Catching up with an old friend...

As a kid, I loved to read. I come from a family that values education above just about everything else. I didn't always read the most stimulating books, but I was always reading. We would go to the mall and I'd get a book or two from Walden's (I miss Walden's) and I'd have one read by the time we got home.

I started reading the Babysitters Club Little Sister books. I, of course, was far too mature to read those for long and moved on to the real deal quickly. I read almost all of the Babysitters Club books. (In my defense, they were published 1986-2000 so I would have been 16 when they finished printing, a little old to still be reading them. There were 213 in total.)

 I "caught up" to the Babysitters Club-- I got to the point where I was always waiting for the next one to be published. In the meantime, I learned to love Sweet Valley Twins and then Sweet Valley High. I couldn't believe Elizabeth and Jessica were so different. And besides, why didn't their names match better? I thought that was part of being a twin. In retrospect, I blame the character of Jessica for my teenage mishaps. Granted, I did not get in much trouble, but I was not a terribly pleasant preteen/teenager. I wanted to be Jessica Wakefield. I even remember writing about her in my journal. Sorry mom.

I also read Fear Street later on. It was intended to follow Goosebumps (both by R.L. Stine), but I never got into Goosebumps. I was too busy with the Babysitters and the Twins.

In elementary school, there was "Book It," a reading competition sponsored by Pizza Hut. I loved books, I loved pizza. Slam dunk. In middle school, we had class and school competitions for reading the most books. We had to do some kind of project on each book, even if it was just a journal entry-- a mini book report. I read the most books in the school by a long shot. I had multiple journals!

In high school, I was a cheerleader, I had my horse, I had classes that actually required studying. I didn't have time for reading. Things didn't change in college when I had to juggle a long distance relationship, multiple jobs and college stress. During high school and college I only read what I was required to read for class. (That being said, I did read a few very intriguing books for class.)

I finished grad school almost two years ago and have rediscovered my love of books. I don't think I'll ever be into romance novels, but I enjoy a good fluffy book as much as the next guy. I don't like to spend my time and money trying out new authors without some kind of endorsement. I need someone's guarantee that I'm going to enjoy it. Strange, I know.


I have discovered two authors that I really enjoy. Jodi Picoult wrote My Sister's Keeper and The Pact, among others. She incorporates social issues into her stories. Her books are easy reads and the writing is not terribly sophisticated, but the social issues she tackles are thought provoking and create real page-turners.

While enjoy Jodi Picoult, I am infatuated with Maeve Binchy. You might have guessed by the title of my blog that my family is Irish. Not only that, we're very proud of it and slightly obsessive. Binchy herself is Irish and all her books are set in Ireland, many in Dublin. Her later books (Tara Road, Quentins, Scarlet Feather) intertwine the characters-- while they may make a cameo in one book, they take center stage in another. I love that! But I also love the books that stand alone (like Firefly Summer).  At least I think they stand alone. I'm still working on her collection so maybe I'll meet these characters again. I certainly hope so.

 In addition, I've realized that I missed out on a lot of classic books. I feel like I owe it myself to read certain books. I reread The Catcher in the Rye last year and I enjoyed it much more than my 13 year old self did. (I thought I was hot stuff reading something so "sophisticated". I didn't get it. At all.) Right now I'm reading the Chronicles of Narnia. I'm addicted. I'm working on the 4th book now and I can't wait to get through the rest. I'm such a picky reader and I expected the "classics" (as I define them) to be laborious. I couldn't have been more wrong! Imagine, a childrens' fantasy series capturing my attention this way! I'm hooked. I also have the Hobbit on the shelf, so I assume I'll have to read the Lord of the Rings series when I'm done with that.

I feel a little bit like I cheated myself for about 10 years. I missed out on 10 years of reading entertaining, enlightening, thought-provoking books. I'm trying to make up for lost time now, getting to know my old friend all over again. What books should I add to my list? 

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!