Mayday Mayday.. we've been hit!

Lets start this past Saturday on a positive note.. Derek had to work (okay thats not so positive, but it is nice his first week on the job and he was able to put in 10 hours of OT!) so I woke early to play on the computer and get some much much needed cleaning done for the day (okay.. again cleaning is not so positive.. what part of this is good so far.. lol) Anyways, the plan was that we were going to have some horse club friends over for Movie Night that evening and I had the entire day to get some chores done, deep cleaning time! As I sat and checked mail, I noticed at 8am a very light light snow was falling.. yes that was the positive note I intended to start on.. LOL I know I am in the minority, but I just cant help but smile at the sight of snow.. I love it and my dogs love it!

I spent the next 5 hours taking my time and cleaning, I even took the vacuum apart as the suction wasnt working so great and got it working better.. deep cleaned our bedroom.. The house was as clean as it was gonna get and at about 2:30 decided I should take a shower and head off to the grocery store and Papa Murphys. At this point, we had already canceled the movie night, there was very little interest from people in coming plus with the all-day snow, it was just safer to reschedule. Most of the snow had not stuck too much since it still was so very light all day, but I knew it could get worse as the night drug on.

So I head off to Monroe, the roads were 50% clear with patches of snow dust, not super slick but definately still drove carefully. As I was heading to the store checkout, I get a call from my aunt Dena.. her and Jennifer are in Downtown Snohomish at a wedding dress store and invited me to come down! I was super excited to be invited... When I got to Snohomish, Derek had just gotten to Snohomish as well on his way home from work, so he picked up my refrigerator groceries and headed home. I told him I would pick up pizza when we were done.

So I saw BEAUTIFUL Jennifer in 2 different dresses she had set aside and was debating. She looked amazing of course. We 3 decided to head to Mardini's and have a late lunch and chit chat for a bit before heading home. We never get to spend much time together. The snow was now coming down pretty good but not accumulating much. We had a great time and decided we had better all head home, it was now dark and snowing still pretty good.

I picked up the pizza and headed home. Now if you know Snohomish at all, I decided to go past Emerson Elementary and ventured down that BIG hill towards Centennial Trail. I made it down that hill just fine, zero sliding. Roads seemed pretty decent with a heavy dusting on them. I was in 4WD of course. I turn onto Three Lakes Rd and took a mental note that there was maybe an inch or so on the center line with still just a heavy dusting on the main part of the road. I get up to the S-Curve hill section and a van ahead of me stopped and started backing up. I was confused, assumed he just didnt want to take the hill with his 2WD. The car infront of him attempted to turn around in the road and got stuck with her front end on the side and her ass-end sticking out in the lane. So I decide, hell I can make this hill no problem.

What I should have done and I'm pissed for not doing, is stopped, got out and walked up around the corner where I couldnt see. But I didnt, I stepped on the gass for a little momentum, passed the car that was now stuck, got into the curve and realized 2 vehicles were STOPPED up ahead in the middle of the hill. One 2WD vehicle was in the right lane and the other dumbass was in the middle of the F*ing ROAD! So I have NO choice but to stop. Now I am on the straight section, I have made it through the curve in the road. I decide since I am now in the middle of the road as well, I should back up and get into the driveway on my left and turn around. I put the truck in Reverse, took my foot off the brake, I had NOT even put my foot on the gas pedal yet when all the sudden I was moving!!! I was not moving backwards, nor forward, NO I was SIDEPASSING (NO SHIT) straight towards the edge, which normally would be no big deal, however on the other side of that edge is a HUGE DEEP DEEP RAVINE!!

It was one of those Slow-Motion moments.. as I was sliding, I had ZERO control of the truck, so I unbuckled my belt and felt my life was over.. Internally I was sure the truck was headed over the edge into the ravine and I was going to die. I opened the truck door, prepared to jump out. THANK GOD, as soon as we hit the edge, the truck stopped. I sat there for a second, unsure what to do. I knew I was in no condition to try to move the truck. The car I had passed was only about 15-20 feet behind me. If she wasnt there, I could have backed up using the traction of the edge and gotten out of the situation, but with her back there, I had no options that I could see. The road was a sheeting of ICE.. It was absolutely the worse condition I have ever seen a road before. I shut the truck off, turned the flashers on and got out. I have NEVER shook so bad in my life.. I was trembling, almost hyperventilating.

I called Derek and told him I was stuck and unsure what to do. There was no way the car would make it safely so he said he'd see me in a while, he was gonna walk the probably 3.5+ miles to get to me. He then called back and said he would ride his bike to get to me faster! I told him good luck in this shitty condition!

So as the lady and I stood there looking at our perfectly fine vehicles stuck, we talked a little of how panicked she felt for me when the truck was headed for the ravine! The reason the truck headed that direction is because the road is sloped towards the ravine, so when I put it in reverse, 4WD made zero difference, the slope was so great and road so icey that it was out of my control. I would have made it up that road JUST FINE if the damn idiots in 2WD were not blocking the way.

As she waited for her son and I waited for Derek, a guy in a Bronco decides he's going to pass us and head up the hill. Now at this point, we should have stopped any vehicles from attempting to pass us until the hill was clear, but you dont always think of everything when you are a bit shaken up. I really was not shookin up from the snow at all, I knew I could handle the snow. But when my life flashed and I thought I was headed off into the ravine, that is what scared me. I know it sounds overly dramatic, but that's how I felt at the moment. The feeling of having NO control and just waiting to stop or drop....

So the bronco sees he cant get up the hill and stops... He stops on the curve part and decides he's going to back up into this driveway we are standing in. He does the EXACT same thing I did, as soon as he took his foot of the brake, he sidepassed towards the ravine. Well unfortunately for him and for the lady with the car, her car was completely blocking his path to the ravine, so we watch in agony as he slams into her drivers side, mirror parts flying! He too was in 4WD and now we all just stood there wondering what the hell to do now.

A guy in a 4WD truck comes up, stops, gets out and a little abbrassively says to us.. "Well I can get you 3 out. Would you rather wait for the cops, get a ticket and pay a tow truck driver to get you out or would you rather have me get you out now?" Seemed to be a good plan, it wasnt really my decision because my vehicle was uninjured and I knew if he pulled those other 2 out, Derek would be able to back out of the situation.

So the guy gets in his truck and I have NO idea what his exact plan is, but he pulls up a little further in the curve than the bronco did and stops! GODDAMMIT!! Why the HELL did he do that.. Was he planning to turn around in the driveway so he could use his back bumper to pull the car out? So as he stops and puts it in Reverse, well his 4WD did the EXACT same thing my truck and the bronco did.. so he is sliding and this time I knew I was going to take some damage. He hits the bronco, and then his front end slams into my rear end, I was a bit concerned the force would push my rear end off the edge and into the ravine, but there was not enough force . I was PISSED!

About 15 minutes later, I see Derek flying down the hill on his bicycle! A couple people were like.. "look at this guy on the bike!" lol He was going pretty fast with no ability to really brake on the ice. So now we all stand there wondering what the hell to do now. The guy that was going to save us all, called a buddy to come with a wench truck. A policeman eventually showed up, he parked at the top of the hill and walked down. Told us he was not going to issue any tickets, he had far too many other flipped cars and worse scenarios to deal with, but he did call a sander truck to get there ASAP or else he was going to close the road. He stayed with us until the sander showed up and we were all cleared out to ensure nothing else happened.

Once the sander was there, he spent a lot of time dumping as much sand as he could around our vehicles and got the hill 1/4 sanded up and then left. Not sure why he left and didnt finish sanding the hill, maybe he ran out of sand? The car was pulled out by the one guys buddy and I dont know where that car ended up, maybe the lady or someone drove it off. Then the bronco was pulled out, then the ford and then Derek was able to drive our truck out w/o any assistance. I jumped in and we easily cruised up the hill (which had been cleared of previous dumbass's for atleast 30 minutes at this point).

Oh no, story doesnt quite end there.. As we get to the top, the one police car was blocking any traffic from coming down the hill and up ahead of us was a car and a tractor. The tractor was stopping and talking with drivers headed the opposite direction of us and blocking us from going anywhere. We knew cars would be coming up that hill behind us real quick and if we didnt keep going, they would have to stop on the hill back there.. So we were getting VERY aggitated at this point, we just wanted to get home. So as the tractor moved forward, the car in front of us slowly crept forward and we stayed in the same spot. We were waiting for the car and tractor to get far enough ahead that there was a free lane to pass them in so we could get going and make it up the little incline w/o having to stop mid hill. As we waited, a cop car pulls into our lane, flashing his lights and was face/face with us. We could not back up, the ford truck was behind us. So I get out and head up to the cop and said to him "Where do you expect us to go?" I was not very friendly, I mean seriously.. WTF was his problem! He was very Assholey with his demeanor, he sat way back in his seat, head up all snotty like, didnt roll down his window until I was standing at it! He said "Well I wasnt sure why you werent moving and what you were doing?" OKay I am thinking, then why not GET OUT OF YOUR DAMN CAR and WALK a few feet up to ask us!! Lazy Asshole.. So I say to him "well we are waiting for the tractor to get out of the way so we can get up the next little hill and get home! As soon as he is out of the way, we will be on our way". So he doesnt really say anything, I dont recall what he did say, but I ask him again "where do you expect me to go? I cant back up." He says "cant you back into that driveway?" Now mind you, this driveway he is referring to is steeper than the hill we just came up and he wants me to pull down that driveway? WTF asshole, why would I do that. So I tell him "NO I cant pull into that driveway, I dont want to get stuck, I just want to get home!" I was getting really snippy by this point, this guy was the biggest dumbass idiot cop I have ever experienced.. I said again " as soon as the tractor is out of the way, we will move forward and get home, OK" He then closed his window and backed up into his own lane. He didnt smile, never said, okay have a safe drive.. nothing. I just shook my head, I guess you dont have to have common sense to be a police officer!

So we put it in drive, cruised past officer dumbass, passed the car that was creaping along and as we are in the middle of the road ready to pass the upcoming tractor, a damn stray dog was in the road. This same dog had been down visiting us earlier when we were on the side of the road, some kids said it was a stray and unsure where it belonged. So as we are approaching the dog, it decides its a good time to cross the damn street to be with the kids that were walking along the road. Derek puts on the brakes (we are on the hill/incline now) and I start yelling.. pardon my language.. "FUCK THE DOG>> FUCK THE DOG!!!" At this moment (because Dereks window is down) a girl starts screaming from the left side of the road.. well the dog must have backed off at the very last second because we did not feel a thud and Derek had opted not to attempt to stop.. NO WAY were we risking another accident over a dog.. I'm very sorry to those that may think we are wrong, but my life is a little more important to me.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, we made it home safely and curled up with our children and enjoyed a little downtime in a very clean house!

That was quite the evening. Come morning, the roads were slush and driveable again. We headed off to the 4H tack sale, found a couple items that my friend Molly graciously offered to put with her things so we wouldnt have to spend 1-2 hours in line.. we had a nice lunch, headed home and spent Sunday relaxing and catching up on some TV time that we havent had all week with Derek working 2 jobs.

Oh and did I mention 4WD Ford truck driver that hit me is uninsured! Of the 3 people that have hit us over the years, all 3 have been uninsured.. but I have ALWAYS collected! Ford dude promises to pay cash for damages.. I'm off to get an estimate today, we will see how loyal to his word this guys really is.

I still LOVE the snow, it just reaffirms that I hate stupid people! :)

Thanks Gerri!!

I almost forgot.. Want to give a big shout out to Gerri! Thanks so much for trusting that Red is in a great home with me.. :)

Gerri (who I've been leasing Big Red from) called last week, I started to worry as she wanted to talk about Red and I thought maybe she wanted him back.. Well I'm sure she would love to have him back if she had the time and ability to ride/work with 3+ horses! ;) She called to ask how it was going, if I was happy with him etc..

She decided to sign him over to me, so I now "own" Red! I knew while leasing that he would be mine (most likely) as long as I wanted him, but I always told people he was Gerri's horse and always had her in the back of my mind with the decisions I made regarding Red. Not that anything will change now that I own him, but I really do feel the difference in my head. I think this will help me form a better/stronger bond with him, I already feel like I look at him different when I go out to feed, I know I sound like a cookey-bird! I am very THANKFUL to Gerri for the Great Horse I now own and look forward to lots of miles on the trails in the time to come.

Productive Weekend

We got a lot done this past weekend.. not really anything you would notice if looking around our messy house or out around the house! :) A week ago we had a tack cleaning get together with some horse club friends, it was nice to have company to clean the green off the leather! Yep, it was getting a little overdue to be done.. thats what happens when it sits in the trailer all winter with basically zero use!

But it's all clean and ready for use...

Derek put in his notice after his interview and left on really good terms from that employer. He actually is working part time for them after he gets off work from Seattle... makes for a long day, but he really didnt want to burn any bridges and the extra money doesnt hurt. The good thing is if it doesnt work out with the new job, he still has full time employment options at his old job. But things are going really good at the new place. He really likes the job and the people he works with. I think this is a good fit.

We had gone back/forth all week about what to do about a commuter car. (oh my gosh, I can hear my favorite commercial on the TV in the other room.. dancing rat things in the Kia commercial.. hahaha) Anyways, we had contemplated fixing up the little black truck Derek bought long ago, it is currently in pieces, the bed is not attached, the gas tank is sitting on the shop floor, the motor has never run since we bought it.. You know how a project truck looks! After realizing it needs a whole lot more than just a new motor (needs a new interior as well), Derek quickly realized on Sunday that his fixer upper project was a lot more work than he has time or money to do right now. We had been keeping our eyes open for a little cheap commuter car in the $2k range, but well you know what ya get, crap!

I loaded up Edgar on Sunday to go ride at Mann Rd, Derek was going to go but the last time he started a new job on a Monday, we rode on Sunday the day before and he had that really bad accident on the trail, so he decided it might not be a good idea to ride the day before a new job again! lol He hasnt ridden since October and although I'm sure Edgar would be just fine, thats a 4 month vaca for the horse and who knows if Edgar would act out of character and have a bad day! It was a whopping 30 degrees as I saddled up that morning, but the sun was shining and it was a fantastic ride! We rode for 2.5 hours, the trails were OK, a bit frozen in areas, mucky in others but Red & I had a good ride. We did come across a downed tree that was at my chest level, that was interesting to duck under.. almost had to get off, but I sucked up what I could, bent over and made it through unscratched (twice even!). As I was untacking I get a call from Derek that he is going to Speedway to look at a little car that just came in.. I told him to NOT make any decisions w/o me! An hour later as I'm driving home he calls and says I need to meet him at the dealership, he made a deal to buy the car... lol

So goodbye green truck, hello baby car.. We are the proud owners of a 2007 Chevy Aveo5. Its a little hatchback, similar in style to our old Kia but its a bit smaller than the kia and oranger too.. haha.. yep its that burnt orange color, which isnt too bad actually. We got a damn good trade in on the green truck (only $600 less than we HOPED to get cash for it if we sold privately) and then paid an additional $2k for the car.. free and clear, best kind to own! It has only 60,000 miles on it, gets probably 30+ highway miles, so should be a good commuter. Derek already has plans to pimp his own ride and add some style to the car. Here's a pic of what they look like new. Oh and I did not meet him at the dealership, I drove home and dropped the horse off while he brought the green truck home to clean it out, then we drove down to trade the truck over. The green truck was on it's last leg anyways, it had over 190,000 miles, leaked fluids daily, passenger door was broken and you could only open from the outside, tailgate handle was busted, mirror covers busted, gas guage didnt work, windshield wipers ONLY worked on super fast mode.. the list goes on. Our new little (as Derek calls it: GoCart, I call it Go-Car-T) is very basic, no a/c, no power locks or windows, no CD, just a stick shift, working heat, clean and cute!

Cooper had surgery yesterday to fix his herniated umbilical.. he's doing good, you wouldnt even know he had surgery. Its hard to keep him quiet and calm, I admit I am letting him play a bit more than I should. But it snowed today and him and Ellie LOVE LOVE LOVE to run and play and jump in the snow, so how could I resist! He is now in quiet time, bored out of his mind, he's trying to find things to get into as I have him seperated from the other 2. We are supposed to get a lot more snow tomorrow, I hope Derek doesnt have to deal with stupid people on I5 tomorrow or he might not make it home!

So riding and the new car is not all we did this past weekend, that was just Sunday! Derek had me sell his softball bat and bat bag on ebay 2 weeks ago, that was the sign that he was officially retired.. He sold them so he could buy himself a new bowling ball.. So we got up Saturday morning, headed to Edmonds first to buy a scrap section of carpet for the dogs.. our front entryway was getting disgustingly trashed from the dogs coming in/out all damn day with muddy paws.. It was stinky and gross. So I found a carpet remnant to put in that area.. who cares if the carpet gets trashed. After we bought that, we headed to the bowling lanes to buy his new ball! Here's a pic of what he ordered, yellow is his favorite color! The ball will have his name on it too, the only problem is he got a call today that the ball was discontinued (well the size he wants is) so they are trying to find the same ball elsewhere.. I hope they find it, we both love the ball and it suits him well. Went to Costco after that and purchased my mom's birthday/mothers day gift, yep its 3 months early but I think she will LOVE the gift and I wanted to ensure it was still available so bought it now.

We've been also a bit stressed lately regarding horse shit! Yep, our horse manure.. having the boys home year round means more poo to deal with and we are running out of low spots in the pasture to dump it. So we found a dump trailer in Kent to go look at, drove down Saturday afternoon and bought it.. its just a cheap little $350 thing! Nothing fancy.. Just big enough to load up the horse shit for about 2 weeks and take to a friends house who wants it for compost. After we bought it, we had to go a couple miles down the road to the Mclendons Hardware to buy an adapter for the lights. As we are there, my dad sends a text that he wants me to stop and buy a lazer level in Kent and wonders if we would call the guy. He says something like "I dont know what area of Kent you are in, but the guy is across the street from a Mclendons" Haha.. We were across the street, how perfect was that. When we left, as we were driving the trailer home, it was bouncing all over the damn road, 30 mph and this thing was swaying like crazy.. well shit! How the hell were we gonna find the backroads to get home... We found a Home Depot and loaded up 720 pounds of concrete (one can always find use for concrete) and the trailer traveled perfect after that.. apperently it does NOT like to haul empty.

So I think that officially wraps up the past couple weekends.

Finally, some updated pics!

I finally took the camera out and got some pics of our kids. Actually I should say the weather has been cooperative enough (barely) to get outside to get some shots.


We got a new camera a few months ago, one that hopefully will take much better/clearer pics, especially of our animals since they never stand still for photos, this camera makes it possible to get decent pictures without blurred legs or faces! lol

Not alot happening, Derek is at an interview today. The bummer is the job is in Seattle but it could be a good job to move into. We would quickly have to come up with a new commuter vehicle!! It's been 2 hours since his interview started and I still have not heard from him, so I am guessing it is going well. :) OH YEAH.. while I was uploading pics for this blog, Derek called, of course he got the job! :) Sounds like a great company, one he can hopefully maintain longterm employment with someone that takes care of their employees... !!!

Well here are the pics:


Lazy Days are spent just like this!



or like this!


or even like this... :)

He's almost too cute for words... You can barely see on top of his head the waves which have now turned into a little mohawk, he's getting pretty curly.

Back when we had snow.. Ellie LOVES to play in it

Precious Children

I love our dogs!

just chillin (well mom enforced anyways!) lol

I turned the horses out (not at the same time) to stretch their legs a bit.. Red loves to show off!

Edgar is a little less showy

He's just that good!

Yep, I'm gonna brag on Derek for a minute! He's been keeping his eyes open for a new job for quite a while... I have always been proud of him, in his entire 38 years of life, he has been offered a job from EVERY interview he has ever been on! That is impressive! Last month, he was offered a job over the phone, they didnt even need an interview to want to hire him (although he declined the job). I just think that is worth bragging about.. :)

An Involuntary Moment of Silence

As I walked out of Subway a short while ago on lunch break, I noticed that while I had been inside ordering a sandwhich, motorcycle cops had come up and blocked Tye Street from Fryelands. Unable to now leave the parking lot, I just stood there.. it only took me about 10 seconds to figure out what I was witnessing and it left me motionless and thoughtless to anything else at that moment. My heart immediately felt an overwhelming amount of sadness and I was very suprised to feel so much hurt inside and tears in my eyes.

Probably 40+ motorcycle cops slowly passed by me, headed from the Prison a mile + down the road, towards Everett for the funeral. Those in the parking lot area just stood there and watched in silence. I was feeling under control of my emotions until I saw the hearse and then reality of the situation sunk in. I saw her American Flag covered coffin, the black limos carrying the family, the police cars, aid cars, other family and friends following in their personal vehicles. It all became overwhelming and I cried...

This was the motorcade for officer Jayme Biendl, the prison guard killed by an inmate. I had known about this story, anyone with a TV knows about it (in WA atleast). Derek & I had briefly talked about it, the bullshit of how it could happen. I think we didnt talk a lot about it because it just brings about anger at our system. It seems insane that a prison guard has no way to protect herself and that she is not allowed to carry a GUN! Call me crazy, but I think there is something seriously wrong with our system when an inmate can so easily kill a guard. Maybe if we ran prison's the way a criminal should be treated, this wouldnt happen... anyways, back on track.

My point was that I hadnt spent much time "thinking" about this prison guard, I felt sad for her family and for her, anger that it happened, I heard on the news this AM that her funeral was today, but I didnt dwell on it or have feelings of such sadness until I saw it and was able to put my own reality on the situation in seeing her coffin. I think we can tend to get a bit numb to the bad things that happen to people when we watch the news daily, if it doesnt hit home or does not have a personal tie to your life, you can tend to forget about the human side of it, the reality of life. Atleast that is what happens with me and I was thankful to have seen this motorcade today, to have seen her body pass by me, to remind me again about all the things I am thankful for. To be reminded that the things I hear on the TV news are real and not just another "show" that I watch every night/morning. Reminds me of the loss in my life and to continue to work to have more compassion and understanding of those around me.