Happy Friday, friends! I can’t believe it’s August. Strangely, it’s a lot cooler than July so far! The last day I worked trail rides, which was 2 weeks ago, it was 97 degrees with a heat index of 108 and I was pretty sure I was gonna die by 9 a.m. Thankfully it’s only supposed to be 86 and maybe rainy tomorrow, so I’m hopeful for a good day!

 

Here’s what I’ve been loving lately:

 

1. Target has some absurdly cute notebooks in the back to school section! I grabbed these two:

 

 

Here’s hoping for some great clearance deals after school starts so I can grab more without feeling guitly! The one on the right is kinda iridescent/holographic looking, and as for the other one… who can resist cat unicorns? NOT I.

 

2. I finally got to try reiki after wanting to for years. My crazy hippie church has a healing/meditation night where different healing practitioners offer their services from massage with crystals to reiki to a weird mat you sit on that’s supposed to help your circulation. It’s very weird to lie on a table while several people either have their hands on you or near you, but I felt really good afterwards! Really want to try the massage next time.

 

3. Siri sent me the wrong way after my riding lesson on Monday, but it worked out really well! The barn where I’m learning dressage is part of the public parks system, and it turns out it’s just around the corner from this:

 

 

I need to go back on a day that’s not a billion degrees when I have more time to walk around. It looks like there’s a trail around the whole lake, so that’s on my to-do list!

Speaking of dressage lessons – it’s hard but fun. So different from anything I’ve done. Louie spooked at a BUTTERFLY that day. He’s fun. Actually, I learned that so far I’m the only student there allowed to ride him since he’s considered an advanced horse. That made me feel pretty rad, even though most of the students are kids or super beginners. They’ve been having horse camp and have a few junior high aged kids there as junior counselors to help out. As I was getting Louie ready for my last lesson, one of them asked me how long I’ve been riding. She was definitely NOT expecting the “Um… about 30 years?” answer.

 

That’s Louie in the foreground, about to get a bath. I love the serious side-eye the horse in the next stall (Harry) is giving him because he just saw him get a treat. 

 

I think I might be riding a different horse on Monday – Louie is coming off or a career as a Western Pleasure show horse, so between that and his overall hotness/spookiness he’s not *ideal* for me to work on for dressage. He gave me a cute little Western Pleasure lope when I asked for a trot, which was adorable, but also one of the worst things that could happen in a dressage test. I’m excited to keep learning!

 

 

4. I get Mel Robbins’s email newsletter, and a recent one was titled, “The price of your new life is your old one.” That hit me so hard and I haven’t stopped thinking about it for over a week.

 

 

5. I somehow had NO idea that if you download the ABC Go app, you can watch all but the most recent episode of shows without having a paid TV subscription. I binge watched most of the latest season of the Bachelorette this week (The finale isn’t available for 5 more days. ARRGH.)- I’ve missed terrible reality TV!

 

Hope your weekend is lovely! Since I’m working trail rides Saturday and thrift store Sunday, I don’t have much of a “weekend” per se, but given that I spent most of Tues-Thurs watching the Bachelorette while playing Gardenscapes, I don’t really *need* another break. That said, I’d be totally down for a VERY chill trail ride day!

Linking up with Bright on a Budget and A Little Bit of Everything