Sometimes a Horse is Just a Horse...

...and a kayak is just a kayak!

   My HR partner just called to tell me she had a dream last night, in which she was babysitting my chestnut-brown horse and my orange tabby, and she lost the horse. It turned out okay—she got him back. But she was worried for a bit! She said, "Jen, you're not thinking of adding a horse to your menagerie, are you?" I said, "Not right now, but you never know what's on the horizon!"

   Last week while staying at the hotel in Omaha, Allyson and Scott and I all reported having unusual, very-specific dreams such as this one. In one of my dreams, I was at the swim meet for Corporate Challenge, and before the meet we were all taken to a huge room (essentially a giant shower) and told that we all had to shower together prior to the meet. And no one wanted to compete, because we knew we had to look each other in the eyes and work together on Monday!
   I also had a dream that I had a date with a new guy, and we had only emailed each other so far, and when we met at dinner he informed me excitedly that he had just bought a brand-new kayak—the same kind I have from LL Bean. And it was a total turnoff because I felt like he was trying too hard and thought, "This guy doesn't even KNOW me yet—I'm not going to kayak with a guy on the FIRST DATE!" LOL
   The subconscious mind works in strange ways; who knows what all this could mean. I certainly don't want to know what Freud would make of it!!!

SUSHI! SUSHI! SUSHI!

   Renee invited Joni and me to see "War Horse" with her and Joe tonight, and we met at Sushi House for dinner first. We were lucky to get one of the private rooms with the sliding doors, so we could laugh as hard as we wanted without disturbing the rest of the dining room. We put away teriyaki salmon, rare steak with yuzu, and several different delicious rolls. Oishii!

   We had some extra time, so we walked over to Picasso Aquatics to scare the fish with our fish breath. It's like a mini aquarium over there!
   After marveling over the fish, we walked back over to see the horse movie. It was good; I liked the battle scenes the best. The horse part was less realistic and had Spielberg's characteristic sentimentality, which didn't detract from the experience, but it did make it feel more like a movie for kids. And fortunately, we're all big kids. Thanks, guys!

The Adventures of Jen & Bud

   An imagined scenario, in which I invite myself over to Ginny's house on a snowy day and teach Bud to ride a snowboard. (That'll teach him for trying to throw me!!!)

Hold Your Horses

   Tonight I met Jamie, Mike, Ash, Olivia, Austin, Anand, Mike, and a few others at Lone Wolf Ranch Arena in Cleveland, MO (next door to The Berry Patch) for an evening trail ride followed by a happy hour with 14 Hands wine and appetizers.

   The horses were all seasoned at trail riding, and my assigned horse, Tasha, ignored my commands, requests and gentle kicks when I attempted to get her to gallop. Bummer!

   Today was 65 and very windy, but it had started to cool by the time we began our ride. By the end of it, it had dropped over 20 degrees and was downright cold! Nontheless, we had a fun ride for an hour and a half, and it was fun hanging out in the barn and chatting afterwards...

 This was pretty much my view the whole ride:

 Jamie, Ash, Jolene and Lidia:

 Gorgeous sunset:

 Lidia & baby Rowdy:

 Tasha & me:

Kitty antics

   Love this photo of Kristin's kitty being a remote hog... Probably because it looks so familiar!

   And this cracks me up... she said, "Guess who has strategically hidden tampons all over my apt? I just found one in my slipper. He knocked over the box 3 days ago."

    It's comforting to know that my pets aren't the only bad ones. And Mr. Mittendorf is cute enough to be a little bad. Kristin says he's a dead ringer for Falcor the luck dragon. I think the kitty is much cuter.

    In other funny pet news, check out this awesome photo of Ginny's horses, Bud & Whisper, in their brand-new barn. She swears Bud isn't a bad boy anymore. We'll see about that!

Happy Horsewarming

   Today Ginny invited me out to her house to meet Lee & her mom, and the two horses they've recently acquired. (And bonus: I got to meet Dawn, too. Hi Dawn!) They treated me to Chinese food. Mmm...
   Being the huge dork that I am & not being able to resist a bad pun, I created the wine label above to give to them (on a bottle of wine, of course). The look on Ginny's face when she opened it was priceless! Just yesterday she had described her horses like this: Whisper would speak in an aristocratic British accent, and Bud would say, "Dude."
   While I was there, Ginny & her mom took me to Abby Road Farm, where Whisper is being boarded until their new barn is built at their home. Abby Road has a large, beautiful barn with stalls for dozens of horses and several pastures.

One of Whisper's buddies. Horses look funny up close!

Ginny & Mom brushing Whisper:

Whisper is a sleek, beautiful horse with a smooth gait, moving effortlessly:

The training arena:

   Bud, a quarter horse/Pasa Fino cross (if I remember correctly) was already in the paddock right behind their house. I haven't spent much time around horses, but he seemed especially friendly & curious about people, a really good-natured horse! He came right up to the fence & greeted us. He tugged on our sleeves & chomped on my shoe. Then we outfitted him for a ride. Ginny's mom went first, to test out the new bit in his mouth & make sure Bud was comfortable.

Then it was my turn. (No, I didn't ride into the house!)

   I rode up & down the front yard, then moved on to the large pasture in the back. What we didn't know was that the longer that bit was in Bud's mouth, the more it was bothering him.

   Without much warning he took off with me on his back. I knew I was helpless since he was no longer following my direction, but I hoped Bud didn't know. (Bud totally knew.) I pulled on the reins to try to turn him, hoping it would slow him down. Instead, he turned on a dime in a split second, sending my legs flying out of the stirrups & nearly throwing me off his back entirely! I did my best to stay brave for the sake of the horse and went around the pasture again. And again Bud charged up the hill, spun around and nearly ousted me. At once exhilarating and terrifying, I'd had enough adventure before long.

Bud received a stern talking-to from Lee:

   Ginny's mom, a much more experienced rider, got back on to see what she could do. At first, things went well:

   But Bud was thinking, "What part of my message isn't coming through? I'M DONE WITH THIS BIT!!" and he reared up as if to underscore it. So we ended the ride for the day, with no one worse for wear. (Except possibly my hand & arm, from the death grip I had on the saddle horn!)
   The lesson for me is that this is a very powerful animal, and no matter how good-natured, all animals can be unpredictable at times. So you have to pay careful attention to their body language, and be as prepared as possible for any surprises. Which for me, might wisely include riding lessons.  ; )
   And a funny followup email I received from Ginny on Monday (while I was out at an all-day class): "...just about everyone on your staff has come up to me today and told me that they heard I tried to kill their boss, and that they were impressed with your mad riding skills. :) Hope it was still more fun than scary!" It was. That which does not kill you makes you stronger. And that which almost kills you makes you appreciate being alive!

    Joan visited Ginny & Bud soon after, and "worked" with him (at least, I assume she's doing something productive here), and this was Dave's comment: "Joan pushing that poor horse made me think of this:" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8cDfnQD0ws

Night in Times Square

   Having arrived safely in New York and satiated myself with Nobu, I took a stroll around the city. I was keenly aware of how safe Times Square seemed compared to prior visits; there was a strong police presence and I felt completely comfortable walking around by myself even late at night/early in the morning. Here's the view from my room on the 32nd floor of the Crowne Plaza Times Square. (They left a welcome bag with eye mask & earplugs on my bed.  But I wore myself out so thoroughly every day that I never needed them!)

   I also remarked on how easy it was to get around the city; it used to seem so huge, but after just a couple of hours I had figured out the lay of the land. I think, too, that after visiting Tokyo, no place will ever feel "too big" again!

A church just down the street from Nobu:

Fun window at Kate's Paperie:

I took this one for Joan. He was a very sweet horse:

"Date Night" was featured all over the city, which I was pleased to see, since it was actually very good!

I allowed myself to be talked into a pedicab ride; a nice excuse to get off the high heels for a bit. The weather was perfect: clear & cool, in the 70s. A beautiful night for a ride!

Pointing out the sights (and, also remarking that he felt like he was driving an empty pedicab, since I was so light!):

Deja vu:

Too bad I didn't have time for a show!

Near Rockefeller Center:

Another tourist took this photo for me, and then one of his own. (I guess he had never seen a beautiful girl in a pedicab before. LOL)

At the end of the ride, I walked a bit more:

A little foreshadowing for my day on Canal Street:

Glitzy McD:

What's that creepy Peanut doing on the beach??

   One of the best things I learned on this trip is that not only am I capable of traveling by myself, I actually enjoyed it. That was unexpected. I was really upset when I learned that Camille couldn't join me, but knew I had to make the best of it. And I did. And it was awesome. I learned that traveling alone opens up a wealth of new experiences, because you're available to talk to strangers, since you're not talking with a companion. Not to say that it's necessarily a better experience, but it is very different and just as fun. I felt very open to possibility.