Country Time Acres Blog

Healthy body, healthy mind, happy me!

I am sorry if I have neglected this blog for a few weeks. With all the snow little has been going on but, I have stayed focused on my new year’s resolutions. I joined Snap Fitness Center and have been working on the weights a few times a week. I am attending several fitness classes which include, Zumba, pilates and step areobics. I love them all and the instructor’s are great. I have discovered the pilates has had the biggest impact on me. For years I have suffered with neck and shoulder pain. I go to the chirapractor and the massage therapist at least once a month costing me an average of $70.00 a month. The day after my first pilates class I noticed a change in my body. Most of the pain is gone and  because of that I sleep better. I normally wake up between 6 and 8 times a night, now I wake up to go to the bathroom( from all that water I drink) but, I go right back to sleep. I haven’t been to the chiropractor or the massage therapist in over two months! I also take line dancing and Zumba at the Harrington Moose making for about 28 classes a month. Some mornings I work out in my home gym for a total of about 12-14 hours a week of working out. I have made  major diet changes as well,  cutting out bread, meat, soda and sweets. I treat myself to each of those items about twice a week but, eat lots of fruits and vegetables. I know that sounds like a lot and it is! To date I have lost 13 pounds, mostly belly fat and although I have about 5 or so pounds to go, I feel great. No more tight cloths. I also have taken a few enrichment classes, Stamping, How to get Published and have signed up for a tole-painting class. Now that spring weather is on it’s way I plan to get working with the horses and preparing for summer camps. Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

Don’t try this at home!  Before my daughter, Jenna returned to California, I asked her to spin her fire poi for me one more time. The pictures I had taken a few days ago  in the snow were taken with a flash. This time I took them without a flash to get a great splash of color. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. It was pretty awesome.   For more pictures see Jowana Lamb’s Facebook! Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

Handmade gifts are always special.

Ok, I hear this every Christmas, I’m not giving out cards this year. Once I buy the stamps and the cards it’s just  too expensive. Here is my thought on this. First of all, I know that Christmas comes every year . You are probably going to get one card from me this year and Christmas will be it. I purchase my cards after Christmas or when they are on sale. I  purchase my special horse cards in October. Then I start buying stamps as soon as the Christmas ones are available. This year I got a call from my friend, Carol Deas telling me what a beautiful card she had received from me. Nothing makes your day like going to the mailbox and getting those cards. Forget the e-cards, sure you can send them all with the click of a button but, oh, how impersonal!  During Christmas mine are strung across the livingroom wall. Those cards are as much a part of my holiday tradition as the Christmas tree. So, prepare for next year, I hear the cost of stamps aren’t going up. For the cost of about a dollar or a little bit more you can send a greeting that will warm the entire household and tell everyone just how much you care.

Did you visit?  Leave a comment. Don’t forget to check the side bar Pages/Events 2010 for performances and store showings. happy New Year!!!

The bond of love ties a family together.

Well, in a few hours my daughter Jenna, will be on a plane flying back to California. When will I see her again, I really don’t know. I can not imagine a Christmas without her but, I don’t want every Christmas to end with the gloom of saying goodbye. Sometimes it’s hard being a mother. For twenty years my whole life rotated around my children. Then suddenly, they are all grown up and making a life of their own. One even moves to the other side of the country, how do you deal with that? You want your  child to be happy; to grown and the only way to do that is to let go. Even if it is breaking your heart. You don’t want them to feel guilty for leaving you but, now there is a emptiness. Everytime something good happens it ends with, “Gosh, I wish Jenna was here” or “My mom would have loved this”. You wait for her calls but, it’s just not the same. The only way to share your excitement is through pictures on your blog or video’s on You-Tube. When she is sad or hurting the only comfort you can give is the sound of your voice when all you really want to do is give her a hug. Modern technology is great, the telephone and web-cam are “the next thing to being there” but, the reality is, you just want to be there. Out of sight out of mind, the farther away she is the less I will see her, until one day she is just a figure in the background; that family member we “don’t see very often”. At some time or another we all face that question of moving away. Maybe it’s a job or great opportunity. I would love milder winters and more room for my horses but, I keep coming back to the same thing. Just as being a mother was important to me, so is being a grandmother. I didn’t have grandparents in my life. I want to see their first ballgames and schoolplays. To teach them to ride and care for a horse and do simple things like picking tomatoes from the garden and playing Go Fish.  The family tie is like the bow we tie our shoes with. The loop is the members that leave and come back, the string,the  ones that want the connection of family without the committment and in the center is that tight little knot, the mother and father that hold the family together, no matter what. In the end we only want one thing, to love our children and to be a part of their life and we will do that in what ever manner we have to. Yes, sometimes it’s hard to be a mother, but it’s the most important thing I will ever be. Of all things great and small, a mother’s love is best of all “Unknown”.

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A new year begins!

In just a few days a new year will begin. This is a time to put the past behind and start fresh. I won’t complain about much but, their are a few things I’d like to put in writing so I can keep track of my goals for 2010. 1. Loose weight and get in shape, cut back on eating out.  2. Dance more, dancing makes me feel good physically and mentally.  3. Put 75-100 hours on my Ride America with Dakota. 4. Take my Parelli levels tests. It’s time I get those peices of paper to valididate  my hours of hard work with my horses.    5.Write more. I have always dreamed of writing a book.  6. Spend more time having fun with friends and family. 7. Eliminate the things that are negative in my life. I want to enjoy life!  8. Spend more time enjoying my horses.  9. Get my house organized once and for all! 10. Get my photo’s organized. Memory cards are great but, I need to put them in albums. 11. Take some craft classes. I need to feel creative again and would like to meet some new friends.

Have a great New Year’s and spend the next year living each day as if it were your last! Did you visit?  Leave a comment. Don’t forget to see the side bar Pages/Events 2010 for performances and store showings.

Masked!

All fired up!

Things are never dull at Country Time Acres. Makhi and Jenna enjoyed modeling the masks I gave Jenna for Christmas. Jenna also did her performance using fire poi in the snow. Bet she can’t do that in California. Well, maybe she could is she really wanted to. Last year Jenna gave me poi for Christmas. At Thanksgiving she showed me how to make hoops and do a few tricks. I used my new toys to do a routine in my production of “LeCirque of Horses”. This year Jenna gave me some beautiful scarves to dance with. I am hoping I’ll get to use them in my next production. Remember, we don’t stop playing because we get old, we grow old because we stop playing, George Bernard Shaw.  I don’t plan to stop playing anytime soon. Don’t forget to see the side bar Pages/Events 2010 for store showings and performances. Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

The Lamb Family, Terry, Tracy with Tessa, Jowana and Jenna.

 

My daughter, Tracy's Family, Tracy, Makhi and Leon.

 Hope everyone had a great Christmas!  We had a very nice day complete with family and gifts and most of all, no more snow! I think the 15 inches we got last week is enough to last us for this winter. Today’s rain has almost washed all of it away and now all we have left is mud. Makhi, my grandson was quite happy to find that he wasn’t on the “naughty list” afterall. He finally got the barn he wanted as well as some games and puzzles. His family will enjoy their new Weii game station and Tracy will love cooking in her new cookware. She was pretty surprised to get her very own tupperware hamburger press. Boy, are they a hard item to find! Jenna was home from California and is very hard to buy for. I purchased some very pretty masks at a festival I attended, bought her some fabric (she makes her own costumes) and she got a fire hoop. Maybe someday I’ll get to see her spin it. Terry   and I kept it simple as we are headed to Atlanta, to see Calvalia. We got some much needed socks and warm weather gear and of course, I got lots of new books.  Happy New Year from the Lamb Family!!! Don’t forget to see the side bar Pages/Events 2010  for performances and store showings. Did you visit?  Leave a comment.

The Canadian Cowgirls show off for the crowds in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Flags flying; shimmering costumes;  the pride of Canada, they are the Canadian Cowgirls Drill Team. This team of 16 talented and dedicated women and their spectacular horses can be seen performing at parades, expo’s, rodeo’s and festivals. Creative and entertaining they move with such beauty and grace; horse and rider making the perfect dance partners. If they are ever in your area I highly recommend you make the time to see them perform. I saw this team at the horse expo in Springfield, Massachusettes and they are fantastic!

Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

Enjoy your day!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  Unfortunately, this is just one of those holidays that really has little meaning to me. Maybe I’m just more interested in Christmas or maybe I just don’t like the feeling that I have to cook when I really don’t want to. Who knows?  But, there is one Thanksgiving that will always be special to me: the one my family spent at the Salvation Army. My husband, Terry and co-workers from Lowes worked the line serving food while my girls along with  the Small World Dance Team entertained their guests. Our last song was Michael Jackson’s “Heal the World”. As the kids were singing I looked up and all these homeless people are singing and waving their arms in the air. Many of them were crying. It really moved me. Holidays are a time to spend with family but, let us all remember the reason for them. Be thankful for all that you have and share some of yourself along the way. “Learning to give, is an important  lesson for all of us”, Buck Brannaman. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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Carroll working with me on lateral flection.

Carroll riding Sundae. She would never go like that for me.

Tuesday I got to spend the day with my trainer, horseman, Carroll Williams of Mardela Springs, Maryland. It had been about 2 years since our last session and we were both pleased with all that I have accomplished. When I met Carroll, I was a desperate woman. I had had my horse, Sundae for about 5 years and was at a dead end. We were at the point I just couldn’t get her to go. The trainer I was working with at the time told me Sundae was to much horse for me and to get rid of her. I thought some riding lessons might help as I really didn’t ride much. Which is why I couldn’t understand how this horse was to much for me. At my first riding lesson  I rode a lesson horse. At the end of class my instructor told me I rode fine and I needed to get a new horse because Sundae and I weren’t a good match. She had never even seen us together!  After a few lessons I quite. I was learning the Parelli method of horsemanship and this Parelli instructor just didn’t seem to fit into the program as I understood it, if you know what I mean. She did give me the name of a natural trainer, Carroll Williams. A few weeks later I was riding on the beach with Sundae and within  minutes of getting on her she crow hopped and flipped me over her head. All the way home my husband, Terry kept saying “Your getting a new horse”. We decided to call Carroll and if he said I needed a new horse I would do what he said.                                                      

My first class with Carroll was stressful to say the least.  What I noticed about him was he never made me feel stupid like some trainers did. He was polite, he asked if he could show me something or if he could ride my horse. He told me my saddle was all wrong, darn that salesman! I knew we needed something  with a wide tree. He could tell me a lot about the horse. He wanted to know everything about us. At the end of the class I held my breath as I waited for his verdict.  Would I get to keep my horse?  I will never forget his words.

“Lady, I don’t know what people have been telling you but, you don’t need fixing. There are a few things we need to work on but, you have a great horse here and there is no reason to get rid of her” he said. That was probably about 8 years ago and Sundae and I are still going strong. We are now preparing for a big charity event in New Jersey called the Dancing Horse Challenge. Carroll worked with Sundae and I and all the other horses too. He finally got to meet Savannah and fell in love with her. I’ll keep you posted on our progress and it won’t be another 2 years before I have a day with Carroll. His insight on the horse and his guidence have been the reason for my success.  I would suggest Carroll to anyone, it is far worth paying to spend the day with him. He works with me one on one with my horses and that sure beats any clinic where I have to share an instructor with  10 other riders.

When it comes to horses, Carroll Williams has been the most influential person in my life.

For performances and store showings see the side bar Pages/Events 2010.  Did you visit?  Leave a comment!!