Focus ... I might haz it

I'm pretty sure I have some focus around here somewhere, but I think it's lost under the idea of CHRISTMAS SOON. :)

If I were going to be able to ride tonight, I'd have to leave work at 4. Seeing as I didn't get in til my usual-non-ride-night 11, that's not going to happen tonight. Which is okay; I rarely ride on Tuesdays as it is. Mondays, almost never, Tuesdays, rarely. Wednesday through Sunday, almost always. Anyway, in lieu of a riding entry, here are a few randoms.

My SSG Winter Gripper gloves are about a ride or two away from giving up the ghost entirely. I'm thinking I want to replace them with a pair of SSG Winter Training gloves. One of my lesson partners swears by them, and it seems like the cloth gloves wear out pretty quickly, so I think I'll give them a try. The trick is, though, that they're close to $40 on Dover and Smartpak. They're more like $27 on State Line Tack and $30 on Amazon.

I could justify paying $27, even $30, but do I want to then pay shipping and wait a week or two to get them from SLT or Amazon? I can't count on my friendly local tack shop to carry them, either. And if they DO carry these gloves, it's a crapshoot whether they'd be in my size ... and if they DO have them in my size, I'm assured of paying the highest retail price possible. :/

As the Sprinkler Bandit put it, I've heard of places where they sell all kinds of horse things -- tack, breeches, boots, shirts, everything -- and you can actually try things on! Touch them! before you buy.

Some say these places lie in the lands to the east. Some say they are a myth.

Anyway, it's possible that the other, much smaller and yet somehow more productive for me tack/feed shop might have a pair, but ... I'm not holding my breath. I might need to just buy a cheap pair, because right now I'm feeling like expedience outweighs precision in the kind of winter gloves I buy. I won't be able to get to the FLTS before the show on Saturday, but the SFLTS is on the way home. I definitely need a new set before the weekend. Hrm.

The good thing about Amazon is that if I'm patient, I can get them for FREE. I'm a Swagbucks member -- it's turned out to be incredibly cool. I was really skeptical at first; you basically earn points, or Swag Bucks, for doing things like using their search page, doing surveys, watching videos, et cetera. It sounded like a complete scam. It turned out to be really useful, though, and easy. It's basically a mechanism for advertisers to get their ads in front of your eyes and to do retail surveys. Very little commitment on my part, and huge rewards. In less than 2 months of swagging, I've gotten more than $50 in Amazon.com gift cards. And I'm not really even swagging hard at it! I could work harder and get $75 or so in Amazon cards in a month.

Anyway, this is pertinent because ... Amazon sells horse stuff. :) Up to and including saddles. And FITS breeches. So I definitely plan on picking up a pair of FITS when I have the gift cards saved up -- FITS for free? Sign. Me. UP! So yeah. I could grab some gloves by the end of the month. But I do kind of need them now ...

Anyway, if you want to check Swagbucks out, do a girl a favor and use my referral link! :) Swagbucks.com I am really liking it. It made Christmas for several people on my list MUCH cheaper ... as in FREE.

Tack and breeches and gloves FREE. Just think of it. :) How blissful!