Ah the joys of school. I'm so frickin' exhausted and frustrated. The bottom line...I'm done. Technically I'm not done, but mentally I am. As time goes on I find myself frustrated not only with the busy work I must complete but also my profs. This program has been around for several years so it's not like I'm in uncharted territory being in the 4th level....but I sure the heck feel like I am. It just seems like a gaggle at times. I tried to contact one of my professors on the day she was to be in the office only to find that she wasn't in that day. Okay, not that big of a deal, but considering my paperwork said that any questions I had I should contact the school via phone, it put me in a rock in a hard place. I went ahead and contacted her through email....here's what I said and her reply....
"Heidi Henry 1/28/2008 2:35 PM
Hello. I have a question in regards to the EP3 video project. Per the blackboard site I should call with questions but was unable to reach you. The person who answered recommended me to email, so here I am.
My question is about the nervous system examination. How in depth are we to go into the system? For instance, on a normal day to day examination you do not perform a thorough neurological exam, only when signs are elicited for you to do so. Should we be basic with examining ambulation, pain, and coordination and then go into disease conditions (such as herniated disk, etc) and then go into diagnostics (wheelbarrowing, reflexes, etc)? Or are we to talk about the thorough examination? Thank you for your assistance! Heidi Henry
The video assignment is not an every day exam. You are to perform an exam on each system to check for it's complete health. You only have to talk about the three disseases (sic) and diagnostic procedures.
Andrea Cantrell, RVT
Instructional Specialist"
Okay, so not only did I have to contact her via email but it took 2 days to get an email back and I feel her answer is quite vague. In my opinion she's basically saying, "You have to do an entire complete examination of every organ system," meaning when I perform the neurological part of an examination I am to talk about the 5 parts of the examination. In addition, those 5 parts each have about 8 sub parts. And that's just one system. I have to talk about every system of the body. This is crazy and asinine. I am a technician, not a doctor. I do not perform examinations, nor will I ever. By law I am not supposed to or allowed to. Oh yeah, and this is to be done on video with no notes and no breaks. So I already had anxiety about the video, but it's just been taken to another level. In my head I'm trying to break my task into pieces, which tends to give me peace of mind, but it is what it is and it's something that I do not feel confident in completing. I'm can memorize almost anything you give me, but this is asking a bit much. This is the type of thing that you must learn through experience not memorizing.
In addition to this situation I also had to take a quiz the other day. It noted one of my answers as being wrong. With me being a perfectionist I went ahead a retook the test with a new bank of questions (we can take quizzes a total of 2 times). I ended up having the same question that I got wrong originally. Knowing I got it wrong the first time I made sure to choose the next closest answer. It was still wrong! This called for an email.....
"Heidi Henry 1/20/2008 3:00 PM
Hello! I am a student in your EP3 class. I took the Unit 1 Quiz and both attempts I received the question: "The normal range for creatinine levels in the adult feline are:" My first attempt I answered "0.5-1.6 mg/dL" I wasn't clear as to why it was wrong but with my second attempt answered "0.6-2.0 mg/dL" knowing my first answer was incorrect according to the quiz. Just wanted to know what the correct answer is. According to the Mazzaferro text it states that the normal creatinine levels are 0.6-1.4 mg/dl. Thanks!
Heidi, According to the Ford/Mazzaferro text, page 577: Adult Feline Creatine (sic) 0.5-2.3 mg/dL
Andrea Cantrell,
RVT Instructional Specialist"
Her answer is accurate with pg 577 stating that those are the values. However, in a different location in the book it states that either one of my answers is correct. What's the deal? I think I should still get the points! This type of thing always seems to happen and I'm tired of trying to fight for my points.
At this time I just want to finish my schooling. My cumulative grade point is 4.0. What it comes down to is that I have to pass each class with a D or higher and then finish the entire program with a cumulative D average or higher. At this point as long as I pass my classes I'm in the green to graduate. You know me and I'm not going to totally give up on my school work but I must say that I'm leaning to the side of chilling out and getting by with what I need to get by with. The thing is I'm not the only one that feels this way. My boss, who is my preceptor and the owner of the practice feels what I have to do is just as asinine as me. He thinks it's busy work and pointless for me to "learn" half of the stuff they are requiring. For instance, learning 40 breeds of cows. Yeah, I understand the point but given that I am strictly into small animal and never will use the knowledge what's the point? He doesn't even know the breeds himself and he was a former large animal vet for God's sake. His thinking...."If you don't know what breed the cow is, ask the farmer, he'll tell you." How very true. You know what else he said, "Do you know what they call a person that graduates with a D average? A technician." Meaning, it doesn't matter what grades you get...as long as you pass, you pass. Enough venting, I just needed to get it off my chest.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wicked Wind
Ah, a night of having no power again. Why is it that everytime we lose power it's at each of the far extremes in weather? Last summer it was in the middle of the night with smoltering heat. Last night we had a rude awakening at 2am when the temperature is 12 degrees with a wind chill of -11 degrees and the winds a howling. We're not talking a little wind. We're talking wicked wind. The kind that freezes your face off and knocks you off of your feet.
The electric flickered at 12am and we had no issues. Then at 2am there was a loud crack and glowing lights sparking outside our window. We ran to the window and looked out the blinds to find our neighbors tree had split and was lying in the street. At the same time it was pulling on powerlines and with every gust of wind there were sparks and green light. Everytime there were sparks we lost our power. After a minute the powerline must have totally gave way because it stopped sparking and we lost complete power. Unsure what to do we called 911. I know the electric company asks you to call a specific number but come on, are you going to go searching through your file cabinet to find the number at 2am in the pitch dark? Of course we were worried about our power but we wanted to make sure that the live wire would be addressed. After 15 minutes a police officer showed. I can only hope that if it were a more serious incident they'd be there faster. Dunno though. Hopefully I'll never have to find out. The police left and within an hour a crew had arrived. I'm figuring they just assessed the damage and put up barricades because as of this moment we still have downed powerlines, a tree in the middle of the street, and no power. We did get more sleep than expected. Of course I was up mostly thinking through how to get ready in the morning and taking the animals elsewhere with having no power and no heat. Just piecing it all together. Thankfully I don't go into work until noon today. However, I still woke up with David at 6am and am currently with the dogs at the 'rents house. I debated whether to take the cats to work for comfort but as of now they seem content in our 60 degree house. I'll check on them in a bit.
This weather is a far cry from yesterdays. With all of the wicked wind and freezing temperatures the local schools have been cancelled for the day. My only guess is that we're not the only ones without power, with the possibility of other downed trees and powerlines. However, our neighbors less than a block away have power. We must be in a different grid or something. I can only hope that we'll have power by the afternoon. Cross your fingers.
Update: Upon checking back at the house at 9am we still didn't have power and the temperature in the house was down to 56 degrees. When I checked back at 11am we had power and the temperature was slowly increasing. As of this point (8pm) we are finally back up to temperature. Here's a picture of the tree that fell. Really, the picture doesn't do justice as it's too dark and you can't see half of the tree. But given that it was 6am and blistery cold it's the best I could do.
The electric flickered at 12am and we had no issues. Then at 2am there was a loud crack and glowing lights sparking outside our window. We ran to the window and looked out the blinds to find our neighbors tree had split and was lying in the street. At the same time it was pulling on powerlines and with every gust of wind there were sparks and green light. Everytime there were sparks we lost our power. After a minute the powerline must have totally gave way because it stopped sparking and we lost complete power. Unsure what to do we called 911. I know the electric company asks you to call a specific number but come on, are you going to go searching through your file cabinet to find the number at 2am in the pitch dark? Of course we were worried about our power but we wanted to make sure that the live wire would be addressed. After 15 minutes a police officer showed. I can only hope that if it were a more serious incident they'd be there faster. Dunno though. Hopefully I'll never have to find out. The police left and within an hour a crew had arrived. I'm figuring they just assessed the damage and put up barricades because as of this moment we still have downed powerlines, a tree in the middle of the street, and no power. We did get more sleep than expected. Of course I was up mostly thinking through how to get ready in the morning and taking the animals elsewhere with having no power and no heat. Just piecing it all together. Thankfully I don't go into work until noon today. However, I still woke up with David at 6am and am currently with the dogs at the 'rents house. I debated whether to take the cats to work for comfort but as of now they seem content in our 60 degree house. I'll check on them in a bit.
This weather is a far cry from yesterdays. With all of the wicked wind and freezing temperatures the local schools have been cancelled for the day. My only guess is that we're not the only ones without power, with the possibility of other downed trees and powerlines. However, our neighbors less than a block away have power. We must be in a different grid or something. I can only hope that we'll have power by the afternoon. Cross your fingers.
Update: Upon checking back at the house at 9am we still didn't have power and the temperature in the house was down to 56 degrees. When I checked back at 11am we had power and the temperature was slowly increasing. As of this point (8pm) we are finally back up to temperature. Here's a picture of the tree that fell. Really, the picture doesn't do justice as it's too dark and you can't see half of the tree. But given that it was 6am and blistery cold it's the best I could do.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Pure Romance Anyone?
After weeks of my coworkers asking me to host a party, I finally made the time to contact Pure Romance. Looks like I'll be hosting a party at our house on February 15th. In hosting a party, I get "this and that" free, but that's not why I'm doing it. I just want to have some fun and the free stuff is the farthest thing from my mind.
I can see some of your eyes getting big just at the thought of the idea. In all honesty I had my doubts about this type of party, but that was before I attended one. You go in thinking, "What the heck do I need this for?" and think that you'll be embarassed the entire time. But after just a few minutes you find it's a laid back type of atmosphere, which makes for an entertaining night full of laughs. I'm having the same consultant as the previous party I attended awhile back, so it should be just as fun. If anyone's interesting in having a fun-filled evening leave a comment and I'll send some information on to you.
I can see some of your eyes getting big just at the thought of the idea. In all honesty I had my doubts about this type of party, but that was before I attended one. You go in thinking, "What the heck do I need this for?" and think that you'll be embarassed the entire time. But after just a few minutes you find it's a laid back type of atmosphere, which makes for an entertaining night full of laughs. I'm having the same consultant as the previous party I attended awhile back, so it should be just as fun. If anyone's interesting in having a fun-filled evening leave a comment and I'll send some information on to you.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Eight Point Five And Feelin' Fine
Good Sunday evening to you all. Oh where does the time go? If you're not doing one thing, you're doing the other. Right? On Friday night we met up with Jen, Joe, and Emma for dinner. We hadn't really seen or spent time with them in awhile, so it was great to catch up. As with so many other things in life, we get wrapped up into what's around us, whether it's school or just normal things around the house, and sometimes forget to do all of the other things that we enjoy, like hanging out with them.
On Saturday we got most of our running around done in the morning so we could "chill" the rest of the day. That included going to the laundromat with mom so we could wash our comforters. That's the downside of having a king-size bed. It calls for a huge comforter that I can't wash at home. And ya'll know me, I clean and wash things like crazy, especially with the animals. The comforter is just a hassle. We always make the bed (I won't leave the house without it being made) We also use a thinner quilt and leave that on top and tend to just leave the comforter nicely folded at the end of the bed. If we know we're having company and will be showing them around the house we tend to put the comforter fully on the bed. Well, about a month or so ago one of the animals got sick in bed making a mess of the comforter. So needless to say the comforter has been folded in the corner waiting to be taken to the laudromat since then. When mom said that she had to wash theirs at the laundromat I hopped on it and suggested we go together. So mom and I accomplished our goal on Saturday. Thankfully it went fast and we had good company with eachother. However, even with their gigantic washers I felt like I had to push and shove to get the comforter into the washer. I ask myself, is this comforter really worth it?? I want to get rid of it. Of course when I got home David suggested that we actually start to use the comforter, meaning we sleep with it. Ugh. Hey, as long as he agrees to taking it to the laundromat next time. Nothing much else happened the rest of the day. David's Sprint contract is finally finished (yes!) so we ordered him a new phone through Verizon. I will still have Sprint until my contract is finished (June) but we have officially started to make the change from Sprint to Verizon. Thank God. We stayed home Saturday night and watched the movie Miracle, the movie about the US hockey team. It was a good movie that didn't disappoint.
I woke up at a decent time this morning and got some school work out of the way including some quizzes. After that David and I hit the streets for our long run of the week. We weren't sure how long David would last due to the cold and poor circulation in his feet. He last about 3 miles but then had to head home. As for me I continued on and finished at 8.5 miles. Good to go. I also ran without music and was pleasantly surprised at how well I did. Knowing that I won't be able to run the half marathon with music I've been inserting "no music running days" here and there in my schedule. I want to make sure that I'm not dependant or rely on my music to keep me going. Once again, it felt good throughout the run. It's amazing when you pass a certain point and it's as though your body just glides along. I'm not saying I'm a smooth runner by any means but your body shifts into autopilot. It's a cool feeling. I've also broken the hour barrier these past two weeks, meaning I'm out running for over an hour. It's not as bad as I thought it could be. I keep my mind busy by taking in what's around me. There was snow on the ground still today so I ended up running mostly on the side of the streets. I had no major issues. Only the old guy that was mad at me for running in the road and decided to beep at me. Ah well. "That's it man. Beep your horn at me while you're driving to church in your Sunday's best." Ha. No big surprise I guess.
When I got home David notified me that a movie started in 45 minutes. If I hurried we could make it on time. I did so and we ended up making it to the movies just in time. Our movie of choice? 27 Dresses. Yes, my husband took me to a chick flick, again. As I told him, I love him for so many reasons, including that he'll watch/take me to movies. And as stated previously, he truly doesn't mind and ends up actually liking them half the time. In addition, he's also willing to take heat, if any, from guys around him for watching the movies. I'm truly thankful. Back to the movie, it was very good. Cute, funny, feel good. You pretty much knew what was going to happen but that's okay. It's nice to have a happy movie that you don't have to think too much about every once in awhile.
This evening we had my 'rents over for dinner. Nothing special, just figured we'd have some company. So that's about it. Oh yeah. Nothing all that exciting, but I wanted to let you know that I stayed true to my comment on Erika's blog. I setup a "station" in our basement for recyclables. It may need some revamping but we've already started to save our cans and bottles instead of throwing them away....something we should've been doing long ago. Hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend.
On Saturday we got most of our running around done in the morning so we could "chill" the rest of the day. That included going to the laundromat with mom so we could wash our comforters. That's the downside of having a king-size bed. It calls for a huge comforter that I can't wash at home. And ya'll know me, I clean and wash things like crazy, especially with the animals. The comforter is just a hassle. We always make the bed (I won't leave the house without it being made) We also use a thinner quilt and leave that on top and tend to just leave the comforter nicely folded at the end of the bed. If we know we're having company and will be showing them around the house we tend to put the comforter fully on the bed. Well, about a month or so ago one of the animals got sick in bed making a mess of the comforter. So needless to say the comforter has been folded in the corner waiting to be taken to the laudromat since then. When mom said that she had to wash theirs at the laundromat I hopped on it and suggested we go together. So mom and I accomplished our goal on Saturday. Thankfully it went fast and we had good company with eachother. However, even with their gigantic washers I felt like I had to push and shove to get the comforter into the washer. I ask myself, is this comforter really worth it?? I want to get rid of it. Of course when I got home David suggested that we actually start to use the comforter, meaning we sleep with it. Ugh. Hey, as long as he agrees to taking it to the laundromat next time. Nothing much else happened the rest of the day. David's Sprint contract is finally finished (yes!) so we ordered him a new phone through Verizon. I will still have Sprint until my contract is finished (June) but we have officially started to make the change from Sprint to Verizon. Thank God. We stayed home Saturday night and watched the movie Miracle, the movie about the US hockey team. It was a good movie that didn't disappoint.
I woke up at a decent time this morning and got some school work out of the way including some quizzes. After that David and I hit the streets for our long run of the week. We weren't sure how long David would last due to the cold and poor circulation in his feet. He last about 3 miles but then had to head home. As for me I continued on and finished at 8.5 miles. Good to go. I also ran without music and was pleasantly surprised at how well I did. Knowing that I won't be able to run the half marathon with music I've been inserting "no music running days" here and there in my schedule. I want to make sure that I'm not dependant or rely on my music to keep me going. Once again, it felt good throughout the run. It's amazing when you pass a certain point and it's as though your body just glides along. I'm not saying I'm a smooth runner by any means but your body shifts into autopilot. It's a cool feeling. I've also broken the hour barrier these past two weeks, meaning I'm out running for over an hour. It's not as bad as I thought it could be. I keep my mind busy by taking in what's around me. There was snow on the ground still today so I ended up running mostly on the side of the streets. I had no major issues. Only the old guy that was mad at me for running in the road and decided to beep at me. Ah well. "That's it man. Beep your horn at me while you're driving to church in your Sunday's best." Ha. No big surprise I guess.
When I got home David notified me that a movie started in 45 minutes. If I hurried we could make it on time. I did so and we ended up making it to the movies just in time. Our movie of choice? 27 Dresses. Yes, my husband took me to a chick flick, again. As I told him, I love him for so many reasons, including that he'll watch/take me to movies. And as stated previously, he truly doesn't mind and ends up actually liking them half the time. In addition, he's also willing to take heat, if any, from guys around him for watching the movies. I'm truly thankful. Back to the movie, it was very good. Cute, funny, feel good. You pretty much knew what was going to happen but that's okay. It's nice to have a happy movie that you don't have to think too much about every once in awhile.
This evening we had my 'rents over for dinner. Nothing special, just figured we'd have some company. So that's about it. Oh yeah. Nothing all that exciting, but I wanted to let you know that I stayed true to my comment on Erika's blog. I setup a "station" in our basement for recyclables. It may need some revamping but we've already started to save our cans and bottles instead of throwing them away....something we should've been doing long ago. Hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Feel The Burn
I only have but a few moments before it's time to head to bed, but I wanted to post a little something considering it's been a couple days.
As you know I had jury duty on Tuesday. We went through the jury selection process and I was actually one chosen for the jury. People may be surprised, but I was glad to be summoned for jury duty and to actually be chosen to be on the jury. It was something that I had never experienced before and it was something that I thought I'd find interesting and educational at the same time. It definitely was. It was a civil case, which meant although we had to make a decision, it wasn't something so heavy as a criminal case. The actual trial didn't last all that long, as it started yesterday afternoon and finished this morning. We headed into delibartion and I was chosen as the foreperson. Darn notetaker. Nah. In all honesty I didn't mind. I expected the deliberation to be swift and found that it didn't end up being so swift after all. Thankfully we had a great group of people on jury duty. There wasn't anyone that took offense to other's comments and I feel everyone was still free to speak their mind. And although we were making a big decision and had the weight on our shoulders it was still an entertaining experience. Of course this is coming from someone from the "analyzer family." Remember, I love to analyze every bit of information I receive so this kind of stuff I can get into. We delivered our verdict then got to meet with the magistrate and then the judge. Of course we were content in our verdict but at the same time you often feel it's a lose-lose situation, given that you can't necessarily award everything to one person or the other. You tend to meet in the middle somewhere and the parties involved aren't 100% happy. With that being said, after speaking with the magistrate I definitely feel just in the feelings we felt and the decision that was made. This was such a great experience that I do hope to be called for jury duty again. Too bad I only receive a small compensation from the courts and nothing for work. But I guess that's what sick times for, right?
On the running end of things, I took Monday as a rest day while David headed out into the decent weather. Once again I should've been smart enough to look at the weather but didn't. On Tuesday we got snow but I once again bit the bullet, got my kicks on, and headed out. It was my first ever "snow run." I got to have the experience of running into falling snow and having snowflakes stuck to my eyelashes. They kind of hindered my view but that's okay. I just kept telling myself, "I'm playing in the snow." Today's conditions were about the same but the snow had been stepped on more, leaving more icy spots. I try to run in the street when at all possible, but oftentimes this isn't a real good choice since they are major roads. Today my legs were definitely feeling the strain I had put on them yesterday. Even though I didn't run a long distance the snow gave my legs a run for their money. Running on snow is the oddest sensation. I think Erika describes it quite accurately when she says it feels like you're running in quick sand. You're pushing but feel as though you're going no where. It wasn't necessarily slippery given that it was freshly fallen snow on Tuesday. When your feet hit the ground it's solid, but when you go to push off they "slip" almost as though you're paddling with your feet. Your legs start to burn when you're only on your first block. Having said that I think I did pretty well. I didn't land on my face or butt for that matter and I returned home all in one piece. As for my pace, well, I'm not going to go there.
As you know I had jury duty on Tuesday. We went through the jury selection process and I was actually one chosen for the jury. People may be surprised, but I was glad to be summoned for jury duty and to actually be chosen to be on the jury. It was something that I had never experienced before and it was something that I thought I'd find interesting and educational at the same time. It definitely was. It was a civil case, which meant although we had to make a decision, it wasn't something so heavy as a criminal case. The actual trial didn't last all that long, as it started yesterday afternoon and finished this morning. We headed into delibartion and I was chosen as the foreperson. Darn notetaker. Nah. In all honesty I didn't mind. I expected the deliberation to be swift and found that it didn't end up being so swift after all. Thankfully we had a great group of people on jury duty. There wasn't anyone that took offense to other's comments and I feel everyone was still free to speak their mind. And although we were making a big decision and had the weight on our shoulders it was still an entertaining experience. Of course this is coming from someone from the "analyzer family." Remember, I love to analyze every bit of information I receive so this kind of stuff I can get into. We delivered our verdict then got to meet with the magistrate and then the judge. Of course we were content in our verdict but at the same time you often feel it's a lose-lose situation, given that you can't necessarily award everything to one person or the other. You tend to meet in the middle somewhere and the parties involved aren't 100% happy. With that being said, after speaking with the magistrate I definitely feel just in the feelings we felt and the decision that was made. This was such a great experience that I do hope to be called for jury duty again. Too bad I only receive a small compensation from the courts and nothing for work. But I guess that's what sick times for, right?
On the running end of things, I took Monday as a rest day while David headed out into the decent weather. Once again I should've been smart enough to look at the weather but didn't. On Tuesday we got snow but I once again bit the bullet, got my kicks on, and headed out. It was my first ever "snow run." I got to have the experience of running into falling snow and having snowflakes stuck to my eyelashes. They kind of hindered my view but that's okay. I just kept telling myself, "I'm playing in the snow." Today's conditions were about the same but the snow had been stepped on more, leaving more icy spots. I try to run in the street when at all possible, but oftentimes this isn't a real good choice since they are major roads. Today my legs were definitely feeling the strain I had put on them yesterday. Even though I didn't run a long distance the snow gave my legs a run for their money. Running on snow is the oddest sensation. I think Erika describes it quite accurately when she says it feels like you're running in quick sand. You're pushing but feel as though you're going no where. It wasn't necessarily slippery given that it was freshly fallen snow on Tuesday. When your feet hit the ground it's solid, but when you go to push off they "slip" almost as though you're paddling with your feet. Your legs start to burn when you're only on your first block. Having said that I think I did pretty well. I didn't land on my face or butt for that matter and I returned home all in one piece. As for my pace, well, I'm not going to go there.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Tuesday's Thought For The Day
If I said Monday's Thought For The Day was post-poned due to MLK Day, would you believe me? Okay, nevermind. I just forgot.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Suck It Up
The past week I've been dealing with some "guilt". It's the same ol' thing I've been battling. Realistic thought vs. Motivational thought. I've been wanting to get out to run but then it snows or it's freezing out, and I feel like I can't run. At the same time I read other's blogs seeing how they're out there trudging away at training. What's the deal? Am I a sissy or should I be out running? I want to run, that's not the question. We've even visited the idea of joining a gym or the Y, or taking up our neighbors invitation to use their treadmill. At least I'd still be running, which is what I want to do. But the bottom line is that I not only want to run, but I want to run outside too. I go through all of my trains of thought. I ask myself, "Is it safe to be out running?" but don't know what to answer. I see others are doing it, so it should be safe. On the other hand I don't want to be out there killing myself only to find that I am making a fool of myself and I shouldn't be running. Then I try to think on another level. Maybe I'm not out there because it comes down to feeling that I'm not prepared enough minus spikes or that I think I don't have enough warm weather gear or that I don't think I have the knowledge of dressing appropriately. I'm sure I've totally lost you . I think the problem is that I'm thinking. What do you think? Haha. Oh glory, I'm whacked out. The good thing is that although my training schedule has been thrown out the window the past 2 weeks, I'm still increasing my mileage and I still feel great.
Due to all of this thinking David and I haven't run since I last running post, which was Thursday. With the bitter weather coming I contacted our neighbor to take them up on their invitation to use their treadmill. I was unable to get in touch so just threw the idea out the window. Having not run Friday or Saturday I still knew for sure I wouldn't be running in the frigid weather Sunday (today). But for some reason I got a bug in my butt today and wanted to get moving after having 2 days off. I knew I had to meet my goal of 6 miles for my weekend long run. As usual, I went through my process of elimination of how to go about accomplishing it. The Y was out. We still have 2 free passes but they didn't open until 1pm. That wouldn't work. Then I tried our neighbor one last time. Although I waited until after 10am to call I think I perturbed them by calling. In the end they said, "Ok." but I felt as though I was putting them out so decided against that idea. It was settled. I just had to bundle my butt up for the 9 degree temperature and hit the road. I threw on my layers and was ready to go, but had to make a phone call. Once again I was back to my questioning/thinking state and wasn't sure if what I was doing was right. (Why am I going through this stage??) I called Erika, who've I've personally made my mentor, in hopes of getting some reassurance. As expected, she was there with an open mind and a ton of help and inspiration. It was as good as if she was standing right there gently pushing me out the door. I couldn't have asked for anyone better.
Geez! It was cold. I'm a cold-type of person so the cold really gets to me. I had 2 layers on my bottom, 3 on top, a neck gator, a hat, a hood, and 2 pair of gloves. Within a half mile I had hit what I call my "cold wall". I had my fingers pulled out of the finger slots in the gloves and my hands were in fists, inside both sets of gloves. The neck gator was taking some getting used to. It was hard hearing myself breathe and it started to get wet and freeze. Other than that I felt pretty good. Cold, but good. Thankfully the sun was shining but I still had a bit of wind to contend with. It was then that I added my, "Good morning wind, come run with me," talking. I just kept listening to my music and kicking it out. I was determined to meet my goal. By mile 2 I was feeling great and had settled into my pace (which ended up being slow for the day...a trade off that I will accept given the circumstances). My fingers had warmed and I had gotten the neck gator use down to a science. I'd move it up and down as I needed it. And since I was running a loop around my house, by the second loop I knew when I needed to use it and when not to. Although I was determined to meet my 6 mile goal I also had the realistic thought in the back of my mind reminding myself that if I wouldn't be able to finish, due to the cold, then that's the way it would be. However, by mile 4 I was telling myself, "Yep. You're going to make it. It's a done deal. Just finish what you started." And just like that I had completed what I started. Frozen snot on my face and gloves, and all. Not only had I met my goal of just making exactly 6 miles and cut my route short, but I kept it up. I completely finished the route and ended with a total 6.7 miles. That's what I'm talking about! I didn't just meet, I exceeded. Once again, a confidence boosting run. I'm hoping that with this run my thought process will hopefully allow me to get out and run in the frigid single-digit weather easier in the future. Erika was my phone call of choice after my run today. Thank you Erika! As always, you rock.
Due to all of this thinking David and I haven't run since I last running post, which was Thursday. With the bitter weather coming I contacted our neighbor to take them up on their invitation to use their treadmill. I was unable to get in touch so just threw the idea out the window. Having not run Friday or Saturday I still knew for sure I wouldn't be running in the frigid weather Sunday (today). But for some reason I got a bug in my butt today and wanted to get moving after having 2 days off. I knew I had to meet my goal of 6 miles for my weekend long run. As usual, I went through my process of elimination of how to go about accomplishing it. The Y was out. We still have 2 free passes but they didn't open until 1pm. That wouldn't work. Then I tried our neighbor one last time. Although I waited until after 10am to call I think I perturbed them by calling. In the end they said, "Ok." but I felt as though I was putting them out so decided against that idea. It was settled. I just had to bundle my butt up for the 9 degree temperature and hit the road. I threw on my layers and was ready to go, but had to make a phone call. Once again I was back to my questioning/thinking state and wasn't sure if what I was doing was right. (Why am I going through this stage??) I called Erika, who've I've personally made my mentor, in hopes of getting some reassurance. As expected, she was there with an open mind and a ton of help and inspiration. It was as good as if she was standing right there gently pushing me out the door. I couldn't have asked for anyone better.
Geez! It was cold. I'm a cold-type of person so the cold really gets to me. I had 2 layers on my bottom, 3 on top, a neck gator, a hat, a hood, and 2 pair of gloves. Within a half mile I had hit what I call my "cold wall". I had my fingers pulled out of the finger slots in the gloves and my hands were in fists, inside both sets of gloves. The neck gator was taking some getting used to. It was hard hearing myself breathe and it started to get wet and freeze. Other than that I felt pretty good. Cold, but good. Thankfully the sun was shining but I still had a bit of wind to contend with. It was then that I added my, "Good morning wind, come run with me," talking. I just kept listening to my music and kicking it out. I was determined to meet my goal. By mile 2 I was feeling great and had settled into my pace (which ended up being slow for the day...a trade off that I will accept given the circumstances). My fingers had warmed and I had gotten the neck gator use down to a science. I'd move it up and down as I needed it. And since I was running a loop around my house, by the second loop I knew when I needed to use it and when not to. Although I was determined to meet my 6 mile goal I also had the realistic thought in the back of my mind reminding myself that if I wouldn't be able to finish, due to the cold, then that's the way it would be. However, by mile 4 I was telling myself, "Yep. You're going to make it. It's a done deal. Just finish what you started." And just like that I had completed what I started. Frozen snot on my face and gloves, and all. Not only had I met my goal of just making exactly 6 miles and cut my route short, but I kept it up. I completely finished the route and ended with a total 6.7 miles. That's what I'm talking about! I didn't just meet, I exceeded. Once again, a confidence boosting run. I'm hoping that with this run my thought process will hopefully allow me to get out and run in the frigid single-digit weather easier in the future. Erika was my phone call of choice after my run today. Thank you Erika! As always, you rock.
Happy Birthday Boy
David's 26th Birthday was Friday. We did both end up getting off early from work and took advantage of our time together. We headed up to the the Elyria/Crocker Park area and took in a movie. Sweeney Todd was David's movie of choice. We've been wanting to see it and they aren't showing it near here. I pretty much knew why, but after seeing it I can definitely see why they didn't bring it to the area. We definitely enjoyed the movie. However, I think you need to fit into atleast 2 of the following categories.-Appreciate Tim Burton Films
-Appreciate Johnny Depp
-Appreciate Musicals
-Appreciate Gory Movies
Thankfully I fit into 3 of the above categories. As for the gory part. It was pretty darn gory. Not scary mind you, just gory. They don't pan away when Depp was killing his victims. You know, how they oftentimes move to the feet and just show the feet shake. Nah. It was all out there and when they were dropped down they dropped hard. And it kept happening and happening. It also isn't a feel good movie for sure either. We liked it and will watch it again. With all that being said, for those who are interested, watch at your own discretion. We did see a preview for the special Fathom Events' "Spirit Of A Marathon." It gave me chills. At the same time I got bummed because we won't be able to see it. It will only be showing one night, in selected theaters. That one night is 1/24/08...this Thursday. I have to work until 7pm and wouldn't be able to get there in time. However, I do have jury duty selection Tuesday. Maybe I'll get selected and get out at an early enough time on Thursday and would be able to make it. Wishful thinking.
Back to David's day....After the movie we bummed around Crocker Park and then went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. As usual, it didn't dissapoint. Feeling full o' cheesecake we headed home and didn't do much else for the rest of the night.
Saturday wasn't too eventful, but we did meet up with both sets of 'rents to celebrate David's birthday. We went to dinner at Damon's then everyone came to our house and we sung to David and indulged in a Coldstone Creamery cake. It was the Strawberry Passion. Boy, that didn't dissapoint either. David's birthday is usually our mark of "done indulging" every year. It's obviously hard enough to do it through the Holidays and then we have several family birthdays in a row. So by the time his hits, it's our last hurrah and we buckle down even harder than we've been.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
5.17...Woot!
Sorry for the lack of posting this week. Not only has my blog posting been put on the back burner, but I'm also sad to say that my running has too. I dug into my schoolwork on Monday and have only lifted my head out of a book to eat, sleep, and work. Even at work, any "free" moment I have I work on a question or two. Thank God for USB flash drives. Whatever I don't get done there I get done here and vice versa. I've even been waking up at 5:30am before work to try to get an assignment in. So basically what I'm saying is, I wake up do schoolwork, go to work, do schoolwork at work whenever possible, come home and do schoolwork until bedtime. Then the cycle starts the next day. It's not all that bad other than me feeling like anything I want to do has to hold off. And I keep telling myself it will get better. As stated previously, the first couple weeks are the toughest. I work so hard at the beginning of the semester not only to keep up but also work ahead so I keep ahead of the game. It will all be worth it.
Today was crazy at work. What's new?! Doc had some sort of food poisoning so he was having problems at both ends if you know what I mean. Add on top of that 4 surgeries (unlike our normal 3) with one being a 111 pound mature dog spay, dental, and aural hematoma repair (ear pinna fills with blood so you have to drain it and do a specific time consuming procedure on it so that it doesn't fill again) That surgery alone took 3 hours. With him being sick we were thankfully able to reschedule all of our afternoon appointments. Even with rescheduling we were still doing surgeries until 4:30 pm. Yikes. Busy, busy. So busy you don't get lunch....you don't even think about it. With the all surgeries done and no appointments there was nothing to do, so I was surprisingly allowed to go home a bit early tonight. Whew. That was nice. I was hoping to fit a run in.
You know what I said about putting running on the back burner? Well, I made up for it when I got home. I pounded out 5.17 miles by myself. Once again a personal best and I'm quite proud. Not only that I accomplished it but also that I did it by myself and I didn't think I was going to die. On the contrary, I wanted to go farther and made myself stop for fear David might send out the hounds for me. I had only planned to do 3 miles so you can see why he'd might be worried when I didn't come home, and didn't come home......I was so excited about my distance I even called my mom just so I could tell someone. I don't know if I'll make my weekly goal of 10 miles for the diabetic challenge, but atleast I got what I got. Tomorrow is David's birthday and we're planning on heading out of town after work. I get off at noon and we're hoping he'll get off around then too (keep your fingers crossed!) So more than likely there will be no running, although I never rule it out. Then Saturday.....oooh Saturday it looks like it's going to be bitter cold. We're talking a high in the low teens. We shall see what happens.
I better get back to the books. See ya!
Today was crazy at work. What's new?! Doc had some sort of food poisoning so he was having problems at both ends if you know what I mean. Add on top of that 4 surgeries (unlike our normal 3) with one being a 111 pound mature dog spay, dental, and aural hematoma repair (ear pinna fills with blood so you have to drain it and do a specific time consuming procedure on it so that it doesn't fill again) That surgery alone took 3 hours. With him being sick we were thankfully able to reschedule all of our afternoon appointments. Even with rescheduling we were still doing surgeries until 4:30 pm. Yikes. Busy, busy. So busy you don't get lunch....you don't even think about it. With the all surgeries done and no appointments there was nothing to do, so I was surprisingly allowed to go home a bit early tonight. Whew. That was nice. I was hoping to fit a run in.
You know what I said about putting running on the back burner? Well, I made up for it when I got home. I pounded out 5.17 miles by myself. Once again a personal best and I'm quite proud. Not only that I accomplished it but also that I did it by myself and I didn't think I was going to die. On the contrary, I wanted to go farther and made myself stop for fear David might send out the hounds for me. I had only planned to do 3 miles so you can see why he'd might be worried when I didn't come home, and didn't come home......I was so excited about my distance I even called my mom just so I could tell someone. I don't know if I'll make my weekly goal of 10 miles for the diabetic challenge, but atleast I got what I got. Tomorrow is David's birthday and we're planning on heading out of town after work. I get off at noon and we're hoping he'll get off around then too (keep your fingers crossed!) So more than likely there will be no running, although I never rule it out. Then Saturday.....oooh Saturday it looks like it's going to be bitter cold. We're talking a high in the low teens. We shall see what happens.
I better get back to the books. See ya!
Monday, January 14, 2008
....And We're Off!
A day of anxiety. What does that mean? With me it could be a variety of things. But today is my first day of spring semester. Do you hearing me biting my nails in the background? I had hoped they'd post my classes yesterday so I could get a jumpstart. Of course they didn't so I was on guard today. One by one they were finally up on the website (for those who don't know, I'm earning my degree to become a registered veterinary technician through online classes). As I've stated in previous posts, this semester could get interesting considering I'm taking my heaviest class load (4 classes) and entering my final level of classes (yes!) I also work about 50 hours a week as a vet tech. Add those things together, along with all the other things I need and want to do in my personal life, and it can become overwhelming. Every few moments I've been having minor mental freakouts today. But I just keep telling myself, "breathe" After the first week or two I get settled in and the freakouts become less frequent. Just get me through the next two weeks. Heck...get me through the next 12 weeks, then another 12 weeks and I'll be D-O-N-E!
13 Years
I can't believe that it's been 13 years since I broke my leg. It seems like yesterday.
It was Saturday 1/14/95. The day after my dad's birthday. The day after a Friday the 13th. I went skiing with our school's ski club. It was only my second trip skiing and we were at Brandywine. The first trip didn't go all that well and I found myself frustrated. By my second trip I had started to find my confidence in it. Enough to make it to the step above the bunny hill aka Frosty. The hill was named Easy Rider....it still is. It was a warmer day meaning there was a ton of ice. Near the bottom of the hill there was a patch of bumpy ice. Everyone was going over it, including me. It was just after 2pm and was going to be our last run. I headed down the hill, saw the patch of ice, went over the patch of ice as I had done a million times that day, and "whoosh!" there it went. Immediate pain. To this day I'm not sure if I blacked out. If I did I came to very quickly. I found my legs tangled in a mess, I was in an amount of pain that I couldn't even imagine. The type of pain that makes you warm. I remember looking up and seeing a girl on the lift who I didn't know laughing loud at how I had fallen. Little did she know. My rental skis had crossed one over the other. One had released the other did not which torqued my leg and broke it. At that point we didn't know the severity of my accident. After a few moments of my friends trying to get me up and me not being able to. They ran for help. Finally the ski patrol arrived in the snow mobile. I was strapped to a stretcher, placed in a toboggan and taken to the ski patrol hut. I remember watching the sky, feeling the pain, and the smell of the gasoline from the snowmobile.
When we got the the hut they started to examine me, only to find they wouldn't be able to get my pants off. I was in so much pain that if they tugged on my legs I'd scream. The only answer was to cut off my clothes, so that's what they did. There I was, down to nothing on my bottom. I didn't know what was going on but I was attached to oxygen and my sister had arrived after being notified to come off the slopes. Within 1/2 hour I found myself being strapped to a back board and taken to Bedford Heights hospital via ambulance. The ride was horrendous. I had no pain control and they took me on a bumpy road. There was even a sign that said "Bumpy Road" per Andrea. I just wanted to die. Give me something, anything. We arrived at the hospital and I was immediately taken to radiology. I remember the technician being the biggest wench. She was rude and inconsiderate. She tried to place a black block under my leg and I about went through the roof. At that point if you touched even my arm I flipped. She was finally able to place a smaller block under my leg and take a successful shot.
I was taken to a room in the ER. My parents arrived after racing from home. They presented the radiographs. Big as day, my femur was broken in half. It had not only broken but also contracted. They weren't sure what to do. Without a thought my mom said, "Take us where we need to go then. We won't be staying here." They started an IV gave me morphine...finally! and I was shipped to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. Just to let you know. I do not recommend going to Rainbow on a Saturday night. It's one of the most busiest places on the Earth. I laid strapped to that hard backboard for hours. Although I had pain medication I was still in pain. I was hungry and I couldn't move. I couldn't use the restroom. Finally they placed baby diapers under me so I could relieve myself. I remember Dad and Andrea coming into the room. They were trying to be quiet but I could see out of the corner of my eye that they had a candy bar. Snickers! I wanted it badly but couldn't. When my mom had enough of waiting she stormed out of the room and hollered at someone. Come to find out they were trying to comprise a team to perform surgery on me. They were going to place a pin in my leg and place me in traction. That would pull my bones apart, allowing them to heal. By 11:30pm Dad and Andrea left Cleveland and my mom stayed with me. I was finally heading to surgery. They didn't have a surgical suite available so I was to have the surgery performed in the trauma center. I didn't care. Give me more pain medication and get me off of the backboard.
Taking me to surgery was a blur but I do remember while it was being performed my anesthesia became too light. I was asleep but could feel something being screwed into my leg. I couldn't feel pain but could hear it and could feel the pressure. Finally I sat up and remember someone pushing me down. I don't remember anything after that. Later that evening I was awoken by a nurse. My IV had busted open and I had a bloody mess on my hands.
The next day I had a roommate who had been hit my at RTA bus. She was in one piece but her kidneys were bruised. I remember the horrible muscle spasms I experienced those first few days. They'd wake me up from sleep and it was once again the pain I can't describe. Relieving myself was once again impossible. I had to use a bedpan and couldn't lift myself on to it with the amount of pain I was in. Thankfully they found a wedged one that was at least somewhat possible even though it still hurt immensely to be placed on it it.
The hardest thing was having mom and dad would visit for a few hours. Although they'd visit I knew there were drained from having to work all day and the long drive back and forth. That's when we became determined to get me to Firelands. Through some work it was made possible. After 4 days in Cleveland I was finally shipped to Sandusky via ambulance.
My stay in Sandusky wasn't bad. I had my own room, a tutor I loved, people would come to visit, and the pain finally subsided after a week or so. I loved my nurses, hated the food (thank God for spaghettios) and dreaded my nightly pin care. But I made it. One whole month in the hospital. After a month I was taken out of traction and placed in a body cast. I was then able to go home. Able to use a real toilet and be on the computer. Ahh. After a month in the cast I was able to have it removed and start physical therapy. The day it was removed we had hoped to celebrate only to find that my leg was quite painful trying to re-adjust to free movement. Not only that but due to laying for 2 months without having to support myself I had no muscle tone in my back. Making it from the doctor's office to the car was a chore. It was amazing after the first day of physical therapy how much I was able to do. I worked on my exercises religiously. I was determined to get up and moving as fast as I could.
That's my experience in a nutshell. I still have some residual problems such as flexibility and aches but I still think it's amazing what I've been able to do since my injury. I skiied again. I rode horses. I was a cheerleader. I now run. Amazing.
It was Saturday 1/14/95. The day after my dad's birthday. The day after a Friday the 13th. I went skiing with our school's ski club. It was only my second trip skiing and we were at Brandywine. The first trip didn't go all that well and I found myself frustrated. By my second trip I had started to find my confidence in it. Enough to make it to the step above the bunny hill aka Frosty. The hill was named Easy Rider....it still is. It was a warmer day meaning there was a ton of ice. Near the bottom of the hill there was a patch of bumpy ice. Everyone was going over it, including me. It was just after 2pm and was going to be our last run. I headed down the hill, saw the patch of ice, went over the patch of ice as I had done a million times that day, and "whoosh!" there it went. Immediate pain. To this day I'm not sure if I blacked out. If I did I came to very quickly. I found my legs tangled in a mess, I was in an amount of pain that I couldn't even imagine. The type of pain that makes you warm. I remember looking up and seeing a girl on the lift who I didn't know laughing loud at how I had fallen. Little did she know. My rental skis had crossed one over the other. One had released the other did not which torqued my leg and broke it. At that point we didn't know the severity of my accident. After a few moments of my friends trying to get me up and me not being able to. They ran for help. Finally the ski patrol arrived in the snow mobile. I was strapped to a stretcher, placed in a toboggan and taken to the ski patrol hut. I remember watching the sky, feeling the pain, and the smell of the gasoline from the snowmobile.
When we got the the hut they started to examine me, only to find they wouldn't be able to get my pants off. I was in so much pain that if they tugged on my legs I'd scream. The only answer was to cut off my clothes, so that's what they did. There I was, down to nothing on my bottom. I didn't know what was going on but I was attached to oxygen and my sister had arrived after being notified to come off the slopes. Within 1/2 hour I found myself being strapped to a back board and taken to Bedford Heights hospital via ambulance. The ride was horrendous. I had no pain control and they took me on a bumpy road. There was even a sign that said "Bumpy Road" per Andrea. I just wanted to die. Give me something, anything. We arrived at the hospital and I was immediately taken to radiology. I remember the technician being the biggest wench. She was rude and inconsiderate. She tried to place a black block under my leg and I about went through the roof. At that point if you touched even my arm I flipped. She was finally able to place a smaller block under my leg and take a successful shot.
I was taken to a room in the ER. My parents arrived after racing from home. They presented the radiographs. Big as day, my femur was broken in half. It had not only broken but also contracted. They weren't sure what to do. Without a thought my mom said, "Take us where we need to go then. We won't be staying here." They started an IV gave me morphine...finally! and I was shipped to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. Just to let you know. I do not recommend going to Rainbow on a Saturday night. It's one of the most busiest places on the Earth. I laid strapped to that hard backboard for hours. Although I had pain medication I was still in pain. I was hungry and I couldn't move. I couldn't use the restroom. Finally they placed baby diapers under me so I could relieve myself. I remember Dad and Andrea coming into the room. They were trying to be quiet but I could see out of the corner of my eye that they had a candy bar. Snickers! I wanted it badly but couldn't. When my mom had enough of waiting she stormed out of the room and hollered at someone. Come to find out they were trying to comprise a team to perform surgery on me. They were going to place a pin in my leg and place me in traction. That would pull my bones apart, allowing them to heal. By 11:30pm Dad and Andrea left Cleveland and my mom stayed with me. I was finally heading to surgery. They didn't have a surgical suite available so I was to have the surgery performed in the trauma center. I didn't care. Give me more pain medication and get me off of the backboard.
Taking me to surgery was a blur but I do remember while it was being performed my anesthesia became too light. I was asleep but could feel something being screwed into my leg. I couldn't feel pain but could hear it and could feel the pressure. Finally I sat up and remember someone pushing me down. I don't remember anything after that. Later that evening I was awoken by a nurse. My IV had busted open and I had a bloody mess on my hands.
The next day I had a roommate who had been hit my at RTA bus. She was in one piece but her kidneys were bruised. I remember the horrible muscle spasms I experienced those first few days. They'd wake me up from sleep and it was once again the pain I can't describe. Relieving myself was once again impossible. I had to use a bedpan and couldn't lift myself on to it with the amount of pain I was in. Thankfully they found a wedged one that was at least somewhat possible even though it still hurt immensely to be placed on it it.
The hardest thing was having mom and dad would visit for a few hours. Although they'd visit I knew there were drained from having to work all day and the long drive back and forth. That's when we became determined to get me to Firelands. Through some work it was made possible. After 4 days in Cleveland I was finally shipped to Sandusky via ambulance.
My stay in Sandusky wasn't bad. I had my own room, a tutor I loved, people would come to visit, and the pain finally subsided after a week or so. I loved my nurses, hated the food (thank God for spaghettios) and dreaded my nightly pin care. But I made it. One whole month in the hospital. After a month I was taken out of traction and placed in a body cast. I was then able to go home. Able to use a real toilet and be on the computer. Ahh. After a month in the cast I was able to have it removed and start physical therapy. The day it was removed we had hoped to celebrate only to find that my leg was quite painful trying to re-adjust to free movement. Not only that but due to laying for 2 months without having to support myself I had no muscle tone in my back. Making it from the doctor's office to the car was a chore. It was amazing after the first day of physical therapy how much I was able to do. I worked on my exercises religiously. I was determined to get up and moving as fast as I could.
That's my experience in a nutshell. I still have some residual problems such as flexibility and aches but I still think it's amazing what I've been able to do since my injury. I skiied again. I rode horses. I was a cheerleader. I now run. Amazing.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Fun Filled Weekend
What an enjoyable weekend. I've been putting off my post because I think it's going to end up being a long one.
Saturday started with a clean up of the underpasses here in Sandusky. Two of our city commissioners (Dan Kaman and Dave Waddington) go out every few months to try to clean up our city. They are always looking for help and we thought it was as best a time as any to jump in a help. So we woke up and met them at 8am Saturday. We started on Tiffin Ave, then Camp St., Hayes Ave., and Columbus Ave. After that we went down to Pipe Creek to pick up any debris too. It was chilly but nice to get out and about. We got to know 2 of our commissioners better and helped to clean up the city in the process. This is only the beginning. I can see us not only continuing to volunteer with the underpass clean up but also volunteer for other things that need to be done in our city. Next week we'll be down at the Stillwaters Coffee Cafe on Saturday morning. The 1st and 3rd weeks of the month people tend to gather down there for an informal forum to get to know each other in a relaxed setting. Hopefully it will allow us to become more involved and help out the community.
Following the clean up we went out for a short run. Having already been chilled to the bone the run didn't go as well as I had hoped. In addition I went out with the mindset of not wanting to run (because I was already cold)...that's never good. Negative mindsets never bring anything positive in the end. It's alright though. I'm going to look at the positive side of it. I still got my butt outside and went for a run when most people wouldn't have, I met my minimum of 10 miles for the week for the Diabetic Challenge, and next week's another week. And I'm looking forward to it.
The rest of the day we spent driving to Cleveland and meeting up with KD, Erika, and the kids. We had a wonderful time and as always we were in great company. We had never visited them before so we got to see their house, see the area where they live, and the things they like to do. Surprisingly they live in an area which we tend to frequent when going up to the Cleveland area. We didn't know that previously. Erika took us to Second Sole to be fitted for shoes....stay posted on my review of my new shoes, then we went to Coventry Village. We ate at Tommy's (Yummy, Yum Yum! Must do again) and checked out the other shops including Big Fun (which was definitely big fun for sure). I'm definitely looking forward to exploring the area even more in the future. We had no set plans on what we were going to do so we mainly hung out at their place and chatted it up. Such an enjoyable relaxing day. We'll definitely have to do it again. Thank you Erika and KD for your hospitality!
Today wasn't all that exciting of a day. David and I didn't run (shame on us since I should've pushed myself through a 5 miler....Erika you can yell at me now) I really wanted to get out but I'm also remembering that I gotta keep it real too. I ran long on Friday and my follow up run sucked, which could've been for a multitude of reasons....mostly my reason above. I honestly think my body needed rest but on the other hand I also believe I should've run. It's the toughest thing trying to find even ground. You don't want to over do it but at the same time you don't want to be a wimp and you want to drive yourself to your goal. And whenever I don't run I'm my worst critic and I hold it over my head all day long. Ahhhh. Back to what I did today. I made Dad's cake and also made dinner for us and David's 'rents (mom and dad were out of town). Homemade meatballs with homemade spaghetti sauce and good o'l spaghetti. It was pretty good if I must say so myself. We just got back from celebrating Dad's birthday and it's about that time to start gearing up for the week.
Goodnight all!
Saturday started with a clean up of the underpasses here in Sandusky. Two of our city commissioners (Dan Kaman and Dave Waddington) go out every few months to try to clean up our city. They are always looking for help and we thought it was as best a time as any to jump in a help. So we woke up and met them at 8am Saturday. We started on Tiffin Ave, then Camp St., Hayes Ave., and Columbus Ave. After that we went down to Pipe Creek to pick up any debris too. It was chilly but nice to get out and about. We got to know 2 of our commissioners better and helped to clean up the city in the process. This is only the beginning. I can see us not only continuing to volunteer with the underpass clean up but also volunteer for other things that need to be done in our city. Next week we'll be down at the Stillwaters Coffee Cafe on Saturday morning. The 1st and 3rd weeks of the month people tend to gather down there for an informal forum to get to know each other in a relaxed setting. Hopefully it will allow us to become more involved and help out the community.
Following the clean up we went out for a short run. Having already been chilled to the bone the run didn't go as well as I had hoped. In addition I went out with the mindset of not wanting to run (because I was already cold)...that's never good. Negative mindsets never bring anything positive in the end. It's alright though. I'm going to look at the positive side of it. I still got my butt outside and went for a run when most people wouldn't have, I met my minimum of 10 miles for the week for the Diabetic Challenge, and next week's another week. And I'm looking forward to it.
The rest of the day we spent driving to Cleveland and meeting up with KD, Erika, and the kids. We had a wonderful time and as always we were in great company. We had never visited them before so we got to see their house, see the area where they live, and the things they like to do. Surprisingly they live in an area which we tend to frequent when going up to the Cleveland area. We didn't know that previously. Erika took us to Second Sole to be fitted for shoes....stay posted on my review of my new shoes, then we went to Coventry Village. We ate at Tommy's (Yummy, Yum Yum! Must do again) and checked out the other shops including Big Fun (which was definitely big fun for sure). I'm definitely looking forward to exploring the area even more in the future. We had no set plans on what we were going to do so we mainly hung out at their place and chatted it up. Such an enjoyable relaxing day. We'll definitely have to do it again. Thank you Erika and KD for your hospitality!
Today wasn't all that exciting of a day. David and I didn't run (shame on us since I should've pushed myself through a 5 miler....Erika you can yell at me now) I really wanted to get out but I'm also remembering that I gotta keep it real too. I ran long on Friday and my follow up run sucked, which could've been for a multitude of reasons....mostly my reason above. I honestly think my body needed rest but on the other hand I also believe I should've run. It's the toughest thing trying to find even ground. You don't want to over do it but at the same time you don't want to be a wimp and you want to drive yourself to your goal. And whenever I don't run I'm my worst critic and I hold it over my head all day long. Ahhhh. Back to what I did today. I made Dad's cake and also made dinner for us and David's 'rents (mom and dad were out of town). Homemade meatballs with homemade spaghetti sauce and good o'l spaghetti. It was pretty good if I must say so myself. We just got back from celebrating Dad's birthday and it's about that time to start gearing up for the week.
Goodnight all!
Happy Birthday Dad!
Today is my Dad's birthday. They spent the day in Columbus with Ande' and then came home an hour or so ago. Although they weren't home most of the day I wanted to make sure to see him for a little bit on his day. We presented him with his Frog Cookie Jar filled with sugar free candy. Dad absolutely loves frogs so we couldn't pass it up and with him being diabetic we weren't sure what to fill it with. Sugar free chocolate it is! In addition to stopping over their house I made his birthday staple....German Chocolate Cake. I can remember my mom always making it for his birthday so I thought it was my turn to make it for him. We know he has to watch his sugar but I wanted to make sure he got sung to on his birthday and he got a small slice of cake to celebrate his day. The rest will be swiftly taken away to my mom's coworkers....away from Dad...heck, away from us all! If I had some baking skills I would've baked one from scratch that was sugar-free. Needless to say I don't have skills and it had to be a Pillsbury box. I try. Maybe that will be my project for next year. Next up....David's Birthday on Friday.
My Confidence Is Broken.
If you can remember back to July, I had lost Hope. Well, this week my Confidence was broken. Ha. Not my actual confidence but my wristband that said, "Confidence" on it. It had taken the place of my Hope wristband. About a month ago it was scratched at work by a cat, leaving a gouge out of the side. I knew it was vulnerable to tear but I still wore it. I had taken it off to scrub in for surgery (you can't wear jewelry, watches, etc. under your sterile gloves). After the surgery I was attempting to put it back on and "pop!" it tore through. After I had lost Hope I was on a mission to find a new one. I guess the fad is on its way out because I couldn't find them anywhere and when I did they were super cheap. Since I had already lost one I knew I'd more than likely have a few more mishaps, so I purchased atleast 3-4 identical packs. So I have a replacement Confidence, but wonder if I should try out one of the other two in the packs. The other words are Desire and Heart. Which should I choose? Any recommendations?
Friday, January 11, 2008
Insane I Am
Yesterday I didn't get a run in. It was windy, rainy, and dark by the time I got off of work at 7pm. Yuck. I just guaranteed myself that I'd get up this morning and go out, praying that the rain had subsided. Well, the rain subsided but the wind decided to kick it up a notch. 24 mph winds with 31 mph gusts. The kind where I just had to lean into the wind and it holds me up. I tossed in bed this morning as I could hear the winds hitting the windows and changing pressure through the house....we have an older house. Goodness. "Alright Heidi. Just do it. Get out there, welcome the wind to your run and it will all come together." I probably took the longest time ever to get dressed and all geared up. I went outside and a gust caught me. I just told myself that I'd be fine and said, "Good morning wind! Would you like to join me for a run?" And took off. I felt like no matter what direction I was going I was running into the wind. That's what we get for living on one of the Great Lakes I guess. I'd hit a good spot then the wind would gust again, reminding me that it was present. I'd just say, "Come on wind, keep running with me." The gust would end and we were in harmony. Yes, I think I've truly lost it, but it works! Erika brought this up on our run last weekend. I thought this was the best day to try it and I wasn't disappointed. Instead of gritting my teeth and cursing the wind, I just welcomed it and went with it. It felt great. So great that I kept going and completed my planned route twice, making it 4.34 miles on my own. Once again this is a personal best for me....longest mileage by myself. That's awesome and it's even better to upload my Garmin to see how many calories I burned. Sweet. I think I have finally entered into a new "level" of running. No longer am I hitting a wall at 3 miles. At that point my body wants to keep running and settles into autopilot. I have yet to find at what mileage my new wall is. I'm sure I'll find it soon enough but for now I'm going to enjoy my current status.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
GI Bill
You know those military commercials that promise you all that stuff and a bag of chips? In other words they say "they'll offer you the world?" Ah, if people only knew. For instance, "they'll pay for college." Now, each branch is different and it depends on when you enlist, but let me fill you in on David's Marine Corps situation. Please bear with me, as it's been a few years and I may get some of the "facts" wrong, but you'll get the jist of it.
When he enlisted he signed up for the GI Bill. Basically how it works is that YOU pay into in for about a year or two, then after that they start putting money in. It's not like, "Okay, here's your money," and it's handed over. It's kind of like you're putting it in a savings or something, which you can go to later. While you're active duty you can go to school without dipping into your GI Bill. You pay for your classes, they reimburse you, but you must pay for all of your books. David attempted this and it didn't go all that well. Mostly because it was online classes. He's the type that actually needs to walk into a classroom, sit down, and learn. In addition, having me already in school, our finances got knocked off when we had to pay for the books. Books aren't cheap ya know, and I'm a book bargain hunter!
While I've been in school we've continually checked to see if I could use the GI Bill. Nope, only the active duty person that set up the account can use it. I get the point, but this is something that I hope they change in the future. You might as well let someone use it. Now that he's off of active duty we both believe David should use the GI Bill in some way. Of course to further his education, but also it's your money sitting, you better use it. In addition, you only have approximately 10 years to use it. We're at 3 years and counting already. The problem is this....actually there are problems. The monetary monthly amount for the GI Bill covers basically your schooling needs, not your living needs. So it's not like you can stop working and go to school. Of course he could do night classes, but in all honesty I think he'd do best just to go to school full-time. Obviously that's not an option. We require his income to pay bills, etc. Throughout his inactive duty time we've looked into all of our options. We've even looked into the possibility of joining the reserves. They'd pay for school and then we'd hopefully use the GI Bill for living expenses. But then we knocked some sense into ourselves. Go back into the military? Are we crazy?! After the experience(s) he had. Heck nah.
So that leads us to now. We thought that maybe David could take night classes at one of the Adult Night Education places in the area. You know, take trade classes in plumbing, electrical work, etc. More than likely that's the direction his career is going and he likes it, so why not go that route? The past 24 hours we've been looking into option and have found a class for David to take to receive a certification. However, in doing some research, since this is a certification/license the GI Bill will pay for the test you must take (up to $2000 and they'll even pay if you fail) but it will not cover the expenses in earning the certification/license. We're waiting from a call from the Veterans Affairs official. But as of now it sounds like we're at square one. Also, classes you want to use the GI Bill for must be authorized by the VA first, meaning not everything is covered. So with that being said, most anything he's interested in probably won't be covered. And after shelling out $1500 last week for my upcoming semester of school, putting out another $500+ for him won't be an option at this time. It's just so frustrating. I'm "furthering" myself but he can't since we don't have the extra money. After I'm done with school, in August, he could then start. Basically we'd be doing what we do for me, paying everything out of pocket. (My school doesn't rate for financial aid since it's an online course. My only option is to pay it all up front or attempt to take a personal loan.....we put as much money away at each paycheck and pay everything up front. It's real tough) But still, that leaves us with his GI Bill sitting there and he can't use it?! I guess you can't believe everything the military says. But we already learned that long ago.
When he enlisted he signed up for the GI Bill. Basically how it works is that YOU pay into in for about a year or two, then after that they start putting money in. It's not like, "Okay, here's your money," and it's handed over. It's kind of like you're putting it in a savings or something, which you can go to later. While you're active duty you can go to school without dipping into your GI Bill. You pay for your classes, they reimburse you, but you must pay for all of your books. David attempted this and it didn't go all that well. Mostly because it was online classes. He's the type that actually needs to walk into a classroom, sit down, and learn. In addition, having me already in school, our finances got knocked off when we had to pay for the books. Books aren't cheap ya know, and I'm a book bargain hunter!
While I've been in school we've continually checked to see if I could use the GI Bill. Nope, only the active duty person that set up the account can use it. I get the point, but this is something that I hope they change in the future. You might as well let someone use it. Now that he's off of active duty we both believe David should use the GI Bill in some way. Of course to further his education, but also it's your money sitting, you better use it. In addition, you only have approximately 10 years to use it. We're at 3 years and counting already. The problem is this....actually there are problems. The monetary monthly amount for the GI Bill covers basically your schooling needs, not your living needs. So it's not like you can stop working and go to school. Of course he could do night classes, but in all honesty I think he'd do best just to go to school full-time. Obviously that's not an option. We require his income to pay bills, etc. Throughout his inactive duty time we've looked into all of our options. We've even looked into the possibility of joining the reserves. They'd pay for school and then we'd hopefully use the GI Bill for living expenses. But then we knocked some sense into ourselves. Go back into the military? Are we crazy?! After the experience(s) he had. Heck nah.
So that leads us to now. We thought that maybe David could take night classes at one of the Adult Night Education places in the area. You know, take trade classes in plumbing, electrical work, etc. More than likely that's the direction his career is going and he likes it, so why not go that route? The past 24 hours we've been looking into option and have found a class for David to take to receive a certification. However, in doing some research, since this is a certification/license the GI Bill will pay for the test you must take (up to $2000 and they'll even pay if you fail) but it will not cover the expenses in earning the certification/license. We're waiting from a call from the Veterans Affairs official. But as of now it sounds like we're at square one. Also, classes you want to use the GI Bill for must be authorized by the VA first, meaning not everything is covered. So with that being said, most anything he's interested in probably won't be covered. And after shelling out $1500 last week for my upcoming semester of school, putting out another $500+ for him won't be an option at this time. It's just so frustrating. I'm "furthering" myself but he can't since we don't have the extra money. After I'm done with school, in August, he could then start. Basically we'd be doing what we do for me, paying everything out of pocket. (My school doesn't rate for financial aid since it's an online course. My only option is to pay it all up front or attempt to take a personal loan.....we put as much money away at each paycheck and pay everything up front. It's real tough) But still, that leaves us with his GI Bill sitting there and he can't use it?! I guess you can't believe everything the military says. But we already learned that long ago.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Diabetic Runner Challenge
After Erika's most recent post, I have decided to join her in the Diabetic Runner Challenge. I'm sure there are people out there that are saying, "Are you trying to be Erika? You're doing everything she does." No, I'm not trying to be Erika and I never want to be a copy cat, but you can't deny that she's an inspiring person with great ideas. So Erika, I apologize if I come across as a copy cat, it's not my intention.
The challenge is to either run 1000 or 500 miles in one year. I entered the 500 mile challenge, meaning I have challenged myself to complete 500 miles in the year of 2008. As the site states, as long as I keep to a 10 miles/week I'll make it. I encourage anyone out there to take on the challenge too. You don't have to be diabetic. It's all about challenging yourself and raising awareness of diabetes and World Diabetes Day. Be sure to keep an eye of my mileage that I'll update on a daily basis. 15.42 miles down...only 484.58 miles to go!
The challenge is to either run 1000 or 500 miles in one year. I entered the 500 mile challenge, meaning I have challenged myself to complete 500 miles in the year of 2008. As the site states, as long as I keep to a 10 miles/week I'll make it. I encourage anyone out there to take on the challenge too. You don't have to be diabetic. It's all about challenging yourself and raising awareness of diabetes and World Diabetes Day. Be sure to keep an eye of my mileage that I'll update on a daily basis. 15.42 miles down...only 484.58 miles to go!
Canceled
I was all set to go to jury duty yesterday. Getting everything done at work, preparing for the possibility of being gone for a day or so. Then I received a phone call 1/2 hour before I was to leave. "I'm sorry, there has been a change in the case and we must contact all jurors to let them know that we do not need you to come in today. Please continue checking as directed throughout your term." Man! I had finally gotten to the point where I actually wanted to go through the experience. You know, see what it's like. Then it was taken away from me. Ah well. I probably shouldn't complain since I got to stay at work and make some money. And I still have time left for something else to come up during my term.
It lookes like our winter weather has arrived again. It's not frigid cold but we're back into the 40's today and it should continue to drop over the next few days. No longer do we have high 50's and 60's. It was nice while it lasted. I had hoped run yesterday after work, but it was wicked outside. Rain and some hardcore wind. Enough to knock you off of your feet. I didn't want to end up in the land of Oz so it ended up being an off day. So much for being able to take advantage of the warmer weather. At least I got 2 good weather runs in. That's better than none.
The start of my classes is right around the corner and I'm chomping at the bit. I check everyday to see if anything's posted. I know nothing will be posted until the day before or the actual day, but I still look. Having anxiety about starting classes is nothing new, but with adding a 4th class to the mix heightens my anxiety. Technically it should be one of my hardest semesters to date since I'll be entering my final level and having my heaviest class load. Only time will tell.
It lookes like our winter weather has arrived again. It's not frigid cold but we're back into the 40's today and it should continue to drop over the next few days. No longer do we have high 50's and 60's. It was nice while it lasted. I had hoped run yesterday after work, but it was wicked outside. Rain and some hardcore wind. Enough to knock you off of your feet. I didn't want to end up in the land of Oz so it ended up being an off day. So much for being able to take advantage of the warmer weather. At least I got 2 good weather runs in. That's better than none.
The start of my classes is right around the corner and I'm chomping at the bit. I check everyday to see if anything's posted. I know nothing will be posted until the day before or the actual day, but I still look. Having anxiety about starting classes is nothing new, but with adding a 4th class to the mix heightens my anxiety. Technically it should be one of my hardest semesters to date since I'll be entering my final level and having my heaviest class load. Only time will tell.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Running In Shorts
I guess I didn't live up to my previous post when I said that we'd get up Monday morning and run. We both had been tossing and turning all night (due to warmth for me....anxiety with the big game for David) so when the alarm went off it was close to impossible to wake up. My legs we still kind of sore from Sunday too. Then when we did get up I was kicking myself for not getting my lazy butt up. Thankfully, I got out of work early due to our schedule being empty. I went home and immediately went out for a run in 65 degree weather. Yeah, in shorts, sasquatch legs and all. Forgive me for not shaving my legs in a month...when you go outside it all grows back almost immediately when it's cold out. It was dark out, no one could see. Back to the run....Ooh, the wind was harsh. So harsh I wanted to stop, but I kept pushing and it felt great.
I'm still having the nagging right hip pain. I just attributed it to being my "bad" leg. But after discussing it with Erika she thought it may be my Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITB Band) and told me I better nip it in the bud now. The ITB is a superficial thickening of tissue on the outside of the thigh, extending from the outside of the pelvis, over the hip and knee, and inserting just below the knee. After doing some research on my symptoms I believe she's right on. One of the causes of injury is running on banked surfaces. When my problem originally reared it's ugly head (this time) it was after we had run on the street a few weeks back (after the bad snow where we had to wait almost a week, then when we did go out we had to run on the side of the road). So I'm working on stretching it and Sita worked on me last night. She also observed that I look to be out of alignment which could also be a problem. I dunno. I'm working on it but the nagging pain sucks. Even though I attribute this to running I think the running only flared the problem that was already present. As time moves on I find that I'm less and less able to do things with my bad leg. In evaluating my mobility I'd say I have 1/4-1/3 the flexibility of my left leg. Now, my left leg is quite flexible mind you, but I'd still like to have more flexibility in my right leg. I definitely over compensate for the leg too. If you look at the treads of my old running shoes the left shoe is bald compared to my right having little wear. As of now I'll continue to do my stretches and hope that the pain goes away as it has done in the past.
I'm still having the nagging right hip pain. I just attributed it to being my "bad" leg. But after discussing it with Erika she thought it may be my Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITB Band) and told me I better nip it in the bud now. The ITB is a superficial thickening of tissue on the outside of the thigh, extending from the outside of the pelvis, over the hip and knee, and inserting just below the knee. After doing some research on my symptoms I believe she's right on. One of the causes of injury is running on banked surfaces. When my problem originally reared it's ugly head (this time) it was after we had run on the street a few weeks back (after the bad snow where we had to wait almost a week, then when we did go out we had to run on the side of the road). So I'm working on stretching it and Sita worked on me last night. She also observed that I look to be out of alignment which could also be a problem. I dunno. I'm working on it but the nagging pain sucks. Even though I attribute this to running I think the running only flared the problem that was already present. As time moves on I find that I'm less and less able to do things with my bad leg. In evaluating my mobility I'd say I have 1/4-1/3 the flexibility of my left leg. Now, my left leg is quite flexible mind you, but I'd still like to have more flexibility in my right leg. I definitely over compensate for the leg too. If you look at the treads of my old running shoes the left shoe is bald compared to my right having little wear. As of now I'll continue to do my stretches and hope that the pain goes away as it has done in the past.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Are We Really In Ohio?
Hello heat wave! Or should I say global warming? Whatever you want to choose, we've had an increase in temperature around our parts the past couple days. Mid 50's in January? That's crazy. I won't complain all that much though since it's much easier to get out and moving when it's so mild. The wind can kick your butt, but that's the only trade-off. We're digging it so much that we're going to run tomorrow morning (remember Monday's are off days) just to get in another run with decent weather.
Erika was so gracious to offer to meet up with us while she was in town, so this morning we drove to her 'rents and set off on a run. We did a down and back route to downtown that wound up being 4.65 miles. That makes it my second longest run (4.91 being the longest measured without the Garmin) and the longest run ever without stopping. You talk about a confidence boost! The weather was perfect and it felt great, even though we had the wind at our backs toward downtown and then had to run into the wind on our way back. (the opposite of what you hope for) I was thankful that Erika put up with my slow pace when she could've taken off on her own. She gave a ton of advice and kept my mind moving with general conversation. I'm definitely looking forward to when she's in town next, so we can hopefully catch up with her for another run. We'll also have to plan a few trips up to the Cleveland area to have a change of scenery.
We had a pretty low key weekend. Saturday night was spent over our friends from up the street. We had a great meal, played some Cranium, and had great conversation. The rest of the weekend was normal to-do things around the house. Now we're gearing up for the big game tomorrow night. Go Buckeyes!
Erika was so gracious to offer to meet up with us while she was in town, so this morning we drove to her 'rents and set off on a run. We did a down and back route to downtown that wound up being 4.65 miles. That makes it my second longest run (4.91 being the longest measured without the Garmin) and the longest run ever without stopping. You talk about a confidence boost! The weather was perfect and it felt great, even though we had the wind at our backs toward downtown and then had to run into the wind on our way back. (the opposite of what you hope for) I was thankful that Erika put up with my slow pace when she could've taken off on her own. She gave a ton of advice and kept my mind moving with general conversation. I'm definitely looking forward to when she's in town next, so we can hopefully catch up with her for another run. We'll also have to plan a few trips up to the Cleveland area to have a change of scenery.
We had a pretty low key weekend. Saturday night was spent over our friends from up the street. We had a great meal, played some Cranium, and had great conversation. The rest of the weekend was normal to-do things around the house. Now we're gearing up for the big game tomorrow night. Go Buckeyes!
Vintage Roth Holiday Cards
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Summoned
Upon coming home from vacation I worked my way through our mail that was mostly junk mail. Then I came across an official looking letter. You never know if it's just junk or the real deal. I opened it thankfully (or not so thankfully?) and found that it was a summons for jury duty. That's not what I wanted to come home to following a horrid vacation. Ah well, at least they gave me a month's notice to notify my employer. My term of service begins on Monday and I was asked to call the Friday before my term and each Friday thereafter until my term ends (1/25/08). I called this morning and found out that I must be present this Tuesday at 12:30pm. This should go over very well at work considering we already have 3 surgeries scheduled for the day plus any afternoon appointments. (Hey, I gave them fair warning) With my fellow co-worker, who I've trained, becoming pregnant, I've had to started training a new co-worker to assist me. She's catching on very fast, but it still means that when I go to jury duty it leaves them with an unexperienced assistant to help Doc with surgeries and appointments. Oy. Something that they'll deal with but not sure how smoothly it will go. I can only do so much and worrying about it won't help the situation. We'll just have to see what happens.
David and I went on a small "adventure" last night. We ended up driving to Elyria for the night. Poor Elyria. I remember when it was the "happening place." Now you go there and the majority of the restaurants have closed and the mall, well it's just not as good as it used to be. We still went just to get out of here and ate at Texas Roadhouse, a fav of ours ever since New Orleans. But this time it was different. Different in a good way. No longer did we get two baskets of rolls and shove our faces with food only to become overfilled. David and I no longer get our own meals. For the past month we've been sharing every meal we get while eating out. Originally it started in Hawaii due to trying to save money. Unexpectedly, it's worked out while on mainland too. We realized we didn't need to be eating as much food as we were. We're eating less and spending about 1/2 the amount we were before. It's amazing to walk out of a restaurant and only spend around $10 with tip. Even better, not to feel like you're bloated like a balloon from eating too much.
After that we stopped by Dick's Sporting Goods and found they still had some cold gear that was on sale. David stocked up with 2 tops and 2 pairs of tights. Yes, my hubby's going to be wearing compression tights. Teehee. Of course he'll wear shorts over them unlike me. He's still running in shorts right now. Gah! It's cold. Hopefully they will keep him warm without obstructing his mobility. He said, "Now I'll look like T.O.....just not my upper body." Bless his heart. David's still busting his butt everyday. Watching what he's eating, running, crunches, situps, leg lifts, the invisible chair sit, lifting weights. You name it, he does it. I'm working hard too, but he kicks my butt. I swear anytime I turn around he says, "I'm going upstairs to...." and it's some sort of workout. He's made tremendous progress....of course in his mind it's never enough. But I am so very proud of him.
It's about that time to head to work. It's my one Saturday a month to work. I hope to get a run in today after work then I'm not sure what the afternoon will hold. This evening we're going to our neighbors for our first ever vegetarian meal and to play some Cranium. Sounds like it will be an interesting night.
David and I went on a small "adventure" last night. We ended up driving to Elyria for the night. Poor Elyria. I remember when it was the "happening place." Now you go there and the majority of the restaurants have closed and the mall, well it's just not as good as it used to be. We still went just to get out of here and ate at Texas Roadhouse, a fav of ours ever since New Orleans. But this time it was different. Different in a good way. No longer did we get two baskets of rolls and shove our faces with food only to become overfilled. David and I no longer get our own meals. For the past month we've been sharing every meal we get while eating out. Originally it started in Hawaii due to trying to save money. Unexpectedly, it's worked out while on mainland too. We realized we didn't need to be eating as much food as we were. We're eating less and spending about 1/2 the amount we were before. It's amazing to walk out of a restaurant and only spend around $10 with tip. Even better, not to feel like you're bloated like a balloon from eating too much.
After that we stopped by Dick's Sporting Goods and found they still had some cold gear that was on sale. David stocked up with 2 tops and 2 pairs of tights. Yes, my hubby's going to be wearing compression tights. Teehee. Of course he'll wear shorts over them unlike me. He's still running in shorts right now. Gah! It's cold. Hopefully they will keep him warm without obstructing his mobility. He said, "Now I'll look like T.O.....just not my upper body." Bless his heart. David's still busting his butt everyday. Watching what he's eating, running, crunches, situps, leg lifts, the invisible chair sit, lifting weights. You name it, he does it. I'm working hard too, but he kicks my butt. I swear anytime I turn around he says, "I'm going upstairs to...." and it's some sort of workout. He's made tremendous progress....of course in his mind it's never enough. But I am so very proud of him.
It's about that time to head to work. It's my one Saturday a month to work. I hope to get a run in today after work then I'm not sure what the afternoon will hold. This evening we're going to our neighbors for our first ever vegetarian meal and to play some Cranium. Sounds like it will be an interesting night.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Black or Blue?
I had the realization today that I have a prejudice. Prejudice in the most stupid way. The ink color of a pen. What the?? Yeah, crazy. Let me explain.
I don't ever remember having a preference of ink color in high school. Heck, I preferred pencil. Even to this day I prefer a pencil. Too bad pencil writing isn't legal in my line of work. Of course writing with a pencil calls for the use of the mechanical kind or an automatic sharpener available at all times, so that I have the sharpest point possible.
Back to ink color....I'm a pen guru. I absolutely love pens. Once again, I have no reason why I love pens. I just do. Don't even let me step foot in a Staples. It can be dangerous. As I write I have a bag full o' pens waiting to be used. I used to get any kind as long as they were pretty and wrote well. However, as time went on I found myself writing more and more with only black ink. I don't know why. Maybe I had the unconscious notion that black was more professional. Or maybe it was because my classes required black ink. The funny thing is that black ink isn't "legal", whereas blue is. Any government or important form we fill out must be done in blue, as to prove it's not a copy. So why do they push black ink onto you while in school?
My job in New Orleans didn't require any specific color as long as it was either blue or black. Now when I moved to Michigan we were ONLY allowed to use black. I think that's what set my unknown predjudice in stone. At my current location we are allowed to use blue or black, but most everyone's preference is blue. For instance, they only purchase blue pens for us to use in the clinic. I didn't think it was that big of a deal as I just provide my own. I usually have several pens in my purse but for some reason I had misplaced them all. I went searching for a black pen while at work and had no luck. I dealt with it but had the realization I hate writing with blue ink. It got to the point where I wanted to pull the clinic apart trying to find a black ink pen or didn't want to write at all. Why? No specific reason. I wish I could pinpoint the reason. One more reason for me to feel like a weirdo. The thing is I've never had to deal with this problem before. I don't technically have a "problem" with writing with blue ink. I do it all the time, but it's a small jot here and there. I always go back to using a black pen for long-term usage. Having to use blue ink the entire day threw me for a loop.
What's even funnier is that I didn't really notice my "issue" until the office manager came around asking if we needed any office supplies. When I hollered "Black pens!" she said, "Oh no. You're one of those." Yep, I guess I am. She then went on to say, "Heidi, you're too young to be avoiding change." She's right. In the end she was willing to order black pens but I chose to continue bringing in my own pens. Yep, I may be avoiding change, but it's one less anxiety to deal with. Darn OCD.
As for gel versus ballpoint...that's a whole other debate......
I don't ever remember having a preference of ink color in high school. Heck, I preferred pencil. Even to this day I prefer a pencil. Too bad pencil writing isn't legal in my line of work. Of course writing with a pencil calls for the use of the mechanical kind or an automatic sharpener available at all times, so that I have the sharpest point possible.
Back to ink color....I'm a pen guru. I absolutely love pens. Once again, I have no reason why I love pens. I just do. Don't even let me step foot in a Staples. It can be dangerous. As I write I have a bag full o' pens waiting to be used. I used to get any kind as long as they were pretty and wrote well. However, as time went on I found myself writing more and more with only black ink. I don't know why. Maybe I had the unconscious notion that black was more professional. Or maybe it was because my classes required black ink. The funny thing is that black ink isn't "legal", whereas blue is. Any government or important form we fill out must be done in blue, as to prove it's not a copy. So why do they push black ink onto you while in school?
My job in New Orleans didn't require any specific color as long as it was either blue or black. Now when I moved to Michigan we were ONLY allowed to use black. I think that's what set my unknown predjudice in stone. At my current location we are allowed to use blue or black, but most everyone's preference is blue. For instance, they only purchase blue pens for us to use in the clinic. I didn't think it was that big of a deal as I just provide my own. I usually have several pens in my purse but for some reason I had misplaced them all. I went searching for a black pen while at work and had no luck. I dealt with it but had the realization I hate writing with blue ink. It got to the point where I wanted to pull the clinic apart trying to find a black ink pen or didn't want to write at all. Why? No specific reason. I wish I could pinpoint the reason. One more reason for me to feel like a weirdo. The thing is I've never had to deal with this problem before. I don't technically have a "problem" with writing with blue ink. I do it all the time, but it's a small jot here and there. I always go back to using a black pen for long-term usage. Having to use blue ink the entire day threw me for a loop.
What's even funnier is that I didn't really notice my "issue" until the office manager came around asking if we needed any office supplies. When I hollered "Black pens!" she said, "Oh no. You're one of those." Yep, I guess I am. She then went on to say, "Heidi, you're too young to be avoiding change." She's right. In the end she was willing to order black pens but I chose to continue bringing in my own pens. Yep, I may be avoiding change, but it's one less anxiety to deal with. Darn OCD.
As for gel versus ballpoint...that's a whole other debate......
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Let The Training Commence
Alright guys. I called my school the other day and they said I should be good to go to enter the half marathon. It shouldn't conflict with my trip to Texas. I came home tonight and registered David and myself. It's official. We will be running the Rite-Aid Cleveland Half Marathon on May 18, 2008. Yes, that's 135 days away. And yes, that's 13.1 miles we'll be running. I'm pumped! I'm looking forward to the challenge and the overall experience of training and participating. Now, if the weather would cooperate. We had snow/ice on Sunday and then the temperature dropped, meaning we still have a slick running surface. With that being said, pilates has been my workout of choice for the past 2 days. Thankfully we ran on Monday (which is usually an "off" day). According to weather reports it should start to warm up meaning we'll have more favorable conditions to get outside and get moving.I've also been incorporating the dogs into a "workout plan". After each run I've been taking them for a short walk. It makes for a nice cool down for me, it gets them out and gets them some exercise, which will hopefully expedite Lily's weightloss. We're not going very far...down to the corner and back, but we'll slowly increase, making sure Lily can handle it with her knee and all. They absolutely love it.
Well, as Erika wrote to me, "Let the training commence!"
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
How Do You Spend New Year's Eve?
Hello and Welcome To A New Year! It's amazing to think it's 2008. I got to get used to writing the date, which usually takes a few days. So what did everyone do to bring in the new year? As for us, we did the same ol' same ol'. We're not really the type to go out in general, so bringing in the new year was no different. After our afternoon run (Which was rougher than expected. Darn Olive Garden soup and salad....should have waited a little longer to run) we went out to Danny Boys with the 'rents, then headed to their house with the kids. Mom made her yummy stuffed mushrooms, we drank some sparkling grape juice, and watched Shrek The Third. By 11pm David and I were exhausted. (We had woken up early that morning and had to work.) So we went home, went right up to bed, and fell asleep. No ball drop, no nothing. We were out. We were awoken by fireworks and the dogs going nuts for a few moments, but that was it. I rolled over and went back to sleep. Quite adventurous, eh?
Going to bed before the ball drop is nothing new. Back when I was younger I remember my mom would video tape it, and I'd watch it when I woke up. I just have a hard time staying up. I'm definitely a morning person, not a night owl. You add, attempting to keep yourself awake, and it makes it that much harder. I'm also a type of person that likes to reflect on the year's events. I know, kind of weird, but I can remember being that way ever since I was in the 6th grade...the year I broke my leg. It was a tough year with one thing after another. It was almost as though a cloud loomed over my family. At the end of the year I remember wanting to say "Good riddance!" but at the same time knew that although it was a tough year, times like that form you into who you are and who you become. It was a flooding of emotion. So with that being said, I like to see it as just another day, reflect a bit, and then move on.
This morning we slept in too late...10am. I hope we can sleep this evening. When we woke up we headed out for our morning run. Upon leaving the house David and I gave eachother the look of "What the heck are we doing?" It was 35 degrees (not too bad) but the wind and snow were blowing about. I knew it'd be the kind of run where you just put your head down and push through. It was tough and we ended up doing one of our shorter routes. We kept a good pace and I'm glad we went out even though the elements weren't very favorable. We may not be able to make it out tomorrow due to the snow we're supposed to get today/tonight. We'll keep our fingers crossed.
After that mom made us homemade pancakes on her new griddle. Yum! I haven't had pancakes, let alone homemade pancakes, in awhile. They were the best. We spent some time over there for a bit, and now we're chilling at home. David's channel surfing through football and I'm going to continue reading my "Marathon Woman" book (by the way, I LOVE it!) Later on we're having all the 'rents over and Sita's making some dishes to celebrate the coming of the new year.
So what are everyone's resolutions? I've never been big on making a new year's resolution. In all honesty I don't think I've ever made one. If I have, I have forgotten. I think my boss has it right. When I said, "I don't think I'll make a New Year's resolution." He just looked at me and said, "Heidi, your whole life is a resolution." Very true.
Going to bed before the ball drop is nothing new. Back when I was younger I remember my mom would video tape it, and I'd watch it when I woke up. I just have a hard time staying up. I'm definitely a morning person, not a night owl. You add, attempting to keep yourself awake, and it makes it that much harder. I'm also a type of person that likes to reflect on the year's events. I know, kind of weird, but I can remember being that way ever since I was in the 6th grade...the year I broke my leg. It was a tough year with one thing after another. It was almost as though a cloud loomed over my family. At the end of the year I remember wanting to say "Good riddance!" but at the same time knew that although it was a tough year, times like that form you into who you are and who you become. It was a flooding of emotion. So with that being said, I like to see it as just another day, reflect a bit, and then move on.
This morning we slept in too late...10am. I hope we can sleep this evening. When we woke up we headed out for our morning run. Upon leaving the house David and I gave eachother the look of "What the heck are we doing?" It was 35 degrees (not too bad) but the wind and snow were blowing about. I knew it'd be the kind of run where you just put your head down and push through. It was tough and we ended up doing one of our shorter routes. We kept a good pace and I'm glad we went out even though the elements weren't very favorable. We may not be able to make it out tomorrow due to the snow we're supposed to get today/tonight. We'll keep our fingers crossed.
After that mom made us homemade pancakes on her new griddle. Yum! I haven't had pancakes, let alone homemade pancakes, in awhile. They were the best. We spent some time over there for a bit, and now we're chilling at home. David's channel surfing through football and I'm going to continue reading my "Marathon Woman" book (by the way, I LOVE it!) Later on we're having all the 'rents over and Sita's making some dishes to celebrate the coming of the new year.
So what are everyone's resolutions? I've never been big on making a new year's resolution. In all honesty I don't think I've ever made one. If I have, I have forgotten. I think my boss has it right. When I said, "I don't think I'll make a New Year's resolution." He just looked at me and said, "Heidi, your whole life is a resolution." Very true.
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