Disclaimer

This blog is an accounting of my personal journey to find fitness. All the content on this blog should be read as a biographical piece of literature, not a medical resource. I am a physician, but I am in no way giving medical advice or establishing doctor patient relationships with my readers. I am simply keeping a diary. If you are starting a diet or exercise program or require medical evaluation or advice, please see your own family physician.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Christmas Catch-up and Look who I saw!

I do not want to be one of THOSE bloggers who start a blog, lose some weight and disappear into the never-land of the internet.  I have not been able to blog over the last week due to the fact that I had no internet connection in rural Kansas where we were visiting with my in-laws. Well....there is internet, but dial up just doesn't work for me. Very little cell service there also. But, I'm home now and ready to catch you all up on my goings on.

We left for Kansas Wednesday night after work. Stopped half way in Norman at my Aunt's where we dumped most of the presents. Early Thursday morning headed for Kansas. Pulled into the driveway just as lovely large white fluffy flakes began to fall. Alas the ground was too warm and the snow didn't last, so there wasn't enough to play in, but it was lovely to look at for a day. The next morning I got up to cold, but sunny skies. Just the kind I like for a walk/run. So off I went down rural roads, the sun shining and the frost nipping at my nose. It was a nice run.  After I returned, I did a little TKD practice, but decided that turning kicks on gravel and frosted ground was a bad idea. I saw a fall in my future and went back inside.

A trip to the store later and I had the fixings for dinner. My rum raisin apple pie was on the agenda for my father in law. It's the only time he gets it so I make it for him at holiday dinners. I did not eat any however as I have never liked apple pie. I did partake in a couple of snicker doodle cookies, but overall kept my sweets to a minimum.  I can't say I ate healthy food over that weekend, but I can say I tried to moderate my portions. I spent most of that weekend cooking and doing dishes, but managed to get in some quality Yahtzee games with the kids. We had our presents with the in-laws on the 23rd and I received a lovely robe and slippers. After my weight loss, I realized that my current robe was a 26/28 and will wrap around me about 3 times. The new one is a size large and fits. It is red and fluffy and I love it.

Christmas eve morning was spent packing up to head back to Norman. Three kids can do a lot of damage to a house in 2 days time. Took a while to find all their toys and gifts and such. Packed up and headed south, the traffic was surprisingly light and the day was sunny which made for an enjoyable and quiet ride. Especially when combined with the headphones the kids were wearing. 

Upon arrival in Norman, I found that I was requested to finish the German Chocolate cake my Aunt was baking and other various cooking duties for dinner the next day. We say dinner, but here in the south we really mean late lunch or 'linner" as we jokingly call it.  There was a huge spread planned with ham and turkey, casseroles and salads, desserts and cookies and rolls. Your typical Christmas luncheon from hell. That's ok, because I do not like German chocolate cake and by the time I finished cooking on Sunday I was not so much in the mood to eat. I had food, good food and I enjoyed it, but my portions are significantly different from years past and their were no seconds or thirds.

The presents were unveiled early Sunday morning as Church began at 11am. We were up at 6am. Thanking God once again for coffee.  The children were all thrilled with their gifts. Son got a new iphone which has been attached to him since. He also got these and I quote: Really cool neat headphones that go over your WHOLE ear. Like not IN it, but Around it and the SOUND is like so MUCH better....... Yeah kid. Those are called HEADPHONES and they were the original ear buds. He is totally into music and is constantly streaming pandora. Thank god for unlimited data plan.

The girls got their wish: Nintendo DS and a princess suitcase and a diary with a REAL lock and key. They also got plenty of new clothes, some barbie stuff and a couple of new board games I'm looking forward to checking out this weekend.

I got plenty of nice things and then some....well weird ones. But, the husband tries and I love him. Plus we've been married now far to long to get upset over a less than stellar Christmas gift. Who wouldn't want a waterpick anyway?  I did however get the blue ray copy of Super 8 and my friends who grew up in the 70s if you haven't seen this you must. No really. Right now. Stop reading and go watch it. Come back later...... I love that movie. It is funny and cute and thrilling and there is action. My 14 year old loved it although I had to explain a few things about the 70s to him.  I spent the whole movie going, "I remember that." And "I HAD one of those." Fun fun movie.

The less than happy gift this Christmas was a roaring case of bronchitis, which I have been nursing. I had to go home early from work yesterday and YES doctors do get sick. And YES I've seen a doctor about my cough. I've heard all the jokes before. I suppose as physicians we see any personal illness as a bit of a failure and I HATE canceling patients, but I hate coughing all over them more and when I cannot walk a few feet without hacking, even I must surrender.

Today has been much better. Thank you Prednisone. Thank you inhalers. And I am starting to feel a bit better. Which is a good thing as BFF and her 2 kids arrive today. It is our annual New Years gathering where we hang out for a few days, play games with the kids, laugh, watch football, drink a bit and visit. Presents to be opened New Years day with black eyed peas to follow. Yes you read that right.....if you don't know why you eat black eyed peas on New Years day you must be a damned Yankee.....google it.

I am sorely lacking exercise since my taekwondo gym is closed until the New Year. I miss it terribly, but cannot workout as I am wheezy wheezy right now. It's OK. I'll not quit. I have a gained a little weight. I'm up about 10 pounds since the cruise at Thanksgiving, but as I look back over this year I see mainly success and HEY, I'm still here. Not giving up. Not ever. I have a goal and I will reach it.

And now a few random things......Stephen Kings new book 11/22/1963 IS AWESOME. Simply awesome. I haven't finished it yet. It is long long long, but oh so worth it. You really should pick it up. It's just plain great.  My new iphone 4s has the Siri thingy lady in it and frankly creeps me out a bit. Although I haven't used her for real information, I have enjoyed my family and friends asking her random questions like how do you roast a pig or where can you bury a body near here. 

My in-laws got me a pair of the fuzziest damn slippers you ever saw. In fact they look like I shoved my foot up a small dog's ass.  I simply must post a picture for you to understand.  I really really wanted to return them, but they seemed sooooo wanting me to like them and the GIRLS just freaked over them and think they are the best thing ever. I'll admit they are the warmest slippers I've ever worn, but of course a small dogs orifice would be wouldn't it?

Just before I left for Kansas I had the awesome opportunity to meet one of my bloggy friends in real life.  Yes....I met someone in real life and had lunch with her. Someone that I met on the internet. NO it didn't end like one of those made for TV movies where someone gets kidnapped and the message is....beware the internet stalker.  No it was very pleasant and amazingly Jan from Writing to Wellness was exactly as expected. Intelligent and kind and a lovely conversation ensued. Of course as a fellow family physicians we spent a lot of our time talking about medicine.  We had a tasty lunch with promises to repeat anytime we get the chance. She even had some very nice things to say about me in her recent post. If you don't read Jan's blog, you should. She is amazing and not just because she's lost a ton of weight. She is inspiring for a whole host of reasons not least of which how she handled her breast cancer she's been through over the past year.
Well.....I suppose I should stop here although there's so much more I could go into. That's what happens when you haven't had a good chat with friends in a while. I'm amazed at the friends I've met here on line. I never dreamed that when I started this blog to help me stay on course with my healthy living I'd meet so many great people. I hope to be back to regular blogging although this weekend will be busy with my best friend and her kiddos. We plan a whole day of grown up only fun on Friday. Likely some shopping, dinner and maybe a movie.

As always thank you for your support and never give up.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Naughty and Nice

OK so my life is moving at such a pace I cannot seem to get a grip on everything I need to do. That includes posting on this blog!  I'm STILL not done shopping and yes my friends I am WELL aware of how many days I have left. There's been a lot going on. Both good and bad. Thought I spend some time catching you up.

Nice: I've attended my first few classes as a purple belt. Every time I move up I'm freaked out by how much more material I have to learn. How much harder things are. But this time I'm just pysched to get to learn a new weapon-STAFF. That's right my friends. I'm now learning some authentically cool shit. Yeah me.

Naughty: Stupid back. So you might recall that during my last belt test nearly 2 weeks ago I fell more than once. Apparently this jacked up my back. Over the weekend I bent down to pick up something (I'm sure something my bratty kids left strewn all over the floor) and the resulting sharp stabbing pain and inability to straighten up was horrible. I spent the rest of the day lying in bed on a heating pad and taking Motrin.

Nice:  Luckily the back straightened up in time for me to clean the house and work my butt off to get ready for the freaking Birthday party. 10, yes TEN,  6 year old girls.  3 hours.........Maybe this should've been in the naughty category.

Naughty: My kids. That's right my friends. Apparently I have not reminded them enough that SANTA is watching. Especially the little one. I swear there are days I know that if I'd had her first she'd be an only child.  Yesterday I was saying how my birthday was coming up.....THEY asked.....and she said my birthday was a "poophead" and "booty butt". Alrighty. I can get past that. I kinda feel the same way. This morning she was a holy terror. GUESS who promptly texted Santa and let the big guy know that I just wasn't sure little smarty brat britches was getting Christmas this year. Yes my friends. I did. This resulted in a LOT of crying and pleading and frankly the rest of the morning was down right......NICE.

Nice: So this evening My little princess was being very obviously good. (Thank you modern technology) She says to me, "Mommy. You see I'm being nice."  Why yes you are. Good job. "WELL, YEAH I want presents." Great.......so......I've taught her what? We discussed that being nice means being nice just because it's the right thing to do. I'm hoping she learned something.......... Oh who am I kidding? I'm just hoping she straightens up so I can get the rest of this holiday crap done.

Naughty: Holiday Crap. I am frankly tired of all the unnecessary stuff and expectations we place on ourselves this time of year. When the hell did I buy in to the idea of the perfect Christmas? I'm realizing that I spend so much time, money and energy on trying to get one that I have drained every ounce of enjoyment and joy out of what used to be my favorite time of year. Guess what? I'm done with that. I'm OKwith store bought gifts. I'm OK with  gift cards for grown ups. The miracle of the season has absolutely NOTHING to do with the perfect gift.  When it comes down to it the kids will remember the time we spend together. Not how perfect Mommy's homemade cards were. Yeah. right. Cards......Ha ha ha ha ha.....

Nice: I've lost a few pounds, not enough.
Naughty: Stupid cookie, cake, pie, candy infested holiday office
Nice: Amazon. Free Shipping.
Naughty: Less than perfect diet.
Nice: Pretty danged consistent exercise routine.
Naughty: DFW metroplex shuts down completely every time it rains. WTH? Traffic becomes unbareable. These people lose their damned minds when it rains. In Nebraska they get 2 feet of snow and don't miss a beat. It's water people......move on....

Nice: So last weekend. Nanny kept the girls overnight. Son was on a camp out. This left hubby and me an evening alone. We are boring. We are tired. We are.......old I guess. Don't judge me. We opted for take out-steak and sweet potato for me and downloading a movie. Yes, a baby sitter and we stayed in. Listen I can count on one hand probably the number of times we've been alone in the house since we moved in 2 years ago.  It was wonderfully pleasant and relaxing.  We watched The Debt with Helen Miren. Excellent film, btw.  The next morning we went to Ihop where I had an egg white veggie omelet and a whole grain pancake. Yummo. How wonderful to go out for breakfast and enjoy coffee and conversation that didn't include "stop poking your sister" or "don't throw the crayons".   After we headed to do our Christmas list and shopping.......BACK HOME. Which was good considering the back thingy that happened shortly after our arrival......see above naughty

So as you can see my life has been crazy, but that's my world. You'd think I would adjust. I've been reading as usual, but not commenting as much. I think you can figure out why since you just read all of that. I found out our kid's school is hosting it's first 1K/5K run end of April. NOW that's a reason to really get busy training to run. That's the plan for my fitness. I've been saying it forever. Time to put up or shut up.

What's your plan for your fitness goals?  Don't forget about them in the holiday chaos. Without them, there might not be another holiday.  Have a great week my friends.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Another kick A** Weekend and seeing PURPLE!

I can't believe it is already Wednesday! Where is time going and WHY does it seem to go faster when you haven't finished your Christmas shopping?

I am still having a hard time with my diet. I have not been getting in all my water and not tracking. That being said I'm starting to get on my own nerves with this excuses thing and I've had it. So today I woke up and dragged my sore ass out of bed and drank my water and ate my breakfast and tracked it. I'd planned on hitting the gym but I have a sick kid at home. Instead I'll head home at lunch to check on him.

On the bright side my weekend was great. Tree is up and decorations are almost done. I'm ready for the youngest's bday party this weekend and I'm getting my shopping underway on line. Progress my friends.

But the biggest news of course is that I passed my belt test. I am now officially an advanced belt and over half way to black!! It was not an easy test. Still a bit off balance from the cruise and had some trouble with the turning jump kicks. I ended up falling splat on my butt not once but twice. Embarassing? Maybe. In front of all those parents and grand parents and such. But I ask you....did any of them have the balls to be out there testing and busting their ass? Nope. So screw that. I got back up and kept on kicking.

I broke my board on the first try. It's a big freaking board and we had to do an axe kick (kick up high over the head then straight down breaking the board with your heel) I had to spar twice once with a black belt and the other time was with my son. That was super fun. After I was super sore and tired and bruised. Still am somewhat but my bruises are badges of honor. I'm quite proud of myself.

I did not like the pics of me this test. I feel like I look fat. And I see all 6 of the pounds I've put on, mainly in my belly. It's ok though because I compared the pic from my first test and I still feel like I look better now. What do you think?

Monday despite my tired soreness I trained with my trainer. Ouch. My pecs are still sore but that's ok. It's getting better and again I love being sore for that reason.Today I have tracked, had my water and eaten well and SURPRISE I feel better. Will I ever learn that I feel better when I fuel my body with healthy foods, water and exercise? Duh.  It's like I have short term memory loss every time! (I love you, Dori!)  I hope all of you are staying on track and making it through the mind field that are the holidays.


Me kicking said son's booty. Just kidding....
Breaking of the board
Getting my purple belt

Kicking during first test
After first test

Friday, December 2, 2011

Friday! Warning. Hectic weekend ahead....

Ok, so I woke up today with pain in my back. Slept wrong I think. Not good considering my test tomorrow. I've stretched and it's better. I am nervous for my test, but also really excited. Half way to black belt is a good thing. Of course when I think of how far I need to go to get to black.....sigh. I don't care. I'm determined. I'm doing this thing.

I've struggled this week with eating. The cravings have been bad after my indulgences on the cruise.  I haven't felt great, still have had a lot of dizziness. Today is the first day that I woke up and felt "normal" minus the back thingy.  I'm glad it is Friday. I have a lot to do. I've still got to get the house decorated. Lists made. Shopping started. Sigh.....Christmas is hard work.  I used to love this time of year. It was my favorite. That's why we got married at Christmastime so we could have lovely Christmas decorations. But, these days I feel like it is such a hectic time. It's a lot harder to enjoy.  I'm going to try and enjoy it anyway for my kids. Or at least keep my stress to a minimum. As much as I can. Internet shopping helps that a lot.

I've had trouble getting back into my routine, but I feel like I can do that today. I've got to get back to tracking and drinking my water. Yesterday I did 2 TKD classes. And I feel like I'm ready for my test. My weight is still up from the cruise, but on it's way back down. Some of it is water retention I think. Anyhoo, I'll be posting about my test on Monday. I hope you all have a good weekend. That's all for me for now. Short post. I have to get some work done. Big computer conversion today. Have a great weekend!

Progress to TouchDown and GOALLLL!!