Who is Lexi Brewer?

So yes, I know I've been MIA from the blogoshpere for a while, but now that I have a good topic, I'm back!

So last week, my friend and hunter/jumper/dressage instructor at the stable, Lexi Brewer, proceeded to make fun of me for having a blog. Now this was funny for a few reasons, one of the best is that she is married to an IBMer (a.k.a. computer geek).

So, in retaliation I've decided to blog about Lexi. AND to make it better -- here is here email london0498@gmail.com. YOU SHOULD ALL EMAIL HER AND TELL HER THAT YOU READ ABOUT HER ON THE INTERNET. HEHEHE

All jokes aside, Lexi has really helped me get my business going and we have a blast together, but I'm not sure where this lack of love for the blogosphere comes from...

Lexi is lucky that I have restraint becuase her husband sent me a LOVELY picture of her while she is getting calamine lotion placed on delicate areas becuase while camping and relieving herself she got attacked by rabid mosquitos in her nether region. Luckily, the picture isn't that revealing, but you get the idea. Derek, also wanting to keep his marriage going and not make Lexi file for divorce, sent me this picture.

See -- she even looks nice, if only she liked blogs! So email her and convince her to get on the bandwagon!

What happens if?....

Having a soon to be 5 year-old in my life has been an amazing time. Good, bad, messy and everything in between. Now that Dominic's getting older I love to listen to all his questions (most of the time) and give my best effort at answers.

In the car yesterday: "What happens if I eat poop?"

I'm hoping he's asking this because he's curious, not because he already has... and we talk about germs and bacteria and what poop is and why we wash our hands after we go the bathroom, and as much as I can tell him to convince him that one should NEVER EAT POOP.

"Hmmm..." He replies. And after a moment of silence, "Actually, what I was REALLY wondering was what would happen if I was INVISIBLE and I ate poop?"

:)

Picture of the day: Dominic and his girlfriend Haley. One day (when they're 30) they're going to get married and have 4 girls; Haley1, Haley2, Haley3 and Haley4.

The Mystic Three

So has anyone ever told you that bad things come in threes?

Well, I went to the AQHA horse show this weekend and things started out well, but then things starting coming apart
1) My mare went into heat -- for those of you non-horse people, she was in season and looking for a man, but this isn't a warm fuzzy thing, she was sore and cranky and NOT HAPPY and my gelding Zipper didn't look to perky the second show day, so we only got to show one day out of the two we were supposed to.

2) Then Sunday I was sitting on a fence and a bee flew down the back of my pants. And stung me THREE times. In the butt. True story. Not good. The pain ended when I put my hand down the back of my pants and squashed it.

3) As we're getting ready to go home and I'm pulling the truck and 5 horse trailer out of a tiny parking spot and I think I'm clear of the truck next to me -- guess what, I'm not. So I proceed to bend a bumper on a VERY NICE Dodge truck.

UGH.

But some good things are happening: we're going to have a baby miniature horse in a week or so, I hoping she/he is healthy and happy and all goes well, I still love hanging out at the barn and Dominic and Trevor and our whole menagerie are doing great. And besides -- with the Sunday I had, my luck should DEFINITELY be turning around. :)

Good Person Award!

So, do you ever meet people that seem to go above and beyond what they need to? This week I had the privlege of meeting a fantastic woman and getting introduced to her organization -- Camp Companion (www.campcompanion.org). Michelle Quandt deserves a big hug or at least a pat on the back from all of you if you ever meet her.

To set the stage -- when I bought the barn there were 8 feral cats. OK, one was almost friendly, but the others were completely wild. Luckily they looked healthy, and I completely understand that a barn needs cats to control the vermin problem. However, 4 of those cats are calicos -- for you non-cat people, those are guaranteed mommies.

So, one week after I closed on my place there were 21 kittens. After we pulled them out of the walls of the barn at five weeks and I had a stall collapse on me in the process we found 13 kittens and then there was a whole lot of X rated kitty activities going on.

Being an animal person, I realize this is going to get out of hand FAST. So, I start by finding homes for all the babies -- I'm down to five kittens... not a bad start. Then I start calling around... $210 to spay a cat, then how am I going to catch them? $1600+ to fix my problem? Not an option. I call the humane societies, animal control, thinking maybe they will take some and I will spay and neuter the rest. Everyone was full, no one would help. One group suggested euthanizing them by tying them in a bag attached to my car exhaust -- I was sick. And I was frustrated-- I was trying to be responsible, do the right thing and help these animals and no one would help me.

Enter Michelle and her program that spays and neuters feral cats for a very reasonable donation (or none at all if you can't afford it). They trap the cats, take them to the vet, and bring them back with their ear notched so they can keep track of the cats in SE Minnesota that they've helped. Their program has been going since 2003, and they just altered their 1,000th cat!

And why does Michelle do this? Is she a crazy cat lady? She actually told me she doesn't even own a cat, she just saw there was a problem and she knew there had to be a solution, so she started Camp Companion.

THANK YOU MICHELLE-- for helping people like me. :)



Picture of the day: Some of our babies playing in the summer sun.

The Sound of Music

Yesterday I learned how long a 6 year old can yodel.

1 hour and 15 minutes.

We took out a fantastic and nice family in town for the long weekend. A mom, dad and Jake. Jake was very cute, 6, and had LOTS OF ENERGY.

And for an ENTIRE hour and 15 minutes he yodeled. I asked him his favorite movie, his answer, "No clue yo-do-lay-he-hoo!"

Hey Jake, do you know any cowboy songs?

"yup."

Okay sing one....

"Yodel-y-yodel-y-yodel-y-hoo!"

And even as he left he said, "thanks yodel-y-yodely-hoo!"

It's a good thing they didn't want an overnight ride...

The Rules of Pheidi

For the next 6 weeks I get to babysit Pheidi Jean. Pheidi belongs to my friend Lori who's doing her surgery rotation in Scottdale. Since I was the one that Lori got Pheidi from as a baby I get to babysit. :) Pheidi is an interesting kitty and a bit of a diva and there are a few key rules that need to be followed in order to play with Pheidi:

1) If you are female that great. I will love you forever. If you are male I will claw your eyes out. I don't like boys.
2) Keep me out of window sills, I've been caught lunging at the screens trying to escape.
3) RUB MY BELLY. If I run up and flop over you better, otherwise I'll sink my claws into your ankle.
4) SINK TIME. When I come into the bathroom you better turn on the water so I can play in the sink. If you don't I'll howl until you give in.
5) DON'T MOVE WHEN YOU SLEEP. People are pillows and I expect them to act that way.

Pheidi is also sort of a dog. She meets me at the door when I come home!

Even though she's a diva, I'm excited that we get to love her for 6 weeks and Lori -- your baby misses you. :)

This is Pheidi when she was younger -- can't you see the attitude???

Horse Show Fun

Sunday was the first local show of the season and we had a blast! I am still tired from a weekend with no sleep, but we took one of the baby stallions and he was a trooper. His first bath, mane pulling, and then going to the show, standing all day. What a good boy!

The girls that went to the show did great and the highlight of the day was Dominic's leadline class. For those of you non-horse people it's a class for kids 5 or younger where they go in and get led around and all get ribbons or trophies.

Dominic had a blast and I almost cried I was so happy for him. He didn't win, but he had fun and was SO PROUD of his accomplishments, and that's all that matters to me. :)