I started my 'new' job this week. I am learning to get used to the 'cubicle' world. It is very different, but it is getting better each day. I have adopted another group as my room is not set up. They had the wrong parts for the cubicles so we are waiting for the right parts to come in.
The hardest part is adjusting to my new hours. I work til 4:30 instead of 3:45. To most it is not a big deal, but to the day care it is. So, I have to rush out of here to get Shelby. It is 45- 1 hr drive depending on traffic and where I am at when I get off work. I travel a lot throughout the day, so that takes some getting used to as well.
My new job will require me to go to various campuses to train teachers or assist them with integrating technology. I'll also have more time to create content, research and some other important components of a "Educational Technology Specialist". I will miss working with the kids consistantly, but I'm looking forward to change as well.
All in all, I'm really enjoying the new job and I'm thankful for that!
Other than me being back to work, we are dealing with SUPER HOT TEMPERATUERS. Ugh....It has been a very hot summer and this week it is in the 100s everyday. That's w/o heat index. So, I'm officially ready for cooler temps. Unfortuantely I have at least a month before that happens.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Calgary!
(I had some issus with my INternet, so I'll post the other pics next week. ) I made it safely to and from Calgary, Alberta Canada for "The Summit" which was hosted by SMART Technologies (www.smarttech.com). What an amazing week of meeting new friends and learning new information. Sunday I arrived around 2:30 and greeted by one of SMART's own, Laura. She then took us via bus to the hotel. We met at 6 pm for dinner and an introduction from a few of the SMART peeps. Afterwards we had the opportunity to watch a movie as a group or go out on our own. Since it was the last day of the Calgary Stampede (the world's biggest outdoor show), I opted for #2. I then rounded up a couple of more people (Ann and Joe) to join me in the Stampede adventure. I had missed the rodeo, but was still able to make it there for the chuck wagon races and the big show. I new friends quickly learned how much of a rodeo fan I am and how much I was in my own element. So we wondered around and then went in to watch the chuck wagon races and "Volte" the big show (much like Circus Du Soleil). WOW WOW WOW is all I can say!
We bought standing room only tickets, but then wondered off into the seats to find some open seats. We got front and center for most of the show. We REALLY lucked out!
Monday we started bright and early - 7 AM to get together for breakfast and get started on our training. We spent the day learning and sharing as we did for most of the week. I got so much information and I can't wait to put it to good use.
Monday evening was a freebie, so some of us gals went out to dinner. After dinner 3 of us took the train to downtown Calgary. It was around 9 pm and the town was very quiet, but we kept walking. We then stumbled upon the stree that had several restuarants as well as ~10 of the other people from my group which included a few from other countries. We had a lot of laughs on the "All You Can Eat Bologna" as the guys from Madrid and Paris tried it for the first time. We tried to warn them!
Tuesday evening we went to a local bar for the "80s Hair Band" - "Boy Toyz". They played some awesome 80s music and our group had a lot of fun hanging out! I also learned how potent Canadian beer is. Yickes!
Wednesday we had a Murder Mystery. That was A LOT of fun and we laughed a lot with all their silly antics!
Thursday evening we went to a Wild West Show just outside of Clagary. They do something similar to what we do at the George Ranch only at a smaller scale. We were also given a white cowboy hat and named "honorary Calgarians".
Friday we went to Banff and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the mountains and enjoyed some shopping.
Friday evening we went to a Piano Bar and enjoyed our last evening together as a group. I also tried a new drink Tuaco and 7 Up. It was very yummy!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Long time, no write
It seems the older Shelby gets the less time I have to dedicate to little things like this blog. I have enjoyed writing here and saving it for Shelby when she gets bigger. Somehow, life keeps happening and it seems something that takes 10 minutes is no longer doable.
This summer has been VERY busy for us! We grew a really nice garden and did a lot of canning. We have lots of stewed tomatoes with vegetables, tomato sauce, salsa, and pickles. Yum! We have enjoyed eating the canned goods as well as sharing them. We also have lots of jalepenos we are freezing and we hope to make some pickled okra.
The summer garden was such a success we've decided to attempt putting in a fall garden too. :)
Shelby continues to grow and learn. It amazes me how much she has learned this summer and what she can do now verses just a couple of months ago. Her vocabulary continues to grow and she has a great memory, which is really nice since mine seems to be dwindling these days. Shelby loves the animals and has grown particularly fond of all of our kittens. We have 3 mommas with 5-6 kittens EACH! Needless to say, we are weeding out. We are working on giving them all away except one or two male cats. One of them is Shelby's favorite kitten. She named him Bambino. He is a siamese looking kitten and let's Shelby drag him all over our property - to the barn, the house, around the yard. He just hangs out. So, we decided to keep him.
Barrel racing is going ok this year. Badger has an issue and needs 6 months off. It is nothing serious, he just needs time for it to heal. I was bummed because we were 3rd in the 1D with NBHA TX 34. So, Shiner has stepped up to the plate and has done really well for me. He is slowly moving up the ranks in speed and we are becoming a better team each time we run. We had a minor set back last weekend as he seemed sore and stiff. So, I took him to the vet. We are hoping some new shoes (to change the angle of his hoof) will help him out. If not, doc says it is inbetween his years. LOL I have some supplements that should help with that. Shiner has a VERY strong personality so I wouldn't be surprised.
I also took in two colts to break this summer. I really needed to focus on mine, but with our trip to Michigan I thought I'd do that so we could go and really enjoy ourselves. They are coming along nicely. I'm finishing up my first 30 days on them. We'll probably put 30 more days and then they'll go back to their owner.
Speaking of Michigan - We had a GREAT time visiting with my family around the 4th of July. We took 8 days to visit family and friends and spent a couple of days in Mackinaw City. It is so beautiful in Michigan this time of year. The weather was awesome too. The break from our record breaking heat has been nice. Shelby LOVES To swim. Put some floaties on her and all you hear is "Look Mom, I'm a fish!" If we had a pool I don't think we'd ever get her out of it.
Tomorrow I leave for Calgary. I'm going to a 6 day training with SMART Technologies. It is a company that makes great hardware for kids. I applied to attend and was one of 50 chosen in North America (and 5 from other countries). It is all expense paid trip including a day in Banff, Alberta Canada. I've checked out the pictures and they are AMAZING! I don't know of a place in the USA as beautiful as that place! I can't wait to see it with my own eyes!
My job is changing. They cut our department in half from 50 to 26 of us. So, we will be in one location at a middle school in Sugar Land, TX. I'll work more days (211 vs 189) and my duties will change quite a bit. I'm blessed to have a job, so I'm not going to complain. :)
Ryan has been busy working and doing some hunting. His hobbies seem to be more hanging out with his dogs in the evenings and feeding our piglets. We got 5 of them, but only 3 our left. One died in their pen and the other one was killed by the horses when they got out one day. The others are doing fine and hopefully learned their lesson and will stay in their pen.
I guess that is it in a nutshell. I hope to keep up with this again. I so enjoy sharing our adventures and I know Shelby will enjoy reading them when she gets older.
Stacie
This summer has been VERY busy for us! We grew a really nice garden and did a lot of canning. We have lots of stewed tomatoes with vegetables, tomato sauce, salsa, and pickles. Yum! We have enjoyed eating the canned goods as well as sharing them. We also have lots of jalepenos we are freezing and we hope to make some pickled okra.
The summer garden was such a success we've decided to attempt putting in a fall garden too. :)
Shelby continues to grow and learn. It amazes me how much she has learned this summer and what she can do now verses just a couple of months ago. Her vocabulary continues to grow and she has a great memory, which is really nice since mine seems to be dwindling these days. Shelby loves the animals and has grown particularly fond of all of our kittens. We have 3 mommas with 5-6 kittens EACH! Needless to say, we are weeding out. We are working on giving them all away except one or two male cats. One of them is Shelby's favorite kitten. She named him Bambino. He is a siamese looking kitten and let's Shelby drag him all over our property - to the barn, the house, around the yard. He just hangs out. So, we decided to keep him.
Barrel racing is going ok this year. Badger has an issue and needs 6 months off. It is nothing serious, he just needs time for it to heal. I was bummed because we were 3rd in the 1D with NBHA TX 34. So, Shiner has stepped up to the plate and has done really well for me. He is slowly moving up the ranks in speed and we are becoming a better team each time we run. We had a minor set back last weekend as he seemed sore and stiff. So, I took him to the vet. We are hoping some new shoes (to change the angle of his hoof) will help him out. If not, doc says it is inbetween his years. LOL I have some supplements that should help with that. Shiner has a VERY strong personality so I wouldn't be surprised.
I also took in two colts to break this summer. I really needed to focus on mine, but with our trip to Michigan I thought I'd do that so we could go and really enjoy ourselves. They are coming along nicely. I'm finishing up my first 30 days on them. We'll probably put 30 more days and then they'll go back to their owner.
Speaking of Michigan - We had a GREAT time visiting with my family around the 4th of July. We took 8 days to visit family and friends and spent a couple of days in Mackinaw City. It is so beautiful in Michigan this time of year. The weather was awesome too. The break from our record breaking heat has been nice. Shelby LOVES To swim. Put some floaties on her and all you hear is "Look Mom, I'm a fish!" If we had a pool I don't think we'd ever get her out of it.
Tomorrow I leave for Calgary. I'm going to a 6 day training with SMART Technologies. It is a company that makes great hardware for kids. I applied to attend and was one of 50 chosen in North America (and 5 from other countries). It is all expense paid trip including a day in Banff, Alberta Canada. I've checked out the pictures and they are AMAZING! I don't know of a place in the USA as beautiful as that place! I can't wait to see it with my own eyes!
My job is changing. They cut our department in half from 50 to 26 of us. So, we will be in one location at a middle school in Sugar Land, TX. I'll work more days (211 vs 189) and my duties will change quite a bit. I'm blessed to have a job, so I'm not going to complain. :)
Ryan has been busy working and doing some hunting. His hobbies seem to be more hanging out with his dogs in the evenings and feeding our piglets. We got 5 of them, but only 3 our left. One died in their pen and the other one was killed by the horses when they got out one day. The others are doing fine and hopefully learned their lesson and will stay in their pen.
I guess that is it in a nutshell. I hope to keep up with this again. I so enjoy sharing our adventures and I know Shelby will enjoy reading them when she gets older.
Stacie
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Easter Weekend
We had a very busy and fun Easter weekend. Ryan’s parents flew in on Wednesday night. They hung out with Shelby on Thursday while Ryan and I worked. That evening Nancy and I went to a birthday party for one of Shelby’s friends. It was fun eating hamburgers, hot dogs, and cake while visiting with some friends and watching the little ones play.
Friday afternoon I went to Wharton to get my hair cut/highlighted and then donated blood afterwards while the other Boudries hung around the house, worked on the garden as well as some other miscellaneous stuff to get ready for our crawfish boil. That evening we had some church friends over and everyone enjoyed a lot of crawfish and a little dessert and taco soup. We had so much fun visiting, going for ‘pony rides’ and singing with Amy’s guitar. What a special night!
Saturday was shopping day for Nancy and me. We got a really late start because I woke up with a TERRIBLE migraine. I couldn’t function most of the morning and finally found relief with Ryan adjusting my back and some migraine medicine. Enough, anyhow, to go to our neighbor’s who is a chiropractor. She adjusted my neck and said it was REALLY bad. I was still sore most of the day, but did find relief as the day went on. Nancy and I had to go shopping because I still needed Easter things and clothes. We also went to the Sears outlet to find a washing machine since mine was leaking. My original (whirlpool) washing machine was at least 20+ years old. So, it had done its time. I have had a lot of good luck with Kenmore so I decided to buy a Kenmore this time. So far, so good!
Sunday was Easter, so we were up early to go to church for a continental breakfast and Easter egg hunt before service. That was a lot of fun and we enjoyed the message Pastor Dave shared with us. Afterwards we went home so Shelby could nap and then came back to town to eat out at Saltgrass Steakhouse. (Yummy!)
Monday was more low key. I was pretty worn out from all our activities and was ready to sit home. So that’s just what I did. Nancy and I were able to go for a nice ride in the back pasture. We just walked and talked. It was so nice just to relax and enjoy the horses. I haven’t had much time for them lately. Afterwards, we played with Shelby and cleaned up the house until nap time When Shelby went down for a nap it was time for me to clean up and get ready for our photo shoot. My friend is a photographer so we had her come out to take pictures of all of us. We had not had professional pictures of Shelby taken or any family pictures taken so we thought this would be a good time to do it. The pictures are AWESOME and I’m so excited to get them printed and hung. I sure hope I can find the time to do it soon.
So, that was our weekend in a nutshell. It was busy as it always is when Dick and Nancy come to town, but a nice weekend with family.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from our photoshoot.
Friday afternoon I went to Wharton to get my hair cut/highlighted and then donated blood afterwards while the other Boudries hung around the house, worked on the garden as well as some other miscellaneous stuff to get ready for our crawfish boil. That evening we had some church friends over and everyone enjoyed a lot of crawfish and a little dessert and taco soup. We had so much fun visiting, going for ‘pony rides’ and singing with Amy’s guitar. What a special night!
Saturday was shopping day for Nancy and me. We got a really late start because I woke up with a TERRIBLE migraine. I couldn’t function most of the morning and finally found relief with Ryan adjusting my back and some migraine medicine. Enough, anyhow, to go to our neighbor’s who is a chiropractor. She adjusted my neck and said it was REALLY bad. I was still sore most of the day, but did find relief as the day went on. Nancy and I had to go shopping because I still needed Easter things and clothes. We also went to the Sears outlet to find a washing machine since mine was leaking. My original (whirlpool) washing machine was at least 20+ years old. So, it had done its time. I have had a lot of good luck with Kenmore so I decided to buy a Kenmore this time. So far, so good!
Sunday was Easter, so we were up early to go to church for a continental breakfast and Easter egg hunt before service. That was a lot of fun and we enjoyed the message Pastor Dave shared with us. Afterwards we went home so Shelby could nap and then came back to town to eat out at Saltgrass Steakhouse. (Yummy!)
Monday was more low key. I was pretty worn out from all our activities and was ready to sit home. So that’s just what I did. Nancy and I were able to go for a nice ride in the back pasture. We just walked and talked. It was so nice just to relax and enjoy the horses. I haven’t had much time for them lately. Afterwards, we played with Shelby and cleaned up the house until nap time When Shelby went down for a nap it was time for me to clean up and get ready for our photo shoot. My friend is a photographer so we had her come out to take pictures of all of us. We had not had professional pictures of Shelby taken or any family pictures taken so we thought this would be a good time to do it. The pictures are AWESOME and I’m so excited to get them printed and hung. I sure hope I can find the time to do it soon.
So, that was our weekend in a nutshell. It was busy as it always is when Dick and Nancy come to town, but a nice weekend with family.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from our photoshoot.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Nothing New...
There has not been a whole lot going on these last few weeks. We've been busy with normal life, but not anything too exciting.
Our garden is slowly growing. I am thankful nothing has (knock on wood) died. We have everything planted now...three rows of corn, 1/2 a row of cucumbers, a row of beans, 1/2 row of dill weed and cilantro, 17 tomato plants, 1/2 a row of squash, watermelon, jalepenos, and bell peppers...oh and some onions...I think that is everything.
We have not seen rain in MONTHS and it is showing. The ground is cracking and the grass is crackling. We are getting pretty desperate for rain and still none planned for at least another 10 days. Not good!!! We've even started letting the horses come out by the house and front yard just to give them some more grass.
This week we are looking forward to a visit from Dick and Nancy. We have lots of fun things planned including a crawfish boil, some shopping for Easter, an Easter dinner, riding horses and who knows what else. We are all looking forward to the visit.
I guess that is it. I have some work to do, so I guess I will go...
Our garden is slowly growing. I am thankful nothing has (knock on wood) died. We have everything planted now...three rows of corn, 1/2 a row of cucumbers, a row of beans, 1/2 row of dill weed and cilantro, 17 tomato plants, 1/2 a row of squash, watermelon, jalepenos, and bell peppers...oh and some onions...I think that is everything.
We have not seen rain in MONTHS and it is showing. The ground is cracking and the grass is crackling. We are getting pretty desperate for rain and still none planned for at least another 10 days. Not good!!! We've even started letting the horses come out by the house and front yard just to give them some more grass.
This week we are looking forward to a visit from Dick and Nancy. We have lots of fun things planned including a crawfish boil, some shopping for Easter, an Easter dinner, riding horses and who knows what else. We are all looking forward to the visit.
I guess that is it. I have some work to do, so I guess I will go...
Monday, April 11, 2011
Garden is Growing
Our garden is doing fairly well this year. It is twice the size but we are able to manage it. We still have a few crops that our friend is growing in his greenhouse. He said they'll be available next weekend. He has helped us put tremendously by giving out seeds a good foundation and start. It males growing them so much easier.
Here are some pics.
Watermelon
Squash
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
The winds here have been really strong and so I haven't been able to spray for bugs or put miracle grow on them again. Glad I got it on the first time. The bugs were eating up my beans. :-)
Well time to go to work. I thought I'd just post how my garden is doing.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Here are some pics.
Watermelon
Squash
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
The winds here have been really strong and so I haven't been able to spray for bugs or put miracle grow on them again. Glad I got it on the first time. The bugs were eating up my beans. :-)
Well time to go to work. I thought I'd just post how my garden is doing.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Sobering Times
Friday turned out to be a very difficult day. My district layed off ~115 teachers, including 17 ITS (my job). It was hard to hear my friend's say they got the phone call and had to go in immediately only to find out they have been layed off. I left work feeling sad and sick to my stomach. I am thankful I (so far) have made it through the cuts, but it was definately a reality check of times and how terrible they are. Saddening...
Please pray for our district as well as districts across the state and nation. These are tough times as state and federal governments continue to cut funds to our public schools leaving our teachers and students without...teachers w/o a job and students without the education they once knew as we make cuts to various departments.
Ryan and I, too, have begun to make cuts. We are in the process of selling some horses and try to simplify. We have put in a larger garden with the hopes of canning and freezing food for the upcoming winter. It will help if we can eliminate some grocery costs.
We are also in the process of selling our rent house. Our renters are looking into getting a morgage, so we hope to take that off our plates as well! We'll know5 more in a few weeks, but we are hopful as it benefits us and our renters. THey are wonderful people and we were so blessed they found us and our rent house. It took a few renters and some really hard times, but it was worth the wait. God's plan is always better, we just can't always see it until later on. This rent house as taught me that to be the case.
Well shelby wants to snuggle ans watch a video so i am signing off.
Please pray for our district as well as districts across the state and nation. These are tough times as state and federal governments continue to cut funds to our public schools leaving our teachers and students without...teachers w/o a job and students without the education they once knew as we make cuts to various departments.
Ryan and I, too, have begun to make cuts. We are in the process of selling some horses and try to simplify. We have put in a larger garden with the hopes of canning and freezing food for the upcoming winter. It will help if we can eliminate some grocery costs.
We are also in the process of selling our rent house. Our renters are looking into getting a morgage, so we hope to take that off our plates as well! We'll know5 more in a few weeks, but we are hopful as it benefits us and our renters. THey are wonderful people and we were so blessed they found us and our rent house. It took a few renters and some really hard times, but it was worth the wait. God's plan is always better, we just can't always see it until later on. This rent house as taught me that to be the case.
Well shelby wants to snuggle ans watch a video so i am signing off.
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