Blog Hop: Home Office

I really loved L's Blog Hop post this morning, so thought I'd join in on the fun! I also stole her adorable little graphic because unicorn.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably recall that I lived in FL for about 13 years. When my husband and I relocated to NC in December of 2016, I brought my job with me and went remote full time. Prior to moving, my boss and I agreed on a slow transition to help work out any kinks before I went full remote. So, I had been working from home 1 day a week and occasionally if we were traveling and I didn't want (or didn't have enough PTO) to take the entire time off. 

We rented for 2 years after moving here so we could get situated, learn the area, and figure out where we wanted to live. During that time in the rental, we shared a rather small spare room as an office space (I could literally turn my chair and smack him in the head without extending anything other than my arm -- but didn't, despite the daily temptation :-P). Hubby was going into the office 2-3 times a week and working from home the other days. Not good for the marriage to be in that tight of a space for 9+ hours a day!

Anyway, in January 2019, we closed on a house. One of the things we loved about it is that all of the living space is on the first floor (a good house to age in!) -- and the upstairs is a fully finished attic, with 2 rooms, and a loft space. I keep my personal computer, printer, and my sewing machine in the loft. He has the bigger space, since it is also a game room, but I think my space is cozier!

Let's take a look! Here is the view as you enter through the French doors.

If you look left from the doors, I have a large bookcase where I keep all of my reading and design books. I also keep some knick-knacks on it.

If you look to the right, there is a weird little storage area -- I call it the cubby hole. There was no door and it's a weird size, so I got curtains and put them on a tension rod to kind of conceal the mess of storage containers. We mostly keep our Christmas stuff in there, along with a vacuum and a floor cleaner. Also in the corner is 1 of 2 floor vases we used for wedding decor. (The other is in my "sewing nook." I'll show the loft below!)

If you continue along the wall with the cubby hole, you'll see Jazzy's office bed -- she works hard at napping. And, I hung my 3 senior thesis posters there. I thought about doing a mural on that wall, but I've decided I really love having the posters there. I'm still proud of them 12 years later and like seeing them in a space I use regularly. 

Next in the corner by the windows is a filing cabinet that matches my desk and bookcase. It was really important to me to have a workspace with matching furniture. I guess it makes me feel like more of an adult or something. I bought the desk when we were still in FL, the bookcase after we moved to NC, and the filing cabinet after we had moved into this house. I really wanted a place to keep personal files vs confidential work files, which live in the filing drawer of my desk.

I love the windows in my office. They let a lot of light in without blinding me at the computer. I can also see into the driveway if I'm expecting deliveries or the bug guy. I've hung several things on them with suction cups. On the left is a glass butterfly a friend and coworker gave me a few years ago and a prism maker (which is where the rainbows on the wall below my posters come from). On the right are 2 pieces of glass fusion art I made. The red one is a bay horse with a big blaze. The orange one is a dapple grey horse. In between them is a horseshoe dreamcatcher my best friend bought for me while visiting South Dakota. Hanging on the curtain rod on the right side is a purple dreamcatcher from the same friend. I recently added the unicorn sun-activated bobble head to the window sill. Right outside the window is a crepe myrtle tree that blooms in a deep pink color.

Next to the windows, I have a photo wall with some cool horse art, a horse frame I painted for my grandmother, a goofy photo of my team looking in a "window" at me, etc.

And finally, here is a view of my workspace. I chose to face my desk toward the door so I could see my husband or dog coming and going. Also, I liked the idea of being able to look out the window while I am on calls to avoid distraction and multi-tasking. I probably don't do that as much as I should!

Immediately outside my office door, is the loft area. As you exit my office, on the right is what I've deemed my "sewing nook." It's a weird little space and I kind of hated it empty. I thought about getting a cushy chair and a reading lamp and having a little reading nook, but I think it is much better served for my sewing machine. As things need new buttons or quick fixes, I place them on the corner table and once I have a decent pile going, I fix everything real quick. The corner table was a gift from our friends who were tired of storing it and had no real use for it. It fits perfectly and has a little drawer for some odds and ends that I don't keep in the little basket.

If you look left, you see a curio cabinet with more knick-knacks, a desk my husband's uncle gave us, with my personal computer. We also have a cute little antique table I put the printer on and a paper shredder. Not sure how well you can see the little calendar my great-grandmother made that is hanging above the printer...I clearly have not changed it since March!

Closer view of the curio. A lot of these items were my grandmother's. I paired down my knick-knacks quite a bit when we relocated but these are the items I couldn't bear to part with.

And finally, to the right of the desk is my little memorial wall. It started out as just horses and dogs, but then I found the little sailboat drawing on the bottom right while going through some photos to scan. My grandmother drew it while she was in hospice, and she didn't like it and was going to throw it away but I told her I wanted it. I found a frame for it and then just added a photo of her on the top left and a photo of my great-grandmother on the bottom, as well. 

And that's pretty much it, in a nutshell! I love this house and this space I have created for working. I find the green I chose for the walls to be soothing when I am feeling stressed. But mostly, I love that it is super easy for me to separate work and life when I leave the 2nd floor, which is really crucial for me to be successful in a work from home role.

Best class ever

On Sunday, I was moving a little slow. I hadn't gotten enough sleep and had chugged my bulletproof coffee and a keto muffin to hold me over until I got home. I also threw off my routine when I decided to use my "old" (they were only 2 years old and the sole was starting to separate) Ariat paddock boots for mucking/chores/cooling out, and the new ones I bought to replace them for riding only. This meant I could wear the older ones to the barn and change into the newer ones and my half chaps right before I bridled. In theory, it means the new boots and my half chaps will live longer. It also means I'll be a tiny bit cooler while doing my stall, right? Seems worth it. It only takes a couple of minutes to change shoes and what not, but it's a new step in my routine. Just have to get used to it!

Tosh had some pretty nice zebra stripes of mud on his legs and belly. He clearly had some fun in the rain the night before. After cleaning him up, I went to pick his feet and found a gigantic rock in his right front foot. So big that I tossed it just outside his stall and later took it to show T. I was shocked he wasn't sore during our class (or last night in the group class, for that matter).

Once he was clean and booted, I started on his stall. It was pretty wet, so after I had piled his hay back in the corner, I ended up mostly stripping it. When it was time to go get the surcingle to tack him up, I dumped my wheel barrow in the spreader, leaving the remaining shavings piled along the edges so I could toss them after my ride, and walked to the arena to grab the tack. I came back to the stall with the surcingle to find a fresh 💩 right in the middle. Thanks, buddy.

I ignored it for the time being, got the surcingle situated and then took him for his pre-ride drink. Then bridled him and sprayed him with fly spray again before heading over to the arena. He scooted a tiny bit when I clumsily threw myself onto his back, but he wasn't cold-backed at all, so we went off to do our warm-up. I felt really balanced right away, and on both long sides in both directions, I tried closing my eyes to test it out. Tosh said, yep, you're straight.

Sunday is not quite as labor-intensive as Tuesday, but still a busy day!

When T asked what I wanted to work on, I said, the same stuff we've been doing, straightness, turning, and breathing. She said my turns during my warmup had been really nice and asked how everything felt. I said, I feel really great so far, even, balanced, both legs feel the same length, and I closed my eyes in both directions and Tosh stayed right on the rail. She told me to pick a direction and I opted to go right first. We did some serpentines and circles, a few changes of direction without changing bend, a few where we started on a counter bend to a true bend, etc and all of it was soft and swinging and really nice. 

Once we were tracking right again, she had me pick up my trot and Tosh's body stayed loose and relaxed. T kept exclaiming, this is a beautiful trot! We did more circles, and a serpentine to change direction and amazingly enough, I was able to hold my body together for the majority of it! When we walked again, T said, I love to see him so free and floaty, because it means his rider is really balanced and soft. She asked how it felt and I said, it feels amazing. He feels really great. She said, well, he's just reflecting your body back to you.

Our canter work was fabulous...I mean, he was so soft and lofty, I actually got a little nervous for a few strides tracking right. I was thinking why the heck are we going so fast?! Then I started counting the rhythm and realized he wasn't going fast, he was just covering more ground, with more suspension. Even more exciting than how it felt, was that I was able to do several *round* circles in each direction with very little effort other than turning my head. My shoulders and hips followed and Tosh just went. 

After we'd walked a couple of laps to catch our breath, T asked if I wanted to do anything again and I said, I think our trot and canter work was really great and I want to hold onto that. Can we do some figures to cool out? 

So, she had me pick up the trot and do an hour glass from F to H, then from M to K. Tosh got super excited and wanted to canter again. He loves doing flying changes, so he was just ready to go show off. His shoulders were so lifted that turning him felt so easy, soft like butter and I was just giggling at him wanting to canter through the figures. Then we did a large serpentine from A-X-C, and he started to settle when we did several smaller serpentines from R-I-S, E-X-B, and P-L-V. Every turn was seamless, effortless. When we halted at A, T was clapping and exclaimed, THAT was your best class EVER!

Woohoo! I think I grinned stupidly through our cool out and finishing up Tosh's stall. I also think Tosh was messing with me a little. So, when we got back to the stall after doing our water walk, I picked up the present he'd left me before our ride, tossed the sides and spread the old shavings back around the stall, picking the little leftover pieces as I went. Then I went to empty the wheel barrow again and get fresh shavings. When I came back, there was another 💩 in the middle of the stall! What a brat! I dumped the shavings, picked up the 💩, spread the shavings, dumped the wheel barrow again, and went to get another load of shavings fully expecting to have another turd waiting for me. I was relieved that wasn't the case, LOL. Finally, I left him loose and then I went back in to top off his water and he was waiting at the door for me looking at me like, I know I was a good boy, where are my mints? He's such a character. 

Not my best work, but I enjoy practicing when I have a
few extra minutes, and it seems to help keep him cool

Tuesday evening was blazing hot with a heat index between 106 and 111. Unusual for this area. Luckily the humidity wasn't too bad. 

I saw J as I was bringing Skylar's tack to his stall and she called over, the shim will go on his right. I said, perfect, I was going to come ask before I tacked him up. She said he had been ridden 2x in that setup and she hadn't been able to look at the sweat marks before he got sponged off, so I assured her I'd come find her before untacking or send pictures of his back if she had gone home. 

We warmed up in the covered arena so we had some shade, and T had watered it before our class, so it did feel significantly cooler in there. The storms moving around the area generated a lovely breeze every once in a while. 

T had the 4 of us do lots of circles at the trot and canter during our warm-up, and during one of our walk breaks, T commented that I looked really balanced and asked how it felt. I said, it feels good so far, and Skylar is feeling looser and more forward with this saddle. Plus, I didn't feel like it was constantly dragging me left, like the week before.

Once we'd worked in both directions, T asked if anyone didn't want to jump. All 4 of us did, so we trekked down to the outdoor. All of the horses perked up a bit. They seem to know it's a jumping night and they thought we weren't jumping since we'd started in the covered. Too funny.

I went 3rd, after 2 really great rounds before me. T had me start tracking left, we jumped the skinny next to the bricks on half school, then turned right and did the first fence of the triple, turning right over the bricks, then turned left. She sent us up the diagonal line over the small stones and the lime green, and then down the triple toward home. 

I think I got a little ahead of him a couple of times, but I kind of went, oh crap, don't do that! and reminded myself to sit back in mid-air. I was only slightly better about breathing throughout the course, and consciously reminded myself to take a breath before the bricks and again before the small stones. Not nearly enough oxygen, but we got it done! We stuck around to watch Tosh jump and then trekked back to the arena to cool out. 

J deemed the saddle setup satisfactory for now, so we'll be sticking with it for a few weeks and see if anything changes. 

Balanced

Sunday morning, I woke up with my right shoulder feeling like it was in a vice. I must have slept funny, based on the increasing nerve pain behind the right shoulder blade from Friday on. I took some Advil, stretched and rolled around on one of my dog's tennis balls for a while. Between that and mucking Tosh's stall, the pain lessened significantly, but I had some lingering soreness.

I started writing this post on Wednesday, so this fit then

As Tosh as I were walking our warm-up laps, I closed my eyes on the long sides of the arena to test my GPS. Tracking left, I immediately felt him turn left toward the middle. I opened my eyes, adjusted my seat, closed them again and felt him go right back to the rail. Interesting.

When T asked what I wanted to work on, I said, turning, straightness, and breathing. I told her about the veering left when I closed my eyes and that he moved back to the rail when I adjusted my seat so I think it was leaning vs seat bone. She had me track left and close my eyes on the long sides to test the theory. He stayed straight as an arrow on both long sides. We changed directions and tried it that way. Not as straight, but still relatively good!

We did some circles at the walk and right away, the soreness in my shoulder showed up in the form of trouble turning right, which is a new issue for me since normally I can't turn left (or at all, depending on the day)! 

Toshy waiting for me to bridle him

We trotted right, first, to preserve stamina on the good side and it actually went well! We did a few circles and then crossed the diagonal to change direction, did a few more circles and walked for a bit. Turning left was definitely WAY easier.

After our short break and some water, we went to the right again. The absolute game-changer was when T told me to try putting my left hand in front of my right around my turns. It was such a simple fix to help my body turn right and it worked like magic! She asked how it felt and all I said was, holy crap! 

I tried it to the left, too, although far less pronounced, it still worked! 

Our canter work was incredible. I feel like a broken record saying it is the best to date, but hot damn, if it wasn't seriously the best work yet, I'm a monkey. 🐒

We didn't do any figures at the canter other than 1 loop from E to B and vice versa, but it was so soft and lofty. In both directions, Tosh turned exactly where I told him to, and I didn't have to work super hard to get him to do it. 

We chatted for a few minutes before I started cooling out. T asked if I had been sore after riding Eli the Thursday before, since he has a totally different way of going than Skylar. I said I was sore on Friday but it was mostly gone by Saturday.

I said I am feeling strong and generally a lot more balanced in all of my rides. I have been holding onto the surcingle handles a lot less at the trot and canter, and feel mostly balanced these days, even when we do figures. I still hold them to ask for the canter because Tosh is so prompt and I don't want to get left behind. But, once we're in a rhythm, I find myself letting go so I can my body turn better and brace less against the movement. It seems to be working!

When I dismounted and started removing the surcingle, I laughed out loud because I noticed that I could have gone 1 hole tighter on it but I was so balanced that it didn't feel wobbly and I didn't even notice. 1 hole isn't a huge deal, but in the past, I've definitely noticed the difference and asked T to tighten it. 

I mentioned it to T as a huge victory in terms of my seat and balance and she agreed that it is definitely a huge win! She said, I noticed it before we cantered but you weren't having any trouble. It would have been different if you were doing something where a super tight girth really matters, like team penning or barrel racing or jumping, but since all we were doing is flatwork and you were balanced, there was just no need to tighten it more.

No idea why I'm so pooped on Tuesday nights :-P

On Tuesday, Skylar's shoe was back on, so I gathered his tack and brushes. When I went to grab his saddle pad, I noticed his wither pad was missing. So, when I went back for the saddle, I took it to the arena to ask T or J about it. J is the resident saddle fitting expert and she was available, so I asked and she said, well, this is a totally different saddle, and it's not as wide, so we are going to try it without the wither pad and see how he goes. I asked if she wanted me to use the all purpose pad or the thicker fleece one and she said either was fine. That was all I needed to know!

I did his stall before my ride, but opted to do his hay after, since he gets a bit cranky when he gets fresh hay and can't eat it. 

When I got on, I immediately felt more to the left. I found myself adjusting the saddle to the right multiple times throughout the ride. Other than that, it was a really great class. During our flatwork, Skylar felt looser through the shoulder, since the saddle sat a bit further back, off his shoulders. 

When it was time to jump, the more advanced people went first, leaving me to be last. I expected to just do a couple of lines and be done, but after tracking right up centerline and doing the natural element of the triple 2 times, she started calling out other fences to me. Apparently T felt I was ready to do a small course!

We started up the centerline, turning at half school to get to the natural element of the triple toward home. We did that twice. (pink)

Then she had me go up centerline to the natural toward home, and turn to get the lime green on the diagonal away from home. We did that twice. (pink)

Finally, she had me come up centerline to the natural toward home, backwards turn to the small stones to the lime green on the diagonal away from home, half school to the bricks, choose a direction and commit to it, I chose to track left since we landed on the left lead, so she sent us up the triple away. (purple) 

And done! 

I was not expecting to do that much jumping at all! Other than Skylar not putting in enough effort at the large lime green crossrail the first time, we cantered most of it and got our distances, I stayed up and back, I released, and it felt smooth and dare I say it...easy!

8 years and great lessons

Tomorrow marks 8 years. I think every year, I find myself pondering over the fact that another year has passed without Promise. I wonder how it's possible she's been gone so long. By this point, she would have been 26 and I likely would have been expecting to not have many more years with her. But man, I totally did expect to still have her with me! 

My mom on Promise at the Woodstock Fair Horse Show, parent lead line class
(c) Lori Taylor Photography

I find myself trying not to dwell on all of the things I wish I had done better with Promise, as I meander my way through this journey with T. I am confident that I did the absolute best I could with the knowledge I had then, and we all know that there is always something to be learned when it comes to horses.

One of my grandmother's rides on Promise. She LOVED her and the feeling was definitely mutual!

Before I make myself cry, I'll fast forward to my last few lessons. When I left off last post, I had a really great small course on Skylar. If we're being honest, riding twice a week has things blurring together a lot for me. I don't even know how I kept it straight when I was riding 5-6 days a week many moons ago. I guess that was before I started blogging!

Skylar looking absolutely thrilled before our class last week

My Tosh lesson on July 5 was AMAZING. I feel like I say this a lot (and that makes me so happy!) but it was seriously the best surcingle ride to date. That means I'm constantly improving and it's incredible. 

We started out on Jacob's ladder to warm-up and initially it was a struggle, but then all of a sudden, something clicked in both directions. When T told me to turn, I took a deep breath, stretched up, and turned my body. You know what? Tosh did exactly what I intended. It was effortless, no reins, just my body doing it's job and speaking horse fluently.

T asked what changed and I said, I breathed first! She laughed and laughed and said, oh, imagine that!

From there, we started trotting and doing figures and I tried to do the same thing before my figures: breathe, stretch up, turn. Turns out, I actually CAN circle at the trot AND canter. AND, it is usually pretty round when my get my 💩 together! Seriously, though. I did a 20 meter circle at E on the left lead canter and it was...legit my best circle ever. Probably in all 34 years of riding. I wobbled a little in the 3rd quarter of it (because stamina), but managed to get it back together to finish the last quarter.

Wild turkey roaming the farm on my way out

On Tuesday the 7th, I donated blood, so my group lesson was last night instead. T texted around 3 to tell me Skylar had lost a shoe and asked if I wanted to ride Eli or Tosh. I asked if she thought we'd be jumping and she said I could hack or jump. I opted to ride Eli, in case jumping was in the cards. 

Other than my persistent leaning to the right (which I at least can feel now, even if I can't fix it), it was a great class. I got a slight handle on the lean but wasn't able to consistently hold it. Need more stamina!

Eli and I jumped last. But I was thinking about it as we were cooling out and I realized, I didn't feel nervous at all as we were waiting! The 3 others in the class jumped before me and Eli and I just walked around outside the arena, waiting for our turn. I felt relaxed about the whole thing. This is HUGE!

Anyway, we did the triple 2x toward home and 2x away from home. Eli jumps way differently (feels rounder?) than Skylar (who feels like he jumps pretty flat), but I was proud of myself for staying back, folding when I was supposed to, giving a small release, AND getting my distances pretty well. Now if I could just get myself to breathe through my "course," I might not be huffing and puffing quite as much when we finish!

Oh, and the other big thing was being able to keep him on the rail tracking left. When I did my evaluation ride on him a year and a half ago, I couldn't for the life of me keep him on the rail to the left (because I was leaning and off balance)!

Eli seemed to enjoy himself despite his routine being messed up a little. He doesn't usually work in the evenings, or in the outdoor. I think I made it up to him when I stuffed him full of mints and turned him out with his buddies.

My step count from my ride last night