Movin' On Up

Big news today...we are finally officially moving out of Salem County and up North!  Once BearFace is finished with his game warden training, he will be in charge of patrolling Sussex County, NJ.  As of February 1st, we will be trading in the flat landscape of South Jersey for something a little more like home.  I officially gave my notice last week at work, so only a few more weeks until we are on to our next stage.  We settled on a one-bedroom apartment in Vernon, NJ.  (Sounds normal enough, right? Well here's the cool part...)  The apartment is the bottom floor of a house that is part of a ski community.  This means two things: A) We will be living on top of a mountain.  And B) There is a ski-lift at the end of our street (So instead of driving to work, I will be sledding!)  There are tons of ski trails that will be perfect for hiking with the smushy-faced beast.  My favorite part about this move is that we will be just under two hours from CT!  It will be super easy to head home for the weekend, or even just one night to visit friends and family.

Of course I will miss Chubbles, so I have been trying to ride as often as possible before we leave!  Everything is still pretty soggy here from the rain we've had the past week, so riding is a little tricky (one of the downfalls of living in such a flat area).  Murphster and I headed to the barn this morning and had another messy ride, although splashing through puddles never seems to phase the four-legged troublemaker.  Chubbles, on the other hand, was once again feeling "spirited" with the cold weather snap, and gave me yet another run for my money out on the trail.  Luckily, I'm used to it by this point and have discovered a few Chubbles-wrangling tactics that are key in keeping me on the horse and off the ground:

1. As long as I don't let him get away with anything, and I mean anything, he usually gets himself under control and we avoid the bucking bronco trail gallop that never fails to give me an adrenaline rush.  
2. If I am not on top of my game, one split second of head tossing or trotting up a hill=I am suddenly riding a wild, unbroken stallion.  
3. Worse comes to worse, my "MURPHY STOP EATING POOP" scary Mom voice also works wonderfully on Chubbles.   

Chubbles: I didn't kill you today, so you should probably

give me a carrot or two.

Murphy: Carrots?  I like carrots.  Why does he get carrots? 

Murphy and Chubbles are mapping out how to 

smuggle Chubbles onto our moving truck.  

In the coming weeks, BearFace and I will be busy planning the logistics for our move, plus tying up a few loose ends (such as learning to ski...).  We are both looking forward to the change, and hopefully it will be for the better!