Hey it's me, that girl

Yes indeed I am still around!  I've totally been lurking on blogs and instagram 0_o  Needless to say life has been crazy insane.

Yup, sums me up

I graduated!

Gotta love a school with a horse mascot

Diva was a pissy pissy mare this spring

Imagine her head and neck matching that tail

But we added regumate and some intense riding and things are getting better

BOOYAHH

My birthday came and went

Besties!

Mojito is literally breaking my heart

Happier times

The racehorses are doing amazing!

First race of opening night

My friends have been rocking it on their OTTBs

Helping out the sprinklerbandit

Watching Bacon and Alyssa

I leave in a few days to Canada for two weeks and Georgia for a week!

I'm planning on lots of catch up blogs while I'm off traveling and relaxing.

Woot woot

I am officially in every class I need this semester, which means that I applied for graduation.  I was literally skipping around campus.  No worries about people thinking I'm crazy, because I'm already 'that girl' who wears riding clothes.  Hey, I figure if people can come in scrubs from work I can come in breeches from work.  In case you are thinking that it is a small campus so it is easy to be 'that girl' nope, we have about 20,000 students.

Its a good thing I had some fun and exciting news because this is what the weather gave us this morning:

The hot fence coated in ice

Liquid ice was falling from the sky, and it froze to everything it touched.  The joys of rain at 32F.  Then in typical Idaho fashion the weather couldn't make up its mind about what to do.  It rained/snowed/sleeted all at the same time!  BLECK!

View from my front door

 Oh Idaho.

Also on the exciting news front, this blog hit the 45 followers and 10,000 page views mark!  Thanks guys, I never really planned on getting there.  I'm not in a position to do any sort of contest etc, but I will keep the thought around and when it works I will do one.

So I've been so tired of the grey that I haven't even taken pictures of my ponies for a few days.  One can only look at so many muddy, icy, ungroomed pictures of my horses.  So here are a couple from this fall that my mom took that I never posted:

I think I spotted a hole, but check out her hind end engagement!

A nice sunny afternoon:)

I'm baaaccckkkk!

Whew time flies when you have Thanksgiving, a visit from a friend, and finals.  Let me say it loud and clear finals are over! Happy dance!

I promised to talk about the awesome prethanksgiving lesson last time I was here so here is a tid bit about it.

DIVA. WAS. AMAZING.

Ok next...just kidding;)  She was calm, and sweet, and just perfect.  We worked on bending through her body and more quickly responding to my leg and poles and few jumps.

Best OTTB's ever!

Nothing too exciting, but a great outing.  Steph had some canter poles set that were pretty long for the other three horses and every time Dive went though it was awkward, she kept walking over and checking them.  Finally we go through and she is all, 'your horse has a freakishly long stride.'  *sheepish grin* I know.  You can see in the video we aren't even going fast and Diva still covers the ground.

After this my friend from Georgia rode her twice and then the weather did this:

Yes the 'realfeel' says -21!  And don't let the extended forecast fool (it lies) you we still haven't reached above freezing, fingers crossed for today.

Yesterday for a post finals celebration the sprinklerbandit and I loaded up the horses and hauled over for a quasi lesson.  Alyssa came to and took pictures, woohoo! It was in the low 20's and felt totally passable.  Courage ended up being great and Diva ended up being a pissy mare (apparently they take turns behaving).  Still though she hadn't been ridden in two weeks and I just hopped on.  The worst she did was squeal and kick out.  For a 4.5 year old mare I can't complain.

She reminds me of an equine ballerina

That face

Yes that is ice on her whiskers, at the end of the ride

Working on not being pissy

That is our trainer with my scarf and Courage's cooler

She is starting to look so fancy

In a mood

In the background you can see the hoar frost all over everything and the snow still on the ground from nearly two weeks ago!  I have lots of kitten pics and snowy pony pics too, but I figure this in enough photopuke for one post and now that I'm on break  the posts should be regular again.

So many fun happenings!

Do I need to be studying for a Molecular Biology of Cancer class? Yes.  So it seems like a perfect time to finally update my blog.  I've been slacking I know, but my house is cleaner and my long time friend who lives in Georgia is in town!  Also I was baking up a storm of pies for thanksgiving. YUM!

Apple raisin

Caramel apple

Peach

My kitchen is still recovering from the mess!
I was able to ride all of last week, Yeah!  But now it is raining and that is supposed to continue through tomorrow and then by thursday our lows are supposed to be in single digits.

wtf

I rode Gunner and Gigi and both are doing so very well, makes me happy!

Who needs to see where they are going?

Working on some halfpass

I love my pink scarf

Such a good boy

Redheads unite!

I also did a lesson with Diva, but that will be in the next post:)

The cold comes rolling in

Not much for riding pictures this week as it started with gallons of rain and has ended with a low of 17 degrees!  I did get to break out my quarter sheet and wool socks:

as expected Diva was a star

Diva also got to start wearing her warm and cozy spoiled princess blanket I bought her on sale last spring when I was feeling like I had money to spend.  I love it!

Plus it matches my truck and trailer, win!

I need to pick up some sleepy drugs for her so we can clip her.  By we I mean sprinklerbandit and I will tag team so that we can use less of the expensive sleepy drugs.  I am really wanting a princess crown or tiara on her behind or shoulder or both....

I was laughed at when I suggested this entire emblem

Yeah, so I don't even own any over priced Juicy Couture...but Diva brings out the princess in me, I want her to have all the things!  Also there is this princess, she just oozes cute!  Too bad cats don't like accessories.

no words for the cute level here

The other thing the cold weather brings out in me is my inner queen of the kitchen.  I baked scones.

Serious carb coma after eating these

And since next week is Thanksgiving break and I don't get to go see the Hubby I will be baking away my sorrows.  Ok so sorrows is excessive, but it worked well in my sentence.

Pie anyone?

And for a peek at how my week leading up to break went at school check out this picture. 

The eraser was a present from Husband

That was the start of a Forensic Biology test, ended up being 8 full pages of hand written calculations. Nerd.

What happened to summer?

This isn't in the sense of temperature, still mid 90's here, this is in response to my first week of school commencing.  I had a friend text me today, 'what happened to our pinterest summer?'  We had grand plans of choosing projects or recipes from our pinterest pages and actually doing them...not one happened.  Maybe we will make up for it with winter and fall cooking.  My classes are going well so far and my schedule is pretty cool.  I've got Molecular Biology of Cancer, Forensic Biology, Advanced Developmental Biology, and Anatomy & Physiology.   Ology, ology, ology.   Two more classes in the spring and I will have a Human Biology degree!

Seriously!

So Aero passed his vet check with flying colors and now we are waiting on the results of the final wife/husband conversation.  Pins and needles here.

Gonna miss him

Last night I headed out after class and lunged Bridger and Diva with some sidereins (the leather and elastic kind).  I forgot my riding boots so it was a tennis shoe forced session.  It went well, Bridger was a champ and really started to figure it out.  This was a large improvement over his last session with them when he became part contortionist and still had his neck inverted and head in the air.  I've been planning on making a 'pessoa' for him but it hasn't happened yet.  His trot gets better and better, there is some real stretch and suspension starting to form.

So handsome

Diva did ok as well.  She hadn't been lunged since last fall and that was with the loosest of loose sidereins.  I put them on still loose but asking for her head to not be giraffe like and we went to work.  I forgot the lunge whip and she needs one, we muddled through.  To the left she was all business and put in some lovely head down trot.  To the right she was all, 'what is this bit in my mouth? I can't turn!  OMG, I can't breathe, these sidereins are going to kill me, ahhhhhh.'  Hmmm, ok. So I took them off and she was, 'la la la I'm trit trotting on happy happy circles with my head down.'  Mares.

Fast forward to today.  I rode the two of them and Bridger accepted the bit from step one right through the ride to the last step.  I was really proud of him, he has settled in and is even better than pre-move.  I was impressed with his soft mouth and flexed neck.  In fact I will not be using sidereins on him again soon as he was wanting to curl a bit.  Can't wait for happy medium.

Diva was also good, not as on the bit as Bridger, but starting to figure it out.  Her unflappable personality again blew me away today.  Mid-ride a neighbor showed up with truck, trailer, and horse.  Diva said, 'Whatevs.'  Seriously that's it.  We even rode over and said hi, (Diva, 'Yawn, don't waste my time with these plebeians').  Don't try and tell her it was another ottb black mare (it was).

And as promised a few more pics from tiara day.

Waxing poetic

Awkward faces

Um I need a tiara too!

Coming up for air

Not much time as finals are next week and next weekend is the Idaho Dressage Festival (which I'm riding two horses at).  Whew, leaving the house by 5am and getting home around 9pm has not been conducive to getting this blog written on, sorry guys.  After finals are over I will have more time and plan to return to sharing about my escapades.  My husband is home, FINALLY!!!! It has been great great great!  I'm going to share some pics here as a time saving way to catch up with you.

We have been having some big rolling thunder storms, and the leaves are unfurling from the grape vines

Sadie (the back biter) and I go for a gallop

Star, one of two Halflingers I will take to the show

Idaho TB assoc award for 3yo filly of the year, Eugene was training her at golden gate.  Note: she just won here at Les Bois yesterday!

whispers *totally me*

Bridger is back from the cowboy, still rude, but willing to learn

Sprinklerbandits came over for a ride and Mojito and Suzie thought it would be a good time to race!

Ok that's all for now, but I promise more sooner than later.  Racing has started and we have already ran two seconds and won one!!!!