Things to do...

Find the gnome that keeps blowing out the pilot light in my water heater. Thought it was the wind, but not so much now when it happens 2x a day and there is no wind....stupid little bugger.

Make the chicken pen larger with chicken wire so they can 'free range' over more space, but not actually be in danger of my neighbor's chicken-killing dog (which by the way was missing this morning. I didn't do it, I swear - and I hope it's still gone when I get home today and they don't think I did it - cause I really didn't).

Cut more firewood

Get a farrier out here for my poor horses feeties!

Ride and exercise everyone!

Start the colt I'm breaking in trade for my hay

Clean the dog pen

Borrow a wheelbarrow and clean out the chicken pen

Take pictures for the yearbook of the Varsity B-Ball games Saturday night and Winterfest Dance

Win the lotto

Of course this is all dependant on weather and sanity.

YOUR Solutions!!!

I have the type of skin that's hyper-sensitive to EVERYTHING! I can touch my neck, get a red mark, and then deal with my students going, 'what's that? do you have a hickey?" and then I need to explain how my life is not anywhere near as exciting as that...unfortunately.

The stress from the last 4 months or so has been causing me to break out horribly. I've never been one for perfectly clear skin, but with this clean air and clean water out here I've never had many problems - until now. I know it's the stress, but this is getting ridiculous. I have tried a variety of products, but my problem is that anything that contains harsh chemicals aggravate my skin and make it worse, and anything I've tried naturally (some LUSH products, Neutragena, etc...) work well for a bit, and then it's like my skin becomes immune to it. So I do try and rotate certain things, but I'm getting a bit tired of making an art out of it. I've thought lately of home remedies and things that I can use that aren't going to cost me a billion dollars.

Does anybody have suggestions? I have combo skin. I never know if it will be too dry or too oily. I only use aloe as a moisturizer - everything else causes problems, plus it's soothing. Toners are too harsh. I need a good cleanser/purifier. I cannot use microdermabrasion - it causes my skin to become patchy. I do have a mint julep mask that I like and can use a few times a week also - but I find I really need to stay away from anything that isn't natural.

Help!

Identity Crisis

Make sure you look at who got awards below!

A few of my animals have identity crisis's (that word never does look right to me...)

Maggie the mustang thinks she's a dog. Dixie thinks she's a human. Maverick thinks he's superman. All the barn cats think they're dogs and come when I whistle. Izzy thinks she's a Rottweiler and growls when anyone come to the door. So naturally Wrigley had to find his niche right? He thinks he's a cat:

I'm a cat

I'm a Dog

I'm a cat

He 'problem solves' his way to the top of everything using anything that works as a step. Yes, he's on top of my bookcase sunning himself. That was via the dog bed, via the couch, via the papizan, via the window sill...

The Hamfatter Award

Okay folks - I know not ALL of you think I'm all that funny as I slowly loose my mind, but this here gal does - and has awarded me with the Hamfatter award.

The story behind the award goes something like this: Andrea decided to contemplate on where blog awards came from. Her sister said they were made up. So Andrea decided to make one up, and well, the rest is history because this is what she found out: The word 'ham' originated in the early 1880s from a song called The Hamfat Man. It was a black minstrel song about an awkward man. After that, people would use the term hamfatter when someone was trying too hard to be funny and not succeeding. That was ultimately shortened to the word ham. So she made an award featuring her goat Joe.

Yeah me right? Well, here's the rules:

1. Blog about the Hamfatter award, tell where the name came from (you can copy and paste, that is what I did!!)
2. Post the Hamfatter Award Proudly on your blog!
3. Pick 5 blogs that just make you laugh and link to them in your post!
4. Link back to the person who gave you this hilarious Hamfatter Award!
5. Let your blogger friends know they were awarded a little something!

So here's the 5 blogs I have chosen that make me laugh:

MiKael's Mania - raising horses and being nuts in the beautiful NorthWest! This blogger deals with serious issues daily and sees the humor in everything!

Nearly Green Acres - kids and pigs...need I say more?

Unrefined - work, 2 boys, 2 chihuahuas and an Etsy business...busy gal, but funny stuff when she gets around too it! I actually snorted laughing at a picture of her son while my students were taking a test!

BushBabe - An Australian mother and rancher - finding daily life 'down under' adventurous and funny. Oh yeah, and check out the Mystery Photo Contest!

The Virtual Couch - because she tells it like it is!

Okay - go out and laugh!

Lotto

Just go with me on this...

• I'm broke. Literally. I have $4 in my account until payday. I hope.
• No rich rancher is coming along.
• No really nice guy that likes the same thing I do is coming along.
• I'm stressed too.
• I stay in bed as long as possible each day so I don't have to start the count down to how long I can go until something comes crashing down (unfortunately Wrigley has me up by 6:30 each morning).
• When people say, "you never know what the day might bring..." They aren't kidding - and they obviously haven't met me or they might not use that term so liberally...

SOOOO....I think we need a lotto. I say I choose the categories in my life (teaching, house, livestock, the yearbook and woodstove may count as their own as well...) and we'll place bets on which disaster occurs in which category monthly. Send me $5.00 to get in the pot and we'll 50/50 it at the end of the month...depending on which disaster was the most life altering. If there are ties we'll have a tie-breaker (as I'm sure more than just one disaster will occur in a 30 day period).

I think it would be exciting for you all and would pay my groceries in the least...

What do you say? SEND ME YOUR MONEY!!!!

Update: guys, I have no money yet?! What gives? In response to some e-mails - yes this is a joke!!! No I have not gone off my rocker (though I may be getting close...)!!! But if anyone wants to take it seriously I'd be happy to take any money you have off your hands.

Strike of the Gnomes!

I seriously thought we had reached some sort of truce, especially since all my house plants had froze when the thermal coupler went out and they now had something to do....

I battled frozen pipes to my kitchen sink all day yesterday and as they thawed found out the drain also was frozen. What is so weird though is that it's been WARMER out and not near as cold as it has been!!! AND I always keep the cold on a drip....AND those pipes are tucked up under the house near the heat while the bathroom pipes are along an exposed wall and THOSE didn't freeze. Huh? The gnomes strike again....they were just waiting for me to become more complacent I guess. Also the damper on my wood stove broke and it's brand new. So guess what I'm doing tonight? My God I need a man...

Since my life is going to Hell in a handbasket...why not? Right?

So after hissing and running away from Bunni for a week, then following her around hissing at her, Izzy has decided Bunni is her long lost baby and has totally adopted her. It's hilarious. She tries to carry her around, follows after her 'talking' and giving good motherly advice....at first Bunni was like, 'what the hell?' - but now they sleep together and Bunni subjects herself to long baths from 'mom'. Izzy did that with Wrigley also when he was younger, but he's gotten a bit rambunctious for her lately so I guess she needed a new baby.

The SLV and the Craziness

The craziness first. Sorry - I'm not going into detail, because there is so much and it has made me feel so bad I don't even know where to start. Things are worse at school as I pick up more and more from the teacher that will definitely NOT be here next year. It's bothering me a lot though because I really like her and she was my friend. But mainly we think it's important that the students have learned how to write BEFORE they graduate. Go figure.

Also things are worse on the home front - here's just a brief outline:
harassing e-mails about my ex so when I forwarded them to him he's now mad at me like I did something wrong and I'm tired of getting yelled at, the neighbors dog peeing all over my cut wood for my stove, the neighbors dog attacking a horse while I was on it, the neighbors being dicks about it, my wiener dog getting hurt and that kitten in my house...and that's just the start.

You'd think I would be used to it by now... I can't quite figure out why I don't get a break. Every morning I get up and wonder what will happen today? I should write a book. Seriously. Anybody want to read about the daily strange things that occur. I promise that after a bit I get sarcastic about it all and it's more funny!

So yeah - I'm overwhelmed and pretty much depressed 2009 is not starting out any better...but hey! I'm still trying!

BUT - I thought I'd give you all the lowdown on Bunni - the little Manx kitten I have in my house. I took her from my friend who bred her because she was high maintenance and she was dealing with a newborn and the little boy who father the child also - plus she breeds dogs, has a grooming business and is a full time teacher - so I thought I could help a little.

Anyway - at first we thought she had Manx Syndrome when they have lost the nerves through their rear-end due to the shortened spine. Bunni, unlike my other Manx, Izzy, has no tail - whereas Izzy has a stumpy tail. So poor Bunni, for lack of better words, began to leak a little...and required a washing a few times a day. This usually leads to death, but as it wasn't real bad we wanted to see if she wouldn't be able to take care of herself to become a good outdoor cat. Things have improved immensely in the last few weeks and now I don't have to wash her up at all! Occasionally she doesn't get it all out, but she's really good about the litter box and is the sweetest thing. Even the big dogs let her curl up on them.

Funny enough she looks just like the kitten I lost from Izzy's last litter. The only girl she's ever had. See the no tail?! She's named Bunni because she 'hops' instead of walk - typical of Manx's, but she barely ever walks at all - so she looks like a little rabbit with short ears hopping around.

Also - The people may be crazy here, but it sure is pretty. This is the view out the East facing windows of my new house.














To the Southeast - Mt. Blanca To the Northeast - Great Sand Dunes

Happy New Year! and FREE FOOD!!!

FREE FOOD!!!
OH YEAH!!! Before I totally forget! That toffee link at the top of my blog? - OH MY GOD! This stuff is so amazing! It literally MELTS in your mouth!!! Try it out. They have this great little sampler pack for $3.00. s/h . I hate to say this, but it's better than most of the stuff I brought back from England.


I know, I'm a bit belated, but things are crazy here and I don't have internet at home anymore!

Just some highlights from the last two weeks to give you an idea (please remember most of this stuff is normal, or I wouldn't be me):

- Spent 3 hours sitting in the plane on the runway in Detroit trying to get home 'cause it was raining so hard in Chicago they couldn't see. Wrigley came with me and was such a good boy, but had decided he had it when we were trying to catch our connection to Denver and barked at everything. Oh well...he WAS quiet for over 8 hours. I was cranky too.

- Slipped shoving a log into the wood stove and split the bridge of my nose open. Two stitches and glue! Blacked both eyes slightly and had a killer headache for two days. It's better now though.

- Thought I was stood up on New Years and played pool at a neighbors for a few hours. Wasn't stood up as there was a family emergency, and spent midnight dragging my frozen hose under the house to thaw under the heatlamp. There was whiskey (because I thought I was stood up).

- Tried chopping wood and realize I'm a complete woose and now my back muscles are sore.

- There's a new animal in my house that thinks I'm mom. It's not my fault either. Hint: Meow

- Came into school and realized that the other English teacher has DONE NOTHING and is now on probation and will probably not have her contract renewed and yours truly has to pick up the mess - namely designing and publishing the yearbook by May. However, there is money involved which makes me happy as I really am broke.

Ok - that's it in a nutshell. So if I'm MIA on and off for awhile it's because I'm so crazy busy I'm not sure which way is up...or down...or both...