When Daddy Let Me Drive

I am not a big fan of country music. H hearts country...I think it makes him feel very *American*. Being an Irish Immigrant, he really seems to identify with John Wayne, 4th of July Parades, apple pie, and country music. I am probably not the best *American* wife for him since I don't like any of that stuff except maybe the apple pie. I digress...I don't like country music except for a select few songs. I have Alan Jackson's Greatest Hits and one select song I kind of like talks about how when you are a kid and "Daddy let me drive" and you are driving some junky car but you feel like Mario Andretti...I can so relate to it. Even at age 40, I still have the imagination I had as a 5-year old. On Friday at my riding lesson, El Instructor gave me a longer-than-usual timeslot due to my twice weekly longeing w/Oz. After the lengthy lesson, he said I could ride as long as I wanted "just give it a bit of practice", he said. It was exactly like the song...I had the entire indoor arena to myself so suddenly I was in the Olympics! There I was with my lesson horse doing a complete musical freestyle for the judges. If anyone happened to be looking, I probably looked like a smiling idiot...I was so happy! I was laughing and giggling as I piaffed and passaged...LOL AND, we did very well...I think we even won the gold medal.

Toe the line

Ouch. Can I just say "ouch". I am not the super horse trainer I thought I was...becoming. OZ, the 8-foot horse, stepped on my big toe tonight. Ouch. We had a fabulous little workout, he wasn't mad or anything...he just stood right on my poor toe when I was brushing him. There were other people around, so I didn't scream or writhe in pain...I just said, "Ouch, could you get off my toe?" Luckily, after a few long moments, he stepped off of me. Geez, it hurt. Guess it's part of the job but what is with the pain??? I am too old for this...I wonder if "true" Gen X ers have these problems?

Go Ask Alice

I just found out today that I am tres Gen X! I knew I was teetering precariously on the edge since I was born at the END of 1964 and the cutoff (I read this in some magazine) is 1964-65. I am so cool! Why, you ask? Well, I was totally not expecting to have this humongous *enlightenment* tonight...but when you least expect it...! Let's backtrack. For B-tiMes Day, H surprised...and I mean *SURPRISED* me with an ipod mini...THE MP3 player I had been hoping/praying/hinting-for! I think it was a result of Stacy getting hers...I was reading her blog here in the Motel 6 and excitedly exclaimed, in the presence of H, "Stacy got her thing!" H was like, "HUH?"...so I cheerfully explained that my BlogHero Stacy got her MP3 player so she could workout and be all cool. I def. think H FINALLY got the hint and so there we were on B-tiMes Day. B-times gift was ipod! woo hoo! Sooooo...Mrs. 40-yr old fogie downloaded every totally *fav* song from the CD vault and vio-la...WORKOUT BABY! One of the fav songs or songs plural is Alice DeeJay...an old friend of mine (who happens to be about 10 yrs younger than I) burned me a CD of good ol Alice. I hate to mention it, but this *friend* is one who would experiment with wierd things like "X" and then tell me all aobut the club/music/date scenes, etc. I think Alice DeeJay is or was hot at *the clubs*...but needless to say, she is now also hot at MY club. With me on the eliptical trainer. I was a maniac. (ok flashdance...ewwwwwwwwwwwww) Let's just say I had a good workout and I really appreciate being able to listen to music that H hates and I had stored in my car CD holder-thingie and forgot! Who cares if my thighs grow...I am proud to be a Gen X er!

Hi...meet my new thighs!

I joined a health club a few months ago. Not because I had an MP3 player, either, because I didn't. I joined because the Motel 6 does not have enough room for me to use my treadmill. Ya, I know...big surprise. The Motel 6 does not have enough room for anything except maybe having cocktails...and even then you are squished. We rented a storage unit when we sold our house but it seemed to fill rather quickly with H's *building supplies* he had stored in the basement. We ended up cramming most of our *stuff* into this 1-bedroom apartment. It is kind of wierd to have the majority of my belongings stacked up around me in all of 600 sq. feet. Anyway, I joined *the club* so I could keep up my rigorous workout routine (!!! LOL LOL !!) during this sabbatical-type living. Well, I think I want my money back. Reason being, my thighs are growing. How come everyone else who works out rigorously gets lean and mean and I get bigger thighs? Granted, it seems (from visual inspection) to be muscle...but my jeans don't fit right! Does this happen to other people? Needless to say, it is making me nuts and the only excuse I can think of is that *chez laundry* is shrinking my clothing. I'll give it another couple of weeks...but I think the eliptical trainer workout is a lot different from my reliable old treadmill. Yet another reason to check out of the Motel 6, isn't it?

Burn Baby Burn!

I have had absolutely no time to blog this week and that just sucks. This is my outlet, dammit. I did the whole parental thing on Sunday and Monday. Both trips were fine...I was actually rather proud of my trip-planning. In Chicago the p's enjoyed an informative museum visit and then were wisked via cab to a fabulous Armenian restaurant for lunch. They then strolled a block or 2 down to WaterTower for some shopping time whilst I did my beauty spa thing at the Parke Hyatte. Geez, I sound rich. No, it just pays to have a lot of gay friends...I don't know if this is true everywhere, but the gay friends I have know where all of the good restaurants are and where to get the best *spa* treatments! All in all it was quality time with the p's without the usual stress. YEAH.

Needless to say, the remainder of the week did not go as well. I did my usual *laundry thing* on Wednesday evening and much to my horror there were 2 women sitting in *chez laundry* playing cards and SMOKING. INSIDE. Now smoker-folks out there don't get all mad...I was once an on and off smoker so I am not against the habit completely. What I am getting at is that I was paying $10 to do laundry that was going to smell like I stored it in a bar. What is the point? (Ode to my washer/dryer in storage: I miss you guys...soon we'll be together again!) I realized as one of the women sauntered by me, cigarette in hand, that they were the same women who had the trailier park slinky clothes a week or so before (see previous post). Rather than risk getting the crap kicked out of me, I didn't say anything to them about the smoking. Actually, I am quite a wimp sometimes, despite that I am a mature, successful 40 year old. Instead I phoned the *MANAGEMENT OFFICE* of the Motel 6 to *discuss an issue*. I crack myself up. At least Stephanie was a sympathetic ear to my laundry plight. No doubt they will post a security guard at the chez laundry entrance as a result. Further on laundry night, H had a complete meltdown re the house project. It was in the making...but def. not the night for me to stroll into battle. He ended up sleeping on the couch after proclaiming "I don't care if we live in a trailer...I don't give a s*** about the house!" Ok, so I was picturing myself hanging my slinky nighties from WalMart in chez laundry at age 55. Luckily and much to my surprise, I kept my mouth shut and just went to bed. I must be getting old...I have some sense of timing and I don't just say what I think...like, for instance, "Why the hell are we building this house?" H revcovered and apologized in the morning. He knows he has taken on too much but he will never admit it to me. Well, if nothing else, the laundry room will be paradise.

Parental Supervision

Ya, I know...up kinda early for a Sunday. I have a sister who lives about 3 hours north of here. She is married and has 3 kids...really nice kids, actually. Since H and I went to Ireland right after Christmas, we had not had a chance to get together for all things holiday. We were going to trek up to her place when we got back from our trip. Here we are in February and we still have Christmas presents for them in the livingroom of the Motel 6. I was exclaiming how we are really fitting in here by still having holiday stuff around the place and H said I should just make a date to go to my sis's and he would be there. I should know better. Now that he is back from Ireland he is completely gung ho about the house and has no time to take a drive up north. Since I don't want to go all alone, I asked my mom to go...we do get along ok despite the Christmas tiff. So today I am driving up to sis's with my mom AND dad. That is ok...except for my mom's birthday, which was Friday, I was going to take her into Chicago to the Jackie O exhibit at The Field. It turns out we are going to that tomorrow AND the father is going too! Yipes, TWO days in a row with the p's. They are nice people, they are just parents, you know...they can drive you batty. I did schedule a sanity break during our time in Chicago...I made a appt to get my eyelashes and eyebrows tinted on Michigan Ave. My sister said that was a very smart thing to do and it wasn't selfish at all. :) I am up early to get the sleigh packed (I even cleaned the horse-hair/manure/sawdust car so the p's are riding in class!) for our trip! Departure time for Day 1: 1 hour.

E Z Pay

Today was rather busy for me. I had to dash in and out of the Motel 6 doing errands and whatnot. We live at the far end of the *complex*, so we have to drive down this sort of main drag to get to the exit. The main drag includes the *clubhouse* (I don't know who goes there, but it is kind of nice), the lake with geese all over the place, and this massive flagpole thing that looks very official as you enter the Motel 6 premesis. Anyway, today as I was entering and exiting there were several, and this is common here, Rent a Center trucks making deliveries. I am not sure how all of that works but somehow *renting* furniture doesn't really make sense. Why don't you just buy it? You can buy on payments so it shouldn't be too much difference from the RAC...plus, they have to charge a fortune! I think I would like to see a rent a furnished apartment just to get an idea of the decorating assistance offered by the RAC plan. Am thinking very puffy faux leather couches and a lot of birdcages. Oh ya, cats too. I also wonder about what they do with the furniture if you decide you don't want to rent it anymore? Do they sell it at Wickes? Sorry to sound like the snob but this whole scene is really fascinating to me. I really need to exit the Motel 6 soon...otherwise, I'll be awaiting a delivery! LOL

With Under Cabinet Lighting!

Tonight H & I had an appt to go *look at cabinets*. You are supposed-to know the style you want, the color, the design/layout, and basically what you are going to be cooking for dinner for the next 20 years. I hate stuff like that...I think I am more the impulsive girl so it stresses me out to have to decide to *go* with cabinets that I will be cursing a year from now because they show too much dirt/don't open the right way/are a horrendous color andhowdidIeverchoosethatwasIdrunkatthetime???? Sooooo, there we were in the *design center* and H had instructed me to have some choices ready so we were kind of prepared. Naturally, the choices I chose were all the premium cabinets (it is difficult to have such champagne taste) so we had to narrow it to like only 1 of my choices, the affordable one. Then H and the design guru started in about measurements and clearances and fillers so I wandered around and decided I hate brass fixtures and maybe if chrome is in the budget we could head that way. Then I got a call from el Instructor from the barn. Turns out he has this friend who is selling T'HE HORSE and it is THE HORSE for me at a mere $3500! Mind you, we were still in the midst of the cabinet summit. How was I to concentrate on *upgrades* when I now have to save $3500?? LOL Gawd, I hate this house-building. After the summit, D was exclaiming how cool this whole thing is. I said something stupid like, "Well, it is good we are doing this since it is something you have always wanted to do." (As in, I am super-wife and you should thank your lucky stars I keep quiet about half of the things I think about this whole project, not to mention having to live in the Motel 6 for ten months.) I immediately had to backpeddle because he came back with a "Walktrotcanter, this is the ONLY way we could EVER have a DECENT place and I hate this as much as you, believe me!" (Ok, can I just say NO WAY.) So, anyhow, I guess I will continue as stablehand and student horse-lunger and volunteer coordinator until all of the kitchen cabinets are installed and the dishes are safely tucked into their new homes. Wonder what's for dinner?

Is it a holy day?

As I mentioned previously, I am involved with a volunteer group that offers riding lessons to people with disabilities. I got involved about 2 years ago and ok, I'll admit I only got involved with the program because I wanted to be around horses and learn about them in addition to my weekly lessons. I found I kind of enjoyed the classes and students once I got started. (go figure.) To make a long story short, I was elected to the board of directors and became the Volunteer Coordinator last year. I think the were desperate in asking me; however, I accepted and stepped into the landmine.

This whole winter I have worked with a little task force I rounded-up to revamp the training and, actually the whole volunteer scene. It was really a mess. People would just show up whenever they felt like it, call off when they felt like it, and had no sense that they were around horses and just because they are therapy horses doesn't mean they are never going to act wacky as horses often do! So, here we are getting ready for a new summer of classes and we are getting finalized on the whole *new* volunteer program...it is going to be really good but, as usual I have my destructive doubts in myself. Does this ever go away??? I am, to be honest, dreading the whole thing since we will be moving in the midst of the class sessions and with the whole new house, moving, etc. I will surely need more cocktails than usual...let's just put it that way, OK?

Like the first blossom of Spring, I put out the email today to announce when the first training session will be. I tried to sound all upbeat and *cheery* so everyone gets all *excited* about the New Program!! YEAH. I got one response where the *volunteer* told me her entire work schedule and how difficult it would be to make it to the training but could she please come and ride horses? Another explained to me how it is *the sabbath* and could we have an additional training session at a different time. Now, how could volunteering for a riding therapy program be something so heathen and horrid that a person couldn't possibly go to the training to LEARN how to HELP OTHERS on the sabbath? I had to close the email and deal with it tomorrow. WTF? Sorry, but this is making me nuts. ...I wonder if they do cocktails on *the sabbath*???

Paper or Plastic?

I guess the Christmas season is officially over. This afternoon I was heading over to the *laundry building* to "do a couple a loads" (laundry speak for hogging all of the washers and getting every item of clothing washed simultaneously) and I happened to glance over to the neighbor's porch. Well, do you remember Mr. Snowman and Santa, the 8' inflated decorations that kept deflating? Much to my surprise, the completely deflated Mr. Snowman and Santa were stuffed in to a grocery bag! I kind of wonder if they just finally crawled into the bags because of their constant delfation or if the mean nonchristmas people put them there because they figured they spent a fortune on some lamoid decorations that would not stay inflated even tho they kept the generator plugged-in with the *thru-the-door*extension-cord*. As a sidenote, there is a townhouse here in the motel 6 that still has candy cane decorations in the *yard*. Today one of the poodles peed on one of the candy canes. Remember, don't eat yellow snow and don't eat yellow candy canes. Is it Spring yet?

My New Job

Yesterday after work I had my first day of *Lunging* horses at the pishy poshy barn where I take riding lessons. In exchane for free riding time (so so cool!), I am going to exercise some of the horses. I am pleased to report it was, for the most part, a success! YEAH! Let's review...
1) I did not go into my usual terror panic attack when El Instructor said, "Ok, go get OZ and you can start grooming him" OZ is about 8 feet high and is only 5 years old so he is just a baby. I am not used to babies nor am I tall enough to even reach his back.
2) I spent probably 45 mins talking with OZ, actually convincing him that I would pay him big dollars to behave so I didn't look like a complete idiot. He took the bribe.
3) I had the best time running about like a fool trying to lunge for the first time, a 5-year old (OZ) in the humongous indoor arena
4) Am thinking I should become a horse trainer for a living
5) Am kidding re #4.
6) I am going again tomorrow for day 2 on the job...I am kind of scared I won't remember how to do everything.
7) I'll probably do just fine but I am way too hard on myself when it comes to my equine knowledge and performance
8) I am afraid I need to back out of some of the volunteer work I do with a riding therapy program so I can do this lunging/free riding thing. But I got into the riding therapy thing to be around horses more so I could learn and feel comfy around them...problem is, I ended up being sucked in and am now in charge of the volunteer program. Thus I am quite committed at the moment despite the fact that I don't get to spent much time around the horses. I am such a sucker...I just can't say no. H says I have to remember why I got into it in the first place and just do my horse thing. I simply hate to have people pissed off at me. Such a quandry.
9) Gave the poodles baths again tonight...they are all soft and sweet and fragrant. I love them. Ya, so I really wanted labs but H doesn't like big dogs so we have poodles that I am training to be labs!
10) I don't even know how to describe how I felt driving home after my *lunging*. Something like a combination of the wonderful smell of an 8 foot horse called OZ, tiredness from running around for an hour, that thrill of knowing I just did something so cool that I have dreamed about since I was like 6 years old and now that I am doing it, I am sure it is exactly what I thought it would be...even tho I am now 40 and how come I had to wait so long :) What a cool feeling :-)