Sunday, February 27, 2011

Potential job loss on the horizon

Texas has decided that in order to save some money they must cut out specialized services with DSSW. This is beyond distressing because not only do I believe in the massage and music therapy work I do with my clients I depend on this work for my livelihood. I'm sure I could do something else for worn but I don't want to. I love out life and the flexibility this job brings me. I don't relish having to go to work for someone else. Please everyone contact your senators and house people. As a professional doing this job my voice is not as well received but if family members and people in Texas speak up this can be saved. The money they want to cut will take away thousands of jobs. I would take a pay cut if I had to just to keep doing what I do. 

THEY ARE CUTTING OUR COMMUNITY BASED PROGRAMS!  YOU MUST HELP US TELL THEM NO ON MARCH 1ST!


On Tuesday, March 1, disability advocates from across Texas will be rallying at the Texas Capitol in Austin in support of the home and community-based services that make our independence possible!

CTD will be there and we want YOU to join us as we send a unified message to the State Legislature!

·         Home and community-based services are a cost-effective alternative to unnecessary institutionalization!

·         Home and community-based services create jobs that grow and sustain the Texas economy!

·         The state budget crisis can and must be resolved WITHOUT cuts to home and community-based services!

With one voice, we will say "YES!" to Texas independence and "NO!" to home and community-based services cuts for people with disabilities and seniors!

Schedule:

9:30 AM – Gather at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum (Congress Ave & MLK Blvd)

10 AM – March to the Texas State Capitol (approximately six blocks)

11 AM – Rally at the North Steps of the State Capitol

NOON – Lunch provided to Rally participants on the Capitol grounds

1 PM – Visits to local legislators and important committees (there will be team leaders to help you navigate the Capitol and with speaking to your Legislators)


If you are not located in Austin, and would like to attend, let us know! There may be a group of people traveling from your community, and we can help you connect with them or make arrangements to help get you here.

If you cannot join us at the Capitol, we still need you to speak out in two ways on March 1st!


1.  Contact your state senator and representative and ask them to support Texas independence for people with disabilities and seniors by not cutting home and community-based services!  You can find contact information for your legislators by entering your address here:

http://www.capwiz.com/cotwd/home/


2.  Also contact these key members of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Appropriations Committee.  These two committees are planning to make cuts to all of the home and community based services.  YOU must call them and let their staff know that any cuts to home and community based services will hurt your families!

Call these House Members:

Rep Susan King  512-463-0718
Rep Craig Eiland  512-463-0502
Rep Warren Chisum  512-463-0736
Rep John Zerwas  512-463-0657
Rep Donna Dukes  512-463-0506
Rep Charles Schwertner  512-463-0049

Call these Senators:

               Sen. Jane Nelson 512-463-0112
               Sen. Bob Deuell 512-463-0102
               Sen. Kevin Eltife 512-463-0101
               Sen. Juan Hinojosa 512-463-0120
               Sen. John Whitmire 512-463-0115
               Sen. Tommy Williams 512-463-0104
               Sen. Judith Zaffirini 512-463-0121
Sen. Ogden 512-463-0105



TOGETHER, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

For more information contact the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities at 512-478-3366 ask for Chase, Sarah or Dennis!!!!!!!!!!!

STEFANIE ANDERSON ECKERT, MM, MT-BC
A-Z Music Therapy Services
210-392-1277
www.a-zmusictherapy.com
smusicr1@yahoo.com

The information transmitted in this email is considered confidential and is intended for the addressee only. It cannot be used for the purposes other than its intended use.






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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Great ring work

Tonight liberty and I got in some great ring work. We did work on transitions and worked on the canter depart without bucking. I realized he had never been taught a proper canter depart because we always canter on trail. then maggie's friend Ally rode Fiera on the longe line and they both rode Olympus. Olympus makes the both nervous because he wants to move fast the minute he's mounted.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

I made a huge mistake

My ride is in two weeks and I still have a few more things that need to be done. i have a blanket to make for my raffle, I need to clip some threads here and there and just get generally organized. This weekend is/was a two day ride at Parrie Haynes, a TTC. I "wisely" decided that I should stay home and work a little (see clients) and get everything squared away since I have a really busy work week ahead and will be gone from here Tuesday or Wednesday the next week.  So, I planned a full weekend of cleaning and organizing and doing things that will make my life better here at home. I even resisted Peter trying to talk me into going so he could go take photos on Saturday. I could have changed my plans and seen my clients on Friday morning but no, I was going to be responsible. As a result, all of my friends (and I do mean all the people I most like to spend time with that aren't in the DFW area) are at the TTC and I'm not. I'm getting things done. i saw clients this morning, I'm doing embroidery and working on a gift for my secretary...I'm being responsible, but I'm about in tears over it. I almost packed at about 2pm and went. Maggie has gone to a friends for the weekend (they went to Dinosaur Valley) and I tried to get Peter to load up and go...of course, he did to me, what I always do to him when I he has crazy impulses: He talked me down. He's gone to home depot now to get a new vent for the dryer and I'm about to start embroidering again.  It's really too late now anyway. It would be so late by the time i got there and I would miss all the visiting time.  I did tell my family to never again let me skip something I would enjoy this much.  I just keep telling myself I have more gas money for our trip to Arkansas Traveler in April.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Chris and Maggie


In my first full year of CTR, I met Gail Kimery of Bixby, OK and her daughter Chris (on right in the left and middle picture, on left in far right picture) We were at the Indian Territory ride in 2003 near Tulsa. Maggie and Chris (both age 6 in this photo I believe) got out of the respective trucks and saw that they each had the same red boots. They immediately took to one another and began running all around camp together, playing and laughing. Through the years they have seen each other on and off. They went to camp together in 2009, the year that Maggie got Dixie. Chris and her mom do more endurance riding and Maggie and I ride NATRC, but they still have a ton in common. At the NATRC national convention in Nashville this past weekend, I happened to run into them both and was once again how similar the girls are to one another. Unfortunately, maggie wasn't with me, but it was really fun to catch up with Christina, who is 13, just like Maggie and still riding.

Below are pictures of the girls as they looked this past weekend (maggie is still a blond, she just temporarily changed up her hair.



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Sunday, February 6, 2011

Eat to Lose Pounds

I found the following eating plan on Eat This not that and I thought I would give it a try for a week or two. I doubt that it can be maintained longer than that b/c it would get really boring, but I figure I can give it a try anyway. I have bought all the things I need to do it from Aldi's...we have tons of broccoli in the house now.


Eat to Lose Pounds
Lose weight fast with this seven-day healthy eating plan

Fit back into your jeans faster: Trainer Jay Cardiello created this seven-day
eating plan to help his celeb clients achieve their lean Hollywood looks. The idea is to switch up your carb intake throughout the week—alternating low-carb days with moderate days—to keep your metabolism humming and lose weight fast. Plus, you'll always feel full and have energy to spare.

DAYS 1 and 2

Breakfast
Omelet with 4 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1/4 c minced broccoli or asparagus, 1 tsp shredded low-fat cheese
1 c plain coffee or green tea
12 oz water

Snack
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt and 6 cherries OR 12 oz protein shake with 1 scoop protein powder (low-carb,
low-sugar, less than 115 calories)
20 oz water

Lunch
6 oz grilled chicken breast
3 c lettuce with 2 Tbsp light or low-fat dressing
1/2 c steamed broccoli, asparagus, green beans, peas, or carrots
20 oz water

Snack
8 almonds OR 12 oz protein shake OR Apple OR banana with 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter
20 oz water

Dinner
8 oz grilled chicken, beef, turkey, OR Boca burger (no bread/bun)
1/2 c steamed broccoli or asparagus
3 c plain lettuce with 2 Tbsp fat-free dressing, lemon juice, or balsamic vinegar
20 oz water

Snack
1/4 c cottage cheese with 1/2 c mixed berries OR 6 cherries


DAYS 3 to 7

Breakfast
Omelet with 4 egg whites and minced asparagus and 1 slice plain whole-wheat toast OR 12 oz protein shake and 1 apple with 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter
1 c green tea
12 oz water

Snack
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c mixed berries OR 6 cherries OR 8 almonds
20 oz water

Lunch
Pick one: Small sweet potato OR small baked potato OR 1/4 c brown rice OR 1 slice whole-wheat pita or bread
WITH
Pick one: 6 oz tuna in water; grilled chicken, tuna or turkey; turkey or Boca burger (no bread or bun) OR 2 c plain lettuce with 2 Tbsp lemon juice or low-fat balsamic vinaigrette OR 1 c broccoli with 2 Tbsp honey mustard
20 oz water

Snack
8 almonds OR 6 cherries OR Apple with 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter
20 oz water

Dinner
Pick one: 6 oz sirloin steak, beef burger, grilled chicken or turkey OR 8 oz tuna, salmon, or freshwater fish
WITH
1/4 c steamed brown rice OR 3 c lettuce with 2 Tbsp fat-free dressing OR 1/2 c mixed vegetables or 1 c broccoli OR 2 Tbsp honey mustard
20 oz water

Snack
1/4 c plain nonfat yogurt with 1/2 c berries OR 1/4 c cottage cheese with 1/2 c berries

Friday, February 4, 2011

Snow Day 2011

Maggie making snow Angels


After waking up to a truck covered up with snow, I decided I wasn't going to make it to Houston.

Snowball Fight


Olympus and Dixie are friends.
Peter has taken a ton of photos and i have taken a few, but here are the ones in my camera from our snow day.

I was supposed to go to Houston this weekend. We had originally planned to go to Houston tomorrow, after the thaw, but I woke up this morning and discovered that we had close to six inches of snow and I decided i was better off just to stay home and let my friends do the trail scouting for me. It's not really what i want to do, but I do know that my time will be better spent double checking the timing by hand with a watch and letting them do the ground work. I'm sad because I really wanted to go ride and I know that it's going to be beautiful in Houston on Sunday, but it seems like a really long drive to get to ride one day. I'm better off saving the gas money and finishing up the prizes and raffle gift and just not going anywhere.  I'm just someone who likes to ride and we were really looking forward to getting Olympus on the trail. (love that horse--I'm hoping to be able to adopt him or have our friends who ride with us adopt him, I can't imagine him not living at our house)  Anyway, I digress.  I called clients this morning and told them I'd see them on Monday since I won't be out of town. Theoretically, I could still go down tomorrow, ride Sunday and head home early Monday and see clients that night...I think I just decided that I didn't really want to go anywhere, I'm not sure my field won't be a muddy mess when I try to pull out...I guess I'll see if I get a yen to go tomorrow. I suppose we can just load up and go.

This morning we vegetated for awhile and then we played Wii for about an hour and then went to the field to feed.We had a such a great time having a snowball fight and running around in the snow. I gave everyone a big bucket of beet pulp with their grain and then we went to lunch with our friend Laura and her daughter.  (I broke the Dave Ramsey, "don't go inside a restaurant" rule today.) then Laura wanted to go to a movie so we did that too. We went to see True Grit, which I had yet to see. We all enjoyed it, even though Allyson at first didn't want to see it.  It was a good movie. Now we're home and I'm second guessing my decision to not go to Houston.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

A hard decision

Well, I have had to make the really hard decision to postpone going to Houston to work on trails until Saturday.  There is not way for to leave before then as the temps won't be over freezing till Friday...and then we are expecting snow and Houston expecting ice, so not a pretty picture. This way, maggie and I will get up very early on Saturday and hopefully leave home by 6am.  This will get us to Houston by 11 or 12 at the latest. It's not what I want to do and it's interfering with my fun.  Darn weather! I know i will have time to do everything I need to do, but I'm still so annoyed.

Today I didn't have to go to the field and check on the horses as my friend, Laura Kiser, volunteered to check on everyone when she went out to a meeting. I feel so blessed!