Gumby and Pokey

It's getting to be that time when I think about the year gone by. It seems like this one passed in the blink of an eye, and yet my whole life has changed (thankfully for the better). I will endeavor to write a full "Year in Review" post later, but for now I am snuggled on the couch with Lucy asleep between my legs and Josh across my lap. The Patriots are giving the last regular season game away on a silver platter to the Bills, so what else to do but blog?

I rode Comic this morning, and Maddy was able to come visit and take pictures. I'm happy to see he looks as good as he feels, and since he has the best brain for a Thoroughbred, we had a bit of fun with some of the shots. It's so nice to once again have a horse to work with on a regular basis, and this one is smart and eager to please. I'm trying to keep things as fun for him as they are for me; no need to drill him into the ground. Yesterday the weather cooperated beautifully and we were able to do some work in the outdoor and on the little trail loop. We even found a bridge to cross, although I did eventually have to hop off and hand walk him over. I am looking forward to some snow rides, and I think we may mix it up and play some games soon to keep him from getting sour.

We are having our annual New Year's Eve pajama party, which seems to have grown exponentially this year. There are usually 6-8 of us; this year we're planning for 18. The next few days will be a blur of cleaning and party prep, but I have New Year's Day off, so who cares? I can relax later. Haha.

I guess that's all for now. I should probably go shower because I am still in my breeches from hours ago. Hey, if tailored sportsmans weren't so comfortable, maybe I wouldn't want to live in them. Just sayin'.

Fruitcake is not as bad as the reputation that precedes it

We have officially entered the final week before Christmas. The decorations are complete; the stockings are hung by the radiator with care; and the inside of our refrigerator looks like a game of tetris gone horribly wrong, chock full of ingredients for baking and cooking. On Saturday I wrapped every gift, save for one package that was still in transit. I am Ready. It feels good. 

Josh and I had yesterday off, so we went to 5 Wits to finally use our groupon. We had done the Espionage mission with Miss Abigail back in May, which left us to conquer 20,000 Leagues. We were the first group of the day, and it was just the two of us. Our guide was awesome, and we had a blast! I highly recommend going there and trying both experiences.

The rest of our day was spent running errands and commencing the week-long project that is Christmas Cleaning. Think Spring Cleaning, but in winter, and with more (cleverly code-named) garland. "Can you hang this Judy from the window, and wrap that Judy around the bannister?" We also ate ice cream last night for the first time in a long time. It was delicious. 

I suppose I should segue back into the real world, where I have things to do before work and an increasingly smaller window in which to do them. Adieu. 

Pancakes, Eggs, and Alan Alda

Last night I had grand plans for this morning. This morning I traded grand for spectacular. Rather than getting up early to go ride, I slept late (until 7:21!) and then moved directly to the couch where my book was waiting for me. Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda kept me company for an hour or so, until my stomach told me it was time for breakfast. Not in the mood for my usual yogurt and cereal routine, I decided to make pancakes and eggs. Josh woke up to a yummy feast amidst the hopeful stares of three starving puppies. There are certainly worse ways to start a day.

I have been pretty productive in the Christmas department; I think all my shopping is done after Tuesday's stocking stuffer expedition. Today I am hoping to organize the mess of bags and start wrapping, but that is contingent upon Josh being otherwise occupied so that I can separate his gifts from the mix. Hopefully we will finish decorating the house today, too. I am feeling rather in the spirit this year, which is a refreshing change of pace from the last few years of stress and scrooginess. :)

It wouldn't be a day off if I didn't have to do laundry, and our hamper will not dissapoint me today. I am still going to ride, of course; just at a more reasonable hour. We may finally be buying our treadmill this afternoon, which is exciting. I feel motivated to work out, just not outside of the house. Haha.

It is currently snowing, which I am surprisingly okay with. It doesn't seem to be enough to stick, just enough to look pretty through the window. Once it starts to accumulate I will resume grumbling about winter, especially considering we had to postpone buying a snowblower because of Odie's hospital stay last month. Please, mother nature, be gentle this year.

That is all for now. Please enjoy my day off as much as I hope to.

Today was a bad whistling day

Three weeks into my new job and I am still trying to find a better balance of everything in my life; puppies, ponies, Josh, Mom, housework.

I am not unhappy to say at least housework was the first to fall by the wayside. I know my priorities. Aside from doing enough laundry to prevent either of us from going to work naked, and maybe vacuuming once (fortunately Josh has stepped up his cleaning game), I have been tragically undomestic.

Josh and I have had a good amount of time together, and it looks like we're going to be able to keep our Thursdays off, which is great. Sundays (for which I get time and a half, for the first time in over a decade) are short shifts, so we'll get most of those, too. :)

I've been seeing my mom about once a week, with phone calls and texts in between. Granted, the last two times we hung out was for Christmas shopping, but 'tis the season, right? She is one of the only people I can go shopping with, probably because she knows even before I do when I am done (I have a rather short shopping fuse). Of course this means I still need to get her gifts, although we are only exchanging stockings this year. Her and Ron's main gift was a trip to NYC to see the Rockettes, which has come and gone. Oh, and an ergonomic snow shovel, which they also got early. Ooh, exciting. ;)

The part time barn job disintigrated, and I can't honestly say I'm upset. It was fine while it lasted, but I can only handle so many fucktards in my life, and when one is also a two-faced bitch...well, hasta la never. I finally got the money she owed me and I'm not looking back.
I have been riding a few days a week, helping my friend Natalie with her horse Comic. It's been going well, and it may even turn into other riding opportunities. Realistically, if I could sit on a horse 4 days a week I'd be thrilled. I am almost there.

This brings me to puppies. Sure, I make time for daily snuggles, and I try to keep up with Odie's demands for Ball Time. It's freezing? Let's play ball. It's raining? Let's play ball. It's 11pm? 5am? Let's play ball. But it's been tough for both of us to go from lots of time together all summer to me being gone all. the. time. Hopefully the rain predicted for Tuesday holds off and we can go on a long overdue trip to the park. I need my fuzzy adventure time.

Lastly, Christmas. I'm feeling more festive, and so much less stressed than last year. I am just about done shopping, soon to start wrapping. We got our tree this week and plan to decorate tomorrow. I will bake my traditional cranberry oatmeal cookies, plus one or two other concoctions. Those reindeer are not taking me down this year. I've got this.

Three strikes, you're...stuffed?

Happy turkey day to everyone, whether or not you go to an alley to stick your fingers in balls. Once again I am excited to see the family all together (minus my parents; they are going to Ron's daughter's house) and eat myself stupid. There will be football, of course, and we will also be watching Maleficent after dinner, which I have yet to see. Right now Josh and I are catching up on our sports shows and I am cheating by recording the Macy's Day Parade so I can skip through commercials. Our puppy is snuggled on the couch with us, and the slimy tongue of the Mia awaits us this afternoon. It's going to be a great day. :) 

I have not yet decided what the main focus of my blog will be. I did start a new job - nay, career - this month, which I am thrilled with so far, but I do not want to discuss that in too many details. I have been doing some more riding lately, although the horse I was spending the most time with has now been sold. My dog is adorable, but even I know better than to catalog his every action in a blog if I expect anyone to actually read it.

All that said, I am going to sign off and watch some giant balloons float between skyscrapers. Until next time... 

Dark Age

I recently thought, "Hey, remember that time I had a blog?" All six posts that I wrote, evidently in vain, about my glamorous life as a puppy snuggler? (By the way, one slip of the finger and that n becomes an m and I'd be living the cutest illegal life ever, sneaking dogs into places beyond their wildest dreams, like cathouses). But I digress.

I creeped on my former self the other day, and got a little sad that I stopped writing. I had a rather eventful summer, if not year, and I rather wish I had cared enough to chronicle my experiences. Sure, I can do another Year in Review post next month, but then I might forget about the time we needed a map and didn't know that we'd had one all along until it was way too late. Or the time when the housekeeper walked in on me in my hotel room during my last night watch job. Yeah, I got Consuela'd.

I guess I was just undergoing a reinvention and wanted to skip right to the good part. I'm not talking a caterpillar that enters a cocoon as something you'd squish with a slipper and exits as something you beg to alight on your hand. Think more along the lines of last year's Celtics; it got a little ugly here and there, but it was almost intentional because there were first round draft picks to be had. I was simply on an off roading adventure, trading the life I had fallen into for a life of my choosing. I learned a lot, I changed enough (I used a freaking umbrella the other day for the first time in years...who the hell am I?), and if I do say so myself, I came out well on top. Much like the Green, I am a work in progress, but now I know that's okay.

I guess that's it for today. Adios.

P.S. Find the album Dark Age by Gavin Castleton on the interweb, you will not regret it. It's one of my favorites.

Best. Week. Ever.

I did not totally forget that I have a blog. I did, however, stop having things that were worth writing about for a while. I had a low couple (few?) weeks, and no one wants to read about a pity party. Through the amazing support of my family and friends, I have crawled out of my hole and am back to a manageable 85%. It certainly doesn't hurt having the promise of spring right around the corner...who wouldn't feel better with warmer weather and longer days?

My birthday was last Saturday, the 8th. I gave myself the gift of a better attitude towards life. I am trying to remember that even though things are not perfect, I am still very fortunate. I suppose I am adopting the Jungle Book mentality: "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative." I began this new endeavor by losing miserably at the game of Life. Fantastic. To be fair, I was drunk and playing against a very sober 8 year old. To be unfair, my "adult" friend Sarah rubbed her victory in my face. My mom had a laugh, but she knows better; after all, she raised this $2.4 million failure!

This week kicked off by going out to breakfast with Kate and Maddy. Buffalo home fries for the win. Afterward Maddy and I went to the barn and I had, by far, my best ride on Lucy to date. The light bulb finally went off, I remembered how to breathe (throughout the WHOLE ride), and Lucy demonstrated how happy she is that I have at last figured out how to ride her. Maddy was proud, as she well should be, since this would not have been possible without her guidance and peer pressure. I had talked with her and Kate the day before about some Lucy-isms, combined their advice with what I already know, and now it's like riding a brand new horse.

I also rode Tuesday,  Thursday,  and Saturday, for more of the same. Saturday we even ventured outside for the first time this year. Walking to the arena was interesting, and Lu put on quite the show while lunging, but once I saw in her eye that she was ready, I got on to just walk and trot, to see how she felt. Next thing you know, Maddy is asking me where I left my balls (aka why I was not cantering), so I took a deep breath, applied a little outside leg...and we cantered uneventfully in a circle around her and Brantley. :) Came back to a respectable trot before calling it a day with a nice little hand walk on the trail. That is, until Lucy invaded my personal space enough that I tightened the girth and made her carry me back home. ;) I cannot say enough how happy I am with this horse, she has come so far in just a few months. I have always been a supporter of ground work, but now more than ever I think it is one of the best training tools and a necessary component for any discipline.

I can't wait to get out of work today so I can go ride!