In late November, I wrote this blog entry and discussed the fact that I needed a blogging break. Many of you concurred. I cut my blog entries in half in December, fully expecting to resume full speed ahead in January. It didn’t happen. Here we are, approaching the end of February, and I am still struggling to get posts written on a regular basis.

Perhaps it has something to do with the additional time and energy requirements imposed by adding Dora last fall. Perhaps it has to do with Kyle and Marie moving back close to home last December, or the holiday hustle and bustle. Maybe it is my recent surgery and the physical and emotional energy utilized for healing and recovery. Of course, homeschooling Beth has impacted my time expenditure.

Alternatively, it could be the fact that, having given up on ever getting Java (our recently purchased Quarter horse) in our old two-horse straight load trailer, we just made a deposit on the most incredible new (used) 3-horse slant with living quarters … and I am spending very happy times cruising the Internet, checking out all the trail riding options (and perhaps open horse shows) available within a few hours of driving from my home. Last Sunday, we headed out to drive 7.5 hours to St. Paul, MN, to see a horse in Des Moines on the way, a horse in the St. Paul area, and then have dinner with Stephanie. A bad snowstorm aborted our plans, and we returned home. We tried again yesterday, driving just to Des Moines to see the first horse. We are looking for another one like Java … but this horse wasn’t it. But it is very fun finding them online and scoping them out. Not many families spend the entire day in a car to go check out a horse … but what can I say?

Maybe I’m blogging less because I want to rediscover my embroidery machine. I have actually signed up for an embroidery demo in late March; however, in perusing trail riding opportunities, I found this late March ride benefiting kids with cerebral palsy. If we do this ride, I’ll have to cancel my embroidery class. It means I have a little over a month to pick up our new trailer (it is in Indianapolis, by the way—we found it while I was there for my surgery last week), get shoes on both horses, get our equipment together, get the horses in slightly better physical shape, etc. etc. etc.

I think Beth and I will try to go … is anyone interested in helping us raise money for CP? (Email me if you are ... I'd like to raise as much as possible!)

Remember when I told you about my trip with my mom last year? We are doing it again this year … only instead of horseback riding in Florida, we are cruising in Mexico. I know, it’s rough, but someone has to do it. I leave in a few days. I don’t really think I want to blog while I’m on the ship … sorry, guys … I can’t seem to find the motivation to write blogs in advance … it would cut into my time cruising the Internet for trail-broke horses and upcoming trail rides. I also want to embroider a “Beth’s Mom” swim t-shirt for me to wear to her Division II championship meet this weekend. Maybe I can find time to order wedding pictures from Kyle and Marie's May 2006 wedding ... do ya think? Or create the photo show of pictures I promised my vet school classmates at our reunion last October.

So, guess what? I am taking a REAL blogging break. Rather than quit entirely, I have reached an agreement with the folks here at adoption.com to just take a sabbatical for now. I will regroup in a month or six weeks, and see where I stand. In the meantime, I plan to lighten my load as much as possible and revisit the hobbies and pastimes I once enjoyed.

Hang in there ... I know many of you are struggling. I'm sorry to pull any source of support out from under you. If you haven't found the support available through ATN, please check it out.

Hopefully I'll see you again in the not-to-distant future, rejuvenated and ready to write!

Photo Credit ... our new home-away-from-home