Amazing to hear me say this...I LOVE the fillies!

Sweet JuJu

Golden Mary

I can't begin to tell you what JOY these horses bring to my heart! It has been SO fun to be able to go visit with them and watch them run and see them grow! Sweet JuJu had her first official workout and received rave reviews...I'm so proud of her and couldn't wait to let her know!
Sweet JuJu and Golden Mary (whom the groomers all call "Maria") are the only fillies--the only GIRLS--in a barn full of colts--boys!
I am doing my best to find out all I can about horses, training, racing...there's SO MUCH to learn! Just the terminology is tough to keep track of...

Here's what I learned today...

A horse--boy or girl--before it is taken from its mother is a foal.
A filly is a girl under 4 years of age. A colt is a boy under 4 years of age.
When the foal has been taken from its mother it is a weanling.
Once it reaches 1 year of age it is a yearling.
Once it reaches 2 years and until it turns 4 is is referred to as a filly or a colt.
Once it is 4 years old, for the rest of its life it is referred to as a mare if it is a girl or a stallion if it is a male and not fixed or a gelding if it is a male and is fixed. You can refer to young boys under the age of 4 if they are fixed as geldings.

Got that?! Yeah...like I said, I'm doing my best to learn it all.
And I'm loving every single minute of it.

Things to do...

My friend and I were talking this morning about how much we love making a daily list of things to do--and about how VERY much we enjoy crossing each thing off the list as we accomplish them--and then being able to throw the list away! I have ALWAYS done this--truly since I was a kid!--I LOVE to SHOW and SEE my productivity!
I also make it a rule that I can't sit down and blog and/or get on Facebook til the list is finished.
Today has been a MOST productive day!
What did I accomplish?
I am so glad you asked!

1. I went out to see the horses at Santa Anita! This is now one of my very FAVORITE ways to start the day! I was able to kiss my Sweet JuJu (she LOVES me!) and put a new, beautiful and personalized halter on Golden Mary (more photos and stories to come!)
   
2. On my way home from the race track, I stopped at Ralph's and did a week's worth of grocery shopping...with my Ralph's Club card and my re-usable bags, of course.
3. I came home and threw in a load of laundry while I unpacked the groceries. Silly me, I always have to clean out the fridge (and freezer) when I do a full grocery shopping. I love to see it sparkle!
4. I watered and trimmed all my plants, swept both porches (and the steps up to my house) and threw the washed load into the dryer.
5. Put load #2 in the wash. (In the mean time, music plays throughout the house and I sing away...)
6. I collected all the trash throughout the house and made a LOVELY trip to the dumpster. I cannot emphasize how much I prefer having the dumpster to the rolling trashcans in my garage. I love NOT keeping my trash for a week!
7. I vacuumed every inch of my home, including the stairs going down to the garage (yes, finally!)
   
8. Laundry load #1 was folded and PUT AWAY. (Seriously, laundry is not DONE until it's put away!) Load #2 was put in the dryer.
9. Put all my pin collection on a poster board and hung it in my staircase hall. I do believe a dedicated post may follow...these pins have been collected over the last 40 years of my life. As I put them on the poster, I recalled where each and every one came from...and a sweet smile was in my heart as I put it together. (Most of my Coco's award pins are on there too--including my 5, 10 and 15 YEAR pins.)
10. After getting the poster board AND the box of pins out of the garage, I spent time rearranging the rhino racks and tubs in the garage, finally having a place for everything...and having everything in its place!
    
11. Laundry load #2 was folded and put away.
12. My sister, Gina, had given me a bottle of 'sealer' for my kitchen tile/grout. I scrubbed the counter with bleach and then 'sealed' the grout. It's SPARKLING, just like the fridge!
13. Finally sitting down, and realizing that I had not eaten since about 9am, I grabbed a yogurt and all my November bills. Gratefully, I have now paid off the Discover card and am all caught up on everything else!
14. Bills paid, laundry done and house clean, I felt like I could finally treat myself to a chance to download my photos from the day, check Facebook and blog.
    
15. The music is still playing..."Harvest Moon" is wafting through my beautiful, clean and organized home...

'Relax for a bit' is the last thing on the list...check!
And so, the 'Sunday' list has been finished, and, now, thrown away.
And it's only 5pm!
With no baseball on, I may watch a movie or two. Of course, I'll be sorting through boxes and bins, writing emails and blog posts and catching up on Facebook while I'm sitting here.
Honestly, there are very few things I like more than a really productive day.
And today I can SHOW it...SEE it...and I am SO enjoying it.

I already have a plan.

Baseball is SO much like life....

NEVER NEVER NEVER give up!
It ain't over til it's over!

Contentment

When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
~Lao Tzu

Nursing my self confidence

"Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot."

~Truman CapoteNever lose sight of the fact that just being is fun.
~Katharine Hepburn

Impatience or Ingenuity?

So, there was this one space in my house that I was not sure what I was going to do with. I believe it was supposed to be a linen closet of some sort, but there was so much 'space' in the middle that it didn't really seem to make sense. Plus, I don't have any linen to speak of! I have four towels, a few hand towels and I don't even have a second set of sheets! No need for all this 'linen' storage.
On the other side of the story, I have a few photo albums. OK, many! They are TRULY my pride and joy. If you don't know the story of these amazing albums' return to me, I'd love to tell you some day! Suffice it to say that it is 30+ years of pictures, mementos and memories and I love every single book. Sad thing is, they've been in boxes down in the garage since I moved two months ago...and I was losing sleep at night knowing they were out there!
I had planned to have this cabinet taken out and have some shelves built in...but, it started to become quite a hassle--and would have definitely become a financial burden--trying to find someone who would rip out the cabinet, re-paint the walls, re-tile the floor underneath and build the custom cabinet and bookcase for me.
And, since I wanted it done today, I took a trip to Target this morning instead.
I bought a $20 rectangular storage cube, took the doors off the cabinet and...

Voila!

Sure, it's not exactly what I envisioned, but let me tell you, all photo albums, scrapbooks, along with all their precious memories...are all safe in my home again.
And within reach for your viewing pleasure.
Most importantly, they are out of the garage!
Cleaned, organized and, yes, in chronological order.
And I will sleep much better tonight.

Hold your horses! Yep, PLURAL!

Most of you will be very happy to know that I have finally found a hobby.
Except for the one time I did a needlepoint project in 1978 (your birthday gift, Sonja) I have never really had a hobby of any sort at all. I do love to write and to study and to learn and I love to blog and, of course, I always have a camera in my hand. So now, with the horses and horse racing, I have something to study and SO much to learn about--and that gives me something to blog about and so much to write about! And, of course, I LOVE taking pictures of the horses.
I think they like it too.

Once again, only a portion of this FABULOUS (gigantic!) horse belongs to me, but I always say, "Tap tap, I get the front part!" How gorgeous is she?! Her name is Golden Mary and, as with most horses, she loves me! In the photo above, I was telling her to look at the camera--and she did! I am preparing her to be in the winner's circle someday!
(Can you believe how big and beautiful she is?!)
Golden Mary will be joining Sweet JuJu (above and below) at Santa Anita this week, where they will continue their workouts and get ready to race! I'll let you know when you can grab your (big, beautiful) hat and come join us!I think I'm enjoying every aspect of the horses and horse racing because it reminds me so much of baseball! I love to go to Spring Training and see the new players as they train and workout and constantly practice in attempts to be in the big leagues someday. There's the statistics to learn and keep track of, and so much of it is timing, anticipation, and fear of injury and errors. And there's always SO MUCH hope and celebration of success! It's OH SO similar with the horses--watching them grow and train and practice and workout. The statistics and timing are a big part of it--and there's the lineage factor as well. (Look it up!) I SO love that I can go see them and TOUCH them and talk to them and get to know them! And then, of course, there's the JOY of being able to BE THERE when they are racing! And the HOPE and anticipation of success!
It's all SO very exciting...
Not to be outdone by Golden Mary, Sweet JuJu looked right into the camera when I told her to as well. She's ready for the winner's circle too! (How pretty is she?!)

It's been SO much fun to go out to the stables and out to the racetracks--I even have a 'virtual stable' to keep track of their workouts. Last week, at Santa Anita, the trainer told us that Sweet JuJu had a nice ass and great mind. Hello? Sound familiar? And have you been to a race track lately? Race trackers are a wonderful mix of colorful and devoted people! It's not just a hobby--it's a sport--it's entertainment--and it has already brought me so much enjoyment.

Owning (the front portions) of the horses is actually a highly gratifying investment as well. It is definitely already paying off in far more pleasurable and satisfying ways than the stock market ever did for me. It's SO much more fun to keep track of! And take pictures of! And celebrate with!
And, hey, it totally beats the hell out of needlepoint.

Sweet JuJu at Santa Anita
Saturday, October 22, 2011

It's October 24th!

Per tradition, here are 29 GREAT pictures in celebration of Allison's 29th birthday!!

Love you SO much! Have fun at Harry Potter World!