5 Days to Go until Regionals

Gymnastics on Horseback!

I had a little fun in my practice last night with Koré. We worked a lot on bending as well as getting her to drop her head into a nice position. When she dropped her head, he trot was more flowing and working rather than it would be if her head was in the air like a giraffe. She actually sweated last night because we got her to use her hind legs.

Koré is an awesome mare. I really like her, wish I had the money to buy her. She is a fantastic mare.

T - 1 Week till Regionals

I can't believe that in one week, I will be leaving for Regionals. I have accomplished my goal from the beginning of the Fall Quarter. I've learned so much from my trainer, Kim over the past two quarters and I have become a stronger rider under her teachings. 

My dad is actually going to be seeing me ride at Regionals. It will be the first college show he has watched since he is busy with work. And Mom is coming to as always! She is my number #1 fan and I love her so much. She has been so supportive of my sport and I thankful for that.

I just keep practicing, working out and focusing on the effectiveness of my riding. It's good to be prepared for the show than not.

Adoption Tale... Not Really

Sleeping in his plant

My roommate Johanna and I are pleased to announce that she and I have a baby (fish) together! His name is Sammy Babe Smith and he is a Veiltail Beta Fish (Siamese Fighting Fish).

Johanna and I were just casually walking home after studying at Starbucks and having AB Crepes for lunch and decided to go look in the pet store at fish. We were just casually looking at Betas and we looked at each other and our minds were thinking the same thing. Let's get a Beta fish.

We then talked to a lady in the store, got the tank, thermometer, food, and water conditioner and we headed back to the dorm with our new baby.

We both love the blue and purple coloring of Sammy.

He loves the thermometer. He likes to sleep in front of it.

Wonder what Mom will say.... Tehe!

Movies I'm Excited For

I am greatly excited for this movie to come out this October. Why you might ask? Mainly because it stars Tom Hiddleston (forever man crush) and Charlie Hunnam in it. Who could resist the Hiddles and Hunnam or as I call them, H Squared (get it?). I love the dark gothic theme the director brings out in the movie, it draws me in with a sense of curiosity about the whole story. Go and watch the trailer and be sucked into this dark gothic Victorian horror film... And remember, Beware of Crimson Peak.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is another Marvel movie is a psyched about! I just love the theme of super hero's we have been having lately. I don't know how I will be able to wait until May for this movie to hit theaters. Sadly, there will be no Loki in this one. It makes me sad that we won't see Tom's Loki smirk...

Like, I cannot resist that smirk. It's so attractive and sexy. Anyway, the next Avengers will be very interesting. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Okay, who else here loves Disney and the new Disney movies? I do! Especially the new Cinderella that comes out in March. Lily James truly embodies Cinderella's beauty. But one thing I am excited to see is Cate Blanchett play Cinderella's step-mother, Lady Tremaine. Cate is so sassy in the trailer, it will be an amazing to see how she brings the step-mother to life. 

If you have seen Divergent, I feel your dying pain to see this movie. If you haven't see Divergent, you must watch it NOW. Like, get off this blog and rent the movie. You need to watch it before seeing Insurgent. Okay, I just really want to see Theo James in this movie but I also want to see what happens to the Factions during it as well. It looks amazing from the trailer. Thankfully, March is not so far away.

I am a huge Blake Lively fan ever since she was on Gossip Girl and up until her latest popularity of her maternity fashion. The Age of Adaline, which comes to theaters April looks absolutely interesting. It also stars Harrison Ford, which all the more makes it even better! I am excited to see this!

Ahhh! Pitch Perfect 2 comes out in May! I am so excited for it. I just recently watched the first one and fell completely in love with acapella music. Since I have spent most of my life in chorus, I have grown to love every musical film or play that I encounter. I am excited to see what Pitch Perfect bring to us in May.

Every adult needs to see this or any film like Minions. This film comes out in July of this year. The main thing I am excited to see is their story before they were Gru's minions. It will be interesting to see who the served before Gru. The minions just make you laugh all the time with the smallest thing. I hope you guys see it when it comes to a theater near you.

This is the most anticipated movie I am dying to see. Mainly because it is a Nicholas Sparks movie and it has cowboys and love in it. The Longest Ride just appears captivating and heart breaking at the same time intwining two stories of two pairs of lovers. How is it possible to live until April?! I shall try and live until April and then I might die from the cuteness and heart break of this movie.

All movie posters are from IMDB.com 

The Week Ahead

Outside my window… The weather is so dreary and wet. I want the sun to come back.

I am thinking… about Regionals coming up.

I am thankful… For having an awesome mom who comes to all my horse shows.

From the dining hall/kitchen… I have had Spaghetti O's and lots of chocolate.

I am hearing… The clicking of keys as my fingers type on my Macbook.

I am watching… nothing. 

Always one of my favorite things… Watching Shakespeare.

I am reading… a few of my textbooks.

I am making… Nothing.

I am writing… This blog post!

A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week… Sunday - I am lounging at home. I came home for my Mom's birthday! I can't wait to see my parents and my dog. Monday - we celebrate her birthday. Tuesday - I head back to school. Wednesday through Friday - I have school, but on Thursday I have practice. Saturday, I think I may practice again since Regionals will then be a week away. AH!

MudLynn Update… MudLynn is back at home with Mom and Dad. I am missing her cuddles right now. I bought her a New England Patriots dog tag so I am excited to put that on her collar!

College Update… The Winter Quarter is going so fast, but this quarter is so much better than Fall Quarter. Midterms has passed!

Riding Update… Riding is going well. I practiced 3 times this week because I am dedicated and goal oriented. 

Regionals Prep

Count down to Regionals is now 16 days. Ahhh! That is a little over two weeks! I am getting nervous but confident at the same time. I have decided to do a few things in my daily routines to make myself stronger and less stressed about Regionals.

#1: Rider Fitness Workouts &/or Gym

I need to start going to the gym again or at least do my rider fitness in my dorm room. My legs have been slowly getting stronger but they need to be even stronger especially when sitting at the canter. My core also needs some work. I could feel it yesterday contracting and it felt so strong. I went to the gym yesterday and I feel awesome! I did the stair climber, ran, and lots of core work.

My rider fitness consists of 60-80 crunches, 80 squats and a 60 second plank. My goal is to mark my calendar with a star so that I know I did my workout. Also, the star will be a way to motivate me to do the workout.

#2: Get Homework Done before Practices

This is a huge must right now. Being at shows on weekends when I had a lot of homework made me realize that taking homework to horse shows was not the smartest because I was always doing something whether it was getting dressed, watching warm-up, or helping my other teammates get ready for their classes. I have now been starting to get my homework done the minute I get back to the dorm.

#3: Meditation or Yoga

I need to start doing this in order to let my mind let go of what is going on around me. My roommate does meditation a bit so I may ask if I can join her. I may just try to do yoga on my own before I go to bed so that I am more relaxed by the time I go to sleep.

#4: Extra Practices

I had an extra practice this week with Kim. We worked a lot on my core and transitions as well as my leg. I rode Oasis, which really benefits me in the long run. 

 The horses my trainer Kim suggested I should ride were Ruger, Rebel and Oasis. I enjoy riding all the horses but I do want to ride the ones that throw my body off so that I am able to fix it. I want to ride horses that will make me better.

January 2015 Ipsy Bag Product Review

The first product I received was the Nourish Organic Renewing Eye Cream. I love Nourish Organic products and I get so excited when one is put in my Ipsy bag. This is so gentle on the skin around the eye. A great goodie in the bag! I have had moisturizer and a cleanser from Nourish Organic and I could tell that my skin loved them.

Oh boy, oh boy! Pacifica baby! I had previously received a Pacifica eye liner and eye shadow circle in two of my Ipsy bags and I just love the quality of their products. I particularly love this shadow because a girl can never have to many neutral/brown shadows in her beauty drawer.

Next was the bellápierre Shimmer Powder. I haven't used this since I got it because I am not very into putting shimmery eye shadow on my lids. I feel like it's a bit too much at times. But the color is beautiful, a pearly white. This color is perfect to wear on your lids if you are going to a winter formal or wedding.

I love make-up brushes, especially the ones that Ipsy sends me. They are always different, which makes my make-up brush set very unique and eccentric. I love when the brushes are bold colors like this Elizabeth Mott All Over Shadow brush. I use this one with my Pacifica eye shadow because it really put the shadow on the lid evenly.

Lastly was the (Malin+Goetz) Mojito lip balm. This is wonderful, plus I just love lip balms in general. You can never have too many in your purse. I carry like 3 EOS's with me because of the different flavors. But this is wonderful because it smooths out my lips without feeling goopy and it tastes like Mojito or at least it tastes like a Mojito. I've never had a Mojito drink, or at least yet.

Toodles!

WWU Horse Show and Road to Regionals

Here it is! The info about the WWU Horse Show from this weekend!

The show was amazing. We all had great team work and worked hard to make the show run smoothly. We had a lot of great horses at the show and I thank all the owners for donating them to us for the show.

The pictures above are the two jumps that we the team and Kim did! We have an WWU IHSA jump with a reiner on one standard and a jumper on the other. They came out beautifully!

 At the show, I rode one of Rachel's mares, Sasi. Sasi was such a great ride, I had a blast with her. At the end of my class, I picked up a third place. And guess what!



I am heading to Regionals with two of my other teammates! We all did great that day!

We the help of my trainer Kim, I was able to accomplish a step in my goals:Regionals. Now I have to step it up a notch at my lessons in order to do well at Regionals. I hope Kim works me hard cause I need it.

I just gotta say one more thing about the show on Saturday. My roommate is the best ever. She came out at 9 with my mom and stayed all day for the show and for the banquet we had at night. She is so supportive of my sport and is proud of me. I am blessed and thankful for having such an awesome roommate.

On Sunday, we had the western half of the show. And it was my 21st birthday and the Superbowl. I was able to warm up two horses that day. The one I fell in love with was Zipper #2 (we had two Zippers). He was a blast to warm up and I could feel my inner cowgirl coming out. It makes me want to ride western and english next year. I don't know yet, but I think I'll save western for trail riding and leisure. 

Bye Guys!