Some Holiday Crafts

I love making things but often lack the time and creative energy. I was determine to make most of my gifts this year. This past holiday it was all about snowmen roasting marshmallows, horse paintings and toadstools. I also did a lot of my reindeer but I'll post those next year.

Snowmen roasting marshmallows

Closeup of snowmen

Jake

Dandy

 

Bad

Fancy

Cash

Roddi

Toadstools

There were over 30 total toadstools

Orca for my cousin

2010 Lope On In Year End Awards

Me with my awards

Tonight was the Lope On In Year End Awards Banquet. Justin and I were Reserve Champion 18-30, 4th Place Hunter/Jumper, 5th Place Appaloosa and 8th Place English Horse. We won an awesome embroidered sheet and got a nice framed certificate. We had a great time, with great friends and also got to celebrate Wendy's Birthday. I made her appy butt cupcakes. They were a lot of fun and everyone seemed to enjoy them. Big thanks to Lisa and Linsey for tracking all the points and putting together all the awards!

Appy Butt Cupcakes

Meet Justin

Growing up my favorite movie was a Wonderful World of Disney movie called Run, Appaloosa, Run starring a bay blanket appaloosa named Holy Smoke. I loved Holy Smoke. He was the perfect horse. My senior year in high school I was a stall cleaner at a local stable. The stable owner, Glenda, owned a nice quarter horse mare named Kaycee who was in foal to an appaloosa stallion named Big Time Zippo. January 10, 2000 Justin was born. He looked very similar to the baby Holy Smoke. I was in love instantly but knew that he would most likely be sold before his first birthday so I tried not to get attached.

Left: baby Holy Smoke. Right: baby Justin

Kaycee Ann Wes

Big Time Zippo

 By the time Justin was born I had helped with 3 other foals. I found all of them, including Justin's full sister Bambi, to be cautious of people their first days of life. Not Justin. He was in the vet's pocket during his first day check up and would meet you at the stall door for attention. He was easy to love.  

Justin a week after I bought him

When Justin turned 1 he went into training for yearling lunge line. He failed. The trainer said he'd be a horse that was a little bit good at a lot of things but not really good at anything. Exactly what I was looking for in a horse. Justin came home and was purchased by some boarders who also fell in love with him. They hired me to help teach him the basics which I was extremely happy about but I only fell deeper in love with him. At the time I was also leasing an awesome half arab pinto named Jet and showing an appaloosa named Rio for experience on a part time cookie decorators income. When he was 18 months old I was lunging him in the arena and Glenda was watching. I was talking about how much I wished he was mine and she asked me if I wanted her to feel out the new owners to see if they would sell. I said that would be great and that evening I had an email from his owner saying they would sell him to me. They knew how much I loved him and knew I would take very good care of him. The next day he was mine. Thanks Tina and Randy!

Justin at the WS Finals Show

I had to give up riding Rio and once Justin turned two I gave up my lease on Jet. Justin was a blast to train. The second time I sat on him I hopped on bareback with a halter and lead and rode him around the arena. Probably not a smart idea when I think of it now. He was so simple as a 2 year old. At 3 he developed an opinion which is typical appy. I've been lucky to have the help of Glenda, Lu Ann LeMon and Lisa Gardner. Glenda has been there for me and Justin from the beginning. LuAnn helped me turn a canter into a lope and get him going in a bridle. Lisa has been helping me get him polished and is now helping us learn to do some low jumps.

Currently Justin and I enjoy doing the local Horseplay Schooling Series, Brookwood Schooling Series, and Lope On In B-System shows. I've also taken him on the Woodbrook Hunt and enjoy trail riding on the Fort Lewis Reservation.

Introducing the cats!

Penny

Full name: Penny Marie
Breed: Rumpie Manx
Color: Tuxedo
Eyes: Green
Age: 8ish
Weight: 8 lbs
Favorite toys: Laser, tent
Favorite food: Chicken
Favorite place to sleep: On my legs
Her quest: To find the perfect lap

Penny was a stray that we found at the barn. I had seen her around many times but she always ran away. Then one day she decided to come up to me. She had an eye infection and a horrible case of worms. I thought that night would be a good night for my then fiancée, James, to come to the barn to see my horse Justin. Penny came up to us and it was love at first sight for James. $100s of dollars worth of vet bills later and we had ourselves our first cat together. She's a wonderful, loving cat that enjoys sleeping on laps, wrestling with her brother and sisters, and fitting herself into very small boxes.


Bella

Pretty Bella

Full name: Thumbellina Rose

Nicknames: Smella, Mella Mel

Breed: Hemingway Cat

Color: Grey with white

Eyes: Sage green

Age: 3

Weight: 12 lbs

Favorite toys: feathers on a string

Favorite food: Blue Buffalo Indoor Cat

Favorite place to sleep: On the cable box

Bella loves Penny

We were in the process of buying my in-laws house that we had been living in with them for 5 years when we adopted Bella from the Tacoma Humane Society. Penny had grown fond of their two cats Amy Daweeze and Midnight and we wanted to get her a friend. Bella was my first kitten and she was probably the start to my kitten addiction. She has six toes on each of her front feet. Her dew claws look much like thumbs and she uses her hands in very human like ways. Her meow never quite grew up so she sounds like a kitten when she talks. Attention should only be given to Bella on her own terms. When she decides she wants attention there is no avoiding it. 

Logan

Not evil. Just panting.

Full name: Logan Barthalameew

Nicknames: Boy, Handsome Meaty Boy

Breed: Maine Coon

Color: Black

Eyes: Gold

Age: 2

Weight: 12 lbs

Favorite toys: feathers on a string, laser

Favorite food: Whiskas Temptations

Favorite place to sleep: On the the top tier of the cat tower

Last summer my in-laws captured 2 feral kittens from under their neighbors house that was vacant at the time. They used a laundry basket propped open with a stick that had a string tied onto it and they hid in their car with the other end of the string. Just like a cartoon. They caught Princess first who was very sick. They took her to the vet and with a lot of patience and TLC ended up with a very tame and loving cat for my in-laws. Logan was captured days later via the laundry basket technique. He was almost 2 times as big as his Siamese looking sister and was very wild. Since my in-laws already had their hands full with Princess and their other cats, so we agreed to take Logan. Many trips to the vet and hours of time socializing him later, we ended up with the snuggliest love of a cat I've ever known. He's absolutely beautiful but usually looks like basement cat whenever I photograph him.

Punkin

Full name: Punkin Spice

Nicknames: Punky, Best Friend (I don't even know)

Breed: Tabby

Color: Orange

Eyes: Light Brown

Age: 1

Weight: 7 lbs

Favorite toys: feathers on a string, laser

Favorite food: Whiskas Temptations

Favorite place to sleep: Also on my legs with Penny

So one night I was joking with James about how we needed an orange kitten. A female would be best. James instantly said okay. I can never count on him to be the voice of reason when it comes to cats. 3 was already too many. We started talking about how it would be fun to have an orange tabby someday. Preferably a female which at the time we had no clue were rare. So the very next day, my co-worker Linda, comes running in saying there is a kitten screaming in the parking lot under the parked cars. She said she almost caught her but she got away. I ran out there, looked under the line of parked cars and saw her. A beautiful orange female kitten. I climbed under the car and grabbed her and rushed her into the office. We locked her in an empty office and I called James. Within 5 mins he had a vet appointment and was on his way to pick her up with the kitty crate. She's fit into the house beautifully. All the other cats love her and we do too.