| Date: | 2006-10-31 08:53 |
| Subject: | Pictures... |
| Security: | Public |
Sorry for the delay in wedding pictures!!
I'm picking up the digital files on Wednesday and hope to have them up and running by this weekend!
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| Date: | 2006-10-02 08:32 |
| Subject: | We Have Windows! |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  optimistic | | Music: | Kenny Chesney |
We put the majority of the windows in our house this weekend!!! And we picked out our front door and hopefully will have that on tonight!
( Random Building Pictures )
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I finally have a little bit of time to do some wedding updating... still no pictures yet, though - look for those probably late October. (photographer went on vacation and I can't get the digital files until he returns - I have the proofs, but no time to scan them all)
( Too Long To Not Cut )
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| Date: | 2006-09-11 12:45 |
| Subject: | Looks good! |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  stressed |
Saturday
82/58
So far... Looking good!!
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| Date: | 2006-09-08 08:29 |
| Subject: | Myspace... |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  bitchy | | Music: | Fly Away - Sugarland |
I'm doing more on my Myspace now...
Check it out:
http://www.myspace.com/lterhaar
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| Date: | 2006-08-31 15:32 |
| Subject: | Picture Update!! |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  cranky | | Music: | Once In A Lifetime - Keith Urban |
( Branden’s Baby (After it was totaled) )
( Building Progress… )
It’s starting to look like a house :-)
Some shingles got put up last night, Craig thinks they’ll be done by Monday!!!
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| Date: | 2006-08-28 08:51 |
| Subject: | Two Showers... |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  crappy |
I had two wedding showers this weekend. Both went as well as can be expected.
Saturday, my mom threw one at our house. Good munchy food and lots of nice presents! We got lots of stuff for the kitchen! There was one creative idea though... garden stuff (hose/nozel/sprinkler) I thought that was a cute idea!
Later in the evening we headed to my house for a bon-fire. I think it turned out alright.
Sunday, Ann and her sisters threw one at Sandee's house. Everything was beautiful and the food was good! I, again, got lots of nice presents! It was weeird, though. I didn't know some people there, and everyone kind of did their own thing, and barely even talked to me. OO...Well. I guess I have to get used to stuff like that.
Amanda came up for Saturday, though. That was awesome! I wish she lived closer!
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| Date: | 2006-08-23 08:55 |
| Subject: | Been a while... |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  mellow | | Music: | So, So, So Long - Deirks Bently |
It's been a while, so I thought that'd I jot down some stuff...
Saturday evening we had two wedding receptions to attend. The first one was for Branden's cousin, Stephanie. It was beautiful! The food was alright, my meat was way under-cooked, so I didn't eat it. But the decorations were great! After that, Branden and I headed to Artur's (Branden works with). His was definitely different. He is extremely polish, so everything was said in English, and then again in Pollock. They seemed to be having a good time, dancing away. We didn't know any of the dances, but it was fun anyway!
Sunday we took the day off and had some fun at Michigan's Adventures. We've been talking about going since we've been together, but haven't made it in the past three years! It was fun! We played the line game quite a bit, but we got to ride a lot of rides! The water park was the best! Billy came along, as well as a couple of BJ's friends.
Other than that, my life has been consumed with the wedding and the house.
*Wedding Update*
The wedding is coming along good, I guess. We had our "details" meeting at the venue last week. Ann and I disagreed on some stuff, but that's alright. We're supposed to meet with Kerry and Marty to go over what we need them to do, which will be going over everything again. So far we have about 185 attending, and are only waiting on a couple responses. We found out that they have a kid's meal, which is nice. They'll bring out like chicken fingers and stuff so the kids don't have to eat from the buffet.
I have two showers this weekend. My mom is doing one on Saturday that is followed by a bon-fire at our house that includes the guys and what not. Amanda's driving in for that, so I'm excited! Should be interesting. Sunday is the one Ann's sisters are throwing me. That should be interesting as well!
Other than that, I've been really stressed about little details that I'm trying to work out, but I'm managing. I think that if we weren't building at the same time, I wouldn't be as stressed.
*Building Update*
We have our house completely enclosed (minus windows/doors). The exterior walls are stood, and all but two or three of the interior walls. The garage is framed in, and Ann and I finished enclosing the basement last night with plywood. Trusses were stood on Saturday morning. I ended up being the runner, getting everyone what they needed when they needed it. It only took about two hours, which was amazing! Branden would hook the truss on the crane (he had the easiest job!), and the crane would set them in place, with my dad and Craig putting spacers in them, and Jim was bracing them off. I thought it went smoothly. Hopefully we'll start putting plywood on them soon!
I have about three more pictures on my roll of film, and then I'll have another pictures update!
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| Date: | 2006-08-15 10:20 |
| Subject: | Cool E-mail From My Dad! |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  hungry | | Music: | You Look Good In My Shirt - Keith Urban |
ANGEL DECOY
These are photos of an Air Force C-130 releasing flares to repel heat seeking Missiles. The pattern formed by these "decoys" are how they got their name...Angel Decoy.
It's absolutely awesome!
Maneuvers are usually in remote areas and over water, therefore the general public does not get to view these exercises.
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I finally have a picture of my kitty!!!
Meet Chester:
( Pictures of Bell )
On another note…
Branden left my house at about 11:00 p.m. on Saturday night to head home. I got the dreaded call at about 11:15 that he had been in an accident. I got there as fast as I could, my heart beating out of my chest the whole time!! He had turned, while someone was going straight. But it was weird because there were two cars that he waited for, so we don’t really know what happened, and he doesn’t remember! He kept saying that he didn’t think their lights were on. But it’s alright. He had a bad head-ache, and his knees are all scratched up. We took him to the ER because we wanted to make sure nothing was wrong, and everything checked out. He’s just a little sore. No one was hurt in the other car as well. He was driving his Monte, which was probably a good thing as it’s a lot bigger than his truck. And we got word that it is totaled. I talked him into fixing, however. He’s buying it back for about $200, and we’re going to attempt to fix it. It might take some time, but I think it’ll be worth it, and mean a whole deal to him.
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The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the1500s:
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor; hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally t he children; last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, don’t throw the baby out with the Bath water...
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof when it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying... It's raining cats and dogs.
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house... This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt; hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a thresh hold.
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat..
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a ..dead ringer..
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| Date: | 2006-07-31 09:33 |
| Subject: | Building Update |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  pleased | | Music: | I Loved Her First - Heartland |
We spent most of the day Saturday building walls. It was very hot, but we did get a bit done!! We actually stood our first wall Friday night, and stood three more little ones on Saturday. Hopefully within this week we should get all the outside walls done and start on the inside…
( Huge Picture Post )
It’s coming along; we still have a ways to go, but we’re getting there :-)
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God gives us horses and compels some of us to love them. Yet why does the horse, an animal with such a big heart, live such a short life? Perhaps it's because if our horses lived any longer, we wouldn't be able to bear losing them.
Perhaps God looks down on the fine horses we raise and decides when it's His turn to ride. He gives us a few good years to care for and learn from them, but when the time is right, it's up to us to see them off gracefully; O.K., perhaps not gracefully. Blowing into a Kleenex is rarely graceful. But we can be grateful.
To have a horse in your life is a gift. In the matter of a few short years, a horse can teach a girl courage, if she chooses to grab mane and hang on for dear life. Even the smallest of ponies is mightier than the tallest of girls. To conquer the fear of falling off, having one's toes crushed, or being publicly humiliated at a horse show is an admirable feat for any child. For that, we can be grateful.
Horses teach us responsibility. Unlike a bicycle-or a computer-a horse needs regular care and most of it requires that you get dirty and smelly and up off the couch. Choosing to leave your cozy kitchen to break the crust of ice off the water buckets is to choose responsibility. When our horses dip their noses and drink heartily, we know we've made the right choice.
Learning to care for a horse is both an art and a science. Some are easy keepers, requiring little more than regular turnout, a flake of hay, and a trough of clean water Others will test you-you'll struggle to keep them from being too fat or too thin. You'll have their feet shod regularly only to find shoes gone missing. Some are so accident-prone you'll swear they're intentionally finding new ways to injure themselves.
Horses have unique personalities. You'd expect this from dogs, but horses? Indeed, there are clever horses, grumpy horses, and even horses with a sense of humor. Those prone to humor will test you by finding new ways to escape from the barn when you least expect it. I found one of ours on the front porch one morning, eating the cornstalks I'd carefully arranged as Halloween decorations.
Horses can be timid or brave, lazy or athletic, obstinate or willing. You will hit it off with some horses and others will elude you altogether. There are as many "types" of horses as there are people-which makes the whole partnership thing all the more interesting.
If you've never ridden a horse, you probably assume it's a simple thing you can learn in a weekend. You can, in fact, learn the basics on a Sunday-but to truly ride well takes a lifetime. Working with a living being is far more complex than turning a key in the ignition and putting the car in "drive."
In addition to listening to your instructor, your horse will have a few things to say to you as well. On a good day, he'll be happy to go along with the program and tolerate your mistakes; on a bad day, you'll swear he's trying to kill you. Perhaps he's naughty or perhaps he's fed up with how slowly you're learning his language. Regardless, the horse will have an opinion. He may choose to challenge you (which can ultimately make you a better rider) or he may carefully carry you over fences-if it suits him. It all depends on the partnership-and partnership is what it's all about.
If you face your fears, swallow your pride, and are willing to work at it, you'll learn lessons in courage, commitment, and compassion in addition to basic survival skills. You'll discover just how hard you're willing to work toward a goal, how little you know, and how much you have to learn. And, while some people think the horse "does all the work," you'll be challenged physically as well as mentally. Your horse may humble you completely. Or, you may find that sitting on his back is the closest you'll get to heaven.
You can choose to intimidate your horse, but do you really want to? The results may come more quickly but will your work ever be as graceful as that gained through trust? The best partners choose to listen, as well as to tell. When it works, we experience a sweet sense of accomplishment brought about by smarts, hard work, and mutual understanding between horse and rider. These are the days when you know with absolute certainty that your horse is enjoying his work.
If we make it to adulthood with horses still in our lives, most of us have to squeeze riding into our oversaturated schedules; balancing our need for things equine with those of our households and employers. There is never enough time to ride, or to ride as well as we'd like. Hours in the barn are stolen pleasures. If it is in your blood to love horses, you share your life with them. Our horses know our secrets; we braid our tears into their manes and whisper our hopes into their ears. A barn is a sanctuary in an unsettled world, a sheltered place where life's true priorities are clear: a warm place to sleep, someone who loves us, and the luxury of regular meals. Some of us need these reminders.
When you step back, it's not just about horses-it's about love, life, and learning. On any given day, a friend is celebrating the birth of a foal, a blue ribbon, or recovery from an illness. That same day, there is also loss: a broken limb, a case of colic, a decision to sustain a life or end it gently. As horse people, we share the celebrated life cycle of horses: the hurried rush of life, love, loss, and death that caring for these animals brings us. When our partners pass, it is more than a moment of sorrow.
We mark our loss with words of gratitude for the ways our lives have been blessed. Our memories are of joy, awe, and wonder. Absolute union. We honor our horses for their brave hearts, courage, and willingness to give.
To those outside our circle, it must seem strange. To see us in our muddy boots, who would guess such poetry lives in our hearts? We celebrate our companions with praise worthy of heroes. Indeed, horses have the hearts of warriors and often carry us into and out of fields of battle.
Listen to stories of that once-in-a-lifetime horse; of journeys made and challenges met. The best of horses rise to the challenges we set before them, asking little in return.
Those who know them understand how fully a horse can hold a human heart. Together, we share the pain of sudden loss and the lingering taste of long-term illness. We shoulder the burden of deciding when or whether to end the life of a true companion.
In the end, we're not certain if God entrusts us to our horses or our horses to us. Does it matter? We're grateful God loaned us the horse in the first place. And, if it's not too much, we might have at least one more good gallop when we meet again............
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| Date: | 2006-07-24 10:14 |
| Subject: | RIP Skylar... |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: | depressed |
Last night was what I would consider the worse night of my life...
My parents, Branden and I got home for dinner at Phy's around 8:00 p.m. My mom headed to let the horses in, and next thing you know she's running up yelling to call Karen and get to the barn. Sky had a bloody nose, and blood in his mouth. We didn't know what had happened to him or what was going on. My mom called the vet, who only had one person on call that was heading to Marne to stitch up a horse that had cut a main artery, so at the time, Sky wasn't not as serious. We understood that, and understood that she had to go to the other one first, we were fine with that.
But things turned ugly very fast!
Shortly after calling the vet Karen showed up and shortly after Karen showed up Sky started putting his head down. When he would put his head down blood would drip from his nose, and he'd cough and blood would go everywhere. It was so hard to watch, and I can handle a lot! So we got him away from the barn a bit, and tried to keep him as calm as we could. It kept coming faster and faster, and he was fading very quickly. The vet was in the middle of stitching up the other horse and unable to come, and we tried EVERYONE! All small animal vets, everyone we knew. It got to the point that we called a hunter, whom Hal thought would be able to do the job. It had been about two hours of Sky losing the majority of his blood and having to be held up because if he went down he'd just choke and suffer more.
Right after the hunter showed up the vet showed up, which in a way was very good because I wouldn't have been able to deal with the other option at all! By this time Sky had been down for anywhere between 10-15 minutes, and his movement had stopped. He was already gone, but his heart was still beating. She gave him the shot, and he was done suffering.
The vet believes that with his age, and his heart murmur (that he's had for years), his heart valves gave out causing the blood to go back in his lungs, and come out his nose and mouth. She felt so bad for not getting there sooner, but we understood her situation. When we had called he was the less serious of the two, and when we had called back she was in the middle of the other one and unable to leave.
We covered him up, and I got word from my mom that they came and picked up him.
I will never forget the image of him suffering for the last hours of his life. We tried everything we could to make him comfortable, and to get someone to end it, but we couldn't do enough. I will never forget the gurgling noise he was making every time he took a breath, and the blood that poured out of him every time he coughed. I will never forget my dad doing everything he could to keep him standing, and holding him still after he fell...
I hope that Sky has found Pak and was given a new heart...
You are loved and missed...
I would not have been at work today if it wasn't the only day Rob was able to sign a check, and Barb is not in to be my back-up...I might as well stay now that I'm here...
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| Date: | 2006-07-21 09:56 |
| Subject: | Detroit... |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  tired |
My whole office traveled to Detroit yesterday. Our first stop was a visit to our Detroit office; which the majority of the staff (including me) had never seen before. It was an amazing building! Old, and facing the water. They even had heated toilet seats!
Our next stop was Comerica Park for a Detroit Tiger's game, which I would recommend never being the driver there... very stressful!
They played Chicago, and we were fortunate enough to be in the President's suite. It was alright, I'm not a huge baseball fan, and it wasn't a very action filled game. Detroit won; 2-1.
After Rob mingling his way through traffic we headed on the road home, with a stop at Stillwater Grill in Okemos. It was very yummy!
Side note : our power came on at 11:05pm Wednesday night, which was perfect!
And Ralph, from the Fury office, called about me being an off-ice offical!! *~*Jumps of Joy*~*
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Last night some of the floor joyces went up! Hopefully by Saturday we'll be putting on the floor and next week starting on the walls!
Going out there right after work and staying until dark makes for long days, but it needs to be done...
We still don't have power at my house, so I stayed at Phy's last night! Hal and I watched part of Caddyshack! I was very grateful for the shower!
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| Date: | 2006-07-18 07:56 |
| Subject: | |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: | irritated |
My house is in the dark...
And our estimated restoration time is Thursday at 8pm.
Should be interesting!
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Seems like they keep getting shorter and shorter every week!
Friday night we went to The Double JJ rodeo with my parents, Amy, and the boys. It was fun!! There wasn't much action as no body stayed on very long, but it was Amy and the boys' first rodeo experience, and I think they had a good time!
Saturday, we woke up and met Jim at the land with my parents and B.J. We got a lot done! We finished the walls in the basement, and started putting up the floor jocyes! Jim thinks we'll be able to get the floor done this week and start on walls soon!!
After that, my sister surprised my parents with all of their friends at our house after working on the land. In just over a week is their 30th aniversary. They were definately surprised, and I think they had a good time.
Sunday afternoon, Branden's aunt (soon to be my aunt!) Sandy's house for a little get together. It was fun; I enjoyed it!
This week, we'll probably be at the land after work every day, and most of the weekend. Branden's family was talking about doing some tubing on Sunday. That would be relaxing!
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| Date: | 2006-07-10 09:14 |
| Subject: | Picture Update... |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: | sleepy | | Music: | Simple Man |
We had a great weekend :-)
Friday night we went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean! I ABSOLUTELY loved it!!! Everyone go see it, if you have the chance!
Saturday, I had my first fitting in my dress. I can't wait to see it when it fits perfectly!
After that, I headed out to the land. We had to start putting the wood on top of the walls to prepare for the flooring. Hopefully we'll have a floor by the end of this weekend. (We're going to be out there almost every day this week, and most of the weekend!)
After Church on Sunday, Branden and I went and finished what we could at the land, and eventually made it back to my house. Later on we stuffed all the invitations. I'm sending out the first few to some relatives that live in different states so they can start making arrangements. The other's won't go out for a little while longer. Seems to be coming up fast!
So here are some pictures...
( Building Progress )
( Sugarland Concert )
( Misc )
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| Date: | 2006-07-06 12:52 |
| Subject: | |
| Security: | Public |
We had a blast seeing Emerson Drive and Sugarland! (except it got kind of chilly!) I don't know a lot of the songs, but I still had a great time!!!
( Review )
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