There are many difficult tasks that you will incur when you decide to start your own business, but one of the more fun tasks is naming your business. Here are some tips to help you come up with something unique and avoid choosing something that some other creative individual has already thought of.

Tried out Swag Bucks yet? It’s a service similar to Google, with the added ability to earn “Bucks” redeemable for prizes. I’m shooting for a $300 Apple gift card myself. Click below to sign up!

Want to earn a Star Wars collectible item, an acoustic guitar, or maybe even an iPhone?!?! Then sign up to win SWAGBUCKS. The catch? You just need to use SwagBucks as your new search engine! It’s that simple! Just sign up by clicking the banner below and watch the “cash” flow in.

I’ve located a website that pays for the blogs people post, if their blog generates hits to paying websites such as Google, eBay, or Amazon. I’m giving it a shot:

How to Host Your Own WordPress Blog

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Mandee

Lark and I, partners in crime!

Over 4 years ago, my parents surprised me with a cute little Paint horse for my 16th birthday. The first time I rode her, I forgot to strap her bridle on tight and the bit nearly fell out of her mouth. Well, wouldn’t ya know, that five year old mare just stood there and waited for me to get off and fix it. It was then that I knew I had a great horse.

The day before that sweet little Paint arrived at our farm, we sold a 30 year old mare named Ready Bow. If you’ve read any of my horse stories, chances are, you’re familiar with this name. (For a related post, please click here.) Ready Bow was my treasure. We re-homed her because she cost us 3 times the amount it would cost to feed a younger horse. You see, dear ‘ol Red didn’t have any teeth left. She’d lost ‘em due to her nasty habit of chewing of wood. So, we shed our tears and found some a loving family that didn’t mind the big feed bill. It hurt – bad – but she was quickly replaced (though only in the flesh, not in my heart) by my wonderful Lark. She helped ease the pain.

Not long after Lark settled in, I tossed around the idea of breeding her and raising a foal. Before selling Ready, I’d discovered Red had born one foal, a filly, who in turn, later foaled a colt. The colt’s name was Sonny Royal Surprise. 

If you jump ahead four years, three months, and fifteen days since the day we sold Ready, it will bring you to January 2, 2009. That’s right…just 3 days ago. I was sitting on the couch, talking to my mom who was in the kitchen doing whatever mothers do. Somehow the topic of breeding Lark came up.

Ready Bow, Feb. 1974 - Nov. 2007

“Yeah, so, I wanna breed Lark to Ready’s grandson this year.”

“That’s a GREAT idea!” Mom answered.

I wrinkled my nose in thought. “It’s been over 4 years since we found that stud online though. He might have new owners by now. Or even worse, he might be gelded.” 
 Go ahead and laugh at me. Such things should not bother a sophisticated gal like me. (HA! Ok just kidding.)

The thought of not being able to raise a foal from the lines of my beloved Ready Bow had been irking me for a good amount of time, prior to this conversation. A lot can happen in four years. Heck, I didn’t even know if the horse was still in our state for that matter, if he was still alive.

Well, I was so bothered by the uncertainty that I leaped up from the couch, took off for my bedroom, and grabbed my cell phone and laptop. With my laptop, I Googled the horse’s name and found the last known owner’s contact information. With my cell, I dialed the number without a second thought.

Ring. Ring. Ring. 

It stopped ringing, but no one had answered. Oh darn it all, what if it was a bad number? I tried again, praying.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

An older man’s voice answered. “Hello?”

I fumbled for my words, not sure what to say. “Uh, hi! I’m not sure if I have the right number, but do you by chance own a horse by the name of Sonny Royal Surprise?”

Hesitation. 

“Oh, yes, we do! We call him Royal around here.”

Ok, so they still had the horse. I told him that I’d owned his grandmother, Ready, and how I’d tracked him down. Then I asked the next question…

“Is he still available for breeding?”

“Yes ma’am, he sure is.”

AHH!! Ok, stop here, do you GET THIS? Do you have any IDEA how wide a smile this put on my face?! I realize this may

Sonny Royal Surprise

 sound weird to those of you who don’t have animals, but this news was incredibly exciting. Come to find out, Royal is quite the winning horse in NY state, and has quite a showing history. I was amazed at the things his owner was telling me! I was very impressed.

So, it all comes down to this. I’m going to be visiting Royal when I can trust the weather to permit the 2-3 hour road trip. Then, I’ll start making plans to truck Lark come April or May. It’s gonna cost me a pretty penny, but darn it, I won’t let that stop me. If anyone wants to contribute to the $600+ fee it’s gonna scrape from my pockets, feel free to let me know!  

What a great way to start the new year.  

…it was a hope not shattered.