Best Nickname EVER!

I thought I would let you guys know... I have a new alias. I can now be known as (drum roll please):

Ginny Weasley. Or Ginny Potter, if you got that far in the books. (and my husband even looks a bit like Harry!)

I recently dyed my hair more red than the usual hint of red nature gave me. Some clients I work with declared that I look like a Weasley- specifically, Ginny Weasley. They looked at me for a moment, unsure if they had just insulted me or not.  I think my grin and sincere, "Awesome! Thanks!" relieved their worries a bit, which then prompted a spirited Harry Potter discussion.  So to celebrate my favorite new nickname, here are some fun Harry Potter things!

It's a cake! 

How About Some Sunshine?

Alright, after the last two sad posts, I could use a little pick-me-up.  Other than doing shots of Sour Apple Pucker, listening to rock music and making banana muffins, rotelle casserole and peanut butter chunk cookies. Not that I did that last night or anything. (Totally made me feel better, by the way.)

So! Here are some things that make me oh, so happy.

Okay, this is Jensen Ackles in an out take from Supernatural. Which, if you aren't already watching, GET ON THAT.  It's on Netflix.  Jensen is gorgeous, it's a good song, and if you don't appreciate the two, you should check your pulse.

In keeping with the Supernatural theme, here's a wonderful quote from a man I quite adore, Bobby Singer. Who wouldn't love being able to crap margaritas? It's a public service, really.

 You may be getting a hint that I am a bit of a nerd.  My last DnD character may have been a Dragonborn. Plus 10 EXP if you can tell me what that is, and 5 gold for being awesome.

 I want this in my house.  I may just purchase some sticker letters and make them myself...

Joss Whedon, creator of amazing television such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. If you haven't seen them, add that to your list we already started. You're welcome.

The Worst Text

"Will you let me know if you hear from Sam? There were some explosions at the Boston marathon."

My heart clawed at my throat, giving me a thick, choking sensation.  Tears pressed at the back of my eyes as I valiantly tried not to panic.

What the hell? Unfortunately, I live in a post 9/11 world and I knew in my gut that someone had intentionally done something to hurt the runners, the cheering crowds, whomever happened to be close enough to their destruction.

"What?! will do, please do the same for me!"

I started thinking, rapidly trying to calculate Sam's chances of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  She was in the third wave of runners, right?  That means she should be okay, if they set the bomb off at the end of the race but when the first wave was finishing.  Unless it wasn't at the finish line, and it was set off in the middle of the race sometime.

"You ok? please call or text asap if you can."

I darted downstairs and waited impatiently for my computer to start up.  Sam had talked about being able to track her progress in the race online.  I would find out what happened at the marathon and when, then go to her blog to find her race number and figure things out from there.  I mumbled under my breath a lot, drumming my fingers on the keyboard while I gained internet connection.

And then...

"I'm fine I finished before all the chaos."

Big breath out.  I stopped desperately scanning Boston marathon reports and closed the browser.  I didn't want to hear about the people who hadn't been as lucky as me, whose texts were going unanswered. I forwarded Sam's response to our friend who alerted me to the disaster in the first place.

"Thank God."

That night, a television character I was very attached to died on the show, and I wept silent tears for almost half an hour.The next day, driving home from the barn I broke down and cried again, thinking about how easily Sam could have run 10 minutes slower, or her friend at the marathon could have been 2 minutes slower.

I am so, so glad the worst text I got that day was, "Will you let me know if you hear from Sam? There were some explosions at the Boston marathon," and not empty silence.

I saw this on a Facebook, and Cam Saliciano said it, but I agree wholeheartedly:

I don't want to know his name. I don't want to see his face. I don't want to know his life's history, his back-story, who his family is, where he went to school, or what he liked to do in his spare time. I don't want to know what "cause", if any, he was fighting for. I don't want to know why he did it, or may have done it, or what possessed him to carry out his actions. I don't want to know. Because that's what he really wants. I'll be damned if I'm going to give him what he wants.
Put him on trial, but don't cover it. Tell me when you decide to jail him for three lifetimes - because that number matters. That's the number of lives he has to now pay for. That's all I want to know about him. Nothing else.
Instead, tell me about the first responders who ran towards the fray, within seconds, fearless. Tell me about the ones wearing the yellow volunteer jacket, or the neon police vest, or even the ones in the regular everyday t-shirt who became a helper. Tell me the story about the first responder who held gauze over a wound until they made it to the hospital. Tell me the story about the volunteer who held the hand of the injured spectator until they got into the ambulance. In six months, tell me the story of those who lost a limb, who beat the odds, pulled through countless surgeries, and are learning to walk again. Tell me the story about the love, the compassion, and the never-ending support of thousands, millions, of people who support the victims here. Tell me their stories. Tell me everything you can, because they are the ones that matter. Tell me of the good that they have done, are doing, and will continue to do, regardless of... No, not regardless of, in spite of. In spite of that someone who would do them harm. Because that's what freedom in this country means. It means coming together in the hardest of times, even in the face of unfathomable adversity, to make life better for all those around us.
Tell me the good stories. That's all I want to hear.

The Littlest Things

...can make the biggest difference. I'm really sad tonight, I got some bad news I was hoping would turn out differently.

Rocky's sister Philly has ring bone in her right hind foot.  She's three years old and my Dad just bought her from the same breeder/trainer that I got Rocky from.  Apparently last winter Philly kicked out in the round pen, hitting her foot on the steel bar and injuring her pastern. Since then she has gained extraneous bone growth around her pastern and going over her fetlock.

The vet says it is only a matter of time until she gets arthritis, and will need to have her pain managed on a regular basis for the rest of her life.

My Mom has made the decision to send Philly back to the breeder/trainer, as supporting a horse who will never be able to be worked hard or who will eventually live in pain is not part of the plan. It's too much money for a damaged horse who is so young.

I'm sad because a three year old filly with so much potential will never be able to be used for more than light riding, and there are not a lot of homes for horses like that.

I'm sad because at some point, she will get arthritis and experience some level of pain on a daily basis.

I'm sad that someday, she will likely have to be put down because the pain will become unmanageable, and she will not be comfortable as even a pasture pet.

I'm sad because I have been so excited to work with her, to spend time with her and get to know Rocky's sister.  Now she is leaving for an uncertain fate.

I understand the decision to sell her back to her breeder and on a purely practical level agree with it.  I just can't get her soft eyes out of my head.

Also, This:

This song plays in my head all the time, especially, "This girl's in every song I sing, she's in every song I write."

And this feels like summer:

I want to roll my windows down and cruise, too.  Soon!

I'm Dreaming of some White Fences

Good day to all of you, and a wonderful day it is looking out my window! The sun is shining, the gobs of snow are melting, and all seems to be heading into a *real* spring. Fingers crossed, our last snow storm was last night!

This winter (and "spring") has made me yearn, both for warmer days and an indoor riding arena.  During my ride on Sunday, we were working on turning on the hindquarters while his fore feet were in a square of poles on the ground, and it started to sleet nasty wintry mix.  As I huddled in the barn glaring at the sky, I wished for an indoor arena where our work would have remained uninterrupted by inconveniences like the weather. 

If you are a horse person, at some point I can pretty much guarantee you have daydreamed about your perfect horse property.  At this point it's pretty obvious mine includes an indoor arena, but there is oh so much more I would snatch up if I could. So let's dream a bit together, shall we?

First, I want a barn with stall doors that slide like butter on a hot pan.  The flooring would be these amazing recycled rubber bricks, you can hose it off, sweep it, and it looks fabulous. Plus, it's just the right blend of firm and gentle support to stand on.  My tack room would be lightly heated and completely enclosed so no floating dust gets in.  I'd have a lounge room overlooking the indoor, with plush couches, a refrigerator, microwave, and an old fashioned Coke machine.  Then there would be a bathroom large enough to change in, with real running water and everything! (Right now our barn has a porta-potty. It works, but it does leave something to be desired.) 

I would have a wash stall with a drain in the middle and overhanging hose on a spring so when you let go, it bounces gently in place in the air without having to drag a dirty hose around on the ground.  Sounds lovely, right?

Okay, so, the barn would have a covered aisle leading to the arena, which would be both air conditioned and heated. The indoor would have mirrors along one side and seating on the other, with two large doors leading out each end. It would also have a built in hydration system to keep the dust down. 

Then I would have at least three large (5 plus acre) pastures and one sacrificial pasture for spring.  Then there would be the outdoor arena and 50 foot round pen.  Of course, the property would have mature oaks and maples throughout, as well as some pines and poplar trees.  Grass would be thick and green, with no need to supplement hay through the summer.  Each pasture would have a shelter with two open ends and a roof.  

What do you think, am I missing anything? Apart from the house (Southern style with wraparound covered porch, hardwood floors and a glossy open kitchen with granite counters and a center island....). 

A girl can always dream, right? What would your place look like?

All the Stuff

Hello!

I have a confession to make: I have been avoiding blogging lately because I resent the next Equestrian Challenge questions. I don't really want to answer them, so I will do it quick, like ripping a band-aid off.  Then we can move on to other things.

My favorite color of horse: I don't have one.  Um, friendly? A friendly colored horse?

My most embarrassing moment: I am assuming they mean "with a horse" because these are supposed to be "equestrian" questions, but for the life of me I can't think of an embarrassing moment I've had with a horse. Generally I do those on my own, but horses make everything better. The moment that comes to mind is when I was wearing flip flops, sitting on a tack trunk next to my horse.  It was summer and I was waiting for something, so I had taken my boots off while I waited.  Honey ended up accidentally stomping on my bare pinkie toe while she was stomping flies.  She had edged closer to me to be friendly, and apparently got a bit too close.  My toe was fine, it hurt and bruised up but it wasn't broken.  A bit embarrassing because I knew you shouldn't wear flip flops around horses but I did it anyway.

Whew! Now that those are over, what else has been going on with me?  I got my haircut (finally!) and my eyebrows waxed, and I feel so much better about the general appearance of my head.  I also bought some hair dye in lovely copper red that I will apply on Wednesday.

Why wait until Wednesday? I'm glad you asked! I have an informational job interview on Tuesday morning that I am absolutely psyched for, and I don't want to risk the hair color turning out badly right before the interview.  For now, that is all I will say about it, I don't want to jinx anything!

Back to horse world, Rocky gave me a giant spring vet bill with all of his shots and getting his teeth floated, but he is healthy! His sister, Philly, may not be quite so healthy though. It was discovered that she has a raised ridge around her left hind foot that looks suspiciously like ringbone. The vet took x-rays of it and we should hopefully find out today what the prognosis looks like. Here's hoping it is something easily taken care of and not a life long issue- especially considering that she is only a 3 year old.