Chickens, goats, donkeys & a dairy cow, yes, please.

I talked about growing up on a ranch.

It was an incredible place to grow up.

We moved away when I was eleven years old.

And, now, I'm in my thirties...and I'm reverting back to my roots.

I want to have land and livestock again.

I have a plan.

I'm going to make it work.

Life's too short not to strive for our dreams, right?

This is what started it all.

Me milking Bessy, the milk cow, when I was little.

I was brought up Amish...

except without the buggies, the lack of electricity and the whole Amish atmosphere.

Ok, what I meant to say was I was raised without TV.

I mean, we had a TV, but we lived on a ranch and my parents chose not to have it hooked up.
We could rent movies and watch them occasionally.

So, I spent a lot of time playing with my imaginary friends,
tormenting my little sister, The Bug,
and reading books.

We also had animals.
I got to milk cows,
mess with chickens,
name a donkey,
hear pigs neutered,
hear rabbits skinned,
pick apples in our orchard,
swim in a creek,
help plant vegetables,
hunt deer,
fear the dark,
and ride horses.

That's kind of like growing up Amish, right?

Ok, maybe not.

My 7 seconds as a Superhero

I was seven years old.

when my mom and dad took me and my younger sister, The Bug, to Mexico City.





I don't remember a whole lot about this trip, except seeing panda bears in the zoo...





and the lobby of the hotel we stayed in, Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico.

The lobby had antique bird-cage looking elevators and a Tiffany glass ceiling.

It was very memorable.



These pictures above were all taken by my mom in 1984.





Below are recent photos from the hotel's current website:

It was built in the 1800's and is located in Mexico City,
right off the main square, Zocalo Plaza.

When you enter from the street, this is the first thing you see:

This lobby is where my story takes place.

My parents were checking us out of the hotel,
and I was sitting on that round red settee thing (the same one in the photo!) with our bags...

and my mom's purse.

A young man came and sat near me but I wasn't really paying any attention to him.

I was probably practicing the few Spanish phrases I knew, in my head.

Como se llama?

Me llamo Rhea.

Donde esta el bano?

Gracias.

De nada.

Then I heard a strange swooshing, dragging sound.

I looked over and saw that my mom's purse, which had been next to me,
was now next to the young man.

I looked at him.
He looked at me.

I reached over and grabbed the purse back.
And the guy took off.

I saved the day!!

My 7 seconds as a superhero.


I'll never forget that hotel.

Here's one more look at that incredible ceiling.

Have you ever thwarted a crime?
Have you ever been to Mexico City?
Do you know any Spanish?

Como esta usted hoy?

Building blocks; chickens and atoms

I've often talked about growing up on a ranch in the Texas hill country. It was a wonderful experience, and one that made me who I am today.




At some point I was old enough for chores on our ranch, and my parents gave me the responsibility of closing up the chicken coop at night. During the day, the chickens roamed free throughout the barnyard, but at sunset, rain or shine, they never failed to automatically all file into their pen to huddle together in the darkness.



So, around dusk, every night, I mounted my shiny blue ten-speed with its blue & white woven basket, pretending it was my horse, and pedaled half a mile across the ranch by myself to close the pen and lock the chickens up.



The special chicken wire that framed the chicken coop kept snakes from getting to the chickens at night. I used to be terrified I’d run into a snake but it never happened. Closing the chicken coop was my chore, and I did it, even if I did pedal back as fast as those wheels could turn, my ponytail streaming behind me, certain that snakes, or the boogeyman my brother told me lived in the barn, was chasing after me.



Back then I was impressed with those chickens and how smart they were to go to safety every night, but now, as an adult, I realize how wrong I was. Those chickens weren’t smart at all. They were stupid to file brainlessly into a cage each night, reliant on others to ensure their safety. What would they do if we forgot to shut their pen? They’d die. They had no survival skills.

Stupid chickens.

But, keeping them alive, insured continuous egg laying, and we ate those eggs. So, they were useful. and, probably most importantly, I learned responsibility and courage, which were building blocks in molding my core values and attitude.


Today I read in the news about the largest subatomic particle super collider in Geneva, Switzerland conducting it's first test today. It's underground tunnels are 17 miles long, making up a massive underground ring hidden beneath farmland. The test today fired two protons clockwise and then later counterclockwise through the 17 mile tunnel, whizzing around at close to the speed of light. It's mind boggling.


The scientists hope to eventually send two proton beams through the tunnel going opposite directions so that they will collide and hopefully recreate conditions a split second after the big bang, which scientists theorize was the massive explosion that created the universe. It is likely this experiment could reveal more about "dark matter," antimatter and possibly hidden dimensions of space and time. It could also find evidence of the hypothetical particle — the Higgs boson — which is sometimes called the "God particle" because it is believed to give mass to all other particles, and thus to matter that makes up the universe.

Am I baking your noodle yet?

These are the building blocks of our universe they're studying and manipulating, to discover more about this wild world and the universe. It's fascinating. It leads me to question, what if we do figure it out? Could we then create our own planets? Galaxies? Universes?!

Mind boggling.

Back to my original thought though, we all know some of the building blocks of our own character and person. But some we don't, leading to the whole nurture versus nature and other arguments. What are some of your building blocks? What events most shaped who you are or who had a big impact on the person you've become?

All you NEVER wanted to know.

Six Things You NEVER Wanted to Know About Me. (I was tagged by Hope4Grace)

1. I wore boots most of my high school years. Jeans and boots. I don't know why. They were really comfortable. See the picture below...I was 17, and I'm wearing my boots.

2. I started a club when I was in fourth grade. We were the B.B.A.D.'s, which stood for Boy Busters Against Drugs. It was made up of four or five girls. We even had meetings...about what, I don't remember, and I don't think we accomplished anything. We didn't bust any boys or get anyone off drugs. I didn't even know anyone who did drugs at that point but it was just a popular thing to do at the time since McGruff visited my school. I was such a dork.

3. I used to be scared of elevators. The only exception to this was glass elevators. Those I could handle. Weird, huh?

4. I have a favorite photo of my boys that I made in to a charm on my keychain. I took this picture when Donny was 5 years old and Remy was around six months old. Remy was pretty bald for a long time. Donny has a light saber faced painted on his cheek from a party. I just love this picture.

5. Starting around two years old, I had an imaginary friend named Morgurt. Eventually Morgurt was joined by Sandy, a second imaginary friend. I was very imaginative...and I lived in the country without many playmates.

However, when Donny was little, he came up with some imaginary friends also...Robot and Urse Guy. They were naughty and told him he could do things that I told him he could NOT. Funny how that happens, huh?! Payback, I guess, for all I did to my mom.

6. I rode horses as a child...at camp and at home on our ranch. I also rode my bike all over our ranch. And, I pretended my bike WAS a horse. Always. I loved doing that.

Okay, I'm not tagging anyone specifically, but if you want to grab this and do it, feel free!

The Bug - Origins

This is The Bug, my little sister, isn't she adorable?

Can you believe those big eyes?

She got this nickname when she was little.

She liked bugs.

At the swimming pool, she would spend half the time swimming,

half the time fishing for bugs in the pool skimmers.

Those are two of my older sisters in the picture with her.

I have a lot of sisters (4). I love them all!

I miss you, Bug, wish you were with us in the Hill Country this week.

Bet you don't have an outfit like this anymore...

That's ok, niether do I.

I am eleven years old in this (goofy) picture.

1988.

It was a huge year for me.

I went through a lot of changes.

I hit puberty.

We moved from our sweet little ranch

in Kerrville, Texas

to the big city,

Austin, Texas.

I had to start a new school.

I hit puberty.

I had to make all new friends.

I hit puberty.

A short tale of a tail.

Once upon a time, a little girl dressed up like a kitty cat, with pink ears and a pink tail.

And, she kept hold of that tail, so that no one would step on it or hurt it.

And then she shot daggers at people who dared to threaten her tail...and take her picture.

This is photo evidence of my inner girly-girl.

The Judge, the Lawyer, the Intellectual, the Photographer, the Artist, the Gardner, the Philosopher but most importantly, My Mother.

Me & my mom about 30 years ago.

My mother is the one woman I look up to most in this world. It's true. She's a huge role model to me, and if I could turn out to be half the woman she is, then that would make me happy.

She's taught me so much throughout my life, that she has helped mold me into the person I am today...as well as shown me the person I want to continue to work to BE.

When I was little, growing up on our ranch, she took us (me, my little sister and our four older half-siblings, her stepkids) on hikes into the woods. She taught us the names of every tree, flower and bush...and even showed us the edible ones. I wish I'd listened closer.

She encouraged creativity, doing crafts with us at home, making God's Eyes and collages. I wish I had her artistic ability. It inspired me to try to do crafts with my kids, and they love my attempts.

She kept a steady supply of books on our bookshelves and boosted my love of reading. She read to us and encouraged knowledge and learning. She went back to school and finished two undergraduate degrees and a law degree with children at home.

We learned to be mischievious from her...from all the little pranks she pulled around the house; from the styrofoam head in the toilets to the "I'm not your mother, an alien has taken over my body" events. When she toilet-papered her friend's house who was turning 30, we went along and learned the art of papering.

She gave me my first camera, an Olympus 35mm, and passed on her love of photography. She also gave me my most recent digital camera and Photoshop Elements so that I could continue my love of photography. She taught me to preserve my family's memories through pictures and to put them albums right away, so we could enjoy and relive our happy times through them.

She shared her love of animals with me. My life is not complete with an animal in my life. We had cats, dogs, cattle, pigs, chickens, donkeys, ducks, horses, peacocks and rabbits on our ranch. She rode horses growing up, helped out at her dad's vet clinic as a child. We always had pets growing up and she even talked me into getting a pot belly pig in high school when I wanted a puppy, and the pig, Kory, ended up being one of the best pets I've ever had.

I learned that I should reach for the stars, and that I could do anything I put my mind to from her. I haven't done it yet, but I know that potential is inside me somewhere because she put it there. She taught me it's never too late to do something with my life.

Best of all, she is now teaching MY children these things, and for that, I am thrilled beyond belief. They will benefit from knowing her and her knowledge, just like I did, and I could honestly not ask for more.

I'm a little worried about what my kids are learning from me..."Mama, is that going on the blog?" and "Mama, do NOT put that on the blog!" or "Mama, you HAVE to put THAT on the blog." lol

I love my mom. She's my best friend, my mentor, my confidant, my idol, and one of the most amazing people I know. I truly treasure her and the relationship we have.

Thanks, Mom, for all you do and all that you are. Always.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I was inspired by a post on Valarie Lea's blog recently about what she wanted to be when she grew up (and to see her hilarious post, click here, the answer will surprise you!). So, I'm going to grab and run away with her hilarious idea and share my own childhood dreams.

One of the first people I wanted to be like desperately was Anne of Green Gables. If you've never seen these movies, you should run to your local video store or Netflix and order them immediately! Especially if you have girls.

My next beloved object of adoration was Nancy Drew. She was awesome. She was brave and smart, solved mysteries no one else could. She was a woman to be admired! And, I developed a love of mysteries from these books.

Then as I grew older, I fell in love with Jane Seymour as Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, a fabulous TV show. Something about her leaving the East coast and taking on the wild west...a female doctor was kind of unheard of at the time, and she tackles so many difficulties (and finds a hunky man). I LOVED this show. I wanted to be her.

In high school I changed my mind and decided I wanted to be a lawyer. My mom was graduating from law school at this point, and it seemed like such an admirable and justice cause.
But, this didn't last too long.


I soon returned to my previous desire of being a doctor...and this has stuck with me very strongly. I really want to be a doctor.
And, I've always had a serious love of writing. As a child, a teenager, and even now. I passionately love writing.
But, the reality is that these days I am a tickle monster....


and a maid...
to my 11 year old inventor in the making...

and his little brother who wants to be a pokemon movie producer.

Now, my hubby on the other hand...he knew as a child he wanted to be a lawyer and never wavered from this determination. He graduated from law school a few years ago and achieved his dream. He loves this doormat...I think I'll get it for him for Father's Day. hehe

What did you want to be when you grew up? Did you change you mind or did you achieve it? What do your kids want to be? Run with this and share whatever you want!!

Hot blonde in a pick-up truck

Well, I'm back from my weekend-long writing retreat in Wisconsin! I have arrived home at 1am, found both kids, the dog and my husband all in our bed. I'm exhuasted and so behind on blog reading and email because I didn't have Internet access all weekend. And, I work tomorrow. So, I know you're sad, but have a little more patience, and by tomorrow later afternoon I'll have some great new posts about my experience! (and I'll stop by and read YOUR blogs). Here is the sad face I know you must all have. Waiting it hard, I know.

Ok, yes, this is me at like 3 or 4 years old.

Now, what's missing from this next picture? A cute blonde in short-shorts in the back of a pick-up truck?

I know what's missing! BOYS!!!! And, here they come...

hehe. My mind if fried at 1am after this long weekend. More tomorrow, I promise!