Things and Life

Well things are going OK. I have decided to start a Bit Rental Company....well to add to my current Rachael's Equine Services. I just need to figure out how to add the stuff to the site...the paypal stuff and so on. I am collecting used bits for now! I pray that in a few months, I will offer all new bits with the option to buy! BUT that takes a little money to buy the bits....soooooooo we will rent used bits for now! I will have to charge a $35 membership a year to cover lost bits (stolen)and will limit the rental to one bit at a time....if they dont return the bit, they cannot rent another....thus the $35....To make ANY money off this deal i have to rent the bits for $15. That includes the shipping to and from. I have already ordered the flat rate small boxes from the post office...they were free. I will have to either get a new printer or figure out how to get high speed net to two computers so I can print and ship....cause this computer is the only one online and it does not talk to the HP printer that I bought 5 years ago......sigh. Anyhow, I think its gonna work, but I have got to figure out the small stuff first.

I gave a riding lesson today and taught it from Joe's back. He was kinda worn out afterword, but it was SOOO good for him! He learned that when I speak, it does not mean that he has to stop or do anything.....My lesson was at 1pm....it was a little hot. But I plan to take some flyers around town offering riding lessons. Perhaps business will pick up during the summer.....Gabe will be way in shape too!

I was offered a small part time gig today. I will be selling subscriptions to Cowgirl Living Magazine to retailers. Not what I was hoping but perhaps in the future it will pay off right? The folks are really nice and I sure hope I can move up the ladder!

A Business Plan In The Rough!

I am doing a bunch of brain storming and I came up with something today.......A Bit Rental Program. What is that you say???? Well basically, I would charge $100 a year membership.....You could then rent a bit for $10 to try it for a couple weeks.....Then mail it back. If you did not mail it back, you would not be able to check out another.....That is where the $100 a year comes in...it pays for the bit that you kept...grrrrrr. Anyway, to start this up, I would have to buy a good amount of bits. I could just add it to my website or start another....something like "Bit Collectors Anonymous" Or "Bit Addicts Anonymous". Lord knows we all love bits. But we want to try before we buy right??? They are not cheap! But when we buy and they dont work, we cant just take them back!!! Not with the horse slobber on it!! So it would be great if we could "borrow" from a friend, but a lot of us are leery of loaning out because then, we might not every get that $75 bit back.......Anyhow, my biz plan in the rough would be to buy various bits that we all love to use or have interest in using.....then start "renting" them out. I have the perfect horse to try each bit on because Gabe is so broke that I can get a good feel for what the bit "does" by riding him in it.....

Well Its Just Not Going Good

OK, I guess when it rains it pours. That is about all I can think of to describe my life right now. I got a call last night and my other side job that I had making $150 a month just got cut down to $50 a month. I was going to use that money to help pay mu truck note!!! I totally understand why they had to do it, but it does not mean that it does not make me just go "CRAP!!!!!" Basically since I am not able to travel as much to barrel races, I cant do my job. I still do the trivia weekly but I was cut back to doing trivia once a week instead of twice a week. Something is telling me that God must have something grand planned for me because after all the beat down, there has to be something good coming out of it right??? It just seems that things are just going to crumble. Maybe I am being set up to make a major career change???? I am still studying for my family consumer sciences content exam for a job that I am not sure I will get. But this will be a $200 effort to get that job. I am starting to feel like I have been black listed around this town too....ugh. What did I do to deserve all of this????? Bobby, maybe its time to find out how to just work for myself!! Anyone want to give me a loan to get started????

More Pictures

Here are some pics I took today.

Just A Few Thoughts On Love

You know, I keep hearing "You have done more than I would have to save that filly" "You dont have anything invested, perhaps its best to have her put down instead of running up the vet bill" and "you are a good mom because you sacrificed to save that foal". Then I got to thinking of what my Dad would have said about the vet bill "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!! PUT HER DOWN!!! A 52 Cent bullet is a LOT cheaper!!" And that sums it up for pretty much anyone I know....except my husband. Jeff simply said "If that vet can save her life, its worth it". He never once said anything about hurry to pick her up so the bill wont be high or $275 for plasma is too high or anything of that sort. Folks, Our bill is around sixteen hundred bucks. He needs to buy tires for his truck and endless other things we needed to get with that money.....he never said a word like crap that is high...He simply says "I just hope she lives through all of this" then he goes out to the pasture and checks on her......we all have our differences.....but I am soooooo glad that my husband is with me on the vet bills. To save a life, its worth it. He was like that with TJ too....my first horse that we thought had "choke" but ended up that he ruptured his sphincter valve due to cancer......that was a bill that was not as high as this one but close....Same with Ruger. Both of those ended in death, so we are praying for her to make it through!!!

On another note, I know that the folks who said "you have done more than i would have" are just saying that. Because I know that if you saw this filly in person, you would have pulled out all the stops. She is so alert and so full of life.....You just cant help but want to try....

BTW, Bailey is home now. She has a 50/50 chance right now. It seems we are just waiting to see some improvement. He hock and stifles are swollen and she is still gimpy...BUT she is using the back right leg more and more. She can get up on her own now even though its just one big movement. Since she got home yesterday afternoon, her hock is 50% less swollen. She is putting weight on the hind right leg...something she has not done. I think she needs some grass, sunshine, and love. I have to give her pills twice a day and hydrotherapy her back end twice a day. She is pretty easy to handle.....Feel free to come over and give her kisses!!

April 17th.

I dont know what else to title this!!! Anyhow, Bailey is still fighting! She is getting around good, but she has a limp! She has foal heat scours now, but that is nothing near as bad as she was two days after her birth. Her Mother coliced last night, but she was over it quick. I guess I caught it early enough! I did get to ride every day this week. Except today because of the down pour, but I love the rain!

Hick, the dun horse that I repo'ed last month, well, I still hate that horse. I was going to ride him Monday (or was it Tuesday?) and when I went to bridle him, he wacked me HARD in the face and messed me up a little. I now have a shinner and my neck has been killing me. So after he got a good cussing and was drug to the round pen and I wanted to kill him, Jeff took over. He is NOW JEFF's HORSE. I refuse to mess with him other than feeding him and putting fly spray on him.....Other than that, he can have him! He wont let me sell him again...grrr..

Anyhow, I filed for my unemployment and cannot request payment until April 26th. Today I dealt with the credit card companies....one is just a credit card that is maxed out and the other is a credit card with vet bills...called care credit. Anyhow, both credit companies had awesome "financial stress counselors" My credit score has greatly improved and they had already lowered my interest rate. Well today I locked in 6.6% for 4 months with capital one and the did some other things too. I no longer need to worry with over limit or late fees. Well for 4 months. After four months, my rate goes to fixed 13% but compared to what they were going to do before I called, that is a hell of a deal!! They were fixing to bump it to 12% plus prime which is around 15% right now! SO she fixed me up really good. Now just have to pay it down!! Care credit is a no interest or fees deal for so long then after that 29.9...well they dropped me down to 10% instead. So I guess my point is, they helped me out!!! Sallie Mae, my student load handler already has me down to an affordable rate. So now I just have to get those checks in and put them to the bills!!

I bought plants. I cant grow Ivy....but I bought a handful of tomato, squash and strawberry plants. Not too many mind you, but enough to keep me busy. I plan to plant them on the east side of the house. It gets full morning sun, so I think they will be better there in that flower bed. I also bought a Hoe....LOL I have no idea what I am doing, but I have the help of CJ, the one who owns the feed store and sold me the plants, to help! She told me that I will be OK.....we shall see. Dont worry I will get pictures!! LOL

OK going to go enjoy the rain and be a housewife! Oh one more thing, can you guys please pray for me? I need a job and Lord willing, I want to teach. I want to teach so bad it hurts! I have put in an application to teach FCCLA (home ec) at a high school and I am the only applicant, but they are holding out to find someone with certification. Ugh. I however, have put in to be tested to get temporary certification. I have also shown interest in the ag teaching position at the local HS right down the road. So guys, it means a lot to me! Please say a prayer for me!

Its Been Stressful

Well this week has been tough. Bailey, the new filly that was Born on April 5th, got deathly ill. On Tuesday night I found her down. She was still able to get up and nurse, but she did not want too. I knew that she was dehydrated and if I did not act very fast, we were gonna loose her. I called the vet and he told me what to do. Well today is Saturday and we now have an active little 6day old filly! Big change from Tuesday. We tended to her round the clock to make sure that she had fluids and meds. Poor girl. But she is now full of it and wont think twice about getting away from ya!!
Monday I went to the schools to find a new job. I especially took a shine to the FCCLA teaching position at one of the high schools. Hopefully they took a shine to me!
As far as work goes, well, I was not able to go in wed but I did go in thurs and I can tell you that I was not welcome. I was basically told that they did not need me anymore and to leave. So I got the rest of my stuff and left. But I had to come home and care for Bailey anyhow, so I am over it. Next week, I will be pounding the pavement to find a new job/career. My resume is update, I have copies of my transcripts, so now all I need is someone looking to hire!!