Full on Friday

Despite having the day off work it was a surcharged one. I hope to keep this update word light as i am actually fit to fall asleep but i have a couple of cute Nancy videos to share, some derpy Kika photos & a finished kitchen which a few people expressed an interest in seeing ...
I had an earlier start than I typically like on my days off; as i went to the flat for 8 am to let the guys in to finish installing the kitchen.

Nancy's adorable reaction to my appearing before 9am after not having seen me since Tuesday evening...isn't her face just melt-your-heart-awesome

I was at the stable and had the girls turned out before 9am. I felt i owed them a longer day out as they hadn't had any fresh air since Sunday. #badhorsemama
Being at the flat every morning to let the kitchen fitters in before going to work meant I couldn't take the long lunch i need to turn the ladies out in my break. #mademesad

She made me laugh so hard trying to be bad ass & wild in this video - but then totally derailed her plans when she saw the haynet had been hung!!!

My mother and I then flitted over the border to Belgium to look for bedroom furniture. Sadly we didn't find anything we liked before we got the call from the kit hen fitters that they were finishing up soon and could we come back to check everything and sign off on job finished. However my dad had been looking for bird seeds to leave out for the wildlife and one of the "local" tack shops to me (about 25-30mins away by car) also caters to all other kinds of animals so my mother insisted we stop there first to collect bird food. You'll all be shocked to hear i didn't spend a penny! Didn't buy a single thing...now before you all faint in shock. I have to head to a different tack shop tomorrow to pick up a special blue spray for the girls feet to help stave off frog infections (thrush maybe?! - this is the downside to communicating in people's second or third languages...we don't all have the same vocab)

Checked out the kitchen, signed the paperwork, made the video featured in this post, snapped loads of silly pictures. Including the first inhabitants of the flat - the Tefal pots i was given for my birthday. Which we had brought in the car to check that everything had been properly connected before the fitters left ;-)
A word on the kitchen, in case anyone think me posher than I actually am. Obviously because i am horse mad i am cash poor. I managed to snap up this amazing deal on the kitchen as sadly the company that made it had gone bankrupt so the kitchen shop was selling off the display model from the shop floor and it happened to fit almost perfectly into the measurements of my flat. And thus I was a million per cent spoiled my getting such awesome perks as the island i had hoped for (with heated slabs for eating - something I would never have thought of!), GRANIT (honestly something I could never have afforded without the super sales price), all the electrics - 3/4 size fridge and freezer (separate &  hilt in under the ovens), an oven & microwave oven, hob & extractor fan, lights in the upper shelves, built in washing machine & dishwasher. Plus the already mentioned heated eating area; we also found out today that the granit sink is also wired to heat...although why o have no idea as hot water comes out of the tap; which in itself is epic and i love but would probably never have gotten only it came part & parcel on this dream of a kitchen. The separate unit at the start of the video also came with the Kitchen and is decked out with a matching granit surface - i have been beyond lucky to have found this kitchen/living combo as now I just need the couch to arrive and some high stools and my living area is complete! *SQUEE*

The Mammy & I then flitted across the border to Germany for the afternoon (maybe 30-45minute drive in the opposite direction to this morning) to see what sales a super large furniture store had on whole bedroom sets (namely bed frame, wardrobe & bedside tables). Didn't see anything I had to have, or rather that topped the current front runner from another shop. However we've a couple more places in mind to check tomorrow before I make my final decision. Has to be done this weekend as sales offers are only good till the end of Jan, and the best deals tend to be on the expo models - to be in luck i can't wait till the very last day next weekend.
Finished up there just before 7, I had to stop by the office to collect my Ariat Windemeres that had spent the week in my cupboard there on the off chance I was able to sneak off to turn out the horses for my lunch break - sadly didn't happen. As snow is forcast for tomorrow though I needed them at home so that I could use them if needed!

Posing for an awesome mirror selfie - she was such a legend this evening 

By 7.30 i was at the stable, hauled the horses in and actually managed to ride Kika. She was being a bit of a muppet again, although nowhere near as maggoty as she had been on Sunday. As it was friggin freezing i kept my coat on and she kept her fleece quarter sheet on and we did 90% walk work with a little bit of trot thrown in as she was being good despite her auspicious start. Spending the majority of my spin at the wall was a refreshing change for me & hopefully K. We were really able to focus on doing the basics well and I got such pleasure in getting through to her and helping her relax during her eyes-on-stalks / the-arena-walls/shadows-are-going-to-eat-me. As you might be able to see from the photos I rode in my new boots, boy do those bad boys catch the backs of my knees when i ride in Kika's GP saddle. They pinched less when I kept my heel down so maybe these will finally train me to stop nudging with my heels. I believe this kind of learning approach is called negative reinforcement - eh...whatever finally gets those suckers down will be a total win in my book ☺

Derp-alert i have to have the best photo taking timing ever

Hopefully I get some Nancy saddle time tomorrow and ideally Kika too - but if it is anything like today...i will be lucky to have the energy for one let alone two!!! Vive la fin...i can ot wait for all decisions to be made and furniture delivered so i can move and find my new normal!

Congrats if you read all that drivel, hopefully the videos & photos make up for all the word vomit...I definitely failed at being concise - SOWWWIEEEE