Battered and Bruised......

Happy Thanksgiving short week! Battered and Bruised...that is what Paige and I are.  My knee and foot are still hurting so I have been modifying the Jillian Michaels30 Day Shred.  Paige, on the other hand, was accidentally pushed today and she was pushed into a metal bar on the playground.  That would have been okay....but the part of her body that hit was her eye!  Oh boy! She will most likely have a black eye tomorrow.

This leads me to Christmas cards. Do you do regular Christmas cards or do you do a photo of the kids or your family?  I like pictures. Some years have been just the kids and some the whole family.  Well, it is that time and now Paige is bruised.  James already said that he is going to have to polish up on his photo shop skills.  Well....then we get to visit Shutterfly and pick out some cards! LOVE IT!  Take a look at those or these christmas photo cards on shutterfly.  They even have collage ones which I love because you can show some memorable moments through the year!  We have some pretty cute Disney pictures of the two of them and then other pictures that we took through the year that would look so cute......or we may just get that perfect picture of the kiddos in front of the fire place that may be "the picture" that will be the card this year.  Whatever it is...I can't wait to experiment with the cards that shutterfly has to offer!  

Right after the holidays the focus goes to birthdays and I see that they have super cute invitations.  Usually we make our own photo card invitation but I might have to change it to shutterfly this year.  They always have sales, too!

Well....I hope that you are all having a great short week and have burned enough calories to eat til your hearts content....although you should probably try not to eat to that point!  LOL.  I looked through my cooking magazines today and came across a pumpkin chiffon cake...it has 123 calories per slice and 2.5 grams of fat.  Can't wait to taste it!  Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Jen

Tick Tock Tick Tock

Hello everyone!  How are you doing?  Well....some big things this week.  This week is the last week of the 3 challenges (sit ups, push ups, squats) that I have been doing.  Now...onto the next challenge.  I have it ALL FIGURED OUT!

Oh--first I should say that the doctor gave me to go-ahead to schedule my BR (breast reduction).  It is set for December 20th at 7:30 a.m.  I have to be at the hospital at 6 a.m.  Fun times.  I really wanted this date because the next whole week I am off and am going to Oklahoma with the family to visit family.  This will be a great time to relax and heal.  The issue that they had with scheduling is that my follow up appt would be one week later.  Well, I will not be in town.  The nurse spoke to Dr. Schreiber and he is okay with me waiting til I get back since he is going to use dissolvable sutures.  I am excited and scared all at the same time.  I am excited to get this done and move on with my aspirations to increase my health but scared about the procedure.  Both feelings are normal so I am okay with it.

Anywho....back to my plan.  So as of today there are 33 more days til my surgery.  The exercise program that I was doing is a 30 day program.  So---starting in three days I will officially be doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.  I hope that my laptop will be back by then and I can use that.  30-days to decrease the weight....increase the tone....and then the reduction.  I won't feel as bad about having to take off a few weeks from exercising after doing the 30 days....I hope.

That will also give 3 more days for my stupid knee to feel better.  I have bad knees from too much catching in softball (catcher that is).  Last week I had a pain in the back of my knee and it felt like it was going to buckle but kind of the back way.  It was odd.  Yesterday, I started with a pain in the front inside part of my knee....lower area.  It was mildly swollen.  Stupid!  This morning when I woke up I could barely walk on it.  Ugh....and it still hurts.  I am about to take an NSAID to see if that helps.  I have no idea what I did.....but I certainly hope it gets better soon!

So---what's next.  Finish the challenges, start the 30 day shred in 3 days, and get an appt for a physical to get all of my pre-op stuff.  That's it here besides the hubby getting a new car over the weekend (that's a big stressor off since his car was one minute away from breaking down), parent visitation in the kindergarten classes tomorrow, and planning for our Christmas getaway.  How is life your way?

Patience..patience....ugh just give me the answer!

Most of the day I can keep my mind OFF of the decision that the insurance company is going to make regarding my BR.  Other times it pops into my head and makes me so anxious because I WANNA KNOW!   I don't even know if the doctor wrote the letter to send in yet.  Ugh.  Patience...patience Jen.

Other changes are impending.  I am working on some other life changing things relating to my career.  You see...I have a masters degree in forensic studies...concentration law.  I have been working in the human service/social work field for about 13 years now.  I have a passion for law and investigation and I want to be doing that.  I am stagnant where I am now and it is tiresome and draining.  I take those feelings home with me and that is not good.  So...I have contacted some old professors and the career center about getting the ball rolling. I  just need someone to give me a chance in the field so that I can start building my experience up.  James has been helping and has had some great ideas.  Do any of you have any ideas how I can do this?

So...the night before last I started Jillian Michales 30 Day Shred.  It kicked my ass.  On top of that I had to do my challenges.  My legs are still hurting!  Last night I was going to do the shred but my laptop had an unfortunate meeting with the floor so it is in the repair shop.  I am going to do it tonight....stupidly on the same night as my challenges.  Will I ever learn?  I hope to start seeing the results very soon.

So--this weekend will be car shopping for James and prepping for a baby shower...I have to make a cake and do the favors.  I love making cakes...therapeutic of sorts!    What are you doing this weekend?  Whatever it is...I hope you have a good one!

And Now....The Waiting Game

So....I made it to the doctors.  First I read and studied and read and studied.  His practice has a pretty great website describing everything. http://www.baltimoreplasticsurgery.com/  It helped to have some information going into the appt.....and actually straight from his mouth.  Dr. Schreiber was great.  He asked me many questions and over and over throughout the process he would ask if I had any questions.  So...after many pictures were taken (oh so fun) we sat down for the news.  What is it..you ask?  Hurry up and wait.  He has to write a letter to the insurance company requesting coverage.  He gave me a whole folder full of information including what meds to take when the days leading up the surgery....my thinking is that he would not have given me this info if he didn't feel positive about their answer.  So---IF the answer comes back that I can go ahead and get the reduction I have to go in one more time to go over everything and get prescriptions for antibiotics/pain meds, etc....  I made an appt to get a full physical for next week so don't think that should be an issue.  I don't want to get the word and then I can't get in with my primary doc for that.  Gives me something to contribute to the waiting game. 

I am guardedly optimistic about what the insurance company will say.  I so want to be excited and looking forward to it but I know that there is a change that it might not be approved.  So...I stick with things that I can control.....diet and exercise.  I was going to start the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred tonight but my tummy is not accepting of it....think I ate something bad.  So....tomorrow I will try and start it again. 

Til tomorrow!

Tuesday is BR Day

What is BR day...you ask?  Breast Reduction Day!  Well---it isn't my actual surgery but it is my first step towards getting it done.  I guess that you could say that today was the first step when I went to my primary doc to talk to him about it and also get seen for this pesky cough that I have had for about a month and a half.  Turns out the cough is from all the post nasal drip I have from a stupid sinus infection.  I did talk to him about the BR and he said that I won't have any problems getting it approved....actually what he says is that he is "very confident" that I will have no problems.  That is a positive thing to say.  The way I look at it is that they should pay for it now instead of paying for all the problems I will have in the future.  As soon as I started talking about it with my doc (Dr. D) he knew exactly what I was talking about.  We started talking about exercising and the hindrance(s) that I have with these. It was nice that he knew what I was talking about.  My OB (or GYN at this point, I guess) is the one who referred me to the BD doc and Dr. D is good friends with Dr. O (GYN).  He delivered Dr. D's twins.  I know this because they were in the doc office several times when I was pregnant with Connor....or was it Paige....well one of them!  Actually I think it was Paige. 

Anywho....how am I feeling now?  Nervous.  I don't really know anyone else who has gone through this so besides the internet research that I have done...that is all I know.  I hear that this doc is very personable.  We will see!!  I will let you know tomorrow how it went....or didn't go.  LOL.  Til then!

To Run Or Not To Run....that is the question

Hi all!  Sorry about the silence...I have had a few posts in draft but just didn't get to posting them!  Hope you all had a great halloween!  We had fun taking the little ones trick or treating....and we are enjoying the fruits of their labor (lol). 

The challenges are going well.....but I still hate them...but that is okay but the end will feel nice.  I think that next we are going to do Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.  I actually want to start it now and still might.


The big news is that I went to the sports med podiatrist.  It was my first time seeing him.  He was GREAT.  He is younger and more personable.  So....apparently I have plantar fascious issues.  He looked at my x-rays and gave me the great news.  Yeah right.  So---I have Plantar Fasciitis which is compounded by my extremely high arch and really short Achilles tendon.  So what now?  I have to take a new rx twice a day (a stronger NSAID)---he took me off of the 800 mg ibuprofen because it really does nothing for me since I have been taking it off and on for years and years and years.  I have to wear this obnoxious looking boot contraption to sleep in and it is adjustable (push a button to make it tighter and tighter and points my foot more towards my head).  Every couple of weeks it will stretch it more but pumping the button on it.  Apparently this is supposed to stretch things.  I also have to get inserts for my shoes, have to get new shoes, and I have to roll a frozen bottle on the bottom of my foot every night....I guess like rolling a tennis ball....but instead a frozen water/coke bottle.  So...if it is still hurting in a month when I go back the next step is the cortisone shot.  I have been preparing to get the shot in my knee so moving this idea to my foot is no big deal. 

I asked him about running.  He said no treadmill running.  I can do some light street running.  Or....I may just stick to the Jillian Michaels thing and allow my foot to heal.  Oh---apparently a main problem with this injury is that when you sleep your foot drops which shortens the fascia and it starts to heel that way since you are at rest.  Well.....as soon as you get up it re-tares/aggravates it.  The doc did a great job explaining everything to me.

So....that's where I am.   I am not going to let this hold me back....just going to have to alter the plans a little bit.  So....how are you doing?