Friday, September 30, 2011 - An Unexpected Work Day

Rented the executive Boardroom in the Embassy and spent the afternoon working with our client there. It was a good session, and again he felt he got his money’s worth out of it. Afterward, now completely finished with work, we hit the bar in earnest. We’ll get back to teatotalling it when we get home, but for now, the booze is free! After a drink, we headed out to a nice little Indian restaurant we found, have a perfectly delightful meal, bringing home plenty of leftovers fro tomorrow. We even went back to the bar for a nightcap, even though it wasn’t free anymore. Another packed yet fun-filled day!

Thursday, September 29, 2011 - Advanced Workshop Day Two

Had another productive day, everyone made great advanced and seemed pleased, apparently getting out of it what they had hoped to get. Tried some other things a bit differently, and they all worked great with this group. Might not with everyone, but certainly did with this group. At the end of the day, one of the attendees, who is about to go into court, asked us if we would consider spending some time with him tomorrow. We agreed on a rate and time, and set off to happy hour at the managers reception. Nice to get the work, but I was kind of ready to crash but work comes first, I can always crash later!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - Advanced Workshop Day One

Reacquainted ourselves with our former students for the advanced workshop (though one had just been through the basic camp, not something we usually allow but had slipped through the cracks on the other end), and got to work. My friend Steve also came to the class, as he continues on his training to becoming a possible surrogate teacher eventually. Again, a very productive and energizing day. Had dinner with Steve and our seminar planner, though Hubby begged off, still tired from the recent trials. We ended up going to the Kobe Steakhouse, one of those Japanese Hibachi chef in your face places. It was enjoyable, though again, I kept my intake to a minimum. Figured maybe if I lost a few pounds as a result of last weeks food poisoning, I should try to keep it off! It was a good time anyway, sorry Hubby missed it.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - Basic Workshop Day Two

Another good day in the workshop. We recently changed a few things about how it is conducted, which gives everyone a chance to get up twice, which has been about the only improvement that had been suggested by previous attendees, and it seemed to go over well. This time we did go out with our seminar planner to Uno’s across the street, and we both had small meals just to keep our systems straight. A good day, a good training camp.

Monday, September 26, 2011 - Basic Workshop Day One

Slept like a rock (though I had to put in earplugs to block out the traffic noise from I-4 right next door), woke up feeling better than I had in days. We went downstairs for the free hot breakfast, then went to work. It was an excellent class, with a very attentive and involved group, and I almost made it through the day unscathed, though in the last hour or so I was starting to flag. Usually I can boost myself up to a higher level when that starts to happen, but I just didn’t have the reserves this time. Nevertheless the group remained involved till the very end of the day. Hubby and I were both so exhausted, though, we had to postpone our usual dinner with our seminar planner, had another bowl of soup and were in bed even earlier.

Sunday, September 25, 2011 - Move to Embassy Suites Jamaican Court

Embassy Atrium

Packed up everything, had breakfast at the nearby Denny’s across from the Convention Center (where we had some of the best service we’ve experienced so far in Orlando!), then headed down to our new digs at the Embassy Suites on Jamaican Court. Before leaving the Rosen Plaza, I asked to speak with the manager regarding our food poisoning incident, and he was very unhelpful. First he chastised me for not telling him sooner "when he could have done something," though what that would have been wasn’t clear, then when I told him about the tap water being added to the soup, he insinuated that Hubby didn’t actually see what he saw, that the water was probably going into "the steamer tray," which was a ridiculous accusation, then again, indicated that I shouldn’t have waited so long to tell him, how it was too late. Well, I don’t know why it would be too late to fix what is apparently a systemic problem, but in his mind there was nothing he could or would do at this point. Very unhappy (angry actually) I left shaking my head. So despite decent rooms and service in other areas, I left the hotel extremely dissatisfied. Anyway, after breakfast we confirmed there was a microwave and refigerator in our room at the Embassy Suites, and headed out to Wal-mart to do some shopping. Checked into a typical Embassy room, which is very good by most standards and settled in. We had finally had a pretty good night sleep the night before, and our systems seemed to be just about purged, so we were beginning to feel better at last. Good thing, too, because it would be really hard to conduct an all-day workshop tomorrow if I wasn’t back to my normal energetic self! Had some soup (Healthy Choice microwaveable in the bowl) from Wal-mart with rice cakes, almost back to our regular diet, then was in bed by 9:00.

Saturday, September 24, 2011 - Florida Straw Poll-Very Exciting!

Worst Lighting Ever

Woke up still feeling lousy, but at the least the diarrhea seems to have gone away. I was determined to try to see more of the events today, so after a light breakfast, we headed over to the Convention Center where we watched the speeches of some of the candidates or their surrogates, and some didn’t even bother to send surrogates. The actual speakers were Rick Santorum, who did nothing but talk about himself (a losing strategy in our book), Newt Gingrich (who is always entertaining, but is still a bit vague about any actual plans or agenda other than the usual manta of lower taxes and private job creation), and Herman Cain, who frankly, ROCKED THE HOUSE!! He has a great no-nonsense style and a great message, with clear and easy to understand plans that might actually work, or at least start a dialogue that goes in the right direction toward something that might work. It would be great if he could get some traction here. He had a good performance on Thursday, albeit they didn’t give him much of a chance to speak because he’s not considered a top tier candidate, but he makes more sense than any of them in my book. And apparently not just my book, he impressed a lot of people here and ended up winning the straw poll by a HUGE margin!! It was incredibly exciting, because I don’t think anyone believed that anyone but them voted for Herman, so when the numbers came up there was as much disbelief at first as there was ecstasy later. He was impressive, and this should wake up the rest of the country to at least listen to him and judge for themselves, rather than having the media or the RNC pick them for us. Anyway, we were feeling just well enough afterwards to decide to have dinner at a restaurant in the Peabody on the walk back to our hotel, and enjoyed a nice but very slow meal there, which included some nice red meat for which we both had a craving. Our client happened by and spoke to us for a few minutes as well, so overall the day went as well as it could have done, even though neither of us were yet 100 percent. We were one our way, though! Just exhausted and weakened from the experience.

Friday, September 23, 2011 - Food Poisoning!! Still had to work!

Woke up to a very strange feeling, then discovered that before I could even move, I had an attack of awful diarrhea. It was terrible! My stomach was upset, I had to keep making trips to the bathroom with a towel in my hand, cramps, just plain feeling terrible!. Turned out Hubby had the same thing, though not quite as bad. Obviously, it was the soup. We had to stay in the room all morning just to recover enough to get dressed and go downstairs to the gift shop to buy Pepto Bismol. We both felt awful. The PB helped after awhile, and we finally managed to get dressed in our work clothes and go meet our client for a short while, but it was tricky making sure that we were never far from a bathroom. Nothing worse than a bout of food poisoning! We managed to get some food down eventually, but soup was definitely off the menu! At one point, Hubby noticed that a woman at the grill poured tap water into the soup on the warmer, without heating it back up to a boil, which explains to me how the food poisoning developed! My mamma taught me that when I was just a kid! How can something like that happen? Hard to imagine in this day and age. Anyway, we survived the day, but were completely wrung out by the evening, happy to crawl back in bed with another dose of Pepto.

Thursday, September 22, 2011 - Work with Client Day

Met up with our client at a room in the Peabody across the street for several hours, preparing him for several presentations he would be making throughout the weekend. Smart guy, picks up things fast, it’s a pleasure to work with him. Stopped for ice cream on our way back to the hotel. In the evening, we decided to go downstairs for some soup, and discovered that the Cafe was only serving off the buffet, and to get $3 soup we needed to pay for the $9.99 Soup and Salad Buffet! Crazy, but they wouldn’t separate it. So we ended up going to the grill in the lobby and got two bowls of chicken noodle soup. After that we headed out to the Convention Center to attend the Fox News Republican Presidential Debate, which our client was kind enough to arrange for us. I don’t know who was managing the house, but it was one of the worse jobs I’ve ever seen. They had an entire area of about 200 seats cordoned off for "VIP’s" but only about a dozen of them were used. When the order was finally given to open that section to the public, a mad crush of people surged in like a dam bursting. People were going crazy climbing over chairs and running down aisles. People came in from both sides, so many were fighting over seats in the middle. It was nuts, and it’s a miracle someone didn’t get hurt. I don’t know whose genius idea that was, but they should be fired. It’s outrageous, and yet we see that kind of thing all the time, amateurs in charge of events they have no business being in charge of. Anyway, we survived it, and ended up enjoying the debate and the rest of the evening. Not impressed with most of the candidates these days, seriously wondering what kind of chance a Republican has against Obama if this is the best we can do. Eventually headed back to the hotel and off to bed anticipating we would be working with our client again tomorrow, at least for a short time.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 - Travel Day to Orlando

New Backyard in Orlando

Due to the duration of this trip, we decided is would be more cost effective to take a cab to the airport, and he arrived right on schedule, getting us to the airport in plenty of time. Unfortunately, the flight was posted as being delayed for half an hour, but then somewhere along the line it got back on schedule, so we arrived just about on time. Picked up a little stripped down Chevy Aveo (such a downturn from my Mustang!), but since we don’t have all that much actual driving to do, it will be good enough. For $11 bucks a day, who can complain? Arrived at the Rosen Plaza Hotel just up from the Orange County Convention Center where the bulk of the activities were to be held. Checked into a nice room on the 16th floor, so it was nice and quiet except for the A/C which was a window unit, though it was ten times better than the hotel in Chicago where we stayed earlier this month. Ordered Chinese as has become our habit on the first day of our arrival, and went to bed early.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - Vet Day for Marina

With Marina still limping heavily, we decided to run her over to our hostess’ vet, and they were kind enough to fit her in. The diagnosis is still arthritis, so an anti-inflammatory was prescribed, something else our hostess will have to do in our absence, unfortunately. She’s perfectly capable, of course, I just hate to keep piling stuff on her to do, what with giving Apollo his allergy meds, not Marina more pills. Nothing we can do at this point, however, we just have too many things going on right now!

Monday, September 19, 2011 - Lunch with a Friend

Joined a friend we made at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul at a lovely Indian restaurant, and got caught up as much as we could over a two hour lunch. Looking forward to working with her again in Tampa, assuming we get asked back again. We won’t know till probably January, but it looks as promising as it ever does. After all, we have been doing them since 1992! But it’s never good to count one’s chickens before they’re hatched...

Sunday, September 18, 2011 - Shopping Day

Decided we needed a few things for our lengthy stay in Orlando, so we spent the day shopping, mostly for clothes. Not entirely successful, but did manage to find a couple of things that will be useful. Everything on every rack in every store at a mall just looks the same to me, and if I don’t like what the "designers" have decided is "in" this season, I’m out of luck. Not much available in a classic look, which is definitely more my style, but we’re planning on being in NYC in a few weeks, maybe I’ll have some more choices there (though I’m not counting on it.)

Saturday, September 17, 2011 - Change of Plans Day



Rhode Island Sunset

Rec’d an email from our new client in Jacksonville, FL. He has an event in Orlando the week before our already scheduled training event, and has asked us to come in a few days early to work with him, so I spent the day changing our flight, arranging accommodations and a car rental, and generally working on logistics. Hubby looked for a problem with the wiring on the vehicles, when we arrived the brake lights and one side of the turn signals on the RV weren’t working properly, so he tried to narrow it down. It seems it’s not the RV, it’s the truck, so that will need fixing before we leave Rhode Island. It’s always something, but at least it’s not like having a whole house to look after! Glad to have another job, though, it’s always a good thing!

Friday, September 16, 2011 - Sort out the Animals

Well, it seems that the horses had a few problems while we were gone. Apollo is apparently allergic to some weed that’s heavy in his field, his nose is running like a kid with a bad cold, and Clio’s back fetlock is swollen and has a few abrasions on it, as though she got kicked or it got caught on something. We took a trip to the pharmacy and got some allergy pills that our hostess said would do the trick for Apollo, and decided to keep them both inside for a few days to recover. Nothing serious, just something to keep an eye on. Dogs are doing great, though Marina’s limp seems to be getting worse, I’m finding it hard to believe it’s just arthritis. It really does look like an injury that’s just not healing properly. Again, we’ll keep an eye on her to see what’s going on.

Thursday, September 15, 2011 - Travel Day to Providence

Today was the first day the weather was too cold and rainy to drive the Mustang with the top down, but we were thankful for the many good days we had with this little red guy. Lots of fun! Other than an hour delay in our departure and arrival, it was an uneventful flight back to Providence from Nashville, though the parking bill at the airport was outrageous. Raining a bit here as well, and the temps have dropped somewhat, to be expected at this time of year. Thoroughly exhausted, can see us crashing for several days!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 - Log Splitting Day

After finally having a pretty good night’s sleep, I decided I couldn’t stand looking the the remnants of a very large oak tree that we had cut down before we left on this madcap adventur more nearly 20 months ago, so I prodded Hubby into helping me split huge logs that had been sitting in the yard all this time. Unfortunately, he discovered a lead in the hydraulics on the tractor, which affected the front-end loader, so we couldn’t move it to where the logs were, so we had to hook the baby trailer to the back of the riding mower and lug the logs to the tractor in the pole barn. Some were just a tad too long to fit in the splitter, and many were so huge we had to struggle to get them in, but after a few hours we had a nice stack of well-seasoned firewood, and a cleaner yard than we had had for ages. It was a relief to get it done at last, though I’m not sure Hubby was as thrilled at getting the job done as I was... Hopefully the labor will make for a good night sleep! Did most of our packing in the evening in preparation for our flight back to Providence tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - Workshop for TN House Republican Caucus Retreat

Things got off to a bit later start than we had planned because other events were late, but the end result was a very productive workshop where we once again changed some minds about things. Looks like it might open some more doors for us. Once again we were invited to dinner at the restaurant for another enjoyable meal and more company now that they knew us, and with a glass or two of wine, what more could anyone ask of a work day?

Monday, September 12, 2011 - Reception at Tims Ford State Park

Still woke up without having a really good sleep, but without phones or internet, we relaxed a good part of the day, though I still had work on my computer to do. Then we headed down in the Mustang, with the top down, of course, to the restaurant and marina in Tims Ford State Park for a reception on a houseboat and dinner at the restaurant. Endless shrimp and good conversation made the enjoyable evening fly by. The trip seemed shorter again for some reason : -), probably because the top was down, and we got back in time for a good night sleep for our early start tomorrow.

Sunday, September 11, 2011 - Rest Day

At least, it was supposed to be. Spent more time working than doing much of anything else, but did manage to squeeze in two movies we had rented yesterday. Feeling a bit tired, woke up before I got a really good deep sleep in.

Saturday, September 10, 2011 - Travel Day

Headed out to the airport, this time O’Hare, to grab a quick flight to Nashville. Security lines were long, glad we gave ourselves lots of extra time. Had a nice breakfast at a roomy grill between terminals before jumping on an American flight. Didn’t take long before we were on the ground again in Nashville. Picked up our rental car at Alamo, where I uncharacteristically let the guy talk me into an upgrade (from a Toyota Corolla to a cherry red 2012 Ford Mustang convertible... What can I say, he made me the proverbial offer I couldn’t refuse : -), then headed out to do some shopping before getting home. My Mustang and I managed to shave about 20 minutes off the usual trip :-). It was fun, I do have to say that! Settled into a movie we had rented before crashing in bed, exhausted from the recent flurry of activity. Looking forward to a quiet day off tomorrow!

Friday, September 9, 2011 - Work Day

Again spent most of the day working with our client before walking over to a nice little Indian Restaurant for dinner.

Thursday, September 8, 2011 - Work Day

Spent the day working with our client.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011 - Travel Day to Chicago

Woke up before the alarm to the sound of thundering hooves, so I got up to see what the ruckus was all about, and discovered that it was the horses in the rambunctious herd that was making all the noise, kicking up and cantering around, playing and slipping in the mud. Apollo’s herd was off to the other side and seemed much quieter, so I came back in. Too late to go back to bed, so I took care of a few more things on the computer until the alarm went off and Hubby got up. Our hostess arrived about 8:30 to get instructions for feeding the dogs, and we were soon on our way to IHOP for breakfast before our flight to Chicago. Landed safely at Midway after a very pleasant flight on Southwest (lots of legroom, paid an extra $10 to get in the A group, nice landing), grabbed a cab (in Chicago a town car isn’t just $10-15 more, it’s double! More redistribution of wealth, obviously), arrived at the hotel, which had a spectacular view around the entire corner window, did some quick shopping and settled in for the night.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011 - Packing and Settling In Day

Woke up early even without the alarm,worried about the horses getting acquainted with a new herd. Rain had come in about halfway through the night, and was running steady ever since. Everything feeling damp. No activity at the barn so I went back to sleep after doing a little work on the computer. Eventually I went back to bed and slept for another hour or so, then I got dressed to check on things. I noticed the cavallero who was bringing in the horses, feeding them, then letting them out again, was just about done, he’d obviously waited until the rain let up slightly before releasing them. I walked down to the barn, and discovered that Clio and peacefully gone off with the mares, made friends with a big white horse, and was grazing quietly at the far side of the mare pasture. Meanwhile, Apollo had completely missed the fact that a herd had passed him by, he was pacing back and forth along the fenceline between the two pastures, or hanging his head mournfully near the fence, whinnying to Mama, who was, surprisingly, paying no attention to him whatsoever. It was just the opposite of what we thought would happen! We figured it would be Mama who would suffer the most anxiety, but she seemed quite happy to let him run around. I gave him some treats and walked him back up to the herd he was supposed to join. When I started to walk away, he whinnied at me, then was answered by another gelding in the herd, who quickly came over and nuzzled together, along with a third horse that did the same. Apollo then settled down after a few minutes, returning to grazing for awhile. Several times during the day he was back down at the corner though, tyring hard to figure out why Mama wasn’t looking after him. It rained all day, so he was not a happy camper on many different levels, poor baby. What won’t kill us makes us stronger, though, right? They really needed to be separated at some point, and this seems like a fairly kind and gentle way of doing it, if there is a kind and gentle way of separating a mother from her son after 15 years! Anyway, Hubby and I spent the day packing and getting ready for our trip, it promises to be hectic and strenuous, and I’m hoping for a better night sleep tonight in preparation for it. We also disconnected the RV and moved the truck into their out-barn, and spread the bales of hay around so that it would dry while we were gone. Relaxed to a very enjoyable movie, Burlesque, with Cher and Christine Aguilera, lots of fun even though musicals aren’t really our favorite genre, though it’s not a musical in the traditional sense. Who cares if she’s had some work done, Cher looks great for 65! As I was getting ready for bed, I heard Apollo very nearby whinnying. I decided to check on him, so I went out with a flashlight, grabbed some treats and found him right next to the fence where we were parked, wet and shivering, which concerned me, but I saw other horses in the nearby run-in shed so I knew he’d make his way back there. Gave him about a dozen treats before heading off the bed. He seemed happier and a bit quieter after that. He’s such a Mama’s boy, except he has two Mamas to get over once we leave!

Monday, September 5, 2011 - Hay Pickup and Travel Day to Rhode Island

Woke up early to gray and rainy skies, but the radar showed that the rain was all west and north of where we would be picking up hay this morning in Waterville (south of Utica), but by the time we got there the rain was everywhere! We managed to get the pickup loaded with a nice fresh 20 bales at $2.50/bale, but since we couldn’t cover it well while driving, it got wet along the way. We kept hoping for a break as the morning radar had promised, but it didn’t come until we were already in Massachusetts. For about the last hour and a half, it stopped raining long enough to kind of dry the hay out a bit, but the rain was fast catching up to us, so we’d have to cover it again quick once we stopped. Arrived a few minutes late at Jock’s Horse Farm near Cranston, but Angela was waiting for us, and quickly directed us to where we needed to be. We agreed we would leave the horses in stalls in the barn for the night, then mix them with their respective herds in the morning. She has several large pastures, and she keeps one for mares and one for gentle geldings, while another on is reserved for the more rambunctious geldings. We put Apollo and Clio about 5 stalls away from each other, so there was some whinnying going on for a bit, but they could see each other when they stuck their heads out of the stalls, so they eventually quieted down. Should be interesting to see what happens tomorrow when they’re in separate pastures! That’s never happened before! The pastures are next to each other at one corner, so they’ll be able to see each other, and frankly, this is a good opportunity for them to go through at least a mini-weaning (I know, I know, but they’ve never had any reason to be apart before!). We set up the RV outside their out-barn, which was a good quarter mile from the house, so we would both have our privacy while still being accessible and in the midst of things. The concrete was slightly leaning for draining, so we had to prop up one side, particularly since there was a lot of rain in the forecast. The inside of the RV has gotten so wet in the past few weeks that it feels damp and musty inside, we definitely need a good drying and cleaning out! Hopefully we’ll have a chance before we leave on our next trip. Hubby decided not to try to get the satellite dish out since it was getting dark by the time we finished setting up, and we were fading fast due to the long hard drive in the rain, the early morning hour that we got up, the heavy lifting load the truck with hay, etc. One short movie off the PVR and we were ready for bed!

Sunday, September 4, 2011 - Prep Day

Spent the day preparing for our trip tomorrow, driving to Rhode Island so that we can fly out of the conveniently located Providence Airport. Found a horse farm less than 10 miles away, so commuting will be easy, and it’s right next to an undeveloped state park that apparently has hours of trail-riding available in it. Tried to relax for the latter part of the day, as we have a busy week ahead of us. Rained most of the day, which made it harder to get packed up since we had to take stuff out of the van to pack, but otherwise an uneventful day.

Saturday, October 3, 2011 - Work Day

Slept REALLY late this morning, must have been all the exertion yesterday. Hubby got up about 10:00 to see to the horses, and let me sleep till 11:00 before calling me to breakfast. Must have needed it! Spent the rest of the day writing outlines and workbooks for our upcoming seminars, and doing other mundane but essential work. Warm today, and bit more humid, would have been a nice day for a ride, but I suspect the horses would have mutinied if we had tried to take them out today! I think my leg muscles would have done the same! Enjoyed chatting with our RV neighbors before settling in for a movie, then off to bed.

Friday, September 2, 2011 - Ride Day with Lunch at Trailside Again

In the saddle at just about noon, heading down to a trail in the southwest area of the wilderness on our way to Trailside for a meal. Thought we might have made a wrong turn because we started riding through a sort of neighborhood of private property, and stopped to ask someone where we went wrong, but we were actually okay, just on the road instead of the trail, which came out just about 100 yards further ahead. Took the Streamside Trail counterclockwise, which was really a nice trail, and was really busy relatively speaking, we passed at least four groups of riders along the way. Found a shortcut that the folks we had talked with earlier told us about, unmarked and much less used, but it came out just north of the bridge crossing on Erie Canal Trail, so it did cut some time and travel, which was good because we were already running a bit later than we thought. We picked up Blueberry Trail, which was rockier than we like, and it seemed much longer getting to the turnoff for Trailside. We thought there would be another one coming from the northwest, but it wasn’t so, or at least we didn’t find it. Finally got to Trailside about 3:45, where I go the Reuben and Hubby went for the fish fry (the English just can’t help having fish and chips whenever it’s on the menu, even when the chips are sweet potato fries : -). Before we headed out with our leftovers, we booted up the horses. My gelding had been behaving rather tentatively, didn’t know if it was sore feet or just sore muscles from the amount of work he’d been doing lately (a lot of miles after a three week layoff), but we thought boots might help, and it seemed to as we went along. Headed back out to Blueberry trail and decided the shortest route back would be to go the east route, which would quickly turn northwest and head straight back to camp. Once again we had the two creek crossings. I was afraid they might be higher and faster after the storm last weekend, but they were still slow, though perhaps a bit higher. Hubby got one foot wet, just to check the depth (he said), while I once again pulled my feet up a bit. Love these belly high fords! Didn’t bother the horses a bit, though, and I think the boots helped on the rocks. Managed to make it back at about 7:00, later than we had anticipated, but well before dark, though by the time everyone was settled in, dusk had taken a good hold of the place. A fabulous ride though, we really love this place!

Thursday, September 1, 2011 - Work Day

Spent the day working on the computer, doing bookkeeping and finalizing our arrangements for next week, while Hubby did a few chores, like repair the roof of the RV (a limb had torn out one of the luggage rack attachments), among other things.