Happy Valentines Day.... I guess....

 So today the Valentine's parties were held at the elementary school.  Shaw of course got gobs of candy and of course Sager was highly disappointed - he said - all I got was paper (uh they're call Valentines dude!)  so I went through their sacks and I found the sweetest Valentine's card.  It was handmade - you know that's my favorite!  Well I called Sager in there and asked Sager who made it and he made an awful face and I said - what's up with that? and so he procedes to tell me that he really liked the card and that he thought that it would be from someone really sweet and kind (like Ansley), but it wasn't.  So I said well Sager what if they couldn't afford store bought Valentine's? and he said being poor is fine but being mean isn't and she's mean....hmmmm... I believe your right young man. 

 So moral of the story - I don't know - maybe even a handmade card can't change a hateful heart or made handmade or store bought doesn't really matter unless you give a really, really big piece of candy with it.... just saying people - I'm a realist.

Have a great Valentine's Day!

Much love,

My Real Therapist.....

The other day one of my friends asked me if I had ever been to a counselor.  I said well yes, yes I had.  So of course that brought back a plethura of memories... It was circa 1989 or 90 and I was still in high school, I think my sister was either a senior or right out of school.  One night - I came in late... really late and I'm sure it was a school night.... I had been meeting my deadbeat boyfriend who my father lovingly referred to as a slackjaw or dog breath.... whichever anyhoo... my sister had the audacity to jack me up about coming in late because just who did she think she was - she wasn't my mother - which I believe I told her just that same thing... and she attacks me!!!.... Well thank God I had begun my ninja training at a young age, so I deflected her blows and landed a hard right... right on her eye - truly I have to admit it - it was  a lucky shot - and Sarah got me back by pulling a plug out of my hair... well it went from bad to worse - my brother separated us and the next thing I know I was on trial..... that's right I said TRIAL!!!! My father thought that he would scare me and he threatened to sell my show animals and .... and.... this is where the story gets kind of hazy.... I asked my sister what she remembered and she said that I walked out of the trial! How about that! See I am tough!!! ( and for the record - I did contemplate running away but I didn't have any money and I didn't have a way to get there and the idea of walking in downtown Amarillo was really not what I had in mind for a good time.... I was tough but I wasn't stupid!) 


Anyhoo part of the sentence was that my sister and I had to visit a therapist.... get real!! Like I was going to spill my guts to a complete stranger right beside my sister who I was presently highly ticked off at.... 


Well so my sister and I show up at the Chinese Therapist (whose name was Shirley Sherwood) (and my sister said that she remembers that the room was colorless like she was in a science fiction movie... see clearly she was crazier than I was.... and she was the one who instigated the whole incident!!!) (I was FRAMED!!!!) and she encouraged us to "float on the love river...." uh.... Shirley.... I currently was hacked off at my sister and I really wasn't gonna float anywhere with her and conversely she felt the same....this is what she said about the whole ordeal... I don't remember much besides the river of love thing. I think I've blocked it from my memory. I remember you were totally pissed because we had to go and you thought "Shirley" was on my side. I also remember the room was dark and there was no color anywhere...weird, Kind of like a science fiction movie. I also remember thinking I shouldn't have had to go because I was the VICTIM...haha! Hope this helps.   

The victim.... and her attacker but which one is which ?
Look at her, doesn't she look mean in her red preppy sweater? I was framed I tell ya.... framed!

Anyhoo.... where was I going with this? Oh yes... I highly encourage anyone and everyone to go see a therapist whether it's a Chinese one who's name is Shirley who encourages you to float.... or not because the moral of this story is that the love river must have worked because my sister and I are the bestest of friends... and clearly we won't be in public in a bathing suit, floating anywhere!!! just saying!!!

An Ode to my Marine Therapist....

As I left school yesterday, I went home and promptly donned all my cold weather gear in order to feed our friend, Matt Burba, who can help you with all your pig needs, big or small he can help with it all.... (yes just a shameless plug....) anyhoo... I realized that I may have jested too much about my Marine Corp Therapist aka my father, so here is an ode' to dear old pops, Father, Dad, Selden...

Dear Father - Thank you for the kind and generous things that you have bought me in my life.... here's a few pictures of them...

look just what every princess needs - a pair of pink sparkly slippers for dancing at the ball hunting boots that can be used for feeding pigs since everyone knows my aversion to hunting.....

look a ball gown warm coveralls that of course are camoflauged (does anyone see the trend here?) that just like the boots can be utilized for feeding pigs.....

now here is one of the most important things - gloves, now these gloves I had to steal from Scout - thank goodness he's out of town - but my dad still bought them.... just saying....now if that doesn't say kindness and concern - I just don't know what will!

Now here's the final picture, now I know what you're thinking - I got the nose from him, well I did but the picture is of the tabogan, the hat, because it was FREEZING!!!!

So thanks dad for all the princess paraphernalia that you have given me since without them I would be a sissy and everyone knows how I feel about sissies - just think if I was a sissy - that would be one giant part of the population that I couldn't make fun of!! and how dreadful would that be!!!

Random pictures....

I'm sitting on the couch waiting for the snow, ice, wind, sleet, hail - whatever coldness they have predicted to come.... it hasn't yet... so I thought I would post a few random pictures of things that have happened lately...

Look here's Sager's prize winning chicken... one of them that I washed in the bathtub... not many mothers would do that....

Look - it's Shaw-lee-tamale struttin his stuff showing his prize winning gilt - Beyonce - isn't he dapper? I just love this guy....

Look here's Shaw and Scout with some of their winning ribbons from the livestock show.....

Look it's Conner Washington and Scout with more blue ribbons... my favorite!!!

Sager with his GRAND CHAMPION banner...
look at that smile - pride is oozing out of him!!!  Look at Brandon - I think he's in shock....

Look - here's Scout's badge of honor.... the toe nail is almost completely gone... at least it's not black.... this is at his first half marathon which I might say was fabulous... have you ever gone to a running event... these people are great - not a negative one in the bunch, positivity surrounds these people, loved, loved, loved it....

Look here's Brandon - he was looking for hobos while we waiting for Scout to finish running - not to be judgemental but there's a lot of hobos in Wichita Falls.... what's up with that? Does anyone know?  Clearly after one day in Wichita Falls, I saw more hobos than in Amarillo.... let me know if you know why....

Look - horrible pictures from my misguided youth.... first of all would you classify these britches that I have on as gauchos, wide legged pants, capris (you can clearly see my socks - which don't even match - although what color of socks would you match with this ensemble?) (Maybe who ever knows about the hobos in Wichita Falls can help me with this outfit - on second thought - I look like a hobo.... my sister and her howdy from Texas shirt is way better than the gauchos.... once again I get the shaft - my cousin clearly in a handmade garb that her mother so lovingly sewed.... just saying.... hold on - I've got to get my therapist on the line.... oh wait - I don't have a therapist - my therapist was Selden B. Hale, and his words of love, adoration, comfort and concern... SUCK IT UP!!!!) (Let's just say - having Selden for a therapist is kind of like that Geico commercial - with the marine as the therapist....substitute me for the mamby pamby and Selden for the Marine therapist...)  Now you can get a clear picture of my misguided youth... sans the un-matching socks!


Everyone keep their fingers crossed, Scout's showing Big Red in Ft. Worth this week - in the snow and ice.... no.. not really but he is in Ft. Worth showing the pig - his first major show - I'm so excited for him!! Loads of fun!!! Everyone stay warm and cozy until all this blows away!

This is classic Sager....

Well it has been a while since I've posted, but I've been, real, real busy washing pigs and chickens and winning!!! This year was an extraordinary year - somehow all our stars were in alignment and we did very, very well at our county show.... how well do you ask? Well, Shaw and Scout both placed 1st with each of their pigs (four first places) then Shaw won Breed Champion with his poland china, Beyonce, then he won Reserve Breed Champion with his duroc and then Shaw won Reserve Grand Champion with Beyonce!! Woo-Hoo! but it gets better!! Sager won Grand Champion with his chickens!!! Cock-a-doodle-doo!!!!  How lucky are we!!!

So this is classic Sager - we stop by our friend's, Matt Burba (who coincidently bred Shaw's Reserve Breed Champion duroc, so give him a call for all your pig needs, big and small, he can handle it all!) and his friend, Drew, well Sager and Drew have had prior troubles, there was an ugly whistle incident, clearly no one clued Drew into the importance of letting Sager blow the whistle in P.E. but that's all been forgotten.... ever so slowly by Sager..... and maybe forgotten isn't the right word.... maybe.... pushed to the side of Sager's brain ... still there but not as big.... anyhoo I digress.... so somehow we got to talking about watching tv and Sager says that he likes the show Strange Addiction (on A&E) and Drew tells us about how his grandparents used to drink a little bit of bleach to clean out their system.... so Sager gets real quite and says well.... I was startin' to like you until you brought that up..... hmmmmm.... totally hysterical!  He says the funniest things!

Well two more days and then sigh.... gasp.... sob... Scout turns.... 16!!!! ugh!!! right now he's sitting beside me showing me his badge of honor.... and that would be a blackened toe nail that is fixing to fall off.... did you know that people who run (excessively) are prone to have their toe nails fall off? I didn't but as I'm looking at a blackened nail - I believe it.....  As I was coming home from the store this evening, I saw Scout running, and for a moment I had a total panic attack, I thought - OMG he's running away from us..... figuratively and literally... I'm sure it's the whole turning 16 and him not being a baby and me being too young to have a 16 year old... yada, yada, yada but I don't know... me no likey.....it's not like he's moving out of the house, it's not like he's going off  to college, it's just.... I don't know - it's something.... well, I'm off to finish supper and await the falling off of the nail... until them I'll be planning next year's pig and chicken coup.

Let's Get This Started!!!

Shaw-11,Scout-15,Jackson-13

Well the new year has begun! I just love all the possibilities that are just around the corner!! January will be extra action packed - we have the livestock show on the 15th - Sager is showing chickens, Scout and Shaw are showing pigs!  Sager might have to show them how to do it!  Look at that handsome boy!

Scout will go to Ft. Worth with FFA to show his barrow at the end of the month.  I sure hope he has a good time - I always loved going to the big shows...  Scout turns 16 on the 20th - (God help me, Jesus dear Lord...) and then on the 22nd he wants to run in a half marathon...(once again God help me, Jesus dear Lord....)  I mean it's not like I'm going to run it... I mean that would be ridiculous.... then baseball for Shaw and Scout, maybe golf for Sager - he's undecided as of yet.... then TAKS tests then SUMMER!!!! WOO-HOO!!!  but as of now I'm sitting on the couch, covered in a blanket watching TV.... last night we all sat on the couch, ate ice cream and watched the wildest, weirdest thrilling movie... Shutter Island... have you seen it? wild... wild... it was really, really good... I won't tell you what happens but it was something...well here's one more picture of the sweetest little boy around... besides Shaw and Scout....

I hope everyone had a great end of the year and I hope this year brings everyone new and fantastical times!!

Minnie Lee

Sager addressed  Minnie's envelope....

This week has been a very sad week for our family, especially Sager, his babysitter, Minnie Lee King passed away.  He was sooo sad.  Honestly he loved Minnie with all of his heart.  When I first started to go back to work, Sager would stay with Minnie, they would watch Price is Right, he would sit in her lap and she would just love him.  Even after Sager started to school, we would have to go by and visit with Minnie.  I would tell Sager - we are only staying a few minutes so  get in there and hug her, love her and then we're leaving...... next thing I know 2 hours have passed and Sager's eating cookies, and drinking a Dr. Pepper and Minnie and I have visited about all sorts of things.  We would laugh - it was the best.  Minnie was 88 and had lived a long wonderful life.  This was the first time that Sager had to deal with real death and sorrow.  When I first told him, he was furious with me.  He said Why did you tell me!!! and then he cried and cried.  After a while, he accepted it and was just worried about logistics.  Was she happy? Was she going to be all right where ever she was?  Was her house going to be empty?  Was someone with her when she died? (He was really worried about this one, he did NOT want her to be alone... how sweet is that?)  When we got home, he told me that he needed to write her a letter, and so I reminded him every so gently that she wouldn't see it, and he looked at me and said, if I write it, she will see it... duh....how silly of me... 

Here is the sweetest little letter that he wrote her.  This kid will never need therapy! Never... he's  totally in touch with his feelings.  This is what Christmas is about, love, adoration, honesty, and loyalty.  I don't know how she did it, but Minnie has filled Sager's heart and he will love her and remember her forever.  

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and remember to love someone in such a way that they will love you, forever, just like Minnie Lee King and Sager.