Hoosier Horse Fair 2011

Well, long time no type. So I figured I'd catch up by posting some pics from the horse fair this weekend! Had a great time :) Walked around with Katrina on Saturday, and then my boss and her sister on Sunday afternoon after church. So, here's the pics from the ARHA Ranch Horse Versatility!

Behold The Creativity Of The King

Have you ever wondered how much learning your brain can take? Ugh. I'm at that point. I am not exaggerating when I say that it feels like God's teaching me about a million things all at once. How to love people, being confident in Him, doing what you were made to do despite the people that discourage you, His joy, warfare etc.etc.. So my immediate human reaction is to just sit there dumbstruck and just say "I can't handle all of this". That's always what I did when I would get overwhelmed with math, just shut down. I would get so overwhelmed I couldn't process the information. But I (thankfully) have caught myself. Just be patient, and quiet. Yes, quiet. Sit in peace. Just listen. Read the Word. And talk to other Christians. Quite a few things that have swirled around in my head has been confirmed by a scripture in a FB status, a twitter update, a text. It's pretty incredible. But I'm still having trouble, I want to learn SO bad! It feels like I'm not moving fast enough. But yes, I know, all in due time. It's like God's giving me a taste of what's to come.. And man! I want some more! So in the mean time, I keep reading, praying, praising.. It's awesome :)

Also, I've been feeling like I should either start a Bible study, or join one. It's like, in a war, you don't get trained individually, you, as a group, learn together. You get exercise (spiritually in this case) as a group. You support each other, you listen, talk, learn from people. But I guess I will just wait until something is presented.

On a different note: Spring is almost here!!!



My guys :)



First thing they do when they go down to the field...



Love

At the beginning of this year, I chose a word. I word to describe 2011. How I wanted to live, what I wanted to change, A sort of prophecy if you will. And that word was heart.

The bible says to love one another as Jesus once loved us. This statement has taken a whole new meaning to me. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. If he did such an act for us before we believed in him, loved him, followed him, then why are we so cautious with giving out the same love he has for us? Over the past two weeks, I have been in Florida for vacation. Well, it was originally supposed to be vacation, but it defiantly turned out to be a mission trip. My family arranged for me to spend a week with my brother Nick and cousin Paul. Paul, who works at the renaissance fair there, suggested I help out with the knights by squiring. When I first arrived, the guys were wary, assuming I was like every other girl they probably had squire for them. (For those of you who don’t know, squiring is.. It’s when you’re basically the knights assistant, handing them stuff, grooming the horses, tacking up, etc.) But over the next weekend they saw the difference in me. I talked, I listened, I laughed, joked back, loved them for who they were, supported them, helped them when they needed it. I could imagine so many “Christians” showing up and judging them for cussing, or smoking, or hanging out at the bar after the show. But I didn’t. It wasn’t because I felt like I shouldn’t.. It wasn’t because I felt like I had to be Miss Super Christian. It was because the Lord gave me a word. Love. Just love them.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek it’s own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Wednesday finally rolled around, time to go home. But it just felt like my job wasn’t done. I talked to my mom and sister, and checked into plane tickets for a later date. Mom booked a flight for 6 day’s later. This gave me another weekend of opportunity to minister. Just to show God’s love. I can hardly describe it. The Love that flowed through me was so supernatural it was something only God could have done. The guys saw 

 the difference. They commented on it. Everything they said is listed in Galatians.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Galatians 5:22-23

Throughout my trip, the word I received was confirmed. When we hung out at Borders to enjoy the air conditioning, I cruised over to the “Christianity” section, and I spotted The Love Revolution by Joyce Meyer. I thumbed through it. (I thoroughly recommend it).  Then as I kept looking, book after book was about the same subject; love.

A couple days before I left for this trip, I really felt like this trip was going to be a test. Not one of those scary ones like in High School.. But more along the lines of “I have been teaching you through my people, my word, my mouth, now here is your turn to go with it. Take what you know, and go tell it on the mountain. Set the example, show my love, my heart for the world. Here is your first step. Trust me, there will be more.” And true to his word, throughout the trip he gave me opportunities to share about a relationship with Jesus, encourage with scripture, answer questions, defend my faith, and support others in theirs. Another scripture that I was hanging to was 

…do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak, for it is not you who speak , but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Matthew 10:19-20

God was so faithful. As always! At first I spoke because I felt like I had to. But as the days went by, I listened to Solomon when he said “A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart.” Proverbs 18:2. I learned to speak when I had something to say.

As expected, this was a huge learning experience for me. Kind of like after you take college classes, you do an internship. Well this was a mega internship, led by the guy who really know’s what he’s talking about. After all that, all I can say is; God rocks!

Singing

Well, as people who know me know... I do sing a lot.. But for some reason it was a lot of fun listening to them try to get me to...

Florida

Florida. Sunshine. Eighty degrees. Horses. Ahhhhh.

Today may be my last day in Florida. Then again, maybe not... :) Here's some pics from this week!

My cousin Paul and I.

My Knight being beastly.

Hey! It's a palm tree!

Bryan=Awesome

A 25 inch hot dog... And he went for dessert.

Me cooling Gwen out.

Never a dull moment.

Oh life has been... Interesting.

Last night I was over at Katrinas for the 4-H judging team meeting. So we were sitting there, and I noticed she had a scanner. Like a police scanner to where you can hear truckers... Or anyone who has a scanner! So every time it would beep, I'd stick my head next to it to hear what they were saying.. Well after awhile I hear " Possible chimney fire on N. Lick Creek Road. I thought to myself "There's only like 4 people on the north side of that road, I wonder who it is..." Then I hear a squawk, and  "Address: 6621" My face turned all red and I looked at everyone and said "that's my house!" So I texted mom "Hey, uh, what's up?" She was pretty surprised I knew about it before she actually told me. So anyway, we're all okay, they said it was a contained floo fire. Mom said it smelled like burnt rubber. So when the firemen came in, they thought it was actually a skunk! So being the little detective that she is, mom noticed that Phoebe (our German Shepherd) smelled like death warmed over. But it was the same smell as the fireplace! So here's our new theory. Phoebe messed with a skunk over by the muck pile, it sprayed it's lovely scent, then dad brought the wood up to the porch that night. So when the wood got warmed up in the fireplace, the skunk oil started to stink... And the whole house with it. So we still don't know if it was actually a fire or not. Oh well.

So after that crappy day, today mom and I went to Target to get food for this weekend (my brother is coming into town). And she surprised me by buying me a new camera for my birthday/trip to Florida! I am pretty much in love with the thing... Here's some pictures that I took with it while mom was in various stores :) (Note: Most of these were taken either from inside the car, or out a window.. Pretty dang good if you ask me!)

If I ever write a book on newspaper box thingy's, this would be the cover picture  :)

Taken from inside the car out the windshield. It's so clear!

No, I don't have some weird ladder fetish.. I was playing with the focus :)

Playing with the focus once again...

Yep.

So I had a great accomplishment yesterday. I ran two miles solid. No stopping. I just ran. 20 minutes later... Yeah whatever, don't pick on me, it was my first solid run. But man, one mile seems like a piece of cake now! One downer I just realised, is that I wont finish my 5k training program before the actual race... But it IS a Nike training program, so they have me running 5 miles by the end of 10 weeks.. So I suppose I'll be okay. I just have to hope there wont be any major hills. But so far so good! I'm going to run one mile today, then go back to two miles tomorrow! Woot!

Mom, Hannah, and I have been planning our pink-ness for the Race for the Cure... We're thinking Pink war paint, pink shorts, pink nails, pink ribbons etc.. A whole heck of a lot of pink!

SO, I also discovered a new website.. http://www.dailymile.com/ Which personally, I am loving! So check it out!

Okay, I need to go do something productive.. Adios.

Heartland

Well I have to say that I have a new obsession. And that would be the CBC Heartland. Based off the books titled (guess!) Heartland, (Which I read all billion and two of them) it tells the story of Amy Fleming and her family as they struggle through the first few years after her mom dies in a tragic accident. Placed in the mountains of the Canadian Rockies, it is full of amazing scenery, beautiful horses, country people, and trucks. The main action in the show is Amy, her sister Lou, her Grandfather, and the stable hand Ty running the horse rescue/training center through the twists and turns of trials.

Okay... I love this show...

Another thing that REALLY struck me, was the title. Heartland. And for those of you who don't know, my word for 2011 is "Heart." Well there ya go. It really feels like stuff is lining up for the ranch.. Now to think of a name, hmm.. Maybe it should include "Heart".

My running habit has definitely improved. I have ran a total of 6 miles this week, and am going to run another couple today, and I'm scheduled to run 2 on Saturday. So I am very excited. And I've figured out my own trick. I can't think about the running. I have to think about going to Florida in 12 days, or the horse fair in April, or me in a swimsuit if I don't keep running. Then I can run forever. I just go into auto pilot.

As I said, 12 day's until Florida! I'm starting to get stuff together, travel sized stuff, finding my summer clothes. But alas, I'm going to have to buy more shorts, and preferably more tanks. All I know is I'm used to this 20 degrees and no sun. So I really hope I don't completely roast once I get there. But I'm sure it will be a blast!

Why I Love Summer...

1. It's warm.
2. The days are longer.
3. You can drive with the windows down.
4. You can wear shorts!
5. A person can walk barefoot just about anywhere.
6. Swimming.
7. Walking down to the field at 11 at night and look at the stars.
8. *Sigh* Getting a tan.
9. Popsicles.
10. Horse shows.
11. Late night excursions to Deer Run park.
12. Mmmm the smell of sunscreen!
13. McDonals ice cream cones...
14. Walking the trails.
15. Riding as late as 6pm.
16. The county fair.
17. Pink nail polish.
18. Walking through the creek *See #5.
19. Camping.
20. Being with friends.

Florida 2011

Florida 2011 by Sarah Partridge featuring glass shades

Leaving to see my bro and cousin in Florida in a couple weeks.. Needed something to keep me occupied :)

Oh Fudge!

You would think this was a guy's post.

Car's. Poker. Food. *Burp*

Had a great weekend with our friends Jessica, and Heather.

While waiting for mom while she was in Hobby Lobby, we spotted this: Oh, how beautiful. We all got out and took pictures on our cell phones, and on our camera. Then promptly ran back to the truck just in case the owner came back out and saw us drooling over it. Might not be appreciated.

So this past week Hannah finished draft one of her novel. Quite exciting! I'm on page 49, and got stuck there because I was tired of reading. But I'm sure she's going to get on me about reading more today. Anyway, Jessica got a couple pages in. And then we decided to play poker or some other horrendous activity.

Oh yes, the typical teenage-girl-in-store picture. Yes, Heather (Right) ran over to the hat's and was like "We need a picture!" So of course, being the designated picture taker that I am.... She spotted the umbrella and started to open it, then she remembered it is bad luck to open an umbrella inside. Oh well, now we just have a random half hearted umbrella in the picture. Add's to the whimsy.

Oh, and we played poker. A lot. Well, Euchre, which really isn't poker. But card's nevertheless. We introduced mom and dad to the game KEMPS. Which was quite entertaining. Dad was crazy good! He and Jess's cue thing was eye contact. EYE CONTACT! That is totally not fair. I mean, you sorta get the idea someones trying to get their partner to see, but you're waiting on something a little more than eye contact. Anyway, Hannah and I beat them once, then they creamed us. Oh well.

I would also include pictures of the bowling, but as all bowling pictures.. They suck. They're all blurry, and makes us look like we have three sets of teeth and 4 eyes. Not very attractive. 

Adieu! (I hope that mean's "bye" in some language, not "spinach" or something)

Well...

Oh, where to start... I would say I've been busy... But I haven't been. I've done nothing. Well, nothing productive in the worlds meaning of the word.

 

Well, work has been.. Non existent. I haven't been to work for almost a week, which is quite a long time for me, but with the snow and all... Whatareyagonnado?

 

Again, running has also been non existent. Somehow I screwed my knee up, over a week ago actually. So I've been sticking to some basic core work to try not to screw it up even further. Which really is too bad, I was just starting to get into a routine. Work out in the morning, run in the afternoon. I mean, Hannah's rehearsals at the High School were really working for me! She could spend her two hours practicing, and I would go run. But now.. I just sit in the truck a read.

 

Haven't been over to see Eleanor.. For over a month. Wow. I'm really failing here. I suppose I need to get back into the swing of things! I have though, been obsessing over my trip to Florida! I'm sooooo excited! I leave February 16th, and get back a week later on the 23rd. One whole week of hanging out with my brother and cousin. Waving to the beach as I drive by, riding horses, probably being forced into some embarrassing situations at my cousins Renaissance fair, and eating food unknown to humankind. Yep, I'm excited :)

 

So (in order) I'm pretty excited about:

• Jessica is coming over this weekend!
• Fllooorrriiddaaa :)
• My birthday! (19?! Gasp!)
• Equine Affaire in Ohio
• More that I'm not going to divulge...

But really, January has been a pretty stinky month. I think we should just skip to February. Like, now.

Nike+ Rocks

So I did it. It wasn't pretty, but I did it. I, Sarah Partridge, ran 2 miles today. Which, in case you didn't know, is the longest I have run in my whole life. And I'm feeling it! When I got to the track, I couldn't get the sensor to work, so after I got home and realised it was an operator problem and tapped the sensor until I got my whole 2 miles in. Like I was going to give that up! Mainly, I felt like I was going to pass out after lap 8... I had to sit in my car and just eat, and eat. My blood sugar must have gone waaay down. I didn't even trust myself to drive until I ate some more, then I promptly went to Mcdonalds and got a bacon egg and cheese bagel. Then I was fit, full, and happy :)

^This is a cool picture of the sensor thing that fits in the shoe in case you didn't understand what I was talking about^ It's been quite handy. So depending on how I feel tomorrow, I may go and run ONE mile...

After that wonderfully grueling workout, I went to work and picked the paddock. Then held horses for Jo, so she could rasp feet. Then put her Christmas tree away! Well, outside, it was a real tree, so she set it out by the bird feeders. Apparently they like them ;) Okay, well I'm off to do more work. So I'll write more later!

Gonna do it...

So, it's settled.. I'm going to run in the Komen Race for the Cure in April. And that gives me plenty of time to get fit and get fast! A few years ago, I mean it was quite awhile ago,we did the Race for the Cure. And it was fun! Of course, we just walked. I included a picture from back then, and I am sorry to say that yes, that is me on the far left... Ugh, thankfully I grew out of that! Wow, *cringe*

So anyhoo, I'm going for it! I bought some new Nikes a few days ago, and they're awesome! The new Nike+ 's are pretty handy too. It's really easy to sync my iPod, and have all of my work out information on the Nike website. I'm also signed up for a 12 week 5K plan. So I am sure I will be keeping my loyal readers up to date on that. Tomorrow is a 2 mile run (yikes!) that would be the longest I have run ever! My goal is to run one mile non stop, do one lap walking, then do the next mile. And more importantly, take my time. I don't have to speed, and then feel like I'm going to die. So right now, I'm contemplating signing up for multiple races, maybe once a month until it gets crazy hot.. Or wait and see if I enjoy the RTC. Hmmm...

Let's Do This.

Okay, I'm sorry. I know.. It's been what? Three weeks since my last post? Oh well.. It's 2011, and personally, I am planning on it being the best year of my life so far. So for one, I have chosen my one word to represent 2011! Heart. That's my word. Now there are many different ways that could go. My heart for something, God cleaning up my heart, Gods heart for me.. Who knows, but we'll find out!

I have tried to stay away from resolutions... I have decided to pursue goals instead! Here's a brief list of stuff I can think of off the top of my head.

1. Run a 5K.
2. Learn to rope off a horse.
3. Learn to play guitar better.
4. Strive to be used by God daily.
5. Show in a ARHA show.
6. Learn to jump.
7. Save $1,000.

And those are just a few. So let 2011 begin!