Wow, lots to talk about:)

Hello all! I'm feeling particularly cheerful (though a little cold) since I've been able to work my boy 4 days this week, woo hoo! He has yet another booboo on his NECK. Anyone else out there in bloggerland who's horse gets nasty gashes on their neck? It's quite annoying; my theory is that since it's so cold and yucky out, that when he's turned out all he does is keep his face buried in the round bale, and the round bale is in a feeder. So I think he's catching himself on the feeder. I HATE those things, but what am I to do? I can't afford to buy the barn owners a new one, so I either deal with it, or move. I have NO desire to move, I love my barn. Sooo ... guess I deal with the nicks and cuts and quit whining about it;)

I was awarded a cool award called the "Stylish Blogger Award", which makes me laugh! These days, I am bundled up in 3 pairs of pants, warm muck boots, and as many shirts as I can stand and still move around in. Makeup, what's that? And hair? OK, let's not talk about the hair ... So, thanks to Marissa at http://www.tuckerthewunderkind.blogspot.com/ for her nice shoutout! Let's see, I am supposed to come up with 7 facts about me, and pass on the award to 15 "new" bloggers. I don't follow a ton of blogs, so I will have to see how many I can come up with!

7 Random facts, in no particular order:

1. My favorite TV show in the entire world is "The Amazing Race". My husband and I have a closet fantasy of one day being on this show.

2. I have seriously been wanting a stick shift car again! I haven't had one in about 10 years, and I miss driving one.

3. I am SUPER excited about my 32nd birthday gift to myself ... my 6th tattoo! I will post pics once it has been applied to my skin:)

4. I am crazy, super grateful for my girlfriends. I have always been a bit of a "loner" type of girl, and it's nice to know that I have a core group of girls I know I can count on.

5. I would love to write and publish a book but I don't think I have the talent for it.

6. I REALLY hate to clean my house. Like, despise it. If I were to win the lottery, I would TOTALLY have someone else do it.

7. And finally ... I am a procrastinator. I PROMISE I will really start to work on that tomorrow ... ;)

And, a list of 15 blogs! Wow, let's see how it goes:)

1. http://www.tuckerthewunderkind.blogspot.com/

2. http://retreadeventer.blogspot.com/

3. http://shiverandemmy.blogspot.com/

4. http://eventing-a-gogo.blogspot.com/

5. http://jumping-percheron.blogspot.com/

6. http://afatgirlafathorse.blogspot.com/

7. http://laughingdownthelines.blogspot.com/

8. http://thegmchronicles.blogspot.com/

9. http://sineadchalpin.blogspot.com/

10. http://defyinggravityeventing.blogspot.com/

11. http://laineashker.blogspot.com/

And ... we stop there! These are the most recent of my blog followings ... I just don't have time to keep up with 20+ blogs ... especially if they're like me and update 2-4 times per week!

So, it always surprises me to realize that people actually actually READ my blog. I write out all these post primarily for my own amusement, so that on a day like today when I'm working a 20 m circle to a counter canter, to a flying change, I can remember the days when Tiki couldn't even maintain a TROT RHYTHM. I vividly remember my frustration when we would be trotting a million miles an hour and not going anywhere. He would shake his head, hollow his back, and scissor those hind legs! I hope that in all my ramblings, someone can glean a small tidbit of information that may help them avoid mistakes I have made with my boy; or even to "break through", and have a lightbulb moment.

I won't go on with a bunch of details since I did the "stylish blog" shoutout; I will save that post for the weekend:) I didn't ride Tuesday because I was SO SORE from Monday, and I did a dressage school Wednesday and today, and longed him yesterday. It was so COLD today, brrr! Temp was hovering right around freezing all day. I will blog this weekend about specifics; suffice it to say, it has been a pretty decent week:)