The year so far...

Has been wonderful!

I rode Apache on Saturday the 30th and it was awesome. We got to ride outside for a change since the weather was nice. We just had to stay on one side of the arena since there was another lesson going on, on the other side. Apache did so good, I think he was happy to be outside. He acts completely different when he is indoors. A little more nervous, jumpy, etc. It is a smaller space too and I think Carol gets closer to him with the crop (whip), he doesn’t like that at all. My lesson got changed to Thursday evenings which I am excited about because they were taking a chunk out of my Saturdays. I have a feeling he may buck tonight, but I am ready. I can’t wait to see him. I love him no matter what. I have been strengthening my arms at home by boxing so he can bring it on. Ha ha! I hope he doesn’t bring it on, whaaa. I get scared when he spooks or rears a little who am I kidding?

New Years Eve was pretty uneventful. Tim and I ran errands, went to lunch and then hung out at home. He went to bed early, I stayed up until about 1:30 AM working on my calendar and writing. It was nice to have the time alone that night, I really enjoyed myself.

New Years Day we just hung out since almost nothing was open PLUS I slept until Noon (yessss). We did go to the book store and out for dinner at Banana Garden (Malaysian Food) which was to die for. Very mellow holiday weekend, just how I like it.

Long weekend are always good and so is easing back into work afterwards. I have a lot on my plate right now at work but have been working on being more efficient and organized so it has helped a lot and has taken a tremendous load off. I have a couple little piles left to go though and I am done, that will be so nice.

Last night, I saw, The Painted Veil, starring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts. It was wonderful. In a nutshell, they are British, she is spoiled and kind of bratty and he is a biologist (bacteriologist actually). They get married and move to Hong Kong where he is working, she has an affair, they move to rural China during the Cholera outbreak in 1925 where he is doing research on the epidemic. It is a great story. I don’t want to give too much away in case anyone wants to see it. The scenery was awesome and made me long for Vietnam in a big way. The children they showed in the orphanages reminded me of all of my little friends in An Nhon, I miss them. It was also kind of sad because some of the places they shot the movie are no longer going to be around since they are building new dams for the Yangzi river and some of the old villages are being taken out by the widening of the river as well. Pretty sad. I had to see the movie since I don’t know if I will ever get to those parts of China before the “rebuilding” takes place. They have already started a lot of the work and some villages that have been around for 100’s of years are going the way of the dinosaur. My heart goes out to those people who are being forced to move.

Tonight, it is all about Apache after work. It is raining so it may take some time for us to get in the indoor area since all of the other horses need to be turned out in there because the outdoor area will be muddy. Even if I just get to ride him a little while and then groom him and hang out with him, I am happy.

Stay Tuned…