26. Routine. I thrive on routine. Feeding my animals and caring for them in the same way every day brings predictability, stability, and calm to my life. I think this is why the breeds who need elaborate structure (border collies, thoroughbreds) do so well here at Bit of Honey. Even when holidays hit and most of the country is wound up and stressed out, I have my routine to keep me grounded and remind me that "it came to pass". It didn't come to stay, it came to pass.
25. Healthy Highboy just outside my front door, happy to eat the apple cores from the pie I made today.
24. My hardworking dogs. I couldn't do my job nearly as well without them.
22. A heated house to keep us humans warm.
20. This blog. It started as merely a way for me to record the fun animal adventures of my daily life, and has grown into a 3000 viewer vehicle to get information out to other like-minded horse people, as well as many "not horse people" who just like a good story!
19. Relationships with clients, horse owners, horsemanship students, race tracks, aftercare organizations. They enrich my life and help me pay my bills.
16. Time. I love this quote by Ann Rice from her book Interview With a Vampire: "My lips moved, but nothing came out of them; yet this didn't really matter. All the things I had ever wanted to say were clear to me, and that is what mattered, not that they be expressed. And there was so much time, so much sweet time in which to say anything and do anything. There was no urgency at all." I feel this when I'm standing in the barn waiting for a horse to finish his mash in the evening, while Z the barn cat is tucked into my coat, and my dogs are snuggled into the loose hay together. My idyllic life.
15. The scent of good leather. I love the smell of the tack room, especially when someone has been cleaning leather. Mix in the aroma of grain and Platinum horse vitamins and you're smelling my heaven.
14. Electricity. Enjoying the wait in the barn is infinitely more enjoyable with cozy lights.
13. My phone. I had no idea when I got it how much I would love being able to capture so many moments in photos and videos. Silly Kim, I thought I was just going to make phone calls with it.
12. Music. Mostly lyrics that speak to me about the things that matter most to me. Home. Getting better. Safety. Support.
11. Horse shows. There is something very freeing to be able to gallop on course, dressed our best, and feeling like we have really accomplished something. They have given me reason and motivation to travel more then I ever would otherwise.
10. A new mattress. I've had lingering leg pain since the back surgery a year ago, and buying a new mattress for our bed a few weeks ago has made a dramatic difference. I'm nearly off of all pain medications now!
9. My education. People often ask if I went to CSU for equine science, but I actually like the education I got better. I use the knowledge I gained while getting my degree in psychology, anatomy, and neurobiology every day. If I were to go back for more graduate school, I'd love to learn about small business management, but so far the library books I borrowed when I set up Bit of Honey Training as an LLC have served me well in getting me to professionals who can help me.
8. My faith. Every day I find something in my regular life that directs me to approach my Higher Power with gratitude. I pray for safety every morning over my bowl of cereal, and God continues to deliver. My activity in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a huge blessing in my life.
7. Clothing. I always have something to wear, whether it's to the barn, to the competition, to church, to town, or around the house.
6. Good books. I'm grateful for the ones I've read, I have yet to read, the ones I've written, and the ones I have yet to write.
5. My small animals. I love my guinea pig who keeps me company indoors in my office, humming and purring while I write these blog posts. My barn cats do an excellent job of mouse control near the feed and tack, I'm hoping they soon find greater ambition and aspire to clear the pigeons out of the barn. The great horned owl living in the indoor arena has very thoroughly addressed them in that building.
4. Mobility. I have a wonderful truck and horse trailer, two legs that work well now, and the ability to fly on a plane.
3. Art. I don't have an artistic bone in my body as far as producing paintings, drawings, or sculpture, but I sure value those abilities in others.
2. Sunshine. I moved to Colorado because the brochures said 300+ days of sun per year. An old friend of mine used to come to all my exhibitions with the horses, and he always called me Sunshine because I was always wearing yellow. Sunshine makes me smile, it makes the grass grow, it keeps things from being too muddy, it makes my horses' coats shine.
1. My number one gratitude is for Owen. My husband doesn't get mention on this blog terribly often since he's not really a horse guy, but I would not be without him. He keeps me grounded when I start to think the horse world is the whole world. He laughs with me. He helped me, and still does help me, when the brain injury interferes with my life and I need someone else to take a hold of things. He has never complained about needing to come pick me up or help me get somewhere, no matter the distance, when I needed him. My entire life is better because he is in it.
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