Today, as the title implies, is Ash Wednesday. A day which marks the beginning of the Lenten season where we remember the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert and reflect on how much we need God in our lives. At the end of the Lent is of course Easter. I am planning on going to church at 7:00 tonight in Raymond. I am hoping the roads won't be slick as it is snowing out right now and we will probably get more of it as the day goes on.
Every year during Lent, we are asked to give something up or commit to doing something every day. This year I am going to do both. I am going to NOT bite my nails in hopes of kicking the habit for good and I am going to post on this blog every day. So those of you who follow my blog will have something to look forward. Haha. I have noticed that some of my blog posts have been negative and I mainly use it as a way to vent and I hope to change that as the days go by.
I am now a full-time assistant barn manager at LaBella Farm. I am now on a weekly salary and have been keeping track of how much time I spend in the barn. So far, I have spent over 40 hours in the barn each week a couple of weeks have pushed the 50 hour mark. I do take Sunday morning off to go to church and have some time off the farm. Monday I usually make light since I don't have to do stalls and I use that time to clean the apartment. Traci has come and gone so I have the apartment to myself again for the time being. It was kind of nice having someone to talk to and a dog to spoil and play with, but I will get another roommate eventually since we are looking for someone to do stalls in exchange for the rent.
That about sums up what has been going on since the last post. I will post again tomorrow, so ttyl!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Pre-Holiday Happenings
Well, the Beahrs have gone. Paige and I have been running the farm ourselves for almost a couple of months now and things are going pretty smoothly. I have moved all of my bedroom furniture into Sharon's old room, we have added some curtains, blinds, and new ceiling tiles, and I have a new full size bed! We now have 16 horses, 3 of which are outside so I now have 13 stalls to do everyday.
We have just hired a few new people. One gal, Traci, is going to be moving in with me and will help with chores and other barn activities. I have no doubt that she will be training horses since she is a trainer. She is bipolar, and when I mentioned that I had never lived with a bipolar person before, I quickly learned that Sharon was actually bipolar!! I had no idea of this, but that was probably so I wouldn't be scared away from the job in the first place. But once Traci told me what to expect, I think we will get along fine.
We have also hired another gal to help me out with stalls. She will do stalls twice a week so I can have a couple of days to do other things such as run errands and do other barn work. Lately, I have been having pretty bad pain in my upper back while I have been doing stalls, and I have been getting irritable since I am still in school and it's harder to get stalls done in the morning. I am the kind of person who can't get out of bed when it is still dark outside. My body doesn't work that way and Paige thinks I am just finding excuses and making up stories to get out of stalls, but I am not. I do like to do stalls since it is the only way of making money and I am being productive during the day, but getting up before dawn has always been pretty hard. I remember when I started out here in the summer, Sharon would always keep the hall light on. My old room was pitch black with no windows, so when that light would shine through, I would think it was daylight, so I couldn't get back to sleep. I finally had to tell her to keep it off, which she did with much difficulty. Otherwise, the stalls have been getting done later in the morning when the horses are outside and that makes it a lot easier on me since I don't have to worry about the horses getting in the way.
Another recent employee is a new farmhand, who will do the mowing in the summer, snow plowing in the winter, and other stuff in between that us women can't easily get done ourselves. He and his family will be moving into the trailer soon, and Paige and I can't wait to have them join our team.
I can't wait for school to be over! This is my last semester and I will be excited when I no longer have to worry about homework or being late for or missing class. I started going to school this year not knowing if the farm would be sold or not; not to mention if I would still have a long term job here. Last week was Thanksgiving break and it was so relaxing not having to worry about school and just focusing on the horses. Now that school is back in session for another week or so, I am more distracted and stressed than ever! Paige has already called me out on cutting some corners, I have had several meltdowns, and, on top of everything else, Paige and Traci are hinting that I may have to switch rooms....AGAIN!!! I wish I were the kind to toughen up and defend myself, but that is not what I normally do. Normally I end up crying and going off to do something to calm myself down. I am sometimes amazed that I haven't started drinking or smoking yet! I really want to keep my room, but I feel that if I fight for it, they will accuse me of being spoiled, since people have been giving me a lot lately much to my actual dismay, or something like that. I can't find the right words to fight back with and what comes out of my mouth doesn't always match what is in my head at the time. That part gets frustrating. So I guess we will have to see how it all turns out.
I am going to try and get some shut eye now. I am going to try and get some stalls done early in the morning so I can get to church on time and not be in a hurry to get back to do stalls. Good night, all!!
We have just hired a few new people. One gal, Traci, is going to be moving in with me and will help with chores and other barn activities. I have no doubt that she will be training horses since she is a trainer. She is bipolar, and when I mentioned that I had never lived with a bipolar person before, I quickly learned that Sharon was actually bipolar!! I had no idea of this, but that was probably so I wouldn't be scared away from the job in the first place. But once Traci told me what to expect, I think we will get along fine.
We have also hired another gal to help me out with stalls. She will do stalls twice a week so I can have a couple of days to do other things such as run errands and do other barn work. Lately, I have been having pretty bad pain in my upper back while I have been doing stalls, and I have been getting irritable since I am still in school and it's harder to get stalls done in the morning. I am the kind of person who can't get out of bed when it is still dark outside. My body doesn't work that way and Paige thinks I am just finding excuses and making up stories to get out of stalls, but I am not. I do like to do stalls since it is the only way of making money and I am being productive during the day, but getting up before dawn has always been pretty hard. I remember when I started out here in the summer, Sharon would always keep the hall light on. My old room was pitch black with no windows, so when that light would shine through, I would think it was daylight, so I couldn't get back to sleep. I finally had to tell her to keep it off, which she did with much difficulty. Otherwise, the stalls have been getting done later in the morning when the horses are outside and that makes it a lot easier on me since I don't have to worry about the horses getting in the way.
Another recent employee is a new farmhand, who will do the mowing in the summer, snow plowing in the winter, and other stuff in between that us women can't easily get done ourselves. He and his family will be moving into the trailer soon, and Paige and I can't wait to have them join our team.
I can't wait for school to be over! This is my last semester and I will be excited when I no longer have to worry about homework or being late for or missing class. I started going to school this year not knowing if the farm would be sold or not; not to mention if I would still have a long term job here. Last week was Thanksgiving break and it was so relaxing not having to worry about school and just focusing on the horses. Now that school is back in session for another week or so, I am more distracted and stressed than ever! Paige has already called me out on cutting some corners, I have had several meltdowns, and, on top of everything else, Paige and Traci are hinting that I may have to switch rooms....AGAIN!!! I wish I were the kind to toughen up and defend myself, but that is not what I normally do. Normally I end up crying and going off to do something to calm myself down. I am sometimes amazed that I haven't started drinking or smoking yet! I really want to keep my room, but I feel that if I fight for it, they will accuse me of being spoiled, since people have been giving me a lot lately much to my actual dismay, or something like that. I can't find the right words to fight back with and what comes out of my mouth doesn't always match what is in my head at the time. That part gets frustrating. So I guess we will have to see how it all turns out.
I am going to try and get some shut eye now. I am going to try and get some stalls done early in the morning so I can get to church on time and not be in a hurry to get back to do stalls. Good night, all!!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Everything Changes
This has been a hectic week. Not only did I have to do my own chores, stalls, classes, and studying, but Sharon, my roommate and Sylvia's sister, had to stop doing her chores and stalls on Thursday to help Sylvia pack for the move to Texas by Wednesday. So all the stalls and chores are on me and the new owner, Paige. The bad news is that on Friday, Paige fell from a horse and had to be taken to the hospital later that day. Luckily nothing is broken or badly damaged and she is fine now. At the time, she had only one stall done compared to my three; so that left me to do around 20+ stalls by myself....a daunting task. I worked from 7:30AM to 8:45PM and got 16 stalls done. She had told me not to worry about some since those horses would be leaving within the next couple of days, and since they are regularly out in the pasture, their stalls aren't that bad at all. I can tell you though, doing 16 stalls in one day is exhausting and I was so sore. I normally do 12 stalls three times a week, which includes the seven that I am normally in charge of, plus 5 extra since we didn't really need a third stall cleaner. So 16 in one day was kinda tough.
We have also had to say good bye to some of our horses this weekend. I wasn't around to see them go, so it wasn't too hard for me. Sharon said she had a hard time watching them get loaded in the trailer because she had taken care of them for longer, but we are glad that they are going to good homes. She had also told me that one of my favorite horses, Beyonce, has also been sold. This news made me very sad. Later, I was doing evening chores when I saw a trailer outside the arena. I was heading to the small barn next where Beyonce is kept. When I walked out of the main barn, I saw that it was one of our boarders coming back from a trail ride. Since I had already thought the worst, I started sobbing with relief that I still had a little bit of time to say good bye to her. I have worked a lot with her and her turning out manners, so we have developed a bond and I know that I will have a very hard time once her new owners come to get her since my heart breaks at the thought of her going.
Things are definitely going to be changing fast, so the next week will be even more busy as well as emotional.
This weekend I also went to have lunch with my younger brother, Micah, at the Olive Garden. He must have really missed me because he swept me into a big bear hug when I got out of my car. We don't really have a great sibling relationship, so that kinda surprised me. While it was nice to catch up with him, I also noticed that he needs to work on his restaurant etiquette as well as his appearance as it seems he hasn't shaved in a while. He admitted that he only shaved on Sundays, so he has to work on that.
Well, I think I am all caught up for now. I need to get to bed to prepare for the upcoming roller coaster of a week.
We have also had to say good bye to some of our horses this weekend. I wasn't around to see them go, so it wasn't too hard for me. Sharon said she had a hard time watching them get loaded in the trailer because she had taken care of them for longer, but we are glad that they are going to good homes. She had also told me that one of my favorite horses, Beyonce, has also been sold. This news made me very sad. Later, I was doing evening chores when I saw a trailer outside the arena. I was heading to the small barn next where Beyonce is kept. When I walked out of the main barn, I saw that it was one of our boarders coming back from a trail ride. Since I had already thought the worst, I started sobbing with relief that I still had a little bit of time to say good bye to her. I have worked a lot with her and her turning out manners, so we have developed a bond and I know that I will have a very hard time once her new owners come to get her since my heart breaks at the thought of her going.
Things are definitely going to be changing fast, so the next week will be even more busy as well as emotional.
This weekend I also went to have lunch with my younger brother, Micah, at the Olive Garden. He must have really missed me because he swept me into a big bear hug when I got out of my car. We don't really have a great sibling relationship, so that kinda surprised me. While it was nice to catch up with him, I also noticed that he needs to work on his restaurant etiquette as well as his appearance as it seems he hasn't shaved in a while. He admitted that he only shaved on Sundays, so he has to work on that.
Well, I think I am all caught up for now. I need to get to bed to prepare for the upcoming roller coaster of a week.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
New Beginnings
Hey all! Remember me? Good, I know it's been quite a while and I promised to post more, but I kept forgetting and work and school kept getting in the way.....ok, ok, I'll stop making excuses!! Now for the good stuff....I bet you are dying to know what I have really been up to all this time. Well, I will try to keep this as short as possible, so here goes.....
Since my last post I:
Since my last post I:
- Spent all spring semester at Kirkwood working at McDonald's and going to class. Nothing much new there!
- Became a vegetarian.
- Quit McDonald's....why is coming up shortly!
- Moved from Cedar Rapids to Cedar Falls.
- Got a small, overpriced apartment in Cedar Falls
- Left small, overpriced apartment in Cedar Falls to move to:
- Beahr Ridge Arabians, where I am still living and working but it is now known as LaBella Farm @ Beahr Ridge. Long story, I'll explain later.
- Applied/attending University of Northern Iowa
Did that blow your mind? Well if it didn't...sorry! Haha, I'm just kidding, but as you can see I was busy taking some gen eds at Kirkwood during the spring as well as working long hours at McDonalds. Now, my days at McDonald's are no more, and even though I miss some of the people and the nice paychecks at the end, I am happy to be done with it and really hope that I don't have to go back to working at a fast food place...ever!!! I still stay in touch with some of the people though, and I try to visit them when I can steal a few hours. This job is one of the reasons why I don't eat meat anymore.
I decided to become a vegetarian in April of this year. One reason being that meat just didn't taste good to me anymore. If I smell it, I still get a metalic taste in my mouth and it still kills my appetite for meat. Another reason is from being a closer at McDonald's, I would see the wasted meat at night and it was pretty disgusting to look at. If one customer was not satisfied with something on their burger, it would get tossed in the waste bin, and at the end of the day, we would have at least $20 worth of meat wasted.....poor animal! I won't go roo far into this vegetarian thing in this post. I still don't have a problem with other people eating meat or pork/beef/poultry production so that's not really an issue.
I have also moved to Cedar Falls to attend UNI majoring in Psychology. I am really enjoying it so far and have made a few friends that I can enjoy outside of work. Speaking of work, I don't have to do that anymore!!! At the beginning of the summer, I started working for Sylvia Beahr at Beahr Ridge Arabians in Cedar Falls and, in late July, moved into their lower/basement apartment, which is huge compared to my other Cedar Falls one. That apartment had nice features, but ended up being small, cramped, and the roommate was eh. She was nice, but she had poor housekeeping abilities, which meant that at the end of the day, I would come home to several dishes on the floor, food left out, and just a dirty environment. It was also overpriced and I can say that I am glad to be out of there.
I love living in the country again....the farm is a place that I can really call home and it is perfect for a horse gal like me. Sylvia had actually put it up for sale in January, and a few weeks ago, Paige LaBella bought it. She has hired me as an assistant barn manager, that is once my roommate, Sharon leaves with Sylvia. Sylvia, her husband Dick, and her sister, Sharon will be moving to Texas in the next couple of weeks. Dick is already down there overseeing the building of their new barn, so Sylvia and Sharon are still here making sure Paige and I get everything down and helping us out until Sylvia's horses can be moved. Sylvia owned this farm for 29 years, so she is very sad to let it go...but she has accepted that it is a big challenge for her and Dick has retired from his job at John Deere and wants to downsize so he will be able to enjoy his retirement more and work a little less. I will really miss them since they gave me my first job in the horse business, and I will miss their horses as well.
Paige LaBella is a very nice lady in her 40's that has a good horse background and we work very well together. She has said that she is very happy with me so far and I am looking forward to working for her in the future.
Well, I think we are very well caught up now and I am ready to go to bed. I will leave with another promise to try to blog some more. Good night all!!!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Christmas Time is Here!!
As I sit here watching "The Nativity Story" on TBS, I can't help but think about how close Christmas is and I'm not ready for it yet!! I still have to buy a couple more gifts for my brothers, do laundry, go to work, and squeeze in a haircut/eyebrow wax. Disappointingly, the weather was pretty bad out this morning, so I had to miss church again. Hopefully, the weather will hold up so I can go home on Tuesday. Today I wrapped my parents' present as well as my Aunt/Godmother, and my grab bag gift for one of my family members. I still have to wrap a couple more presents and then I am set for home.
The fall semester came to an end last week and finals went pretty smoothly. The week before brought a lot of snow and bad weather, which I had to dig out my car a couple of times and we missed three days of class, which would have been riding time for me but unfortunately, I won't be taking another horse class during Spring semester, with much relieve to my mom, but not so much to me since I have an unending passion for horses. I am continuing with my Liberal Arts degree so I have something to do until my lease is up.
I am now on the Troubles with Roommates list at Campus View and have talked to the Property Manager about my problems. After I came home from Thanksgiving break, I got a new message from a girl who also wanted to switch. We contacted each other and met in the office but were informed that we had to talk to our roommates first. She ended up backing out, but my roommate and I agreed that we don't want to live with each other anymore. We had another opportunity to switch, but the people we were switching with were guys and my parents don't want that happening even though I thought the guy was well mannered and laid back. Oh well, in the end I had to back out, so I went to my Property manager again and spoke with her privately and told her what the problems were. So we agreed that after winter break, we would meet again and see what solution we could come up with.
Well, I guess that is all that is new with me. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas...which is now becoming a controversy, but I will say it anyway, have a Merry Christmas and a very happy and safe New Year!!!
The fall semester came to an end last week and finals went pretty smoothly. The week before brought a lot of snow and bad weather, which I had to dig out my car a couple of times and we missed three days of class, which would have been riding time for me but unfortunately, I won't be taking another horse class during Spring semester, with much relieve to my mom, but not so much to me since I have an unending passion for horses. I am continuing with my Liberal Arts degree so I have something to do until my lease is up.
I am now on the Troubles with Roommates list at Campus View and have talked to the Property Manager about my problems. After I came home from Thanksgiving break, I got a new message from a girl who also wanted to switch. We contacted each other and met in the office but were informed that we had to talk to our roommates first. She ended up backing out, but my roommate and I agreed that we don't want to live with each other anymore. We had another opportunity to switch, but the people we were switching with were guys and my parents don't want that happening even though I thought the guy was well mannered and laid back. Oh well, in the end I had to back out, so I went to my Property manager again and spoke with her privately and told her what the problems were. So we agreed that after winter break, we would meet again and see what solution we could come up with.
Well, I guess that is all that is new with me. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas...which is now becoming a controversy, but I will say it anyway, have a Merry Christmas and a very happy and safe New Year!!!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Bad Weekend with a Strong Message
You may have noticed that I put on a new picture in my account. This is a horrible picture of me with my favorite horse at Kirkwood, Kheonna. She was one of Sylvia's horses that she donated to Kirkwood and I love her to death!
Now, I have had one of the worst weekends I have personally had in a long time. My roommate had her boyfriend over again, but this time they didn't spend time in her room, they spent time in our living room. Friday night I came home at 2 AM,(ok, it was Saturday morning) and they were sitting on her futon talking, no big deal. They put the futon down and slept. Saturday night I came home from work at 11:40ish and they were doing it on the futon!! That is definitely not a sight I wanted to see when I walk into my apartment after work. When I get home from work, I want to relax, watch TV, surf the net for a while, and then go to sleep. Not this time. I walk in to see her guy's bare bottom fully exposed and she got even friskier when she saw it was me. Earlier this week, my microwave broke and it has been taken in to get fixed, but she doesn't want to chip in or take any responsibility for it even though she was the last to use it in the few days before it broke. NO, she is blaming me and making me pay for it all. The main reason this is bugging me is because I found out all this information on her Facebook status conversations with her friends.
What is the message you may ask? It is a message of appreciation, relief, and what I could have been like. This popped into my head a couple hours after I got home last night when I was finally able to wind down and go to bed. I realized that I am not her. You may think "well DUH!!!" But it made me appreciate the fact that the way I was raised, the people around me, and where I grew up makes me the respectful, responsible, hard-working person that I am today. I grew up on a hog farm in Britt, Iowa. My brothers are both autistic amongst other things. My mother is an epileptic, who just got her driver's license back. :) My family is really close knit with my other relatives. I was raised with a religious background as a Catholic and through my religion I have learned to give selflessly and volunteer, even when I don't really feel up to it. All of these factors has given me my good morals that I have today, makes me really view the way people act around others, and reflects on the way I approach people. I don't sleep around, go out partying, do drugs, smoke, or drink alot. I don't give people false hope, I'm honest and give honest advice. I try to give people advice that I live by. I am just so glad I am who I am.
I really want to say thank you to my mom and dad for raising me the way they did and for being great examples. They did a great job. To my brothers for being who they are. To my relatives for being good examples of what to be and what not to be. To God for providing me with such people and helping me to make good decisions. To my past roommates for being the greatest people to live with. And lastly and strangely to my current roommate now for showing me what I am not and what I could have been! Betcha didn't see that one coming, but I am SO glad that I am not you!!
In other news: Sylvia ended up getting a bacterial infection in her lungs and couldn't come to the show, but the weekend was a great success anyway, even though it wasn't the best way to give me the message. Hahaha.
Well, I had better get to bed so I can go to my apartment complex's office to see about changing roommates or moving to a single. I'll keep you guys posted!!
Now, I have had one of the worst weekends I have personally had in a long time. My roommate had her boyfriend over again, but this time they didn't spend time in her room, they spent time in our living room. Friday night I came home at 2 AM,(ok, it was Saturday morning) and they were sitting on her futon talking, no big deal. They put the futon down and slept. Saturday night I came home from work at 11:40ish and they were doing it on the futon!! That is definitely not a sight I wanted to see when I walk into my apartment after work. When I get home from work, I want to relax, watch TV, surf the net for a while, and then go to sleep. Not this time. I walk in to see her guy's bare bottom fully exposed and she got even friskier when she saw it was me. Earlier this week, my microwave broke and it has been taken in to get fixed, but she doesn't want to chip in or take any responsibility for it even though she was the last to use it in the few days before it broke. NO, she is blaming me and making me pay for it all. The main reason this is bugging me is because I found out all this information on her Facebook status conversations with her friends.
What is the message you may ask? It is a message of appreciation, relief, and what I could have been like. This popped into my head a couple hours after I got home last night when I was finally able to wind down and go to bed. I realized that I am not her. You may think "well DUH!!!" But it made me appreciate the fact that the way I was raised, the people around me, and where I grew up makes me the respectful, responsible, hard-working person that I am today. I grew up on a hog farm in Britt, Iowa. My brothers are both autistic amongst other things. My mother is an epileptic, who just got her driver's license back. :) My family is really close knit with my other relatives. I was raised with a religious background as a Catholic and through my religion I have learned to give selflessly and volunteer, even when I don't really feel up to it. All of these factors has given me my good morals that I have today, makes me really view the way people act around others, and reflects on the way I approach people. I don't sleep around, go out partying, do drugs, smoke, or drink alot. I don't give people false hope, I'm honest and give honest advice. I try to give people advice that I live by. I am just so glad I am who I am.
I really want to say thank you to my mom and dad for raising me the way they did and for being great examples. They did a great job. To my brothers for being who they are. To my relatives for being good examples of what to be and what not to be. To God for providing me with such people and helping me to make good decisions. To my past roommates for being the greatest people to live with. And lastly and strangely to my current roommate now for showing me what I am not and what I could have been! Betcha didn't see that one coming, but I am SO glad that I am not you!!
In other news: Sylvia ended up getting a bacterial infection in her lungs and couldn't come to the show, but the weekend was a great success anyway, even though it wasn't the best way to give me the message. Hahaha.
Well, I had better get to bed so I can go to my apartment complex's office to see about changing roommates or moving to a single. I'll keep you guys posted!!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Time For A Change
Hello all! This is the same Iowa Horsegirl posting, I have just decided to change the title of my blog because I just didn't like my long title anymore and this one seems more familiar to me. This name also has a meaning special to my heart as Gold is in loving memory of my collie, Goldie, who died a couple of years ago and still holds a special place in my heart. Her picture is still on my cellphone so I get to remember her everyday and I miss her a lot...it was especially sad because I didn't get to say good-bye. Riley is my older dog who I still love to play and cuddle with whenever I go home. Now he has Mugsy, our 5-month old St. Bernard puppy, to play with. I feel bad for him because Mugsy easily overtakes him so he has to fight for our attention. But he can still hold his own.
Classes have been keeping me really busy. I finally got my tuition situation figured out so I have been able to breathe a little more easy this past month. Midterms are over and I haven't checked my grades yet, partly because I'm kinda scared to! Ok, not really, I know where I am at in my classes and am doing well in all of them. I am doing an hour of service learning for my Children's Lit class and it has been a blast! One of the highlights of my week is going to Kirkwood Kids to read and play with the three-year olds, especially when the kids behave and listen to you. Today, one of the kids whom I get along with extremely well and read to a lot bit me in play and wouldn't apologize, so he had to sit in time out while the other kids got to spend their outside time playing. He ended up sort of apologizing, but I had to go so I took it. Oh well, maybe next week will be better.
I am still working at Beahr Ridge Arabians whenever I have no homework and the weather allows. For now the weather has been really good, except for my hometown, but I will get to that later. I went a couple of weeks ago and the assistant trainer and I got six horses worked! It was a great day and we make a very good team. I went today, and we only got two horses worked, but they were horses who needed a little more attention and I had to get back to Cedar Rapids to run some errands. I had the chance to ride Kingslee again today, but didn't because one of the horses that I was lunging today pulled the rope through my hands and I wasn't wearing gloves and the rope kinda bit into my fingers. So I knew that I would have to grip the reins and hold Kingslee's face to get him back into frame, and leather would only irritate my fingers more, so I skipped on the chance. I do hope that I get another one. We made progress with the horse I was lunging though. The horse, Rose, went into a canter with the assistant trainer on her without my help, which is huge progress.
This weekend is the Arabian Spooktacular Fall Show here in Cedar Rapids and Beahr Ridge is going. I will be helping as well as working at McDonalds. So it will be a busy weekend. Hopefully I can get a little sleep in between jobs. Sylvia just got back from the US Arabian National Championships, which she got Top Ten in Ladies Western Side Saddle with Autumn Storm V+/ aka Dude. Now she has a bad cold and maybe the flu, so we are hoping she gets better before the Fall Show. I still love working there and will probably move to Cedar Falls next year to be closer and maybe attend UNI, but nothing is a sure thing. If I can find a good job with horses somewhere, who knows where I can end up, but that is my plan for now.
I will try to update my blog more often, but I think I already said that previously, but I WILL try. Until next time...chao!!
Classes have been keeping me really busy. I finally got my tuition situation figured out so I have been able to breathe a little more easy this past month. Midterms are over and I haven't checked my grades yet, partly because I'm kinda scared to! Ok, not really, I know where I am at in my classes and am doing well in all of them. I am doing an hour of service learning for my Children's Lit class and it has been a blast! One of the highlights of my week is going to Kirkwood Kids to read and play with the three-year olds, especially when the kids behave and listen to you. Today, one of the kids whom I get along with extremely well and read to a lot bit me in play and wouldn't apologize, so he had to sit in time out while the other kids got to spend their outside time playing. He ended up sort of apologizing, but I had to go so I took it. Oh well, maybe next week will be better.
I am still working at Beahr Ridge Arabians whenever I have no homework and the weather allows. For now the weather has been really good, except for my hometown, but I will get to that later. I went a couple of weeks ago and the assistant trainer and I got six horses worked! It was a great day and we make a very good team. I went today, and we only got two horses worked, but they were horses who needed a little more attention and I had to get back to Cedar Rapids to run some errands. I had the chance to ride Kingslee again today, but didn't because one of the horses that I was lunging today pulled the rope through my hands and I wasn't wearing gloves and the rope kinda bit into my fingers. So I knew that I would have to grip the reins and hold Kingslee's face to get him back into frame, and leather would only irritate my fingers more, so I skipped on the chance. I do hope that I get another one. We made progress with the horse I was lunging though. The horse, Rose, went into a canter with the assistant trainer on her without my help, which is huge progress.
This weekend is the Arabian Spooktacular Fall Show here in Cedar Rapids and Beahr Ridge is going. I will be helping as well as working at McDonalds. So it will be a busy weekend. Hopefully I can get a little sleep in between jobs. Sylvia just got back from the US Arabian National Championships, which she got Top Ten in Ladies Western Side Saddle with Autumn Storm V+/ aka Dude. Now she has a bad cold and maybe the flu, so we are hoping she gets better before the Fall Show. I still love working there and will probably move to Cedar Falls next year to be closer and maybe attend UNI, but nothing is a sure thing. If I can find a good job with horses somewhere, who knows where I can end up, but that is my plan for now.
I will try to update my blog more often, but I think I already said that previously, but I WILL try. Until next time...chao!!
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