Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Havent missed much..

The rain is really putting a damper on things, although Saturday we were very fortunate and it did not rain at all on our Dutch Oven Cooking Day!

The horse club put on a day of instruction and cooking with Dutch Ovens. Derek and I had always had the impression they were a pain in the ass to deal with so we took the opportunity to learn and spend the day with friends and food! :)

The information, food, learning, cooking, socializing.. was all GREAT! Derek and I each cooked a seperate dish and we realized in the process how we would spice up the meals differently for the future and how EASY it was! Here are some of the things we ate, ALL out of Dutch Ovens:
Cinammon Roll type bread
Cheese Pizza Bites
Chicken & Rice
Chicken & Dumplings (2 versions)
Awesome Potatoes
Meatloaf (Fantastic!)
Veggies w/Cheese
Apple Cobbler
Chocolate Cherry Cake
Pineapple Upside Down Cake

THAT was A LOT of food to sample!! We all were stuffed and enjoyed de-bloating in front of the bonfire!

We made plans to ride on Sunday however we awoke to pouring rain... by 2pm the sun was out, but we had already made other plans to go Dutch Oven shopping! No we did not buy one, just wanted to shop around at the sportsmans store to get an idea of the cost, but we did buy our Fishing Licenses, the time/season is upon us. We have not figured out yet how to balance out fishing, horse riding, bike riding, cooking/cleaning, yard work and other numerous projects to get done.. Nothing to figure out when it is raining all the time though!

I've had this dilema for the past 2 weeks, our club was also hosting a Brand Inspection Day this past weekend. Basically you take your horse to the inspector, he looks at your paperwork that proves you are legal owner of the horse and creates a lifetime card that you carry on you at all times when hauling your horse, so if you get pulled over, you have WA State approved proof you own the horse. Your horse does NOT have to have a brand, it actually is much simpler if the horse does not have one. Well I found out that because Edgar DOES have a brand and because I did NOT know who branded him, I was unable to get the inspection done. Bummer! I have been researching for the past 2 weeks trying to find the ranch that branded my horse which is quite the project.

Basically I have had to email each state I think he might have come from individually and contact the brand dept for that state and ask them to research their brand books to see if Edgars Brand was registered in their state. I did find his brand in CA and OR, 2 different ranches have the same brand.. very common. I did not find the brand in any other states in the West. The dept's could only send me addresses, no emails or phone #'s. About 10 days ago, I sent 6 letters off to the 6 different addresses I could find online for the 2 ranches that might have branded my horse, never expecting to get a response.

Yesterday I get a phone call and I noticed it was an out of state # and almost ignored it, but thought.. well MAYBE it was a call about my horse! Am I GLAD I answered that call.. Sure enough, it was the ranch in OR and the ranch manager said that my horse came off that ranch and they branded him!!! WHOOHOO.. I was overjoyed! He didnt have email, so basically I have to mail to him a letter indicating what I need from them, they will write it up and sign it and mail back to me so I can then get my horse inspected and get legal paperwork through WA State to haul my horse! :) Chances are even if I haul out of state, I will never get pulled over, but it is worth the $85 cost to be safe and not sorry.

And the other great news is that although the ranch manager was not there when my horse was there, he does know someone who was and will try to get me some history on my horse, maybe even find out when he was born etc.. I'd love to know who his sire/dam are if possible as well, but I'd be happy just knowing what year he was really born.. I HATE not knowing the exact age of my horse. Okay sorry Derek, I keep calling Edgar MY horse, but we all know he is YOUR horse! :)

Friday, May 21, 2010

My first clue was that it was glowing...

We recently changed 3 of the 6 bulbs in our kitchen, I know.. Exciting! For a few days, the one above the island flickered every now/then. Well Wednesday evening, that bulb was dimming rapidly.. We looked up at it and it went from dimming to almost an orangey glowy type hue.. Didnt think much else of it.

So as I'm standing at the kitchen Island slaving over Mac-N-Cheese with hamburger added, I hear a really loud POP explosion, then next thing I know, glass is shattered EVERYWHERE! That bulb popped itself out of the socket, fell inches from my face onto the counter and literally shattered inches from my body all over the house! We found glass shards well over 10' away! I felt very lucky to have not gotten cut, I'm glad I was wearing long sleeves...

Scared the shit out of me!!! (okay not literally on that) but I did scream, who wouldnt! Derek was watching TV, he heard the scream (obviously) and thought I cut myself. What a mess....

So the next time you see your bulb glowing... TURN OFF THE F*ING LIGHTS, FAST! lol

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

now I'm just pissed....

Okay, so the auditor apparently did not just shrug off that $6,000 difference (I think I was dilussional that he would just take my word for it) lol

He came back at me yesterday with an email saying I understated our taxable sales by 84,000 and shorted them sales tax of $6,000+ BS BS Bullshit! Sorry, but there is no way that is possible... there is just something off with the reports then that were sent to him, which are NOT the same reports I use to calculate my tax return..

So now I am going to sit down and AUDIT the report that I sent to him and find out WHY it is different than what I do every month and I am still 95% sure that my way of doing things has been right and that this other report is wrong somehow or his conversion of that report calculated incorrectly...

Well I cant complain much, gives me a big project to work on and I enjoy these types of work projects because I feel very accomplished when I am done.. I am on a damn mission to prove this guy wrong, will let ya know when I do!!! :)

Monday, May 17, 2010

Time to stop stressing!

I have been stressed for the past 6 or more weeks.. I got a letter in the mail from the Dept of Revenue at work and we "won the lottery" as the auditor told me! Well the auditor with the warped sense of humor came out this past Friday and I was panicky up until that day. Not because I felt I was doing something wrong, but I've been doing this job for 13 years with no guidance other than what I learned when I started the job and what the year end accountant occassionally tells me to do.. I had all the paperwork pulled that he had requested, it was organized in a box, I made comments on missing items etc.

After an hour or so, he was asking me questions and showing me where we did not report/pay $6,000+ in sales tax! I called out a big fat BULLSHIT on him and immediately worked from the defensive and demanded that he not bull me over and he WOULD listen to what I had to say about that!!! I was not about to accept I had made errors like that... Basically the reports I sent him didnt fully match up what was filed, well there ended up being glitches in the report transfer and I physically showed him HOW I do my monthly tax report, HOW I am CORRECT in paying ALL sales tax at the end of the month etc.. After a few minutes, he seemed to change the subject and move on.. lol

He did tell me in front of my boss that I was in his top 10 list of companies to audit because of how organized I am, how easy I can get things to him and how I do my job!!! I was super excited that he paid me such a big compliment and that the head honcho boss heard it, although that doesnt really mean much other than he now has heard others think I am great too! lol Now where's my damn raise that I havent seen in over 3 years??

He was able to get in and get out by about 2pm on Friday and he'll email me later with a few minor requests but all that stress had me so bound tight, I could hardly function at home.. It was a great relief when the guy left the building and that afternoon, I called Derek and told him I wanted to go for a drive after work, just to clear my head and come down from my weeks of tension. We ended up exploring Sultan and Monroe, areas neither of us had been to.. With the co-pilot of Russell. :)

The plan for the weekend was to get started on the yard landscaping, maybe squeeze in some riding. Saturday morning Jennifer and I went to downtown Snohomish, had breakfast (gossiped of course) and walked the antique street fair. It was nice to hang out with just her, something we havent done in a really long time. After the fair, I was supposed to help Derek on the yardwork, but we were going to have company over for a last minute BBQ so while he continued with developing a bark-bed, I cleaned up the house. We ended up going out to a very late dinner instead of BBQ. Sunday morning we woke and started working in the yard, set a goal and reached the goal just as the sun was starting to blaze through.. it was getting pretty warm out.

We changed, hooked up the trailer and headed out to get the horses. Stopped for lunch and as we got in the truck to drive towards Lords Hill, the sky went from sunny and nice just minutes earlier, to dark and questionable! :( As we drove, BIG rain drops started hitting the windshield. Well when we left our house, is was approaching atleast 65 degrees if not warmer, so we had t-shirts on, no jackets or raingear. We sat the trailhead parking lot under the trees holding the horses for 10-15 minutes, hoping the rain squall would pass by and after that time realized it was just going to rain, dammit! So we loaded up the boys and headed back to Roger's place and sure enough, as we unloaded and walked them to their pasture, the rain stopped and the sun came out, literally that is how it happened! ... and not that we are only fair weather riders, but we were not prepared for rain and didnt want to get soaked. So we put the horses away, went home, unhooked the horse trailer and then went to Home Depot and McDaniels to look at landscaping materials! :)

GRRR.. frustrating day but we did get a decent amount of bark-area cut out and I am excited to put bark in it this week, it will look really good. The rest of the evening we spent cooking up some yummy BBQ chicken and potatoes, watching the Survivor season finale and ending the evening pissed off at the Survivor Jury for being bitter A-Holes that cant seem to appreciate the BEST PLAYER EVER!!! :)

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Saddle Saga...

So I went through all that saddle saga for nothing! I assumed that a Wide tree saddle would fit Red better than the narrow tree saddle I already had, so I went in search of a new saddle, sent my money off to CO and hoped for the best.. I did get that saddle I found from a private seller thank goodness, but I've ridden in it twice, the first time for 4+ hours and Red's back was very sore afterwards, so then I rode in it one more time a week later for 2 hours and again his back was really sore.. Damn! So I went back to my narrow tree original saddle and he is not sore at all after I ride in it.. I've ridden him 6+ hours in 2 days and ZERO soreness.. Wish I had realized this before I went through all the hassle. Oh well, I hope to make an extra $100 on this other saddle, just sucks having to now sell it.

Derek is finally un-stiff from his softball weekend, we did get out and ride the horses on Saturday at Mann Rd again.. really enjoying riding there. When we got home from riding, I had to shower and head down to Seattle for our Cousin's Night at Shana's place. Went to bed at 4am Sat night, woke up about 8am.. left Seattle around 10am, got home and showered then delivered a kitty to Everett and then drove up to my brothers for an all day BBQ for Mother's Day, got home at 9pm and was exhausted! It was a non-stop weekend and I'm still recovering today..

So back to the girls night.. :) We had a great evening, It was Shana, Jennifer, Sophy, Andrea & me. We drank some, ate some, played some Apples to Apples, sat in the hot tub at midnight for over an hour, chatted, laughed.. just had a good time together. Sophy & I stayed in the hot tub a lot longer than the other 3 girls and when I got out, these are some of the images I found on my camera..





That's my bottle of Malibu she's "holding" there! :)

THIS LAST PICTURE WAS REMOVED.. I FELT IT WAS PROBABLY TOO EMBERASSING TO MY COUSIN SHANA TO KEEP IT POSTED! IT WAS A FUNNY PICTURE, BUT A LITTLE OVER THE TOP... :)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

3 kitties found..

3 days later, 3 kitties gone!

Thursday after work, Derek informed me that the barn was slightly in shambles.. I had asked him to get something out of the barn before I got home from work, so when he was out there, he heard a scurry scurry scamper of something attemping to run/scratch on the hay room floor.. so he walked over there, a scared kitten ran from our haybale bag, Derek saw it was wet and sniffed.. realized it was cat piss and I could just imagine his eyes getting big, ears puffing up, face turning red, fists clenching...

The hay room had 9 pallets laid down and then sheets of plywood over the pallets to keep hay from getting on the ground, this method makes it really easy to sweep up and keep clean. We had some bale bags and a few other things in the hayroom along with a bunch of loose hay. Well lets just say that when I got home, ALL the pallets were propped up against the wall, the plywood boards were still somewhat attached to the pallets, the haybags were flown in the middle of the barn isle, buckets thrown about... And 3 kittens were now buried and hiding somewhere in the loose hay that was now on the gravel floor.

The plan: catch 'em and figure out later what to do! lol

So we did capture the 3 little kittens, a grey male, tabby male and calico female, they had been born/raised under the pallets. We tried to capture the momma with a big fish net, but she was too quick! lol I thought if I could catch her, I was going to take her to the shelter and let them fix her and find a new home for her. The neighbors have WAY too many cats that they let run free and breed like rabbits.. I call them the free-range cats! I dont mind having a couple around to keep mice out of my barn, but the 1o+ is just too many.

We put the kitties in a dog crate with some hay and food/water and left them overnight in the garage til we could come up with a plan. They appeared about 6 weeks old, healthy looking and not scared to death like some wild kittens would act. I called Shana and she said she'd been just thinking the day before that she wanted a new kitten, so the grey kitty is now with her and his name is Dane (after Dane Cook). I took him down on Saturday to her and within 12 hours, he had come around and wanted attention and cuddling..
Sunday morning I listed the calico on Craigslist and within 15 minutes, she was gone.. we delivered her to Everett on Sunday as we had to drive to Arlington anyways.. When we got home the tabby who prior to this was not quite sure yet about humans, well he'd been left in the garage alone all day and when I got home, I was his best friend! I called Kathy (from the horseclub) as she wanted the tabby and he went home Sunday night with her.

Russell, Derek & I were all happy the kitties had found homes so quickly. I didnt mind them, but what a hassle and I felt guilty leaving them in a crate all day.. Russell could smell them and it was driving him crazy to know there were these "things" in the garage! And well Derek is allergic and although it didnt affect him at all, we both were relieved to not have to worry about them anymore. They were cute little buggers and I had a slight notion at one point that it would be fun to keep one, but now that they are all placed in new homes, honestly.. I dont miss them!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Nothing like being caught...

in a hail storm! The day was cloudy yesterday and although the clouds did appear as potentially thunderous, I wanted to take advantage of the "nice" weather and lunge the boys for some needed excersize. Derek met me over at Roger's place, the plan was for him to lunge for 15 minutes at the trot then I would lunge Red since we had just one lungeline and whip on hand. After about 5 minutes or so I began to wonder if we would have the dry weather for much longer, I better come up with a plan! So I rigged up my dogs retractable leash with another leash and proceeded to lunge Red with that.. lol

Actually the retractable leash was a great idea... I should invent one for just this use for horses, it would need to be a little more durable for a 1000 pound horse vs 40 lb dog! ;) After a few minutes, the sky opened up and I was very thankful to have my hooded sweater on. Derek worked Edgar a few more minutes to reach his 15 minute mark then went and stood under a 12" roof awning while I continued to lunge Red in the pouring hailstorm for another 10 minutes. Red was not a happy camper about it, he looked beautiful though all slick and wet. Derek just stood there trying to keep the hail from hitting him in the face and we both laughed alot about what was going on! It was crazy but for some odd reason, I actually REALLY enjoyed lunging Red in the hail.. There was just something really elegant and peaceful about it, the positive attitude, watching Derek try to shield himself, shaking his head with a grin on his face, laughing at ourselves, it was for me one of those moments in time that I felt at peace with all that was around me.

Before the storm, we had spoken with Roger who indicated my little WhooDeeKnees had escaped the day before :( Bummer! They did what I thought was unthinkable for them, they climbed on some wood (that part I knew they would do) but then they jumped over the fence off the wood (that part completely suprised me). Roger moved the woodpile, and although I am certain they wouldnt have found another way out, I would rather take them home than have Roger & Diana worry and fret about it. Those damn goats! They were 100% PISSED OFF that I led them out in the thundering (still 15 minutes later) hailing storm!! Thank goodness I still had the goat cage on the truck, we loaded them up and drove them in the hail to my parents place. As soon as they were unloaded, they ran to the corral to get in the stall for shelter.. lol There is plenty of grass in the square corral for now, so not sure I will try to "pimp" them out to another home.. we'll see. Mom/Dad plan to re-fence their property completely, within the next month or two.. After that happens, we are buying more goats!!!

lol.. I know I bitch about the bastards in one paragraph and by the end of the paragraph I am indicating I want 2 more of the WhooDeeKnees!! :) (and we have names already picked out!)

Monday, May 3, 2010

Does this look like May?????

I'm pretty sure May is supposed to bring Flowers, not Hail! I know this is no ND hail storm, but this is a lot of hail for sure.. And while we are gawking at the snowy type conditions, check out the terrible gas prices!! :(

Softball and horses..

Didnt think I would be saying those two words in the same weekend anytime soon! Last week Kevin (coach of RCC softball) called and said he was short some guys for a tournament this past weekend in Federal Way and wondered if Derek was free. He felt bad for calling and asking, but he thought it was worth a try. Well we changed our riding plans then from Saturday to Sunday and drove down to Celebration Park for a day of ball....
One of the positive things about this tournament that set us in the mindset and direction of saying "yes" was that the first game was not til 12:40 which meant we had time to sleep in AND go visit George/Rachel before the games! We had not met little miss Emily yet, who was born about 2 months ago; it was great to spend an hour with them Saturday morning before we had to head to the tournament. Emily is a doll and we are really happy that she seems to complete their family.. We will miss camping/fishing with our friends this year but look forward to the years to come.

The softball guys did not know we were coming down, so when they saw me first, they assumed we were there to watch... When I indicated that oh no.. Derek was playing, they all lit up and had to check him out in uniform for themselves! :) His arm was rusty to throw, his bones were crackin' with every step, and he forgot the time/labor involved with just getting his uniform on and all the 'gear' that goes with it, including knee braces and pads and such. lol

He played in all 5 games! Pitching 1/2 the time, playing a little first base as well and then a few innings in the dugout. His pitching was top notch as always, I dont think he will ever loose that feel of throwing the perfect pitch. They won their first game, 10 minute break.. won their second game... hour break.. won their third game... 15 minute break... won their fourth game... 15 minute break... Won the Final game to WIN the tournament!! :) Of course I volunteered to keep score, it's what I do! I enjoyed being at the park and watching Derek and the guys again, there is a part of me that really misses it. We both did not miss the long drive and long day and feeling of being exhausted afterwards... although I know Derek was a lot more exhausted than I was! Derek was given an All-Star shirt for coming out of retirement to play after 2 years off, he pitched great games that definately helped them win.

We talked quite a bit before the tournament about how we both felt about him playing again. I would support his decision if he opted to get back into ball.. I would never stop him from doing what he loves. But I have to say I was really worried that once he played again he would realize what he was missing out on and we would have to give up this new life we have taken on the past year or more. We had a great life with softball, but he and I both have really enjoyed the camping and fishing and riding we are now doing and I am not ready to loose that! After 5 games of play... there is no more concern that he is ready and willing to go back to that lifestyle anytime soon! As much as he loves ball and misses the guys and playing, his body just is not feeling the same vibe..

As we drove home, he realized it might have been a mistake to play so hard, run so hard... By the time we reached the truck to drive home (a 5 minute walk) he was already stiff, sore and ready to fall asleep! I was worried he would be too stiff to ride his horse the next day, as we had already made plans with Shannon to ride with her and her son Clay on Sunday at Mann Rd.

But he sucked it up and was able to get on his jeans and boots. He did need a little extra help getting his foot in the stirrup once he got on, but otherwise the ride helped loosen up his back. His legs are mostly what are sore. We rode up to the lookout over looking the Sultan valley, what a great place to stop and eat and just take in nature and the surrounding land. It was really great to get out with Shannon and talk with her, she is still super excited about Oakley and will be listing him very soon. I appreciate that she is taking great care of him and that she sees the potential in him that I always knew was there. She rode him on the ride, what a gorgeous horse I own!! I just love that horse... :)

Red and Edgar have been doing pretty good at their new pastures. The ground is too wet up at the top side, so we moved them down to the lower section (still seperated). I think with all the grass and wetness of the ground their feet were a little more tender than normal. I will continue to check them daily for health issues, it is a lot of grass they are on and I still worry. So far so good. I also moved the goats to the same place, they had finished their duties in Mukilteo and were ready to come home. Roger who owns the pastures, offered to let the goats come stay with him, so we are seeing how that goes. They have great fencing for goats, but it is older fencing and although I know it will be safe/secure, I just dont want the boys standing on the fencing or rubbing against it too much.. so I am watching that as well, I dont want to take advantage of the generosity of Roger & Diana! :)
Here's a pic of Edgar with the goats before I moved Edgar to the lower dryer pasture.

And then Red on the other side, looking at Edgar as though he is insane for allowing these goats to be so close to him!
And of course this is the chaos I speak of when referring to the goats being mischevious and causing issues with fencing. They will do anything to get to the greener side of things.