And the Winner is . . .

SHAGGY!!!! That's right, we picked the adorable, lovable, and very sweet Shaggy. Her sister, Foxy, is going to go work cows in Montana, which will be more suited for her. If you look closely you can see that she has some pretty cool eyes. They are a honey, golden color and blue in the middle (if you get them in the sunlight), otherwise the blue just looks black.

Shaggy is absolutely opposite in EVERY WAY to Dozer. There is the most obvious difference is size. Shaggy is small and petite, while Dozer is well . . . HUGE!! Shaggy is very smart and Dozer is . . . well, let's just say he's not the brightest crayon in the box :) He's just a big lover dog :) Poor Dozer, he is so outnumbered! He is the only male animal we have and he's been neutered! Poor thing :)

This is Bobcat, who is just as goofy as she seems. She also has cool eyes. They are the prettiest crystal blue color. This cat was named because of the real bobcat that has been traveling around our property and actually killed a different set of kitties we had before these two. Bobcat and Tiger have been with us for a year this fall, so I think we're safe. At least I hope so :)

This is Tiger, who is Bobcat's sister. She is very much a people kitty. She LOVES to be right in the middle of everything, including the two dogs (doesn't work out so well for her). She was actually lost for the last few days, but Shaggy and I found her on our walk yesterday.

As I have been putting this blog together I have realized that we are gathering quite the menagerie of animals. I LOVE IT!!! :)

P.S. These pictures were taken yesterday and yes that is snow on the ground!!! AHHHHHHH!!! Welcome to Spring in Idaho :)

Mechanic's Widow

For the past month and a half Rusty has been doing some extra work on the side (he's a workaholic, but I love him :) working on a guy's truck (semi) engine. (More horsepower!! It's a guy thing!) So, for the past LONG while I have been, what I like to call, a mechanic's widow :) Anyways, while Rusty has been spending his nights and into the wee hours of the morning with this guy working on his truck they have, needless to say, become friends.

Well, it turns out that this guy is really pretty cool. He hauls cows all over the country for a living, but before he did that he trained working dogs (work cows and sheep, like on the movie Babe)for awhile and still does a little bit. Anyways, he has a dog named Gus, who is a border collie and the coolest dog EVER!!! He also used to have a female dog named Cindy who won the National Working Dog Championships! Unfortunately she was run over by a car a while ago. Sad day for him :(

Because Rusty and this guy became friends, he offered Rusty one of the young dogs that he had on his place. He had two female border collie/catahoula crosses. For those of you who don't know catahoulas are also working dogs, but they have a more timid nature and disposition than the border collie, but both are VERY INTELLIGENT and loyal dogs. Oh, did I also mention that they are both granddaughters of Gus (the coolest dog EVER!!!) Their names are Foxy and Shaggy. Foxy acts a lot more like a catahoula, but looks just like a border collie. She is a light brown and white. Shaggy, on the other hand, looks more like a catahoula, but is just as sweet and mild manered as a border collie. She is also a light brown and white, but instead of her coat being sleek, like a border collie she's . . . SHAGGY :)

So, which one did Rusty and I choose? Keep watching and I'll update you in a couple days when I get pictures taken.

P.S. If you already know the answer don't give it away in your comments :)

P.S.S. There you go Annie, I updated it :) he he :)

Summer of 08

I have had some difficulty with getting this to post right, but I hope I have it fixed now :) These are some photos from last summer/fall, I hope this gives all of you non Idahoans and idea of what life up here is like. I hope you enjoy! :)

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!!

I'm going to do this a little backwards, with the good last :) Save the best for last right? :)

The Bad:
Last Saturday night I started to feel pain in my chest and just generally yucky! The next morning when I woke up my illness was in FULL SWING and didn't stop for A WEEK!!!! Nothing ever takes me out for that long, but this was awful!

Early Monday morning (5:30am) I woke up and couldn't breathe (very scary!), so later Rusty took me into the doctor and he diagnosed me with strep throat and gave me two shots in my butt!! Not fun! So, now my body, ached, I had a fever, my chest and throat felt on fire, and my butt was sore! Oh joy :)

Tuesday I felt a little better, but then I woke up Wednesday morning and felt like the bus that had run over me, backed up and did it again. So, I went back into the doctor and they decided it wasn't the flu or even a virus at all. It was a "bacterial infection" whatever that means. All I know is it meant ANOTHER shot in the hind end and a serious round of antibiotics that tore up my stomach.

The Ugly:
Despite the lovely side effects of the medicine I was feeling better starting Friday. Unfortunately, on Saturday (the one week anniversary of getting sick) my tongue, tonsils, and glands in my throat, started to swell and I couldn't taste a thing!! Plus, swallowing is not the funnest. So, this all sounded pretty strange to me so I called the doc and it turns out I was having an allergic reaction to the medication, so now I'm on a new antibiotic and hopefully this is the end of my long, tiring, sick spell :)

The Good:

On the bright side of all this being sick, it has caused me to loose about 5lbs. Hey, I'm happy about that :) Another good thing that came of all this was that Rusty brought me the most BEAUTIFUL flowers!! How sweet is that?! Also, all the teachers at the school I work at pitched in and sent me flowers! I have good neighbors :)

SPRING FEVER!!!!!

It may be only February, but I am officially getting SPRING FEVER!! We got MORE snow the other day and I am somewhat sad about it. I keep looking at all these pictures of my house in the summer time, and the things we've done over the past summers and I CAN'T WAIT!!!! So, I hope you enjoy the new background and blinkee because I need to bring spring in any way I can!

Oh, hey guys, one more thing :) A little while ago I joined into the whole "share the love" chain thing and not one person hs commented, which makes me a little sad because I think my gift is cute (maybe not though, I don't know). Just wanted to remind everyone about it and also, if you do win I won't be hurt if you don't do your own "Share the Love" I just want someone to comment!!! PLEASE :)

Cool Picture!!

I just found this picture online and I thought it was VERY cool and creative. These horses are made out of driftwood. How cool is that?! Take a look and see for yourself!

Greetings From the Sticks

It is now February and we are one month closer to Summer!!! Yipeeeee :) So the other day the Idaho winter reared its ugly head and caused some chaos at our house. I came home from work and noticed this HUGE pond forming on the side of my house (about 6-7 inches deep). I got out of the car and noticed that the water hydrant (or spigot) on the side of our house had busted! This happens sometimes in the cold winters up here. Things freeze and bust! It's a lovely thing to deal with. Anyway, I called Rusty and found out where the water shut-off is and got things turned off. While I was doing this I discovered a puddle of water in our basement (only about 1-2 inches deep). So I gathered every towel we own and cleaned it up. My poor towels were disgusting, but this made me love my washing machine even more because it got all of the mud out of them and they were sparkly again :) Then I had to scoop all the water on the outside of the house and toss it into the yard so it wouldn't leak into our house. Oh, joy!!!! Sometimes being a homeowner is a pain in the rear, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Another thought I had is that I truly do live in the middle of nowhere!! And guess what . . . I LOVE IT!!!!!! I was just thinking the other day how we have already raised pigs on our place, we are planning on getting a calf to raise, we have a dog, two cats, and plenty of room to play. Our closest neighbor is 1/2 a mile down the road and we are surrounded by fields. We are 45min. to and hour away from the next big city (Rexburg or Idaho Falls), but I don't mind it. The people here are really great and down to earth. I feel like I fit in out here in the sticks. I love the country!!!! :)

Share the Love

Rules: Be one of the first three bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which entitles you to a handmade gift! (Make sure I have access to your blog)

YeAh!Winners: You must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first three bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

The Gift: The gift you send can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. Remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!When you receive your gift, feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love

♥♥♥If you are not one of the Top Three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Please start your own 'Pay It Forward Chain', and encourage your blogging friends to do the same.Now on to "PAY IT FORWARD!"

~ My gift to you: For the first three people to comment I will make you a very cute jumbo clothes pin all decorated just for you. These can be used to hold pictures, mail, etc. Once the three winners are found I will contact you and you can let me kow what color you want it and what you want it to say (i.e. a kid's name, your last name, anything that will fit). Or if you are feeling brave you can leave it up to my creative abilities. Here is a picture of some of the ones I have done for my house. Have fun and Good luck!!! Bri