tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62019553751525130642024-03-05T14:38:19.348-08:00The Udder WomanThe Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6201955375152513064.post-10239865079867578482014-02-04T13:23:00.000-08:002014-02-04T13:24:13.165-08:00I CHALLENGE YOU!<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>What do each of these three individuals have in common?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Brad</b> - a 34 year old husband and father of 2 sons, veteren of the military, college graduate and avid outdoorsman.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Jackson</b> - a lively, energenic 3 year old who idiolized his big sister and cousin.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Mara</b> - a strong, courageous, amazing, athletic, smiley 21 year old lady.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Before I tell you what they have in common, lets roll it back to September 1994 - the day I took and passed my drivers license test. While filling out the application with name, address, height, weight, birthdate, etc. I came across a little box that states “check here” if you want to register as an organ donor. I guess I hadn’t really thought about it until that day.... By checking the box indicates “you wish to register as a donor. Registering means that you authorize the donation of your organs, tissues and eyes upon your death. Your gift will be used to save and improve lives through transplantation, therapy, research or education. If you are 18 years old or older, your decision may not be overridden by your family or any other person, but it's important to share your decision with your family.” I am not a selfish person and by all means, if my organs can save or better someone else’s life when I am done with them - please, please take and use them. BOX CHECKED.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Years down the road in 2006, a news story aired about a little girl who needed a bone marrow transplant and that there was going to be a bone marrow registery drive. All it would take to get registered to see if you were a potential match for her (and everyone else on the waiting list) was 15 minutes of your time and a swab of your cheek. Simple as that, I arrived at the designated registery drive site in the bottom of the basement in an old church, filled out some paper work, used a cotton swab and rubbed it around on the side of my cheek & whaa-la - I was now on the Be The Match bone marrow registery which is the first step to be someone’s cure. A cure for leukemia, other blood cancers and bone marrow diseases. Now obviously when you register to become a donor it doesn’t neccessarily mean that you are going to be called. I have been on the registery for over 7 years and have not been contacted, however, if I ever do get that call - I am ready and willing to donate my cells. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Now back to Brad, Jackson and Mara:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>If you haven’t guessed what these three have in common - it is that they have all received an organ or a tissue transplant.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Brad:</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bradcorry/journal">http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bradcorry/journal</a></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #000000;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brad and his wife Deanna during a hospital stay</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #000000;">The news of Brad (whom I graduated high school with) being diagnosed </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">with stage II Hodgkins Lymphoma--nodular sclerosis in the spring of 2011 was shocking. How could this be happening to someone the same age as me, who was in good health, very athletic, traveled the world, married with kids? I kept in touch with Brad through Facebook and followed his caringbridge page that he and his wife updated as he endured various treatments including chemotherapy, a transplant of harvested marrow from his own bone marrow, radiation & a bone marrow transplant from a donor. As Brad’s wife Deanna said on June 18th, the day of the bone marrow transplant</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #37404e;"> “Yesterday across the world, an unknown person donated their bone marrow. They didn't know Brad or I and they didn't get paid. Yet, they selflessly donated their time and cells to Brad so he may have another shot at a cancer-free life. That kindness is immeasurable.”. I absolutely couldn’t agree more! </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Brad battled this cancer and gave it his all. In his Dec. 19th post, he stated that 100% of the donor’s marrow took and the CT scan showed no cancer but there was a fear that GVHD is what kept admitting him back into the hospital. Sadly, Brad passed away 10 days later after he was rushed to the hospital and they discovered he had </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #232323;">severe pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and had abnormally low white blood cells.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIlYqU0laKFcMkuYAyBgcShSG1jmF43n_BOXhwBstWZ8NXAM9dsojDIEwoF-G1eqD9XaOuSZG5CjeTUIC7qXL2ndvYd36zEi-Q4OHIyHZcdwqyM1dSOMQQ6nYU2IRBG-WLQGAvHFfO-4/s1600/jacksonsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIlYqU0laKFcMkuYAyBgcShSG1jmF43n_BOXhwBstWZ8NXAM9dsojDIEwoF-G1eqD9XaOuSZG5CjeTUIC7qXL2ndvYd36zEi-Q4OHIyHZcdwqyM1dSOMQQ6nYU2IRBG-WLQGAvHFfO-4/s1600/jacksonsmall.jpg" height="320" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson and his "HERO" <br />
18 months post transplant</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Jackson:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/HopeForJacksonBeattie"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">https://www.facebook.com/HopeForJacksonBeattie</span></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jacksonbeattie">http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jacksonbeattie</a></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #000000;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #232323;">I met Jackson when he was a teeny, tiny 4 week old baby. His mom had contacted me to take his newborn photographs and had asked to have them taken in their home due to him just getting out of the hospital. I was glad to do so. This little guy was so sweet, I felt for him getting such a rough start to life. What I didn</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">’t know was how tough the road ahead was going to get for him. He was born with posterior urethral valves (meaning he couldn’t go to the bathroom while in utero and all the urine backed up and damaged his kidneys). After four surgeries, he was in desperate need of a kidney transplant. Finding a match was proving to be very difficult do to his blood type and antibodies. After almost 6 months a match was found! This little guy was going to get a kidney - from his very own 20 year old cousin!! What a hero he is to that little guy. Recovery was a long road but Jackson is a year and a half post transplant and is a happy, healthy 3 year old. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Mara:</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/teammara/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">https://www.facebook.com/groups/teammara/</span></a></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mara holding her heart post transplant</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I had got to know Mara when she was in high school through a fellow bowling teammate. The summer before Mara entered her senior year, she and her family came out to get Mara’s grad pictures taken. I remember specifically the moment inbetween a backdrop swap when her mom, Heather, told me that Mara and her both had a heart condition and that they needed new hearts. Wow, I had no idea what to say. They both looked really healthy and Mara was into sports, how was that possible? Heather explained that it was hereditary and that her mom (Mara’s grandma) had died from it when she was just 3 1/2 years old. Mara and her mom were both diagnosed with </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #101010;">hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease in which the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick when they were both in kindergarten. Mom and daughter had a lot of bonding time together with yearly tests, doctors appointments and even having pacemakers put in on the same day. The time came though and Mara was first to receive a new heart in November 2012 and Heather received hers less than a year later in August 2013. These two ladies are so strong and positive, I admire them. Unfortunately, Mara went through rejection and was given an artificial heart a year later and sadly, while battling a blood infection this January - Mara passed away. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Now, getting down to the nitty gritty....</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>I CHALLENGE YOU</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><u>I challenge you</u> to do a selfless act. Please <u>consider</u> becoming an organ and/or tissue donor! For the organs, they are no good to you once you have passed on this earth - why not pass them on to someone to give them a second chance at life? </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #64006e;"><i>One donor can save or enhance the lives of more than 50 people.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Please visit the following sites to sign up <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">(in some states, putting it on your drivers license is not good enough)</span>:</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #0000ad; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://donatelife.net/">http://donatelife.net</a></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">/ - Will have links to each of the 50 states sign up sites.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://health.wisconsin.gov/donorRegistry/public/donate.html">https://health.wisconsin.gov/donorRegistry/public/donate.html</a></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #000000;"> - Wisconsin site</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.lifesourcedonorregistry.org/donate.aspx">https://www.lifesourcedonorregistry.org/donate.aspx</a></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #000000;"> - Minnesota site</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #0000ad; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://bethematch.org/">http://bethematch.org</a></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> - Nation Bone Marrow Donor Program</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.uwhealth.org/transplant/living-organ-donation-inquiry-form/39095" style="text-decoration: underline;">https://www.uwhealth.org/transplant/living-organ-donation-inquiry-form/39095</a> - </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">UW Health Living Organ Donation</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #0000ad; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.kidneyregistry.org/">www.kidney<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><b>registry</b>.org</span></a></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">/ - National Kidney Registry</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Fact:</b> Anyone, regardless of age or medical history, can sign up to be a donor. The transplant team will determine at an individual's time of death whether donation is possible.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Fact:</b> Most major religions in the United States support organ donation and consider donation as the final act of love and generosity toward others.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Fact:</b> If you are sick or injured and admitted to a hospital, the number one priority is to save your life.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Fact:</b> When matching donor organs to recipients, the computerized matching system considers issues such as the severity of illness, blood type, time spent waiting, other important medical information, and geographic location. The recipient's financial or celebrity status or race does not figure in.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Fact:</b> An open casket funeral is usually possible for organ, eye, and tissue donors. Through the entire donation process, the body is treated with care, respect, and dignity.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Fact:</b> There is no cost to donors or their families for organ or tissue donation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Fact:</b> Every state provides access to a donor registry where its residents can indicate their donation decision.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Fact:</b> Federal law prohibits buying and selling organs in the U.S. Violators are punishable by prison sentences and fines.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Fact:</b> People can recover from comas, but not brain death. Coma and brain death are not the same. Brain death is final.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Some statistics:</b></span></span></div>
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<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Almost 100,000 men, women and children currently need lifesaving organ transplants.</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Every 12 minutes another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list.</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">An average of 18 people dies each day from the lack of available organs for transplant.</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In 2005, there were 7,593 deceased organ donors and 6,895 living organ donors resulting in 28,108 organ transplants.</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In 2005, 44,000 grafts were made available for transplant by eye banks within the United States.</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Approximately 1,000,000 tissue transplants are performed annually.</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">According to research, 98% of all adults have heard about organ donation and 86% have heard of tissue donation.</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">90% of Americans say they support donation, but only 30% know the essential steps to take to be a donor.</span></span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Have I convinced you to sign up yet? </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Give life - I challenge you!</b> </span></span></div>
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The Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6201955375152513064.post-11475832645767400082014-01-02T14:00:00.001-08:002014-01-02T16:01:11.770-08:00Love Affair, Now Divorce...<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Yep, exactly what the heading says.....</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Last year the love affair ended, this year - a divorce is in the works. Divorce from my PHONE that is!! After being quite successful at ending my love affair with Coca-Cola (going on 1 yr and 1 month), I have decided that I need to better myself, kids and husband by getting more things done around the house, try new things and spending more time with the family by going through the big D with my phone. I have contemplated this numerous times, and I guess the new year would be the best time to take action.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUAp4vYmYjPN8G3xpfEINCN0QT61z7mqYhD71bxw4KjMLDooGY414wD3xjY04vv8LHZ7pNT86d3U9aTEK9H4-yhQCYGxNz0ghul8mjKQNMN6wkzh7K6tOH8ftZw5Vmb849FLZIOgWQYs/s1600/phone+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUAp4vYmYjPN8G3xpfEINCN0QT61z7mqYhD71bxw4KjMLDooGY414wD3xjY04vv8LHZ7pNT86d3U9aTEK9H4-yhQCYGxNz0ghul8mjKQNMN6wkzh7K6tOH8ftZw5Vmb849FLZIOgWQYs/s200/phone+me.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I find myself attached to it. My husband can atest to that (and I know it annoys the crap out of him). Its with me 24-7, in the bathroom, cooking dinner, watching tv, driving, in the barn and even under my pillow when I sleep. I am always playing games, checking the news websites, reading the paper, craigslist, email and ofcourse - Facebook. The paper and the news sites I understand, I like to know what’s going on in the world and I guess because we never watch regular tv due to netflix, I am not getting updates on what goes on in the area. Craigslist and all the FB rummage sites - WTF, I don’t need any more crap in the house....And Facebook- I love reading what is going on in everyone else’s life but holy crap - I SPEND WAY TOO MUCH TIME ON THERE!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I am a phone addict, is there such thing?? Well, I am self diagnosing myself as one - A PHONE ADDICT. We were at the movies a couple weeks ago and I soooooo wanted to pull it out of my pocket and start scrolling through it, same with when we were visiting the hubby’s grandparents (I actually left it in the car so I wouldn’t pull it out!), driving - yep, I said driving. I am admitting that I pulled it out before and looked at it, my god - I am putting myself and every other driver, pedestrian, child, house, animal & lightpole out there at risk!! Stupid, stupid, stupid.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkAjlIvF-2zD9EA4gvQic3ye32r1rUByMvvH538nMdV_HJBChMnwy48lZW4hFqfSIQrNRRVss3KbTVTJY6wOtzKNTr0EWMtNHrYakdY-rYvrWQdtWMjOAhJNuHhTYKvGsCtp4XFPsHVY/s1600/phone3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkAjlIvF-2zD9EA4gvQic3ye32r1rUByMvvH538nMdV_HJBChMnwy48lZW4hFqfSIQrNRRVss3KbTVTJY6wOtzKNTr0EWMtNHrYakdY-rYvrWQdtWMjOAhJNuHhTYKvGsCtp4XFPsHVY/s200/phone3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkyLiJJhk_PQimFFPc0dLEWLLROl66qwi2zDm_e8kv8zKWUQbgw6nOyujOYJAXvgLrot6qKlJ2p_-5i9GgndCOSfSrp-CDv5Zz9AntN_iXyfyjQdYxSpu0WQiehF5BtRsRM0DFf4RFdcQ/s1600/phone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkyLiJJhk_PQimFFPc0dLEWLLROl66qwi2zDm_e8kv8zKWUQbgw6nOyujOYJAXvgLrot6qKlJ2p_-5i9GgndCOSfSrp-CDv5Zz9AntN_iXyfyjQdYxSpu0WQiehF5BtRsRM0DFf4RFdcQ/s200/phone.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So with that said, I am putting down the phone. If I don’t answer your text, email or phone call - don’t panic, I will get back to you but it will not be in the timely couple minute matter that it has been. It will be in the same timely fashion as it was 20 years ago before everyone had phones or internet. </span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This was one tough decision to make but who ever said that divorce is/was easy??? </span></div>
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The Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6201955375152513064.post-38883928470427641152013-04-29T10:43:00.000-07:002013-04-29T10:43:49.014-07:00To My Team!<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>To my team:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Ok ladies, this has been running though my mind of what I would say to you guys on bout day if asked because it seems whenever the captains ask what am I feeling, how am I feeling or if I am ready and I can’t ever really seem to spit it out. I am actually thankful that noone asked on Saturday because I fear I would have lost it with tears.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSxiZZd5YDMeWciwipLMo1Ug-wPeyP-AG3GMRGKmqAv5xzWrENqCUG0P-fI0IZX2-apKzDNgmGRSYegBrISjdlPZHe4BVwxLZiBUQtXrJOx2Zgk-k8KsClvdhjxnBp6R5nJKc2yociBc/s1600/blog+derby+team1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSxiZZd5YDMeWciwipLMo1Ug-wPeyP-AG3GMRGKmqAv5xzWrENqCUG0P-fI0IZX2-apKzDNgmGRSYegBrISjdlPZHe4BVwxLZiBUQtXrJOx2Zgk-k8KsClvdhjxnBp6R5nJKc2yociBc/s320/blog+derby+team1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Team - Harbor City Roller Dames<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">photo credit - JS Photography</span></td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I just want to say that I LOVE all of you! </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My family and I have been big followers of HCRD’s and always came to the DECC to watch the bouts. If I had it my way, I would have started derby when Red put out the original call for people to join derby. I did email her and she sent me all the info for their first get together. I never went though because my husband had said there was no way I woud be able to do it and I am not cordinated enough and was he afraid I would get hurt. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rRmInw1s-JuLmPJHO4TfEb9Kyg59wUbrXMYNByX3k_SUANmqwEf9onJppyXRDscdfnKusoUQopwbdP1KH_AIFoR0MUiZo9m1dj919Emz614YqNX1vmfx-X4VIUKPHq3a0sE9Cuz3Rz8/s1600/derby+blog+car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rRmInw1s-JuLmPJHO4TfEb9Kyg59wUbrXMYNByX3k_SUANmqwEf9onJppyXRDscdfnKusoUQopwbdP1KH_AIFoR0MUiZo9m1dj919Emz614YqNX1vmfx-X4VIUKPHq3a0sE9Cuz3Rz8/s200/derby+blog+car.jpg" width="134" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3rd practice ever.<br />Please don't hit me!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A few years went by and the urge was still there. By this time, my kids were skating every weekend with grandma at the roller rink and loving it. I did some snooping around to find out about junior roller derby and that is when I found the other area team offered it for young kids. There it was! That was my in!! If the kids could do it, I could too! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Here is a<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>peak on how “The Udder Woman” began:</b> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv99-2BVm2L82qEGWklJ9ddDJSsEF1iISXqaMJ-LdXNgnnKEcDjYwI3_dtwbMXz6q3fCQKG16RztuknMC_-Rk1WsA3xbw0Kd9q8R9BbHknSO7tJGOwBRkXZJfUk5686ATnaF_d3hjOqlI/s1600/bloig+derby+car1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv99-2BVm2L82qEGWklJ9ddDJSsEF1iISXqaMJ-LdXNgnnKEcDjYwI3_dtwbMXz6q3fCQKG16RztuknMC_-Rk1WsA3xbw0Kd9q8R9BbHknSO7tJGOwBRkXZJfUk5686ATnaF_d3hjOqlI/s200/bloig+derby+car1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My very first bout. <br />Foster skated for another team.<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">photo credit - ChipPlaza Photography</span></td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">May 2011 - I told the kids when they got home from school that we were going skating but not at the roller rink. They were excited until I explained that they had to wear helmets and pads (not telling them its roller derby in fear that they want to go). They were really confused saying “grandma never makes them wear that!”. I just told them that the place we were going required it. So that was the start, they actually started a week before me as I didn’t have any skates.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">By luck, I found a $25 pair of skates (in my size - what are the chances of that!?!?!?) on craigslist, hubby bought me pads and helmet and I was all set. First time on the skates....ummmm....yeah....could barely stand up but was expected because it had been about 20 years since I had last been on skates. My dreams of being able to skate at the DECC like some of my HCRD idols were looking pretty slim but I guess you have to start somewhere.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Fast forward to Oct 2012:</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I made some amazing friends but I had some big decisions to make. The drive to practice was starting to take a toll on me being that it was almost an hour drive one way (and road construction made it worse), the bout schedule was from late spring into summer which wasn’t working for me being that I usually have a wedding to photograph every weekend in the summer, and that when there was an away bout that I could actually go to - it was way too far for me to travel being that I have goats that need to be milked daily in the summer - can’t really tell the lady goats “hey, I will be home in a couple days - sorry, you are going to have to wait to be milked”....doesn’t work that way when you have a farm!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XTP8BwsTc45zkuCVdPsF5UrghZZ3GlmpVcq4pBeahrZZnnVqWnCeIqIRr5u784WPv1NWF8VgpkdDTVCbka0xezfzjJQR_wKuyhPVo7jF8YKMeiLh4kVHlz4XdIcKA8bOF3BevnE1Ksc/s1600/blog+derby+team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XTP8BwsTc45zkuCVdPsF5UrghZZ3GlmpVcq4pBeahrZZnnVqWnCeIqIRr5u784WPv1NWF8VgpkdDTVCbka0xezfzjJQR_wKuyhPVo7jF8YKMeiLh4kVHlz4XdIcKA8bOF3BevnE1Ksc/s320/blog+derby+team.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final Score: HCRD 161, FMDG 157</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So it was either hang up the skates or consider transfering over to HCRD (which I totally thought I did not have the skills nor the coordination to be able to competively skate with their team and that I would probably make a huge fool of myself). Plus, I had always heard rumors (and not from other team) that they were all a bunch of b!tc#e$, there is a ton of drama, you won’t like skating over there, etc., etc.....with all that said I have to say I was <b>REALLY, REALLY, REALLY</b> nervous about checking out a practice. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYcN6NpqdWijgMJv_J6CwzuleRiPJMu7Fkvbq8YMwIbsirbvND7I05NCWuVAwS2F6Ly815qqd3p1UgF29PqD0maA1SLeRCJdUKeFF55ajBhiXEpS9ErnZd_TMQSRNP7K0WwIq_cHXiul8/s1600/blog+derby+car2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYcN6NpqdWijgMJv_J6CwzuleRiPJMu7Fkvbq8YMwIbsirbvND7I05NCWuVAwS2F6Ly815qqd3p1UgF29PqD0maA1SLeRCJdUKeFF55ajBhiXEpS9ErnZd_TMQSRNP7K0WwIq_cHXiul8/s200/blog+derby+car2.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Udder Woman<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">photo credit JS Photography</span></td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Fast forward to now:</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I just have to say that all the rumors I heard are untrue! You all have made me feel so welcome since I joined! I am very glad I made the decision to keep skating. My skills have grown tremendously from six months ago when I first laced up as a Roller Dame. I want to thank all of you for continually pushing me at practice and giving encouraging words and support! It was <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">AMAZING</span> to have skated at the DECC this past Saturday in front of such a large crowd <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">WITH</span> my HCRD idols. I would have never believed anyone two years ago that you would be hearing “The Udder Woman” annouced as a rostered skater with HCRD at the DECC.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So proud be able to call you all my teammates! You are all wonderful! I don’t care what anyone else says but <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">HCRD ROCKS! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPFvYHiI0EPerBGZvp-H3JDB68ZE77hR9vZUZIBGALY0oVyZxqbnK0-K2CeiOvQ432J6UqLXp1eR27CBs0BFQOSFNdGBQ9G8bZaqJFnjCxZh-ZInXPA65dNTGhXca1UCKaPRawG1Y8_8/s1600/blog+derby+recruit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPFvYHiI0EPerBGZvp-H3JDB68ZE77hR9vZUZIBGALY0oVyZxqbnK0-K2CeiOvQ432J6UqLXp1eR27CBs0BFQOSFNdGBQ9G8bZaqJFnjCxZh-ZInXPA65dNTGhXca1UCKaPRawG1Y8_8/s320/blog+derby+recruit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Come join us! www.harborcityrollerdames.com</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">For all you blog followers, if you set your mind to it - you can do anything. Have you ever thought of trying derby?? If so, you should!! Or if you feel you cannot skate but would still like to be involved with the team - we are always looking for volunteers. For more information, please check out my team's website: www.harborcityrollerdames.com</span></div>
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The Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6201955375152513064.post-65789318662840249782013-04-18T12:54:00.000-07:002013-04-18T14:29:01.611-07:00Snow - Balls - how fitting!<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So my sister has been patiently waiting for another blog entry and I am sure a few of you have too. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89CwqwyoXPk0q297DeWUfDWD_Xv0L_KxgB4Ju2QPXeUr7fXDk8-V0lMG_VeVTW8ooLPkoNjxeIlOkTtoWQ6O5ttpP13PQXdGEl7i6Kb3fUTiZ7TWSgpZrCFLXpgYg0GdURHj-eDDgOVY/s1600/photo-156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh89CwqwyoXPk0q297DeWUfDWD_Xv0L_KxgB4Ju2QPXeUr7fXDk8-V0lMG_VeVTW8ooLPkoNjxeIlOkTtoWQ6O5ttpP13PQXdGEl7i6Kb3fUTiZ7TWSgpZrCFLXpgYg0GdURHj-eDDgOVY/s200/photo-156.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poop puddle</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I am going to use this entry to vent but first a quick update on the goats - All of our ladies have kidded and babies (just shy of 20 total) are all doing good. The babies are loving this snow but I am not! I am sick of the snow. SOOOO, SOOOOOO SICK OF IT that I am starting to think that we should sell the farm and get the hell out of dodge. I just want green grass - that means no more throwing hay or walking knee deep mud when the white stuff melts. Or hauling hay from another farm every week since we ran out of what we bought for the year. (And that is another story in itself since there is a hay shortage and prices are through the roof!). </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVEfKKDbtEKgeI201iQDLIFDKjaxyPl8pdMfxdVc7etk2YoEmg9srVSD1UU1bf_3PIsCfqbxNDWK4D2m63IA6sa-tpV3nhW_2IqtiQQ9O2DgYm50sq7cGZn3YYF_navJrKiwe9wtDKl0/s1600/photo-157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVEfKKDbtEKgeI201iQDLIFDKjaxyPl8pdMfxdVc7etk2YoEmg9srVSD1UU1bf_3PIsCfqbxNDWK4D2m63IA6sa-tpV3nhW_2IqtiQQ9O2DgYm50sq7cGZn3YYF_navJrKiwe9wtDKl0/s200/photo-157.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting muddy</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Today’s adventure.....it appears that my daughter’s little "steer" that she showed at the fair last year is not a steer after all. When we bought him he was already banded and taken care of. Well, the idiot who banded him missed a ball - how that F do you miss a ball!!???!! (I am the bander when we do ours and let me tell you, missing one will never happen, even if I have to fondle and massage the damn things back down. - gross but it has to be done!) I discovered Ralphie's issue a few months ago after he kept trying to mount me when I was doing chores. Let me tell you when you are in the middle of filling water buckets or stuffing hay into the feeders and out of nowhere something huge is clambering on your back - it freaks you out. And then when you realize its your "steer" trying to get his way with you - OH BOY, out of the barn he went to live with the big boys and girls. We were hoping "he didn't work". Well, that hope was shot out the door today after seeing his wiener come out today while trying to get on one of the heifers (who is quite larger than him, not even sure he could reach)</span>- he had to be moved ASAP and the hubby had to leave for work. <span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEP7cvoyHEU_AaZYjIEUvPnTLKdQcdasi7NNgdblRIh6h4Foc9G3eOyw9jhv899QIWjMWQ3sVBwXdS3tcF1dcYeZTHcum7HfTiVRvwN9Nc_IR9kjVsr7jbSGeDHU04VFerVKn10rY3Us/s1600/photo-161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEP7cvoyHEU_AaZYjIEUvPnTLKdQcdasi7NNgdblRIh6h4Foc9G3eOyw9jhv899QIWjMWQ3sVBwXdS3tcF1dcYeZTHcum7HfTiVRvwN9Nc_IR9kjVsr7jbSGeDHU04VFerVKn10rY3Us/s200/photo-161.JPG" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whoops!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All fixed</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Ofcourse - the corral needed to be blocked off, new wood put up where boards were missing, calf huts moved to the corral plus a bale of hay put in there cause I am NOT picking off a round bale and moving it by hand in there. (I already pick off bales in the barn to feed in there and move about 2400lbs of hay by hand a week, I surely do not need to be moving hay by hand across the pasture too). Started out with fixing the boards, not a problem, I can handle a hammer and nails. Then I had to find something to block the corral off. Dug out the buried in snow cattle panels and drug them up the road and through the yard, rigged them up the best I could to make a gate. Back out in the pasture to move the calf huts. Ok, maybe not....After snapping a shovel in half trying to dig out the calf huts, I was swearing like mad and I went in the house in tears. I called my husband and he said to leave everything until he got home. I didn’t think that was a good idea....cause the “deed” could have already taken place by then and that would NOT be good! There is no way in hell that we need to have calves being born in the dead of winter. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS5ts6A2BLb8vOZKIXgQhhPkYn_xzl7LlqArjhVIQqoJ-2QzG25ZP-7x0bKh9Mc0u487-2pJoQOqjsjmqWSuNI8UB_5EQhE8mOJIr4-8tV-X6BAtDWDi7ka8l_TAsmkY-5l9T12qoptLc/s1600/photo-158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS5ts6A2BLb8vOZKIXgQhhPkYn_xzl7LlqArjhVIQqoJ-2QzG25ZP-7x0bKh9Mc0u487-2pJoQOqjsjmqWSuNI8UB_5EQhE8mOJIr4-8tV-X6BAtDWDi7ka8l_TAsmkY-5l9T12qoptLc/s200/photo-158.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rigged up gate</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I hate asking for help with things but I sucked it up and called my neighbor. I felt bad calling her since she works midnights and was sound a sleep but she came to the rescue to operate the skid-steer (thinking maybe I should learn how work that thing even though I REALLY don't want too cause then I will be expected to use it and if something breaks- it will be my fault!). Once she freed the stuck calf huts and helped move them in the corral along with a bale, I thanked her profusely and told her I owed her lunch next week. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">She offered to stay to help get Ralphie in the the corral but I figured he would be easy to get over there since he is halter broke so I told her no - go home and get some sleep. I should have just had her stay.....Ralphie was NOT going to cooperate getting the halter on. Finally got a rope on him, then a nice drag through the mud I went. Phew - he stopped and I cornered him between the gate and the barn and put the halter on - upside down and backwards!! That wasn't working so as I was fixing it another steer came up behind him and mounted him, well that freaked out one of the heifers and she squeezed though the little section of gate I had open to move Ralphie through. Not to worry, she was still in a fenced in area but now she was in with the goats. AHHHHHHH! That was real fun chasing her around to get her back over to the gate (which I had now shut otherwise all the goats would have been on the cattles side). Successfully got her back over, was able to fix the halter situation, now it was time to move. NOPE - he was not moving! I pulled and tugged and all he did was fight it and go backwards. It was like 1 step forward, 2 steps backwards. I decided I would try and push him (hoping he wouldn’t kick) and steer him with the halter rope in one hand and the rope around his neck in the other hand kinda like driving a cart. I managed to get him though the gate without anyone else crossing to the wrong side, around the barn we went and back up the other side towards the corral. I was getting exhausted as the snow is not plowed, I kept sinking and I was fighting him the whole time. As I was pusing him with my chest right on his rear, he decides he is going to poop! FABULOUS, who doesn’t like cow poop smeared across their chest!!!???!!!!! That last 50 feet to the corral seemed like a mile and when I got him in there it felt like I crossed the finish line. Too bad nobody was cheering for me!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsHj27ym1Qt-1AEufqiyIyyU24gEOdyzh187vjYiZv4IAi5LtDNsxTcHBb5lfXNDdUxQL1P63Rkdw_tQuPdiY0dKL3Xw1QCM0ZBylrMzcPwnk-Q2gk7Hyez1CaBMCkFrpirXeMn0THck/s1600/photo-162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsHj27ym1Qt-1AEufqiyIyyU24gEOdyzh187vjYiZv4IAi5LtDNsxTcHBb5lfXNDdUxQL1P63Rkdw_tQuPdiY0dKL3Xw1QCM0ZBylrMzcPwnk-Q2gk7Hyez1CaBMCkFrpirXeMn0THck/s200/photo-162.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmmmpppfff - would rather lay in<br />
the hay instead of the hut that<br />
he normally chooses to<br />
squeeze his fat body into.<br />
Glad I went through all the effort<br />
to move it in there.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Now it was time to bring him a buddy. #50 was going to join him. I walked into the barn to get him and realized he would have to wait, I was out of energy - heck I will never have enough energy to move him myself. #50 is about 9 months old and is very strong. When we wormed the calves earlier this year, he wanted NOTHING to do with it. In his craziness, he plowed through the pens in the barn, knocked my husband down & ran me over scraping my arm along a cattle panel (to which I now have a pretty 5 inch scar on my arm). He is going to be a two man job to move if not three. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPM0wRsvQXcSKBErEkwp3C1o2su9RrZ6ka3U4t69rVuJEgplK0AbrJsKp9BAWnmGQYAsWPwrXsIIgYIdVjD2Mtv1ssUyvKMZYwMZo1IslKIYZzBHV7MISMMgkf3j5AzhNJv43AbJtjkM/s1600/photo-163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPM0wRsvQXcSKBErEkwp3C1o2su9RrZ6ka3U4t69rVuJEgplK0AbrJsKp9BAWnmGQYAsWPwrXsIIgYIdVjD2Mtv1ssUyvKMZYwMZo1IslKIYZzBHV7MISMMgkf3j5AzhNJv43AbJtjkM/s200/photo-163.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One-baller Ralphie</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So that was my exciting 4 hour barn chore morning. Lots of swearing, LOTS! Hope the next time I drop F bomb when I am out there that all the animals don’t come running to me. From the way it was coming out of my mouth, they may think that’s all of their names! Ooooopppps!</span></div>
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The Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6201955375152513064.post-13917049781880729392013-03-25T10:27:00.001-07:002013-03-25T10:27:47.180-07:00Love Affair Gone Bad<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Just over 3 months ago I gave up my love affair with Coca-Cola. Let me tell you, it has NOT been easy. I really depended on all the sugar and caffeine - consuming about 6 cans a day to keep me going.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In fact, it substituted as breakfast. As soon as the hubby drove off for work, my first can was cracked and gone within 5 minutes. Loved the feeling of the fizz and most importantly, it gave me the urge to poop. I know, I know - TMI (too much information) but seriously if I didn’t have a can of coke, there would be no toilet time.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFanigvRuD7HZPm8q0VQYsfIZUDd1yaFOKLxqLPsAfaAZeAfwUFkG6TWnNn_qTtjQv-5rI2FzHQ5UAu9whK-GNV_NH_lFVg4f2WRwdtQJEo3GJ8ftpXrurFaHSVIX_5Li-vyAfNnzEMQU/s1600/coke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFanigvRuD7HZPm8q0VQYsfIZUDd1yaFOKLxqLPsAfaAZeAfwUFkG6TWnNn_qTtjQv-5rI2FzHQ5UAu9whK-GNV_NH_lFVg4f2WRwdtQJEo3GJ8ftpXrurFaHSVIX_5Li-vyAfNnzEMQU/s200/coke.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just say NO!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">With addicts, they remember their last time, just one last fix. Well, my one last can wasn’t planned nor did I see quitting even coming so the words “one last time” didn’t apply. My last can happened at my step-mom’s birthday party on Dec. 15th. I hadn’t had a coke all day so when we got there I happily cracked open a coke. Little did I know that the next can would become the last. I sipped away on the second can until we were ready to go and that’s when it happened - the love affair abruptly ended. Not because I wanted to...it was more because I didn’t have any left at home and I refused to buy a 12 pack at the local country gas station for $6! So for two days I was without....then the migraines & nausea set in. WOW, I was miserable! That’s when I decided enough is enough.</span></div>
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Here is my parting letter the day I said I was done:</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Dear Coca Cola, </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We have been together for a long time - from thin to thick (which I thank you for contributing to my midsection muffin top), and in good times and in bad. You have been there for me to keep me going when sleep is hard to come by, help control/maintain my bitchiness, give me enough energy to juggle two businesses, a farm, kids, bowling & roller derby and finally stimulating morning bathroom duties.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">After this weekend and having the last can out of your case and being totally out for two days, you punished me with an awful, awful migraine and even made me throw up my delicious Grizzly’s dinner. That was totally uncalled for. How DARE you make me waste an entire day of not being able to get anything done!! I have dreaded the day that I would say this but I am ENDING my love affair with you. No, I will not be bringing home your buddy Diet, he does not meet the expectations as you had fulfilled.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sad to see you leave my life but here’s to the beginning of a new, hopefully healthier new year!!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Signed ~</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">YOUR FIZZLED OUT LOVER</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The first few weeks were really tough. I craved the sugars so bad. I almost gave in but was able to hold on and be strong. I think one of the toughest days was going from derby practice to a beef meeting and sitting besides someone who had a can of pop (and not even a coke at that!). It looked like GOLD and was sooooo tempting. As she lifted it up to her mouth, I felt like ripping it from her hands and guzzling it down. Now obviously I didn’t do that but I do wonder what the rest of the members would have thought if I did that!! Crazy, pop deprived mom dressed in fishnets and shorty shorts stealing pop. WOW, that would have been a sight to see!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1d7rzfBb_zXrY2O871GNxbRdOzrltfD9ZJNHU8rXFD_ZNx7O2VdglUQ3aNpaEGnTCIaEcO55GNEalFQu1ytwKD5G2BQV2T421bzW3j3JQyspINGN06A8K0XCUFUDhdyo005lBCNqFjaM/s1600/photo-153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1d7rzfBb_zXrY2O871GNxbRdOzrltfD9ZJNHU8rXFD_ZNx7O2VdglUQ3aNpaEGnTCIaEcO55GNEalFQu1ytwKD5G2BQV2T421bzW3j3JQyspINGN06A8K0XCUFUDhdyo005lBCNqFjaM/s200/photo-153.JPG" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boring black tea</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I must confess that I did not cut out the caffeine. I LOVE plain, black, boring tea so I now consume MANY cups of that a day. I do use the same tea bag for the whole day so I am not getting as much caffeine as one would think, in fact by the end of the night, its pretty much plain hot water. However, there have been two nights that I must not have had too many cups during the day thus making my night tea caffeinated which then resulted in me being up until 3 or 4am. Lesson learned - no tea after 6pm or make a decaffeinated cup instead.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RXq2imRyqAywT01LLoDb947fZSixiCh-y0JCrn4MpJXbNd17CsMiLhyphenhyphenQHwV-xhkgMHtzjbSWDIHAEgZcQ3F4OKVCyVG-xn_BAFTaj-S2O16YvTbJA-9kqx32TPfgvo_ndUk543mP0WA/s1600/photo-154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RXq2imRyqAywT01LLoDb947fZSixiCh-y0JCrn4MpJXbNd17CsMiLhyphenhyphenQHwV-xhkgMHtzjbSWDIHAEgZcQ3F4OKVCyVG-xn_BAFTaj-S2O16YvTbJA-9kqx32TPfgvo_ndUk543mP0WA/s200/photo-154.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scale today!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So here it goes......the best part of this whole “ending my love affair” is.......the scale! I went from over 200lbs to just hitting the high 170’s. 23.6lbs to be exact. That equals out to be a small child or a bag of dog food or 3 gallons of milk! It’s crazy how much I have lost just with cutting out pop. I am sure the 2-3 practices of roller derby a week sweating for an hour and a half each time has contributed to the loss but I know that from practicing I have gained a lot of muscle. Not only does the loss show on the scale but it shows in my clothes too. My jeans that I bought last fall are falling off even with a belt, shirts that wouldn’t normally fit actually look half-way decent again and....my underwear are all too big!! Body wise - my love handles are getting smaller, my belly is somewhat looking flatter again (despite the ever lasting butt looking appearance it has from the emergency c-section) and my boobs are once again sticking out further than anything else on my body! YAY!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Way too big!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Looking into the future - I think with a little bit of a diet change and/or added daily exercise besides barn chores and derby, I could easily see being down to 160lbs or less by the end of summer. Is that my goal??....Well, I am not sure yet - get back to me in a month!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Until then - cheers with black tea!</span></div>
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The Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6201955375152513064.post-84719128517467840412013-03-18T17:29:00.001-07:002013-03-18T17:29:25.000-07:00And then there were cattle....<br />
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Part 2 of the start of the farm....</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White faces from a few years ago.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A year went by and I got the “honey, we should get some cows”. My answer - NOPE! NOT HAPPENING! We knew nothing about cattle and were still very new to the horse thing that I didn’t think it was a good idea. My husband would still bring it up now and again and finally one Sunday while I was doing a photo shoot consult there was a knock at the door. It was the farmer neighbors from down the road who we buy hay from.....and annouced that our steers were here and where could they unload them. WTF!!! I flew off the handle! (Thank god my photo consult was a good friend otherwise I might not still have them as a customer.) I went outside cursing my husband, I was SOOOOO furious!! I couldn’t believe that this was happening!!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A jersey that we raised up bottle<br />feeding dressed up for a contest as<br />Marilyn Mooooo-nroe.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">They unloaded them into the horse corral which was where they were suppose to stay until they settled down and learned the electric fence. Well, apparently one had no intentions on staying in there. Have you ever seen a steer jump????? Well he did that day....He jumped over the 5ft high boards smashing them to pieces and proceeded to run straight through the fenced in pasture with the horses chasing him. Do you think he stopped when he got to the gate on the opposite end?...nope....kept right on going busting through the gate and into the second pasture. HOLY CRAP - there goes $700 running away! &#$^#(%(!!**%#&#*(%)%*@&^#@%#@*Q%(&*%(#*&%(Q*#^%#@*&^*@$^*&#^%#^%&)##!*@ (I think the farmer neighbors learned some new words from me....all profanities!! The one even commented that I might have scared the other from dating!).</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Since he ended up in the second pasture (or so we hoped....), we were told just to leave him and let him settle down. And that if we didn’t see him in a few days that we might have to go “hunting”. The next day we spotted him at the fence line and let him back in. So that is how we got into beef cattle! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Stay tuned for more...still have goats, bees and chickens to go!</span></div>
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The Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6201955375152513064.post-76818864055141234822013-03-04T09:25:00.001-08:002013-03-04T10:44:17.757-08:00Work, Work and MORE Work<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We have a baby!! Ok, she is a week and a half old now...I am slacking on blogging. But seriously, there hasn’t been any extra time to blog. Last week was a whirl wind with no relaxation in there. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgun-PLp75pR-JfQ_V0lSLXbwecPZJV5JQAE6ZAF8IxsJzND75pnnyaBH40ws5-hkXtL-87nWLJ1PBGKgUA7UDI44Xq_QwBE9ae14XaWA6QXPjXgIUtx4Tm0GfH0lUUC32IlMbQtrlfigk/s1600/Onyx+brownie+baby+email.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgun-PLp75pR-JfQ_V0lSLXbwecPZJV5JQAE6ZAF8IxsJzND75pnnyaBH40ws5-hkXtL-87nWLJ1PBGKgUA7UDI44Xq_QwBE9ae14XaWA6QXPjXgIUtx4Tm0GfH0lUUC32IlMbQtrlfigk/s200/Onyx+brownie+baby+email.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby girl Onyx</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Somewhere between Thursday night and Friday morning, Brownie had given birth with no complications. It was a nice surprise to start Friday off with - a cute little black baby girl. Ok, she was actually pretty big since she was the only baby. Brownie needed that though as last year she had triplets and I think she needed a break as those babies are demanding! I took the baby into the house in the later morning and did a quick photo shoot with her. She was so sweet nuzzling up to my chin trying to nurse on the way up to the house. Momma wasn’t to happy though.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">On to Saturday and the kids had their beef spaghetti dinner/silent auction fundraiser. Spent the whole afternoon into the evening from setting up to serving to taking down then home to do chores in the dark. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We started off Sunday with barn chores, then going down the road to pick up calves, back home to clean the barn, band, tag, worm & vaccinate all the calves that were already in the barn. I am the lucky one who gets to do the banding....for those who don’t know - that entails putting a rubber band around the calves balls. Usually its pretty quick but there are some instances where they suck their balls up so you have to massage them back down. Yep - fondling cow balls!! Sometimes you even get crapped on in the process too - thank goodness that happens about 1 in 20 times and I was lucky to stay crapless this time. By the time we were done with everything and back in the house it was 6:30pm. We were both exhausted. Catching those 4-6 month old calves really takes a toll on your body. I was on the ground and run over WAY to many times. Got a nice bruise and cut at least 6 inches long on my arm from trying to catch and hold a calf but resulting in my arm not holding and scraping down the cattle panel. Then was plowed to the ground and had my pelvic bone stomped on by #50. He is NOT a people person and was not about to be caught.....Seems to me that he cause the cut on my arm too. And I know my husband ended up on the ground from him as well. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Relaxing in the truck<br />
after getting a cast.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Monday I spent the morning at the vet with a goat. She must have gotten underneath in the herd, got stepped on and broke a leg. LOVELY!! So there I was putting her in the front seat of the truck, she refused to lay down and was standing up the whole way into town. I got some weird looks at the stop lights as who expects to see a goat looking at you through a window when you are at a red light. We got there and she decided to poop, good thing I had a blanket on the seat. I plucked her out and put her on the ground and then she peed! THANK GOODNESS she was outside because she had a river flowing!! Into the vet we went. After the exam and xrays, she was casted. They said she was the best goat patient they ever had, didn’t cry, try to get away or anything. I carried her back out to the truck and she finally laid down. She had some learning to do with this cast on her leg as she wasn’t sure what to do. Next it was time to spray out the bed of the truck from hauling calves. Went to the first car wash, no dualies or ext. cabs with 8 foot boxes allowed. Called the hubby and he said go in anyways....I didn’t as the owner or manager was in the office and I didn’t want to get yelled at....</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEMxMIwydpyWLzdMmELmA457G2m3oJ4BUzREL6mondjEG3OfB8rjLaCc1BMPD9mGYYSZsPrs6dS8bx7ZmDqjvoWf7LUwFEhDw7zsFXwIEJOl2JDrX3uIE6rc6Qpl9FmKfKo2BThux7B88/s1600/photo-147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEMxMIwydpyWLzdMmELmA457G2m3oJ4BUzREL6mondjEG3OfB8rjLaCc1BMPD9mGYYSZsPrs6dS8bx7ZmDqjvoWf7LUwFEhDw7zsFXwIEJOl2JDrX3uIE6rc6Qpl9FmKfKo2BThux7B88/s200/photo-147.JPG" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glad to be home!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I headed across town, dropped eggs off for a customer and then pulled into another car wash. Since there were no signs - I drove in barely fitting. Now for the fun job....Let me tell you I will NEVER spray the bed of the truck again. I was covered in spattered cow crap from head to toe! Disgusting!! I felt bad for the person who was waiting in line after me. There was even poop splattered on the car wash garage doors!!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Next was the post office and ofcourse I would run into someone I know....remember, I am splattered in poop looking my finest. Then it was a quick run into the sandwich shop to grab lunch and meet my husband since I still had an hour before I picked up grain from the brewery. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creative way of moving a 500lb<br />
barrel of grain to the calves<br />
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the 4-wheeler trailer had a flat tire.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Finally headed home, got the goat settled into a pen then started chores. Still super sore from the day before - dumping 2000lbs of wet grain for the animals was a little difficult but I did get it done.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The next day was more farm work - headed to pick up three of our butchered steers and deliver them. That meant more lifting....1000 lbs of meat - UGGHHHH. Who needs to work out????</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Finally got a break on Wednesday to get some computer work done - my only day of the week so I had to use it wisely.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My brother unloading hay.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Back to farm work on Thursday hauling hay. We were down to one bale and the person who we buy from didn’t have any extra to spare since he had semi loads hauled out to the south where there was a shortage on hay. Thankfully, I found another local person who had some hay to spare and didn’t charge me a $100 a bale like some other people in the area are doing. Glad to know there are still some nice people out there!! But before I could get on the road with the trailer I had to get it out first. I hooked up to it and tried to go - NOPE, stuck. The tires of the trailer were frozen in ice. My brother (who was over to help unload since I do not know how to use the skidsteer - more on that in a different blog) had to lift up the back of the trailer with the skidsteer to get it out of the ice. Perfect, try to pull forward again - NOPE. The yard where the trailer was parked was pure ice so the tires on the truck just spun and spun, there was no moving this big, heavy trailer. He tried pushing the trailer from the back while I tried going forward - NOPE. Just great, I went from getting to the farm to pick up hay early to now going to be late. One last option, he was going to pull the trailer backwards while I was in reverse. YAY!! It moved and I was able to get out. It was smooth sailing from there. I even got to practice (ok, it probably wasn’t practice since I really needed to do it) backing up the huge trailer numerous times to turn around and by the end of the day was able to do it on the first try without having to pull forward numerous times and start over.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUhyphenhyphen1cqNc53zyalNQJ7k-BwSOLaPTUIXYEoukWNJ9Z4bau092Cn5vu-hKATxxN1PaS8T8fTuI4nR4j_XZCzkA_JMMhFBWl7Os-6mMqG37iE4021G3qa5J4GxJol0QeuhV3BCvfKtGUGE/s1600/photo-141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUhyphenhyphen1cqNc53zyalNQJ7k-BwSOLaPTUIXYEoukWNJ9Z4bau092Cn5vu-hKATxxN1PaS8T8fTuI4nR4j_XZCzkA_JMMhFBWl7Os-6mMqG37iE4021G3qa5J4GxJol0QeuhV3BCvfKtGUGE/s200/photo-141.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selling goat milk soap at the expo</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Friday was spent getting ready for the women’s expo the next day where I had a booth to sell my goat milk soaps. Mad scramble as always to get everything ready and NOT forget anything!! I would say that I was pretty successful as the only thing I forgot was my business cards but I was able to make some generic ones so it was no big deal. Expo was a success, sold a lot of soap, met a lot of people and even got to talk “goat” with some goat owners.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">PHEW! That was the week and a couple of days in a wrap, now you see why there was no blogging! Glad it is over, now I have to plant my butt in my computer chair to get caught up on photos. Oh and don’t worry, I have more to share on the start of our farm. You won’t want to miss it, I PROMISE!</span></div>
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<br />The Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6201955375152513064.post-58184164102471722012013-02-21T10:44:00.000-08:002013-02-21T10:48:06.974-08:00The Start of the Farm.....Part 1<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Today I was suppose to go to a women’s farm conference but instead I am at home with a puker. I was really looking forward to going as it covered a variety of topics such as balancing a farm with everyday life, keeping safe on the farm, managing farm records (ugghhh - I totally could have benefited from this one!!) & a great opportunity to network with other farm women. Plus the day ends with cheese, wine and door prizes - totally bummed I am missing this! I am hoping that one of my fellow farm gals will fill me in later with all the details and information that she took from it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Instead of sharing about the farm there, I will just blog about it instead. Let me just start by saying that neiter my husband or I grew up on a farm, worked on a farm, nor did we have any experience in livestock. We kinda of fell into where we are now.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">START OF THE FARM - PART 1 OF THE 4 PART SERIES</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nFIDD4CjHtKgXPy6SnAVozMachSOg9m7XAtV6D1-FucYkoOtLkVdymNOokl6f4fXG3E99c90-Yq7zWzElCZN3fvJStdIjCbrZcwHMfUVkgqyTtGfhSBmpEcUmHM63zPdzRJtNEqzilc/s1600/blog+start+farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nFIDD4CjHtKgXPy6SnAVozMachSOg9m7XAtV6D1-FucYkoOtLkVdymNOokl6f4fXG3E99c90-Yq7zWzElCZN3fvJStdIjCbrZcwHMfUVkgqyTtGfhSBmpEcUmHM63zPdzRJtNEqzilc/s200/blog+start+farm.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Never imagined that this would<br />
eventually become a pasture and <br />
where the pole barn would be.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It all started almost 10 years ago with a phone call from my husband. I remember I was shopping with my mom and sister at Kohl’s when he called. He asked me if I knew anyone who wanted two horses (for free) as his mom’s friend had passed away and they needed to place them somewhere. The first thing out of my mouth was - “we could take them”! What the hell was I thinking????? Oh yeah, that we had 50 acres in the country and had LOTS of room. So <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">that </span> </i>phone call was the start of the farm and my husband reminds me of that quite frequently. Since we didn’t have fencing or shelter for them, we needed to board them down the road. It was a learning experience from the get go with them. We had have a vet do coggins checks on them & make sure they were geldings otherwise they couldn’t be boarded at the place we found. We also had to rent a trailer for a 2 hr drive. When we got there, we were able to catch the quarterhorse but the pony - WOW!!!!! He was so afraid of everything that it took hours of us chasing him around, cornering him in this shed and that shed- round and round we went. Finally we were at our witts end and loaded the first one we caught and sure enough, the other followed right in the trailer. Guess we should have just tried that first instead of exhausting ourselves. Then it was time to hit the road - in a blizzard! Just fantastic! We were both nervous as could be hauling LIVE animals and then to have crappy road conditions just put the icing on the top.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVo9KqRXqMFHaCYE3lh1GNMm6tPSdl-v1ZGNbY1WowOPMqP0C49GVF0u4Yg-p-03fXGa3iApHBRKlNsuT8klzIRRujqOfujh1anVCUoCQQihO1UfmW1ENBQE66B1NLIlX24Qtza1lIz1A/s1600/blog+start+farm2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVo9KqRXqMFHaCYE3lh1GNMm6tPSdl-v1ZGNbY1WowOPMqP0C49GVF0u4Yg-p-03fXGa3iApHBRKlNsuT8klzIRRujqOfujh1anVCUoCQQihO1UfmW1ENBQE66B1NLIlX24Qtza1lIz1A/s200/blog+start+farm2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture please! Always<br />
had to get his nose up to the lens.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0CdqiInChh_4fHxIdT2P-S3QgPOLuSUtobsvgAGFOxGw9h3xzHD5xecoRjATHVWYP4CM-xv6-3J6gJHZx1ezJ35lTnK3xYi6JIVs1LesPBVIrKicsHqV1kzc2tiZAiRY20mCblal3OA/s1600/blog+start+farm1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0CdqiInChh_4fHxIdT2P-S3QgPOLuSUtobsvgAGFOxGw9h3xzHD5xecoRjATHVWYP4CM-xv6-3J6gJHZx1ezJ35lTnK3xYi6JIVs1LesPBVIrKicsHqV1kzc2tiZAiRY20mCblal3OA/s200/blog+start+farm1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the sun<br />
and the green grass.<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We made it to the horse boarding place safely and unloaded. They took off into the herd running everywhere and causing mad chaos with all the other horses. The one that we were able to get loaded first seemed to be picking fights with all the large draft horses, we figured that they had to get their pecking order all figured out before things would settle down....or so we thought!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnyxejzpIqTNHbN0mrab3xaiTb_WFAPx17T7Vjr1E7nMaMBCl5W2NAdNdA4egoxRMUIz_CcChDNhWi2wrdsnFdWQYAiCT5j2RCB0S6GoExItH10tAPnfrDzT4UcR5YFG8VsC_nsUbjxEY/s1600/blog+start+farm3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnyxejzpIqTNHbN0mrab3xaiTb_WFAPx17T7Vjr1E7nMaMBCl5W2NAdNdA4egoxRMUIz_CcChDNhWi2wrdsnFdWQYAiCT5j2RCB0S6GoExItH10tAPnfrDzT4UcR5YFG8VsC_nsUbjxEY/s200/blog+start+farm3.jpg" width="120" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nervous pony</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhycMSd_xfPgby3MScdO707Wfk14b2EifXJMS_c8pTTO7365Rx67JzhOEas3AxZ8Ja8K9D1GO2WR2UMv_zKfCeOdV6DSsiW4gA-Z1VQv8ml3e6tA1U_kmStRJn7lVjaYBXRk_ZmMr24EvA/s1600/blog+start+farm4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhycMSd_xfPgby3MScdO707Wfk14b2EifXJMS_c8pTTO7365Rx67JzhOEas3AxZ8Ja8K9D1GO2WR2UMv_zKfCeOdV6DSsiW4gA-Z1VQv8ml3e6tA1U_kmStRJn7lVjaYBXRk_ZmMr24EvA/s200/blog+start+farm4.jpg" width="120" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boss</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A few days later I had a farrier scheduled to come trim their hooves. When he was trimming the quarterhorses hooves he called me over and asked me if I knew that the horse was a stallion. I gave him a confusing sort of look and didn’t have a clue what he was talking about - I mean the vet verified that these horses were geldings. He then told me to reach up underneath the horse and feel......HAHAHAHA! Nope - wasn’t going to do that - no fondeling of a horse for me! I trusted him and made a not so nice phone call to the vet explaining that the farrier had informed me that the horse still has his balls. She insisted that he didn’t and sometimes they will have fatty deposits in that area. We went back and forth on this and eventually she said that she would make a farm visit the next day. You should have seen her face when she realized that she screwed up!! Now what??? Are we going to have a bunch of pregnant horses out there??? She assured me that because its the dead of winter (like 3 days before xmas) that it was highly unlikely that anything had happened. So the next step was to take care of the “issue”. I was totally unprepared for this and if I knew what was to happen, I would have made sure that my husband could of been there. A little surgical operation needed to be done and I was the lucky one that had to hold the flashlight! Ummmm.....yeah.....it was not pleasant! The vet had to “cut them out”. WOW! What a great experience to have 3 days into being a horse owner!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">About 9 months later we finally had some land fenced in and a pole barn built for shelter so we were able to bring the horses home. My husband and I were so anixous to work with them and <i>try </i>to ride them. Riding never did happen with those two as they were rescue horses that the lady had rescued from being abused. So we ended up getting some riding horses and slowly learned from there.</span></div>
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The Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6201955375152513064.post-69611862771023959042013-02-18T08:03:00.001-08:002013-02-18T08:03:14.235-08:00D-Day is coming!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Babies first drink.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Getting ready for D-day (delivery day)! Per my calculations, our first babies should be here by the weekend. Apparently Brownie didn’t want sloppy seconds and let herself over to the Kenny’s side a month early. I totally expected Kenny to tell her to get back on her own side and that she needed to wait another month - LOL - wait, who am I kidding - He’s a male! He wasn’t going to turn some action down! What male does??</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">She could have picked a better day to “get some” though as I was on my way out the door to photograph my cousin’s wedding when I caught her “in the act.” Normally, I would have put her back on her own side and hope that nothing happened but I let her be because there was no way I was going to try and get two horny goats away from each other and not get that nasty buck smell on myself. That smell is terrible to get off and definitely didn’t need to smell like that at a wedding!!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my 2011 Easter<br />photo shoots.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9M4AqwVbLE_r56PjHKwfqWCeh2rfyOati0zNN-ybw-AvA0IHTRQSV8Yn9dHT_YC5Zmb2wZcrLf3tP-9ND7gzbu-ZTL4iCcG8v7dRmZ00pJbtoKbsCXPvNlXXP3U92WHzYV7LVRdR7uiY/s1600/blog+dday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9M4AqwVbLE_r56PjHKwfqWCeh2rfyOati0zNN-ybw-AvA0IHTRQSV8Yn9dHT_YC5Zmb2wZcrLf3tP-9ND7gzbu-ZTL4iCcG8v7dRmZ00pJbtoKbsCXPvNlXXP3U92WHzYV7LVRdR7uiY/s200/blog+dday.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New babies</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This means I will have goat babies for Easter photographs this year too!! I usually do a weekend of Easter photo shoots with a live bunny and baby goats (if they’ve been born) and all the kids LOVE it. Last year was disappointing though as babies were scheduled to arrive the weekend after the photo shoots. But not too disappointing......I had 10 shoots scheduled for the day and just was getting started on shoot #2, my youngest came running in telling me that she just watched Whitie have a baby! WHAT??!!?? Are you kidding me?!?!! We finished up the shoot and I borrowed the kids some poop boots and out to the barn we went where there was a brand new little girl. The kids thought that was so neat to see a new baby. I continued my day with photo shoots and Brownie decided that she was going to give birth too. Why not??? I mean it’s not like I didn’t have time to keep running out to the barn in between shoots to make sure there are no issues!</span></div>
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This week is a busy week for me and I am sure it will happen at the most un-opportune time but hey, I plan for that as that is just how it goes around here. :) Until then...stand by for the birth announcement...</div>
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The Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6201955375152513064.post-89742102331585920412013-02-07T10:45:00.000-08:002013-02-07T10:45:39.095-08:00Who follows a recipe to a T? NOT ME!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvyvL1UJ9ufgOI2bAe5GINSC9uU7duGM3z69msJIR0oHzmrzeeBGBREFsiHjJDU64O32tlrBP9wmyfkK41bwJmAurTC0tGLNPE6v6K4_hYfYbK8gOWmLrYLypBiby_cA7LS5x2aU4zEo/s1600/Blog+recipe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvyvL1UJ9ufgOI2bAe5GINSC9uU7duGM3z69msJIR0oHzmrzeeBGBREFsiHjJDU64O32tlrBP9wmyfkK41bwJmAurTC0tGLNPE6v6K4_hYfYbK8gOWmLrYLypBiby_cA7LS5x2aU4zEo/s200/Blog+recipe.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pork from down the road,<br />
beef from our backyard.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I love to cook but with my busy schedule most of the time I just slap something easy together. Not yesterday. Thumbing through one of my cookbooks I bought from an area restaurant, I came across their recipe for pasties. It was a bit different from the usual recipe I use so I thought I would give it a whirl. Ofcourse, I didn’t have <i>all </i>the ingredients (which is usually the case when I start to make something) so I had to modify and substitute. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Browning the meats</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This recipe called for 1lb of burger and 1lb of mild Italian sausage. Burger - check! Mild Italian sausage - hmmmmm - how about pork breakfast sausage that was raised down the road?? Sounds like it would work....guess I am not sure how different of a taste the two really are but thats what I was using for a stand in. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Now for the vegetables - carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic and rutabaga. Wait....rutabaga? Why the hell would I have a rutabaga just laying around to be cooked?? I couldn’t even tell you what one looks like & quite frankly - it sounds gross! Guess I will be substituting for that too! I used extra carrots, potatoes and my newly added ingredient - celery to equal what I think would equal a medium sized rutabaga.....</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnZbyPL4KBVJfoSUialxL3YiRfXMy55ILqwfGZ9TW6cZJUo_ee-C01Qaa9MkgIJlNqWSXqMBX3Kphhm3IxHmgwHIihsvdzkIp7sjTaqPpkP8AZtDiQ1ki9rePsid8Qw5YbQoQnlS1ndA/s1600/blog+recipe+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnZbyPL4KBVJfoSUialxL3YiRfXMy55ILqwfGZ9TW6cZJUo_ee-C01Qaa9MkgIJlNqWSXqMBX3Kphhm3IxHmgwHIihsvdzkIp7sjTaqPpkP8AZtDiQ1ki9rePsid8Qw5YbQoQnlS1ndA/s200/blog+recipe+3.jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filling all ready</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Chopped everything up and browned the meat, added some seasoning and pepper - the insides were ready. Time for the crust. Good gawdes...it called for 3 cups of shortening...I was already feeling my arteries starting to clog up just reading that. But <i>if </i>thats what it called for and I had it then I was going with it. Combined that with flour, eggs, white vinegar and cold water and it was ready to roll out.</span></div>
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I should have probably taken the advice of the cook book and seperated the dough into 12 equal balls but I didn’t. I just grabbed a big blob and rolled it out, put the filling in and sealed it up. When I put it on the large cookie sheet it took up 1/4 of it! This was a jumbo pasty - over 9 inches in length and 5 inches across!! Next blob of dough was a bit smaller but not too much. In the end, I ended up with 1 jumbo pasty and 9 almost as jumbo pasties. Shorted myself two pasties by not following directions - whoops!<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">One pan went in the freezer and the other in the oven for dinner. I have to say it was nice to have dinner all cooked up and ready to serve by noon besides the fact that I was the only one here! Good thing these are good reheated or cold cause thats how the rest of the family was going to eat them! I served myself up one for lunch. Job well done, it was awesome tasting...that was until later...when I kept burping it up the whole time at roller derby practice. Nothing like tasting it again and again and again! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdezG25XGAFoulNYf17w8hjbCEkg0USNt8XEwozkQErqDeqMGX4NUNwBwPrz9lomxDJSHWYptWD0HBQ36AkGDeLfB5ZOftucq40dTHCRAxtUMHWrh8BYHCuQtelH1JH_wLVnTaMtq8VA/s1600/Blog+recipe+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdezG25XGAFoulNYf17w8hjbCEkg0USNt8XEwozkQErqDeqMGX4NUNwBwPrz9lomxDJSHWYptWD0HBQ36AkGDeLfB5ZOftucq40dTHCRAxtUMHWrh8BYHCuQtelH1JH_wLVnTaMtq8VA/s200/Blog+recipe+1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final results!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The hubby and kids liked them, recipe (or shall I say modified recipe) is a keeper. I will most likely modify it a bit more the next time and reduce the vinegar in the crust though as it had a little bit of a vinegary taste. Oh yeah and I forgot to mention I didn’t egg wash the inside or the outsides of the crust....another whoops! So maybe I will add that in next time.</span></div>
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The Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6201955375152513064.post-9185545381702289262013-02-06T10:32:00.001-08:002013-02-06T12:29:25.561-08:00Carrot of Memories<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">While doing barn chores this morning I was contimplating on my next topic for today's blog. I have tons of different things I could write about so I started making mental notes of what they would be. I had my mind made up on todays topic until I was in the kitchen chopping carrots while the kids were getting ready for school and a chunk of carrot fell to the floor. In an instant - the dog gobbled it up and memories came flooding back from almost 15 years ago.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lily's scrapbook. The only<br />
scrapbook I have successfully<br />
created (my kids are still <br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It all started when I worked at a gas station and my friend’s friend had pulled up in a truck with this big, slobbery, wrinkley faced dog in the back. It was love at first site. I knew I needed one. I searched the papers for months and finally found an ad that said “english bulldog puppies - $800.” I made the phone call and they had one female left and that someone was going to come the coming weekend to take a look at her. Well...I WANTED her but the problem was I was a poor college student that didn’t have $800!!! Where the heck was I going to come up with that kind of $ that day??!?!? It was about 4pm in the afternoon and I got this brilliant idea to call the loan officer at my bank (had done a few loan transactions with him prior with vehicles and I was in good terms with him). I probably sounded like a crazy lunatic on the phone and explained I really <i>needed </i>this puppy and it would be an investment and planned breed her when she was old enough - I mean if I am paying $800 for one puppy - imagine how much money 10 puppies would bring in (which I never ended up doing - THANK GOD)!!! Somehow I managed to convince him that she was that important and managed to get a loan for her. HOLY CRAP - what kind of bank gives a loan out for a puppy and let alone to a 19 year old poor college student!!??!! So I called the people back and let them know I was coming tonight and where were they located. I drove an hour and a half away to pick her up. She was sooooo tiny, cute, rolly and wrinkley. It was hard to believe that she was all mine and that was the day I became MOM to a 6 week old English Bulldog who I named Lily. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9U1vcXNtblEJOhtVm-InsExBfoz06oWdtsnA8OhAtvnBOAWvZPq1FG2hF44CIPz3m6jqh42JwAsD-rWlTiseWiNuOAHEruIfeql7j-8S-VIepvWizQNN8lwmGw4PjRleonisASfdbdiw/s1600/blog+carrot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9U1vcXNtblEJOhtVm-InsExBfoz06oWdtsnA8OhAtvnBOAWvZPq1FG2hF44CIPz3m6jqh42JwAsD-rWlTiseWiNuOAHEruIfeql7j-8S-VIepvWizQNN8lwmGw4PjRleonisASfdbdiw/s200/blog+carrot.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleeping with mom,<br />
best snuggler!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">She quickly became my best friend and helped me through such a rough time in my life through the grieving process of the loss of my human best friend. Lily went everywhere with me - to the bars (yes, I managed to get into bars underage), to late night parties, family events especially to grandpa’s to eat turkey- everywhere. She even slept with me in bed....under the covers. She was also a great listener and never told anyone my secrets, she snuggled when I was sad and just know how to brighten my day. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So many memories from my dad naming her “pig dog” (her pink skin shown through her white fur when she was little) -to cleaning out her kennel and bathing her every day because she liked to poop in her kennel...totally contradicting that dogs won’t poop where they sleep! -to taking her to puppy school where she was beast of energy -to the day she snuck out of the house as a pup in the winter and ended up at the pound -to taking baths with me and LOVING it (I know, I know.....weird!!) -to chewing up a plugged in extention cord at my mom’s house (not sure how she didn’t get hurt!) -to her checking out “the new baby” after coming home from the hospital - to loving to run through mud puddles at full blast. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first Xmas - crazy ears<br />
that stood up. Figured she<br />
might have had some french bulldog in <br />
her despite her purebred english papers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPZQQRlJ1-yJXjdmXy2EQhpD6Adj2oDPz-Dg0v5LpGohojy8NKM-55pZ49n6gs7G0iMQfqWrN6kWNeGkrx5k8-Vl19qdNhk5vdtxbXBo1LXme8rRod16CNydwCAFUv1HckdfEe_RWghs/s1600/blog+carrot+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPZQQRlJ1-yJXjdmXy2EQhpD6Adj2oDPz-Dg0v5LpGohojy8NKM-55pZ49n6gs7G0iMQfqWrN6kWNeGkrx5k8-Vl19qdNhk5vdtxbXBo1LXme8rRod16CNydwCAFUv1HckdfEe_RWghs/s200/blog+carrot+7.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a bath with mom.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">She even was my first model in my photography career (not that I knew that I would become a photographer back then). I used to pose her with things and take pictures, then distibute all the prints to my family members. To this day, I am pretty sure my mom still has a framed “i love grandma” Lily pic up at her house. </span></div>
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Now I am sure you are thinking “how the heck does this story relate to a carrot??”. Lily LOVED carrots. She discovered them one day while I was feeding the rabbits and after that they became her favorite treat. I am sure the grocery store clerk thought I was a really healthy eatter when I came through every week buying a 5lb bag of carrots - little did she know they were for the dog!!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YUM! CARROTS!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvonAdvZvJQUWuXCPRrJQh3cu5S8CDPTnlg2b4-oS376TynUOf6tQ_I1lxft4_kyIkckjb955AIy2_ce7oGpifCwxq3wuEnTpVCvTX9DPt8yeTx43xDBAx_0y3dJp3d8MivE18XHBluDY/s1600/blog+carrot+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvonAdvZvJQUWuXCPRrJQh3cu5S8CDPTnlg2b4-oS376TynUOf6tQ_I1lxft4_kyIkckjb955AIy2_ce7oGpifCwxq3wuEnTpVCvTX9DPt8yeTx43xDBAx_0y3dJp3d8MivE18XHBluDY/s200/blog+carrot+2.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Posing</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Such great memories! I had the pleasure of having her by my side for 12 awesome years (which is longer than the average lifespan of 8-10 years). During the last year of her life she started to deteriorate. She had lost a lot of weight, was diagnosed with lymes and diabetes and then pneumonia. Towards the end she wasn’t feeling good so one night I made sure the kids gave her lots of extra hugs, kisses and pets. Before I went to bed, I laid with her and told her she was such a good dog and that I loved her. I also told her that if it was her time to go, then it was ok - go. 3 hrs later I awoke to her final breaths. I was heartbroken. The grieving processed started all over again but in a different way from when I brought her home. She will always have a special place in my heart - my first “baby”.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLHX1FfjsFAu8z7j-2P7Gy-CH5uvArLOUvcqGzkw5k-iLCqPcC4RXkWIviK7cD-EEZ7i9yMTcLrb9zBSNOc356s8KapWmTJsCMEHQFvkwrc3rIIkS3mPP-ZdojjmEZvilpRUxGdBXCyM0/s1600/udder+sign+png.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLHX1FfjsFAu8z7j-2P7Gy-CH5uvArLOUvcqGzkw5k-iLCqPcC4RXkWIviK7cD-EEZ7i9yMTcLrb9zBSNOc356s8KapWmTJsCMEHQFvkwrc3rIIkS3mPP-ZdojjmEZvilpRUxGdBXCyM0/s400/udder+sign+png.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvonAdvZvJQUWuXCPRrJQh3cu5S8CDPTnlg2b4-oS376TynUOf6tQ_I1lxft4_kyIkckjb955AIy2_ce7oGpifCwxq3wuEnTpVCvTX9DPt8yeTx43xDBAx_0y3dJp3d8MivE18XHBluDY/s1600/blog+carrot+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"></span></a><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvonAdvZvJQUWuXCPRrJQh3cu5S8CDPTnlg2b4-oS376TynUOf6tQ_I1lxft4_kyIkckjb955AIy2_ce7oGpifCwxq3wuEnTpVCvTX9DPt8yeTx43xDBAx_0y3dJp3d8MivE18XHBluDY/s1600/blog+carrot+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span></a>The Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6201955375152513064.post-39445824397783830302013-02-01T08:33:00.000-08:002013-02-01T08:33:49.124-08:00DeJunking!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">For those of you that know me - I am not an organizer. If stuff is organized, I can’t find anything that I am looking for. If I have a heaping piles, I know what’s in each pile. This frustrates my husband, ok - it drives him absolutely CRAZY!! I would love to be able to do a 31 day of declutter as my friend Michelle did and blogged about: <a href="http://www.michellemuckala.com/category/31-days-to-a-de-cluttered-home"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #0000ad; text-decoration: underline;">http://www.michellemuckala.com/category/31-days-to-a-de-cluttered-home</span></a> but seriously - I need to be realistic cause I need a hell of a lot more time than 31 days!!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">365 days - my goal to get my house organized this year!! Think I can do it??? Here goes nothing....First off - I need to dejunk and part with things. This week, I made the move. Laundry was the number one on the list. I have not been able to see the bottom of my laundry room in forever. Is the flooring tile? Cement? Carpet? I managed to get a peak of it after MANY loads of laundry. Then the fun part comes - putting the stuff away. You see, I can get the stuff washed and dryed but then it comes out to the living room and hangs out on the big chair. There it sits until someone is looking for something, or the dog decides to bury himself in it. Half ends up on the floor and I am sure half of that ends back up in the laundry. Imagine 8 loads of clean laundry piled up, guess it was time to get started on the dreaded job, even my kids groaned when I said it was time to put it all away. But first they had strict instructions to go through their closets and dressers pulling everything out that they didn’t wear or like anymore.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTszgypjNPR9KrnVxZBf_vXt9bQ8hXiCTe0cT0TKl-SCI2QvmNEWiDRUCCseSfk0wgvgvao3UEXyLDSYnIMuIWm4OIe6NiKN1HPXi4hp-M0gGxfSpJXCd-2YIG61A7WnwUhUuHfTkFV4/s1600/blog+dejunk2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTszgypjNPR9KrnVxZBf_vXt9bQ8hXiCTe0cT0TKl-SCI2QvmNEWiDRUCCseSfk0wgvgvao3UEXyLDSYnIMuIWm4OIe6NiKN1HPXi4hp-M0gGxfSpJXCd-2YIG61A7WnwUhUuHfTkFV4/s200/blog+dejunk2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The laundry chair</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzvqEXALXO8uGErb1u36mwZ5wo18QKfGpblm1Wy1kDmgPvbwjYVVpwwoejzCnpCRSBuDr0QEt8E-kGuaJb8-P7BW__WJAKCESssBGktEGUfQ6YbRWN3LU565kNvxE8wkfWvzKLL8THMY/s1600/blog+dejunk1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzvqEXALXO8uGErb1u36mwZ5wo18QKfGpblm1Wy1kDmgPvbwjYVVpwwoejzCnpCRSBuDr0QEt8E-kGuaJb8-P7BW__WJAKCESssBGktEGUfQ6YbRWN3LU565kNvxE8wkfWvzKLL8THMY/s200/blog+dejunk1.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laundry room after the girls<br />cleaned their room one day.<br />That was fun to wash<br />all of that! </td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">One trip, two trip, three trip, four! OH MY!! Had enough stuff for 3 regular sized garbage bags of clothes and that was just theirs!! Thankfully I had already gone through my closet back in Nov and had managed to come up with 3 bags myself. There was actually a lot more but I had sold some of it on the online rummage sale. I would have loved to sell more but quite frankly it was a hassle taking pictures of everything, listing the stuff, replying to people if they had questions and then also setting up meeting times for pick up. And that means the stuff is still here until it sells and if I need to dejunk - I need it gone NOW. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Up until last year I usually donated all of the kids clothes to Head Start but since my kids are older than the kids that go there - Head Start has no use for the bigger sizes. I really wanted to be able to donate all the clothes somewhere where people that needed them didn’t have to pay for them. The kids clothes went to a church where they have a clothing restore where people in need can come in and get clothes for their kids and my clothes along with two bags of the kids toys went to a community center that offers them just like the church. As long as I don’t see “our” clothes end up on the rummage sale site I will continue to donate to those places.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOm6_L-vPFdg6Thjh7IDmqwS8Gicep9yBHhnEstGZrccJxrXTkYCeMVIQ9obeihn8-oONBEmrxJFGWY41v34GHATDHJhfc8-MOuTfsESJVza2yl6_u47PAgs7OHQnyrspcuy1jTV5z2iY/s1600/blog+dejunk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOm6_L-vPFdg6Thjh7IDmqwS8Gicep9yBHhnEstGZrccJxrXTkYCeMVIQ9obeihn8-oONBEmrxJFGWY41v34GHATDHJhfc8-MOuTfsESJVza2yl6_u47PAgs7OHQnyrspcuy1jTV5z2iY/s200/blog+dejunk.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">PHEWW! Just like that - 8 BAGS GONE!! That is 8 less bags of clothes I need to wash!!! But I better not get too overly excited though as there are at least 6 more loads of laundry piled up on the chair again.......not to mention the 3 baskets of socks that are hiding out in my bedroom that need mating.....Wonder how many more bags of clothes I can come up with to exit the house?? Goal for next week - 3 more! </span></div>
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The Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6201955375152513064.post-5682388118150640522013-01-29T16:00:00.004-08:002013-01-29T16:05:56.999-08:00The Lost Pumpkin....I have been told by numerous friends that I should write a book about my life so I decided I would try doing a blog. Seriously.....NEVER a dull moment over here, you will not be disappointed if you stick around....<br />
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So here goes nothing, my very first blog......<br />
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Yesterday while cleaning and going through my photography stuff, I FOUND the lost pumpkin. One of my fellow farmer's market stands was getting rid of her pumpkins because it was nearing the end of the season so she gave me this "baking pumpkin". It is not your typical carving pumpkin, infact it is kind of ugly! Well, I never did bake with it but instead used it as a photo prop for my fall sessions and then figured the goat's would get a nice treat out of it plus a bonus (raw pumpkin is a natural wormer for them). As fall photo sessions flew by and worked into Christmas sessions I did think about the pumpkin once and figured my husband must have thrown it out to the goats because I hadn't seen it in a while. WRONG!<br />
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After going through a big cluttered pile, I spotted the top of the pumpkin. I was afraid to look to see what kind of mess lurked in the basket it was in. To my surprise, it was bright orange and looked just as good as it did the last time I seen it. Apparently, its hiding spot in a basket next to the window with junk piled on top of it was enough to preserve it. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVqiNMl0OHJx4JJGWIEWw0IdXG5mqIk8wPvo7xeuaudUKC2yc8n3CuqJLa5xaOlYEkrM4NaPVdAFECNzWGfyFezaL01OrY7YrmZcc04KfbWV-FOEhrBsb9oQSpu2uyKhq8i81jHZy3PTM/s1600/blog+pumpkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVqiNMl0OHJx4JJGWIEWw0IdXG5mqIk8wPvo7xeuaudUKC2yc8n3CuqJLa5xaOlYEkrM4NaPVdAFECNzWGfyFezaL01OrY7YrmZcc04KfbWV-FOEhrBsb9oQSpu2uyKhq8i81jHZy3PTM/s200/blog+pumpkin.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The LOST Pumpkin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The question was - now what to do with it. Should I try baking a pie with it??? Or should I throw it out to the goats??? Asked my facebook friends - some said PIE, PIE, PIE - others said GOATS, GOATS, GOATS! So today, I inspected the pumpkin again and decided I was going to hack the thing open and see what the inside looked like. I took a big pie-like slice out of it and my nose was filled with a sweet scent. It was the best pumpkin I have ever smelt!! So I gutted it out and took the insides out to the goats. Then I proceeded to cut it into smaller chunks and then used the peeler to peel the skin off. I then had to puree it but all I had was a magic bullet instead of a food processor or blender. Hmmmmm - the bullet just wasn't going to do it. I then realized that I should have baked the pieces while the skin was still on so then I could scoop it out of the skin and puree it - making it 10 times easier. Messaged for a friend to call me as I totally thought I screwed up now that there was no skin on it. She assured me it was fine and that I could still bake the pieces but I opted for the microwave instead. Yep, if I would have cooked it in the first place I might have saved some wear and tear on the magic bullet.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NYKEtpPw-5pomew0sX4Q5ZV9pJBtq6lOHKlXLb1NzhOyftDVwgkOulN_3UWP5rF8KgpiXwPG7d2d912yHdKd7Av95Hi4jx2LX8YvHNtrRRqC_pkJKO_8M08t2t7mcGRGLfhyphenhyphen4yzrfRw/s1600/blog+pumpkin2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NYKEtpPw-5pomew0sX4Q5ZV9pJBtq6lOHKlXLb1NzhOyftDVwgkOulN_3UWP5rF8KgpiXwPG7d2d912yHdKd7Av95Hi4jx2LX8YvHNtrRRqC_pkJKO_8M08t2t7mcGRGLfhyphenhyphen4yzrfRw/s200/blog+pumpkin2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All from 1 pumpkin.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I ended up getting 6 cups of puree out of half the pumpkin so it was time to make a pie or 3. Much to my dismay....I didn't have all the ingredients in the house for a pumpkin pie - darn condensed milk or cream depending on recipe that was used. I thought about running to the local country gas station to get some but I really didn't want to spend $8 on a can/container and driving 25 minutes to town on icy roads were out of the question. Ok, now what??? Pumpkin cheese cake?? No - I totally do not need to be indulging in that. Pumpkin bread?? No - just made two loaves of banana bread last Friday. Pumpkin Bars? - Hell ya!! (ok, these are probably no better than the cheese cake....LOL). So pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting are what I made. The hubby and kids will be happy as well as the goats. Win, win situation even with extra pumpkin (now frozen) left over for future baking.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuaVywIwXmly1ZQj3EmgTRxEtZe7xHXeDMOkxynBU6zkpFfiaJs7LpYAf0aKSWwZyxzVaw2kgUoB1tWfz3hKn0LH6vEOsimJCzm0SOKjgZX-XyFnQjBcncCFOYSZgf_WKS_COFhxTDVV4/s1600/blog+pumpkin3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuaVywIwXmly1ZQj3EmgTRxEtZe7xHXeDMOkxynBU6zkpFfiaJs7LpYAf0aKSWwZyxzVaw2kgUoB1tWfz3hKn0LH6vEOsimJCzm0SOKjgZX-XyFnQjBcncCFOYSZgf_WKS_COFhxTDVV4/s320/blog+pumpkin3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the oven it went.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9HKFxNtJ4xM7np7sNME7jPB0m52iRG2_g_JBL2bcRGDXXNDUsxqhb0hKP-0-_KAfAPkdzrAyaW1AawLw-Izpo3R57OX7HBxx4Zy7NuNaf7zOJuIcuaAnYSlOuKsEofMXqEqbpsy4-e0/s1600/blog+pumpkin7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9HKFxNtJ4xM7np7sNME7jPB0m52iRG2_g_JBL2bcRGDXXNDUsxqhb0hKP-0-_KAfAPkdzrAyaW1AawLw-Izpo3R57OX7HBxx4Zy7NuNaf7zOJuIcuaAnYSlOuKsEofMXqEqbpsy4-e0/s320/blog+pumpkin7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished product - more like pumpkin cake.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Would you like the recipe I used to make the pumpkin bars???<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Pumpkin Bars</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 100%px;"><tbody style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top" width="50%"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
4 eggs</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1 2/3 cups white sugar</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1 cup vegetable oil</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">(I used 2 cups puree from my pumpkin)</span></div>
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2 cups all-purpose flour</div>
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2 teaspoons baking powder</div>
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1 teaspoon baking soda</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top" width="50%"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1 teaspoon salt</div>
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1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese,</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
softened</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1/2 cup butter, softened</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1 teaspoon vanilla extract</div>
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
Directions:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">2. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture until thoroughly combined.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">3. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Spread the batter evenly into an ungreased 10x15 inch pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool before frosting.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">4. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">To make the frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Add confectioners' sugar a little at a time, beating until mixture is smooth. Spread evenly on top of the cooled bars. Cut into squares.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><br /></span>
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Let me know how yours turn out! (Mine turned out more like pumpkin cake, the kids and I sampled some before dinner - whoops!)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXdo8jVc-9mfacd8gMvrSJoawJ1lqh6BzNYY_H1NwH9f0Bv6u6g5g-90sUoNcqJ9Z8V1jj09YU_8NkofOJp6U7qz2jOi5xfi3nJ7zrwASyLiTamnBIZX1ttapW1k1JUYHnZIWk4qj93eo/s1600/blog+pumpkin8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXdo8jVc-9mfacd8gMvrSJoawJ1lqh6BzNYY_H1NwH9f0Bv6u6g5g-90sUoNcqJ9Z8V1jj09YU_8NkofOJp6U7qz2jOi5xfi3nJ7zrwASyLiTamnBIZX1ttapW1k1JUYHnZIWk4qj93eo/s640/blog+pumpkin8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Cattle, Goats and Chicken!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ieoWN9vWlYp8Gb3f1mnh5jmzSuyjz74R7jxT_yrAwv41i4G7X2CcCV53IEW5aPERrMPgyByblC3iYkHxsz4BpSopNa64j0iBFFr72c7IjhBU_HlMkA8_atbns432YgY5nsDXu5bcUWo/s1600/udder+sign+png.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"><br /></span></a>The Udder Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04367516187260703496noreply@blogger.com0