Woodbine Farm Dressage I - Chelsea, MI

Woodbine Farms

Books read in 2012

I just finished reading The Eighty Dollar Champion by Elizabeth Letts. It is a true story about a plow horse named Snowman. Snowman was saved from the slaughterhouse to become a show jumping champion. It was a wonderful and inspiring read. Many underestimated what Snowman could do and that horse proved them wrong.

I knew the chapter about Snowman dying would be at the end of the book. While reading the chapter it was very sad. Snowman lived a long and happy life with his new family. But it was still sad to read that his owner lost more then a horse, Snowman was a family member. If you love stories about underdogs then this is a book for you. I really recommend it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
Winter Season: A Dancer's Journal, Toni Bentley
Chasing the Runner's High, Ray Charbonneau
The Perfect Mile, Neal Bascomb
Cleopatra, Stacy Schiff
The Carrie Diaries, Candace Bushnell
Summer in the City, Candace Bushnell
Forgotten, Cat Patrick
Deja Dead, Kathy Reichs
Pretty Little Liars, Sara Shepard
Flawless, Sara Shepard
Perfect, Sara Shepard
Unbelievable, Sara Shepard
Wicked, Sara Shepard
Killer, Sara Shepard
Heartless, Sara Shepard
Wanted, Sara Shepard
Twisted, Sara Shepard
Ruthless, Sara Shepard
Fairy Tale Interrupted, Rosemarie Terenzio
The Help, Kathryn Stockett
Pronto, Elmore Leonard
Riding the Rap, Elmore Leonard
Raylan, Elmore Leonard
The Coffin Quilt, Ann Rinaldi
A Life Without Limits, Chrissie Wellington
Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy, John Le Carre
Eat and Run, Scott Jurek
Clearing Hurdles, Dan O'Brien
The Sugarless Plum, Zippora Karz
Girl in Motion: A Novel, Miriam Wenger-Landis
Breaking Pointe, Miriam Wenger-Landis
The Cranes Dance, Meg Howrey
The Eighty-Dollar Champion, Elizabeth Letts

Currently Reading: Renegade Champion: The Unlikely Rise of Fitzrada, Richard R. Rust
Up Next: That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, Anne Sebba

Out of the loop

I haven't run a race since July 28. That is a long time for me. It seem liked I raced every weekend last year. Even though I'm not racing so much, I'm still running almost everyday.

I decided not to race as much to save some money this year. I don't know if that strategy actually worked or not. A couple of the races I ran were expensive and had lengthy drive times. I have run 11 races already this year. They included ultras, marathons, a half marathon, 5 mile trail and 5/10Ks.

I have a half marathon, a 50 miler and probably two 5Ks left for the rest of the racing season. If that is the case, I will only run 15 races this year. That number is down from 2011. I ran 24 races last year. Just looking at the number is staggering: 24. That is a lot of racing. Now I know where most of my money disappeared to. But, it was well worth it.

When it comes time for me to toe the start line on September 15, I will be ready. Racing season is almost over for me. I got to give it everything I have.

Woodbine Farm Hunter Jumper IV - Chelsea, MI

Favorite photos from August 20-25, 2012

Everything old is new again

It seems like for the last couple of months everything from my past is new again. Hence the title, Everything old is new again.

It first started out with me stumbling upon Batman: The Animated Series on Hub TV. The series aired from 1992-1995. I was in 7th grade back in 1992. I would watch Batman on TV after school. I loved it. Batman was my favorite cartoon. I didn't admit it to my friends, but I actually had a Batman action figure and coloring book. Those items kept me busy for hours.

One day I was flipping through the guide on our satellite system and saw Batman. I watched the cartoon and remembered how much I loved the show. Now my DVR is set to record all of the Batman cartoons. Some of the episodes I remember. Some are brand new to me. I often find myself smiling when watching the cartoon. Watching as a kid, there are things I didn't pick up on. The show is well written, the animation is still wonderful after 20 years, I get the subtle humor and realize it is still one of the best cartoons of my lifetime.

Another thing I loved as a child was the Chessie System logo. I grew up about a half mile away from a railroad track. One day I saw a boxcar that had a cat as a logo. That logo was for Chessie System. "Chessie" the cat is the mascot of the CSX Corporation. I loved cats when I younger. I still do. One day, our entire family took a trip on a train. Shirts were being sold on the trip. I begged my parents to buy me a Chessie Systems shirt because it had a cat on it. I practically wore that shirt every day. It was a sad day when I grew out of it. Besides my obsession with the shirt, I loved seeing the boxcar. Any time I heard a train whistle, I would run down to the road to catch a glimpse of a Chessie System boxcar. It made my day if I saw the actually boxcar.

Somehow the Chessie System is back in my life. I saw a boxcar and I remembered how much I loved it as kid. I searched 'Chessie System t-shirts' on the internet and came up with some hits. I found a couple of sites that sell Chessie System shirts. I was so excited I had to call my husband and tell him the good news. I'm such a geek. I will be ordering an adult sized Chessie System shirt. I won't wear it everyday like I did when I was younger, but it will be in the rotation.

I wrote about this the other day, show jumping and horses are back in my life again. Besides going to watch showing jumping and other horse shows in person, I love horse photos and art. The other day I was browsing a art site. We have a blank wall in our kitchen and I was looking for something to put there. I think I found some. The three prints that I like are all related to show jumping. They are old illustrated posters from show jumping competitions. I showed them to my husband and he said he liked them. The only thing holding me back is the price of these prints. They cost $65. That doesn't include framing. I hope we can make a decision soon. I would love to see a horse in my kitchen everyday.

Woodbine Farm Hunter Jumper III - Chelsea, MI

Woodbine Farm Hunter Jumper II - Chelsea, MI

Fall sports

The summer hiatus is over.

The fall sports season is back. It actually returned last Saturday, but I didn't photograph a game. I photographed my first game of the season yesterday. It was a boys soccer game. My life will now be filled with games and events about three to four times a week.

The fall sports season has events that are earlier in the afternoon. Cross country and tennis matches start around 4:30 p.m. Soccer games start about an hour later at 5:30 p.m. Volleyball and football games have late starts at 7 p.m. When I'm schedule to photograph early events, that means I will either have to cut my run short and/or just skip the Jillian Michaels DVD workout. I don't like cutting a run short or skipping a DVD workout. Sometimes that has to be done to fit everything in before going to a sporting event.

My exercise life becomes a jigsaw puzzle. Somehow I manage to put all of the pieces together.

Woodbine Farm Hunter Jumper I - Chelsea, MI