The things that bring us together

As I sit here at the airport waiting on a delayed flight and truly missing the manners of the South, I keep thinking about all of the small things that bring so many people together. It is amazing how when you really sit and chat with people there are so many things we all have in common. Just this past week I was reminded of how common ground can bring together people from opposite sides of the world. 

As some of you may know, we have a very large international population at Wesleyan College and this year I am lucky enough to have a student from Japan on my riding team. I began speaking with Mayu over the summer about the team and she agreed to give it a try, now we are half way through the year and she has decided to stay for a second semester! Last week Mayu's mother came to visit and was kind enough to make authentic Japanese food for the girls on the team and myself, it was delicious!! As we were chatting we talked about how great it is that our love of horses brought all of us together. And honestly it really is so great! There are so many people who never take the time to find thoses common ground moments, but goodness when you do you meet some pretty neat people!

    Horse people are notorious for finding each other in random situations and striking up a conversation but Hokies are the same way. Apparently so are Auburn alum and fans as I discovered while taking my Opi to get his haircut this weekend. A simple conversation about Auburn football brightened his day so much. I know that anytime someone stops Mike and I to talk about Virginia Tech I always get excited. So as you go about your travels this holiday season maybe strike up a conversation with the person next to you on the plane or train, you never know who you may meet. And heck if they are a Hokie you are pretty much guaranteed a good travel buddy!

Merry Christmas and safe travels y'all!         Love ya!

The Spirit of the Season

The holiday season is upon us and it is the perfect time to think about what this season truly means. Its not about what we get but rather what we give. It is so important to not lose sight of what Christmas is truly about, the birth of Jesus! God gave us the perfect example of love! Now we just have to work to love each other and care for each other.

To start off the Christmas season the athletics department at Wesleyan partnered up with Jay's Hope to wrap presents for over 200 children! Jay's Hope is an organization here in Macon that works with families affected by childhood cancers, Jay's Hope organizes events for the children as well as the entire family. The Jay's Hope Christmas Party is the organization's largest event of the year and we at Wesleyan were more than happy to help out! All of the athletes, coaches and our athletic director were on hand to wrap the hundreds of gifts and prep the holiday decorations. You can read about it in our official press release here!

On Sunday afternoon Mike and I headed back to Christ Chapel to work the Jay's Hope Christmas Party where we got to greet families and sign them into the event. I think the thing that struck me the most about the entire night were all of the smiles and thank yous. These families are battling unimaginable things in their lives yet they could not have been more pleasant, polite and adorable. While signing in one family, their son perked up and told me that his sister was having her port taken out the next day, the excitement on his face was so wonderful! And his sister was cute as a button and lit right up as soon as I replied with my excitement. Those are the moments when you remember that this season really is about giving (especially your time) and hope. Lots and lots of hope! Please say an extra prayer for all of those wonderful families as they continue to fight through childhood cancers with smiles, tears and lots of hope.

We also brought the Christmas spirit home while decorating our tree, complete with our initialed ornaments that we got last year:)

Now it is time to wrap up the semester with my last final to give tomorrow and grades due next week! The ponies will be enjoying a true break over winter break as our arena is being completely torn apart and redone. I will attempt to enjoy the break from the arena but I'm sure I'll be twiddling my thumbs and aching to hop back on as soon as the arena is ready...I may get stubborn and ride horses out in the pastures! A trip up to DC to see my family before Christmas will be a great way for me to let myself take a break, however. I am so looking forward to flying up to DC on December 19th and then I'll be back in Georgia for a warm (hopefully) Christmas with Mike, the pups and the ponies.

Hope y'all are prepping for Christmas with lots of joy and baking!! My baking marathon is set to kick off this weekend!! Love y'all :)

Stuffing and Sushi

Can y'all believe its already December?! This past week certainly felt like winter was on its way in down here in Georgia but thankfully the weather is turning around (fingers crossed) to warmer weather for the upcoming week.

The puppies and I took some time out of the day to do a quick photo shoot in the fall colors before they all disappear. Can you tell that Badger is used to having his photo taken? He's such a trooper about all of that, Chloe on the other hand clearly has not lived with me long enough to understand posing, haha.

Of course, this past week was the week of Thanksgiving!! Mike and I were lucky enough to host Mr. and Mrs. Denniston for Thanksgiving dinner but we started the day with the ponies at Wesleyan, of course. I believe that Spence is thankful for his warm blanket during our unseasonably cold week.

Badger may have been a teeny bit thankful for his scarf on the chilly Thanksgiving morning...maybe slightly unthankful but he's adorable either way.

After the ponies were taken care of, the rest of the day was devoted to prepping Thanksgiving dinner. Our menu involved: 

Turkey (made by Mike and it turned out amazing!)

Stuffing 

Cranberries (I used the recipe on the back of the cranberry bag and added orange zest, yummmm)

Sweet Potato Casserole 

Mashed potatoes and gravy

Biscuits

Corn

And for dessert I made these adorable mini pumpkin pies :) 

Black Friday consisted of sleeping in and then dealing with a water main break that left us without water for most of the morning but that just meant that Mr. and Mrs. Denniston and I had to head out to the stores. No, we were not part of the crazy early morning crowd! Instead we meandered around Bass Pro Shop and the new Macon mall. I finally started my Christmas shopping, well the parts that won't be from Mary Kay, and finished up shopping for holiday banquet this coming week. (Be sure to check back later this week to see how my holiday banquet table turns out on Thursday) Plus we got to end the day with sushi! So this past week I was able to enjoy my two favorite foods...stuffing and sushi :)

Saturday was a gloriously lazy day of sleeping, ponies and football. And it sure was an awesome football day...yay Hokies!! And holy cow what an amazing finish for Auburn!! Clearly I'm embracing the South with my Mason Jar, adorable new Sperrys (thanks Mr and Mrs. D!!) and SEC football on tv. 

Mike and I are so thankful that we were able to spend Thanksgiving with his parents and already miss having them down here in Georgia! We are looking forward to setting up our Christmas tree and gingerbread house decorating with Nicole and Donnie soon though! So if you're looking for people to visit in slightly warmer weather...get down here to Georgia!! We love having guests!!

Looking for gifts that you couldn't find on Black Friday? Head over to my site for lots of great gift ideas, plus shot me a message that you read the blog and I'll throw in a special gift with your Mary Kay order! 

My Mary Kay site!

Love y'all!

Rookie Semester Wrap

I cannot believe that the holidays are here! This fall semester has flown by but I could not be more grateful for everything that has happened. The whirlwind of my first year as head coach has kept me quite busy and then add to that the attempt to plan a wedding and, well yea then you'll understand my lack of blogging....sorry! I figured I would give y'all a bit of a rookie semester wrap up before we head into Thanksgiving.

My lovely Novice riders...also two of my seniors and our team captains

As y'all know, I started off the year with a boot camp for my returning riders and we headed into the new year with 5 returning team members and 6 new riders! My walk/trot riders have been working hard and consistently improving with each show. The weekend at Lander both Delaney and Ashaunti moved up in the ribbons on the second day jumping from 4th and 5th to 3rd and 4th. My walk/trot/canter numbers have successfully dwindled as Aaron pointed up into Novice to join Beth!

The girls helping Shae and Ashaunti prep for the walk/trot division at College of Charleston.

The hunt seat team started the year at Georgia Southern and we end the semester at College of Charleston with everyone putting in some great rides! Aaron debuted in Novice with a solid ride over fences in a huge class and Mayu earned the most improved award from me for a 3rd place in a gigantic advanced walk/trot/canter class!! She has also decided to stay at Wesleyan for the remainder of the year so I'm excited for some big things to be happening for her in the ring next semester!

Horses and spanish moss...doesn't get more southernly perfect than that!

The western team traveled up to Clemson this semester and will be making many more appearances next semester...possibly with another new face to the western world! Both of my western riders are brand new to the western world, as am I! So it will continue to be an adventure for sure but we're getting all blinged out and ready to dominate!

While traveling with the team takes up a large portion of my time, I'm lucky enough to get to squeeze in some friend time on the road as well! So while in Charleston, Katie met up with the team and I for a little VI reunion. She also got to re-live my wonderful directionally challenged ways while I tried to find the Mellow Mushroom where we met...while driving a bus!

Erin and I re-living our VI days in the ring:)

This past weekend I rounded out the fall show season with a schooling show that we hosted at Wesleyan. After lots of planning, cleaning, stressing and schooling of ponies the show went off without a hitch...except maybe a tad bit too much energy from one of our old schoolies. All of my team members had great rides and my community students (who I teach after the college day is over) came home with a reserve champion in the junior beginner division and a 4th place in the crossrail hunter undersaddle class. Everyone went home happy and the show made a profit!! Can't ask for much more than that...except that I did get more, I got a visit from my dear friend Erin! Thank goodness for her help this past weekend! Getting to ride together felt almost like being back at VI again, loved it :) I think the girls are starting to realize that you make some pretty amazing friendships in college and you should really cherish those years. I know I couldn't ask for better friendships than those that I kept from my years at VI.

I hope y'all are staying warm and getting ready for a wonderfully thankful Thanksgiving! When you start your Christmas shopping keep me in mind and check out my new website to let me help you make your shopping easier!!

marykay.com/jesmeagher

Love y'all!

Car Lot Lessons

     If the title wasn't a dead giveaway, you're all in for another post from the car salesman half of the couple. I've been wrestling with the idea of posting about car buying tips for some time now and I believe I've learned enough tricks to help you all do some damage on your next car buying trip (assuming you're not buying from me that is). I'm about 6 months in to the car business now and despite seeing something new almost every day, most customers generally fall in to a few different categories and we train to overcome those situations. I'll give you some anecdotes and some tips from my short time in the business so far and you can choose to do with them what you will.

     The type of customer that worried me the most at the start was the guy that came in wanting the "bottom line price" and tended to be very combatant and know-it-all. I often heard phrases like "I've been buying cars for 40 years and I've never paid sticker, I always get a deal". To that I'd simply respond, "Well sir, what do you consider a deal? Is it a certain percentage off the sticker price? Is it a certain dollar amount you save? Is it a monthly payment you're aiming for that I need to meet?" Most of the time said customer doesn't have a response to any of those questions and sometimes he becomes a little more bullish, notice I said he, it's almost always a man acting this way, usually trying to show out in front of his wife or significant other. At this time I usually follow it up with a "Sir, I've probably sold more cars in the last month than you've bought in your lifetime, I do this every day, I see this every day, let me work for you and help you find the car you really want, then we'll worry about getting you the deal you want." With those few short lines I've either disarmed my customer or got to the bottom of what he's really on my car lot for. It's not often I get aggressive, but when I have a customer like that I have to; I'm not an order taker I'm a salesman. With that, lets move in to a few car buying tips.

1. DO YOUR HOMEWORK- Seems like a no brainer, but know what you're looking for before you go to the dealership. You have so many resources as a consumer now, Kelley blue book, Edmunds, consumer reports, get a rough working knowledge of the vehicle you want before you encounter a salesman. If  you haven't actually seen the vehicles you're interested in yet, go check them out on a Sunday, car dealerships are almost always closed on Sunday and it's a good way for you to see if you like the styling of a vehicle before going any further. You can also usually find what kind of rebates or incentives dealers are getting from the manufacturer online at any given time of the year which you can use when it comes time to negotiate price.
2. DON'T GET SWEPT UP IN THE URGENCY- Flow is everything to a car deal, if a salesman can set the pace and bring you along, you'll be signing paperwork before you know it. The salesman is going to lead and almost expect you to follow. When you're told the same "deal" won't be available tomorrow or at any point after you leave, it may actually be the truth, but chances are you can still get that same price at another time. Don't let yourself get pressured, unless it's the end of a special promotion or perhaps the last day of the month, you can probably find that "deal" somewhere else and at another time. Which brings me to my next point..
3. THE END OF THE MONTH IS GOOD, BUT...- As I mentioned above, the end of the month is a great time to buy a car, but to max out what you might save, show up on the lot 2 or 3 days before the end of the month and shop. Don't buy, just shop, take some information, and leave. As a dealership we're always trying to sell cars and at the end of the month there are certain numbers we need to hit as an individual salesman as well as a dealership and many a time the customer can find a better deal that last day when we're feeling the urgency. If we have a customer that we think was truly interested we will do whatever we can to get you to buy before the end of the month so we can reach our goals.
4. WAIT UNTIL YOU GET TO THE DESK- I'm referring to keeping all of your information close until you get to the desk to negotiate the deal. There's really no point in talking payment on the lot because the salesman doesn't get to determine that and if you did your homework you know what cars are going to fit into your budget already. It's always better to have printed out quotes from online or other dealerships of what you're willing to pay for the new/used car, if they don't see it in print they probably won't try to match it. Invoice prices are listed online as well as fair purchase prices and are readily accessible. Realize that no matter what, the dealer is going to make some money, if he wasn't making money or taking away a deal from his competition he wouldn't sell you the car.
5. EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE, EVERYTHING- There's a certain process to working a deal that can max out what you'll save as a customer. Avoid working the monthly payment figure until the end at all costs, don't even mention it on the lot. Work the overall price down by using all of the research you did before your visit to the dealership. Bring up and produce a copy of the invoice price as well as any special incentives from the manufacturer you were able to find. You should be a few thousand lower than MSRP at that point, which is when you bring up your trade. Most salesmen will ask you right away if you were planning on trading, just deflect and say you're undecided but you'd like to hold on to it. If you've done your homework you've also looked up what your car is worth as a trade-in, be honest with yourself and evaluate it without any sentimental feelings involved. You just raked the dealership over the coals on the price of the new car, so he's going to try to make it up on the trade by offering you way less than what it's worth. He'll probably tell you it needs brakes, tires, or a combination of things that will cost him a lot of money before he can resell it. Chances are your car isn't in excellent condition, but you can probably present some numbers off of Kelley Blue Book on the value of your trade and settle on one of the established values there. If you've gotten everything you wanted so far, congratulations, but you're not done yet, you still have the interest rate to discuss. Don't agree to anything until you know what interest rate you're getting. Rates are currently at an all time low with some dealerships offering below 1%. Once again, if you did  your homework, you know what rates are out there for certain manufacturers and you should know where your credit score is. Roughly anything above a 700 credit score can score you the best rate available, don't let the dealership tack on 1 or 2% to the prime rate, they're usually allowed to by the bank. At this point you made your salesman work, you've probably talked to the sales manager, he's probably not too happy, but you got the best deal you could and that's what you were after. 

     With all of that being said, the car buying process is as easy as you want to make it. The  happiest customers I've had are the ones that spent the most and inadvertently allowed Jess and I to go out for a nice dinner or take a fun day trip. They didn't do their homework.

Another leap of faith

 

A leap of faith brought Mike and I down to Georgia when I accepted the assistant coach position at Wesleyan College and as the now head coach I'd say that leap was a darn good decision. So here goes another leap of faith! I am now officially an independent beauty consultant with Mary Kay. That's right, ride and teach by day and sell makeup in my spare time.

It all came about in a rather funny way actually. About a month ago Mike found a bridal expo in Macon for us to go to and we ended up talking to a girl selling Mary Kay at the expo. Turns out Nicole and I have tons in common and became instant friends! Thank goodness! So now Mike and I have a wonderful couple to hang out with (Nicole and her husband Donnie are newlyweds that just recently moved to Macon, just like us!). Well Nicole invited me along to a Macon Success Night at the Mary Kay Pink Success Center in Macon and the seed was planted in my head. After mulling it over I figured why not give it a try? So here I go!

So if you are scratching your head about what to do for Christmas gifts, hostess gifts, party favors or anything of the like for the upcoming holidays, check out marykay.com and let me know what you love! If you are close to Georgia we can even plan a party! Remember all proceeds of my Mary Kay sales will go towards a wonderful cause of Mike and I's wedding :)

Here is a list of some of my Mary Kay faves (yep I already have favorites)

1. Mary Kay finishing spray...if it can keep my makeup on at the barn, it will keep yours on! Love it!

2. Timewise Liquid Foundation...just enough coverage to hide blemishes and even out skin without looking like you've caked on foundation

3. Timewise Day Solution...the perfect primer for foundation plus it has spf 35 and makes your skin look and feel great!

Be on the look out for our weekend wrap up and our engagement photos page at the top of the blog!!

Love y'all!

Jet setting and wedding planning

 Look out bridesmaids!! Haha!

To say that things have been busy would be a HUGE understatement! Last weekend I jetted off to Boston to visit my parents for fall break, then came back late Tuesday night to be up and at 'em early Wednesday for work, worked all week and through the weekend and then drove up to Savannah,GA with Mike today! Like I said its been crazy but amazing! So I'll start at the beginning....

The wedding planning is officially in full swing after my visit to Boston last weekend. It was so so nice to get a couple of days away from work to visit my parents and, of course, go wedding dress shopping. I will give the disclaimer that none of the dresses in these pictures are front runners and "the one" has yet to be found...although there was one that stood out from the pack. Saturday we hit our first dress shop and had a great time trying on almost every dress that wasn't absolutely crazy, it was also a wonderful way to figure out which dresses certainly won't work at all! It was so nice to be able to share such a fun and wonderful moment with my mom and dad. Funny story...my dad actually went dress shopping with my mom and I for the dress that I wore to military ball when Mike and I were first set up!

Just kidding...mom and I picked out this adorable dress for at least one of the girls!

The other wonderful thing about Boston was the food! Yep I was in food heaven....lobster rolls and lobster could certainly be an everyday meal for me and I would be just fine with that! Cannolis as dessert and I'm a happy happy girl.

 

And as if it could get any better, there were chocolate bars and a tour of the Harpoon brewery complete with a beer tasting...yum!

Leaving my parents and views like this (above) was not an easy task, thankfully Mike was at the other end of my plane ride, waiting with a big hug. The Knot and Twizzlers also helped me through the plane ride back to Georgia.

Back in Georgia it was straight back to work prepping the girls for our upcoming November shows and getting Gift ready for his retirement.

Sunday morning I was up early early to get this cutie pie ready to head up to VA. Gift turned 21 this year and has taught tons of students how to ride so his retirement has certainly been earned!! After Gift was loaded up and headed off to VA, Mike and I headed out to Savannah,GA to meet up with Katie and Paul for our engagement photos:) It was so great to catch up with them and feel like we have one more step done towards the wedding. Plus we got to pick up some of the wonderful "donations" from Katie's soon to be sister in law for our wedding. Yay!!! I'm so ready to get planning rolling along!

Today was also the official retiring of the lucky shoes. These shoes have been through a lot! Once upon a time Gray and I went shopping and she fell in love with these purple heels with a little ruffle, of course being the wonderful roomie that I was, I convinced her to buy them. However, every now and then they would happen to end up on my feet on nights out and those nights often ended with crazy fun stories. For instance they survived a flaming shots induced floor fire (thankfully no one was injured and the house survived as well!!). Then along came my 22nd birthday after Gray and I had graduated and the shoes had moved to DC with her but obviously they wanted to live with me, haha. So I was gifted the shoes and then along came a date in Baltimore with Mike so the shoes traveled along and the rest is history :) Now I just need to find the next owner of the lucky shoes! You must be a size 6 and promise to take super great care of them and obviously have a ton of fun in them!!

Sometimes in life it can be so easy to take for granted the moments in each day that put a smile on our faces; it is my goal from now on to attempt to always be in the moment and grateful for each and everyday that I have with my loved ones. I truly cherish each and every one of you and can't imagine a life not surrounded by so much love and support. Thanks!! And love y'all!!

Life of a coach

Early and foggy first morning of the show.

This past weekend the hunt seat team and I headed up to Greenwood,SC for our second show weekend of the season. I often get asked what being a collegiate coach of an equestrian team involves so I figured I would give y'all a little outline of the weekend on the coach's end.

The weekend actually starts on Friday; after getting all of the loose ends (aka loose horses) taken care of at our home barn its time to head up to main campus to pick up the team...and so begins the insane packing of a minivan with 6 college girls. The drive up to Lander University is about 4 hours...buttt you have to add in the time for getting lost looking for the hotel. Gotta love when the hotel changes names and doesn't inform customers! After finally finding the hotel it was time to hit the hay.

Saturday morning started bright and early and with a panic attack. You know the feeling you get when you're packing for a trip, that feeling that there is something you forgot..well that feeling woke me up at 5:00 am. I had forgotten the back numbers for the team (those numbers that go on the backs on the jackets during their riding classes). Thankfully a quick phone call to our regional president put me back at ease and we headed out to the show. Lander's barn was a quick hop, skip and jump from our hotel. The day always starts with registration for the teams, warm up for the horses by the hosting college, a coach's meeting and then the draw where each rider gets assigned a horse by random draw. Then the hurry up and wait begins.

There is a lot of standing, watching and waiting at horse shows.

Towards the middle of the day the nerves kick in as I make sure that all of the girls get ready on time and head towards the mounting area with my first rider of the day. All of the riders get on their randomly selected horses mere minutes before their class and are only allowed to adjust their stirrups before heading into the show ring. 

Shae and Faith at her very first IHSA show.

Once the girls head into the show ring I turn into a cheerleader/smile inducer at the in gate. I'm pretty sure if someone video taped me this weekend they could set it to music and get a ton of hits on youtube. But my crazy "sign language" must be paying off because the girls have been kicking butt!

 

At the end of day 1 the ribbon total came to: one 5th and 6th in advanced walk/trot/canter and one 3rd, one 5th and one 6th in the walk/trot division.

After a fairly short show we headed back to the hotel for power naps and then off to Red Lobster for dinner, clearly we are roughing it on the road :) And a trip wouldn't be complete without a shopping trip!

Day 2 started bright and early again but thankfully without any panic attacks, instead the panic attack was replaced with the chaos of repacking the minivan. The girls came out with a vengeance on Sunday and their hard work and my crazy "sign language" paid off. The walk/trot girls came out with a 4th and a 5th in one class and then our point rider for walk/trot brought home another 3rd place to put 4 points on the board for Wesleyan. Then the advanced walk/trot/canter girls brought home a 6th and a 2nd to put another 5 points on the board. And on another exciting note, my walk/trot/canter rider who placed 2nd is now qualified for Regionals as a result of her ride and is now moved up to the next division!! Now I just have two more seniors to qualify for regionals and one goal of the year will be complete!

Now just because the show is over doesn't mean the coach's job is done, not even close. Another 4 hour drive back to Macon to drop off the girls, then off to the barn to unpack the team chairs and cooler, give hay and water to all of the horses, drop the van off at Enterprise and then finally arrive back at the apartment around 9:40 to crash! Then Monday morning rolls around and lessons, meetings, chores and schooling horses resume as if the show weekend never happened. Needless to say I am pretty excited that fall break is this weekend and I'm jetting off to Boston for a break!!

Hope y'all are having a great week!

Riding pants to baseball pants

Its fall in the south and the weather could not be more perfect! Especially for a weekend filled with outdoor activities and temps in the high 70's...love it!

Friday afternoon the Wesleyan hunt seat team and I headed off for Statesboro,GA for the first show of the season. Driving with me is always an adventure...trust me! So we took a little detour to a mom and pop bbq place in Metter,Ga that was wonderfully yummy and then we hit the road again to wander our way into Statesboro with very sketchy directions! But we made it and after a sleepless night we were up and at 'em early the next morning. After the girls repacked the van (I have officially met the only people who are worse at overpacking than myself) we took the forever long drive through the cotton fields to the lovely Evermore Farm where Georgia Southern's team rides. 

The show went really well! My novice rider did wonderfully over fences with very strong improvements over last show season and my returning advanced walk/trot/canter riders came home with two thirds and one fourth place...also showing some great moments of improvement. My two new riders that I had showing had successful rides and I think they will do very well this upcoming weekend after getting some of the jitters out. 

After returning home and eating pizza at a super tastey spot in Macon, I unpacked the van and headed home to crash! Whew horseshows can take it out of ya. Thankfully Mike had a super fun day planned for Sunday...we got to go see the Braves play in Atlanta! We continued our luck with wonderful weather and a home team win, doesn't get much better than that!

Turner field

Two very happy Georgia peaches:)

This week at the Wesleyan barn we are welcoming our newest horse, Hemi, to the barn and preparing to head up to Lander University for a two day show this coming weekend. Mike and I are also squeezing in some wedding planning tomorrow with an appointment at Men's Warehouse to get the ball rolling!

Hope y'all are having a great week. Love y'all!

Friday Night Special

     Hey everybody, slow morning on the car lot again so I'm taking a few minutes to catch everybody up on what's been going on down here in Georgia. The weather finally broke this past week or so and we've been experiencing the best weather the south has to offer, hard to beat 75-80 and sunny with low humidity. Jess and I fell in love with the Fall down here last year and it's starting to look like we might get lucky again this year. With the Fall comes show season for Jess so she's off to a show this afternoon until tomorrow night. I think my plans for the evening are a cheap six pack accompanied by a cheap steak and potentially catching up on the action movies I've missed over the past few months haha. If you've talked to Jess at all these past few months you know Friday nights are consumed by TLC's Friday Bride-Day programming ALLLLLL Friday night. All joking aside though life has been extremely busy for the both of us since we returned from New Jersey a few weeks ago. I had a record week at the dealership last week and Jess has been adding more and more community lesson students while trying to get her girls geared up for the show season. It's always an instant relief to come home to Jess and the dogs cuddled up or playing around when I get home late so tonight will be a little weird.
    Back to the work side of life, I got the chance to ride in a 2005 Honda S2000 this week. For those of you unfamiliar with that car, it's essentially a 2 seat rocket built to take turns at 60mph. As my boss said, "The car's not overly impressive just shifting gears normally, you have to drive this b#$*@ like you stole it." My boss took me out to show me what it could do and it went a little like this. 

Back country roads and a car that grips the asphalt like it's velcro led to the most fun I've had at a job in years. I may have been a little queasy afterwards but it was awesome. I have customers mention that above video to me at least once a week. A few customers are starting to trickle in so I'm off to make a deal, followed up my record week with a dud so it's time to make something happen.
     

Welcome to Autumn aka Hokie season!

Happy first day of Fall! Down here in Georgia we enjoyed a relatively cool day with a high of just 82, which is very fall like compared to the recent weather. At this point I can't even imagine ever having to pull out my winter gloves or wear the new team jacket that I just got but I know that freezing temps will be right around the corner...sadly.

This past week has been a big blur of long hours at work and lots of driving back and forth to visit a student in the hospital, thankfully she is out now and has already come out to visit at the barn with her bright smile and fighter spirit. Mike, however, had an awesome week at work! In the few moments of downtime that we did happen to find we wandered over to a bridal expo last Sunday, made delicious personal peach pies and crafted for football season(well I crafted) .

The bridal expo was small but a huge wake up call to the fact that we need to get to work on this wedding! I can't believe its just around a year away and I have procrastinated a lot...like a ton. I know what I want but sadly no one can read my mind and make it happen so the next few months will be a test of my time and money management. Thankfully we have a ton of great friends to bounce ideas off of and lots of family and friends who have offered up their help. Prepare yourselves because I'm getting ready to get rolling on all of this!

This week was also a goodbye to summertime, which in Georgia means eat all of the peaches you can! So I made these wonderful peach "pies" the other night.

 

Ingredients:

Peaches (obviously)

Honey

Brown sugar (optional but amazing)

Cinnamon sugar mix

Pie crust

Egg

1. Cut peaches in half and remove pit

2. Fill hole with honey and a pinch of brown sugar

  3. Put peach back together and wrap in pie crust

4. Place peach in muffin tin and brush on egg wash

5. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mix on top of peach

6. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until pie crust slightly browns

Enjoy!!

The arrival of fall also means the arrival of the best season ever...Hokie football!!! Even though we are clearly in Bulldog territory down here we are still very Hokie proud. With my stress levels going up daily I did what any Dailey would do (thanks Mom!) I crafted and here is the result....

Maybe I should be careful this Thursday as we are playing Georgia Tech...oh well, GO HOKIES!

The other season that rolls in with fall is the start of the IHSA season so the girls and I are off to Georgia Southern University on September 28th to kick start the season at our first hunt seat show together. Practice went really well yesterday and I'm starting to get pretty excited for the team to show off their hard work...fingers crossed. Wish us luck this week!

A happy September day

 

 You know when you have one of those days when everything is just good? Well today was one of those days. I actually had time to think at work without pulling my hair out and I even got a ride in on Spence! The morning started with a pumpkin bagel from Dunkin Donuts, yummmmm, and a very upbeat athletics department meeting. Then it was on to tackle the lessons for the day. My first lesson had me almost in tears, tears of joy and pride that is! I assigned one of my team members a horse that I knew was going to push her buttons, and he did, but she pushed through her mental breaking point and got some awesome trot work out of him. Through all of his temper tantrums and kicking out she just sat up and worked through it, I could not have been more proud! Next I got to have a lunch date with the Spence man, some days I have to make the decision between eating lunch and riding and today a good ride on Spence beat out lunch.

The rest of the day went smoothly with productive lessons and every single sound horse in the barn got worked, quite the accomplishment! Then I actually got to clean up around the barn and organize everything that has been waiting while I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off, haha! And...drum roll please...I got to leave work with everything completely done at 5:30! Then I actually got some grocery shopping done and picked up the mail...with no bills! Instead I got my newest Glamour issue and a package from Marissa with the Gabby bracelets I ordered :)

 

 

 Marisa's cousin, who is only 7 years old, was recently diagnosed with Leukemia. So Marisa decided to get creative and raise money for Gabby's recovery. The bracelets are adorable and such a great idea! You can find her on facebook to order the bracelets and support Gabby and her family. Or if you happen to live towards the Boston area, you can go visit Marisa at After All Boutique...another wonderful organization that Marisa is involved with! Be sure to visit her on the web(by clicking below) or in person and send lots of prayers up for Gabby!

The Gabby Bracelet Facebook

 

And I got to end the day with a nice phone conversation with my Omi and Opi, its always nice to catch up with family. So now that I'm all cozied up at home I think I'll make some mini peach pies...I'll be sure to add that recipe next time I update, they are amazing and super simple!!

Love y'all!

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:12

Jersey Shore Weekend

What an amazing weekend! Mike and I were lucky enough to head back up to New Jersey this past weekend to visit family and friends and attend the wedding of Richie and Mandy. We left Georgia on Thursday after a lesson crunch at work and a little bit of a mix up in our parking job at the airport...I guess we wanted to fly somewhere internationally! Thankfully we made it to the correct terminal in plenty of time to grab a beer and relax.

Mike just loves traveling with me and my Vera Bradley bag...haha!

After a fairly short flight with a rather bumpy landing, we arrived safe and sound in New Jersey. We arrived back at Mike's parents' house just in time to enjoy dinner and a Red Sox win...well I enjoyed it ;) Friday was a day of relaxation and family time with the twins. This, of course, meant beach time! While it has been full on summertime down here in Georgia, it is most certainly fall up north. With temps in the high 60's on Friday the beach was a tad chilly but Mike convinced me to hop in the water. 

Those little bitty dots in the left picture are us!

After the beach the boys got a surprise from Pop Pop and got to dress up like minions...I mean construction workers!

They are just too cute!!!

Saturday brought slightly warmer temps for a gorgeous day for Brielle Day and the wedding. After spending a little time at Brielle Day with the family, Mike was off to get ready for the wedding with the guys and I got to meander through the craft tents with the family...gosh darn carry on bag can't fit all the cute things that I just "need." Then it was time to head over to the wedding. Richie and Mandy had a beautiful ceremony at St Paul's Methodist Church and a gorgeous reception right on the river at the house of Richie's grandfather.

The happy couple:)

Love them!

The entire reception was beautiful and everyone there made me feel so at home. Thank you so much to all of the family friends and new friends who made me feel like I was a local (Mr. and Mrs. Bishop especially). Mike and I both wish Richie and Mandy lots of happy happy years ahead! We also hope y'all have a safe and wonderful trip to Aruba!! We can't wait to see y'all again very soon!

The end of the weekend came far too quickly and it was back to Georgia for Mike and I.

I was very happy to be back on the ground!

Mike and I are both back to long days at work but very ready for our next trip or some guests down this way! Love y'all!