Author: Laura Highcove

Feeling good

Laura Highcove

Five minutes of stillness before bed along with the back warm-up.

In the morning I got to the barn early enough to do my run/walk. 15 minutes still. Then I did my stillness in the lounge after cooling down from my run/walk.

Had yoga with Morgan and Deb. We actually started with some stillness. A little more can never hurt. Did back warm-up and Sun Salutation. I feel like I’m not getting any improvement in my forward bend, so I might have to push myself a bit harder. Morgan says it’s okay for your mind to say things during stillness as long as it’s directed at what you want, like breathing in and out. I was a little unsure about that bit.

Deb also told me about an exercise effort scale and how you should work up to working really hard over the course of your exercise. Also that I should at least walk briskly for the whole 30 minutes even if I can’t run it yet. I’ve been pushing myself really hard cause that’s just how I do things. If I’m not trying my hardest, then I feel like it’s wasted effort, in exercising anyway.

Breakfast was Honey Nut Cheeroies. Lunch was peanut butter and honey sandwich, four pieces of dried pineapple, handful of oyster crackers and flavored water. Dinner is pot roast (no bigger than a deck of cards) and white rice. Might snack on the leftovers if I get hungry later tonight.

Running…

Laura Highcove

Last night I did my five minutes of stillness before going to bed early to catch up on some of the sleep I’ve missed over the weekend. I am a huge fan of my full 8 hours.

So I got up in the morning and mostly convinced myself I was happy to be up starting a new day. Breakfast of Honey Nut Cheerios. Realized I wouldn’t have enough time to run in the morning, so I did my five minutes of stillness. Sometimes I don’t even realize when my mind is running away with me. Kinda weird. Then I did my 50 sit ups, in two blocks of 25. I about died. Or it felt like it anyway. I did my surrendering to the floor (since I didn’t have a mat) afterwards which felt really nice.

Lunch was a peanut butter and honey sandwich, with just about a tablespoon of each on by bread, four pieces of dried pineapple, and a handful of oyster crackers. Along with flavored water.
After lunch and I had finished my chores I went in the lounge with my yoga mat and did my back warm-up, and the groin stretch Morgan taught us. Not sure I’m doing it right, I’ll have to ask tomorrow in yoga.

Then I went out to do my 30 minutes of alternating running and walking every minute. About four minutes in Morgan came and joined me which was nice for the support. She also said I should probably stick to 15 minutes for three days, then up by five minutes every three days until I get to 30. By the end I realized why.

I used to run in track in middle and high school. I also played soccer for several years. And so I could always just run. I guess it’s just been too long since I’ve tried. I can’t just run anymore, in fact it was rather rough. The walk breaks really help, and I know I’ll get better. Also I plan on running in the morning from now on, with better time planning, so it won’t be quite so hot.
Dinner was some…pizza thing my husband made, cheese and egg and pepperoni, and three little pieces of garlic bread. Drink was more flavored water.

I am feeling hungry now (around 8:15pm), so I might have a few pieces of celery that are sitting in the fridge with just a little peanut butter.

Stillness

Laura Highcove

So last night after my PB&J, I think I still felt hungry, but not enough to bother me. I went to bed and spent 5 minutes sitting in stillness in my room. I was a little curious about how I was going to time 5 minutes without thinking about how long it had been. I did some focusing on specific points of my body, but eventually shifted to the gate in order to keep my mind quiet. I did it in my head, since my husband was in the next room and I didn’t want to disturb him. I don’t know if that’s ‘legal’, but it worked for me, so I figure it’s okay. Oddly enough, I ended up opening my eyes after exactly five minutes.

In the morning I didn’t remember about sitting in stillness until it was time to go to the barn. But I did it anyway. I had a harder time staying focused, I think because the cats were around my feet and I knew I was late for getting to the barn. However, I managed to open my eyes after seven minutes. Time doesn’t seem to stretch on as much as I thought it would. I also tried to do my 50 situps, which I miss-remembered as 30. By the time I got to 20 my stomach was rather dead. I didn’t get all the way to 50.

Today I had a bowl of cereal (Honey Nut Cheerios), four slices of pizza (two for lunch, and two for dinner), two spinakapedas (1 lunch, 1 dinner), two things of potato chips (1 lunch, 1 dinner) and salad split between lunch and dinner. Oh, also three cuties eaten over the course of the day. I drank only water and a Fuze. Husband is so sweet and asking what foods he should start avoiding when he cooks. 🙂

Day 1

Laura Highcove

So the clinic is going on at Advantage Ranch this weekend with Sue Cumming-Schultz. Friday night was the yoga session, which was pretty great. I have been doing yoga with Morgan and Deb for…I guess it’s been at least three months now. So I kinda knew a lot of the stuff already, but since Morgan’s still learning, there was still a bunch of new information that Sue was able to bring up, one of which is the art of meditation. About spending a bit of time each day being still and just doing nothing, which is a pretty ridiculous concept in this day and age when everything is goGoGO all the time.

But even while we were having the session, it kinda surprised me at the number of people who said they felt like they had to be doing something all the time. It’s just the way society seems to be. And really, it makes a lot of sense. I feel guilty when I have so much to do (even out of things I *want* to do) that I feel like I just have no time. I guess even with Morgan telling me that everyone feels the same things just at different times, it didn’t really sink in until there were that many people all saying the same thing.

Anyway, Saturday morning we had our first session at the barn, and we talked about mastery of a craft, horseback riding in this instance, and I began to feel guilty. Horses suffer when we ride them without knowing what we’re doing. Sitting on their backs wrong, pulling them into positions they can’t handle physically, mentally distressing them. And since I’m learning that’s all part of the process. And while I love riding, and I love that connection that I get while riding Tori, I’m not interested in riding in the capacity that Sue was talking about.

I look at what Morgan can do on a horse, and I think ‘Wow, I wish I could do that.’, but at the same time, I don’t feel a real drive or desire to work as hard as it would take to get to that level. Sort of the same way I look at a really cool drawing and wish I could do that, but have no patience to work on my drawing skills. On the other hand, when I see what Deb does with training the yearlings, I find myself thinking, ‘I am willing to do whatever it takes to be able to learn how to do that.’ I’m not sure why, maybe it has something to do with creating a young animal, and helping to shape it toward greatness, and the ability to be the perfect partner for someone one day. Maybe it’s something else completely.

But even that dream costs money in the end, and the two complaints that I have with my life, that I know I shouldn’t have because I have so much to be thankful for, but in still being human are: my lack of a real money paying job, and my weight. Sue rightfully pointed out that I can do something about my weight right now, even if the universe continues to deny me a job. And while I know Deb and Morgan have said it on many different occasions, something else was added that really made it feel more doable to me, was that Sue said that I would be the first person she would want to see when she comes back in September, and whether or not she meant that literally or not it gave me, for the first time, someone to be accountable to. I’m new to this ‘self-discovery’ stuff, and I know I’m weak on ‘working hard even when no one is watching’, but she also made me realize that that’s okay. That the people at the barn are there to support me and encourage me even when I’m feeling all too human.

So that’s why I’m putting this all in my blog. Because then I can hold myself accountable, because other people may or may not be reading this each day. People who I will see and encourage me. And also because when I’ve gotten a few weeks in (or longer), I can look back and see how much I’ve already done and feel good about keeping consistent, which will help to encourage me to keep it up. I’ll work on being accountable to only myself, but for right now I’m fine with where I am.

So for today, I came back from the barn and walked around the block while I waited for my husband to come and unlock the door I forgot to take a key for this morning. Then I ‘googled’ healthy Chinese takeout, since that was what my husband and his friend Andrew were getting. Turns out one of my favorites, Beef and Broccoli is one of the more healthy (Yes, I know it’s still Chinese takeout) that you can get since it has vegetables and nothing fried (if you get steamed rice). I got a small, and forwent my normal egg roll and crab meat wontons. :'(

The only problem being that the tiny little meal didn’t fill me up. And I’m sure I’m still hungry because I drank water and waited over an hour and my stomach is still growling. So I think I will go make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and that should take care of me for the night.

4/8

Laura Highcove

So yeah, the 10% buff hit. So it didn’t take nearly as long as it could’ve to beat this boss. And in fact, as soon as we switched to the 9/5/5 bounce strat, we pretty much had it. Healers are awesome btw. I dunno how they do it.

Of course we beat it in true OOB style. OHGODICEBLOCKICEBLOCK!!!

Finally My Baby

Laura Highcove

So there’s something defiantly different about the foal being mine. I didn’t think it would make as much of a difference as it did. I mean I loved the three foals that were born last year, and watched out for them, and tried to train them as best I knew how, but I never actually worried about them the way I did about this foal.

When both mares waxed up and we came in Tuesday morning to find Maggie’s foal, I had this feeling that Nezi might go overnight, even though it didn’t look like she was going to go. Both Wednesday and Thursday morning I drove to work berating myself for not having spent the night, thinking that I would come in to find my foal had been strangled by his own umbilical cord, or been unable to get out of the placenta, or something else had happened where if I had just stayed all night I would’ve been able to save him.

But it ended up that she didn’t give birth those two nights. And during the day on Thursday Nezi has very soft behind and was dripping milk around time for afternoon chores, she got an odd lump in her stomach that Kate said was probably the baby moving. So that night Deb came to check on Nezi around 9:45. At 11:15 I showed up, prepared to spend the night with a baby monitor next to my head, only to stick my head into the stall to see a large amount of white butt in the dark.
I called Deb and went into the stall to begin to rub down the baby, though I was too scared/flustered to do anything else. The foal managed to get to his feet by the time Deb and Morgan showed up. Deb turned on the light and I saw that the baby was actually chestnut colored with a white blanket that covered his entire butt, down his back legs, and all the way up his back. All four legs had lightning marks up most of them. He also had a huge blaze that went down around the left side of his face.

Deb was the one who checked to see that it was a boy. She and Morgan then began praising how nice he looked, his legs and neck and heart-girth. I was, of course, taken mostly by the amazing amount of color and being happy about the unique facial marking.

I put the stuff on his umbilical stump and waited around until he had taken his first sips and Nezi passed the placenta, I cleaned out the stall and put in hay and headed home around 2am, which is a lot better than I thought. And still I worried on my way to work the next day that maybe the baby hadn’t drank enough milk to stay alive, or that it would be dead for other reasons. At yet he was there being all nice and happy when I arrived.

I had to do chores, and by the time the vets came it was getting cold. Nick passed all the tests except that his snap test was only average, and with the Strangles scare, I decided to go ahead and give him plasma to help boost his immunities.

Part of me is glad that he is a colt. If he had been a mare, I would have been extremely tempted to keep him for myself and my future broodmare band. Right now I’m probably going to talk to Deb about even gelding him. If I plan to sell him as a yearling then it might raise his worth to be a stallion if he turns out as nice as Deb might think. Also, if I sell him for a decent amount, I may be able to Choose Your Spots Nezi again next spring for another baby that may end up being a mare. If not, then that may be when I breed Tori.

Done and Gone

Laura Highcove

I think we downed this fight the second week. We would’ve had it the first week but we kept having instances of the lightning not jumping when it should have. But really, it was simple. I don’t think we’ll have trouble downing it next week as long as we get past Yor.

At least the quotes are better this time.

The Guy Finally Gets some Rest

Laura Highcove

So despite the fact that this fight is entirely rng based, which is something I dislike, I actually enjoyed this fight. To this date, I believe (knock on wood) that we never got a red-black-yellow (double adds) followed by the same. That would have simply sucked.
Besides that there’s no a ton to say about this fight. So, screenshot:

I am rather unhappy with the quality of the screenshot quotes from this round, so pick it up guys.

Details

Laura Highcove

It is rather often in my stories when I come across a situation where I would like more detail. Where I know a character would be more eloquent than I am able to write them. Where discussions between or among people would be more involved. When I know that if this story were ‘real’ it would take many more steps to get from Point ‘A’ to Point ‘B’. However, after my reading of Brisingr, the third in the cycle of Eragon’s story by Christopher Paolini, I have simply come to realize that while it is nice to have that level of detail, too much can be mind-numbingly boring. I understand there are intricacies with the running of a rebel force like the Varden, and currying favor, and helping the wounded, and getting food and supplies, but by Mark I don’t need every blasted detail. I found myself skipping over most everything that happened whenever Nasuada showed up. Reading bits of paragraphs until something of actual worth (in that the plot advanced AT ALL) showed up. And you know, I didn’t miss anything important.

Not that I’m saying it’s all bad. Christopher, I feel, has matured rather a bit through the three books I’ve read. I’ve been impressed by many of the details pertaining to Eragon and Saphira’s connection. As well as the interesting feel of sections written from a dragon’s point of view.

I just have to, in my own writing, realize that I don’t strive for the level of detail Christopher instilled in his books, and that the level I want to reach really isn’t as far away as I would have thought.

MorchokohcroM

Laura Highcove

Very clever there Blizz, on the naming of your baddies. I guess. I dunno, this fight didn’t feel all that heroic. However it’s one of those fights that when one person screws up and dies, it wipes the raid. Those types of fights are a challenge for 25-man guilds. RIH Archimonde.