Swamp Suburbia

What I have been doing!

2011-07-13T22:29:00.002-05:00

So, for the last month I've been doing a photography scavenger hunt! It's been so fun. There are over 300 items and it's got everything you could imagine and never could imagine on the list!! It's being put on by the Clickin Moms Forum! It's a great place to learn everything photography.

Also, Cowpokette got her cast off about a week ago! She has been so happy. She was so tough when they took the pins out of her arm. She didn't have to be put back into surgery for it. She just laid there like a big girl. I was so proud of her. After it was all over she refused to look at the Dr. and turned to me and said, "Can we go home? I'm tired!" Poor baby girl!

Well, it's hot and nasty humid here in the south. My two two year olds got their hooves trimmed today so it's into the round pen for them tomorrow! It's time for them to be saddled and line driven. Maybe I will loose weight if I run around behind two two year olds for a while!! :)

But that's all for now! Not much going on here! I do have lost of pictures to share from our visit to Oklahoma to see my sister!! That was so fun!! I'll get that done soon, I promise!

Bad Blogger, Broken Bones, and Puppies

2011-06-12T22:59:00.005-05:00

So, I have been a really bad blogger......I'm sorry. I really miss it. Here is a quick update!! I've been super busy with photography sessions, and I have lots coming up this week!! It's going to be fun.

Then on Friday evening, Cowpokette broke her arm. She was playing with her brother and some cousins and one of her boy cousins pushed her down while they were running and she landed just right, or should I say wrong. She broke her right arm, right above her elbow in the growth plates. We took her to the emergency room and we ended up having to say over night. She had surgery on Saturday. Cowpokette had two pins put in and a cast put on.

The Dr. was very nice and we go back to see him on Friday!! You wouldn't know Cowpokette has a broken arm. She is such a trooper. She played all afternoon and was up and about. I'm so proud of her for being so tough.

Tomorrow I take Belle in for a pregnancy check!!! I have all fingers and toes crossed for her to be pregnant!! We shall see tomorrow. I am betting YES, but I shall not be disappointed if she is not bred. I haven't gotten my hopes up too high.

So, I am a bad blogger, and my daughter broke her arm, and Belle might be pregnant!!

Bad Vet, Good Vet!

2011-05-11T20:15:00.000-05:00

Today was just one of those days....a day where I was sick of dealing with stupid people who treated me like I was stupid. I went to Acadia Animal Hospital this morning for an appointment for Belle. Belle was going to get a smear done to see if she is ready to be artificially inseminated (A.I.). So, I drove 45 minutes to the vet's office.

My first impression with the front office was not good over the phone, but I have them the benefit of the doubt and I kept my appointment. I had told my husband how rude the lady was to me on the phone. So, on his way home from work he stopped by to talk with them about Belle's A.I. appointments. He said they were nice and he actually went back to talk with the Doctor.

Me....well.....they were rude the minute I walked in the door. The office stunk like animal pee. That was a HUGE turn off. Then the receptionist looked just how I imagined her to look by how she sounded on the phone. I know that wasn't nice of me.....but it was how it was going down!!

Then I sat there for 2 hours. I did not see the Dr. a girl came out with a large Q-tip swab and did the procedure in the waiting area. Then about 30 minutes later the rude lady up front called me up to pay and said, "Well, she is ready to breed so you can go ahead and breed her."

I looked at her and said, "Uhm....you are breeding her. She is coming in to be A.I.ed".

Dumb lady, "Oh, well.....where is the stud...."

Me getting mad because I've told her this more than enough times on the phone and then my husband came in too, "Well, the stud dog is in Massachusetts. We are having it shipped to you to put it in her."

Mean while the vet walks up and hears our conversation and says, "Oh yeah, she's ready to go, I want to breed her tomorrow, Saturday, and Monday. And if I'm too busy to do the insemination one of my girls can do it."

I say, "Okay, I'll call the vet up in Massachusetts and tell them your information."

I went on to ask the crack head receptionist about their delivery process and when I asked her when they accepted deliveries she just looked at me and then put a business card over the paper I was writing on and said, "There is all our information."

Oh, HO, NO YOU DIDN'T!!!!

I went outside to talk to the Vet in Massachusetts about the collection times and she had issues with the Saturday delivery. So, I went back inside to ask the Crack Head Receptionist about deliveries on Saturday.

She looked at me and said, "Oh we close on Saturday at noon and so, we will just have to skip that breeding."

Me....flaming inside and wanting to strangle her skinny neck, "Well, he said he wants to breed her on Saturday."

Crack Head, "He said that? When did he say that?"

Me, "He stood right there and said it while he was picking up someone's chart."

Crack Head, "Oh, well I will have to talk to him about that."

Then she preceded to ignore the fact I was even in the room and standing in front of her while she piddled. Another customer came up and started talking about the employees getting to leave early and the Crack Head said, "Oh we always work late. On Saturday's we are luck to get out of here by 2."

I about LOST it. First they say if he can't do it one of the other girls can....I'm not paying to have a vet tech to breed my dog!! Then she lies to me and says that I can't come in on Saturday because they close at noon, but yet they stay til 2:00pm all the time.

I walked out of there and called a local vet that is about 25 minutes from my house and went straight there. The office was clean, and the employees were SOOOO nice and even were dressed nice. I didn't have to have an appointment and I was brought back to see the ever so nice Dr. in about 10 minutes. The Dr. came in and apologized for my horrible experience I had this morning and said he hoped he could make my experience better. I told him, "Well there is no where to go but up!"

He did a smear on Belle and did a blood test to check her progesterone. He made sure I didn't have any questions. I told him I wanted to give him a big hug and he was the best! I was in and out of that office in about 25 minutes.

Belle is not going back to that horrid Vet in Rayne and we are going to go to the new wonderful nice VET!!!

I won't even go into detail about how the semen bank in Massachusetts treated me. She was snippy and rude and I only cried a bit after her rude conversation with me. My husband called the stud owner and he got things straightened out with the sperm bank. The lady tried to tell me she wouldn't ship it to me....I was so upset.

Anyway, I am glad the day is over and Belle will be bred on Friday and Saturday! Hooray!!!

Puppy Fever!

2011-05-09T08:19:00.004-05:00

Guess who is super excited to be in heat?!!!Yep, BELLE!!! And yes that is her happy face. Cowpokette had to jump in for the picture too. Belle has come into heat and this time around we are going to breed her! We have been waiting a long time for this. I am really excited for little Belle pups. The kids are super excited too.

Belle is going to be bred to another Olde English Bulldogge named Samson. He is a handsome boy. Samson lives in Massachusetts. Belle won't get to meet her handsome beau. We are going to to artificial insemination. I showed Little Cowpoke the pictures of Belle's boyfriend and he was concerned about them not meeting and Belle being able to have puppies. So, I had to explain to him about how the fertilizer is going to be shipped to us and the vet will put it in her. He was okay with that...until he asked...how do they put it in her? Does she eat it?

Oh the joys of 5 year old boy questions. So, I told him, "No, they put it in her triangle." He was satisfied with that answer. He won't have to take any health class by the time we are done with explaining how the birds and the bees work with all of our animals.

Belle goes in on Wednesday for an exam and then we will know when she will be bred and then we will have PUPPIES!!! I can't wait for puppies....I think!

A Baby Mountain Lion!

2011-05-06T17:17:00.005-05:00

Little Cowpoke: "Momma!! Sister picked up a wild cat...I mean a WILD MOUNTAIN LION.....well, a small mountain lion....it was a BABY mountain lion!!"

Me: "Oh really!! What color was this Mountain Lion?"

Little Cowpoke: "Momma, it was black and white. Sister picked it up and it freaked out and she threw it in my face! I was like WHOA!!"

Me: "Wow, are you okay?"

Little Cowpoke: "Yes, it was awesome!"

All the mean while Cowpokette was standing behind him saying, "Yeah!! It was freaky!"

I love these kids!!! And you better watch out for those black and white baby mountain lions!!! Ha ha ha ha ha!

PS....just in case anyone was wondering, I rode Ozzie yesterday and it was the BEST ride I have ever had on him!! Maybe I'll move out of the round pen!! :) Mr. Cowboy rides Ozzie to work cows...yet I'm still stuck in the round pen....sigh......

How Time Flies!

2011-04-08T10:22:00.006-05:00

It has been such a long time since I have blogged. I think it's about time I get back into it. There have been so many fun moments in our lives the last year, that I just have not written down. I need to get back into the swing of blogging. Here is a tiny preview of what we have been up to!! Cowpokette has grown some! She is so fun!! She has been in a pageant and won Best Fashion! She loves make-up, pink, and rodeos! She rode my horse Pearl for the first time the other day with out any help!! I'm so proud of my little Princess! Big Cowpoke is just that....BIG! He is so tall! Growing like a weed. He played basketball this year! He also is rodeoing again. He started to rope this past fall. Peanut, his horse, was all about it. They did pretty well. They tracked a dummy and they got to track out of the box. It was pretty fun! And then there is Little Cowpoke!!! Here he and his good friend are all dressed and ready to take the town for the Kids' Mardi Gras Ball!! He was so fashionable! He wore his tennis shoes! So fancy! Here are all the little Studs that went with us!! They had a blast!! Big Cowpoke is in the middle! Little Cowpoke also did a Science Fair project on Owl Pellets. He LOVED it. He found all sorts of bones inside the pellet. He won first place on his poster! I was so proud of him!And this picture is horrid, but he's just so cute! You can see the boys' hair is super LONG!!! They love it, I hate it....but such is life. Sigh......Here is the entire Crew!! I love this picture....not because it's perfect, but it shows how we really are!! Cowpokette is in Pink and the Boss of her brothers. The boys have their dogs and don't need anything else....and Brodi....well....old man Brodi just LOVES the kids....ha ha ha ha. And they are all a mess too!! That is how we look 90% of the time!We must not forget to get some pictures of Mr. Cowboy himself!! Here he is with his two girls, and Old Man Brodi! Again, Brodi looking not so sure of what is going on. Here is my Josephine! She is a tank and she is registered Buckskin!! Woot woot! Not that she looks like it, but hey, we will let her genes speak for themselves. She will be broke out this summer. Okay, now back to my Stud! Mr. Cowboy and I went to the Mardi Gras Ball dressed as characters from the Movie Grease. The theme was Hollywood! My Mom came to visit and made me this fantastic poodle skirt! I loved it!! But that is about it! I'm in the middle of my super most busy time of year! I have Senior Portrait Sessions booked like crazy and I'm just busy, busy, busy. I can't wait for April to be over!!!

But I plan on being back! I've had so many fun stories to tell and I haven't been writing them down. So, here is to a new year of blogging!!

Super Busy

2010-11-01T21:36:00.002-05:00

I know I have been a complete Blog Slacker for the last 6 months. And it's not because I don't have anything to write about! A lot has gone on! The kids have all gotten huge, my yearlings are huge, and my photography business is busy! Just a quick update, Big Cowpoke has been so bad in school. He is 9 and his behavior has been bad. I am not sure what's up with him. Little Cowpoke is one of the smartest kids in his class. I am loving not hounding him to do his homework. The kid just likes it! And Cowpokette is just the cutest thing ever! She is my little momma and I love having her at home with me. I am going to be so sad when she goes to Pre-K next year.

On the horse front, Josephine choked the other day. I had to call out a vet and he tubed her and now she is fine. She freaked me out though. She had stuff coming out of her nose and mouth and I just couldn't help her.

Halloween was fun. The Cowpokes were Black Ninjas and Cowpokette was a Princess (what else would she be?). I didn't take a single picture on Halloween. I actually have been having some right arm, elbow, and wrist issues from taking pictures. It all started back when I worked dentistry and now it's just coming back and my arm just hurts. Sharp pain going down it. So, if I don't have to take pictures for work, then I just don't. Sorry kids! It will get better soon!!

And if you all (if anyone is left out there) wants to go see my photography website, then go and see it at www.andreatphotography.com!!! It's official. It took me a while to get it up and running, but I am really excited about it so please go and check it out!!!

But that is all that has been going on here. OH, and the barn is almost finished. I used to tell Mr. Cowboy that the barn wouldn't be up before Christmas, and I just might be right. We have just about 2 walls and half a roof up! I took a picture of it the other day and I'll have to post it! That is really exciting! I can't wait to have my own barn!!

But that is all for now, sorry no pictures....I'm a slacker, but at least I updated!!

Ozzie and Josephine

2010-08-28T21:15:00.003-05:00

The two are just about as goofy as two horses can get. They have such fun personalities. I bet you can't tell they are half brother and sister?Josephine is getting so tall. She still is a yearling, and Ozzie is 5!! So, do you think she will pass him up? I took a bunch of pictures of them tonight, but only have time to post one. We did the rodeo thing today, and my Cowpokes got all the patterns wrong. Just something in the air!

Luna is doing great. She was running around today like a crazy yearling! It's amazing how great she is doing!

Cowpokette is going to be 3 on Sunday! I can't believe it!! Gosh I love that little girl! I'll show her pink birthday pictures soon! She had her bestest girlfriends come over! They were so cute!!

But that's about it! Just a quick update!

Luna and Painting!!

2010-08-19T07:46:00.006-05:00

So, it's been a while....again...wow, life sure goes by quickly!! Things have been so busy with school starting and people wanting pictures done, and soccer practice!! I am Little Cowpoke's soccer coach!! I am having a lot of fun coaching! But anyway, last week I got some pictures of Luna's leg. And actually, this week, you wouldn't even know it was broken!! She is healing really well!! Which is great. This his how she was for the first few days. See how low her elbow is? It's not supposed to hand down like that!! And actually, these pictures were taken at about day 4, so she is actually holding her hoof up a bit more than before. She actually had it dragging the ground. But on day four she started doing this..... Putting some weight on it!!! You can see how her elbow is a bit swollen. Her leg and elbow never got more swollen than in that picture. I hosed her off every day and let her eat some grass. I am so glad that she is doing better!! I bet she can't wait to go back out with her best friend, Josephine!! Luna is still a little tank!! Just look at that booty!!! The girls are now a year and a half old!!! Almost saddle time!!! AHHHHH!!! See time flies! But on another note, I got new muddy boots!! Super cool, no? Ignore all the horrid pictures in this post, they were all taken with my phone! And again on another side note......

Little Cowpoke and I went painting!! We have this awesome place here that teaches you how to paint a picture!!! Here is Little Cowpoke painting his guitar picture!! The final product!! He did such a great job!! And here is the entire class!! We had a kids painting party! They all had really cool guitars!I then did a girls night out with my Ponkeno group. We got to invite other friends too!! So I invited these two crazy girls! No, Jen isn't trying to strangle herself, and no Laura isn't sleeping!!! I know horrid picture, right? There are their beautiful paintings!!! Here is mine! I am so hot!! whuahahahaha!!! Here is a close up of my painting! And here is all three of ours! I love how different they all came out!!! And our class for the night! It was so much fun!!! I want to go back, but I can't decide which painting I want to do next!! Plus, I gotta find a place to but the two I already have!! But that is about it! That's all that I have been doing!!

Luna Update

2010-08-04T13:18:00.002-05:00

Well, the Vet came out, and it wasn't my favorite Vet. He is a younger guy than the normal Vet that I use. They all work in the same office. But for some reason this vet likes to act like he knows everything. It aggravates me. But that's besides the point.

He came out knowing I wanted an x-ray, and then told me they don't have an x-ray machine strong enough to shoot through the shoulder. Sigh.....but he looked at Luna and his assistant looked at Luna, and they both think she broke her Humerus bone. They think the elbow is fine and she still moves her leg to get flies off of it. They both think that she will heal up just fine and walk normal some day. I don't know about that.....but I am willing to give it a try.

I was going to take some pictures of her today, but I will wait until this afternoon. I have been giving her some bute and I hose off her leg just to cool it off for her. So, we are going to wait 6 weeks and see what that brings. The Vet and Mr. Cowboy agreed that we can always put her down later and it's worth a try.

Luna Broke Her Leg

2010-08-02T23:51:00.003-05:00

Well, I left for soccer practice this evening and everything was fine. I got home an hour later....and Luna was dead lame. We drive by the yearlings' pasture every time we go to or from home, so I always look over at them just to make sure they are alright. Well, this evening, I noticed that Luna was all by herself. She normally doesn't go anywhere with out her best bud Josephine. I turned to Mr. Cowboy and said, "Luna is lame!! On her front right!"

Now, this was all said while driving about 35 mph and heading for home. So, Mr. Cowboy said, "Oh sure! Whatever, what are you some kind of horse whisperer now? There is nothing wrong with Luna!"

He was all sorts of mad at me when I told him that she wasn't alright. He was agitated about having to go and look at her with me. I ran to the barn and got a halter, while Mr. Cowboy....started the lawn mower!!!! The man thought I was joking!! MEN!!!

I grabbed a halter, hoof pick, and some grain for the other two horses out with her, then fussed at Mr. Cowboy to get his butt over to the pasture with me. He thinks I baby my horses and over exaggerate every little thing.

Well, I was hoping that Luna just had an abscess or something like that. But when we saw her, her front right leg was hanging about 3 or 4 inches lower/longer than her other leg. Her elbow was not in the right spot at all.

We wanted to load her up in the trailer to drive her to the barn. The barn is a long walk down the road. But she wouldn't load, which wasn't a big surprise. So, I walked with her. It took me about 25 minutes to get her to the barn. It normally takes 2 or 3 minutes. I let her take lots of breaks. My FIL gave her some bute, and we put some hair and water close to her. The poor girl just wanted to lay down, but couldn't figure out how to do it.

I brushed her and sprayed her with some fly spray so she wouldn't have to worry so much about the mosquitoes. I have this small ray of hope that she might have just dislocated her shoulder??!! Maybe??? Probably not, she most likely broke it.

Luna was going to be Mr. Cowboy's project and a future playday horse for the kids. She was so laid back and easy going. A bit of a pain in the butt to lundge, but all in all she was a good girl.

I am going to be calling the vet in the morning, to see if he has a portable x-ray machine. I want to make sure it's really broken before she gets put down. Mr. Cowboy is also hoping it's just dislocated. But I am not too sure there is much they can do in either case. Dang babies, why do they have to be so rowdy.......

Vote for ME!!!!! Please!!!!

2010-07-19T16:49:00.003-05:00

Hey All!!! I need your help!!! To vote for me to win CS5!!! It's over at MCP Actions' Blog!!! Just go HERE, and vote for picture number 2. It's the one with the horse!!! You don't have to sign up for anything, just vote. Also, you don't have to vote for 3, you can just vote for me!!! :) I may not get up to first place, but I would LOVE to win one of her gift certificates!!! Thanks all for your votes!!! This is what the picture looks like!! Thanks again!!!

She's Something Else.....

2010-07-16T00:57:00.005-05:00

I got in a new softbox for my photography stuff and I wanted to try it out. Well I had one little girl who was MORE than willing to volunteer for model duty. Cowpokette got some old dance outfits from her cousin and has been wearing them since. She HAD to wear this dress and her Sunday shoes for the pictures. Mr. Cowboy won't let me put her in pageants. I think she would really love doing them. But Mr. Cowboy says she would love doing them too much and end up costing him too much money. Daddy is no fun!! "You said what Daddy?" She kept getting way to close to my light, so it washed out her face. I liked her hair in this one. Then I found some cool new brushes online and had to try them out!! I was just messing around. Because I have so much time!! Ha ha ha! I have been riding my horse, Pearl a lot more. I am enjoying that. I make sure I make time for that. I am going to try to get some cute baby Mule pictures tomorrow. I actually heard him make a sound yesterday and I about freaked out!! He is just too cute!!!

Little Cowpoke isn't so Little Anymore.

2010-07-08T09:01:00.009-05:00

I have three summer kids. One has a birthday in June and the other two in August. So, the summers are fun filled birthday fun. Little Cowpoke's birthday is first. He turned 5!!! I can't believe it. Time sure flies by so quickly. For Little Cowpoke's birthday, he chose to have a Star Wars themed party. So, this is what I came up with for his cake! At first I was going to make the icing black....but then I really thought about it, and that wouldn't have been so smart! Kids+black frosting=disaster! I LOVE Darth and his light saber candle! When Little Cowpoke saw that he freaked out!! My Mom came to visit for the first few weeks in June and she helped me with the stars and the words. I made the totally awesome light sabers!!! ha ha ha ha! There is one happy Star Wars birthday boy. He wore a ribbon on his shirt with a picture of Yoda that said, "May the force be with you!" That is Little Cowpoke's Darth Pinata! He was really excited about it!

I invited some friends from school, but of coarse none of them came. I am "new" in town so nobody ever comes to my kids' birthday parties. But his cousins and Grandparents came and that is all that matters! And my friend came and brought her daughter! The kids all went swimming and then we had hot dogs and potato salad! Then it was present time! My friend got him a super cool Darth light saber!! Let me tell you he was sooooo excited about this! He plays with it everyday!! Before Big Cowpoke went to his Dad's for the summer he picked out this HUGE water gun for his little brother. Little Cowpoke was SOOOO excited for the extra huge water gun! He then got this super cool card from his cousins! It played the "Darth" song and had a light saber that lit up!! So COOL! It was a hit with all the kids. My horrid group shot! I don't think anybody is looking at the camera!! ha ha ha! Cowpokette wasn't really walking really well at this point! She was getting there!! Karen, from The Rocking Pony, mad her the super cute dress she is wearing!! I love that lady! The lit candles! The lit candles with Little Cowpoke and his light saber! Blowing out the candles!!! We then moved outside to do the Darth Pinata. There was a really fantastic sunset! And Uncle Shannon did a great job of holding the pinata! You see my father in law over there on the right? You see his shirt? Yeah...that is sweat...it was really that hot and humid and nasty outside. He did just come from the barn and playing with one of the colts, but still, it was nasty humid out! What was left of the Darth Pinata! Perfect!!! Then Little Cowpoke got the Green Machine, from me and Mr. Cowboy! These are the coolest toys EVER! They actually can drift!! The boys played with them at a friends house and loved them! They are the coolest big wheel ever! And yes, they fit kids of all sizes! Happy Birthday Little Cowpoke!

I'm Back!

2010-07-06T12:07:00.004-05:00

Okay, so many of you, if there are any of you left out there that read my blog, might be wondering where I have been.....well between Cowpokette breaking her leg and me trying to ride horses and get a business off the ground, I have been stressed! So, I took a vacation!

I will post all about it! And Cowpokette is doing great! She still has a little wobble to her walk, but she is walking and running like a mad woman! Ozzie is still "off" from his torn tendon. I hope that will heal....someday.

I am also gearing up for a busy time of the year for photography, Seniors!!! So, I am trying to get all organized in that department too!! So, there really hasn't been too much time for blogging.

Oh, and Karen, over a Rocking Pony, don't hate me because I have put word verification on my blog. I have been getting spammed now for months and I am just sick of it. So, just for now there is the horrid word verification. I hate it, and word verification is annoying, but now I have it! Sorry!!!

But just wanted to let you all know I was still alive. I finally got to ride my old mare, Pearl, for the first time in MONTHS and I am trying hard to make more time for family. So, I might be down to posting just a couple times a week! I have a lot of catching up to do!! You all should see the size of the baby mule!! He is a chunk!! And the paint filly is pretty darn cute now too. She is now weaned!! Time sure is flying by quickly!!

I will do my best at catching up on everybody's blogs!! It will take time but I am going to get it all done!!

Long Ears

2010-06-08T23:45:00.006-05:00

So, my friend texted me the other day and told me that my blog readers were getting board. Well, if I have any blog readers left, here is something a bit interesting! My Father in Law's big mare had a Mule! Yep, that is what I said, a Mule! What is a farm with out at least one mule..... "What don't be staring at my baby!!!" Little Bit, the mare, had her little mule a week ago. These pictures were taken on the day he was born. That sucker has some LONG legs! Belle needed to see what was going on...what kind of horse is that? I think that mule is going to be a BEAST!! Come on, just look at the Momma! And have I mentioned that that mule is only about 8 hours old? Spunky little bugger! I think he would make a cute Hunter Mule!!! Look at those legs!!! Oh, and his knees have since straightened out. Or a Western Pleasure Mule!! I think he would be a cute Western Pleasure Mule!! Look at that little lope!!! He was so brave on the first day. There aren't many newborn foals that will just walk up to the kids and them them pet them!! This Mule is brave! He is so cute! I wonder if Little Bit knows that her baby has super big ears? Here is an idea of just how tall that sucker is!!! And here is my super unsafe child petting the baby mule. Belle loves babies!! She wants some soon. But Little Bit is a good Momma. I often wonder why she ever went through the sale barn. She one one really well put together horse. Her conformation screams Halter! But she didn't come with papers, so who knows what she is. I think she is a Champagne color not a palomino. She has all the freckles that a Champagne colored horse has. But that is about all I have right now! Next up, Little Cowpoke's Star Wars Birthday party!!! That's all Folks!!

The Cast is OFF....and She's Not Running....

2010-05-22T22:31:00.005-05:00

We have been counting down the days to the cast removal since Cowpokette had it put on. It really went by fast. We had our moments. Cowpokette would throw total fits about nothing, and I would just walk away. But she got used to that hot pink body cast. She didn't let it bother her that the other kids could run around and play. She would just hang out and be good. We went to a friend's house and played some home run derby. Cowpokette just played with some sidewalk chalk. The other kids all played on a slide, but that didn't stop her from having a ball. She just had a great attitude about it the entire time. She loved to hang out on the floor with the dogs. She would watch Barbie movies all day long and always have a dog next to her. It was sweet. Okay, so she didn't watch Barbie all day...we colored Barbie too. And we had potty breaks, and story time. Cowpokette also loved to go play at her friend's house. Her friend has a cool Barbie house. And lots of Barbies. Cowpokette talks about how many cool Barbies her friend has. It's so cute. But then it was time for the cast to come off..... Cowpokette was very excited. She kept saying, "I get my cast off?!" She was looking forward to taking a bath. That is all she talked about. This is Cowpokette looking a bit worried and her Doctor. He is a nice guy. Then it came time for the Doctor to cut off the cast. That is when her face really changed. That is her look while he was cutting it off. That "I'm not so sure" look. But it didn't take long to have the cast all cut and pryed open. There it is all cut up. She was still kind of worried. The cast came right off. She was really nervous about moving. She was REALLY stiff. She screamed when we did an x-ray of her leg. She stood on her leg just a little bit while we were there. Her leg is a lot shorter than the other. She has to "walk" on her tippy toes. But she doesn't walk at all. I am just now getting her to stand. I try to support her under her arms, but she just doesn't want to even try.

But when we got home Cowpokette, she had a package waiting for her. Aunt Janette sent her some goodies!! She was so excited! She got a lap desk, a new Barbie movie (THANK YOU!!!!), a Barbie coloring book, and the Little Critter collection book. I LOVE Little Critter books. Thank you Janette! Cowpokette and Grandma T read the Little Critter book together. Mr. Cowboy helped me make dinner. I put him in charge of chopping the chicken. He is dangerous with knives. But anyway, I am glad the cast is off. I love being able to take her to the potty and not have to put her on it backwards with toilet paper tapped to the seat!! I just wished she was a bit more motivated to walk.

We are filling up the pool right now as we speak...hopefully she can do some kicking in there. Oh, and our insurance was not wanting to pay the hospital bills. They didn't have a form stating what kind of accident it was. We got a bill for 12,000 just for the hospital!!! YIKES!! Hopfully we have it all figured out and the insurance will start paying a bit.

Oh, and totally off subject, I got some new packing things for my photography business!! I have wallet boxes, with my logo, and I have bag packaging. I got some tags out of my scrapbooking supplies!! All my old supplies have come in handy. The sticker on the bag is what my business card looks like on one side. And I LOVE my wallet boxes. I am really excited to start doing Seniors this year. I really like photographing Seniors.

But it's late, Mr. Cowboy is at some fight thingy he won tickets too. That boy wins something on the radio weekly. Lucky dog. But I am off to bed.

Mutton Bustin and Rodeo Pics!

2010-05-18T07:56:00.013-05:00

Things have been busy here. This is our last week of school (Hooray!!!) and Little Cowpoke has been playing t-ball. Big Cowpoke has just been playing. He is getting ready to go to his Dad's house for the summer. And me...well...I've been taking pictures like a mad woman. Which I am not complaining about, I am really loving it.(Little Stud!)

We also started another rodeo club....like we didn't have enough going on with the first one! We took the boys to their first Hebert Rodeo. It's a different kind of rodeo, where kids don't have to have a horse. In fact, you don't bring a horse at all! The events start out with Spitting. Yes, I said spitting. The kids all get lined up and see who can spit the farthest! Big Cowpoke wasn't in the mood to participate. He is always kinda shy right off the bat. He didn't know any of the other kids and so he didn't want to go out and do any event. It's funny because that boy will ride Peanut like there is no tomorrow...but going out and spitting....well... He sure did it. It didn't go to far...we need to work on his spitting skills. It almost hit him in his foot! It's alright, because after he did this event he opened up a bit more. Look at this kids form!!! Maybe spitting isn't for Big Cowpoke? He looks like it grosses him out. The next event was stick horse barrels...and I didn't get any pictures of that...not sure why, then there was goat tail tying. Little Cowpoke was all nervous about going out there and Velcroing some ribbon on the goat's tail. But he did it. And did a good job! He even took time to look at the camera on his run back home!! He got a first place ribbon! Next we have Goat Dressing. This one is awesome. The poor goats!! ha ha ha ha!! You have a two man team and one kid holds the goat while the other kid puts some underwear on the goat. The fastest time wins. It's quite entertaining! The Cowpokes line up at the starting line!!! And their OFF!!! Little Cowpoke was a bit slow getting in there, but they got it done! Big Cowpoke got that goat up and Little Cowpoke was a champ at putting on those undies! I think the goat might have felt a bit violated!! LOL Poor little baby goat! Little Cowpoke crossed the finish line in style!! That kid cracks me up!! He is such a goof sometimes...I love him!! There was also goat tying and some other events...but now onto the good stuff...The Rough Stock Riding! The main reason everybody was there! The even started out with Motton Bustin! It's where the kid holds onto the sheep with both hands and tries to stay on for 6 seconds. I know this one's out of focus, but it's so cool, just look at the smile on that kid's face!!! There were only two kids in Little Cowpoke's age group that had qualified rides. And Little Cowpoke was one of them. Let him show you how it's done. Here he is, coming out of the shoot. The other Dads will run by their kid or hold onto them, Mr. Cowboy says, "If he wants to ride sheep then he's going to ride sheep. He doesn't need me." Tough Dad. Well, Little Cowpoke held on...even though that sheep got a little crazy! He rode that sheep for at least 8 seconds! I think he even got stepped on...but you know what? He sure had a HUGE smile on his face when he got up! Dad was so proud of his boy! I love their smiles here. I sure hope my girl likes to show horses!! So I can be like Mr. Cowboy and have a kid that LOVES what I love to do! High Fives from the announcer. And a quick chat with the announcer. Little Cowpoke was so excited. These big boys were getting ready to ride the bulls. There were some great rides out there. Whoa!!!! Don't worry, his Dad and the "clowns" got to him! And kid and sheep were alright. And you know what that kid is thinking? "Yeah, I rode you!!" High Five from Dad!! I love rodeo......Then there was the calf riding...oh I mean bull riding... The day ended with a lot of dirt!! My fan club!!! One more day and Cowpokette's cast comes off!! See, time sure flies by!!! And boy do I love that Mr. Cowboy...hot stuff!!

T-Ball Time

2010-05-06T09:20:00.005-05:00

Well, it's that time of year again, where it starts to get really hot and kids start playing baseball. Little Cowpoke was so excited to start playing t-ball. He gets all into it. He's not really a fantastic player, but he is defiantly enthusiastic about it. You see he pays attention more to the lady behind the camera than he does the ball! He swings and it's..... A miss! He goes for another try.... and another.... and finally a HIT!!! And he's off, running, yes with his mouth wide open. Doesn't that child know we live in the most buggiest state? He's going to catch some with his mouth open like that! Still open.... Yep, still open...he had it open all the way to first base. The kid was so excited. The thrill of the game! Each kid gets to bat once and then they switch it up and go into the outfield. Little Cowpoke played first base. He was really excited about that. I don't think he got a single ball that was hit his way, but that is besides the point, first baseman is supposed to just stand there and look cute, right? Then it was time to bat again...t-ball around here moves pretty quickly. Okay, this next picture just crack me up...it's magic! The ball is hovering in mid-air! He totally hit the "t" and the ball stayed in the same place!! I love it!! LOL, he did eventually hit the ball, and he got to run the bases again. Smiling all the way.....He made it to second base where he talked a little smack to the other team. You gotta try to be intimidating. Look how tiny they look out there!! I love it! Then it was back out to the out field. This time they put Little Cowpoke on third base. He did better there. There weren't too many balls going his way. But it was so fun watching him play. Cowpokette even got to go out to the game and watch him play. She sat on Mr. Cowboy's lap the entire time. She got some strange looks from all the little kids that walked by. It's funny how kids thing a hot pink body cast is strange. Ha ha ha ha! Doesn't everybody have one?

But I am trying to catch up on my blog and get everything up to date, and trying to catch up with everybody else! I am so far behind! But photography has slowed down after Senior season, so I should have a bit more time now! :)

REBA!!!

2010-05-03T13:01:00.009-05:00

Last Friday night my friend took me to go see Reba! We were so excited. We started out at the Casino Buffet. It was good, expensive, but good. It was the all you can eat crawfish night. It was $30 dollars per person. When we went to pay, I asked the lady if I get a discount because I don't eat crawfish. The lady told me that they don't but she ended up giving us a rewards discount. That was nice of her.That is what a $30 dollar bucket of Crawfish looks like!! :)That is what my southern friend looks like sucking the head of a super expensive crawfish!! She said they were very tasty. I took her word for it.

We then went to the concert. It was also held at the Casino. My friend had awesome seats!!! We were on the floor. And not too far away from the stage. The closest I have ever been for a concert. We both got t-shirts. That is Laura waiting for the show to start. We were happy we were on an isle. Then we are able to stand up and dance and act like loonies and nobody cared!I was really happy to have gotten out of the house! It was so nice to have adult conversation and to scream and sing and jump up and down like I was 18 all over again!

Reba's opening act was one of her friends from her hit show "Reba". Melissa. She was hilarious. She did a stand up comedian act. We were all laughing. She did a great impression of how one is supposed to Karaoke. She said it's impossible to ever Karaoke with Reba. She just doesn't do it right! It was pretty darn funny. Then....REBA came out!!!! Can you see her? Yeah I couldn't either. But she soon came out in all her glory and was so awesome!!! She sounds exactly how all her cd's are. I love it when they are really just that good. Sorry to all those Taylor Swift fans out there but she stinks live. Okay...now back to Reba! Reba and I got pretty close during her concert. He actually told me to call her!!! We totally exchanged numbers.....okay so we didn't. My friend and I stood up the entire time, singing and dancing! The rest of the audience... Yeah, they sat the entire time. I told my friend it was like we were at an AARP meeting. Most of the people there were older. There were a lot of people with walkers and in wheelchairs. I just think it's strange that people sat the entire time!! She was awesome! Have I mentioned that yet? Barbra Jean came out when Reba was about to sing the theme song for "Reba", and she had a beer in her hand. She asked Reba to hold it and said, "Hey look it's the Queen of Country holding the King of Beers!" It was so funny!! We were some super hip mommas!

Then when she ended, the lights went out and everyone started to leave!! Yep, those old folks don't know how concerts work. My friend and I started screaming and cheering!! Reba hadn't sung Fancy yet. We knew she had to come back out and sing that! Yep, she came back out...with her RED dress on!!! I told Laura to grab her bag and run with me to the front!!! We got right up front!! We were two people away from her!! It was so awesome! But that was it, my night of Reba! It was so much fun and thank you Laura for taking me!

Day After Day....

2010-04-29T15:43:00.006-05:00

Cowpokette is doing well. She is the best patient I could ask for. She has her "Princess" moments, but other than that I couldn't ask for a better kid. Great Grandma comes and visits once a week, which is wonderful. She helps us with our weekly doctor appointments. She also watches Cowpokette so I can shower and do things around the house. Most of the time Cowpokette just wants someone to sit by her. Cowpokette has a fantastic attitude about it all. We are now totally potty trained!! We have a system down that keeps her cast dry and lets her use the potty. Which I think is terrific. On Tuesday I took Cowpokette to a different Doctor to get a second opinion about her bone moving around. The new Dr. was very good. He explained everything and even showed us some x-rays of another little girl who had a femur brake and it was worse than Cowpokette's. He showed how it healed and how it looks 6 months down the road. It was nice seeing another brake. It made me feel not so bad about Cowpokette's leg. The New Dr. had also told me some things about her cast and how to do her diaper. I told him that she goes on the potty and he said, "Really?" I said, "Yes, she insists that she goes on the potty." He then said, "Well, make sure her cast doesn't get wet." I assured him that we keep it dry. We use a piece of toilet paper taped to the seat to guide the urine into the toilet. It works really well. And she stays dry!! He was impressed with the potty training! It did take me getting my feet peed on to get everything right, but it's worth not having to change diapers and worrying about her cast being wet. Cowpokette doesn't complain about her leg hurting as much. She likes to try to sit up more now too. Which is great because now she can feed herself better. She also has watched four Barbie movies over and over again, so much that I have some of them memorized. But she LOVES her Barbie movies. I am so grateful for my house. I am grateful for large doorways and large open living room and kitchen. I can move her wagon around the house with no trouble. I could only imagine if we were still in the trailer and trying to move her around. It would be a lot more difficult. So, I am grateful for my home. And I am grateful for Cowpokette's patience with me. I am not always so gentle in moving her and she puts up with all my mistakes. I am also grateful for my mutts. Yep, even the lazy smelly bulldog. If it weren't for them...I think I might have had a freak out attack by now. When I can't sit by Cowpokette, one of the two dogs are right by her. It's so nice, and Cowpokette enjoys their company. I don't think Belle can get her nose any closer to that window.... She is such a strange dog... Belle watches what Cowpokette does. She even will go over for some scratches every now and then. Even old man Brodi gets in on the action of babysitting. He doesn't always like it though. Just look at his face!! ha ha ha ha!!! He is like, "Mom, do I have to?" Cowpokette is telling him to look at the camera for the picture. Bossy little girl!! But don't worry she gives him loving along with the orders! "Oh good boy!" But it doesn't take him long before he is done with being the babysitter. He'll give me the, "Am I done yet" look. Brodi is 12 years old this year. He is slowing down a bit. He can't jump up on my bed any more. I have to help him. But not this brute. She thinks she owns the place. And she LOVES scratches from Cowpokette. She actually lays with her in bed sometimes. Mr. Cowboy signed Cowpokette's cast. "I love you, Daddy's baby girl". No, he doesn't spoil her at all......

The Dr. said she is healing great and is having some new bone growth already!! So, it's a totally better feeling than last week. We don't have to go back for two weeks. I may have to call them though, she has a part of her cast by her belly that is unraveling and the padding is separating from the cast. Me, I would glue it, but I am not sure if they would want me to do that???

But things are looking up and she is getting better. I know in time when I look back at this I will think, "That went by fast." So, I know, this too will pass.

Quick Update

2010-04-21T23:09:00.002-05:00

I took Cowpokette to her first doctor's visit. It was an adventure. She was miserable by the time we got home. The Dr. took an x-ray to see how the bone was doing. Well...not so hot. I was really hoping he would say, "Wow, everything looks great, keep doing what you are doing!" But instead he said the top half of the broken bone has moved down 9 mm. When she broke it it was only shoved down 3 mm. And then the brake has moved 15 degrees. The Dr. says that if the bone moves any more that they will have to cut part of her cast off, put in a wedge, and recast her.

Well, that wasn't what I wanted to hear. We got home from the Dr. office and Cowpokette has been miserable. Tonight she actually broke down screaming and crying that her leg hurt. I just held her and told her she would be okay. I think maybe she had a muscle twitch. Something had to have hurt her. She didn't even cry like that when she broke it.

Sorry, I have been so bad about posting. I have been so busy with getting a business going, kids, horses, rodeos, baseball, church, dogs, last minute senior portrait sessions, and now one little girl with a broken leg. She has been really needy yesterday and today. I haven't been able to leave the room much.

I don't want to sound like I am complaining, but I am just really tired. So, I am going to go to bed.

Hot Pink Body Cast

2010-04-17T09:31:00.003-05:00

On Thursday the 15th Cowpokette and I went out to the barn to clean stalls, fill water buckets, and let out Ozzie. It was what we do every morning, but that morning ended up a bit different. Cowpokette climbed up on some cattle panels that were leaning up on a fence. When she got to the top of the panel, it fell backwards, and she landed on her back with her left leg back behind her.

When that happened, she screamed. It was a panic scream. I was across a turn out pen filling up a water bucket. I ran across the field and climbed through the barb wire fence. I was telling her, "Momma's coming! Stay calm, it's okay, momma's coming!!"

I lifted up the fence and saw her left foot bent behind her, it wasn't how a foot was supposed to be. I put her leg back how a leg was supposed to be and it felt like jelly. Cowpokette looked at me and said, "I want to go home and get an ice pack."

We went home and I propped her up on some pillows and gave her an ice pack. She wasn't crying but kept telling me that her bo bo hurts. Just then my sister in law knocked on the door. Which was wonderful because I was worried about what I should do. I answered the door and said, "I think Cowpokette broke her leg!"

We looked over her and I called the doctor. Which was annoying. Nobody could get her in until 2 pm and it was 11 am. I was debating to take her to the ER, but I now how much that costs and I knew the doctor's office was opened so I wanted to get her into there first. I ended up making her an appointment for 1:45 pm. I left the house at noon and just showed up and said, "She broke her leg, can he see her now!"

They saw how much pain she was in and they got her in right away. The lady who took her x-ray was the best ever! After she saw just how broken her femur bone was, she insisted we don't move Cowpokette. She showed me the x-ray and her bone was snapped in two. Just like a stick. I felt so bad. That same x-ray tech drove us to the hospital. She stayed with us in the ER to make sure the ER knew how severe the brake was. She was wonderful.

It was wonderful having her in there with me and Cowpokette. She parked my van and then gave me her personal phone number in case I needed anything. At this point I was a crying mess, Cowpokette? Nope, not a tear, she was smiling!

The nurses came in and prepped her for surgery. Cowpokette got an IV. She just watched. Here she is smiling for the camera and showing us her bracelets. She thought tat was so cool that she got TWO of them! We then went from the ER to the Recovery room where they prepped Cowpokette and Me for surgery. I didn't go in, but they told me everything that was going to be done. By then Mr. Cowboy had gotten there. He had to drive over an hour to get to us.

Cowpokette had to have a tube put in and then a full body cast. I asked the Dr. if she could have a pink cast! He said sure! And here is my Princess in her room for the night. She was all smiles and such a wonderful kid. I am kinda sad because she was fully potty trained and now we are back to diapers, so hopefully this won't set her back too much. Cowpokette wouldn't let anyone sign her cast. She wanted her best friend Ryanne to sign it first.

The next morning the Dr. came in at 7:45 and woke her up to check her out. He said we could go home. We loaded her up in a wagon and took her down to the van. I laid her in the middle row of seats. She told me, "Momma, drive soft soft and slow slow!" She is such a sweet girl. Still smiling. We got home and I gave her some pain medicine. The stuff tastes horrible, but she drinks it up because she knows it makes her feel better. The first day she spent on the couch. Today we have her in a big wagon. She actually is bugging me right now to take her for a walk in the wagon. I am glad she is so wonderful about it all. This morning I had to put her on her belly and really wipe her bottom well. I then took alcohol and wiped her cast and her bottom down. Then I had to take a blow dryer to her to dry out her cast. She liked being on her belly. And she enjoyed getting aired out. I am so nervous about her getting sores.

So, if anyone has any advice about how to take care of a full body cast let me know! I am hoping that next week, when she isn't so sore, that I will be able to hold her over a bed pan. That will help her stay dry. I have Googled it and read a lot about using hair dryers on cool, and using alcohol to keep the skin dry and tough.

Cowpokette will wear this for 4-6 weeks. We go once a week to have an x-ray done to check the heeling. I pray that the 4-6 weeks go by quickly.

Science Fair, Leaves, Barn, Horses, Busy, Busy Busy

2010-04-05T15:18:00.008-05:00

Things here have been very busy. Both Cowpokes had Science Fair projects due today. Little Cowpoke and I worked on his during Spring Break last week. Big Cowpoke went to visit his Dad for the week, so I put together as much of his as I could with out interfering with his work. Big Cowpoke put the finishing touches on his late last night. Little Cowpoke made three different bridges and did an experiment to see which bridge would hold the most cars. That was his paper bridge. He really liked counting the cars and seeing which bridge would hold the most with out falling over. Big Cowpoke did his project on Mold, and how it grows on bread. I didn't get a picture of their posters. I will get pictures when they bring them home.

On the Barn front, we got our barn ordered! Hooray!! I am so very excited! We went back and forth on how we were going to do it and we are going with an all metal building. Then we are going to order some stalls from Ramm Fencing and Stalls. This is what the colors of our barn are going to be. Barn red with a light stone colored body. I am really excited for it to get here. We are going to have three stalls, with dutch doors that go to the outside. We will also have two 12 foot wings coming off the side of the barn. Mr. Cowboy is also going to be building me two run in sheds in our two pastures. They are going to be Barn Red. We are going to use those for stalls too. That will give us 5 stalls.

We also just got a lease on about 7 acres down the road from us. I am so very excited about that. We are going to be moving our stud over there and move some mares around to help the grass grow. I am really excited about that.

Ozzie Update, he is still "off". His pastern is a little swollen still. He doesn't have any heat in it any more so he is aloud small amounts of turn out time in small turn outs. Today is his first day in a little big larger area than a round pen. He was happy to be able to eat some grass.

Finally, the Cowpokes helped rake Great Grandma's leaves the other day. The Oak trees here loose leaves in the Fall and in the Spring. Fun fun! The Cowpokes did a really good job. Great Grandma was really happy to have it done. It was hard work, but they hung in there and got it done. It helps when you have a boss woman telling you what to do. But when all the hard work is done, they got to play a bit. They all had a lot of fun playing in the leaves. Don't shoot!!! Cowpokette even got some play time in with her Maw Maw. And Little Cowpoke was silly as always. And Big Cowpoke modeled for me. I was practicing using a reflector. Since then I have learned not to blind my subjects!! ha ha ha!

Fun Before and After Pictures

2010-03-24T12:19:00.003-05:00

So, I have been doing a lot of reading about photography and a lot of Photoshop tutorials. It seems like every one has a cool different way to make pictures pop, smooth skin, lighten dark exposure, or just sharpen your image. There are actions out there everywhere. And it's hard to choose between them all. I have tried many different ones. A lot of them are great, because they take a lot of time out of your work flow.

But I found a really cool plug-in for CS4 that I am so very excited about. It look about 20 minutes off my editing time! I just wanted to show a quick before and after picture of a Senior portrait shoot I did the other day. Here is my before picture. It is straight out of the camera. It's dull and her skin is a bit splotchy. And the angle I had her hat made her cheeks look a bit full. I should have asked her to push her chin out a bit. I am a beginner and I do make a lot of mistakes. But anyway, enough about all my mistakes. So, I ran a plug-in in Photoshop and this is what I came out with. I am so excited! Do you wanna know why? Because my after picture took all of four minutes to create!! When before I got my plug-in it would have taken me a good 25 minutes to brush her skin, then sharpen her eyes, then do a color boost. Now, I click about three buttons and I am done!! I am so very excited I just had to tell everyone!! Plus before and after pictures are fun to look at! It always amazes me how different they look. Oh, and I also made her cheeks a bit smaller in the After picture, which is a trick I am LOVING!!

A Quicky

2010-03-19T16:00:00.006-05:00

I am just about to head outside to work with the horses. I was going through pictures today and I ran across this one of Cowpokette and Belle. When ever I see it it just makes me laugh! I can hear Belle saying, "this IS my happy face!" No matter how hard I try, Belle just never looks happy!! Well, it makes me chuckle when I see it, so I hope you get a kick out of it too. Have a wonderful weekend!

Lunging Day 2

2010-03-18T22:49:00.005-05:00

Day two went a bit better than Day 1. Josephine was a joy to work with. I added a little bit of a trot to see how she would do. She did fine. I was a bit worried she would want to get a little wild but she didn't. She trotted off nicely. Like a lady. She stops really well too. She pays attention to what I want her to do. I really like that about her. The opposite direction was smooth sailing. It helps when I have a round pen. I think when we get it down in here I will venture out into the arena. She is such a good girl. It makes my job so much easier! Josephine also sets up really well. She is very light in her cues. We worked on trotting off at a stand still and she did well. At first she was like, "What is this lady doing running next to me!" But she got the hang of it. I love how quickly she picks things up. Her half brother, Ozzie, was the same way. I hope she is easier to ride than he is. I just really like her. Maybe because she is mine. I am a bit biased. :) Then my photographer got board with me and Josephine, so he wandered around a bit. It gave me a chance to switch horses around. Belle, the lazy bulldog. Mercedes, the filly. Who also lunges already!! Smart little girl! My photographer. Now onto my challenge horse, Luna. I didn't give her any room to be a brat today, I went straight to the rope, aka come-along. Luna started off great! She remembered what happened yesterday. It took her a little bit to get out and away from me, but she got it. She is just soooo sloooowww. It's like she moves in slow motion. To get her to move I had to act like a fool. You can't use a whip with her, she just doesn't care about the sound. I keep telling Mr. Cowboy she might be deaf!! LOL!! Because the bull whip NEVER scared her. She would actually come up to you while Josephine would run like a wild woman. But I know she's not deaf, she is just dull. Mr. Cowboy was done taking pictures by the time I had Luna out. I was lucky to get the ones I did. She was a good girl. She only tried to turn around a few times. We even worked on trotting off from a walk next to me. She thought I was stupid. But I got it done. She now trots off next to me. Showmanship here we come! Well, she is more of a brick house type of horse, but she can still do showmanship. I think Mr. Cowboy is going to kick my tail in halter classes when it come to these two girls. But I know I will beat him in lunge line!

Oh, I also brought out the tarp today. They both let me put it on them like a blanket. They didn't care. They even walked all over the tarp like it was nothing. Smart girls!

Good Yearling, Bad Yearling.

2010-03-17T18:51:00.004-05:00

This evening I worked the yearlings. I have been reading about other bloggers playing with their yearlings so I figured I better get out there and get something done with my two girls. Well, Josephine is a sweet heart. She is very smart and very respectful. She gets a bit nervous but nothing that I can't convince her other wise. I ask her to move away from me and she does. I ask her to lunge and she does. We just walked today, but she did really good. Then there is the other....brat. Rude, rude, RUDE! She made me so mad. She would not lunge. Luna kept wanting to come into my circle. She would try to run me over. I would go to whack her and she would act like it felt good. She is BAD. Josephine=easy. Luna=hard work. It's strange because I can sack Luna out with anything and she won't move. She is good like that. I think she is really too dull. Kinda dumb.( And that is not blood on her head, it's some minerals the girls have to lick on.) Even though I felt like knocking her over the head a couple of times. I had gotten so mad at working with her I had to walk away for a little bit. Then I came back with my rope. I took off her halter and made a rope halter out of my super long wonderful fix everything rope. In college we called them "come alongs". I just know it works! That little filly didn't know what hit her. Before when I would ask her to "whoa" she would just walk over me. Now I had some leverage!! She stopped. Luna acted a bit surprised. Then she refused to walk forward. So, I ran out from my rope holding constant pressure and asked her to follow and she reared....I expected that...but she then walked forward. That filly is HARD headed. She finally realized that I was the boss and she was the follower. We finished up with a couple nice walking, smaller, lunging circles. Luna is just a tank. When she gets scared she just wants to run you over, but not any more! Whuahahahaha!! My "Come Along" and Luna came to an understanding. We ended on a good note with some shedding and rubbing down. I tossed a saddle pad on her back and she didn't budge. She could care less what I do to her as long as I don't ask her to move. I can see where we are going to be coming riding time.

Josephine and Luna are night and day personalities. Josephine is a joy to work with, Luna makes me break out my bag of tricks. It's going to be interesting working more with these two. I told Mr. Cowboy that Luna was all his come riding time. I'll have to see what tomorrow brings, I will see if anything from today sunk into Luna's thick skull. :)

It's a Dirty Job, But Someone's Gotta Do It!

2010-03-15T13:21:00.003-05:00

This past weekend the kids went for a ride with Paw Paw on his four wheeler. Let me just tell ya, they had a blast! The Cowpokes got REALLY dirty. They were all proud of their mud. There wasn't not a single bit of skin on Big Cowpoke that wasn't muddy. Little Cowpoke was pretty nasty too!! The Cowpokes then had to act out some super scary scenes for me. They are both very good actors. They are always acting out beating each other up. That is something my sisters and I never did growing up. Boys are so different! They were just plain dirty! But they did have a wonderful time! Paw Paw had some fun too. Cowpokette was the least dirty out of all the kids. She only had a few little spots on her face. I thing they had a great start to their Saturday! I used to LOVE going mudding when I was in college. Oh the memories of being muddy!

Orphan Foal

2010-03-11T09:19:00.006-06:00

Back in February, during one of our really cold spells, a neighbor from down the road came to our house. He wanted to know what to do with a new baby horse. You see, about 11 months ago, our neighbor was given a black and white stud horse. And you see, stallions won't breed mares if you don't want them to...Every stallion I have ever met defiantly practices abstinence. Okay, well not really, as you know that stud bred the mare and then they gelded the stallion. Then they got rid of the gelding because he was aggressive. Hmmmm........

Well, now this four year old mare has this baby and it doesn't seem to be doing well. The baby won't drink and the mare won't let it and it's about to rain cats and dogs and then drop to 30 degrees. The owner of the mare doesn't have a stall or dry ground for the mare and filly. So, they were laying out in a super muddy mess. It's been so muddy here for everyone, so that's not their fault. It was just sad.

If that baby was going to stay there that night it would have died. So, my father in law took the horse trailer over and picked up the mare and baby. Then, the mare turned into the dead beat mom. She wouldn't let the filly suck. We would hold her up against the wall and the mare would try to bite us and push us around. Good thing my father in law and husband are big boys!

Needless to say after four days of trying the baby was lethargic and skinny. If it had been my baby it would have gotten a bottle from day one, but it wasn't and the owners are not well off at all. So, I finally decided I was going to call them and tell them the filly was going to die unless they got her some milk. But I didn't have to call the owner showed up with some milk and a bottle.

When we separated the mare from her baby she could have cared less. She didn't make a single sound. All of our mares would have freaked out if we had done that. The baby just laid on the ground for a bit shivering. The guys then tried to get the filly to drink. She didn't want anything to do with it. You can see how small she is. She looked like a pony foal. It's sad when all of our mares are standing at the fence and they want the baby! They were sniffing her and nickering at her. It was so sweet. The filly had a strange head. It was all swollen and big. She walked around nickering for her momma. And she didn't get anything in return. Poor baby. She even walked over to our mare that has a baby right now and tried to nurse. She was just so hungry. She is a sweet girl though. She would come over to us. She would nudge around for some milk. She wasn't scared of us at all. She was just hungry. But she wouldn't drink out of the bottle. So, I suggested pan feeding her. You can kinda see how skinny she was in that picture. For a one week old foal, she is way underweight. Finally, success!!! She was so hungry. She drank it all up! I warned the owner about not spoiling her. I told him that when she got a bit older and stronger to get her a goat to play with. I told him not to treat her like a dog. Horses don't play nice. The owner was all excited about him and his five year old daughter "training" this baby. I know how much trouble I have training babies and I know what I am doing.....I couldn't imagine trying to train a foal and not know a thing. But, I am glad the filly got some food and as far as I know she is still doing fine. I haven't gone to see her but my father in law did. He said she had a nice round full belly.

And this happened while my computer was getting fixed! I am telling ya, so much has happened! It was quite an adventurous week.

My Birthday Celebration

2010-03-07T22:08:00.005-06:00

I know this is a bit late to post about my birthday, but I guess I have a bit of an excuse, my computer was busy getting a revival!! Ha ha ha! But while it was getting fixed life went on and I got older. Here are some pictures from my birthday. My wonderful sister in law cooked me dinner and made my favorite cake! She made me spice cake with cream cheese frosting! YUM! She actually got 30 candles on that cake!! My husband got a picture of me with the cake glow! Licking the icing off the candles, it's a must! My cheesy birthday grin! We sat around and chatted for a while. It was so nice not to cook or do the dishes! The kids got me a super cute card and gave me kisses. The boys were sad they didn't get me any presents. I told them I just wanted good kids and good grades from good kids! Little Cowpoke showing me the card they kids got me. He was so excited about it and he wrote his own name. I got plenty of kisses!!! I even got one from the pretty pretty princess!! She had to be all dressed up for the party! We ate cake!! Can you see my little beggar? She had her own cake, but still had to have some bites from mine. I had a fabulous birthday! I am now officially 30. It seems so crazy. It seems like just yesterday I was turning 18!! Time sure flies as we get older!

The New Blog and New Filly

2010-03-04T15:42:00.004-06:00

Well, things have been pretty crazy around here lately. The kids have started rodeo season, school, photography stuff, and a new blog! I have started a new blog for Andrea T Photography. The blog is still in the works. I am still working on some of the items in the menu bar, but most of it is up and running. I think I got the most important information up there. So, if you get a chance, head on over there and check it out and let me know what you think!! I am really excited about it.

An update on Ozzie, he is still off. He isn't dead lame anymore, just off. He had shoes put on for the first time in his life a couple days ago. He needed some lift to help release the pressure on the tendon. He was very good for the appointment. I hand walked him before hand so he wouldn't be hyper. Ozzie is getting used to stall life. He is lucky that there was a new foal was born right after he was put on stall arrest. So he has a mare and baby to stay in the barn with him. Sorry the pictures are blurry. It was super cold out when she was born. She was born in January. The mare is a four year old that my father in law bought at an auction. I think they bred the green broke four year old mare to a black and white stallion just to help sell her. Due to the fact that she wasn't all that broke. The mare is actually a really nice mare! The filly got name Mercedes. Which I am not a fan of. My mother in law names them all. I thought it would have been cute to name her Harley. But my note never counts. The last filly my mother in law named was Madonna. The one before that was Dancer. Oh, how some people shouldn't be able to name animals!! LOL The filly has really grown since these pictures. She is really nice and has filled out a bunch. I told you that there has been tons of stuff that has happened here since my computer died!! I fell like I am never going to catch up!! I have rodeo pictures and lesson pictures and more photography stuff to post too!!

The Children's Mardi Gras Ball

2010-03-01T11:07:00.013-06:00

While my computer was in the shop, the kids had their Mardi Gras Ball. It was so much fun. Big Cowpoke invited two friends. We had a blast! They are some studs!! We got some pictures by the famous band Kiss. The boys got some Mardi Gras beads and some cool glasses that change colors, and some blow up microphones. The kids' table! Cowpokette eating some chips and dip! The barb wire ZZ Top decoration. The guys with their glasses. Cheers! Little Cowpoke wasn't shy at all about getting out on the dance floor. The dance hadn't even started and he was dancing like a fool. The Queen announced the Children's Ball Court. They were all so cute! The court then went around the room throwing beads!! It was pretty fun. The boys were having so much fun, then the dance finally began. I love it!! I have no idea what those four are even doing, but they were having a blast doing it. Little Cowpoke thinks he is a break dancer. He learned all his moves from Step it Up 2 the Streets the movie. They got pictures taken with the Kiss and Guns and Roses Duke and Duchess. Mr. Cowboy with is girl. I love Mr. Cowboy's Bead Tie!! Big Cowpoke taking a drink break. Little Cowpoke getting down. He seriously spent 80% of the time on the floor spinning around. My Superstar!! The ball was a lot of fun for all the kids. I am not sure what Big Cowpoke was doing there, I think he was getting up after getting "Low!" Doing the "Stanky Leg" dance.
Mr. Cowboy is doing the "Stanky Leg" dance with the boys. The Parents even got to do some line dancing. Big Cowpoke had fallen down while dancing and got hurt, so he took a time out for a bit. It was nice of his buddies to come over and sit with him. This is one of Big Cowpoke's first friends he ever made when we moved to Louisiana. They have been friends since they were 2 years old. Fool!! Dancing with Cowpokette. A new purpose for Mardi Gras Beads. More dancing with Daddy! She loves her Daddy. Rock ON!!! We sand, we danced, we had fun. But the fun had to come to an end. The dance ended at 10 pm. Which was perfect, the boys were all getting tired. I am so excited for next year's balls.

It's Senior Picture Time!!

2010-02-26T07:37:00.000-06:00

Well, I said I have been working and I have been. With a lot of help from my sister I have a new logo and some fun Senior Picture fliers!!

I really love the look of my logo!! It's super fun and the colors are bright. My sister did a really good job designing it. I really think she should do this for other people. As a job. She does great graphic design work. She also helped me with my fliers.

I am not quite sure what is going on with my pictures. I tried the new blogger post thing, and it's not so easy to put pictures where you want them. I do like that you can make the pictures bigger. Anyway, sorry the pictures are all over the place! Well, I got my fliers in the mail the other day and they look great! I am so excited to start handing them out! I am also starting a new blog for Andrea T Photography!

I have been busy making headers and all sorts of fun things for my new blog. I do have to take my computer back to the shop today. There is something doing on with the video card they put in. When I run CS4 and other programs the driver fails and the screen goes black and I panic. Then it recovers its self and I regain my regular breathing.

I really should have just bought a new computer and not worried about having my old one rebuilt. I am also having issues with CS4 and Windows 7. I can't run any actions. I am getting ready to cry!!! So, hopefully the computer guys can fix what's going on.

New Computer and Getting OLD!

2010-02-24T08:31:00.001-06:00

Well, my computer has finally been reborn! It took a while to get in the parts but it's finally back up and running. I have upgraded to Windows 7 which is a bit different from Windows XP, but nothing too crazy. I am so happy to have my computer back.

My computer died at a really bad time. There has been so much going on here in the Deep South! We passed Mardi Gras, Which involved many parades and the children's ball. I did a few Senior Portrait Model Sessions (they are so much easier than kids), made a senior portrait flier, had a few deaths in the family and one very tragic accident with an old friend from high school, had a car accident that only involved me. It's bad when Big Cowpoke has to say, "MOM!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Yes, I am loosing brain cells by the day!! It has been a super crazy week and a half.

And on top of all of that, I am 30 today!!!! I can't believe it!! I always looked at other people who where 30 and just never really thought of myself as 30!! I know it's not "old" or anything, but I feel like time is passing way too quickly!!! I feel like I was just 18 the other day.

Sorry I don't have any pictures right now. All my pictures are in limbo. They are on my old hard-drive and then I have some other pictures on two different flash drives, and some on an SD card. I have taken about 1000 pictures in the last week!!! I have been practicing a lot of new techniques and I am loving it!!!! I can't wait to show everyone!!

My Computer Died......I'll be back next week!!!

2010-02-14T23:11:00.000-06:00

Our Last Day at Sea and New Orleans

2010-02-08T23:15:00.014-06:00

My sister, Amanda, and I said our goodbyes to Mexico. We watched the tug boat drive away from our ship. We saw the other docked cruise ship still at the port. We decided we wanted to cruise on that ship next time. They had a lot more time in port than we did. That ship was there before we got there and was still docked when we left. It didn't take us long to pick up the pace and head on out to sea. The shore line of Cozumel. I think it would be fun to stay a week just in Cozumel. It's so beautiful there. There wasn't much of a sunset that night. It was raining over on the mainland. We got to watch far off thunderstorms. It was pretty neat. I loved watching the oh so blue water move around the ship. It's so amazing how blue the water is. I kept thinking of what this trip would have been like in a wooden boat from long ago. I am sure it wouldn't have been half as nice. After a not so colorful sunset, I went walking around the ship while Amanda watched the thunderstorm. This was taken through a door. They had some really cool blue lights on out on the deck. The cool elevators! The inside of the ship. The cool stairs. It all really reminded me of a casino. But with out all the smoking! I met my sister back outside. We then went to dinner! We had a great group of people that sat at our table. On the left side we have Amanda, Me, Nikii, then onto the right side in the front there is Kim, Andrew, and Kip. Kip and Andrew are brothers. The first night we ate we introduced ourselves as Amanda and Andrea. Then Andrew said his name, then there was Kip. We told Kip he needed a cool "A" name to sit at our table! It was pretty funny. We had a great time. Our towel animal for the night. I said it was the cat from Alice in Wonderland. I thought he had a sheepish grin!!! The next day on board ship was an all at sea day and it went from cold to colder the closer we got to land. We spent the morning inside the ship. We got a nice indoor window seat. My sister read while I tried to read. I have a hard time just sitting and reading. It's just not my thing. I have to be doing something. So, I took pictures..... Then we ate some lunch and went to watch an ice carving demonstration! The man chipping away at the ice is from the Philippines. He is an expert sculptor. He not only does ice but he does butter, cheese, and chocolate!! I would have loved to have seen him do some chocolate!! YUM! He carved all that in about 20 minutes! It was very impressive! And it was very cold!! I was freezing. Amanda and I then went and watched a newlywed game show that was hilarious. We decided it was best to stay inside!

I forgot a funny story, our pipe from our sink in the bathroom broke at 1:00am. It smelled sooooo bad. We called for a maintenance man to come and fix it. We felt so bad for having to wake him up, but it was yucky. He banged away at the pipes for a while. I fell sleep. My dear sister stayed awake to let the maintenance man in and out of the room. Then the next evening, we had to call them again!! I was flat ironing my sister's hair and the smoke/heat detector went off!! I had some music playing and said, "What is that beeping sound?" It was the alarm. I would have thought there would have been a swarm employees at our door, but nope, we had to call to tell them what was going on. This guy in a red jumpsuit came to the door. As soon as he walked in it stopped beeping.

I think the maintenance people loved us!! We then had one last dinner with our fun table and great waiter! Coco is on the left and Wyann is on the right. They were fun guys! My sister and I finished off the cruise with a night of karaoke and a comedy show. Our last towel animal was a monkey. He was kinda funny looking, but cute! The next day we got off the ship and headed to the French Quarter! We sat at his train station for a good 20 minutes before we realized that we could have just walked the 4 blocks to the Quarter. We are funny girls!! I had only been to the Quarter once before. So, it was neat to go back. We headed to a place to eat some doughnut things. I can't spell what they are, they are benjets. Or something along those lines. I am so not French! lol We saw the church! It's a really beautiful church! We wondered around and listened to some bands! This band was awesome! I could have listened to them all day! They played a 50's style of jazz. They had a cd and everything! They also had a singer! She sounded just like a lady from the 50's. I loved it!! I was really impressed! I also enjoyed all the French Style Iron work!! Go Saints!! And what would New Orleans be with out a Voodoo house!!! My sister and I had a wonderful trip, I am ready to go again!!

Things have been crazy since I got home. I have been trying to get my photography business off the ground, tending to Ozzie, and doing all the normal chores. I am so busy. I never have time to stop. Ozzie isn't doing much better, he still limps and will probably be that way for a month or so. He is hating the stall rest and hand walking. But so is the life of a horse with a torn ligament.

I know can start posting about our super busy Saturday last weekend and our upcoming Mardi Gras!!

We Were Famous and Da BEACH!!!!

2010-02-05T18:14:00.016-06:00

Every evening my sister, Amanda, and I made our way to the Karaoke Lounge. After our first song, "Killing Me Softly" by the Fugies. We became famous! We should have gotten the girl to video us, but we didn't even think of it. Because really how good is just a picture of someone singing karaoke. It just doesn't give you the full effect! I am not sure why I was singing and my sister is smiling at the camera? But we have sung that song a bunch of times together. Then Amanda did a solo. She sang, "I Will Survive!" Amanda was in an Acapella group in College, so she is used to all that stage stuff. I hadn't sung up on a stage since high school. So, I went with an easy one, "Kiss" by Prince. It's my favorite!! I had a blast! I got the crowd going at the ending when I really got into it!! It's probably a good thing that we didn't record our singing. Because that song probably wasn't too pretty!!! ha ha ha ha! I think our best duet was "Summer Nights" from Grease. I was John, and Amanda was Olivia. We had a blast with that one. We also did "Dancing Queen" by Abba, one night. During the day while we were walking around the ship, people would say, "Hey, there are those Karaoke girls!" And it wasn't just a one time thing, it happened a lot! It was so fun to be semi famous!!

The next day was an all day at Sea Day. I started out the day by going for a run. It was so windy on deck the upper deck with the track on it was closed, so I ran at the gym. I refused to gain any weight while I was on a cruise. When I got back we both got dressed and headed up to the Lido deck for some sunshine! We were some super hot sunbathing beauties!! I mean, I don't think we could be any tanner!! Whuahahahaha!! We were lounging next to some Gay Guys!! I was reading my "True Blood" book and he whipped his book out of his bag and got all excited! We started talking and had a blast. I hardly got any reading done. It was a nice relaxing day. Oh, I almost forgot, it was so windy up on deck that every time someone walked by with food or drink it would fly all over us. I got a pineapple slice in my cleavage accompanied with an drink umbrella. Amanda got some cheese in her hair, and they guy next to had gotten up to get something to eat when a lady passed and about half her drink flew on his chair! It was rather funny!!

That night was the dress up night at dinner. We got all dressed up! Sorry these pictures are horrible, they are taken with my cell phone. I got some super cheap jewelry for the dinner! I was so excited to wear it! You can't beat 2 dollars for a pack of bracelets with earnings!! Here we are! Super fine Mommas! I took all this time to do my sister's hair and ended up just flipping it! Can't say I didn't try. I sprayed her hair like a crazy hairspray woman, and it still wouldn't curl. But I think it turned out cute! For my appetizer that night I ordered the raspberry bisque. This is what I got. Our waiter's name was Coco. I busted out laughing and said, "Coco, this is it? This is all the soup is? Really? the strawberry is larger than the soup!" Our entire table started laughing! I mean really, it was a teaser! But then Coco came back with some soup. It was soooo good. My favorite by far! Our waiter then sang for us! Coco is way over on the right. He is from Bali. He works for 6 months on and then gets 2 months at home. He has three kids at home. They are all very young still. I think it would be so tough to have my husband gone for 6 months at a time. I joined in the song with my phone lighter! All the waiters had a lighter up in the air. I forget what song they sang. It was really good though. Dinner was fantastic! I was loving not cooking or cleaning!

Since that night was the dress up night there were photographers everywhere! And you'll never guess who we saw? She was looking mighty fine! The MULLET LADY!!! And yes, she is a woman! Just look at those lovely locks!! That is her woman in front of her. They had matching outfits! Anyway, we then went to watch a dancing show. During the show I was falling asleep so we retired to our room. Where we were greeted with this....... It's a PIG!! Or it could be Belle!! It kinda looked like her too!! We hit the sack and the woke up to Cozumel, Mexico!!! Waaahoooo!!! There were other boats at the dock when we got there. Our ship is on the left side. The weather man said it was going to be cloudy and thunderstorms, but if this is cloudy with a chance of rain......I'll take it. The port we docked at was called Puerta Maya. We then got in a cab and headed to Nachi Cocom, a private beach resort! Gerry was our first Cab driver. He was very sane in his driving efforts. Can't say that bout the guy who gave us a ride home!! I was screaming, "Help Me!" in Spanish from the back seat!! LOL They have separate lanes for scooters. Huts surrounded by jungle! Nachi Cocom is the farthest beach on the island. The sign for the beach club. The name of the beach club was taken away by the hurricane! Cool stone stuff as we entered! The road to our beach relaxation!!! And we made it!! Can you believe that water? I did not edit that picture one bit! That is straight out of the camera!! It's so beautiful there! That is me posing by our hut for the day! We got served what ever we wanted when ever we wanted it! It was all inclusive so we could order what ever!! It was soooo wonderful! They had hammocks and a massage center! Me relaxing! Our toes! Cool looking boat! We then did some crazy fun jet skiing! I started out driving, but I wasn't wild enough, so we switched places. The salt water was burning our eyes. It was fun though! We had a good time! We floated and swam! We ate lunch up at the restaurant. We had a fabulous view! There was a pool and hot tub there with a swim up bar! It was pretty cool! The walk way back to our chairs. Our food, it was fajitas and it was awesome!!! Amanda enjoyed her food, then got a nice little rub down! While she did that I lounged in the hammocks! My view from the hammocks........ It was wonderful!!! Just the sound of the ocean!! It was almost time to go shopping!!! We took one last dip in the ocean. Goodbye beach.........sigh........it was so nice!! We needed two days in Cozumel, if not more! We hit the town for a bit of shopping then headed back to the ship..............

I'm BACK!!!!!

2010-02-02T22:13:00.011-06:00

I am back from my very first Cruise! My sister, Amanda, and I went on the Carnival Triumph. We went on a shorter cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. It was super fun! The day before we were to arrive at port, my sister flew into New Orleans, and I picked her up. We stayed in a hotel for the night. Where we were so super excited about the trip! We screamed like little school girls when we finally were free woman in the car headed to the hotel! Then we had some fun! Me feeling free of responsibility for a few days! You know what's coming next........... YEAH!!!!! I am going to PARTY!!!! Cause you gotta "Jump.....for your love! Jump in......" are you singing? "Canon BALLLLLL!" This next picture is why I never made cheerleading!! ha ha ha ha Oh yeah, I am so super fine!! ha ha ha ha ha!! Crazy woman! I was so excited! I am not sure what my elbows were doing! Then these next pictures are why my sister was a cheerleader in high school. Gosh, after two kids and look at her go!! Yo go girl! We are free woman for five days!!! Hooray!!! We tried a group thing but we didn't seem to be to grand at jumping at the same time. It ended up with a lot of spoof pictures and a lot of laughter! I think I only almost peed my pants once......or twice.......The next morning we got up early and got breakfast and headed out to the Port!! I was so excited to get on my very first Cruise Ship! We made it on and got some lunch! It was very good!! The Ship reminded me a lot of a Casino. With the funky carpet colors and all the decorations. After we got a bite to eat we ventured around the upper decks. I got a lot of pictures of the New Orleans Port. The "Whale Tale". Some blue mattresses and rows and rows of boxes of alcohol. There was tons of that!! "Who Dat? Who Dat standing in front of New Orleans?" Dat be ME!!! During the entire cruise that is all we heard, "Who Dat?" Everyone was pretty excited about the Saints. My sister on deck! I was so excited!! This was my very first cruise! The beautiful Mississippi River! While we were up on deck, we heard this woman talking really loudly! We looked over and saw the MOTHER OF ALL MULLETS!!! Just look at those curls!!! She was jumping around talking about how she didn't bring a camera because she didn't want any evidence of what happened on the ship!! Don't worry Lady I caught ya!! We then got to wonder around the Ship and then head to our rooms. The art work on the boat reminded me and my sister of some great puffy paint work. We then got to our room. My sister said it was very roomy. Don't mind the "orange" color to all the pictures, the room really was just orange! ha ha ha! Our beds! Our makeup station!! That will come into play later one!! It's a great story! The Loo. The shower! It all reminded me of a camper. We then headed up on deck one last time to see us push off the dock! Amanda calling home and telling the kids she was on a big boat! Goodbye Bridge! Cozumel Here We COME!!! Just look at all those blue chairs!!! The ship made a complete 360! It was pretty impressive! Two Super Hot Mommas ready for a vacation! Canal Street, I think...... Goodbye bridge! Cozumel or BUST! The sun started setting. There was a rainbow in the clouds!! It's to the right of the sun! The sun setting, the Whale Tail, and New Orleans! We then sauntered back inside the boat. We hung out for a bit before dinner. We watched as we passed some other ships on the Mississippi River. I almost forgot the most fun part of the trip!! We got to MUSTER!!! This is my sister Mustering. Isn't Amanda one super fine Musterer. It was very informal. We were first there and so we were shoved in the back. We couldn't see a single demonstration. So, I took pictures and facebooked. I figured I know how to swim.......or something like that!! We then hit up the dinning room. After dinner we went back to our room until it was time for some Karaoke. We had a little visitor in our room!! My first towel animal!!! He was so cute!!! I will blog about Karaoke tomorrow!! My sister and I became FAMOUS!!!!!

Ozzie Update

2010-01-27T18:57:00.002-06:00

Well, he has a torn Suspensory Ligament. It's torn below his ankle in his pastern. It looks all bowed. Especially after the vet shaved it. He is to stay in his stall for 2 months and then he can have short turn out time by himself. The bet took x-rays and an ultrasound. There aren't any broken bones, just torn ligament. Ozzie was a very good patient. He stood like a gentleman. The Vet was very good too. I called my farrier and he is going to be coming out on Monday when I get back to put a special shoe on Ozzie to help relieve some of the pressure on the heel. It was so nice to have a farrier call me right back after I left him a message and then he called the vet to get the whole scoop. Gotta love good communication.

So, Ozzie is on stall rest and no work at all for at least 6 months. Then it's back to basics for him. I am sure I will get a lot of hand walking done with him.

But I now must leave, I am running late to go and get my sister at the airport! We leave for our cruise tomorrow!!! I'll take lots of pictures!

Lame Horse and Vacation Time

2010-01-27T02:00:00.000-06:00

So, Ozzie has been off or dead lame for the last two months. He just can't seem to get sound. He flips back and forth with which front hoof he wants to favor. Last week he was swollen and favoring the front right and now he won't put his front left down. It's time to take him to the vet. So, tomorrow, I am taking Ozzie to have a lamness exam and to get x-rays if needed. That horse is so high maintenance! I haven't really ridden him since that last lesson I had with him. He just hasn't been sound. I am hoping it's not serious. But it's been pretty bad. Ozzie spends his days laying down. He only gets up to eat some hay and drink some water. Then he lays back down. I would say he spends about 75% of his day on his side. The other day he was laying flat out and I thought he was dead. I opened the back door and he didn't move. He normally picks his head up and hopes for carrots, but he didn't even move an ear. So I made kissing sounds and clapped my hands and he didn't move. Finally he twitched an ear. Little stinker. But he is in a lot of pain. I need to figure out what is doing on with him.

Other news, I am going on a cruise. I leave tomorrow night. After I take Ozzie to the Vet! I called around for a vet that does x-rays and one vet didn't want to see me until Friday. I told him how bad Ozzie was and he said he couldn't get me in. The other vet I called said, "Come tomorrow at 11:30am". It's amazing how some vets just don't care. And we actually use the first vet a lot. My normal vet doesn't have x-ray units, he is a traveling vet.

Anyway, I am going on a cruise with my sister. Just us two gals! It's going to be fun. It's a much needed vacation. But I am a bit sad that I won't be able to call my kids or husband, because Iphones get charge an arm and a leg on cruise ships. It's nuts!!

Well, I will try to visit blogs before I go, but I have been so busy lately, I haven't had much time. I promise to catch up when I get back!! I will post an update tomorrow about Ozzie's leg. Tonight when I checked on him, he was inflamed in his pastern, lots of heat, and not putting weight on his front left leg. We'll see what the vet says tomorrow.

We Had A Blast!

2010-01-26T07:29:00.011-06:00

This past year Mr. Cowboy and I joined a Mardi Gras Krewe. And this past weekend was our annual ball. It was so much fun! The theme for our ball was Greatest Rock Bands of all times. As gifts to our guests, we gave the guys blow up guitars and the ladies some blow up microphones. Everyone got a pair of "Cheap Sunglasses". Our tables themes were ZZ Top. I made the table decorations. It was really fun! I had a barb wire ring with a glittery ZZ Top sign hanging from it! And yes, that is Mr. Cowboy in the background glowing!! The other table was a bit crowded, but the center piece was a picture of ZZ Top. Mr. Cowboy is a big ZZ fan! Oh, and the guys got cool light up glasses and the ladies got light up martini glasses. Laura showing off her husband's cool cup!! I love the look on his face!! ha ha ha!! At the beginning of the ball the Krewe announces the court. In between the Kind and Queens and Duke and Duchess announcement there are jesters that come out and do skits! They are hilarious! So here are some of them! The King of ZZ Top!! His wife the Queen of Boston! They did a really great job doing their head dress thingys!! They put a lot of time and money into those things! Then it was on to some jester skits! There was some Risky Business And let me tell ya, it was risky!! The Duke of Van Halen! Then is wife the Duches of Journey. They were great! Then onto more Jesters! Mr. Roboto! This was great! Yep, those are tassels!! She was awesome! The Princess of Guns and Roses. Then her husband, the Prince of KISS!! And there were more Jesters! The Blues Brothers! Jay, the best Jester of the night! Barbie Girls Skit! It was hilarious! My good friend Rapping it up as Run DMC! She was awesome! Then we finally got to party!!! Rock ON!!!! We had two tables of guests, a total of 14 couples. It was a lot of fun! There was dancing, and laughing, and lots of singing! We were some super hot chicks! Laura and her hubs! Dancing like it was 1999! Mia and her husband, who I was surprised could dance so well!! My beautiful sister in law and her husband. That is Mr. Cowboy's brother! Mr. Cowboy in all his glory! Everybody should have a pair of "Cheap Sunglasses!" Some superfine ladies! Mia and her Husband. He looks kinda scary there but he is really super cool! I think everyone had a great time! Me getting down to some Prince! Our fantastic table!! We had a great time! My friends who now are in the Band with KISS!! The band was nothing with out them! Me and my Stud Muffin, with his brown cowboy boots! He refused to wear the black tux shoes. But that's okay, because I put on flip flops after the dance started! Mr. Cowboy's bro waiting for pictures to be over! Our group shot. Except the person using my camera had no idea how to take pictures so some of our group got taken out. Blah! I need to go and steal someone else's group shot off of facebook. There we go! That is so much better! Our group of the most fun people ever! We all had a great time and I thank all my friends for coming to our Krewe De La Fou Ball with Mr. Cowboy and Myself!

Ride 'em Little Cowpoke!

2010-01-22T12:25:00.006-06:00

The other day we went for a riding lesson. I had taken Pearl for Little Cowpoke to ride, but she had a big puncture wound that was all pussy. It was hidden under her winter blanket. But when I took off her blanket, the nasty puss was dripping from her wound. It was right by her girth area, so we couldn't use her. So, Little Cowpoke got to ride Hershey. Hershey is a 28 year old quarter horse that used to run High School barrels and now is used for beginner barrel lessons. He is such a big sweet boy. Just look at the size of that rear compared to Peanut's! I tried to get the Cowpokes to ride to the muddy spot in the arena and then turn around and come back to me. Little Cowpoke is a bit of a cheater. He would turn early to try to beat Big Cowpoke. Hershey was kinda a slow mover. But don't worry, Big Cowpoke would catch up. Little Cowpoke had a good ride. Every time Hershey would do something he asked him to, Little Cowpoke would say, "Look!! He's doing it!!" It was so cute! We practiced some barrel patterns. And took a lot of breaks! Then Little Cowpoke wanted to ride Peanut. I am really trying to get him to ride a different horse because in the hot summers Peanut gets really hot and tired. But we let him have a go. I love the look of Peanut's ears when ever Little Cowpoke is riding him. Peanut just looks so laid back and relaxed. Peanut had actually just galloped the pattern with Big Cowpoke and Little Cowpoke hopped right on and walked the pattern. I think Peanut really likes Little Cowpoke. I really love those big floppy ears! Good Ridin Little Cowpoke!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-20T18:36:00.000-06:00

I Just Had to Look Away........It Wasn't Pretty

2010-01-15T15:32:00.007-06:00

Okay, so the other day, the Cowpokes and I went for a horseback riding lesson. I was going to ride but Ozzie has been off, so I didn't have a horse. Then when I went to load up Pearl, my kids' horse, she had an abscess the size of Texas on her elbow, so we couldn't ride her. So, that left Big Cowpoke on Peanut. But this post isn't about Big Cowpoke on Peanut, it's about how NOT to do rollbacks and how NOT to approach the first barrel.

We went to the lesson with my father in law and his grandson. His grandson, aka D, is 13 years old and is riding Fancy. Fancy is 12 years old and was a ranch horse before she became D's playday horse a year ago. Now onto the lesson. I started taking pictures just so D could have some pictures of him riding Fancy. But then the lesson kinda went south and I stopped taking so many. It was just plain ugly. The trainer had been trying to teach D how to do rollbacks. D had told me how he hates doing rollbacks because they are hard. I thought, "Rollbacks are so much fun!! That is one of the most fun things to do on a horse!" So, the trainer gave D instructions on what to do and off they went....... Yep, at a canter, then into a gallop, and then.........PUT ON THE BREAKS!!!! You see in this picture that Fancy knew it was coming. She could feel D change his position, Fancy actually started to put her butt under her to start stopping. Let's zoom in on that picture a bit. See her hocks getting up under her. Follow the Blue arrows!! She was actually starting to walk a bit with her front legs. Fancy was going into a nice stop. Then look at the red arrows. What in the WORLD is going on on top of that horse!! First thing, the rider's rear end is no where near the seat of the saddle. Second thing, the rider's spurs are DUG into the horses side, obviously no leg release stop there. Third thing, What in the world is going on with his hands? Really, what is he doing up there? Okay now lets move on..... SLAM ON THE BREAKS!!!!! OUCH is all I can say!! Let's start with the blue arrows. Fancy's hocks are nicely under her but her head is WAY up in the air due to the fact that there is a HUGE ported bit in her mouth that she doesn't like and has a tie down on so she can't avoid it. Her nice "walking" out of the front legs turned into a slam halt. Look at the red arrows. What in the WORLD is the rider's spurs STILL doing in the horses sides???? And what is the Rider thinking of when he pulled on those reins? I just want to rip the kids' hands off for pulling on that horse like that. Fancy was ticked. But wait, there's more!! They try to do a "rollback". OMG!!! WHY oh WHY are they turning into the fence? Do you want Fancy to move her but or move her front end? Tell me....where is a horse's rear end supposed to be while doing a rollback? Well, I can tell you this much, it's not supposed to be moving around the front end of the horse!! And what is going on with the Rider's left leg? Is the rider not turning to the right? So, why then is the left leg WIDE OPEN? For once the spur should be on the horse and the right leg should be wide open! And the hands, oh the hands, please someone stop those hands!!! But if that wasn't pretty enough, let's do it again, this time the opposite direction! But wait, what is this? What is going on? Why won't Fancy move? Well, it's because she is fed up with the stupid rider on her back!! That is why she refuses to go again. Fancy just couldn't take it any longer! Oh there are so many questions in that picture as to what in the world is going on there? (Good girl Fancy, Stand still it's safer!!) But to no avail, the spurs and whip were a bit worse than standing still, so Fancy was off again. And stopped again........ Oh dear........there goes those hands again, and that stupid bit again, and that stupid tie down, and what in the world is that crop doing way up in the air? And why are the rider's hands so far apart and so far up in the air? Ugh......it wasn't a pretty site. And to think, I LOVE doing rollbacks, but this was just painful. And another into the fence rollback. I do know that there are reasons to turn into the fence when doing a rollback, but this was not one of those cases. The Trainer was saying she was "using the fence" to help them. When I use the fence when I am "fencing" I am running my horse "into" the fence to help with stopping and then I turn their rear towards the fence to help with keeping their rears in place. The fence is a nice cheater when starting out rollbacks.

Those are all the pictures I took of the rollbacks. Fancy actually stopped after that last one. She would not budge. She was mad and wasn't taking it anymore. So the Trainer got on and pretty much spurred and whipped until the mare moved. She didn't get much better rollbacks out of the horse. The end result of the rollbacks......swollen sides and a bloody nose from the tie down, and bloody corners of Fancy's mouth from the bit. Then it was onto barrels. Oh you barrel racers are going to LOVE this. They just walked and trotted them at first. Then they went up a bit in speed. D has been having trouble with the first barrel. They are going too wide around it or they cut it short and knock it over. So, I will show some pictures and you can just comment on what you think........... What do you think happened here? That actually doesn't look too bad......... Oh dear, didn't see that comping.....cough cough. But laugh about it okay, because it was funny, now get your whip out and smack the crap out of your horse while cracking up and riding like a fish out of water!! Then there is the stop!! Yeah, there is no wonder Fancy had a sore back the next day. Ouch!! Now back to the first barrel. The first picture actually isn't too bad. I think his hand is a but far out but really not too bad. Poor Fancy was just trying her heart out. She never once during the entire ride kick out, buck or rear. She gave it all she had. I did ride Fancy the day after the lesson. I didn't wear spurs and I put her in a snaffle bit with a training fork. We walked and trotted on the fence line. We worked on leg release stops and backing. She was happy not to be yanked on. She would lick and chew after every stop and back. I gave her a rub down. And believe it or not, but after about 10 minutes or riding, she caught on to the leg release stop and she was doing rollbacks. It's amazing what happens when the rider goes back to basics and tries to figure out what's going on.

I just had to figure out why she wasn't stopping. And it was because she didn't know how to stop with out someone yanking on her face. And she did rollbacks, beautiful ones, after I got her to sit back on her hocks and walk with her front legs.

Today I am working with D and Fancy on leg release stops and on fencing. We are going to break it all down so D and Fancy can say, "I love doing rollbacks!".

Fuzzy Fillies

2010-01-14T09:18:00.006-06:00

It's been a while since I have taken pictures of my two fillies. I can't believe they are now yearlings! Time sure flies. I am supposed to be showing them in just a few months. I may just push back that show thing until I can get them slicked down. They are so fuzzy. Luna is turning out to be quite the halter horse. She is a tank. I tell Mr. Cowboy that she looks like a halter horse that has been put in the dryer and shrunk. She is so short! I really can't wait to get Josephine really going. So far she has been sacked out and lunged a bit. We have really just walked around in a couple of circles. I do showmanship with them all the time. Josephine is really good at setting up and standing still. She even walks off really nicely. I haven't asked for a trot yet. I will work up to that. Luna on the other hand is kinda a dead head. She is lazy beyond lazy. She hates to walk off next to me. I have to practically drag her around. But she loves to stop and stand. That she will never have trouble with. My father in law will go out in a pen with them and crack a bull whip. And would you believe that Luna walks towards him. Yes! She almost got smacked in the nose once because she got too close! She loves to be rubbed all over with the bull whip. Luna stands completely still while Josephine is freaking out! Josephine has quite the wild mane! But we have worked with Josephine and now she just stands still while my father in law walks around cracking the bull whip. That training has come in handy. A few weeks ago there was this stupid little boy that lives down the road from us. That stupid little boy had some pipe insulator in his hand and was swinging it around and making it crack on the ground. I watched him from my garage as he walked right by the fillies' pasture cracking that pipe insulator on the ground. I think he was trying to see what the babies would do. But no luck, they just looked at him and went back to eating. It's really neat to see the girls not freak out at things that some other horses might think are horrible. My farrier loves to come and trim them. He says at 6 months old that they stand better than some adult horses he does. I am proud of my smart girls! They are quick learners. Josephine takes a little extra time in the learning department but nothing that is too bad. It really helps to have Josephine out with Luna. Luna is such a dead head that when something does happen to spook them, Josephine has a steady friend to fall back on. Luna normally stands still with her head up if she gets "scared". While Josephine will run around all crazy and then go stand behind Luna. Luna does get dirty. That isn't blood on her head, it's from a mineral lick they have. The lick got all gooey and when Josephine was eating it she drooled it all over Luna. I am sure Josephine has some on her too, you just can't see it. I am expecting the two girls to have a growth spurt soon. They both are butterball fat! Poor Luna probably won't get much taller than 14 hands. She has a short mom and dad. But Josephine should be pretty tall. I am hoping for a nice 16.2. But it will be okay if she only gets to 16 hands. Her mom is 16 hands tall and her sire is 16.1 hands, I think. He was taller than Pearl. It has been fun watching the girls grow up and get taller. They have been some of the nicest babies we've had here. They just have great personalities. Both girls are very social and love to be caught and brushed and lead. I just can't wait to show them! I need to start to trailer them around and tying them up at different places. That way come show day they don't freak out. I am going to be nervous enough, I don't need two nervous yearlings too. But I am pretty sure they will do fine! They are both really good girls.

Rodeo Banquet and Frost

2010-01-11T22:48:00.006-06:00

This past weekend was the JDRC's Rodeo Banquet. It's the club that the Cowpokes rode in last year. They had some announcements and then some refreshments, then the awards! Little Cowpoke has some scabs on his face from his Impetigo break out. It was nasty! It's taken a few weeks to finally clear up. It didn't slow him down though. Cowpokette didn't win anything. She didn't ride at all. I think she might just do some ground events this year. She would love to ride, I am just not too sure how I would do with my 2 year old barrel racing! After eating they started announcing the winners. Little Cowpoke was 10th place. He was so excited. He thought he got first place because his name was called first!! He ran up and got his awards so fast I almost didn't get a picture of him! He LOVES his bullrider belt buckle. He put it on right then and there. Next was Big Cowpoke's riding division. They started out with 12 kids. And they kept saying the kids' names and not saying Big Cowpoke's name. He and I were both getting excited. Big Cowpoke kept saying, "Mom, maybe I got first!" They finally called his name! Big Cowpoke got 5th place! I was so excited for him! In his age division there are some really tough competition. There are a few little girls who ride their parent's old High School Rodeo horses. So, for Big Cowpoke to be riding an old Sale Barn horse and get 5ht place, I thought was fantastic! Big Cowpoke's buckle has a bullrider on it as well. And it reads, "Top 6". Which I think is pretty cool. The kids both got lots of stuff. They each received a pair of bell boots, $10 McDonald's card, $30 Walmart Card, horse treats, Cowboy Magic shampoo, hair bands, 2 tubes of dewormer, barrel reins, candy, stadium folding chair, t-shirt, embroidered bag, and their belt buckles. I think they did very well!

This morning there was a thick frost on the ground. It almost looked like snow! The Cowpokes were all excited about the frost when they got up this morning. It really did look like snow! Then the sun started to rise and the frost was beginning to melt away. It doesn't take long for frost to melt down here. It might have been really chilly this morning, but by noon I was outside with out a jacket on. I think it got up to 40. Which felt warm compared to what it has been. Ozzie even abandoned his hay. Ozzie has been acting weird lately. I am going to work him tomorrow and see if i can't figure out why he has been off. He just looks uncomfortable standing there. I'll figure it out! Ozzie loves it when he hears the back door open. That sound normally means kids with carrots or Andrea with scratches! He is only a little spoiled! But that is what happens when he is the horse that lives in our backyard.

Cold Front, Winter Blankets, and New Friends

2010-01-07T09:01:00.007-06:00

The weather man has been telling us that it's going to be a bit chilly in the south this weekend. They are guesstimating the temperatures are going to be in the teens! In the six years that I have lived here, it has NEVER been that cold here. My Father in Law bought blankets for his horses. He has NEVER done that either! It must be something in the air. Just a week ago I took some pictures of the boys and it was nice and sunny and warm! Now, not so much. I also, dug out my horses' winter blankets. I had actually forgotten I even had any horse blankets! I have two winter blankets and two sheets. Two days ago, I drug out those heavy things and tried them on some of our horses. My Thoroughbred mare was more than happy to wear the WeatherBeeta turn out blanket I had. She gets so cold so easily. I wasn't too worried about her wearing it because nobody seems to bother her. I love this blanket! It's durable and warm and super water proof! It was worth every penny! But the other night, when I put it on my mare, Ozzie made an escape from his pasture! He pushed out one of the wire panels and made a break for it! The next morning Mr. Cowboy went out to feed and didn't see Ozzie but poured him some grain anyway. He figured Ozzie was just eating grass behind our house. Little did he know Ozzie was in the big pasture with his girlfriend! But Pearl seized the moment! She heard and smelled grain and tired to squeeze her narrow Thoroughbred self through the broken wire panel to get to the grain. But she didn't account for one thing! Her heavy duty thick comfy blanket! And sure enough, the blanket got caught on the panel and tore an "L" shape from Pearl's shoulder to her hip! I couldn't believe it! When I brought Pearl in to feed and saw the huge tear, I about died! There went 160 dollars out the window! So much for total water proof blanket. Luckily the makers of WeatherBeeta blankets are super smart! They actually sew the batting on the inside of the blankets. So, if their is a tear, the batting won't go anywhere! I was happy for that much. So, yesterday I spent two hours at a laundry mat washing horse blankets so I could take them to get repaired. It seemed like all four of my blankets needed some kind of repair, and in order for them to be repaired I had to have them cleaned. Just a little tip for everyone who has WeatherBeeta heavy weight blankets. When you wash them, do so wrong side out! That way when the washer spins the water out, the water can actually get out of the blanket!! I learned that the hard way and had a sopping wet blanket after the spin cycle! I finally got the blankets all cleaned and dried. It didn't take the repair man but five minutes to sew up all four blankets! He was awesome. He and I chatted a bit while he fixed them. He told me how his wife has osteoporosis and how she loves to ride but he is too scared to let her. He's afraid she might fall off and break something. So, they have some miniature horses for now. He then went on to talk about how she used to ride English. I told him that I rode English too! He got all excited. I told him that I had an older mare that I showed and jumped on and if his wife ever wanted to come out and ride she could. I told him that my old mare is now my kids' rodeo horse. That my four year old rides around on her. I gave him my number and our web address so she could look us up! He was so excited for his wife that he refused to charge me for fixing all four of my blankets. Originally he was going to charge me 20 dollars per blanket! And I was excited to maybe be able to have a riding partner. Someone who can walk and trot around my kids' horse while I ride another. It would save me a lot of riding time. I just hope that she rides as well as her husband says she does. I'll keep all my fingers and toes crossed! I am always wanting to find someone who would want to just come and ride a few horses for me. I have a couple that just need to be exercised and if the repair man's wife would come and do that for me I would be so happy!