Christmas Crackers

Nollaig Shona Duit blogosphere!!!
(Happy Christmas)

I hope that Santa was good to one and all. I am looking forward to catching up on all the blogs and reading all about your wonderful gifts.

I managed to snap some quick photos of the girls in christmas hats after bringing them in this evening.

Sorry for poor staging & photo quality, I was clock watching as i was conscious of the fact I should be hurrying home as we're about to sit down to our Christmas dinner.

Love to all from Luxembourg ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Rider Railroading

Bad me hasn't ridden since Saturdays spins, we were invited as a family to a friends for late lunch/early dinner on sunday & then I went christmas shopping after work this evening and thankfully think i am now finished for the most part.

K got more blog time last post, but can't not share another image of her

So I am going to use this post today to rip on myself for my poor riding in the photos my sister super kindly snapped for me.
Apologies for double posting of some from the last post - but needs must or progress may never be made!

I shall share photos in the chronological order they were taken in.

- I need to raise my eye level a little more, it is better here than usual but I am not exactly looking between the horse's ears - so more work needed.
- I need to carry my hands a little more; this will be easier to work on with Nancy vs Kika. As K is little miss sensitive and can't handle such things - the drama queen!
- I need to sit up more, actually engage my core and roll back my shoulders.
- I am not sure what my leg is doing swinging in no-man's land. My calf should be on her side supporting her through the bend #shame

Sorry it is a bit blurry

- I actually like this photo for the most part.
- again I need to look up more, roll my shoulders back and sit straighter
- I still need to raise my hands and drop my heels (as always)
- I should get her to engage more from behind and step under herself, again will improve with time & when I can put more consistent work into her so that she can develop the muscles needed to sustain such work
- is she a little BTV? I need to get a better feel for that so that I can recognise such things and try to stop them before muscle memory takes hold

- this isn't the most flattering moment and I think i am a little ahead of movement
- of course my heels are misbehaving
- my hands are slightly better positioned although I'm suffering from floppy wrists so again loads more work needed
- on the upside my back is straighter and my shoulders are better. Small victory but i will gladly take it
- again I need to raise my eye level some more

- again sorry about the fuzzy pic quality but i am happier with my upper body in this snapshot.
- if my head was up a bit & my hands higher it would be even better
- I need more bend in my elbow. That will hopefully come when I lift my hands more, keep my shoulders back, weight in my heels and sit on my ass
- Nancy might be slightly disagreeing with me from the tilt of her head and I could deff help her step under herself more. Again this will come as we build back up muscle through more consistent work

- not a bad canter pic, but i am leaning too much to the inside to help her balance & my hands are still pretty hideous
- my naughty heel is still creeping up but I thankfully don't seem to be gripping wih my knee or thigh...or at least it doesn't look like I am to my uneducated eyes. Then again a momentary capture of a movement cannot tell the whole story

- this is prob my fav photo of the bunch; it is far from perfect but there is plenty i like about it - not least of all because i am smiling/laughing at her antics just prior to this where she had done dolphin leap/lead change transition up into canter
- dare i say she almost looks slightly uphill despite me seeming to be doing a good imitation of the leaning tower of Pisa
- I need to use my hands less and legs more to help balance her through the turn
- again I need to look up, sit up, pull my shoulders back and drop the weight into my heels supporting her with my calves

N is such a good girl to put up with my craptastic attempts to "ride"
 I didn't actually know this photo had been taken
 until my sis sent it to me ♡♡♡♡

And last but not least a bit of a comic relief photo as Nancy shows her adorable side posing for a selfie with my sis & mama ♡

Surreal Sensation

I am super glad to have managed to ride both girls today. Considering neither one had been ridden in 10 or 11 days they were both legends & very forgiving of me!
My mam & sister came to the yard with me & snapped some fun photos which accompany this post.

I rode Nancy first, no walker, no lunging and no turnout yesterday - she was such a sweetheart. My sis caught some lovely moments in pictures, which I am super stoked to have.
We got some truly lovely walk/trot/canter work while the spectators were there (Yay for nice photos), which is just as well as she was not a happy camper to go back to work after stopping to say our goodbyes to my family.

She tried to convince me that she could not possibly be expected to walk in a straight line, now walk without her head to the outside! Back to basics we went with some ugly giraffe'ing walk/trot transitions with random 10m circles to reinstall some inside bend. Thankfully it worked pretty well and we got back to some much better work before calling it quits.

Please excuse the state of me sitting like a sack
- but Nancy is super cute

Kika thoroughly surprised me with her stellar behaviour. We were alone in the main arena and the rain was sporadically hammering outside of the building. Not once did the sound break her concentration, the arena sides are another matter but the odd side-step & squiggly squirmish along one long side & her corner nemesis are par for the Kika course and just make me giggle as she randomly jigs at something then goes past it without batting an eyelash before and after.

Pre-work mirror selfie

When I first got up i thought I might be in for a bit of a battle as again she tried to refuse to sidle up to the side so that I could deposit the quarter sheet after our walk warm up. A couple taps of the stick, leg and a verbal scolding reminded her that I am indeed the boss and meant business - oddly enough not a problem after that ;-)

Foam Face

We got gorgeous walk/trot/canter work and transitions up and down all super soft and willing. I couldn't help but grin the whole time, praise her and giggle at the odd misstep when  some shadow or other offended her. A yard friend joined us in the arena and commented on how well she was going. I beamed and said I couldn't believe it either considering she hadn't been ridden in over 10 days and hadn't been turned out yesterday. However she had spent time on the walker while i rode & put Nancy away after our spin.
Sadly there is no media of this super spin, the family photog was long gone home to recover from jet lag after her long route home (Vancouver-Dallas-London-Lux) with a 4h delay in Dallas resulting in an unscheduled overnight in London.
Although to be fair, if i had had an audience i would probably have ridden like a plank and not had the wonderful spin that has kept me smiling all day.
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

PS: I edited my previous post to add shots of the empty apartment if anyone is curious...

WTF?! - Edited to add photos

The fear is real guys...

How did this happen? It wasn't supposed to be ready till March - yet i got a call Wednesday to say it was ready and if i wanted i could get the keys early.
With my sister making the long trip home from Vancouver for Christmas and our not knowing when she might next be back. I took the plunge and figured why the hell not. Well besides the obvious fact that bank repayments will now be starting - but i guess they'd have started eventually and the sooner they do, the faster i can adjust to the hit on my salary each month & the quicker it'll all be paid off.
Now both my sisters can see my new flat as soon as they land off the planes. I haven't told them, I want to surprise them on our way back from collecting them from the airport with a quick detour.

Lux by Christmas lights @ night

I can share some photos of bare rooms if anyone wants to see (i don't mean totally bare, tiling, painting, bathroom fittings, windows, doors etc are all in) ... or you can wait for furnished pictures whenever I manage to start furnishing lolz
As i wasn't  expecting keys till March, the order for the couch was only made at the start of Dec, so it won't be ready until end of Feb/early March. I have to contact the shop i bought the kitchen from tomorrow and see when they might be able to come install it - probably not before next year due to short notice.
I honestly didn't think I'd be ticking  that item off my 30 b4 30 list this quickly - i figured it would'nt be until next year! #freakout

EDITED TO ADD a photo-guided tour

En-suite off main (eep my) bedroom 

Master bedroom

Hallway view from main bedroom
 First door on left = front door,
 saloon doors opposite = coat/shoe closet,
second doorway on left = main bathroom,
doorway opposite = second bedroom,
living/kitchen straight ahead

Second bedroom

Cozy main bathroom with yours truly caught in the mirror

Glass door between hallway
 & kitchen/living

Kitchen (top) - living (bottom) terrace doors left

Sorry photo quality so poor, it's difficult to snap photos in a small space with a phone - i don't know the best angles to get the most into frame. #awkward
Some of my favourite features include wood-look tiles in bedrooms & bathrooms; the stone-work on the bath & the glass door entering living area. Plus the terrace is massive, but i didn't get photos of that yesterday as it was getting dark and raining.

Poneh Pick me up

Ponies are the best pick me up. After not falling asleep till after 3-3.30am the last two nights topped off with our team of 8 being whittled down to 4 yesterday & 3 this afternoon due to vacation leave and unforseen sickness. 
This normally wouldn't cause problems on a Thursday afternoon. But work is tripping over itself to be in the system before the Court closes for the Christmas break next week. 
I'm not typically a gambler, but i would put money on units being down to skeletal staff on Monday and Tuesday next as most people will have taken advantage of the weekend to skedaddle early and eke out some extra time with family & friends. I don't begrudge anyone that, I am just at a disadvantage as i don't have kids and I don't leave Lux for the festive period as (i am lucky my folks live here and have let me live with them for the last 4 years!!!). Just means most years I make up the skeletal staff that stays behind to hold the fort ;-)
Oops that went off on a tangent!

Coolest horse ever - dressing herself up.
Bringing Christmas indoors ;-)

I am whacked exhausted but so looking forward to seeing my ponies this evening to tuck them in for the night.
So i haven't sat on either one in over a week, the way Nancy greeted me at midday today was so cute. She was lying flat out again when I got there today, I think this might be a poor reflection on my ability to turn them out the last two weeks - she no longer expects me to turn up #sadtimes
Unlike last time, but more like normal Kika didn't make a sound so N got a bit of a shock when I popped my in and said hi. She was the epic multi-tasker as she made full nostril twitching whickering sounds while hauling herself up quick-fast. As much as it warms my heart to have her happy to see me, she is in such a hurry to get up I'm afraid she'll hurt herself some day.

Work may be cray but my colleagues are the best.

I interpret Kika's excessive grouchiness at rugging time as her jealousy at not getting enough me time.
Or I think it is as she has taken to clattering the partition between herself and Nancy the last three times I turned them out - totes jealousy at not enough Aoife-time and not rotten misbehaviour...I swear. (Okay so maybe my fingers are crossed as i hope really hard)

This was supposed to be a super short post as I'm doubling up on posts today due to 30 b4 30 excitement, but when have i not got verbal diahorea?!

30 b4 30 - WIP

This is a work in progress list as it is super hard to come up with 30 things that
(a) i want to do in the next 12 - ahem 10 months...clock is ticking eep!!!!
and
(b) striking a balance between challenging myself and achievability! (yes blogger this is now a word, deal with it)

All credit for idea & super logo goes to Lauren @shemovedtotexas

1. Meet as many blogger peeps as I can
(I will add to my Bucket List, not limit myself to a 10-12 month window)

LINK - not my image

2. Do 100 sit ups a day - every day!
A six pack for my 30th would be awesome! I found the above workout option on Google - will see if i can do half those things *squeals-with-glee/groans-at-the-work-involved*

My current uber-classy key situtaion

3. Get keys to my very own apartment
4. Furnish & move in to said flat
As you know - so far i only have a couch ordered...no other furniture sourced yet.

For more info - LINK - to blogpost in case you missed it

5. Ride more during the week
6. Go on a riding trip to Iceland

I have a brochure for this place - LINK (not my image)

7. Visit Aachen (Germany)/Saut  Hermes (France)/Hickstead (UK) and/or RDS (Dublin)
The latter two are consecutive weeks I might have to pick one or the other - because fincances *weep*

LINK - not my image

Link - not my image

8. Go to Badminton or Burghley for top tier 3-Day Eventing viewing awesomeness
9. Go to as many Global Champion Tours as i can get to (read:afford)

How class would this be - again not my image LINK

10. Start learning to drive Nancy
Ex-YO (current YO's father and a grandson) have carriage horses and often run driving clinics. I must inform myself on these and see what would be involved in such an endevour

Commissioned from the wonderfully talented @photosandsketches

11. Commission a sketch of Nancy to frame for apartment decor as i have two of Kika! #noshame
12. See my uni friends in Ireland - it has been way too long!
13. Take monthly conformation shots of girls to chart progress - if any (Starting January 2015)
14. Get professional photog pics of girls and/or actually learn to use my Canon properly

not my image - LINK

15. Do at least one Dressage Anywhere test on either girl, preferably multiple tests on both
16. Sign up for a weekly lesson once I get used to loss of mortgage repayment every month from my salary and other independence related charges #fear #grownupproblems

Not my media as i have ZERO art skills - LINK

17. Get car out of the garage & actually drive it!
#shame I may bought a car third hand (with my parents help) from a friend of mine in December last year and I may have had said car in my parents garage since then failing to sort out insurance until last month and now the car won't start so i have to find a mechanic that will come to the house to fix it so i can take it through car testing & get it back on the road. What can I say, out of sight out of mind - the garage is somewhere i rarely go! *blush*

18. Do driving requirement for full license (compulsory training day to "prepare" new drivers for adverse weather conditions etc in secure environment - happen to cost a pretty penny & did I mention it is obligatory?! What a racket!)

Gratuitous Baby Nancy pic - because why not?!

19. Research Kika & Nancy's bloodlines & siblings
20. Go back to Equitana Germany
21. Learn to put Polo Wraps on horses and then of course buy all the matchy-matchy thingz
22. Increase blog interaction by posting more
I love getting and replying to comments, which is why i moderate them - so that i see all comments coming in and I don't miss out on the opportunity to reply to someone. I am not sure if there was a captcha or something as well before a comment could be posted, if there was i think i removed it...if not please let me know and I will fidget with the things behind the scenes and settings etc again.
23. Contact Kika's breeder for baby pics and background info on her & siblings/family tree - Linked to #19
24 - to 30 TBD

I am open to suggestions to help fill the final few slots on my list. I know this is quite equine heavy oriented, but with the mahoosive expense of the apartment and furnishing the sucker from scratch I have to try to financially limit my expectations while keeping the goals achievable, motivational & challenging.
Plus with two horses being a substantial and established drain on my finances and time, yet 100% adored & needed for my own sanity and well being, it is really no surprise that they figure so prominently in my plans for my immediate future ☺

I have also created a new page to list everything more neatly and will update - tick things off there if/and when I achieve them...fingers crossed! LINK

Thank you so much to Lauren for coming up with this ingenious idea - it deff makes turning the big 3-0 less daunting and more fun...or maybe I'm weird.
Although as it stands i am not yet worried about turning 30 next year. I am still very much in the "age-is-just-a-number" camp and am yet to start worrying about it. Hopefully I don't have a freakout as I do honestly believe age is but a number...we shall have to see how long that feeling of serenity lasts as the day draws nearer ;-)
LINK - to my original birthday post where i announced my hope of compiling a list such as this.

Heartwarming

When I got to the stable at lunchtime on Tuesday Nancy was lying down napping. I rarely catch her lying down so i was trying to be super stealth so i could snag a picture.
Just as i was lined up, phone in hand, camera option open and ready to snap the photo. The usually silent Kika blows my cover by neighing at me, which led to Nancy leaping up whickering at me too.

Starting to rise

Honestly Kika I love that for once you seem to actually care that I am me & turned up, but you botched my photo op. ;-)
Perhaps she was jealous of my stopping to snap the photo & not preparing her for turnout or maybe she was genuinely happy to see me. #unusual

What happens to your socks inside boots
when filling haynets in the dark

Sadly I still haven't managed to climb into tack, hopefully Thursday evening as my pony time is super hampered this week - isn't it always the way in the lead up to Christmas. Or does this only happen to me. This evening (wednesday) is our unit Christmas party after work. So because i won't get back to bring them in tonight i won't go put them out at midday. Friday lunch break is another no-go  for barn time as I've another Christmas lunch and then MY SISTER GETS BACK FROM CANADA!!!!
Baby sister gets back from Scotland on Sunday for our first Christmas all together in 3 years ☺☺☺☺
I am hopeful of logging saddle time over the weekend before working Monday & Tuesday, but this may not happen as i still have no odea what to get my sisters for Crimbo - so will also have to fit in some shopping time somewhere! The good news is the office is shut till the 5th of Jan, so I WILL have plenty pony time then.