A three part update

Issue 1: Rock's eye is making me crazy. Dr M is going to come see it tomorrow to tell me what the deal is with it--I think there is something in there, as her lower lid is still swollen and she is mad as hell about it. While he is here, I will have him palp Foxy and Fuzzy to answer me on that, and I guess he could do Square Babys Coggins as well.

Issue 2: I have done two days of clicker training with Mojo--albeit with no clicker, as I have to go to Petsmart and get one. I am doing that Friday nite as it is an hour away and we have to pick up Barry's suit anyway. He is currently in the round pen. (EDIT: Mojo is in the round pen, not BS) The first day I rewarded him for looking at me. It went pretty good, but I am just not confident that I am doing it right. I would treat him in the bucket, but he would not come to it if I stood next to it--I had to step back 6 or 8 feet.

This led me to talk to the clicker queen Holly (whose idea this was in the first place) about what to do next. Her suggestion for last nite was to ask for a little more--do not treat until he looked at me and took a step to come to me.

I thought that might be hard. And it was, in a completely different way. I rarely had time to say "Mojo, come here" before he was headed toward me. I did not even have to step away from the bucket much, if at all. Sometimes, I put the bucket right next to my feet and he would still come--warily, and would approach so that the bucket was between us, but he did it. He won't let me touch him yet, but I can see it happening soon. I am not sure that this is how it is supposed to work actually.

Tonight, my assignment is to get the lead clipped on his halter. That should be interesting. I do not anticipate this going as well. Then again, I never would have thought that one day would make him willing to come that close to me. I guess we will just have to see.

Issue 3: I have been to the gym twice. This is not a big deal to most people but it is me. Once I get in the swing of it, I can stick with it, it is the starting that is hard. Last nite, I did 50 minutes of weights, and 15 minutes on the bike. I have to work my way up to 30 minutes a day on that, but it happens quickly. I could not get the seat adjusted though, so I had to sit at a wierd angle and it gave me the dead ass. Hopefully I can get that fixed, as there is only one recumbent bike at the gym and that is the one I like.

I also watched the Cardio Boxing class they have on Wednesdays. I think I can do that. It is a small group, so I might get up my nerve to try it. That will be a first for me, as I am an oaf, and terrified to do stuff like that in front of people. I am also considering the beginners step aerobics class that is at 5:30 tonight. I just do not want to be embarrassed by not being able to do the whole class, know what I mean? After all, I am a big fat sister who is out of shape and has other issues with my right leg, etc. None of which is an excuse, but it is a fact that could lead to my embarrassment. Nothing I ahte worse than being laughed at

Tomorrow is water aerobics. We were supposed to go yesterday but I only want to go with mom, at least until I am back in the swing of it, and she is still down with a cold. That is all right, as I cannot find my required aqua shoes, and had to order some--I would have gotten in trouble with that. I really like water aerobics becuase there is little sweating! And it is a really good workout actually-that would probably surprise people. If I can get my life really in order, I would like to do a class before work, then that would leave evenings open to go to the gym to have a regular workout after work.

What really needs work is my fat gut. Oddly, no matter what exercise I do, I never really feel it in my abs--that I can only get from riding horses. Now how in the hell am I going to add that in? When do I have time for that? I am thinking of extending my round pen so that it is longer--a round oval, I guess that would be--then I could do a quick 15 -20 minute trot and work that in at least a few nights a week. I will mention that to BS and see what he says.

So that is that--I am totally dropping the ball on the photo a day thing. It is really hard to do when it is dark when I get home from work. I will do better though. Come hell or high water.

What an absence!

Wow--it is not often I do not make a blog entry for FIVE DAYS! I guess that demonstrates how crazy this week has been. From Wednesday until last nite, I was in Chicago for a conference that made my eyes hurt with boredom. Since I have gotten home, I have been going a mile a minute trying to get it together.

The nice part about the trip was that we stayed at the Silversmith on Wabash--what a nice nice place. Aside from one bellman that was a peckerhead, everyone was so helpful, it is a beatifully remodeled historical landmark and they had cheesecake and warm cookies in the lobby at 9 pm every nite. That is my kind of hotel! And about 12 cushy down pillows and the best down duvet ever, it was wonderful--and two TVs, that sort of thing turns me on. I really enjoyed staying there and will definitely be back, which is not something I say very often. I get in ruts and just stay with them--I usually stay at the Chicago Hilton because I can always remember where the entrance to the parking garage is. That is the kind of rut I get into. The Silversmith has only valet parking, so I don't even have to worry about that crap--another point for them.

I also got to have dinner with Jodi Wednesday nite, which is always delightful. She was in town the first half of the week for a training session as well. Lorna and Stacey were supposed to join us, but Lorna got sick and could not come.

Since I got home, I have been playing catch up. Today, Radar had a little workout, and the man I knew when I picked him up from the trainer is BACK! All that trail riding was letting him get a little lazy, but we worked it all out today and I just loved every thing about him again. I have never known a horse this young to be this easy to get along with--he is lazy but will go when you push him to do it. He is like a robot almost.

Barry also got the big tractor into the dealership this morning, which is a huge weight off my shoulders. Hopefully they can get it straightened out without breaking me, but I don't know how much I trust them---God knows they ran me around on my lawnmower for all this time. It is a start though. We are picking up our gravity wagon tomorrow---it has been at Head's house since we bought it, as we had to borrow a big enough trailer to haul it home. That, some errand running, specific Xmas gift getting and more freaking laundry is on tap for tomorrow. There was also some mishap during the week that allowed all the back pasture horses access to the middle pasture, so that has to be sorted out and them all put back where they belong as well--with those due for the second round of PK1 shots to get them on the way. Some babies need boosters as well, so I guess we will be playing in the mud sometime tomorrow.

It has been raining for several days and you will NOT hear me complain about it a bit. It does complicate moving round bales of hay which really needs to be done since Barry is going to be on the road all weekend. If it cannot be done, and I am sure it cannot, I guess I will be even more grateful for LeaAnn, as she can Gator square bales all around as needed until that situation resolves.

We are scheduled to leave Thursday nite for the NCHA Futurity--at least to get to St Louis to sleep for an early flight Friday morning. Then we are on for about 56 hours of fun, debauchery, and other misdeeds with Missy and a secret guest-- I CANNOT wait! It is so nice to have something to look forward to like that.