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1. and today, i finally got on a horse again - i haven't ridden since i fell off Dec 23. not because of the fall, because first there was Christmas, then i was sick, and then it was snowing. i just can't win lately with horses. i am so looking forward to the weather cooperating so i can make some way with Hunter and Lu.

i went out to K's today to ride, since her arena is finally starting to dry up. it was a balmy 35 when i got on today. Texas is experiencing a huge cold front, so that doesn't sound bad to some of you northerners, but that's like 20 below for us. i can handly 30 degrees, but once it gets under 20, i refuse to be productive.



Bo - i rode Bo first. isn't he the cutest thing in the world? i love him. he's like a puppy dog. but before anyone demands that i buy him and turn him into the world's loudest eventer, let me just say that i'm pretty sure he is a career Western horse. he is a nice size, i would say almost 16 hh, but he is just NOT a mover. he is absolutely rideable, just very lazy. he's the one that has FORGOTTEN how to canter. i spend the majority of my time with him trying to get him to extend his trot beyond little Western horse jog. this is incredibly difficult for him. since this is only my second ride on him (and i'm fairly positive his owner doesn't ride him), i'm not pushing the canter yet. i can get him on the right lead, but i have to really fire him up to keep him cantering, and then after about 10 strides he starts to die off. the left lead is a blur of him trying to figure out how his legs even move. i ended my 40 minute ride on him with a 5 minute no-break trot session, and by the end of it, he literally stopped and refused to budge. he is still a huge sweetheart, and i do like riding him, but i have much work in store for me.

Merlin - Merlin is the Arabian that is all GO. i did talk to K about the bit situation (he was in a bit with a HUGE shank, and i could hardly keep him above the verticle) and we switched him to a mechanical hackamore. i was seriously concerned the first time i rode him, bc i rode him for over an hour and he was still speed racer/brat face. and then the second time i rode him, he was SO much better. i still was on him for over an hour working things out, but i couldn't believe how different he was. and today i rode him for the third time, after he had 2 weeks off (his owner also doesn't ride him) and he was a different horse! he was SO good today! he only ducked under the bit 4 or 5 times, and really slowed and relaxed his gaits for me. i was so impressed. my only job with him is to get him to be more rideable for his owner...which is starting to seem a lot easier than i thought it was going to be. i was so impressed with the transformation in only 3 rides, apparently he doesn't need ridden every day to be rideable, he only needs a few tune-ups. saint pony.

2. the Phil vs Cindy biggest loser competition - i am the clear leader, and i can smell victory. no, i haven't lost 10 pounds in a week, that would be insane. but i have lost 5 and let me tell you, what a difference. i seriously can't believe how much better i already feel. i have been a little drastic with the calorie counting, but i have also stopped eating out altogether, and i have been working out a little every night. that combined with the fact that i am constantly on my feet at work and ride a lot, the pounds have been melting off. Phil is so gonna lose this one. he even went out for Mexican food tonight. rookie.

3. Lu the luuuuser - Lu has an ugly gash on his pretty face. no clue how he did it. doesn't seem that major, not bloody, but a little swollen. i gotta spend the next couple days being friendly with him so hopefully i can treat it and it won't hamper our Not-Being-A-Psycho lessons.

on an unrelated note i just saw a commercial for a kit kat and i would give me left kidney to have one right now.

4. perspective - today i had two errands and ran into two different people from high school. first was Subway (i splurged. it was a veggie. no cheese!), and the girl making my sandwich went to HS with me. it was all good being smug but at the same time, i mean i am back in our hometown. and then another one of them works at the feed store. i talked to the guy at the feed store and just to keep my sunshine left in perspective...we both live with our parents, we both make paltry amounts of money, working our ass off. we both spend most of our time bored out of our minds because we only have a handful of friends left from high school. so now that we're both broke, living with our parents, and spending most of our nights on the couch with our dad's. and the best part...he spent all of high school doing drugs and DUI's and i just graduated college with a 3.0. greeeeeat.

thanks, world.

We had a vet appointment yesterday and the Monster is fine. Perfect hips, of course. Apparently he just overdoes it sometimes, which I thought but I just wanted to double check. I guess I need to get Monty in shape haha ;)

I got a new camera for Christmas. It's not really what I wanted but it can take pretty nice pictures. Here are a few of my favorites from last week of Monty playing in the snow.

Snuck in a short ride on Monday, but it wasn't really enough time. It wasn't awful but it just felt quite unfinished. Had to work and pick up the kiddo from daycare- not sure if Mondays will be viable. Last night was hubby's night so I got to take as much time as I wanted. The kids at the barn were all out because it was warm (40s) and they had the radio going and the doors open and all their saddles piled in a corner, and they just sat on their horses bareback and chatted in the middle for 20 minutes. Whatever. Good for Trudi to have something not totally scary to look at.
I rubbed my legs pretty badly last night- must get better at sitting without gripping. Worked on doing some rising trot on the short sides and sitting on the long sides, to help refresh the forward and impulsion. It seemed to work pretty well, though I have to be more careful not to totally lose my leg, seat, balance and position when I post-- otherwise she turns into a daddy-longlegs-hoof-flailing mess. Also need to remember to go ahead and bend her a bit especially when she gets strong and needs a hint about how to reorganize. The canter work was so-so, not awful. I didn't do much of it because by then the kids had left but another woman was out and in the ring. I took too many breaks, but we did do a lot of trot work (at least, compared to what we have done).
Near the end, the walk was like a 9 or a 10. No lie. I've never ridden a 9 or 10 walk that I know of, but I'm pretty sure this had to be it- it was just awesome. Wish I could just whip that out whenever I want to... :)
My abs are still feeling the burn... and my legs have some rubs from trying to sit when her trot got crazy. Almost time to start trot work with no stirrups, sigh. :)
Big old cold front coming in... :( I'm tired of winter, it started too early this year and I don't like extreme cold. It's not usual here and I want it to stop. Outside my window, it's getting darker instead of lighter- looks like 6 am not 8:30 am...

I've been staying with Erin since she lives around the corner from SRF and comes here to feed Willie in the mornings anyway. Today, Erin had to get up at 6am to run up to her other two jobs, so she dropped me off at the barn early. I left Oz in last night so I could get a ride in at sunrise. It was cold and everything was frosty, but I sucked it up and it didn't take long for me to warm up once I was in the saddle. I took him meandering up and down the driveway to warm up, then trotted to the back of the farm, wandered through the graveyard, and crossed the street. Then we went galloping at sunrise over the frozen fields. It surprises me how fast he is... every single time. We went all the way around the field by the turnpike before looping back, crossing Old York Rd, and galloping across the barren farmlands. He was feeling fresh and seemed to appreciate being able to stretch his legs. He's got me excited to start conditioning again in the spring, but snow flurries landing in his windblown mane as we walked back to the barn reminded me that we still have a few months to go. I don't want to steal Erin's thunder, but she took the M-F job at SRF and I'm excited to have someone to ride with for at least another season. It's a good way to start the day.

SQUEE!!! We're moving into First Level work! My instructor saw where we are and we did some exercises to get Beau more polished and advancing.

I KNEW we were getting there :D

Now for the details, before I forget...

( all the little things we worked on... )

Well, let's just put it this way Ms Jackson:
"I am fo' real..."

which is my way of saying I've been busy.
In fact, I've been busy learning such real life things like:
"I should somehow try to pry 5 more minutes out of my morning to dry my hair so it doesn't freeze solid on my way to work"
and
"When poor, do NOT let myself look at the post-Christmas Dover catalog sale ad!!"
and
"Just when you think you're done with Thank Yous, you find a list of 20 more than need to be sent out...."

But I digress. What I mean to say is that one of my to-do items this week is to sit down with my blog, and have a real nice chat. Talk about 2009, 2010, and everything in between. The long and the short of it is... it may end up being long. So in your interest, I've broken it up! I can hear the peasants rejoicing already!

First up,( and most importantly)these are long overdue!
A few of the wedding photos!

( under here if you please )
and just in case you needed to see just how PERFECT perfect perfect the weather/scenery/horses ;) were:


Thank you for letting me photo spam. I know you wouldn't believe this, but this was the second photographer's best... I have another (the main one) photographer's pictures to go through and post... teehee? And the really funny candids. Because there are a LOT of them. Hopefully by putting them under a cut you won't have to look at them unless you want to?

For now, that'll be my update! I have a LIST of things to update, but I'll wait until tomorrow. This was first on the list, so I'll get to strike it off!

Whoever came up with the design for the socks with the elastic arch-supporty deal is a genius. COM-FY!

How is that NOT supposed to be homophobic? O__O

About to have a lecture... will write more on the incident later. Note: Incident is NOT school related.

Love,love,LOVE on this

Who wants to see some of my writing and give me feedback quickly? :P

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Whoever said Goddard was an easy school to get into can suck it. There are ~200 students here, tops. 28 people were accepted as new students for this semester, me included. A bunch of those students are graduating. People are coming to Goddard from everywhere, including Costa Rica and England dude from Costa Rica was HOT. In orientation, they brought up being extremely selective, that they turn down most applicants because they don't think they're responsible enough or have the right sort of ability.

One of their most recent graduates just got a 6-digit figure deal on a book.

Two others had their screen plays purchased.

One of the past students had a book that was turned into a screen play and won an Oscar, supposedly.

I don't know about the rest of it, but the faculty meeting was really damn good.


... and, for the next 15 weeks, I will have to read and annotate 12-15 books, write two 5-page critical theory papers, and get started on my fiction manuscript.

Not a good day for me today.

Got almost all the way to work before I wrecked my already totaled car. There's a four way stop intersection RIGHT before the farm (no, seriously, you can see the horses in the distance). I stopped. This Chrysler (one of the ones that look like a cop car) was coming up on the road to my right. She was slowing down and looked like she would stop. I rolled into the intersection and made it ALMOST all the way through when she apparently forgot I was there and accelerated right into the side of my poor Tercel!!!

There was this sickening, surreal crash and all I could think of was, "Seriously? This cannot be happening to me," in this completely level tone. The Chrysler was significantly bigger than my car and the Tercel got spun clear around, ending up in the wrong lane where, thankfully, other drivers were being more vigilant. I managed to turn the car around and pull it into the ditch by the cornfield.

After taking a deep breath, I got out to assess the damage. She nailed me right in the passenger side back wheel, which was sitting at a disgusting angle... the axle having been badly bent and the frame separating in ways a car never should. Despite the fact that she hit me hard enough to leave her license plate and parts of my car strewn across the intersection, it took her half a block to stop and pull over. For a moment, I thought she'd fled the scene. There was a witness in a mail truck, but she only paused long enough to make sure I got out in one piece before moving on. *sigh*

Calmly, I called dispatch, Bryce, and my mom. By then I was seriously annoyed. I could see that the other driver had pulled safely to the side of the road and had her flashers on. There was no sign of airbag deployment so I let her sit. Realistically, I probably would have pummeled the bitch if I'd walked over there.

As it turns out, this was some little old lady. Proof that old people should be re-tested annually for their driving privileges. She probably zoned out and just drifted through the stop sign. She then told the cops that I had been speeding through the intersection in front of her!

"Yeah. Right," I replied dryly. "That's why there are no brake marks on her part... just where my tires skid through the spin."
"It's a four way stop. Nobody should be hitting anybody." She let me go then went over to the other car... I assume to write a citation. The other woman hadn't even rolled down the window and was refusing to get out of the vehicle.

It wasn't until I got back in my car that I realized I had smashed my head pretty hard against the window. I left a mark on the glass and everything from my passenger side and dashboard was on the driver's side floor. Turns out I have a concussion, which has been making me progressively more bleary over the course of the day.

My insurance company filed a claim with hers and her people should be giving me a check for my demolished car and getting me a rental. Unfortunately, she's dodging their calls and they can't determine liability without talking to their policy holder, so I'm temporarily semi-stranded (good to have an Erin right about now).

Dear Universe,
STOP THROWING SHIT AT ME!!!

~Dom

Would anyone who Sama isn't avidly ignoring tell her to mail me my fucking scanner with the tracking number sent to me AND insurance OR fucking pay up?

This is ethically wrong.

I was nice enough to give her an opportunity to get her art up with that trade because I wanted to help and thought I could trust her.

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no matter how well your riding has been going...

no matter how much you know you've learned...

horses have a wonderful way of putting things into perspective for you :)

( always be kind to your ponies )

Get ready...another comparison between riding and writing! Yeah, I know...shut up, Mel.

Sorry, but it's just easier for me to relate the two, because I've been doing them for so long that both are a big part of who I am.

Here's the thing-- I just rejoined sff writing workshops. It's been a few years and I remember not liking the writing much of most submissions up there, but I figured I'd give it a chance again, and I could use some opinions on my current WIP. I forgot my login from so many years ago, though, so I rejoined with a new login. At least this way, I make a fresh start and have a current login that I'll remember. That old login was somewhere around a decade old! (maybe older--has sff online writing workshops been around that long? I first joined when Del Rey sponsored them.)

On to the real topic...

( my excited ramblings on writing, instead of just the horse, for a change ;) )

We shall see if I'm right...

http://foalstory.livejournal.com/481414.html


Just because. I know it wasn't his life but his end, but right now, I'm a bit too focused on the date, sorry.

Three f'ing years. What could those years have been if he'd never gotten sick?? gods.

Originally published at diaper bag princess. Please leave any comments there.

I am holding my first official giveaway of an item I (really want to make!) am to make for my shop.

All you need to do is leave a comment on this entry to be entered. I’m not really all that concerned about what you write in here, just as long as it’s not a horrific long string of profanities or anything like that. Tell me about a dream you had. What was the last thing you found in the dryer that wasn’t clothing or lint? Do you have any pets?

To gain additional entries, tweet this: Make sure you enter @diaperbagprncss giveaway for a mini diaper bag!. Of course you can choose to say otherwise, but please be sure to include @diaperbagprncss so I can track who’s tweeted!

Pertinent Information

1. This giveaway is available to citizens in Canada and the USA.
2. I am paying for shipping
3. Sorry, you do not receive diapers, wipe case, Sophie, pacifier or pacifier clip: this giveaway refers to the BAG ONLY.
4. You are free to use this yourself or give it away in another opportunity, just link back here!
5. I made it myself.
6. Item is washed, dried and pressed, ready to be sent.
7. Bag is 12 inches high (not including handles), and 16 inches wide.
8. Sent via Canada Post, standard ground shipping.

CONTEST CLOSES: January 16, 2010 12:00AM MST

Happy entering!

Amtrak-
New York - Penn Station, NY (NYP) to Montpelier-Barre, VT (MPR)
03-JAN-10; 11:30 am - 03-JAN-10; 8:02 pm

Payless Cab-
Montpelier-Barre to Goddard
8:10 pm - $20!!!! +$5 tip? That's appropriate? Or should I do less?

SOOO, including my return home...
$99.90 (amtrak)
$50 (taxi + tip)
$18.50 (nj transit)
= $168.50
Not TOO bad for doing the grad school shebang.

... then, of course, I need to print out the stuff on loans and decide which one I'm going to take, and also I think I need to put down $2300 for about 30% of the semester's tuition+room/board... I could take out $10,250 as a loan but... am VERY hesitant to do that since it would be longer for me paying it back... even though, thinking about it, after tuition getting $2000 right now would be VERY nice. INCREDIBLY nice, actually....

But I think I want to be/stay responsible.

... so who wants to buy cosplay items/wigs/books/manga/anime or do trades with them for unitards+painting/warmers/collars? :P (Really not joking on that, actually...) Would let a LOT of stuff go...

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