A Horse and Home Improvement Weekend...

Last weekend was anything but boring. In fact, it was such a great weekend with some great "hurray" moments, that I don't even know where to start. Hmmm....how about a short recap of mine and my fiance', Tony's unspoken hobby agreement.

I hate guns. I didn't grow up around them. They make me uncomfortable. I love animals. I don't kill them, I save them (except spiders, or any bugs for that matter). I cry when I hit a squirrel. NO JOKE! But Tony is the mighty hunter. Anytime he can spend shooting something, whether it's with a gun or bow, is a moment he enjoys. He also enjoys telling me about it, which after three years, you would think he would realize I don't want to hear the details. But, he's a proud hunter. So I sit and nod and say "that's awesome" which is what's expected of me. Also, I am learning to shoot a gun and I actually do enjoy shooting a bow (the two times I have used one). So I am trying to go outside my comfort zone and do something that makes the love of my life happy.

Tony has never been a horse enthusiast. His family has had horses for years and when he was young he was made to do the grunt work even though it wasn't something he was involved in. When we started dating he absolutely hated doing anything horse related. Over time he has learned to help me willingly because it's what you do for someone you care about. One random day at the barn (at this point we were together over 2 years) he decided he wanted to get on. He had never even suggested getting on a horse before. He rode for a few nanoseconds and later that day confessed he enjoyed it. The next day he was planning on attending a trail ride with me later that month. Long story short, he discovered that my horse Scooter, who I have had since I was 14, would go anywhere he asked him. Off the path. Over fallen branches. Through the mud. He referred to him as "kinda' like a 4 wheeler". Since then he has purchased a saddle and has gone on a few trail rides with me. He has already been asking me when they start this season.

ANYWAYS, my point in all of this is that we both do things that are outside each other's comfort level but we accept them, support each other and try to participate in the best ways we know how. Look at that...I should be a relationship counselor. :)  NOW.....back to this weekend....

We have a friend that is a photographer and who has taken BEAUTIFUL pictures of my horses for me. Him and his wife have a little boy that decided he wanted to ride horses. And he is a natural! The first time I put him on a horse, he had no fear and rode like he grew up on the back of a horse. He's been riding from time to time and we thought it would be fun to take him to a horse show. What could be better for a little guy than doing something he enjoys and getting a ribbon for it? We had everything all set for this kiddo to go to a show. He had his cowboy clothes, helmet, fancy new boots and all the proper tack. I was completely aware that he was going to be doing a lead line class, but for whatever reason, it slipped my mind that I would need someone to actually lead him. I could do it but I wondered briefly if Tony would do it because he could actually dress the part and wear matching clothes. I knew it wasn't something he had done before and that most likely he wouldn't want to do it, so when I asked him expecting him to say no, he shocked me when he said ok. I told him what to wear and he went along with it. When I told him to see about getting his dad's hat to wear, he was all game. Have I mentioned how much I love this man???!!! So when the show rolled around on Saturday morning, and the horse was all spruced up and both "boys" were dressed, it was awesome to see it all come together. We had such a blast doing it and it was a total "hurray!" moment for me. I was thrilled to see Tony get involved with my horses once again. And I must say that I think Tony can TOTALLY pull off the whole cowboy look.

Tony and his lead-liner riding SKM Naughty But Nice, "Scooter".

Thank you Ryan for capturing this great moment in the ring!

 

Before. (Technically last year)

After. We now have a little privacy.
(Don't judge my flowers. They ARE growing)

Well....after an exhausting Friday night of prepping for the horse show (bathing and clipping the horse, cleaning tack, loading the trailer. You wouldn't believe how much time it takes for one horse!) and a full Saturday morning of showing in the hot sun, we suddenly got the urge to work on our patio. I believe Tony thought it would be an hour project. Which is why by the time it was getting dark, he was muttering under his breath and hatin' on the fence. But after only a few oops moments, we FINALLY got it done. I can't take too much credit. I tried helping but when Tony gets totally into a project he kind of takes over (sorry babe but it's true. However, if ANYONE tries criticizing our fence...I can just say "Tony did it". ) But I was a GREAT post holder. I mean, I totally rocked holding those posts. And pointing out mistakes. Sometimes I am just so helpful. And after it was all up we put up our new tikki torches, lit them and enjoyed the last half hour of our evening in patio bliss.

Before paint job. It's a great room but it has zero personality.

The next morning I was moving at turtle speed but I was so looking forward to our next "home improvement" task that I was determined to see this thing through. And by that I mean painting. Normally I love to paint but I was dreading the work involved because our living room has LOTS of wood, crown molding and windows. Everything had to be taped. Thankfully my future mother-in-law came to the rescue and helped me out. SO THANKFUL! So even at my turtle pace I started my painting excursion. I just couldn't wait to see the end result. Now...a preview of our house. It's awesome but it's BROWN. EVERYWHERE. And we are sick of it. We haven't done much with color since we've moved in and IT'S TIME.

After paint job. This looks a little brighter than it actually
is since the sun was coming in but we love it.

I wasn't 100% certain on my choice of color but once it was done we loved it (my second "Hurray!" moment).  The painting is just the start. In fact it was a little disappointing putting all the same things back in their place. I'm on a mission to find new decor, rug and curtains! After being here almost two years it's time to make it feel like a real home.


The dining room is the next project. Again...brown. Now I didn't add pictures of everything but I'm sure in time you will see more of the house. But let me just fill you in quickly. Bathroom? Brown. Spare room? Brown. Basement? Brown. No joke. The furniture is all brown and the walls are some shade of brown. As we work on filling our life with color, I will make sure to share the experience. It's going to be so much fun!

Dining room. See? More brown.

This was all done in one action packed weekend. We are already looking forward to our next projects, but we MAY take a day off this weekend to relax. Have a great weekend everyone!