I'm for AMERICA

I'm a passionate American!
 
I don't really care which 'party' runs our government ....I care what they are doing for America and the American people.   This great country belongs to every true American.

We need to be a country with closed borders....like everywhere else.   We need to get our heads on straight and learn to fly right ( just had to add that....those were my mom's words when I was a kid :).

What our government does SHOULD be in the best interest and welfare of the American citizens.....the ones who work and pay taxes....

I'm all for embracing with open arms people seeking safety on American soil.......refugees escaping a horrible homeland situation.   But embrace them legally, put them thru the process, give them paying jobs.....not welfare.......no medical without earning it...

SO SIMPLE REALLY---------

Reward the slightest try...........no reward for no try.
Ask and then Promise :)   Don't ask 749 times!
Meet the resistance and up it 4%.......don't sigh and give it away :(
Give crimes harsher punishment.  
If you steal over the age of 18.....lose a finger.....2nd theft......lose another finger............I do believe stealing will slow down.
Rape proven by DNA gets 50 years.
Murder gets the death sentence.   Too bad ... not sad!
Stop gun control........let citizens protect themselves.

Let's get back to being a REAL country with REAL honest to goodness laws to protect the people of our great country.

It's TIME to stop protecting the criminals and get back to protecting the victims.  

My Spring has Sprung

I really think my back would like me to stop hurting it.  I was climbing on top of the 6 foot paddock fence behind the barn at 11:30 pm... hanging on with one leg and leaning out to aim my flashlight up and into a crevice to spray wasp foam into it..........I got it good.........searched around with my light and found two more above me.......sprayed them, too.  But foam and wiggling, dying wasps were beginning to drooooooop down towards me and I .....mmmmm, well, I kind of pushed off in a sort of dismount from the fence.......still holding onto the flashlight and spray and ....well, I didn't land on my feet.  My neck, spine, and hip got some serious realigning. Sorry body........I need to begin treating you like the worn out, tweaked 65 year old body you are and stop thinking I can still hop off a 6 foot fence and spring off in a sprint when I land.  My bounce has gotten kind of flat :)

I LOOOOOVE these boots !

I have an update coming your way folks... I've just spent a couple of hours putting it together.....to catch me up here.  But first.... I just wanna say..........I WANT THESE BOOTS...  ohmygosh but wouldn't they be darling with long skirts and sweaters next winter :) Yes they would and I'm gonna have me some!

Have Camera ... Will Travel

Working cattle in the hills this weekend.  Last bunch for us for a while. 

Anyone want a working-cowgirl-photographer for their gather and branding....I'm your girl! 

I'll ride and help with the gather shooting as I go (I can do both), and photograph the corral work. 

I'm offering a discounted $100 shooting fee  (within 75 miles of the Sacramento area) and prints  will be available directly from my website. 

916-996-4437

Let me capture your adventures and hard work for you.......they're awful fun to look back on! 

In The Company of Cowgirls Art Show

I enjoyed being a participant in the art show in Pendleton, Oregon....IN THE COMPANY OF COWGIRLS.    The competition is tough because the talent is amazing  :)

And next week I deliver my juried photography/art to EQUINE DREAM ART SHOW at Sacramento's Horse Expo fine art show... held in June.

And also, delivering my juried photography to the CALIFORNIA STATE FAIR'S FINE ART COMPETITION.....a big yay for me :) 

I've always wanted to have something entered in a state fair ...ever since I was a little kid..............FINALLY :)

Thanks to all my family and friends who pushed me to do something with my photography.....I'm really enjoying myself and happy to be sharing it with the world.  Lots of people are loving it and that's what it's all about.  Any kind of art is for the love of making it and the joy in sharing it.

Make Life Easier and Happier

Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy – we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. Ready? Here we go:
1. GIVE UP YOUR NEED TO ALWAYS BE RIGHT
There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?
2. GIVE UP YOUR NEED FOR CONTROL
Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel.
“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu
3. GIVE UP ON BLAME
Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life.
4. GIVE UP YOUR SELF-DEFEATING SELF-TALK
Oh my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that.
“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle
5. GIVE UP YOUR LIMITING BELIEFS
about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly!
“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” Elly Roselle
6. GIVE UP COMPLAINING
Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, maaany things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.
7. GIVE UP THE LUXURY OF CRITICISM
Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.
8. GIVE UP YOUR NEED TO IMPRESS OTHERS
Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take off all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.
9. GIVE UP YOUR RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it.
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell
10. GIVE UP LABELS
Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer
11. GIVE UP ON YOUR FEARS
Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.
“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
12. GIVE UP YOUR EXCUSES
Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real.
13. GIVE UP THE PAST
I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.
14. GIVE UP ATTACHMENT
This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another, attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.
15. GIVE UP LIVING YOUR LIFE TO OTHER PEOPLE’S EXPECTATIONS
Way too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually they forget about themselves. You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path.

Fun Day with Horses Cattle Friends and Food

It was beautiful today.  Warm and sunny and bright and clear.  Too bright and clear for good photography lighting but stilll captured fun images of the goings on.

One buck off.......not bad for our group :)......there's usually one.......lots of fun roping and sideline advice and a nice bbq lunch.  It's just fun to get together with friends and family.

I wasn't in too much pain....if I keep moving my torn cartilidge doesn't hurt.....standing still is a killer so I kept moving for the most part.  Time will heal this too!

I'm thinking about making a list of all the things I've done to my poor body over my lifetime.  I have quite the list of inflictions.  Maybe it will be of some interest to a descendant one day :)

Well, I'm sleepy and tired and tomorrow.....er,, today.....is Sunday and I need to rest up and go to church.

Rest well!

Hello again.....since I'm already here and don't have to remember to click on my blog and write...because I'm already here..........I think I'll share a great crock pot idea with you.........I'm cooking it right now.  In fact, it's done and it smells SUPERB and I'm going to make some quick gluten free bread to toast and butter to go with it........MMMM starving here......but wanted to share it with you before I eat and fall into a satisfied stupor on the sofa in front of a movie while Hub gives me a foot rub.  He can be very sweet sometimes!

So.......a little canola oil and water in the crock pot.......chicken tenders (because they cook quicker than large chicken breasts)......sprinkle garlic salt over the chicken......layer 2 cups of fresh mushroom slices all over the top of the chicken.....slice one stick of real butter and set atop the mushrooms here and there, willy nilly, hap hazardly... or strategically......a whole 'pod' (as Hub likes to call it) of garlic cloves layered atop  and around the chicken and mushrooms........a large onion quartered and flaked apart and layered over this delicious concoction...... .......grinding fresh salt and pepper wherever you want as you build sumptious creation.....and cook for however long your crockpot dictates on high heat.  Or low heat.  Or medium heat.   I guess that depends on how soon you want to eat :)

Add your favorite sides and some warm buttered bread and ENJOY! 

Never use margarine.....NOOOOO...........YUCK...........always use real butter :)

My friend owns a dairy and she says so!!!!!!!!  And I like butter better!!!!

Enjoy!

BLOGS

Well, I will...one of these days........get to my blog every day. 

I'm planning a FUN storefront website where I'll have for your shopping pleasure some waaaaay fun things ...more about that soon:) 

Until then  ..... occasionally.....when I remember.......when I slow down  .....when I think about it and don't say to myself I'll do that a little later.......when I stop checking email....when I stop visiting and uploading and writing on facebook....when I'm done playing on Pinterest (which is way too much fun) ....when I set my camera down and immediately click on my blog before anything else...I will write you something terribly interesting and share incredible food ideas and post wondrous images I've created......right here.

I think 'the blog' is the most wonderful invention.  Who invented this cool thing called the blog?  Who did the first blog?  What's your favorite blog?   I have some fav blogs out there.......at the top of the list is..... Pioneer Woman....Paleo Mamas (and Papas)......Who's Your Granddaddy?.....A Year of Slow Cooking.........Photoshelter .....Gluten Free Australia...and so on.  I need to do a blog study one day and make a list of my 100 favorite blogs.  Then I'll share them with you :)

One day I will have... for your viewing as well as reading pleasure ... a really FUN blog!  That's designed in my mind alas I don't know how to do it myself......until then.......

Until then... check back to see what I'm up to.

For example, did you know JACK AND JILL is one of the most adoreably, funny and touching movies?  Well, it is.  I watched it today.  I was sad when it ended.  Freddy Printz, Jr is in it...Watch it :)

DEATH WOBBLE

I have an adoreably cute 2007 Jeep Wrangler but.... 'Jeep' has a Death Wobble.

I first noticed it a few months after I bought Jeep.  I was exiting the freeway to the right and Jeep began to shake so hard I couldn't maintain the turn and had to let off the gas and brake gently.  Almost didn't make the turn.  Since then I take right turns slowly and if the death wobble begins I back off the accelorater to stop it before it gets a good shake goin' on.

Last year, I noticed the Death Wobble start on the straight... when I hit 50 mph.  So I drove slower or sped up which oftentimes prevented the shaking.

Lately, I experience the Death Wobble just going down the road around 35 - 45.....sometimes... not all the time.  I back off the gas or brake a little and go on.

I'm not totally stupid.....its obvious something isn't right.....but Jeep and Hub and Tire Store have all told me there is NO Wobble going on... just because the little spin they took in Jeep didn't produce the Death Wobble right then.

So, what.......... they think I made this up????????????

Well, NOW the Death Wobble is all over the internet............THANK YOU!!!!!.........and Hub called to tell me...."Guess What?  You might actually have a problem!"    (hmmmmmmmmmmmmm)

Maybe I can get it fixed now!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!

GLUTEN FREE Are You Feeling as Good as You Would Like to be Feeling???

Consider the risks to your health and longevity if you don't give up gluten in your diet!!!

I didn't feel RIGHT for over 15 years.  I'd comment on it, ask others if they felt certain ways, wish I felt better, and couldn't imagine that the way I felt was 'normal' 

Well, eventually I got SICK and couldn't figure out what was going on with my body.  I went to the doctor and with ONE blood test found out I couldn't tolerate gluten and it was causing my sickness.

So, I began eating better but still got very sick sometimes and had weeks on end where I just didn't feel RIGHT and decided to find out more about this GLUTEN thing. 

I bought 'Living Gluten-Free for Dummies'.......those good ol' informative books.......and I have to say I was pretty shocked at what gluten was doing to my body.  Believe me, it isn't just what you're feeling that is going on.  Your body is in a WAR ZONE and damage is being done.....children'stooth enamel defects..... toxins in the body causing acne, rashes, hives, etc....Chron's disease.....diabetes......systemic lupus.....ulcerative colitis.....ADD/ADHD.....Autism.....Depression and Bi Polar Disease.....anemia.....osteoporosis.....brain and spinal defects in children whose mothers eat gluten diets.....tingling.....seizures..... cancers.....internal hemorrhaging.....organ disorders.....cystic fibrosis.....Neurological disorders.....and so on.......

People with Type 1 Diabetes often have celiac disease even if they don't realize it.  There is an internal war zone going on damaging the body......managing BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS is much easier on a Gluten Free diet.

Anyone who goes Gluten Free will enjoy much improved and even optimal health.

HEALING begins  the day you stop ingesting Gluten!!!!!

I LOVE CALIFORNIA WINTERS.....most years

Well, it's so pretty here right now.....sunshine, cool temps, damp rather than dusty, no flies or wasps or bees, muddy horses but oh well there's always something, green as far as the eye can see, and spring is around the corner.  Love it!

Hub and I went to the movie today......Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.....WOW is pretty much my thought on it.  And since I'm all about love and kids and being a thankful parent and people being happy and feeling like they belong.....well, this movie is so emotionally intense but so beautiful.  I just love it!
Hub said he was lost at times but then he does't hear all the dialogue and you really need to listen and follow it.  He liked it a lot anyway.

Tomorrow we're gonna keep right on playing and check out friends and Western Art and cowdogs and ranch geldings up in Red Bluff.....a day outing.  Can't miss it all together!!!

I'm WAY sorry to say I didn't even know about the Art Show or I would have participated.  I'm really bummed about it :(

I think LIFE is like RIDING a COLT

I think life is like riding a colt.....sometimes it's breathtaking and a real rush........sometimes it's peaceful cruizing across the land....and sometimes outta nowhere you get dumped on your head. It hurts and it stuns you for a while ....but then you get back up and dust yourself off and get back on. Or you quit and are afriad to try anymore.

Well....so did winter last 4 days or what?  Spring is here, its warm and sunny outside.  The mud is drying.  It's almost February.  JK I hope!
We sure need a lot of rain this spring.  Like the mud or not.....let the rain come back and stay a while.

Thank You Zack

Today was a very good day here at the ranch.  My grandson Zack dropped by for a while and did a project for me.  He dismantled two dividing fences of panels in four paddocks making two larger ones.  Then we drug the panels to a new location behind the Ranger.  Tomorrow we set the panels up creating a new turnout, grazing area.

It's just so nice to have an extra pair of hands and a strong back sometimes.  And it's lots more fun working with someone :)

SURPRISE......I'm already back :)

So last night here in California we got drenched and tossed about by mighty winds.  In Utah my granddaughter's pet bird had night frights and lost her flight feathers from 'fear'.
Wow!  What was the weather like in Utah last night?  I'll be calling to find out.

My sweet hubby is having a birthday soon....65......and I think old when I see that number but I don't think old when I see him......or me.    Whassup with that?  I'm stunned we're that old, that we've lived that long......and very thankful for it. 

My life has covered the range of happenings and experience and dissapointment and joy and love and saddness and I feel like I've been around for.....oh, about 350 years or so........but overall I'm very thankful for the life that has been mine.  It coulda been a lot worse, for sure.

Well, I'm stalling.....its very cold and damp outside and I have to bundle up and go feed and do laundry and shower and come back to edit some photography.  Life is good!

I'm thinking I need to study blogging :)

I love to write but I drop my comments on FB randomly rather than write here on my Blog.
But I will work on that. 

I will be sharing Aspirations, Beliefs, Comtemplations, Decisions, Excitement, Fears, Gloating, Highlights, Inspiration, Joy, Knot tying, Love, Music and Meaning, Nurturing, Opinions, Poetry and Photography, Quading adventures and Quaint customs, Random Research Results, Shopping specials and Second thoughts, Tips, Understanding, Values, Works, Xcitement, Yearnings, and Zany news. 

i WILL be back........