This hasn’t been the best week for me. It started with my existential crisis last weekend that left me feeling relatively down in the dumps for no particular reason, continued with plenty of stress at work, and then finally came to a crescendo with news of the barn closure. I am doing that thing where I’m very calm on the outside but screaming internally.

We’ve made a little bit of headway with the barn hunt, in that we’ve discovered that we’re pretty screwed no matter what, so that’s cool. We’re going to look at a barn on Monday that seems good on paper but I’m too dead inside to allow myself to be that optimistic, and either way it’ll more than double my barn commute. See above meme.

So for the past few days I’ve been latching on to happiness wherever I can find it. Mostly with horses, naturally. And, dunno if y’all have ever seen a baby horse, buuuuut those things are like walking instant happiness.

Michelle keeps sending me pics of Nalah and I’m like more please, my soul needs this right now. I mean, squishing a baby horse in person would be better, but cute pictures of a baby horse are better than no baby horse.

Stormie is due in a few more weeks, and I’m feeling like a tiny pony baby is going to be even more squishable. 320 days (what is considered the minimum for normal gestation) would be on Sunday, so any time after that would be great, although I don’t think she’ll go that soon. Right now she just looks like a beached whale. Which admittedly is still entertaining.

I been watching the Badminton coverage (I’m late with my In the Blood post for that, it’ll have to be an after-the-fact version next week since I’m only about 75% of the way through my stats), and for the second week in a row Ollie delivered a really entertaining moment in dressage. He’d just laid down a fantastic test (that scored a freaking 19) and he knew it, and amid all of his celebrating after he was finished, he stopped really paying attention to his horse’s feet, and the horse stepped over the little fence. It was his face after it happened, though, that was the best part.

Also, did anyone else see the lady in the front row that’s been knitting while she watches dressage? It’s fantastic.

I can’t wait to further drown my sorrows in some live stream XC tomorrow.

Perhaps not pony related, but I stopped at a gas station yesterday and discovered that Little Debbie makes a couple of their snacks in a Double Decker version. I dunno how I was only yesterday years old when I learned this, but holy shit.

I only saw the Fudge Round version, which excited me plenty since Fudge Rounds are my favorite, but apparently they also make an Oatmeal Creme Pie version. And you can buy them by the case on Amazon. I’m not quite to that level of depression yet but I’ve definitely tucked this knowledge away for future use, just in case. Will I stop today and pick up another single or two? Odds are good, not gonna lie. Especially because it’s currently raining it’s ass off.

And last but not least in the self-medicating for the week (so far anyway, the day is still young…) I totally caved and pre-ordered a couple of Ride Heels Down’s new mantra wristbands.

Mostly because I feel like I’m gonna be Suck-It-Up-Buttercupping quite a bit in the months to come. Hopefully there will also be some Have-A-Great-Riding, but I know for sure there will definitely be a lot of Suck-It-Up-Buttercupping.

This is fine.