Playing catch up

I am kind of sad. And a little bit bummed. For the past four years I've headed to Lexington, Kentucky for three days of pure horse bliss at the Rolex. *sigh*

This year I'm staying home and the Rolex starts tomorrow. I know, I know, I can watch it on TV and they are just horses, afterall. But they are amazing horses and this is a sport I have always wanted to be competitive in. It's not the same as watching it on TV, you can't feel the hooves hitting turf as those amazing athletes thunder by, feet away from where you are, and you can't hear them breath loudly, exhaling with each stride. And you can smell the sweat on them and hear the riders offer quiet encouragement on the course.

It's an amazing experience. I'm sad I'm missing it this year. I know we really couldn't afford to take the trip either. With four people at about $45 a ticket, plus camping and food and other stuff, it gets a tad bit expensive. And honestly, I'd rather get a second pasture fenced than go to the Rolex.

Or maybe that's just me trying to convince myself it really is best that we skip it this year.

Saturday I spent most of the day up north a bit trail riding with a friend. She picked Chief and I up early in the morning and we headed out to a state park. The day was perfect, not too hot, not too chilly, beautiful blue skies dotted with shreds of clouds that looked like ribbons of milk swirling through a sapphire liquid.

We arrived early and hit the trail just after 9 a.m. We were on the trail for almost three hours. Fabulous. We slogged through a few mud puddles, saw a turkey with an enormous beard, saw blue and yellow and little white flowers everywhere and smelled the sweet scent of some kind of flowering pink/white tree. Chief, although a whole lot out of shape, was fantastic. I seriously need to get that old man in better shape so hauling my butt up a hill doesn't leave him panting and gasping.

Friday night Hubby and I went to a poker party at the house of one of his friends. No, not strip poker, get your minds out of the gutter! It's been a long, long time since I've played, and even longer since I've played for real money. I had a blast, yes, there was a re-learning curve for me, but everyone was exceedingly patient! I even learned a few new games, which is very cool. I walked out 50-cents ahead, yay me!

It's definitely something I'd like to do again, and maybe next time I won't be quite so exhausted. I was tired. Exceedingly tired. Friday was a bad, bad day at work. One of those rush all day long days just to try to catch up with yourself. Wait, the whole week was like that! I knew it was going to be an exhausted evening when I tried to doze off while driving home from work before the poker party. When this girl is tired, she is TIRED! Nothing in between.