I remember the 80's. Do you?

1. Teddy Ruxpin - The first talking stuffed animal.
2. Bengals : Walk like an Egyptian – I had this tape and would rock out while cleaning horse stalls. Yes, I could walk like an Egyptian.
3. Gremlins – Remember the movie with Stripe the ‘bad’ gremlin who would always party. Man that guy could hit it hard! My favorite line from the wise old oriental man “With mogwai comes much responsibility.”
4. Ray Bans – Mine were purple and hot pink.
5. US Hockey team plays Russia at Lake Placid and wins!! Yay!!!
6. Mary Lou Rhetton – Super gymnast, I spent many hours in gyms watching my sister compete, she even had a MLR leotard!
7. Hungry Hippos – Great game, taught us all about greed, until your hippo got stuck!
8. Member’s only jackets – with a neck snap! Need I say more?
9. Break dancing – Yes, I could break it down a little.
10. Wacky wall walkers – Most amazing waste of money ever, kinda creepy and terrible texture but very entertaining!
11. Where’s the beef? – Remember that old lady that would say it on the commercials?
12. Moe town & Michael Jackson – Running in the morning with my Mom to the Thriller album… in the dark… on a ranch with wild animal… Yeah, I was brave.
13. Pac Man & Pac Man Fever – I liked Mrs. Pac Man, she was so cute with the bow. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very good.
14. Tetris – you would not blink for a half hour and later on, you are playing it in your head. You would see patterns all over!
15. Nintendo Game Boy – Mobile Tetris, what could be better?!
16. BIG hair & Aqua Net – Wow, I could share some really great pictures. My sister taught me all about teasing hair and spraying the heck out of it!
17. Lee Press on Nails – All the girls wanted these and all of our Moms said NO!
18. Human League: Don’t you Want Me? - Don’t you want me woahooo… Great for those school dances.
19. Rubik’s Cube – Save time, just take the darn stickers off.
20. Whip it by Devo – You must whip it. Whip it good! – Ugh! Not so good for the school dances!
21. Back to the Future - Best movie of the 80s. Had to go exactly 88 mph. Note: this does not work in my truck, the only place it takes you is the side of the road with a ticket.
22. Scratch and sniff stickers - Some were very accurate, some not so much. And Who makes a skunk sticker? Why would you ever do that???
23. Traper Keeper - 1st generation of binders for OCD.
24. Richard Simmons – Not to be confused with Gene Simmons…
25. Cher: If I could turn back time. I encourage you to google the video and check out the outfit. Can I just say - WOW! Way too much skin.
26. Prince Charles and Princess Di - A goober and a... well, princess.
27. Leather pants - ummm, no... not cool... ever! Unless they are chaps over wranglers; then yes, as often and as much as you want. Please?
28. Monster Trucks are born - Redneck heaven. I am still in heaven. Love it!
29. Mcgyver - The man was hot and could do it all.
30. The Mullet....

On that note, I'll close. What do you remember from the 80's?

Case of the mising dish towels

Does anyone else have this problem or is it just an Eastern Colorado Ranching thing?

I regularly purchase dish towels for the kitchen, sometimes they come with hot pads but most of the time I just need the towels. See, my hot pads never disappear; only the towels... I swear last month I had 4, today - none. Not a single dish towel, not even a remnant of a dish towel. No goodbye note or dear john letter; just *poof* gone.

Ah, there they are... In the garage covered in what I will presume to be grease. Nice!

So I ask, 'what is my dish towel doing out here?!' The response you will never guess... 'the picture was faded so I thought it was a rag, and I know how you hate rags in the linen closet.'

. . . *crickets chirping* . . .

'OK. Thanks for trying to help! Maybe next time, ask me before you cover it in grease?'

The power of prayer

Our faith has been building and growing by leaps and bounds over the last 2 years. We had two experiences this past week that I wanted to share with you as a testimony of the power of prayer.

*****
First happened on Thursday. We noticed that we were down to about 50 bales of hay and that we needed to buy more. With hay ranging from $4 - $8, we need to be careful to get good hay at a low price. The last hay we got for $5, while it looked nice, had little nutritional value. Max and Gunner both lost a significant amount of weight over a 1 week period. Both have ribs showing and we have been trying to get weight back on them for 4 weeks. Side note - it is easy for horses to lose weight and very hard to get it back on them.

R and I were discussing our meager money situation in the kitchen and found that we had only $100 extra for hay. At $4 a bale (I found some nice stuff!) we still needed $180 more and another $20 for goat hay. Basically we had $100 and needed $200 more. Not having an abundance of extra cash laying around, we said a prayer. Just a quick, to the point prayer. We need money to buy hay and we don't have it. We have done everything you have asked and are faithful in our callings, tithing and prayers. Please send us help.

I kid you not. 20 minutes later a guy from the railroad pulled down our driveway and offered us $300 cash for an old army trailer we had sitting our by the wood pile. The trailer had not been used in 2 years. Sold! We have horse hay money! We got hay on Saturday.

*****

Our horse trailer is huge. It is a 4 horse slant load goose neck with living quarters in the front and a tack room in the back. It is a steel monster and I love it!

About a year ago I had to take Max to the vet for his arthritis shot. C, you ask, why don't you do the shot. It is an IV shot, which I can do, have done BUT if you miss, you hit the artery and kill the horse in 30 seconds. For some reason, on something that important and routine (not an emergency) I would rather pay $15 to have the vet do it!

Anyhow - I took him down and turned a sharp corner ripping the light plug out of the trailer. I drove home with no lights. R fixed the plug and over the next 3 months, the lights would flicker and sometimes work - sometimes not. About 8 moths ago, the lights quit working all together. We went around and around on whether it was the truck or the trailer, we rewired both (R is NOT an electrician - things usually catch fire when he wires them). Luckily my truck and trailer did not catch fire but I have blown a lot of fuses over the past 9 months!

We have spent countless hours in wind and rain and snow trying to find the problem and fix it. Finally I called a trailer repair place and was told minimum of $500 and up to $1,200 to find and fix the problem. Great, more money - I really hate money.

We invited Janice out to the house on Saturday night for a bonfire and trail ride after church on Sunday. R pulled the trailer over to the house and I ran for cover! If he couldn't find the problem, I would follow him in my truck and act as his lights. If you have never done this for your husband, you are missing out - it really is a marriage strengthener, either you get closer together and work as a team of you kill each other.

R started working on the wiring and I started washing brushes and tack boxes. 10 minutes later, the trailer is fixed. What happened?! R said a short quick to the point prayer. Help me fix this trailer and keep the weather nice while I do it.

Trailer done!! So I of course poke R in the ribs and say 'What?! You couldn't say a prayer 8 months ago?!'

*****

The great rooster experiment

Follow the logic here... Most self sufficient farms have chickens. We are working to be a self sufficient farm. Therefore, we need chickens. This is actually R's logic. I grew up with chickens and know the joy of fresh eggs and having them come running when you call them for feeding. I also know the... 'experience' of stepping in chicken poo in your bare feet when you do not expect it and of having them get in and eat your garden. Suffice it to say that I am not completely on board with the 'we need chickens' campain, but he feels the same way about the goats and marriage is built on compromise.

Since we have coyotes - side note - You remember Salem's mysterious disappearance a few months ago? Yes, we believe it was a coyote encounter. Back on track - since we have coyotes and laying hens cost between 3-8 dollars each, it would be foolish to buy chickens without testing the waters.

I came up with the following great idea... the feed stores occasionally miss a rooster and sell it as a hen (they are babies and all look the same) - it really is hard to tell! People that live in town can have up to 5 laying hens inside the city limits but roosters are not allowed. This time of year, the roosters grow enough that people can tell the difference and they give them away. A coyote eating a free rooster is better than a coyote eating a costly chicken. So, we get a free rooster and if it lives (i.e. doesn't get eaten by a coyote), we will buy laying hens.

About 2 weeks ago, we got a free rooster and put him in with the goats. This way he has room to run and bugs to eat but also has a safe, fenced place to live. He was fantastic. Yes, I said was... He is not longer fantastic, well in animal heaven he might still be fantastic. We got up yesterday and he was running around with the goats. We went back out at noon to unload hay and he was still running around. We went back out at feeding time and he was dead. No feathers, blood or sign of a struggle - just dropped dead. He lasted 2 weeks BUT coyotes didn't get him!

The great rooster experiment is over. I do not know if the goats took issue with the rooster, if he hit the hot wire and had a problems (which just cracks me up - I have this visual of the rooster hitting the hot wire and clutching his chest as he staggers away crying 'my heart, my heart' until he keels over with feet up in the air), if he had an issue before we got him. I have no idea. So the first great rooster experiment is over. I thought it was over but R really, really wants chickens so we are going to find another free rooster and try again.

And we made it home...

Oh gosh, so much has happened in the last week I hardly know where to start!

Let's start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with A-B-C
When you sing you begin with do-re-mi

The beginning. We finished our chores last Thursday and then did all of the extra things to prepare the farm for us to leave for a week. Yes, we went on vacation; our second in 13 years. That is actually misleading - we have gone on lots of vacations but all were to visit family or go back and help Mom and Dad with the ranch. Somehow digging a foundation under an already built house and hanging siding doesn't really count as vacation - but those are different stories for another time. This was a vacation - a real vacation - no family visiting or chores required!

My Uncle (Mom's Little Brother)- Gary pictured here...

has a fabulous vacation in Scottsdale, Arizona. We are talking 3 bedroom, pool, misting system, big screen... Paradise. We went for a week in February 2007 (before the Ranch) and it became our favorite place to go for rest and relaxation. Anyhow, Gary was gracious enough to allow us to use the house again, free of charge for a week.

R and I had this summary of a conversation on Thursday night. Me: What time do you want to leave in the morning? R: 5, I'll set the alarm for 4. Me: Are you nuts?! We are on vacation and you want to get up at our normal time set the alarm and I will get up. You can drive first! R: OK.

Fast forward to 2:00 on Friday morning. I wake up with excruciating pain in my ankles. It literally feels like some one is stabbing my ankles with a knife. Mind you - I quit taking the steroids on Tuesday. I tapered off like I was supposed to, but instead of tapering off over 1 week and quitting, I did 2 days and quit. Who knew? OK, so the doctor probably knew, but I didn't.

So, I am awake, groaning in pain on the couch in the living room, trying to be quiet so we can leave in 3 hours. R woke up and came in - we decided a hot pad might help and the couch was making my neck hurt. More pain pills and back to bed. 3:30 I am up in the living room again, but on the floor this time. The alarm goes off at 4.

I can hear it and know the following is going on: R wakes up, thinks - crud, she was right, this is too early! 'Honey, turn it off and we will leave later. You were right.... Honey? Honey!' He turns off the alarm and finds me on the floor in the living room. You must realize that the pain is nerve pain, so rubbing stimulates the nerves, which cannot feel 2 sensations at once. So the rubbing my ankles blocks the stabbing pain and makes it feel better. I hobble into bed and we sleep until 6. At 6, he rubs my ankles again and we say our morning prayer. The pain leaves about 5 minutes after our prayer and we are on the road by 7.

I called the doctor when they opened and asked about the pain. Doc confirms it is nerve pain and I am probably over the worst. Probably - there is a comforting word... We say another prayer that 'probably' means 'absolutely' and continue on the drive.

We arrive in Scottsdale around 10pm, shower and fall into bed.

We spent Saturday - Tuesday afternoon at the house. We swam, slept, ate, watched TV, slept, swam, relaxed, talked, laughed and just plain enjoyed each other and the house. We are so blessed to have been married for 13 years, still in love and still enjoying each others company and humor.

We also went to IKEA. I love IKEA! We got everything on our list. Nothing super exciting for normal folks, but for us... Wonderful. New knives, pots and pans, silverware, pot holders, candles and candle holders, living room lights, lazy Susan, colander, picture for the master bath, duvet covers (one for winter and one for summer - now we have 4 choices! YAY!), a throw pillow and of course another cook book! Ah, heaven!

We also found all of the furniture we want for the nursery - I found everything for under $1,000! And it matches and it is new! I am so excited for the day that we can go back to IKEA and come home with a crib!

We left Tuesday morning and drove up the the Grand Canyon. We hiked and took photos, stayed the night and drove home Wednesday via the back way (over the Rockies). We went from 105* to 48* all in one day. It was funny, we stopped for dinner in Gennese and I had on shorts and a light shirt with flip-flops... It was raining and cold! I felt like a tourist! People kept looking at me oddly until they saw the truck and Colorado plates - then it registered - flat lander!

We got home about 8 and were able to visit with Mom. Yep, she was nice enough to watch the house and ranch for us while we played in Arizona. She fed, milked and watched out for everything. We are so grateful, I cannot express how much. You cannot know the feeling of leaving home and knowing that everything will be taken care of, that your possessions, animals and memories are in good hands and will be safe (it is possible that she spoils everyone more than we do). I am so glad that she was willing and able to stay at our place and keep track of all of our critters. With out her, we would not have been able to even go!

We spent today running errands, playing with horses, burning brush and relaxing. Tomorrow is the CORE training at LDS FS in Aurora and we will be approved for adoption! More on that later.

Saturday is hay day. Yay! *sigh* We should be getting about 100 bales to fill the barn but alas, I am still on my 10 pound restriction, so other than moral support, I cannot help load or unload. I hate being useless and not able to pull my fair share. Maybe I'll make a cake or something for R to make up for not being able to help.

We have been trading milk for eggs. Each week a neighbor (they live in Eaton) drives up and gets 2 gallons, in exchange, they give me 2 dozen eggs! If you have never had farm fresh eggs, please look on craigslist and find someone that sells them (usually about 2-3 dollars per dozen). Buy a dozen and if you are not hooked and in love, let me know and I will send you 3$! I turned to R and said: think of something that I can make for you to make up for not being able to help with hay. R; *wiggles eye brows* we have fresh eggs.. Me: yep. 2 dozen, she dropped them off today. R: enough for quiche? Me: *laughing* yes, I suppose so. R: Sweet! Problem solved and guilt gone! Yay! One of these days, our website will be up and I will share the quiche recipe!

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

In "Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God" Elder Jeffrey R. Holland shares an encouraging tribute to mothers who, through both challenges and accomplishments, work in partnership with God to raise His children.