Ok, I realize that the majority of the world posts their "I'm thankful for" list before or during Thanksgiving. I'm a little behind. I'm behind because I was a bit busy. This Thanksgiving struck a new chord of thankfulness for the Davie-Chaney-Bremner-Whitson family. It is painfully obvious that the center of our family is my ridiculously strong Grandma. None of us know what we would do without her, and that thought has begun to enter my mind more frequently than I ever wanted to admit. Every day she is more and more impressive as she continues to fight with Breast Cancer and shows no signs of quitting. We've been having our ups and downs here lately, thankfully the ups have out-numbered the downs, but the downs are always heart wrenching. My Grandma went through her radiation treatment like a champ and didn't complain once. She had 7 straight weeks of 5 days a week treatment and she found the best way to look on the positive side. She never needed to worry about having a shortage of drivers to take her to and from treatments. The downside/upside to her treatments were they were about 30-45 minutes away from her house and the appointment was around lunch time. The giant benefit of this timing is that the drive meant we had good solid one-on-one conversations with Grandma to and from her treatments, plus most all of us would stop on the way home and have lunch of form. This meant that we would get a good few hours of just Grandma time and could learn something new, re-live old stories, or just hang out and catch up on things going around us. This was definitely a blessing in disguise! She finished her treatments about 3 weeks ago, perfect timing for the holidays, but this lead to a new obstacle. Grandma was put on a blood thinner to prevent clotting, well.....it didn't work. Tuesday of Thanksgiving week she had an ultrasound on her leg because it had swelled and was getting painful and it turned out that she had an extensive DVT. This is frightening on many levels because a DVT can break off and throw mini clots to your heart, brain, or lungs and cause all kinds of problems, the main fear would be death. This scared us like no other. She got to stay in the hospital for a couple of nights but then was released just in time to come home for Thanksgiving dinner/lunch.
My sister and I had come down on Wednesday night so we could start some of the food prep. Grandma had her watchful eye on us all the way from the hospital by her calling us, and us calling her, about 10 times lol. She would call to make sure we didn't forget something, then we would call her to clarify something we thought we remembered but turned out she always made and we were really clueless. We did make her a little sad one time because mom called her to have her listen to Sam and I make the turkey sing and dance. Yes, we are 28 and 23 years old and we act like 5 year olds, deal with it. The story behind this is that last year Sam and I were put in charge of prepping the turkey and some how, SOME WAY, we managed to de-spine the turkey. We THOUGHT we were taking out the neck, but when we finally tore it out an hour later we realized there were vertebrae and it wasn't nearly as pliable as it should have been. Then we laughed so hard we almost cried. Well this year we were trying to include Grandma in our shenanigans and it really just turned out to make her miss being part of the festivities in person. The positive side is that we didn't burn the house down, and we didn't have Thanksgiving without Grandma. Sam stayed the night at Grandma's house so she could start the turkey and other cooking in the morning. I went back to mom's house for the night to help her with things. In the morning when mom went into town to help Sam, I was supposed to be driving right behind her, but I decided to go to the hospital and I was not leaving until Grandma was coming home with me. Well, about 2 hours after I got to the hospital Grandma was free to go. We had a few hoops to jump through because of her meds, but she came home! That afternoon when we were all finally gathered around for food we had the most emotional start to Thanksgiving ever. We had twenty-one people gathered in our living room. That's right, TWENTY-ONE. Grandma stood at the top of the circle wanting everyone to hold hands and said she wanted to thank everyone for everything they did, the cooking, driving, visiting, and such. But not much more got out beyond thanking us for everything and that we mean so much to her. Then she cried, and we all cried. My cousin Shawn said grace right away and all you heard were sniffles as he was thanking God for our blessings of having a great family, bringing Grandma home for Thanksgiving, and allowing us to all be together and enjoy this food. There wasn't a dry eye in the house after that.
My family is special. A few people have told me that my family is weird, I'm down with that. I am a firm believer that if the way my family works is weird, then I certainly do not want to be normal. I love that we can all hang out randomly, we don't need an excuse. I love that we've grown up together and fight and love more like siblings than a giant group of cousins. We have a stronger bond than most families and I love every bit of it. A few people (outside the family) have made the comment that after Grandma passes that our family will probably drift apart, just like normal families, and we won't see each other nearly as much. Grandma is our rock, and we are her rock, but we also have grown up together in such a way that we have the strongest foundation that I have ever seen. There will unfortunately be a time when we will not physically have Grandma with us, but that won't change us getting together for holidays as a giant family, and it won't change the fact that she'll still be with us. Right now our main family gatherings are; Summer Birthdays Party, Pumpkin Carving, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Those are the ones that happen every year and are gatherings that I look forward to. I know these will continue, but we will just be gathering at a different house. But we will all still be together.
A small side-step. My family is weird. Shawn asked if I would run with my younger cousin, Titus, on Friday for a 5k. Sure! I text Red, who was still in West Chester because he had to work later, and asked him to grab my winter running gear. Friday evening Titus, who is 10 years old, and myself ran our first 5k together. He had ran a practice 5k on Monday in 27 minutes and wanted to beat that, so we ran a 26:28. He had way more left than I anticipated, so we sprinted out the finish. Next 5k we do I'm definitely pushing him more. I didn't want to kill him, and figured that as long as he was running behind me that was all the faster he wanted to go, next time will be much faster. I know he has a 24 in him!! :D
For all my family who read this, I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!
Take care!
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Mental and Emotional Energy
So it's not a secret that I seem to get my energy from the sun. Summer is my single most favorite season, I'm ridiculously energized and happy on sunny days regardless of season, and when it's cloudy and crap-tastic it takes me a little bit more effort to be my hyper self. Some people say that "it's all in your head" on how energized you feel, and in part this can be very true, but there is also some truth to the fact that natural light and vitamin D can directly effect your mood, which can help with your energy level. You'll be hard pressed to find someone who is in a foul or depressed mood but wants to get a lot accomplished and is successful at finishing anything they start with any amount of quality. The opposite works too, if you're energized and feeling great then you are most likely to finish anything you start and end up having energy left over to tackle another task. I'm trying to teach my clients some time management, because that could definitely help, but I feel like all the time management in the world won't help them accomplish everything they think they have to do.
This is where a fun conversation between Adam and myself drops in perfectly. We joke that I'm constantly trying to organize my client's lives and all the junk that they have to do in order for them to make it to the gym. I was also listing my "to do" list for the day and it was epic. We started laughing because we looked at the list and I was like "yep, today is a day that I have so much to do that all I'm going to do is take a nap". My list was overwhelmingly long, it was cloudy and crappy outside, and people were being incredibly draining that day. For as hyper and happy as I am, I really don't like being around a lot of people. There are a select few people that I can be around all day every day and still be just as peachy as before. But when I have to be a super hyper/happy midget all the time and attempt to encourage people who genuinely don't want to be in the gym all day, it gets draining. I go in to work at 5am and typically get home between 1:30 and 3:30 depending on the day. Most days I immediately take a nap simply because I feel exhausted. I could probably run or lift or do whatever physically, but emotionally and mentally I'm shot. After my nap, in the quiet of my nook, I'm quite happy. Adam and I were also discussing the benefits of vitamin D and how living in Ohio sucks for people who are so kryptonian like myself. (My friend Phil dubbed me Kryptonian after spending a day with me at Kings Island. It was a partly cloudy day and he started cracking up because I didn't notice that when the clouds were gone I was smiley, hyper, and happy. Then when the clouds covered the sun I was just meh, still happy, but sat still and not as active.) Well I started experimenting with different doses of vitamin D, something that we get from the sun, and I don't know if it really is in my head or not, but I feel worlds better when I started taking it. I'm currently on vacation in California, and not taking the vitamin D, but I am much happier hanging out in the sun and regardless of my surroundings, I don't feel nearly as drained. Granted, I've escaped to San Diego to be with one of my mellow friends, Danielle, and I'm pretty sure there isn't a draining thing in this apartment, area, or person, so it's incredibly nice to get away.
Speaking of getting away, I'm going to go run in my most favorite place on earth simply because I can. There's a lagoon that I love to visit every time I come here, and I think I've found a great trail to get in 6 miles for the day. This brings me back to my previous point about how people are draining. Yesterday morning I was in LA from Friday night until Saturday morning, and regardless of the fact that we were supposed to be running on the beach, I wanted nothing to do with running or being around anyone. I just woke up and I was drained, which points out how not being left alone can be quite draining.
Check out my friend's page where he talks about energy management. He wants people to figure out their highs and lows of energy so they can figure out when they would be the most productive. I want people to figure out their source of energy, mine is the sun, or vitamin D. What's yours? When do you feel better? Do workouts give you energy, or do you need to get more energy before working out? Do people leave you feeling drained but usually happy (introverts), or does being around people boost your mood and you'd rather never spend any time alone (extroverts)?
Toodles, here's Adam's page about managing your energy once you figure out where you get your energy!
This is where a fun conversation between Adam and myself drops in perfectly. We joke that I'm constantly trying to organize my client's lives and all the junk that they have to do in order for them to make it to the gym. I was also listing my "to do" list for the day and it was epic. We started laughing because we looked at the list and I was like "yep, today is a day that I have so much to do that all I'm going to do is take a nap". My list was overwhelmingly long, it was cloudy and crappy outside, and people were being incredibly draining that day. For as hyper and happy as I am, I really don't like being around a lot of people. There are a select few people that I can be around all day every day and still be just as peachy as before. But when I have to be a super hyper/happy midget all the time and attempt to encourage people who genuinely don't want to be in the gym all day, it gets draining. I go in to work at 5am and typically get home between 1:30 and 3:30 depending on the day. Most days I immediately take a nap simply because I feel exhausted. I could probably run or lift or do whatever physically, but emotionally and mentally I'm shot. After my nap, in the quiet of my nook, I'm quite happy. Adam and I were also discussing the benefits of vitamin D and how living in Ohio sucks for people who are so kryptonian like myself. (My friend Phil dubbed me Kryptonian after spending a day with me at Kings Island. It was a partly cloudy day and he started cracking up because I didn't notice that when the clouds were gone I was smiley, hyper, and happy. Then when the clouds covered the sun I was just meh, still happy, but sat still and not as active.) Well I started experimenting with different doses of vitamin D, something that we get from the sun, and I don't know if it really is in my head or not, but I feel worlds better when I started taking it. I'm currently on vacation in California, and not taking the vitamin D, but I am much happier hanging out in the sun and regardless of my surroundings, I don't feel nearly as drained. Granted, I've escaped to San Diego to be with one of my mellow friends, Danielle, and I'm pretty sure there isn't a draining thing in this apartment, area, or person, so it's incredibly nice to get away.
Speaking of getting away, I'm going to go run in my most favorite place on earth simply because I can. There's a lagoon that I love to visit every time I come here, and I think I've found a great trail to get in 6 miles for the day. This brings me back to my previous point about how people are draining. Yesterday morning I was in LA from Friday night until Saturday morning, and regardless of the fact that we were supposed to be running on the beach, I wanted nothing to do with running or being around anyone. I just woke up and I was drained, which points out how not being left alone can be quite draining.
Check out my friend's page where he talks about energy management. He wants people to figure out their highs and lows of energy so they can figure out when they would be the most productive. I want people to figure out their source of energy, mine is the sun, or vitamin D. What's yours? When do you feel better? Do workouts give you energy, or do you need to get more energy before working out? Do people leave you feeling drained but usually happy (introverts), or does being around people boost your mood and you'd rather never spend any time alone (extroverts)?
Toodles, here's Adam's page about managing your energy once you figure out where you get your energy!
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Shenanigans and mini vent
So this is how you know you have a good running buddy. I was driving to work on Thursday morning and heard about a half marathon that was going to be in Mason on Sunday (today). What do I do? I don't ignore or just go "that's neat". No, I text my running buddy and ask her if she had heard of it. She takes a whopping 10 minutes to look up the race, what it supports, the course, entry fees, and weather, then signs up. Her next text is "oh! Sounds good hold on" "Ok, I'm signed up". I didn't even say I was doing it yet! Well, I naturally ended up doing it because I couldn't let her do it on her own! So mmmyeeess Ali and I signed up on Thursday for a race that was Sunday and didn't really even bat an eye.
Well race day came this morning and we trotted out freezing our butts off for the first mile. It was about 38 degrees when we started, but we dressed appropriately so we weren't super cold. We were both warm by mile 1. So I had to remind super long legs here that we were supposed to be doing a training run. Something relaxing and fun, not out to win. Constantly having to remind her to slow her 6 foot tall frame to slow it down was actually entertaining because I always had a smart alack way to say something to her about slowing down. Around mile 5 though I almost screamed at her because we were running a decent pace, and it didn't feel horrendous but I figured we would pay for it later. Yeah, that pace was 7:20. Crack-head. I told her to slow her psycho butt down or else I was going to throw my shoe at her, tell her to pick it up, then bring it back to me. Like I said, it was entertaining. We also came up for a headline for the Cincinnati Enquirer during one of the water stops. I was slowing down a touch to drink some water because the last time I tried to keep up with her I choked on the water and thought I would drown. She laughed at me since I was slowing down and I said "wouldn't that be a sight. "Master swim team coach drowns during half marathon."" The lady running behind us was cracking up because we were ridiculous. Oh, and fyi, it's really hard to laugh hysterically and run hard at the same time. Your body really appreciates it when you breath normal when you're running. Meanwhile, Ali ended up having to drag my untrained butt the last mile and a half because my legs were shot! I felt like my legs were going to fall off or just completely quit very very soon. We finished in 1:53 and some change, pretty good for an impromptu half marathon that we didn't train for. We realized about 50 yards into the race that our longest run since August was a 9 mile run that we did 3 weeks ago. Oops. Oh well, it turned out just fine!
Ok, on to my mini vent. I have a tiny pet peeve with people. Mostly people who are supposedly desperate to lose weight, really want help, and beg for training. If you know you're in bad shape and you know that you don't know what you're doing, why on God's green earth would you decide to quit training?! That's akin to wanting to become Yanni and hiring all the best teachers but only wanting to practice once per week then decide that you're going to try it on your own, and oh yeah, take up ping pong and see how your piano skills come along while playing ping pong. :/ This doesn't make any sense! I have had people tell me to my face "I know I need to lose at least 150lbs and I know what to do and what I should eat. I just don't want to do any cardio because I hate treadmills, and I don't want to lift heavy weights because I don't want to look bulky." For those of you who know me quite well, it is taking every single solitary ounce of strength and will to not make my famous "you're a freaking idiot" face. I still slip up and show that face sometimes, but it's far less frequently than it really could be. If you want to see change then you have to make changes yourself. Having someone who is already where you want to be in front of you does not mean you changed. If you don't know what you're doing, that's fine. You want to learn, that's great! You know you need someone to help you so you hire someone to teach you. This is also a great plan because it's a way to have your own personal tutor for a language you don't understand.
Mini-rant over for now. Ok, well I'm going to go back to my meal plan because it's Sunday, which means tomorrow is Monday (grocery day).
Happy Training
Well race day came this morning and we trotted out freezing our butts off for the first mile. It was about 38 degrees when we started, but we dressed appropriately so we weren't super cold. We were both warm by mile 1. So I had to remind super long legs here that we were supposed to be doing a training run. Something relaxing and fun, not out to win. Constantly having to remind her to slow her 6 foot tall frame to slow it down was actually entertaining because I always had a smart alack way to say something to her about slowing down. Around mile 5 though I almost screamed at her because we were running a decent pace, and it didn't feel horrendous but I figured we would pay for it later. Yeah, that pace was 7:20. Crack-head. I told her to slow her psycho butt down or else I was going to throw my shoe at her, tell her to pick it up, then bring it back to me. Like I said, it was entertaining. We also came up for a headline for the Cincinnati Enquirer during one of the water stops. I was slowing down a touch to drink some water because the last time I tried to keep up with her I choked on the water and thought I would drown. She laughed at me since I was slowing down and I said "wouldn't that be a sight. "Master swim team coach drowns during half marathon."" The lady running behind us was cracking up because we were ridiculous. Oh, and fyi, it's really hard to laugh hysterically and run hard at the same time. Your body really appreciates it when you breath normal when you're running. Meanwhile, Ali ended up having to drag my untrained butt the last mile and a half because my legs were shot! I felt like my legs were going to fall off or just completely quit very very soon. We finished in 1:53 and some change, pretty good for an impromptu half marathon that we didn't train for. We realized about 50 yards into the race that our longest run since August was a 9 mile run that we did 3 weeks ago. Oops. Oh well, it turned out just fine!
Ok, on to my mini vent. I have a tiny pet peeve with people. Mostly people who are supposedly desperate to lose weight, really want help, and beg for training. If you know you're in bad shape and you know that you don't know what you're doing, why on God's green earth would you decide to quit training?! That's akin to wanting to become Yanni and hiring all the best teachers but only wanting to practice once per week then decide that you're going to try it on your own, and oh yeah, take up ping pong and see how your piano skills come along while playing ping pong. :/ This doesn't make any sense! I have had people tell me to my face "I know I need to lose at least 150lbs and I know what to do and what I should eat. I just don't want to do any cardio because I hate treadmills, and I don't want to lift heavy weights because I don't want to look bulky." For those of you who know me quite well, it is taking every single solitary ounce of strength and will to not make my famous "you're a freaking idiot" face. I still slip up and show that face sometimes, but it's far less frequently than it really could be. If you want to see change then you have to make changes yourself. Having someone who is already where you want to be in front of you does not mean you changed. If you don't know what you're doing, that's fine. You want to learn, that's great! You know you need someone to help you so you hire someone to teach you. This is also a great plan because it's a way to have your own personal tutor for a language you don't understand.
Mini-rant over for now. Ok, well I'm going to go back to my meal plan because it's Sunday, which means tomorrow is Monday (grocery day).
Happy Training
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