Hi all!
So my laptop battery is showing red, and it is getting close to beddy-bye...but just wanted to check in. My head cold had *just* about cleared, and I had a pretty nice weekend with hubby both relaxing and doing fun stuffs. We went to the Blacksburg library downtown Saturday afternoon, got cards and each checked out a book (poo on Ereaders...I've always liked the feel of a plastic jacket :-) We finally made it out to a local (less than 15mins from the apt!!) park called Pandapas Pond. Yes, there's a pond as the name implies, but also an extensive network of SWEET trails....trails which welcome both bike and horse!!! Now I'm sure everybody is a bit confused that I mention the horse part, seeing as Dax is still out of commission, but I'm ever hopeful.....and I also found someone at my barn who wants help exercising their 16hand handsome-as-a-devil buckskin gelding :-) He's pretty herd bound at the moment from being out of work, but his owner claims he's a rock-star on the trails (he is a Quarter horse). Will try to get some pictures a bit later this week. Regardless of horse potential, Pandapas pond is a great place to hike with puppers and bike. So even with our friendly quiet road and the Heritage Farm just down the street (we found a way to walk there too!), we've got awesome trails just a bit further up the mt.
Man I love this town!!
Furry update: Dax is fat, even with her grazing muzzle on 24/7. Our routine is now I jump on her bareback in her field, ride her down to the barn, she gets groomed, all her itches scratched, and a couple cookies, then bareback ride back to her field and her buddies. She LOVES the new routine, not surprisingly. The doggers are good....our weekend Pandapas pond trip wore them out! Their lack of stamina continues to be the only clear sign of old age (well, and some morning stiffness) - otherwise both still completely loose their marbles any time we touch a leash. Cato and Sam still don't spend much time outside, and Sammy is growing in his mane for the winter. Cato is fine with her horrible clip job, and continues to be way more affectionate than she ever was in Crozet....still don't understand why! I am counting my lucky stars everyone has adjusted so well to apt living!!!
Hubby is OK, although some cooler weather is also heralding in fall allergy season. So far Claritin is his friend :-) And I'm enjoying my classes so far, but that's probably just b/c they're all still really easy! Got my first presentation in "Seminar" in two weeks, on how clinical trials have had an impact on the way we do modern research/science.
Ok, next post I promise to talk about school and how all that is going (unless I get comments that nobody is really interested and to just post more pictures of the pets. I get it.)
Now I'm going to be a good, responsible adult and leave my pile of dishes in the kitchen so I can go to bed at a decent hour.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Some explanations
Hubby and I agree that for the sake of our financial security and mental stability, we should just stay put in our cheap, simple apartment for the next year. We will seriously re-visit buying a house down the road as many things will still likely change, but for now, we're happy where we are.
Why this sudden change of tune, you might be wondering? (and I don't blame you at all since I've been blathering on about buying a house for months and months)
To be honest, it's something hubby and I have gone back and forth about privately, but ultimately decided pro-house primarily for financial reasons (paying mortgage for 7yrs vs. paying rent for 7yrs). For us, the decision between buying a house vs. renting is equivalent to the choice between two lifestyles:
HOUSE-OWNING LIFE: lots of storage for lots of crap, extra rooms that we keep closed for guests/special use but still have to clean, yard with space for doggers and a garden, but must be mowed every week spring/summer. Responsible for all things that break, time-wise and money-wise. Good for having friends over, hosting parties, housing visiting relatives, but weekends would be spent cleaning, gardening, repairing/fixing. Struggling to find time to fit in bike rides, horse commitments, trips. Maintaining constant attention to budget limits, having to be VERY careful with food buying, eating out and drinking, even trips to visit family because of gas costs. But we also can grow our own foods, maybe even have chickens and a bee hive! Can compost, collect rainwater, lead a more ecologically conscious lifestyle with our choices in home and possible renovations (if we could afford to do renovations!!). Workshop space for arts and crafts, building and repairing things. Put things like piano lessons, vacations, major renovations, bike stuff, etc. on back burner b/c cannot afford AND don't have the time. (by the way, I mentioned renovations b/c all we could afford would be fixer-uppers)
RENTING LIFE: limited storage, especially for bikes. Poor offerings for accommodations for guest/family. Tiny kitchen that I can't let loose my culinary ninja skillz in. Beer brewing is going to be tricky :-). Small space gets messy extra fast, but also cleans up extra fast. Dogs have no space to run in, always have to make sure to get home to let them out to pee. Possibility of obnoxious neighbors, although so far we have fabulous neighbors. Landlord dictates stuff, rent could go up!! But for now, very cheap. Very easy to maintain, tons of extra time, as well as cash, to explore things. More time for mt biking, backpacking, cross country skiing at Mt. Lake resort, piano lessons, more horsey activities, yoga, music shows, etc. But have to pay for things like car work that we could otherwise do ourselves b/c we don't have space/tool in storage. No workshop space for crafts, building things, etc. Less responsibilities to distract me from school, and less for hubby to shoulder during those times I'm super busy. Not having to scrape by money-wise; can afford occasional nice dinners, better food (i.e. current lifestyle). Can put more money into savings and retirement, even with eating out! Can still shop for fresh farm veggies at the farmer's market, maybe join a local CSA to support local living/eating.
The punchline is that owning a home would make us much more tied to the property in both good and bad ways, but we would be, by financial necessity, home-bodies. On the contrary, rental life makes spending large amounts of time in the apt pretty boring (I know, I've been stuck home sick the last three days) and thus we are encouraged to do more outside, away from the apt and perhaps more with other people.
For the last five years, we've been homebodies. Even though we were renting the house in Crozet, we lived pretty far out and were responsible for it in almost every way on a daily basis (but we didn't have to replace appliances when they died, like the furnace and water heater!). It was such a freaking high-maintenace place too.....it felt like we spent every single weekend cleaning, beating back weeds and mowing, maintaing vehicles, bikes and tools, maintaing the garden....yes, we did go to Mint Springs park a decent bit, but we barely did any backpacking and almost no trips (I just had to ask hubby and we can only come up with two trips that weren't visiting-family related). While we did have some wonderful get-togethers and a rocking wedding in Crozet, we rarely could do the spur-of-the-moment things b/c of the location, but also b/c we were so strapped for time with all the work of maintaining. While part of the problem was related to living out in the country, I know that lifestyle was especially isolating for my introverted hubby. (I, on the other hand, had a tendency to lure people out to Crozet with promises of free food :-) We were both relieved to be leaving that place b/c of all the cleaning!!
That having been our living situation for so long, we're both pretty curious about what the rental-lifestyle in town will suit us. While we both might be homebodies by introverted-nature, there's something to be said about pushing yourself beyond the usual comfort zone, making sure to stay engaged with the world around you and exploring new things. Doing those things takes time, effort and in some cases money, things we wouldn't be able to spare if we owned a home.
The biggest factor might be the time factor. After all, I'm in graduate school, in a freakin' dual degree program! That's the whole reason we're here at all! That HAS to be my primary focus.
So for now, we're staying put. And it ain't so bad....this is what is right down the road from us:
Pics from the Heritage Farm, a public park with mowed walking trials (mentioned in a previous post). Great dog walking, beautiful views!
Oh, and by the way, I start classes tomorrow. Yikes!!
PS - I apologize for the less than beautifully written posts lately. Today's excuse is the head cold and too much over-thinking all of what I detailed above.
Why this sudden change of tune, you might be wondering? (and I don't blame you at all since I've been blathering on about buying a house for months and months)
To be honest, it's something hubby and I have gone back and forth about privately, but ultimately decided pro-house primarily for financial reasons (paying mortgage for 7yrs vs. paying rent for 7yrs). For us, the decision between buying a house vs. renting is equivalent to the choice between two lifestyles:
HOUSE-OWNING LIFE: lots of storage for lots of crap, extra rooms that we keep closed for guests/special use but still have to clean, yard with space for doggers and a garden, but must be mowed every week spring/summer. Responsible for all things that break, time-wise and money-wise. Good for having friends over, hosting parties, housing visiting relatives, but weekends would be spent cleaning, gardening, repairing/fixing. Struggling to find time to fit in bike rides, horse commitments, trips. Maintaining constant attention to budget limits, having to be VERY careful with food buying, eating out and drinking, even trips to visit family because of gas costs. But we also can grow our own foods, maybe even have chickens and a bee hive! Can compost, collect rainwater, lead a more ecologically conscious lifestyle with our choices in home and possible renovations (if we could afford to do renovations!!). Workshop space for arts and crafts, building and repairing things. Put things like piano lessons, vacations, major renovations, bike stuff, etc. on back burner b/c cannot afford AND don't have the time. (by the way, I mentioned renovations b/c all we could afford would be fixer-uppers)
RENTING LIFE: limited storage, especially for bikes. Poor offerings for accommodations for guest/family. Tiny kitchen that I can't let loose my culinary ninja skillz in. Beer brewing is going to be tricky :-). Small space gets messy extra fast, but also cleans up extra fast. Dogs have no space to run in, always have to make sure to get home to let them out to pee. Possibility of obnoxious neighbors, although so far we have fabulous neighbors. Landlord dictates stuff, rent could go up!! But for now, very cheap. Very easy to maintain, tons of extra time, as well as cash, to explore things. More time for mt biking, backpacking, cross country skiing at Mt. Lake resort, piano lessons, more horsey activities, yoga, music shows, etc. But have to pay for things like car work that we could otherwise do ourselves b/c we don't have space/tool in storage. No workshop space for crafts, building things, etc. Less responsibilities to distract me from school, and less for hubby to shoulder during those times I'm super busy. Not having to scrape by money-wise; can afford occasional nice dinners, better food (i.e. current lifestyle). Can put more money into savings and retirement, even with eating out! Can still shop for fresh farm veggies at the farmer's market, maybe join a local CSA to support local living/eating.
The punchline is that owning a home would make us much more tied to the property in both good and bad ways, but we would be, by financial necessity, home-bodies. On the contrary, rental life makes spending large amounts of time in the apt pretty boring (I know, I've been stuck home sick the last three days) and thus we are encouraged to do more outside, away from the apt and perhaps more with other people.
For the last five years, we've been homebodies. Even though we were renting the house in Crozet, we lived pretty far out and were responsible for it in almost every way on a daily basis (but we didn't have to replace appliances when they died, like the furnace and water heater!). It was such a freaking high-maintenace place too.....it felt like we spent every single weekend cleaning, beating back weeds and mowing, maintaing vehicles, bikes and tools, maintaing the garden....yes, we did go to Mint Springs park a decent bit, but we barely did any backpacking and almost no trips (I just had to ask hubby and we can only come up with two trips that weren't visiting-family related). While we did have some wonderful get-togethers and a rocking wedding in Crozet, we rarely could do the spur-of-the-moment things b/c of the location, but also b/c we were so strapped for time with all the work of maintaining. While part of the problem was related to living out in the country, I know that lifestyle was especially isolating for my introverted hubby. (I, on the other hand, had a tendency to lure people out to Crozet with promises of free food :-) We were both relieved to be leaving that place b/c of all the cleaning!!
That having been our living situation for so long, we're both pretty curious about what the rental-lifestyle in town will suit us. While we both might be homebodies by introverted-nature, there's something to be said about pushing yourself beyond the usual comfort zone, making sure to stay engaged with the world around you and exploring new things. Doing those things takes time, effort and in some cases money, things we wouldn't be able to spare if we owned a home.
The biggest factor might be the time factor. After all, I'm in graduate school, in a freakin' dual degree program! That's the whole reason we're here at all! That HAS to be my primary focus.
So for now, we're staying put. And it ain't so bad....this is what is right down the road from us:
Oh, and by the way, I start classes tomorrow. Yikes!!
PS - I apologize for the less than beautifully written posts lately. Today's excuse is the head cold and too much over-thinking all of what I detailed above.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
We have a new pet....
and it's a gremlin.
Ok, it's just Cato. After I shaved her. After I did a really crappy job of shaving her :-)
Is it bad to use one's pet as comic relief?
Oh who am I kidding, that's why I've got pets!!
Sorry for the complete 180* post after the last one, just thought the blog could use some cheer to balance the stress-out! And plus after a couple of days to clear my head and I've already formulated a new plan!!
Is anyone surprised??
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Ugh.
Brace yourselves...I'm trying to unscramble my brains before going to bed and regain some positivity.
Over-all, things are FINE. No one is sick, I haven't been kicked out of school, no huge catastrophe.
It's horse/money/house woes.
First off, Dax isn't sound, as I mentioned before. She pretty much isn't ride-able (15 min walks don't count), though she is pasture sound and happy (and still fat). However, being not ride-able doesn't mean she doesn't cost the same amount as when she is ride-able. I don't know how much of a lost cause she is in terms of ever being ride-able again until I talk to a vet, but for now as my main stress-relieving-hobby, she's out of commission.
Then add today, when I discover that my paycheck amount I was told I'd be making turns out to be the amount before taxes....even though I EXPLICITLY asked months ago and was told that the amount told me was the amount after taxes. So I get my paycheck only to discover how much less I'm actually bringing home than I thought I was. Don't get me wrong, I'm a student bringing something home and I'm not complaining about that. It's just a problem when we'd already drawn up budgets and made plans based on a larger income. And I'm not even going to get into the $800 student "fee" PER SEMESTER that was never mentioned before I started....oh no, all I heard was how tuition was covered! Nothing about that fee.
So yeah, we had ourselves in good shape to handle the little house mortgage with a decent cushion each month then suddenly WHAM, there goes the cushion!
Sooooo the jist is we can't afford the little house after all b/c of my stupid student crap AND because I have a fat, expensive and useless horse. Which officially makes me the worst wifey in the world b/c my hubby doesn't have anything to do with the horse-habit but still supports me for some unknown reason! However, understandably, this is about one straw away from breaking the camel's back.
But what can I do about the horse expense??!? She's certainly not unsound enough to put down - it's completely indefensible. She can't be used for much of anything, even a therapeutic riding horse (they get inundated with people trying to off-load horses on them, and Dax is probably too hot-blooded). Horses can be donated to veterinary colleges...but sounds like most of them are put down almost immediately for anatomy labs or are used for terminal surgical training. These are worth-while causes, and for a horse that is near the end of its life or is ill, I think this is a very viable and humane option. But Dax is only 10yrs old, not even half-way through her life, and like I said before is happy and sound in her field. Do I try to find some field in the middle of nowhere with cows she can live with and put her in retirement?? What if she gets hurt in the crappy conditions?
If it were just me, I'd simply suck it up, eat ramen noodles for the next six years, live in a studio and be fine - scrape and save to try the stem cell injection. But I can't ask my hubby to make sacrifices like that for something he never has and never will get anything out of (horse keeping, that is). The problem isn't that I'm keeping myself from owning a home, it's that I'm keeping HIM from owning a home.
Or, are we both too obsessed with home-ownership? Haven't I mentioned repeatedly how much we like our little apt, how easy it is to care for, convenient to things, etc? And did I mention cheap?? It's pretty freakin' cheap!!(even with the cost of the storage unit for all the extra crap) We have our tomato and pepper plants outside, just enough space for a grill. Hubby could still do his home-brewing on the back step. We can shop at the farmer's market and join a CSA instead of having a garden.....being in an apt leaves more time for studying, bike riding, hiking, exploring in general. Not to mention extra income for the occasional trip, etc.
But owning a home is an investment, right? Good time to buy and all that, right?
But we know we'll be leaving the area almost for sure in 7 years.
But it's a college town and we could rent a house out, if we wanted to deal with that hassle.
This is not even getting into the fact that after three years of PhD work with a stipend, I'll drop to absolutely no income when I enter the DVM, plus have to actually pay $10,000 of tuition each year (that's only %50!! And that's in-state!! Can you believe how expensive vet school is??!? Next time you take your dog/cat/horse to the vet and wonder why it costs so much, it's because you're paying their student loans!)
Now I did know this when I applied, and I am planning on having a career that will cover those loans...like a long term investment in my brain :-) But knowing it in advance doesn't make the cost any less staggering, in my opinion. And it doesn't make it any easier to ask my hubby to make these sacrifices when he's not the one in school!!
I know nothing is going to get solved tonight, and I've already got some ideas of money-saving things to look into (Dax might become a professional blood-donor yet.....) AND I'm planning on applying for some fellowships that will cover the PhD if I get them - they come with a better stipend plus all the scientific glory of having gotten a fellowship, but who knows if any of it will work out. *sigh*
It always sucks when a beautiful happy image of one's future gets popped like a soap bubble.
Over-all, things are FINE. No one is sick, I haven't been kicked out of school, no huge catastrophe.
It's horse/money/house woes.
First off, Dax isn't sound, as I mentioned before. She pretty much isn't ride-able (15 min walks don't count), though she is pasture sound and happy (and still fat). However, being not ride-able doesn't mean she doesn't cost the same amount as when she is ride-able. I don't know how much of a lost cause she is in terms of ever being ride-able again until I talk to a vet, but for now as my main stress-relieving-hobby, she's out of commission.
Then add today, when I discover that my paycheck amount I was told I'd be making turns out to be the amount before taxes....even though I EXPLICITLY asked months ago and was told that the amount told me was the amount after taxes. So I get my paycheck only to discover how much less I'm actually bringing home than I thought I was. Don't get me wrong, I'm a student bringing something home and I'm not complaining about that. It's just a problem when we'd already drawn up budgets and made plans based on a larger income. And I'm not even going to get into the $800 student "fee" PER SEMESTER that was never mentioned before I started....oh no, all I heard was how tuition was covered! Nothing about that fee.
So yeah, we had ourselves in good shape to handle the little house mortgage with a decent cushion each month then suddenly WHAM, there goes the cushion!
Sooooo the jist is we can't afford the little house after all b/c of my stupid student crap AND because I have a fat, expensive and useless horse. Which officially makes me the worst wifey in the world b/c my hubby doesn't have anything to do with the horse-habit but still supports me for some unknown reason! However, understandably, this is about one straw away from breaking the camel's back.
But what can I do about the horse expense??!? She's certainly not unsound enough to put down - it's completely indefensible. She can't be used for much of anything, even a therapeutic riding horse (they get inundated with people trying to off-load horses on them, and Dax is probably too hot-blooded). Horses can be donated to veterinary colleges...but sounds like most of them are put down almost immediately for anatomy labs or are used for terminal surgical training. These are worth-while causes, and for a horse that is near the end of its life or is ill, I think this is a very viable and humane option. But Dax is only 10yrs old, not even half-way through her life, and like I said before is happy and sound in her field. Do I try to find some field in the middle of nowhere with cows she can live with and put her in retirement?? What if she gets hurt in the crappy conditions?
If it were just me, I'd simply suck it up, eat ramen noodles for the next six years, live in a studio and be fine - scrape and save to try the stem cell injection. But I can't ask my hubby to make sacrifices like that for something he never has and never will get anything out of (horse keeping, that is). The problem isn't that I'm keeping myself from owning a home, it's that I'm keeping HIM from owning a home.
Or, are we both too obsessed with home-ownership? Haven't I mentioned repeatedly how much we like our little apt, how easy it is to care for, convenient to things, etc? And did I mention cheap?? It's pretty freakin' cheap!!(even with the cost of the storage unit for all the extra crap) We have our tomato and pepper plants outside, just enough space for a grill. Hubby could still do his home-brewing on the back step. We can shop at the farmer's market and join a CSA instead of having a garden.....being in an apt leaves more time for studying, bike riding, hiking, exploring in general. Not to mention extra income for the occasional trip, etc.
But owning a home is an investment, right? Good time to buy and all that, right?
But we know we'll be leaving the area almost for sure in 7 years.
But it's a college town and we could rent a house out, if we wanted to deal with that hassle.
This is not even getting into the fact that after three years of PhD work with a stipend, I'll drop to absolutely no income when I enter the DVM, plus have to actually pay $10,000 of tuition each year (that's only %50!! And that's in-state!! Can you believe how expensive vet school is??!? Next time you take your dog/cat/horse to the vet and wonder why it costs so much, it's because you're paying their student loans!)
Now I did know this when I applied, and I am planning on having a career that will cover those loans...like a long term investment in my brain :-) But knowing it in advance doesn't make the cost any less staggering, in my opinion. And it doesn't make it any easier to ask my hubby to make these sacrifices when he's not the one in school!!
I know nothing is going to get solved tonight, and I've already got some ideas of money-saving things to look into (Dax might become a professional blood-donor yet.....) AND I'm planning on applying for some fellowships that will cover the PhD if I get them - they come with a better stipend plus all the scientific glory of having gotten a fellowship, but who knows if any of it will work out. *sigh*
It always sucks when a beautiful happy image of one's future gets popped like a soap bubble.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Charged with neglect...
Well, I should be. Poor blog!! I can't believe there aren't dandelions and crab grass popping up in the corners over there....well, I guess that's one advantage of a blog over a garden!! But my blog doesn't smell quite as nice as a garden. Sorry, this analogy is just getting goofy.
Big news is that WE ARE FINALLY OUT OF CROZET AND COMPLETELY MOVED TO BLACKSBURG!! I realize that might not seem like such a big deal to everyone else, but seeing as it was a horrendous move weekend PLUS THREE ADDITIONAL WEEKENDS of moving and cleaning, both hubby and I are just relieved. There was one sad moment of leaving, but unfortunately the exhaustion and relief were too overwhelming for me to get very sentimental. Honestly, after having to pull posts out of the field, hubby mowing the yard twice and getting attacked by bees (subsequently ending up on prednisone and antibios) and mice re-appearing in the kitchen for me to clean up after, well, we weren't exactly feeling the love.
So what are we up to now, you might be wondering? Well....still plotting how we might get our hands on the little yellow house! Yup, it's still on the market, and we've been in town long enough now to have paystubs, so the banks will believe that we are actually employed. (Also for those of you parental types out there, we've done our budgets and confirmed we can afford the house on the reduced-student-income.) Of course now that we're ready to get back down to serious loan application business, our realtor and the loan dude go out of town for a week. Pooh bah! We're also watching things carefully to see what happens to loan rates with the new gov't rating....I've heard everything from doomsday-the-economy-will-collapse to -eh-things-might-go-up-a-bit.
Slight tangent - does anyone else feel like going to D.C. and smacking some congressional idiots around? We could carpool!!
House hunting aside, we're pretty settled into our little apartment, and are really enjoying it....it only takes the two of us to take it from messy and dirty to neat and clean in 2hrs!!
Is it sad that I base my happiness in a place on how quickly it can be cleaned?? Maybe we should be staying the the apartment.....
All the furries are good, except for Dax. Simply, she's lame again. It's pretty clear that the steroid injection didn't work at this point. I really wish there were a special font for displaying frustration and disappointment, but there's not so you'll just have to take my word for it.
I've had time to mull it over, and have a plan.
1) Continue to very lightly ride her once a week to keep her brain in the right place....she's sound walking and moving straight and very light work isn't making things worse. I'll give her bute (horsey ibuprofen) when I do ride as a just in case.
2) More clicker training!!
3) Beg for other horses to ride at the barn to keep my hiney in shape.
4) Work with the vets at Tech about possible options - second steroid injection? Stem cell injection? I need to find out what they think and what things would cost me. As I understand it, I get a pretty significant discount on annual vet care (i.e. it's free) but this goes well beyond standard care. BUT there's no rush on this since she's pasture sound. I'd like to work on this for the next year, but it's going to depend significantly on the house situation.
If it seems like I'm being optimistic, it's because I am! Being pessimistic doesn't get much done, and it's easier to be hopeful when generally everything else in my life is pretty darned good!
I'll leave you with some pics of the apt, taken during move-in. More soon, I promise, but not tomorrow as it's my dear hubby's 37th birthday tomorrow!!
Big news is that WE ARE FINALLY OUT OF CROZET AND COMPLETELY MOVED TO BLACKSBURG!! I realize that might not seem like such a big deal to everyone else, but seeing as it was a horrendous move weekend PLUS THREE ADDITIONAL WEEKENDS of moving and cleaning, both hubby and I are just relieved. There was one sad moment of leaving, but unfortunately the exhaustion and relief were too overwhelming for me to get very sentimental. Honestly, after having to pull posts out of the field, hubby mowing the yard twice and getting attacked by bees (subsequently ending up on prednisone and antibios) and mice re-appearing in the kitchen for me to clean up after, well, we weren't exactly feeling the love.
So what are we up to now, you might be wondering? Well....still plotting how we might get our hands on the little yellow house! Yup, it's still on the market, and we've been in town long enough now to have paystubs, so the banks will believe that we are actually employed. (Also for those of you parental types out there, we've done our budgets and confirmed we can afford the house on the reduced-student-income.) Of course now that we're ready to get back down to serious loan application business, our realtor and the loan dude go out of town for a week. Pooh bah! We're also watching things carefully to see what happens to loan rates with the new gov't rating....I've heard everything from doomsday-the-economy-will-collapse to -eh-things-might-go-up-a-bit.
Slight tangent - does anyone else feel like going to D.C. and smacking some congressional idiots around? We could carpool!!
House hunting aside, we're pretty settled into our little apartment, and are really enjoying it....it only takes the two of us to take it from messy and dirty to neat and clean in 2hrs!!
Is it sad that I base my happiness in a place on how quickly it can be cleaned?? Maybe we should be staying the the apartment.....
All the furries are good, except for Dax. Simply, she's lame again. It's pretty clear that the steroid injection didn't work at this point. I really wish there were a special font for displaying frustration and disappointment, but there's not so you'll just have to take my word for it.
I've had time to mull it over, and have a plan.
1) Continue to very lightly ride her once a week to keep her brain in the right place....she's sound walking and moving straight and very light work isn't making things worse. I'll give her bute (horsey ibuprofen) when I do ride as a just in case.
2) More clicker training!!
3) Beg for other horses to ride at the barn to keep my hiney in shape.
4) Work with the vets at Tech about possible options - second steroid injection? Stem cell injection? I need to find out what they think and what things would cost me. As I understand it, I get a pretty significant discount on annual vet care (i.e. it's free) but this goes well beyond standard care. BUT there's no rush on this since she's pasture sound. I'd like to work on this for the next year, but it's going to depend significantly on the house situation.
If it seems like I'm being optimistic, it's because I am! Being pessimistic doesn't get much done, and it's easier to be hopeful when generally everything else in my life is pretty darned good!
I'll leave you with some pics of the apt, taken during move-in. More soon, I promise, but not tomorrow as it's my dear hubby's 37th birthday tomorrow!!
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