Like Yoga for Horses

*Note: I am leaning forward...ARGH! But at least the horse looks good. Working on a 10 meter circle.


It never fails to make me laugh. Inevitably when someone finds out that I ride and train both English and Western horses, they ask: "do you do dressage?"

The answer is: always.

Then another statement from this new person: "I have always wanted to do dressage, I wonder if my horse could do it."

This single statement is probably the dumbest thing I have ever heard (no offense to those of you who wonder...keep reading). It is like wondering if you can do yoga. Any person can do at least a little yoga, and will benefit from it. This is the same with horses. Can you drink water? should you breathe air? These are all similar questions.

Yes, your horse CAN do dressage. You can do it too, and the sooner that you start, the better your life and the life of your horse will be. Here are some reasons to do dressage:

*It will improve balance and posture in your horse

*It will improve your balance and Posture (you see, dressage is like yoga for people too)

*It will strengthen the effectiveness of horse/rider communication

*A responsive horse is more likely to find a good home if (God forbid) you should ever need to re-home it.

*Dressage increases muscle tone and overall fitness in both horse and rider.

*It will make your reining horse stronger and more efficient, and ultimately able to do a prettier pattern

*It will develop the back muscles needed in cutting and quick cow work

*It will develop all muscles needed for jumping

*It will create a pretty rounded and natural look for your western or english pleasure horse.

*or any show horse

*rhythmic exercises are soothing for high strung horses

*extension and flexion exercises are wonderful for lazy horses

*Dull horses learn to respond

*hyper-sensitive horses learn to wait for cues

*Riders learn to be patient, relax and rejoice in small victories (you would be surprised at how many small victories are in a day...it leads to a much more satisfied life)

*Dressage, unlike any other equine sport, focuses on the longevity of the horse. A lot of the Prix St Georges horses are in their late teens and early twenties and much more fit than a 10 year old show horse. Their usable life is extended and their quality of life is improved.

*Older horses tend to lose muscle tone first, creating that "ridge back" effect. Slow dressage workouts help build that muscle back and keep your horse looking well.

Here are some reasons not to do dressage:

*

*

OK, I can't think of one! There is no reason not to do it. If you have a stick horse or no horse at all, at the very least, learning dressage terminology and "riding" a pattern in your living room will improve memory and muscle memory. It feels silly, but my friends and I use to do tests on foot just to commit them to memory. Don't be ashamed!

Now, I know that not every horse is Prix St Georges material, some of them may never make it past training level, but that isn't what is important here. The "tricks" of high School dressage are amazing, but that shouldn't be your goal. When you start, your goal is to improve the life of you and your horse.

Honestly, this seems counter intuitive, but Training level and lower levels are the hardest. Do you remember how hard Kindergarten was? I do, coloring inside the lines seemed purposeless and why would I learn to read or add when mommy and daddy do it for me? But, when you get going and really start learning, school would get easier and easier. Sure, we hit roadblocks in each grade and it became hard, but kindergarten had taught us to learn, take instruction and the value and fun of knowledge.

Your horse will go through the same process. If you have never done any dressage he will question and maybe even get frustrated from time to time. you will feel like your kindergarten teacher did. It might frustrate you too, but just remember to have patience. He is upset because he doesn't know the answer. Try to find ways to make it easier for him to FIND the answer. Don't give it to him. And don't ever try to force him.

Here is a very basic dressage exercise that will help you both learn. Your horse will learn to seek the correct answer and you will learn patience. Some of you may already do this. Without knowing it, you are doing dressage!

First a few tips: I ride with my inside leg up by the girth, and my outside leg just slightly back. This helps cue my horse as to my intentions. It is a good thing to ALWAYS make your intentions clear. If I am out in a random field or on a trail and I ask for a canter or lope from the walk, they know which lead to take based on my leg position. It is OK to do this without head and neck flexion. That will come with time. Don't expect this to be perfect! Have patience and your horse will learn more quickly than you think. Also, I always start these exercises with loose-ish reins. don't try to fight for control, but don't throw the horse away either. A plain snaffle bit, or rubber mouth snaffle is perfect. But you can do this in a halter, bitless, whatever. The instructions are for riding with two hands though so I recommend a mild snaffle or bitless affair.

OK, here it goes:

You will start this exercise at the walk. A field, hill, center of the arena, any where you can do a circle. Start out on a 5 meter circle. Now don't go panicking already 5 meters is about 15 feet across. Just a moderate circle in the center of your workspace is fine. Get a good consistent walk. If all you do during the first lesson is learn how to walk on a 5 meter circle then no big deal. Small victories are big victories in the long run. If your horse is really having a hard time walking on a small circle, then spiral out until he is comfortable. We can reverse this exercise to build enough muscle to handle a 5 meter circle.

Once the horse has a very consistent cadence, not quite plodding, but not rushing either, increase the pressure from the inside leg at the girth. HEELS DOWN!!!! Just use the side of your calf to press against the area just behind the girth. At the same time release pressure from your outside leg. If your horse is confused, take your outside leg completely off of him...point it out, whatever. What you are doing is asking him to move sideways and forward at the same time. Your hands/reins do not change and your seat does not change. If he is still having trouble, increase the weight on your inside seat bone, but don't lean. Think of it as closing the door for any inside movement and opening the outside door. When the horse takes ONE STEP in the direction (sideways and still forward) RELEASE!

The release is the most important part. This is the reward for the horse. If he does it and you keep asking, he thinks he has given the wrong answer. So, when he even makes the slightest try at first release to let him know he is doing well. You will be surprised at how quickly he learns. Pet him, tell him how good he is and try again. The next time, if your release was correct, he will respond much more quickly. Once he responds well, add steps. Keep increasing the size of your circle until you can't anymore or until you feel that he is doing well on that side.

DO NOT QUIT HERE. It is vitally important that you train both the left and right sides of your horse. Do this exercise in both directions. If you are only working on a good circle, do it in both directions. Always, always, always work both directions!

Another very important thing to keep in mind is not to overdo it. This can be as bad as expecting too much, and is very closely related to that. This may seem so simple and easy, but it is building muscle, and thought in you and your horse. When you first start only work a maximum of 15 minutes in each direction. Work your way up to longer sessions, then add trot and canter (or jog and lope for you western gurus) when you are ready. More importantly don't add these before the horse is ready. He will get sore, and become less and less compliant and maybe even bored. I am not saying to limit your entire ride to 30 minutes total, but the gymnastic dressage sessions should start out with that. Remember, dedicate equal time to both sides. One side may need more work than the other but you will find that out when you start. that's OK. As long as the horse learns the same exercise on both sides you are golden.

Don't forget to warm up and cool down. a nice walk and trot on loose reins to start, and a good walk after you are done. This should be one where you aren't trying to teach him something. Let him walk and think. Prepare and cool down from each lesson. It is good for you too; I promise!

I know that this may sound so hard for those of you just starting out. The key is to have patience. With yourself as well as your horse. It is hard for a lot of people to learn to separate their leg movements, but you can learn how. After all, you learned how to walk, and it was hard, but you did it. You can do this too. Sometimes it helps to explain the goals and process to someone who does not ride and ask them to critique you. I get so frustrated sometimes when my non-horsey boyfriend tells me to sit up straight, but then I have to remember, he is looking at me with only the knowledge that I have given him. The correct way to do it, and he can process that and recognize that I am not being correct. It helps that he doesn't know what I am doing. Even when I am bunched up trying to get a colt to understand my legs and an experienced horse person might overlook that and not mention it, DB just sees me not sitting up straight and calls me on it.

Presents for co-workers (another tutorial...Woot!)

I am so excited about this method! I found the original idea here. I have to say on a side note that I am totally addicted to Tip Junkie. There are lots of great ideas over there!

Anyhow, I work with horsey people (lucky me) so I found some horse head cookie cutters in which to make the fudge. Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 Cups Semisweet chocolate chips
1 Cup Peanut Butter Chips
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 tbs butter or margarine
1 tsp Vanilla extract

The original recipe says to mix the chips and milk and butter and microwave for 2 minutes stirring every 30 seconds.

YOu can do that if you want, but I think that the microwave was meant to be a time saver...so if I have to babysit it I don't want to play; I may as well cook over the stove. Which is what I did.

I set up my pyrex bowl on a shallow pot with water in it. Insta-double boiler.



I mixed the chips, milk and softened butter together and turned it on. You do have to stir it to make sure it heats evenly, but it smells so yummy, and the results are worth the time spent in front of the stove.



While the chips were melting I prepared the cookie cutters. I placed each one on a square of foil and wrapped. I had to get creative in the tight corners, but I figured out a system. Then I sprayed each one with cooking spray. I would take regular breaks throughout this process to stir my chips.




With all six cookie cutters prepared and my chips really starting to melt, I concentrated on stirring at this point. When the mixture was almost all the way melted and combined I mixed in the vanilla. Then let it get pretty melty. Once it was at a loose fudge consistency, I scooped it into each cookie cutter. I used a big table spoon (like really, a table spoon used at the table...)and I got about 3 scoops into each cookie cutter. I smoothed the mixture out as much as possible, then I covered the whole cookie sheet and put it out to chill. I have a handy dandy front room/porch thing that works as a cold room during the winter. Great for when I am doing Holiday baking.

While the cutters were cooling, I put a tub of leftover royal icing that I had from assembling my gingerbread house into the still hot but not boiling water in the pan. Then I cleaned up a little. Made some dip for the office party. Played with the dogs. Washed my hands.

After about a half hour, the royal icing was soft enough to use so I packed it into an icing bag with a medium small tip. I am sorry that I can't be more specific but I got a set of decorating tips and there is a tiny one, a medium small one and a bigger one...I used the one that was most medium. I put manes anf forelocks on all of the horses. Peter thought that they should have smiles but I didn't want to get too cheesey so I just added mouths. I think they turned out really cute!



And a close up. What a pretty chocolate palomino...har har.



I covered them and put them back out into the cold room to chill overnight. Then I headed upstairs and set up Crikey (that is the name of my Cricut machine for those of you just tuning in). I loaded my Winter Woodland Cartridge and selected the card feature, then the horse. I set it at 1 1/2 inches and cut. I used contrasting paper and shift+card+horse to get the background.



This morning I peeled the tinfoil off of each cutter, and wiped away the excess cooking spray. Then I put them into individual baggies and tied the gift tags to them.



So cute! I love the way they turned out, and I think that this would work with any cookie cutter. I tested one of them and the fudge would slide out easily, even though the cookie cutters I used were somewhat complicated. I think I am going to do a lot more of these. I got the cutters off of ebay in a big lot (9 total)so I might get more of different varieties to send friends and family. These are small so they would be cheap to ship and still let everyone know that you are thinking of them.

A word of warning, each fudge piece is about 700 calories. Not to put a damper on your excitement, but I thought that I should be up front about the drawbacks. I don't think that I could even eat a whole one though...the fudge is very rich as I found out from licking the spoon after I had finished filling the cutters.

I did it! (my first tutorial...sort of)

I finally cut fabric with my cricut using the freezer paper method. The last time I tried it was an epic fail. Fabric didn't want to stick to paper, then the blade just messed it up (as in frayed the fabric). So I canned the idea. There aren't really any tutorials out there for this method anyway...maybe it can't be done.

Au Contraire mon fraire!

Last night, for some reason, I just decided to do it. I took some zoo fabric that I have had for years because I don't know what to do with it (pretty standard cheap quilting cotton) and I ironed it to freezer paper. Basically you match the shiney side of the paper to the wrong side of the fabric and iron with a very hot, dry iron. I ironed the crap out of it and made sure that the fabric was indeed stuck down. It didn't stick very well around the edges, and the freezer paper peels off easily so I just made sure that a good portion of it was reasonably fused.

For this cut, my storybook cartridge was already loaded. The most simple design on that cartridge is the flower shadow (shift+shadow+I)so I decided to use that one. I loaded the mat and moved the blade to the point where the fabric and paper were really fused. Here is the technical stuff:

Blade pressure: 5

Size: 3 inches (personal choice...but I think too small or too detailed would fail)

Speed: Min (this is really important!

Multi-cut: I didn't actually use multi cut for this project, but I am going to try next time. there was one spot I had to finish cutting by hand.

Once it was cut out, I just peeled the paper off of the fabric and it is a clean, plain piece of fabric.

And here it is:



Sort of a modest little flower. but she has a special place right now as my first fabric piece cut from cricut.

Are you waiting for the irony? I can't remember why it was so important for me to learn to cut fabric this way. I have seen the multitudes of heat and bond success and every project I can think of (quilts, applique, etc) would be appropriate for that method. I do remember having a strong desire to learn to cut fabric with cricut sans anything permanent on the back...

Whatever. I can do it, and it is done. As soon as I remember why this was important, I will know that I can.

This has also bred a desire for adventure. I have so many ideas: felt story board, fleece. but I didin't know where to start. Last night I fused a small piece of fleece in between two pieces of freezer paper. I couldn't find my deep cut blade but as soon as I do I will try it. Hopefully it will work and I can share it with you here!

Gingerbread house

Well, On Monday, I rolled cut and baked my sugar cookies. Then I tackled the gingerbread. I rolled some of it fairly thick and used my gingerbread house cookie cutters to cut out walls and a roof. I didn't let the dough rest long enough though. It was really cold and pretty flaky. But it worked out well and I got those in the oven. Then I rolled it out thinner and cut some cookies for decorations around the house. Gingerbread men, christmas trees, santa, Frosty and some angels. As I worked with the dough more it became easier, more pliable and smoother. Then I used the leftover dough to make a base. I lined my smallest cookie sheet (I think it is 9x12) with parchment paper, then rolled the dough out onto it. Basically making a big rectangular pan cookie.

After everything was out of the oven, I moved them to cooling racks (except for the base which will stay in the pan for the life of the house) and left them overnight. In the morning I put the fully cooled cookies into ziplock bags. Now for the wait...

I waited until 6:00 for Peter to get off of work last night. I called him. I mean I tried to get a hold of him. Since he was unavailable and clearly not coming home at a decent hour, I had an idea.

The gingerbread house needs to be put together and then left alone to set up, right? And that isn't technically decorating without Peter's help...is it?

I decided that it wasn't and made some royal icing. Then I put my little house together and used some handy kitchen items to hold it together.



Here is a better look of what I used. Namely a couple of cans of tomato soup, a tub of honey, a box of cookie cutters and a jar of pop corn kernels.



Peter walked in around 8:00 PM as I was finishing cleanup...so I don't feel so bad. I let our gingerbread house cure over night and I removed the props this morning.

Tada!



The lighting in the kitchen wasn't great this morning, but I took a picture of the other side so that you can see it in all of its glory.



I tried to get pictures from the front but it looked like a haunted gingerbread house so I deleted them.

The plan tonight is to decorate the actual cookies (with or without peter) so that they have time to cure as well. Then I will get candy so that we can both decorate the actual gingerbread house scene. I think that is a good compromise. I am sharing the joy of cookies with him, but I get to decorate the actual cookies in my own OCD way. He may be home early tonight though which means I will have to let him help me...but that is ok. I suppose that it will be good for me to share.

Jingle Balls

Well, I finally went nuts for Christmas. I usually get antsy right around...January. It is so bad that I have to actually live by my own strict rule of "no Christmas until AFTER the Turkey has his day." And typically it is all I can do to wait. Then the day after Thanksgiving, I go "Jingle Balls" as my friends so aptly named it. I set up the tree, the lights, I bake, I make and I wrap my bootie off until, well...January.

The last couple of years have been atypical though. I finally decorated my tree and put frosty the snowman window clings up, but there hasn't been much Christmas in my spirit. Now, I find myself 2 weeks away from the joyous holiday and so behind I don't know what to do.

I am behind on gifts. Looks like cards won't get out. And I have a BUNCH of homework to do...what a wonder that I am not in the mood.

But I am changing all of that. After all, Christmas is a joy from inside you. The joy of sharing.

And Cookies.

I made gingerbread cookie dough and sugar cookie dough to rest last night. Cutting and baking will happen tonight, then decorating whenever I can get Peter to help. This last step will be the hardest for me. I want to get things done. Patience is a virtue that I do not possess. But I want to share the joy of Christmas with my DB and the best way that I know how to do that is to share my joy of cooking.

Which reminds me: Santa? Would you please send me the Joy of Cooking Cookbook for Christmas? I need it! My youngest cookbook (an everything cookbook) is 50 years old.

While I am here, I want to share with you how very cold it is! Here is a picture of our very frosted Lilac bushes.

Well, I get a big fat "F" in Blogging. I haven't updated for quite a while. Since I wrote last, Pippy got severely hurt, then got better, has been weaned, I enrolled in an MBA program and we have gotten into Dairy goats. Yes, I have just crossed the line.

I am officially: "Just Plain Crazy."

But, don't you want to hear about the goats? I am overly obsessed with self sufficiency, and the more research I did, the more I liked the idea of having dairy goats. They could cut milk and cheese (and possibly even butter if I can muster the patience of Job) right out of our grocery bill. Of course, they add some back on top of the grain and feed bill, but I will analyze that later, and then continue to not care.

After finally deciding to go ahead with the goats, I put out feelers and an ad on craigslist stating my purpose. Almost immediately I was contacted by sherry. She had 2 Saanen/Oberhasli doelings and offered them to me cheap. Perfect. Babies we could raise the way we like. So, about a week later, Trixie and Honey joined our Family.

About 2 weeks later, Sherry contacted me again to say that she has one more doeling that she would part with. A little Saanen/Lamancha. I have a huge soft spot for Lamancha goats, so Amy Farah Fowler (or just Amy in most cases) came to live with us also.

Along with Amy, we decided to take one of Sherry's bucklings. A small mini alpine/cashmere ball of adorable. We are going to use him to breed the does this winter and then castrate him. I think he will make a much better pet than a herd sire, and I can't wait to learn to spin his glorious fiber.

As if I didn't have enough on my plate.

I do have to say that these goats have added just the right amount of joy to my life. Amy is a little trickster, and we call her the "Parcor" goat. She will do a wheelie off of a bale, hit the wall and spin around before landing. Honey is a quiet little thing that follows me around and doesn't ask for much. Trixie likes attention. She wants to be loved and pet and scratched all the time.

We named the buck Willie, and he is so cute I can hardly stand it. He follows me around like a dog and seems to take part in every conversation. Cute. Cute. Cute. I got supplies to make drop spindles (I will post a tutorial when I actually get around to doing it) and I bought a few different kinds of fiber to learn to spin. Having one small cashmere goat won't give me enough for a sweater, but it will probably contribute to some pretty sweet mittens! Maybe a hat...I don't really know what to expect.

Which brings me to a bit of a gripe: Even on this marvelous World Wide Web, it is nearly impossible to find information on managing a small number of Cashmere goats. I plan to document what I learn by trial and error here so that maybe someday, someone can learn from me. Cashmere type goats are said to be hardier than Angora goats, they have finer fiber and I hear they give a decent amount of milk. Why don't more people have one or two? Maybe I can help to change all that.

As far as the rest of my life goes, I am behind in school, I haven't spent much time with my lovely Cricut, and my horses get ridden on the weekends (sometimes) because at 4:00 pm, when I get off work, it is pitch dark outside. Lovely.

Anyway, I promise (as an advance resolution for 2012) to update more often, provide pictures and maybe even some tutorials. Finally, a resolution that does not require me to give up chocolate; I am liking this more and more as I think about it.

Pippy

I hadn't realized how terribly neglected my poor little blog was. I mean the one and a half of you that might actually read this have probably already given up on me. But here, appropriately is my first post with actual pictures:

Anyways, you think that I own a Pregnant (yay) mare. That is not true any more, because on April 21, 2011, Pippy was born.



Now, the deal was, I breed sissy to a stunning Stallion named Zorro Dan Quincy, and the baby would be for sale. I spent 11 months praying for a rotten little colt that we could sell no problem. Who would be gorgeous and go to a show family, but who would not instill much of a desire in me to keep.

And then Pippy was born.



She is a tall, stunning red head with her dad's gorgeous short back, and her mom's beautiful face.

And, unfortunately for me, she also inherited both parent's personality.

Pippy is the little filly that will walk up to you, when she is out in the large pasture with her mommy and two aunties. She likes to be scratched...everywhere. She also picks up all four of her feet and lets me clean them. She is almost 2 months old and is almost halter broke. I mean she is the smartest and sweetest little thing.

And I absolutely love her. And everyone who meets her absolutely loves her. She is precious, and perfect. Which means I have another horse.

Bless Peter's heart, someone asked: "when are you going to sell her?" and he chimed right in, "when she is 37!" Do you see why I love him?

Pippy is such an angel, that we don't even have her right now. My parents were going to bring her and her mom down last weekend, but they chickened out and brought their older mare instead. There were all sorts of pretences and "well the grass would be good for Pepsi..." but the truth of the matter is that my parents hate to see her go. As much as I would love to be around her every single day, I can't blame them...



...I mean look at those faces!

New House....FINALLY

So, Peter and I finally moved. We started last Saturday (June 4) and everything was in our new house by Monday, June 6th. this was no easy feat either. It took two trips each with my parents' large and fancy 3 horse trailer with living quarters, and our 4 horse stock trailer. It also involved an entire trailer load to the dump.

How do two people gather so much CRAP? I mean, it is actually embarrassing to have that much stuff laying around, hiding in corners, that needed to go to the dump.

On Wednesday, we cleaned. We scrubbed from top to bottom and let me tell you, I was thankful that we kept it so nice because if we hadn't it would have taken us so much longer. Oh, and you know those white carpets I complained about? Well I had to clean them all the time because they are WHITE and we have ANIMALS, but thank God for that, because all they needed was some freshening up. The water in the carpet cleaner was clean. I am proud of myself...can you tell?

The new house...not so clean.

It is a lovely 2 story remodled farm house, with a 3/4 wrap around deck, a creepy meth basement, a large arena, pastures and...24 ACRES!!! Like, we super lucked out on this one scoob!

But, it is dirty. There are limbs down everyewhere. Thwe 100 year old barn is sturdy, but a walleyed mess. and the inside of the house is just filthy. I made a huge deal about how we take care of our animals, we clean up after them, they live in our home, not the other way around...and I am now thinking that I may have offended the owner. Who is a very nice, and classically busy soul. I really do like her, but GEEZ.

And the carpets.

OMG, the carpets upstairs were dastardly. I can think of no other word. They actually had a persona. And the smell would reach down the stairs and smack you in the face. They are a smart dark green color, and you know there is trouble when you look at dark carpets and can see dirt stains.

I have 2 Bissell Big Green Machines (which I get so much crap for by the way "why do you need two of those" all of the whiney voices ask) and a small little green machine for spot cleaning.

I was thanking the Maker for having 2 big greens because one of my machines actually BROKE while cleaning this carpet. I was pulling out the muddiest most disgusting water you could ever imagine, and I went through six bottles of pure Amonia (for cleanliness) and 4 bottles of "LA's Totally Awesome Floor Cleaner" in Lavender (for deoderizing).

After three tries, the smell was gone, and our carpets were cleaned. There are stains that I can do nothing about, but it smells fresh, we can move furniture in and I feel better about it!

Now for the lower level floors: gorgeous oak flooring that looks pretty hammered...until you get it clean. After 4 buckets of mop water, the dining room is clean, and actually sparkles. The newly painted walls and beautiful accent crown molding are really set off by the floors. Add our antique oak dining set, and china hutch and the result is breathtaking! And, to date, the dining room is the only finished room in the house.

Which brings me to the kitchen. For a moment, let's forget the food and utensils and boxes laying around (canned food of course, I'm not a pig!) and get to the root of the matter: a stunning updated kitchen with a convection combo oven, a glass cooktop and griddle combo range, a two tiered drawer style dishwasher and a recessed fridge. Those last two are most certainly broken.

Yup, brand new, and broken. The appliance store has the part to fix our fridge, and they are having two guys come out and fix it...sometime. The dishwasher is another story.

I opened it up to find Dog hair and crud in both drawers. In taking them apart to clean, we discovered that the drain hose is broken in half, so the dirty water was recycling right back onto the dishes. YUCK! So, that is in pieces until we can figure out how to get the hose.

These are just some of the things that need to be done. And believe me, there will be more. I will more than likely be talking a lot about this in the coming months, so be prepared!

One Year of Misery

Ok, this is it kids. Peter and I have officially been commuting 4 hours a day for one year.

52 weeks.

1000 miles per week.

Actually, total (including the time in which we had to commute seperately) we have driven 72,000 miles between work and home.

When we first moved there, I was so sure that we would be moving on to better things. In reality it has been a lesson in patience, and an out and out torture.

C25K: Week 4 (the re-mix)

Okay, I actually started week 4 today. I was so darned lazy all weekend I didn't feel like running.

In my defense, it was pouring and snowing most of saturday so I cleaned house. But Sunday, I simply didn't feel like it!

I was concerned about starting week 4 because I didn't actually get to use podrunner last week. I wrote the intervals on my hand the first day, and I only did one other run on which I ran for a mile and then stopped. I was surprised to make it a mile because I was supposed to be running 1/8 and 1/4 mile intervals. I kept making little deals with myself such as: "you can stop when you get to the crossing, but only if you are really tired." As it turned out "really tired" did not happen until I had run a half mile down, turned around and ran back.

Only then was I exhausted.

So, today I decided to go ahead with week 4, and it went well, but it was very hard. I ran at 1/4 and 1/2 mile intervals, keeping in time with the music. When I start out, I travel east to west. This may seem insignificant to most people, but on the palouse, the spring wind (which is a considerable force) blows west to east. It blew rain and snow into my face and made my ears ache. It also made me feel like someone was pushing back on my shoulders not allowing me to move forward, which I think added to my early fatigue.

But, I have run in the wind before. Arguably, never for as long as I did today, but I have always let my stubborn pride carry me through. The trip back to the office wasn't quite as bad, with the snow hitting me in the back. I was exhausted by the time I got back though. My body now wants nothing more than a nap, but that isn't going to happen.

After last week's success, I was all cocky thinking "oh, I will do a couple of days of week 4 and move on to 5" but I sincerely doubt that I will. I am going to run tomorrow, go to the gym wednesday and then run and go to the gym thursday and friday. Might as well hit it hard until I am in shape!

C25K: Week 4 (ahem, 3) and Chirunning

So, I had to repeat week 2 of C25K because my joints and bones were hurting. I decided to push through the pain on monday and start week three, only to find that I was missing that podcast on my ipod. So I tried to do a week 2 workout again and the pain was so bad I had to stop.

We were having a pretty horrible windstorm and I could barely walk, my knees and ankles ached and I just couldn't do it. It finally occurred to me that others have had these same issues, so I googled "C25K Joint Pain."

Lo and behold, there is nothing new under the sun. I found someone exactly my age having exactly the same problem. There were quite a few suggestions but the most common was heel striking, and many people suggested the girl check out "chirunning"

Well, that sounded so silly to me that I went again to google and typed in "how to avoid heel striking" and the first thing to come up was a chirunning video on youtube.

Fine. I decided to watch it. And it made sense. Go figure! I had to watch the video on silent, so the movements seemed repetitive and silly, but I got the gist by reading comments. Basically, I needed to shorten my stride so that I land on the squishy part of my heal instead of the very back of it like people tend to do.

Time to try it out.

I still didn't have the week 3 workout on my ipod, so I wrote down the intervals, and used the stopwatch function on my ipod. I got the dogs out of the car and we set out. Me using the new technique I had discovered, and them bouncing around like large bunnies...or small clowns.

To my surprise, the week three workout was the easiest of them all. I could feel the proverbial burn, but my joints actually felt better during and after my run, and I could have kept running for much longer.

Today I have been "chiwalking" the same way I ran and my pain (especially the constant pain in my bad ankle) is all but gone. Apparently I am a chronic heel striker and that has been causing all sorts of issues.

This whole running experience has done so much more for me than just help me get into shape. I have gained 3 pounds, but lost 2 inches off of my waist in 3 weeks. I am also starting to understand my body a lot better and I am figuring out other ways to be fitness conscious. It has really boosted my self confidence a lot!

Weekends are the pits (sub category: I was at least mildly productive this weekend....NOT)

Seriously, I thought that "growing up" and finally graduating College would give me these awesome treats that everyone calls weekends. But I can tell you that I put the "Weak" in weekend!

By the time we get to friday, Peter and I are so worn out that we go home, and sleep. Then we sleep until 8:00 or 9:00 on saturday, and sort of drag ass around all day being semi-productive. Then we turn in early and sleep until 8:00 or 9:00 again Sunday.

By Sunday, we have completely given up any hope that we are going to enjoy anything but naps on our time off. We have breakfast for lunch, putter around for a bit (typically leaving a bigger mess behind than our limited productivity would warrant) and then fall asleep. Usually we sleep to Junkyard Wars on TV, but yesterday it was the River Monsters maraton, so my dreams were punctuated by bizzarre fish encounters and trips.

Here is a list of how productive we were this weekend. I need to do this so I don't feel like such a loser (sadly Peter wins the productivity award...yay).

SATURDAY

1) Picked up boxes so that we can pack and be ready to move (and coincidentally made some new friends...woot)

2) cleaned the kitchen, sanitized jars for jam, made mirengue cookies

3) (Pete) cleaned up outside, and went to the dump

4) made dinner

SUNDAY

1) baked chocolate chip cookies...made a general mess in the kitchen

2) Used my Cricut and the Winter Woodlands Cartridge to re-vamp my easter tree

3) (Pete) Did taxes

4) Picked up straw for Sissy, and dropped it off at mom and dad's

5) Got some hay for our horses (though instead of unloading it, we parked it in the garage)

6) (Pete) helped mom catch the goat and brush his coat and clip his hooves

Well, I suppose that I don't feel any better about our productivity. Though Pete still wins. I was pretty much a lazy ass all weekend, and I would feel like crap about it, but I don't have the energy!

Garden, Day 1 (pictures to follow)

Usually, as I am finding is not uncommon, I decide one day that I am going to be responsible with my home and money and everything. I will look like the people in BHG sitting on my pristine furniture and smiling to myself because I know I am financially secure and everything is done. I make spreadsheets (just ask anyone who knows me, I use spreadsheets obsessively like they will solve all of my problems) and I budget money. This usually leads to depression and self-loathing because I can actually see how bad I am at managing my own finances.

But I press on and feel the need to self punish in small ways such as "you have to carry the groceries in one piece at a time because you are a terrible person" and "you are going to run an extra 30 minutes in the snow because you deserve pain and punishment."

Sick? Me?

Anyways these responsibility kicks usually involve me wanting to be more self sufficient, and the spring time compulsion is to grow a garden. After all, one of my favorite things to do is eat, and I LOVE canning and preserving food in the fall. It makes the Nester inside of me oh so happy to see gleaming jars of home canned goods lining my shelves. So I plant some seeds, and I water them--but not too much--and they start to grow. And I get so happy. I did it! I grew plants. And then the plants revolt. They grow taller and taller, but they never lose their cotyledons...or grow any new foliage.

So, I transplant them to pots and then they promptly die. And I feel depressed and spend the next few weeks getting the laundry out of the dryer one sock at a time, and scrubbing floors with my fingernails. But this year is different. It WILL be different... It has to be!

So, I am going to do it; I started my garden last night. All of my motivation to keep running and eating healthy and keep my house cleaned has made me want to take on one more challenge. I hope this isn't the challenge that breaks this camel's back, but we will have to wait and see. I bought a small "greenhouse" last night at wal~mart and two new seed packets to add to my collection. I also bought 4 Roma Tomato plants and 4 Early Girl Tomato plants (I am sharing with my mom) and a Lavendar plant. The little seed starting flat (ahem, "greenhouse") I got has six rows with six of those little dirt pucks that ploof when soaked in water.

When we got home last night, I soaked the flat in Water, and went about my chores while the magic happened. When the creatures were all fed, eggs collected and my three other "miracle" plants were watered the pucks were ready. I planted two rows of Ruby Red Sweet Corn (so pretty, I really hope these work) one row of pickling cucumbers (I will split these with mom) 4 Green beans, 4 rainbow bell peppers, 4 zucchini and 6 Strawberry popcorn plants. I put these in the large bay window in the rumpus room, and I am going to make these plants grow. I have spent all winter reading tutorials, books and articles on gardening, sowing seeds and the like.

Plus, randomly, I have an amaryllis and a Palm that I bought a year ago that somehow love me and the abuse I tend to give them. Both need badly to be replanted in bigger pots (if you have been paying attention you understand why I am holding back on that)and they get watered sporadically at best. And still they grow, taller and bushier, and flowery...er every day. This may be giving me false hopes, but it is all I have to go on at the moment.

I wrote on the outside of the flat which rows are what, and I intend on using my favorite bug (that is my Cricut) to make little labels for each plant...maybe if they feel special they will want to grow and give me foods.

Yay! I'm a runner...sort of

I have really taken the "get in shape" thing seriously. In February, I joined the 24-hour Fitness, and I end up getting to go one (at the VERY minimum) to 3 times a week. Since Peter started working at the Dealership, I get off of work an hour before he does, so it makes sense that I should use that time productively right? I thought so.

Many days, I intend to go to the gym, but I end up finding something else that just needs to be done, right now, and I run out of time. So I decided to add running to my regimine. Now, this decision is not as random as it sounds. I tried the C25K program last year, and did one workout and promptly decided that I was just too uncoordinated to run and watch my timer at the same time. Believe me folks, it wasn't pretty. My decision to try again can be credited solely to my Best Friend. She and I were Skyping and started talking about getting in shape, and she mentioned that she is training for a marathon. This took me aback a little as Alicia is as or slightly less coordinated than I.

Me: "....really?"

Alicia: "yeah, I run a little each day, I actually found a program to help me get in shape so I can train for my marathon."

Me: "wait, are you doing Couch Potato to 5K?"

Alicia: "Yeah, that's the one!"

our conversation continued thusly, and I found out that Sis (Alicia) had found the ultimate tool for C25K: Podrunner Intervals! Podrunner Intervals are these magical little musical mixes that you can download from itunes (free: they are podcasts) or from the podrunner site. They are timed perfectly with a sort of techno/beat type music that tells you when to run and walk in accordance to the C25K plan. No more watching watches, tripping and looking stupid. Okay, well, I can't help the last one, but you get the idea. So, I promptly went to itunes and downloaded the "first day to 5k" series to get started. Week one was a breese. Apparently working out at the gym has gotten me into enough shape to start running (jogging, let's be realistic) and I was able to saunter down the path running and walking at appropriate intervals.

By the second workout, I began to notice other people doing the same thing. Running a little, then breaking down to a walk and looking at their ipod or other music player just like me. We exchange knowing smiles and begin running again when the chime sings it's little tune. Week two was a little harder. Running for 90 seconds is hard on my lungs, and my joints are starting to hurt because I previously would avoid high impact exercise at all cost. Of course, this doesn't serve to make me want to quit, as I imagined it would but actually fuels my desire to succeed.

I sort of slogged through week two, and am now in week three. However yesterday, as I trudged out to valliantly jog in the pouring rain/sleet I decided to repeat week two just to make sure I am progressing naturally and not punishing myself too much. My joints are still a little sore, but I think that means that they and my bones are getting stronger. I can definitely tell that my muscles are getting stronger and I can't wait to see how this whole escapade turns out. So far, if I don't repeat too many other weeks, I should be able to run 5k (all at once) by the end of May. I am still going to the gym on "non run days" and this week I am doing both every day to ensure that I progress. My hopes are to use my running skills to benefit my riding skills. I will have stronger legs, better muscle control, and I will be able to ride and tie with the best of them!

Exercise is a good thing...

...or so they tell me. But let me tell YOU, I do not feel good today after exercising. Why is beauty so painful?

I suppose I shouldn't bitch because my exercise was really fun at the time. Please, let me explain:)

I have been concerned about my mare. She is due to foal in less than 2 months now, and she is so obese that I am starting to think she might founder. Her feet are great, she seems fine, but I am a worrywart when it comes to my babies. Not to mention I don't want my baby to lose her baby, so you see my situation. Sissy's crest is starting to get alarmingly apparent even though I have limited her calories. Of course, my crest is up as well, so I decided we needed exercise.

Now, I am commuting between Weippe and Moscow STILL so I am in the car for 4 hours every day. I leave at oh-dark-thirty and I get home about 12 hours later in the PM version of oh-dark-thirty. So, I haven't had much time to ride. Even weekends have been devoted mostly to cleaning up after and caring for two people (including myself) and multitudes of fur children (including my mare). So, I decided to ride anyways. Twenty minutes around the pasture at a walk and trot will do us both good without putting undue stress on the mare. Plus there are plenty of safety floods all around from the neighbors so I don't have to worry about it being dark, and Sissy is rotund enough to make bareback quite comfortable...especially important since saddles don't fit right anymore.

Last night was our first session. She was actually wonderful, seeming to understand the point of the exercise and eager to get it over with. I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the time and, when she trotted, I posted (keep in mind we are bareback here and I am out of shape). I felt so good about that because I could post for quite a while considering the shape I'm in and she could trot for a few minutes at a time without getting winded or sweating. I put her away completely exhilarated and ready to attack any menial task that came my way; riding does a lot for my motivation to exist, you see.

I finished house chores, and went to bed to start my crazy week. This morning I woke up, not feeling exceptionally horrible for the time of day, so I tried to spring out of bed. BIG mistake. It turns out that I am so sore that a corn cob shuffle is all I can manage as far as moving is concerned. And I have committed to this not only for my sake, but for hers as well, so I have to repeat the performance tonight. Other than the fact that I get to ride, I am dreading it for the way I am going to feel tomorrow.