2012... rollercoaster year

Okay, I feel like I have some explaining to do... I havn't been around much at all this year... like AT ALL. and I'm really sorry about that. It has been a CRAZY year.
I started out the year falling out of love with my live-time love of horses.  This was directly related to my job (working in a horse barn obviously). It wasn't so much that I didn't love horses anymore, (Pretty sure that is even less possible than the world ending next month)... Just that I was getting sick of the drama in the barn, and (having made some pretty good friends at said job), I was having to lie to them and not tell them what was really going on with their horses. I was exhausted from navigating lines of communication between my boss, the barn manager, the clients, the new staff, the old staff, and ALL the drama in the barn (including legal matters, and horses being seized and... just not very pleasant stuff). I dreaded going to work every single day.  Until something snapped, and one morning I woke up and decided i couldn't do it any more. I feel guilty about how I left the job, but I feel more guilty about letting myself feel like that for so long.
I took a mental health month of doing nothing... I played this whole game from start to finish. I went through ALL my tack back at home, and threw out a bunch of stuff, and gave away a bunch of stuff. I spent alot of time cuddling with my dogs and watching movies on Netflix. I cried alot into the manes of my horses when I was visiting my parents. And I baked, and made a list of new things to try and make and do, and learn. I spent alot of time dreaming about a house in the middle of nowhere where I could have a mini-zoo and a garden and wake up to fresh mountain air, and see the stars at night again... and watch the northern lights....
But I needed to pay my rent, so I needed to find a new job. Something having absolutly nothing to do with horses and their crazy owners.... and those owner's crazy trainers. And since I only really have 14 years of work experience in the horse industry... I applied to a bakery in a HUGE store, where I was 90% sure I would get hired, so I wasn't very stressed about it. And I got the job... shitty pay... but it was better than what I was making sitting on my ass at home.
And I learned alot, and I got the chance to learn cake decorating. and while I was disappointed that nothing gets MADE there (everything is brought in frozen- bread dough included) I still gained valuable experience.... and I got to play with icing!
And that I hate kids without manners - or more specifically, kids with parents who don't bother to make sure they have manners.
And I REALLY missed smelling like a barn.
In August, my best friend, came out to visit, and I finally got to meet her baby. It made me REALLY miss the old days when we lived like 100 feet apart and spent all day working our asses of and riding horses all day at one of the best equestrian facilities in the world. It made my uterus hurt too... at least for a little bit... But my wallet hurt a tiny bit less. It made me miss her even more after we had to leave each other, because I know that she finally gets to be a mom like she always wanted, and I'm so happy for her. At least we have facebook... 
In September, my boyfriend was building a huge boulder retaining wall, and a rock he was moving with the excavator got wedged back behind where they needed it. He was trying to shift it (by hand) to where the bucket could pick it up, and the rock slipped, and he crushed his fingers between 2 of the rocks. Luckily it was his left hand... But his index and middler fingers were crushed. The bones didn't break, but MAJOR crush-injury... All the soft tissue in the tip of his index finger, is now in the dirt by that boulder. LOTS of healing... Minimum 6 weeks before he could actually use those fingers. And its still kind of rough now (I think we are 10 weeks in).
In October I got an email about a job at a barn REALLY close to town, asking to send my resume. I had applied there when we first moved here 2 1/2 years ago, but they didn't need anyone at that time. I went for an interview on one of my days off, and really liked the vibe at the place (and the smell of horses). The pay was an extra $6 an hour... and more hours. I went for a trial day to meet everyone, and get a feel for the work, and so we could both make sure it would be a good fit. I went home feeling more like myself than I have felt ALL YEAR.
I tried to think of ways to work at both jobs, But it wouldn't work. Not if I ever wanted to spend time with my boyfriend, and dogs, and recover from the physical labour of barn work, and the mental labour of answering people's stupid questions (I AM not made for retail... I mentally need time to recover from being around people). So, I gave my 2 week notice to the bakery, and I am starting full-time at the barn next Monday. - and helping out on my days off until then.
There has been more... More than I'm willing to plaster all over the internet, But this year has been a definate rollercoaster.

Also, since I am felling a million times more like myself, I have been busy on pinterest! In the last 2 weeks, I have made so many things, it's crazy. I have 3 sock-snowmen starring at me... and If I ever remember to go buy more rice, I will have a few more of them. I made my mom an advent calendar - all of homemade/handmade ornaments.... I'm making a quilt from all of my old jeans... And I feel like I should write something called "an ode to my glue gun"  or start saying "the best thing since the glue-gun" (instead of sliced bread... get it?).


Want to know the biggest thing I learned while working in a bakery? L-cysteine Hydrocloride
The reason I will pretty much only be eating my own home-made bread for the rest of my life.. or bread from Silver Hills Bakery (I'm kind of obsessed with the 20 Grain Train right now... It just tastes good)

So there it is... The cliff-notes version anyway.... I'll try and get back here more often. I have a Ton of pictures of all the crafting I've been doing... and I have a huge list of things to try and make in my kitchen (which I FINALLY cleaned)... Go to my pinterest boards for an idea of what i've been up too... I guess i've been Pin-spired ? lol