The house that built me

One of our sweet cows

So two weeks ago we ventured to the farm. It had been a year. I always claim I am to busy, but the truth is I hate leaving. Every time Sunday rolls around and it is time to head this way I get sad. Then Monday rolls around and I am angry. It's just easier to skip the emotional roller coaster.
After this trip I had decided it's going to have to be a bi-monthly trip for my sanity. This trip we went to cut hay. The second we pulled onto the property childhood memories came flooding back. My cellphone lost service. I started to decompress. Peace moved in and I was exhausted. I sat around talking to mama and daddy about our tasks for the weekend and then we hit the beds.

The tree looks tiny here, but it is huge!

We woke up, OK Nerd  (the hubs)  woke up, before dawn and got on the tractor. He is sexy in farmer mode. Something about a man, doing man things.  Off track... so,  later that morning mama went to town and got biscuits. This woman in town makes the best biscuits you will ever put in your mouth. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. By the way the closest "town" is a gas station, an antique store, and a propane company. Quaint, huh? After breakfast we spent the day shopping in the closest "big" town, where you can get some killer deals. I got 4 shirts and a dress for 40 bucks! The people down here are so friendly so when you go shopping its everyone shopping together, helping one another. Town is 30 minutes from our place and that's how it is for a lot of people, so Saturdays are typically shopping days and you can pick up on all the local gossip. It's entertaining to say the least.

View from the back of the cabin

When we got back we checked on the boys and my amazing sissy banana took my wreck the dress photos and we played with the cows and hay and atv in my wedding dress. I loved my photos. To be fourteen she already has such a talent already. After photos we made dinner. Spaghetti and garlic bread. Yum.  Food and sleep are better down there. I swear. We target practiced with my new gun and then hit the hay! Farm play is exhausting.

The next day we woke up and the boys hit the fields again. Anna and I lounged at the river and she swam. There are too many snakes for me but
to each their own. I ended the day by sleeping under the biggest oak tree I have ever seen on the back of a four wheeler and waking occasionally when a cow bumped me, to read Gone With the Wind. Perfect weekend? I think so. This folks is why I never want to leave once I get there. I hope you all have a piece of Heaven on Earth, I just hope you guys are as stupid as I am. Don't ignore those things that make you happy like I tend to do. Embrace them.

Time to buy a house... never mind we need a car.

In January of this year we decided we were ready for a house. We found a few we liked and called Missy Castleberry-Taylor, our real estate agent and one of my favorite cousins. We looked at a few and fell in love with two. We spent then next 2 weeks debating over the two. We looked at pros and cons, asked our friends and family there opinions and just when we were ready to call Missy and put in our offer disaster hit. My car left me stranded on the side of 400 in rush hour traffic. I was scared and angry and when I called the dealership to ask when they could fit me in and what they thought it could be, they were everything but friendly. They kept my car for a whole week (it was under warranty) and when I got it back it still didn't seem right. The guy at the dealership told me to give it a few days and it would "work itself out".Skip ahead 5 days.... We were in Jasper visiting his family and the car started acting up just like it had in the beginning. Chris was super angry. We made it home and agreed we would take it back to the dealership Monday and tell the guy he was wrong. It did not "work itself out". Well the next morning when I got in my car to take it to them it would not budge. AT ALL. Chris and I made it to work and he got in his tow truck and towed the thing in. The nice guy at the dealership told me it would take a day or two to diagnose it.Five days later he called to say the computer blew up and we still have no clue whats wrong with it.>WHAT?! At this point I was getting angry and when I get angry I get whiny and then I cry. I told him to get an estimate on fixing the computer. $1000.00. He claims that it had nothing to do with the original reason the car came in but it was doing the same thing! I told him to fix it so I could sell it. I was over it. He fixed it and tried to talk me into going back to a FORD product. Hahaha. I drove it to the dodge place and traded for a brand new dodge charger that I love! Sadly the fusion has broken down 3 times since the dodge place took it and I was told it was fixed!!! I feel bad for them but so glad I am not dealing with that mess anymore. We have taken a break house hunting and plan to resume in a couple months when we save more money!

Hallie the boxer

So this post should have been posted months ago, but I haven't had the time or the motivation to blog. Lazy, I know. Most of you know Hallie by now. She is kind of a big deal. Here is how the little Diva ended up with the Castleberry crew.
You see we spend all show season qualifying for Oklahoma, where Grand Nationals and the World Championship is. This year Sara and her horse Rifle qualified so my parents loaded up the truck and went for a week of fun! I am still a little bitter by the way. Anyways, John, a fellow horse lover just happened to have one of his rescue/foster dogs there. That adorable little pup just happened to be a boxer.




















Let me explain the importance of the breed. My grandfather used to raise boxers. Big beautiful boxers with canadian bloodlines. The dogs were my grandfathers pride and joys. When the last one, Brutus, passed away we never got another one. Everyone in the family toyed with the idea but no one ever went through with it. In January, when papa passed away, I really wanted a boxer but ended up with Riley (see his story below). I'm rambling.
Well while in Oklahoma, Hallie attached herself to dads hip and he fell in love. When my parents left Oklahoma, Ms. Hallie jumped in the truck and refused to get out. They were not looking to adopt so they left without Hallie. Two weeks later mom, the sisters and I were secretly filling out adoption papers. And 1 week later.... Surprise!!!! Dad went to pick up his baby and they have been inseparable since.
Hallie's new life includes going to the office, barn and the farm. She enjoys breakfast and lunch ordered in ( she has to rough it and eat plain dog food for dinner). She has 3 "sisters" that adore her, a puppy friend named chloe and a dog bed for lounging during the day ( she sleeps next to her parents in the human bed). But most of the time Hallie spends her time going from person to person spreading love and joy. You can't have a bad day around her. It's not possible. Who rescued who?
Any who sorry for the long sappy post. I just love that little smooshy face rescue and hope she inspires other to rescue.

Fall!!!

We are now officially in the fall season. I love fall, so to celebrate I went shopping for cozy fall clothes. I love fall clothes. Hoodies, jeans, sweatshirts and sweaters, all comfort clothes. So i bought this great gray/black cowl neck sweater and some new dark jeans. I am so excited to wear them. They also had some glittery flats that looked like converse shoes. CUTE! I cannot wait to go back.

After shopping, I went to spend the rest of the day with Chris. We made buffalo chicken dip, which is awesome for football games and only takes 20 minutes to make! Here is the recipe from Ginger! :

2 10oz cans of chicken drained (I like to use two whole chicken breast if I have time.)

2 8oz packs of cream cheese

1 cup of ranch

1 cup of hot sauce (I use Texas Petes)

1.5 cups of cheddar cheese shredded

Mix it all up and put it in a casserole dish. Throw it in the oven preheated to 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve it with Fritos scoops, tortilla chips or my favorite- Pita bread. It is addicting and while it sounds so bad for you it makes 20 servings. It is super filling and each serving is only 283 calories, so eat up!

Ps- went to Petco where a dog stole my heart. I cant have another but if anyone is looking for a great dog, let me know.

Blessed with all of you!

So today I went to Candice's bridal shower today. She is one of my best friends ever. She is one of those friends that I can go 5 years without seeing and we can back up where we left off. I seriously have called her after not talking to her in months crying and she makes it all better in like 2.345 seconds. Almost everyone who knows Candice would tell you the same. I love her like a sister. Sitting there today I realized I am so blessed to have several friends like this. Our little group has been through elementary, middle and high together. We have moved away, came back home and started families (even if right now most of our kids are 4-legged). We have fought (rarely), cried, learned and laughed many hours together and I wouldn't trade any of you for the world. And you guys know who you are. I am so proud of our little group and where we have been and where we are going. I wish Candice and Brad many blessed and beautiful years together. Ya'll deserve it. And even though I haven't met Brad yet, I already adore him for making my bestie so happy. Anyways enough sappy. Just wanted to say I love my friends.

Riley's story

So we adopted Riley March 3rd, 2010. At the time I was on a mad hunt for a purebred boxer. I wanted to rescue but I wanted it to be a boxer. Papa had always had boxers and they were his favorites. When I was a kid he raised them and they have always had a special place in our family. I searched for a month. There were a few on Craigslist that I looked at. I set up a few appointments to meet the dogs and the owners, but nothing felt right. Then one night I typed in "boxer for adoption" in the search bar and a picture of a little black and white possibly pitt mix puppy popped up. Hmmm... not a boxer but he is cute. I clicked on the link and the saddest eyes were pretty much attacking my soul. Then I read he was going to be put down Tuesday at 4pm. It was Sunday. Monday morning I called and asked if they would hold him for me. The lady said no, I had until 4pm Tuesday.

Luckily, Chris was off that Tuesday (March 3rd) and we went to look at him. We walked in and I immediately saw why "boxer" brought me to the shelters link. There was the cutest purebred boxer female that was about 6 months old. I played with her about5 minutes and noted that she had been there 2 days and still had 29 days before she would be euthanized. We kept walking past cages and cages of puppys and dogs that were adorable. It was loud. Dogs were barking, music was blaring, inmates were yelling. We finally found "death row" and I almost walked past him. They called him "Ace" or #----- and he looked like he had given up on life. He was skinny even though there was a massive bowl of food in the corner. He was filthy and shaking. I tried to get him to come to me but he didn't have the strength or maybe he didn't have the urge to be loved. I turned to Chris and said he is mine. Chris was shocked. All he had heard for a month was boxer, boxer, boxer and now I wanted a filthy, skinny mutt. "What about the boxer at the beginning? Let's go see her one more time because you really wanted a boxer." I relunctantly said bye to "Ace" or #----- and went back to the boxer. She greeted me body wagging. Nope, no emotions, she was not the one. So we went in the office signed the papers and an inmate brought us the filthy, skinny black and white dog.

success for the pups!

So the past 2 days the pups have been on a probational period to see if their crates could go to storage. We shut all the doors, picked up ANYTHING that may be tempting and told them to "watch the house". 7 hours we returned. The house was in perfect condition, Riley was waiting by the door with his blanket and favorite toy and Lacey was sleeping on the couch. I was a very proud mommy, but I wasn't convinced that it wasn't a fluke. So today was day 2. This time we went 10 hours which was the longest time they would ever have to be alone. Again, Riley was loyally waiting by the door and Lacey was sleeping. So, they earned it! The crates will be moved to storage. The dogs are happy that they get freedom. I am happy I get my laundry room back!