Holiday Letter

One of my goals for this month and my 101 in 1001 was to write a Christmas Letter.  It’s done (yes, it’s late–it’s going out as an e-letter this year), so here it is:

Happy New Year from Our House to Yours!

Dear Family & Friends,

We hope this finds you in the best of health and enjoying the holiday season!  As we look forward to the New Year and reflect on 2009, we thought it would be nice to let friends and family know what’s been going on in our world. 

On May 19^th, we celebrated our 2^nd wedding anniversary by visiting The Wilds, a 10,000 acre wildlife conservation center in Cumberland, Ohio.  Besides that it was FREEZING COLD and—of course—we chose the open air tour bus to see the animals better, we had a great time.  In August, we spent a week on Bald Head Island, NC with Tim’s parents, brother, and sister-in-law.  It was an absolute blast (despite the millions—literally—of stinging jellyfish) and we dream about a repeat trip.  On our way home from NC, we took a detour through Richmond, VA to visit a long lost friend of Alverna’s.  It was a VERY happy reunion and the guys got acquainted in the way grown men prefer: playing video games.     

Tim has become quite the handyman this year.  He replaced our hot water heater after our old one went kaput in the middle of the winter (brrr!) and, at the same time, he installed the almost brand new, high end water softener system we were generously gifted with.  The combination of the two new systems has made a huge difference in our ultra-hard well water situation.  Tim also built a new door for our chicken house, built porch steps, and installed a tile floor in our formerly carpeted kitchen.  (Seriously, who carpets a kitchen!?)  He also worked on his golf game, but unfortunately the weather prevented him from showing off his mad skills at the Bugh Family Reunion.  Instead, we mingled with the rest of the family on the Inn’s porch and generally goofed off.

Alverna has now been working at Twin Maples Veterinary Hospital as a veterinary assistant for a year.  Although it doesn’t offer her a career path, she enjoys the work and the people, feels blessed to have a job during these tough economic times, and LOVES the shorter commute.  Alverna’s also been trying to keep up a regular reading habit, and in the process has been bitten by the Twilight bug.  (Well, she IS in the over 25 demographic after all.)  Other books she’s found especially enjoyable this year are The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan (in fact, she still can’t stop talking about it) and the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.  Alverna also keeps a blog (www.AlvernaH.wordpress.com), which keeps her writing, if on an admittedly irregular basis.  

Life on the farm continues.  The horses are ornery as ever and the dogs love their yard just as much as always.  Karli (the Border collie mutt) managed to get her paws on a squirrel.  We’re still not sure if she caught it herself or found it already dead.  Of course, she’s convinced that she caught it herself and is about to catch another at any moment.  Kori (the Pembroke Welsh Corgi) has decided that our new horse farm neighbors across the street have four-legged aliens which must be watched (and barked at) at all times.  In June, our meager flock of 3 hens was joined by a brood of baby chicks which arrived in the mail all the way from Webster City, Iowa.  The “baby” hens are now laying eggs along with the “big” girls, which means we collect upwards of 6 eggs a day.  (Anyone need some eggs!?)  Tim was instrumental in the garden expansion project we undertook this year.  We were able to enjoy fresh fruits & veggies for most of the summer and are fortunate enough to have some veggies in the freezer to eat over the winter.  The highlight of our garden was our first watermelon EVER!  Tim waited SO long for it to ripen, but it was worth the wait. 

Basically, life is very, very good.  As we look ahead to 2010, we wish you a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Happy Holidays,

Alverna & Tim

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My Long Lost Bestie

On August 15th, 2009 around 3 o’clock on the afternoon, you would have found me on I-95 driving North from our vacation spot in NorthCarolina to Richmond, VA.  You would also have found me practically hyperventilating with nervous excitement.  Why such excitement over LEAVING the beach, you ask?  Because I was on my way to “meet” my best friend from 13 years ago. 

Yes, T and I were inseparable back then.  So many of my happiest childhood memories include our crazy fun times together.  In many ways, we were so very different–she was totally spontaneous, I was a planner; she was a wild child to my (perceived) sensibilities; I’d pretty much grown up in one place, while she had moved often.  Despite our differences, we went together like bees and honey.  We were both talkative, opinionated, independent tom-boys.  When we weren’t providing nanny services for our younger sibs (a task made more bare-able by each others’ company), we were usually exploring the fields, woods, and streams around our homes in our shorts and tees.  (Who needed shoes!?)  We were two free spirits learning where we wanted to make our place in the world. 

Friends are life’s finest blessings. “Friend” and “free” are from the same root word; perhaps because you are free to be yourself with a friend.”
~Author Unknown

We were both gangly–all arms and legs and left feet–but we were gangly together, so it was OK.  Together, T and I discovered boys.  It happened to be the same boy, but our friendship survived just fine.  We also discovered our mutual hatred of geese and love of 4-H.  We formed unique, mature-beyond-our-years opinions about marriage, families, babies, birth, education, and women.  Not necessarily the same opinions, but different opinions, especially compared with other girls our age.  We shared our deepest secrets, desires, and dreams.  Life was pretty awesome with T.

Then, one day, T and her mom and sister moved away.  I was heartbroken, but I made new friends.  They weren’t as uniquely awesome as T, but they were great friends in their own right.  My biggest regret was that I hadn’t been able to keep in touch when she moved away.

About 11 years came and went.  I graduated from high school and college.  I moved to a new city, and then another.  I occasionally thought of my long lost bestie, T.  I even Googled her once or twice, but came up empty handed.  Then, one day, I up and decided that I WAS going to find T.  If Google could tell me anything ELSE, then by gosh it would find her for me, too.  (A teeny bit stalkerish, I know, but this was important.)  It took some time, but I finally found her!  (Yay for Google and social networking sites!) 

Our  “reunion” was bittersweet, at least for me.  I was incredibly happy to have found her, but wanted so badly to see her in the flesh.  See, she lived in Virginia and I lived in Ohio.  Oh well, at least she isn’t in China, I thought.  It could be worse.  I promised myself that sometime, somehow, we would visit.  And so, while planning our Summer ’09 Outer Banks vacation, I convinced hubby that we should travel home via Richmond, VA.

And there I was, driving through Richmond on my way to T and her husband’s house…flipping out.  I didn’t really know what to expect–could our friendship pick up where we’d left off, or would it be awkward and weird?–thus, my heart was trying to jump out of my chest.

As soon as we walked up to the front porch and I saw T waiting with open arms (jumping up and down!), I knew it was all going to be great.  Absolutely, wonderfully great.  And it was.

A good friend is a connection to life – a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.”
~Lois Wyse

T understands parts of me that no other friend of mine can.  I can still tell her anything, absolutely anything.  I wish, fervently, that she could be a bigger part of my day-to-day life.  That we could travel the road to the future side-by-side.  Don’t get me wrong, the Internet is terrific, but it’s just not the same.  And while I have wonderful, awesome friends here in Ohio, there’s just no one else in the world quite like T.

Reunion

As I look back on all that’s happened..growing up, growing together, changing you, changing me — there were times when we dreamed together, when we laughed and cried together. As I look back on those days, I realize how much I truly miss you and how much I truly love you. The past may be gone forever..and whatever the future holds, our todays make the memories of tomorrow. So, my lifetime friend, it is with all my heart that I send you my love, hoping that you’ll always carry my smile with you, for all we have meant to each other and for whatever the future may hold.”
~Author Unknown

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It’s Time for Some Goals (101 in 1001)

It’s time for me to set a few goals in order to give myself specific targets to work toward over the next few years.  What it’s all about. 

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past — frequently simple goals such as new year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities. 

Many thanks to Terra for unwittingly inspiring me to get motivated… 

     “If one moves confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”  —Henry David Thoreau

Start date: Today (Sunday, February 17, 2008)

End date: Monday, November 15, 2010

Striked=completed

Bold=in progress

Alverna’s 101 in 1001

Financial 

     1. Eliminate all consumer debt, including: my VISA & MasterCard, our Lowe’s card, my medical bill, and our parents’ generous “wedding expense” loans. 

     2. Put $5,000 in savings.

     3. Acquire a chest freezer so we can buy in bulk frozen foods to cut our grocery budget.

     4. Get overdraft protection on my checking account.

     5. Either expand the Wide Mouth Gifts I started or come up with some sort of on the side income. (See the results here, I’ve been working hard to make it more user-friendly.  Let me know what you think!)

Home/Farm Improvements 

     6. Replace the carpet in the kitchen with the snap together no-scratch slate look tile we’ve got picked out at Lowe’s.

     7. Replace the kitchen sink faucet with a stainless steel one (that doesn’t leak!).

     8. Install a drainage system around our barn. (3/19/08: I may not have been specific enough when I set this goal.  We’ve put in place a temporary solution–basically a sump pump in one of the storage stalls.  It’s helping tremendously for now.  However, I would like to have something better and more permanent eventually.)

     9. Replace the roof on the older half of our barn.

     10. Pick any manure in the arena and move the two sand piles that are currently in our pasture to the arena to improve the footing.

     11. Install a new wood fence section to separate the arena and the dry lot.

     12. Replace the chewed fence boards in the arena.  (March ’08; Thanks to my darling husband!)

     13. Replace the less attractive/functional boards on the run-in shed.  (March ’08; Also thanks to the Mr.–it was a joint goal!)

Career/Educational

     14. Find a job I love…or come to a place where I’m 100% happy with the one I have.

     15. Attend at least four continuing education seminars, at least two being equine-industry related. [0/4]

     16. Start our business, officially.  (3/19/08: It’s very,very close to becoming a reality…)

     17. Move the Bugh Equine Center website from Freewebs to a “real”, hosted website.

Self Improvement 

     18. Re-register to vote–once my name change becomes official.

     19. Locate a nonprofit organization with a cause I feel motivated by and volunteer with said organization.

     20. Lose ten pounds, and keep it off. [10/10]  (3/19/08: I actually lost ten pounds without really trying just because of all the work we’ve been doing on the barn…but I’m not crossing this one off because the goal was to lose AND keep it off.)

     21. Work with my neurologist to figure out the migraine prevention & treatment protocol that works best for me and I’m comfortable with using.

     22. Keep a headache journal for a year.

     23. Find a birth control method that I like.  (Suggestions are welcome ladies!)

     24. Write an article & get it published.

    25. Blog twice a week for at least one month. [2/8] (1, 2)

     26. Make a list of 100 things that make me happy.

     27. Climb a rock wall.

     28. Read the (Catholic) Bible from cover to cover.

     29. Read 25 other books–that I’ve never read before–in 2008. (Book suggestions anyone?) [1/25]  (3/19/08: Completed so far: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Steven R. Covey.  In progress: Equinomics: The Secrets to Making Money with Your Horse Business by Lanier Cordell, White Oleander by Janet Fitch, and THINK and GROW RICH by Napolean Hill)

     30. Read 30 books in 2009. [0/30]

     31. Read 25 books in 2010. [0/25]

     32. Visit the library down the road.  If it’s “safe”, get a library card.  If not, continue going to the library by our old apartment.  (February ’08; The security guard at the front door made me nervous, but it turns out our local library is OK.)

     33. Check out eight books on tape/CD in 2008.  Listen to them while driving to/from work. (These can count as the books I’m reading.) [2/8]  (3/19/08: 7 Habits & White Oleander are on CD.  I love this arrangement except–and this is no offense to the book/author–I had a little trouble staying awake while driving while listening to 7 Habits.  Apparently between 7-8am is not my optimal hour for self-motivation, which is good to know!)

     34. Do 100 sit-ups a night for two weeks. [0/14]

     35. Pray daily for a month. [0/30]

     36. Attend mass every Sunday for six months. [1/24]  (Mass 3/16/08)

     37. Attend mass for all Holy Days of Obligation for one year. [0/10] 

Personal 

     38. Take ballroom dance lessons with my husband (his idea, not mine 🙂 ). 

     39. Find (and buy) a pair of sunglasses I actually like (and that fit me!).

     40. Remove clothes from my wardrobe that I don’t like or don’t fit me.  Replace with clothes I like and will actually wear.  The end result should be a wardrobe I love!

     41. Find and buy functional and attractive sleepwear…then throw out all of the old, over-sized tee’s I usually wear.

     42. Find and buy a dress I can wear in the winter.

     43. Find and buy something slinky and sexy to wear for my husband.

     44. Find makeup that doesn’t make me break out and matches my skin tone.

     45. Mail a postcard to Post Secret.

     46. Get a massage.

     47. Get a facial.

     48. Take a cooking class.

     49. Travel outside the continental US.

     50. Take my husband whitewater rafting.

     51. Go horseback riding on the beach.  Somewhere warm.  Anywhere.

     52. Call or email my mom at least twice a week.

     53. Become a big sister for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

     54. Make at least two new, permanent friends in Dayton. [0/2]

     55. Have lunch with at least one “long lost friend”.

     56. Go to a concert.

     57. Have our wedding photos printed & put them in an album.

     58. Put together my cookbook.

     59. Cook 20 new recipes. [0/20]

     60. Visit either NYC or Chicago.

     61. Learn & practice monthly breast self exams for a year. [0/12]

     62. Find 10 new restaurants, coffee shops, or hang out spots within 15 minutes of our house. [0/10]

     63. Go on an overnight mother/daughter trip with my mom.

     64. Give blood at least four times per year. [0/10]

     65. Try five new foods, preferably foreign. [0/5]

     66. Take my husband to a strip club, just for the heck of it!

     67. Join a local hobby group.

     68. Buy a quality digital camera.

     69. Go to a drive-in movie.

     70. Buy a new lap top.

     71.  Plan a girl’s weekend road trip.

     72.  Plan a romantic trip for my husband and I.

     73. Go snorkeling.

     74. Golf 18 holes…note I don’t have any performance goal!

     75. Write and mail 2008 & 2009 Christmas letters.

     76. Show Pea (my OTTB) in-hand and under saddle.

     77. Take Pea to either a RPSI or a Trakehner breed inspection.

     78. Get Pea in foal to a warmblood stallion.

     79. Send a non-special occasion card to someone who’s family and someone who’s not.  (3/17/08: I mailed a “Hope” card to my Grandpa, who’s 82 and fell last week.  He broke a bunch of little bones in his hand…and now he’s grouchy because Grandma’s “making” him walk with a cane so it doesn’t happen again!) 

     80. Finish a knitting or cross stitch project.

     81. Have one of our wedding photos blown up to 16″x20″ and framed…and hang it above the fireplace.

    82. Write my husband a love note every week for a month (email counts). [1/4]

     83. Buy a cute corset–and wear it.

     84. Visit Cheryl, Scott, and the girls in Cleveland.

     85. Learn how to make at least one fancy dessert.

     86. Take a completely spontaneous getaway trip.

     87. Go bowling at least four times. [0/4]

     88. Take my little brothers on a day trip.

     89. Spend a weekend with my oldest brother.

     90. Go to a wine tasting event.

     91. Give a massage.

     92. Ride in a “Hunt” at the Miami Valley Hunt.

     93. Get tipsy in good company.

     94. Ride at least twice a week for six months, providing the weather is decent.  [0/48]

     95. Face a fear. 

     96. Go naked for a day.

     97. Make love outdoors.

     98. Learn one good joke.

     99. Leave work on time every day for a week. [0/7]

     100. Figure out which charity is most meaningful to me.

     101. Donate $5 to that charity for each unfinished item on this list.

        

    

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