Top 10 Winter Weather Picks!

Those of you who know me well probably know I have a strange relationship with cold weather. I love wearing sweaters and boots. I look really cute in winter hats. I love sitting by a fire. I really love Christmas. Hot chocolate, curling up with a blanket, snow, all good things.

Here's the problem I have. I don't like to be cold. And I have a really hard time staying warm. I will tolerate the cold for short periods of time if I have to. I also don't really like driving in snowy weather. It was not such a big deal when I had a car that I trusted in the snow. So my preference is to enjoy the cold weather and snow from inside, next to a fire and a Christmas tree.

However, many of you also know that currently, my job involves me teaching horseback riding lessons. Yes, I teach in an indoor arena. No, it is not climate controlled. The only thing it saves me from is snow (although sometimes it does snow in the indoor....) and wind. It's still cold. As I mentioned, I don't like to be cold. This is a problem.

This time of year, I get all these emails from companies and stores telling me how to keep warm and keep my horse warm. As someone who spends a lot of time outside and who also gets very cold, I thought I'd share my picks and reviews. Even those these are equine-influenced, non-riders will appreciate them too.


1. Silk Long Underwear

My number one pick is silk underwear. LL Bean makes some good ones. It's really easy to layer on top, but layering under pants is hard. These long underwear fit well enough to wear under breeches for the riders out there, or under jeans. When it's really cold, I can wear these, plus a pair of tights or leggings under my jeans. Also a plus, they come in three colors, not just white!

2. Glove Liners

My second pick is glove liners. I have some great gloves that I love. But sometimes they're not warm enough. I need to be able to use my hands and those little warming packets get in the way. I can't do mittens either. So I found these glove liners by Under Armour. They really help cut the cold and they're super thin. I am looking forward to trying the rest of their Cold Gear too.

 

3. Carhartt Coat

I was unsure where to put this next pick on my list. I was a life-long Carhartt-avoider. However, I moved to Michigan and got a job working outside. I sucked up my pride and started wearing a Carhartt jacket. I love this thing. I wish mine had a hood like this one. I like the quilted lining. My outdoor job is ending, but I did have plans to buy the matching overalls. I suggest avoiding the light brown/tan-ish color. That way you don't look like a complete hick.

4. Cooler

Centaur makes this awesome cooler. A wool cooler is a staple that every horse owner should have. A cooler helps dry a wet horse faster and keeps him warm at the same time. It also helps a sweaty horse dry off in the winter without getting a chill. Centaur makes great coolers in lots of great patterns. 

5. Dublin River Boots
These are one of my favorite purchases of all time. Dublin River Boots were created to mimic the more expensive Dubarry boots. They were originally marketed to the equestrian community, but I've been seeing them in other catalogs as well. One company toted them as a "great dog walking boot". They're waterproof and pretty warm. These are three season boots. I bought mine a little big so I can layer some socks. I suggest wearing tall socks with these boots, even if you wear them over jeans, so they slip on easily. For the riders, I don't suggest wearing them to ride on a regular basis. The seams will wear and they slide down while riding. They're very comfortable while riding though, so check out Dublin's paddock boots.

6. Socks
I mentioned in #4 that I suggest wearing tall socks under tall boots. These are the best tall socks I've found yet! The picture shows the brown series, but they have lots of different colors. They are thin enough to fit under all my boots, but they still keep me warm. I can also layer a thin trouser sock underneath if it's really cold. They have also held up to lots of washing as well, which is really important to me!

7. Quarter Sheet
If you're a rider in a cold climate and you haven't discovered a quarter sheet yet, for the love of God, get one! This one is the Newmarket quarter sheet, just because I love the colors. It's shown under the saddle, but the best thing about a quarter sheet is that you can keep both you and your horse warm by wrapping it over your legs.

8. Rhino Blankets
My horse has multiple Rhino blankets. All 8-10 years old, these blankets are tough. They look great and they hold up to all the rough playing he can throw at them. They also clean really well. I love the way these blankets fasten as well. It's a little thing, but not having to buckle a chest closure when your fingers are freezing is a great help. I also love that they have tail straps and crossing surcingles, rather than leg straps and a single surcingle.

9. Dog Blanket
 Centaur makes another appearance on my list. My dog has been spending a lot of time outside this fall and winter. He's got a nice thick coat, but I worry that he'll be too cold when the temperatures dip below freezing and he's out there for extended periods of time. This is a great looking coat that actually comes in size chubby!

10. Beanie
I love all beanies. As I mentioned, I look cute in hats. So I wear lots of beanies. I love a beanie with a brim on it. Coal makes these crocheted hats. If you must wear lots of layers, at least you'll look good!

Long overdue...

It's been so long since I've posted.... we've been busy changing those before pictures into after pictures.

Bathroom before. All white and no I didn't pick that shower curtain.

Bathroom after. Paint, a shower curtain rod that is actually attached to the wall, new mirror.

 Haven't done much to the kitchen except make some curtains.

 Living room prepped for paint.

 Living room after. All the pillows I made, new paint. Need to get some curtain and an area rug.

 

Outside improvements. New house numbers, new mailbox, new doorbell.

 Flowers.

 New knocker. Thanks to my sister and nephew!

 

We've done some work to the basement, but I don't have any pics yet.

Housewarming!

It turns out our friends the Shroeders are quite artistic. For a housewarming present, they got us a "Sheidy" sign. They actually took all the pictures in the sign. All of the pictures are from around our town. The I is a statue from the local university's water tower. The Y is a tree in their front yard. This is one of the favorite gifts I've ever received. In fact, our whole living room decor will be determined by this picture.

Adventures in Home Owning

Well after several more hiccups, we are home owners. Project one: landscaping. Here are the before and after pictures!
BEFORE:

AFTER: We installed a mailbox, ripped out all the old plants and put in new ones. Now we just need the new house numbers and some shutters.

This fall will involve working on the grass and getting the shutters painted and installed. Then we're on to the inside of the house!

Adventures in House Buying

It's been a while since I posted anything. I've been incredibly busy with lots of stuff. The main thing that's keeping me busy is the fact that I've been teaching lessons 5 days a week, there also seems to be something going on for most of my days off. The other thing that is occupying my life right now is trying to close on this house. Actually, the main thing it's doing is adding to my stress. Why you ask? You might be sorry you asked.... here's the story.

Hubby and I decide, hey, we're going to be in Michigan for a while (5-6 more years) and the government has this thing called the Federal Housing Tax Credit. Basically, as first time homebuyers, we can earn a tax credit of 10% of the price of our house, up to $8000. This is not a tax deduction, it's a credit, which means we would get a check. This credit made buying a house not only appealing, but much more within reach for us.

We find a fabulous realtor. Joan Fletcher  is awesome. She took us to house after house after house. Even when we found a house that we could have been happy with, she took us to just one more. And then one more. And we made an offer on a house. Instead of letting us get suckered into paying too much, she helped us find another one, a better one. So we found the house we really wanted. A great house. We can see ourselves here for a while. We didn't really have to compromise much either. It just felt like the right place.

So case closed, right? Nope. We decide to change brokers so we can deal with a local broker. Even though our bank is fairly local, their broker is in Rhode Island. So we get a new broker who seems like a good guy. He has to work with an underwriter. Underwriter was apparently born without a brain. Doesn't like how we make money. Basically, they end up asking us for every piece of financial information they could come up with, and then some. College transcripts and diplomas, even! I had to give them a letter saying that my husband is allowed to use the funds in our joint accounts and that he's not expected to pay it back. Also had to get a letter from employers saying that we're not expected to pay back salaries! (Isn't that a given???) More than that, the problem was that the underwriter asked for one. piece. at. a. time. Over several weeks. We got them everything they asked for when they asked for it. If they could have asked for everything at the same time, the process would have been much shorter.

A little background on the house. It's an estate. Mom died about two years ago and sister #1 became executor of the estate. Sister #1 doesn't pay the taxes, doesn't take care of the estate. Apparently she also took quite a bit of money out of the estate that was owed to other people too. Judge says, okay, you aren't doing your job taking care of the estate, Sister #2 is now the executor. Sister #2 lives in Wisconsin. She makes some improvements on the house, gets things together, puts house up for sale. Sister #2 is under contract on house with us. 

Our original closing date was April 23rd. Underwriters take too long, so it's moved back to April 29th. In that period of time, Sister #1 comes back into the picture. She decides she wants to make sure she gets the money she's owed from the estate (even though she took the money out of the estate when she was the executor) so she puts a LIEN on the house. She throws a fit and comes to terms with Sister #2 and respective lawyers that Sister #1 (even though she's not the executor) will sign for the house at closing. Seems strange to me, but I just want the house. So we're now in Probate.

As if things weren't slow enough, the Probate judge who needs to sign the paperwork to allow all of this to happen.... it out of town. Not back until May 3rd. Okay. So May 3rd rolls around. We can't just have the judge sign off, there has to be a hearing. Hearing is today May 6th. Hopefully, we will know something this evening.

Just to throw a crazy twist into an already crazy situation, Sister #1 is the treasurer of the county we live in. An elected official. Who didn't pay taxes on a house she was responsible for.

So here we are 2 weeks past the closing date on our purchase agreement. We have to be out of our apartment by May 30th. If we don't close by May 30th, we don't get the tax credit (without which, we probably wouldn't have ever decided to look for a house). I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for a week to move. We've really got about 2 weeks to get this deal done. I don't know if it's going to happen.

So now you're up-to-date.

Vote for BooBoo

One more reminder to Vote for BooBoo. Here's the deal:
BooBoo was painted for a Beautiful Horses of Pennsylvania exhibit. The painting was priced at $1k+ and sadly we don't get a complimentary print. :(

However, there is a contest now that all the paintings are complete. If BooBoo wins the contest, he will win his own Cafe Press shop and be on tshirts, notecards, tote bags, etc. Now THAT I can afford.

All you have to do is go here and scroll to the bottom. Put in your name and email address. You won't even get put on an email list. Just select "no" that you don't want to receive the newsletter. And tell your friends!!! 

 

Voting ends April 30th!!!

Vote for BooBoo!

Changing seasons

Summer is on its way here in the Great Lakes. The grass at my apartment complex has finally been mowed. (It was a jungle out there!) The horses all have spring fever. The sun is shining and the birds are singing this morning. But for me, the changing season is not about weather. I gauge the time of year on sports season. I may have mentioned before that I can get behind almost any sport (except MLB).

So how does my year of sports shake out? Well here it is:

October-May is hockey season. We're currently enjoying the start of hockey playoffs. Let's go Pens!

July is the Tour de France. The whole month. It's my favorite month of the year. Period. I'm looking forward to Lance bringing home number eight. And I hope Contador gets stuck in the Pyranees.

In August, we get to enjoy the Little League World Series. Forget MLB, LLWS is where it's at.

September begins the NFL season. Of course I'm talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unfortunately, it's a short season, ending in January or very early February.

Then in October, it's back to hockey season. Occasionally, we can throw in the Olympics in either February or August. And golf season is pretty much year round. And if you don't know how I feel about golf, read my previous post.

Spring and summer are also horse show season, but you never see that on TV. Hopefully I'll get to a few this year. Not holding my breath though.

Enjoy the weather!

Oh Tiger....

Are you a fan of golf? My guess is you might take a look at the results and maybe watch the final pair on Sunday, but that's probably the extent of it. I am a fan of golf. I am not a fan of golf in the same way that I am a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I think it's hard to compare the two to be honest. But it is safe to say yes, I am a fan of golf.

Why am I a fan of golf? It probably started when I met my husband. He was on the high school golf team and I walked the course with him once. He helps me understand the intricacies of the game. It's hard to like and follow any game that you can not understand. Tiger has brought a lot to the game too. For me, it's impossible not to become infatuated with someone who has clearly demonstrated super human athletic ability. That kind of ability comes only from 1000% dedication to the sport. I can get behind almost any sport if I know what's going on. I'm simply a SPORTS FAN. (Except MLB... they make a $h!t ton of money and complain a lot... and then there's the steroids...)

I started golfing recently. I'm not good enough yet to say that I play golf. I'm certainly not a golfer. I got my own clubs two summers ago. I like to hit wiffle golf balls out back in the courtyard and go to the driving range. I'm not consistent enough yet to hit the course. But I'm quite excited about it. Golf is hard. It's especially hard when I'm used to being good at things. But when you play (or attempt to play) the game, you begin to understand what kind of dedication it takes to be that good. But come on... I played golf at my wedding!

Unfortunately, when you have been labeled with that super human ability I mentioned earlier, humility and modesty begin to crumble away. It's easy to say that someone has talent, money and fame and that's more than most people have so be happy with it. But truly, the material things are not what makes someone a complete person or a happy person. Clearly there was something going on with Tiger that fame and fortune could not fix. I'm not making excuses for his actions. He has personal issues that are obviously going to be played out in public... it's the price he pays for his fame and fortune. You can't forget, but maybe forgive. Besides... has it ever been our place to judge?

If you have watched ESPN or any kind of news lately, you probably know the Masters starts today. And Tiger is making his comeback today. It will be interesting to watch how he plays. I predict he will show some humility and potentially less ferocity. I believe he understands more than anyone what his personal decisions have done to his professional career. That said, his indiscretions have been separate from golf. He has not disrespected the game. He has not used steroids, he has not cheated or broken the rules. He has disgraced himself personally, and that is something he and his family will have to live with and deal with.

And I respect those who feel differently about Tiger. But I also hope that those people can be respectful in expressing their opinions. Besides, you just sound ignorant and close minded when you rant like that.

Nike's new Tiger commercial

I'm going to go watch Masters coverage.

top 10 reasons to move out of your apartment

10. The neighbors are terrible cooks. The smell permeates every apartment in the building.

9. There are kids next door. They are often unhappy. Very very unhappy. 

8. The upstairs neighbors walk like elephants. 

7. You know that sound before the emergency broadcast comes on? That's the sound the often-broken buzzer makes. Constantly.

6. Your dog thinks the utility carts at the complex are demon spawn.

5. No yard for doggies to run. :(

4. No one cleans up after their dog... ew.

3. You live across the street from the ghetto. 

2. The elephants upstairs tend to... "get busy" at 3:00 in the morning. LOUDLY. 

1. YOU'RE BUYING A HOUSE (Who needs an apartment when you have a house?)

Spring Fever

We've had a patch of ugliness lately. Rain, cold, mud.... just plain undesirable weather conditions. Today was so warm that Yogi and I went to the barn to take BooBoo's sheet off this morning. Yogi loves being at the barn. He likes that he can be off leash and run around with the other dogs. The resident dog is Bulldog. Her name is technically Diva, but we all know her as Bulldog. She's an English Bulldog who's bark is definitely worse than her bite.

So Yogi and I went for a long walk on the bridle path. He was so good. I think next week, I may try to get him to walk along with me as I take BooBoo on a trail ride. BooBoo loves dogs. Yogi just likes sniffing stuff. He was  caught off guard when the cow next door let out a serious MOO. I think it was his first time hearing a cow. He was perplexed.

If I can ever get the pics off my phone and onto my computer, I'll post them.

Speaking of spring fever.... if you're a horse person or even a dog person, you know it's time for shedding. Seriously, there's a lot of hair flying around here! I have two products that I can't live without for shedding season. For the horse, THIS is where it's at. The Epona Shed Flower. It's a simple thing, but worth $50 in my book. It's actually less than $5.

So for the dog, the Shed Flower is not quite as effective. The Furminator gets a lot of hype, and let me just say, it's so worth it. It's around $50 depending on the size of the dog, but all those ads are accurate. I have lots of friends who are skeptical about it, but I let them try it once and they are hooked. They too find that it's worth the money. Yogi looks like a million bucks when he's done. And the vet keeps asking me what I do to keep his coat looking so nice. Nothing. I just bathe him with Tresemme once a month and Furminate (yes we verberized it) him about once a week. It's fabulous.

In the meantime, I'm trying to get my horse ready to show this year. Look for updates on that and my journey back to competitive riding coming up soon!

For the love of Bunnies!

In honor of Easter, I thought a post about Bunnies was appropriate. If this makes sense to you, you may have known me in grad school. If you think I'm crazy.... well just stay with me for a minute. I might still sound crazy, but it might at least make some sense.

Note that the word "Bunnies" is capitalized. It is in fact two-fold in this post. Let me start with a story. Back in 2002, there was a show on Fox called "Greg the Bunny". The show starred Seth Green and Sarah Silverman. Great show. Sadly, it only lasted for about one season. I have no idea why. What spells HIT SHOW better than politically incorrect fabricated Americans? Here's Greg:

Okay, next. My sister is shopping for a birthday present for me. She's quite the shopper. As my grandfather would say, she has a black belt in shopping. She always finds amazing presents. I don't remember what else I got from her that year, but the best gift was a game called "Killer Bunnies". What is Killer Bunnies you ask? Gee, I'm glad you asked! It's a card game. But it is so much more than a card game. It's technical name is "Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot". Please don't confuse Killer Bunnies with its kid-friendly counter part, Kinder Bunnies. In Killer Bunnies, your bunny can and will be impaled by a stray lawn dart, squashed in a Fiat, or blown up by a grenade. Don't even get me started on the Anti Matter Raisins and Quite Irascible Diffractable Cheese Balls. You can start with just two decks. Blue and yellow. But if you're any kind of Killer Bunnies fan, you'll quickly acquire all 11 decks. Yes 11. You can also buy Kinder Bunnies and mix it with Killer Bunnies.

We thought the game may look a little lame. So we didn't play it for a while. Until one night in our apartment in Pittsburgh, my roommate Lacey, my then-fiance Dan and I were stuck without power. We hung a flashlight from the ceiling and opened the box. We added decks and Bunny addicts. It's impossible to not get addicted. In fact, when we moved recently, we made friends with another couple, Jeremy and Heather. They come over at least once a month and play Bunnies. They brought us a present the other night when they came to play. 

You can see some of the cards from the game. The present was bunny cups! These are not Kinder Bunny cups! There's Jim Beam on the rocks in the blue one and Captain and Coke in the pink one. And yes, we used the sweet straws that came with them!

It all started with a cancelled TV show.

Chasing the dream vs Paying the bills

My husband is very fortunate. He is a scientist. It is absolutely what he loves. His passion and his work are one and the same. Sure, he loves sports, is a certified mixologist and recently started home brewing, but he's totally happy in science and seems quite content to leave the sports and booze for play time. And when he's finally finished with school, his job will more than support his hobbies.

I however, very much view my career as a means to an end. I have two degrees in business. I've worked in my field here and there and was hoping to earn enough capital to buy that farm I keep mentioning. I was a victim of bad timing, the economy and some unforeseen circumstances. I ended up in a job where I was continuously looking for something else. I was over-worked and under-paid (who isn't?). My husband and I decided my happiness was significantly more important than the money I was making in my "real job". I quit that job in January.

Now I'm making a go at being a full time professional horse person. I've been doing this long enough to know there's not a lot of money in it. At least not the way I'm doing it now. In order to make the big bucks, you have to take some risks and spend some money. I'm in a new state, trying to re-establish the network I had developed at home. It's also a very seasonal business which makes it difficult during the cold months.

I get to spend time with my horse now. I get to spend more time with my dog. My apartment stays much cleaner. I get to see my husband on occasion. I'm a much happier person in general. I just have to keep reminding myself that being happy and having time to enjoy life is what I got in exchange for giving up bigger paychecks. Maybe when I'm working hard this summer with summer camp/shows/lessons and making a bit more, I won't have to keep reminding myself.

Just as today's reminder, here are some pictures of why I am happier now.

We're making progress

I like change. I get bored very easily. I need progress. I like to feel that sense of having accomplished something. I can't stand letting things get stagnant. I'm very goal driven.

I think that's one of the reasons I liked college. With each credit, I was making progress toward a degree. Every semester, I checked out my degree audit report to see how many more credits I needed. I also like to be ahead of the game and get things done quickly. I finished college in 4 years, but I had to play catch up after transferring in my freshman year.

The good news is, I'm still finding ways to make progress, now that I've finished school--twice. I recently switched jobs, which was a huge decision. I left a job that I hated, where I was over worked and under paid. But it paid the bills all the same. I am now taking a stab at being a full time horse trainer and riding instructor. The goal that drives me to sacrifice stability and better pay is my hope to run a boarding and lesson farm one day. I used to work at this farm which is a great model for having a fun, low competition, family friendly farm. I work primarily at one farm now, and was recently asked to take on another day of lessons. I'm up to three days there and I help with the farm chores on the weekend. I'm also going to be the camp director this summer. We have 8 weeks of camp, plus a prep week, which is going to make for a busy summer. With each new client, I feel like I'm making progress toward my ultimate goal of owning and running a farm. This experience is priceless.

We're making progress on another front too. We are officially under contract on our first house. This has been a goal for a while, but we weren't sure it was going to happen so soon. We only plan to live in our current location for another 5-6 years, but we're just throwing away money in renting. We have an inspector coming tomorrow. This house is perfect for us. It's super cute.... admittedly it needs some curb appeal help, but it was one of those things that we knew was going to be the one as soon as we walked in the door, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing crazy happens during inspection and appraisal. Now we'll be gaining equity AND my sweet puppy will have a yard to play in, which is progress in my book!

Bua na cainte

Call it jumping off the cliff. I'm taking the plunge and starting a blog. I've been tossing around the idea for a few months now and after reading the blogs of some friends, I'm giving it a try. I had a blog once... back when Xanga first started. I don't know that I ever had anything useful to say. I don't know that I have anything useful to say now, but at least I'm aware of it this time around.

My blog is called Bua na cainte. For those of you who aren't lucky enough to be Irish, that's Gaelic for "gift of gab". And I have it. I am the woman from that commercial. You know... the one who can take an hour to tell a five minute story? Yep. That's me. My husband often asks me to wrap it up or get to the point. Being Irish and having Bua na cainte, another beneficial and logical quality might be having mastered the art of story telling. Nope. I'm a terrible story teller. It was always funnier when it happened in real life. And it inevitably sounds better in my head.

What is the purpose? Eh. It's not like my friend Abby's blog. She is a health nut in a good way. She runs a lot and tries to eat well. She writes about her ongoing quest for good health. Plus, she's a fabulous writer. It's not like my family's blog. We are spread out geographically and we try to keep up on each other's lives this way. It's not like one of my favorite blogs, Fugly Horse, either. Fugly Horse of the Day is about outing and commenting on people who don't know what they're doing with horses. People who starve or gorge their horses, neglect or torture, breed genetically or conformationally incorrect animals, or even just try to sell a horse as something other than what it is. Nope, my purpose is far less purposeful. This is a personal blog. A journal-ish. You'll probably hear a lot about horses. (I'm a horse trainer and riding instructor.) You'll probably hear a lot about my dog. (I love animals in general.) And you might hear about my family and friends (who are too far away), my husband (who is my best friend), my car (which may fall apart any day now), and my house (which I'm in the process of trying to buy). I may not have any readers, but I don't care. Like I said, it's a journal-ish.