What happens in Vegas...

...doesn't stay in Vegas, when you were there for a hoof conference! I haven't been to Vegas since fall of 1994, when Mario and I stayed there on our way due west to our new home in Ventura... We had driven all day from Colorado, and I still remember the amazement as I crested a small hill in the pitch dark, not a single car around, and there lying in the desert was a city of lights. It happened to be a Friday night, and Vegas was hoppin'. We stayed in a La Quinta. ;) The next morning after breakfast we went into the MGM lion, which was one of the coolest things around at that time! We gambled - Mario lost about $20 at blackjack, and I made $1.05 in slots. I think the extra 5 cents was a mistake, but it was fun to see my plastic cup filled with nickles!

This time into Vegas I flew in on a Monday, and back out on a Friday, and I didn't do a single Vegas-y thing. But I was ok with that! It just wasn't the focus of the trip, and I wasn't in a that-kind-of-Vegas frame of mind. I stayed with my friend and fellow trimmer, Leslie, off the strip at a swanky (NOT!) place called AZ Charlies. We attended a full day of meetings and conference related stuff the first day, and had dinner at the meeting site that night. The next day we went to the Shiloh horse rescue, where all of us trimmers along with 2 like minded vets took radiographs and trimmed horses and discussed the trims and situations ad naseous. -er - naseum.

The place was amazing, they had tons of interesting (and some very sad) situations to learn from and try to help out. They have huge paddocks of horses, then smaller ones for, say, the blind horses... or very senior citizens, etc., and then they have a variety of donkeys and mini horses which wander the property on a free rein. They have a saying at the rescue that if you adopt a horse from them, you have to take a donkey too. ;) We worked on a foundered pony named Trigger, a severely injured mare named Yep that was found let loose and starving in the desert, a horse with a flexural deformity and a yearling with a different deformity. I personally trimmed a horse with subsolar abscessing on both feet and a pretty amazingly long toe. We also got to radiograph a healthy hooved (and beautiful!!) enormous Friesian. The American Hoof Association (and I) made a donation to the rescue to hopefully help them continue to do their much needed work.

The day after that, we learned the finer points of doing fecal worm analysis. So seriously, those 3 words should really never be used in the same sentence together. Gross!! Also got to put together a Renegade hoof boot from the ground up and did alot of great case study sharing. That night I had a very delicious dinner at the hotel with lots of trimmer friends. I had a super yummy merlot, salmon, amazing potatos au gratin in a little crock, delicious salad, crazy yummy crusty raisin bread with a honey butter, and raspberry cheesecake!! Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I had decided that this was my last hurrah trip before going on a diet. For real. No, seriously!! I have gained 30 lbs over my favorite weight, and 20 lbs of it in the last year. I've had to buy new jeans to work in and new bras because the ta-tas still think I am pregnant. They are *ridiculous*. So anyway, I did indulge quite a bit on the dinner in Vegas, but I did have salad every day for lunch except mustang day.

Mustang day was the highlight of the trip for me! We went to see the Cold Creek mustangs, which are about an hour north of Las Vegas... only 12 miles from Indian Springs, for those of you that know where that is!! (I was so excited to see that sign) We drove straight up to the snow line and then we all hiked around the desert in search of wild mustangs! It was great! I kept wishing Mario was there to share in that experience. He was home holding down the fort - working 2 jobs (trimming and Auto Magic) and taking care of the canines, felines and equines.

The Cold Creek mustangs are friendly overall, not nearly as wild as most mustangs in terms of fear of humans. They will allow you to get very close to them and several even let us pet them -- I even got to give nose-wigglin' whither scritchies to a couple of them! :) But they are truly wild - no one owns them, feeds them or does their feet -- and they have thousands upon thousands of acres to roam! They are the model by which my entire trim style was originally based... a naturally worn hoof, a herd lifestyle, low sugar/high fiber diet. It was great! Didn't want to leave at the end of the day.

Usually returning from AHA conferences fills me with a newfound motivation to trim and for what I do. Interestingly, this time was different. I felt MORE sure of what I do and why, but I felt less motivated to deal with all the BS that comes with it when it comes to - well, the owners. I for the most part have great clients, but there are always difficult and challenging situations coming up. I feel that interacting with my clients, my attempts at sharing what I've learned, answering questions and dealing with vets and trainers who completely oppose my suggestions... that it all challenges me on a really regular basis. My therapist (whom I seriously LOVE!) told me that I care more than the owners sometimes, and that is always going to be hard, and I need to learn to know when to step back. It's effing hard to be honest with ya. But I was also told that I am going through a transitionary phase in my life, and I totally agree, and it feels better just to *say* that. To know it is a phase is something I have struggled with always, I forget that things won't always be this way (or that way) and get a little tunnel visioned. So I am relying on this knowledge of it being a phase to help me work through it as sanely as I can.

So I feel this general dissatisfaction with my life in many areas -- but I know that only I can change that. So I am making those steps. I am raising my trimming prices, and going to be extremely selective about any new clients we take on. I want quality, not quantity. I am one week and a 1/2 a lb into my diet. My 15 year old bike was taken out of mothballs so to speak, and is going in the shop for a tune up tomorrow. I have a friend who lost almost 100 lbs partially by riding her bike - so I want to add that into my routine. I can ride it the 2 miles to the 1-mile park, and then ride it around that 10 or so times, or around the neighborhood. We are still members at the gym, even though all that has meant in the last year was that we probably paid some of their electric bill. So we are planning on going back to the gym also. And of course I am trying to ride more. I had a really fun ride the other day where I trotted Jordan around the trail around the property - I think he liked it as much as I did. I am hoping to find someone to teach me how to pony better, so I can pony Faith alongside sometimes. (ponying is where you ride one horse and lead the other alongside. I am afraid my ponying skills would have all 3 of us tied up like mummies)

Bailey at the vet!

Today is a day off - woot! And I took the pugs to the 1 mile park. About 1/2 mile in, Bailey freaked me right out by peeing bright red blood!! I was on the phone with the vet and in their office within I think 10 minutes! Turns out she has a bladder infection, the poor thing! I feel soooo bad for her, I can't imagine how that must hurt to have been bleeding. :-[ She never even showed any symptoms and was wagging her tail at everyone in the office. She got a shot and some antibiotics for at home, hoping she feels better right away!

In case anyone is wondering, yes, I am still "pregnant". My last beta (when I got back from Vegas) was 386. So much for it falling at the same rate after the mtx shots. The nurse has asked that I come back in on the 13th for another beta. I have zero belief at this point that it will actually be at 0. I guess I am just happy that it is going down at all still. Farking maddening!

For Easter yesterday we went to our friends Stephanie and Nick. They just had their baby boy, Dominick, about a month ago. He was premature and had to spend time in the NICU, but is home and gaining weight and doing well now. We had a delicious dinner (I tried not to eat much of anything during the day to make up for the dinner!!) and champagne punch, and hung out with them and Stephanie's mom, Ann. I got to play with their toddler, Melina, aka The Tornado. ;-) We had a nice relaxing visit, and also got to see the apartment that Ann is renting right across from the beach. Even at night you could feel the airiness and closeness to the ocean.

Guess that's it for my update - there was some rambling but actually there's a lot more of that in my head right now!!