4 Days!

Until I leave for HHI and LOTS to do between now and then! Most of my things are packed but I've still got a bit more to do. Here's a general list of what needs to be done between now and then

- Cancel gym membership
- Close safe deposit box
- Order tires for the truck to be shipped to Dad's house
- Double and triple check to make sure I haven't forgotten to pack anything
- Laundry, laundry, laundry
- Buy 1 more shipping container at WalMart
- Vacuum truck
- Finish cleaning apartment. The bathroom is done, just need to work on the kitchen some more and mop and dust.

People are planning lots of fun things for me to do this week! It will definitely help keep my mind off stressing. Kris and I are having a dinner/movie date tonight. Rachel is coming up to ride and visit tomorrow. Everyone from the barn is planning a going away party for me Wednesday night. And Thursday Kris and I are celebrating her birthday a day early!! It will definitely be a busy week but the end is in sight!

And It Has Begun!

The first phase of moving is complete: packing the trailer and moving Reverdy down to Columbia. Finally got the trailer packed up at about 11pm last night when it finally dropped below 90 degrees. Kris and Matt helped me load up the big heavy trunks and the big bay pony this morning at we hit the road at about 9am.

Packing the trailer

My entire tackroom looks like this. I'm that cool person who uses boxes from liquor stores ;)

Loaded up and ready to go!!

Revy leaving Kirkpatrick Farms for the last time

Pulling into Claudia's!

Reverdy and his new best friend, an imported FEI dressage horse

Having fun with his new friends

Co-pilot was slacking on the way home.

I'm going to miss that big bay pony like crazy, but I know he's in the best possible hands. He deserves and long vacation and we will be back together soon enough. :)

Current countdown:

5 days- Hilton Head

16 days- I get to see TJ

19 days- Colorado!! 

Packing

That's pretty much all I've been doing this week. I'm about 90% packed and loaded! The apartment looks so weirdly empty. The rest is getting done tomorrow morning when I take Reverdy down to Columbia. I'm gonna try to get everything into the trailer so I can leave it down at Claudia's. "Hopefully" of course being the key word. I will do a big blog tomorrow after I get home from dropping the baby off.

I had a great evening at Julie's house. She invited me over and we had dinner and wine on High Rock Lake. It's starting to really hit me that I'm probably not going to see some of these people again. I can't think too much about it or I will cry :(

Project of the Day

Getting the truck and trailer is perfect working order!

The morning began by lots of scrubbing and washing. Getting the trailer into a presentable shape took about an hour and a half. I had the help of 2 pre-teen students who were more than willing to beat the heat with some hosing.

This afternoon I have to take the rig down to the gas station to get all the tires pumped up. After that, I'm dropping it off at a trailer dealer to get the wiring issue fixed. I'm pretty sure it's a problem with the truck but I'm going to have them check the trailer anyway. I have running lights but no break lights or turn signals. Matt fixed some of the wiring issues on Friday but didn't have all the equipment he needed. Hopefully it'll be an easy and quick fix.

A Mini Rant

Please be warned, this post is going to be horribly selfish...

So my move date has been pushed back from August 3rd to the 5th. My former farm manager (who was like another father to me) called me and asked me to stay 2 extra days. They re-hired him and he will be returning on August 6th. He asked me to stay so they have no lag time between competent managers on the farm. I totally understand that.

I just feel like I'm being used, yet again. I'm probably going to stay because I'm a push over. My bosses have generally been good to me and 2 days doesn't make that big of a difference but I REALLY just want to spend that little extra time at Dad's house. I want to not have to worry about the giant clusterf**k that's going on here! I'm selfish and lazy and want to spend my little bit of work-free, stress-free time doing whatever the hell I want. I don't want to deal with the worry of being here. There has been a ton of tension since I bumped up my moving date to August and I just want to get through my little time left and get the hell out. Am I right to be upset about this or should I just suck it up and realize that 2 days won't make a huge difference? Thoughts??

Updates

So the official move date from NC to SC is set for next Wednesday, August 3. That gives me 10 days to get everything organized! I really need to get my ass in gear if this is all going to work out! I will still be leaving for CO somewhere around the 20th, although TJ won't tell me the exact date because he wants to surprise me.

TJ got attacked in Greeley last night at the movie theater. He's in pretty rough shape. It's really making us re-think living there as he's not sure he feels safe having me at the apartment alone at night while he's at work. We've expanded our apartment hunt to include Fort Lupton and Longmont. They're a little bit further for him to drive (20-30 minutes) but they're much higher end communities and therefore (hopefully) safer. We found one place in Longmont that we really like so I'm just waiting to hear back from them. *fingers crossed!*

Schtuff

So as this is going to be a 3 day drive, I need to stock up on DVD's, music, and books. Of course, I'm open to any and all suggestions. I need to go to Best Buy and get a portable DVD player. I will probably also hit up Edward McKay (used book store) and pick up some seasons of TV shows, as well as dig through the massive combined collection that TJ and I have.

Book List:
- Water for Elephants
- Harry Potter 1-7
- Anything by Bill Bryson
- Anything by Pat Conroy

TV shows:
- House
- NCIS & NCIS: LA
- Burn Notice
- Family Guy
- Criminal Minds
- TOP GEAR!!
- Law&Order: SVU

Does anyone have any suggestions on decent portable DVD players that I can plug into my truck's stereo system through an auxiliary cable?

The Route

Will be this. I'm going to pinpoint a few places along the way that I would like to stop and see.

1. Columbia, SC-  I definitely want to stop and give major hugs and kisses to a particular big bay pony who has my heart.

2. Lexington, KY- 9ish hours from Hilton Head. Maybe stop here the first night? While here I definitely want to visit the Kentucky Horse Park. I only went there once when I was 10 for pony finals but never got to see the actual park. I also want to see Keeneland if time permits.
KHP- There's a H/J show that weekend. Sadly it's the week AFTER pony finals :(
Keeneland- Something is going on that weekend although I have no idea what it is.

3. Louisville, KY- I HAVE to go see Churchill Downs. It would be a literal crime to drive through Louisville and not stop.
Churchill Downs (which sadly will not have any live racing in August)

4. St. Louis, MO- I'd like to stop and see the Gateway Arch but it's not necessary. If it was a nightly stop over I'd like to also go see the Budweiser Brewery but it doesn't look like we will be stopping there overnight.

5. Kansas City, KS- Probably the 2nd night's stop. 9.5 hours from Lexington, maybe longer depending on where/when we decide to stop. There seems to be nothing of particular interest here except for maybe a hotel bed.

It seems like there is NOTHING between KC and Greeley. It looks like the last day of the drive will be 600+ miles and 10+ hours of flat, flat, flat fields. Boring. Maybe a good day to catch up on sleep and reading and movies. And this will be a welcome sight after all the flatness of KS :)

I am open to any and all suggestions of cool places to stop along that route :)

The Move Date!!

Is getting closer to being official! I will be leaving Hilton Head for CO somewhere around August 20 (give or take a few days).  Exactly 1 month away!!

I have yet to 100% decide the date to leave North Carolina, although I think it will probably be somewhere around August 4 or 5 which is 2 weeks from now. That should give me enough time to get everything organized and packed up before I head on down to the beach! Reverdy will be staying in Columbia at my former trainer's farm so I won't have to worry about him. I'll drop him off on the way down to Dad's.

Ahh everything is getting so close!! Excitement!!!

Hello Anxiety

No matter what I do, I simply CANNOT get my brain to shut up and therefore I have become completely overwhelmed with everything that has to be done before I leave. I've tried making lists. I've tried organizing and planning everything out day by day. Nothing works. I just lay wide awake at night feeling like there is nothing I can do, and therefore I do nothing.

Here is a small sampling of the basic list that needs to be completed:
- Order new tires for truck + check tires on trailer
- Oil change on truck
- Close safe-deposit box
- Finish packing apartment
- Clean and pack trailer
- Clean apartment
- Get truck title from DMV
- Check on status of trailer title
- FIND A JOB
- Compile medical records
- Compile Reverdy and Maggie's records
- Pay hospital bill with money I don't have
- Help TJ with rent with money I don't have

Anybody have any other ideas to help shut my brain up and stop this ridiculous anxiety? It's gotten to the point now where I have to drug myself to sleep at night and my stomach is royally screwed up. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Zomg I'm blogging!

 So hi! I'm Danielle, a 23yo horse trainer currently living in NC. This is me.

I am preparing to move 1,600 miles from Thomasville, NC to Greeley, CO. This kinda cool guy in my life has transfered out there for work so I'm moving out there with him to start out lives together. 

I currently live here, at Kirkpatrick Farms in Thomasville, NC. I've been here for two years now as the head trainer and barn manager. I love it here and I love my job but it's time to move on.

And this is where I'm going, Greeley CO. 

This blog is going to chronicle the entire move. The good, bad, and ugly. It will be a place to vent my anxieties, celebrate my excitement, and share the new experiences. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the (long!) ride!