So......

Finally did some Christmas shopping (online, of course!). The good news is everything has arrived; the bad news is I have to wrap it all up. Oh, well. Much of it is already done.

Sara and I had a riding lesson on Sunday; the temp was a high of 32! so it was only 27 when we went riding. The secret to riding in this weather? Layers, layers and more layers - long johns, riding pants, 2 pairs of socks; long john top, Under Armour, and a nice warm sweater, topped off with a windbreaker jacket; Earmuffs and nice and warm winter riding gloves set off the ensemble. Bella and Smash were not happy to see us coming towards them with halters and lead ropes. As a matter of fact, they took off to the farthest corner of the field as fast as they could find. Sheesh! Bella stared me down, but it did no good. I still took her away. The wind took pity upon us and went somewhere else for the day.

After the lesson I worked on my black and red jacket for some time; got bored with it, and finally did some gift wrapping. Amazingly, by that time it was 5:00. How time flies.

Dave came to my office last week and a woman who does jewelry came for a really mini-craft fair. Dave brought pictures, calendars and some note cards to sell. Peggy had her usual inventory of jewelry. I don't know how well Peggy did, but Dave sold about 6 of his pictures and many calendars and boxes of notecards. The next day several people came by and ordered more pictures from Dave.

Knitting continues on the grey, light pink and dark pink sweater. Fortunately, it's an easy pattern and will be done soon. But, then I have to block it before I can sew it together. Made that mistake before and the sweater was not quite the right size. Grrr! Blocking takes away the urgency of putting the sweater together, but I don't want to make that mistake again.

Finished Cathy's mittens and gave them to her on Sunday. She really liked them. At first she didn't see that I had knit "Rizzo" into each mitten. Then, she got really excited! Glad she likes them.

Top side of Mitten with "Rizzo".

Palm side of Mitten.

Update

It's December, and of course, I haven't done anything about Christmas - decorating, presents, planning the Christmas meal - nothing.

I had plenty of decorations, but here's the story: I donated one garland, one sleigh, two wreaths I made to the office to make it festive. Secondly, I sent some decorations over to Sara's house last year when she moved in, and hmmm, it seems they are still at her house. I'm sure they will all blend in with her purple tree! Don't blame me, I'm not the one who suggested she get a purple tree, which reminds me of:

I never saw a purple cow
I never hope to see one
But I can tell you any how
I would rather see than be one.

I learned that so long ago, I don't even remember when I did learn it, but as the brain does strange things, I haven't forgotten it at all.

Or:

This I learned in 8th grade at Frederick Junior High School (way before Middle Schools). It was next to Frederick High School, which I think are both gone because the last time I was in Frederick, I saw a sign that said, "Frederick High School", which is not the one I remember. Of course, that was only about 40 years or so ago.

The Goops

The Goops they lick their fingers,
The Goops they lick their knives,
They spill their broth on the tablecloth
They lead disgusting lives.

The Goops they talk while eating
And loud and fast they chew
And that is why I am glad I'm not a Goop,
Are you?

Okay, so I digressed a bit here.

Now I know what I'm doing on Friday or Saturday. Going to Michael's and re-stock on ornaments, glue sticks, etc. so I can make myself some new decorations for the house. We need a tree, too, but not a purple one.

So, the weather is slowly getting colder. Sara and I ran a 5K on Thanksgiving Day; it was a miserable weather day to boot. When I got up, it wasn't raining, when I left, it was raining, called Sara, she said it was not raining. But, it did start to rain, again. We got to Towson, it wasn't raining, then it started to rain, then the race began, and it really started to rain. We were drenched through all layers of clothing, and the temp was only 34-35, so we were wet and cold. What a way to start the day. All in all, the day went well after that. In-laws came over, my friend, Betty, came over (with lots of wine!), we ate, and then everyone went home. Good! I was exhausted from the race, cooking dinner and cleaning up. I fell asleep as soon as everyone left.

Horse Show Weekend Update

Let's start with some pictures.







Sara and Smash at the halt.





















Sallie and Moonie in their Intro A test.





















Bella and I at the halt.














Bella giving Smash some advice on the Intro A test.

Bella and I performing the Intro A test.

Sara, Sallie and I signed up for the third in the series of the Loch Moy Short Course event. To recap: I did the first one by myself and placed fifth; Sara and Sallie came with me too the second series: I came in fourth; Sallie got second; and poor Sara was eliminated during the cross country course. We found out later that Satchmo had a hurt back and was not feeling well at all. We all did the third in the series, but I was the only one who did all three. I was very lucky and placed first in my division. Sara rode another horse, Smash, and came in second in her division. Sallie had a good dressage test, but did not make it through the cross country course.

As excited as I was about placing first yesterday, I got an email from Loch Moy Farm saying I placed third overall for the series. What? Get out of town! Never did I think this would be me winning something like that.

MARC Train Update

SooOOoo, here we go, again.

Monday night: Get on the train; at some point before departure we are told the train set is one car short because the usual train set is broken down in Baltimore with no time in sight when it will be fixed. OK, we can deal with that; the train was very crowded.

Next announcement (which I knew was coming): The train is here; however, the crew for this train is going to be late because of the broken down train in Baltimore; they are at New Carrollton and will be here within 5-7 minutes. We have a golf cart at the track where they will arrvive, and it will bring them to track 7. We wait and wait and wait. Finally, at 6:16 (remember, this is a 5:51 p.m. departure) we leave Union Station. By the time I get to Dorsey it is 6:55, 25 minutes late.

Tuesday night: Get on the train; we have a full train set with 5 cars. We depart Union Station, go at a reasonable speed(we did slow down a few times, but what else is new?) to all the stops EXCEPT Dorsey. After Savage the train does a 5 MPH trek to Dorsey. No announcement why we are so slow, but we all have ideas:

1. Switch Problem
2. Signal Problem
3. Track Work
4. Freight Train in Front of Us.

We trudged along from Savage to Dorsey for 25 minutes! It should take only about 10 minutes to get to Dorsey. Again, 6:55 p.m. by the time we get to Dorsey, then there is the drive home. By the time I get home, change, eat dinner, it is almost 8:00 p.m. What a way to spend another short evening before I have to get up and go again.

The reason for the slowness? TWO FREIGHT TRAINS, NOT JUST ONE!

Oh, wait! Yesterday the train was 7 minutes early in the a.m. to Union Station, then the train home was 25 minutes late - Subtract the 7 from 25, which gives me a net time of 18 mintues on the train! It works mathematically, right? However, I think being delayed far more outweighs the times of being early. I think I'm still in the hole here regarding time on the train.

Oh, yes, I will continue to ride MARC. I am a captive audience because I know I will never drive into D.C. every day and battle the traffic on the highway and the traffic in D.C., which can become a parking lot at a moment's notice.

Good thing I can read, knit, listen to music or nap. However, sitting on the train for over an hour can be cumbersome and tiring. Many times I think I should just stay on the train because it's not that long before I have to get back on it. :)

Halloween Horse Show

Sara, Sallie and I participated in a horse show on Sunday. We were able to dress up; here's my skull and roses jacket that I wore. Unfortunately, my "Pinney" covered up the vest I had made.

Sara dressed up as Amelia Earhart.

Bella's Saddle Pad with skeleton, who lost a leg somewhere along the way. The skeleton, not Bella.

Part of the cross country course. Very pretty.

The water event.

The weather was perfect - not too hot, not too cold. We all had a great time. And we're going to do it again in two weeks. We must be gluttons for punishment.

Update

As you know, I finished the Kimono shawl a few weeks ago. Finally have pics:




































































Don't understand how this works sometimes, but anyway.........

Sara, Sallie and I are gong XC Schooling tomorrow in preparation for the show we are doing on October 31 - Halloween. In that vein, I made a skull/roses jacket that has a semi-tuxedo look to it. Also made a skeleton vest to go with and am using a skull and cross bones saddle pad for Miss Bella.

Sunday a.m. I am running a 5K - gotta keep the exercise and goals going or I'll become a blob. Fortunately, this race is at Long Gate, so I don't have far to drive and it starts fairly late - 9:00! usually these races start at 8:00, but there will be lots of the day to go afterward.

Dave is going to a wedding at the Willard Hotel tomorrow to photograph, and we are hoping that it will be a good experience for him. He is helping out another photographer, and so far some pictures will be taken at the Willard and at a few of the monuments! Dave was told he will be there from noon to midnight so he'll be quite tired on Sunday.

I have so much leave accrued that I am taking Fridays off for the next five weeks so I don't lose any of it. Today is the first day of my Fridays off, and I'm so confused. Last night I kept thinking it was Friday because I'm so used to working a five-day work week. It does feel nice not to have to have gotten up and get dressed, drive to the station, sit on the train for who knows how long, etc.

Baby blanket was completely tossed. I did not like the way it looked, so I changed patterns AND got new yarn. I'm waiting for the yarn to come in so I can start anew.

One mitten is finished for riding instructor; now, on to the task of the second one. I have cast on the second mitten, but have only a few rows of the ribbing done so far. Do you know how difficult it is to cast on, then divide the stitches onto four needles and start knitting while on the train? And someone sitting next to you keeps bumping your arm? Well, I do. It's not easy, but in the name of knitting, I persevered.

Yarn Crawl Tomorrow!

OK. I don't really need any more yarn, but it's an excuse to be with friends and have a nice day together. However.......

As you know, I was commissioned to knit a baby blanket; the pattern was great if I used only two colors as required by the pattern; I wanted to use all "baby" colors, and attempted to do each repeat in a different color. Unfortunately, only the original blue and white looked really pretty. I would have continued in just those colors, but my client wanted all pastel colors in the blanket. Looks as if I'm going to have to go to a varigated yarn that has the pastels in it, and I will have to use another pattern. Drat! But, to paraphrase those Project Runway contestants, I can't send anything to a client that I don't like. I must be true to myself as a knitter!

Riding lesson on Sunday; probably more flat work as I need that just as much as jumping. Next Saturday, the 23rd, we will be going XC schooling in preparation for the show on October 31. Sara, Sallie and I are going together for the show and XC schooling. It will be nice to have other people come with me this time.

Ran on the TM yesterday, and wore myself out! I'm still tired, but since I won't be doing any exercise until Sunday, I'm debating with myself about going to the gym today and at least getting my heart rate up today. Definitely not in the mood.

Status: Finally on the last few rounds of the first mitten for Cathy. Then, I do the thumb and then get to start the second mitten. It's a good thing I started this project back in June; it's October now and the first mitten is not even done!

Another Race Finished

Well, got up early on Saturday; drove to Hains Point in DC (took us bout an hour to get there); got my number, chatted with a few people and it was time to run! The course was the flattest course I have ever run! Apparently, my hill training on the TM has paid off! I was able to run for a quite a long time before I even thought about being tired. I ran and ran and ran; came in at 33:22; still haven't made the 30-minute 5K, but getting closer! To my surprise, I got a second place in my age age group! Dave and I met a really nice lady from OK, who was in DC with her kid's class who was sightseeing in DC. She got up on Saturday, googled if there wee any races going on, took the metro and cab to Hains Point to run while everyone else was still asleep. Kudos to her for getting up and running while on vacation.


Sunday was another early morning as Sara and I had our riding lesson. I struggled with my left bend for most of the lesson. I think I need to tie my left shoulder back so it doesn't keep moving forward! The good news is, my halts are really looking nice.

Spent the rest of the day working on my skull/roses jacket for a Halloween horse show. There is a vest that needs to be finished, but it should not take very long. Then, I'm done. After tht, back to a sweater coat I'm working on and having problems with. Oh, well, never a dull moment.

No MARC trains are running to day, so I took advantage of that and took the day off; beats having to drive to Greenbelt, catch the Green Line, transfer to the Red Line, then coming home and having to drive back up 95 to get home. Why should I pay extra to go to work? My sentiments exactly.

Semper Fi! 5K at Hains Point

Tomorrow is the first annual Semper Fi 5K fundraiser. For a race in its first year, it has done amazingly well. Over $15,000 has been raised and 350 people have signed up to run/walk the course at Hains Point. This means we have to get up early to drive to DC and get my number, etc. Sara is going to PA to run a Road Warrier race through fire! I can't wait to see the pictures from that.

Finished the shawl, blocked the shawl, now have to take a picture of the shawl to post. It is the perfect color for the person for whom it was made.

Back to the baby blanket once my pink yarn comes in. It should arrive any day now! I would like to have that done, and it is a quick knit (well, only if one follows the directions properly!).

The Christmas mitten is looking nice now that I have the right sized needles. I may never finish this one, let alone getting the second one started.

I'm a Trophy Wife!

Well, race day came, and I wasn't really surer what to expect. I did expect to finish, but I still didn't know what to expect with the hills on the course. We all took off, and at the beginning it was touch and go with all the people. My plan was to start slowly, then get to a nice pace and stay there. I felt that I did more running than walking, but the hills really got to me. The start of the race was a slight incline, then a really steep, but short hill. That gave way to a flat stretch, which actually went downhill for awhile. It was not too bad, but there were a lot of small inclines throughout the course. The bad part was that I had to go back UP the really nice downhill at the beginning of the course. I finished and knew that there was no way I would place in the top 3 or top 10 in my age group.

I hung around and waited for Sara and Jodi to finish their 10K! They came around the bend together, Sara slightly ahead of Jodi. Then, I saw Jodi slowly trying to make a move on Sara, and I started screaming, Don't let her pass you! Run, Sara, Run! Sara saw Jodi out of the corner of her eye, took off and beat Jodi by one second! That's all that counts!

Sara's time was 1:02:44. She was hoping to run it in an hour; she wasn't far off, either. She said that she and Jodi will do another 10K in the hopes of getting to or breaking the one hour time. Jodi is a distance runner and has done a marathon; I think she is going to do another one soon. Sara is more of a short-distance runner, so the longer runs are harder for her.

After Sara and Jodi finished we walked around a bit; I got a hamburger at 9:30 a.m.! They smelled really good, and I just had to have one. It did feel as if it were 12:00 by the time I finished the race, so a burger was not a bad choice. Sara and Jodi left before the results of the race were announced. I stuck around because I wanted to see what the times were for the females in my age group.

The announcer finally gets to my age group (ahem, you don't ask a woman her age!) and the third place name was announced; then, the second place winner is being announced, and Lo and behold, I hear a familiar name and it was MY NAME! SECOND PLACE IN MY AGE GROUP! AND I GET A TROPHY!!!! CAN YOU BELIVE IT??? NEITHER CAN I. I was very excited because I thought there was no way in hell I would place that high. I can only think that the other women in my age group had arthritis problems in their knees!!!

I have no idea what the time was for the first-place person because I was still in shock from my name being announced. This year's results are not up yet, so I'll have to go back later and find out the time.

At 12:30 I went to have sushi with a friend of mine; it was nice because I haven't seen her for awhile. Since her daughter went to college this September (first year), she is in the process of selling two of the three horses she owns. Cassidy has been riding for a very long time, but college expenses were much more than Aileen had anticipated. I think they have everything under control now. The good news is they still have Bella (the horse I ride in lessons and shows), who is being half-leased by a woman for her small daughter. Again, fortunately, I'm still able to ride Bella and show her. The young girl is really young and just starting out to ride, so Bella does need more advanced riders (one of them is me! ha ha!) to keep her on her toes.

Sara and I went out for a lesson yesterday, but the weather did not cooperate with us, and it decided to pour when we got there. We ended up grooming the horses and chatting with Cathy. It quit raining at one point, but neither Sara nor I had the initiative to get up and tack up the horses.

Dave and I went to Matthew's Pizza in Baltimore last night for pizza. It's been around since 1943 and is a hole in the wall. Good pizza, parking is diffiult to find, but all in all a nice dinner.

Tomorrow is Race Day....

So, I've been practicing running up hills and down hills. The course, although there is a great downhill at the beginning, we have to run back up it to the finish line. And what a hill it is. Trying to work on a game plan so I don't exhaust myself before I have to run up that hill, again.

Results, tomorrow.

Success!

If one needs an answer to a question, Ask It! I emailed the person in charge of the shows asking if she knew who the judges would be for the next two shows. She emailed me immediately with the judges for the October 31 show. My coach says these two people are great judges. I've heard of them and have done dressage tests before them, so I agree. They are fair. So, now I need to tweak the left-end circle and continue working on my halts so I can get wonderful halts in the test on October 31.

Knitting - A co-worker of mine asked me to knit a baby blanket for her granddaughter. I said I would, found some nice Swish (from KnitPicks) yarn that is machine washable (perfect for babies, eh?) and ordered blue, pink, light green and yellow and white. The pattern I am doing actually calls for only two colors, but she wanted all the traditional baby colors. I have figured out to start with blue on the border, then one full repeat, then do one full repeat in each color, then continue until I'm happy with the length, then finish off with the blue so I have blue borders on each end. Sounds like a plan to me. Just waiting for the yarn to arrive! I so love starting new projects, don't you?

I blocked the scarf Sara made for her boyfriend using blocking wires. Why didn't I purchase blocking wires eons ago? So much easier once the wires have been threaded through the stitches. {hits palm of hand on forehead} Live and learn.

Still working on sweater coat, but I will need some #10 DPs to work on the back pleat. I'm very close to that part, but I still have the mittens I started for a Christmas gift to fall back on while I wait to get the DPs.

Sara took me on a pre-run of the 5K/10K we are running on Saturday. Lots of steep hills and lots of gradual hills. Very tiring, but now that I know the course, I think I might be able to do a better time. Sara is running the 10K, so she has to do those hills 2 times! Egad!

Short Course Event a Success Even Though I Pulled a Bad Judge

Saturday went out to the barn to have a lesson and beautify Bella for Sunday's show. Things went well; still struggling with the left bend, but I think that will always be something I have to work on. I'm just so left-brained.

The big day arrives! Fortunately, being in the lower level class we didn't have to be at the event until later in the day. However, I still had to get to Cathy's fairly early to re-wash Bellas feet. Of course, it rained, and she got muddy. After a second washdown of her feet we got everything loaded into the trailer and off we went. The weather was fairly disgusting as it has been pouring in the morning, but did taper off for a bit. When I left the house to go to Cathy's, it had started to rain, again. At Cathy's it was misting, but getting better.

The closer we got to the event, the better the weather was. It had quit raining and the sun even came out. It ended up being a really nice day - except for the humidity.

I warmed up for dressage, Cathy and I both not wanting to annoy Bella too much, so we did only a few halts. When it came time for me to ride, Bella was very up. I was happy about that. We went into the ring, halted at the X, and Bella was square! No backing up, no trying to go forward. I continued on my test, doing the best I could. It wasn't perfect, but it was a good test. Now, time for the final halt.....Bella was full square, no backing up, no trying to go forward. Just for those halts, it was a good test.

Fortunately for me, I never saw my score until I had finished by XC and was done for the day. When Cathy brought me my test, we were both shocked and dismayed at the score! Cathy had a feeling this particular judge did not judge fairly (?). Not sure if that is the right word, but she trashed me on just about everything I did. My halts were a 5 and a 6. Even Cathy said that they should have been a 7 or even 8! I was almost in tears because I felt so good about that test. Cathy was dismayed, as well, and put it all down to the fact this judge was living in la-la land somewhere.

The judge put down comments like, not rounded on the top. There is no requirement in an Intro A test that there has to be rounding on the top. Even in the higher tests there is no requirement for that, but if the horse gets round, more points for the rider. She told me I had too much right bend. What the Hell does that mean? We have still to figure that one out. My transitions were really good, no aprubtness in them at all. We just have to chalk this down to pulling a bad judge.

My goal is to find out who is judging at the next event at this place. We're pretty sure they already have judges lined up well in advance of the shows. There were no postings of who the judges were going to be, and maybe they do that on purpose. There is already one judge I won't do any tests for. After she yelled at me for 5 minutes after my dressage test, that was the end of that. I don't need to be talked to like a 5-year old.

Didn't do much knitting; only a few rows on my sweater coat.

Alas, back at work.

XC SCHOOLING A SUCCESS!

Went xc schooling on Monday morning, which turned out to be Monday afternoon. My coach changed her schedule, but neglected to tell me about it! Instead of leaving at 11:30 from her place, we left at 1:00. Not really happy about it, but what could I do? Sallie showed up about 12:15, we got the rest of our tack together, got the horses on the trailer, and off we went.

After a warm-up we went over a few logs, then took Moonie through the water, Bella leading and Moonie fortunately following without any fuss. Then, we did some other small things, and Cathy set up a mini-course for us. We both did well! Gold stars for us! yay

Since I had a half a bagel in the morning and since I thought we were leaving at 11:30, I didn't eat anything when I left the house. By the time we got to Loch Moy and did some jumps, I was really running out of gas! I thought I was going to pass out! I was able to make it through and on the way back we stopped at McDonald's for a fish filet sandwich. Boy, was that good. Mylegs were shaking when I got back in the truck and the food and sugar definitely helped me.

Tuesday I had a dental appointment for x-rays and had a mold taken of the top of my mouth for an implant. I had a call from the doctor this a.m., to discuss my options. I'll call later; don't feel like messing with it right now.

We also bought a new 2011 Toyota Camry, which is really nice. Basic design as the older one we had and gave to Sara, with a few new upgrades. The best part? ZERO PERCENT FINANCING FOR FIVE YEARS!

Sunday I went out and bought new running shoes, new running shorts, and new exercise pants and top. Good thing I did all my expensive shopping before the car payments start!

I ran on Saturday morning, rode Saturday afternoon, no activity except for shopping on Sunday, rode on Monday, and no activity on Tuesday except for car buying. I'm bushed. Today I'm not sure what I am doing. Think it might be too hot to go outside and run. Guess it will be the TM, my friend.

I have deemed the Christmas shawl finished! It's quite long enough and I used maybe half of the yarn I bought. Maybe it's because I used to yarns together and made it a little longer faster. Who knows? Anyway, it's done except for the blocking. Ugh! That's another challenge in itself.

Weekend Update

I survived yesterday's group riding lesson on the big Moonie! He has a big trot, an even bigger canter, but he is very comfortable. It does take a lot more preparation to do anything - like stopping! Really have to pull back on the reins and use that core! And boy, did I get a core workout yesterday.

I ran 3 miles yesterday; up the trolley trail and then back, which was much easier since it was all on a downward incline. After the upward incline run/walk the way back was a breeze! Well, sort of.

Today, I am planning to go to Dick's and get some new exercise leotards since the ones I have I have had since Sara was in middle school. I'm surprised they are still wearable - sort of. While I'm there, I might as well go across the street to Jo-Ann's. I'm really ready to make some fall clothes....I have a really gorgeous skirt and jacket pattern that I would like to make. Only problem is the right material.

Tomorrow is XC schooling at Loch Moy in preparation for the September 12 Short Course show. It's a first time showing at Loch Moy and a first time competing in the short course. At least there will be only one jumping event. Might be longer than usual stadium/XC jumping since all jumps are included at one time.

OK, time to start freaking out about it. This way by the time Sunday rolls around, I should be over the nervousness - sort of!

Knitting in store for today, too. Grocery store???? Maybe tomorrow or Tuesday.

Long Weekend Coming Up

It's Friday, I'm sitting here wondering why I am here and when 3:30 will get here. I'm going to leave at 3:30, catch the 4:13. MARC, in its infinite wisdom, had a special 2:00 p.m. train. How they ever came up with that time I'll never know! But, I'm leaving in 45 minutes and should, I say should, be at Dorsey station by 5:00. We can only hope.

Took a rest day from exercising and went to lunch with a friend. She's on WW and has lost 42 pounds! Way to go, Ellen! I had no excuse but to stay on track today and make a good choice for lunch. I had a western omelet with a side salad. The omelet comes with french fries (and they are really good!), but I asked for a salad instead of the fries. Best decision I've made today. I know I would be beating myself up if I had gone for the fries. I don't have many points left for dinner, but I do have the ever faithful flex points I can use.

Romeo has been hacking away, so Dave took him to the vet. Seems he has Kennel Cough, kind of a brochitis type of illness. He got a shot, and we have to give him some pills. Romeo did a lot of hacking last night and kept waking us up. At least now we know the problem and Romeo is on his way to recovery.

Tomorow I will probably go running in the a.m. since Romeo is not feeling well. He usually comes with me for a long walk, but I don't want to stress him and make him worse.

Cathy is having a September Group Lesson tomorrow; I'm going to ride my friend's horse, Moonie, the Rectangle. He is a very large horse; hope I don't get bounced off! Afterwards, we will have a little social hour and then go home.

Nothing planned for Sunday, but Monday is a XC schooling lesson for me. My short course show is September 12, so I need to get in some jumping beforehand.

Vogue Knitting LIVE! is in January in New York. It's the first time Vogue has put on anything like this. It's in the same vein as the Stitches East.Betty and I have already booked th hotel room and signed up for our classes. We will take the cheap bus to NewYork, then take the subway to the hotel. Sounds easy; let's hope it is.

Still slugging away on the Christmas shawl; every one else is patiently waitintg her turn to be picked up and finished. Patience, I'll be there soon.

Progress

Lost 3.0 pounds; YIPPEE! still working on running endurance, but I think it's getting better. Went outside last week from my office to the Lincoln Memorial and was able to run for a much longer time than I usually do. This week I'm back in the gym; temps went up to 90 and close to 100, again.

Labor Day is coming up; can't believe it's the end of summer, but with the heat we've been having, some cool temps would be nice. This Saturday I'm going to a Group Lesson at Cathy's. I have to think of something to take. Last time I took French bread and cheese; must take something more inventive this time or at least something different.

Dave's knee continues to mend and he is walking a little better. He has an appointment on Friday, so we'll see if the doctor sends him to physical therapy. Ouch!

Still slugging away at the Christmas shawl. My goal is to finish it, then continue working on the pair of mittens. This reminds me that Betty and I are going to NYC for the VogueKnitting LIVE in January.

A Trend in Blogs - Friday At Last! II

Another week gone by and another weekend to flash before my eyes. After I got on the scale the other day it was an awakening - up 5 pounds! what? well, I know what - eating and drinking all the wrong things even though I am exercising. So, my goal for September 25:

Lose the 5 pounds
Work on running endurance so I can run the September 25th 5K without walking (as much)

That means I have to start journaling all my food, start making better choices, and drinking more water. So far on Day #3 things are going well. The bad part is the weekend is coming, and I tend to "forget" to journal and eat well and drink water. None of that any more.

Tomorrow another get-together and that means not stuffing my face; a long walk with Romeo (at least an hour); Sunday a riding lesson.

I've run outside for more days this past week than I have in the last month. The heat wave finally broke and it is really nice outside. I have already made headway into my not-walking the 5K goal by pushing myself to keep running. I'm letting my mind take over and tell me I should walk when there is no good reason to. Baby steps, baby steps. I'll get there one day.

Still working on the Christmas shawl, but it is getting longer. Pretty soon I'll have to get a bigger bag for it. It's long but not long enough to wrap around both shoulders. I believe I'm only halfway there. Like running, can't let my mind psych me out! I have to keep truding on.

Friday, At Last!

Why is it some weeks fly by like nobody's business and other weeks seem to want to be around forever? Monday is a drag, and on and on, but when I get to Thursday, I am always thinking it's Friday. What is up with that? I've come to the conclusion that I should be working a 4-day work week with 5-day work week pay. It's hard enough to get up on Mondays, but Friday mornings are even worse because I've been looking forward to the weekend for ever so long.

I pulled a muscle in my shoulder (must have been those really, really heavy weights - 30 pounds at least!), and I'm not sure if I'll be able to do anything today. I wanted to run, if even on the TM (weather is still hot around here), so I'll have to see if the sore muscle interferes with it. Obviously, no upper body workout today. No sense in making what is sore even worse. then, heaven forbid, I would not be able to ride on Sunday. Can't take any chances!

Yesterday I received an email from Twist Collective, an online knitting magazine, with an errata sheet and a new version of a pattern that I had purchased a little while ago. The first correction wasn't too bad, but the second correction had a lot of instructions left out. I printed out the new pattern, went through it and circled all the instructions for my size. So fortunate that I didn't start it, yet, but I doubt I would have been that far along, anyway.

Still working on the Christmas-gift shawl. I checked my yarn, and I discovered that I have used only 6 skeins of yarn. That means I'm only halfway through my yarn. Yikes! I have a very long way to go. It is an easy pattern, thankfully. The worst part is the blocking of it. I know I don't have any place in my house that will be big enough to block it. I may have to go to Betty's house and use her kitchen counter.

Mitten? What Mitten? It's still sitting there staring at me and telling me that I was really stupid for using such big needles. Why didn't you use the no. 1s as you knew you should have? Why did you go ahead and knit them anyway? Well, the answer is I was so excited about getting them started, that I threw caution to the wind (and my common sense) and started. They do look nice, but ........ oh, well. I shall have to make a note to myself that the next time I am overcome with starting a project with the wrong sized needles to walk away slowly and remember what I did to myself with these mittens.

Saturday: picnic/BBQ; Sunday: riding lesson; maybe work on my Halloween costume. or not. Maybe start my new sweater coat; maybe go to the grocery store; maybe just veg on the couch with Romeo. So many possibilities.

Dave's knee is slowly getting better. He's even walking a bit without cane or crutches. By the end of the day, his knee is tired, but the good news is it's finally healing up.

Another Show, More Stress

Well, I have decided to do a "Short Course" show at Loch Moy in September. This is like an eventing show, but with only one jumping course, which starts with stadium jumps in the field, leads to regular xc jumps and returning back over some more stadium jumps. There is a dressage test to do first, then just the one jumping course. Who knows if I'll ever remember which way to go! I'm already hyperventilating! ha!

We are going to our friend's son's house for his annual summer BBQ. Not a big event, but it's still nice he invites us. He usually has a great variety of people there, so it's not just all young people - like in their 30s.

Sunday is a riding lesson at Cathy's; the next Sunday is xc schooling, The show is the 12th of September. I should give Cathy my paycheck - enough of it goes to her every month.

I'm still plugging away at the shawl I'm making as a Christmas gift. It is easy, but I don't think I'm even halfway through it. The mittens I started have to be ripped out! boo! They are way too big for me, and so I know they will be too big for Cathy's hands. Oh, well, that's the life of a knitter. Can't tell you how many projects I have had to start over, not just once, or twice, but sometimes three times. Once I get to four times, that project is FROGGED!

I also bought a pattern for a nice wool coat that goes down to the knees and has a really nice big-cabled collar. The pattern is a lot of st st and could be boring, but it will all be worth it once I get to the collar. At least I hope so!

Either it's been too hot and now today it's raining like crazy, so no running outside. Ugh! I'm getting really tired of the TM. It's wearing me down! The ellipitcal is worse! Not as many calories burned, and it takes so long to burn anything nowadays, anyway.

That's it for now.

Waredaca Recognized Eventing Show

Sara made the plunge to participate in a Recognized Horse Show. She was doing well and dealing with the stress in stride until...... she found out that Phillip Dutton and other professinal riders were participating in this show. Fortunately, she is not competing against Phillip Dutton, but she is now rubbing shoulders with the big boys and girls.

So many things she has to do: braid Satchmo's mane (fortunately, she found someone to do that for her), give him a bath, clip his muzzle (to get rid of that 5 o'clock shadow), clean his tack and get the trailer loaded up on Friday evening before the show. No ride times, yet, but we are hoping for times that are not at the crack of dawn nor at the end of the day. They should be up around 2:00 today, so stay tuned.

We went cross country schooling last Sunday; after the falls I have had, I was a little nervous, but I persevered and made sure I used those legs! Amazing how well things go when using the right aids for jumping. My confidence level went up a lot after that trek to the schooling field.

We had a short visit with Dave's niece and her family, who were in this neck of the woods to attend a family reunion from her father's side of the family. She and her husband have three lovely kids. We saw them on Friday with Dave's parents and Sara for a Chinese dinner, then again on Monday for homemade pizza. That's it in a nutshell; you really don't want to hear the boring details of it all!

If this weather ever gets cool enough, I will run outside; so far, I've only done TM work. I ran one 5K in July, but fortunately, it was one of the cool mornings before the temps went out of control. Speaking of which, I've signed up for a 5K on October 6 in Washington, D.C.

"Proceeds will be donated to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. Many of them rely on the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund in order to have family members nearby while they recuperate in the hospital, as well as to help them get back on their feet financially when they return home. Please help us meet our fundraising goal of $20,000 and make a difference for our injured Marines and their families."

http://www.semperfi5k.com/Welcome.html

Liberty View Stables Dressage Show

Sunday, August 1, we attended the MD Dressage Ass'n. dressage show at Liberty View Stables. The farm was gorgeous, the day was gorgeous, and there was no hustle and bustle that is usually associated with a horse show. For the first time I was very relaxed, and that showed in my tests. Not that I had great scores, but that I felt my shoulders relax and my arms lose the tension that is usually in them. Cathy, the coach, was happy; that's all I ever ask for! LOL

Here are Cathy and I waiting for my time to ride the second test.

This picture could use a caption, but I'm having a difficult time coming up with something cute and quirky. Wait awhile; it will come to me.

Yesterday I ran on TM, did some core work, ran some more, did some inside and outside thigh work as my thighs certainly got a workout at the show (as well as my abs). Whoever said that a rider "just sits on the horse" has never ridden a dressage test!

Wednesday, Still.

Dave went to the doctor yesterday and had the staples removed from his leg. Ugh! He is now allowed to put some weight on his leg, so he is using crutches and putting weight on his knee more and more. This is long, drawn-out process, one that we didn't know would be so tedious. Dave, especially, has had enough of gimping around and it's only been two weeks!

On the riding front, I have a lesson on Saturday afternoon, then bathe Bella, beautify her, and get her ready for a show on Sunday. Dressage, that is. No jumping involved, this time, and so no potential for falling! I hope!

Our niece and her family are coming from California on August 4 for a short visit.

I ran my 60-second switch on the TM today. That is run for 10 minutes on a zero incline, then run on different inclines for 60 seconds each (18 different inclines or hills), then run for 10 minutes on zero incline. I'm pooped!

Other Finished Projects

Half Mittens, which were a gloved pattern, but I balked at the thought of knitting fingers, so they became half-mits. Great for tacking up the horse in cold weather.

Brown and tan mittens; I have enough to make a reverse of this mitten or another pattern altogether.

Used sock yarn and painted sock yarn for a little brightness in the pattern.

I'm thinking I just might have enough of a wardrobe of mittens for this winter. On the other hand, I haven't made all the mittens from my book. There's always room for more mittens.

Dave and I went out for dinner on Friday; Dave gimped to the car and did drive. We put the crutches in the trunk, and I had to get them out for him. By the time we ate and got home, he was exhausted. This was the first outing in 2 weeks since his knee surgery. Tomorrow he gets the staples out! I told hin it wasn't necessary to go to the doctor;I have a staple puller at work. Ha! {takes staple puller and opens and shuts it}

Sara and I were going to run on Saturday, but changed our minds when we saw how hot it was going to be. I stayed inside except to take Rome out in the a.m. and again the the afternoon. Sunday Sallie, Sara and I went riding in the early a.m. hoping to get some riding in before it was too hot. Too late! It was hot at 9:00 a.m. We all practiced our dressage tests; Sara video-taped us and I attempted to video tape her with her Droid! It's not perfect, but at least we could see somewhat what we looked like! I need a lot of Help!!!

ONLY ONE WORD REGARDING MY THREE-YEAR SWEATER!

FINISHED!

Almost Done After Three Years

So, the big news is my blue cabled sweater is almost finished after working on and off on it for three years! It is so intricate that I could only work on it for a short period of time before I got really annoyed with it. Once it's off the needles, photo to come.

Sara and I will run a 5K on Saturday; then ride on Sunday. I have a show on August 1, and Sara has a show on August 13. We both have to practice our dressage tests so we don't get error points for going off course, which we have both done before. Shame, shame.

This means I have to run on the TM today at the gym to get back into the swing of things. After being at home last week tending to Dave I didn't get much time on the TM or the gym. Why do I punish myself like this? I know, I know, if I didn't, I would probably weight 3,000 pounds! Ha! :)

5K Photos - July 11, 2010

We were running sooOooo fast, Dave couldn't get a clear picture of the group. Ha!

Coming into the home stretch!

I think I can.

I'm still smiling!

I did it!

THE END!

5K Run, Dave's Knee Surgery, Post-Op

I ran the 5K on Sunday, which wasn't too bad considering the heat we've been having lately. The race started at 8:00 a.m., and believe it or not, there was a breeze and the temp wasn't too, too bad. Of course, once we got moving, it did get just a tad warm! As I came running into the finish line, I was ready to pass the woman in front of me when another woman came whizzing from behind me blocking me behind the first woman. I was hoping to shave a few seconds off the run time, but nooOOoo, I was stuck. It reminded me of being in traffic and there is one really slow car on the road. Everyone behind me is passing me AND the slow car, and I can't get a break to pass the slow car even though I'm right behind it. What aggravation! No matter; I finished, and these days that is all I hope for.

Well, Dave had knee surgery on Monday, his birthday, too, no less. We anticipated a short surgery and he would be out of the hospital and home. The surgery lasted for 2 hours; the doctor ended up doing a Micro Fracture procedure, which entailed - too gross - to go into detail, but Dave ended up with a 6.5" incision on his knee into his shin. Ack! Recovery time is a lot longer and harder than anticipated. I stayed home Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to help him get around. Went back to work yesterday and today.

Sara's birthday was Sunday, Dave's birthday was Monday. She came over to the house on Tuesday and we had a combined birthday celebration with funfetti cake - Sara's favorite! Of course, we still have leftover cake, and it seems to be calling me every time I go back into the house. It may get thrown out very soon.

I was all ready to go to the gym yesterday when I realized I left my running shoes at home! Drat! I brought them in today, but it is a hard battle I'm having with myself to get my rear end in the gym today. Amazing how fast one can lose incentive to do -- well, anything!

Knitting: Still plugging away at the Christmas shawl; started a pair of socks while I was waiting for Dave at the hospital; got new yarn for Christmas mittens. This weekend I can sew one sleeve into my cabled sweater and block the second sleeve. No more dreaming that the Finishing Fairies will come and do this for me. I also cut out a dress which needs to be put together.

P.S. Ran 3.1 miles on the tread or dread mill today even though I was thiiiiis close to saying, Why run when I haven't done anything all week? Fortunately, I saved myself from feeling guilty for the rest of the afternoon and sucked it up and just did it! {pats self on back}

What I Accompllished

The things I accomplished this weekend: 1) blocked back and front of the blue cabled sweater; 2) blocked one sleeve of the blue cabled sweater; 3) cut out all the pieces of my Halloween costume (not an easy task) for the horse show in October (I know it's early, but the way I procrastinate, it will be October by the time this is all finished); 4) started to cut out pieces to a new dress, but alas did not have enough fabric (not an uncommon event); 5) went to Appalachian Spring and exchanged the earrings I received for my birthday (recceived a duplicate pair of earrings from Heinz and Vera); 6) continued knitting on the Christmas shawl. I also messed around with looking at another mitten pattern as I found some yarn in my stash. I found a great ball of white yarn (sock yarn) and leftover varigated yarn (greys, blacks, whites). The colors aren't as vibrant as my other mittens I made with varigated yarn, but more mellow.

The next thing on my list is to start sewing the Halloween costume, but before I can do that I have to purchase a few items: elastic, ribbon, and stitch witchery to make an applique for the vest. I bought the fabric so long ago that I could not remember what fabric was going to be what. I did know what fabric was going to be the dress, but the vest, jacket, and lining were still a mystery to me. So, what did I do? I improvised and made it all up. Everything worked out perfectly even if not the originally intended purpose. Many of the items are to be interfaced, but I'm not dealing with that. The collar I will interface so it stands up properly, but everything else will just have to be without interfacing. Not necessary since I've already put a lot of work into this project.

My riding lesson was good, but it was hot outside and I was riding at 9:30 a.m.! Worked on upward and downward transitions from walk to trot; trot to walk; trot to canter; canter to trot. My arms seem to keep getting in the way, and it is a real task for me to keep my arms and hands down and quiet and not up in the air. Whoever said that I'm "just sitting" on the horse, is woefully mistaken! There's a reason my legs and core and sore after every lesson.

Now is the time to start work on dressage as the dressage show season is coming up. I'm thinking of going to a show on August 1 for a change in venue. Maybe Sara will go so she can do her dressage test before the event on August 13.

Back to work and four days to go. I must work on my running endurance this week as I am running in the Howard County Women's Distance Festival 5K on Sunday. This is the first race I ran, so I go back every year to celebrate every year I've been running. This is year number 3!

It is also Sara's birthday, but she will be on her way home from her rock climbing vacation. In this heat, I wonder if she will survive especially since they are camping and no A/C.

Let's See....

So, the end of this day can't some soon enough even though I will be leaving around 3:30 to catch the first train out of DC, not to be confused with the "special" MARC train at 2:00. 2:00???? Who can leave at 2:00???? Anyway, if I can catch the 4:13, it will be a good thing. It's the only other express train other than the 5:51, which has been canceled because of the "special" 2:00 train. Go,MARC train!

My boss asked me to send out some fund raising letters for a charity for him today. The ones that had addresses are in the mail, so to speak; actually in my "out" box, which is "in the mail" as far as I'm concerned. The others I have to email or call and ask for mailing addresses, preferably home addresses. Ugh! I don't really like doing this, but that's why I get the big bucks, right? Well....

I plan on going to the gym, doing some cardio, and weight/strength training. Since I took off from exercising yesterday, I have to go today.

Tomorrow a.m. is Wimbledon Ladies' Final Match. I really like to watch the men's finals, but that is on Sunday and interferes with my riding lesson. I will put on Mr. DVR to record the match so I can watch it when I get home. If it is a long match, it will still be going by the time I get home at noon-ish.

Dave is shooting a wedding tomorrow afternoon/evening, so my plan is to get some patterns(one is my Halloween costume for the October Halloween horse show at Talbot Run) cut out. I do have to wash/pre-shrink some fabric before it gets cut, so that should go into the wash either tonight or tomorrow a.m. Then, I can cut out that pattern (a dress). I said this is a plan. The back-up plan could be to do absolutely nothing!

Weekend Update!

Thursday was my birthday, so instead of taking off on Thursday and coming back on Friday, I took off Friday for a 3-day weekend. I did have a dental appointment for a check-up, which took about 5 seconds, then I was gone. Dave and I went to the Pho place and had pho for lunch. We had one spring roll each and a giant pho. I didn't eat it all, had it packaged up, then went and got some TCBY for dessert. A very low-key birthday celebration.

Drat! I just deleted!! d9*(&$()_)#$*.

So, Saturday Sara took me out to lunch and a movie. We saw, "Killers", which was cutesy and funny. Apparently, Sara and I were the only ones who actually had a sense of humor about it all. Kind of dark humor.

Sunday was our riding lesson - a flat lesson - no jumping. We worked very hard at getting ourselves balanced, doing serpentines with no stirrups, 20-meter circles, 15-meter circles, which are hard to calculate. I can't tell if I'm at 15 meters, 12 meters, or what. I go by what my coach says, then take it from there!

We went out to dinner with Dave's parents for their birthday celebrations to their favorite Greek restaurant. Well, we got ther 15 minutes early, and you would have thought the world was coming to an end. If there are people there, they complain it's too loud; we were the only ones in the room they likedbut apparently, it was too quiet. All of us except Sara got the lamb shank(s), but we only had one shank each and lots of orzo. I ate the lamb and part of the orzo, but with the salad and -oh! I forgot! some bread and oil - it was too much. I had a spinach salad beforehand and should have stopped there, but no, I had to go for the dessert! What a mistake! I was so stuffed! . Sara ordered the spanakopita (spinach layered with phylo dough and cheese) and a side salad. She had the yogurt with honey and nuts for dessert, and decided she shouldn't have ordered a dessert, either. Fortunately, today we have a better handle in the food department.

Today is run on the TM day to get rid of all that very rich food I had last night. Finished my dress and wore it to work. I keep amazing people with the fact that I'm actually wearing dresses/skirts to work these days. Just needed a change of pace; have another pattern and bought some more fabric yesterday. I'm on a roll!

Eventing Show Over! WHEW!

So, the eventing horse show was Sunday. Sara and I both rode; however, Sara was slated for her first ride, dressage, at 10:15 (?),then she had to wait 2 hours before her jumping courses; I didn't do my first ride, dressage, until 1:35, when Sara started her last jumping course. By the time we waited around for my jumping rounds, it was 4:00. As usual, I was nervous about the jumping, but Team Bella made a clean sweep of the stadium course. Off we went to the corss country course, and Team Bella did another clean sweep!

Results: Sara had an error on her dressage, a clean course on stadium, but an error on cross country; she came in from 7th pulling up from 11th place. My dressage score was not so hot, so I came in from 8th to 7th. Drat that left-handed circle!

I was expecting to go to Michael's on Saturday to get beads for the shawl I'm making; however, that didn't happen and since I'm ready to start the design, beads are now OUT again. I had great intentions, but I'm not that hep on the beads that I'll hold up going forwared with the shawl. Great idea; maybe next time.

Hard to believe it's another year gone and my birthday is in 2 days! Yikes! Where did the time go? More importantly, how did I get so old? It's still old in years, no matter how I actually feel. ha ha.

Eventing Show Coming Up

Let's see......Went XC Schooling last Sunday, again. Good news is I didn't fall off! Score one for me! Almost, but that only counts in horseshoes, the game, not the ones on the horse. Anyway, psyching myself up to be in the competition mode - NO MERCY! Show is on Sunday. The weather is going to be atrocious - high 90s!

I'm happy to report that I finally finished the sleeves on my 3-year sweater. Now it's time to block the body of the sweater, sew the sleeve saddle, sew the sleeve, then the back and front together, then knit the collar. Piece of cake, eh? The bad news is I don't have very much yarn left (who knew I would run out 3 years later?), but my plan is to use some other worsted weight blue yarn I have for sewing up the seams and save the "good" yarn for the collar. It might just work.

I'm also happy to report that the yarns I ordered to make a shawl as a gift came in. I'm using a painted teal merino and a teal mohair held together. Very pretty. After reading the Yarn Harlot's blog today, I have now decided that putting beads in my shawl would make it pop that much more. Why, oh why, do I listen to other people's blogs?

If You Can't Exercise, GO SHOPPING!

Although my bruised body is feeling better, exercise is still not in the picture. So, in order to occupy myself, I went to Dress Barn and bought some trouser socks, which by the way were 50% off! I bought 9 pairs of socks and just as I was getting ready to leave, I saw a really cute jacket that I can wear with the dress I'm making. I had looked at some other jackets, but none of them caught my fancy. I should have kept my eyes straight ahead and not looked back.

Dave went to NYC today on the bus, so Romeo and I will have a quiet evening. I'm thinking of getting a big salad from the restaurant next door to take home for dinner. I won't have a lot of time because I have to take Romeo out for his one and only walk today; I know he'll be ready to get outside as soon as I get there. Then, dinner and I can watch the shows I recorded and fell asleep while I was watching them.

Progress on my cabled fisherman's sweater: I am at the point now where I am binding off and then knitting the "saddle" of the sleeves. Once that is done, everything is sewn together and all that remains is knitting up the collar. It took three years to get there, but a job well done to me!

When Going Over Jumps, It Helps To Stay ON the Horse!

The weekend started out as an uneventful weekend. Saturday a.m. Romeo and I went for an hour walk. As humid as it was, it was a good thing we went early. Actually, we should have gone even earlier as Romeo tends to dart out at other dogs on the path. Going earlier would have been easier for me, anyway.

I started work on a new dress, and I found that it went much faster than I anticipated. I got to the point of the zipper, decided it was time to stop for awhile, and picked up my long-lost sweater. By the way, I'm doing quite well with the sleeves. About 32 rows done. That means really 64 rows since I'm doing double the rows. Yay me.

Sunday Sara and I had a riding lesson, and we went to Waredaca for a cross country schooling lesson. Bella is so in love with Satchmo, that I have discovered that I have to ride her much more agressively when he's around because all she does is follow him around. We went over a few jumps, some with multiple approaches, but over nonetheless.

The next jump I approached (uphill) and Bella refused. I wasn't ready, so it was my fault. The next approach was more aggressive, but as I got closer, I got too far ahead of her, she stopped and I didn't. I fell splat onto my chest on the edge of the jump. My watchband cut my wrist up, and the band was twisted into a non-recognizable item. Fortunately, for me, I was wearing my jump vest or I might have broken a rib since I landed on my left side.

Sara jumped Satchmo over a fence (or attempted to) and he put on the brakes and actually slid on all four feet to the jump. After several slips Sara finally got him over the fence. Off we trotted to the next jumps, and I went over a few more. They were good jumps; we got over them; might not have been pretty, but we did get over.

Then Sara did a jump over a small log into a shallow pond. It was a great leap, she really felt the air on that jump. After she jumped she said she heard her thumb go "pop". Fortunately, it went back into place, but started to swell up quickly. Between the two of us we really made the day exciting. I won with the injuries because I was bleeding! Ha!

Needless to say, I spent the day with a cold compress and Aleve. I didn't injure my arms so I could knit in between bouts of short naps. I did go upstairs to work on my dress, but after sewing in the zipper, my side hurt, so back downstairs I went to the couch and lots of pillows.

Back to work; another week to look forward to. Yeah, right.

Gee, Switching Up Exercise Really Works

This week I've continued to rev up my exercise especially in the running department. More calories burned and I'm still breathing. What a revelation. I've proven to myself that I can go faster. I was kind of in denial about it all and was letting "fate" take its course.

If only I could sleep at night. All I do is wake up from being hot (even with the fan), then I'm cold. Makes for not good sleeping. No wonder I'm always falling asleep at 8:00 at night.

I decided to pull out a fisherman's sweater I've been working on since 2007. I found the receipt the other, and I'm amazed I haven't finished it. I've made 4 pairs of mittens, 3 or 4 sweaters, but I'm still staring at this sweater. I made a vow to finish it before I do anything else - good luck with that! All I have to do is finish the sleeves, which I'm knitting at the same time. If I weren't doing that, I would really have a bad case of not wanting to finish it. And then sew the thing together and knit the collar. Bam! I'm done. Easier said than done as this pattern is somewhat complicated and every single row has cables, knit through back loop, or something outrageous. But, I'll get it done so I can wear it next winter.

The grey sweater I started is a bust right now, too. It's knit in the round and somehow the stitches got twisted so I had to rip out 17 rows of knitting. I started again, cast on those 229 stitches, and AGAIN, the stitches got twisted. I must not be getting them pointing in the same direction. Anyway, it's basically sitting in the corner because I'm so mad at it. Well, not the sweater because I ripped it out, but the yarn, directions, and needles are being punished.

Dave might go to New York next week for another bank conference. Yay! The only bad thing is I have to get home to take Romeo out because he'll be sitting around all day by himself. It's a 50/50 blessing.

Here's hoping the train is on time; we have lights and air conditioning. Always an adventure with Mr. MARC.

What is: How do I burn more calories when running on the Treadmill?

The answer is: To burn more calories on the treadmill I have discovered that I MUST run at least a 10:00 mile (6.0), if not faster. My goal now is to attain a steady pace of 6.0 and gradually work the numbers up. I could flip off the treadmill, but I'm going to give it a try!

Did some core exercises in the hopes that they will tone up all the flab I have around my middle. This is my anti-Humpty Dumpty Dressage Rider exercise.

Went to the eye doctor yesterday, and it confirmed my suspicions that I need a new prescription. What a great excuse to buy new frames. Hoping to go to COSTCO tomorrow to look at frames and price them out. They have to be cheaper than the optomitrist's office. My insurance only pays UP TO $60 for one frame only. COSTCO will be cheaper in the long, sadly to say. The frames I have now are from COSTCO, and they are quite nice, but it is time for a change. Oops! I think I've heard that phrase before.

Only a few more hours because the office is closing at 4:00 today; my plan is to leave a little early so I can catch the MARC 4:13 train, which is the only express train until 5:51.

We will probably watch the new series (last season's) "Rome" tonight. We have heard great things about it, so it better live up to our expectations.

It's Tuesday and the last AI competition night. Lee and Crystal are the final two, and it will be most interesting to see how the voting has gone tomorrow night. Dave vows to vote the entire two hours tonight to vote for Lee as he does not like Crystal.

I'm sure AI will do something for Simon as it is HIS last two nights on AI as a judge. The man is making millions of dollars to do this. Just a comment.

Forced myself to go to the gym.

Gym report:

10 minutes walking on TM

upright rows
tricep press
shoulder roll
dumbbell press
crunches with legs on bench at 45 degree angle
metronone
reverse crunches
superman
squats
inside thighs
outside thighs
waist twists holding 7.5 pound weights
plank
front thigh quad strengthener

I believe my muscles will let me know tomorrow they did not appreciate this workout today.

It's Monday..

Dave surprised me with a very nice Seiko watch as an anniversary present. It's a small face, the kind I like. Very nice.

Saturday we drove to Alexandria, and we kept seeing signs that warned us of road work beyond the Woodrow Wilson bridge and major delays. We didn't have much choice, so we kept driving. As we got closer, we saw signs for "local" to the right and took a chance on that. It's a good thing we did because as we drove off that ramp, we saw the major delay! We found a place to park, walked around, saw a farmers' market, walked around some more. We found a jeweler, who took some links out of the watchband, and now it fits better.

On the way back, we couldn't decide what to do for lunch, and we ended up going to Pasta Plus for panini sandwiches. They were good, but not great! We were so full from that dinner was Chinese soup with some beef/broccoli and some fried rice. Didn't eat too much of that.

Sunday was a bust for riding. We were going to to XC schooling, but with the rain and the ground being wet, we didn't go. So, I re-scheduled in what order I was going to do some things. We went to Joanne's so I could get some buttons for my blouse (which I finished, thank you very much) and I did buy some more fabric for a dress.

We went to COSTCO and Food Lion and spent a lot of money on food, laundry detergent, etc., but we will have a good supply of food for awhile now.

Oh, my Friday list:

Took Romeo for a 50-minute walk; worked on my blouse; ripped out the remaining stitches; did some knitting on my second half-glove. So, all in all, I did accomplish some things. I got a new wallet, too. Tired of using a rubber band to keep it together after the zipper broke. It was classy looking, that rubber band.

Sara's coming over for dinner - salmon, rice, and some side dish of vegs. Not sure what, yet. With a salad.

That's it. Exciting, eh?

Friday, For Me and Happy Anniversary to Me (and Dave), Too!

Thirty two years ago today, Dave and I tied the knot. Hard to imagine that that many years have gone by. As Dave pointed out, 11,680 glorious days of wedded bliss!

It's Friday for me, but it won't be fun tomorrow. I have to go back to the dentist to have the stitches taken out from my surgery. Fortunately, it won't take long, and will be painless. Other than that, I have the day free. What to do? What to do? Here is a list of possibilities:

1. go for along walk with Romeo,

2. start (that means actually going upstairs to my sewing room) sewing blouse,

3. knit second half-glove (which I started on the train because I am furious with my sweater - next item),

4. continue to rip out the 249 stitches (and the second color I had started to use) that got twisted on my sweater-in-the-round! or

5. nothing.

So many choices.

Waiting the day out, but it doesn't seem to be going very quickly at this point.

Saturday we will go into Alexandria, VA and walk around to celebrate our anniversary. Just hope the rain holds out, and we don't get soaked. Sunday, cross country lesson in preparation for the June 20 show at Waredaca.

Back to Work in the Rain

The only saving grace about today is that it's raining today and didn't rain over the weekend.

Dave and I went to the Turf Valley Resort to see the hot-air balloons ascend at 6:30 a.m. We woke up really early, drove to Turf Valley (only a few minutes away), and waited around for the balloonists to show up. While we were waiting, we were informed that the balloons would not go up because the winds in the higher altitudes were too fast. They usually fly with a maximumof 20 Knots, but the wind was up to 35 Knots AND the direction of the wind was into the City of Baltimore. Not where they wanted to end up. But, some of the balloons were blown up so we were able to see how big these balloons really are. More and more people showed up, and some had made reservations to take a ride, but no one could go up. A shame, but we did see something.

After that we went to the Double T Diner on Route 40, had a nice breakfast; then I went to get my hair cut and colored, then sushi lunch with Sara. By the time I got home, I was exhausted, but couldn't sleep. Not sure what I really did Saturday afternoon, but it went by quickly.

Sunday Sara and I went to our riding lesson. We went early so we could set up an eventing course in one of the empty fields. The guys (horses) weren't sure what we were doing, but all of a sudden we heard this pounding of hooves, with a sudden stop at the fence. They were all looking at us, and we could just hear the conversation going on with them. What are those two-legged things doing out there? Why are they dragging those poles behind them? What is that orange and white thing they have? What's going on? Needles to say, Satchmo was the only one out of that crowd who needed to worry. And worry he did. He tried to hide behind the others, but they weren't going to protect him. Sara found him anyway, and got him ready for the lesson.

Bella, on the other hand, was sooOOooo excited to get out of the paddock (and Smash) and into the field to jump. What she lacks in her physical condition, she more than makes up for in her great attitude! She had a ball out in the field and took me along as her student.

I slowly cut out my blouse pattern, slowly because I kept getting distracted by the TV, not that the shows were anything wonderful, but there ya go. Amzing how the mind gets sucked in by crap. Also wound two balls of yarn for a new knitting project. The excitement never ends at my house! Oh, and I did some wash! Stop, stop!

Dave attended a photo workshop, which was supposed to be a fashion workshop. He said it was a bit disappointing, but he did get some good photos of the models.

We had a late dinner of hamburgers and pasta salad, then we watched the Miss USA Pagent. Sheesh!

Still Looking Forward to the Weekend.....

Finally made it to Thursday, but I still have to come back tomorrow. I did have a dental appointment on Monday for the doctor to take the stitches out, but Dave is doing a photo shoot on Friday around 7:00, so I made the appointment for Friday instead since I have to take the whole day off, anyway. So, now, he can make it to the event on time.

Update: It's now, Friday. Just have to muddle through the day, and the weekend will be here! It can't come too soon.

5Ks I'm going to run (so far): July 11 - Howard County Striders' Women's Running Festival (the first 5K I ran, so I try to run it every year as my anniversary run); September 25 - Catonsville Fall Into Fitness (Sara is training to run the 10K!; I'll be at the finish line with a nice refreshing drink for her!)

Horse Shows: June 20 - Waredaca Starter Horse Trials; September 12 - Loch Moy Short Course. This is the Sunday before the Catonsville Run.

So far, this is all I have to say. We'll see what develops as they day progresses.

I do have something else to say: I finished the hand part of my half-glove. Need to work on the thumb, then I will start on the next half-glove. Even if I do say so myself, it looks quite nice. It's a bit large, so considering shrinking it a little bit. We'll see after I give them a test-wear.

Looking Forward to the Weekend

Once I get through this work week, I have some fun things to do on Saturday and Sunday. Oh, but first, on Friday, I'm going to lunch with my friend to Cafe Asia. Since I'm doing sushi on Saturday with Sara, I'll get something else to eat. This place has a nice variety of Asian-style foods, so it's not just limited to sushi.

Saturday a.m. get hair cut and colored; after Sara is done with her yoga class, we will go to Niko's for a sushi lunch. Dave and I might to to Turf Valley for the hot-air balloon festival going on. Apparently, that is part of the Preakness celebration for the race at Pimlico.

Sunday is a riding lesson; we will move jumps, etc. into the small field and do some xc training at Cathy's. Sara wants to get some jumps going with Satchmo so they can both get used to higher jumps and being in the field. I might be riding Galaxy; not sure about that, yet.

Yesterday I forgot my lunch - no wonder my bag was so light! I ended up having a parfait for a snack and then some egg salad (no bread) for lunch. Not great choices, but filling, nonetheless.

Today's schedule is more of the same - filing, filing, and more filing. If I don't file on any given day, there must be something wrong with the time continuum.

My yellow/coal gloves - really half gloves - are coming along nicely. I'm using alpaca, and it is a) the softest yarn I've used; and b) really, really easy to work with. I have about 10-15 rows to go before I do a few rows of ribbing, then bind off. No fingers on this! Not sure how to do the fingers, anyway. Something else to worry about at a later date. I've decided I don't like the wooden DPNs that I'm using, but even if I ordered a different kind of needle, I know the gauge would be off even if the size is the same. So, I will have to suffer through with the needles until the half gloves are done.

Once I've finished the gloves, I'm on to another project. I bought some really pretty grey and mauve yarn to make a pullover.

People's Preakness

Saturday was the 5K I had been looking forward to running simply because the course started on the Pimlico race track, then meandered through the neighboring houses. We got there early to pick up my number - at left, which was designed in the style of jocky silks. Not all the numbers had the same design, but it was a fun thing to add to the race.

After waiting around for what seemed forever, we were finally herded onto the race track for the start of the race. Not only did we run on the race track, we had the official bugler start us off.

He was dressed in tails, had a red vest on, and had the long, stretch version of a trumpet. I'm sure it has an official name, but I'm too lazy to find out......

After he did his bugling with the official and well-known tune that we hear at the start of every horse race, we were off! Let me tell you, that track is a lot bigger than it seems when you see horses racing around it. How fast does a horse run the track? Well, it took me about 10 minutes or so. Talk about coming in last place - at least if I were running with the horses!

After running through the neighborhood and wondering if I would even survive, I finally made it to the last tenth of a mile of the race. I didn't think I would ever cross that finish line, but I did! Go, me!

After the race I went post haste to pick up the really nice stadium blanket that every participant was to get. It's really soft and has the same logo that you see in the first photo. I'm always much happier when I'm finished running than when I'm actually running!

Sunday Sara I went out for our weekly lesson. Sara tried using a nice fleece padding under her saddle for Satchmo, and her analysis is that she feels the saddle seems to be more stable than without the fleece. Next week she'll try again, and see if she has the same evaluation. I rode Galaxy, Cathy's new horse. He is calm, very good mover, and has a really nice canter. If we could get Bella's trot and Galaxy's canter in the same horse, riding would be heaven. I don't think Galaxy still knows what's up with his new home because the minute he arrived here, we got two horrendous snow storms. He came from a very warm climate, and I'm sure didn't know what to make of all this white stuff.

After our lesson we went back to the house to get changed and go to Dave's parents' house for mother's day. Dave made quiche, I picked up some bagels, and we had coffee, orange juice, cream cheese for a brunch. By the time we ate, cleaned up and got out of there, it was 2:30, so not much left of the day.

I did manage to get myself upstairs and block one pair of mittens and blocked my sweater to straighten out the button band. Once it dries, I can sew the buttons on, ewave in all the ends, and sew up the sleeve seams. Then, it will be ready to wear.

I'll be riding Galaxy next week and do some jumping with him. We do have a show coming up in June, but I'm going to ride Bella, who just loves Waredaca. I'm hoping this time she doesn't dump me in the middle of the cross country course! I would like to finish....... Maybe I'll take Galaxy to another show. We'll see. Bella IS my show pony.

Back at work, waiting for it to be time to go home. What else is new?