Weekend Recap: Boat Cruises and Puddle Jumping

This weekend was full of all sorts of fun things. Normally I deep condition my hair and do a face mask on Saturday but I was at my moms house late last night and didn't feel like doing it when I got home. So now I'm sitting in my living room watching Quantico, writing, and letting my hair and face soak. I'm honestly impressed that I managed to finish everything on my list and have time to do it today!

I woke up yesterday and dashed to the barn for my lesson. It was my last official lesson with the current trainer so it was fairly bittersweet. We worked on various exercises to help us loosen up while riding such as standing at the trot, two-point, and hugging the horse. Cupid did amazing during this lesson! She's used to me working on standing at the trot and two-pointing but the hugging at the trot is a new concept. We've encountered it in lessons but I always feel like I'm going to go over her shoulder so we never work on it. Honestly I think we "jumped" better than we ever have before. My trainer made us hug our horses through a simple 6 stride line and Cupid rocked it! Normally she zig zags through her lines but during the hug exercise we had very little drifting. She did attempt to refuse one of the last jumps but I felt myself release my right leg and pop that heel up.

After the lesson I dashed over to my moms house to shower and change. She had signed us up for a boat tour in Mt. Dora through Premier Boat Tours. The tour was 2 hours long and went through Lake Dora, and the Dora Canal. I enjoyed the tour and found our captain, John, and skipper, Sandy, to be very pleasant. The houses along the route were fun to look at and the plants were fascinating. I especially enjoyed the cypress groves. The way the trees have grown and become "tangled" with other vegetation was enchanting. The only negative of the tour was that a good portion of it was spent pointing out alligators and trying to find them. I understand that tourists are amazed by the Florida gator population but after running past ponds with them, daily, they no longer captivate me.

View of the shoreline from the boat

From the boat tour we headed to PDQ for dinner. My brother has become addicted to their Buffy Bleu sandwich and was excited to have me try it. Because I wasn't feeling like a sandwich I went with the chicken tenders which were amazing. The breading was just right and the chicken tasted extremely fresh. I plan on going to PDQ again so that I can try more of the menu, possibly even the Buffy Bleu!

They don't look like much but they were really good!

When we got back to my moms house I helped her clip the dogs nails and back wash the pool for the first time. I had previously back washed the community pool I used to work at but never a smaller personal pool. It didn't take too long to back wash but neither of us had realized doing so would drain the spa. As soon as we turned the filter on we could hear this spraying sound, like someone had turned on a fire hose. It was the jet of the spa shooting water into the wall, which was then spraying all over the deck! We played with the filter, turning it on and off, and trying different valves until we realized that the jet was supposed to be doing that. The back washing had drained the spa and the jet was refilling the spa using fresh pool water. The spa successfully filled and the water actually seemed to appear clearer!

Once we were doing playing with the pool filter and spoiling the dogs, I headed home to get ready for the next day.

Views on a morning run always make it worth the effort

This morning I woke up early and immediately went out on a run. I put in 1.9 miles at an 11'56" pace. There was a lot more walking than I wanted, but I finished my run feeling good and not like I had worn myself to the bone. I'm going to work on focusing more on building my endurance then bring speed back in a few weeks. I want to get faster but I think I need to get my endurance back first.

That shine is probably more humidity than sweat

When I finished my run I flew through my errands for the day. I had to do several loads of laundry, clean the house, meal prep for the week, clip the Tweedles nails, and tend to the plants in my backyard, all before going out to the barn to work with Cupid and do the barn chores. I'm proud to say that I completed everything and still found time to read for a bit before heading to the barn! I'm currently reading Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. I'll do a quick write up of it once I finish!

While doing my errands I received a text from one of the other girls at the barn. She had randomly decided to work with Cupid and successfully got Cupid to stand in the water that was flooding sections of the paddocks. Normally Cupid will do everything she can think of to avoid standing in the water but this girl managed to get her to walk through a few puddles! As much as I want to be the one to exclusively work with Cupid I am extremely proud that my pony wasn't a holy terror and learned something new.

Proof that she wasn't losing her mind with the puddles

It wasn't until I got to the barn that I learned what had prompted this little lesson. Cupid was apparently being brought in from the field this morning and jumped over a giant puddle then cantered off while dragging one of the other girls. Whoops. This prompted them to work with her and get her over this fear of water. She thankfully retained this training and let me lead her through the puddle by the gate when she was turned out this evening. *Note. There is a dry gate to use for her field. It's just a bit further from the barn than the other gates.*

Sometimes she's convinced she's a draft horse and needs to run through everything/everyone

My weekend might not have been too exciting but it was extremely fun!

Friday Favorite - Plant Nanny

I blame Twitter for this app. I honestly do. As anyone who knows me in real life will know, I live off Diet Coke. It's not uncommon for me to have to go find a Diet to get ride of a migraine or just because I'm getting antsy and want one. I'm officially addicted. Like hardcore addicted. If I forget one with my work lunch then I'll dash over to the gas station next store to grab a fountain Diet, my budget bates this. Consequently, I also don't drink a lot of water because I live off Diet Coke. This is a bit of a problem when I go to work out.

So when I started seeing some Twitter accounts complain about how they feel pressure to drink water during the day so the plants don't die I knew I had to give it a shot. Which I now deeply regret.....

I have my Plant Nanny set to my WiiFit weight and Regular as my activity level. I picked Regular because working at a desk job means I sit most of the day. My daily activity doesn't compare to someone on their feet all day, every day so I figured Regular fit better than Active. The third option for Activity Level is Sedentary which I know I don't qualify for. Once you select your weight and activity level the app tells you how much water you need to drink. My water level is currently 74 oz which is way more than I typically drink in a day. Another feature of the app is Drinking Reminders which will send you alerts throughout the day reminding you to drink. I've currently got my reminders set at every 4 hours, which I honestly disregard because I ignore every alert my phone sends.

You set your water bottle level and can set multiples in case you switch between glasses throughout the day. I currently have an 8oz glass and a 24oz glass because those are the two sizes I typically drink from during the day. Adding a new glass is as simple as tapping your screen a few times and is easy enough to do on the go. As you drink you press the screen on the water icon for a few moments and it records your drink. The more you drink, the more your plant grows! Once the plant matures your can plant it in your garden and select a new seed to start.

My little Devil's Ivy in Plant Nanny

Overall, I like using Plant Nanny to track my water intake. The app isn't complicated or annoying, but is still motivating. I have noticed myself making an effort to drink more simply because I want to get a whole garden of different plants. I actually get up in the morning and start drinking water as opposed to finding whatever juice or sweet drink I have in the fridge! Plus my caffeine consumption is much lower than it has been in years, I've gotten really good at only having a Diet Coke with my lunch as opposed to several times a day.

I would highly recommend downloading Plant Nanny to anyone who is looking to drink more water during the day!
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I once again failed to get myself up this morning for an early run. So I set my daily plan for a run after I was done working with Cupid.

My whole "don't snack at work" thing is going super well....

When I got to the barn after work it was extremely hot out and Cupid had already been turned out. As always she was wonderful about coming up to me but it was clear that she would rather stay outside to graze. I got her groomed and as I was putting the saddle on I realized that I really didn't want to ride but I knew I had to work with her since she was being super willing. I ended up doing a groundwork session which we haven't done in awhile. I asked her to walk over a saddle pad on the ground, which caused no reaction even when I picked it up, shook it around, and threw it on her back and neck. She stepped up on a step with very little encouragement, then backed off it without questioning me. Then we went into the arena and worked on our walking, trotting, backing up, and lateral movements in hand. She was amazing about respecting my space and listening to me. When we were trotting she happily followed me over a small cross rail then backed up between some poles on the ground. I am extremely proud that she remembered our work from a few weeks ago!

Once I got home I changed for my run and headed out, after first figuring out plans for tomorrow with my mom. My plan was to run to a school near my house and do some speed work. The first segment of my run was .59 miles and I maintained a 10'10" pace without feeling too winded. When I got to the school I set my water down, stretched, then started my "speed" work.

Fitbit stats from my run to the school

I started at the nearest island then jogged on the right side to the second island, between the second and third I sprinted, then I jogged to the fourth, from the fourth I walked around the island then did the same in reverse. I was able to do 5 of these which hit my goal of 10 sprints today! From there I picked up my water, stretched, then jogged home using the long way for a total of 2.21 miles. My fitbit recorded the run as a 11'11" pace which I don't think is too shabby!

My parking lot for speed work

On my run I stopped at my mailbox and as I was getting my mail noticed a little cat. He was super friendly and followed me to my house with some encouragement, but didn't want the food I offered him. After sitting with him for a bit, because he wouldn't let me pick him up to bring him inside, he dashed away into some bushes. I posted him on the Nextdoor app for my neighborhood but everyone seems to think he's an outdoor cat that belongs to a neighbor. I honestly don't know what I'll do if I see him again, it kills me to see a cat like this outside. He's too friendly to not have a family.

The little kitty I tried making friends with

Well, I did great at my morning training run!

5:30am. My alarm goes off. I peek outside and see it's still dark. Roll over and go back to sleep for another hour. This whole getting back into running and dedicating myself to training is going super well! On one hand I need to suck it up and go run despite the darkness, on the other hand I should probably get my community gym card activated and go use the fitness centers. If it wasn't the rainy season, with thunder, I feel like this wouldn't be an issue.

After deciding that the run was not going to happen this morning, thanks to needing to go do Paralegal things, I got up and immediately got yelled at by the cats. Apparently having all their food on the mat as opposed to in their bowls is a crisis. Tweedles, if you didn't shove all the food out of the bowl then we wouldn't have this issue!

You've got food Bailey. Stop yelling at me!

Once I was done with everything on my to-do list at work for the day I headed over to the barn. The drive there kills me, it takes an hour and the drivers are insane. At least once every drive I'm cut off with very little clearance or tailgated by someone who could easily pass me. But it's worth it for the pony therapy time, and getting to make sure she's doing alright. Because it was extremely hot and humid today I didn't want to work her too hard. The dressage ring is used for turnout so I can't ride in it at night, and no one has mowed the jump field in a few weeks so I don't feel comfortable working patterns. We just did a few laps at the walk while asking for her to go long and low, trot work while asking for a frame and lengthening/collection, and a few laps of the canter focusing on our turns and staying balanced. Our work at the trot needs a lot of practice but Cupid works so hard to do what I ask and it's amazing to see how far she's come since our first ride last year.

After our ride, I gave her a bath including working on getting her used to having her face wet. Because I think she expects me to aim the water up her nose and in her ears I'm currently using the mist setting on the hose. Once she's comfortable with the mist setting I plan on using a light trickle on her cheeks and possibly the center of her forehead. So far she allows me to mist her face but doesn't look thrilled. She has started to play with the hose and take drinks when I offer it to her, it's this little action that lets me know she's getting more comfortable with the wash rack.

I got home after the barn and wanted nothing more than to skip my run. It was still hot and humid, and I'm super lazy. After going through various stages of bargaining, including offering to reward myself with chips and salsa, I got myself off my floor and went for my run. The plan was to just run as much as I was comfortable with. I'm not starting my official 10k plan for another few weeks so I just want to get myself to a steady 3 mile pace that's hopefully under 11:00 minutes per mile. As always my times aren't good by any standards but they're something I can do and I can only improve from here. I settled into an easy 1 mile run which resulted in an 11'24" pace. Once I finished my mile I continued for a little more just to get myself closer to my house. Overall, I feel good with myself. I got out for a run even when I didn't want to and I didn't talk a walk break until I got to my cool down starting spot.

If anyone has any suggestions for how to keep myself from getting a stitch in my side when I run in the humidity I would love you forever! 

What's Up Wednesday?

I got home from the barn. Quickly changed from my breeches to running shorts. Dashed downstairs and put on my running shoes. Just as I was locking my front door it started to pour. If it weren't for the thunder I would be trying to get a quick 3 miles in. The lifeguard in me still tells me to stay inside during thunder. So now I'm sitting on my couch, watching Netflix, and eating leftovers from last night. Yay Florida life....

On the bright side, the rain is pretty to listen to and I do need to write as opposed to my usual say I'll write and walk away.

In an effort to start keeping up with this, I'm going to try and set a few days for regular posts. Everything else will be a fun extra that I'll write as I think of it (or say I will, write it halfway then walk away). One of these regular days will be Wednesday since it's mid-week and I'm usually settled into my work week at this point. Because I'm super creative these posts will be labeled "What's Up Wednesday?" and will try to cover anything that's going on in my life. The plan will be to segment these posts into four sections: Run, Ride, Read, and Repeat. The first three sections are exactly as they sound, and the fourth section, Repeat, will be for anything else that's going on in my life.

So without further blabbering, let's begin the first "What's Up Wednesday?'!

Run
I stopped running. After the Star Wars Half Weekend I took time off to let my foot heal and didn't really start once I felt better. A few weeks ago I went and did three different runs to see where I was at in my baseline fitness. The first was on June 4th and I did a mile in a run/walk pattern, this was done in 11'01". The second was June 6th and I decided to do an easy mile without walking. This was the first time I've ever run a mile without walking since high school and I'm proud to say that I was able to complete it in 10'56"! The third run was 2.5 miles, on June 9th, at an 11'27" pace. For this run I did end up doing a run/walk pattern and I really don't have an excuse as to why I decided to not slow down and run the whole thing.

My goal is to run a 10k this fall without walking (other than water stops) which means I'll have to put in substantial training. I am currently planning on running the Celebration Rotary Club's 19th Annual Pancake Run on October 28th. My ultimate goal would be to do the 10k in under an hour, but for right now I plan on beating my PR of 1:14:46. I know I have it in me to PR, I just need to take this training seriously and make sure to run enough races before so that I'm ready to really rock it.


Ride
Cupid is doing well. We showed at the Sumter Equestrian Center in their May Hunter/Jumper/Dressage Show and did fairly well. I am in the process of finishing this recap so you should see that in more detail at a later date.

Currently, Cue and I are working on our flat work. I've started to ask her to use her hind end more and she is responding beautifully. We have plenty of moments where she is clearly confused but she attempts to respond to me and it's those attempts that make me appreciate how good of a mind she has.

The biggest news I have regarding Cupid is our upcoming move. On July 1st, Cupid and I will no longer be training with our current trainer or boarding at our current barn. I made the decision back in May to move out to the West side of Orlando for several different reasons. The main reason being that I want to have access to trails and would like to be at a property that does not flood. If you follow me on Twitter then you have seen my complaints about the current barn flooding. It will be nice to be at a place that was build uphill and has better drainage.

Read
If you follow me on Goodreads you'll see that I have been binge reading The Saddle Club series. As a joke I picked up the first book because I had read about how bad the horsemanship is. This has turned into me laughing over the writing and horsemanship, while appreciating that these are great books for the horse crazy child. When I wasn't able to ride these books let me maintain my love for horses

I'm also reading Little Women again. A few years ago I decided to start the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge and this is one of the books on the list. I'm in no hurry to complete the challenge, I just would like to do so before I turn 30. Since Little Women is one of the longer books it makes sense to read it with ample time to finish.

Repeat
Last weekend I had my second concert with the CFCArts Orchestra, American Roadtrip. This stands as the concert I am most proud of. The music was challenging yet the entire orchestra, including myself, rose to the challenge and put on an amazing show! Manager attended one of the performances and stated that it was his favorite one yet. Our next concert is ¡Fiesta! and will be on November 3rd and 4th. I can't wait to challenge myself further and perform with the orchestra again!

Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon 2017 Edition

Well, I'm happy to announce that I have successfully completed the 2017 Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon! The course was fast, fun, and much nicer than last year. Despite having several different issues during training I was able to pull off a time of 2:50:17 which is significantly slower than my PR time but is my fastest time since I moved to Florida. I can't say I'm 100% happy or satisfied with my time because I know I can do better, but it's a start and a good sign that I can do this whole Florida running thing.

Like all runDisney races this one required me to get up at dark o'thirty and to the start line extremely early. I got to Epcot at 4:00 and was on the bus to Magic Kingdom by 4:15, which got me to the starting area around 4:45. While I was walking to the corrals I ended up in a pack of people that were literally stopped before corral G, which was an issue seeing as I was in corral D. I was in this crowd for a good 5 minutes before ducking out of it and walking in front of the port o'potty lines which were right in front of the corral entrances. I thankfully was able to get to my corral in time but that crush of people was insane. For next year I would like to see the port o'potties moved a bit away from the corrals as I think those lines were contributing to the back ups.

I was happy to see that Disney really cycled the corrals out onto the course extremely fast. It seemed like such a short time passed between the wheelchair start and when I started. I believe the new "wave" system was helping with this, but I don't honestly know how they were splitting the waves. For both the 10k and half I was in the first wave and did not see how the corrals were being split.

Mile 1 consisted of exiting the Magic Kingdom parking area and went by fairly quickly. I ran the entire mile so that I didn't get caught in the pack and disrupt anyone. According to my fitbit I did the first mile in 11:45, which seems accurate. You could tell that it was extremely humid out and that the end of the course was going to be extremely hot.

Miles 2 through 4 were on the roadways from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom (mostly Bear Island). Other than the "fight scene" on Bear Island there wasn't really anything remarkable about this chunk of the course. It was flat, fast, and peaceful. I spent this chunk going away to my "happy place" and laughing every time I saw one of the portable lights. A friend of mine works for the company that provides them and he had told me I owe him for making sure they were set up correctly. According to my fitbit I did miles 2 through 4 in 13:04, 12:26, and 13:17.

Miles 5 and 6 were my best miles of the race both time and focus wise. Just before mile 5 I spotted a 2:30 pace group and "latched" onto them. They were doing a run/walk that seemed similar to what I was attempting to pull off. They were an extremely friendly group and I got the chance to speak with a few of them while we ran. I appreciate them "pulling" me through these miles. Miles 5 and 6 took place inside Animal Kingdom and, much to my surprise, were not as humid as last year had been. I enjoyed this section which is a first as I usually hate being in Animal Kingdom when it's hot outside. My times for miles 5 and 6 were 11:04 and 11:07 respectively.

It was during miles 7 through 10 that I effectively fell apart physically and mentally. I was hot, sweaty, tired, and my injured foot was acting up. I stuck with the pace group for most of 7 but once we passed that mile marker I gave up and focused on just moving forward at a pace that was comfortable for me. Miles 7 and 8 took place on the section of the course that I mentally broke last year and I started focusing on how hard that had been. The only positive that I took away from this section was that I didn't give up. I focused on finding people running at my pace and sticking with them for as long as I could. I did spend a good chunk of time walking because I didn't want to injure myself any further. My times for miles 7 through 10 were 11:39, 13:35, 13:14, and 13:44.

Thankfully my race turned itself around after we entered Hollywood Studios around mile 11. I can't say that my times improved greatly but my mental game got better and I was able to pull myself together. This section of the course was almost identical to the 10k and I was able to latch onto the idea that "I did it, I'm almost done". Studios was filled with photopass which is always fun to try and make sure you get caught in their camera and look somewhat decent. From Studios the course takes the river walk to the Boardwalk. Like in the 10k the river walk was congested so I focused on staying out of the way of those faster than me and moving forward. I personally love whenever a race utilizes the Boardwalk because it feels like a "home" to me. Having worked at the Boardwalk I love seeing it all lit up and the memories associated with it. My time for mile 11 was 12:38.

Almost done I think I'm allowed to make stupid faces

After the Boardwalk it was almost like a "home free" moment. You dash up the hill (or walk if you're broken like I was), then dash through the World Showcase, by the "ball", to the finish line just outside the park. I always love this section of races. The World Showcase is one of my favorite places at Disney and I love running through it. While running by the America pavilion I saw the 2:45 pace group and joined them for the end of my race. The girls leading this pace group were so energetic and seemed like fun leaders. I honestly wish I had joined them from the beginning of the race. From there my race was over. I crossed the finish line at a run and immediately grabbed my medal, cooling towel (finally!), and the post race snacks.

This race was certainly not good for me time wise. I am embarrassed by my time because I know I can do better and that I have consistently screwed up my training since I moved to Florida. At this point in my running journey I can honestly say that I need help. Training by myself does not work and is doing me more harm than good. Yes, I am finishing my races but my times are nowhere near what I'm capable of. I'm honestly afraid of doing a 5k because I know it will be over 30 minutes which after running sub-30 is humiliating for me. I've been speaking with a friend who wants to get into races and we've agreed to find a running group together. Hopefully, this will help with my confidence, mental game, and times.

As a note, this is my only runDisney race of the year. Last year doing 3 was great but financially stressful. I'm hoping to check out some local Florida races this fall that will not only be cheaper, but allow me to meet more of the running community here.

Star Wars Dark Side Expo and 10K

Months ago I signed up for the Star Wars Dark Side Challenge. The race weekend is finally here and I've already completed the 10k! I'll be honest that I didn't expect to be happy with my results this weekend due to a foot injury, but I am thoroughly impressed by myself with my 10k time.

I attended the expo on Thursday, April 20th, and had planned to make it a quick trip. Picking up my bib took about 5 minutes. I had printed my race waiver the night before and was easily able to locate the tables for the Dark Side Challenge bibs. Like what typically happens I had to be reminded to produce my ID. For some reason I always forget to pull it out of my wallet before I reach the table. From the bib table I went over to the tshirt pickup. Because I was participating in the Challenge my shirt pickup was in the same building as bib pickup. For those of you who haven't attended a race at Walt Disney World there are two different buildings of ESPN Wide World of Sports utilized for the expo. One building hosts the bib pickup, preordered merchandise pickup, and shirt pickup, the other buildings hosts the vendors, shirt exchange, and the big Disney merchandise booth.

From the bib pickup I went over to the expo building. My plan for this was to see what the race specific merchandise was for this event, and to see the Sparkly Soul booth. I'll be honest, I was not impressed with the Disney merchandise. The magnet for the challenge is an "I did it!" magnet, which I find stupid. Obviously, if I'm displaying the magnet I have completed the race. I would have preferred to have a themed magnet that matches the other challenge items. The beer glass (or water glass if you follow Disney names), is just to add to my collection. Somehow I've fallen into collecting glasses relating to the races I have run. As for the headband, I have no excuse other than I'm slightly addicted to wearing and collecting headbands.  I know in past years there have been issues with Disney having enough items for those who arrive later in the day. I arrived about 5:30-6:00 pm and was able to find everything I wanted. It seems that Disney either has figured out their problems with stocking or these items were not in high demand.  

Disney swag from the expo

My stop after the Disney was the Sparkly Soul booth. I stumbled upon these headbands at the Hot Chocolate 15k Expo in Chicago and only bought my first one because it said "Run Chicago" and I wanted a bit of my hometown with me when I moved. Ever since then I've been in love with these headbands, I'm working on building a collection with every color because I wear them constantly. These can be found under my helmet when I ride, or holding back my bangs when I'm hanging out at home or running. They stay where I put them even during a hard run or a day working at the barn. My only issue is that with my longer bangs I do look a bit like a mad scientist with the bangs flopping behind the headband, so I was excited to see that Sparkly Soul had come out with a wider headband. I haven't worn it yet so I can't vouch for the quality but hopefully it matches with the rest of the Sparkly Soul line.

I'm a bit of a headband hoarder

Now for the race. As I had said above I recently injured my foot during a training run so for the past two weeks I've been taking it easy. I started the 10K this morning expecting to go slow, enjoy the sights, and try not to stress my foot. For the first 3 miles I kept a pretty consistent pace and didn't feel too stressed. But I was super warm and actually found myself drinking more of my Powerade than normal. It was cool, and dark during this first 5k, and the course wasn't too crowded. I felt comfortable doing a walk/run at a slow pace and didn't feel like I was going to get run over or end up in someones way. 

Gross and sweaty but still trucking along

The second half of the race went a bit slower for me. Once I finished with the "on ramp" at mile 3 I started to feel a twinge in my foot. I decided to take a step back and slow down with more walk breaks. It was this half of the race that started to get hot and I started to get extremely sweaty, like sweat dripping off my nose sweaty. This isn't normal for me as I usually sweat very little, so I was glad for my decision to slow down. I was able to take advantage of the various hills along this section of the course. My strategy was to power walk up the hills, then jog down them and use the momentum from the down to help me get to a point ahead that I would focus on.

EPCOT Fountain shot

I crossed the finish line feeling tired but not exhausted. I was able to comfortably collect my medal and food items, plus the pain in my foot had disappeared. I had assumed my time was above 1:20 but was happy to discover it was 1:16. This isn't a good time by my standards, and it' far from my goal of 1:05 but considering I've had to take two weeks off I am extremely happy with myself.

No idea what my shorts are doing but I did it!

Now for the pros and cons of this race.
Pros: Fun and fast course. Plenty of water. Well organized. Nice medal and swag.
Cons: No cooling towels after. The corrals were split into waves, I would have preferred more corrals. The river walk from Studios to the Boardwalk is always tight.

Where have I been?

I feel like I deserve credit for being consistent. I blog for a bit, then vanish for a bit, then pop back up and start blogging again. So here's a quick summary of where I've been since February.
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Dueling Homes
My parents have been looking for a house in the Orlando area since last spring. When my mom was down on spring break last year I showed her a house on the west side of town that I knew she would love. The neighborhood had low HOA dues, well maintained homes, and each lot was over 1 acre. She loved the house and the neighborhood, but ultimately decided that the house wasn't for her. So we kept an eye on the neighborhood and told our realtor that as soon as a home appeared for sale we wanted to see it. In November a home was listed and I went to the open house at my moms request. As soon as I saw this house I knew my mom had to have it. The layout was perfect, the pool was the right size with a "hot tub", and the lot was beautiful. By the time she came down over Christmas break the house had unfortunately received a contract on it.

After my family returned to Illinois I received a text asking me to see the other house for sale in the neighborhood, which I went to look at with my realtor. The house was nice and had potential so I encouraged my mom to fly down and see it. She flew down and agreed that the house had potential, but needed more work than she wanted to undertake. Our realtor encouraged her to look at the house from November which had the contract fall through. Though my mom was reluctant to look at the home she agreed since it was across the street. I wish I could say that it was love at first sight but I don't think her "I will die to have this house" moment came until our realtor opened the patio doors that led to the lanai and she heard the waterfall from the living room. It was clearly that moment that my mom had to have that house and that it was her place.

I'll spare the boring details about hosting my dad during the closing process, or the million texts I've received talking about paint colors and what furniture should go where. But at the beginning of March my mom became the proud owner of "Unicorn Hill". From closing until the end of March I was maintaining not only "Unicorn Hill" but also my own house. It was honestly extremely stressful to be responsible for two houses and I am super grateful that my dad was able to move down immediately so he can get the house ready for not only my family.

The puppies exploring their new pool and backyard

Show Pony vs. Field Pony
I've really been working on "pony boot camp" with Cupid. When I first met Cupid a year ago she didn't know what to do under saddle at the canter. When I bought her in January she wasn't much better. Her trot almost perfect and I was able to ask her to extend and collect herself at the trot. We also had success with her working from her hind end, stretching, going straight, and carrying herself. Since then I've been working on teaching her which lead she needs to be on for the canter and what the cues are for the canter. I'm proud to say that she now picks up the correct canter lead the majority of the time, and has actually given me a flying lead change! We've started working on cantering jumps but the major hurdle with this will be regaining my confidence. I've become so comfortable at trotting jumps that cantering them is a bit intimidating. But we've gotten through a few courses with our biggest issue being maintaining the canter through our triple (two stride to three stride).

On the topic of courses I've decided to go with my barn to the Sumter Equestrian Hunter/Jumper Show in May. My original plan was to do the Cross Rails Hunters and Equitation on Saturday, and the Long Stirrup Hunters, Equitation, and Classic on Sunday. After speaking with my trainer it was agreed that my original plan is too ambitious. The current plan is that I'll do the Walk Trot Cross Rails Hunter and Equitation, and Green Hunter classes on Saturday, then the Pre-Long Stirrup classes on Sunday. It's a bit embarrassing to be in walk trot classes in my 20s, but I agree with my trainer that it's best for Cupid to have a successful show than have her get frustrated with me if we have issues cantering. Once I get her more comfortable and consistent with the canter then we'll move her to the cross rail/long stirrup divisions.

My main hope for her is to eventually do the 2'6" classes, hunter paces, and possibly a few eventing trials with her. But I will have to see if she will be staying at our current barn or moving out to my parents home. The property is zoned for two horses and my parents have convinced me to allow them to set up the property for horses. So far we have the paddocks planned and are working on a "barn" plan that will work for everyone. Nothing is set in stone but at the minimum I'll be able to trailer her to their place and take advantage of the trails.

Cupid modeling her new "Cupid" saddle pad

Back to the band
Back in January I joined the Central Florida Community Arts Orchestra. After last year I didn't think Orlando was able to provide me with the type of band that fit me. CFCArts was a last attempt after seeing that a friend had attended one of their performances and I'm so thankful that he recommended them to me. I'm proud to say that I've found my "musical home" in Florida. The CFCArts family has been so welcoming, the conductor is extremely animated, and the music selection is perfect. I happily performed in the Jazz, Joel & John concert a few weeks ago, and am preparing for the American Road Trip concert on June 16th and 17th. I can't wait to share this music selection with everyone and perform one of my favorite pieces American Civil War Fantasy which is a piece I have played with every band I've had the honor of being part of.

Jazz, Joel & John practice

Pets galore
Now, if anyone was worrying about the status of Cali and Bailey I have an update for you. They're doing fine, as I write this Bailey is stalking Cali to get back the pink "mouse" they're currently obsessed with because we all know the purple mouse isn't good enough. The girls are also extremely happy to have two new friends to torture. Lucy and Kodi have returned to FL and are currently living at "Unicorn Hill". The dogs come over every few days so I can take them on long walks, cuddle with the. and dog sit. Poor Kodi isn't too fond of cats but he tolerates having the cats around and the cats pretty much leave him alone. The Twisted Sisters are more focused on attempting to catch Lucy's -fluffy tail than they are with the cotton ball who runs away.

The dogs are extremely happy with their new lives as farm dogs and love to explore my moms neighborhood with me. I can't wait for them to eventually meet Cupid and to one day have them keep me company while I work with her.

Running from my everything like it's my last name
I'm still running and am currently in my "taper" for the Dark Side 10k and Half Marathon. I try to get in about three work day runs, one long run, and one "therapy" run a week. My work day runs average about 3-4 miles and are typically one of two set loops in my neighborhood. Unfortunately one of these loops might need to be rerouted after the Dark Side events because of a few houses it passes. The long runs have been in a variety of places on Saturday and typically range from 6-14 miles. Finally, the "therapy" run is whatever I'm feeling on Sunday. So anything from a walk around the neighborhood to a few miles at a "thinking" pace. I've been trying to fit in cross training on my bike but have put that on hold until I get the brakes fixed.
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Overall this is a pretty thorough summary of what's been eating away at my life and keeping me away from the blog. I'd promise to get better at updating this but we all know that won't happen. So, until next time.