Bella's New Show Halter
Friday, April 30, 2010
End of Week One Back From Vacation
Well, the work week is almost over (5:00 p.m. tonight), and I'm surprised it went by so fast. I did leave the office early on Monday afternoon because I could not keep my eyes open because I got home so late.
Today I have my annual review. Something everybody loves to go through. A co-worker sent me an article about annual reviews, which, in essence, said these reviews are worthless, and only stress out all individuals concerned. I concur. With all the cut-backs this firm is having, it will be a minor miracle if we get any increase at all - if we do - 2% - maybe?
Dave is going to a 20-year Hubble Space Telescope reunion today at Goddard. Since he will be late, Sara is picking me up at the Dorsey Station tonight. Here's crossing fingers and toes that the blankety-blank train is on time tonight. It's a Friday, of course, there will be something to go wrong.
Sara runs in a mud run tomorrow in Gaithersburg, so we are going to go and cheer her on. Afterwards, Dave is attending an event with MetLife as the official photographer. So, we can't dawdle too long at the run.
Sunday I have a riding lesson, then off to the Sheep & Wool Festival. I'm taking several knitting patterns with me so I can see if I can find the wool to make said patterns. Of course, there will be plenty of wool, it's just that I have to the THE wool that calls out to me. Oh, I have to take my almost-finished sweater so I can get THE buttons for it. It's never ending, you know.
I have so many knitting/sewing projects, the list would be several pages long. However, I have made a commitment to finish the second mitten of the latest pair, block them and another pair of mittens, and block a sweater.
The temp today is going to be warm, so I'm thinking about going outside and run. The only problem is my leg still isn't right. Not sure if I should go to the doctor about it. I hate going to the doctor no matter what the problem. I finally went to the dentist, and that was a wrong decision, because now I have to have a tooth pulled on Monday. See? Don't go to the doctor/dentist; they only tell you bad news.
There is a small market outside Union Station now, and I stopped by the bakery stall and bought some raisin/walnut bread. It's ssoOOoooo good. I'm going to have to lock it up so I dont eat the entire loaf today! And it was only $3.00 - I think that's a great price. Other places would charge $5 or more for a large loaf of bread like that.
Ever Onward.
Today I have my annual review. Something everybody loves to go through. A co-worker sent me an article about annual reviews, which, in essence, said these reviews are worthless, and only stress out all individuals concerned. I concur. With all the cut-backs this firm is having, it will be a minor miracle if we get any increase at all - if we do - 2% - maybe?
Dave is going to a 20-year Hubble Space Telescope reunion today at Goddard. Since he will be late, Sara is picking me up at the Dorsey Station tonight. Here's crossing fingers and toes that the blankety-blank train is on time tonight. It's a Friday, of course, there will be something to go wrong.
Sara runs in a mud run tomorrow in Gaithersburg, so we are going to go and cheer her on. Afterwards, Dave is attending an event with MetLife as the official photographer. So, we can't dawdle too long at the run.
Sunday I have a riding lesson, then off to the Sheep & Wool Festival. I'm taking several knitting patterns with me so I can see if I can find the wool to make said patterns. Of course, there will be plenty of wool, it's just that I have to the THE wool that calls out to me. Oh, I have to take my almost-finished sweater so I can get THE buttons for it. It's never ending, you know.
I have so many knitting/sewing projects, the list would be several pages long. However, I have made a commitment to finish the second mitten of the latest pair, block them and another pair of mittens, and block a sweater.
The temp today is going to be warm, so I'm thinking about going outside and run. The only problem is my leg still isn't right. Not sure if I should go to the doctor about it. I hate going to the doctor no matter what the problem. I finally went to the dentist, and that was a wrong decision, because now I have to have a tooth pulled on Monday. See? Don't go to the doctor/dentist; they only tell you bad news.
There is a small market outside Union Station now, and I stopped by the bakery stall and bought some raisin/walnut bread. It's ssoOOoooo good. I'm going to have to lock it up so I dont eat the entire loaf today! And it was only $3.00 - I think that's a great price. Other places would charge $5 or more for a large loaf of bread like that.
Ever Onward.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Brief Re-Cap of Rolex Trip
Wednesday a.m. finished all my packing, and I did amazingly well and did not over-pack (for a change). I even had room to expand my suitcase for my purchases at Rolex. Yay. We met Aileen at the airport, flew to Louisville, KY, got the rental car and we were off! Lexington, here we come.
As we usually do, we went to the grocery store to get food/drinks for lunches and one dinner. We did quite well in our choices for foods. Sara even came up with the idea to make a parfait for our lunches. We used Greek yogurt, strawberries and/or bananas, honey and granola. It was delish! We took sandwiches made with whole grain bread, drank a lot of water during the day. We did have our splurges, but all in all, we did well in the food department. Aileen make a nice chili and I made corn bread (out of a box), which reminds me, the Cop in a Box is no longer at Liquor Barn in Lexington. He was transferred to Louisville to a new Liquor Barn store. The employees told me that they don't expect to get him back, either. What a disappointment, and speaking of disappointments, Breakfast Boy stood me up for the Rolex week. Man! This entire affair is over now! No second chances for him.
OK. So, I digressed!
Thursday and Friday we got the rain that we expected, but fortunately, was not a torrential downpour and we did have covered grandstand seats for the dressage and the stadium jumping. But first, shopping......
We all hightailed it to the "Clever with Leather" tent, and I bought a halter(with pink, soft leater lined inside for total comfort for Bella with "The Diva" engraved on a nameplate and a belt for me with "Diva's Servant" engraved. We must know our place in life, right? Sara bought Satchmo a halter with "Kill 'Er Tomato" on it with orange, soft leather lined inside for him. These horses are so spoiled.
Aileen bought Bella a new turn-out halter - bright pink and a lead line - purple/pink for her. Bella's old halter is so cruddy looking, that it just can't be cleaned. Bella made out like a bandit with two halters and two leadlines!
My other have-to-have purchase was body lotion that I had bought last year. I stocked up on it this weekend, and in our usual manner, gave the sales person a run for his money. I don't think he will ever be the same! When he said to me, "When we get old, we all start to wrinkle....", I told him I was offended and didn't want the original purchase of the lotion that I had just bought. Poor guy had to suffer through the three of us..... He did survive and he did earn that commission!
We watched a good bit of dressage on Thursday and Friday. One poor woman's horse was not in the mood to do his dressage test. He was spooky when he came out, spooked at the camera, spent most of his time going sideways than straight, never got rounded, had his head up on the air the entire time. The rider did not excuse herself, but ploughed through the test. Her error score was 91! Poor thing. She did make it through cross country, but retired herself early Sunday morning from the stadium jumping. Just not her year this year or her horse's.
After getting my feet soaked on Friday in the rain, I bought some galoshes so that I could walkd around Saturday and not get wet feet, again. Aileen also bought a pair, but Sara had a pair of waterproof boots that she brought with her. So, Saturday morning we all dress up for wet weather, wet ground, and no sun. Even driving to the horse park we were sure the weather was going to nasty. Of course, after we got out of the car and started walking towards the cross country course, the rain stopped and the sun came shining through! It was nice to have sun, but I had to unlayer myself from the sweaters, sweatshirt and rain coat I was wearing. (Good thing is, I did dress in layers!)
The three of us got along well. It's very scary how we were all on the same wave length the duration of the trip. Food was not an issue, what to do at the horse park - no issue, when to leave - no issue; what to eat for dinner - no issue.
The only issue we had was with SouthWest Airlines and the weather in Baltimore. The rain we did't get decided to move northward and hit Baltimore area just as we were going home. We started in Louisville (late), flew part way to Baltimore, (mostly in circles), got diverted to Norfolk to re-fuel and sat and sat and sat and listened to the baby scream its lungs out that was behind us. We finally left Norfolk at 11:30 p.m., got into Baltimore at 12:30 a.m., got our bags, Dave picked us up, and now I'm at work feeling like a zombie.
Of course, MARC train, in all its gloriousness, was late this morning, too. I took the late train so that I could get another hour's sleep. Sheesh! Trains and Planes - don't want to discuss them any more.
I will leave at 3:30 p.m. today and catch the 4:13. All I can say is it better not be late! I'm tired of public transportation that doesn't go anywhere.
Pictures to come.
As we usually do, we went to the grocery store to get food/drinks for lunches and one dinner. We did quite well in our choices for foods. Sara even came up with the idea to make a parfait for our lunches. We used Greek yogurt, strawberries and/or bananas, honey and granola. It was delish! We took sandwiches made with whole grain bread, drank a lot of water during the day. We did have our splurges, but all in all, we did well in the food department. Aileen make a nice chili and I made corn bread (out of a box), which reminds me, the Cop in a Box is no longer at Liquor Barn in Lexington. He was transferred to Louisville to a new Liquor Barn store. The employees told me that they don't expect to get him back, either. What a disappointment, and speaking of disappointments, Breakfast Boy stood me up for the Rolex week. Man! This entire affair is over now! No second chances for him.
OK. So, I digressed!
Thursday and Friday we got the rain that we expected, but fortunately, was not a torrential downpour and we did have covered grandstand seats for the dressage and the stadium jumping. But first, shopping......
We all hightailed it to the "Clever with Leather" tent, and I bought a halter(with pink, soft leater lined inside for total comfort for Bella with "The Diva" engraved on a nameplate and a belt for me with "Diva's Servant" engraved. We must know our place in life, right? Sara bought Satchmo a halter with "Kill 'Er Tomato" on it with orange, soft leather lined inside for him. These horses are so spoiled.
Aileen bought Bella a new turn-out halter - bright pink and a lead line - purple/pink for her. Bella's old halter is so cruddy looking, that it just can't be cleaned. Bella made out like a bandit with two halters and two leadlines!
My other have-to-have purchase was body lotion that I had bought last year. I stocked up on it this weekend, and in our usual manner, gave the sales person a run for his money. I don't think he will ever be the same! When he said to me, "When we get old, we all start to wrinkle....", I told him I was offended and didn't want the original purchase of the lotion that I had just bought. Poor guy had to suffer through the three of us..... He did survive and he did earn that commission!
We watched a good bit of dressage on Thursday and Friday. One poor woman's horse was not in the mood to do his dressage test. He was spooky when he came out, spooked at the camera, spent most of his time going sideways than straight, never got rounded, had his head up on the air the entire time. The rider did not excuse herself, but ploughed through the test. Her error score was 91! Poor thing. She did make it through cross country, but retired herself early Sunday morning from the stadium jumping. Just not her year this year or her horse's.
After getting my feet soaked on Friday in the rain, I bought some galoshes so that I could walkd around Saturday and not get wet feet, again. Aileen also bought a pair, but Sara had a pair of waterproof boots that she brought with her. So, Saturday morning we all dress up for wet weather, wet ground, and no sun. Even driving to the horse park we were sure the weather was going to nasty. Of course, after we got out of the car and started walking towards the cross country course, the rain stopped and the sun came shining through! It was nice to have sun, but I had to unlayer myself from the sweaters, sweatshirt and rain coat I was wearing. (Good thing is, I did dress in layers!)
The three of us got along well. It's very scary how we were all on the same wave length the duration of the trip. Food was not an issue, what to do at the horse park - no issue, when to leave - no issue; what to eat for dinner - no issue.
The only issue we had was with SouthWest Airlines and the weather in Baltimore. The rain we did't get decided to move northward and hit Baltimore area just as we were going home. We started in Louisville (late), flew part way to Baltimore, (mostly in circles), got diverted to Norfolk to re-fuel and sat and sat and sat and listened to the baby scream its lungs out that was behind us. We finally left Norfolk at 11:30 p.m., got into Baltimore at 12:30 a.m., got our bags, Dave picked us up, and now I'm at work feeling like a zombie.
Of course, MARC train, in all its gloriousness, was late this morning, too. I took the late train so that I could get another hour's sleep. Sheesh! Trains and Planes - don't want to discuss them any more.
I will leave at 3:30 p.m. today and catch the 4:13. All I can say is it better not be late! I'm tired of public transportation that doesn't go anywhere.
Pictures to come.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N! IN THE SPRING TIME
I'm outta here in 30 minutes, then off to Kentucky for the big Rolex Three-Day Horse Event.
See you when I get back, maybe.
See you when I get back, maybe.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Eventing at Legacy Stables - SUCCESS!
Crap! I just deleted everything I typed.
So, here goes again. Legacy Stables Eventing show was yesterday, and of course, the weather couldn't cooperate and be as nice as it was on Saturday. Why? Because it's show day, so that means weather has to be really crappy. The temperature wasn't so bad, it was the wind that really went right through us. Anyway, we loaded up the horses, put the last-minute things in the trailer, and off we went.
Sara and I were in different divisions, so when we went to walk our courses, we parted the way after the first jump. My course was just a big loop and most of the jumps were logs. There was one vertical with leis around it, and some railroad ties stacked up. I'm thinking, This is easy. Just point Bella in the right direction and I'm good to go.
Sara's course was much longer and she said that some of the jumps were questionable as to whether Satchmo would freak out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Our dressage tests were different, as well. Sara's score was one of the best dressage scores she's ever had. My dressage score was as good as the score from two weeks ago, so it seems as if everything is falling into place for me.
Our statdium jumping course was the same, except my jumps were 18" and Sara's were 2 feet. I did a nice quick trot around the ring, and Bella was a good girl. Pointing her in the right direction and keeping her straight was my job. Oh, yeah, lots of leg right before the jump.
We both jumped clean on our stadium jumps. Onward to cross country courses, and we had to wait and wait and wait and wait. Apparently, the jump judges had to move from one course to another, but it seemed to me there could have been a better way. Every other portion of the show was ahead of schedule, but then we had to sit and wait until it was the official time for the cross country courses to begin. That meant I had over an hour wait to go. Sara had about 45 minutes to wait. Maybe they didn't have enough volunteers, but this last part was poorly administered.
Sara took off and did her course; we saw her go down the hill, around the corner, then she was not visible; we then saw her come up the hill, over a few fences, then she disappeared again. We waited and waited, and finally saw her coming back to the start gate with Satchmo in his cooler. By the way she was walking, Cathy and I decided she didn't have any refusals or got eliminated. She went through clean! She was very happy.
Finally, at 3:00 I was able to do my little 18" course. Bella was so excited. We did the loop, we went clean, too. After I untacked Bella, we got both horses back onto the trailer so we could see what we had done with our dressage tests.
When doing an event, the dressage scores reflect error scores; I had a 36.5, which comes out ot a 63.5% score. My one and only competitor's score was 44, which relates to a 55%. Whoppee! That means I got first place for all three parts of the event! A Blue Ribbon - My first in Eventing.
I don't know exactly what Sara's error score was, but I think she had a 63% score on her dressage test - A PERSONAL BEST FOR HER! She tied for second place, and Satchmo was very proud of himself.
Sara's personal best in eventing with Satchmo - a red ribbon.
My personal best in eventing with Bella - a blue ribbon.
The pride we had for ourselves - priceless!
So, here goes again. Legacy Stables Eventing show was yesterday, and of course, the weather couldn't cooperate and be as nice as it was on Saturday. Why? Because it's show day, so that means weather has to be really crappy. The temperature wasn't so bad, it was the wind that really went right through us. Anyway, we loaded up the horses, put the last-minute things in the trailer, and off we went.
Sara and I were in different divisions, so when we went to walk our courses, we parted the way after the first jump. My course was just a big loop and most of the jumps were logs. There was one vertical with leis around it, and some railroad ties stacked up. I'm thinking, This is easy. Just point Bella in the right direction and I'm good to go.
Sara's course was much longer and she said that some of the jumps were questionable as to whether Satchmo would freak out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Our dressage tests were different, as well. Sara's score was one of the best dressage scores she's ever had. My dressage score was as good as the score from two weeks ago, so it seems as if everything is falling into place for me.
Our statdium jumping course was the same, except my jumps were 18" and Sara's were 2 feet. I did a nice quick trot around the ring, and Bella was a good girl. Pointing her in the right direction and keeping her straight was my job. Oh, yeah, lots of leg right before the jump.
We both jumped clean on our stadium jumps. Onward to cross country courses, and we had to wait and wait and wait and wait. Apparently, the jump judges had to move from one course to another, but it seemed to me there could have been a better way. Every other portion of the show was ahead of schedule, but then we had to sit and wait until it was the official time for the cross country courses to begin. That meant I had over an hour wait to go. Sara had about 45 minutes to wait. Maybe they didn't have enough volunteers, but this last part was poorly administered.
Sara took off and did her course; we saw her go down the hill, around the corner, then she was not visible; we then saw her come up the hill, over a few fences, then she disappeared again. We waited and waited, and finally saw her coming back to the start gate with Satchmo in his cooler. By the way she was walking, Cathy and I decided she didn't have any refusals or got eliminated. She went through clean! She was very happy.
Finally, at 3:00 I was able to do my little 18" course. Bella was so excited. We did the loop, we went clean, too. After I untacked Bella, we got both horses back onto the trailer so we could see what we had done with our dressage tests.
When doing an event, the dressage scores reflect error scores; I had a 36.5, which comes out ot a 63.5% score. My one and only competitor's score was 44, which relates to a 55%. Whoppee! That means I got first place for all three parts of the event! A Blue Ribbon - My first in Eventing.
I don't know exactly what Sara's error score was, but I think she had a 63% score on her dressage test - A PERSONAL BEST FOR HER! She tied for second place, and Satchmo was very proud of himself.
Sara's personal best in eventing with Satchmo - a red ribbon.
My personal best in eventing with Bella - a blue ribbon.
The pride we had for ourselves - priceless!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Finally Friday - 5 Days to Rolex
So, yesterday I went to the gym in the a.m. and did abou 20-25 minutes of lower body strength training; at lunch I went back down and because I wasn't too sure of my leg, I did 40 minutes on the elliptical at a low resistance. Amazing how fast one can go with little to no resistance. Today I am officially giving myself a day off. Don't want to get burned out, so a rest day is good. Tomorrow I'll probably take Romeo out for a long morning walk. It will be good for both of us and I'll get it over sooner rather than later.
Time to start making my packing list for Rolex. But, I have to go to the store and get some shorts. The ones I have kind of fit, but if I eat anything, I will be so uncomfortable in them. I prefer looser fit if I'm walking around all day at Rolex.
Tomorrow is riding lesson at 4:30 and cleaning up Bella a bit and packing up the trailer as much as I can - chairs remember chairs.
Ride times are posted: Sara: Dressage 11:58; Stadium Jumping 1:35; Cross Country Jumping 2:35. Me: Dressage 12:19; Stadium Jumping 2:00; Cross Country Jumping 3:00. There is a gap in between, but Sara goes, I go, Sara goes, I go, Sara goes, I go. Then, we are done and have to wait around for scores. Maybe ribbons????
Went out to lunch with Betty to Bravo!Bravo! Had my usual veg omelet. It is really good and somewhat good for me. Went to Dress Barn afterwards and was able to get 3 pairs of shorts and 2 blouses for my Rolex trip. This was a nice alternative to exercise today. I felt really good about my day off. Now, I don't have to worry about going to the mall tomorrow for shorts. I can spend more time working on my packing list and packing. I can, at least, pack my new shorts and shirts tomorrow. Thinking I will take one checked bag and one carry-on, which will probably be a backpack that I can carry around with me at Rolex.
Time to start making my packing list for Rolex. But, I have to go to the store and get some shorts. The ones I have kind of fit, but if I eat anything, I will be so uncomfortable in them. I prefer looser fit if I'm walking around all day at Rolex.
Tomorrow is riding lesson at 4:30 and cleaning up Bella a bit and packing up the trailer as much as I can - chairs remember chairs.
Ride times are posted: Sara: Dressage 11:58; Stadium Jumping 1:35; Cross Country Jumping 2:35. Me: Dressage 12:19; Stadium Jumping 2:00; Cross Country Jumping 3:00. There is a gap in between, but Sara goes, I go, Sara goes, I go, Sara goes, I go. Then, we are done and have to wait around for scores. Maybe ribbons????
Went out to lunch with Betty to Bravo!Bravo! Had my usual veg omelet. It is really good and somewhat good for me. Went to Dress Barn afterwards and was able to get 3 pairs of shorts and 2 blouses for my Rolex trip. This was a nice alternative to exercise today. I felt really good about my day off. Now, I don't have to worry about going to the mall tomorrow for shorts. I can spend more time working on my packing list and packing. I can, at least, pack my new shorts and shirts tomorrow. Thinking I will take one checked bag and one carry-on, which will probably be a backpack that I can carry around with me at Rolex.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Exercise Galore!
This morning I went to the gym before work. Did 5 minute warm-up on ellipitcal, then I did inside and outside thighs with ankle weights and with machine, windmills with ankle weights, some crunches with weights on tummy. Now that it's 12:30, it's time for me to go back down and do cardio. My plan is to do wight work 2 mornings a week, then cardio at lunch time. The other 3 days will be either full cardio or a combo of cardio/weights. Must do something to get this old metabolism working.
Closing date for the Legacy Stables show is today; hoping to get ride times by Thursday or earlier. Not sure why I torture myself. I did the dressage show a few weeks ago there, and didn't have any nervous problems. Already, I'm getting myself all pent up for the upcoming show. I'm always afraid I'll do poorly, then I do. Have to change that mode of thinking, that's for sure.
Not much else. Just trying to stay on track with eating, drinking water. And filing....
Closing date for the Legacy Stables show is today; hoping to get ride times by Thursday or earlier. Not sure why I torture myself. I did the dressage show a few weeks ago there, and didn't have any nervous problems. Already, I'm getting myself all pent up for the upcoming show. I'm always afraid I'll do poorly, then I do. Have to change that mode of thinking, that's for sure.
Not much else. Just trying to stay on track with eating, drinking water. And filing....
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