Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Tooting My Horn and Other Random Notes

Ok so it's been another 3 weeks since I have written again. Wow! Time sure does fly when you sit around and take care of the mundane business of life, right?

I haven't been doing too much to toot my horn lately that I feel are that extra-ordinary but they have made a difference to some people so I'm going to "toot" about them.

On the 12th of this month my sister in law's father passed away. He had diabetes and had gotten bit by a brown recluse spider. Complications caused by the diabetes caused him to go into cardiac arrest early Saturday morning. Since her dad lived with them he was definitely part of the family so That Other Kid and I loaded up and made a quick trip to Kansas. My oldest niece was so happy to see me she started crying, and that made the whole trip worth it. I hung out with her boyfriend during the funeral and we both just hung back to support the family. I'm glad I went...but oh boy I am getting too old for these quick trips to Kansas. Once I got back I just wanted to sit and vegg out!

Bonus for the trip is I got to meet Rachel
. She lives just 20 minutes or so from my brother and so we went out for dinner while That Other Kid hung out with his cousins and my brother and sister in law! It was a great way to end a crummy day! It's always nice to meet one of my bloggy friends and just get to know them on a IRL manner.

Most of you know I homeschool That Other Kid but in case you didn't...now you do!!
I slacked a lot this past fall with school so we will be working (on a reduced schedule) throughout the summer but we have a few more weeks to go before we take a couple of weeks off to enjoy some of the summer fun then move to our summer schedule. He's not too thrilled with that idea but I reminded him that it's too hot to do anything outside anyway, so we may as well do school and then enjoy fall when it finally gets here! My Marine will be finishing up his MOS school and graduating on June 13th. There really isn't a ceremony for this graduation so we are not attending, but he said he will have about a week before he gets orders for a station or a deployment so he will probably come home for a few days and I don't want to be busy so I'm planning our break for during this time. That Other Kid and I want to hang with him while he is home since who knows when he will be home again?

I have been on thyroid medicine for just over a month now and I am already starting to notice a difference. I'm hoping by the end of this next month I will be able to start SEEING a difference.

I started training walks for the Komen 3 Day
at the beginning of the month. The actual 3 day isn't until November but it's best to train if you expect to really be able to walk 60 miles in 3 days! It's not a cake walk we are talking about! This past weekend our training walk was supposed to be 5 miles but I clocked it and it was 5.67 miles. We walked it around 1 hr and 40 minutes so we were moving at a pretty good pace, in a pretty difficult area of town with a steep hill. I was huffing and puffing by the time we took a break after the hills so I can really tell I need to bump up my cardio workouts at home. It was already pretty warm out at 9 am! I'm not looking forward to summer but I am looking forward to training and walking with my friends for a wonderful cause!

I have been slacking with the New Rules of Lifting for Women workouts but I am determined to get back to it. Tonight is my night....I made it through Stage 1 and so I'm going to start over with Stage 2. I am determined to stick with this...it will be good for me to be combining lifting with my walking training too!!

That's it for me...I'm doing ok, just busy with the routine business of life and I don't have much to "toot" about but life in general!

What are you "tooting" about today?

If you want to help me in my goal of reaching $2300 for the Komen 3 Day you can donate here Every dollar counts in this fight against breast cancer.




Wednesday, May 2, 2012

A Month Later...

It's been a whole month since I have taken the time to write on this blog. I can't say that I haven't had anything to say...just haven't had time or inclination to sit down and actually write. So I'm going to try to catch you up on my life with some handy, dandy bullet points. They always go fast and are easy to tackle, especially since I don't seem to be able to write in a cohesive fashion this will handle my ramblings quiet nicely!




*I have been weighing in with the Sisterhood
but haven't really been putting much into my weight loss efforts. It has shown - I'm pretty much the same weight that I was 5 weeks ago. Not cool but I'm not sweating it anymore.


*I have been working out with the #Ironsisters
and am ready for the 3rd workout in Stage 2. It's hard and is hurting my knees. I'm hopeful that I can continue doing it.

*I went to the doctor nearly 2 weeks ago and got a bunch of blood work done. I haven't been myself; cranky, tired, gaining weight even when eating right, tired, cranky....you get the point. I had an extremely LOW thyroid and my Vitamin D levels were at 25 and should be a minimum of 60. So he has put me on a high dose of thyroid medicine and 10,000 units of VitaminD3 a day. He also told me to spend time outside in the sun without sunblock for at least 30 minutes a day. I'm getting better at this but I still need to work on it. Sometimes it doesn't seem there is 30 minutes in a day to go outside!

*My triglycerides are a bit high also, but he said not to worry about that right now. He thinks they will even out once the thyroid gets regulated. I figure if I start eating better food that will help both the triglycerides and the weight!

*Jen and I have been chatting quite a bit and we have come up with a plan to set up some goals for the month of May to help us get focused and make sure we make it to where we want to go. Our goals are both pretty much the same:
4 solid workouts every week
morning stretches
tracking everything, every day
(this one is mine) writing out daily to do list - what do I need to do this day and in what priority?

*I am not going to weigh in for the entire month of May. I have been gaining weight over the past few months and it has done nothing but discourage me and depress me. I need to get my hormones fixed up before I worry about my weight. I have weighed in for so long on Wednesdays that I may need a reminder to STAY AWAY FROM THE SCALE!! k?

*We have been homeschooling pretty consistently over the past 7 weeks and I feel like we are finally getting somewhere. I am planning for us to take a couple of weeks off in June but pick back up and school for a few hours a day throughout the summer. It gets too freaking hot here to do much outside and we can only swim so much in the summer! :) This should get us ready for 3rd grade curriculum by the end of summer even though we have taken so much time off. (This is another reason I haven't had much time lately!! It takes time to homeschool, even if it's only one student!)

*I love to read but lately reading has taken a backseat to other things I want to do. I was able to buy a Kindle at the beginning of April and I have downloaded A LOT of books for free but it seems there is never enough time in the day to actually read them. BUT...I am reading Jane Eyre and Jen and I are going to have a kind of "online book club". I have only read 3 chapters so far but I now understand why it is a classic. I'm liking it....can't wait to get further into it!

*I am walking 60 miles in 3 days the first weekend of November to help fight breast cancer. This disease affects families everyday! Me walking 60 miles and raising $2300 is just a small way I can help! Fundraising and training walks are starting up in earnest. I truly would appreciate your support as I work to find a cure!
You can donate here

It could be your mom, sister, best friend or yourself you save simply by donating a few dollars you know that you will be doing your part in finding a cure!