What's Up Wednesday

Wednesday already? Boo. It's my last day of vacation. Back to the frozen tundra tomorrow. Fortunately, it's not supposed to be too cold. UNfortunately, it will be raining. But hey, better than snow! But this post isn't about the future, it's about the past week. So let's look back!
As you already know, we arrived in FL on Wednesday evening last week. Thursday was quiet. My brother, sister-in-law, and my two nieces, plus my dad and step mom were all here this time, so we did family things. Which mostly included sitting around. I already covered that on Thursday's threads last week.
Friday I ditched the family for the morning and went down to Wellington. I stopped first at trainers barn and watched her ride for a bit. Then I headed over to the horse show to catch up with Devon from The Food (and horse) Bitch Blog. I didn't have time to watch her ride that day, but we got to catch up for a few minutes so that was fun!
After the horse show, I headed back north to meet my dad and stepmom. We had an appointment to check out a barn closer to the house for her to take some lessons at, and maybe next year bring Eros to for the winter. It was a really cute place. They had a nice sized ring and lots of huge grass paddocks. The horses were all pretty fat and happy, though many of them seemed pretty old. Old is good though, in my opinion. If you can keep an old horse fat and happy, you're doing something right!
My stepmom's brother and his family came to visit on Friday for the weekend, so we all had dinner together at the house. It was a lot of fun, and thankfully, a fairly early night.
Saturday, I headed back down to Wellington. I watched trainer ride for a bit and then headed back over to the show to watch Devon and Petunia kill it in the low adults!

They were awesome, and it was fun to have someone to cheer on! We hung out for a bit, and then I had to get back to the family. I got back just in time for a ride on the boat. Daisy, our canine visitor sat with me...

It was a nice quiet night after boating. We had dinner in again, and then all watched some tv together. Sunday was a lazy day at home. Trainer doesn't ride on Sundays, and our company headed back home to Orlando. In the morning, I went for a short run

 and then spent the day drinking too much coffee and finally getting my Safesport training done.

See? I did SOMETHING productive on vacation! Good for me! Ha!
Monday I headed down to Wellie to watch trainer ride. She said I could ride the next day, so I was looking forward to that. After the barn, I did my obligatory Marshalls and TJ Maxx run in hopes of finding some great deals. The stores down here get some really fancy stuff, and it's usually on final clearance this time of year. No luck this time though. Bummer.
My brother and his family flew home that day, so it was just my dad, stepmom, and me for New Years Eve. We had dinner at a local deli/diner type place, and headed home with some desserts in hand to hang out and watch the ball drop. I took a nap on the couch, but woke up just in time to see the ball drop. I'm clearly, a wild partier.
I was up early to head down to the barn to finally get some saddle time. Unfortunately, the mare I was going to ride bumped her leg, so it wound up just a tack walk. Good enough for me though! I'll take whatever I can get! After horse time, my dad and step mom picked me up and we headed down to the fancy outlet mall. Dad splurged on all of us which was super nice of him. I got a fantastic fuzzy pink handbag that I'm stupid excited about. I'm sure you'll see it soon on Thursday's Threads.
I stayed north today rather than heading to trainers in the morning. I slept in a bit, and then went to watch my step mom take a lesson at the new barn. She rode a very tall, sweet, old warmblood named Imax and did a great job with him.

I had to pick up a few thank you gifts, so I did that post lesson. And that was pretty much the day. I'm heading home tomorrow on an 11 am flight, so nothing too exciting happening here in the morning. Back to the real world after that!

How was your week and New Years? Do anything fun and exciting? 

What's Up Wednesday

I'm back in the frozen tundra, but that doesn't mean we can't finish recapping my trip south! When we left off last week, Badger had managed to knock himself over lunging, but still was able to show on Wednesday. We figured we'd toss him on the lunge Thursday morning before I braided to see how he looked. He was just fine so I braided him up but forgot to get a photo before he rubbed... Boys. They looked better for day two, you know, prior to said rubbing.

post rubbing... could be worse, right?

Badger looked sound after a few stiff steps when he first started out. But once in the ring, he decided to let us know that he was feeling sore from his antics the day before. He doesn't tell you by, oh I don't know, limping? But rather by acting like a feral child. He started out nicely over the single, but played through his lead change and would only give a tense 10' stride at the canter. Know what that results in? Adding. It results in adding. He also threw in some small hops and lots of ear pinning. The second trip was mildly better, but he was still pretty ornery. This is why trainer shows him! Haha. Babies. It wasn't a total loss in my eyes though. He showed in a different ring on day 2 than he did on day 1. So again, it was a brand new ring to him. This one was next to the road, but there was a large privacy hedge  between the ring and the road. The weird thing about that though, is they can still kind of see the traffic, but not really. Pretty spooky in my opinion! But he didn't spook. He never was worried about being in a new place nor about jumping new jumps. So while he had a terrible attitude about the whole thing, he still had some redeeming qualities in the ring.

And also, he jumped like that. EVERY SINGLE TIME. Seriously. He's so fancy. I wish I could get along with him.
So after his telling us all about his sore body, we checked in with his vet. She said a few days of bute and no riding until Monday. Yep. I flew down to Florida for seven days to ride my horse and I got to ride him twice. Never even got to jump. Or canter a ground pole. Nothing. He literally is just eating and pooping my money. It's a good thing he's so darn cute! I guess if nothing else, he fits in well with the rest of the herd. (Also, now you probably understand my need for retail therapy...)
Fortunately, trainer shared Cara with me most days, so I did get to ride almost every day. She was perfect as always.

I didn't get to ride Friday because someone was trying Cara, but I went to the barn anyway to stuff Badger with cookies. And then I got irresponsible... You guys. La Mundial has an outlet store in Wellington. They sell all the orphan boots that didn't work out for people. I figured I was safe popping in since I'm so awkwardly sized. I wear a size 6 shoe, but have a solid 16" calf. Also, I'm a short girl, but calves are fairly long. Super awkward. And yet, I apparently have some size twins out there in the world. After trying on about six pairs of boots, I realized I couldn't leave empty handed. These two beauties are shipping to me this week... Because I have no self control.

The top pair is black with navy patent leather for the top trim. I figure I can wear them for everyday, but they'd also be a nice spare pair to show in if my zippers break or something. The other pair is navy blue all over. I have no good excuse for these. They're just SO PRETTY! And I got both pair shipped (and the blue ones are having some alterations done) for about $350 less than I spent on my Parlantis. So I mean... that's a good deal right? Two for less than one!
Friday after pony related activities, I headed over to the house to spend some time with the nieces. We had lots of fun swimming and playing with my little ponies.
Saturday was supposed to be my last day, so I spent some extra time at the barn stuffing Badger full of cookies and watching some lessons. I got all packed up and sat down for some lazy tv time when I found out my flight the next day was canceled. SO SAD! Oh wait, no. Not very sad at all! I mean, I missed all the fur kids at home, but another storm was hitting and I didn't mind missing that too much. Trainer takes Sundays off unless she's showing, so that meant no ponies on my extra day. Instead, I slept in a bit, and went to my favorite Florida breakfast place, the Lazy Loggerhead.

Probably not good for my "diet" (hahahaha, yeah right, I'm dieting...) but it was delicious! After breakfast, I enjoyed some sunshine on the boat:

And I came up with a potential logo for the farm. Not that I really need one... but I totally want Winthrop Corner gear and I definitely need a logo for that. What do you guys think?

I'm thinking it might be better to have the farm name written on the horse shoe instead? Or maybe just the initials on the rosette? I dunno. For now it's ok as is I guess.
At this point it was still only around 12:30. I have 10 million reviews to write for Beeju Boxes, but my internet was awful during the day (too much traffic I think) so that wasn't going to be a good use of my time. I decided instead to take full advantage of my day off and went for a pedicure. Definitely a good choice.
And then it was time to mentally prepare for the Tundra.

Land of ice.

My flight Monday was slightly delayed. There were high winds in CT, and so they had to clear a different runway back at the airport for a safe landing. Our plane couldn't take off until the airport in CT confirmed we could land there. It wasn't a long delay though thankfully. The flight was uneventful despite warnings of bad turbulence which didn't come to fruition thankfully. I was home snuggling ponies by around 4:30. I missed them SO MUCH! Once they were appropriately snuggled and fed, I set to work trying to de-ice Jorge.

There was a solid 3 inches of ice covering about 5 inches of snow. So that was fun. (No, no it wasn't.) It took about an hour, but I finally freed him and went to get the short kids! I hate leaving them, but I LOVE reuniting with them. The horses all kind of ignored me when I got back (well not Jamp, he's always happy to see mom) but the Pugs celebrate like it's the best day EVER! I heart those kids.
Tuesday was Valentine's Day, which I don't really celebrate as a single old spinster. But my friends are pretty awesome, so I still got some spoils:

I spent the evening giving the tall kids extra good groomies. They were definitely in need after my week away. I'm happy to report that shedding season is in full effect:

my fuzzy valentine

That's about it from here this week! But I won't leave just yet... I know you're dying to know what all those pictures were yesterday on Truthful Tuesday. Well, two of them were the boots above. One is my surprise from Equine Affaire, but I'm not revealing that until it's finally here. Sorry! All I can say is, "OMG SO PRETTY! I CAN'T WAIT ANOTHER MINUTE FOR ARRIVAL!" Two of the photos were of spurs. I brought a couple of pairs of spurs down with me to get colored by Color Tack. I'm getting one pair done in gold and one in hunter green. I think they'll take about two weeks. And then I shall outfit them with my homemade spur straps! Woohoo! Well maybe... Another of the photos is a new Mane Jane belt. One side is green crocodile and the other side is purple croc. But in addition, I got a pair of spur straps also in the green crocodile. I think I got princess crowns on the keeper too. I promise to share everything once they all arrive!
Ok, that's really all that's up this Wednesday!

What's Up Wednesday!

What a week it's been! Friday we had a super bowl party at work which was delicious, but I forgot to take photos.... Sorry. We had an impressive spread though. Nacho bar, sandwiches, dips, chips, you name it, it was there. So much yum. So not good for my waistline. So worth it.
Friday evening I had my last lesson before heading down to visit Badger. I rode a new horse who was supposed to be super easy. He totes a modified adult around. You'd think that would be a walk in the park right? Nope. Apparently, really easy horses are really ridiculously hard for me. He was really good, I just had the hardest time keeping him forward to the jumps. Every time I came out of the turn, I wanted to take back and shorten his stride. Which you know, is completely wrong in every instance. We got better as it went along, but definitely was not my finest moment on horseback.
Saturday I spent the morning running errands and grooming my tall kids. I'm happy to report that despite the 18" inches of snow that CT is getting tomorrow, shedding season is in full effect.

my foot for reference... that's a lot of hair.

After pony groomies were done, I got cleaned up and headed over to a friend's chili cookoff. I didn't make one, but I was excited to vote for the winner. Being a judge is no joke! It meant tasting 16 different chilis! That's a LOT of chili. There were many tasty ones, and two that were delicious but not all that chili like. One was basically just taco meat with all the fixings on the side. To me it was more of taco bowl. Which was delicious, but didn't count as chili to me. Another had pasta in it. It was also delicious, but was more like a casserole than a chili. In the end, my favorite was this one:

It was from team Chili Snake. It had a bite to it, but not too much. And was definitely my favorite out of the 16.
Team Make Chili Great Again provided hats for all. I wasn't sure if I could bring myself to wear it since it looks much like THAT GUY's campaign hats... but in the end, I though it was kind of funny anyway...

And if Katie was wearing one, I figured I could too.
After all the chili eating, I headed home to feed the animals and pack for Florida. I'm the WORST packer and it pretty much took me the entire evening. But hey, it got done!
Sunday, I was up early to drop the short kids off with their grandma:

They're super excited, clearly. Once they were settled in with Grandma, I did a few last minute things in the barn, and headed up to the airport. Apparently, people don't fly on Sunday's because this is what the terminal looked like:

Pretty much deserted! I'm traveling on Sunday's from now on! It got a bit busier as it got closer to flight time, but still, it was very quiet. My plane was pretty full though.
My accommodations are a bit different this trip. My sister-in-law, her mom, and my two nieces are down this week also, and they were suffering from the noro-virus earlier in the week... I decided I didn't want to be exposed to that after having it last year. No thanks. Nope. Nuh-uh. So I decided to stay on dad's boat instead.

Not a bad gig. I'm closer to all my favorite restaurants, and I have the whole boat to myself. That includes control of the TV. The only down side is I'm about 45 minutes away from the horse show. Hey, nothing's perfect.
Monday and Tuesday I rode Badger and Cara at my trainer's barn.

Badger feels great! I haven't jumped him since he showed today and will tomorrow hopefully (more on that shortly). But I did get to jump Cara a little on Tuesday. I was not good. Thankfully, she's perfect and doesn't take offense at a monkey clinging to her mane. If she ever goes on clearance sale, she should probably join my herd.
Which brings us to today! I was actually going to pay a braider to do Badger since I didn't have braiding tools here in Florida. But we couldn't find a braider to come do him. So last night I went to Michaels and got yarn and braiding tools, and was up fairly early to get him all braided.

Baby's first braids!

Once I was done with his mane, he went out for a lunge. He was a little wild since it was his first day at the show. He tried to jump up and buck, but somehow stepped on his own leg and literally fell down. I'm so glad I wasn't the one lunging him!

Photo of him not falling down

Thankfully he got right up, and despite a cut just above his coronet band (just high enough to not cause an emergency, thank you horse show gods) he was none the worse for the wear. He was quite humbled though! So I suppose that was good. We brought him back to the barn once he finished lunging and got him cleaned up. The wound wasn't too bloody, and thankfully wasn't as bad as it looked like it might be. So we decided to show him as planned. My trainer was only doing him the 2'6" hunters, so we figured he should be fine to do that. He started out a bit stiff under saddle, but he worked right out of it. Who isn't stiff after they fall down! But I'm worried he may be VERY stiff tomorrow, so we're not 100% sure if he's showing again this week. We'll see how he looks in the morning.

Anyway, once he warmed up he looked great, so we felt good about letting him show. Today was a bit of an experiment with him. Other than the short lunge in the morning, we didn't prep him at all. He showed in a ring he's never been in, with no morning ride. He was a little strong, and played a bit after the single oxer, but was otherwise really good! He got better and better as the course went on. It was too bad there were only two classes, because he would have finished up great with one or two more times around. Tomorrow, if he's sound, he's going to have a little bit longer lunge and we'll see how he goes!
I didn't get to ride today because we were at the show for so long. I had to drive back up the boat, and then get back down to Wellington for an event at 6:30, so time was tight. That's ok though, I should have time to ride tomorrow. Probably just Cara since Badger hopefully will show.
The event I attended this evening was a cocktail hour hosted by my alma mater Skidmore. It was great to see my fellow horse showing Skiddies outside of the show grounds. I got to see some people I haven't seen in quite some time which was extra nice.
And that's it for today!

Thursday's Threads!

Happy Outfit Day, everyone! Today was an extra fun day because I met up with Devon at WEF and we swapped horse stories ALLLL DAY!

It was so much fun, and I can't wait to meet up again soon. Hopefully later this winter in fact. Any other bloggers coming down to WEF? I haven't booked my trips yet, maybe we can plan a meet-up!
In my excitement to ride Badger and then head to the show grounds, I forgot to take photos of my riding outfit. But I am well overdue for sharing a riding outfit, so I give to you Flat Stacie:

If I stop eating chips and cookies, I might be able to resemble Flat Stacie again someday... But it's not looking likely. Anyway, let's look closer!

Top: Abercrombie Outlet

The holidays really took their toll on my waistline (and butt... and thighs....) so when I stopped at the outlets the other night to exchange a sweater for a bigger size, I decided to also see about getting some larger polo shirts. Most of mine are slim fit, and well... I'm not that right now. Abercrombie had some for half off, and this pink version was one of them. I love the color even if it is a lovely shade of pepto. I've never been a huge Abercrombie fan. I think they're expensive and the clothes aren't the greatest quality. But I do love the moose. And for $15 I was sold.

Belt: C4

I have resisted jumping on the C4 bandwagon up until Equine Affair when I discovered they had Thelwell belts! Not only that, they had like five to choose from. It was not an easy decision. But I went with this one. And there's a chance there could be more in my future. I LOVE Thelwell, and if you don't know what that is, please go Google "Thelwell Ponies." You can thank me later.

Breeches: Tredstep

I picked these up at the retirement sale for one of the local tack shops that's closing down. I love them! I think the shape of the patches is really fun. I also like that there's just a little bit of pink. Not too much, just enough.

Socks: Dreamers and Schemers

I had also resisted buying Dreamers and Schemers socks until I discovered they sell their mess ups at two for one. They look just fine to me! You don't get to pick your pattern, but really they're all pretty fab so who cares? I was beyond excited to get these unicorns. Also, these are the "Party On the Bottom" version which means they are black at the very top. They do that just in case your sock peeks out over your boot, it won't be very noticeable.

That was my riding outfit today, and now on to my normal outfit!

We're having a casual evening tonight here in Florida. So I opted for jeans and a comfy tee. My head looks oddly small in this photo, doesn't it?

Top: Fabletics

I guess this is meant to be worn as a yoga top, but I would think the hood would be really annoying in certain poses. I like it as a casual top though. The fabric is amazing on this one. So soft!

Belt: Mane Jane

I know you've seen this a million times, but I have so much love for this belt! It's reversible, the other side is patent navy crocodile. Best belt ever... Besides the Thelwell one of course.

Jeans: Vigoss

Nothing too exciting here. These are mega stretchy which is fortunate after the holidays.

Shoes: Eastland

How could I NOT own Yankee boat shoes? I love these. I don't want anyone to hear me say this... but they're more comfortable than most of my Sperry's. Shhhhhh.
I don't have an arm party to share today. I have plenty of bracelets I brought down with me, but I'm feeling pretty lazy so I didn't put any on today. I AM on vacation after all!

So that's what I've been wearing on this balmy 84 degree day. (Sorry, I had to rub it in a little.) What do you have on today? How's the weather where you are? Thoughts on Thelwell?

What's Up Wednesday?

It was quite a week for this amateur... As you know from reading Thursday's Threads, I flew down to Florida for a long weekend on Thursday. There is only one direct flight per day from and to my preferred airports so I don't get any options as far as timing goes. The flights this year are about an hour earlier than they were last year though. I decided because of this to take the whole day off Thursday instead of just a half day. That let me get my house cleaned up so I wouldn't come home to a mess, get some errands done, and cuddle the fur kids before leaving. Definitely the right choice!
My dad and step mom actually flew down the same day as I, so we were all on the same flight. We got to the house around 7, dropped off Juno, and headed out for Thai food. What can I say, we're creatures of habit. You have no idea how devastating it is when the flight is delayed and we miss our Thai dinner! Thankfully that didn't happen this trip.
Friday morning I was up bright and early to finally ride Badger! It's been FOREVER! Or like a month. Whatever. Same thing. He was enjoying turnout when I got to the barn.

I would just like to point out that he was calmly and quietly enjoying turnout. This is ironic later...
It had poured buckets the night before, so the ring was a little too wet for riding. Thankfully trainer has a big, beautiful grass field to ride in. I'm not sure if Badger has been ridden out there before, but he LOVED it! Our trotwork was great. He spooked once at a big bird flying out of the pond, but otherwise he was fabulous. Nice big, slow, floaty trot with minimal fake sneezes/rooting. I was being a good little amateur, keeping my leg on, and having a nice elastic arm. It was lovely. Truly. And then we picked up canter.
I have a habit of letting him canter too slow and too small when we start out. So I figured, hey, I'm in this big field, I'm gonna not do that. So after about ten or so strides of a nice canter, he got a little pully and wanted to open his step more. I let him, because big field, must gallop. Bad idea amateur. BAD IDEA! Next thing I know he full on runs off with me. Which would be fine with me, I mean, I do own Jamp, king of running away. Except after a few strides of full out running, Badger let his feet fly. That baby horse can buck! I wasn't expecting it because he's NEVER bucked with a person on his back. Not ever. I think I might have stuck the first buck had it been an only one. But he let out another little one and veered right. I did my best road runner impression and did not follow him. BOOM. This old lady is getting a little old for unplanned dismounts!

What? I forgot she was there.

Luckily for me, the grass was nice and soft (and not too wet) so other than a jammed thumb and a bit of dead arm, I was no worse for the wear. I'm sad to say I do have some grass stains on my Samshield that don't want to come off. I knew I should have brought my green helmet! Anyway, I climbed back on (slowly) and got back to work. Naughty pony kept his feet on the ground, but we decided to do our canter work on a smaller section of the field and in shorter increments. Things were going fine, but then of course, since he's Badger, he pulled a shoe. And thus effectively ending our ride. Little turd. Good thing he's so cute!
The other two horses I sometimes get to ride are out of commission so my riding time was over for the day. I watched trainer ride her other two horses though, which is always educational.
After pony time, I joined my parentals for family mani/pedis. There's really something to be said for vacationing with the parents. Free mani pedi's? Yes please.

note parentals in the background
also note this awesome mohawk. 

My brother and his family arrived Friday evening, so we stayed in for dinner. Dinners out with a three year old and a 7 month old are, well... we'd rather stay in.
Saturday I got to sleep in a little. Trainer's hubby is also our farrier, so Badger was getting his shoe on, but not until around 11. I got to the barn early anyway because I really didn't have anything else to do.

One he was done getting his pedi and new shoes, I got to ride. We were able to ride in the ring, and I was a little relieved. Eating dirt always leaves me a little apprehensive for a ride or two, so I was happy to be in an enclosed sandy area. I had no need to worry though, Badger was great. We cantered all the way around with no antics. And I behaved myself using my legs and keeping my hands soft. Apparently baby horses like it when you ride correctly. Too bad it's taken me a year to figure that out!

The rest of Saturday was pretty busy! My stem mom's family was arriving from Orlando, and we had to take a trip to Toys R Us to fill a few carts for Toys for Tots. The annual boat parade was that evening, and the marines come around in coast guard boats collecting donations. 

That was half, we filled the other car's trunk first in the hopes that I would have a seat. No such luck.

The boat parade was a lot of fun this year. Last year it was windy and rainy, and thus was poorly attended. This year there were TONS of boats fully decorated. My dad has his friends over and caters the evening. I invited trainer and her daughter who had a great time with my niece. The boats were awesome:

With all the family visiting, I had to give up my comfy bed for a foam mat on the floor of the billiard room. My aching body didn't love that, but you gotta take one for the team now and then, amiright? A glass of wine helped me sleep like a baby though so all was well. 

Sunday morning I was the only one riding. Since trainer's daughter started school this year, trainer is taking Sunday as her day off so she can spend time with her little. (She used to take Monday's off like most horse people.) She had no issue with me riding though since I was going back to CT Monday morning. AND I got to groom my own horse! (I know having a groom is a total luxury, but since I groom all the horses at home, I really like doing it. I think you get to know them a lot better when you take care of them.) You know what happens when you groom your own horse? You have lots of selfie opportunities. Badger hates sharing the camera with me, but he love to be a clown for his own pictures:

Badger was great. I even faced my new found fears and had him gallop lengthen the canter down the long sides. No bucking what so ever, and he only spooked once at the dog. All in all, I'd say it was a successful weekend with the yellow horse, despite the rough start.

I didn't hang around the barn after getting Badger tucked in since no one was there, and also because I really should be a solid member of the family while we have guests. We all went out for froyo and then did a bunch of this:

It's a dog's life in Florida for sure. 

Usually on the days I fly home, I like to get breakfast at The Lazy Loggerhead, but it was not to be this time. My brother and his family were attempting to get out the door early. They were driving to Disney for a few days. Between that chaos and the slightly earlier flight, there was no time for breakfast out. Maybe next trip!

My flight home was uneventful. I got back early enough to unpack, take care of the ponies, AND go buy groceries before meeting my mom when she got out of work so I could pick up the short kids.  It turned out to be kind of a long day, but definitely a good one. It's hard to leave Florida this time of year (who wants to head back to the frozen tundra?!) but it's always nice to come home. Especially with so many four leggeds waiting for you.

Tuesday it was back to the normal schedule, work then riding. I got to ride Tuesday and today, which was nice, but tomorrow the temps are supposed to drop and I think riding will be on hold at least for a few days. Such a bummer. 

And that my friends, is what's up this Wednesday. What's up with you? Have you been riding? Do anything fun this weekend? Tell me about your week in the comments! Or feel free to share a buck-off story to make me feel better about myself.