I LEARNED so much

For those of you who asked, yes, I am fine. Just took me a couple of days to get the clinic update posted.

Here is some of what I learned. (Ok, some of it I knew, but it somehow clicked this time)

1. Horseback riding is a partnership and you can't just go along for the ride.
2. One partner always has to be in control, but it is not always the same partner.
3. Horses are very smart and also lazy, well at least mine is, and they will take any excuse to quit doing something they don't like. The key is to know when it is an excuse and when it is mean.
4. Whatever I focus on, my horse will too. So it is my job to focus on the job at hand, not everything else going on.
5. I have some really cool friends.
6 It is a blast to listen to other people's stories of riding.
7. It is all mental and you just have to want it. (Now, to determine what it is).

Here is Luke standing in his "room" for the weekend. Taken Sunday morning from the front porch of the house where we stayed. I guess I wore him out on Saturday.

My back actually did ok. I quit riding a bit earlier than everyone else on Saturday to save it for Sunday, so I missed the egg relay. The other "bad" part of riding the entire day, is that I only got a couple of photos.

Opps.

I have seen 53 of these movies

My lovely sis-in-law, Bonnie, “borrowed” this list from her friend Jenelle. It is a list of 200+ movies. Have you seen them? I added whether or not I saw it on TV (including regular with commercials, or Starz, HBO, etc. or on DVD) or at the movie theater or both, some of which will show my age. Ah, well. How did you do?

(x) Grease (Both)
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean (Movie)
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest (Movie)
( ) Boondock Saints
() Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
( ) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles (Both)
(x) Airplane (Both)

Total: 5 of 9

(x) The Princess Bride (TV)
( ) Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
( ) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
( ) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries (Both)
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (TV)

Total all together: 8 of 20

() Scream
() Scream 2
() Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
() American Pie
() American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
( ) American Pie Naked Mile

Total all together: 8 of 32

(x) Harry Potter 1 (TV)
(x) Harry Potter 2 (TV)
(x) Harry Potter 3 (Both)
(x) Harry Potter 4 (Both)
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer (TV)
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch (TV)

Total all together: 14 of 42

( ) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland (TV)
( ) Signs
( ) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
(X) White Chicks (TV)
( ) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30 (TV)
(x) I, Robot (TV)
( ) Robots

Total all together: 18 of 53

( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snickets: A Series of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
( ) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents (TV)
( ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
(X) King Kong (The original on TV, the 1976ish version at the Drive in, missed the last one)

Total all together: 20 of 65

(x) A Cinderella Story (TV)
() The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
() Dumb & Dumber
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
(x) Flubber (TV, the original only, haven’t seen the remake)

Total all together: 22 of 77

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago (TV)
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards

Total all together: 23 of 87

( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles (TV)
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
(x) The Longest Yard (Original Both, haven’t seen the remake)
( ) Gridiron Gang
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
( ) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask

Total all together: 25 of 104

( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
( x) Ocean's Eleven (TV for the original, haven’t seen the remake)
( ) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity (TV for both the original and the remake)
(x) Bourne Supremacy (TV)
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
( ) Predator
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
( ) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George

Total all together: 28 of 120

(x) Independence Day (Both)
() Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine (Movie)
() ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Boss' Daughter
(x ) Maid in Manhattan (TV)
(x) War of the Worlds (TV for the original, haven’t seen the remake)
( ) Rush Hour

Total all together: 31 of 131

( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street (TV, several versions)
( ) Old School
() The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
() Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Total all together: 32 of 141

(x ) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring (Both)
( x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers (Both)
( x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King(Both)
( x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Both)
( x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Both)
(x ) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Both)

Total all together: 38 of 147

( ) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
() Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
(x) Highlander (Both)
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Thr3e

Total all together: 39 of 157

( ) The Jackal
( x) Kung Fu Hustle (TV)
( ) Full Metal Jacket
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
( X) Monsters, Inc. (TV)
() Titanic
(x ) Monty Python and the Holy Grail (both)
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
(x ) Willard (Theater)

Total all together: 43 of 167

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn of the Dead
(x) Hook (TV)
( x) Chronicle Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (TV)
( ) 28 days Later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x ) Waterworld (TV, hey I had to see what all the “crap” was about)

Total all together: 46 of 177

( x) Kill Bill vol 1 (TV)
(x ) Kill Bill vol 2 (TV)
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) The Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness

Total all together: 48 of 187

( x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace (Movie)
(x ) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones (Movie)
( ) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith (TV)
(x) Star Wars A New Hope (Both)
(x) Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back (Both)
(x ) Star Wars Return of the Jedi (both)
( ) Ewoks: The Caravan of Courage
( ) Ewoks: The Battle for Endor

Total all together: 53 of 195

() The Matrix
() The Matrix Reloaded
() The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
() Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal
( ) Red Dragon
( ) Anger Management

Total: 53 of 206

Struggling

When your cohorts’ perception is that you are not being a team player, you are asked to straighten up and fly right by the captain. You try to conform to their game, but, then, you realize that the game you thought you were supposed to be playing is not the same game the team is playing. And you are not sure who is playing the "correct" game. (If there is such a thing as a correct game).

Your concerns appear to be heard, but some of the captain’s actions indicate otherwise. You observe, make mental notes, and follow the adage: “If you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all.” Thus, exasperating the illusion that you are not a player. As a team, when you are together, all the cues say the game is being played correctly, but when the captain is gone, or not viewing, or is perceived to be gone, then the game changes to “all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others” . The demeanor becomes “What the captain doesn’t know, won’t hurt us,” under the guise of “I get my work done.” And who is going to tell?

Since I live in a glass house of my own, i.e., writing this while projects wait, when is enough, well, enough. Where is the trust? Where is the line to be crossed and should it be crossed?

Clinic on Saturday and Sunday

CONFIDENCE BUILDING CLINIC FOR HORSE AND RIDER

The clinic is designed for beginner riders who have a desire to improve their overall horsemanship and confidence.
DATE: May 19 & 20 2007
Lincoln, California

Topics:
*Rider Safety
*Horsemanship
*Proper Control
*Obstacles
*Trail Riding

This is the clinic Luke and I are attending on Saturday and Sunday. I am very excited. Hope my legs and back hold out. More information as the weekend approaches.

Yes, Rufus can see

Hi.

Thanks for all the comments on the 12 of 12 photos. Both official and unofficial.

Rufus is wearing a fly mask. It is made of a mesh material that allows air in and out, but not flies or dirt. We use them to keep the flies, gnats and the sun and gnats out of their eyes.

Here is a photo of him, taken earlier this year without the mask. He likes getting right up in the camera's lens.


Happy Mothers' Day, to all.

Not a wedding crasher

Well, didn't have to rescue dear friend. That is good.
Weather is beautiful and had a wonderful day at the barn.
Looking forward to next weekend at Muriel's.
More on that later.

May 12 of 12

Hi. This month's extra photo is Dreamscape. And I didn't find anything yet, to fit that description. There are only 6 hours remaining, so maybe, I will add it later.

12 of 12, for those of you who are new to this idea, are 12 photos taken on the 12th of each month. It was started by Chad Darnell, and he gets photos for all over the world. Check them. Join us next month.

Since I am not at work today, (duh, it is Saturday) most of my photos are of my barn family and friends, horses and my critters. Not much variety, but loads of fun. Enjoy. Happy birthday, Heather.

Starting the morning by loading the car with my riding gear. Now that Luke is in bootcamp, I only have to load up my saddle and helmet.

Elverta, CA 8ish in the morning.

Sara and Luke 9am, Pleasant Grove, CA.

Birthday party gathering. Pleasant Grove, CA 11:30.

Birthday party gathering. Pleasant Grove, CA 11:30.

Birthday party gathering. Pleasant Grove, CA.

Oh, my BLACKOUT cake from Freeport Bakery. Pleasant Grove, CA.

Birthday wish. The wind helped blow them out. Pleasant Grove, CA.

Mom and baby. (three weeks old) Pleasant Grove, CA.

Another baby (five weeks old). Pleasant Grove, CA.

Citrus Trees and Grapes. Elverta, CA. 4:30pm

Zucchini plant, Elverta, CA. 4:30pm

Rufus T. Firefly in his new mask. Elverta CA 5:00pm

Plethora of Activity this weekend

Wow. Where to start.

Well, tomorrow is 12 of 12. First time in many months that I will not bore you with photos of work and commuting. Just horses, horses and more horses.

Dear friend's niece is getting married. Thinking of crashing the wedding to rescue dear friend. Will, of course, only do so if called.

Another dear friend, (hey, I only have a couple of friends, so yea, they are all dear), will be celebrating her birthday tomorrow. She just doesn't know it. Her actual birthday is Monday, but we are having a kind of surprise party for her tomorrow at the barn, after our ten am lesson.

Speaking of lessons, I RODE today. Mainly walked, but it is the first time since Luke and I had our flying dismount (four weeks ago) that I have sat on him for longer than five minutes. It was wonderful.

Aren't we a cute couple? (I know, a couple of what?)

Then there is the catching up on all the stuff I haven't felt like doing because of how much my back was mad at me.

There are sprint car races in Chico; laundry; the neverending list of housework to be done. Ah, but life is good.

12 of 12

The official 13th picture theme is Dreamscapes . I can handle that. Yea, sure. Ok. ummmmmmmmm.

Later.

Surprise visit

Yesterday, we went to my nephew's daughters' birthday party. We haven't been to their new house. (We've been invited, but always had plans). However, I am also persona no grata with my brother, so it was always easier to be busy.

The house is beautiful, as are the girls. And they are expecting another in October. Cool. My nephew and his family greated us warmly and with true affection. My brother, well, he is more and more like our father daily, but he did not curse me either.

Took photos with the phone. Will upload tomorrow from work.

Great to see the next generation doing so well. My other two nephews were also there. One was napping, the other may add me to his Myspace page. AH, to think.

Later.

Here are the photos taken from the cell phone.

Angelica (5) and Celyne (8)

Checking out the other cake.

Haidee, Adrian and Gabriel

12 of 12 in Eight Days

And this month, the 12th is on a Saturday. So no pictures of the new signs in their new locations. No, messy or semi-messy desks. No cars in traffic. No landmark signs that are passed daily, but never seen. No new projects to brag about. No boring work-day antics. OH NO, what photos shall I take?

To see what 12 of 12 is, check out Chad Darnell's blog.

So, if the Universe

is positive and negative, with a couple of neutrals. And you cast away your negative, how do you get only positive ones in return. I mean, what happened to balance? If you are all positive and neutral, how can that be balance?

Not that I am trying to attract more negatives, but don't we need a jaded sense of the world at times to keep us sane?

Horse Show

Don't know if this will work, but here is a video of Luke and Heather in the 3 foot class last Saturday.

Oh, to ride again.

/luke_at_leone_1.mov

Isn't he pretty? Hardly Glue Factory material, I say today.

A Little Bit Bigger Victory

Oops, forgot to rotate it before I uploaded, but you get the idea.

Well, we are making progress getting "Boy" to become part of the "pack".

For the past two weeks, we have been letting them in the house for a few minutes at a time. I leave the patio door open, Precious comes right in, Boy follows gingerly. As long he can see the patio door as his exit, he stays in. On Sunday, he even stretched and sat down.

So, yesterday evening, we open the door. Precious comes in and immediately gets onto Kitty's bed. Boy comes in and sits in the living room, near Brandt and the computer. I was able to get up and walk around and have him not jumped to the door. I think we have made mounds of progress up the mountain.

Then, he moves to Kitty's bed with Precious. He lays down. Relaxes. Brandt goes over to see if he will let him pet him. Here are the results.