip, we decided to each do a routine to a song that represented either the cousin or the "equicuz," as we call them. My song? Yellow, by Coldplay. Chris Martin wrote it for the yellow-haired beauty in his life, Gwyneth Paltrow. I rode to it for the yellow-haired beauty in mine.

Look at the stars, look how they shine for you. And all the things that you do.

What song would best represent you and your horse? And what kind of a routine would you do to it?