Happy Birthday Don!

Today is Don's 48th birthday...pretty special to be born on Halloween ~ don't you think! Happy Birthday. I love you!

Working on the Pumpkin for the Contest!!

"Dad.. Tell me how this differs from cutting into a human skull?" I asked with a chuckle in my voice. Without a hesitation he replied, "In surgery I get to use power tools!"
I don't care if I am 45 years old....This was FUN!


TAAA DAAAA!!! Here is the carving in all of its glory. Even Dad was impressed.

More Halloween Decor at the Farm

I grew this gourd, dried it, and then cut and painted it. Overall, it took over a year!
One of my very best friends, Vicki made this little trick or treater for me. Chrissy (our dog) barked at it for days!
I could not forget to decorate the Cabana too!

Halloween Decor at Equus Villa

Bathroom towels. I saw this idea in a small shop in Old Town Spring, TX.

A spider web is a must for Halloween. Also a treasure I found at Old Town Spring.
Here are some 'antique' ceramic ghosts I bought in a resale shop

Pumpkin # 3 is the Winner

This is the design I am going to use. My Father is going to help me - okay for those of you who do not know - my Dad is a brain surgeon (not kidding here!)..so we ought to be done around 3am!

A New Adventure Together

Here is what happens when someone loves you. My husband used to always say that he knew he would not die jumping out of an airplane or in a motorcycle accident because he was never going to do either of those things! ..hee hee maybe that was before he was married to me! Here is a photo of his HARLEY!!! Too cool huh?Parachuting here we come!! Just Joking...

Please Vote!

Please help me decide! We have a pumpkin carving contest here at work and sometimes the prizes they give away are quite good. Sadly, you never know what the prize is until the day of the contest. Anyway - please vote for your favorite design as I want to use one of these 3. Thanks!

Worth a Giggle!

THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU!

You guys are so sweet to leave so many nice messages for me. I am trying to slow my life down a bit - especially since I do not have to go anywhere for quite a few weeks. YIPPIE!

I have tons of pictures to download of Halloween decor from the farm - just need to get them from the camera to the computer...maybe tonight!

((((((((hugs)))))))))))

Please Forgive Me.

..if I don't post anything this week. I am exhausted. I covered a horse show the weekend on the 12th in Dallas and then had to return to Fort Worth just this last weekend for a funeral. Please also keep my sweet sister in law in your prayers who has lost both of her parents inside of only 4 months.

Really Cute Photos from the last show I covered!

This is the Show Banner.

These are all Academy Riders that ride with the same barn.

Cozy Places

What makes a house a home?
What makes one room feel cozy and warm, while another is cold and uninviting?
Where is your special cozy place?



An Inviting Entrance to Your Garden.

Special Family Photos

A Great Bath Tub

A Great Place to Read/

Thinking Straight in a Stressful Situation!

This post and story of what happened to me was inspired by Robyn at Thrifty Miss Prissy (see my favorite blogs) and what happened to her.

If you do not look at or read anything else on my blog - PLEASE READ THIS!

When my children were very young, Joy was an infant and Emily was almost 3, I was going to meet a friend and her small son at McDonald's for lunch. I arrived early, so instead of just sitting there, I decided to go across the street to a grocery store and get a few things I needed.

I was lucky enough to get a parking spot that faced the front of the store. I got out and walked around the car to open the door and get both of my daughters out of their car seats. As I was bent down in the car, I literaly heard a voice say to me, "Look up and be aware of what is going on around you!" I did not hear this very loud and clear voice with my ears. I heard it come up from inside of me - yet I know it was not me. I will swear on a stack of Bibles that this is EXACTLY TRUE!

I immediately stood straight up and looked around. Parked 3 cars over was a man sitting in the drivers seat of a truck starring at me with an eerie grin on his face. The rhythmic motion and the position of his hands gave me enough clues as to what he was doing ...if you know what I mean! I was very scared. It is one thing to realized that woman are easily overpowered by men, but it is another to realize just how venerable you are when you have 2 small children to protect!!

I quickly went into the store and asked to speak to the manager. When he appeared I told (as embarrassing as that was!) him what was going on and he walked outside with me. He could see for himself what I was saying was true and he told me there was nothing he could do because the man was in the parking lot and not inside the store. Then he just walked away from me! Can you believe it???

I returned to the inside of the store about as frazzled as I could be and decided that I would go ahead and buy the things I needed and hopefully the man in the parking lot would be gone by then. It took me about 20 minutes to slowly mill through the store and get checked out. As I exited the door, I made eye contact once again with my predator.

I decided that since my next stop was just across the street, I should continue on. I strapped my girls back into their seats, walked around my car, got in, locked all the doors, started the engine, put the gear into reverse and turned around to see behind me. There he was! He had backed his car out of his space and driven around the lot and was waiting there for me to leave, presumably so that he could follow me. I pulled back into my parking spot and just set there. A moment later, another car pulled up behind this man and honked for him to move. The minute he pulled past me, followed by the other car, I pulled out and quickly speed across the street to the restaurant. My friend was already there and as I told her the story, we went out onto the playground. I could see this predator, who was now very angry, speeding and circling the parking lot looking for me. He stopped and parked. I just stood in the McDonald's playground area and watched. Sadly what I saw may have been my salvation and the possible assault or even rape of another woman. You see - it was not long before a lovely young lady came out of the store and jumped into her car and this man followed her out the parking lot.

Did I remember to try and get his license plate number? - No, sadly I did not.

Did I disregard what the grocery store manager said - even though I knew he was wrong and just call the police myself? No, I did not.

Did I later call the police, just to give them the information I had seen, after all, I probably could have identified the man? No. I even talked myself out of that as well.

To this day - I pray that that young lady was not harmed and God was watching over her as He was my daughters and I that day.

Halloween Template

Here is a fun holiday template to run off and use. Would make a cute background for a hidden lunch note for a child - I think. My Mom used to do that for me.

Take a Deep Breath and Relax!

If starring at this picture does not make you relax - then nothing will!Have a wonderful day!

Halloween Ideas...

...stolen from Martha Stewart! Okay - so sometimes I want something in my blog, just so I can store the idea for later and this is one of those things!

Victoria Magazine

I just received my first edition of the New Victoria magazine. Although I am thrilled that this magazine is being revived and I was one of the early subscribers, I was sadly disappointed with this issue. Especially for a December issue, it is extremely small and not because it was void of advertising.

Normally I am a "Half Full" type of girl, and I have no intention of reneging on my subscription, but I am hoping that the only reason the issue is so minimized is because it is just the first.....fingers crossed here! I did however, LOVE the Tasha Tudor collection of antique clothing!

Soooo - How's the Bike Riding Going?

“How is the bike riding going?”

People keep asking me this same question. Well, I am here to say that I have lost every last ounce of my dignity trying to figure this thing out. Wow! It is so much different than anything else I have ever tried and although I am having a blast, there has been more than one occasion where I had to stop and laugh out loud at myself!

For the first time Tuesday, I drove a sizable distance of about 175 miles. Don and I decided to go all the way to Hempstead – thus giving us experience on both a 2-lane highway and a 4-lane highway where the speed limit was a deafening 70MPH! Translate that into Texan and it means if you are not going at least 80, people are going to get pissed off!

Non motorcycle riders do not see nor do they feel the Road Gremlins that attach themselves to you at speeds in excess of 65MPH when there is NO wind. They show up at lower speeds if even the softest breeze is blowing. These said Gremlins grab your waist and jerk your body back and forth, trying to rip you from your bike, which is not for the faint of heart…especially when an 18-wheeler is passing!

I learned that one 18 wheeler passing me will drag my body and bike towards the center of the road and that, I can handle. A caravan of them though, pulls even harder with each passing truck. Fighting the urge to vomit, which would not be a good thing considering I wear a full face helmet, I keep fighting the said Gremlins! I am still here, so I must be doing alright. I tried to be nice and discovered that all it is going to do is get me killed faster. Once when a row of drivers lined up behind us, I pulled over to the shoulder. Many appreciative drivers zipped by – not a one signaling a thank you! After about 30 seconds, my nice clean shoulder deteriorated and I was now again in danger, driving on gravel!

I have learned that when a bug hits me at speeds in excess of 50MPH, it is indistinguishable from a rock and the only tell tale evidence is whose blood is on my clothes! I know now that my right foot will NEVER understand that the forward petal is the back brake. I spent over 30 years telling that foot that it is the gas petal foot and it has told me in no uncertain terms – it will not go forward when I want to stop. For that reason, I spent an extra thousand dollars to get antilock brakes, which also engage both brakes when the hand brake is applied.

My biggest fear is pulling out in traffic from a stop and stalling my bike. My most difficult task to date has been attempting to pull out into traffic from a stop on an incline. Actually – in here lies the death of my dignity. You see, I thought I found a better way to get onto a back road in the tiny town of Anderson. This back road though intersected with the main road we wanted to get on with an incline. We were at the stop sign. Lucky me, a large diesel truck pulled up behind us and each time I tried to start, easing off the clutch and trying to apply enough gas, I stalled my engine. One ~ Two ~ Three stalls and each time I moved forward a few more inches. The third time, I put my foot back on the ground to try again. This time my foot landed in gravel and with not one seconds notice, my foot flew out from under my weight and the 450 pound bike started to lean. In a microsecond I knew I was on my way down. Sadly, not only was there a decline behind me, but also on my right side, so when I went down, the bike was literally on top of me! Picture road kill here! Looking up, I saw a man running out of the truck behind us to try and help. It was now that I realized he saw that I was a girl….Yeah – I felt like a girl too and not in a good way! He and Don pulled the bike off of my carcass and as an added dose of humiliation, the trucker held my bike into place until I took off…okay – I felt like a 5 year old learning how to ride a bicycle without training wheels for the first time….Yep, that was me!

Funeral services will be held for my pride at 3pm today!

Julie

Madison at the Park!

I am not sure if she has decided if she likes this or not!
"Dad...Dad...Are you still there Dad????"

Happy Halloween!

More Dream House Dreaming!

FIREPLACES!! Wonderful romantic warm fireplaces!!

New Addition to my Garden!

Variegated HibiscusI needed to add some more plants to my side garden to fill in several bare spots and after a visit to the local garden center - this is one of the treasures I came home with. I realize that I will have to give them freeze protection (translation - old blanket thrown over the top!) but it was just so darn pretty, in both foliage and flower, I could not resist!

Just for Fun Challenge

Post a picture of yourself when you were pregnant with one of your children!

This is me VERY pregnant with my second daughter Joy, while introducing my oldest daughter Emily to the wonders of the Equestrian World!

I think I was 21 in this photograph. My daughters are now 26 and 24...OM Gosh - how time flies by....and I have not aged one little bit....ha hah ahhahahhahaha I wish!

Exterior of my Dream House!

Love a white multi story house with black shudders! Hate the thought of keeping the bugs (especially spiders!) off of the house though.

My dream house must have dimension and character. I don't like homes with flat facade.
Ahhh - yes - I am dreaming here!
And TREES!! I love big beautiful trees!!