What's Up Wednesday

Phew. Holidays are exhausting aren't they? All good things of course! But I had to make myself a schedule to make sure everything got done and I showed up where and when I was supposed to. This old hag can't remember that stuff without instructions anymore.
Last week I had another great lesson on Eros. I tried a new bit on him that I hated for the flat, but did like over fences. It's a ribbed happy mouth, so it gave me a little more but kept him happy by not being metal.

Friday I had a half day at work, and the bay boys had an appointment for some shots. It was a quick one and doc thought both old men looked pretty good. I headed over to the barn after that and got to watch my stepmom ride Eros. I haven't seen them together in awhile, and they're looking great! He's been testing her a little with the canter transitions but she got tough with him and they worked that right out.
Friday night one of my friends invited me over for an "interactive food night" and instructed me to bring my favorite cheese. I had no idea what we were doing, but thought maybe fondu? Turns out it was Raclette. I had never heard of it, but it's a German tradition, normally done for New Years I guess? I could be wrong on that timing.

It's like a hot plate of sorts, with little pans that go underneath to put your cheese on and the top can toast bread or warm other toppings. And then once the cheese is melted, you top the bread with it and toppings you'd like. It's ridiculously delicious. Definitely will have to do that again.
Saturday wasn't a crazy day. I flatted Eros in the morning and snapped some photos with him for my very late holiday cards.

We got made fun of. Our outfits don't get the appreciation level they get here on the blog at the barn... Lol. I have very little pride though, so fear not, outfits aren't going anywhere! Personally, I think the buffalo plaid is super cute.
After the barn, I headed back home to get photos with the bay boys. Big shout out to my photographer:

Ha. I propped my phone up there on top of the Bute-less and used the ten second timer... It was a challenge, but the boys were actually pretty cooperative.

Until Jamp had enough...

He came back though. Haha. After they were all tucked in, it was the dogs' turn for a photo session. I really did not have high hopes for that going well without another person to snap photos, but the short kids surprised me and were pretty cooperative.

 

I got the cards made the same day, and after getting myself packed for Florida, I started addressing them. I really intended to get them out MUCH sooner, but the horses' outfits didn't arrive until Friday.
Sunday I was out at the barn early again. Had a lovely ride on Eros, and then was home to groom the bay boys. Then I tortured them by making up all their meals for while I was going to be away. They were pretty irritated when they didn't get any grain after listening to all that getting done. I also got the laundry caught up out there so that was much needed. It would be a real miracle to actually catch up on my own laundry... Ha. Won't happen. We do a Festivus dinner on Christmas Eve Eve every year with my family and my sister-in-law's family. It was a lovely evening of too much Chinese food and cookies.
Once home from that I finally got the rest of the cards addressed. Finally. So they could get mailed out on Christmas Eve. Hey. Better late than never. I had to work Monday, but I was hopeful it would be a short day. I also knew I would have very little to do there, so I brought some presents with me to wrap. We did get out early, at noon, so I had the rest of the day to be productive. I got the bay boys groomed and then got the rest of the gifts ready for Christmas day.

My step moms have both been Catholic along with my little brother, so we've always done Chanukah with my dad on Christmas. Two for one if you will...
Anyway, Christmas was BUSY! The day started at sunrise. I got up and the pups found that Santa had come for them!

They were pretty happy with the new loot. After a short playtime, I headed out to the barn to feed the boys, turn them out, and clean up Mr Hankey. (You know Mr. Hanky, the Christmas poo! Southpark? No? Google him.) Santa had come for the tall kids too:

The boys enjoyed their turnouts. It was a chilly morning, but it wasn't windy and the sun was out. So they were happy to stay out for a couple hours.

I got stalls and buckets done as quickly as I could because we were allowed to ride over at the barn. I snuck in a very short ride with Mr. Eros, and it was lovely. There were just a couple other boarders there with me so the ring wasn't at all crowded. I enjoyed the peace and quiet immensely.
I then ran home, fed the horses lunch, and took an amazingly fast shower.  I had to meet the family at 12:30 at the commuter lot to go visit my little brother's grandma for Christmas. She's 98, still living at her house, but with full time care these days. My stepmom and dad cooked up a fantastic meal, and we delivered and ate it all together.

We visited for awhile, and then it was time to head back. I stopped at home to feed all the animals (and let the pups out of course!) before heading back to Dad's house. We did our gift exchange that evening.

How cute is this little tree? My stepmom the last several years gets a potted tree, and then we have it replanted over at my house. I love that we do that!
I was home around 8:30 which was nice because I had a few more things left to pack and do before vacation. Plus I really wanted to spend some time with the short kids. I hate leaving them, even if it is for fun things like Florida visits.
And then it was finally today! I got up early, rode Eros at 8am, and then headed over to my mom's house to bring the pups to her for the week.

The area I grew up in was not very Jewish, so everywhere we went as little kids, adults would ask if we'd been good so Santa would come. My mom was really worried we would think we were bad kids, so she always did Santa gifts and stockings for us. My mom and I still do that now for each other. Just cute little things like lip gloss and candy, pajamas, puzzles. That sort of thing. So we did that this morning too.

Even the pups got something from Santa! They really made out well this year. 

Our flight was supposed to leave at 1, but there was a ton of air traffic today and we were delayed about an hour. Honestly, it felt like I'd had a full day before noon, so I didn't really mind having a short time to sit and do nothing at the airport. We arrived around five though, and I'm ready to relax for a few days!

How were your holidays? Do you have some time off, or are you back to the work grind already?