Learning My ABC’s With The Awesome Blog Content Award!

03 Apr 2012 20 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Award, Hot Rod Cowgirl, Lifestyles, Photography Tags: , , , , ,

 I was blessed last week to receive the ABC (Awesome Blog Content) Award from Diana and Sundae at http://thesedaysofmine.com/

I am honored and humbled Diana that you chose my blog as one of the recipients of this award. Thank you for believing my ramblings are filled with awesome content:)

To accept the ABC Award you are to list 26 things about yourself in alphabetical order….this will be a long one so pull up a chair!

Ok here we go…26 things in alphabetical order:)

I Am:

A: Authentic…Artistic & Creative.

B: Believe Deeply In God & The Faith He Gives Me. I Believe In Family Traditions, Heritage & Honoring Those Who Went Before You.

C: Country Cowgirl…Loved My “64” Corvette Coupe…American Born & American Made!

E: Empathetic & Encouraging…Empowering Others To Believe In Themselves.

F: Faithful Friend

G: Genuine & Grateful Heart

H: Honesty Is My Motto…Happy In Life…Horse Lover:)

I: Interesting & Interested In Others. Intelligent But A Ding-Dong At Times Too:)

J: Jeans…Wranglers 29 x 36 inseam…More Jeans…BKE Jeans…I Live In My Jeans:)

K: Klutzy…Legs Are Long…I Get Tangled Up With Them & I Have Weak Ankles.

L: Loved…Very Much By WB:)

M: Minnie Mouse…My Beautiful Kitty….My Initials Are MJ.

N: Naturally Authentic In Who I Am & My Life.

O: Organized…Optimistic.

P: Passionate About Life….Positive Outlook…Photographer.

Q: Quiet…Intuitive & Steady.

R: Reliable…Real…Red Boots…My Horse’s Name Was Red Too!

S: Sincere…Supportive…Silly As I Love To Laugh:)

T: Trustworthy….Thoughtful….Thankful

U: Understanding

V: Very In Tune With Others…

W: WB…My Soul Mate & The Love Of My Life.

X: Xtra Xtra…HRCG Loves To Write:)

Y: Young At Heart…

Z: Zippy Zoo Our Black Manx Kitten Kalamazoo.

I am to pass this award on to ten bloggers….here we go:)

1: http://throughmylens365.wordpress.com/

2: http://awindowintothewoods.com/

3:http://sillymonkeyphoto.com/

4: http://nickexposed.com/

5: http://lakesidelane.wordpress.com/

6: http://blissfuladventurer.wordpress.com/

6: http://skedazzles.com/

7: http://tbnranch.com/

8: http://taniajessicasmith.wordpress.com/

9: http://phototalkdaily.wordpress.com/

10: http://mynewfavoriteday.com/

Thank you Diana and Sundae…go check out her blog at  http://thesedaysofmine.com/

Genuine Hugs With Inspirational Sunshine…Awards And More!

24 Mar 2012 35 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Award, Life, Lifestyles, Photography Tags: , , ,

“Among Life’s Precious Jewels, Genuine And Rare,The One We Call Friendship Has Worth Beyond Compare.” 

I am in blogger shockeroos…humbled and honored to be chosen for several wonderful awards from MJ at http://emjayandthem.com/  How special she is to think of me…you made my week:)

I am wowed over wowzee!  “Minnnie….kitty kitty come see me as we need to do the funky chicken happy dance to celebrate!” Minnie is a good dancer…she boogies down!

Uh oh I think I woke Minnie up from her cat nap…she looks a bit krabby. Ok my “Kitty Angel Girl”…I won’t make you dance this time…you can watch:)

The first award is “The Sunshine Award”. I try to be sunshiny with lots of laughs and smiles:) Mom used to tell me that “When life gives you lemons…you can make lemonade!”

The next award is “The Very Inspiring Blogger Award”…I hope I can inspire others with life…hope…faith and to keep on a going! My Dad used to say “You gotta keep on a going…no matter what…come on now you can do it. Keep on a going girl!”

The next was “The Hug Award”…I love this how they combined “Hope…The World…Hugs.” Think of the difference the world would be if that was how we all live with hope in the world…with hugs of encouragement. Just remember to “Hug”.

And lastly “The Genuine Blogger Award.” Being genuine is the very best gift I can give others of myself…sometimes it is scary to be vulnerable but it is so needed in this world…this life. If we keep it surface without sharing and being real…we will remain alone.

Okey Dokey…now on to the rules of the awards…time to share your heart…your thoughts and life:) Right pretty green eyes kitty…she is so very sweet and pretty…she is “The Queenie of My House…My Minnie Mouse!”

First off thank the person who nominated you for these awards and also put a link in to their blog.

Thank you MJ    http://emjayandthem.com/

The rules of accepting “The Sunshine Award”…are question and answer time…it is genuine time!

 What is your favorite color?

I love all colors but the color red is totally me…I love red to be a deep deep red color. Growing up Mom told me “now no you have red hair so you can not wear red”…hmmm…I love red:)

Favorite Animal?

I love my kitty angel Minnie…and I love my horses Melody, Annie and Buck…all kitty angels and our barn cats Pat and Jack…dogs, all our dogs…cows and calves…well ok I suppose the bulls too but they are so difficult to move and they prefer hiding and holing up in brushy places…dang them…ok where is my dog? Growing up on a cattle ranch these are the animals I loved and love…I love all animals:)

Favorite Number?

I love the number 7:)

Favorite Non-Alcholic Drink?

Diet Coke with fresh lemon and if not that then fresh brewed ice tea the old fashion way on the stove top…dump the grounds into boiling water and boil for 20 minutes…then strain…add ice cold water and drink…oh my:)

Prefer Facebook or Twitter?

Neither…but I love my blog!

My Passion?

My marriage and relationship with Wild Bill… my faith and relationship with God…my horses and Minnie always…my life as a cancer survivor…a positive attitude…life giving thoughts…living and growing old with WB and Minnie and my ponies…always knowing that God is ever present in my life…and…I love love love to write and write and write…and shoot picture after picture…my creative gift is writing and photography along with dance…music…horses…it is all a beat…a connected beat of life…when I ride I listen and count the beats of my horses feet…that is life…if you get quiet you too can hear the beat of life all around you.

I am seriously passionate in this picture as my life is in my hands:) First ride on Catahoola Bugs…it was February and cold..

Prefer Getting Or Giving Gifts?

When I receive a gift I love the thought and the fun of seeing what was chosen for me, by the person who loves me or who cares…and I Love giving gifts…it is fun to be creative in figuring out what this person you care about wants or needs…I enjoy putting my heart into it and making another person know that yes…you are “Loved” and cared for:)

Favorite Pattern?

This is pretty cool to me as far as a pattern goes….wink wink:)

Or how about stripes…I love stripes so very much…stripes is the very best:)

Favorite Day Of The Week?

Saturdays and Sundays…peace and quiet:) Hopefully with WB.

Favorite Flowers?

One of every color as every flower was made by God…and He loves His horses with various colors.

The Genuine Blogger does not have any rules to pass on…it is a “Genuine pass on award.”

As for the Hug (Hope Unites Globally) award, you can read its origins here.

And the only requirement for accepting the HUG award is to pass it on to at least one person.  Ditto for the Very Inspiring Blog Award too.

MJ…thank you for believing that I am a true blue genuine blogger and genuine person…that means a lot to me:)

 I am to nominate and select 10 blogs to pass on the awards to. There are so many blogs and all of them are very good…this is a tough decision.

1: http://megtraveling.com/

2: http://wolke205.wordpress.com/

3: http://campfireshadows.wordpress.com/

4: http://theviewouthere.wordpress.com/

5: http://creativenoshing.wordpress.com/

6: http://googsy.wordpress.com/

7: http://sugardishme.com/

8: http://michaeltuuk.wordpress.com/

9: http://tracielouisephotography.net/

10: http://bentehaarstad.wordpress.com/

Congratulations…OK Guys and Gals…Time To Do The Funky Chicken Happy Dance…I Am With Ya:)

Go check out the blogs above and also MJ’s blog  http://emjayandthem.com/

Hugs HRCG Also Known As MJ Too:)


Portland Roadster Show 2012….Part Two

23 Mar 2012 23 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Award, Holton Secret Lab, Hot Rods, Photography Tags: , , , , , , , ,

The Portland Roadster Show opened to the public last Friday at noon and ran until 7:00 Sunday night. It draws around 40,000 through the gate each day and with 500 custom, restored, classic and beautiful cars…there are some incredible cars to see and drool over…it is a fun show as we have gone enough that we know some of the people and that makes it special to us.

I love seeing the new cars that come to the show with the various modifications and the creative touches…however it is hard to leave our display as Wild Bill is always in demand to talk to about either restoring someones car or building a dream car or doing a frame off restoration on a car that has been in the family for years, so each night when we leave for the hotel we walk a different route so that we can see more of the cars.

Before I show you some of those I want to show you the 1956 F-100 that we took and also a few more pictures of  the 1972 Bronco…they both won Best of Class in their classes which was awesome for the owners and awesome for us too:)  It is fun for us when the owners tag along with us to show their cars as we have a chance to know them more as friends and share some laughs and memories plus we get to share in their joy when they win!

1956 F-100

The Roadster Show was the F-100’s first show debut…Wild Bill was still putting the last bolts into the hood after we got it unloaded…it is that fresh of a build….in fact it is back in our shop today as we have to finish the wiring yet. It was a show stopper as the color is incredible…the silver looks like chrome in person under the lights…and we used a blend of colors in the blue FORD on the tailgate that makes it pop out.

I love how the motor reflects into the firewall…and the glow of the unusual color as it shines like a jewel. Winning Best of Class was the icing on the cake for Stan and Marie…we were thrilled to see Stan float up to the stage to accept his award. He was here today in the shop to see WB and he is still floating:)

We had a perfect amount of space to display both vehicles in a good way…and parking at a slant was good too as it was not the usual line of parked cars…I like different:)

Look at the color of the Bronco, it is a custom color…in person it is even prettier and has incredible depth…almost like it is 3D…winning Best of Class two years in a row is very cool:)

Lots of colors and various styles of cars…

I love this car…very rare…and the color is gorgeously incredible!

And this car was in your face…outrageous and my hubby loved it.

And then we found this one that emanates “Bad To The Bone.”

I love the paint and the flames…and the look:)

“Quit taking my picture Cowgirl…Grrrrr”…he really doesn’t mean it:)

I took a picture of this very cool Chev. Pick Up as the color on it is British Racing Green. We are considering painting “Jagged” this color as he is a

1928 Dodge Coupe with a V-12 British Jag motor in him, compliments of Wild Bill. Until we saw this color, we were leaning towards black. Now we are re-considering…what do you think?

This morning when we woke up,  “Hello Winter…sorry to tell ya but Spring is here…so vamoose!”

 Have a Fantastic Friday wherever you are…I took a bunch of cool pictures coming home from Portland…so stay tuned:)

And yes I’m still a Cowgirl…just have a bit of Hot Rod too:)

Blogger Awards!!!

21 Mar 2012 35 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Award, Life, Photography Tags: , , , ,

A few weeks ago I was honored to receive several awards  from Heather at  http://sugardishme.com/ who was given these awards herself and in turn has passed them on to me:)  She has a great cooking blog and also writes about life…has some great stories about her boys and her recipes.

First was the Kreativ Blogger Award:)

I try hard to be Kreativ but sometimes I have to dig and ruminate for a new idea….and get creative:)

The second award is The New Blogger Award:)

I am in award shocker-roos…

One of my favorite pictures of my parents…I know I have shown it before….Mom was a true cook. She cooked on a wood cook stove…without running water…electricity or any of the conveniences. Ranch crews in the early years ranged from the average of 6 to 25…Mom had no telephone or internet or tweets or facebook…cell phones…na-da for Mom to know exactly how many to cook for…but on a moments notice Mom always had enough food for whoever showed up at the dinner table and always had a smile:)

Somehow I got sidetracked…I was thinking about Heather being a good cook…and I thought of my Mom too:)

Seven Things About Me

1. Mom told me when I could take care of long hair I could have long hair…I quickly learned how to take care of my hair and traded in the pixie hair cuts for pig tails!

2. When I lost my Dad and found out that Mom was terminally ill too…I made arrangements to cut my waist long hair off and did…I did not tell anyone so both Mom and WB were shocked as my long red hair was part of me. It took several years but it is long again thank goodness…and it will stay long forever:)

3. Wild Bill and I will celebrate 36 years this year…he is still the love of my life and my heart…my man and my soul mate.

4. I have three awesome horses that I love and appreciate…I have had horses ever since I was born…Dad had me on my first horse who I called “Prince” when I was two years old…they are like my hair…part of me.

5. I love writing and photography as well as music and dancing.

6. I have never lived in town or had neighbors that lived close to us. When we go to a large city it is a bit nerve-wracking.

7. I am not a TV watcher…I find it mindless and boring.

Ok I get to pay it forward…I nominate these 7 blogs and pass the awards on to each of them. Here are the links for you to click on and read some great blogs…and look at some great photography.

My Seven Blog Nominations To Pass The Awards To Are:

1.  http://somethingtoliveby.wordpress.com/

2.  http://tau0.wordpress.com/

3.  http://justanotherdayoutwest.wordpress.com/

4.  http://jesusknowsmyname.wordpress.com/

5. http://anothercowgirlup.wordpress.com/

6.  http://skedazzles.com/

7. http://aislingjenningsphotography.wordpress.com/

Ooops I almost forgot….

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you with a link posted on your blog back to their blog.

2. List seven things about yourself.

3. Pay it forward by nominating seven bloggers.

Let’s head over to check out what’s cooking at  http://sugardishme.com/ ….I need ideas for dinner tonight:) Thank you Heather…..sorry it took me so long to get this posted:)

Hot Rod Cowgirl Heads To The Portland Roadster Show 2012…Part One

20 Mar 2012 23 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Award, Holton Secret Lab, Hot Rods, Photography, Wild Bill Tags: , , , , , ,

Hello my fellow bloggers and friends:) I am finally able to update you on the last week at the Portland Roadster Show.

We left last Wednesday morning for Portland, Oregon…which is over 200 miles from our front door step.

This is about half way into the trip to Portland…we are now in the Columbia River Gorge…as you can see the terrain is vastly different from what I usually photograph.

The Gorge is beautiful and scenic but you usually have weather of some sort…we had snow off and on as well as mist from The Dalles on…only once did the trailer slip a bit….and HRC  prayed a lot!

Setting up at the Expo Center last Thursday morning…the Portland Show invites us to put our car trailer into our display as they like the trailer and people like walking through it…WB and his buddy Jack are rolling out the awning…WB is on the ladder trying to tear some tape off with his teeth…ding dong now quit that!

Here is a small view of the inside of the trailer once the car is unloaded.

And here is what I got to do….not fun! Cleaning and scrubbing the tires of both vehicles that we took once they were unloaded. My fingers are still cracked and split as I had to use my fingers tips to get into the deep places in the tread on the Bronco…I was thankful that my Sister Blah Blah other wise known as T,  helped me do the Bronco tires before they left for home…the party poopers!

I kept my smile and as you can see the part of the tire that is done is shiny clean and black while the part not done is dirty and blah…it makes the car when the tires are detailed out…the differnce between winning or not.

Here WB is helping me with the second vehicle tires and wheels…lots to do and get ready once you do get to the show. See my entry…the saddle? I thought I would show the original car seat:) Hee-hee wink wink:)

My hubby Wild Bill built this 1972 Bronco…it is custom and beautiful. We bought the Bronco back in 1993 for WB to build and have fun with:) And he did for several years when he had time…if you look close there are no door latches…he built the tauna cover that is open in this picture…of course he louvered the tail gate and did an amazing job. I could go on and on about the various customizing he did to the Bronco…

See the ladder bar suspension under it….WB designed and made them….WB is very innovative and creative….he is an artist of restoration with customizing, building and creating. We sold the Bronco a few years ago…which was hard for us to do as it had been part of our family for 16 years. It won Best of Class last year at the Portland Show…the first show for the Bronco…note the flames on the rear end housing:)

This is just one row of the 500 plus cars that were displayed at the roadster show…it is a huge show to attend and the vehicles are pristine…perfection…incredible!

Stay tuned tomorrow for Part Two…and the rest of the story:)

Thank you MJ for the awards:):):) I have missed all of you!!!

Versatile Bloggers Award…Wowie Zowie!

19 Feb 2012 22 Comments

by Hot Rod Cowgirl in Award, Landscapes, Life, Minnie My Cat, Photography, Versatile Blogger Award Tags: , , , , , , ,

Versatile Bloggers Award…Wowie Zowie!

Yesterday afternoon as I was putting together my secret family spaghetti sauce…I had a humbling surprise. Creative Noshing  sent a note saying that she had nominated me for The Versatile Blogger Award!

I was so excited to be nominated that Minnie and I did the happy dance:) Well ok she watched as I did a quick disco move or two…

Then she rolled back over and went back to her afternoon nap!

When I first started this blog last summer, I was not sure what tags were or categories or really what was Word Press and how did it work? I have learned that this is a community of fellow bloggers with stories to tell and pictures to share. I have read beautiful inspiring words that reach down deep to touch your heart and occasionally even my toes…very gifted writers that have the ability to tell the story in one word. Photo images that are simply breathtaking…gifted photography that pulls you into the story that is being told through that one image. The creative and artistic element that involves so many artists on Word Press is helping me to grow and learn…thank you for sharing your wisdom, knowledge and artistic ability

Thank you to Creative Noshing  for nominating me. You have given me encouragement and determination to write better and shoot more pictures:)

Now I am to share seven interesting things about myself and nominate seven other blogs.

A picture of WB and I visiting with a fellow survivor and friend…we are on the right. Tough Enough To Wear Pink Day or TETWP happens every Thursday of the Pendleton Round Up Rodeo…cowboys, contestants and everyone in the crowd comes to the rodeo that day wearing pink. It is a day of hope and celebration for survivors…I was in charge of the arena presentation for the survivors…which included their family members…as those who are in our family are very much survivors with us. TETWP raises money and awareness each year for local cancer survivors with support to help with their healing physically and emotionally. TETWP is a national organization that has spread to every rodeo whether large or small…check it out in your area:)

Seven random things about me….

 1: The end of July 1993 at about 9500′ elevation behind Yellowstone Park I was gathering and moving cattle with several neighbors. We had about 500 head gathered as we moved them up Pinion Ridge, which is a dividing ridge for the Columbia River, The Green River and The Mississippi River. As we started up this massive ridge a Wyoming thunderstorm had begun…the lightning struck all around us, starting small fires that the snow would put out…yes we were in a blizzard of snow too as we climbed…it was so bad near the top that the only thing I could do was pull my hat down lower and allow my horse to follow the one black cow we could see…I had no idea where I was and where my neighbors were. We were all in a storm cloud that boomed with thunder and flashed with lightning that was brilliantly white in the snow. Finally we came into a clearing…the storm faded away and the sun came out…the herd was together on the grassy meadow with all my neighbors. I sat in the sun soaking it up and was visiting with a neighbor when he said “Oh look Doc is trying to chase a Buffalo out of the herd…it looks to be 3-4 years old…lets go”…no one will believe this….and Toto we are not in Kansas anymore….a buffalo in the herd…what?

2. I love to write….as evidenced above! I have written as far back as I can remember…being an only child it gave me something to do with my imagination.

3. I love photography…I am self-taught and still learning…I get truly excited when I walk into a camera store to look at new equipment. Photography and writing go hand in hand…they feed my heart and spirit and I love doing both.

4. My office is in my parents old bedroom…I spent many nights in there due to the boogie man or the wind blowing or the house creaking…mostly the boogie man.

5. I am a tall person and a short person in one….my leg inseam is 36 as I am mostly legs and that is the tall person part…my arms are long too and I can bend them in weird ways…the upper part of me is little….when I sit down I sit short but when I stand up I am tall.

6. My husband “Wild Bill” builds custom cars…we own and operate Holton Secret Lab LLC…www.holtonsecretlab.com This  is a 1928 Dodge Coupe that WB customized and built with various details….such as a V-12 Jag engine….WB had to custom build the engine compartment to make the V-12 fit…the name of the car is “Jagged” and he is still working to finish it…the above picture was taken in our shop in May 2011.

7. I went to a small school 8 miles from the house…in the four-year high school there was between 35-45 students. When our youngest son began 1st grade in the same school he had two kids in his class….himself and a girl.

8. One more thing….see I told you I like to write….I am living in a house that I was born into on our century farm….my Grandfather Gunder built the house for my Great Grandmother Anne Marie in 1920…my parents moved into it in 1939 and WB and I moved into it in 1980.

My choices for the seven blogs:

The Simple Life Of A Country Mans Life

Real Ranch Wife

Veeder Ranch

My New Favorite Day

Brian Gaynor Photography

Sotardalen Nokota Horses

1001 Scribbles

If the above mentioned nominees feel moved to play the game, here are the rules:

  1. In a post on your blog, nominate 7 fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award.
  2. In the same post, add the Versatile Blogger Award.
  3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
  4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
  5. In the same post, include this set of rules.
  6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.

It was hard to pick only seven as every person on Word Press is very good!

Congrats from HR Cowgirl!

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