Recycle

So one of the fun things about owning a dog is that you get to make him do really fun things like recycle! Yes, Reiner can recycle. He recycles paper, plastics, you name it, he recycles it. Here are some examples of his "work."

How to get your husband to clean the stove...

1. Tell husband what a wonderful cook he is. Best in the world...CHECK!

2. Ask wonderful husband to make bread rolls for dinner...CHECK!

3. Distract husband by having him look up specks/youtube videos on a totally awesome car you want...CHECK!

4. In the process of trying to make the bread rise and watch awesome videos of an FJ Cruiser go up some gnarly hills, he puts the plastic bowl with dough in it, into the the oven "just for a few seconds"...CHECK!

5. Husband smells burn plastic to only realize that the bowl is a melted blob making a mess in your oven, and bread that is partially baked...CHECK!

6. Husband now has to clean oven while you make the bread... CHECK!

7. Thank goodness we were so lazy in last few years and haven't cleaned the oven, because otherwise the plastic wouldn't have come off so easily. There was a nice coating of grease and grime that kept the plastic from attaching to any parts of the husband.

8. Last but not least, watch husband break a knife trying to clean the plastic from the oven racks.

This is also a great way to see how much electricity you can waste because you have to open doors and windows to keep from dying from toxic fume inhalation while it is 10 degrees but feels like negative 2 outside. What fun!

Funny thing is, that we were trying to make Challah, special Jewish Sabbath Day bread. So much for not having to work on the Sabbath!

Being Thankful!

So this year, Clint and I hosted Thanksgiving, and it was the first that we didn't parental supervision. I know, how sad. :( While we missed our family A TON, we still had a great time with the friends that came over. What I think is funny is that ever since I can remember my family gets together right before we eat. We say the Lord's prayer then we all go around in a circle, and state what we are thankful for. What I think is funny is that after everyone left and Clint and I were driving to the vet school so that he could take care of his surgery dog, Clint said, "We forgot to say what we were thankful for!" I had realized it too and felt sad because I think it is a great tradition that my family does and gives us all an opportunity to state what we are thankful for.
So with that being said, I want to state how thankful I am for the blessings I have in my life. I have a WONDERFUL, AWESOME, husband who is an master cook and deep fried two turkeys and made other delicious treats for dinner (I'm spoiled by him). I also have a loving, caring, crazy family, who I love very much :) a comfortable house that keeps us warm or cool despite how much air seeps in and out through gaps in door frames and leaky windows, cute cats that make us laugh daily and that are very cuddly, and truly wonderful friends who I don't know what I would do with out. These are just a few of the blessings I have, but all the great things I have in my life would take more then just this blog to explain. Although we all have challenges in our lives, it is great to live in an age that history is being made before our eyes and we get to have a part in it!
Thanks for reading and all of you that read my blog are either my loving family or wonderful friends who I love very much and I don't know what I would do with out you guys!

Twilight

So as many of you know I am a huge fan of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Series. I have read all of the books and loved all, but the first and third I loved the most. :) I went with some friends to see the movie, which I have attached the trailer for. It is funny that most everyone I have talked to that has read the books has pictured Edward as with dark hair. Also for me, I pictured the tall, dark, strong and handsome. Not this sissy, wimpy looking boy. Granted it was "strong" but only by default. You know, the whole vampire thing...
My other problem was that Bella and Edward hardly smiled. How can a couple that are in love, hardly smile?
I think that part of my disappointment is that I am a big Edward friend. Most of my friends have been Jacob fans. After talking to one of my friends, they feel that maybe they like Jacob more because their spouses are like Jacob and Clint is more of an Edward. Of course all of this is making more sense if you have read the books, but Edward is a dominate, protective, sometimes over-reactive person. I definitely think that Clint is very strong and protective. So I am thankful to have my "Edward" in my life already! :)
Despite that fact that I was disappointed with Edward's character, I did enjoy the movie and think EVERYONE should go see it. Clint actually seemed interested after watching the trailer for the movie.

My brother came for a visit!

My brother Jack came to visit from sunny, warm, burnt, California! He came in on Thursday. We got to eat some yummy sushi in Kansas City on the way home from the airport. On Friday he brought me lunch and got to meet the wonderful people I work with and meet the great kids I teach. Then on Friday night we took him out and hung with some friends. I also took him to the barn and gave him a taste of some of the cold. Saturday morning was much colder though.
It was great to see my brother. I think our dog really enjoyed seeing him too! He even got a warm welcome from our cat. I think Jack had this idea that Kansas was like something from Grapes of Wrath, but he was pleasantly surprised that Kansas is much more beautiful and not so dry and dusty. Not only did he get to see how beautiful things are here, but he got to eat at Sonic. California gets commercials for Sonic, but they don't exist in the state. So he finally got to eat at one.
We had a great visit and we miss him! Hopefully Jack and my parents will come out for Christmas.

Los caballos and Football.

On Saturday I drug my brother back down to the barn to take some pictures in the daylight. It was 25 degrees while we were there. The high on Saturday was only about 40, so the football game was pretty cold too. I am riding a Palomino named Duce and my trainer, Brandon is riding one of his new projects a stud named Hurricane. Brandon has the difficult task of undoing all the training I have had over the last 20 years. Good luck to him! Ha. I have been progressing, but it's been frustrating at times. These pictures don't show how frustrated I had gotten, but that's just part of the game.

Speaking of games, Jack, Clint and I all went to the Kansas State football game against Nebraska. For those of you how are like me and don't follow football all that much, I will catch you up! Basically, our coach, Ron Prince, sucks, lost his job, gets paid millions of dollars to leave and our team sucks! We went to the game thinking, well Nebraska sucks too, so maybe we can win. Guess the news of the coach being fired didn't boost moral and we lost with a score of something like 56 to 28. Doesn't matter, we had fun hanging with cool people while tailgating and freezing our tooties off. So if we look cold you know why. :)

Watch out Clint, I have a new love...

So I decided that I needed horses back in my life and if I was going to have to pay for lessons, I may as well learn how to do something I don't know how to do. So I called a friend and asked if she new of anyone who did reining, or cutting or roping. She told me that her friend Brandon did western and next thing you know, I'm hooked. My first lesson was the day before my birthday and he had me working on REAL cows the FIRST TIME! He liked how I rode so much that he even offered me a job! He had been looking for an assistant to help him and told me that as many times as I can ride, I can come out. So we exchange me exercise his horses, for him giving me cutting lessons. Brandon told me that once I did cutting, I would be hooked, and I sure am. I love it! Sorry Clint... :)
Today I spent most of the day out there and rode 3 of this horses. It was so much fun, but I feel like I was hit by a truck then throw into a mulcher and put back together! I'm paying for going from riding one horse, then no horses to three horses for hours.
Well enjoy the video and know that I am a happy camper on the back of a horse doing something I love.