I can't really think of a clever title right now...

I really meant to write this post a few days ago, as soon as I had an epiphany, but see, I didn't.  Because I was tired.  But there's nothing new there.

Anyhow.  On Thursday of last week (so that would be... January 5th?) I had a horseback riding lesson.  Normally I have them every Tuesday, but see, it was freezing cold on Tuesday, so my instructor pushed it back to later in the week... then I had one on Friday too.

The Thursday lesson went pretty decently, and then on Friday, man, I was like the queen of all Western riders.  I felt so flippin' fabulous.  It was honestly one of my best lessons ever.  I got the lope right away and was at the top of my game.  The other ladies in the arena had ridden with me just a few weeks back during another of my make-up lessons, and they are so kind and supportive and congratulatory on the progress I've made, especially on the lope.  I'm sorry if I sound like a dork for repeating this over and over... but I was so proud of myself.

And as I was circling the arena on Hollywood, a tall palomino gelding, I realized that I was happy.  Like, really, truly happy in that moment.  Which was surprising because (this was on Thursday) I still had a bunch of homework to tackle that would presumably take all night (which it did. And then half of it ended up not being due until THIS week. -____- )

But then Friday I felt it again.  And this was a welcome feeling, because earlier that very week I had been having issues with hating school (it's still not my favorite... my attitude towards that hasn't actually changed all that much....) and talking about how I couldn't wait until I was free and could get a job doing what I *really* want to do and begin to establish myself as an individual in the writing & film production world.  (Granted, going to college & studying film would help with this, and that's my plan, but I can't help but look forward to when I'm done with school.) 

When I was riding though, I stopped thinking about how I wished everything would just hurry up and make sense and let me do what I want.  Instead I began thinking about how I have my whole life ahead of me.  I'll get to do what I love, I'll work towards it, and I'll find out more about myself in the process, and probably meet some awesome new people along the way.  Because really life is unpredictable.

Also, the way I see it, I really only have a few options if I want to work in film as to where to live (at least in the US)- California, New York, maybe Florida.

And of course it's another dream to own property in Australia....

This post was mainly random junk that had been clogging up my brain, but I hope it made at least some sort of sense and you could sense what I was trying to get across.

Maybe I can sum it up with two different song quotes, one from Fleetwood Mac and one from... okay, I'm not sure, but I heard it somewhere...

"Don't stop thinking about tomorrow, don't stop, it'll soon be here. It'll be better than before, yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone," meaning look to the future.
But also, "Hold onto sixteen for as long as you can," meaning live in the moment.

<3

A Long, Long Time Ago... I Can Still Remember...

I hope you realized that that title was a reference (or, a lyric, more precisely) to/of the song American Pie by Don McLean. :) Good song, go listen.

Anyhow, I remembered that I said something about posting one of my favorite short stories I've written. So, here I go. :)

First, not that I'm expecting you to, but if you do happen to share this story or use it in anyway, I hope you will cite your sources and send me a message with how you used it and such.

And- Follow me on Twitter! @meggofin  :)

Okay, here we go with Finger's Crossed...

Hallie Monroe shook her head fiercely, and water droplets flew from her hair. She rubbed her arms and shivered. The water in the pond was chilly. Smoothing back her honey-colored hair, she swam to the side of the pond and climbed out. She grabbed her towel from a big rock and wrapped it around her electric green bathing suit. After sliding on her sandals, she stepped on the path towards home.

As she walked, she thought. She thought briefly about school, which started the next week.  And she thought about her best friend, Milly Parker. Milly had been sick the last couple of days. Hallie had visited the Parkers’ house for the past week, but Milly was confined to her bedroom. The doctor said she had the flu. Mrs. Parker said that Milly wouldn’t be at school the first few days. Hallie was eager to see her friend, but she had to wait until Milly was healthy again.

Hallie had known Milly since kindergarten. They had been in the same class and sat next to each other by a stroke of luck. Their houses were only a couple of minutes away. Milly and Hallie were as close as sisters.

She remembered one time when they were eleven and had been on the same local basketball team.

“Milly! Pass it to Jenny!” Coach Lewis yelled. “Jenny, to Victoria! Pass to Andrea, now! No, not to Hallie!”

Hallie put her arms down. The ball smacked her in the face, and so did the coaches words.

“Coach,” someone groaned. Hallie wasn’t sure who. She felt like someone had pressed pause on a dramatic part of a children’s movie. She couldn’t believe the coach had said that! Hallie knew she wasn’t the best player on the team. Actually, she knew she was the worst, but at least she tried. Obviously that wasn’t good enough.

“Hallie,” the coach said. He stepped towards her, but she ran out of the gym, leaving her coat and water bottle on the bleachers.

Her mom was supposed to pick her up in twenty minutes, but she couldn’t wait that long. Hallie decided to run home.

The air was cold on her bare arms and legs and she thought about returning to the gym to get her jacket, but she couldn’t and wouldn’t face that coach ever again. After she had been running steadily for about ten minutes, she saw car lights up ahead. Hallie paused to take a deep breath and looked at the car. It was slowing down.

“Hal?” It was her mom. Hallie had never been so happy to see her.

“Mom!” she cried, and she climbed in the front seat with her mother.

“Sweetie, what are you doing out here? Practice doesn’t end for ten minutes. And where’s your jacket? What happened?” She waited patiently to hear the whole story.

“What?” she exclaimed when Hallie was finished. “How dare he!” And she drove to the gym and got Hallie’s things. “Here,” she said, bringing them to the car. “Put your jacket on. I’m going to go talk to Mr. Lewis.”

Hallie stuffed her arms into her warm jacket and sat in the car, waiting. She jumped when there was a knock on her window. A finger scraped the frost from the window and Hallie saw Milly.

“Yes?” Hallie said, rolling down her window. Milly was the best player on the team and Hallie didn’t really need her sympathy right now.

Milly hesitated and then said slowly, “Hallie, I’m really sorry about tonight. I can’t believe Coach said that! But, if you want to quit the team, I’ll quit too.”

“Milly, no. You don’t need to do that. You’re the best, I’m the worst. You stay, I quit. It’s what’s best for the team.” Hallie smiled sadly.

“But it’s not what’s best for me, Hallie!” Milly protested. “You’re my best friend and what’s best for me is to stick with you. You quit, I quit. You stay, I stay. Best or worst.”

That’s when Hallie realized just what a great friend she had. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hallie had reached her small comfortable home by the time she remembered to call Mrs. Parker to see how Milly was. Hallie climbed the stairs to her porch and opened the front door.

“Mom?” she called, not surprised when she didn’t hear an answer. Her mother, a journalist, often got called into work at the newspaper because there was a new story to cover.

 Hallie climbed up the stairs to her bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later Hallie lay on her bed. She had showered and then called Mrs. Parker. After hearing her stomach rumble a couple of times, she had made a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Now she was enjoying it.

As she ate the sticky sandwich, she thought of Milly again. Mrs. Parker had said she was better than she had been before. Her fever was going down. Hallie couldn’t wait until her friend was well again.

Hearing the door open downstairs, Hallie jumped up and carried her sandwich down the stairs. “Mom?” she said, peering around the corner into the kitchen.

Mrs. Monroe looked up and smiled. “Hey, honey. What are you eating?” She ran her hand across her face.

Hallie grinned. “Honey,” she replied. “And peanut butter. Anyway, did you get a new story?” Hallie loved reading her mother’s articles. She thought the writing was amazing. Everyday she’d scan through the paper looking for her mother’s name: Jessie Monroe.

“No, they just moved my deadline forward a week. I’ve got to get to work.” Mrs. Monroe sat down at the table and pulled out her laptop. “Did you know that my topics the flu that’s going around? I thought I’d write about Milly.”

Hallie’s eyes widened in shock. “Mom,” she whispered, “do you think Milly will get better?” She shivered just thinking of her friend… well….

“Hal, I-” her mother paused. She had to seem positive, for her daughter, no matter how grim things looked right now. Things could change. “Hallie, honey, I think Milly will be fine. All we can do is hope. Come here.”

Hallie rushed to her mother, tears streaming down her face. “Mom,” she choked. Mrs. Monroe shushed her. They were silent for a while, neither of them sure how long they had been hugging. Finally Hallie spoke again. “What if Milly doesn’t get….” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

Mrs. Monroe squeezed her. “Sweetie, I know hard this is for you. I’m sorry. I wish there were something I could do. Poor Milly. And her family… how’s Paige?”

Hallie sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. Hygiene didn’t seem extremely important at the moment. “Mrs. Parker’s fine, I guess.”

“Did you call her today?”

“Yes.”

“What did she say?”

“Mrs. Parker said that Milly’s doing better… but what if it’s like the calm before the storm? The peace before the tsunami?” Hallie wiped at a tear rolling down her cheek.

“Honey, Milly will be okay. She will.”

“Do you promise?” Hallie challenged. She had to be sure.

Mrs. Monroe looked her daughter in the eye. “Hallie, all I can promise…. All I can promise is that I will do all I can to help.” Hallie sighed and crossed her fingers. That would have to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following Monday, Hallie woke up early and went to school. All she could think about as she traveled zombie-like through the hallway was Milly.

Science went by in a blur. Her history teacher sent her to the nurse. Hallie felt disconnected from the rest of the world, maybe even the universe. She was sure no one knew how she felt.

Hallie was missing her best friend and lifetime pal. Milly should be here, she thought over and over again. It was the first day of seventh grade and Hallie was all alone. There were always lots of other kids around, but Hallie hadn’t bothered to make many friends. She’d assumed she’d always have Milly, the best of the best, with her. She knew she could try and make some new friends on the first day but then she thought she would feel like she was betraying Milly if she even approached another potential friend.

So instead Hallie played a memory of how she and Milly had met.

It was the first day of kindergarten and Miss Jameson was giving the students their seats. Hallie Monroe?” the teacher called, looking up from a seating chart.

“Yes, Miss Jameson?” Hallie answered eagerly.

“Hallie, you can sit at the purple table. Right over there, next to Milly.” Miss Jameson pointed to a seat nearby. Hallie sat down.

“Hi, I’m Mildred Samantha Georgia Kelly Parker. Milly for short.” Hallie looked at the girl next to her. “What’s your name?” Milly asked. “Is it Janie?”

Hallie shook her head, confused. “No,” she said. “It’s-”

Milly interrupted her. “Is it Kimberly?” She stared at Hallie.

Hallie gulped. “No, it’s-”

“Franny? May? Dianne? Lynda? Eleanor? Lily? Sara? Beth? Anna? Holly? Heather? Judy?”

“No, stop. My name is-” Hallie began again.

“Hallie,” a voice said. But it wasn’t Milly. Hallie looked up. Miss Jameson was standing over her. “Please stop talking. There’ll be plenty of time for that at recess.”

“Yes Miss Jameson.” Hallie glared at Milly, but she wasn’t really angry. She was just confused. Something had told her that Milly would be hard to ignore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Hallie opened her front door and called, “I’m home!” She waited for an answer. Her mom was home, because the newspaper was sitting on the stairs, and her mom always put it there after work. Hallie ran into the kitchen. “Mom?” she whispered worriedly, seeing her mom. Mrs. Monroe was sitting at the table, her head in her hands. “Mom,” she said gently, putting her arm around her mother.

“Hallie… sit down, sweetie.” Mrs. Monroe wiped her eyes, holding back more tears.

Hallie pulled out a chair and sat on the edge. “What’s wrong?” Hallie’s voice was weak. She knew this had to be bad. Her mom was so strong, it hurt to see her in tears.

“Paige called today. She wanted me to tell you…. Honey, Milly’s in the hospital. Her fever came back, worse than ever. They don’t know if she’ll make it through the night.” And with that Mrs. Monroe couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.

“No.” Hallie couldn’t believe it. “No, no, she can’t be.” She ran up to her room, tears dripping from her chin to her shirt, and flopped down on her bed. “No! Milly….” She cried and screamed, yelling in protest until her actions exhausted her and she fell into a horrible sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hallie wouldn’t get up for school the next day. She woke up early and lay in the dark, waiting for her alarm clock to go off. Then she hit the snooze button. One thought kept running through her head: Milly’s going to die. But she crossed her fingers.

Her mother came in, bringing her pancakes and juice. “Hon, you have to eat. It’ll be okay.”

Hallie looked at her mother. “What did you do?”

“What?” Mrs. Monroe was startled. “I didn’t do anything.”

“I thought so.” But she didn’t look happy. “How could you?”

“What do you mean, Hal?” Mrs. Monroe sat down on her daughter’s bed, ready for an explanation.

“You said you’d help. You promised. And you didn’t do anything. Thanks for keeping your word, Mom.” Mrs. Monroe couldn’t miss the sarcasm in Hallie’s voice.

“Hal, I wrote-” she began.

“No, Mom, never mind. Milly’s going to die. That’s all.” As much as she hated to, she was giving up. Her friend had been sick much too long.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Hallie stayed home the rest of the week. She couldn’t sleep, she couldn’t eat. She hardly left her bed. At least Milly was still alive. Hallie kept her fingers crossed at all times.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Sunday morning Hallie lay on her bed, staring at her ceiling, surrounded by stuffed animals. Anytime Milly could leave the earth and leave Hallie all alone. Hallie closed her eyes, hoping to close off her thoughts. They were unbearable; they brought her only sadness. But, then again, so did reality.

She was about to start crying again, and she wasn’t surprised. She’d cried a lot over the past week. She thought almost all her tears were gone, but maybe her tear ducts were working overtime now.

“Hallie!” She heard someone calling her name, but maybe it was all in her head. She wasn’t certain of anything anymore. “Hallie!” It came again. Once more, she thought, and I’ll go check. “Hallie!”

Hallie got out of bed and stumbled to the door, her legs weak from lack of use. She opened the door and staggered down the stairs.

“Hallie!” It was her mother.

“Yes, Mom?” Hallie sat down on the bottom stair, holding her head in her hands.

“Hal,” Mrs. Monroe said, joining her daughter. “Mrs. Parker just called…” Hallie closed her eyes and prepared herself for the worst. “Milly’s doing much better. Her fever went down dramatically. Back to normal.”

“Are they sure?” Hallie asked, looking at her crossed fingers. Please, she thought. Oh, please!

“They’re sure. Milly’s going to live.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “Hallie!” Milly hurried through her front door and hugged her friend. After a moment, she let go. “I missed you so much!”

                Hallie grinned. “I missed you more. I hate to say this, but I thought you were going to die.” She studied Milly. It was her: her sparkling blue eyes, her bright auburn hair, and her rather large nose. It was Milly Parker, the way Hallie had always known her.

                “So did I, trust me. But then I thought about all of you: Mom, Dad, you. And then I crossed my fingers.” Milly smiled sadly, than brightened. “And here I am, alive and well!”

                “Hey, did you say you crossed your fingers?” Hallie asked curiously.

                “Yeah. Why?”

                “So did I!” Hallie and Milly high-fived. “Isn’t that weird?”

                “It’s kind of like… friend telepathy or something!” Milly exclaimed happily. “That’s so cool!”

                Hallie laughed. “Well, there’s one thing for sure: Crossing your fingers is not like crossing your heart and hoping to die.”

I hope you enjoyed that, if you made it all the way to the end... Feel free to leave suggestions or reviews or whatever in the comments section.  I know it's not the best story ever, but I did write it... 3 years ago... and I quite like it.

Also, all of that was of my own creation, so again, if you feel like using it (HA) please credit. :)

Thanks guys! Hope you all had a brilliant Christmas/Holiday season and a terrific New Year.

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. 

Bad Writing, Bad Plot, Bad All Around. Who's is it?? Plus- Music!

First, music. I was watching the ever popular show Glee and the male A capella group was performing Katy Perry's Teenage Dream. And Darren Criss blew me away!!

All I can say is, he makes a wonderful addition to the cast. You should totally go check out his videos on YouTube. He even played Harry in a Very Potter Musical!

Harry Potter, Glee, Disney, and singing. Wow. :)

I've also had the song Love Like Woe by The Ready Set stuck in my head. But, hey, who hasn't? ;)

Okay, I know you're in suspense- I'll end it right now, don't worry.

The bad writer is me.

Now don't go around spreading rumors that I have low self-esteem or anything. I don't mean my writing now, because that's fantabulous. ;)

No, I'm talking about my writing from 5th grade. I recently found a book I made full of short stories. I made this book a few years ago and didn't alter any of the stories I had written for fifth grade English class. Reading them now kind of shamed me. And made me burst out laughing. Both, really.

Let me give you an example.
When a boy in one of my stories was admitted to the hospital, the doctor said, "I'll call room service and have them ready a room."
What is this, a five-star hotel? Or, even, I guess, a one-star hotel? A hotel of any type? No, it's supposed to be a hospital. *facepalm*

And then when the boy went blind from food poisoning for no explained reason, the doctor said, "No doubt about it, he's blind. I'm really sorry. We did all we could," after the boy had spent one night of monitoring at the hospital. There were no diagnoses, treatments, or anything.

To make it worse, when the dad said, "What do we do now?" the doctor replied, "Well, I can give you a list of places where you can get a guide dog."

I'm telling you, the inner me is screaming it's head off right now. And dying of embarrassment.

And that wasn't even a school assignment!!

Did I mention he got food poisoning from eating a plum? And he was ten years old? What ten year old boy goes and gets a plum after school? Wouldn't they eat chips or, if it has to be healthy, an apple or banana?

Oh, and did I mention that the story was about his sister, who can read minds? I honestly don't know where I was going with this whole thing, food poisoning and mind reading-ness.

I've also realized my old stories had no transitions. They were like, they were at the lake. A minute later they were at home. No mode of transportation. No thoughts running through their heads. Just POOF! and there they are. It would work if my stories were fantasy or something, but even in Harry Potter it describes the wizards' feelings while apparating and what not. I've been showed up.

Some actually weren't that painful to reread. Like "Missing Dusty" where a girl's horse runs away in the middle of the night. It was pretty terrible, but not too painful. :)

The best was "In the Woods" where a brother and sister get lost in a national park (completely fictional!) and it doesn't even say which park! And it's pretty far-fetched, but whatever. :)

Two years ago I wrote what I think is my best short story. It's called "Fingers Crossed." I'll try and post it later. :)

I keep on getting better though! (Or so I think...Couldn't get much worse, right? :)

See ya next time!

Writing Waiting, Holidays Coming, Required Reading

So many things have been going on lately. We just finished up our unit on Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet in English class and are hurrying along to Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, which we're scheduled to read in about two or so weeks. So far I've read two chapters (in class) and we have to have the first book (only about 6 chapters) read by Tuesday, November 16th. It's hard to understand, a little, but I guess I'll get used to it- it was the same with R & J after all.

Meanwhile, this month is National Novel Writing Month. Now normally I would be bustling and bumbling, trying to achieve the 50,000 word goal by December 1st, but this year I hardly even noticed November was coming! The past few months have gone by soooo faaaast. Where'd it all go? Homework, essays, lots of projects, and actual class-time, toss in a little sleeping, hanging out with friends and family, and reading and scraps of writing and you have all the ingredients for the quickest beginning of highschool career ever. And I'll never get to (or maybe have to?) relive it. Will I remember it??

K, my friend who was working on a novel with me, is currently busy with school and a local theater production, so I think we've unintentionally put that project on the backburner for now, but I'm certain it will get done at some point- we have all the plans, it's just the time to put them together that we need!

But lately I've been working on plotting a new idea for a story (who knows if it will end up as a novelette, novella, or novel, if anything! (and yes, I had to look up all those terms, so don't be ashamed if you do too :) ). I've been hitting some confusing parts trying to get it all together, as I want it to be a mystery-esque book. I've planned one mystery before, not that I ever wrote it, but I think it's a pretty awesome plan. Now to sit down and have it magically appear on the computer, formed as the tips of my fingers dance across the keyboard.

Oh wait. Writing does require thinking on my part.

I WILL get to it though. You wait. And when either of them does, I'll give a free autographed copy to all of my current followers. :)

Holidays- Thanksgiving is coming up very quickly and a bunch of my relatives are coming. Then Christmas is right around the corner! (Not that I'm complaining, I love both these holidays!!!)

As for my riding lessons (you know you were going to ask) I haven't had one in a few weeks. :( First it was because my instructor had her baby (CONGRATS!!!!) and then we were out of town and then we just haven't scheduled one. :'( And I need to. Because I miss them.

And now I think I should go write! Onward! :D

Long Time, No Post!

Oops, school started and I admit, I completely forgot about my blog. Okay, not completely, it was always there in the back of my mind, but I never really was too worried about it. I mean, it's a blog. And to add to that, a blog that not many people read, so....

Exactly.

Anyway, the blog crossed my mind and I asked myself if I should post something right NOW. And I said back to myself, "Sure, why not?!" (Literally. I might be truly very weird, because I ask myself questions I already know the answers to all the time. Like last night. Watching the previews before a movie. Me part 1:"I wanna see that." Me part 2: "Why?" Me part 1: "It has that actor I really like in it." Me part 2: "Oh yeah." The real question is why do I do any of this at all? Me part 2 says it's because I'm so awesome. Me part 1 is inclined to agree.)

So, back to something besides the inner parts of my brain dwelling on all my weird attributes.

Yesterday, I went to a horse show at the stable where I take lessons. I wasn't showing, just "helping" out. Now, I've been riding for about, eh, four and a half months maybe, and so, really, do I know much about horses?

Theoretically, yes, I know tons. It's all up there stored in my *taps head* noggin. Can I actually put any of my knowledge in to use yet? No, not really.

Luckily, the stable where I ride is full of really nice people, instructors and fellow riders included. I hung out with the girls around my age, who were basically all advanced. They were talking about jumping and so on, and it was really interesting, plus they were all really really nice and didn't seem to mind me following them around, and they chatted with me like I was on their level. I couldn't find myself hoping that by the time I get to their level I'll be their friend and we can all go on a trail ride together, maybe. I would really like to get into group or semi-group lessons soon. I usually don't see many people when I take my lessons on Saturday mornings, so yesterday was a ton of fun, seeing the barn full of horse-lovers and their families.

There was one girl especially who I pestered with questions all they. She was the first one to introduce herself when I got there Saturday morning, and she was basically my mentor. All day she was assuring me that I was doing fine and that I'll learn more the longer I ride. She introduced me to the other advanced girls and, seriously, I felt right at home besides being less experienced, but I'm okay with that.

Even though I still wish my parents had started me riding when I was little. Oh well, that can't be fixed now, better make up for lost time! :D

Before the little kids' events (the "beginner" ones, which I probably still would've lost :) I tried to tack up a horse named Tuffy. Little did I know. I put the saddle to far back, the girth was all mixed up, the bridle I got twisted... but the hoof polish went on fine! *cheers*

One of the instructors, even though she was drowning in work, took the time to help me and was very nice about it, too.

This is why I love my stable. :)

I didn't get to go back for the dinner party thing or the outdoor movie- it was family night at my house- but I'm so glad I went to the show. As hot as it was and even though my feet were killing me by the time I got home, I had a huge blast.

:D

And now I have to end my blog.
But first a poem.

"School is fun, yeah, it's alright
But I'd rather spend the day when it's light
At the barn full of good horses and leather,
Where nice people can teach me how to put bridles together."

There ya are. A Meghan original. Please, feel free to quote me. :)

Guess what? Betcha can't!!

Am I right? Am I?
Well, I'm sure I am, 'cause truth is, I have no big, huge, "OMIGOSH MEG, NO WAY!!!" announcements for today.
Other than the fact that, uh... I might start writing a new story? Yay!
But not right now. Probably not for a few days.
Anyways, other than that (get excited now, because this is the most amazing story you're going to hear today- so I guess I lied, maybe I do have an "OMIGOSH MEG, NO WAY!!!" story after all!! :)

Today at my horseback riding lesson, after we warmed up circling the ring at a walk and posting trot, my instructor told me to canter. So I did. Cantering, like I said before, is raaaaad. Really, really awesome. But apparently I wasn't steering very well, because we were headed straight toward the corner of the ring that has a board broken off the very top, so it's a little lower than the rest, and I (*facepalm*) wasn't paying enough attention, as one of my feet had come out of my stirrup. So, the horse feeling wild and wonderful by now, (and no, I don't think he's from West Virginia) must've thought "Hey, ya know, I haven't jumped in a while, I think now might be a good time. Any takers?" I was grabbing his mane (don't worry- they don't have nerves there) so I wouldn't slip right off the saddle while trying to jam my foot back in the stirrup iron, which ended up being a good thing (me holding his mane) because before I knew it, the gelding, who normally needs pretty strong urging just to get him to trot, springs up and over the corner fence. I would've slid right off the back of that saddle if I hadn't been holding on to his mane and leaning pretty well forward. And, suprise suprise, we even landed pretty well, all balanced and in nice form (except for my foot which was still hanging out of the stirrup). The instructor was pretty amazed, me being a fairly new rider and having just landed that unexpected jump so well. Although she did start reprimanding me when she realized that I could've stopped the whole thing if I had been paying attention.
So.

Wasn't that a good story?
You're welcome. It took all my imagnation to come up with that one.
Because it never happened.
If you fell for it, I'm truly sorry (not really). :) It was all in good fun.
What REALLY happened at my lessons is this-

It went about the same as usual, except at the end the instructor let me and the gelding (that part was true) walk around the outside of the ring by the edge of the woods like a mini-trail ride. And then she said that soon I might be put in a semi-private class so we can go on real trail rides!! YAY!!!
That's what I've been hoping for!
Along with a canter.
TADA!!!

That got me in a good writing mood.... hmmm.....

Whoopsies!

Oops. I haven't posted in a while, have I? Answer: no. My bad, my bad. It's been a busy summer since I last blogged (isn't that a great verb? Yes, I think so :) I've been doing homework (kind of. That's not saying I'm done. But only one thing left if you don't count memorizing a bunch of countries and geographical stuff) and writing a story with one of my best buds and taking... wait for it... horseback riding lessons!!!
I've mentioned it before, earlier this summer, I know. But it's getting much better. Because. On. Saturday. Past. For. The. First. Time. I. CANTERED!!!!!!!!!!!
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go ahead, clap for me. I know you want to. And it's okay, I would clap for me too.
If I wasn't me. But, alas, lucky me, I am! :D
So lessons are getting better and better and I'm loving it. I've cantered in two lessons now and next we're going to try to get 3 quarters around the ring instead of just cantering one stretch at a time.
But lemme tell you if you don't know.
Cantering feels (wait, let me get a quote from my buddy....) AH-MAZING!!!!!
It's so smooth (at least on the horses I've ridden so far, which is two at a canter) and fast and, well.... it makes you want to smile and yell "WEEEE!!!!!" because it's just so wonderful!!!
*Sigh* I love it. And I am definitely planning on taking lessons during the school year. Sadly I have to go down to one a week until I get used to the schedule of school and schoolwork and all that wonderful stuff. Yaaay for school right? Right, kay.
Other than riding, like I said, I've been working on a story with my friend. We have about 13 chapters all planned out, more or less, and somewhat detailed 'cause we are just that good. I've been having issues writing in a way that makes sense and sounds good to me after I reread it a couple times. It might be normal writer things, I guess, but I don't really like it. Not that I guess any writers really do. Let's take a survey. Raise your hand if you like not liking your own writing.
Anybody?
Helllooooooo??
Yeah, I thought not.
But I do love to write a lot, so I'll keep working on it. Aren't you proud of me? Sure you are. :)
And last is homework, but seriously, you don't want to hear about that, I know. You don't even have to pretend for the sake of my survival, it's okay.
Thanks anyway.
I'll try to keep posting now, really!!
For all you faithful readers!
Which is... who??
Ah well. :)

The Second Riding Lesson :-O

I said I'd give riding longer- I mean, how can you decide if you like something when you only give it one chance, right?
So today I woke up early, put on my blue jeans, a t-shirt, my getting-dirtier paddock boots (isn't that awesomely authentic? :) , and grabbed my gloves and helmet. When Kate, my sister, and I pulled up to the stable today, there were a lot more people there. A group of girls was sitting by one ring, talking and watching another girl who was working a horse inside the ring. They all looked to be around my age. But they also looked experienced. Greeeeat. I knew that they'd be watching me, sizing me up, seeing how good (or bad) I was. Yay for me, right?
Well, apparently this made me try harder or something, because today's lesson went somewhat better than Monday's.
Let's see if I can sum up why.
I mounted without trouble again, and started walking the horse. We walked. The instructor, just like last time, instructed me (surprise, surprise right? The instructor, instructing me! Crazy!) to keep my heels down, toes out, hands forward, don't pull on the bit, shoulders back, back arched a bit, and HEELS DOWN!
And I think I'm getting a bit better.
I got the horse to trot today. :D Okay, true, it took a lot of kicking, squeezing, and clucking, but she trotted! She slowed down at almost every turn though, but we're getting somewhere. Especially since this horse has been used a lot lately at the stable's various camps and lessons and leases.
Now trotting while posting and steering is, like I said last time, kind of hard. Only this time, we weren't on a lunge line. We were trotting all around the ring. And I really didn't want her to go to the jumps, because... well, you know what would happen then. :-O
And I could almost (which is a relative term... or is it not? Huh) steer the mare. But there were two orange traffic cones at one end and I was supposed to steer around them. "Supposed" is the key word, by the way. Because half the time, the mare would go around one and cut through the other while I concentrated on the up, down, up, down, up, down beat of the trot, or my posting beat. So that was a slight minus. Oh, and the whole heel down thing, but I'll get that. Apparently my right side has more control (the instructor told me that) and looked to be in better form than the left side, heel and hand-wise. I could see the riders watching me too, trying to see how experienced I was or am. If any of them are reading this, I guess they found out- NOT VERY! :)
Overall though, it was a good day.
But it WAS really really hot. A foreshadowing of later in the day, apparently. Talk about boiling. *PHEW*
You might be happy to know I signed up for more lessons next week. One is at ten in the morning and one is at five o'clock at night. Hope it goes well.
Wish me luck again!! :D

Riding Lesson 1

After months of annoying, begging, and bargaining with my parents about horseback riding lessons, we finally came to an agreement. We visited a local stable a friend told me about. It seemed very nice and well-organized, with friendly and experienced staff, and right away I decided that's where I wanted to go. So we gave them our number and they said they'd call when they could.
They didn't call.
So we went back.
Nobody was there, so we left a note.
Maybe they never saw it. It was in plain sight, but, who knows, right? So we called them again. Someone answered, said they were very busy and things were chaotic and they'd call and schedule a lesson as soon as possible.
We waited. And waited. And thought about going elsewhere. And waited. And when I was finally realizing they may not want our business and starting to look for somewhere else, they called.
Unfortunately, we were out of the house. So we called back a little later and finally scheduled a couple lessons. *PHEW*
And so I started my riding lessons this Monday. I put on my jeans, paddock boots, classy polo shirt, and tucked my gloves in my pocket, grabbed my helmet, and climbed in the car. We pulled up to the stable, and I got out of the car with my sister, butterflies in my stomach. One of the instructors greeted us, introduced herself, and was off and running. We waited for the horse I was assigned to while she finished breakfast. I tightened her girth (the belt-like strap that holds the saddle in place) and led her out to the ring. I lead the mare to the mounting block and climbed aboard (I was much better than I had been two summers ago). The instructor adjusted my stirrups and commanded about 10 things at once the whole lesson. Shoulders back, heels down, hands forward, elbows relaxed, toes out just a bit, look forward, pull back rein and give with the other, and so on. I was getting severely confused. She asked if at my previous lessons (apparently she thought I was pretty experienced. On the info sheet I had put my amount of experience. Three lessons about two years ago) I had trotted. I said yes. She asked if it was on a lunge line (basically a long lead line used for training the horse or beginner riders) or not. I said not. It might, just might have been a good idea to tell her that it was a group lesson and people were actually helping us around the ring, sort of leading us, at my last lessons when we trotted in two-point and posting. But, stupid me, I didn't.
So after I walk the horse around the ring, change direction, change direction again, and so on, she tells me to trot. I squeeze the horse's sides with my legs. No response. The instructor tells me to cluck. Okaaaay. Cluck cluck. Still nothing. Kick, she says. I do, but it's kind of hard with the stirrups, you know? So I kick, cluck, squeeze. Nope, nothing. No response. By now I'm almost begging the horse to trot and I'm getting a bit embarrassed. The instructor leaves to get a lunge, looking a bit annoyed. Well, I'm sorry, truly. I wish I could've gotten the horse to trot. Lazy thing.
With the lunge line the horse trots, of course. She's too smart- she knew me, a beginner, wouldn't be able to do it. Clever mare, she is. The instructor tells me to post (rise and fall with the 1-2 beat of the trot). I try, I really do. I could do it before!! But Monday was just not my day. The instructor tells me my sitting trot is great, but can I post? Answer: Apparently not. I finally get it a bit, but posting, keeping my heels down, toes out, hands forward, shoulders back, head up, and not falling off was kiiiiiind of hard. And by kind of, I mean really hard, not to mention scary. And I was hardly steering. The instructor kept the mare going in a circle. I just had to keep pressure on the right rein to make the circles wide. So basically I felt like a failure. *Sigh*
And so we trot. Then we slow to a walk (my favorite gait so far!! :) and she takes the lunge off. I walk the horse around the ring and then over some low poles. I dismount and we head back to the stable. The horse was being used again a little later, but the instructor had me take the saddle off and put it in the tack room.
So the lesson was pretty... okay.
The thing is, I knew almost EVERYTHING the instructor was telling me. At least, I knew the theory of it. The theory of how you should put the bridle on, how you should post, how you should dismount, and so on. I knew why you should look ahead (the horse can feel the weight shift), why you lead and mount from the horse's left (it's said that knights had to mount from that side because they had swords strapped to their left sides, so they couldn't lift their left legs over the horses), why you keep part of the bridle or halter on when transitioning between the two (so if the horse moves or tries to run, you can grab it) and so on. I've read enough books and seen enough horse tv shows or horse shows themselves, plus played enough games to tell you these things.
But I don't have the experience of actually doing it. Yet.
And I don't know how long I'm going to keep horseback riding lessons, but I at least have to give it some time. The longer to do it and the harder you try, the better you get. The better you get, the more fun you have. Meghan loves fun. So I'll give it some time. Starting with tomorrow at 9 AM.
Wish me luck!!

Summer = Loads of Free Time!!

Okaaaaay, so it's not actually summer yet (in some places) but it will be in a *snap*.
And what does summer mean besides no school? More free time! Yay!

We no longer have to spend seven hours a day, five days a week confined in cinderblock buildings with classrooms that change temperatures faster than a bee stings and hallways full of shoving, yakking peers.

Now we can spend all day at our choice of various locations- the sunny, sandy beach; the dark, cool theater; the loud, bustling amusement park; the local mall; the comfy, worn-out, fits-ya-like-a-glove couch. What options!

And so what could we do with all this time and all these places to go?? The beach is perfect for tanning or cooling off in the salty ocean while licking a melting popsicle. The theater is great for seeing the newest blockbusters or (if you mean the the-ate-er:) seeing the local (or Broadway!) productions of Wicked, Les Mis, and much more. At the amusement park you can slurp down a cool soda while waiting in a mile long line for the brand-new coaster that everyone will claim is SO worth it even if it's not simply to justify why they wasted their time in that queue to begin with. And everyone knows that the local mall is the one place you can bet on seeing people you know while you shop for those trendy must-have items. But not everyone sees the glory of the good ol' sofa!

The couch is an option for those who like to relax at home in their spare time. You can sit on it while you eat. You can lounge classily while you peruse this month's issue of Reader's Digest (which happens to be a very good magazine:). You can stretch out and fall asleep watching reruns of oldies-but-goodies on television.

Sofas can even double as other things! They can be a bed, perfect for a mid-day nap or crashing when you were planning to stay up all night long for the first time in your whooole life. A sofa can be a trampoline- the bounce won't be as good and you just might ruin the sofa, but it CAN be a trampoline. A couch can be a landing spot when you decide to vault over the banister in a daredevil scheme (this is not recommended). A common sofa can be the boat for you and your stuffed animal comrades when playing your own little game of Imaginery Flood (this does not prepare you for an actual flood, by the way).

So, while you can drive out and spend money at the beach, theater, amusement park, or mall, you can also stay at home and use the couch for entertainment! But, it's your choice. Oh, and feel free to mix it up between the two. Like, you could stay home one day and go out the next! Or you could, if you so choose, take the sofa with you! It would be great to have something to sit on in those mile-long lines at the amusement park, would it not??

Note: Staying home, you may still spend money on electricity, television, food, and magazine subscriptions while using your glorious couch.