Sore Legs = Stronger Lungs?

So, I decided to do the little local 5k Fox Trot on April 28th. Have officially started training for it. Went online to register and the options were to "walk" or "run". Runners start first - promptly at 8:00. Then the walkers at like 8:05. Now how is that fair? Shouldn't the walkers get to start first? How am I going to feel if I start with the "runners" and I'm trotting along at my 3.0 pace... and the walkers start passing me up? So should I just register as a "walker" and if I jog, so be it? Well I guess the next few weeks will be telling. My legs are already so sore! The quads and hams are killing. I've been doing 30 minutes a day of stretching infused with some yoga/tiachi/ballet moves for a while now. But in the past few days, I've kicked it up a notch, digging deeper, stretching further, going lower...getting sore!

Well, I have to say I owe my newly found enthusiasm to a gentleman named Jerry Cahill. You can check out his story at the Boomer Esiason Website, which is listed on my blogs main page. Just click! You'll be amazed...

Yesterday Blah...Today Fired UP!

OK, so yesterday, I'm just feeling blah.  thought it was because the weather. It was very dark and either rainy/snowy pretty much all day long. I couldn't get motivated to go out or work out. So (stupid me) decided to clean out my boys rooms. I started with my real pack rat, Alec. Every single drawer looked as if a tornado had personally gone in it. The sock/under ware drawer had to be the worst. Probably about 50% of the socks were dirty. Some even paired back together, dirty! Other socks were lonely and had no mates. Some socks appeared to have been viciously attacked by a squirrel or rodent of some type with holes and other snags. Almost as if a horrible experiment has been performed on them. The bottom drawer was broken. That is where he had kept his pants and jeans. There was only one pair of jeans in there, since I was doing laundry at the time. There was some sort of funky liquid all over the bottom of the drawer. Not sure what that was? Next, move to the closet. Let's see, I found his back pack from last years summer camp. Filthy and full of dirty clothes, socks and other items from months ago! I found chap stick near his bed that he apparently experimented with. I was picking chap stick up out of the carpet for a while. I found a pair of iPhone headphones, completely dismantled. No wonder he always looks so tired! He probably doesn't sleep all night ~ just performs experiments on his stuff. The rest of his room goes like more of the same. Little pieces of garbage every where, broken toys, parts, candy wrappers, dirty socks balled up and thrown behind the bed, in the closet and wherever they were "flung" to. The worst part was that he had gone to his grandparents over the weekend and the bag from his stay was in the corner. Dirty clothes still in there, untouched. But here's the killer: He had been home for 2 days and had not yet retrieved his personal items from the bag. So basically he had not brushed his teeth or hair for 2 days!

My grandmother on my paternal side had four boys. Now, I have a better understanding of what she may have gone through raising boys. My little brother was 10 years younger than me, and I have to say I don't remember him being so grossly piggish or destructive!

Regardless of yesterday being such a downer over all the cleaning "chronicles", today I am still a bit "mad".  And, when I'm mad I seem to get very motivated. I got a lot of stuff done around here this morning, despite a scratchy throat. (Probably precipitated by all  the dust and dirt in Alec's room). I went up to Walmart and bought myself a cool mist humidifier for my room. I plan on setting it up as soon as I'm done with my breathing treatment. Then after my workout and after lunch ~ I plan on taking a nice leisurely nap with my new humidifier!
Peace~

Great Workout!

So my workout today was surprisingly difficult. And surprisingly wonderful! So I did my 30 minutes of stretching like I do most every day. Then I went down to walk on the treadmill. One small problem. The TV wasn't working! I usually watch my DVR recordings of The Young and the Restless while walking on the treadmill. If I walk outside, I always have my iphone with all my favorite walking music. But the TV was NOT working. What to do ~ what to do? Should I go up and get my music? No. I'm just gonna start and see what happens with out it. Anyway, I have to say it was totally liberating! I was able to "jog" for part of the walk and really focus on my breathing.

So, I guess my point is to never underestimate yourself. Branch out and try something you haven't yet - or didn't think you could. What is the worst that could happen? You have a brain, right? If it is not comfortable, you stop. But, otherwise, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Hey, this has me thinking I could try to do the 5k Fox Trot after all!

Peace~

Don't Worry Mum

Just got off the phone with my mum a bit ago. She was asking when I was going to have my PICC line pulled. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a peripherally installed catheter that goes from your arm into the main valve near your heart to administer IV medication. I had it put in about 3 weeks ago. Small procedure at the hospital. Anyway, I had a bad cold virus that went right to my lungs, and in about 2 weeks caused a bacterial infection. I was SO sick. Felt like the flu, but not. So now, after almost 3 weeks of two types of IV drugs administered by myself at home, three times a day ~ I am feeling MUCH better. So she continues to tell me how bad she feels that I have to go through all this. Somehow she feels a sense of "guilt" or selfishness for having bore me. The doctors told her there was a 1 in 4 chance that I could have CF. I told her that I don't feel that way. Sure I feel like crap sometimes, but I am doing better now. This is just what I have to deal with. In an odd way, it has made me who I am today! A survivor. Then I told her the story about my friend Sharon's friend. She found out several years ago that she carried the breast cancer DNA gene, after both her sister and mother had lost their breasts to cancer. So when it came her turn to find a lump, she elected to have a double mastectomy as well. Now, years later, she put off her yearly OBGYN exam because of lack of insurance. Once the insurance situation was rectified, she went in for her pap smear, only to find that she had ovarian cancer. Once they did surgery, they found that the cancer had spread to 2 parts of her bowel. The bowel had to be re-sected in those 2 areas. She is looking at a battle ahead, with 6 months of Chemo! So we each have to count our blessings! It could be worse. Of course, it could be better too. But we don't have a choice on what we are dealt in the card game of life. We can only play the hand the best we can. Remembering that IF we bluff, we might win or loose.  Or, we can play it safe. We each have the choice of deciding our style for playing the game.

Me? I play it somewhere in the middle.

Welcome Back!

Hello there! Welcome to (or back to) my newly edited blog site. In an effort to help encourage others, I've decided to get back in the blogging business. HA HA. Well, it's almost the end of another year and time to start thinking about what we can do in the new year. We need to start focusing on taking not just better, but the BEST care of ourselves, so that we can continue to help and care for all the friends and loved ones in our lives. Remember with out "us", they wouldn't be who they are today!

Anyway, here are my top items for 2012:

1) Do something spiritual every day. Read a few chapters in the bible, pray, meditate, help others.

2) Keep moving. Walk, stretch, or do some form of exercise every day for at least 30 minutes.

3) Eat healthy. No more skipping meals. Use the new juicer at least once daily.

4) Restart blog. Ha ha just did that, didn't I?

5) Continue and finish writing my books

6) Get back to my arts and crafts. Oh I miss them...

Ok, well that's my list. What is YOURS??

Get started and feel free to share your list by commenting on this blog. Information from others is knowledge!

Better Stuff To Do With My Time

I've been struggling for some time now, trying to find a good balance between doing what I have to do, and doing what I want to do. I'm sure anyone reading that opening sentence can relate. But sometimes the "want to's" should become "need to's" in order to get on the frickin "to-do" list!

Yes, you NEED to go shopping(every once in a while -or in my case near daily). You NEED to read a book. You NEED to take a nap. You NEED to shower and put on your face. You NEED to go ahead and get that massage or facial or manicure or pedicure, or whatever your indulgence is, once in a while. You NEED to go on a date with your significant other or a girls night out. I think we spend so much time getting done what we "have to" that we forget about ourselves. Just remember, without YOU, none of the other stuff will matter. So, take time for you, EVERYDAY!

Poem to Mary

I wrote this over 20 years ago for a VERY best friend. She just recently found it in her bible.

Here it goes:

YOU'RE A GEM THATS SO RARE

HOW OFTEN DOES ONE FIND

A PERSON SO STRONG, YET SO KIND,

SO LOVING AND GENUINE,

A PERsON WITH FORTITUDE, AMBITION AND DESIRE?

IT'S RARE INDEED TO TRAVEL THROUGH LIFES NARROW PATH;

ENABLED TO CROSS THE PATH OF ANOTHER SO SPECIAL,

WHO COULD BRING ANY ONE PERSON SO MUCH JOY.

I THINK YOU UNDERSTAND, AND FOR THAT YOU ARE A DIAMOND,

MORE PRECIOUS TO ME THAN ANY OTHER GEM, BE IT EMERALDS,

RUBYS OR SAPPHIRES.

FOR IF I SHOULD PASS FROM LIFE TOMORROW, I COULD SAY TODAY:

"YOU ARE A GEM, MY BEST FRIEND, MY CONFIDANT".

OUR FRIENDSHIP IS PURE, AND SO IS RARE,

YOU ARE MY GEM,

MY SPECIAL FRIEND!

Dear Mary: Just want to thank you for enduring our friendship! Thank you for being there for me, understanding my troubles, but not focusing on them. We all have our crosses to bare. You had so much loss, so early in your life. So, for you to be my friend, with always that chance of losing me, makes you a very special person. Most people wouldn't take that risk, but you did. I am forever grateful to have had and continue to have you in my life.

xo, m