Almost Friday

www.en.wikipedia.org

Joy and I just finished a night ride on Aari and Cole. We had the best time ever. Nothing in the world is better than jumping on a horse in the dark and having to trust it completely not to get you killed. Well...I guess having the horses actually trained would be better....but, you get the point. We did manage to survive despite my "Hey, I have a good idea! Let's ride down the side of the road up on a huge embankment in the dark and dodge the weeds and...hey...what's that dark spot? I hope it isn't a hole. Well, I guess it isn't cause we're still vertical..." genius ideas.

I'll still be calling everybody about Saturday. Just, not yet.

Reach for the sky

I thought I'd show ya'll how cool we are. We went shooting at John and Carroll's house after Christmas to show everybody Mike's new gun. I was a little afraid. It's been awhile since I've shot anything. Something about the fractured shoulder and blown eardrums that just turned me off. This time I was introduced to ear plug things and guns that don't have that mule kick. Lots of fun. Oh, New Year party at my house Saturday night. I'll call everybody.

p.s.- Just ignore the girl in pink. I don't know who she is. She has no idea what she's doing.

While you were sleeping...Ellie jammed himself in the drawer.

I am writing this post to tell everyone that Ellie just crammed his fat self into the drawer of the computer table and (for several minutes) was unable to unwedge himself. I thought I was gonna have to call the fire department or start hacking the desk up. I'm surprised at how flexible that wad of fur is.

Oh, and Merry Christmas. Thanks for the party Carroll. I brought my mom's cake home and stood over it giving it a "taste test." Then I had to eat some M&M's to make sure they tasted ok too. I don't know why I can't fit into any of my clothes anymore. My dryer must be shrinking everything.

I hope everybody gets everything they want. I want a blue bow on my new horse. Make sure whoever is getting me the horse knows that.

And in closing: Hannah gets Ellie, Carroll gets Peri, Joy gets Aftan, John gets Cedar, Martha gets Holly, and Jimmy gets my fish. If anyone feels left out just let me know. I still have Buzz and the rest of my horses to give away. Oh, Hannah can have Chase to keep Ellie company.

Off Topic.

Not to change the subject or anything...but, Mike went to McDonald's
today and got me a Mr. Tumnus in a Happymeal.
Now, aren't ya'll jealous that Mike isn't your brother-in-law.
How did he do it? I'll never know cause they're still giving out
the Lucy girl. And, today completed my Christmas shopping.
Whew! That was a tough one. I even bought my cats a new litter
box (shhh...don't tell Ellie. It's a surprise) and my fish new gravel
and filters. I'm taking fish bowl cleaner-outer volunteers.

Ok, end of random topic.



Photos: http://disney.wretch.cc/Narnia/movie/1_cast.htm
& www.livejournal.com

Thoughts

A melody flows from this heart of mine.
A song not of earth, but of glory divine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Troubles may come
Like a storm upon the sea,
But He who stills the waves
Brings peace today to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One Christmas night so long ago
Near Bethlehem, that little town.
That lovely night so long ago
From heaven's glory,
He came down.

-Dr. James T. Johnson

The Chicken Dance

Once upon a time there was a little red chicken. She lived in a pen at Martha's house with a whole bunch of other chickens. One night Martha forgot to shut her chicken pen which exposed the chickens to all sorts of horrible predators such as trolls, troggles, kerumudgens, and foxes. Well, one morning (very...very early) Martha was awoken by barking puppies. As she went outside to see if Santa Clause had come early she realized that her poor little red chicken was running straight for her. Close behind was a stupid, mean, ugly, probably rabid fox. In a mad panic Martha slammed the door and threw her body against it in an attmept to save herself. Oh, wait. I'm getting my stories crossed. Martha ran and got her husband Mike out of bed and said...and I quote..."Ahh! Hep! There is a fox a-runnin' at me. I'm a-gonna die!" Mike, being the manly man that he is ran to her rescue (not really but after much nagging he finally got up out of bed to take a look). In the end, the chicken was saved (we think cause she kind of ran off). The fox had stuff thrown at him and he decided not to push his luck. He would just wait until the next time the pen was left open. Which, will probably be tonight.

THE END

The Infamous Red Scarf

www.mindhunterUSA.com

Photos by Zdenek Vavra (www.sifi.com)

I thought I'd better get this up before Hannah does. Carroll, Hannah, and I went opening night to see "The Chronicles of Narnia". We also met Rich and Lydia. It is now one of my all time favorite movies and will be going to see it at least once more while it's in theaters. No, it isn't identical to "The Lord of the Rings" and the battles scene not quite as spectacular. Nevertheless, I was very impressed by the entire movie...especially the casting. My favorite character was definitely Mr. Tumnus (and he's not Hannah's favorite no matter what she says). The acting was great. Taco Bell after the movie was even better.

P.S-Carroll, you will never escape Children of Dune. Especially now that we know James Mcavoy is in Narnia also.

Pretzels and Mustard

www.kingdom-of-heaven-collection.com

If you haven't seen this movie...go rent it and watch it and then buy it for Rachael. I was seriously skeptical before watching it (yes, eventhough it's Orlando Bloom). Usually movies this size don't end up very well. I think Hannah and I learned from another un-named movie (involving a Trojan horse) that extreme closeups, valiant speeches, and dramatic deaths, absolutely do not make a good run-right-out-and-buy movie. I was completely surprised by this movie, however. Tommy brought it over a few weeks ago and we checked it out. I showed it to my mom later. She loved it too.

Now, it isn't perfect. I'm not ok with some of the scenes and parts could have been left out. The middle half of the movie could be edited out and still watchable. But, I have always wanted to visit the Holy Land and this makes it even harder to not jump a plane. I definitely think the music made the movie. Click here to check out one of the songs. Then click "play entire playlist." It's beautiful.

Well, that concludes my movie review. This is what happens when I'm left unattended at the office...with Twizlers.

Almost The End of the Trail

Whew! That was a close one. Hannah called me in an utter panic last night. I ran to my computer and looked up the trailer of a new movie that comes out in January. As I watched it, I noticed several similarities to our movie "Stainmore" that we (we being Hannah...the dedicated one) are trying to find and agent for. I had a melt down as I tried desparately to think of how this company could have gotten a hold of our script. As I watched it again I began to calm down. I don't think that it is so much like ours that it would completely ruin our chances of ever getting it sold. And the story of this other movie was written forever ago and ours about 2 years ago. But, it definitely was a close call. So, if you watch the movie when it comes out (it's called "Tristan and Isolde") and you think it's good, you will really like our movie...which has more action, fighting, romance, and stuff and I think it would be better. That completes my plug for our movie.

And on a lighter note: Aari kicked me this morning while I was putting on her rain blanket. Not while I was trying to ride her, not while I was giving her shots with the vet, not while I was trying to load her on the trailer, but while I was trying to keep the freezing rain off of her like a good horse owner should. So, John, she's all yours.

For the Cause

WWW.LYONS.CO.UK

Joy, I dedicate this post to you. I remeber the days of staying up really really...uh...really late and working on exams and papers. But, there is hope! The holidays are fastly approaching. Actually, a little too fast. And, according to the group, we will soon be engaged in pool, eating, movies, and a whole lot of hanging out. You and everyone else in the group still in college are in my thoughts today as you all take your horrible exams. Maybe when it's all over we can have a gigantic everybody unwind night.

P.S.-The Enya post rocked! Don't let the rest of the group sway you. They're just jealous that they don't have all of her cds.

The Grand Finale

Cole turned into this yesterday. I don't think he'll ever speak to me again. I couldn't bathe him before the horse show because it was so cold. Without fail it was 900 degrees at the show and he got all sweaty. So, I brushed him like crazy right before my first class. Apparantly this was the wrong thing to do because he bit me. I guess that means leave me alone and get out of my face. Anyways, he did great. Two second place ribbons...eventhough he wouldn't start cantering until he ran into the wall. I don't know what it is about the horse complex show ring wall that gets him so excited but at least once a year he has to plow into it to keep himself happy. That will end the show season for this year...finally. It's time for little Aari to come out of the pasture and become a useful part of society. Oh, and the reenactment thing went well also. I'm missing fingers and toes on account of the sleet but I guess that happens sometimes. And, Carroll and Joy didn't run away screaming. That's a good sign. Step two: making them camp out with us.

Campaign Time

www. cmsgardens.co.uk

So, what did everybody think about the Christmas skit last night? In one brief statement I would like to say:

Carroll For President!
-Right after she gets out of migraine rehab.

When the Rain Comes

"Rain in Sunset" by Picchi Anchise

Reprinted from www.InspirationLine.com

I'm selling Cole for $1. I suffered the driving winds and rain to feed him this morning in the hopes that he had not dumped over ALL of his water. And, sure enough. I had to trudge across the road fill up the buckets, wait for traffic to let me back across, and then give him a lecture on why it's bad to dump over his water during a typhoon. Now, I'm soaking wet and nasty. But, my spirit isn't broken. I want to win that stinkin' free horse on Thursday. I'm not sure where I'd put her. Maybe I'll draw John's name for Christmas and he'll mysteriously get a little Arabian in his pasture. Anyways, if anyone wants to volunteer to feed my horses for the rest of my life, I'll have a sign-up sheet ready on Wednesday.

p.s.-Everybody email me your address. It's Christmas card time!!!!

Just About Right

Happy Thanksgiving to all!! Today was cram-packed with watching Asa see her new home for the first time, getting ready for the family Thanksgiving party tomorrow, and ye ole' farm work. (Farm work includes riding the truck around and putting new bumper stickers on my jeep.) Oh yeah, and fixing the fence. One of my horses somehow snuck under the "dead" part of the electric fence yesterday. In my attempt to run her back under I somehow touched the "live" part of the electric fence. My life flashed before my eyes. No wonder she wouldn't come near it.

Well, I'm off to bed. I have 2 days of non-stop eating to prepare myself for and I want to be well rested. I'll be sure to let ya'll know when the Enya cd comes. If you hear a car drive by your house a bunch of times blasting new age, it's definitely not me.

Paint the Sky with Stars

www.ebudae.ru/pictures/covers.html

I thought I would let all of ya'll know that the new Enya cd is out today. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Ahh, I have to leave work and run right out and buy one!!" Even though this is a good idea it might cause you to get fired. And do you want to tell all your friends that you got fired because of Enya? Not so much. So, just go on Amazon and order your little cd there. You know you want to. You know that when you're alone and no one is watching you pop in that Enya cd and hum along. Quit denying it. And if you don't, you better hope I don't draw your name for buying a Christmas present. You'll treasure that Enya gift box set for the rest of your life. If I don't draw your name, consider yourself luck. Really stinkin' lucky. Ok, later. I have to go order my cd now.

Red, White, and Rachael screwed up her alarm clock this morning...

www.nikkichannel.net/quiz/guffman.html

So, this is what I feel like today. I was supposed to be at work at 8:00 and I set my alarm for 7:40. Now, explain to me how this is going to work. Not sure what I was thinking. I had to get up, get dressed (which includes getting my contacts in and my eye looks like someone punched me....don't know what happened there), feed the cats, feed the fish, find lunch, find breakfast, check the dogs water, let the cat back in because he's too cold, let the cat out because he's warmed up, watch the cat sit on the porch and contemplate if he wants to go off the porch or just sit there incase he gets cold again (this is Ellie of course), feed the horses, and eventually...get to work. Not to mention it's -56 degrees. Oh, and my eye is burning. But, I'm not really complaining. I had a great week. I actually rode my horse twice. And, I saw Joy this morning and we were able to talk. So, I'm good.

Remains of the Day

www.bergoiata.org

We shall name him Francisco. And he shall live in the woods and hunt cows for the rest of his days. And occasionally scare the living crud out of chili eaters and those who ride on hay bales. He shall open gates behind those who are pulled by a tractor and release the foul black beasts to stampede those who cannot run as fast so that he can steal their smores. Two will be chosen to defeat him. They must leave all weapons behind. There is only a small chance of success. Keep them in your thoughts. And if they aren't back by sun up...feed the smart one's horses for her.

Sleeping in Woods With Spiders

Well, we didn't actually "Rally round the Bonnie flag" this weekend (got stuck being Federal) but a good time was had by all. After dodging ginormous spiders and near catching the poofy dresses on fire incidents we finally made it through 2 days of living in the woods. And yes, cheese and salami can sit out on a plate all day on a warm day and not kill you. The highlight of the event was definitely the dance. Poor Tommy, Mike, and Marshall. I hope you have recovered from me and Amory dragging you all over the place. Especially the hour and a half long, 10,000 people Grand March. Anyway, can't wait till next time.

Oh, and Tommy, if you ever play that snare drum at 6:30 in the morning again I'll poke a hole in it.

The Aftermath

So, here's the product of the Halloween party at Hannah's. I was a cross between The Old Man of Wandering Mountain/Gandalf/and the guy from Karate Kid. But, I was obviously no match for Fat Elvis and his velcro stomach and patch-o-chest hair. Tommy wins the award for best dressed and most creative dialogue. If I ever hear another Elvis impression again it'll be too soon. My plan to eat only a few carrots and drink water didn't pan out. I hit that snack table like nobody's business. I'm still waiting for my blood sugar to come down. I hope everybody had a good time and maybe next year everybody will be able to come. I think I'll break out "ye ole giraffe costume" from elementary school.

AHHHHHH!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Now lets all go to Hannah's house and eat some Beaniehalloweenies.