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Happy New Year! The biggest obstacle to a fulfilling and happy new year is yourself. Eat more of your pride, drink more to the success of your soul, and always find a way to be merry. 

I was sick as a dog yesterday, don't know if it was the flu or really bad allergies, but I'm doing better today. I thank my hubby Rob greatly for taking care of me. I'm always a handful, but far more of one when I don't feel good. 

Cheers to the new year (toasting with Gatorade)!

Conspiracy Theory

I like to hear about conspiracy theories, especially as facts have been rewritten often in my lifetime. I'm still calling Pluto a planet by the way. Anyway, I've got my own I'm creating tonight. This is just for fun, please don't get knickers in a knot. 

My theory is about erosion. There's beliefs out there that fracking, climate change, things of that nature are responsible for the sandy beaches disappearing. Here's my theory though. I believe there are a lot of dog owners at the beaches with their pups. Those pups squirrel it away in their fur and paws and deposit it inside residences. Then people vacuum it up, essentially sifting it into a fine powder which makes it look less by volume. I'll explain my reasoning for this theory. 

My pups bring in dirt mounds like they are building their own indoor mountains. I vacuum all those mounds up, pretty much daily, and then dump it. The mounds begin huge in size, but the vacuum sifts it into this baby fine powder. I'm thinking we've already become one foot closer to sea level just this past week with how much I've sifted through. So that's my theory it's because we love dogs and frankly, I'm not going to apologize for that. 

Change of Plans

I had simple plans today. I was going to clean some after making notes on some scripts, but then the phone rang. Work to be done at the theatre. Easily manageable. 

Before going to the theatre though, there were several calls to make and receive. An article to be interviewed for regarding the theatre. I really should probably subscribe to that paper come to think of it. A phone tree to continue regarding some promising health news with a friend. Calls like that. Then a quick trip to pick up hay before we could then set off to the theatre. 

So I wore the farm hat yesterday and the theatre hat today. What hat will I wear tomorrow?

Overgrown Hoof

Thanks to our part time ranchhand Gator and to Rob, Patches got her overgrown hoof trimmed today! It's not completely done as we still need to chisel it into shape, but this is something we've needed to have happen for over a month now. 

Patches hind hoof decided to shoot out and originally, I tried to trim it. Unfortunately, I didn't have strength to do much as those hooves are incredibly strong. We did consider getting a farrier for her, and we probably still will in the future, but we've still got halter training to do with her. 

Anyway, she got taken care of and we finally got our burn pile burned down to manageable levels again. We got to watch Maesie have all sorts of zoomies today which was awesome!

Maesie, excuse her dirty coat, we're still muddy out here

Merry Christmas to All

I hope everyone had a very wonderful Christmas! Rob and I celebrated with our animals in our new barndo wearing our Christmas pajamas. We didn't do a lot of our traditions this year, but we greatly enjoyed what we did do. 

We celebrated our friendships in the days ahead of today. We ate less than normal yet savored everything more. We thanked more and worried less. It was good. 

All of our animals, and I mean ALL of them, enjoyed yesterday and today in their special ways. Whether it was rolling around in mud from yesterday's rain, butting heads in the warm sunshine, or running with the cool breeze, all the animals were happy and, of course, well loved. 

May everyone's spirits be bright!

Tootsie's Freedom Day!

Today, we finished the last round of shots for our perfectly healthy girl, Tootsie Roll! I love our vet, they were able to move us up on our appointment and got to Tootsie quicker than you could say her name. They did her weight (almost forty pounds), clipped her hind dew claws and gave her the shots all within two minutes. I grabbed the quickest pic I could take. 

Then, as is becoming our norm, we drove through the rain to pick up the spent malt. Every single time we've gone, we've had rain. Y'all are welcome!

Finally, back home to baking before heading to bed. I'm not feeling the best tonight. It could be allergies, but a sickness is also going around. Either way, I'm slamming down the orange juice, taking some Tylenol and getting healthy rest. Hopefully by morning, I'll be feeling good again!

Jimminy Christmas

By golly, we're going to have the best Christmas this side of the North Pole even if we've got to squeeze it like a lime in a margarita! Time is running out, but we're going to get everything done. 

Tonight and tomorrow night, I'm baking. Tomorrow afternoon, vet appointment and picking up the spent malt. Friday, a whirlwind driving extravaganza. Then the weekend, home for the holidays! Christmas cookies, Christmas movies, Christmas wrapping and whatever other Christmas activities we decide. 

For now, it's back to baking! The only time my house smells good. Ha!

Future Planning

As it's almost the end of the calendar year, I'm thinking about what I would like to improve upon, work towards, and do without for next year. Some things are easy to consider, others take a little more work. 

This upcoming year will be our first year with calving! We may also be expecting miniature donkeys as well. So taking care of younger livestock is on my planner. 

I'll be directing several plays for the theatre which will encompass a lot of my time. I'll probably be in Goldthwaite three days a week if not more. 

I still want to play games and socialize, so I'm giving myself a day a week to make that a priority. You can start to see how my calendar is already filling up. 

That leaves my newest endeavor, baking. This will not be a full time job for me, but I am going to give it a lot of hours. 

Finally, home life. I've got to keep up with my chores, but also keep up with my self care. This is something I always struggle with, but maybe next year will be my year?

Catching Up

Day Two of staying at home and I'm loving it! I have almost finished all the laundry. This was a monumental task of gigantic proportions. Not only because Rob and I are overly healthy in weight, but because it's been a couple of weeks since I've tackled this task. 

The house is getting clean, but I'm not stressing about doing it all at once. I cleaned the great room and installed an air purifier, so let's see if this handles some of my dusty woes. 

Lastly, all the animals are doing well. Even Scotchie Jr is starting to come around to liking me. The two wethers, Scotchie Jr and Nutella, have always been skittish around any human. Maybe because we took their manhood? That's the last time they liked us! But I still enjoy them as well as all my fur babies. Here in a day or two, I'll venture out and get Christmas goodies for them all. 

Slowing Down

It seems like all year, we've been going, going, going. Whether it was buying or selling animals, being part of the theatre, building our barndo, being part of several communities, and being there for family and friends, we keep busy! But, for the rest of this calendar year, Rob and I are going to be slowing down. It's time for some silent nights and rocking around the Christmas tree. 

One thing that has surprised me is how dirty our house gets when we're not even here! Of course, it's the pups and cats making the dirty floors, the dusty counters, and the nose smudged windows. However, we've done pretty well ourselves with dirty clothes, dirty dishes and dirty bathrooms. 

Anyhow, after spending the weekend touring Texas like we do, it was nice to spend today at home. Some cleaning got done, some animals got brushed, and everyone got more attention on the farm. Here's a great start to a slow week everyone!

Fattened Calf

For most things, the other cows have been great with Rose. With feeding though, that's when their horns and size have the advantage. One issue is we need a different system of troughs now that everyone's horns are bigger. The other, well Rose needs to be fed separately for awhile just to make sure she's getting enough. 

Now don't get the confused, even though it's confusing. The only time we're going to have to separate her is with the mineral feeding with grain. The spent malt we're getting gives them almost everything, but it's weak on calcium. So we give grain about twice a week with the minerals in it to make sure everyone is healthy. We tried the block version but no one liked that, they prefer the loose minerals. If we see anyone is getting too fat, then we'll cut back. So far, no one is complaining. 

Back to Rose. She's still uncertain of us, but she knows what the buckets mean. We took a very slow walk to the pen where's she's happily eating now, safe from the others. Well, she wasn't safe from my taking pics and trying to pet her. She got a soft kick on me, but I'll still take it as a win. 

Cattle Auction

So Rob and I decided to take in the last cattle auction of the year to see what it was all about. We wanted to learn how it works and see what cows come through. Well, we saw what cows come through, but we have little to no idea how it works. 

First off, yes it's an auction, but I truly didn't believe it was going to be the fast talking auction. Numbers were flying and switching between per head and per pound. When a guy bought a cow for 3, I wanted to ask him 3 what? $300? $3000? $3 per pound? He seemed happy with the price whatever it was. 

Then, the price per pound when the numbers on the screen definitely didn't match up to a weight. Maybe I'm wrong, I've lied about my weight so much, maybe that behemoth of a steer really was only 456 pounds. It sure wasn't his tag number. He was huge! He made Fiona look like a toy version in comparison. 

I'm sure all the guys in the arena enjoyed when I'd aww at the cute ones. I can't help it! But don't worry, I didn't take any cows home with me. I wouldn't know how much they were anyway!

This wasn't the big guy, I just lived the markings on this one

A Couple More

We've only got a couple more commitments for the rest of this year! Y'all know Rob and I keep busy, but we're looking forward to some down time. Maybe give our vehicles a rest while we're at it, too. 

I know the animals will enjoy it if we're home more. I'll be able to train the pups more, brush the cows more, and play with everyone more. That's my happy place. 

I might even finally get Mango's tangles out! He will hate the brushing, he will make me pay for the brushing, but it needs to be done. I'll just have to fortify myself with Christmas goodies first. 

Dollop & Rocky Road

Well tonight, I said goodbye to two of my kids, Dollop and Rocky Road. Fortunately, they're going to a friend's house so I'll be able to see them again. Now that we've let go of Nutty, I'm trying to enjoy these kids we have left, Oreo and Spice Girl. They're just so cute and playful!

I also learned some fabulous baking tips from one of our local experts tonight which was super helpful! I now know how to get taller frosting and even more explosive flavors. I can't wait to try out the tips. 

For now, I'm tired. As they say around here, I'm as tired as a one legged man in butt kicking contest!

Big Weekend!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! Rob and I lived ours to the fullest. A Christmas Market on Saturday, and Rob's 50th on Sunday. Whew!

Here's the take away from both, we had fun. People enjoyed my cupcakes and ironically, people enjoyed Rob's birthday, too. Originally, we were going to throw a big party for him, but instead, I took him to blow glass to make a Christmas ornament, took him clothes shopping, took him for his favorite coffee drink and took him to get a custom a custom hat made. I had a phone appointment with a local guy to talk with Rob about what kind of leather belt he wanted crafted, but the guy stood me up. His loss. 

Another busy week because we just don't know any other way. Enjoy some pics!

Kids Will Play

Kids grow up quickly, both human and goat, but they're so much fun to watch. Spice Girl and Oreo enjoy playing on the stool constantly. We've seen the other goats get on it as well, but it's something about seeing the kids massively jump that's so over the top that makes it all the better. 

This evening, we got to spend some time with some human kids as well. I like to be known as Aunt Jen to any of my friends with kids. One friend has three kids with another on the way. I stopped in on them to give some Vicks vapor rub for the youngest who is sick. While there, I got to talk and play around with the older two kids. They're excited about Christmas, but wow their list is amazingly expensive! I'm glad I'm just Aunt Jen and not Santa. 

This weekend is a big one with Jen Whiskin' debuting at the Christmas Market on Saturday. Then, it's Rob's 50th on Sunday! I'll share all about both on Sunday night. 

Fully Integrated

Rose's 24 hours of separation from the herd were up so we let her join the Highlands. I was worried, but for the most part it has gone well. 

She learned very quickly that you don't get in the way of Ciarán and her food. Ditto for Patches. Dandy and Callie are get biggest allies, but Fancy likes her as well. Brogan keeps showing off for her. Fiona, Flora and Maesie are skeptical. Lastly, Coorie keeps following Rose around like she's never seen another cow before. 

Oh, the goats loved Rose while she stayed with them. It was cute watching the kids dance around her. 

Meet Rose

Now that Brogan is becoming an active male, and because the perfect opportunity arose, we decided to get a different breed to begin our hands in cross breeding. Meet Rose, a mini Hereford, belted Galloway Cross. She's six months and will grow to be the perfect size for all our herd. Her markings are beautiful and she's precious. 

She's skittish right now, but I did get to pet her a little. Tonight, she's penned with the goats where the other cows can see her but still give her some safety. Highlands way of introducing themselves is with head butting, so Rose and I will let everyone meet her a gentler way. 

Her first admirer though? Dandy. My silly male donkey was hamming it up for her big time. I never said Dandy was a smart ass. 

Baking Up A Storm

Jen Whiskin' is whisking away on cupcakes! I had a special order of my Red Velvet Affair cupcakes for a special birthday boy. No it's not quite Rob's birthday yet. This was for Gator and I hope he loves them. 

For this Saturday's market, I'll be having:

For the Christmas Spirited Cupcakes, the selections are:

Silver & Gingerbread Gold - a Goldschläger gingerbread concoction lightly iced 

Red Velvet Affair - red velvet cake kicked up a notch with a Fireball twist. Fans rave about the cream cheese frosting

Champagne Sprinkle Jolly - toast the holidays with this light and fluffy cupcake. Life made better with sprinkles

Whoville Spiked Eggnog - not only is the Eggnog cupcake spiked, but the buttered rum frosting gives the biggest cheer any Who can hear

Brandied Fruitcake - not your traditional fruitcake. These miniatures give a sweet brandy finish to the holiday favorite

Nutcrackered Pecan - no Southern holiday would be complete without pecans! Whiskey infused with a cherry on top

*All the above cupcakes are spirited in the cupcake, on the cupcake or both with the finest liqueurs

For the traditional, non-spirited selections:

Sugar Cookie Cupcakes - Similar to the cookie, just with an added cream cheese frosting for the extra oomph

Candy Cane Cupcakes - the barest hint of cocoa in these delightfully minty creations

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream - we're in Texas, sometimes hot chocolate is best when bitten

Let's hope people will love them. If not, Rob will have lots of cupcakes for his birthday the next day!

It's December!

It's the most wonderful time of the year. The weather is cooler, most people are happier, and there's even more stuff to do. 

This weekend, Rob and I dressed as Jib the Gingerbread Boy and Queen Frostine to make Goldthwaite a little more festive. We dropped in at Joyful Trading Co and met Santa and Mrs Claus, hugged bunches of kids, and took pics. Then, we headed over for the Pancake Supper hosted by the Lion's Club. Yum! Finally, we rode on the float for the Goldthwaite Theatre. Kay did an excellent job on my frosting and everyone loved Jib. Even if not everyone knew who he was. It was a Candyland Christmas theme and we're all about following themes. 

Today, it's all about staying home. We've been baking tons of cupcakes for the upcoming Christmas Market where Jen's Whiskin' will be making its debut with cupcakes! Some of them are even Christmas Spirited (alcohol included). I'll share more about Jen Whiskin' in the days ahead. Back to baking for now!