North of Nowhere

The joys of being a primary teacher

2011-11-27T12:40:00.000-08:00

So, being a primary teacher has it's ups and downs. Some days the children are reverent, and other days they just aren't, and other days, half of the children are reverent and the other half aren't. Today was one of the latter. I will admit, that when I first started teaching, we had a problem with reverence for the whole class, but over time it has improved quite a bit as everybody got used to the new teacher. Now, however, there are two new children in class. They haven't grown up going to primary, and actually the sister should be going to the older class, but she comes to mine. I have the hardest time keeping her reverent. Her not being reverent can rub off on at least some of the others in class. I'm hoping that over time, she'll get used to things as well. Class itself was not the greatest, but not the worst.

But then, during sharing and and singing time, the two siblings were a handful. The little boy just would not stay in his seat, and proceeded to inch himself across the primary room floor as the children heard a sharing time lesson about reverence. Then, during singing time, the older sister kept talking and kept saying "I want to sing the vampire song. vampire song. vampire song..." over and over and over. Someone told her we don't have a vampire song in the book. Then she said, "How about the princess song?" We told her there wasn't one of those either (although maybe we should have told her that "I am a Child of God" is a princess song). Then, as we sang every single other song, she would sing "vampire song. vampire song. vampire song."

I'm hoping that as they continue to come to church, that the others will rub off on them, and they will learn how and why we are reverent from these other kids (rather than vice versa). For some reason I tend to blame myself for their lack of reverence, but I probably shouldn't. Any suggestions???

I should probably get a commission

2011-11-18T20:51:00.000-08:00

Here's the low down, and my learning curve along the way.

House #1 - Find a house. Like it, but decide to think on it for a while. Soon learn that you don't have time to think on a house for a few weeks, as when I call the real estate agent she tells me, "There is already an offer in on the house. You can put in a back-up offer if you want." Nope.

House # 2 - Still not realizing quite how quickly things work in this market. Find a house (probably my favorite of any I have wanted to put in an offer on). I think about the house for a few days. In the mean time, the house (which was originally in-house at our real estate agency) is now advertised to all agencies in Miles City, and the whole world on the internet. I call and let the real estate agent know I want the place. They tell me there was another offer from another agency that was just put in(probably less than an hour before I called), but it wasn't accepted or rejected yet. I put in an offer. The other people get the house.

House #3 - I find a house. Put in an offer. This house listing has already been listed to the entire world at this point, but I've learned from my mistakes. I like the house, I'm going to put in an offer right away. I get the counter offer back. They want to sell me the house and then rent in back from me? Not quite what I'd had in mind when buying a house. Take too long to make a decision on whether to say no or counter the counter. Someone else puts in an offer. They ask for the best offer from each of us. We both put in an offer, and actually, neither of us gets the house as the owner decides she wants to sell the house, but not close on it for another half a year. I'm actually glad I didn't get that place.

House #4 - The real estate agent tells me about this house. It is still an in-house listing. Good. If I like it, I'll make an offer before they publish it to the world. I can't look at it right away due to work, but as soon as I have a free day, I take a look at the house (and others). I like the house. I like the location. I like the garage. I like the asking price. Could use some updates, but I'm okay with that. Learning from past mistakes, I tell the real estate agent I'm going to put in an offer before the whole world knows about the house. She has a meeting and we are going to write up the offer after the meeting. We part ways. Five minutes later I get a text. "Just a head's up. Apparently someone else is going to put in an offer as well. bring your A-game offer." okay, that's not how it was worded, but you get the point. I made an offer higher than I would have made if it was just me. Seller comes back and tells both of us to make our best offer. Apparently a cash payment and no inspection or appraisal beat my offer. The big twist is that the other potential buyer was actually going to come back or call the agency back on Monday to possibly put in an offer, but he must have had some foreboding as he out of the blue decided to make his offer today instead.

It's actually kind of a joke around the real estate office now. Actually, today when my real estate agent came into the office and told the other agents I was going to put in an offer on the place, they said something like, "Poor girl" It seems that if I like a house enough to want to put in an offer, the house is going to get another offer that I just can't beat. So, today I told the real estate agents that I should get a commission every time I put an offer in on a house. I think they're game.

Plan of Action for the future:
1) if they tell me about a house, forget work. take comp-time. Look at the house ASAP. If I like the house, put in an offer before anyone else can. Maybe even bribe the agents not to show the house to anyone else until the buyer has decided if they are going to accept my decision; OR
2) Take this as a sign I'm not supposed to live here.

I think this article makes some good points

2011-11-18T08:31:00.000-08:00

What do you think? Actually, if the care at these clinics is anything like the care I received at the Walmart vision center, I won't be a fan. Otherwise I think it is a great way to increase accessibility...if there are enough providers.

The Walmart Opportunity: Can Retailers Revamp Primary Care?

Topics: Delivery of Care, Marketplace

By Julie Appleby

KHN Staff Writer

Nov 17, 2011

In-store medical clinics like those at Walmart – having established a beachhead with relatively healthy patients looking for convenient, low-cost care for simple problems – are eyeing a bigger prize, the millions of Americans with costly illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.

Just as Walmart and other retailers shook up the prescription drug business by offering $4 generic drugs, the industry now aims to apply its negotiating and marketing clout to tackle problems that vex consumers and the health sector: unpredictable costs, a lack of primary care doctors and inefficient management of chronic illnesses, whose costs drive the majority of health care spending.
"It's sad that the existing health care establishment has not figured out a way to make primary care affordable and accessible," says Jerry Avorn, a professor of medicine at Harvard. "We should not be surprised if someone outside of our world comes in and does it for us."
Last week, Walmart's ambition to become the nation's largest provider of primary health care services became known when a confidential document the giant retailer sent to some of its strategic partners leaked out. The request for information sought partners who could help Walmart in a variety of areas, including monitoring patients with diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and other conditions.
Walmart backed away from parts of its own document, saying it did not intend to build a "nationally integrated, low cost primary care platform." Indeed, it is hard to imagine what a national platform would look like given the wide variation of state laws governing health care delivery.
But clearly, Walmart and other retailers are looking for ways to expand services at their in-store clinics.
Already, CVS Caremark, the largest operator of in-store clinics with nearly 550, and Walgreens have set up programs aimed at helping diabetics monitor and control their condition, which includes counseling chats with pharmacists. Weight loss programs and counseling are on tap at some retail clinics. Truck drivers can pull their 18-wheelers into the parking lots of more than 600 such in-store centers nationwide to get their mandatory federal health exams.
"There are real savings to containing the cost of the chronically ill in this country," says Helena Foulkes of CVS/Caremark, which offers in-person and telephone conversations with pharmacists to diabetic patients enrolled in its "Pharmacy Advisor" program. Some employers also send workers to the firm's MinuteClinics for blood tests and other health screenings. "More and more of clients are actively looking for wellness programs and they see retail clinics as one element."
In part, the clinics see a pure business opportunity based on consumer convenience and cost savings, which they can market to the public, employers, insurers and hospitals. Costs are roughly 30 percent to 40 percent less than similar care at a doctor’s office and 80 percent cheaper than at an emergency room, according to a study in published this year in the American Journal of Managed Care.
That's attractive to insurers. Use of retail clinics among patients with insurance rose tenfold from 2007 to 2009, the study found, with clinic visits representing about 7 percent of all medical visits for 11 common acute conditions: "If these trends continue, health plans will see a dramatic increase in retail clinic utilization … particularly among, young, healthy and higher income patients living close to retail clinics," the study concluded.
Still, while less expensive than going to an emergency room or doctor's office on a per-visit basis, "if more people seek care, that could increase health care spending," says one of the co-authors of the study, RAND researcher and medical professor Ateev Mehrotra of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The California Healthcare Foundation found the No. 1 thing consumers liked about the in-store clinics was predictability: the cost of the service was clear ahead of time.
"That contrasts with most people's experience of health care, where if you walk into a doctor's office or an urgent care clinic, you have no idea what the charge will be," says Mark Smith, president and CEO of the foundation.
Interest in clinics is also spurred by the federal health law, which, among other things, will create incentives for small businesses to offer wellness programs for workers.
"An employer with 50 to 250 employees can't afford to bring in a company to do corporate wellness," but it could partner with a retail clinic and send employees there for blood tests, nutrition counseling or diabetes management, says Stewart Levy, president of Health Promotion Solutions in Newtown, Pa., a consulting firm that is working with the retail clinic industry.
The growth of retail clinics – both in sheer numbers and the scope of services they offer – is one of several avenues being pursued to revamp primary care, which is facing a shortage of physicians. The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates a shortfall of 21,000 primary care doctors by 2015.
Done right, supporters say, expanding services through retail clinics could provide better access for many patients and lower costs, and provide an outlet for an expected jump in demand for care in 2014, when millions more Americans get insurance through the federal health law.
But obstacles remain. Will retail clinics be able to translate their success with simple acute problems to a more long-range and intensive monitoring of complex conditions? Will employers and consumers embrace the idea? Will clinics become components of new, integrated collaborations between doctors, hospitals and insurers?
"Asthma and diabetes are not something you get one time and get fixed," says health care consultant Ian Morrison, who follows trends in the industry. "How effective will they be in managing that over the long term?"
While studies have shown that retail clinics provide similar – or even better – quality care for simple conditions such as sore throats, researchers haven’t yet looked at their ability to do more complex monitoring of patients, often called disease management. Data is mixed on the success of such programs and some have been shown not to save money. Recently, a study of eight disease management firms that used nurse-based call centers failed to save Medicare money.
Another challenge is the wide variety of laws governing medical centers. Some states, including New York and California, prevent clinics (or hospitals) from directly employing physicians, nurse practitioners or physician assistants. Other states cap the number of nurses each doctor can oversee. Efforts to expand nurses' or physician assistants’ ability to practice autonomously are often fought by state medical associations.
"It's interesting that I can go from Washington D.C., where I can be certified to take care of patients autonomously, to Georgia, where I can do very little because I have to have a supervisor who is a physician overseeing what I do," says Ken Miller, an associate dean in the school of nursing at Catholic University and a past president of the American College of Nurse Practitioners.
While a few centers operated by retailers have doctors on site, the vast majority of staff are nurse practitioners or physician assistants. According to the Convenient Care Association, the industry's trade group,there are more than 5,000 nurse practitioners working in the clinics, making up 95 percent of the clinicians.
If more patients with chronic illnesses can be seen in settings like retail clinics, where they can stop by on the way home from work or on the weekends, Miller and others say they may be more likely to take their medications, monitor their blood sugars and take other actions to prevent a worsening of their disease.
"If you have a stable diabetic, why should that person be going in to see a physician when a nurse practitioner can manage care of that patient?" he asks.
Primary care doctors fear retail clinics will skim off the healthiest patients, leaving them with more complex or older patients, with no corresponding increase in reimbursement from insurers or the government. They also worry that the expansion of retail clinics into caring for patients with chronic illnesses will further fragment the care such patients receive.
In a statement, the American Academy of Family Physicians says a better answer for such patients is "the development of a health care system based on strong, team-based … care."
For their part, the clinic industry says it can be an ally for overworked doctors. In the future, clinics could use nurse practitioners and physician assistants to do triage, particularly on the least complex patients, so doctors could "use their training and skill to focus on patients with long term needs," says Caroline Ridgway, policy and communications director at the retail clinic industry’s trade group.
But unless payment incentives are changed to reward quality over volume – and laws changed so nurse practitioners and physician assistants can provide more direct care in all states, there will be an increasing burden on primary care doctors as more Americans become insured, she says.
"Insuring 30 million more people isn’t going to matter if they don’t have anywhere to go," says Ridgway.
The majority of retail clinics are in the South and Midwest, according to a 2010 RAND Study. They're more likely to be in areas with lower overall poverty and only 12.5 percent were in medically underserved areas, the RAND report said, although 21 percent of the U.S. population lives in such areas.
"The research did not support the claim by some champions.. that these clinics are improving access to care for the medically underserved: retail clinics are more likely to be located in relatively affluent sections of large urban areas," the report concluded.
Still, about 35 percent of clinic patients are either uninsured or have high deductible insurance plans that put them on the hook for hundreds, if not thousands, in out-of-pocket costs, says Tine Hansen-Turton, executive director of the Convenient Care Association.
"We are seeing people who are vulnerable," she says.
For much of their brief history, retail clinics have focused their services on a narrow menu, mainly treatments for acute conditions, such as strep throat or ear infections, vaccinations, and physical exams needed for summer camp or other programs.
But retail clinics are moving beyond just a simple menu of services in part because "it wasn't a financially sustainable model to be restricted to those things," says Smith at the California HealthCare Foundation.
Now, the medical community is seeing what other industries have experienced: an interloper gaining a foothold in a market niche, then expanding. "Think about Toyota, they didn't start off by competing with Cadillac and BMW. They started with cheap little cars but got better and better over time," Smith says.

This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Congratulations No Limits and The Gypsies!!

2011-08-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

These were definitely my two favorite teams on the show "Expedition Impossible", with Country Boys a close third (although they did not place third on the show). These two teams taking 1st and 2nd are truly a testament to the fact that nice guys don't always finish last. Sometimes they even finish first. (I do think that I slightly preferred No Limits over The Gypsies, but it was close. Slightly off topic comment - too bad that Aaron Isaacson on No Limits is engaged.

Team No Limits was the definition of the concept of "never give up", with one blind team member and another team member who wore a leg cast and dealt with excruciating ankle pain for several legs of the race. In the past, the blind team member reached the summit of Mt. Everest. The one who hurt his ankle also served in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, and if you know anything about many of my past jobs and my current job, you know how much respect I have for servicemen and women. I can't forget the third member of the team either, as he is just as amazing. He guided the blind team member throughout the race, and he was truly an amazing guide! The whole team was amazing.

And The Gypsies? They dominated the competition, winning all but one leg of the race. Not only did they win, but they won graciously. They were not cocky; they helped other teams; and, my favorite thing? During one leg of the race, the winners won a special prize - a chance to talk to family and friends back home. The gypsies won the leg, but they had already decided to donate the prize to another team (No Limits). They are also involved in many charity projects. This team was just incredible at (almost) everything. Their world travels definitely paid off in this race.

While I enjoyed watching "Expedition Impossible", I still prefer "Amazing Race". That being said, based on the rules of the "Amazing Race", I don't think a blind team member could have participated on the show. I appreciate that this show is set up in such a way that the teams work together; and, while tasks may be easier if none of the members were to have disabilities - the tasks are still do-able for teams with disabled members. If you all were unable to watch the show, you might want to check it out online.

Lessons learned in North Dakota, Canada, and Montana

2011-08-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

So, My sister Moo (names have been changed to protect the innocent) came to visit me for about a week. During the visit we went to Medora, North Dakota. We poked around town and went to the pitchfork fondue. The steak was great. The sides were...okay. While at the fondue, we spoke with some residents of Saskatchewan who informed us that the "Fields of Gold" that sting sings about are the canola fields, of which Saskatchewan has quite a few. They also gave us advice on the route we should take to Canada.

We left Medora pretty late, and it was decided that instead of returning home and leaving for Canada from home, we would just start on our journey that night. I did warn my sister that due to all of the oilfield workers, we may not be able to find a hotel room. So, my sister go out her travel guide and started calling hotels to no avail. She was unable to find vacancies. It was only about 5 minutes or so into that segment of the trip when she said maybe we should turn around and go to my place for the night. I told her, "Nope. You already made your decision and we're going with it" (words are not exact).

So, my sister called my brother Squirrel in Washington and had him use his incredible internet skills to help us track down an apartment that might have an opening. He gave us a number for a place in Crosby, ND very near the Canadian border. Luckily they did have a room available for us when we called. So....

LESSON #1 - It may be difficult to find a hotel room in areas of the country that have a shortage of housing and a lot of oilfield workers.

So, the next morning we continued our trip to Canada. Our stop at the border took about half an hour. Maybe it's not such a good idea to keep my temple bag in the trunk of my car? Our trip to Canada was only spent in the province of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan has oilfields too, and also farmland. Lot's and lots of farmland. It's pretty cool. Lot's of wide open spaces. The first bigger city we stopped in was Regina. We weren't really fans. It was a bit ghetto, and usually I'm okay with ghetto, but I guess not Regina's ghetto.

While in Regina we visited the "Government House" and the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) Museum. The "Government House" was actually pretty cool. I learned a lot. I especially enjoyed learning about the salesman chairs, and how the furniture, borders, etc. in the bedrooms of the house were indicative of importance. The RCMP Museum was okay. I especially loved Exhibits 5 and 6 - you'll have to go there to find out what they are. We also ere able to go on a tour of the grounds. Apparently every person in the RCMP trains at the facility for 6 months before being assigned.

After Regina we drove on to Moose Jaw Canada. We may or may not have driven on a few gravel roads along the way.

LESSON #2 - You may or may not have to drive on gravel roads in Canada. It's pretty cool, but it can slow down the trip.

Moose Jaw was much cooler than Regina in my opinion. Several of the buildings had murals on them. The tunnels of Moose Jaw tour we went on was actually very cool. The acting was pretty good, and they had really set the scene for the tours well (It was much better than the shootout we watched in Medora). We also had the opportunity to learn about and see different types of kilns while we were at a pottery shop in town. When we got into town, I saw signs for Moose Jaw Wing or something like that. I was curious as to what exactly it was. I soon discovered that it was an Canadian Air Force Base near Moose Jaw. Our one disappointment in Moose Jaw was the lack of moose Souveneir options in the town. Our cousin Liza B is very into Moose's and we were hoping to find something for her there. We did find something, but we didn't really love it. Oh, I did learn, though, that in Saskatchewan they call hoodies "Bunny Hugs".

Knowing that gas is more expensive in Canada than the US, we filled up before entering Canada. Just before leaving Moose Jaw, we debated whether we should get a few gallons of gas. I decided that we should see how things go, and fill up some along the way if we needed to.

LESSON # 3 - If you see a gas station in Canada - stop and get some gas. You never know how far away the next gas station may be. Also, gas stations in Canada do not always have convenience stores near them. There may just be some pumps near a crossroads. I don't know if you need a special card to use those pumps, though. I did not stop at the one I saw.

Luckily we made it to a gas station in Montana before we ran out of gas, but there were a few tense moments. The gas light came on just before the Border crossing, and there were bout 6-8 vehicles in front of us. If this were not the case, I was pretty confident we could have made it to the next gas station, but I didn't know how much idling or turning the car on and off would effect the gas usage. I chose to turn the car off and let a few cars go through the border crossing process before I advanced in line.

We decided that we should pick up some food at a drive-through in Sidney on our way home.

LESSON #4 - Fast food restaurants in Eastern Montana are few an far between, and if you do find one, there is no guarantee it will be open after 10 at night. I was going to stop at a McDonald's in Sidney for a bit of food, but...nope...wasn't open. We ended up driving all the way home. I was certain that the Wendy's drive-thru in my town would be open when we got there, but apparently the drive-thru is open later on weekends than on weekdays, and we were there on a week day.

Well, I think that pretty much describes things for now. I may add some pictures later to spice the blog up a bit.

I wish I were married to a handyman

2011-07-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

So, I've been searching for homes again. I found one I really liked, and I even put in an offer on it. Here's the thing...someone else had put in an offer on it the same day as well. Before I put the offer in, I learned that they were waiting for the house to go on the market and that they and their realtor had talked to the seller's personally. So, I knew I probably wouldn't get the place. And...I didn't. I was glad in some ways and sad in others. I don't know that a place like that will come up again, but I didn't want to pay the price they were asking, either. The other couple apparently outbid me by quite a bit, and I didn't feel like I offered too much under the asking place.

Anyway, this brings me back to the handyman comment. Why do I want to marry a handyman? Well, right now it seems like almost all of the houses on the market are being snatched up quickly! There are a few, however, that have been on the market for quite some time. Some of them are at quite good prices, and I would make a bid on them, but they would require a little bit of renovation. So, since I know nothing about those types of things, I would like to marry someone who did...someone who could make me some custom-built cabinets, lay flooring, frame walls. You get the picture. Also, someone who could teach me how to do those things, because I would love to learn how to do it myself.

PS - If you want to know what style of house I like, I prefer the craftsman style with the beautiful woodwork and the hardwood floors (I like laminate as well). I don't mind carpet in some of the rooms. I do NOT like carpet in bathrooms, dining rooms, or kitchens, though. It just seems wrong. You know what I mean? What style of houses do you like?

Link to a Bucking Horse Sale story by CBS

2011-07-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

This link shows the bucking horse sale from this year. Hope your video quality was better than mine.

I bought a bike today, and other things

2011-06-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

So, I finally took the plunge and decided to by myself a bike today. It is a cruiser bike to ride around town on. The store had two in stock (in the back, which they so nicely put together for me). Unfortunately, they were the two that I was trying to decide between online. They both had excellent customer ratings. Why is this unfortunate...well, it meant I had to make a decision. If I were to have decided on looks alone, I would have bought the Huffy Cranbrook Cruiser. It had a nice retro look, which I really liked. Comfort-wise, I think I liked the Schwinn Delmar Cruiser slightly more, but it was close, and it's not like I could really ride them much in the store. I also liked that the DelMar had a rack on the back. In terms of price, the Huffy was 9 or 10 dollars cheaper.

So, do I go with the one that's the better price and the one I think looks cooler, or the one that is slightly more, but has a slight edge in terms of comfort, and a rack already included. This was a tough decision for me, I called home and spoke with my brother and after much debate in my head I decided to go for the Schwinn. I think part of it had to do with the fact that I tend to correlate Huffy with kids bikes and Schwinn bikes with adult bikes (even though the looks of these two bikes seemed the opposite of that to me). Also, the Schwinn received slightly better reviews on the website.

Now, after one ride on the bike, I am happy with my purchase. We'll see how it holds up over time. The ride was very smooth, and although the roads were flat, not downhill, the bike coasted really well. I was not planning on riding the bike quite so soon, but unfortunately it would not fit in my car. So, my solution was to ride the bike home, then walk back to the store and drive my car home. This solution worked pretty well and didn't take too long. I'm thinking of hooking a laundry basket to the back so that I can ride my bike to get groceries. I would put a link here so you can see what type of laundry basket I'm talking about, but I can't find it online (it really doesn't look too bad - I tried it out when I got home and it actually looks quite nice on the back - not too ghetto).

In other news, I'm considering buying a house. Therefore, today I went and took a look at a few houses. Once again, this means decisions, which I am not good at. I also went to the bank to find out information about loans and what I would qualify for.

Last, but not least, I will finally be getting a bed. A co-worker is selling a bed - frame, headboard, footboard, mattress, box springs...the works, and she is even throwing in free delivery. Now, I haven't really felt the need to buy a bed. I like sleeping on the couch quite a lot, but I figure that guests might appreciate a real bed to sleep on, so...I decided I should get one. I also figure if I'm getting a house, I should probably have at least one bed in it.

Also, if you want to vote on a house, you can go to this website and let me know which houses you like. I'm not looking for anything very big, but I am looking into the possibility of getting something where I can rent out part of it.

A funny offer

2011-06-11T20:53:00.000-07:00

So, I was at work yesterday, and one of the residents came up to me and said (paraphrased - and I probably don't do the real offer justice):

"Just so you know, this is an offer I don't give to too many people; but, well, would you like to go out to the smoker with me and watch me smoke a cigarette?"

I don't think anyone has ever invited me to smoke, but this isn't the first offer anyone has ever given me to go on a smoke break with them. This is definitely the best smoke break offer I've ever had. It makes me laugh.

The Bucking Horse Sale

2011-05-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

A little over a week ago, I went to The World-Famous Bucking Horse Sale. It was rainy outside, and it was a bit cold outside. There were large puddles. My shoes were not made for the rain/puddles, but I still enjoyed myself. I started out by going to the sheep shearing contest. At the contest, I learned that if you sheared the sheep right, the wool came off in one big piece. You all may have already know that, but it was news to me. After that, I watched the beginning of the sheep help contest, but I only made it through one round before I decided to go check out what the vendors were selling.
I was sad when I discovered that most of the sale items were jewelry. There was also some gear for horse riding, but since I don't have a horse, I didn't really look to closely at what they had to offer. There was very little for sale that actually said Bucking Horse Sale on it. Most of the stuff was stuff you could find in a store. I was a bit disappointed in the wares for sale.

After that, I drove back to my place and then walked back to the watch the sale. On the way, I stopped by the food vendors that were set-up downtown (not at the fairgrounds), because my coworkers had told me that the Island Noodles were great. They were okay. I think they would have been better if I would have put more sauce on them. I ate them as I finished my walk to the sale. Once I got to the fairgrounds I decided to take advantage of the fair food, and I got an order of fried oreos for myself.

Image Courtesy of Mytidewatermoms.com

They were delicious. Fried candy bars were also for sale, but after my first and only experience with those a few years ago, I vowed to never get one of those again. Just too sweet or something.

Having had my main dish and dessert, I settled in for the show. The sale was interesting. Some of the horses really bucked; others, not so much. Some of the horses went for a couple of hundred dollars; one horse, $4,000. It was so wet and muddy in the arena, that they were running out of clean, warm cowboys to ride the horses. They announced that if anyone in the stands wanted to give it a try, they could come on over. The announcement was a bit of a joke, kinda; but one of the members of the audience did take them up on the offer. Unfortunately he didn't stay on his horse for too long. Too bad Jet or Cord McCoy weren't there.

Image retrieved from flickr.com via Bing

The funnest part of the day was the wild horse race. (Note: As it was not raining in the video and there is no mud in the arena, you can see that the video I linked to was not from this year. The date on the video will also give that fact away). I've never seen a wild horse race before. For the races, there are teams of three individuals. The first person holds the horse's lead rope. The second person follows the lead rope in an attempt to get near the horses face and hold the horse still. It is the job of the third person to get the horse saddled and ride him around the arena. The first team to get their horse saddled and ride it all the way around the arena one time wins. It was so funny to watch, especially in the mud. One of the teams was getting some nice mud skiing in, although they weren't doing too well at staying upright.