The View From A Saddle

That one time I had a blog.

2014-03-21T22:18:00.003-07:00

"Remember that time you had a blog?" - Josh

A monthly statement out of his mouth.

Instead of writing a bunch of silly nonsense, I will update you all in pictures. Enjoy!

(P.S. It's almost been a year since I blogged. Oops)

1. Me and this guy are still kicking it. You think I'd be tired of him already. Juuuust kidding!

aaaaand I like him so much... I said Yes! (:

I'm a real live bonafied nurse.

All my loves are healthy and well.

Praise the lord.

My first love is still taking pictures with me.

Being gorgeous as ever.

And being one of my biggest fans.

Jeffrey is a grown man.

and such a drama king / total sink cat.

This guy is still around. Ol Op-ster.

Goofy as ever.

Sweet as ever.

And has a lot of new friends.

One. Happy. Bovine.

I still spend most of my days, or as many as I possibly can doing this.

I have an awesome brand spankin' new nephew as of September.

That makes two.

and two rockstar nieces.

Still have the best of friends.

Coal kitty has decided the runaway world isn't for him.

I have the most snuggle-y Latch pup in the world.

And my chickens successfully produced their own.

Before my roosters all bit the dust.

Sold my cute little libby

And upgraded to my big girl Jeep.

and recently took my heart home.

It's been a pretty good year!

Lots and lots of changes coming within the next six months, but I am pretty excited.

Josh and I are getting married on June 7 and packing things up and moving.

We don't know where we will be yet, but I hope it is somewhere close to home vs far away. Unless Far away is Auburn (:

Jeffrey.

2013-06-28T21:50:00.001-07:00

In my last post about Coal (who is comfortably laying at my feet at this very moment), I mentioned a new name. Jeffrey. Just wait until you see this ball of cuteness.

There was an ad posted on facebook about two orange kitties that needed homes. They were cute and Linsey wanted a new kitty. We went a few days later to get one, but when we got to the house there were still two. There was no food and no water. How could we take one and leave the other?

The other was to be mine.

I would like to say that we (Sister and I) saved Jeffrey (and Dennis who is Linsey's- shown below).

We brought them home and the rest is a fairy tale.

Jeffrey is the cutest thing ever. I think dad was all NO more cats, but then Dottie fell in love. Then dad fell in love with Dottie being preoccupied. hah!

He is now about 17 weeks old and is a spitfire of a kitty!

The special thing about Jeffrey is that once we leave home headed toward the nursing home something amazing happens. The second we pull onto nursing home road he conks OUT. I mean, out cold. He is the best pet therapy cat I have ever seen. It's like he knows what he is there for and just lays out. It is so neat!

On the way to see the old folks!

So far, Jeffrey has fit in well on the farm! He's a little skiddish, so I don't foresee him going outside anytime soon, but he and Coal are finally getting along. Coal loves him being here because he gets to eat regular kitten food instead of his urinary tract food.

Jeffrey already knows his name. He can be scratching on something and I say Jeffrey in a plain tone of voice and he just stops and turns his head... me?! So cute.

More Jeffrey updates coming soon! I'm sure he will find some other great hobbies to take up in the next couple of weeks :)

Missing.

2013-05-07T23:17:00.002-07:00

One of the most dreaded words of my life... 'missing'.

Coal kitty usually goes on farm vacation when I am out of town, but last weekend when I returned on Sunday, he did not. I wasn't worried the first day, but Tuesday morning when he wasn't back I got really worried.

I wrote out some make shift missing signs that morning before I left for school. I stopped in the neighborhood that backs up to the east side of our farm and taped the signs on the two stop signs at each entrance. "MISSING Black Cat- Coal Kitty" was in bold black letters with my name and phone number on the bottom.

I wish I could have written a whole paragraph for everyone to read, but that is just unreasonable. "Black cat" is an insult to Coal kitty... he is more than just any black cat. He is my black cat, my study partner, my Auburn travel buddy, and my cuddle buddy at night. As far as I'm concerned, he has a pre-veterinary degree and a bachelors in nursing! Smartest kitty I know.
I got Coal Kitty on May 23, 2008. He was a little itty bitty kitty that an older lady brought into the vet that I was working for that summer along with his two siblings and mother. "Euthanize them", she said. I begged my vet to let me take them. He called the lady and she said that was fine if they were found homes and she ended up coming back for the mother cat. I gave the other two kittens away after picking out which one I wanted to keep for myself. I chose Coal because he licked my ear, just like my old cat Zorro use to do.

Coal Kitty and Lola Belle

Coal is special to me for many many reasons, but one of the main reasons is that I got Coal the week I met Josh. May 19th was my first day working that summer. I had worked many summers before that, but I had never worked with the new guy. Coal Kitty has been around the same amount of time that Josh has and that is just special to me. Coal was our first child. Josh tries to claim him because "he's the best cat in the world", but he knows he is mine!

After Coal went missing, I was heartbroken that I couldn't look for my Coal Kitty. I was in my last week of nursing school and I was supposed to be at school Mon-Thurs from 9-4 for our Kaplan review for the NCLEX. What a great week to go missing, Coal kitty. Not only did I have to be there at 9, remember I live one hour away from school. 8-5.

I had some WONDERFUL neighbors text me, message me on FB, and call me telling me that they were looking for Coal kitty, keeping an eye out for him, and calling him. No one ever called regarding seeing Coal Kitty in the neighborhood.

On Tuesday when I got home from school I saddled up Flint and went out to look for Coal. I had come across him before while riding and I was sure I was going to be able to find him. I started on our farm and moved into the neighborhood. I talked to a few of the residents and they had not seen him. I looked for 2 hours and saw no signs of Coal Kitty. I don't know how many times in one hour I walked to the front door to look for Coal. I would check all three rocking chairs and the swing, jiggle the door handle to see if he would come when he heard that... but no Coal kitty.

On Wednesday after school I saddled up SoBe and headed out again. I went from looking for a black cat running across fields or roads to looking for remains of a black cat. Then I thought, maybe he got in a tree, he always climbs trees in a second if he feels threatened. Coal kitty is very savvy when he comes to being outside... So I started looking in the trees. I checked every tree in the horse pasture where I know a fox has taken up residence. No kitty. I rode through the neighborhood and talked to the same man about Coal. He hadn't seen him... thank goodness because his house was the absolute farthest away from mine. I concluded after this day that something got Coal and drug him off into the woods. It wasn't looking promising with this being the second cat to have gone missing in 6 weeks. Poor Cookie has been missing for a while, but we think someone has her. She has gone missing before and came back smelling like someone's house... I think she has someone that lets her in their house!

On Thursday after school, I walked out to the horse pasture and called him. At this point I could hardly call him without starting to cry. I was so angry that my kitty was gone. I just prayed and prayed that he would come back to life and come home. I was sure he had been eaten by a coyote or a fox.

On Thursday night around 10:45 I was sitting on the couch with my mom watching TV. I heard a bang on one of the windows in our den and jumped up to check on Jeffrey. (That's another story... next blog!). I was afraid that Tug or Latch may have run into the window chasing Jeffrey so I jumped up to check on him and flipped on the light... there was Coal Kitty sitting on the back deck. I scooped that cat up so fast. I was SO happy to have my kitty back. It was almost like a hallucination. I couldn't believe he was back after being gone 6 days.

Coal kitty must have had a traumatic week, because he refuses to go outside. If he does, I can hardly get him to move from one spot. He just meows and meows and begs to go back inside pretty quickly. I guess I will never know what happened to my Coal kitty, but I'm glad he is home! I was able to enjoy graduation from nursing school and not worry about Coal!

Inside my groom box!

2013-03-27T18:39:00.002-07:00

Are you wondering what a groom box is? Most of you know, but there are many people that follow my blog that know NOTHING about horses! So I am going to tell you what is in mine and what I use it for!

Basically, this is every horse person's best friend, well one of them. It carries everything I need for when I am about to go ride or just playing around with my horses. There are many more things that I need that I keep in a different box that I will cover another day- That includes salves, bandages, cleansing agents... This groom box is just the basics of horse care!

Groom boxes are equivalent to a tool belt for construction people and police.

It's like a hairdresser having scissors, hair dryers, straighteners, curling irons, shampoo and conditioner.

It's like my other purse!

This is my groom box! I love it.

So, you can see a few things at first glance. Brushes and spray stuff- but which is which and what is what!?

What's the pink bottle? Whats all those handles?!

I'm about to answer all your questions. I hope.

This is a curry comb. I love a curry comb, but I hate a curry comb. Sometimes it does such a good job brushing the horse that you can't get all the dirt off of their coat. This brush is used in a circular motion all over the horses body. It brings the dirt to the surface so you can brush the dirt off with another type of brush. I mostly use this brush when they are shedding their winter coats. It's so easy and all the dirt gathers in the grooves... then you just knock it on the bottom of your boot and it all falls off!

These are dandy brushes, or 'stiff' brushes. These brushes can be used on their coats and on their manes and tails. After currying a horse, the dandy can be used to remove most of the dirt. I also use the stiff brushes when I trim their hooves to get all the dirt off of their hooves. This keeps my tools from becoming dull.

I have actually had the purple brush (and the teal brush below) since I was at least 12! My Uncle Vaughn's old girlfriend, Tiffany, gave Linsey and me some groom box sets when we were younger for Christmas one year! I love those two brushes!

These are soft brushes. The one on the top left is my absolute favorite brush. It is made of horse hair so it just works good! These brushes are the 'finishing' brush and make the coat real shiny! Most of the time this is the only brush I will use. I probably should start currying more because that does help the skin to produce their natural oils. I just like my horse to look clean and not have a static-y coat with lots of dirt showing!

This little dude is a face brush. It's small and soft, also made of horse hair, used to brush their face and around their eyes. Horses have sensitive skin, especially on their face, so gentle is the way to go!

I included this photo to show you how small the face brush is compared to a normal brush. My two favorite brushes. Also, these two brushes were two of my first brushes I bought from Horsetown in Locust Grove more than 10 years ago. I specifically remember my daddy saying after I bought them "you won't ever be able to keep up with those! They're going to get lost in the yard somewhere and you won't ever see them again!" Ah hem! ;)

This spray bottle contains showsheen. This is the best stuff known to man. It is a detangler and leave in conditioner for their manes and tails. I always end up using this right before I ride and then I can't hold onto the reins! Slippery stuff!

And then when you have a groom box, all your labels look like this! I should just rip it off...

Horses have hair just like people, so my horses have a brush that looks just like mine! I use this to brush out their mane

Another one of those original brushes that I bought up at Horsetown! I just keep this mane and tail brush around because it is different and old!

This was a recent edition to my groom box. I love braiding my horses manes and tails. It reminds me of the days that I use to show and it also helps the horses mane to grow longer! Good addition.

This guy has been around quite awhile! I don't use it as often as I should, but maybe I will start. It is a conditioner for their hooves. You can use the brush to paint it on the outside wall and on the sole of the hoof. It helps prevent cracks by moisturizing, but also prevents fungus and keeps other yucky stuff out!

This is a hoof pick. It is pretty self explanatory I think, but it is used to get the dirt out of their hooves!

These are my knives for trimming. I use these to take sole off and to trim their frogs. Horses have frogs?! Yes! It's part of their hoof. It's the V that you see when you pick up a horses hoof.

I love how it says 'The Knife' like it is is sacred or something! This knife came in a pack with my nippers and file that my dad used when we had Classic, SoBe and Sassy's mom. It's part of my original tool set and I will always hold them dear to me! Is that weird? I don't really care either way!

My nippers!! I love these nippers. They are wonderful and we get along so well. Trimming toes and heels during the hoof trimming process is what we do! Most people don't do their own farrier work. I am fortunate enough to be educated on it, so I can do a decent job! Believe it or not... farrier work is expensive. I save exactly $150 every 6 weeks by doing my own horses hooves. 52 weeks in a year, so horses get their hooves done 8-9 times a year... I save about $1200! WOW! I even just realized how much that is... and that doesn't include my donkey. I love being a skilled horse owner!

Along with nippers, you need a rasp! I love my rasp. It could be sharper, but it gets the job done for me and my 5 horses and donkey! This is used to file down the hoof like a fingernail file. You also use this to level the foot up and make sure their hoof is flat and not slanted. Horses don't like wearing high heels!

A rasp has a rough side and a smooth side. The rough side takes off more hoof and the smooth side finishes off the job and rounds things off.

Up next. Sunscreen! All those white noses need protection. I don't think this SPF is high enough, but this was something I grabbed during this summer for a quick fix. I also use this for me! I don't want to get burnt shoulders when I ride in a tank.

SWAT is amazing. It is a fly repellent salve that can be used anywhere! I put it around their eyes, on their ears and in their wounds. I love it! I always have to make sure I buy the clear formula as shown.... otherwise I may accidentally pick up the original formula and it is BRIGHT pink. It's so cute having a pink horse, but it is helpful to know if it has washed off or is still on their body.

This was my most recent addition. Thrush Buster and cotton balls. Thrush is a bacterial infection that can occur in horses frogs. It is very smelly and puts off a black discharge. A few of my horses have thrush so we have been bustin' it up with this stuff! The cotton balls can be used to stuff into the sulcus to hold the medicine in a little longer! The sulcus is the groove in the hooves that make up the outside of the V!

There are some things that I don't currently have in my groom box that I wish I did, but for now I have everything I need! I am missing a grooming stone and bot brush. I have a bot brush (worm eggs that flies lay on their leg hairs in which they get in their mouth when they scratch their legs with their teeth- the eggs travel through the horse and make worms.) but I want a grooming block. I plan on ordering one the next time I order something!

That is my groom box!! Next we will do the tack room or my medicine cabinet!

Any questions are welcomed!

PS. did anyone wonder if I swept the floor when I was done taking all these pictures?!? I did! :)

BIG future!

2013-03-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I made the trek to Athens to see my beloved Joshua! It was a great weekend and we got to spend lots and lots of time together after being apart for 2 weeks. (I know, it's not that long, but it is!)

Rewind to Friday, I am sitting at work, and Josh tweets a picture of a baby clydesdale. OH MY GOSH. Where did this come from!! What is he doing!!

He called me a few short minutes later and said he was on his way home from work. I said, excuse me no you're not you just left a baby clydesdale! He acted like he didn't know what I was talking about and soon fessed up about cheating on his beloved SoBe. He had gone to the clydesdale farm on business and said he would text the owner to see if he could bring me out. She said yes and I died and went to heaven right then and there!

The next day, which didn't come soon enough, Josh took me to the local Clydesdale farm.... that was a HUGE mistake. Definitely not a mistake for my heart, but for Josh and my bank account....

We pulled into the gates and I just squealed! Everyone knows I love all horses and I looove my tennessee walkers, but I LOVE Clydes. They are so majestic and giant! I love all things giant. As we were pulling into the gates there were 4 Clydesdales on my left... 3 on my right, then 3 mares with foals on the next left, then another mare and foal on my right! I was already in heaven just driving by them.

We finally pulled up next to the barn after passing 4 pastures full of Clydes. We met up with the owner, Shannon. I had the pleasure of meeting her and her husband once before in Perry at the Clydesdale show at the Georgia National Fair. I even stayed around to watch them in Unicorn show.

Shannon showed us around and introduced us to all of her clydes from the stallion, to the mares, to the geldings, to the 2 month old babies and some yearlings. I wanted to squeeze every single one of those horses. I did squeeze some of them and they were the sweetest things.

You know I didn't leave that place without taking pictures!!

The Geldings- Bubba, Arthur, and Teeny

Flossy and her foal, Freddy

The stallion they have on site, Master

May, due to foal in April

The mares with all their precious babies!

Baby Freddy. So cute!

Lucya, a coming two year old that is already familiar with the show ring!

This girl is GORGEOUS.

One of the beautiful broodmares

Sully and his mama!

The yearlings with the geldings in the background!

Sully

Another of the precious yearlings!

My favorite yearling! Jagger

Me and Jagger!

I was really interested in this one, but they are going to hold onto him and see how he turns out! His sire has passed so he is one of the last.

My personal favorite. Baby Clydesdale booties!

Shannon has two horses for sale, one mare and one gelding, that I am interested in. I really would like a gelding, but the mare is amazingly beautiful. Her name is Nala and she is in foal for April. Her price is great for getting two clydes, but I just don't have it right now!

Shannon was a great host and I have counted the days until I can go back and visit. Shannon even wrote me back and said that I could come work with Nala! So excited!

I can't wait until I have a Clyde of my own! It has been a dream of mine for a while now and I have a feeling it may just come true this year! Here's to a BIG future!! :)

Better Blogging.

2013-01-21T17:04:00.000-08:00

I am going to try to get better at this blogging deal. Although, I really don't have that much to blog about. I always wanted to be one of those bloggers that did many different things outside of horses and work. Like... cooking. That won't happen. Or making DIY posts... that won't happen either.

Let's face it. I'm just the normal blogger that doesn't have any creativity when it comes to writing blog posts.

There is one thing I can blog about. My new jewelry store on Etsy.

I opened this store a few months back selling my suede carrick bend bracelets. I have recently added some beaded bracelets that I am in love with.

I initially saw these bracelets at Fab'rik and was blown away by the fact that they are sold for $34. I would not pay that much for them ever. I said "hm, I can just make my own". So I did!

Same beads- some different, same charms, same string... way cheaper for me AND YOU!

My bracelets are only $15-$25 dollars depending on the beads/stones used.

I am in love and I can only hope that others will be too!

Feel free to visit my Etsy store!

I will also be having many giveaways on my Facebook page!
:)

Cockadoodle

2012-09-21T21:19:00.004-07:00

They don't make that noise yet... we still have another couple of months (I hope) but I really can't wait until one of them starts crowing! I just hope whoever starts crowing first doesn't choose 4AM to do his crowing like the neighbors chicken that I, thankfully, can not hear!

This is one of my silver laced wyandottes.

Production red and a black cochin.

Elvis himself. One of 3 roosters.

He is a buff Cochin

the 'Typical' chicken as I call them. Barred Rock.

They are my sweetest chickens.

Speckled Sussex

Silver Laced Cochin Rooster #2

Black Cochin, Rooster #3

I adore him. He's beautiful.

I say I have 3 roosters. I may have four but I am hoping my other black cochin is not a rooster.

My personal favorite! My gold laced Cochin.

Some of the whole crew!

I love my chickens! They make me very happy on some days. Like today when they came running from their house to greet me at my car. Makes a girl feel special when a bunch of chickens run towards you squawking FEED ME!

The two whitish looking chickens behind the production reds are 2 of my 4 Easter Eggers . I call them my crazy chickens. Because that is just what they are... CRAZY.

Blog Wagon.

2012-09-14T15:08:00.003-07:00

I have obviously fallen off. The blog wagon that is.

My life has been full of crazy and fun things.

I still have too many jobs, for most people. I love it though. I seriously have something to do all the time, but I still have my me time to study and ride my horses! Perfect mix.

I pretty much have all of my mornings during the week to ride horses and the weather has been GREAT and I have taken advantage of that! I still work for my dad on most Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. I babysit a 10 year old little girl that rides horses (which is what we do) on Tuesdays and on Wednesdays I go to school and train a pony for a 10 year old little boy. The Thursdays I am not working for my dad I work at the hospital from 6:38am to 7:15pm.

The past five days alone I have ridden horses seven times. I have ridden all five this week and I have ridden Ms Fatty three times this week. That is my goal for Ms Eats A Lot.

She doesn't look so bad in that picture though.

On the other hand....

AHEM.

Look at that NECK. More like look at that dinosaur.

Now, I don't even put the grazing muzzle on her... that was just a test.

We are sticking to exercising three times a week for an hour or more and she actually looks a little bit better! Success.

Die grass, die.

Did you forget I have chickens now? 28 chickens to be exact. 25 hens to be exact. 3 roosters to be exact.

I love them. They are my babies.

Except, my ameraucanas are craaaaaazzzzyyy.

My rooster, Elvis. That may not be my rooster for much longer if he bites me again.

One of my crazy ameraucanas.

And My sweet sweet latch guarding my precious chickens on one of their first days out of the coop!

I have not forgotten about Dottie!! She is still around and just as much as a spitfire as she was when we got her! She is precious and we LOVE her.

She is THE most spoiled dog we have ever had. She gets on any piece of furniture she pleases. All she has to do is whimper. I KNOW.

When she needs to go outside she will whine at the door. She almost know what 'tell me' means, which means to speak. She will do this no bark mouth movement and snap her teeth all at the same time... so cute.

She loves to dig.

She loves to bury her bones in the yard.

And she LOVES to eat chicken poop.

Her spots have multiplied times 1000. I'm sure.

The way she sits on her butt cracks me up.

And she loves that brother, Latch.

Don't worry. My horses have been getting LOTS of attention! :)

Lots of riding with friends

Lots of riding at night

Told you, Queen of Eating has been the hot commodity around here!

and of course, my baby boy.

One more thing, Josh is still around. Fancy that. ;)

A New Adventure

2012-08-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

I have opened a new little business that I will hopefully get going with in the next couple of weeks!

I saw a picture on the internet of a bracelet that I fell in love with that sold out of China, and I decided that I wanted one! I didn't want to buy it though.... because, honestly, I hate buying stuff from China. So I decided I would MAKE it.

By solely looking at a picture, I was able to recreate this beautiful bracelet!

Now I have made about ten different ones and am still in love with them!

If you would like a bracelet, you can email me at CarrickBendBracelets@gmail.com.

You can also find my Facebook page for more pictures and details!

Free Shipping for the first 10 internet orders! :)

It Was Meant To Be.

2012-08-15T20:50:00.001-07:00

Meet Dottie.

She was brought into our lives on August 3, 2012. The day before we left for a 7 day cruise to Mexico and the Bahamas (which was a blast). She was really brought into our lives on August 11, 2012. A day before she turned 8 weeks old.

I had been looking through pets on petfinder.com and found this jewel (after about 5 other contenders). Her name was Princess and she was 1 of 8 puppies. There were only 3 left.

I emailed her picture to my parents and called my dad. He said to find out more about her parents. I called the rescue and talked to a very nice lady. She said she couldn't guarantee the breed of the puppy, but that she was so sweet. I didn't find out very much about her at that time. I filled out the adoption application, Just in case! I called dad back and told him that I couldn't find out much about the parents and he said ok well we will see. Or something along those lines.

I got a call from my mom about two minutes later and was told to get her. Pay for her. Save her for us. I paid the adoption fee through paypal, puppy unseen, called the lady for the second time and it was final. She said she knew we were the right family just by talking to me on the phone for that few minutes. I asked if she could hold 'princess' for us for a week because we were going out of town and we would be back the following Saturday. No problem.

I was so excited! This puppy looked exactly like my Lola Belle, minus the precious eyebrow my best friend had. I just kept looking at that one picture we had of her over and over.... and over.

I found the rescue on facebook and started looking back through their posts to try and find puppy pictures. On the phone the lady had told me their story. They pulled the mother from the humane society's euthanasia list the day of her euthanasia. The next day, June 12, she whelped 8 puppies. She was truly saved just for us.

Who on God's green earth wants to go on a 7 day vacation when you KNOW you have a puppy waiting on you to take her home?!?! Not me!! Somehow I did it and the week flew by. It was a blast but I was so glad to get home to get our puppy!

We made it home from our trip across the gulf waters and went to get our puppy from Columbus, GA. Over an hours drive.

And before I knew it... we were finally home.

She has definitely lifted all of our spirits and is the center of our household!

Everyone loves her and she loves all of us!

She sure is a feisty little thing!

And she loves her brothers! (Pictured with Latch)

She is quickly becoming acquainted with farm life!

We are loving this sweet girl! I have never seen a dog in this house allowed on so much furniture! She is going to live a good, good life on our farm! That's for sure!

So, has anyone figured out where her name came from yet? If you read my blog on Lola, then you might have figured it out.

My dad called Lola "PD", short for Poochie-Dottie... So we named her Dottie after Lola.

And you will NEVER believe this.

Dottie's mother's name..... is Lola.

Like I said, it was meant to be.

Best Day Ever.

2012-07-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

This was my evening. Pretty much the best vacation ever.

Thanks Jaclyn's Family :)

Harley, my buddy.

Me and Harley!

My Best Friend.

2012-07-02T16:00:00.001-07:00

I've been dreading having to write this post. Every time I think about it I get a pain in my stomach and my eyes start burning. That burning feeling you get before you cry.

This is my best friend, Lola. Many of you already know that.

Many of you also know that I had to let Lola go last week. I had to make one of the hardest decisions I have ever made, but it was almost so easy because she was in so much pain.

I can hardly believe she is gone. I have had Lola for 5 years. She was 5 1/2 years old. Too young in my opinion.

Lola has always had problems with 'pulled muscles', so we thought. Whenever Lola would go out and play with the big dogs, she would always come back inside and limp around for two or three days. She always got better and we never worried.

Last week we thought she had a pulled muscle. She never got better, she got worse. I got home from work one day to find her paralyzed sitting up in my parents room with her front legs stiff as boards (Schiff Sherrington Syndrome). I dropped everything I was carrying and walked over to her. I knew it wasn't good. I dropped to my knees and grabbed her up in my arms and just started crying. I just remember saying no, no, no, not you. I just knew it wasn't good. I picked her up and carried her into the kitchen and told my family I wanted to take her to the vet right now. I called and my vet was on call. Thank goodness. He led me through some tests over the phone and she failed all of them. He said to meet him at the office and we did. I already knew before we left the house that I was going to have to let her go, but I still had a tinge of hope.

We got there and he x-rayed her. Her T11 disc was odd looking. He said it was most likely ruptured/slipped and that it was most definitely hitting her spinal cord causing the paralysis. She had no deep pain response. None. She couldn't feel a pair of hemostats pinching her tendons. She only had a 5% chance of recovery.

I thought right then and there that if she couldn't go back home and run around with the other dogs and with the horses... I didn't want her there. It wasn't fair to her to be in all this pain, to go through surgeries that may not work and not be able to be a dog. I loved her and I didn't want to let her go, but it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to me either to lose her at such a young age. She was the last dog on this earth that deserved this! I'm sad and angry all at the same time.

I told her that MeMa would take care of her and that I would see her again one day. I know I will and I can't wait. I also told her she was the best dog we have ever had. And she was. She was a better dog than any dog I know. I don't know how I got so lucky to have her fall into my hands, but then I do... because God knew I would take care of her. She sure did fall into a gold mine that summer night in 2007.

Thanks to all who sent cards, flowers, text messages, facebook messages, and those who sent me pictures of her they had on their phones.... it means the world to me. I know Lola had a lot of people love her and it makes me so happy to know that she was loved!

My family loved this dog like another child/sibling and she loved every single one of us. She was so special.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first day I ever saw Lola was in the Summer of 2007 at about 1AM. I was getting home from a movie and my friends dropped me off in the parking lot that is across the street from our farm. My friends sometimes don't like to drive down my 1/2 mile driveway so, I use to meet them up at the parking lot. I stepped out of their car and there she was walking towards me from the busy highway. I couldn't believe such a beautiful dog was on the side of the road. I immediately scooped her up (after making sure she wasn't going to bite me- psh... sweetest dog ever.) and carried her home with me in the back of my Jeep. I'd never seen her before as many times as I had ridden horses around there. I put her in our dog kennels for the night with some food and water. I'd worry about her in the morning.

The next morning I bounded out of bed and headed for the back door. Mom said "Where are you going?!" I said "I'll be back in a minute". I walked down to the kennels and there she was waiting for me. Wagging her little butt as I got closer. She was so cute. I picked her up and carried her inside. I guessed she was probably 6 months old. She weighed about 25-30 lbs. I opened the back door and said to mom "Look what I found last night". Mom gasped and immediately jumped up to pet her.

I gave her a bath, found some old dog toys and put her out in the garage. I had to wait for dad to get home... no telling what he would say about her. Of course I wanted to keep her, but I wanted to find her rightful owner. She was so sweet and she had to belong to someone. Her tail was even docked.

Young Lola

The day after I found her.

Dad got home that afternoon. I went to the garage and sat on the steps with her. He got out of his truck and wasn't happy at all. I told him what happened and that I would post posters and take her to the vet offices around town to see if anyone knew her. Fifteen to twenty minutes later I worked up the courage to ask dad if the white dog could come inside. I don't know what exactly happened, but that dog ended up in our house that night and my whole entire family was in love with her that day.

I reluctantly packed her up in the car and went from vet office to vet office. No one recognized her. I posted posters in all the neighborhoods close by, on all the stop signs around our farm... no calls.

Days passed by and no one claimed her. She was mine. My very first dog. A dog to call my own.

The rest is history.

Our first picture together

Lola and baby Coal

I named her Lola because I just loved that name, but my dad wanted me to name her Poochie or Dotty. Well, I thought she looked like a Lola, so Lola it was! For the girls anyways... Dad continued to call her Poochie-Dotty. It was soon shortened to P.D. From then on out all the boys/men called her P.D. and the girls/ladies called her Lola. She answered to both.

She followed me everywhere I went if she could and she spun circles & circles when I got home from Auburn on the weekends.

When I moved home for good after I graduated, Lola was beside me every minute. Even if I walked from my bathroom to my room she was right behind me. I took her to work with me when I could and this year she came to work with me almost everyday at the RV Park. She became well known at the park. All the residents loved her.

She slept in my room beside my bed every night.

In her bed all covered up... her favorite.

Every single time I took a shower, she laid right outside the shower curtain and waiting on me to get out. If she wasn't right outside the shower she laid in the hallway cause she knew I couldn't escape by her!

She loved going out to the pasture and getting up the horses and she loved going on rides, although she didn't get to go on many because I always worried about her pulling a muscle. She was my "fragile dog".

Lola's favorite thing to do everyday was go outside and lay in the sun. Every morning she would sit by the back door and wait for us to let her out. She would jump up on the bench and lay there for over an hour.

Lola was spoiled and everyone knows it... but sometimes she was secretly spoiled.

this is Lola on the couch downstairs. Lola was never allowed on furniture, but I secretly let her get on the couch downstairs when I was watching movies or playing games. :)

This is Lola on Christmas morning.... in my bed with me.

And this is Lola sharing my ice cream with me.

All the way down to the end.

She wanted to be a red dog like her brothers. On this particular day, I wouldn't hesitate in saying that she succeeded!

This is how Lola often slept. How that was comfortable... I have no idea.

Lola and my Joshua

She was always by my side... no matter where I was! On this particular day, I was moving a tree out of flint's pasture.

On this particular day, I was taking an embarrassing picture to send to Josh to tell him how much I loved my new boots! Lola... right there watching me.

And this day...

I got made fun of on facebook for posting this picture, because most of my family and friends that have been to my house were well aware that this was taken from my toilet. She really did follow me everywhere.

These next couple of pictures are the most recent pictures I had taken of sweet Lola Belle... Such a pretty girl.

and more pictures of Lola...

Out in the pasture...

Being a hoot.

With her dragon. Her favorite toy.

With her pearls on. My diva.

After a day of playing with her brothers. I didn't even think this was my lola! Thought it was a stray!

The first time Lola went out to play in the snow... she decided she didn't like it.

But... it quickly grew on her the next day!

Such a pretty girl..

Enjoying Boca Grande beaches

That is almost disturbing... but she was having a blast.

Me and my belle on the beach.

Lola and her brother, Latch.

Lola at one of many many pig shows

The face I saw every day.

And another

And another...

the face that gave her her nickname 'Gremlin'

Lola visiting her boyfriend Noah at the vet.

Another playday.

Waiting by my side..

Me and my lola belle.

At her daddy's (Josh's) apartment

At the beaverpond.

Being a doll while Blair plays with her in her bed.

Kisses.

Lola taught Coal kitty how to be a dog fairly well!

She and Cutie pie always by my side in the pasture!

That cute ear.

Lola going on a ride! Another favorite.

and another ride.

All her brothers.

And in memory of Lola... I put together these frames and hung them in my room.

Five years wasn't enough.

I miss her and think about her almost every minute I am home.

I miss her waking me up every morning... The yawns with high pitched squeals thrown in the middle. The whinning she did that got me out of bed in the morning. I'll miss how she use to bound in circles in front of the door when we were going on a ride, how she would push her nose up against the door when you opened it to let her out- like she couldn't get out fast enough!

I'll miss her barking at every single sonic boom. Even when I'm trying to sleep for night shift.

I miss those clicking of toenails on the floor behind me and I miss her being on her bed next to mine.

I miss her polka dotted ears, her polka dotted toes, and her polka dotted tummy...

I'll miss pointing at her saying bang and her falling over playing dead..

I'll miss saying 'get em' when my brothers come in and Lola running up to them barking like they were burglars and then running around wagging her tail like she didn't something awesome...

I don't know how long I will be pulling little white hairs off my clothes or how long they will be in the carpet of my car.

I don't know how long I will leave her bed in my room on the floor... probably forever.

Her collars are on my dresser... her toys in the bucket...

and her memory in every room and every step I take through my house.

I miss you Lola... and I love you so much.

I'll miss and love you every single day of my life... and I know everyone else will too.

Even your short stubby tail and your lonesome eyebrow.

Love you Gremlin.

Heartbroken.

2012-06-22T14:38:00.002-07:00

I posted about this little mustang pony that I was training a few months ago. His name is Buck. He belongs to my neighbor, Chad, and I adopted him onto my farm so that I could finish up his training and, honestly, to begin my great plan of kidnapping this little fella.

I call him Bucky Boy, Buckaroo, and little man. I called him anything really that was cute, because honestly, he's the cutest horse I have ever known.

Buck's first trail ride.

Slow and steady was always the beat of his drum.

His girlfriend Rose out on a trail with him.

Me and Buck a few weeks ago.

Such a spunky little thing.

I woke up this morning and found out that 'my' sweet, precious Bucky had been hit by a truck.

First stage of grief set in, denial.

I said "What?! No!"

I couldn't believe it. Not Buck. Not a horse off of my farm. Not sweet Buck.

My horses have NEVER gotten out in the road unless I was on them. They never get out of their pasture unless I leave the gate open on accident.

All gates were closed last night and the electric fence was on. I had just ridden the day before and I know I closed the gate by the road that is my pathway around our cattle gap that introduces you to our driveway. I don't know what happened, but we are assuming he jumped our four board-over four foot- fence that faces the major highway we live on. There were no tracks in the driveway leading up to the cattle gap, and there were no breaks in the fence that he could have gotten out of. It doesn't add up. Even if he did get out and get into the road, where he got hit doesn't add up to where he could have gotten around the cattle gap. He jumped the fence.

I had just ridden him the day before. Our first bareback ride out of the pasture. He did so good. Like always. He always was perfect. He was always so sweet and loving. Why do all the perfect horses have freak accidents? I just can't understand WHY he decided to jump out and get in the road. He has almost 100 acres to roam and he wants to jump out of it.

I talked to the man that raised Buck earlier in the year and he told me that Buck's mother is a full blooded Mustang whose bloodlines come from a long line of Mustang horses. We all seem to think that has something to do with it.

That little horse would plow through every weed, breyer, and yucky grass blade in site. He ate anything!

Apparently he also wanted to roam like a Mustang does. Chad acquired Buck for free after he kept escaping out of his former owners pasture...

That little horse belonged in the wild with all his ancestors.

Now he's there. Running free on as much land as he can carry his little hooves across.

I loved that horse as much as I love my own horses. I wanted to kidnap that horse and make it my own. I will surely miss that little flaxen mane and tail out in my pastures... and I will miss counting up to six as I drive on and off of our farm.

Love you Bucky.

A Father's Day Kinda Post!

2012-06-17T08:36:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day, Dad!!!

We love you!

Dad, Ashlee, and Linsey

Dad and Alex

Dad and Me

Dad and Hank

Dad and John

Chickens Galore.

2012-06-16T16:14:00.002-07:00

So if you have been keeping up with my blog and read my past two posts, you know I have 42 baby chickens.

My mom and I have wanted chickens for a while and both of my sisters have chickens, so it was only fitting that we have chickens too!

Plus, we live on a farm. We have cows, horses, dogs, cats... we need chickens!

Now we got em!

We got some feather footed Cochins! All different colors. Ironically got two of each. These are what they call straight run... we don't know what they are and I hope we don't have any roosters! (yeah right.) Ashlee ordered ten straight run cochins last year and got NINE roosters. What a joke.

Buff Orpingtons

Silver Laced Wyandottes

Barred Rocks

Americaunas

Production Reds

and Speckled Sussex

The above pictures are no longer accurate on their size. They are getting HUGE! They have all their wing feathers pretty much and they're all flying around the watermelon box.

They are quite fluffy and they are learning how to roost!

Barred Rocks learned how to roost first. They got the biggest first for some reason... followed by the production reds, buffs and americaunas. The little cochins are still as fluffy as they can be, so they can't fly well yet! I saw a speckled sussex on the stick today, so the cochins will bring up the tail end!

I can't believe how tiny they were when we first got them. They are growing fast!!

I have been slowly desensitizing the dogs to them day by day. Lola was first and she deserved a big wap on top of the head after going after the first one I put on the ground to show her. She went over to the car on the other side of the garage and laid down. I took a different chick over there and she just turned her head away saying 'how dare you put that in front of me'. It was so funny!

Latch was next, he also deserved a wap on top of the head. After that he never has messed with them again. He even let one barred rock chick jump all over his front legs and paws, just staring at it the whole time. Such a sweet heart.

Cutie pie... she's a different story. She LOVES babies. So, I haven't had to worry about her YET. I know for a fact she looooves to chase chickens... Poor chickens in the middle of our horse ride were tortured a couple of times, but never killed. She is pretty much deaf all around and can't hear very well when you tell her 'No'... we'll see how that goes.

I showed Tug his first chicken today and he must have learned from Lola and Latch's hits they got not to mess with the chickens! he's pretty smart! He just looked at it and turned around like it wasn't very exciting.

I even try to entice them a little by picking the chick up and letting them flap their wings back to the ground... the dogs don't bat an eye! So hopefully we will be set on the dogs and chickens relationship! No dead future chickens I hope! If they start chasing the chickens... I'm going to get one of those nifty shock collars and zap their little butts.

That's all that is going on right now! Just trying to get these baby chickens out of the garage! Our coop will be here by next weekend!! It was built by David's Chicken Coops. I'm really excited about it! It is going to be verrry pretty! We will have to build the 'run' off the side and run water to the pen, then we will be all set to put the chicks in!

Once I can let them out when they are bigger and I have my twenty of the forty, I will take pictures and post names! :)

Photos

2012-06-06T20:08:00.001-07:00

A few photos to sum up the past month

Picture I took tonight on the way home...

My precious little baby that had to be culled. :(

New Necklace

Early morning leaving for work

Lola belle

My love.

Lots of this!

little baby!!

Our house. Typical site.

Opie!

Sister

Baby Faegan!

and lastly... my favorite meal!

The Last 30 Days

2012-06-04T19:38:00.001-07:00

I have been BUSY!

To sum the past 30 day so of my life up... amazing!

There has been a lot of anticipation on my side of things.

Josh and I were waiting for a trip to get here. We made a six day trip down to Boca Grande, FL to visit my grandfather and boy did we have fun! I love going on trips with him. Everything is always perfect.

We got to go TARPON FISHING! :)

I hooked a tarpon at 8:26 and fought him until 10:18. I handed the reel over to Josh only to get it back 20 minutes later to reel him in the rest of the way. Over 2 Hours of fighting that fish.

The fish was giant... 150lb

Come to find out... we had such a hard fight because he was Foul hooked. Oh well it was fun anyways!

Pictures don't do him justice....

Wish I could have gotten my hand in the picture.. he could have eaten it.

I also was anticipating the arrival of 40 precious little beings.... 42 to be exact.

Aren't they precious!! I love them. Half are mine/mom's and half are my sister's.

I was also anticipating some check offs for nursing school. Check offs that kept me in the program. I passed so no worries there!

I have been able to do a good bit of riding as well. Sweet horses are doing just fine!

Now I am anticipating a beach trip with Jaclyn and a 7 day cruise with my family and Joshua! It's gonna be a good, good summer!!

Possibly more time for blogging?! Possibly!

Mother's Day

2012-05-13T19:13:00.002-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to a terrific mother!

There is NO way to describe how much she has done for me and all my sisters and brothers.

She raise one heck of a family with the help from my daddy! Somebody had to do all the spanking... and it definitely wasn't her! :)

She is so loving and giving. We had some of the best Christmases around our house all because of her! She would hide all our 'good' Christmas presents inside the others and we would find them. She bought us our clothes, cooked our food, and kept us girls from dating looney boys.

She juggled five kids (twin boys at that), managed a business, cooks wedding cakes, caters weddings and events, and still has time to be the best mom around! Everyone notices it and asked us how she manages!

How?

She's supermom!

The best mom ever and I'm glad she's mine!

Thanks for everything you have done for me mom! You will always be appreciated and loved!

Happy Birthday!!!!

2012-04-18T19:57:00.001-07:00

He's growing up too fast.

Thirteen today.

Stop growing up, Flint!

Horse Problems

2012-04-12T08:59:00.002-07:00

I need a little advice from the fellow horse people in blog world. This I rarely ask, because there are so many different opinions and people chomping other peoples heads off, but I am willing to listen!

I have this horse.. (obviously!) and she is terrible. Haha!

Ok not really terrible... she just needs some major work.

She's just like her mother was. Spunky and wild.

Anyways, the problem... Sometimes she is hard to catch which is very frustrating. It is frustrating for all horse owners at times. I have patience and I just continue to walk after her where ever she heads until she finally gives in. I don't beat her or punish her once I catch her, I simply halter her, pat her, and walk towards the house. That can be fixed by just spending time with her- catching her, releasing her, catching her, brushing her releasing her. BUT then thing is.... when you do get them to where you can catch them and you start riding them again... that is where the problem comes in! They think, oh well if she is going to start riding me again I'm going to not let her catch me again! So... how do you fix this?!?!

This horse also has trust issues. I worked her in the round pen the last two days and she did great until the part where she is supposed to follow me around where ever I go. Some people call it hooking on. I let her go in the round pen and she turns away from me. I drive her away.. change directions.. and make her go the speed I want her to go. Then as she starts lowering her head/chewing/licked/relaxing/turning her ear in towards me I turn away and release the pressure. She almost (not almost...)... she never walks towards me, but she will turn towards me. I will walk towards her and she will let me pet her but it's like she is scared of me- but my approach/stature is a relaxed as I can be. She is really tense and holds her breath, but as she relaxes I will turn away from her. She usually takes off running or walking again by herself. After a while she would let me walk up to her but she would never follow me. It was just frustrating me because I've never had a horse not follow me and I honestly don't know what to do about it.

So, what would you do? Would you continue catching her and loving on her, would you work her more in the round pen? Would you sack her out or something similar to get the scary mode out of her?

I'm at a loss. Sort of!

I'm going to go out and catch her in a little bit and just rub all over her and be sweet to her and let her go.

It also doesn't help that I have 5 other horses running around with her egging her on!

Ironic?

2012-03-28T07:14:00.001-07:00

Am I the only one that thinks it's ironic that the last post I have posted before this one was about how I had so many jobs?! THAT is how busy I am. I have no time for my camera (sadly) and hardly anytime to blog! I try to spend all my extra time with my horses and Josh and friends.

I have ridden a good bit lately and have been able to keep all my horses in pretty good shape! (Not skinny wise, just riding wise!) My horses are forever fat.

I think I can scrounge up some cell phone pictures that have been taken over the past month.

I found out that my dog loves me very much. I'll be coming down the driveway and once I hit the pavement he comes BOUNDING across the yard like a little deer and promptly puts his butt down right outside my door until I step out... then he showers me with kisses. He is so sweet, that Latch.

I already told you I went riding a lot. That is me up there in the front and then Josh's friend Cody and then Jaclyn is taking the picture. Josh and Cody were on spring break a couple weeks ago and Josh had to stay in Athens to work. Cody came home and he spent a lot of his time with me riding horses and just hanging out over his spring break. Josh was very very missed, but it was nice to have people to ride horses with all the time!

Cookie helped me clear a dead tree off of Flint's pasture trail. When I say help, I mean she sat on a log and watched me.

Another pony ride! Cody, Jaclyn and Katelyn. And my baby's ears! :)

I love this horse.

And this is my newest friend and favorite coworker! Rosa :)

She looooves riding horses and she is a natural!

Another day of riding with Cody! haha

I think he came a total of 4 or 5 times in one week. We are pretty much bffs now.

And this is Buck. The little mustang/quarter horse I am training for a neighbor! He is so pretty! He was running along side of us when we were riding up the driveway one day... getting his exercise!

Here is a picture of Buck out on a ride!

And... Last but NOT least.... Boyfriend :)

I visit him as much as I possibly can. If I don't have to work on the weekends... I am most likely going to be in Athens with him! No place I'd rather be! I won't see him this weekend :( I'll be working night shift... but I will see him next weekend when we head to the Masters! :)

So that is about all I have been doing! Horses, friends, and boyfriend!

I'm just too busy to really document anything on this blog without doing a dump of pictures!

Plus, you don't want me to document my hospital job.... I will though.

Pee, poop, and food trays.

That about sums it up! :)

Haha I'm kidding! But... not. I can't believe how well I am able to put up with some things. I could hardly clean out a dog kennel without gagging when I worked at the vet, but I can (most of the time) clean up anything and be perfectly fine with it. There is also a little more that goes with it! Like meeting patients and getting to make them feel better by simply giving them a bath or washing their face. It is amazing what little things we take for granted until you can't do them for yourself anymore.

I love my patients. All of them. They are so sweet and they love the attention I give them. Some of the people that have been working there for a while always say 'come on, hurry up, move along, we have stuff to do, we don't have time to sit here and talk!'... but, that is ALL those people want... someone to talk to for just 2 or 3 minutes. I always just stand there and make a little conversation and tell them that I can do anything that they need. I promise you my patients are more willing to do things my way when I spend that extra 3 minutes talking to them and treating them like a person instead of a patient. Plus, being nice pays off!

Not only do I love my patients, but my patients love me. I get non stop compliments and that just makes a person feel good about what they're doing. Not only do I get compliments on my work ethic... I get them on my personality and looks. My hair is a big hit. Everyone loves my hair. The cute little old lady I had yesterday would say every time I came in her room, "Hey darling! What took that pretty face of yours so long for you to come back into my life?!" She was so cute!

I also had an older man tell me the other day as I was giving him a bath that he didn't want me to have to do that, because I was too pretty to wash him up. He said, "I guess we will have to take that plunge, huh. Well, I guess I'm okay with that because I'm sure every man in this county would like you to wash them up and I'm just the lucky one!" Hahaha! It was so funny because he didn't mean it in a pervert-ish way, he was just trying to not make it awkward. It made me laugh! This patient was there for a long time and I had him every week. Needless to say, he was my first patient I said goodbye to and cried when I left that night, knowing he was going to be gone home the next time I came back to work. I was SO glad he got to go home! He was so sweet and genuine. He reminded me so much of my MeMa in a way. And, I never thought I would see so many people that remind me of her. I use to never get teary eyed talking to patients before she passed away, but now I do.

Now that you know what I do on a daily basis, maybe you can just imagine I write a lot of blog posts about it! :)

I am off to work. This weekend I will be on my first night shifts... then Sunday I leave for the BEACH!!! I haven't been to the beach in years! SO excited!! :)

New Job!

2012-02-29T18:04:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a 'no pictures' kind of post! Sorry! I think it's my first one in a long time, but I don't have anything great really to show you....

Just tell you!

I got a new job!!

Well, 5 to be exact.

Sort of.

Pottery Studio, Dad's RV park, Hospital, biomedical waste disposal, and feed store.

Hospital job! Yay!

Well, I thought of one picture I could share! :)
My new badge!

I am one of our local hospital's newest PCTs. AKA, Patient care tech or Nurses Assistant. I applied in the beginning of February, got an interview the day after I applied, and found out I got the job 4 days after I interviewed. It was a blessing for me to get this job! A) money B) hospital experience C) I'll be able to transfer out to an RN position whenever I finish school!

I will be taking vitals and doing patient care in this job. It is 90% customer service. I am a big part of a happy patients!

I finished orientation today and will start my first shift Wednesday at 6:38 am!
I also made a new friend during orientation! A girl that is a PCT as well that will be working on a different floor, but we have a lot in common! She is only less than a month younger than me and she loves animals and painting! (I should get back into painting... if I had the time!) She acutally came and rode horses with me today. Of course she loved it! She is from another state so she doesn't have many friends here yet... of course me being who I am, I immediately told her about all the yummy food around here and told her to come over or call or text whenever she wanted. I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot more of her around!

About the other jobs. I still work at the pottery studio that I worked at 2 years ago. I am more of a fill in girl than an all the time girl.
I may be looking into taking a job driving a van picking up biomedical wastes. The guy that owns the company stays at the RV park and was telling dad he needed help, so I was volunteered and I think it would be pretty fun! It's supposed to pay well.
Then the feed store... I got a call yesterday from the manager saying the owner told her to call me to see if I wanted to work for them. I told them I would have to talk to my dad since one of the days they wanted me to work is one of the days I work for him! We'll see!!

So, I have 3 jobs. Maybe 4. Maybe 5. I hope not 5. haha! Probably just 4. Doubt I will end up doing the biomedical thing!

So that is where I stand on my multitude of jobs. February must be my 'lucky month'!

Blog Button!

2012-02-22T10:11:00.001-08:00

Introducing my blog button!

I made it myself.

Hence the cartoon child. Ha!

I'm going to get Josh to make me a sophisticated one.

Layers and all that photoshop talk confuses me.

Until then... Grab this one!! :)

I'll keep this one up as well.

What do you think?

Pet Photography

2012-02-08T19:47:00.000-08:00

Ever since my Mema died, I have been so upset of not having photos of us together. I wish I would have taken more photos with her and I wish I had MORE photos of her.

This is what made me decide that I need more photos of everything. My family, my boyfriend, and my animals. And then I decided I need to get an external hard drive.

Hey, there really isn't anyone taking pictures of pets around this town. Hey, I think that might be a good idea.

I pondered on it for three or four months... I fiddled around taking some pictures and I finally decided to just post some. Maybe people will ask for it, maybe people won't. Even if I don't take pictures of other people's pets... I can enjoy taking pictures of my own! I have plenty to do that with! I even asked Jaclyn if she wouldn't mind taking pictures of me and my horses. Just so I can have them. I would do the same for her with any of her pets. I only have one photo of me and my horse Scout and it is in a frame in my room and it has never been replaced as all the other photos have. I hold it very dear to me (even though it is a horrible picture of me! one of those self timer pictures!). If I don't have pictures with them, at least have pictures of them.

All I do is take photos of my animals anyways, why not do it for others?!

So enjoy!

All photos copyright of "MKM Photography"

Silly boy!

2012-02-07T17:14:00.000-08:00

Today after a nice relaxing ride on Flint... I was taking pictures of my horse because I think he is the cutest horse in the world.

This precious thing always acts like the world is coming to an end and that I have run him too hard. He shows this by yawning 20 times in a row. Then making a moaning sound.

I was steady trying to get a picture of him yawning... but I never really succeed. This is all I got.

But I kept on taking pictures anyways. He is SO. Dang. Cute!

How could you not love a face that cute?

Then the clever horse decided to do a little shake... the whole body shake.

and shook his saddle right off! He proceeded to turn around making sure the deed was done.

Then he looked at me as if he was saying can I please go get in my pasture now?!

I didn't get a picture of that look cause I was laughing so hard!

What a Cutie. :)