2011 Ch 1 ~ The First Week

I was determined to make 2011 a big year heading into it. My motto for the year was just "Get Sh** Done!". No specific new years resolutions, just "Get Sh** Done". Do something. ANYTHING that will get me closer to accomplishing my goals. Even little tiny baby steps are progress and get me that much closer to being finished. Anything helps. I was getting tired of having deja vu every time I looked at my project list and saw the same things again and again. I wanted to "Get Sh** Done" and checked off that blasted list so I could move on to bigger and better things.

First up - the truck situation. Fuel prices were already high and just going to get higher. Every time I looked at how much we were spending on diesel every month I died a little inside. I had just paid my truck off and was reveling in not having that payment every month, but still, it was getting older. It was still a diesel 4x4 truck and nothing about those suckers is cheap. Not fuel, not oil changes, not brakes or tires or fixes. And we had 3 diesel trucks, all getting up there in miles. It just was not practical. At times I'd just shake my head at the stupidity of it, but other times I could totally justify it. We're country people and really USE those trucks. And it's Blue. I love Blue.

This has been a pretty constant debate for me for years now. Getting a gooseneck trailer and not having a hitch installed in my truck was the beginning of the end for Ol' Blue. Since I couldn't haul the horse trailer with her I was having a much more difficult time justifying keeping her. The prospect of getting her paid off and having one less payment every month spared her for a little while, but in the end, I just couldn't do it any more.

My main hold up had been that I didn't know what I wanted to drive instead. Nothing was appealing. Anything I wanted wasn't practical enough to justify selling the paid off truck. Anything practical just wasn't floating my boat. I test drove car after car after car after car after car (and so on) (and on and on, seriously, it was epic) and nothing spoke to me. My commute isn't exactly short and I do love driving so I "needed" something that I would enjoy being in. I just couldn't find something that struck that balance in practicality and fun.

At some point in December in occurred to me that we had 3 vehicles. I didn't HAVE to replace her. I could just drive the haulin' truck until something spoke to me. Not ideal, since the haulin' truck isn't my fave to commute in, and it sure was nice not having to hook and unhook the trailer every time we wanted to ride, but certainly doable. And so the decision was made. Blue was to be sold. Right after one warranty issue was fixed.

Of course with the holidays and busy schedules it was a couple weeks before we could get her in at the shop, but we got her in and January 5th I went and picked her up, planning to head home and clean her up for her photo shoot. But alas, it was not meant to be. On my way home I was rear ended by an old guy in a Buick. It was dusk and raining and they came out of no where. I had been sitting stopped at this light for a while with no one behind me when I saw an odd flash of headlight in my side mirror. You know the flash...when you know something's not right and crap this might hurt? Ya, one of those.

Luckily he was able to swerve and only hit the corner of my truck. And of course his Buick was way worse off then my truck. He couldn't even get his door open. But still, I was not happy. I had plans for this truck and this was not helping things! Plus, you know, accidents and dealing with all the insurance crap afterwards is not great either.

I had a few weeks of chiro apts and got the truck fixed and then, finally, was ready to post her. I slapped the ad up on craigslist and went to bed. The next morning I had an email time stamped less then an hour after the ad was posted. This guy wanted her. Bad. I had the boyfriend call him to "talk truck" and, after working through some issues, the guy bought her and I put her on a barge to Alaska. I cried when I dropped her off. Then realized that I left my gate clicker and favorite cd in there. Doh!

I got a picture from him a week later. She was safe and sound in Alaska, happy trudging through the snow with icicles hanging off of her. She always did like the snow. :-)

So the first week of January I was rear ended. Ugh. Never a great way to start off the year! But I still got the truck sold. After 6 1/2 years and 100,000 miles, Ol' Blue was gone. One giant milestone for me and one happening I could have done without.

But, everything happens for a reason. Selling Ol' Blue was one of the "for the greater good" things. I didn't want to, but in the grand scheme of things, it made more sense to. And without asking or anything, I got a small settlement out of the accident for my troubles. Nice!

The second week did not turn out so well...

That Marriage Thang

I've been thinking lately about the whole marriage thang. I am currently teetering on the edge of 30 years old and not married. I don't have any thing against marriage, nor was it ever part of my "life plan" to be nearly 30 and unmarried.

Actually, I believe my life plan went something like: graduate college with bachelors degree at 21, meet guy, fall in love, marry at 23, buy house, have horses, live fairy tale. May or may not have included kids, I don't remember. Never been much of a fan of them.

Instead of that, life has gone more like this...go to community college. Meet guy some where in there. Buy car and horse that you need to continue working to pay for. Work 2 part time jobs, go to night classes, still a full time student. Take a little time off from school. Go back. Finally get AA after 4 1/2 years. Never make it to "real college". Get engaged to guy because we've been together for 3 years and that's what you do. Besides, I'm almost 23 and that's when I'm supposed to be married. Break up with guy after a month of being engaged. Date some more. Pass 23rd birthday, which is when you were supposed to be married. Buy yourself a truck and horse trailer to cheer yourself up. Continue living with parents. Date some more. Finally meet boy of my dreams. Move out of parents house into house with boy of my dreams after 2 years of being together. You're 25 by then. Talk about getting married. Buy house together instead. Talk about getting married some more. Buy new tractor instead. Buy new horse trailer. Buy new horse. etc. etc. etc. And now, here I am, owning a house, truck and horse trailer with boy of my dreams, firmly cemented in this relationship, possibly more then if we had that piece of paper telling us we're legally married. But we're still not married. Technically.

I've never been one of those people that thinks it's "just a piece of paper". Ever. I've never NOT wanted to be married. I certainly never expected to be here and not married. But life has a funny way of carrying on and changing priorities. I'm happy. We are happy. We love our life. Neither of us has any thing against marriage. No previous marriages, no baggage with parents surrounding the idea of marriage. We do plan to get married, just haven't done it yet.

It is strange to me when people that I haven't seen in a while ask if I'm still with the same guy. We bought a house together. We are in it for life, just as much as any of my married friends. Does not having that piece of paper making it legal or rings on our fingers make our relationship not as committed?

Every once in a while I get the wedding bug, but it usually passes fairly quickly. It's just not a priority. I refuse to go to Vegas. Just not my style. I'm not opposed to a court house wedding, but I want to include my family and friends. That means doing the whole wedding thang which requires planning and time and money and that is probably the main hold up. There are other things I'd rather do with that time and money. We own and show horses. 'Nuff said. lol Besides, why mess up a good thing?

And so here I am, almost 30 years old (OMG!!!), been together with the Boyfriend for nearly 6 years, and I have the whole fairy tale life I had envisioned (mostly anyways, there is always the crappy real life stuff that comes up, like work), with every thing I hoped for. Except that little piece of paper.

I know at least a couple of my bloggy buddies have been with their bf's for quite a while and are not married. It's not uncommon. And this isn't a rant or anything, I'm just really curious about this. Why? Was it a choice to not get married? Was it something that just happened, like me? Why is that "piece of paper" so important? Or so important to avoid?

It's a very curious phenomenon.

To me at least.

In Other News...

It's been a very interesting week. I've actually had a bit of a rough week. I think I'm getting a little burned out at work. I need to get some time off planned so I have something to look forward to and so that I can recharge. I should be able to take a week off sometime in the next month or two so that'll be good. I think part of my getting burned out is not taking the time to relax in the evenings. Like, relax by reading. I decided I needed that down time again so Wednesday night I grabbed a book. Hey man, I lasted like, almost a whole two weeks! I think. It seemed like two weeks, maybe it was only one. I can't remember. Anyways, it worked wonders, but I'm still burned out at work.

Tuesday night working buffalo was good and bad. Midori worked really well, she was cowing up and turning nicely, but at one point when I stopped her to get the back in and turn properly, the buff got away from us so she took off after it and tripped. She went flying when she tripped and my head snapped back. We were fine other then that, but I ended up with whip lash. Then I had to ride Sugar on the buffalo also because the boyfriend ended up working late that night. She is a total spaz and I was not quite prepared for it. She was all over the place and I could not hold my seat to save my life. It was hilarious!!! I was totally cracking up at myself hanging off the side of her. Poor thing. She was probably wondering who this jack ass was on top of her and where the heck her dad was! lol Needless to say, after getting whip lash with Midori, that ride really did a number on my lower to mid back as well. So Wednesday I was pretty sore, probably why I decided to grab a book and get some down time.

By Friday my back was still sore and a little crackly, but getting better. I was sitting at my desk and decided to stretch. Innocent enough, right? Well, not this time. Something popped in my neck and suddenly I could not move my head. You know in that movie Romey and Michelle's High School Reunion (atleast I think it's that movie, correct me if I'm wrong jrosey, I don't know that movie all that well) where one of them has the deformity or something in her neck and has to wear the neck brace? Well, I looked like her before the neck brace, with my left ear practically on my shoulder. I couldn't turn my head or even hold it straight up. It was painful. Every time I moved it I would get shooting pains. So I checked out my insurance's preferred providers and there was 3 chiropractors within a mile or two of my work. Yay! I made an apt with one for a couple hours later and suffered thru work until then.

That was a momentous occasion for me because I have never been to the chiropractor before. Ever. I've had them out for my horses and I'm a firm believer in them for horses, but I've always been afraid to go or just not felt it was necessary. Funny thing, when you can't move your head a chiropractor suddenly seems necessary and that appointment could not come fast enough!

So some xrays and minor adjustments later I could hold my head up almost straight. Yay! There was definately some swelling in my neck and I was told to ice it as much as I can over the weekend, take it easy and come back on Monday for a follow up. Apparently I more or less sprained my neck. I did not know you could do such a thing. It kinda sorta really sucks too. It hurts. Looking at myself in the mirror yesterday if I held my head straight up and down my neck looked crooked. It was trippy. After the chiro I took the rest of the day off from work and headed home.

I loaded some pics, got caught up on some blog reading, blogged a little myself, just couldn't bring myself to park it on the couch with my book. I was all fidgety and wanting to get something done, but knew I was supposed to be taking it easy. Eventually I did lay down and do a little reading but then the boyfriend came home and was outside doing some stuff and I couldn't handle it any more. I went out and watered flowers and horses and tried to pick easy things to do. The whole time the boyfriend was telling me I should be inside relaxing.

I ended up outside with my camera taking a whole bunch of pictures and picking this bouquet of daisies, grasses and other random pretty things I found around the property. The boyfriend was laughing at me trying to bend over to pick flowers without turning my head. I'm sure it did look comical, but he could also tell that I was having a good time doing it, whether it hurt or not.




I like the way the bouquet turned out! There were some tall grasses out there that looked almost burgundy and all different shapes and kinds. It was fun to put together with the different textures and things.

There were the daisies out there and these cute little yellow flowers and this odd red stemmy stuff too.

I just picked whatever I thought looked interesting and came inside and got it all arranged.

This weekend is my birthday weekend, but we've got so much other stuff going on that I don't get to celebrate quite yet. It's usually the way so I'm not complaining. I'm actually usually down in Oregon at a big drill competition this weekend. It's kind of nice being home for a change. There is a loggers rodeo that we really want to go too, so that should be fun if we make it out there. The boyfriend signed up for a two day cutting horse clinic before he realized what weekend it was on, so that is what we'll be doing for most of the weekend. He's riding in it and I really should go audit it. I need to learn lots from it too so that he doesn't start kicking my butt in cutting on a regular basis. :) Speaking of that, I really should go jump in the shower and get over there.

Next up (hopefully) ~ why this picture is so darn exciting! Any ideas?

Have a great weekend!

Sad, Sad Week

Man, this week has been a doozy. I don't know about you guys, but Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon were names I heard often growing up. I loved them all.

Frankly, I was a little surprised that Ed McMahon lasted as long as he did and Farrah's passing was looming, but Michael Jackson totally caught me by surprise. I thought my co-worker was yanking my chain when she mentioned it. He can't be dead! The guys a legend!

I'm having a hard time coming to terms with it. It's just weird. He was the King! He was such an icon when I was little. I love his music. I was rockin out to Thriller, Billy Jean and Beat It on my way home today. One station had a MJ lunch hour with people calling in to tell stories of fave memories and requesting songs. I got choked up more then once listening to it.


I just can't believe he died. Too weird.

Rest In Peace, Ed, Farrah and Michael.

Honest Scrap

I received the Honest Scrap Award from Paint Girl over at Adventures of the Painted Creek Farm. Thank you very much Paint Girl! I just love reading about her adventures! It seems that we have quite a few things in common! It is fun to hear about her aussies and know that I am not alone in the amazing things that they can collect in their coat. She's got quite the herd of animals over there and always has entertaining stories to tell!

The Honest Scrap Award comes with a caveat or two. First, you have to tell your readers 10 things about you they may not already know, but are true. Second, you have to tag 10 people with the award. Third, you have to let the people you've given the award to, know that they've received this award from you. Finally, make sure you link back to the person who awarded you.

So first up, lets see if I can think of 10 things you may not know about me that are somewhat interesting...

1. I was in 4-H for 7-8 years when I was younger. I can't remember exactly how long. I showed dogs first, then added cats and then, finally, got the opportunity to show horses as well. Horses was my favorite and I made it to state for Horse Bowl my first year.

2. I can't stand having naked toe nails. I'm open to going barefoot, though I don't usually. But if my toe nails don't have some sort of color on them, even if it's a 4 month old paint job that is mostly chipped off, I will avoid exposing them for anything other then a shower and bed time.

3. I think I have a bit of the girl version of "little man syndrome". I'm petite, 5'2" and skinny and I drive a big truck and my favorite thing in the world to do is dominate horses (more or less). Seriously, the fact that I love pushing around 1,000 lb animals has to say something.

4. The boyfriend and I are together because of a horse named Captain. Long story short, my friend sold her horse to his mom and they conspired to set us up. The rest is history.

5. I hated country music until the end of high school. I absolutely could not stand it. Then all of a sudden I decided to embrace being a little country and now look at me!

6. I am an office manager for a small construction company and I love my job.

7. Apparently I scare people and I have no idea why. I think it is the same reason that horses tend to respect me though. I've been told that the guys in the shop at my work are "afraid" of me. As in, they won't come in to talk to me if they can avoid it. Usually, they'll talk to the other office girl, who will then have to come talk to me. I think it may have something to do with the stupid questions that they sometimes ask that I just don't tend to have the patience for. Or maybe I'm just a bi-otch to them all the time. Who knows. I try to be nice, I swear!

8. I played volleyball in 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades. Didn't try out freshman year of high school then got cut sophomore year because I was too short and a little rusty. As far as I know I still hold the record for consecutive serves in a volleyball match at my junior high. 17 straight serves over the net. Yes, volleyball games are only 15 points. So I served one entire game (the other team really sucked) and then talked the coach into letting me stay server to start off the next game of the match.

9. I have a serious weakness for peanut m&m's. They are going to be the death of me. Okay, maybe not me so much as my jeans. It's getting a little dicey.

10. I am an olive fanatic. I love olives. I love black olives, greek olives, green olives, pimento stuffed olives, onion stuffed olives, jalapeno stuffed olives and, my personal favorite, garlic stuffed olives. Mmm MMM!!! I haven't met an olive yet that I didn't like.

Alrighty, so there are ten random things you probably didn't know about me. I'm sure you are all going to lead happy, fulfilled lives now that you have that knowledge.

On to tagging...

Since pretty much all of the few blogs that I read have already gotten this I'm only going to tag a couple people that I don't think have had the pleasure of the Honest Scrap Award yet...

1. Amers425 over at The Inside Workings Of... I blame her for my Twilight addiction and recent book obsession. She's totally my enabler.

2. Caspian over at This Kuntry Arabian because he is such a character and I would love to learn some new things about him! ;)

3. Jenny and Missfire who just finished up the Extreme Mustang Makeover. Jenny was able to adopt MissFire and I'm excited to see MissFire's training continue!

4. Foxypants - probably the funniest blog I read. Her animals just crack me UP!

I think thats it from me. If I didn't list you and you want to do it, consider yourself tagged!

Now off to leave comments and then get my beauty rest.

What the... ?!?

Could someone please tell me just what the heck kind of deer this is? I'm pretty sure it's not native to the area. It's certainly not the typical little black tails you see!

I think this little guy may be one of the babies of the odd ball group of deer we saw hanging around the neighborhood about this time last year. Of course I didn't get any pictures of them at all, but we saw them quite a few times. There were two does and three babies. One of the does looked like this guy and the other one was all white. Not albino, it had dark eyes and no pink skin that I saw, but white. I guess she would actually be grey in the horse world, but not sure if it's the same in the deer world. The white doe's baby was mostly white with some brown spots. The other doe's twins pretty much had this coloring.

Makes me wonder where the rest of the clan is. I wouldn't mind seeing them again. I'd love to get some pictures to prove that I wasn't imagining them! :-)

100, Reflection and an Award!

Well, this here post is number 100! I can't believe I've actually found enough to jabber about to fill up 100 posts! It's been quite a ride so far and I can't wait to see where else it will take me.



I have realized in doing this that I really like writing. That was quite a surprise to me! I never enjoyed it much in school or since then, but I'm really liking this blogging thang!





It's quite fascinating to me to know that people actually read what I write to! Crazy! I never expected many people to read my little ol' ramblings. I started with the idea of it being an easy, fun way to keep the extended fam and friends up to date on what I'm doing with my life. It became a fun outlet for me to post pictures, brag about my furry kids, have a bit of a riding journal and keep track of progress we've made on the house and property. I'm still stunned that a few people actually enjoy reading it!



Another thing that has amazed me is how fun the blogging world can be! It really is a small world, but there is always something new to discover as well. I've really enjoyed getting to know some of my new bloggie buddies by exchanging comments and reading thru their blogs. It's fascinating to see how much we all have in common as well as different/new ways to look at things.

So, thank you to everyone that reads my blog! It's fun having ya! I love getting comments and read every single one of 'em. I also have an email address, it's over on the right side bar. Feel free to drop me a note if you're so inclined!




Ok, enough of that...now, onto the Award!

Paint Girl over at Adventures of the Painted Creek Farm gave me my very first award! :) It is the Attitude of Gratitude Award. Thanks Paint Girl! I've been loving hearing about the adventures in your neck of the woods! She's got a couple beatiful Paint mares and a couple crazy Aussies, along with a bunch of goats and kitties. I definately recommend hopping over to her blog for some good reads!

Rules of accepting and sharing this Award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an Attitude of Gratitude.
3. Link to your nominees within your post.
4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award.
5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for this award. Tell us how you've come to have an Attitude of Gratitude.

So let's see...

I think pretty much every one on my faves list has gotten it already so I'm going to break the rules just a bit and only pass it on to two people...

1. Jenny and MissFire

2. Juliane and Sangria

They are competing in the Extreme Mustang Makeover in just a few weeks and blogging about their crazy adventures with their mustangs.

Alrighty, that's all I got for tonight. Thanks Paint Girl for the award and thanks to everyone for hangin' out with me!

It Lives!!!

Yay! I didn't kill the cherry tree that I got for Christmas!

I was a little worried there for a while. We ended up taking our sweet time getting it in the ground. I swear, like, two months just disappeared.

I noticed some little green leaves starting to sprout the other day though and was so happy and relieved!

Now I can't wait to get some cherries from it!

This Rocks!

Besides the scary, ghostly pale white feet and the 30 second pedicure, this picture totally rocks!

Drum roll please.......I wore flip flops today! Yeehaw!!!

I love the first flip flop day of the year! And the fact that I work in a fairly casual office that I can wear nice flip flops to!

This one was particularly fun because I had these sparkly fun silver flip flops that I got on my Saturday adventure with the girls this past weekend.

And yes, of course, they were on sale.

It was a sunny, gorgeous day today, mid-70's, and I was loving every minute of it! Because of that the B&A's of the office are on hold. It's been way too nice outside to be stuck inside!

I also have another very fun purchase that I made during our adventure, but that reveal will have to come after I get the office put back together. I'm super excited about it though!

Sun and Frisbee Dog!

Well, the sun stuck around yesterday! Wohoo!!! I was really happy when I got home and it was a beautiful day still! I wanted to play with all the kids and of course take some pictures. I'm always excited to grab the camera when the sun is out.

Cheyanne had been stuck inside all day so I played frisbee with her first.

Really Mom? Frisbee?!? Wohoo, frisbee!!! Frisbee, frisbee, frisbee, frisbee!

Please ignore the hole in the deck. It was a somewhat rotted board when we bought the house and Chey decided to make herself useful one day and help with the removal process. Another project for this summer.

Yahoo! She threw the frisbee! Frisbee, frisbee, frisbee, frisbee!

I can't seem to throw the frisbee and get the camera up in time to take pictures of her streaking across the lawn to retrieve the frisbee, but it's pretty funny to watch. She's about 6 inches off the ground and all you see is her hair blowing with every stride she takes and a blur where her legs should be. She is FAST!

She looks like she is going to be a good dog and bring the frisbee right back to me, then she does this...

You can't have the frisbee! You caaaan't haaaaaave it! Frisbee, frisbee, frisbee, frisbee! Oh, you almost got it, but not quite! You can't haaaaaaaaaave it! Hahahahaha! Frisbee!

She wants to be good and "Come" like she's supposed to, but she doesn't want to give the frisbee up either, so she "comes" but stays juuuuust out of my reach. I'm trying to teach her to come straight to me, sit facing me, put it in my hand and then wait until I throw it again. I'm working with treats but I can see the internal battle with her...I want the treat, but I love my frisbee...but it's cheese! But it's my frisbee! Cheese! Frisbee! It's annoying.

She eventually comes close enough for me to snag the frisbee, but I don't want to have to "snag" it. I want her to give it to me. I've tried getting her to trade for another toy, but then she gets A.D.D. and drops the frisbee 10 feet away from me in anticipation of chasing the other toy I have. Atleast with a treat I can get her close to me. Not really sure what to do. I really want to play with her, but when she doesn't want to give the toy up and 75% of play time is spent trying to get her to give it up, it's more frustrating then fun.

But then she does this...

Frisbee? Throw the frisbee! Throw it! Frisbee, frisbee, frisbee, frisbee!

And she is so stinking cute, how can you not throw it again!?!

I know part of why she doesn't want to give it up is because she thinks I'll take it away. That is a ligitimate fear because if I leave it where she can have it unsupervised, she will shred the thing, which is no fun, so I do take it away at the end of our play time. But I give her treats and try to find one of her outdoor toys to replace it with and try to make it a happy occasion, not like I'm the big, bad, toy stealing monster. I'm just not really sure how to improve this situation. She's a total toy whore, not as much of a treat whore, but it's close. Guess we'll have to work on some obedience stuff, like I've been saying since we brought her home, and see where that goes.

Now on to sun!

After playing with Chey for a while I wandered around the property with the camera. I love blue skies and fluffy white clouds so that is what most of my shots were.

That and the big maple tree that is finally coming back to life.

I noticed a buzzing sound while I was out bugging Midori and realized that the bee hive is back in business after the winter. And I think they've expanded. I don't remember it being that busy last year. Then I realized they were all over the ground in Midori's paddock and seemed to be sunning themselves on the rocks just outside of the fence. Yikes!

We tried spraying it a couple times last year, but those bastards just would not die! I got the boyfriend on a mission to kill it good and dead this weekend. I'm allergic to most bees, apparently there is one type around here that won't kill me, but I don't know which kind that is and I'm not willing to chance finding out if these guys are it. They aren't aggressive and never bothered us at all last year, but it doesn't take an aggressive bee to sting. It just takes me walking around outside barefoot (which I never do because I'm too scared) or falling and landing on one or something like that. The time I was stung and found out about the allergy I was drying my hands in a towel that the hornet happened to be wrapped up in. That was fun! My whole hand swelled up!

I do wish they weren't right there, so close to the house, the barn and the paddocks. If they were on the other side of the property or some where that wasn't so central I'd be inclined to leave them alone. I don't mind bees. It's the wasps and hornets that I really can't stand.

So that was my afternoon. When I was finally able to put the camera down for a while I got all the ponies out one at a time and pulled their blankets and gave them a little TLC and did some ground work with them. They were all about ready to crawl out of their skin from boredom and were VERY excited to get out on the long lead. I wasn't sure how the footing was going to be in the arena-to-be since it has rained around here so much this week. I didn't want to lunge them for fear of them slipping and sliding in the mud and wiping out so I just put them on the 15' lead and did a little ground work, getting them to listen to me, change directions, trot out a bit. Then I worked on showmanship type ground manners, moving away from me, not getting in my space. All three of them were snorty and jumpy as hell at first on the lead. It took me a little while to get them working in a circle and not taking off when I asked for a direction change. I know they knew what I wanted, but they just couldn't contain themselves. Poor bored ponies.

Hopefully this nice weather will stick around for a little while so they can get out and we can get some wet saddle blankets! They don't have any turnout at the moment because the pasture is "under construction" and the arena-to-be isn't fenced and the rest of the property is pretty much still a mess. Hopefully we'll get some B&A's of all that stuff coming soon!

Until then, here's hopin' the sun sticks around!!!

What is that?!?

Is that....the sun? Nooo...couldn't be! But it is!

The sun actually showed it's face this morning. Unfortunatley I was driving right into it on my way to work, but it was so pretty I couldn't not look at it. And no, I totally didn't snap a picture with my camera phone while I was driving down the freeway staring at the sunshine. And no, that is not the yellow line that I am totally crossing over while taking the picture either. I'm a totally safe driver and always obey the laws.

It's a pretty crappy picture, but I took my little camera out of my purse to load pictures and forgot to put it back in so my phone was the only camera I had with me and doesn't even begin to do the beautiful sky justice. It's all I had and just couldn't not snap a picture. Even though I was driving. 60 mph. Possibly (probably) more. Shhhh...

And please ignore the gross, dirty windshield.

And try to picture it way more impressive too. The pic is rather disappointing. The clouds were practically sparkling and they shaded the sun just right so I could see it. I think. I really had to look at it because it looked like a full moon hanging there. I'm pretty sure it was the sun though. I had to do a fact check...if the moon was there, then the sun would be more or less behind it and it would look more like a shadow, like it does when there is an eclipse. Right? Right?!? I really have no clue. I'm not an astronomer. I don't even play one on tv.

Regardless, it was a beautiful morning. I'm looking forward to some sun for a day or two. Hoping the weather guys aren't full of poop.

The Great Clipper Encounter 2009

I've been saying I was going to do it every single spring that I've owned Midori. This year I finally did it. I body clipped my horse. She is really naked now and I love it!

Every winter she grows the most insane coat regardless of blankets, stalls, etc. I have not been able to slow it once. This year seemed exceptionally long and thick since they only had blankets and trees to stand under, no stalls.

She's been shedding pretty good for a few weeks now but was still extremely hairy and I decided that since it was nice outside and I didn't want to put up with the hair any more, today was the day.

This is Midori before the Great Clipper Encounter of 2009.

Here we go! No turning back now!

And this is after the main part of it.

She's almost the buckskin I've always wanted! hehe

And here is the carnage...

It took me about an hour to do her body with big clippers and then another 3 hours or so to touch it up and get her legs and other tight spots that the big clippers couldn't get. So, 3 very dull blades and 2 dead batteries later, I have a very pretty pony! It was a fun day and really nice to actually get that done! I'm so excited about how great she looks de-fuzzed!

I am an adult!

Sadly, I feel the need to state that right now.

Next, I have to state that I really love drill. I LOVE RIDING DRILL. Drill is SO much fun when things go right.

Unfortunately, things can go so, so wrong.

If I could repeat the glory days of my first couple years of drill every year, I'd only be drilling. No reining or cutting for me. I'd be perfectly happy.

But somehow my team has morphed into some sort of drama central full of bickering kindergartners. I really, honestly felt like I was back in grade school tonight at a team meeting.

For the record I also must state that my coach is absolutely awesome and probably a saint. I guess she'd have to be to put up with all of us as much as she does and I know I only see a fraction of the drama that she deals with.

We had a round table discussion tonight in an attempt to air out some feelings with the hope of getting past some of the drama. Members were asked to talk about how they are feeling about things, both good and bad, and then any helpful suggestions or constructive criticism that might help get us back on track.

There were comments along the lines of people not talking to particular people while we're warming up, so that obviously means that they don't like them. Seriously? Just because I don't talk to you doesn't mean that I don't like you. Sometimes it does, but usually it just means that I'm enjoying being on my horse (or really pissed off at her and concentrating!) and just don't feel like gossiping. One of my very good friends is on the team. I do usually manage to at least say hi at some point, but I'm sure there have been times that we've gone entire practices without speaking. It doesn't mean I'm mad at her. It just means I didn't get the opportunity to chit chat because I was otherwise occupied. The end. We're adults and secure enough to not need that interaction every single time.

My favorite comment on this point was the person that argued that she's concentrating on warming up her horse so others shouldn't take offense if she doesn't say hi, then two sentences later whined about how she feels like she's ostrasized and no one wants her to be part of the team. Wow.

There was the suggestion (again) of making some sort of seating chart at meetings or assigning people different partners to ride with during practice so we can all get to know each other, not just stay in our cliques. Again...seriously? A seating chart? Assigned partners?!? I haven't had a seating chart since I was in junior high! We generally end up randomly spread out and riding with different people throughout the practice and in our drills anyways. If you want to make friends, go make friends. Don't wait for a seating chart to tell you who you need to talk to today.

There were tantrums thrown and personal attacks made, broad ambiguous statements made that people took as personal attacks and of course bickering, though that was mostly moderated. It was ridiculous and made me realize why I just can't seem to get motivated to get my ass off the couch on Sunday afternoons to go to drill practice. I'm only an associate member this year so I don't have an assigned spot in the drills and don't feel obligated to go. If I had a spot and knew people were counting on me, I'd be there with bells on.

Can't always promise a smile on my face though.

I love my team. I work my butt off for my team. When I am at anything having to do with drill I'm there 110% for my team. I make absolutely sure I am ready to go and on time. I volunteer to do things for the team and make sure I get them done to the best of my ability. I am conscious of the fact that at competitions and drill functions I represent my team and make a point of smiling, saying good luck to passing teams and making sure I don't do anything that would make my coach or any of my team members embarrassed to wear the same team shirt as me. My coach is very involved in the area associations and I believe one of her main goals at drill functions is to try to bridge the gaps between teams. I'm not outgoing by any stretch of the imagination, but I try because it's the way I believe my coach wants our team to be.

I also don't throw tantrums or play the blame game. You can't. It's just not productive. Or healthy. I want to win as much as the next person, but blaming other people for the team's short comings doesn't get you any where. All you can do is take responsibility for yourself and figure out if there is anything you could be doing differently to make it easier for other people to be correct. Or talk to them, adult to adult, about the issue. No yelling, no tantrums, no blaming. Take responsibility for your part and don't get defensive.

There are people on my team that throw tantrums. Big ones. They give the silent treatment. They stomp off (or ride off if they're mounted). They slam doors. They rip their horse around for no good reason. They send out mass emails to the team arguing and denying any responsibility or wrong-doing. They tell the teacher...er...coach. There are people worried about cliques and whether this person likes me or that person picks on me.

I absolutely cannot stand the drama. I'm an adult. I am on the drill team because it's a blast to ride and gets me on my horse. A lot. I do enjoy the camaraderie that comes with being on a team. I have extremely fond memories from my first year drilling of team meetings at the end of the day with a pitcher of margaritas and lots of laughter and good times. But I don't need or want to be every one's best friend. There are certainly some people on the team that I'd rather avoid. As long as they make an effort, are prepared and on time and don't cause drama I will absolutely respect them as a teammate. Regardless of their horse's breeding, their riding skills, how nice their rig is or whether I like them on a personal level. I think that is all you can ask of people when you have a large group spending that much time together in a competitive setting.

I just want to have a good time, enjoy my horse and hopefully kick some butt while we're there! Why do people have to make it so difficult?!?

Holy Big Rod!

Ya, that's the rod I'm talking about. It's kinda crazy looking!

Want to know the craziest part? That rod was in the boyfriends leg until this last week when he had his "Left Tibia Hardware Removal" surgery. It had been in there since July of '07 when a monster rock rolled over the boyfriends leg while he was at work, breaking his leg. He called me at work, I thought to tell me he had been rained out and was headed home. Instead he very calmly informed me that he was in an ambulance on his way to the hospital with a broken leg. I didn't believe him at first. Later that evening he went in to surgery to have that thing inserted in his leg. It was not a fun day and a long recovery.

Here it is next to a dollar bill for a little perspective. I couldn't believe how big it was! That is not the way I pictured it at all! And the bend at the top really surprised me. Sorta creeped me out to. The boyfriend was pretty darn excited to get to keep the hardware though. He intends to put it right next to my buckle in our "trophy case", where ever that may be.

Those are the screws that were holding that thing in. One at the top and two at the bottom. I have no idea what the other little thing in there is, but I'm sure it fit in that rod somewhere.

So this will be my next few days. Taking care of gimpy. Atleast this time it is a comparatively minor surgery and shouldn't be more then a couple weeks of recovery.

Extreme Mustang Makeover

A couple of my friends are doing the Western States Extreme Mustang Makeover Challenge. They drove down to California to get their mustangs a couple weeks ago and I got to go meet the new mustangs the day they came home. I probably forgot to mention it because it was the weekend I won my buckle. I was a little distracted. Did I mention I won a buckle? hehehe

Anyways, they have blogs detailing all of their adventures with their new projects. Juliane ended up with Midori's long lost sister who she named Sangria. She has the same little white sock, bay color and massive mane as my Midori. She seems pretty friendly and laid back for a supposedly wild, never been handled mustang. It sounds like she is taking everything that Juliane throws at her in stride. Jenny ended up with a fiesty little mare she named MissFire. Much to their surprise, I totally fell in love with her as soon as I saw her. She has the most adorable face and the compact little build that I love on horses. She was very shy, but curious. She wanted to sniff my hand so bad and kept trying, but she was very scared. She has been a bit more of a challenge then Sangria, but they are both coming along quickly.

The Extreme Mustang Makeover Challenge is put on by the Bureau of Land Management and the Mustang Heritage Foundation and basically involves a bunch of mustangs, straight from different Herd Management Areas around the country. Trainers apply for a spot in the challenge and, once approved, are randomly assigned a mustang. They then have 90 days to get them gentled, broke and ready to compete against the other mustangs and trainers at the Challenge. Sangria and MissFire will be competing at the Western States EMM Challenge in Sacramento, CA in June.

The reason I bring all this up is that I got to see MissFire again last night. I still just adore her, she really is a cutie patootie. She also looked a whole lot smaller then I remember her! She can't be more then 14:1. All of my horses are between 14:2 and 14:3 though so I think she is just the perfect size. She is just a petite little thing to, short back, leggy, compact little build. She looks like she'd be athletic as hell and apparently has performed some pretty amazing acrobatics.

She was all saddled up last night and looking a little less wild. I played with her for a little bit and got to pet her neck and shoulder. I didn't push my luck any further back then that as there is a reason she got the name MissFire. She didn't like me in her face or patting her at all, but when I would work up her neck to scratch her face she sure seemed to love it and totally lean into it. Then she would remember that it was me scratching her and toss her head away. hehe She was super soft on the lead line, very responsive and respectful of my space. That was good, I really like my bubble. She was pretty protective of her bubble too though and it took her a little convincing to let this strange her person walk around to the other side. She did lots of dropping her head and licking her lips when she'd figure out I wasn't going to eat her. It was fun. I can see the appeal of the Challenge, though I'm pretty sure I'd never have the cojones to actually enter it myself. I can't wait to see how Sangria and MissFire progress and I'm trying to figure out how I can get down to Sacramento in June to watch them in action!

Puppy play day!

Yesterday we ended up having an impromptu puppy play day at our house. It turned out to be a beautiful day after the fog burned off and the dogs all had a blast playing together.

My parents came over with their two new Corgi puppies, Yogi Bear and Bella. Yogi is on the left and Bella on the right. They are so freakin adorable! Yogi is a little chunk! His legs are huge and he has floppy puppy skin. His ears have just recently started standing up so when he runs they still flop.

And of course they have the cutest little Corgi puppy bums! See how much bigger Yogi (on the left) is then Bella? Total chunk!

And my sister came over with her brand new to her puppy Vega. She is a Schipperke mix. She was pretty darn cute too! Love those ears and that face!

Cheyanne had so much fun playing with all the puppies! She was so gentle with them, seemed to know they were babies and played accordingly.

I just love Vega in the picture below. Cracks me up!


Yogi seemed pretty fascinated with Chey, he kept trying to catch her and play. She was too fast for his chunky little legs though. That girl can run!

I think Chey had just as much fun running circles around them as they played amongst themselves.

After a couple hours they were some seriously tuckered out puppies! They all crashed out in their kennels while we had some lunch. Below is Yogi trying to sleep, but the annoying girl with the camera kept distracting him.

Chey still wanted to go-go-go, but she crashed eventually a little while after everyone left. She was fast asleep on her bed on the deck. Never seen such a thing!

It was a very fun day! Makes me want to get another dog so Chey can have some company and they can tucker themselves out! :o)

Painting projects, here I come! Maybe.

Well, I'm trying to work up some motivation to get going on atleast one of my indoor projects while the weather is all nasty and unpredictable. I'm having problems actually getting going though.

I really want to get my bathroom painted, but that is going to be a huge, massive, painstaking process. There are a ton of screw and nail holes that need to be patched and wall paper that needs to be removed and everything needs to be washed very thoroughly and primed and then painted, probably with two coats. There is a ton of taping off and edging to do and I really hate edging. It's annoying and time consuming and tedious. There isn't a ton of wall space, but lots of corners and edges and things to work around so I'm just not really wanting to start that project just yet.

The office, on the other hand, just has four windows, two doors and a closet to work around. There is way more wall space, but I think it will be much less labor intensive. There are just a few small nail holes to patch up and it doesn't need to be primered. For those reasons, as well as the piles of boxes of books and things waiting to be unpacked and put on the shelves that are not going to be assembled until the room is painted, I am more inclined to paint the office first.

My problem is that I cannot decide on colors for the walls. I want to do something bold and bright and colorful in there. It's my office and craft room so I want it to be a nice, fun color. I had planned to go with this really nice blue.

It's a beatiful color that I absolutely love. That is a picture of a picture and it's actually a little deeper and brighter then that looks. I'm afraid to do it though. It looks great in the picture, but all of the accents are a very bright white and I think it needs that. The room I'm working with has a beige carpet, no lighting fixtures at the moment and four windows that don't really let much light in. Besides that, my craft table is huge and a dark espresso brown, the computer desk is mostly black and all of the shelves that I have for the room are black. I think between the dark accents, the lack of lighting in the room and the beige carpet the room would turn into a dark hole with that deep blue on the walls.

I could be wrong, and I may still end up going with that color, but at this point I'm trying to steer away from it.

I have no idea what direction to go though. I still want a bold color in there, but I can't come up with anything bold that doesn't have the same dark hole issue. All the bright colors that I like for it aren't exactly the bold statement I want to make in there.

I'm not sure if I want to stick to blues, teals and greens (purple flags are the colors I really like)...

Or go with something bright and different with yellows, golds, reds and oranges...

So that is where my head is at this week. I would really like to get both the bathroom and office painted before it gets nice out and I don't want to be inside any more. Hopefully I can make it happen! I think I just need to pick a color and go for it. I can change it later if I don't like it, right? Of course when I realize that that means painting again I might decide to like it, but hey, whatever works, right? :-)