I Love My Ponies

In other less depressing news, I finally have started my horses back to work after the long never-ending winter. It's always a little tricky trying to get them going again. On the one hand (hoof?) they are super unfit (me too!), but on the other, they are WILD and super excited to be ridden again. It's a fine line between working them down, and working them into an injury. Especially with my #1, my best friend, my old man:

 

My Rio

I rode for the first time Sunday. It was extra exciting since it was my first time on the new guy, Ducky. I decided since I'm all alone that I should give him a little tranquilizer. (Number one rule of riding: NEVER ride alone. But when you live by yourself and your horses, it's the only option.) I think it was the right decision as my neighbor was making terrifying noises right next to my riding ring. At one point, he dragged an aluminum ladder across his driveway, and then dropped it. Maybe not frightening to humans, but horses think this is the end of the world. So thanks to Sedi-vet for sponsoring my ride! All in all, he was very well behaved, and seems to know quite a bit. We have to work on cantering, but I think without the meds, that will be better too. It's a pretty nice view from his little back:

I let Jamp have a little free time in the ring before I got on him. He tends to be spooky and a little run around before I climb on usually helps a lot.

He was pretty well behaved, but halfway through the ride started limping. I was worried I shouldn't have let him run around so much. Thankfully I found a rock in his shoe, and that was the source of the discomfort. Easy fix! Phew! He's a funny guy in that part of him was a little excited and spooky, but the other half was super unfit and lazy. So he'd half spook, and then just stand still. Silly boy!
I saved the best for last. I was having trouble deciding what to do with Rio. I knew he'd be fresh, but I don't like to let him run free too much. He has a bad leg, and too much craziness makes it act up. Similarly, letting him play around too much on the lunge line (basically a long leash, so he's on a circle around me) is also not good for him, but gives me more control. I decided to take my chances and just put on some draw reins for added control. When I first climbed aboard there were some antics, but he quickly settled down and we had a nice little ride.
I couldn't ride Monday or Tuesday, as I was celebrating Passover with my family both nights. But I rode again last night (Wednesday). I let Ducky be tranq-free and he was pretty good!  A little more spooky than the other day, but nothing out of control. I think he's going to be fun to have around. I can't wait to see if he can jump! Jamp was naughty. He hates shadows. HATES THEM. Probably even more than I hate running. And since it was getting to be dusk when I rode, he was beside himself (shadows everywhere!). But we got some work done, and overall it wasn't a terrible ride. I cut them all a little slack as we start back to work, I mean it's been a solid two months of vacation for them. Plus it was a full moon:

I saved Rio for last again. This time I let him lunge for a little bit since it was dark out. I have lights, but they aren't very bright. I also figured since he worked Sunday he wouldn't be too crazy. I was right, he let out a couple big bucks on the lunge line, and then was a perfect gentleman for our ride. Seriously my favorite place to be:

Lord Palmerston ca.1890 " There's nothing… so good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse." (Especially Rio. He's my main man.)

I Hate Running

Seriously. I hate it. I'm not very good at it. But I enjoy (sort of) my morning runs with my friends. Usually. Today I did not. We decided to do 4 miles today near my house. It's a bit hilly though not too bad of a run. But I was having a tough one today.

 

These are my awesome friends. They had a better day than me.

*edited, because sometimes I'm a b*#&$ and say things I shouldn't.

Monday.

Ah Monday... The start of a new week. <<Yawn>> Is it me or do Monday mornings seem extra early?
I decided this morning, that despite the snow in the forecast, I'm dressing for Spring! Maybe it will help mother nature along?

Pardon my unmade bed in the background... So anyway, I went with an Olive & Oak ribbon sweater in mint green, and paired it with some DKNY lavender colored jeans. I may look like an easter egg, but I'm ok with that. I'm not sure I should have gone with the purple patent Sperry's, but I love them, so I did. As I've mentioned, I'm an AMATEUR fashionista. And therefore, do as I want.
My arms are fully decorated for spring too! The braided one next to my watch, the purple stone, and the purple rhinestones are all from my homemade collection. The rest I spent money on that I probably shouldn't have. But they're adorable, and make me happy. Seen here are pieces from www.ettika.com (They comment on my instagram photos which totally boosts my ego and love for them), www.baublebar.com (every week they mark one item down to $10.00, free shipping all the time), and www.baublebox.com (I signed up with them to get me credit toward a gift card through mypoints.com).
I did my nails last night, prior to planning my outfit. I guess they were my inspiration:

I LOVE this polish! It's an indy from 365 Days Of Color (http://www.365daysofcolorpolishes.com), called "Frolicking" I was feeling a bit lazy so I haven't changed my thumb yet. Still rocking the large headed pony in the field.
So there it is, my first fashion-y post!
Have a great Monday!

A little Sunday Morning Blogging

It's springtime here in New England, so that means, well, absolutely nothing. It's still below freezing every morning and barely gets to mid 40's by the afternoon. Lovely.
That said, let's talk about springtime activities! We'll start with running. Running is hard when it's cold out. Some people love it. I think it's a little awful. Your muscles get tight while waiting to start. Your lungs scream as you suck in that sharp, damp, cold air. You start out with not nearly enough layers, and then about half way through you wish you'd worn 3 less. Ugh cold weather is not for me. So of course that's when I do most of my running.
Last weekend I ran the New York City Half Marathon.

I had expectations of it being in the 40's or 50's when I signed up months ago. My last two long training runs, nice and balmy at around 45 degrees. I was ready! And then race day... I stayed in the city that night, called a car to take me to the start since I don't really know my way around that well. I (wrongly) assumed that the driver would know how to get to Central Park. He did not. Nor had he ever heard of it. "Center Park?" "No. Central Park" "Like this, "C-E-N-T-E-R P-A-R-K?" NO! Ugh. Thankfully he handed the GPS to me to program. He nearly crashed the car twice. Oh did I mention it was only 3 blocks away?
So we had to be in the corrals by 7 for a 7:30 start time. It was about 28 degrees. Brrr. So brrrrr. Of course being the slow runner I am, I was in the 17th corral. I crossed the start line at 22 min 22 seconds after the gun. That's a long time to be freezing before running 13.1 miles. Next time, I'm buying cheap sweats and wearing them until I get to the actual start. All that being frozen made for a tough first few miles. Normally I start out fast(ish), and then slow down. That day, nothing fast happened. It took about 2 miles for my frozen toes to thaw out. The loop through Central Park was pretty uneventful once I'd defrosted. Some hills, but nothing unreasonable. Then we ran through Times Square which was pretty amazing. Next we ran about 4 and half miles on concrete. Ouch. Shin splints and some weird pain on the outside of my right lower leg. It was also along the water, so there was a lovely ice cold breeze. Ugh again. But being so close to finishing you try to ignore all of that. Through the FDR tunnel (asphalt, yay!) and then up a little hill toward the finish. Here I saw the clock... if I could push just a little harder here, I would get a new PR! So I said to myself, "Don't be a little B*&(*, let's PR this thing." I finished at 2 hours 9 minutes, and 8 seconds. One minute, 30 seconds faster than my last one. Not as fast as I'd hoped based on my training, but given the conditions, I was really proud.

Yesterday I ran the 5K to benefit the Sandy Hook families. Normally I would take a week off from running after a half, but this was such a great cause I really felt like I needed to run it.

 I thought for sure it would be warmer than last weekend, especially since it started later in the day. But instead it was snow flurrying the whole morning. <<Sigh>> But coming off that half, I was feeling pretty cocky. I thought, "I really want to run this fast, it's only 3 miles." So I did! My previous best time for a 5K was 27:36. Which was tough for me, I really had to work the whole time. But this one felt great! I tried to keep up with my fast friend the first mile and I did, but then she got faster and I got a little slower. I finished in 26:36. Woohoo! Also, I finished 2 seconds faster than the Governor. No big deal.

This post turned out quite lengthy. So we'll save other springtime activities for next time. I'm off to clean some poo and play with my ponies. Enjoy your Sunday!

The Beginning

The older I get, the more I realize I'm more of a follower than a leader. So here I am, starting a blog. Why? Because all my friends are doing it. I draw the line at jumping off a bridge though.

What will I write about, you ask? I plan to ramble on about the things I like and things I do for fun. Tales of my amateurism if you will. Topics will range from nail painting, shopping, and jewelry making (all things girly) to horse back riding and running (semi-less girly). Focus being on the fact that I'm a dabbler, and not an expert. At anything. (Except maybe eating. I'm really good at that.)

So there it is. My first post! Until next time (when I actually talk about something)!