Li'l Boy Blue

There once was a boy named Blue who was left alone in St. Martinsville, Louisiana. He found his way to a shelter but they don't adopt out his breed so he needed a miracle. His picture found its way to Facebook and Tonto saw it by chance. And fell in love.

That's how he ended up spending 14 hours in the truck going to and from Louisiana on a random Thursday. To save this boy from being put to sleep.

Now his brother may not have exactly welcomed him with open paws. But we're making progress. :-)

We fell instantly in love with this one, though.

And he's definitely Taylor's protector.

Which is perfectly fine with me. And may have been part of the plan all along.

What I've learned is someone taught this boy to sit. To shake. He's kennel and potty trained. Blue eats off a fork and is one of the snuggliest fellas around. How someone could spend so much time with him and leave him alone to die, well, it baffles me. And makes me incredibly angry.

But I'm also incredibly happy he's here with us.

These Days...

Y'all. Life is moving so fast these days I can hardly keep up. And, yes, I am aware that I'll miss them when I'm gone. So I'm not whining...just making statements. :-)

We spend a lot of time at the farm taking care of this fella. Now we all know how much I loved Bruiser but this guy is so far ahead of the curve compared to this time last year that it's not even funny. And he's filling out nicely as well. So, you know, fingers crossed we'll have a decent show season.

And because we know I love me some Kyler, I grabbed some snuggles last week while we were taking care of Forrest. It's a bit harder now that he's so mobile!

There's been a lot of tailgating going on as well. Both with my sweet mom...

...and my dad. And we beat ULM by a lot. This is becoming a habit and I'm absolutely ok with continuing it throughout the season. Just sayin'.

I also spent all of last week either sick or recovering from being sick. It was not delightful at all. And I did a lot of whining. Being ill as an adult is just not ok. At. All.

Somewhere in the delirium caused my so many medications, I decided it was time to transition from a super low carb diet to more of a clean/whole foods diet. Which is how I ended up with a smoothie that contained spinach. And you couldn't even taste it. It was unbelievable! 

This week I've been getting back in the groove of working out and, let me tell you, it's a whole lot easier than it sounds when your lungs are still on FIRE!

So, yeah, that's what's been going on around here. Not pictured are all the girl-related things typical with a teenager. And, no, I wouldn't change it for the world. :-)

Happy weekend!

Welcome to Texas, Buffalo!

Our second football contest of the season featured the Buffalo Bulls. From New York. You know, where it's NOT 115 degrees in the shade with 92.5% humidity. I had a feeling they would have a rude awakening in this heat but, before knowing for sure, we had a bit o' tailgating fun.

T brought along a couple of friends this time around.

And we hit up March of the Bears. Again. Cyril was leading the way...

...and there's our QB Bryce Petty...

...and Lynx Hawthorne (don't you love that name?)...

...and TCV, who got hurt later in the day, with coach. Of course there were many others but, in the interest of saving your retinas, I'll stop here.

The first half was hot. And soooooo sweaty. But we also scored 56 points. Yes. In one half. In other words, it was AWESOME.

The alumni band performed for the last time at Floyd Casey (no, I did not participate) and it was really a nostalgic moment. We've made lots of memories in that old stadium.

This was the score at halftime. So yeah...

The final score ended up being 70-13. And our third string was playing. To say the Buffalo players were struggling in the heat would be quite an understatement. I'm sure the random windstorm that kicked up during the fourth quarter - sending large items flying and made tents break into pieces - didn't improve their opinion of the Texas weather.

But we did stay until the very end. Without suffering a heat stroke. And the team got the 'W.' While scoring the most points ever in FCS.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

The Non-Ferocious Terriers

So this is a week late but better late than never, right? Our Baylor Bears kicked off the 2013 season with a contest featuring the fighting Wofford Terriers. Now, if you're like me, you've not heard much about Wofford. I can tell you, though, that they had some very nice fans. I will cheer for them forever. Unless they're playing Baylor again.

After arriving very early (first game excitement, you know?), it was finally time for Meet the Bears.

We saw a lot of favorite facies...

...and some new ones...

...and all seemed to have their game face intact. Even Coach Briles. Or maybe especially Coach Briles.

And you know Lache is always ready to shake some hands. :-)

While Ahmad always brings up the rear.

We headed over to the Alumni Network tent and saw our buddy, Derek, on the way. He's the voice of the Bears and one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.

Next we headed over to sign a beam that will be going over to the new stadium.

Then it was time (or past time, really) for food.

And fun.

And fellowship.

And sorority sisters reunited!

What I can tell you about the actual game is that it was blistering hot, dehydration set in quickly, and it was - in a word - BRUTAL.

But we won. By a huge margin. And everyone stayed healthy.

Those are always the goals of non-con, right? :-)

The Struggle Is Real

Getting back into the swing of things is hard, y'all. Between some very early morning, more late nights, and a calendar that seems to have never-ending commitments, I'm just tired. The girl is tired. Tonto is tired, I'm sure, but it's hard to tell since I'm usually asleep when we're in the same room.

Basically, the struggle is real. And, though I know this too shall pass, it's hard to function on little sleep. 

There are so many silver linings, though. For instance, we've spent a lot of time with this little guy. And he's such a sweetheart! He's way more sociable than Bruiser and is already walking quite well. To say he's light years ahead of his predecessor would be quite an understatement.

Also, those who do not have fingers of their own will suck on yours. Or so it seems.

In addition to school starting last week, high school football kicked off as well. And it was soooooo stinkin' hot. Like, teetering on the edge of dehydration kind of hot. Thankfully one of my awesome friends made me a Midway hat to show my spirit while taming the locks.

Despite the heat, it was good to see the boys back on the ol' gridiron. And a decisive win didn't hurt my feelings either.

I snapped this in our cul-de-sac on Saturday morning. After turning around and seeing it, all I could think was "redneck." And that's absolutely not an indictment of our neighbors. Because I was totally including us in the fray as well. And, quite frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. :-)

This will eventually get its own post but we also had a Baylor game on Saturday. And that contest took the heat and dehydration to another level, friends.

And I don't say that lightly, y'all, because it literally took us ALL DAY on Sunday to recover from the game. I. Kid. You. Not.

Monday brought Labor Day and renewed energy so we decided to get the yard ready for fall. To say that my pruning reached almost Biblical levels would be pretty accurate. But it looks sooooo much better, friends.

I also decorated for fall, Tonto built goat boxes, and the girl even helped around the house. All in all, an awesome weekend...that left us exhausted for the week.

And endless cycle, eh? :-)