Friday Favs – Last of 2018!
Happy Friday, friends! Can you believe 2018 is almost history? 3 more days! I’m posting late in the day this week, which you’ll hear more about in #1…
1. I helped teach a day camp thing at my Hunter/Jumper barn today and despite literally freezing temperatures (I think it was 31), it was a lot of fun! We had 5 girls there for almost 5 hours, and it went surprisingly well! A lot of times when you have groups of kids there’s someone who feels left out or cliques or whatever, but that was the perfect number. Whew!
I mostly worked in the barn teaching kids parts of the saddle and bridle, parts of the horse, horse colors and markings, etc. while the barn owner (my jumping instructor) took them on pony rides one at a time. There was one little girl who was SO EXCITED to ride who as also SO nervous, so I walked alongside her while my instructor led the pony. It was so cute to see her go from legit trembling to waving like a princess when we started talking about the Princess Diaries. I’m not a kid person, but I do love teaching!
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2. I worked on Christmas Eve and Christmas and the day after, but I was off on the 27th and it was like 60 degrees, so I went on a quick hike in Branson. One of my goals for 2019 (I’ll be sharing more about those soon!) is to hike 100 miles, so it was nice to get a one mile stroll in to warm up for that since I haven’t had time to get outside much lately. I’m really hoping to get at least a few nice weather days in January so I can knock out 10+ miles ASAP and make a dent in the 100 mile goal!
By the way, does anyone know what this plant I came across is?
My first thought was holly, but I’m not sure. It definitely looked Christmas-y!
3. If you read my Friday Favs often, you know that about half the time #3 is a review of something that Chewy sent us for their Influencer Program! This week it’s the Purina Beyond Wild Prey-Inspired Salmon, Liver & Arctic Char Recipe Canned Cat Food.
Side note – I had to look up what Arctic Char is – I figured it’s a fish, but I’d never heard of it. (Although I don’t eat fish so maybe you guys have heard of it?) Turns out they’re both cool and creepy looking, and apparently massive?
Anyway, back to the cat food! Salmon is the main ingredient, so it’s high protein and Bear-approved. (He’s a bear, of course he likes salmon.) It gets good reviews on Chewy – 75% are 5 star and the next 13% are 4 star, so it seems to be cat-approved in general! My cats liked it a lot, but the other food they tried this month (which I wrote about here) stole the spotlight because they loved it so much.
4. Sorry to go all Cat Lady on you (not actually sorry), but my favorite part of Christmas clearance shopping (it only barely beats out getting fancy chocolate for cheap) is picking up new toys and treats for my cats. I got this catnip penguin for $1 at Target and it’s basically Hercules Mulligan’s new favorite thing in the world:
Hercules Mulligan is loving his Christmas present! (They’re on clearance for $1 at @Target !) #CatsOfTwitter pic.twitter.com/3HrCsP9AAo
— Crystal Ward (@Crystal11) December 28, 2018
5. I picked these up on a whim on my last trip to Springfield to hit my favorite grocery stores, and I was surprised that I really like them! I’m so busy most of the time that little snacks I can keep in my car are super important. The funny thing is that I DO NOT like cauliflower at all, but these do a good job of masking it. They basically taste like Cheez-its, but a little less artificial, if that makes sense. I found them at Hy-Vee, but I just looked the brand up and they are also available on Amazon.
That’s it for this week! I’m trying to type with my cat Bird rolling around in my lap, so I’ll keep the goodbye quick! See you all next year!
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