I'm here!

Look at that beautiful view on the way to the barn!!

Well!  That was hard.  I've studiously avoided this blog until yesterday.  Sad, I know.  But it's "easy" not to dwell on things when you pretend that they don't matter.

If I'm being honest, I HAVE enjoyed my slight break from horses in general.  That tends to happen to me; I get SO involved, and SO invested and SO embroiled that I burn myself out; it's happened before, 17 years ago.  I was working/riding/going to the barn 5 and 6 days a week, and then I met the man who is now my husband.  BAM!  Stayed away from horses in general for about a year, and then didn't really get super involved again with them until about 3 years later.

If you've never owned a horse before, I'm here to tell you now:  IT'S STRESSFUL!  Vet bill both expected and unexpected, lessons, trailering, clinics, shows, poker rides, hunter paces, trail rides, etc.  Not to mention lost shoes, ripped blankets, destroyed fly sheets, chewed up reins, broken saddle trees, etc!  If you're independently wealthy, no big deal.  Just swipe that bank card, and all is well!  If you're like ME ... you're probably better off not owning a horse.

I'm happy to report that the muffin man is looking fat and happy in his new home!  His weight looks great, his coat looks great, he's getting to compete at Chatt Hills, and his owner is still in love with him :)  I'm so thankful the sale worked out for all parties; it's because of him that I'm blogging from my kitchen table here in the crisp, cool California morning.  It will warm up to around 70 today and will be sunny and gorgeous.  Who can complain about that??

I'm ALSO happy to report that I'm working on a way to get back into things, horse wise.  I got a job that I LOVE working in a dental office.  The work is challenging, it's out of the elements, and it's only 20 minutes up the street :)  On the up side of that job, I have every Wednesday OFF.  Seems like the perfect day to go hang at the barn, huh??  This past Wed I moseyed on over to a barn out in the town I work in, and spent several hours watching the trainer teach/ride and had the time of my life!  It was so relaxing to just BE there, not having to worry about working ... I'm trying to work on a plan that will allow me to do some work for her in exchange for a weekly lesson!  That achieves the goal I had set for myself when leaving GA; sell the horse, and just concentrate on learning and riding as much as I can.  For now, riding once a week will be perfect.  It will be a great escape, I'll actually get to LESSON instead of muddle around on my own, and I won't be all stressed out with being at the barn 6 days a week in addition to my normal life.  I'm not ashamed to say that my apartment is MUCH cleaner than my house was, my laundry room literally has NO clothes piled up in it, my kitchen is clean, carpets vacuumed, and even the ceiling fans are devoid of dust.  At this stage of our life, I just want to escape to the barn once in awhile.  I'm enjoying the time with my boys, I'm enjoying my "real job", and I'm enjoying going to church and spending time volunteering at my church.

I pledge to come back here to "Tails".  I WILL own another ottb someday; Tiki was such a blast I have to do another one!  I will get back to catching up on the other blogger's lives I've neglected in the past 4 months because it was too hard to venture back here.  My life is still very much in upheaval because it took so long to find jobs once we got here; as usual for ME, finances are stretched really tight, but I'm optimistic about getting things in order soon.  I'm hopeful to get something worked out lesson wise so that I have something to blog about in the next week or 2!  I don't know if anyone is still reading, but I'm sorry I stepped away and happy to be back!