Should I join the Premier Club?

I am running out of time to decide.  I think it closes at midnight tonight.  I have the money for the "deposit", but all the problems people have been having with the models they're getting, plus the cost of the models themselves...and if you opt out of one you're out of the club the rest of the year.  But they've been doing some pretty nice ones this past year that made me wish I was in it, like Latigo and Carrick.  I'm still hoping to get them on the secondary market.  I've tried buying Latigo twice, but ended up having to back out for one reason or another.

The first model for the new club year is called Wyatt

The molds that come out for the Premier Club are brand-new, never-been-released before and while I don't particularly care for Wyatt, he is starting to grow on me.   And if I decide I don't like him after-all, it seems like there's a few people in Blab-land who DO want him and aren't in the club that maybe would be willing to buy him.  In addition to the neat new molds, they often come with concept drawings that are kind of cool

I would say maybe I should sleep on it, but I think I have to sign up today.  It says "by January 1st 2014" but I don't know if that means I can do it up until tomorrow or if it has to be done today...And in addition to the deposit of $100 I would have to pay an additional $20 to make my Collector Club membership "current".  I am a current member, but since it's not from after August 2013, I'd have to re-subscribe.    <sigh>  I think I'm talking myself out of it.  hahaha.  I think it's really stupid that you have to have the membership be from August or later.  As long as it's current it should be fine.  I think that alone might be enough to make me not do it.

Today is the last day of 2013.  Where did the year go? I have no plans for tonight.  I'll probably take a couple of sleeping pills and sleep through the fireworks my neighbor is likely to shoot off.  They're illegal in my city, but people still shoot them off.  Just like they still use their fireplace/woodburning stove on No-Burn Days.  Oh well.  I have tomorrow off.  Yay!  I hope everyone has a fun and safe New Year's.

Back at work...

Well, after having all of last week off, which was really only an extra 3 days since we had Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off already, I am back at work today and super busy. I start at 7am and my first break is at 9:30. Usually I'm not very busy first thing in the morning, but since I'm covering for a co-worker who is out all week, I was pretty busy. Only 3 of us know how to do this particular type of work and only 2 of us are supposed to be doing it. If both of us are out then the 3rd person, who used to do it all the time, will step in and cover. I'm not complaining, mind you. I was out all last week so "T" had to cover for me. We don't get anything on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so it won't be so bad. We're also going to be down 2 more tomorrow so that'll make a total of 3 people out tomorrow and since we are a pretty small unit, that's going to "hurt". Oh well. We've been down 4 people before. We can do it. We all have Wednesday off.

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. I think I already mentioned I got to new models. I took pictures, but I don't have my camera to upload to my computer because there's something else I want to take a picture of for a planned blog post. I enjoyed having the week off from work, but it went too quickly and I didn't get anything done that I'd planned to. I did go horse hunting on Friday, like I'd planned, but that will be another blog post.

So, over the weekend I found this group on Facebook called "As Seen Through Horses' Ears" and it's for people to post pictures taken from the saddle. The very first post on the group, the one you see Every. Single. Time. you go to the group page is about how the only allowed photos require the horse's ears in the picture. It even gives example photos of what is allowed and what isn't. Even with that at the top of the group page, there's still a lot of pictures being posted that don't show any of the horse, they're just scenic. It's annoying when people don't follow the rules of a group. Oh well. Anyway, I spent much of the weekend looking at all the pictures that had been posted. Many of them were taken in Europe, but every now and then there's one from the US and today someone posted one they'd taken last December

She said it was taken at White Sands, New Mexico. I didn't know you could ride there and I posted asking her how she was able to ride there. Now I feel kind of stupid because apparently, the missile range is only PART of White Sands, not the ENTIRE thing. Oh well.  Hahaha.  What can I say?  I had a friend whose parents were into hot air ballooning and she told me they did a festival at White Sands one year and the area was opened to them to be able to do it, but they had to follow all sorts of rules and stuff, which enforced my belief that White Sands was closed to the public.  Their festival actually took place on part of the missile range.  The balloons were allowed to land there but the chase vehicles had to get them out the moment they landed.  I think it would be pretty cool to go riding at White Sands, don't you?

I don't guess, though, that it would be much fun for the horses.  Not in the areas with lots of sand anyway.  Maybe there's more flat areas where it would be easier for them. 

Well, I guess I'd better get back to work.  Yay!  Happy Monday.

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. I got two Breyers...my first ones at a holiday in I don't know how many years. I'll post about them later.

Peter Stone Sneak Peaks...

Happy Soggy Friday!  It started raining last night at about 6:30 and has been raining off and on since then.  Let me just say, I'm glad my brother has use of our mom's Jeep Cherokee as an alternative way to work so he doesn't have to ride his motorcycle.

Anyway, on with the show.

Until recently, I'd read people on Blab mentioning seeing sneak previews on Facebook of different Peter Stone models as they're being completed and sometimes have even caught a glimpse of one they've ordered.  I'm on the official web page for Stone and I'd never seen any previews so I was confused as to how they could see them.  Then I found out about a different page where you have to "friend" in order to see the pictures so I sent them a friend request and Viola!  I can now see the previews.  Well, yesterday they posted a bunch of pictures and so I decided to share some of them here...Some are real neat and others have me scratching my head.

Ready?  Here we go.

The first thing that caught my attention about this photo was the angle of the head and the "in your face" feeling to it.  Almost like someone was trying to take a picture of the ones in the background and this little fellow popped up and said "Hey, look at me!  Ain't I cute?"  The model horse version of a photo bomb.  hahaha

Then someone mentioned the antlers and I was like, oh yeah.  He's got antlers.  I'm not real sure of the purpose of having antlers on a horse, but to each their own.  He's still cute.  Another model had antlers, too...

Next we have this line-up of Arabians.  Quite a nice line-up of pretty colors, but that isn't what caught my attention about these lovelies...it's the fact that they alllllll have the same 2013 blaze on their faces.  And I imagine that's why they were lined up together because they'd all gotten their blaze at the same time.  Well, not exact same time, but maybe just one person paints the blazes and so if the models have a similar or identical marking they stay together.  Most of them also have two low socks in front.  Only one has a slightly higher right front and nothing on the front left.

And finally there's the hopefully still un-finished ones...

I say 'hopefully still un-finished ones' because of the tails on the two closest to the camera.  I can't imagine having a horse with a tail with such abrupt coloring like that.  Like it was dipped into ink or something.  I'm hoping more color will be added to the top half and blended in with the black bottom half because it looks bizarre the way it is now.  No offense if these are your horses and you're in love with how it looks...it's just not my taste.

I don't think they've even started, yet, on my DAH I ordered last week, but when they do I hope I'm able to catch a glimpse of him here.  He shouldn't be too hard to pick out.  I had ordered the 2012 Equilocity Appaloosa with the 2013 blaze and one medium sock with hoof stripes, but until yesterday I thought I'd ordered him in black.  Well, I called Stone yesterday to make sure they'd gotten my email about wanting the short m/t ISH because I hadn't heard back and while I had her on the phone I wanted to verify they had the correct options and I said black and she said they had me down for Silver Bay.  Huh?  Oh yeah!  I'd forgotten that was what I'd ordered.  hahahaha.  So, if you're "friends" with Peter Stone Horses on FB and you happen to catch one of their preview photos of a Silver Bay 2012 Equilocity Appaloosa with a 2013 blaze and one white sock...that's probably mine! 

Well, I guess I'd better get to work.  I have quite a few things to wrap up today since I'm out next week (yippee!).  Have a great Friday!

Still here...

Hi gang.  I know I've been kind of quiet lately, but I haven't really had much to blog about.  Thanksgiving was nice.  We had a turkey and several sides.  My brother invited a buddy of his over.  Then everyone took naps and I was left to clean it all up.  That didn't make ME very Thankful.  But I was Thankful for another year of relative good health for my mom and brother and myself.

Last week, my brother found out he has Bell's Palsy and was out of work for about a week because he works customer service and talks on the phone, but he couldn't talk very well so he couldn't go to work.  He finally was able to go back yesterday, but when I left the house this morning he still wasn't up so I don't know what's up with that.  He starts a new job in mid-January so I know he's not real eager for his current one, but considering last week he said he'd rather be at work than home with BP, I don't know...Not much is known about Bell's Palsy so we don't know if this was a one-time thing or if it's something he'll have to deal with on into the future.  I hope not.  But if it was just a "simple" inflammation, why give it a scary name that has the word "palsy" in it?  He's super sensitive about it, too.  I've always made strange expressions with my face and now when I do he asks if I'm mocking him.  I don't even realize I'm doing it because I've been doing it for so long.  I just don't know.

On the horse front, last week I decided to order another Peter Stone Design-A-Horse to make up for not being able to get anything at the warehouse sale due to my car deciding to get a flat tire.  I went for the $10 Equilocity pattern from 2012

but ordered it in black with the 2013 blaze and one medium sock on the front left leg with hoof stripe.  I never get glossy.  Anyway, so yesterday I get an email from someone at Stone saying I had selected "Custom Body" from the drop-down menu but didn't select a body and if I just reply back to the email or call them with my body choice, she can PayPal me an invoice.  What?  I don't think so.  So I replied back saying I assumed the pattern came on the short mane/tail ISH body and that's what I wanted and was it going to cost me extra because they've already charged my debit card for what I've ordered.  I'm not going to pay another $50+ for a custom body.  So now I'm waiting to see what the answer to that question is.  For shits and grins I went back and ordered the same thing but selected the short m/t ISH and it gave me the same price I already paid so we'll have to see.  If it's going to cost me extra hopefully they'll let me cancel the order.  I want the horse and I could afford a minor charge, but it'd be on principle.  I need to stop impulse buying models.  hahaha.  I was treating myself, though, because I worked OT last week and felt I "deserved" a new pretty.  hahaha.

So, Christmas is next Wednesday.  I have the entire week off.  We already had Tuesday and Wednesday off from work and I won my unit's lottery to get the rest of the week.  I was going to go to Tucson on Sunday, but my credit card decided it was the perfect time to charge me the yearly fee so there went those plans.  I'm going to try to clean up my model horses...literally.  Dust them.  Plus organize them.  Try to get all my Stablemates in one spot, too.  On Thursday or Friday I'll go horse hunting again.  Hopefully I'll have better luck than my last trip.  Not even the domestic horses cooperated for pictures.  Oh well.  That happens now and then.  I did get a Tonto Pass, though, so now I don't have to worry about getting in trouble for not having one when I enter the national forest areas.

Our weather has really warmed up, too.  It was 79 yesterday.  Ugh.  I really dislike Arizona sometimes.  I want snow!

Happy Wednesday!

Stone Warehouse Sale...

Well, tomorrow Stone Horses is having a warehouse sale.  It's predominantly for people who can attend in person, but they will have people available to take phone orders.  I looked at the horses they were going to have available and was all fired up when I saw the Ideal Stock Horse models they were going to have...

Aren't they pretty?  I just want all of them!  The first two are probably going to be more expensive than the second two, but I'd take any of them.  And I was hoping to buy at least one of them...until this morning.   I was driving to work and was making a left turn from one road to another when suddenly my tire felt bumpy.  Knowing it was under warranty, I still wasn't too worried.  I pulled off the road into a parking lot and called the auto club.  Yes, I can change my own tire, but it was 39 degrees outside and I just didn't feel like it.  Besides, I work in an office and I don't think they would've appreciated me showing up smelling like I'd been working on a car because while I can change a tire, it takes me awhile and I would've worked up a sweat doing so.  So why not let the auto club do it?  Since my spare tire is only a donut, I had to go to the tire place right away.  I had already called work and told them I'd be late, but the tire place didn't open until 8 and it was 6:30 when all this was happening.  So I got to sit in the parking lot of the tire place for an hour.  Fun!  Fortunately, though, my next door neighbor is one of the service writers and as soon as they were open he came out to help me (he'd seen my car when he'd gotten to work).  Anyway, the bad news was that my tire was worn down and not eligible for free replacement.  I would need a new one for $64.  Not a major deal, but apparently my other front tire was wearing down the same way and would need to be replaced soon, too.  I should also look into having my alignment checked.  Great.  The dollar signs just kept adding up.  I told him that would have to wait until pay day (they don't do that there anyway) and he said he'd see if they had any used tires if I was willing to get those.  Sure.  No problem.  Then he remembered he had two tires at home that would fit my car and he didn't need them and he didn't want them to go to waste.  So he ran home and got them.  I did end up having to spend $53, though, when he asked if I wanted to convert my donut tire, which was wearing out, too, to a full-sized spare.  Sure!  So, while I lost my pony spending money for tomorrow, I got two new/used tires for free and I now have a full-sized spare.  Yay!  Not to bad.  And I ended up only being 2 hours late for work.  No big deal.

I'm bummed about not being able to do the warehouse sale tomorrow, but maybe the 4 models above will eventually go into "Overstock" or something and I can buy one of them there.  We'll have to see.  I shouldn't be spending that much money anyway.  And no, buying the tire didn't take all my money from my bank account...I'm not that broke.  hahahaha.  But I need money for other things, you know?  Oh, the joys of being a grown-up.

The weather is supposed to be cold all weekend.  I wonder if we'll turn on the heater at all.  I thought it would've been warranted this morning, but...It was supposed to only be a high of 47 on Sunday, but now they're saying it'll be 52.  We'll see which one it'll turn out being.  I don't have any major plans.  Grocery shopping on Sunday as usual.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and I will leave you with pictures of some really beautiful horses.  I forget if they're Hanoverians or American Warmbloods.  I know I was looking at pictures of both...

December 5th...

I couldn't think of a good enough title so the date will have to do.  I know I've been kind of lax in blogging lately, I just haven't had much to say.  Thanksgiving was last week.  My mom made a turkey and a bunch of sides.  My brother had a buddy of his over.  We've always had "strays" when we've hosted dinner at our house, and occasionally when it was at my parents' house up north.  It's just the 3 of us now and my mom lives with us so there is no alternating homes for holiday dinners.  Christmas dinner is usually just family, though.  Last year we had prime rib and I think that's what's on the menu this year, too.  I hope so.  hahaha.

Today is the annual holiday buffet at work.  I didn't go.  I haven't gone in several years.  I just don't enjoy getting there and getting my food then trying to find a place to sit.  If I find an empty table, I grab that one and other people come and sit down, but they don't socialize with me.  I'm in a different location than where the buffet is held so I don't know them and they don't know me.  They talk to their co-workers and friends and I just sit there.  If I'm not able to find an empty table then I have to try to find a place to sit and I'm quite shy about stuff like that.  It's just easier not to go.  The people in my unit, they have their little groups and they don't invite me to join them.  Oh well.  I'm not looking for sympathy or anything, just explaining why I don't go.  The food isn't that good anyway and I don't like having to ride the bus they hire to take us from my building to the other one up the street.  Oh well.  My unit is having its own holiday gathering.  We're ordering from NYPD Pizza and we're going to watch a movie.  We're also going to do a Secret Santa.  Usually they do a White Elephant and I don't participate in that because I don't like the concept of being able to take away someone else's gift if you like that one better than one you might get.  So I'm glad we're having a regular Secret Santa and everyone who is participating has a list up at their desk.  The first things on my list are probably the least likely I'll get because they have to be ordered from a web store.  It's one I order from often and have been wanting these items but decided to put them on my list.  One of the items is a cute cell phone holder...

and the other is a bento box from Amazon...

The third item is also a bento box from the same website as the cell phone holder.  On my list I put the web address and the name of the items so hopefully they're easy to find.  We'll see.  I know I will be happy with whatever I get.  I also put on there gift cards for Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iTunes.  The only thing I can use the iTunes on is my iPad mini since my mp3 player is by Sanyo and my laptop doesn't like iTunes.  hahaha.

I have a confession to make...I'm addicted to horse pictures.  Even though I have tons of them, I keep looking for more.  Several times a week.  And when I have enough of them built up, I have them printed.  Originally I started collecting them to use as inspiration to get back into riding shape, but now I can't stop myself from collecting them and having them printed.  I have no idea what I'm going to do with all these pictures.  I'm rather picky about them, though.  I prefer the shots taken from the saddle with the horse's ears visible, but there has to be a certain amount of the ears visible

(gee whiz info: I know the girl in the middle)

I don't like too much of the head showing or just half the head/neck because the horse is off-center.  Now I've started collecting ones that are a bit different and interesting...

(wild horses from the Salt River herd)

I wish I could stop myself from looking for the pictures and having them printed because I really don't know what I'm going to do with them.  <sigh>  Oh well.

Today the weather has been really cold the past couple of days.  It's only supposed to get to be 56 today.  It was 46 when I left for work.  They're getting snow up north in Flagstaff, which is only about a 2 1/2 hour drive from where I live.  I wish it snowed more often at 2500 feet because that's close enough for me to drive to without having to worry about lots of hills and my car potentially breaking down.  It's supposed to get colder in the coming days.  I can't wait!

Happy Thursday!