A Weekly Update

Since the drama-rama on Tuesday, things have been busy! I was pretty much down for the count that day and have been playing catch up ever since. Thanks so much for all of the emails, comments and phone calls to check in on me! You are the best!

Wednesday after getting home from riding lessons, I changed out of my barn clothes and picked up Shauna, her mom and a friend from her cancer support group and we headed downtown for a Write Around Portland anthology release and reading. Shauna read one of her amazing poems. She did a wonderful job! She will be on the website as their feature writer soon! Keep checking the site! It was an inspirational night, and it meant the world to me to be there.

Thursday, it was laundry mania and then back to the barn. So relieved that both Memo and Nat are okay after their little spill. They had a good lesson with Janice (whom I just adore and is such a problem solver!). I was asleep on the couch as soon as I sat down last night, and in bed by 9:30. Sheesh! What a party pooper.

Today I am having coffee with my friend Kimberly. It will be so great to see her and get caught up. Nat has pony club tonight. They are trailering up to Far Hills Farm for some more cross country training. Hopefully no more drama or rain.

Saturday we head up to Gig Harbor to see Sam and family for the day. She has graciously let us borrow her pop-up camper for the summer to take to horse shows! What a gal! It will be so great to see them and hang out for awhile.

Sunday Jim will head back out to the Mt. Hood wilderness to help his buddy Tom get ready for their annual Black Dog Dualsport ride. Last weekend, Jim loaded up the motorcycle in hopes of pre-riding with Tom but they were rained out. I hope the sun shines for them this Sunday.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Drama

So I just spent my morning at the allergist getting my monthly allergy shots. Usually I am in and out in 30 minutes. Today I got to spend some quality time there.

I went into anaphalaxis after my shots. Started to cough and not be able to breathe. Major asthma attack. They gave me two puffs on the inhaler. No luck. Then some epinephrine. Hate that. Started to shake but things opened up almost immediately. Still had to do some more inhaler and wait awhile for my vitals to straighten out. They sent me on my way with a package of antihistimines to take every two hours.Ugh.

I'm sitting here, shaking like crazy. Hard to type. Totally sucks. I guess this wasn't as big of a dose as the epipen so hopefully I won't be up for 3 days again like last time. Won't need to have any coffee or tea today.

For some more drama, check this out: this is a video from Saturday when we schooled at Inavale. Midway through the video, there is a segment of Memo and Nat sliding into a jump. They both fell down. It was absolutely terrifying (you can hear me scream and drop the camera), but they were both okay. Could have been so much worse. Memo did her darndest to not fall on Nat. Cross country is not for the faint of heart (me). Didn't phase my little adrenaline junkie though... Nat had a great day.

Happy Birthday, Memo!

Eleven years ago on Memorial Day, dear sweet Memo (Extragold Memory) was born. If only we could have been there.

Memo came into our lives over a year and a half ago. We all just love her to pieces. She has the most loving and sweet ground manners, but she is a fire ball when Nat is riding her. They both have the need for speed!

Natalie and Memo have the most amazing unconditional love for each other. When Natalie comes off of Memo, she always says "Mom, that was my fault... not Memo's." Memo is not an easy ride, and challenges Natalie to be the best she can be. Other horses will be a piece of cake to ride after riding Memo. Natalie loves the challenge.

I am grateful that they have each other. Nat has always wanted this kind of bond with a horse, and now she finally has it.

Happy Birthday, Memo! I will have a big, juicy pear for you when I see you next :)

BTW, gotta love Jim's pics :) What a guy. Thanks, hon.

Happy 40th, Laura!

Laura was one of the first scrapbookers I ever met. Shortly after I met Shauna.

I have been lucky enough to get to know her better the last couple of years. When I was fortunate enough to take the summer off from HOTP for Jim's sabbatical in 2006, I immediately thought of Laura to take my place. She jumped at the chance. Of course, they fell in love with her too, and hired her full time in my absence.

Laura is a great mom of two boys and keeps a frantic schedule. She has the biggest heart of anyone I know. I will never be able to thank her enough for organizing Cropping Out Cancer for Shauna. What an amazing day that was, and the crop raised thousands of dollars for Shauna and her family.

Since I left HOTP to start my own business, I don't get to see her as often as I'd like. She is always checking in with me via email and blog comments and phone calls. We occasionally meet at Noah's for a bagel and good conversation.

Happy birthday to you, Laura! I hope you had a great time on your girl's weekend to Friday Harbor! You deserve it! We will celebrate together when you get home! Love ya!

Think Summer Recipe

Haven't posted a recipe in awhile. This sandwich always reminds me of summer. We have had glimpses of summer here so what the heck... here it goes.

Muffuletta

Olive salad: 

• 2/3 cup pimento-stuffed green 

olives, chopped 

• 2/3 cup pitted ripe olives, 

chopped 

• 2/3 cup chopped celery 

• 1 garlic clove, minced 

• ½ cup Italian salad dressing 

 

Sandwich: 

• 1 large round sourdough bread 

• 8 ounces thinly sliced Genoa 

salami, turkey and ham 

• 4 ounces thinly sliced provolone 

or mozzarella cheese 

For olive salad, combine all ingredients and mix well. 

 

To assemble the sandwich, cut bread in half horizontally.  Remove inside of bread leaving about 1 inch around the crust.  Spread 1 cup of the olive salad over the bottom of the bread.  Cover with overlapping slices of meats and cheese; top with remaining olive salad.  Cover with top half of the bread.  Wrap with foil and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.  If possible, put something heavy (ie. foil covered brick, heavy pan) on top of the sandwich.  To serve, cut into wedges. 

This is so yummy and travels well for picnics (or horse shows!).

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!

 

Kinda cool

Just picked up the June issue of Horse Illustrated. My product is part of their "Gotta Have It" spotlight!  Here is what they said:

Look Laser Sharp

Want to personalize your grooming routine? Custom laser-engraved brushes give you an edge on style. Add your name or the name of a horse or show barn in one of many available fonts. Custom logos can be ordered upon request; several brush types available. A great gift or horse show prize! 

They also listed my phone number and website addy!

This is a national mag. Hoping this is another big push for my biz :)

Let the Laundry Begin

We are home. The piles-o-laundry have been sorted and the suitcases put back in the closet. So good to be back in green Oregon.

What a fun time we had on our trip though. So glad I survived the flights (and the roller coaster!). The pool party was a blast, and the graduation a success. We enjoyed our time with family so much. Feel bad we did not get time to call some old friends, but this weekend was really all about time with family.

Nat is still fighting off some kind of bug... nasty cough and sore throat. She is sneezy too. We are all hiding out at home this afternoon... catching up on work, emails and homework.

Now back to reality. Hope everyone has a good week.

What Happens in Vegas...

Good title, Shauna :)

We are having a great time. Not your typical Vegas vacation, but so nice spending time with family. I suppose I should drop a quarter in a slot machine just to say I did.

The flight was pretty good. Been on worse. Always a little bumpy landing in Vegas.

Thursday night we went to see Phantom of the Opera. Just amazing and wonderful. What talent. We had close-up seats too... third row. We all just had the best time.

Today we will go to a pool party at Jim's brother Jason's house. It is definitely hot here so the water will feel good. God help my pasty white Oregonian skin though... time for lots of sunscreen. It will be cool to see Marie too... to see her little preggy belly :) Little Gracie will be here later this summer. Nat is stoked to finally have a girl cousin.

Nat wants to sneak over to NYNY to ride the roller coaster too.

Tomorrow is Jim's brother Todd's graduation from med school. It will be fun to be back on the campus of UNLV for the ceremony.  What an accomplishment for Todd. We are all looking forward to the party afterwards, and Jim is hoping to set up a family photo shoot. Last time I messed up the family pics by getting sick for Jason and Marie's wedding. Still can't believe I missed the entire wedding. Dang.

I have been walking while I've been here! Yesterday my father-in-law and I walked to the top of a little mountain and hiked around the desert near their home. Kinda hard on my ankles but it was a nice change of scenery. Jim joined us for our walk today... we were out in the desert again and saw a cool horned lizard. Definitely no lizards at the Murrayhill  powerline park, eh Shauna? lol

I'll try to post some pics later on. 

Stay cool.

Updated with video of what Natalie talked me into:

And Away We Go...

I'm sitting at PDX. Gotta love free wifi :)

Just finished dinner at Gustav's. Hoping the buzz from my glass of wine lasts to get me on the plane ;)

Jim and Nat just ran off to look for some magazines.

Looking forward to some R&R for us all.

Hey all you Oregonians... enjoy the heat wave while we are gone. We will have you beat in Vegas though.

xoxoxo

p

Done Deal

All 85 brushes are done and ready to be shipped in the morning. Not without some drama and a few glitches. It all worked out though, and the brushes look marvelous!

We are off to Las Vegas tomorrow night. Here's to smooth, uneventful, on-time flights. I asked the vet to give me some of what she gave Memo today as a sedative for her chiropractic treatment but she didn't have any of the human version ;) Darn. I will just have to settle for a double gin and tonic! lol

Prayers going out to Shauna tonight as she got some bad news. 

Off to finish laundry and pack. Nighty night.

Happy Mother's Day!

Jim and Nat just spoiled me with strawberry and blackberry waffles with bacon. They gave me the cutest artwork off of etsy.com with the most adorable bunnies on them. Just precious. You know how I love bunnies :)

I am so grateful to know so many wonderful moms out there. Jim and I are blessed to have such amazing and kind moms, my sister is a great mom (of 3 boys!), and one of my sister-in-laws (Marie) is expecting her first child (a girl!).

I can't help but think of my Grandma Smith on Mother's Day. She was such a strong influence in my life and I miss her everyday.

And now on to my amazing friends who are moms... where do I start. I am so blessed to know you all.

I am so blessed to be a mother to Natalie. She makes this world a better place each day. I love her dearly and can't imagine life without her. I love being her mom more than anything.

Happiest of days to all of you moms out there. You deserve it! You rock!

Half Way

I'm almost half way done with my big order... I'm getting there :)

Just sent Jim and Nat off to the barn for a lesson.

Nat had a cross country lesson at Pony Club last night. She and Memo did the bank and the ditch first try! No refusals! It was so awesome. She balked at the water the first time, but cantered through it like a pro the second time. Memo might be a cross country girl after all! It sure is exciting!

Back to the garage for me. I have more labels to remove from some brushes, and I'm trying to read a few paragraphs of The Host by Stephenie Meyer in between engraving brushes. Nat wants me to hurry up with the book so she can read it (I need to read it first to see if it is appropriate for her... this author usually does teen books and this is her first geared toward adults).

Hope everyone is having a nice Mother's Day weekend (more on that tomorrow...hopefully).

Thankful Thursday

Had two good phone calls today. My customer from NYC called me... the brush I just sent out to her is for the captain of an Ivy League equestrian team for a graduation gift! Kind of cool! She gave me the idea to do boot polishing brushes, and sent me one to engrave (and more will be coming for party favors for her daughter's birthday!). I hope to find the supplier soon, and add them to the website.

I also got a call from my advertising rep from Horses Illustrated Magazine. She read me the article that spotlights my brushes and business! Be on the lookout for the June issue! I cannot wait to see it!

I just received a shipment of brushes so I'm a busy girl. Still expecting the biggest shipment from California tomorrow (I didn't exactly have 85 brushes in stock!!). I will be a brush making fool until I ship them all out on Wednesday! We leave that evening for Las Vegas to attend Jim's brother's graduation from med school. It will be a much-needed break for us all, and so nice to see family and friends.

I am so thankful that my business is taking off. What a huge blessing.

Good Friends, Good Times and Good Horses

Not much time for a long post, but we just had the best weekend. We are completely exhausted, but it was so worth it.

The Rating Prep Clinic was great... very organized, quality instructors, nice facilities. I was very impressed.

Diana hauled all three of the chestnut horses... they were so cute all lined up.

Natalie, Cassie and Madie all did a GREAT job on their horses. I am so proud of them. They just had an awesome time together... they have all gotten so close.

Diana and Lori had me laughing until I was crying with all of their great stories. It was just what I needed.

We all worked so hard... nothing about traveling with horses is easy. Thank goodness we all worked as a team and made the load lighter.

The best part of the trip was the Memo girl. She was so calm and relaxed for the most part. This is a huge step in the right direction. Natalie was so proud of her horse. They were able to work through a few rough spots, and made huge progress. So proud of my girls :) I know I give Memo a bad wrap sometimes... but this weekend really made me realize that she is such an energetic, powerful, athletic horse. She and Natalie have so much potential and it will just take time for them to get where they want to be. It will definitely happen.

It should be a fabulous horsey summer ahead. Can't wait!

Have a good week everyone. I'll be out in my garage making brushes if you can't find me!!

Yahoooooo!

I just got the sale on the bulk order I told you about! I'm over the moon with excitement! 85 brushes! My biggest sale yet.

They will all have a custom logo on them that looks so cool! They are for a quarter horse show on Memorial Day weekend so the turn around is really, really quick! Guess I know what I will be doing next week!!

Keep your fingers crossed that this bulk order thing will become a trend for me!! I don't want to have to go find another job ;)

Off to start our crazy horsey weekend!

xoxo

p