Bring it on...

Right now it's sunny. And it's supposed to stay that way for a while. So that means I get to take cool photos of awesome sunsets like this...

And it also means I'll be able to get "her fatness" out for a few rides...

Hey... who are you calling fat?

Never mind. I am not speaking to you...

Tomorrow Jewel and I are going to try some cattle sorting. I'll see if I can get Rebel to come out and take some pictures because it will probably be hilarious. Flash, after all, is terrified of cattle...

The prenup vs. "I love you, but..."

An interesting question was posed to me the other day by a friend of mine who has some financial wealth. Is a prenuptial agreement the same as planning for failure?

This is an interesting question. As you know, I am kind of a hopeless romantic. Even after all the of the false starts and near-misses I'm still convinced that I will find my soul mate. Silly? Yes. But it is what it is. I tend to go into every new relationship with undying optimism. It's just who I am...

However, when this friend asked me if I would be opposed to signing one, I immediately said no. Why? Because even though I am ever-optimistic, I also have a hell of a head for business. I think assets that were accumulated before the relationship should be protected. But, what about those assets that grow as you put more into them? Rebel owns his own business and it is pretty much a separate entity from a relationship (in my mind). But what about something like farming? That is a venture that is taken on by the couple as a whole. How do you separate that out? Or do you? Is that an instance when a prenuptial agreement just wouldn't be fair?

Maybe it's situationally dependent...

And it's a very sticky situation. I guess there is no black-and-white answer to this. The best thing would be to have very open lines of communication where it could be discussed without any feelers getting hurt. But some of my friends, when asked, said it felt like planning for failure. And you definitely don't want to go into something feeling like it's already failed...

*sigh*

Tough question. No clear answer. I guess I wasn't much help...

Long, but short, weekend...

I love Thanksgiving. I mean, really love it...

You can't beat turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, homemade rolls and all the fixin's... it's epic. A feast that I consistently overeat at every year. And this year was no exception...

I ate. And ate. And ate. And ate. And then ate some more. And then I had dessert. And then I passed out from a food coma...

But I wasn't the only one.

El Dub was napping...

Simba was napping on T...

#4 and the BabyO were napping...

Duke was napping...

BooBoo was reading. But that's almost like napping...

And after all that napping, then it was time to head out for Black Friday *insert scary music here*

That's right. I can now cross that little adventure off my bucket list. BooBoo dragged me out of bed to join her in the late-night debauchery that is shopping at midnight. It was quite an experience, let me tell you...

Just our group alone needed this much coffee to stay awake while in line...

I really felt bad for the people who were in line for BestBuy. It looked pretty bad over there. We were in line for Old Navy. Which was bad. But not that bad... Plus, BooBoo and I had a game plan. Circle once around the store grabbing as you go and be in line in 20 minutes. All told we were in and out in 25 minutes. Not bad. Not bad at all...

Later on Friday, Rebel drove up to Portland with the pups and had dinner with Bff and I. He got the Bff stamp of approval (always a good thing). Then on Saturday we had lunch with my parents. Again, he passed with flying colors. Flip Flop even commented on how normal he was (if she only knew... haha).

Unfortunately, on Saturday night I ended up not feeling so well. But Rebel was a trooper and basically ignored all the whining and gnashing of teeth that was going on over my way. 

On Sunday it was time to head back home. Rebel took the pups and headed over Mt. Hood. I took myself and headed the other way to meet up with Drake for some sushi. It was good, but I wish I had been feeling better. I didn't really get to eat as much as I normally would. Oh well... maybe that's for the best. After all, I'm trying to drop some pounds before BooBoo's wedding in July.

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend. I hope yours was a happy holiday as well...

Blessings...

My life has been incredibly twisty-turny. Some of that has just been the luck of the draw. Some of that has been my own doing... either way, it's been incredibly blessed.

I had no idea that this is where I would end up, but I couldn't be happier about where I am. I look (and read) back about where I have been and have no regrets. Has it been conventional? No. Has it been worth it? You bet...

So today I am incredibly grateful for my amazing family, my great friends and the newest addition to my crazy life, Rebel. And, dear readers, I am so very grateful for you...

Have the happiest day.

Remember, life is short. Make each day count...

Giving thanks...

It's almost that time of year again where we sit down with friends, family and those we care about and try to make it through the dinner without killing anyone or passing out from a turkey overdose...

I love Thanksgiving.

Happy Turkey Day to you and yours...

Like the Scarlet A, but better...

Bff and I have decided that all of the stupid people in the world seriously need to be rounded up and have their foreheads tattooed with the words "I'm stupid". It sure would make it easy to spot them in a crowd and then I wouldn't even have to speak to them to figure out that they are, indeed, stupid. Although some people are so dumb that just their actions alone will point this obvious fact out. However, that is not foolproof so I'm thinking this will work way better.

I already have a few candidates in mind...

It's in the handbook...

There is an unwritten rule that if you are dating someone (in this case, me) then you don't go to romantic, sappy, chick-flicks without me...

How did Rebel miss this memo?

This weekend, he was out of town visiting the fam for an early Thanksgiving and the next thing I know he's telling me he just went and saw Breaking Dawn Part I with his mom and sister... and without me. What? How does that happen?

Well, he's just going to have to suck it up and see it again I'm afraid. It's part of the boyfriend duties, after all.

Which reminds me. I need to go make a copy of the handbook for him. Can't have any more incidences like this occurring...  :)

I guess it could be the Twilight Zone...

Or maybe it's a full moon? No. I think that was a few weeks ago...

Either way, it's been a crazy week. It all started Tuesday. I locked the screen on my computer, went to a meeting and when I got back I was greeted with this...

Oh crap. Not the blue screen of death...

Which was then followed up by this...

I don't know what this is, but it can't be good...

I immediately called RR for moral and technical support. He had me try a few things but unfortunately every time I tried to restart it was still this...

Did I mention that I hate PCs? I miss working on a mac...

So I finished up what I could without a working computer (which isn't much) and headed off to town to drop the piece of shit, I mean the laptop, off at the repair place.

On Wednesday I went to work, but ended up leaving early because my computer still wasn't fixed and I had done everything I could without the software I needed.

On Thursday when I called the repair place it still wasn't done so I took the day off and decided to lay around in bed until noon and then go for a ride.

Which one of us are you taking?

Whaddya mean you want to ride Flash today and not me?

Flash and I had a great ride. And the weather wasn't too bad either...

Thursday night they were predicting snow. But I didn't believe them...

Did you say snow?

Then I'm staying right here...

Turned out Daisy had the right idea, because on Friday morning it looked like this...

Snowwww!!!!

Unfortunately, I hadn't had a chance to take the bug in for new tires yet so I ended up having to drive the truck into work on Friday morning. Good thing I did too. It was slicker than snot out there...

I even stopped to help pull an SUV out of a ditch. Of course, the idiot driving the SUV was trying to tell me how to do it. I explained to him that if he didn't shut up and get back in his car that I was just going to leave him there. Wisely, he did as I asked...

And now today is Saturday and where am I headed? Well, after I drop the bug off to get new tires? That's right... work. 

*sigh*

Not super stoked about it, but I have a lot of things to get done. Speaking of which, I guess it's time to get my butt out of bed and get moving...

I'm not nice. Fuzzy ducks are nice...

And yet, I find myself trying to be nice. Well, after yesterday I don't think I'll be nice anymore.

As you know, I've been dating. I went into it with the thought that I would expand my circle of friends and if something came of that then great. And it did. Which is nice.

What is not nice is the douche bags that can't get the hint...

I've been very honest. If there was no connection I said so from the beginning. And for most people they got the gist.

Enter Creepy David... who couldn't seem to understand plain English. After our first meeting I politely (but bluntly) told him that this would not become anything other than a friendship. All through the meeting he kept trying to stroke my shoulder. It really freaked me out. And at first, he seemed to get the hint. He would see if we could get together and if I had time I might make a plan (which he usually broke, btw) and if not then I said so.

Sunday he sent a text about breaking a sushi get-together which we had scheduled on Monday. And then he sent a picture of himself (clothed, thank goodness) which I immediately deleted. And then he sent yet another text asking if I had a picture for him...

*gag*

I ignored them all and didn't answer on Sunday night. On Monday, I told him he wasn't getting a picture and that it was fine he couldn't make it to sushi. He then sent a text about trying to get together another night and proceeded to send his whole schedule for the next 2 months. Seriously? Who does that? I can barely figure out what I'm doing tonight let alone 2 months from now... I texted back that I could maybe do it the next week. And then he sends a message about really wanting to spend some "quality time" together and try to coordinate our days off to make that happen...

*sigh*

Once again I explained to him that this is just a friends thing for me and that I'm not spending my days off with him (basically I said I have better things to do). Well... he got pissy and texted back that if I wasn't interested in getting to know a good man then maybe I should just not be dating.

*sigh*

Seriously? I explained to Creepy David right out of the gate it wasn't happening and reiterated that point several times. What on earth does it take for someone like him to get the hint?

Needless to say I didn't bother answering that text. I deleted his number out of my phone and then went online and blocked it. I don't need that kind of headache hanging around.

Rebel, on the other hand, thought it was hilarious...

Life changes, Silver Falls and snow...

Last week was a long (but good) week. I was supposed to go to Farmer's, but it ended up that this weekend he had the flu (the previous weekend it was me) so I stayed home.

On Wednesday, I had dropped my truck and trailer off at Rebel's shop to have some work done on it. The weekend before everything on it (lights, brakes, everything...) had stopped working. I figured it was time to finally get something done about that. Honestly, I would have been thrilled if he had just gotten the magnetic lights working again. Instead, my trailer came back on Thursday looking better than it did when I bought it. He had completely rewired the truck and the plug harness, put new wiring throughout on the trailer and had upgraded all the lights to LED's. It was way more than I could afford. Rebel's response? Cook me dinner and we're even...

I was feeling kind of bad about it. After all, that's a lot of work that he did on that rusty piece of crap (come to find out later he also welded the back axle which was starting to rust loose). It just didn't seem right. I consulted Clown on this and he told me to just graciously accept what was offered. And he even seemed offended that I had tried to offer Rebel some money towards the fix-up of the truck and trailer. I didn't quite get what he was driving at until he told me that by offering to pay Rebel for the work that I was cheapening the gift. Seriously? I had no idea that men think like this. My thought? I didn't want to take advantage of anyone's generosity...

After all, since I've moved back Rebel has helped me out a lot. He came over to stack hay. He took me out to dinner when I was flat broke. Hell, he's even cooked for me a time or two... (I know, I know. A guy who can turn a wrench and cook? Almost too good to be true...)

So on Friday we decided to take it to the next level, and turned our friendship into a relationship.

Yup, you heard it right. I am no longer single... (and it happened on 11.11.11 too. hehe)

Trust me, you aren't the only one that is shocked. But I'm very happy about the sudden turn of events. Sometimes you just really never know what is around the corner waiting for you. I guess that's what makes life so interesting...

OK, back to the weekend...

On Saturday morning I swapped Goodwin and Storm. So now Storm is at my place and Goodwin will spend the winter at Mags and she will start to put some groundwork on him this winter.

Saturday afternoon, Rebel suggested we drive out to Silver Falls and check it out. He had tried to do some camping there earlier in the year, but it hadn't panned out and he wanted to see if it was worth trying to camp there again. So off we went...

Of course, the pups demanded they come along as well...

And even though the weather wasn't great, I'm glad we went. That place was amazing!! Not only did you get to see the falls from the front, you got to go behind them too. It was so cool.

Main waterfall looking from the upper trail...

People walking behind the main falls...

Watching the water fall from behind the falls...

The second waterfall on the Canyon trail...

It was very wet walking behind this waterfall...

Rebel reluctantly posing for a picture...

The hike was actually pretty nice considering that the weather wasn't that great. We got misted on most of the hike and towards the end, we really got rained on.

On our way back home, the pass was a mess. It really started snowing and we were held up by several wreckers that were pulling cars out of the ditch. One truck looked like it had rolled over. It was pretty snowy and slick but we made it home safe and sound. And really, really tired. Man am I out of shape...

Sunday I went riding with Jewel and Mags. It was a gorgeous day although the wind was quite cold. But we had a good time. I rode Storm and Mags rode Flash for me...

Mags & Jewel enjoying a great ride...

The rest of Sunday was just spent recovering from the hike the day before. Although Rebel did come over and I did make waffles for dinner, other than that I didn't get off the couch. I was supposed to go to a soccer game at 7pm but I totally forgot about it. Probably best... I'm not sure I could have run up and down the field anyway. 

All in all, it was a really great weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing what else is on the horizon...

The second best view...

The sunsets at the beach were unbeatable...

But this is a close second...

Man I love where I live...

Drive-by...

Last night I was the victim of a drive-by...

I was out in the field feeding the horses when it first happened. Noelle drank out of the auto-waterer that is in the pasture and then she stuck her tongue out and licked my hand as she went zooming by. A drive-by licking...

*gag*

I know where that tongue has been. I don't want it to touch me anywhere upon my person...

And it was bad enough that she did it once. But then, back at the house she did it again. Got a drink out of the water bowl and then got me with her dripping wet tongue as she zoomed by.

*gag*

Bad dog!!

Pet winterizing...

Seeing this picture reminds me that I need to winterize Daisy...

Why you dress me like this? You no love me?

Noelle, on the other hand, has enough fluff on her own. She takes after her mama that way...

What's in your wallet?

As you may know, my goal now that I'm back in Central Oregon is to buy a house in few years. To that end, I have met with a broker to see what I need to do to have the credit necessary to make this happen.

His first piece of advise? Get a credit card...

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo... I don't want a credit card. I haven't had one in over 12 years. Why do I have to have one?

*pouts*

Apparently this is the fastest way to start to build my credit back up again. Ugh...

So I bit the bullet this weekend and applied for one. They wanted to give me a $1,000 limit. I opted for $300. Figured that way I can't get myself into too much trouble. I've also decided that the only thing I'm going to use it for is gas and then pay it off every month. I don't want to use it for something I can't afford anyway. That's how I got into deep shit last time. Never again!!

*crosses her heart*

So, my fully customized card will be here in 7-10 days. I opted to go with a sunny beach picture. I do miss the beach... just not the weather.

I miss that view...

 
This will be a happy reminder of the ocean every time I go to fill up...

Oh yeah, now I remember...

The white stuff... is... snow.

I'm not ready...

And I'm definitely not ready for ice...

I guess winter really is coming. Bummer...

This is why I don't have kids...

It started Tuesday night. First it was an upset stomach. Then I was praying to the porcelain gods. Then the fever set in at around 3:30am yesterday.

For the life of me I couldn't figure out where I could have possibly caught a flu bug. I have my own office and there is hardly anyone here. Seriously.

And then I remembered... the horse show. There were hundreds of little petri dishes (aka kids) running around that damn show. Those little brats contaminated me. My immune system doesn't like kids. At. All.

Good thing it was a quick bug. My fever broke around 2pm yesterday and I'm back in action at work today. Good thing, too. Stuff is starting to back up and I was only gone one day...

Ripples...

No. I'm not talking about the ones on my butt...

Yes, yes. I am aware that spandex riding pants are a privilege and not a right. But it was part of the costume, so get over it. Plus, I continue to drop pounds so by next spring when endurance racing gets underway I won't be offending anyone...

The ripples I'm talking about are the ones on the ponds of our lives. I always wonder what seemingly small gestures make real waves... you know, you say something that seems so inconsequential and that small thing ripples out having effects that you will never see or know about. Wouldn't it be cool if you could step back and actually see all of those things at work?

These incredibly deep thoughts were brought to you by my hormones. I hope you enjoyed...