Run Boo's RUN!

In high school, I ran all of the time. Cross country, track and even just on my own. I kept running for my first few years in college. One day, it just wasn't as fun anymore. I'm not sure why exactly. I just grew tired of it. That and my knees began to hate me for it. I know one day they're really going to give out on me. I still love exercising. We have a million workout dvds in our home (Shaun T, you will always be my favorite). I have developed a love for yoga in the past year. It helps so much with my balance and comfort. It even really helps out with my riding. I have also been working on getting healthier over the last year. Working out more, taking better care of myself and trying to eat better. My favorite eating plan (I refuse to call it a diet) is Weight Watchers. I have to be able to still splurge on things I love every now and then. This past summer I did the South Beach cleanse (no carbs, no sugar) for 2 weeks. While it was absolute hell in the process, I felt amazing when I was done. And I lost 10 pounds!!! I know I could never keep up with that plan, but it was amazing how much of a difference I felt when I wasn't filling my body with white carbs and sugars. I had more energy and just felt so much better. I try to avoid white sugar as much as possible now and always try to swap out brown sugar instead. I also try to have greens with every meal I eat. Its amazing the difference it makes. Last week, I took the dogs to the vet for their annual check up. Long story short, Chloe Bell needs to lose 10 pounds. She's been stealing Kudzu's cat food a lot and not exercising as often. The vet informed me that if we just make small changes in her life, the pounds will come off quite easily. She'll still be eating the same amount of food, but we'll be swapping biscuits for bananas, adding steamed veggies to her meals, and having regular daily exercise with her. This will increase her lifespan and quality of her life. When I was telling Boo all of this, I couldn't help but realize how much I needed to be doing things like that for myself (especially the swapping of biscuits and bananas!). So, in an effort to support Chloe and get even healthier in my life I've decided to eat even better and exercise even more. Boo and I have signed up for 2 5K's this year (one is this month and another is in December). Did I mention I hate running? I'm still going to get in better shape by doing it! I certainly won't be running every day. I'll also be mountain biking, hiking, yoga-ing, horseback riding and pilates. I can't just stick with one thing. It never works out for me if I try. Today Boo and I took the dogs on a run/hike. I didn't think I'd last more than 10 minutes. What do you know, we lasted 45 minutes!! I know that my pace was so much slower than he normally goes, but he didn't seem to mind at all. Chloe and Nicholas had a blast. We also were able to enjoy the beautiful leaves and views up here. Sometimes I forget how lovely these mountains are. It was wonderful to spend that time with my family and now I feel great!!! I challenge you to make small changes in your life. They don't have to be crazy. Even if instead of changing everything, just ADD more to your meals (as long as the MORE consists of veggies and water-it makes a difference). I hope that now that I have written this post and put it out there for all of you to see, you'll hold me accountable to be healthier. Life is so very short. Enjoy it while you can and be just a bit healthier so it'll be a bit longer.

SUMMER 2012

Fall 2013 If I can do it, YOU can do it. Here's to being healthier and happier in 2014!

I Now Pronounce You Mr. and Mrs. Nichols!

Wow, I swear I'm going to be better about blogging from now on! I've actually been missing it for such a long time. For some reason, I'm always so daunted by updating the blog when I haven't done it in a while. However, we have so many wonderful things going on now! Its hard NOT to post!

Just over a week ago, I became MRS. NICHOLS!!! No need for me to write how excited I am about this. We had the most beautiful wedding I've ever seen in my life. There was not a thing I would have changed. This was only made possible by the incredible friends and family that we have. I know I say it ALL the time, but we are so very blessed to have such amazing friends.

Everything was absolutely gorgeous. And everything had a noticeable "Zach and Blaire" stamp on it. From the arbor (made by Boo himself), to the hand painted (by ME!) silk scarves worn by my beautiful bridesmaids, to the amazing flower arrangements (courtesy of Sue Cannon and Co.)....it all was just perfect.

How do you say "thank you" enough to people who sacrifice their time, money and energy all in the name of your wedding??? I will never be able to say it enough. I am still floating on a cloud from everything. It is all still fresh in my mind. The barbecue dinner, the square dance and incredible group of our friends who formed the best band you've ever heard, our adorable dogs as the ring barkers, our fave little gals as flower girls, my mom and her friends riding around in gators trimming fresh flowers and greenery from around camp... I mean seriously, the most SPECIAL day ever.

We really never will be able to say it enough, but DANG yall...we're some lucky folks!!!!

My hope is that everyone out there will feel as special and in love as we felt on our wedding day. We will never stop saying Thank You!!! We couldn't be more in love!

I still can't believe he's all MINE!

A Wonderful Visit

Last weekend, we were thrilled to welcome Coleman and Darren to visit us!!! My sister and I are very very close and I just adore her and never see her enough. Its just so sad that she lives on the other side of the state. While they were here, we did so many things!!! Mountain biking, Dupont hikes, Moonshine Mountain and the Greenville Zoo. It was so great to catch up with them and spend time together. We hiked the Cedar Rock trail and the view was so lovely. Awesome photo opps! The dogs had a blast too. I had never experienced such a place as Moonshine Mountain! It was located right around the corner from us in Hendersonville. It is a snow tubing park and I highly reccommend it! It was fun and absolutely hilarious. We tubed for almost 2 hours. After tubing, we went to Hotdog World (also located in Hendersonville). SO good!!! To finnish off the weekend, we headed to the Greenville Zoo in South Carolina. I had never been to this zoo. It was small but really great!!!! There were tons of beautiful animals. My favorites of course, were the elephants. They were just glorious. I could've sat in front of them the entire day! There were also lions, monkeys, leopards, orangutans, ocelots, gators and much more. The giraffes had a beautiful little baby named Kiko. He was too cute! We were also able to FEED many of the animals which was so much fun. My favorite creature to feed was by far Bubba the tortise. He was huge (425 lbs!!!) and was very slow and old (born in 1965!). I hope to go back to this zoo again sometime soon. The tickets were less than 8 dollars! We said goodbye to Coleman and Darren after the zoo. I was SO sad to see them go!!! So was Boo. So to make ourselves feel better, we headed to downtown Greenville for some food (our most serious form of comfort...hehe). I had read about The Green Room in Southern Living Magazine. They are in the ranking for "the south's best restaurant" and they won the title of "nation's best french fry." I am a lover of all things fried. Let me tell you....those fries were out of control!!!! Seriously the BEST I have EVER had in my life! They are called parmesan truffle fries. We also got burgers which were delish. If you are in Greenville, SC you are a FOOL to not go get some!!!!

Baby, Its COLD Outside!

We finally had a snow up here in the mountains!! It was just the sort of snow I like, lovely...and then GONE! Haha, I know I can be a bit of a scrooge when it comes to snow, but it just makes my job easier when the weather is nice. I actually think that the horses and dogs enjoyed the snow! Here are some pictures from the day:

Ok, now that we have the lovely snow day out of the way, bring on spring!!! I'm itching to get out and plant things in my yard and garden!!!!

Cabbage Patch

As most of you know, I love ALL things gardening! I'm still learning all the time and trying to figure things out as I go. The garden we put in at the barn turned out to be a tremendous success this past year. So once all of the summer crops were gone, we decided to plant some fall and winter crops. Kale and Cabbage galore!!!

The cabbage is incredibly resilient and self sufficient. I highly recommend planting it for a fall crop. So very easy. And it is actually quite beautiful.

We love cooking the cabbage and eating it. I also wanted to store some for the winter. I have such a love for canning. Its another area that I'm still learning about all the time. I decided to make Sauerkraut. I found a few recipes and could not believe how easy it was! Decided to share the recipe with everyone: Ingredients: 8-10 c shredded cabbage (loosely packed) 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds 1-2 tsp un-iodized/pickling salt 1 c filtered water mixed with 1 tsp un-iodized salt Boil and sterilize jars, rims and lids. Dry on a clean dishcloth. In a clean, non metallic bowl mix cabbage, mustard seeds and salt. Stir cabbage to release juices. Let rest half an hour and stir again. Pack in sterilized jars pushing down with wooden mallet. Add salty water (1 tsp salt per cup of water) to rim of jar.

Cap loosely with sterilized lid and rim. Place jar on a tray to catch overflowing juices. Keep jar between 65-72 degrees for 2-3 weeks. After bubbling stops, check container and top off with salty water if level falls below rim. Skim any (harmless) white spots or film from top, close jar tightly, wipe off outside and store in refrigerator. You don't need to put in a canner because the heat will actually kill all the good stuff in there that is creating the fermentation.

Taaa Dah!!! And it was so easy, I even had time to make a 'pony pie' with apples!!! Too cute!

Good Boy

I have been out of control busy lately. Whether its painting commissions, wedding planning or whatever else. Being busy makes it so easy to run to the barn twice a day, feed the horses, check them over quickly and head out to complete my to-do list for the day. Yesterday I decided to work a bit with Draggo. We have been through SO much with him and his soundness issues. Long story, but the Cliffs Notes version goes something like this: bar shoes with pads, glue-on acrylic shoes, specialists from NC State and Georgia, x-rays, radiographs, wooden clogs (yes, you read that correctly...they check in at $850 a pair...uh huh....let that one sink in...) and finally no turnout for 3 months. God bless this sweet horse. He is now out of the wooden clogs (which were truly amazing) and in just a simple shoe. He goes out all day and all night as long as the weather is nice. He gets a very expensive hoof supplement and gets Keratex painted on his hooves 3 times a week. I list all of these things like I am sacrificing a lot for him. In a way, I guess I am. But I just love him. Even with all the tears I shed, the pain he was in and the absolute distress my checkbook has been in Draggo has never once given up. When they were drilling screws into his feet for the wooden shoes, he stood quietly and didnt bat an eye. I was a wreck, true to overbearing motherly form. Even when we had to keep him in for 3 months, he was so great. A bit frisky on our handwalks, but geez, hes a baby OTTB! When I list all of these things in my head, I can lie to myself and say that I am giving Baby D all the things he needs. But really, other than health, all he wants from me is attention and love. So, yesterday I spent about 3 hours working with him. Ground work, natural horsemanship and a grooming session that lasted over an hour. By the end of the day, he was following me around with my shirt hem in his lips. He truly is a remarkable fellow. Goofy, silly, handsome and hilarious...but yes, remarkable. Horses in general are just amazing animals. They are a lot smarter than most people give them credit for. And unusually good natured when you look at the cards that they are dealt throughout their lives. How lucky I am to be around them every day of my life. To have Draggo in our lives is a true blessing. I know after reading everything I posted about his feet, that may seem like a silly statement. But truly, he is a blessing. I love him very much and have high hopes for our future together. As someone very very special said recently (referring to Baby D) "...you're going to need to take it very slow with the new black horse. He tries his hardest and is a good boy. Give him all you can for about 2 years, and then he's going to give you everything you've ever wanted." He already gives me everything right now. Good boy, Draggo. Good boy.

Here I Go Again.....

I'm not sure why updating this blog has taken such a long time....I feel like its a bit silly to update much on here since everyone that reads this blog also reads my facebook page (which is updated daily). But I have also had many people mention that they would like for me to update and keep up with this blog more often. So, I will hopefully do a better job of it in 2013. Can't believe how quickly 2012 went by. Sometimes I can feel myself just wishing time would slow down. Other times I am hoping it will fly in anticipation of things to come. I guess the best way to solve that problem is to just try to enjoy things as they come along. 2012 was a year with many wonderful new beginnings for our furry family....Boo and I are finally engaged. It only took the boy 5 years to ask me. I guess he just wanted to be really sure. We added sweet baby Draggo to our herd. Who knew we could learn to love another horse so quickly. But we sure do. He makes me laugh everytime I see him at the barn with his wild antics and funny personality. Chloe showed up and decided she'd been here all along. What a blessing she has been to us (especially Nicholas). Its as if she knew we needed her even more than she needed us. She sure is a mess, but I can't get enough of that little yellow dog.

2012 also brought a bit of heartache for us. Saying goodbye to Sally was one of the saddest days of my life. I love her to pieces and always will. She stuck by me from the moment I brought her home. I know many people would find it cliche but I don't care. I'll say it anyhow. God sent that dog to this earth with me in mind. A hole in my heart will always be there for her. I'm so thankful to have had 11 incredible years with her. I know that shes keeping Truman company and I know I will see them both again one day.

I am looking forward to all of the wonderful things that 2013 has in store for our silly 'little' family. Its easy to get caught up in the day to day crap and forget how lucky we truly are. I don't like to make new year's resolutions. I never really keep them and just end up feeling like I failed. But I do enjoy having new year's 'hopes'. My hopes for this year are that I remember how lucky I am each and every day to have such a special family and to be surrounded by so much love in such a beautiful place. The world is really quite lovely out there, isn't it?