No Snow For You...And horse stuff...

Well, while everyone else in the country has been getting buried by Winter Storm Jonas, Arizona has been getting baked.

Have I ever said how much I dislike Arizona? Well, I do. Especially when it's 76 degrees in January. Now, don't get me wrong...I don't want to be living in NYC where everything shut down because of the snow, but I also don't want to be living where it's 76 degrees in effing January! This is supposed to be WINTER. Arizona is not south of the Equator so we're supposed to be having Winter with the reson of the US. I really hate Arizona.

So, for the past few months I've been quickly running out of room to put horses and several had yet to be unboxed. I had turned into a "Any Flat Surface" collector, meaning I put there wherever they won't fall over.

I kept meaning to get more shelves so I could put the ones on my dresser in a more sturdy spot and I wouldn't have to worry about accidentally knocking one down when I tried to get into my dresser. Finally, I bought some more shelves at WalMart yesterday. For awhile, my room looking like a tornado had hit it...a Horsenado, if you will

I had horses loose all over the place

One of them even became a temporary pillow for my cat Temecula...

Initially I was concerned for the horse's safety because Temecula has been known to chew on the tips of horses, but he seemed content with just lying on it so I didn't disturb them.

My mini-project isn't completely done, but I will share a picture when it is.

I'm stuck...

And I don't know what to do. I have a trip to San Diego planned for early next month, but I already know I'll have to cancel it because I can't really afford it. I already have the plane ticket bought and paid for, but it's the other stuff such as hotel and car rental plus the incidental stuff like zoo admission and such. But I was looking at the airline website yesterday and initially rolled my eyes when I saw what they considered to be a "sale". Just for shits and grins, though, I looked up how much a roundtrip to San Jose, CA in mid-April would cost and it'd only be about $50 more than the credit will be for canceling San Diego. And then I got to thinking about going somewhere I've never been to before and came up with Dallas, TX. I've never been to Texas, period, and there's some good zoos there that I'd like to see. With either trip I could go to an NHL hockey game and with the San Jose trip there'd be lighthouses to see. I only have until January 21st to make my decision. Then I start thinking about car payments and all of the Breyer clubs I'm enrolled in and I probably can't afford to take a trip, even an inexpensive one. I haven't been anywhere since Las Vegas in May 2014 (or was in 2013?). I could postpone San Diego until mid-April and just go with that. I could still get in a couple of zoos I've never been to, but there wouldn't be any new lighthouses. Heck, San Diego only has the 2. 3 if you count Tom Hamm's Lighthouse Restaurant, which is an active aid to navigation. If I went to the Bay area, there'd be a bunch to potentially go see, but if I went to Dallas, there wouldn't be any. And aside from the cost associated with any of the trips, I'm not 100% sure I even want to go anywhere. I get so excited planning trips and thinking of how fun it'll be, but when it comes right down to it, I'd rather just stay home, but then I feel like a lump for not going anywhere, you know? I used to enjoy traveling. Well, I enjoyed planning the trips, but once I was actually there I find I'd rather be back at home. I don't know.

I'm not really looking for advice or anything, I just wanted to write about it because sometimes that helps clear my head. I don't know. I probably shouldn't go anywhere. I hate not having the money to do what I want, but it was my own fault for signing up for every single club Breyer released this year. That's a huge fault of mine. Impulse buying. I wish I could give it back, but...oh well.

I hope everyone has a good week. Take care.

Breyerfest 2016 stuff...

Well, they did it. They put up the 3 Day Tickets 2 weeks sooner than last year and almost a full month before it was rumored they'd go up this year. They are officially on sale now and I'm going to have to get mine, of course. But not only that, we have our first "official" look (it's been visible on your order page if you bought a 3 day ticket within the past 2 years) of the new sculpt for the celebration model everyone gets for buying a 3 Day Ticket...

The Mangalarga Marchador sculpted by Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig will be released at BreyerFest 2016 and then locked in the vault until 2019! This will be the only release of this mold in the United States until 2019.

And the Early Bird Raffle ticket model...one I REALLY want...named Polomar

Additionally, the first store special has been released...Dag Dia of the upcoming film Albion: The Enchanted Stallion

A theme I'm noticing is Spanish breeds and/or Spanish names. Not real sure of the Spanish tie-in with the Polo Pony other than the sport is real popular in Brazil and the theme for BF this year is Carnivale, which takes place in Rio and this is an Olympic year. It'll be exciting to see what else comes down the line!

Happy New Year!!!

I see a lot of people doing "Year in Review" type things so I'll spare you another one. Hahaha. Nothing really terribly exciting happened. On New Year Day 2015 I drove up to Sedona because it had snowed the night before and I'd always wanted to see the red rocks Coverd in snow.

I saw the loss of my precious red tabby Royal, but honored his memory by adopting a little female tabby from the humane society.

We also lost Harley rather unexpectedly and her sister Dyna wasn't taking it very well so we got her a "brother", a Rottweiler. / GSD mix.

I finally made the trip to Williams to visit Bearizona

As well as Keepers of the Wild in Valentine, AZ; Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary in Prescott, AZ; and Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, AZ.

My car suffered its first major damage when someone at work backed into it in our parking garage

And I had the best year ever in terms of spotting and photographing the Salt River Wild Horses

As well as finally seeing the Gila River Wild Horses

Overall I'd say 2015 was a pretty good year, with a couple of those "minor" (losing pets is definitely not minor, but...) exceptions. my family has remained healthy and my brother and I are both gainfully employed, which is always a big plus. I hope 2016 is more of the same, except no more pet tragedies. I hope everyone else has a healthy and prosperous 2016.