Monday, May 31, 2010

Boot Camp

I went to my first boot camp tonight. This is not my normally preferred form of exercise since it requires running and jumping jacks and other military type drills. Up to now my favorite "hard" form of exercise has been zumba class and weight training.  But I was able to purchase a 4 week boot camp for $40 instead of the normal $180 that it costs the first time, so I decided that was a pretty good deal.  If I want to repeat in the future, it will be $90, which is a lot of money, but probably pretty inexpensive in terms of health in the long run...but I digress...I have to get through this camp first.

Upon arrival I see that there are people of all different shapes, sizes, and ages. There are mainly women, but there are some men.  The website said to bring at least 5 pound weights. I only had 10 pound weights at home, so I brought those. Most of the guys didn't have 10 pound weights, so I knew right off that this was probably a fatal error. But what the heck: it's what I had and now I'm there and I'm going to use them. I made it through the first sets just fine with my weights. I have strong biceps and triceps. Then they had us do these things called angel wings. It's like a lateral raise, only you have to pick up the weight above your head.  The counts on all these exercises are to 25, but it's really 50 because you do two reps for every count.  I made it through maybe 5 angel wings before they turned into lateral raises...which of course I had to do again later.  The instructor, Ed, was really nice, but he told me that I did NOT want to be lifting 10 pounds on my shoulders. I agreed wholeheartedly...tomorrow I will buy 5 pound weights.

The weights were Ok for me though. I'm really pretty strong. What got me were the drills. There was skipping, and shuffling and jumping jacks, oh yeah...and running. I DON'T run. I hate to run...I have always hated to run.  But there I was running...jogging, then walking, but I did finish the drill. I finished last, but I finished.

The poor guy next to me looked to be pretty fit. He was there with his girlfriend who was a skinny little thing.  Unfortunately, looks don't actually mean you are in shape. The girlfriend was in way, way better shape than the guy.  He almost heat stroked and couldn't finish...he had 12 pound weights...next time, I think he's going for the 5 pounders. The skinny girl ended up being my partner for sit ups and push ups. She wasn't encouraging or all that friendly. It could have been that she first was busy goofing around and laughing with her guy about how fit she was...and then later she was worried when she realized how hard he'd pushed himself trying to impress her.  I had wanted to get Peter to do it with me, but I'm kind of glad he didn't. It was really hot out and he might have ended up like that guy.

What I am most pleased about, other than the fact that I did manage to finish, is that Maggie came with me. Kids aren't allowed in boot camp, but it's held outdoors in a park, so she brought Peter's bike and rode the bike trails. She had been at horse camp at Flying G all day so I was pretty impressed that she wanted to get out and ride and exercise.  I'm coming to the conclusion that getting thin for both of us isn't going to be easy, but if we just can stay a little more active than we have been, and eat a little less food, there might be hope.

I also discovered today that there are bike trails just behind the stadium and they are maybe a half mile walk from the house.  I never knew I could get to them back there. I was very encouraged. Now I can take the dogs for a walk...but I'm NOT going to run.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Watching maggie ride

I am sitting in my chair watching my daughter ride. I see things she does that need to be corrected and I am both frustrated and accepting of the fact that i can't help her with her riding. I could tell her but since she usually dismisses my words with and I can't or it doesn't work on Dixie, I have decided to just let it go. This summer I am going to make an effort for her to have lessons with a dressage coach in an effort to give her something i can't do myself. I have given her a few pointers based on what I learned in my last lesson but so often my words do not help.

Update on Theft

My friend Robin's kids were the ones whose kids were with Maggie at Hurricane Harbor yesterday.  Robin waited for the kids to use her daughter's cell phone. When they did, she called the number called and talked to a woman at the number. She told that woman that she was going to include that phone number in her police report. The woman had previously been difficult about talking to Robin, but changed her tune at that point.  Through conversing with the mom, it appears that the girls who told Maggie and her friends that some African American boys were responsible for stealing their stuff, were actually the thieves.  The mom indicated that her daughter told her she had borrowed the cell phone from a friend because hers had gone dead, but then the story changed, so Robin wasn't sure if the mom was covering for her daughter, or if the daughter had changed her own story. Robin told the mom that if she could get their stuff back, she wouldn't include the number in the police report. I'm sure Maggie's money and Sonic cards are long gone, but maybe they will at least get their cell phones back.  Next time, she's getting a locker, or she won't take anything in with her. The locker is way cheaper than losing her stuff.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

The morons of the world

Well, Maggie had her wallet stolen at Hurricane Harbor today. I have always been impressed that people were nice about not bothering your things at the water park, but I guess that's changing too. She had some sonic gift cards and some cash, her health insurance card and her combo pass for Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor. They ditched the wallet, but kept her stuff. Her friends had their cell phones stolen. I'm not sure why she didn't lose her cell phone too.  In cash and gift cards Maggie lost $50. I guess that's better than losing her cell phone. She said next time she'll have to rent a locker, but they cost $1 every time you get into your stuff, so that gets expensive fast.  There were some girls nearby who claimed that they saw people going through their stuff. Of course, they could have been lying. Heck, they could have taken the stuff themselves.  If they saw people going through the stuff and they recognized it wasn't their stuff, why didn't they speak up?  People just suck!  Oh, and Six flags?  They told me to replace her pass I had to pay them $20 without a police report. It seemed really dumb to have to call the police, but the police told me it's pretty normal.  So I have a police report and can get her pass replaced for free, but I had to waste the tax payers money.

Relaxing Saturday

Maggie went to Hurricane Harbor today with a friend which has left me free to watch movies alone.  I finally got to see the Blindside which was awesome. I'm now watching Serious Moonlight with Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton.  So far, this is a funny little film.

I have decided to lighten my load this week. I feel OK today, but I think that doing massage would be really hard on my body this week. So, I'm just going to see music therapy clients and do assessments this week.  I know this is the right decision. If I end up working too hard this week and hurting myself then I will take much longer to be at full capacity and my clients will likely lose patience with me.  This way I can be ready to be back at it full tilt by the following week.

I spent the morning getting an embroidery design ready for my friend Sprite. We're putting it on staff shirts for the Flying G Ranch summer camp. The kids will have the option (or maybe it's required, I'm not sure) to buy shirts in the color that suits their level of riding This way the people in charge of the camp all know which kid belongs in what level.   I was having trouble getting the writing to do what I wanted it to, but I finally got it looking the way I wanted.  now I'm too tired to do the shirts :-( So, I'm going to take a break and watch The Blind Side and then get back to it.

When the movie was over, I took it back to the Redbox (my first time to use it) and got some lunch. I was very shaky and a little light headed. I was surprised because I couldn't figure out why...well, it was 3pm and I hadn't eaten since 9, so I guess I was due. I have eaten and arby's sandwich and I'm waiting to see how it sits on my stomach.  Everyone warned me about eating anything once the gallbladder came out. I need to go feed later, but I am not feeling steady behind the wheel of the car, so I figure I'll wait a bit to go out there.  I am so enjoying my lazy afternoon.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Good Enough to do Myself Harm

I am struggling today with feeling good enough to do some stuff and I'm struggling with making myself lay low.  I haven't done a lot.  I washed a few dishes, paid a few bills and watched Maggie mow the lawn. In a little while I'm going to watch Maggie vacuum the carpet.  And then I'm going to watch Maggie wash the dishes.  I know I'm feeling better because I see dirt in the house today and I wanted to clean it up. 

Maggie's new, treeless saddle came yesterday and she is dying to try it. It's not a name brand, but it resembles the freeform saddle. It wasn't expensive and even if it doesn't work for distance riding, I figure we can use it around the barn for quick rides.  If we like it, I may want one like eventually. I really hope it works for her b/c she doesn't have a saddle to work for distance right now.  My western saddle works great on Dixie, but not good for Maggie as it's so wide. She likes her Wintec but it doesn't work so well on Dixie. It's such a mess. I hate it for her.

I have ridden so little this spring and it just stinks because it has been such a gorgeous spring. Now it's hot! Oh well, I will keep riding this summer I guess.

The dangerous Day

I woke up feeling pretty good this morning. I took only half a dose of pain meds and did the dishes. Made coffee and have been contemplating breakfast. I feel good enough to make Maggie do school work. I am sure she will LOVE that. I also intend to drive over and see my horses today but won't do more than watch them graze. It is my plan to lay low and do nothing for a couple more days. Unfortunately Monday starts a busy, but profitable week. I am blessed.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

surgery

The surgery is over and I'm back home. I'm sore and my stomach feels like I'm having a gallbladder attack, which, of course, I'm not.  I figure it's phantom pain :-) I am on clear liquids the rest of today, but can eat to take a pain killer, or if I'm really dying. Tomorrow I have to start eating a low fat diet. If I don't, I'm pretty sure I won't like the outcome.  Thanks to everyone for thinking about me and praying for me.  I'm sure I'll be back on my feet in no time. 

Peter is staying home to look after me today. He is going to the store to get me food..or rather, clear liquids. I can have chicken noodle soup, broth, saltines in a pinch. I can also have Popsicles and sorbet. I can't have any dairy right now.  I'm not really sure if it's to prevent diarrhea or to give the body a chance to heal.

The doctor gave me darvacet and something for nausea, both of which should make me sleepy.

My nurses were so nice. As I was waking up from anesthesia they were great company. The second recovery nurse was named Joy and her son likes to ride. He is thinking of getting into distance riding, so I passed along my name and number.

Monday, May 17, 2010

On Friendship

Friendships tend to come and go through life.  Whether you want them to or not, people you care about tend to move on and little by little you realize that they went from being your best friend to being no more than a mere acquaintance that used to be your best friend.

I'm currently without a local best friend.  It's kind of a weird, floundering place to be. I know lots of people and have lots of casual friends, but I'm used to having one best friend who is my "go to" person. She is usually the person I can chat with about any topic, large or small.  I have known my last, local best friend for almost 6 years.  She lived around the corner...Then she got a new boyfriend, and started working full time, and moved away. Granted, it was only across town, but evidently, it was far enough away to be an issue. We limped along for another year, but the 30 minute versus 5 minute drive was obviously too much for us.  The last time we really spent time together was last summer when she had surgery and I went to the hospital to hang with her and bring her coffee. 

I have recognized where this was going for awhile. I just hoped it would never actually happen, or that the tailspin would be reversed.  Now I realize that we are just two people who once knew each other intimately and are still pleasant to one another, but the actual day to day interaction is really over.  You are not best friends with someone when you are having surgery that they don't know about and didn't offer to help with.  You are not best friends with someone who will never have lunch with you, or remember that you made plans for St. Patrick's day (and then not call to follow through) or won't come to your house ever because it's too far and they are too busy.  Your best friend is supposed to call you at least every couple days...and if you call them they are supposed to call you back...not 1) don't answer 2) answer and say they call you back and then never do (for days and days).  This is not a best friend.

I know all this, yet I keep hanging around, thinking that we'll be friends again. We had a lot of fun, but the relationship has been far from perfect. I am a Christian and she is not.  She thinks the Bible is fake, and I do not.  She makes lots of choices over the years that I have disagreed with and I tried to change her mind, which always just made her mad.  I'm sure we were never actually meant to be friends and I shouldn't have tried so hard.  She lived down the street, our horses lived together and our kids played.  She was a horse person who never rode, and then her interest completely fizzled.  Her daughter was Maggie's best friend, but now she is in HS (two years older and 3 grades apart) and now they don't talk much either.

So, I have moved on...not expecting much anymore, but staying friendly.  I still care about her, but I recognize that while I may mourn, she has moved on. Some days it's hard though. Some days you really need that best friend and it really hurts when they aren't there for you.  Sometimes, it would be nice if she would just be there for me because I asked and just let all the excuses go for just one day, or part of one day.  I don't want to not consider her a friend and have her not consider me a friend...but it would be nice to feel like she was still there to go the extra mile for me occasionally.

I think this really hits me hard b/c I think I'm a pretty good friend.  I try to be there for others and compromise with others. Peter is always telling me I expect too much from others. I'm sure he's right. He must be since I constantly feel let down by those around me.

I have lots of good friends. I have a best friend, Karen in KY who I have known since 1997. I have a best friend Susan, in MO, with whom I have been friends since 1977.  I have lots of great friends in NATRC who I see and ride with and hang out with at CTR.  I have great riding friends.  Maggie and I have Christa and Michaela who suffer from living just a little too far away.  I have Betsy, who is an enormous pool of information on about any subject.  I have my good friend Teresa, with whom I enjoy riding and who made me the proud mom of my dog, Bonnie. I have Amy, who lives in Houston, but I manage to talk and email to almost every day...we just can't see each other b/c of geography. I have some local homeschool friends as well.  I just miss having that one person who always called me first to tell me everything and I reciprocated the same way. Maybe as we get older, having this type of friend is unusual and I just never knew it?

Friday, May 14, 2010

Rain, Rain, Rain

We were supposed to go to a competitive trail ride this weekend but had to cancel due to Dixie having an injury. I guess it's just as well since the ride was later canceled due to flooding. I feel so bad for the manager, who worked very hard on the ride.

I had a client today and then had to drive to Dallas to go to Dover Saddlery. I have had a really hard time finding a helmet that fits. I ordered 2 different ones that didn't fit, so I decided it was time to try several on. My favorite helmet was Tipperary, but they changed the design and then they changed it back, but the ones I had tried on didn't fit at all.  I went to Dover and tried on a Tipperary and it fit great. The only real difference was that it was a medium instead of a small. I was happy that it went so well.

I then had to drive back from Dallas in another rain storm. I am completely whipped. I was so lucky to have Gregg at the field tonight. He fed for me and took care of the ponies, so I didn't have to go back over there.

We're supposed to ride tomorrow, but I'm thinking we have too much rain to go very far.  It's just as well. I sure could use a day to watch TV and catch up on DVD's and counted cross stitch.

I'm so looking forward to Bar 50 the end of June. At the moment I'm renting their living quarters trailer so I can keep away from Maggie and Dixie up at the main part of the camp. I really want to stay up in the cowboy rooms. It's the same money, but the pens are in the sun and that means I'd be up close to where Maggie and Dixie are, so the horses might not be so keen to leave each other. I want to be able to go ride the trails without having to force him away from Dixie every morning.  Now, I still am looking for someone to travel to Bar 50 with me, in which case I would share a room and have someone to ride with, so the issue of getting Liberty out on the trail alone wouldn't be such an issue.  I'm going June 27-July 3 and would love to have company.  My plan for now is to ride, read the Dr. Deb Bennett Birdie book, watch DVD's on my computer, cross stitch, play with my Sims and read a stack of massage journals. I also hope to go up to Hot Springs and get a massage and go to the Hot Springs. I'm a little nervous that I will get bored after a week, but I also think that if I take my ipod and hit the trail with Liberty, I'm likely to have a really good time just wandering about. And, since there is  Wi-Fi in the lodge I can always blog about my days.  Of course, if several people wanted to go there are a couple cabins that could be rented. I have the idea that having a group of people on a fun ride would be awesome, but so far, none of the people I have mentioned it to have been all that interested. some have other plans...one friend might come for a couple days, maybe some local folks will come down. However it turns out, I'm sure I'll have a great time.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Izzie likes me

Today i was able to catch her and do some mannering exercises with her. She was a quick study and appeared to really enjoy the attention. She has really been responsive.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Izzie

Izzie is getting more friendly. She seems to have decided that she will wear a halter to eat her dinner. She is very fond of food, so I should be able to use that to my advantage. The minute you let her go though, she wants nothing to do with you. Funny part is that she tries to get the other horses to run away with her. I can almost hear her telling them to run for their lives, and they stand there with me getting petted and scratched and loved on.  Fiera especially stands her ground because she loves to be rubbed.

I started using some of the Dr. Deb Bennett mannering techniques on her tonight. all I do is put a halter on her and get her to look at me. I scratch and rub her and get her attention and then wait. The goal is to get her to keep her attention on me for up to 8 seconds at a time. She does between 2-5 seconds before she starts looking around. Then you just shake the lead rope a little to get their attention back on you.  Seemed to be pretty easy.

Next week I won't see them much because of my gallbladder surgery.  Greg says he'll feed and Dee also said she'd stop by. They will be fine. Liberty is the only one who really needs his nightly grain ration...I suspect the others will live.

I still haven't worked out their feeding quite yet.  I separate izzie from the others, but I also need to separate Dixie since she's getting the nutrient buffer with her food. Liberty and Fiera can eat together just fine. I want to make it easy for Greg next week.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Maggie made dinner

Maggie made a tomato pie last night for supper. She got the recipe from Shawn's step mother. She made her own pie crust and Peter said it was so good that I should let her make all the pie crusts from now on.

Today is crazy busy. The chiropractor is coming to see Dixie who strained her neck barrelling out of the trailer Saturday even while still tied in the trailer. The reason for keeping a knife handy at all times became evident. I have appointments till 8pm tonight so it's going to be a long day.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

I have an Equine Roommate

I have a new horse in my pasture and a new owner to go with her. The horse's name is Isabelle, or Izzy.  Her owner is a fellow named Greg, who picked up the horse at the Dalworthington Gardens city hall. Evidently, she was a real escape artist and didn't have a great life...though she is a little too well fed.  (this is the story I have pieced together, it may not be completely accurate) So Greg showed up with a horse trailer, as he'd been moving cattle and they thought he was there for the horse.  The woman who owned her said she didn't have the ability to manage her, so Greg owns a horse.  City hall gave him my land lord's number.  Greg called Monte, my land lord, who told him it was completely up to me. He says he can help me with mowing, he has hay, and we can ride Izzy some once she is declared safe and sane. I don't know that we will, but we could. I had planned on fostering a horse so that Fiera could have some company. This is better than fostering since he will pay board on her and help with feeding.  He has a 12 year old son who Maggie met and I think they will get on great. Only problem I foresee is only having 3 riding horses for 4 butts.  I may have to bring Joe Bear back at some point...(don't worry, Sprite, not soon)

Maggie went to homeschool day at Six Flags today with Laura and Allyson and they went out to sushi after. She brought me home some sushi (as did Peter from Kroger) It was yummy.  I wish I could have gone, but I had a little thing today and spent the afternoon recouping. 

Tomorrow we're going to go camping with a couple of folks I know casually and another kid. I can hardly wait. Maggie and I have been looking so hard for people to ride with who have kids. We are going to the lake and I'm to bring my bike and swim suit too.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Gallbladder surgery

My surgery is scheduled for May 18. Today the hospital called and told me that when I come in for my pre-op blood work, I need to pay the out of pocket portion of the surgery.  I was thinking it might be $800 out of pocket...try double that. They want $1600 up front before I can have the surgery. I told them woman I didn't have $1600 just lying around and would have to cancel. They promptly put me in touch with a nice payment arrangement lady who said that I could give them money over time. I never thought I'd have to pay up front. I was thinking that it would be good if they billed you only after they didn't' kill you.  It seems like this way they could kill you and still have your money?  And the worst part is that this is only the hospital's fee for the day surgery. The doctor and the anesthesiologist will bill me separately. Geesh.

Exercise!

Today was the day I started working out full steam ahead. I have the Jillian Michael's book called Lose to win (or maybe it's Win by Losing...I can't ever remember) and it has a great circuit work out in it. i didn't have time to leave the house this am b/c I have an appointment, so I just worked out using my own weights here at home.  It was a lot harder than I thought it would be...but hey, it's a step in the right direction and I did it!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

I have an arena

Today Maggie and I started out the day being lazy, but it was just such a beautiful day, I couldn't stay indoors. Maggie has a friend who likes to ride Liberty and they do well together, though I have never let them out of the round pen. I called to invite her to come out and her mom dropped her off. I needed to mow our parking area and knock down some weeds, so I proceeded to mow about an acre of ground with a push mower, by hand. I wonder if that counts as aerobic activity? 

The kids were having a blast, but the ponies weren't behaving as well as I'd like, so I decided we need an arena.  I decided to take a corner of my pasture and take down my round pen and turn it into an arena. It seemed like it should have been a simple task, but my round pen panels have been knocked about a bit and we had trouble getting them to stand up straight. Maggie, Carter and I had a heck of a time getting them to stay up while we worked on other panels. carter is so little, I swear the panels were bigger and heavier than she is, but she tried really hard to be a help.  Her mom and dad came back to get her and they ended up staying for a couple hours to help me. I couldn't have done it without her dad especially. The panels just wouldn't stay upright and he was able to drive some t-posts for us to duct tape the arena to. I'm sure I need to use zip ties or something more substantial but for now it works. The arena will come in handy for Maggie and her friend. It will be good for my horse, who seems to think that he shouldn't have to work in his pasture. I also have a working gate now, so I can practice.