NaNoWriMo & Disney- Movies & Songs

So November is National Novel Writing Month.  And that's great, I fully support whoever created NaNoWriMo and those who participate.  But I sure am sick of failing to complete my 50,000 word novel each and every time December rolls around.

I have my reasons for failing, yes.  One is that I'm a tad bit lazy when it comes to getting around writer's block.  I'll have times when I'm full on writing ninja mode, and then times when the words just will not come and since I know they will not come, I just don't even try because I know anything I write I'll end up hating and rewriting.  So why bother?  Another reason is that I have school and a lot of schoolwork.  And I procrastinate a lot, meaning on November 30th, I'll probably be found either typing away at the computer trying to piece together some coherent passages for this "novel" I'm supposed to be writing or staying up until the wee hours of morning doing last-minute homework.

Also, I have no willpower.  So what I generally do is get on the computer, bring up my story, type a few sentences.... and then drift over to Hyperbole & a Half to read through every post that's ever been posted because they are hilarious no matter how many times you read them.

So what I'm basically saying is... I'm gonna fail NaNoWriMo again this year.  I won't even tell you my current word count, it's just embarrassing.

Moving on.... Today I watched Aladdin.  This is much more important than you might think.  It's important because Aladdin was one of my first crushes (considering that I didn't really have any friends when I was little and let's be honest- what girl doesn't find herself loving a Disney prince [or fake prince] when she's little? [Or, as my sister would say, Dmitri from Anastasia!]).  I don't care what anyone says, Aladdin is a fine looking cartoon character.  I mean, look at his hair.  And he has a pet monkey.  And a flying carpet.  And a genie!  Sure, he pretends to be a prince just so he can get a girl... but... I don't really have all the much of a problem with it because he loved her so much and was so cute trying to pull this trick...  Also, his singing voice is fabulous.  Though he was voiced by Scott Weinger (who played Steve, DJ's longtime boyfriend on Full House), his singing was recorded by Brad Kane.

I love Simba too, but seeing how he is a lion, I feel that might be slightly irrelevant...
(Although the added fact that Jonathon Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, and Joseph Williams all voiced him?  Yeah.  He sounded good. :)

And then after I finished Aladdin I felt the need to play some Disney Karaoke... So here is a list of some of my favorite Disney movie songs in no particular order. :D

• A Whole New World (Aladdin)
• Can You Feel The Love Tonight (Lion King)
• Reflection (Mulan)
• I'll Make A Man Out Of You (Mulan)
• Circle of Life (Lion King)
• Belle (Beauty & the Beast)
• One Jump Ahead (Aladdin)
• We Are One (Lion King 2)
• I Won't Say I'm In Love (Hercules)

And a lot more that I can't think of but I will later... :)
Happy belated Thanksgiving!!

Patches

In June of 1997 we got our first dog, a little black and white puppy with a spot on her back.  My family named her Patches.

Patches was a great dog.  She didn't bite, never ruined the sofa, and didn't bark in the middle of the night.  She would do anything for a treat and loved to play fetch. 

As she got older, she slowed down as would be expected.  She played less, slept more, but was always the same dog.


About 2 weeks ago though, we noticed she wasn't herself at all.  Her back legs kept going out, even when she tried to go down the ramp we had built her in the back yard when the vet had said she couldn't use stairs anymore.  Her front legs seemed to be sliding out from under her.  Her tail had stopped it's constant wagging and her eyes had lost their friendly sparkle.  Slowly she got worse and worse, to the point when she stopped accepting treats and didn't even whine when we picked her up (she always hated being picked up).  We took her to the vet again and again and they said it was pancreatitis.  So we got medicine for her, left her overnight at an animal hospital, spoon fed and watered her, and carried her outside. 

But the medicine wasn't doing anything for her.  She stopped eating altogether, only drank when we made her, and was completely listless.

So we went back to the vet.  That's when they told us her heart was failing, and we could either put her on medication (which would help her heart, but her pancreas and kidneys would be in danger, plus her legs would still be going out) or put her to sleep.  The latter was chosen.

So here's to a best friend for 14 fabulous years.  Patches may be gone, but she will never be forgotten.  She was the best dog I ever could have asked for.

Elephant Emoticon!

Because why not. :)
     |^|^|^|
@(  .  .  )@
     \     /
      \_ /

He's wearing a crown.
It's Babaar. ;)

And this is really because I was trying to show off my emoticon skills, but it wasn't working. :(
Also- It could be an anteater. :P

Storms, Riding, and Helmets!

It all started with an earthquake.

Well, that's what I'm going to blame it on at least.

But to catch you up-
I'm sure you all know that the weather has been crazy this last month or so.  First a 5.9 magnitude earthquake rattled (no pun intended) (okay, maybe a small one) the East Coast.  Then Hurricane Irene came sweeping through.  And now, Hurricane Lee is breezing all over the place.  We've had significant rainfall here for the past few days, causing flooding and car accidents and other rain-induced issues.  And we're still having aftershocks.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm blaming the earthquake.  I'm not blaming it for the weather that followed.  Or for the possibly impending end of the world. (I still think the Mayans just ran out of paper...)  Nope, I'm going to shift the blame on the earthquake (see what I did there?) for something that is probably totally irrelevant.  But I'm going to pretend it's not.

The earthquake happened on August 23rd.  I know because the opening of school the next day was postponed (something good DID come out of it!) and because it was a Wednesday and I had a horseback riding lesson.

When the earth started quaking, I was home alone and freaking out in all kinds of ways.  First I thought it might be our washer being a little overzealous, or a big truck passing down the street.  But then I saw that the windows were shaking.  And so was the chandelier.  And I heard a few thumps and crashes as I clung to the door I was standing by.  My mom called me just before the phone lines went out to check on me, and I wandered around the house noticing broken Easter bunnies and photos laying on the ground and crooked paintings on the walls.  The big thump I had heard was my television falling off my shelf and severing the cords to the DVD player. 

I walked into the kitchen and... my dog was sleeping.  Naturally.  After a few moments I saw her eyes open, she stood, stretched, and settled back into bed. 

My cat was another story.  She was a nutcase, hiding under the bed and refusing to come out until I bribed her with her favorite treats.  Even then she crawled right back under.  Not that I could blame her, I was still shaken up (no pun, really!) too. 

So I didn't know if I would still have my riding lesson that night.  What if the horses had reacted like my cat?  What if there was damage to the barn?  But with no call from my instructor canceling, my dad and I headed to the barn just like normal.

The lesson went on as usual.  The only difference was I was riding a different saddle than I was used to.  And here's why I think that was important. 

http://www.bitandbridleshop.com/

These are like the stirrups on the saddle I was riding that night.

http://www.equestriancollections.com/

This is closer to the type of stirrup I'm used to on my favorite saddle. 

The first stirrups are deeper, and I couldn't get my feet to stay in them.  This might have been totally my fault, but I'm going to pretend it was the saddle's.  Or the earthquake's.  Plus the stirrup leathers on the new saddle were too long for me, even on the shortest setting.  What can I say, I'm not that tall.

Anyhow, the lesson was going decently, besides the fact that my right ankle was seizing up like it tends to when I ride, until we started to lope.  That's when it went downhill.  Grace, the horse, was moving pretty well, but I just could not stay in the saddle.  First my left foot came out of the stirrup.  I grabbed at the saddle horn and tried to jab it back in, and I did for a moment, but then it came flying out again, and my right foot followed.  As we rounded a corner of the arena next to the metal fence, I slipped out of the saddle and thumped on the ground, the back of my head whacking into the bottom rung of the fence. 

And this, kids, is why we wear helmets. 

My head was slightly tingly and my backside was rather sore, but my instructor helped me get back on Grace and and walk, jog, and lope once more.  For about 3 strides.  Then I was done.

By the time I got home, my head was ringing.  It was the worst headache I've ever had.  I sat in the relative darkness of the family room and covered my eyes with a cool towel, the television on low.  I can't stand total silence, but any noise too loud sent shooting pain through my noggin.  I also had some homework I had to finish, but the computer was far too bright for me to use at the moment.  I finally went to bed and when I woke up, I'm happy to say, my headache was gone.  But my shoulders were killing me.

Not that you want to hear about all my pain.  Let's just say it took a few days for my head to stop pounding whenever I saw a bright light or a loud sound.  And my shoulders to stop aching.  And my back.  And then I started thinking that I maybe want to buy a new helmet, because I don't know how damaged the inside of mine is.  I've only fallen twice, but better safe than sorry.  Plus, that last one felt like a doozy.  If my head hurt that bad, I wonder what my helmet looks like inside. 



http://www.carriagehousesaddlery.com/



This is the kind of helmet I have now.  A Tipperary Sportage.

But I would kind of like one from Troxel, either the Sierra ($119.95) or the Spirit. ($44.95- 54.95)
Which one do you like better?

http://www.bitoftackct.com/

This is the Troxel Sierra. (Above)



http://www.petazon.com/

And that's the Troxel Spirit. :)

Let me know what you think! 

Western Riding & English Writing

It's been a long time since I've last posted.  Hello, blogosphere and you so very few readers and thanks for coming back. :)

To catch you up-  a few months ago I quit taking lessons at that terrific stable I started at (which I still very much like) and started taking them at a new place!  This new stable teaches Western riding, however, where before I was doing English.

What's the difference, you ask?

Well...

This in English riding! :)

Notice theeee-

• Joined reins (the reins are the things the rider is holding to control the horse.)  In English, the reins are connected.
• The relatively short stirrup length (the stirrups are the metal ring-type things the rider's feet are in.)  In English, they are usually closer to the rider's torso than in Western.
• The small saddle (the object the rider is sitting on [not the horse, the thing between the horse and rider :) ] )
• The many many straps on the bridle. (There are just more straps on the thing on the horses head.) In English you have such pieces as the crownpiece, cheekstrap, noseband, and such.

This is Western! :)

Compare it to the English above and notice theeee...

• Longer and unconnected reins, also sometimes held in a single hand.
• Simpler looking bridle
• Bigger saddle, complete with a saddle horn in front of the rider, originally used to hold a lasso loop, and the higher cantle (the back part of the saddle).
• Relatively longer stirrups.



And so, let me say, that the switch was not amazingly simple, nor was it amazingly hard.  I do like that at my current Western stable, there is no pressure to show and we work on new things just about every week.  I recently started loping (the Western term for canter- trot is jog, as well) and am still trying to get my footing with this new gait in the Western style.  Tonight, my instructor even had me and my classmate try barrel racing- though at a jog.

Barrel racing at a gallop! :O

 I'm having fun with my new lessons and can't wait to see what happens next.  I might even join the local 4H club! :D

Meanwhile, since summer is now upon us, I have been trying to write more.  Only thing is, I feel like everything I'm trying has already been done.  I'm not completely awesome at being original. 

I really want to try writing a boarding school type thing, because I'm not too great at writing adult characters, and a boarding school would be more focused around teenagers.  But I can't think of any spectacular plot or anything.  I mean, a boarding school with a horseback riding focus would be cool, but that has already been done by quite a few people.  So I continue to struggle with finding new and interesting plots and trying to make dialogue sound as if it hasn't been forced out of a character's mouth against their will. 

I hope summer's longer than it looks.  This could take a while.