Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Last Friday found me at the Bustin’ Clay for United Way, which benefits United Way of Midland, Texas.

I worked alongside a team of great people most of Thursday, and from daylight to dusk Friday, to host  a fun, productive shoot.  We raised close to $200K, which is our biggest take yet.  It was so much fun seeing everyone.  Our town is one of those that makes raising money fun.  We give away lots of good stuff.  

And sometimes, ya know, it’s just your day to win.  And win, I did.

A Sig Sauer 1911 .45 caliber pistol.

Now, I’ve just got to learn how to shoot it!!

I won another gun, as well, but donated it back, and it ended up going to a young man that had just returned from serving our country in Afghanistan.  Before the gun drawing, we had asked him to stand up and be recognized, and he received a standing ovation.  Beautiful.

Of everyone that was there, our young veteran deserved to win.  I'm glad he did.

Let's go shoot some targets, compadre!  I gotta figure this gun out!

It's never boring around here!!

Early Morning View from My Chair

For those of you who kindly commented on the loss of my son's cowdog, Hud - we thank you. Hud was an amazing pup and he will be greatly missed. Per an earlier arrangement with the Parnells at Hudson Ridge Aussies, ElderSon will today pick up Hud's half brother, Sam.  Though the pups won't be raised together as was originally designed, I'm hoping Sam will be a big help in healing my son's heart. Thank you so much for your caring comments. Hud was featured on  this post, in a set of amazing photographs taken by Craig Kelley of Not So Serious Productions.

I think I’ll show you part of my everyday routine.

Fade to an early morning moment at Casa de Crazy...

Ever watchful, Zack The Wonder Dog.

The Wonderdogs.  After their early morning perimeter check of the yard, having successfully vanquished all the pesky squirrels, and people walking their golden retrievers down our alley.

No squirrel will sneak upon Zanna the Wonderdog.  Isn't gonna happen.

They rest.  Always watchful, yet, they rest.

Have a beautiful morning!

Dogs Working Cattle - A Beautiful Sight

Elder Son sent me a link to some photographs taken by Craig Kelley of Not So Serious Productions.  These photographs are amazing, of the cowboys gathering cattle, the cowboys and horses working together, and the dogs doing what they are bred to do - their jobs.  It is nothing less than an intricate dance, and beautiful, at that.

If you’ll get to page 5, the photos of the actual cattle works will start, and in there, you’ll see some awesome pictures of Elder Son and his baby Australian Shepherd pup, Hud*.  

ThatManILove and I have watched this slideshow over and over - there is nothing more beautiful than seeing a dog, doing what he’s been bred to do.  

This little fellow is 6-7 months old, and watch him work.  He’s one happy pup.

Click here to see the amazing photojournalist Craig Kelley's photos of the Gleghorn Gail Gathering.  Enjoy!


*Update:  Friday night, my son's wonderful Hud was tragically killed. Our son is heartbroken, as are we.

Give Me Snow, Lotsa Snow, Underneath the Skies Above, Don't Heat Me Up

I have decided I have a heat allergy.

I can’t take it anymore.

I don’t know if I’m getting older (duh) and less tolerant (more duh) but it seems like it’s been over 100 degrees for about 90 days.  It could be hormonal (super duh), it doesn’t matter, it’s the heat that gets to me.

And I’m so freakin' done with it.

When we returned from the cool of Alaska, we took our CHL class.  It was 108 degrees.  We were in a caliche pit.  And guess what?

I suffered from heat exhaustion, and almost didn’t finish my class. For days after, I lay prone on the bed.  Trying to rehydrate.  Trying to get rid of a super-hangover style headache.  Finally, I decided to live again.

This last Friday, we shot at the Dallas Gun Club.  In 107 degree weather.  And I felt like I was just minutes from having a relapse.  I stayed hydrated all day, but Thank GOD ThatManILove was with me.  He started recognizing the signs (I didn't hit a clay for 2 stations), and from somewhere, got an iced towel and made me put it around my neck.  This started cooling me off.

So, now, I’ve made a difficult decision.  I’m not going to shoot or do anything in high temperature weather.  I’ve lost weight, I’m getting more fit by the day, but somehow, my tolerance for high temperatures is waning.  I've been living at the snow cone stand all summer.  

Friday, we have our “Bustin’ Clays For United Way” shoot.  This is a shoot that is near and dear to my heart, as I was one of the founding mothers of this baby.  And I’ve shot in it every year since it’s inception.

But this year, I will be inside, helping at registration.

I just can’t do it anymore.

So, I have one thing to say:  Anyone up for a winter sporting clay competition?  I’m in - because right now, baby, I'd welcome snow.

The Contest Winners for What The Heck? A Janie Girl Contest

The contest!!!  


I forgot about the What The Heck? A Janie Girl Contest!

Yup, that one.  

Where there were weird thingies on this green fence of a significantly popular drive-through.  

And said weird thingies were exactly one. car. length. apart.

And whomsoever puts said thingies on the green fence are (1) pretty accurate and (2) keep a pretty good arsenal.

First place prize goes to :  TexWisGirl at the Run-A-Round Ranch

Second place: Connie at Hartwood Roses

Third place:  Betty at Bossy Betty

Fourth place:  KaLynn (MiMi) of both KaLynn Blog and Mimi's Musings (yup, the girl's a multitasking, two-blog woman!)

Fifth place:  Nancy at A Rural Journal

So!  Y’all let me know your favorite store, because you’re getting gift certificates from there.  

Congratulations, y’all!!!

Oh, yeah...and the correct answer?

SPITWADS. 

At the drive-in line at our local STARBUCKS.  Oh, yeah.  Exactly one car length apart.

Now think about this.  Some kid (or kids) sitting in the back seat of his parents’ car, amassing over time some serious pieces of paper, wadded up just so, small enough to fit into a straw, which he/she happened to have handy in that back seat, to be able to decorate a fence with spitwads, whenever said parent had a cravin’ for Starbucks.

How many repetitive days?

What was the parent doing? Not paying attention to what their kid was doing?  

Never looking in the back seat at the source of the ammunition?

All sorts of scenarios come to mind, but I’m not going to go there.

By the way...after the original post, Starbucks cleaned the fence.

Oh, yeah - and Rob-Bear?  You of Bears Noting?  You get a giftcard, too, for reminding me that I’d not yet posted the winners to the contest!  Thanks so much!

Tuesday Randomness

• It’s 6:44 a.m., I’m on the back porch, awaiting this sunrise and writing this profound post that you’re currently reading.  When the sun rises, the squirrels will come out, and the daily morning saga between the Wonderdogs and the Squirrels will begin.  Come watch!
• We worked on my upper body and arms at the gym this morning. (Notice the “We” worked on Me?  That’s how it goes, V’Lesha is a taskmaster, but the language of it all makes me giggle.)  I’m gonna be whining tomorrow!
• ThatManILove starts a new gig this week, and he’s excited about it.  Me, too!
• We dined at the Petroleum Club last night with customers and co-workers.  Prime Rib Monday is definitely a good thing.  We’ll be back!
• I just realized that out of the last week, I’ve not had one day that I wasn’t entertaining customers.  Do salespeople ever get a day off?
• I sprung my Wonderdogs out of Doggie Day Care yesterday and my bill was over $500 just for the last two weeks of travel.  I almost swallowed my tongue.  Wonder if I can get my employer to pay for that?  I can see Doggie Day Care as an expensed item...can’t you?
• This morning when I went to the gym it was already 74 degrees at 4:49 a.m.  Something about that just isn’t right.  But one thing I know - the sky will be beautiful. Even with all those ripply heat waves emanating from the ground, the West Texas Sky is gorgeous. 
• I must rise from my comfy chair and attack my day.  People to see, places to be!  Have an awesome day, my gentle readers!
• PS - Enjoy this photo of my sweet goddaughter, Ada!  She found plenty to explore in our hotel room during her visit!

Scan This!

Waiting in line for our table at brunch Saturday morning in the Metroplex, and I turned around to view the people.


And had to ask permission to take a picture.


















Janie:  What does the code stand for?


Unidentified man:  It's the UPC for my favorite beer.


Janie:  Oh.


What else could I say to that?


It's never boring around here!

Suck Me In

Thursday evening, we dined with friends.


And I had to go to the ladies' room.  


I was tired, been driving all day, and then went to the pre-shoot at 108 degrees.  Then, we met our friends at our hotel.

Needless to say, I was so tired, I wasn't all there.

So when I saw this, I freaked.  

And then, I remembered.  I'm at Saltgrass Steak House.  They do this in all their bathrooms...the going out door says Mens, if you're in the Ladies; and Ladies, if you're in the Mens. They like to mess with people's minds.


It works, even when you've not been drinking.

People Are Funny

Sign, posted by the front door at our office.

Stuff like this makes me put 100% of my faith in humanity.  As opposed to the myriad of safety training I've received.

Shhhhhrrrrrreeeeeddddddd. Ded.

He's gonna kill me.


But -  I couldn't resist.  And he did let me take the picture, so that's some type of implied consent, right?  
He even looked at it and made me retake it.


The other morning, ThatManILove took a shower, grabbed a pair of underwear from the stack, and put them on.  


I heard him say, "These feel weird."

I turned around, laughed, and of course, as all good wifeys do, I grabbed the camera.


Zanna the Wonderdog LOVES anything ThatManILove.  She's addicted.  To his stuff, and to shredding.

The even weirder thing?  That Martha, the lady who helps us clean and do laundry, folded these suckers and put them in his underwear drawer.  SURELY she recognized they weren't "quite right"...


It's never boring around here!

I Thought I Thaw a Puddytat! I Did! I Did!

I stayed with my friends, the Applegaths, this week in Pennsylvania.

And they’ve a new houseguest since I was last there.  Dropped at a very young 4-5 weeks of age, by a hawk, on their back deck.

A calico cat, with more personality than any I’ve ever seen. She has NO idea she's a cat. She fetches.  She arches and hisses at the least provocation.

She hides under a blanket.

And she’s a guard cat.

She’s too funny, and made me laugh more times than I can count!

Homeward Bound

Hi, y'all!

It's been a while since I posted, or it FEELS that way, anyway!

I'm in Pennsylvania as I write this, packing up my stuff to leave my good friends' house.  It's been a beautiful stay. I was productive in the work portion, and in the work/play portion (the AADE Appalachian Blast) and in the chill portion (hanging out with my friends!).

The weather and scenery have been beautiful, I met a lot of new people and potential clients, and oh, my Lord, it rained.  I know it might not be raining at home, but the rain here was so refreshing to me.  I could just stay out in it all day long!  And I haven't seen so much green in I don't know when.

I'll take some scenery pix today as I travel en route to the airport.

Some funny things have happened in a week, and I'll be writing about them.  For now, though, I must go pack and ready myself for the trip back home to ThatManILove and my Wonderdogs.

I'll be home a day and a half, then it's off to DFW for the DFW AADE Sporting Clay Shoot, where ElderSon might join me!

It's never boring around here!

See ya in 1542 miles! Plant Love today, will ya?

Strawberry June Cleaver Nirvana-Ness

A month or so ago, I received a package in the mail.

I was so excited!  It was from Holly at June Cleaver Nirvana. 

Somehow, with all her charisma and chutzpah, she had arranged for the California Strawberry Commission to make a visit to she and twenty other bloggers in Dallas, Texas!

They were treated to strawberry soup, sandwiches, tacos and sliders while sipping on strawberry cocktails.

What a cool thing!  Go look at all her strawberry scrumptiousness here!

And, you know what?  She sent me some goodies just for commenting on her strawberry-ness!

Here they are...I’m gonna try some of these recipes pronto!!

This is a cool little strawberry bag!

And the cookbook!

A cute little strawberry sticker...

And this book - 101 Optimal Life Foods

And a sweet note from Holly herself!

We're kind of strawberry freaks around here anyway - thank God for the local HEB, which usually carries some lovely strawberries.  We love their fruit/veggie section!


And as to the "101 Optimal Life Foods" book by David Grotto?  Well, we're all over that!  We love eating healthy.


And from an oilfield gal that used to think breakfast consisted of Cool Ranch Doritos and Dr. Pepper, hey, I'm doing well in my transition!


Holly, thanks so much for my gifts - and I love love love your blog!

Perfect Novel Start for a Romantic Woman Who....Oh, Snap. Wait.

He grasped me firmly, but gently, just above my elbow, and guided me into a room, his room.

Then he quietly shut the door and we were alone.

He approached me soundlessly, from behind, and spoke in a low, reassuring voice close to my ear.

"Just relax."

Without warning, he reached down and I felt his strong, calloused hands start at my ankles, gently probing, and moving upward along my calves, slowly but steadily. My breath caught in my throat.

I knew I should be afraid, but somehow I didn't care. His touch was so experienced, so sure. When his hands moved up onto my thighs, I gave a slight shudder, and partly closed my eyes. My pulse was pounding. I felt his knowing fingers caress my abdomen, my ribcage.

And then, as he cupped my firm, full breasts in his hands, I inhaled sharply.

Probing, searching, knowing what he wanted, he brought his hands to my shoulders, slid them down my tingling spine to my panties.

Although I knew nothing about this man, I felt oddly trusting and expectant. This is a man, I thought. A man used to taking charge. A man not used to taking 'No' for an answer. A man who would tell me what he wanted. A man who would look into my soul and say...

.

.

.

.

"Okay ma'am, you can board your flight now."


Here's another funny:

TSA's holy pat-down - Air Travel Political and Editorial Cartoons - The Week

Silent Sunday - Baby Bump Shoot

Shots from yesterday's baby bump photo session.  Micah and Janice are the sweetest couple, we had so much fun!

I suggested we go to this bridge and they looked at each other and smiled.  This was the scene of their engagement. I had no idea!

 This was FUN!  I put the little stickers on the baby bump, and Mom and Dad did the art work.  Cool, huh?

Whiny Butt (okay, it's the week of the butt posts.)

My trainer you’ve gotta be getting tired of hearing about her laughed at me today.

Not sure if it was because I couldn’t do the freakin’ plank, whatever that is, (and I know what the celebrated plank is, believe me) or some-other awful thing she wanted me to contort and do, and by the way, do 20 repetitions each side. No wonder I'm falling down on the stupid toilet.  I swear it would be easier to wet my pants.

I told her, huffing and puffing and sweating like a hog running from a 55mph Polaris,  “I’m going to get better, I promise.”

And she said, “I know.”  In my head, I could hear a little sneer "bwahahaha, my pretty, I'm going to GET you!"

Me:  “I’ve gotta quit whining and just rope the hell up.”

She: “Girl.  You don’t whine at all.  I have one client that tells me no for 30 minutes of her workout.”

Me:  “No?  It’s an option? Seriously?”

She:  “I mean she tells me she’s not going to do the exercises I ask her to do...for about half of her hour.”

In my head: “Dang. I mean, what’s the freakin’ point of coming at all? That woman MUST be a bit** RICH.”

True Friends Refresh

The other day, I had a blessing come my way.

I had to run to a neighboring small town for a work errand.  And I remembered...”My friends live here!”

I tried to google their address, because I didn’t have it in my phone.  No address.

I called 411. No luck.  (This town is so small everyone gets their mail at the post office.)

And then, my brain kicked in.  I’ll find out how to search the local property tax info online!

I did.  And I found their address.

AND I drove to the house.  Parked my truck.  Walked up the walk.  The front storm door was open.  My hopes rose!

I rang the doorbell.

My friend came to the door, flung it open, and enveloped me in her arms.  We had not seen each other in a little over 7 years.  We visited, and I stayed for a little while, and then we ran Gatorades out to her husband, who is a rancher.

It was so much fun.

A good friendship is like that -  lives are so different now, but it was like I’d just seen them both yesterday.

I love a day like that one - when connections are rekindled and you realize good friends are forever..

I love them.  And in a little way, I’m renewed.  Refreshed. Smiling, inside and out.

I hope they are, as well.