We have had many 12 and 13 hour days lately. We are short on help. Tiffany came back a few days ago though, and things have been running much more smoothly. We have had some trouble with Rebecca. Not only has she been coming in late habitually, but she also took 2 days off last week, when we are only allowed 2. Tiffany explained that typically we have to save up days to get an extra day off, so she will not get a day off next week. I hear from John that Rebecca is looking for another job, which does not surprise me, though it would be better for her to stick it out.

Andrew and Tiffany are going to be leaving next week, and today is Tiffany's birthday. We are supposed to be going out for dinner, but it's already 7:30 and everyone is still working. I went over to have some girl talk with Tiffany last night, which was really nice. Mostly I just let her talk while I listened, prompting her with questions as necessary. We talked about her plans for the future and her future goals. We also talked about God and her spiritual journey. I told her that part of my goals for my time here is to work on my path spiritually. She gave me a book to read. I also let her know that she should call me up if they find out at some point in the future they will need help at their farm, though of course we will be keeping in touch anyway.

I had a really good ride on Adeline yesterday. She has been a tricky horse for me to ride, especially since she is one that Erin trained, and whenever I ride her poorly in a lesson with Erin, she always yells at me and makes me nervous, which makes me ride even worse! However, Erin took 2 days off and I made it a point to ride Addy on both days to try to figure her out on my own. Then, yesterday I rode her with Erin watching from the jump pen, and she said it looked really good. Even Jean said that she stopped to watch me for a few minutes. Later that day I heard Erin on the phone and she referred to me as her "assistant" rather than her "working student" and I knew that I was starting to prove my value as a rider. She also gave me a lesson on Trevor yesterday, and we did piaffe, passage, and canter pirouettes! That is the high level stuff that I have been wanting to get a chance to work on. I have also been telling Erin that we need a groom to get our horses ready so that we can both ride more, and I found out today that we will be getting one in a few days! I am very excited, and expect that I will get to start riding 4-5 horses a day.

Next weekend Erin and I are going to a show. I didn't find out until the last day to enter, otherwise I would have taken Luc. I am still taking him to school him, but we did not get to enter. Gilda is very excited and supportive of me taking Luc to shows, so I should get a chance to take him to a couple at least.

Last week I had two days off to visit Amy in Orlando. It was like a vacation to me! We went out for dinner and then drinks at the piano bar, Jelly Rolls, on Tuesday night. The piano players were great and knew all the song suggestions except one that Amy requested. However, they took a break and came back to play it and it was wonderful! Wednesday morning we slept in then went swimming in their private pool and then went to have a big lunch which included two desserts. Yum!

I have been stung by a hornet while turning out one of the stallions - twice. The first time I didn't know what it was, but two days later my leg swelled up and turned red and itchy. My leg was so swollen that I could not even get my riding boots on. The next time I turned him out I saw some orange bugs flying around, thought that maybe that was what stung me and tried to go around but got stung anyway. We sprayed the area and killed them all. That was yesterday, and my ankle is starting to swell up now. It's weird that it takes so long for the symptoms to show up. Erin and Iris gave me an accupuncture treatment this morning, and I have been taking a homeopathic remedy that is supposed to help rid the toxins from my body. Just to be on the safe side, I have also been taking benedryl and spraying it with Lanacain. I don't think anything has made any difference and I am pretty sure that my ankle is going to be very swollen tomorrow.

Today is my day off, and I had some homework to catch up on. Now that is done, and I am actually bored. We don't even have a tv over here yet.

John and I ran the farm by ourselves the other day. We were dreading it at first, but it actually turned out to be a great day! We left some of the horses out that didn't need to come in for special feed or treatments, which saved us a lot of work. We both got to ride quite a bit, and even went out in the 40 acre field to do some conditioning work. I took Luke out, and even though he was bratty at first, he got much better by the end. John said that work would change his attitude, and he was actually much better in the ring the next day. We will see how he is now that he has had a day off. John and I did not finish work until 8:30 or so, but we both agreed that it was a pleasant day.

Della has gone home. We are still not sure if she has decided on a horse. Rebecca is expecting a lot and starting to complain about the work. She has also been staying with her mom in Gainesville, rather than staying on the farm with the rest of us. The past two days she has been late. I can't wait until Tiffany comes back, because she is going to straighten out a lot of things.

Let me 'splain, no there is too much, let me sum up.

Rebecca is staying next door with Iris, and Della (the 15 year old) is staying with me and John. Della is very nice and is a very good rider. She is trying some of the horses here and will probably go home with one. Mocha II is one that I have been training. She was interested in him at first, but he is not quite ready yet, he still needs some more development. I think she is going to buy Falcor, who is a good match for her, and who she rides very well.

Rebecca and I did not get along at first, but we have worked things out and now the barn is running smoothly again. However, Drew and Tiffany have turned in their notice to Jean and will be leaving in a couple weeks. They are going to get their own place to focus on training, selling, and showing their own horses. They are going to be missed greatly, and we are all going to be scurrying to run the barn without a manager for awhile. We are getting it done right now, but it is stressful.

John is starting to really stress about it, since a lot of the responsibilities fall to him. However, John got kicked while working with a young horse today, and he may have broken his arm. He does not have insurance, so he did not go to the doctor. It swelled up a lot and looks very painful.

Erin has been showing more confidence in my riding and has been having me ride more of her horses. In fact, she pretty much gave me Adeline, a black mare, to train. I am also beginning to work with Bosho, a new gelding of hers. I am really excited about Bosho, since he is very talented and gorgeous! He is a tall chestnut horse with beautiful movement. He is from Wisconsin and came to the farm the same weekend I did. His owners basically gave him to Erin since they were having so much trouble with him. I have only ridden him once, but Erin said that it was the best she has seen him go.

Both Glory and Luc's owners have come to visit their horses. Glory was really good, and I think Camille is very happy with her. Luc has never offered to buck with me, but he did when his owner was watching me ride. I am always disappointed when the horses do not show their owners the progress they have made, but at least she saw me work it through with him, which is why he is here in the first place.

I get two days off starting tomorrow! Amy is in Orlando with her family, so I am going to meet up with her. We are going to go out on Tuesday night, and then perhaps lounge around on Wednesday. It will be great to see her as well as get out to see different parts of Florida and relax!

I did end up going to the springs today, and I am glad I did. It was really relaxing, and a nice change of pace. Florida is so beautiful, I felt like we were in the everglades. It was sort of too bad to cheapen it by floating down on plastic rafts.

I also got a lot of unpacking done, and things are starting to come together - though I still have a lot to do, and still have a few things over at Iris's. I feel much more comfortable here already, since I can actually use the stuff I brought with me, rather than just feel like I am trying to find a place to put things so that they are not in the way. Rebecca says that her room is too small, and so she is planning on staying with Iris, but I don't think she really knows what to expect. It sounds like she is already complaining about the clutter over there, and the place is actually much cleaner now that I have been there alone for a month. The 15 year old girl is going to be staying with her mom in a place down the road, but it sounds like she is only going to be here for a week or two. Regardless, with the extra help, I am going to get to start riding more, which will make me happy!

Things do not slow down around here. They just go from crazy to crazier. We are getting two new girls to help us. Of course, no one knew exactly when they were coming. One of them is taking my room, and I am moving next door, so I sort of needed to know when she was getting here. Thankfully, most of my stuff got moved today, and she is coming tomorrow. I am staying the night at my old place because I need to get a new bed. I absolutely will not sleep in the bed provided at the other place, the mattress is probably 30 years old, and with my back I cannot do it. Of course, I will take the bed with me when I move from here.

Erin wants to take me floating down the river tomorrow on my day off, which I would love to do if I have the time. I need to get a hair cut, oil change, bed shop, and unpack tomorrow. Classes start in a few days as well, and I need to get some reading done. I really don't think I am going to make it, but it would be good for me to at least try. Next week Amy is coming to Orlando, and I am going to take a day and a half off to visit with her, so that will be a nice break from the farm at least.

I had 3 really good rides today. Luc is improving each time I ride him. He is getting his leads right almost every time, and he hasn't offered to buck at all, which is why his owner put him into training in the first place. It really gives me a lot of confidence to be able to get through to a horse like that. Glory is getting more fit and energetic every day. She has some issues bending to the left, but as long as I keep in mind that it is hard for her, and not that she is being naughty, we are able to work through it. I also rode Mocha II today. He hardly did any head tossing, and his back is getting stronger. We have been doing a lot of canter work, which really seems to help relax him. The young girl that is coming is interested in him. I think she might buy him when she sees how well he is going, and that would be a good opportunity for me to make a little more money. The good news is that with the extra help, I should be able to ride more.

I took Boscoe to the barn with me this morning to join me for turn in. He was really good! He stayed by me, did not get underfoot of the horses, and did not bark at anyone. Of course, I had meat chunks in my pocket, but whatever works! There are lots of other dogs for him to play with out there, since most everyone has dogs. Some day he may be able to stay with me all day, but just mornings for now is fine. If he gets along with Erin's dogs, he could stay with them in the tack room while I am riding during the day, but he would most likely bark while he is in there at this point. I am happy and my dog is happy!

I rode 4 horses both today and yesterday. I am trying to get as much riding in while I can. Once Tiffany, our barn manager, leaves for vacation, I am going to be expected to feed the barn, which will cut in on my riding time =( My riding is improving daily, and Erin says that I am very teachable. Of course, I still have a lot to work on, and I work out lifting weights and doing yoga when I am at home to increase my strength and flexibility. Erin pushes me pretty hard some times. Some times I feel like she thinks I am riding terribly, but at the end of the lesson she always says that she is pleased with me and that things are getting better over all, which really means a lot.

We are thinking about going salsa dancing again tomorrow night, if we get off work early enough. I also got my textbook for the class I am taking next semester. It is going to be a lot of work to keep up with school, but I am sure that I can do it.

Iris gets back from Brazil in a few days, which I am starting to get uncomfortable with. She does not like living with a dog. John next door has a puppy, there are two empty rooms right now, and the new girl coming in has a small dog as well. If we can get a washer and dryer in there, I think it would be better for me to just move in there.