Whirlwind.

I can't believe how fast two weeks went by.  I am so not ready for Christmas, but it's flying at me like a B-52 bomber.  The shopping part is 90% done, save for a few difficult people, but then there's the wrapping, baking, decorating...I just can't wait for it to be over.  I get wayyyy too stressed this time of year, and it doesn't help that I feel extra broke due to the slow process of getting my finances back in order.  To top all of this off, my house is currently the project capital of the world.  We have a bathroom renovation, garage cleanout, and basement organization mission all happening simultaneously.  It's great in the fact that I LOVE decluttering, but it's overwhelming to be doing it all at once.  The final straw was putting all of this on hold because Josh got a steam cleaner for the carpets and has been happily working his way through the house with the new toy.  I wish we could just FINISH something before starting something else.

Needless to say, I have had very little opportunity to fire up the ol' laptop and write, so I will try to keep the clickety-clacking of the keys to a minimum.  See also: Here is a concise summary of what happened since last time.

The weekend after Thanksgiving I rode Lucy in a schooling show, and it was such a great day.  She was so well behaved, and we FAR surpassed the meager goals I had set for the day (don't get excused from the ring, and don't fall off).  My mom came along as a groom/horse show mom extraordinaire, which made my day.  She was so happy to be there, taking pictures, wiping boots, pumping Lucy full of baby carrots, and subsequently wiping the orange foam off of her face.  Maddy rode Brantley, and overall they had a good day.  He had a couple of moments in the indoor, but she handled it beautifully (as always) and they ended on a good note, taking long stirrup by storm in Western tack.

The following week was a blur of early training shifts at the café, which opened this past Monday, and late shifts at the restaurant.  Thursday was my first (and last, I may now add) bar training shift and it was horrific.  I will not get into details, but suffice it to say I have no interest in pursuing that avenue any further.  On Saturday I was offered a significant promotion by the café, which oddly enough would also mean taking a pay cut.  Maddy pointed out that it's like paying for the title, which is just not that important to me.  I am still negotiating an agreement that works for everyone.

I did not ride at all last week, but I did get to the barn twice to do ground work, lunging, and grooming.  I finally got back in the saddle today, after literally not leaving my house yesterday so that I could catch up on my to do list of cleaning, sorting, and various other mundane tasks. 

This afternoon, I had a couple of errands to run and was too lazy to change out of my breeches and boots.  A decade ago I would have gotten some strange looks for my attire, but nowadays it seems every third woman has leggings and tall boots on.  Maybe the smell wafting off of my jacket hinted at the authenticity of the outfit; that I am actually an equestrian and not just fond of the style icon we riders have become.  It ticks me off to see these people trivializing our sport.  They spend hundreds of dollars on these fancy boots simply because they are "totes adorbs"...










...sorry, I had to go throw up...

...and here I am praying my Bromonts last one more winter because I can't afford another pair right now.  Please, yuppie women, come clean stalls, trudge through mud and manure, stand out in the cold on a concrete floor all day, and try actually riding in your "equestrian inspired" wardrobe.  When you're done, dry your eyes with your (gasp!) dirty hands and buy me a pair of Ariat Bromonts, sz 9.5, med height, full calf.  Sincerely, the asshole who is silently judging all of you.