It's Thursday Already???!!

How did that happen? So much to do, so little time.

Up at 6:30AM. In a weird sleeping pattern right now. Or should I call it "lack of sleep" pattern. Made a batch of chocolate chip scones. Just got rolling on my first brush of the day. Made two last night after final artwork was approved. Only 117 to go ;)

Will make brushes this morning. Dropping Nat off at the barn for the afternoon, then going on a play date with Shauna. We are going to spend three glorious hours at Life's a Scrapbook in Sherwood. When I told her that it will be good for me to not do something horse-related, she reminded me that I will be working on Nat's HORSE album ;) Funny. Very funny. Oh well. At least it won't make me sneeze and make my eyes water ;)

Tonight we are having a family play date. Dinner and a movie. Jim is excited to see Long Way Down . Motorcycle movie, of course ;) It is playing one night only. We watched the first series "Long Way Round", and this movie is a prelude to their next TV series. Ewan McGregor and a friend of his are in it. Funny guys. This trip they are taking their motorcycles down Africa. An amazing adventure, I'm sure.

Yesterday, Nat had a great lesson on Memo. She seemed back to her old self again. In the afternoon, we went to the Beaverton Farmer's Market. Picked up broccoli, leeks, watermelon, tomatoes, basil, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. LOVE this time of year. We ate berries all the way home... until we both had stomach aches. So worth it though!!

Bon Voyage going out to Heidi and Jim as they head off to Maui today! And also to the Guinn's as they fly to San Diego for a baseball tournament. Have fun you guys! 

CSA: Week 6

In our box this week we have lettuce, fresh beans, cucumbers, summer squash, blueberries, Candy onions, and new red potatoes.

LOVING the new red potatoes. A couple of nights ago I made these. They were to die for and I cannot wait to make them again. Seriously good stuff.

Tonight we are having muffuletta sandwiches and potato leek soup. Here is the recipe from our CSA for the soup:

Leek and Potato Soup

3 tablespoons butter
3 leeks, thinly sliced
1 medium or large onion, chopped
6 - 8 red potatoes, thinly sliced (no need to peel)
3 1/2 cups chicken broth (or enough to barely cover potatoes)
1 cup heavy cream
salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste

1) Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat then add onions and leeks. Cook, stirring, until onions are limp and just slightly brown.

2) Add sliced potatoes to saucepan then pour in enough chicken broth to just barely cover the potatoes. Continue cooking over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Using a potato masher, mash and stir potatoes until desired consistency is reached. As you mash the potatoes and the soup thickens, turn down heat and stir frequently with a large spoon to prevent scorching on the bottom.

3) Add one cup of heavy cream (or more if you desire) and salt and black pepper to taste. Cook 15 minutes more over low heat, stirring frequently, then remove from heat and serve .

I'll let you know how it is! We actually have rain today, so having soup is going to hit the spot.

I received a huge shipment of brushes today! Natalie and I made a huge dent in taking labels off of them. What a sticky, messy job. I was so thankful to have her help. Just waiting on final artwork, then I will be a busy brush-making momma ;)

Nat rode Memo today. She was really in "a mood". Maybe she doesn't like this weather we are having. Nat stayed at the barn and pulled her mane while I ran some errands. Memo enjoys her "spa treatments" so hopefully she will be in a better frame of mind for tomorrow's lesson.

Off to make soup...

Maybe I won't have to get another job...

Things have been picking up for my business again... whew... what a relief. I've been getting pretty nervous with this economy, thinking that I should get a job again. I have applied for a couple of jobs with the Beaverton School District as I would like to be on the same schedule as Natalie. So far, no bites though. But everything happens for a reason, right?

I'm working on my biggest order yet... over 100 brushes for a big Arabian show in August. Just finalizing all of the details. It is for the local club that Natalie belongs to... Arabians in Motion. I'm so thrilled that they want to use my brushes as their first place awards for their upcoming Sport Horse Classic! We are working out a custom design that will be so nice. It will be a lot of work, but I can't wait to get started.

I've also had to deal with the headaches of a small business this morning. One of my clients from back east was trying to place an order on Friday while the credit card company's server was down. Her account was charged 9 times! Of course, I was mortified. I guess only one of the charges came though on our end, but her bank placed a "hold" on her account for each time she tried to get it to go through (kept getting error messages). I guess the holds will be dropped eventually, but what a hassle when it is almost time for rent to be paid!! She has been a pleasure to work with, and I hope it all works out in her favor.

Keeping my fingers crossed that this big order will be the start of good things to come for my business. I really need this to work. I love the flexibility of working from home... it really works best for my family. But I will do what I need to do to help support our daughter's crazy horse habit ;)

Have a great week everyone!

She did it!

Nat is officially a C1 pony clubber. Toby was a good boy. I thought they did a really great job.

Her friends Cassie and Madi passed their D3's as well.

What a relief. It's over. Until next year.

I'm bone tired. Got about 1 hour of sleep right before I had to get up at 5:00AM. Nat is exhausted as well.

Jim just went to pick up Chinese food for dinner. Just opened a bottle of wine. I'm showered and in sweats.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to not get out of my PJ's. That never happens though ;)

Way to go, girls! So proud of you! You really showed perseverance and determination. You rock! Your moms rock too :)

Sad News

From the CNN Website:

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose "last lecture" about facing terminal cancer became an Internet sensation and a best-selling book, has died. He was 47.

University spokeswoman Anne Watzman says Pausch died early Friday at his home in Virginia.

Pausch was diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer in September 2006. His popular last lecture at Carnegie Mellon in September 2007 garnered international attention and was viewed by millions on the Internet.

In it, Pausch celebrated living the life he had always dreamed of instead of concentrating on impending death.

The book "The Last Lecture, " written with Jeffrey Zaslow, topped best-seller lists after its publication in April.

What a sad way to start my Friday morning. What an inspiring guy. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones. We should all live our lives the way Randy did. No regrets. Leave nothing unsaid. Shoot for the stars. Cherish our families. Have fun while you can. Don't worry about the small stuff... and it is all small stuff. Heaven definitely has a new angel.

Tomorrow is Natalie's rating retest. We will be up before 5:00AM to get ready. Keep your fingers crossed!

Have a great weekend, everyone.

CSA Box: Week 5

The summer is just flying by! Here is the box for this week: lettuce, pea pods, sweet onions, new red potatoes, blueberries, blackberries, cucumbers, leeks, and possibly, a surprise.

What could the surprise be?? Raspberries? Fresh basil? Tomatoes? Corn? Can't wait! For me, the potatoes and blackberries are really awesome. All of it sounds so good!! I have a zillion recipes that call for leeks but I have never tried them. I guess that will be our adventure for the week. Anyone have a good leek recipe?

Can't wait for a fresh cuke! Just in time to make our favorite Greek salad. First I cut up the cuke (usually peeled), a tomato, some green onions (will probably sub one of those candy onions) and sometimes a bell pepper. Drizzle with some olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and toss together. Throw some kalamata olives and feta cheese on top. Yum!

The berries never last long around here. We go through them like crazy. Maybe today would be a good day to pick berries! It is overcast right now, and it is a non-barn day. Hmmm. Tempting to wake up the sleeping teenager to do that ;) I think Nat wants to see the movie Get Smart though. Maybe we will have time to do both. We want to sneak to the book store and reserve copies of Breaking Dawn and Brisingr. Hopefully we can meet Shauna for a coffee there too :)

So glad to have a break from the barn today. We will be living up there the rest of the week. Nat is still preparing for her rating retest, and will be working at the barn on Thursday and Friday.

For any of you dressage enthusiasts, check out Dressage at DevonWood this weekend. The musical freestyles will be Saturday night. I hope we get back from the rating in time to go. Janice and some other ladies from our barn will be showing too. This is one of the biggest shows of the year... last year there were Olympic riders there. Pretty darn cool.

Random Blathering

Today, I woke up and made blueberry pancakes and bacon. Can't get enough of the local blueberries lately. I usually use the Snoqualmie Lodge mix. Luckily, we can get it at our local supermarkets. Usually, I doctor it up by adding a little bit of vanilla.

After Jim and Nat left for the barn, I met Shauna and Kaelin for a quick coffee at Borders. They were off to an early showing of the new Batman movie. So fun to visit :) I hit Trader Joe's afterwards. Shauna had given me a new Trader Joe's cookbook, so I needed to get a few things to try some new recipes!! I don't get there as often as during the school year since it is so close to Nat's school.

This afternoon I was a veggie-cleaning-chopping-roasting-machine. I shelled peas, roasted beets, washed leaf lettuce, and chopped a bunch of veggies for tonight's stir-fry dish. Decided that I NEED a salad spinner! Picked up Shauna and went to Linens and Things and found a great one and was able to use a coupon from the newspaper. So nice to have a shopping buddy :) Thanks for riding shotgun, Shauna! I still cannot believe I did not have one of these since I am the kitchen gadget queen ;)

Jim and Nat are off seeing the new Hell Boy movie... quality flick I'm sure ;) I was fine skipping that one. We did go see Wall-E last night... really cute.

This was my first non-horse day that I can remember. It was a much needed break... next week will be back to our crazy barn schedule.

Have a good week everyone!

The Campers Return

We had a GREAT time! Memo was such a good girl!! She loves being a trail pony, and seemed very content to stand in her corral looking out in the forest. Luckily, she was next to her "boyfriend" Georgio in the corrals. They make a cute chestnut couple.

When Nat was not in the saddle, she was playing games or laughing with her friends. What a great bunch of gals. They get along so well and didn't want the trip to end.

The park was awesome... very clean, spacious, lots of trees... and miles of horse trails. The girls would be gone for hours at a time. So glad that everyone stayed safe and had a good time.

I had a nice time hanging out with my friends too... we all ate too much!! The diet will start tomorrow ;) Lots of good stories and laughing until we cried. We didn't get a lot of sleep though... the first night a huge wind storm felt like it would blow us away into the trees!! The horses were pretty wound up... we could hear them kicking, playing around, and nickering to each other. The second night, a pack of coyotes were howling and yelping!! Kinda scary, but they passed and didn't seem to disturb the horses at all.

We got a good start on getting things cleaned up and put away, but there is so much more to do. Nat and I are pretty worn out, but it was worth it. Can't wait until our next trip!!

Exciting news here... our new niece should be here any minute. Jim's brother Jason and his wife Marie are expecting their first child. They are at the hospital and have been since 7:00AM. Grace Olivia Dukes is being a stubborn little girl and taking her time coming into this world. Can't wait to meet her! Nat is thrilled to finally have a girl cousin :)

We spent this evening down in Wilsonville having dinner with my family and saying "bon voyage" to Drew as he heads back to Colorado to college. We will miss having him around, but are so thrilled that he has this opportunity. He will have a few weeks before school starts to start training and getting acclimated to the altitude again before cross country officially starts. Go get 'em, Drew!!

Horse Camping

Nat, Memo and I are heading out tomorrow to go horse camping with friends at Stub Stewart State Park. They have horse corrals right next to the campsites! The girls and some of the moms will be doing trail rides. I will be sitting on my butt in a chair reading books and probably drinking wine ;) Maybe if I get ambitious, I will do a bit of hiking on the trails.

Luckily, the weather is supposed to cool off with highs in the 70's... just perfect. They also have bathrooms and showers! Alleluia! Rustic camping is not really my thing ;)

I'm planning on cooking up a storm. Have to take care of my horsey friends that always haul Memo for us. I will make campfire nachos with all the fixin's for dinner one night. Hot dogs, chips and watermelon for lunch. Blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs for breakfast. I'm hoping to make some cookies tonight if I get an extra minute. We have plenty of junk food around! I put one of those margarita buckets in the freezer too... hope it stays frozen until we get there!!

Looking forward to some R&R. Will be so great to hang with friends, sleep in, read, have good conversation and laughs. Memo will be with friends too! She loves to trail ride, and is always thrilled to see deer. What a funny girl she is.

Have a good week! I'll post about our adventure when I get home on Thursday.

Don't mess with mama, llama!

Had a pretty funny experience yesterday. My friend Diana and I were llama wranglers ;) Not everyday that you get to do that!! We both decided that it would make for excellent dinner conversation, and were lamenting that we didn't have it all on video to win some serious bucks on "America's Funniest Home Videos".

We drove up to Diana's to ride Toby. Diana was off of Jack, who she had been riding. He spooked and bucked when a neighbor's llama broke through a fence into Diana's pasture next to the arena. Nat took Jack, and also got Toby ready to ride. Diana and I headed to the pasture to deal with the llama.

Diana was in riding clothes. I was in capri sweats and sneakers. At least I didn't have flip flops on! We were both running through the pasture, trying to herd the llama over towards the opening in the fence. Boy was he a stubborn thing! We were so afraid that he would charge and run over us... or maybe spit at us! He was pretty darn aggressive. Finally, we decided to grab one of the horse's lead ropes and get it attached to the llama's halter. No small feat! Diana did it though! She is one tough mama! Not only did it take about 20 minutes to get to this point, it took us another 20 minutes to lead the stupid llama back to the hole in the fence! Diana was pulling on the lead rope... I was smacking it in the legs and butt with a big stick. The llama had so much hair/fur that it didn't feel a thing!! Once we dragged it to the opening, we discovered that we needed to cut down the fence so the llama would not get stuck in the wire. Diana left to get wire cutters and left me with the lead rope and the stick! Yikes! By this time, the llama was pretty stunned and just stood there. I thought for sure he would spit on me!! Diana was able to cut though the fence, and I led the llama back to his home.

My legs got pretty cut up after getting tangled up in some berry vines. Allergies were pretty sucky last night from running through the tall grass. But all in all, it was a pretty funny experience!! Diana and I will be talking about being llama wranglers for years to come :)

Today we are off to meet Shauna for coffee and grab a book for Nat. After that we will head to the barn to take care of Memo... she had a chiro treatment and was really out of whack. Remember that fall out at Inavale? It really messed her up! No wonder she has been in a bad mood!! She was in pain. I feel horrible... once again she was trying to tell us something and we were not smart enough to understand. Will I ever be a good horse owner??? Anyway, we have to do "treat stretches", give her some horsey tylenol stuff (butte), and Nat will have to hand walk her for 30 minutes. Memo will be getting a 5 day vacation... she should be good to go next week... for horse camping. More on that later!!

This evening we are heading to Gig Harbor to see Sam and family. It will be a quick trip, but I can't wait. I really love it up there, and it will be so good to spend time with the Guinn's :)

CSA: week 4

This week our box will have: lettuce, rhubarb, summer squash, pea pods, cauliflower, and Bing cherries. 

Love cherries!! They are one of my favorites. I'm sure they will be gone tonight ;) Still have rhubarb coming out of my ears. Need to work on using more of that. Looking forward to the summer squash. Nat was excited at the prospect of more pea pods. The lettuce keeps getting better and better each week. Such a treat to have a yummy salad with each meal.

Today Nat tried riding a friend's pony... Toby is a cutey. He was so good for Nat. I think he will be perfect for the re-test rating. A huge thanks going out to my friend Diana for letting us "borrow" him :) 

Nat worked at the barn this afternoon. She always enjoys hanging with her friend Sarah, and it sounds like they accomplished a lot! Way to go, girls.

I got allergy shots. Oh, joy. Good news though... I didn't die and I didn't need an epi pen ;) My dose was reduced and it went just peachy. Glad to have that over with for a month.

Jim's parents left this morning. It was sad to see them go. We really enjoyed our time with them. They really got to experience our crazy lives. It was fun having Izzi along at the barn and at the beach. She is so adorable and so sweet. Memo loved her :)

What a Day

Nat did her C1 rating for Pony Club today. There were good and bad things about the day.

Nat ended up getting three "exceeding standards" on her record book, formal inspection, and oral presentation on lameness. What a tough thing to do at the C level.

Memo was her usual spazzy self. She got in the arena and thought she was doing an upper level jumper show. She went whizzing through the jumps like the crazy chestnut mare that she is.

Unfortunately, Nat did not pass her C1 rating. She was in a tough spot. I talked to the examiners after the test, and convinced them to let her re-test at the end of the month as long as she rode a different horse. They all said that she was an amazing rider, but on Memo she was unable to perform the "C1 standards" that they wanted to see. They also told me that if she had ridden the "C1 Standards" that she probably would have been thrown from her horse.... that she did what she needed to do to ride her powerful horse. How she has to ride her horse and C1 standards do not mesh. Total bummer.

The other girls from our club testing for their D3 ratings did not pass either :( Only 2 girls passed all day... one from D3 and one from C1. Tough day for all.

We are completely exhausted. Up at 4:30AM after being up most of the night from the fireworks. 

I just finished half a bottle of wine. Feeling very frustrated. We love Memo but she is such a wild card. Ugh. Now to the task of finding another horse to ride ASAP... no clue.

Wowser!

Last night we awoke to two amazing thunder and lightning storms! That does not happen very often here in Oregon. I felt like I was back in the midwest... but I didn't get up and rush to the basement with fear of an oncoming tornado ;) No basements and no tornadoes in Oregon :)

The house just shook from the thunder, and the lightning was so bright even through the closed blinds. Even Nat, "Miss I Slept Through An Earthquake", woke up!! 

We are all moving pretty darn slow today. Nat is still in bed. I'm needing a second cup of tea or maybe even something stronger. Might have to fire up the espresso machine ;)

Have some last minute stuff to do before having company today. We are off to the barn for a lesson with Janice later on. Nat is on the home stretch with her rating stuff... record book done.... prep guide done.... tall boots polished and sparkly. Tomorrow we will be giving Memo a bath and cleaning and packing up tack and equipment. Thanks to Elise for coming over for dinner and helping Nat finish up studying.

Have to tell you about the cool thing that happened to us yesterday. A nice young lady rang our doorbell. She brought us a loaf of homemade Honey Wheat Bread from a new bakery that opened down the street! Still warm!! Nat and I couldn't resist having a slice with some of our homemade jam. What a great marketing thing to do!! I will definitely be going there. Love that it is just down the street and they use all normal ingredients. No icky additives. Just like I bake when I have the time.

Good News!!

I went along to Shauna's oncologist appt. today where she got some good news! I was so thrilled to be there with her!!

So thrilled for you, Shauna! Thanks for letting me be there today. Really meant the world to me!! Love ya!!

Happy Tuesday

It is CSA day. I probably won't post a pic since things are so busy around here. But here is the contents of our box today: lettuce, cabbage, rhubarb, strawberries, beets, fava beans, and a mixture of dry beans. The cabbage and dry beans are the newbies. I think I will make pulled pork sandwiches with a slaw out of the cabbage. I'll probably soak the beans and make some kind of baked beans... always good with barbeque. If the strawberries are really ripe again, I will make more jam. Nat and I have been very hard on it! Yum. Shauna put fava beans into a pasta salad... I will definitely try that.

The signs are up for u-pick raspberries! My favorite! Nat and I need to find some time to go pick lots-o-berries for the freezer.

Nat has an ortho appointment this morning. Then I think we will run over to the other side of Portland to look for a riding coat for Nat. She has outgrown yet another one. I'm hoping we can find a consignment one since she is still growing. There are a couple of tack stores over there that have consignments. Far to go, but hopefully the prices will make it worth the drive.

Short and sweet... gotta run! Have a good day all!