Beautiful Blog? Hmmm. OK.

Jackson after a RIDE Easter Sunday....

Well, I just kind of ignored the beautiful blogger award I received a-hem, a few times. It's not that I'm an extraordinarily private person, but seven things about me that aren't known? I blew that off pretty quick, but it did niggle at me. Private personal things on the internet for the world to see? But, after thinking for awhile I think I can certainly come up with things that will amuse and delight without bringing out all the dirt for the internet hounds out there.... They must be out there and totally interested in ME right? For sure. :)

So seven things.... oh what to choose, what to choose, there are so many fun, quirky factoids that make up moi, just seven? OK. I shall try! Oh, and I didn't download the actual award pic, or post it to my sidebar, and since everyone did it like two months ago, I just posted a pic of me main man instead! :) I'm just a rebel, eh? Lazy is more like it!


1. When I daydream it is that I am an Olympic rider taking the gold on a jump course for my team. I am in my mid 30's and I still dream of an Olympic ribbon :) In some ways I have never left my fifteen year old self behind! Dreams are good, I think, not to mention fun! In reality, I would LOVE to be a mounted cop. After being in the military and my experiences with cops, which largely have not been good, I still want to put on a uniform and ride around ALL shift astride a beautifully trained horse keeping the peace!

2. I rode at Devon when I was fifteen. I worked in a jumping barn, and the snot who was supposed to ride just didn't show. So I had about five minutes to learn the course (I ALWAYS worry about messing it up due to nerves) and get my horse warmed up. My horse Madigan SO took care of me, and we were in the ribbons! I think I was 4th out of 25. Admittedly, it was the horse and not me who won that one.... I hadn't even learned lead changes yet, I was so new to jumping. That horse took total care of  me and jumped 3'9 like a breeze...

3. I lived in Key West, Florida for seven wonderful years. I worked in a group home for the developmentally disabled, and on a dive boat on the side in exchange for lessons. Now that I am here in Texas, and haven't been diving in so long, I'm sure I would need a MAJOR refresher! AND NO! I don't have ANY interest in diving in a Texas lake! I plan on moving back to Florida, and some plans are being tenatively made. I will live in a place where I have ocean access, AND horse access. Ah Florida! Horse country all the way, and my location will put me right where I want to be!!! :) Namely, out of Western land! (Sorry, no offense to you Western folks!!!). It won't be Key West, which is a 3 mile by 5 mile island. In Key West there are no horses to be found, not to mention it is just waaaay too expensive for a single mom; it's a place for the VERY rich these days....

4. I grew up on a farm in Ohio.We had pigs, goats, rabbits, chickens, sheep, cats, dogs, cattle, a pony named Popcorn and two OTTB's. It was hard work, but I look back at it now fondly. I had a pony cart and a harness and had some fun with that. I never owned a saddle, just a bridle and a bareback pad. The pony was crazy too... Farm life in Ohio HAS cemented in the fact that I will never again IN THIS LIFE live anywhere where it gets cold , or in any way in the negative temperatures on the thermostat!!! But! I can milk a goat and make homeade bread, butcher a chicken and help a critter give birth! I also have lots of fun, sometimes useless hobby farm facts to shower my friends with! ;)

5. I have always been a rebel. From a very early age if my parents are to be held accountable with their stories. My mom's good friend-- who was my first Montessori school teacher-- still calls me Pippi (for Pippi Longstocking) because she says I am always in a scrape! Some of us just can't help it. Believe me, I've tried. Now, I just work to channel the rebellion into good and not evil! :) Ha ha! Just kidding. But being rebellious makes life hard, I am never the status quo. Sometimes, status quo does sound nice. But, I don't think the rebellion is going anywhere! It is definitely hardwired! I am currently reading a book titled 'The Successful Rebel-Getting What You Want Without Losing Who You Are,' by Tracey and Melissa Cox,  in hopes of learning how to channel my inner rebel into a more helpful trait in life!

6. I had many crazy hairstyles as a younger person, one of my favorites was the mohawk I had in high school. I decided to dye it purple, and then (being a stupid 16 year old) jumped into one of my best friend's pools three hours after getting it dyed. His parents weren't too thrilled with the purple water, and I wasn't too thrilled to lose the brilliant purple I would have had! It was still purple, just not as bright as I had wanted.... The purple water was gone in a couple of days...

7. When I was four years old I told my dad that I thought we all are living on the big toenail of a giant. I asked him what he thought about this. I remember the look of delight on his face and how he just LAUGHED and called me his little philosopher. That memory is a good one. I felt so special. Sadly, these days, my dad and I don't really talk at all.

There it is. A few random things. Not even close to the whole of who I am, but a few factoids of the many I have stored away....