Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Halloween Came Early?


                Who doesn’t want Halloween to be epic? Especially when it comes to impressing people with your creative costumes. Well, this year, we decided to make our own costumes. The apartment was a disaster, but the end result was totally worth it. We decided to go with punked out versions of different fairy tale / Disney characters. We had Punk Belle, Punk Tinkerbell (Quinn), and Punk Red Riding Hood (Alice). And in two weekends of epicness during October, we rushed to get our costumes ready for Halloween. 



                There was fabric, string, and pins everywhere. We wouldn’t have recommended walking around without shoes on, it was incredibly dangerous. Everyone kept telling us that we weren’t going to be ready in time for all the parties, but we insisted that with Halloween being on a Thursday, there was no way nothing would be going on the weekend after. And thus we kept at it. Quinn discovered she was horrible with a sewing machine. There was a lot of cussing every time she was even near the machine. Even simple, straight lines were an issue. Alice on the other hand, was pretty awesome at it, creating her cape from scratch. Quinn settled for a glue gun, hot gluing all the leaves to the dress she was creating for Tinkerbell. One day, one day Quinn will get it. 



                As we tore through the two weekends, with minimal thought to the fact that we still had nowhere to go, we found ourselves pretty impressed with our costume making skills. In fact, the idea was tossed around about become costume designers. That quickly faded when it was pointed out you can’t hot glue everything and call yourself a costume designer. The week before, we started looking at what we could do, and, nothing. Niente. Apparently, the weekend before was the weekend for all the parties, even though Halloween was on a Thursday, which is clearly closer to the following weekend. Angered by the general population not making sense, we were determined that all of our hard work would not go to waste. So we went out anyway. In fact, we went out to dinner at a pretty nice place. In our costumes. And we do have to say it was quite awesome. if you have never been out in public in a costume before, on a day where no one else is dressing up because you clearly missed when everyone decided to celebrate Halloween, we say do it. 

                In the true spirit of Red Riding Hood, Alice had a basket of cookies. Which came in handy at the bar we went to after dinner! Not only did we get free drinks, but someone even gave us money for the cookie we gave him!

                All in all, it was a great way to spend the month of October. We came out of it with awesome costumes, and a great story to tell. The month we missed Halloween, but didn’t care and went out anyway.

Get out of your comfort zone,
Alice and Quinn

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Magic and Roadtrips

Hey Everyone!

You know what's awesome (besides us... we mean, you)? Roadtrips! There's something about the open road (heavy traffic on the interstate, road rage), clear skies (sudden torrential downpours, no one turning on their lights), good tunes (probably Ke$ha), and your bestie by your side that inspires creativity. Things are infinitely more amusing when you're stuck in a metal box with no escape; and the jokes that are created turn into the best stories of your life.

We were recently on our own roadtrip, just a couple hours from home. By this point exhaustion from our epic adventure was setting in and our normally totally coherent ramblings were taking on lives of their own and becoming the stories of truth in the world as we see it.

The story below was inspired (and written) in the car that day. It's an enchanting tale of two best friends who overcome all odds and obstacles and prevail in the end. We know that sounds like we just gave away the whole story, but trust us, you aren't prepared for what you are about to read. We hope you enjoy.

Alice Quinn Presents: Always Use Your Head

Once upon a time, there was a rainstorm. The storm was relentless and created havoc on the streets below. But in the midst of disaster, a beautiful rainbow was formed and stretched fully across the sky. Each colour glimmered of magic.

Two unicorns were running through the fields and saw the rainbow in the distance. They could hear the rainbow calling out to them, promising a better world of peace and happiness. For unicorns, a rainbow was a sacred gift from above, a bridge that held their fate. So the unicorns sprinted toward the rainbow, never questioning its will or power.

As the fateful arch came into view, the unicorns noticed a shadowy figure lingering at its end. The shadow was roaming and confused, seemingly mindless. The unicorns ignored the figure's random shuffling and focused on the rainbow. But as they closed in on the rainbow, there was an obvious recognition in the figure's eyes. The unicorns were  threat and the figure approached them with an obvious hunger.

The first unicorn, Azarrah, was able to edge past the figure, instantly recognizing her luck. The figure was a zombie, and zombies have a particular interest in unicorn brains. If a zombie consumes the brain of a unicorn, it will be free to roam and eat and kill forever. Not even a shot to the head could stop it. Azarrah picked up her pace, sprinting up the rainbow.

The second unicorn, Khadilsa, was not as lucky and got trapped at the bottom of the rainbow. With steady nerves and a focused mind, she took in her surroundings and her attacker. She knew the mayhem he could cause with her powers, and she could not allow that to happen to mankind. And she absolutely refused to be eaten on a rainbow. With no other option, Khadilsa lowered her head and ran full bore into the zombie, stabbing him right in the eyehole.

 She raised her head, but the zombie stayed with her, kicking and reaching and baring its teeth, and stuck to her horn. She knew she couldn't stop or turn back, so she continued running up the rainbow. Right as she reached the peak of the arch, she flung her head and the zombie went flying down the side of the rainbow.

Azarrah watched in horror as her friend struggled with zombie and breathed a sigh of relief when it went flying through the air. But the fall would not stop the zombie. There was only one way to kill it - a double tap to the head. She lowered her head and steadied herself. As she descended the arch on the other side, she made sure to gain speed and direct her aim. Right as she reached the bottom of the rainbow she stabbed the zombie again, right through the other eyehole.

Azarrah laid the zombie by the side of the rainbow and the sky opened up. The unicorns proved their worth to the rainbow and they were granted the happiness they were promised. Without pause, Azarrah and Khadilsa continued on for their adventure. And they never looked back.

There you have it. This is our reminder to use every opportunity, even deadlock traffic on the highway, to fuel your dreams and creativity. Never stop being awesome.

-Alice & Quinn

Friday, March 28, 2014

New Product Plan: Sweet Ending Gym



The major problem that most of us have with exercise is instant gratification. It's a flaw of our generation. When we do something, we want someone to acknowledge it, even if it is as trivial as going to the gym and putting in a few sets.

And let's face it, our nation is growing... in waist size. And the media isn't getting any nicer to anyone they don't deem "attractive." We are constantly being told how we should look, how we should dress, and what we should eat. Or more forcefully, what we should not eat.

But isn't that part of why we go to the gym? So we can eat the things we love and not feel bad about them? I mean, that's why I go to the gym.

There is a problem in our society. We should not have to defend the 6 cupcakes we ate for dessert, or the loaf of bread we ate instead of a proper meal. If I want to eat a bag of Doritos for dinner, that should be ok. I don't owe anyone an explanation.

But also, society doesn't change over night. And those habits I detailed above are not necessarily the most healthy decisions. So what can we do to alleviate the pain from these important social problems?

This is the part of the infomercial when someone busts through the wall and exclaims "Sweet Ending Gym!"

Here's the idea.

On the surface, the gym looks like an ordinary gym. Except that everyone inside is working really hard and enjoying themselves instead of pretending to do another set and considering giving up on life.

Every person proudly carries around an identification card that tracks all their activity in the gym. The card is inserted into each piece of equipment and records your movement. And it's calculating. So every time you run a mile, that card is tracking your distance, your steps, your speed, and the number of calories you burned during that time.

That's not the exciting part.

Now imagine you are at Dave and Buster's because this is about to get crazy. At the end of your workout, you take your ID card to the clerk. The clerk will swipe your card and tell you how many calories you burned during your session. That number will be converted for you in any way you choose: cookies, pizza, milkshakes, whatever you want. When you make your conversion choice, you will receive your instant gratification, in the form of delicious snacks.

Wait, you may be saying. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of working out in the first place if you replace the number of calories burned with calories eaten?

The short answer is, kind of. Sure, you aren't going to lose weight that way, but are you going to feel bad that you indulged a little that day? No. You won't. Because you worked for those cookies. You earned those french fries. You'll eat those precious goodies with a smile on your face and a light heart. And that's the society I want to live in. The one where people feel good about themselves for being themselves. Not where they work hard to achieve an ideal that doesn't exist.

We aren't perfect people. We have flaws. We have vices. And if I want to run 50 miles a day to support my Doritos habit, I think that should be ok.

Owning It,
Alice and Quinn

Thursday, March 27, 2014

The Guide to Being Successful : Holding Meetings

This is us in every meeting ever: “Man, this could be way more efficient,” “Why do they always feed us donuts when they know that we are all going to sugar crash in 15 minutes?” “Nothing is ever getting done. Ever. Seriously, ever.” “God, Jerry is snoring again. Someone put a napkin under his face so he doesn’t drool all over the table.”
Have you ever had an experience like that? Of course you have. It probably perfectly sums up how you spend 5 days of every week, all the while wishing something would come crashing through the ceiling just to give you something new to mindlessly stare at.
 
Well, today you are in luck! We hold the secret to having interesting meetings where decisions will be made and it won’t take 20 hours to do so.
We present to you, Alice and Quinn Teach People How to Hold Effective and Efficient Meetings.

 
PART ONE – ALWAYS USE FOOD TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
 
Using food to increase attendance is the oldest trick in the book. This meeting conflicts with lunch? Don’t worry; we brought you a box with an airport sandwich and a cookie inside. Problem solved. The meeting tomorrow is absurdly early? Don’t you worry about that either; we covered that conference room in donuts and pastries and washed it all down with terrible coffee.
The basis of food as an incentive is brilliant. People love eating and they enjoy it even more on the company’s dime. But this can backfire on a large scale. There are a number of negative side effects that can be avoided, but are always overlooked.
 
  • Donuts are pretty cheap and they are a crowd pleaser. But they are also super high in sugar. While everyone is shaking in their seats for the first 10 minutes from the day-and-a-half worth of sugar they just consumed, the rest of the meeting will look more like 15 toddlers trying to avoid naptime.
  • We’re going to list delicious pastries and baked goods again, because there’s another important point to be made. Foods high in fat and sugar immediately segregate a room. There’s going to be a group of people who are trying to hide the fact that they hid 3 donuts/cupcakes/whole cakes in their pockets while washing it all down with a Mountain Dew, even if it is 8:00 in the morning. Then there’s going to be a group of very vocal people who couldn’t possibly eat a donut because it would ruin their very strict exercise routine, which will be outlined in detail, and OMG, I can’t even remember the last time I ate something that tasted good, let me just sip on my vitamin water. That’s an uncomfortable dynamic for everyone.
  • Especially for big meetings, eating causes ergonomic concerns. There is never enough space and people are concentrating harder on how to bend their elbows in the opposite direction to avoid hitting their neighbor (again) than what topic is probably super important or whatever to their job.
  • Providing coffee is such a cop-out for meetings. Sure, you could get complimentary coffee whenever you want from the break room, but we have it right here and you barely had to walk to get it. Plus, coffee makes people have to poo, and trying to hold it can be very distracting during a meeting.
 
With all of this going on, productivity and effectiveness take a huge hit. The only reason to use food in this way is if you aren’t prepared for your presentation and you hope the whole audience is too sleepy or distracted to notice you are really just reading the screenplay you wrote instead of working.
Here are a couple of the suggestions we have come up with to utilize food as an incentive, but also maintain optimum productivity out of your group.
 
1.        Save the food for the END of the Meeting.
 
Think about what we said above. We aren’t just talking about a boring boxed lunch sitting at the back of the room. We are thinking much bigger: Crock-pot Surprise or Panini Press. We particularly like the crock-pot idea for large groups. Crock-pot recipes are easy, and most importantly, THEY FILL THE ROOM WITH DELICIOUS SMELL. You know how your parents always said, “No dessert until you eat your vegetables. You can’t play video games until you finish your homework.” They use those ultimatums because they work, and let’s face it; we are all just overgrown children, especially during meetings. So we promote the “Get this meeting done/make decisions/solve problems effectively and efficiently and then you can eat this delicious food you smell” concept. 
 
2.        Feed them something messy, like spaghetti.
 
This sounds like a bizarre strategy, but hear us out. Have you ever had to hold a meeting for people you knew were going to be jerks the whole time? Or with people who are super judgmental? This is the perfect situation for this technique. If not strictly for your own comedic pleasure to watch jerks struggle with pasta sauce on their faces (or sloppy joe, whatevs. Get creative), this method will help level the playing field. Everyone is going to struggle eating messy food, keeping it off their faces and clothes, so the ones who are used to judging will have to deal with the fact that they’re being judged too. And no salad option here, ok? God, its whole wheat pasta, just indulge a little. Plus, everyone is going to want to rush out of the conference room to make sure they still look as flawless as they did before the spaghetti fiasco, so work gets done faster. This is the “Everyone is a Loser so we’re All Winners” strategy. With everyone on the same page it is more likely that things can be done in a civilized, efficient manner.
 
PART TWO – MUSIC WILL ALWAYS SET THE RIGHT MOOD
 
Music is used everywhere to enhance people’s feelings. Movies, TV shows, commercials, sleazy guys trying to put the moves on, etc. Music will make you feel exactly how She-Who-Controls-the-Stereo wants you to feel. We suggest utilizing it to your advantage. Of course, not everyone has the same taste in music, but we have a few ideas that should help with that.
 
1.        Use Disney Songs.
 
Everyone loves Disney movies. Everyone. That’s a scientifically proven fact. And the best part of Disney movies? The music. Obviously. There are people who will try to tell you that they don’t enjoy all the Disney magic, but those people are either:
a.        Lying
b.        Douchebags
c.        Lying Douchebags
d.        Living under a rock that was hurled here through space from a planet that is so technologically inept that Disney hasn’t reached them yet. Those people need their own special course in How to Live On Earth.
 
But Disney music is super relevant. They are really good at controlling your emotions and feelings, which is probably how they so easily took over the world. This means, of course, that you could temporarily hold that kind of power during your meeting. Plus, Disney songs remind people of their childhood, and will hopefully promote the desire to get things done quickly so they can go home and play.
 
2.        Use Pop-Punk.
 
This genre as a whole isn’t for everyone, but there are some songs that are universally loved and have just enough edge that they will put people in the mood to accomplish their dreams. Or rebel, you know, like punks do. It’s a fine line, tread lightly. We suggest sticking to something people will recognize, not some super-cool, obscure band that only toured garages and basements on the east coast. On the flip side, we also suggest introducing music from other countries. It probably won’t be familiar, but it may speak to someone’s lineage and provides some diversity. It’s also a great ice-breaker and way to get people to lighten up a little. dARI is a much-recommended Italian pop-punk band that we love and listen to on a regular basis. 
 
3.        Ke$ha, Ke$ha, Ke$ha!
 
Do we really even need to explain this? Ke$ha has mastered the art of creating a pop song. She’s like the McDonald’s of the music world. Even if you claim to hate it (which you are lying because you don’t), the tunes are so damn catchy that you are bound to be bopping and smiling along. Just keep the glitter out of reach; that stuff doesn’t come out of anything. That’s right, we are the crazy people.
 
Using this guide, you are bound to have the most effective, most exciting, and most-attended meetings in the office. And don’t you worry your fantastic little heads people, there is more to come.

Sincerely,
Alice and Quinn 

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Buon Anno! Happy New Year! Peace out 2013!


Ciao Fellow Awesome People!

Is it 2014 already? Holy cow.

We know, we know... We have been totally (embarrassingly) slacking in terms of keeping up with the blog. But then, if we rocked it so hard last year, we wouldn't have such an obvious New Year's resolution to drop in the first post of 2014. That's right, we don't vow to eat better, exercise more, be all-around better people, or any of those other relatively normal and boring resolutions that last only a few weeks. Nope. We have bigger plans. To start, we are going to do a better job at regular blog posting. And the major vision we have for this year is to finish stage one of Project We Can Write A Novel, and get into stage two: editing. Sober of course.

We've also decided to take up Kendo. Because swords are cool. And we haven't given up hope of becoming badass samurai. Actually, we learned of a Kendo studio close to where we live through a friend who is almost as awesome as we are. Almost. We are super psyched to cross sword fighting off our list of hobbies to learn and master.

This post is dedicated to new beginnings, but the past few months have helped shape who we are going into 2014. Therefore, we will be doing a several-part series recap of what we failed to post in the latter part of 2013. Overall, it was a foxtastic (that's a word now, get on board) year! Seriously. There were a lot of changes and new experiences, and the direction and excitement for things to come has been increasing exponentially. In 2013 we had a failed business, failed relationships, mildly-miserable day jobs, and way more interests than time or money allowed. And yet, it was one of the best to date.

The failed business was a great life lesson for us. As generally well-adjusted and blatantly arrogant as we tend to be, its important to be reminded that not everything we find spectacular or hilarious is going to catch on. (But one day it will.) We haven't given up hope on our entrepreneuring skills, and maybe with a little extra effort we can still save CPAD (www.zazzle.com/catpicsallday*), but we know we tried.

Failed relationships are always tough, whether it be a friend, family member, or significant other. And they are usually a good chance to take a step back and really look at yourself. The failed relationship of note wasn't just a chance to grow as a person, but an opportunity to crash through a window, break down some walls, and find someone with a little more pizazz. And hey, it worked! It's our general advice that there are people out there that understand and appreciate all the crazy parts of us, and when we find those people, we should hold on to them because good things can happen.

As for the jobs, if you aren't happy, make a change. That's how we live our lives and our 9-5 isn't any different. Alice was fortunate enough to grab onto and run with a new opportunity. Quinn has her foot in the door and is holding on to hope. All in all, it's looking up. We want to live on our own terms, and this is our path to get there.

So here’s to 2014, the year of potential, a whole new year to meet goals, exceed our own expectations, and continue to have fun with our current hobbies and the new ones. We hope you guys all have great years as well and it’s never too early to start checking things off your list of things to do and try. Life goes by fast, so keep up!

Buon Anno,
Alice and Quinn

Sunday, September 1, 2013

The Most Glorious Prize

Hello, Fellow Awesome People!

We (Alice and Quinn, duh) met about a year ago, but as it turns out, we have been neighbors most of our lives. Well, we grew up in neighboring states anyway. Recently, we decided to take a road trip back to the homelands to visit with some friends.

Here's the thing about these friends: they are all race car drivers. Seriously. That's what they do. So the big event that weekend was going to be a kart race among some of them. These karts go about 40 mph, which is pretty fast for what could be considered a children's toy. They were all pretty psyched for it. Well, it was the general consensus that the two of us would just be in the way if we tried to drive against the “professionals” (Weekend Warriors) so we decided (slash were requested) to sit out the race and find other ways to occupy our time.

We hiked all the way across the street to a Target where we found all kinds of awesome swag. Right when we walk through the door, we are greeted with GIANT cat erasers. Seriously, they are giant (At least three inches). And only one dollar a piece. Two please. #StillKids #ButWithAnIncome



After wandering the store, trying on superhero masks and checking out their sweet CD collection, we stumbled into an aisle filled with the most glorious selection of coloring books two grownups could hope for. Kittens, My Little Pony, The Avengers... Heaven. We armed ourselves with some crayons (Crayola, 24 pack) and set off to create some masterpieces. #BestDayEver

Right as we were leaving the store, the guys picked us up. Apparently, their race got pushed back and we suddenly had a couple of hours to kill. We decided that Dave and Busters was an appropriate place for young adults to hang in the middle of the day. What kind of shenanigans could we get into there? As if we weren't acting like children enough, we were suddenly armed with some D&B's cards and given free reign of the whole place. They even let us play without supervision! #ProbablyAMistake. We scoped out the prize area to determine what our goal ticket count would be for the day. Almost immediately, and simultaneously, we spotted the most glorious prizes – Unicorns! It was fate. And that was it. The day would not end until we each had a unicorn in our possession.

We have hinted before that we are competitive people. We like to win. We have to win. And when the prize is a unicorn, it doesn't matter how many people we have to crush to get there. We even bartered with our friends to exchange a few of our precious swipes on a four-person game of air hockey for all of their tickets. I mean, the game was fun, but we didn't have time to waste! The minutes were ticking away and we had unicorns to save, I mean, win!

The clock struck. The karters were anxious to get to the track. We used up all our credits. It was the moment of truth. We took our collective winnings to the register and weighed up our tickets. And when the total ticked across the screen, we both lost whatever adult composure we had left. We won the unicorns! Completely enthused, we rushed over to the rack to pick out our new friends, nearly knocking out a 5-year-old in the process. She was picking out a unicorn as well. #GoodTaste. As we decided on what color to get (white with a pink or blue mane), she looked up at us and exclaimed, “I've got a pink one, too!” We both looked down at the little girl and laughed. She was hugging her new unicorn and sporting a T-shirt with a cat on it. In that moment we knew there was hope for the future, and humanity. This little girl was on the right path. 

This post might seem pretty random, and it kind of is. But we can turn this around. We realized something important that day. Fantasy is something you grow into, not out of. We have a lot of dreams and ambitions, and sometimes it seems like we are living in a fairytale. But the reality is, we are just doing what we have to do, what we want to do, to be happy.

Sometimes dreams do come true. For example, we now both have pet unicorns.



Keep living your daydream,

-Alice & Quinn

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Holding on to Lightning


Hey Everyone!  

It’s Quinn today. :-D 
        
I hear people have mixed feelings on horses. Apparently they are either really scary or crazy magical, depending on your personal experience. I am going to go with magical, that sounds way cooler. And they can totally be scary and ferocious, but we’ll get to that later. Trust me, it becomes relevant.

I used to ride horses when I was younger. I rode all the time, and it started from the age of three/four when my parents rented a pony for my younger sister’s birthday party. It was great! I was hooked, and soon I was taking my first lessons at a real stable. My sister rode with me, and it was something we both enjoyed together. Even when we moved away in 1st and 2nd grade, we found another barn and kept riding. Then fate stepped in and threw me a curveball. We had always borrowed other people’s horses to show, but the barn owner started pushing my parents to buy a horse of their own… Buying a horse, in case you are unaware, costs a ton of money. So let me tell you, I was devastated when my mom broke the news that we would no longer be taking lessons.

At the time I didn’t realize just how expensive it was or how much space a horse required. We tried the tactic of convincing my parents a horse could live under the stairs in our basement, that the space was a perfect stall. (It isn’t, but when you’re younger everything seems larger than it actually is). We also tried the argument that my dad would never have to mow the grass again. (Again, this was a terrible argument because we didn’t even have a half acre lot; also, we lived in the suburbs where any farm animal is NOT allowed. This is again a foreign concept to a kid). We still were able to go trail riding every so often, but my time on a horse slowly faded away.

At one point I decided enough was enough and I tried to create a spell to find a Unicorn. Yup, you heard me correctly, spells find unicorns. All I needed to do was think really hard and, boom! A unicorn would come take me on any adventure I wanted to go. (Yes, I had friends. #NotMany #StillHadThemTho.) I could probably find that original notebook if I tried, and all you would see is a single word written towards the back, Lightning. (Because, imagine that, I can’t write spells. #NotGifted #IWasReallyYoung.) At least I had managed to name the Unicorn I had wanted to find. I also wanted it to be entirely black. So at the age of nine or so, I had my favorite animal picked out. I did some research a few years later, because, of course, I never really entirely grew out of that phase, and found my favorite breed of horse, the Friesian (they are entirely black).

 This brings us to the present.

I’ve been out of college for two years and I finally realized it has been way too long since I’ve been on a horse. So horseback riding became an instant addition to our list of hobbies and awesome skills. Alice and I talked, and we knew going in that it may not be feasible to ride every week, because who knew that the price on horses wouldn’t drop over the past 10 years? But we want to be able to talk about it, and write about it, like we are pros and not like we read about horseback riding on Wikipedia. Plus, it’s awesome. It’s a great workout and something you can really bond with people over. Honestly, everyone should try it at least once in their lives.  

Someday we are going to get refocused on archery (it’s been way too long), and the connection between riding horses and shooting arrows is obvious. #InstantBadAsses

Anyway, I did some research for the area and found a local barn. The rest is becoming our awesome history. I have been riding there now for a few months and absolutely love the place! It’s a very chill environment, not a show barn where everyone owns their own horses. It’s perfect for people who want to learn how to ride, and even for those who will eventually move into showing.

I am still inexperienced, considering the number of years that I have been out of it, and there are new challenges each time I ride. Like, for example, tacking up a horse, which is something I had never done in my entire life. I mean, who knew that horses didn’t like having the girth tightened? #Figures. Each horse handles situations differently too (like people), but I am slowly beginning to figure all of this out. And one day, I will finally get Alice out to the barn! I know she would love it, so hopefully very soon. #TakeTheHintAlice

Story time! Because the first time I rode with the main group was interesting… I had never had to canter a circle in order to avoid catching up to people and had no idea how to initiate that sort of movement, so instead I tried to slow my horse down. Turns out, this was a mistake. Poor thing got a little confused #MyBad, and turned and started cantering right down the middle of the ring, right toward all the jumps! Luckily, I managed to keep her feet on the ground, but I was still struggling to get her under control. After a few unsuccessful attempts of circle cantering, the instructor finally had to get everyone else to come to a trot so that she could pull me aside. #Embarrassed. BUT, I learned from the experience and still love riding, even when I feel foolish. Plus, now I'll totally be ready when my spell really does work and I have a pet unicorn living under my stairs. #HoldingOnToLightning)

With each mishap you learn, and continue to move forward. You can’t be distracted when riding, so it’s a great way to clear the head, stay focused, and get back to reality. A lot has happened to me over these past few weeks, so I am really thankful for all the different groups I am a part of and the support that each one provides! Get out there and try something new! It’s worth it, I promise.

Happy Adventures,

- Quinn