Where has the year gone?

So I can't believe the year is almost gone. 2008 has been a good year so far, can't complain about anything major :) So this month I have been extra busy with work and home. I spend the last two days just relaxing and catching up on my DVR'd shows. All the animals are great. I miss Bo, but I am watching my friend's (Pictured above with Sand and Cowboy) dog Buster so that has made it easy to move on.

So the horses are doing great. Hope had a major Laminitis re-outbreak so I have had her on Wellsolve low carb and Grass Hay/Pellets and bute. Also getting her feet trimmed every 4 weeks as they are growing so fast. On of my darling horse vets at Los Lunas Vet says I should explore glue shows to bring her feet up off the ground but that would be so expensive and everything I have read says barefoot is ok.. Hopefully she will continue to do better now that I have her totally off the carbs. The rest of the horses I have switched my feeding strategy to Pellets. I was so tired going to look for hay every month, its so easy to go buy alfalfa-grass pellets- A huge 80 pound bag costs $14 at Chical Haystack and last 2.5 days for all 3 of my horses. I used to go thru a bale 1/2 a day, for $6-7 a bale, I am breaking even or saving some money. And I feed in rubber feeders which eliminates the need for eating off the ground when the hay falls out of the feeder, therefore lessoning the chance for sand colic.. Oh I also feed senior feed, the Farmway brand every night, one scoop per horse. So I think I am saving a little cash, and its healthier for them I believe. The only downfall is they finish eating in like 20-30 min versus the hour or two before when eating hay.. I still have about 20 bales of alfalfa and 30 grass hay. When I have to work a long day I will throw in a small slice of hay as well... Next year I am going to plan ahead and buy a couple hundred bales of hale though.. So I don't have to keep switching things up..

So a week before X-mas- I am having some friends over and starting next Wed night I have 12 days off, which 6 of those will be spent in Seattle with family and friends for New Years- Can't wait! Anyway I will post back soon! Happy Holidays :)

RIP little one

So on Friday I lost Bo, my little Pug to the Rainbow Bridge. He has been breathing heavily and when I took him to the vet they did a Xray- The Xray showed he had a huge tumor on his heart, near his lungs and the vet was surprised he had lived as long as he did. We had him put to sleep and I will get his ashes back in a couple weeks. I will sprinkle them in the garden. Its sad loosing something so sweet and young. The good news is the dogs don't seem to be that bothered, maybe they know he is at peace. I gave him a good life the year that I had the little guy. He was happy, and I am happy knowing he had a good life. RIP my little Bo. May you play with all my other pets and I will see you one day..

Checking IN

So this month has been crazy busy. Working a lot of hours. I will post more later this week as I have Wed-Sun off this week- SO excited! Been changing up my feed schedule for my horses, switching to pellets and a little hay.. Hope has had a major relapse in her Laminitis so she is on only Grass Pellets and Well Solve Low Carb.. Trying to get a handle on it is so hard, I think it might have to do with the weather too.. The sad truth is that she is going to have to eat alone and have no more Alfalfa for the rest of her life to keep her healthy.. I thought I could integrate her feedings but the sugar in the Alfalfa is too much, and put her body into a sugar comatose.. She is doing great though, I keep her in a nice clean stall when I am at work, and on days off she gets to roam with the horses after she eats. She is moving really slow, but hopefully she will soon be back to herself.. Anyway will post more later this week- Off to bed, only 2 days this week to work- Woo Hoo

Vegetarian Wednesday Update

So I have been really good with my vegetarian Wednesdays. I actually kinda look forward to it. Today had Pad Thai for lunch, and a Amy's Cheese Pizza is in the oven for dinner. I really love those Amy's Pizzas.. Mostly Organic which makes it so much nicer to eat.. I think I might be Vegetarion on a couple more days a week- I am finding its not that hard anymore, which maybe is a sign I am loosing my lust for meat? Time will tell :)

Today I had a mammogram which was painful. I think as I continue to get fit and loose weight they are more painful as I don't have as much extra skin. That is a good thing though! Then I went to the mall and got some great sales on clothes- Not that I need anymore clothes, but more work clothes.. I was going to ride but its too windy, so I will save that for tomorrow.

I am happy about the election. I voted for Obama, but I really liked McCain also. I just didn't like his barbarian running mate Palin. I think she ruined it for McCain. Either way I would have been fine, but I think now as a nation things will change. I just hope the crazys don't do anything stupid as there are a lot or racist people in this country. They are going to have to have lots of protection on Obama as the crazys are bound to come out..

That is all for today- I think my pizza is done- Going to settle down and play WOW for the first time in a long time tonight.. Need to connect and spend time with my buddies online- Will post back soon!

Europe here I come!

So my mom is taking the family on a Baltic Cruise next April. I leave on April 28th for 15 days in England and cruising on a Baltic Cruise through NCL from England to Russia. I am so excited! I have something to really look forward now as I was getting kinda down.. So I am looking at 10lbs a month- I think I can loose 50lbs by May. I am amping up my workout routine and going to cut out fast food and only allow it a couple times a week.. Back to the scale I go and we will see what happens.. I am not going to fly again and travel being this overweight.. Nothing is worth then a 10 hour plane ride when you are stuffed into a seat- So that is my goal! I am off to ride for the rest of the afternoon to burn some outdoor calories! Stay tuned for my weight loss journey results :)

Getting even at the end?

So today as I am at work on a break I thought I would post something that made me open my eyes a bit. A student of mine told me he doesn't eat beef anymore. When I asked why he said "The cows are getting back at us ". All the health warnings of beef and such he figured he would stop rolling the dice. This made me think of a girl I met at the SW Livestock Auction. She said that all the dairy cows there that they sell for slaugther have tumors and she doesn't even drink regular milk or eat beef anymore. Those poor cows are pumped fully of stuff and we are eating and drinking it. I guess when you think of it the cows are getting back at us, only time will tell....

Downsizing and Saying Goodbye

So my dream has always been to be a horse rescue. A year ago I rescued a thoroughbred I called Prince from a lady who races horses. She usually ships them to the auction when their racing careers are over where they end up in Mexico slaughtered but this horse won them a lot of money, she thought he deserved more. She gave him to me. I have spent the last year fattening him up, giving him love. I rode him a couple times, but didn't have the time to truly spend with him being I have 4 other equines.

Well today, or a couple days ago I found him a new home. My heart still hurts but it was the right thing to do. A man who works at the Old Mill Feed Store, Bobby has a family, and two mares, only one which is rideable. He is looking for a riding horse for himself, being his 4 kids ride his other horse. I told him the horse I would still consider "green" needs lots of work and ground work. He is not "kid safe" and doesn't like dogs at his heals. He promised he would give him a good home, and 30 minutes ago Prince left in a stock trailer looking scared and neighing for his pasture buddies who cried ( neighed) goodbye as he drove down the street. I wept like I haven't cried for a long time but I know I made the right decision. He won't end up at a slaugherhouse and will have a active family to spoil him rotten. His new family, his wife and 4 children followed behind in their minivan looking excited to have a new member of their family.

I am so sad that he is gone but who am I kidding. I have now 3 horses, one pony and hardly enough time to ride a horse a day. Prince was the low man on the totem pole, and was considently kicked and bitten at, he looked like he was always being picked on, and that isn't good for him. He was down in weight due to always shuffling from one feed trough to another, he will have lots of weight on him now being the only gelding. He is going to a home that has two mares waiting for him. He will be the king of the place now, something that makes me very happy.

With the economy the way it is, I will save about $75 a month by giving him away. I could have sold him, but I got him for free, I am playing it back. Bobbie promises if he doesn't work out he will give back to me, and he has good references from people at the feed store I checked with. He said I can check on him whenever I want, he lives about 2 miles away now. That $75 will able me to pay down my credit cards faster, something that Suze Orman or Dave Ramsey would be happy with. I am just sad but I know I made the right decision.

Now I will go finish watching Nascar and spend the reminder of my afternoon with 4 horses. Downsizing is a good thing and I hope Prince lives a happy, and full life.

Rope my Goat

So the picture above is my newest addition, a goat named Cisco gotten from a friend at work. He is like a big dog. I swear I have never seen a goat look so sad. He just sits in my backyard and cries. When I come out he runs to my side. To think that a goat can be so tame and human friendly. Princess has become his friend and hangs out with him but Rootbeer stays far away from me, he knows I am trying to catch him to take his collar off, its getting too tight. I am having my farrier out to rope him. I asked him to "rope my goat" and my co-workers can't stop laughing about that. The picture above is him trying to come inside.

So I can feel my cold coming back for a repeat vist. I just had my flu shot yesterday. So today on top of getting 10 hours sleep last night I am taking lots of vitamins and trying to stop it. Two weeks ago I had it for about 10 days. What a pain. So today I am going to early vote then to the feed store, the dog food store. I am going to put the dogs back on Canidae. Its expensive, but their health is worth it they don't like the Kirkland brand that everyone raves about. Then I am going to go pick up some Hay. I have 100 bales stacked in my barn, but I want to fill it so I won't have to worry about it until 1st cut next year. Its good exercise unloading they hay, and heck maybe I will meet some new people. Last night I went to Isleta Casino for a couple hours. It was fun and I was down, won back my money with my fav dollar slots, then hightailed out of there. Today I will use that cash for my hay and grain.

Oh and later I will ride, probably Beauty and Sand, then tonight will relax with my fav night of TV for some Survivor, CSI, Office and the new show I like, Eleventh Hour. Then off to bed for another 2 days of 12 hours of work.

A Good Day

So today I started out my day getting up at 4:30 and heading downtown to Albuquerque to do the Duke City Marathon ( no I did the 5k walk, maybe some day hehe ) We had breakfast at Wecks and then I came home, watched some Nascar, took a nap and continued to be lazy. At 5pm I got dressed and saddled up Beauty. We rode in the round pin after I warmed her up for 20 minutes and she did great. We didn't gallop yet, but did a very fast trot. She is extremely lazy but I didn't want to push her as I am riding her in waves. Started with walking, trotting, and now super fast trotting. She likes to buck now with she gallops, and I need to get my confidence up until I take that route. She did so great though. We rode for a good hour, and even though she had her ears pinned back pretty much the whole time, we made great strides.

With Beauty I have always just ridden her. She is extremely barn sour, and has a nasty attitude, but I haven't really worked with her like I am now. I think its building my confidence and its making her understand I am the boss.. After I rode Beauty I saddled up Cowboy and rode him for 20 minutes. I have him on a supplement for his arthritis and its done wonders.. I used to have him on generic Adequan IM shots every month when I first brought him home from the auction 2 years ago. He was so sore from roping he could hardly stand. My vet said his back leg muscles were shot due to roping. Well he hasn't had a shot for over 6 months, and yes its been warm but I have him on Majesty Flex Wafers I get on Horse.com. One little wafer a day, which he loves, and he is a new horse. I think with my riding, and his wafers hopefully I can keep him off the shots as they are $45 a month.. The supplements cost me less then $20 a month and he thinks its a treat, not a mean shot in the neck..

So today was a good day. My confidence for riding is soring and on Thursday I will ride again, Beauty and Sand. Prince I am giving him some time as he got kicked, or kicked something and his back leg was extremely swollen. It is down to normal, but I am also working getting some more weight on his as he is not a easy keeper.. I have started to add more oil to his diet and this winter will add rice bran and beet pulp.. Sand and Prince being so new off the track need extra calories that the other 3 don't need..

Well I am off to watch TV and call it a night. I have a busy week this week, will be pulling a 55 hour week due to extra trainings I have to facilitate. Need my beauty sleep!

One Woman Army called back home

So I have been worried and upset all week thinking of the big horse auction this weekend. Will I be strong enough to go and witness so many horses that will end up in a slaughterhouse in a week or so? This morning I got up and Sand was laying down. He is never laying down at morning feeding.. I went out feeling worried, and he got up and then layed down again. I went into panic mode. He is colicing.. I put the food out and he went down again, starting to roll. I immediately went for my phone and ran out and got the halter and begin to walk him. Within 10 min he passed droppings, but still wanted to lie down. I called my vet, she was out of town. I called my back up vet, they couldn't do house calls and my neighbors trailer is full of hay ( god I wish I had a trailer ). I called my neighbor, he said he could unload his trailer but to try his vet. I called Arrowhead Vet in Los Lunas, got a hold of a vet and he said he would be right over. In the meantime I have given Sand 1 dose of Bantamine and continue to walk him. This has gone on for 1 hour and I am a wreck.

The vet pulled up and had a large trailer behind him. He was in route to Bernalillo with some yearlings but came anyways. Sand at this point had stopped sweating and calmed down. He even wanted to eat. The vet ( I forgot his name ) said his temp was high and his gut sounds were there ( which is a good sign ) but they where fast. He gave him another shot of Bantamine, a tranquilizer and took a rubber hose down his nose and filled his gut with mineral oil. He said to watch him, and if in 3 hours he wasn't improved to call him and he will return on his way back. I walked Sand back to his stall. He was so drugged he almost tipped over. Within 1 hour he was looking better, and within 3 he was wanting to eat. I gave him a little bit of grass hay. I had to leave for work, and my neighbor said he would call if anything looks bad. When I got home tonight at 930 he was starving running back and forth wanting food. I put him in his stall, gave him grass hay, a small flake of alfalfa and 2 hours later let him out to be with his herd.

So this experience was a wake up call for me. If I go to the auction I will want another horse and today's experience will probably cost me $300+ as it is ( the vet will call me Monday with the charge) I treat my horses well but the reason Sand coliced is that I was lazy and fed too much alfalfa I am sure. I took my friends really friend goat Cisco and gave extra hay compared to what I feed. I have a laminitis prone pony and now a horse that has a temperamental stomach as this is the 2nd time he has coliced ( first time was minor and no vet was called ). I am in the progress of getting out of debt, and by the time I am 45 I would love to be out of debt ( expect my house ). So going to the auction would be a bad thing and bring grief to my life. I need to be happy and live life right now, not grieve it. I am not strong enough to document something that is so wrong. I hope that God will have mercy on all the animals that are killed and slaughtered in such a horrible way, especially the way horses are killed in Mexico.

Anyway that is the way I feel now. I think Sand was getting better when my vet came but my friend just lost her horse to Sand Colic, and she waited till it was too late. Better safe, then sorry. Above is a picture this morning of when I brought Sand in to his stall. Hope came over and was with him for 30 min while the other horses ate. She stayed by his side. Luna was worried too. Anyway that was my stressful Friday, off to bed now..

Cold Weather is here!

So even though this has been a tough week, the full moon was yesterday and I think it cleared my mind of all my troubles. I am so happy it was so cold last night. Even though I might be complaining in a few months or weeks about how cold I am I love the cold weather. The grey sandhill cranes are back for the winter and I have to say even though they are loud I really love them. They are majestic and fly over my house all day long and its surreal. I will take some pictures soon. Today my plans are to organize my closet, put away my summer clothes, pick up my weekly vegi pizza and lemonade from Dions, go grocery shopping, to the feedstore and prepare a lovely vegetarian meal as today is vegetarian Wednesday. I might even play WOW tonight as I do miss it.. I recorded Oprah yesterday and saw her show on the way we treat farm animals. It was truly a eye opener and even though I am not a vegetarian ( only on Wednesdays and some other random days ) I will continue to buy organic, cage free eggs and not have meat with other alternatives are available.

Anyway that is my day!

One Woman Army called back into active duty

So I have been thinking, with the big fall horse auction next weekend ( Oct 18-19 ) I need to go up and document the auction for all the people trying to do great things for horses. I won't be undercover or anything, but I will be taking notes and snapping pictures. If I can get some good pictures out there to the people who care and need me to document this, I will be doing things for my herd as Hope listed above was saved from certain death via transported to a Mexician horse slaughterhouse from the Southwest Livestock Auction in December of 2006. She still has health issues, but is doing great and with such a great personality I need to keep playing it back. I won't be buying anything at the auction as I have too many horses as it is, but I will be going to document. Maybe I will meet some like minded folk like myself. Anyways its not till next weekend. I have the Duke City 5k walk in the AM on the 19th in ALBQ, then will be heading to the sale. God give me strength :)

Lifes up and Downs

So what does it take to find nice dependable "won't rip you off" help in Los Lunas? So about a year ago I ran over my leach field line with my truck. It cracked and cost me $400 to get fixed ( labor and repair ) so the stupid area started leaking again and they came out today and found that there was another section that was cracked that was causing the leak. It was leaking for a whole year! The price tag? Another freaking $400! Also add the pumping they had to do, a total of $557 for something they should have fixed the first time. Of course it wasn't under warranty from the first time. So when the receptionist called to give me the total I almost lost it. I was so upset.. I have the money, or I guess my credit card limits can support it fine, but I was so mad! The owner of Franks Septic who did the work last time, and the stupid alarm, was a total asshole last week when I called to schedule the appointment. He got all defensive and tried to blame my leach field for backing up. I am like dude just come out and fix it! He was a asshole, I should have not used him but his worker bees are nice and they were familiar with the problem.

So what did I learn from another costly repair living in the country where most of the service people suck? Get up front estimates.. Get warranties.. and I guess don't drive over your leach field pipes with your truck and POS horse trailer..

With that said /rant off! The picture is of the Miraculous Stairway in Santa Fe at the Loretta Chapel. I went there with my lovely mom and sis last Sunday. You can read up the mysteries of the stairway here: http://www.evanderputten.org/special/newmexico/loretto.htm

Off to bed- Will write back soon, going to get active again in the horse rescue scene.. Will post back more later !

Albuquerque Balloon Festival Oct 2008

My mom and sister are here for the balloon festival this weekend. We woke up early today, took the RailRunner to the festival- Here is one picture, check out my Flickr site for all 90 snapshots- It was a perfect time!

The Power of the Skunk

Ok I have a little rant.. I love all creatures, hell I won't even kill spiders in my house or the mice that camp out in my grain bins and crawl up my arms when I dip my scoops in for my horses grain but the smell of a skunk is horrible.. For the last few nights I can't run my fan in from outside as skunks has been smelling up the neighborhood and in turn my house. My neighbor, who is quite barbaric catches skunks in wire traps and shoots them due to their nighttime smell fests.. I think that is really cruel as the skunk was here first, we are invading their land but I can't deal with the smell much longer. Not that I have a choice but leaving my windows open for the lovely crisp fall air isn't a option the last week due to the stench.. Right now the house smells so bad it almost makes me want to puke.. So I think that the skunks are having payback for my neighbors trapping and killing their buddies.. .. Before it wasn't that bad, but now its everynight.. I say leave the skunks alone, and I want my crisp, cool fall air back!!!

Horse Play

Tonight I was moving my bedroom closet mirrors to the storage unit outside. The horses were all upset with the mirror. Sand was being the protector. Even after I put them away they were still acting up, here is a glimpse of my Equine Family! :)

New Bedroom

So it took me a while, but I got rid of the "visible" clutter in my bedroom, painted it, moved things around and I love how its so clutter free. The only clutter now is in my closets, which I am going to start moving my summer clothes, and move in the fall/winter. I need to get one more curtain piece from World Market, but I love how it feels like more serenity.. Next project, my office- Stay Tuned!

FENG SHUI REMODEL BEDROOM " Before"

So I am starting to decorate my house. Watching Clean House and now Top Design as gotten me motivated to start to clean up my clutter, and put Feng Shui Action into my little Ranchette.. First project my bedroom- The video is the BEFORE of the chaos of my bedroom.. I will have a new video posted later of my new bedroom- How exciting is this!

Interesting Synopsis on Sarah Palin

I am still on the fence for who I am going to vote for.. I received this from a friend and thought I would post it.. Very interesting!

Commentary by Captain Paul Watson on Sarah Palin

I have to admit that the up-coming election had not gotten me very excited. I have not been worshipping at the alter of the Obamassiah. The American elections always leave me feeling nauseated over a choice between a Republicrat and a Demopublican. I’m a Ralph Nader or Dennis Kucinich supporter, men who don’t have a chance of getting elected because they actually stand for something.

And after the broken promises of Kevin Rudd and Peter Garrett in Australia I am pretty damn cynical about politicians in general.

But now John McCain has done something that has really pissed me off.

In the strangest vice-presidential choice since Dan Quayle, McCain has selected a polar bear killing, wolf slaughtering, anti abortionist, gun-toting, moose burger eating, advocate of oil drilling and natural resource destruction extreme right winger named Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska.

This choice could not be more bizarre than if he had selected Michael Palin. At least we could have had some laughs.

Forget John McCain, we’ve got to make sure that Sarah Palin does not get within the heartbeat of the Presidency.

I honestly have not seen much difference on policy between Barack Obama and John McCain. They both intend to withdraw from Iraq “responsibly” which is political speak for a prolonged withdrawal. They both want to continue the so called war on terror. They both want to escalate the war in Afghanistan. They both want to drill offshore and in Alaska. They both want to build nuclear power plants. They both display very little substance in their speeches. They both seem ready to engage the Russians in another cold war.

But today, John McCain made a decision that amounts to an open declaration of war upon the environment and wildlife.

This 44 year old former Alaskan beauty queen makes George Bush look like a liberal. This mother of five certainly does not see population growth as a serious issue and as a card carrying member of the National Rifle Association she intends to train her brood to be killers like her husband and herself.

Her husband’s favorite sport is running dogs to death pulling his ass across the tundra.

“She stands up for what's right and she doesn't let anyone tell her to sit down," John McCain has said.

Well if you consider gunning down wolves from aircraft, trophy hunting bears, running dogs to death on the trail, shooting defenseless animals, despoiling the wilderness, over-populating the planet and ignoring global warming as being right, then I guess she is the woman to vote for.

"She's fought oil companies and party bosses and do-nothing bureaucrats, and anyone who puts their interests before the people of whom she swore an oath to serve." Said McCain.

Right! She fought the oil companies, not to save the planet, but for more tax revenue for Alaska. If the corporations and Republican dinosaurs love her, she is no threat to the oilicratic oligarchy that rules the United States.

John McCain has criticized Barack Obama for his lack of experience in foreign policy yet what kind of foreign policy experience does this woman have. She was mayor of an Alaskan town with only 9,000 people and has been a first term governor for less than two years. But she was once the beauty queen for her little town of Wasilla and she placed second in the Miss Alaska contest back in the Eighties.

Like Dan Quayle before her she is just another relatively young pretty face to offset the fact that John McCain is the oldest person in history to run for the presidency of the United States.

This small town hottie is not going to pull votes from Hillary Clinton supporters who for the most part value substance over the fact that she is a woman.

Palin’s husband Todd is 43, and a former commercial fisherman who now works in the oil fields of Alaska. He spends his time racing snow mobiles and dog sleds. He likes guns.

And she is fanatical in her stance of defending gun ownership and promoting development of the oil and gas reserves in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

She even makes Bush look like a staunch environmentalist for opposing the Bush administration's decision in May to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act because global warming is melting the polar ice cap. Palin said the decision could damage the economy.

We don’t want to damage the business of trophy hunting bears to save them!

She IS the NRA!

She is also such an irresponsible "pro-life" campaigner that she knowingly gave birth in April 2008 to a boy that had tested positive for Downs Syndrome. Not only did she bring this unfortunate child into the world, she now does not have the time to care for him, being Governor and now Vice Presidential Nominee and all.

This woman who says she is a foe of political corruption is presently under investigation in Alaska by state lawmakers for firing a public safety commissioner who refused to fire a state trooper at her request. The trooper just happened to be her former brother-in-law.

McCain is gamboling on taking the votes of women and younger people with her on the ticket and considering his age, this inexperienced fanatical right winger could become the first female President of the United States.

We can’t let this happen.

If we have any hope of dealing with global warming, this woman is not going to help provide it. She will support the dismantling of the endangered species act, the marine mammal protection act and environmental legislation that we have worked hard for decades to place into law.

She will support the placement of anti-abortion judges on the Supreme Court and will encourage population growth and consumerism.

We cannot allow her to become the next potential President of the United States.

Senator Barack Obama and Vice President nominee Senator Joe Biden must be elected if we have any hope at all of protecting the natural heritage of this nation and of ending the insane foreign wars initiated by George W. Bush.

Don't have it in me..

So last night I was up late going through horse rescue websites. I came across one my my favorite sites, Alex Brown Racing: http://forums.prospero.com/alexbrown/messages and read some postings about how the local kill pen/horse auction is a resting stop for horses illegally transported from California en route to Mexico for slaughter. It is illegal to sell or transport a horse in California to slaughter, but it still happens and great people are out there trying to expose the truth, and stop it from happening. I have been to the auction before, I thought maybe this is my calling to start documenting what I see. I was going to head up there yesterday ( its only 10 miles from my house ) and take pictures but I don't have it in me to do so.. Going to that auction that day in December in 2006 was one of the most emotional days for me. Knowing that so many of the horses there would end up being slaughtered. Seeing so many shady people who are in the horse trade business for the money including the white trash lady who has a "rescue" next door and buys the horses and resells for big profits.

My life is finally getting on track. Getting out of debt, and trying to stay focused on my weight loss journey. Getting involved with documenting SW Livestock Auctions doing would do nothing but bring me heartache as I haven't found any good horse rescue people near by, and miss my good horse rescue friends in Arizona.. I would be my own one person army and I just don't have it in me.. Anyway that is my thoughts for tonight.. It depresses me to think about the way we treat animals and the horror of horse slaughter. The picture above is of Sand, my first rescued Thoroughbred who is a big dog. He has a great personality and to think that other horses, hundreds go to slaughter every week, which is a dirty secret that a small percentage of the US knows about makes me sad-

I am off to bed and going to dream happy thoughts now :)

Using a Debit Card

So the last few weeks, except for gas ( rebate through discovercard ) I have been using my debit card instead of a credit card and using money to actually pay down credit cards versus watching the balances stay the same or go up. I feel really good about it and thought I would check in. I am totally focused on getting my credit cards payed off and I am looking for 2 years totally out of credit card debt and by the time I hit 44 I would love to have my student loan paid off.... Like Dave Ramsey says I want to live like no one else and how nice would it be to be paid and only owe my mortgage and basic living expenses? I would have 1k left over each month to save towards retirement and spend and save.. Anyway thought I would check in for motivation and post this darling picture of my doggies.. Off to bed!

Roadtrip to Mountainair, NM

So today I was having a typical Sunday doing nothing. I was just about to take a nap when a voice said " Get your lazy ass out of the house and see the state you haven't even explored". So I got ready and went to Mountainair, about 40 miles from my house. I was hoping to find a cute little biker bar there were I could enjoy a beer and the people but there was nothing in that town. Pictures of the town and my 2 hour road trip are in my Flickr Page under the set Mountainair Trip.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunasgal1 . It was nice getting out of the house even though I didn't meet anyone. I stopped to use the bathroom and have a green chile burger at the Ancient Cities Restaurant, that was the highlight of my day.

I then got home and spent some time with the horses, watched Stop Loss and now I am here, soon to be heading to bed. Its nice having today off, then I work 2 more days and have 2 days off..

Anyway that is about it- I am going to try to go on more miniroad trips, I need to meet people and see this beautiful state I call home now..

Working 4-10's

So my birthday was so fun- Loved the fact that the hotel we stayed at had a shuttle to take us to and from the bar! I start my new class tomorrow- Only got 3 days rest from the old one, but I will be working 10-9pm with Sun, Wed and Thur off. I am looking forward to staying home 3 days a week but the days will be so long..

Still doing great using my debit card versus my credit cards. Went shopping today and only bought the bare minimums as I am planning to eat out more then eat at home due to the fact that I will only be eating at home 3 days a week..

Anyway that is about it! Off to bed as I have to get up early tomorrow. Looking forward to getting up early and getting home before 10pm..

Birthday Party Take Two

So tonight back at Grahams in Albuquerque I am having my 40th birthday celebration. After ending another successful training class tonight, I am in the mood to celebrate. The last two months have been crazy and I need to celebrate as my last party was canceled due to my good buddy Rachael getting hurt. Anyway I am super excited. I have a 3 day weekend and am even renting a hotel with my buddy Trish tonight so we don't have to drive home.. Fun Stuff and kinda feel like I am 21 again! Will post back the details of my exciting weekend- Start a new training class Tuesday and I need to celebrate this weekend :):)

Successes and Failures of bringing my lunch

So for the last two weeks I have been diligently bringing my lunch and dinner to work with me Tues-Friday in the hopes of helping my weight loss and saving money. What I discovered is that I think I actually spent more money grocery shopping that I would have spent eating out. Week one grocery bill was approx $80 and week two the same. So in a two week time period I spent $160.00... My average lunch out is a Sonic Salad $4.99 and a large tea $1.99. So $7 x 5 is $35 spent on nice yummy lunches I look forward too.. For dinner I have no problem eating a microwave dinner as I have found some good ones ( Healthy Choice Asian Steamers Orange Chicken YUM, and south beach pizzas YUM ) .

I also bought things to supplement my lunches like cheese, chips and I have ended up binging on those off hours which I think has been killing my diet.. So lets face it. I work 2-11:30pm and the only meal I eat at home is breakfast which is cereal and coffee. When I come home from work at midnight I like to have a small glass of wine before heading out to feed the horses, and this is really all I need at home for food.. Other food will sabotage me..

Starting next week I will have 3 days off a week. I am working 4-10's with Sun, Wed and Thur off. I am going to do what my mom does and shop a couple times a week only for what I need the next following days. I think this will help my budget, as well as my out of control eating..

I will report my findings the following weeks and I am also going do budget $50 a week on eating out. Cash of course!

Back in the Saddle

So after a successful week of bringing my lunch, and only spending $50 on coffee, powerball ( for 5 weeks worth of play ) and only eating out Saturday I was extremely proud of myself. Living off a budget is kinda fun! So tonight a friend from work brought her granddaughter over, she rode Cowboy and then after they left I rode Cowboy, and then I rode Beauty. It was scary for me as I haven't ridden since my friend Rachel fell off Beauty. I had to get back on, and tonight was the night. She did great, and my confidence was back to normal. I only have 2 more weeks of my late schedule then will be working 4 -10's in which I will have 3 days off a week. More time to spend with the horses, and work on myself. Anyway I am proud of what a successfull week I have had! I have a friend from work coming over tommorrow to hook up my dad's stereo system so I should be rocking out soon, in surround sound and will probably break a window as his system is so awesome- Will post more pictures soon as well! Big Thunderstorm coming, signing off !

Cash is King!

So what a great day I have had. Started out dropping my truck off again to have the paint sealer and horn/alarm fixed. Go figure they couldn't duplicate the alarm auto arming so that didn't get fixed. I got home and it did it again, but Murphy's Law its only a minor issue that happens when I don't hit the arm button. I can live with that. They fixed my warranty situation though and my truck has a full extended warranty until 72,000 miles, or 6 years. So nice to drive a truck that is totally paid off BTW ( Love you Mom )

So I spent the morning eating breakfast by myself at Denny's just like last week, then walked across the street to Starbucks to finish some magazines and enjoy a triple iced latte for a hour. And then to Home Depot to buy a flower for the one that died at my front door. It was so nice walking around enjoying the city I live in. Even though the main areas are a good 3 miles from my house it was nice. Then I went to Starlight Theatre and watched the new X-Files movie. I enjoyed it even though it was a tad boring in some places. I think this movie would be a bummer for anyone not familiar with the X-files, but I enjoyed it a lot.

So here is the best part! All of my expenditures were on my Debit Card, or cash! I even went to Walmart for shopping and for once I put my shopping on my Debit Card. It was a tad scary, but very empowering. I decided for this ENTIRE week I will not eat out once. That explains the $130 grocery bill but had a lot of non-perishibles like cat litter, salt blocks and TP in the bill. And lots of stuff to last more then one week. I am totally motivated for this. I am going to also track my spending and such as well. If I am going to get out of debt, I need to start living Dave Ramseys motto which is CASH IS KING, DEBT IS DUMB. So that is my exciting day. I am going to go enjoy a fresh Peach-Strawberry Daquiri and go spend time with the horses. Will check back soon! :)

Out of my comfort zone

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So today I totally took myself out of my comfort zone. I paid off 2 credit cards, following Dave Ramseys baby steps. Goodbye Avenue and Lane Bryant. ( Hell soon I won't have to shop there anyway ) His program is to start with the lowest credit card balances, and work your way up. I didn't want to pay these cards off as the balance is less then $300, but that is what I have to do to get out of debt. I don't know why I am so tied to debt.. by my 42nd birthday I want to be totally out of credit card debt. I know I can totally do that, before as I only have around $20,000 left to pay off. My goal is to build a riding arena and then a horse trailer when I am out of credit card debt. I will also write Suze Ormans show hoping I can get on her "Can I afford it" segment. She will probably say no as I need to have 6 months worth of my salary in my savings account, but maybe I will build a riding arena after I do that. Hell I am 40 now, its time to start to plan for my future.

I don't know why I worry so much about money. If I needed cash for a emergency I do have credit cards to fall back on or charge on, as right now I am putting all my extra cash into paying off my cards. Even though I only will have $100 cash on me it puts me in panic mode. I have enough hay in my barn to last me a month, just paid $220 for all my horses feet to be trimmed and shoed and that will last 8 weeks, but I still worry. Its so silly... But its part of being a mature adult that I haven't done for such a long time.

I actually feel pretty good knowing I have paid 2 cards off. I won't cancel them totally as it will hurt my credit score ( Suze Orman's advice versus Dave Ramsey ) I have 6 more to go, and I will start next with my First National Bank ( WOW ) Credit Card. It has a $3300 balance and needs to be paid off by December or I get charged compounded interest since it was a zero interest credit card. I am focused now, at least for today, which will be a good day :)

The picture above is of Princess playing with Luna. I have moved the goats into my back yard to help with weed control. I will see tonight if they stay in my back yard. They somehow have a way of making it over a fence to go back into the pasture...

The importance of keeping receipts

So the last week I have been busy with work and life. Being off the pill has done horrible things for my hormones and its time I get back on the pill, to control my moodiness. I work with a guy who has been assigned to my class who is a total control freak, and a jerk to top it off. So this week I have worked on keeping my cool, and not flying off the handle at stupid shit. I am not a control freak, but think I know a bit or two about the job I train. I guess I have the personality that people try to walk all over me, and its up to me to maintain my image and not freak out. So this week has been a challenge, but I made it through. I totally believe in Karma, and this person who thinks he is a god of all god will not have his day with me. I could never be a jerk or asshole to anyone, I don't know how people can live with themselves being that way. I guess insecurity?

I spent Sunday with a friend going to Madrid. Its a totally cute little town that the movie Wild Hogs was filmed in. Did a little shopping even though I am on a total budget, had fun window shopping and bought a cheap little purse made in China. I was thinking today it could be made of Dog skin and I would have no idea. Its hard to trust things bought in China.. Being with my friend Sunday made me analyze my friendships. This person had a short lived affair with a guy who was too young for her, and had a girlfriend. Her heart is broken now that he went back to the girlfriend, or never really left her to begin with. He cheated on her for my friend and now went back to his girlfriend who he never broke up with. I am like WTF? I have been single for a while now, and am ready I think to start dating but I will never date anyone who has a girlfriend. If he cheats on her, he will cheat on me. Anyways my friend drove me completely bonkers talking about this loser for 4 hours straight. I love her but nowI need a vacation from this friend, and hell friends are hard to come by, but I would rather talk to my dogs all day then endure what I went through. Being single is simple, end of story there..

Today I took my car to the dealership to get a oil change and this paint sealer I signed up for. Also my horn honks and the alarm auto sets which is a pain. After walking to Dennys to eat breakfast by myself, then to Starbucks to finish a book ( Good In Bed, loved in Shauna :) ) , then to Home Depot to buy fly traps. Back to the dealership 2 hours later to find out they couldn't fit me in for my work and paint sealer, only to change oil and charge me $40 for a new airfilter I guess I needed. My serviceman said in the system they don't have me for a extended warranty, they only have my truck for 36k/3 year plan and that would explain why GM sends me all this extended warranty shit every month. I got home and checked my reciepts which THANK GOD I kept, and I did pay $2500 for a extended warranty up to 6 years. I will get that taken care of next Monday when I take my truck back again to have the paint sealed and my alarm/horn fixed.

So that is about it. I am going out to feed the horses now as its almost 11pm, Prince my newest rescue thoughbred has a swollen back leg again, so I am back to wrapping it. Farrier comes Wed to trim the herd and cost me another $300. I am going to try to watch him more so I can save some money and do myself. Last time I told him I was going to trim my horses feet, start with the mini- horse he said " Kristen, please call me when you do it as I think it would be fun to watch", laughing as he said it. Its true, trimming is hard work! I love my farrier Patrick, he is extremly sweet, totally handsome, a teacher, a cowboy, and very happily married. Damn thats how it goes :)

Picture is of Prince. A beaten up young thoughbred that I saved from death at a Slaughterhouse. Back leg swells due to a track injury that will take a while to recover him. He is young, and a sweetheart.

4 lbs down!

So as I posted on my Sparkpeople page, I lost 4lbs this week! I feel great and know if I cut half the calories that I overate, I could have lost more but its down to enjoying life, and not sabotaging my diet.. This week I will begin to track what I eat on my Sparkpeople page, and I think this will totally help me track my success.. For those that don't know about Sparkpeople, its totally free, and listed on one of the links to the right..

I have been doing a lot of thinking about obsessing, which is something I have been doing a lot of lately. Today I am obsessing about getting more hay, in which I have at least a 2 week supply, its everywhere but I still obsess and act like there will be no more supply out there ( totally excessive supply in the area I live) . I also obsess about gas, and getting the lowest price per gallon. I have been known to fill up on 400 miles of my 520 mile gallon tank just to save 2 cents on gas. I really need to stop this behavior, its driving me crazy! One think I have learned to do is to do something when I start to think this way. Do something different. Today as I relax around the house I am going to organize my cat room and set up my 3rd bed in there. I don't know why I feel the need to put another bed in there, I have visitors like 3 times a year.. But at least the cats will like it..

TV Blues

So today I went to pop a movie in and my TV stopped working. It was a 32 inch Philips HDTV. I have only had it a little over a year. I have noticed the picture has been kinda fuzzy sometimes so something happen to the tube I am sure, and out of warranty of course. I panicked and searched flyers to get another TV, I have back up TV's but the biggest is like 15 inches.. I just can't make it with a small, non-HDTV! I kept hearing Suze Orman in my head saying " YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT, DENIED", but I went to Walmart and bought a cheaper Vizio 32 inch anyways, with a 3 year warranty.... I really can't afford it as I am so focused on getting out of debt. But I just cashed out my Ameritrade "Save Yourself" account in which Suze Orman gave me $100 for saving $50 a month for the last year. So I guess I saved for my new TV.. Sorry Credit Cards, you will get paid off soon.

I weigh in tomorrow and feel really good about my last weeks results. I have been working out everyday, and feel great. I also started back on my Wii Fit today, which I beat all previous records! I just need to keep it up, tomorrow I will post my weight and hopefully the 3 lemonade and vodkas won't sabotage my weight loss tomorrow haha..

Picture is of the Eiffel Tower in Paris I took in May of 2006, I want to go back next year!!

Quote of the day

"Horses are expensive, and they require daily maintenance. And once they have you wrapped in their 4 legs, it is impossible to break free. Not a bad life. Not a bad life at all."

Joe

This is from one of my favorite sites, http://www.tbfriends.com - Joe and his wife Cathy do great things for horses. This quote really made my day. As I a spent a hour this morning unloading hay, feeding and taking care of my herd I realized even though I am somewhat living paycheck to paycheck, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my life with its crazy up and downs and I think God brought me here to NM for a reason. To do what my dream has always been, to have a ranch with horses. Thank You God for everything :)

J&J Drilling, Bosque Farms=Beware

So yesterday I had a interesting day- First on the way to getting hay I got stuck in the people's yard trying to back up into the hay area. We have had so much rain my non-4x4 truck got stuck in thick sand/mud. It took them getting their tractor out to pull me out, after the guys asked me at least 4 times " You don't have 4x4 "? I am like WTF.. Anyways I probably won't go back after that even though they were nice and somehow I still tipped the guys to put hay in my truck after I spent 30 min trying to get my truck out.. I am to nice.. Then I got home, took a shower and went to do some laundry and no water. My water pump had gone out. Living in the country is nice except you have to deal with water pumps, wells, septic, ect ect..

So I called the people who put the system in, J&J Plumbing and the lady Trudy said someone will be out in the morning.. I figured keep your cool you can use water from the barn well/pump for the toilets and I was going to be gone all day anyway.. This morning they came out. They said that the electrical portion of the pump was fried and that was going to cost me $30 plus $90 labor. I was like um, isn't this under warranty? I paid you guys $1600 8 months ago for a system that I feel is too small ( Water tank is only like 5 gallons ) and I have had issues with this system the first month you put it in, the guy called and said Nope electicial isn't under warranty due to the leak you have causing it to come on so much..

So I am getting mad, but keeping my cool. I called Trudy and explained that from the moment they put this system in, gave me a estimate of $900 and ended up costing $1600 due to my old plumbing and labor ( I paid for the workers to take breaks every 15 min and smoke, I am still pissed about that ) that I have had issues. Their worker "Nick" had to come out 4 times since the install due to it leaking, and it going on every hour. He finally fixed it on the 3rd call and said they had the air wrong and it was going on too early.. I explained the first month due to incompentant employees you fried my pumps electrical system. I agreed to pay for the parts, but not the labor.

She said no, and got her boss on the phone. He was incredibly rude and said that Nick said I had a leak that was causing the pump to go on. I explained I have a small leak in the front but it was fixed, and my plumber said it was not due to that. I explained its not my fault he had a employee that didn't do his job right, and that its not fair for me to have to pay this. It took them a month to fix the problem from the start, and it was going on every hour back then! And at this point I was getting emotional and crying which didn't help. He then said that today's call will be on him, and in the future not to call him back for business. I am like WTF? My system is under warranty for 1 year, and the water tank 5. I was so shocked I just hung up and said fine. His poor workers were like apologizing telling me he is having a bad day and to please call if something else goes wrong. I told them that I will call the BBB, and that if any issues come out, he will see me in small claims court.

I was so upset- How can a small business owner get away with this attitude? There is a chance that my well will need replacing in a few years, and that is 4k and I will not go through them. I don't have any documentation from the original installation since I figured I would always go through them even though I am not happy with my first installation and the cost.

I am a typical female who just lets things slides. Well not today. Today my eyes opened and I will never be taken advantage of again. Its time to start sticking up for my finances and even though I am upset with this stupid owner at J&J Drilling in Bosque Farms, NM, I will do business with other company's and if I have any more problems I will take them to small claims court. Enough is Enough!

So the above pictures is some baby starlings who have taken up residence in my front door foyer area. Their parents are very upset when I leave and enter my front door but I guess I feel blessed that they trusted my house enough to raise their baby's. They don't have to worry about water pumps and living expenses, sometimes I envy them...

Becoming a Hermit

So for the 4th I just hung out at home and today, Sunday. I was invited to a party on the 4th but I really like staying at home and was too tired to drive 40 miles for the party. I need to get out more, as my mom says people will eventually stop asking. I got my office all cleaned and organized as well as my hay barn and the stalls. That leaves my cat room, or my backroom to organize and I am pretty much done. There will be more to keep organizing though and I will work hard to keep it up. I do need to get out more, how the heck will I ever meet anyone staying at home all the time?

So I watched some movies this weekend as well. The Bucket list was really sad and good- I was thinking it was a comendy, and it really brought some tears out. Probably related to my dad and all and the topic of the movie. Then I watched 10,000BC. That was beyond boring, and lastly Semi-Pro, which was a HUGE waste of my time. I spent most of the movie in my office surfing the web. I have to say that was the worse movie I have seen this year, and I have seen a lot.

So I am off tomorrow and will give platelets at United Blood Services and take my friend Rachael to dinner for her Birthday. Then back to the grind of work. It goes by fast though and I have a good, smart interesting class I am training ( which makes all the difference in the world ) .

Above is a picture of Luna, which Shauna calls my faithful companion. She really is when I think about it, and doesn't even want to leave my side. I think she really knows her life was saved at the pound and is truly a good girl. The rug looks wet, not sure what is going on there, I think a reflection..

The sound of bullfrogs

So today we got A LOT of rain. When we get rain in NM the bull frogs come out. It is the strangest sound and tonight it is louder then I have ever heard. I guess they live in the ground and when it rains they they come out and play. Pretty strange sounding but actually kind of cool. Turn sound up as you won't see much other then Luna playing in the muddy ground

Getting back to Serenity

So after a stressful week everything is getting back to normal. I spent my days off Sunday with Rachael having dinner and getting Pedicures and today watching TV, playing a little Star Wars Lego WII, and Weeding. Every time I weed something there is more to weed. I figure people grow grass and alfalfa for animals I grow weeds for my goats. They love the weeds. So I am harvesting Weeds this summer. Things are feeling so much nicer, and I am happy for the first time in a week. Rachael is doing soo good, and I went to church for the first time on Sunday. It was nice. I think I need some God in my life. Also my sister found out she is pregnant. So exciting. I am going to be going back to Seattle a lot it seems the next few years.. With one of my best buddies Shauna having a baby in September, my sister in Feb next year, and visting my other family it will be nice. Anyway enjoy the video. I took tonight after a hour of hard weed pulling. Seemed Sureal outside and I thought a video would be nice :)

Home Sweet Home

So I got home last night and have been busy like crazy. It was a long 7 hour drive home in which I have pretty much gotten my fix of my XM Radio's 20 on 20 station. I unpacked about half of the UHaul and the other half this morning. One of my best friends Robin comes in tonight and I will help her bring stuff in. Right now it is just all leaning against the house. I got my Moms awesome expensive king bed, and 2 dressers. My bedroom is going to so nice and organized! So I am on here now procrastinating as I should be moving stuff from my old bedroom into my 2nd bedroom but I am trying to cool down as I just got done unloading 20 bales of hay.

This weekend lots of fun planned. Gonna hit up a local bar in Los Lunas tonight and then ride tomorrow and then tomorrow night is my 40th birthday party at Grahams in ALBQ. I hope lots of people show up! Sunday Robin and I will ride the Rio Bravo river on Beauty and Cowboy and then Robin leaves 9pm Sunday night. I was hoping to have Monday off to unpack and organize but we are having a work team builder so that is OT to go to lunch and go to some game center.

Well off to continue to unpack and move furniture around.. It would sure be nice if I had a roommate or boyfriend to help me with all this labor :)

What being 40 means to me

So today is June 18th and I have been 40 one day. I woke up to a sore back and wanting to do nothing but eat. I have been eating so much bad stuff since I got in Phoenix to help my mom move. I have only gotten on my Wii one time and haven't even done any of my sit-ups. I think Phoenix harbors bad habits and I am excited to get back to my little ranch as farm living works for me. I miss my horses, my dogs, cats and birds. My neighbor told me yesterday ( who is watching my house ) that my bird is flying north. Kaylan bit him really bad last time and he makes that joke a lot now when he watching my ranch. Kaylan is a vicious bird I don't know why I have him ( The Congo African Grey ). No one would ever love him like I do even though when I let him out of his cage his one purpose is to fly off the cage and find me and bite me. I have had him 11 years and will never sell him. When I got him I realized he will probably outlive me but he is my responsibility for the life I have left on earth. That is the mentality I have for all my animals. The horses I might sell one of them, but only to a good home once they are fully rehabilitated

So anyways being 40 means to be continue to loose weight and take good care of myself. To enjoy life and maybe soon I will get on match or Eharmony as living alone is no fun and getting a tad boring and lonely. . To continue to get out of debt and live life to its fullness. Be happy and project happiness. Stop slouching as I am doing so horribly this morning I feel 80.. I leave tommorrow back to Los Lunas with a new bed, lots of cute stuff and pictures. Back to where I believe I belong, back to my new home and new life.. I have entered a new era of my life, the 40's and I think I am really..

Busy June

So I haven't posted much as this has been a busy month so far with work and life. Trying to stay active at the gym , even though the scale hasn't moved I am still getting smaller. If I just cut out all the stupid junk I eat, I will be ok. Yesterday was a nice healthy day of eating, I will work day by day. I leave for Phoenix on Saturday to help my mom pack up her house and move. I will get a lot of cool stuff from that house. Lots of art and other awesome stuff. Lots of stuff my dad picked out and loved. I am excited even though it will be really hot. I know her last air bill will be high! She sold her house though which in this market is great. And made a little profit.

I am sad for her selling her house. Part of me wishes I would have stayed in Phoenix as I know she loved it there. I could have stayed there and lived in that beautiful house and that would have been fine. She wanted to be back in Washington though with my brother and sister and my nephew Jack. She promises to come visit a lot here but I think its really boring for her. If I didn't move I wouldn't have found my ranch in NM and saved the horses and dogs I have saved from death via slaughterhouse or pound. Too many memories of my dad there though and it will be hard packing up the house being that Sunday is Fathers Day. Life moves on though, and I know I made the right decision to move here. I will really only miss my Best Buddy Robin, other friends are just friends.

I will be in AZ for a week so probably won't post anything. Next weekend is my birthday weekend though and I am having a party at Grahams in Albuquerque, June 21st. Anyone local please come :) Should have lots new pictures to add as that weekend I am planning to get lots of riding and social events in.

Above is a picture of my mom's back yard in her Phoenix Home- So nice but time to move on. I love you Dad. Happy Fathers Day

Sparkpeople

So I have decided to join Sparkpeople. Its a awesome cool online resource for loosing weight and being healthy.. I figure the more I involve myself with resources to help me loose weight, the better chance I will have to say on track. If you want to track my progress or the site check out: http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=LUNASGAL. Anything to keep me motivated is good!

Messages from my dad

So I know my dad sends messages to me from the grave. When he saw how much money I spend on horse vitamins I got a strong idea in my head to make my own and mix them together. I still can't get it out of my head, but its on my list. When I was living in AZ and on my parents anniversary I took my mom to Circus Soleil I got a strong message to sell my condo and move in with my mom. It came to me stronger then anything before, my mom agreed and within 3 weeks my condo was sold. Everything fell into line and soon I moved to NM with bills paid and enough down payment to buy my mini ranch.

Recently I have been doing more things on my own. Fix toilet, turn on swamp cooler and now I have decided I am going to learn to trim my horses feet. I bought a few books on natural trimming and bought the tools and am going to start that ( as soon as my tools come ). My good friend/horse rescue god Joey weights 100 pounds and trims her herd of 15. If she can do it I know I can. And maybe if I get good and like it a lot, it can become a part time job for me or something. I don't want to learn to shoe, I can still have my farrier shoe my 2 horses if they need, but heck I can do this! And it will keep me in good shape, or help me stay in shape.

Anyway that is my plan. With gas prices close to $4.00 I need to get creative and with this MBA on my shoulders its time to expand my horizon.

Have a great memorial day weekend- Go Dale Jr go!

Go Big Brown Go

So what a awesome race on Saturday- I think that this horse has a huge chance at the Triple Crown winning Belmont- That would be so cool and would help give a positive spin on horse racing in Eight Belles tragic death.. Or would it? Hundreds of x-racers still get shuffled over the border weekly to meet their demise on Overseas dinner plates.. I hope they pass HR 503 as then everyone will have to take responsibility for their horses..

I have been busy lately with work and home. Today went shopping and I am down to a size 20 pant size- This is the smallest I have been in like, well 15 years probably.. Its exciting and I am going to keep up working out, and watching what I eat.

That is all I have on my mind tonight- Off to bed to try to get up at a decent hour..

RIP Eight Belles

So today was a sad day in racing history, something we are seeing more and more of. Eight Belles was actually my pick for the Kentucky Derby as I have heard so much of this monster Filly and my hopes for her to win. As Big Brown came down the stretch and won the race it was so much excitement but when I heard that Eight Belles has gone down I knew it wasn't good news. The horror as the world heard she broke both front ankles and had to be put down as the celebration of Big Browns win rang on. She was a horse that loved to run, and ran too young for her size. Who is at fault? I think race horses are trained and ridden to young and after all the deaths the racing age should be raised to 4yo where the bones are fully developed. But greed and money fill the racing world, and unfortunately until more horrible accidents like this happen, the racing at young ages will still happen. A large portion of Mexican and Canadian Horse Slaughterhouses are filled with race horses who didn't have what it takes and the industry as become a use and waste business. As I hug my retired racing thoroughbreds tonight I hope and pray that Eight Belles is running free in heaven with no pain, doing what she only what she knew what to do, run.

XFiles

I realized how much I miss the X-Files- With the movie coming out soon, I joined the X-files Official Fan Club tonight and am getting this awesome poster sent to me.. I am going to frame in in my living room- I am going to buy the complete series as well- Gotta love Amazon..

Loving my Wii

So I bought my Wii little less then a year ago- I just got Mario Kart today and finally a game I am good at and can figure out. I have many others, but they seem to confusing for me to figure out I loose interest being the ADD Gemini I am- I played for a hour tonight when I should be getting ready for bed, but what the heck. Also talking about games, about WOW ( World of Warcraft) got a email from Blizzard that my account has been suspended as I have been hacked and someone has been trying to sell Gold on my account- They resolved as I am sure they checked the IP address but how crazy is that.. I feel a little violated that some spyware stole my login info from me- I have scanned my computer with my two virus programs- Pretty scary.. I am trying to talk myself out of playing anyways as wii is so much more active- and Wii Fit comes out next month- Anyway I really need to go to bed. Its 2:30am and I would like to get up at a decent hour in the AM- Off to bed~

So I have been busy trying to keep up with the weeds in my yard. This weekend I hit it hard and finally decided that I will have to use weed killer on the weeds in the front of my house that my pets have no access too. There is just too much space and I have better things to do then pull weeds that come up a week later.. So hope in the picture officially foundered as my farrier confirmed. I knew that she did but I am glad I finally know what is wrong with her. She has foundered before so this is a part of her life, the remission that is. I have her totally off grain and only a little bit of alfalfa, just grass hay while we work the toxins out of her system and get her back on track. No more grain for her though, at least until Purina comes out with their low starch grain.

Everything else is going well. I am working 3-11:30pm now so I have been having issues adapting and sleeping in, not getting anything done during the week.. This week I will change that.. I found this fun site to test your typing skills : http://play.typeracer.com/ - I have only been able to hit 60 wpm even though I know I type faster then that..

Also for horse related blogging read this site: http://www.tbfriends.com/ What a great guy doing great things for horses- Off to bed now~!

The Secret

So I have watched the Secret 4 times and really try to follow the principles in it. I heard that the Secret is really from the Bible which is pretty cool. So I have been trying not to stress about money lately. I am fine financially but stressing is my nature and my obsessive shopping on Amazon and Zappos has increased my credit card balances. So tonight I got home and got the mail and I had a check from my refinance refund from the title company for $340.00. I just smiled as they say if you embrace your problems and are positive about it, money will come from different sources. Today was a good day!

Then as I am watching TV I started thinking about my horses, and the Thoroughbred Spirit that I got from the track and how he is doing so well. I need to work more with him, and my other 4 horses. I thought OMG I am kinda a horse trainer! Kinda lazy but ya I rehabilitate race horses and help them become better horses. So instead of telling people I have a shitload of horses I can tell them I am a horse trainer. That sounds so prestigious doesn't it! I am in a way, I guess a novice but I know my stuff, I just need to get off my lazy ass and start to work with them more. Next week that will happen as my hours are changing to 3-1130pm so I will have my mornings and weekends free with my horses and pets. Especially with school done I have all the time in the world..

So today I had a few eye opening moments and today was a good day! :)

Being Sick Sucks!

So today, Sunday was the first day in three days I was actually able to do things around the house. Its been a tough week! Mon-Thur I was suffering from being so fricken sore riding like crazy Sunday and out of shape to ride that much. Then Thursday I started getting sick, Fri I ran errands trying to fight this monster cold coming and Sat spent the day in bed. I started to realize how much I take my health for granted. I am hardly ever sick, or sore and I was thinking about all my animals that depend on me, and its up to me to keep my health up. Its hard doing all I do. In a average day I feed & groom horses twice a day, vacuum, clean, feed dogs, clean up poop from outside and cat litter box and clean bird cages. This only takes about 2 hours of each day but its alot on top of my 8+ hours at work. I worry about my animals and how much they depend on me. Its only me right now taking care of my mini- ranch and I have friends but they live in town and I guess its pretty much me and I need to keep myself in check.. And to think I am thinking about playing WOW again- Talk about a time eater..

So today after watching a few movies I got myself off the couch, made my Strawberry- Pineapple- drinks/daiquiris with extra rum and pulled weeds, cleaned the barn and picked up dog poop in the afternoon- I am tired and down for Big Brother and my Sunday night TV

The picture is a dog that I am fostering for Greyhound Companions of NM. He is a sweet 3yo male off the Corpus Christi track. He doesn't mind my cats and cries when he has to go out. A perfect greyhound for some lucky person/family

Off to watch TV~