Still hanging

One more day has passed without Barry's company being saved via the financial plan that is in the works.

Yes, this is the same plan that was hammered out pretty well on Friday and was to have been signed straightaway. It has not. There are rumors flying everywhere about there being glitches, and other problems, and no one knows what to believe. Barry's crew is on the road working, but he hears that most other people are not at work, either having been told not to come in or having elected to file for unemployment.

He assumes that things are still on target to have the agreement signed--but you know what happens when you assume.

So here I sit, trying to get through the day without overloading on carbs, and hoping for an answer soon. The right answer of course, that is the one I want. I sure do not want Barry to have to go through finding another job, and the only thing that makes any sense is that this will work out--it is the waiting that is so hard for me. And this is not even about me. Damn it to hell, things are never good when they do not revolve around me! That means I cannot fix them

My friend had surgery today, and while I visited her after work, she had to hurl. That ran me out of there in a hurry-- so I went to a short spinning class. I am still not up to par, but I got through it, so I am going to try it again in the morning--I have training after work.

All the mares are still pregnant. Imagine that. Without an answer from Barry's work, I do not know what to do about the two time sensitive issues in our world--the already paid for breeding on the next few mares, one of whom needs to be short-cycled on Thursday, and our vacation that may or may not go. The deadline on that is Wednesday.

To keep myself from spiralling into a mass of nerves, I am going to go to bed--like I ever need an excuse for that!

Something to look forward to

I got the resort for Bonaire nailed down--8 months in advance and we got the last unit they had--thank God it was the 2 bedroom we needed. This is where we are staying, the premier dive resort on the island. http://www.buddydive.com/ This is where everyone recommended we stay. The guys we dove with in Belize this year own a unit there and heartily recommended it. I should have realized that meant it would cost mightily, but you know what? I do not give a shit. I just do not. It will be almost the 15th anniversary of me and Bub, so I will blame it on that. And also I will not give a shit. So there. Life costs and that is why God made mastercard. Memories are priceless and the experiences will be as well.

Friday nite is Halloween. I suspect you all know this. It never occurred to me to dress up. But I fully intended to dress up whichever horses we take to Hutch's for sorting practice. We are having a weenie roast there as well, and a costume contest. I have two good ideas for costumes--well one awesome idea that I do not want to tell, lest someone steal it, and one that is not that unique--I am going to make Twister a zebra--he is the only one that is close to Zebra color. So I need some spray paint I guess. Also there is some exciting side effects of that- I always feel obligated to take horses that NEED to be practicing. I just never take one that is just totally push button and fun to ride because you do not have to be hyper alert the whole time you are there. This time I will. I just had a brilliant plan--I assumed the top secret costume idea would be used on Target, who may well take exception to it---but I bet Barry would enjoy a nite off as well--although he does want to start Targ on cows. I could take Gyro--who hates cows by the way but will do whatever you tell her--and we could both relax and enjoy the evening.

OR we could take Diablo! Man would that be fun, we have not had her on cows is so long, usually because she is so fat she can hardly waddle, but she has dropped a load of weight----

oh the options! Of course, there are dozens of horses we could take if we want to really have a good time. Like Playmate. She loves sorting, and would enjoy it more than anyone. Then again, so would Foxy--but her baby belly would maybe get in the way. She will work the hair off a cow though, and I am way overdue for an adrenaline rush.

Man all of a sudden, my attitude just got better, just thinking of the possibilities!

Now when do I fit in the trip to the dreaded WalMart to get all the stuff? I am so out of shampoo too--such that I actually organized the bathroom cabinet in the hallway bathroom yesterday looking for it. Freaky huh? I also tried to do a kitchen cabinet that is the black hole of supplies and crap that fits nowhere else, but the shelf keeps falling down--turns out there is a stupid system in there for holding up the shelf, and it is kaput. It is always something getting in my way.

I have Marvin stopping by tonight to do some feet for me--Mojo needs his done before his trip to PA, Sly is getting long and Fonzie is threatening to run away if I don't get his done--I swear we just did them, but they are growing like crazy. Who am I kidding--with 40 plus horses, on any given day, someone needs a trim. I am so lucky to have a good farrier who spends so much time with us.

Now to get through this day to start all that.

Ooo the CMS people are on the horn about my voicemail. How exciting. Now I am able to get my voicemails that have built up over the last month, which will probably give me a panic attack.

My whole life is like this--run around, go back, run around some more, forget what I was doing, start over....

Edited to add: What does it mean that I am evidently on the speed dial from the federal pen? They must think I am a friggin idiot.

Travel plans

So much is going on in the next few months up in here---

We have the NCHA Futurity that we are going to for three days in December. Ten days after getting back from there, we are going to Houston for Xmas with the rest of my family--that will be a ncie getaway of five days. I have never been to Houston before and I cannot wait to see Mandy's fancy new house before the next hurricane comes and knocks it down.

But the big news is that I bit the bullet today and bought the plane tix for the girl trip 09--again, with boys. Which makes no sense, I realize, but there it is. Amy B and I took up doing a girl trip a couple of years ago, and it was so awesome, it kickstarted my need to get back in traveling mode. We have been on a tear since then. We had so much fun, but I knew Barry would love it to, so he got in on it this year on our repeat trip to Belize. It is fun to have us all back together again

We got a little carried away this year, not only burning up all the vacation time, but a whole lot of money. Our last trip was the Canada thing, and obviously that was work-related. It still costs a lot

So on May 3o this year, after all the foals are born, Amy, Barry and I, and if some boy she chooses makes the cut, will be in Bonaire, scuba diving for a week. Barry and I were there for one day in February this year, when we went on the cruise with Carrie and Doyle and knew right away that was where we had to go next on our dive trip with Amy.

It is now booked and scheduled. It is a huge pain in the ass getting there, since you have to fly overnite to get there. Bonaire is off the coast of Venezuela, but Amy has to fly to freaking Newark from LA to get there. Which works out well, as so do we, but at least we do not have to fly cross-country to get to Newark--just across half of it. We will travel on from there together

Bonaire is renowned for its diving, with an average of 100 foot visibility, and the island is surrounded by a reef that makes it easy to do shore dives virtually anywhere you want to do it. I am looking forward to that, because nothing sucks worse than getting up at 7 am to go dive---no thanks. This way we can go whenever we feel like it! Our accommodations include unlimited shore diving, so we will be filling up those log books in a hurry
This pic was not actually taken in Bonaire as all those shots are on the other computer, but hey, I am sick at home, so it is the best I can do

Grenada

We are sitting in port in Grenada waiting to go to the beach--but I had to check for emergencies first. This is the first time I have checked my email, can you believe that?

Carrie and Doyle's luggage is still lost and two airlines are arguing (read: lying) about where it is. That has made things intersting, but the ship has done so much to help them

We have been to St Maarten where we had a crazy day--absolutely hysterical, I will tell about it later.

Yesterday was Dominica, where Barry and I went diving--saw some amazing things--including a sea horse, which is very rare to see and he was a big 'un. We dove at Lybam (or something like that, I have to look it up) and Champagne. I also finally saw eels, and although I almost stroked after seeing the first one, I got myself together for the next one well enough to take photos of the nasty bastard. Then I saw one on the floor, that was about 3 feet long--good thing I was a ways away, that is for sure. They are actually kind of pretty, as long as you do not see the teeth.

Anyway, just wanted to update you--even though there are no photos yet--before I forget everything that has happened so far.

We are off to the beach!

T-2 hours

God willing, we will be in the car in two hours headed for leg 1 of our journey--we have errands to run in St Louis before we check into our hotel. We have to be at the airport at 5:30 am--gracious, why did I think that was reasonable? Within 12 hours of that, we will be checked into our ship, and hopefully having a bon voyage cocktail with Carrie and Doyle---they will be exhausted, I am sure since they started traveling today.

Our first stop is St Maarten, where we just were in October. Since we know the place so well, we are going to get a car and show Carrie and Doyle the highlights--and the lowlights like the nekkids at Club Orient. I am after a good piece of jewelry I saw there before that I have been thinking about ever since, as well. I will have to behave so that Barry thinks I deserve it.

I will try to check in this week, and post updates.

ETA: Carrie and Doyle have hit their first snag--they were supposed to leave Edmonton for Cabnada hours ago and their plane is having mechanical issues. Now it will get them to Denver later than their connecting flight to Orlando, which they are supposed to then take to Miami, then to San Juan. I figured they would have weather issues, but instead they have this one. They may be rerouted to Denver, then to Washington (I did not think to ask if it was Wash State or Wash DC), then arrive in Miami at 2:30 or 3 am. So much for their Orlando hotel layover huh?

Let's hope this is the only hangup of the trip

You all behave while I am gone!

Today is the day!

Woo hoo! After work today, we leave for St Louis to run errands, and stay in a hotel for our early flight to St Martin tomorrow. I don't know that I will have any internet access there for the entire 9 days I am gone---that will be freaky.

I made the mistake of watching the Killer Squid show on Discovery channel the other nite. That was dumb. It was about Humboldt squid that are in the Sea of Cortez and prove my point aht squid are not sacks of goo that look like octopus--they are SMART. I may never sleep through the nite again.

The Chicago trip was very nice, which is saying a lot from me as I am not a fan of Chicago. There have been well over 40 people exonerated in Illinois now, which is a whole other topic I will get into some time when I am not in theis huge rush, like I am today. John Grisham and Scott Turow were very funny. There were some big deal people there which was fun. We stayed in a great hotel--the Belden Stratford in Lincoln Park. We had the best view, and a huge suite with a damn dining room! We shoppped a bit on Michigan Avenue--I got new bags--I am always getting a new purse or bag it seems. We almost missed the train back--I think they may have actually held it for us!

What else? My Dad did not have his surgery yesterday because he had a fever so they had to reschedule. I remember that happening to me when I was little once too.

To get ready today, I have to go to two banks, take Thor to the kennel (I may try to make Barry do that, as I am afraid I will start crying when Thor realizes he is being left there), turn out two babies into the front pasture, feed everyone, make Barry fix a piece of fence he forgot about while I was gone, and pack just a few more things. That is not so much really.

One step forward, two steps back.

I swear, I cannot win for losing lately. I know these are not a big deals, but still I am irritated.

I had to take Thor to the vet to get his shots to go to the kennel while we are on vacation. As a rule, I think dogs are overvaccinated, but whatcha gonna do? He went yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised that the bill was only $52. Pretty good deal for rabies, distemper and bordatella. While there though, I had the doc look at this growth in his mouth and she says it has to come out. It is surely benign but will cause trouble anyway--so now he is scheduled for that on November 9 for $205.

Today, I am scheduling my referral dives with the dive shop in St Martin. We have to do four. I assumed that would happen in two sessions, like two mornings of two dives each. Um no. The way this shop does it is to do the first one at 2 pm on Monday--which means we cannot go to St Barts or Orient Beach that day. The second one is at 2 on Tuesday, so another day out of whack. Then Wednesday we start at 9 am and knock out the last two dives. I had been concerned that the first dive at least would be a pool dive and I would feel like I had not had enough time in the ocean. But I was also worried that there will not be enough time to do everything I want to do on this trip---which is a dumb thing to worry about, we have almost 8 full days and will be back for a day in February with Carrie and Doyle while we are on our cruise.

I no longer need to worry about that. There was a mixup and we now have to ADD pool dives to the deal. This means we will have full days on Monday and Tuesday and 3/4 day on Wednesday---and of course, have to pay more money. I do not really care about that as it is so absurd after all, but ... and how can adding a pool dive or two add that much MORE time? I am sure I do not know.

On the scuba front as well, I have heard an unfortunate rumor that I am going to see octopus on this trip. Now everyone who knows me knows that it gives me the shakes to even type that. Give me a man eating shark and one of them shocking sting rays over over a damned octopus or a squid any day. And This after I was coming to terms with the whole eel thing which has been bothering me more than it should. Barry calls them "those snake like bastards", and I suspect he will pee himself when he sees one--he is deathly afraid of snakes and snake like bastards.

That is a heck of a problem for me to be whining about, isnt it?

Now Barry has decided he has nothing to wear on vacation and wants to go shopping. If you could see his closet, you would laugh, there is enough in there for 10 people. He probably has 15 swimmers, and thinks he needs a new one and where do you get that in Illinois in October.

He also does not want to wag my camera all over so wants to buy a really tiny digital to carry in his pocket. He has been asking about this for a long time, as he wants to take one biking with him--so we are off to look for one after work today. cha ching! I am still taking mine with me, I have news for him.

But, I have dealt with AQHA today who actualyl FIXED a problem I was having with their upoad photos form for registrations. And I got four more submitted, leaving only two more to do and they are not under a time crunch yet. God knows what I named them or how hideous the photos are, but I do not care. The point is they are in and they are not late!

This week's agenda and accomplishments

Yesterday there was a threat of rain. It was overcast all day, but we only got about 12 raindrops, despite really black clouds and lots of wind. Typical.

There was some excitement at the farm though. I needed all the weanlings dewormed again, it is time. They however are in the front pasture with no good catching area and are in that funny stage where they are hell on wheels and I had too much to do to be chasing babies in the wind--which never helps. There were also some in the middle pasture where they got yesterday --somehow getting through the divider fence--I had caught some and put them back, but they seemed to be back in the wrong spot again. So Madison and I set ourselves to collecting up babies and putting them back where they belong. Like most things, this sounds a lot easier than it is. Barry got there in the middle of it and was a big help--I cannot send Madison into the herd to shoo babies for fear she will get hurt, but I can him!

We got the babies peeled off and put where they belong. Hemi, Harley, Phoenix, CC, and Squiggy got wormed.... Hammer, Cricket and Riot were not due yet, and Vixen was just done. I felt good getting that out of the way even though Barry was mad that he got roped into helping with that. They get their shots this weekend, and I may wean Cricket tonight. At least she is easy to play with.

I went out to the back pasture to deal with the water babies, which takes a really long time because they drink the water as fast as it comes out of the hose. I fed the old people, and waited and that is when the 12 raindrops came. Of course. Madison wallered around on Marvin the donkey--she has taken to riding him, and in just two sessions, has gone from being hesitant to get on him at all, to hopping up on him whenever she can catch him, haltered or not.

When we got back up front, Barry was chasing a red baby and cussing a blue streak. Evidently the chasing game got out of control, she got trapped in the run in shed and JUMPED out of the window! The window is way over her shoulder height. As usual, I am torn between irritation at having another chore, and being impressed she could get that kind of air under those circumstances.

I was in bed early last nite, although it was not peaceful. That pig gets louder all the time. He wanted in the bed, which makes Thor mad, but it was a lot quieter that way. It did result in me getting up early to keep them from arguing over who got to lay where and I was at work my 8 am--that NEVER happens.

When I got here, I learned that the timothy shipment is not coming today, despite Barry's day off to receive it, the rental of equipment, etc. I am about a 7 on the irritated scale on that. The alfalfa arrived early though, and is probably unloaded by now. I have about 69 round bales of that stuff right now. They are big mothers though. On my recommendation, another local guy is buying a semi from this dude, so I hope that bodes well for me in the future.

Hopefully Barry will be working on that damn fence today, I really want it done by October 26, when we pull out of here to go on vacation. The last thing my mom needs is to have to chase horses.

What else happens this week? If things go well, I am going to take Target to the trainer tonight....assuming it does not rain (yeah right), he will get in the trailer (he better), and BS does not need the truck for something else.

Thor goes to the vet tomorrow at 11:30 to get all his shots to stay in the kennel while we are gone. I am not giving anyone else any chances to hurt my baby while I am gone, and this is a kennel different from what I have used before. I hope he does not think I have left him-- I have always avoided it before I dont want to court bloat, but getting beat up at home like last year is not an option either.

Other than that, I don't think I have a huge amount to do this week. The goal is to get fence done, which is hard when it gets dark by 6:30. I also have to finish my SCUBA tests online so I just have to do my dives when I arrive. There is so much to do there, that I am afraid there will not be enough sleeping time!

Oh that reminds me, I made my air arrangements for our cruise in February. Paid more than I wanted to but got what I wanted, and booked the hotel for the night we are in San Juan on the way back--it looks like a nice place and is located well. This is it http://www.normandiepr.com/?src=ppc_google_brand

State of the Art? Not so much

Now if this was my manner of transport anywhere in the US, I would surely cry and be convinced I was being hauled off to an unfortunate end. But since I was on vacation, it seemed like an adventure to me. We flew from the mainland of Belize in this bitty plane, sweating like hogs but laughing like we had stolen it. On the way to our island, we even stopped and dropped off some luggage at a private island, turned around in a circle and flew off again. It still only took about 15 minutes.

We landed on the San Pedro airstrip, which is smack in the middle of town, where this swell fellow asked if we needed a beer---I did not think this was any time to start a new habit of turning down a cold beer. Besides, it was HOT in that plane and we were on vacation. I did not know that he would have to run across the airstrip to a store or restaurant to fetch them, but that is precisely what he did. This is how we were introduced to Belikin, the local beer, which is really not bad, but very tricky in that the glass bottles are really heavy. That would be all right but it is misleading in that it makes you think that you still have some left, when in fact, it is empty. And no, Mom, we were not the only ones that noticed it--it was a common complaint from everyone we met. Tricky tricky, those Belikin bottlers are.

This last pic is just funny-- and is no joke- that is the ACTUAL baggage claim, I kid you not. They are very cute though how they ask for your baggage claim ticket as if your bag could get mixed up with the three other ones on the wagon. I think I need a big ol' wagon like that to haul hay though, I would get a lot more done!

Which one is the pervert?

This picture was taken late at nite (yeah really late, probably 10 pm but time gets all screwed up there!) our first nite in San Pedro--we met all of these people within an hour of arriving, either at our resort where the guys worked, or the beach bar next door where the girls and one guy were hanging out with their families. We went to dinner with their families, then dancing---we had such a great time, and I was disappointed to see that this is the only pic I had of all of them.

The girls left the next day but the guy from Wales was there with his dad all week, and we kept running into them at Fido's, a fun place with live music and cold drinks, right on the beach in the heart of town. It seemed like we had known them all forever.

I am pretty sure it was not long after this that we had to be put in a cab and sent home by Gene Gene the Smiling Machine, as we had lost the ability to navigate for ourselves. Probably you find that hard to believe, but hey-- we were on vacation! There is something to be said for a place where it is all right to get a little silly, and someone will take care of you.

Now I am thinking these two guys from our resort have the best jobs in the country--they entertain the guests out at the clubs, and it sure looks like fun! It was cool to have someone tell us where the party was that night, but also to buy our drinks when we got there....now that is living! I was sure at first I was just really popular to be getting all this attention, but I am confident now that it is just their job to carry on like that. Oh well--

On Sunday, we made even more new friends on our dive trip--Ted and Christy from NYC, who were scouting wedding locations. Ted is a former attorney who just finished his first novel and is now assisting Christie in her business, which is certainly unique. She invented a game called PervArtistry--a sort of combo pictionary/charades game with adult themes--- http://www.pervartistry.com/ Their stories are absolutely priceless, but I am not telling them, lest someone's grandma is reading this. We had a great time with them on the boat, and for drinks later--I only wish they had more time on the island to hang out with us, as we laughed so hard, we hurt. Good luck picking a location guys, and have a happy marriage!

My partner in --um, crime, I guess

Aren't I graceful? Well, underwater, at least it is harder for me to trip over things!

I dont know how to shift this pic of AmyB, but I guess it does not really matter---she is never straight up anyway! She is the one that got us into this trip in Belize--well, I picked the place, but it was her idea that we needed a girl vacation. Was she ever right! Without her scuba-crazy influence, I probably would not have dove again, and I am so glad I did! She has dove all over the world, more than 50 times, and now she has me so addicted that I worry for the future of my Mastercard! She may join us in St Martin in the fall, and now we are talking Greece for next August or so....she had already been to Greece and as much as I have dreamed about it my whole life, I have been a little apprehensive about getting in over my head--with her as a guide, I will be in great hands. Liquored-up maybe, but good hands!

More sights from below

Some of my favorite pics from our dives. We dove three times, from 40 to 65 feet, at HolChan Marine Reserve, Cypress and Tuffy Gardens. The best pics come from the more shallow dives, I think.

The pic of the left is a baby sea turtle, maybe 8 inches across. He was very cute. The bigger they get, like the one below, the crazier looking they get with their speckled heads and beaky faces. I think we made this one angry

This spotted eagle ray was my favorite thing we saw, and it was on our last dive. He was at least 6 feet across in wingspan with an equally long tail. He was amazingly majestic and so graceful the way he just glided through the water.

Thanks to Ecologic Divers, especially Junior and Steve, for an amazing experience. We will be back!

Amazing underwater world

I'M BACK! Ambergris Caye is the most amazing place I have ever been. The scuba diving is the best I have ever done, and I am completely addicted again. I have a jillion pics to post, but I will start with my favorite pic of this nurse shark. We saw a lot of them, and even got to touch some of them.

Another successful vet visit--TWINS

Hallelujah--there is now only one baby in Foxy! I was not that worried about her but the vet seemed to be, so off we went again this morning to confirm that all was well. She is about day 37 with baby 1, and no sign of baby 2 anywhere, so he can relax now.

Miss Sally, a customer's mare who I really like having around, is also toting a cute little wiggle of about 18 days.

Squeak, who should have been a breeder tonight, is only showing a 22 follicle, so we have to re-check her Monday morning. I am crossing my fingers that all goes well with her because breeding her is a 2 man operation and I leave for girl weekend with AmyB a week from today. In fact- in exactly one week to the minute, I will be en route to BELIZE!

As much as I love my horses and I do, I am so looking forward to 4-5 days without them! And even better is knowing that since Barry is here, I do not have to worry that something has gone berserk, or the fence is down, or someone is hurt like I do when other people watch them for me. I will be able to really relax and I am way overdue for that!