A Thank You

Guess what?! I was notified again about hosting another giveaway!  So to say thanks for all your well wishes and support, I am giving a $70 gift certificate (does not include shipping) to CSN online stores.  I like this place because they have such an array of stuff.  Everything from dining rooms to doggie pooper scoopers!  I know everyone can find something they need.

If I won, I might buy this:

Or this to make my smoothies...

Or these, they are Pepper's FAVORITE.  She can kill it in 30 seconds flat!

Head over to CSN and take a look around.  Find something that tickles your fancy.  Just remember the gift certificate doesn't cover shipping but a bunch of their items ship free.  Then head back over and tell me what ya found.

The contest is open till Saturday (07/03/10) morning at 8am Central.  Then I'll put the numbers in the random generator to pick a winner.  Good Luck!!

A Setback

Maybe we should change our name from Crazy M to Crippled M.  The Crippled M bunch had his and her MRIs this month.  I told y'all about the husband's at the first of the month.  Of course, his was a little more serious than mine.  I had one last week.  Trying to pin point my leg issue.  Since I've been running more consistently, my pain has returned.  The husband called the doctor and made me go back.  Ended up having an MRI last week.

Got the results today.  It's my Achilles. (Isn't that what I've been telling the doctor for over 3 months now!)  Good news he said, I don't need surgery.  Bad news, I can't run.  He's sending me to physical therapy for a month to see if it helps.  If not, then he will go in with a needle to make the tendon bleed to promote healing.  Doesn't that sound fun!

I am so bummed.  I need to continue to run.  I have to start my marathon training in August.  In order to be ready to start my marathon training in August, I need to be running now.  Do you get my issue here?!

The doctor said he understood I wasn't hearing anything but bad news.  He stated he realized he took away my "crack."  But I could do the elliptical or ride a bike for exercise.  That's when I started pouting and said "I hate the elliptical!"

So now I'm wallowing in self pity.  It's leading to this...

Yep, I'm drowning my sorrows in Diet IBC Root Beer!

Welcome

The clouds were so intriguing today.  They looked almost fake.



Mike took this picture after I got home from Dallas this afternoon.  I was mesmerized by them.  I remember laying in the yard as a kid watching the clouds.  It was one of my favorite past times.

Anyhow, I went to Dallas today for my annual eye exam.  I had Lasik six years ago.  Prior to the surgery, I was blind as a bat!  Now, my vision is perfect!  It was the best money I ever spent.  So I went downtown for my appointment.  First off, they don't make parking for a truck at the downtown office.  Second, my truck was the dirtiest vehicle in a 50 mile radius!  Third, they dilated my eyes!  You ever try driving with dilated eyes in Dallas traffic?  Luckily, I didn't really need to see anything close up.  Good thing, cause I couldn't!!  And I had my shades, otherwise, it would have been horrible!

This is what my pupil looked like when I got home after my 2 hour drive.



Still pretty dilated and they put reversal drops in before I left!  Good thing I didn't get pulled over on the way home.  I would hate to have to explain the dilated pupils.  I swear officer, I'm not high or intoxicated!

Lovin' Me Some Texas Longhorns

The husband lets me have my longhorns but he doesn't let me keep their horns long.  He chops them back so they are easier to work.  So when I come across ones that have beautiful horns like this, I LOVE it!

A Little More to the Left

Meet Black Licorice (AKA Blacky).  She was one of the first bloodline cows we bought.



She's always been very tame.  But you have to watch them horns.  She whacked me in the head once, on accident of course.  I was bending down in front of her picking up some cubes to feed her.  She bent over too.  Smacked me on the way up!



She enjoys a good rub every now and then.



Husband making sure to hit all the right spots.



Maybe a little more on this side.



I just love her expression here.  She must not like to be touched there!

Pure Happiness

I am so happy Lucky Dog found us.  He brings such joy.  Always so excited when I come home.  He's the first one at the gate, waiting, just wanting to be pet.  He doesn't ask for anything but love.

(Please forgive the high pitched baby talk voice.  I tend to do that a lot with my dogs. They are my babies.  But it's really annoying!)



His face just makes me smile.

For those that are new to the blog, here are the details about Lucky Dog.  Post 1 and Post 2

Got Milk?

Our Weekend Goin' Ons

Saturday was a busy day for us.  We got up early and headed to East Texas, Nacogdoches, to be exact.  There was a bull futurity that morning and the husband had told a few people we would come watch their bulls.  So off we went.  I took my camera in hopes of gettin' in a few pictures.  I always like to practice action shots.  It's a lot more tricky when you don't have a flash in the low light conditions of a covered arena.  Here are a few shots that I got.  Some are blurry. :o(



Unfortunately, our friends' bulls didn't fare very well in the competition.  Everyone has their off days, we sure know that.

On a positive note, we sold half interest in six of our yearling bulls!!  That's pretty exciting.  We needed it.  So next year should be pretty busy taking them to competitions, we hope!

Sunday we took the dogs out to the tank.  It's been so hot here.  The dogs really enjoy cooling off in the water.  Even Lucky Dog got in!!

Lucky has never gotten in the water.  We've tried coaxing him in before.  I could tell he was seriously thinkin' about it this time.  He finally decided Diesel shouldn't have all the fun.  I was worried Diesel may grab his lead rope and drown him.  But he was on his best behavior.  Lucky survived.

Courtesy of Mike

A post-run sunset.

News These Days?!

This story was on the Front page of our local paper last week.  It struck me as funny.  Since there's nothing much going on here, I thought I would share.  Maybe you'll get a chuckle out of it too.  The writer was very descriptive.

Waco stripper found guilty of punching, biting fellow stripper during argument

By Erin Quinn Tribune-Herald staff writer

Wednesday June 9, 2010

  

 

 

Waco stripper Amber Renee Cheek was found guilty Tuesday of assault for striking another stripper in the head with a Mountain Dew bottle, punching her and biting both of her surgically enhanced breasts.

Staci Fox told the jury she was wearing only a string thong throughout the Dec. 10, 2009, brawl with Cheek at Sonny’s BYOB in Waco, said Fox’s attorney, John Hand.

At issue for the jurors: Who instigated the fight?

Testimony revealed Cheek, who is said to be in her late 20s, was trying to leave the South Loop 340 strip club before the end of her shift, Hand said. The club’s management wouldn’t give her the money she already had earned that night, testimony revealed.

Fox, who is in her early 20s, kept interrupting Cheek’s plea to leave.

Hand argued that Cheek attacked only in self-defense. The jury didn’t buy it and took about two hours to decide Cheek was guilty.

She will be sentenced at 10 a.m. today in County Court-at-Law Judge Mike Gassaway’s court.

Fox testified that she couldn’t strip anymore because of the unsightly bite marks on her breasts, Hand said.

Crime scene photos show the bite marks, located next to her tattoo of the name “Bucky.”

Taking Matters in Her Own Hooves

Trixie didn't think she got enough when we fed.

MMMMMMMM.......

Checking Cattle and Fence

Last Wednesday, we had some drenching rains.  We only got about one inch here at the house, but our lease place, 30 minutes away, got over 11 inches!  Roads were flooded and water was every where.  The husband and I headed out this weekend to make sure all the cattle were still there and the fence was standing.

Over a year ago, the husband rebuilt part of the fence along the creek.  The old fence was pretty much non-existent.  He moved it out about 50 ft, hoping it would be far enough away from the creek to do okay.  Well, it was still standing, just leaning a bit.



All the brush from the creek caught here.  There were some massive tree stumps.  I was pretty proud of the hubby's fence for withstanding it.  The grass was laid over from the water.  You could tell there was a lot of water rushing thru there.

There was even someone's old shoe stuck in the fence.



We tried pushing off most of it.  Got the big stuff off the wire.  It was just like new.  We also checked the cattle.  Wanted to get a head count, make sure everything was there.



They came a runnin'!  Even the newest babies.



This is Itty Bitty's brand new sister.



She's out of a different bull.  She still looks pretty petite though.  Have to see if she grows or not.  Here a few of the other new babies.



The husband LOVES the lil brahma.  She has a little hump and those big ears!

So everyone was accounted for and the fence was standing.  It was a good day!

Home Security, Crazy M Style

Shoot, who needs electronic home monitoring systems!


Not us!

No Turnin' Back

Guess what??!!  I entered a marathon today!  Yep, it's official!  December 5th will be the big day!  White Rock Marathon in Dallas.

There were several reasons I chose this race.  One was the date.  Two was it benefits a children's hospital.  Why not help a good cause with my personal goal.  When you sign up for the race, it asks if you would like to be a fundraiser.  Sure, why not!  I set up my web page for donations and it's ready to go.  If you would like to support my cause, you can click here.  I will put a button on the sidebar as well.  I set my goal at $500.  Times are tough and if I can do it $1 at a time, I'm gonna try.  

Now on to Mike!  He took some pictures for y'all after my rainy run today.

Thank you Mike!

And He Shall Be Called...

Last night, the husband came home to find me in bed with him.  We were sharing my pillow, all snuggled up.  It was time to settle on a name.  Nothing fit.  UNTIL I started discussing it with the husband.  Then it hit me, I shall name him Mike.

Let me explain.  As I was talking to the husband about choosing a name, my mind went to what makes me giddy.  Well, hello Mike White!  I've wrote about him on here before.  Cutie Patootie!  So I proclaimed the phone shall forever be named Mike.  Then the husband said, well, it is white.  Fate I tell ya!  (You can't see it cause of the case but the phone is white.)

I think the husband is a little jealous of Mike though.  This morning, he kept making little remarks like, "you'll do it for Mike but not me" and "will you put Mike down for a minute."  I mean really, how could you not be envious of Mike.  He's awesome!

Can you tell we don't have a lot going on right now?

I'm So Excited I May Have Peed A Little

I'm so excited.  I bought something on Saturday that I've wanted for awhile.  Been coveting those who have one.  So jealous.  But now, I HAVE ONE!  Can you guess what it is?  Well, if you've spoken with me within the last day or seen my facebook page, you'd know what it is.  I can't shut up about it!

Yep, I bought me an IPhone!  Since the new version will be released at the end of the month, the current version's price has been lowered ($97 at Wal-Mart).  The perfect time too, Friday I could upgrade my phone.  All the stars in the heavens aligned just for me.

I bought the phone, left it in the box, went straight to Bestbuy and bought an Otterbox.  (For those who don't know, that's like a heavy duty protective case.)  I could see me dropping the thing right off the bat and breaking it.  Wasn't taking any chances!

So let me show you my weekend courtesy of my IPhone camera.

How awesome is this.  The Husband swifferin' the floor.  After he finished with that, he washed dishes.  I was playing with my new toy while he slaved away.



We took the dogs to the tank Sunday evening.  Once we got out there, I noticed my phone was GONE!!!  I lost it in the pasture walking to the tank.  We back tracked and the Husband kept calling it.  Found it where the cattle were standing!!  Luckily, precious was okay.



Diesel swam and swam.  No surprise there.



We took Lucky Dog out with us on a lead rope.  He was so happy.  But he hates the water.  That was the closest he would get.



Pepper had to pose for me.  And I downloaded the photoshop app for the phone.  Let me put this cool border on the picture.



Harley was tuckered out after all the weekend activities.  Poor old man.



I've downloaded more apps.  It's like Christmas!  And I ♥ Christmas!  I think I must name my phone.  He is too awesome to be just the "phone".  I'll have to see what comes to mind.

The Road Ahead

Don't let your babies grow up to be bullriders.  The husband would kill me for saying that.  But unless you want to be in constant pain, I'd pick another career path.  The husband rodeo'd for 20+ years.  With all those years, came many wrecks.  Now he gets around like an old man.

Besides his neck, back and hip problems, he has really bad shoulders.  He had one shoulder surgery prior to us meeting.  Two after we got together.  A fourth was suppose to be in 2007 but didn't happen.  His right shoulder has been bothering him for years now.  He has no range of motion.  Really, he can't lift his arm.  But the worst of it is the pain.  Many nights he has to take Tylenol PM just to sleep.  His hand goes numb.  And if he's working and it gets pulled, TERRIBLE pain.

So when he finally decided he needed to make a doctor's appointment, I knew it was bad.  Husband never asks to go to the doctor.  Plus he always used Tandy (the PBR doctor) and going to a "regular" surgeon was a big step for him.  He doesn't trust anyone but Tandy.  I made him an appointment with the sports medicine doctors I went to about my achilles.  He met with the shoulder surgeon and had an MRI done.

Yesterday, I met him at the doctor to see what the MRI showed.  I wanted to hear for myself what the doctor had to say.  Plus the husband was still leery about the doctor.  I found the doctor to be very thorough.  He showed us the MRI images.  Discussed all the options.  Explained what different procedures would accomplish.

He told the husband that he had the shoulder of an 80 year old.  And pretty much the only option to alleviate the pain (which is the husband's #1 priority) would be a joint replacement.  However, he didn't want to do the traditional joint replacement where they actually cut the entire joint out.  Due to the husband's age, he wanted to do a less evasive replacement.  He explained that regular replacements last about 20 years.  Since the husband is in his 30s, that means he would need something else to be done in his 50s.  If they cut the entire joint out, there won't be anything to work with.  So the other option is to grind the ball down and put a cap on it.  Then use donated meniscus, from a knee, in the socket to provide cushion.  This is a relatively new procedure so there's not a lot of data on how long it will last.  But even if it lasts only 5-10 years, it's better than the alternative.  Then by that time, maybe science will have another option.

First things first, the husband and I have to arrange some health insurance stuff and get everything lined out.  Looks like it will be the first of next year before he can have the surgery.  He's pretty nervous about it all.  He doesn't say it but I can tell.  Maybe 6 months will let him prepare himself for it.  Or maybe not!

Please Remind Me To Never....

Heaven help me, never again will I wear shorts to run.  Well, at least not till I lose at least 10 lbs.  Let me explain to you my ordeal.  Today I thought it would be a good idea to get a pair of my old running shorts out.  It's hot and why not wear them.  So I found a pair that I could still actually get my butt into.  I was feelin' pretty good.

Headed out to the road.  Took my first few steps and realized I made a terrible mistake!  A few days ago, I posted on Reeboks and Spurs about my spandex tights swooshing as I ran.  Why I didn't think of that, one will never know.  So here I am, out on the country road, with my thighs generating such a massive vortex that my shorts have no other option but to be sucked into my crotch.  No matter how many times I pulled them back down, the force was impenetrable.  The shorts succumbed to it every time within milliseconds.  I finally gave up.

It's a lovely image I know.  At least only one truck passed me and he was coming from behind me.  My inner thighs are rubbed raw.  I told the husband I need to find the suave.  His only response, "oh my."  Then I told him if he finds a bag of frozen peas in the bed tonight, not to worry, I just had them between my thighs.

Now aren't y'all glad I decided to share this here and not on my running blog.  I figured you could use a laugh.

I Call This...

Ass In Hiding