Me in Melange

...you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink...

It's Monday!! And a holiday - hope you're enjoying a day off. Or, taking advantage of a day off to get ahead for the week. Or, lounging around and eating pasta and watching all the movies. All options sound good to me!! ;) Especially the lounging around one with all of the new PJ Salvage we just got in. SOOOO soft - I don't know how it keeps getting softer, but somehow they manage to outdo themselves all the time!

 

So I have a funny (to me at least) story. It's about my horse, and Todd's tired of hearing about it, so I'm unloading it here. haha. I have reached a new level of spoiling my horse. I think it's a promotion? Not sure if we're working towards more or less spoiled horses here? Guess it depends on who you are. The guy that owns the barn I board at has a very strict "no spoiled horses" stance, and anytime he sees someone "spoiling" their horse he says something along the lines of, "you know, they're not poodles". In his very low, slow, cowboy voice. One of his personal horses is this beautiful paint horse, with long long hair, and a great mane and tail, named Joe. He happens to be Zinc's BFF, and their stalls are right next to each other. As it's winter right now, the horses are muddy 24/7. And Joe has a lot of hair that gets really muddy. I'll sneak into his stall sometimes and give him a good brushing when I don't feel like going home just yet, but Zinc is tired of me. It's super satisfying to brush off the layer of dirt, and reveal his beautiful colors...a dramatic before and after for sure! Anyways, Jim will make comments to me about how "someone turned Joe into a poodle". I love it when he compliments me like that. HAHAHA.

 

Okay, but now about my newest routine. I bring Zinc warm water at night. Yep. Feel free to read that again, but you read it right...every night I fill up a huge bucket with warm water for my horse. Zinc has decided that the water is too cold to drink, and has stopped drinking it, and is getting dehydrated. So I have to lug buckets of 70-75 degree water (his preferred drinking water temp) into his stall every night. It does the trick, because every morning the water is gone!! He loves it, and I think he loves his life as a poodle. ;) (as an aside, it kind of cracks me up that a poodle is his go to example for the epitome of something that is spoiled. But the real funny part is that the handful of people I know that have poodles, their dogs are EXTREMELY spoiled, and they're the first ones to admit it!)

 

In all seriousness, Zinc was diagnosed with Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis or EOTRH several months ago. Basically, the roots of his incisors start to resorb, or dissolve. As it progresses, the affected teeth eventually start to loosen and become painful. The vet that originally diagnosed it quite a while ago has a reputation for being a little dramatic, and made it sound like we had to pull all six of his upper front teeth RIGHT NOW. Knowing his flare for drama, and not wanting to make any quick decisions, I got a second opinion. About a month ago, a different vet was out, and checked on the situation. He said, he agreed with the diagnosis, but said if it was his horse, he'd leave it be for at least a year, and the situation wasn't that desperate yet. I was still sad about Zinc's teeth, but glad we didn't have to worry about it right away. Well, in the past week or two weeks, things have taken a turn. He doesn't eat apples or carrots (basically anything he has to bite into. I've been slicing apples for him. ;), and shows little interest in food. He still eats, but not with the same zest of enthusiasm he usually does. And, has stopped drinking the water, and we finally put two and two together that his teeth probably feel super sensitive, and drinking cold water only makes that worse. I totally get it!! So, I'm locked in to bringing him warm water every night. Luckily Zinc only drinks about 10-15 gallons of water a day, so I get a chance to really get my workout in. haha. Don't worry though, we do have a vet appointment on Wednesday to get this figured out so he's not living in pain anymore. Usually they end up having to pull the bad teeth, but I hope they don't have to take them all! Poor guy!

 

The other part that makes this kind of funny (gotta look for silver linings and find the humor, especially as vet bills start rolling in), is I have had my own share of dental drama in my life, so, I can totally relate to Zinc! I don't really remember what the name of the thing that I had was, it was so long ago now, but basically I was born without 1 set of baby teeth, and the adult teeth above them. They just weren't there. And, they were in the front, too. So I couldn't really ignore it for aesthetic reasons. I also had a set of baby teeth, without adult teeth above them. So when I was in highschool, and essentially having allllll of my teeth moved around, I also had to get baby teeth pulled. Kind of funny, right? Everyone else's baby teeth were long gone, and I'm still rocking mine at 16! But there was nothing above them to push them along, and apparently I took good care of my teeth, so there they stayed. I've had several mouth surgeries, implants, bone grafts, construction surgery to build my gum line up (again, no adult teeth in some spots, so no roots, so my jaw was super thin, and couldn't support the post for the implants), braces, head gear, you name it, I've done it. For a while, when they had finished moving the teeth around, I had gaps in my mouth were the fake teeth were going to go, but we had to wait for the posts to set, and the bone grafts to heal, I had a retainer with placeholder teeth on it. I have  SO MANY funny stories about my retainer with the teeth on it, and all the mishaps that happened. So when the first vet started talking about pulling teeth, and potential implants (to avoid a toothless horse), I couldn't help but chuckle! I know that experience all too well. :)

 

So here's to an easy and productive week ahead! And if you need me during the evenings, I'm already booked up...hauling gallons and gallons of water at the perfect temperature for my poodle horse.

 

ox

A

Teary Yoga

I know I talk about yoga a lot, but I can’t help myself.  Today was an intense class.  The instructor is one of my favorites, and she had just come off of an intensive weekend training and she warned us that she was a bit raw.  This is what I love about yoga, it’s so much more than just the poses, it’s really all in your head, that’s where the real work is.

Anyway, she talked about she felt during this training program she attended, which basically amounted to “unworthy”.  It was that feeling of walking into a room and feeling like everyone had a better job, more education, better outfit, prettier, funnier….basically that everyone is out of your league.  Who hasn’t felt that way?  Part of the training during the weekend was to tap into what was holding you back, what made you feel unaccepted, or unworthy.  She shared a memory of her father (who died suddenly when she was in her teens), and how he had come to a diving meet (after rarely ever coming) and said, “I just thought you’d be better by now.”  So part of her cathartic weekend, was coming to accept herself, and her father’s limitations, and forgiveness. All in order to move thru them and keep them from holding her back or being the excuse that held her back.  As she was telling her memory of her father she broke into tears.  It was such a vulnerable moment for her, and she was willing to share it with everyone. Another reason I love yoga.

She quoted someone…I think it was Eckhart Tolle, who said, “First there must be acceptance. Then you can begin.” All the things (insert people, circumstances etc.) that hold you back, are things you haven’t fully accepted yet. 

She went on to teach a hard ass class….lots and lots of arm work.  Another reason I love yoga.

On a totally other note, my other favorite thing (clothes) deserves a little shout out too.  I just got the Anni Kuan Kite top, and can I just say how great it is??  I think this is such a perfect morphing top….it can morph from day to night, or season to season.  Super cute on too (love the sleeves), and I think it will make a great travel piece. I like that it isn’t black, but it’s not a washed out grey either—it’s that great in-between that manages to still look fresh and not dreary.  It took me a long time to warm up to Anni’s fabrics (I couldn’t get past the fact that they weren’t “all natural”) but I have come to totally trust her ability to find fabrics that feel, wear, drape and wash really, REALLY well.  I’m never disappointed. I have her flight pants in black, but now I know I need them in the grey too because it would be fantastic worn with the top—a lá jumpsuit style. 

I will also say, that I’m enjoying my Child perfume and body cream almost every day.  Last I heard Cammi had totally converted to loving it too.  Initially when I asked her if she liked it she said, “well, it’s not for me really.” The smell changes a lot on your skin, and at first smell from the bottle it can feel a little bold, but softens and mellows so beautifully on the skin.  She now has confirmed she’s completely in love with it too.  I just really adore the small roller ball size, it’s always in my purse and I love that I can dab it on during the day.

Lastly, Romeo wore shorts and a tee shirt today….it probably didn’t get warmer than 52 degrees outside. When we walked the dog in the late afternoon he said, “mommy, I hate to tell you, but I think it’s because you are over 40 that you are cold because I’m always comfortable OR I’m too hot.”  So apparently my advanced age is making me cold. Who knew?   

Meet The New Anni Kuan

Spring is the kick off of Anni Kuan’s brand new, laser focused and über inspired group.  She decided last Summer to give her clothing line and business a makeover (which is being debuted now.)  She streamlined everything within her company, and she tailored down her line to a much smaller capsule of only the pieces she really, really loved, and really believed in.  Her epiphany was that she was designing and creating a bigger line to support an entire operation with her business and organization--the cart was pulling the horse.  She decided to scale back, only produce the pieces she felt passionate about, and to strip down her overhead to a simple operation that would make it easier for her to not feel external pressures to design a certain way, or satisfy a certain client, or “sell” what she didn’t feel super driven about.

She was getting lost in the rat race essentially, so she forcefully pulled herself out of the race, and reinvented herself—or perhaps a better way of saying it is that she “found herself” again.

The result?  It’s a small, and amazing collection, and when you talk to her she’s passionate about each single piece, and each and every piece has a multi-layered use.  She’s thought out how it pairs with everything else in the collection (and outside of the collection.)  I think it’s quite possibly the best spring/summer group she’s ever created.

My personal favorite is the Tonnero jacket.  It’s expensive, and my only hesitation was about the price honestly.  But once you see it and put it on, you realize how unique and wonderful it is—and worth the tag price.  It’s one of those jackets that you can throw on over a white tank, pair it with your favorite jeans and a pair of tennis shoes and feel totally great in. You can also couple it with some cool wide leg, high waisted black pants for work.  It’s got all kinds of possibilities, and it’s this oddly timeless style, that still manages to look very “now”.  

The only problem with Anni’s collection is that honestly, every piece feels indispensable, so you want them all, and I could argue that they are all must-haves, so choosing is going to be hard....do we have to?? 

Signed, ME {lv}