Adventures of a Quiet Storm

$100,000 VS $1,000,000

2008-02-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

You know those days when you just doin't feel like paying any attention to anything that is going on around you. You'd rather just stare off into space and dream of those sunny beaches and the sand between your toes?! Well today was one of those days. For me, anyways.

I was sitting at my computer (on NorthWest Farm & Ranch, of course) When Hubz started commenting on a TV show that we were watching. Now to give you full effect I do have to mention that these conversations happen often. Did I say conversations?! I meant him talking/me listening(ish). So we were watching the show, Deal Or No Deal, and it happened to be the show where the lady was on the Million Dollar Mission and she had 10 (yes I said TEN!) One million dollar cases. Well her first offer was $139,000 and Hubz started to laugh and said, "You know.. it's really funny when people will go on The Gladiators and get the crap beat out of them for $100,000 and a person is just standing on the stage.. naming cases and her FIRST offer is over $125,000. Because you know those shows that only give away $100,000, like The Gladiators and Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader, and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire...."

It was at that point in time when I noticed that something just didn't make since with that sentence.. Um.... no. Sorry. I don't think that one fits into that catagory.

Needless to say, Hubz feels dumb now. He's hanging his head in shame on the recliner.

See... I do listen.

(most the time.. okay maybe some of the time.)

Meet Mr. Hand

2008-01-07T20:48:00.000-08:00

This may seem gross to some.. but in the horse world.. it's a COMMON occurance! So if you don't have a sense of humor.. you probably shouldn't read on. I'm serious! LOL! No really... I am!

Just for reference.. a horse's sheath is a male horses "pocket" (if you will) that holds their manhood!! LOL! So please.. read on. No I am not talking about beastiality... sick freak.. I am talking about something that most people have to do to their male horses in order to keep them healthy! Anyway.. lets continue on to the story.

Mr. Hand

Your horse's "Actual Private Part" may or may not choose to venture out on your appointed Hygiene Day.
You can, er, manually make friendly with the Actual Private Part to see if that helps, but basically it is HIS PERSONAL Actual Private Part and if it wants to stay indoors there is really not much you can do to change his mind.
It is therefore sometimes necessary to either a) have the vet tranquilize him to lull the Part into an accessible state, or b) roll back those sleeves and go seek out The Part on its own turf.
You need long arms, as The Part has a most capacious mansion and can retreat to amazingly secluded locations when it so chooses.
Warm water and a lubricant (e.g. Excalibur) help a lot; go slowly and show the Actual Private Part that you are not a threat.
Be firm but gentle.
Hum seductively Cleaning a gelding by Braille is not perhaps the very easiest thing in the world but I assure you it can be done.
And just keep reminding the Actual Private Part, "Whither thou goest, so goest I."
Long arms, that's the key. I'm not kidding. REALLY long arms. ;-)
Step 1) Check to make sure there are no prospective boyfriends, elderly neighbors, or Brownie troops with a line of sight to the proceedings.
Though of course they're probably going to show up unexpectedly ANYWAY once you're in the middle of things. Prepare a good explanation.
2) Trim your fingernails short. Assemble horse, hose, and your sense of humor (plus, ideally, Excalibur cleanser and perhaps thin rubber gloves).
3) Use hose (or damp sponge) to get the sheath and its inhabitant wet. Uh, that is, do this in a *civilized* fashion with due warning to the horse; he is apt to take offense if an icy-cold hose blasts unexpectedly into his personal regions ;-)
4) Now introduce your horse to Mr Hand .
What I find safest is to stand facing the horse's head, with my shoulder and hip snugly against the horse's thigh and hip so that if he makes any suspicious move such as raising his leg, I can feel it right away and am in any case pressed so close that all he can do is shove, not really kick.
The horse should be held by an assistant or by your free hand, NOT tied fast to a post or to crossties. He may shift around a good bit if he's not happy with Mr Hand's antics, but don't be put off by that; as long as you are patient and gradual, and stick close to his side, he'll get over it.
Remember that it would be most unladylike of you to simply make a direct grab for your horse's Part.
Give the horse a clue about what's on the program.
Rest your hand against his belly, and then slide it back til you are entering The Home of the Actual Private Part.
When you reach this first region of your destination, lube him up good with Excalibur or whatever you're using.
If the outer part of his sheath is really grungy you will feel little clods and nubblies of smegma peeling off as you grope around in there.
Patiently and gently expedite their removal.
5) Thus far, you have probably only been in the outer part of the sheath.
The Part Itself, you'll have noticed, is strangely absent.
That's because it has retired shyly to its inner chambers.
Roll up them thar sleeves and follow in after it ;-)
6) As you and Mr Hand wend your way deeper into the sheath, you will encounter what feels like a small portal that opens up into a chamber beyond.
Being attentive to your horse's reaction, invite yourself in .
You are now in the inner sanctum of The Actual Private Part.
It's hiding in there towards the back, trying to pretend it isn't there. S
ay hi and wave to it .
No, really, work your finger back and forth around the sides of it.
If the horse won't drop, this is your only shot at removing whatever dried smegma is clinging to the surface of the Part itself.
So, gently explore around it, pulling out whatever crusty topsoil you find there.
Use more water and more Excalibur if necessary to loosen attached gunk.
7) When Mr Hand and the Actual Private Part have gotten to know each other pretty well, and the Part feels squeaky clean all around, there remains only one task: checking for, and removing, the bean.
The bean is a pale, kidney-shaped accumulation of smegma in a small pouch just inside the urethra.
Not all horses accumulate a bean, but IME the majority do, even if they have no visible external smegma.
So: the equine urethra is fairly large diameter, and indeed will permit you to very gently insinuate one of your slimmer fingers inside the urethral opening.
Do so, and explore upwards for what will feel like a lump or "pea" buried no more than, I dunno, perhaps 3/4" in from the opening.
If you do encounter a bean, gently and sympathetically persuade it out with your finger.
This may require a little patience from BOTH Mr Hand AND the horse, but the horse will be happier and healthier once it's accomplished.
In the rare event that the bean is too enormous for your finger to coax out, you might try what I did (in desperation) last month on the orange horse:
Wrap thumb and index finger around the end of the Part and squeeze firmly to extrude the bean.
Much to my surprise it worked and orange horse did NOT kill me for doing it and he does not seem to have suffered any permanant damage as a result ;->
I have never in my life seen another bean that enormous, though.
8) Now all that's left to do is make a graceful exit and rinse the area very thoroughly in apology for the liberties you've taken .
A hose will be MUCH easier to use here than just a sponge and bucket, IME.
Make sure to direct the water into the Part's inner retreat too, not merely the outer part of the sheath.
This may require you to enfold the end of the hose in your hand and guide it up there personally.
9) Ta-da, you are done!
Say, "Good horsie" and feed him lots of carrots.
Watch him make funny faces at the way your hands smell. Hmm. Well, perhaps there is ONE more step...
10) The only thing I know of that is at all effective in removing the lovely fragrance of smegma from your hands (fingernails arms elbows and wherever else it's gotten) is Excalibur.
Even then, if you didn't use gloves you may find you've got an unusual personal perfume for a while.
So, word to the wise, do NOT clean your horse's sheath just before an important job interview or first date ;-) and of course, there is that one FINAL step...
11) Figure out how to explain all this to your mother (or the kid from next door, or the meter reader, or whoever else you've just realized has been standing in the barn doorway speechlessly watching the entire process.)
Now, go thou forth and clean that Part :-)

Okay you may have found that to be just gross but if you're a horse lover or if you've ever had horses.. you will understand the humor!

PS: you can also pay your Equine Veterinarian to do it as well. :)

Happy Sheath Cleaning!

they crack me up

2007-12-20T19:02:00.000-08:00

Here are some updated pictures of my girls:

My Casi girl.

Here is what I get when I go out and shake the grain bucket.. "CHARGE!!!"

My Casi girl trying to figure out what kind of treat I had..

My Stormy Girl.. "munch munch munch"

"could you stop.. I am trying to eat!"

"FINE!! How's this?!?"

"FORGET IT!! You're NOT getting the hint!"

"look at me.. I am so pretty"

"you know mom.. your little habbit is starting to worry me!"

Aloha Fridays... Week One

2007-12-13T21:43:00.000-08:00

I thought this was kind of a cool idea.. and since I love Hawaii and I LOVE Kailani.. I have to show her love by participating! So here goes...

What is the best thing someone can put in your stocking this year?

Remember to go back to Kailani's and post your comment to her question as well!

She's Been Home... Oops!

2007-12-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

Well Quiet Storm AKA QS has been home for 4 days now and I have yet to update you guys. I apologise! Things have been so gosh darn busy around here. We brought her home on Sunday she did GREAT on the 9 hour drive home. It should only have been a good 6 hours but the weather was NASTY! We left Bellingham, WA around 11:30 or so in the morning and there was a good 6 inches (or more) of snow on the ground and it was still coming down HARD. So we high tailed it out of there (figure of speech.. we we're in snow so we were at a snails pace). Then it finally stopped once we got out of Bellingham. It rained the rest of the way home but visability wasn't the greatest because of it, but we made it home safely, nonetheless.

QS is the most precious little girl EVER!!! She's a little bit smaller than I was expecting but it's so much better! She'll be just the right height for my short little legs. She's settled in to her new home quite well! She has made a 'momma' friend out of her sister Casi, as you can tell.. Casi is guarding her:

She's also made a wonderful little buddy, by the name of Roxy:

She'll even share her food with you, want some?

She's a sweet little girl. We're going to head back out today (we meaning Sheri and I) and we're going to take more pics while we're out. Make sure you come back for those! In the meantime... here are more pics to hold you over:

(Me... just being funny!)

(Coming to greet me)

Casi's broodie belly. (Mares are called Broodmares when they're used for breeding.. it's pronounced brood, as in it rhymes with rude. She's not bred now.. but she has this HUGE belly from being bred so much.. it never goes down.)

(Farm cat)

(Roxy's Ear)

(Casi and QS sharing their lunch!)

(QS LOVES the camera!)

(snatching a quick shot of Roxy through the fence)

(Roo's loves the camera too.. she wants to eat it!)

(Quiet Storm half asleep)

(QS.. showing her pretty little face)

Spurs.. Spurs.. and More Spurs!!

2007-11-28T20:56:00.000-08:00

Holy Crap! I can't believe how many different kinds of spurs there are! I am going to be getting a pair tomorrow because of the fact... our new little one (that we're bringing home this weekend!!) Quiet Storm.. seems to think she's related to a tree stump. She's likes to plant her feet and grow roots when you try to get her going (when you ride her). So in order to get her to move.. you give her a small nudge with the spurs.. to let her know.. GET GOING! Here's some pictures of all the different kinds of spurs. The ones that I am getting, however, are hard to find a picture of.. so here you go:

Mine kind of look like the top one.. well the second photo in this posts.. EXCEPT they have smaller numbs.. almost no nubs at all. So there you have it.. I'll be sure to take a picture of my first set of spurs! PS: I AM SO EXCITED! 3 MORE DAYS!!!

Six More Days

2007-11-25T20:02:00.000-08:00

Six more days till I get to see my new little girl! I can't wait to meet her. Here are a few cool things that I did with her picture that Tracey took. Here she is:

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T22:32:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a GREAT one! We did! Since we just moved only 6 days prior.. we wouldn't be in any shape to have anyone over at our house, so we decided to have a quiet night at home.. alone. We didn't want the hassle of drive at least 8 hours to get to our familie's houses or have the hassle of having a bunch of people in a partially decorated/furnished house. It was much easier to just sit at home and cook a nice turkey dinner for two and not have to worry about who likes what and who doesn't. It was very nice.

We has the traditional turkey, a homemade celery and onion stuffing, some gravy, baked sweet potatoes with butter and brown sugar, cranberry sauce, fruit cocktail, rolls, etc.

What did you do for Thanksgiving?

Here are a few things that I am thankful for:

1. I am thankful for Sarah. For taking such great care of my horsey when I can't be out there everyday, twice a day to feed her. Thank you for loving her so much.

2. I am thankful for the best husband in the world. Who lets me sleep in on Thanksgiving.. who lets me get another horse and doesn't mind that he didn't get to pick it out. For taking the dogs outside when it's OH so cold!

3. I am thankful for the best animals in the world. A cat who loves his people. No matter what we do to this kitty (I've forgotten to feed him once.. okay maybe twice.. but they weren't in a row.. :( ) He still loves us and comes running whenever we call. He'll even lick your nose/chin if pick him up and hold him like a baby. Two dogs who are the best little things in the world. They don't bark, thank goodness, they don't run away, and they love to snuggle. What more could you ask for? For all of our fish who have lasted through two VERY LONG moves and didn't die on us, we love you little, okay wait, big guys. For my horse.. for being such a great little girl, even though she has her moments, and being such a wonderful little trooper through our move.

4. For our landlords... for being so helpful with our move in and answering all our phone calls and questions. For also giving us such a great little welcome home basket!

We're thankful for so many things. Each and every moment that we have here with our family and friends and animals.

What are you thankful for?

Far Too Long

2007-11-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

I've been gone for far too long, but once again I have to say good bye for a while. We're currently moving down to a gorgeous house in Cottage Grove, OR. (With some AWESOME landlords, I might add - Hello Sara, if you're reading!!) We have to move by this Thursday, so I must shut down my computer to pack. I hope you are all okay with my absence as things have been so hectic around here. They should settle back down again soon. Until then..

I wish you all the best and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! (if I don't get back on before then!)

Love you all,
Stephanie Mackey

Back From Eugene

2007-10-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

UPDATED WITH QUESTION BELOW!!!!

I'm BACK!!!

Yeah, you thought you could get rid of me, muah ha ha.

Well our trip was GREAT, with a capital G!! We left around 9:00 am on Friday. Then had about a 3 hour drive to Portland, OR. We had to stop at Macy's because Hubz had a supprise for me!! We went up to Macy's and here is who I got to meet:

OMGosh, he is cuter in person! If you're not sure who he is.. he's THE Tyler Florence from The Food Network!!! I am a HUGE foodie and I LOVE the food network, so it was a blast!!! He was sooooo sweet! I waited to see him for about 35min, then got to. He was so funny, and VERY affectionate!! LOL! I asked him if I could get a picture and he was like, "OF COURSE!!!", and then he grabbed ahold of me... My husband was taking the picture but I was like.. I DON'T CARE... THIS IS TYLER FLORENCE.. he he. So it was great!!! He was super sweet and nice! I also got two of his cookbooks, signed and with little notes written to me on the inside.. it was so fun!

Then we continued no our trip down there. We got stuck in traffic SO MUCH. I swear the traffic was following us. It was rediculous. But we made it and had an AWESOME meeting with a friend of mine, Sheri. Her family is so cute. We had dinner at Applebee's and then we chatted for a while. She's so much fun. Her husband and mine get along SOOO well. They'll be great friends.

Then Saturday we had to meet with Jeff's boss. They talked about business for a while, then we all went to lunch, then they talked more business. Then after a while jeff's boss said.. "so.. what do you think so far?" (remember they're trying to get us to move down to Eugene so Jeff can run that office) Jeff said, "well I love good opportunities and love challenges and I think that this is both!!" So his boss goes, "so can I take that as a yes or no?" LOL!!! Jeff goes, "Yes, I'd like to try it out!!"So we're moving to Eugene!!!

Then we talked about when they want us down there.. and HOLY CRAP!!!! They want us down there by the 15th of next month.. that is in 18 DAYS!!! OH my gosh. We're going to be so busy. If you don't see me on very much, that's why!So we had a great trip.. meeting everyone and having a great time seeing the sights.

These next 18 days are going to go SOOO quick!

Updated To Add:

My friend and I are thinking of starting a business that makes bows for little girls and dogs.. sounds cheesy but you'd have to see the bows.. well we're looking for a name that would incompase dog and little girl bows... if you have any ideas please email them to me at:

jeffandstephaniemackey@gmail.com

Thanks so much,
Stephanie

How Things Have Changed

2007-10-23T22:42:00.000-07:00

Boy have things changed around here. I haven't been on in what seems like forever.. okay maybe it has been forever. I appologise for that. It sucks. We've had some good news and some bad news. Some fun times and some bad times. Here's some things that have happened in the past couple weeks:

1. We had a horse pass away. He had a huge accident. It's hard to talk about so I won't say much about it. We miss him a LOT!

2. Jeff got a huge job promotion that wants to move us to Eugene, OR. We're going down this weekend to check it out. It should be fun, I can't wait to see how it goes. We're also looking at a house down there this weekend. Hopefully it all works out.

3. We rescued a new little puppy. He's a purebred male brindle chihuahua. He's about a year old and he's a super cute little guy. He was sick when we got him but he's all better now. He's a super cute bundle of joy.

We'll be going to be out of town this Friday and Saturday.. (tomorrow and the next day). We'll be down in Eugene, scoping things out. I hope you all have a wonderful day and I will talk to you all later.

Stephanie

We've Been Busy

2007-09-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

I know that's no excuse to blog but oh my gosh have we been busy. We ended up NOT getting Clifford. It was sad but we ended up getting a friend's horse instead. We took my friend Lindee's horse Jing Jing whom we re-named JaeJae (pronounced Jay Jay) and he's the 'wife/girlfriend' of my girl Cassie (whom we baught from the same people), she has been re-named CasiLyn (pronounced Cassie Len) Anyways.. Here are a few pictures to hold you over while I figure out a 'real' post to write: CasiLyn is an 18 year old Chestnut/Sorrel Arabian Mare and JaeJae is a 13 year old Bay Arabian Gelding.

Me riding my CasiLyn.

Me riding my CasiLyn, again.

Me getting finished longeing Casi.

This is my husband, J, and his horse, JaeJae.

Also, I'm not sure if I announced it yet but we have a puppy in the making!!! We have put a deposit down on a West German Shepherd and she/he is due to arrive on October 8-10th, 2007. We're super excited!! Anyway, I hope you're all doing well and I will see you all later!

As Always,

Stephanie

Meeting My Clifford

2007-09-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

We're currently looking for a horse for Jeff. This is the one we found:

He's 7 years old and he's a percheron gelding. He's 16.3 hands high. For those of you who know horses, know that 1 hand = 4 inches. So he is 5 feet 7 inches at his withers. Needless to say, he's HUGE! I'm only 5 feet 2 inches. That means that his back is 5 inches over my head. I'm glad that Jeff is riding him. From what we've learned of him, he is a TOTAL sweetheart. He's like a big puppy dog and is deffinitely a lover! He wants nothing more than to do what is asked of him and to please you, which I am totally in love with. I can't wait to meet him. By the way, we get to meet him tomorrow!!! I am so excited! So I will probably be back with more pictures later.. See you then!

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO TAKE MY WEEKLY POLL ON THE SIDE PANEL!

Two Things

2007-08-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a MeMe that I received from Sheri, I hope you enjoy it!

Two Names You Go By:
1. Jeff calls me 'Honey'
2. Most people call me 'Steph'

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. Blue blouse
2. Khaki shorts

Two Things You Would Want (or have) in aRelationship:
1. Loyalty
2. Trust

Two of Your Favorite Things to do:
1. Traveling with my husband
2. Taking care of our horses

Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment:
1. A House!!!
2. A Truck and a Horse trailer (yes they go together!)

Two things you did last night:
1. We went house hunting!
2. We went saddle shopping!

Two things you ate today:
1. A grilled CTP Sandwich! (CTP - Cheddar Turkey Provalone)
2. Cheetos

Two people you Last Talked To:
1. Jeffrey
2. My mom (i think)

Two Things you're doing tomorrow:
1. Load up all of our tack
2. and go out and see the horses

Two longest car rides:
1. Wenatchee, Washington to Yuma, Arizona (26hrs straight..)
2. Ephrata, Washington to Tracy, California (16hrs straight..)

Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Christmas
2. Thanksgiving (i love to cook...... and eat!! HA!!)

Two Favorite Drinks:
1. Seven Up
2. Root Beer

Two Things about Me! Things you may not have known:
1. My real name is Stephanie Nicole and my uncle dubbed me 'Stuffy Nickel'. Shhh don't tell anyone. Maybe I should name my blog that.. or step-on-me, that's what my brother always called me.
2. I am Lactose Intolerent.

Two jobs I have had in my life:
1. Baby sitter
2. Waitress

Movies I would watch over and over:
1. Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (the new one)
2. Charlotte's Web (the new one)

Places I have lived:
1. Washington
2. Arizona
(I could list a whole lot more like; California, Oregon, Kentucky, Ohio, etc. Plus I've lived in MANY MANY towns in all those states!)

Favorite Foods:
1. Salmon
2. Steak

Two places I'd rather be right now:
1. Horseback riding with my husband and friends (Derik and Lindee)
2. Shopping!!!

Two people who I think will respond: (or that I can tag and force to respond.. he he he)
1. Chelle
2. Kailani

This Coming Saturday [UPDATE]

2007-08-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

I just happen to be excited about this coming Saturday! (and today but we'll talk about that later.)

Ever since we found out we were getting horses, we've been looking around for all the horse tack we need. Yesterday, I found an awesome offer on craigslist. This is what the ad said: (edit of course)
I have two brand new saddles, the black one is a kids saddle
and has never touched the back of a horse yet, I am asking $150. The 2nd is
an adult saddle that was custom made a beautiful tan color, It has never
seen a horse also. Please call 946-6461 if you have any questions.

When we set up an appointment with the owner last night we weren't sure of what we were getting, just because you never really know with online ads that don't have pictures. Boy, were we surprised!!!! The saddle is COMPLETELY brand new!!! I mean, I realized that she said that it was new, but I was guessing it was all old and cracked from sitting in a storage somewhere, but NOPE! It was completely fresh and new. This saddle would have originally cost anywhere between $1,500 and $2,000. Want to know what we got it for?!?

$300!!!

Yes, you read that right, $300. I will take a picture of it later and post it so you guys can see how good it looks.

Tonight we're supposed to go look at a saddle for me, although, it's not as nice. It has been used many times, to the point where it needs new threading on the horn. They want $150 for it so hopefully it looks somewhat nice.

We're trying to get our saddles and tack ready because we're going for our first ride this Saturday. We're so excited!! I can't wait to go out and take them for a ride. We'll let you know how it goes.

What are you up to this weekend?!
________________________________________________
Here's the picture of the saddle:

Made By: Me!!

2007-08-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you all know that I do create my skins (aka backgrounds or themes) myself. If any of you would like me to create one for you please email me at:

jeffandstephaniemackey [at] gmail [dot] com

I will do it for free, for now, and I'll need to collect some information from you. (ex: if you have a background image in mind or if you want me to find one or create one for you, colors you had in mind, if you want 1,2 or 3 columns, etc.)

Just let me know!

**BY THE WAY... MY REAL POST IS UNDER THIS ONE... AND YES, I'M YELLING!**

Welcome To Our Family!!

2007-08-26T21:53:00.000-07:00

I would like to take a moment to welcome the newest members of our family, as well as extend a warm wish to a member of our family that we're waiting for.

I present to you... Cassie. She's an 18 year old Arabian mare. Beautiful, isn't she? She's our fattie momma! Here she is:

I'd also like to present to you, Lissa Lou. We call her Lissa. She's a 13 year old Arabian mare. She's also Cassie's daughter. She's our baby girl.

Oh and we're waiting for a special addition to our family. S/he should be born on or around October 8-10. Which means we should be able to pick her/him up around the beginning of December. Anyone want to guess what s/he is?

It's Been Fun

2007-08-24T16:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening I spent my time with my new horses. Boy was it entertaining!! They know who we are so they will meet us at the fence when we pull up. The first time I saw them was when they we're being unloaded off the trailer in their new, but temporary, home. They were NOT happy. There are four all together (2 are mine and 2 are my friends, who we bought them from). One of them is terrified of passing trucks so she is supposed to be loaded onto the right hand side of the horse trailer so semi's don't pass on her side. Another has never been loaded and not to mention it.. it was dark outside so they were NOT happy. Luckily enough everything went off without a hitch and no one got hurt unloading them.

The second time I saw them was just checking on them out in the pasture to see how they were doing and such.. keep in mind this all happened one day after the other. When we went back last night our intentions were to work the horses a bit. Get them out and walking so that they can burn off some energy.

At first we brought out Jing Jing and Jiffy (my friends horses) and I took Jing. At first he wanted to spin circles around me.. but kept cutting em short and running me over, and he was doing it on purpose, LOL. But he was just excited. Derek was trotting Jiffy in a circle (lunging) and he was jealous, so he was trying his best to run in a circle, being on a lead rope. Then it was Jings turn to lunge. He did great. Derek wanted to walk him since they haven't been exercised in a while but Jing was ready to go.. he was just trotting and trotting and wouldn't slow, so we just let him get all his energy out.

Then it was Cassie and Lissa's turn (my horses). Cassie is so fat!! She is so funny too. Instead of exercising she would run around the circle once, then stop and eat a few bites, then run another circle, then stop and eat a few more bites, she's too funny. Now of course if we were really exercising her for the purpuse then of course we wouldn't be letting her stop to eat. But it was just comical to watch. Then Lissa wanted to run in her circle, except she was being a turd because she was running around me and since I was talking I was passing the lead rope behind my back while facing forward. Well Lissa figured it out and started cutting her circles short behind me, he he, little turkey.

We're intent on going out there everyday to get them exercised and stuff so we can start riding them again. I can't wait. They are too comical.

What have you done today?

Email Me

2007-08-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, or you just feel like emailing me a little hello note, please don't hesitate to email me at:

JeffAndStephanieMackey@gmail.com

*don't pay any attention to this post.. it's just for my side bar reference*

My Heartbreak

2007-08-19T16:01:00.000-07:00

We were heading out to look at some saddles and tack for our horses, but Jeff wanted to make sure all the animals had food and water before we left. He always made his rounds on the weekend, and this weekend was no different. He turned the lights on for the fish, gave them some food, made sure their water level was okay and pushed the water pump farther down into the water, as he did everyday.

He made sure the dogs water was filled in the kitchen, then headed over to Tiki's (our bird) cage. He changed out his water, refilled his food, and refilled his hanging treat. You know, things he does pretty much every morning.

It didn't hit him until we were walking out the door. When you change anything in Tiki's cage he always finds a way to get to you and he bites you for trying to steal his stuff. Well Jeff didn't even remember seeing him come to the front like he usually does. He proceeded to go back over to see what was going on with our little green friend.

As he lifted up his covering (we keep him covered while we are gone so Cocoa our cat doesn't see him and attack his cage, trying to eat him).

"honey..." he said with an obvious lump in his throat. I knew something was wrong. There has been many times when we thought Tiki was going to die because she hung upside down all the time... and would 'pass out' and fall on her head.

"what?" I managed to squeeze out.

"tiki's dead." said with a crack in his voice.

"what... HONEY" said as I noticed that tiki was laying in the bottom of his cage with his eyes closed.

We're not sure what happened or why, but our beloved bird passed away during the night. We think it was another case of hanging upside down too long and falling one time too many. I'm still heart broken over this and I will miss him so much. His cage is still up, although it is covered. I'm just not ready to take it down yet. He was so comical and so animated. We love him so much and will miss him immensely.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In other news, we get to meet our horses tomorrow evening. We know that they are a mother daughter pair (mines the daughter.. Jeff's is the mother.. we think.. we may just end up sharing). But we are so excited to finally see them.

We're also currently looking to buy a house that's on an acre of land, plus it's also next to a whole crap load of trails that everybody takes their horses on. I'm so excited. I can't wait for us to agree on terms, and get into that house.

Okay well I've said enough.. I need to go make dinner.

Update From Afar

2007-08-06T22:37:00.000-07:00

I'm doing well and thank you all for all the wonderful wishes for me to have a safe and happy trip to see my wonderful family in California. I've been here 2 and a half days now and it's been so great! I got here on Saturday afternoon and just sat around and visited the whole evening. On Sunday we all went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, it was so fun! There was so many people, though, so it was quite frustrating to have grown adults push you out of the way so they could see the fishies. I've had a great time visiting down here and lovin on my nephew. Oh my goodness has he grown since I was down here last. He is sooo dang big!!! Here are a few pictures to hold you over until I can show you some more:

Away We Go

2007-08-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

The time has come when we must say goodbye.

Good thing is that it's not for too long. I'll be gone about 9 days. Where am I going, you ask? To see the most adorable baby in the world!!! MY NEPHEW!!!! Plus I get to see his WONDERFUL parents, my brother Jonathan and his LOVELY wife, Mandii. They're really great! I love them!

I may not post while I'm there, although I'm sure I will.. but there will definitely be TONS of pictures along the way!

So wish me luck on my flight. I fly out tomorrow at 11:40am (pacific time) and it's a 2 hour flight, so I should be down in SoCal tomorrow at 1:38pm (pacific time).

I hope you all take care and enjoy your time without me while I'm gone.

oh my goodness...

2007-07-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

Why am I so retarded some times?!? Deb, I think I am picking up your bad luck, LOL! Anyway, I baught a guitar from one of those TV commercials, I won't mention what one, because I really don't want them to loose business, okay wait, they suck and I don't want anyone else to fall prey to it so it's..... The Esteban Guitar (AKA the american legacy guitar) THEY SUCK!

My husband knows how to play guitar and piano and violin and any other stringed instrument that you could possibly think of, it's rediculous. Well he had a NICE guitar when I met him and my poor little kitty ran around the corner and knocked it over and the neck snapped in half. So we both saw the commercial and thought, "hey!! lets order one and see if it's as good as they say it is". It's crap!! I mean CRAP! The strings are rusty and the guitar next isn't even connected right so you can't even play it because the strings hit the frets so it doesn't even work. My husband adjusted the neck as much as possible and nothings working. So we're sending it back, right? Well I called customer service and they sent me a label so I didn't have to pay for sending it back... they also asked me to include a brief explination of the problem.. and did I? Nope! I sent it out yesterday and I didn't include the stupid letter. They're going to get it and be like.... what are we supposed to do with it, LOL.

Ughhh. So now I've been on hold for Customer Service for over 30 minutes and I'm hoping that they will let me send the letter seperate. Gosh I am a dork.

Do you have any funny stories about forgetting something?!?

Here's A Question

2007-07-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a good question for all of you, since you've all had kids. I want to get something for my sister in law.. her birthday is in September, but I'm going down in 2 weeks. Anyways, I wanted to get her something that she would like or need that didn't have anything to do with the baby. Well it could be something like a bath set or something like that but that's too common.

What is something you could have used that wasn't for the baby?

PS: BN (baby nephew) will be 2 months when I get down there.

Library Books

2007-07-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

Since I am going to be going down to California soon, I wanted to have a couple of books to read while I'm on my trip down and back, so I'm not bored. I found the library in town and I was scanning the books online last night to see what they have and I'm so excited that they have a sequel to my all time favorite book.

See... I have ADHD when it comes to reading. I either have to be really into the book or looking for something in order to keep reading it, so I have a hard time finishing books because I tend to put them down and forget about them once they get to boring parts.

I've only read two books in my life that I 'COULD NOT PUT DOWN' and they were:

Door To December By Dean Koontz
and
When The Wind Blows By James Patterson

Well I just found out last night that there is a sequel to When the Wind Blows. It's called The Beach House. I'm so excited!!!! (and believe me.. I don't get this excited over books.) So I'm going to run down to the library today to grab it!

What is one book that you 'could not put down'?

It's Back!!!

2007-07-16T23:41:00.001-07:00

Tuesday's Trivia

This time it's going to be a little different. Instead of having a 10 question timed test.. this time around.. it will be 10 questions but it won't be timed. You'll be able to take as long as you want, just please don't cheat, it's all for fun.

This weeks theme is: Marine Mammals

If you'd like to participate in this weeks trivia challenge please click here.

Here's my score:
You scored: 3 out of 10
Total points: 30

Please stop back by here to leave your score, even if it wasn't very good, it's all for fun.

Yep! He's The Cutest!!

2007-07-16T01:17:00.000-07:00

Everyone meet my nephew... nephew.. meet everyone!!

I really believe that he's the most handsome boy, that ever lived. I love him so much. As many of you may or may not know.. I was recently able to go down to California to visit my beautiful baby nephew, whom I'll call BN, for obvious reasons. Well it's to protect his identity because I don't want some wacko going down there and trying something funny.

Anyways.. he was born at a wopping 7lbs. 10oz. and was a nice 21" long. He was born on Wednesday, June 6th, 2007 @10:30pm (i believe the time is correct.. don't hold me to it). He was born exactly 1h and 30 min before his due date, he he. While on my trip, I was only able to stay down there for a few hours but those were about the best hours of my life. The only thing that would have made them better is if I would have been down there with my husband. It truely was a beautiful site.

Luckily, my husband was nice enough to let me fly down there at the beginning of August to see them again. This time.. I'll be staying for 10 days 9 nights!!! HA HA HA, try and get rid of me now suckers!!! Just kidding. I absolutely loved staying down there with them and it was so great to see my 2 week old nephew and his cute little face and humongously large feet. He deffinitely takes after my brother on that one. I swear he's going to be a basketball player.

So anyways.. I hope you all enjoy the pics.. because I do!

AND BY FAR MY TWO FAVORITE.....

times flyin'

2007-06-23T21:40:00.001-07:00

Man oh man have we been busy. It seems like it's one thing after another around here. I don't have very much time to post but I just wanted to say that I'm on my way down to see my brother, sister in law, an their gorgeous baby boy. I hope to talk to you all soon!

The Real Deal

2007-06-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

I have been busy but that isn't really why I haven't posted. Have you seen the size of this post?!?... that's why I haven't posted.

The day before we left to Vegas was just about the funniest day of my life, besides the time when I almost died on my wedding day, but that's another story. So last Monday I met a girl named Cody. She's such a sweetheart. She's the 20 year old with the 2 month old baby girl. Anyways, we met up for lunch at Taco Bell on Monday and had a great time getting to know each other. Afterwards we went back to her house and watched 'My Super Ex-Girlfriend' Oh my goodness that was funny! Then I stayed at her house till about 10:00pm. We had a great time talking and learning how much we are alike.

Tuesday we had planned on going to walk in the park but that didn't happen because we woke up and it was POURING rain outside. So instead she came over to my house and we hung out watching TV and snacking all day. It was great.

Wednesday, though, was a little different. We planned on going walking again but it was really warm outside and so we had to post-pone once again. Then I got a call from my husband asking me if I wanted to take Cody and the baby and drive to Yakima (an hour and a half away) so we can pick up the license plate and then on the way down we can take the back seat of our van to the car company. (to explain the whole seat story ... we had a van and we traded it in for an Explorer and when we did we had the back seat of the van taken out and it was sitting in our garage.. so the sales guy said to just bring it in when we came to pick up the license plates.) So anyways... I call Cody and she says yes so we go to pick her and the baby up. We had to put the baby's car seat in my car so when we switched it out.. it litterally took both of us, working together, about 25 minutes to install it. It's one of those 'infant-toddler' car seats, so it's not like you can just install the base and go. Nooooooo. It has to be all difficult. We finally got it installed to where it WOULD NOT MOVE it we both grabbed it and rocked it back and forth. Then we went to the car wash by my house and at this car wash they vacuum out your car for free with your car wash and they wipe out the inside of your windows and dash and stuff, so it would have been great since my dogs hair had invaded the inside of my car. So when we finally get my car back from the car wash people we put Sonia (Cody's daughter) inside her car seat... then we got in and started to drive off and something didn't feel right in my gut so I pulled back into my parking spot and got out.. Cody was confused. I just told her that something didn't feel right and I felt like I needed to check Sonia's car seat. Well I'm glad I did because the car wash people had un buckled the car seat and had messed the whole thing up so if we would have gotten in an accident there's no telling what would have happened. We were so mad! So it took us another 20 minutes to figure out what they had done and to fix it. UghhH! So we got all set to go and left to Yakima.

Once we get about 2 miles from our exit.. Sonia starts screaming because she was hungry so Cody was reaching back trying to get her to calm down till we got there so she could nurse her. Nothing was working so she gave her some water in a bottle.. luckily that seemed to work until we got to McDonalds. We went inside so Cody could nurse her and we could eat our lunch but then Cody remember she forgot something at home. See... Cody has to use a breast shield to nurse because she has flat nipples which means the tip of her nipple doesn't come out when the baby tries to nurse so the baby has a really hard time latching so she has to use a shield which helps pull her nipple out. Well she left it at home... an hour and a half away. Oh my goodness. So we had to give her more water until we could get all of our stuff so we could run to Fred Meyers to get some formula. Luckily Sonia's been switched back and forth from a bottle to breast so she makes the switch like it's nothing. She's even been on formula before so we knew she'd be fine with that. So we finally got the formula and had to kind of laugh at the situation. Then we get back in the car and get headed home.

Well 11 miles out of town we are heading down the highway and my car completely shuts off. The engine light was on so I thought "CRAP!!! MY CAR JUST BROKE DOWN!" Then I noticed what the issue was. I ran out of gas!!! Are you kidding me?!?!? So I looked over at Cody and said, "We just ran out of gas!!!" We both started laughing so dang hard!!! Oh my goodness it was just our luck.

So Cody says, "Do you think we'll make it to the gas station?" (we were just by an exit with a gas station)

so I said.. "NO because there is a stop sign up there and I have to stop!"

So she says, "Well I hope noone is coming so we can just coast through it!"

So we got off the exit... coasted through the stop sign.. luckily noone was coming. Made it around two street corners and made it about 5 feet away from the pump. All the pumps were blocked so we had to hit the breaks and wait. Well since we hit the breaks there was no more coasting, LOL! So Cody got out and pushed and I opened my door and we both pushed our huge Ford Explorer! We were so proud! Then we got gas and headed back home.

Oh believe me the day wasn't over yet. We were laughing at our whole day so we weren't paying attention to anything else.. well then I noticed that was was REALLY close to the exit we needed to take and I wasn't in the right lane so I had to cut over. There was this red truck that was about 10 car lengths behind me.. well went i hit my turn signal he hit his gas!!! I had to cut over to make the exit and I had plenty of time so I did.. well he hit his gas even harder to where he was driving beside me on the exit (A ONE LANE ROAD). I was like Jerk!!! There was plenty of time between me and the guy for me to get over but no he had to be a jerk and hit his gas. So then he's honking his horn and yelling at me.. Whatever dude. Have a nice day. So then he goes like 85 on the highway to pass me and he passes me shaking his head. Some people are so dumb.

So me and Cody are totally marveling at the day we had as we're driving home and we were just making sure we had gas... formula... and that no cars were driving next to us, LOL. Well we totally forgot about the fact that we had given her daughter about 4 oz. of water and it went right through her. Her diaper was sooooo full. Her pants were wet, her car seat was wet.. we felt so bad.

We had to come home after that... he he he! We were worried that something else was going to happen, LOL!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vegas was a blast!!! We had a great time. The only bad part was the fact there no matter where you went there was people handing out Porn!!!! OH MY GOODNESS. If one more person would have tried to hand me porn I think I would have shoved it up there a$$! It was so irritating!!! But we had a great time. Here are some pictures from our trip!

Jeff and I at our formal dinner!

Jeff and his Presidential Award!

Live music we were watching at a Cigar Bar.

HEY... That's Me!!!

Welcome To Vegas Baby!!!

Jeff and I infront of the Treasure Island!

Here's the Ifel Tower Replica at Paris Paris

The Lionesses in the MGM

The Lionesses playing!

The Big Lion in front of the MGM

Me and a showgirl!

Jeff and the same showgirl!

Star Spangled Banner

2007-06-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

Here's something to hold you over until I am able to post about my whole trip. This is a fountain show that we saw FOR FREE at the Belagio!

or heres a link:

http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s317/stephaniesblog/?action=view&current=100_0844.flv

A New Friend

2007-06-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been around.. I've just been busy with getting ready for Vegas and trying to make babies... lol, I'm just kidding. I've just been trying to keep up with everyone else around me that I haven't had time to get on the computer.

I met a new friend yesterday! She's 20. A single mom to a gorgeous little girl named Sophia (I really meant Sonia.. this was a while back and I was getting it confused!!! I'm sorry!! LOL!) who's 8 weeks old. She lives in my town and I really like her. We seem to come from the same background so that's nice. I met her on a local mommies site and we got together for lunch and a movie yesterday, it was really great to hang out with someone who was my age and thinking about babies. Usually 20 year olds are just in the party, independent, stage so it's nice to find someone else like me.

We went to blockbuster to pick up a movie and she even let me hold her daughter. She was so cute! Then we went back to her place and watched My Super Ex-Girlfriend it was way funny! I even got to feed her daughter and play with her a bit more. We had a great time.

She lives by herself.. well just her and the baby so I hope she had a good time visiting with someone in her area. She just moved here about a month ago (as did I) so it's nice to make new friend.

I hope you're all having a great time without me and I will talk to you soon.. from LAS VEGAS BABY!!! What happens in Vegas isn't going to stay in Vegas.. he he!

A Hard Day

2007-06-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

We went to our IUI appointment yesterday and as soon as we walked walked into the room, I felt like something was wrong. It just didn't feel the same as the time before. Well the nurse told me to do the same thing as usual.. 'undress from the waste down' so I did, as usual. Well then I really realized something was wrong when two doctors came in. Usually when you have an IUI (for me anyways) only the lab tech will come in to inject the semen.. well this time the lab tech came in with another doctor whom I have seen before but never during an IUI, so something had to be up. Well then she showed us the normal paperwork and my final confirmation was when she opened the analysis paper.. it had red pen circles all over it, which means that something wasn't right. So she finally explained that last IUI Jeff's sperm before washing was 18 million after washing there was 5 million, which was the cut off for IUI's (5mil) so all was good. Well this time his sperm count before washing was 9 million and after washing it was .3 million which was extremly below the cut off for an IUI. When they do an IUI they want the best possible chance for you to get pregnant... they said that .3 was hardly addiquate. I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I looked over at Jeff and the look of devistation was quite evident, I felt so bad.

So she gave us the option to either cancel this cycle and to NOT do the IUI or just to go ahead and try and see what happens. She did make a point to say that people have gotten pregnant on this low of a sperm count before but not very often. They left the room and Jeff and I talked about it while crying and hoping that everything would be okay. We decided that we were going to try, after all we had paid for it all up to this point and there's no reason to give up even if there is only a slim chance it could work. So we went ahead with it.

During the IUI, I think I was on edge the whole time.. spacing off and not paying attention. Everytime the nurse touched my leg or any other body part, I jumped, which I'm sure didn't make it easy to guide the catheter in through my cervix. I couldn't help it though. Once she did insert the catheter it felt like she was jabbing a knife and scraping off some tissue.. it didn't feel good. I wanted to cry but I didn't want to let her know that it hurt so I held it back and I didn't want Jeff to feel like he was making me go through this for nothing. I cried once she left the room though. I could just tell that Jeff felt so bad. While I was laying there for my 20 minutes he read me two childrens story's which was really cute but it just made me cry more because he's going to be such a great dad.

So anyways.. we got done with that and OH.. while the dr's were talking to us about whether to continue or not they also suggested that we got with IVF next time, because they really don't think that Jeff's sperm is addiquate to get me pregnant.Once we got done in the IUI room.. they sent us on our way but Jeff and I wanted to talk to someone about IVF to see all that it entails(sp). We talked with a 'ivf specialist and councelor' so that was nice. She went over all that we would have to do and how things are going to go. We also set up an appointment to start IVF if this IUI doesn't take. It's June 25th.

An IVF cycle takes two cycles.. the first cycle you are on birth control to suppress your hormones and to basically let the dr's take over your body and tell it what to do and you are also on a drug called Lupron which suppresses your piruitary gland so it doesn't have any effect on the medications to stimulate the ovary. Then you start a stimulation cycle which begins on the onset of your period, which is about 3-4 days after the last dose of BC. Once you start your period you have to call and make an appointment to schedule a 'supression check appointment' to check for cysts on your ovaires and the lining of your uterus. If you have no cysts and you have a very thin lining of your uterus then you are assigned a day 1 for IVF. Then you will start stimulation medication on day one and continue until the dr's have determined that my follicles are mature and ready for egg retrieval.

I will start the injectable medications for stimulation of more than one egg. Once the eggs are deemed mature then I take my shot of HCG to make me ovulate. Then EXACTLY 35 hours later I will go in to have my eggs removed. This is done by needle aspiration through the vagina. They do it under IV sedation, whatever that means. If they can't get the eggs under needle aspiration through the vagina they will take me to the hospital to have me undergo laparoscopic surgery to get the eggs. Then I will be sent home about 45 minutes later.Once the eggs are taken to the lab I will start progesterone injections or vaginal suppositories.

During this time, in the lab, jeff will be giving a sperm sample (either by ejaculation or by testicular biopsy... most likely ejaculation) then the eggs will be fertilized either by insemination (leaving the sperm with the egg in the dish and hoping that it fertilizes) or by ICSI (where they inject the sperm straight into the egg.

While the eggs are in the lab they will be in a special 'media' room for 4-6 hours while the sperm is washed then the sperm will be placed with the eggs for 18 hours. The eggs will then be ecamined for fertilization, if they are fertilized they will be placed in a special growth room. Then they will be examined again on the day of transfer for cell division. The they will be transfered.Then I will have a pregnancy test 15 days later to see if I am pregnant. If it is uncesseful I have to wait 1 normal period before beginning a new suppression cycle.

Anyways.. I hope I haven't taken up too much of your time. I just wanted to all know what the process involves. I find it rather interesting. We also have to go through a injection class to learn how to give ourselves and each other injections. So we'll see how this cycle goes...

And We're Off!

2007-05-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

We're so off to Seattle tomorrow. I won't have time to post tomorrow morning so I will try to post at our hotel room tomorrow night on how our ultrasound and shot goes. Hopefully all will go well and we'll be able to have our IUI on Friday.

For some reason I keep getting yeast infections, I don't know what the deal is. I get one the same exact time every month. I'm tired of using those OTC 7 day treatments. I'm going to try some home remedies and see if that helps. I read online today that Vinegar douches help stabalize the pH level in there and I'm also going to try taking some acidophilus tablets because they are supposed to replenish my va-j-j (as Oprah would say) with good bacteria which will kill off the yeast and keep them under control. Hopefully all will work and it will go away and keep them away. If not I make a gyno appointment.... great.

Oh by the way.... I have a new cell phone!!!! If you wanna see it you have to click here.

I love you all and I will talk to you all later!

As Always,
Stephanie Mackey

Busy Weeks Ahead

2007-05-28T13:06:00.000-07:00

We're finally back from camping. Well we got back last night but by the time I showered, snacked and got my pajamas on.. I was too tired to anything besides sit on the couch and do nothing. But we're back and now I have no excuse for not blogging.

We saw some pretty cool things on our trip. As we were pulling into town we saw a ram on the side of the road. He was a tiny little scrawny thing. I felt so bad for him. He was all skin and bones and looked like he got the crap beat out of him. It was sad.

We also got to meet a new little friend while we were fishing. Our camp spot was right on the lake and if you walked about 10 steps out from in front of our tent you could jump to a little 'rock island'. I was sitting out there fishing when I happened to look over and see this staring back at me:

And he stayed there almost the entire time I was fishing off the rock. He let me get about a foot away from him, but that was as close as I got. I didn't want to scare him or make him run away so I just backed away. He sat about a foot and a half away from me the whole time. He was cute.

Here are some more pictures that I took while were there:

We had a great time! The only problem was that it was so windy it was blowing our tent over and knocking things over and breaking them. It was rediculous. I was so cold the intire trip, I was miserable. I had a shirt on, a hooded sweater over that, a wind breaker over that and I had a sleeping bag wrapped around me and I was still shivering. You'd think I was getting sick or something. I was like that the whole time too. Even though it was cold and windy, I still got a sunburn. My whole face is burnt and the tops of my hands. Those were the only things that were exposed. Everything else was under layers and layers of cloths. But we home now and it's warm outside, YIPPEE!

We have a VERY busy couple of weeks ahead of us. We have quite a few things planned in a short amount of time. I don't know how we're going to do it all. Jeff works two days this week. Tuesday and Wednesday, while I pack and get ready for our trip to Seattle for a few days. Were going for our scheduled IUI, so we're staying overnight. We leave for Seattle on Thursday and we also have a Seattle Mariner Baseball game planned that we're going to go see. I can't wait. Then on Friday we have our IUI. Saturday is my TC Mommies Meeting with a bunch of friends. It's like a mommies playdate, although I don't have kids, they all know that we're trying.

Then we have a day of church on Sunday. Monday through Wednesday of next week is the days before our trip to Vegas so we have to pack and get ready for those. Speaking of which we still have to find someone to watch our dog. We fly our Thursday. Have full days of fun up till Sunday, then we fly back. So we will be quite busy. I will be stopping on between now and then to post how things are going and how things went. Until then I bid you farewell and I hope you all are doing great.

PS: thank you for stopping by to my new visitors, you know who you are!

Good & Bad News

2007-05-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

Well we went back for our scheduled ultrasound to see if the cyst is still there and here is the bad news. It is. By the way, the picture to my left is NOT mine, but it is what an ovarian cyst looks like on ultrasound. Although mine wasn't quite that big, it was close.

Here is the good news. It's hasn't gone down in size, and it hasn't gone up in size. It has also shown up on every ultrasound that I've had so it leads the dr's to believe that it is a cyst that I was born with, which is completely harmless, and it will be there forever. We are now able to start over with another cycle of Clomid, another week of ovulation predictor kits, another shot of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, in the butt, another IUI procedure, and another two weeks of waiting.

But we are happy to admit that it will go a bit quicker and a bit more planned this time around. The cycle before last, my body wasn't ovulating on it's own, usually I ovulate on cycle day 13-14 and I went all the way to cycle day 16-17 without ovulating which is what caused my follicles to become so large and kind of old. This time around I am going in on CD 12 for an ultrasound to see if my follicles are ready and then if they are, they will give me my HCG shot, to make me ovulate, then I will be back the next day for my IUI. So wish us luck, say a prayer, and hope that everything goes as planned and we are able to get pregnant this time around.

ADDITION: I also forgot to add that they were able to seperate my cyst from my ovary, using manual manipulation, aka jabbing their hand into my gut and jabbing the ultrasound probe into my 'area'. But she said that it was GREAT news and that all was well.

Wish Us Luck

2007-05-21T10:38:00.001-07:00

We're headed back over to Seattle (Pacific Northwest Infertility Clinic, to be exact) to have a vaginal ultrasound done at 2:15pm. They are doing the ultrasound to see if I still have the cyst on my right ovary. Rememer, last cycle was cancelled due to the cyst? Well we go back tomorrow to see if it is gone yet, and to see if we can start yet, another cycle.

Wish us luck as we are wishing that the cyst, indeed, has gone down so we can proceed with another cycle and hopefully get pregnant this month. We don't know how things are going to go so wish us luck.

I need to go though because I need to call my husband and let him know that he needs to cancel his ear, nose and throat appointment because we have to head to Seattle. I hope you all have a HAPPY MONDAY and a great rest of the week.

God Bless and take care!

gemme a break

2007-05-19T21:40:00.000-07:00

My stomach really hurts (cramping) so forgive me if I don't post a 'real' post until Monday. I love you all and I really do appreciate all the feedback (aka comments) that I got on my previous posts and I am sure that all my lovies will LOVE the activity and visitors. Take care all and don't miss me too much.

P/S: I changed the music on my blog so now it's some cool classical music instead of hip hop gangstas screaming about screwing their hoes, sorry about that by the way. We're all good to go now.

OMGosh, guess what?!?

2007-05-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

You have to go over to this site and sign up for this contest. Even if you don't currently know of anyone who could use it, you can give it to me because my sister in law mandii, is 3 weeks away from having my first nephew, and believe me... she needs it. So if not for yourself, go sign up for it, for mandii, just put your name and if you win, I'll give you my address to have Stephanie send it to, so I can take it down to her when I go visit in July. Here's what Stephanie has to say about the contest/giveaway:

"I am preparing my family for our first ever road trip to Colorado coming up soon and I can't wait to use my new Skip Hop Duo diaper bag, thanks to the very fashionable Mason & Matisse! Of course I'll use it for more than just our trip, but lately I am eyeing every bag I see and saying "oh that would be good for packing..."So I get a new diaper bag- what do you get? You can get 20% off your order by using code 'insider' . You must check out all the adorable things at Mason & Matisse. From baby gear to baby clothes- they have it. My all-time favorite for Gray is by Tea Collection and it's on sale here! And of course you can check out Tea for girls here, too!But wait- there's more!! Here is what one winner will receive- worth $120!!- Skip Hop Pronto in Black or Red- Skip Hop Toolbox Diaper Caddy in White with Mint Accents- Skip Hop Splash in White- Skip Hop Chow in White

How to enter: All you have to do is fill in the Mr. Linky below and then you must link to this contest and Mason & Matisse in a post on your blog telling everyone all about it!You can even post about what you'd love to have from their website. It won't help you win, but it will earn you brownie points maybe! Mmmm... brownies...Even if you don't have a baby right now, you must know someone having one soon and wouldn't you have the best baby shower gift with all these goodies??Next Friday morning at 9 AM CST I'll pick one winner at random from the Mr. Linky! Be sure to leave a comment here letting me know you are playing along, too. Don't have a blog? Then just leave a comment here promising to email all your friends about this great contest!"

So go sign up for it. I did look over the site and these are by far my favorite products:

Oh.. these would be super cute for a little boy.
OMGosh, this is TOTALLY my brother!!!!
Mandii, would love this, for the baby. She's also a love of frogs, as am I.
This is to precious. I want this crib set when and if I have a girl.

Anyways, those are my favorites. So go check out Stephanie's contest/giveaway and enter yourself. Once you're done with that, go check out the Mason & Matisse site and buy some stuff for that little one or that mommy in your life.

*leave a comment here first if you wouldn't mind*

Sorry if I haven't been around much. I've been getting ready for the yard sale that we're having this weekend. We did AWESOME for our first day and we even got to clean more stuff out of our storage today, to add to the yard sale tomorrow. So have a great day, and I hope you're all doing okay.

Linky Love & Odd Stuff

2007-05-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

I have done this in a while so I think that it may be time for some linky love. By the way, you'll have to continue reading for the 'odd stuff'.

I was browsing around some blogs last night, on this site, and I found some pretty cool people, and you know how much I LOVE my bloggie buddies. So here we go, here are my new lovies that I found last night... you MUST check them out. Get your head out of the gutter, I meant go visit them. PERVERT!

You simply MUST.. I said MUST, go check out the SUPER cute story that Amy posted on A Berry Good Life. I thought I was going to pee my pants. Yes, go check it out now. Don't worry, I don't mind that you're leaving me to go read someone else's blog. I know you'll come back to finish reading my story. Go... go now. I'll wait.

-----

It was good wasn't it. Anyways, now that you're finished, let's continue.

I was dying when I ready this story over at A Daily Dose Of Zen Sarcasm. It is definitely a Must... reader? I was going to say must have but you can't have it, it's hers. Anyways, go read it.

--

This story over at Adventures In Baby Fat, was tooo adorable! I can see myself there with my kids one day. I think every mother goes through it. Don't you just love how your children can break your heart one second and mend it back together in the very next second? Oh the sweetness of motherhood.

--

Most of you know her and I feel like i've known her for years. Her name is Stephanie, her husbands name is Jeff, she is a capricorn, she is a stay at home wife (and mom), doesn't it seem like I'm talking about myself? I'm not. My name is Stephanie. I am married to Jeff. I am a Capricorn. I am a stay at home wife. But I am NOT talking abotu myself. I am talking about Stephanie over at Adventures In Babywearing. I love her, go check her out, she's awesome and she has a GREAT taste in shoes. Her kids even have GREAT shoes. Watch, the only difference between us... I will have 3 girls, LOL!

--

When I read this story.. I was in awe. I can only hope for my kids to act like this when I have them. Lissa is the mother to two 3 year old twin boys. They are super cute and hey, they're polite. What can get better than that. Go check her out at Adventures Of A Twin Mommy.

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This is a thing to see. Notice what it is? Yeah I thought it was kind of strange too. Pretty awesome. Her name is Michelle and she is a mommy (outloud) to her beautiful daughter Autumn, who is too precious. You have to check her out at Mama Out Loud.

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Yes, I'm almost done, Geeze, stop yelling at me!

--

Teresa's Scrapbox is another one to check out. She tells tales of motherhood that would make most blush, I love it. She is totally real. If you don't believe me, check out this story.

--

I told you!

Now on with the 'Odd Stuff'.

I was looking at my 'blog stats' and I noticed something. Someone has found my site by googling:

How many eggs does a walrus lay?

WTHeck?!? What is wrong with you people. Wait. What is wrong with google for directing you to my site. I'm going to have to have a talk with them google people. Geeze, and hello, Walrus' don't lay eggs. IDIOT! Ughh.

Do they have a stupid people blocker? I need one. Once they type in something stupid their computer should shut off.

I hope you enjoyed my new blogging lovies. I love you all and I will see you all later.

Thief?

2007-05-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

It is now time for some OLOGY!

FOODOLOGY
Q. What is your salad dressing choice?
A. Caesar all the way baby!!

Q. What is your favorite Fast Food Restaurant?
A. Arby's, totally. I'd like a number 3 with cruly fries and a 7up.

Q. What is your favorite sit down restaurant?
A. Tony Romas or Outback.

Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
A. 15 - 20%

Q. What food could you eat for two weeks and not get sick of?
A. bread... any kind of bread. I love bread.

Q. Wat is your favorite type of gum?
A. I like Orbitz's Wintermint.

TECHNOLOGY
Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A. It's a huge flower on this laptop, but on my computer it's a retro polka dot print, that I created.

Q. How many televisions are in your house?
A. 3

BIOLOGY
Q. What's your best feature?
A. My whole dang body, geeze.

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A. A noddle of skin when I pierced my belly button.

Q. Which of your five senses do you think is keenest?
A. sight.

Q. When was the last time you had a cavity?
A. I have one now.

Q. What is the heaviest thing you've lifted?
A. our piano, ughhh!

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. yes, when we almost recked a golf cart, I jumped off and landed on the pavement.

BULLCRAPOLOGY
Q. If it were possible would you want to know the day you are going to die?
A. No thank you.

Q. Is love for real?
A. ABSOLUTELY!!

Q. If you could change your first name what would you change it to?
A. Nicole.. I like my middle name better than my first.

Q. What color do you think looks best on you?
A. Pink, duh!

Q. Have you eve swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
A. yeah, i think so.

Q. Have you ever saved someone's life?
A. I am not sure about that one.

Q. Has someone ever saved yours?
A. Yes, my brother woke me up when my blankets were on fire from a floor heater.. he put the fire out too.

DAREOLOGY
Q. Would you walk naked for a half a mile down a public street for $100,000?
A. Nope, my pride and body is more important than money.

Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
A. Nope, i'm not like that sorry.

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
A. Not on your life buddy.

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000.00?
A. Heck yes.. then I'd just set up an 'online journal' and post my life on there. Hey I won't ask anyone to read it, LOL.

Q. Would you pose nude in a magazine for $250,000.00?
A. No! would you let me smack you in the face with a golf club, for $10? It's about the same concept.

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000?
A. Depends on the hot sauce and the size of the bottle.

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment take a human life for $1,000,000.00?
A. Absolutely NOT!

Q. Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000.00?
A. YES! I definitely could do that.

Q. Give up myspace for $30,000.00?
A. YES YeS YeS!!!

DUMBOLOGY
Q. What is in your left pocket?
A. nothing.

Q. Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A. No, but it IS funny!

Q. Do you have hardwood floors or carpet in your house?
A. Carpet

Q. Do you sit or stand in the shower?
A. Old people sit in the shower, HA HA, what do you think.. I stand. That's why they call it the 'shower' if you sad down, it would be a bath.

Q. Could you live with roommates?
A. Probably.

Q. How many pairs of flip-flops do you own?
A. 5 I think?

Q. Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A. When my mom's husband called the cops on us because we weren't listening to him. It was pretty funny. and I quote, "can you send out an officer because my wifes kids aren't listening to me..." HA HA HA, what an idiot.

Q. What do you want to be when you grow up?
A. I want to open my own daycare.

LASTOLOGY
Q. Last friend you talked to?
A. Mandii, she's also my sister in law.

Q. Last person you called?
A. Mandii.

RANDOMOLOGY
Q. First place you went this morning?
A. To check the mail.

Q. What can you not wait to do?
A. Have babies, and raise them in the church.

Q. What's the last movie you saw?
A. King Kong... last night. It was sooooo good.

Q. Are you a friendly person?
A. Mostly. Everyone can become snotty at times.

I hope you all have had a fun time reading my responces.. this post is just a filler until I can find something else to talk about. I am thinking you just have to give me a few seconds.

okay a few more second.

I hope you all have a great night.

Love always,
Stephanie Nicole

My Favorite..

2007-05-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

Born in Barbados, Rihanna knows how to live it up. In addition to recording the most popular single of 2005, "Pon De Replay", she's also recorded the tantalizing "S.O.S", recorded to Soft Cell's 80's hit, "Tainted Love". It makes you get on the dance floor, whether you are at home, alone, or hittin' it up in a club. This one will definitely make you move. "Unfaithful" is also a great one. Documenting the tragedy of cheating couples, and the pain it causes both parties. It sheds some light on what you don't want to happen.

Although I've loved all of her past hits, her new one is by far, my favorite. "Umbrella" settles the score when it comes to faithful couples. It is so personal and it makes you feel as if you are singing it to your spouse. It really is a heart warmer and it definitely has become 'our song'.

So here's a chance to hear my favorite song.

Umbrella.

Jay-Z:
Ahuh Ahuh (Yea Rihanna)
Ahuh Ahuh (Good girl gone bad)
Ahuh Ahuh (Take three... Action)
Ahuh Ahuh
No clouds in my storms
Let it rain, I hydroplane into fame (Rihanna: Eh eh)
Come'n down with the Dow Jones
When the clouds come we goneWe Rocafella (Rihanna: Eh eh)
She fly higher than weather
And she rocks it betterYou know me
An anticipation for precipitation, stacks chips for the rainy day(Rihanna: Eh eh)
Jay, rain man is back with lil Ms. Sunshine
Rihanna where you at?

[VERSE 1]
You had my heart,
and we'll never be world apart
Maybe in magazines,
but you'll still be my star
Baby cause in the Dark,
You can see shiny Cars
And that's when you need me there
With you I'll always share
Because...

[CHORUS]
When the sun shines We’ll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
That I'll always be your friend
Took an oath Imma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella
You can stand under my Umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)

[VERSE 2]
These fancy things, will never come in between
You're part of my entity, Here for Infinity
When the war has took it's part
When the world has dealt it's cards
If the hand is hard,
Together we'll mend your heart
Because ..

[CHORUS]
When the sun shines
We'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
That I'll always be your friend
Took an oath Imma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella
You can stand under my Umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)

[BRIDGE]
You can run into my Arms
It's okay don't be alarmed
(Come into Me)
(There's no distance in between our love)
So Gonna let the rain pour
I'll be all you need and more
Because ..

[CHORUS]
When the sun shines
We'll shine Together
Told you I'll be here forever
That I'll always be your friend
Took an oath Imma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella
You can stand under my Umbrella
(Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella
(ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)

It's raining (raining)
Ooo baby it's raining
baby come into me
Come into me

It's raining (raining)
Ooo baby it's raining
You can always come into me
Come into me......

Love Always,

Stephanie Mackey

A Day For Mommies

2007-05-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all mommies! Whether you are pregnant with your first, pregnant with your last or have a house full or one at home, Happy Mother's Day!

I have often asked myself, What makes a mother? I've found that this article by Kay Green (c) 2001-2006 discribes it very well.

A mother can come in may forms, A mother can be a woman who conceives, births, and raises a child given to her by God. She is what we as a society see as a mother. A mother can be a young woman who finds herself pregnant, unable to parent, who chooses life for her child by placing him for adoption. In choosing life for her child she becomes a mother. She will not be that baby’s parent but she is his birth mother. A mother can be the one who prays for a baby she does not carry in her womb. She becomes the mother and parent to a child given in adoption. She is there in the night, in sickness, in health, in joy, and in sadness. She is her mother. A mother can be a woman who takes on the care of another’s children through foster care or guardianship. She gives her life to loving them. They see her as mother.

I read the story of a man who parented a little boy that he believe to be his biological son. At age 10 he found out he may not be his biological parent and considered leaving the child. I thought how sad. He is the only Father that child knows. He IS his father. Blood alone does not make you more of a father or not.

What a blessing from God to be called mother.

Man, oh man I can not wait to become one myself.

Happy Mother's Day to all you beautiful treasures!

Determination Prevails.. Updated!

2007-05-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

As many of you may know.. my sister in law is 36 weeks along with her first baby. Mind you this is my one and only sister in law, she's married to my one and only sibling, my brother.

(please forgive the poor quality of the picture.. at least you get the point.)

Well anyways, continuing on with my story.. Mandii is 36 weeks pregnant and she is due on June 7, 2007 with her first boy, whom they are probably going to name Jonathan David Jr, although that is not for sure so don't be writing it in stone.

Okay.. here is my dilemma. She is due the day that I am flying down to Las Vegas for a 3 day vacation. We can't cancel the vacation because it is free through Jeff's work. We've been waiting for this vacation for a year and we don't want to cancel it. I know that most first babies are overdue but you know babies, nothing is for sure. Especially if he takes after me or my brother.. my brother was a month late and I was almost birthed in the floorboard of my mom's car, early.

Mandii's mom can't be down there with her for the birth because Mandii's grandma has breast cancer and she just has surgery so Mandii's mom has to stay and take care of her. We're not for sure if my mom is going down or not, so all mandii has is her sisters, whom are all in their teens, her dad, and her husband, my brother, who only has enough time off to stay home the first day or so after the baby is born. Needless to say she will be alone. So I want to go down there to be with her. Although I don't want to go too early. If she is due on the 7th... I think if I wait till the 23rd to fly down... that should be enough time to let her family come over to see and be around the baby and for her and my brother to get settled with the baby before I come down.

Here lies the problem.. my husband wants me to go down but we aren't sure if I am going to fly or drive.. the drive takes 14 hours if you drive straight through. To fly.. it takes about 5. We are trying to save our money so we can spend it while we are down in Vegas, but I am totally willing to save my money so I can go down to California to see my first nephew. Well the plane ticket costs $451.61 round trip. Now I just need to convince my husband that it's ONLY $451.61!! I don't know how well he is going to take it.

Speaking of money I just got an email from a lady who wants to pay me about $35.00 to have an ad on my site, hey I am all for free money. Anyone else want to pay me some money to have an ad on my site, LOL! Or you could donate to my 'Meet My Nephew' Fund.

Plane Ticket .......... $451.61
Robyn's ad ............. - 35.00
----------------------------
Left To Go: $416.61

Do if you were feeling a little generous or just really feel bad for me and would like to donate to my 'Meet My Nephew Fund' please email me at:

jeffandstephaniemackey@gmail.com

I do have paypal and I do take checks, lol.

If you don't want to donate or don't have the money, please just say a prayer that I will be able to use $500.00 of our vacation money to fly down to meet my baby nephew. Thank you all so much, it really does mean a lot to me.

Update: I just wanted to let you all know that I will be going down afterall. Although I won't be taking the $451.00 flight I will be taking a $200.00 flight. So all I am waiting to hear is when Jon and Mandii want me to come down. Anyways, thank you for all your support and I can't wait to show you all pictures.

Not How I Planned It

2007-05-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Well this was supposed to be a "Wordless Wednesday' but I had to say a few things as well. But hey I have a picture, a funny picture at that, so you can't be mad at me right?

Anyways, I think I've finally figured out why I don't really feel like blogging lately. I think it's because I don't feel like I have very much to say. My husband and I lead very normal, uneventful lives and we don't have kids yet. We haven't even gotten pregnant yet, so I feel like I am boring and that I am saying the same things over and over and over. It gets quite irritating if you ask me. This realization is making me kind of depressed because I absolutely LOVE blogging and I love writing things about my life but for some reason I just can't think of things to say. I think that is also the reason that I've been trying to keep up with my themed posts. So anyways, I will try to get my head out of my butt and think of things to say.

Here are some more funny pictures of my King:

IN THE NEWS

2007-05-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

1. 5 Minutes For Mom is hosting a Mother's Day Giveaway. They are giving away a Best Buy’s Special Mother’s Day Apple iPod Nano and Chocolate Gift Set! Yes! They are giving away an iPOD NANO! And Chocolate!!! So head on over there and sign up for it. You can click on the link in my sidebar. Believe me you WANT to sign up for this one!!!

2. Damselfly at Celebrating A Life is hosting a note writing challenge. We all love to get notes and it makes us feel superb when we receive them, so why not take a minute to write 2 people a note and tell them how much you love them, how much you miss them, or how much you care for them. It will make you feel better, I promise.

I wrote 3 notes... one to a friend who just found out she's pregnant with number two. One to a friend who just gave birth to number 2, and one to a friend who's having problems getting pregnant with number 2. One for each end of the spectrum.

3. Speaking of getting pregnant... Nicole over at Much More Than A Mom found out that she is pregnant with number 2!!!! So head on over there and give her a big hug and a warm congratulations!

4. This Sunday is Mother's Day so remember to wish you mom a wonderful Mother's Day. Because you know that they LOVE to hear from you. Hey... maybe you can use that for your 'Note Writing Challenge'. One for you mom, one for your mother in law, and one to a friend. See it's that easy.

5. This is just to let you know that I am 100% open to pray if anyone needs a prayer. It can be for anything as well. If you are having a bad day and are hoping for a better one tomorrow, send me a message and I would love to pray for you. If you are trying to conceive and you need that extra boost, hit me up and I will be more than happy to pray for you. If your children are driving you up the wall, or your husband isn't understanding you and you're not having the best of times, feel free to stop by and drop me a comment, you know that I will be more than happy to pray for you. I will be posting a link to this post on my sidebar, so you all can click on it all the time, so send me a comment, I will be happy to make room in my prayers for a few words for you.

I wish you all the best of luck this week and I hope you all have a great day!

My Very First One

2007-05-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

Since I don't have kids of my own (YET!), I have to post a picture of one of us doing something 'childish'. One of my great memories as a child is playing outside on a hot day, with a popcicle in my hand, oh what a life. I always had juice dripping down my chin and a large popcicle stain on my shirt, but none of that mattered to me. I was playing freely and all that mattered was the popcicle. It was so nice to have them on hot days, and growing up REALLY poor, you didn't get them often enough. Maybe once in a really GREAT while, when neither you or your older brother had beaten the crap out of each other at all that day. And believe me, it didn't happen that often, days without beatings, i mean. So in memory of those hot summer days with juice running down my chin, I give you the popcicle!

Question Of The Day

2007-05-04T00:11:00.000-07:00

Every night.. now matter what time it is or how tired the other one is, my husband and I always go to bed together. Usually he is the tired one and I am the wide awake one but there are occasions when I am the one falling asleep and he is the one up watching television in bed, but it never fails. We always go to bed together. Even if one of us is away on business or with friends, we will still call each other when it is time for bed and get ready for bed together. Sounds cute, huh? Anyways, that leads me to my question of the day.

Do you and your husband go to bed together or do you go to bed separately?

Some Random-ness

2007-05-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

I am trying to get a few ideas of themed posts to participate in on my blog weekly or something like that. So here are some of my ideas that I may participate in from time to time.

PhotoHunters I've seen Julia over at My Adventures And Antics participate in this from time to time and I really think it would be fun.

Here's an activity that I like but it doesn't really have a name, it's where I post a theme and we all post 12 items in that 'catagory' It has to be 12 items that somehow fit into that catagory, get it? We'll call it 'A Themed Dozen'.

OH and here is a good one! It is called 'Loaded Questions'. It is where I post 4 questions for you all to answer and the first one is a hypothetical question, the second one is an 'anything - goes' question, the third one is a 'no-brainer' question and the last one is a personal question. I think I am liking this one.

Question Of The Day is a good one. That one is always fun!

'Five For Friday' Where I ask 5 interesting questions.

Okay do you notice a questions theme, weird huh.

Updating My 110 List

2007-04-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

1. I share a middle name with many others.
2. I have been TTC sense July 2005. (STILL!!)
3. I married J on July 9th, 2005.
4. I am a Mommy to 4 Fur-Babies, & 6 Scale-Babies
5. I had a male cat named Cornbread Calix, (calix means handsome), whom I adopted out.
6. I have a female dog named Sagira Isis, (it means Little Supreme Goddess) She is 3/4 Tea Cup Pomeranian and 1/4 Chihuahua.
7. I had a male dog named Raja Bubba, (Raja means hope) and he is Huskey, Lab & Chow.
8. I had a female dog named Takoda Trinity, (means Holy Three who is friendly to all…three dogs, get it?) She is Great Pyrenese & Golden Lab.
9. I had a female parrotlet named Tiki Peta, (means small) She is a mini parrot.
10. I also have 2 Blood Parrot Chichlids, who are a bright red/orange. There names are Peter & Polly.
11. I had 2 brown Plicaustamous (sp?). Ones name is Leo, for Leopard Shark, because he looks just like one, the other one is Larry, because Leo and Larry go well.
12. I have a HUGE red bellied Paku. He is about 12-14 inches long. He is FAT too!
13. I had two chinese sucker fish, they don't have names yet.. I know I suck.
14. I turn 21 on January 12, 2008.
15. J is 10,091 days older than me!
16. I want to open a specialty pet supply store.
17. Our animals are a HUGE part of our family.
18. I had 11 animals at one time when I was young!
19. I almost had a cow at one point.
20. I had a horse when I was young, his name was Dixie.
21. I grew up in a 1 parent household.
22. I haven’t seen or spoke to my real father sense I was about 6.
23. I only have one sibling, his name is BB (aka big brother).
24. I am the shortest one in my family.
25. I am 5 foot 2 inches.
26. My mom is the next shortest at 5 foot 7 inches.
27. My brother is a bit over 6 foot.
28. I have 2 SIL’s. One named M and one named D.
29. I haven’t spoken to my extended family in a LONG time.
30. I was born on a Monday @ 7:31pm.
31. I used to live in a VERY small town.
32. I was born in a town close to where I live.
33. I moved to Arizona when I was approx 7, or so.
34. We own a home.
35. Our home is a 3 bedroom.
36. We also rent an apartment.
37. We used to spend our weekends cleaning & Landscaping our yard.
38. We now spend our weekends shopping.
39. I am a stay at home housewife.
40. My husband sells medicare supplements to seniors.
41. My husband is a field sales manager.
42. I was married on the Ocean beach of Washington State.
43. I had approx. 2 weeks to plan my wedding.
44. I still have ALL natural hair….(not dyed, I mean.)
45. J dyes his hair, he has a few grey hairs.
46. I love to go to the gym.
47. I love to play sports with my friends and family.
48. I love to listen to music.
49. I love to spend my time outdoors with my pets and husband.
50. I love the water.
51. We love camping.
52. We love traveling.
53. We have a tradition to go picnicing on the 4th of July.
54. I get side tracked REALLY easily.
55. I get bored easily, as well.
56. I can play on my computer ALL day.
57. I still hate to clean, but love to organize.
58. I love children and can’t wait to have my own.
59. I've been doing infertility treatments since January 2007.
60. I love to sing and do it often.
61. My first job was being a waitress.
62. My husband used to be a cop.
63. My husband has 2 kids.
64. My husband has been married 3 times.
65. I have only been married once.
66. I love shoes, but love to be barefoot.
67. I hate baggy cloths.
68. I love to do crafts.
69. I love scrapbooking.
70. I enjoy painting!
71. I can’t wait to paint our house. Well I couldn't..it's all done now.
72. I only wear 3 rings. Now it's my engagement ring, my wedding ring, and mystic fire christmas present.
73. My kids will only have one grandma and one great grandma, on opposite sides.
74. I love shopping but hate paying for it!
75. I used to babysit ALL the time when I was young.
76. I will graduate from High School soon! Scratch that... I DID graduate from High school!
77. Once I am done I am going to start College classes. I will start these soon!
78. My husbands family is very spread out.
79. My dream job is to open my own specialty pet store and have my husband work with me!
80. I would love to be able to start our family VERY SOON!
81. When we painted our house.. we spent 2 full days painting 3 rooms!
82. Our living/family room in our house that we rent out is a mocha brown.
83. Our dining room is split, (two colors).
84. Our Kitchen is a yellow color.
85. I LOVE blogging!
86. We have currently been ttc for 14 months. WOAH! Scratch that.. it's now been 22 months.
87. J leaves for 2 days at the end of the week! He's back now.. thank goodness!
88. My desk is still a mess!
89. We had a kitty for a week and adopted him to a little girl.
90. His name was Hudini.
91. My favorite show is Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
92. If I could have anything in the world right now, all I would ask for is a baby.
93. I like the show.. Hogan Knows Best.
94. My biggest pet peeve is slow drivers!!
95. We love our new apartment!
96. It drives me nuts when people park in our designated parking spot.
97. I love pizza.
98. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints.
99. I was baptized on October 21, 2006.
100. I love making and mailing things to people.
101. I have two horses.
102. I have a horse named Cassie.
103. I have a horse named Lissa Lou.
104. I have a cat named Cocoa (short for chocolate).
105. We are searching for another home. (i hate apartment life).
106. I give my cat and dog, their own vaccinations.
107. My cat has been on meds everyday since we got him. (over three months)
108. My cat is a male siamese, booger.
109. Cassie, our horse, is an 18 year old arabian mare.
110. Lissa Lou, our other horse, is Cassie's daughter, and she is a 13 year old arabian mare.

add more as I think of more!

I'm Off For The Weekend.

2007-04-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

I am heading up to Ensign Ranch. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I will see you all when I get back. I will try to take tons of pictures while I am there. I don't get to spend that much time with my lady friends anymore (not from up there anyways) so it should be great. Here's something to hold you over until I get back.

What is something (or some things) that I can add to my sidebar? I feel like it is lacking something.

I am open to any and all suggestions!

Woo Hoo For Me!!!

2007-04-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

I finally got what I wanted. The theme that I created is UP on my blog.. FINALLY!

I was just doing it wrong. I didn't know that when you get an error code.. you have to switch blogger to the old version and THEN, and only then, will it come up!

So thank you to all the people that have helped out with it.. trying to give me tips here and there. THANKS!!!

Any Voulenteers?!?

2007-04-25T16:46:00.001-07:00

I am thinking that I like blogger the best... well not exactly the best but I think I should try it out. I don't want to pay to be able to change the background on my blog. I think it should come standard (JMO.. don't get hostile on me!) Anyways.. so I think that I am going to try this out for a while and see how it goes. So this leads into my next question..

Does anyone know where you can find a blogger template generator?

I know what I want.. where I want it and the colors that I want it but I can't find a generator that will work with blogger.

Got any ideas?

Testing The Waters

2007-04-25T10:27:00.000-07:00

This is my first post on blogger and I am just testing things out to see how I like them. So please feel free to disregard this post.