Dear Betsy: A Goodbye

Dear Betsy the Blue Explorer,
 First of all thank you! Thank you for the endless memories that you gave me over the years, thank you for sticking with me even when I forgot about an oil change or let a leaky tire go for too long, thank you for being my traveling tack trunk and closet and thank you for in the end protecting me.
 The first time you saved me was when you saved me from the possibility of having to drive the Bonneville aka the "old dead man's car." I was so terrified that when I went to start driving that son of a gun would start up but instead I was lucky enough to get you. You dealt with me when I learned to drive in North Carolina and then when we moved up to Maryland you got me through my driving test, of course I was shaking the entire time. You let me pack tons of people into you...sometimes not on seats. You trustingly went off roading, climbed ridiculous hills and trucked through snow so that I never missed a day at the barn. When proms and homecomings came around there was never a question which car we would take. The years of high school were great and window chalk filled but then it was off to college.
 Yep, you even trucked it down to Virginia Intermont. You were my traveling piece of home and sometimes my only escape. When snow came to the "south" you never flinched, instead we picked up all of the "southerners" and went sledding while the rest of town bundled up in there "snowed in" apartments. When there was a stray dog on the side of the road, you perched yourself on a crazy road while I coaxed Marmalade into the car and off we went. Then when graduation approached you took me to every single job interview...yes there were many 3 point turns and sketchy gas stations along the way. Thank you for dealing with my awful sense of direction!!
 After college you traveled all over while I attempted to find my dream job. Then when no other car would get Mike and I through a winter trip up north, you somehow sucked it up and made the trip up to New Jersey with no problems. When snow and ice came down to Georgia you made it to the barn like it was nothing. Then last night when that car came flying through the intersection, right through their red light, you faithfully took the impact like a tank.
 With over 218,000 miles of memories spanning from North Carolina to Maryland to Virginia to Maryland again to Pennsylvania to West Virginia to New Jersey to Georgia, there certainly won't be another Betsy.
Love,
Me

Just one of the Bristol snow storms that Betsy trucked me through.

Missed opportunities: My note to all the dreamers

Teaching and coaching at the collegiate level has taught me many many things. One thing in particular that has continued to repeat itself to me is that the world is full of missed opportunities. Now I don't mean the opportunities that we miss because we didn't see them in front of us, I mean the opportunities that we refuse to see or maybe we are too afraid to jump out and grab them.

If I could say one thing to this upcoming generation (yep that makes me feel old) I would say to make your dreams happen! Yes, I know that we have all heard that exact line in a graduation speech or read it in a self help book but honestly think about your dreams. Have you made those dreams happen? If you haven't think about why not, you have to honestly think about why you didn't make them happen. 

I also want to tell all of my students to not be afraid to let your dreams change! Sometimes we get tunnel vision on what we want to achieve and we forget to look around and see the other things that bring us joy. If your end goal changes, that's ok!

Now I have had many of my students come into my office and tell me all about their hopes and dreams for after graduation. They come in with amazing plans and opportunities and yep, you guessed it they change their minds all the time about what to do. I love that they have so many opportunities and I encourage them to explore each and every opportunity. Often times the ones that seem like the greatest opportunity tend to be the ones that they are the most scared of taking. Sometimes you just have to swallow that fear and jump, who knows it could be the greatest thing you've ever done!

Working at an all women's college has opened my eyes to another side of missed opportunities. I hope and pray that Mike and I's relationship can serve as some kind of reminder to my students that you can reach for your dreams, you can have a career and you can have love. So many times I watch girls with amazing dreams push them aside from fear that they can't have it all. But you know what I think, actually what I believe? I believe that anyone who you are in a relationship with should support your dreams, they should encourage you to take chances that will allow you to grow as a person, they should celebrate with you when you are offered something amazing as a result of your hardwork...and the flip side of this? You should do the same for your significant other! 

Love should be about growing together, not forcing each other to stay the exact same way that you were when you met. Call me crazy that I think growing in my dreams with someone by my side that supports me is way better than waving goodbye to opportunities. I feel so lucky and blessed that Mike is so insanely supportive of me! If someone doesn't share in your joy of your dreams, there is someone else out there for you, someone who will share in your excitement!

Sometimes you have to be your own biggest fan.

Sometimes chasing your dream will be really hard or lonely.

Sometimes no one else will "get" your dream.

Sometimes you'll hit a fork in the road of your dreams.

Sometimes your dreams will change.

But God will always be there, not just sometimes, all the time.

So follow your dreams, take the path that your heart leads you down because sometimes you might just get what you've always wanted or even better you might find exactly what God has in store for you.

And along the way don't forget to look around and thank all of the people who are rooting you on and supporting your dreams. I know I owe a huge thank you to Mike but also to my parents. My parents may not have understood my dreams when I was going through college but they supported me. But even more importantly they showed me what a truly supportive relationship looks like. Both of my parents made compromises to support the dreams of the other, they made equal compromises! They showed me that hard work pays off and if you work hard enough and follow your heart you can have love and your dreams. 

Love y'all!!

If things get tough on your path remember you always have someone to turn to :)

Getting what you need vs. what you want

I  firmly believe that God gives us what we need even if at times we can't see it. When you sit in those quiet moments and think about the way things in your life have been shaped I think we often find that the moments when we asked for something we really wanted we often received what we really needed, if we just pay attention. I often think about this in ways that pertain to horses; for instance I really wanted a horse when I was younger, little did I know that I really needed Lou pony. Lou and I's paths literally collided when I was 15, I didn't go out horse shopping to find him and while I was secretly wishing for a horse I certainly wasn't looking for one. Lou had perfect timing in my life though and I don't think that was a coincidence. He has taught me to love the imperfections in others, to be patient when you have reached your last strand of patience, to know the limitations of others and work within them and most importantly how to trust and let go. Lou has been the rock in my life as I went through those lovely high school years and boyfriends, moved off to college and then moved all around chasing my dreams in the equine industry. Now he is happily retired and right there when I need a big horsey neck to throw my arms around.

As I continue my adventure of pursuing my equine dreams God continues to give me what I need and not always what I want. God gave me Mike who has always stood beside me pushing me to follow my dreams and giving endless amounts of love and support (truth be told I both wanted and needed Mike in my life.) Then there are the moments at work where I just need a moment/day to boost my confidence or re-energize myself. For instance, we just had our arena redone at Wesleyan and well it took a tad bit longer than planned. So instead of prepping my team for their first show of the semester in our new arena, I was forced to teach in our hilly, slightly rocky pastures on horses that were just coming off of winter break. But right when I thought I would break between the lack of arena and the icky rainy weather, we got a gorgeous perfect MLK day and a thawed out arena for team practice. That day was just what I needed to boost my confidence in the team. This past weekend the western team and I headed up to Greenwood,SC to Lander University for four horse shows during an exceptionally windy and cold weekend. While I, of course, wanted amazing rides from all of them I had to patiently coach them through some tough rides. God, however, gave me what I needed when my new walk/jog/lope rider went in and came out with third place (her personal best all show season!). She drew a pony that she rode amazingly but when another rider in the class had issues with her horse the judge decided to swap the two girls, low and behold my rider got on the new horse and rode like she was actually listening to everything I said this year! That was what I needed, I needed to see that each day and each ride they are improving and that they are listening when I feel like I'm talking to a wall. I needed for everyone to have safe, productive rides that they could learn from and that is exactly what we got.

God also knew I needed a man who would help around the barn...he gave me Mike and our new barn kitten Wesley.

This week I'm prepping the hunt seat team for Georgia Southern on Sunday. While I would love to have everyone out at the barn riding every single horse available, that just won't happen. However, I was able to cram lessons in yesterday before the snow and have both of my novice riders jump; they laid out lovely courses and it was exactly what I needed to see and what they needed to feel. Today I had a forced day off of work due to the snow, I guess I kinda needed this day off as well and Mike needed to see snow for a taste of home. I'm lucky enough to report that Betsy the Blue Explorer got Mike and I safely to the Wesleyan barn to check on all of the ponies and do the noon hay and water shift. Macon looks a bit like a ghost town with everyone hiding inside and off the roads, this made for a very nice drive with no worries! Now we are cozied up with the dogs waiting on our crock pot chicken and dumplings for this evening. I hope y'all are staying warm and safe!

"God is always doing 10,000 things in your life and you may be aware of three of them." -John Piper

Fashion Friday: Equestrian Style

 

By now some of you may have seen blog posts on other blogs about fashion, I often come across those postings on my Instagram account or while browsing through Pinterest. Sometimes I admire how adorable and put together people can be day in and day out and silently wish that I could do the same, other times I giggle to myself when they call their fashion sense "equestrian inspired." Well I absolutely love my job and my lifestyle but I will let you in on a little secret...the equestrian style isn't always quite so fabulous.

Here is my Fashion Friday update:

My trusty Sperry's that literally get worn everyday paired with my lovely tall socks (I mean what else are you going to wear under actual riding boots?!) plus white socks are just boring

My winter riding breeches (lined with the comfiest fleece ever...its cold here in Georgia ;) ) I have literally had these pants since 10th grade

My denim button down that is monogramed and embroidered with Wesleyan Equestrian topped off with a scarf (I'm addicted to scarves)

And drum roll please....I actually matched my socks to my Izod vest today!! Apparently I was slightly awake while getting dressed this morning

My lovely accessories include: pearl earrings from Mike (every girl needs pearls) and a lovely slobber/dirt/possibly poop stain on my vest

By the end of today's lessons my accessories also included rosy cheeks and a very pink nose from teaching in the lovely wind

I certainly wouldn't trade my life with horses for the world but I just thought that maybe the rest of the world should know what equestrians truly wear everyday on the farm....every once in a while we do pull off a cute day though :) 

Sweet Southern Love

If you know anything about my dream wedding you'll know that it involves being near,  preferably on, the water but does not include sand. You also know that now that Mike and I live in the South I have become obsessed with the Spanish moss covered oak trees that give Savannah its charm. So drumroll please........we will have both at our wedding!!

Mike and I ventured to Savannah this past Sunday to go wedding scouting and we were welcomed at every site that we went to, and when I say welcomed I mean the people could not have been any nicer. Everyone was so helpful without being down your throat demanding a decision on the spot, this is most likely the only reason I was actually able to make a decision that day...I do not do well with pressure to make an instant decision.

Mike with the Spanish moss at Skidaway Island.

Mike and I wondered down the amazing driveway of Wormsloe Plantation, explored Skidaway Island State Park and found a little slice of Heaven in Isle of Hope. While I absolutely love love love the oak lined driveway of Wormsloe Plantation they are booked solid through our wedding month...so all of our guests will have to be sure to at least drive by and take a peek at the gorgeous driveway while in town. Skidaway Park had the nicest park rangers and have been nothing but helpful but my debate on if the weather will cooperate rages on and I can't pin myself to no back up plan quite yet. Isle of Hope, however, feels like home.

Here is a sneak peek of the view from our reception site.....I'm so so so excited!!

After lots of driving around and pondering (thank you, Mike, for being so patient!) Mike and I made a decision on the reception site and then headed to downtown Savannah for celebratory drinks and a trip to our favorite Candy Kitchen. 

I am so excited to share Savannah with all of our wedding guests! I've already got tons of fun ideas for everyone while they stay in town so I hope y'all are ready for some Southern exploring :) My next order of business will be to get save the dates out! I'd say that Mike's New Year's resolution of "Get married" is in full swing!

Love y'all!

Polar Vortex and Resolutions

Holy polar vortex! I hope y'all came out of this crazy week without any frostbite. As cold as it was down here in Georgia I know it was even more crazy up north. When temps reach down into the single digits down here people freak out (ok this might include me as well) and apparently even cancel school due to extreme cold. Umm I very clearly remember many days of school when there was actual snow on the ground! Thankfully Mike and I's apartment survived the freeze and Lou and Spence were bundled up in their heavy blankets and equipped with heated water buckets, a perk of having lived up north! The barn at Wesleyan, however, has experienced our share of freezing temp consequences including 6 water line breaks and a frozen solid riding arena. The weather is starting to look a bit brighter though and we should be back up in the 60's by the weekend!!

As promised I will share some of our New Year's resolutions with y'all...after you stare at the adorable panda above though. Too much cuteness!!!

-Usually I make resolutions based on my job but honestly I'm pretty darn happy with my job right now, so my career based resolution is to stop and smell the roses and just be grateful. I mean how exciting is it that I am following my dream and experiencing my first year as head coach?! So I will work on soaking all of that in.

-I will also work on not letting stress take over my life. Last semester showed me that my body can no longer run on crappy food, no sleep and insane amounts of stress. In fact my body was very upset with me for most of the fall...sorry about that! So stress management will be at the top of the priority list along with actually eating adult foods aka not ramen noodles every night. I will also take some time out just for myself; I actually already started on this by forcing myself to go to yoga at 6:30am this week...turns out I love it!

-I will also remember to be more in the moment and unplug. This past Sunday Mike and I ventured out to the Atlanta Zoo and other than snapping pictures I was completely unplugged and it made me realize I need to do that more often. So Sunday Fundays will be unplugged...except for the camera use of the phone:)

When I asked Mike what his resolution is for the year he answered "Get married." So that will be the final resolution, get married!!

           

Be sure to check back soon as we are venturing to Savannah this weekend for wedding fun!! I love hearing from y'all so be sure to leave a comment if there is an update you just have to have...sometimes I need help getting update ideas flowing.

Love y'all!!

2013 wrap up

2013 Wrap Up

Can y'all believe another year has gone by already?! That means that Mike and I have officially made it through our first full year in Georgia and goodness gracious are there some highlights from the year.

2013 was certainly a year of on and off wedding planning. I started the year off with a couple of trips to Savannah,Ga and completely fell in love with it. After lots of options and stresses on wedding location, Mike and I came to our final decision of Savannah,Ga and I couldn't be more excited!

Katie has been such an awesome help with everything wedding-wise!!

Spring brought about end of the year award ceremonies, graduation and prep for summer camp. Thankfully summer was very nice to us this year and we didn't have to endure the crazy Georgia heat, although I'm sure we won't be that lucky again. Summer also brought visits with long lost friends and students, southern wedding festivities in Tennessee, a Jersey shore getaway and new job titles for myself and Mike! Phew a lot happened this summer!

2013 Athletic Banquet

I survived 6 weeks of summer camp...at least they were adorable campers

Ashley came to visit!!

Gray McCurdy became Mrs. Kephart!!

 

 

And Rich and Mandy tied the knot!

 

At the start of the summer/end of spring Mike started working for Butler Honda and began his adventure in sales. Then at the start of July I officially became head coach of the equestrian teams at Wesleyan College. I'd say it was a pretty big summer for us!

I kicked off the fall semester with a boot camp for returning students and was lucky enough to have a visitor from Whitings Neck join us for the day! It was so great to see a previous student doing so well in her riding. The show season kicked off in September and the insanity of the fall semester began!  

 A small part of our boot camp. I can't believe how much the team has grown since the start of the school year! 

 

Somewhere in the midst of show season, car sales and life in general Mike and I picked up wedding planning again and I even got to make a trip to Boston to spend time with my parents and some wedding dress shopping. Even though I didn't find the one while in Boston, I did recently buy a dress here in the South!!

To end the show season I hosted a schooling show at Wesleyan and was lucky enough to have Erin fly in for a southern getaway and to help me keep my sanity!

 This year has been such a lesson in learning to really cherish each and every one of our friends and loved ones. Life can be so fleeting and we should enjoy each and every day. Be sure to tell your loved ones that you love them as often as possible! I know that if it weren't for my amazing friends, family and Mike I certainly wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am today and my sanity would have been lost years ago! I love all of you more than you know! With that being said I can't wait to celebrate a new year with all of you and, of course, can't wait to celebrate Mike and I's union in marriage with all of our close friends and family!! 

Remember how I said that Katie has been amazing as wedding help, well she was kind enough to spend the day with Mike and I in Savannah this fall for our engagement pictures and she is currently housing my wedding dress...love her!!

To end out the year I was lucky enough to get a couple of days away from work and headed up to DC for some time with the family. Then I headed back to Georgia for a nice quiet Christmas with Mike and the puppies and then rang in the New Year with a late night visit to check on the ponies and the love of my life :)

  Wishing you all a very happy new year! Be sure to check back soon for our resolutions and wedding updates! Things are seriously rolling now...we have a dress, a guestbook and the search for an official venue in Savannah begins with a visit very soon!! 

Love y'all!!

If you are looking for another read be sure to head on over to my cousin Hilary's blog! She is currently visiting Germany and has a knack for making history fun!

http://historywithhilary.blogspot.com