Around the Ranch

So, I’m sure you noticed that the header of the blog is incomplete, and missing items. There is reason for this. I have some work to do,, but please stay tuned as we work to get this site back to normal and read below what happened.

I have been reminded of some valuable lessons this past week. Specially when it comes to websites! I had moved this blog away from where we are now, to another host (Yes, I am self hosted). I was having some issues with the site, and wanted to separate it from my other websites to figure out what was going on. I bought a new design (I usually do this on my own), and kept the site hosted elsewhere for over a year (since the last post on here anyways). Photos, of Zac, information on the farm,, and so much more.

Well, two weeks ago, I couldn’t get to my back office, or pull up the website!! With calls and emails into the host, I patiently waited. Then, I filed a dispute with Paypal when my bill was paid, and guess what?? I got a refund of my service fee within hours!

Now, I’m not sure what is going on with WAHM Hosting, and at this point, I don’t care. I was lied to about her services. Come to find out, she was reselling hosting with Godaddy, which is fine, if you inform your customers. But, I have now lost everything from the past year and cannot get it back.

In a way, this is good for me, I suppose. I can now get back on track and work this blog like it is meant to be used. I don’t do giveaways here, I don’t do a lot of big name branding work. I started this blog as a way to keep information for the farm. When I need info, I want an easy place to find it. I want my grandson to be able to come here and look and see how much he means to us. I want others to come here and just relax, enjoy our pictures, our stories and recipes, and share in the fun we have.

Lessons Learned:

BACK UP your websites. I’ve been online and working with websites since 2004, when I first started making websites and working with a wonderful host. I know this lesson, very well as a matter of fact. But, because I got busy, and then lazy, and then just plain forgot. I am now pretty much starting from scratch.

From today forward, look for more new images, and maybe some old ones as I rebuild this site, and hopefully you will join us on FB as well. We would love to have you come out and visit us sometime, and just sit around and chat, take a walk, or visit with our animals.

Is in our very NEAR Future. Which is why I have not been around much this week, but I’m not going to apologize for not being here. I am going to say that if you want to get the chance to win a really nice prize, come back on June 1st. If you want to DOUBLE your chances (and a chance to win a second prize), then make sure you are following us on GFC BEFORE June 1st, 2011. IF GFC isn’t back up by June 1, we will use the Cloud 9 Ranch Facebook Page, Twitter OR Networked Blogs instead. Hopefully it will be back up. You can find all widgets on are on the left hand side of the blog! IF GFC does come up, we will also use that widget. So, just to be on the safe side, and to double your chances to win, go ahead and “like” our FaceBook Page now!

I’ll give you a hint as to what the prize is. You all know how I love to garden, and it’s no secret that we are changing over from a tilled garden to raised beds and container gardening.  If you have a small yard, or just like to decorate your garden, your going to love these! Natural Beauty and Earth-tone colors, these items will be sure to put a smile on your face, and a song in your heart.

In the mean time, I want to wish everyone a safe and happy Memorial Day Weekend. Please remember that this holiday is to remember and honor those who have served our country.  I want to say a special thank you to my Father, who served in the Army; my Daughter, who served in the Marines;  my Brother who served in the Navy. And a very remembrance to my step-father, who served in the Air Force, and past away 2 years ago this past Feb.

is really pissing me off! As I sit here and watch the Today Show, I am getting more and more pissed. What is wrong with the country? Here is what I am having trouble with this morning:

Mom loses custody because of Brest Cancer ~ I don’t know how many of you have heard this story yet. But it totally pissed me off this morning. When I heard this story on Today Show, I did some Googling. Alaina Giordano lost custody of her two children because she has stage 4 breast cancer. I found her blog that she has set up for her story, and I just could not believe what I was reading

Excert from Alaina’s blog ~
Because I have a cancer diagnosis, I have spent the last sixteen months in court defending myself from the attacks of my abusive husband who filed a lawsuit against me in Durham County, NC asking for full, permanent custody of our two children using the argument that I have a cancer diagnosis. He then chose to move to the Chicago area to take a job at Sears Holdings, Inc. leaving our children in my sole physical custody since August 2010

We all know that, as mothers, our children are our strength, our hope, and our driving force. And a judge who does not understand this, does not be sitting on a bench in Family court. This story has my blood boiling, as the judge has made the biggest mistake of her life. IF the judge was a mom, which she isn’t, she would have a better understanding of how critical the children are to the recovery process. Just because Alaina has cancer, does not mean she cannot be a fit mother.

Alaina looked great this morning on TV. Yes, I know, they use makeup and such. But, the woman looked strong, is going for treatment just once a month, has a strong support system (while the petitioning father has NO support system, not even his mom, according to Alaina’s blog). Cancer is NOT a death sentance any more. We have come so far in our medical technology.

I hope and pray that someone out there with the skills, the knowledge, and the heart to help Alaina in her fight for her children. I honestly don’t know who she has for a lawyer, but we all know that when it comes to the courts, it is usually the lawyer with the best argument that wins the case. So, maybe all the blame can’t be laid on the judge, but the majority of it does lay on her shoulders.

Making National News (video) ~ I wasn’t able to embed this video, but it definitely tells more of the story. Please View (link is to Alaina’s Facebook Page)

FEMA is really pissing me off this morning as well!

FEMA Sends out Recoupment Letters

Excert from ABC News Chicago ILL FEMA’s representative told Divito that because insurance covered part of her damage, FEMA made a mistake and shouldn’t have issued her a grant. FEMA officials say they may have mistakenly given out 160,000 grants nationwide since 2005 — totaling more than a half a billion dollars.

FEMA Denies help for VA Tornado Victims ~ FEMA denied McDonnell’s request for Washington and Pulaski counties over the weekend indicating the damage was not severe enough to qualify for federal assistance.

This is another issue that is pissing me off this morning. How are the families of Vaginia suppose to be begin healing and rebuilding when our government won’t help them? Yet, millions and even billions of dallors of are being spent in other countries to help disaster victims.

I was always taught to help your neighbors, but you also don’t put your own family in danger.  So, tell me, how can we be helping other countries, when we have families right here at home that need our government’s help. And then to add insult to injury, FEMA wants money back for funds THEY handed out erroneously. I’m not sure of the best way to handle this situation, but to ask the victims of disasters to repay a mistake that was out of their hands just does not seem like the right way to go.

Has been drawn, and the winner is…… Adalia!

Congratulations for winning our Easter Giveaway. Please check your email and respond.

Both to the world and to the blog.There has been so much to be thankful for this year already. From the birth of my grandson, to having only minor storm damage done. Black Iris’s are about to pop open (I can’t wait to get photos of them fully opened), strawberries coming along nicely, along with the rest of the garden. Horses are looking good, and feeling good.  I felt it was also time to give Cloud 9 Ranch Blog a new look and feel.

Okay, so truth be told, I totally messed up my other theme on WP, so I have started from scratch. All new colors, a new header, and a whole new look. Don’t fret, I still have more work to do. Nothing like getting a fresh new look to help brighten things up a bit.

I am proud to say that I made the header myself, with my easy little Infranview program. It’s awesome for working with images, and I sometimes forget just how much this little program can do. Although, I do still want to add some personal images to the header. I think it is a good start.  I know the program works on all OS up to and including Windows 7. I started using Infranview several years ago, on my XP OS, and it works just as good on the 7. There is also a plugin you can get that allows you to do even more. I just haven’t downloaded it, so not sure how it works, or what it will allow me to do. Maybe tomorrow I will get a chance to do just that. OH! Did I mention the program is free to download?

I’ve change the theme to Mystique,,  a WordPress theme, for those interested in checking it.  Because it offers a lot of variations, from the background color to the tabs, and is very easy to work with. Of course, I’m sure it can be customized even further, if you know your stuff. Since I’m still learning CSS and how it all works, I’ll leave that part to the experts. After I created my header in Infranview, I just uploaded it to the theme in the Mystique Setting

Wishing everyone a very Happy Easter and enjoy your family.