Tomorrow's Lesson

Trainer Ted and Horse Whisperer Paulette have been working really hard on getting Pixie rider ready.


And tomorrow I will get to reap the benefits of their hard work! I'm taking my first lesson on Pixie tomorrow morning! And Mr. Z will be there with his camera ready, so stay tuned for some awesome pictures! This has been a very long journey that begins a new chapter tomorrow. I can't wait!

Morning Snack

Lately my morning snack has consisted of Greek yogurt and a granola bar. This morning I added some peanut butter. Yummmmmy! I've found that Greek yogurt definitely keeps me full longer. Probably because it has 15 grams of protein in it (compared to 5 in regular yogurt)!


Why does Greek yogurt have so much more protein? I have no idea. I went online to try to figure it out and it has something to do with draining it and removing the whey. In any case, it's tasty, creamy, fat free and filled with protein. A perfect morning snack.

Up Nort'

My family went up north to Minocqua this weekend and we had a wonderful time!


The only thing missing was little Evan. He's studying in London this semester, but we brought a special picture so his presence was felt (that's him, center stage).


We even took him ice fishing with us!


I got to take my first ride ever on a snowmobile! I even got to drive!! It was so fun. I told Mr. Z if I didn't already have a horse, I'd want a snowmobile.


This is our ice fishing setup: my dad and his friend Tugger orchestrated the whole thing. The setting was absolutely beautiful!


Time for a beer. But how will I open it without a church key? Never fear, Tug is near! And he has a pair of pliers. Will that do the trick?


Of course! Tug saves the day.


Sister Bear and I took a long walk through the woods along the lake. It was such a gorgeous day!


Mr. Z and Brother Kent built an amazing shelter/igloo/fort thingy, it was pretty cool.


I think Mr. Z was pretty proud of it. Isn't he a cutie?


As you can see, "ice fishing" really means fun snowmobile rides, beer, long walks, good conversation and fort building. They did catch two fish. But of course, I didn't get pictures of them!

When we got back we made an awesome taco dinner and got into Tugger's bounce for dessert. If you're not from Wisconsin (or even if you are) you probably haven't heard of bounce. Imagine taking a mason jar, filling it with a cup of sugar, a bunch of berries, and then filling it to the top with vodka. Then letting it sit in your refrigerator for years. I mean YEARS. One of the bounces we tasted was from 1994! We tried cherry, raspberry and black raspberry. It was ok. I guess you have to like vodka.


After dessert, we had a good old fashioned Hutchison family dance party. There was some break dancing.



Boy, it's too bad I didn't get any video of that shenanegry. Really, too bad...

It was a wonderful weekend with great people. Lots of good food and love. What more could a girl ask for?

Equi-Soccer

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this yet, but Harmony Horsemanship has been invited to demonstrate Equi-Soccer at the Midwest Horse Fair in April. Paulette has scheduled four big soccer practices at the Jefferson County Fairground between now and then in order step up our game. We travel to the fairgrounds because there is more space to play "inside." I say "inside" because it was still really, really cold! We just didn't have to navigate the snow.

Here is the team all tacked up:


I rode Zippy for most of practice. It was really fun! But sooooooo very cold. My little piggies were screaming for relief by the end of the four hour practice.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

While my mom was in town last weekend we made the Brown Sugar Pound Cake from All Cakes Considered. Sadly, I didn't get a very good picture of it. This is the best I got:


It was very tasty. Super rich and yummy. It didn't even need a glaze, although we both agreed a cinnamon glaze would be perfect!

Baking with my dear mother makes for one uptight Bean. I am so used to doing things my way, I'm totally thrown for a loop when someone else is in the kitchen. For example, the sink area was still filled with dishes from dinner. I wanted to clean up before we started the cake. I said, "Let me get these out of the way first, I hate baking when the kitchen is a mess." She said, "Oh, I know!" And then she proceeded to take every single ingredient out of my cupboard, put them on the counter and fire up the mixer. I might have snapped and told her to please stop what she was doing until I finish the dishes. Ok, I did snap and say that to her. I felt bad for a minute, but realized that she didn't really care. She's used to my analtude and she's used to me speaking my mind. I don't think she'd have it any other way. I love that we can speak freely with each other. I'm so lucky to have such a great mom!

Strawberry Milk

Breakfast is the most difficult meal of the day for me. I know it's important, not only because every single weight-loss site/blog/guru will tell you so, but because when I have a good breakfast I'm not starving two hours later. However, I'm never sure what constitutes a "good" breakfast and I like variety in my meals. This is what makes it difficult. So I play around a lot.

This is what I came up with this morning:


Half of a cranberry-oat bagel, 1 T neufchatel cheese, a few slices of apple, an egg, and 1/6 an avocado. It was really, really yummy. It kind of reminded me of sushi. I think it was the cream cheese/avocado/apple crunch combo.

Of course my breakfast was accompanied by a strong cup of black coffee. You know strong and black... obviously not like my men. If I chose my beverages according to my men (man) I'd be drinking strawberry milk for the rest of my life!

Anyway, we'll see how long this breakfast tides me over. My lovely mother is coming to town this morning and staying for the night. We have lots of activities planned. I'm very excited!

Happy weekend!

Ride 'em Cowgirls!

I had a play-date with this little one and her momma on Saturday. She loves to explore new things and found this rocking horse at the neighborhood video store. Isn't she a sweet pea?


Speaking of sweet Ps...


That's right! That's me on Pixie! I got to sit on her and Paulette walked her around the indoor arena for a bit this afternoon.

However, that's probably the second biggest "Pixie" news of the day. The first? I made my last payment on her. She is officially mine. I am a horse owner!