What a Week!!

This has been such a busy week. It was less busy than the previous couple of weeks. It culminated in a day off on Friday, but I'll have to pay the piper and work extra next week...the curse of taking days off. I have a couple of new clients to start seeing next week, which means it will be busier than this week, and I won't have the luxury of Fridays completely off anymore. I will do the Fridays for awhile, but I honestly don't want to work on Fridays. I scheduled the appointments at the end of the day and it's just a couple of hours, so not the end of the world. And I pointed out to Maggie that those 3 appointments will pay board for the horses with only one week of work. I've let the parents know that I am only good for 3 out of 4 Fridays per month due to Maggie's and my riding schedule. Of course, with the holidays I will have some time off.

I have an interview at another school district on Monday. It's a short day and I can fit it with my other work. if I get it, I will be working on Wednesdays but it will be similar to my day in Springtown. I will be going between schools, and then I will have to go back to Flint and see a client there plus do my massages there. God is giving me the energy to keep up with the work.

I am starting to get too busy, but I find that the more money I earn the more I want to earn b/c I'm seeing real progress on the money/bills. We are wanting some things we couldn't afford before. We are able to have a little spending money here and there. We can finally get a new sofa. I'm trying so hard to send the money to the steps in the debt snowball that Dave Ramsey outlines, but other people in my family often want other things than just to be out of debt. No matter how hard we try, our life style does expand a little. I honestly could be happy without a new sofa or a new car, but then I find myself thinking that it's not fair to put my lifestyle choices on everyone else. I did get a new horse, so I guess that getting a new sofa for the house isn't too much to ask. OTOH, I can actually pay for everything. That is really nice to be able to pay for everything because I get paid from someone every week. I haven't had to charge anything and then pay it back...well, I did this last week b/c a check that was supposed to get here 2 weeks ago wasn't written till last Friday and I don't have it yet. But the upside is that when I have a flat tire or the dogs need shots, it's not the end of the world. I can pay my regular payments to the credit cards and pay extra to savings, and set money aside for Peter's next car or other large household expenses. I figure if we don't end up spending it, then we'll put it on a bill, but I know Peter, or me, or both will need new vehicles. Peter really needs a "new" car but I don't want payments for it, so I figure if we save up and get him a better car and if we can keep putting that money in the bank every month, it will be good.

Of course, in all my get out of debting...I bought new clothes at Kohl's today. I needed some clothes though. I honestly needed them. I'm an even 200 pounds as of last week. I only got one shirt and a pair of pants for myself, but I bought Maggie some new jeans (hope they fit) and a new shirt. I bought Jena a new shirt too (she was here when I was shopping) I bought Peter a pair of jeans and a pair of khakis. So we will have a few new clothes. Soon I won't be a plus size anymore. That's a good thought!

Yesterday we took Liberty on his first trail ride. I took him to Six O with Joe Bear. He loaded up so easily. He's not completely self loading for me yet, but he is getting 1/2 way in all on his own. I think that the next time I hitch up, I can work him on loading without me leading him in. He leads so well and that's going to be a huge asset as we train.

He was really, really good. He was not as boring as I'd hoped for. I had hoped for a lovely, quiet stroll, but I think from a Paso Fino/Arab cross that might have been too much to ask on his first outing. Maggie was on Joe Bear and was really bummed that I wasn't ready to just fly. Darn good thing I didn't either as he was pretty looky at stuff. One time he spun all the way around and almost dumped me and got Maggie dumped off Joe when he spooked. He looked at everything. Funny thing was that he was more secure in front than he was following whenever the going got rough. But, he was equally as unconcerned with his spacing when he was behind.

He had never walked through water before, so I found myself mounting and dismounting alot...thank goodness he's little and I could get on and off very easily. He was so good whenever I led him through stuff though. So many horses will jump on top of you if you lead through a tricky spot, but he was so careful with his feet. He watched everything I did and followed me down and up hills, through water, etc. I was so proud of him. He sometimes got in a hurry, and the next time I take him out, with an another adult, or alone, I need to actually school some of these things, but I was happy just to go over and through new terrain. This poor little guy was so stressed from being in a new place, but I tended to ignore his inappropriate behavior and praise him when he relaxed. He is ready to eat in any location, which to me means he's not TOO stressed out. We took a P&R after doing some hills and climbing and he had a 14 heart and 10 respiration when I first got off, which I thought was pretty great for him to have no conditioning base on him.

Maggie is also preparing Joe Bear to take him to what will probably be his only CTR. He breathes too fast when it's warm to met criteria to compete. But she wants to finish one ride on him and he's in great shape so this is the best time. She has to keep him in his fast walk to manage him properly. She may have to trot into a few P&R's and she may lose some points, but she just wants this one ride. Hopefully it will be cold enough that he'll be ok. We took his P&R after 5-6 miles of quick walking and it was only 9 and 4. I was impressed. She may have a prayer!

I have toyed with the idea of taking Liberty to do his first CTR there, but I don't want to over stimulate him, so I may just stick with my original plan and take Freeley. It will honestly depend on our next hill work and if Freeley ends up sound before the next ride. After his recent shoeing experience he's been a little sore somewhere and I'm hoping he'll work out of it before the ride. The shoes are pulled and I'll boot him before six O, either foamed or not, but he keeps interfering which doesn't help him stay sound. It's subtle, so I don't worry anything about him being injured, but I don't want to get pulled for unsoundness or unable to start or whatever....

I don't anticipate competing much this next year, but we want to do this ride and maybe one other in the spring. I figure I have a month to decide who I'm going to take and a lot can happen in a month.

Anyway, it's taken me most of the day to put this together, so I'll go now. Maggie wants to play a game on my computer and we're watching Dirty Jobs.

Last Day of Vacation

A lengthy post about my fun yesterday at Silver Dollar City will be coming once I get home, but not today. It will have to wait until I can really think about what to say b/c there are some really good stories to tell from my trip and I want to do them all justice. Today, I'm just tired and ready to be home. I haven't seen my horses for over 10 days. I haven't seen my husband in almost as long, or the dogs. Of the bunch the husband will be the most welcome sight, with horses and dogs lagging not far behind.

The worst part is that when we get back, Maggie has to turn around and leave almost immediately. Cat and I had plans to redecorate her room while she's gone. I don't know if we'll accomplish that or not, but I want to do something to that end. I figured I could at least get the pink, lower part of her wood painted to a nice green color while she's gone. IF it's not too hard I'll even get some of the wallpaper peeled, but I just don't know.

It hasn't been very restful on vacation. I have job interviews for 3 districts this week while I'm working on the people I have scheduled already. I have riding lessons to teach and I need to trim feet. I will definitely have to hit the ground running when I get home. One of the school districts holds my interest in particular, but I can't say more about it till I have the interviews. I can't believe I almost let my music therapy certification go last year and now I'm about to go back to work in the field.

This should be a lucrative financial year. It's my plan to pile up a bunch of cash and then pay off a bill or at least be able to quit worrying about what if the car breaks down or we need a new one. I'm planning to save about every dime (save tithing and some personal money) for a better future. I really want to pay off debt, but something tells me I may need a little extra cash in my immediate future, so I'm making a plan to do that first. Dave Ramsey says that you're better off piling up the cash and doing one thing at a time, and if you think there is something coming up in the future, better to pile up the cash first. I'd like to get one credit card paid off by Christmas, but piling up the cash may prove to be a better move in the short term...more on that later.

Today we went to church with my mom and then she made lunch. Now Maggie and the older cousins are playing, we watched The Incredible Journey (which always makes me cry) and I came in here to check on my maps, and write something...didn't mean to linger so long so I will go for now. More tomorrow.