Life in the Boonies

Dennis Swanberg - Bengy and the Zipper

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:55:00 +0000

More Pictures of 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 01:37:00 +0000

Ok, I really stink at this blog posting.....for some reason, I can't add pictures anymore. Therefore, I give up.

Update....how original.

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 00:56:00 +0000

Well, so much for the previous post about my lifestyle change with healthy eating. Give me some gluten, Baby!!! Call me a rebel (some people do) but I'd rather do my own thing rather than have someone tell me what I CAN'T have or do! Besides, healthy eating made me FAT!

Mom is cancer free!!!!!!!! Thank God for that!

Let me just add a few recent photos I took to this little "update".

It's so wonderful to have some wheat for our cattle to graze this year! There really isn't much of it to go around here. It's been a dry season! Sometimes living in God's Country, Texas, you get blessings you probably really don't deserve!

I would like to thank my wonderful ex-husband (weird kind of oxy-moronish, yeah I know....very long story) and his smashingly, beautiful wife for allowing me to take their family pictures!

I think this looks very album-coverish.

Seeing as I can't add another picture to this post (???) I am going to end it. See next post for the sequel.

Total Health (well, almost)

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Wed, 26 May 2010 21:28:00 +0000

Well, so it's been a while since I have posted, I mean Really posted much on here. It's been a crazy past year or so.

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in December. Since then I have gone on a health crusade of sorts. I decided it was time to get healthy. After several visits to doctors and tests I found out I have chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgea along with suffering from migraines for years. Each time it was the same; meds were prescribed to cover the pain and to make me sleep at night. I took them for a couple of weeks, suffering the side effects and decided I had to do something else.

After lots of research, I decided to see a Traditional Naturopath. She changed my life by changing my diet. I am now gluten free, sugar free, and mostly dairy free. I do not eat pork, and only organic beef, chicken and fish. Guess what else I am free of? I am migraine free!! Also my fibromyalgea and chronic fatigue symptoms are much less severe. I have also found I have fewer problems with stiff and swollen joints since I have cut out sugar.

I know to get the total health package I would need to be exercising. It's just not a priority but I try on occasion. I borrowed my Dad's bike and road it through our pasture yesterday. I thought my lungs were going to explode and that my legs were going to fall right off. I really wish I had some motivation in the exercise department. I need a partner! A coach! A plan!

The Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free way of life is a real challenge. Finding something to eat is a real pain. I have just about had all the salads I can stand! I have tried baking using recipes from my Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free cookbook but so far, NOTHING I have tried has turned out! I'm frustrated to say the least and sometimes I just cheat a little...but never too bad. It's not worth it at all!

I am so thankful for my new-found health!

Cam and Kels

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:00:00 +0000

CamKels-156 copy, originally uploaded by krista_spitzer.

Senior Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:19:00 +0000

DeVoss_0101, originally uploaded by krista_spitzer.

I had the opportunity to take Dianne's Senior Pictures this past weekend. I was especially excited to learn that her family runs a dairy. Then I was thrilled that she saw the beauty in a dry pasture of grass, a beautiful sky and a herd of cattle....! And, she is beautiful, too!!!

Senior Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:15:00 +0000

DeVoss_0028, originally uploaded by krista_spitzer.

Senior Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:15:00 +0000

DeVoss_0017, originally uploaded by krista_spitzer.

Senior Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:14:00 +0000

DeVoss_0062, originally uploaded by krista_spitzer.

My Review of Provo Craft Yudu Silk Screener Kit

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Sat, 02 May 2009 14:14:00 +0000

WolfCamera.com

The Yudu screen-printing system is the easiest, cleanest way to let everyone know who you are - and how you see the world. Don’t settle for what everyone else is wearing or spend hours futilely trying to find a t-shirt that expresses the real you. With access to a computer and an ink-jet print...

Fun!!!

KSpitzer Photo & Design Texas 5/2/2009

Pros: Lasting Fun, Look Like a Pro, Long Lasting

Cons: Messy, Doesn't Store Well

Best Uses: Art, Scrapbooking/Cardmaking, Long Term Use

Describe Yourself: Quality Oriented

Primary use: Personal

I bought this to make my daughter's wedding invitations. That was probably a huge job to tackle without ever using a screen printer before, but after some practice I was very impressed! The quality of the detailed print is amazing! I mixed silver ink with black ink for a beautiful print. If I ever finish, I want to do some t-shirts.

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My Review of Provo Craft Yudu Emulsion Sheets, 2 Pack

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Sat, 02 May 2009 14:05:00 +0000

WolfCamera.com

Emulsion sheets allow you to reuse screens by letting you burn new images so you’re never stuck with doing the same design over and over again. Its no mess application with water not only dries quickly, but it also produces an even coat of emulsion so you can produce higher quality prints.

Gotta Have 'Em!

KSpitzer Photo & Design Texas 5/2/2009

Pros: Durable, simple to use, convenient

Best Uses: At Home, Minor Projects

Describe Yourself: Casual Do-It-Yourselfer

Primary use: Personal

I haven't found these for a better price anywhere! I couldn't use my Yudu machine without them. Sure I could get the liquid emulsifier but who needs another step in their screen printing process?

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Guitar Love

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:26:00 +0000

Guitar Love, originally uploaded by krista_spitzer.

Kolt went down for a nap after seeing what Santa brought. He sure does love his new guitar he got!

Christmas 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:19:00 +0000

The Family, originally uploaded by krista_spitzer.

Since I haven't been on my blog in FOREVER...I thought I'd share some pics from Christmas. This is from the Christmas at my mom's house. Here is Jay T, Kalee Lyn, Kolt, Todd, me, Kalie Rae and her soon-to-be hubby, Kyle. Let me go ahead and say I feel old having only one kid left at home, a grandmother and my daughter getting married.....lots of mixed emotions.

A Boy and His Dog

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:56:00 +0000

Boy and Dog, originally uploaded by krista_spitzer.

This is my grandson, Kolt, and his buddy Ghetto. Kolt was going for a stroll under the watchful eye of this protective Lab.

Grandson Buns

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:53:00 +0000

Cowboy Baby, originally uploaded by krista_spitzer.

Mimi's little cowboy!

Cowboy Kolt

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:51:00 +0000

Cowboy Kolt, originally uploaded by krista_spitzer.

This is my grandson, Kolt....and these are grandson buns. They just never get any cuter than that!

Holt

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:14:00 +0000

Holt, originally uploaded by krista_spitzer.

This photo was also made on the infamous family camping trip. This is another nephew of mine, Holt. He has Indian War Paint on his face. We found some on the hiking trail and let all the boys put some on. I had never seen or heard of this stuff before but if I were a kid I'd probably have put it all over me. That stuff's COOL! We found it on the back side of a cactus. It was white but when you rub it on, it turns red. I have tried for a few minutes to find it online but haven't been able to.

I used a Holga effect on this picture and left just a little tint. I forgot to put KSpitzer Photography on it.....oh well. I tell you, I'm a beginner! Just learning....wet behind the ears.

Ethan

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:54:00 +0000

Ethan, originally uploaded by krista_spitzer.

I took this photo a couple of years ago of my nephew Ethan. We were on a camping trip and the "big" boys had run off and left him. He would wail, stop and peak up to see if anyone was looking and just let 'er rip some more!

I thought this made a great black and white with the vignette effect around the edges. It sort of gives it that retro feel.

Fishing With Dogs and Boys

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:23:00 +0000

One of the most favorite things about our house here in the country is the tank that is just a few yards out behind our house in the west pasture. It has got to be one of the prettiest views in this area.

Sometimes I just enjoy taking the dogs down there to swim. It's funny how they won't go down there by themselves. They sure like to go when I go. Coon, my hubby's Border Collie, likes to just cool her toes a little then get out and either go back to the house or shade up under a tree. She doesn't hang out with the young dogs much.

Skip, my Jack Russell, will swim the whole time I'm there. He tries to rescue every stick that is in the water.

We have a new dog we named Ghetto. We named him that because the first two months he spent hiding out in our culvert at the end of our driveway like he was living in the ghetto. He's been kind of timid in the water but is getting better about it thanks to Skip.

Here he goes chasing frogs with Skip.

I stocked the tank with Channel Catfish 3 years ago and I have recently decided to start trying to catch those babies. I LOVE to fish. There just isn't much fishing when you have this much action going on around you.

It even wore poor Ghetto out!

I would cast my line and Skip would swim out and go get it. So I decided to try to take some pictures of insects and got this shot.

As luck would have it, my twin nephews Heath and Holt showed up with more more fishing poles.

Heath is a pretty serious fisherman.

Fishing takes concentration and patience.

Holt could fish until dark if we would let him!

And here's just a sampling of our catch!

Ahhhh.....Life in the Boonies!

Topomax (My Stupid Pills)

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:41:00 +0000

It would be very interesting to hear from someone else out there who has been taking this so-called wonder drug called Topomax. I call them my Stupid Pills. I've been taking them for almost 4 years now. They were prescribed by my Neurologist because I was having migraines every 2 weeks that would last for 2 days.

I had tried EVERYTHING for migraines and nothing worked....until Topomax! I take 125 mg each night before bed and now I rarely have a migraine and if I do, it is mild. Not too shabby, huh???

Well, it's not all that rosie, Rosie. Topomax doesn't come without a few side effects. #1 is plain and simply STUPIDITY. Let's just say it was a very good thing I had quit my stressful, high-paying job because I could not have done it. This stupidity side effect gradually tapers down over time but it never completely goes away. Today, after all this time and after getting a new job that requires my brain to work at about 65% I am asking my Gyno to take me off of them. You ask why I'm asking my Gyno???? Because for the life of me I can't remember the name of my Neurologist....side effect of the Topomax.

Let me just give you some more examples besides not remembering who my Neurologist is. Three years ago I sold our house and my hubby asked me to call and get all of our utilities turned off. I sat there with the phone book for 30 minutes and started crying because I could not remember any of their names. Now we lived in a very small town. There was only one electric provider, one gas provider, one cable company and one phone company. I just couldn't do it.

Another time I was at the grocery store and I wanted 10 pounds of hamburger meat. I started thinking that I couldn't carry a 10 pound package so I asked the butcher to put them in 10, 1 pound packages. We had 3 teenage kids in the house....we never cook less than 2 pounds at a time!!! What a genius!

To quote Jerod Poore from Crazy Meds "Topamax is best known as Stupamax or Dopamax because it turns you into an idjit on drugs. It really is a supermodel drug that will make you skinny and stupid. Your memory will go down the toilet. You will experience mild aphasia, the inability to recall the correct word for something or calling something by a completely bizarre name. Your thinking will become fuzzy. And you had best drink lots of water, because Topamax is not extensively metabolized, is a weak carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, and is primarily cleared by your kidneys, so Topamax will give you a propensity for kidney stones. It gives me a couple small ones a year. I've found that trace mineral supplements and omega-3 fish oils helped to deal with the worst of the cognitive problems like the aphasia and stupid memory tricks I was getting until I hit the correct dosage."

"For the first few months I was taking Topamax (topiramate) the intense and frequent déjà vu I experienced (one of the signs of temporal lobe damage) became jamais vu as the damage to the left lobe was being worked around. Jamais vu means the familiar will seem unfamiliar and out of place. Your stuff may not seem like it's your stuff for a few months. It may feel like people are moving your stuff around when that is not happening. I suggest not dusting to prove that nothing has been moved. Another weird effect is things seeming the wrong size. This will make grocery shopping a real adventure. So you come home with way too many carrots and not nearly enough potatoes, that's life on Topamax for your adjustment period. Really, those bizarre side effects just mean that the Topamax is working. Eventually it all gets straightened out and there's no more déjà vu and no more jamais vu and only French people get to see things in weird ways. "

Anyway....to shorten up a long story, I'm gradually tapering off of them and getting smarter all at the same time! Ooooo Can't Wait!

An Oldie but a Goodie

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:27:00 +0000

My husband has been roping calves competitively since he was 12 years old. He has roped at the Texas Cowboy Reunion in Stamford Texas every year for nearly the past 30 years. He has also entered the Double Muggin and won it in '97. We both have competed there as I used to run barrels. Our daughter Kalie Rae has also been the TCR Sponsor.

Since our kids have been so busy in their teen years, we have put our rodeo days behind us and put our focus on them and their activities. Lately we have found ourselves with a couple of kids already out of the house and extra time on our hands.

This extra time, and a cute little mare I bought has put Todd back in the roping arena. It also gave him a new-found youthfulness because this year he decided to come out of "retirement" and enter both the calf roping and the double muggin.

Todd called his great friend Jody Bellah to enter the Double Muggin with him. Jody had also retired from entering the Muggin but was still roping calves. It was to be the comeback of comebacks. Todd at 39 years old and Jody at 49 were going to "Show those kids how to do it".

Well here they go pushing the barrier like the OLD pros they are....a great start! Jody is the roper and Todd is mugging for him.

Here's where it gets really exciting: The dismount. Todd borrowed this horse from his dad who has borrowed him from someone else, who bought him from someone, who bought him from someone, etc., etc. Needless to say, the old guy is about 20 and has seen and done it all. Well apparently he has done a little bulldogging, too because when Todd got close to the yearling, Uno (because he only has one good eye) hit another gear and never slowed down for Todd to bail off! Therefore, I was not allowed to post the picture of Todd falling down and having to get back up to get to the yearling to mug. And they say women are vain....

Well obviously he got there and so did Jody!

They got her to the ground...

Tied her then celebrated! After mugging two yearlings, they now have a spot sitting 8th in the average coming back tonight in the finals!!! Wish these OLD guys some luck and that no one gets hurt.

P.S. The other guys who made the finals are not kids, either. These are they guys Todd and Jody have been mugging with for the past 20 years who made it back. They are all 40 plus years old. None of the young men (kids) made it back! They may be old but they are still kickin' it!

Oh yeah, and the calf roping? Well, we didn't fair so well, got out ran on the first one and Todd blew a stirrup on the second. He said all he could think of was how he was going to get off if he caught since he didn't have his right stirrup!

Tonight will still be exciting for us in the Double Muggin at the Texas Cowboy Reunion.

There's Stupid Written on my Forehead...

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:41:00 +0000

I'm starting to kind of stress about my money situation a little. Especially since my dear, dear hubby told my I was going to have to start paying for my own gas. Well, only 7 months ago I decided I needed one of these:

I've really enjoyed my 2008 Z71 Chevy Tahoe with the two-toned leather seats, satellite radio, dvd player and sunroof.

I don't even mind making the payments on it. But who would have thought that gas prices would have jumped up like they have? I failed to mention I commute 20 miles a day. Just little old me and a vehicle that seats 7. So now I'm driving this vehicle that I really like so much,

every day to work. The down side is it averages 16.7 mpg.

Now maybe if my sweet husband had not mentioned that he was now going to make me start paying for my own gas on top of my own vehicle I might just keep driving the Tahoe. But now I feel almost in a panic state to get rid of it and get something much more economical.

I know I have never mentioned on here but my 17 year old daughter and grandson live 3 hours from me and it has now been a full month since I have seen them and I am desperate to drive up there and see them. It is just so expensive. I've got to make a change.

This weekend I went to a Honda dealership to have a look around and had my Tahoe looked at by a used car buyer. Holy Moly!!! They were going to give me $20,000 less than what I paid for it! I flat wasn't in the mood to be screwed like that so I kindly loaded myself back up into my 16.7 mpg rig and headed back home.

My sweet husband has a very good friend who is a car salesman at a Chevy dealership and he said he can get me what I was wanting for my Tahoe. I sure hope so because while I was at the Honda dealership I found this:

MMmm, mmmm, I sure think it is pretty! It gets over twice the mpg as my Tahoe does! Its a 2008 Honda Accord EX-L coupe, 4 cylinder (not the V6). This is not a time for having V6s or V8s. That used to be very important to me but not so much....not now that I'm paying for the vehicle AND the gas!

Anyway, my DH also informed my that I have to pay for my daughter's wedding....so. Got to pinch those pennies.

Preserving Our Heritage

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:11:00 +0000

We bought a farm this year. 340 acres of cropland. It's what prevented me from putting in a pool in the backyard. This farm has been handed down through my husbands family for several generations. However, in order to keep it in the family, when my father-in-law offered it to us and after considerable discussion we bought it. We now own a piece of America. We are landowners. I swore I'd never be married to a farmer. Well...

Here we are making our very first wheat crop for the first-time-farmers we are. This is the first dump into the truck.

Oh yeah...good old America, amber waves of grain, our little piece of the pie.

This is the Commander in Chief....he's hoping this wheat crop will help pay for this heritage we "inherited". Ahhhh.....farming.

They Call Me Coon

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:05:00 +0000

This is my husband's Border Collie, Coon. She has decided she likes me more than him. She's about 11 years old now and limps around due to having been stepped on so many times by cattle. She lives to work cattle and aims to please. You can just see it in her eyes. I have also seen her chase coyotes away from the house on many occasions. She's so great to have around. Get ready to see lots of pictures of her. She's the only dog that will still let me take her picture!

Like a Virgin

noreply@blogger.com (Krista) — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:51:00 +0000

Well, a virgin blogger anyway...we'll just see how this goes. Yall bear with me on this. I'm learning. Your tips and tricks are welcomed, welcomed welcomed!!!