Worst Nightmare!!!!

 

I never thought this could happen to me!

On Saturday, some &%**#@!* thief hacked my debit card information and tried to place a bunch of charges on my bank account!

They had a grand old time surfing the internet planning their shopping strategy. First they went to Old Navy and attempted to rack up $200.00, then they hopped over to DSW Shoes and tried to get away with another $200.00 worth of items, and then they zoomed on over to JC Whitney and tried to force $280.00 onto my bank account, but it didn’t go through, so they tried again. When that didn’t happen, they lowered their expectations and tried for $175.00 worth of charges.

Thankfully, after the %&$#**! thief made those first two attempts at DSW and Old Navy, to have a fun shopping spree at my expense, my bank got wise and suspended my account for suspicious activity, which shut down the %$*@#%! thief from trying to rack up anymore charges.

Also, thankfully, this particular account is mostly static, and I only use it to transfer small amounts of money into it just for online shopping. It rarely ever has more than $50 in it, but I shudder to think what could have happened had I not used an account like this one and instead used my main account for online shopping. Yikes!

Still it makes you wake up and smell the coffee, knowing how vulnerable we are while shopping online. Online stores and businesses can be hacked into at any time and personal information stolen. In fact, just last month, we received an e-mail alert from Sony, a company that we have bought video games from in the past, telling us that they had been hacked and all of their customers were at risk for having their personal and financial information stolen. Scary.

What saved me from losing even my small amount of money was that something told me to check my accounts late Saturday night, even when my eyes were heavy and I really just wanted to shut down my computer and go to sleep. I had just checked it that morning and all was fine, but I’m glad I re-checked it again, because the %$#@&*! thief had been up to no good, probably figuring that no one would notice if they did their dirty online-shopping late on a Saturday night. I’m grateful that my bank is a 24/7 operation and I called them right away. And I’m thankful that the 6th sense that God gave me, told me to check my accounts just one more time.

Be careful online. You might believe you’ve covered all your bases and you’re safe from the bad guys. You might think it can’t happen to you, but it can and probably will. Be prepared.

My Thoughts on Bodies

 

Odd title, isn’t it?

I’ve been thinking about something for the past week. Every time I move on to something else, this subject keeps coming back to me in some way. I suppose I just need to face it, talk about it, then put closure on it.

This may be a controversial post for some, and I wouldn’t be surprised or offended if some of you aren’t interested in my thoughts and leave right now.

No worries.

For those that stick around to read, just know that these are just my thoughts and ponderings on an often talked about subject. I’m interested in knowing what you think, too.

But first be sure to visit the bathroom and grab some refreshments. This promises to be a long ride……..

~~~~~~~~

A couple months ago our Homeschool Group and Girl Scout Troop went on a field trip to the traveling exhibit called Bodies- The Exhibition (click link for more info)when it was in Albuquerque. Have any of you seen this exhibit? It’s truly fascinating and so much more educational than looking at pictures in a biology book. All 3 of my kidlets and myself were mesmerized and spent over 2 hours studying the amazing physiology of the human body.

We even had them take a silly photo of us against a green screen as a keepsake of our day.

 Anyway, after the exhibition, time went by, the holidays rolled past, and I forgot about Bodies. Then recently The Tucson Massacre became headline news. The tragedy was shocking and heartbreaking on so many levels, and controversial on so many more.

A lot of the controversy surrounded the gunman, Jared Loughton. Everyone wants to know more about this young man and what drove him to murder innocent people. Is he insane? Did he plan this massacre over many months? Or did he just snap one day? What was his childhood like? Did his parents know their son was bound for trouble? Did they try to help their son? As a parent with two sons of my own, this is something I wonder about. I wish I could sit down with Jared’s parents and ask them if there were any signs that their son was steadily falling off the deep end.

As someone with a Mother who committed suicide, I wonder if there was anything that could have been done to help Jared before he caused such terrible mayhem in this world. Because of my own personal tragedy, I also think about the choice that Jared made. It’s one thing to kill yourself, but it’s completely different when you decide to kill someone else. What is obvious is that both are extremely selfish acts, because they affect so many people in such a heart-wrenching, long lasting way.

Because of what my own Mother did and how it has affected me throughout my entire life, I’ve always searched for definitive answers as to why some people choose these kinds of paths in their lives. Some studies say that these people just become overwhelmed with life and see no other way out. I can understand that, to a point. But I tend to see life as the glass is half-full and live my life with the “Little Orphan Annie” mind set:

The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow
There'll be sun!
Just thinkin' about
Tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs,
And the sorrow
'Til there's none!
When I'm stuck a day
That's gray,
And lonely,
I just stick out my chin
And Grin,
And Say,
Oh,The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
'Til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow!
Tomorrow!
I love ya
Tomorrow!
You're always
A day
A way!

 

No matter how bad today is, tomorrow is a new day filled with new opportunities to take your life in a different more positive direction. But I suppose there are some deeply troubled individuals that can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, and they only see one path to take, and it’s never a good one.

~~~~~

Anyway, another controversy about the Tucson Massacre involves the public’s easy access to guns, namely guns that are able to quickly fire more than 10 rounds of ammo. Personally I don’t want to get into a whole Second Amendment argument because that’s not the issue here. The issue is if not allowing the public access to guns that can cause a massacre, would have made a difference in the Tucson shooting. I don’t think so. In Tucson, only 6 people were killed. That leaves 4 more that could have been killed, if that new ruling goes into affect. It’s a silly ruling, imo. Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.

There are a thousand different tools that people can use to commit a mass murder massacre, without even having to pick up a gun. Throughout history we have seen this, as in New York City on 9/11, in Oklahoma City, and with Biological warfare, like Anthrax. If you think about it, Jared could have probably killed more people in that Tucson shopping center just by renting a moving truck and revving it straight through that crowd of people.

~~~~~~~~~

So, you’re probably wondering then, why the Bodies title for my post? Is it just to do with the Bodies Exhibition?

Well, sort of. It was just the catalyst that got me thinking and pondering about many different, but related subjects.

You see, a couple days ago, I completed stitching all of my daughter’s girl scout patches on her Daisy Vest. One of those stood out glaringly above all others.

I’m sure you figured out which one. I don’t know what I’d expect them to create, but it would have been nice had they made the patch a little more colorful, and maybe not so big.

But that patch spoke to me (not in the literal sense, of course), and it made me think and think some more. It caused me to do more research, too. I tend to be a deep thinker anyway, but this subject really made me delve deeper still.

But I won’t bore you with a lot of philosophical mumbo jumbo.

Instead I will ask you what you think about the idea that what we feed our brains affects who we are and who we become. And this includes TV, movies, books, video games, and music….especially music. Do you believe music can affect our moods, our desires, our interests, and even our personality? Do you believe the music we listen to says something about who we are?

I often tell my kidlets that what they expose themselves to can affect their innocence, their outlook on the world, their opinions, and their choices in life. I encourage them to question everything that they are considering watching, reading, playing, and listening to. I want them to experience the world without being negatively influenced by all of it’s evils.

Have you had the opportunity to watch this video? Be prepared. It may give you chills.

(Note: You’ll want to turn off my PlayList Music at the bottom of this page. Just click the round button in the center of the Playlist widget)

This was on Jared Loughton’s You Tube Channel’s favorite list. It is believed that Jared made this himself, and may even be the creepo wearing the hoody and trash bag skirt.

Did you notice that song?

It is sung by a group called Drowning Pool. Here is their music video. I suggest you watch it.

 

Do you find it as interesting as I do, that Jared chose this song, especially in light of the Tucson Massacre?

What bothers me about this song (besides the obvious) is the band’s statement and claims about this song, after what happened in Tucson:

“We were devastated this weekend to learn of the tragic events that occurred in Arizona and that our music has been misinterpreted. 'Bodies' was written about the brotherhood of the moshpit and was never about violence." The band also added: "For someone to put out a video misinterpreting a song about a moshpit as fuel for a violent act shows just how sick they really are. We support those who do what they can to keep America safe. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families of this terrible tragedy".

Maybe they really do believe that the song is all about the brotherhood of the moshpit, but from someone who dated a hardcore California punk rocker in my teen years, and who did my own floatin’ in a moshpit or two (or three), I don’t agree.

Do these lyrics sound like they’re preaching “brotherhood” and non-violence?

Let the bodies hit the floor(x4) 
Beaten why for (why for)
Can't take much more
Here we go!
Here we go!
Here we go!
One - Nothing wrong with me
Two - Nothing wrong with me
Three - Nothing wrong with me
Four - Nothing wrong with me

One - Something's got to give
Two - Something's got to give
Three - Something's got to give
Now
Let the bodies hit the floor(x6)
Now!

Push me again
This is the end
Here we go!
Here we go!
Here we go!
One - Nothing wrong with me
Two - Nothing wrong with me
Three - Nothing wrong with me
Four - Nothing wrong with me
One - Something's got to give
Two - Something's got to give
Three - Something's got to give
Now
Let the bodies hit the floor(x6)

Skin against skin blood and bone
You're all by yourself but you're not alone
You wanted in now you're here
Driven by hate
consumed by fear
Let the bodies hit the floor (x4)

One - Nothing wrong with me
Two - Nothing wrong with me
Three - Nothing wrong with me
Four - Nothing wrong with me
One - Something's got to give
Two - Something's got to give
Three - Something's got to give
Now
Let the bodies hit the floor(x6)

How about the video that portrays a person with an obvious case of insanity?

After doing more research, I discovered that Jared’s not the only person who easily “misinterpreted” that song either.

You can do a search for “Bodies Hit the Floor” on You Tube and come up with about a thousand videos…none of them showcasing love and brotherhood. In fact all of them, portray violence. Like this Military Style video:

 

How does that video make you feel? Did it affect your mood?
Speaking of the military, they seem to have “misinterpreted” the meaning behind this song, too. Have you ever heard of Torture by Music?

Apparently “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor” is a popular song used by the military to get prisoners to ‘talk’.

Music has been used in psychological operations throughout history. The term music torture is sometimes used to describe the practice of playing loud music incessantly to prisoners or people besieged.

A BBC News report claimed that music by band Metallica, and from children's TV programs Barney and Sesame Street, was being used to cause sleep deprivation and culturally offend prisoners.

I found it quite fascinating to read that Steve Benton of the group Drowning Pool had this to say about their song, “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor” being used for Music Torture:

"I take it as an honor to think that perhaps our song could be used to quell another 9/11 attack or something like that."

Ironic that their song may have actually had a part in helping to cause a massacre, instead of quelling it.

~~~~~~~~~~

Apparently, the military and You Tubers aren’t the only ones who have “misinterpreted” their song either. It’s been used in many different ways…none of which extoll non-violence and the virtues of the brotherhood of the moshpit:

Boston Red Sox closing pitcher Jonathan Papelbon while jogging to the mound from the center field bullpen during a Fenway Park game.
By World Wrestling Entertainment: the official theme song for SummerSlam 2001, One Night Stand 2005 and 2006, December to Dismember 2006, and ECW on Sci Fi.
The promo video for the Xtreme Freestyle Alliance (XFA) racing team.
The video game Arena Football.
John 'The Ogre' Koziol was intending to use this song as an entrance theme before the downfall of UWA.
The video game Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear in the Urban Operations addon.
The theatrical trailer for the film The Punisher
The theatrical trailer of horror film Jason X, Friday the 13th series.
The theatrical trailer for the film Daredevil.
The film The One
The TV spot for the film Rambo
The film xXx
Opening song for UFC's Ultimate Knockouts 2
It appears in the 2010 music video game Guitar Hero
Mentioned in the film Fahrenheit 9/11 as a song the troops like to listen to heading into battle.
Promotion for the films Rambo and Stop-Loss.
A United States Marine Corps commercial.
The film Stop Loss
The series finale of the WB's cult show Popular
The HBO television miniseries Generation Kill
The comedy metal band Psychostick made a parody of the song called "I Can Only Count To Four".
According to the Associated Press "Bodies" was a song interrogators used, played at high volume, over and over again, to break the will of captives held in extrajudicial detention.
The entrance song for UFC heavyweight fighter Shane Carwin.
Used as the main music in various YouTube videos of Televangelist Benny Hinn. 
The game Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has US troops occasionally shouting "Let the bodies hit the floor!" when an enemy on the opposing team is killed.
The HBO television series True Blood

~~~~~~~~~~~

If you’re still hanging on with me and reading, you deserve a big bowl of dark chocolate M &M’s.

And I’m curious to read your thoughts on all of my ponderings. But the big question is:

Does music have the potential to affect our moods, personality, and even our actions?

Why I am Very Thankful….and How We got to Where We Are.

 

(To read the beginning of this post click: THANKFUL)
This has been the most difficult part of our story to write. It was even more challenging to live it.

But being that it’s Thanksgiving Day, and we sure have so much to be thankful for, this seems to be the best day for me to gather my thoughts and finally get the words typed………………..

When we packed up our three kidlets, one cat, and four rabbits and drove from South Carolina back to New Mexico in early 2006, the economy was already in a tail spin. Jobs were scarce and even harder to come by for a man with a Traumatic Brain Injury.

We had no family in New Mexico, and only a few family members scattered across the country. My husband’s parents died before we had children and he grew up an only-child. My Mother died when I was only 8 years old and I was an only-child, too. We both grew up in military households, so we we were raised to be independent and self-sufficient. We have a lot in common. But our backgrounds, sure didn’t make our lives any easier……except to keep us strong.

There were times we had no food on our table. And there were times that we were so sick of beans and rice we thought we would gag trying to swallow it down. We vowed that when our financial situation improved and we we’re finally able to donate money and food we would be sure to make sure the food wasn’t expired and it wasn’t food that our family just wanted to get rid of because it had been on the shelf for so long, or no one liked the taste of it.

I vowed in the future to pay attention and notice the Mother and her children, playing at McDonalds. When her children asked for something to eat, I would listen to her whispering to her children, “I’m sorry, but we don’t have money today”, and I would reach into my wallet and discreetly offer her a ten……and a hug if she wanted it.

I also vowed in the future to always remember to donate our outgrown clothing to charities, instead of trying to sell them and make a few bucks, because I know first hand what it is like not being able to afford to buy new clothes for my children.

And I vowed to remember to include families, whom I know are struggling to provide, in activities my own family does, especially offering them transportation. Because I know what it feels like to be stuck at home without enough gas in my car to drive to the end of my street.

But through our struggles we learned some very important lessons along the way and they helped make us stronger, too.

One of the lessons we learned was how important it is to accept help no matter how proud we feel. Our family learned to be humble and to accept the fact that we can’t always go it on our own.

Another lesson we learned is how generous and kind many people are.

Christmas 2006 was going to be very meager for our family, and there wasn’t any extra money for Christmas gifts that year. But one afternoon, we heard a knock at the door and when we went to answer it, no one was there. Instead there was a huge cardboard box, wrapped in a bright red ribbon, sitting on our front porch. Yes, my children there really is a Santa Claus.

It was quite the surprise, because, besides the local food pantry, our attorneys, and our church, no one knew how badly we we’re struggling to provide for our family. (And speaking of attorneys, our attorneys were awesome! They sent our kidlets Christmas gifts that year, too: Two sleds for my sons and a Princess outfit for my daughter. I learned that not all attorneys are sharks.)

But that Christmas was joyful indeed, and not just for all the wonderful Christmas presents those generous and kind souls gave us, but because we knew we were cared about and we had hope that 2007 would be a better year for our family.

(Jem and Jax in front of our Rio Rancho, NM house Christmas, 2006)

 

We also learned that no matter how financially sound you think you are, even with a year’s worth of mortgage and bill payments tucked away in savings, everything can be lost from just one tragedy, like an auto accident or major injury.

We learned to lock up the credit cards and never pay for anything on credit. We learned that if you can’t pay cash for something, you can’t afford it, and don’t need it.

When our settlement finally came through, almost three years after the accident that almost took the lives of my husband and two sons, we made the wisest decision of our lives to pay off all of our bills, including medical bills, loans, and mortgage. And when we were ready to start over again, we simplified our lives, moved to the country, and paid cash for our new house. We tucked away money in savings and we made sure to tuck more money away for future college costs for our kidlets. While most people would use their settlement money to go on expensive vacations or go on extravagant shopping sprees, we chose to make a huge and lasting lifestyle change instead.

But what led us to this particular lifestyle in the country?

In April 2007, on a homeschooling message board, we read about a family in Benson, AZ who wanted to take a vacation to Holland to visit their relatives, but needed a house and pet sitter to come down for 10 days. They couldn't offer any money for our services, but they offered us their home to use as a base camp to explore Southern Arizona, so for us it was sort of like a hotel trade. We had been so broke and so house-bound for so long, a vacation appealed to us, and there were lots of Letterboxes to look for in that area, too. So, with some financial relief from our lawyers, we were finally were able to afford gas to travel again. And as most everyone who reads my blog knows, we love animals, so we offered to help this family, and soon made our way to Arizona. You can read more about that visit, with lots of photos: Arizona

We had a great visit and our time spent on this family’s rural little country ranch with all their wonderful animals made me realize that our family needed a lifestyle change. Ranchman  John and I soon began discussing our future living arrangements.

I guess we did such a good job pet and house sitting, that the family in Arizona asked if we’d come down again, a few months later, in late June. We enjoyed our first visit to southern Arizona so much, we agreed and drove back down. I did a number of posts about that second visit on my other blog. Feel free to check it out: Arizona 

(Can I just say now, though, that southern Arizona is hotter than Hades in the summer? Miserable, I tell ya! Someone once told me, “Oh it’s not that bad. It’s a dry heat.” Sticking your head in a 115 degree oven is a dry heat, too. But I bet you won’t want to keep it in there for very long! It’s difficult to breathe in all that dry heat. Suffice it to say, I will never live in Southern Arizona during the summer!)

When we got back home, we discovered that things looked “different” to us. When we built our rural house 9 years earlier, the entire neighborhood had less than 100 homes and was across the street from a dairy farm and surrounded by wide open mesa. When we told people where we were moving to, they looked at us like we were nuts to move out to the boondocks, so far away from everything.

But when we moved back in to our neighborhood, just 7 years later, there were over a thousand homes built in our neighborhood, there was a shopping center built beside it, a Home Depot on the other side, an Indian Casino across a busy highway, and the dairy farm was gone…..soon to be replaced by a Walmart Super Store.

If you want to read my feelings about this and see a photo, Click to read my feelings about our old neighborhood. 

It was time to move.

To be continued…….

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

(Jenna at 4 yrs old pondering huge thoughts about our delicious deep-fried turkey)

Why I am Very Thankful……and a Little History

 

I watched a video today that brought back a whole lot of memories. Memories that arrived at the perfect time for me to remind myself to be thankful. Thanksgiving.

I’d like to use my blog as my personal journal to recall those memories and for my family to print and save as piece of our history. So, don’t feel obligated to read any of this post if you don’t have time or don’t want to get too personal.

And with that……on to the history.

Not many people know that my family flies for free. That’s right, no cost at all, to fly just about anywhere, including foreign destinations, too. That’s all due to working many years for the airlines. In fact that’s how Ranchman John and I met over 23 years ago, when we both lived in Maryland. We were both working for the airlines, two different airlines actually, in the Baltimore/Washington International Airport. We started dating and made plans to get married a year later.

Ironically, at the same time, both of our airlines decided to merge….just like we did. So from then on we worked for the same airline. Unfortunately a year after our marriage, our airline experienced some financial troubles, and like all airlines do at one time or another, had to downsize. They usually offer their employees the option of a temporary furlough and  a transfer to another station. We were struggling as newlyweds and living in a trashy trailer park near Baltimore, so Ranchman John thought it would be a great idea to get out of the ‘burbs of crowded and expensive Maryland and move West. He chose Albuquerque.

Without doing any research beforehand (because of course, there was no World Wide Web and Internet back then in the dinosaur ages), we packed up everything and moved to our new city sight unseen.

Hey! We were newlyweds, with not much baggage, no kids, and we had a huge sense of adventure (still do, but much more low key now)

We did manage to find an apartment a few weeks before we moved, and fell in love with our unique pueblo designed abode, complete with neon lights, by the internationally famous architect, Antoine Predock.

We had the most fabulous Land Lady who took care of us and was like family.

But Ranchman John had to fly back home to tie up loose ends and wait for his transfer to New Mexico to come through, while I settled in to our new home. I must admit, although I grew up a Military Brat and lived many places as a child, this was my first time moving someplace on my own with such a very different and unique mix of cultures: Mexican, Native American Pueblo and Gringos (that would be me. hah!).

I remember my first visit to a grocery store. Coming from a grocery store background of not seeing too many international foods in the stores, except La Choy Chow Mein and Bueno Taco Shells, I was floored to walk down the Mexican Food aisle and see a vast and varied display of unusual (to me) spices, snacks, meals and sauces. There wasn’t just one brand of tortillas, there were at least 10! And most of them were made locally!

I was in awe, but completely overwhelmed, but I quickly fell in love with all the new flavors, and once I began exploring the area, I also fell in love with the beauty of my new state, The Land of Enchantment. Many people told me that newcomers either love New Mexico or they hate it. There is no middle ground. And I’ve found that to be true. I’ve met people who moved to New Mexico and wanted it to be more like where they moved from. They couldn’t be convinced there was one good thing about living here. And I didn’t work too hard at trying to convince them otherwise. I was glad that they moved away. I figured that was just more New Mexico for me.

Anyway, I lived and worked in Albuquerque for the airlines for over a year before Ranchman John’s transfer come through, and before he could even transfer in, the the airline went through more financial trouble and I was furloughed. I was hired on with a commuter airline at the Albuquerque Airport and worked, ticketing, gate loading, loading planes with baggage, freight and people, and refueling planes. I did that only for a year. It was hard work and I was glad to return to my job with my previous airline when the furlough was over.

Not long after that, I was injured on the job because we were always shorthanded. I ruptured discs in my neck and had to have surgery. When I was finally strong enough to go back to work, I wasn’t able to do repetitive lifting anymore, so I couldn’t perform my job.

During all this time, Ranchman John was holding on to his own airline job by accepting furloughs and working in other stations around the country, including Washington DC, New York’s La Guardia Airport, Las Vegas Airport, and Denver’s Airport. When he was finally able to get his transfer in for Albuquerque, I wasn’t even able to work with him.

(Yes, I used to be a scrapbooking fool. That’s me and my twinlings not long after they were born. They were bigguns’, each weighing 7 lbs)

But a few years after we were finally together in New Mexico, we became pregnant with twins, and then he was furloughed again. We decided to take a huge transfer and move back east, leasing out our home in New Mexico with faith that we’d be able to move back home one day. I knew I would miss the gorgeous views of my beloved Sandia Mountains from my living room window and backyard most of all.

Well, we lived in South Carolina for 7 years, bought a house, made some dear friends, began our home school journey, and brought my baby girl Jen into the world.

(Our Rock Hill, SC home. Yes, it really does snow in South Carolina)

(Me with my big ‘ol pregnant belly, standing in our kitchen.)

(My Baby Girl who came into this world weighing 11 lbs 12 oz! Doctors thought she’d only be 8 lbs….give or take, so I chose to deliver her naturally and drug free with the help of my Doula. Surprise!  But her birth was easy for me, though, and my baby girl went into the hospital’s record books as the largest baby born in that hospital, delivered naturally with no complications. Pretty cool.)  

 (Ranchman John and baby Jen. One can never begin learning computer skills too early. And who would have thought Ranchman John would become so infatuated with Facebook one day. hehe!) 

Ranchman John was driving just across the border into North Carolina to work at the Charlotte Airport, and all was right with the world, until The Terrible Accident happened that almost took the lives of my husband and my twin sons. (Click below)

Liberty University Lacrosse Accident News Story

Down below is a video taken by one of the lacrosse players. That smashed white van you'll see was driven by my husband, who was the Lacrosse Coach. My twin sons were 8 years old and riding in the back with some of the lacrosse players. That smashed semi-truck you'll see, hit the van you saw, head-on. My husband suffered an arm injury which required surgery, along with a brain injury, which also required surgery to install a permanent shunt.

My twin son, Jem, smashed through the side glass and was thrown at least 30 feet. He suffered a brain injury, along with many cuts, including a shredded face which required 70+ stitches. This photo was taken almost a year later. His face healed well with smooth scarring. But his brain injury has taken much longer to heal.

My twinling Jax was pinned underneath the van, beneath another lacrosse player. By the time the van was flipped back up by the adrenaline power of many, Jax had suffered from 5 broken ribs and a broken arm.

And here is the video of the accident scene in Prichard, Alabama. Today was my first time ever seeing this. Ranchman John happened to find it yesterday doing a Google search and he posted it on his Facebook page. It was his first time seeing this video, too. I never went to the accident scene, so everything I knew was from what others have told me. Needless to say, I was, and still am shocked, especially to look inside the van where my twinlings and husband had been. It’s a miracle they survived. most people don’t survive being hit head-on by a semi-truck.(Note: There are no injured people in the video. This video was shot after all the injured were taken to the hospital) 

   

After all the surgeries and healing, we realized that Ranchman John’s injuries, especially the brain injury were making it difficult for him to continue working. No one was paying any of the medical bills, and Liberty was trying to wipe their hands of any responsibility. We sought legal help and decided to sell our house in South Carolina, where things were more expensive, and move back to New Mexico again. Although it was a very difficult and challenging time, we were all looking forward to moving back to our beloved home in our Land of Enchantment.

All the airlines were going through a huge turmoil because of the 911 terrorism acts and our airline was offering furloughs or early retirements.

Speaking of 911, I’ve got another reason to be thankful. On that fateful day, my twinling Jem and Ranchman John we’re in the air at the same time that the planes crashed into the twin towers. They were on their way home from a flight to Orlando, Fl. As I watched the horrors happening in New York and in Washington DC I prayed so hard. I kept having to remind myself to breathe. Seeing them walk through our front door was huge relief.  

And because of all the uncertainty that was going on in our lives, Ranchman John decided to take an early retirement with the airline which included lifetime free flying benefits. We packed everything up with huge generous help from our wonderful home school community and our friends, and drove west. It was the best feeling ever to drive through the Tijeras Canyon Pass between the Sandia and Manzano Mountains and see Albuquerque spread out before us. We were finally home again!

(Our Rio Rancho, NM home with Jax and Jem in front)

But Ranchman John still had no job, and we were almost out of money from the move across country.

To be Continued……………    

        

Gophers and Mud

 

First the gophers. I think my high school days are coming back to haunt me. You see, my high school’s mascot was the Gophers. Yeh. Really. I know. Who in their right mind names their sports teams’ mascot after a small, shy, burrowing pest?

Apparently my high school. sigh.

We’d try to make the best of it by chanting things like, “Gophers Go For it!”.

I know……..Lame. haha! 

I’ve known we had gophers here since we moved into this house, but didn’t think much of ‘em, as long as they didn’t eat my peach and apple trees or destroy anything important.

Well. they. have. crossed. the. line! Damn gophers!

Guess who has no electricity to their barn now? And guess why.

Gophers! That’s why.

We had an electrician out the other day and he said because the ground is thawing out with our 40-50F temps, the gophers are active. He’s been getting calls about chewed electric lines for years out here in our mountains, due to gophers. And it’s really the homeowner’s fault for not encasing the electric lines in flexible, metal or PVC conduit properly, and then burying it safely and deeply.

Clueless people really are burying their ‘bare’ electric lines to their garages and barns in shallow trenches. I suppose they believe it’s cheaper not to buy protective conduit, but it ends up being very expensive in the long run when a stupid gopher comes along, bites through the electric line, and moisture gets to the exposed wires. The Electrician disconnected the electric wires for us. And now, to fix the problem that the previous owner caused, we’ve got to rewire the entire line from the house, all the way up to the barn, and encase it in the conduit (like it should have been done in the first place. grrr!), and then bury it in a deep trench.

What a pain! We had similar problems when our water pipes to the barn froze and burst two winters ago, in the middle of winter. That was fun hauling water up the steep, slippery hill the rest of winter. Not!

Wanna know why those water pipes burst? The same homeowner never took it into consideration that water pipes in these mountains must be buried BELOW the frost/freeze line, which is at least 18” deep. Yeh, our water pipes were only buried about 8” deep. We had to wait until Spring and it cost a couple hundred dollars to get that problem fixed with a backhoe. Bleh! People really annoy me!

And so do gophers. This photo was taken underneath my peach tree today. Mr, Gopher better leave my peach tree alone or he’s going to be taking his last breath when a water hose is plugged into his burrow!

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Mud. I know there are many of my readers who deal with mud all Winter long and even during the Spring, but here in New Mexico, it’s rare to have mud except after it rains…which is rare. We usually have rain during our monsoon season in July and August, but this past summer we only received 3 good rains and the mud dried up the same day.

But we are making up for that lack of moisture this winter and now that our snows are beginning to melt, it will all be replaced by mud. Greasy, slimy, sloppy, boot-sucking, slippery mud.

I took this photo today. This is the view up the hill from our house, to the barn.

It’s not easy walking uphill in this slick swamp. I’ve been letting Ranchman John take over the animal care during the worst of this. My gimpy knee easily gets torqued when I’m slipping and sliding and I’d rather not risk getting hurt if I can avoid it.

This is the view looking down the hill from the barn towards the house.

But I did take a video this evening when Jenna and I went up to the barn to feed the animals because John was busy on the phone. I don’t think I’ll be going up there until things dry out some.

                                Nasty!

I can almost trick myself into imagining the slop as being chocolate pudding with cherries on top.

Almost. But not quite.

(Edited and removed part of this post because it was too lengthy.)

The End of an Era

 

I know many of you are waiting for the lowdown on the weekend’s Fear Makeover/Natural Horsemanship Riding Clinic and I promise I will get to that soon. Things have been a little bit upside down around here since Saturday and I’ve been too busy to gather all my thoughts and memories from the clinic to post about it. There was a photographer there on Saturday, so once I get the photos from that day I’ll be sure to post those photos, too.

(All the photos below were taken when Ranchman John drove home right after Thanksgiving. He and I and our daughter Jenna took a drive in the truck, into town and around the mountains)

Ok, so this is what’s been happening. On Saturday night, after the clinic I drove into Albuquerque and picked up Ranchman John from the airport, after he dropped off his keys, to the truck he’s been driving, in Salt Lake City. Yes, he quit his professional truck driving job. And no, he doesn’t have another job.

 

You see he’s been going through a lot of craziness working for England Trucking company and just had enough. It all started in the beginning when England failed to tell him that not only was he not going to be paid during his 3 month training, but he was also going to have to pay for his training, too.

So, after 3 months with no paycheck and now with a tuition of over $1,200 to pay back to England, he joined up with several trainee truck drivers to build-up his on-the-road experience, and after another two months, he was ready to go out on his own.

Ranchman John and another guy that went through the same class together, decided to buddy up together and lease a truck.  Taking turns driving, they could keep the truck on the road 24/7, and therefore make more money.

They drove together for a couple months and did ok….not great, but ok. Don’t ever think that truck drivers make a lot of money. With the number of hours they put in they should make so much more. In 8 months Ranchman John came home only 9 times. And of those 9 times, only 3 were for more than one day.

That’s ok for me. I’m a very independent gal. I was raised as an only-child, as was my husband, so we both like our space and don’t need anyone to keep us company 24/7. But our 3 kidlets missed their Daddy something fierce. Professional Truck Driving really should be left to those who have no kids or have grown kids.  

Well that driving partnership with his buddy worked well for a while, or at least until his partner decided he’d had enough and went home for Christmas and never came back, basically leaving Ranchman John high and dry. Sink or swim, right?

(I-40 Eastbound, near Edgewood, NM. That little camo-taped box on the dashboard is one of our letterboxes that went missing in September. We went out in the truck and found it again, thanks to the help of a friendly Geocacher. After I replaced the logbook we rehid it near the original location in Tijeras)

And Ranchman John tried to go it on his own for a couple weeks, even getting stranded for a couple days in North Dakota when his engine shut off and the gas in his tank turned to jelly in the –50 degree temperatures.

The truck was actually leased in his partner’s name because he was considered ‘First Seat’, while Ranchman John was considered ‘Second Seat’, so Ranchman John could have basically just dumped the truck off anywhere and came home at anytime.

But he tried to make it work out and decided to go back to England HQ, get the truck lease transferred to his name and possibly find a new trainee that might want to partner up with him so he could keep the truck on the road. Just for the record, I didn’t think that was a good idea, but he was going to try anyway.

As fate would have it (and miracles, too, as far as I’m concerned) that truck could not be transferred into his name and he would have to return it and lease his own truck.

Thankfully, Ranchman John called me first and actually asked ME what I thought (hallelujah!) and I said, “No way, Jose! This is your door to freedom. This is your out” I told him to come back home and find something else using his CDL that he worked so hard for and paid so dearly for.

So, he’s home now and we’re going through some adjustments and stressful moments while he hunts for a new job. Thankfully our vehicles and our house are all paid off, so the only bills we have are our utilities, insurance, food, gas, and expenses to care for our animals. Some very tough choices and decisions are being discussed and considered, but I don’t have the heart right now to talk about them. We’ll just take each day, one step at a time, and see what happens………..

 

      

Sunday Stills ~ Technology

 

This week’s Sunday Still's Challenge proved more challenging for me than most of the challenges of the past year. I’m sort of a techno-phobe myself, appreciating technology and happy to use it, but never really sure exactly how or why it works.

For a case in point, here is my little battery-powered Air Compressor, which has been a life-saver these past few weeks while dealing with a slow leak in my driver’s side rear tire.

All I know is that I plug the air-compressor into one of the adaptors in my van, turn it on, and it fills my flat tire with air. Yay for Technology!

If you asked my chickens what type of technology they appreciate most, especially during the winter, they’d probably say the heat lamp inside their chicken house.

 

Check out Sunday Stills to see how other folks have handled this week’s challenge.

9/11 ~ Never Forget

 

It has been 8 years since that horrific day occurred. Sometimes it seems like it only happened last year. And maybe it should seem that way. Although it is part of our history and we humans tend to forget about historic events and focus on the future instead, we should never forget such a monumental day. Our country was changed forever, in an instant.

 

September 11th, 2001 will forever be etched into my memory. My family was living in South Carolina and I remember watching the shocking events with my twinling, Jax as they happened live on TV, terrified, wondering if my husband and other twinling Jem, were safe. You see they were on a plane at the very moment that those planes hit the World Trade Center.

(9/11 Facts)

My family was lucky, though, and the plane my husband and sons were on wasn’t hijacked by terrorists. I could breathe a sigh of relief when they finally arrived home, but that was bittersweet, because my heart was aching for all those people who died that day, and for the loved ones they left behind.

I remember feeling shell-shocked and depressed for weeks afterwards. I would cry anytime a memorial song for 9/11 came on the radio or when I saw the terrible images on the TV or in the newspapers.

Maybe you did, too? Did you feel like the world, as you knew it, had changed? That you weren't as safe as you thought you were? Maybe we all suffered from some post-traumatic stress syndrome?

I can’t help but get goosebumps and feel deeply emotional when I watch the following video. Budweiser only allowed this commercial to be aired one time. And not to advertise their products, but to offer a moving tribute for all those who were affected by that heart wrenchingly, tragic day.  I hope you will watch this video with me today, too. (Turn off the music on my player at the bottom of this page first.)

 

 

Do you remember where you were on September 11th 2001? Do you remember what you were thinking, feeling?

Never Forget.

From the Tower of,

My First Real Job, and Bits of This and That

Guess what I did today?

I finally accomplished something useful and helpful around our ranch. And I definetely made a difference for some little lives. It was my first real job around our ranch since my fall on Christmas Eve. And it was the most physical thing I've done since then, too. Today was a fairly warm sunny day, and now that I'm able to stand without support and walk with only one crutch, I felt ready to take on the job.

Want a clue? What is that wheelbarrow for?
I mucked out the coop! It hadn't been thoroughly cleaned out for 3 months and we were doing the 'Deep Litter Method' as I wasn't able to clean it and Ranchman John and the kids drew the line at handling chicken poop. Needless to say, it was nasty in the chicken house, with over 6" of poop, shavings, straw, food scraps, and more poop. Just nasty!

Sid Vicious agreed. He said, "It's about time you got out here and cleaned my castle, lady!"

My one twinling, Jem, was my right-hand man and not only brought me everything I needed for mucking the coop, he also took pictures, too. He refused to scoop chicken poop or even stick his nose in there.....and I truly don't blame him. Ewww!
Isn't that the nastiest chicken house you've ever seen?!

My hens enjoyed exploring and looking for any food tidbits from everything I removed from the henhouse.

In the past I've only had to use a dustpan to scoop out the old bedding and poo, but this time I had to bring in the big guns! And even the big honkin' shovel struggled to do it's job.
It was hard work and physically demanding, especially after being so inactive for such a long time. But it felt good to be doing the jobs I used to do before I got hurt, and even better to be outside in the fresh air (well, except for the chicken poo stink!) and to be hanging out with my chicken friends.
There goes Jem with the wheelbarrow, on his way to the compost pile. I couldn't have done the coop mucking without him.
Half the coop was scraped clean after 45 minutes. Whew!
And finally after 2 hours it was looking pretty good in there.
We loaded up 4 wheelbarrows full of stinky chicken manure for the compost pile.
Then it was time to toss in the fluffy shavings and replace the feeders and nest basket.
There is just something so satisfying about seeing the end result: a clean chicken house.
And happy chickens, too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And finally some bits of this and that.

I just have to say how thankful I am for my dear blog friends. When I started blogging over 3 years ago I had no idea blogging would be more than just journaling about my family and our experiences. Not only have I discovered many wonderful blogs that I enjoy following every week, but I've also discovered friendships along the way, too. I'm even more amazed when these friendships reach beyond the internet, through phone calls, visits and snail mail.

I've recieved so much support and encouragement from you, my blog friends, and it always seem to come at the most opportune time. Like when I'm feeling frustrated or discouraged or bored and useless. I am immensely grateful to all of you.

Last week, I received a package from my sweet friend Tammy, ofWrensong Farm. I was totally taken aback, as Tammy had already sent me some goodies right after my knee reconstruction surgery back in January. And yet again, she seemed to know that I could use some goodies and encouragement. I had a particularly tough physical therapy and was exhausted, stiff and sore.

Tammy sent me some interesting and fun books, a deck of very cool cards with different dog breeds on each card. A delicious aromatic cinnamon apple candle, a yummy gourmet raspberry chocolate bar, a lovely angora goat card, that reminds me of my Luna. And a magnet with a painting of an adorable paint foal that reminds me of the photo of my Baby Doll when she was a foal. (I included her baby picture below) Thank you sweet Tammy! You are a very dear friend.

And here's my mare as a cute little filly. She'll be 16 yrs old in April.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One last bit I'd like to share are a few goodies that I recently won from the One World One Heart Promotion. Mmore than 700 artist blogs participated by offering contests for their readers to enter. The very best contest I won was for the ACEO painting of my mare, that you see in my header. I was one of 200 entries and was thrilled to have won such an awesome prize. You can visit the artist, Morgane Antoine, at her website and see some of her artwork by clicking on the link at the top of my sidebar.

I also won some pretty scrapbooking/card-making stickers and a sachet filled with lavender scented, heart-shaped body butters.
The postcard you see below is a treat, too. It was sent by my blog friend Erin of a Good Life in Virginia. She wanted to keep in touch with me while she was on her trip to Italy. I'm so tickled to recieve mail from Italy and my thoughtful friend, Erin.


So....what did you do this weekend?


From the Tower of,