It's been a while. I know. I like to think I have good reason to not post very frequently, but I suppose if I really really truly wanted to, I'd make time for it. So making time is what I'm doing right now. I got the family letter today (via email...gracious. Even *I* remember when it was snail-mailed), and realized that I forgot to send my portion in. It was honestly kinda frustrating, because it'd be waay easier to tell everyone at once what I'm up to, instead of waiting for each relative to ask me individually, then having to explain the whole shebang. My answer, oddly enough, gets shorter and shorter each time. So this is what I should've sent in. Tell your friends, and all of my relatives, so I can stop explaining it. PLEASE.

So.

I graduated last month, and I thought I'd have tons of free time on my hands. I was incredibly wrong.

Most everyone knows I've been working at Pickle Barrel (the one in Belgrade, *not* Bozeman) since last May. Still am. That much, at least, hasn't changed, though it's not for lack of trying. I'm there Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, from nine to four. It's not a particularily long day as far as hours go, but it seems a lot longer when the only thing taking up your time is making sandwiches. And burning yourself on the grill. And washing dishes. Erg. Not my favorite, but it works for now!

I've also got a "job" at Epona Equine (very unfrequently posted blog for the ranch can be found here). Quotes are there to represent the fact that it's more of a volunteer/paying for lessons and board thing than an actual paying job. But it's definitely a job, as it takes up every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning that I have in my posession. Odd how it's actually my favorite job of the three I've got (yeah, I said three. Keep reading). It's basically just feeding, morning and night, but in between, Connie helps me train Cady. She's doing fabulously. So far we've gotten her some manners, taught her to lunge (is that the right spelling? I can never remember...), and put a surcingle, which is basically just a band about four inches wide that wraps around the girth area, on her. She also does really well in crossties, which makes my life a whole lot easier, and aside from one not so small incident, she has caused me no injuries. Knock on wood...

Job number three is a nanny job that I just recently acquired. It was going to be every week-night which, for the week we tried that arrangement, made my life horrendously busy. It's more of a glorified babysitting job, now. I'm going in again on Saturday so the couple can have a night out. They've got three kids, aged five, two, and six months. If that doesn't sound exciting enough, add in the fact that the two-year-old is hearing impaired. I'm learning quite a bit of sign language, which I honestly think is pretty cool. The last time I was there (Saturday from 9p.m.-1a.m.) was enough to make me go nuts. All the kids were supposed to be in bed, but number 2 was still wide awake when I got there. That in itself was fine with me...he's super easy to entertain when there's a movie on. But around ten, his little sister, number 3, woke up. I was informed later that she gets very cranky (and screamy) if she wakes up and her parents aren't there, but the screaming didn't actually start happening until close to 12 when she realized she was about to fall asleep. I finally gave up and dunked her pacifier in the juice from a can of peaches, and that shut her up long enough for me to pass her off to the parents and run out the door. Number 2 was also still awake, watching his third movie of the night. His normal bed time is about 7 o'clock.

Today, my weeks got even busier, as I am going to be accompanying a few choral groups at a festival in April. So...that adds two rehearsals before Pickle Barrel on Monday and Wednesdays. Still don't know about the third, as it's comprised of all the senior girls in Chamber. I have to work with all their schedules as well as mine, which is down to Friday mornings or Thursdays after school.

Yet oddly enough, I really enjoy being this busy. It's way different than being in school, partially because I'm getting paid for 75% of the stuff I'm doing. I've been looking into equine massage programs lately. I've found a few that are mostly home-based, with a week or two of hands-on in Colorado. For the time being, that's looking like my next big project, but it won't happen until at least October, when I can get enough saved up. We shall see.

So that's the update...don't know when I'll be posting again, but I'll try to be a little more frequent =)

Ta.