A Long and Rambling Catchy-Up Post...

I'm behind on blog posts once again, but only because I've been so busy - which is a good thing, isn't it!

Last week I missed my riding lesson due to a mix up (I got there and it'd been booked for the day before), but all was not lost.  I stayed around for a few hours and helped out a bit.  After grooming two horses and tacking one up I was soaked through to the skin with sweat, and exhausted.  After a little rest I did some yard brushing with the other girls, and then led a pony for a child's lesson - now that was interesting!  Walk is fine but running alongside a trotting horse for one lap of the school was knackering, and the poor girl who was also leading had to do both canter runs because I just wouldn't have made it!  I had a second brew (and a breather) before rugging up some more horses, and then I was done for and had to call it a day.

Saturday was the day of my youngest's birthday party - roller skating at the YMCA - and I was so pleased to manage to be there for the whole day!  I can't tell you how good it felt after a year of missing everything/leaving early/having to be taken home in a state!

Anyway, it's been a good couple of weeks for pushing the boundaries and setting new limits.  As the party was in a place where they also have a climbing wall, and as one of the mums is a climbing instructor, I even ended up doing a little climb - and before you get too excited, it was only the slabby bit, and I was shaking for about half an hour afterwards, and while I'd like to say it was the exertion, it wasn't - it was pure, unadulterated terror, followed by absolute relief.  I haven't climbed in over two years.

Oh God!  Am I really going to do this?!

Higher up now - over the yellow line... those 10 to 2 feet really come in handy here!

Okay - can I come down now please?

Abseiling  - like riding a bike, you never forget how!

Sunday I got up early and took the little one and her friend to their riding lesson, had coffee with the other mum, then met up with some other friends in town for lunch, did some Christmas shopping, and then visited another friend on the way home!  Monday I was cabbaged, on the sofa and did bugger all.

But Tuesday I had a jumping lesson - back to square one (well poles on the ground), and then back up to a foot and a half!  It was a real adrenalin rush getting over the first vertical, but they say you should do something everyday that scares you.  I've no idea who they are, but they have a point - a little scare really makes you feel alive. 

Oh, and poor Bramble went in to be neutered.  My little one has been telling everyone that, "Bramble is having his balls cut off!" and worse, asked the vet if she could have them to take home!!!  I collected him in the afternoon and he was still groggy - poor thing.  Had to be done though - I couldn't stand to watch him trying to reproduce with his little beany baby kitty anymore - all that howling and frustration as he strained to attach his back end to a tiny stuffed toy!  And hey, no paternity suits now either.  Plus, he shouldn't stray too far now.  I've no idea what he makes of the whole business but seems okay considering.  He can't jump down from the counter top yet (still a tad sore no doubt), but he's eating and all that again.  I'm a bad bad bad kitty owner!

So Wednesday I went on a 2 hour hack and scared the living crap out of myself for a brief moment or two.  Instead of the beach we went on 'the path', only the path wasn't flat but like a roller-coaster, and the first part of the path a pretty severe drop of about 3 foot (which looked like a vertical cliff from where I was sitting!).  Thomas, who I was riding, was really forward that day, and instead of stepping down carefully and slowly, as I expected, he leapt off the top landing in canter and then taking off down the path at break-neck speed, clearly chasing the lead horse, and leaving my stomach back on the top of the sand dune.  But after that it was fantastic - up and down the hills we went, following the path as it curled its way through the trees, ducking under low branches until we finally came out by a nursery school and all the children waved to us and shouted, "Hello horsies!"  It was so good, and I even had enough left in me when we got back to take the tack off and rug him up. 

After that I went to the hospital to collect more Tarceva.  Then I made a serious cock-up and went to MacDonalds, and before you say anything, I paid dearly for a small chocolate milkshake, small fries and sweet chili chicken deli sandwich!  By the time I got home the pain had started, and I was in tears by the time the kids came home from school.  Silly silly me!  Was it worth it?  Not really, no.

Today I've been recovering and had yet more pains, but not the make you cry sort, just the rocking back and forth sort. 

So life is good despite having cancer and being on chemo!  My stamina is improving bit by bit, and though I still need to keep pushing myself more and more, I do feel as though I'm making progress.

Haven't done much writing though :( but then Rome, as they say, was not built in a day, and I had a lovely visit today with a friend who writes - and it was really inspiring to be able to talk about writing again with someone.  So at least I'm thinking about the project loads, so much so that the thing is written in my head and just needs committing to paper!

Enough pointless rambling from me - I'm off to bed to listen to my healing CD!