What will $20 get me?

On Monday, September 12^th I had my first official day volunteering at RDA.  The day starts with everyone receiving their rider and horse assignment for the 10 week course.  My horse is Harley who is one of the largest horses there.  He was born in '98 so is considered one of the younger horses at RDA.  A few of them are older than I am which is kind of funny!  My rider’s name is Yen Ming, he is very sweet with a variety of ailments.  His struggles do not affect his coordination as is the case with some of the other riders there so Yen Ming is already one of the best riders, technically speaking.   He really enjoys riding but does not verbally communicate much so it was a little hard to connect with him.  But, it nice to watch him with the horses, he really loves them and is gentle when he leads them.  The goal is to keep consistency for the rider throughout the 10 week course and additional courses once a good sidewalker match is made.  Since Yen prefers to ride quietly and really no longer needs a sidewalker and I have the “gift of gab”, I am being re-matched on the 19^th with the resident “chatty Cathy”, Sun Ling.  I also think this will be a good fit.  After the riding lessons are finished and the riders have left on their way back to school, the volunteers all sit and have a 30 minute debriefing session where each riders’ progress and areas for improvement are discussed with the group.  It is during this time that we have coffee and a snack.  This week’s snack was pretty interesting – Green Tea Kit Kats from Japan which are surprisingly delicious!

Harley, my week 1 horse at RDA

 

 

 

Green Tea Kit Kat from Japan.  It's almost like a white chocolate Kit Kat but creamier.

Monday night Mark came home with 10 roses as a romantic surprise!  After I’m fully impressed with his thoughtfulness he takes the romance up a notch (this is a direct quote), “ Yeah, I was going to get you a dozen roses but they we like $60 with the vase and everything so I just asked the lady what $20 would get me.”  Honesty – another one of the many reasons why I love him but I think sometimes men should just omit certain things, haha!  Anyways…after dinner Mark and I watched the NFL games from the night before.  Needless-to-say, Mark was pretty disappointed with the Colts’ game.   And the Colts’ weren’t the only ones to lose in a blowout, I also beat Mark in our week 1 Fantasy Football matchup! I’d planned on never letting him live in down but I think his friends in the league will have that department covered for me.

My roses from Mark.  He does read the blog and I don't want his head getting too big so I'll leave it at - he is pretty amazing!

Despite the lose, some people (and dogs) still have team spirit - GO COLTS!

During the week I decided to dive into two new projects.  The first was organizing a book club.  I’ve been dying for an excuse to get some women together monthly for dinner and book club sounded like a good idea.  Not sure what everyone’s schedules were like and how many people were nerdy for books like me I had hoped for 6-8 women to agree to it but I’m pleasantly surprise to say that I have 14 book club members!  I told everyone that while getting a good read is a plus, it is not meant to be a super serious book club but more of an excuse to get together for dinner and if you can't make it sometimes, not to worry so I’m sure there won’t be 14 in attendance every month but it’s still a much better start than I anticipated!  We will be meeting the first Wednesday of every month at various restaurants in Singapore, the first meeting is October 5^th so I’ll let you know how it goes.  The other thing is not really a project but a goal.  I started a program called couch to 5k, an application on my phone.   It’s a 9 week program where you run three day per week with the goal being to be able to run a 5k when you are finished.  I’m not actually signed up for any 5k’s but just wanted to try something different to work on my fitness.

Colt still has play dates with other dogs which have upgraded to twice a week now, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  When it started a few weeks ago it was just one day a week and about 4-6 dogs and has now graduated to two days a week and 13 dogs!  Colt has a lot of dogs at the play dates that he likes but particularly likes a beagle puppy named Calvin and a Chihuahua named Peanut.  Seeing a Chihuahua and a Great Dane sitting with each other is pretty comical, I'll try to get a picture at some point.  It wasn’t all highs for Colt this week though.  When Mark and I left for a bit over the weekend Colt snuck past the baby gate (I guess he finally realized he could walk past it or even over it if he wanted) to the study and chewed up Mark’s brand new shoes.  Mark was not a happy camper.  So, Colt's been having to go to his room when we leave until he can be trusted again : ( 

"I have no idea what you're talking about"..."Shoe? What shoe?!?"

I guess I still love him...Just a little....

The weekend, like most, went too quickly.  On Friday we went to a Hawker Center nearby and then caught a late movie, Crazy Stupid Love.  It was really good, a rom-com which Mark didn’t hate so that’s saying something!  We also went to a sushi buffet this weekend.  The food was really fresh and delicious but Mark and I may never be allowed back considering the amount we ate – I kid, I kid! 

Sushi buffet - asparagus, rice, and steak.

Sushi buffet - sushi rolls and sashmi

 Lastly, I leave you with a little Colty video for your viewing pleasure.  Colt eats his meals on the balcony since he is SOOO messy. He has also become extremely domesticated and instead of barking when he wants in, he now knocks (sort of).  We really didn't teach him this but he does do it everytime he wants in!