The Good Life

Today was a good day. I always enjoy church. It seems to get me through when times are tough. It also just gets me through the week. I struggle with juggling so many different hats. That's why it is always good to get 'filled up' on Sunday to remind me to not sweat the small stuff. It's always a great reminder that God does provide for everything. I get stressed about bills and the issues we're having with the rent house and then I sit back and think about how the money always appears. Yes, maybe in 'my' plans I wanted to put the money away for a nest egg or for a trip to MI and I get frustrated when we have to invest it into other areas such as the rent house, medical bills, etc. Then, I hear sermons like today and I have to remember that it is not what I want. It is what God wants...and really we should be happy that we have the extra money so we don't have to go further in debt like so many others. We have a wonderful home, we are 'blessed' with a rent home, (I say it that way because I would LOVE to sell it but that is not what we are supposed to do I guess), we are blessed to have food on our table and wonderful friends and family that are there for us. We are also blessed with our beautiful Shelby. So, when you count your blessings life is not so bad.

This week, on Wednesday, I go back to work. It's bitter sweet. I love my job, but I dread being away from Shelby for so many hours out of the day. I would love to work part time. That would be the perfect mix for me. Ryan is so blessed to be able to spend the mornings with her. They are going to bond and she is going to want him over me. That bums me out. I have to admit I enjoy knowing she find comfort in me. I guess that is a "Mom thing."

I have also felt very blessed to be able to ride again. It is so liberating. I cannot wait to make my first real run in January. I went to a friend's house on Saturday and had so much fun working Badger on the barrel pattern. I thought for sure I was going to have to work out some kinks, especially on the first barrel. But, Badger proved to me otherwise. We just have to get each other into shape again and the barrel pattern will come so easily. He's even snappier than what he was a year ago and he hasn't seen a barrel pattern since summer. I can't wait to run him again! I can't wait to win for us to win the novice saddle next year!

I truly believe he has 'it' and I can't wait to ride him this year. I have, as you know, started taking him swimming too. I seen the list of horses that go to this facility and they are all top notched, 1D and pro horses. That really proved to me what an edge the swimming can give me. So, my hopes is to start winning some money so I can continue to take him swimming and hopefully move him up to two days a week. I really think that will give me the edge to get into that class of runners and I CAN'T WAIT!

Black Friday

I always look forward to the HUGE savings they have on Black Friday. Ryan and I had plans to go once we fed Shelby at 5 AM....which is when she always gets up. Go figure, she decides to sleep in til 6:40 am and I was too lazy to get my butt out of bed to go until then. I almost didn't go, but remembered I had to buy some clothes for work and wanted to take advantage of the savings.

So, it's always the same...Every year I look forward to going until the morning of and I have to get my butt out of bed on my day off at 5 am. Then, I suck it up and get up and go shopping and then come home all excited about all the great deals. :)

Ryan decided to stay home with Shelby since he had over eaten the day before and still wasn't feeling that great. It actually worked out really well cause that allowed me to buzz in and out of the stores very quickly without dealing with a husband and child in tow.

My favorite item is my new crock pot. Yes, I said crock pot...I know, I know...when did I get so domesticated???!!! Well, when they don't have great deals on tack supplies you gotta go with what you can get. :) Anyhow, JC Penney's had them on sale last week for $37 and I almost bought one. It's the fancy kind with the exact temperature and not just high, medium or low. I decided to wait and I'm glad I did because I was able to pick it up for $28. It was regularly priced at $79. I also got Ryan and me (for our anniversary) a tool set. It includes a skill saw, stud finder (not that I need it since I already found my stud...hehehe), light and a drill (all are cordless). It was regularly $159 and I got it for $59. Those were my big deals of the day. I also got some good deals on clothes too, so overall a great day.

We are getting the new heater put in at the rent house today. It was not fixable so we had to put in a new one. That was $2K we didn't plan to have to pay for this year so that kinda sucks. I told Ryan I found a good side to having to have it replaced...it's tax deductable. When you have your own business any type of tax deduction is a blessing. So we are trying to be optomistic about that. We are also having to replace our roof on our current home due to Hurricane Ike. That's another $1200 deductible. So, the cash is flowing in the Boudrie household...just not the right direction. haha...Again, trying to be positive...at least we are getting a new roof for a fraction of the cost.

Oh, I also realized I may have not given an explanation of Ryan's toe. He was shoeing a horse a week or so ago when the horse snatched it's leg from Ryan and then stomped it down on Ryan's foot...shoe and all...so that is why his toe is so gross. What a year for Ryan and injuries.

Well, I guess I should go and take advantage of Shelby being sleepy. I got home at 10 am, fed her and put her to sleep. She slept til 1 pm. I changed her, fed her and she fell asleep on me again. Yes! So, I'm buzzing around the house trying to get things cleaned up. The best part is I even got a nap in today. Yea! Sleep Shelby, Sleep!

Back in the Saddle

I got to ride! YES! I got to ride Badger on Sunday. It was awesome! I didn't do a whole lot cause I didn't want to wear myself out and ruin it for the rest of the week but I got to ride. My body has taken a long time to heal and I still have some issues, but apparently a lot of women have this problem after having babies so I guess it just comes with the territory...oh joy...

I have also been working my colt, Romeo. I'm absolutely in love with him. I have begun working him in the round pen again. It's been months since he's seen a saddle and he didn't care when we saddled him up. I hope to get his teeth done soon so we can start getting on him in the round pen. I so badly want to be the one that rides him first but I'm not sure if that is a wise decision so we'll see.

Here are some pics...

Ryan's toe...GROSS

Shelby Smiling....TOO CUTE

I have also added some new pics of her to her link.

Here's a cute video of her waking up from her nap. Too cute!

Also Ryan got a new puppy. Her name is Rena. She is a 12 week old border collie/mix puppy. Ryan is so excited! See more pics of her under Texas.

Good Nights Sleep??

This is my 2nd time attempting to write this. The first time I lost my wireless connection and I wrote it directly on the internet instead of in word first. Bummer…

I believe we might have a pattern with Shelby. I’m very excited about this. On Tuesday she fell asleep around 8:30 pm and didn’t wake up til 3 am. I even woke up at 1:30 because I had so much sleep. I managed to go back to sleep though til Shelby woke up at 3 AM…Then last night she went to sleep around 9 pm and didn’t wake up again til 2:30. She ate and fell right back asleep til 5 am. Yes! Usually by then she is up and doesn’t want to lay in her bed. This time I fed her and put her back in bed and she slept til 8 am again. I’m hoping this is a new pattern. J

I also got a couple of videos I am going to share with you. One is the cute sound she makes when she starts getting hungry. She sounds kinda like a pig. Hahaha…the other is of her kicking but I got lucky and got a small smile. She is starting to make noises intentionally and smiling intentionally. She hasn’t gotten in mastered yet, but she is coming along with it. It’s so cute! Enjoy!





Today she went to daycare for a few hours. I’m up here at the laundry mat again washing our king size down filled comforter. It is supposed to get cold tonight so I wanted to get it washed since I had success with the queen sized one the other day. The internet is very low so I may have to run by my church to upload the videos. We’ll see. Anyhow, I wanted her (and me) used to her going to day care before she had to go all the time. I think it will be good for her to adjust to all the chaos of life. She is pretty sheltered with no family around. I have been taking her to church and Wednesday night cell group, but it is still pretty calm. Daddy has a REALLY hard time dealing with the chaos of other kids around his daughter. He is so protective.

Then, at 3 today we are going to take Badger to go swimming. I am trying to get him back in shape for January and so I am treating myself to him going swimming once a week for a couple of months. I also plan to work Mito and Romeo in the round pen. I worked all three of them yesterday. They did great, but it wore me out so I might have to slow down a pace and only work two horses in the round pen. I need to take care of myself now so I can start riding next week. I CAN’T WAIT….you’ll be hearing that a lot from me until I get to ride. Then you will get to hear about how I can’t wait to make that first run.

New Discovery

I decided to wash one of my down filled comforters. I did this at home using tennis balls. I figured it was worth a shot since I paid less for it than what the dry cleaners was going to charge me to clean it. I had heard if you use tennis balls they bounce around and get the feathers right.

Anyhow, as I was saying, I did this first at home. Washing it went great, it was the drying that didn't go so well. The comforter is too big to dry completely even after several dryings (yes, i know it's not a word). So, now it stinks. My last ditch effort is to sit at the laundry mat and re-wash it and re-dry it in there bigger dryers. I thought I would drop it off, go to my church and use their wireless while I waited. Before I left I thought what the heck, let's see if they have wireless here....sure enough they do. Who would've thought that the laundry mat in little Needville, TX would have wireless??? So, now I can just sit here and be super efficient. I can write on my blog, check my email, check my facebook, and do my laundry and have peace and quiet from the daughter and husband. :) You wives know what I'm talking about. :)

So, my hope is I'll wash it again and hope the smell comes out...which it should and then I'll dry it in the big dryer with hopes the feathers will separate and dry properly. If this works I get to make another trip back here another time to wash our down filled comforter. If not, I may have to go shopping on black Friday in hopes to pick one up for cheap. hahaha...

As for other happenings, Ryan got his toe smashed yesterday by a horse...literally smashed. He was shoeing a horse and the horse jumped somehow and slammed his hoof, shoe and all, onto Ryan's foot. He couldn't get into the doctors office yesterday so he went this morning. Xrays showed the tip of his big toe is shattered. The doc said the bone will dissolve and he will live. That is good since we don't have very much life insurance on him....of course i say that with humor...so quit gasping. :) He will lose his big toe nail and it's pretty ugly right now. He also can't work cause it hurts too bad. Hopefully he'll be able to work tomorrow. I learned and prayed on Sunday that I need to not worry....Let go and Let God...so I'm letting go and letting God take care of us. It's not like he ever let us down. :)

I'm getting VERY anxious to start riding again. I hope to start riding maybe the end of next week. I feel pretty good this week but I want to be sure my body is ready before I get started. It will more than likely be just walking at first, but that's better than nothing. I can't wait!!!!

I have added some more pictures of Shelby so those of you want to can see how big she is getting. Enjoy! Just click on her link.

Weekend Details

This weekend was fun. Friday I went to happy hour with some friends/co-workers. It was a lot of fun and GREAT to see everyone! I also met some new people that work for my district. It was nice meeting them. In my job you might know people through work but you may have never met them in person. It's nice to put a face with a name.

Saturday we spent most of the day at the rent house. Ryan is trying to fix the heater. He didn't have any luck fixing it, but he thinks he knows what's wrong with it now. He's now waiting on a friend to meet him over there to fix it. I spent the day traveling between the rent house and church. Shelby was great. She slept the whole day. We had a wedding at 2 pm at the church. That was nice. Friends of ours, Cassie and Dimitri, got married. It was a nice wedding. They then did a simple reception afterwards in the church. It is so nice to have the facilities to do that at our church!

Dimitri's parents were late getting to the wedding so it got started late. That was fine cause we all had fun taking pictures and adding them to our facebook. I have added a picture of us here so you could see them as well. It was taking with my friend's phone so the the quality isn't the greatest, but it is still a great pic.

Sunday is a lazy day for all of us. We went to church and then we've been hanging out at home. Ryan is waiting for his friend to call so they can fix the heater on the rent house but Shelby and I will probably just hang out here.

Shelby Update

Shelby's doctor visit went well yesterday. She has gained some weight and now weighs 9 lbs 6 oz. She is 21 1/2 inches long and is doing very well. We really liked her new peditrician. She was much friendlier and more attentive to Shelby. So, we are excited about that. We go back Dec. 8th. It will be her two month check up so that means shots. :( I dread that!

Tomorrow I plan to go to happy hour with some friends I work with in Sugar Land. I'm looking forward to getting out of the house and the break from Shelby will be nice too. It will give me some time to refresh myself!

The weather is cloudy, but at least it's not raining. Ryan was able to work a little today and I think he is working tomorrow too, so that is good.

That's about it for now...