One Coco Bean

Day 5 and counting

2012-01-28T07:18:00.000-08:00

So far, So interesting.

So today marks the fifth day of my not eating any dairy orwheat or gluten or chocolate or well anything that I used to eat on a regularbasis. It has been.. well surprisinglyokay for this first five days. Only twoheadaches and they weren’t intolerable and the gut is better. Not great yet, but definitely better.

A side effect.. I am down three pounds. Now I know it is water weight and it isnothing to get all crazy excited about.. yet.. except that I am a little. I stuck to my three Zumba classes and oneYoga class. I am going to try and hit aZumba class this morning, but I have study group, so It will all depend on thetiming.

I am looking at new recipes this weekend in between studyingfor my first Anatomy Exam and Practical. I purchased some Gluten Free Bisquick and I hope to try it out tomorrow. The thing I really want to eat? A brownie.. Because it is chocolate, gooeyand yummy. So I have to figure our asolution for that one.

I do have a new favorite fruit at night. The Asian Pear. Wow. Crispy, light and packed with water. It’s texture to me is like really good watermelon. That helps a great deal for me at night whenI just have to have something sweet.

I am loving Zumba so much and Yoga was good. I hope that I can get much better in Yoga..it is hard for me.. and I am much stiffer on the left than the right. I will keep at it though, as this is the yearfor me. I figured out my goal weight..135lbs. That gives me 5 lbs either way.

I am 70 lbs away now.. so I have a very long way to go.. butit is only 7 lbs a month on average that I need to lose.. that I can totallydo.. especially if I can do the two a week that is my goal.

More important.. I think I want to do something this year that scares the living daylights out of me. I would like to run a race and bike the Seattle to Vancouver Bike ride. Why would these things scare me? I don't like to run because I am scared I will fall down and embarress myself.. and because I can't run very well yet, I feel like a total goober when I run. The bike ride.. totally up my ally except all I have for a bike right now is a beach cruiser.. no gears, and no way can I ride it from here to the store let alone from Seattle to Portland or Seattle to Vancouver.. but those are things I am tossing around in my brain to keep me focused on my goals.

Happy Weekend.. I am now off to study group for the next 8 hours!

New Year and some revelations

2012-01-22T23:45:00.000-08:00

I had severe food allergies growing up. As in, I ate nothing with Wheat, Gluten, Dairy, Chocolate or much refined sugar in it until I was 17. Seriously. I had my first taste of ice cream when I was 17 as I was introducing foods into my diet to test my tolerances. It was weird. I had never tasted ice cream (real ice cream) before. The kicker? My dad worked at a dairy.. how fun was that? He would bring home cheese, butter and cases of yogurt and ice cream that I could not eat.. nice. Except that I don't remember caring much because I had never had it.

I was the kid who had a fruit cup at birthday parties, or my mom would make gluten free cupcake with carob chips.. ackkkkk.. gaaggg..

I had allergy shots each week, one in each arm on a Tuesday after school and again on Friday after school. Twice a week for 14 years. I developed some tolerances to food and now those tolerances have again eroded. I have given up these foods several times in my adult life, only to succumb back to their siren song and pretend I can live with the effects.

This last week, it has gotten nearly intolerable. The itchy is back, I am completely bloated and my gut is in tatters. My skin is so dry and flaky and horrible, I almost can't stand it.

What to do??? well research of course. I am thinking that I need to do another elimination diet and will probably have to give up wheat, dairy, gluten and chocolate. I am hoping that I can still tolerate soy and corn though, but I will most likely have to moderate those. This blog will probably change focus just a little bit, and I am going to really try and document this process as I will need to keep track of how I feel each day and what foods do what. Who knows? maybe someone else somewhere will find it helpful. Stay tuned, as I have to plan a little for this. Hope everyone is having a lovely year of the dragon so far.

Summer Quarter is Ending.. Finally

2011-08-07T10:09:00.001-07:00

I am excited that this is the last week of school, however I am feeling so overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I have to get done in the next 36 hours. I had to really take a break this morning and just kind of veg for a couple of hours. I am going to get back to the books now, but I hope to post more on my school break.

Cody’s Graduation

2011-08-07T10:04:00.001-07:00

This is from my oldest sons graduation from Massage therapy school this summer.

Chemistry Summer Term.. what was I thinking

2011-07-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

So I have been overly consumed with school since last fall. Like taking 17 credits last quarter.. and now.. I am really seriously crazy.

I am in the middle of.. as in tomorrow is my mid term of Chemistry and Intermediate Algebra.. I am a glutton for punishment...

On the horse front.. all is well at our house.. Beau has turned into a Western Pleasure/ Trail Pony.. and it is lovely.. absolutley lovely.

We were going to show this August, but I have my Chemistry final on the Monday after the show.. so that is not going to happen. Instead.. we are going to take a Griswold style vacation.

Macgyver.. Paco and myself are all driving to Minnesota.. Yep.. Driving.. to Minnesota from Wa in August.. in a small car.. with no cruise control..straight through.. Macgyver doesn't want to stop. He just wants to drive all the way there, taking turns... how fun will that be.

Like I said.. I am a glutton.. but oh.. the pictures I will take.. and the fun we will have when we get there. We are going to visit my bestest friend in the entire world.. and some family and some other very good friends. It is going to be great to go to my other home!!! I cannot wait!

In other news.. dogs are wonderful, my #1 son has graduated from Massage therapy school and is moving North about an hour in a couple of months to continue his education and to spread his wings a little.. I have a small tear in my eye.. a small one.. because when he moves.. I am taking over his room and turning it into my study cave...

I also have to open my file at school to declare my intent to apply to the nursing program.. and I hear that they are changing up the pre reqs and the admission criteria.. in which case I will cry a little and get on with it.

So back to Chem.. I Heart it.. I really do.. especially Lab.. but OMG is 12 weeks crammed into 7.5 weeks and the norm is going 5 days a week.. we only go 2 and have to do the rest on our own.. it is a little brutal in the amount of work department.. but so far.. I have an A- in Chem.. in Summer.. so I am going to sign off here and get back to my studying for the midterm.. and hopefully be better about updating this..

Ciao for now..

A whole lotta School going on right now

2011-04-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

I think I mentioned that this quarter in school I am crazy.. I have decided to carry 17 credits because well, I need to keep on with the pre-reqs for my program and I wanted to get a new skill as well.

That new skill is Phlebotomy. I love it. This is week two of class and I have drawn blood several times already. All of the fear I had of poking someone with a needle is going away.

I cannot express enough how wonderful my class is. We have the best group of students and amazing instructors. I can honestly say that each and every person in my class will make an excellent health care provider. I am also taking an intermediate algebra class and intro to psych.

Both of these classes are pretty great. I am thinking that I like psych even more than I thought I did. We have a pretty great professor, which always helps and the subject matter is more physiological in nature at this point, so my earlier Anatomy and Physiology classes are helping. I really enjoy learning about the human brain and about cause and effect, modeling and sensory/perception.

Math for me has always been a struggle. I fought the math and the math won almost all the way through school. Going back to school after twenty years, I was fearful of my math history, and I didn't think I would ever get to a place where I would actually love math. I am a linguistic lover, not a number lover. That said... wow.. I sure wish I felt this way about math 20 years ago... I can honestly say, something clicked for me last quarter and I started to get it... really get it... and now? Now I Lurrrvvee math. I really like it. There is something about the order and rules of it that appeal to my 40 something brain that didn't appeal to my younger self. Weird, I know.

I actually look forward to math homework now.. Absolutely CRAZY!

Being a non-traditional student is an adventure in itself, but the thing I love most? I love the connections I have made at college. I have told both of my boys.. college is so different from high school.. even when you are older... It is very interesting. My first go round with college I met some people, some of which I still know, but this time? I cannot believe how many friendships I am making. How many wonderful people there are out there who are trying to better themselves through education and new career choices. How many lovely people who have had amazing life experiences who share the same classrooms. And to my girls in my communication class group.. Super cool, overachievers, fabulous women, and I still talk with them..

College the second time around is one of the best things I have ever done for myself.. EVER. I am so happy I did this!

Spring Break

2011-03-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

So right now, I am in the middle of my spring break.
This next quarter will be the third full time quarter of my back to school to become a nurse journey. This blog will probably change a bit, as I am a full time student now and that is really what is on my mind most of the time.
Studying, studying and a little more of that studying.

It is interesting going back to college at this point of my life. I find that I adore school in a way I never have before. Even the classes I used to dread, are not so scary. I have been taking refresher math courses since starting last fall and this next quarter will be my first real math pre-req for nursing. I am so excited.

More than that, I finally am taking a class where I get to practice a real skill. I have finished my pre-requisites for Phlebotomy and will be taking the technician and externship class this quarter. It will be crazy busy as I am also taking a psych class and math.. so I will have 17 credits in all, but I am really happy that I am moving along in this journey.

I also find it frustrating too. There is so much competition for nursing school here in Washington, and most other states I would think as well. I talk with my Best friend all the time as she is also going through this journey and we keep each other motivated as this is the toughest road I have been on.

This road is not for everyone I know. I want to do this because I have a burning desire to take care of people and to be in a position to help others. I know I can do it, it is just something I wish I could have done 15 years ago.
As I prepare for school to start again, I find that I am enjoying the break, but wish school would hurry up and start. Now in two weeks, I will probably be wishing for a break again as the work load intensifies.

Has anyone else gone back to school in their 40's and loved it as well? Any one else make a career change that was so different from what you had been doing? Was it fantastic or horrible?

I get my stack of books for next quarter on Monday, so I can't wait to see what I will be reading.. lol.. and I keep doing math everyday, so I will not lose the momentum of my new found math skills.

Update on Hurley and online classes?

2011-01-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

So Hurley had the second surgery and we went to see him yesterday. My sister, the baby, my youngest son and I drove down to visit. He is doing so much better than he was. I am so relieved. After speaking to the vet this morning, I am even more encouraged, as she said he is putting weight on the back legs and they are much more optimistic that he is going in the right direction. Fingers crossed, he will come home in the next couple of days.

He still has quite a long road and recovery ahead, but I am optimistic that we will stay going in the right direction. Hubby and I are going to see him later today after I ride.

Here is a pic we took yesterday:

He has quite the fan club at the vet.

As for other things... I am taking online classes this quarter and I can't really decide if I really dislike online classes or if I just miss going to campus more than two days a week. I have two online classes this quarter and one regular class. I think that after this quarter, I will not take any more online classes if I can help it. I don't find them nearly as engaging and I don't like not being able to see the instructor when I have a question..and it could just be my age talking.. I am just not as "comfortable" in the online classroom as I am in a traditional class.

Any one else try online classes and find them more difficult?

Happy Sunday everyone...

More Hurley

2011-01-06T08:38:00.000-08:00

We are having a set back day. He is not coming home as planned today. I am a little worried as they said he will probably need another scan and possibly more surgery today. Poor Poor Basset. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he is just being his lazy self, but the doc said he will check on him this afternoon and call us back.

I will update later...

Keeping my fingers crossed.....

Basset update

2011-01-05T09:54:00.000-08:00

I went to visit Hurley yesterday with the hubby. He is doing fairly well so far, and this morning the doc called and said he can stand and has voluntary movement in both back legs. This is excellent news. Although he is not "correcting" yet, the vet said not to worry, he is progressing normally and is doing exactly as they would want him to and expect him to.

Because of his cuteness factor, the vet also told me that he is getting a massive amount of attention. He laughed and said that every time he walks by Hurley's enclosure, there is a tech in with him loving on him. That makes me happy and they said we can bring his stuffed animals and rope toy in for him. We hope to have him home by Friday, as long as he is going potty by himself and standing and walking with help, that may just happen.

Mcgyver has built him an enclosure in the living room and I will take some pics of that later today. It will be a long recovery, but we are very optimistic.

The incision is pretty long, and it was a little bit of a shock to see him all shaved with all the staples, but he seems to be comfortable.. of course he had the pain patch on still yesterday.

Today, he is on all oral meds and is doing well. I will be visiting today after class, and will take a couple more pics. I hope he will be a bit more happy today than he was yesterday.

Our Basset is Broken

2011-01-03T21:12:00.000-08:00

This beautiful creature who is only three years old, herniated his disk yesterday. Right now as I type this, he is in surgery to repair it and hopefully he will walk again.

He lost his ability to use his back legs yesterday and we took him to the emergency vet. After three steroid shots and a round of prednisone, no improvement, we took him to the neurologist this afternoon, and they did an MRI, and called to let us know the result.

His disk material was protruding about 2/3 of the way into the spinal cord. Surgery was our only real option for him to reach a good outcome. So we bit the bullet and now are just awaiting news that he is awake and in recovery.

My sweet McGyver has built him a recovery area in our house as it will be a long recovery for him... 4 to 6 weeks.. poor Basset.. I will update later this week

Take care

If you stop blogging and then start again

2010-12-30T13:53:00.000-08:00

I could make a gazillion excuses, but I won't. I will just say that working full time, going to school full time, and fixing up a POS piece of property with two kids and a hubby and a horse and 4 dogs is cause for being busy.

However, I now find myself unemployed, on a break from school, and a bunch a time on my hands. It is the end of a year, and we all like to set goals, reflect and think that next year will be very different. I am hoping for different, and for a little better.

I hope that any and all who happen to read this had a joyful and peaceful Christmas and holiday season. Even with financial constraints, we had a wonderful time with family and friends and played some great games, watched some wonderful movies and ate WAY to much! I still have a gazillion projects to do, but we got a big one off of the list.....

We have central heat in the house now. We have heat in every room thanks to McGyver and it is very very nice.

I start classes again on Monday and I cannot wait. Fall quarter was amazing and I ended up with straight A's! I worked very hard for them, but I was thrilled when I got my grades! I made a pretty fabulous Apple Cake this morning and will probably post the recipe soon. We have some big plans this next year for our "farm" and I will probably talk about those here in the next couple of days as well.

We leave for Maui in 3 weeks, and my oldest is turning 21. 2011 is going to be starting out pretty fabulous! Happy New Year!!

Catching up with life

2010-06-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

So it has been awhile.. and I disappeared completely. I wish I could say it was all accidental, but it was a bit intentional. I started a new position within my company which has kept me too busy, and we have been doing a little of this and a little of that around the property.

I haven't had much to say on the riding front except that now.. I am taking lessons with someone new, we have been going across the street for trail lessons now for about two months and I love it, the horse loves it and it is less expensive than my other trainer and friend, trail really has helped to improve my riding and my dressage work actually.

We are working on the property this summer, although the weather will have to cooperate before we can do much more.

I have tons of pictures to upload, but I will try and post a few here and a few in the coming weeks.

The big news... I am going back to school! Full time.. To be a nurse.. something I have always wanted to finish! I start my nursing assistant courses this evening, and I will be going to school in the fall and only working part time.. and not at my current place of employment. My last day is August 6th and I cannot wait! I will have 4 weeks of time off to get ready for this new adventure!

This is my new trailer, and I love it... I went to the show with this.. and we won:

and did lots of this at the show:

Beau.. the real star of the show:

He won his Dressage training 2, and we won Ladies Hunter Pleasure.. and we won the Amigo Binson High Point award for the show for adult amateur! That was pretty cool!

That was in May.. and we have just been chillin with Trail since then and working on the house.. I hope to do at least two trail rides in July and two in August and two in September before the weather and school engulfs my life!

This is a very very scary transition, as we have been used to two good incomes, and me working part time will put a bit of a cramp on our lifestyle. This blog is where I will probably document the good the bad, and the ugly.

catch up

2010-02-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

I have tons of pictures I want to share, but with a new position at work and some other things going on this week.. I am just SLAMMED.

The update:

Beau is HOME! Whoo Hoo! Last Saturday I was a bit nervous as he was having a hard time settling down, but by Sunday afternoon it was much better.

I don't think having him alone is a long term solution, he will have to have a friend sooner than later.

I have ridden him twice at home and once was last night.. it was interesting.. and went okay.. but it will be a couple of weeks I think until he settles down.

I have a new position at work, so I am a bit swamped.. and I will have to write and catch up later... Happy week..

Mack and Bella Cuddle

2010-02-08T16:13:00.001-08:00

Mack and Bella Cuddle, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

These two are so in love with each other.. they are.. well.. peas and carrots.. Jenny and Forrest..

Barn and Arena.. almost functional

2010-02-08T11:26:00.000-08:00

I am four days away from putting my horse in my own trailer and bringing him home. It is the realization of a dream that started 4 years ago. I cannot believe it is actually happening!

This last weekend we worked very hard to take the barn/arena from this:

To this:

and it would not have been at all possible without the help of my sisters Significant Other.. who operated a full size loader/Backhoe most of Saturday doing all kinds of moving and clearing and leveling!!!!

Here are the highlights:

On Friday Afternoon.. I got this delivered:

And this Tongue and Groove

When this showed up on Saturday:

and he did lots of work all day, moving dirt and wood piles and debris and clearing up a spot for me to put Beau outside.. and here is where he gets to go outside:

of course our supervisor was there making sure that we did things right:

and I got really excited when he starting in the arena:

I just wanted to drive that thing!

We purchased hardware for the gate yesterday, and hinges and latches for the stall door. This week I am on the hunt for a few things for the tack room... Next weekend is all about fencing, tack room ceilings and finishing things up.. including about three pickup loads of wood chips for the aisle.. stay tuned.. I am almost functional....

Finish work will not be totally done until it is drier and warmer...but even so.. I am pleased with what we have accomplished so far...

Another funny note.. the gal that used to own the place came by.. and THAT is a topic for another post.

Arena Fencing begins

2010-02-08T10:31:00.001-08:00

X6YJM 106, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

This was taken early Sunday.. pay no attention to the messed up date feature on the picture.. My youngest had used this camera for school and I did not change the settings as I should have.

This is our Temporary Arena Sides going in. The sand and Alder sawdust was put in and leveled out on Sunday... I will do a post on the whole weekend today that will be full of pictures of all of the work. Beau will be home in 4 days from now.. I cannot WAIT!

Arena Progress

2010-02-05T08:56:00.001-08:00

Arena, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

This is going to be our main focus this weekend.. I have Tounge and Groove scheduled for delivery today and 24 Cubic yards of Sand being delivered at 3:00 PM today as well. The tractor is coming tomorrow to smooth out the sand and the aisle.. and on Sunday a Gate will go in and Rails will go up.

The following week will be spent getting the little things done and Beau will come home Next Friday night. I am so excited! I can't wait to take pictures of the functional arena.. not finished.. as that will not happen for a few months.. we have to wait for a little drier and warmer weather to make that happen..

Allison Collage

2010-02-04T15:59:00.001-08:00

Allison Collage, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

This is that little supervisor again, baby photos to where she is today.. Wow.. how they change so quickly.. the baby ones are from last spring.. I can't believe how big she is now and how much she has changed.. I sent this to her mom and a bunch of other photos that I had messed with.. She loved them! This little girl is just the joy of my life! I am leaving in a few minutes to pick this little spitfire up. She has now learned to "pet" her pony Butterscotch.. he is the toy pony that whinny's and turns his head and even eats carrots... as soon as we can get her to sit on him, I will try and get some pictures.. because there is NO doubt in my mind that she will have a REAL pony very soon.....

Paco at Regatta

2010-02-04T15:53:00.001-08:00

Paco at Regatta, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

My son is so bummed right now as he should be getting ready for Spring Rowing season.. but with the broken wrist, we are not sure if he can row again this year... I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will be able to, but I am not sure yet.. this was at his first real regatta last year on the lake that we lived across the street from...

Beau and a friend

2010-02-04T09:46:00.001-08:00

Beau and a friend, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

These are a few more photos of my boy that I have messed with in Picnik. The other horse in the pictures is Chris, another Morgan who is a fabulous horse. I connected today with Beau's Sires owners and it was absolutely wonderful to see a picture of Beau's Daddy... HE IS GORGEOUS! Beau looks so much like his dad, I can't believe it! I can't wait to see more pictures of Caisse, and to find the other members of Beau's family. His Dam passed away in 2005, but I am hoping to connect with her owners and try and see a picture of his mom. He has one full sister, and I would love to connect with them as well. I hope you enjoy the pictures, I am hoping to get some more pics this weekend, and the weather is supposed to cooperate with us for more barn progress. I have not fixed the netbook yet, but should have that problem fixed soon as well.

Beach Trip

2010-02-03T14:24:00.001-08:00

Picnik collage, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

It is coming up on my birthday again.. this will be a milestone birthday for me this month.. and last year I got to take a fabulous trip to the beach with one of my best friends. She flew out from Minnesota and we drove to the coast and spent the weekend laughing, playing blackjack, getting spa treatments, drinking, eating and taking pictures. We took the long way home.. and when I did this collage, I could not help thinking back to that fabulous trip and wishing to repeat it this year. I don't think a weekend trip will happen, however.... I was just informed that I may be able to clinic with someone that weekend.. and take my portable pony out for a spin.. since he will be coming home on February 12th!!! yipppeee.

Moments with Beau at a Show

2010-02-03T12:49:00.001-08:00

Moments with Beau at a Show, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

I am getting excited about this year and riding and showing and going to clinics.. and I am having tooo much fun making Photo Collages so here is one of some past moments with my Beau at Key Classic which is coming up in May... it is our First A circuit show this year, and I am really excited to take him... I can't wait to compete this year and I am so ready to do our few classes that we love!

More Photo Editing

2010-02-03T10:15:00.001-08:00

This is a photo I added a bunch of effects to.

Below is a photo I removed almost all the effects from and did a sepia with just a tiny bit of color. Which one do you like best?

Bassets are adorable

2010-02-03T10:03:00.001-08:00

Picnik collage, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

I just made this collage of Hurley... He has been such a fantastic addition to our family. I am so happy we are able to have him!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-03T08:50:00.000-08:00

Linking this post to Wordless Wednesday.

I love me a half day at work

2010-01-29T08:54:00.000-08:00

Today I only have to work a half day.

I love this.. it gives me extra time to work on the barn.

My plan today is to get gravel and mats and gates.

Tomorrow is the arena rails

Sunday is the finishing touches on the stall.

That means.. Next weekend is footing and fencing and Beau HOME!

I am far from being done, but the basics will be there.. and then I will gain an hour a day to do work around this place and get caught up on some other areas..

Also.. I will take some pictures of the industrial stuff my Hubby brought home...

Shelving, work tables, desk, chairs, and more shelving and cabinets..

Most are for his shop.. but some are for the garage.. and He did his own version of a garage sale..

He got all the cabinets, and the tables (which are HUGE) and other items for 150.00.. and he told me that just one of the work tables can run in the thousands of dollars.. Whooo hooo!

So he is off to the dump right now, and I am going to get ready to head out to get me some gravel after swinging by the barn to see Beau and clean his stall... Only a week or so more to have to make that drive.. soon I will be posting about our rides and less about my mucking of the stall.

4 months, 3 wrecks on the corner

2010-01-28T08:41:00.000-08:00

We officially moved into our house about 4 months ago.. as of last night, we have witnessed 3 car wrecks outside of our house.

We live on a country road... 35mph type of road. Where our house sits there is a corner. This intersection is two 35mph roads that people travel well over the speed limit on. When we had the snow day in December.. We had two wrecks that day in our ditch.. one actually went onto our lawn and was sideways.. We had two families in the house that day while they waited for tow trucks.

Last night we had a third family in the house, but this time it was a little more serious.

I was doing the dishes and Paxton heard the wreck. My DH and child looked out the window and saw a jeep flipped up on it's side on the far side of the intersection right across from our side yard. They went out to call 911 and to see if everyone was okay.

When Paco came back in, he said that there was a woman and a child that needed to come in and sit down while they waited for the fire department and police.

I put the dogs away and they came in. This poor family. Their child had just gotten out of the hospital, they were actually on their way home from the hospital, and they get hit. The driver of the other car was outside, and my DH had asked them to just take a seat until the aid car and police got there.. the driver was attempting to move his car and leave. He appeared very "high" on something.

The fire department arrived and the mom and child went out to get looked at. They were pretty shaken up.

When the police arrived, it was a little crazy outside of our house..and the driver of the car that caused the accident left in the police car.

I was amazed at how quickly it was all dealt with though.. about an hour from the time the wreck happened until the tow truck drivers had the street cleaned up.

A bit of excitement at the corner again.

We joke about this corner and our property.. people typically will just pull over and park in our driveway, they will do u turns at this corner quite frequently, police will hang out there, and people will just ride their quads, dirtbikes, lawnmowers and such around this intersection.. it is just a little weird.

The county sheriff had come by last weekend and stopped to chat with us. I had told him.. The police are ALWAYS welcome to come and sit in our driveway, or use our property to set up a speed trap on this road...

There is a large equine facility across the street, we have dogs and kids, and this road is notorious in the last four months for speeders and wrecks.. I didn't even mention the wreck a couple of weekends ago right outside our shop on the other end of the property... so really.. 4 wrecks in 4 months..

I really hope this is not the trend... one wreck a month.

One more full day of work, and a half day and then it is on to more barn progress... and I also have to do a post about what MacGyver brought home last night.. It involved a 24 foot moving truck to get it all home...

Bath Time

2010-01-27T09:21:00.000-08:00

To Body Clip or Not? That is the question for some. Most people I have talked to that do not show or ride much in the winter do not clip. I would prefer not to, but since we ride most days.. and because schooling shows for me start in the beginning of March, I usually end up clipping.

Beau grew an enormous amount of hair this winter.. and he was sweating pretty good after just moderate riding, so the decision to body clip him or trace clip him was discussed a couple of weeks ago. Last year I did a trace, and we ended up body clipping him before our first big Morgan show anyway, so I decided to body clip him. This year, with all the barn work however, I knew I would not have time... so I hired the former trainer to clip him.. and it is taking longer than I would like, but it is getting done.

Before clipping however, He had to have a bath. So here are some pictures of my disgusting pony before and during his bath.

And into the washrack

I think he has a little "mule look" in this photo..lol

T is bathing him.. and I am taking pictures.. I normally bathe him myself..

And this is his favorite spot to be scratched or rubbed or shampoood...

I have pictures of him half clipped.. but my netbook that I use for getting my pictures off of my camera is toasted right now.. we have a nasty problem that I have not been able to fix.. and it is a 150.00 netbook that I most likely will not pay to be fixed.. so I have to save up a few weeks to get a new laptop.. grrrrr.

I will take more pics of him as he is finished being body clipped.. I have to say.. that when he is clipped.. I am in LOVE with his color.. and I kind of wish it would stay. It reminds me of Gruella.. He actually looks like a big baby deer when he is all clipped up...

Supervisor

2010-01-26T16:04:00.001-08:00

house 536, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

Here is a nice picture of the Supervisor

Helpers

2010-01-26T16:03:00.001-08:00

house 544, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

Just thought I would share the kind of help we get each weekend.. These are the "supervisors" helping Papa out.

Supplies

2010-01-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

Since I am getting close to bringing the Beau Monster home.. I am starting to make my list of items that I need to have at home for my barn and arena.

For me.. I have to decide what I need to have and what is on my wish list for later. There are those things you can't do without, and things that would be nice to have, but would not fall into the HAVE to HAVE category.

What I feel I need:

Corner Feeder (this is for supplements and grain)
Water Bucket
Cross Ties (for the aisle, so I can get him ready)
Stall Mats
Bedding (I use pellets)
Hay (I would like to have 3 months of Hay to start with)
Triple Crown (2 bags at least to get me started)
Muck Bucket
Stall Picker
Plastic Shovel
2 Garbage cans (the metal kind with lids)
Tack Room Door
Arena Footing (I am starting with Sand and Sawdust)
Mounting Block
Hose
Hot Tape and Energizer for temporary paddocks and Arena
Two Gates for the arena

Did I forget anything???

Here is my wishlist:

Mirrors for the arena
Dressage letters
Cones
Trot Poles
Beadboard for my tackroom
Chairs, lamps, counter and cabinets for the tack room
second stall completed...
Wash rack and mats completed
Matted and concreted aisle
Concrete in the feed room with sliding doors on the feed room
Compost bin for manure
Yard Cart
Trailer for my lawnmower to move poo around
an Arena Drag/Harrow
Tractor (a large one..)
Hot water tank
Gravel all the way around the outside of the arena
Paddocks finished and fenced
Pastures fenced
Trees cut up and moved out of the pastures
a new job that allows me to work from home
winning the lottery!

I think that covers it for now.. I could keep going, but the last one really sums it up.

More Barn Progress

2010-01-25T14:34:00.000-08:00

Another post with pictures..

After the wall went up, it was time to "clean up the barn and the arena" so that we could get ready for the next phase.

The next phase involves MacGyver building a door, installing the hardware, getting washed rock and mats, installing the corner feeders and latches. It also involves putting up rails in the arena, getting the first load of footing delivered and coordinating with a tractor to move it all around. But before that all can happen next weekend..(Wishful thinking possibly).. the debris, vehicles, scrap wood, garbage and large rocks had to be removed.. So.. Saturday afternoon this began:

This is just ONE of the big piles of crappy wood and scraps that we had to remove..

And another Pile...

So I decided to take a load out with the "farm truck".. and my husband had a better idea...

This last one says it all......

We finally got it to work correctly, and ended up with:

I really really need a burn permit now.

Here you can see we are getting there.. a few more piles.. and to move my Red Truck.. and soon it will be clear..

Only 28 more wheelbarrow loads and I ended up with my arena looking like:

And my aisle looking like:

so it is close now..

He did some welding yesterday while I did the heavy lifting.. and I almost have a stall door. He stopped to get lumber today.. and so this week.. the stall will be finished.. and this weekend we will be getting T&G for the Arena.. once the rails are up.. I will drag the arena with my lawn tractor and home made drag, and then the last bits are the Footing and the Tack Room details.. so.. Crossing my fingers.. but He just might be home within those two weeks!

I am linking this post up to Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage.. because.. well.. This place is starting to show some transformation!

This is why I feel a little older today

2010-01-25T09:28:00.001-08:00

Last night we celebrated my oldest son's 20th birthday.. 20 years.. It can't be.. it just can't have passed that quickly. I love this kid.. I love his girlfriend. They are wonderful to each other.

Happy Birthday Cody!

Weekend Updates

2010-01-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

I know that I can sometimes neglect this blog.. I assure you, it is only because life and projects and broken wrists and birthdays get in the way.

I have several update posts.. but I want to start with last weekend's pictures and updates.

Typically, my sister and the baby come over every weekend to supervise.. this was true the weekend that Paco broke the wrist. They came over on Sunday, and this is what we had accomplished...

Lights in the tack room and the front of the stall.

so..

This photo is the concrete footing that MacGyver put in for the stall front.

This is the footing before we cut it off.. he used a pressure treated 4X4X8 in the ground to keep it from rotting out, set in concrete and then he used regular wood joined with dowels and glue so that I could have the "look" I wanted.

This is him working on all new wiring and electric for my tack room.
I ended up with two new outlets one on each side and a light switch.. He put them all in the wall like a regular house so that none are sticking out. Yeah!!!

I apologize for the blurriness in some of the photos.. I believe it is time to take the camera in for a good cleaning. This is the frame of the front of the stall.

Here is the pile of Tongue and Groove that My lovely husband surprised me with. This will be for the side walls and eventually we will redo the back wall with this as well. We will also have the T&G on the front of the stall for a finished look.

A Better picture of the framing and wall coming together.

This is where I started to get really excited.. I can totally see it coming together now!

Here is the wall up!

The plywood is going to be on the horse side.. it is easier to replace if he decides to ruin it!

And let there be light!!!

This is where we finished up Saturday afternoon. We then moved on to clearing up the arena... and I am still pretty sore from all of that work we did from Saturday afternoon to yesterday.

We also had a birthday dinner to attend last night for my oldest son and our good friends daughter, and I still had regular chores to do.. Luckily this week.. I have a half day on Friday, so I can do even more and get that much closer to the pony being home!

Saturday Continued...

2010-01-21T08:27:00.000-08:00

The doctor who wanted to talk to me was an Orthopedic Surgeon.

He explained that Paco did not just break his wrist, but that he broke the growth plate and it had come out of where it was supposed to be.

He explained that we had a couple of choices..
The first was to take him up to the O.R. and assemble a team and put him under to manipulate the arm back and set it.

The second was to let him attempt to surprise Paxton and put it back in. He explained that it is a one shot deal and if it didn't work, we would have to take him up to surgery and fix it there.

I was hesitant, and Paco heard our conversation. He agreed to let the doctor try to do it right there. I will say this.. my kid is ONE TOUGH KID. I don't think I could have handled it.

They took him back to X-Ray to make sure it went back where it was supposed to be. After they put it in a splint, they told us that they wanted us to follow up with the surgeon on Friday. Okayyyy..

I still didn't really understand what was exactly wrong, other than he had a broken wrist.
We headed home with some pain meds and he was to NOT MOVE HIS ARM.. ummmm yeah.. he is 14.. okayyyyyyy...
Sunday passed with him on the couch and coming down to the barn where we were working.. oh.. every hour or so.. he was having a hard time sitting still.

Sunday night, I looked at his arm.. and thought his hand was in a different position than it was.. so I decided to call the nurse on Monday am. We waited on the phone for over 40 minutes on Monday and I just thought it would be easier to take him in. His fingers were all swollen as well (even though he was elevating and icing the wrist frequently), so we headed in.

They got us in very quickly, and after the first doctor looked at it, decided to take another X-Ray and send us to the Orthopedic Surgeon down the street. So after a couple hours at one Doctor, we headed over to the second appointment with the X-Ray in hand.

Again, we got right in and talked to the Surgeon. He explained what happened much better and also told us that he cannot move the fingers much or the hand or the growth plate can slide right back off. They also informed me that this would be a long bit of recovery.. at least 12 weeks that we would be seeing him.. with a follow up at 6 months if all goes well.

So.. he got a long arm cast.. up to almost his armpit and he has to go in once a week for X-Rays until he has bone healing.. and NO Writing for 3 weeks.

Of course he is right handed and he broke his right wrist.

I am now dealing with the High School as he has weightlifting.. and The surgeon wrote him a note telling the school that he cannot participate in ANY physical activities for 12-14 weeks at least.. the school is telling me that if he cannot do at least one thing in the class (participate in some weightlifting) that he will not get credit.. so I have been on the phone with the counselor and will be talking to the principal later today.. UGHHHH..

The biggest concern is growth arrest (where the arm stops growing) so that is what they watch for up to a year after the injury.. fun fun.

I apologize for the late entry and not getting by to everyone's blog.. I came back into work yesterday and Man oh man.. I was behind...

Happy Thursday.. I will post tomorrow on the Barn Progress.. it is pretty exciting!

What a Saturday

2010-01-18T08:15:00.000-08:00

Saturday started out as normal as most of our Saturdays have been lately. My youngest goes snowboarding every Saturday through a Winter Ride program and I have to have him up in Stanwood by 6:00am each Saturday. This last weekend was his second trip up to the mountain this year. We headed out on time, he was on the bus on time and I headed back home to get busy on the barn project with the husband.

I had to run to the barn where I board my horse first however, to groom my poor dirty horse beast and to change blankets and clean his stall. I did all that, chatted with the ladies at the barn and headed back home. All was still fine.

I plugged my new HTC Droid phone into the charger and MacGyver and I headed down to the barn. The dogs had been outside already, and we wanted to get busy building the frame for the front of the stall. Real progress and I was excited.

I will post on the actual progress later today as some things happened that changed our course toward the end of the day.

We set the footing in concrete and then one of the batteries for an important tool was dead. While the battery was charging, we decided to head up to the house for some lunch.

I then discovered my phone had a shattered screen.. and it looked like it had been stepped on. The important piece of information here.. my phone was almost completely useless.. it was broken. I noticed I had a couple of missed calls from Paco though and figured he was calling to check in while he was eating lunch. When I called him back however, he said that actually he hurt himself.... and then I asked.. well what do you mean? You hurt yourself like a cut? He said no.... that they think his arm was broken.. but they had him in the lodge and the bus was leaving in an hour and he could ride the bus back down.. I was to pick him up at the drop off location, and the medics suggested he get seen that evening to confirm that it was broken..

There was nothing else we could do.. so we went back down to the barn and continued working until it was time for me to leave to pick up the child.

After I picked him up, we went to two medical facilites.. only to find them closed. I ended up taking him to the E.R. in Arlington and we got pretty lucky as it was not busy...

The triage nurse took a look at his wrist after removing the make-shift bandages the medics had done and said right away.. oh it is broken all right.. he needs x-rays. They ordered the X-Ray and we were sent back right away.

After the X-Ray, we were waiting for the Radiologist to take a look, and a Doctor came over and asked me if I was the mom. I said yes, and he asked me to come and talk with him away from Paco... Uh OH.. I thought.. this can not be good... and I was right.

To be continued........

Seed Catalogs

2010-01-12T10:20:00.000-08:00

I am in planning heaven right now.

I have received at least 5 seed catalogs.. including one for Raintree nursery and Burpee.. These catalogs are just incredible reading for me...

Yes.. I am turning into a geek.. and I have come to terms with it.

This year, we really want to plant some things to improve our property. One of the big draws in a lot of the places we looked at over the last year, was acerage that included gardens and fruit trees. There was a particular place.. one that we were just too late to get, that had the most beautiful grounds. I want to emulate part of that property by creating some of the beauty at our place.

They had a small orchard, and an incredible garden. She had veggies, Dahlias, and Berries in the garden.. and in her orchard, she had peaches, plums, apples and cherries.. all favorites of ours.

I orginally wanted to go all out on the Garden this year and the orchard, but I have realistically decided to scale back a touch.

I am aiming for 4 raised beds of Veggies and Berries, and 4 fruit trees. Two Apple and Two Cherry. Next year we will add the Peaches and the plums. I would like to eventually have three apple, two peach, two plum, and 2 cherry trees. I also would like to have raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries.

This year, I am planting two blueberry bushes and four raspberries to see how we do.

I have not decided on the veggies entirely, but most likely will have Tomatoes, Peppers, Asparagus, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower, Lettuce, Carrots, Radish, onions, Potatoes, squash, Beans, pickling cukes and Sweet Peas. I may try some pumpkins and corn, but it will really depend on how much space I end up with that is ready to go.

Living in Washington State, we tend to have heavy soil with a large amount of wet in places..and at our house it is pretty much clay with some dirt mixed in. I have decided that for the next couple of years, as I get my "feet wet" in gardening for some food, I am going to do raised beds.

This is what I am envisioning for the front yard.

Has anyone out there done these from Scratch? It is supposed to be fairly easy to build these? (and since I have my own MacGyver, I am not too worried about the building of them)

I have access to a large amount of manure and compost in my neighborhood (in fact, right across the street)
and I will have a few truckloads of good topsoil to work with.

When looking at the catalogs, there are a variety of things I would love to grow and try, but I am really reeling myself in right now. Looking at what we really like to eat, what I can keep up with, and what is fairly easy to grow.

I want to can tomatoes and beans. I plan on freezing the peas, and the zucchini squash for bread and other things. Lettuce and cauliflower we will eat all the time.. and the same is true for the Brussel Sprouts and Asparagus, but I have big plans for the asparagus once it is mature and can be harvested regularly. Making Pickled Asparagus...hnmmmmm

I also plan on making pickles if I can grow the cukes.. that will be a total experiment. I have made pickles with my aunt before, but never from pickles I have grown. My boys love pickles.. and my youngest especially likes bread and butter pickles.. so this is something I know he will help with.

Growing up, my mom had a pretty fantastic garden, but I have not really grown too much on my own, other than tomatoes and herbs for quite some time.

Anyone else drooling over seed catalogs and planning for spring and gardening? What are you planning on growing this year? Anything? Everything?

How difficult is a small veggie and herb garden? Anyone have a home orchard?

I have a tack room!

2010-01-10T19:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we finished two walls... so I know have a tack room. The electrical will be finished on Friday of this week, and we should have the actual stall frame done next weekend as well.

I hit a wall today, mostly because I was sore, and because we stayed up late last night. I did get some things accomplished around the house, but we mostly watched movies and relaxed. I feel a bit bad about it, but I also know we needed to recharge before the week ahead.

Here are the progress pictures:

This is a picture of what will be the feed room. They had a problem with some of the electrical, including this wire which was just hanging down, not working.

This is the tack room without the walls. This is what we started with last weekend.

The view from the other side.

This is the frame and re used decking piece getting ready to be installed. That is MacGyver with the drill..

This is about where we left off last weekend on each side. 3/4 of the walls up in the tack room

This is a bit better picture of the semi finished wall.

Here is the finished wall. The open door will be Beau's outside door. The electrical work that Mac Gyver will be doing this week includes, reinstalling the central light in the ceiling of the tack room, and two standard electrical outlets in the tack room. This way, I have a power source in the aisle, in the wash rack and in the tack room.

The front side of the tack room and all of the stall fronts will be done in Tounge and groove. The vertical boards in this pic will be stained darker and we will have lighter wood in the tounge and groove on the fronts.
He is also installing a header at the top all the way around to give it a much more finished look.

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.. I am off to get some more rest now. I will post some more pictures tomorrow!

Portable Pony

2010-01-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

Yep.. It is true.. I know have a portable pony.

I am the proud, proud owner of a Morgan built Horse Trailer.

The trailer is a beauty, and when it is delivered tomorrow I will snap my own pics to share!

Why is it being delivered??? Well.. our lovely 1971 GMC pickup is not equipped to tow such a beautiful new trailer.. we don't have the electronic brakes or the proper plug yet, so the nice people we bought the horse trailer from are going to deliver it. (She wants to see my arena anyway)

I feel a little bad about this purchase and I will explain why. Then please tell me if I am crazy to feel bad, or if it is truly okay and I should not feel horrible.

The trailer was posted for sale this past Monday on our meetup groups message board. I saw the message, looked at the pictures and called MacGyver. I ~~pleaded~~ asked him if we could go and look at it. To my surprise, he agreed. I emailed the seller (who is a member of our group), and proceeded to make an appointment with her for the following evening (last night). She did tell me she had someone who wanted to buy the trailer but had offered her less than she really wanted to take and had to get a loan. I then told her we had cash in hand and that I was very interested. She agreed to let us come last night. Well, obviously I bought the trailer. The reason I feel bad, is the other person is also a member of our group, and was so excited about the trailer, and I kind of swooped in on it. She did arrange a loan, and got the money, but would not be able to do anything until Saturday.

Is this one of those.. first come first served situations? Would any of you stepped aside, since someone you knew and liked very much wanted it as much as you? I have been wanting a trailer like this for 4 years, and I cannot be more excited about this trailer.. but I still feel kind of bad.

I also feel bad, because after I went to do the trailer deal, I met a couple of horse friends for dinner and drinks. One of these is my former trainer/good friend.. and another Dressage Trainer.. and good friend..
I gushed about the trailer.. and they seemed very happy for me.. and after the other trainer/friend left.. I was left with my former trainer/friend. We were leaving and she was telling me about their really scary financial stuff, and I felt horrible for gushing about my new trailer that was all paid for, and is so fancy compared to hers. I left feeling like a bit of a heel..

Thoughts???

Some random Pictures and things from Last year

2010-01-07T15:29:00.000-08:00

So everyone is doing these wrap up posts about 2009... and I realized.. there is one key thing I have never shared about last year. The reason this is key, is that it shaped where I am today.. with the horse, and the barn and arena at home. It is something my husband actually was excited about... what happened when I came home from World Cup in Vegas last year.....

This is a picture of me and the fabulous ladies I went to World Cup last year with. I have the really really white legs..lol

World Cup in Vegas was an amazing experience. We watched every Dressage Session.. got our picture taken with Steffan Peters, watched the retirement of Brentina, enjoyed our VIP passes, Watched some of the Show Jumping before we left, We drank copious amounts of wine at the event with those VIP passes.. and more than a copious amount of Vodka Cranberry. We critiqued and enjoyed saying DRE-SSAGE to each other based on the foreign announcers pronunciation..(Still cracks us up). We shopped, ate, shopped some more.. It is a MECCA for horse crazy people to shop. A couple of the ladies we were with shopped Anky.. and I got me some of these Durberry Boots that I had been dreaming about...

And my new Sabre Bridle in COB size.. Darn small headed Morgans..( from my FABULOUS saddle maker.. Bourne. She is the BEST and I still love my Saddle I bought from her.. You can check them out HERE.

and I got one of these: (it is one of my most prized things from World Cup) I cried during the retirement ceremony of Brentina it is okay.. most everyone did. I was in the third row.. It was incredible!

I will have to find some time and dig out the photos I have. They ended up on a hard drive in my old laptop. I just have to do the tedious work of transferring photos off of that onto my other external drive.

It was such a great trip in many ways.. I went with some great ladies, we had fun, and I also came to a realization that trip. (This is the part my hubby was happy about)
I decided to call it quits with my trainer after that trip. she was with me on that trip. I finally came to the realization that it was more important to me to have her as my friend than to have her as my trainer.

Has anyone else dealt with that? Had to terminate a business relationship in order to salvage the friendship? She doesn't read this blog that I know of.. but I will keep the details to myself at this time.

I am getting ready to find another trainer (for me.. and for Beau) and hopefully I can find one that will come to my little arena and teach me Dressage.. not someone else's interpretation of dressage. I was with my trainer for three years. I love her dearly as my friend, but I need to get serious now. I want to progress.. I want to put the work in but I want someone who will be my teacher and who has the credentials I am looking to achieve. I would like to make it to first or second level on this horse.. after that.. we shall see where we want to go.

Distractions

2010-01-07T10:40:00.000-08:00

I love a good distraction.. and I also love shopping.

I have been wanting a certain large purchase for many years. As in.. 4 to be exact. Since I got Beau.

I have been wanting my own horse trailer for some time. But other things have always gotten in the way.. and I have always had access to transportation when I needed it.. but any horse owner will tell you.. it is just not the same as having your own.

This last year, my MacGyver realized I would need one when Beau came home.. so I started looking.. and he had questions.. many questions. Because of the way we are financially.. a horse trailer is NOT something that I can buy on credit.. NO financing.. so we have to be able to pay for it out of pocket. Also.. I am a little picky.

I want a 2 horse slant load, matted, padded trailer with interior lights, a walk in dressing room, newer, that is shiny and has new brakes and bearings, good floor, and is very very safe! Oh.. and for about 5k.. hahahahahahahahah... those deals are few and far between... and don't last long.

So imagine my surprise when a gal on my meetup group listed her 2004 Morgan Built 2 horse slant with drop down feeder windows and all the bells and whistles??? I called my DH and asked him if we could go and ~~get it.~~. look at it, and he agreed. So tonight I am going to get my Horse Trailer... I can hardly contain myself. I am so thrilled..

What is the catch??? I had to make a deal with MacGyver.. that I wouldn't ask him for another horse for at least a year...LOL.. that was an easy deal to make.. since he slipped up. He has been saying NO MORE HORSES ever.. and now he just opened the door.. Silly Silly Husband..

I feel like the luckiest girl right now.. Barn, Covered Arena, and Horse Trailer.. WOWSER! I just might be able to get out and trail ride this year.

Here are a couple of pics.. I sure hope I don't jinx this by posting!

Barn Progress

2010-01-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

I don't have too much to report.. and the photo evidence is locked away in my camera. One of these nights I will get them uploaded and added so that you can see what I try to explain here.

Last weekend, we started on the barn. The original plan was to dismantle all of the salvageable wood, put it in neat piles and see what we had to work with.

MacGyver had another plan. We had some sections of Deck that we had removed from the backyard and he had drug them down to the arena to dry. When we tried to disassemble them, they protested quite a bit. This led him to the idea of using the sections to build the walls of the tack room without taking them apart.

I was skeptical.. very skeptical. He is, however a very smart man and incredibly handy. It worked. It is not the sleek look I was going for, however, it is very functional, very eco friendly as we are re using wood, and it is free. Free is important to MacGyver.

It is a little more "rustic" looking that I wanted, but after some Bead Board and some cabinets, a couter top, and paint... a little furniture.. I think it will look very very nice.

I will be sure to get those pictures up as soon as I can.

First Step to the Barn

2009-12-30T12:53:00.000-08:00

The first step in my Barn makeover will be to sort all of the wood we have pulled out.

This barn had wood floors in the stalls when we moved in.

The barn where I first kept Beau had wood floors in the stalls.

I really dislike wood floors. I wish I had taken pictures of the wood floors, but I can still take pictures of the tack room floors, they are identical to what was in the stalls.. just not rotten.

Wood floors do not stand up well to horses. We are putting mats over a nice gravel base.

Anyone out there use something different? Anyone Like Wooden floors in their stalls?

So most of my weekend will be spent pulling nails out of salvageable wood and carting the rotten stuff up to the burn pile. Joy and Rapture.

I am anxious for the building phase, but we are still in the prep phase..
Hopefully after this weekend we will be moving on to the building phase!

Enjoy New Years, I will be back after the weekend!

Fallen - Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-30T08:41:00.001-08:00

Fallen, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

Wordless Wednesday.

This is linked up to Wordless Wednesday Here.

Looking Ahead Now

2009-12-29T14:28:00.000-08:00

So among the many resolutions/goals/plans I have for next year, there is one that I am most excited about and anxious to get back to working on. We are actually really going to focus and start again on this wonderful project.. what is it???

It is the... BARN and ARENA!!!

Here it is the day we moved in (the last junky car had been removed only a week prior)

This is the Barn portion.. the arena is on the Right.. The Barn doors are open in this picture and the Barn has 4 stalls and a tack room in the middle.
We are going to use it as a three stall barn with a feed room and a tack room. It will better suit my needs that way.

Here is a partial picture of behind the stalls.. where we have put in posts for paddocks.

Here is the Arena on the Day we moved in:

As you can see, it needs much work.
That work started, and all of the garbage has been removed, the bushes trimmed back and the rotten wood taken out. This Friday, we are finishing sorting the wood and starting to build up the walls. I just may have a tack room with four walls by Sunday and a Feed room. (The feed room will not have a stall front, it will have walls on three sides and eventually will have a wall on the front with a large door.)

My goal is to have Beau home by the end of January. Macgyver thinks that is doable, since we will be using the arena for his turn out while it is icky outside and I will be building him an outside turnout with T-posts and Hot Tape for the weekends when I am home to watch over him.

We have to leave the paddocks until the weather is better.. we will probably not get those done until April/May as the ground is so wet down there still.

Barns I think are sometimes almost more personal that some houses. I know a fair amount of ladies with horses that care more about how their barn looks and is built than they care about their own house. It is a funny thing.
Boarding for many years, I have had a wish list of the perfect barn for me, and a "I am not going to do that" list going for my barn.

My wish list:

1. Turn out Paddocks attached to the barn (Done)
2. Large Stalls that are very well ventilated and lit (Done)
3. Wide Aisle you can drive through (Done)
4. Pretty Tack Room (In Progress)
5. 2X6 Tounge and Groove on the walls (In Progress)
6. Heavy thick mats over a nice gravel base for horses comfort (In Progress)
7. Mats inlaid into Concrete Aisle (Late this next year)
8. Wash Rack - (I have the horse washer, just need the drain put in)
9. Heat lamps and Fans
10. Nice Corner Feeders
11. Heated Water Buckets (Received for Xmas..)
12. Paddocks gravelled 1/3 of the way and Gravelled around gates.
13. Lush Pasture
14. Covered Arena (Done)
15. Sand Base with Rubber mixed in for Footing (Scheduled)
16. Enclose the Arena 5 feet high all the way around. (Summer of 2010)
17. A wine rack and counter in tack room
18. Mirrors in my arena and letters
19. an Arena Drag (In progress)
20. a John Deere Tractor (Done.. but it is little)

My.. I am so not going to do that list:

Muddy paddock up to his knees mud
Dark small Stall
No turnout
Crappy Footing
Alfalfa (My horse can't eat it)
icky buckets
Cobwebs everywhere
Exposed Wiring
Manure piles not dealt with
DRAMA
Wooden Stall Floors
Dirty Stalls ( I am a little fanatical about stall cleaning.. and I am learning to live with it)

Here are a couple of pictures that I look too for inspiration for the Feel of what I want to create at my house!
Some are Barns.. and there are a couple of Tack Rooms for me to look at and decide what elements I want in mine!

I love the fridge and microwave in this one.. I know I will have to have those things in the barn.. have to have my snacks and ability to make some Hot Chocolate in the winter and have cold drinks in the summer!
The wine rack would look great on this island!

Enjoy!

Almost done with this crazy year

2009-12-28T11:33:00.000-08:00

I know that many people are reflecting this week on the past year. I have read many wonderful blog posts regarding this very subject.

As I reflect on this past year, I now can look back with a bit more of a humorous viewpoint, instead of the chaotic one I was actually in the middle of.

Some things I did this year that I had not planned on:

1. Sell our house in 16 days
2. Turn my Beau out for 5 months and not ride but three times in 4 months over the summer.
3. Try to buy one of five houses and not get any of them
4. Live in a motorhome and then a trailer for 5 months with 3 dogs and one teenager
5. Start a blog
6. Get my dream property
7. Move my horse back to my trainers barn.

Most of the above things are funny now that we look back and can see the comedy of errors that took place.
One of those things has been a blessing in disguise, and one is starting to really make me happy. Another one of those items is fulfilling a challenge to myself, and another one has turned out to be not as dramatic as I thought it would be.

We have had some wonderful additions to our family this year, with the oldest finding the most wonderful girl.

We have enjoyed Bug so much this year and I have become even closer with her mom, my younger sister.

Our marriage has made it another year, and probably the toughest one we have had.

As I reflect on this year, I can honestly say.. Whew.. I am so glad it is nearly over. I am planning.. yes planning on having a much more productive, happy, home-centered, family centered year in 2010.

I read another post on New Years Resolutions. I personally love them. I agree with the author that it signals hope and positive directions.

What I want to know... does anyone still practice this tradition besides me? Do you still feel good if you knock only one of them off of the list? Does anyone have resolutions that are perpetual each year? I know weight loss is always on mine... and I am vowing that this is the last year that remains a perpetual fixture.. This next year for me is all about getting healthy.. in mind, body and spirit.. Stay tuned in the next couple of days as I outline what that means for me..

What does next year mean for you?

Getting things ready for the new year

2009-12-24T11:12:00.000-08:00

So as I get ready to take a few days to enjoy my family and our animals.. I am getting ready for the new year. I am working on a series of goals and how I would like things to be a little different than last year.

As I reflect on the crazy year we had especially concerning Real Estate, I have four distinct wishes and goals for the new year.

1. Get the Barn and Arena Done!
2. Finally get a horse trailer
3. Get the Halt at X Etsy store going
4. Show training level in at least one Morgan A show and 4 schooling shows

I have many other goals/intentions, but I will leave those for later... most of them involve things I have to do to reach Goal 4.. with exercise, regular riding and nutrition.

I am heading to my favorite wine store after work to get a couple of bottles of wine. This wine is a favorite of our horsey lady friends and normally is only available in restaurants. If you can find some.. grab it, it is fantastic. We like the Merlot Best.

It is alll about the label is it not?

We are lucky that our wine store carries it! Try it, it is pretty fabulous. It is one of the wines we are serving with dinner tomorrow.

Speaking of Christmas Dinner, we are changing it up a bit this year.

My sister's boyfriend is bringing a turkey (this is a last minute thing).. since it is thawed and he wants to cook it tomorrow at our house.

The rest of our Menu is this:

Grilled London Broil with Sauteed Mushrooms and

PW Onion Blue Cheese Sauce

Garlic Bread

Salad (From T&T) That is my trainer/dear friend and her hubby

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

Glazed Carrots (For my little sister who can eat an entire pan)

Baked potatoes with a topping bar

and the turkey..lol

So I might have to make a little stuffing to go with it

Dessert we are having Pumpkin pie and Cheescake..

So some dishes are fairly traditional for us, but the London Broil on the Grill is what everyone voted on.

I marinate mine for a night, and then we grill them and slice them and serve them with the sauce and mushrooms.. ohhh they are good.

I will post the recipe here sometime next week.. and I will TRY and take pictures this time..lol

Merry Christmas Eve!

2009-12-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

It is Christmas eve, and for the first time in three years, we won't have a white Christmas. Last year, we had a very snowy white Christmas, we also had snow the year before. Today, it is just clear and cold. I have mixed feelings about it. I love the snow. I don't love the driving around in it. The Pacific Northwest gets some snow every year, and every year we are just as unprepared for it.

Part of it is our geography (Very hilly) and part of it is the actual snow itself. Normally when it snows, it is a little wetter here, and we have fluctuating temperatures, so it gets slushy during the day, and then freezes at night, which makes for very icy roads. Two weeks ago, we did have a nice snow day. Other than two unlucky people ending up in our ditch before the snow was done, we had a very fun and uneventful day. Below are some pictures of what we do on our new little farm in the snow...

This is early on in the day.. when we had just a bit of snow.. Notice the tracks on the lawn.. made by Macgyver..

This is a picture of the small garage in the front and the barn in the back... notice I now have FENCE posts in.. Yeahhhhh... These will be for the paddocks.

This is what Macgyver and Paco did most of the day.. Tear up all the nice snow in our mammoth parking lot..lol

Since one of the quads is taken apart right now for rebuilding, Oldest son decided to try out the Honda scooter in the snow.. He wiped out right after this picture.. and no he was not harmed in any way. he was going about 2mph. Yes, I did yell at both him and Macgyver to get their helmets on.

Here is Paco on my quad.. he had a great time with it.

Here is oldest deciding his car might do better to keep up with the others.

Even Hurley and Sissy got in on the play.

Have a VERY Merry Christmas!!!!!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-23T11:51:00.000-08:00

This is linked to Wordless Wednesday, HERE.

Last night, myself and some friends went to see a student of T's sing at the lights of Christmas.. It is a Christian camp that opens up around Christmas time with Thousands of lights, performances, pony rides, the polar express mini train ride, and food. They also have crafts and carolers, it is pretty impressive. Below are just a few of the shots I got. I was playing around with my Camera.

Hercules! Hercules!!

2009-12-23T11:07:00.000-08:00

He came to us with the name Hercules!

Now he is known to us as Hurley. We absolutely love this new addition to our family. I was going to wait until Saturday, when our two week trial period was over to post this, but I just can't wait!

I have wanted a Basset for some time, and I am so thrilled that he was kind of an early Christmas Present to myself.

We found him at the Basset Rescue of Washington. A wonderful woman named Pat runs the rescue. You can read about them HERE.

This is our picture when we picked him up here!

He has settled in so well. It is like he has always been here. Bella and Mack are slowly warming up to him, Bella will be the last hold out on this. She is so funny about it. She wants so badly to play with him and like him, but she just can't get over herself. She is the princess Jack Terror after all.

Here are a couple of pictures of our new family member!

I will post more pictures soon,
I hope everyone else gets what they want for Christmas!

Christmas is coming

2009-12-22T10:21:00.000-08:00

First off, Thank you for those that commented on my last post.
I know that I was whining a bit, and feeling a little bad. My mom has been gone for 4 years now, and sometimes the losses my family has had, is a little overwhelming.

I have decided to pull myself up and out of the funk and am concentrating on the good things.

This week is a little crazy, since I don't get any time off except for Christmas day. I usually have Christmas eve off, but with our crazy year I have used up my PTO and then some.

Every year, Christmas seems to sneak up on me more and more. This year is no different. I am looking forward to Christmas Day this year, however. We will have our good friends, the baby, my younger sister and the boys at our house. My oldest is bringing his wonderful girlfriend and their new dog.

This cracks me up because we will have 5 dogs in the house for a time on this day. What I haven't blogged about yet, because we are still on our two week trial is the addition to our family. I promise that this weekend, I will do a post on that and include pictures. This coming Saturday marks the end of our trial period and then he will be permanent.

Back to Christmas is coming.... I have caught up on most things, and I only have a few last minute things to do to prepare. I got some barn time in this last weekend, and on Sunday, Macgyver came and helped me with Barn chores. This was pretty encouraging as he normally does not come to the barn with me. I really appreciated his help, as I was cleaning stalls for my trainer/friend because they were down South doing Christmas with parts of their family.

I am putting together some treats for the horses tonight, and plan on going to the barn after work. I will not ride probably until Saturday, and that is okay, since one of the girls are riding him today and another advanced Student is taking her lesson on him tomorrow.

This is a new development for me.. sharing him. I have been very reluctant to let anyone other than my trainer and her daughter ride him. I have really not been good at sharing, and really it has been fine, since I pay the bills for him..lol

This Christmas week is a little different too, since I am working on Christmas eve. We are planning on having a very low key evening.. but we are going to observe some traditions.. Any one else having a different Holiday this year as opposed to years past?

One of our favorite traditions on Christmas eve, is opening one gift. Everyone gets to choose one item to open "early". There is much agonizing over which one to open. It usually starts out with our youngest declaring he "knows" what is in each gift, and him trying to pick out what he "wants".. Some years, he is right on, and others.... which are far more hilarious, when he is completely off and opens something he didn't expect!
We do this after dinner, after the dishes are done and dessert is served. Once the gift is opened, we make popcorn and drinks (hot chocolate for the minors, and baileys and hot chocolate for the adults), and put in our traditional holiday movie.
We watch a Christmas Story every Christmas eve. It is one of our favorites, and we all know it by heart..

After the movie, I make up our traditional Christmas morning breakfast, and then we might play a game or head to bed, depending on how late it is.
Then the elves get busy on the Santa Gift and stockings, and on Christmas morning, the boys open their Santa gift and stockings before breakfast.

Does anyone still do Santa gifts for their older Children?
This gift is usually the "big one" in our family.
I remember almost every Santa gift I have recieved from when I was little... Some of the more lavish ones..

When I was 15, I received a Saddle, Bridle, and Saddle pad.. This is a story in itself, and I will do a separate post on it.

When I was 17, I received a Big white fluffy robe, with car keys in the pocket.. again.. another story in and of itself... that was a very memorable Christmas

This year, our oldest is 19, so his Santa gift is not as big.

The youngest is receiving a small "gift to open" because his big gift is his snowboarding trip. The snowboarding trip is actually 8 weekends of snowboarding.. transportation, lift ticket to Baker, and spending money.. all in all about 500.00.. so that is his "Santa" gift.

A couple years ago.. it was his 85cc yamaha dirt bike
and The oldest received his Yamaha Keyboard.

Does anyone else go over the top for their kids on Christmas? We do, and I think it is a direct link from how my Christmases were for me... Anyone else have extravagant Christmases growing up?

Time to get back to work, and finish making my to-do lists for the rest of the week! Happy Christmas week to all.. it is only three days away now.

Christmas Confessions

2009-12-18T15:23:00.000-08:00

I have a few confessions to make or they could just be introspective observations.

1. I have a Christmas party to attend tonight and I am NOT prepared. I need to make a dish and bring a White Elephant gift. I have neither prepared. In a bit, I am heading to the Thrift Store, and I will get at least one of those things off of my list.
The dish.. I am going to be cheesy about this. I made some shredded beef for taco's in the crockpot two days ago. It is really really good.

I have decided on Taquitos

2. I am so not into the Holiday Spirit at this time. there is some deep seated hurt going on in my life and I just need to figure out if it can go away or if I am just stuck with it for the next few years

3. I am totally behind in everything at home.

4. I want to run away for at least two weeks but I can't. I used up all my PTO

5. I need to kick myself in the you-know-what in January. Next week I am posting about Goals.

Time to go now..

Monday, Monday

2009-12-14T14:20:00.000-08:00

Oh it is Monday.. and This weekend was pretty crazy!

We had the first snow fall yesterday and ended up watching the entertainment of the intersection out of our windows all day.

Two cars went into our ditch, and countless amounts of cars slid through the intersection, not able to stop.

MacGyver did not want me out driving yesterday, so Beau got taken care of by K who loves to ride him. I got to spend the day at home, no barn chores.. but I am itching to ride.. so tonight.. even though I have a million Christmas gifts to get, and a million errands to run, I am going to ride.

Yesterday, I spent all day with our new addition. I have pictures, and if I don't get home too late from Riding, I will post those pictures and post about the adventure we had in picking up that new addition..

I will leave you with this... He has made himself, totally and completely at home and I am so in love!

I couldn't resist

2009-12-11T15:30:00.001-08:00

Two Posts in a Day??? Wow...

But a good friend of mine shared thess photos of my horse with me today.. and I, in turn wanted to share it here.

This is my gorgeous boy this last summer...

TGIF

2009-12-11T10:22:00.001-08:00

I have been blessed this week.

This week it has been very cold. I mean really cold here. Yesterday morning it was 10 degrees outside. For us.. that is cold.

We don't put the horses out when it is this cold after a warm wet November.. The ground was muddy and now is frozen.. which could lead to injuries.. instead they stay in and get let out in the arena while their stall is cleaned.

I have been blessed however, because the owner of the barn where I keep Beau, has decided that for the last couple of days while he is off of work, we should stay home and stay warm. They are cleaning the stalls, turning the horses in and out, and checking the water several times a day.

I protested at first, but they convinced me that Sunday is soon enough to come and do chores.

We don't ride when it is this cold. Mostly because it is hard on horses and their lungs when it is below freezing. My beautiful Beau is also pretty out of shape and that is a lot to ask a furry beast to do when it is that cold. So they get a break, and we get a break.. and since we are heading East of the Mountains tomorrow.. that is really nice!

I will hopefully get some pretty great pictures this weekend.. it has been awhile since I have taken any.

Tonight we are attending a fundraiser for the children of the slain police officers here. I will do a separate post on that subject later on.

Happy Friday, and I hope everyone else has blessings today.

I am really behind in the Christmas Department

2009-12-10T12:57:00.000-08:00

I am behind on Christmas Shopping. I am behind on baking for Christmas. I am really behind on Sewing, and we are only going to be home one day this weekend. My weekdays lately are filled with barn chores and coming home to eat and sit.

I will have to change that. I have just added two events to my calendar. One is a Christmas party for next Friday night, and the other is a fundraiser this Friday night.

I still have shopping to do for all of our Christmas Exchange gifts. These are the gifts that I have to ship by next Monday to Mike's family in ALASKA! I am a little stressed by this, but have decided that I can tackle this problem in a couple of ways.

On the Shopping front:

Worry about getting the Alaska folks done this weekend and get those wrapped and shipped pronto.

I shopped online for the majority of the Hubby's gifts, so I am down to just "finishing up" him and the boys..

Try to do a little shopping in Spokane while we are there.. I understand there is a Target and a mall in the same parking lot as the PetSmart we are going to. We will have to be quick if we go after Petsmart, as there is a VERY good chance we will have a Basset Hound in the car with us after our visit.

Next week, I will just have to Buck up and do what I need to do on Weeknights.. which means that Hubs will have to cook a bit, and I will have to do my shopping after the barn, before I get home.

Next weekend, I just need to get the presents wrapped, some baking done and the cleaning done. Hopefully I can get a little sewing done too.

The house projects will just have to wait until after the holidays.

Some other news... Hubs will most likely be laid off come January 1st.

This will definitely impact our lives. Especially since there is so much to do around our house.. I am hoping to see BIG changes from January to June while he is off.. and I really hope it is only 4 months instead of 6 months... He is hoping for 6 months I think..

Financially it will be okay.. we just have to watch our budget and not go crazy. But with my job okay for right now, and because we have been so careful, we should be just fine for at least 9 months to a year.

He has side jobs he can do, and some other things, so it should be all right. I am thinking positive and not letting the worry get to me right now. We will have to sit down after Christmas and decide EXACTLY what our plan is for the next year.

I really wanted to take some classes this next year to start a new career. I hope I will still be able to make that happen.

Back on topic.. is anyone else behind or feeling like this year just came really fast? I feel like the Holidays have crept up on me this year.

The other variable for me is that I have no PTO left this year. I am going to want to save some next year..

Menu Plan Monday

2009-12-07T09:22:00.001-08:00

This week is one of the first times I will not need to get much from the store. With the exception of about 4 ingredients. I have everything on hand for this menu.

Thanks to Laura over at I'm an organizing junkie, for hosting Menu plan Monday!

I will however, have to do a big shopping before next week as this will pretty well deplete the freezer.

Monday:
Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

Tuesday:
Honey Hoisen Chicken
Rice
Broccoli

Wednesday:
Pork Loin
Baked Potato
Green Beans
Crescent Rolls

Thursday:
Pork Fried Rice with Leftover Pork Loin

Friday:
Homeade Pizza and or Calzones
Salad

Saturday:
In Spokane, will eat out
(We may be bringing a lovely dog home... stay tuned for more on that)

Sunday:
Enchiladas
Rice

Puppy Dreams

2009-12-04T10:57:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I had mentioned losing one of our dogs this year. It was an incredible loss for me.

Jake was originally my late husband's "Hunting" dog. Hunting being used very loosely as he really didn't "hunt" anything. We got Jake when he was just a wee pup and he was such an incredible dog. He got sick about a year ago and we fought the problems until this last March when it became clear we couldn't even make him comfortable any longer. My other lab Sissy was his best friend and she has been kind of lonely ever since.

Mack and Bella are best buds and there is not really another mellow dog for her to be with. I have been bugging the Hubby for some time now about getting another dog. We have to have a very very laid back, non aggressive breed that will submit to Bella as she is the Jack Terror Russell.

I have done a bunch of research and I really, really, really and REALLY want a Basset Hound. We have a Beagle, a Terror, and a Chocolate Lab. I am in love with the Hounds. We have a good fenced back yard and are seasoned with Mack about hounds. Hounds are lovely, but if they are a scent hound, you MUST watch them like a hawk. They can't help it, their noses get them into trouble. Our Beagle will follow a scent anywhere.. and sometimes he just can't help himself from nosing in the garbage because he smells MEAT.. HE LOVES MEAT..

I know that all dogs love meat.. but for Mack.. it is well.. it is the best thing in his world. He will appear when meat is cooking out of thin air. Our other two..they love veggies, fruit, bread, cheese.. you name it.. Mack. NOPE.. just Meat and some Cheese.. He does not care for potatoes or fries or bread.. he will actually only eat bread if it has meat or cheese on it or in rare cases.. if the girls are eating it, he will take some and guard it for awhile and then either eat it or leave it.. Not so with Meat.. he will push the girls out of the way for meat..

But my point.. I have asked for a Basset puppy for Christmas until I went on the WA state Basset Rescue.. and I am in love. There is a Male who is only 3 and he is EXACTLY what I imagined a Basset to be.. so now I have to convince the hubby to take a drive with me.. for my Christmas present.

There are so many dogs out there that need a home.. OH lord help me.. I could take another 10 if I could.... We are total dog people. I love cats too, but not the hubby.. so I will only be able to have barn kitties.. and I won't get any until I have a way to keep them warm and dry in the barn... Anyone else wishing for a puppy or dog or kitty or horse for Christmas.

I don't even want to get started on the horses needing homes around here.. and the crazy willpower I am trying to have.. Two of them are even registered Morgans and another two are Registered Quarter Horses.. JUST CRAZY.

I really would rather have another Rescue as two of our three are rescues. Bella was the only purchase.

Post Holiday Something

2009-11-30T11:36:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I know that we did. I know because I had thirteen wonderful people in my house eating dinner and I spent the day cooking with my mother-in-law. They leave today and I am sad.

My own mom passed away four years ago, and I made her wonderful cinnamon rolls on Thanksgiving morning, which helps me to remember how absolutley wonderful she was and it makes me also miss her so much more!

Having my wonderful mother-in-law here makes it better.

MacGyver is from Alaska.. a small town in Alaska. His parents came down last week to spend the holiday with us and it was fabulous. We visited, they shopped, and then we ate, and ate, and ate some more..

This last weekend his mom helped me do something I have been wanting to do for a year. Set up my sewing machine and get sewing! I made two dog toys last night and I am going to make several more this week. Then I will tackle a REAL pattern and see what happens.

I have wanted to learn to sew for a very long time. I am so excited to be learning now, and can't wait to get started and take some classes!

My first real pattern project will be pajama pants. Wish me luck, I will be cutting my pattern out this week and attempting to sew them together this weekend.

I know that one of my motivating factors in learning to sew is horse related.. I really want to be able to make some cool stuff for my horse, and for me to wear. I am nowhere near being ready to tackle anything difficult, but I am really looking forward to figuring it all out.

I noticed last night while I was sewing the little dog toys, I was hooked! Totally hooked. I have a very nice simple beginner machine that my lovely Hubby got me last year for Christmas and I never had the time to get it set up and working since we embarked on the real estate craziness this last year. Now that we have a house, I am planning on really taking on some of these cool projects I see everywhere!

Thanksgivings

2009-11-25T12:13:00.000-08:00

This time of year is emotional for me. Having lost both of my parents, and my late husband, and his parents, our family is much smaller. My older siblings do their own thing for the holidays and only my younger sister is coming for Turkey day. My childhood and past adult memories are all of pretty traditional things and consist of some pretty memorable holidays. I miss my family that is no longer here something fierce this time of year.

I also think about what I am blessed with and what I am thankful for.

I am married now to a pretty darn wonderful guy.

That guys parents are truly amazing and so much fun. They are here visiting right now and will be with us for Thanksgiving. This is the first time they have spent Turkey day with their son since he moved away from Alaska 12 years ago. We are all very thankful and happy they are here with us.

My friends will be coming for Thanksgiving. My niece (quasi-grandaughter) will be with us. My boys will both be here with us.

I am cooking my mother's recipes and that always helps me to feel close to her.

We have a wonderful new house to entertain in.

Both of us have wonderful jobs and good income.

The boys are healthy and happy and my youngest got a 100.5% on his test today..

And... My mother-in-law is going to help me set up my sewing machine and get me going this weekend.. and for that, I will be eternally grateful as that was something that was in my mom and grandmother's domains.

I am brining a turkey tonight.. I am looking forward to see what happens with that!

I will hopefully be taking some pictures of things as I prep them and cook them tomorrow. My camera has been dead and I need to charge it up tonight and get back to photos and posting regularly.

What are you all experiencing this holiday season?

Happy Thanksgiving.. Stay Safe, Warm and Stuffed!

Another small milestone at home

2009-11-20T15:53:00.000-08:00

I can't wait to get home today. I expect I will see something really cool.

Unfortunately, it will be dark when I get home so I will need to take pictures tomorrow.

My lovely Husband has been building paddocks today. I hope to see posts in the ground tonight.

Tomorrow we will be picking up Horse Fencing.. I can hardly wait.. Actual Horse Fence on my own property.. it seems so unreal still. When the Gates go in.. and the stall fronts are built.. then I really will be jumping for joy.

This is a big step though.. Until tomorrow with pictures.

On a roll

2009-11-18T15:10:00.000-08:00

So last night I rode again.. mostly by myself.. and without the pre-lunge that I used to do.

He came out a little fresh and a little snorty.. but went to work when I asked.

I did a long slow warm up.. lots of walking and serpentine's and some tear drop shaped maneuvers.. I had gone to a clinic where it was shared that this is a good exercise for fast walkers and horses that have trouble with the rythm and moving a little too forward.

It helps focus both of us actually. I worked on elasticity through my wrists by having the contact come through my elbow and not my hands.. I tried to keep "rubber bands" as my mantra last night. At times it works pretty good.

Our left track is still really bad and I knew last night that I collapse more on that track.. I really have to work on that.

His canter to the right track was heaven. His big bouncy trot is something I live with and work with because when he is all light and floaty.. His canter is heaven.. I could canter this horse all day.. it is like a beautiful rocking, smooth wave.. ahhhh I have to not get greedy though.

He did break at the canter and I recovered, which was a pretty good save for me.. usually I have to "start over". I got a little buck from him on the left track when I asked for that save..lol.. it was a little tiny.. funny kind of buck.

I totally take for granted at times how well he takes his leads, and just does what is asked most of the time. We had Zero fights and only a few times did I have to remind him that we were moving off of the leg and not into the leg..

Tonight is the big sale at the Farmers Supply that is after hours and so T and I are attending that. Tomorrow night is our good friends birthday party at her farm and this weekend my paddock is being built and my arena is getting posts set as well! Things are progressing and I will commit to taking pictures this weekend.

Beautiful Ride

2009-11-17T16:00:00.000-08:00

I hope to have a repeat of last night tonight.

I hopped on my out of shape horse, with my out of shape self, and did a 20 minute session.

I get tired out before he does right now.

I was so thrilled, I didn't lunge him first, just got on and rode.. and we were totally okay. I cantered both directions, did some circles that were somewhat round.. and he even did a NICE walk afterwards.

Beau typically hates to walk after he canters. He thinks that cantering is really fun and exciting and then he thinks that it is just time to go-go-go-go....

I was very proud of myself that I relaxed, cantered, and then enticed him with nice contact on the reins and a deep seat to just relax and walk without the JIG.. and we did it.. both directions.

I am hoping for another Beautiful (to me) ride tonight.

Coming back from the flu

2009-11-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

I have been out most of this week with the flu. I don't know for sure if it was the dreaded H1N1, but it was horrible. I pretty much disappeared into the bed and didn't surface until yesterday, and then went to work only to have to come home early.

I am back at work today and am feeling at about 85% of my normal self. This flu kicked my butt!

I will be back to regular blogging and actually posting some great stuff next week. Hope everyone else has been well.

Whew...

2009-11-06T09:01:00.000-08:00

So I had a minor heart attack last night when I went to the barn.

My trainer/BFF had told me on the phone that her working student most likely had cleaned my stall for me and so I probably didn't need to drive out there. I said, well I will just go and check and make sure, and if the weather is not too bad I will get Beau out and lunge.

Well the Wind was whipping pretty good and there were a couple trees down on the road before I even got out there.
I was now more determined to go and check to see if the barn even had power.

I hung up with T and noticed that the outside light was on at the barn so we had power. I walked into the dark barn and flipped the aisle light on. Then.. I ... noticed.. Beau's stall door was wide open and he was not inside.. okaaaay... so I looked inside and his hay and grain had been put in his feeder and his stall was pristine and clean. Okayyyyy.. so where is my horse. Not panicked yet, I figured he may have gotten put in another stall.. (He is the only Bay Morgan here though), but I checked all the other stalls.. NO Beau.. okay.. now I am feeling my heart beat a little faster.. so I walk out the front to the paddocks.. ummmmm No Beau. I call for him.. Heart is beating faster.. stomach is feeling like it is dropping.. No Beau. I walk around the back of the arena.. No Beau. Okay.. and I walk back into the barn.. and notice his Halter is missing.. okay.. so now.. I am a little panicked. I am calling for my horse.. and I can't find him.. Bad thoughts.. he escaped.. someone took him.. my stomach is now somersaulting.

I walk out the back.. look to the left to those paddocks.. NO Beau.. so I start to walk up to the house to ask the owners if they possibly know where my horse is, since every other horse is in their stall and he is the ONLY one missing.. I call for him once more.. and I hear lots of whinnying.. and Beau comes racing up on the left in a paddock that I couldn't see. OH MY LORD.. HUGE sigh of relief.
Then I notice.. HE HAS HIS HALTER ON.. This is dangerous and I don't subscribe to the practice.. but OK.. get the horse and feel mad later.

I find his lead rope IN his paddock buried in the mud. OK.. so.. I get him.. and it is storming out.. and my pony can't really hang out all night in the mud... hoof issues.. so I lead him in the barn, wash his legs off, check him out and put him away. I washed his lead rope and hung that up and then noticed that my spare waterproof blanket was on one of T's horses.. LOL.. The working student had changed blankets (the wrong ones), but it turned out okay since Beau had his super duper cool Rambo from Ireland rug on that kept him warm and dry.

Long story short, I called T to see what had happened.. and after many phone calls, The barn owner cleaned my stall for me and had turned Beau out for just a few minutes while he did this.. and HE never turns horses out with halters on, but figured it would only be 5 minutes. He walked back into the house, totally forgot about Beau and felt Horrible.

I am just glad I went out there anyway and was able to bring my poor baby in out of the storm.

When I drove out, my heart rate had resumed to normal and I was feeling much better.. since my horse was not stolen or had run away.

I will be heading out to the barn today after work.. even if my stall is cleaned for me....

I think I overestimated my multi tasking abilities

2009-11-04T14:12:00.000-08:00

That list was just tooooo long I guess.

I did manage to get some things done though. The LIST is here.

I did get the kitchen Cupboards somewhat organized and cleaned.
I did get 99% of the shelves lined
I did get some laundry done (but it has now piled up again.. argghh)
I did get my things moved from the barn
I did get my horse moved
I did get the floors swept and the carpet vacuumed.

This week has been crazy as usual.
DH has decided that he is "taking a little break" from stuff. Lucky him. I still have to go to work each day and do all the extra stuff.

He helps by making dinner, and my DS does do most of the dishes, but when I come home from Barn chores there is still a list a mile long.

Last night I did NOT do my before bed routine and this morning I had to iron a shirt for work, make a lunch, do dishes and was feeling like I was running behind.

Now today I have a sore throat and an earache. I am going to go and get a strep test.. ICK

Hopefully I can also run out to get my girth as well.

At least I am halfway through the work week. We have baby this weekend, so I can forget about working on OUR barn this weekend.. I will focus on the things I did not get accomplished last weekend.

Back in the Saddle Again

2009-11-04T10:48:00.000-08:00

I did it! I rode my Beautiful, albeit dirty, pony last night! I wasn't planning on it, I was only planning on lunging him for a few minutes each way due to him just starting back to work this week.

He was so good on the line, even though he stayed in all day.. which is a misunderstanding I hope is corrected today, otherwise I am going to have to find another solution. One of the things I will NOT compromise on any longer is good turn out. Having had good turnout the last 5 months, I have seen what a HUGE difference it has made for him in his state of mind, behavior and overall well being. If I can't have the turnout, then I will have to move him back to Snohomish and leave the riding until I get my place finished as I will NOT have him locked up each day, only coming out to work.

Off of my rant. Back to the riding story. So my trainer/friend was riding her youngster and said, why don't you just get on and walk and see how he does? I really, really wanted to, so I thought..... ~~NO WAY~~ umm okay, and if he is at all worried about it or seems that it is too much, I will hop right back off.

Well I hopped on, and we walked, walked some more, and finally ~~attempted~~ did figure eights at a nice walk and then.. I asked for a little trot and did a nice couple of 20 meter circles on the right track. WOW! I was back.. He was back..Then..~~reality set in~~ we fell apart. I asked for the trot on the left track.. The left track is harder for both of us. I am not sure why it is the weaker side for both of us. He does not care to bend to the left and I tend to collapse to the left and pull and get discombobulated. What I can do on the right.. it is like I completely lose everything when we go to the left. I pulled it together for about three strides and called it good. I walked him out and hopped off, then walked him some more. I gave him lots of hugs and praise for being such a good boy after so long off.

Then I cleaned a stall, washed off a blanket, put his jammies on and put him to bed. Self Care is so much better. I am going to the barn every day now and seeing what is happening. Before, at a full care facility, I may not even have known if he was turned out. This way, I am on top of everything.

Also, in less than two weeks, my equine nutritional consultant is coming. I attended a class that she talked at and I was completely intrigued. I can't wait to see what she has to say regarding his diet and what I can do to help the budget and keep him at optimal health. I am making him a Bran Mash this evening. I know he will dig that!

I am very proud of myself for getting on the pony. I tend to be a little worried after being off for such a period of time, but I did notice how much more relaxed I was off the bat, and I did LESS with my hands. This is a GOOD thing in Dressage... Leg more, Hands less.. Outside rein to inside leg.. I tried to remember that as my mantra.. and the other thing that helps me.. because I have a "hotter" horse.. LEG ON.. and Tempo.. especially in the trot.. I do a type of metronome in my head.. 1 2 1 2 1 2 with it being.. 1.....2.....1.....2.... to slow down and I keep that thinking, while only rising in the saddle what he pushes me to .. and it REALLY helps.. of course adding in still hands and a long leg.. Yeah.. RIGHT.. Tempo first.. then we work on the other things.

For you non riders that read my blog, if you have made it to here.. THANK YOU..LOL.. as I know the horses and dressage can be very foreign for those who do not take part. (Mcgyver doesn't understand the fascination at all).. I will have to post on that sometime.. the fact that we bought a house with a barn and an arena is a testament to how far he has come and how much he must really love me.

For any riders.. What exercises do YOU use with your horse to condition, supple and get some relaxation going in your warm ups? Inquiring Minds want to know! Please leave a comment, Thank you!

Busy weekend, busy week

2009-11-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

Crazy Monday. I did not meal plan and I will sooo pay for that. I need to try and work that in tonight. As I get ready to head out the door on the end of a work day, it occurs to me that I have many things yet to accomplish.

My plan was to get a WHOLE lot accomplished this last weekend. I did accomplish some things, but NOTHING near to what I had hoped. I guess the progress before perfection really needs to apply here, but I am having a little problem with that.

I still have a gazillion boxes in the garage, The kitchen is still not where I want it Pre-Remodel, and there are still a gazillion things to fix before moving Beau Home.

What I did get done? Beau moved to a new home which will now require me to do about 80-90% of the work. No more full care here..lol
So each day this week after work I will be:
Picking up the baby,
Changing my clothes to barn clothes
Driving 30 minutes
Cleaning a stall, changing water, sweeping up
doing some lunging/walk trotting with my horse that has lost all of his muscle by being off for the last 5 months
cleaning him up
driving another 30 minutes
Fixing dinner
Dishes
Laundry, and getting clothes ready for the next day
General running around the house for the DH and Child
Getting coffee ready
Crashing by 10:30pm (I HOPE)
Then I get to get up at 5:30am and start the day all over again..lo

We shall see how this routine works out, although since Mcgyver is still home this week.. He is going to help out in the fixing dinner department.

Wish me luck.. Happy Monday

Foodie Friday - Loaded Mashed Potatoes

2009-10-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

Foodie Friday, I am linked up to the party over at Designs by Gollum. Make sure you go and check it out!

Loaded Mashed Potatoes
(either in the Crock Pot or the oven)

I use about 5-6 lbs of potatoes to make a big batch

5lbs russet potatoes or your favorite potato
3 – 4 wedges of laughing cow cheese ( I use the garlic and herb light version)
4-5 ounces Cream cheese
2-3 tablespoons milk
1 stick of butter
At least 1 cup shredded cheddar/Monterey jack cheese mix
4-5 green onions sliced
5 ounces or so sour cream
Salt and pepper

Boil and mash potatoes. Add cream cheese, milk, ¾ of the butter, sour cream, laughing cow cheese. Salt and pepper well and mix. If you are baking the dish, grease or spray a large casserole dish. Oven to 350 degrees. Put half the potato mixture in the pan, sprinkle half the green onions on. Sprinkle half the Cheddar Monterey Jack cheese blend over. Top with remaining potatoes. Sprinkle the other half of the cheese blend and green onions on the top. I cover this and bake it for 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for about 10 minutes more.

If you want to do the crock pot method, refrigerate potatoes until you are ready to warm them in the crock pot. Use the same technique as above, spraying the crock pot, layering the potatoes, green onions and cheese. I heat this on Low for about 3-4 hours.

Enjoy!

This week's Joy

2009-10-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

A great deal of things brought me joy this week.

Being able to finish up the house projects has brought me joy.

But These guys are who REALLY brought me some joy this week!

She just makes me smile!

he has been such a helper and his honesty this week about how upset he still is over losing his dad when he was so little.. really impressed me. It took a lot of guts for him to open up to me like that. I love this kid

McGyver.. cause he is INCREDIBLE guy.. and the way he has tuned in to Paco.. made me fall in love with him even more. He is a pretty amazing guy and brought me much joy by finishing up a mirror.. which I will post all about this weekend! Our first Transformation!!!!

The Pony is Moving!

2009-10-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

So.. I wish I could report that I am bring the beautiful Beau home this weekend, but we are not quite there yet. On other happy fronts, the appraiser came by this morning and it looks like we will pass with flying colors.

Good thing McGyver knows his stuff.. and how to let people who think they are important, feel important. He has his eye on the goal.

Barn work will start next weekend, and one of the dead trees is already down with the second one falling today. This means that we can haul the logs out and fence. Important when you want to keep your ponies home.

I am so excited to get started, but sure will miss the warmer weather. We will be doing the basics to get the stalls ready, the paddocks built and the tack room enclosed. Everything else with the arena will happen after. I always have to remind myself that it is progress before perfection in this house stuff.

I will be posting more pictures this weekend and I have a pretty good recipe to post this weekend as well.. can't wait to share it all.

House Photos

2009-10-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

I have come to terms with the fact that I live in Chaos right now. To satisfy the terms of our Holdback, we have to do much work in a small amount of time. This weekend we will do the final bits of big work and then next week we should be complete. By Halloween, I should be actually moving boxes and putting beds together.

The following weekend, I should be finally working on the Barn. That is when I will really get excited.

My uncle came over last night and looked at the two trees we think need to come down. He doesn't feel comfortable felling them himself, so he is calling a guy to come and do it for us. He will help McGyver and I chip and chop up the logs once they are down, but we cannot build any fences until those two trees come down. One is really dead and he suggested removing that one ASAP before the heavy wind storms we normally get around Thanksgiving come.

I have included some Day 1 photo's here and some progress photos. Enjoy! If I haven't been responding or commenting much, it is only because we are literally working all the time. When I am not at work, I am working on the house. Up until today, this week at work has been crazy as well since I was gone three days. I will be back to visiting everyone very soon!

All of these first photo's were taken the first few days we were there. We actually slept on our mattresses in the dining/family room area.

Above picture is our Family Room and off to the left of that space is the Dining room and Kitchen

This is the Main Bath.. it needs SERIOUS help. Mcgyver is actually working on this room today.

This is our Living room, Day one.. it had a swirly, gaudy VERY filthy Carpet, and the drapes were pretty icky as well. Since this picture, there is NEW carpet, and the drapes have been cleaned. I am waiting to replace the window treatments in this room as they are HUGE windows and the bedrooms have to come first.

This is the Master Bedroom, it also was in need of some SERIOUS attention. It now also has new paint, new trim, and new carpet. I will photograph it when it is put back together.. although I think I did take a couple of shots with the new Carpet and the new paint.

This used to be my kitchen.. in my old house

This is my new kitchen. It won't look like this forever. Just until after the barn is done and my pony comes home. I am sacrificing having new stuff in here and getting started on painting cabinets to get my pony home.

Now for the updated photos:

McGyver installed Cedar floors in the Hall Closets. The Hall Closets were so gross I had to wear a mask to clean them out. Now they have been Bleached, primed with a stain killer/blocker, the shelves were all cleaned, bleached, painted and put back in and he put in Cedar floors to make them smell nice.. it is wonderful and was a really inexpensive solution to our flooring dilemma in these closets.

This is now our dining room. Paco is sitting at a CLEAN table in the dining room. It has since lost this look and is now functioning as a work area again since the rain started up again. he Paneling in this room has been the source of a couple of very "heated" discussions between McGver and myself. HE thinks it is fabulous and is inherent of the character of the house and because it is in SUCH good shape, we should leave it. I want it gone or painted White. I want a different look in here. So.. I am sure we will revisit this room again.

This is looking down the Hallway to the bedrooms and the Main Bath on the Right, Hall closets on the left. This was in pretty bad shape as well and had NO trim. Now the walls are Waverly Natural and the Trim is a nice White that I can't remember the name of right now, as I have purchased more paint in the last week than I care to remember right now.. and 75th Trip to Lowes is today right after work for guess what.. More paint.

This is the new carpet in the Living room. It is made by Mohawk and is a Smart Strand. You can do up to a 50/50 Bleach Water combo on this. It is WONDERFUL carpet and we love it.. but it is a little on the pricey side. We got ours on sale for 17$ a yard.

This is with our 50 inch plasma up. We now think this looks little.. and that is my beautiful lab's BUTT in the shot.. Whooops.. she didn't run Quite fast enough.

Progress on the Master Bedroom. I am finishing up the cut in stuff this weekend. The color is Pine Needle Green. It was scary in the can.. (mushy peas), but now I love it up on the walls!

We still have some things to do.. but with the new carpet and the white trim.. it is coming together nicely..

All this work made for some very tired people.. but these guys were absolutely EXHAUSTED

These guys were all tuckered out. They have totally settled in though.

Thanks for bearing with this very long post. I hopefully will get to post again sometime this weekend with some more pictures.. otherwise it will be sometime next week.

Happy Weekend folks!

Progress

2009-10-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

Wow! McGyver and I have been working on the house non stop since last Thursday morning which is why I have not posted until now. I came back to work to get a bit of a break on the home repair front. He is still working on the list this week.

I will have to post pictures later as I did not bring the nettie book with the pics on it with me today.

So far We have done:

New Trim and New Baseboard Trim in:
Master Bedroom (including trimming out the closets)
Both of the kids rooms (including trimming out the closets)
Hallway
Kitchen area

We have painted the ceilings in all of those areas as well
Painted the two hall closets and trimmed out the floors in Cedar
Painted the shelving in the hall closets
Got new carpet in all the bedrooms
New carpet in Living room
Cleaned most of the kitchen cabinets and removed most of the icky contact paper
Caulked all of the areas that needed it (that was a HUGE job)
Caulked the south wall of the garage and prepped it for paint
Cleaned the pellet stove and decided that our life is now all about pellets
Removed the nasty draperies and dropped them at the cleaners
Painted all the bedrooms and hallway
Cleaned and trimmed out the master bath

Today he will be doing the exterior stuff as we are having a one day break in the rain, and then we are back to interior stuff this evening and the rest of the week.

We still have to do on the list:
Tile work in the master bath
repair to the wall board in the hall bath
Replacement of vinyl flooring in the 3rd bath/laundry room
2nd coat of paint on the trim that is icky
Finish installing trim in Living room
Cleaning the cabinets in hall bath
Install Blinds in all bedrooms, living room and family room

After the barn is done, then I have the following projects while he is remodeling the kitchen (besides helping him)
Chandelier painting and redo
Coffee Table redo
Painting all the Bathroom Cabinets
Replace all the bath countertops, mirrors, sinks and faucets
Replace Master Bath Shower door
Window treatments in family room, dining room and bedrooms

Whew.. that is a bunch.. but the progress.. WOW
It is amazing what some paint, carpet, new trim and murhpy's oil soap will do to a nasty, dirty, yucky space.

The back of the house, is lighter, cleaner, brighter and smells GREAT!

I love the cedar in the closets, and was thrilled when McGyver decided to do that for the flooring in the hall closets! I will post those pics tonight. I may just post the start to finish on Flickr and put a slideshow up.

Hope everyone's week is going well.. I am off to get caught up in what is happening in blogland and get some more GREAT inspirations!

Home at last

2009-10-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

I have been absent from posting due to moving.. Yep.. that is right. We are moved. We have a ton of work to do before we can move things in properly, but I have my bed, the kids are both here, we can cook in the kitchen and so far, everything works! Even the Arena lights!!!

I am posting a couple of our "before pics today" along with the first thing I am going to tackle, project wise. I will have to wait a couple weeks, as we have items on the appraisal hold back tick sheet to complete first and I have to follow husbands law on that.

Here is the outside of our house right now.

It is a tad bit blurry, it is freezing outside, so I might have shaken a little..lol

and here is one of the first projects I want to tackle!

This chandelier is in the dining room (which is our bedroom right now, until we get the master painted and the floors done. I have big plans for this baby so stay tuned.

Another project I have on my list is a coffee table I picked up at a thrift store right after we moved out of our old house. It will most likely get done next weekend. I have today off and am back to work for a couple days and then will be taking another few days off to help McGyver get things done around here.

Happy Monday!

Coupon Renaissance

2009-10-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

I have been cruising blogland for a little bit now, and I am blown away by all of the mad skills people have. One thing that I have been watching and wishing I could get in on, are the coupon and crazy grocery deals that some are getting.

Yesterday, I think I may have finally got in the game. As I have mentioned, we are finally moving into our house this weekend. I have had very little storage space to utilize for stocking up on great deals and have had to shop on a very limited basis. We do however, have an upright freezer at my sisters house (our fourth storage place) lol.. she also is housing our hot tub, our motor home and one child. She is also my post office. Well after reading NW coupon lady's blog about Albertsons having their double coupon event ending yesterday and some other deals available there, I went down and grabbed a Sunday paper and got the insert and found some coupons for things we needed that we could double and also noticed that they had a buy one get one free meat sale.

Well... I grabbed the baby from daycare after work and went to Albertson's to see what I could do.
Here is how I did: (Sorry no pictures, I am still having to store things at sisters where I did not have a camera)

1 pkg Hamburger Buns
1 package of Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese
1 Freschetta Pizza
2 boxes Granola Bars (Nature Valley)
3 Boxes GM cereal
1.5 lb Hamburger
1 Package Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (About 5 large)
2 Beef Roasts
2 pkgs Pork Chops
2 Large London Broil Steaks

Off the shelf price: 115.06
MY price with the double coupons for the Pizza, granola bars and Cereal, and the BYGO?
Yep.... 60.06!!!! WOWSER

I LOVE that!!!! I can't believe it! I have makings for like 9 or 10 meals for our family for 60.00!!! I still have items in the pantry for side dishes I can use all next week! I will only have to get some basic supplies (Flour, Yeast, Sugar, Milk, Eggs and some Bread) and some lunch items and we are set for at least a week and a half.. How WONDERFUL! I think I am so hooked now. I can't wait to try this on a full scale and see what I can accomplish before Thanksgiving!

Happy Wednesday everyone.. and wish me luck.. we are signing our loan documents and papers today at 1pm!! Whoooooo Hooooo! And the other GREAT news? It is supposed to be dry and clear alllll weekend.. which means we won't have to move in the RAIN! We love this!

Moving Day?

2009-10-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

Well... It looks like it is actually going to happen. We are movin' on up... to a house!

The funny thing is... it is the house we originally wanted to buy back in May. After some loopty loos and roundabouts, we are finally cleared for docs. We should sign either tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday morning and be funded by Friday am! This means that we can actually get some keys on Friday and start moving in this weekend!

I will take tons of before pictures. The before pics will be prettttty scary. This house has been vacant for over a year. The whole reason we wanted this place is because of all the structures and the acreage this place has. It is almost 5 acres with a house, an extra garage, a shop, a barn and even.... a covered arena! The covered arena is the biggest bonus for me. For someone who rides and is a fair weather rider like myself, having a covered arena is a huge deal. This one is 60X60 and so it is not a big arena, but it is plenty big enough for me to ride in most of the time. It allows me to work my horse even in the crappy rainy NW winters. It also allows me to be able to turn my horse beast out even in the worst weather with no fear of mud! The barn has four stalls, a tack room and electricity and Water. These are huge expenses that are already finished for us! The shop is a mechanics dream and my DH will really really enjoy it!

While there is mucho work to be done there, we know that it is a really really sound investment. I will have lots and lots of before and after's to share in the coming months, and I cannot wait to have a place for my things again, and most of all for our family to be together again.

I also am so happy that the Dogs will have room to run, room to play and a house instead of being cooped up in a trailer all day long. I don't think our Beagle really minds, but I know that our Jack Russell and our Lab will be very very happy to move around more again.

It has been such a long journey and we are not at the end yet, just at the beginning of the real hard work that will start this weekend. I so dislike moving, but this move I am really looking forward to. Mostly because it will signal the end of our Real Estate struggles this summer. I am so thankful that Hubby and I have made it through this.. in fact, he remarked that it has made our marriage stronger and us closer. Most folks we know that have gone through real estate goes through a strain on their marriage. Maybe because we are united in this? I am not entirely sure, but I know that I am so grateful that we are seeing the light at the end of this very long, dark tunnel!

This week will mark the end of my long commutes and I am thrilled about that. I have three and a half days left of work this week and then will be off for 5 and a half days to get this done!

I hope all of you that come here have a most fabulous week, and I will post an update once we have our signing appointment and our actual date to get keys!

Saur-Kraut Band

2009-10-01T07:32:00.001-07:00

DSCN0483, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

I had mentioned that I would tell you all about the funny thing that happened while McGyver and I were in the bar. We had sat down at a table near to the front and These folks in funny clothes kept coming in.. there must have been about twenty of them. They are a band that is comprised of the American Legion chapter there and they raise money for charity by selling buttons, pins, shirts and hats. They were Awesome. The look on McGyvers face though.. Priceless.. he actually ended up enjoying it.. these folks were really good.. but they played Right in Front of us the entire time. Talk about front row seats. We really enjoyed them. They played awhile and then wandered down the street to play somewhere else. That is what they do.. just pop in, play and then head out to play somewhere else during the festival. Pretty cool, I think.

Here is McGyver watching

I will finish up posting some of the other photos from our drive back today, I really hope you have enjoyed them!

Berry Tree

2009-09-30T16:18:00.001-07:00

Berry Tree, originally uploaded by mysticfish.

Playing around with Flickr Editing.. Called Picnik

Fall Drive Continuation photos

2009-09-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

So my computer was having issues last night and really over the last few days. It is my netbook.. my "Home" vs work computer. I finally got all issues resolved today with it.. (crossing fingers and making funny faces), and so can share some more photos. The other issue I really have is that my connection speed at the temporary "home" is really really horrible. This is why I mainly post during the week, when I can take advantage of better connections speeds.

Without further interruption from me..

Heading down the pass on the East Side of the Mountains

Walking through The back side of the town

This is just a cute bench outside one of the many cute shops

View towards the festival tents

Some of the buildings there.. EVERYthing is Bavarian Style

Next Post I will share some of the pics from the funny thing that happened while we were in the bar having a drink before heading home.. It was hilarious!!! I should have gotten more pictures of my husband, as he is always a little stunned by surprise things. This was pretty cool!

Ciao for Now!

Fall Leaf Festival Drive

2009-09-29T21:02:00.000-07:00

We took the drive on Saturday afternoon because we had bad news on the appraisal. Basically, this one was worse. So... our only two options at this point.. do the work or walk away. We want this property, so we are going to have to do the work and hope that the Bank that is orchastrating this short sale will assist or compensate us with closing costs or something.. anything.

So to take our mind off of the crap.. Hubby and I took a drive over to the festival in Leavenworth. It is only about an hour or so drive from our property, so we thought we could just take a nice drive, go and have a bit of food and a beer and come back. I wanted to take pictures and boy did I! I have tons of them and will share a few of them with you today. I hope to go up to the falls tomorrow morning with Coco and Bella and take some more pictures as well.

This is on the West Side of the Pass just past Index

I lurrrve these big Pine Cones... I should have brought some back with me!

At the Pass.. they are supposed to get snow tonight.. WOW

I am having trouble tonight uploading any more images, so I will have to finish this tomorrow.. I don't have a good connection out in the woods

TGIF?

2009-09-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting alllllllll day for news that the second appraisal was done and that we have our status that we need to move forward and close. This is the very last thing we need to close on this house. It was supposed to be in this morning.

So far.. 3:09 Pacific Time (PM).. NOTHING yet.

I have to leave in about 40 minutes so I am really really praying that some miracle happens and we hear good news in the next half hour. (I am the eternal optimist)

Tomorrow we are going to head over to Leavenworth for the Fall Festival with Padewan. I think he is {insert sarcasm HERE} excited to go with us.

Below is an image of a street in Leavenworth during the festival.. I sooo cannot wait to capture some shots like this:

Leavenworth is a small Bavarian Themed Town in Eastern WA. We are about an hours drive away. You can check out more cool stuff about Leavenworth HERE.

Enjoy! Have a fabulous Weekend all!

Fall Festival Party

2009-09-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

We usually would do Quite a bit to get into the Fall Season and Feather our nest...

Fall Cleaning and organizing, some canning, tons of baking, and I would usually wash and scrub all of my horses summer fly masks and sheets and pads. I also help McGyver get the property winterized and the house ready for winter and stock up on holiday items for baking and treats.

We also like to get in the mood by taking a fall drive. This Saturday, we are going to drive over to Leavenworth. I posted earlier today pictures of our last fall drive. I will post some more in this post.

Here is the first one.. which I modified with an all new signature using Photoshop Elements.

And Here is one from my Flikr page that I added a Signature using Picnik

Which one do you like better?

Be sure to see other ways to Feather your nest and get more ideas from Here and Here

I am off to see all the other great Fall inspirations out there!

This is a Test

2009-09-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

I just visited a blog and got a little tutorial (Thanks Alisa) HERE on how to make my photos bigger in Blogger without using the picture icon. I am going to attempt this with a couple of photos from last years fall drive. We are planning a fall drive this Saturday to Leavenworth, WA.. it is the Fall Leaf Festival, so it should be good. Last year we took a drive through the Mountain loop Highway, but it was late when we started, so I didn't get the amount of "Fall Leaf" photos I wanted. I did get some fun shots though, so I will share those. I ended up getting home really late last night so did not get to take the quad out for a spin.. and I was so tired, that I ended up just heading to bed early. I will try and get some photos in the next couple of days though. For now.. here are some last years Fall Drive photos edited in HTML instead of uploaded through Blogger.

Let me know what you think!

Stress relief

2009-09-23T16:21:00.000-07:00

I have decided that since I am so tired and burned out from the heavy work stuff and Real Estate stuff.. When I get "home" to the GBNT, I am going to grab my Lumix and head out for some early early fall shots up in the woods on my quad. I haven't ridden in awhile.. but it sure sounds like a good way to spend some time with my camera.

Hubby said he will cook, and I think I will take the Paco boy on a little ride.. I will post some pics tomorrow if I get anything worth sharing.

Ciao'

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

Almost Wordless.. We have a Jack Russell.. Here are a few photos of her going from Tiny Jack to our Peanut Butter Cup

For more great Wordless Wednesday posts.. click HERE!

Peanut Butter Cup

We have a second Chance

2009-09-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

Last night, I helped my Mcgyver husband lay down a new Vinyl floor, and finish up the wall trim in a bedroom. I also cleaned along side our Realtor.

The one bright spot in this crazy journey... our Realtor. She is the mother of a horse trainer I know and she is lovely. I picked her to list our house but more importantly to find us the perfect horse property, as she is the equine property specialist up here. This lady knows where every dry piece of land is in Northern Snohomish County. She is professional, keeps her cool and calm even when I have trouble with mine, and is always in our corner. One of the most impressive things about her, which has endeared her to my DH, who is NOT a fan of most Realtors (he has been burned a couple times in the past by less than competent agents and brokers), is that when you tour a house with her.. she doesn't point out how you can make things work. She waits for your comments and then is non committal. I asked her about this, and she explained that she doesn't want to sway someone either way, that it should be their decision and if they love a house, she won't have to over sell it anyway. I like that. It is something I would do.. let it sell itself.

Her Broker has been wonderful too. If any one in the vicinity of this blog is looking to sell or buy in North Western Washington, I will hook you up. After all we have been through, I am sure glad we have had her!

On to the title of this post. A second Appraiser is coming out today and I am sending many prayers to God to let this turn out in our favor. We worked very hard yesterday and last night to get a floor in, the plumbing repaired, the entire place cleaned (Our Realtor ran errands for us, got us pizza and did all the windows.. like I said.. she is a Rock Star!) Our Youngest handled the touch up painting and some of the extra hands my DH needed. I put in 3/4 of a floor by myself.. Yeah ME! I wish I had the time to take photos.. but if this goes our way.. there will be Tons of before and after photo's to come.

My sister came by and helped me put up the couple of gutters that were off, and when we left last night I had a much better sense of it all working out. The house looked much better, the plumbing is fixed and everything looked much cleaner and had lost the musty vacant-for-over-a-year smell.

McGyver Hubby is going back this am to finish the last of the flooring in the second bedroom and trim and install one more shower head. The appraiser is scheduled to come today in the afternoon, so I really hope that this time it is listed as "average" and we can go and sign papers. Everyone is just waiting on this ONE person to do their appraisal today.. and then we can go and sign.. what a relief that would be. Absolute Joy and Relief.

I have tried very hard to be patient and be positive. I am just running out of both of these things as September comes to a close.

The funny thing is.. as borrowers.. we couldn't be lower risk right now. Both have very good full time jobs, we have a years salary in the bank that is separate from the 10% down and closing costs of this house, we only have one car payment and no credit card debt, no student loans.. no real debt. We pay for our son's college classes out of pocket and we own all of our toys outright. They are not brand new or shiny or fancy.. but they are all paid for. It is just how we live... if we can afford it.. fine.. if we can't we don't. Hubby is a saver and I have slowly been coming around to his way of thinking.. so we save and are careful.. even more so now.

So.. I am going to be patient today and going to remain positive that this appraisal will come back in our favor and by next weekend we will be moving things and playing with a U-Haul.

Then.. I can start working on all of the projects that will make that "average" house into AWESOME!

"Fair Condition"

2009-09-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

Okay.. so I can't write the really the mean and nasty things I want to say about home mortgage people and real estate and especially appraisers.

How is that for an opening line?

We are in the middle of a house deal.. well.. this is the original house deal that we have now come full circle on.

Let me give you the not so quick and very dirty version.

Last May.. I decided that I wanted to have my horse at home, and that I wanted some room to stretch out. My Darling Husband agreed with the stretching out part.. he wasn't sure he wanted the horse where he would have to gaze upon him on a daily basis, but the financial savings over boarding won him over (not that there really is a substantial savings.. but shhhhhhh). So we decided we would have to sell our house in the burbs across from the Lake to make our dreams of a shop, a house, acreage, and a barn come true.

Everyone told us that it would take awhile for our house to sell and that we would be in a much better position to buy if we sold first. Wow.. was that WRONG (most of the time, that advice is sound).. in our case.. we should have hiked up our price and put in an offer on the house we are trying to close on and waited.. because our house would have sold in a normal amount of time... (3 months) and we would have been still in our house getting ready to move out for only a few weeks.. NOT months..but.. I digress....

So on the market our house went.. we put in an offer on a Short Sale.. and our house sold in 16 days.. we closed on it in the first week of June and moved out to our Recreational property, thinking.. how cool, we can camp out for the 6 weeks this is going to take and relax, enjoy the summer at the property and Paco can swim everyday.. Nice.......

Except that we didn't hear from the Bank.. and we didn't hear from the Bank.. just that it was in Stage III.. whatever that meant... July Came.. we started to get nervous because we wanted to make sure we were in a house by School Starting for young Padewan to start High School. We found another house.. NOT a short sale.. Nice big house, acreage, no shop, no barn, but cheap and we could build the other things. We went through the inspection, the appraisal, we signed papers to close at the escrow/title office on a Wednesday morning.. and Wednesday night.. we got a phone call.. The sellers had changed their mind. It was unthinkable.. how could someone change their mind after we signed papers? They had until Friday at 5pm to get their tushies to the closing office... they never did.. this is an ongoing dilemma we are still having and have retained an attorney to recoup our hard costs. YUCK.

So... onward to another house.. this one a tiny house, but great property, no shop, no fence, no barn.. we were getting a little desperate, but it was even cheaper than the one before.. was not a short sale.. the house was owned outright.. everything seemed in order.. we got 1 week from closing and it turns out there is a boundary line adjustment issue with a family member that will take a minimum of two months to fix and early occupancy is fine but we have to pay rent and can't touch a thing or even put up a temporary fence for the dogs.. We walked from that deal...

Not to mention that we had found our dream house.. and I am not kidding.. Big Shop, Beautiful Big Tri Level house, 3 miles from my little sister, with gorgeous pastures, a barn, a huge garden, big beautiful shade trees and an orchard that was unbelievable.. and.. it was totally in our price range. We put an offer in.. but there was already a signed around Contingent offer.. and they only had 48 hours to sell their house and remove the contingency.. NO PROBLEM we thought.. NO one sells their house in 2 days.. Ummm.. you must not have met us with our Horrible Real Estate Luck... They sold their house and STOLE our dream house.. It SUCKS.
So while I was sobbing and screaming and throwing things.. our Agent wanted to show us the "cutest place" with room for The Horse Beast. OKAY.. here we go again.. Chin up and all...

The place.. ummmm not even going to go there.. It was a bust.. and while we were there our Agent mentioned that we did have the acceptance letter now from the bank on the FIRST house we put an offer in. We talked about it and said.. What the hell.. that place has a house, almost 5 acres, a HUGE shop (like almost bigger than the house big shop), a 4 stall barn with tack room and a covered.. yep.. I said Covered Arena.
It also needs a fair amount of work to make it into the fabulous place we envision.. but it can be done. The rambler needs mostly cosmetic fixes and it does have a new roof.

So we get everything done on this house as far as paperwork.. and we get to the end.. again... and The appraiser only calls it "Fair".. It has to be at least "average" for the bank to loan on it.

Really? I have prayed and prayed for things to work out. I don't know why this appraiser has to be the pickiest and craziest appraiser around and why we have to draw this particular one. So as I get ready to head over to said house with my Hubby's saws and cords and garbage bags and cleaning supplies and paint.. I am hoping that God really is in my corner and will see this through with us.

I am crossing my fingers that the new appraisal we ordered comes with a new appraiser... and we can get that "average" that we are looking for.

I will keep this updated as we go along this week.. and if you made it to here.. WOW.. THANK YOU and here is a nice picture for your reward

This is a moon shot from my old backyard..

Menu Plan Monday.. First time for everything

2009-09-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

I love Menu Plans. Most of the time though, something happens and I don't complete what I plan for the week. I am going to see if we can execute a menu plan.. and to keep me on track I have decided to link up with I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday

We are still in the Trailer.. We are very close to being able to close on the first house we bid on back in May. I will post on that in the next couple of days as I am still fearful of jinxing this..

Okay.. so on to Menu Plan Monday

Monday: (Tonight)
Cheeseburger Macaroni
Cooked Corn
Leftover Biscuits

Tuesday:
Baked Chicken Tenders with BBQ sauce
Macaroni and Cheese
Cooked Carrots

Wednesday:
Beef Burritos
Rice

Thursday:
Tuna Casserole
Garlic Bread
Green Beans

Friday:
Leftovers and hopefully starting to move out

Saturday:
Pizza (Take out) since I am still hoping to be moving

Sunday:
Rotisserie Chicken
Roasted Potatos
Salad
Rolls
Corn on the cob

This is my plan... and I really really hope that I stick to it.. for more reasons that wanting to follow the plan.

Lunches will be made each day this week as well and some of the things we will be having:

Ham and cheese wraps (today and Wednesday) My son's Favorite lunch item

Roast Beef and Chedder Hoagies (Tuesday)

Tuna Sandwiches on Hoagies

I hope you check out more of the menu plans out there, I know that I did and WOW I am impressed with the creativity and planning skills that some of you have!

Here is my Monday photo :

This is a picture of my Son Rowing.. it was his first season this last year and he fell in love with the sport. As soon as we are moved and settled he will be joining up again with his team in Lake Stevens. It is awesome to watch these boys glide across the water.. and it improved his fitness and also really helped his dirtbike riding for endurance and upper body strength!
Enjoy!

Happy Monday all!

Foodie Friday

2009-09-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

I am participating in

Foodie Friday Hosted by the Great Designs by Gollum. Be sure to check out all of the fabulous participants!

I grew up eating Braunschweiger. Some call it liverwurst. I was always told it was Braunschweiger and we ate it on crackers or just cut us a slab and ate it. Liverwurst just never sounded as appealing to me. Many years ago, a really great guy and a great friend introduced me to a sandwich. This is a sandwich that would change my opinion of things.. it rocked my world.. It made me salivate and for Liverwurst??? Really? Yes. I make this sandwich when I want something to eat that is filling, and fabulous and makes me happy.. sooo happy. It takes a little preparation and the recipe below is for two sandwiches.. so you can increase or cut in half if you are the only eater. I always make two even for myself.. it is that good.

This recipe is one that is definatly different and it is something that I absolutely love. My family doesn't care for it as much as I do and some of my friends, but try it and you just might find that you love it too!

You will need:

4 Large Slices of Good Sourdough Bread

1 small package of Liverwurst or Braunschweiger

1 Small head of Romaine Lettuce

1/2 Yellow Onion

1 Clove Garlic

4 oz Cream Cheese ( I use a little bit more.. like about 5-6oz for two sandwiches) room temp

1/2 stick Butter or Margerine... ( I use Butter)

Now for the directions:

I roughly chop the onion... Not Huge.. but not a dice either. I also mince the garlic at this time. Next you want to mix the garlic with the cream cheese in a small bowl and set it aside. Next I chop some Romaine.. I like a bit of Romaine on mine.. and I like mine Sliced.. if you like chopped, then chop, if you like sliced, then slice. Whole leaves just don't have the same texture for this sandwich.... so Slice and or Chop. Set this aside. Melt the Butter in a nice skillet or saute pan. Throw the onions in and let them cook a bit. I like them soft and a little browned.. Not caramelized completely, just a little browned and soft and yummy! While those are cooking away, Slice up some of the Braunschweiger. I use about 4 slices for each sandwich. I lay all eight slices on a cookie sheet and place in the oven to Broil. You have to watch these puppies.. I broil for about 3 minutes on each side.. enough to get them sizzling and enough to crisp them up.. it may take 3-5 minutes per side.. just watch them so they don't burn. I also Broil my Sourdough Bread. Doesn't matter if you Broil the bread to toast it before or after the Braunschweiger, just make sure it gets toasty on both sides.

Once you have the Braunschweiger cooked, the bread toasted and the onions are cooked and softened.. it is time for assembly. Oh the Assembly.. Oh by now I can hardly contain myself.. it is soooo good!

Take your Sourdough Toast.. and slather the Cream Cheese garlic mixture on each piece.. then add some of those onions on one side.. then the Braunschweiger on top of the onion, then the Romain on top of that.. stick those two pieces of bread together, slice and DEVOUR! Oh Lord these are good.. and I am going to make this this weekend.. then I can post some pictures.. Hmmmmmm NUMMY.

Enjoy! and be sure to check out the other great links and recipes!

Comments Restored

2009-09-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

Sharon over at Good True and Beautiful, alerted me that my comments were not working.. THANK YOU! I have now fixed them.. so hopefully people can now comment.

That is all.. Back to regularly scheduled programming.. coming later of course.. because now I have to get back to work.. the one that pays me.. and I am under serious deadline right now..

Ta ta... and here is another Barn Picture.. One of the ones I really like.
I called it Sunshine on my Shoulder.. this is one of the Rescue horses that was adopted out this year.. he is wonderful.. and if you want to ever support a Horse Rescue.. we have two of the best here.. SAFE

and People Helping Horses.. This picture was taken at PHH.. which is where we were boarding this last year until I got the notion to bring Beau home.

Here you go.. let me know what you think!

Wordless Wednesday... Barn Photos

2009-09-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

For More Wonderful Wordless Wednesday click here

and Here

2009-09-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

Yeah I finally won an award! Thanks to Southern Queen Bee over at http://southernqueenbee.blogspot.com/, she has awarded with me an award...the Honest Scrap Award. Make sure to drop by and check out her blog! She is one of my favorites!

Here are the rules..
1.) Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.
2.) Share "10 Honest Things" about myself.
3.) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
4.) Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving.

The 10 honest things about myself.. I know this will be the hardest part.

1. I read even when I should be doing other things. Reading is my biggest pleasure and my biggest time waster.

2. I have not ridden my horse in two months and I am feeling really guilty about it.

3. I was allergic to anything that tasted good until I was 17. My first taste of chocolate was at my Dad's place of work.. the dairy.

4. I am an orphan now, and miss my parents horribly.

5. I was a widow at 30 and only remarried two years ago but still miss my late husband.

6. I love the smell of coffee even more than I like the taste

7. I cheated on my confirmation test with three other girls and got caught by my grandmother in the bathroom of the church.. How humiliating.. we were 14 at the time.

8. I wanted to go to boarding school in Kentucky with my horse but my parents said no.. so I was heartbroken.

9. I love to write, but I am not very skilled at it.

10. I read other peoples blogs much more than I ever post on mine and wish I had half the talent of the 7 I have chosen..

Enjoy and Please remember to visit Missy at Southern Queen Bee and these FABULOUS others I have listed below!

http://www.vanderbiltwife.com/
http://thepottingshed-anythinggoeshere.blogspot.com/
http://dressagerider.wordpress.com/
http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/
http://www.goodtrueandbeautiful.com/
http://happynester.blogspot.com/
http://ablogintherough.blogspot.com/

I finally finished this post.. I was very busy with work the last couple of days.. and will be for the rest of the week.. and then.. stay tuned.. the real estate drama is almost over.. and I shall have a covered arena when we are all finished!

Thank you again to Missy for giving me the award.. now I am off to let the wonderful seven above know about the award I have passed on to them!

Bubba Started High School

2009-09-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

No real news on the Real Estate Front.. Well there is actually but I am trying not to jinx things by talking about it.. sooo.. since we are ever all consumed with that topic these days.. and I am really trying to focus on something other than the fact that three months later, summer is over and my youngest has gone back to school while living in the trailer.. NOT what we had imagined!

Back to school.... he is in 9th Grade. This is where things start to count. Really count. The fact that my baby is now in high school is really kind of freaking me out. I have a grown child and one in high school.

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?????? I swear I have been paying attention. I don't feel old enough to have these boys who are now almost men... How can I reconcile that I still feel like I am playing at being a grown up sometimes and the fact that one of my babies is now a "grown up".. only in the legal sense.. otherwise he is still a clueless teenager.

Beautiful boys.. How I wish they were still little. I will have to post my favorite pictures of them soon.. but alas.. everything that is not digital is still in storage.. so for now.. I will have to post a couple of pictures of them that I like..

Paco pillow fighting with the camera

Cody playing the guitar at my wedding a couple of years ago

Handsome man!

I really miss them being little, but I love the people they are becoming.. dumb teenage stuff and all.

High School will be interesting with the youngest.. he is VERY different from his brother.. and when I need to snuggle a little one.. I still have the bug:

Happy Thursday.. I am keeping my fingers crossed for good news today.

Back to square one

2009-09-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

We lost out on the dream house. I should have seen this coming from a mile away, but dang it.. I really thought that this was the house and that it was put in our path because we have been so patient and good and we would be rewarded with our dream house...

It is not happening. I am so close to tears this morning.. I am tired of living in a trailer, and I am really tired of looking at houses and imaging my things there and making a life with that house and it is yanked away.

Today is a crap day.. no other words to describe it.. It is just CRAP.

Hopefully it will get better.

Tuesday.. Today is the day

2009-09-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

Today I am on pins and needles.

Today we find out if we "bumped" a contingent offer on a house

Today I will find out if I can move into as near of our dream house as possible on our budget.

Today I am going to be a little bit busy with work, which will help to keep me off of those pins and needles as much as possible.

I don't want to talk too much about this house.. I am being very very cautious with my optimism this time. We have had too many dissapointments with real estate to be overly excited.

I will say this though.. this house has everything on my list that is important...
1. Acerage for the horse
2. Fenced completely around
3. Beautiful HUGE Garden
4. Beautiful HUGE Orchard
5. NO work to be done on the house to make it livable
6. Big Comfortable living Spaces
7. Location, Location, Location
8. McGyver doesn't have to lift a finger if he doesn't want to
9. It has stuff for EVERYONE
10. Two Pantries.. TWO! And Cupboards Everywhere.. Ohhhh the storage in this house is so plentiful..

So.. that is all I am going to say on this subject for now.. I am off to pray, Cross my fingers, hop on one foot while turning in a circle, throw some salt over my shoulder, find a four leaf clover, and visit the local spellcaster to see what I can bury or chant to improve our chances here.

Until tomorrow.. when I will post to wordless Wednesday the outcome of today.

Cloudy Lake

2009-08-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

Velvet Cows

2009-08-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

We are going to miss another closing. For some weird reason, I am completely calm about all of this today. I know that I will probably start hyperventilating on Sunday when it hits me that we don't have a house to move into and I will be dropping young Padewan off at School each morning and picking him up from my sisters each day when I drop off the baby.

Since we were supposed to move this weekend and that has been cancelled, my sister informed me that I would be going to the fair with her. I don't seem to have a choice in the matter.

My husband has told me that He is NOT going. He hates crowds, lines and inflated prices on any given day, but put them all together at the fair grounds.. that is a recipe for a very unhappy husband. So.. it will most likely just be the sister, the baby (hers), the teenager(mine), and myself.

I Heart Fairs....I love to look at the horses and feel that Beau is more beautiful than any of the horses at the fairgrounds. I love to see all the different dogs, chickens and goats. We love to see the pigs and most of all.. we love to look at the cows. Dairy cattle are just cool to me.. especially the Jersey cows.. I think their coats look like Velvet.. I used to call them Velvet Cows when I was little..

See this:

They are soooo sweet looking!

I wanted to take one home and keep it in the backyard. I used to believe that I could have random amounts of animals at any given time in my backyard. My parents disagreed.. They were absolutely NO fun!

Going to the fair is so much fun for me.. and to get to go with the baby for the first time is a huge bonus for me. I get to be the nana that took Ally to the fair.

Paxton just wants to ride the rides, so I am not sure how that will work. Unless he can take a friend, and that friends parent gives them money for a wristband and food.. Paco will be solo.

Since we are not moving.. I have many things to do.. and less to do.. It is bizarre how that translates.

I have to cancel the horse moving, and let my current place know he is staying for another thirty days.. and I have to call the school and see what we have to get for supplies and schedule.. since he is not changing districts.. and I have to rifle through the storage units to try and find my passport..

I have been saying my favorite prayer all morning.. "Little Jesus, lost and found, please bring my "passport" around."

I believe very strongly in prayer... even though I have moved away from my church.. and that means more than the physical location.. my faith is under a test right now and I am really finding that I yearn for another church now. Another topic for another day.

The little Jesus prayer has brought most things back to me.. including my son's bike that was stolen a few weeks ago.. I said that prayer every day for three days.. and someone found the bike and returned it... so.. saying it sure couldn't hurt since I have to "find" the box I put it in... about three months ago.. thinking it was a temporary thing...

We are looking at a house this evening that has "wife's dream house" written all over it. I am hopeful but not excited, since my hopes have been dashed far too many times this summer.. but I continue to be optimistic, because the alternitive is just too crappy to think about.

Thursday is the day before Friday.. which means the weekend and the Fair are just around the corner.. Hmmm Roasted corn on the cob, Fair Burgers and Scones.. Here I come!!!.. and hopefully I can pet a Velvet Cow while I am there.

My Birthday at the Beach - Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

This is linked back to Wordless Wednesday.. Check it out!

In about three hours

2009-08-25T14:42:00.001-07:00

In about three hours our house fate again will be decided.

I coped with that knowledge by going to my new favorite store.. the assistance league. They are a wonderful thrift shop that offers assistance to many different charities.. so not only do I get a bargain, but I am shopping somewhere that makes a real difference in the community.

I hit the mother load.. and that is all I am going to say about that.. because next week for the first time I am going to join a blog party and I am going to photograph my treasures this week and then I will post more on that later..

I am crossing my fingers that I will be moving this week.