If It's The Beaches

Where You Invest Your Love...

"In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life..."
-Awake My Soul, by Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More

Christmas Cookies

Christmas is three days away... do you have your Christmas cookies baked? And your shopping done? And your presents wrapped? I do!

Merry Christmas From The Family...

It's not Christmas without hearing this song a few times. (Uh, for the record, it is not the most "PC" Christmas song ever written, so there is your disclaimer.)

"Make bloody Mary's cuz' we all want one! Send somebody to the the Stop and Go. We need some celery and a can of fake snow..." Robert Earl Keen is just the best.

We sent the January issue to the printers on Tuesday, and Grandma Sue is picking up blueline today. We are having our annual Christmas party at Sybill's (YUMMM!) next Tuesday, and we will be closed next Friday-Sunday to celebrate Christmas.  The deadline for the Jack issue is Jan 2. If you have a suggestion as to what type of articles you would like to see regarding breeding and caring for colts, please let us know.

We got a lot of compliments on the December cover. I agree, that mule had the sweetest face. But our January cover is very cool. Grandma Sue said it was one of her favorite pictures to appear on the cover, which says a lot, as she has been looking at Mules and More covers for 20+ years.

I am down to just a few names on my Christmas shopping list, and am hoping to finish those up soon. If you are still looking for gifts for your favorite mule/donkey lover, check out our "M&M Store" on our website. It's got a lot of ideas, and we can work with you on shipping to ensure it makes it by Christmas Eve.

--Cori

Snail Mail

If it were up to us, we would mail your magazines on the 25th of the month, and every one of you would receive them on the following day. Obviously, there are certain factors that make this next to impossible.

As if dealing with slow delivery isn't already a problem, this has been all over the news recently:
http://www.connectmidmissouri.com/news/story.aspx?id=694156#.Tt_ONWBqMw0
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2011/12/stamping-out-the-post-office.html

Yup, they are closing 250 mail processing centers.

We are appreciative of the (almost always) kind calls we receive from our subscribers checking on the whereabouts of their most current issue. As I mentioned earlier, we mail on the 25th of the month, and are recommended by USPS to allow 15-20 days for your magazine to arrive to you. If you haven't received your magazine by the 15th of that month (for example, if it was the December issue, it would be December 15) then you should feel free to give us a call and we will replace it for you. We keep a record of whose magazine we have to replace, and try to fix any patterns of lost magazines immediately by verifying your address and if necessary contacting your postmaster.

Sue, Kelly and I all want you to get your magazines as quick as possible. We work so hard on our magazine, we want you to be able to enjoy it in a timely manner! After all, magazines are "time sensitive," they contain dates and information that you need before an event happens, not after.

I would like to be able to say that things will get better, but if you watch the news you know that's just not true. Please, hang in there with us. Your magazines were mailed with the most positive and optimistic thoughts behind them, wishing them a safe and quick journey to you. Just stick it out a little longer. They are worth the wait.

--Cori

Christmas Card Preview!

Happiest Season Christmas Card

Create from the Heart: photo Christmas cards from Shutterfly .

View the entire collection of cards.

Christmas Card Preview!

Holly Toile Christmas Card

Turn your favorite pictures into personalized Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Blazin' Blue Bonnet

It is with a heavy heart that I report that yesterday Blue passed away. He taught me, my brother, and my daughter to ride, along with countless other children. I have so many memories interlaced with Blue, from high point buckles to lessons learned the hard way. It is impossible to imagine my parents house without him there to nicker at feeding time, but I know that we were so lucky and blessed to have ended up with that little mule in our life. They don't make them like Blazin' Blue anymore. Rest in peace, Blue. 

Relatable...

via Geekfill

Happy Mule Appreciation Day!!!

Happy Mule Appreciation Day! Be sure to give your mule a big hug (or a scratch on the butt, which is what MagPie prefers) today! And don't forget about your horses and donkeys, since without them, we wouldn't have our wonderful mules!

The photos above are from the Mule Day Celebration event that took place last week at the Mule Trading Post in Rolla, Mo. It was a beautiful day to celebrate our long-eared friend!

CARD SHOWER FOR DOZER

Dozer Beaver will be spending the next 4 weeks at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Memphis, TN for treatment.

Let’s all pull together and shower Dozer with Halloween cards to help brighten his stay. At this date we do not have an address for him in Memphis, so either mail your cards to Mules and More, PO Box 460, Bland, MO 65014, or to his home at Box 1412, Stilwell, OK 74960. Time is running out, so get your card in the mail today!

Pageant Mom

via Buzzfeed. 

The Best Costumes At The 2011 Tompkins Square Dog Parade held in New York City. 

Agreed. This is amazing. Are you dressing your mule or donkey (or dog!) up for Halloween? 

Help Wanted!

Mules and More is looking to immediately hire a free lance ad sales position to help us with our holiday gift guide. This would be a temporary position with a possibility of becoming permanent. You do not need to be local, working from home is fine. Contact us at mules@socket.net or 573/646-3934 for more information!

Recycle Owensville

Well, I am probably more excited about this than I should be. Owensville is going to have a recycle day on Saturday, which means I only have to drive my recycling a few miles (instead of almost 45 minutes)...so it will actually make it out of my garage! Yay!
I am going to sell my aluminum cans, too. And take that pile of stuff to the dump. And move the computer desk to the storage shed. And I am going to have my garage back!
Like I said, I am way more pumped for what basically amounts to cleaning than I should be. But it has been getting chilly in the mornings and it would be so nice to be able to park my car in there.

We just sent the November issue off to the printer.  That means we are officially working on December. Oh man, I don't even want to think about all that yet. But, I do love Halloween, and Thanksgiving, and Christmas...so I guess it's not too bad :)

Everything else is secondary

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” 
-Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Extreme Trail Challenge in Rolla, Mo.

My mom has some photos over on her blog of the Extreme Trail Challenge Camri, my dad and I attended this weekend in Rolla, Mo., hosted by the Rolla Saddle Club. Hoosier and I were the big winners, followed by Dad and Jessie in second and Dad and Jethro in fourth. Camri and Shedaisy placed third in the 12 and under division. It was a great way to spend a beautiful Saturday with our mules!

I might possibly have some videos to post from the challenge, but I'm not quite sure of their quality yet. Camri recorded one of them (of Jessie's run). Dad said he added commentary to my run, so I am sure it turned out great (especially since I momentarily forgot how to open a gate, lol).

http://pairadicemules.blogspot.com/

Orange and Black Day!

I think these two are officially tired of me taking their picture each morning... :)

PJ Day!

Cowboy Day

Busy As A Bee

So, thanks to cheap airline tickets and good friends, in the past week I have got to spend time in Minneapolis, Denver, St. Louis, Little Rock, and Atlanta. I am so glad to finally be home!

I went out and spent Thursday evening through Sunday morning with my good friend from college Sarah in Denver. She lives and works there now. Another one of my best friends from college met us out there, Bonnie from Columbia. We ate lots of yummy food, went out to some fun places, did some shopping, and even got pedicures. To say the least, we had a large time.

Sunday I got to spend the night in Little Rock because of a storm in Memphis. I finally got to work today (a day late!) so I have been busy as a bee! 

The picture above is of the pretty clouds on my flight from Little Rock to Atlanta. 

The deadline for the November issue October 1. Let us know if we can help you advertise! 

Saturday Morning Cartoon...

via http://imgfave.com/view/1136557

Go Cards!

Cam, Ali, Davey and I went to the Cards game last Friday. It was a bit chilly but we had a great time!

Bon Iver

Davey and I went to the Bon Iver show at the Pageant in STL this Sunday. It was one of the best concerts I've seen in a while! Lots of energy, and I loved all the instruments (there are 9 of them!). Will definitely go see them again!

With Your Heart

aiming and it sunk and we were drunk and we had fleshed it out
nose up in the globes, you never know if you are passing out
no it wasn’t maiden-up, the falling or the faded luck
hung up in the ivory, both were climbing for a finer cause
love can hardly leave the room
with your heart 
--Bon Iver, Michicant

4-Peat

Cole and BB won the mule race at the National Championship Chuckwagon Races again this year for the fourth year in the row!

Labor Day Weekend

We stopped to get gas last night on our way to the National Championship Chuckwagon Races in Clinton, Arkansas, and I saw this flyer hanging in the convenience store (which I had made for Ozark Mule Days!). It made me think to remind everyone that there are a lot of fun mule events this weekend, so check out our calendar of events and find one to go to! And don't forget to send us photos of you enjoying the long weekend with your longears!

From Granny

I was going through the pile of photos/artwork that needed scanned and saw this card from Anna Arnold (Granny's Adventures). It's very "Anna," and such a cute card. I thought I would share!

Believe to Achieve

via Believe to Achieve. Love love love these.

Cafe Press

So, I've been messing around a little recently, setting us up a Cafe Press site. I haven't yet figured out everything, so I am not going to add it to our website or put a link up on Facebook...but if you have a chance, check it out and let me know what you think.

It seems like the dark shirts cost more, and that more than one color of ink ups the price. I have just been looking at the tshirts, but there are thousands of products you can choose from to list in your store. The NASMA site has some good examples of that.

The only thing I am a little skeptical about is that, for example, if you are shopping on our website and have things in your cart, and then visit the Cafe Press site and find things you want to buy there, too, you will have to do two separate check outs. I don't know how I feel about that yet, and I don't know whether shoppers would like it.

It does have potential to be a good resource though! http://www.cafepress.com/mulesandmore

Have Your Cake and Pizza, Too

(via The Daily What.) I am going to try and remember to do this for Camri's birthday. She would get a huge kick out of it...She only likes the icing in cake anyway. And I'm positive she likes pizza more than cake.

From Across the Pond...

We have had the pleasure of some very "lovely" company in the office the past few days...Donna Taylor, from France, who writes the "From Across the Pond" column in the magazine! She will write about her visit in more detail in her columns to come, but we enjoyed two days of riding and visiting, along with a trip to one of my favorite restaurants, Sybill's in St. James. She flew into St. Louis after spending some time in the mountains in South Carolina, and flew out today to Utah to see more friends.

I really enjoyed Donna's visit, and hope she gets a chance to come back!

Cori, Donna and Sue

Mussels in a wine and olive oil sauce from Sybill's. Not pictured: sangria and chocolate lava cake. They were all insanely delicious. Grandma Sue said Donna was still talking about our supper when when she dropped her off at the airport this morning!

First day of first grade...

Like, very bad.

I am having a bad day. Like, very bad. But I was goofing around and found this, and it brightened my day a teensy bit.

http://evilpig.imgur.com/facebook_prank#REmA3

Helpful Tip

http://www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/tutorials/photoshop-tip-rotate-brush-between-use

I found this helpful tip today while working on an ad. It shows you how to rotate the brush you are using in Photoshop. This is kind of embarrassing, but before I found this I was rotating the canvas if I needed to use the brush at a different angle. You learn something new every day!

Let Me Try And Explain Again

All the stars up in the sky
And the leaves in the trees
All the broken bits that make you jump up
And grassy bits in between
All the matter in the world is how much I like you

--Birds, by Kate Nash

Are Your Thoughts Results of Static Cling?

I'm back at work today. Came into work to find a MASSIVE pile of ads and articles. It's been a yucky, rainy day on top of all that! Oh well, I had to come back to reality eventually... I've had Jason Mraz and Adele on repeat today. Magazine's due on Friday, so I'm going to stay motivated (positive thinking, lol)!

Yup, it sure is.

Hurricane Oyester Bar and Grill

We had dinner at Hurricane Oyster Bar and Grill. I had oyester nachos and lobster tacos. They were delicious! Davey had wings, and he said they were some of the best he has ever eaten.

We are headed back to the beach in the a.m. After we get some sand castle building supplies, that is :)

Waffle House hats

Goofballs In The Backseat

Loaded Up and Truckin'

We are stopped for a quick lunch, then we're Florida bound!

Gus vs. Pool

We have been giggling about this in the office, so I thought I would share!

My Latest Jam

"How much did you pay for that tan?"

"More than you paid for your boots."

Senior Mule Trail Pattern at Shelbyville

I am always interested in what kind of patterns are being used at mule shows across the country. I had snapped a picture of the senior mule trail pattern on my phone (because I was too lazy to draw it) while at Shelbyville, so I thought I would share it. What it doesn't show is how TIGHT they set this pattern up. The serpentine was insanely tight and I only saw one or two mules make it through. The warm up pen is huge where they set this course up, but they only used about 1/3 of it.

My Wish List...

This might seem like a silly thing to put on my "wish list," but after spending what seemed like a really long time sorting recycling to take to the recycling center, I would love to have a set of bins like this. Camri and I hauled ours over in laundry baskets, and they are certainly not the most efficient way to transport recycling.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Suncast-Multi-Colored-Recycle-Bin-Kit/11078498

I also am adding a cordless power drill to my wish list. I put a shelf together today, and one would have been extremely handy!

Yeah, I stayed inside today instead of riding my big ol' mules, but it is HOT outside and I got SUPER sunburnt on the river yesterday... I am hoping to get out and ride in the early a.m. tomorrow, as long as I can convince Cam to get up with me, that is.

The August issue with our Jake Clark Days coverage is gone away to the printer. We are now working on the September issue, with our next deadline being August 1. My boyfriend and I are taking our kids and going to Florida with another couple and their kids the first week in August, so I will be missing four days of work. I think I can manage, though!

Correction

The high point winners below are for the NASMA National Champion classes.

Sent from my iPhone

High Point Donkey and Mule

High Point Donkey:
Grand Champion- Clyde's Gallant Fox
Reserve- Sycamore Springs Joe

High Point Mule:
Grand Champion- Big Bruce
Reserve- Big Woods Queen Elizabeth

Sent from my iPhone

A Few Highpoint Winners...

Amateur Mule:
Grand Champion- Big Bruce
Reserve- GiGi's Impressive Upfront

Training Level Donkey
Grand Champion- Circle C Mo Vision
Reserve- DLs Good Ol Max

Junior
Grand Champion- Deep Fork Farms Dixie

NASMA National Championship Senior Western Pleasure

Grand Champion: GiGi's Impressive Upfront, ridden by Shelly Raley

Reserve: Big Bruce, ridden by Hunter Gramman

There were 15 in the class.

NASMA National Champion Donkey Western Pleasure

Adult Costume Class

Grand Champion Halter Mule Class

2010 NASMA Awards

Last night, NASMA hosted their 2010 awards ceremony in the outside arena at The Great Celebration Mule and Donkey Show. High Point winners received blue saddle blankets. The top 2-10 youth received buckles.

The NASMA youth presented outgoing president Tom Cochran with a buckle (above).

It is nice to be back in Shelbyville and to get to visit with everyone. If you are here, be sure to stop by and check out the Mules and More booth in the coliseum. Sue has lots of great mule and donkey merchandise, along with books, DVDs, and caps. AND she is always up for mule and donkey conversations! I will be in the booth occasionally, when I'm not riding or taking photos.

Quality Time

Hoosier

Since Shelbyville is next week, I have been spending lots of quality time with Hoosier, attempting to get him ready/in shape for the show. He has been ridden every day since I got back from Wyoming. We went to a schooling show up the road from my house where we had some much needed jumping practice. He even got to go to work with my dad at the sale barn yesterday. Hopefully, this will do the trick and we will have a successful show...

Back from Wyoming

After a 24-hour-plus drive from Wyoming, we made it home late Monday night. And, oh man, was I zapped yesterday. Zumba was excruciating, and I seriously regretted eating those delicious fresh fried donuts for lunch three days...(but, ohhhh, they were yummy!).

We had a great time in Wyoming. We got to eat all sorts of great food (Proud Cut and Cassie's) and spent time with awesome people. The mules our group brought for the auction sold great (4 out of 5 went for over $8,000!). M&M handed out a ton of magazines and got a new advertiser. We are of course looking forward to next year's trip!

I was glad to get back to see Miss Camri... I sure missed her while I was gone!

The July issue's are going out early this month. I think they are being mailed from the printer today or tomorrow. It's filled with news and photos from Bishop Mule Days. I am anxious for everyone to see the cover. I just love it!

Next month, August, will be contain our Jake Clark coverage. The deadline for advertising/articles is next Friday, July 1. (Where is this summer going?)

Jake Clark's - Friday

Jake Clark's - Friday's Events

Trail Course, Ranch Work, and Roping - Friday's event