Exhausted

In the past two weeks, I have had very little down time, and much of that has been spent sleeping or trying to catch up with laundry and other necessary chores.

The State 4-H Conference was fun but tiring. I worked Monday-Wednesday and drove back to Ames after work to help chaperon. Sleeping in a loft in a non-air conditioned room was something I thought I had put behind me, but it wasn't so bad. The conference went well, the kids had fun and did a great job, and we were all exhausted by Thursday night. I was in bed before 9 that night. Below is a group shot of the council plus advisers--we're outnumbered 40 to 3.
Friday I headed back to work. Rick had left to spend the 4th with some college buddies on a lake in Texas on Thursday, but I had to work over the weekend so I decided to throw a little black dress night. We tried a new place and it was a very nice evening. We hit the town after that and then I was really exhausted!

Saturday, after getting some things done at home, my sister, brother-in-law and I headed east an hour or so to help my grandpa paint his house. It was a painting party--my parents and aunt and cousin were also there. The 9 of us went through 17 gallons of paint and worked until dark on ladders, on the roof, on the ground, and on the crazy construction lift. My grandpa's house is very large (how many homes have 4 guest rooms?) and I think we were all impressed at how much we accomplished in such little time. I did fall off a ladder (well, the bottom rung) and somehow managed to tip it over but it landed around me instead of on me. Considering that was our biggest mishap and there were multiple people on ladders reaching the 3rd floor throughout the day, I'd say we did pretty well.

Sunday morning (the 4th of July) we had to leave early so I could go to work and beat the rain. Late that afternoon a girlfriend invited a few ladies over for grilling and girlie movies. We even saw a few fireworks even though many were cancelled due to the weather. Monday I worked and then headed out to the barn to find Maggie had gotten tangled in some wire. Apparently she was smart about it and laid down pretty quickly so she didn't get too cut up, but I've been doctoring it all week wrapping it to keep the swelling down and putting on ointment... I'm ready for it to be healed so I can ride again!

Rick got home on Monday and this week has been busy at work. My corn is flowering, so that means I'm busy pollinating and all that goes with it. As of today, I've worked the past 8 consecutive days, and I know this weekend will be a working weekend as well. Maybe the weekend after that I'll have off. Or a day of rain would be a nice break...

Yesterday was the Corn Dog Kickoff. My sister works for the Blue Ribbon Foundation and their big fundraising event of the year is the Kickoff. As family, I am a required volunteer but it's a lot of fun. There's a live and silent auction and most importantly, LOTS of great fair food. Last night I had a turkey leg, pork chop on a stick, fair square, apple slices with caramel, cookies in a cup, salted nut roll, ice cream sandwich, pickle dawg, and a variety of drinks. There might be something I'm missing, but I ate a ton! It seemed like a successful night and a lot of fun!

Now I'm gearing up for the Relay for Life at the end of the week. The event activity line up has been posted, and it's not too late to donate! We'd love to see you there!