A new Year and New Chaps

So, on Saturday I finally went and bought my new half chaps for riding Monetgo. They are so nice and look great with the boots. I finally look like I kind of belong there at the barn with the new equipment. I am so excited to wear them and break them in. I went for a lesson on Saturday and it went really well. There is another adult (two other men) that ride Montego as well. He went before me and so Tego was nice and warmed up for me, it was a great lesson. I did some trot pole work and then did a lot of cantering around the arena. I am still sore from this, I knew I was going to be sore on that day. Very bouncy the canter, I am still paying for the great fun and challenge but it was totally worth it. The canter is a slow, collected gallop. It sounds simple right, just sit right while a 1,500 pound animal is running. It is very difficult to remain balanced especially around the turns. I need to learn how to counter balance my weight with his weight to better facilitate the turns. That is what I worked on for about 20 minuets. We were both hot and sweaty when we finished. Thanks Tego, you did a great job as usual. He is wonderful, my new favorite person (oh, I mean horse.) I will take pictures of me in the new boots and chaps and post them soon.

We had a fun new years as well. We all went over and spent a great evening with our friends the Chadwicks, Howells, and Harts. Thanks Kristie for having us over. We dined on pizza and soda and had a yummy dessert from Melissa. We all played Apples to Apples. So much fun. I think I was in bed around 9:00 and then woke up at midnight to hear all the fire works and cheering going on.

Our new year's day was spent shopping for a Christmas tree and going out to eat. Mike was given a gift card from some of his co-workers for his graduation. So, we went out and enjoyed a great meal at Outback Steakhouse. It was not the most kid friendly, but it is Mike's favorite. The kids did great, and enjoyed the food.

We then went on a hunt for a tree. I had gotten rid of the old one, it was not full looking and several lights were not working. So, we looked at Lowe's, nothing there. We then went to Home Depot and they had a great one for $35. It was the last one and already set up. We placed it in a cart and were walking to the registers to pay for it. We were stopped by a woman saying is this the 7 1/2 tree for $35? I said it was, but it was the last one. She then got very upset and said she had called earlier that day and asked to have her name placed on it for her to buy. She was quite upset and storming down to the Customer Service counter to complain. Mike and I looked at each other and decided we did not need the tree that bad and walked it down to her. She was surprised and the poor workers at the store relived. So, then we went to Wal-Mart. They had a tree for the same price except it was gold. It was quite possibly the ugliest thing I have ever seen. I opened the box looked in and then closed it and walked away. Nothing to see here, lets move on. So then it was Michel's, nothing there. Finally, it was about 6:30 and I was ready to call it a night. Mike said lets just go to Penny's and look. Well, sure enough they had one that was green and very nice. It came in a box which was even better. They were running a deal that day and we got $10 off our purchase, so the tree ended up to be about the same price. In the end it worked out. It was quite the process, who knew that getting a tree would be so much work? I will love looking at it next year and enjoy the fruits of our labor.