Count Your Blessings

Happy Thanksgiving! Here we are again, at the tail end of November. Where does the time go? I must confess that I have had a pleasant distraction over the past few weeks, and the time has flown.

This time of year, it's always nice to take a moment and reflect on the months that have gone by. My friend Brenda has a quote of the day e-mail list & she always sends out a list of what she is thankful for -- and asks her readers to tell her what we are grateful for, as well.

Here's my list:
1-- My family & friends, both near & far. You all are the greatest!
2-- Baxter -- even if he is a rascal sometimes
3-- Good books, Netflix and my crafts (Yea, I am showing my nerdiness)
4-- Ozark Organic Wine. I'm uncorking a bottle today!
5-- The new person in my life. I am so lucky to have met him.

That's my top 5. What's yours?

And I must run -- the bread in the oven is done & there are places to go and people to see!

Happy...Christmas?!

I had to double-check my calendar, but we haven't celebrated Thanksgiving yet. So WHY did I see so many Christmas lights, trees and displays on my drive home from Oklahoma City last night?

Seriously, folks. It's bad enough that the big-box retailers shove their cheap plastic decorations and Christmas merchandise down our throats the day after Halloween. But for people to string up Christmas lights and set up their Christmas trees in their front windows? And for a city to not only put up their town decorations, but also to light them? It seems to take away the wonder and novelty of the Christmas spirit and fantasy.

Trust me, I love Christmas decorations as much as the next person -- but decorating before we've even set the table for Thanksgiving seems like a cardinal sin. I'm counting the days until I can pack up the few fall/Thanksgiving items I have and pull out the sparkly, glittery, shiny Christmas decorations and decorate. And I'm looking forward to being able to set up my Christmas tree properly this year -- instead of setting it up on a chair so a curious, tiny puppy doesn't try to climb it.

But I'm waiting 'til the Sunday after Thanksgiving to do it. How about you?

Where has November gone?

Greetings from Oklahoma City! Since my last post, we've elected our first African-American president, my friend & neighbor Alisen brought baby Roland into the world (he's a cutie pie!), and I've spent almost a week in Oklahoma City.

I'm here for the AQHA World Show, and it's been a great time so far. All of my clients have made the Finals in their respective classes. The Open 2-year-old Western Pleasure shows tomorrow afternoon, and I'm rooting for my friend & client Joetta Bell and "My Ace Is Hot" (aka Deuce) in this tough class. Keep your fingers & toes crossed they do well.

Once that class is over, I plan to hit the road for home. I'm looking forward to being home again -- the holidays are quickly approaching.

I have an ambitious goal for December: doing a daily photo (or more!) for a December Daily album. Check out this link at Studio A if you're interested:
http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/december-daily-album-2008.html

There -- now I've committed to this project & will have to follow through. Hopefully that will carry over to my blog posts. I have a few topics brewing on the back burner.

History in the making

Here we go! As I write this, the polls in two states have just closed. The long wait to see who makes history as our next President-Vice President duo is officially down to just a few hours.

Here in our little corner of Missouri, we made our way to the voting place -- and found it bustling. Usually, you can walk right in, check in and vote without seeing any of your neighbors. Not this fall: people had to wait for their turn to vote and it was standing room only in the community center. I didn't even fill out my ballot in a private voting booth -- and neither did several other voters. I think we were all too excited to wait for a seat at one of the three booths available!

I rode to the poll with my neighbor Alisen. There, we ran into almost everyone from the hollow at the community center. I don't know if Huxley quite grasps how historic this year's election is -- but I think he will remember it in the years to come.

Who knows where any of us will be four years -- or even four hours -- from now? At this moment in time, I think we were all proud to say we voted -- even if our favored candidate doesn't win tonight.

Are you smarter than a seventh grader?

This fall has been full of new adventures. For the most part, I'm enjoying them!

Last week, I started substitute teaching at a local school district. My first day was subbing for an elementary school class and I loved it. Today, I taught two classes for junior high students. The contrast in the two grades was astonishing. Let's just say that I already went through junior high school once, and that experience was more than enough.

Going in to substitute teaching, I knew that my deafness was going to be an issue somewhere down the road. Let me be blunt here: I don't think kids around here have been exposed to or educated about people who are "different" than they are, and that includes people with disabilities. And you know what? No matter how old I am, and no matter how often I have been singled out, looked at funny, pointed at and made fun of, it still hurts. It never gets easier.

Perhaps experiences like these are why I often choose to live more of a sheltered life, relishing the familiar comforts of home and those I know, as well as creating a business that revolves around the well-being of animals.

That brings me around to my second adventure this fall: ozarkhandcrafts.com! I am in the process of creating a new web site that will feature the unique handcrafted items created by the talented artists in our community. Please visit ozarkhandcrafts.com to check out the beginning stages -- and bookmark the site so you can watch it grow. My goal is to have several merchant pages available by Thanksgiving weekend.

Don't forget to vote tomorrow!

Sweet November

Surprise! I'm back. It's been almost a month since my last post. Life kind of took over. Since my last write, I've been to Columbus, Ohio, and Lisle, Illinois, and points in between.

The Congress out in Ohio was a great show for me. I changed my mind about five times as to whether or not I was going. I'm glad I went -- I had more than enough work to keep me busy for the two weeks I was out there. The first week was a little crazy: I was swamped with work Saturday through Tuesday. Then everything went haywire. I got my big toe stomped on by a 1,000-pound client, locked my keys in my car (something I have done with every single vehicle I have ever been in), moved to a cheaper/closer motel and promptly got violently ill with the flu. Everything after that was a breeze!


One of my favorite clients at the Congress won not one but FOUR championships with the two-year-old she trained herself. I'm excited for the World Show that's coming up in a few weeks.






On my way home from Ohio, I made a detour north for a girls' weekend with Brenda. I finally got to meet (and snuggle!) the lovely Sophia. So adorable! She even put up with us sticking her in a giant pumpkin so we could take some pictures. Aren't they two happy girls?

That's my October. It went by super-fast, and now I am scrambling to get my fall projects finished. We are having some fabulous weather, and I plan to take advantage of it this weekend to get my outdoor projects done. See you out there!