Junk Food Junkie

No, I am not now, nor have I ever been a “Junk Food Junkie”. I will admit to enjoying junk food from time to time (some times more often than others), I got the way I am today because I love food.
I was packing my food for the day this morning, weighing/measuring out my food and I started thinking (I know, LOOK OUT!). I sat there and packed ¼ cup of cottage cheese, 20 g of blackberries, 20 g of raspberries, 39 g of strawberries and 127 g of Greek yogurt, I realized just how much food I was packing (all of that is for breakfast). Mind you, that breakfast has pretty low calories, not a whole bunch of fat, but is a great source of all sorts of healthy stuff, not to mention it tastes great. My lunch I have a salad, a little on the bland side, but I was too tired to see what all I could find, lots of fruits and veggies, I have some pudding (a nice little dessert to keep me away from binging). I was looking at all the food I pack and started thinking about what I have eaten in the past (and still do sometimes), all the processed food (yes, I know my pudding is pretty processed) I would consume in a day. I would eat oatmeal for breakfast, but it was the fruit and cream oatmeal, I would eat a frozen meal for lunch, I would eat about the same amount as I do now, but now it is fresh (or frozen) fruits and veggies, it is stuff that actually has significant nutritional value. Yes, I still have cookies from time to time, but you have to permit yourself to indulge every now and then.
I started P90X again last night. This time I am working with bands (I purchased 30 lb, 50 lb and 70lb)… WOW! I could seriously feel a difference! Right now I am doing about 90% of the pushups on my knees. I try to get 5 in off my knees before dropping down. The ab work, before I started I agreed to doing just 10 reps for now; next week we will go up to 15 and so on. “Coach” aka Freddie kept coming in and checking on me, he would get up on my bed and peek over while I was doing the abs, while I was doing the first part he was on my bed guarding my water bottle!
Today I have PT so no lunch time work out, but that is a good thing, I have plyometrics tonight. I will be doing a mix of low and high impact. Tomorrow is Weight Watchers, I have less than 0.2 pounds before I get my yoga mat. And 0.6 pounds before I get another pair of running socks (I get socks every time I lose weight, I get running socks for every 5 pounds I lose). I have been hitting the stairs at work (I work on the 5th floor) both coming and going, I have been parking in the WAY back of the parking lot. I wasn’t to horrible over the weekend, so I am hoping I will see another good number (a nice 2 would send me to the moon!)

I love Nike…

I have to say I have been loyal to Nike running shoes most of my adult life. With that said, I have to confess to cheating on them. I mentioned this before, but last weekend one of the local running stores had a HUGE tent sale, since Kiddo is running cross country we stopped by to get him some shoes and I just so happened to get a new pair too. They didn’t have any Nike’s that were my size. I found a Mizuno version of my shoe and it was less than half of what I usually pay for my Nikes, and you know what? We are in a recession here people! Of course I got them. I took them (and Charlie) for a walk last week (forgot to put my inserts in them) and they felt pretty good, but I was walking and I didn’t have MY inserts in them so I couldn’t really judge them properly. Since they weren’t Nikes, I went back this past weekend to get a Nike+ sensor holder thingy and wouldn’t you know it, they still had some shoes on sale! I found a pair of Asics for $35! Yes, I grabbed them too! Hey, Goofy training starts next weekend and that means I am training for TWO races on the same weekend (well, three cause I am doing the 5K with my family). Now, last time I did Goofy I wore my ‘old’ shoes for the half and my ‘new’ shoes for the full. This time I will spend this season breaking in both pairs and have one for the half and one for the full and not worry about ‘old’ and ‘new’.
Today during lunch I hit the treadmill (because of PT Freddie is learning to go without lunch visits) and did a nice easy 3 miles in my Mizunos WITH my inserts in the AND my Nike+ sensor holder thingy and all I can say is ahhhhhhhhh! My feet felt amazing! Those shoes are so comfortable it is not even funny! I plan on my first two long runs will be in my Nikes, after that they will be retired to yard work or whatever else I need them for. Wednesday will be the new Asics on the treadmill (I keep my Nikes with me in case the new shoes don’t work out, that way I have not ruined my whole workout).
Tonight – P90X, Day 1, again!

Level field

The other day my older son had his first cross country meet. As I was walking up to the meet I noticed an insane looking ramp right at an eighth of a mile before the finish (according to http://www.mapmyrun.com/ it is only a 3% incline, but it looked a lot steeper). It was a nice hilly course. I was talking to (I am assuming) a coach of one of the other teams about the course. She showed me the map a I made a comment about that ramp, the way she responded was a very true statement but I never really thought about races that way. It is a leave field; all the kids have to go up the same ramp, everyone has to run in the same heat. Well, #1 I know at races everyone is running the same course, but I never really thought about it like that. #2 in that particular race, yes, all the kids ran in the same heat (temperature), but in a marathon (since I am a slow poke) the elites are not running in the same heat that I do. The gun went off to start the race (yes, I am still VERY jumpy when it comes to certain sounds and a gun is definitely one of those bad sounds, fireworks are another…) it felt really strange just standing there, the race started and I was not racing! After the start of the race (luckily the 6th graders went last) I cheered Kiddo on and then followed rest of the parents to another area to cheer on the kids. Kiddo struggled up the hill and I cheered him on, knowing his approximate pace I stuck around for rest of the kids (I think I was the only parent who did that) cheering them on no matter what school they attended. I was telling them stuff like the ‘hill was almost over’, ‘where there is an uphill there is a downhill’ – a young lady who was walking responded with ‘that is why you walk up the hill and run down it!” (I had to give her credit for that comment!!!!!) After all the kids had gone by I returned to that stupid ramp. Some kids decided to run up the stairs instead of dealing with the ramp. I told Tyler to try taking it on his toes. I finally saw him coming up the sidewalk, so I started cheering even louder! He started walking up the hill but then tried to run it. He got back up on the track (1/8 of a mile remaining) started walking again, but the final stretch he did run. He finished in 18 and some change (1.5 miles), I am so proud of him! He is really starting to enjoy it.
Tomorrow is a nice easy “long run”, ok, so there is a pain in the butt hill at the beginning (mile 2), but once I am over that, I am good to go! Now, I am not 100% sure how far I will go yet, I will let my body dictate that, since I am running the road it won’t be hard for me to call my sister and say, ok I am done. For better or worse there is MAJOR road construction going on along this route, but I am making sure I stop before that (the farthest I can go it 9.5 miles IF I make it that far, I can wait for my sister at Starbucks!!!!) Come to think of it, there is a Starbucks at miles 6.75 (ish) and 5.75 (ish) too! Mmmmm, a nice iced latte and some fresh fruit, Yum! Sunday I think a nice swim is in order – that will depend on how my neck/back is feeling (actually all my physical activity is completely dependent on my neck/shoulder). (Oh, and I didn't get my run in yesterday, I was just to tired. I did take Freddie for a walk so he could meet as many people as possible [and he got weighed in at 9 pounds!])
Oh! Yea, I went back to my doc for my follow up, he has decided it is time to pain and torture, I mean physical therapy. He was happy to hear I had started running again (especially since my neck and back started to relax during the run), he told me I can keep doing physical activity as long as I listen to my body and if says no, then don’t do it!
Here is to a great weekend!

Excited!

At the beginning of the August I started P90X, it lasted three whole days! Monday I did Chest and Back, plus Ab Ripper X. Ok, so I had to work from my knees, but that is ok. The abs workout - I wasn’t able to do the full sets, but again, that is ok. Tuesday I did Plyometrics, I did half high impact and the other half low impact. Wednesday was Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X, I really needed a better weight set, but it felt good! Thursday – kiddo duty broke in, Friday – messed up my neck/shoulder, Sunday – my friend and companion ended up in the doggy ER, Monday she died. So, I chalked that week up to a trial start! Since I don’t have a whole heck of a lot of room to store equipment (not to mention kids who touch everything), getting more weights just isn’t in the books BUT the bands are. I took Kiddo #1 to Sports Authority right after school started to go window shopping for running shoes. Now I have to say, I am NOT a fan of Sports Authority, their customer service is severely lacking. When it comes to shopping my priorities are my running store, Dicks and then Sports Authority. Well, while we were walking around the store I found the bands! They had all sorts of resistances. So, a week or two later I returned and picked some up. My plan is to start P90X again this coming Monday, I am NOT posting before pictures – I am to kind to do that, but yes, the pictures will be retaken! I am going to take it a little on the easy side and listen to my body. I have managed to get my upcoming training schedule to morph around the P90X schedule (it is recommended not to run on plyo or leg days).
After everything I have learned over the past year, I plan on taking it at my pace. If any part of my body is not feeling well (I am not talking about ‘ouch! I worked that body part’ sore, I mean ‘ouch, something doesn’t feel right’) I will adjust my schedule.
On a good note, I have successfully got my eating headed in the right direction. My boys actually help me pack my lunch in the evenings and on the days I am not brining a salad, I get the 10th degree from those two. “Why aren’t we making a salad?” “Don’t you need your salad for lunch?” ‘No, babe, tomorrow is a SmartOnes day.’ “Oh, why not a salad?” ‘If I eat salads every day I will get board of them and then I won’t want to eat them.’ “Fine!” “Mom, this celery doesn’t look good, you might want something else for your snack.” ‘Ok!’ I am not sure what is going on with the celery these days, but after only a few days its limp and I can make them clap, not a good thing! I have been mixing up my snacks (sometimes carrots, sometimes celery, sometimes crackers). Lately I have been seriously enjoying yogurt parfaits, but when the temperature starts to drop I am looking forward to braking out the oatmeal! I have seen some really good ideas involving oatmeal!
Oh, yea! Please note the weight tracker up top, it has moved again! YAY!!!!! I am only .18 pounds (down 2.2 pounds) away from hitting my first goal! AHHHH! I am so excited! My first Weight Watchers goal is still a few pounds away, but I am focusing on my goals, not theirs!

Man I missed that

As I keep saying, the schedule for this week is insane. Full of mommy duties (which is fine), running every which direction, very difficult to do what I need to do for me (that is fine). Yesterday morning it occurred to me, I get off work, I can’t pick up Kiddo #1 from cross country for about another hour… So, I went home during lunch I was a good mommy to my fur kids; after work, I went down stairs and got a nice easy 3 miler in. I picked up Kiddo #1 and then #2 we got home and I felt great! I was relaxed (I was hungry), I was calm, I wasn’t stressing when my boys weren’t doing as I asked them to. 3 miles, that was all I did. 3 miles at a nice sllllloooooowwwww pace, I didn’t even touch my inhaler! I ran two songs walked a song.
This afternoon I have my follow up doc appointment (will find out if I am going to be sent to PT), Kiddo #1’s first cross country meet (I am so proud of him), Kiddo #2’s fist soccer practice of the season, Weight Watcher’s meeting (I have a good feeling this week), some time in there have dinner, get ready for tomorrow (I have to dress up like an adult, I think the teal tights should work nicely) and get some sleep.
Starting next week soccer practice will be used for running (that area is HILLY!!!!!), I will be attending a different day of the week Weight Watchers (like Saturday, depending on what time it starts).
Tomorrow both boys have their activities at the same time which means… OUTSIDE RUNNING!!!!!!!! I am, not exactly thrilled about mile .75 to 1.5, but hey, what doesn’t kill me only makes me strong, right?

Goals

It is hard not to think about goals and how to get there. I was reading a blog yesterday about someone who is 19 days away from their first Ironman and it got me thinking about mine. My goal is Coeur d’Alene in June 2012. It WAS going to be next year, but Goofy cut in line. With the way this past year has been it is a really good thing that it did get bumped. Then of course I started thinking about how I am going to get there. What’s that saying, “You don’t plan to fail, you fail to plan.” My swimming is good, it can definitely get better, but getting more pool time will help that. My bike… talk about a pain in the butt! Ok, so I need to find a) Better bike shorts; b) Better saddle; c) get more butt time in the saddle so my butt gets numb to it! Sadly, my bike has not made it out of the garage this year. I went in there this past weekend trying to find something and reached over to check the tires and for some odd reason both tires were flat, hmmm, I can’t figure that one out! Lastly, my running. Yea, I can do a marathon, that is no issue, but making sure I can do that marathon AFTER a 2.4 mile swim AND 112 miles on the bike is a whole different story! Between today and race day I am looking at two – three marathons, two – three half marathon, a century ride and as much pool time as possible!
Last night I took Charlie out for a refresher training walk, he forgot all his leash manners so we are starting slowly. I had planned on going out for about 3 miles, but that was before I had to sprint to my car in the pouring rain! And then mommy duty kicked my butt (back to school night is always so draining). By the time Charlie and I got home we had almost completed two miles (with two short runs injected because he really wanted to and he wasn’t pulling to hard!
Today – no evening activities. Going to try to hit the gymlet for three miles before picking up the boys!

What a weekend!

I have no idea where to start! Friday night, well, it was neither here nor there. I followed Iowa Girl Eats suggestion and my sister, older son and I snuck by DQ and picked up mini blizzards. I have to say, it was the perfect size! We had Greek snacks for dinner, it was exactly what I wanted!
Saturday morning was when my weekend truly started. I was out of bed and out the door by 5:30 (poor Kiddo #1 was out of bed and in the backyard at the same time, Freddie was ready to go outside and my sister went out to be with them). As I was driving I chomped on my banana. I got to my start location right on time, a hair before 6:00 am. Normally I start off jogging (after warming up), Saturday I decided to start off by walking a song, then I jogged two, then walked a song; I did this for the first half. When I got to the lake, I stopped and went to the bathroom (thank God the bathroom was opened!) went around the lake and headed back, this time going for more of a three songs jogging, one song walking. Ok, so it was a 14 minute pace, I don’t care! I felt great. This was my first outing in over two weeks (except for the mile walk with the puppies earlier in the week). I made sure I took it easy, I was out there to enjoy myself. I got to watch the sun come up, some rabbits hop across the trail, a deer and her baby, it was exactly what I needed. Yes, my neck/shoulder is still a little sore, but I felt it loosing up as I was out there, it is still sore now, but it is a lot better. I still have two weeks before training season starts on the books my first weekend is a 5 and a 10-miler, depending on how I feel I might do the 5 on the elliptical machine and then the 10 outside. Even through the schedule has me running six days I week I will not be pounding the pavement more than 4 (I will hit the elliptical machine for the other two if need be). After my wonderful run, I went home took a shower and hurried everyone into the car. It was time to go SHOPPING!

One of the local running stores was having their annual tent sale. Since Kiddo #1 is running Cross Country he needed running shoes (not something from Wal-Mart). I made sure we were there right when they opened at 10 am (ok, fine, a little earlier, but still). Kiddo found his shoes pretty quickly, we even had a store person make sure they looked ok. I, on the other hand, was having a little more of a difficult time finding shoes. I am a Nike gal, I have been a Nike gal since I started racing. Well, that changed. I found a pair of Nikes that fit, but then I tried on some Mizunos (Wave Alchemy 9)… my feet were in heaven! Yes, my feet are still messed up so my shoes can’t be to tight on the side (even if they feel comfortable before I start running they run the risk of being too tight by the end of my run and I can NOT have anything hugging my feet). I will be working in the new shoes in over the week, but I have really high hopes for them! Oh, yea and they cost me a whopping $35. I know, I spent WAY to much, but I think I can deal with the buyer’s remorse!
Sunday I had hoped to go swimming, but we just had to much other stuff to do. Freddie started puppy kindergarten and we had to pick up a few things for him, we had to go grocery shopping, had to get ready for Monday… the list goes on and on. We got everything done, I packed a nice lunch bag for today and my younger son even found time to lock my keys in the car!
To make sure I don’t get bored with my eating this week I have managed to mix things up from my snacks (threw some cracker into the rotation) to my lunches (I looked at the calendar and recognized when I will not have the time to make my lunch and pre-inserted frozen meals), dinners- we have pretty well planned for this week (keeping in mind it is going to be a CRAZY week). My weight Watchers schedule is going to get really confusing for the next two and a half months, but I will keep going.
Here is to a great new week!

Where did they come from?

Happy Friday to all!
As a runner I know that running in cotton socks is not the most pleasant thing to do but I made my son do it for two days in a row at cross country. I finally took him to the sports store on Wednesday and bought him some running socks (all my are a little to girly) last night he came home and told me his feet were feeling a lot better and he was really starting to like cross country and can we go to the Olive Garden for the never ending pasta bowl now (yes, all in one breath). I understand that he is not used to expending that much energy and he is going to get HUNGRY! So I agreed. When we did finally get there I was very proud of him. He got his soup, ok I would have been happier had he have chosen the salad, but baby steps! Typically he would have had a number of refills, last night he only got one! The first bowl was whole wheat and then the second was angle hair. He didn’t eat all of his second bowl, so that right there is an improvement!

I am taking baby steps, too. Parking in the back of the parking lot, walking (more like jogging) down the stairs instead of using the elevator, walking up the stairs (at least once a day), measuring my food (for at least one, trying to more meals a day), packing my food for the day (not leaving it up to chance that either I won’t get hungry or when I do get hungry I won’t go for the crap). Tomorrow I am going to get up and hit MY trail and go for a run/walk I am not going to push it, I will be excited if I hit 5 miles. All I know is I haven’t been on my trail for way to long and I need to get out and get going on it. I would love to finish the run with a nice yoga class, but we will wait and see!

This morning I was getting dressed and it being jeans day I was trying to find my jeans to wear. I had completely forgot I had sent them downstairs to be washed (my sister does the laundry I do the dishes), and with everything going on this week, she hadn’t had a chance to get to them and I hadn’t asked her to get to them. I opened my bottom drawer where I store extra jeans (primarily the ones I don’t fit, but will again someday) and I pulled out a pair of Levis, thinking ok, so I will be able to get them up to my butt and that is about it. I put them on they go right past my butt all the way up! Ok, yea, like I will be able to do them up… ZIP! Button with no issue. Well shucks! I will be more than happy to accept this! I have no idea where the jeans came from, I don’t remember them, but all I know if they fit and they are comfy!

One last note, within the past couple of weeks I bought a box a Special K Granola cereal I mixed it in with plain Greek yogurt and it tastes great! The sweetness of the cereal with the bitterness of the yogurt hits the spot!

Not bad!

Strangely I am excited to report that all the excitement over the past two weeks I have managed to put on only 1.2 pounds. This is with NO exercising, not eating correctly until this past Monday, and dealing with all the stress. Yes, I am VERY proud of myself!
Last night was a lot of running around like a crazy person. I got off work, picked up kiddo from cross-country (yes, he enjoyed it more last night), swung by the Dicks to pick up some running socks (yes, the poor kid spent the last two days running in cotton socks, I am very ashamed of myself, bad running mommy, bad!), swung by the house let the babies out to play for 20 minutes, zoomed by weight watchers (only a 1.2 pound gain, very happy with that), flew into Subway (I got a veggie foot-long with only two triangles of cheese [every little bits helps]) then over to taekwondo for awards (kiddo is a Level 1 Green Belt – Yay kiddo!) and then sparring clinic (finally getting to eat dinner) finally pulling into the driveway at about 8:15, letting the babies out again and getting ready to call it a night! Charlie and Freddie are really starting to play together which helps tucker Freddie out, he managed to become an escape artist last night, but that is a whole different story!
Since get in any training seems to be VERY elusive right now (primarily due to my neck) I am still getting in calorie burning activities every where possible. I have been very good about parking in the very back of the parking lot, I go down the stairs (I need to start going back up the stairs, man they kick my butt); right now every little bit helps.
For better or worse because of the insanity of last night I did not pack my food for today, but that is ok! I grabbed a vanilla honey Greek yogurt and banana for breakfast, Weight Watchers crackers with a Babybel for morning snack, I have SmartOnes in the freezer at work (might grab a pudding when I go home to pull puppy duty), Weight Watchers Peanut Butter and Chip Delight bar (2 points) for my afternoon snack. I try to make sure I am prepared for ‘no time’ days so I can’t go, ‘Oh! I didn’t have time to make my food I will dive bomb and eat whatever I set my eyes on!’
This Weight Watchers week my goal is to continue to write everything I eat, continue parking in the very back of the parking lot, walk up the stairs at least once a day, continue working down the stairs every time. Luckily, Kiddo #2 starts soccer on Monday so I will have a better opportunity to get a nice (very hilly) walk/run in!

Accountability

Wow! A second post in one day!
Today is my official Weight Watchers Weigh in day. I admit since the 6 - 16 Aug 10 I have eaten almost nothing but crap; brownies, chips, WAY too many sodas, and the list goes on. Last week I was in absolutely no shape to go to Weight Watchers. I had just returned to work after being on bed rest, I had to put my best friend down, I was still breaking into tears at the drop of a hat (I still well up but not that often), it was just not happening. I had told myself I would not go to Weight Watchers again this week, that way I will have a good week and a half under my belt. Well, the more I thought about the more I came to the conclusion that is BS. Life happens. The good, the bad and the ugly. It is truly that simple! Now with all that said, do I expect a weight loss today? Are you taking my happy pills and are completely out of your mind???? I am hoping for no more than a 2 pound gain, anything less than that, to will be a success!
The saying ‘when it rains, it pours,’ well it is pouring. To add insult to injury my normal stress reliever is not really possible right now. All I want to do is go for a nice long run and forget everything about the last two weeks (except for Freddie).

Saboteurs

I am going to preface this with I love my sister! I have no idea what I would do without her. With that said, I have to say she is probably one of my bigger saboteurs of my diet. I do try to eat healthy, but when I am not feeling good (emotionally or physically) she gets me comfort food and I do not have the strength to turn away from it. Last week and a half while I was dealing with my back, my sister made sure I was well stocked with brownies (as well as a lot of other things). Ok, I did ask my sister to buy comfort food, but I (and no one else) need to learn that comfort food is apples or carrots or celery and NOT brownies and chips and candy bars. I am truly grateful to her for her great heart, and quite frankly it is not her job to ask me if I am sure I want to eat a box of brownies, it is not her job to ask me wouldn’t I rather have a banana. I think my top goal should be to work on my strength to say ‘no, thank you’ and pick better comfort foods!
BUT! (and trust me this is one hell of a but!) My sister is also my biggest supporter! No matter what I say I am going to do, she has NEVER told me, ‘yea, right!’ whether it is life in general or my racing. She watches my boys when I go out to train, she watches my boys when I race, she cheers me on during races, she reassures me during a race when I don’t have faith in myself. She has technically only missed four races, but that is because I was treating them as training runs and NOT races and I told her not to worry about attending (she would have had I asked).
With all of that said, I will also add that my family consists of rather large people. We (the adults) are all considered obese. We turn to food (or cigarettes) for comfort. We get board, we eat. We get together, we eat (and my mom LOVES laying on the butter). Sadly, my older son got my genes. It is my goal to get all the crap out of the house and work on my family’s (those who live in my house) eating habits. My older son started cross country last night and he is doing Taekwondo, I understand he will be hungry, my goal is to work on his choices. Last night after practice, I gave him one of my Weight Watchers bars (chocolate and peanut butter) and then when we got home I let him have a granola bar. He ate his dinner and was still hungry (which is understandable, he had an Easy Mac cup with peas in it) so I told him he could have some salad, or celery or carrots. He chose celery and asked for peanut butter, he put a little too much on, but it wasn’t horrible; not to mention we need to take baby steps!
I did not get my night time walk in, but I am parking at the very back of the parking lot (ok, it is only about .05 miles, but every little bit helps). I am very proud of the fact that this is the second day in a row (this week) that I have not only packed my lunch, but I packed a nice and healthy lunch. I have my yogurt parfait (this time, frozen!), banana, carrots, celery, Babybel, diet Dr. Pepper, and my kitchen salad! Unfortunately I am not sure about dinner tonight, we go from cross country to the taekwondo awards ceremony (older son tested for his green belt this past weekend) followed by the sparring clinic so we won’t get home until about 8 pm L.

"Don't worry about your weight right now"

So I went to my neck/back follow-up and the doctor and I agree that I am about 80 – 90% better. I have to go back again next week and if I am not 100% I will have to start pain and torture. He actually told me no stay away from the scale for a while, because I can’t be as active as I want to be and to protect my stomach from the meds I need to have food in it. With that advice out there, I might add, I don’t need brownies or chips in my stomach to protect it and I can park at the very back of the park lot and even that little walk will help.
Like others around here, I love reading Iowa Girl Eats and my breakfast of late has been a yogurt parfait. This morning it was ¼ cup of cottage cheese, 6 blackberries, 3 strawberries and vanilla honey Greek yogurt. If I actually get my butt in gear at night I will throw it in the freezer and YUM! I also had a banana and a tall iced non-fat, decaf latte. A grand total of 6 Weight Watchers points. For lunch I packed a Kitchen Sink Salad: mixed greens, scallions, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese and I can’t remember what else! Salad dressing? Hmmm, might not use any, if I need some I have an Asian something or another in the fridge at work.
I hope to return to my lunch time workout in less than two months, but we shall see. Freddie is only 7 weeks today, so it might be a while. I am hoping to attempt to take Charlie out for a walk this evening after my sister gets home. If he pulls to hard I will have to take the walk alone (I do not need him making my neck/back worse). Tomorrow night is Kiddo #1’s awards night so I am not sure if I will be able to get anything done then. One small step at a time.
OH! I forgot, last Wednesday my running buddy’s running group (I know confusing) had a talk with a chiropractor, I was able to sweet talk my way in and at the end I had a chance for him to work on my foot (the same one that has been hurting since the end of last August), he tugged and pulled and pushed and OUCH! BUT when I got home Charlie was able to bump my foot and I didn’t go through the roof! I am not saying it was all better but it was less sensitive. When all hell slows down I will be scheduling an appointment with this man to see what else he can fix! Ok, he didn’t fix my foot but he did vastly improve it!

Starting a fresh week

This weekend was both exciting and taxing. Freddie moved in Friday night (check out Canine Corner for all those misadventures) he is so tiny, but so full of love. Charlie kind of likes the company, but is also kind of scared of him.
Saturday was full of Tae Kwon Do testing for the kiddo and yard work, I pushed it was to much. By the end of the day I was so pooped I enjoyed brownies, and chips and cheese and crackers and fresh fruit (at least something good made it in there.
Sunday – I required ALL my pain meds. After sleeping for a while I felt a little more human, but man was I hurting.
Today is the start of a new week! I have my SmartOnes for lunches, I will attempt to have salads for dinner. I won’t make it to Weight Watchers again this week because of awards night, but that gives me a week and a half to get back to where I should be for Weight Watchers. I also plan on taking Kiddo #1 out for a walk tonight. He starts cross country tomorrow! I also need to get some play time in with Charlie. Here is to the start of a new week!

Need to Get Back on Track

The past week has been absolutely horrible and that is ignoring the issue with Carin! For whatever reason I woke up last Friday morning and my neck hurt, not the normal slept wrong crick in the neck but downright hurt. I pain was shooting from the base of my skull down to about where my bra strap hits. Typically I would have considered calling in sick, but there was too much going on that I just couldn’t do it. The pain got to the point that I called for an appointment and thankfully I was able to get in that afternoon.
Since it was my doc’s day off I say the PA, I have no issue with that. He could see the spasms in my back the second I turned around. I could turn my head 5 degrees to the right and about 10 to the left. I could not look down and if I turned wrong I couldn’t breathe. I was put on Vicodin and Flexural and then sent home for bed rest. I dropped off the prescription and was told it would be an hour, I was not waiting! I picked up Kiddo #2 from my parents (Kiddo #1 was at Tae Kwon Do) and went home. Poor Kiddo #2 had to help me take my shirt off, he was a gentlemen and closed his eyes while he was helping. As I laid down I think every swear word in the book came flying out of my mouth! My wonderful sister picked up Kiddo #1, my meds and “comfort food”.
Saturday I had enough meds in my system that I pretty much slept the entire day!
Sunday wasn’t as easy. Carin howled in pain and I shot right up. There aren’t words to describe how much that hurt. Hanging out at the Doggy ER for a few hours didn’t help either. When we got home, Carin got her doggy Vicodin (not sure the name, but it was pretty much the same thing) I took my pain pills and we both curled up on my bed and slept.
Monday I had mommy duties followed by a follow up doc appointment. I called the vet to get Carin in so her doctor could check her out. I went to Kiddo #1’s school and did my mommy duty for about an hour, went home picked Carin and well, we know what happened at her appointment. My mom came to the vet to pick up my boys and my sister took me to my doctor appointment and I was put on another two days of bed rest. And since I cried at him he gave me sleeping pills to make sure I slept (I have not needed them yet, so I haven’t used any!).
All this breaks down to a week of happy pills, “comfort food” eating, no training… Yes, I skipped Weight Watchers this week! Freddie moves in tonight so my lunch time workouts are out the window for a while. That just leaves early morning or after work/when my sister gets home from school. It is time to get back on the wagon, I am still not up to running (back/neck still hurts a little) but that doesn’t mean I can’t take walks or do the recumbent bike. It definitely means I need to keep it nice and easy and my diet needs to go back to what it should be!

A dog by any other name…

I started looking around for a new playmate for Charlie for about three weeks. By pure dumb luck the first day I started looking I found what I wanted, a Boxer puppy! Now, I admit, I love boxers! Their personality is just, well there are really no words to explain them.
One thing I couldn’t stop laughing at was how many people are trying to sell mutts for purebred prices. Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with mutts, until recently all I ever had were mutts. When I was little we had a German Shepherd/Wolf (not sure how old she was when she passed away), then we had a German Shepherd/Chow (lived until she was 18 years old), we have a Great Dane/Lab. What gets me is not only the price of the “hybrid dogs” of “designer dogs” but the names of some of them! Labradoodle? Sounds like a cookie, not a dog! “Boshi pups (Boston terrier\Shihzu)”? Really? How about “Malshi-poos”? Oh! Here is one… $500 for a “Shichon/Zuchon(ShihTzu/Bishon)”. Not only are some of these dogs’ names funny sounding, some of these dogs are just plain straight out funny looking! A prime example is Rusty a “bogle” a Boxer/Beagle go to: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/bogle.htm. The dogs I grew up with are now known as not sure what the German Shepherd/wolf would be called today, but we also had a Chow Shepherd, and now a Labradane. I am not sure what the problem with being a “mutt” was but apparently it is no longer politically correct for a dog to be a mutt. You know what, I am sure Charlie could care less what you call him, all he needs to do is scratch him under the chin and rub his tummy and just show him that you care. Show dogs are fine, but they have no place in my home (it is more fun making messes and playing around than it is to get gussied up for others to judge).

Carin

This week is a week that won’t count for anything. It all started on Friday when I woke up with a horrible pain in my neck. I could not really turn my head, if I turned the wrong direction I could not breath. All in all I just plain straight out hurt! Little did I know it was a precursor to how my weekend would go.
I went to the doctor after work and he put me on some wonderful meds. I got home; I had to have my son help me get changed. It was actually pretty funny watching him keeps his eyes closed while trying to help. My sister was kind enough to pick up my pills (I could not wait an hour for my meds, so I went home). Saturday I slept most of the day. Sunday is when all hell started breaking loose. Carin started howl/barking in pain, I sat straight up! Talk about seeing stars. She started running in circles (accidently peed on Tyler, cause he was sitting on the floor). I tried to get her outside, I thought she had to go potty. Less than a half hour later she did the howl/bark again. That is it, she is going to the doggy ER. We got there and were brought back to a room. I have no idea how long we waited before anyone came in. Carin had a temp of 105+, finally the doc came in and said she should stay there and they will run all these tests, and do x-rays and blah, blah, blah. Last time Carin was away from home at a medical clinic she came home with a pretty good cause of depression. Knowing she was close I told them no. Give her some doggy Tylenol (for her temp) and something for the pain and we will call it a day. That is pretty much what they did. If it was her time I didn’t want her to be with complete strangers. She had two more howling/barking episodes while we were there and no one bothered to check if she was ok.
Monday, I was still on my pain pills… I called the vet to let them know what had happened over the weekend. Carin had stopped eating and drinking (we could get her to drink a smidge if we used a water gun and squirted her). We got to the vet and she had lost another three pounds (since Sunday). We were put in a room and they took her temp, it had gone down. Carin kept walking around the room, she would not sit, she would not lay down. The doc came in and commented how thin she had become and said we could try more IV fluid but she didn’t think that would work to well, since it didn’t work to well last time. At that point my sister was on her way from work. I called my mom and then my dad. I spoke to my boys and we all agreed it was time to let her go. I sat on the floor, Carin finally came over to me and I got her to lay down. My boys came in to say good bye and asked for grandma to come pick them up. When my sister arrived, Carin gave her the look of ‘I am glad you are here, it is my time.’ The doc and the tech came in and let her stay where she was in my lap. Carin didn’t even flinch when they put the needle in her arm. I kept kissing her on the head. She took one last breath and that was it. The doc checked her heart and said ‘she is gone.’ I lifted her up into my arms and gave her one last hug.
It might have been the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but I know it was the right thing. She tried to hold on as long as she could. She left knowing she was loved by many and that her family will be ok.

Good bye my beloved friend and companion.

Carin 22 March 2004 - 9 August 2010