Brian & Kate

Bataan Marathon before and after

2011-04-08T12:06:00.000-06:00

I've had a few questions about how I trained and how the recovery went.

Training:
I started training for Bataan the last week of October. I run 3 times a week. Twice during the week and one long run on Saturdays. The long runs build up during the course of training. One month before Bataan I ran 23 miles, then I stared tapering down. I put in ~250 miles of training before the marathon. But, I had spent from March until October training for the Duke City Marathon where I logged 388 miles becoming a runner.

All these miles on my feet are why I had no blisters. My feet knew how to take the pounding. I had a few times that my hip began to hurt, but I have learned how to stretch that out with a foam roller and the pain goes away quickly. I also had a few times on long runs that my calves really hurt, but then I discovered the compression socks you see in the pictures - they work miracles. :)

Recovery:
I was sore for a few days after the marathon. Especially after sitting at my desk for a while. I would be very tight the first few steps, but after I walked it out, I would be fine. I was very pleased at how well I felt. By Thursday, I felt good enough to go for a slow, easy, short run. Saturday, I started my training with my Galloway group in Artesia with a 3.5 mile run back at regular pace. It was a great run!

A friend asked if I feel burned out from all the miles. My honest answer is "NO". I feel fresh and ready to run each time I go out. If I don't feel great, I take a day off. I am now training for a marathon in the fall. Not sure which one yet, but I'm just happy to see all my running friends with the Galloway group each Saturday! It was a long winter running by myself and I enjoy the company.

2011 Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon 3/27/11

2011-03-29T17:34:00.004-06:00

Tony Reyna

Grady Stanley

Glenn Frazier

John Mimms

Marty, Myself & Jody with our shirts to honor their grandfather.

Dad, Mom, & I.

Pre-race

I didn't realize my fuelbelt would cover so much of the back. :(

Ready to start!

NMMI had a group there.

Starting! Getting my Garmin watch going.

Crossing the finish line!

Getting a kiss on the hand from John Mimms after finishing.

Best Bud Light I have ever tasted!

Mary, Myself, Jody, and Greg (Jody's husband).

My best friend and ultimate supporter, Brian!

I participated in my second Bataan March yesterday. Such an amazing experience. This year was special because I was running in Honor and Memory of Lt. Col. Arden Boellner. He was my second grade teacher, Jody Alpers, grandfather. He served in the Philippines, was surrendered to the Japanese, was imprisoned in horrible POW camps for 3 1/2 years, and was killed on a Japanese Hellship. Researching his story and reading the book his daughter wrote about him was very touching!

Jody, her husband, Greg, and her sister, Marty came to watch and support me. Along with Brian and my Parents, I felt I had quite the cheering team!

It was windy all weekend! I hardly slept Friday night. We hadn't unhooked our 5th Wheel from the pickup, so the supports weren't down and the wind kept me up most of the night. We did unhook and put the supports down and it was better Saturday night, but I could still hear it howl and I was up from 2AM praying for it to die down for the March. Those prayers were unanswered, maybe an extra challenge from God?

The Windy March:

I will try not to use "windy" as an adjective for everything, just know that it is implied. I was one of over 6400 participants from all 50 states and 5 other countries! We waited in the dark and windy cold for the moving opening ceremonies and then finally the starters gun. I left the start line and started my running of 3 minutes walk for 1 minute. I felt good and was starting to get warmed up. I was able to toss my sweatshirt around mile 1. I went to take a picture with my small digital camera that I was carrying and it wouldn't work. I forgot to put a memory card in and it had used it's internal memory to take the few I got before the start. I didn't want to carry a useless camera, so I gave it to a police officer to put in lost and found for me. Bummer, no pics on the actual march. :(

I was warm enough to take off my gloves around mile 5. It was still windy. I continued my 3/1s until mile 7 when the course turned into the wind. Until then it had been a side wind and wasn't as brutal as facing it head on turned out to be. I gave up running and just walked. About this time I really started feeling bad, the details are not important (aka too much information). I was finally warm enough to take my yoga pants off that I had on under my running skirt at mile 8. I tried running some after that, but mile 9 is where it starts going uphill for 4 miles, no flats, no downhills. Straight uphill for 4 long miles. It was still windy. I mostly walked until mile 12 where I finally sought help with a medic at the aid station and got some medicine. It kicked in around mile 13 and I was feeling much better!

There were several times that I really got tired, but all I had to do was remember the note I was carrying from Arden's daughter, Betty, that said he would be with me "every step, every heartbeat" and I would instantly have renewed strength. I read it several times during the March. It meant so much to have that note with me!

I was worried that once I stopped running I wouldn't be able to start again. But shortly after mile 13 it turns to rolling hills and so I started running downhill or switching to 1 minute running 3 walking. After I did that for about a mile, I decided to try going back to 3/1 and was able to do it! I continued with that pace back downhill. It was still windy. Around mile 20 I started passing, getting passed, and passing a team of National Guard members from Iowa. They were run/walking too. One time we were walking together and the leader said "Engines on!" at the same time my watch beeped telling me it was time to run, so I started running with them. We chatted a bit while walking and stuck together for the next 4 miles. It was really helpful to have them to pace me during the Sand Pit. We all just walked it, but I probably would have done it slower if not for them. The sand pit wasn't as bad as I remember. I know that I was much better trained than last time, but the pit can change due to moister or lack of, so I don't know if it was me or if it wasn't as soft and hard to navigate as last time. It was still windy.

Around mile 24 my watched beeped to run, but their leader didn't signal for them to run (turns out he was fighting some bad blisters). So I said goodbye and ran as often as I could but not for 3 minutes every time. You get to the base before mile 25 and then have to run around the perimeter for almost 2 miles. It's deceiving and brutal, because you feel like you should be at the finish every time you turn a corner. Even though I knew that to be the case from my last march, it still bothered me! I ran the last .2 miles and it was so great to run in knowing that Brian and my cheering squad would be there! It was still windy, but I had FINISHED!!!!

Me at the finish this year was a whole other person than me at the finish 2 years ago. I was able to thank and talk with the survivors that were at the finish. I then walked around, got something to eat, drank a beer. Checked in lost in found for my camera. The point is - I was walking around. ZERO blisters and no chaffing from backpacks or shirt seams! Yes, I was tired, but the lack of blisters made a huge difference from 2 years ago! And finally, now that I was done, the wind died down. Are you kidding me? URG!!! Oh, well, I had been prepared with my handkerchief to put over my mouth and nose (and I needed it) and only about 4 miles were straight into the wind. It was just an additional challenge. The Iowa boys finished strong about 13 minutes behind me. They came in 2nd in their category! I finished in 6:21:36. Almost 2 hours faster than the last time. Not that the time is even important. this race is about the heroes of WWII, not me. It was an honor to participate again! I will try to do it every year!

Please check Shutterfly site

2009-11-02T12:56:00.002-07:00

I've been posting pictures to my shutterfly share site. No time to blog much, but you can see what's been going on through the picture on this site.
http://kateediger.shutterfly.com

P6219283.JPG

2009-08-12T13:00:00.001-06:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

2009-05-13T14:09:00.006-06:00

29 March 2009 White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico

20th Annual Bataan Memorial Death March

I did not know what to expect from the marathon even though different people had told me about it. What I didn't expect was to think immediately afterwards, despite the pain, "I can't wait to do it again next year!".

So here's the story...

I woke up at five AM after a restless nights sleep. I was full of nervous anticipation. My sister was so anxious she was feeling ill. It was my sister, seven friends, and I. (Sherry McAllister, Aysia Pirtle, Keri Pirtle, Tammy McVaugh, Suzy Head, Jimmy Head, Jeff Head, & Alan Franzoy) Molly, my friend and training partner from D&D, had a death in the family and was unable to attend. We stood in the dark with over 5,300 participants from every state, territory, and many countries around the world waiting for dawn and the start of the race.

The opening ceremonies were held under a giant American Flag waving proudly in the early morning breeze. Director of the Army Staff Lt. David H. Huntoon, Jr. set the perfect stage for what the day would be about. He said, "This march is an uncommon marathon because it speaks to all of us about the things that truly matter...This march is about the selfless service today of our Armed Forces and our allies, who stand a collective watch around the world for the principles of freedom, protecting our right to assemble here in this peaceful place by their presence in the dangerous places. Finally, this march speaks most importantly to the courage and the sacrifice of the brave Americans and Filipinos, who suffered a terrible ordeal of the Bataan Death March in April, 1942."

The opening ceremonies included a flyover of F-22 Raptors from Holloman Air Force Base, a stirring rendition of the National Anthem, and roll call honoring the 13 Bataan survivors who were in attendance along with the 24 Wounded Warriors participating in the March. This left me with the biggest case of goose bumps that I have ever had and they had nothing to do with the cool temperature.
As we walked toward the start line we had the privilege of meeting and shaking hands with the Bataan survivors in attendance and other WWII veterans. I was not prepared for how happy and excited these great men were. You would have thought each and every one who shook their hands were handing them a check for a million dollars. I said “Thank you for your service,” to one gentleman and he replied, “Thank you for honoring me here today.” That was all the motivation I needed to get through the day: knowing that one man who had made such huge sacrifices for me, was honored that we were all here.

Due to us stopping to talk and navigating the crowd, our group of nine got separated into two groups. My sister, two of my friends, and I walked together for the first mile. My sister’s nerves were calming down enough for her to start running after the first mile. One friend had to use the restroom at the first rest stop just before mile two. There were about 100 people in line! These friends were only going to walk the half marathon, so I went out on my own to catch up to the other friends that were walking the whole marathon. I then started jogging from mile two to mile four as much as I could to catch up. Let me state this fact: I am not a runner and never have been. I was ready to die by the time I caught up to their group. I then found out that they had planned on greeting the veterans at the finish line, that’s why they were so far ahead.

I had trained once with this group and they were fast walkers, just like me. However, keeping the fast pace after jogging was killing me. Every two miles there were volunteers handing out water, Gatorade, oranges, and bananas. This was the much need fuel I needed to try to keep their pace. This became more and more challenging as we started the five mile uphill climb around a small mountain. By mile twelve, I could not continue at their pace. I had to say goodbye and go alone.

I turned up the music on my iPod and set out at my own pace. I knew I had over done it by jogging. My heart felt like it was about to explode and I was barely moving. I stopped a few times to get rocks out of my shoes between mile twelve and mile thirteen. This mile was the hardest of the entire day. It took everything I had to keep my feet moving. I even wondered if I was going to have to get help and be taken off the mountain by the rescue guys on ATVs. Each time I stopped several people would ask if I was okay, did I need a band-aid, did I have water, etc. I knew that if I really started to have trouble, I wouldn’t have to wait for an ATV to be helped. I finally made it to mile thirteen – halfway! I stopped along with a group of soldiers to rest, change socks, have a snack, and try to talk myself into some confidence. I asked one of the soldiers to take my picture, at least I would have proof I had made it halfway. They must have been reluctant to get back on the trail too, because they then asked me to take a picture of their group – with seven different cameras! This killed some time and my heart no longer felt ready to explode with every beat. I got back on the trail.
Much to my surprise, I felt great! Mile thirteen starts the downhill part of the mountain, but it’s not all downhill – it’s up and down, up and down. But I was back to my fast walking pace and doing fine.

At the rest area at mile fifteen, I had the opportunity to meet and talk more with several of the Veterans in attendance. I was honored to have my picture taken with Cpl. Lloyd R. Hackenberg. Lloyd was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart along more medals than I could count during his service in WWII. He even gave me his address and I look forward to writing my new friend and sending him a copy of the picture.

Right after mile sixteen, I was looking down and saw a tube of Esteé Lauder lip-gloss. It was just lying there and didn’t even look like it had been stepped on. I knew this was my sister’s! Before the start of the race, I had to move it out of the way in her emergency kit so that she could test her inhaler. I picked it up and surprised her with it at the end. She said she was so sad when she realized she’d lost it. It was crazy that I had found it.

I got to chat with so many great people from all over the country as we walked together. This camaraderie and encouragement was so uplifting. Everyone was happy to help each other. It was very strange how you would see someone walking at mile two then again miles later. The wind had begun to pick up around mile fourteen, but it was just enough to keep you from frying in the hot sun. There was a woman who passed me at one point and she was braiding her hair to try to keep it from flying everywhere in the wind. I then passed her later and she was still struggling with her hair. I turned around, took my hair tie out since I also had my hat to keep my hair back and gave it to her. She was so thankful. That was the spirit of the day – help however you can.

I had a couple of small blisters around mile ten. I applied moleskin and hoped for the best. Around mile nineteen, the combination of moleskin and swelling feet had made my shoes feel a little tight and I was getting several more blisters. They didn’t hurt enough to stop and get professional treatment at one of the rest areas. I just kept working on them myself and turned down help from the medical volunteers. Each new piece of moleskin seemed to make a new blister somewhere else.

I was still feeling good, despite the blisters. Then I hit mile twenty: close to one mile of deep sand. It’s a dry arroyo with ankle deep, rocky sand. I knew this was going to be there and that it would be hard, but I didn’t know what an energy killer it would be. I didn’t know how to train for this, and I’m not sure if any training I would have done would have prepared me. I had such a difficult time. No exercise can make your legs burn like this sand did.

After the sand, the blisters were really starting to hurt. I had decided to ask for help at the aid station at mile twenty-two. They wanted me to sign in and fill out some forms before they could re-bandage my blisters. I decided to pass and re-bandaged them myself. This made them feel better and I kept walking.

Mile twenty-four was special because besides the normal fruit and drinks, they had volunteers from Children Youth and Family Services there with trail mix and cookies. The kids also had made signs of encouragement and cheered you on for the next half mile!

During the opening ceremonies, Army Brig. Gen. David L. Mann called this event “a living history lesson that will not just test your endurance, but make you think.” From mile twenty-four to the end I did a lot of thinking. I thought about how hard the day was, but how little it actually compared to the unbearable six days that the POWs were forced to walk 80 – 100 miles while being deprived of food, water, restroom breaks and medical care all at the threat of being shot or bayoneted for falling behind. Imagining what they went through, along with the sense of accomplishment, the kid’s signs of encouragement, and fatigue made me quite emotional the last few miles.

Those last two miles were quite frustrating. We were walking on the outside perimeter of the base housing which was a zigzag of what seemed like never-ending cement block wall. Every corner you were hoping to see the finish line, but all you saw was another corner. With about three-quarters of a mile to go spectators had lined the route and were cheering you on. Finally, with about a tenth of a mile to go I could finally see the finish line! I ran that last part and was so proud to see my family and friends cheering for me. I finished in 8:18:06.

Another quote from Brig. Gen. Mann rang true at the end of the day. He said, “Whatever your reason for participating you will leave here a changed person.” This was an incredible experience that I will never forget!

Call me crazy, but next year I’m going to run!

Patricia K. Jennings

2009-02-19T17:18:00.003-07:00

Thank you for your prayers for the Jennings family. Patty passed away on Saturday and her Memorial services were held yesterday. Please pray for the family as they enter a new life without their Mom. The govenor honored her life by ordering flags to be flown at half-staff on Tuesday and Wednesday state-wide. He and the Lt. Govenor were both at the public memorial in the afternoon and I was proud of him not drawing attention to himself! As Tim says, he can be quite an ass, so thank you Governor Richardson for not being yourself for a day. Speaking of the public service. I was asked to be in charge of this service to take pressure off the family and close friends. Approximately 1400 people attended. We didn't run out of chairs and it started on time and went smoothly. There was a touching video tribute with family photos, a few of her close friends spoke as well as Katherine, her youngest daughter, and Tim. Lots of kleenex needed.

Another month and no new posts...

2009-02-13T11:31:00.008-07:00

Good grief. I am really beginning to stink at this blogging thing. It's been so long in between posts lately. Work has been busy. We are all uneasy because Tim's wife, Patty, has taken a turn for the worse in her 4 year long battle with Breast Cancer. I don't know how much longer she will make it. It is complicated by the fact that Tim is a state senator and was re-elected to be the President Pro-Tem of the Senate. This is a big honor, but a lot of stress. They are in session right now and he is supposed to be in Santa Fe (3 hour drive from here for us - 2 hours if you drive like Tim). He has had to come home several times to be with Patty. Tim & Patty have three grown children and two boys still at home. One in fifth grade and one a Junior. Please pray for their family.

Our business is going smoothly. We are working on the process of having a driver from New Zealand come to work for us this year. He is a friend of the guys from NZ that work for Colin. Brian is still doing the daily deliveries of feed to the dairies.

James has already been to more doctors appointments in 2009 than I can count. But the bottom line is that he is STABLE! This is a huge improvement over the last year and a half! PRAISE GOD!!! Thank you for your prayers. He is on a new medication and it is making such a big difference!

I am training to walk in the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon. It is a 26.2 mile treck though the desert at White Sands Missle Range in between Alamagordo and Las Cruces New Mexico. This is held annually to honor the survivors and victims of the Bataan Death March during WWII. Last year there were only 19 survivors able to attend the event. My sister, Sherry, is running the 26.2 miles!!! Yes, we are having her sanity checked. She inspired me to walk it. Several friends will be walking with me! http://www.bataanmarch.com/

I am president of our Desk and Derrick Club so that keeps me busy. I will get to go to Calgary for this in September and can't wait! Too bad, Brian won't take off during the most important time of his year to come with me.

Pottery got put on hold again. Just no time. My motorcycle has gotten a little more riding. It was in the shop for a few weeks to get a tune up and have it start better. Got it back last week. It starts great - and runs like crap! Guess it's going back to the shop. Brian got a bike for Christmas, so we get to ride together now. His bike starts and runs great! Urg, just when the weather is getting nice....

My Steelers won the Super Bowl and my Cowboy fan friend, Jan, had to pay up! :)

The dogs are great! Honey weighs more than Ginger, even though she's several inches shorter, she is also the calmer one. Ginger, we found out, is a hard worker! I read in a magazine that Shih Tzus were bred to be companions and not kill rats or heard sheep. Their job is to love everyone...and she loves her job! When she isn't trying to lick your face, she is playing ball. One good, and bad, thing about James feeling better is that he is able to play with the dogs more. We found out that some days he sits outside for hours throwing the ball for Ginger. Somehow this does not tire her and she drives us nuts wanting to play ball in the evenings (while James politely shuts the door to his room and ignores her)! The most annoying part is that they are little and so they can only carry little balls that easily roll under the couch and out of her reach. She goes nuts when that happens - it's pretty funny to watch!

Here they are hard at work loving Brian! Will try to be a better blogger.....

Go Steelers...

2009-01-15T12:24:00.004-07:00

Okay, I know it's been forever since I posted, but please forgive me. I'm sure there is something more important or interesting that I could blog about, but I won't. It's all STEELERS today! My sister's friend went to the game last week and sent her this. She shared with me, so I'm sharing with you. By the way, where are the Cowboys playing this weekend? Oh, oops I forgot - they are sitting at home!!! ;)

OUR FATHER WHO ART IN PITTSBURGH,
FOOTBALL BE THY GAME.
THE KINGDOM COME,
FIVE SUPER BOWLS WON,
ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEINZ FIELD.
GIVE US THIS DAY A PLAYOFF VICTORY,
AND FORGIVE US OUR PENALTIES
AS WE DEFEAT THOSE WHO PLAY AGAINST US.
BUT LEAD US INTO A VICTORY,
AND DELIVER US TO TAMPA!
A-BEN

Christmas Open House

2008-12-15T06:29:00.009-07:00

Merry Christmas! It was a difficult year to decorate. First, I didn't have time. Second, we just rearranged all our furniture and it was hard to find a place for the tree that still let James have room to get his wheelchair around easily. Nothing fancy, but here it is, Our house at Christmas (yes, I love red):

First, the Reason for the Season - The Birth of Jesus Christ. I forgot to take a picture of the nativity on my dinning table, but I did get one of this small nativity on my tree.

I found this fruit tree at an antiques store years ago and just love filling it with my favorite ornaments.

The bowl on my coffee table is also filled with my favorites. The penquins are just for fun, who doesn't love a penquin? I love the way the ornaments with tiny beads glued on them photograph. They really aren't that reflective in person.

A few of the ornaments from my sisters Sherry & Jennifer (Polish chrystal snowflake from Sherry, hand made snowflakes from Jennifer):

The cheesy little sign in the window says "Merry Christmas". I don't think it will make it into the box to store for next year. I bought it last year on clearance (actually every single decoration comes from after Christmas sales each year.)

The Table

2008-12-02T16:54:00.018-07:00

Okay, I've been talking about it and busy working on it and it's finally finished!!! My table!!! Trey Nesselrodt helped me build it (okay, I helped him). He enjoys woodworking and had all the tools and knowledge to make it look nice.

Here is the back story: My family owns a ranch in Wagon Mound, NM. It will probably be sold before I inherit any of it, so to always have a piece of the ranch, I brought home some old wood to make a table. We bought our home in August 2006 and went to get wood sometime late that fall. And that is where it sat because Brian & my Dad are great with metal, but lousy carpenters. And of course I had no idea how to make a table. Long story short, I saw a mantle and shelf that Trey had built and they were beautiful. I told him my idea and he said he'd help! This was late October and we needed it for Thanksgiving. Yes, we did not have a table in our home for over 2 years! I could have bought a table, but that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted the old wood turned into a table and I wasn't willing to settle for anything else. If it wasn't for meeting Trey, who knows if we'd ever have gotten a table. Anyhow, it was a lot of work, and I learned a ton about woodworking. I LOVE how it turned out. Here is the process (lots of pictures):

The raw materials: Old barn wood (probably fir) and a tree trunk (some kind of poplar)

First the 14' boards were cut in half, then planed to the same thickness:

The wood needed help to be structurally sound. Trey carved butterflies to add to some of the weeker parts. There are several underneath and even three on top (made out of western red cedar).

The top took quite a bit of work to get all the boards straight (or close). Trey was quite the perfecionist and I kept telling him that rustic farm table means NOT perfect.

The planks were joined together using buiscuts.

And then the sanding started.....

I really love the saw marks on both the top and sides of the wood. I made sure they were not sanded away.

The legs were a challenge to say the least. I bought the tree from a local guy, so they aren't from Wagon Mound. We wanted something with a lot of weight and set in the middle so that James could easily get around it in his wheel chair. (I stole the design from a table Sundance catalog has for sale). Trey used this massive chain saw & some kind of portable mill setup to turn the tree into a square.

Then to cut the square log into legs Trey tried to use a chainsaw. This was not preceice enough. So I borrowed an old lumber jack type saw that my Dad has. It's about 6 feet long and has handles on each side. Unfortunately, Trey couldn't have a helper there that night, so it was up to me to help cut this sucker into pieces. It was harder than I would have ever imagined. Lumberjacks must be some tough SOBs. Thankfully, there are no pictures of me trying to be a lumberjack. But we did manage to get the necessary cuts made.

Holes were cut in the top then the legs were notched out to fit with the table top.

And finally the pieces of the puzzle come together.

After days, and days, and days of sanding were were finally able to stain and apply furniture wax to the legs.

The table top has feeder (something to help restore moisture) and then furniture wax. No stain. After the fun of sanding for days we then buffed the wax out for days.

Finally, the finished product:

Me, the table, and a table warming present from Geneva in my office. It is a ceramic bowl she made herself!

Trey and his wife, Tiffany, celebrating.

Christmas Virtual Tour of Homes

2008-11-19T08:56:00.005-07:00

Notice the new link to boomama.net's virtual tour of homes. Thanks, Aveina, for the link! Can't wait to see you decorate the new house! I will be posting pictures of my tree and home once it is decorated (and before the baby gates go back up to keep the puppies from destroying things). I invite all my friends to add the link. Just click on it and all the instructions are right there! I will post my new table (hand built with barn wood) soon, as it is now complete. I just need to get final pictures. Sorry it's been so long. It's amazing how crazy life seems to get at the end of the year!

Well, time to start the next election!

2008-11-05T08:49:00.003-07:00

Sarah Palin said the "S" word!!!

2008-10-22T09:34:00.009-06:00

Warning! Constitutional Conservative ramblings ahead! Warning! If you don't know me well enough to know that I believe deeply in our constitution and the country our founding fathers envisoned - consider yourself warned!

Mom and I went to the Roswell Airport to see Sarah Palin on Sunday (along with ~10,000 - 15,000 others). I really enjoyed it! She said the "S" word and my heart jumped for joy!

“Senator Obama said he wants to quote spread the wealth. What that means is he wants government to take your money and dole it out however a politician sees fit. Barack Obama calls it spreading the wealth. But Joe the Plumber and Ed the Dairy Man, I believe that they think that it sounds more like socialism. Friends, now is no time to experiment with socialism. To me our opponent’s plan sounds more like big government, which is the problem. Bigger government is not the solution. Whatever you call his tax plan and that redistribution of wealth it will destroy jobs. It will hurt our economy.” - Sarah Palin

I'm not much of a fan of McCain, but I love Sarah. As Matt Damon says, she's like a bad Disney movie where the hockey mom becomes VP. But it doesn't sound bad to me. Yep, that's a movie I'd like to live. Sorry, Matt. She seems so genuine and down to earth. How many people think we need to get some real Americans into public office - well here she is. I'm really looking forward to voting for a Palin/Jindal ticket. (Bobby Jindal - govenor of Louisianna)

I read this recently about Obama and I agree completely. "Could it be any clearer that his message to the middle class is: Don’t aspire to achievement, success and wealth because a) it is immoral to have more than others, b) the government will take your wealth away from you and give it to others, and c) why bother to bust your rear end to make more when you can vote yourselves money from the public trough." Does that sound like the American Dream? Okay enough politics, I'm sure I've pissed someone off by now.

Hank Williams Jr. was the entertainment before the rally and I was quite impressed. It was just him and his guitar. He played all his well known hits along with some well known Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Waylon Jennings, as well as the National Anthem and one he did for McCain/Palin.

The long red hair is Candy Spence Ezell. A local rancher/State Representative/friend of my boss, Tim. She didn't answer her cell phone to get me an autograph since she was so close. We weren't there early enough to go through security to be inside the main area.
He did a great job, plus do you see what he's wearing? Love it! Okay, non-Steeler fans - it's a Joey Porter jersey!

Can you say "Smokin hot"?

2008-10-20T13:40:00.003-06:00

My Cousin Anna and her husband Mark just bought a new toy. So sexy....

Thanks Tambo!

2008-10-09T16:03:00.003-06:00

Thanks to my friend Tammy for showing me http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/. I will now be changing backgrounds as I feel like it because I love their free layouts and its so easy to do! Thanks Tambo (hope you don't mind)!

Ginger & Honey

2008-09-25T12:58:00.001-06:00

I'm finally taking the time to update. There are two posts before this and lots of pictures. I know this isn't a good picture of the dogs, but I couldn't believe how their hair had grown while I was gone (see previous post). They were slick when I left and fuzzy when I got back! They are doing great! Knock on wood, they haven't had a single potty accident since I got back on the 22nd! They are at the vets today getting spayed (sp?), microchiped, and a few lingering baby teeth pulled. It will be a sad night without them.

We are approaching the end of harvest season ~3 weeks to go. I have been driving every weekend for one guy who didn't want to work weekends. Including driving home after the banquet Saturday night in Midland to drive on Sunday. Thank you Officer Garcia in Andrews who only gave me a warning! So in the next month or so you should hear more from me. It's been a long and trying season. We had one guy drop a truck spring on his foot and break his toe in 2 places another who grabbed a broken part and got 2nd degree burns on his hand. We are just ready for it to be over!

ADDC Convention - Midland TX

2008-09-25T12:33:00.001-06:00

The following pictures are a huge part of why I have been such a bad friend and family member for the last few months. As you may remember, I am active in our local Desk & Derrick club. http://www.addc.org/ It is an educational organization for employees of the energy industry. They have an international (there are clubs in Canada) Convention each September. I was asked to be Chairman of the Photo Contest they hold during Convention. It was a much bigger job than I thought. I'm so glad it's over and everything went really well. I was quite nervous about it because this was the first Convention I had attended and had nothing to go on. Anyhow, here are shots from the Convention in Midland TX. Who would have thought a week in Midland would have been so much fun, but it was!

Here are some of the photos on display. It took all day to set up the display, because we couldn't make them stay on the wall! The Hilton was very picky about what type of adhesives we could use.

One night we attended "Summer Mummers". It's a comedic melodrama where you throw popcorn. Too hard to describe acurately! This is Marita Noon, Executive Director of CARE (http://www.responiblenergy.org/)

Pictures from the Petroleum Museum:

Rita, Pat, & I (Roswell)

Rena (Wichita Falls)
Aveina (Houston), Jane & Heather (Abilene), & IJane Bergeron turned into "Daisy Jane Canada" (her full maiden name) when we finally got her to steal the mike from the band and sing Strawberry Wine for us. Jane has an amazing voice!! She sang the National Anthem for Molly and I outside of Ross in Long Beach in April, I was glad a few more members got to enjoy her talent. She has put her persuit of a career in music on hold to have a family, but if you ever see that name, you have to go listen! Thanks for the performance Jane! She is supposed to send me a copy of a few songs she has recorded. When I get them, I'll try to figure out how to put them on here for all to enjoy!
This is the Roswell Group before the awards luncheon. Myself, Jackie, Pat, Jan, Cheri, and Rita

I'm not sure exactly how many were at the awards luncheon but it was well over 300. I had never given a speech to anywere near that many people! Talk about nervous! I thought it went terrible, but everyone else said I sounded "as cool as a cucumber" to quote Linda. I was shaking for 10 minutes afterward. I did have the advantage of sitting at the head table and had to eat my lunch in front of the crowd before the speech, so maybe that helped calm me down. Anyhow, it went really well. Jane ran the PowerPoint presentation for me and Pat helped hand our ribbons and certificates. Thank you both for all your help! Here I am during the speech.

After all the hard part is over we got to dress up and enjoy ourselves at the ending banquet. Here is the Roswell group again.Jan and Linda (Farmington)

Kimberly & Jennel (Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada)Heather & Jane

Jackie and her daughter, Cheyenne

Jane, Myself, & Aveina - They are both so short, I look like a freakin giant!

It was such a great trip. I met many new people, learned a lot, gained speaking experience, and had a lot of fun! I can't wait until next year when the Convention will be held in Calgary, Canada! Thanks so much for sending me, Tom (my boss)!

Chopping Corn

2008-09-25T12:16:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures from corn harvest so far this year. These are what happens when it rains. Stuck so bad you have to dig to drier ground and then you still need a cutter to pull you out.

Sunset at the bag yard. The white bags are where the feed is stored for delivery to the dairies throughout the year.

My Dad's truck. Our two white trucks opening up a field. This is how you start a field, the trucks follow behind the cutter.
This is the view of a Krone cutter as you open up a field.

This is a comparison of the smaller bags (12' diameter) to the new larger bags (14' diameter), both are 300' long.
Pedro running the new bagger.
Once the field is opened up the truck drives next to the cutter like this:
Brian's parents, Donovan & Penny, came to see us Labor Day weekend.

God works in mysterious ways

2008-08-18T08:24:00.000-06:00

Earlier this summer, I hit my head on a shelf in our laundry room. I have had two serious concussions as a child and now any time I bump my head I will suffer from headaches for a week or so. Well, this wasn't just a bump on the head, I smacked that shelf hard! I think it happened on a Friday. By Wednesday I was ready to die, I had had a headache for days and the tension had also caused my neck to hurt very badly. I decided to try the chiropractor and see if he can help, well, sure enough they are closed on Wednesday afternoons. So I called another one that I had met. He said he could work me in. In the waiting room I met a man who had driven silage truck for someone this spring. He was moving to Alaska, but I remember giving him our number in case he needed a job in the fall. I barely remember this happening - I was in so much pain.

Anyhow, he called last weekend still in town and looking for work. He didn't have enough saved up to move. That day we were set on drivers, but you know our luck. One didn't show up, so Brian called this guy, Laurence. He started working late last week and is such a blessing! Great work ethic, great driver, experience in the field. We couldn't ask for more! Brian is just so thankful I am a klutz and hit my head! I still don't know what he looks like, I didn't see him over the weekend and I barely remember meeting him that day, but am glad my suffering was worth it. Oh, by the way, the headache started easing that afternoon and was gone by the next day, I do remember that. Just wanted to share the blessing God gave us out of my headache!

Random thoughts

2008-08-13T09:50:00.000-06:00

Corn harvest is starting this week, so I will now see Brian very little. He has taken our RV down to Artesia and plans on staying there so he can get a little more sleep. We have hired 3 drivers, 2 very good reliable people, and one who is on the verge of getting replaced. That has been an ordeal. We had one guy quit because he was too fat to fit behind the steering wheel, one that we interviewed and had to tell him it wouldn't work out because he was bigger than the one that couldn't fit! They are Mack trucks, how fat do you have to be to not fit behind the wheel!!! One who worked for a few days and then just wouldn't show up then work then not show up. After two times Brian said that was it and he was gone. One that could drive, but the insurance company didn't like a ticket on his record and wouldn't insure him. One that said he had experience and so Brian gave him a chance and he hit the irrigation pivot on his first load! Thank goodness he didn't damage the pivot, but he bent up our new trailer. Brian and my Dad were able to cut out the bent piece and replace it, though. Hopefully we will be settled into 3 drivers that are good and will last the season soon. Just makes you want to pull your hair out. We are looking into hiring guys from New Zealand to come over and drive (like the guys that work for the Harvest crew). That may be what we do next year.

I am starting pottery classes again. It's a Clay Boot Camp. There are only 4 of us and it is Tuesday and Thursday nights this week, Saturday morning and then Tuesday and Thursday nights next week. It's nice to have the smaller class and more time with the instructor. Last night we were supposed to throw a cylinder (straight sides), all I could do were bowls. I don't know what I was doing wrong, but I left frustrated! Try again Thursday!

We had 2.4 inches of rain Sunday night! Crazy! The rain has been nice for finally having something green to look at when we drive to Artesia and back. Not nice for the mosquito bites I am fighting!

I have wanted to get a good picture of these oil storage tanks for a while and the green grass and blue sky made a nice shot on Sunday. I love cow camo. The tanks are right across from a dairy so they are very appropriately painted.

What do you think of the new layout on the blog? Please leave a comment. Thanks for looking!

Ben Roethlisberger fan club

2008-08-13T08:53:00.000-06:00

Ben is finally coming around to the dogs. And boy does that make them happy! When he is around they just follow him and when given the chance lick him like crazy. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten a picture of that yet. Here they are just admiring Ben.

When he's had enough of the "puparatzi" he runs away to the bedroom, but sometimes he just likes to get out of reach. They have now learned to jump up on the couch, so he goes to the bar and just watches the dogs play.

Brian cut up a box and they love playing in it. It's pretty fun to watch. I'm glad he's finally coming around to them. He even waits for us to come back from our walks in the morning, just like he did with Blondie.

They were all tuckered out after playing all day Saturday. Ben came and curled up on my lap and the dogs went to sleep next to me. I figured when I got up and just sat Ben on the blanket, he would take off, but instead he slept with the dogs for over an hour! How cute is that?!

Getting littler?

2008-08-12T16:17:00.000-06:00

Before:

Despite the fact that my niece, Nola, says "Tia Kate, dogs don't get haircuts!" Ginger and Honey have now had 2! They just keep getting smaller and smaller. I think they were all hair! They went to visit Mary Jo, Blondie's former groomer, a few weeks ago to get their first regular trim.

We then got pummelled by Dolly and Eduard and the regular July monsoon rains and we had an annoying grass/weed come up that is like velcro to their hair. I was tired of cutting out this grass and wanted to just shave them down until we can get it killed off. Unfortunately, Mary Jo was having electrical problems at her shop so they went to Petco. They came back 1/2 their size! It's funny but without hair they are harder to tell apart. Honey is usually all white with one black spot on ther back, but now shaved down she has a bunch of black spots that are on her skin, but not her hair. (Not the best pictures but you try to get them to stay still!) Honey is also showing one of their fashion statements - wearing one ear back, Ginger is also showing it in the second picture. Both ears back is just silly, but one is cool!

Little Monsters

2008-07-09T13:15:00.000-06:00

James & Ginger

Here are a few cute shots of the girls. While packing to get ready to go fishing, they got into my bag and got out our toothbrushes and had a ball. Of course I'm sure if I tried to brush their teeth with an actual doggie toothbrush they'd hate it. So, as you can imagine we had to stop at Target on our way out of town to get new toothbrushes. It's a good thing they are so cute!

Fishing on the Fourth

2008-07-09T09:15:00.000-06:00

Peñasco River Ranch is one of the companies that I work for. We finally took up my bosses offer to go out and enjoy it. It's about 70 miles from Roswell, yet still in the same county. We had fun hanging out in the river - fishing, swimming, and just sitting in the water while enjoying a cold brew. We didn't see any fireworks, but we saw the beauty of wide open starlit skies. God's beauty is always more enjoyable (and quieter).

Here are some fishing pictures. Brian had fun trying out his new fly fishing rod. He had another new rod that he was excited to try, but sadly our cooler moved on the drive out there and broke it. :(

We mended it with duct tape and I caught a fish with it. :) It was the one that I am measuring against my foot before he swam off.

The old red Dodge was having fun crossing the river. Should be a commercial for Dodge/Cummins. 320,000 miles and still running strong. Of course, it would be more fitting to be a commercial for our GREAT mechanic, Gary at Diesel Pickup Specialists in Inman KS.

4th of July - Local Hero

2008-07-07T09:08:00.000-06:00

Scott Lilley is the younger brother of my friend from high school, Matt Lilley. Last year he was injured in Iraq by an IED. Visit this site to read all about his miraculous recovery.

http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/inputSiteName.do?method=search&siteName=scottlilleystaffsgt

During the last year he has had the oppurtinity to meet with President Bush several times. Some before a surgery and he doesn't remember them, but the President did remember. He asked Scott to be at the ground breaking ceremony for the new Military Hospital being built. Here is the video from the ceremony. Skip to 14:00 to hear about Scott and see a standing ovation for one of our heros!!! Thank you for your service Lilley family and especially Scott.

We had a relaxing weekend at the Peñasco River Ranch. Fishing pictures to be posted soon.

Motocross

2008-07-03T16:24:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of me on my dirtbike, finally! I'm getting more comfortable riding and will be taking a saftey class July 25-27 to learn more and to get my license. Then maybe I'll ride it farther than 5 miles from my parent's house. Having fun though!!!!

4 Kiwis, a Brit, and 3 rednecks

2008-07-03T14:19:00.000-06:00

Okay, not fair to call John a redneck, I don't know him that well. Let's change that to 2 rednecks and 1 American. We met some of the harvesting crew for dinner last night at Farleys and had a great time. In no paticular order:

Duncan, from New Zealand. Normally the eater of the bunch (he ate 4 steaks at our house a few weeks ago and had room for ice cream), but was put to shame by the new guy, John.

Here's Brian making a face and getting rabbit ears from Duncan.

The new reigning eating champion, John. He downed an entire Mondo Hondo burger, which is huge, before I had 3 bited out of my burger. He is from Illinois.

This is Ben, from New Zealand and his girlfriend Mini, from the UK. Ben is here working and Mini is here visiting for a few weeks.

Blake and his girlfriend Hannah are both from New Zealand. Blake worked here last year and brought Hannah back with him this year.

And here I am:

Yep, always behind the camera, but I really was there! We had a great time and I just love listening to the accents. Brian and I really want to go visit them in New Zealand next year.

Getting bigger...

2008-07-03T13:02:00.000-06:00

Ginger & Honey are really starting to grow. Honey has had some stomach issues that are finally cleared up, but that caused her to lose a little ground to Ginger. They have all their shots now and we can start a routine of morning walks as soon as they figure out the leashes. The above picture is of them trying to catch a washer tied to the line of Brian's fishing pole. He was getting his fishing pole out in hopes of fishing this weekend. I'll post pictures if we make it.

Here is Honey. She gained 1.5 lbs and is now just over 6 lbs! I was trying to get a picture of her with one of her ears messed up. It's just so cute when that happens, but the best I could do was the second picture.

Here is Ginger chasing a bug, or ant, or air or nothing, who knows. She is quite the bossy one at home, but when fireworks or going to the vet happen, she becomes the scaredy cat. She is our big girl, up 2 lbs to 7 lbs now! She is also taking a mild sedative at night and now doesn't freak out from the fireworks.

My new favorite song

2008-06-24T12:53:00.000-06:00

I watched an old Cold Case episode a few nights ago. It was about a country singer named Truck Sugar who was killed in Philly. Is anyone really named Truck? Oh, did I mention his wife's name was Honey. Yes, Honey Sugar. Apparently to Hollywood we (people who like country music) are all stupid rednecks. Anyway, back to the reason of this post. Good old Truck (actors Shaun Benson) sang a wonderful song that I just fell in love with! Counting My Lucky Starts by Larry Bagby. Larry's website is listed below and I am also attempting to add a youtube video of the duet Truck and some chick sang on the show. I just loved it. Check it out.

http://www.larrybagby.com/

This replaces my past favorite song. The Reunion (Tribute to June Carter Cash & Johnny Cash) by Jason Howard. I know there are a slew of Johnny & June tributes out there, but this is a few years old and by far the best in my opinion.

Both songs are for sale on iTunes. Do you think I could get paid for that shameless plug for Apple?

It's baby time (but not for me of course!)

2008-06-16T12:43:00.000-06:00

Everyone is having babies this year! I guess the biological clocks went off in unison. Here are pictures of 4 of the 5 friends babies that were born in the recent weeks.

First up we have Addison McCall Flanagan. She was born to Carrie (Smith) & Chris Flanagan on June 9th. Carrie and I are friends from high school and Chris from college. This is the one that freaked me out the most. Carrie is a MOM! I thought she was with me in the "We are not having kids" club. Obviously she dropped out. I got to spend some time with Addison over the weekend. I was very impressed to see Chris and Carrie, both be calm, laid back parents. They were not freaking out at all, well at least not outwardly. Addison is going to be one lucky little girl. On the soon to be list is Carrie's brother's wife Stephanie, and cousin and friend from high school Amanda (Thomas) Patterson. They are both due any day.

Happy Father's Day, Chris!!!

Our friend Carri Jurecek was so amazed to see me holding a baby she said she HAD to get a picture! I did give Addison over to Emily when she started crying. See, I'm a whimp. Only like them when they are sleeping.

Second, we have Joshua Ryan Dodson. He was born to Steve & Callie Dodson on June 10th. Steve is another friend from high school. Steve got 2 presents for Father's Day, little Joshua and a torn ACL that will require surgery. Poor Callie, she's going to have 2 babies to take care of soon. :)

Third up is Kyle Patrick Bean. He was born to Raelynn (Pirtle) Bean & her husband whose name I do not know on May 30th. Raelynn is a friend from middle school.
Fourth up is Katalyn Brooke Holtz. "Kitty" to grandparents Vince & Lori Bengston. Kitty was born on April 18th. Vince and Lori are our best friends from Inman KS. We sure wish we saw more of them!

Fifth up is Keegan Lee Shaw. He was born to Rhianna (Eudy) & Boyd Shaw on May 22nd. Rhianna is another friend from middle school. Unfortunately, I could not get the picture online to download, so please check out this link to see the adorable Keegan! (if it doesn't go directly to the picture, just search May 22, Sha, and KS)
http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=d54575ac-668a-4ea9-800c-0b308fbb78e8

Five down, two to go (of the ones I can remember today). Congratulations to all the parents! There are some very lucky kids out there!

Puppy Update

2008-06-05T11:40:00.000-06:00

Honey

Ginger

The babies are doing well. Too well, as you will see in the photos that are so blurry (and I have a nice camera) because they are so happy and have so much fun running around constantly. They went to the Vet's office for the first time yesterday and did so well. Ginger weighs 5.0 pounds with Honey weighing in at 4.5 pounds. Honey did receive a medication to help her diarrhea. She actually likes the meds! It is just weird to have a pet like to take the yucky yellow liquid! The appointment lasted over an hour because everyone had to come look at them and hold the babies. The staff were all happy for us, just because they all saw how hard it was for us losing Blondie. Rose, one of the receptionists, was just thrilled, she made sure they all came to see "the Ediger's new babies!" See called it "puppy therapy". She was the one who cried with me that day we had to put Blondie down. She was right, puppy therapy helps. We still miss Blondie, but puppies sure can be fun. I still do not regret getting two at once, I think it was the best way to go. Brian does want to change their names to Butch and Sundance, they are on the mischievous side, but they will grow up and I don't want a cute little girl dog named Butch.

Here are some of the "please stay still" shots.

Getting better

2008-05-22T10:05:00.000-06:00

Here are two more finished pieces. I am pretty happy with both. The black and white piece is a small bowl that works great for putting my jewelery in next to the sink in our black and white bathroom. The other is a tumbler type cup. It was huge when I made it, but now it's just regular size. It's hard to picture how much the clay will shrink. Depending on the type of clay it shrinks 8-12% in every direction. So you have to make things much larger than you want. Or for me, I just make whatever I can, and find a use for it when it's done. Our classes are over for the summer. Now I will just work on the weekends some until classes start up again in August.

4th and final update - The PUPPIES are here!

2008-05-19T14:31:00.000-06:00

Ginger and Honey are the newest members of our family. They are about 10 weeks old and weigh 4 pounds. They are just too cute for words. However, they haven't learned to pose or even stand still to get their picture taken, so these are not the best shots. I hope for better in the near future.

3rd update - Macks in a row

2008-05-19T14:24:00.001-06:00

Here is a quick update on harvest - Spring is almost over!!! It's been a good spring, so we are very thankful! Brian may have a break in between spring and going to Phoenix to cut corn in July. He really needs it - one day off since April 14th and working 18 hour days - he's ready to take a nap, to say the least! Here is a shot I took this weekend of our two trucks (orange and white) and my Dad's (red) and our service pickup all lined up.

2nd update - pregnant friends.

2008-05-19T14:05:00.000-06:00

I missed my good friend, Rhianna (Eudy) Shaw's, baby shower when I was in California, but my Mom went for me, but she didn't take any pictures!!!! Does she even know me??? Luckily for Carrie (Smith) Flannigan, I was able to attend her shower and take lots of pictures of her very pregnant self. You are going to be MOMs! Isn't that crazy! Also, lucky for Carrie, I am kinder than her brother and will only put a good one online. (Tim, her brother, sent out a picture of his wife who is also 8 months pregnant in a sports bra and short shorts to everyone in their address book. Tim, you are lucky to be alive!) Amanda (Thomas) Patterson was one of the hosts and she is also 8 months pregnant, but I didn't get a good head shot of her and don't know if she'd like me to post her pregnant pictures. My friend Steve Dodson's wife, Callie, is also pregnant. They all look great pregnant, though!

I just got an email from my friend Liz (Clark) Bland from high school and she couldn't have hit it any more right for me! "Just so you know - pets are very much like having your own children - with few exceptions opposable thumbs for one ; ) they usually give you less grief and are generally more content than humans are . . . and I think a number of people even grow more attached to their "pets" than their own kids for that very reason -ha!" So thanks Liz, I'll stick with the pups!

Quick updates - 1st Pottery

2008-05-19T13:53:00.000-06:00

Here are 2 more finished pieces. I built the first by hand and didn't know what it was going to be, but it turns out the be a great candle holder. I have 3 pillars on it and it looks great. The second is the very first piece I thew on the wheel by myself. Nothing pretty, but it makes a great mint holder on my desk. :) Don't know what I'm going to do with all these pieces. I have a few more finished that came out very nice, but haven't taken pictures, yet. Will post when I do.

Long Beach, CA

2008-05-07T12:04:00.000-06:00

I recently returned from a great trip to Long Beach, CA. I was there for a Desk & Derrick Regional meeting. Desk & Derrick is an organization formed for people who work in the Oil & Gas or Energy Industries. I had so much fun and learned a lot. We toured one of the THUMS islands. Texaco, Humbolt, Union, Mobile, and Shell (THUMS) built four islands off the coast of Long Beach to house their oil and gas operations in 1964. Here are pictures from the island.

This is their drilling rig. Since the island is so close to the city, they build facades around everything to make it look like buildings or something other than an oil operation. The rig moves around the island on railroad tracks.

The wells are located in the "basement" under the rig. They use Electric Submersible Pumps because there is no room for traditional pump jacks like we are used to seeing here in NM. There are about 1500 wells on this 5 acre island!

One facade is a waterfall that they run at night with colored lights. THUMS is very accomodating to the public, if someone on the coast asks for the waterfall to stay on later for a party or to use different colors to go with their wedding they do it. It usually only runs at night, but they turned it on for us.

We saw these sea lions (or seals? whatever they are) on a bouy an the way back from the island. They were just too cute!

These are our Hotel and pictures before a function. That's the Queen Mary in the background.Me, Daisy Jane (from Abiline), and Molly (also from Roswell).

Thanks Christy!

2008-04-18T15:57:00.000-06:00

I wanted a great photo of Blondie to have to remember her by. I asked Christy Penn Photography to use a photo of theirs and one of mine together to make a keepsake of Blondie for us. They were very kind about it and also got it done very quickly and I was able to pick it up today. Thank you for doing something out of the ordinary for me. I knew she was dirty when we took our Valentine's photos, but she was in the car and I thought a few shots would be cute. However, now that she's right next to a photo of her clean - she looks REALLY dirty, but still cute!

The rest of the Valentines Day / 10 yr Anniversary Pictures

2008-04-16T11:28:00.001-06:00

Here are the other pictures from Christy Penn Photography taken Valentines night 2008.

Harvest has started and other updates

2008-04-16T09:22:00.000-06:00

Well, It's been one week since we lost Blondie and we are all doing better with time. The cat moped around for several days, but I woke up to a squirrel tail on the front porch yesterday. So, he must be feeling back to his normal killing self. I thank you all for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. We will always miss her, but the pain of losing her is fading quickly. We miss Blondie, but we also just miss having a dog. We are thinking about getting two female Shih Tzus in the next month or so. I have trip to California for Desk and Derrick coming up next week and we want to wait until after that.

My friend Lori sent me this today and I thought it was beautiful and worth sharing.

"The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. He will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings, and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens." Senator George Vest, 1870

Find the entire speech here http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/vest.htm

This is my latest finished piece of pottery. I have several that are ready to glaze and fire, so hopefully soon there will be several pictures and you can see that I am actually improving. Still really enjoying it. However, my other new hobby of riding my dirt bike is cutting into my weekend pottery time. All my gear has arrived (helmet, boots, jacket, and pants) now I can ride safely and with less worry. I think my boss is going to buy a life insurance policy on me, because he keeps joking about what they'll do after I kill myself on this thing. I'll post picture of me in my protective gear sometime for everyone to laugh at. :)

Harvest has started!!! Yeah! Brian and my Dad (who bought a truck this year) are in Hobbs NM cutting wheat and barley. Our hired driver, Don, is here doing the regular dairy deliveries. He is such a blessing - experienced and dependable! Here are a few projects that Brian and Dad have built lately. This is our delivery trailer. The sides have to be low enough for the loader to dump over, but we wanted to be able to haul more when it goes to the field, so they designed and built these folding tip tops. They had to be hung lower because the loader hits the top of the trailer. They didn't have time to finish the painting though, so please excuse the rusty metal showing and the dirty trailer.

This is a picture of the new tip top screens that they built for the trailer my dad is buying from us. It looks like a small amount, but Brian said he is now hauling as much as Brian's trailer which is two foot longer.

This is a project they built last year to haul the service pickup around, but I forgot to take any pictures of it. Here it is hooked up to the trailer ready to go to Hobbs. The long piece between the hitch on the trailer and the receiver hitch on the pickup comes out and then the hitch on the pickup folds up and makes a bumper guard when not in use. Pretty darn ingenious if you ask me.

Ben Update

2008-04-10T15:38:00.000-06:00

Oh, I almost forgot. Ben had to stay Tuesday night at the vet's to have his chin cleaned up. We brought him home on Wednesday with Blondie's body. We tried to get him to smell her, so he would know that she had passed on and not just disappeared while he was in the hospital. He was pretty freaked out from the vet's, but finally smelled her a little bit. He is a little mopey today, but I don't know if it's sadness or anger at me giving him medicine twice a day. He could be upset because we told him he had to quit goofing off and that he was in charge of security now! :)

In Peace

2008-04-10T13:21:00.000-06:00

This was the post I was really hoping not to make for a long time. We had to put Blondie down yesterday morning. She went down hill very quickly. Tuesday night she was just a little less energetic than she had been over the weekend. But, we woke up Wednesday morning and she had no energy or appetite. There was not much in life that Blondie loved more than eating, so we knew it was time. The spark was gone from her eyes, too. She did not seem to be in pain, but we gave her a tranquilizer and she wasn't even scared when we were at the vet's office. They were able to find a vein and she was gone in an instant. I am just so glad she did not suffer. It was the hardest thing we have ever done, but at least the decision wasn't as difficult as we had feared because we knew it was time.

Brian and I decided that after giving Jesus the 3 second, "Hey, how's it going? Good to see you, but I am busy." greeting that she is now in heaven making sure every other dog and cat knows that she is the leader, no questions asked. That's what she would do when we'd get home and something was going on in the back yard or she still had her morning treat that she was protecting from Ben. A three second hello and then she'd take off to whatever was more interesting. We buried her under a pear tree at my parents house. This is a photo we had done in February at Christy Penn Photography. (I'll post more of us one of these days) It was supposed to be just Brian & I for Valentine's day, but she ran out the door and wanted to go for a ride. I asked if we could do a few shots with her, even though she was filthy! She was going to the groomer a day or two later, but we thought we take a few even though she was dirty. I'm so glad we did!

Blondie Update

2008-04-07T15:07:00.000-06:00

I just got off the phone with our vet. Her urea was at 95 now over 130 (should be 10-20) and her creatinine was 3.2 now 3.4 (should be .5-1.5). Her red blood count is the same ~20 (should be over 50) her reticulocytes (immature red blood cells) were at 0 now at .3 (should be 1-2). Blondie is most likely in chronic renal failure. It could be worse, she could be in accute renal failure. Since her red blood cells are still so low, the treatment is too risky. I do NOT want her to die alone, scared in their office. She hates that place. I'd rather keep her comfy at home. She had many times this weekend that it was hard to see she was sick at all.

We are going to let her eat all the cat food she wants, since she likes it and is used to it. She needs calaries so that her body doesn't get them from what is left of her muscles. We will also slowly introduce some cooked eggs and liver. We don't want to make her sick to her stomach, because vomiting is a sign that her urea levels are too high. We don't want to confuse vomiting from upset stomach for vomiting from the urea. The vet said some dogs in chronic renal failure tolerate very high levels (like 4 to 5 times what Blondie's are now) for quite some time. So we now know several signs to watch for to know when she is in pain or getting worse. We are going to keep her comfortable and monitor the situation as best we can. She'll go back for blood work again Thursday.

The shock of Thursday and Friday has worn off and I haven't cried uncontrollably since Friday afternoon. We understand our purpose now is to keep her happy and comfortable for as long as we can, but make sure she doesn't suffer. The step after putting her down is the one I can't face yet (what to do with her earthly body).

On another note, the stupid cat, Ben, got in a fight and has an abscess on his chin. He will be making the trip to the vet's tomorrow. It might have been with Blondie just so she isn't the only one having to go to the vet's. :)

Thank you all for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. I feel at peace now and Blondie is comfortable, so I know they are working. Thanks again!

Blondie is stable

2008-04-07T11:30:00.000-06:00

Blondie is still with us, so that's a huge step. She is stable and has bursts of energy followed by long naps. She was at the vet's this morning to have blood drawn, but we have not heard any results, yet. I'll post as soon as I know anything. We are very hopefull since she didn't get worse this weekend that she'll be able to fight this off. Thank you so much for the kind words and prayers!

Prayers Needed for Blondie

2008-04-04T10:12:00.000-06:00

This is the hardest thing to write. We are having a bad time. Blondie, our baby, is very ill. Her kidneys are slowly failing and her bone marrow isn’t producing more red blood cells. The best treatment is to flush her system with fluids and see if her kidneys can recover, but her blood count is so low that if we dilute it with the fluids she may not be able to get enough oxygen. She is stable now at home. She’s still her same sweet little self, just not as energetic. We have decided not to do the treatment because that would be torture to her to stay at the vets all weekend – she hates it there. There is not much of a chance that the treatment would work anyway. We are going to keep her comfortable at home and watch for breathing problems or vomiting and then we will know it’s time to put her down. My heart is just breaking. My eyes are so swollen from crying all night and I can’t stop again this morning. They think this is long-term damage from the bad infection she had last year in combination with the terrible dental problems she’s had since we found her. There is a chance that this is viral and she could pull through, so please pray for her to fight hard. She’s such a strong willed little dog, that if anyone can pull through, she can. If not, Jesus will have the best little dog ever to keep him company. The thought of pulling in to my driveway at night and not having her wait for me in the window is just killing me! Brian and I are trying not to be selfish and only do what is best for her, but it’s so hard because we just don’t want to lose her yet! Thanks for your prayers!

My sister Sherry, had to put her old dog down this week. Giugliana (Julie-aaa-na in english), had been having small seizures for years but had been such a good dog. She finally had a seizure she couldn't come out of. Sherry found her when she lived in Italy as a puppy. Please say a prayer for her family as they are dealing with this loss.

Oh, and I changed the settings so that if you would like to leave a comment you do not have to have a blogger account anymore. Anyone can leave Blondie a message and I will pass them along to her.

I HAVE LOST MY MIND!!!

2008-04-01T08:27:00.000-06:00

Okay, back in November I was watching the X games on ESPN and thought that some of it looked like a lot of fun. So after keeping the idea in the back of my mind for a few months, I recently decided that I wanted to ride dirt bikes!

Like I said earlier, I may have lost my mind! So I have been researching bikes on the internet and checked out the new ones at the dealership. One my way home from work last night I passed by a place where people park cars to sell and there was this dirt bike. I pulled in and fell in love. So I called, and we met with the owners later and Brian took it for a test ride. I couldn't since I don't even know how to ride (see above title)! And I bought it!

It is a Yamaha Serow Mountain Trail 225. It is street legal so if I want to go anywhere on it I could. Makes 70 - 80 mpg, but I don't think I'll be riding it to work except on Fridays when I wear jeans, maybe. I am looking forward to learning to ride and then taking to the mountains to find trails or out the sand dunes to ride. Am I crazy or what??

Here is the wisteria (I think) that is growing on our patio.

Mack Truck gets ready for Harvest

2008-03-24T13:13:00.000-06:00

Harvest is about 3 weeks away, and I am ready to get started. Brian has been doing a lot to the trucks and trailers this off season. Here is James's truck showing off the new bumper that my Dad and Brian built, the new fifth wheel deck and plate, and new full fenders. These old Mack's may not be much to look at, but they are the perfect trucks for going in the silage fields.

Pottery Update

2008-03-24T12:53:00.000-06:00

Well, I have finished my first session of classes. Here is my final finished piece. Which I hate, but it is done at least. It was supposed to be an architectural piece of some kind with lots of detail. Yeah, this is the best I could come up with. I have realized I'm not good at the creative end of this. I like the bowls and cups and not the "artsy" type work. I set it outside along with my first piece and planted a flower in it. The second piece is now our banana bowl in the kitchen.

On our last class we had a quick demonstration of throwing a piece. The instructor, Aria, and I made this bowl. My hands were doing it, but she gets all the credit. I have tried the past few weekends on our break to throw something by myself and I end up throwing it back into the bag of clay. She definitely made it look easy. We start back to class on April 1 and I can't wait. I did build a few pieces by hand and will post pictures once they have been fired and glazed.

March in New Mexico

2008-03-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

We had a beautiful weather week last week. Yesterday topped it off with a high over 80. And then today we woke up to an inch of snow?! It's supposed to be 75 again tomorrow. Crazy global warming! We needed the moisture.

Coil Bowl

2008-02-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

Okay here is my second piece of pottery. I like it much better than the first. The glazes used were called floating blue and coffee. Only one week left in pottery class, but I'll be taking another at the first of April. Lot's of fun!!!

Pottery Class

2008-02-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, it may look like a five year old made it, but here is my first finished piece from Pottery Class! I'm taking this class at RMAC. I'm having a lot of fun! This piece is "art" aka "crap", but the process was very interesting. It was made using the Japanese Raku method. First we built our pieces by hand (no Demi Moore pottery wheel, yet) and then they were fired at 1800 degrees in a kiln. Next we painted on our glazes. Last night was the final steps of firing to 1800 degrees then putting the piece in a hole in the ground and throwing newpaper on top, closing the lid and letting it burn for 45 minutes. I just loved it - I got to play with fire! It was so interesting to see them come out of the kiln. They glowed neon orange and were transparent! It took 6 weeks to finish. I'm sure it could be done much faster, but we only have class once a week.

I'm looking for a talent (or at least something I'm halfway good at) that I can enjoy doing while Brian is busy harvesting. I can't sing, write, draw, play any instruments, knit, crochet, sew, and have no athletic ability what so ever. I do enjoy photography, but I think the camera helps out with that. I used to scrapbook (not well) but am pretty burned out on that. I'll try to post pictures as I finish pieces, hopefully you will see progress. :)

"Tia Kate, I'M 5!!!!!"

2007-12-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

Got a phone call from my niece, Nola, last night. Being 5 is apparently a big deal. She was sooo excited (aka hopped up on sugar/birthday cake and ice cream)! Her 5th birthday party had just wrapped up. Any of you who may read this and know my sister, Sherry, should be able to pick Nola out. She is the one that looks just like her mom, but with brown hair (okay, she's also the only little girl). My parents are there in Salt Lake for Christmas & Nola's birthday. Here they are with Nola & Lydia (3yo). The party was at the Tree House Museum or something like that and they had a blast. Thanks for the pictures, Sherry!

2007 is almost over?!

2007-12-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

The Ediger family's 2007

Wow! I can't believe that there are only a few days left in 2007! I pray that everyone had a very Merry Christmas. We had a blessed year! Brian and James, his brother, purchased two semis and hauled silage mainly within 50 miles of Roswell. These are the first Mack trucks that we have owned and probably won't buy any other kind again. Built like a Mack truck isn't just a saying - they are tough, perfect for being in the field!

During spring harvest, Brian had an exciting load. As he and the cutter turned at the end of the row, the cutter burst into flames! Brian grabbed his phone and snapped a few photos. No one was hurt, but the cutter was toast. The theory is that the hydraulic pump broke and sprayed oil onto the engine.

We had a good harvest season and feel very blessed to have the opportunity to work so close to home.

Brian is still hauling silage. Now he is delivering it out the the dairies. The hours are not near as long, but those darn cows want to eat everyday. There are three trucks delivering, so they can rotate and get a few days off.

Our kids (yes, we were able to avoid that pregnancy bug that is running rampant with our friends) had a rough 2007. Ben Roethlisberger lost his unsupervised house privileges after his "presents" of birds and squirrles (dead & alive) became a daily occurance. We installed a new magnetic pet door and Ben doesn't get a key. This is a small skinny, Ben. He has really filled out and gained weight the last few months. He is starting to become the "Big Ben" he is named after.You can see Blondie modeling her "key" to the house. It's the small black magnet on her collar. Blondie is hoping 2008 will be a much healthier year for her. In the spring, she became very ill. We found out she had Erlichia, a very deadly tick born infection that she probably contracted before we found her. Erlichia sits in a dogs system for at least a year before it goes crazy and takes over their immune systems. Blondie was on antibiotics for almost 5 months with constant blood testing and many trips to the vet. She is still on special vitamins to help build her immune system back up, but it's been difficult, because she is allergic to the vitamins. In December, she broke a dew claw on her front foot. It was not repairable so they removed her dew claws on both feet! We had a fun week trying to keep her from licking the stitches. Let's just say there were several rolls of tape, bandages, baby socks, dog shoes, and people socks sewed together to make socks with suspenders involved in keeping her wounds clean. She was so happy to have the stitches removed on Christmas Eve - a very Merry Christmas for Blondie!

We were hit with a hail storm in the spring and needed a new roof. We also installed new windows throughout the house. The windows are amazing and combined with the new roof, it was like a complete makeover for the house.

We celebrated our 10th anniversary with a trip to San Diego!! We saw all the sites and loved it. The highlight was the Photo Safari at the Wild Animal Park where we fed giraffes and rhinos! These are 2 of the over 4000 photos I took on the trip! Do you think I love my new camera?

We pray that you all have a healthy and blessed 2008! I'll try to post here on a semi-regular basis.

God Bless,
Brian & Kate