I'm a new fan -

of THIS place!

Why you wonder?  Well because I purchased my Macbook Pro 3 years ago and the warranty will soon expire (9/3).  It started giving me 'start up disk full' messages and I was constantly getting the 'wheel of death' (that is sometimes called the beach ball).

When I called Apple Support, they were GREAT (always are).  They walked me through some steps then referred me to a local Apple warranty shop.  Waa Laa!

I called, made an appointment and within 24 hours have a computer that feels like new.  They doubled my RAM, upgraded my hard drive to the new "flash" or Solid State and I'm rolling.  Seriously.  My computer is soooo fast.

So, if you're like me and don't want to invest in a new computer but are having issues with your Apple product, check them out.  Jesse, Scott and David will fix you right up!

iDisorder -

do you have it?

This TOTALLY cracks me up. 

Ok, so I listen to John Tesh and definitely entertain my family.  He always has such an insight into all matters of life.  Just last week, he said that if you chew your food 20 times before swallowing you will lose weight.  Hmmm...

Once home (it was one of those nights where everyone ate something different) we sat down to eat.   I tend to eat fast.  Always have.  Always will.  Maybe it's because I am the one that usually cleans up. Maybe it's because I'm hyper.  Maybe it's just because it's what I do.  Anyway.  At one point, Cierra asked me if I wasn't hungry because I was eating slow.   So I dished.  Of course they all cracked up because it doesn't really make sense to chew cereal 20 times, lol!

Anyway, yesterday he talked about this book.  Basically it's about those people that MUST have their cell phone.  They sleep with it.  It's the first thing they pick up in the morning.  They panic if they can't find.  You can't carry on a conversation with them because they are never listening.  Pretty much you have to compete with their iPhone and they just rarely lay it down. 

Don't get me wrong, I do LOVE technology.  I love my iPhone, iPad, Macbook.  Without question. But, it's not my oxygen and I can survive without it for extended periods of time.

I am going to admit though that while it wouldn't be fair for me to accuse certain people (just like AA, they have to admit first), I do know of at least two people in my life that I feel have iDisorder.  How about you? 

You have to read some of the excerpts from this book.  Click HERE

Enjoy.....it's FRIDAY EVE!

Wordless Wednesday?

It probably should be.  What I have to say is pretty uncommon for me.

I'm feeling overwhelmed.

Anxious.

Kinda blah.

Unmotivated.

Quiet. (but music does soothe the soul =)

Enough whining.  I actually do have things to be thankful for.  I woke up this morning.  The sun was shining.  I have food and shelter.  And my biggest challenge today was finding a book bag for Cierra.  And it was a challenge.  Let's just say it took a village.  Yep, one on eBay but $99.  NOT.

Oh, and of course Chase.

It seems odd.  For years they didn't carry book bags and now suddenly in their Freshman and Jr. year, they need book bags.  Big book bags.  But I was successful.  At least for Chase.  Cierra's is on back order until 10/28 so she will have to make do with this one -

Geez.

Oh yeah.  I can't forget trying to find tires.   Reasonably priced.

Why?  Because I have a slit in one of mine.  67,000  miles and they are dry rotting.  Go figure.

I actually succeeded at that, too but pretty pricey and unexpected/unplanned.

Good news?  Sure.

Chase will be playing ball for the high school -

and that makes us all happy.

So there ya have it.  I hope your week is going better than mine.  Happy Hump Day!

Sweet 16!

Happy Birthday Courtney!

We hope your 16th birthday is as special as you =)

It's really quiet around here -

The corral is EMPTY. What's up with that?!

Well, Cocoa and Puff were dropped off to be bred. We are hoping to have some little ones running around here early next year. This guy will be the 'Dad' =)

And Reba?! Well she was taken over to the Corbett's into the wide open field. Not sure she knew what to do with all these friends -

And who will the 'Dad' be? Check this ram out....

 he won Reserve Champion at the Maryland State Fair last week. Sweet....

We should be able to bring all three back home in a few months. Until then?! Well, it's pretty darn quiet around here.

Saturday was the last day of the 2012 fair -

the day our animals looked a little bit different -

the day that our pets turn into 'projects' and we have to be OK with that.  They were raised as a project and the project officially ends today -

But Cierra and Chase are both blessed to have buyers like these -  Jeannie Hamilton, representing Farm Family Credit

(oh look, Arrow is giving Cierra a kiss =( good bye)

and Stephen Skinner

This means there are basically three options for Cast, Bow and Arrow.  Family pet, butcher shop or livestock.  Regardless, yesterday was the day we say good bye to them.

Before we say good bye to the fair though, Ronnie and I make one run through the buildings.  

LOVE Black Dog Coffee.  They are working on a new location which sounds like lots of fun.

Check out this sunflower.  The seeds look perfect.

The books are stacked up for pick-up.  Yay, two blue ribbons.

Our club's barrel and display are great, too.

Awards - Chase received 1s place in the rate of gain.

And last but not least, it's the annual egg toss.  I don't do very good at this so Ronnie Chose another partner -

Yep, Joey Cross =)

And what a GREAT choice he was.  They came in 2nd!!

Each with a Red ribbon and $2, lol!  Always fun.

So good bye fair, 'see ya next year' to all our fair families and friends.  Congratulations to Cierra and Chase and all the 4Hers.  It was a GREAT week!

FYI

SCROLLING IS NECESSARY......

Yep, I finally caught you up on our week.  The only day missing is Sunday and I'm workin' on it =)  

ENJOY!

TGIF

We LOVE Fair week but I honestly start wearing down by Friday.  Work, home, and then back to our camp to check out the tractor/truck pull.

We have been so blessed with weather.  Every evening has brought perfect temperatures and beautiful sunsets.   A little 'over' fair food, I grabbed a pizza from Mena's on the way home and finally got to taste the FFA Alumni roasted corn!

OMG - it was wonderful!

Tractors - 

Trucks -

And then BIG rigs - 

Another late night but we are getting close to the end of the week.  Rest and relaxation is on the horizon =)

Friday eve -

aka Thirsty Thursday =)

We LOVE, LOVE the horse pull and it usually starts early so we make every effort to be out there early on Thursday. Aren’t they just beautiful?

And then there’s the Tuff Trucks. This totally cracks me up – The 2-wheel drive went first and honestly many of them looked like they were someone’s ‘go to work’ cars - wow.

And then there’s those that flip over, haha!

Thank goodness no one was hurt.

On Wednesday we got a small taste of some excitement planned for Thursday and they weren’t wrong when they said it would be a GREAT show! I’m sure Chase would love to ride the “Cool Bus”, ha!

Who wouldn’t?! Especially if you get a higher education..LOL

What a show these trucks put on –

And this was their 'bow' -

with the grand finale' a 'car-b-que' - this thing had a jet engine...

that torched a car!  Wow!!!

 The horse pull, Tuff Trucks, action show, dinner, an ice cream sandwich then a quick good bye to these two

Oh but we had to stop by to see if J7 was the winning spot for the Cow Chip Bingo.  Well, unfortunately not.  We weren't a winner.  Looks like the 'poop' hit way on the outside.  Oh well, maybe next year.

And we headed home. I’m tired…..sure am glad the fair only comes once a year but every hour of sleep I lost was worth it, that’s for sure!