Sweet sweet summer

I am sitting at the kitchen table, sipping on a Coke Zero and about to head to the barn. I have spent nearly every day at the barn for the last two weeks and as a result, my summer has been so fantastic. I've ridden several different horses, from school horse Grady, an appaloosa that I love, to fancy show horse Newport, who I also love - and of course Patrick! I've been bathing horses and washing legs and pulling manes and getting sun and spending time with the animals I love. Perfecto.

Sleep Confession

When I can't sleep, which is often, I put on a movie. The background noise helps clear my head until my Trazodone (read: miracle drug) kicks in and I can go to sleep. But some nights instead of sleeping I get really in to what I'm watching and end up staying awake much later than I wanted to. Plus side: at least I'm entertained.

Highway Confession

Sometimes I am overcome with the desire to get into 2-point over speed bumps.

True story.

Also: don't try it, you will end up nearly going cross-country in your car.

(Somewhat true story.)

Thunder

With summer comes thunderstorms, which, if you spend your summer at a barn the way I do, will mess up your day. Thankfully Patrick lives at an indoor barn, so even though the outdoor ring was flooded and unrideable today, I spent over an hour playing with him and staying dry.

He is pretty much the best horse ever. He is a total sweetheart and lets me hang all over him. I groomed him and he loved the attention, and when I was kneeling to work on his legs, he lowered his head to see what I was doing, just to be close to me.

Any time you get a new horse, there is an adjustment period as you get to know each other, because no two horses are the same. And you're used to something else, and the horse doesn't know you or trust you, and you don't trust the horse yet, either. Especially a green one who doesn't understand how to use his legs properly as he canters around the ring. It can be really frustrating as you work out the kinks in your partnership. The last time I rode Patrick wasn't pretty - I was starting to feel sick and sore from what may or may not have been lyme disease, and he hadn't had much exercise lately so he was fast and acting like a bit of a brat. It was a really frustrating ride. It's enough to make anyone doubt, even if just for a second, whether they made the right decision.

But a day like today makes it all better - to be able to hang out with him alone and uninterrupted in his stall on a rainy, nasty day, was just what I needed. He let me pull ticks off of him and I gave him some treats, we hugged on each other and bonded. Having a young horse is a lot of work but it really is worth it, especially when they have an attitude like Patrick - he is kind and wants to please. He is going to be an amazing horse one day and we are going to be an incredible team.

Fashion Confession

If it was socially acceptable to wear pajamas everywhere, I would. I mean, cute ones, but still, definitely pajamas. Lounge pants, t shirt, flip flops in the summer. Lounge pants, hoodie, and boots in the winter. That's what I'm talking about.

I really just don't CARE about fashion. I'd rather be comfortable. I'm not trying to impress anyone, and most of the styles of clothing that are in these days just don't look right on me. I'm not built like most girls - I have big bones. I don't mean that in the way that fat people mean it when they are just too lazy to exercise, either. I have mother-effing linebacker shoulders. I'm not a petite little flower that can't play rough; I've got curves in all the right places but I could probably kick your ass, too. You don't spend all your time with 1200 lb animals who have walnuts for brains and not learn a thing or two about defending your personal space.

They make clothes for skinny people and they make clothes for big people, but they really don't make clothes for people like me. And yes, clothes come in my size, but they were not designed for someone my size. If I get a shirt small enough to fit me well around my stomach, my boobs stretch it out or pop out altogether. If I get a shirt that fits through the bust, I have no shape whatsoever because it is way too baggy around the middle. And they never, ever fit through my shoulders.

Dresses do NOT fit me. And lucky for me (that's sarcasm for those of you following along) it is wedding season, and for whatever reason every couple I know has decided this is the year to get married. This requires the purchasing of multiple fancy outfits and as I've already discussed, that is a) not my personal style and b) very unlikely to fit me. I've been putting it off as long as possible because it's really, really not fun.

You know what I like to shop for? Jeans. I know exactly which brands fit me the right way and what size to get. No stress and no frustration, just cute jeans. You know what I like to buy even more than jeans? T shirts with baseball players' names and numbers on the back. Next on my list is CJ Wilson from the Rangers, and I bet he has no trouble buying clothes that fit him, if you know what I mean.

Here is a picture of me in one of my favorite outfits of all time:

Okay, you caught me. I have no attachment whatsoever to that pair of khakis, I am fairly certain they used to be work pants and are covered in bleach. I'm not THAT sloppy. But I do love the hoodie, especially to ride in, especially on trail rides, because it so fantastically colorful. And oh so comfortable. As far as comfortable is concerned, you just can't beat a hoodie. It's like wearing a hug.

Not everything I own is tie-dyed, either. I adore polo shirts and have a lot of fun with cute sweaters. But select any day of the year at random and you are going to find me dressed in jeans, wearing a t-shirt I picked up on some trip, and comfortable footwear. Because at the end of the day, if I can't wear it to the barn, I really just can't wear it.

Princess Phoebe

I love my dog.

I know that everyone says that, but I'm pretty sure my obsession with Phoebe is not altogether healthy. She is my princess. I love her like a human and I buy her presents regularly, the dog has more toys than most children do. David loves her, too. I'm pretty sure that there are some nights when he comes over just to see the dog, because he sits down, she jumps in his lap, and never gets up. And the whole time he was giving her a deep tissue massage - I'm not joking. No wonder he's her favorite.

The dog snores. If I hadn't seen her do it, I wouldn't believe the noise was coming from her, but she regularly wakes me up in the middle of the night because of it. I'm a light sleeper anyway, and I am pretty mean when I get woken up in the middle of the night because sleep is so hard to come by. Anyway, she snores as loud as my six-foot-four father. Really. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night due to loud snores and get out of bed to go to the other room to wake up Dad and tell him to knock it off, only to discover that the horrific noise stops as soon as I sit up.

She's a twenty pound dog! I don't understand. If Joey snored it would make sense to me, because he is old and fat and huge. But Phoebe is so little and so... princess. But it's true. And I don't know what to do about it. She sleeps in my bed every night, or on the floor in her own little dog bed which is right next to mine, and I can't sleep if she isn't with me. But I don't think they make tiny little Phoebe sized APAP machines. I don't think those anti-snoring nasal strips are designed for doggie use. And I'm not sure a sleep clinic would accept a cockapoo client, even if she was a princess.

Fact (III).

My saddle pad is better than yours, just admit it already.

Summertime :)

So the semester from hell is finally OVER and I made it through alive and with grades that I am pretty proud of!

Archeology A
American History A
Writing Seminar B+
Latin 102 B
Tudor Stuart Britain B

I don't know how I managed that, but I am pretty thrilled.

Now commences the summer of: riding, reading, baseball, and hanging out with friends.
Tonight I am going to a Richmond Squirrels game with David, Emily, and Max, and I am really excited!

Tomorrow I am going to go watch Lauren ride my horse again. He's coming along really well, although he is still working on consistency, and needs to be ridden every day to be on his best behavior. But his canter transitions are much improved and he's started jumping a little!

This is Lauren on him last week, doesn't he look handsome?