Saturdays are for Naps...

As I have grown older I love naps. I often find myself thinking... how did I not love naps as a child. Sleep is amazing. It helps heal your body, refresh, revive, and often times will just reset your mood. Most Saturdays, Jason and I make it a priority to take a nap. Sometimes I climb into bed, I am not tired at all... and the inevitable happens.. I fall asleep!  How many others out there love naps?  It’s our reward to ourselves after the long work week ... there is a ton of crap to do around our house, horses that probably need to be exercised, things to be cleaned and decluttered..... but a nap is so much better, that stuff will still be there when I wake up.

The title of this post should probably have been something different because I didn’t intend to talk about napping and sleep for a whole post... but it’s what was on my mind to start with, seems I had just climbed into a nice warm bed after a morning at the barrel races in the freezing cold!

Barrel race? Some know what that is, some don’t... for those that don’t know... a horse and rider run a  clover leaf pattern  timed..  it’s not just a get on and run. Takes skill, connection and teamwork between horse and rider, and so much more. Jene runs barrels on her horse Libby. They have come so far this year. The first part of the year she wasn’t completing patterns... combination of naughty horse and rider error.... fast forward a whole year of commitment, hard work, great coach (best Aunt ever) and a whole lot of heart and passion this girl is doing amazing. Not as fast as she wants, but clean runs that she has put time and dedication into.  She has won some money and prizes this year... so fun to see her get better and better! The other piece of it that I love wholeheartedly is watching how great she is at riding and working with Libby.

Best Aunt ever!!

I used to blog all the time.. it was a way for me to document as my babies were growing. Fast forward 7 + years and a whole lot has changed! Jurnee is married with a 17mth old little boy, Axle, with another baby on the way! Janson is 20, living at home recovering from yet another bull riding/fighting injury, Jace is almost 17, a junior in high school, and Jene is almost 13 and a 7th grader. I could go write a ton to update our life here, but that is really not the intent of my blog. Do I have a specific purpose for this space?  Not necessarily... just a place to lay my thoughts, write about events, and share our happenings. Often we joke that we could have our own reality TV show.. we are that family... (I’m sure a lot of people say that)..  this will be a space to lay out what’s on my mind, reset and move forward.
I will introduce you to my therapist in this post. He is the best therapist, and as expensive as all get out. I feel like everyone should have some sort of therapist.. no matter the cost, no matter how healthy you think your mind is.. it’s great to have a sounding board that is not your spouse, child, parent, sibling, friend, co worker, etc.. granted, anyone of those would work, but for me.. he connects to me.. he senses my mood before I even say anything, he doesn’t get offended... and in our sessions we don’t even have to talk much and I go home feeling 100% better, sometimes even exhausted. I can look in his eyes and feel a sense of peace wash over me.  The eyes are kind, gentle, and can speak to my soul without uttering a word. How in the hell does a therapist have that effect on someone?

                          
That’s right loves... meet Oj! The most expensive therapist, but worth every damn cent!  A thousand plus pounds of pure love and understanding.. a connection that helps me to release the stress of day to day life...   besides my family, I live for my horses! He is mine, Jene has her own horse, Libby, and Jason, my better half, has Annie! You will hear lots about our 1000+ pound fur babies!

I work a full time job as a registered nurse for an insurance company ... I teach horseback riding lessons 5-6 hours a week to share my passion of horses and help others learn about and gain confidence on and around horses.

A few years ago I was diagnosed with Hashimotos  disease. It has caused me a lot of grief and problems with my health. I have been doing a lot of research to try and help myself feel better. My thyroid is struggling, I have a large nodule/goiter growing on the left side of my neck.. i could write for days about this and the effects I struggle with. I know there are so many others out there that are dealing with the same thing, so I will blog about my journey of this too... #hashimotoswarrior

My goal each day is to live my best life, be kind, love big, serve others and be humble! Always do my best, try my hardest and live with integrity.

Intention ... my word for this year. Live with intent, have good intent, and focus on being present in my day to day life. Time slips by way to fast and it’s important to really live in the moment!