February Recap- how the Lord used a donkey to get me a job

*coughcough* totally has this clickbait thing down.

I almost dropped my only lens into my tea trying to get this shot so, *sips tea poshly* enjoy it.
(yes, ‘poshly’ is totally a word, shush.)

Stats:

Entry	Pageviews
United States	532
Russia	201
Ukraine	38
Germany	24
Ireland	17
United Kingdom	9
Canada	7
France	4
Latvia	4
Netherlands	4

Happenings:

1. The final Beauty and the Beast trailer came out. We all desperately want to see it. Gabe doesn't though. *shakes head*

IT’S SO PRETTY!

2. The super bowl happened. Don’t ask me whose side I was rooting for, bc I have no idea (and didn’t even pay attention for the most part). We had several families over from Church for fellowshipping, and so that we would have a reason to watch the super bowl because Christian is pretty much the only one who follows sports.

Ah, but we had a beautiful sunset that night!

3. Clarence continues to have a mind of his own. For no reason at all one afternoon he wouldn’t load any of my browsers, let me email, import to dropbox, or use Spotify. And the browsers have been finicky since then (hence the reason this is being drafted on Word instead of Blogger). Part of it may be age, but Dad, Christian, and I have now had at least one issue on our computers within about a week, so maybe malware? Thus far, Lydia’s and Mom’s laptops seem to be ok, except Lydia’s is suspiciously full without showing what is filling it. May be almost time to revert her’s to factory settings.

4. Abi released her book, Martin Hospitality! The book is adorable, I highly recommend reading it! *cannot wait for my copy to arrive*

5. Lydia, Christian, and I went with friends to the Stockyard rodeo again. I think bull-riding may be my favorite thing to watch idk why. We had a fun time talking afterwards, and I may have put ice down Lydia's neck.

6. My neighbors (I went with them) took two of their horses up to their trainer friend for a refresher lesson bc they hadn’t been ridden in a couple of years and we weren’t sure how they would behave under the saddle. Hopefully we will get to ride them more often, because the two horses we had been riding are 32 and somewhere between 27 and 29, and while they are still ridable, they really should not be over-worked especially as it gets hotter. The trainer said that it would only take a little work before they could be ready to show, so that’s an interesting notion to consider and possibly look forward to. He also said I was a natural in the saddle, so that was encouraging (of course, this was after I don’t even know how many months. *looks through all the old monthly recaps* Well, apparently the last time I wrote that I had gotten to ride was June, so maybe eight and a half months?)

7. GUYS. I GOT A JOB!

I’ve been low-key searching for about two years (more desperately in the past few months). And yeah, I had been able to make do with cinnamon rolls, working with a photographer for a few months, jobs for Dad, and just by not spending hardly anything, but ummm. I kinda needed a job bc I’ll need to be able to pay for the rest of my college classes once I graduate high school this May. My laptop is slowly, but surely, dying. I need to buy my plane ticket to Maui for later this year. And within the next few years, I will need to buy a car.

But y’all want to know what the job is, don’t you? So, you know that trainer I mentioned like, a paragraph ago? Well. When we were on our way to his place, I off-hand said I was looking for a job, and if they happened to know anyone, I’d be grateful if they would let me know. So I guess when I was riding, they (my neighbors) talked to the trainer. So he came up to me a little later and asked if I was even interested in working for him. *grins* I was so surprised!

Now, how did a donkey figure into all this? Well. This goes back about three years ago. Now, this donkey has a habit of getting out of the pasture if the gates are not chained shut, and leading the rest of the horses on field trips. My Grandfather happened to be driving down the road when this donkey decided to lead an excursion one Thursday afternoon. He saw them out, and fortunately the neighbors were home, so he knocked on their door, let them know, and asked if they would like his help rounding them back up. He also mentioned that he had a granddaughter who loved horses, and would it be alright if the wife taught the granddaughter everything she knew, so she could be around and ride horses? And of course, they agreed, otherwise I wouldn’t have this fantastic job!

It was a huge God-wink. Because, earlier that week, I had been all over the place emotionally. I was disappointed in myself for not being able to find a job, and being turned down so many times. I finally got to the place where I basically handed it all to God and asked for His help (which is what I should have been doing for the entire two years, but I’m stubborn). Like, I had gotten so bad that I wanted to bury that week forever and scratch it from my memory, and then God was like, “See, you only had to give it to Me, so I could give you what you’ve always wanted.” And GUYS. This is the job I’ve always wanted, but been too afraid to really pursue because I didn’t think I could handle it!

8. I had my second Blogiversary.

9. Gabe had another gymnastics tournament, this time down in Galveston. Mom took him, and Dad stayed with the rest of us.

10. I fiddled some with my camera to get the title shot and also this one:

I promise it's tea.

Awkward:

1. Almost jumping out of my skin when I accidentally turned my music all the way up with earbuds in.

2. I almost fell off of a ginormous sweaty mountain of a horse when she did a full-body shake to get some of the sweat off. My only thought was ‘I can’t fall off now, how wimpy would that be!’ I ended up sprawled over her left shoulder. My right leg was still in the stirrup, but it was on top of her back instead of where it was supposed to be, and my left leg was buckled underneath me, but also still in the stirrup, thank goodness. So I hauled myself back up- I don’t think anyone saw all that happened (we were at the trainer’s), so there’s a shred of hope I didn’t lose all of my dignity.

3. A period of about three minutes when I couldn’t remember the name of my anti-hero to save my life.

4. Dreaming like, five dreams in one night, one of which I had dreamed before.

5. Getting stepped on twice while trying to clean out a horse’s foot. Apparently he wanted me to start on the right side instead of the left. Newsflash, a horse is very heavy. I’m just glad it was one of the smaller ones. (Ha! Small! That horse is still almost ten times as heavy as me.)

6. When the same horse spooks at nothing three times while I’m lunging him in the arena (for the non-horsey people, lunging is the thing where the horse is on the super long lead rope and you make them run in a circle by clucking and cracking a whip. The goal is to get the horse to trot in a rhythm, to drop their heads, and to push with their back end instead of pull with their front. It’s not as complicated as it seems, but when the horse spooks, if you don’t dig in your heals and brace yourself to pull the horse into a tighter circle to calm down, there is a very high chance of getting dragged, or at least pulled to your knees).

The little Snot.

7. When my on-campus professor decides that the class is being way too quiet while we work on our assignments, so she turns on jazz music and it only sounds like a two year old plunking away at a piano.

8. Going to Chickfila to pick up dinner for Christian and I while he's at Debate, and being an awkward mess while ordering. Then going to the same Chickfila a week later for the same reason, having the same cashier, still being awkward. Leaving, and coming to terms with the fact that I can never go to that Chickfila again.

9. Leather saddles are a lot heavier than I expected. My neighbors use synthetic, I think(?). Whatever they have, it's a lot lighter than leather.

10. Driving 60 miles and hour and suddenly my seat belt unbuckles.

11. I'm at a thrift store jean shopping, and since there are no dressing rooms, the best option is to find a long skirt and try stuff on under it behind a shopping cart (not my first rodeo, I've done it that way for years). To make it even more awkward, another lady sees me and offers to guard my cart if I decide to hide against the wall behind some long dresses. I politely declined. (I needed more clothes I could wear to work. Newsflash, one pair of jeans doesn't cut it when you work outside multiple days a week.)

Awesome:

1. Julia and my photographer friend, Christy, and I getting to video chat (during the super bowl). They had known and followed each other on Instagram before Julia and I became friends through blogging, but had never talked via video or real life, so it was pretty cool to talk all together.

2. Meeting up with a friend for coffee because we didn’t get to talk after Church one Saturday.

3. Getting my first paycheck.

4. Apparently this horse really gets along well with me. Her name is Bowtie, and she is absolutely adorable. 

And gorgeous, omw!

5. The radio in the main barn at the trainer's is always set to either 90.9 or 94.9, both Christian stations!

6. Getting complimented on my boots.

7. Finally giving Spotify Premium a trial whirl. So far, it's pretty nice. I may consider adding it to my monthly expenses. 

8. Late-night sibling chats.

9. Getting milkshakes because it hit 89 outside.

I think February broke.

Urg:

1. When Clarence freezes in the middle of a math quiz so I have to completely shut him down and restart him, but the quiz submits itself so I only get a 25% and it’s graded on the first attempt only. I just hope he doesn’t try a stunt like that in the middle of a quarterly exam.

Moments of Hilarity (totally not going out of format and adding a new thing that may or may not remain for more than one month, shhhh):

1. This conversation:

2. Having a conversation full of ‘right,’ ‘write,’ and ‘wright’ puns with Lydia and laughing till our sides got sore. It was a little late.

3. Lydia: *comes into my room to see me writing* “ARE YOU WRITING?!” Me: *slowly* “Yeeeesss.” Lydia: “THE STORY?!” Me: “Yeeesss.” Lydia: “Dinner will be ready in five hours.” (Read: “I think you will keep writing until someone says dinner is ready.”) Me: “HEY! I CAN SMELL IT!”

Music:

Guys. I have found a new soundtrack. *shoves earbuds in your direction*

Dadadada *fanfare*- Aladdin, Broadway!

IT IS HILARIOUS! High Adventure, Arabian Nights, anyone? (“More glitz and glamour than any fictional city in the world.” “And everyone here has a minor in dance!” “See, I hate weapons because- THIS THING IS AWESOME!” “They’re playing music while we’re fighting.”). It almost sounds like something my uncle would write.

*checks playlist* Aaaannnnnd I really didn’t find anything else new or listen to anything out of the ordinary, except for a couple songs from The Passion New Orleans.

Snippets:

Ok, yes, I did write. Not much, but as you saw, Lydia caught me in the act so I have to share it, otherwise she may whap me.

“And what of the queen?” he asked once she had quieted.

“WHAT-” she raised her voice again, then calmed “-queen? I am the only Queen. What need have they for any other? Or you, for that matter.”

Uan froze. With the abrupt change in Millicent’s character, would it be right to endanger the prisoner by reminding her captor that she was still imprisoned? Moral dilemma. Making his decision, he quickly recovered his bravado, false though it may have been.

“What I mean to say, that is, will you take the title ‘queen,’ or will you demand your subjects to call you ‘Empress?’” He pasted on a toothy smile, and pushed further. “Think how much more respect they will have for you if you require them to call you by a higher title. They will soon forget that it was your brother who-”

“BROTHER? What brother do I have? I have no family. I need no family.”

“What a thing to say on Valentine’s Day tsk, tsk.” Uan muttered.

“I heard that! And what is this ‘Valentine’s day?’”

“A day humans set aside to either celebrate their loved ones or to lament the lack thereof.”

*coughchough* Ahem. Yeah, I wrote it on Valentine’s Day. I felt like breaking the fourth wall, and since Uan can (at this point anyways) travel through time and space to other worlds, he knows a little bit about a lot of cultures.

What’s your dream job?

What has God been telling you lately?

Out of curiosity, what's the heaviest thing that's ever stepped on you?

Apparently this was an awkward month, how about you?