35 degrees and sunny

Subject line wasn't a daydream -- it actually happened!

35 degrees and sunny.   Sound like a dream?   Yeah, me too.  But a couple weeks ago it was reality.  No, I haven't lost it.  With the aid of travel miles and a suitcase, I found myself in Cuba.  In a heat wave.  You can hate me now >;-P

If it makes you feel any better, the day we left my alarm clock went off at 2:30.  Ummm that'd be am. Which means I hadn't technically fallen asleep yet.   Got to the airport, checked in, wandered around for a bit, and boarded the plane.  With a disproportionate number of very young children.  Argh.   Fortunately once we took off, they all settled.

Most amazing feeling to leave in record low winter temps and get off the plane, outside, to feel 35 degrees and sunny.  Amazing.  It suddenly doesn't matter that you'll be waiting in endless lines, because...  You're warm.  And really, this winter, what else matters?

Getting through security took quite a while, but wasn't any big deal.  My bag was literally the last one loaded onto the baggage carousel.  There's always that moment of panic of "did it make it"?   Or Chris, who just assumed I missed it and it'd be over with the other stacked ones ;-P   Such faith!  But it did make it, it was just last.  In this case though, it really didn't matter since the buses weren't leaving anybody behind.  Not like getting off the plane in Europe and fighting your way out for the first cab so you can get on your way.  Nope, here you're on island time.  Manoeuvred our way past the very helpful men offering to drive us there *g*, paused briefly at the one selling drinks, and found our bus.  It was surprisingly well organized and efficient.  Yes, I actually typed that sentence.  Sarcasm free.

The drive was about an hour and a half.  We had a tour guide who gave a run down about basic Cuban etiquette (summarized: tip everybody) and some traditional tourism info about the areas we were driving through.  Mostly though we were warm and happy.  That was what mattered.  A good section of the trip was over a causeway -- most of the tour sites say go *despite* it, but since I'm a huge fan of water, I actually really enjoyed it.

At the resort we were greeted with a welcome cocktail for checkin.  We were a little confused as it seemed as though we should collect our luggage, but eventually it was made clear it would be delivered to our rooms. Okay.  Then we hit another pause when they wanted to collect our passports "to be picked up in two hours".  Ummmm no.   A surprising number of passports were left there, but neither Chris nor I were that trusting.  We were told it was because they were required by law to photocopy them.  Okay - nbd.  We went to the front desk and let them photocopy them there.   We also wanted to upgrade to the "Diamond Club" so figured we'd do that at the same time.  Which would've been a fabulous plan except their credit card machine was down and we didn't have cash yet.  *sigh*  Oh well.  Almost time for the beach!

Head upstairs and the room was lovely.  Except...  It had two beds stuck together.  Which would've been perfect, had I still been travelling with Kerri.  Our bags arrived, but we chose not to unpack, deeming future us could deal with the whole issue.  Instead went in search of food.  Found it -- or Cuba's substitute anyways.  A large buffet, but meh quality food.  Not bad, in that it was all edible, but definitely not something you'd be proud to serve somebody.  After lunch with some running around we managed to get our room changed and our upgrade accomplished.  The staff member who came with us to help us relocate our bags to our new room was awesome.  Friendly, enthusiastic, and full of helpful advice.  Helped regenerate a good mood :)  Well that and, 35 degrees and sunny.

Boardwalk to the beach

And so the rest of the day was spent on the beach.  As were the next several ;)   OMG that beach.  I like the ocean.  I like beaches.  As a result, I've been to a lot of them.  This one just might've been the nicest one *ever*.  The only possible exception was hidden in the Whitsunday Islands, and, realistically, that's way out of budget to go back and compare ;)   Don't get me wrong, I loved the beach in Varadaro.  But this one was better.  Significantly.  To compound it's natural beauty, the staff did an phenomenal job of keeping it clean.  Both from tourist garbage and the ocean's natural decorations ;)  Oh, and did I mention the ice-cream guy who wandered around late morning every day?   Think of the one who used to roll through suburban neighbourhoods on a bike.  This was a push rather than a bike (ummm beach people!) but otherwise exactly the same.  Complete with a ringing bell.   Now being 35 deg and sunny, the ice cream melted at a ridiculous rate.  But was easy enough to stroll into the ocean to clean off ;)  Kinda the absolutely perfect finishing touch to the beach.

What more do you need?

Oh wait, if that wasn't enough, there were little catamarans on the beach that were going out for short sails every day -- these were included with the vacation so we went out twice.  Nice way to break up an oh-so-stressful day of beach and pool.  I know, life's rough.  Did I mention 35 deg and sunny?

Beach catamarans

Actually, in the interest of full disclosure, I should be honest.  It did rain twice: once, on our first morning, when we were in the meeting about all the excursions and "things you should know"; it was done by the time we were ready to go to the beach.  The second time was when we were on a bus on the north side of the country -- apparently that rain didn't make it to the resort.  hahaha but other than that, legit 35 deg and sunny the whole time we were there.  Significantly warmer than the last time I went.  Apparently they were having a heat wave.  I was pretty stoked about it.

So the beach was stunning.  Unbelievably so.  Unfortunately the rest of the resort we probably wouldn't return to.  Our beach was shared with one other resort that everybody we spoke to loved -- so that would probably be a smarter choice.  For instance, in our hotel room maid service was okay -- but often the floors weren't swept, the coffee was never refilled, and the mini-bar only sometimes.  We usually had hot water or cold water but not always at the same time and once had none at all.  Others we spoke with were having more dramatic issues though, so we just learned to be strategic about when we wanted to shower ;)   As to the food, we very quickly figured out that it was much better if you went to the grills rather than the buffets, so we did that for most meals.  We booked our a la carte meals with the diamond concierge -- I tell you, that upgrade was well worth it :) and were good to go.  Upgrade included better service in the meal areas, waiter service on the beach and super staff in both locations -- maybe all over the resort, but definitely seemed above and beyond in those areas.  We quickly came to have some favourite staff :)  Upgrade also included different types (presumably better quality) alcohol, but tbh, I wouldn't know the difference ;)

To be honest, I thought I'd be bored out of my little mind.  We spent a *lot* more time on the beach than any other resort-type vacation I've been on -- mostly because there really wasn't anything else to do.  But I was so exhausted and just done that it was actually amazing.

Sat and listened for a while; this guy was smiling and singing away.  So expressive.
PC - Chris

We did go on one excursion, to Trinidad.  That'd be Cuba's version, not the one you're thinking of >;-P  If it had been an hour's drive instead of a three-hour drive, it might've been okay.  Honestly though, I felt it was too long a trip for too little.  We met some interesting characters and yes there was definitely some interesting architecture, but it was a long, not-so-interesting day.  I think also the fact that I was so fascinated by Havana when Ker and I were there, made the comparison harder.

In Trinidad
PC - Chris

Ah well though, even though we were super late (island time) we made it back minutes before our dinner reservation.  We might not have been dressed appropriately, but they fed us anyways ;)  All good.

Note the island time...  All the clocks were like that.

Our last day was spent on a dolphin-free dolphin-patting expedition.  hahaha perhaps I should clarify.  This trip involves snorkling and visiting the dolphinarium to stand on a platform and have them swim around you.  The first part appealed, especially for Chris who'd never snorkeled before, but the second didn't appeal to either of us.  Conveniently though, once a week they run a trip for those with "moral objections" that does snorkling at two different sites instead of the dolphin visit.  Tbh, I wasn't entirely convinced two snorkel options would be worth the cost of the trip, but C seemed excited about it and, well, I'm generally pretty happy to spend a day out on a boat :)  Sobeit.

Turns out Chris' pocket-camera works reasonably well under water :)
PC - Chris

Soooo glad we did.  Possibly the best day of the trip :)  The snorkeling was, comparatively, meh.  Kinda on par with the food comparison realistically.   But while I've never been a food connoisseur, I learned to dive in the Great Barrier Reef -- so my expectations might be a little warped ;)   Chris, however, is both a strong swimmer (I swim at least as well as I play rugby), and new to the sport -- so watching him take in the experience was all kinds of fun.   The first site was a small reef that was unfortunately all-but-destroyed.  It was quite shallow, and hundreds of beginner snorkelers had long since crushed and squished just about everything.  The second one though was 3-4m deep -- far enough that with nobody having any dive gear it was reasonably undisturbed.  Crystal clear water AND it was a wreck.  Which, I've never done any wreck diving so I was pretty fascinated by it.  It was awesome. In the most literal sense of the word.

Chris investigating the wreck

Back on the boat -- mini, out of order story here...  When we first got on everybody was finding places to sit on the benches etc -- benches were all covered under a tarp and surrounded the bar.  I was slightly ahead of Chris (single file entrance) and asked if he had a preference.   Nope, me neither.   Then at about the same second we both noticed the nets at the front of the boat.  Nets with people lounging on them.  Wait!  I have a preference!  hahaha fortunately for both that preference was the same.  The nets were, admittedly, less than comfortable, but being out in the sun, lying down on a giant catamaran...   That can't be beat.  And they were significantly *more* comfortable after the first swim when we kept our towels out to lie on.  Live and learn ;)

Amazing day on the catamaran!

So this wonderful creation sails us to a *stunning* seemingly deserted beach with one of the biggest sandbars I've ever seen.  We went for a walk along the sandbar, played with the camera, made some sand art, and just generally enjoyed life until the boat threatened to sail away without us.  We weren't the last back on board!  We *might've* been second-last ;-P

We started by just photographing other people's sand art - I mean really, one person's
"Cuba 2014" is the same as another's, right?   And vacation *is* all about laziness.
But then Chris drew this one, entirely to humour me I'm sure :)  And it worked.

Last stop was lunch, although it was well after lunch.  This is the only part of the day I was disappointed in. First, I was expecting a beach picnic or bbq or some variation.  But no, they took those who object to the dolphinarium, to the dolphinarium for lunch.  Ummmm poor planning guys.  And then lunch was, imo, the worst meal of the trip.  I think Chris enjoyed his more than I did, but I basically ate crackers and pineapple.  Random combination, I know, but you make due with what's there.

Then it was just the sail back.  The rest of the day we'd been motoring rather than sailing, but on the way home they raised a sail and killed the engine for a while.  Admittedly drifting rather than sailing, but it was an absolutely perfect end to the day.  And the trip.

I think I had that goofy grin on my face the whole trip!

Coming home was long line after long line after long line.  Getting out of the country is more tedious than getting in.  BUT, do-it-yourself customs when we got home was fabulous.  Unbelievably fast.  One of the few good things about returning home :)   We also have a new appreciation for 5-star washrooms (ummm to clarify what claims an island five stars: a door, a seat, tp, a toilet that flushes, and paper towel to dry your hands), and clocks that tell time.

So yes, it was amazing.  Especially in this winter from hell.  And I can't wait for the next trip!

Till next time...

Welcome to Bailey :)

I am writing a Cuba post -- really I am!   But it's not working out the way I'd like -- mostly because, well, it's -20 outside and somehow the beach seems very far away at the moment.

I only *wish* I was exaggerating...

Right.  Remember March Break the year-before-last?  It was 20 deg and sunny.   That's +20 people.  We were riding outside in t-shirts.  I'd like that back now.  Trying to plan show season and clinics is challenging when you don't even want to go outside.

Planning the next trip, however?  That part's easy ;)  Ambitious, but easy *g*

It helps offset the job hunting, which is frustrating at best.  Finding lots that would be suitable -- even in the area I'd like to be, but feel like I'm merely sending resumes into a black hole *sigh*  Ah well, I'm sure something will appear.  It always does :)   And in the meantime, I'm at least getting some editing done.

And the gym.  Ah, the gym.  The biggest change from working at the barn?  Arm strength.  Which makes perfect logical sense, but somehow didn't think of it.  Legs and abs are good from riding, but really, what do you use arms for if you're not mucking stalls and hauling water buckets?  Typing just doesn't require much skill.

Starting swimming lessons next week.  A sentence I never thought I'd say after the age of about 12 *g*   But while I can stay afloat well enough and generally get from point A to point B, I do not swim well at all.   Pathetically poorly really.  Definitely time to fix that :)   You know, in preparation for the next beach vacation ;)

And for the cuteness factor of the day, Mum's new puppy, Bailey:

Super happy Bailey and Sasha get along brilliantly.  Bailey and Sherlock?  Not quite so well >;-P   Bailey bounces when she runs -- I get that that's a puppy thing, but it doesn't make it any less cute.  She's also both brave and smart enough that she should pose an entertaining challenge ;)  Super cool dog.

I'm back.

Alright so it's time to get back to business...   Some of you may be aware that my darling grey mare (lately irreverently known as Her Royal Greyness) has been, ummmm, shall we say less than a priority as of late...  I can count on one hand the number of times she's been ridden since November, and on both hands the number she's been worked in any way, shape or form.   From she who has always been 100% dedicated, this is unheard of.  But then, my world did kind of implode.

Anyways -- I decided to run away for a week and allow the real world to start when I got back.  I got back on Thurs.  Figured I'd start riding back on Friday.  Deemed sleep was the better option *g*  AND it *was* Valentine's, so felt I really shouldn't hang around after work to ride.  Saturday the pieces finally came together and my high-as-a-kite pony got lunged.  All good and appropriate for the first work in who-knows-how-long...  Sundays I've been trying really hard to keep as "lazy Sundays" that I can either hang around and do nothing, or spend time with friends and family, or - get this - both!  hahaha but I *am* making a concerted effort (at least until show season) not to book anything then.  So it was a given she'd have yesterday off.

Today all ready to go.  Hit the gym, got a number of chores done, on my way out the door...  And Jen calls. Jen who moved to France last summer.  Who I never get to see and very rarely get to talk to anymore.  Yes, she outranks Lexi.  Esp an unfit, untrained Lexi...  Sorry all, but two-legged family before four in this case.

Alright so I hang up at the last possible second before I have to go teach.  Feeling moderately guilty and disappointed with myself for not working my horse, but sobeit.  Getting to the barn however, I discover I only have one student.  Strange -- although not so strange when I realized it's reading week and suspect all the uni students have gone home...  But still, unexpected.  And usually when a group lesson ends up with only one person, I do a half-hour private instead.  But then it occurred to me, why not ride?   Wouldn't be the first time I've ridden and taught at the same time.  Admittedly that's usually reserved for cross-country, but hey -- it's all good.   And the one rider who was there was both competent (so if Lex was an idiot, I wouldn't have to worry about causing trouble for her) and easy-going enough to go along with this whole idea :)   So figured we'd do the whole time, but I'd ride as well.   Realistically Lex wouldn't last an hour anyways, so I was reasonably certain that my student would still get a decent amount of coaching time.

Sounds great right?   What could go wrong with this?  Lexi's been ridden at night before.  Once.  Months ago.   She hasn't been ridden since about two weeks before vacation.  Barn manager told me she was spun today.  She's been ridden with other horses eight times in her entire life -- including the five clinic days ;)  And the last one was the Hyde clinic in October...   Oh, and one boarder, two kids, and Sasha were also all in the ring.  Definitely setting us up for success ;)

And I won't be lunging before mounting.  She's slightly cold backed and hasn't been sat on in ages.  Arguably a poor life choice, but sobeit.

You know what?  She was awesome.  Stiff and cold -- there was definitely a rather large buck hidden there when I got on, but she never threw it.  She was super nasty to the boarder's horse -- going to have to work on riding her w/ strange horses...  And the rider (who was finishing up as we got there) was awesome about giving us extra space.  We played a little bit of follow the leader with Athena, which gave us more forward gaits than I usually get.  So that had me grinning.  Then she even managed some independently.  Cantered - on *both* leads - calmly and mostly under control.  I say mostly because the steering left something to be desired ;)   But I have faith we'll get that back shortly.  Even jumped a couple small fences.  Woohoo!   She's feeling very gangly and uncoordinated...  But then she's grown since she was last in work and she's super unfit, so really -- what could I expect?

Then she really earned her gold star, by remaining focused in the walk and a little trot while my student was cantering and doing other such fun things; an impressive surprise.  Of course it's possible she was *slightly* tired at this point ;)   Earlier, when I'd gotten off her earlier to set fences, I had asked Faith to hold her -- reasonably certain she wouldn't go anywhere...  To put this in perspective, Faith's still several years from being a teenager and thus very short.  I wish I'd had a photo as child comes up to Lexi's shoulder and pony's head was *way* over hers...   We're in an indoor ring, L's ground manners are good, and F has grown up with horses.  I wasn't too concerned but kept an eye on them just in case.   When we were done I gave Lexi to her to hold for a bit (after declining her offer to hop on and cool her out for me -- don't quite trust Lex *that* much yet!) and pony's head was down by Faith's hand, and she followed Faith around as quietly as could be.  Super cute, but one tired pony.  After all of about half an hour - mostly at trot.   We're going to have a LONG way to go to be event fit by summer!   But that let me set fences for the rest of the lesson while Lexi cooled out :)

So yeah -- did we do anything impressive?  Nope.  Anything even moderately acceptable to be seen in public?  Nope.  But you know what?  I had *fun*.  With my horse.  Imagine that :)   It's been a while.  And she was significantly better behaved than I'd even dreamed.  That counts for a lot.  Her pony brain was challenged and she still tried.  A good sign for upper levels :)   Lots of carrots...

And side note -- I was SO happy with Sasha.  She was playing with a lunge whip and when told to leave it -- did.   Lexi was growing noticeably concerned about the giant snake coming up behind her -- I wasn't sure how that was going to go.  Esp as she tends more toward the fight than flight instinct...  Yes I like my horses to get used to *everything* -- part of why kids and puppies are welcome in the ring when I'm schooling young ones, and why all my schoolies no longer blink at anything -- but sometimes even I have to draw the line ;)  Good puppy!   I've actually been super happy with several tests of Sasha's training lately.  Not that there's not still lots to work on, but still...  Can't wait till we can go back to agility :)

Oh yeah - I was in Cuba for a week.  It was amazing ;)   And yes, it will get a blog post.  Too long for tonight -- thought I'd just write this short one instead.  Yes, I said short.  You're not new here ;-P   Summary of Cuba post:  35 degrees and sunny on the most beautiful beach I've ever seen.  No need to hate me - I'm back in reality now.  Tanned - but back >;-P

Back to work. Sort of.

So lots of people make new year's resolutions involving gyms and fitness...  Not so much my thing.  But it has turned out that as of the new year, my full-time workout no longer exists...  And, well, I hate winter.

I'm sure you can see where this is going.

First, as of Monday, I'm finally working my horse again!  Woohoo.  Her Royal Greyness (credit to Jael for the name -- it suits her this week) is less thrilled.   Monday I figured I'd be smart and simply lunge her.  It was dark. The walk to the arena icy.  She's not stupid -- walked down as civilized as could be.  Entered the arena.  And EXPLODED.  Seriously.

After I got her down from the rafters, I got her going in something that vaguely resembled a circle, occasionally in the correct gait.  Rebecca once described her lunging session as lunging a cat -- I'd steal that line, but cats stop and go to sleep every once in a while *g*   Mine was more trying to direct Sasha after she caught sight of a frisbee-riding squirrel.   Only issue, Lexi hasn't been worked since November.  Yes, you read that right.  Never in my life has a sound horse I've been responsible for had that much time off.  Unbelievable.  But really, when your world turns itself inside out and backwards, riding the barely-broke and very temperamental mare when it's cold and miserable out kinda loses its appeal.

But see, now the world is starting to settle, and show season is only a few months away.  And my horse is definitely not ready to go out in public (they consider swinging from the rafters cheating...)  And I suddenly have a significant amount of free time so...   Horse is back in work.  But not fit.  Not even remotely fit.  So by the time I got her stopped she was thoroughly lathered (did I mention she's exceptionally fat and fuzzy?  Yeah -- kinda looks like an overgrown Thelwell). 

Yup - seems about right

Lex gets cooled out and left to dry while I teach.  Hours later she was *finally* dry and could be groomed and blanketed for night.  She was sound asleep by the time I finished blanketing >;-P

Tuesday -- had a lesson.  Yeah really.  Miss mare was *still* super high about being in the arena but also clearly tired so the edge was off.  Much shorter lunging session which didn't involve any true insanity and I hopped on.  As Miss Mare is clearly unfit, focus was entirely on her pilot.  Ummmm perhaps I should've mentioned the pilot was rather unfit too.   I don't think I've ridden more than once or twice -- for probably ten mins each -- since the last ride on Lexi.  Hop on to show somebody something or fix a problem.  But no actual *riding*.  Hmmmm.   And I lived off cookies and chocolate for three weeks.  And then did nothing but sit around trying to stay warm for one.   Oops.

Lesson was *amazing*.   Fixed a lot of tiny details.  One of the best I've had in months.  But I was beginning to fear how I'd feel the next day when half an hour after dismounting I was already sore.  hahaha   Oh and Princess?  Made her dislike at having to work when tired *very* well known.  I was less than amused.  Can't really blame her, but still.  Sheesh.

Seriously.  I'm not exaggerating.

Fast forward to Wednesday.  Now Lexi legit needed a day off, so after ensuring she'd be turned out for the day she got left to complain to her friends and enjoy her round bale.   I, however, am not so smart.  You see, I was resenting how quickly I got tired after riding and have been pretty down lately, so decided I need more exercise.  And I hate winter.  And I'm not *really* ready to go back to mucking stalls if I don't have to...  Sooooo only option left is the gym.

Yes, you read that right.  The gym.  Not just my favourite pilates studio (product check:  they're awesome -- if you're near Oakville and interested in yoga, pilates, or spinning -- go there.) but an *actual* gym.  Like with machines and everything.  Oh dear.

Now after the previous day's lesson my legs were a little sore and my abs definitely feeling it, so I wasn't going to be up to much of a fitness test, but figured I'd at least stretch a bit and get loosened up.

Right, you're not new here.  Now several of the machines I don't know how to use, so I intelligently avoided those.  At some point I'll get somebody to teach me to use them.  Did about ten mins on the elliptical to warm up and the first eight or so were brutal.  But then the lactic acid in my legs went away and I was fine, so did another ten.   Actually warmed up.  Sweet.

Did a little bit on the ab ball because, well, my abs were sore so clearly they needed more work.   Then a bunch of arms and upper body work -- those were all good.  Had to laugh at one of the older style machines with actual weights (as opposed to the stack where you move the pin).   Clearly it was set for somebody much larger than I.  For a laugh I tried to move it the way it was set -- I could lift myself off the ground and it didn't budge.   I very carefully removed the four GIANT weights and replaced them with two tiny little circles *g*  hahaha awesome.   But then I could actually use it.

Was heading out and saw the old-school rowing machines.  For some reason those always amuse me, so played with it a little.  And then there was a top-of-the line ab cruncher (ummm yeah, sure that's officially what they're called *g*).   On the way to the changeroom.  I had to.  Tried ten lbs.  Stupidly easy -- even tired.   Okay, how bout 40?  bahahaha that almost killed me.  Esp with the machine arguing with me about both range and speed so I couldn't cheat.   Hmmmm back down to 20.  Still pretty easy.  30?  That's probably right.  Except by now pretty fatigued so just finished one set and left it at that.   Walked a lap or two on the indoor track, just cause, and left it for the day.

Thursday, I couldn't get out of bed.  People say that all the time but it wasn't lack of sleep -- for some reason I slept reasonably well....  Imagine that ;) -- I woke up ready to go, went to roll over, and I actually heard my abs mock my effort.  Sorry lady, that's just not going to happen.  *sigh*  In the end, threw a leg off the bed and let gravity do its job.  Less than graceful, I'll admit.  More resembling a bad comedy routine actually.  Somehow navigated to the shower and set it to scalding to try and unfurl my muscles.  Brutal.

Don't kid yourself -- I was *not* this graceful.

And time to work the horse again.  Who looked at me like I must be joking.  She wasn't wrong.  hahaha settled for an easy, short, stretchy lunge session.  Seemed a good compromise.

Friday, the day after the day after, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised.  Abs still sore, but not nearly as bad as the day before -- I could actually breathe *g*  One of my favourite things to do actually.  Had to visit the accountant (reality still interferes occasionally) so had time for one of gym or horse.  Her Royal Greyness was less than thrilled with my choice.

Now, to be fair, I suspect she's legitimately muscle sore -- since I am too -- but such is life.  And first thing I noticed is that certain muscles are only sore when you sit on the horse *g*   hahaha oops.   But so be it.

To set the stage.  The arena door was frozen open. Kids were playing with Sasha in the distance.  Loudly.  Other boarders were leading horses in/out (note, all of them chose to ride in the arena where the door actually closes... Imagine that >;-p).  And I chose not to lunge.  All things considered, she was amazing.  But certainly not a horse I'm ready to take out in public *g*   We had some awesome power trots and a random "I can't do anything but canter! Must. Canter. NOW!" moment. ummmm okay... It lead to a beautiful canter and a puzzled horse who kept looking over her shoulder as though to see what I would do about this.  hahaha love it. And then the nappiness came back *sigh* All sorts of bouncing around, but the reason I suspect she's feeling it a little is that it was really low key. Like she *wanted* to have a temper tantrum and deposit me in the nearest pile of manure, but was just too tired to expend that much effort. So instead of bucking and rearing we got what felt kinda like cantering in place *g* That being said, she's worked four of the last five days when before that I hadn't sat on her since November...   So there's hope -- while it wasn't pretty, it was far less ugly than the meltdowns she was having in the spring.  Good pony.

AND I even got to ride Lissy for a bit -- *she* was a little superstar and made me appreciate what it's like not to have to work quite so hard.  Someday, that'll be Lex.  Preferably sooner than later :)

And now that I'm getting some exercise again, I'm feeling much better, far more energized, and the world is good.   Just need to catch up on some sleep now and I'll be set :)   And then I can finish my second book...  And do a massive house cleanse...  And design our new xc course...  And lurk cheap vacation sites...  And, and, and...  Yup -- I'll be taking it easy :)

Looking for work in March if you know of anything ;)

“Many years ago, I resolved never to bother with New Year’s resolutions, and I’ve stuck with it ever since” – Dave Beard

It has been a week of chaos. Almost controlled chaos, but chaos nonetheless.  That's the short version.

Christmas was great.  All presents delivered and seemingly enjoyed.  Good time with family and friends.  Stephy even came out to help me get the barn done in record time!  Sweet :)

Boxing day was back to the reality of moving.  Between Chris, my dad, Jamie, Rebecca, Kirby and I we got a ton done.  All the boxes moved and two loads of hay while Jen did all the barn work.  Exhausting but effective.

Friday was a day of just horse care and setting up for Saturday.  Ah Saturday.  That's a day that's been already erased from my memory.  But, just for you, I'll dig deep for the memory.  A ton of incredible people pitched in to accomplish the theoretically impossible.  Several loads of stuff and nearly 2000 bales of hay moved.  True story.  Seriously.

Sunday we were all pretty tired, but the games continued as we moved all the equipment and, more impressively, xc jumps.  Woohoo!  AND thanks to Jamie, also got all the fence boards that were destroyed in the ice storm repaired.  Starting to come together. 

Nice dinner cause, really, by this point somebody else was going to cook >;-P   And, actually, for once, managed to go to sleep early.  Exhaustion counts for something.

Monday morning we moved the last two horses.  Nina wasn't sure she wanted to get on the trailer, but with Rebecca and Kennedy's help, we managed it and everybody arrived safely.  Pleased to discover the power was back on.  Woohoo!  Then...  Can you imagine?  More packing!

Eventually it was New Year's Eve.  Crazy day.  As some of you know, New Year's isn't my favourite holiday.  In fact, most years I skip it entirely.  This year though, I had no choice.  And the timing of the new start was so cliched my editor would never have let it stand.  Sometimes though, you just have to sit back and watch the show.  My parents helped me finish packing and cleaning.  A run to Laura's, another run to the dump, a final conversation with the landlords and we parted for the last time, on good terms.  Not a bad finish. 

I even managed to catch a short nap before going out for the evening.  Yes, you read that right >;-P  A party with Chris's friends -- and sure enough, the first night in years I'm not responsible for night check, I end up in a barn *g*   hahaha but at least it was for a tour and not with any responsibility.   Parties aren't usually my favourite thing and New Year's even less so, but have to say I actually had a really good time.  Quite a pleasant surprise when you go in expecting nothing and end up enjoying yourself.  We had several new year's -- celebrating with each time zone in the country.  I figure I made up for all the last few years in one *g*   hahaha

So then, theoretically, as of Jan 1, I was on vacation.  You read that somewhere right?  Off until the 6th?  Right...  Well I did actually sleep most of Jan 1.  Slept in, had traditional New Year's pancakes, veged on the couch for hours, had a nap...   All good.   But then I was at the barn the next two days.  Classic eh?   And I have a mountain of stuff to do over the next couple weeks.  But mostly set up for what *needs* to be done by Monday.  Everything else is waiting for next week as I'm going to make every effort to actually take a WHOLE weekend off.   You think?   It's a more reasonable goal than five days ever was *g*   Am pretty excited about some of the upcoming projects though.  So that's all good :)

And, I have high hopes, I might actually get to read a book :)   Imagine that.   Or better yet -- write one >;-}

Have no idea what 2014 might bring, but reasonably certain it'll be quite the adventure.  Stick around and see.

On the move again...

HUGE thanks to everybody who came out to help with the massive hay move!

On Thursday it was my dad, Chris, Emily, Jamie, Kirby, Rebecca and Sarah all helping move tack boxes and two trips of hay.

Friday my dad took another load over while I packed more stuff at the barn.  An easy day comparatively.

Then Saturday was the real challenge.  Rebecca and Mike did the am barn chores so the rest of us could move.  Chris rebuilt the tack lockers we took out when we moved in while Steph and I loaded vehicles.  Jen and Abby loaded up her car as well to transport items.  With Victoria also volunteering a vehicle, they all headed out to take the first load of stuff while the rest of us started on hay.

Steve was a life saver both manipulating the tractor and being strong enough to throw hay significant distances for hours on end.  Kyle and Chris also contributed to the strength category, making the day significantly more successful than it otherwise would have been.

Mieke, Bryn and Paul came and started on loading the horse trailer.  Our second big trailer never showed, so we were making due with anything that could haul hay ;)    On the other end, Aileen met us to help unload.  Emily and Courtney were doing an excellent job helping Laura with stacking hay after we dropped it and went back for the next load.

My dad and Paula were managing the transportation of the big van while Stephy and I managed the horse trailer and Victoria, with her Merry Poppins car was transporting mountains of tack and other items.   Stephy and I read each other's minds fairly well so we had a pretty smooth system going quickly.  Made life much easier.

Adriana and Kayla arrived to help and the next truck-load got filled rapidly.   Mieke, Bryn and Paul followed that load to the new place to help unload.

And the day continued back and forth, focusing entirely on hay, hay and more hay.  Until in the very end the survivors:  Emily, Kyle, Chris, Steve, Victoria, Kayla, Adriana and me loaded the last of the hay into the truck for tomorrow's delivery and turned the lights off for the night. 

HUGE thanks to everybody who helped move today:   Adriana, Aileen, Alan, Bev, Bryn, Chris, Emily, Kayla, Kyle, Mieke, Paul, Paula, Steph, Steve, and Victoria.  You guys are all kinds of awesome!

If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would get done.

December 23rd.  Christmas-Eve-Eve.  Not a thing really, but in my world...

My plans were ambitious but doable.  Theoretically.  Take care of the horses; Rebecca kindly agreed to give them their afternoon feed, so I could leave as soon as stalls were done.  Move a load of stuff to the new barn and check all the ponies there.  Go home.  Power nap (mandatory after the 4h sleep or so the night before).  Go to convenience store and photo store for two outstanding gifts.  Bake cookies.  Do laundry.  Create gift I've been thinking about for weeks but hadn't put into actual existence.  Clean Bilbo's cage. Wrap all presents.  Put away aforementioned laundry.  Figure out what needs to go where for the next couple days.  Clean room.  Sleep.

Anybody else think that's really like three days worth of living in one?

Let's revisit that thinking with the aid of that nasty bastard Reality.

The first few steps actually went okay.  Both barns took longer than expected -- no surprise given the complete lack of power and excessive amounts of ice (anyway we could switch those?).  But all good -- was home about 3.  Putz around for half hour or so and then decided to crash for 20 min power nap and be good to go.  I am the queen of the power naps.  But I also know that if I miss and go for 30 mins, I'll be useless for the next couple hours.  So I set an alarm.  Usually.  Why not today?  I have no friggin idea.  Maybe my subconscious was just that desperate for sleep.  Because I didn't wake up at the useful 20 min mark.  Nor the deadly 30 min mark.  Nope, it was a little over an hour.  Oops.   And while I wasn't as out of it as 30 mins would've made me, I was a long way from alert and ready to go too.

So enter "waking up" time.  Play on Facebook, answer some emails, text some friends.  Actually got a solid start on the project xmas gift.  Then it's time for a dinner break.  Excellent.

Anybody remember the original list?

Right.  So after dinner I tossed the first load of laundry in (yeah for multitasking) and ran to the two stores.  Got the first item.  Second was sold out.  Boo.  Oh well - that's the third or fourth place that was sold out and it was only a stocking stuffer.  Decide it could be forgone. 

Return home and take care of Bilbo -- it's quite a process really, but all good.  Switch laundry over.  Alright, world is good.  Start to make cookies.  Intending to do a batch of shortbread and a batch of ginger snaps.  Start with shortbread since all those ingredients are also in gingersnaps so if the bowl isn't *perfectly* clean inbetween cookies, it's not tragic.  bahahah yeah, Martha Stewart I am not.  But you have to give me credit for planning :)

This is when I remember I *hate* making shortbread.  Takes *forever* to turn into something that resembles dough, and you pretty much have to molest the bowl Gollum and the Ring style to stop it from flying all over the kitchen.  More cleaning I didn't need.  But eventually have something workable.  I knew they'd turn out flat -- hadn't beat them nearly long enough, but way longer than I had patience for.   Esp as I might've been texting a couple people throughout.  That just slows everything down, but makes it way more fun.

So while it was baking I started putting together ingredients for ginger snaps.  These I make every year as they're my xmas favourite.  All good, except when it's finally their time to bake, the dough is a disaster :(   Seriously.  Completely useless.  I was very unimpressed.   No idea what I did wrong; it's not as though it's not the same recipe I make every year.  But after a few minutes of text-venting my xmas sorrows, I decided I couldn't make it any worse and randomly threw more ingredients in.  Perfect!

This should've been a disaster.  By all laws of Lauren cooking, this should never have worked.  But it did.  They're awesome.  Xmas is saved!   hahaha okay, arguably a little overdramatic.  We'll put it down to lack of sleep.

Cookies done, clean the kitchen as much as possible (read, until dish washer is full >;-P).  Close everything up to go upstairs and...   Oops - forgot the last load of laundry.  Ah well, realistically I still have a fair amount to do.  Toss it in dryer and continue my travels.

Xmas present involves printing photos and putting in frame.  Easy enough since I've found the files, know what I want to do with them, and have sized/coloured/etc everything.  All I have to do is hit print.  Right.  Except that for whatever reason, the printer deigns it'll only print mini-sized.  Wtf???  We're now into the wee hours of the morning, so deeming discretion to be the better part of valour, I switched computers to one I knew was on speaking terms with the printer and tried again.  This one was happy to print but...  Out of ink.

Oh no.

BUT -- happy coincidence.  This happens All. The. Time.   And as a result, I keep back-up ink.  All good.  Except I have 3 of the 4 cartridges I need *sigh*  Fortunately the 4th one is the least important for these photos, so I hope the Christmas Elf will help it last through the few I have to do.

First one prints.  Gorgeous.   Second one prints.  No problem.  Sweet.  Third one?  Yeah - take a wild guess?   Randomly decided to make the font size tiny.  Same font and size as the other files, but no -- it has to be mini-sized.  This is the kind of game I did not have time for.  So instead of actually resolving the situation, I just made the text huge so when the printer mini-sized it, it came out okay.  Actually *loved* the result.  Pretty excited about it :)   Have been thinking about it for ages, but just hadn't gotten around to actually doing it.   Oops.

Go rescue laundry but decide entirely too tired to actually do anything about it.  It can live in the basket and on the floor.  It's all good.  Take a look around the room I planned to clean.  Deem that instead of cleaning, closing the door is an acceptable solution.  Future Lauren can clean.

Sweet - time for bed.  Wait.  Wrapping.  Lots and lots of wrapping.  Three stockings worth and a handful of other gifts too.  Frig.  Contemplate letting Future Lauren do that too, but realize she'll probably be pretty tired and, realistically, C doesn't have any good wrapping paper to steal and moving all wrapping supplies over would be entirely more effort than just wrapping them there.

With a sigh the wrapping commenced.  And eventually concluded.  Some of it is of the more interpretive variety.  Towards the end, scissors may have become deemed an unnecessary waste of time.  If my next career leans toward gift wrapper, none of these will be in my portfolio *g*  But, it was done.

And in the end, I even managed about three hours of that wonderful thing called "sleep".  It was on the list, and it got done!  Woohoo.

Christmas Eve, by comparison, was a breeze :)   And now since Santa will be here in less than half an hour, I'm off to sleep.  Or at least lie in bed and let my brain spin wildly.  Close enough.   Merry Christmas!

Really Mother Nature? What did I ever do to you?

Right so those of you who've been following the story will know that I am once again in the process of major life changes.   Now work with me here -- finished lessons last Friday.   Lease is up at the end of the month.  That gives two weeks to relocate twelve horses, all equipment, and 2000 bales of hay.   While still looking after the horses at the first barn.  And Christmas falls right in the middle.

Right.  No big deal.

And then That Witch Mother Nature decided to add her two-cents and throw an ice storm in the only time I could arrange to move.  Bitch.  Yes, sometimes that's the only word that fits.  So yesterday and today -- during which all but two of the horses moved -- it was freezing rain and all kinds of horrible driving conditions.  I'm afraid to see what might happen when we do hay next weekend.  I'm really hoping she's through pmsing by then!  Which, btw, if you're around next weekend -- all help welcome!

In an apparently unrelated statement -- some of you are aware of my love/hate relationship with trains.  Stay with me here, it fits with the moving story.   My love/hate relationship is a little skewed.  Sasha loves them.  Me, not so much.   So you shouldn't be too surprised that in Acton, where I've seen a train maybe three times in the two years I've been at this barn, the railway crossing lights started flashing and the barrier lowered.  What *was* somewhat amusing was that they only stayed down a fraction of a second before raising again.  Ummmm okay.  Looked pretty carefully before crossing, but no train.

Clearly it was one of Santa's minions running last-minute errands.   Flew past so fast we didn't even see!

And on the return trip -- same thing!   And back again both laps on the second round...   A crazy day for elves!

And speaking of elves, was definitely a crazy day for Winthorpe.  Who?  Right, Winthorpe is the Christmas elf that lives at C's house.  His job is to report to Santa on whether the inhabitants have been naughty or nice.  Since being there, however, he's shown a disturbing lack of decorum.  We've found him passed out drunk -- beer bottles littered everywhere, smoking stuff he shouldn't be smoking, and failing sensitivity training horribly!   We're not sure exactly where the line between naughty and nice is being drawn *g*   Will be interesting to see where he ends up next!

Anyways - we did the first load of horses, no problem.  Athena walked on the trailer without any hesitation!  Sweet.  Driving was slow but not actually all that bad, and the threat of weather had scared the last-minute shoppers away so even in "town" there wasn't really any traffic.   Nicole and I went to load the truck for the next load and "Laur can you unlock it?"   Ummmm no, it's not locked.  The keys are still inside.

Well, part of that statement was true anyways.  The second part.  *sigh*   Called CAA, who were great - gave me zero hassle about my membership being unavailable (ummmm locked in the car) and were super pleasant to deal with.   But then in the end, Dad came to the rescue with extra keys faster than CAA :)   Just glad it was at the barn we're moving *from* that they got locked in because we spent the time being productive and packing while we waited.

Next load went reasonably flawlessly, all things considered.

Last load though -- should've been the easiest (I'm not new; I took the difficult horses first).  But while they loaded like the pros they are; they decided they wanted nothing to do with trailering.   Just lovely to have the trailer being thrown around at the same time That Witch started getting really angry.

We did eventually make it.  Very slowly, but we made it.   Trees were cracking ominously all around and we saw one very exciting set of fireworks that we're pretty sure was powerlines coming down.  But we made it.  Got everybody settled.  Double checked all had hay and water.  Finished unpacking what stuff we'd brought (this was all kinds of fun since the hill was pure ice -- trailer on top, barn at bottom).  Backing out on ice in the dark was less than fun and took longer than it should've, but with patience and, potentially uncalled for, laughter - it got done.

Go back to the other barn, planning to do night check and then leave.   Which we did, technically.  Just that we did so in the dark since that barn had no power.   Really?  Oh yeah - I couldn't make this up.  We turned Nicole's car and mine both facing in the barn with lights on so we could see -- mine had one door propped open with a leadline just in case it chose to lock again.  hahaha fool me once...

But eventually all was done, all ponies settled in for the night, and the drive home wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared it might be.

Now - to go see what Winthorpe's been up to....

Remember, it's not safe to swim alone after dark.

It's 1:30 am.  I'm bored.  Consider yourself forewarned.

I've finished wrapping a mountain of gifts.  Yes you read that right -- and it's not even Christmas Eve yet!   I won't say I'm finished shopping, but I'm a whole lot closer than I usually am this time of year *g*   Arguably because between trying to look after a full barn of horses, teach usual lesson schedule, pack, and organize a move, I have very restricted time to shop.  So have made the best of it :)

Anyways -- I find myself up well past the point of exhaustion (that was about two days ago) and fairly wired.  Not a new experience by any means *g*  But the productive things I could be doing either A - require other people who are currently sound asleep, B - require going outside which, tbh, I just don't feel like, or C - I quite frankly, don't feel like doing them.  Option D was to bake cookies, but I feel like the mixer might be a rather rude awakening for the sleeping members of the household *g*  Besides, that's tentatively scheduled for late Monday night -- and really, what would I do if I got ahead of schedule???  *shudder* not worth considering.

Moved the first load of stuff to the other barn today.  Makes it all more real.  In some ways it was nbd because, of course, I've been in that barn before.  In other ways it was really hard.  Really. Hard.  But I'm working intently to only focus on positives...  Like having FIVE days OFF.  Consecutively.  Yes ladies and gentlemen you read that right.  It has recently come to my attention that from Jan 1 through when lessons resume on the 6th, I will have nothing I absolutely have to do outside the house.  Emergency barn calls will go to someone other than I.  Organizing staff when everybody's away will be another person's responsibility.  Caring for the horses, again, not my issue.  AND my horses will have been moved there early enough that they should be settled by then so I won't even be stressing about them.  Well, not too much anyways.  Let's be realistic here *g*   It's even plausible I may actually be able to turn off my phone.  Can you imagine?  I haven't done that since the trip to Cuba...   Quick search of old posts puts that at Feb 2010.  It's been a while.

And yes, now I'm back having just reread my whole trip.  So much fun.  Planning to go somewhere this Feb. Finally have enough travel points stored up!  Woohoo!  So maybe more fun blog posts coming :)   Really, that's pretty much what's keeping me going at the moment, so fairly counting on it.

The clock is telling me it's now 2am...  I should probably at least pretend to go to sleep sometime soon >;-P   Have found THREE superstar xmas gifts this year.  Pretty excited about that!  Of course shopping early means now I have to wait longer.  What a foolish plan.  Sheesh.

Alright well next few days are going to be insanely busy, so prob best if I sign off.   Night!

Oh and the subject line -- it was from one of my Cuba Flash Fictions.  Huge gold star if you remember it :)  Completely random but made me smile and so it is.

About the "no major life changes" idea...

I'm not generally one for New Year's resolutions, but every once in a while somebody sends me one that I decide to incorporate.  Mum's suggestion was "no major life changes" and Em's was "make mistakes".

Okay so I've mastered Em's.  I'd be quite happy to move on from that one now ;-P

As for Mum's...  Well...  GRS has been running for three years now -- the last two of which have been at the same farm.  It's lots of fun, I have an amazing group of students, and my dad comes and helps me at the barn most days.  I haven't run away to any foreign countries, randomly decided to go back to uni, or inherited any more pets (or worse: children *shudder*).  All in all, I've been very good about being a stable adult, making few life changes.

Except, well, you're not new here.  My tolerance for safe and secure is pretty low sometimes.  And it turns out that while I *love* teaching with a passion, day-to-day care of the horses simply isn't intellectually challenging enough.  I got bored.  And boredom leads to...  Well... Major life changes >;-P

So the first avoidance technique was writing.  The ever-amazing-Steph basically took over my barn last winter and between her and a few assistants, I very rarely had to do the barn.  Sweet.  Just teaching!  And I wrote two novels in two months. Seriously.  One of which I don't ever intend to publish, but the other is in the editing phase -- on hold at the moment (more as to why shortly!), but I hope in Jan/Feb to finish it off and publish it.   There -- I wrote it down.  I'll actually do it now :)

The second avoidance technique was dating.  Right.  LOTS of blogs on that.  bahaha far enough distanced from it now, maybe I can share some of the entertainment.  hmmmmm well there was the guy who asked me out at a traffic light.  That's actually happened to me twice - can you believe it???  hahahha but one I actually went out with.  Nice enough guy, but still living with his ex-wife and has two kids under age of 5...  And I got the impression I was the first person I'd asked out since the split.  Didn't go anywhere, but was an amusing afternoon.  Then there was eharmony...   Oh dear...  hahaha I shouldn't say that -- in some ways it's a fabulous system.  Does make it fairly easy to weed out people quickly and nobody needs to have your personal info; so if you want them gone, they're gone.  Conversely, people can disappear you just as easily, so you need a bit of a thick skin *g*  Man there are all sorts of weird people out there.   One who felt the need to argue with everything -- I couldn't see any reason I'd want to meet him in person.  One who seemed perfectly nice, but going away every weekend was a priority for him and realistically that wouldn't work with my schedule.  Another who twisted every single comment or question to be about sex.  He was really quite creative, but once in a while a straight answer would be nice.  There was one I met in person before realizing the only thing he was interested in was scrabble.  Really?  There's more to life buddy....  Despite the crazies and getting to the point where signing into my messages was work, I *did*, in-fact, actually go out with several really decent guys.  Problem seemed to be, eharmony matches like with like.  Great.  But I really don't want to date myself.  Any of these guys I could've been really great friends with.  But there was absolutely no attraction beyond "want to hang out?"  And clearly same on both sides.  And with my schedule being as crazy as it is, it's a LOT of effort to fit dating in.  If I don't *really* want to see somebody, they're going to fall off the calendar pretty quickly.

And then show season hit.  And I was pretty disillusioned with dating, so even though Steph was still helping with the barn, I took a step back.  Teaching, riding, clinicing, sailing, writing.  All good.  Life continues status-quo.  And once summer arrives, I don't need exciting.  Summer makes me happy all by itself.  Sweet.

They say when you stop looking....  Yeah I never believed that idiocy either, but in this case, truth is stranger than fiction.  I accidentally met somebody.  A couple times actually, introduced by a couple different people. And I liked him -- enough to rearrange the calendar.  And he seemed to like me enough to tolerate my crazy life -- up to and including not giving me grief when I had to ditch our second (? I think) date to deal with a colicky horse.  And one thing lead to another and all of a sudden I had a new person in my life.  And I wasn't bored any more.  Does that count as a major life change?  Ummmm I'd probably argue no -- at least, not yet ;)   But it was close enough to stabilize me for a while.

But then summer came to an end, which meant Steph needed to find a grown-up job -- or at least one that paid ;)   Which meant I had to take over the barn again.  Only now I realized how little I wanted to do it.  When I was 16, or even in my 20s, sure.  But by now the novelty had worn off.  And she and I discussed the possibility of me hiring her as stable manager and then getting another job that would pay enough to pay both of us *g*   But the simple reality is that most employers don't want to hire somebody who already runs a business.  And I don't blame them.

But no major life changes.  So I took over and Steph got a job and life continued very much as it always had (with only a *few* more social commitments -- did I mention bf's reasonably extrovert?  hahaha for the record, he and I would never have been matched with the eharmony system.  For all its pluses, it failed horribly to find me somebody.  Because, I think, sometimes happiness in life isn't about finding somebody the same, but rather about opposites and balance.  Not necessarily always easy that way, but way more fun). Back to my story.

So the school was good, teaching a blast.  Olivia was 3rd in the province with Bella, so I was pretty stoked about that.  Have a great show team lined up for next year.  All good.

Until it came time to renew our lease.  At first I thought all was good -- we were discussing the possibility of a three-year commitment.  But then my landlords wanted some inclusions I didn't feel I could meet while running a school and I was rapidly coming to the conclusion that the only way for the school to survive would be if I actually owned the property.  And I simply don't have the money to do that.  And then things spiraled downward and all of a sudden my world was chaos.  I wasn't bored anymore -- I was devastated.

I called a friend who I knew had an open barn -- if I had to move immediately, could I bring my horses to her place?  Absolutely.

Wow.  Did I mention I have awesome friends?

So then in a very long story that took place over a shorter time than it would take to type, I actually ended up selling my business to her and being hired back to teach and merge our two schools together.  See it turns out her passion is the horse-care aspect of the business, while mine is teaching.  And neither of us were really enjoying playing the other role.  So she's taking on horse-care of both our barns, and I'm taking on teaching of both our schools.

Which, for the next two months, is going to keep me all sorts of interested and challenged: the logistics of moving, scheduling, merging classes, placing new students...  All insane.  But eventually, it'll die down to teaching in the evening and showing with the students in the summer.   The parts of the job I love.  Awesome.

But not entirely financially viable...  hmmmmm so at some point in the new year, I'll likely be looking for the next challenge.  A day-job, requiring some degree of intelligence, doing...?  I don't know -- suggestions?  :) Project management is the likely candidate simply because it's what I've done before.  But open to all sorts of ideas for the next adventure :)

In the interim, everybody's been overwhelmingly-supportive and helpful.  Moving 12 horses, 2000 bales of hay, and assorted gear all before Jan 1 is going to be a challenge and a half and I'm forever grateful to those who have been and are pitching in so it can all get done!  Again - did I mention the awesome friends?   Jen even called me from France when I was having a minor meltdown just cause, well, that's what friends do.

Anyways - my therapy, as always, is writing.  So if nothing else, the blog might become a little more active again :)  Wish me luck!