Let's Get serious!

.I finally told myself. I needed to loose 15 pounds .. in essence the weight I have gained since my hysterectomy. I started a diet called the Dukan Diet, created by Dr. Dukan. You can goole it. I am on day 4 and have lost 3+ pounds. It starts out as seveal days of pure protein, so I know much of what I lost is water weight.. but I feel so much better already and the true test for me is that I have not been climbing the walls wanting to cheat!! I'll let you know how it is going!

Happy Mother's Day..

..to all my Mommy blog friends!

Is this too much to ask for?

Feed Buckets....

NOT just for eating anymore!!

Yes - we had twins!!

Meet Fitz William..

..our newest little ram lamb!

Sadly we had a little ewe lamb that was born dead a few weeks ago. Our herd is a bit lop sided right now as we have 3 ewes and 5 rams!

That is One Ugly Chick!

Remember the 20 baby chicks we bought? They are all still alive and well! We moved them out to the hen house.

10 are Barred Rock hens and 10 are Columbian Rock hens.

As they started to grow, we noticed that one of the Columbian Rock hens was kind of ugly..

She was not only much smaller and slower growing..

..but also seemed to be almost void of feathers.

As she grew, she started to get a few feathers around her neck and a few on the tips of her wings. The rest of her body was either totally naked or had fuzzy fur like down. She still looks like she is wearing fuzzy bloomers.

In all other aspects, she seems perfectly healthy, but she cannot fly even high enough to get up on the perch...

Swing Away..

Last Christmas Joy bought me a beautiful swing, and Don and I finally hung it in the perfect tree.

I just love it! It is so romantic looking.

Look at the hand painted seat.

Excuse me while I swing away..

Just a Funny..

Although I have 3 other Corgi's, I still miss my Chrissy like crazy.

Update..

Hi! Happy Easter!!

I have been putting a lot of dedication into my Riding Aside blog.. and totally ignoring this one.

Don is now half way through his treatment. Some days are good..so good they are close to normal. Others are not so good. He runs a fever, a lot of nausea, leg cramps and other symptoms that are just not very nice. One concern is his platelet count. At last count it was 31,000. Normal is 140,000 to 400,000. If it gets into the 20's they will decrease the dose of his meds...which is something we do NOT want. His red blood count is also low, which accounts for a lot of fatigue.

We still have the 20 baby chicks... which are not so little anymore. They love living in the hen house. One of them is 'special'... but as soon as I snap a picture, I'll do a post on her.

The weather is amazing. The pastures are green and all of the prayers I said over our beautiful old trees last year during the heat wave and drought were heard by God as evidenced by the lovely new growth! This year we have had rain every single week!

Everyone else in the family is happy and healthy.

Work is so crazy that I saw a bumper sticker that said:
"I used to have a life, but my job ate it!"
I burst into laughter .....

REALLY?

...am I really 50 years old?.. but you know what? Life is so beautiful. I have an amazing family. I have never been so close to the Lord. I have never had so many true and wonderful friends. I have never been such a good rider and sidesaddle rider to boot... and many more blessing abound all around me!!!

Keeping on Track..

5 months into his treatment, Don is doing well. He has good days and bad both physically and mentally. The bad days are hard on both of us, but we keep reminding ourselves of how far he has come and that it will be over soon.

I have been working a lot with the transition of Continental Airlines becoming United Airlines. No doubt, it has been very stressful on me. To counter that, I have been showing Oliver. It is expensive but I sure do enjoy it.

Thankfully Don purchased a long term disability insurance policy before he was diagnosed. It kicks in in about 2 months. Like a lot of people, we failed to read the small print and assumed that it would pay what it said.. 60% of what he used to make. That along with social security disability would more than tide us over.. After reading the small print though we have discovered that the policy covers the difference between what SS pays to the amount that adds up to 60% of Don's pay... rolling eyes..

Good News..

Remember when I told you that I was sure my department was going to be handed over to our counterparts in Detroit? Well, apparently the Government offices we work with contacted the management in writing and via the phone to cast their vote for Vicki and I to take over all the responsibilities...WOW!! Thank You Sweet Lord!! Our department is going to be our department for ever and ever...AMEN!

It feels good when your hard work and dedication gets noticed! Work is insanely busy.. but I am all SMILES!

Now - I just have to figure out a way to get the day off I need to show at the Pin Oak Charity Horse show.

..and Now There are 20 Again!

After 2 days we actually found the missing baby chick..ALIVE!! She apparently had jumped out of the deep sink probably onto the side of the sink and then right into the garbage can! I looked in there .. but obviously not good enough. Oh well.. glad to have her back safe and sound!

20 Baby Chicks..

...and then there were 19... and we really have no idea what happened to number 20.. We are guessing that it jumped out of the deep sink where we were keeping them and that maybe our dog had a 'chicken mcnugget'... but that is speculation..The remaining chicks have been moved to their next home.. a large dog crate in a horse stall with a warming light. We brought the year old hen into the stall as well so she can get used to the new baby chicks.

Baby Chicks...

..we have 20!10 are Barred Rock's and 10 are Columbian Rock's!

Out of last years hens and 1 rooster.. we currently have only 1 hen left.. :0(

My Valentine's Day Flowers

Don has always bought flowers for me on Valentine's Day, and usually he buys roses. These are the roses he bought for me this year.

I have received every kind of roses from him... like the ones that completely collapsed the very next day or the ones that were delivered smashed and I refused to take delivery of them because of what I knew Don must have spent on them...

..and then there were these beauties..which in my opinion are the most beautiful roses I have ever received..because.. you see.....these pictures were taken today... 6 days past the day he purchased them!!!