Horse Nut

Yes, that's me. A horse nut since I was a girl. Well now that my husband and I have moved to the country and have land, I want to explore the option of getting a horse.

I am not one to take things such as that lightly, so I am learning about them first before taking the big plunge. Besides, we have a while to wait before we can afford one. So today I met up with someone who owns a stable to learn a few things. And learn I did.

1. Horses weigh far too much to allow them to step on your feet. Ok, that wasn't their fault, I did learn how to prevent that, but it happened before they told me. It isn't fun at any rate.

2. Given the chance, any horse will push you around if you don't take the lead and are not consistent about enforcing the rules. It is important to not let them get away with things they know are not permitted. Seems like they are always testing the waters and pushing to see what they can get to sneak by without notice.

3. It really is possible to walk behind a horse and not get kicked.

4. Getting the horse to focus on you before beginning to work with them is supremely important. A few laps around the arena on a lead does seem to help calm a slightly distracted and anxious horse.

5. Grooming and hoof cleaning is very important. I was taught the use of the tools of the trade and a few tricks for a horse that doesn't want to cooperate.

You know it's funny, but until today I don't remember horses seeming so big. I know they are, but maybe it's because I'm not used to standing in front of them or next to them, simply being on their backs. Riding is the ONLY thing I have ever done with a horse prior to today. I have to admit it was a bit intimidating until they taught me a little about how to control him.

I'm looking forward to my next lesson which is going to focus more on nutrition and things to watch for that could call for a vet visit. Behavioral problems will also be touched on. Should be fun.

House Sold?

For two months now we have had two houses. We moved in the middle of July into our new house not having sold the old one yet. The market was peaking when we bought our house but has died off in a horrible way since. I was beginning to think we would be saddled with two houses (and thus two mortages) for the winter.

Today I got a call from our realtor. "I'm calling with good news. We don't have an offer in hand yet but...", that was all I needed to hear to make my day. Turns out we have at least two prospects from showings today that could turn into serious potential buyers. I have my fingers crossed on this one. The idea of running down there to check on things in the dead of winter is not an appealing thought.

About a month ago I got desperate, and laugh if you will, but I bought a small peweter statue of St. Joseph and buried him at the old house. Rumor has it that will help to sell your house sometimes. I figured for $15 how can you go wrong? If it doesn't work, oh well, but if it does, great!

Apparently I am not the only one out there with that idea. Christian stores I called were saying how they can't keep them in stock - most are on order and they are out. I got lucky and found a store around the corner from my part time job who had them.

The problem is that there are varying opinions out there on which direction St. Joseph should face to be effective. Some day face up with his head towards the house, others say face down, other say he needs to have his head towards the curb...no two people agree on this matter.

I put him in one of my flower pots face up with his head pointed towards the house. Left him for 2 weeks like that and nothing. Just Wednesday I was in town so I turned him face down in the same position and now on the first two showings since we have potential. Coincidence? Who can say. We'll find out when we see how the scenario pans out. In the meantime, I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

Good Day

I'm not one to brag much about my skills, abilities or acomplishments, but once in a while something just asks to be bragged about. I'm a perfectionist by nature. Many times I'm just so critical about the outcome that I don't give myself the credit I deserve. But, sometimes, like today, things just fall into place and go better than could be expected.

My career of choice is SQL Developer at the moment. For those of you who don't know what that is we'll just say I do database design and development and leave it at that since most people know what a database is.

Recently I'd been given a rather complex modification to make to keep up with some changes a client is doing. I had put off doing this task until almost the last minute. Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow right? I had put plenty of thought into how to tackle said project and just felt in my gut the solution I had arrived at would not work without putting any effort into it yet.

Perfectionist that I am, I asked the programmers I know, and the one I'm married to, what approach they would take with the given scenario. The answers they arrived at were exactly the same as mine. So, off I went, putting my solution into action and testing. As it turns out my gut feeling was right. Things are never as easy as you might think at first.

Always listen to that little voice in the back of your head. I should have known that by now.

Frustrated, I went off to think of a plan B and take a break from the screen. I quickly arrived at another solution to try. Sometimes things just click like magic. This was one of those times. I put my plan B into action and presto! It worked on the first time out! Sometimes you just gotta say, "damn I'm good". That made me feel good to get that out of the way, even if it did take all day when I expected only a couple of hours.

One of the top reasons I left my last job was due to lack of acknowledgement and thanks. I don't expect to have someone acknowledge every little thing I do or thank me for everything, but a nod in my general direction once in a while is a good thing. I hate it when people think that they can just get by without you and you don't contribute much to their little world. Usually I do much more than they know because things run so smoothly that it's seamless to them. The difference with the job I'm at now is that they know these things and they do take the time to notice and comment on them.

So today my boss's boss, who just happens to be the VP of IT asks for an update on a particular project. I reply it is done and we are ready when they are and he tells me what a great job I did getting it cranked out in such short time. What he doesn't know is how hard I busted my ass last week preparing said project, but why dwell on it when it's in the past. At least I got the kudos in the first place. The fact it comes from the big man just makes it feel even better. Let's just hope when that client is ready to roll out it goes smoothly.

Blogging

I've never tried this blogging thing before, and I'm more of the type to keep my thoughts to myself. Change is a good thing though, right? We'll see what happens as things develop.

No promises to post daily, just whenever I feel the urge. Maybe this will help my creative juices to flow freely again.