Friday, April 2, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Friday, December 18, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Black Apple Doll
I found this project at one of my favorite blogs, homemade by jill. The instructions and pattern are posted at Martha Stewart's page.
It was a pretty fast project, and I would like to make more! It will be fun to try different fabrics and color combinations.
It was a pretty fast project, and I would like to make more! It will be fun to try different fabrics and color combinations.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Baby Shower Invitations
My friend, Stacy, is having a baby in December and I am throwing a baby shower for all of our barn friends. Here is the invitation I designed. It took a long time to get my idea on paper, but I love it!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Words Are Too Hard
See my pictures instead!
Go here for pictures from Michelle's wedding, a killer shot of the Old Capital and the Rockford AirFest!
Go here for pictures from Michelle's wedding, a killer shot of the Old Capital and the Rockford AirFest!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Name That Landmark
Erin and Paul's Wedding Edition:
Hint - photos are in order from Twin Cities to Seattle:
http://picasaweb.google.com/dlilient/NameThatLandmark#
Hint - photos are in order from Twin Cities to Seattle:
http://picasaweb.google.com/dlilient/NameThatLandmark#
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Bridal Shower Invitations
My sister Erin's bridal shower is on Saturday. Megan and I made invitations a few weeks ago, and they turned out so cute! Erin's wedding color is green, so we chose green and pink to be the shower colors for a bit of fun. It took us awhile to come up with an idea, but we ended up finding a cute idea in a book about making cards.
Here's the "flock" of birds ready to go.
Here's a close up of the outside. Megan found the pink patterned paper, and it was the basis for our inspiration. I love it!
We found several options for wording a shower invitation online, but this one was our favorite. It seemed to fit the feel of the card the best.
I can't wait to fly home on Friday and see all our relatives at the shower!
Here's the "flock" of birds ready to go.
Here's a close up of the outside. Megan found the pink patterned paper, and it was the basis for our inspiration. I love it!
We found several options for wording a shower invitation online, but this one was our favorite. It seemed to fit the feel of the card the best.
I can't wait to fly home on Friday and see all our relatives at the shower!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Get My Hit count Up!
Spread the word - Dave's got another photo accepted (A ridiculously hard and agonizing endeavor) on Airliners.net: http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1560659/L/
Monday, July 6, 2009
My Handsome Boy
Dave took this picture while we were out schooling at Aspen Farm. It shows how happy Jack is out on a cross country course!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
New Window Treatments
We finally finished this project today when we hung the cornice in our bedroom. It's totally over engineered, but I wanted to make sure it lasts.
Our bedroom
Guest bath
The creative director at the back door
Our bedroom
Guest bath
The creative director at the back doorSaturday, June 20, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Briarwood Pony Club One Day Event
On Saturday, May 30 Jack and I went to the Briarwood One Day down at NWEC in Rainier, WA. It was my first time going Beginner Novice, and it was a blast!
I was the most nervous about our dressage test. Jack's dressage has come a long way in the last year, but we still don't have much experience actually doing a test in a show. No matter how well you school, putting in a decent test at a show is hard! However, Jack warmed up really nice and relaxed, and we had our best test ever!
It was a hot day, somewhere in the 80's, so I was a little concerned about Jack having enough down time between events. He got a half hour or so in his stall to drink water and relax before we tacked up for stadium. I only did a few warm up fences before going into the ring because he felt ready to go. Unfortunately I made a bad approach to our first fence, so we knocked down a rail. But I realized my mistake, put my leg on, and came in straight to the rest of the fences. Jack got all his distances and it was so much fun!
We had a little longer after stadium, maybe about 40 minutes. Jack snoozed in his stall while I changed and got ready for cross country. We headed over to the warm up area where they had an actual cross country jump for warming up in addition to the standard X, vertical, and oxer. Since we had just jumped and it was hot, I didn't want to do too much to wear Jack out. We did just the crossrail from both leads and then the XC ramp from both directions. Jack felt completely ready and I could tell he was excited. As soon as we crossed the start line, Jack was on! We went faster than I have gone when we have schooled cross country. It was amazing! Jack jumped everything, and was constantly looking for the next fence.
I should have balanced him back before a few fences where he took off long, but the fences were so small, he was easily galloping over them. I was not worried at all, and it was so fun to just be in the gallop rhythm and fly over the fences!
I had such a great time with Jack and with all of my friends at the show! We are going to our first recognized event at our next show. We'll be going Beginner Novice at the Whidbey Island Pony Club Horse Trial in July. I can't wait!
I was the most nervous about our dressage test. Jack's dressage has come a long way in the last year, but we still don't have much experience actually doing a test in a show. No matter how well you school, putting in a decent test at a show is hard! However, Jack warmed up really nice and relaxed, and we had our best test ever!
It was a hot day, somewhere in the 80's, so I was a little concerned about Jack having enough down time between events. He got a half hour or so in his stall to drink water and relax before we tacked up for stadium. I only did a few warm up fences before going into the ring because he felt ready to go. Unfortunately I made a bad approach to our first fence, so we knocked down a rail. But I realized my mistake, put my leg on, and came in straight to the rest of the fences. Jack got all his distances and it was so much fun!
We had a little longer after stadium, maybe about 40 minutes. Jack snoozed in his stall while I changed and got ready for cross country. We headed over to the warm up area where they had an actual cross country jump for warming up in addition to the standard X, vertical, and oxer. Since we had just jumped and it was hot, I didn't want to do too much to wear Jack out. We did just the crossrail from both leads and then the XC ramp from both directions. Jack felt completely ready and I could tell he was excited. As soon as we crossed the start line, Jack was on! We went faster than I have gone when we have schooled cross country. It was amazing! Jack jumped everything, and was constantly looking for the next fence.
I should have balanced him back before a few fences where he took off long, but the fences were so small, he was easily galloping over them. I was not worried at all, and it was so fun to just be in the gallop rhythm and fly over the fences!
I had such a great time with Jack and with all of my friends at the show! We are going to our first recognized event at our next show. We'll be going Beginner Novice at the Whidbey Island Pony Club Horse Trial in July. I can't wait!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Photo updates
Monday, May 18, 2009
Megan's Birthday Cake
Megan's birthday was on Saturday, so I baked her a cake. It was my first time using fondant, so I tried something simple, but I love how it turned out!
Here's the birthday girl. I can't believe my little sister is 25!
The cake was good and the buttercream that I used under the fondant was delicious. But we all agreed... fondant tastes pretty gross. Pretty to look at, though!
Here's the birthday girl. I can't believe my little sister is 25!
The cake was good and the buttercream that I used under the fondant was delicious. But we all agreed... fondant tastes pretty gross. Pretty to look at, though!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Area VII Adult Riders' Camp
Last weekend, April 30 through May 3, I attended USEA Area VII's Adult Rider's Camp. It was a weekend full of lessons with 5 different trainers from around the country. I had two dressage lessons, two cross country lessons, and one stadium jumping lesson. I rode with Kyle Carter, from the Canadian Olympic team, Steuart Pittman a well known US eventer, and Jonathan Elliot who owns Aspen Farms. The camp was held at Aspen, and it was beautiful!
Jack was a good boy all weekend. He got a little crazy for our first dressage lesson with Steuart. The dressage arenas were secluded from the rest of the jumping and cross country areas, so Jack felt very alone and upset. He did a little bucking, too, when we were asking him to be round at the canter! Steuart said he was "quite fancy" though, and said my position was good, so I took that as a compliment!
He apparently worked out all his frustration, because our following stadium lesson was a blast. Jon said that Jack had a great gallop, and we just rocked every fence. Jack did everything perfectly and I felt like my position was really solid.
Our first cross country lesson with Kyle started in sun, and ended in pouring rain! It absolutely dumped buckets of sideways rain on us. Jack was mad that we kept working in the rain, and did some more bucking. Once the rain let up, though, we happily galloped through the water and jumped in and out of it over a small jump.
Can you tell how wet we are? Not a dry spot on us, and my navy vest looks black!
The next day's lesson with Jonathan was much nicer. Jack was amazing! We got to practice galloping up and down hills. We both were having a lot of fun!
We got to do the ditch a lot, and I really learned a lot from Jon about how to ride it in a more balanced position. Jack never hesitated, and sometimes jumped really big over the ditch!
This log was fun to gallop up a steep hill, jump, and gallop down a long gradual hill afterwards. It was harder to jump the other way, going down the steep hill, but was good practice. I love Jack's face in this picture. So cute!
Here we are with our friends Sharon and Simon. Jack and Simon are travelling buddies. We rode down in Sharon's trailer and spent time with them all weekend. We had the best time in our cross country lesson together. We were proud of our non-ditchy horses since Jack and Simon did so well.
Jack was very tired by our last dressage lesson with Kyle, but that's okay. We had a great weekend and it was great to be successful in a new setting and with different instructors. It will be fun to apply some of the things we learned and also have new things to work on with Anne at home.
Jack was a good boy all weekend. He got a little crazy for our first dressage lesson with Steuart. The dressage arenas were secluded from the rest of the jumping and cross country areas, so Jack felt very alone and upset. He did a little bucking, too, when we were asking him to be round at the canter! Steuart said he was "quite fancy" though, and said my position was good, so I took that as a compliment!
He apparently worked out all his frustration, because our following stadium lesson was a blast. Jon said that Jack had a great gallop, and we just rocked every fence. Jack did everything perfectly and I felt like my position was really solid.
Our first cross country lesson with Kyle started in sun, and ended in pouring rain! It absolutely dumped buckets of sideways rain on us. Jack was mad that we kept working in the rain, and did some more bucking. Once the rain let up, though, we happily galloped through the water and jumped in and out of it over a small jump.
Can you tell how wet we are? Not a dry spot on us, and my navy vest looks black!
The next day's lesson with Jonathan was much nicer. Jack was amazing! We got to practice galloping up and down hills. We both were having a lot of fun!
We got to do the ditch a lot, and I really learned a lot from Jon about how to ride it in a more balanced position. Jack never hesitated, and sometimes jumped really big over the ditch!
This log was fun to gallop up a steep hill, jump, and gallop down a long gradual hill afterwards. It was harder to jump the other way, going down the steep hill, but was good practice. I love Jack's face in this picture. So cute!
Here we are with our friends Sharon and Simon. Jack and Simon are travelling buddies. We rode down in Sharon's trailer and spent time with them all weekend. We had the best time in our cross country lesson together. We were proud of our non-ditchy horses since Jack and Simon did so well.
Jack was very tired by our last dressage lesson with Kyle, but that's okay. We had a great weekend and it was great to be successful in a new setting and with different instructors. It will be fun to apply some of the things we learned and also have new things to work on with Anne at home.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Schooling at NWEC
Anne took six of us schooling at Northwest Equestrian Center on Saturday. We had a lot of fun and didn't get rained on at all. What a miracle! It's less than a month away from Adult Rider's Camp for me and just about a month away from the NWEC Mother's Day Event for some of the other girls, so we have been anxious to get in our first schooling session of the year.
I was a bit nervous, but Jack was amazing! He was his usual solid self, although he did run out at a particularly scary log that had daylight underneath it. Everything else was no problem and he had a nice steady gallop rhythm the whole time. He's showing great form over this Novice ramp.
Jack is definitely a more excited and happy horse this past year. His expression in this picture gives him away! "You want to jump that log? Awesome, let's go!"
We practiced water, a ditch, lots of ramps, logs, a big bench, and a few coops. I thought most of them were Beginner Novice fences, but when we were untacking Anne said, "Heidi, you know most of those fences were Novice fences, right?" My eyes got really big, "Are you serious? Yeah!" I want to show Beginner Novice this year, so it's a huge boost to my confidence that we can already do Novice obstacles!
Click here to view the entire album. Dave did a fantastic job! He took a lot of pictures of me and all of our barn friends, too.
I was a bit nervous, but Jack was amazing! He was his usual solid self, although he did run out at a particularly scary log that had daylight underneath it. Everything else was no problem and he had a nice steady gallop rhythm the whole time. He's showing great form over this Novice ramp.
Jack is definitely a more excited and happy horse this past year. His expression in this picture gives him away! "You want to jump that log? Awesome, let's go!"
We practiced water, a ditch, lots of ramps, logs, a big bench, and a few coops. I thought most of them were Beginner Novice fences, but when we were untacking Anne said, "Heidi, you know most of those fences were Novice fences, right?" My eyes got really big, "Are you serious? Yeah!" I want to show Beginner Novice this year, so it's a huge boost to my confidence that we can already do Novice obstacles!
Click here to view the entire album. Dave did a fantastic job! He took a lot of pictures of me and all of our barn friends, too.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Mom and Dad Visit
My mom and dad came to visit for a long weekend. They had absolutely perfect timing on the Seattle spring weather! It was upper 60's or low 70's and sunny the whole time they were here. It felt like summer!
We did some shopping for Megan and Aaron's new apartment, watched movies, barbecued, played in the yard with the dogs, played outside games, did some yard work, and watched movies. It was fun to all spend time together.
Here's a picture from our day trip up to Anacortes. We ate lunch in the historic downtown and then went to the visitor center. The guide there told us about Washington Park out on the western point of the island. It was beautiful- nice trails, good beach access, and we saw a seal!
Dave and I definitely want to come back to this park, and I want to bring the dogs next time! We have more pictures that will hopefully be posted soon. We have both been busy and not had time to blog lately!
We did some shopping for Megan and Aaron's new apartment, watched movies, barbecued, played in the yard with the dogs, played outside games, did some yard work, and watched movies. It was fun to all spend time together.
Here's a picture from our day trip up to Anacortes. We ate lunch in the historic downtown and then went to the visitor center. The guide there told us about Washington Park out on the western point of the island. It was beautiful- nice trails, good beach access, and we saw a seal!
Dave and I definitely want to come back to this park, and I want to bring the dogs next time! We have more pictures that will hopefully be posted soon. We have both been busy and not had time to blog lately!
Friday, April 3, 2009
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