Success in the heat!

I am back from the Tom Powers Futurity! The heat ranged between the 90's to 100 degrees...UGH! Corky and Taylor were both absolutely wonderful. Corky made the trip worthwhile by earning a 5th overall in the Open Hunter Longe line, earning a second and two fifths from the judges. She acted like an old pro all week - as if she had been hauled and shown all her life! What a great filly. I am bursting with pride...I created this horse from scratch - picked out my broodmare, picked the best stallion to cross with her, and created Corky. I slept in her stall the first night she was born, holding her up every two hours to nurse until she was strong enough to do it on her own. I taught her how to lead, load in the trailer, walk-trot-canter-reverse on the longe line. From the day she was born, I was there every day. Just like when I raised Taylor...being there from the start really makes you part of their 'equine family'.


Now it is back to reality - back to work, marching band charts, percussion practices, and band camp preparations. Of course, first is the big trip to West Virginia this weekend to show, and then it's back to work!

Adding some photos

Here are some photos!

Our Battle of the Businesses Team - The Lima Firefighters Local 334. I have the coolest costume!!! Makes me want to be a Marine :-]


Here are some photos from the show this past Sunday, they turned out great!

Courtney and Taylor getting ready to start their pattern in showmanship


Me and Taylor in the midst of our showmanship inspection


Courtney and Taylor on their way to a win in youth hunter under saddle


Me and Taylor - look at the smile on my face, I am loving this!!!

Big preparations

I leave Thursday morning (early!) for the Tom Powers Futurity in Michigan. Nervous? You bet i am!!! I am nervous about hauling my big horse plus my yearling all by myself for 4+ hours, I am nervous about the incredibly tough competition, I am nervous abotu not having any idea of where to go, I am nervous about falling flat on my face in longe line. This is a show I have always wanted to do, so this is a great opportunity for me to fulfill a personal goal of mine. It sure would be nice NOT to get last place...though I am not optimistic. I am a nobody with NO money and no influence...we shall see what happens!

I kind of let the horse thing slide last week while I was so busy with the Battle of the Businesses (our team ended up in second place). Actually that's not a bad thing - after a week of laziness, Taylor went to a show on Sunday and gave Courtney and I 4 near-perfect rides. Gotta love that! Corky, however, is still hairy and hit a growth spurt so that she is a full 2 1/2 inches taller in her hip, throwing off her movement. *sigh* for this to happen now of all times....figures!

Well, wish us luck :-]

Oh yeah...I did it!

I feel VERY good tonight. Completed two more Battle of the Businesses events, and was very proud of myself. I talked myself through the canoe race all day, told myself that I didn't want to be the one everyone was waiting on. My job was in the second lap - to canoe across the lake, jump out, and run around the lake back to the starting point. I wasn't worried about the canoeing part - years of shoveling manure out of stalls gives me great arm strength! The running part worried me..as usual. I must say I did feel a bit more confident going in tonight after completing the 2 mile race on Friday. I finished the run with more pain in my legs than I can remember...but I beat the canoe back...my main goal! Our team finished FIRST in the canoe race....YES!!! I bombed the Hillbilly Horseshoes...had one right on the box and then knocked my own bag off the box for ZERO points... :-[ It was a fun evening. Stay tuned...Wednesday night (ugh - big dread) the inner tube relay race. Have I mentioned how much I hate water sports?

I feel very good about everything today. Kevin is proud of me...funny how important that is to me. I haven't felt that he was proud of me in a long time, and it feels great to know that he thinks I did good. I can call myself independent all day long, but in the end we all see ourselves through our loved ones' eyes.

BANGBANGBANG

*smash* that's me htitting my head against the wall. *sigh*...when will I ever learn to just SHUT UP? I need to get back into MY life and completely out of everyone else's...let them sink or swim on their own and just keep my head where it belongs. *big sigh* I will never learn, will I?

Still on top!

Our Battle team is tied for first place...we won the2 mile race and the beach ball relay, bombed in the putt putt and bigfoot relay, ended up 2nd in Volleyball. Tomorrow is the canoe race and hillbilly horseshoes...I am in both of those events and am really looking forward to the canoe race...might be a strong event for me!




I feel so productive today...got up and went to church, cleaned stalls at the barn, went to school and copied all of the music. Now I am sitting here trying to give my legs a rest...they hurt! It's a good hurt, though. I will push through the pain...mainly because I hate second place. Moreso in my personal life than even in my competitive one. I hate coming in second place to someone or something on a consistent basis. It does get old. Usually it makes me try harder, but when that doesn't work I just give up. I wonder what it would be like to be in first place in someone else's life? I mean, a lot of people have that confidence knowing that they are numero uno in someone's life...they are the center of someone's universe so to speak. I've never had that feeling. I've never really craved that feeling, but sometimes being in that permanent second hole really gets to me. I think some people are just born to be first-placers, and some are born to be background players.

19:46

Hehehe that was my time - 19 minutes, 46 seconds - for the 2 mile race to start the Lima Battle of the Businesses yesterday. I am THRILLED since I don't think I have ever run 2 miles in my life!!! Yes, I thought I was gonna die afterwards, but what a great feeling of accomplishment...plus being the first woman to finish from my team made me feel even better. My legs aren't even sore today, I feel great. I wish I had the self-discipline to make myself run every day...what a great way to get stronger and stay in shape. I hate running with a passion, so it takes Kevin to force me out to run in order fro me to do it. Our team is tied for first after the race...7 more days of events to go. Today is the Bigfoot race, Beach Ball relay, Putt Putt Golf, and Volleyball. I am in all of these events...Lord help us! Then after all that, I head to the barn to ride, clean stalls, wash Taylor and braid for a show tomorrow! I love love love summer!!!!!

1:21am

I am off to my summer routine already. It is 1:21am as we speak, and I am busy doing marching band music re-writes. I spent the evening putting together the 2005 marching band cd for the students...after a lot of frustration with my CD burner I finally got it working right. we have some cool tunes this year...I'd tell you but they are a secret until the music gets mailed out next week!

I work best late at night. It seems I get a great burst of energy after midnight, and I start working like crazy. I will fall apart around 4am and head to bed...sleep late into the morning and then I am at it again. I think I would be SO much more productive if I worked 3rd shift. I need to look for a 3rd shift school somewhere to teach at! Man oh man I do love summer. In the midst of writing music, I looked outside (around 7:30pm) and said 'to heck with it!' and went out to the backyard with a good book...sat in the chair and read with my dog (Pasta) and my cat (Milkshake) laying at my feet. What a life. The only way it could be more perfect is if I could look out back and see my horses grazing. Instead I see the gang scrawlings on the garage behind us *sigh*.

Visiting other peoples' houses makes me realize a lot of things. Kevin and I sat around last night and talked about his friend's new house, how ncie it was, what a great neighborhood, how big, etc. Then we came home to our tiny little cottage. But you know, I'd live in a Maytag box as long as I had Kevin and the family around. I mean, a house is just a pile of sticks, right? Just a place to hang out, to eat, and to sleep. It doesn't define you or anything, right? I think what defines us are our life experiences...many of which we would never be able to have if we had a thousand-a-month morgage payment. When I am 90 and rocking in my rocking chair, I can look back and remember all the horse shows, the Florida vacations, a cruise or two, the new digital cameras, the horses I bred (and lost money on)...MUCH better than just looking back at life and just seeing a big old house!

That being said, I still will continue to buy lottery tickets in the hopes that I will win enough to buy my acreage in the country.

The cat...times three!

Capuccino is back, and so is a new kitten Kevin brought to appease the youngest daughter. Now we are a 3-cat household. One more would make us one of those weird million-cat families that people read about.

What a day...90+ degrees out...gotta love it! I got several loads of laundry done, cleaned the barn, worked my yearling and hosed her off (she actually seemed to like it today!), went to Wal-Mart (UGH) and bought groceries, came back and analyzed 12 songs for marching band rewrites. Now to go about doing the actual rewrites....I am on schedule! I plan on staying up all night doing all the rewrites, sleeping in all morning, then heading to the barn and school to copy copy copy.

Tomorrow we find out if Fruit is pregnant...keep your fingers crossed. This is my very last chance.

Missing cat!

I am so sad, returned home from the show today to find out that Capuccino, or black one-year-old cat, has disappeared because the garage door was left open. thank goodness Milkshake just wandered over to the doghouse to lay on the roof and sun herself. It is storming outside right now and I am worried that Cappy is out there in the rain, or worse...

Milkshake is sitting on my lap (yes, I vaccumed her first!) and I left the small door to the garage open in case Cappy wants to come home.



Isn't she sweet?

Here's Milkshake, so she doesn't feel left out:



The horse show was great this weekend, our first HOT weekend of the year. It reached the lower 90's today. I had a great time, I got to see a lot of old show friends that I haven't seen in a while. Here are Courtney's and my results with Taylor:
Saturday:
Courtney - 1st in showmanship
Me - 1st in showmanship
Courtney - 4th in hunter under saddle
Me - 2nd in hunter under saddle
Sunday:
Courtney - 2nd in showmanship
Me - 2nd in showmanship
Courtney - 5th in hunter under saddle
Me - 1st in hunter under saddle

The GOOD of the weekend:

• We had some kick-butt great rides, Taylor was awesome all weekend
• I got to hang out with old friends and eat spaghetti at midnight!
• Courtney and I spent a great weekend together just hanging out (she is a lot of fun!)
• I got a great camping spot right outside of my stall
• I got a great stall that had a lot of breezes blowing in to cool Taylor
• Lots of people commented on how beautiful Taylor is (proud mom here!)

The BAD of the weekend:

• Some heathen children broke my good blue chair!
• I brought home at least 4 loads of dirty, sweaty laundry
• We won $34, but spent much more
• The show was run very stupidly on Sunday, and we could have been finished by noon instead of 3pm...waiting for 3 hours in the hot sun!

Oh heck, there wasn't anything really bad, it was an overall great weekend.

Taylor and I showing today

Courtney and Taylor

Today at the show

Wow, I am sitting here at a picnic table in the middle of nowhere typing on a laptop computer hooked to a cell phone...TOTALLY COOL. I want one (hint hint birthday September 26). Today was a good day, got a sunburn and a couple wins and a little cash and a awesome ice cream cone from the Marion Creamery (I highly recommend). Taylor is chilling out in her stall with a couple fans blowing on her...she is exhausted! I am energized, had pancakes for supper and Courtney helped me grade all of my final exams for band so they are FINISHED! What a day, what a weekend, what a great start to the summer. Love it!



Hi Kevin, miss ya baby!

Drive like a Grandma!

Today is the last day of school :-]

For the past straight 3 years I have received a speeding ticket on the last day of school! That must be some sort of record. Today I drove ON the speed limit...not an inch over. I am determined to break the cycle! Actually, I have been very good about driving the speed limit this year. I guess that warning letter from the State of Ohio telling me that one more ticket will forfeit my license really woke me up LOL! Though none of my tickets were fgor very fast speeds. I think the fastest I was going was 60 in a 45...most of them were for 48 in a 35, 44 in a 35, etc. I am not a speed demon, I swear! I am just a distracted driver, I tend to go with the flow rather than watching the speedometer.

No sunshine again today...two straight days. I am seriously considering buying a sun lamp to get me through these days!

I will spend the weekend showing horses and grading exams. Just for fun, here are the questions on the bonus page of the band exam:

1. Name a 5th grade band member and their instrument
2. What was your favorite part about the Florida trip?
3. If a drummer (carrying his drum) was dropped off of a 12-story building in 40mph winds, how far from the building would he land, how large of an indentation in the ground would he make, and how much would he owe for the repair of his drum?
4. Which two band members do you think would be the most entertaining to watch fight in a Wrestlemania match?
5. Give your instrument a name...he/she deserves it!
6. Vote any band member as President of the Universe. Give reasons why you think they would make a good dictator/ruler
7. Music requests for next year?
8. Draw any band member and their instrument on the back, and label!

The bonus page makes grqading the exams more entertaining! There are always some VERY unusual answers...we have some VERY unusual band members :-]

It pays to be organized

Some areas of my life are extremely organized and run very smoothly...other areas I tend to fly by the seat of my pants. Is it no wonder those areas cause me the most stress?

We had a joint 6th grade concert today with the public school. I was extremely organized - had the drinks and cookies lined up, more ice and coolers than I needed, just the right amount of parent help, the gym got set up an hour in advance, sound system was turned on, music was in order, and signs were put up. Everything ran like clockwork. Why can't I stay that organized in all areas of my job?

I tend to be very organized in my horse life. Maybe that's because when it comes to the horses, I am 100% on my own there...no help from anyone. This is strictly MY world, with others only popping in for a visit every now and then. If I don't stay on top of things and completely organized, disaster happens. I guess I am only able to channel my organizational skills into one area at a time. Sometimes, although I have the best of intentions, things just go haywire when it comes to band activities. Could be the fact that I have to run an entire band program grades 5-12 plus all the little extra musical school happenings all by myself? Somehow my home life goes haywire also...I try to stay organized, but half the time I am just flying through from one place to another, and things get a bit out of sorts. Can we say tension in the home? Oh well...the school year is about to end so I can devote more time to things around here. I can only do what I can do, and until I find a way to invent more hours in the day, I am only going to get just so much done.

Sometimes I find being at home is the most stressful part of my day. It's weird how that has come about. Sometimes I find my jaw clenching as I drive up in the driveway. I feel like a rabbit waiting to be attacked by the wolf. Sometimes my defenses kick in long before there is any reason to. I need to work on that. I think I need some days out with friends...people outside of this home and life...I need to round out my world a little better. Right now my life is a triangle - we have work, home, and horses. Maybe I need to make it a square, find another dimension...just a tiny one...to help me broaden my horizons, see different viewpoints, and just get away. Or maybe I just need to chill out and not take things so personal, remove myself mentally from these attacking situations and just ignore them. HAH! Easier said than done. Maybe I just need a little sunshine...it's so cloudy and gloomy today :-[

My arms hurt!!!!

My arms are like jelly! Today I loaded my truck with 2,000pounds of horse feed. I loaded 40 of the 50lb bags onto my truck while the big grungy store worker watched...gee thanks for the help, mister! Then I drove to the barn and unloaded all 2,000 pounds.

If that wasn't bad enough, our Battle team (for Battle of the Businesses) went to practice for the canoe race. Somehow I got roped into canoeing at full speed the entire length of the lake 4 different times, while everyone else only did it once or twice. Talk about jelly arms! It was a great upper body workout.

No rest for the wicked...just received a phone call that some hay will be delivered via semi truck tomorrow, so guess what I need to be doing at 6pm? My horses sure will be well-fed this summer!

Let's hope for NO RAIN this weekend. Courtney and I are heading to a show for the whole weekend...taking both Corky and Taylor. Rain will really ruin our weekend of camping and horse-showing!

I am in a good mood, so it's time for another list. How about Green Foods That I Hate:

• Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Green Beans
• Green apples
• Moldy bread
• Cabbage (is cabbage green? I wasn't sure!)
• Pickles
• Cucumbers
• Olives
• Peppers
• Grass
• Pears (they are kind of green, aren't they?)