TGIF!

    What a week! We drove home from Galway on Monday, leaving southern california just before 4am, with four horses, three people, and the dog. Leaving that early does have the advantage of avoiding almost all of the bad traffic, but it also means I don't get a cup of coffee until I stop for fuel in Barstow, two hours into the drive... What a way to start the week! To make things worse, we had terrible winds, and at one point I was stuck doing 50 mph, despite having the pedal to the floor!
    Thankfully, the weekend itself had been relativley successful. Cha Cha was a wild man on thursday, nearly unloading me twice when I rode him in the morning. I rode him again in the afternoon, and he was much better, although still very full of himself. I had a 10:30 dressage ride, and Lani had a 8:40 dressage ride, so I got Cha Cha out friday morning at 7am as soon as I had him braided. His first ride was quite tense, and I ended up spending the entire time trying to get him more supple. He went back to the barns while I warmed Lani up, and then I got on him again. Much better! He then went back to the barns AGAIN for a final polish, and I got on him 15 minutes before my test. Success! He was very good, and scored a 30!
    Saturday he was back to being a wild beast, and towed me around cross country like a Mac truck. Bad boy, Cha Cha. We jumped clear (and he was brilliant to all the hard things), but picked up 12.6 time due to the wrestling match we had to have 20 strides out from each fence. Sunday was a bit of the same, so its back to some good gymnastics work and placing rails for him this week. I can't be too annoyed with him, however. He hadn't galloped or jumped properly since Twin due to an abscess, and he was truly feeling very good and enthusiastic. Hopefully, I can get the rideablity sorted out so we can move up to intermediate this summer.
    So, I arrived home Monday evening, and subsequently spent all day tuesday cleaning up my parents pasture and moving some of the old boys to their house. I didn't do my grocery shopping, I didn't do laundry, I didn't get my taxes together for my Thursday tax appointment. I DID manage to catch Sarge, although I realized when I got to the field he was living in, I hadn't remembered to bring a halter with me... I rigged one out of a set of roping reins and loaded him up in the trailer and brought him home. He won't let me anywhere near him now, but mom reports that he is letting her pet him. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch him in time to get his shots, etc.
    By wednesday, I still didn't have any food in the house and ate frozen yogurt for breakfast and ice cream for dinner (healthy, huh?), and remembered at 8pm that I had a 11:30 tax appointment on thursday, after my 9am lesson, and feeding the horses at mom's. ARRRGH!!! Luckily, I managed to get it all together, taught, fed, got to the tax appointment, got back to teach two lessons and ride four horses, and realized I had forgotten to pick up a bit I'm going to try on Cha Cha when I was down in Salt Lake. Mom to the rescue, she picked it up for me! I finally got to the grocery store last night at 9pm, so now I have real food in the house (which is good, because I'm out of ice cream.) Today brings some lessons, 5 horses to ride, and a trip to Salt Lake to gallop Cha Cha. Its snowing. Damn it!