Working Out...

Leigh and Anne at Moose Village, night before Triathlon, trying on swim caps and being goofy.

One reason Leigh and I started this blog was to keep account of how much we are growing and to see how much we have changed. We are trying to make this year, our fit year, and to really do a lifestyle change! I can say that Leigh and I have really stuck to eating healthy, we splurge every now and then, because I feel that you have to. We have come to realize that we cant put restrictions on ourselves. If we do, then we both tend to think that having a beer or some pizza is sneaky and then we over indulge. So we tell ourselves there is nothing we CANT have and we usually make the smart choice!! We started this journey right after Thanksgiving and we are still on it! I must say, it has been wonderful! Leigh and are really enjoying getting back into running and strength training and have actually worked hard at getting up in the mornings and working out. So far we are doing pretty good at it, but the best part is, even if we miss a morning workout we make up for in the evenings. We have really stuck with that, and I think we both feel so much better.

Leigh and I are fortunate to be okay with eating healthy, we have never really battled the food part, but have battled the "lets go out and have fun" part, which used to include drinking beer till late at night and smoking ciggs!! Aww, our 20's!!! However we have really programmed our minds to think of getting up early, watching the sun come up, running, or doing pilates is much more fun, than being hungover all day! It took us a while, but we are getting there. We are planning a trip out west, and I am just as excited about running out there and that is a HUGE change for me!

I do want to say, that there are two people that we are VERY proud of, for taking the initiative to get healthy! They are really doing so well and have even bought an elliptical! I wont name, names, but they know who they are, and they both read our blog!! Love you both!!

Cheers Everyone!

Two Foxes at TwinBay Farm

Drifter


One evening this summer, Anne, Paul and I were hanging out at the house when we noticed something out by the creek. It was two beautiful foxes. They both came down the hill, across the creek and in to the paddock closest to the house. The horses didn’t even pay any attention to them which made me think “huh, maybe they have met before.” As Paul, Anne and I strained our eyes to see these two gorgeous animals they then decided to just keep walking towards the house. They walked almost up to the back yard and then they proceeded to play with each other. One was much larger than the other one but both were red foxes and were so cool.



I was so excited that I grabbed the camera to take pictures. I wish I could post those pics but they didn’t turn out. After the foxes played for a while the neatest thing happened. Anne’s horse Drifter walked in to the paddock and walked right past them to get something to drink. Then he turned and as he was walking past them again, both the foxes stopped playing and looked at him and then looked at each other as to say “you ready?” and they both walked with Drifter back through the gate, across the creek and up through the trees to the back of the farm. It was so cool to watch. It looked as if the three of them had been friends forever. It was like Fox and the Hound but with Fox and the Horse. Have a great weekend everybody!!

Morning....

Leigh and I were talking last night about feeling ready for work in the mornings and I began to wonder if that ever happens. I have tried my entire life to become a morning person, now I will admit, I haven’t tried real hard at this, I mean I have high aspirations and that is about as far as I have gotten. However hearing people talk about getting up in the morning, having coffee, reading the paper, and watching the sun come up, has always fascinated me, and the part I find the most fascinating is they do this BEFORE WORK! HOW DO YOU DO IT PEOPLE? It has to be the most peaceful time of the day, the time when the world is still and you feel that you are getting a piece of the day, that only the privileged get. Well dammit, I want to be privileged!

I started thinking last night, about being a morning person and how eventually I will be one. Well, then I quickly remembered, I AM 30, when do I think this might happen, when I retire? I have always found it easier to get up early when it is nice and warm outside. It is inviting, it is saying “get out of bed, throw on your flip flops and enjoy the day”. UUGGH, when it is cold outside, I hate to get out of bed. It is cold outside of my bed, it doesn’t feel cozy in the kitchen, and I cant go out on the deck and drink my smoothie and wait for the sun to warm my heart. I hate the cold! But you know what; I have to get over it! I have to get up and enjoy the day, people keep talking about, and I am sure there is something to it.

SOOOO I got up at 5:30 this morning. Yes, you read that right, 5:30!! All I can say is, it was wonderful. I totally enjoyed it, I wasn’t rushed, and I got to enjoy the morning. I also got a lot done. Of course I got Leigh up as well, and she was happy I did, because we both got our workouts in, turned the horses out earlier and got to watch the news and have a great smoothie. I am not saying I will be up at 5:30 every morning, my track record says I wont, but I am going to try harder to get up and enjoy the mornings, it is the most peaceful part of the day, right?

Random Thoughts

No plans at this age, and no plans now!

My last blog entry talked about making plans. Anne and I like to sit in our den on Sunday nights awaiting the work week and talk about our “plans.” Sometimes it is just plans for the week. Those plans usually consist of riding our horses, working out and figuring out what night Josh and Paul will come over. Other times it is more long term, like planning trips for the summer or for the next year, but that is about as far as the plan making ever goes. I never make plans longer than a year. It is not that I sat down with myself at 21 and said “Self, I don’t think it is a good idea to make plans too far in advance.” It is just something that I have never really focused on. I was never the kid in middle school that automatically knew what they were going to “be” when they grew up. I am sure you remember that kid. Hell you may even be that kid. You know the one you went to school with that when they are 8 years old they said they were going to be neurosurgeon and now they are a neurosurgeon. Yeah, I always hated that kid. I never thought ahead. Hell, I am 30 and I STILL don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. Neither one of us has ever sat down and said “When I am 35 I plan to be married, have two kids, have my own farm and five more horses.” We just don’t work that way. I know lots of people that do and I am completely amazed by them. It seems that their entire life is on some sort of cosmic schedule. I just sit back and watch them work. It is fascinating. There have been times when I wished I could be more that way but Iknow that I can’t. Anne had lunch today with a very dear friend of ours. She told Anne that is was good to have plans and goals but people are always evolving and changing and so will your plans. She said you can’t allow your plans for your life to define who you are. You can’t live your life around your plans, because things happen and those “plans or goals” may never come true. I thought that was very profound. There have been so many events and circumstances that have happened in my life that would have messed up so many “plans” if I had made them. So I am so glad that we just live day to day and not worry about making plans because I have NO IDEA what the future holds. What I do know is that all of my friends, family and animals seem to be healthy and happy so THAT makes THIS stormy nasty day a good day.

Maine

Anne and I were talking this past weekend about this upcoming summer. Once Christmas has come and gone we both are ready for long days and hot weather. We like to start planning our summers early and have some sort of an idea on what will be on the agenda. Of course there are several things that we do every year, we always rent the cabin at LBL, we always meet everybody at the NAILE and we are going to try and make the North Carolina trip an annual event as well. Yet, we also try to always do at least one trip we have never done before. Last year it was the North Carolina trip. Two years ago it was our New Hampshire and Maine trip. That was the year that Anne and I decided to train for a triathlon with two of our good friends Mary and Ken. Both Mary and Ken are very inspirational people so when they suggested it we jumped on the “triathlon bandwagon.” Please know that during the days of training for the Mooseman Triathlon in New Hampshire I cussed this decision and I am sure cussed Mary and Ken a time or two. In the end it was an amazing experience, one that Anne and I both hope to duplicate soon. Completing the Mooseman triathlon was incredible but what intrigued us both was how much we fell in love with Maine. I had no idea that this southern girl could fall so hard for the Northeast, but I did. Maine is absolutely breathtaking. Usually when I go on a vacation after 3-4 days I am ready to come home and see my horses and dogs and get back in the groove of things. After being in Maine for 3 days I was ready to send for my horses and dogs, get a job at the local café and buy a cottage in Bar Harbor and never leave. The landscape is unexplainable, it is something you have to experience for yourself. The people are so kind and the food, well….come on…it is lobster every night…need I say more? So….Anne and I hope to get back to this magical place this summer, even though this won’t be a “new adventure” it will be different because we won’t be doing a triathlon while we are up there (at least I don’t think we will). If you ever get a chance, please take it! When you cross over in to the Maine the signs says “Welcome to Maine, the way life should be” I think that says it all.

Old Pictures and New Memories..

It is amazing how a picture can be captured then forgotten about, and you move on with life. When you see that picture again, it jerks you back to that memory, which can be an amazing feeling. Over the holidays, Leigh and I found 4 rolls of film we hadn’t developed, neither of us had any clue what was on the film.

The film was a wonderful reminder of how dear 07 was to us, and how many great journeys we had.

The first roll was of a weekend that neither of us will forget. Many pics from a wonderful weekend we spent in North Carolina. The pictures were great, and it was an amazing reminder of what a wonderful weekend that was. I cant wait to do it all over again in 08, and this time we are going to stay in the yurts.

Another roll was our wonderful weekend at LBL with our Murray Crew. It was so great to see all of our friends that weekend. The pictures were great, and that is another adventure I don’t want to miss this year.

One roll was black and white film Leigh took probably 2 years ago. This roll totally came by surprise, since we had both forgotten about it, and the pics were beautiful, and shocking all at the same time. They were of me and Ringo. Ringo passed away on March 13th, and it was just startling to see him so full of life, however the pics are great, and I cant wait to get them framed!

The next roll, showed another loss we had this year, Leigh’s precious dog Suzie. It was hard to see those pics as well, but they will be surely cherished, and we will keep them framed. She was a wonderful dog, and can never be replaced.

So those 4 rolls of film, brought up many emotions. We had some amazing times in 07 and some hard times as well, as most people do. But above all of it, we are totally lucky to have the things we have and feel blessed everyday.

We have wonderful family, amazing friends, 2 great guys in our life and many animals we love!

The pic is from Christmas morning, Leigh and I turning out the horses. Even though we lost two family animals this year, we gained 2 more horses and a new puppy dog.

READY FOR 2008!