Life has been lifing like never before!

 I want to start off by saying my health journey since July had been interesting, but fruitful. I’m now on a daily migraine medication and have a breakthrough that is working. I lost 20 pounds with E. Coli. 10 out of 10 do not recommend but I’m thankful for the weight loss.! I’m back to where I was when I was riding Lynx! I have gained new students for my lesson program. My horse trailer got a reboot and I love it! I will have to find a place to go with it just to enjoy it! See, it had storm damage so I decided to reinvest in it because it’s the perfect size for me and I love it. But it needed things. It got a poly coat on the roof. 15 year leak proof warranty! Bar M Coatings did a great job! Tell them I sent you! It got cabinets! Over the couch and in the bed area! I have room for my stuff! It now has a fridge too! I also had the rubber flooring that seals the aluminum done in the horse and living area! Absolutely love it! Lots of little things that just needed fixing. It’s home and its maiden voyage was to the vet with 3 geldings to get their coggins tests and to get Bob and Whiskey moving better. All I have to say is OUCH to that vet bill.  It should be worth it! 

I have had some other interesting things going on too! Duke is doing good with Dock Diving! I’m meeting new people and finding out who my friends are in the process. I’m learning that the friends that are happy when I’m happy are awesome! I love to cheer them on ad well! Sure beats a toxic friendship. It’s nice to have a handful of folks I can call on and they can call on me! Dock Diving and agility for Duke is going well and I look forward to competing in those things in the future! 

Back to the horses. Today we had a big vet trip. It’s been a hot minute since I have invested in the performance of my horses other than feed and feet! Praying that they are happy now! However, I realize that now I need to start riding again! Lynx is still chronic and light duty. Bob and Whiskey will be my main rides. It’s time. They also got their feet done today. So Sunday, they should be ready to roll! Of course my hip is not happy about this. I’m not sure my hip will ever be happy again. My brain will love it though! I need to ride! I plan to start working Whiskey down good before swinging a leg on him. Bob also needs a warm up before riding but he is so sweet. It’s going to be nice! Then to decided what I want to do with them. Like what is my riding identity now? Both are cow horses so perhaps I will work towards sorting. For right now, I’m going to work towards ride. 

My kiddo is playing football and his team is ranked first right now! He just finished up summer baseball! He had a cross country competition today. He is doing good in school and in sports! My hubby and I just celebrated 17 years of marriage and on October 29th, 25 years together! We plan to have a date night soon enough! So for the Myers Mini Ranch, we are doing good! By God’s Grace and Glory, we shall live happily ever after! 

This is a Story About….. A Dog

 I have been owned by a lot of dogs in my life.  Ruger, my first ever blue heeler. He was a chunk of a pup and finished out around 60#. Ruger was my protector, best friend, and side kick. He was always down for a good time. He loved to lay in the bed of the truck at the barn and wait for some stranger to lean on my truck and pop up to scare the piss right out of them. He came by it naturally. I was mama. He was my boy. Heaven  forbid some jerk came into my house yelling at me. It happens when you are in college and your friends have boy friends that get a little whiskey bent. That dog came out from behind me, grabbed that 250# boy by the leg and made him cry. Why? He threatened me. In MY HOUSE. He didn’t break the skin, just his wrangler jeans and his Lucesse boots….Ruger put his life before mine more times than I can count. Sadly, he passed away after my husband and I got married. He had a brain tumor. 

Ruger was the dog I needed when I was single and/or traveling alone to races or just cross the state to see Jeff (my now husband of 17 years)

Before Ruger passed, we gained Colt45. Now I thought Colt45 would be mine, funny thing about heelers is, they pick their person and that one picked my husband. So I took him on a trip to a race after laying Ruger to rest and he puked all over my truck! Six hours one way and I was done. I had a horrible weekend but saw some cute little puppies riding around in the saddle with some kids. My friend Michelle and I had like $67.76 between the two of us and this was way before Venmo and cash app! Well, the last day of that race we decided to find these puppies. The one I wanted was the red female I had held in my saddle. Gauge. We found the pups at a trailer and then found the owner while carrying my new pup around until she found us. I explained my financial situation and my friend Michelle and I presented her with the cash…. She had them up for $350. Since she didn’t sell a single pup out of two litters, she let me have my baby girl. Baby girl slept on my console the whole way home and I moved Colt45 to a kennel in the LQ of the trailer so he would not puke in my truck. She became MY dog. Gauge went to all the races! She was the princess of the pack! When I got pregnant, she too had morning sickness. Legit. I had to keep her on IBS meds while I was pregnant with my kiddo! She was the bestests! Not Ruger, but the best in different ways. She lived a great life! She got to see my boy grow. She got to see us move twice. She was there for every single win on Lynx! Gah I miss her! Colt45 passed of natural causes at home (totally random) at age 13. Gauge lived to be two months shy of 16. Bless her heart. It had too much fluid build up and she could not breathe most nights. I had her on meds but it was time. 

RIP baby girl. Now I’m leaving some dogs out because I’m focusing on my heelers! Before Gauge got down, after Colt45 passed, we adopted Cole. Dude, I know. His name was from the shelter and it stuck soooo we kept it. Christmas Eve eve 2019, Cole was adopted and brought home! Now this one is a wonder. Zero idea of his age but I’d guess he is around 8-9 now. They said 7 when we got him but no way. He is missing some teeth. Fence jumper from the city life. He can work some horses if you ask. But he LOVES his kennel. He also has a fondness for my husbands shoes. He picked my husband. I told you, these dogs are people pickers! He will mostly listen to me but he is my husband’s dog. Gauge instantly put him in his place at the bottom of the pack. He would sneak on the bed, my side, in the middle of the night to cuddle and be back in his crate when the alarm went off. Literally crates himself. Very reclusive. The day we laid my baby girl to rest, Cole found a new lease on life. I’m not sure what happened but he was like “I’m alpha!” He is not but his confidence was showing! He now enjoys attacking his herding ball and playing with his giggle ball. No more bed snuggles. He said it isn’t worth it. If a shoe or boot goes missing, it’s in his crate. We love him. He is weird. He is loved. 

I added in Slick, Gunther and Gauge

Since Cole is 100% a flight risk, I didn’t really take him to races. In fact, by the time I realized Gauge was deaf and then having heart issues, Vid had hit and my horse was injured so barrel racing has kinda gone flat in my world. But Cole is a good boy! Not sure why his head is so small lol but he is a good boy!

Did I mention that in 2023 I lost two cats to FIP, my baby girl dog and my oldest horse? The last two in the same month. November was HARD. OH and my $700 barn cat, Tater, had his leg amputated. I was feeling really lost without my baby girl aka Gauge. She got me. Like she moved when I moved. She knew my moods. She was chill when I was chill. Happy to be with me at all times. I was crushed. I was casually looking for a pup. I wanted full mask, tail, and the bigger type like Ruger. Good Lord. Puppy prices are high! My good friend Mr. Garrett was going to have his breeder drop a purple female off to me (blue red mix) if I didn’t go get one for myself soon. Keep in mind I still had 3 dogs. Gunther is half lab, half wiener and now 12. Slick is half Aussie half corgi and a Velcro dog, he is now 4, and Cole. Did I need a puppy? No. Did I want another dog that was MINE? Yes. Is Slick mine? Yes. I love Slick but he can be a bit much. I wanted another ACD. Heeler.

Well…… the day I finally told Mr. Garrett to hook me up, I got a call. My friends said they found me a puppy…..oh man, this was a God thing for sure! Meet DUKE! I have never met a more “chill” pup than Duke. That is saying a lot. Did you just read what I typed? I did do DNA on this one because his feet are HUGE. HE IS 13% German Shepard and all the rest is Australian cattle dog with like 1% lab, etc. He wears an ESA tag as he is my ESA. He has gotten to ride in an ambulance with all the sirens going with me and didn’t move. Laid between my legs with his head on my belly. Went into the ER with me and they let him stay. This Dog was sent to me by Ruger, Gauge, and my chocolate lab Jake. I swear God told them to find the right soul for him to put in a pup just for me. He is my dog but he will go along with the boy and dad…. He has more road miles on him since April than any of the others in the pack. He goes everywhere with me. When I’m shopping, he lays at my feet and waits for me to move but only big move, not little move. He is so good that I forgot his age and left the dog door open while I took a nap…woke to a magazine shredded. He started inside then took it outside! He was abandoned in a hotel room at approximately 6-8 weeks old. We have him as a 12/15/23 born baby. On eclipse day, he was following a group of teens that are friends with my kid. Mr. Erik sent me a pic saying “found your dog”. My husband was blocking in my truck so I had to ask permission and he said “so you replaced your horse with a horse, the cats with two cats and now you want a puppy?” As he moved his truck out of the way. This is the one. This one is going to help change me in ways that I need during this season of my life. So when you see me with my 70# heeler cruising around town, just know that he is the bestest dog and God sent him to me.

It’s Complicated

 Y’all, my body is a mystery at this point. I recently (1 month) was diagnosed with a prolapsed bladder, this comes with a lot of other issues. I also met a new pain management doctor whom ordered MRI’s of my whole spine. Top to bottom. He squirted some stuff up my nose that gave me instant relief from my migraine, TMJ, and face pain. He wrote me a script for a very expensive RX then adjusted it to the one I’m on. My MRI showed significant changes since early 2023 🫣. My bladder has fallen half way down and is putting pressure on a lot of things including my spine. My back HURTS. 🙄. I’m getting my medial cluneal nerve block done on both sides on the 25th and more nose stuff on the 18? I also finally get to see the bladder doc on the 22nd. 

So I have been having horrid back pain that runs down the back of my legs. My job today was to drive 339 miles to pick up my son. For some reason I was seeing double, was spinning in my brain and was nauseated. I had trouble swallowing unless I drank something so I drank a lot of water. This made me stop at my best station about at the 1/2 way mark. I grabbed some Dramamine and took it to see if it would clear my vision. I waited, walking my dog and buying food from the bake sale to sponsor local jr high cheerleaders! I decided to start back on my journey.when I came up on Gainesville to get on 35, I was not feeling right. But I decided to try. What’s 180 miles!? Yeah I didn’t make it. By the time I passed the casino my left arm gave up on life. It went to sleep. I was finding the wake up bumps way too often and one car looked like two side by side. I exited at Ardmore and walked myself and ny dog in and almost passed out. They were quick to call the ambulance. My dog got to go with me as I could not leave him in the truck and my dad Ken was an hour and 23=minutes north of me.

Luckily he is smart and tuned into my discomfort instantly.the held his leash for my risky scans with contact that I am allergic too. Like I have an epi pen allergic…the dosed me with Benadryl and steroids before the another round after. At this point, Ken, Gramps and Kolton had arrived.they were able to get my truck, child and Duke back to OKC.

Thank you Lord. They are keeping me for stroke watch.i will have a brain MRI in the am then go from there. My last brain imaging was the week before my hip surgery in JULY 2023. I had “bright spots” a symbol of cluster or complex migraines. I was kept for two nights and sent home.being this far from home and mom’s home has me concerned.luckily I was planning to stay a night in OKC so I have a lot of my stuff. Sadly, my kid has sports on Monday.i have no idea how this will all play out. I don’t need to focus on that right now.in fact, I should be sleeping but my back is killing me and the doct wont order me anything. Why? Because he doesn’t know what’s going on. It’s complicated.likely the bladder is putting pressure on my spine and everything else ( im Constipated) So iamgivibg it go God!

 

It’s All In The Raising…

 Here I am. 45. Married. Raising a 13yo boy in 2024. Y’all, it’s so different from when I was 13! They have little computers in their pockets that can access the world. I didn’t want to get him a phone. But with playing four sports and having after school activities, I decided he could have an iPhone. It’s not a new. But with Apple, I have controls. Two of the biggest issues I’m having are with Google and YouTube. Neither have a filter for 13yo boys if you know what I mean. I can’t lock his login under a specific gmail account that I can lock to keep him off explicit content. I’m over it. I just dumbed his phone down to 9+ for age which doesn’t allow YouTube. I blocked it too. He is blocked from Google. For school, he needs access to Google and he can ask for it. I get the notification immediately and if at school, approve. It’s hard y’all.

Another thing I did was look up websites that mom’s need to block. It was easy to copy those sites to my note pad then input them into his blocked content. Even if you have their music rated for “non explicit”, it will still let him watch rap videos that are explicit 🙄. Yes, it’s a pick your battles situation, but we HAVE TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN! Does it require work on my end? Absolutely. Did I try bark? Yes and it was expensive and also eliminated some things but let others slip by. It is a good idea but didn’t work for me. So I will continue to roll my eyes when he asks for more time for something or access to something else, but it’s worth it.

I also require him to turn his phone into me at night. It’s a MUST. Yes, I do go through his history, photos etc. It’s my job! I read his texts (especially the deleted ones) to make sure we don’t have any other issues. I’d be fine with a flip phone but he had one and broke it on purpose two years ago. Apple Watch worked but gets no signal at school (my phone only gets one bar and my watch is only running off phone at school) so we did get him a phone. Parents, don’t give up. Don’t give them free range on the World Wide Web. There is so much crap out there! 

Another thing- podcasts. My son has begun to listen to them. So now I have to decide if Joe Rogan is ok or not. It’s not the cuss words that get me. It’s the sexual nature behind the cuss words (lots of rap songs) that really bother me. I give him some leeway on podcasts. But he doesn’t have social media AT ALL. No snap, IG, FB, TimTok, nothing. He can text. He can call. He can even FaceTime! 

Moral of this post. Wait as long as you can before giving your child a phone. Once you do, watch it like a mama bear! Restrict their time on it. Take it away at bed time. Growing up it was 9am-9pm for phone calls. Nothing wrong with that now. Pay attention to what they are consuming. You would be surprised at what they can access on YouTube and Google. 🫣 we need a browser like Google for kids. Where they can look things up for learning but not for other things. My kid even googled if chores are child abuse 😂. Anyhow, I hope this helps!

Why?

 Sometimes I really wonder why God gave me the desire and passion for working with horses yet my body just keeps falling apart. Frankly, I wish I could walk away from horses sometimes. Between the three total hip surgeries (1 in 2013 and 2 in 2023) and both shoulders being fixed, then the bulging discs in my back, I’m shocked my desire to work with these 1,200# animals hasn’t faded. 

Even my hands and feet hurt. Yet I’m taking time to type this out. Having the passion to work with horses is insane. Without them, I loose my desire to even move. With them, I lose my ability to move! How can I balance this out? I also find that most horse people have similar thoughts. Similar body trauma. Similar chronic pain. When do I not hurt? When I’m in the saddle. When do I hurt? The rest of the time. In fact, I’m so miserable right now that I’m praying to fall asleep. Chronic pain SUCKS.

Sure, I can change disciplines with the horses. I have decided that barrel racing is just too hard on my body to keep trying. I had my dream horse. I won the 1D. Lynx is now retired.i think it’s time for me to retire from that sport. So I can do something else. Problem is, it’s still riding horses. My soul needs my horses!!! 

As I lay in bed trying to figure out how to ease my pain right now, I’m already planning my next ride on Bob and what we need to work on to reach a goal. I’m thinking about my young horse, Whiskey, and when I will be healed enough from my TWO hip surgeries to ride him again. Am I insane? 

It's Happening...

 Yup, it's happening! I'm getting older! Next Tuesday I will be 45 🫣! Honestly, I don't feel that old and I don't feel like I look that old. However, having two hip surgeries in 2023 is really putting a hamper on my activities! So much to do, no way to get it done!

After my first hip surgery in 2013, after 14 weeks, I was back to riding and after about 20 weeks, I was pain free. My second hip surgery was after hitting the ground off of my young horse when I decided to teach him about spurs with some liquid courage. Needless to say, I didn't bounce. So I had surgery July 24, 2023. I was doing pretty good. They used cadaver tissue to create a new joint seal and I was non-weight bearing for 6 weeks. Well, week 7 I was cleaning and filling water troughs. I slipped in the mud and had to take an ambulance to the ER. I knew I messed it up. It took them a while to figure it out but they did. I ripped open the laparoscopic holes used for the July surgery to create one big hole in the outer socket. Surgery was done on 12/20/2023. This one is a bit harder to come back from due to the incision sight location. I have basically become a sloth. Pain meds don't do much for me. I took them for two weeks and then just put them away. My skin and muscles hurt to the touch. I wonder when I will be able to wear actual pants again 🤷🏼‍♀️? As of now, I'm a sweat pants gal!

In the past except 2022, 2023 I have gone barrel racing on my birthday. This year, I won't even be able to ride. 😕 But, in time, I will heal and I will be back in the saddle! I'm only going to be 45! I can bounce back... I think! God has a plan! I honestly don't think God would have given me the desire to ride if I was not meant to ride. I really wish they would let me do PT. Sadly, they won't. I have been doing PT at home (from memory) to keep my leg moving. At least I got rid of my pain in my ass! Now it's mostly on the side and top of my hip. I cannot wait to get to soak in my tub, drive, be more mobile and ride. However, I now realize I won't be able to play in the mud for at least 7 more weeks! It's flooded here! My sweet hubby has been pulling all my weight. 

For my 45th birthday, I don't know what I really want. I'm thinking Whiskey, my five year old gelding, will be more suited for cow work. I really would love a set of chaps, a cutting saddle and a new cowboy hat. Will I get those things? Probably not 😆 because that is a lot of money! I will get to go with my friend down to the Galveston area for a dog event and take my dog! That will be fun! She had always gone with me to the races, especially on my birthday weekend. It will be cool to spend her and my birthday together doing a sport she loves! Maybe my hubby will give me money to eat my weight in seafood! 

Anyhow, it's happening and you can't stop time! 2024 is going to be eventful. I just pray I can keep my body in one piece! 

Gen X Thoughts

 So I have been thinking about generation x aka my generation and why we are the way we are. Yeah, we grew up as latch key kids. But what changed for generation z? My son is a gen z (I think) and these are the differences I can think of right now!

First of all, my parents shipped me off to my grandparents house every summer. I'd spend two weeks with my mom's folks and weekends year round with my dad's side. I also was sent to camp for two weeks. When I wasn't doing those things, I was visiting other family or hanging out with friends. My grandparents were young enough to keep up with us! And they were part of the born during the Great Depression era. They were raised different. They knew how to pinch a penny to make it last. They let us play in the dirt. Grandma Z taught me so much about horses and life. Grandma W was all about showing me the touristy things then watching "the wheel" and she loved to do my nails! She taught me more girly stuff. While my parents were boomers, both worked and both wanted us to go off to college and be better off than they were, they really relied on their parents (my grandparents) to help and assist with raising us. 

So let's see the difference here. I didn't have my son until I was 10 days shy of 31. My mom had me at age 29, yet I'm the baby of 4. Of course my parents were hippies so they were pretty hard on their bodies before they settled and had kids. Then, I had my kid later in life so his grandparents just can't keep up. Also, my parents divorced when I graduated college. So my mom remarried but my dad did not. My husband's folks were a lot older than mine were when he was born. Sadly, his mom passed and his dad is in a senior center at age 88. What's my point? I didn't get to send my kid for weeks at a time to hang out with his grandparents. No, they could not keep up with him. Now that he is 13, he can go and basically help them out during the summer. But he didn't get that deep connection that I got when I was growing up. The fact is, he knows how to entertain himself because he is an only child. We are pretty strict parents and expect yes ma'am, no ma'am etc. Where did we get that from??? Oh man... my grandma would get after me if I ever said yeah etc. So would my parents but I spent more time with my grandma Z. She was mean! In a good way but she could give me a look and I knew! My son just has mom and dad with twice a year visits from his grandparents. 

So I think we, Gen X, got a lot from our elders. That is what helped form us into these independent, run some dirt on it, don't cry, hold your ground individuals. I have a feeling that my son's generation will be a lot like us except the electronics. My son is lucky that I have been a stay at home mom most all of his life. I raised him like I was raised and that was to think for himself. But, FAFO. If you don't know what that is, look it up. Will I send my kid to his grandparents this summer? Yup! He is 13 now. He doesn't have to be watched as much and can get out there and mow grass, fix fence, or just whatever they need help with when he is bored. I know that if he says he is bored around my parents, they will put his butt to work. Let's see how these kids turn out! I have faith in him! He won't be living at home at age 30.... he will have a job. He already has plans for after high school. I think we (gen z) are raising the next best generation! 💪🏻