Presenting.....The House!

Prepare for millions of pictures~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~












Katie inspired me to put up the pictures I took of the finished house. Some of the photos aren't that bright but hopefully you can see everything. The only thing left to do is put down hardwood floors in the big room. I am so happy with how it turned out. I'm even happier that I didn't have to do it...so are Martha and Carroll. John's parents had crown moulding put up as a wedding present (it's gorgeous!) and my parents provided a lot of the furniture. Most of it was redone by my dad in the shop behind the house. My next goal...and I have to wait for John...is to finish the garden wall in the back then start planting flowers. I would also like to have a vegetable garden after we get married. Martha is insisting on chickens but I'm pushing for a sheep. Don't tell John. Martha found one for $4 on Craig's List the other day. Now all the house has to do is sit and wait until John gets home. Only 244 more days!

Quote of the Day: "When Michael was in charge, this place was like the Roman Empire. And the Wild West. And war-torn Poland. There was just, a lot going on. So what you wore to work was the least of anybody's worries. And in the chaos, I soared." -Dwight Schrute

There's no place like yardsales

I know now why John went to Iraq. He didn't want to help with the yard sale. Friday night Carroll and I considered going too. Check out Martha's blog for lots of details. We had people shopping while we were setting up. It was dark. They shopped with flashlights. Since we left the house about 5:30am Saturday morning I completely forgot to get suntan lotion. I am totally fried. Even though I'm exhausted and probably won't ever do it again I actually had a good time. I really wanted to scream "EVERYTHING HALF OFF!" Martha never gave me that chance.

Quote of the Day:
Jim: "What case have you ever actually solved?"
Dwight: "Case of the beet bandit. Missing beets from all over the farm, no footprints. Inside job. Mose in socks. Boom. Case closed."

Travel Time

Well, John has safely landed. He won't even really tell me where he is. He only gives me what Michael Scott calls "general specifics." We talked until his phone minutes ran out. Now he has to resort to email. The good news it he's that much closer to being done. I can't do much to help the cause until I get an address for him. Then I can start sending him junk. I did deworm his horses today. That's doing something, right. I'll update as I can.

Cool Water

John is officially off. He went at 5:00 today back to base. Before he left today we walked some of the trails we take the horses on. It was pretty hot so we played in one of the creeks. The water was freezing! The cows snuck up on us. We would see them peeping out from behind the trees on the other side of the bank. After 15 thousand different phone call of "report back now, no, I mean later, wait, I mean now again, hang on, did I say now...or later...or...." AHHHHHH! I have to go o bed. I'm exhausted.

Quote of the Day:
Michael Scott: "Oh hey is that Princess Unicorn? I thought they were all sold out."
Dwight Schrute: "They are now."
Michael Scott: "Cool. 'My horn can pierce the sky'."

Play Days

Can you see the tree face?

We got our first ride in last week since John had been back. The past week and a half has been filled with John running back and forth to the base and us trying to cram everything in we can while he's here. We took the horses all over his farm and rode to the very back of the property. There is a really cool tree that Joy and I found that has a face carved in it. It's kind of creepy! I got off, waded through the creek and got pictures. The water was freezing. Today we tried to go to the Battalion send off for all the guys in Fayetteville. By the time we got there the fire marshal had ordered the doors to be closed because they said too many people were inside. So, we called John and told him we would watch it on t.v. and had go home. Ah, it's almost over, right?

Quote of the Day: "Maybe the Michael Scott Paper Company... was a huge mistake. I should leave, I should go, and start my own paper company. That'll show 'em." -Michael Scott

Guess Who's Home!!

Well, he was home. Now he's gone again until Wednesday. Carroll and I had to go to the base to pick him up. Yep, they searched the truck. It's really uncomfortable having someone go through all your stuff. It was also raining and dark. We pulled into the parking area right before the bus with all the guys on it pulled up. It was so good to see him. We couldn't go straight home. Some of the guys needed a ride to find their peep's. Then we went to McDonald's. Then we took him to see his newly redone house. He really liked it. It isn't completely finished. He did have to take a shower by the light of a pink seahorse (don't ask). We'll finish that when he comes back (hopefully) for a few days later this week. It's really hard to catch up in just a few days but we don't have much of a choice. Especially when the army says to report one day, then says don't, then says do again, then doesn't have water for the troops. I think I'm complaining more than he is. But, he's almost done. That's the phrase for the next 9 months..."you're almost done."

Quote of the Day: "These people need love and I am going to get it for them. Who cares if we sell a little bit of less paper today. A great boss cares more about the happiness of his employees than anything else. I am going to be Cupid. And I am going to shoot my sparrow at unsuspecting victims. And they are going to get hit and say 'I'm in love! I was hit my Cupid's sparrow!' Funny little bird but he gets the job done." -Michael Scott

Starting a Rumor

I've decided to start a rumor that John will be home next Friday. I'm not sure if that's the actual date and neither is he. It will be nice to have an advocate while dealing with the horses. WHO KNEW that they could cause so much trouble. Scout choked again last night. He only got a very small amount of grain to bribe him into a stall while the rain is here. I even have a big rock in the feed pan to keep him from eating too fast. When I went to check the stall doors I noticed him flipping his lip up. In Scout language that means "I hurt." We flushed him with the water hose forever. He would try to cough and only a little squeak would come out. Pretty sad. It finally worked after we walked him up and down the barn aisle. The only way you can tell if he's better is to wait for him to act like, well, himself again. It started by me dragging him down the aisle and ended with him dragging me. No more grain for Scout.

Quote of the Day
"I just want to say for the record I did not kill anyone. Stanley was attacked by his own heart." -Dwight Schrute

Time to SLOW DOWN

Wow! This week kicked my butt, or, I kicked somebody's butt...I can't really remember. Meet the #1 on my list, Scout. He went back into training. He nearly killed me. Then I rallied and won. I rode him again today and he was much better. I even took Aari out on a trail ride. I'm pretty sure something is dead behind John's barn (no it isn't Scout). There were a lot of circling buzzards. We went looking for it but it stayed lost. John will be happy to know that his horse now has a reverse gear. Lilly is awesome. I am so excited to show her. She and Cole get reshod on Friday. Then, I'm taking a vacation.

P.S.- HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY ANGIE!!!!

Quote of the Day
Michael Scott: Ok, so dig this. You're on the street, and one of your gang disses you.
Darryl: Oh my goodness.
Michael Scott: Yeah. Right. So what do you do to get 'em to make it right?
Darryl: Well see, um, in a gang world, we use something called fluffy fingers.
Michael Scott: What is that?
Darryl: That's when someone really gets in your face, you know you just, start ticklin' 'em.
Michael Scott: Really?
Darryl: Yeah. And he starts tickling you. And pretty soon you laughing and hugging. Before you know it, you've forgotten the whole thing. Y'all just go and get an ice cream cone.
Michael Scott: I would have never though that.. gangs would be tickling each other.
Darryl: Oh. It's effective.

Smack Down

I got tired of the horses being in the barn. Scout and Aari had been in for two days and Cole and Lilly had been inside for two weeks. They were all nuts. The ground wasn't dry but the heavy rain had stopped so out they went. They bucked and ran forever. It took me about an hour to clean out four stalls. They were nasty! I think they had thrown a party the night before. We worked on John's house over the weekend. It took all day Saturday and part of Sunday to get things cleaned and arranged. I think all we have left to do are curtains and rugs. The rest of the house looks awesome. I'm having a hard time believing it is the same house. It was so full of paint supplies and trash it was hard to see through it all. But, finally, it's done!! I moved most of John's army stuff to the attic. That crap was heavy! One of the boxes got away from me while I was going up the stairs and I fell backward...down the steps. It hurt. I'll leave the rest of it for him to move. I want to post pictures but I also want him to be surprised when he gets home. I'll think it over.

Quote of the Day: "I am single now. What we have here, is the ultimate smack down between the Nard Dog, and crippling despair, loneliness, and depression. I intend to win." -Andy Bernard

Break Contact

John will be on the dark side of the moon for the next few weeks. He probably won't be able to call or email at all. At least he got the box of backup food before went out. Before he left he sent this picture. I still can't get used to the time change between here and there. I'll call him to ask him something and forget where the heck he is. Oh, update on the wedding dress....it came and I LOVE it! I went ahead and ordered a veil to go with it that matched perfectly. So, now for the shoes and I'm done. Well, with that part anyway.

Lilly's foot still looks really bad. I had to wash it with dish detergent just to get it clean. I don't know what that vet was thinking telling me to leave bandages off of it because it won't heal and it stays nasty with her WALKING on the cut! I wrapped her back up in a bandage with a lot of medication on it. It already looks like the infection is going down. I won't get a chance to clean it until Saturday. Speaking of Saturday (wow, lots of news) the painters are done at John's house. It looks incredible! I'm taking Saturday to clean and get furniture arranged. John should be home in a few weeks and I don't want him to have to clean at all. I have two more lights to buy (bathroom and kitchen) and all the lighting is done. Martha will take pictures so I can post them hopefully Sunday.

Quote of the Day:
Michael Scott: "Today is Spring cleaning day here at Dundler Mifflin, and yes I know it's January, I'm not an idiot, but if you do your Spring cleaning in January guess what you don't have to do in the Spring... anything. They say a cluttered desk means a cluttered mind, well I say an empty desk means an..."
Dwight Schrute: "Empty mind."
Michael Scott: "Well, no... that's not what I was going to say."

Etc.

This is a picture of John drawing in the dirt. He learned it from years on the farm while working with sneaky cows who would try to escape during cow capture day (usually around the first of the year). Now he uses it for the military. I hope he covers it up so any cows who might have learned to read by now won't know his plan. Lilly is still in recovery. I have been faithfully cleaning and putting nasty paste all over her leg since the vet came last week. She is getting more tolerant of me especially since I load her up with treats when we're done. I hate that we are missing some really valuable riding time but I need her to be 100% sound when we start back. Cole is getting tired of having to babysit her in the next stall. I can tell he's ready to get back outside. His legs have begun to lock up so he has to get daily exercise. I really don't want to go down that road again.

John has started a Bible study with the guys in his unit. Please pray that more guys will attend and that it will catch on.

John, I'm shipping you a box-o-stuff tomorrow (Tuesday) with the book in it.

Quote of the Day
Michael: So, bankruptcy is kind of like the witness protection program?
Oscar: NOT AT ALL.
Creed: EXACTLY.

Horses and Stupid Ideas

Lilly tried to ski. She failed and now she's injured. She has lacerated the back of her rear leg and is now on medication and on stall rest. When I went to feed her supper and bring her in for the evening I noticed A LOT of blood on both of her hocks. I don't know how the blood got all the way up there unless she fell down and stayed down for awhile. It really freaked me out. I cleaned her up and scrubbed the wounds down the best I could. She wasn't really interested in me messing with her. She was in quite a bit of pain. The cuts are in a place that would be impossible to stitch. So, we have to settle with keeping it cleaned and medicated. I'll see if she's any better tomorrow. Ahhh, and right before show season. At least she's white so the scar won't be a different color.

My dress comes tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Quote of the day:
Ryan: "A few years ago, my family was on a safari in Africa and my cousin, Mufasa, was... he was trampled to death by a pack of wildebeasts and we all took it really hard. All of us, kind of in the audience, of what happened."

Michael: "Do you want to talk about it anymore?"

Ryan: "Oh, it would probably take me like an hour and a half to tell that whole story."

Serenade by Noah

Ok, so I found a new wedding song. I got Noah some Beatrix Potter DVD's for his birthday. I was at his house while he was watching the Peter Rabbit video (or as he says "Peta Cottontail" in a British accent) and I heard him singing this song. It was so cute. I actually found the piano music for it and now it's in my Songs to Play at the Wedding book. Martha actually had him call me at the office the other day and sing it to me. All he really sings is "...day...day..." Very cute! Maybe I should just have him sing it at the wedding. John is preparing to move to another military base. He is actually getting some time to sleep now and he usually answers the phone when I call him...no more "hang on, there's a loud tank going by" any more. We are going to try and Skype on Sunday if the weather isn't bad. The dress hasn't yet come. It's supposed to be here on Tuesday at the latest.

Quote of the Day: "It was a weird day. I accidentally cross-dressed." -Michael Scott

!!!ON SALE!!!

I just bought a wedding gown. Literally minutes ago, I hit the "pay by credit card" button. I found it on a site that sells pre owned wedding dresses. It's an Allure gown that sells for $1100 (yeah right!) and because it is discontinued I bought it at a HUGE discount. It's not any on the ones pictured here. John reads my blog so I can't post it. I'm hoping it works. I can return it if it stinks. More info after it gets here.


Quote of the Day: "Hello everyone! As you know, we are six days away from Phyllis’ wedding. So get your suits to the dry-cleaners, get your hair ‘did’ and Karen…you might want to invest in a dress or a skirt of some kind if you don’t already have one. This may be Phyllis’ only wedding ever. It’s my job to ensure that none of you look like ragamuffins." -Michael Scott

Barn Day

Well, it was riding day at the barn. Scout and Lilly were the first to meet me and they were very skeptical. Once they realized I wasn't after them they relaxed. Scout actually ran about 50 laps in the pasture and almost took out a gate he was so excited.



Up first was Cole. He wasn't concerned about the riding as much as a noise coming from John's house inaudible to everyone but himself.



Noah took his first few steps on a horse. Lilly acted perfect. She didn't really have a choice.



Then, he was on trainer duty.



He was also the cheering section. He would clap and say "Yeah Haji!"



And, then it was time to clean up. Thank goodness I had a helper.



Quote of the Day
Wallace: Did you shout "fire," causing a panic?
Dwight: Yes, I shouted fire. I shouted many things. I also shouted instructions on how to get out of the building so you can imagine my frustration, as safety officer, when nobody would heed of, would heeded, heeded of--
Michael: Headed of-
Dwight: When no one would take headed of my instructions.
Michael: Heed. Take heed.
Dwight: I don't see my co-workers-
Michael Scott: Take heed of-
Dwight: -heeding this. Right now.
Wallace: Right...what?

Valentine Suprise

Guess what I got today! They are beautiful. I was just admiring them when Dave came up behind me and silly-stringed the back of my head. Thank you John for the flowers. I can't wait to show them off.

It's paint buying season. We found someone to paint John's house and they can start as early as next week. That means a frantic run to the Home Depot to buy more of the paint I already had and pick a new color for the giant paneled room. I sort of have a color idea picked out but I'm nervous about painting large areas. They are even going to paint my purple bathroom. I have to decide if I want the ceiling painted silver or the tin put up. Ah, the fun stress begins. I'll try to get pictures up of the happenings. Oh, I have to move all the furniture also. I think that calls for leaving work early.

Happy Valentines Day!

Quote of the Day: "You spend your whole life trying to get people to like you and then you run over one person with your car - not even one of the popular ones - and everybody gets on your case. Doesn't make any sense." -Michael Scott

Horse Tales

Lilly learned to canter!! Wahoo. It only took about 2 weeks for her to recognize the signal. And, she's great! She does an even better canter than Cole. And SO much slower. I can't wait to show her in May. I'm putting her in every class they offer. I just got back from walking Holly. She has been trying to dig out of her pen so I figured she might want to go on a little walk. By walk I mean she dragged me around the yard and halfway around the pond. Then she just gave out. I about had to carry her home. She's really showing her age. I found a cool tank charm on ebay the other day...and...well, I bought it. It's so little but it's heavy.


Quote of the Day:
Toby: Didn’t you lose a lot of money from that other investment? The one from the email?

Michael: You know what Toby? When the son of the deposed king of Nigeria emails you directly -- asking you for help – you help. His father ran the freaking country ok?

i580

I have a new cell phone! Everybody celebrate! It's a Nextel i580. I can take photos and ...uh...other stuff. I have cool new ringtones. My dad got me an army issue (tough) phone. I guess he felt sorry for me. Everytime I called ANYONE on my phone it would cut off. Poor John. I don't know how many times I dropped his calls. Now when I drop it off of my horse I don't have to worry about messing it up. I played dance dance revolution last night at the Super Bowl party. Since football isn't my thing we broke out the XBox and danced...and looked like idiots. Sometimes it's fun to look like an idiot. I'm hoping it snows tonight. I just emailed this photo to Country Magazine. Hope I get in. They said it can take up to a year but it took Martha and Noah one month. I'm going to beat that record.

Quote of the Day: "Who's that sportscaster that bit that lady? Marv Something? Andy is like Marv Something: great sportscaster, big weirdo creep." -Michael Scott

Crime Aid

I love this picture!! It reminds me of some really fun times. Everybody please pray for John. He is actually doing great but he is working with very large machinery and I want him to be safe. The Family Readiness Group will be sending out about 80 small packages to the guys in his unit first of next week so they will all have something for Valentine's Day. The sanding is finished at John' house and the windows are being finished. That should take about a week or two. The crown molding is being shipped in tomorrow and I have to prime and paint it...a lot of it. But, it's going to be beautiful. I'll be posting pictures as we go so John can keep up with it also. John wasn't going to to the crown just yet to save some money but his parents decided to have it done for us for a wedding present. !!!THANK YOU!!! I can't wait to see it finished.
Everybody jump over to Leanna's new blog. We set it up for her tonight.

Quote of the Day: "Welcome to C.R.I.M.E.-A.I.D. Crime Reduces Innocence Makes Everyone Angry I Declare. It is not known how many office robberies occur every second because there is no Wikipedia entry for office robbery statistics. However, tonight, its victims, are standing together and standing strong in the form of song, cooking lessons, and hugs. Really Phyllis? You're auctioning a hug?" -Michael Scott

Toy Soldier

John sent another picture of his pre-war training. It had other guys in it but I don't think they want to be featured on my blog. We have been able to Skype a few times. The internet where he is is extremely sketchy so it was only a few minutes at a time before we would loose the connection. Spice got out of the pasture the other night. Deer keep knocking out the electric fence and Spices figured out how to shimmy out while it's sagging. She was standing in the middle of the road when she was first spotted by a boy in a car. We should have known what was going on. Noel was yelling and banging her food bucket for an hour trying to tell us her buddy was running away. I just thought she wanted breakfast early so I ignored her. We put the fence back up and it's been torn down twice since. Now we have huge metal panels from my round pen blocking the hole. If it's down again that means we have an elephant living in the woods. That wouldn't surprise me.

Quote of the Day: "Let the bells of Dunder Mifflin chime out your love because this is really good, this is really good. My heart soars with the eagle’s nest." -Michael Scott

A Day Without John

MINUS



EQUALS



It was neuter the cows day at John's house on Saturday. And why wouldn't it be. It was only the coldest day of the year. At 9:00am the hunt for the Angus started. Well, we were late so more like 9:20am. Dwight used the tractor with the feed to round up all the cows and herd them to where the procedure would take place. The cows didn't fall for it. They took off in another direction. It took another lap around the pasture before they were convinced. Martha and I were to keep them from going the wrong direction once they made the turn toward the barn. Mission accomplished. Then after in the feed lot they were to let the mommas out after they had finished stuffing their bellies and keep the babies in. Mission took like an hour to get accomplished. Then 2 steers were put on the trailer to go to the house...another hour. Then the real work began. The baby girl cows got cool yellow ear tags. The boys got a silver ear tag and the satisfaction that they would never have to contribute to the overpopulation of cows. They weren't as happy as we thought they should be. They used a different procedure this year and used bands (rubber bands) instead of the clamp. SO MUCH EASIER on the cows and those who risk their lives to cram in the tiny metal chute and try not to die while clamping the overgrown cheeseburgers. No one was critically injured and the cows are now happily back with their very concerned parents.

Quote of the Day: "We have a lot of angry customers out there. This puts us at Threat Level: Midnight." -Michael Scott

Skype for Dummies

John sent me this picture. He said there would be more to come. On Saturday he gave me a call to tell me he had a 30 minute window where he could Skype. Well, I flew home only to find out he didn't have any signal on his computer. After much grumbling and fighting with the computer...it still didn't work. It took us about 20 min. to get things up and running and we were able to see each other for about 5 min total. It was good to see him. He said they were having an issue of guys stealing each others clothes when they took them to be washed....eeeewwww. If anyone wants to mail him anything just send me an email and I'll send you back his address. I have been able to work Cole and Lilly a few times already this week. I don't think 17 degree weather is very good for their lungs so I'll lay off the rest of the week. It is SO stinkin cold!!!

Quote of the Day: "What happens to a company if somebody takes a boss away? I will answer your question with a question. It's like, what happens to a chicken when you take its head away? It dies. Unless you find a new head. I need to see which one of these people have the skills to be a chicken head." -Michael Scott

Photo Op

Amongst all the parties we attended the Christmas one was at my grandmother's house. Actually, we made our own party. Martha, Noah, Mike, John, me and Kyle went to Grandmas' with a pick nick of hot dogs and chips. Martha took her camera to get pictures of me and John before he left. We hadn't done any engagement photos yet and she wanted to try out her new camera. So, we played. A lot of the pictures we got were of us being nerds but we did get serious for a few. John called yesterday and he's a bit stressed. I went to Walgreen's and bought him a bunch of chocolate and junk food and stuck it in the mail. Chocolate is a the cure all...right? Today I finish up the painting for the windows at his house. I thought I was done the other day but apparently I painted the wrong sides of the panels. I was so excited when I found out I was going to be able to paint them...again...grrr.

Quote of the Day: "I have got it made in the shade. I know this company. The other branch managers are total morons. [calls Pam] Hey Pam, yeah. I forgot what day the interview was and I drove to New York accidentally. Be like three hours late." -Michael Scott

Project #14

I am almost finished painting the window trim at John's house. Then, on to the next thing. I'll be tackling the walls that had to be patched because of cracks. That comes out to be....every wall in the house. My favorite part is the pain choosing. I'm loving the earthy colors like greens etc. I'll be posting the rooms (hopefully) as I finish. One of the biggest projects will be the bed room (pictured). I was at first nervous about painting around the massive bed but then I remembered what it was like when I had to paint it the first time around all of his army stuff. Wow! That was a lot of stuff. I heard from John tonight and they are safely where they are going for their next training stint. I think he really left so he wouldn't have to paint anymore. I'm buying a plane ticket and going too.

Quote of the Day: "I've been doing a lot of abstract painting lately, extremely abstract. No brush, no paint, no canvas, I just think about it." -Stephen Wright

Christmas Fun

So, John got a new camera for Christmas, and I stole it. Just for a few minutes. Boy am I glad Christmas is over. It was great to see family and friends but I don't ever want presents or chocolate again. I would like some sleep and cough medicine. John came home sick and decided to spread it around a little. It's ok though. It was good to see him. Packing him up was much easier this time. Most of his stuff was already sent to where he is going. The last thing we did yesterday was shave his head. He was brave and let me try. I actually did a pretty decent job. He had to "fix" it a little when I was done. He won't let me post pictures of it. I think he's self conscious. I'll post them later (when my computer decides to work better).

Look at what he got me for Christmas...yes!


Quote of the Day: "I do not like pregnant women in my workspace. They are always complaining. I have varicose veins, too. I have swollen ankles; I’m constantly hungry. You think I don’t need to know the fastest way to the hospital?" -Stanley

Luke 2

1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

Night Ride!

JOY IS HOME!!!! The first time I have seen her in months and I kidnapped her to come ride with me at John's. This time it was Scout and Aari's turn on the trial. We started riding so late that we couldn't go too far. But, we made it to the cow pasture and attempted to get some photos of the horses cantering. First, we had to teach the horses how to canter. By then it was so dark the photos didn't come out. We'll try again later. And, maybe by then John will be here and we'll have a gate key so we can go a little farther on the trail. Christmas shopping is DONE! AGAIN! Back to wrapping. Updating the blog is my way of procrastinating. Are you ready for Christmas?

Quote of the Day: "Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for." -Will Rogers

Champion of the World!

If you consider 2nd place and 2 3rd places champion of the world than Lilly has is WRAPPED UP! The day started at 6:00am...it was still dark. She was ticked off when we loaded her without Cole into a dark trailer. She probably thought she was about to take the long walk, uh, trailer ride. When we pulled onto the show grounds no one was there...no one was there. We saw a couple of vehicles scattered around an 3 horses jumping obstacles, which we don't do. Finally others began to show up. The most we had an any class was 6 horses. Lilly was perfect. The footing in the ring was deep. And, I just have to say it, she just a sat down and went to walkin' bo! I am so proud of her.

Cole, however, I'm not proud of. He got loose on John's farm on Friday night. Usually getting loose isn't a problem when it isn't 8 million acres of cow farm. He somehow crossed a HUGE ravine by himself and ran to a far away gate. I freaked. Thought he had fallen in the ravine and ran for about 45 minutes looking for him. I can hardly walk today. As punishment I made him go out to pasture with Scout. That should teach him.

Quote of the Day:
Phyllis: I'm getting married to Bob Vance.
Michael Scott: That's great! Congratulations. That is great and frankly... kinda amazing. See... everybody has a chance.

The Folly of Horses..and the people they own.

I just got Cole's gigantic ribbon we won last May for highpoint champion (remember: the one where he got last all but one time but still ended up champion). I haven't shown it to him yet. I'm afraid it would only confuse him. Tonight I bathe Lilly. I have warm water and blankets ready for her. She won't be happy and will probably roll so I'll have to re-bathe her on Sunday morning. Thank goodness she isn't white or it would be impossible...oh...wait. Scout has been acting nasty the past few days. He dumped his food bucket over and then ate all of Aari's grain. So, I wedged the bucket into a huge heavy tire. He picked the whole thing up and waved it at me. I think he misses John. He has no respect for me so he's had to go into "Respect Those What Feed You," training. John's Christmas present came and they sent me the wrong thing. I give up. Christmas has gotten way out of control. I need sleep.

Quote of the Day: "Yeah, Ryan snapped at me. But there was this twinkle in his eye that I picked up on which said, 'Dude, we're friends. I'm doing this for appearances. I am the big boss now. And I have to seem like an ogre. But you know me and you trust me. And we like each other. And we'll always be friends. And I would never take you for granted in a million years. And I miss you, man. And I love you.' His words." -Michael Scott

Never Ending Road

Speaking of songs...Hannah...John and I picked this song for the wedding. Not sure how we're going to pull it off yet. I found the piano music for it and it's beautiful. I have a few more songs in my head. We're going for some celtic sounding stuff. I'm not a traditional kind of person but I don't want a bunch of everyday songs in the wedding either. So far this song is my favorite. This week in going to be super busy. I have something everyday this week and still need to get Lilly ready for the show Sunday. Scout choked again today. Just as I was locking up the barn I saw him trying to cough up some grain. He would try to cough and it ended up in a high pitch squeal. Very pitiful. It took a long time and a lot of squirting water down his throat to get the clot out. We are going to have a plan when it comes to feeding him anything.

I miss John

Quote of the Day: So Phyllis is basically saying “Hey Michael, I know you did a lot to help the office this year, but I only care about you a homemade oven mitt’s-worth”. I gave Ryan an iPod! -Michael Scott

Sending Off Stinks

Well, John is off. He left on Monday for pre-Iraq training. We were able to see him on Tuesday. He isn't going too far until after Christmas. After New Year it will be about 4 months until I am able to see him again. At least he will get a week off before he goes to Iraq. I've already bought his Christmas present. Actually, I've already bought everyone's presents. Now I have to wrap everything. People like black trash bags, right? I know I sure do. Tie everything up, smack a bow on it and it's done. Wedding planning is actually coming along great. I know I have a year but I wanted to get it out of the way so I could get work done in the house. I just got my music a few days ago. I'm so excited! Carroll invited me to her mom's house last night to have supper and decorate their Christmas tree. I was in charge of hanging up all of John's ornaments. It was a lot of fun. John, if you can read this, the felt king is hanging on the front of the tree. I'll try to keep it there but I'm not making any promises.

Quote of the Day: "The most sacred thing I do is care, ... Today I am in charge of picking a great new healthcare plan. Right? That's what this is all about. Does that make me their doctor? Um, yes. Kind of like a specialist." -Michael Scott