Sore!

For Christmas AB told me he wanted to get me horseback riding lessons. I owned a horse back when I was in my early 20's and the last time I even sat on a horse was about 5 years ago. 5 YEARS. Unacceptable. So a few weeks ago we went and looked at a farm right near our house that offers private lessons. The farm is large although older, convenient, and the trainer ended up being really nice (she just came over from Germany where she rode most of her life). The only downside is that the farm is mainly Arabians- I know, I know- they're such beautiful, sturdy animals. They're also kinda small and since I'm already OCD about being a heifer, riding one makes me feel BIG. I digress.

I went for my first lesson this evening and the trainer stuck me up on her calmest Arab mare; let me just say, I'm glad she did. I am incredibly out of shape when it comes to my "riding muscles" and that [very calm, very well trained] horse tolerated a lot of floppy legs. I spent an hour riding (walk-trot-canter) and by the end, I COULD NOT FEEL MY LEGS. I genuinely had trouble walking back to the barn. Regardless, it was awesome to be on a horse again and I'm looking forward to my lesson next week.

On another note, this cat is chiilin'.

Goals for 2013

I don't really like making resolutions, because I always fail at them; usually within the first month. This year I'm settings goals- things that I want to achieve by the end of the year or manage to consistently do throughout the year. I figure if I put them on my blog I'm held more accountable than when I write it on a sticky note and promptly lose it.

• Do 1 random act of kindness every week for the entire year (and hopefully record it on this blog so I know I did something)
• Blog at least 4 times a week. I've had this blog for 4 years and every year I go MIA for months
• Exercise every single day for a minimum of 30 minutes regardless of the weather, if I'm working or not, or my mood. This doesn't include the 2 walks/day the dogs get. I'm not aiming for weight loss this year but I would LOVE to be more in shape- preferably a 6-pack although even a 2-pack would be fabulous
• Get back into riding horses and comfortably be jumping 2' by the end of the year (my first lesson is next week so that's a start)
• Relearn to play "Wedding Day at Trouldhagen" on the piano. It's the last piece I played when taking lessons from my Grandma; it was long and hard so if I can play it again I'm doing well
• Buy a bike and then start riding it. AB loves mountain biking; I don't think I've even sat on one for several years
• Visit somewhere tropical...b/c it's time to and my passport never gets used
• Read at least 1 book a week (and be sure to list it on here for others to try)
• Pay off the vet credit cards- while this is personal everyone on here knows my dog is being treated for cancer and most people can assume it's not cheap
• Start writing a book. As a second part to that, write several chapters before giving up and dumping it in the recycle bin. I'm thinking I should participate in NaNoWriMo 2013 in November...
• Find a job I enjoy (don't laugh, I'm sure it's possible)
• Do a better job of staying in touch with relatives. How I plan to do that TBD
• Be done with Facebook...for real this time

There are plenty of other things I need or want to do, but maybe if I aim low[er] I'll actually succeed at most of them. Any support is appreciated.