Gray Horse Day.....

Greetings fellow bloggers!!! I swear that these past few weeks have flown by. We have been really busy with back-to-school shopping (starts on 9/1), and with enjoying our recent heatwave around here.
(Below is a fine art print titled White Horse Rearing by Sonia Torres) It has literally been too hot to ride (around 95 degrees everyday), so we have been swimming in our finally warmed up pool, and even went tubing down a local river. I would have loved to have taken pictures of that, but cameras and rapids don't always go well together...lol!!!
(Below is a fine art print titled The Sheik by Melissa Gates)

So, I received a phone call from the place that I interviewed twice at, and was told that I did not get the job. This is because that while the manager was away on vacation, a night shift employee, who also happens to have a bachelors in psychology, applied and they have to hire within their company first.

The good news is that I left a huge impression on them, and they will call me if anything else opens up.

(Below is a fine art print titled Power and Grace by Judi Kent Pyrah) It's all good though. It just means that it wasn't the right place, right???

Today, I had a 45 minute telephone interview for an on call/per diem position at another long term care and hospice facility, ending with a second interview being set up. We shall see.....

(Below is one of my favorite fine art prints-I actually have this one hanging in my living room-titled Head of A White Horse by Jean Louise Theodore Gericault)I must admit that I would be pleased if I didn't find a job for another month or two though. This is because it would be nice to be home and have time to myself without the kidlets. For instance, I cannot do anything that I want to do, when I want to do it.

I know, I know...that's part of being a mom.....

Take horseback riding. I can go whenever I want to, because I will be free of responsibility.

(Below is a fine art print titled Bravado Bey V by Rebecca Moore)

Anywho...please bare with me folks. I know I haven't blogged much about horses lately, but that is because I haven't been able to do much with them. Why??? You guessed it: The kidlets...lol!!!

I Have What???!!!

Okay, so I am going to write about something else that has recently developed in my life. (Well I say "recently," but I think it has been silently lurking for for about a year or so)

I was just diagnosed with high blood pressure or hypertension as it is officially called, but all I hear is stroke, heart attack, diseased arteries etc....... I suspected that I may be having trouble, because over the past year, whenever I went to donate blood, my diastolic pressure (bottom number and the force on the arteries when the heart is at rest) has been in the 90's. And I have always been a 100/60 girl...even during my terrible pregnancies.

Now, I assumed that it was on the higher side due to the chronic stress of being in school, the fact that I had put on around 25 pounds while I was in school, and the fact that I wasn't able to work out as hard as I normally did, prior to being a mommy in college (due to homework).
Uhhhhhh....think again. Since school has been out, my stress level has reduced as much as 90%, I have lost 12 pounds, I have been really working out hard, and I have had the time to actually cook dinner, rather than feed myself and my family fast food.

So, imagine my surprise when my blood pressure was 140/100 the other day at the doctors office. 100!!!!!! And I can't even blame it on white coat syndrome, because it was at the office that I worked at for years and with people that I know. After being a nurse for years, I don't get nervous at the doctors office.....

Okay, okay, maybe it is due to genetics???? Maybe. However, hypertension does not run on either side. Oh there are aunts here or uncles there, but they are also smokers, which as you know can significantly increase your risk for developing high blood pressure.

Who knows???? All I know, is that I left the doctors office with a prescription in hand, had it filled and have been taking it ever since. I will continue to exercise and loose weight, and hopefully I can go off of the med once I loose some more weight.

We shall see, but I am not taking this lightly. I am too young to have high blood pressure!!!!
In other news, Amber and I have been riding lately. Waska appears to be fully recovered form his bout with laminitis, and is responding well to his new diet. The verdict is still out on him though.............

Oh, and can you tell I have been playing with my photos???? LOL

I have Picasa and edited some of these pictures, which, incidentally, were taken on my hike this morning. My climb-1000 ft-in-one-mile-hike that is getting my hiney in shape and hopefully reducing my blood pressure hike. I have been doing it five days a week for the past month......

Well, I hope that everyone has a great weekend. Happy trails to you!

Life.....

It has been awhile since my last post, but don't worry, I am still here.

So what have I been up to??

.....Although I am still feeling very restless and somewhat displaced, I have been putting a lot of energy into cleaning my house. You do not realize how much junk, dust, and garbage accumulates inside of closets and cupboards in the course of 2.5 years.

Or maybe you do.....My poor house! It is finally starting to resemble my home again...lol!!! I must admit that it still feels weird to be deep cleaning though. I still get that slightly panicky-oh-my-goodness-I-have-homework-to-do feeling, but it is lessening in its frequency and intensity.

I wonder if it could be classified as a post traumatic college response/disorder or PTCD??? (Now before anyone with PTSD takes offense, just know that I have had/dealt with PTSD so I can make light of it)Another thing that been occupying my time is job hunting. Now that August and the end of summer break are upon us, I have been looking at the local job market with more intensity. I recently applied for a social work position at a large skilled nursing/assisted living facility (or nursing home as they were once called), and I have had two interviews so far.

They told me during the second interview that I was one of the top three applicants out of the more than 80 that applied. Nice to know that the job market is picking up, eh????

Okay, okay, that wasn't a fair assessment of the job market...or maybe it was??? I am being really picky about hours and location, and that places a lot of limitations on where I can apply.

I am not too worried about it yet though. I figure that as long as I am looking, the right job will eventually find me, right???

Well, I am off to catch up on your blogs. Have a good Sunday. : )