OK, what is your first reaction to this headline:

"Seals removed from North Korea nuke plant"

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Am I the only idiot that actually pictured harbor seals being plucked, one-by-one from the exterior of this structure?

Please tell me I'm not.

Getting there, one ride at a time.

Last week when I was riding, I fell off the horse. No big deal - it's part of the sport. Right? Not so fast.

Of course, I got back on, finished my ride, and cooled off the horse. Unfortunately, due to my insane schedule right now, I'm not able to ride as much as I would like. So, I thought about that ride. All weekend. Into this week. What did I do wrong? What could I have done differently?

I know exactly what went wrong: the horse I was riding is spooky in general, I had been able to stay with her up until that point...And then, that one time, she happened to spook, I reacted incorrectly by leaning forward, instead of sitting back and pushing her through it with my legs, and BAM, she caught me off balance and off I went. So, I know what I need to work on.

I was finally able to ride again last night. I almost didn't go, because I have been battling a sore throat and general icki-ness for the past few days. But, I had to basically drive by the barn for my sojourn back to Connecticut anyway, so I decided to go.

Admittedly, for the first time in awhile, I was actually nervous to get back in the saddle. I was riding a different horse this week...One that came to the barn earlier this summer, after being turned out to pasture for the previous two years, not ridden. Guess who got to ride him that first time? Yours truly. That was a wild day! Anyway, he's come a long way since then. My trainer wanted me to work on his canter leads and so we did. It was a great ride, by the end, he was doing everything I asked him to do and I even stayed aboard - bonus!

I know many people think that horseback riding is not a sport. P-shaw, I say to that. Riding a horse is challenging, both mentally and physically. When you work at it. I have good days and bad days, but I learn something every single time I ride. Right now, I'm enjoying riding a different horse all the time. I like that I'm riding horses that won't just take me around the ring and make me work for just about every stride.

They're preparing me for that ultimate challenge. I'm determined and have a plan in place to make it happen. I'm not one of those rich girls that will be able to afford a nice, finished horse...That would be boring anyway. No, the horse that I will be able to afford will either be a baby or come with baggage to fix. Thanks to the horses above, I'll be ready.

Just cute.

After much speculation about how Abby, my friend, Jackie's pit, would react to her new little sister, Jackie can rest easy. One happy little family.

Foreign Territory

When a friend of ours passed away last year, he left a couple of musical instruments to Adam and me. Me, a mandolin and Adam, a banjo. We've carried them around with us from place to place. They made it across the country, and back, without coming out of their cases.

Last night, though, we made a pact that we are going to dig them out, tune them up (well, learn HOW to tune them up) and start taking some lessons.

I love music, especially blue grass. The mandolin is one of my favorite instruments. But, I've always been totally intimidated by learning how to play it, well play anything. Reading music is like a foreign language, I look at the page and have no clue what it says.

Other than the recorder, in third grade, I've never mastered an instrument. For the record, I could play Hot Cross Buns with the best of them. I'm ready to step up my game and give it a shot with the mandolin! I'll let you know how it goes. When I start to get frustrated, I will listen to a little something like the above video for inspiration.

We be commitin', officially!

It was an eventful weekend in our world...Adam actually got down on one knee and asked if I would marry him. With a ring and everything. After I picked myself up off the floor from shock, I said that heck yeah, of course I would. It's been a crazy three years together, ups and downs and everything in between - I can't think of another person I'd rather continue on this adventure of life with. There are no guarantees, but I do know one thing, a life with Adam is not going to be boring.

Speaking of adventures, we moved into a new apartment over the weekend...complete with three barking Rottweilers and domestic disputes next door - should be quite the year. Funny how all was quiet when we came to view the place. To balance out the dogs and insane neighbors, there is a lovely town with plenty of parks for Kobe and I to walk to and a state forest with over 6,000 acres to explore within a ten minute drive. I'll be busting out the camera and will share photos soon of our new surroundings.