I only have a few minutes so this will be short. My week has been NON stop...our students came on Monday and I have been working all week to help get the morning news cast working at school. It's very time consuming and it's been difficult to do that and keep up with my normal duties.
At night, I come home, play with SHelby, grab a snack and then head to the barn, outside, or haul the horses somewhere. What a whirl wind week! Shelby has been staying up later. She has been staying up til 9 or 9:30...and wound up. It's been fun so I have been spending that time with her. She has gotten very active in the last few weeks and much more fun to interact with. She is such a goof ball! So, then after that it's shower, work email, personal email, facebook...and before I know it it is 11 pm...5:30 AM comes soooo early these days!
Last night we had a big thunder storm roll through at 4 am...that woke me up and I've been up since. I'm winding down so I'm so glad it's almost the end of the day.
Tomorrow I ahve a barrel race. I have 5 more races. It's so important I keept hose barrels up and make good clean runs as I'm 1st in the Novice. I have worked really hard to climb up tot he top and I'm going to fight to the end. God willing, I'll win and win a nice saddle. :) I sure could use another one!
Gotta go...I hope next week to be a little better and maybe I can post a video or two of Silly Shelby!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Something New in Technology
I have been through many days of inservices as I prepare for the new school year. I have so many new ideas to share with the teachers, but don't have the concept mastered yet. So, I have been playing with the many free types of online activites and Internet sites. I thought I'd share Shelby's adventure's with Great Grandma Helmreich when she went to MI in June.
I created this on voicethread.com for free. You can upload pics and then record your voice. Then, others can record their comments as well .I haven't figured that part out yet, but will need to so students can create and share.
http://voicethread.com/share/585626/
I created this on voicethread.com for free. You can upload pics and then record your voice. Then, others can record their comments as well .I haven't figured that part out yet, but will need to so students can create and share.
http://voicethread.com/share/585626/
Friday, August 14, 2009
Back to Work
Today was my last day of freedom before I go back into the working world. It has been a nice 12 months in relation to work though. I was of October 6 – Middle of December, 2 weeks for Christmas, 1 week for Spring Break, and 8 weeks for the summer. Not bad….Now it’s back to normal. In some way I’m looking forward to going back to work. I hate house work. As a stay at home there’s lots of house work and no excuse to NOT do it. I’ll also like some freedom you get when you work.
I’m looking forward to my quiet times during the day when it’s just me. My long drive (45 min drive each way) with just me….no baby in the back seat that needs to be fed right then and now or fussing for whatever reason. I also like that I can swing by a store to pick something up real quickly and not worry about waking up Shelby or dragging her out just to pick up something.
However, I will REALLY REALLY REALLY miss her while I’m gone. I’ll miss all those special moments…and that sucks. For example, today she crawled for the first time. I would’ve missed it. I even got it on camera and got a video of that special moment. I am happy I was here for it, but sad I’ll more than likely miss her first steps and then hear about it through Brenda (babysitter) or Ryan. L But, it is what it is and I have to work. L At least Ryan will be with her and she has an AWESOME babysitter.
On an exciting note, WE GOT RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!! We got two days of rain and tonight it rained A LOT! I’m so excited to see the mud puddles and wet ground. Yahoo….perhaps our pastures will survive after all. I was hoping we could get plenty of rain in the next few weeks so the pastures could sprout up and provide grass for our horses through most of the winter. There are not many round bales to be found and they are expensive. We do have access to square bales and maybe some round bales, so that is good, but we want to use as little as possible as it is expensive.
Last night I was taking a shower and wondering why the water wasn’t very hot. Down here it is so hot even the water isn’t that cold, so the shower was cold, but not Michigan or Iowa cold….just a little uncomfortable in regards to a hot shower. Anyhow, I got out and sure enough our water heat had taken a poop. L It was from 1994 so Ryan and I both assumed it had run its course and it was time for a new one. So much for those new tires for our car. LOL Someday we’ll get it registered, new tires, and down the road so I can drive it to work. We did get a good deal though. We went to Lowes and I told Ryan I wanted to check out the ‘scratch and dent” isle…YEA FOR US….there was a 50 gallon water heater there. It was a regular $398 and we got it out the door for $262…same warranties, etc…just a couple of dents on the side of it. God is Good…sucks we had to buy it…but we were blessed to get it for a good price.
We also bought some vegetable plants for a fall garden. They only had green, yellow and orange sweet peppers as well as tomatoes. So, I bought a few of each. Some veggies are better than none. Hopefully I’ll be able to put in a real garden in the spring during my spring break. So, word the wise, if you are coming to see us at that time you better be ready to babysit Shelby or put in a garden! LOL…
So, Ryan, being the regular “Mr. Fix It”….well…sorda….installed it all by himself. Now, to those of you who are good at that stuff this may not be a big deal, but to me that is a big deal. We are starting to become independent with the little things. Hopefully it will make us brave and be more willing to challenge ourselves with the big things….God willing that doesn’t happen, but if it does, I hope we are ready. Doing it yourself can save you so much money. Not having that skill has cost us a lot of money for various things.
This weekend I run barrels in Santa Fe, TX. I worked Badger in Sandy’s arena tonight to prepare for it. I worked on a couple of things and feel good going into Saturday. I changed him to Ramard’s Total Joint Care…the supplement has all the stuff he needs to help him with his joints and hocks. It’s been a few weeks and I think it’s working. He is feeling a lot snapper and he seems to be running hard and trying harder. So, I hope the product is working. It’s expensive, so it has to work. I did a lot of research and comparison, so it has what he needs.
We also switched Shiner to a different feed as well as Twister. Shiner was too thin and needed weight gain. Twister was too fat and needed to back off on the feed. They both are doing very well and looking better each day. I’m excited to see them both in a few weeks.
Finally, I have decided to ride with the Rodeo Sweethearts again. Twister needed a job and I needed to be a part of something I have missed for almost 2 years. I’m excited, but also realize I am adding stress to myself. I think it will be worth it though. It’s also good cause that means I’m riding Twister again. He needs a job!
Well, my battery is dying on my computer and it’s time for me to take a shower and try out that new, fancy, water heater. J I’m back to work and back to having access to DSL…so I’ll be able to upload pics, videos and blogs on a regular basis again. It’s nice to be able to put this together the night before and then upload the next day.
I’m looking forward to my quiet times during the day when it’s just me. My long drive (45 min drive each way) with just me….no baby in the back seat that needs to be fed right then and now or fussing for whatever reason. I also like that I can swing by a store to pick something up real quickly and not worry about waking up Shelby or dragging her out just to pick up something.
However, I will REALLY REALLY REALLY miss her while I’m gone. I’ll miss all those special moments…and that sucks. For example, today she crawled for the first time. I would’ve missed it. I even got it on camera and got a video of that special moment. I am happy I was here for it, but sad I’ll more than likely miss her first steps and then hear about it through Brenda (babysitter) or Ryan. L But, it is what it is and I have to work. L At least Ryan will be with her and she has an AWESOME babysitter.
On an exciting note, WE GOT RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!! We got two days of rain and tonight it rained A LOT! I’m so excited to see the mud puddles and wet ground. Yahoo….perhaps our pastures will survive after all. I was hoping we could get plenty of rain in the next few weeks so the pastures could sprout up and provide grass for our horses through most of the winter. There are not many round bales to be found and they are expensive. We do have access to square bales and maybe some round bales, so that is good, but we want to use as little as possible as it is expensive.
Last night I was taking a shower and wondering why the water wasn’t very hot. Down here it is so hot even the water isn’t that cold, so the shower was cold, but not Michigan or Iowa cold….just a little uncomfortable in regards to a hot shower. Anyhow, I got out and sure enough our water heat had taken a poop. L It was from 1994 so Ryan and I both assumed it had run its course and it was time for a new one. So much for those new tires for our car. LOL Someday we’ll get it registered, new tires, and down the road so I can drive it to work. We did get a good deal though. We went to Lowes and I told Ryan I wanted to check out the ‘scratch and dent” isle…YEA FOR US….there was a 50 gallon water heater there. It was a regular $398 and we got it out the door for $262…same warranties, etc…just a couple of dents on the side of it. God is Good…sucks we had to buy it…but we were blessed to get it for a good price.
We also bought some vegetable plants for a fall garden. They only had green, yellow and orange sweet peppers as well as tomatoes. So, I bought a few of each. Some veggies are better than none. Hopefully I’ll be able to put in a real garden in the spring during my spring break. So, word the wise, if you are coming to see us at that time you better be ready to babysit Shelby or put in a garden! LOL…
So, Ryan, being the regular “Mr. Fix It”….well…sorda….installed it all by himself. Now, to those of you who are good at that stuff this may not be a big deal, but to me that is a big deal. We are starting to become independent with the little things. Hopefully it will make us brave and be more willing to challenge ourselves with the big things….God willing that doesn’t happen, but if it does, I hope we are ready. Doing it yourself can save you so much money. Not having that skill has cost us a lot of money for various things.
This weekend I run barrels in Santa Fe, TX. I worked Badger in Sandy’s arena tonight to prepare for it. I worked on a couple of things and feel good going into Saturday. I changed him to Ramard’s Total Joint Care…the supplement has all the stuff he needs to help him with his joints and hocks. It’s been a few weeks and I think it’s working. He is feeling a lot snapper and he seems to be running hard and trying harder. So, I hope the product is working. It’s expensive, so it has to work. I did a lot of research and comparison, so it has what he needs.
We also switched Shiner to a different feed as well as Twister. Shiner was too thin and needed weight gain. Twister was too fat and needed to back off on the feed. They both are doing very well and looking better each day. I’m excited to see them both in a few weeks.
Finally, I have decided to ride with the Rodeo Sweethearts again. Twister needed a job and I needed to be a part of something I have missed for almost 2 years. I’m excited, but also realize I am adding stress to myself. I think it will be worth it though. It’s also good cause that means I’m riding Twister again. He needs a job!
Well, my battery is dying on my computer and it’s time for me to take a shower and try out that new, fancy, water heater. J I’m back to work and back to having access to DSL…so I’ll be able to upload pics, videos and blogs on a regular basis again. It’s nice to be able to put this together the night before and then upload the next day.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
lots of pics and videos up
I have uploaded lots of pics. Go to Shelby and Texas links to see them. :)
Here are a couple of cute videos I got of Shelby this summer. This one is of her playing with the bull frog. She loved it! She even held its hand (see her link for pic).
Here are a couple of cute videos I got of Shelby this summer. This one is of her playing with the bull frog. She loved it! She even held its hand (see her link for pic).
Shelby being silly at lunch time. She makes the funnest faces and I love getting them on video and in pics.
Shelby talking in the truck with me while we go down the road.
Shelby on her first playdate with Laura, my friends little girl. Shelby was almost 10 months and Laura was 6 months.
Shelby playing with the trash bag in her room. Who needs toys???
Counting Down...
This is my last week off, even though I'm working 2 days for district training and I'm offically back to work on Friday. Wow did this time go by fast. I can't believe i won't be spending everyday or most days with Shelby. I'm going to miss those times.
Shelby is finally starting to try and crawl. She likes standing better, but she is starting to get on her hands and knees. She tries, but gives up very quickly with frustration. I usually let her fuss it out for a little bit or I encourage her by showing her how to make her hands and feet go forward. I have a feeling she will crawl for a little while and then off to running she will go. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that or if I have the energy for it. haha...I guess I have no choice.
Cowgirl, our two year old mare, is coming along very nicely. I rode her for the 2nd time the other night and she did an AWESOME job. She is so smart and listens. I already have her trotting around the round pen. I hope to ride her a few more times in there before venturing off into the arenas with her. I think she is going to be SUPER easy to train and hope to get her up and running before long. She is for sale, but we are really tempted to keep her as a brood mare. She is so smart and caddy. I'd love to breed her to a Frenchman's Guy stud horse. We have a couple in this area. I have heard and seen the results of this blood line and would love to have one of our own. I would hope she'd throw a filly so we could keep that filly and breed her down the road. Frenchmans Guy (the stud horse) is getting old and I wouldn't want to lose out on that bloodline.
Well, that's it. I am in the process of downloading iTunes to my computer. I hope to sync my iPhone with my computer to download some pics and video I have taken of Shelby. If I get it uploaded to the Internet I'll be sure to let you know.
Shelby is finally starting to try and crawl. She likes standing better, but she is starting to get on her hands and knees. She tries, but gives up very quickly with frustration. I usually let her fuss it out for a little bit or I encourage her by showing her how to make her hands and feet go forward. I have a feeling she will crawl for a little while and then off to running she will go. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that or if I have the energy for it. haha...I guess I have no choice.
Cowgirl, our two year old mare, is coming along very nicely. I rode her for the 2nd time the other night and she did an AWESOME job. She is so smart and listens. I already have her trotting around the round pen. I hope to ride her a few more times in there before venturing off into the arenas with her. I think she is going to be SUPER easy to train and hope to get her up and running before long. She is for sale, but we are really tempted to keep her as a brood mare. She is so smart and caddy. I'd love to breed her to a Frenchman's Guy stud horse. We have a couple in this area. I have heard and seen the results of this blood line and would love to have one of our own. I would hope she'd throw a filly so we could keep that filly and breed her down the road. Frenchmans Guy (the stud horse) is getting old and I wouldn't want to lose out on that bloodline.
Well, that's it. I am in the process of downloading iTunes to my computer. I hope to sync my iPhone with my computer to download some pics and video I have taken of Shelby. If I get it uploaded to the Internet I'll be sure to let you know.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Stuff
Is it really Thursday already? Do I really start back to work full time next week? Is it really August? Wow, where does the time go? It seems to fly now that Shelby is here.
This week, like any other, has been busy. It seems a blur…I couldn’t even tell you what all I did this week. I just know it involved Shelby and the horses and one point or another. J
Oh, I just remembered a big accomplishment! I finally got a chance to ride Cowgirl, our 2 YO mare. She did GREAT to say the least and I was so proud of her. We had a friend come over and pony her while I rode her in the round pen and then in the big pasture. She did very well, so I got on her again last night without anyone and we just walked around the round pen. She’s still figuring everything out, but she’s doing great! It will be good to get some time on her and then get her sold by the first of next year….God Willing!
Last night we went to Sandy’s to work our horses. Smoke, the bay horse we got from our sponsors, is working really well for Ryan. He knows a lot and that makes it nice for us. I’m not sure what Ryan has planned for him, but it sure is nice watching him work. He is only 4 and already knows so much. I also worked Shiner and Badger – they both did well. Badger has been getting a bit of an attitude the last couple of weeks so I was glad to see he’s getting over himself and getting back to business! After last Saturday’s run I was NOT happy with him. He did HORRIBLE…almost embarrassing…but at least it was a clean run and got me some more points in the Novice…I’m currently in first and I’m going to do whatever it takes to stay there. I REALLY REALLY want that Novice saddle at the end of the year. We both deserve it!
I also ran Shiner, Ryan’s Mom’s horse last weekend. We didn’t do too badly for our first time out. I watched the video to see how it looked. I can see he has a lot of room to add speed, but I’m happy with his run. He was in the 4D, just out of the money. Not bad for a first time. I have attached it so Nancy and Dick could check it out and see how her ‘baby’ is doing.
Shelby continues to grow and learn. She has learned how to clap her hands and I have learned how to clap my hands on her command…hahaha…She loves to talk (babble) and sing (more babbling). She also likes to ‘kick back’ in her stroller and car seat. She will put her feet up on the sides of the stroller and lay back. It’s really funny. She has not begun to crawl yet, but she loves to pull herself up and stand every chance she gets. Her latest thing is standing in her crib. She will sometimes wave to us when we come in with her little grin. It is so cute. I have a feeling she will not crawl very much if at all before she starts to walk. I’m not sure if I’m ready for that just yet. She is going to be VERY active, just like her Daddy was when he was young. She is also full of funny faces. I have taken several new pics, but with my iphone. So, now I need to take the time to sync it with my computer so I can download the pics and then upload to my blog page. If you have facebook you can look me up on there and go to my ‘mobile uploads’ to see funny pics. I will also add new videos of her sometime in the near future.
I can’t believe she is going to be10 months old. Wow! Just a year ago I was very pregnant and trying to figure out how to maneuver around stuff and not run into walls and doors with my belly. Haha…
Well I’m writing this Wednesday night as I work on Thursday, so I guess I better log off , brush out my wet hair, iron my clothes and get my butt to bed. It’s time to adjust to getting up early. I have enjoyed sleeping in til 7:30 or 8:30 and will miss that! Iwill also miss the extra time I have for myself at night after Shelby goes to bed. It will be shortened with me going back to work. L
Have a safe weekend! I don’t have any barrel races this weekend and I’m looking forward to the break. I’m not sure what we’ll do though….it’s been a while since we had a weekend off. J
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