I'm such an idiot...

So my day was going wonderfully until... I had the nerve to break my laptop's keyboard and scratch the screen!!!

My laptop was open on my desk, and I was holding a big journal and a few elementary school year books that I was attempting to sorta toss onto the highest shelf... then then came crashing down onto my laptop...

As you can see, the whole top right corner of my laptop is bent in, the \ button is broke off, the backspace button is scratched and hard to push down, and there's a scratch on the screen (that you can't see, oh and btw I took the picture w/my webcam due to lack of digital camera by using my JC Penny handheld mirror, nifty eh?) Anyways, another one of my stupid rash decisions has caused something to be broken or someone to get hurt, or in this case, hurt emotionally. I'm such a idiot I can't believe it so now I get to use my broken keyboard. Mom said we could (or more like she snappily/exasperatingly suggested) give it to Laura and get a new one, but I don't want them to do that. The buttons still work... somewhat.

Needing Update

I'm so bad for not writing on this in ages! I need to get into a habit of it, so that when all my school-related woes come I can blog about them whilst I sit pitifully, homesick and sad in Idaho all by my lonesome.

Update on Justin's eye: It just recently got worse after getting better. We moved him to Ann's, and after fasting and alot of prayer, I'm now able to put meds in his eye. (and he stands still while I do it! - by prying his eye open and wiping it in with my finger) I did his eye 3x daily for a bit, then twice a day, now it got worse so we're back to 3 x daily and putting Atropine in it 2 x daily to dilate his pupil to increase blood flow or something like that. *crosses fingers* Let's hope it'll be significantly better before I leave for college...

On a bit of a lighter, yet somehow not-so-light-er note, I've just been working on my packing list for school. WOW! There is SO much stuff I have to think about, and I'm only gonna be there for 6 weeks! There's clothes, medicines, toiletries, stuff for the apartment itself, food (I'm making a grocery list so I'll have it, and I'm gonna make some meal plans), but half the stuff food-wise and kitchen-wise I have to wait till I get there because I don't know if my roommates will have certain kitchen stuff, or if they'll share food, or what! It's kinda confusing/frustrating/exASPERATING the fact that I'm moving in halfway through the semester, so EVERYONE'll be established except me. And I can't just barge in and say "Hey, all the pots/pans are mine because I like to eat healthy and therefore some of the time fix my own food- yes I can cook!" or "Yep, all that food's mine, you can have some if you'd like, just let me know or ask" because I have no idea if the refridgerator is gonna already be full of everyone else's food or if the cabinets are gonna be bulging with everyone else's crap, etc.

*sigh* I hope I'm going about this the right way for now, what doyall think?

...

...so Justin has had this ulcer on his cornea (ulcer is just like a scratch/scrape) and I THOUGHT that Shadow Ridge was treating it, but I guess not! It's gotten worse and worse, and now it's bluish and cloudy. So, Dad called his vet friend and apparently bluish and cloudy means he's already blind in the eye (or going blind, I don't think he's all the way blind). He suggested using Acromycin Crumbles, which I canNOT find anything about online, I hope they have them at Jack Garst... and then giving him a shot of Demosedan in the vein before I do stuff with his eye. I'm hoping my vet will be able to mail some shots to me, because there is NO way that I want another visit, I'm really hoping to switch to a different vet. They are just too expensive.

Anyways, I feel like it's all my fault, just letting Shadow Ridge treat him (when they obviously WEREN'T doing it, which I should've figured because every time I'd email her and ask her, she would never really SAY that they were putting the meds in his eye) and not attempting to treat him myself. I feel terrible that I haven't done it and now I'm bummed and sad and depressed and Mom isn't helping and it's just... >_>

Activity!

You gotta check out me and Sarah's 21-day plan! It's simply awesome! And it's awesome the fact we're both doing so well these days! Check it out here: http://bruingtonbiggestloser.blogspot.com and leave us comments of encouragement!

Anyways, this week I have been ACTIVE and BUSY and DRIVING aLOT. I'm house/horse/dog/cat/ferret/bunny/chicken sitting for my friend Brittney's family, and what a job! I go to bed by 11 or usually a little before, wake up around 6:30-7:00am-ish, get horses out of barn (if they're in it, which they have been the past 3 nights) and grain them, feed all dogs, check water/feed for chickens, get eggs, check on cats' and ferrets' water/feed, feed myself, take my meds and leave for work. Go to work, finish, go to MY house where I: grain/hay/water goats and move/untangle Billybob. About then it's usually 1 or 2, so I feed myself, then I either hang out or go get something done at Wal*mart or whatever, exercise around 4-5ish and after that I come back to the house or before I exercise and do it here. Then, night feeding includes dogs, cleaning up litter of cats/ferrets, feeding/watering cats/ferrets, feeding/watering rabbit, graining/bringing in/haying horses, checking water/feed of chickens. Not to mention letting the cats go outside somewhere in the day, and regulating the field turnout of Samson the big Great Dane. Then I have to feed myself dinner somewhere in there, and do my bed prep and most of the time I haven't even had time to read/watch a movie/think by the time I crash in bed.

I HAVE been out and about alot this week though as well, so that's also taken up alot of time. My only problem is, I haven't gone to see Justin... I guess I don't feel like confronting Michelle since the whole 'strangles' issue, so it's keeping me from my horse. Oh well! We're moving him to Mom's quilting friend Ann's house, so he'll be good there until Mom and Dad find a house with land to purchase. Oh yeah, they want to purchase a house with land for David, Sabina and Justin. ^^ I'm glad they think about Justin, especially because they could say that I need to sell him and not worry about land. Though, I think they secretly want land for themselves. Let's hope they don't obsess over it and claim it once David and Sabina move in, for David and Sabina's sakes. ;)

I could STRANGLE Strangles...

So Justin had this equine virus/disease thing called Strangles two years ago. When I brought him to his current boarding barn, it had been almost a year since the quarantine was over (not the disease itself, PAST the disease - the end of the 6 month quarantine!) and since I wasn't asked about diseases or whatever, I didn't think to tell her because I figured it wasn't an issue anymore. I was told after 6 months that we could move them and take them places. Plus, several horses had been in and out of there since the Strangles, one to a hunter/jumper trainer in North Carolina, so I figured it was safe and why bring it up?

Anyways, I talked to the vet who came to the barn I work at two days ago, and I told her that when the vet came to where I keep my horse, that he gave all the horses Strangles vaccine - Justin included. She said that he probably should not have the vaccine because he's already had Strangles before. So, I emailed the barn manager/owner where Justin is, and told her to please not have the second part of the vaccine given, seeing as how he's already had Strangles. Well, apparently this was a terrible thing, despite it being two years since he's had it (AND he's already been at this barn for a year) and he's putting the other horses at risk since we don't know if he's a carrier. Luckily, the vet had apparently hurt his arm an HOUR before he came to the barn to vaccinate and couldn't give the Strangles vaccine because it's intranasal (a TERRIBLE vaccine, I never have given it to Justin, but apparently it's required where he is now) so the barn manager emailed me all the specifics of how it could affect the other horses and how we should do a titre test to determine his antibody levels and then a guttural pouch swab test to see if he's a carrier or not. Combined cost: $360 give or take. >.<

Daddy is not happy. He's never happy when we have to spend money on Justin... thankfully though, Mother is more forgiving! I do thank the Lord when I realize how close Justin came to having it, because whether he's a carrier or not (I really don't think he is) the vaccine wouldn't be good for him.

Why do I not think he's a carrier? Apparently, if they're a carrier they have bacteria in their guttural pouch, and during stress/stressful situations they "shed" the bacteria and therefore infecting other horses. Well, it has been TWO years, and Justin's had his fair share of stressful situations. At my previous barn, during the summer I had to pull him out of sight from the herd to ride and he'd prance, snort, whinny and scream for them the entire time -- Stress! We moved him to the barn he's at now with lots of kicks, and then put in a stall for half a day from then on where he had to adjust, kick, etc. I took him to Brittney's house at night one time, and he was pawing and kicking during that ride. Then, he was shipped to South Carolina for the Beach Ride for a SEVEN HOUR trip! Every time we stopped he'd paw and sometimes kick, so that was obviously stressful! And once when I was attempting to give him bute, he reared and was freaking out: aka- STRESS; he also did that a few times when I've tried to do stuff to his eye. So, lots of stressful situations and NO horses have been infected.

*sigh* But I do understand her concern, and she says I don't need to leave/take him somewhere else if we can do these tests (and of course, only if they turn out negative). The problem is, if he IS a carrier, he's one for life. Yay. Wow it sucks! Luckily, Justin's a pretty no-stress horse on a regular basis, seeing as how he's not wound up and sensitive, but he can stress (as I previously wrote). I really don't think he IS a carrier, so I'm allowing myself that thought to make me think positively. Hopefully I can just let him run with Ruby this Summer and then bring him to Mom's quilting friend Anne's house with her horses, she's ten minutes closer than the 25 minute drive to where he's at now though.

Okay, so I just - for the last 30 minutes - have been reading articles about Strangles. Guess I'll go ahead and post this now.

Revelry and Stuff

The Renaissance Faire was super fun! The boys were ridiculously adorable and seemed to really enjoy themselves. Me, Sarah, Hunter and Nathan (Jeremy stayed at home with Jason) left Saturday morning at 7am and after making a stop by Wal*mart and Hardees, got there at 11am. We stayed until 5:30 and got home around 9pm. It was a blast, and I got stuff for my gypsy costume for the Virginia Renaissance Faire! Which we will be attending Saturday of opening weekend, May 16-17th. Anyone who wants to come is welcome, we'll be saving lots of moolah by staying at Sarah's house.

Today at work was... taxing. I ended up stripping the whole barn of all its shavings (which is something I've yet to do) and laying down all new shavings. We really need to get another load of shavings - the current shavings are wet, musty and just nasty - so the horses can have a good, clean area. Apparently, one of my "jobs" is to clean in front of the barn and in the ring (a good 1/3-1/2 of the field) of poop, which I was only told a week ago. Figures. The missionaries did it last week, which was wonderful again, but they'll be at work tomorrow so I'm going to have them help me clean it this week too. Luckily, it only has to be done once a week. I was so pooped today after work, all the bending and scooping really took a toll on me and sored up my hands. I was glad my list of "To Work With" horses was only two, and they're both easy ones that only need 15-minute sessions.

Jon, Shaunna and Brandy came over tonight to help plan some Young Single Adult activities. The only problem is, everyone wants to cater to everyone's needs/available nights/etc, but I don't think they realize is that we can't. We can't discuss every service project we want with everyone, that's not the way things go. WE (meaning the leaders, so I suppose me and Jon) pick something and tell everyone. I wanted Shaunna and Brandy help Jon boy and me think of ideas, but I didn't mean to have everyone's opinion on things. We only scheduled one thing, which is the "Conversation Jar" and snacks for this coming Sunday. Haha, it was Brandy's idea, and trust her to think of an excuse to use the conversation jar. :-P Elder Jolley used to really like the conversation jar. He was such a cutie, ;D

Anyways, Sarah go check the Bruington's Biggest Loser blog, I posted.

Exhaustion and Regret

So my old riding instructor Aspen emailed me yesterday offering me an almost two-year-old filly for free. Her name is Mystic, and she ties, leads, loads on any type of trailer, has been worked with NH on the ground and can walk on a tarp and be covered with it, walk on a bridge, have a bucket of rocks shaked around her, etc. She sent me some pictures, and she just looks absolutely adorable! Isn't she? xD I was really kinda anxious, prayed about it, talked to Sabina about it, and really THOUGHT about it. But of course without a thought of "Maybe it could work" Mom shot me down, which was totally and utterly disappointing and I cried. I know everyone else must think it ridiculous, but she'd be ready to saddle train when I get back from college, and then me and Sabina would BOTH have a horse to ride on the beach ride. Ugh, I thought I had gotten over it, but now that I'm writing/thinking about it I haven't. I was just really looking forward to training a young horse again, ESPECIALLY because I now know what to do! >_>... oh well, me and Sabina will just have to be content sharing Justin at the beach.

I am exhausted, but I can't allow myself to be. I have an exam to study for that I've only studied three times for, and I've still got 8 chapters to study! Plus, I need to do chemistry which I haven't done in awhile. So, once I'm done with this I'm going to go make myself study and do Chemistry, and then I'm going to go ride my horse because he needs it and I need it. I'm just so sick of being dirty and I have to get home and feed the goats when I'm done at work, so I usually just go straight home.

I trimmed Piper's, Malik's and Boots's hooves today. Piper's got jacked feet because we haven't trimmed them in ages, so I had to do some corrective trimming to be redone at the beginning of May. (Mom said that her friend does her goats quarterly, but since we've neglected them, Boots, Piper and Malik - though him not so much - need to be trimmed monthly until their hooves are growing normally) That really pooped me out, especially being bent over little Malik and Boots and previously carrying 3 full hay bags, a bucket and another flake of hay around to feed them all. Oh well, I'm glad I got them all fed, trimmed and watered. Not sure if I'm gonna do Bill's hooves yet... they probably need it since they're immersed in wet mud right now... the perfect scenario for growage...