Oh, politics. How I hate thee...

I was hoping that by today all the political rantings and ravings that I've had to endure for months was finally at an end.

*snort*

How naive I am.

In fact, it's just really getting started. The peeps that wanted Obama can't stop gloating. The peeps that wanted Romney can't stop crying about all of the horrible things that are going to happen because he didn't win... oh, and how stupid all the other idiots are for not voting for their guy.

Seriously. I would quote actual posts, but I think some of these people actually read this blog.

So. When will this nonsense end? I'm tired. I'm worn out. I'm completely over it.

May I offer this humble piece of advice from the rest of us who don't feel the need to go on endlessly about our own political affiliations...

ENOUGH ALREADY.

*translation: shut the fuck up. please*

This public service announcement is now over. Continue on with your day...

Another fungus among us...

First it was Flash's turn. Some weird thing on his back that came out of nowhere and stuck around for much longer than it needed to.

Last week it was my turn (apparently) to break out in some weird skin thingy.

*like I really needed another thing to deal with right after moving... but whatever, universe*

It started last Monday. I had an itch. It wasn't a major itch. It was just, you know, an itch. Behind my ear. And then behind my other ear, too. And as the day wore on, it got more itchy. And then red. And then bumpy. Oh crap. We all know that red, itchy, bumpy skin is not good. Not good at all.

Um, what the hell? This can't be good...

On Tuesday, it got worse. And the bumps and itchiness started to move down my neck and onto my chest. By about 3pm I was over it. Time for a visit to urgent care... bank account be damned. After asking me questions about what I had changed (nothing) and what I had done over the weekend (been hot tubbing) it was decided that who the hell knows what caused it but, here, have some steroids. Would you like that in a shot or by pill?

*as if there's even a choice*

So, I dutifully marched my way into Walmart and got the steroids. I started them that night.

Update: apparently I don't do steroids. In any fashion. Good to know. I can now add that on to the list with no caffeine and no latex. But pass the peanuts... not a problem-o.

I was sick all night that night and into the next day. Needless to say, I didn't go to work. 

But I was still quite a mess so I went back to the clinic on Thursday morning and got a anti-histamine shot. First of all, ouch!! Damn those things hurt. And second, the warning that I may be a tad drowsy really didn't do it justice. I basically passed out for 12 hours on Thursday. So, another day of work gone.

Also, I was becoming a veritable science experiment in what helps itchy, red bumps not itch so damn much. At one point I had 2% hydrocortizone on one side of my chest, Neosporin on the other side, Vagisil behind one ear and Preparation-H cooling gel behind the other. 

*look, when you're itching that much if it says anti-itch anywhere on the package you're going to give it a try... regardless of what body part it was originally meant for*

The Preparation-H won out. I think it's because it had Witch Hazel in it (which I then went and bought and basically bathed in for a few days).

Over this past weekend, things calmed down and today I'm looking and feeling quite normal... well, normal for me, anyway.

So, now I will be able to blog about something other than itching. Yay, me. And I bet you can hardly wait...

Back on the wagon...

OK... I've been totally MIA lately and I'm sorry. As a provider of (mostly) interesting and (for the most part) timely blog content, I have completely failed you in the last month.

I mean, c'mon... 1 blog post in October? WTF?!? Totally unacceptable.

And you are right, my friends. It's time for me to start writing regularly again. Consider it done.

See? Right now you are getting a quality(ish) post about all the crazy shit I've been up to lately. And it's been a lot. There was the trip to San Diego with Flip Flop to see Booboo and Graham. And then there was my crazy birthday. And then there was my crazy birthday party. And then there was the move...

Actually... let's not talk about the move. I haven't come to grips with it just yet, and as I stumble around all the boxes laying around the house I mostly just want to curl up in the fetal position and cry.

*sniffle*

Of course, the tears could be the product of the fact that I keep ramming my big toe into all the boxes laying around the house. Tough to say...

So let's break this down into bite-size pieces, shall we? First up: San Diego. In pictures.

Look, ma. Leg room. You don't see that every day on a plane...

Um, I think we get our luggage here. But dang, that's a lot of peeps...

The view from our breakfast place. Check out the weather...

My $3 hat. Gotta love the swap meet...

 Flip Flop, me and Booboo at the Hotel Del Coronado...

How cool is this place?

Answer: very cool!!

With an amazing sandcastle just out front, too...

Aren't we adorable?

And amazing weather...

Checking out the tide pools...

A romantic walk down the beach...

(and an inconveniently placed finger)

The coolest trail to the beach...

Man, I miss living at the ocean...

Checking out the cool things...

Butts on the beach...

The lighthouse...

View from the dinner spot: Joe's Crab Shack...

Bibs on and ready to do battle...

Now that is what I call dinner!!

Brooklyn after bath time...

The San Diego Zoo flamingos...

Just monkeying around...

The highlight of that trip was for sure the San Diego Zoo. Graham's company had a deal where it was just company folk after 5pm and you could do all the cool stuff for free. Amazing. And if you're ever in the area I highly recommend it. I think Flip Flop and I did the Skyfari at least 4 times... it was awesome.

Preview...

It was a good (and bad) weekend. I had a great time in San Diego. And I turned 40. I have lots to write about and I'll get to it... eventually.

I promise. No really. I do.

Rebel vs. The Cutting Wheel (hint: Rebel didn't win)

I sometimes seriously hate living 2 hours away from Rebel. Because when I get pictures like this sent to me I would prefer to be able to check this shit out in person...

Holymotherofgod... you're texting me from the hospital right?

Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure that's gonna leave a mark...

You're not at the hospital? How? Why? What the...? Oh, never mind...

The text that proceeded the pics said something to the effect that he'd had a sucky day and that his arm was a little sore. No shit? I'm glad you still have an arm, babe. Seriously. 

He assures me they are all under a 1/2" deep. I'm pretty sure most doctors are stitching that shit up after just a few centimeters... but I can understand about not wanting stitches. I feel the same way. However, I'm feeling like we need to have the "when was your last tetanus shot?" discussion and the "if you're not going to the hospital then at least super glue that shit shut after copious amounts of cleaning" convo.

*gag* 

Glad he's OK and that all of his limbs (and digits) are still present and accounted for. But seriously, stop picking fights with things that are going to kick your ass. Just sayin'...

Seven, Day 1...

The pony got a new name yesterday. Hanna's hubbie saw a picture of him and called him Seven. It really seems to fit his personality... 7 is the number of infinity and he seems to have infinite possibilities. The number 7 also represents the 7-headed snake in biblical mythology and I'm pretty sure I saw all 7 last night (loving, bratty, inquisitive, pushy, tentative, obedient and indifferent). Yup... definitely a good name for this guy.

So, not to be one to waste time I decided to pull Seven out of his pen last night and saddle him up and pony him off of Flash. I figured this would give me a good idea of what I'm really dealing with as far as where the training gaps are. He has the Parelli stuff down when in an environment he knows, but I needed to see what I'm up against when faced with a lot of new things (because endurance racing is nothing but a whole lot of new things over and over and over again... new places, new horses, new trails, new obstacles, etc).

I tied him to the trailer next to Flash and began my saddling ritual... groom, pick feet, saddle up and go. He did fine on the grooming part. We had to do some work on the feet part. He tried to snatch his feet away from me so we just worked through it and in no time I had all 4 feet picked out. Then I introduced him to fly spray. This did not go well... but I just kept spraying until he stood still... then I stopped. And then I repeated what I was doing. He wasn't thrilled by the end but he did get the general idea. Then it was saddle time. He had no problem with this at all... but I did take off the breast collar and the stirrups for our first trip out.

This saddle stuff is easy...

Just keep that fly spray away from me...

We did have a small problem with patience while standing tied. That lesson will come. Flash kept trying to tell him not to fret, but Seven wasn't really listening. And I just ignored him until he was standing nicely... then I gave him a ton of praise. I will say he was a tad amped up after the fly spray, but that's fine. He needs to learn to work through new things without having a melt-down. This will just be one of many lessons to come.

Then it was time to head off to the trails. Flash was a saint and put up with Seven crashing into him every time he saw something scary (which was all the time... sheesh). I finally took my foot out of the stirrup and he got a boot toe in the side every time he invaded our space. Not sure he was grasping the concept, but it was getting better towards the end. He was a very forward horse, which is good. However, his default response to scary stuff was to bolt. Not good. Need to make sure that there are very good brakes before we go venturing out on our own.

He handled the hills pretty well, picking his way carefully down. However, when it came to crossing the road we had a bit of a mishap. I wasn't really paying attention and didn't realize that he was having serious issues with the big, white, scary stripe of death on the road. Seven took one look at that and hurled himself over the line. Bonus: he jumps quite nicely. But we had to go back across the big, white, scary stripe of death several times before he would just nicely step over it. And the last time he actually even stepped on it. Good boy.

He also handled other horses running and bucking in their pasture next to the trail like a champ. He stopped and checked them out and was content to just stand. Good boy. However, he was not a fan of the dogs stopping to check stuff out on the side of the trail and then come up behind him and pass...

Why does that fluffy marshmallow feel the need to be behind me?

Seven: You'll protect me right?

Flash: Get off me dude...

Flash was pretty forgiving of Seven through most of the ride, although he did give him cranky ears a few times to tell him to get out of his bubble. And Seven is very bad at yielding to pressure while being ponied. Definitely need to do some work there. But overall, he did pretty well considering.

However, when we got back to the trailer he had another blow-up. I tied him to the back of the trailer instead of to the side where Flash was (because he can paw to his heart's content back there and I don't care). Seven decided he didn't like that and started acting like a toddler who was told that they couldn't have that piece of candy. It was quite funny actually. I remember Flash pulling those same antics. And Seven learned last night what Flash learned when he was young... asshole horses stand tied to the trailer until they aren't acting like assholes anymore. 

You could actually see the hamster running in his little noggin... he just couldn't figure out why I wasn't running to correct him, sooth him, whatever. Finally after about 15 minutes he decided to just stand there, at which point I walked up to him and began giving him some love. But he's going to get tied to the trailer by himself for a while every night. And if he's good it'll be a quick grooming session, some love and back to the pen. If he's a jerk, then he'll stay tied until he's not a jerk anymore. It only took Flash a few times to figure out that it's just not worth it. I'm pretty sure that Seven will be the same. Good horse gets love. Bad horse gets ignored. Simple as that...

I think this is going to be a fun training project. And it'll be a good reminder for when I get Goodwin going too...

The new pony...

Let me just say that yesterday was a loooong day. Long.

It was an 11 hour turn-and-burn trip to pick up the new horse in Ridgefield, WA. Mags decided to come along and keep me company (thank you!!) and Rebel expressed the fact that he wished he could have joined me (made me feel special). And even though the day didn't start out quite like I wanted (bad Hutch!! bad!!) it did turn out OK.

I was supposed to use Hutch's truck and trailer to pick up the new pony to save on gas. However, at 3:36am she decided that she was going to go to Lebenon, OR instead to pick up a horse her aunt had found for her. Needless to say, I was not pleased. Well, super pissed actually. But I had already made commitments and people were expecting me to show up so the trip went forward.

I decided to take Flash too, to keep the new pony company. Turned out that was a good move. The trip up was uneventful. We stopped briefly in Portland and then finally made it to the farm. KA was there to meet us and I laid eyes on Cat for the first time. He was a tad on the scrawny side, but that'll be no problem to fix. That boy does like to eat and he'll be muscling up soon.

So I spent some time getting to know him, filled out the paperwork and then proceeded to introduce him to the concept of loading. He's really only been on transport trailers, so this was new to Cat. KA wasn't really experienced in loading and had no problem letting me take charge. After a little examination of the trailer (and Flash showing him how it's done) he hopped right on and rode quietly back to the farm.

Getting off the trailer was a little more interesting. He decided to try backing all the way off which kind of scared him a bit so I decided to load and unload him again (this time letting him turn around) and he did much better. Plus he actually got back on the trailer without too much fuss. Good boy!!

And then he saw the goats. He decided they are the spawn of the devil. Can't really blame him...

Then it was time to introduce him to his new digs. I decided to put him in the dry lot next to Cowboy. He hasn't been on pasture at all this year, so throwing him out there didn't seem like the best idea. Might be a bit of a shock to the system. He's got a big pen to roam around in plus a run-in shed when the weather isn't the best. Also, he won't have to fight for food. The plan for now is to keep a lot of hay in front of him and try to start putting a little more weight on.

Anybody  over there?

Out of my way, woman. I have things to check out...

Oh hai!!

Oh hay!!

Where are you going? Don't you want to be my best

friend forever and ever?

He seems to be doing pretty well (minus trying to rip down the panels between the lots and hanging out with Cowboy... the panels held up just fine). Tomorrow I'll let him wear a saddle and I'll pony him out on the trails near the house. Time for his trail horse education to begin.

BTW, what do you guys think of the name Cat? Or should I change it to something else?