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You are here: Home / life / And the Saga Continues…

And the Saga Continues…

November 4, 2009 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ 6 Comments

I feel a little like this today...
I feel a little like this today...

There’s good news and bad news.

The first part of the good news is- while my arm is still a bit sore, the lump seems to have disappeared. Second, I really felt better yesterday afternoon. My appetite was back and I wasn’t stiff and lethargic like I had been. I even baked banana cake last night!

The bad news is that I awoke to itchy swollen hands this morning- swollen because my hands are now covered in hives. Oh and I have a big hive in the middle of my tongue now too. The hives on my lower back, which look like nearly one big hive by now are very inflamed and hot so I intend to spend the majority of the day with ice on my back. I iced various parts of me yesterday too. My throat is all scratchy and closed-in feeling this morning as well. I’m fallin’ apart over here people!

Here’s a fun fact for y’all: Did you know you can make your own ice gel pack? You know those fancy ones that you can buy that are cold but still squishy? It’s simple really. Fill a Zip-lock bag with 3 cups of water and 1 cup of rubbing alcohol (I suppose you could substitute Vodka in a pinch!) and put it in the freezer. The more alcohol you put in it, the slushier it will be. For strength’s sake I place that bag inside another Zip-lock bag.

To make matters worse, I really can’t ride because, well, I have hives all over my legs and I’d just chafe the skin and make it worse. The sun is shining this morning and Zach and the neighbors are all out gathering the pairs and sorting off the steers. In fact, I can see them bringing the herd in now. I’m so bummed that I’m not getting to help. But I can stay inside and drink 2 gallons of water and try to flush whatever is in my system out, so I suppose that is positive!

I called the Doctor this morning and she upped my Prednisone dosage and is having me in for lab work tomorrow. I hate getting blood drawn, but maybe this will help us figure out what exactly my issue is.

Also, hopefully this week, the blog will be moving to its new home on the web at www.thesouthdakotacowgirl.com. I’ll let you know when that link is up and fully functioning.

In the meantime, everyone enjoy your day and the fact that you get to take hot showers and ride your horses and don’t have swollen hands etc. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers and well-wishes.

Love,

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Filed Under: life, ranching Tagged With: ranching

About ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Jenn Zeller is the creative mind and boss lady behind The South Dakota Cowgirl. She is an aspiring horsewoman, photographer, brilliant social media strategist and lover of all things western.

After a brief career in the investment world to support her horse habit (and satisfy her mother, who told her she had to have a “real” job after graduating college), she finally took the leap and stepped away from a regular income; trading the business suit once and for all for cowgirl boots, a hat, and jeans. She has not looked back.

When Jenn first moved to The DX Ranch on the South Dakota plains, she never imagined she’d find herself behind a camera lens capturing an authentic perspective of ranching, and sharing it with others. Jenn has always been called to artistry, and uses music, writing, images, home improvement, and her first true love of horses to express her ranching passion.

Horses are the constant thread and much of her work centers around using her unique style of writing to share her horsemanship journey with others in publications such as CavvySavvy, the AQHA Ranching Blog, the West River Eagle, the family ranch website, and her own website.

Using photography to illustrate her stories has created other opportunities -- Jenn’s brand “The South Dakota Cowgirl” has grown to the level of social media “Influencer”. This notoriety has led to work with Duluth Trading Company, Budweiser, Wyoming Tourism, Vice, Circle Z Ranch and Art of the Cowgirl, to name a few. She also serves as a brand ambassador for Woodchuck USA, Arenus Equine Health, Triple Crown Feed and Just Strong fitness apparel. Her photography has been featured by Instagram, Apple, TIME Magazine, The Huffington Post, and Oprah Magazine. Jenn’s work has been published internationally, has been seen in several books and has graced the covers of several magazines.

Jenn became a social media influencer by accident when she started to explore Instagram as a way to share her life on the ranch with folks that don’t get to experience it. It’s grown into an incredible platform that she uses to empower women, create an environment for self improvement and share life on the ranch.

When she’s not working, she loves to drink coffee, play with her naughty border collie named Copper, start ranch colts, and run about the country chasing cans. Her mother still thinks she doesn’t have a “real” job.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lacey Jo says

    November 4, 2009 at 2:30 pm

    Dearest Miss JZ,

    The new blog is Hot! Hope you feel better soon…real soon!

    Miss Lace

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  2. HollyLane says

    November 4, 2009 at 10:53 pm

    Holy Crap your blog looks awesome!! WOW SO COOL!! Nice WORK!!

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  3. The Wife says

    November 5, 2009 at 12:28 am

    I bow down to you and your new blog.

    I hate blood work too! well, I hate blood leaving my body in any form or fashion. hope they figure it out soon and you get well!

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  4. Brenda says

    November 4, 2009 at 11:11 pm

    Wow! This looks cool! I hope you are feeling better tonight. I just saw you responded to my ‘idiot’ post. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I will try what you suggested next time. Love is a finely tuned sensitive horse and sometimes I am inadvertently yelling at her with my legs and hands. I have basically taught her not to respect me so we are working on changing that… I didn’t get to do my reining lesson tonight as the fields are wet and the arena was having the sand changed out. Saturday I will try again!

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  5. Robina says

    November 5, 2009 at 9:31 am

    I’m worried about you Jenn. When I had my hives and went to the ER, they gave me shots (I thik I told you that) because they said if they get in my throat, it could swell and I wouldn’t be able to breath. If you start feeling like your throat is closing, PLEASE get the hospital immediately. You can ever be too careful. And I’m so worried about you! I mean, it sounds like MORE than hives, because why would your glands be swelling?? I’m gonna go look it up. Please take care of yourself.

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  6. Gloria says

    November 8, 2009 at 8:16 am

    Jenn, I am sorry you are having such a hard time. I had hives really badly once, too. I ended up in ER twice in one day. That stuff is nothing to ignore, that’s for sure. I hope it isn’t anything more than hives. Your blog is really super. Lots of interesting reading and attractive, too. What a combination!! WooHoo!!

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