Thanksgiving Long Weekend Recap! (Finally!)

Sorry for the delay friends, I've actually been having to do my job at work! And of course grabbing all the cyber deals the last few evenings. But I'm ready to tell you all about my incredibly busy (in a good way!) long weekend!
I had a dentist appointment scheduled for late morning on Wednesday so I decided to just take the day off. I figured it would be quiet at work in the afternoon, plus we were expecting some bad weather. The boss said it was fine, so FIVE DAY WEEKEND FOR ME! Woohoo!
Wednesday was actually not terribly exciting. I got up and went to drop off my Ct Hunter Jumper Association trophy for engraving. I won it last year for the Adult Equitation but hadn't yet put my name on it. Figured that was a good day to get that taken care of. Next stop was the dentist to have a broken crown removed and get molds done for a new one. TORTURE. But I'm glad it's over. I stopped at the store and decided to just head home as the roads were a slushy, slippery mess. This is what my riding arena looked like when I got home:

That's all ice folks

I spent the rest of the evening organizing my holiday list and playing with ponies and pugs.
THANKSGIVING DAY was BUSY! CAPS LOCK busy! But all good things of course. I had a 5:30 AM wakeup to feed the horses and clean stalls. Once chores were done, I quickly made some coffee and got changed for the local Turkey Trot. It's a five mile road race in a nearby state park. The best part? Almost no hills at all. My kind of race! Especially when I'm not terribly fit. My friend Vanessa met me at my house and we drove over together.
We both were kind of iffy about actually running this race. We have been terrible about running consistently. Add that to the fact that the roads were all black ice from the rain and sleet the day before... But we rallied! The day was warming up, and the sun was out. There was very little wind, so it seemed like it should be perfect running weather! And it actually was, despite the cold temps. Added bonus: the race shirts were ADORABLE!

And also, Vanessa made us fantastic ear warmers last year to wear. I threw together some tu-tus and found some Turkey socks to complete our outfits. So OBVIOUSLY, we HAD to run! We agreed to take our time and allow for some walk breaks if needed. By some miracle, we only took one real break and a quick pause at the water stations. We finished in 52:29. Probably my slowest one to date, but considering my lack of fitness, that's not bad! Plus look how cute we were:

I know you all saw these outfits Thursday, but they're too cute not to share again

So funny yet mildly humiliating event from the race... I had my gloves on my lap while we were sitting in the truck before the start. I got out of the vehicle, forgetting my gloves were in my lap and must have dropped them on the ground. Someone put them up on the hood of my car, but I didn't notice them. After the race I saw them, but not until we were pulling out. I also still did not realize mine were missing. I was all "who leaves their gloves on someone else's car?" And Vanessa asked if they were mine. But since I had no idea I'd dropped mine, I said no, but they're just like mine... Ha! So much like mine they were mine. And scattered on the highway. <<sigh>>
Once home after the race, I fed the horses lunch, let the dogs out, and grabbed a quick, super hot shower. And then it was off to my brother and sister-in-law's house for the main event!
Thanksgiving is such a great time for my family. Everyone gets together. And I mean EVERYONE. You ready for the list? Here goes:
My mom, dad, stepmom, stepgrandma, both my brothers, my niece, my sister-in-law, her two sisters and their hubbies, her mom, and her grandma. FULL HOUSE! It's so wonderful though, to have everyone in one place. None of us has to run around to different houses hoping to spend time with everyone we love. One stop shopping, if you will.
The food was incredible. I really wish I had taken some photos of the food. And the dessert. We had almost an equal pie to human ratio I think. So much deliciousness. Good thing I ran those five miles before hand! Since I don't have any photos of the food, enjoy instead a lovely photo of my brother in a turkey coma and my four legged niece Sasha:

Since we ate on the early side, I was able to stay all the way through dessert before having to leave to feed the horses. Some years I have to leave and go back. But this year we stuffed ourselves early. It was kind of nice to settle in with the pugs and just be lazy at home for the evening. 

My Friday was semi relaxed. I didn't have much planned for the morning but I did have a riding lesson scheduled for 1 at a nearby farm. Why you ask? Well... because due to the early winter here in New England, Jampy is already out of work. Normally I just start my vacation when he does,  but this year I ran into a little snag in that plan. Jampy and I had been in the lead for several year end awards, but the weekend before Thanksgiving, the rider in second place went to a show and WON ALL OF THE CLASSES! That's a lot of points, and bumped me from the lead. But only by 15 points. There was one horse show left, Thanksgiving weekend, to try and regain my lead. Jamp was in no condition to show unfortunately, since he hasn't been working. So that meant I needed to find a horse to lease for the show. And figure out how to ride it. And that is why I was having a lesson on Friday afternoon.

This is Linus, my temporary horse for the weekend:

Linus is a seven year old thoroughbred. He is an absolute sweetheart! I had a great lesson on him, and was feeling confident about the show Saturday. As if it wasn't enough fun to have a lesson on a new horse, I was also offered another horse to flat Friday afternoon. I always feel kind of honored when someone lets me ride their horse, so I happily said yes. This is Marge, the other horse I rode:

By the time I was done riding both horses and had cleaned all my tack for the show the next day, it was almost 3. I headed home to hook up the trailer and spend some quality time with my horses. After feeding them and taking a shower, I met up with a friend for dinner at my most favorite local restaurant, River Tavern. If you're ever in Chester, CT I highly recommend a meal there! It was great to catch up with my friend who I hadn't seen since August, especially over a delicious meal. We parted ways on the early side so I could clean my boots and get to bed early. 

Saturday morning I was out the door by 7:00 to pick up Linus and my friend's horse. We got to the horse show around 9, but were a little early. I think we showed closer to 11. 

It was REALLY COLD at the show. I mean REALLY COLD.  Like toes frozen cold. And Linus was feeling a little excited! He wasn't so sure he wanted to frame up and be an equitation horse... Our flat class was first, and I just tried my best not to let him hold his head up too high. I was worried I would be last of the three riders since I was not successful at getting Linus to put his head down. Somehow though, I won! Woohoo! First place is 10 points. So that meant, even if I was last in both jumping classes, I could still take back the lead for our year end award. Which was a good thing, because I was last in both jumping classes. Oops. They really didn't go badly, but we were a little too fast. It's not often I get to ride a horse other than my own though, so I was pretty happy with how the day went. Linus and I also rode in a medal class. We were last in that one too, but it was much smoother than the other two classes had been. So I felt like we ended on a positive note. Here are a few photos from the day:

I got home around 4 after dropping off Linus and his buddy. I was exhausted after being out in the cold for most of the day, and was thrilled that my Saturday plans with Vanessa and her hubby included pizza and a movie at my house. They brought Pepper (you've seen photos of her in my running recaps) and Vanessa's mom's Yorkie, Peach. Pia and Artie had so much fun with their friends. It was a great evening for all of us!

I had hoped to fit in a run on Sunday, but Saturday evening my little brother called to tell me the family was coming to my house for dinner on Sunday, so that meant no time for running. Worth it for some family time though! I instead went out to get a few things for dinner, then spent time with all the four leggeds kids. The weather in New England is so crazy, that despite the below freezing temps on Saturday, it was almost 60 on Sunday. I wanted to ride, but it was super windy, and the horses were a little nutty. We opted for grazing and photos instead.

Doors open on the last day of November?!

Somehow, I managed to squeeze in a mile walk with the short kids too!

My little brother came over to cook dinner with me around 5. The rest of the family arrived around 6:30, and we had a great meal! I don't entertain here all that often, so it was nice to actually use the dining room table for its intended purpose! 

And that my friends, was my very busy five day weekend! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend too! Did you do some Black Friday shopping? Spend time with family? Get some miles logged or some horses worked? Tell me about YOUR weekend!