Hi ladies... lots of catching up to do, so this will be long, I guess!
Well, I'm feeling better. I've been making my lists and crossing things off. The stress is just starting to ease up a bit. I still need to get my car in for the emissions test tomorrow, but my boss is letting me use the company truck till I get it tested and get my new registration. I can drive at least without trying to swivel my head 360 degrees the entire time I'm in the car.
I have made small steps towards improving my finances and my eating. I have shaken the fast food demon again, and have brought my own food to work all week. Admittedly, it is not the lowest calorie food, but that isn't my main concern right now. Small steps. First just get back into the routine of cooking and eating at home, as well as bringing the much more healthy home cooked lunches rather than ordering pizza or fast food for dinners and lunches. Just those couple things alone have really relieved a lot of stress. I still have a long ways to go to get back on track, but I feel like at least I'm heading in the right direction. Work has been a total stress-factory, and yesterday one of the guys from engineering came out to the plant and brought *gasp* donuts for us all. I melted down and had THREE of them. Horrors. Oh well.
Like I said, I'm just really happy that for 4 days in a row, I've avoided buying any fast food at all, and I want to continue that. I do need to work on my water consumption, that should probably be my next issue to deal with.
The 'tupid pup (Artemis) seems to be getting a glimmering of a clue on this potty training issue. She still will go in the garage if we're not quick enough getting her from the crate to the door, but she WILL go outside now, whereas before she was actually holding it till she got back into the garage. The night before last, though, she decided to wake up at 1:30 in the morning and start barking. She barked and howled (which got my great dane howling, too) till about 4:30 a.m. The garage, and her crate (and my great dane right now) are right under my bedroom. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep. I swore if she did it again last night I was going to go out today and buy a cattle prod.
Fortunately, she was as quiet as could be, and even did all her business outside this morning, and after she ate and played for a while and had a drink and a cheesie snack, kenneled back up just like a doll, and that was that. Maybe there's hope for her yet?
I was also blessed with a wonderful riding experience on Monday night. Well, and one on Sunday with my pony, too. Sunday my daughter was giving me a really hard time about not riding much after my last fall. That fall scared me more than I thought it had because of the cracking sound in my back when I fell. I realize I just popped my back, no big deal, but the "what ifs" came to haunt me. What if I really HAD broken my back? I had a long talk with Arashi Sunday morning. I cried, and I told him how much I loved him, but that I would be too darn scared to ride him if he didn't stop acting like a moron and tossing me off over silly stuff. I apologized for not being a better rider, but that BECAUSE I wasn't a very good rider, he needed to take care of me. I cried because I didn't have him when I was 12 and totally fearless and athletic and could ride nearly anything. And I cried over the irony of FINALLY having my OWN horse, and being too scared to ride him. And when I took him out into the ring, my daughter asked me if I was going to ride, and I explained the fears to her. And bless her heart, whether she really meant it or was just being nice - she empathized and told me she understood about fear, but that I needed to remember what I had struggled to teach my kids, and that was that fear is ok. Fear is normal and acceptable. Letting fear stop you from doing something you want to do is NOT acceptable. And she is right. And so she got up on Arashi first, just to make sure he wasn't going to act like a stupid idiot. And he didn't. Not only did he not act like an idiot, but the first steps he took away from the mounting block were GREAT BIG steps so that he would be absolutely sure to step over it, not trip on it. I think that's when I realized that he really did feel bad about what had happened. Horses are smarter, I think, than many people give them credit for. When I got up on him, he didn't move at all, and bless his heart (and thank you Jolly for your helpful hints and tips) he's even starting to leg yield for me. No, it's not perfect, and yes, he's still a little unsure of whether he's doing what I want him to do, but ... he did it. I was so proud I got goosebumps. We worked on slow figure eights and leg yielding and just walking over the really low jumps. He was absolutely an angel. And I was euphoric. Then Monday the kids were to have their lesson, but I got roped into part of it too. Rosa made us all ride bareback!! She used Cookie, the wonderful old grey mare, and we each took about a half hour turn working on the lunge line and free walking bareback. She made me close my eyes and hold my arms straight out to my sides, and it was amazing. I had so forgotten how it felt to really FEEL a horse like that. And when Nickie rode... wow. She was doing a bareback posting trot, and I was impressed. Machine worked on his trot too, but not posting, but he was thrilled at being able to do a bareback sitting trot, and I was really proud that he had the guts to try it first time. Tonight we're off to the stables again. I hope the weather holds!
Lucky - How are the ponies?? When do we get pics!? I'm with you on the "uh oh we may end up keeping this dog" issue. I had really wanted something totally tiny and cute like a min-pin or a pug or something, though. Plus I was really hoping to find a better home for this one, she's half greyhound and half husky (near as we can tell) and really needs to have room to run. I'll have to post some pictures of her, she's just beautiful. But I don't feel like I can give her the best home... a good one, no doubt, but I'd love to see her with someone who had time to work with her - more than I do. She has such potential as a working dog or frisbee dog or something. We shall see.
Hippy - It sounds like your brother will be better off without his stbx, but you're right - it sucks that she's putting his child in the middle of it all. That's not fair. I hope a good lawyer can straighten things out.
Happy - How is your husband doing on his new plan? I'd gladly send our 70s weather your way! I'm sick of it!! It's freaking November already, get over the heat. I want the 50s and 60s and that crisp feeling... right now it's just humid and yucky.
Chachee - Hope everything is going ok for you! I know how hard it is to be so busy you can't find time to breathe, let alone sit down and post.
Jolly - How are you feeling? I hope better. You sing in a choir?? That is so cool! I've always loved to sing, just can't read music worth a darn. I agree with you on the working out. I'm not sure what it is about getting the body going like that first thing in the morning, but if I can drag myself into it, the effects last the rest of the day. And if I do it regularly, like you, the energy and the stress relief are very, very noticeable. I need to pick a day soon to start making it a point to get in at least 20 minutes 5 times a week. That's a nice, slow start.
Back to work... today is one of those days where you start one thing, then get interrupted by three other things, start them, then get interrupted by two or three more things... pretty soon you're in the middle of 15 different things. None of which were what you were intending to do when you came into work in the first place! *bark*
Hope everyone is doing really well!
about the gym today already. And It doesn't seem as if you really had to drag yourself out the door to get there. That is great. Do you find that you have more energy throughout the day when you work out in the morning? 
for a little bit. You and your son will have fun together. Then when your hubby gets home the crown gets happily handed back over. Let us know how things are going.
Who knows? I am also making plans to try one of those speed dating things in January. This is totally not me. I am kind of shy. It takes me awhile to get to know people, then you can't shut me up. So, even though this idea is scary, it will (hopefully) teach me to open up to people quicker, get and share information, and really schmooze. this should help in other areas too, as right now the biggest regret I have is that while I know I can do the job I interviewed for, I don't think I did a good job of convincing them that. We shall see.
