i'm on a horse!

you guys remember the Old Spice Guy commercials?

turns out when you put a bunch of dorky city folks on horses, they also proclaim "I'M ON A HORSE." a lot.

chris: he's on a horse!

i was also on a horse, although this is all the proof you'll get of that, since it's pretty darn difficult to take a photo of yourself on a horse while still on said horse.

me: also on a horse!

this was my first! time! ever! on a horse, despite the whole farm school childhood thing, so i was pretty excited. i'd been AROUND horses, so i wasn't scared of them or nervous about their size or anything.. just pretty much excited to finally get in a saddle.

me, not in a saddle. also not even the horse i rode. details.

it was pretty terrific. it was a swelteringly hot day, but we were up in the hilly countryside where there was a nice breeze from time to time.

after about 20 minutes of walking along at a nice calm pace, though, i came to two conclusions: 1) i really wanted to go faster, now. at least a trot. maybe a nice gallop to really scare the crap out of me, and 2) my Delicate Lady Parts were ALREADY getting a bit sore, so i can't imagine how sore they'd be if we actually HAD trotted or cantered or galloped or other-horse-verbed, oh my goodness.

(i also spent a considerable amount of time daydreaming about how all the characters in the Song of Fire & Ice books - with which i am currently obsessed, and of which i am currently on book 3 - spend so much time in a saddle, and how much nicer that would be than walking miles a day, but how the saddle sores they talk about are probably very real and very unpleasant.)

(YES, i'm aware that they are ficticious characters. irrelevant.)

also! this weekend marie and i went to a self defense class in DC. i've been meaning to take one of these forever - i felt it was kind of ridiculous that at 30, i still had taken no proactive steps to protect myself, aside from buying some pepper spray and a general vague commitment to be aware of my surroundings.

it was awesome. i mean, i'm under no delusions that all of a sudden i'll be taking attackers out chuck norris-style, but it was really empowering to learn a few simple actions i could take to help myself in a bad situation. and i mean, yeah, i know that if someone is determined, Bad Things Will Happen. but i can't tell you how helpful it is - mentally, anyway - to at least have a PLAN that includes one or two things i could do if i find myself in a bad situation. considering my previous plan was something like "panic. and also probably cry."

i highly recommend a class like that if it's something you're at all interested in - i found it completely worth the price. (if you're local: DC Impact, where we took our class, has regular classes and is located right by the chinatown metro.)