Our First Show

Anna Blankenheim Equestrian , , ,

I say “our” first show instead of “my” first show very deliberately. I could do none of this without my horse. Sometimes I take a step back to think about how amazing this sport is – an animal that weighs ten times what I do allows me to climb on his back, poke him in the ribs, and make him run when he would otherwise rather be grazing. He has the opportunity to kill me at any moment, yet he doesn’t.

Our show was a couple of weeks ago and I honestly could not have asked for it to go any better. It was a schooling show, so the idea is that people and horses of all different ability levels can compete in a safe, non-stressful environment. Everyone is there to work on something and have the experience of a show without some of the pressure.

The first chunk of the morning we spent getting ready – the horses needed to be brushed and cleaned up, as well as tack. Then I had to get dressed and get my number pinned on.

Show Morning!
Show Morning!

There was a lot of waiting around, which was awesome for Sue. He (and I) had to practice sitting, watching other horses, and just generally being calm. The same thing happened in the warm up pen – tons of other horses doing their thing and we had to practice just doing ours.

Waiting For Our Turn
Waiting For Our Turn

We competed in three classes. The first was a walk/jog class – the horse and rider are judged on how nice their gait is, how well they work together, etc. We had a really good time doing that and it was nice because there were 16 other horses in the class, so it wasn’t a solo thing right off the bat. The second class was our pattern – you have to move the horse through a series of walking, backing, loping, jogging, trotting, and galloping. Sue was amazing… he did absolutely everything I asked him! I missed the right lead (horse speak for making him run but starting with the right front hoof), which automatically disqualifies you. It was a great experience and was the one thing that went “wrong”. Needless to say, we’re going to keep working on that right lead!

After that, we played around on the trail course – basically a series of obstacles that you and the horse have to navigate. Not once did Sue do anything bad (there were other riders there that had horses try to buck) and I could feel that he was really trying hard! I love that horse!

New York

Anna Blankenheim Vacation , , , , , , , , , ,

The last stop on this year’s anniversary trip was New York, New York. Mike and I had both been there before (but not together), so we decided to try to visit places that neither of us had been to. The first stop… Central Park. It was a beautiful morning and we spent a good part of the day walking around the park. It was gorgeous! They were setting up for the New York City Marathon, which was kind of neat to see.

Mike & I At Central Park
Mike & I At Central Park

We headed over to Broadway that night to see “Phantom of the Opera”, my favorite musical. It was amazing… so cool to see a real Broadway show! Mike was ok with it… I think it got a little too operatic for him. Guess I’ll have to give up my dreams of him taking me to see the opera… I’ll have to stick with my classically trained friends!

We also visited the Museum of Natural History, which I highly recommend. We slammed through it in a day, but easily could have spent much longer wandering the halls.

We also headed out to see the 9/11 museum and memorial. The last (and only) time I was in New York was about four months after September 11th… it was a very different atmosphere. At that time, Ground Zero was still a pile… now it’s a very beautiful and respectful memorial. The footprints of the former twin towers are now infinity pools, with the names of the victims inscribed all around them.

Former World Trade Center Footprint
Former World Trade Center Footprint

The museum was pretty neat too… I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I was expecting it to make me feel more emotional than I did. I think that’s mainly because seeing Ground Zero was such a moving experience and seeing it all in museum form felt more sterile.

Seeing the Ladder 3 truck that was destroyed that morning was especially moving… having married a firefighter, I’m far more aware of the risks these brave men and women face each day. Mike’s uncle (a member of FDNY) was actually sent there from Brooklyn to help out that day.

Ladder 3
Ladder 3

The new One World Trade Center is amazing… it makes you dizzy to look up at it!

One World Trade Center
One World Trade Center

We finished our stay in New York by visiting Mike’s family on Staten Island. I honestly wish we would have had more time with them… we had a blast hanging out for a few hours on Sunday before everyone got ready for their work and school weeks!

That, my friends, wraps up the 2014 Anniversary Road Trip! I’ll get all of my pictures posted to Facebook over the next day or so!

Massachusetts

Anna Blankenheim Vacation , , , , , , , ,

We are now entering my favorite part of the trip. Before I get to Boston, let’s talk about the road there. We left New Hampshire first thing in the morning with the intent of driving straight into Salem. We took a little detour to Concord, Massachusetts – home of the first shot of the Revolutionary War (although neighboring town Lexington would argue that they’re the location). We stopped at the Old North Bridge, the place where the “shot heard round the world” was fired. It was a beautiful, peaceful place now, but like any historical battle site, definitely had the feeling of historical significance.

Old North Bridge
Old North Bridge

We left there bound for Salem, which was a complete disappointment. I had been expecting something of historical significance there, but instead was met with cheesy museums and fortune tellers. We quickly departed Salem (seriously, we spent about 15 minutes total walking around) and beat feet for Boston.

Let me being by saying we fell in love with Boston almost instantly. So much so that we decided to skip Nantucket and spend an extra day in Boston before heading to New York. If we ever had to move to the East Coast, Boston would be our city of choice. It had the big city feel, but the people were nice and vibe was very mellow. As luck would have it, Mike’s aunt was in town visiting, so we met up with her and her mother in law for drinks and dinner our first evening in town. We stayed at the Marriott Custom House, which was absolutely amazing. Originally the building was used as the customs location in Boston (the bar is located in the “counting room”), a skyscraper was built on top in the early 1900’s, and Marriott purchased it in the late 1990’s. If you’re ever in Boston, this is THE place to stay.

We spent day two in Boston following the Freedom Trail. It’s a two and a half mile walking path through the city (marked by a double brick line in the sidewalk) that takes you to Boston Common, Massachusetts State House, Park Street Church, Granary Burying Ground, King’s Chapel, King’s Chapel Burying Ground, Benjamin Franklin statue, Old Corner Bookstore, Old South Meeting House, Old State House, the site of the Boston Massacre, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere’s house, Old North Church, Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Bunker Hill Monument, and the USS Constitution. Yeah, a lot of places – a great way to see a ton of history without having to pay or stick with a tour group. In fact, we ended up doing about half of it in the morning, having lunch, taking a nap, and then heading out for the other half.

Old North Church
Old North Church

We spent the morning of the third day visiting the Sam Adams Brewery, which was absolutely amazing. It’s a free tour and you get to drink a lot of beer. What better way to spend a rainy morning! After the tour, we took a nap (of course) and then headed out to see the Boston Marathon finish line. From there we headed to Fenway Park for a tour.  Even if you’re not into baseball, this tour is amazing. They go over the history of the park and take you into places you’d never go if you just went to a game (the visitor’s locker room, press box). Seriously spectacular.

Fenway From The Green Monster
Fenway Park

Like I said, Boston is an amazing city. If you’re ever out that way, definitely stop in for a visit!

Love It: La Crosse Wireless Weather Station

Anna Blankenheim Product Reviews , ,

Just a heads up, I’m totally about to geek out on you. A few months back I purchased the  La Crosse Wireless Weather Station. I’ve had several different rainfall/temperature taking type machines, but they’ve always failed. I gave up on the digital rain measurement and now go the old fashioned way of a little glass beaker mounted on the deck. I still wanted something that would help out with the temperature and found this guy on Amazon:

LaCrosse Weather Station
LaCrosse Weather Station

I love that it shows both indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, but I also love that it shows pressure. I sometimes get headaches when the weather changes and this will definitely be a help! If you’re looking for something fun, colorful, and that works well (clearly this post is late as the date in the picture is September 19th), this is the weather station for you! This definitely goes into the love it category!

Showtime!

Anna Blankenheim Equestrian , , ,

I’ve been doing a ton of riding over the past few months and have decided to enter my first show! It will be on Sunday, November 9th and to be honest, I’m terrified. Sue and I have made great progress in our partnership, but we’re far from perfect. This show is a schooling show, so it’s meant for folks of my experience and ability. Those of you who know me know that I get competitive and super nervous… so even though there’s not anything on the line, I’d like to do well!

This past weekend we practiced a lot… everything from going to a new arena (Sue’s thoughts: “scary”) to working an obstacle course (Sue’s thoughts: “cool!”). He really had a blast with the trail work – pulling a log, weaving through cones, walking across poles. We might need to do some more of that! The new arena had cows… Sue has yet to decide if he’s scared of them or really, really excited about them. He’s cowhorse-bred, so it’s in his blood to be a little bit of both. One of these days we’ll get out and work with some cows!

Here’s to another week of practice before the big show!!!

New Hampshire

Anna Blankenheim Vacation , , , ,

Stop number two on this year’s anniversary trip was New Hampshire. I know, probably not the top of everyone’s list, but I did some Googling and found this cool place called “Moose Alley“. There’s a stretch of Route 3 that runs from New Hampshire into Canada that is famous for it’s moose – they literally wander around on the roads.

We pulled into a little store on the side of the road to chat it up with the locals. When I asked where to go to see moose, the shopkeeper very kindly informed me that it was moose season and we wouldn’t be seeing any moose. Now, I don’t know if anyone else’s brain works the way mine does, but that became a challenge for me to actually find one. We cruised up and down the highway a little more and then headed in to find a place to stay for the night.

Watch Out For Moose!
Watch Out For Moose!

We stumbled across this great little resort called Ramblewood. They’re a combination of cabins and campgrounds located right on First Connecticut Lake. We spent the night in a three bedroom cabin overlooking the lake for a whopping $80.

Our Cabin
Our Cabin

The owner of Ramblewood confirmed that we would probably not see moose this trip… but was kind enough to humor me and gave us a few logging roads to scope out. We spent the next two or three hours bouncing round logging roads with our eyes peeled for moose. No luck. We headed back out on the highway to go to the cabin and BAM:

Moose!
Moose!

We also saw a pair of moose walking together, but by that point it was getting a little dark and my photography skills were not up to par. I could not believe how big they are… they’re the size of my horse! Unfortunately, we didn’t see any males (would have been neat to see the antlers!) but I was super excited to see these ones!

New Hampshire was beautiful… we were about a week or two late for the fall colors, but still got to see beautiful scenery!

First Connecticut Lake
First Connecticut Lake

Maine

Anna Blankenheim Vacation , , , , ,

Well, it’s been over a month since I last posted… things have definitely been busy! Last week Mike and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary. When we got married we decided that we would not get each other gifts for our anniversary, but would instead road trip somewhere together. I love it… since October is our anniversary, it falls just after fire season – a time that I see very little of my husband. It’s always a blast to get away, spend time with each other, and see new places!

First Anniversary: Northern California/Southern Oregon Coast

Second Anniversary: Mid-East Coast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, North Carolina, and South Carolina)

Third Anniversary: Northern East Coast (Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York)

Our first stop in Maine was the Portland Head lighthouse. It was already cold and windy (as was much of the first part of our trip), but it was absolutely beautiful. One thing that I noticed was that the lighthouse itself was not as tall as I had expected.

Portland Head Light
Portland Head Light

We spent the second day in Maine touring breweries… some very delicious ones, I might add. First on the list was Shipyard Brewery. We tasted seven or eight different beers there… and their blueberry soda (so yummy!). Stop number two was Sebago Brewery. To be honest, I didn’t have beer here since I had so much at Shipyard. Instead I had a chocolate lava cake. Because that’s how I roll. That stop was followed by a trek back to the hotel for a nap. We then headed out to In’finiti Fermentation & Distillation where I proceeded to taste their distillery sampler (vodka, rum, and whiskey). I am definitely not normally a hard alcohol drinker, but when in Rome… at least it was a nice walk that evening:

Portland at Night
Portland at Night

That was pretty much it for Maine. We had beautiful weather and really enjoyed it. Next up… New Hampshire!

Enchilada Pasta Casserole

Anna Blankenheim Cooking, Recipes , ,

Last night I tried a new recipe. It sounds a bit weird, but was actually pretty tasty! I had it again tonight and I would argue that it was almost better as leftovers than as the original dish! My one alteration I would make is to add a little bit more cream cheese and sour cream – the dish has a little kick to it, but felt a little dry. Enjoy!

Enchilada Pasta Casserole
Enchilada Pasta Casserole

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

½ tsp. chili powder

¼ tsp. cumin

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

5 ounces cream cheese

¼ cup light sour cream

1 can (10 oz.) enchilada sauce

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles

12 ounces egg noodles

Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, bring water to boil and cook egg noodles according to package instructions.In the meantime, in a very large skillet, brown your ground beef then drain the fat. Then add the chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine. Add in the cream cheese until melted and combined.

In a large bowl, combine sour cream, enchilada sauce, half the cheddar cheese, half the monterey jack cheese, corn kernels, and diced green chiles. Stir to combine. Pour mixture over the beef and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. In the meantime, drain your pasta. After you’ve drained it, add the pasta to the beef mixture. Make sure everything is coated in the sauce.

In a large casserole dish, pour in the pasta mixture and top with the remaining cheese.Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese has completely melted.

Source: Table for Two

Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

Anna Blankenheim Cooking, Recipes , ,

I like to try to share new recipes as often as I’m motivated… today’s recipe is one I had to try when Mike was not home for dinner. You see, we share an aversion to stinky cheeses (discovered after the horrific Gruyère on french onion soup experience several years back). However, Parmesan cheese falls into this category for him, while it’s on my yummy list. That and he doesn’t like asparagus, which is a staple in this dish. About halfway through cooking (the part where you simmer the balsamic vinegar) I got a bit skeptical, but this turned out very nicely. It’s a fairly quick and easy meal (took me about 30 minutes, which you could trim down to about 20) and tasted delicious!

Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter
Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

Ingredients

1 pound asparagus

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 pound penne

1/4 pound butter, cut into pieces

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions

Heat the oven to 400°. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the spears into 1-inch pieces. Put the asparagus on a baking sheet and toss with the oil and 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer until 3 tablespoons remain. Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat.

Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling, salted water until just done, about 13 minutes. Drain the pasta and toss with the butter, vinegar, asparagus, Parmesan, and the remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt. Serve with additional Parmesan.

I Couldn’t Forget If I Tried

Anna Blankenheim Tragedies ,

September 11th 2001 should have been like any other day. Actually, I take that back – it should have been harder. I had just seen my boyfriend, Troy, off the night before to an overseas deployment with the Marines. I had cried my eyes out all night and was exhausted. Sometime just after 6am, the phone rang in the apartment that I shared with three friends from college. I’m not gonna lie, I was mad, asking myself who would be calling this early in the morning. I remember laying in bed for a few minutes longer and then storming out to the living room to yell at whoever it was. It was then that I saw my roommate sitting in shock on the sofa in front of the TV. Her family had called from New Jersey to let her know they were ok. For the next few hours we sat in front of the TV watching the devastation unfold. At just twenty years old, I couldn’t believe that sort of evil existed in the world. My previous experiences had only been with natural disasters (the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake) – never had I been exposed to this level of hate.

Why, you ask, is she rambling about her experience, which in comparison to so many others is completely benign?

Without a doubt, September 11th had a profound impact on who I am today. I think it’s no great coincidence that I’ve surrounded myself with firefighters and first responders. Or that my volunteer work is centered completely around educating the public about disaster preparedness and helping others.

In the days that followed September 11th, I watched America band together. I finally understood what my Grandpa had told me growing up – that this country is amazing and that it’s worth fighting for. I learned what it means to honor those who died by pressing on. I learned how proud I am to be American. The “Star Spangled Banner” means more to me, as does our beautiful flag.

Every year I dedicate my sole Facebook update for the day to some sort of memory – this year is a picture of the three firefighters raising the flag, made even more poignant now that I’m married to a firefighter. And there’s always the requisite “never forget” – I couldn’t forget if I tried. I will continue to dedicate my life to helping others, regardless of race, color, religion, or creed. That’s how I won’t forget.