It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a.......

GREAT DANE!

Now I know why momma wouldn't let me have one when I was little! Those things are HUGE!

Rescued a Great Dane over the weekend.
R got a txt message Saturday PM from Friend......asking us to help them with their dog.
Long story short after a few phone calls to a rescue friend in Houston, she hooked me up with a Dane Rescue lady down in Rockport.
Early Sunday AM call to set thing in motion.

Ended up picking up Bones around 11:30 am, and driving to (almost) Rockport to meet Keesha.
Bones doesn't know a whole lot, doesn't have many manners. didn't want to load in the car, doesn't know how to walk on a leash. BUT, is a big uber goober sweetheart who for sure deserved a great chance at life and finding the right family for him. A BIG thank you to Mary in Houston, Keesha in Rockport and the Dane Rescue Group in San Antonio that have taken the time and resources to help this handsome fella. You are all greatly appreciated.

reFlective Friday - from Hunter In Training

Ok...haven't don't this before....is there method to the madness?

I LIKE.....that Casper is doing well at the trainer
I Don't LIKE.....that it's expensive and it's so far away

I LIKE.....that my BF is getting to spend time with her SO tonight
I Don't LIKE.......that I don't get to hang out with her tonight

I LIKE.........that my DH is going to college
I Don't LIKE......that it's REALLY messing up our schedule and such

I LIKE.......the fact that I only have 2 more hours of work left!
I Don't LIKE.....the fact that I have 2 more hours of work left!

I LIKE.........the fact that it's FRIDAY
I Don't LIKE.....the fact that weekends are only 2 days long and the work week is 5

I LIKE.....that a friend sent a saddle
I Don't LIKE....that it doesn't fit my horse

I LIKE.......that we are finally buying a house and not RENTING
I Don't LIKE....all the bills and such that come along with that!!!

I LIKE.......that things are looking up for taking CAS to a show in October
I Don't LIKE.....that we may not have the $$$ to do so

I LIKE......reading my blog, and others' blogs
I Don't LIKE....that not everyone is able to update on a regular basis...I'm nosey, I want to know what everyone is up to!

OK.....TAG.....Who's NEXT......
JacksonsGirl and Pony Girl
Have at it!! Have fun!!! :)

fRiDay FiLL iNs

1. He was a GOOD BOY! CAS WAS GOOD FOR MARY YESTERDAY.

2. Getting Fall Photos from my mom is what I look forward to most this time of year.

3. My best friend found out last night that 59 REALLY does go NORTH of VICTORIA after 6pm!

4. Yankees aren't as bad as Texans think, to be honest with you. =)

5. Appearances can be deceiving.....just because they look like million bucks doesn't mean they are worth it!

6. The last person I gave a hug to was Robert when I left for work this morning, normally it's Tucker but I was avoiding Chicken Breath!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to finding appropriate fabric in Victoria, tomorrow my plans include work and work and Sunday, I want to support Robert's study sessions while I make a blanket for a friend's new baby!

My Handsome MAN!

More CASPER photos

Truly a Wow moment!

Sent Mary at txt (I promise she doesn't mind me bugging her) to see if Dr H had called back....
Mary, who's not so good at Txting calls me on my cell (which I can't answer during work) and left a message (which I checked anyway).......................
Drum rollllllllllllllllllllllll pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

CASPER LOPED 3 OR 4 OR 5 laps TO THE LEFT.....MARY HAD TO STOP, and CHECK herself and say ooops....NEED TO STOP!!!!! WE ARE GOING LEFT! SHE SAID HE WAS AWESOME!!! CASPER....AWESOME....said by our trainer!! WOW! Smiles here, on CLOUD NINE!!

YAY!

Another short update......

Mary called last night for another short update.
Worked Cas yesterday....all bute from over last week/weekend out of his system.
She said he loped to the left a few times on the line, and 1 or 2 under saddle (can't remember if she said 1 or 2). she said it wasn't as nice as Sunday or Monday.....but it felt like more of a 'out of shape don't know where to put my feet when I go left' issue than a 'ok this hurts again lady don't make me do it' issue.
So, game plan?
Call Dr. H today.....get his take. May change supplement (AGAIN) or take him to chiripractor for a work up.....peding Dr. H conversation. Will post when I have more information.
:)

Short But Sweet Update

Talked to Mary about 8:30pm last night. Her little boy, Beau had been sick all day.....so Cas got the day off.
HOWEVER, Mary was happy to report she got the same, if not just a little bit more loping left on the correct lead on Monday! YAY! Progress, progress, progress. It's baby steps, but it's progress.
It's so much simpler to take a young horse that is a clean slate and train them. It's tough, tough, TOUGH to take an older horse that has been 'messed' up so to speak and re-train them the right way. So....I am trying to be VERY understanding through out this whole process!! :)
Kudos to Mary for all that she has accomplished so far!!! Retraining that old Stallion is NO easy task, but Mary seems to love him as much as we do and would love to get him in the show pen! :)

Thanks, Mary, for all you do!

Casper Photos

Isn't he a looker??

MY super handsome, awesomely shiny Casper!

Ohhhh what a Weekend Part 3

The weekend that just wouldn't end............

Wake up at 3am after going to bed at 1am......NOT A HAPPY CAMPER AM I.

Drive the 2.5 hours to San Marcos to see CASPER! I miss Casper. Stop in town at Wal-Mart to get Cas some carrots...he LOVE 'em!

Arrive just as Mary is pulling out of her driveway to go to the barn (barn is right next to house, but quite a haul).

Hugs to all, missed ya's and so on. Cas stays turned out in the indoor arena at night, which he loves! walked in, started talking and he came to investigate. I love him! First thing I notice, how shiny (even in the somewhat still dark arena) he looks....and then, how much more FIT he looks. He still has the same laid back demeanor, and was happy to take all the carrots I could shove his direction. Tony, the stable hand had gotten up early to feed him (Thank you Tony) so that Mary could ride after he ate. Robert gave his feet a quick trim, noted shoes are needed on the front for 2 cracks the developed in the past 9 weeks (he's about 3 weeks over due). But, trim first, ride, then shoes.
Mary tacks him up...he stands like the gentleman we know he is......I gooobie up with sunscreen, grab camera...Mary grabs sun glasses, and Cas and we head to the outdoor.

Not only is the a ride for us to see how far he's come, but a test of the meds he's been on since his trip to Dr. H last week. We went out to the arena with a plan.
Lunge - canter both directions
Ride - first to Right, then to left. If he lopes to left, 1/2 to 1 full time around and quit, done, end of story. End with him getting the RIGHT answer and stopping.
Sounds good to me.
Lunge - Trots to warm up....then canter to right...nails it, of course
Canter to left - 1st attempt, wrong lead all the way around
2nd attempt....NAILS it....starts correct, ends correct. Trot......ask again, Nails it!
OMG....maybe the meds helped.....maybe...

Mary hops on - keeping in mind he's on 4 days off....
he extends his trot ot VERY nice. For a big guy, he does have good movement.
Canter Right - big case of I don't wanna-itis ..... Mary pushes him on through. He balls his front end up, tucking his chin to his chest and powers around like a freight train....after about 20 seconds of that he relaxes into a more natural frame and says "ok, this is what you want, eh?"
Canter Left - ummmm NO, NO, NO, NO way he says....he balls up even tighter than to the right and just won't give it to Mary. Ok, stop, back up, re group! Mary extends his trot until he has no choice but to canter. It work! Correct lead, really balled up, but correct lead, and after about 30 seconds he relaxes, some. WHOA, stop....dismount, cheering from us, big rub on neck and pats from Mary. Cas is looking around like "what in the heck? All I did was canter...why the party??" Like, he really didn't know why, but was happy work was over.
Pleased...we were all very pleased with this.....
Plan of attack....keep plugging away at it this week and see what happens. Mary will call Dr. H today with update and get his thoughts....throw around possibility of another supplement, chiropractor....anything...
Un-tack, front shoes....hose off....
My tummy starts to rumble, grumble...and not the I'm hungry way...
Tell mary, "BRB, need ur potty"....
Get back to barn....try to hurry DH....
We make mad dash from Mary's with Mary kinda looking puzzled.....I needed potty again...stop at gas station for gas and potty. I am feeling REALLY bad. I get us to Luling, and ask DH to drive.....I sit in passenger seat, feeling terribly.
We have 2 more stops...one on way home, one on other side of home about 1 1/2 hrs....I'm not gonna make it...
Ask DH if he can do trip on other side of us by himself...he says "yes"
Make stop on way home...takes about 2 hrs....me sitting in car with ac on whole time....
Another hour to drive home...get home about 3..
I make one more mad dash to potty and "die in bed"....
Horses in trailer still...look ok, checked h20 before going on...all good....
Guy comes by around 6pm to check on them......leaves....
Comes back around 7:30.....my phone rings, it's him. I feel terrible and don't answer...Call Robert, tell him to call guy.
Robert calls me back....."Guy just said one of horses is dead..look outside"
WTF....I look outside, only see one horse standing in the trailer.....
OMG....."what happened??"
R says "I dunno, guy said he was there about an hour ago, and they were fine.....came by now, not fine. Dead mare has trauma to her face/head like maybe they got into it in the trailer, or maybe she hit her head. I'll be home in a bout an hour and we will deal with it."
"ok" was all I could say.
R gets home, we go out and take the living mare out of the trailer, move the trailer so he can get the bulldozer out, and as he's moving it guy shows up. He has his skid steer loader on a trailer hooked up to his truck. He was upset, but not mad at us. Not our fault. Although, how can you not feel bad about that huh?? Trying to do him a favor, trying to do the right thing and look what happens?
Guy goes down the road to drop off the skid steer, and I follow him to the gate with the mare. He said all that he could find wrong with the fence was that one of the hunters that comes on the property left a gate open. Go figure. We turn the mare loose, it's getting dark...almost pitch black. She knows the fence, knows the pasture....should be ok.
Walk back to the house...
My filly spends the entire night exchanging shrill whinnies back and forth with the mare......
I'm sure she misses her friend, and is lonely out in the pasture by herself....

Quite a weekend, huh?

I will post a few shots of Cas here, in a minute....

Ohhh What a WEEKEND! Part 2

SATURDAY
Started out with DH's alarm going off about 10 times before he got out of bed.....grrrr not a great way to start day, eh?

Got up, fed critters, headed out to J's to feed her critters (wave at J)

Took care of shoe's for one client (took forever). Headed to another client's house. Keeping in mind we had to be home by 5pm as had a friend coming over to bring their granddaughter for a horsie ride at 6pm.
R took too long at 2nd clients house, and was late heading back to the casa. Yikes. Had to call friend and say "come later, sorry"

Friend arrived with G'daughter who was very excited about getting to ride a horse! We got her horse ready, she rode for an hour and had a blast! As it was starting to get dark as we un tacked the horse, hosed him off and took him back to his paddock for dinner. Talked for a few and all headed out the driveway to go home.
I happened to glance up and give one more "good bye" wave, and something that looked out of place at the end of our driveway caught my eye. In the corner of the pasture where we'd just turned the horse into were 2 horses. "Strange" I thought, "only one horse lives there". I hollered at Robert and let him know there was a horse loose.
I headed to the end of the drive and found not ONE loose horse but TWO! Neither of which (blessing or curse?) belonged to us! So, I raced back to the house to get a bucket of grain and two halters to try and catch the loose critters before the ran through our fence, or cause one of our critters to run through the fence, or both.
Friend who's daughter had ridden thank goodness had enough "snap to' to realize that we would be needing help, and turned his headlights on and pointed them our way so we can see.
Got the horses to come to the bucket, but were very flighty, non person friendly critters who hauled ass the other way as soon as a hand came near the neck.
So, Moove over Monty Roberts....we coaxed and cooed and whispered in their ears WITH OUT the round pen! Heck, we were in the middle of the road for crying out loud.
So, after about 30 minutes we had the horses caught and we were headed to......WHERE IN THE HECK DO WE TAKE THEM???
We have a cattle trailer at our place, and it was empty. 3 calls to the sheriff's office had yet to yield officer, or horse owner. We couldn't very well stand around holding them all evening. DH hooked up trailer and, prepared for a loading fight we walked towards the trailer.
Click, click, tug, tug......and the sorrel mare jumped in the trailer with me....WOW. Didn't see that coming. I made quick exit, stage left, and Robert walked the other mare in the trailer. Took of leads and turned them loose.
Officer showed up about 20 mins later. Gave him description of the critters, and he went off to "knock on every door until he found the owner". YAY!
Gave the critters in our trailer water and a big wad of hay....yummy.....

By now, it's about 10pm. We are tired, exhausted, haven't eaten or drank anything since lunch time. I'm just this side of pissy, and Robert is right there with me.
About 30 mins later Officer comes back and said "I believe the owner is right behind me" I was thinking, let's hope so!
I hear him coming, before seeing him. Loud, noisy, tail pipe issues truck. Vroommmm!
Door slams....up walks/hobbles 40's ish guy wearing shorts and flip flops...... to a horse emergency? Ok, whatever fella.....
"Yep, those are mine. Well, my Uncles" Officer makes quiet exit, stage right as he has to go to other end of county on a cattle call (LOL).
We then listen to how the uncle of the guy that shows up to claim the horses lost his place, and he was letting him keep the horses at his place. They got out two days ago, and the day before that. they are mares, and are "coming in" we were told, and his neighbor across the busy highway that he lives on has a stud...they were there visiting him 3 days ago.
Ok, so, obviously the guy has fence issues...so, we offer "leave the horses here tonight, fix your fence in the morning and come get them".
Guy says "really, that'd be great, thanks".
Mentions that the sorrel mare has stitches in her head from a while back when she cut it. We get the flash light, point it upward and sure enough, stitches. and TICKS. OMG, both of their ears are full, forelock too. So, we make another offer "we have to be gone most of the day, if you come check on them and give water if needed (showed him where hose was) we will call when we are headed home and will help you get stitches out and deal with ticks)."
Guy was very happy about that, he's obviously not equine inclined!
So, it's now 11:15.....we are headed in to town for food......
Arrive home at 1am after talking to a friend Robert runs in to.
Keep in mind, we have to be up at 3AM to head to San Marcos to see CASPER!!
Sunday update is next....stay tuned!

Ohhh What a WEEKEND! Part 1

8/21/09
Friday, Friday, FRIDAY! YAY!
Work was, well, work! Duh!

Hubby started back to school, and his hours got cut at work. Spent latter part of week trying to figure out finances and pinching pennies was an understatement.

Robert was to head to friend/client's house to shoe 2 and trim 2, then to a buddies house to shoe one. Let's just say he was RUNNING very late. He was supposed to shoe/trim and get to town to get money in the bank so payments didn't start bouncing everywhere. I txt a 4pm, WHERE R U? I get a reply from C (friend who was with him) "on the way to c u". OK.....should have been at bank already and headed back to Edna, but ok!
Robert and C Arrive at 4:45........and get pounced on when Robert informs me that if it weren't for C he'd have gotten a ticket for speeding. OMG.. I was beyond aggravated! HE knows better. He's a youthful driver (under 25 and male) with one accident on his driving record already. We can't afford a ticket! Yikes! He got a ticket last year and took defensive driving to keep it off his record. So, I told him he'd better be kissin C's a** for keeping him from a ticket. *Side note, C is a police officer and knew the trooper that pulled them over*
So, I try to hustle them over to the bank so that there is money in the account so that I can get gas and go to J's house to help her with some stuff.
Tell Robert to call me when money is in bank so I can get gas. He said "ok, walking in to bank now" 30 mins later, still now call. I send txt, get reply....'oh yeah, been done a while'. Butt head! Now, I'm late and don't have time to run to TSC before going to J's and getting dog food cause we are out! Inform R that he'll just have to go do that! He get's all pissy.
Listen here, buddy....don't get pissy with me because you can't plan your day and mess up mine! GRRRRR.......
- Side note, C is very cute, very, very cute. The two ladies I work with literally had puddles of drool sitting on their desks when he left. Can't say that I blame them!

So, late getting to J's house. Late getting home. Sat down to figure out bills and stuff which made me even more pissed off. Went to bed hoping Saturday would be better.
In case it's not terribly obvious, punctuality is my biggest pet peeve...I hate being late!

fRiDaY FiLL iNs

1. I remember, I remember _Oh darn I forgot!__.

2. Dear _ R _ I want you to know _I saved you!! (that's all I'm saying) _.

3. Is that my _cell phone bill? Get out!???_

4. I'm trying to resist the temptation of _ beating my DH to death when he aggravates the crap outta me _.

5. I'm saving a _ bottle of MELP _ just for you!

6. If I made a birthday list _ sanity and normalcy _ would definitely be on it!!!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _ helping Jen _, tomorrow my plans include _ a busy, busy day _ and Sunday, I want to _ GO SEE CASPER _!

What your take on this?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090820/sp_wl_afp/athleticsworld800wrsasemenya_20090820084907
This has been a topic of discussion in our office this afternoon.......
What do you all think ???

For HunterInTraining

YOU'VE BEEN MELPED!!

Kudos to the Dr

Kudos to Dr. Huffman and his crew. They were able to get Cas in to be seen.
He said "nothing really stands out. Flexed him to left and he's a little off, but nothing that should be giving you the problems you are having".

Now, we can look at this 2 ways.
1- YAY, nothing Major wrong with Cas
2 - now it just means we need to dig further and spend more money to figure out what the issue IS! yucky!

So, Cas is on his way back to Mary's and will be on some anti-inflammatory meds and see if that helps. If so, we will be taking him back to Dr. Huffman at the beginning of next month for some X-ray's and Teeth work. In other words...we will start digging!

Casper Update

Mary came back on Sunday, YAY!
Cas prolly says 'dang it, have to work harder'.
Although Aime did a great job lunging him (I'm sure) while she was gone.

Mary called this am and said "hay, nothing major. give me a call when you have a minute, want to talk to you about a couple things before you guys get here Sunday". Ok, sent a message back that said I go to lunch at 12:30, will call then.

Talked to Mary about 1:30.....crazy day!

She said that she's ridden Cas Monday, Tuesday, and today. She said he's still REALLY STICKY to the left. Like, he acts as if he's almost in pain going to the left. He's not trying to be MEAN and trying to buck her off or anything, just has a hard time picking up and holding that left lead. So, she said there are a few options.
1 - Keep going and end up hurting him, or when he hurts enough and gets pissed off, hurt Mary (NOT AN OPTION)
2 - Give him time off and see if he 'pulled' something
3 - take him to the vet for a Lameness Exam
4 - quit riding him all together and focus on Halter and Showmanship

1 is NOT an option. 2, since he's been 'sticky' cantering all along, don't think that's it.
I really don't want option 4 at ALL! So, we are (I mean Mary is) taking him to Retama Equine Hospital in Selma to see Dr. Keith Huffman. We LOVE Dr. Keith. He did the crypt orchid surgery on my Skys Blue Boy 3 yr old. So....as soon as I have answers, I will sure let you all know. Keeping fingers crossed it's nothing major...maybe just needs some chiropractor work and make an injection or two and he'll be good to go! :)

AT LEAST you aren't the Alligator

For a Friend in Need

All I'm saying is

"Just because you don't feel loved right now, that doesn't mean you're not love-able"


Love ya!

Week End Ketchup

LOL, just saying that makes me laugh. And believe you me, I'm needing the laugh today!

let's just say the mess with the "in-law's" didn't get any better. Imagine that!

We DID get the 'rest' of the concrete poured at the house. YAY! Now, instead of trudging through the mud and mucky sandy mess when it rains I can keep my feet on the 'dry'. I say "rest" because we need to add the 'taper' to the edge, and fill in about 3 spots. BUT, for the most part, DONE!

Also, got a round pen! YAY! Place to work the horses and ride! We painted the bottom that will sit on the ground with a tar substance that they use for roofing. We are hoping to keep the corrosion of the metal to a minimum. Good luck down here in Texas with that, huh? We're trying!

Robert started school last week, on Wednesday. He is a cadet at the Victoria College Police Academy. He's very excited about being in the academy. He has been going to a tutor for about the past month. She is a teacher at one of the local schools, and is VERY good. She's helped him learn more in a month than he did in the 2 months he was in the academy last time. The program seems very 'scattered'. The have about 3 books that are HUGE and tell you all the same thing. Just, there is a 'bit' more info in number 1 than number 2, and a blurb in 2, that's not in 3 and so on. If they could streamline the curriculum into ONE book, I think they would have a higher passing rate. That would be nice. Not everyone is willing to take on such a dangerous job.

Working on a Reining Clinic for my 4-H Judging Team. Reining is something I know NOTHING about, and when in doubt find a pro. And, find a pro I did! Todd Martin is willing to host a couple hour reining clinic on a Saturday at his place in Boerne, about 3.5 hours from Port Lavaca. The tough part is figuring out that date! The only date he seems to have open for a while is the same date when I have plans to attend the NICKELBACK CONCERT, there is going to be some juggling going on there! More info on that when I have it!

Well folks, that's about all the news for now! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend, and has a great week! :)

Friday Fills Ins

1. When will everything be 'right' again?

2. FLYING CHANGES was the last good book I read or movie I saw or tv show I watched.

3. Everything has its beauty but sometimes, you can't see the forest for the trees.

4. Hawiian Punch and a scoop of taco meat is what I had for dinner.

5. I'd like your family to be "NORMAL" for a change!

6. BACK HOME WITH SANE PEOPLE is where I want to be right now.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to ROBERT not having to go to work, tomorrow my plans include sleeping late & finishing the sidewalk and Sunday, I want to get the rest of the house cleaned!!!

No Blog all week...

Sorry folks.
Lots of stuff going on.
Crazy busy here.
Most is personal stuff with the "in law's" that I don't feel is appropriate for public gawking. SO, sum it up to say....IT HAS NOT BEEN A GOOD WEEK!

Friday Fill Ins

1. _Ice cold watermelon____ is my favorite summertime __treat___.

2. My favorite John Hughes movies is _John Hughes? Who is John Hughes? ____.

3. _A horses' nose__ is something I love to touch.

4. The full moon _makes me wanna howl!!! _.

5. _I wish it were 5 o'clock _ right now.

6. When daylight fades _the stars come out, the world gets quiet and it's time to reflect on life _.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _quiet time_, tomorrow my plans include _pouring a concrete walk way _ and Sunday, I want to _clean house_!

New Job

Alrighty folks! I started my 'part time' job last night. At the Best Western Hotel in Victoria, Texas. YAY!
So far the people seem nice. It's a nice place. The hotel itself is only a few years old, very new. It's pretty, inside and out. The job is not difficult. Should be ok. The tough thing will be trying to work at the office full time and at the hotel almost full time. Will make for one exhausted lady. But, the critters must eat. We want to go do some things around the house. I want to take Cas to a couple shows. My mom is coming down to visit. The list goes on and on! :)

So....will keep you posted on that front!
Horses all seem good. Doggies are well too!
Have a great day ALL, I'm afraid this will be all from me today.

FUN Saturday part deux

Ok, we survived the parking garage and were now headed inside!

Making note of where we parked, we headed for the doors!

We walked in the entrance that was right by the Rain Forest Cafe. We both made comments about the movie "mall cop". LOL
We happened to enter right at the food court. What a mistake! People EVERY WHERE! Loud, crazy, loud......crazy....did I mention LOUD and CRAZY! Couldn't hear myself think, let alone the other Jennifer talk! Yikes!

"When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a rectangle sheet of ice with people skating on it!" Too cool! Stopped to watch a skating lesson in progress. the little girl was having to much fun we had to clap and cheer!

First stop....bathrooms! Very quiet and NOT crowded. There was an (ok, trying to say this right but I'm sure it's not so I'ma gonna get in trouble) African American woman in there with the neatest hair do! It was braided and piled up on top of her head....very pretty!
Mission Accomplished we headed out....to where? Not sure!
We ended up at the ONLY store that looked familiar and that we could potentially afford to by something in....the BOOK STORE! Jen found a CD she'd been looking for and I picked up a copy of the Twilight soundtrack! Joined the book club and saved 5 bucks....then donated a $2.99 book to charity...so..... :)
Then where to? ummmmm good question! wandered around a bit...I think then headed back to food court to re-fuel!
Chick-Fil-A....yum!
After that we went in search of the Godiva Store! WOW.
Got sidetracked by the Build a Bear Workshop! How cool is that place huh? Jen had already built a bear before....I had not. We wandered around and found a police outfit (my hubby starts the Victoria College Police Academy on August 12th) and knew I had to make him a bear. First step, pick a bear! So many choices, light brown, dark brown, white, puppies, horse, dragon, lizard, unicorn etc. Decided on simple tan colored bear, nice and soft. Sound? Wish we'd had a guy with us to record a police saying...but alas, just us girls. So, I picked a very loud Growl! Next step...stuffing! Soft, med soft, hard.....wow? Choices again! Went with pretty full but still soft. ok, press the pedal and the 'bear building assistant' positions the bear so that all the right spots get filled. ok. Then you get to give it a 'heart'. You have to kiss it, shake it up high, down low, to the right, to the left, rub it together to get it warm, 'tap' it a couple times to make it 'beat' and then kiss it again and wish on it. WOW.....quite the experience! After that the 'bear building assistant' finishes sewing up the back of your bear. Then you take your bear over to the 'bath tub' and use the 'air' to fluff up the outside. You can then take a comb and brush off any extra fluf. After that over to the computer to name your bear and make it's birth certificate. Deciding a name for the bear was not easy! Fun, but not easy. After many options, the bear was Named Officer FoF (officer Full Of Fluff). We kept it G rated! :) Then you dress your bear! Grabbed the police outfit....but the 'police' shoes were not in order. I told Jen....find some Cowboy boots! Robert wears cowboy boots most of the time......so that's what we decided on. Getting him dressed was no easy task! How many girls does it take to dress a build a bear?? WOW. Ok, clothes, check, boots, check. Off to the check out counter! I thought we were done...then I saw a pair of sunglasses! that did it! The outfit was complete! PERFECTION.
At check out you get a box for your bear. Not just any box. A box with a build a bear workshop scene on the outside, and holes in 'doors' and 'windows' so that the bear can breath! WOW! Way cool! What could top that?
Only Godiva Chocolate! OMG. So good. I can't even describe it. There are no words to do it justice. I'm just gonna say it was over the top good and leave it at that!
After Godiva we wandered (and when I say wandered I mean cut off the huge 'line' of traffic that we were trying to cross nearly getting clipped on our heels by a baby stroller) into a store that smelled way to good to pass up. ORIGINS. Neat place! We were grabbed by two sales women who took out hands and did to them what you'd do to your face with their products. The products felt and smelt great! My hand was nice and soft after words. So was Jen's. Products seem good. We got postcards inviting us to a Free mini facial in a few weekends. We really want to try to go.

So. We were about done at this point. Shopped out...mall over load.
Headed out of the parking garage....fun! When we parked there was ample room on each side for us to get in/out. When we came back to the truck however...the car parked on the left of us was replaced be another truck and parked ON TOP OF us. No joke...If there was 3 inches clearance on the back of the truck that was pushing it. About 5 inches in the front. SO, I had to climb over the passengers side seat to get in the truck. then, I had to impress Jen with my mad backing up skills so as to not take out the truck parked next to us. Mission accomplished, AGAIN! YAY! We were outta there.
Quite the experience.
Made one more stop....didn't get anything and kinda felt like a waste of time.
Headed home. Jen's SO was txting her back and forth and we realized he was about 20 mins BEHIND us. SO, we met up with him a Bucee's. YES, the same Bucee's from before that DID NOT have sun screen! BAH HUMBUG!
So, hung out with R for a few mins....and headed back to Edna. Dropped Jen off, and ran in Wal-Mart to get markers to color the Bear's 'house'.
Got home, fed critters, and spent the rest of evening coloring that dang box!
WOW, what a day!!!

Fun Saturday!

Well folks, the party on Friday night was a hit! Not as many people as I would have liked, but a nice small cozy group of friends. Everyone had fun! YAY!

Saturday am came way to early!
I went off to play with Jen and Robert went to Mammoth Lake diving place for his PADI diving certification.

Jen and I headed to Charlotte's Saddlery on the Katy Freeway for some SHOPPING!
I was in search of some new paddock boots. Jen was VERY patient while I tried on about 15 pairs of boots. One was too tight, one too loose, one rubbed on the outside of the right little toe...etc. Bottom line, after about 15 pair I realized they didn't have the size i needed in the color I wanted, so....now I know what size I need and will order from Dover today! Had lots of fun. Got new Roma saddle pad and french link bit for Chewie. I have a saddle on the way from my friend Holly, so once it arrives I hope to start riding again. :)

After Charlotte's we took a short detour to Dillard's (LOL) before getting the correct entrance for the Galleria Mall in Houston. Let me say, if you own a truck and want to go shopping in this mall....pay the $3.00 an hour to park UP top and save your self the panic attack that is sure to come if you decide to plunge into the dark abyss of the parking lot underground. YIKES, in a word! Poor Jen, I thought she was going to hyperventilate right there! She kept shrinking lower and lower in the seat (like that's gonna help). It was an experience folks! At one point, while we were reading the signs to get INTO the parking lot that said Clearance 6 feet 4 inches I got out of the truck while we were stopped at a light and stood next to the truck to convince myself and Jen that we were not too tall to fit. So, there were lots of laughs about that and Jennifer going "ummm don't get hit!". Good times!
So, once we mastered the parking lot (I felt better when we got below and saw a F350 dually and a ford excursion parked down there) we braved the Mall itself.
More on that to follow.....I do need to get some work done this morning.