Primacy: THE END

In my world of working for a non-profit, there is an annual cycle to fund-raising. In September and October (or "Primacy" as we call it) we raise almost half of our entire annual Community Campaign. What is half? A mere $7 - 8 million. In eight weeks. And, lets not forget, this year our offices were closed for 15 days in September. So as you might imagine, its a tad busy and crazy around the office. Tempers flare, nerves are frazzled and much coffee is consumed.

As last year, I was again graced to be one of two lead staff persons working on our annual Phonings Week. Only this year I was working with someone who actually behaves in a professional manner and doesn't make me want to quit at the end of every day. I actually really like the person I collaborated with and it was amazing! Phonings Nights were last week (Oct 18-21) and were a HUGE success. We had over 300 volunteers over the 4 nights and raised over $750,000. There is so much work that goes into these four nights--all told its only 12 hours of people making phone calls to donors, but we work for weeks to get everything pulled together. And then at the end of the week, we're absolutely exhausted. The only time last week I wasn't working on Phonings was when I was sleeping. And that's God's honest truth.

But Phonings Week is sort of the traditional last hurrah of Primacy, so the end of this maddening time of year is about to come to and end. And maybe I'll ride my horse again. And go to the gym. And cook a real meal. All important things since I plan to ride a Combined test New Years weekend, and I bought a beautiful dress for Hunter's wedding thats about 1/2 a size too small, but I'm sure the gym will fix that... and I can't remember the last time I made real food (as in... no portions were previously frozen).

When my life gets back to non-Primacy insanity, I will have more updates!

Well I Didn't See THAT Coming

I was at the barn last night, getting Alfie tacked up. One of the teen-aged girls walks up to the grooming stall where I was and pronounces to her young gelding "Why can't you be perfect like Alfie, huh?"

Seriously. She said it. My hand to God! I about fell over I was so shocked.

I looked at her and laughing said "Alfie, don't let your head get too big buddy. I think she's teasing." But this dear, sweet child insists she is not joking and proceeds to tell me how she's never seen Alfie act up, be naughty or do anything but stand quietly and perform his job obediently.

I look at my horse. And sure enough... he's standing there quietly, almost asleep. I lunge him in side reins and he's good as gold, stretching like a good boy. I ride him and he's listening to me, despite all the activity going on around him. When I finish my ride, I bring him into the barn and we are once again met by our new best friend, who professes again that she wishes her horse was more like Alfie.

My horse... who I see as quirky and difficult, with baggage enough for a barn full of horses. A horse who a mere year ago wouldn't cross-tie, and who two years before was fighting with veterinary staff at Auburn... while he was sedated. A horse who typically would spook at just about everything, including his own shadow, and couldn't stand still to save his life... he was described by someone who is not me as PERFECT?!?!

I don't know why I'm so surprised. Alfie is perfect, after all.

my darling, mud-covered pony

Dontcha think?

September Already?!

What happened to my summer? My grand plans? My vacation? Wait... I didn't even HAVE a vacation!!

Despite some ups and downs over the summer (some seriously down downs, I might add), I am embracing September and the coming autumn. I had the opportunity to interview for two positions in the development office of my alma mater, but, alas, I was not The Chosen One for either position. Darn close, but not close enough. However, I am taking that as a sign that there is a bigger and better plan for me, and I have decided to embrace my current position like never before. I'm powering on through a busy and cramped (because of all the holidays we're closed for) campaign season in September and October and taking on some projects that are new to me, but have so far struck the right balance of interesting and challenging. I'm not giving up my search, per se, because I know that something perfect is out there for me... but for now I am going to get the most from my current job as I can, and expand my knowledge and experience.

I also moved Alfie to a wonderful, amazing new barn at the beginning of the month. Its closer to home, and has the right amenities: huge, lush pastures, in which the horses are turned out for about 18 hrs a day (!!); a small cross country schooling field; a galloping track to practice pace; and miles and miles of trails. Oh, and a fabulous staff and group of boarders! Its been about three weeks since we moved and Alfie is a completely different horse. He has taken everything about the move in stride. He's calm and focused whether he's in the cross ties or working in the ring. I should have made this move sooner, but the timing and the cash-flow weren't quite right before. But I think its just perfect! My younger sister, who is a hunter rider, has ridden Alfie a couple times since the move and she was suprised how calm he is. Even when schooling in the ring one night, with the lights casting shadows everywhere, Alfie was perfect. I don't know what it is about the facility, but its having an amazing, positive affect on my boy!

Now I'm hoping we can keep shoes on him long enough to get going and maybe, you know, do some eventing or something. I have my first lesson since June scheduled for Friday (those really down downs? that was the shoes and not getting to ride. For more than TWO MONTHS) and I am hoping Alfie is as good as he has been.

In other horsey news, I volunteered for two days (September 9 & 10) at the American Eventing Championships at Bouckaert Farm. It was amazing. The facility. The volunteers. The organizers. The riders and their horses! I had the chance to meet a couple of "on line friends" for the first time, and they're even more cool than I expected. I scribed for a dressage judge one day and learned a ton (thank you, Elizabeth Kane, for making my first time as a scribe a positive one! I was terrified!). The second day I learned all about bit-checking and stuck my finger in the mouths of about 25 horses. And had to ask Boyd Martin and Phillip Dutton to very kindly, please, sir, I know you'll be on the US team at WEG's, leave my warm-up ring thank you. The coolest thing was seeing Jimmy Wofford though. I wizzed by on a golf cart as he came out of the show office and i just GAWKED! But of course he's there! He's Jimmy! I wish I had run into him again later... I was told that he's very approachable and will talk to you for hours if he isnt busy.

On the "healthy eating" side of things, my husband is down... like eleventy-million pounds. I'm really proud of him. He's going to the gym at least 4 days a week, and sometimes gets up at 4:30am to go before we leave for work. Sometimes. On my personal front, I weighed in at 164.4 lbs On Monday! Only a pound shy of my low from two summers ago, so that will be an easy benchmark to hit. Then I will have to really bust my butt to hit my goal weight (145-ish, but I won't cry if I am within 3 pounds of that). My REAL goal is to get my behind in those a-freaking-mazing FITS breeches I bought two summers ago when I was around 160. I really needed to be a little smaller than I was at the time to truly fit in them, but the Large size was about 4 inches too long in the inseam, so I bought a Medium and squeeeeeeazed into them. Once. I plan on making them my show breeches, so I'd better drop some poundage!

I've been alternating between the elliptical machine and running on the treadmill at the gym, depending on my mood. The last time I ran, I did two 15-minute sets with a two minute walking break between. That felt really good. I also do some leg and abs exercises after cardio, though I should probably do more with weights. I did find two 10-minute workouts On Demand this week that I really like, so I may add those to the routine regularly.

One Thing Leads to Another...

A couple months ago, my husband and I learned that his younger brother was shopping for engagement rings; my brother-in-law was apparently smitten with his girlfriend and knew she was the one, as often happens throughout history. Needless to say we were very excited for him... but then a stark realization punched us in the gut. We're going to have to get back into wedding shape! Especially my husband, who will likely be in the wedding. Yikes!

I have in previous posts mentioned my "fatty saga" and professed my intention to get back into a better routine at the gym and start actively logging my Weight Watchers points again. So a couple of weeks ago I threw my hands up and said "TODAY IS THE DAY!", and with the possibility of a family wedding coming up, now was as good a time as any. I am proud to say that in the first two weeks back on Weight Watchers I've lost six pounds. Heck yes! The biggest motivator ever is watching that number on the scale go down week by week. I think the key to making a healthy-eating plan work (b/c "diet" is a four-letter word) is just planning ahead. Menu planning, packing your lunch the night before, even keeping a stash of good-for-you snacks in the office... ALL forms of planning ahead. All good things to do. And it makes sticking to your plan so much easier. Ask the high-fiber granola bars and 100 calorie bags of microwave popcorn in my desk!

Sidebar: I noticed with my re-entry into WW that they FINALLY added "grooming a horse" to the list of Activities. And let me tell you, cleaning a horse before you even ride is absolutely a cardiovascular, muscle-toning workout. Ask any horse owner. No... go ahead, I'll wait right here. Yeah. Its WORK. Especially when its muddy out in their pastures... getting all that mud off is about an extra 10 minutes of working out. And THEN you get to ride and really get sweaty. But I digress...

Then last weekend my brother-in-law popped the question to his girlfriend, now finacee. And my husband is also now super motivated to get back to fighting... I mean wedding weight. I'm really proud of him. He has had... well, lets just say that he has taken issue in the past with other people telling him what he should do, and eat and not eat and all those kinds of fun things that everyone loves to hear. In the nine years that I have known him, I have learned that I can only lead by example when it comes to exercising and eating healthier, and cannot nag or even mildly suggest that he do something. It backfires. And I can't blame him one bit; after living the better part of my life being made to feel badly about myself and my choices, I'd be pissed off hearing it again, too. So that he decided all on his own to make healthy, positive changes made me very, very happy for him.

And then he got this wild notion about going to the gym this weekend. Wha-wha-WHAT?!

OK, you know what? Fine. Lets go. I haven't even been to the gym in like 6 months, and thats just terrible considering we pay the gym every month. So instead of going out and doing something fun on Saturday night, we went to the gym! I kid... I kid... We did go to the gym, and I guess--while it wasn't exactly fun--it wasn't terrible. I thought for sure I'd be completely wiped out after 15 minutes of brisk walking on the treadmill, but I did better than that...

Nearly 8 months ago my friend Lynda fell off of her young, green horse, Rasta, when he spooked at some kids driving around in a golf-cart (waving a UGA flag... clearly they were not smart enough to know thats a bad idea near a horse). In the fall, Lynda broke two vertibrae in her neck, and by miracle was not paralyzed. She wore a halo for 6 long months, but never lost spirt, as her doctors promised her she would be back to her normal activities within a year. Good thing for Lynda, who is a very active runner, and rider. You can't keep a goo woman down! Last week, Lynda was given the green-light to begin running again. Only about a month before, she sat on her horse again for the first time since her fall. She's an amazing woman.

So I decided right there standing on that treadmill, if Lynda can run, there is no reason I shouldn't be running either. Even though I'm not a runner. At. All. But when I got the the gym on Saturday, I decided to work some running into my session. One minute turned into two. Then a couple of minutes of walking... then another couple of running. And wouldnt you know it, I did about 25 minutes of 2 run/2 walk, and it felt really good. I think I pushed myself just enough that it was hard, but I didnt over-do it.

Lather, rinse, repeat on Sunday evening. :)

Of course today, as I write this, my body is only functioning from the waist up, despite my best efforts to stretch before and after my workouts. But I'm really proud of myself, and of my husband, for getting back to the gym.

Strike that... also having trouble lifting my right arm up above my head, since I pulled Alfie's mane yesterday (without a fight mind you! That is h-u-g-e HUGE for him!). But thats another story.

So... brother-in-law goes ring shopping... I start back on Weight Watchers... Brother-in-law gets engaged, we both start going back to the gym... my friend makes a miraculous recovery, and I become a runner. Things happen for a reason... I think its up to us to recognize that reason and respond to it.

The Gravity of Time & Place

This is no ordinary tree. He lives on the President's Lawn, at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and he bears scars that reach back to... oh, well let's see... I think I saw one from the 50's, though I did not give the tree a thorough examination. I have done a little research, yet found nothing about this tree as it relates to Georgia Tech history and lore, but it appears that over the decades, students have carved in their initials, their major, and the year they "got out" into the tree. I guess you have to be pretty ballsy to sneak onto the President's Lawn to do such a thing, but since Tech's graduating seniors are both heavy on time (thanks to T-Week) and brains, I'm sure its not as elaborate a scheme as I imagine it to be.

I, however, did not have to scheme or use my brain to get onto the President's Lawn...merely well connected. I was invited. Ok, not that well connected. Will and I recently attended the Family Appreciation Day for his department on campus, and the function was held on the Lawn. And that's where and how I came across The Tree.

As an alumna -- and the wife of an alumnus/employee -- of the Institute I was just drawn to The Tree, and thought about how it must hold a special place in the hearts of those who left their marks upon it. At least 50 years worth of graduating classes are represented there, I'd think. And though I'm sure that, legally, defacing the Institute's property is a crime, seeing things like "MSH - ME - 76" made me incredibly proud to have spent five of the best years of my life on that campus and to hold a degree from one of the toughest colleges in the United States. Everyone who ever has graduated from college is proud of their accomplishment, but unless you went to Tech and Got Out, you have no idea just how proud a Tech graduate is to be a part of that elite group.

The timeliness of my discovery of The Tree could not have been more appropriate, either. And if certain things come to pass, I do believe I will have to re-visit that Tree, and give prayers of thanks.

My Belief System

I believe in true love. I believe that the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man. And I believe that ice cream can make just about any thing or situation better.

I do not believe in boxed cake mixes. At all. Not brownie or cookie mixes either, but mostly cake. And making cake from scratch can be intimidating the first time, but the end result is worth it, not to mention your friends will think you are a genius. And, you'll be able to pronounce all the ingredients in your cake. Can't say that with boxed mixes, can ya?

With pictures, making a batch of cake batter took me about 20 minutes. So strap on your aprons, folks! Let's break it down!!

First, you need an excuse. Like... "I want cake!" or, in my case, this adorable baby was celebrating her first birthday. And seeing as she's pretty much awesome, I couldn't turn her down.

And her daddy there is an executive chef at a fancy restuarant, so I had to show off my mad skilz!

Next you need a recipe. My standby is the 1-2-3-4 Yellow Cake in "The Joy of Cooking" (a note... the recipes in TJC are laid out in a sort of odd way... read the whole recipe through very carefully... twice).

"The Hardware" as Alton Brown calls it...

Liquid measure, mixing bowl (for the dry ingredients), two bowls for the batter (one for the base, one for whipping egg whites), a rubber spatula, dry measure cups and measuring spoons. And whatever baking vessle you desire. I had a muffin tin.

Then you have the players themselves... butter, sugar, eggs, cake flour, milk, vanilla, baking powder and cream of tartar. Have everything at room temp. This helps everyone get to be really good friends!

I personally like to beat the room temperature butter all by itself to get it going...

Then I add the sugar and cream for a good three minutes. It should be noticably fluffier when you're ready to proceed... b/c the sugar has punched holes in the fat (butter) which means theres a lot of air now incorporated in there.

Add your egg YOLKS one at a time, and beat after each addition....

Then add your sifted or whisked flour & baking powder (which you combined in that mxing bowl)...

and alternate that with your milk and vanilla.

Scrape everything down, and give it another good mix. Just a few seconds is fine. If you beat too much once the flour is added, you risk a tough cake.

So now you're half way there! You've got the cake batter base! Hurray!

Time to move on over to that other bowl and whip the egg WHITES!

I beat mine a tad to get them frothy, then add the cream of tartar. Then once the whites are starting to get some air into them and are opaque, I crank the mixer on high and slowly stream in the sugar. There is no picture of that step... it was hard to capture what with only two hands and all...

But please note that TJC asks for stiff but not dry peaks....

Like these. Glossy and lovely!

I realized too late I did not add the pictures of folding those lovely glossy egg whites into the batter base.... but you really can't screw it up. Dump about a third of the whites into the base, and mix gently. No fancy schmancy folding. Just be gentle. Then lather, rinse and repeat until you've got everything encorporated.

TA DA!!!!!! Cake batter from scratch!

Then get the cutest cupcake liners you can find (!!)

And line your tins... and fill! I used approximately 1/4 cup of batter for each cupcake, though I probably could have used a little more. Using that measurement this recipe made exactly two and a half dozen cupcakes (baked in several batches since, remarkably, I only have one tin).

Bake until golden brown and delisious! (18 minutes-ish)

And when they're cool enough to frost, slather on the good stuff! I made strawberry buttercream (yes, from scratch) and piped it on fancy-schmancy. Remember: I was trying to impress my brother-in-law the chef.

He was pretty impressed.

p.s. every single picture in this post was taken with my new HTC Evo phone, in my kitchen with its two windows. Not a pixle was retouched by photo-editing software. This cell phone is the bomb. Amen.

For William

I love that you love animals, whether they're ours or in need of a home...

I love that you love your nieces ...

And that you love your nephews, too...

I love it when you're silly...

And when you're serious and thoughtful...






But mostly, I love that you love me.

Happy Anniversary, honey.