Banner day...

It doesn't take much to make me happy, although my husband and boss might try to tell you differently.  Coffee, Oreos, (any kind of chocolate, really) my kids (most of the time) a long stretch of empty highway and a speed limit of 70 or more -- any of these things can do it for me. 

One of the things that can really send me over the edge of bliss is opening my mailbox to find one of my many equine publications.  I wait with bated breath each week for my issue of The Chronicle of the Horse.  The night my issue arrives I curl up in my snugglies with a glass of wine and read from cover to cover.  I've tried to ration it and read one article at a time to make it last longer.  I have about as much success doing that as I do rationing a bag of Oreos.  Just can't do it.  Hello, my name is Amy, and I'm an addict.

Some days are  better than good.  Some days I get a Chronicle AND a Practical Horseman or a copy of IDS International, the publication of the KWPN.  The only downside, if it can be called a downside, is that a choice is necessitated.  Do I read PH or COTH first?  Do I read one article in one publication, then one in the other?   I usually page through them, taking in the pictures and assessing the article summaries, and then decide which one to start with, and then alternate. 

There are even times I go in search of my fix, and I'll drop by one of the tack stores to pick up a copy of my favorite regional publications, Today's Equestrian or Horse News.  It could be worse.  Of all the things I do in excess, this one ain't gone wind up with me in a huggy jacket and my very own bed at Betty Ford's place.  Too much horse stuff does not equal a stint at the Betty, right?

And then there are the days beyond price....Those are the days where I find the trifecta, the Holy Grail of  equine publishing, in my mailbox.  Those are the days I get the Chronicle, Practical Horseman, AND the Dover catalog.  My husband will attest that by now I should have the Dover catalog memorized.  I can spend HOURS with the Dover catalog.  I make LISTS with the Dover catalog.  My Christmas list, things Sugar needs, things I want, things for the kids, things I will buy when Iwin the lottery...

I know. It's over the top.  What can I say?  My name is Amy, and I'm an addict.