REFRESHING

So I started a new job a few weeks ago.... and I love it. I am working in Madras at Edward Jones with Annette Vardanega and she rocks :o) We are busy and the days fly! There is always something to do... which is unlike my last job. The days were passed mainly by playing on the internet all day and being stuck there in case someone decided to either call or drop in. Sooo... it has been quite an adjustment on my "Personal Time" at work.... I am getting used to the fact that the Investment Industry is a highly regulated industry so every little thing I do on the computer is monitored in St. Louis, so therefor all my daytime facebooking comes from my wonderful Morotola Q9C cell phone :o) and I do not send personal e-mail on it... also props to my Motorola Smartphone :o) But... sending messages and writing on my cell phone takes longer... They do not prohibit me from personal use on the computers... I am just not sure that I want someone in a different state seeing every aspect of my life.... Ha ha... and now I having to make time to balance my checkbook at home! Yikes!

Well, That's about all I have to report.

Ok....

How many of you out there are really eading my blog??? I don't want to be posting for my own entertainment? Am I just not that exciting???

OK GRANNY THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!

Last week we had our last Calf N Can. We have been doing a barrel racing, breakaway roping series out at the house and below are some of the photos from the awards.

SUMMER

I can't believe another summer is coming to an end! Where on earth do the summers go??? Last weekend we were going to go to the lake... and it just wasn't hot enough. Instead we went to Bend and when we drove by the bank it said it was only 78 degrees... Brrr... For August anyway!!! Maybe we will get to escape to the lake for a day during the Memorial Day weekend... COME ON HEAT!!! This can't be the end! We should have a whole nother month!

This weekend we are headed to Seattle to visit the Waller's. We are really looking forward to it. We went last June and had such a great time! Saturday night we are going to watch a Mariner's game. Jaime got box tickets! This will be Stet and I's first Pro game :o)

I guess that is all I have to report for now...

Over and out...

OREGON JAM

The Oregon Jamboree was last weekend and it was a great time as always. We have been going since 2002!!! It was hot so in between performances we went to Green Peter Dam to swim.



Here are a few of the Artists that we enjoyed...

Tim McGraw...


Phil Vasser...


Leann Rymes...



Kristy Lee Cook...


Mel Tillis...

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY....

WHOOP, WHOOP!!!

We went to the Lake to celebrate, Here's a few photos.

RANDOM

OK, I have access to a few photos at the moment... Here is my new saddle that I won at COBRA, a winter series :o) I LOVE IT!!! Good job Cuda.... Even though SmoJo gets to wear it...
And here's my BUZZ....

and Stetson's "Red Dog" aka Puppies, Ginger or Snapper but mostly know as Red Dog....

Here's a snap shot of our inherrited dog, Chewy...

And there's me... Just so you all know I am still alive :o)

P90X

I keep hearing about it... I am thinking I may have to give it a try... I will have to start a piggybank so I can afford it...

Anyone else have input... Anyone else out there tried it???

BACK HOME... FOR NOW...

We made it home from Crescent City last weekend. It was a good trip. Stetson's grandparents from Southern California were visiting so we thought we better make the 6 hour trip opposed to the 20+ hour trip it would be to go to their house in Hemet. We got some good visiting in. We left at noon Friday to put us there in time for dinner then headed home on Sunday Morning and guess what... We get to turn around and go back this coming weekend. One of Stetson's friends is getting married so we will be burning up the road once again.

NEW CRITTERS FOR THE FISH TANK

Last night we went over to Danny and Jennifers. Danny went and got an entire ice chest FULL of crawdads for dinner. We snagged 5 lucky crawdads for our fish tank so we will try and keep these ones alive. I must have ate at least 35 crawdads.... There is so little meat and so much waste, I actually feel a little guilty about eating them!!! There were a few cousins in town so we got to do a bit of visiting.

Tonight I am headed home to plant some flowers. I have a flower bed that is bare and it needs some color. Stetson and I went and bought a few flowers for it yesterday. Trying to find flowers for a shaded area, was about a joke but we managed to find a few less attractive ones... Then after planting some flowers I am making dinner for everyone....

I guess that is about all there is to report...

Grumble Grumble

Wow, it feels like I just keep getting hit with things and my frusteration level is peaking!!! This has just not been a good year...

I am going to have to give it some pretty good thought to think of something positive....

One positive would be that we will be paying much less to Uncle Sam this year, since our expenses are through the roof and our income is not near what is generaly is... WHEN is this economy going to pick up!?!?!?!? Why is it that Stetson and I's occupations both have to be tied to housing :o( Maybe I should switch fields... become a vet or something... then I would not have had to write a $500 check on Monday to hear, "lay her off for six months" granted he did do an ultrasound and inject fluid into her tendon.... But OUCH! Thats just after spending $600 on my other horse. Have I mentioned that it has been almost 10 years since I have had a vet bill!?!?!? I generally have sound horses and then WHAM!

I went for a run yesterday and went spinning today. I think my broken toes are finally healed to a point where they do not begin throbbing about half way through. I am running a 10k July 11th, so I have to get serious, therwise you can peel me off the road somewhere between the start and finish line, because I am pretty sure I am going to die... I am going to run 2 or 3 times a week until then and start increasing my distance. I only ran 2.5 miles yesterday....

Here's some new photos of Cody. Stetson has been spending a lot of time with her.

I hope everyone is having a day better than mine...

MONDAY....

I can't say I am a big Monday fan...

Here I am back at work. After a hecktic week last week. Today is off to a much more mellow start.

The weekend was great. Super low key.

I got my horses rode Friday, Saturday and Sunday... that is quite an accomplishment lately. My little one is now lame. I NEVER have vet bills and Cuda just cost me $600+ dollars to get him all fixed and now Jube is Lame.... Sooo... Stetson hauled her over to the Vet for me this morning and I am going to have to take her back next Monday for an ultrasound but he thinks she may have tore a tendon..... YUCK!!!! We will wait and see how much this is going to cost me, not to mention the down time she is going to need to heal.... Super Crappy Deal!!!!

Friday night we had plans to go to the Sister's Rodeo but it was downpouring so we decided against it. Instead we hit up the Bad Monkey Pub and Grub for dinner. Since we had planned to go to the rodeo, I had neglected to take anything out for dinner. Dad went with us since mom was out of town and he was not wanting to cook.

We decided on Saturday to turn our fishtank Koi into the pond. 1. They are HUGE!!! 2. They keep picking on the crawdad and eating all his food. So we took then to the pond and turned them loose... I will report back on how that turns out... We went back to the house to discover our Crawdad had kicked the bucket!?!?!? Stetson decided to clean the tank and found him in the ship... If we would have known that we would not have turned the Koi out, we were doing him a favor. We had both seen him the past evening, what the heck... So now our tank sits empty...

We went to the Sister's Rodeo on Saturday night and got to socialize with some friends and watch a good rodeo. It started to rain, but only lightly sprinkled for like ten minutes... WHEW! I guess that was my ounce of good luck for the month...

Sunday we went to Bend and ran some much needed errands. I also got my house picked up *Note: Not cleaned, just picked up* Made some Chicken Casserole for Dinner and Watched the Playoff game that ended horribly.

Here's a new picture of Cody, the new addition... She sure is cute, and so much personality!
Smo and Jube were a little jealous that the little one seems to be getting all the attention...



This weekend seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye. It seems like all the weekends are passing like that... They need to slow down so we can enjoy our summer.

SEE LAST POST :o)

In continuation to my last post we named her Cody.

NEW BABY AROUND THE HOUSE...

...and she is so darn cute!!!

HEAT

The sun has finally arrived and I hope it is here to stay. I worked diligently on my tan over the weekend. It worked pretty effectively :O) I am going for a run outside today (also an effort to brown myself) Myself and one of my coworkers are going to go for a jog (Yes a little motivator).

Tonight a bunch of girls are coming out to the house to ride. Calf and Can, the series we started last year, Starts next Wednesday so a bunch of girls wanted to come and get in the arena before the first jackpot. I am hoping to have my horse back to 100% by then. I am not sure if I mentioned but he has been lame for almost 9 weeks now! He hurt his foot and I turned him out for almost 6 weeks, in an effort to avoid having to pay vet bills and I also did not need him until June... well after 6 weeks I finally took him in. After a chiropractic session, X-rays and steroid injections... AND over $600in vet bills... I think he is cured... but I will know for sure when I ride him tonight... Well, I will know tomorrow anyway.

Tomorrow evening a baby shower, the following evening an awards banquet, The a B-Day BBQ... wow... NO PLANS NEXT WEEK! I must have some down time... soon, very soon.

Well, Everyone have a wonderful time in the much needed sunshine.

He will be truely missed

Well, here I am back at work, trying to get back in the groove.

Last Monday we got a phone call and we traveled to CA for a family emergency. We returned Saturday and I must say it is nice to be home! Last week was a long and sad week. Stetson's father passed away Monday Morning. We spent all last week in CA helping make arrangements and we were so blessed with family. Tuesday Stetson's grandparents flew in and that was really helpful then all 10 of Cody's Brother's and Sister's made the trip and it really helped to pick everyone up. The service was amazing!

Just to Amaze you all....

Here I am again, 2 days in a row. Just to shock you all :o)

So far today we have not gotten any rain, YAHOOOO! But it's not like the Sun is shining either. But no rain is a step in the right direction.

I am headed over to my cousin's tonight for Cinco De Mayo dinner. Should be good company :o)

Well, that's the update for today.

Hope you are all having a wonderful day!

I'm still alive and kickin'

Yes, Yes, here I am... a month after my last post... So horrible, I know!!! Granny keeps reminding me how long it has been since I last posted. She seems to be the one that is saddened by my absence.

The new job is busier than the last so I do not have near as much time for updating... I guess that is good if it translates to me keeping a job permanently rather than temporarily like originally thought! Getting photos uploaded seems to be a real trick with my new lack of time. Not to mention, I have not been taking many photos. I need to work on that.

Hmm... what is new, Stetson has been working off and on.

It has been raining for like a week straight and it is getting really old! The weather man is not giving us any hope that the sun will come anytime soon.

I think that is about all to report.

PHOTOS!!!

OK, finally! Here are some photos of the last two trips to the mountain! I bet you all thought I would never get pictures uploaded...

WHEN....

When is this crumby economy going to pick up??? It feels like NEVER.

Well, nothing to report these days. I am still working at the Title Company, First Oregon Title and that is going well. I can now say I actually feel like I know what I am doing :o)

Stetson is not working right now. The construction world has slowed a lot around here. He's been making phone calls and keeping himself busy at home until some work comes along.

Two of my Three horses are currently lame, which leaves me with only one to ride. Jube, I have between 30 and 40 rides on her now. COBRA is this Sunday and I am not POSITIVE what I am going to ride... I think Kristina may lend me a pony???

WHY

Hello Everyone,

Well.... not a whole lot to report.... I have spent my last few days wondering why.... Why I accidentally dumped flour all over my kitchen in an attempt to cook, why my dog threw up ALL over the floor, why my Internet at home seems to fritz out when I am ALMOST done doing something and ABOUT to hit the submit button, why my favorite TV channel has seemed to have disappeared and why the heck the weather guy keeps delaying our 50 degree day that is supposedly coming... Ahhh... The joys of life :o)

ANOTHER GOOD WEEKEND...

I spent this weekend with my ponies. Saturday was COBRA (Central Oregon Barrel Racing Assoc) and then Sunday I went and dinked around for a bit at Madras Saddle Club. I took Jube, it was her very first trip to town and her 23rd ride. She did good. She had the case of "Big Eyes" but she maintained herself really well :o)

Friday night we had some friends over for dinner. I made Elk Parmesan and we played the Wii... Saturday after COBRA my cousin and his wife came over and we finished off the leftover elk parmesan and again... played the Wii... and last night, We played the Wii, minus the elk parmesan and plus shrimp, corn and red potatoes :o) You would think I am all Wii'ed out but I'm not!!!

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE...

Well, the new job is good. I really like it and it is refreshing to learn new things :o) The schedule is flexible as long as someone is here which is a nice change of pace from my last office. If I needed to be gone it was a total hassle and revolved around everyone elses schedules...

Last weekend we went to the Mountain and it was super nice. We snowboarded all over the mountain and I was sore for like 3 days!!! Right off the bat I had a nice little wreck and did like 3 cartwheels down the mountain... But I got back up and off we went...

Well, I guess that is all the new for now.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

WORK IS GOOD....

So I started work on Tuesday and so far so good! Just thought I would update everyone :o) Headed home to rope tonight. Yahoo.

ONE MORE DAY...

I start work tomorrow.... So much to cram into today...

JUBE

Here are a few photos of me riding Jube. This is the 5th time I have been on her. I now have nine rides on her :o) I thought she was going to be diffucult, but she has been so easy!!!! Whew!

A DAY IN PORTLAND

Yesterday, Mom, Kristina and I went to Portland to do some shopping. It was a blast. We left Madras at 7 am yesterday morning and did not make it home until Midnight!!! We met up with Janice (a good friend of mom's) and she drove us around to all the hot spots :o) We headed to the Olive Garden for lunch. I was pulling for Red Lobster, but there was not one in the area (Bummer). For an all day shopping trip it sure seemed like we did not see much. We never left Clackamas, all day! Wow I wish I had like three days to shop! I came home to access the pocketbook damages, but really it was not bad at all! I am ready to go back! :o)

This week has warmed up a bit and I am loving it. It is in the 40's. Warm enough to get by with just a sweatshirt outside :o) I am liking it.

Well... back to cleaning the house, then to the barn to ride the horses!

BRRRR.....

It is COLDDDD outside!

I spent my afternoon in the barn getting all my horses rode. I have been riding outside the past week or so, but today was feeling a bit brisk to venture outdoors so I played it safe in the barn. Afterward, I was headed back for the house (short distance, 40+/- yards?). It was so cold I decided to run to shorten the torture... Bad idea. My joints ached and my legs did not even feel like they were functioning! Yikes! BRISK IS RIGHT!

I can't wait for the next 95 to 105 degree day! I miss summer and we are only half way through with winter.....

BURNING TIME

Well, I am sitting here waiting for it to get light outside so I can go for a run. I have been running on my treadmill and I am in need of a scenery change... That or I need to place a TV in front of my treadmill!?! So tick, tock, tick, tock.... til the sun pops up.

Yesterday I went into First Oregon Title in Madras and got some details worked out. My cousin and friends work there and Stacey (the cousin) is due March 3rd and they need someone to cover for her while she is gone. So I am going to go in February and will be there a few months, maybe longer if the economy would pick up (ha ha, right!?!?) I am not holding my breath. It will be nice to get some Title and Escrow experience, it will go well with my 7 1/2 years of real estate experience... Then if I could get some experience in a lending office.. that would really broaden my capabilities :o)

ALMOST LIGHT OUT... I had better go get ready :o)

CUDA

What a handsome boy! :o)

DORK

So today is my last day of work... and I forgot my purse. I had errands to run... not anymore! Plus I have lunch plans and I had to call her and tell her I am a total dork and left the house naked... So she said she was buying... This is the first time in like 8 years I have went somewhere and forgot my purse! I remembered my phone, and laptop... but no purse for me today! Good thing I got gas last night, my gas light was on and I would not have been able to make it home if I hadn't! (I'll count that as good news???)

GOOD AFTERNOON

I just ate lunch at the Bagel Market here in Prineville, and they have the BEST bagel sandwiches! I had a Turkey Swiss with avocado and cucumber, YUM!

So Stetson called me from work yesterday and one of the Masons on his job site backed into our Dodge Dakota... It was not bad at all (so we thought) Stetson got a quote last night and it was $1500 and I got a quote this morning for $1800!!! Good thing the rig that backed into has insurance!!! So, if you visit our house right now, two of the three cars out front have dents. Grrr... I still have not fixed my car from hitting a deer in December... and now this... We decided not to turn the car into Insurance since our deductible is $500 and the parts to fix it come to about that. So we are going to just start picking the parts up and Stetson is planning to fix it... someday...

If you are wondering why I have been slacking at blogging... this is why... there never seems to be any good news to report (Since December started anyway)... It's always just bad, so I generally opt not to report on all of our dilemmas and my frusterations! :o)

HO HUM....

So after almost 3 years working with Brooks Resources Realty.... I am sad to say I have been layed off :o( I will be working til Friday and then they are paying me for a month that I do not have to work to give me time to find a new job. They assured me if they started picking up and the economy turns around they will give me a call... but for know... who knows??? I hate having to look for employment...