I'm a weekend kinda gal...................

What an amazing weekend!!! It was only semi-productive but the weather was beautiful!!

A group of us enjoy hanging out whenever we get the chance to.We throw going away parties, coming home parties, Christmas parties, birthday parties and just because parties!!!! We love to hang out, cook, drink a cold adult beverage, shoot skeet, and RELAX!!!

I do have to say however that it has been too long since the 'gang' all got together. So gals, if you're reading this we need to start planning NOW!!!! My husband and I did get to spend the weekend with some friends and had a great time.

The weekend consisted of...........................

guitar playing.....

a campfire.....

AND

an amazing dutch-oven

                                                                                cooked brisket.....

Such a relaxing, peaceful, weekend with great music, great food and great friends................(just wish the whole gang could have been there)...................

I hope all our friends know how much they truly mean to us. I found a little sign when I was out shopping with a friend that says "Friends are the family one finds along the way."

I'm fortunate enough to say that our friends are our family!!!! They are the best! Life is simply better with GREAT friends!!! I LOVE you all <3



                                          

Oh Beautiful Weather!!

What a beautiful day here in Central Arkansas :)

Spring time is my favorite season!! Makes me want to go outside, motivates me to do something, anything (other than spring cleaning) and is just a great time of the year! Well, it feels like Springtime is here today!!!! Hope you all enjoy the new look of the blog (yes, Pink is my favorite color), felt like we needed something to feel a little more spring like.

I'm off now to go enjoy the weather, play with my wonderful puppies and I guess try to tackle the job of cleaning out my vehicle (which I tend to try to live out of for long periods of time)......OHHH and it's also a beautifully wonderful day to try to get in some picture taking!

Enjoy your day, weekend and the SUNSHINE!!!!!!

Worry ends where Faith begins..........................

Faith....a little word with such BIG emotion, power and meaning. Over the years this is a word that has come to mean a lot to me. When you step back nad take a lock at the big picture of life, there is FAITH front and center!!! It's there in your work, friendships, family, relationships, marriage, and life in general.

Ever wake up and have one of those days where nothing balances, there's no equilibrium, everything is just out of whack?Well, I have these days every once in a while. Puts me in a blah mood for the day, like those cloudy gray days where you can't find any motivation. Just trying to get through the day or through the mood so life feels balanced again. I have these days every once in awhile. There's never any apparent or obvious reason for the day feeling like that or the blah mood but it's there.

When I take a second to stop and think about it, I think it's God telling me I need a littile boost back in my Faith, and to remember that it's through faith that I now have an abundance of Faith, Love and Cattle in my life. I want to share with all of you a few of my favorite verses. If you're havin' one of those kinda' blah days, remember one of these verses or find some that mean something to you and put a boost back into your faith.

The only thing that counts is Faith expressing itself through Love. Galatians 5:6

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

...And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted  beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

And now these three remian: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

PiCtUrEs...........................

I told you a while back I'd be posting my Flickr account info for you to be able to see some of the photos that I don't put here on the blog. Just click on the flickr link above and it will take you straight there!! I know some of them will be ones you've seen on here but I promise there's others!!

I'm going to be entering a photo contest in about two weeks and I need your HELP!!!! This will be the first contest I've entered and I want YOUR input. If you find the time in the next week (I'll be making my final pick next weekend), look through my flickr acount and tell me your favorite pic or two favorite pics (I may be posting more through the week). You can leave your comment on the photo through flickr or put a comment on this post. I need one  black/white and one color!!!! I'd love to know what all of you think!!

AND if you have an idea for a catchy, awesome, amazing, wonderful name for my photography hobby (business)...I'd love to hear it :)

p.s. I hope you're enjoying this AHHH-MAZING spring like weather we are having!!!

p.s.s My puppies are LOVVVVVVIIIINNNNGGGG it....

Cypress Knees..........hmmmmm........

I wanted to share some more quotes with you guys today since it's been a while since I've posted any. BUT..... before I do, I want to share a few pictures first. I forgot to post these with my pictures from our Dixie trip. I'm not sure how I forgot seeing as how these are probably my favorite ones.....

For those of you who don't know, these are Cypress Trees and the divided/separated portions just above the water line are called Cypress Knees. I have to admit---- I LOVE cypress kness! II was so amazed when I 1st saw these things. We have cypress where I live but you can't really see the knees on them. So when we travel south, to Dixie, the Delta, the swamps- whatever you wanna call it- I am blessed to get to see these amazing knees!! (yes, I'm kinda weird and probably the only person who thinks these things are cool)...

I think they are so amazing although I'm not quite sure why yet. I think it's because they are so unqiue. AND I'm weird like that....Anyhow, I made the hubby pull over on our way home so I could get some pictures of them and wanted to share. Hope you enjoy them! It's the simple things that entertain me! :)

So, now back to the quotes.....

"It takes about five years for a walnut tree to produce nuts, but this is not true of a family tree"

"My father never raised his hand to any one of his children-except in self-defense" - Fred Allen

"Adults are just children who earn money"- Kenneth Branagh

"Most of the men sitting in first class on an airplane have really boring jobs" - Rita Rudner

"Downsizing means you're about to become the guest of honor at a going-away party."

"I don't like the fact that doctors are referred to as practicing" - Janet Schwartz

Fill in the __________________________

I've wrote before about advice/tips I've read by Pioneer Woman about blogging. They are tips that are easy and simple for a beginner AND so non-confusing.

There is one that still makes me laugh when I think about taking it 100% serious and follow it...........it's the advice of "writing as if you're talking to your sister". Ok so, I have a sister and this should be fairly easy for me to follow. BUT if you've eer met my sister or caught just the slightest bit of a conversation between us you would see and understand where the humor comes in. Yes, I'm still laughing as I write this.

My sister: she's funny, witty, smart-alecky (is that a word?), blunt and most the time we talk about "inappropriate, gross, no-one else wants to hear about" topics. Even my husband has stopped asking for the most part what it is we were talking or texting about. He simply just doesn't want to know, or if he does ask, he immediately regrets when I answer.................

Now don't get me wrong we have intelligent conversations as well and we're a blast to hang out with. Right Mom?? Unless of course we're in public then its more of a scene we're causing and probably embarassing at least one other member of the family (sorry Mom, we know it's usually you....BUT it's because we love you sooo much!!)

Back to my point-----I was reminded of this advice from Pioneer Woman the other morning as my sister and husband carried on a conversation via text messaging...Their conversations can get just as crazy but they are so entertaining to me. I think it's because my husband is amazed at how witty, and smart and funny and well just how she is.....You can't help but love her.....

So as I've decided it best for you, me and this blog not to write like I'm talking to my sister, I thought I'd give you some keywords in most of our more frequent conversations.

Peanut butter                   alcoholics               armpit                 clown              naked                poop       

cheetos             Russia             dreams                 drinking           flip-flops           stain          hair
  
                                               constipation            bitchslap         tattoos       

Now I'm thinking I should have just started with a fill in the blank for you. I guess my challenge to you could be to use your imagination and form a conversation using only the above words.........and remember to keep it kid friendly...... :)

p.s. gotta go call my sister now...........

p.s.s. I think my challenge should be to have a conversation with said sister without using ANY of the above words....

p.s.s.s. I'll let you know if that EVER happens!!

....the Mighty Mississip...........

 

Well, we finally made it across the mighty river and back. The annual trip turned out to be just as fun, entertaining and eventful as all the previous years!!

I wanted to share a few pictures/highlights from the trip with all of you. And while the weather was a little chilly friday night and saturday morning by saturday afternoon we were enjoying 60-70 degree weather! YEEEAAAHHHH.....................

I'll be posting more pictures from the trip on the blog's Flickr page soon. I'll give the link when I get the pictures uploaded in the next day or two!

Glad to be back home but it's always nice to take our little trip to Dixie and visit old friends from all over!! More pictures from the road to come!! :) OH, and a few from our short Casino stop!


p.s. I did get to eat at my all-time favorite seafood joint.....known as Sal & Phil's (or Jack and Diane's to our friends).....

p.s.s. Sal & Phil have the best seafood ever...did I mention that???? Oysters on the half-shelf, royal red shrimp, crawfish, fried crawfish tails, fried crab claws, oooooohhhhhhhhhhhh wow......is it time for dixie again???

p.s.s.s. We also got to see some cattle....the hubby gave me lessons on cattle judging....

p.s.s.s.s  Still not a pro at judging...actually, still don't have much of a clue

p.s.s.s.s.s  Maybe I'll learn all about it in the next year...then....look out Dixie 2012 here I come...........

Shop, Shop, Shop 'til you drop........................

So I don't do a whole lot of online shopping, I leave that to my sister, who is a whiz on a computer and online shopping!! But I was emailed this website http://www.become.com/ last week and found it kinda handy. Now I know it's not truly one of a kind. There are plenty of others out there that do virtually the same thing. I also know that online shoppers like to have choices on where they shop (who doesn't!!).

The site has a number of different functions. Compares prices, see different versions, and shop anything from home and garden to automotive!! Okay, so I'm getting into the whole let's redo our house (well when we officially buy one!!)... BUT I do have those creative moments where I think I want to redo, refinish, rearrange , just be creative!! (note to self- i'm really not all that creative!!)

I do want to share with you some of handy categories/items I found on this handy dandy little shopping website.. My husband and I love to drink wine.. we love to have a full wine rack.... we have 2 different wine racks.... we have more than 1 set of wine glasses.... wine glass rack we have not... did find some cool ones here- wine glass rack................. or how about a mini-fridge to keep the wine chilled in...or beer (our normal beverage of choice)............. they even have college and pro team decorate fridge's (for those of you sports nerds!!)

So what we'd really like to have around our place would be a new pantry cabinet............we love to hang out in the kitchen, cook in the kitchen (if it can't be cooked on the grill), and we just don't have near enough room!! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.....a new pantry cabinet would be amazing!!! All shapes, sizes, and colors!! (It's probably a good thing the husband doesn't let me get a credit card!)
 Oh... and while you're at it... try shopping around for this handy dandy bread-slicer. Who doesn't like homemade bread?? And this would be a great addition for the pantry cabinet..oh and that homemade loaf of bread...

For those of you who feel guilty for all that online shopping just stop by here http://sports-and-outdoors.become.com/ and pick up something for the hubby and he'll forget all about all the goodies you bought for yourself!!

Enjoy gals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally.........

When I moved to the "south" I thought I'd never really have to worry about snow again. Ice- now that's a different story. I'd been warned that I'd experience lots of ice, but snow was rare.........
Well they were ALL WRONG!!! I've recently experienced my 2nd snow-in, in the last month and a half.  Now a day or two off work, spending time with the hubby and watching lots of movies is a great way to spend a snow day BUT....this time it cut into our mini-vacation, pushing back our departure time by about a day and a half...oh and cut out our casino stop....sad face here!!!!!
But...I can happily say that we've dug out of the driveway and are officially on the road...YIPPPEEE...(Although traffic is currently snailing along the interstate as we speak).....so hopefully as long as the roads stay clear and traffic is half way decent we'll be in the land of the "dirty south" by dark......

MCP Actions and Kelly Moore.......................

Okay guys...this giveaway is almost over but there are some pretty cool bags/camera bags on this website! check it out!!
Here's the website MCP Actions and search the blog for Kelly Moore.....

p.s. it's snowing  again!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where is summer?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

p.s.s. spring would work too........

.......girls.........

Girls weekend = success!!!

The hubbies were out of town so us girls (cattlemen's women) had to find something productive to do with our time. As you all know I had plans for a girls night....Well due to the horrible weather the whole entire country is experiencing and other issues...we had a girls weekend (yes I said weekend)..starting friday night about 5...ending sunday morning around 5 (that's really just when the boys got home)......

No boys were allowed.....except for my favorite little guy......he got to hang with us.....so it was chick flicks, desserts, tacos, homemade sangria wine (Thanks Pioneer Woman!), homemade pizza, and Baby Einstein................

Ok, so I'm pretty sure I cleaned my kitchen before the weekend started, and I'm pretty sure we cleaned it more than once throughout the weekend... BUT what's my husbands one comment......."what'd y'all do this weekend? Looks like you just partied all weekend..."

Okay so I guess we didn't finish cleaning the kitchen before the hubby got home..but hey...what can I say....He did get to partake in homemade pizza, no bake cookies and ice cream cone cupcakes with rainbow chip icing........



Did I mention I got to use our new crystal piece?!?!?!?!?!?
Isn't it gorgeous!!!????

So I would say without a doubt that the weekend was a success and sooooo very very relaxing.....guess I'll see if there's any of that cake left in the fridge now.......couldn't let it go to waste now could we..????

p.s. does anyone know how long alcohol soaked fruit will stay good for??!!! I think that's about all I have left from the Sangria :)

p.s.s. maybe I'll try chocolate cake topped with fruit....a healthy addition to a not so healthy dessert.....

p.s.s.s. Added bonus- they say wine is good for your heart.......the fruit was soaked in wine.....





.......she's country.........

So on my way home today the song "She's Country" by Jason Aldean came on...You know the song....Just makes you wanna sing at the top of your lungs and Praise the Lord that you're country!

Come on girls you know what I mean.....

"From her cowboy boots to her down-home roots".....just makes ya feel so darn proud to be from the country and for those of you willing to admit it to be pretty darn redneck!!

Country is just that...country...but it's so much more....freedom, open skies, no people, drinkin' beer, having friends over....just being you........ there are times that I think my husband gets a little worried about me and concerned over just how country/redneck I can be....... but.......

My husband and I are country, our friends our country, our families are country (yes sister, you are!!) We use the word REDNECK every now and then when we think people think we are OVER country... (see below)................................





Redneck...........beer (among other things) stays in cooler, no matter what the tempterature is outside........(don't mind our very very redneck porch in the background...although my husband would love for me to tell you all about it)..............

So this me proudly displaying our beer art one evening while I went to fetch us an evening drink...and YES I am wearing a "One Man Wolf Pack" t-shirt!! GO ME!!!!!

"From the song she plays to the prayer she prays. That's the way she was born and raised, she ain't afraid to stay country"......................


So gals....remember be proud and stay country!!!! Life wouldn't be better anywhere else.....(except maybe on a warm beach this time of year!!)

And when you hear Mr. Aldean singing this song; crank up the volume, roll down the windows and sing at the top of your lungs!!!

........pizza dough................

What an incredibly crazy week this has been... well not for me so much but for just about everyone else I know. As everyone knows, most of the country has experienced some dramatic, extreme weather this week. So I'm going to knock on wood right now and say that my little part of the country has not. We had lots of rain a day ago and lots of wind (which is unusual) but that's the sum of it for right now. Don't get me wrong there are parts of the state that got hit with the winter weather but I've been lucky this round.

My family and hometown on the other hand were not so lucky!! They were snowed in the beginning of the week and looks like they may be getting snowed in again!! In honor of them all being couped up in their houses,I thought I would try to have a productive evening. Okay, so honestly it was more the fact that I have company coming over and my kitchen needed to be cleaned and my laundry needed to be put up....and my closets needed to be cleaned out (this is my one and only form of spring cleaning).........and while we haven't gotten any winter weather it's still incredibly cold and all my critters water is frozen.......

Uggggghhhhhh, I mean ohhhhhhhhh the joy of.....breaking ice....even when it's just a trough and some little critters buckets......BUT we love them all and couldn't get rid of any of them so it's off to bed for this chicka because I should be up extra early to once again experience the joy of ice breaking before work and then back home for the joy all over again!!

Until then....................I'll be at the water trough..........

p.s. I attempted my 1st ever batch of home made pizza dough....(in case you were wondering about that title up there)....here's to hoping and praying that it doesn't taste like a bunch of flour, little bit of active yeast and a whole-lotta olive oil..............

p.s.s. Desserts are tomorrow nite...have I ever mentioned that I love desserts.......yippppeeee.....

......{Pistola's historia}........

As you guessed I'm finally getting around to telling you a little more about my beloved Pistol. Of all our critters he is the most well mannered and low maintenance of them all!! Although I think he does out eat everything on our place.



(This picture makes the poor little guy look cross-eyed!)





                       

Pistola's historia (Pistol's story for those of you non-spanish speaking readers)....ok so I don't speak spanish either, even after 4 years of spanish class.......but hey, we got the internet and it will translate for you!!!

Pistol's about 4 (we think) and we adopted him 2 years ago. My husband had just moved to Oklahoma (to be closer to me) and we had this big nice barn and well I thought we needed a barn cat... :)     Remember, neither of us are cat people BUT still a barn isn't complete without a barn cat. Right? RIGHT!!! So I showed up to work on Saturday after having moved the last couple days of the week and the girls said "we have the perfect cat for you". "He's orange, his names Pistol Pete, he's neutered and still has his claws."

I was sold instantly!!!! Mind you, I haven't seen or met the cat yet! I called the couple that had this beloved orange cat and arranged to pick him up after work. Of course, this was after so nicely and sweetly asking my loved one if we could have him......After my selling line (the one that sold me) "He's orange, his names Pistol Pete, he's neutered and still has his claws", he was hooked too.....or rather, just didn't want to tell me no.. BUT anyhow we were going to own a cat! And a barn cat at that!!!!

My beloved feline friend wasn't sure of me at first. I found him at his current residence curled up on a huge king size (adult) bed in a bedroom all by himself! What a life!!! THEN I uprooted him and put him in a pet carrier and transplanted him to the country!! The transition wasn't too long or too bad (although I did have my own stress melt down once) (that's a whole story in itself)....

 BUT, within days Pistol was right at home and loving the country life.

After spending the last two years with this cat we've learned a little about him ourselves...

He acts like a dog........

He likes to do chores with me.......

He's a mouser, red bird hunter and snake watcher.... The cat is fond of snakes....I found this out the hard way (yet again another story, which may never be told)..................................

He's fat...................................

He looks like garfield.................................

He's a wanderer.................

He purrs very, very, very loudly......................................

He doesn't like to be in the house long........................

He loves to eat....................

He loves me.......................

He loves my husband too..........................

He does NOT love our Australian Shepherds............................

After writing this, I've learned that this darn cat has lots of stories!!!!! But I love him all the same...

..........psssttt..................

I received the following recently in an email. And oh how so many of them are true!! I promise you at least one of them is bound to make you laugh!!  I'm not sure of the origin of the list but I do know that I'm sure glad it was passed to me! Thank you Mrs. Creasy!!

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!!

ADULT TRUTHS

1.       I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2.       Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3.       I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4.       There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5.       How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6.       Was learning cursive really necessary?

7.       Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8.       Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9.       I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10.   Bad decisions make good stories.

11.   You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12.   Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13.   I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14.   I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15.   I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16.   I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

17.   I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

18.   I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

19.   How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

20.   I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front.  Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

21.   Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

22.   Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

23.   Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

24.   The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important

p.s. the weekend is almost here!!

p.s.s. did I mention I'm spending the rest of this week shopping, cooking and cleaning for our girls slumber party this saturday!!

p.s.s.s. I'm sooooooooooo excited for our slumber party!!! Homemade pizza, sangria wine, cookies, brownies, and chick flicks!!

p.s.s.s.s. I promise I haven't forgotten I'd share Pistol's story with you! And oh you're going to love him and want him (everyone does)!!!!