You know who intrigues me?  Abraham!

You know why?  Well, I'm about to tell you!

Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.  (Genesis 12:1-3)

First off - Abraham (who was Abram at the time, but let's not get picky) says, "Hey, Abraham, get up, leave all that you know and love, and head over to this land that I'm going to show you." Not only that, but He continues with, "And if you go, I am going to BLESS you!"  Now, when I read that, I thought, "Ah!  How awesome is that!  Why can't God just do that for me and say, 'Caitlin, this is where I want you to go to college.'"  Because ya'll, if He said, "Go to Covenant", I'd go without hesitation; if he said, "Head on over to Elon", I'd be there in a split second; and if He said, "I want to see you in Furman", man, I'm there!  But no... I don't have that luxury.  I'm left to sit and ponder and try to figure out where to go and what to do without God speaking through a megaphone or writing the answer in the sky for me.

But then it was brought to my attention...

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.  By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.  (Hebrews 11:8-10)

Abraham didn't know where he was going!  He just went!  Huh, that hits a bit close to home, huh?  So I thought about that for a while, and then it dawned on me - how the heck did Abraham know which way to start walking?!  I mean, God said, "Okay, go" and Abraham just picked a direction and started jogging along?

So I went BACk to Genesis 12, but I don't think I have much of an answer...

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.  nd Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan.  (Genesis 12:3-4)

Yeah, "Abram went".  That's all it says.  He just goes.  How did he know what direction?  Did he know what direction?  Was it essential for him to know which direction?  I don't know!  Abraham just goes.  That is some incredible trust.  I don't know what that really means for me though - does it mean that I just pick a college and know that God will work whatever I choose for good... or do I sit here and try to figure out His exact will.  Abraham didn't seem to sit there and say to himself, "Huh, I wonder which way God wants me to start walking?"  No, he gathered his things, left all he knew for the most part, and started on his merry way.

The other thing is that Abraham was way out of his comfort zone.  I mean, come on, he's 75 years old, he had to leave his home town, and he takes along Lot (who he doesn't exactly get along with).  I doubt he really wanted to go on some ambiguous journey.  But he did!  And God blessed him in unimaginable ways!  

So that part sense to me, the out of the comfort zone thing - doing things that you really don't want to do.  Because, quite frankly, I don't want to leave really.  I mean, I love North Carolina, I love my horses here, I love my friends here - heck, I'd be so happy if life could just go on as it is right now for a few more years.  But I don't think that's what God has planned for my life.  And you know what, I would LOVE to study horses in college - you have NO idea!  And believe me, one of my BIGGEST desires to glorify God through horseback riding (I mean, I do that already - but in the sense of a ministry).  But the doors to doing that in college have been slammed in my face so many times.  Trust me, I've sat at the foot of those doors and sobbed, begging God to open them.  He hasn't.  So as it stands right now, I have to go to college and major in something that I don't really love at the moment.  I'm going to have to major in something that I won't be able to see how it's going to benefit me.  But who knows what God has in store?!  Abraham didn't!

It ought to be so easy.  Trust and start walking.  That's all I've got to do.  The question is - do I just pick and direction and start walking, or is God going to flat-out show me?

Let's start off with Friday, shall we?

Yes, that would be Waffle House...

[At Waffle House] 
Rach: Excuse me, do you serve pancakes here?
Waiter: Umm, no, we don't serve pancakes, we serve waffles.

After eating, we spontaneously decided to go watch a movie at Phil's.  Actually, we watched some of the Olympics first (don't get me started on figure skating, haha, I'm in love with it right now... and am floored by Sasha Cohen!).  Then we watched Top Gun, I had never seen that movie before - I liked it all right.

Anyway, I didn't get home until late and hadn't even packed for Covenant yet.  I had planned on packing when I got home, but by the time I got home and it was so late - I just passed out on my bed.  So I woke up the next morning and had power/alarm clock difficulty.  I did get everything packed though (I basically just threw random things in a bag and threw that bag in the car).  After that, it was off to TN.

My mom and I made it there in about 5 hours... I know, you're thinking, that's impressive.  We then headed over to the theatre at Covenant and met up with the Powells to watch the play.  Wow... you guys... I haven't laughed that hard in the LONGEST time!  Amy was hysterical!  She really was flat-out amazing... it was great!  Oh, and if you happen to hear my mother mumbled something about "scandalizing the five senses" out of someone - it's from that play.

After the play was over, Brian, Amy Estep, and I just kind of sat around for a few hours - because the cast was taking pictures and striking the set and we couldn't go anywhere.  Brian memorized his lines for Act III, and we talked, and walked in and out of the lobby and the theatre, and... attempted to keep ourselves occupied.  Oh, yeah, we were also STARVING... but we couldn't convince anyone to go out and get food.  Finally, we went to Amy apartment - not because Amy and Mark were ready to go - but we were just tired of being there.  We hung out at Amy's place for a little while, and I got to see all her cool new artwork (and yes, it's incredible) - but STILL Amy and Mark weren't ready to go out to eat.

So what did we do?  We called them and decided to meet them at Chili's.  By this time it is 9, and everyone is going to die of hunger.  Thankfully, we had Uncle Bob with us and he ordered a ton of appetizers - so people FINALLy got to eat!  It took Amy and Mark a little while to get there, but in the meantime we laughed and talked and saw a baby leapord.  Mark and Amy did eventually make their debut at Chili's and we all ordered out food.  And yes, we did see a baby leapord if you're still wondering.  Chili's was great fun - I didn't get back to the hotel until midnight though.

In the morning, my mom and I got up and went to Amy's church - which was really good, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Then we all went out to eat afterwards... and poor Mark (who was kept up by Brian until 3 AM) was barely making it - he tried to take a nap in the church pews on more than one occasion.  Anyway, lunch was good adn then we went back to Amy's apartment for a few minutes and then my mom and I had to depart.

All in all, it was a great trip, though much to short really.

Oh, and if you're wondering at all... I still don't know where I want to go to college.  So if you're thinking, "Well, she's just went back to Covenant and saw everything again, surely she has a better idea of where she wants to go to college!"  Well, sorry to dissapoint you, but I have no clue where I want to go.  *sigh*  And yeah, I know, time is slowly running out and I have to make a decision... hmm... eh... I don't know.  There's two things I am absolutely sure of right now - 1. My purpose here on earth is to glorify and enjoy God forever & 2. I love horses.  

If there are typos in this post, I apologize, I'm too lazy to go back and read it through.

All the work that I've put into my little mare (yes, I've taken to calling her "mine") has not been wasted!

She trusts me!

She no longer pins her ears back at me in the fields - so long as I'll sing her a song (I come up with a new one everytime I see her). She follows dociley behind me when I lead her, instead of dragging me all over creation like she initially did. And even better yet, she performs meekly and gentley and RESPONSIVELY!.

I got on her today, wondering what she would do. She was such a mess on Tuesday, I was thinking, "Surely, she's going to fight with me." Oh, but she didn't! I dropped my reins (to the point where I was actually only holding them with one hand and let my other hand fall to my side) and she put her head down and slowed her pace. Then I got more adventerous - I took her over a fence. She didn't break into a canter once, she hopped over it and CAME BACK TO ME! I then asked her canter and yes, I cantered her on the buckle (meaning, the reins were the way I had them when I was trotting on a long rein). She was so wonderful, that I started to smile and sing to her as I trotted and cantered about. Oh, she was magnificent.

One of the trainers even noticed and proceeded to sing her praises - "Virginia looks awesome!"... "She really looks great, Caitlin - you two are really coming together!" All I could do was smile and say "thank you" because I was so darn proud of my little chestnut pony.

She trust me more, and I trust her more... and that's the only way we're going to make anymore progress. I just.. ha... I just sit and think to myself, "You're training a horse and you're doing it right... people are noticing." And yes, I love every second of it and I wish I could do it everyday and make a profession out of it.

Sometimes, I wonder what leasing this pony has done to me. Because before - when I was only riding once a week and having limited riding experience, I slowly had accepted the fact that I wouldn't focus on horses in college. But now that I'm at the barn four or five times a week, that same consuming passion I had when I was eleven years old has come tearing back into my soul. Leasing this pony reminds me of so many old memories and so many old goals and dreams, and I find myself asking, "How did you get this way? How did you let this happen? How - no, why did you give up, why did you loosen your grip on your passion?"

Anyway, enough of that.

Saturday I'm leaving for Covenant to go see a play, I should be back sometime Sunday - I'm not really sure when though.

Meanwhile, I'm feeling much better - though today in study hall everyone seemed excessively loud and I got kind of annoyed. But then I took some motrin and that made everything better.

I honestly don't know what else to say, except that I love my friends and have the best time with them whenever they're around.

ANNIE: Don't smooth anything else out for me, don't interfere in any way! ... Don't undo what I do!

So I go to the barn yesterday and lo and behold Virginia is being used in a lesson.  Which, in and of itself, is really fine.  The lesson was almost done with (so I wouldn't have to wait too long to ride her) and I actually enjoy watching others ride her so I can see if I am actually making progress with the mare or not.  However, if the rider won't ride her correctly and the trainer won't instruct the rider to ride her correctly - then, yes, there is a problem.

Now on Sunday, I had this silly little mare beautiful.  She would keep I stready trot if I let go of the reigns (for multiple laps around the arena), she would trot to a single fence without me having to pull back and fight with her, she cantered on a cirlce keeping a steady rhythmn, and she was even starting to get the the concept of bending!  I was thinking, "Finally, we are doing something right!"

But I came out yesterday to find a little girl on her (who isn't a bad rider, she just doesn't know how to ride this horse) hanging on Virginia's mouth - I mean, she wouldn't let that mare have her head at all!  And that, instead of relaxing her, makes her nervous and excites her.  Oh wait, that's right, not only would this girl not let her have her head at all - she was also jumping a line (2 fences in a row) with her - and Virginia... she's just not there quite yet.

And so I watched helplessly as everything I had taught Virginia fell apart.

KELLER: But she's not kicking, now - 
ANNIE: And not learning not to... She'll live up to just what you demand of her, and no more.

Oh, and then (yes, there's more!), when this little girl was jumping the outside line, she was supposed to bring VA back to a trot in the middle of the two jumps.  There's only one problem - Virginia wouldn't listen and the girl wouldn't make her.  So the girl would yank and pull and fight with the mare to trot, Virginia would refuse, and instead canter slower.  The trainer turned around and said, "Well, she's not running through the jumps."  Yes, that may be true, but the mare wasn't learning anything!  She was being allowed to do whatever she wished... and that's never acceptable.

So I hopped on Virginia afterwards and that mare was all worked up.  I had to start all over with her, I trotted her around the ring on a loose reign and then took her over a single fence a while later... *sigh*... that fence was a disaster.  I also tried the line (just to let her know she had to listen to a rider in between fences) - ha!  That mare tried to run off with me to the 2nd fence... so I had to jerk her back and make her halt three strides before the fence.   It was bascially a ride of undoing bad teaching.

I had her going to so nicely!  Ugh... 

Yeah, so I'm at home, not feeling wonderful... I'm going to go crash on my couch again, actually.  I hate staying home, I feel like I'm missing a ton of fun stuff with my friends.

ps. I realized last night that ice-skating reminds me a lot of horseback riding and actually makes me want to go ride a horse... you probably didn't find that interesting at all, did you?

A - Available?: Err... not dating anyone, and I'm pretty happy that way right now
A - Age?: 17
A - Annoyance: At this current moment? Econ... well, the Econ test and the fact that I can't find my physics stuff!

B - Best Friends?: Ha - like I could name them all? I have a lot, they know who they are... so hooray for them, haha
B - Bar: of Soap?
B - Birthstone?: Ruby? Yes, I think that's what it is!

C - Crush: No. The end.
C - Car: Oh right, the one I don't drive. I ride horses. They're better.
C - Cat: I found him at SLC under the concession stand with Laura and Liz (well, THEY weren't under the concession stand with the cat, they just helped me FIND him)... oh right, and my other cat is blind.

D - Dead Pets Name: *Sigh* Ready? Harry I , Vespa, Rainbow I, II, & III (they were fishes), India Jones, I had these two random purple crabs - I don't remember their names & I never played with them, Jingle Bells & Big Mouth the frogs, Dradel, Hazel (well, she ran away), Ricci & Harry II (they disappeared one day), Timon & Pumba (my finches that ate each other... don't go there)... umm... there's more, but we'll just stop there, okay?
D - Dads Name: Rich
D - Dog: Bonzai

E - Easiest person to talk to: I dunno... there's a few
E - Eggs: Yes.
E - Email: Are you planning on stalking me?

F - Favorite color?: Blue
F - Food: Don't get me started.
F - Foreign Slang: Nada.

G - Gummy Bears or Worms: Bears, I think.
G - God: Oh, where to begin? He must increase and I must decrease.
G - Good Times: Wish there were more of them.

H - Hair Color: It's reddish/brunette right now
H - Height: 5'2"
H - Happy: At this moment? Yes. Actually, I'm quite relieved.

I - Ice Cream: Mint Chocolate Chip icecream!
I - Instrument: I dunno... I sing somewhat... horses are better.
I - Idol: God says "No!"

J - Jewelry: Don't wear it. Wastes my time and money - buy me a horse instead.
J - Job: Going to school (haha) and training Virginia... I love that mare
J - Joke: Hey Mr. Barnes, you got a string hanging from your arm! Oh wait, that's your shoulder!!

K - Kids: I envy their innocence.
K - Karate: Black Belt? What?
K - Kite: I don't think I've ever flown one.

L - Longest Car Ride: Florida... yeah...
L - Longest Relationship: Like, a boyfriend/girlfriend thing? Ha... I've never had one, and I'm quite content with that.
L - Last Person you spoke to on the Phone: My darling friend Sam!

M - Milk Flavor: Weird question.
M - Mothers Name: Marsha
M - Movie Last Watched: Full Movie? Ace Ventura - Pet Detective

N - Number of Siblings: 1
N - Northern or Southern: I'm from Florida - yeah, you figure that one out! Good luck.
N - Name: I have too many.

O – One Wish?: Horse farm anyone?
O - One Phobia?: Spiders, Rejection, and Knives - yeah, that's three, deal with it.
O - Only goal: Glorify and enjoy God forever.

P - Parents, are they married or divorced: Married... it's pretty cool
P - Part of your appearance that you like best: *Snicker* What? That question wants me to break out into song with, "You're so vain...!"
P - Part of your Personality you like best: You tell me.

Q - Quote: "What the prom?!"
Q - Question for the next person: What's the difference between being engaged and dating... and don't ask me to answer that.
Q - Quick or Slow? Slow... unless I'm riding, then things must happen quickly.

R - Reason to smile: He will never leave or forsake me.
R - Reality TV Show: What Not to Wear, SuperNanny, WifeSwap, and an occassional American Idol
R - right or Left: Right

S - Song Last Heard: I Dreamed a Dream
S - Season: Fall... makes me happy
S - Sex: I'm a girl.

T - Time you woke up: 6:38
T - Time Now: 11:21 and I still have to study econ!
T - Time for bed: Three hours ago!

U - Unknown Facts about me: Some known these, some don't - I like being by myself, I'd rather muck a stall than clean my room, my bedroom floor is my largest shelf, I like to melt chocolate then pop popcorn and then dip the popcorn in the chocolate and eat it, I've never had a real snowball fight, I think most monkeys are ugly
U - Unicorns?: I like 'em
U - U are ?: Thinking that's a dumb question

V - Vegetable you hate: Onions
V - Vegetable you love: Cucumbers!
V - View on Politics: I'm on the conservative side more.

W- Worst Habits: Procrastinating... being messy... not getting sleep... over committing
W- What do you wanna be when you grow up: Horse trainer
W- Where are you traveling to next? Peru?

X - X-Rays: Teeth... yeah, just my teeth
X - X-Rated Porn: Excuse me, I think not.
X- X-chromosomes: And the questions just keep getting weirder!

Y - Year you were born: 1988
Y - Year it is now: 2006
Y - Yellow?: Why not?

Z - Zoo: They have ZEBRAS there!
Z - Zodiac: Like I care?
Z - Zests: Huh, rhymes with Vests, yeah that special...

Stephanie knows all the chords!
Now back to Econ!
The end.

I went to the barn today. It was lovely. I'll tell you what, that little mare will listen to anyone ramble on! On top of that, she jumped beautifully today and did a couple flawless flying changes. Hooray!

So this weekend has no doubt been trying (to put it mildly). I've never been so tired in all my life before, honestly, life is wearing me out. It'll all be okay though - eventually. Ha... that's comforting... I guess. Oh well. Nothing can really be solved by rambling on and on and on about it - so I won't.

What's new then, huh?

- Lauren's dance solo was postponed on Saturday... so I didn't go.
- I'm going to Covenant next week to see a play... yeah, I do live in a random family.
- Laura decided that Virginia actually has all the answers, but she can't speak English, so we'll never know them.
- I'm never walking up a dark staircase again, because certain *ahem* people jump out from behind doors and scare the living daylights out of me.
- I'm no longer addicted to Starbucks I realized - haha... yeah, that's because I don't have college apps to do anymore.
- "Jesus take the wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ("Justin, no. Stop singing." - Mr. Barnes).
- Bop-it is still a cool thing to do.
- I have to learn the King Henry V speech so that I can give it to rally the women when the Muslims are attacking and have already killed off the men. Ask Nerness.
- I'm not currently failing physics.
- I sent a lady an email about a horse... it made me happy.
- "She is the prom queen, I'm in the marching band..." yeah, I just am thoroughly amused by that song.
- Girls shouldn't sit at Starbucks by themselves, lest they accidently become manipulated by a member of the opposite gender and are dumb enough to follow the guy out to the car and get raped and murdered... yes, certain guy friends are very over-protective... I love you all anyway.
- Justin and Kari forget batteries... just so everyone knows.
- Random letters/notes make me happy... oh wait, that's old news.
- I'm hoping for some snow.
- The play is coming along very nicely.
- "Seriously guys, I KNOW my lines - I'm just taking DRAMATIC PAUSES!!" Haha... aw, sorry, Laura, from now on, I'll make sure that no one feeds you a line unless you specifically say, "LINE!"
- I'm getting a headache from listening to my iPod, but I like the music... not that you needed to know that.
- I need to go ball dress shopping, but I have a shopping phobia... *sigh*.
- No, I will not hold a knife. End of discussion.

Okay, well, wasn't that entertaing, oh, you know that it was! Oh, did I promise random poetry in the title of this post? Huh, guess I did... well, okay then, here's a silly little writing about a horse then... (oh come on, don't be shocked that I write about horses... you must know me better than THAT!):

Hush, don’t speak
My anticipation has peaked
My blood’s pumping quick
My nerves rattle my core
My breathing has ceased
My body sits motionless
on top of such a beast

Cold air whips my face
My rhythm matches
the creature’s pace
Look up
Breathe
Wait
Release!
Gravity is outsmarted
Into the air
the two of us have departed

Dear earth, we meet again
Breathing resumes
In this violent speed
I am being consumed
As I spur the animal on
Strides are ever increasing
My hesitation is ceasing

Gravity, you’ve been outdone again
Quick now, no time to relish in such a feat
Kick
Pop
Switch
The change is complete

A few more strides of reckless fury
Abruptly comes to an end
The world is at a standstill now
All motion has halted
The creature snorts in pleasure
His body quivers with excitement,
Pleading to complete the course once more
And such a request,
I could never ignore

Alright, yeah, that was fun... except probably not at all, right? Well, see, now I'm running out of things to say. Oh, Lauren and Jessie baked cookies and cake today and let me tell you - they are excellent cooks!! They should have their own TV show or something, I'd eat their food.

The End.

Ps. This might be shocking, but ladies and gentlemen, I am only human.

Look, what fun...







Those were from last week at the show. Obviously.

So anyway, this week has been so very long and so very tiring and I'm glad that a new week is starting. Probably, one of the only things keeping me sane right now is the barn. Sure, other things unwind me too, but there's something about just being there - riding, listening to the rhythmns of other horses, watching equine buck and rear in the fields, just standing and breathing the crisp air there... I dunno... it does something to me - something I can hardly begin to explain in its fullness.

How funny, I really don't even know what to write on here at the moment. Lots of interesting stuff happened to me this week, but writing it all down would take forever - and I really don't want to sit here for hours writing a novel about my week.... soooo... maybe I'll just write something later?

I'm up, I'm wired, I've fallen back into my old all nighter habits.

So I think I'll write about my show on Sunday... yes, that sounds good.

Sunday I had my first show in over a year. Actually, it was my first real hunter show in several years. When I got there (at 10) it was freezing and then it started snowing - ha! I was numb in an hour! Before my classes, I wasn't nervous at all. I paced around and watched other riders ride their classes.

But when time came for me to warm up, it was disasterous! Suddenly, my nerves hit me and so did my adrenaline. I couldn't think straight - I could control Spot. I could see my strides/distances, I could make the changes, I could control energy... oh, it was a mess. I could feel myself shaking all over. Not the mention, there was five other horses in the ring running around randomly. Ugh... I was terribly nervous - more nervous that I normally am.

So I hopped of for a second, and remounted after I composed myself. I started to breath slowly, and make everything outside the ring disappear - and lo and behold, I could ride a horse again!

My first jumping round went wonderfully (I thought). My trainer was pleased and everyone outside the ring kept telling me what a beautifully (nearly perfect) round I had. I ended up placing fourth - go figure - but everyone complimented me on it the rest of the day... it was funny.

My second jumping round went just as good. I placed second. Then I had an undersaddle (flatwork class), which I placed 2nd in.

And then I had my medal class. Oh, this class unnerved me to the core. There were eight jumps and the course was set up randomly with sharp turns and the like - and I had never jumped a course like it before - EVER! I ended up winning the class... haha, wouldn't you know it! The easiest class I had, I placed 4th, the hardest course I had, I placed 1st.

It was a fun day. Once I'm actually showing, I'm normally not nervous. I think I thoroughly freaked my trainer out befor ehand though! Whoops! Sorry Maria!

Anyway, I have pictures! Maybe I'll post them sometime!

ps. Thanks Laura for calling, and Kari for my rose, and Remick and Justin and Andrew for calling me, and Tyler for congratulating me, and oh, heck EVERYONE who left me IMs and message and text messages - you guys are so great!

[40] QUESTIONS:

YESTERDAY did you...

1. Talk to someone you liked:
Umm... I talked to some of my friends yesterday and I like them just fine, actually I pretty much love them all... a lot... and I'm gonna miss them next year so much... whoa, didn't mean to go there

2. Buy something:
Food, it was good too

3. Get sick:
No... I'm not sick... yet

4. Sing:
Of course

5. Talk to an ex:
Yeah, in order to talk to an ex, I would have to HAVE one - which I don't

6. Miss someone:
Yeah, well, kind of... I was missing things before I've even left them... I've decided it's just best to live in the "now", because living in the past and the future is incredibly painful
___________________________________________________
Last person who....

7. Slept in your bed:
Me, Myself, and I... and maybe the occassional tabby cat

8. saw you cry:
Ummm... God I suppose... rarely do I let others see me cry

9. Made you cry:
No comment.

10. Went to the movies with?
Hmmm... what was the last movie I even saw? Oh! End of the Spear! That was with my family

11. You went to the mall with:
My... mom? I don't really go to malls

12. Said "I Love You" and meant it:
Laura Estep!

_________________________________________________
Have you ever...

13. Been in a fight with your pet?
Why, yes. Today, Virginia and me had a little disagreement... don't worry - we worked it out - she apologized and I forgave her, we're good now.

14. Been to California?
No. I never plan to... yuck.

15. Been to Mexico?
No.

16. Been to Canada?
Nope.

17. Been to Europe?
That would be fun.
__________________________________________________
Random.....

18. Do you have a crush on someone?
Sure don't.

19. What are you reading now?
Soooo... I'm STILL reading Gone with the Wind haha

20. Best feeling in the world:
Best? Ummm... being with my brothers and sisters in Christ (and laughing with them so much that it hurts, and hugging them, and watching movies with them, and singing with them, and praying with them, and just generally being around them) and horseback riding

21. Future kids names:
Good question - I dunno

22. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Not normally

23. What's under your bed?
Random clothes, stuffed animals, pillows, missing socks, boxes with horse boots, etc.

24. Favorite sports to watch:
Horseback riding... yeah, I know, no one else really enjoys it

25. Location:
North Carolina... did I mention that I love this place?

26. Piercing/Tattoos:
I don't have any - yeah, my ears aren't pierced... weird, huh?

27. What are you most scared of right now?
The unknown

28. Where do you want to get married?
In a church I guess... I'm definitely having a horse drawn carriage though

29. Do you have a job?
I go to school... I sit there... and learn things... and take tests... and suffer through boring physics lectures - isn't that enough!

30. Do you like being around people?
Yeah, I mean, when I'm around people I thoroughly enjoy them, but I LOVE to be by myself too... it's strange

31. Have you ever liked someone you didn't have a chance with?
This one time... in kindergarten...

32. Have you ever cried?
Ha? Me? Cry?! Yeah... Of course.

33. Are you lonely right now?
Not lonely - confused really.

34. Song that's stuck in your head right now:
Waves of mercy, waves of grace, everywhere I look, I see Your face...

35. Played strip poker?
What? No! Why would I degrade myself like that? Why would ANYONE degrade themselves like that? Honestly, people do the STUPIDEST things!

36. Gotten beaten up?
Physically? No. Verbally? Ha... yeah... it's not a good feeling.

37. Been on radio/TV?
No

38. Been in a mosh-pit?
That would definitely freak/weird me out!

39. Ever liked someone, but you think they never noticed you?
Yeah... remember that whole kindergarten thing...

40. Goldfish or Semi Trucks?
What? Who aks that? Well, Goldfish smile back until you bite their heads off - do semi-trucks do that? I don't think so!

So I rode Virginia today.

She couldn't have been more of a brat. What she doesn't realize though is that anything she dishes out - I can dish right back to her (without feeling any remorse at all).

If she wants to run around the pasture with her ears pinned back - that's fine - I have patience for that like nothing else, and in the end - I'll get the halter on her.

If she wants to gallop around the arena when I ask for a canter. Fine. That only means I get to pull her directly up to a halt and then make her backup ten paces.

If she wants to stop in front of a jump... ha... well, let's just say, I have ways of getting horses over jumps.

If she wants to run through a jump, I'm just going to make her come to a halt three strides in front of it... and no, I don't care if it frustrates her.

If she refuses to bend *shrugs* that's okay, all I have to do is take my inside reign and pull it across her neck and press my inside heel into her side - she has no choice but to bend.

Oh, and if she decided she wants to run at a trot, instead of being relaxed - hey, I can post to a trot all day long and she can run around that ring until she wears herself out - I have the time.

Anyway, at the end of the day - I won. Was there any doubt that I would win? I didn't think so.

Haha, so, this morning's ride thoroughly wore me out, because all those things I just listed are exactly what she pulled on me today. It doesn't matter though, that's why I'm riding her -- to teach her NOT to do those things.

Other than that, I'm at home, hanging out (maybe doing some homework) until the superbowl.