Jenna Stern-Arnold

🎂 Happy birthday to Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), avant-garde American writer and literary genius whose Paris home was a salon for the leading artists and writers of the 1920-30s, including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Ernest Hemingway. Her artistic judgments were revered and could make or destroy reputations. 👇

"We are always the same age inside."

"One must dare to be happy."

"It takes a lot of time to be a genius. You have to sit around so much, doing nothing, really doing nothing."

"Everybody knows if you are too careful you are so occupied in being careful that you are sure to stumble over something."

"You look ridiculous if you dance
You look ridiculous if you don't dance
So you might as well
dance."

***

Photo: The New York Times

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Ok I absolutely loved this book! I love reading about the creative process and Sam and Sadie’s journey as video game designers was such an incredible read.

The book is about friendship, connection and love. The characters were vibrant and the story had depth and emotion. I literally couldn’t put it down!

5 stars

❤️❤️
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Remarkably Bright Creatures
By Shelby Van Pelt

I liked this book but didn’t love it. I did enjoy the point of views from Marcellus the octopus. I enjoyed the story line and most of the characters (I found Cameron very whiny and annoying) but struggled to emotionally connect with the ones I did like, with the exception of Marcellus the octopus 🤷🏻‍♀️ I can see how others really loved this book- it just didn’t do it for me.

3 stars

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

My first 5 star review for 2023! Elizabeth Zott is my new favorite literary heroine! She lives boldly, says what she thinks and doesn’t give a damn if people approve.

The characters are compelling, the story is riveting and there is an even a very charming dog whose insights were an interesting addition to the story!

There were twists and turns that left me laughing one moment and crying the next.

Highly recommend this historical fiction novel. I can definitely see why it was Barnes and Nobles book of the year for 2022.

5 stars!

❤️ I love this book and the sweet animated film

Charlie Mackesy ❤️❤️
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amzn.to/2O1aaDN
amzn.to/2O8lwWi

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

This is a coming of age story about a Chinese-American young woman growing up in San Francisco in the 1950s. This book touches on the fear of communism and also the challenges gay women experienced during this time period.

I love historical fiction. I love how books can transport us into a different time and put us into someone else’s shoes. This book was an interesting read because I had not read anything before about the experiences of a gay Chinese-American woman in the 1950s and it was an eye opening read into a different culture and time.

I liked the main character, Lily and her development through the book.

There were a few chapters in the book that took the reader back in time to Lily parents experiences, or her Aunt Judy’s. I’m not sure this really added to the book and it was a bit jarring. I was also left with a lot of questions at the end. Not sure if that was intentional or not but I like a little tidier finish.

Still enjoyed it a lot.
4 stars

🥰

some of the pictures I find are long. You have to >tap< the screen to get the whole image. Thanks for understanding

Your time on this planet matters. Y O U matter. Whether it’s a big change or a little change, delay no more. Take that leap. 🙌❤️

Always be kind

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

I enjoyed a lot of things about this book - learning what these women spies risked for their country - but I did not really connect to the characters, though I felt they were well developed. I liked the structure going from Eve to Charles point of view but I was ready for the book to come to an end.

3 stars

😅🥰

It really is the most simple moments in life that have the ability to bring us so much joy.

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I tend to do most of my writing when I am feeling positive and upbeat but today I felt called to write one so I can share the other half of the experience. It is important for me to be authentic in my experience and with what I share.

The journey of change feels like a war between two sides of myself. My higher self assures me that everything will work out as it is supposed to, and that by one door closing another door, new possibilities can be opened. But then there is my ego, constantly bombarding me with questions about what will happen in the future. The ego maintains control by having us experience fear and so it looks for things to be scared of everywhere.

It is our higher self that lives in the present moment, and in the present moment we can find peace. The ego lives in anything but the present moment constantly concerned about the future, fearful of change and unable to find peace.

I wish I could say I was in that peaceful positive state all of the time, but there are moments when fear starts to take control.

We are hard wired to look for danger and the ego finds danger everywhere but one of the biggest fears is of the unknown. How many people stay in terrible situations because the fear of the unknown is stronger than the misery of the current situation?

Uncertainty can bring about stress and anxiety as there is a loss of control and there is nothing the ego hates more than the loss of control.

I ask myself, in moments like these, how can I ground myself into the present moment? How can I prevent the ego from taking total control?

My go-to is to focus on my breath. Box breathing is one of my favorite exercises (Breathe in for 4, hold for 4, release for 4, hold for 4) although there are many different techniques one can use.

Getting out in nature helps me re-center myself as well. Be mindful and use your senses to help ground yourself in the present moment.

Exercise! Go for a walk, a run, a bike ride or do some yoga or jumping jacks. Get your body moving!

I try not to push all the negative feelings away or stuff them down because they will
poison me from within. Instead, I allow myself the grace to feel these feelings and use the strategies above to make sure those feelings don’t overwhelm me. It can be a tricky balance at times.

Right now, there is some chaos in my life, as big changes are happening. There is uncertainty and fear but also excitement. It’s important to remember in moments of stress that it’s these challenging moments that help us to grow the most.

So, while today I am struggling, I know that peace is only a moment away if I can just keep myself grounded in the present moment.

Dream big and live courageously,
Jenna

2023- Book #2 - The Choice by Nora Roberts

I have really enjoyed this trilogy! Most of the time in books like these, I find the heroine super annoying but I really liked Breen and loved Marco. It was just and enjoyable, light read. I did feel that the final battle fell a little flat for all the build up but still very much enjoyed the story. I listened to this one on audible and thought the narrator was fantastic.

4.5 stars

Truth from Mari Andrew.

Thank you Emily McDowell 💜

2023 Books!!
#1- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

I picked Dark Matter up as a recommendation from my brother - I read the first page and could not stop reading. Very fast paced and I absolutely love books that make me look at life from a new perspective. The infinite nature of the multiverse and the question of who we are if we strip away all the things that we believe make us “us”.

Different decisions can lead us on new branches of reality but does it make us different people?

It also raises the question of what is a life well lived? What kind of life is worth fighting for?

Very entertaining read that will have you pondering your own choices that have led you to where you are today.

4.5 stars

Gotta have your critics.

Transitions

Every new year, I like to choose a word that I feel will embody the year ahead. I’ve had words like clarity, truth and purpose in the past. For 2023, the word is “transition”. It seems right that this word that Martin and I use constantly in our riding and teaching will be the word that defines us going forward into the new year. As my dressage friends know, transititions make up the bread and butter of our training. It could be argued that they are the single most important aspects to developing strength, suppleness and balance in the horse. Transitions between gaits help to build obedience to the driving and restraining aids and transitions within gaits is what ultimately leads to the “half halt” or “rebalancing” of the horse - that weight transfers to from the front end of the horse to the hind end creating in more engagement, expression and uphill balance.

Y’all know I love a good metaphor, especially when I can tie in a dressage term to life so bear with me.

In 2023, the farm that has been our home for over a decade will be going on the market. The farm where Martin and I started our life together will be for sale. I moved to the farm in 2008. The house was there as well as one cute 6 stall shed row barn, a round pen and three pastures with electric fencing. Over the years we added another shed row barn with 5 stalls (which converted to two foaling stalls as I was serious into my breeding program at the time) and an outdoor arena. In 2012, we made the huge decision to turn our facility from a private farm to a boarding and training operation and we added a cover to our arena and a 10 stall main barn with amenities for boarders. We invited our first boarders in the summer of 2012 and have been building our program ever since. We added a hay barn, upgraded fencing and in 2016, we added a 12 stall barn to grow our business further. Many horses and riders have come through the farm in the last decade. We have hosted clinics, parties, and lectures. Thousands upon thousands of lessons have been taught in that arena. Trainers have shared their knowledge and students have learned. Many of my horses were born on the property and we have said good bye to a few good horses too.

We have seen our students succeed - not only in the show arena but within their own experiences as well. We have had the opportunity to have some amazing working students over the years, two of which we have brought up into our program as assistant trainers which has been one of the most rewarding things - being able to pass on our knowledge to those who will go out and spread that knowledge to others. We have had many students earn their USDF medals, win regional championships and even had two champions at the US Dressage Finals. We have been so blessed to be able to share so many wonderful experiences with these incredible people.

How do we sum up the story of a place such as this? The word that comes to mind is love. Love of the horse, first and foremost and it is that love for the horse that has brought us all together. Our barn family is incredible. I’m not sure we will ever find another one like it. Riders support one another, care for one another. We share in each others triumphs and disappointments. We celebrate together and we cry together. We are a close knit community and that has been the most rewarding part of this whole experience.

When Martin and I built the barn, we were bronze medalists with a dream, a passion and a willingness to work hard. Over the subsequent decade, we trained up our own horses and clients and we both earned our USDF Silver and Gold medals as well as freestyle medals. We grew in our confidence and our knowledge. We spent countless hours on our own education so that we could better carry on the art of classical riding to our students. We spent hours in the saddle, working to make ourselves better riders so that we could better train our horses. We brought in clinicians so that we could join our students in furthering our education. So many joyful moments happened in that arena - a riders first time to canter, a horse trotting sound after an injury, a riders first flying change or one of the many many freestyle run throughs. There is nothing quite like the joy we experience when a horse or rider has that “light bulb moment” where something just clicks - that’s where the magic happens. Riders have faced fears and insecurities and have grown and evolved in the process.

Our story is not ending but one chapter is closing. As 2023 is the year of transitions, it is a time for Martin and I to “rebalance” and redefine who we want to be and what we want to stand for in the years to come. Our passion for classical training is stronger than ever and we still feel called to share this art with others. As a transition in riding creates increased engagement of the hindquarters, so we hope that this life transition for us can help us engage more with life and help us to find balance and harmony. We hope to be able to reach people in new and exciting ways as we stay true to our classical ideals.

So, while, we do not have everything worked out and we don’t know what life will look like, we have faith that all things work together for good and that change should not be feared but rather embraced as a time for new opportunities and growth.

Dream big and live courageously,
Jenna

I am starting my mornings this year with words from Julia Cameron, author of The Artists Way, an incredible book to help us all find our inner artist. This book is a day by day book with inspiring passages on creativity.

The January 1 passage really hit me- “Blocked artists are not lazy. They are blocked. Do not call the inability to start laziness. Call it fear.”

My focus in 2023 is to unleash the writer inside of me. She’s been begging to get out for years but I have been preoccupied with everything else in my life and I only allowed my inner writer to emerge when I had small moments of inspiration, which between raising kids and training horses and all the life that happens in between, wasn’t very often.

I would write sporadically at best. If I was going through a particularly stressful time, I would not write at all. I called myself lazy.

How can I call myself a writer? Doesn’t a writer have to actually…you know…write?

What has really held me back is fear. What if I’m not a good writer? What if people think I suck? I spent so much time sitting in the fear of the “what ifs” that I never even took the first step or I would take a hesitant step forward- putting out a blog post or beginning to outline my novel and as soon as stress would return (which is inevitable), I would quickly retreat back to my comfort zone.

We can’t create when stuck in our comfort zone. We really can’t live there either. We can exist there, sure, but we can’t really live.

In 2023, do not let fear keep you from living your most amazing life. Do not let fear keep you trapped, paralyzed and afraid to take that first step forward.

Dream big and live courageously,
Jenna