How time flies

One year ago today I posted my first blog ever. 

And then I put it away. 

And then I drug it back out.

And then I put it away. 

And then I drug it back out.

The month of October has been my busiest blogging month and I have a renewed commitment to continue blogging.  I didn’t know what I was doing a year ago.  News Flash:  I don’t know what I’m doing now.  My first blog was actually copied from a beautiful email I received.  A pantry email.  The kind you print out and hang on the inside door of your pantry so you can read it again and be reminded of it’s good advice.   I have a few of those, even though I don’t have a pantry door.  I used to.  Another story for another time.

 My husband is a bit embarrassed by my blog. I don’t think he has ever read it, but he has come up behind me here at the desk and eyeballed it a time or two.   After looking at our niece blow bubbles with her nose, he proclaimed it an embarrassment and couldn’t believe I put all this out here for the world to read.

Uh, I have 3 followers. 

Uh, and they’re all related. 

So, in honor of my one year blogging anniversary, I have another pantry email to share. 
A GREAT RECIPE…
1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, ‘I am thankful for______________’

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day..

7. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.

14. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals everything – but you have to ask Him.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for__________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You’ll be smiling before you know it.

I’m pretty good at #1 and #2.  I do those simultaneously, pray and walk.  I don’t smile though.  I should try to add that in.  I think my cheeks might start hurting after a block.

I need to work on #14, 18, and 22. 

How about you?  What are you improving on?

Stickhorses and Dustbunnies

After my last great attempt at horse riding, Adventures in Cowboying,
 I decided I needed some spurs.  Jason said I needed to learn how to ride first. 

If you are any kind of a real cowboy, stop reading right here and go rope a goat or something, this will not impress you one iota.  But if you are like me, a dude who doesn’t know the difference between a halter and a bridle, continue reading and be impressed.
Be very impressed.

I just want you to know, I have absolutely no business with these.  My darling husband, whose desire is to fulfill my every whim, bought these for me, yes even though he knew I had no business with them.  That’s just how he is.  They’re cheapies.  I wouldn’t have known, but he felt the need to tell me.  It didn’t damper my enthusiasm.
Cheap or not, they still poke a horse, which I found out after trying them out with the trusty mount, Money.
Wearing these things got this horse’s attention and scared my socks off.  As soon as I dismounted, I took those bad boys off with the ninja quickness.  Translation:  they were removed at an accelarated rate.  
 

On a good note, I found a horse.  He’s just perfect for me.  Not a bit snorty.  And I don’t think he’ll mind my spurs too much.

My other pets are the dust bunnies under the bed.

Just keeping it real,

Angel

Frustration? Yes!

I sit on a yellow, exercise ball at my computer desk.  I thought that was what they were for.  God forbid I exercise with it.  It has lost quite a bit of air lately and so my chin is practically resting on the desk now, and my arms are nearly above my head trying to type.  So, I got a barstool.  I tried that, but my knees are hitting the edge of the desk and I have to rest on my elbows to see the screen.  Because Jason is out wrangling bulls or something, I needed to take charge of this situation.  Being the oh-so-capable-of-anything woman that I am, I went to the garage to find a tool to wedge out the little white plastic doo hickey that holds the air in my exercise ball.  I settled on a screwdriver.  I searched for the air pump for 15 minutes and finally found it under the couch.  I dusted off the cobwebs and I proceeded to air up my exercise ball with a hand pump.  My right arm got a muscle cramp, I switched arms, my left arm got a muscle cramp, (didn’t know I was ambidextrous did ya?) I stopped to mop the sweat from my brow and gasp for breath while air slowly seeped back out of the ball.  I repeated this process seventeen times.  Eventually I gave up, and plugged the ball back up, and am sitting on a nearly deflated yellow exercise ball with my chin resting on my desk while I type this.   I was going to write a blog  much more interesting than this, but after this whole ordeal, I’ve completely forgot what I had in mind and if I remembered, I don’t have the energy to care.  I think I’ll go get drunk now.

Adventures in Cowboying

I went out with my husband Jason yesterday. When I say “out”, I don’t mean on a date.  I mean “OUT”  in the country, “OUT” away from civilization and Starbucks, “OUT” where men are men and sheep are scared.  Well, not quite that far.

 Now, you must know that just because I’m married to a cowboy, that does not  make me a cowgirl. You know that right? You know that I can’t ride a horse? You know that I can’t rope a steer? You know that my  jeans are usually too short to wear with boots?
Okay, as long as we’ve got that straight.
I’ve got this great idea for a book. I’m going to call it Never Blow Bubbles in the Cowpen and Other Lessons From a Dude.  The dude being me.  The only lesson I’ve learned so far is “never blow bubbles in the cowpen.” In order to bring my idea to fruition, I need more material.  So, “OUT” we go. 
I knew we were going to get horseback.  I told you I can’t ride a horse,  but what you may not know is I can’t even get ON a horse.  That’s right, I  need a boost on the butt. 
Here’s my horse.  Not my horse, but the one I’m going to bounce around on, because that’s what I do, bounce.

If you think he looks old, that’s because he is.  He’s old and safe, the way I like ’em.  He goes by the name of  Money.  I like that too. 
Money doesn’t get out much, mostly just grazes in the pasture so he wanted to make sure he looked good. 
Do I have anything in my teeth?
Maybe you’d like a closeup of that. 
Purty, eh?
After I’m saddled, so begins our adventure.  Here’s the plan.  We were going to sort off a sick calf and doctor it, then gather six bulls, load them in a trailer, and move them to another pasture.  Hmmm….. 
I’m a nervous wreck because I am way out of my comfort zone, on top of a horse that needs his teeth cleaned,  and my jeans are too short for wearing boots.  Jason, the cowboss, sensing my angst, consoles my with this advice: 
“Think like a cow.” 
Gotcha!  All my anxiety melted right then and there.
We head out and ride into this trap that is holding some calves. Jason finds the sick one by his bloody butthole (sorry, but true). And our job is to try to cut that one out of the herd. Now, you must know that I don’t like Money to get above an amble. We’re good moseying along. I have no desire to trot, lope, or heaven help us– run. So we’re walking behind this herd, pushing them along, (yes, just like the movies).

But cattle seem to get a little bit stirred up at times and they don’t go the way you want them too. But remember, I am thinking like a cow. Nothing could go wrong, right? Well, it doesn’t. We do pretty good.   Here’s the little guy getting some medicine.  Yes, it’s dark by now, because it took us all day.  I think Jason slowed me down a bit.

We gathered the bulls, we attempted to gather the bulls, before dark.  Things were going okay, I actually trotted a bit and sort of, kind of got into a rhythm. We almost had these bulls where we wanted them to go, when one 2000 lb bully decided he was ready to fight.  There was some pushing, shoving, and headbutting, followed by a small stampede, and then the smaller of the two bulls went airborne, double flipped over the barbed wire fence, and landed in a different pasture.  I sat there atop my trusty mount, hands over my eyes, peeking through my fingers as Jason chased down the bull, expletives flying through the pasture.  We got him though.  That bull didn’t have anything on us.

Needless to say, Jason could’ve done all this by himself in about an hour, but instead brought me along for the experience.  And I am home with some shot nerves, a sore saddle, and some real ranch dressing on my boots.

Auntie Blog Time: Ashlynn, incognito through the years…..

Let’s take a trip down memory lane. Halloweens of the past.  Ashlynn loves to get dressed up.  I’m not sure when she started liking it, because her first year, she was not too pleasant.

This may have been her first Halloween, and she cried all night. 
Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home…..
Here we were all geared up for a fall festival.
I guess we’ve missed a few years in pictures.  I know she was a black witch one year and Cinderella another.
AARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!

MEOW!  She almost won a costume contest for this one because she was into the character so well, growling and hissing at the judges.

Last year she was Cleopatra.  Gorgeous huh?
And this year, drum roll please……

Her daddy teased her about being fruit of the loom. 
I don’t know when we’re going to outgrow this, it’s just too much fun.

This is what we call “making a haul!”  You know who’s going to eat all this don’t you?  Yep, yours truly.

One of the challenges in education today

I’ve recently learned how to imbed youtube videos in my blog.  I know you’re impressed.  Well get impressed with this!

http://www.youtube.com/v/bKZEP-xruH4&hl=en&fs=1&
Is your mind boggled? 
My principal found this quote.
“The illiterate of today are not those who can’t read and write, but instead those you can’t learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
The times, they are a changin’
Is it good?
Or not?
Remember The Shawshank Redemption.  Oh, it’s one of my favorites.  The old man Brooks gets paroled  after spending most of his life in the penitentiary.  He writes this letter.
“Dear fellas, I can’t believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid but now they’re everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry. The parole board got me into this halfway house called “The Brewer”. And a job bagging groceries at the Foodway. It’s hard work and I try to keep up but my hands hurt most of the time. I don’t think the store manager likes me very much. Sometimes after work I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello. But he never does. I hope wherever he is he’s okay and makin’ new friends. I have trouble sleepin’ at night. I have bad dreams like I’m falling. I wake up scared. Sometimes it takes me a while to remember where I am. Maybe I should get me a gun, an, an rob the Foodway so they’d send me home. I could shoot the manager while I was at it, sort of like a bonus. I guess I’m too old for that sort of nonsense anymore. I don’t like it here. I’m tired of being afraid all the time. I’ve decided not to stay. I doubt they’ll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me.

[carves “Brooks was here” into wood. Admires his work for a moment. Then kicks out the table beneath him and hangs himself]

Yes, the world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.

The spooks are out

We had a vocabulary parade at school today.  Never heard of it huh?  Well in honor of our visiting author (my favorite day)  Debra Frasier, http://www.debrafrasier.com/, we had a vocabulary parade.  In Debra Frasier’s book, Miss Allaneous, they have a parade of words where each child dons a costume depicting the meaning of a word.   Our principal is a word connoisseur and decided that this would be just dandy.  She also thought that all the lady teachers should pick mis words and the male teachers should pick mister or sir words.  Are you following me?  We only have two male teachers, so they chose mystery and surplus.  Very clever.  My word was misnomer.  I thought it worked well.

A bit disheartened that you can’t see my tail here.  I should’ve been holding it.
Here’s another teacher as Mischief.
****
It’s also been Red Ribbon Week.  All the kids vow to be drug free and dress crazy.  Makes no sense, but that’s what we do.  Here’s Ashlynn on Crazy sock day.

*****

I’ve had pumpkin guts under my fingernails and up to my elbows today while carving a jack-o-lantern.
*****
Here’s a funny work story.  You’ll find this in the faculty restroom.  I’ll let the picture speak volumes.
Nice…..
Halloween week…that’s all I have to say about this.

Beauty of October

October’s Party

George Cooper

October gave a party;

The leaves by hundreds came-

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,

And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet,

And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band.

The Chestnuts came in yellow,

The Oaks in crimson dressed;

The lovely Misses Maple

In scarlet looked their best;

All balanced to their partners,

And gaily fluttered by;

The sight was like a rainbow

New fallen from the sky.

Then, in the rustic hollow,

At hide-and-seek they played,

The party closed at sundown,

And everybody stayed.

Professor Wind played louder;

They flew along the ground;

And then the party ended

In jolly “hands around.”
 
I borrowed (stole) this poem from another blog I read.  http://www.misboshay.blogspot.com/
She has a great little blog about photography, knitting, and her family.
 
Hope you’ve had a Happy October!

Sisters

My favorite sister Jolea, well my only sister Jolea, well my only sister period.   BUT, she’d still be my favorite if I had more to choose from. 
She looks like a little eskimo here, and a darlin one at that. 
“Let’s rub noses, like the Eskimoses.”
She has a way cooler name than me.  She used to spell her name like this: Joley, but now spells it like this: Jolea.
This was when she was Joley.
And this was when she was va-va-Joley. (insert eye brow raising and pouty lips here)
 Don’t you love the sexy watermelon shirt??  I believe that was sponge stamped.  All I know it it had to be very cool for her to be wearing it.
She probably knows more about me, no I take that back, she definately knows more about me than any other human being on Earth.  The blackmail she could use against me….oh I shudder to think. 
“More than Santa Claus, your sister knows when you’ve been bad and good”~ Linda Sunshine
She has been with me through lots of times,
 the good and the bad.
 
Like two year old tantrums,
  and bad perms. 
 But she’s never left my side. 
 
She’s a smart, beautiful person and I’m lucky to have her as my sister.
 
Did I say smart?

Yeah, I thought so.