Happy Hearts Day!

To be perfectly honest, I’m sick to death of all the people who cry and act moody and pissy just because the calendar says it’s a day to cherish your sweetie and they don’t have one. There’s nothing wrong with being single, you still have people in your life who love you, like your friends and family! You should be happy without being attached to someone else! So don’t be grouchy just because you don’t have a significant other. Who knows, maybe your sulky, ungrateful tendencies are the reason you don’t have one! And I guarantee that those people who claim to hate V-Day will rush out to buy chocolates and flowers the next time February 14th rolls around and they happen to be in a relationship.

What I did this year was buy a bunch of Dr. Seuss Valentine’s Day cards and heart shaped suckers from Walmart. I wrote cheesy pickup lines on them and handed them out to my friends and it made every one of them smile!

I'd totally say yes to a guy who's gutsy enough to say something so stupid.

Two of my friends even got together and wrote out pickup lines and compliments and sent them out with carnations to everyone in our circle of friends! Walking through the halls, people would ask who I got the flower from. I told them it was from my friends, and they would just say ‘Oh,’ clearly disappointed that I didn’t have a male admirer. But I thought about it, and I decided that the carnation meant more to me because it was from my friends and not some guy that barely knew me and thought I was cute or something. Why? Because having friends who really care means way more to me than having a guy with a crush on me.

To me, V-Day isn’t just about celebrating romantic love; it’s about loving your friends and family, too. I like V-Day because there’s always lots of chocolate and candy, and I even get to load up on conversation and cinnamon hearts which my horse LOVES! Also, I usually get a CD or something from my mom.

In 10 Years?

To be perfectly honest, I have no idea where I want to be in 10 years! I'm only 17 so it changes all the time and I'm sure it will continue to for the next decade or so. Some days I want to be an archaeologist working on digs on the Mediterranean coast. Other days I want to own my own ranch out in Alberta and spend my days working cattle, farming and training horses. I want to be a riding coach and trainer. I want to discover something incredible. I want to find someone who loves me for who I am, preferably a guy with a hot bod ;)

I maybe want kids of my own, but after being forced to watch a birth video in class, I'm not so sure anymore. I'm not partial to the idea of pushing something the size of a grapefruit out of my hooha. I do know that I won't be living in the city, working at McDonald's or doing drugs. I hate the city and will work my hardest to have a home in the country, preferably on a large acreage. I will still have my horse,Sabrina, because she means the world to me and hopefully another one or two horses to decorate my pastures.



Phylys is the fat one.



I want a bunch of dogs, cats, guinea pigs, goats, and definitely two potbellied pigs named Steve and Phylys. I don't want animals because of an unmet need for love and affection, I just think pets are wonderful to have around. They are great therapy; my dog always makes me feel better because he's just so darn cute and funny!

I aim to get a BA in history, then an MA in public education. A PhD is probably a little unrealistic, but it would be nice to hope for one. It would be great to have a job working with museums, researchers and designing programs with history!

Sometimes I wish that I lived somewhere with a warmer climate, but I hate the idea of moving away from friends and family. I'm very close to people in this area and can't imagine my life without them. But I guess with global warming, Ontario is getting hotter!

My dear, loving friends all say that I will be locked up in jail for public indecency and to be perfectly honest, that's a possibility.

Fame? Yes!

If I had the choice, I would be famous! I love to make people laugh and am always goofing off, so I think I'd be a comedian, famous for my rediculous anitcs, hilarious outfits, and astounding wit.
I would still be friends with the same people, but they might respect me a little more, and I'd probably be rich so I could buy them lots of things and hire a sexy male entourage who does the wave everytime I wink.

I would have a show where I would go up to other celebrities in a bear costume and scare the bejeezus out of them on camera. Maybe another segment where I convince stupid people that they are dead and just come back as phantoms, but make them pronounce it "fen-thum" because it just sounds even dumber that way. I would do the most rediculous things and film it all!

With all the power that fame brings, I could have an entire army of simpletons who are entertained by cheesy one-liners at my disposal. I could take over something! Maybe a small country, or a Walmart.....I dunno.

Privacy would be an issue, but I'd just get a HUGE fence, a car with tinted windows, some bodyguards that look like Channing Tatum, or better yet I'll just hire him! And some disguises so I could shop and go on dates and normal people stuff. Except I'd be rich, so it would be normal rich people stuff.


Try to climb it. I dare you.



My Theme Song!

It's hard to pick just one, but I think I'm Sexy And I Know It by LMFAO pretty much sums it up! I'm a seductress, a temptress, and way more alluring than any human deserves to be. And I Know It! ;) Just kidding!

Everyone had those awkward years growing up, or had low self esteem, maybe problems with family or friends, and I definitely did. I really think that Good Day To Ride by George Canyon describes a huge part of my life. Horses have been my escape since I was little. I began riding lessons when I was six and fell in love! The first horse I co-boarded was a wonderfully reliable old mare named Taara who I (and my mother) could trust completely. She took care of me and gave me an opportunity to learn and try new things in the saddle because she was always on her best behavior. My riding and self-confidence improved greatly in the two years that I rode her. She taught me just how good a horse could be. Whenever I would come home after having a fight with a friend, I would just ask to go to the barn and come back a much happier person!

A few months after that arrangement ended, I met the horse from hell. She was temperamental, obstinate, ruthless, vicious, too smart for her own good, nearly untrainable, spastic, unpredictable and dangerous. Every time I tried to ride her, she would try to trample or buck me off. I was in love! The beast I'm describing is my mare, Sabrina. Almost 5 years later, she is still hard to deal with at times, but for the most part she's a well-mannered, fairly 'safe' horse. And I've trained her to give me kisses for candy! We have an incredible bond, she's my best friend as well as a teammate (riding competitions), and it is such a confidence boost to see how far I've brought her in training and how much she's taught me and helped me to develop as a rider. She taught me just how bad a horse could be, but also how much hard work pays off. :)

Just chillin'...

Being around horses is so therapeutic, it helps me to forget about everything (mostly because I'm concentrating on not letting Sabrina buck me off!) Whenever I'm having a bad day, I just pull on my boots and head out to the barn because throwing a saddle on Sabrina, heading up the dirt road and letting her run is the best feeling in the world! To feel her moving so fast, hear the pounding of her hooves and know that I'm controlling a thousand pound animal (with an attitude problem who would love to throw me in the dirt) is incredible!
It's an escape from the outside world for just an hour or two, but it's been a huge part of my life. :)

Running Barrels!

Go, Turn! Go, Turn! Go, Turn! Go Go Go!

Barrel Racing. My favourite rodeo event! Three barrels set in the arena in a triangular shape. A horse and rider gallop out of the chute at top speed, turn around each of the barrels in a cloverleaf pattern and gallop home.A simple pattern, but so difficult to pull off. The rules are simple: go around all three barrels, don't knock any down. The fastest one wins. Sounds easy enough? Oh, and you're going incredibly fast while your horse's body angle is at a 90 degree angle with the ground on the turns. And if your horse falls, it could land on top of you, and cripple you.... and you could die. :)

The most important thing is to trust your horse. They've got a mind of their own so you really need to build a bond with them before you can work effectively as a pair. They're your teammate, partner, and the only way you're getting around the barrels. Like Batman and Robin, except Robin weighs over a thousand pounds and could crush you on a whim!

I love it! The rush of adrenaline is incredible! My horse, Sabrina (her show name is appropriately Deck's Need4Speed), and I are both very enthusiastic about this sport. She's my crazy little baby and I love her! A purebred American Quarter Horse, she's bred for speed events and working cattle (which is harder than it sounds). She can turn on a dime, stop, and give you back a nickel in change. I've been working with her for 4 and a half years now, and we've built up such a partnership that nobody else can even think about being able to handle her like I can. She's temperamental, stubborn, full of attitude, listens when she feels like it, and is way more intelligent than any animal has a right to be! Everyone says that we're such a good team because we're so much alike! As soon as she sees me dragging out the barrels, she starts prancing and snorting in anticipation because all she wants to do is run, and boy can she ever run!

So that's what I do in my spare time and to blow off steam, and earn some ribbons in the summer!

Who?

When Christmas comes around, I turn into such a Who! I love Christmas and I can't stand being around Grinches, so my mother and I torment my dad for the first few weeks of December. He's a grump up until the week before the big day, thinking about how much money he'll have to spend, while my mom flies around the house, decorating and baking. He's a Grinch and she's a lot like Buddy the elf. I love to watch them around this time of year, it's hilarious! He's "bah humbug" and tired from working all day and just wants to veg on the couch and watch the hockey game, until she waltzes in and blasts "Grandma Got Runover By A Reindeer". She smiles obliviously while he gives her the stink eye and I laugh at the comedic contrast of the two of them!



This is my mother's philosophy.



Then she starts singing along, and not quietly. She's loud and off key, and often adds some grunts, stomps and a few crashes of the dishes to her performance. This sends Dad into his room for some peace and quiet. Once he leaves, if Mom's REALLY into it, she starts dancing with the dog. So then he gets excited and clangs his metal dish nonstop. By this point, if I'm in a good mood, I've donned some rediculous outfit and have started dancing to "I'm Sexy And I Know It" in the kitchen and my mom is laughing at me so hard that she's crying and wheezing. The noise of me stomping around brings Dad back to the kitchen to tell me to stop, but he can't help laughing when he sees my terrific moves. My house is great during the holidays!

Smooch!

The grave of the famous Irish writer, Oscar Wilde, has been renovated! Why? Because his fans were apparently a little too admiring.

For years, fans flocked to the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France sporting lipstick to place their mark on the grave of the man who wrote A Picture Of Dorian Gray, as well as many other works. The grave was cleaned off and now glass walls enclose it to keep fans at arm's distance. Wilde's grandson headed the movement to register the grave as a historic monument, so anyone caught defacing the grave will be charged. Wilde was arrested for homosexuality and spent two years in prison. When he was released, he travelled to France and died three years later in 1900. He died poor, but when his works became more popular and sold more copies, a burial plot was purchased at Pere Lachaise. Graffiti was left on the grave until it was renovated in the 1990's and for the last decade, only lipstick has been left.

I've been studying a bit of Oscar Wilde in my Lit class and really enjoy his work so far. I can definitely see why his fans would leave kisses on his grave, but I can also see why his descendants would like to keep the grave clean. I think that there should be a memorial near the grave so that fans can express their admiration for Wilde while still being respectful. Wilde was an amazing writer, but I certainly wouldn't put my lips on something that hundreds of other people have!

Here's a video to enjoy :)

http://www.reuters.com/article/video/idUSTRE7B00LJ20111201?videoId=226060273