I enjoy Valentine’s Day because it evokes the best of the best feelings … LOVE. How great it is to celebrate all the people, great animals, and good fortune in our lives.

And celebrating others is a great way for you to feel good, too. During February try this idea … share the love!

Each morning, plan how you will express your caring to someone in a small but kind way. Give a compliment. Spend some time. Make a phone call. Write a thank you note. The best part is you will feel so good doing a little something extraordinary for someone else each day this month.

I chose this picture of roses because I LOVE ROSES! Our Texas yard has over 60 bushes. Pink roses are one of my favorites. They are very soothing to me and make me smile.

(Guys, you can never go wrong by giving a girl roses!)

I hope you have a great month sharing the love and riding your horse.

Most years during the Christmas holidays my husband and I take a trip to a beautiful place to renew ourselves. This past season we ventured to Washington state where we lived early in our marriage. We visited a bustling Seattle, saw bald eagles as we drove over the Cascade Mountains, visited dear friends, and stayed in a high mountain lodge just east of North Cascade National Park.

It was a wonderful time of ease and reflection about our blessings and our future dreams. This photograph, taken as we departed our lodge, seemed to perfectly symbolize all of our lives. Our roads are winding. There’s always a light of promise amid all the peaks and valleys.

Instead of the usual New Year’s resolutions, I invite you to be grateful for the present and get excited about the future. Ponder what you truly love. Let your passions and personal dreams guide your decisions as you embark on this new year.

About a year and a half ago, I embarked on a journey to update BarbraSchulte.com.

I thought I had some pretty good ideas. I knew I wanted to expand our information business, as well as re-do the site.

Little did I know I would encountered huge stone walls the size of Mt. Everest. Throw in the fact that my ideas about what I wanted to do kept evolving, and I had quite a trip.

There was the first roadblock. Then the second. Then the third. Then the fourth. Every one of those walls seemed to erupt from nowhere, out of the earth, tower above me, and shout, “No, no, Barbra Schulte. I don’t think you will be doing THAT”. No one was at fault along the way (except one company which misrepresented itself).

Honestly, I was exasperated. I was thinking, “What’s wrong with this picture? We’re talking about a simple website … there are a jillion of them out there. It’s been a year and a half! Guess I won’t be changing my career to a technology expert anytime soon.”

Then I decided it was time to walk the talk of turning difficult situations into the greatest gifts. I hate when I have to do that!!!

I did two things. First, I turned it over to God and told Him that He was in charge. I wasn’t doing such a hot job. (What a revolutionary idea.) Second, I scheduled a private consulting session with a woman I had studied along the way who was an authority on internet information. In a one-hour session she made the suggestion to turn BarbraSchulte.com into a Blog site.

"Blog site? I can’t do a Blog site.” Then another ‘duh’ question came to me. “Barb, if you paid this woman to help you, and she is an expert, why are you resisting her advice?”

Initially, BS.com was going to be a landing page to direct visitors to two other sites, one dedicated to cutting and the other one for personal performance training.

Long story short, I took her advice and ran with it. Every step of the way, I absolutely knew on the inside that I was doing the right thing. I combined all three sites into this BS.com Blog. (Now …. don’t allow my name initials to worry you about what’s to come on this site!) I also combined the best ideas and designs from all those past experiences and wonderfully creative people along the way.

I couldn’t be here now, with this exact format, if I hadn’t traveled that road. So I graciously thank all those who have helped me this past year and a half ….. and express to them, right here, right now, my sincerest appreciation.

So here we are, and I am so totally thrilled! This is why:

Three pages on this site will contain ever-changing Blog posts … Home, Personal Performance, and Cutting. The design of these Blogs is intended to give you new articles from time-to-time. Some of them will come from my monthly newsletter. Then you have the opportunity to comment on what I have said as well as share your own ideas on the topic. (As long as you agree that what I have written is terrific, you will be fine!) (-:) When you share, you will have the opportunity to help others, as well as learn from their posts.

This is interactive. It is much more expressive of my personality …. and ultimately intended to be so much more helpful to you.

I also plan to do fun stuff, like picture contests and polls. I want this to be a place where you feel comfortable and have fun.

So there you have it. A good ending is just the beginning.

I always want to know what you would like to explore within these topics. Feel free to send an email to me or comment on a Blog. I will do my best to get you the information from either myself or someone else.

Also, know this site is NOT a political forum (that’s covered very well throughout all the horse industries). It is a site to help you achieve your riding dreams. We will concentrate on that.

I feel so appreciative and excited about what’s to come.