Honestly, Abby

This post has been taking me a long time to finish! I've been nominated by my friend Katie to receive the Honest Scrap blogger award! Basically, I have to tell you "10 honest things about me that you possibly do not know." A lot of you know me very well, so we'll see how this goes. Check the end of the post to see if I tagged you for the award too!

1. I wish I'd given campus tours at A&M. Maybe it's because I'm a tradition freak and I love to know and share trivia, but this is one regret I have from my college years. I think it would have been fun to walk backwards, telling potential Aggies all about the school I love. I also wish I'd written for the Battalion school newspaper.

2. I was a voracious reader as a child. Before the 8th grade, I read every book in my mom's library and my own bookshelves at least once. Sometimes more than that. And many of the (grown-up)fictional books at the church library. My brother David thinks I read faster than anyone he knows. I don't know about that, but I do read pretty fast! I still love to read, even more now that I have time after college. I've always been the kid completely content with a book and even today, if I have a book, I'm not bored. Also tied to this-- I've read several horse magazines consistently every month since age 8. Thanks Mom!

3.  I have a very real fear of becoming a cat lady someday. I have always had cats with great personalities, and right now I've got two that are like people. I talk to them like they are human all the time, just like my other cats in the past. They're like my 2 roommates. I didn't even notice this was out of the ordinary until friends pointed it out! For now, it's all ok, but I do fear becoming that single elderly lady with a lot of cats and no other friends.

4. Frizzy hair is my mortal enemy. I've finally made peace with my long, very curly hair, but I've spent more than a decade battling the dreaded FRIZZ. Curly girls know it's the downside to what many people think are beautiful curls. Through trial and lots of error, I think I finally have it figured out, but nothing makes my day worse than ending up with frizz before i have to go out the door. That's when it all goes into a bun. Take that!

5. I would love to visit Israel again and stay for a while. I don't have a scanner, or I'd post my favorite pic from Israel. Just picture me on a camel on the Mount of Olives. This is also a pic of Jerusalem. Visiting Israel in 2004 was life-changing for me, and it sparked a passion to travel internationally. My grandma and I spent 15 days touring this amazing country and I really want to go back. I know things are dangerous there right now, but I do hope to visit again.

6.  I took piano lessons for 12 years and have a piano in my apartment. Katie and I both took piano lessons at one time from Mrs. MacReynolds. I tried a lot of things as a young girl: ballet, gymnastics, etc. I finally narrowed down the classes I most enjoyed to horsebackriding and pianos. After graduating high school, I quit taking piano and (obviously ;-)) kept up riding. I played piano off and on for fun throughout college and after moving to Fort Worth, my grandma gave me the piano from her house. Yay! I don't know many people my age who have an upright piano in their 2nd floor apartment--aside from actual musicians and piano teachers. I'm so blessed to have it. I don't play enough and I don't play all that well, but I enjoy playing for myself and I know enough theory to learn songs I think are pretty. 

7. I have never broken a bone. Knock on wood, but I've never worn a cast or walked using crutches. I'm past the age where it was a badge of honor, so hopefully I can keep up my record.

8. I'm distantly related to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Referring back to #2, I read the entire Little House series literally at least 12 times growing up. When my Papa Wilder told me as a child that Almanzo Wilder was in our family tree, I was so excited. My hero was in my family! I wanted to BE Laura Ingalls. I had the high top boots and all I wanted was a gingham pinafore and a bonnet. I did my hair in braids and I watched the TV show religiously. Hey, it was educational!

9. I was homeschooled all the way from kindergarten to high school graduation. A lot of you probably know this, and if you didn't well, my bonnet photo probably gave that one away. :-) My mom started Drills, Skills & More when I was really young and we traveled to homeschooling bookfairs selling her products all over the country every summer during that time. Because I was homeschooled, I was able to ride my horse with my trainer and compete more. I really think this helped me get on the Equestrian team at A&M. I had tons of friends, was really active in my church youth group, went to two proms and graduated with a group. I didn't have any academic or social adjustment issues in college and had a great time... eventually getting a good job right out of school. :-) There, I think I answered all the FAQ. :-) It's definitely not for everyone and at times I did wish I had gone to school, but once I got to A&M I didn't mind at all. A fellow homeschooler Stephanie was actually my first roommate at A&M and she did well too! 

10. I was a lifeguard and swim instructor for two years and I can't swim freestyle to save my life. It wasn't my idea to become a lifeguard. I'd intended to work the snack bar at the tennis club. But they needed lifeguards, so I signed up to get certified. I barely. Barely passed the swimming part. I can swim like a frog awesome, and breaststroke--I'm on it. Freestyle is the death of me. But I passed everything else with flying colors. Then my future boss required all of us lifeguards to get swim instructor certified. MORE swimming laps and that class was much harder! I eventually passed that too, but I really can't get the hang of freestyle. Or butterfly(as the michael phelps photo shows) for that matter. Sigh. Maybe it'll be like running and I'll eventually figure it out. :-)

This was really hard but fun! I tag Jashley, Alisha, Faith and Megan. I'm interested to see what y'all have to say!

Catchin' up

It's time to take a little break from the Europe photos. I have them in my computer, ready to post, but I feel like it's been a long time since I've written about anything more recent! Katie, you were right on with your comment last post. :-)

First and foremost in my mind right now is my horse Willy. Last post, I mentioned he was showing symptoms of laminitis(founder) and I've been treating him according to vet's orders  since then. He wasn't all the way better, so I had the vet come out and check on him for my peace of mind. The vet decided that he DID founder last week, so he pulled Willy's shoes off and put some lily pads on his hooves--I tried to find some online to show you, but I couldn't find them. He also gave Willy some more medicine and I have to ice his feet every day. The good news is that Willy is getting better now, and it was a mild case, so he should recover completely. The bad news is that I read this article about laminitis tonight and I am just sick. Willy was lame and in pain starting at least that Sunday when i checked on him, and I waited it out for several days, thinking he was just sore from getting new shoes recently. Meanwhile, thats when everything was happening in his hooves, and I could have been icing them and could have called the vet sooner. I don't think he suffered a whole lot of damage, but I guess we won't know for a little bit longer. I really hope he'll be able to be completely sound and without another laminitis episode ever again. 

Sorry for the depressing topic. On to other things going on recently! I took this photo at PF Changs when I went to dinner with my friend Belinda. Thought it was cool... and it reminds me of something I saw in Milan... there's a teaser for ya cause Milan photos are coming up soon!

Here is one of the photos from the Beth Moore conference I mentioned last week. Friends Hannah and Shannon--it's been too long! We had a blast with the rest of the girls and I really think we need to make it an annual thing. I also saw my very dear friend Stephanie with her mom and new husband's family. 
This was the sunrise at Toni's house in Somerset, where we stayed the Friday of the conference. I promise I didn't touch it in photoshop.
    Jashley and Grant left for South Korea last Thursday for a year. I was so sad to see them go. What will I do without my modern-day Princess Bride couple? The Boatwrights threw one last get-together with family and a few friends the night before they left. After dinner we went back to their house. Zach's cousin Daniel and his wife Eva brought along their baby Rylie. She and Zach had their own entertainment show going on!
Last weekend I went to College Station for the A&M vs. Arkansas State game with my brother Jonathan. He was awesome enough to get me a ticket on the student side with him. Let's not talk about the score... check out my photo. :-)
On that note, I'm saying good night. I've got photos ready to be put in order and Cinque Terre fun to talk about, so that will be posted soon!

A Venetian Dream

What do you think of the new look of my blog? I think I'm in love with this background--much more than the last one!

I had planned to head to good ol' College Station this evening for the A&M vs. Arkansas State game. But Willy has been acting weird this week, and the vet was finally able to come out today. He said Willy was showing symptoms of founder, but it could also be an abcess. I'm hoping its and abcess because it's way less serious. Either way, I have to keep an eye on him this weekend. I will probably still go to the game tomorrow though. We'll see! There's your horse care lesson for the day. :-) 

On to my favorite photos of the trip. I've got a lot, so I've broken them up into two posts. We took a plane from Rome to Venice, and a nice bus to the boats. I knew it was a city with water for roads, and I'd assumed we'd have to take boats everywhere. Luckily, there were sidewalks and side streets. Only the main thoroughfares were water. Venice doesn't have any cars either, so it's kind of like being in a different time period. We arrived in Venice at just the right time to take photos and took a waterbus down the main canal to our hotel.

Lots of buildings lean in Venice. I guess because there is so much water and the whole town is slowly sinking. Also, here is one of the bridges over the smaller canals.

No trip to Venice would be complete without encountering a gondola. Here is one in all it's glory. Most gondoliers we saw wore striped shirts and hats--just like you would imagine!

This is the Accademia bridge. We disembarked here, crossed over the bridge and walked into our hotel-- the Fondazione Levi. It was a hostel where profits went to fund Venetian music. I really liked how close to the water we were. All 4 of us fit in a loft-style room, and this was the cheapest hotel we stayed in during our trip.

We were starving by the time we got checked in and it was getting dark. The sky was getting darker quickly because a storm was blowing in. We tried to find a restaurant in the guidebook, but when it started raining we ducked into a restaurant on another canal. It was a good choice. The guys had pizzas and I had spaghetti "pirate," which was mixed seafood with just a hint of tomato sauce. So so sooo good! We watched the lightning storm play out over the water, and I was kicking myself for not bringing a tripod. The photos would have been incredible. :-( 

The next day we got on a waterbus to see St. Mark's Square. I was so enchanted with Venice in the evening. It's a magical place and it looks like a movie set. So I couldn't wait to see the inside of St. Mark's Basilica because I'd heard so much about it.

This is the chapel across the canal from St. Mark's Basilica. 

This is a waterfront view of the square with the bell tower. To the right is Doge's Palace.

This is Doge's Palace. I was intrigued by the lacy architecture. Have you ever seen anything like it?

More of the Doge's palace. You'll notice I don't really have any photos of St. Mark's Basilica in this post. To be honest, I was really disappointed in the square--except for Doge's palace. First, there were hundreds, maybe almost a thousand tourists milling around. Go ahead and laugh, because we were tourists too, but it was like theme-park tourists... not like the tourists in other places we visited. Really annoying. And the line to get in the basilica was out the wazoo... it would have taken hours to get in. Plus, half of the famed square had leftover stage equipment from a concert the night before. One quarter of the square was fenced with giant walls for renovation, and the rest of the square was overrun with souvenir carts, tourists and pigeons. Plus, the outside of the basilica was covered in scaffolding for renovation. I didn't even want to take photos of it because I couldn't find anything visually uncluttered. OK, done with my complaining. We were in VENICE. How can you complain? David took this photo. We were on the other side of the line for the basilica--that's why there's hardly any one in it. :-)

Zach took some photos of the Basilica and I'll put them in the next post. Here's one of the many little bridges crossing the side canals. I just love it! It's just like a painting!

Venice is known for it's glass blowing. The nearby island Murano is world famous for jewelry and other glass things. I had no idea what they'd look like... I guess I was expecting crystal, but I was totally taken with the artistic beauty. I bought more souvenirs in Venice than any other place. Mostly jewelry that I love to pieces! I also got a picture frame and a wine bottle topper made of glass. Here are some examples of the creative pieces we saw.

This is definitely the longest strips of licorice I have ever seen! more than 3 ft. long!

Jonathan took this photo and I love it!

I'll post the rest of the Venice magic soon!

A few of my favorite things!

Hello all! APHA is nearing the end of the World Show, and I have a few minutes to spare to post! Happy 4th of July!

I learned that if you are viewing this blog from http://throughabbyslens.blogspot.com you can click on any photo and it will expand. Yay! It's way complicated to make the photos any larger, so just click on the photos if you want a closer look.

I've decided to expound on a few of my favorite things in life-- illustrated by photos, of course. :-)

In no particular order, because I haven't learned how to upload in the order I want, I give you:

Reading

I love to read a lot. Barnes and Noble is a wonderful place to buy books or just peruse. I could never work there because I would spend all my time reading rather than working!

Wine

The older I get, the more I have come to enjoy viticulture. I'm no expert, but it sure is fun to explore the taste buds! Apparently my cat Alfred also enjoys wine. More about that cat later.

Coffee

I love coffee more than any other liquid. :-) No other drink makes me happier!

International culture
I've visited Israel, England and France. Unfortunately, all of my photos from those trips are film, so I have none online. I borrowed this photo from www.seoglobalwarming.com, but i really just searched for it on Google. I'm going to France, Italy and England July 16-August 4 and you better believe I am bringing my digital cameras!! I'll post photos here so stay tuned!

Sunrises and sunsets

There is something about sunrises and sunsets that speaks to my soul. I took this photo after returning from working out right outside my apartment with a point-and-shoot.

Bubble baths

Ok, so I'm not scandalous enough to post an actual bubble bath pic of me, but here are my cats inside my giant garden tub. Taking bubble baths really is one of my favorite things.

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M gave me the absolute best college experience I could have asked for. I have a million pics, but this one I took at my brother Jonathan's Final Review spring 2008. I'm class of 2006 whoop!

Zach

Zach is the looove of my life and my best friend. We've been dating since Feb 2007, but we met seven years ago at a homeschooling bookfair and just kept in touch until I moved to DFW after I graduated college.

Live country music

This photo was taken with my point and shoot at a Gary Allan concert at DFW Mardis Gras 2007. I really love live music, especially if it's Texas Country. These types of events are just so chill and fun to attend. Related to that, another favorite thing of mine is...

Dancing

I love love love to country dance. Maybe it was my years at A&M, but give me some Aaron Watson and I'll be dancin' all night long! Shown here is my favorite haunt from college: the Texas Hall of Fame.

Horses

I know I've already written about how much I love my horse, but horses really are one of my great loves. Here's another photo of my Quarter Horse Willy.

Pierre

Pierre is my cat I got from a co-worker last August. He's a little over a year old and a TOOT.

Alfred

I've had my precious cat Alfred for three years. He's been all over Texas with me. Currently, little Pierre likes to bully him, but he's still the perfect British gentleman.

Nutella
Nutella is the greatest food you could ever consume. The end. It's like peanut butter, only with chocolate and hazelnuts. This European delight goes great with crepes, bananas, strawberries, toast, Ritz crackers, spoons, whatev. 

Shoes

I planned to do this awesome, artsy photo of all my shoes. Yeah... I changed my mind. I really love shoes. Any of you who know me, know this. Here is a peek at my closet with some of my shoes. Mom, please note that I threw a lot of them up there so they would be all in one place. This is not what it looks like alll the time..... :-)

Texas

I'm proud of my state! I've forgotten where I got this illustration. I think it was wikitravel.com

My job
I work at the American Paint Horse Association for the Paint Horse Journal.

I write and take photos. It is totally my dream job. :-)

Sunsets

This was taken in Amarillo. If anyone knows how to move photos around while creating posts, PLEASE let me know. Sigh.

Damask

I am totally crushing on the damask pattern these days. So far my love affair has translated into notebooks and a swimsuit, but I hope to buy this

when I get back from Europe. I REALLY want to have a damask background for this blog, so if you know where i can find one for blogger blogs, let me know! :-)

This concludes a way long post. Thank you for reading!