We are headed out the door to the National Western Stock Show. Who would have thought that this West Philadelphia born and raised gal, would be going to Rodeos and the like.
For those of you not in Colorado, it is the world's largest stock show by number of animals. The annual National Western Stock Show's goal is "To preserve the western lifestyle by providing a showcase for the agricultural industry through emphasis on education, genetic development, innovative technology and offering the world's largest agricultural marketing opportunities."
The Horse Shows at the annual National Western Stock Show are among the largest in the world with more than 18,000 entries in 2006. Our favorite is the Draft Horse pull.
There is a ton of livestock including cattle, horses, sheep, swine, goats, llamas, bison, yak, stock dogs, poultry and rabbits. Sort of like the Superbowl of livestock shows.
Well, I reckon we should get out the door.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
PW's Skiing Adventures
PW got to go skiing this year once again; more excited than he has ever been about skiing. His enthusiasm is refreshing.
We spent 6 days in Vail. He did a whole day lesson with kids his own age and loved it. Vail does not use a device to help children keep their skis together, and now, the 5 year old pro, informed us "Guys, no more edgie wedgies; superstars don't need them." I then realized at the end of the day those kids were given Superstar buttons thus the reference to his status!
He then spent a day skiing with Kevin at Ski Cooper. Thrilled that he went down the big hill several times, we're now going to get him out a few more times this season.
I'm hoping my father-in-law took some pictures, and will post them as soon as I get a few.
We spent 6 days in Vail. He did a whole day lesson with kids his own age and loved it. Vail does not use a device to help children keep their skis together, and now, the 5 year old pro, informed us "Guys, no more edgie wedgies; superstars don't need them." I then realized at the end of the day those kids were given Superstar buttons thus the reference to his status!
He then spent a day skiing with Kevin at Ski Cooper. Thrilled that he went down the big hill several times, we're now going to get him out a few more times this season.
I'm hoping my father-in-law took some pictures, and will post them as soon as I get a few.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
So What Will Be Different in the New Year
I'm not very good and setting/meeting goals or resolutions that I set in the New Year. I start out strong and within a few weeks lose momentum.
I've decided this year to set monthly goals with a big picture to them instead of big lofty goals.
I'm excited that we will be joining a local Rec. center that has a wonderful climbing wall. When we lived in PA Kevin & I climbed a good deal and now that Paul is older he will be able to climb with us.
I'm hoping that by Easter to have all of our home decluttered. When we moved from PA to CO we moved from a home that was 5200 square feet into a home that was 3380 square feet. After one year in CO, we moved again into a home that is 2800 square feet. In 5 years I've done 64 weeks of travelling and was not able to get through lots of boxes from our initial move. We have made a huge dent in this process but I'm hoping that by Easter that every dresser, closet, shelf, cabinet and box, inlcuding those in our garage, will have been gone through and anything we don't need will be yard saled or donated to a local thrift store. I will greatly de-stressed when this process is over.
We've gotten rid of cable TV in our home a few weeks ago. So in reality we only watch things on DVD since we don't get any stations without cable. I'm looking forward to having a bit more family time for games and such and the chance to spend a bit more time on things like sewing. Plus I'll be glad to not have our son coming up to me and saying "Mom we need this - the TV said so." or "Mom, we need to call your doctor to find out if Boniva is right for you."
I've been listening a great deal to Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace cd's. It is my desire this year to really focus on how I spend my weekly budget. At the start of 2008 I moved from using credit cards, which we pay off every month, to cash. I didn't think it would make a huge difference in my spending. However, I found that my spending went down 28%. Often I would go to put something on the conveyor belt and realize it was Wednesday and I only had $50 left for the week. I'd put it back and think maybe I'll get it next time. Many times I'd forget about the item I thought I wanted the trip before. So often with credit cards, it is too easy to put that item right in the cart and not worry about the extra $10 or $15. When you have to make the money last until the next trip to the bank, you aren't as quick to impulse buy. Unfortunately I ended up going back to credit cards when I went home for my dad's funeral and didn't get back to the habit.
I'm also hoping to do a lot more bulk cooking. For example today, I was making chili and instead of just making enough for today, I made enough to freeze 3 more meals worth. If I do this 2 times a week for a month it gives me 24 meals ready to go in the freezer. When I'm doing bulk meals I plan my recipes based on the great sales that week at the local market. This will put a huge savings on our food budget as well as free up more time for me with homeschooling.
So they are my hopes for this year - get into better shape - physically, home wise, and financial wise.
I've decided this year to set monthly goals with a big picture to them instead of big lofty goals.
I'm excited that we will be joining a local Rec. center that has a wonderful climbing wall. When we lived in PA Kevin & I climbed a good deal and now that Paul is older he will be able to climb with us.
I'm hoping that by Easter to have all of our home decluttered. When we moved from PA to CO we moved from a home that was 5200 square feet into a home that was 3380 square feet. After one year in CO, we moved again into a home that is 2800 square feet. In 5 years I've done 64 weeks of travelling and was not able to get through lots of boxes from our initial move. We have made a huge dent in this process but I'm hoping that by Easter that every dresser, closet, shelf, cabinet and box, inlcuding those in our garage, will have been gone through and anything we don't need will be yard saled or donated to a local thrift store. I will greatly de-stressed when this process is over.
We've gotten rid of cable TV in our home a few weeks ago. So in reality we only watch things on DVD since we don't get any stations without cable. I'm looking forward to having a bit more family time for games and such and the chance to spend a bit more time on things like sewing. Plus I'll be glad to not have our son coming up to me and saying "Mom we need this - the TV said so." or "Mom, we need to call your doctor to find out if Boniva is right for you."
I've been listening a great deal to Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace cd's. It is my desire this year to really focus on how I spend my weekly budget. At the start of 2008 I moved from using credit cards, which we pay off every month, to cash. I didn't think it would make a huge difference in my spending. However, I found that my spending went down 28%. Often I would go to put something on the conveyor belt and realize it was Wednesday and I only had $50 left for the week. I'd put it back and think maybe I'll get it next time. Many times I'd forget about the item I thought I wanted the trip before. So often with credit cards, it is too easy to put that item right in the cart and not worry about the extra $10 or $15. When you have to make the money last until the next trip to the bank, you aren't as quick to impulse buy. Unfortunately I ended up going back to credit cards when I went home for my dad's funeral and didn't get back to the habit.
I'm also hoping to do a lot more bulk cooking. For example today, I was making chili and instead of just making enough for today, I made enough to freeze 3 more meals worth. If I do this 2 times a week for a month it gives me 24 meals ready to go in the freezer. When I'm doing bulk meals I plan my recipes based on the great sales that week at the local market. This will put a huge savings on our food budget as well as free up more time for me with homeschooling.
So they are my hopes for this year - get into better shape - physically, home wise, and financial wise.
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