P.S. My horses are going to Barn #3, which is good, in one week!!! Yessssss!!!!!!!! FREEDOM

Once again it is Wednesday, the day that I ride! I'm really excited. Wednesdays are always slow at work, so I spend a lot of the day staring at the computer and counting the minutes. Current count we're down to around 3 hours and a lot of minutes left of working! Talia is coming out tonight so her, Shannon and I will ride and they will probably do crazy things, like jumping.  Me, I'll just sit back, laugh, watch and give positive reinforcement!

Friday Shannon has a lesson. It will be her 2nd lesson at Maffitt (a very expensive and very reputable training/riding/boarding facility) She will begin taking 2 lessons a week, both I will be trying to attend to help her practice at home, and for my own knowledge. She has a very strong passion for jumping, and she wants to jump really high! I'm going to do all that I can to help support her so she can become her dream...I know it's going to be a long winter, it will get frustrating, she will have her good and bad days, but this is something she really wants to do and I want to be the friend that can help her to remember what she's always wanted when things get tough and be there when things come together. I know she'd do the same for me. Sooooo I'm really excited to get the show on the road!!!

Saturday Shannon is having a party and she invited a bunch of her friends to come ride and then after we ride we're gonna eat smoked briskett and cheesy taters, provided by me and Scott and cooked by the men :) Then after we eat they have a HUGE stick forest setup for a HUGE bonfire....yay!! Then we'll get our drink on :)

Current Location: Work
Current Mood: bouncy
Current Music: None

Humpday sucks because it's not Friday, but it rules because I get to ride after work!! Shannon's gonna get Tommy and Rocco all ready and brushed down before I get there so we can get right to work!! We have so much fun riding together, trying different things and learning from eachother! I love having someone to share my passion for horses with :) 

Finally we got over Derby's loping issues...so this is what we found out about her, she's freaking lazy, she's rode best with spurs, she must wear sport boots on the front, AND the crop rules her! She will listen to a crop over spurs anyday...why, we do not know!!

She's been loped pretty good these past 3 weeks and she continues to get better and more collected each time. 

We're going to send Mack to our trainer for 45 days in February to work on his leads and other things, then he's going to Becky (the dressage guru) for another 30-45 days...Do some Intro Dressage stuff this spring...He looks like such a pimp!! I guess that's what you get with draft crosses :)

Oh yeah, it's my 2 year wedding anniversary today and I got 12 red roses and 2 pink ones...that was nice...

Current Location: Work
Current Mood: chipper

Okay so Derby (my faithful steed) has been going back to basics...I've had to switch barns a couple of times until we found our true home! We currently board at Kyle Ridge Ranch...I've got 2 horses Derby (Quarter Horse) and Mac (Draft Cross). I've been friends with Shannon (Barn owner and manager) for about 3 or 4 months now. We get along really well! We both share the same aspirations and goals for our horses and we are both at the same riding level.

I've owned Derby and Mac for over a year now. I've always primarily rode Derby but I'm going to start riding Mac again soon. During this year that I've had Derby there have been many things that have happened, not only have we moved barns 3 times, but she got EMP, I broke my wrist, and no arenas or anywhere to ride in. So there really hasn't been much area to work until now!

Shannon and I have set some short term goals (that once we reach we will have a spa day!! Oct 13 :)  ) I've worked really hard with Derby these past couple of months, she's moving great, except for the lope. When we first got her loping she was really uncollected and unbalanced and everything. After a couple of days she was doing good, getting better...but then she started shutting down. She'd do fine warming up, walk, trot, bending, flexing, anything...but once it was time to lope she would shut down, rear, throw her head and act like a complete PIG!! We've tried everything, loping in on and off the lunge line, in the indoor and on the outdoor arenas...using crops to keep her going and spurs to keep her going as well...she just compeltely breaks down and wont move!!  So we have no idea what's up!!!

I'm really excited because we've enlisted the help of a friend who is a small time trainer to come and give Derby an evaluation. He will get on her and find out whats going on!! I sure hope he can enlighten us and find out whats going on!!! This slump in our routine and goals has really stressed me out and put a damper on the goals...We're aching for that spa day, but I want it to be well earned and rewarded!!!

So...I'm really really excited to find out what actions we will be taking tonight!!! Tomorrows journal will let you know the outcome, cross your fingers :)

Current Location: Working
Current Mood: anxious
Current Music: None, just the dead sounds of keying

Okay so in about an hour I'm leaving work to go talk to someone at my bank about getting a mortgage loan, and i'm nervous!

 We already live in a home now, but we REALLY want to get some land with a house! So we found a place, that's perfect, has the perfect price and everything! It hasn't gone on the market yet, but there just so happens to be someone else already interested in it...I'm the only one that can get the loan because my husband is self employed and mortgage companies make it rather difficult because they like you to prove income as far as W-2's and stuff. So I'm nervous about going and talking to them because I don't want to be let down. I have good credit, and my debt to income ratio will be good in about a month. There are 3 things on my credit report that can get paid off in a month. But I don't want to wait for them to pull my credit until then, because if we wait, then the house will be gone, i'm sure. PLUS we have to sell our house as well. So, we need to get pre-approved and get our house on the market ASAP if we want this house. I don't know. 

We've always wanted to live in the country but, mortgage companies make it so difficult. They always want 20 and even in some lucky cases 10 percent down. That's still A LOT of money. Not many people my age have that kind of money/equity in their homes laying around. We dont thats for sure! So we'll see. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a negative experience, but I'll be back to write and tell after the meeting...

So I'm back from the mortgage place and it doesn't look good, just like I thought. I have too much debt to income. Boooo. Well Mandy gave me a card of someone who might be able to look around for more options...I hope this actually works...Still Sad...

Current Mood: nervous

Okay so it's friday and work is nearing to a close...I love Fridays, and I think the only thing I actually really like about my job is that we get to leave at 12:30. Once work gets done I'm going to be heading down to the barn to visit the kids! Scott is working so he probably wont be able to come. 

I'm really excited because my cousin called and they are going to be buying their daughter a horse, if not already and they need somewhere to board! I'm going to refer them to the new place and I really hope they like it, which I know they will cause it's sooo nice!! I just really want to give the new barn owners business, cause not only do they deserve it but it would be a good fit for my cousins!

Saturday it looks like we'll be heading out to the races with Tracy and Josh. They are so fun, I'm so glad we met them. They are our age and we all seem to share common interest and same morals/values. We're going to have the buffet and bet on some horses. Now that I actually know a little more about placing bets, I'm going to be all over the place. I hope I win some money!! Yeahhhh!

That will probably be the big event for the weekend. Scott is going to be working the whole weekend and I'm going to be playing with the horsies and deep cleaning the house. Other then that, nothing else is going on really. Actually there is one thing....

So my cousin is going to be having a baby in September, she's not married but she's been living with this guy for about a year and they've been together for about 4 years, so in todays society thats a typical and acceptable thing. My family is starting to accept it but, it's still hard for them because she's a really independent, careless, irresponsible person. My great grandmother said some aweful things, but she grew up in a different time...Well I'm kind of jealous of her, her boyfriend or i should say fiance now, are living in Chicago. I just found out her boyfriend was offered an awesome job, where he will be making well over 100,000 a year and they will have to move to Michigan. So that means that she wont have to work a day in her life, and he'll make all the money to support her and all she'll have to do is take care of the kid. I'm really jealous because that is what I want to do. How come I'm the responsible one, I've got morals, values, I really want to take care of my family and be the best person I can be, and I can't get so lucky? All I'm saying is our business better take off, so I can stay at home all day and play with the horses!! That's my DREAM!!

Current Mood: okay

Alright so last night I was at the new barn until 10:15 and I didn't get home until 11:00!! Wow that's late. I had so much fun last night! Daddy Mack got a good ol' lunging and The Derbs got rode for awhile. It was really nice. Then we turned her out on pasture full time now, after trying to adjust her to grass eating for a week. She beat everyone up and maintained her place as dominate mare. My horses are so happy out there! The owner's are so nice, I really hope I can refer some good people to them, they deserve it!

Currently at work, and hating it as usual. Our business really needs to take off so I don't have to do this BS anymore. You know the work is tolerable really, the management and heathens they have running my department really makes life miserable. I'd rather be outside mowing laws all day then doing this, but I know I wouldn't get enough money to do that. Whatever.

Current Mood: ecstatic

This is my first journal and it's a positive one!

Okay, so Friday June 1 we moved the kids and by kids I mean our horses, to a new barn. This new place is like a breath of fresh air. It is immaculately clean! There is not a lot of commotion, there are only 2 other boarders horses and the owners have 4 of their own. They only allow up to 12 boarded horses at a time so they can have the BEST care, which I totally agree with. They could actually put more horses out there, but in by doing that they'd probably tear up their beautiful pastures and have to end up buying round bails all the time, but insted the horses get free grass and it's not all muddy, which is nice!

Things were not working out with the old place, it was sad to leave but we felt we had no choice, and we wanted there to be as little drama as possible. So we left quietly. The boarding facility we wanted to go to is currently full, but they will have openings for us July 1. So we decided to temporarily put the kids at the place they are at now, for about 30 days. Then we will move to their permanent home. I can tell already that I will be very sad to leave the place they are at now, because it is sooooooo nice. When I say nice I mean NICE, QUALITY, everything. You'd really only understand if you were a horse owner. But this is one of the nicest places I've seen in Iowa.

I just feel really relieved that there is someone there 24/7 to watch my horses and to care for them. I get emails DAILY and text messages asking how my ride was, and the emails are to my work where I get updates on what they are doing and how they are doing. Now that is service! They are getting quality feed, they have AWESOME arenas that are large, so something can actually be done in them, and the footing is nice and SAFE. The automatic waterers get cleaned and everything is sanitary and clean, as it should be. There is no drama or negative talk, everything there is safe. It's almost like my horses are staying at a 5 start hotel for a month, seriously. I just feel stress free and happy that I dont have to worry about anything with them. If something happens to them as far as their health goes, it will be just because it happens sometimes, and it wont be because the care was not quality. 

My horses and pets are like my children, so I worry about them a lot. Now I dont worry much and I'm excited to go to the new barn. I dont have to get stressed cause there's no where to ride or somethings wrong with their food or their stalls...no worries at all...This is nice...

Current Mood: relieved