Tuesday, April 29, 2008

just walkin' in the rain

i hadn't walked since friday morning. i was too tired on saturday after the day we had on friday and sunday just didn't work. yesterday i got up and got dressed, headed downstairs and opened the back door to see what it was like outside and saw a duck float by. well, not really, but it was pouring. this is good since we needed the rain, but i had hoped that it would wait to fall until later in the day.

this morning i wanted to stay in bed, but decided that i had to get up and walk. the only thing that would keep me from it would be the same kind of rain as yesterday. it was drizzling out, but that was it. i asked hubby if he thought i would get sick if i walked and he told me no, according to scientists, but yes, according to everyone else. so i went.

there was only one person fishing and two people walking. it wasn't raining at first, but it was definitely damp out and thankfully the water level of the pnd had drastically increased. it stared to rain when i hit 2 miles, but today i kept going. i walked 3 miles!!! and though i expected 2 miles to be hard since i hadn't walked since friday it wasn't hard at all to go 3 miles!

now if i could just get over the sugar cravings...

God's peace y'all

Saturday, April 26, 2008

my own private cheering section

the princess kitty had her tonsils and adenoids out yesterday, but surgery wasn't until 1pm so she and hubby decided to come with me for my walk. i made certain that they understood that what i was doing was not a leisurely stroll and that they had to take it seriously. so we got in the car and drove to the pond where there is also a playground and tennis courts.

hubby had never been there before though the kitty often goes there on field trips with day care during the summer. i put on my ipod and headed out for my walk while the two of them leisurely walked around and stopped to observe nature. as i passed them on my first of 6 laps they stood to the side and started to cheer me on. i laughed and kept moving. each time i passed them they did something a little different. the kitty held out her hand like she was holding a microphone to interview me and hubby did a one person wave.

one my 5 th lap another woman walking noticed them and mentioned to me that i had a nice cheering section. i told her i should bring them with me every time i walked. when we finished, hubby the kitty, and i cheered her on when she passed us by the parking lot.

the poor kitty was pretty hungry when we got home. all she could have was water and apple juice before 11am. she got very angry at me when she walked into the kitchen and found me eating breakfast, but she was a trooper.

she had agreed to be part of a study at the teaching hospital where she had her tonsils out. the study measured stress factors in children having surgery. the good news was that this meant that i could go into the OR with her.

typically they give kids a liquid med that makes them very sleepy and relaxes them before they take them (sans parents) to the OR. instead i got to don a paper gown and surgical hair net and walk the princess kitty into the OR with the resident who is working on the study and the anesthesiologist. the kitty was amazing. she didn't even walk with me but skipped ahead to walk with the doctor. she got into the OR, hopped up onto the table, and took the mask from the dr all by herself.

they were amazed by her bravery and she and i have probably thrown off the study results.

unfortunately she threw up from the anesthesia after the surgery while they were still in the OR, the again several times in recovery. this blew all our chances of leaving by 4pm, which was a possibility. a little before 5pm we thought we would be going home and we had slowly started to make arrangements to that effect when she said she need to go to the bathroom. she made it there and back just fine, but then suddenly all the color in her face drained and the anesthesiologist came in and said she couldn't leave until she had eaten a popsicle and kept it down. they put her on more meds for the nausea and i left to go pick up the silent prince from grandmom and grandpop's house.

by 7pm they released her and i picked her and daddy up from the hospital and took them home.

poor thing needs some pain killers now.

God's peace y'all

Monday, April 21, 2008

day 8

yesterday ended my first week on the detox which means today begins my second week. i'm feeling very good except that i haven't lost one ounce yet. in fact when i got on the scale yesterday i had gained 2 pounds! if someone could explain that one to me i would appreciate it.


i found a really nice place to walk yesterday about a 2 minute drive from the house. i would walk there, but i live on a very large bump on a serious hill. if i walked at this point in the game i would wind up calling someone to come pick me up after i arrived there. there's a little pond where people can fish with a track around it. every lap is 1/3 of a mile. half-way through my 5th lap i was really excited with myself that i only had one more lap and i would have walked 2 miles. i hit the point where i could take a step forward on the track and do that last lap or take a step to the right and go to the parking lot and get back in my car when i suddenly felt very dizzy. i knew if i tried to do that last lap i would wind up passing out and one of the fishers would call an ambulance that i didn't need.


so i went back to the car, drank the rest of my water and headed home to eat the rest of the breakfast i guess i should have eaten before walking.


today i purposefully woke up at 8am so that i could get a walk in before other things had to happen. for those of you who know me personally: no, there are no pods in the basement. i haven't been taken over by aliens. i really did get up at 8am to go exercise.

at about the same point on lap 5 i thought the same exact thing as yesterday: 1 more lap to go and i've walked 2 miles. then at the same point in lap 5 as yesterday i started to feel dizzy and light-headed. i walked back to the car and had a big drink of water and the rest of my morning shake then walked that last lap!!!

as i finished i had the strange desire to do the rocky dance on top of the art museum steps. i didn't though, figuring the fishers would find it way too odd and wonder what was wrong with me. instead i got in the car and called my brother, lrns. the voice mail picked up right away and i chastized him for not waiting by the phone in case i might call at 9:30am for the first time ever in our lives.

then i called idad on his iphone and had to talk to his phone as well. feeling deflated that i couldn't share my accomplishment with anyone i ran into hubby on the road a block and 1/2 away from home. we pulled up to one another and i rolled down my window thinking, he loves me, he'll listen and be proud of me when he pointed to his ear to signal that he was on the phone with someone else. i made the sign for i love you with my hand, which was nicer than that other sign i could have made with my hand and drove around the corner.

i then stopped in church, the head teacher, mag, is also on a fitness kick and so i told her my news and she very nicely supported my ego, which was all i really wanted.

happy sigh, now i think i will go shower and get moving on with my day.

God's peace y'all

Saturday, April 19, 2008

rhymes with witch

i couldn't have been in a worse mood yesterday. no one could do anything that was pleasing to me and everything they did do just really made me mad as anything.

i know that it is the detox that's making me crazy, but i'm beginning to feel bipolar with the mood swings from the cravings that my body is having. today wasn't much better except that i had to be at a conference which meant that i had to wear my game face anyway. usually that isn't too difficult of a problem except that i was certainly pushed to my limit when i realized that there were hershey's kisses spread on the tables we sat in for lunch.

i thought i could handle it, but i was already hungry and we had to listen to people talk before i could pull out my non-dressed salad for lunch. the only thing that saved me from scooping up every kiss and eating them wrapper and all was that there were people at the table who knew i was detoxing and therefore couldn't have any chocolate.

the worst part is that it is the silent prince's birthday (no, not a bad thing that he turned 6 today) but it was very hard to watch him and his sister eat cupcakes after eating brown rice and unseasoned and un-fried flounder. (at least it was something other than chicken.) and here i am complaining aboout detoxing rather than talking about his turning 6! some mom i am!

but day 5 is almost over. there were moments today when i felt good about what i was doing like at the grocery store when i looked into my basket and saw all the healthy, lovely fruits and veggies (of course i forgot the baby carrots) and earlier when i realized that i do want to continue to eat well after day 21 is over.

i'm also realizing that i need to find replacements for all the bad things i put into my system for comfort. a banana just isn't as good as a bag of m&m's and carrot sticks just aren't as good as a bag of doritos. and i gotta do that before day 21 or i'm just going to go back to eating the way i did a week ago. mmm doritoes and m&m's.

i am planning to go out for mexican once i'm done. i am fantasizing about that meal like a politician fantasizes about call girls.

and on that note...

God's peace y'all

Thursday, April 17, 2008

happily-ever-after-life

cinderella the cat is dead. she must have died sometime last night on my closet floor. which was a pleasant suprise for me this morning when i went to pick out clothes before i took my shower.

"cindy..." nudge nudge... "oh, $#@&."

luckily hubby was in the backyard already and could go dig a hole. she was completely stretched out and wouldn't fit in a box so i had to wrap her up in a cut up paper bag. hubby has also volunteered to break the bad news to the princess kitty later tonight. i wonder if i shouldn't go get ice cream to help the news go down.

sigh

God's peace y'all

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

i want a cookie

today was my official start date for the detox. i used yesterday as a transition day. by 3pm i had a migraine from lack of caffeine and made myself a cup of tea (i wasn't going to brew a whole pot of coffee.)

i picked up all the stuff this morning and met with the nutritionist, c'marie. it took me 20 minutes to organize all the supplements that i have to take in a day: 48 to be exact. thank God for the pill case she gave me or i would be a mess trying to remember it all. it's kinda cool with a sticky pad inside so i can remember what's what.

i can drink all the green tea i want even the kind with caffeine! whoopie! i can even have salt so long as it is sea salt! whoo-hoo! i can even use organic unsalted butter! the grocery store doesn't sell unsalted organic butter, just the salted. boo-hoo!

i actually feel really good today except for all the cravings i am experiencing... like my deep deep desire for a cookie. i'm thinking that by the end of this sugar will still be the one thing i want on a daily basis.

all well, think i'll go much on some grapes and pack lunch for the princess kitty.

God's peace y'all

Saturday, April 12, 2008

driving observations

i had a road trip yesterday to pennsylvania. i stopped and visited the parents of my soon-to-be-adopted godchild and then went to visit a college friend and her intended to do a pre-marital visit with them.

there were a few things i noticed on the trip there and back.

1. i am not a timid or slow driver. if you really feel you need to pass me, you are driving too fast. slow the you-know-what down and get off my butt.

2. the left lane is for passing. if you are steadily going the speed limit or slightly under it, get out of the left lane.

3. north jersey smells. especially around exits 13&14 of the new jersey turnpike. yesterday it smelled like someone had made a salad of rotten eggs and old socks then dressed it with petrol.

4. the north jersey smell can penetrate into your car even if you have all the windows shut and no fans blowing. breathing through your mouth helps, but only enough to keep you from gagging.

5. the sign over the george washington bridge that said i wasn't allowed to take pictures while driving across the bridge is missing (either that or i missed it.) this might mean the end of my dream to get a picture of that sign someday.

6. new york needs to turn off their street lights during the day. they are useless during the daytime, even when it is overcast.

7. i hate, with a passion, driving at night in the rain. this might not have been so bad in new york if perhaps the street lights that were on during the day were also on at night.

8. spending almost $100 on gas just to see a few friends for a short time is still worth it.

God's peace y'all

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

toxic

the bursitis is back. i was at the chiropractor today and we are certain that, while it isn't as bad as the first time that's exactly what it is.

the question is why do i have it again.

the obvious answer is stress.

it started during holy week, which, let's be honest, is a stressful time. but if i am completely honest then i also have to admit that i don't take very good care of my body. i don't eat or sleep well and i never get any exercise...

so, her suggestion: go through a detox.

i've seen the nutritionist and we have agreed that i should start a 3 week program of cleaning out my system.

i don't know when i will start, but clearly i'd better do it soon before i lose my nerve. 3 weeks without caffeine or sugar is going to take some willpower.

so wish me luck. i'm sure there will be plenty to write about during this.

God's peace y'all

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

autism awareness

apparently today was autism awareness day. and apparently since i am the mom of an autistic child i am too busy to really observe that fact since there are only 35 minutes left in the day.

so here is the face of autism... in all his bubbly glory:



and with just 4 minutes to spare before the end of the day i checked my email to find this from uncle jefro:

Help make a difference without even reaching into your pocket - use your mouse and keyboard! For every person who takes a virtual "test drive" of the new Chevrolet Malibu online at www.autismspeaks.org during the month of April, Chevrolet will donate money to Autism Speaks. They have made a commitment of a minimum of $500,000 but your "test drives" can drive the donation amount up - all the way to $1,000,000!. Can I count on you to do so?

Please spread the word to all your friends and neighbors.


click here to take the test drive.

God's peace y'all

"and vivian followed."

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