Something that makes me happy

I have been riding horses for as long as I can remember. Wait. I don't even remember this photo below. So let me re-phrase that. I have been riding horses since before I can remember!

My first real horseback riding lesson was at age 6. My Mom tells me that I was drawn to horses very early on. Once I started riding, I never stopped. It was all I did. I had no extracurricular activities in school because every day I went down to the local stable to ride. 

I have owned three horses in total. My first horse was a psycho LOL! Of course, we didn't know that when we bought him. I actually saved my own money to buy him when I was 14. I think I paid around $1,000 for him. I named him Tucker. He was about five. He was broke to ride, but everything was still new to him. I worked with my trainer, so she helped with training and I took lessons on him. I rode western pleasure at the time. I was always complimented on my seat. I could ride through anything. My trainer would put me on the crazies sometimes because she knew I could stay on. Well, Tucker spooked & reared up one day and flipped us both completely over. I did stay on, because of that great seat, but that meant he landed on me. Thankfully, he did not crush me into oblivion. From that day on, he had "issues." We found him a cowboy, and it was a match made in heaven!

Tucker (and me at 14 - eegads!)

My next horse was a dun mare who I named Maddie. She was a reining horse and an absolute sweetheart. And most importantly, not a psycho! She was always ready to go, as most reining horses are. We enjoyed several years together, riding around at the local stable, even competing in a few shows. I got too busy toward the end of high school and sold her to a nice girl. I miss her still. She was a really great horse.

I jumped on the crazy wagon again and purchased my third horse, while also working at a stable teaching lessons. I love the draft breeds, so I went in search of a Percheron. I wanted a young horse that I could finish training. I found Blake. He was just two and a big sweetheart. I finished his training, moved between three different stables, and then decided to move out of my parent's house. There was no way I could afford rent, bills AND a horse. I found him a nice home with a couple down south of us. He was fun :) And he was the first horse Mr. B was around and fell in love with.

The point of my post was that horseback riding makes me happy. Whenever I am feeling down, I want to ride. Something about being on a horse, feeling each step they take, watching their ears as they take in the sights... it just puts a smile on my face and on my heart. It makes life seem perfect even when you know it's not. It's hard to put into words, but I am sure all of you have something in your life that does that for you. 

What makes you happy?

This song semi-inspired this post.

 

Introducing Troy Nickolaus

Mr. B's best friend, who lives in Florida, just had his second baby boy. They used Mr. B's first name & spelling for Troy's middle name. If you didn't pick it up, Mr. B is Nickolaus ;) I brought them a "Baby's First Christmas" outfit when we were in FL for our cruise. Momma just sent me a photo of him in the outfit and I about died from the cuteness!

Welcome to the world little man :)

"A baby has a special way of adding joy in every single day." Author Unknown

xoxo,

Mrs. B

Christmas Fun

I luuurve this season!!! Everything about it makes me happy :)

My sister, Mom and I decided to bake Christmas cookies...

 With the addition of Target holiday sprinkles.

Apollo made sure no cookies left the kitchen!

We made Christmas crafts...

DIY wreath before

 DIY wreath after. And it's real pine. Smells yummy :)

Apollo helped ;)

This is for my mantle. We made two, placed a stick between the two, hot-glued safety pins onto the stick, then used the pins to attach Christmas cards :)

Here it is on my mantle. I just need more cards now.

  

My Mom has given us an advent calendar every year since I can remember. Some things never change :)

I couldn't leave out the infamous Christmas card from my Mom's cousin (who is also an artist). 

Warning - this card includes nudity. And a rubber ducky too!

Even Apollo got into the Christmas spirit :)

Santa Paws

Rudolph the sweet faced rein-dog

Mr. B and I also picked up our Christmas tree & decorated the rest of the house... we were late this year, with the vacation and his travel for work.

Isn't she magical?! We call her Trisha Tree :)

Decorations are up...

The wreath I made on our front door

I am leaving you with one last Apollo picture. My helpful elf. He is the best dog ever :)

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:  the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other." Burton Hillis

xoxo,
Mrs. B

I love giving gifts!

My favorite part of Christmas is buying gifts for family and friends! I love getting creative and finding something extra special for each person. If only I had abundant amounts of money, I could really go crazy. I am not going to share too much about the gifts I bought, in case family or friends see this. But I can't wait to watch each person open them on Christmas Day. We have breakfast together at my parent's house, open stockings, open gifts and enjoy each other's company :)

One of my favorite stores this season: www.perpetualkid.com Part of the reason I love them? Look what I saw when I opened the box of gifts I ordered:

What's on my Christmas list this year?

The new iPod Nano

Victoria's Secret Bombshell. Yum!

Guess White Stainless Steel Watch

Dog toys for Apollo. My favorite dog toy company is Fat Cat Inc. These piggy toys are adorable!

EatSmart Precision Scale; to help me lose the LB's!

And the most important gift... for everyone to have a happy & safe holiday!

xoxo,

Mrs. B

Christmas Potluck

We used to have extravagant Christmas parties at my work, but those days are gone. Now we do a potluck lunch every December. We have some great cooks and bakers here, so it's always delicious. I tried to take photos of everything, but I missed some things because everyone was hungry!

Deep fried turkey, cooked in front of our office LOL.

 My plate - turkey, sweet potatoes with maple glazed pecans, homemade macaroni salad (so good!), and the best salad ever - mixed greens, pears, onions, pecans, cranberries with Marie Callender's poppy seed dressing. I could have eaten the whole bowl of salad, mmmm :)

I really liked the pasta salad, so I had some more. What? It was sooooo good!

And dessert... "elephant ears", gingerbread cupcake pop, World Peace chocolate cookie, and my sister's homemade peppermint bark.

These gingerbread cupcake pops were AWESOME! 

Of course, we ended the meal with wine! A co-worker of mine bottles this with a friend. Delicious.

"I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month." Harlan Miller

xoxo,

Mrs. B

A Lullalo Giveaway

My favorite artist is giving away two adorable 8x10 Christmas prints! I blogged about her adorable paintings here. Check out her blog for more details: Lullaloo Giveaway

xoxo,
Mrs. B

p.s. I guessed right. I am ovulating when Mr. B is out of town, so hopes are down for this cycle. Time to focus on losing weight ;)

We are home!

We got back late on Sunday, so this has been my first chance to sit down and blog. We had a really, really good time. Even despite Aunt Flow showing up the day we left. We were able to relax and really enjoy ourselves. To sum it up... we laid on the pristine beach in Aruba, climbed Fort San Felipe in Cartagena, Colombia, watched in awe as we went through the Gatun Locks in the Panama Canal, zip lined in the pouring rain in the Costa Rican rain forest and climbed Dunns River Falls in Jamaica. And the rest of the time we relaxed, laid by the pool on the ship, shopped for souvenirs and I finished two great books; "Play Dead" by Harlan Coben and "The Girl Who Played With Fire" by Stieg Larsson. A few photos to share:

The view from Fort San Felipe in Cartagena

The New City - Cartagena, Colombia

On our way into the Gatun Lock - Panama Canal

A rainbow greeted us in Ocho Rios, Jamaica

 Jamaica was beautiful! We could have spent all 10 days there.

 On a ski lift up to Mystic Mountain

 View from the top. That's our ship in the distance.

 No, I didn't pee my pants in this picture. We had just climbed the waterfall and I still had my swimsuit on ;)

 The view from the restaurant on Mystic Mountain

 Jamaican Jerk Chicken

 Our ship, the Coral Princess

It was a great vacation, but it feels good to be home! We missed Apollo and the kitties very much. My parents were nearly in tears bringing Apollo back to us; they really love him like he is their grandson. I cannot wait to give them a real grandson. I am also excited to be back for the holidays. I looooove decorating, hanging the lights, putting up the tree, lighting fires in our fireplace, giving gifts, spending Christmas morning at my parents, opening stockings. Yes, my Mom STILL fills up and hangs a stocking for my sister and I, and for the past few years for Mr. B and my sister's boyfriend too. I just cannot get enough of this season. It puts me in the best mood!

Mr. B is back out of town for work tomorrow morning and of course I am about to ovulate any day now. Dang it. He is back on Saturday, but I really think it will be too late. We are doing what we can, but the rest is out of our control. All I want for Christmas is to be pregnant :)

xoxo,

Mrs. B