Newport Beach Fish-a-Palooza

Anna Blankenheim Critters, Family, Vacation , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The past week was the annual Blankenheim Newport Vacation. We co-own a boat with my brother- and sister-in-law, and have started a tradition of spending a week or so in Newport Beach each summer (my husband and his brother went to college down there and lived on Newport Beach).

I headed into the trip with a heck of a head cold… because that’s how I roll. The very first day, the guys went out fishing, but the girls/kids stayed on shore. I did a bit of napping and then hit the beach. My niece Katie is a serious beach girl… the two of us probably spent more time in the water than we did on land! The hotel we stay at is fantastic – one of the perks is they loan you boogie boards and beach stuff, so you have tons of options. We have become expert boogie boarders… I have the sunburn to prove it!

Then main goal the boys had this trip was to catch a shark. I must say, they were (mostly) well prepared. They found the spots the sharks were at (saw them with my own eyes), they had the right bait (caught my share of mackerel), and they had the right equipment… sort of. They were definitely catching them (mostly thresher sharks, which scare the crap out of me), but ran out of the metal leaders. This is a very important thing because threshers use their gigantic tails to slap at their prey – the fishing line in this case.

On our last full day there, we got up early (well, at the same time we did every other day – 4:30am so that we could get on the water) and headed over to Catalina Island. It was a beautiful boat ride over… we saw all sorts of cool marine life – flying fish, dolphins, seals, sharks (mako sharks, we think), and mola (very cool, prehistoric looking creatures). My favorite part of the journey over was the dolphins. I am not exaggerating when I say there were probably hundreds of dolphins swimming around our boat. We found a pod that was feeding, so there was much breaching of the water. They chased our boat, played in our wake, and lead the way. It was absolutely breath-taking to see. I took pictures, but they don’t come close to capturing how amazing it was to be there.

Dolphins
Dolphins

Once we got to the island, we got serious about fishing. I caught the biggest fish I’d ever caught in my life… a roughly 15 pound yellowtail. I have not done a ton of ocean fishing, and when I have, I haven’t caught anything really big. This one was amazing… I was letting my line out when I suddenly felt the reel start to go faster. I clicked over and the pole practically bent in half. It took 5-10 minutes for me to reel it in, with Mike and Charlie coaching me/moving things around on the boat as I went. It was hilarious to watch the two of them try to buckle the pole holder on me while I kept reeling. I even baited my own hook!

My Yellowtail
My Yellowtail

Yup – I definitely outfished the boys that day. We caught a ton of calico bass (seriously, like 50+). Mike got a really nice one:

Mike & His Bass
Mike & His Bass

I’m sad to see this week’s vacation come to an end… it was so nice to spend time with my hubby and family! Tomorrow it’s back to the grind… gotta work hard to play hard! Stay tuned for posts on the rest of the week – including the Western States Horse Expo!

Splish Splash

Anna Blankenheim Critters, Equestrian , , , , ,

Today I headed over to the barn after work to give Sue and his mama, Banshee, a bath. They both needed it and it was a beautiful day. Sue actually had dirt caked down to the skin on part of his mane (what can I say, the boy loves to roll in the dirt!).

Here’s my boy – I swear he’s not starved… I think this was just a weird angle with a wet horse. He absolutely loves having his mane brushed – whenever I do it he gets really calm and his head starts to sag. We’re finally getting it to mostly lay over to the left… although when he shakes he’s still got some that flips back over to the right (for those of you who don’t know, he rubbed a big chunk of it off on the fence). I seriously love this horse! Every time I’m around him I can feel our bond getting stronger and stronger!

Sue Freshly Washed
Sue Freshly Washed

Here’s his mama, Banshee. She’s a champion reining horse:

Sue's Mama, Banshee
Sue’s Mama, Banshee

Dana, my trainer came by and asked if I wanted to ride her bareback… to which I responded with a resounding YES! The one time I’ve “ridden” bareback was on our honeymoon – and they basically plopped us on the horses and we walked them 10 feet into the ocean. Hardly riding. Today was amazing… it was so cool to feel her move. I fell in love with the saddle I bought because it lets me feel the horse – this took this to the next level! We did a few loops around the arena and then practiced some spins – so different than on Sue because Banshee clearly knows what she’s doing! It was a great time!

The Conjuring

Anna Blankenheim Movies , , , , ,

Mike and I just discovered that through our Dish TV service we can rent tons of free movies. I know, we’re a little behind the eight ball on that one. It took forever to download, but we decided to kick off our free movie fest with The Conjuring.

Director: James Wan

Stars: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, and Ron Livingston

Runtime: 1 hour, 52 minutes

Plot Summary: (from IMDb) In 1971, Carolyn and Roger Perron move their family into a dilapidated Rhode Island farm house and soon strange things start happening around it with escalating nightmarish terror. In desperation, Carolyn contacts the noted paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, to examine the house. What the Warrens discover is a whole area steeped in a satanic haunting that is now targeting the Perron family wherever they go. To stop this evil, the Warrens will have to call upon all their skills and spiritual strength to defeat this spectral menace at its source that threatens to destroy everyone involved.

Rating: TV.

This movie was just ok. As far as horror movies go, it was a little predictable – you know, the haunted objects, the demonic exorcism, etc. That said, according to the introduction, it is based on a true story. There were some good, make you jump a little kind of scenes, but all in all, it was a little disappointing. I think the ending (I won’t spoil it here) was the most disappointing part.

Ratings Explanation:

  • Theater: This means the movie is awesome. Go see this movie in the theater – well worth the $100 you’ll spend for a night out to see it on the big screen!
  • On Demand: Since no one actually rents movies anymore, this category has changed to On Demand. This means it’s a great movie, but it is as good at home as it is in the theater and worth seeing a little sooner.
  • TV: This means the movie is ok. Wait for it to show up on HBO and see it for free.
  • Skip It: Movie sucks, don’t waste your time.

Life With Sue Part 2

Anna Blankenheim Critters, Equestrian , , ,

I have very seriously enjoyed every facet of owning a horse.

Sue has his own silly little personality. Like any young creature, he likes to test his boundaries… everything from nibbling on my arms to pushing on me with his nose. He tries it in the arena (“You want me to run? I’ll show you run!”). For me it’s been a learning lesson because I’ve had to learn the basics about horses and their behavior as well as the ins and outs of riding. My trainer is one of the coolest people ever, but she challenges me. A lot. I love that, even though it’s hard and sometimes uncomfortable. Dana gets me and helps make me a better rider, even on the days we don’t ride and just do groundwork.

A couple weekends ago I had a ride that started off rough and then felt like everything that could go wrong did. When I tried to mount up, Sue started a little bit of bucking, which scared the daylights out of me. Lesson 1 of the day: pay attention to your horse when walking to the arena… if the cinch (the strap that goes around their belly) is pinching at all, climbing up in the saddle can hurt them, causing bucking. After that, I lost a bit of confidence and by God, that horse knew it. He tested me at every chance (didn’t lope when I asked, stopped when I didn’t ask, etc), but we made it through. I went home feeling like the worst rider in the world.

I went back for a trail ride the next day and everything fell back into place. Over the last two lessons, things have just clicked. I feel like Sue understands what I’m asking him and actually wants to do it. We had one of the most wonderful lopes around the arena that I’ve ever had with him – we made it four or five times around before I asked him to walk. It was just one of those blissfully good rides.

I still find a lot of solace at the barn… when I’m there I don’t worry about other things in life. I don’t think about what’s for dinner or that email I have to send when I get home. It’s just me and Sue. I’m learning to be the alpha with him and it’s been really fun. His stall is right next to his mama’s (her name is Banshee) and she neighs every time I take Sue out or bring him back in. I sneak her treats for being a good mama.

Life is so darned good!

Good News/Bad News

Anna Blankenheim Critters , , ,

Since we let the barn cats out of their pump shed home a couple weeks ago, we have had exactly two sightings – one of Charlie down the road and one of Kenzie on the bank out front. I’ve been putting cat food out to make sure they had something to eat, but wanted to see if it was actually them coming to chow down.

Here’s the good news – both cats made appearances on the camera:

Charlie
Charlie

 

Kenzie
Kenzie

Here’s the bad news – we now own a skunk:

I Shall Call Him Fluffy
I Shall Call Him Fluffy

There were a lot of pictures of the skunk. A lot. One, in fact, that showed me way more of the working end of a skunk than I think I ever want to see again (although, most likely the only way to see it like this and come away smelling fresh and clean):

The Business End
The Business End

To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what to do about this. I can’t not put food out, knowing the cats are relying on it, but I definitely don’t want to feed Purina’s finest cat food to a skunk. Nor do I want to encourage one to hang around. I put some more food (and the camera) back out tonight… fingers crossed we just get cats this time!

Tack

Anna Blankenheim Equestrian, Family , , , , , , ,

It’s official… I now have everything that I need to own a horse. Technically. I learned this weekend that there is so much amazing stuff out there… it could be very easy to spend TONS of money on horse gear!

This weekend I bought my very first saddle! My trainer hauled Sue down to the Rancho Murieta Equestrian Center, where a cutting show was being held. I have been riding in one of her saddles that I absolutely love, made by Roohide Saddlery. John, the owner and saddle maker spent lots of time with Sue, trying different trees (that’s the shape/form of the saddle) on him to make sure we got a good fit that allowed his gait to be free.  After sitting on what felt like a thousand different saddles (it was actually about 40) and trying a few out (who knew that’s how you picked a saddle), I finally found one I liked. I honestly could not have asked for a better saddle… it’s like he custom made it for me! I absolutely love it – the skirt and gullet have rough out leather, which is basically a roughed up version of the leather on the rest of the saddle. The edges all have barbed wire tooling – nice and manly for my Boy Named Sue! I left it overnight because John wanted to do some customizing on the stirrups (since I have seriously short legs he wanted to change up the length so that I had more holes – ie. could raise them higher if needed). I rode on it this afternoon and it was beyond comfortable!

Sue's Saddle
Sue’s Saddle

When I went back today, my parents met up with me to watch some of the cutting competition. Cutting is basically a judged version of separating or “cutting” one cow from the herd and keeping him there. It’s so interesting to see the different techniques and the level of discipline the horses have! My parents were awesome and decided to buy me the last piece of tack I needed – the headstall (when put together with reins and a bit, it becomes the bridle). Since I had my saddle there, we were able to match the leather. I absolutely love it – the tooling is arrows, which goes well with the barbed wire on my saddle!

Sue's Bridle
Sue’s Bridle

Here’s the bit I got from my trainer… I love the silver detail on it!

Sue's Bit
Sue’s Bit

Now it’s time to break it all in… tonight’s project is to sit on my sofa and bend and smush my reins… the softer and more “broken in” the leather is, the better! I am one happy, tired cowgirl!

Shoe

Anna Blankenheim Equestrian, Inspirational ,

One of my friends from CERT moved back to New Jersey a while ago… but we’ve stayed friends on Facebook. She loves her pup the same way I love Shadow and has been super sweet about commenting on my rambles about Sue.

She has a friend at work who lives on a farm and loves to tell her about his horses. She mentioned that she had a friend who just bought a horse (me!) and showed him one of Sue’s pictures on Facebook. A few days later, he came into work with a beautiful hand painted horseshoe that a friend of his makes, saying he thought I might like it. Daniela popped it in the mail and here it is!

Painted Shoe
Painted Shoe

It is really beautiful! I am so touched that people across the country that are crazy about horses want to share that horse love with me! Equestrians rock!!!

In Memoriam: Tevye Ditter

Anna Blankenheim Death, Music ,

I have a whole slew of posts that I need to catch up on (the Easter train with my nieces and nephew, washing Sue, some book reviews), but came across a terribly sad Facebook post today. The group I sang with, the Sacramento Choral Society, posted that last December’s soloist, Tevye Ditter, had passed away. The world has lost a ridiculously talented man. Rest in peace, Tevye.

The Wolf of Wall Street

Anna Blankenheim Movies , , , , ,

The other night we rented The Wolf of Wall Street. Mike and I were both surprised by this one – surprised in a good way.

The Wolf of Wall Street (from IMDb)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, and Margot Robbie

Runtime: 3 hours

Plot Summary: (from IMDb) In the early 1990s, Jordan Belfort teamed with his partner Donny Azoff and started brokerage firm Stratford-Oakmont. Their company quickly grows from a staff of 20 to a staff of more than 250 and their status in the trading community and Wall Street grows exponentially. So much that companies file their initial public offerings through them. As their status grows, so do the amount of substances they abuse, and so do their lies. They draw attention like no other, throwing lavish parties for their staff when they hit the jackpot on high trades. That ultimately leads to Belfort featured on the cover of Forbes Magazine, being called “The Wolf Of Wall St.”. With the FBI onto Belfort’s trading schemes, he devises new ways to cover his tracks and watch his fortune grow. Belfort ultimately comes up with a scheme to stash their cash in a European bank. But with the FBI watching him like a hawk, how long will Belfort and Azoff be able to maintain their elaborate wealth and luxurious lifestyles?

Rating: On Demand.

I seriously think Leonardo DiCaprio is a very underrated actor… he was really good in this movie as well! The way it was filmed was very engaging – my favorite parts were when he would look at the camera and talk right to the audience. This movie was not what Mike and I were expecting – it was less serious and more about the craziness of Stratford-Oakmont. This is definitely worth seeing!

Ratings Explanation:

  • Theater: This means the movie is awesome. Go see this movie in the theater – well worth the $100 you’ll spend for a night out to see it on the big screen!
  • On Demand: Since no one actually rents movies anymore, this category has changed to On Demand. This means it’s a great movie, but it is as good at home as it is in the theater and worth seeing a little sooner.
  • TV: This means the movie is ok. Wait for it to show up on HBO and see it for free.
  • Skip It: Movie sucks, don’t waste your time.