When I announced I was going to use wordpress, all of a sudden wordpress stopped working for me.
I have also been busy building a little something, set to release in January.
Now last night I destroyed 3 of my fingers and it hurts to type.
I may never catch up on my blogging! 5 posts behind schedule now.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
I'm Moving!
Not to a new house, not to a new barn, but a new blog hosting site.
I will be moving to Word Press
http://usarah.wordpress.com
This is due to 2 things: its a little more user friendly, and I have something attached to it which will make its exciting debut soon.
All my old posts have been exported there, so you can still search through the archives for all my writing :)
I will be moving to Word Press
http://usarah.wordpress.com
This is due to 2 things: its a little more user friendly, and I have something attached to it which will make its exciting debut soon.
All my old posts have been exported there, so you can still search through the archives for all my writing :)
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Other Barn Animals
I was going through and cleaning up the photos on my phone, and decided I should share some of them before deleting.
Unnamed kitties, these arrived at some point last week. They are still very timid, but by Sunday I was able to gently scratch them on their backs while they ate, although they didn't seem to pleased with it!
Nemo enjoying the tack room when I left the door open. Locked rooms seem to be a magnet for cats.
Winnie forced his way into the hay room and couldn't get back out. This happens at least once every weekend.
Bubbles and Nemo taunt Winnie as he struggles.
Timmy in the hay, back when he was skinny. I swear, one day he was skinny, then I come back the next weekend (not over my vacation, just 5 days) and he was fat. I barely even recognised him.
Minnie also fairly new, took a while to warm up to people. This was the first time she enjoyed a face scratch from me.
Timmy wants to play with Minnie. Now that hes fat, its a very unfair fight. She hasn't grown at all.
Dori takes advantage of a good snuggle spot.
Winnie and Zoey looking guilty after eating 1kg of cat food.
Vacation Day 4 - Barbados
The plan for Barbados was for all of us (Less Nancy) to meet up and get a taxi to Harrison's Caves. It started falling apart immediately as we waited for Katrina, 20 minutes past our meeting time. Grandpa and I were especially mad about having to wait for her. It was decided the group would go down to level 0, but shortly after, we split into 2 groups. Mom, Ramlin and I were to wait for Katrina in our original meeting place, the rest were going to go to Harrison's cave before us and get tickets (as we had heard the line to get tickets could be over an hour long)
Waiting longer and longer for Katrina, Ramlin went looking for her. Of course, just as she left, Katrina arrived. She must have came to our meeting spot as we went down to 0, missed us in the elevator, and spent some time wandering around the dock (but didn't happen to run into the other group) Now a good 40 mins late, we went out to the dock, but wouldn't you know it, group #1 was still there!
There was difficulty with the taxis charging more than we had thought. Mom had researched the taxi price in advance, and they were asking what we thought was double. Since Mom was with me waiting, it turned the situation standstill. Turns out, it wasn't much more than we had originally priced out, and we got a lovely tour guide Jennifer out of it. She was really amazing! Took us out for the whole day, knew lots about the island, and really made up for the bad start to the day.
Upon arriving at Harrison's caves, there was no lineup at all! Perhaps the reviews before were of when it reopened, making it a hot spot.
Even better news was that they were celebrating an anniversary of them opening and were giving out free samples of Barbadian food! What did I like most? The fish balls were good (nice and spicy) but the best was by far "Sugar Cakes" Sugar and coconut are the only ingredients. Everyone in my family made a point of getting extra and giving them to me :)
Waiting longer and longer for Katrina, Ramlin went looking for her. Of course, just as she left, Katrina arrived. She must have came to our meeting spot as we went down to 0, missed us in the elevator, and spent some time wandering around the dock (but didn't happen to run into the other group) Now a good 40 mins late, we went out to the dock, but wouldn't you know it, group #1 was still there!
There was difficulty with the taxis charging more than we had thought. Mom had researched the taxi price in advance, and they were asking what we thought was double. Since Mom was with me waiting, it turned the situation standstill. Turns out, it wasn't much more than we had originally priced out, and we got a lovely tour guide Jennifer out of it. She was really amazing! Took us out for the whole day, knew lots about the island, and really made up for the bad start to the day.
Upon arriving at Harrison's caves, there was no lineup at all! Perhaps the reviews before were of when it reopened, making it a hot spot.
Even better news was that they were celebrating an anniversary of them opening and were giving out free samples of Barbadian food! What did I like most? The fish balls were good (nice and spicy) but the best was by far "Sugar Cakes" Sugar and coconut are the only ingredients. Everyone in my family made a point of getting extra and giving them to me :)
We took the elevator down to where the tour started, beautiful garden, cool elevators:
Here are a bunch of pictures from inside the caves. Sadly my camera died in the process of getting pictures, so this is it for my Barbados photos!
This one reminds me of pacman ghosts!
Underground waterfall
After the cave tour, we hit the road again. Jennifer dropped us off at the beach and returned my grandparents to the port to do some shopping. Thankfully Grandma offered to buy sugar cakes on my behalf, so I was able to enjoy the beach.
The beach was beautiful! Sand was like icing sugar and despite the boiling temperatures outside, the sand was cool. The water was nice and warm, clear and calm. Not good snorkeling at this beach however, but I did see some silvery fish around me once or twice. While sitting on the beach after, a guy with a plastic bag came by selling "Golden Apples" At first we didn't want any, thinking it was golden delicious apples, but he gave us a sample and it was WONDERFUL! Somewhere like a mango meets peach meets apple. I bought one and Heather and I shared it. Jennifer had told us that Barbados has a "Green Banana" which is tastier than regular bananas and doesn't grow anywhere else in the world. I wanted to try it, but no luck in finding any.
Stretch and Ride
Mondays are always yoga. I was disappointed to get there last night to find that Lorie wouldn't be in, her mother is in critical condition. So sending good energy her way!
The substitute instructor must have been the head of the organization, he was very good at the yoga himself, but I didn't like his lesson plan so much. There were too many breathing exercises and not enough strength or balance poses. However, this could have also been to do with the rest of the group who I had not seen before but seemed to struggle with a lot of the poses. Not everyone is so lucky to have prepped all summer with other balancing acts, strengthening exercises and cardio. I still cant believe how easy it was to catch on as technically this was only my 4th (or 4.5 - I count the one on ship as 0.5 as I didn't really learn too much) yoga class. I posted previously about the "Unintentional Sports of Horseback Riding" and I guess yoga can be added in there. Coincidentally, I have been working on a list in my mind every weekend of the unintentional sports of working in the barn. Watch for this later, I may have to recruit someone to model or photograph these for me as that's much more fun than writing it!
Anyway, I felt that I hadn't worked enough and since I had plenty of time when I got home, I immediately changed into my riding boots and left for the barn.
Ok another side track here. I wear my good riding pants to yoga instead of yoga pants. On the other hand, I usually wear yoga pants when I ride. Crazy? Nope that's just me being horsey and cheap. My yoga pants cost me $10, and my riding pants cost me about $70. Clearly I don't trust my yoga pants for yoga, I can already see little holes starting to form at the seams where the butt is. If I lose my pants, I would rather it be riding, because us crazy equestrians will understand! Plus the saddle is a good hiding place for holey pants, whereas downward dog... well you know!
The ride was nothing that would stand out. We just walked and trotted. Bentley was super hyper, he hadn't been ridden since Thursday and even then it wasn't much because of my sore back. He pushed hard to canter, but I stuck with the plan of lots of trotting in 10 minute intervals. Toward the end, while he wasn't tired, he WAS being a lot better behaved, and trotting very nicely. We used the time to work on lots of circles, small serpentines and some leg yielding to try and get rid of the stiffness on the one side. Still didn't come even by the end of our ride, but some improvement. Lots of slow work should help us recover!
After, since he was sweaty as usual (maybe not quite as sweaty as usual... it was much colder) I covered him in blankets
I thought he looked like one of the 3 wise men, in time for Christmas. Lee thought he looked more like an Ewok. Either way, he stayed in his hood for a good half an hour while I cleaned his bit, swept the aisles, and helped with the evening feed. What a cutie!
The substitute instructor must have been the head of the organization, he was very good at the yoga himself, but I didn't like his lesson plan so much. There were too many breathing exercises and not enough strength or balance poses. However, this could have also been to do with the rest of the group who I had not seen before but seemed to struggle with a lot of the poses. Not everyone is so lucky to have prepped all summer with other balancing acts, strengthening exercises and cardio. I still cant believe how easy it was to catch on as technically this was only my 4th (or 4.5 - I count the one on ship as 0.5 as I didn't really learn too much) yoga class. I posted previously about the "Unintentional Sports of Horseback Riding" and I guess yoga can be added in there. Coincidentally, I have been working on a list in my mind every weekend of the unintentional sports of working in the barn. Watch for this later, I may have to recruit someone to model or photograph these for me as that's much more fun than writing it!
Anyway, I felt that I hadn't worked enough and since I had plenty of time when I got home, I immediately changed into my riding boots and left for the barn.
Ok another side track here. I wear my good riding pants to yoga instead of yoga pants. On the other hand, I usually wear yoga pants when I ride. Crazy? Nope that's just me being horsey and cheap. My yoga pants cost me $10, and my riding pants cost me about $70. Clearly I don't trust my yoga pants for yoga, I can already see little holes starting to form at the seams where the butt is. If I lose my pants, I would rather it be riding, because us crazy equestrians will understand! Plus the saddle is a good hiding place for holey pants, whereas downward dog... well you know!
The ride was nothing that would stand out. We just walked and trotted. Bentley was super hyper, he hadn't been ridden since Thursday and even then it wasn't much because of my sore back. He pushed hard to canter, but I stuck with the plan of lots of trotting in 10 minute intervals. Toward the end, while he wasn't tired, he WAS being a lot better behaved, and trotting very nicely. We used the time to work on lots of circles, small serpentines and some leg yielding to try and get rid of the stiffness on the one side. Still didn't come even by the end of our ride, but some improvement. Lots of slow work should help us recover!
After, since he was sweaty as usual (maybe not quite as sweaty as usual... it was much colder) I covered him in blankets
I thought he looked like one of the 3 wise men, in time for Christmas. Lee thought he looked more like an Ewok. Either way, he stayed in his hood for a good half an hour while I cleaned his bit, swept the aisles, and helped with the evening feed. What a cutie!
Monday, December 10, 2012
Vacation Day 3 - Day at Sea
The third day was our only day at sea. I booked a yoga class with Katrina for 8am.
The lesson was ok, but not great (I am really spoiled with the classes I have here) they were all basic poses, and I am pretty sure its a standard script. The instructor seemed more like a personal trainer who can do yoga than an actual yoga instructor. The hour seemed long and repetitive. The good side to it was the rocking ship added a new element to balance. Katrina thought there was too many poses above the floor with the rocking of the ship, but I thought it could have gone further.
After that, we put our stuff on some chairs we assumed to be in the adults only section and went to grab breakfast. When I returned (we separated briefly after breakfast to get our swimsuits on) I realized we couldn't have been more wrong. Not only was the area NOT adults only, it was actually the toddler pool!
Of course, we immediately found somewhere else, and was lucky enough to have our own little section which had some shade for most of the day. Heather and Ramlin joined us later.
After a few hours of lounging, I grew restless (I am not very good at doing nothing) and went to the gym for a run. This was neat because the gym looks over the bow and in the daytime they open up the blinds, and it almost looks like you are running over the water. I ran 7 miles, and COULD have done much more if it weren't for the giant blisters forming on each of my big toes. My cardio and strength is there, now I have to figure out what to do about my shoes sliding ever so slightly.
Mom and dad happened to be touring the gym just as I was cooling down so I went with them to show them where everyone was. Well they had all left and left my stuff behind. I wasn't too happy about that.
After a shower, I went to get lunch, only to find out I had missed the lunch buffet by only about 5 minutes. I had to settle with eating from the snack bar. Unfortunately all I could really eat from there was nachos or french fries. Not so good of a meal after running 7 miles! I wish they had more fresh snacks available on board. The closest thing to a vegetable at the snack bar was salsa.
I sat down and looked out over the boat while eating, but it was windy and instead of having a serene moment, my nachos blew into my hair and down the row of deck chairs, branding them all with gooey cheese. oops!
Again, evening was pretty usual, good dinner in the dining room (we didn't go to the buffet any of the days) and early to bed for me. Some may think its a waste, but my favourite thing to do on vacation is to go to bed early and enjoy a nice long sleep!
The lesson was ok, but not great (I am really spoiled with the classes I have here) they were all basic poses, and I am pretty sure its a standard script. The instructor seemed more like a personal trainer who can do yoga than an actual yoga instructor. The hour seemed long and repetitive. The good side to it was the rocking ship added a new element to balance. Katrina thought there was too many poses above the floor with the rocking of the ship, but I thought it could have gone further.
After that, we put our stuff on some chairs we assumed to be in the adults only section and went to grab breakfast. When I returned (we separated briefly after breakfast to get our swimsuits on) I realized we couldn't have been more wrong. Not only was the area NOT adults only, it was actually the toddler pool!
Of course, we immediately found somewhere else, and was lucky enough to have our own little section which had some shade for most of the day. Heather and Ramlin joined us later.
After a few hours of lounging, I grew restless (I am not very good at doing nothing) and went to the gym for a run. This was neat because the gym looks over the bow and in the daytime they open up the blinds, and it almost looks like you are running over the water. I ran 7 miles, and COULD have done much more if it weren't for the giant blisters forming on each of my big toes. My cardio and strength is there, now I have to figure out what to do about my shoes sliding ever so slightly.
Mom and dad happened to be touring the gym just as I was cooling down so I went with them to show them where everyone was. Well they had all left and left my stuff behind. I wasn't too happy about that.
After a shower, I went to get lunch, only to find out I had missed the lunch buffet by only about 5 minutes. I had to settle with eating from the snack bar. Unfortunately all I could really eat from there was nachos or french fries. Not so good of a meal after running 7 miles! I wish they had more fresh snacks available on board. The closest thing to a vegetable at the snack bar was salsa.
I sat down and looked out over the boat while eating, but it was windy and instead of having a serene moment, my nachos blew into my hair and down the row of deck chairs, branding them all with gooey cheese. oops!
Again, evening was pretty usual, good dinner in the dining room (we didn't go to the buffet any of the days) and early to bed for me. Some may think its a waste, but my favourite thing to do on vacation is to go to bed early and enjoy a nice long sleep!
Yet another packed weekend.
Friday night was wonderful! I went to see Heather and Rurik at their new barn. It had felt like forever since we had hung out, and her new barn is almost completely deserted after dark. We could vent about whatever, leaving us feeling great at the end!
Rurik is putting weight back on since I last saw him, he still is missing that sparkle in his eye when we fetched him from the field, but it comes back after being ridden for a few minutes. We both suspected he is still adjusting from the move last week, and figuring out his place in the new herd.
Saturday was a regular day at Halton Place, but now Linda is there. Shes off on vacation this week, so I offered to exercise Sable while she is gone. So after I finished my morning chores, I got on Sable briefly and had my first ride in the HP arena. Its so large and beautiful, and it felt so different to ride in it vs lunging or passing through to visit the bathroom. I'm going to take a lesson on Sable with Lynne sometime this week, this is especially great because with Margie injured, I am not sure when I will get my next lesson with her.
I didn't have enough time to get to Myrddin after that, because I needed to be out of work with time to get clean and pretty for my office party. On my way back from lunch, I started having a bad headache.
It didn't stop on the way to the party, and the loud music just made it worse of course. We still stayed throughout dinner but left before I could see a lot of the people I wanted to say hi to that night. One interesting thing DID happen. The DJ must have put his decorative curtains too close to the lights, and smoke set off the alarm for the whole building. The fire department did arrive to which I told a few of the ladies "Our evening entertainment has arrived!" This is particularly funny because last year we had an "award winning dance team" as entertainment, which turned out to be Vegas style showgirls. Of course, they tried to get men on the dance floor with them which turned to all sorts of awkward. After that, the dance floor was hot lava... nobody wanted to touch it! No dancers this year, but I like to think the ladies did get a little eye candy for being such good sports last year.
Yesterday I was supposed to go to the Myrddin potluck on my lunch, but my headache had not yet gone away. I opted to nap it off on my lunch, which helped greatly! I had wanted to go ride after work, but the snow had just started and calling for freezing rain, Lee didn't want me to go out late on country roads. Also, the water mysteriously stopped at 5pm at HP... so I was sticky with ulcer medication (the syringe kept sticking, so in my struggles I managed to cover myself with it!), a shower was much needed.
I am hoping to get up to see Bentley tonight after yoga. I don't usually try to cram in both, but I haven't seen him since Thursday and I miss him!
Rurik is putting weight back on since I last saw him, he still is missing that sparkle in his eye when we fetched him from the field, but it comes back after being ridden for a few minutes. We both suspected he is still adjusting from the move last week, and figuring out his place in the new herd.
Saturday was a regular day at Halton Place, but now Linda is there. Shes off on vacation this week, so I offered to exercise Sable while she is gone. So after I finished my morning chores, I got on Sable briefly and had my first ride in the HP arena. Its so large and beautiful, and it felt so different to ride in it vs lunging or passing through to visit the bathroom. I'm going to take a lesson on Sable with Lynne sometime this week, this is especially great because with Margie injured, I am not sure when I will get my next lesson with her.
I didn't have enough time to get to Myrddin after that, because I needed to be out of work with time to get clean and pretty for my office party. On my way back from lunch, I started having a bad headache.
It didn't stop on the way to the party, and the loud music just made it worse of course. We still stayed throughout dinner but left before I could see a lot of the people I wanted to say hi to that night. One interesting thing DID happen. The DJ must have put his decorative curtains too close to the lights, and smoke set off the alarm for the whole building. The fire department did arrive to which I told a few of the ladies "Our evening entertainment has arrived!" This is particularly funny because last year we had an "award winning dance team" as entertainment, which turned out to be Vegas style showgirls. Of course, they tried to get men on the dance floor with them which turned to all sorts of awkward. After that, the dance floor was hot lava... nobody wanted to touch it! No dancers this year, but I like to think the ladies did get a little eye candy for being such good sports last year.
Yesterday I was supposed to go to the Myrddin potluck on my lunch, but my headache had not yet gone away. I opted to nap it off on my lunch, which helped greatly! I had wanted to go ride after work, but the snow had just started and calling for freezing rain, Lee didn't want me to go out late on country roads. Also, the water mysteriously stopped at 5pm at HP... so I was sticky with ulcer medication (the syringe kept sticking, so in my struggles I managed to cover myself with it!), a shower was much needed.
I am hoping to get up to see Bentley tonight after yoga. I don't usually try to cram in both, but I haven't seen him since Thursday and I miss him!
Friday, December 7, 2012
First 2 rides back
I was able to get out to the barn on Tuesday and ride a bit. Boy was Bentley ever hyper! He even threw a medium sized buck my way when I first asked for canter. After a loud growl the canter was nicer, but another microscopic half buck was thrown in at another point, a second growl and no more problems.
We had the ring to ourselves so I decided to try some little jumping exercises to settle Mr. Energetic down (every time I asked for a circle, he took it as cue to canter). I had Lee set up trot poles to a tiny crossrail. As expected, the moment I picked up the trot again, he lunged forward trying to canter, it got even more difficult once he saw the obstacle.
We had some weird steps over the jump, but we got over. Tried it a few more times and he just wasn't learning to relax, only how to make the canter work over the trot poles. So I brought him back to the walk, and only allowed him to trot just before the trot poles. He did it beautifully! Back to walk. Trot a little earlier and earlier each time until we were able to stay consistently trotting the whole time. Our half halts were much more effective after the walking exercise and we added a second small jump around a large corner as a misshapen figure 8. We then worked on trotting through the first jump with trot poles, cantering to the second jump, and coming back down to trot to repeat.
He was very good with the trot, and after a few bad distances in the canter, the two of us worked it out. The walking exercise really helped to get him to focus and to listen to my half halts.
I also rode last night, however there was a class in there so we didn't get to do much. Also, as I was tacking up (but not during anything in particular) I managed to hurt my back. All of a sudden I was in extreme pain for no apparent reason. Maybe a pinched nerve? It wasn't anything related to where I hurt before and I didn't feel like I pulled anything, so perhaps its just one of those pesky things that pops up every so often. Of course, I was already saddled and ready to go, so I rode anyway. We just did an hour of light work, it hurt too much to trot a lot. I guess it worked out ok anyway because I could just walk around the centre of the ring while the lessons went on.
There was nothing in particular that stood out last night, he was a little inflexible on the one side again, but I was having trouble with my own body so I am sure I was a major contributor. Overall it was a nice ride and he was well behaved. I practised keeping my hands down and steady while posting to keep him in contact, and he rounded beautifully. Also worked on keeping him forward while he is in contact, as he tends to back off and lose impulsion when I bring him together. He was a little confused, but we are improving still!
We had the ring to ourselves so I decided to try some little jumping exercises to settle Mr. Energetic down (every time I asked for a circle, he took it as cue to canter). I had Lee set up trot poles to a tiny crossrail. As expected, the moment I picked up the trot again, he lunged forward trying to canter, it got even more difficult once he saw the obstacle.
We had some weird steps over the jump, but we got over. Tried it a few more times and he just wasn't learning to relax, only how to make the canter work over the trot poles. So I brought him back to the walk, and only allowed him to trot just before the trot poles. He did it beautifully! Back to walk. Trot a little earlier and earlier each time until we were able to stay consistently trotting the whole time. Our half halts were much more effective after the walking exercise and we added a second small jump around a large corner as a misshapen figure 8. We then worked on trotting through the first jump with trot poles, cantering to the second jump, and coming back down to trot to repeat.
He was very good with the trot, and after a few bad distances in the canter, the two of us worked it out. The walking exercise really helped to get him to focus and to listen to my half halts.
I also rode last night, however there was a class in there so we didn't get to do much. Also, as I was tacking up (but not during anything in particular) I managed to hurt my back. All of a sudden I was in extreme pain for no apparent reason. Maybe a pinched nerve? It wasn't anything related to where I hurt before and I didn't feel like I pulled anything, so perhaps its just one of those pesky things that pops up every so often. Of course, I was already saddled and ready to go, so I rode anyway. We just did an hour of light work, it hurt too much to trot a lot. I guess it worked out ok anyway because I could just walk around the centre of the ring while the lessons went on.
There was nothing in particular that stood out last night, he was a little inflexible on the one side again, but I was having trouble with my own body so I am sure I was a major contributor. Overall it was a nice ride and he was well behaved. I practised keeping my hands down and steady while posting to keep him in contact, and he rounded beautifully. Also worked on keeping him forward while he is in contact, as he tends to back off and lose impulsion when I bring him together. He was a little confused, but we are improving still!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Wishlist
If you havent already, I reccommend that you get the Amazon Universal Wishlist toolbar. You can go to any website online and say "I want it!" click the button, and it adds to one wishlist. Much handier than having a wishlist at individual stores.
If you are looking for xmas gifts for me, heres my wishlist
http://amzn.com/w/16LDJ00UUDRZW
If you are looking for xmas gifts for me, heres my wishlist
http://amzn.com/w/16LDJ00UUDRZW
Vacation Day 2: St. Thomas
The first day we landed in St. Thomas. The plan here was that me, my 2 sisters and my parents would branch off from the other 4, take a rental car, and hit the beach. This was probably the most relaxing day we had!
We got the rental car, and guess what, in St Thomas they drive on the left side of the road. To make things more confusing however, they don't use the British style cars (where driver sits on right side), they use American cars (maybe because they are American territory?) which puts the driver on the outside of the road. That made it very difficult for dad to drive, and we all had to be very quiet. Shhhhhhh. Ok, that's a little tricky for a bunch of women on the way to the beach!
We made it there safely, despite not being able to see around some turns. The beach is free to visit but you have to pay $5 for a beach chair and they have a bar. Our server's name was Sasha and she was very hospitable. There were specials on buckets of Corona. I had Heather or Katrina take a picture of me doing the stereotype corona by the beach picture, but its on someone else's camera. I wanted to make Lee a little jealous!
Her name is Lady Gaga and she wears a beautiful flowered hat. Take whatever jokes from that you want!
The roads were pretty steep (or we thought this until we got to some of the other islands) Here is a picture I took out the back window, level with the car. As you can see, you cant see road! That's how steep it was!
Heather wasn't allowed to sit at the bar swings because she wasn't 18. However, she WAS allowed to sit on a stool 2 feet back from the bar and watch us enjoy the swings. Doesn't she look like she is having a great time?
After we got on the ship, it was pretty much a normal night. Dinner at 6, then after I had relaxed enough to feel less bloated, I went to the gym and went for a nice 5 mile run on the treadmill. I was happy to find out that my Monday night shows were on my own personal treadmill TV, so the time passed quickly and soon the gym was closing. Early to bed. Early to rise!
This cool dude greeted me in my room and assisted in a restful slumber.
We got the rental car, and guess what, in St Thomas they drive on the left side of the road. To make things more confusing however, they don't use the British style cars (where driver sits on right side), they use American cars (maybe because they are American territory?) which puts the driver on the outside of the road. That made it very difficult for dad to drive, and we all had to be very quiet. Shhhhhhh. Ok, that's a little tricky for a bunch of women on the way to the beach!
We made it there safely, despite not being able to see around some turns. The beach is free to visit but you have to pay $5 for a beach chair and they have a bar. Our server's name was Sasha and she was very hospitable. There were specials on buckets of Corona. I had Heather or Katrina take a picture of me doing the stereotype corona by the beach picture, but its on someone else's camera. I wanted to make Lee a little jealous!
Looking out from our spot to the left.
And to the right! That's where the good snorkeling was I am told.
We stayed there for the better part of the day. I went out swimming immediately when we got there, but I didn't stay long because even without putting my face in the water, the salt was really hurting my eyes. I went back in a second time and was very careful to breaststroke out keeping my head out of the water. Stroke, stroke, stroke... uh oh! I hit something that didn't feel quite like water! Jellyfish! I immediately spun and swam as fast as i could out of the water, keeping my head up but still splashing in my eyes. I like to use the phrase "I punched a jellyfish" as that's what it really felt like. I'm sure there are some good Chuck Norris jokes you can get out of that.
After a bucket of beer and some delicious smoothies, it was time to leave and we drove back toward the ship. We stopped a few times to take photos.
At one particularly beautiful spot, we saw a very nice ass. Pun definitely intended!
Her name is Lady Gaga and she wears a beautiful flowered hat. Take whatever jokes from that you want!
The roads were pretty steep (or we thought this until we got to some of the other islands) Here is a picture I took out the back window, level with the car. As you can see, you cant see road! That's how steep it was!
Mom had eaten back at the beach. She ate the only sandwich, and left her daughters to starve! Haha. So when we saw Wendys and really had to use the *trusted* bathroom, so we grabbed a bite to eat. After, Katrina and I both bought a hat at the market across the street as neither of us had something floppy to protect our heads. Both of us lost our hats at later points in the trip. With the hat, my fanny backpack and my camera, I pulled off the ultimate tourist look!
I realized after, if I wanted the perfect tourist picture, I shouldn't have stood in front of the boat, but instead something weird or meaningless, like a fire hydrant or something. Oh well!
Of course we had to stop at the bar in front of the ship when we saw IT HAD SWINGS!
Heather wasn't allowed to sit at the bar swings because she wasn't 18. However, she WAS allowed to sit on a stool 2 feet back from the bar and watch us enjoy the swings. Doesn't she look like she is having a great time?
After we got on the ship, it was pretty much a normal night. Dinner at 6, then after I had relaxed enough to feel less bloated, I went to the gym and went for a nice 5 mile run on the treadmill. I was happy to find out that my Monday night shows were on my own personal treadmill TV, so the time passed quickly and soon the gym was closing. Early to bed. Early to rise!
This cool dude greeted me in my room and assisted in a restful slumber.
Happy Anniversary!
On this day exactly 1 year ago, I traded a wad of cash for a wad of fur.
Many of you may remember where we were a year ago. A horse that had very little handling and was afraid of people. I couldn't touch anywhere from his shoulder up, or belly down without him being terrified or kicking out with displeasure. Putting on a bridle or halter was out of the question, its a good thing he came with one!
Within a few days, I was able to touch him enough to catch him in the field (even with some silly games) and sort of lead him.
A few days later he was picking up his feet and letting me put a saddlepad on him. He was still an a-hole to lead and sometimes we spend over an hour just trying to get from the field to the barn. How I wasn't injured or killed from being dragged through the mud that many times, I don't know. Despite that, he was progressing nicely in hand... no longer trying to play nip me when trotting beside me and following commands well.
Only a few weeks after I got him, I saddled him and sat on his back for the first time. He took it like a pro!
Soon I was able to (after great struggle) get a bit less bridle on him and we started working at faster gaits.
In March, we did our first ride on the "trails" in other words, around the hayfield.
And finally at the end of September, he was able to complete his first and second distance ride! Wow, look how different he looks! Not physically, but he is so much more mature and confident. No longer a little boy!
He has become the horse I can do anything with, the horse of my dreams! Now we are at our new home, and looking forward to many more great years to come.
Many of you may remember where we were a year ago. A horse that had very little handling and was afraid of people. I couldn't touch anywhere from his shoulder up, or belly down without him being terrified or kicking out with displeasure. Putting on a bridle or halter was out of the question, its a good thing he came with one!
Within a few days, I was able to touch him enough to catch him in the field (even with some silly games) and sort of lead him.
A few days later he was picking up his feet and letting me put a saddlepad on him. He was still an a-hole to lead and sometimes we spend over an hour just trying to get from the field to the barn. How I wasn't injured or killed from being dragged through the mud that many times, I don't know. Despite that, he was progressing nicely in hand... no longer trying to play nip me when trotting beside me and following commands well.
Only a few weeks after I got him, I saddled him and sat on his back for the first time. He took it like a pro!
Soon I was able to (after great struggle) get a bit less bridle on him and we started working at faster gaits.
In March, we did our first ride on the "trails" in other words, around the hayfield.
In April, he was starting to be ok with his ears being touched and for our first lesson with Margie, I introduced the bit. Took it like he had been doing it all his life!
Over the summer we had issues with on and off lameness, so instead of working him too much, we found other ways to amuse ourselves.
And finally at the end of September, he was able to complete his first and second distance ride! Wow, look how different he looks! Not physically, but he is so much more mature and confident. No longer a little boy!
He has become the horse I can do anything with, the horse of my dreams! Now we are at our new home, and looking forward to many more great years to come.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Vacation - Day 1: Debarkation
The day started out nice and early with our trip to the airport. There was a slight setback when our boarding passes we had printed in advance didnt work, so we had to go through the whole ordeal.
After clearing security, we all took turns going to the bathroom, Katrina came back stating about how some child vomit had accidentally flung her way and got on her hand. Of course, I snickered to which she tried to curse me with a sick child next to me on the plane.
The opposite coudlnt be more true, instead I only had one person, empty seat in the middle, and he was very quiet and kept to himself. Exactly how I want to spend my flight! The time *pun intended* flew by and we were in San Juan before I knew it.
After landing, all 9 of us met to get taxis to port, however Nancy's cane had been forgotten/lost/stolen so only half of us went to the port. It was nice to be able to wait somewhere with some ventilation and Katrina and Heather went for ice cream.
Nice Heather!
Heather and went ahead of everyone else to get checked in. When we got there, they took a picture of us together for souvenir purposes. Just as we were about to check in with our boarding passes, everyone else came in and yelled at us to wait for them (although looking back, we didnt need them for anything... one of the negatives about travelling in large groups, one person gets confused and confuses the rest then new rules and directions get created!) Everyone else went to get their souvenir photo done but Katrina missed it, so she was being called back. I told her she had to go and get the photo for her ship ID and even though everyone was posing in photos together, she believed me and stood alone for her photo. Heather and I LAUGHED AND LAUGHED! Katrina wasnt very happy and made a stink about it, which of course made us laugh more.
Heather and I were sharing a room, so we went together to find it after some more confusion resulting in dad forbidding us to go to our rooms (thats what happens when you get older, punishment isnt going to your room, its staying out of it) while he tried to set the limits on our spending cards. It was painful to watch him try to use the touchscreen and eventually as he was giving up and telling us to go to our rooms and figure it out later, I just took over and did it in only a minute. The room was quite nice, the window was actually very large, not just a port hole, but a full window.
I cant remember what we did after that. Probably some exploring before dinner. Dinner was very good, I seem to remember having the fish. The portions were fine dining, which some may consider small, but I was happy with just one appetiser, one main, and sorbet for dessert. Of course that sparked the debate as to what is the difference between sorbet and sherbert. Also signed up for a "cruise the vineyards" package which gave me 5 bottles of wine (split with Katrina). It was just enough to last us all 7 nights of the trip!
After dinner, I believe I did some more exploring, found the gym and got the schedule for yoga. I met up with Katrina and Ramlin (Nancy's friend) later as we wanted to go to some of the onboard bars/clubs. We tried every one (probably 4 or 5) but they all were deserted. Only had one drink in one of the bars and went back to the rooms. We met up with Heather who was apparently not allowed in the teen club without written permission from parents (at 16, who really needs this!) so we all just hung out until 3am in Katrina and Ramlin's room. Ordered some room service which is free and called it a night!
After clearing security, we all took turns going to the bathroom, Katrina came back stating about how some child vomit had accidentally flung her way and got on her hand. Of course, I snickered to which she tried to curse me with a sick child next to me on the plane.
The opposite coudlnt be more true, instead I only had one person, empty seat in the middle, and he was very quiet and kept to himself. Exactly how I want to spend my flight! The time *pun intended* flew by and we were in San Juan before I knew it.
After landing, all 9 of us met to get taxis to port, however Nancy's cane had been forgotten/lost/stolen so only half of us went to the port. It was nice to be able to wait somewhere with some ventilation and Katrina and Heather went for ice cream.
Heather and went ahead of everyone else to get checked in. When we got there, they took a picture of us together for souvenir purposes. Just as we were about to check in with our boarding passes, everyone else came in and yelled at us to wait for them (although looking back, we didnt need them for anything... one of the negatives about travelling in large groups, one person gets confused and confuses the rest then new rules and directions get created!) Everyone else went to get their souvenir photo done but Katrina missed it, so she was being called back. I told her she had to go and get the photo for her ship ID and even though everyone was posing in photos together, she believed me and stood alone for her photo. Heather and I LAUGHED AND LAUGHED! Katrina wasnt very happy and made a stink about it, which of course made us laugh more.
Heather and I were sharing a room, so we went together to find it after some more confusion resulting in dad forbidding us to go to our rooms (thats what happens when you get older, punishment isnt going to your room, its staying out of it) while he tried to set the limits on our spending cards. It was painful to watch him try to use the touchscreen and eventually as he was giving up and telling us to go to our rooms and figure it out later, I just took over and did it in only a minute. The room was quite nice, the window was actually very large, not just a port hole, but a full window.
I cant remember what we did after that. Probably some exploring before dinner. Dinner was very good, I seem to remember having the fish. The portions were fine dining, which some may consider small, but I was happy with just one appetiser, one main, and sorbet for dessert. Of course that sparked the debate as to what is the difference between sorbet and sherbert. Also signed up for a "cruise the vineyards" package which gave me 5 bottles of wine (split with Katrina). It was just enough to last us all 7 nights of the trip!
After dinner, I believe I did some more exploring, found the gym and got the schedule for yoga. I met up with Katrina and Ramlin (Nancy's friend) later as we wanted to go to some of the onboard bars/clubs. We tried every one (probably 4 or 5) but they all were deserted. Only had one drink in one of the bars and went back to the rooms. We met up with Heather who was apparently not allowed in the teen club without written permission from parents (at 16, who really needs this!) so we all just hung out until 3am in Katrina and Ramlin's room. Ordered some room service which is free and called it a night!
Congrats Tayla!
Again I will delay my vacation report, because this morning on the way to work, i got an email from Tayla that she had her baby.
Little (big) boy.
On Monday, she messaged me to say she wouldn't make it to the Christmas party. Funny thing was we were in a meeting to discuss the arrangements for the party. We wondered if that was code for "I'm going into labour" but she assured us she wasn't (but kind of wished she did)
She got her wish and came early. Very happy for her! I had a feeling it was going to be a boy :)
Little (big) boy.
On Monday, she messaged me to say she wouldn't make it to the Christmas party. Funny thing was we were in a meeting to discuss the arrangements for the party. We wondered if that was code for "I'm going into labour" but she assured us she wasn't (but kind of wished she did)
She got her wish and came early. Very happy for her! I had a feeling it was going to be a boy :)
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Yoga - lesson number 3.5
Although I desperately wanted to go visit my horsie last night, I went to my usual Monday yoga class. I tried to justify not going but as I counted the amount of Mondays left before my 10 class pass expired, it was quite apparent that I couldn't make any excuses.
Don't worry, i haven't forgotten to write about my vacation, but I haven't had a chance to go through photos yet and I thought it was better to write about yoga while it is fresh in my mind.
So last night was focused on lower back, shoulders and wrists... my specialty! I certainly stunned my teacher Lorie with my super-yoga that night. In fact, there was some where I was able to hold the pose better than her (to give her credit, she had been doing zumba all day and was likely tired at this point!)
She said there was a "request of the week" to do camel pose (I assume this was from one of her other classes) and said that it was hard but we will work up to it and no hard feelings if we cant get it. Well, I not only got it... PERFECTLY (in her words) but it was relatively easy for me. She certainly raved about my back's flexibility and I was able to push it and all the other poses very far. I was wearing my GEC tshirt, not sure if anyone made the connection that riding & mucking=incredible back strength!
Some of the balance poses also were quite easy for me, and I related it to things I do at the house or barn. Gives me an idea for a photo series. That will come in a few months I am sure once I get all my thoughts together!
Lorie is great, so encouraging, I cant believe how well I am able to perform with her. Hmmm hopefully I can find it in the budget after my 10 classes are done to keep going. Time to start eating less or something!
Don't worry, i haven't forgotten to write about my vacation, but I haven't had a chance to go through photos yet and I thought it was better to write about yoga while it is fresh in my mind.
So last night was focused on lower back, shoulders and wrists... my specialty! I certainly stunned my teacher Lorie with my super-yoga that night. In fact, there was some where I was able to hold the pose better than her (to give her credit, she had been doing zumba all day and was likely tired at this point!)
She said there was a "request of the week" to do camel pose (I assume this was from one of her other classes) and said that it was hard but we will work up to it and no hard feelings if we cant get it. Well, I not only got it... PERFECTLY (in her words) but it was relatively easy for me. She certainly raved about my back's flexibility and I was able to push it and all the other poses very far. I was wearing my GEC tshirt, not sure if anyone made the connection that riding & mucking=incredible back strength!
Some of the balance poses also were quite easy for me, and I related it to things I do at the house or barn. Gives me an idea for a photo series. That will come in a few months I am sure once I get all my thoughts together!
Lorie is great, so encouraging, I cant believe how well I am able to perform with her. Hmmm hopefully I can find it in the budget after my 10 classes are done to keep going. Time to start eating less or something!
Monday, December 3, 2012
I'm Back!
Although I didn't mention anything last week, I went on vacation. I didn't publicize it as it seems like a bad idea to tell the whole world that your house will be for the most-part unguarded. Lee was home, but worked enough that I can still use the phrase unguarded.
Besides, I am sure most of who reads this either knew I was going, or went with me.
I will get into details of the vacation later, but for now I have to get to a weeks worth of work and emails that are clogging up my to-do list.
Besides, I am sure most of who reads this either knew I was going, or went with me.
I will get into details of the vacation later, but for now I have to get to a weeks worth of work and emails that are clogging up my to-do list.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Moonlit Ride
Last night I went up to the barn without knowing the lesson schedule, knowing that I may or may not ride depending on how busy it is.
Well the lesson calendar was booked through to 9. I debated grooming and going home, but I really didnt want to go home! I know I was welcome to ride in the arena since there were only 3 in the lesson, but a very large part of me said "nope, go ride in the dark instead"
So we made our way up to the outdoor ring, and wow was Bentley ever perky! Well, he had been perky from the moment I fetched him from the stall. I dont know if it was because hes now living in the stall, or he was excited to ride in the dark. Either way, I had a horse that was very happy to see me and go for a ride!
As soon as I got to the ring, I asked for the trot and got that big giant speedy trot that just eats up trail. A few wiggles here and there to get a good look at things like bush shadows and the spooky judges box, but only on our first time around. After that, never a problem! He was abiding by my commands, but I could tell there was a LOT of energy coiled underneath me. So I let him have a good gallop around the ring on the happy left lead. We went round and round and round and round, and eventually I lost count, but for some variety, I threw in circles at random intervals, and he was listening despite the speed. Then I practiced pushing him down the long side, and collecting around the turns, brilliant! Then it became time to change direction and pick up the dreaded right lead canter. Instead of bringing him back, I decided to just change direction before bringing him back to the trot, shift the weight to my outside foot, and whats this? My horse has auto-leads? How did he learn that?
I brought him back to the trot and asked to pick up right lead again. Didn't get it, put even more weight outside and kept the tight contact (I suspect I may have lost rein contact) and there it is! Right lead!
I was so pleased with this, that after a few happy laps, I brought him back and left the ring. Intention was to walk and trot around the field. We got out to the hay field, and picked up the trot. Up to the top of the hill, good, but half-halting every stride. He was raring to go. I walked down the hill and stopped to let him eat. He wasnt puffing at all, not even a bit tired, even after all that work! Ok, lets keep troting. He offered me the canter, and I allowed it and then allowed a good gallop twice around the large field. I was so impressed with him. The footing is good there, but I wasnt sure how he would take it, since he often stumbles at the walk (however, this is because hes trying to grab food and doesnt watch his feet!) I was also worried he would buck, because he was VERY frisky and kept trying to get his head low. I think the reason he was lowering his head, was to get a better view of the ground, I slowly let him get a little lower while still staying out of bucking range and constantly reminding him "Hey im up here!" with halfhalts. No problems! Great gallop!
Now seems like a good time in my writing to take a break to describe how beautiful it was that night. The moon was bright and lit the fields, sometimes I got the odd stick in the face along the outskirts of the field, it WAS still dark enough that they could hide, but nothing too bad! And the light of the moon was just enough to know when to turn so as not to run into a fence. The stars were absolutely brilliant, they filled the sky and felt absolutely magical. Lastly, it was about 10C and all I needed was a jacket and gloves, it didnt feel cold or dreary at all. I hope there are still more of these nights. Time seemed to stand still.
We went back into the ring to do some more work. We started walking and working on bending and leg yielding. At the trot, he was trying to canter a lot, so we stayed walking for a while. He did settle down eventually and we were able to do lots of circles and yielding beautifully on both sides at the trot. Moved up to the canter, no more gallop there! I sat back and brought him under me and we had beautiful dressagey canter. He was still very energetic and happy to canter, so I took this time to work hard on getting him not to lean on circles, and getting my weight consciously in the outside stirrup, and focusing on keeping a good position. Its been a while since I really had the chance to work on that! Usually I am too busy worrying about him to worry about me. Lots of circles, and changing directions. Doing lots more of those auto changes we discovered he cuold do. I think he got them about 75% of the time (but it was dark, so sometimes I wasnt totally sure until we went around a corner, sometimes he had it and I had just missed feeling the hop!) We did a ton of these.
Note to self, practise downwards transitions and maintain impulsion!
We went for a long walk after to cool out and dry off a little. All around the fields, enjoying the night sky. He clearly wasn't tired, but he sure was wet! We really are going to have to clip him soon.
It was a very perfect ride!
Well the lesson calendar was booked through to 9. I debated grooming and going home, but I really didnt want to go home! I know I was welcome to ride in the arena since there were only 3 in the lesson, but a very large part of me said "nope, go ride in the dark instead"
So we made our way up to the outdoor ring, and wow was Bentley ever perky! Well, he had been perky from the moment I fetched him from the stall. I dont know if it was because hes now living in the stall, or he was excited to ride in the dark. Either way, I had a horse that was very happy to see me and go for a ride!
As soon as I got to the ring, I asked for the trot and got that big giant speedy trot that just eats up trail. A few wiggles here and there to get a good look at things like bush shadows and the spooky judges box, but only on our first time around. After that, never a problem! He was abiding by my commands, but I could tell there was a LOT of energy coiled underneath me. So I let him have a good gallop around the ring on the happy left lead. We went round and round and round and round, and eventually I lost count, but for some variety, I threw in circles at random intervals, and he was listening despite the speed. Then I practiced pushing him down the long side, and collecting around the turns, brilliant! Then it became time to change direction and pick up the dreaded right lead canter. Instead of bringing him back, I decided to just change direction before bringing him back to the trot, shift the weight to my outside foot, and whats this? My horse has auto-leads? How did he learn that?
I brought him back to the trot and asked to pick up right lead again. Didn't get it, put even more weight outside and kept the tight contact (I suspect I may have lost rein contact) and there it is! Right lead!
I was so pleased with this, that after a few happy laps, I brought him back and left the ring. Intention was to walk and trot around the field. We got out to the hay field, and picked up the trot. Up to the top of the hill, good, but half-halting every stride. He was raring to go. I walked down the hill and stopped to let him eat. He wasnt puffing at all, not even a bit tired, even after all that work! Ok, lets keep troting. He offered me the canter, and I allowed it and then allowed a good gallop twice around the large field. I was so impressed with him. The footing is good there, but I wasnt sure how he would take it, since he often stumbles at the walk (however, this is because hes trying to grab food and doesnt watch his feet!) I was also worried he would buck, because he was VERY frisky and kept trying to get his head low. I think the reason he was lowering his head, was to get a better view of the ground, I slowly let him get a little lower while still staying out of bucking range and constantly reminding him "Hey im up here!" with halfhalts. No problems! Great gallop!
Now seems like a good time in my writing to take a break to describe how beautiful it was that night. The moon was bright and lit the fields, sometimes I got the odd stick in the face along the outskirts of the field, it WAS still dark enough that they could hide, but nothing too bad! And the light of the moon was just enough to know when to turn so as not to run into a fence. The stars were absolutely brilliant, they filled the sky and felt absolutely magical. Lastly, it was about 10C and all I needed was a jacket and gloves, it didnt feel cold or dreary at all. I hope there are still more of these nights. Time seemed to stand still.
We went back into the ring to do some more work. We started walking and working on bending and leg yielding. At the trot, he was trying to canter a lot, so we stayed walking for a while. He did settle down eventually and we were able to do lots of circles and yielding beautifully on both sides at the trot. Moved up to the canter, no more gallop there! I sat back and brought him under me and we had beautiful dressagey canter. He was still very energetic and happy to canter, so I took this time to work hard on getting him not to lean on circles, and getting my weight consciously in the outside stirrup, and focusing on keeping a good position. Its been a while since I really had the chance to work on that! Usually I am too busy worrying about him to worry about me. Lots of circles, and changing directions. Doing lots more of those auto changes we discovered he cuold do. I think he got them about 75% of the time (but it was dark, so sometimes I wasnt totally sure until we went around a corner, sometimes he had it and I had just missed feeling the hop!) We did a ton of these.
Note to self, practise downwards transitions and maintain impulsion!
We went for a long walk after to cool out and dry off a little. All around the fields, enjoying the night sky. He clearly wasn't tired, but he sure was wet! We really are going to have to clip him soon.
It was a very perfect ride!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
My tips for saving on groceries
With all the unexpected and expected rise in costs recently, I have been getting creative about how to pinch pennies without compromising my horse spending. In the past few weeks, I have cut down a weekly grocery bill of about $150 to between $60-100. There are a few big things that contribute to that.
Coupons
I suggest you immediately subscribe to http://www.groceryalerts.ca/ I have found them to be very useful, they send out EVERY online coupon you can use in Canada. Many of the sites they will link you to, will actually print out and mail the coupons to you FOR FREE. Some you must print yourself. But don't waste your time or energy, only print or request coupons for products you know you are going to use. Don't buy something with a coupon because you have the coupon, take the coupon because you buy the item! Coupon temptation is strong.
Free samples
Again, go to http://www.groceryalerts.ca/ because they also send you lists of free samples. YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE what I get in the mail these days. Sometimes I address them to Lee because its like Christmas for him, and he loves it was all free. Yesterday, I got 3 samples of different laundry soaps (theres our laundry done this week!) the week before I got a free Men's razor for Lee (not the cheapie one either, a fancy 5 blade replaceable head one) and 30 days free of wrinkle cream... not that I need it yet, but why not share! And on a regular basis, I get a box the size of a shoebox filled with free things like dusting cloths, granola bars, haircare, more laundry detergent etc. Find the box at http://www.pgbrandsampler.ca/. The most generous sample givers are cleaning and hygiene products.
Shop around without shopping around
It used to be that you would have to visit every store in town to get the best deals (a trick I learned from my father) but no need to waste gas or time anymore! Price match is perhaps where I have my deepest vault of tips. Where do I start?
This week we bought mouthwash. Lee reached for the Listerine at $6.99 and I reached for the knockoff at $2.49. We read the ingredients and %ages (medicinal ingredients) and of course, they were the exact same. Lee was in utter shock of this! Another example this week was vitamins. One had 500mg of active ingredient and said to take 2x day 100 capsules, the other at the same price was 1000mg once a day and 80 capsules. Do the math!
Rainy Days
Take advantage of rain checks if they offer it. If its a REALLY good deal, take more advantage of it. Usually there is a limit to how many they give you. We came up with this idea just in the last month when Lee got a rain check for 6 x1L chocolate milk at $0.88 each. Those 6L only lasted a few days with Lee (I had a whole 2 cups of milk!) I told him he should have gone in every day to get a rain check. Then every week we take a different one, we could fill our fridge with chocolate milk! If you are really lucky, the customer service agent may not even check to see they have run out, its like a free coupon you can use any time!
Being diligent is so worth it! Good luck shopping :)
Coupons
I suggest you immediately subscribe to http://www.groceryalerts.ca/ I have found them to be very useful, they send out EVERY online coupon you can use in Canada. Many of the sites they will link you to, will actually print out and mail the coupons to you FOR FREE. Some you must print yourself. But don't waste your time or energy, only print or request coupons for products you know you are going to use. Don't buy something with a coupon because you have the coupon, take the coupon because you buy the item! Coupon temptation is strong.
Free samples
Again, go to http://www.groceryalerts.ca/ because they also send you lists of free samples. YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE what I get in the mail these days. Sometimes I address them to Lee because its like Christmas for him, and he loves it was all free. Yesterday, I got 3 samples of different laundry soaps (theres our laundry done this week!) the week before I got a free Men's razor for Lee (not the cheapie one either, a fancy 5 blade replaceable head one) and 30 days free of wrinkle cream... not that I need it yet, but why not share! And on a regular basis, I get a box the size of a shoebox filled with free things like dusting cloths, granola bars, haircare, more laundry detergent etc. Find the box at http://www.pgbrandsampler.ca/. The most generous sample givers are cleaning and hygiene products.
Shop around without shopping around
It used to be that you would have to visit every store in town to get the best deals (a trick I learned from my father) but no need to waste gas or time anymore! Price match is perhaps where I have my deepest vault of tips. Where do I start?
- Take the time to really read the flyer's. Half an hour out of your day could be 40% off your grocery bill. I actually worked it out by nit picking my receipt after the fact. I saved 40% by price matching. That's $60 off my regular bill. Does your work pay you $120 an hour? Your time is worth it.
- Go to the fanciest store that does price matching. I go to superstore. For one, its closest to my house, but that's not where the most value is. I find their produce is the best offered in our town, although it is more expensive. So what do I do? PRICE MATCH! Beautiful large head of lettuce = $1.99, nope, get that for $0.88 thank you very much food basics. Not only is the size doubled of those at food basics, but if its fresher, it will last longer and you wont be throwing your money to the rabbit with wilty lettuce. This is my most brilliant cheat. You can still do this with weighed produce also, while you don't benefit from the size difference, you still have better quality produce that lasts much longer (and often tastes better!).
- Don't stock up. Stocking up is almost completely unnecessary these days. So many of the items you use on a regular basis will be on sale somewhere almost every week. You will really start to notice this now that you spend that half hour going through the flyer's. Also, I know from my experience, you may stock up on something with all sorts of good intentions to eat it, then it hides in the back of the freezer until it gets freezerburned and you find it a year later.
- Make a list, then pick your price matching from the list. What do you need? Get only what you need, don't worry about the sales. Just take your list find the lowest price in the flyer's, and go! This keeps you out of trouble when you are in the store because you have a plan, you don't get as easily distracted by deceiving sale signs or junky food you don't need. Also, your plan will keep you making healthy choices and get out of the store faster! I even break my list up by flyer's so when I am putting it on the belt, its much faster and more organized.
- If you really want to go above and beyond, keep a spreadsheet of what you pricematch. That way, when you are going through flyer's again next week, you can decide what IS a good deal and what ISNT
This week we bought mouthwash. Lee reached for the Listerine at $6.99 and I reached for the knockoff at $2.49. We read the ingredients and %ages (medicinal ingredients) and of course, they were the exact same. Lee was in utter shock of this! Another example this week was vitamins. One had 500mg of active ingredient and said to take 2x day 100 capsules, the other at the same price was 1000mg once a day and 80 capsules. Do the math!
Rainy Days
Take advantage of rain checks if they offer it. If its a REALLY good deal, take more advantage of it. Usually there is a limit to how many they give you. We came up with this idea just in the last month when Lee got a rain check for 6 x1L chocolate milk at $0.88 each. Those 6L only lasted a few days with Lee (I had a whole 2 cups of milk!) I told him he should have gone in every day to get a rain check. Then every week we take a different one, we could fill our fridge with chocolate milk! If you are really lucky, the customer service agent may not even check to see they have run out, its like a free coupon you can use any time!
Being diligent is so worth it! Good luck shopping :)
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Yoga again.
I went for my second yoga class on Monday. All the women were complaining about how much they hurt after the last week, hm I didnt feel that bad! Same with this time, clearly the riding helps yoga as much as yoga helps riding! I felt that also on certain stretches we did, how I was able to do far more with my back muscles than the average person.
There was one stretch, where I must have really excited my teacher because she came over with loud compliments and proceeded to sit on my back to push me harder (in a good way, because I was already as far as I could get without pressure). Nobody else in the class had that response! Wooo! Of course, there were still stretches where I was barely competent. Would you believe I have never been able to touch my toes while flat footed? I can barely get my hands past my knees. Just cant keep that heel down. Even as a child I walked as though I was wearing invisible stilettos.
One thing I did notice however as I stretched towards my toes... "Oh no! My feet smell!" How embarassing! It made for a very long hour. Lesson learned! Its hard to stay focused and relaxed when smelly invades, its worse when you know you are the culprit!
There was one stretch, where I must have really excited my teacher because she came over with loud compliments and proceeded to sit on my back to push me harder (in a good way, because I was already as far as I could get without pressure). Nobody else in the class had that response! Wooo! Of course, there were still stretches where I was barely competent. Would you believe I have never been able to touch my toes while flat footed? I can barely get my hands past my knees. Just cant keep that heel down. Even as a child I walked as though I was wearing invisible stilettos.
One thing I did notice however as I stretched towards my toes... "Oh no! My feet smell!" How embarassing! It made for a very long hour. Lesson learned! Its hard to stay focused and relaxed when smelly invades, its worse when you know you are the culprit!
Second ride at Myrddin - XC!
I am starting to fall behind in my writing. Lets hope I remember all the details!
Sidetrack:
I had forgot to mention, how on Saturday, my big furry beast was a mess of sweat. Hes already so hairy, its as thick as my half Persian cat. I dread the thought of having to clip him, he didn't take too kindly to the idea of clippers last year. Hes a different horse than a year ago, but I am still worried it may never happen since still by the end of summer, his hatred for wet sponges had not yet disappeared. I can imagine clippers will be 10x worse. So I have a plan for this, I'm bringing my old electric toothbrush to the barn. I'm going to get him used to the buzzing and vibration without any blades or investment in a clipper. We will see how that works, because hes going to need it!
So with this in mind, I wanted to put more weight on the start of our ride, and keep it casual toward the end to try and dry him off more. We started in the ring. After the excitement the day before, I thought it necessary to give him a good schooling to get his head where I wanted it, and then go out and have fun in the fields.
We didn't try anything new, just worked on circles, serpentines and leg yielding in walk and trot. As usual, he was stiffer going clockwise (right bend) so we worked more on it. We didn't get it to be completely even, but enough improvement that I was happy with it. We immediately tried getting the right lead canter, and after a few tries and excited head to the left and nose to the sky jigging, I brought him back to walk. I could tell that I was putting barely any weight in my left stirrup. Not just when I was asking, but all the time. From that point on, I consciously tried to over exaggerate the weight in my left foot and kept tighter reins. After one more failed attempt, I exaggerated a bit more, and there we had it, right lead canter! This is going to take a lot of retraining for me! We went around the ring a few times, adding in some circles with me practicing my left stirrup weight.
Since we got that, we did an easy canter in the left lead, also doing a few nice circles, working on keeping him up straight, not leaning into the turn.
We came back to the walk and left the ring, just in time to meet Laura riding Fancy. Together we walked around the fields for a good half an hour, chatting and enjoying the day. Fancy was coming off an injury and couldn't do more than that. Just before she went to go in the barn, we came across Tara, the landlords daughter on her horse Charlotte. The two of us decided to pick up the pace a little and have some fun before I had to go back to work.
I asked "Are we allowed to jump the xc fences when not in a lesson" she said "oh ya!" and we were immediately off over a little log. Bentley bounded to it happily and over it like a superstar, Tara followed. We took turns choosing jumps to go over and who led. We even did 3 in a row that were about 8 strides apart, but around a curve and up gradual hill. The middle one was large (for us) but Bentley was happy to do it, just looking for the next one in a happy gallop. We also did the steps up and bank down, which was just another day on the job for him!
Our last jump, Tara picked was a tire jump. It was very inviting, had big wings on the side, but it was a little unexpected. We had just been walking for a while and she picked up the trot without word only a few metres out and popped over it. I was right beside her and hadn't expected it, so I did a small trot circle to warm up a bit and approached it. Well, I should have done a much larger circle and got a lot more impulsion because Bentley hesitated to look at the jump.
In all our experience together, if he hesitates, he wont jump and wants a reapproach. So in that fraction of a moment, I sat back, expecting the stop. Instead, he leaped over it like a deer. Boing!!! I went straight up toward the sky, a foot above my saddle, my feet staying in the stirrups, but instead at the top of my stirrups. He landed on all fours, and I came straight back down into the saddle. No falling, but ouch, the concussion of landing bothered my bad knee! It was a hard land. Bentley didn't even seem to notice it was a bad jump "Hey mum, look we got over!" No harm done, but I have learned my lesson: strong approach! In a way, it does make me happy too because he tried even though he wasn't sure (me too!) which must mean his confidence is really coming along.
I learned another thing too. Communicate with your riding buddies! Perhaps if I had set a precedent before of calling out my intentions, it would have been reciprocated and I would have had better notice of the jump. After all, I was the one who instigated the "lets tear across the xc field" thing.
Sidetrack:
I had forgot to mention, how on Saturday, my big furry beast was a mess of sweat. Hes already so hairy, its as thick as my half Persian cat. I dread the thought of having to clip him, he didn't take too kindly to the idea of clippers last year. Hes a different horse than a year ago, but I am still worried it may never happen since still by the end of summer, his hatred for wet sponges had not yet disappeared. I can imagine clippers will be 10x worse. So I have a plan for this, I'm bringing my old electric toothbrush to the barn. I'm going to get him used to the buzzing and vibration without any blades or investment in a clipper. We will see how that works, because hes going to need it!
So with this in mind, I wanted to put more weight on the start of our ride, and keep it casual toward the end to try and dry him off more. We started in the ring. After the excitement the day before, I thought it necessary to give him a good schooling to get his head where I wanted it, and then go out and have fun in the fields.
We didn't try anything new, just worked on circles, serpentines and leg yielding in walk and trot. As usual, he was stiffer going clockwise (right bend) so we worked more on it. We didn't get it to be completely even, but enough improvement that I was happy with it. We immediately tried getting the right lead canter, and after a few tries and excited head to the left and nose to the sky jigging, I brought him back to walk. I could tell that I was putting barely any weight in my left stirrup. Not just when I was asking, but all the time. From that point on, I consciously tried to over exaggerate the weight in my left foot and kept tighter reins. After one more failed attempt, I exaggerated a bit more, and there we had it, right lead canter! This is going to take a lot of retraining for me! We went around the ring a few times, adding in some circles with me practicing my left stirrup weight.
Since we got that, we did an easy canter in the left lead, also doing a few nice circles, working on keeping him up straight, not leaning into the turn.
We came back to the walk and left the ring, just in time to meet Laura riding Fancy. Together we walked around the fields for a good half an hour, chatting and enjoying the day. Fancy was coming off an injury and couldn't do more than that. Just before she went to go in the barn, we came across Tara, the landlords daughter on her horse Charlotte. The two of us decided to pick up the pace a little and have some fun before I had to go back to work.
I asked "Are we allowed to jump the xc fences when not in a lesson" she said "oh ya!" and we were immediately off over a little log. Bentley bounded to it happily and over it like a superstar, Tara followed. We took turns choosing jumps to go over and who led. We even did 3 in a row that were about 8 strides apart, but around a curve and up gradual hill. The middle one was large (for us) but Bentley was happy to do it, just looking for the next one in a happy gallop. We also did the steps up and bank down, which was just another day on the job for him!
Our last jump, Tara picked was a tire jump. It was very inviting, had big wings on the side, but it was a little unexpected. We had just been walking for a while and she picked up the trot without word only a few metres out and popped over it. I was right beside her and hadn't expected it, so I did a small trot circle to warm up a bit and approached it. Well, I should have done a much larger circle and got a lot more impulsion because Bentley hesitated to look at the jump.
In all our experience together, if he hesitates, he wont jump and wants a reapproach. So in that fraction of a moment, I sat back, expecting the stop. Instead, he leaped over it like a deer. Boing!!! I went straight up toward the sky, a foot above my saddle, my feet staying in the stirrups, but instead at the top of my stirrups. He landed on all fours, and I came straight back down into the saddle. No falling, but ouch, the concussion of landing bothered my bad knee! It was a hard land. Bentley didn't even seem to notice it was a bad jump "Hey mum, look we got over!" No harm done, but I have learned my lesson: strong approach! In a way, it does make me happy too because he tried even though he wasn't sure (me too!) which must mean his confidence is really coming along.
I learned another thing too. Communicate with your riding buddies! Perhaps if I had set a precedent before of calling out my intentions, it would have been reciprocated and I would have had better notice of the jump. After all, I was the one who instigated the "lets tear across the xc field" thing.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
First Ride at Myrddin
Despite the exciting news, I was still at Myrddin for a ride. I was able to connect with Barb before her lesson (She had been in my class wayyy back in the winter when I started doing lessons through the groupon promotion) and we played around in the field.
There are 3 medium sized fields filled with cross country jumps and the sand ring on the south side of the property, and there is one large field on the north side - that's where we started riding. Bentley and Bee hit it off (well they ARE stall neighbors now) and were particularly frisky. Lots of big trot with a few excited canters in there (although not always asked for!)
Barb then went for her lesson and I decided to explore the xc (cross country) fields. We had some more nice gallops, but Bentley typically had other plans and needed more convincing than usual when I tried to bring him back. My theory is he thought it was an OCTRA ride... trailer, sleep, then run through the forest!
I may have been a little hard on him, I don't mind if he wants to run, but when we do it, I like to practice lots of short runs to ingrain the idea of me being in charge. I wasn't too pleased after it took a few too many woahs and a harder sit and pull than usual. I kind of dwelled on this after our ride and complained a bit to Barb, who said I shouldn't be mad because hes a young fresh thing on a beautiful day, but still, I don't like when he challenges my decisions (by galloping down a steep albeit well footed hill). Both right, time to move on!
His punishment for this was ring work. We went into the ring and did some figures. By then, he figured it wasn't a race and settled into what I was asking of him although he was still hyper as anything. Barb finished her lesson and joined us for some more trotting and walking around the fields before it was time to head back.
Bentley still had a ton of energy, but nothing I could do about that! After all, we still don't exactly know his limit. Even after 2 Oktoberfest 12s he seemed to bounce back enough in a few hours that he was contemplating escape and didn't want to go home. Now that hes getting good food and spending nights in his stall, I may have to ride much more than before to keep him out of trouble. Good I guess, if only I had a time control device!
Oh and I didn't even mention about how happy he was when I went to fetch him from the paddocks for our ride. He had his own paddock with his OWN round bale. Hes not going to be skinny much longer!
There are 3 medium sized fields filled with cross country jumps and the sand ring on the south side of the property, and there is one large field on the north side - that's where we started riding. Bentley and Bee hit it off (well they ARE stall neighbors now) and were particularly frisky. Lots of big trot with a few excited canters in there (although not always asked for!)
Barb then went for her lesson and I decided to explore the xc (cross country) fields. We had some more nice gallops, but Bentley typically had other plans and needed more convincing than usual when I tried to bring him back. My theory is he thought it was an OCTRA ride... trailer, sleep, then run through the forest!
I may have been a little hard on him, I don't mind if he wants to run, but when we do it, I like to practice lots of short runs to ingrain the idea of me being in charge. I wasn't too pleased after it took a few too many woahs and a harder sit and pull than usual. I kind of dwelled on this after our ride and complained a bit to Barb, who said I shouldn't be mad because hes a young fresh thing on a beautiful day, but still, I don't like when he challenges my decisions (by galloping down a steep albeit well footed hill). Both right, time to move on!
His punishment for this was ring work. We went into the ring and did some figures. By then, he figured it wasn't a race and settled into what I was asking of him although he was still hyper as anything. Barb finished her lesson and joined us for some more trotting and walking around the fields before it was time to head back.
Bentley still had a ton of energy, but nothing I could do about that! After all, we still don't exactly know his limit. Even after 2 Oktoberfest 12s he seemed to bounce back enough in a few hours that he was contemplating escape and didn't want to go home. Now that hes getting good food and spending nights in his stall, I may have to ride much more than before to keep him out of trouble. Good I guess, if only I had a time control device!
Oh and I didn't even mention about how happy he was when I went to fetch him from the paddocks for our ride. He had his own paddock with his OWN round bale. Hes not going to be skinny much longer!
Monday, November 19, 2012
The (second) big move!
As I am sure you are curious from my previous title, I should explain.
But where to start? I suppose I should start by saying that the owner was away for the weekend, and I didn't have to stick around work all day. Saturday, I finished up in the morning as I usually do, went home for some lunch, and casually drove up to Myrddin to ride on what was truly a gorgeous day!
I will get to my ride in another post.
No word of a lie... the moment I went to put on Bentley's bridle, my phone rings. I fumble to find my phone, and see its Linda. Ok, I will answer that!
Here was our conversation
L "Hey are you at your barn?"
S "Yes I am at the barn, whats up?"
L "Where are you?"
S "Im at Myrddin"
L "Im at your barn"
S "You are at Myrddin?"
L"No your work barn"
S "Oh I am at Myrddin, why are you at my work?"
L "I'm going to move"
Yes it carried on in that confusing matter but the result was Linda decided to move to Hunter Green (at Halton Place!)
We agreed to meet at 4 when I came back to bring in the horses, and she showed up with Sable in the trailer! Yes, she works fast!
I am so very happy for them. Happy for me too! I was very disappointed that Linda was moving all the way to Caledon, this means that I will still get to see her and Sable every weekend. Hm. Maybe I should move here too? Nah, I made the right decision for me.
But still, very very happy for Linda. Lynne and Vicki have been awesome, the facilities were great and I know Linda will be happy there. Sable must think shes in horsey heaven (but that would have been a terrible title for this blog haha) I had to rub it in a little bit since I had been bugging her to check out the place since she first told me she was considering moving. I knew it was a good match!
Rick came in the following day to see it too, and was clearly impressed with the place (and the fact that I was dusting) He wasn't always a fan of Linda's plan to move, but I am sure the gorgeous place and happy horses were enough to convince him.
If you want to see what it looks like: http://www.huntergreenec.com/facilities.shtml
But where to start? I suppose I should start by saying that the owner was away for the weekend, and I didn't have to stick around work all day. Saturday, I finished up in the morning as I usually do, went home for some lunch, and casually drove up to Myrddin to ride on what was truly a gorgeous day!
I will get to my ride in another post.
No word of a lie... the moment I went to put on Bentley's bridle, my phone rings. I fumble to find my phone, and see its Linda. Ok, I will answer that!
Here was our conversation
L "Hey are you at your barn?"
S "Yes I am at the barn, whats up?"
L "Where are you?"
S "Im at Myrddin"
L "Im at your barn"
S "You are at Myrddin?"
L"No your work barn"
S "Oh I am at Myrddin, why are you at my work?"
L "I'm going to move"
Yes it carried on in that confusing matter but the result was Linda decided to move to Hunter Green (at Halton Place!)
We agreed to meet at 4 when I came back to bring in the horses, and she showed up with Sable in the trailer! Yes, she works fast!
I am so very happy for them. Happy for me too! I was very disappointed that Linda was moving all the way to Caledon, this means that I will still get to see her and Sable every weekend. Hm. Maybe I should move here too? Nah, I made the right decision for me.
But still, very very happy for Linda. Lynne and Vicki have been awesome, the facilities were great and I know Linda will be happy there. Sable must think shes in horsey heaven (but that would have been a terrible title for this blog haha) I had to rub it in a little bit since I had been bugging her to check out the place since she first told me she was considering moving. I knew it was a good match!
Rick came in the following day to see it too, and was clearly impressed with the place (and the fact that I was dusting) He wasn't always a fan of Linda's plan to move, but I am sure the gorgeous place and happy horses were enough to convince him.
If you want to see what it looks like: http://www.huntergreenec.com/facilities.shtml
The (first) big move!
I was able to get out of work a little early on Friday, explaining that trailers have the potential to turn into horse eating monsters after dark. So I rushed to the barn where Linda was waiting, her and Lee hooked up the trailer, while I gave Bentley a quick brush and slapped on his protective gear.
Led him out to the trailer, and wouldn't you know it... he walked right on! Ok... halfway on. Just stood with his front feet on the trailer and back feet on the ground a while, thinking "Hmmm, everyones looking at me and cheering for me!" So he invented the game, 2 feet on, then go back off. He stepped up and down many times, and seemed to enjoy the game. Eventually, we had enough of it and put the lead rope behind him. He popped right up and was ready to go.
Along the drive, Linda told me how happy she was for me, and how she had decided she will be moving too. She had settled on a place in Caledon, close to the Caledon trailways and was waiting on info as to whether a stall was available (as some horses were going to Florida etc). Sad she is going to go in the opposite direction :( wont be seeing her as much!
Bentley unloaded like a charm. Stepped right off like he had been doing it all the time. Brilliant! He had a good look around with that excited strength he gets, not dragging me or anything, but is much more difficult to convince. As soon as we entered into the barn, he was met with lots of "awww's" and "hes so cute!"
He immediately chilled as we put him in the crossties to figure out where he was going. Eventually, we determined he was to go in the stall labelled "Sally" - quick wipe off the whiteboard there! He was home! Immediately the nose was in the hay. Typical! Margie was in lessons, so we left him to settle in while we went home to make dinner and grab more stuff.
On our return, we filled in all the legal forms and set up a feeding plan with Margie. She commented on how skinny he was and that he looks wormy (it wasnt an insult, I had been thinking the same thing). Vet will be taking a sample and treating them all sometime soon. So that's good! Also found some rain rot (scabby skin infection from mud) on his hindquarters, but she seemed confident that it will disappear with better pasture/stall conditions and good food. We decided that since I was unsure how much hay he was actually getting at GEC (he isn't much of a fighter, and I was seeing signs before we left that he wasn't getting much or maybe even anything when it was being fed) and because I will be away next week, to just stick with good hay and see how much he bounces back before adding any grain. We will work him up as we determine he needs it. He IS however getting some roughage chunks so he doesn't feel left out when everyone else gets grain. Also, something to put his supplements and flax in. Flax was another recommendation from Margie to get his coat shining again.
Led him out to the trailer, and wouldn't you know it... he walked right on! Ok... halfway on. Just stood with his front feet on the trailer and back feet on the ground a while, thinking "Hmmm, everyones looking at me and cheering for me!" So he invented the game, 2 feet on, then go back off. He stepped up and down many times, and seemed to enjoy the game. Eventually, we had enough of it and put the lead rope behind him. He popped right up and was ready to go.
Along the drive, Linda told me how happy she was for me, and how she had decided she will be moving too. She had settled on a place in Caledon, close to the Caledon trailways and was waiting on info as to whether a stall was available (as some horses were going to Florida etc). Sad she is going to go in the opposite direction :( wont be seeing her as much!
Bentley unloaded like a charm. Stepped right off like he had been doing it all the time. Brilliant! He had a good look around with that excited strength he gets, not dragging me or anything, but is much more difficult to convince. As soon as we entered into the barn, he was met with lots of "awww's" and "hes so cute!"
He immediately chilled as we put him in the crossties to figure out where he was going. Eventually, we determined he was to go in the stall labelled "Sally" - quick wipe off the whiteboard there! He was home! Immediately the nose was in the hay. Typical! Margie was in lessons, so we left him to settle in while we went home to make dinner and grab more stuff.
On our return, we filled in all the legal forms and set up a feeding plan with Margie. She commented on how skinny he was and that he looks wormy (it wasnt an insult, I had been thinking the same thing). Vet will be taking a sample and treating them all sometime soon. So that's good! Also found some rain rot (scabby skin infection from mud) on his hindquarters, but she seemed confident that it will disappear with better pasture/stall conditions and good food. We decided that since I was unsure how much hay he was actually getting at GEC (he isn't much of a fighter, and I was seeing signs before we left that he wasn't getting much or maybe even anything when it was being fed) and because I will be away next week, to just stick with good hay and see how much he bounces back before adding any grain. We will work him up as we determine he needs it. He IS however getting some roughage chunks so he doesn't feel left out when everyone else gets grain. Also, something to put his supplements and flax in. Flax was another recommendation from Margie to get his coat shining again.
I couldn't get a good picture of him the night he moved in, it was too dark and he kept on coming to visit me.
The day after, he was poking his head out of his stall. Corner unit also with a view outside, hes going to see all the action!
Friday, November 16, 2012
Great Jumping!
I hadn't had a chance to post about my last ride at GEC yet. It was back on Tuesday with Heather, and we had a blast.
It started with looking at a jump with some poles on either side, one of which was near a set of standards. Heather asked "Is that a distance you can jump?" I did a quick measure, and confirmed it was a bounce. Sure, lets work on bounces today, great idea! Heather and Rurik had never done this before, but it was worth a try.
I lowered the initial jump to a crossrail, keeping the far groundpole down where the bounce would be, this was to give the horses a hint of what was coming, without making things too complicated at first. Both horses trotted over the crossrail without putting any effort and not picking up the canter stride after. Of course -_- So I took Bentley over at a canter, and he was lovely.
Put the second jump up to a 2' vertical with a nice groundpole in front. Trotted Bentley in, he didn't pick up the canter again which made for an awkward jump. Heather's turn to try it on Rurik. Not enough impulsion resulting in a stop at the second fence, I think they knocked it down too, standards and all. Second time through, pushed Bentley more and had a stride or 2 of canter before the combination, did the exercise well. Went through a few more times at canter, nailing the distance every time. My only complaint was that because we were still having trouble picking up that right lead, he was cutting in at the corner too early and we didn't have the nice straight long hunter approach I was looking for.
Heathers turn again, a few more stops and an awkward lurch. Problem was Rurik was trotting immediately after the first fence, and didn't understand the whole, jump-land-jump thing. Here's where I said to Heather "Why don't you try it on Bentley so you know how it feels, and I will work on getting Rurik through" Last thing I wanted was to see Heather fall resulting from an awkward jump (she is just over her ankle fracture). It made sense.
Well, the exercise half worked. A few times through and Rurik had it figured out, just needed that push for extra impulsion and to try it a few times. I had him cantering a bit in both directions which helped a lot, and halfway through I found a whip on the ground I could use, which perked him right up! We even did the line, rollback to a 2'3" vertical. He is cantering and jumping so well these days, what a difference in the past year or so since I was last on him! His attitude has really changed too!
The other half of the plan, didn't work so well. Heather came in too slow with Bentley, and they didn't have enough impulsion to get over the 2nd jump. He seemed a bit confused, and half-tried to jump it, half tried to cavaletti it, and ended up tripping over it, down on both knees. Heather was so good about staying on, it was slow motion and she just stayed off his face and let him recover himself. Awesome recovery! They were both fine after a quick check, and certainly learned the impulsion lesson.
The second time through, he picked up the canter a few strides out, and the speed surprised Heather. The look on her face was pretty funny and "woah woah" escaped, but Bentley was just kind of thinking "See look, this is how we gotta do it! I will show you, just hang on" He has a big canter when he is jumping or on the trail (anything fun really!) and going from a standardbred to him is a big speed difference (trust me, I know, it took me a while to get used to his stride! For the longest time I thought he was trying to run off with me, when he was really just being him) They got through it beautifully, but Heather decided that was enough excitement on him, they did try cantering again, and she WILL be getting on Bentley lots more to practise cantering on a horse that does canter :) Swapping horses is our new girl night.
We went back to our original horses, and Heather and Rurik went through the line and rollback several times wonderfully. The crop certainly helped with the impulsion factor!
Bentley was great for me, just loving the playtime. Again, nailing the correct spots. We made a mini course of bounce, rollback, bounce backward, rollback again. He ticked the jump on the backwards bounce, but I cant complain because the groundpole was well far behind (optical illusion making the jump look smaller) and its weird going big jump to small jump in the bounce. So I was happy with that. He also ticked the larger vertical once because he came around the one corner a little flat, so we redid it with some halfhalts and he was wonderful.
While we walked them to cool out, I decided to try standing on Bentley again (although we were in endurance saddle) I let him walk as I stood.... kind of. I didn't get all the way up, my knees were still bent and my back was tipped forward still, but I was close! He decided to stop, and I couldn't get him going again, so that's partially to blame. Perhaps I need to invest in a nice long dressage whip.
Heather also started to try, putting her feet up behind the saddle and lifting almost to her knees. She opted not to go fully as her boots might damage her new saddle. Good choice! Save your tack :) She still wants to sometime, on another one of our horse swap dates, we will make this happen.
It was as we were untacking that Heather said "This was our last ride together" and I was really sad. I hadn't thought of that. As we left, I was shocked to see it was 9:30pm. It really didn't feel like that late, and I wished we had been able to stay longer.
I decided not to ride last night, Heather and my ride had been so special, I thought that was the best way to end it. Not end entirely, just end of us together at GEC. We each have a new place we will be going, and just have to try a little harder is all!
It started with looking at a jump with some poles on either side, one of which was near a set of standards. Heather asked "Is that a distance you can jump?" I did a quick measure, and confirmed it was a bounce. Sure, lets work on bounces today, great idea! Heather and Rurik had never done this before, but it was worth a try.
I lowered the initial jump to a crossrail, keeping the far groundpole down where the bounce would be, this was to give the horses a hint of what was coming, without making things too complicated at first. Both horses trotted over the crossrail without putting any effort and not picking up the canter stride after. Of course -_- So I took Bentley over at a canter, and he was lovely.
Put the second jump up to a 2' vertical with a nice groundpole in front. Trotted Bentley in, he didn't pick up the canter again which made for an awkward jump. Heather's turn to try it on Rurik. Not enough impulsion resulting in a stop at the second fence, I think they knocked it down too, standards and all. Second time through, pushed Bentley more and had a stride or 2 of canter before the combination, did the exercise well. Went through a few more times at canter, nailing the distance every time. My only complaint was that because we were still having trouble picking up that right lead, he was cutting in at the corner too early and we didn't have the nice straight long hunter approach I was looking for.
Heathers turn again, a few more stops and an awkward lurch. Problem was Rurik was trotting immediately after the first fence, and didn't understand the whole, jump-land-jump thing. Here's where I said to Heather "Why don't you try it on Bentley so you know how it feels, and I will work on getting Rurik through" Last thing I wanted was to see Heather fall resulting from an awkward jump (she is just over her ankle fracture). It made sense.
Well, the exercise half worked. A few times through and Rurik had it figured out, just needed that push for extra impulsion and to try it a few times. I had him cantering a bit in both directions which helped a lot, and halfway through I found a whip on the ground I could use, which perked him right up! We even did the line, rollback to a 2'3" vertical. He is cantering and jumping so well these days, what a difference in the past year or so since I was last on him! His attitude has really changed too!
The other half of the plan, didn't work so well. Heather came in too slow with Bentley, and they didn't have enough impulsion to get over the 2nd jump. He seemed a bit confused, and half-tried to jump it, half tried to cavaletti it, and ended up tripping over it, down on both knees. Heather was so good about staying on, it was slow motion and she just stayed off his face and let him recover himself. Awesome recovery! They were both fine after a quick check, and certainly learned the impulsion lesson.
The second time through, he picked up the canter a few strides out, and the speed surprised Heather. The look on her face was pretty funny and "woah woah" escaped, but Bentley was just kind of thinking "See look, this is how we gotta do it! I will show you, just hang on" He has a big canter when he is jumping or on the trail (anything fun really!) and going from a standardbred to him is a big speed difference (trust me, I know, it took me a while to get used to his stride! For the longest time I thought he was trying to run off with me, when he was really just being him) They got through it beautifully, but Heather decided that was enough excitement on him, they did try cantering again, and she WILL be getting on Bentley lots more to practise cantering on a horse that does canter :) Swapping horses is our new girl night.
We went back to our original horses, and Heather and Rurik went through the line and rollback several times wonderfully. The crop certainly helped with the impulsion factor!
Bentley was great for me, just loving the playtime. Again, nailing the correct spots. We made a mini course of bounce, rollback, bounce backward, rollback again. He ticked the jump on the backwards bounce, but I cant complain because the groundpole was well far behind (optical illusion making the jump look smaller) and its weird going big jump to small jump in the bounce. So I was happy with that. He also ticked the larger vertical once because he came around the one corner a little flat, so we redid it with some halfhalts and he was wonderful.
While we walked them to cool out, I decided to try standing on Bentley again (although we were in endurance saddle) I let him walk as I stood.... kind of. I didn't get all the way up, my knees were still bent and my back was tipped forward still, but I was close! He decided to stop, and I couldn't get him going again, so that's partially to blame. Perhaps I need to invest in a nice long dressage whip.
Heather also started to try, putting her feet up behind the saddle and lifting almost to her knees. She opted not to go fully as her boots might damage her new saddle. Good choice! Save your tack :) She still wants to sometime, on another one of our horse swap dates, we will make this happen.
It was as we were untacking that Heather said "This was our last ride together" and I was really sad. I hadn't thought of that. As we left, I was shocked to see it was 9:30pm. It really didn't feel like that late, and I wished we had been able to stay longer.
I decided not to ride last night, Heather and my ride had been so special, I thought that was the best way to end it. Not end entirely, just end of us together at GEC. We each have a new place we will be going, and just have to try a little harder is all!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
An Afternoon Surprise!
Randall, a coworker of mine always asks me lots of horsey questions and wants to learn how to ride someday.
Today he brought me a surprise he found on the way home from work.
It has found a new home amongst my other office toys.
Bentley and Sarah... Wingwakers... in the jungle? So much awesome.
Today he brought me a surprise he found on the way home from work.
It has found a new home amongst my other office toys.
Bentley and Sarah... Wingwakers... in the jungle? So much awesome.
This day feels positive to me!
I am in a great mood today for a few reasons.
1) Bentley is moving tomorrow. While this is sad (I'm not sure how many people know yet, I did make the earlier blog post, but while I can see numbers, I cant see who is reading!) its also very happy. I am looking forward to a fresh start for us, including what I hope will be a healthier happier horse. On that same note, I spent last night post-groceries putting together the single-serve supplement packs for Bentley which he will start when he moves in. B1 vitamin, Vitamin E and Selenium, and the big addition this month is Wheatgrass to help him bounce back from the lack of pasture and lack of nutrients in the soil. Lee told me last night it looked like I was making drugs:
2) That led me to an "Ah Ha!" moment, and immediately contacted Theresa at Neachai (Go like them on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Neachai-Equine-Ayurveda/356800097671367?fref=ts) to see if she wanted to write an article for the pulse about using herbs as alternatives. She will! I am excited to see the article that comes out of it, and hopefully get more in the meantime.
3) Continuing on with the theme of The Pulse, I had received emails in the last day from Deanna, Phyllis and Carol all with ideas for articles or a ready article, asking about deadlines and whatnot. So glad to get these! I think this might be the most article-heavy pulse yet! I also had some brainstorms for more ideas to solicit, just need to find out who can do them. I will post my full list of "wants" once I am done... I don't think my list is ready quite yet!
4) I got the big things at work done early. Nothing like getting the hard things off your plate to reveal a great afternoon!
1) Bentley is moving tomorrow. While this is sad (I'm not sure how many people know yet, I did make the earlier blog post, but while I can see numbers, I cant see who is reading!) its also very happy. I am looking forward to a fresh start for us, including what I hope will be a healthier happier horse. On that same note, I spent last night post-groceries putting together the single-serve supplement packs for Bentley which he will start when he moves in. B1 vitamin, Vitamin E and Selenium, and the big addition this month is Wheatgrass to help him bounce back from the lack of pasture and lack of nutrients in the soil. Lee told me last night it looked like I was making drugs:
2) That led me to an "Ah Ha!" moment, and immediately contacted Theresa at Neachai (Go like them on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Neachai-Equine-Ayurveda/356800097671367?fref=ts) to see if she wanted to write an article for the pulse about using herbs as alternatives. She will! I am excited to see the article that comes out of it, and hopefully get more in the meantime.
3) Continuing on with the theme of The Pulse, I had received emails in the last day from Deanna, Phyllis and Carol all with ideas for articles or a ready article, asking about deadlines and whatnot. So glad to get these! I think this might be the most article-heavy pulse yet! I also had some brainstorms for more ideas to solicit, just need to find out who can do them. I will post my full list of "wants" once I am done... I don't think my list is ready quite yet!
4) I got the big things at work done early. Nothing like getting the hard things off your plate to reveal a great afternoon!
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