Moving day

Today me and Mathias went to my moms country home at Värmdö to help her move from one house to another. We have always owned five houses but just sold off two of them, one being the one my mom was currently staying in. So today we moved all her stuff 200 meters up to the house on top of the mountain. She has really made it nice and cozy!

After a looong day of hard work she took us out to dinner at Bistraud in Grisslinge.

What kind of horse...

...will I be looking for?

Preferably gelding

Around 10-13 years old

165-175 cm high

Competition experience: 110 cm jumping, some dressage aswell would be nice.

Dressage education level: LA

Competition results are more important than genealogy.

Gentle eyes!

Price around 60.000 SEK

The olympics day 3

So after two days of the first stage in eventing, dressage, today is the day of cross country. Tomorrow the final part, show jumping, will take place and after that the eventing is finished and it is time to watch the grand prix dressage and after that some show jumping.

Sweden is doing really well so far! It really amazing, we are such a small nation and we are truly great athletics in so many sports. This is one of the few reasons to be proud of being swedish.

Girl time :)

Had a great time with my darlings marre and Anna. We ate tons (yes, tons) of chees, crackers, grapes and water melon. Watched 3 japanese movies and took a walk to look at the foal and a farm nearby. This walk turned out to be incredibly hot an we were all sweating like crazy!

Anna went home after 12 hours (!) bit I stayed on and spent the night. The day after we continued playing our horse game and watching some tv shows.

Girl time!

Today Im going to Marre's together with Anna to do sonen knitting, drink some wine, eat nice cheese and crackers and just enjoy each others company :) I love these girls!

The olympics equestrian scheduel

(In english time)

Saturday 28 july
10.00 mixed team/individual eventing dressage day 1

Sunday 29 july
10.00 mixed team/individual eventing dressage day 2

Monday 30 july
12.30 mixed team/individual eventing cross country

Thuesday 31 july
10.30 mixed team eventing jumping. Qualifier and final.
14.30 12.30 mixed individual eventing jumping final.

Thursday 2 August
11.00 mixed team/individual dressage Grand prix day 1

friday 3 August
11.00 mixed team/individual dressage Grand prix day 2

Saturday 4 August
10.30 mixed team/individual jumping

Sunday 5 August
11.00 mixed team/individual jumping

Monday 6 augusti
14.00 mixed team/individual jumping

Tuesday 7 August
10.00 mixed team/individual dressage Grand prix special

Wednesday 8 August
12.00 mixed individual jumping final round A
14.55 mixed individual jumping final round B

Thursday 9 August
12.30 mixed individual dressage Grand prix freestyle

Sunday 12 August
14.35 womens riding (modern pentathlon)

Requirements

Since I will have to keep my horse in a bording based stable I have made a list of requirements:

Indoor and outdoor menage
Hose station with warm water
Nice big pastures
Many trails
Proper washroom
Heated tack room
Included feedings during weekdays
Horses are let out into the pastures in the morning and brought back into the stables during weekdays, change of blankets included.

Hypoallergenic

So one day at the Calgary stampede I found these horses called "Curlies" who were supposed to be hypoallergenic!

So of course I had to check this out! Mathias wants to learn how to ride and be able to ride with me, and maybe these horses could be the answer :)

Website of the international curly horse organization:
http://ichocurlyhorses.weebly.com/

Countdown: 2 weeks

Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg!!!!

Reading and relaxing.

I brought 4 issues of equipage, 2 of Häst och Ryttare and the new fall catalogue from Hööks which arrived yesterday. Ive read through them all already :)

And now: coffe for the others, tea for me and cookies for all!

@ the country side

Visiting Mathias' patents country house. It's sooo nice! They är these crazy builders who buy a piece of land, with or without an existing house on it, tears it all down and builds a great new house themselves. Then they get bored once everything is done and they sell it! They are working their way towards a place at Värmdö (where my moms place is).

It's very nice here, everything is clean and modern yey country style. Mathias and I get to stay in our own little guest house with a hugh dubble bed.
Also, they are great cooks.

This means that staying here includes good food, great company and a nice place. :D oh, and two small dogs who loves attention ^^

It's aaaaall good

The interview is over and it went really well. I did good and they think that i have a very good profile and a good shot at getting a job. Unfortunately it is july which means that al of Sweden is on vacation. Therefore it will probably be a few weeks before the right job comes in. I knew this since it's the same everywhere.
Wii Im happy! I wasnt deadly nervous like last time, i answered the questions really good, i made a good impression.... Hopefully they can find the perfect job for me.

It's leaning towards project management within IT.

:D booyah!

Nervous

On my way to the interview... In 1 h 47 min it will be over.

car

Mathias has changed his mind. Again. Now he wants a Volvo C30.

I really don't care as long as it can pull a horse trailer (which he makes sure all cars he likes can).

kitties!

Marre is working today so Im taking care of her cats. I loooove them! Poor Selma is ill and have had her stomach shaved for tests and se looks adorable!

Bangs

Thinking about going back to it...

work work work, looking for work, LFW

I have been looking for work. I started yesterday... And I have some great news; I just landed an interview a few minutes ago! At Bravura! I'm so happy. :)


I applied for seven jobs yesterday and I have found seven more which i will apply for today.

Had a breakdown yesterday and paniced thinking that I would never get a job. Mathias took great care of me and I feel så much better today, specially after getting an interview after only one day!

I would be awesome to get a job as soon as possible, so that I can start saving money and buy a horse... and buy some good food haha.

I am very proud of myself because I have reached that state where I only care about me being happy at work and with my assignment. I don't care if the job is prestigeous or if I make a super career or somehing, I just want to be happy. Thats something that most people don realize until their 50's. Which is extremely weird since it doesnt take a scientist to calculate to percentage of your life which you spend at work. And if you arent happy, well... Also, having an extremely well paid job does not bring happiness, since you basically have to live at work and wont have time to do anything with your money anyway.

I will be, and live, happy :D

cutie pie

So yeah, I havn't posted in ages (2 days; ages compared to the 10 posts a day as I sometimes do)

Last post i said i was going to marre and look at the foal. O.m.g! So cute, check it out, it will heal your soul.

Jetlag

Serious jetlag...! I am a zombie who needs sleep yet cant slepp yet does nothing but sleep....

On my way to my darling marre <3 we are going to continue playing our horse game, look at the foal thats just a few minutes away from her house and share some love with her cats! Yey :)

Next planned purchases

This will be in Swedish to make it easer for me, I don't wanna look up all the terms. Thats why everything is completed with pics ^^ I will complete my groomin box and fix my little "stable pharmacy".


Kvar att köpa av ryktsaker (var slut på rean):


Pannborste 29:- @ hööks

Ryktsten 25:- @ hööks

Svettskrapa 25:- @ hööks

Mankam 5:- @ hööks

Hovpensel med burk 29:- @ hööks

= 113:-




Ekologiska produkter:


Schampo 139:- @ Tobbe Larsson





Ekologisk hovolja 55:- @ Hööks





= 194:-






Stallapotek:

Elastisk binda 15:- @ Hööks

ACO Mild tvål Special Care 55:- @ apoteket

Plasthandske 31,50:- @ apoteket

Universalsax Fiskars Classic 179:- @ Clas Ohlson

Bomull 500 gram 89:- @ Hööks

Jodopax 500 ml 199:- @ Hööks




Helosan 300 gram 72 :- @  apoteket

 

Termometer SafeHorse 249:- @ Hööks

Kompresser 100 st 99:- @ Hööks







Massageborste 29:- @ hööks

Brems 29:- @ hööks








Plåster (till mig) X:- @ från ICA


Våtservetter X:- @ från ICA


Pincett X:- @ från kicks/åhlens


= 1046,5:- (+ 3x)

Beautiful braids

Miniature horses for the blind

Isn't this the most amazing thig EVER?!

http://www.guidehorse.org/

Spray aginst flies and shit

I found this recipe for an old and well-tested home made fly repellant. I havn't tried it myself, but it is supposed to be really good. Feel free to try it!

0,5 liter of vinegar
1 liter of water
10 cloves of garlic
2 plants of lemon balm
1 dl dried rosemary

• Finely chop the the lemon balm and the garlic - dont sqeeze it!
• Put the garlic, the lemon balm , vinegar and water in a pot.
• Simmer for 20 minutes, then add the rosemary and stir until blended. 
• Simmer another 30 minutes.
• Put in the fridge over night.
• Finely strain the liquid.
• Add 0,5 liter water.
• Put in a spraying bottle.
• Done!

Latest issue of Equipage has arrived!

And it will be in store on the 24th for those not subscribing.

I just realized that I havnt mentioned this amazing magazine in the blog before! big miss!

For those of you who live in sweden or if you know swedish: Try it and love it! It has an amazing mix of horsemanship, deep articles about various areas regarding horses, dressage and jumping training, facts and new research, in and out of the stable fashion and beauty.

A little sample of this issue.
- a look at the new feeder that increases the time it takes to horse to finish the meal and lessens spill outside the feeder
- a look at the new safety wests with included air bag (!)
- a guide to judge if a horse i over or under weight
- A reportage comparing swedish and portugeese dressage
- How the correct riding style can heal a horses back pains
- A special equestrian coverage of the coming the olympics, including a long interview with Rolf-Göran Bengtsson!
- How the media attention towards equestrian sports have increased
- New exercises to imporve your riding

and omg sooo much more! I love this mag!

And my subscription for the year is over with this issue, so today I will renew it for another year, of course :)

Some shopping

The fall catalogue from H&M arrived today. I'm ordering these two items:


Trenchcoat 399:-
I'm just in love with it.




Top 99:-
Had a favorite top almost like this before but spilled sause on it. This will replace it.

Swedish mentality

So all this talk of economy has made me a bit upset. Why? Becaus it reminds me of all those who ask me "but how on earth will you be able to afford a horse? Do you know the costs?!"

Yes you fucking asholes, I do.

You see; this is basic swedish mentality. Being jealous and grudging towards someone having something you dont. And I really rally hate it. It was one of the reasons I went to New Zealand.

I am lucky enough to have a large savings account. Of owning an appartment in Stockholm without any mortages. Of living with Mathias which makes expences even lower. But most importantly; I am very economically minded and smart.

But ok... lets count.
And by the way, I have had horses of my own before. I am raised in a family owning always 3-6 thourughbred racehorses.
I know it is expensive. I promise.


I plan on paying 5000 a month for renting a place in a stable.
I plan on paying 500 extra a month for food or electricity if it is ot included in the rent.
I plan on paying 1000 a month to the farrier.
I plan on paying 1000 a month for various expenses, such as equipment, training....
I plan on saving 1000 a month towards the day I will need a vet. Because believe it or not, I know that day will come, it always does.
I plan on paying 1000 a month for insurance.

I will either rent a trailer or buying a used one and therefor I can not anticipate that cost of this.

So this is counted with a high marginal, which I think you should always do. And it comes to a total of  about 10 000 a month.

And I will be able to afford that when I'm working, yes.

Looking for work and planning the economics

So now that my vacation in Canada is over, and I've had my additional restion period before going, it's time to start looking for a job.

In a few days, as soon as I have normalized again, I will start searching and applying for work.

Of course, this also means a hugh step towards buying a horse since my financial situation will finally change from student to employee.

I've made some basic calculations as to how my budget will look. My monthly expenses are very static which makes this quite easy and therefore I can easily see how much money can go towards a horse depending on how much I earn.

Also, my situation i great because Mathias and I split all costs and have no loans except for CSN (loan for financing studies).

Hence; my monthly expenses: (in SEK)
Rent: 1100
Electricity: 250
Cell phone: 250
Internet: 200
Food: 2000
Insurance: 100
Car: 500
CSN: 1000
total amount: 5400

Other expenses, which will be limited to this amount per month:
clothes: 1000
hygiene/beauty products: 500
savings towards horse: 10 000
total amount: 11 500

= 16 900  ~ 17 000

To earn 17 000 after taxes I will need a salary of 21 500.
This will not be a problem. I will probably earn about 25 000 a month. This would give me 19 500 after taxes.

Basically: yey!


So; based upon this "worst-case" budget, I will be able to put 10 000 a month towards a horse. I plan on buying a horse for about 60 000 which means that I can afford a horse after 6 months of work.

God I hope I find somethin veeery soon.

However, I do have a savings account which would allow me to buy a horse today. This option would change my budget simply so that I repay myself a sum a month depending on the other expenses of the horse. This is veeeeeeeery, veeeeeeeeeery tempting. Of course I would not act on this before I have a job.

And of course; the third option is to take a loan wonce I get a job. This however would not be smart since I would essentially loose money in the end. And its pretty darn good to be mortage free.

So I do have some big decisions to make. Right now what seems the best is actually a combination of option one and two;
One I start working, I start looking for a horse for real, hence probably giving me at least on months salary before buying and hence decreasing the amount I will loan from my savings.

Countdown: 4 weeks

Until riding lessons starts again!

However, in 3 weeks the horses will return from their vacation in the green fields and it's time to go back to work!

So in 25 days (on the 11th and 12th of August that is) I will attend two days of helping getting the horses back into their old routine, it will be great! God I hope I'll get to ride Lutnia.

Home sweeeeeet home

So im home.

Finally i might add since Lufthansa and/or air canada screwed up so that we almost did not come home today....

The plane from Calgary was late so we missed our connecting flight from bla. We were told on the plane that we were reboked and should be going home 4 hours later than planned. But we werent reboked... Omg long story but we finally got on a plane.

Ive been sleeping and sleeping and sleeping and i dont know when i will stop.

Oh and one thing i forgot to mention in my conclutions about canada; everyone (everyone) wears nail polish on their toes, and always in bright neon-type colors. It's not very nice.

Canada Day 12 - Monday

Time to go home... I feel both sad and happy. I really want to see Mathias but he's out sailing and I don't know when he'll be back.

We just said our good byes to Albina, soo sad! But we'll email her and most definitely see her again!

So; Conclucions about Canada

• Calgary: The cleanest city ever - both out on the streets and inside! No trash thrown anywhere.
• Many homeless and drug addicts roaming the parks and the city's less attractive parts
• Honest people <3 they stand in line to pay for the train ride allthough there are no ticket boots or people checking tickets or even could due to the overfull trains going to and from the stampede. even in the middle of the night!
• So incredibly friende and hospitable. everyone everywhere.
• Calm.
• Weather and seasons just like Sweden
• Many asian imigrants, too many according to most canadians
• Calgary: The stampede is like a huge city wide festival! staff in the shops and at the hotels even wear cowboy clothes during the stampede. (Now they are back to suits.) Seriously,  for 10 days a year everything is about the stampede.
• I would probably have done very different things if I had travelled with someone my own age, like hiking, climbing, horseback riding and so on. There are so much to do!
• The nature is stunning!

See you at home guys! 

Canada day 11 - Sunday

Today Albina took us to Banff, lake Minnewanka and lake Louise! We went via the rocky mountains. Beautiful!