Life is full of good things!

Happy, happy day to you, my blog friends! I'm having a happy day! Dug and I are all smiles.

If you don't know who Dug is then we can't be friends. There's still hope for you - we can reconcile if you stop what you are doing and go watch the movie "UP".  It includes the sweetest love story (in only the first few minutes), it has an adorable grumpy old man, a cute kid and DOGS! Dug is the bestest...why, you ask? He's super cute and...well...this...

And why do I love this? Because I can relate. I use "squirrel" as a verb, often when acknowledging my own attention deficits. I can prove that it's a problem - when this post was in my head, it did not include an Ode to Dug - this all happened because when I searched for "happy dog", Dug came up and off we went...SQUIRREL!

So let's get to the boring stuff. My foot is TONS better. I didn't take the meds beyond the first week. I've worked hard to make sure I'm stretching, wearing good shoes, I got a splint for overnight, I'm modifying my workouts as need so I don't make those tendons angry again. Boy were they mad before!

In other news, I received my graduation papers from the Nurse Navigator this week. You probably saw it on Instagram so I won't bore you with a repeat of my sentiments here, but even with a wee bit of nerves, I'm in a good place emotionally for what's to come. I'll write a blog post soon about my conversations with the Almighty over the past decade or so and my philosophy about how I need to edit my side of those conversations going forward. That should be a fun one!

In Fitness News, I'm proud to announce that I have completed 8 days of the 21 Day Fix. Still loving it. I'm digging up some great recipes on Pinterest so I'm really excited. I've been doing the workout for a week now but have just been keeping my caloric intake under 1200 calories (net). This weekend I'll be planning meals the Fix way and see what happens. In the first 8 days I've dropped 4.2 lbs and I'm already noticing some changes in my how my clothes fit. I did not take measurements before I started so I don't know exactly what the results are there. I did measure today so I'll know going forward. I'm interested to see what happens over the next couple of weeks.  I am so motivated to do more. Once I get through this week, I'm going to do 2 workouts daily. Once in the morning and once in the evening. I bought bucket loads of fruits and vegetables yesterday - if you know me, you now I have major problems eating fruit but I decided it's time to get over it. I've been through Hell in the last year and I came through it stronger so I should be able to get past my texture issues and be a damn grown up. Therefore, I shall eat fruit. I'm also trying to set an example for my children. I heard a quote sometime during the past couple of weeks that I've already heard myself repeat to the kids. It is, "If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you're not that hungry." Genius, right?

There's much more to be happy about but it's past my bedtime. I hope to be back soon with an update. Thanks for hanging in there with me friends.

Love to all,

Andee

The Fix Is In

I started the 21 Day Fix last week. With the whole foot thing, I just can't do Insanity right now so I had to find an alternative. I actually LOVE The Fix so far. It's challenging, I'm already feeling better and stronger and it only takes 40 minutes per day (with Abs - 30 without) and it doesn't kill my foot. I didn't take my measurements before I started but I'll get them tomorrow (tonight if I can stay awake for 10 more minutes) and keep track of inches lost.

Have a good night everyone. I'll be back tomorrow with a full post...that's the plan anyway.

Love to all,
A

What a day (in a good way)

 Today was great!  I went to the office, made it home in time to fix a healthy dinner and start a new fitness project. Today was day one of the 21 Day Fix. Today's workout was full body cardio… Of course I had to modify it a bit because of my foot but I still fear that I will be unable to walk tomorrow. Yes it was that serious! I am already feeling it so I am terrified to think of what I'm going to feel like in the morning. One day at a time  I can now say I've been through worse so I have no excuses not to push through and rebuild this beaten up body, right?!

I think I'm going to go soak and pray that it helps ease the pain tomorrow. 

Love to all!

Andee

Random Workout

I was short on time (and asleep on my feet) so I picked a (quick) random workout for tonight. It was a good one.

There she goes, sharing her business again

Yes, we have entered a new phase of oversharing. This time around it's life after treatment. Yes, you are being subjected to more crap no one cares about. You are SOOOO welcome. I'm sharing food, drink, exercise...I guess everything is fair game. Why do I feel the need to share, you ask...well, the biggest reason is to hold my self accountable. If one person, other than me, is reading updates then I'll feel obligated to keep going. I'll feel like a failure if I give up. I will NOT give up. I'm slowly ramping up physical activity. I even added a session with weights this week but I have to take it easy in that department. Start light and work up gradually - there are some studies that say weights can trigger lymphedema so I want to be very careful.
So there it is. I'll still keep you updated on my overall health, ongoing treatment and appointments but we'll be working in the other stuff too.
I've got to get the kiddos to bed. 'Night all.

Love to all,
Andee

Catching up on workouts

Sunday's workout was not via YouTube, it was a DVD. One of my Winsor Pilates DVDs - this one was a 30 minute Pilates circle workout. 20 minutes of, primarily, floor work, then a 10 minute bonus segment. It was pretty good.

Today we (Mattie was my workout buddy) went back to some barre work. This one was challenging! If you're wondering how I do the workouts from YouTube, I'll tell you. We got a new BluRay player for Christmas and you can pair it with your tablet or phone so I browse for workouts on my phone and then tap an icon and VOILA it plays on the TV! Love this feature...yes, I am a ginormous nerd.

Cardio Today's Barre Work

Today's Ab Work

This is a good one.

Did I wish for "normal"?

Good early morning everyone!
It is currently 1:23 AM and I am awake...obviously. I fell asleep reading to the kiddos but now I'm awake. The house is quiet and all of the lucky people that live here are sleeping - at this point I think the dog, who hangs pretty close to me, has even gone back to sleep. Oh well. I wished for "normal" and it appears to be back. That means waking up at odd hours and not being able to get back to sleep. I try, I really do. But I have a brain that won't always turn off when I want it to. That means I try to go to sleep but when that doesn't work, I have to distract the brain and listen to an audiobook, podcast, documentary stuff...anything. These days I'm absorbing all things Mt Everest and K2.

Fascinating stuff. I'm pretty close to being able to tell you all about the following from memory:

• Everest and K2 history
• who reached the summit first
• when
• Everest 1996 climbing season 
• dates
• who died
• where they were from
• timeline
• weather
• K2 1998 climbing season
• dates
• who died
• where they were from
• timeline
• weather
• Related topics
• Climbing season
• Best times to summit/turnaround time
• Acclimatization
• Routes, camps and elevations on the north and south sides of Everest
• Everest is the highest peak on earth but not a technically difficult climb
• K2 is the second highest peak on earth but considered to be the most difficult climb
• Snow blindness
• Frostbite
• Sherpa
• High altitude information
• The Death Zone
• O2 levels at various elevations
• HAPE
• HACE
• Hypoxia
• AMS
• Human body response to high altitude
• Climbing ethics
• Summit fever
• 1996 Everest
• David Sharp controversy Everest 2006
• 1998 K2
• Personal responsibility
• Inexperienced climbers
• Commercial expeditions
• Recommended Documentaries
• Storm Over Everest (Frontline Special)
• The Summit
• Everest: Beyond the Limit (Discovery Channel Series 3 seasons)
• Dark Side  of Everest
• The David Sharp Controversy
• Miracle on Everest
• Seconds from Disaster: Into the Death Zone
• Fatal Altitude: Tragedy on K2
• Books
• Into Thin Air

See, lack of sleep can lead to learning and entertainment! It also makes me a great partner for trivia games - right now those games would need to be all about Everest and K2 but I'm sure this level of knowledge will come in handy at some point...right?  ;-)

I need to try to get back to sleep so I'm going to sign off. Take care of yourselves and I'll be back tomorrow night...hopefully at a more reasonable hour, but I'll be back.

Love to all!

Andee

A wee bit of ab work

I think I'm done for the day. :-)

First Barre Workout

Oh....dear....LORD. It's only 10 minutes but you feel the burn. I hope I can walk tomorrow!

Yes, I am a slacker

Happy January 14 to you all. I'm finally back on the blog. I've posted quick updates to the FB page but I've been absent from the blog for, I think, a couple of weeks or close to it. So, what has happened since my last post? Quite a few things, actually. It may take me more than one sitting to provide a complete update but we'll get there.  
First of all, I'm pleased to announce that I did go to the doctor about my foot, as planned, and the diagnosis was NOT nerve damage - I have plantar faciitis. It HURTS but it will heal. This is great news. I have to not overdo it for 4-6 weeks (no treadmill, no heels, don't go barefoot and always wear supportive shoes), take an anti-inflammatory, and be patient so the inflammation and whatever other damage there might be, can heal. That has put a bit of a damper on my fitness plans but I'm adapting. Since I can't do hardcore cardio for a while I've been asking around about low impact alternatives so I can at least do something. I already love Pilates but I like variety. Yoga and Yogilates were suggested but I'm most intrigued by the suggestion of  Barre workouts. Genius! I had forgotten how tough barre work was and how good it was for the body. I was much younger when I did that type of thing regularly and MUCH MUCH MUCH more fit than I am right now. I'm excited to have something new and different to do. I'll let you know if I'm still as excited after I do it for a few days and unable to walk.   :-)
I battled the chest congestion right up until late this past weekend. It's not 100% gone but it's nowhere near the issue that it was. I can laugh a little without going into a hysterical coughing fit. I saw my Radiation Oncologist on Monday and she said my lungs sounded clear so anything left was just upper respiratory junk. Ya gotta love that!
Yesterday I made a trip to the office. It was so great to be able to see, not only co-workers from our Kentucky market but from all over the country. I only get to see them once or twice a year anyway so I'm thrilled that I was able to get some hugs and high fives from them. I hope everyone has a safe trip home.
Today has been a challenge. It all started when I woke up @ 2 AM. Yes, you read that correctly. I've been awake for a good long while and I'm ready to get the babies tucked in and get some sleep. Whew! That wasn't the only issue today. I'll spare you the long story for now but due a combination of cluelessness on my part and weather, I spent the morning driving to an appointment that I didn't have, couldn't make it to the actual appointment time so I had to coordinate rescheduling, when I tried to go home the road was shut down so I had to drive twice as long just to get home. I was an unhappy camper for a few minutes but I got over it. Every day, no matter how challenging and nerve rattling (especially for a control freak) they get, is a blessing so I end the day with a (sleepy) smile.
I'm off for my nightly reading session with the babies. I'll be back again this week with some more planning stuff and we're going to get back to the daily laugh...because who couldn't use THAT??

Love to all,
Andee

Suck it up, Buttercup!

Let me just start by saying that this is going to be one of those super honest posts. I worry that, when I'm super honest, readers may think that my attitude has gone south...rest assured, it has not. I just think it's important to share the good stuff and the challenges - if I don't...well, then what's the point of sharing all of my business? You can't help anyone else if you sugar coat stuff. Right? So here we go...
December was a very challenging month. No complaining here...just facts. I started to see the results of radiation on my skin, my lungs got progressively more congested and my foot pain seemed constant. The skin issues were not comfortable but I knew things would ease up eventually. Time and patience...that's what it would take.
The lungs have been a lingering annoyance. I think I covered the basics in a previous post so I won't bore you with those details again. I finished the zpack with no real improvement and got a little nervous last weekend when the dry cough worsened and I felt like my chest was constricted. With a little help from my aunts, things got moving but I was also hit with cold symptoms. Fast forward to now and things are about the same - this is so irritating. I have a feeling I'll be back at the doctor before the end of the week if things don't improve.
BUT FIRST I have an appointment to get my foot checked out tomorrow. I'm hoping I've injured it somehow and that it's not nerve damage from the chemo. I fear that's what it is and I'm trying to figure out how to play through the pain. I hobble around and it's not fun. It's weird because it doesn't hurt as bad as others. It's like I do things that aggravate it. It's driving me crazy because I must get this weight off and it's hard to walk much less do any worthwile cardio. I'm doing Pilates but my big behind needs to FEEL THE BURN!!!!
Anyway, my battery is about to go and I need to get in bed. I have a busy morning/day ahead. I'll update tomorrow and I'll get around to writing my Stuart Scott post.

Say a prayer for a foot injury!! Thanks.

Love to all,
Andee