Not such a tame world....

This month so far....

I've been really working hard to "Move More, Eat Less".

Thus far, the scale really hasn't budged a bit. I started at 162.5lbs and it's fluxed up & down about 1.5 pounds, but there hasn't been any consistent change.

What has changed is that I can tell my stamina is improving.

I started the beginning of the month just dying while trying to walk for just 15 minutes. I can now go for 1 hour, and my time record to date was 72 minutes.

Originally I didn't even think about using the incline feature, but now routinely get to the tilt level of 4 to 6.

Originally I was doing good to reach 2mph. Just a few days ago, I did thirty minutes at 3mph.

The first 1.5 weeks, I had horrible shin splints the longer I walked. Now I have to be on the incline for a long time before I feel it.

I started out at about a 35 minute mile. Today I did a 22 minute mile. I'm aiming for a 20 minute mile. At my peak of fitness in college, [when I was fencing, running and in ballet 3 times a week] I could do a 16 minute mile without blinking.

Now, I did skip a few days here and there. When I went up north to visit family, the treadmill did not go with me. And with 3+ feet of snow, there was No Way I was walking outside. I'm just not that big a glutton for that much punishment. But in total, I managed to workout 20 or so days.

I have reached the point, that when I don't walk, I miss it. Even feeling like crud, sick this weekend, I walked both days.

I really enjoy my time listening to music and jamming to my iTunes mixes. And I've noticed that I really do feel better afterwards. Call it that endorphin high or whatever, but more than once this past month, I started walking just so that I could have an exercise buzz.

I'm sleeping much, much better. And some mornings I actually wake up with some energy. [Of course that may be because we seem to have finally gotten my thyroid levels equalized....]

I have notice that my right hip aches at some speeds & intensities. So at some point, I may have to go visit the ortho doc again. But thus far the knees, ankles & feet seem to be hanging in there.

I did splurge 1/2 way through the month and got another set of Under Armour tights & some exercise tops. And a few days ago I got a heart rate monitor watch. I can tell that in the next few months, I'll have to get a replacement set of shoes. And I think I'll be looking for a higher tech version of my heart rate monitor. That way it can work with my treadmill.

Oh, and after 30 days of drinking Coke Zero 99% of the time, I stopped missing "Real Coke" and I actually like the flavor of Coke Zero better. [Gasp! Horrors! ] And I discovered this weekend that the movie theater we usually go to has Coke Zero "on tap"! How cool is that?!?!

Part of me is really looking forward to summer and the start of swim season. And then there's the part of me that would still like about 20 pounds of me to go away....

Sometimes, it's actually pretty handy....

That I have a medical degree.

• For instance, Saturday morning when I woke up feeling like crud, it was pretty easy to run a rapid strep screen at home on myself. Granted, that's not in the usual home first aid kit, but I've accumulated "stuff" over the years.
• Then when the test came up positive, it was pretty simple to just write my own prescription for good old fashioned amoxicillin. Not that I self-treat that much. But seriously -- on a Saturday, if I bugged my internist with this, even she would wonder why I just didn't write my own 'script. And she is way more conservative than I am in regards to antibiotics, etc.
• Although, I didn't really study veterinary medicine, I've picked up enough along the way; so that last weekend when Zoe the dog sliced her hind paw, I had a fairly good idea of what to do for canine first aid.
• Same deal when Brie the cat hurt her left eye. [And that one was ugly, even by my standards....]


But tonight really takes the cake.

Tabitha, being the "No Fear - Full Speed Ahead" kind of girl she is, has damaged herself in multiple varieties in the nearly 5 years we've had her. A few episodes that come to mind include:

• There was the time that Miss H & Miss E had to fireman-carry Tab home, as blood dripped from the abraded surface of her knee, down her leg, and soaked her sock & shoes.
• There was that time she slipped on a puddle in the girl's restroom at school, somehow slid into a stall and stopped when her arm slammed into the toilet base. [I actually got x-rays that time, because she was crying so hard I really couldn't tell if she'd broken anything or not.]
• There was the time in our master bath, when she went to show Michael how she could do a back layover. She over-extended, then fainted, and walloped her face into the tub surround on her way down to the floor. She spent the next week with a really ugly shiner and a concussion. And Michael spent at least 48 hours shell-shocked....
• Then one of my personal favorites was the time that Michael & I came around the corner and found her splayed out on the sidewalk. She'd decided to wear flip-flops to ride her bike. Hit a rock on the sidewalk. Lost her footing and slid. Then subsequently her toes ended up caught in the spokes of her front tire. [I did manage to render aid without saying "I told you so", but she's never questioned me since when I tell her to wear "real shoes"....] Total damage was lots of scrapes & bruises, a torn up toe, but no broken bones.
• Just a month or two ago, she was cleaning out her school notebook and held up her hand. As I looked up from washing dishes, I noticed that she was dripping blood on her papers. She noticed at about the same time and that's when she came un-glued. Turned out to be an extremely fierce paper-cut.

<Sigh>....Over time she's had lots of bruises, scrapes, etc. So far [knock on wood], no broken bones. But she really does not like the sight of blood. And she especially does not like the sight of her own blood.

Hence we come to tonight's episode....

At about 9:45pm, this very sad, wet, bedraggled Tabitha shuffles into my office, holding a white towel to her head and weeping. She holds the towel out to me and there's large areas of blood staining it. At that point she sniffles and managed to tell me that she fell getting out of the bathtub in her bathroom.

[An important detail, as she does not pick her things up off the floor, nor does she keep the floor dry while she bathes, so it's always a slip hazard. And don't worry -- I have mentioned this to her many times before....<sigh>....]

As I looked her over, I noted the large amount of bright red blood on her crown. I started dabbing it away with the towel, but couldn't really see where the bleeding was coming from. It took a few minutes to really get her cleaned up. At which point I discovered this was very superficial from a 1/16th inch scrape on her scalp. [Scalp wounds! Ughhh! They always look so bad.]

By this point she finally had told me what happened, and yet once again we were lucky to avoid the ER.

She was getting out of the tub while it was still full & very wet, stepped on a wet tile and slipped. At which point she fell backwards & bonked the top of her head on the point of the ceramic soap dish that's molded into the shower/bath surround.

Since she was complaining of a headache, and dizziness, and nausea- well she's likely got a concussion (Again!). So she got some tylenol and an icepack, and in a few minutes I'm going to go peek at her pupils....

At anyrate, I'm very glad she didn't go to Michael first, or I would have had two patients -- and I don't keep suturing supplies around the house....

Just another day of misadventures in my TAME world....

 

 

So in 2006, today was an important day in the family....

It was the day that my mother-in-law and father-in-law, welcomed their very first grandchildren into the family. It was also the day that my sister-in-law and her husband finally became parents.

Heavens knows that all of us "kids" kept Mom & Pop waiting for a very long time before they became grandparents. We belonged to the 10+ year club. But then we did things with a bang! First they went from 0 grand kids to 2 grandsons in 1 day (twins) and 2 months later we brought home the granddaughter.

Amazingly, in the past 5 years, all involved parties have survived and thrived. Looking back now, it's mind-blowing how much has changed in 5 years.

We went from this:

 
 

past this (2 years old):

 

and this (3 years old):

 

and even this (4 years old):

 

to now (5 years old). How did time pass so quickly?

 

They've come into their own. They have strong likes & dislikes. They've got crazy little quirks. They've got more energy than anyone should have a right to. Spider-man and superheros, Lego's and scooters, guitars and drums, have all become an important part of their daily lives.

They've gone from babies to toddlers to real little boys. This fall they start kindergarten, and I for one am not ready -- and I'm just the aunt!

Boys -- I love you insanely! And I'm so grateful that you live nearby and I get to watch you grow up.

Happy 5th Birthday!!

[p.s. -- Don't you just love how I condensed 5 years into 5 photos? I think I feel a scrapbook layout coming on....]

I just signed up....

for this class at Big Picture Classes, which will be taught by Stacy Julian. She is one of my favorite teachers and favorite scrapbookers.

I just finished watching the introductory video, and while I'm a bit perplexed -- I am quite excited to be breaking out of my usual methods of scrapbooking.

This may be what I need to get my creative flow back. I'm in a ebb phase at the moment. It's easier to write and take photos and look at other people's projects than it is to actually create something myself. Ah well, this too shall soon pass....

Anyway. I'm excited about this project and now I need to clear some space on my desk to work.

Not much going on....

In my neck of the woods.

Routine day in clinic. Patient of the day was one of my many teenagers today. [Seems like I saw more of the 13-17yo set today than usual.]

Anyway, Jake* was there for a check-up, but really was there because his acne was bugging him. Or more accurately was bugging grandma. Poor guy! I really felt bad when Grandma fessed up that she'd been using rubbing alcohol on his face to clear up his skin. Ouch! I kept repeating in the visit that I just want him to wash his face gently with a mild cleanser. I sure hope she got the point.

So got home this evening to an empty house. Michael & Tab got a wild hair and had signed her up for a Tae Kwan Do 101 class. At a loss for what to do, I got dinner started & hit the treadmill.

It was pretty funny when she got home at 845pm & proceeded to demonstrate what she'd learned tonight. There was this whirling deverish of a white gee spinning around the living room. Lord help us - in apparently 2 belt levels she'll qualify to spar. Mark my words - this will not end well....

And speaking of whirling deverishes, poor little Zoe is finally starting to bounce back, quite literally. Sunday morning she cut her hind paw up in between the toes. Blood all matted up in there. Pure misery. Michael "thought" there might be a problem because she won't walk on it. Dr-Vet-Mom to the rescue. [Really?! I went to medical school for this!?]

Basic first aid later and we nicknamed her "Tripod" for the weekend because she wouldn't walk on the foot. She's just a touch of a drama queen. [Really - I have no idea where she gets this from!] So this evening it was feeling lots better because she hopped twice as I walked in. Just call me Dr Doolittle!

Otherwise, I'm drowning in digital photos. I spent the weekend being photographer to the family and now I need to download, sort and purge. Might I add, I haven't even looked at my own pics of Christmas yet....

That being said, I'm cold and achey, and given my flu exposure these days, I'm going to call it a night early, & go snuggle Merlot and my electric blanket.

Happiness is....

Being home in my office / craft-room with the space heater on full blast. [It's almost like Tahiti in here!]

Michael picking up dinner from Subway so I didn't have to cook or clean up or do emergency grocery shopping.

Knowing I have enough gas in the car tank that I can get to work & back and not stop at the gas station when it's so cold.

Having Sam & Zoe (the puppies) and Merlot (the cat) wandering in & out for pet-pets on demand.

Discovering a whole 1 pound bag of holiday mint dark chocolate M&Ms stashed in my office, that I forgot about.

Getting my charts done before leaving work, so this evening I am guilt-free as I preview music on iTunes

Discovering new groups that I adore, i.e. Lifehouse [which I had always thought was "Lighthouse"], The Script, Bruno Mars, etc. I think I'm also going to haveto get my hands on the latest Taylor Swift album. And I'm loving the feeling of just hitting the "buy" button and spending the last of my iTunes gift cards.

Realizing that even though I was a slouch and exercised NoT a BiT while I was out-of-town, the scale was kind this morning [down 1/2 a pound] and I really did miss my treadmill time. Of course, today I'm just cold & tired & unmotivated [see M&Ms above] so I'm going to give myself a pass & go to bed early. But I am looking forward to getting back into my routine and listening to some new songs while I hit the treadmill. [Note to self - time to start putting together some work-out play-lists....]

Looking at the calendar and knowing that in 14 days I will be pre-ordering my iPhone. :-)

Still snickering about the movie on the plane last night: "Life as We Know It" -- pretty cute romantic comedy, worth the rental.

Looking forward to nephews 5th birthday this weekend. Can't believe they've gotten this big. And looking forward to downloading all my New England photos -- just not tonight.

Just Super Fast....

Checking in to let you know that I'm hopping "off the grid" for the next few days. Planning on some intense family time, and hopefully a bit of writing time. And I know there will definitely be photo time!

I didn't post last night because I got busy with a) finishing charts and b) skimming a book about writing. All part of my plan to work on my Story for the year.

As I commute this week, I've been brainstorming possible topics. Since the clinic is usually on my mind as I drive to & from, so far my list is seriously slanted towards pediatric topics. What I've got so far? How about this -- and please let me know if there's a subject you've got a burning desire to read about:

• How to stock a first aid kit
• How to survive toddlers/preschoolers during snot season
• "Fever: Friend or Foe?"
• A Pediatrician's Pet Peeves

So what do you think so far? Anything sound like it's worth reading?

It's turning out to be a cRaZy week....

Which isn't allowing me as much time to write as I'd hoped. Ah, well, there's next week. Or I understand that now "there's an app for that!" Meaning that Typepad has just launched an iTunes app.

So basically I guess to balance with the drama of yesterday, I should mention that today was a hectic but crazy GOOD day.

• The new nurse practitioner [Whom I love & adore!!!] and I saw 45+ kids today. I still can't believe that I managed to get all my charts done before I left. WaHoo!!
• I managed to get to my women's club's annual Bunco Bash reasonably on time. And had the best bunco night I've had in at least 18 months! I was on-a-RoLL! [Pun intended -- sorry.] I got 2 bunco's, 9 three-of-a-kind's and won 12 of 16 rounds. Had a BLAST! Of course it helps that so many from my regular group, the Blingettes, were there. It's like I've got 10 aunts that all adore me because I'm the baby of the group. 40 to 80+ years -- we've got you covered. And where else can I play a few rounds with the town mayor? I love where I live!
• I did a test run with my new camera bag and it's awesome! Jo's Totes -- can't say enough good stuff about this bag.
• Late yesterday I got to open a box that arrived. A very, very anticipated box. My Tamaron lens came home from the lens hospital. I had dropped my camera in December and smashed my "nifty 50" and Michael [the Big Sweetie] went and replaced it for me. But around that time I discovered that my ultra sweet zoom wouldn't attach to the camera body. So sad -- especially since I use this lense for everything! Heartbreaking really because that lens was a $700-800 investment. SO off it went to be repaired (Hopefully!). A month and $200 later it turned out that the mounting ring had been bent. So that was fixed. Then they cleaned it all out and lubed all the focus rings, etc -- and NoW it's even better & smoother than it ever was. And my lens came home before I leave for the "Great White North!"
• Speaking of the "Great White North", my cousins & aunt have been texting me pictures all day of the snowfall hitting New England today. Which of course is where Tabbers & I are headed on Saturday. I must be insane!! I hate cold. I hate snow. What was I thinking when I booked these tickets? Oh yeah. Right. I was thinking I had a chance at a 4 day weekend and I should spring Tab & I up there for a quick visit. Sounded like a good idea at the time. Now I'm a bit worried. And let me tell you -- I will be packing my electric blanket! -- At any rate, I had a hoot all day as my phone kept chirping with media messages.
• And let me mention again how excited I am that Verizon has officially announced that the iPhone is coming. They're going to take pre-orders on Feb 3. I sure hope they "have operators standing by" at 12:01am, because I will be calling. I've wanted one of these for about 18 months.

In the mean time, Tab's arm is healing just fine. Looked much worse last night than today. I looked again this evening and there's very little blistering at all, just a tad of redness. The girl heals quickly.

And she pointed out that I forgot to mention that last night was the pits because she ran into a possum that had decided to seek shelter in our garage. It was gone this morning but scared the jeebers out of her last night when she went to fetch something from the Jeep for me. [My bad -- but I've mentioned it now.]

OK - more tomorrow....

Oh, I know it's late but....

The drama today is about to do me in. And that's just from Tabitha. That's not even my own stuff.

........It is SO hard being a 12 year old, especially in my household.

This week is mid-terms at school. Tab's first experience with mid-terms. And Boy! For the sixth grade, they sure take their tests seriously around here. Monday night Tab & Michael spent 2 hours reviewing for her math exam today. I had to leave the room after 30 minutes. The tears & angst were causing me to simmer at a low boil. (Tears & angst BTW were from Tab, not Michael.)

See, I belong to the "stiff upper lip, Army BRAT" school of thought. If it's tough -- study harder. Don't waste energy on the drama & wailing & gnashing of teeth -- just get it done. That mindset unfortunately, does not work well with Tabitha. She needs lots of empathy and "Woe is me" sympathy, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

And I just don't have it in me -- so this is one area that I punt to Michael. His patience is amazing. Mind-boggling, even. I've always said that he was laid back enough to be Garfield the cat and that if he were any more relaxed he'd be in a coma. Pretty much that's true. The only exception is when Tab & I push each others buttons and we verbally attack each other. He can't stand that and we've even brought him to the point of yelling before. And when that happens Tab & I stop because we know we've gone too far.

So last night. 30 minutes. That was all I could take & I was outta' there.

Today I ended up being the one getting Tab after school.

And it was bad.

The Jeep door hadn't even slammed shut before the silent sobbing & tears started. As I pulled away from the curb the daily recitation of "I HATE School! I HATE school! I HATE school!!" started. The rest of the drive home was a line-by-line recitation of each of her reasons for hating school. She was mad at everyone. Every one of her friends is mean and hates her. Yadda, Yadda,Yadda.

Honestly, there comes a point when I zone out & just make empathetic grunts. Mostly because my natural tendency is to say "You do not really hate so & so." Which only makes her more irritable, which makes me cranky, and you can see how the entire situation swirls into a frenzy of chaos.... So I've learned it's best to just not say much.

I bite my tongue in the afternoons. A. Lot.

At this point, I still don't know how the math test went.

Tomorrow is apparently Social Studies and Choir or such. Light study evening, so she hung with a buddy for awhile tonight.

Then, about an hour ago, she was in the kitchen with Michael and managed to rest her arm on a hot stove-top burner. We've got one of those glass cook-tops and even after the unit is off (or not, as the case may be) the surface stays pretty darn hot.

Nothing like screaming husband & child to get me out of the bathroom. [Always. Their timing is impeccable.] You guessed it. Looks like she's got a pretty large 1st-2nd degree or partial thickness burn on the left forearm. Most of the left forearm actually.

Thank Goodness I was such a good girl scout and I learned "Be Prepared" so well. I have some seriously stocked first aid kits around the house. Sometimes with useful stuff that's not so common, like solarcaine spray and kerlix gauze....

So I've finally got her cleaned up, patched up and in bed. I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up crying herself to sleep.

Even I have to admit that as far as Tuesdays go, this one sucked rocks....

I am afraid....

The cold has gotten to my brain and I am uninspired.

Besides which, my fingers are almost to numb to type.

I'm crawling under my electric blanket now....