Greetings From Sienna....

Sienna, the Cheetos Eating Pony, just wanted to pop in and say that she wishes Mel and her kidlets were done with school too. It gets kind of lonely over at Amber's house when they (Mel and the kidlets) are all gone.


Isn't Sienna just the cutest little thing ever??? (Although Mrs. Mom has a pretty fancy little pony as well! She looks like a My Little Pony...seriously) Sigh....the joys of being back in class.....

I CAN do this, and I WILL do it, right???? Only one more year left???? Well, not including my masters degree, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

Okay...I better jump back over to my assessment paper that I am writing. I've got four pages down and four more to go by Thursday. Oh, and I have another policy analysis to finish for Thursday too. At least my stats test was yesterday...lol!!!

Hope that you are all having good weeks so far! :)

Water Anyone???

Amber and I went on a really cool ride the other day, and I thought I would share a bit of that with you. First though, I wanted to mention one thing.... For those of you who read Chelsi's blog, you know that she recently asked the question of why we like to ride horses.
That was relatively easy for me to answer right now...I like to ride because it gives me a release from the stressors in my day to day life. And while I may have once enjoyed spending a lot of time working with my horse, I now like to ride a well trained, dependable one that doesn't require a lot of energy from me. (Acting out every now and then is fine, but I spend a lot of time disciplining and training my kidlets, and I don't want to do the same with a horse; at this time in my life anyway!)Right now, my time and energy is pulled in so many directions, that I honestly don't have a lot to offer anyone...or any horse that needs a lot of help/work either. Bo and Wasksa are great for me then, because they don't require that I work with them a ton; I can just get on and go. (Makes me sound kind of boring, huh??)

Don't get me wrong though, Bo and I have really developed a lot of trust between us, and he does things today that he would not have done with me a year ago. (It will be one year in May since we got him back) He loves me and I love him, and he is always happy to see me when I pull up at Amber's house, it is just that most of the work and relationship building that we do is while I am on his back, not on the ground, and thankfully he doesn't require that I need to do groundwork with him (Ahhhh...the joys of riding a seasoned show and trail horse...lol!!!)(Above:Bo wolfing down fern fronds on the trail the other day, while Amber and I took a potty break) Anyway...sorry to digress, I just thought that I would mention Chelsi's thought provoking post, because it was well written, and well....though provoking....lol!!!!! (Hey there Chelsi!!!)

Where was I again???? Oh yes...our ride!!! See??? I am a total space cadet. It is a wonder that I can even remember how to ride a horse...lol!!!! On Friday, my mom and dad took my kidlets, so Amber and I could ride without any time constraints, and we had a lot of fun. It had rained all morning, so we waited until around noon to head out. We saw a ton of wildlife (out moving after the rain), and cruised along at a relaxing pace...kinda!!

One of the trails we went on takes us down and then up about a 1/2 mile, and Bo decided that he wanted to canter and/or prance the whole way up. It is kind of fun when he is in one of his crazy moods, and I am always amazed at the stamina of Arabian horses. Thankfully Bo calmed down once we were done with the steep trails. (You can see the base of that trail in the picture above, and Bo sure was eager to get to the top...lol!!)
So we rode up trails, and we rode down trails, and we crossed trails, and even made a few of our own trails....lol!!! When we finally came out to a main line, Amber asked if I wanted to ride down to a lake that I have not been to in over 20 years, and I said "sure." She mentioned that a good part of the trail was through a swamp (over 100 yards of it), and that it may be too deep to get through this time of year.
(Above is a picture from the Internet of a swamp in the Hoh rain forest. ..sound familiar Twilight fans???) Down, down, down we went, until we came to what looked like a lake/swamp that stretched out further than my eyes could see (it went around a bend), and Amber said that she could not believe how much water there was. (They ride their quads on this trail, so she knew where it was, but said that usually there is only about six inches to one foot of H2O)

(Above is just another picture from the Internet!)

Amber looked at me and asked if I wanted to attempt to follow the trail, and again, I said "sure." We were not sure that the horses would go for it though, because it looked like it may be about 2-3 feet deep. Would they trust us???

Yes they did, and we were quite amazed that they walked through a swamp trail that had water that was so deep that we had to lift our legs. The deepest spot was about three feet deep, and they had to walk through an area that was over 100 yards of total water. And...there was no dry ground to be seen...anywhere.

They never once even acted the slightest bit spooked, or weirded out, but it was kind of a creepy feeling to be surrounded by all of that water. I think that I watch too many horror movies, because I kept waiting for a hand to rise up and grab one of the horses legs...lol!!!

Amber and I really praised the boys while we were going through it, and when we were done, because I am not sure that a lot of horses would have trusted their riders to get them through that. It made me feel good to know that even though I don't have a lot to offer old Bo Bo right now (and of course he doesn't ask for much!) he still felt like I wouldn't ask him to do something that would put us both in danger...either that or he and Waska are just plain stupid...lol!!! Just kidding!

Well it is back to school tomorrow, so I will probably fall behind again. I am apologizing ahead of time...kay???

Driving In A Winter Wonderland...Or Not!!!!!

Come along with us on another one of our family "rides!" I promise that you won't be disappointed. I wanted to show Lisa that I am sympathetic to her snowy plight (Hey Lisa!!!), but we ended up getting in a little over our heads.


As you can see, we started our adventure off in the snow. It had been snowing off and on all day, but finally seemed like it was getting a bit more serious. (Here we are...heading up to the hills)
We entered the locked gate, and were immediately welcomed by heavier snowfall. A sign of things to come, or an omen??? You guess...lol!!!!Hey...look at that tree!!! It has a face. Oh wait, it is just my camouflaged boy...teeheehee!!! (He looks thrilled that I was taking his picture, doesn't he???) So...up into the hills we went, stopping every now and then to play in the snow, scout for animals, and snap pictures of stump caves. (Can't you just imagine a bear all curled up in the base of this stump???)The further up we went, the more snow there was, until..........disaster struck!!! These pictures really do not our predicament justice. The snow was about a foot and a half deep, wet, and freshly fallen, and to one side was a steep incline that dropped down about 100 yards, and to the other, a ditch that was about two feet deep
Poor Kevin! Every time he hit the gas, the truck slid further and further over, and it's front tire was actually over the edge. I am such a chicken, and when I realized that the truck was sliding the wrong way, I grabbed the kidlets and got out.

"You brought your chains, right???" I asked. The answer was "No." There were no chains or shovel in the back of the truck. Luckily there was a piece of wood, and he used that to dig himself out. Meanwhile, Katie was crying that "Daddy was going to die," and Eric thought that it was the "Coolest thing ever!" Ahhhhh...to be nine again...lol!!!!

Thank goodness Kevin has a lot of experience with this sort of thing, but even he was getting a bit frazzled, so he two-wayed (Nextel cell phone) his buddy, who also has access to this area, and told him to come up and help us out. We were about four miles above the main line, and about seven from the entrance, so there was no way that we were going to walk out!!!

(I think this picture looks silly {below}, but Eric and Katie think it makes the truck look "cool," so I put it on here for them!)While we were waiting, Kevin decided to try one more time, and he actually succeeded in getting out. He then had to back (well he actually slid!!) down the hill about a 1/4 mile, until he reached a turn-around road, and the kidlets and I walked down after him. The buddy's help was called off, and we all got in and headed for home.

Again, these pictures do not show the steepness of the hills, nor the sharpness of the drop-off, so you'll just have to take my word on that, but just know that Kev and I have found ourselves in some nasty snow/car situations, and I have never seen him worried before.

On the way home, right by our house, we saw a herd of elk out in the field. They are kind of hard to spot, but the tan blobs in the center of the picture are the elk.

So daddy got us all home safe and sound, and Katie keeps telling him that he is her hero and that he saved our lives. Dramatic, isn't she??? LOL!!! THE END

(As I write, the snow is still falling, and we have about 4-5 inches out there. Great!!! This is so atypical for Western WA that it is not even funny!!!! Lisa??? I feel for ya'!!! Maybe we could have some virtual brownies and wine or something!)

Ahhhhhhhh.......

So Tempur-Pedic is not paying me to do this, but I just wanted to let you all know how much I LOVE our new bed!!! After years of having hand-me-down mattresses, or spending $800-$1000 on one and having it break down within 3-4 years, we finally bit the bullet and invested (I am not using this word lightly...lol!!!) in a Tempur-Pedic.

We invested...I mean bought...a Tempur-Pedic Classic, as it was the most firm out of all of them. We also got the handy-dandy little neck pillows, which are also made out of the foamy stuff, and let me be the first to say that I have woke-up the last four mornings feeling like a million bucks...seriously!!!!

Now I know that these beds are not for everyone, and that a lot of people have tried them and found them to be really uncomfortable, but I feel like a whole new woman!!! I could not tell you the last time I got out of bed and was not in pain. Well yes I can, it was this morning...lol!!!!

For those of you who don't know, I suffer from chronic muscle pain that I manage with massage, yoga, muscle relaxers (Flexeril), and ibuprofen. I also have no curvature in my neck, and see the chiropractor, who uses this balloon-like pillow thingy to put it back in place.

My muscle pain comes from the fact that my muscles are super sensitive, and will tighten to the point that they cause so much pain that I vomit. Sounds like fun, doesn't it??? I now have a tens-unit (from the physical therapist), and I use that when they tighten up to help them relax. They get so tight that I shock them at a level "8," which is the highest intensity level that the machine goes to, and it doesn't even phase me.

Thankfully, after having used it for some time now, I can use it a level "6" or "7," and they have not been tightening as much lately either. (It has to do with retraining the pain pathways in my muscles or something)

Well...I am off to ride!!! Hope that you are all having happy Friday's!! :)

All the People....

So I have not had any classes this week, but I have been gone just as much as I would be if I did have classes this week. (Did that just make any sense???) LOL!! I really appreciate everyone hanging in there with me, and I am counting down the days until summer vacation starts. (I am pathetic, I know!!)


I am also wondering how I am going to cope when I have to go back to work after having two summers off. Now THAT is scary...lol!!!!Today was dentist and orthodontist appointment day, and we literally drove from one area of the Puget Sound to the other...seriously!!! And my little redneck boy made some really cute comments while we were sitting at a stoplight in the BIG city. Here is a rundown of that conversation:
Eric: Man...I am sure glad that we live out in the country!


Me: Oh yeah? Why is that?


Eric: Because the city is creepy and scary!


Me: Why is it creepy and scary Eric?? Nothing bad has ever happened to you in the city.


Eric: 'Cause of all the people. Look at all of them!! It's just creepy to have so many people in one space.


Me: Well just so you know Eric, (pointing to all of the people milling about) they think that where we live is creepy and scary, and that is why some of them live here in the city.


Eric: Seriously mom??? That's just weird!!! Why would you want to live somewhere like this?? It's dirty, and scary, and people shoot and kill each other and stuff....

So round and round we went, but in the end, I had to agree with Eric that I would never want to live in the city. I mean, would you find dead deer head's and deer targets in a Man-Room in the city??? Maybe, but probably not...lol!!!! (Just so you know, we don't usually have target deer in our Man-Room either. Eric had to make a few repairs to this one, and because it was raining, brought it inside for a bit)



Hope that you are all having great weeks so far!!!

Hold Up... I Am Still Here!!!

Hey there!!! I am still here, and I hate to sound like a broken record, but I have just been too busy to blog. And get this....next week is my spring break, and I still have homework (take-home tests and papers)! What is up with that???? Baseball season is once again upon us, so that takes up a lot of my extra time too (running Eric to practices). Then, last week we had a scare with one of my good friends, who possibly had leukemia (she is 33), and that was quite emotionally draining for all involved. Thankfully it appears that she has had an autoimmune response, which may be acute or may be chronic (only time will tell), and she should end up being alright. (Her platelet count was around 2000, and it should be between 150,000-400,000!)Then, to top it all off, it has been raining, snowing, hailing, sleeting...you name it, so riding (my sanity) has been difficult. We have been doing a lot of arena work/riding, but after awhile, that gets old. I need to be out in nature. There is nothing like it!

Just look at the mud and sleet in the picture above. We had just come home from riding in the arena, and I asked Amber to put the panonies away, because I forgot my barn/muck boots. Usually I don't need them, because Amber never has mud, but all of the melting snow has taken its toll on her paddocks. At least their sheds are dry and warm, right??

See the above picture??? It was taken the same day as all of the above pictures. It just snows and rains, and everything turns into soup...literally!!!

Well, I am hoping to stop by every one's blogs over the next few days, and I thank you all for your kind comments about wondering where the heck I was! :)

Run Awaaaaaaayyyyyy.....Or Not!!!

I went up to Amber's house the other day, after riding for two days in a row, and decided to go out and mess with the horses a bit before we rode.Now I am not writing this to brag, but we have never had difficulty catching any of our horses. Oh we have boarded horses who are difficult to catch (at first), or bought horses who were initially difficult to catch, but for some reason, we must just look like we are so much fun, that horses just want to be with us...lol!!! Of course, it could be those Cheetos that are in our back pockets too (wink, wink!!)...just kidding.

Where was I ??? Oh yeah...So I walked out towards Bo and Waska, who were both finishing up a "snack" that Amber had given them (good grief, Amber, that looks more like a meal!!!), and as you can see, Bo picked up his head, nickered, and started to move towards me.

Then he stopped and looked towards Waska, who clearly looked like he was NOT happy to see me. "Oh great. Here she comes, and then her sister will come out, and then the saddle comes out, and then the boots come out..." Okay, he didn't really say that, but he did think it...lol!!!

...And for just one millisecond, which I happened to catch on camera, Bo cocked his ear behind him, and debated how long it would take to run for the trees. "Come on Waska. I think we can make it back there and hide if we hurry it up a little."
Okay...I really have no idea what was going on in their heads, but it sure looked like they were plotting to ditch me...lol!!!! And did they ditch me?? Nope! Bo walked over to investigate my camera, and then grumpy Waska came over too, which he really shouldn't have, because I scratched him for a bit, and then slipped his halter on and took him out to get brushed, his saddle on, and his boots on...teeheehee!!!!

Well, my allotted blogging time slot is rapidly approaching its end, so I better log off and start my homework. Policy analysis anyone??? Hello??? Anyone out there???? No??? Well I hope that you all have a great weekend even if you don't want to help me with my homework (pouting). (Again...I am just joking!!!)

All Over the Board....

Hey all!!! Here I am, 1/2 way through another week, and I have not had the time to read any one's blogs or post anything fun on mine. I plan on trying to catch up tonight, so be looking for my crazy comments...lol!!

As you can see, we have been dealing with a lot of snow around here lately. Nothing bad...just the kind that falls overnight and then melts off by the next evening, but dang...I am so ready for spring!!!!
Incidentally, so are my daffodils and tulips, and I hope that they have not been ruined by the snow and cold temperatures. (It has been running in the low teens to the mid-twenties) I am also worried about my lavender, because we have never had so much snow before. Does anyone know how it does in the snow?? I have tons of it (in the above pots, and in the ground), and it is not looking so hot right now. :(

Speaking of snow....here is a miscellaneous picture of Miss Katie after she came in from playing in the snow. She had just kicked her boots off, and was getting ready to throw her coat off and run for the Man Room. Uh-huh!!! Caught ya'!!!! That's right missy!!! March right back in here and pick your stuff up....now!!!!

...And because this is a very disorganized post (I warned you about that with the name of it...lol!!!), here is a picture of my father-in-laws property in North Dakota. Both he and my sister-in-law, Mary, went back there to take pictures of the oil rigs that just moved in to drill.
That's right folks...we are officially playing the lottery, and our odds of winning are pretty high. There are several articles on the Internet about the "overnight" millionaires in North Dakota (see one here), and we are of course hoping that we at least get something....Hey, I would settle for an extra $500 per month right now...lol!!!

Well... I am off to hopefully catch up on some of your blogs!!! Hope that you are all having great weeks!! :)

Bored....

Here is a picture of me earlier today. I was trying to look pathetic, but I am not quite sure that it worked...lol!!! Why the long face??? I have literally been glued to the computer, trying to finish a six page minimum, single spaced, work cited, take home test for one of my social work classes. See??? All of my books are laying helter skelter across my computer desk....

With all of that sitting around, I had to get up and do something, so because it was snowing outside, I decided to try my new Jackie Warner "Workout" DVD. Any of you familiar with Jackie??? She is the totally hot, totally cool star of Bravo TV's hit show called Workout, which hasn't been on lately...wonder why???

( Hmmmmm....maybe I could talk Chelsi into researching that for me on YouTube??? LOL!!!!!)

.....I mean, who wouldn't want a body like this???? Not that I would look like that in a million years, even if I was as fit as Jackie...lol!!!

The DVD is set up into three 20 minute segments that are composed of strength training and cardio, and target you upper body, your lower body, and your abs/core. I would recommend this DVD because you can mix and match your workout, and because Jackie shows you how to do a modified version of each exercise; an advanced version of each exercise, and a regular version of each exercise.


Can I just say that I was ready to vomit by the time I was 1/2 way through with the lower body section??? And that was using the "modified" form of the exercises...lol!!!

Anyway...I am not trying to sell this DVD, I just thought that I would recommend it to y'all out there! :)

Hope that you are all having great weekends, and I hope to get a riding post up in the next couple of days. Now I am off to type some more.....

Oh Yeah......

Howdy y'all!!!! Believe it or not, I still have time to ride, and have been doing plenty of it. See, I either do my homework, go to school, clean the house, make dinner, run kids' to various practices, pick up dog poop, exercise, and take a minute for myself.....or I blog. Now you know why I haven't been blogging lately...lol!!!!Last Friday Amber and I cleaned up the panonies, loaded them into the horse trailer, and went and picked the kidlets up from school. As you can imagine, they (the kidlets, not the horses...lol!!!) were really excited, as they have not been able to play with them much over the winter.

You can't see much of what was lefty of our last snowfall (above picture), but we woke up to five inches last week. (Please don't ask me to recall which day it was, because I can't!! I can hardly remember what I did yesterday, let alone a week ago...teeheehee!!!)

The panonies were looking somewhat shaggy, so haircuts were in order, and as you can see, Waska was just thrilled with his...lol!!! Oh, and although Bo looks like he is getting ready to take a big chunk out of Sienna's ear, he was actually just chewing on his tongue...he does that when he is anxious or bored. Guess which one he was??? LOL!!!

Where was I??? Oh yeah...we picked the kidlets up from school and spent about two hours playing at/in the arena. It was great fun for me, let me tell you (insert sarcasm!). I did get to ride a little bit though, because Bo was being rather lazy with Eric, and I got on and reminded him what he was supposed to do when someone puts pressure on or squeezes your sides...it's so much fun being a mom!!!
And look...my beloved son took a picture of me on Bo!! Because I am a vain person who is concerned about my body image (do you think I am joking???) I am going to tell you that I have two coats on, long johns underneath my jeans, and even though it is not in the picture, my helmet is on and the strap gives me a nice, big, double chin. (Of course there has to be something there to give you a double chin in the first place, right??? LOL!!!) I also have the dumbest look on my face...like I am confused about something...lol!!!

Okay...enough about me, let's take a look at Katie and Sienna, shall we??? They always look cute!!! Katie has completely recovered from the pox, and thankfully only has two scars, which are both on her leg.Eric also took this picture of Sienna, and even though her eyes have little bluish/white dots in them (LOL!!) I think she still looks adorable!
Well...all good things must come to an end, so we loaded the panonies up and headed for home.
Even though I sound all grumbly about it, we had a great afternoon, and on Sunday, it was my turn to ride without kidlets...more on that to follow....

Anywho, hope you are all doing well, and I only have 2 and 1/2 more months of hell...I mean "spring" semester...lol!!