Introducing my horse (sorta)

As of today, I am officially leasing a horse! He is a beautiful 12-year-old mustang named Apache. His coloring is cremello but most people would probably call him white, so don't worry about the fancy terms. Most cremello's, unlike whites, have blue eyes. He is a heartthrob -- reminds me of Paul Newman :)
I am leasing him from a girl who is getting ready to go to college. I'll be riding him a couple times a week, more hopefully when I start teaching. He lives at a beautiful 40-acre barn out in the country, with an indoor ring, outdoor dressage ring, and a 4-acre jump course. I can't wait to start retraining myself on Apache. This is going to be a great outlet for me to escape, be outdoors, and be with horses. I am so excited!

(Doesn't he look like a unicorn in this last one??? :))

Updates

1) The trip to Cali was awesome in every way possible! I will post pictures, probably next week.

2) Graduation is tomorrow, I am indeed walking and the ceremony is at 10am. No one else besides me and Jess (which means the other 6 graduates from ourt program -- you wouldn't believe how many people didn't make it through!), but we are proud of our accomplishments and my family has never been able to all make it to a graduation so this is really special to me. We're all going out to lunch and then my friends and I are going to dinner to celebrate tomorrow night. What a day!

3) On Sunday I am volunteering with Metropolitan Ministries to feed 1,000 homeless, then I will be babysitting for a new family on into the evening. They seem really nice and have a 9-year-old boy so it should be a fun time.

4) I work Monday and Tuesday (both bosses will be already on vacation though) and then I have off from Wednesday through January 5th! I am so excited! Christmas with my family is sure to be as wonderful as always. I can't wait :)

5) On the 27th, I head to NC with GABBY (I love road trips with her, unfortunately Ava will have to stay with Grandma). We will be spending MUCH-needed time with Kene and Duht, two of my BFF's that happened to get married! I will be there through the 2nd at least, if not longer. I will also take a day trip from Charlotte to Winston-Salem to see my grandparents and extended family. This is another long-overdue visit and I can't wait to spend time with my Granddad especially. He is so special and super-cute. Picture an 80-year-old cowboy with a heart of gold. That's my granddad. He thinks this idea of a visit is fine AND dandy!

6) I am keeping an eye out for teaching jobs, but nothing has shown itself yet. I am praying a LOT about this!

7) I am getting back into horseback riding, and am juggling a few options right now. I have been trying to do this for a while. The problem is, I ride English saddle and most barns around here only offer Western. Plus, everything is SO far out in the country. But now that school is over, I am willing to make a drive for the right barn. More on that to come.

This is probably the longest post in a while, and I'm sure there is a lot more going on that I haven't mentioned, but I'll leave it at this. I am doing really well, moving forward and pursuing the things that make me truly happy.

I hope anyone reading this has a fantastic holiday!!

Greetings from beautiful Yosemite!

Right now I am writing from our lodge on the edge of Yosemite National Park. It's 9am and we're drinking hot chocolate while waiting for one of our friends to finish a conference call. Then it's exploration exploration exploration!!!

Pictures to come..

deck the house 2008

i'm really really really trying.