buckskin mare slow warm up

A windy day
pushing through a bit of fussing from Grace;
wind is a distraction.

Hubby's videos below:

A video of myself is a great way to critique my cues to my horse.
I'm good with this ride this afternoon!

A Walk in My Park

It is not a walk in the park,

it's a walk in the pasture.

 Watch your step,

the path is not on even ground.

If the sweat of your day

is too much,

if your motor is revved too high,

lift the corners of your mouth,

the universe will respond.

Then, it is, a walk in the park

Kirk-Ski in Sunshine

Here are all my little videos and photos of our Banff, Alberta ski trip!

Here is the Hot Springs

staying warm while shopping

in Banff

scenery and more mountain scenery...

On the bus to the Sunshine Village gondola.

Brian really enjoys skiing and it was great to see him go and enjoy

himself.  When our boys were in elementary school we signed them up

for ski lessons with Prince Albert Ski Club.  

While in PA he got his Level I ski instructor certification.

I just had to go up the bunny hill/beginner escalator!
Where was this when I was learning to ski?  So easy to
get up the little hill.  So many disasters on the old T-bar lifts I had
when I was learning.

lots of little videos below....

Nancy Greenski can still get down the mountain!
(i did a couple months of gym training workouts at Anytime Fitness
in Yorkton before we left for this trip. It really was a bonus for me to have done that)

Next... on to Vancouver April 4th!

like minded

Have you ever wondered why sometimes you work hard to go

out the door to an obligation or to wonder why your health

is failing as you age.  Here are 3 things that impacted me these last 6 months!

Dear Food

I know that I am not your best friend and I am not going to say that you and all your food groups and tastes and texture are hard for me to digest into my stomach.  So let us make a truce .  I love you food and I have a challenge as when I encourage my body to eat more of you than it can handle.
So I am practicing the art of small portions and slow eating, like chewing slowly and pausing after a few bites.  This may sound easy for some but it is a challenge for me.

Then I can appreciate you food and we can get on a more like minded relationship.

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Dear Church

I am not feeling any connectedness at my church and I attend once a month.  I took a progressive Christian course for 10 weeks this last fall.  It was hurting my brain, or helping it, I'm not sure which.
Part 2 of this course is on now and I declined to re-join after Christmas.  So this is the first time I am writing something about it.  I can't make a stance (yet) or maybe I just did.

"It is for those who have stopped taking the church seriously at all.  Many people of deep spiritual integrity simply cannot suffer the shallow message of the churches of their birth any longer. They have an intuitive sense that there is more to Christianity than the rigid rules and theological constructs of the past." (Excerpt from Rev. David Felten and Rev. Jeff Procter-Murphy)

I am open-minded about my faith and this must have been what I required to fuel my belief.  Some interesting things came up but it challenged my belief and I liked my faith before I took the class and I did get educated on the bible stories and what they mean in our words today.  It was deep and our Minister said it would bring questions up and it is all about having those questions and not definite answers as the bible is stories written to teach us how to live.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Gym/Team Training

This is my like-minded place.  The trainers and the gym owners are there for ME.  I put in the effort
and they make sure I do my training safely.  Here is  a great post on the trainers.

The people I train with are fun and very much in the same place I am.

This is a great go-to place!

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I am liking the mind of the person who shared and created this!

Do you like this idea?

Canada only this year

Hi!

We are Canadian vacationers this winter!

Here is what we have booked:

Saskatoon's Saskatchewan Horse Expo on Feb 14.  This is becoming an

annual get away and I enjoy it thoroughly.  I learn a lot and see some other horse-y people
we've known throughout the years!

 We are going Skiing at Sunshine and 

staying in Banff in early March.   Brian and I are sure we can skii the bunny

hills with a coffee in our hands (ha ha!)

Skii one day and then day off and skii again and then done!

(see below I am behind Brian in my orange ski jacket) ..,don't believe it!

Then we head off to Vancouver early April to see PINK in concert; then 

 head over to visit a couple of friends at Qualicum Beach and Nanaimo

Brian thinks we will be the oldest couple at this concert but I'm sure we won't be!

only in Canada eh?

winter lovely get away thoughts

A human life needs some colour;

 so the colour in my life are - people. 

A peaceful heavenly soft place

can be found anywhere when the sun is out!

When away from home and your own country
 you will see new wonders to take back home with you!

Staying cozy is nice for me, after awhile,  it is like

framing one-self inside all winter;

a nudge outside your coziness can sometimes be a renewal!

so many quotes and amazing statements

here is one I came up with

"always have your own space to ponder"

looking through

 Any projects, word-of-the-year, goals, etc. are in not in place for me for 2019

I just want my health and enjoy the nature surrounding me!

The area I live in is very scenic.  Lakes and trees are in abundance

and I like that.

Deer Park Golf Course (view from a drive-by)

When I look through a smaller lens or window the perspective is more

focused and things are more calm and clear.

If 2019 is politically tumultuous as 2018 was in the global aspect, then it is

up to me to keep healthy, treat nature as a dear friend and this kind confident

me will make a small difference.  I can't change what is happening with the world

leaders but I can look after my mental health and physical body to make a difference.

Living in fear is not healthy  for me.

Go forward, step with confidence and breath in the God given landscape

I  have!

Happy New Year!

know your truth weekend retreat for women

Salt Lake City

I Love My Life 2018

women's weekend retreat!

Here are some photos that show just a tiny bit of our weekend with women and fashion and dancing and healing our guilt and for me it was about talking about gray hair styling.

I could use a bit more product in my hair to edge my style!

see these 2 women - edgy hair styles

my sis is keeping her blonde for now - she is stylin' it as usual! 

shopping in the Dressing Your Truth store that was brought in just

for us

healthy food for lunches was provided

Carol Tuttle (I just love her jacket!)

A type 4 woman (on the left) and a type 2 woman (on the right)

Type 4's are bold and stunning as they can wear black and

the true primary colors

The woman on the right is a soft subtle type 2 energy

and her clothes are soft and muted colors and soft texture

I will tell my hairdresser about how to style and cut my hair
↡

can you tell I like my new hat as it is a very type 3 style which I am a type 3

I can wear the richer, deeper colors that tend towards a dirty grainier version

of the primary colors

↘↙

LOL!  my kind of accessories for Type 3

after our break-out sessions for type 3 energy profiling women 

(displaying all the colors we can really look awesome in and rock it!)

my sister is a upward and light very fun and cute type 1 energy profiled woman

It was so fun and easy to travel with her!

we enjoyed our stay at the The Hilton Hotel and used the pool and outside

decks and we also walked around the downtown area and got to see

all the Comic Convention costumes that were walking down the street all the time

we were there.  I should of taken a pic of the Mad Hatter family walking down the street - very awesome costumes.

There will not be one next year to attend so hopefully in a couple of years she (Carol Tuttle) will put on another weekend retreat.  

motivational Donna

When you finish with

a treatment how do you know you are healed?

How do I know I healed from grief?

a great loss 14 years ago that tilted all

my perspectives...so how do I know I am healed?

using resources every now and then from professionals

is huge.  I used writing and energy therapy and a few sessions

of counselling over the years.  

I am healed because I can look back and remember that time

and what I was like and what hurt most and what helped the most

I am healed also from the neck tension and headaches (not migraines) because

I am using tools I learned from chiropractors, yoga, physiotherapists

and energy therapists.  

I am healed the best way I can be

because I am always learning new things

about me, my marriage, my family and

other relationships and that the biggest learning

was through animals.  For me it is the horse.

I make sure I do activities that I love

and hiking, horse riding and making art

are my go to peaceful events.

How about you?

I bought these colorful runners the other day to start off

fall and to make sure I wear good foot wear as much as possible.

These runners match all my outfits.

i am entering my story slam application for October's Story Slam at the library

I have decided on a story it will be titled

'What The Health?!

Story Slam Entry Form 2018.pdf

here are the rules...

• Five minutes to tell your story. After 5 minutes, there will be a penalty. After 7 minutes, you will be gonged.
• Story must be original and unpublished.
• You can read from a script, or just go up and tell a story. Competition starts at 6:30 pm. Names will be drawn to
• determine order of story telling. No props.
• Limit of 10 story tellers.
• Entries will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. 

 Story Slam competitions are also held in Edmonton and Toronto. (Yorkton is quite

trendy putting this on)

Last year I talked about 'Rocky - my first solo ride' it was an experience

as their were 7 judges and they are quite prestigious. Just to note in the middle of my

story last year all my cue cards fell to the floor and I just had to carry on!  It worked out

fine.  My score was 7.6/10.

This is one resource that has helped me with my neck pain and headaches

check him out

Restore Your Bad Neck Curve With a Simple Towel 

Motivationaldoc on youtube

Dr. Alan Mandell, D.C.


My hubby is very involved in harvesting for his brother right now and in
the next few weeks;
so I pray that the crop is awesome!

signing off....as
Motivational Donna

Horse Wiser

Friday I started my 3 day horse riding clinic! I’m done now and I take with me more confidence and love to share with my horse and others. Keeping my words to myself and to my horse only for gentle learning and letting the hard days of learning move me forward along with doing just a little ; doing less will show doing more, trust the process of each bit of time.

I took photos and these are all of them.  Videos were not allowed and when I and Brian were both

in the  same class it was impossible to get any riding shots.

it's okay.  You can laugh at my hat.  I never wear a cowboy hat.  However, this

weekend it was pouring rain and we were hauling saddles and boots and horses in and out

of the riding arena in pouring rain  This hat was awesome for keeping the rain off my face

and head. Otherwise I wear a ball cap style head gear.

 Bottom of this picture is me in front of the pickup and it reflected a squished photo

of me (cool, real cool)

I knew I would be slow, slow,... getting my horse tack on Grace (previously named Bruschetta).

A slower process when she was very anxious and hard to keep standing in one place.

Next time I will be more "savy" at putting the bridal and bit in the mouth.  Tightening up

the cinch, chest band in place (that is my next goal)

My horse has a beautiful thick black mane.

This is the pen that Mr. Z and Bruschetta were in for 2 nights.

Mantracker and I went home and came back in the mornings. (a 35 min drive)

Mr. Z really wanted out of this pen on the last day,

Grace (Bruschetta) shared the pen with Mr. Z

She is 10 years old and Mr. Z is 4 years old.

This is my horse with the clinician.  A buckskin mare.  He had

to work with her quite a bit to settle her down.  She did not like

being around all the horses and pinned her ears back constantly the whole

time we were in the class.  Made me nervous;so double anxiety going for 

the first day. Once he explained her situation and got her hind legs moving freer

and me letting her move with much looser rein and directing her; was the winning ticket!

This is John Tilley.  He was our clinician and lives at Leroy, Sask.

He was easy to be around and complimented riders whenever it was 

necessary and earned.  I was very relaxed with his lessons.

Ride on. Ride on.

it must come down

High Blood Pressure is a well kept secret of the amount of pressure your blood is running through your arteries.

I had my vitals report from the doctor in January and he took my blood pressure.  Everything went up my blood sugar too.

But how does one fix that when I am already on a good diet and I have been working out 3 times a week.  I had also just returned from a vacation in Mexico?  sooooo what brought this pressure up?

It took me some time to figure it out and my neck has been aggravating my left shoulder once again and i was worried about my shoulder and not being able to get it relaxed and all the massages and appts to possibly help me out with it was a stressor ;  then my weight was bothering me I started to think I was getting very fat but it was just the muscle I developed over the last few months of swimming laps.  I am doing 15 - 20 50 metre (olympic lengths) twice a week now.  I walk outside alot too.

What is going on I am retired and have a good life in the country.  I thought it was family and possibly it was that ?  didn't make sense my family has had it's frustrations because we work at  being a close knit family but really we are a respectful family.  I respect my siblings and families and parents; we don't always understand how we live each others lives;  I was brought up with judging people and I love my parents and the ways they cared for me to the best of their ability.

Here is what I went back to for lowering the blood pressure (IT MUST COME DOWN):

1. massage to relax that neck/work on that shoulder stuff - massage therapist is my yoga teacher (love that)
2. yoga class/sign up once a week
3. use my infrared sauna we have at home daily (for 20 - 30 minutes)
4. use energy techniques to clear my head (tapping, body talk, healing touch) Carol Tuttle had a type talk on facebook and it was about "the shoulds"?

 "I should be thinner-  I should socialize with friends more -  I should invite people over to my house- I should be more settled - I should not be such a loner - I should... I should not....I did her tapping session (where you tap on your forehead and temples and under the eyes and under the nose and on the chin and on your chest and you say out loud the 'shoulds' and should-nots and then when that is completed just press both hands on the heart centre or your chest and breathe it all in and out.

Today my High Blood Pressure was back down to 129/84 for the first time in many weeks
I am keeping up the yoga and infrared sauna sessions

note to self is that  when vitals go up it is always the mind that tells the body how to hold the craziness in as  the body will hold all right and keep everything tight until you release the stuff!



Dr. Donna Kirk
Kirkville Therapy

going in!

Hair update:

short short hair cut this week as

I miss short hair and so I did get it buzzed

at the back and sides and left the top

longer.  Loving it so far!

{i may cut it shorter next time)

I am so proud of me...because

I started swimming end of September

twice a week and I am still going twice a week

Below is this morning's photo and I am just

ready to jump in and flip the goggles down.

Ear plugs stick out kinda like Shrek ears but

they work really well for keeping the water out!

Going in... splash !!