Riding Lessons

So you guys remember how I started taking lessons back in June??  Well, I STILL LOVE THEM...

They are absolutely fantastic! 

 

My mom was able to come and watch my lesson Friday night before we went to Lexington for the reining.  I was glad that she was able to watch me ride because she is definitely the reason for my love of horses.  She had a horse when I was born and has supported me 100% any and every time I have wanted to try something new.  She also travelled many miles and paid tons of entry fees for me while I showed through high school and college.  It definitely means a lot to be able to include her in the riding that I am doing now.

I am thinking that the jumping might have made her a little nervous though, especially because by the end of the lesson I was jumping two little cross rails like this one in a row.  Its definitely fun :)  It kind of feels like flying!

World Equestrian Games...

The World Equestrian Games are currently taking place in Lexington KY.  They have never been held outside of Europe and can basically be described as Horsey Olympics.  When I found out about them and learned that they were only 2 1/2 hours from BG, I knew that I had to go and watch at least one event.  While searching through the events, I decided that it would be best for me to go and watch something that I actually understood and had participated in, so I chose reining.

Reining is a class that is designed to show the skills that a horse would need while working cattle on the range.  They would need to be able to show dramatic variations in speed (fast and slow while at the canter), agility (sliding stops and spins), and an ease in handling that would make them a pleasure to ride for long days while performing ranch duties.  The horses used are primarily American Quarter Horses and this is an event that is the most popular in the US. 

 A typical reining pattern looks a little like this:

Walk to center ring and perform 3 pivot spins to the left and then 3 to the right.

Perform a large fast (hand gallop) circle to the left.

Perform a small slow circle to the left.

Change leads in the center and perform a large fast (hand gallop) circle to the right.

Perform a small slow circle to the right.

Change leads in the center and canter around the end of the pen.

Increase speed at center ring and ask for a sliding stop.

Roll back (a turn on the horses hocks) and lope around the end of the pen.

Increase speed at center ring and ask for a sliding stop.

Back 3 horse lengths.

This pattern (with the exception that it has two large fast circles each way) can be seen here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt5WOCMAFhY
That is Shawn Flarida from the gold medal winning Team USA...  He had the highest score of the whole competition!  I didn't get to see him ride but the video is awesome!

Show Us Your Life - Master Bedroom

Well, friends, it's time for another Show Us Your Life with Kelly's Korner and today we are showing Master Bedrooms.

Like the rest of our house, our master bedroom is kind of a work in progress. At this point it is probably our favorite spot in the house. In our old house, our furniture was so big that it took up almost the whole room but in this house I think that it fits really well!

I love our furniture. When I walked into the furniture store and saw it, I almost died. It was exactly what I had been looking for. Drew wasn't with me, but I called him and had him google the collection. It is Broyhill Attic Heirlooms and the style is Fireside Cherry. I don't think they make it any more so I am glad that we went ahead and bought all of these pieces.

I bought this rocking chair when we were in our old house and had absolutely no where to put it. I think that right now it works in our bedroom and provides a little extra seating. The little blanket hanging across the back of it was made by my grandmother and I think that it looks great on the chair!

Our bedroom has a door to the covered patio. At some point, we'd like to screen the patio and then when the weather is nice we would be able to leave this door open and enjoy the sounds of the outdoors!

Scooter is a regular addition to our bed! I'm pretty sure that she sleeps curled up against Drew's pillow everyday, all day while we are at work. She has a rough life :)

What I have Learned About Pregnancy (At Week 10)

• It is never possible to get enough sleep...
• Just because you used to be able to go 8 hours between lunch and dinner, does not mean that you will still be able to.
• Some days you will feel really amazing and not feel pregnant but others you will just really want to go back home and go to sleep
• Dr's appointments are odd and may seem like a waste of time sometimes (I have been twice and the second time all they did was weigh me and take my blood pressure?)
• Working out while pregnant is really hard but will hopefully be really worth it.
• Dry heaving is not fun.

Ok, so that is a short list but its interesting. I have actually felt really good so far. I have been able to maintain my weight even though I feel like somedays I eat like a horse. I'm pleased with that so far, but know that it will be a continuous struggle. I have also continued my riding lessons with the warning that if I fall off I can not be x-rayed and can not take pain medication any stronger than Tylenol. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to do this, based on the time change and the fact that it is already dark much earlier in the day.

I have had very little nausea and I'm pretty sure that about half of what I have had is related to a cold that I had week before last. The cold came with lots of head congestion and drainage, which pretty much sent me over the edge. I've had that happen before so I'm thinking that it wasn't morning sickness so much as it was just nasty head stuff!

The other nausea has come from me attempting to learn that it really is ok to eat more than three times a day. I had a riding lesson a few weeks ago at 5:30 after work and it ended up being 8 before I was able to get home and eat. My lunch at noon was very gone and by the end of the night I was not doing so well. Like I said, lessons learned :)

Anyway, thank you all again for your sweet comments. We are doing well and can't wait to see how this adventure goes. We are also so excited about adding this new addition to our family!

I've been keeping a secret

Paige, at Mommy to Charli, posted this poem today and I hope that she doesn't mind that I'm going to borrow it to make a little announcement...

You are my I love you
Author: Maryann K Cusimano

I am your parent, you are my child
I am your quiet place, you are my wild

I am your calm face, you are my giggle
I am your wait, you are my wiggle
I am your audience, you are my clown
I am your London Bridge, you are my falling down
I am your Carrot Sticks, you are my licorice
I am your dandelion, you are my first wish
I am your water wings, you are my deep
I am your open arms, you are my running leap
I am your way home, you are my new path
I am your dry towel, you are my wet bath

I am your dinner, you are my chocolate cake
I am your bedtime, you are my wide awake
I am your finish line, you are my race
I am your praying hands, you are my saving grace
I am your favorite book, you are my new lines
I am your nightlight, you are my sunshine
I am your lullaby, you are my peek-a-boo
I am your kiss goodnight, you are my I love you

The Richeys from BG will be going from a family of three (Drewby, KB, & Scoot) to a family of four in April.

We are very excited and can't wait to welcome "Peanut" into our family!

Show Us Your Life - Living Room

Kelly has started another session of "Show Us Your Life" and this week she is focusing on living rooms.

My living room is still in a semi state of disarray, but it is getting much better. I guess that is good seeing as we have been in the house for a little over one month now.

Here is a picture of the living room that we were sent along with the MLS listing. It is a big open room with tall ceilings that leads directly into the kitchen. I love that because when (or if, at this point) we have company I will be able to be part of the action, even if I'm in the kitchen.

Here is the living room from the front door with our furniture. As you can see, there are no window treatments. These windows are floor to ceiling (almost 9 feet tall) and I think that the transoms add so much. I haven't figured out a way to add window treatments to them without covering them up. Please let me know if you have any suggestions :)

We are also having problems deciding what to do about lamps. We have floated the furniture to the middle of the room but there are not any outlets on the floor. We have talked about hiring an electrician to come in and install lamps, but that hasn't been a priority just yet. I would say that at some point we will do that. Drew also thinks we need a new (bigger) tv but I think he's crazy! HAHA!

And lastly, here's the living room from the side. Sorry about the laundry basket in the floor but that is definitely real life for us :) Anyway, we bought a new rug to go along with the new couches and tables that we bought. I am please with it! You can also see that the computer desk is in the corner. The living room is huge and the desk is pretty small so I think that it looks ok in that corner.

Well, thanks for visiting. Our house is a work in progress and I would love suggestions!

Wordless Wednesday... Cuddling with my sweet girl...

Balloons, Tunes, & BBQ

Every year in BG there is a hot air balloon race. Included in the weekend are a bar b que festival and on Saturday night there is a concert.

This year's concert included country singers Rhett Aikens & Nick Hoffman. I was amazed at all the songs that Rhett Aikens has written because they are some of the best songs on the radio right now. Nick Hoffman was also great. I really think that this was one of the best BTB Concerts that I have been too since they started.

I was so glad that my cousin, Jennifer, was able to come down from Louisville and join us for the concert. She is so fun. We decided it was definitely a shame that Nick Hoffman mentioned his wife on stage, because he and Jennifer would've been too cute together!

Before the concert, we went and had dinner at Samurai which is a Japanese steakhouse here in town. I had food off the Hibachi grill and Drew and Jennifer had sushi. It was a great dinner!

This is Ellie, she is Jennifer's little girl. Scoot was glad to have her to play with this weekend!

Wordless Wednesday... House Pictures...

I promised you guys that we were making progress. These pictures are from the living room and the kitchen. I chose to not take pictures of the boxes that are still stashed in just about every room... Please don't judge. Oh, and don't judge the laundry basket either... haha!

Sorry guys...

I'm sorry for having been such a crappy blogger for the past month. I had planned on getting caught up this past weekend but Drew's grandmother passed away on Thursday and we spent the weekend at the funeral and visitation. So I will work on getting caught up this week...

I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend... Look forward to house pictures soon!