A lot of BULL!

"Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction".

Don't know who said that but it's good advice. Speaking of bull, we'll be seeing them from the front, the rear and every direction. Saturday will be spent at the La Junta Livestock Sales Arena for the Reid Bull Sale. The Reids will soon be my relatives.

If you've never seen a livestock auction it's interesting. It's not a whole lot different in theory from art auctions. Well, ok, the BULL isn't exactly as serene or still as the still life you might see at an art auction. He's usually well "full of it"! They parade him into an arena and announce his attributes. A few hands go up, and so does the price, a few more...sometimes the auctioneer stops his chanting to pitch him up a bit. "Now, folks, this is a great bull, you'll be very happy with him. His offspring have good birth weights..." etc. etc.

My little girl loved watching this last year. She was glued to the action like it was a kid-tastic Disney presentation. It gives you an appreciation of what ranchers go through. You choose a good bull, you get good calves, you get a good price, it's good. A good life. It's a gamble. We take for granted just how much work goes into that steak on the dinner table.

I will post photos next week after the sale. For now, I must get going I have a lot to do.....and that is NO BULL! :)

The wedding dress fiasco!

I'm no spring chicken! I was married before but I'm excited about tying the knot with Boyfriend Chad or uh, now Fiance Chad!

Chad's never been married. So we're doing the big wedding. I actually like the idea of it because I never had much family. He's related to half the county and I think he's inviting them all. Yep, all of 'em. I jokingly refer to them as the "Kennedys of Cattle", mostly because everyone is related to someone who does the same thing for a living. They're ranchers and farmers. Don't take politcal offense please.

Yesterday I experienced a very frustrating, almost exasperating moment. I went to try on wedding dresses.
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee YIKES!

My helper was a nice girl who was fairly down-to-earth but it was obvious she'd been groomed in training to work the bride-to-be's ego. She brings me a size 10. I am one, usually. But at 5'10" tall and a muscular build, I'm usually on board with the idea of needing to go BIGGER! I'm a grown up girl and can take it. Go ahead and bring me your best double digit size cause I'm not going to spend my day feeling like a sausage.

She explains they run "small". I know...they are often European designers of wedding dresses and those women smoke and do NOT eat!

So bring it on out...the big one...yep...I want to be pretty but comfortable, is that too much to ask?
I ended up going with my first choice. Usually the gut knows...now if I could just get rid of mine....LOL!

Annie had a little lamb...

...ok, so that's just...well, dorky but the story is very sweet.
We spent the weekend at Fiance Chad's family's ranch. They have cattle and sheep and they're having babies now. So the gigantic Lincoln county maternity ward has sickness like any other.
Sunday morning a tiny lamb was brought in from the cold, weak, small and not doing well. We put her near the stove in a box and allowed her to warm up a bit. She looked helpless and alone so I couldn't resist picking her up wrapped in a towel to hold her close to me. If this was her last moment, she shouldn't be alone...no one should..but that's another topic for another day and frankly can't be handled in ONE blog. Back to the lamb.
I can't describe how it feels to hold a fragile life in your arms and I can tell you it feels like the best feeling on earth when you feel it makes a difference.
About twenty minutes later, she started to perk up and nibble on my neck and ear. She was looking for dinner. Along with my little girl, I gave her a bottle. She devoured it. When we put her down on the floor, she stretched her too long for her body legs and stumbled about. She followed me around the kitchen, almost like I had become her "mommy".
It was precious and sweet! If she didn't make it, she gave me something I'll remember always. Everything has a purpose on this earth only if for a short while.
And "Ewe" know it's true! ahhhhhhhhh that was probably just plain dorky....like me! :)

And there it was...

...the call in the middle of the night that most of us have received.
"Mom......I don't feel well!", "I'm sick".
My little girl is seven and has been very healthy all of her life so this is frightening.
I stayed home from work because it is ME and only me who can take her to the military medical care facilty to which we are assigned. It ended up being stomach flu and after a day of gatorade, rest and an OTC remedy, she's fine.

There's another woman involved....

...and her name is VISTA!
So Fiance Chad brought home a new computer and monitor, a much bigger monitor! This should be a good thing. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Windows Vista OS was such a disappointment and frustration it caused us to fight...really fight. I'm the webmast for KVOR so I need to be able to task that computer to do many things at once at fast speeds. I thought I had stepped into my time machine back to 19-97....wait, what's that sound.. grrrrrrrrrrrr beep beep beep, beep beep beep beep!
FREAKIN DIAL up! That's what trying to get anything done on Window's Vista reminded me of. URgh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today we are considering taking the computer back and trying to get something that we can use. Not to sound like one of those people...maybe I do, but if Microsoft wants to gain customer loyalty they'll create a product like they did with XP and stick to it. We don't need fancy upgrades, we need consistency and reliability. No wonder so many people will agree with me. I have yet to find someone who is not bad mouthing VISTA!

Back to running!

After taking some time off for injuries and various other excuses, I'm back to running. I bought a new pair of running shoes yesterday and took off for the Y. The first three-tenths of a mile came easy and then....not so much. I had friends and family offer some great advice on training...thank you very much. I'll keep you posted on my success!

Happy Birthday

So it just seemed like yesterday she was born. You'll hear moms say this time and time again when it comes to the Birthday of their littles. Hannah Elise will turn 7 this weekend! I cannot believe how time flies. When older people say this to you when you're little, you think it will never come. Time does not fly when you are a child. It stands still.

Maybe it's when our worlds get bigger that it all picks up speed....maybe it's just that NOW we are responsible for so much. There are many demands on our time and our attention. It makes it easy to look up and say "wow, where did it all go?". I took Monday off work to spend time with my daughter on her special day. Because there will ONLY be so many!

Plan NOT to plan!

Jim Arthur often asks me when I'm doing the traffic in the morning...Anne Boswell, what are you planning for the weekend?
I usually respond that I plan NOT to plan. Weekends are usually are catch up for errands, chores, cleaning, organizing etc. I usually go into Hannah's room and proclaim that I cannot find the floor which turns into a whole morining of "now, why are we keeping this?" LOL. If you are a parent you're nodding along with me on this one. She sighs in her "practicing to be a teenager tone" and cleans it up....a little.
I would love to tackle cleaning my desk today but like most Saturdays, I will cherish time spent with family. We'll cook together, maybe watch a movie, go to church tomorrow and have family game night playing Wii or the new Boggle game Han got from Grandma for Christmas. Plans for the weekend don't have to be expensive or require a lot of plan. Planning NOT to plan is the best plan. Now, are you confused? LOL!

Happy New Year!

So it's back to normality for a lot of us. What I mean is...time to take down the tree and put it all away until next year.
A lot of folks make new year's resolutions. I have before but I now look at it this way. If you need a starting point to do something differently in your life, fine, use it. Make a new year's resolution. But if there's something you want to change, change it any time of the year! There's no better time to do something than right now!
A friend of mine said he was resolving NOT to resolve. Good move! Make your positive life changes any month of the year, any time of day and tell someone about it. Research shows if you announce your plans you're more apt to hold yourself accountable!
Good luck to you...you know, in case you made those plans!
And Happy New Year!

The date is set!

I couldn't be happier. I never thought planning a major event like a wedding, much less my own, could be so thrilling.
Saturday, September 4th in Lincoln county, Colorado I will marry my best friend, Chad Taylor. I was able to reserve the reception location today, talk to a few people about music, get my bride's maids to say yes and I choose my color palate. I selected chocolate brown and green. The flower arrangements can be white and orange Gerbera daisies. I think it will look nice, casual, simple and be under budget! :) My daughter is going to walk me down the aisle. My father died ten years ago this February 9th. I'm excited to go through this process and just wanted to share it with you. If anyone knows a photog who will travel to Hugo, CO (East of here in Lincoln County), would you kindly send me the info?

I said YES!

I said yes to a question I had not really expected. Well, OK, I had an idea it was coming soon but didn't know it would be now. Boyfriend Chad asked me to marry him and gave me a ring on Christmas Eve! He presented me with a gift. I opened it and it was a photo frame...."uh, huh, I thought....so....". He then explained that we would need a photo of us to go in the frame...because I would be wearing his ring, then he pulled it from his pocket. yippee I jumped around like a teenage girl winning tickets to see Bryan Adams in concert with backstage passes. OK, I'm dating myself, I know. I jumped around the house so happy that I hurt my knee, and then my ankle.
I think we're doing it in September.

I guess we'll have to call him "Fiance Chad" now. Oh, and here's the story board of how it all went down in chronological order of course. A picture IS worth a thousand words.

Simple Christmas ...Please!

Look in the stores and while you're still donning your shorts and flip flops, you'll find Christmas trees. It's almost Christmas in July anymore.
The commercialization of the holidays is only getting worse. The season is bombarded with pressure to do more. Cards, parties, letters, photos, decorating....obligations galore.
I remember a Christmas when we waited until Christmas Eve to decorate the tree. We did so as a family. My Aunt popped corn we strung as garland and we brought out hand-made ornaments that had a history and a story. We did a tiny tree at her house and a big one with my mom.
Most importantly, there were memories. Everyone would tell a story of their favorite Christmas and would put an ornament on the tree. My mom would tell us again about her favorite ornament...it was a star wrapped in tin foil with a toilet paper roll on the back to secure it on the top. It didn't show and it didn't matter that our tree didn't have a Home and Garden Network color coordinated theme.
My other Aunt, Aunt Teenie, as we call her would prepare a big dinner....it's prime rib and Yorkshire pudding, cream cheese mashed potatoes and brandied flambe fruit for dessert. One year she nearly burned down the house with her elegant candles getting too close to a beautiful silk floral display. My cousin, Gordon, a retired Fire Chief, just watched in amazement with little excitement. That same Aunt, now a cookbook author, recounted that memory in her book.

So it's not what's on your tree, or under your tree it's what's in your heart. What do YOU remember about Christmas in your home? I hope they are happy memories.
Merry Christmas!

Hamster toy recall? solution offered

This past week there was another news story about another toy recall. It's a little toy hamster that is realistic...like a real animal! You can play with it and it jumps around in an interactive manner. Something about it is poisonous!
Funny, I was thinking our way of thinking has become a little well, ok, not poisionous but definately bent.
What is wrong with getting the child a real animal? A pet provides a child with responsiblity and committment. It teaches them to care for something. An animal is a wonderful companion for children and adults alike. Oh, it goes to the bathroom and makes a mess? I can almost hear my response comments now. Oh, if a child is too young they can't care of it. Ok, that's true, under the age of four, that is true. But most children are very capable of handling this responsibility after that age. My daughter has been in charge of morning animal duties now for two years and she's just six. She changes the rabbits hay and makes sure the water isn't frozen, and feeds him. She gives the dog his breakfast. She fills the cats bowls in the morning. I handle the PM Pet duties.
So before you consider buying some cheaply made, possibly soon-to-be recalled piece of plastic junk, consider making room in your heart and home for an animal that will bring you much joy in the years to come. There are numerous rescue agencies that have dozens upon dozens of furry creatures in need of a home! However, make sure you're willing to make the promise of caring for them for at least a dozen years.

Angry? Why?!

I read something interesting today. A large number of people under the age of 30 are angry. I thought it was a strong word to use. I don't feel like I can recall more than a few times in my life when I was "angry". Mad? Yes. Disappointed? Certainly! But "Angry" is a word my family didn't use much. For us, it always conjured up feelings of angst. If you were "angry", you were out of control because it meant that something had got the better part of you. When you hold onto anger, it only affects you...really. I mean there might be a few folks who receive the unpleasantness of your feelings at first, but in the end it's all on you. If you allow yourself to be angry you'll be the one carrying that burden around. Everyone else forgets it. After all, it's not their problem. Learn to understand the anger in your life, confront it and try to let it go. It will hurt YOU in the long run. I know...it sounds all new-age and everything but it works. Try it and e-mail me back with your success.
Now, I shouldn't tell you to "let it go" without telling you how I do it. Not sure this is the right way but it works for me. I try and have a "gratitude" moment everyday. When I feel fat or sausaged into my jeans, I realize that many much bigger women would love to be in my shoes. Speaking of shoes, when I feel clumsy and lanky because of my very tall height, I tell myself, many women would love to be taller. I usually can see over most heads in a crowd and turn heads sometimes and that's a true blessing. When I feel like I'm worried about paying my bills I think of the people who live in homeless camps who have nothing at all.
So getting back to my point on why I started this blog.....Angry? Really? Why?
Will you remember it a year from today?

Junior

Our family is dealing with a new kitten. awhhh he's so cute. Yep, he's that....awh he's so soft....yep, Oscar is a very soft little being but I had forgotten what sleepless nights feel like. It HAS been awhile since my little was waking me every two hours for the overnight feedings. Oscar is a little handful and frankly we're worried about the Christmas tree this year. He's probably going to climb it!