As most of you know, I live very close to Mexico and if you cross over at Juarez, you get to see some really interesting things. Right as you go in, the main thing you will notice will be the bars. Now you can't go to Mexico without having a shot of Tequila, right? --After all, Mexico is Tequila Heaven; just ask The Tequila Guy! If you can't handle straight Tequila, you sissies can always have a Strawberry Margarita;)

There is actually a historical site you can visit where you can learn all about Tequila but if you really want to know which ones are the best and find out about the comeback Tequila is making, then you really should see the The Tequila Guy.

I came across "This Eclectic Life" during my rounds with Thursday Thirteen and just had to share with you all.

I love to crochet and when I read what these ladies do, it touched my heart and inspired me. If your heart is big enough and you can crochet, I hope that you will consider participating in the Share a Square campaign for kids with cancer. All they want you to do is crochet a square and send it to them. They are making these afghans for each kid at the camp. Camp Sanguinity has allowed children being treated for cancer and blood disorders to have a summer camp experience. The camp allows children receiving treatment at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth to spend a week gaining confidence and determination by challenging themselves, trying new activities, learning new skills and making new friends.

Now if you don't crochet, you could still send them some black Red Heart brand yarn. They are in desperate need of this. The black yarn is what outlines the squares and puts the whole afghan together! You can also make a donation. It doesn't even need to be money. They take bottled water, hats, caps, sunscreen, markers, and sooo much more!

If you're not participating in TT, then you're missing out on a fun meme and the chance to meet new friends. I was gonna be creative this week but we had company among other things going on so this is my quick list!

1. I'm all about reality! Big Brother, Survivor, and The Ultimate Coyote are some of my favs.
2. CourtTV. I was a jury once when I was a kid. A boy had stolen a music cd from Kmart. GUILTY! He had to do some community service.
3. Iron Chef and Challenge are 2 of my favorites. I like to see them work under pressure and see what kind of dish they will create.
4. Dog the Bounty Hunter rocks! I like the way he is with his family and I love a tough man that can cry;)
5. Chelsea Lately is freakin' hilarious!! Man she cracks me up.
6. I'm a home shopper---QVC baby:)
7. I LOVE ultimate fighting, boxing, and football.
8. I try to watch World Poker Tour when I get a chance. One of these days I'll play my brother-in-law who is big poker fan....and I will win.
9. Little House on the Prarie.....I want families to be more like the Ingalls.
10. I hated SpongeBob at first but have grown to love Patrick. "Man I need a life".
11. YES, I watch the news but I don't enjoy it. It's so depressing.
12. I've been a fan of the Price is Right for as long as I can remember. I don't think I'll care much for Drew Carey though:(
13. I long for new episodes of Fear Factor...I KNOW I could win and do all that stuff--It's sooo easy;)

There it is---all the crap I watch on TV. I am mostly on the computer during free time but if I do watch TV, these are the things I watch.

Please leave a comment after you submit your link.

My Dad is doing good. His number one worry is how he's going to be able to work which irritates me a little bit. He has always told me to take care of #1. You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else. Is he following his own advice? Nooooooo, he just wants to hurry up and get out of the hospital so he can get back to his stressful 10hr days-6 sometimes 7 days a week. TAKE IT AS A SIGN!! You're over working man! Some things are just more important that money...like your health and living life.

Blogger Buster is an awesome sight for bloggers with blogspot. Amanda offers tools, tips, and more to enhance your blog. If you haven't noticed already, I have a new link at the end of my posts--trackbacks!! If you have a blogspot blog, then you know trackbacks are not a feature. She has made it possible and it works great. She also has scrolling headlines, templates, and other cool widgets. She is super nice!!! I had a small problem with installation and she figured it out for me in an instant! I was thankful that I even made a donation. Thanks Amanda...I can't say it enough.

I hope you have entered in my Subscribe 2 Win contest. The secret message will be shown in the feed really soon!!

If you haven't joined yet, you really should! I have made so much and have met some great people. You can sign up as a blogger right here. If you want to advertise, you can do that to. Maybe you want to get the word out about your blog or website or maybe you just want links to higher PR sites..you can sign up here too!
FOR BLOGGERS:

FOR ADVERTISERS:

Have you ever thought about a new marketing approach? Vontoo voice messaging is a creative way to market your business. Why voice messaging? Well, not everyone has access to email but everybody has a phone whether it's a cell or home phone. Delivering a message by voice also provides a more personal touch not to mention is a less expensive way to market than by direct mail. With three different plans, you're bound to find one that suits your needs.

Approaching Your Established Customers with voice messaging:

Jerry Leath, owner of Great Frame Up, had many customers with unused store credits. Jerry could easily have sent out mailers to these customers reminding them to come in and take advantage of their credits but how many people would have actually read the mailer and came in? I'm willing to bet, not too many. Jerry decided to use Vontoo to get the word out. He logged in at vontoo.com and recorded one message reminding his customers of their store credit. One message sent to 90 customers at the same time lead to at least a dozen new sales and upgrades with already established customers.

Making Annoucements and Informing Family & Friends:

Maybe you're not in a business but need to make an annoucement of sorts--say you're pregnant and you want to let all your friends and family know. How cool would it be to record your big annoucement and have it sent to everyone instantly!! Or maybe a loved one is in the hospital and you need to just give everyone a quick update--just create your message and send. Everyone now knows what's going on and you have eliminated a dozen phone calls of saying the same thing over again. I think Vontoo's voice messaging system has many, many potential uses.

Vontoo's voice broadcasting technology to create, send, and track is, not only, creative but is truly and innovative way to market in today's times, as well as, make that big annoucement. Vontoo is simple, fast, and effective!

UPDATE: WE have a winner and surprise, surprise..it's Jayme! She guessed You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC. There have been 5 winners this month that will be entered into the drawing for $10 bucks!
They are-

1. Jayme from Just Jayme
2. Amy from Whatever I Feel Like
3. Theresa from Scribble Scratch
4. Kalamaf from Kalamaf Drackonsbane
5. Anonymous from ?

I never did receive an email from Anonymous letting me know who they were so I'm sorry to say that person will NOT be in the drawing. I will announce the winner on The Saturday Special.

Smart shoppers are always on the lookout for great deals whether you're looking for coupon codes, a voucher, or just trying to find a good sale. Webby Planet, a UK company, does the searching for you. Their site is updated throughout the day to provide you with the most current specials. One thing I noticed is that you can actually write a review and voice your opinion your experience with the participating retailers and even Webby Planet themselves. Sign up for their newsletter and get deals directly to you.

First, my lack of content today is due to phone calls regarding my Dad. He is in the hospital this morning as we speak. They performed an Angiogram...the whole thing was unsuccessful. They don't want to do open heart surgery because of his age and the fact he has already had one done. They said they're going to treat it aggressively with medication..whatever that means. He's in ICU having chest pains and is on a Nitro drip....I hope that, if you're a prayer, you'll pray for him and if you're not, you will keep him in your thoughts.

On a different issue-I'm sure you all know I get paid to blog--reviews, etc. There are people who complain about this all the time and frankly, I really don't give a crap. I have a disclosure, which is on my introduction page, if you don't like seeing my "sponsored posts" then get the hell of my spread!
KATE over at Electric Venom has just posted an outstanding response to these "haters". I encourage you to read it. I agree with her 100%.

I started my daily routine this morning with the addition of getting the kids up for their first day back to school. I showered, ate, played with the little man for awhile and got ready to head to the post office. Good so far right? I am 6 miles from the post office when all of the sudden the truck turns off. "You've got to be freakin' kidding me?!" Yep, I ran out of gas. Luckily, I was able to coast for about 2 miles before coming to a complete stop. WooHoo..that only left me with 4 miles to walk with a 25lb baby. Now I normally have my cell phone but it was in the car and the kids took the car today...so I had no phone, no gas can, and no shoes on. Yeah we country folk go around here barefoot and all! I get Truett out of the car seat, lock up the truck, and start my journey to the gas station (which is connected to the post office). It's a good thing my feet are tough 'cause that would have made other girls cry trying to walk on the asphalt and the weeds. There were a couple of cars who passed me and honked. I don't know what they got out of honking at a mom walking with her baby out in the middle of nowhere knowing damn well they saw my truck with the hazzards on about 50 yards back. Did they think it was funny or what? A-holes! Then a van put their brakes on and took the exit that goes to the store. I thought, for one brief second, that they might give me a ride...they didn't:(

Ryan Shamus is one bada$$ blogger and is holding a contest called Blogging’s Most Wanted. It only takes $15 smackaroos a block for you to advertise your site and to make the deal sweeter...he'll refund $5 just for linking back to his site which means you are really only paying $10!! WAIT!...that's not all. He will be giving a random first prize of $1,000 and a second prize of $750 to the bloggers who bought a block. I already bought my square early for my B Money Savvy blog to get a GREAT spot. If you want to showcase your blog and enter to win, then hurry over and reserve yours today! This could also be an awesome way to get your PR up and get some great links..not to mention traffic which in return can make you money. Better git goin' and be sure to link back to his post to git yer $5 bucks! I know he's good for it 'cause I already got my $5 back from my other blog!! Great Contest and an awesome way to advertise!

Okay, so the cowman is doing it again..doing what you say?? Well, he's giving away another $500 smackaroonies with the help of Micfo, a web hosting company. Since I'm not making money online at the rate I would like, my desperation leads me to enter the $500 giveaway in hopes to get Operation Fatty into full force.

I gained 60 bigguns' since the birth of my first son 14 years ago and have been a fatty ever since. The lbs went up and down and ended with me being round. (yes, I'm a poet and I know it;) I drink water, quit the cokes, and workout to Hip Hop Abs (yeah, I'm cool too). I keep trying to lose weight but it just keeps finding me. My final attempt at shedding the bigguns' is getting poked by weightloss injections. I've seen it done and know it works but I need the mooolah to get started on them.

REASONS WHY OPERATION FATTY NEEDS TO GO IN EFFECT IMMEDIATELY:

I want my husband to be able to stand in front of me and still be seen by someone behind me.

I want to NOT have to lay on the bed to get my jeans zipped up.

I don't want everyone to make way for me as I start walking to the buffet.

I want my husband to grab my boob and not my fat by mistake.

I want to go through the drive-through at Mickey D's, order food for my family, and NOT have them think it's all for me.

Finally, I want to chase my little one around for longer than 3 minutes before wheezing and having an asthma attack.

There ya have it folks...Operation Fatty and how $500 could turn me into foxy. Come on CowMan.......

Help me go from

THIS TO THIS

You still have a few days to Subscribe 2 Win the current jackpot here at my blog. I started with 20 subscribers and now have 47 which means the jackpot is at $41 bucks! I added a subscribe by email box in the right sidebar to make it easier for folks. You can also still enter to Win Jay as a Slave for a few hours. And if you think you know what the C stands 4 in Cman, then you can win $100.

I participate in several things throughout the week that I really enjoy. On Mondays, External Flux posts a 20 questions contest and if you have a good eye, then maybe you should give Skeet's Tuesday Teasers a shot. Name that Tune Contest happens on Wednesdays if you are music fan. If you want your fellow bloggers to get to know you and your personality, then you should give Thursday Thirteen a go too. And finally, put a face to your blog with the Self Portrait Sunday .

I opened a new aStore and it has A Bit of Everything. Give me your thoughts on it. The only thing that really cracked me up this week was a video I saw over at the John Chow site. Yes, it was kind-of a nasty video, but I did laugh my butt off....not literally of course, but that would be awesome if that was possible;)

In closing, I want to say thank you to everyone who has commented on my blog this week. I've tried to reply back to ya'll but things have been crazy 'round here and it's been tough to make the rounds.

Ya'll have a great weekend ya here!!...........I'm off like a herd of turtles.

As most of you know, I blog for money not just for fun. I am part of the Amazon affiliate program and just created my own aStore. It's called A Bit of Everything. Displayed in the store are items for ranch folk, techies, kitchen freaks, and even blogger books on making money & blogging for fun. Please take a look at it and feel free to comment with your thoughts about it and perhaps what YOU might like to see in the store. P.S. If you are looking to buy something, feel free to go through my store first;)

ON A SIDE NOTE: I received my 4th tip for $5 by a general reader. WooHoo!!Thank you Cassie, whoever you are;)

Getting an education is important. If you are wanting to further your education as a Realtor, then you need to know where to find a good Real Estate School. Fastclass.com provides links to nationwide appraisal and real estate schools. Their detailed information on each school is exceptional. Find out the requirements, the hours needed to graduate, and the relevant links to online classes and school websites. Start your career as a realtor with a school that suits your best interests.

If any of you are regular readers of my blog, then you probably have read my Where is a Woman's Place post and know how I feel about it. I received a comment from anonymous shown below. My response is below the comment.

I get so sick of women who stay at home trying to justify their existence by touring that the world would be a better place if all women followed in their footsteps. What a bunch of garbage. Let me paint a picture of them good ol' days when women actually did stay at home. I'll even give you a true story about my own grandmother.

She was a pastors daughter and married my grandfather whom she met in college. My great grandfather only paid for her to go to college for one year because he felt it was a significant enough amount of time for her to land a husband - and she did. My grandfather cheated on her from the onset of their marriage and she had no escape from it as she had 4 children and no job skills other than those a maid would have. She was miserable the rest of her life until she died. My great aunt was in a similar situation. She wanted to be a Pediatrician - loved children - but my uncle didn't want her any place but under his control. It was a relief to her when he died after 20 or so years of marriage.

I am a mother of 2 fantastic kids. I work fulltime and make a great living and so does my husband. In fact, I don't have to work. But I do because I enjoy the financial freedom, the work itself, making worthwhile contributions to society and for the security knowing that if god forbid something ever happened to my husband, I wouldn't be whoring myself trying to scratch out a living to support my children.

I find it amusing that people (men especially) are trying to push so hard the "beauty" of motherhood and that rah rah rah and how important it is to stay at home with kids. Well, if it's so very honorable and important, they can get off their butt and stay home with their own kids and give up their careers, hopes, dreams, ambitions and otherwise lives. They can trade it all in for raising children.

I somehow think it's better for BOTH parents to be equal custodians of the children they created together and demonstrate how important it is to be able to take care on oneself by both parents holding down jobs. And no, my kids aren't in daycare (which there is nothing wrong with). I work days and my husband works nights so we both participate in the raising of our children.

Men get an automatic station of priveledge in life. They get to make a way for themselves, realize their hopes and dreams, have a wife and kids with minimal personal and career sacrifice. Women get the drudgery. I for one will not sit by quietly and accept my "position" in life. I made something of myself. And my children are going to be better for it.

Lilith

13 Things I Love

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!


Please leave a comment after you submit your link.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
thursday thirteen

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy BIIIIRTHDAY dear marrrraaaaanus..........HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

UPDATE: We have a winner who is nameless. They left a comment as anonymous with the correct answer which is Kevin Fowler~~Senorita Mas Fina. It's a good song. Listen to Senorita Mas Fina at esnips.

Now for the winner. I need you to contact me with your name, blog, and email. You can Contact Me via email. You get put into a drawing for $10 bucks.

Next weeks will be easier I promise! Thanks for playing everyone.

It seems that everyone is having a hard time with this one. I knew it would be hard because it's NOT someone like George Strait or Toby Keith. It is country and the initials of the singer is K.F. Remember you must name the song AND title. Good luck! ANOTHER UPDATE~~~I MADE THE SNIPPET LONGER !!! SOMEBODY HAS TO BE ABLE TO GUESS NOW;) THIS IS THE LAST HINT GUYS SO GOOD LUCK AGAIN.

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN! All you have to do is Name that Tune. I have provided a very small snippet of a song and you have to post a comment with your guess. You need to name the Title and Artist of the song. The FIRST one who answers correctly wins. Please..only 1 guess per comment but guess as many times as you like:) You have until Thursday 11:00am cst. to guess. No hints will be given, unless I'm feeling generous;)

What do you win? Some link love of course. Although, my blog is still a big fat (PR) O right now, I'm hoping it will go up with the next update. Nevertheless, traffic is traffic right? You will also get put into a monthly drawing of $10.00 payable via PayPal. In other words, there are 5 Wednesdays in August so you have at least a 1 in 5 chance of winning the $10.

You can read more about it and get an idea of how it works by checking out the first Name that Tune Contest I held.

With that said----Let's get this party started! Good luck!

I often wonder why people choose to do drugs. I'm assuming they are weak--That they have no self-esteem and low self-confidence. Am I wrong to assume this? I grew up seeing drug users just like everyone else but had the unfortunate experience to live with a druggie.



I remember the first time I was offered pot. I'm 14 and driving with some of my best friends down the "drag". Diane pulled out some ready-to-smoke pot and asked if I wanted a hit. My first reaction was shocked because I had no idea that they did that sort of thing and my second reaction was NO. Why did I say no? I could have easily said "sure, I'll try it"........


There was a time when I didn't live with my mom and lived with my dad. (who has spent most of his life in jail and is better off there) I remember coming home from school one day, walking into the kitchen, and seeing my dad laying there. He had slobber coming from his mouth, a band around his arm, and a needle hanging from a vein. It was heroin. He had just "shot up" and was in la-la land. When you see your dad or anyone in that kind of situation, you have 2 choices. You can be like that or not. I chose not. I knew instantly that I didn't want any part of that in my life. But WHY was this so clear to me, why wasn't I curious about it. There was heroin and needles everywhere, why didn't I try it?....


I have always been independent and strong willed. I never did what everyone else was doing or tried to be something I wasn't. I was me and if people didn't like who I was, I didn't care. I was a leader, not a follower.


I didn't do drugs because I didn't want to and it's that plain and simple. I thought it was stupid and it just made everyone else look stupid. I could never understand why other people didn't think like me, why they felt the need to TRY this or that. I've never sat down and asked my dad how he started using drugs and why. To me, it's an easy choice. Just say NO!

It seems like everyone is having plastic surgery done and if you're gonna be worked on Dr. Rey is your man! Hec, he can work on me anytime;) I love to watch his show, mainly because I am just amazed at the differences in the people having some work done and partly just cause I like to watch him. I think it's amusing how he examines women after they have completely healed from their breast augmentation and he, ever so gently, "rounds" them out with his hands and says "those are perfect..they turned out beautiful".

BEFORE _______AFTER
AND

I love easy contests and right now DearCrissy.com is having a super easy one. All you have to do is write 50 words about her site and you could be the big winner of 50 smackaroos! 50 for $50, I mean how easy is that!! I am fairly new to her blog but liking it more and more everyday. The layout is simple and clean and she has some funny category names. I hope her aspirations to be a full time artist can come true one day. If you have a passion for viewing art then look at some of Crissy's Art over and consider a piece for yourself. She does custom pieces and even sells some on ebay. If you just love Art, then head on over and start a discussion with her. Who knows, you could become the closes of friends.

I will be getting my own website and domain soon and would really love to hear who you think the best web hosts are. You cantell me who it is and why with a comment.


UPDATE..I took the poll down because it was slowing my page way down. Just leave a comment if you want or vote at B Money Savvy

Now, I totally don't want to do this BUT I am going to do it because I am trying to get over the whole pictures of me phobia. As I have said before, most fat girls don't like to have their photo taken, especially when the camera needs to be on landscape mode, and I'm at the top of that list but I WILL DO IT.

If you want to join in this weekly meme, you can do so by participating in the Self Portrait Sunday over at Digi-Cass.

I noticed everyone using their own hand to take the picture of themselves, but since that would mean even a more close up of my fat face, I decided to use my timer on my camera!! AND...I didn't even put my make up on! Sorry ya'll had to see me like that:( Well, I guess I've delayed long enough. DrumRoll please~~~~~~~~~~~~

ME AND MY FATHER-IN-LAW'S NEW COON PUP

So I was going to do a Sunday special but since I will be participating in a new weekly meme called Sunday Self Portrait, I will be calling it "The Saturday Special". This is basically a recap of what happened all week just in case you missed something. Here we go:

If you're blogging to please the world, forget about it. You'll end up with blog depression. Quit worrying about everyone else and blog for yourself.

I submitted my site to qaudium32's directory and have received a huge increase in traffic. Thank you! You can submit your blog too. He also has some great internet tools you can use.

You still have time to enter in a few contests. You can see my entry, In Memory, into Kuanyin's blog. Even if you don't know what the f does C stand 4 in Cman's contest, you should still enter. Your lucky guess could win you a $100. And of course, you can still Subscribe 2 Win in my contest as well!

If you're a guy and need to know how to Keep Your Woman Happy, check out my tips. And if you're a gal needing to know how to Keep Your Man Happy, then I also got some tips for ya'll too.

If you're into forums and making money online, then you might be interested in DoshTalk. And if you want your own website without the cost, then look at my article at my B Money Savvy site called Blogspot to Website 4 Free.

That's all for now folks. Thanks for visitin' and come back soon!

If you are significantly overweight, chances are you've thought about lap-band surgery. It basically makes your stomach smaller so you feel full sooner. This may seem like an extreme method to lose weight for some, however, it is essential to living a healthy life for others. If this is something you have been considering, check out journeylite.com to see if this is an option for you.

I am in no mood for blogging today so I'll just ask these questions...Are you sick of looking at my blog? Do the colors get on your nerves? What would you like to see? Or do you even give a dang? Leave a comment or don't, whatever.

I actually posted this on my money blog but thought I would put here too just to send some of the little traffic I have his way.

After days and days of trying to figure out what the f does C stand 4 over at Cman's Money Page, I have finally decided to give an answer. I wanted to pick one that no one else has picked so here it goes----COWBOY. It's the first thing that came to mind with the letter C....I wonder why:)

You can enter his contest too by guessing what the C in Cman stands for. If you guess it right, you could be the winner of $100 smackaroos! If there are no correct guesses there will still be a nifty prize for one lucky loser;)

I encourage you, not only, to enter his contest but also to browse through his articles. He writes some valuable content on how to make money online and wants to help you have a profitable and productive blogging venture.

Don't forget to enter my subscribe 2 win contest....Just click on the big yellow badge to your right.

I'm often asked how I met my husband, what does he look like, etc... so I thought I'd share the boring story with ya.

It was August of 92' when me and my girl were cruisin' downtown in my 280ZX. (Yeah, I was the cool one;) We saw these 5 guys with cowboy hats all squished up in a itty bitty car. They were all brothers. We drove past them and one of them stuck his tongue out at me. (REAL mature!) I looked at my girl and said "he's the one". Well, later that night me and the "posse" were hangin' out at the Village SuperMarket parking lot when guess who rolls up? No, not all the guys...instead it was the one guy, who stuck his tongue out, inbetween 2 girls. The driver asked me if I had a problem with him, pointing at the tongue sticker outer, and asked why were me and my friend making fun of him and the other guys. I responded with "we weren't making fun of anyone, we were flirting but if you want to get out of the car we can settle it right now". (Yep, I was also a badass:) AND, I had backup so I could talk smack. The guy said forget about it and they ended up leaving. That guy is, of course, my husband. We basically had 3 run ins with eachother in a weeks time and being young and stupid, I fell in love. School started in a week and he was leaving in a week to Kingsville to work on the King Ranch. I was sad and apparently desperate. I skipped my first week of my Junior year, called in sick to Kmart, and took what money I had in my purse & headed to Kingsville. Didn't tell nobody by my girl. I made it all the way to San Antonio and then ran out of gas. I was out of money, it was late at night, and I was a bit scared. I flagged a car down and said I would sell them my bracelet for some gas money and that I had lost my wallet at some other town I made up. The man offered me a place to stay for the night and he would give me gas money in the morning. So I went. WHAT IN THE HELL WAS I THINKING?? It turned out that he was a juvenile probation officer. He gave me money the next morning and sent me on my way. I finally arrived in Kingsville but now what? I grabbed a phone book and looked up the last name. I found a few and picked one. Got directions to the house and headed on over. You should have seen his face when I got there. Shocked would be an understatement. I mean, we had only known eachother for 2 weeks!! I stayed there and we got to know eachother. I did have to take the car back home because my parents reported it stolen but I took a bus back to Kingsville. This was in August of 92' and we married in January of 93'. We have been together since.

Woohoo!! I just received a Rockin' Girl Blogger Award from Christy over at Writer's Reviews. I guess that makes me too cool 4 you;) FAKE...just messin' with ya. Now it's my turn to pass this awesome award to 5 other Rockin' Girl Bloggers!

Rock out ladies!

Eternal Flux

Call Me When You Get There

My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings

The Inconvenient Truth

My Single Mom Life Kat is a true rocker and probably already has the award but she deserves it again!

I was very excited to get the opportunity to write about Alzheimer's disease and spread the word on how YOU can help.
One of my best friend's mother has this disease and the effects it can cause can be devastating.

I remember being at a rodeo with my friend when her father called crying and half hysterical. He said her mom was screaming and crouching down scared because she didn't know who this man in her house was. She thought her husband was some stranger that broke into the house to hurt her. It was so sad to see. I just wanted to cry. Memory loss and hallucinations are just a couple of effects of Alzheimer's.

There are things you can do to help end Alzheimer's. Visit the Alzheimer's Association and get involved with the Alzheimer's Memory Walk that is going on nationwide. You can sign up as a Team Captain, Team Walker, or an Independent Walker. You can check to see if there is a walk happening in your area. I put in Texas and found 3 cities that are very close to me that I can participate in. There is also a sign up link so you can join right online. I do know they are in need of Team Captains, so if you are capable of doing this and want to help, please sign up and contribute yourself to the cause.

If you can't join in the walk, there are still many more things that you can do to help. The Alzheimer's Association holds an array of fundraisers for this cause. You can also simply make a donation if you wish. Anything will help and will be greatly appreciated.
Alzheimer's Association

Well, it's a shame that you didn't read my RSS FEED the other day because I posted secret message #1. Don't worry if you missed out on that one because you still have one more chance to get entered to win the jackpot. I'll be posting secret message #2 before August 31. So be sure to subscribe and watch for that message!!

If you haven't entered yet, you can still subscribe to my feed for a chance to win the pot.

I started out with 26 subscribers and now have 42. This is a difference of 16. Which means....the pot started with $20 and each additional subscriber is worth $1, this totals $36 bucks that's in the pot and up for grabs!

See full details on how you can Subscribe 2 Win.

UPDATE: WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!! Amy over at Whatever I Feel Like was the big winner. One of the things I noticed on her "about me" page is that she was born with 40% loss of hearing in both her ears AND YET managed to stomp you other losers in listening and figuring out my snippet this week.... She is very friendly and has a simple but eye appealing blog with some great posts. Check it out!! No disrespect to you Amy by the way. Just givin' the other ones a hard time.

The song is STROKE ME by BILLY SQUIRE! You can listen to it here: Stroke Me

I will be moderating comments on Wednesdays ONLY.

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN! All you have to do is Name that Tune. I have provided a very small snippet of a song and you have to post a comment with your guess. You need to name the Title and Artist of the song. The FIRST one who answers correctly wins. Please..only 1 guess per comment but guess as many times as you like:) You have until Thursday 11:00am cst. to guess. No hints will be given, unless I'm feeling generous;)

What do you win? Some link love of course. Although, my blog is still a big fat (PR) O right now, I'm hoping it will go up with the next update. Nevertheless, traffic is traffic right? You will also get put into a monthly drawing of $10.00 payable via PayPal. In other words, there are 5 Wednesdays in August so you have at least a 1 in 5 chance of winning the $10.

You can read more about it and get an idea of how it works by checking out the first Name that Tune Contest I held.

HERE WE GO: I love this song! I hope this one will be a bit harder but I guess we'll see:) Good luck!

I've been tagged by Jackie over at Call Me When You Get There so here we go! Here are the required rules of this meme.....

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.

4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

My middle name is LANELL.

Loving my body means loving the fat..and I don't.

A horse bucked me off into a cactus and I landed right on my fat butt.

Never put yourself in jeans that cut off your circulation...yes, I've tried.

Eating krispy kreme donuts is only 1 reason why I'm fat.

Lack of a booty does not help me get into a smaller size.

Living next to Mexico makes me want to eat tamales...but not theirs.

I'm tagging~~~~It try to tag people that I don't know too well just to get a sense of who they are.

Eternal Flux

Thoughtprints

The Creative Nerd

Tip Tail

Tina Silva's Blog

Sparkle Motion

I was browsing some blogs when I came across Kuanyin's blog and her contest. All she wants you to do is subscribe and then watch the video and share a memory or feeling in her comments. I chose to blog about it because it brings a very special memory for me.

I happen to love Elvis but not as much as my mother-in-law. She would blush at the mention of his name:) When I played the video, it actually brought me to tears. Just the fact that it's Elvis makes me think of my mother-in-law but when I listened to the song it was a bit overwhelming for me. You see, I lost my mother-in-law to cancer 2 yrs, 4mths, and 18days ago. The cancer came without notice and consumed her in such a short amount of time. We didn't even have a chance to............................She was the most special and most wonderful person I have ever met and didn't deserve to be taken so soon.

I dedicate this post and this song to my mother-in-law, Anna.

If you would like to donate to the Skin Cancer Foundation, please check out my donate page for the relevant links.

We spent most of Saturday at an auction that we only won 2 tubes of horse wormer:( and then at 4:00, we left to Alpine for the ranch rodeo. It was fun but hot and Truett (my littlest) was chiflado, as usual, when we're in town. We got home around 2:00 in the am, went to bed, woke up with the runt at 4:45 and then permantaly at 6:30. So very little sleep to say the least. Then we got ready and left for Odessa at 8:30 to go school shopping. We found most everything we needed until it came time for the jeans and school supplies. After 4 stores and an extra 20 miles to Midland, we found the right size of Wranglers for my son. Now off to school supplies at the infamous Wal-mart. We found everything EXCEPT half our list. I couldn't believe how crowded it was and how empty the shelves were. Geez, they didn't even have regular notebook paper for cryin' out loud. After spending about 1 1/2 hours there, it was time to check out. The lines went out to the clothes, of course and we ended up waiting in line for 56 minutes to finally check out. Why in the hell do you have 25 lanes if you're not gonna open them up to check people out!? Absolutely ridiculous!
To try and make up for it, my husband took us to see Rush Hour 3. Freakin' hilarious!!! We cracked up the whole time and can't wait to get the DVD. After the movie, we had to stop back at Wal-Mart on our way out to get some cold stuff like milk. Now this is at 11:30pm and the line wait this time was about 32 minutes. Finally, we are on our way home!! It's a 2hr. drive and we ended up home at about 2:30am. Talk about a looooong drive home. We all woke up at 6:00 this morning with the little guy so now I'm trying to get the umf to get dressed and mail off the xbox we sold on ebay last night. "sigh".
I'm playin' 20 questions at over at Eternal Flux right now so if you want to play, head on over. PEACE OUT!

What is blog depression? It's a mood disorder that can lead to loss of pleasure on the Internet, feelings of sadness, and passive aggressiveness moaning and a steady lengthening of intervals between posts. Most bloggers feel down and even find their own blog sickening to look at every now and then. It's just a natural reaction to self induced pressures of blogging. When all these feelings are severe or prolonged, a blogger can lose all sense and become angry at an undertaking that is completely voluntary.


The fact is, if you do not blog for your own pleasure, then you are destined to have blog depression. You need to ask yourself, "Why do I blog?". You absolutely HAVE to blog about what you love!


If you dread blogging what your next post is gonna be about and you are now relying on beer & snacks to get your through it, then you are in a deep blog hole. Just remember, no one cares about your blog as much as you do because they have their own so don't overwhelm yourself with the pressure to post.


What you need to do to get out of your blog depression:

Get a freakin' grip. A blog is open ended and, unless your trying super hard to sell something, it really has no specific purpose. Dang it, just relax a bit. If people like your blog they'll come back whether or not you missed one post.


Take a break. The world is not going to end because you stopped contributing for a day or so. Go eat some donuts or something.


Blog for yourself. If you're blogging about something you don't really even care about but are doing it because everyone else is doing it, then you are most likely gonna fail and fall into "blog depression". Blog about what you know and what you like...you can expand yourself later on when you're comfortable and happy with your blog for what it is.


If you're sick & tired of the whole dang thing, then change it. After all, it IS YOUR blog, right? Maybe you just aren't cut out for the whole thing. Sometimes you just gotta know when to fold em'.


Don't let it ruin your life and don't waste perfectly good URLs.

I have had few jobs since I've been married but have enjoyed every single one of them and hope to work outside the home again one day. I received praises on my work ethic, people skills, and my leadership. I even have letters of recommendation to show off;) Now I know my work experience is minimal but I thought I would offer, what I think, are some essentials in excellent job performance.

First and foremost, LISTEN to what is being asked of you. Nothing makes you look dumber than having to have your boss tell you twice. DO what is asked of you......most times that is what is required. We get ourselves in trouble when we try and read the boss's mind and add our own take on the assignment.
DO NOT gossip about your co-workers, don't listen either. Never speak badly of the boss, because you never know if it will get back to them.
DO NOT try to answer questions if you are not sure of the answer. Answer, quickly and with authority the ones you do know. Do that and soon people will think you know it all because they only remember you always giving the right answer.
BE ON TIME, BE NEAT.....perception means a lot. Look like a bum and be treated like one. Look like a pro and be treated like one.
Understand the time table for assignments, use the time you have to be accurate. Getting things done ahead of schedule is great, but only if it's right.
Never blame others, never lie.....truth may sometimes hurt but you'll garner respect because of it. And the bonus here is that the boss will believe you when you have to give an answer.
NEVER save bad news until after the fact. If something is going poorly, report the problem and look for help. If there is a problem, try and have a workable solution to discuss once you have made the boss aware of the situation.
I could go on and on.......but I think you should have the idea.

Cman has been asking for a follow up so here it is.
This was much harder to write than the one about Keeping Your Man Happy. Different women need & want different things. I personally have different wants than most because I am a bit more old fashion. With that said, here are 5 things to keep your woman happy.

1. Lovin' not Bangin'~~It takes more than sayin' "you wanna do it?" to get us in the mood. Gentle kisses on our neck, down to our side, back up, and whispering something (sweet not vulgar) in our ear would be a great start. We don't appreciate the whole wham bam thank you maam. And forgodsakes, don't turn right around and go to sleep. We want to feel loved not like a whore. Just hold us for a little bit. Is it really that hard to do?

2. The Need for Green~~As shallow as it may sound, money can definitely keep a woman happy. Yes we like to shop and whatever but really it's about feeling secure and financially stable. And yes, I LOVE to work and have my OWN money but I also like knowing that my man is still going to be able to take care of me, the house, kids, or whatever.

3. Learn to CHAT~~In other words, learn how to make small talk, as well as, listen. You must be enthusiastic, interested in the woman, and say more than just "yeah" or "nah" or nodding and laughing.
For example, I just got home with my new shirt (that took me an hour to figure out if I looked good in it or not) and ask...."What do you think of my new shirt?" Don't just say, "Yeah, that looks nice." Say something like, "Yeah, that's looks real nice...why don't you try it on for me?"
Now, we know you really don't want to see us in our new shirt (maybe if it was lingerie;) but we really do care about what you think of how we look. It's important to US!
And yes, we just want you to LISTEN to us when were talking no matter how uninteresting our stories are. Please quit watching the TV and pay attention to your woman!

4. What Special Days?~~Women want to be acknowledged on birthdays, anniversaries, & yes..Valentine's Day. I know many women who want gifts but I am not like that at all! One year, back in our poor days, my husband didn't have any money to buy me anything but took the time to take my lipstick and write Happy Anniversary, Lori...I Love you. OH MY GOSH...that is the sweetest thing. I woke up, went to brush my teeth, and just couldn't stop smiling because he actually THOUGHT of that idea and then took the time to follow through with writing it. He, sometimes, will stop on the side of the road somewhere, grab some wildflowers, and bring them to me. Those are the things that mean the most to me. Not the other material crap. Just put some thought into it. More than 2 minutes too please.

5. Personality Package~~We want our man to have humor, sincerity, compassion, and confidence.... not arrogance, not dominance, not one-upsmanship, not useless bravado, not macho heroics. No pu@#y whipped men but no needy little boys either. Just a genuinely nice guy WITH a backbone;)
If you don't know whether or not you fall into the NICE GUY category or the BASTARD category, here is some info that might help you figure that out. Find your in-between to make and keep your woman happy.

Mosey on over to JohnCow.com and the cows will give you a chance to win one hec of a moooooolah prize! Win a Playstation3, or an Xbox360, a Nintendo Wii, an iPhone ......pick yer prize and ther gonna buy it. Ther ranch resides on the greenest web hosting grass you can graze on. So all you bulls, cows, heifers, and steers trot yerself over to his ranch and see what the mad cow is really all about!

UPDATE: We have a winner and it went fast. Congratulations to Kalamaf over at Kalamaf Drackonsbane. This site looks to be all about entertainment, including games and movies. I love the header and think it works perfectly with the rest of the blog. Head on over and check it out! Thanks to everyone who played. See ya next Wednesday!

The guess and correct answer was BABY GOT BACK by SirMixAlot.

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN! All you have to do is Name that Tune. I have provided a very small snippet of a song and you have to post a comment with your guess. You need to name the Title and Artist of the song. The FIRST one who answers correctly wins. Please..only 1 guess per comment but guess as many times as you like:) You have until Thursday 2:00pm cst. to guess. No hints will be given.

What do you win? Some link love of course. Although, my blog is still a big fat (PR) O right now, I'm hoping it will go up with the next update. Nevertheless, traffic is traffic right? You will also get put into a monthly drawing of $10.00 payable via PayPal. In other words, there are 5 Wednesdays in August so you have at least a 1 in 5 chance of winning the $10.

You can read more about it and get an idea of how it works by checking out the first Name that Tune Contest I held.

HERE WE GO: This is one SOOOOOO EASY so be fast!!! I was sooo busy the last few days that I didn't get to spend "quality" time to work on it. Between rodeos, auctions, weddings, shopping for school, registering for school and whatever else..there just wasn't enought time. I promise to make it harder and better next week. Good luck!

I LOVE scary movies!!! The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of my all time favorites. You knew when you heard that chainsaw that he was coming but where do you go??!!....AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Too late, you're dead. I think the element of surprise never ends but the mask is probably the main thing that creeps me out, which leads me to Halloween the movie. The release date is August 31, 2007 and I can't wait to see it. I just watched the trailer for it and I think it will top the previous Halloween sequels. The element of surprise is there and the mask(s) are terrifying as always! And, of course, the "sh, sh, sh" gets me every time! I hate hearing that sound in the movie...you know he's right there watching you.

By the looks of the trailer, Rob Zombie really gave us the "fear factor" with this movie. It seems to be more fast paced than the other Halloween movies. This looks like it has many new characters too. Rob actually requested his new actors not watch the original so they would develop their own character and not imitate the original actors. I think that's awesome. I hate seeing actors trying to be just like the actors in previous sequels. Rob said the movie is filled with nonstop action and surprise. I think you can expect a completely different movie than the first Halloween but with the same storyline.

If you want a taste of what this movie is all about, then check out the trailer and mark your calendars so you don't miss Halloween the movie!!

Taxes are such a pain but they have to be done. Every year we need to know what the tax rules are and what credits are available to us. TaxCreditResources.org provides all this. You can find information on earned income tax credits, child tax credits, and even state tax credits. If you don't know what credits you qualify for then you could be missing out on extra cash. It's important to understand the qualifications of each credit and utilize them in your tax return if applicable. You can also print out the information and qualifications for your state to use as a reference later. Don't let the government keep money that could be yours. Check them out and be prepared for the next tax season!

WOW!! I received an email from someone in need of advice on the subject of abortion. Because this is such a controversial issue, I will not expose this person. AND, I will not tolerate hateful comments. You are more than welcome to state your opinion and to offer suggestions or advice but if there are any really hateful comments that only give back negativity, then I will delete your comment. With that said, here is what she wrote:

We received some news this morning that a little girl drowned. That little girl was 11 and was my son's first crush. I broke the news to my son this morning because I didn't want him to hear from someone at school. He's been in his room crying and it just breaks my heart. I don't know what to say to him or anything. I'm at a loss.

I am so mad about this whole thing. How can you leave your child, who you know can't swim, with a friend at their swimming pool unsupervised??? I swear I just want to strangle her mother!!!!! WHERE WERE THE ADULTS?? Our job as adults and, more importantly, as parents are to protect our children from harm. There are some things that can't be helped but this is not one of them. It was the parent's responsibility to make sure the children were supervised. More than likely, there was an assumption that everything would be ok but you should never assume and always take precaution!

I'll be posting a recap of what all has gone on through the week with my blog and perhaps some other blogs. This will keep things fresh and give the people who missed some articles a chance to see them. This will be done every Sunday. Here we go!

There are a few contests going on right now that you don't want to miss. If you haven't entered my Subscribe 2 Win, you can still do so. And every Wednesday I hold a Name that Tune contest, so be sure to check in this Wednesday for the new one! You can also enter to Win Jay as a Slave over at OnlineOpportunity.org. You can check out my entry if you want. Cman over at Cman's Money Page is also holding a contest. All you have to do is figure out what the C stands for in Cman and you win $100!.

If you are looking to move from Blogspot and get your own website AND for free, then you should check out Make Your Own Website for FREE. I wrote my own thoughts on this at my B Money Savvy site.

Be sure to check out my site. I change the game widget every week. I know several have said they enjoyed the Frogger..so do I, in fact, a little too much. Sometimes I can't tear myself away from it. This weeks game will be Pac-Man. An all-time classic! I also post a new recipe under the Cowcooks header. They are all recipes that I have made on the ranches. You can check out the "Blog of the Day" too. I change that every couple of days. Who knows?...It could be your blog that show up there!

Keep Your Man Happy with my 5 easy tips;) Men like it this article, women..not so much.

Everyone have a great Sunday and wonderful week!

I’ve been tagged by Tiny Dog Blog, for a one word meme. You just have to answer the questions and you can only use a single word for the answer. I like this meme because you learn more about the person doing the meme. I am tagging Lauri over at Laurigami.com because I am new to her blog and would like to know her a bit more.


1. Where is your cell phone? car
2. Relationship? hitched
3. Your hair? untrendy
4. Work? unappreciated
5. Your sister? gansta
6. Your favorite thing? dancing
7. Your dream last night? skinny
8. Your favorite drink? Dr.Pepper
9. Your dream car? Dodge
10. The room you’re in? den
11. Your shoes? barefoot
12. Your fears? BEES
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? healthy
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? family
15. What are you not good at? singing
16. Muffin? banana
17. One of your wish list items? weightloss
18. Where you grew up? Sweetwater
19. Last thing you did? napped
20. What are you wearing? little
21. What aren’t you wearing? bra
22. Your pet? Dogs
23. Your computer? Dell
24. Your life? rollercoaster
25. Your mood? lazy
26. Missing? mind
27. What are you thinking about right now? blogs
28. Your car? Truck
29. Your kitchen? Messy
30. Your summer? boring
31. Your favorite color? brown
32. Last time you laughed? today
33. Last time you cried? 2005
34. School? redo
35. Love? everyone

We've all used the yellow pages but what about finding someone online? PeekYou is a unique search engine that allows you to do just that. Not only can you find that persons websites and ALL their profiles, but it also provides the freedom to edit your information or make it "unlisted" if you choose to do so.

I found it very interesting to learn several of my friends had a blog and I didn't even know it! I even did my own name to see what came up and was surprised at how many profiles I had. It shows my blogs, my social networks, and basically many of the places that I've registered with. I can even add my own photo and usernames that I have used in all the different forums and such. Here's a screenshot to give you an idea of what it displays.

I think PeekYou search engine is unique and user friendly, so head on over and Take a Peak at your profile and if you don't have one; set one up.

I was able to receive an invitation to Pownce. Pownce is the newest and coolest social network right now. Pownce is a way to send stuff to your friends. What kind of stuff? You can send just about anything: music, photos, messages, links, events, and more. You can do it all on our web site, or install our lightweight desktop software that lets you get out of the browser.

I have 4 invites to give away so if you want one, act fast. The first 4 need to Contact Me with your email. Once I receive the first 4 people, I will update this page to let you know that I have no more invites.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a slave for just a few hours? OH YEAH! I'm all over that!

You can enter Jay's Win Me as a Slave Contest just by participating in a few unpainful tasks. Including but not limited to, blogging about his contest/blog on your site, "Fame" him and his website, favorite Online Opportunity with Technorati, and whatever else the hec you can think of.

If I could have Jay as my slave for a few hours, I would crack the whip and make him

A friend of ours was in the process of getting a divorce because her husband was cheating on her and I remember her folding clothes saying "Look what I got myself". It was a pair of G-String undeez. I asked her "You've never worn those before?" And she replied "No, but since the divorce I wanted to try something new." All I could think about was...{why didn't you wear that for your man??}

Now please don't think I'm condoning that behavior and don't think I'm putting the blame on her, BUT I do think we as women could work a little harder to keep our man happy.

With that said, here are some things you can do to keep your man looking at you and not someone else.

1. CLEAN UP~~Don't wear sweats everyday, put some makeup on, brush your hair, and for goodness sake...don't go around wearing stained t-shirts. Did you look like crap when you first met? NO...so why would you think he would want to see you look like crap now. You can fix yourself up in 10min. Take the time to do it...I promise, it'll make a difference.
2. FLIRT~~When you're sitting there watching TV, wink at your husband or if you're at a restaurant, rub your legs against his or when your out in public but have a moment alone...give him a passionate kiss. It may seem silly but a man wants to feel "wanted" regardless of what you may think.
3. HE DA MAN~~A man NEEDS to feel like a man. Show him some respect. Instead of telling him something...make it sound like you're asking in a way. I know this is going to be a tough one for you independent gals. Here's an example: I want to go see a good friend of mine who lives in Texas. Instead of saying "I'm going to go see my friend..I'm leaving tomorrow at 1:00" you can say "I'm thinking about going to see my friend in Texas...I was thinking about leaving around 1:00 tomorrow...What do you think?" Why do this?? It makes him feel like you respect him enough to ask what he thinks and, more importantly when he says "that sounds good", it will make him feel like HE made the decision to let you go. Kinda lame really but it works.
4. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH~~Don't be so bossy (which actually goes back to he da man), quit nagging so much, don't bring up the past while arguing, and act like you are interested in whatever he's saying...even if you aren't. I think women are bossy in general, especially today's women but nobody liked the kid who was bossing everyone around so why would your man like it! For crying out-loud...quit freakin' nagging so much. Who cares if he leaves his plate on the table, his socks on the floor, or forgets to pick up that "something" you asked him to get you at the store. There are more important things in life to worry about besides piddly crap like that. Arguing can be healthy sometimes but don't go bringing up the past. It does no good and flat out just makes things worse. And it's childish. Listen to your man. I could care less about what my husband traded for with his other buddies but when he's telling me about it, I listen. Why? Because he's trying to have a conversation with me. I think, most men, by nature don't have the best communicating skills when they are talking to their woman so any conversation he tries to make is an effort and should be acknowledged.
5. BEHIND CLOSED DOORS~~Hmmmmm.....I wonder what this means;) Get things started. Don't wait for your man to make all the moves. YOU take the initiative and make him feel wanted. They need that to you know. You don't have to buy lingerie either. Find a t-shirt (no, not the stained one), cut some slits in the side, and throw on some purty panties. (no, not the grandma ones either)....or not;) You can be that lady when you're around people and in public but when you get behind closed doors, make him feel glad to be a man!! That's part of song by the way:)

This is all advice from a woman who's been married for 14 1/2yrs. You can use it or not but these are a few reasons why we are still together and still very much in love.