snowboarding, hockey, cars and riding

I feel like the more I try to make some downtime for myself to relax, the more things I find (or find me) to keep me busy. Not that that’s a bad thing – far from it – I hate being bored!

We went out to Utah from March 12-14 to go snowboarding at Snowbasin again. It was a really great trip because Alyssa, Sarah and our friend Seth decided to join us this year! We stayed with EJ and her parents who took wonderful care of us and had a blast goofing off and getting hurt. I wasn’t expecting much of what I learned last year to “stick” but I was very surprised at how quickly I picked it up again; Seth even taught me to successfully ride on my toe edge! I’ve been shopping around for a board to buy and am already looking forward to next year’s trip. New hobby? Yes!

Seth, EJ, Sarah, Alyssa, me and Erik at Snowbasin in Utah

Two weekends ago I went to go see Miranda Lambert play at a local club. I’ve been a huge fan of hers for years (she’s a rebel-girl country singer) and was thrilled to finally get to see her live. The thousands of screaming, redneck fans, however, I could have done without 😉

The next day me, Erik, EJ and Mikey went to go see the Atlanta Thrashers play the Philadelphia Flyers. EJ and I had never been to a pro hockey game before and we both were excited that our new and old homes were playing against each other so it made the game that much more fun to watch. Atlanta won and I can’t say I was disappointed in the least.

This past weekend a whole big group of us went down to the High Museum of Art for their “Allure of the Automobile” exhibit which featured some unbelievably incredible cars from the last century; they truly are works of art. I was floored by how technologically advanced some of them were even at almost 100 years old!

Riding has been going well lately. I’ve been working with Toby consistently, trying to get him to relax and stop being resistant. I went out the other weekend and just spent an hour working with him on my own to get him to give to the bit and go in a frame. We made a lot of progress but unfortunately he’s a school horse who is subject to the kicks and pulls of lesson students and has quickly reverted back to his old ways. It’s definitely a bummer but he makes up for it when we fly over jumps and have fun. I love that little pony…

Anyway, that’s it for now. Some other exciting things are going on but I’d rather not publicize them here… yet!

Advertisement

Racing, riding, a blizzard and a wedding.

Yeah, yeah, so I haven’t updated in over a month… whatever.

Erik and I went down to Tampa last month to help our friends at Full Auto Motorsports run the timing equipment for a dope gymkhana/autox and drift event they put on. The event itself was great and I’m looking forward to heading back down for the next one!

I also had the pleasure of babysitting a wonderful Thoroughbred named Fergus for the past month while his mommy was out of town. We worked a lot on getting him to relax, bend and go in a frame. Even though it was just a month he really made a lot of progress and I’m super proud of him. I’m also incredibly grateful for such a wonderful opportunity!

Valentine’s was nice; Erik always does his best to make it a special day. He had planned on surprising me with a picnic but thanks to the 4+ inches of snow we received two days prior (yes, 4″ is considered a “blizzard” in Atlanta and yes, I also find it hilarious) he had to improvise a bit by moving the picnic into our sunroom. Either way it was so thoughtful and sweet and I couldn’t have been more pleased.

Yesterday I had a pretty crappy day; people were aggravating me at work and I was just in an overall icky mood. I headed over to Huntcliff for my weekly lesson and was surprised to see Erik’s car there. He had decided to come watch to cheer me up! I rode Toby and I seriously can’t get over how much I love that pony. He’s such a sweetie and so much fun to ride! My trainer keeps trying to convince me to buy him and I really wish I could but there’s no way I could afford to do so and take care of him should something happen. I hate this pile of student loan debt. 😦

Lastly, I’d like to congratulate the new Mr. and Mrs. Petitone! My good friends Laura and Joe got married this past Friday and am so thrilled for them. Jill and I were bridesmaids and the wedding itself was beautiful. I wish them all the best and lots of happiness in their new life together!

Jill and I: beautiful bridesmaids! Sorry for the funny face; I’m still learning how to smile.