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!

 

True love is...a media blackout

If you watch How I Met Your Mother you'll remember this image...

from the episode where the gang attempts to not find out the score of the Superbowl so they can watch it together after recording it. This is how I will feel come kick off time for the Hokies. Mike won't get off of work until 5:00 today and then has an hour long drive home so I've been sworn to a media blackout so that we can watch the game together. Even my team members laughed at the possibility of me being able to pull this off! But I love him so I will. Therefore I figured I'd trek over to the bookstore and write an update blog before I start the tailgate cooking...yes even though its just Mike and I at the apartment appropriate fall, football food is necessary!

First off I'm so sorry that I've been awful about updating! Hopefully y'all read Mike's update the other day and understand the insanity of our lives right now. Getting to work at 8:00 and leaving after 7:00pm doesn't give me a whole lot of energy to write. But bring on the craziness! I have 12 team members who will be actively showing this semester and over 23 students total with our physical education course! Needless to say the lesson schedule at the barn is packed and every horse will be earning their oats this year! Courtenay is also officially out on maternity leave as she gave birth to a happy, healthy baby Miriam Augustine Bunn on Tuesday night! She weighed in at 8lbs 2oz and is adorable! Lots of prayers for Courtenay and Phillip as they manage the sleepless nights...hoping she starts to sleep better soon!

In the midst of getting ready for school to start I got to have a visit from the lovely Courtney Might and her brother Brandon while their family was vacationing in North Georgia. It was so great to see her and have her ride with the team during our pre season bootcamp.

Courtney got to ride one of my favorite schoolies, Catch:)

Pre season bootcamp certainly had its ups and downs but it was nice to get everyone back into the swing of things and address some issues before their schedules got filled up with classes and club meetings. It was also a great opportunity for our new walk/trot rider to get on a horse for the first time! I just gave her her 6th lesson yesterday and she is already nailing down her posting diagonals! I'm very excited to take her out to our first show on September 28th at Georgia Southern. So far we have a really great group of girls prepping for the show season and I'm super excited to get out there and show off their hard work....here we come Region 3 Zone 5!

Lexi and Scout and Western Captain Brittany with Jack

Outside of work Mike and I have been attempting to get out and have a life on weekends. Last week we saved up enough energy to make it out to the movies on a Monday to see We Are the Millers....its hilarious! And the movie theater down here has the coolest Willy Wonka candy machine complete with my favorite, Chewy Runts!!

And of course we keep up a healthy feud in our apartment during baseball season (honestly the Hokies are the only team we agree on!)

And this past weekend we tried to squeeze in some fishing up at Courtenay's barn...sadly we weren't very successful but it was nice to be outside relaxing.

Funny thing is this is actually a cow pond! Don't worry there haven't been cows in it for awhile but it was huge!

In other news Lou pony and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary this week! I still can't believe its already been 9 years and simply cannot imagine him not being in my life. I love that tall, crooked legged redhead more than you can imagine:) I am so thankful that our paths crossed when they did and that I have been lucky enough to have so many people who have loved him along the way and helped us out in every move!

Alrighty well I'm off to figure out tonight's dinner. I promise to be better about updating so that the posts aren't so insanely long! Oh and if you want to y'all can now follow me on Instagram! 

http://instagram.com/preppyhooves#

Let's go Hokies!!!!

Hot off the lot

     Sorry we've been a little slow updating the blog this month. Jess has been swamped with work and I've been working late quite a bit as well. Sometimes I think it's just hard for us to sit down and write when all we want to do is unwind from the stresses of daily life. With that being said, today is a little slow on the car lot so I thought I'd take a few minutes to write a quick update that Jess can discover later.
     Work is actually starting to pick up for me. As with acquiring any new skill or starting a new job there's a learning curve and I think I'm finally starting to get a handle on everything. My sales are starting to come a little easier and a little more frequently. Given, I'm working everything that steps on to the lot with a pulse until all my options are exhausted, but that seems to be the nature of sales. You never really know when that overalls wearing old-timer is going to pull up on the lot for the twentieth time, pull $10,000 out of his pocket that's been stored in a coffee can on his fridge for the last few years and be ready to do  business. I've seen it, it happens, and everyone that passed on that customer kicks himself for doing so. Honda is very high on customer satisfaction with their salespeople and as it stands now I'm one of the higher rated salesmen in the building so I feel like I might have a future in the industry. The grind of 60+ hours a week can get to you though, especially when you might only have half of that with actual customer interaction and the rest is cold calling or reading up on the product.
     On a completely other note, Jess and I are excited to be going up to New Jersey next week for my good friend Rich's wedding and to spend a little time with my family. Time off for both of us is hard to come by and we're looking forward to enjoying every minute of it. We've always appreciated our families, one of the many reasons I fell in love with Jess was due to her outlook on not only her family but family in general and what she wants out of our family. The experience of relocating to Georgia has made us appreciate it all the more. Family is precious, it's everything, and we're extremely lucky to be supported by two great ones in our endeavor to make one of our own.