Another long-winded update

I slacked off again. It's so hard to keep a blog updated while you're busy being wildly successful.

Or something like that.

So let's go in chronological order, starting with last Wednesday.

Wednesday morning I got the news that Berta (the horse I had been leasing/working with for the past two years) sold. She'll be going to a Morgan breeding farm up in Maine. I'm happy that she's going to a really great place, but I'm going to miss her a lot. I'll write more about all of this some time in the future.

 Berta and I after our first blue ribbon together

Thursday was Valentine's Day (or VD-Day as my mother likes to call it). I couldn't find any cards that I liked, so I unleashed my creative powers and drew one! Nothing says Valentine's like a zombie-themed card.

The inside says "I do love you for your brain!"

Oscar surprised me by showing up at my house with roses and a really sweet card. Major points.

Over the weekend I had two IHSA shows. Saturday was at Mt Holyoke, where I placed 3rd in my class (eh). Sunday's show was hosted by UMass, and I placed 1st, which qualified me for Regionals. WOO! 

What was really nice about Sunday was that I rode the same horse as I had ridden for the first show of the season. I placed dead last then, because my horse was a tough ride (did not and still does not steer) and I completely fell apart and freaked out. This time, I was prepared and I rocked the class. After the class, the judge said to me: "You had a great ride. The only thing I want you to work on is to keep your chin up and look like you're having fun out there!"

Things that also happened over the weekend: I received a Valentine's card from Chandler, tried a buffalo burger, yelled at a bunch of buffalo, and got Oscar hooked on The Newsroom. Not bad.

In which we survive the Snowpocalypse. Sort of.

I've often said that my hometown of Wallingford exists in its own little bubble. The laws of physics, weather, and common sense are either altered or missing completely.

Murphy's Law, on the other hand? Completely intact.

High school roof gets blown off in a freak gust of wind?
Wallingford.

KKK gives a speech at the local library?
Wallingford.

Traffic gets held up on CT-68 because someone's truck lost a load of hay?
Wallingford.

35" of snow in one storm, ranking 5th in New England for most snowfall?
FREAKING. WALLINGFORD.

For reference, my mother is 5' tall. Okay, okay. 4'11". 

And 3/4".

 This was a four-way intersection. Except the only person getting through was a random dude on snowshoes. I've never seen him before. Not even sure if he actually lives here.

 

 I tried getting through this. I sank up to my armpits in the snow. So then I tried waddling after the dude on the snowshoes, but he kept giving me worried looks and snowshoeing away faster.

 "HI I TRIED TO FOLLOW YOU BUT THERE WAS A SHOVEL IN MY WAY AND I GOT SCARED, SO I JUST STOOD IN THE SNOW AND CRIED INSTEAD."

I thought about being creative and making some New England style clam chowder for dinner tonight, but upon closer inspection found that the cans of clams in the cupboard had expired. In May, 2010 (I'm serious, we're never going to survive the zombie apocalypse if these people don't get their shit together).

So it was chili instead. Delicious, and with a much lower chance of everyone developing botulism.

Preparing for Snowpocalypse 2013

Okay, the title is a lie. I didn't brave the crowds at the supermarket in search of the essentials (a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread) -- someone else took care of that!

My only preparations involved eating breakfast (twice), eating lunch, going to work, eating dinner, and reading a book. One must be sure to eat plenty in preparation for being snowed in and therefore having nothing to eat other than a gallon of milk and a single loaf of bread (seriously, who went disaster-preparedness-shopping? We'll never survive the zombie apocalypse if this person is in charge)

Work is great, as always. Berri is so much more relaxed now than when I first started riding her, and we're getting some sustained moments of brilliance. It's slow work, but very rewarding.

One of the new horses, a Quarter Horse mare named Chloe, is really growing on me. We're figuring each other out more and more each ride. She's smart, sensitive, and I swear she moves more off of my thoughts than my actual physical directions. Gotta love riding a real western-broke horse.

In other news, I had an IHSA show at UConn last weekend. I had a pretty spectacular ride, placed first, and moved up to second for alumni regional standings (I'm only two points out of first place). I need ten more points to qualify for Regionals, and have three shows left in the season. Wish me luck!