New art from Barbed Heart and a wish for a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I just wanted wish everyone a Happy and Blessed Holiday.  We all have so much to be thankful for. Even if we dont always realize. Just look around you and you'll see that however bad you may think you have it, someone standing next to you is in a far worse situation or facing more serious difficulties than you.  That doesnt mean that our own problems are insignificant. It just means we need to always be conscious of what is good in our life and not focus on the bad. Give Thanks. Always. Especially when times are hard. That is when we need to be the most aware of what we ARE Blessed with, not what we are without. 

On that note, I want send out a special thank you to our most awesome Lord above for the wonderful progress my good buddy Gary Goodman has made since his serious heart attack last week. He is out of the hospital but not home yet. I'll keep him in my prayers, and his dear family too. He's a tough old coot, so Im sure he'll be fine. O.K....he's not that old but I like to poke fun at him whenever I can!  If you know Gary and would like to get the whole story on his very dramatic incident while hunting in the wilds of Montana, just go to the site I set up for him at Support Circle. 

Next week, Im finally headin' off to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas with my fellow cowgirl pal, Dara. Look out Vegas!  I'll be taking pics so I hope to have some good ones to share. Speaking of pics, here are two of my latest works. They can be found on my Barbed Heart Photography SmugMug site and you can also purchase them at Anderson's Texas Trading right here in my home town of Grapevine, TX.

"Lone Longhorn" in twilight sepia

"Longhorn Through the Brush" in twilight sepia.

I love working in photoshop, playing with actions and textures. Oh the possibilities...my head...my brain...

So, Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Be safe, be well, be thankful and be generous to others.

YUWAKAPE EL NIYE!  (Lakota Indian for Blessings to you!) - XOXO,  Rhonda

Viva Las Vegas! Its the National Finals Rodeo!

So...hmmm...what to do next...?

I KNOW! I think I'll head to Las Vegas for the NFR!

                                                                                                                                                              
Me and one of my best buddies, the lovely and talented Mrs Dara Hopkins, have decided that we need to take a girls trip so we're packing our bags this Dec. and heading to Sin City. Strictly for the rodeo of course! I personally have never been to the National Finals Rodeo and I am super excited. Ms. Dara has been a regular so I get to sit back and soak up the benefits of having her as my official tour guide. What a great year this has been. So many firsts, so many great experiences...  I will of course be taking pictures to share. Im sure there will be shopping involved. Plus this is the 25th anniversary of the Finals being held in Las Vegas. We will also be stopping by a barrel racing event hosted by the legendary Charmayne James, another one of my barrel racing heroes. Yee Haw!
But, no...there will not be much gambling (for me anyway) They have a nickname for people like me in Vegas...its "SUCKER"! I might as well take my cash and burn it 'cause the outcome and the feeling is about the same for me! I cant wait to take it all in.  I'll keep you posted.
Later!

"Life on Planet Cowgirl"

There were cowboy boots and hats, leather and turquoise, a former first lady and cowgirl icons from corner to corner. Last Friday, I was lucky enough to attend the 34th Annual Cowgirl Hall of Fame Inductee Luncheon. As I mentioned in my August 14th post, my good buddy Mitzi made my year when she invited me to go along with her to this amazing event. I cant begin to tell you all how truly special this was for me. Nor do I have the time to describe everything about the event was made it so special. Suffice it to say that between sitting one table over from our beautiful, classic, unbelievably gracious former First Lady, Laura Bush and watching the new inductees each take their turn, striding proudly...nervously...happily across the stage to accept their individual honors - I was in heaven. So rather than try to cram everything I would LIKE to tell you about into a reasonably sized post...I will opt to simply post some of the MANY photos that I took that day. Pictures really are worth a thousand words and they will say all I want to say in one simple step. These are just a few of my favorites. Enjoy.  And if you're wondering about the title of this post, "Life on Planet Cowgirl", its the title song from the latest CD of one my favorite singer/song writers, Templeton Thompson.  Check out her site, her music and photos. If you love horses and the cowgirl way of life. You'll love Templeton.

Giddy up!

Me and Mitz...God Bless!

Good old Red Steagall M.C.'d and did a great job.

Our lovely Laura Bush.

Ms. Laura accepting the Gloria Lupton Tennison Award.

Our cool table.

Another cool table with a booth theme.

Fun, funky saddle by Gypsy Soul

Custom oil paintings of the inductees.

Western troubadours.

Gives me chills...

Kay Whittaker Young accepting her plaque.

After the luncheon, which was held at the Round Up room at Will Rogers, we walked across the street to the Cowgirl Museum. Many previous inductees were there and I was able to get some great shots but most importantly...I got to grab a photo of me with one of my long time barrel racing heros...Martha Josey. This lady has'nt changed in 30 years. Way to go Martha!

Old cowgirls and new.

The wall of honorees - past and present.

Hold on - Photo OP!!!

I'll post more pics later. Thanks and hope you enjoyed them.

Ride on Cowgirls!

Its time for GRAPEFEST 2009 baby!

So for those of you who have never been to GRAPEFEST in good old historic Grapevine, Texas - you have to go! It is TOO MUCH fun.  I will be there as usual as Barbed Heart Creations, selling my custom handcrafted baubles and beads - but Im changing it up for 2009. For the last 6 years or so, I have participated as a regular vendor, i.e., I had a booth in the Arts/Crafts section and you could find me either on Main St amid the herd of white tents or on one of the little side streets. This year however, I will be enjoying Grapfest and selling my wares from the air-conditioned comfort of ANDERSONS TEXAS TRADING CO.owned and operated by my buddies Shawn and Cyndi Anderson. They are currently the exclusive retailer of my jewelry line and they have gracioulsy agreed to let  me to set up shop in their store and host a "trunk show" of sorts. Yea!  Now... I will truly miss having my booth out in the the middle of Main St.  I love to be in amongst the crowds, hang with all my booth groupies, people watch, laff at all the folks who indulged a bit too much at the wine tastings, etc.

My  Roadies... :-)

But what I wont miss:
1. The mad cow scramble to get my booth set up and all my stuff displayed the day before.
2. The heat.
3. My makeup melting and running down my face until I look like some kind of creature from the Dawn of the Dead.
4. The heat.
5. Spending 4 long days on the hot asphalt  with the sun beating down on the tent and my feet swelling to Fred Flintstone like proportions and constantly dusting and straightening my tables!
6. The heat.
7. Oh yeah...on the off chance it rains, I wont miss scurrying around like a drowning rat trying to get my tables covered and the tent flap down. Did I mention the hurricane that blew threw LAST  year on the busiest day of festival? There were vendor bits and pieces blowing everywhere!
8. And lastly...the heat.
O.k., Im done complaining about the heat.
On to more about Grapefest! 

In addition to my jewelry, (sample pic above) I will be kicking off my new addiction - photography.BARBED HEART PHOTOGRAPHY- of course!  We'll see how it goes. Im still very much an amateur but you have to start some where.  So, come on out and see me. I'll be at Andersons on Main pretty much the whole time. Even if you arent in the market for my bling or photos, come by any way and start your Christmas shopping in Andersons. Its a great store and they have an amazing selection upscale Texas decor, holiday items, Santas, all kinds of fun stuff! See ya' at Grapfest in a couple of weeks. I'll close with the following pic of my baby girl Gypsy. Thanks to Ree, The Pioneer Woman I learned about a super cool, super inexpensive lens that I am loving! Its a short portrait lens and it is so much fun! I overexposed her "snout" a bit on one side but its still a good pic of the old girl! I used a black and white PS Action to convert the color and hand tinted her eyes to keep them blue. Its hard to tell in this small version but the full size is pretty neat. Enjoy -
Adios- Rhonda B

I hate to say it...but Im infected...

With the SHUTTERBUG! As some of you know, I have a new love...Photography. 'Cause, well, making custom jewelry, digital scrapbooking and all my other asstd. hobbies just werent enough. What can I say? Im a dabbler. I dabble here and I dabble there. I dabble to keep my creative brain from atrophying! It freezes up easily so I must have alternate sources of inspiration to keep it in motion. I love these following two photos. They are a couple of my first real efforts. And what a shocker, they're of HORSES. Yes, I love horses. Ive had horses my whole life and they are just part of my make-up. What can I say...its a sickness, but a good one.


What else do I love? Photoshop! Photoshop Elements, Photoshop CS4, anything Photoshop! Thanks to my buddy Bec, Im addicted. Thanks Bec. Thanks alot... :-) With these programs, the possibilities are endless! My poor little pea-brain frequently finds itself spinning out of control just trying to decide what to do next. But ahh...its a good ride.

To this end I have spent many many hours online hitting different blogs and websites, educating myself on Digital Arts, all the Photoshop programs, exploring other peoples techniques and Im here to tell you, if you cant find it on the web...its not out there.
In my wanderings I have come across many really really great sites that are extremely useful, entertaining and inspiring. I'll be sharing them with you periodically but the one I want to start with is by far one of my favorites. Its The Pioneer Woman, a.k.a. - Ree Drummond. She is da'bomb! And an incredible inspiration, great photographer, writer, you name it, she does it. You gotta check her out. On her site, she covers all the bases. There's her section called Confessions (you'll laugh you tush off). She also has Cooking (makes me wanna actually turn on my stove...well, almost!), Photography (great tips, equipment info, ideas, you name it) and she has The Tasty Kitchen, a completely separate site you can get to from her page as well. Again... it ALMOST makes me want to put on my apron - if I had one- and make a real-life, no microwave, no pre-prepped meal! What is going on here? I'm almost scarin' myself a little. I do plan on really truly trying some of her recipes if for no other reason than to see if I can photograph it step by step as well as she does! Did I mention she hosts all these fun little contests too? Where does she find the time?
Well, I'm off to another project, i.e., my photo site. I chose SmugMug. It seems to be a great host site - lots of options and easy to work with. As soon as I feel its ready, I'll post the link to Barbed Heart Photography. Im also re-working my jewelry website, Barbed Heart Creations.
Keep checkin' in. Its a work in progress and granted Ive been a little slow outta' the gate but hey, at least I MADE IT OUT of the gate! That's something...right?
Have good'urn!
Rhonda


"Never ride faster than your

Guardian Angel can fly!"

Goodie hits the Big 50!

Well, our buddy Goodman (Gary), made it to the Big 50! Sat. the 15th was his birthday so all the old gang (sans RB cause Jerry Jones wouldn't give him the day off!) headed on up to Lake Texoma to Casa Goodman for a little birthday bash. It was old home week for us all. The Clarkes, the Hopkins, the Harris's and Goodmans were all in the same place for the first time in a LLLOOONNNGG time and it was a super weekend.
We had a great time catching up, laughing and just enjoying the beauty that is Texoma. And nothing, AND I MEAN NOTHING, beats a get together where Mrs. Becky Goodman is in charge! There was more food and beverage than you can imagine. But the best part was the company!

Oh yeah... the guys were there too. :-) And the Birthday boy of course! There was swimmin', fishin', more fishin', Shiner watching everyone fishin', more swimmin'...
But my buddy Beth...won the fishin' prize - hands down!
Be sure to visit the Goody Family Photo site to see all the pics from this weekend. You wont be disappointed!

Thanks Goodmans' for a great time as always and for opening your home to all of us.

Happy Birthday Goody! ( And good job on the chicken hotel!)

Cheers! Ro

National Cowgirl Hall of Fame??? Who? Me???

No, not me silly! Wouldn't that be the coolest thing ever?!

But I got your attention didnt I?

The next best thing to being inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame (for me anyway) would be having the privilege to attend the annual inductee ceremony. And because of a dear dear friend and fellow Breast Cancer survivor, I will get to do just that, this October. I am so excited! My friend Mitzi (Anita as she is known to many) has invited me to go with her to this amazing event. If you arent familiar with the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, you have to check it out. Its a huge deal. This, the 34th annual induction, our beautiful former First Lady Laura Bush will be among the honorees. She will be receiving the Gloria Lupton Tennison Pioneer Award. This years inductees are Deborah Copenhaver Fellow, Kay Wittaker Young, Mary Jane Colter and Cornelia "Ninia" Wadsworth Ritchie. The event is being held at the Will Rogers Memoria Center in Ft. Worth and I cant wait! Who knows, maybe I'll get to have a pic or two with some of the honorees! I am so grateful to my buddy Mitzi for thinking of me and asking me to join her. This is something near and dear to my heart and I am beside myself that she let me share this experience with her. I'll keep you posted and hopefully have to great pics to post!

Back later!

TGIF everybody!

Ro

Quick as a jackrabbit I am...NOT!

Finally, here I come, careening in at the speed of molasses! At long last, I've finally set up my very first BLOG! Stay tuned. I'll be adding posts, fun pics, links to my jewelry line - Barbed Heart Creations, and also...links to my new love/hobby/biz - PHOTOGRAPHY! (as if I didnt have enough of 'em already!) Hope you will enjoy my blog, laff a little, see some fun stuff and learn more about me than you probably every cared to.

Back soon!

Have a good'ern!

Rhonda

"Life is a Ride...So let'er Buck!"