Turning over a new leaf

I have neglected the blog for the past week. Things have been so busy. Between lessons, barn work, riding horses and life in general I haven't had a chance to blog. But my husband is trying hard to make my life easier. He bought me a laptop and wireless router. Now I can use the computer from the comforts of my own bed or anywhere else I happen to be...now I have to show him what a difference it has made by being much more productive! So that is my plan to turn over a new leaf and work harder, longer and more efficiently. Wish me luck!

Can you ever catch up?

This week has not gone well...I feel like I fell down a well and the harder I try to crawl out the deeper I sink. The week started on a bad note with several sick family members, some are still on the mend from a stomach virus. Thank goodness Reese didn't catch it. I am trying so hard to get myself on some sort of schedule so that I can find time to take care of Reese, clean house, do barn work, blog, work on website construction, give riding lessons and be ready for all the evening activities by the time school is out. So far no success. Even on days when I get up before 5 am, and I cant function doing that everyday, it just doesn't allow enough time to do it all. Dirty clothes are piled up, the kitchen table and island are filled with clutter, the garbage cans are filled with garbage, laundry is piled up both clean and dirty. Calgon take me away! There has to be a way to do it all. I am going to figure it out and when I do I will get back to you and share my success!

Understanding kids....

It is so hard to understand kids these days. I guess I was raised in a different time and honestly probably a better time. Though my philosophy was to be more open to my kids and make them feel that their feelings mattered I would likely have been better served to rear them in the "because I said so" fashion that I was raised. So many kids today believe they have the right to argue and contradict their parents. To make matters worse when you have a blended family like mine there is always the "I want my (insert absent parent)". Kids feel like they can escape the rules and discipline of one parent by going to the home of the other. That is when it is truly vital that parents work together and support each others rules and discipline...otherwise kids will make every attempt to walk on both parents. There is a reason kids have parents. If they were born with all the wisdom they needed to make good decisions God would have never set up the whole "family" unit. There are several things in life that are important but none more than God and family. Kids should never be allowed to sacrifice either and parents should work to be sure they don't for if they do...down the road the consequences will be severe.

The day has finally arrived!

I started this blog by telling everyone about the colt we bought back in the spring...A Streak of Fly. His pedigree is outstanding, his conformation, color and attitude are wonderful. His possibilities are limitless...this is a special horse with an incredible future.................and today he is coming home! We are traveling to Morristown, Tn to Rock Bottom Quarter Horses today to pick him up. Yes there will be a million photos of this event on here tomorrow so check back and see what he looks like. We really feel like Junior is a once in a lifetime horse and that he will be a life changing addition to the farm. We are soooo excited and very thankful to Ben and Jessica Gilbert for giving us the oppurtunity to own this great colt. If you are a Facebook friend the journey will no doubt be documented all day and mobile pictures will be uploaded so be on the lookout.

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday weekend!

Visitors from Kansas

This week my mom, step dad, step sister and niece are visiting from Kansas. It is a sad situation that has brought them here to Kentucky but we love it when they come and are super excited that Ashely and Katelyn got to come with them. After meeting for breakfast yesterday morning they paid a visit to the farm and we spent the afternoon riding horses. It was a lot of fun. I hadn't seen my mom on a horse in years....many years. My neice Katelyn loved riding! She and Madison rode Missy, my 27 yr old former western pleasure horse.

John and Smokey Chase and Flame

Ashley (step sister) and Keith (step dad) My mom riding a horse again!

And then there was this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At first glance yes this is a nice picture...3 generations of horsewomen. But all I can see is just how much weight I have gained! About 3 yrs ago I was a size 6. Yes I had a baby 3 months ago and I attribute it to being so happy and content with my life. BUT I hate the way happy and content is making me look. So I promise I am going to work on it. I am not committing to any sort of diet. I am going to eat a lot of cereal with low fat milk, cut down on the Pepsi consumption and ride more, it is great exercise.

Sunday

I hope everyone has had a great weekend. Ours has been eventful to say the least. We didn't make it to the Tennessee IBRA State Show as we had hoped but we did purchase a new horse trailer so that was exciting. We also dealt with a leaky hot water heater that flooded the laundry room TWICE! John ran over our Jack Russell Terrier, Macy for the second time (thank God she lived). And today we got to visit with my mom, stepdad, step sister and niece from Kansas. They are all coming up to ride horses today hopefully I will be able to post some pictures of our afternoon tomorrow.
Just want to give a shout out to McDonalds for the Angus Burger. I had my first one yesterday and they are really great. Mind you they are 1/3 lb of beef so I can only eat half of one but they taste like a burger from a steakhouse or a sit down restaurant. Next time you visit the golden arches try one for yourself!
Dont forget to check out my barrel racing blog http://www.barrelracerinfo.blogspot.com/... great article tomorrow that will feature advice from world champions Jennifer Butcher and Janis Wagner. There are some exciting changes coming to the Barrel Racer Info site so check in often.
You can also find me on Facebook!
Have a great rest of your weekend!

TGIF

Happy Friday to all! Good luck to all my Tennessee barrel racing friends who are attending the Tennessee State IBRA show this weekend. Hope you all do well and have a safe trip! Lots of exciting things going on here...hopefully all will go well and Iwill have good news next week.

Thanks to all my Facebook friends for coming over to my blog and following me!