The healing powers of sweat

Whether I realize it or not I've always been about being physically active. As a high schooler while most of my friends were dating and doing whatever else they were doing my two best friends and I would be doing any combination of the following,  playing tennis, going to the movies, going to high school sporting events and/or going out for pizza as our Friday or Saturday night fun. We were pretty harmless and doing nothing illegal! I got pretty good at tennis and I enjoyed it.

I decided about seven years ago to do something about being healthy around the first of the new year. I ordered the Zumba DVDs I'd seen on tv and on Super Bowl Sunday when I was home alone I broke out my first Zumba DVD and worked out. I loved it and was hooked. I've taken to running and walking. I've done a few 5K's too.  In addition, I workout on the treadmill and I've always looking for a way to get a good sweat going. Last night I took off after having one of my favorite meals at a restaurant on a walk/run workout. I felt like I needed to work off the half meal I had eaten! And I did! I've wanted to add to my route another mile or so to push myself and get more of a workout. Well over 3-1/2 miles later and I was sweating and smiling. The stress and BS of the day were gone and I was sweating as I'd ran some of it but mostly power walked the rest. Man that felt good. And afterwards, I ran some errands before heading home to call it a night. I was still sweaty but I felt good.

This morning I was awake at 5 a.m. so I got up, did a few chores and popped a workout DVD in the DVR. I had thought about going back outside for a couple of miles but things need to get changed up every so often. I'm happy to be off of my treadmill. I have a love-hate relationship with the thing! I love the fact that is is right in my house. But on the flipside it seems to mock me and I can't use not being able to get to the treadmill as an excuse, not to workout. I like the opportunity to be able to jump on it for 20 minutes and I'm sweating. I can watch whatever is on TV or call someone to pass the time. But I like to be outside and get the fresh air. How nice is it to enjoy nature, even when I have to bundle up!

So I worked out this a.m. and again I had a good sweat going. It felt good. I've eaten and snacked healthy which I also help me feel good.

So we'll see if I go out for a powerwalk, later on, today, but regardless I've gotten my sweat in for today and I feel good!!! It's amazing how much better you feel after sweating and the pain and burn you have the next day sometimes is always a reminder that you did something and you are doing it for YOU!

Positive thought of the day: do something for YOU!

When Mother Nature does not play nice

I have always had a love-hate fascination with the weather. I think I got this from my dad who loved weather and weather watching and predicting and everything that involved the weather. He had a knack for it and used the farmers almanac faithfully as well. He lived off the land as a farmer and was at the mercy of the weather his entire life. It could make or break his livelyhood. I also think my dad's love of the weather and mine as well rubbed off on my eldest son who has a degree in meteorology and honestly, and not just because I'm his mom, I think he knows his stuff and does a great job of forecasting   : )

But Mother Nature seems a little off course lately. We had a week or two of beautiful weather in early March with temps in the 50-70 degree range and we were all thinking spring was here to stay! (I know we should know better!) Then things got chilly and we woke up to the ground white with snow on Sunday. And now we could be doing a tornado-snow dance later today into tomorrow after yesterday was in the 60's. What the heck? Yes, there is thundersnow-it's a cool thing to experience if you haven't ever. And yes I remember a snowstorm in early April as a kid that kept me home from school for four days (I was a happy 4th grader!). But as an adult who likes to get outside and exercise daily this back and forth, thing drives me a bit crazy. I'm glad to be off the treadmill and back outside. I like the sweat I get from being outside, I can adjust what I wear when I'm outside so I do get a good sweat. But this one day upper 60's and the next day the temp dropping to the 30's and we end up with a cold rain that turns to snow is not what I signed up for or asked for! But then again no one asked me!  That taste of spring we had was enough to make me happy with the warmer temps and spring and summer days to come. It definitely was a teaser!

I will admit that fall is my favorite season. I love the warm days and chilly evenings. I love the colors. And honestly, I don't mind winter and the snow either. It is what it is, we have no control over the weather and why complain about it, just be prepared and go along for the ride.

But what I love-hate about the weather is the severe weather. I grew up where the farmland is more flat than were I live now. I could see for miles from the farm I grew up on. So I've had the experience of seeing funnel clouds turn into tornados in the distance or approaching. It's a thrill but yet a fearful experience. I would always lag behind to stay with my dad when he would yell for us to head to the basement when things got bad weather-wise. I've had my share of personal experiences with severe weather. One time while at home with just my brother the clouds got dark and ominous and we, being responsible farm kids, headed to the barn to shut the big outside hay loft doors, winds could life the barn room and we did not want that to happen. The wind was so strong and fierce as I attempted to bring the door down and latch it shut that as I hung on to the door the wind lifted the door and me off the hay bales I was standing on. My brother grabbed my ankles and pulled me and the door back down. We got things closed up and thanks to our quick thinking saved the barn roof. It was an experience that I have not forgotten. And there have been many times I've heard the tornadic sounds that is best described as a freight train noise overhead. It is a scary feeling and you are at the mercy of nature. I've watched hail destroy what looked to be a bumper crop while just a mile down the road there was no hail damage and the fields are left untouched. Mother Nature is sometimes wicked and cruel. But you have to respect her and let her do what she wants to do.

So today we will ride out another wacky and wild weather day from what the forecasters are saying. It sounds like we will have snow again and lots of cold rain. But we always need the moisture and spring is about rain for the land. I just would like to have some nice weather over the weekend and let things warm up a bit. But springtime in Iowa always means every changing weather, wind and temperatures that flucuate constantly! It's life and its the seasons and I would not want it any other way. Besides, like I said we are just along for the ride and we have no control over what Mother Nature decides to "bless" us with!

Positive thought of the day: I love the every changing seasons. I think I would go a little nuts if I lived some place that constantly had the same weather....unless of course it involved an ocean and a beach and sunshine! : )

Reading

I love to read! And I understand there are people who do not. I am in no way judging here, I get it. I dislike math so don't judge me for that. But reading is such a part of my life. I have taken many trips in my lifetime without packing a bag or getting in a car or on an airplane, all thanks to books.

When I see students reading, not for school or assigned by a teacher but because they want to it warms my heart. If I see a student doing math because they want to I just laugh-I'm kidding here. I never see a student doing math for leisure or their own entertainment! I'm sure there are brainiacs out there who do. I'm being sarcastic here! But back to the kids who read because they want to, I understand! I get how they think or how it makes them feel. I was the kid staying up very, very late during the summer to read (sometimes during the school year too!). One more chapter. Or I'll just finish this chapter or the book. And yes, I usually read the last page or two of a book. I can't help it. I just do it!! Don't judge me on this either!!! I still do it today.

I find my taste in reading had changed over the years. When I was a kid I would ready anything and everything I could get my hands on. When my mom went to town to get groceries she'd drop me off at the library and I would find several book titles to check out and I always checked out the limit! I would do the summer reading programs at the library too. I'd finished them and earn the prizes that went with the reading rewards. It was how I spent my summer other than helping on the farm. I would read the books my older sisters left behind and reread them if they were good or I ran out of things to read. I've read classics and I would read the comic books belonging to my brother. I would save my hard earned money and buy books, these were prized possessions for me as a kid. Now I'm more particular about what I read. I don't have a lot of time to read for leisure. I read books on my kindle and read real books, as I like to call them. I read magazines and I read online as well. I can't imagine a day without reading, even if it's a news story or an article online. I just love to read and can get lost and lose track of time if I'm reading. It's what I do!

Because I work with books and reading every day at work I love it when a student finds a book, author, genre or reading series they like. It's like hitting a shot in a basketball game or scoring a touchdown in football. Yes!  Scccooorrreee!!!

I'm always willing to listen to other's suggestions or what they are currently reading or what they've read that they enjoyed or did not enjoy. But again I am picky about what I read now. If it has not caught my interest by a couple of chapters into the book I'm done. Life is too short to read books that don't interest me or worse yet are poorly written and insult my intelligence!

I also don't like nor tolerate people who think their opinion is the only opinion everyone should have about a book. Let people read what they want. We do live in a free country. Just because you teach English or read a lot does not make you an expert on what I or anyone else should read of think about a book. Let people make their own choices.

So if you are a reader or not that's your choice and preference. But remember to make it worth your while. And regardless of what you read at least your are reading and improving your mind! Read on!!

We'll try again today!

Having a bad day is no fun. Some people milk five minutes of bad into a whole day of misery. They let one thing ruin or make the rest of their day bad.

But each day is a new day and a new start. So if yesterday wasn't so great, which mine was not, remember that today is a new opportunity. No one will ever get today back again. There are no do-overs! You can look at the day as partly cloudy or partly sunny. Or the glass is half full or half empty. Your choice. But you do affect the people around you so remember that. And the people around you affect you as well. 

I find myself avoiding the negative people and trying to bring their way of thinking or conversation around to something less negative or more positive or generic. I'm a "how about the weather or those Cyclones, Panthers or Hawkeyes" kind of conversationalist! Anything to get things moving onto a more positive note. Anything! 

I blogged about lent a couple of weeks ago. How's that going? Mine is not stellar performance. But I'm not giving up. Remember the 21 days to create a new habit or break an old one? Ya well, I've not made that 21-day thing out of the 40 days of lent. I'm not laying blame, nor am I making excuses but tonsillitis for over five weeks does not help my motivation! I wasn't trying for greatness just small changes, improvements in life in general, just mine. But I'm not giving up either!

So with today being another gift and we all get one shot at today I'm going to try to keep the right attitude and give it the best shot. 

Remember whatever today brings, it's a new day, a new opportunity and a new chance. Life is too short to give up and not try again! We all learn to walk in our own way, in our own time!

Tonsils and uvulas

I dislike attention of any kind. I'd rather "fly under the radar" if at all possible. It's the way I've always been. And since I'm a redhead "flying under the radar" is often impossible. People always seem to notice or comment on the red hair. It's just a hair color!

So when I went to the doctor a month ago with a sore throat and a swollen gland I just thought it was a routine thing. It turned out that I was a medical oddity-yay me! My tonsils were huge and required several medical staff members to come in and look at, maybe more like gawk at. I didn't mind the lookers, other than I was thinking each time I opened my mouth so they could see my monstrosity tonsils that my claim to fame was going to be ginormous tonsils-great. A proud thing for my grandkids to tell their kids some days!

With very little relief and a flair up I was next sent to an ENT (ears, nose throat specialist) last week. Not how I wanted to spend a Thursday afternoon with blood tests and a CT scan in addition to an exam that was less than pleasant. After numbing my nasal cavities which tasted bitter and felt like I had a constant runny nose that I could not feel, I then was treated to a scope being carefully inserted up my nose. It felt like the darn thing either tickled my tonsil or the back of my brain, one of the other! I got through it but it's not something I want to do again. But the one thing that kind of hit me, more than the "you're tonsils are huge" diagnosis was the "your uvula is caught behind your tonsil"! What?! That's what I'm feeling now?? I didn't know that was humanly possible! And I thought she was kidding. Wrong, it is and still is stuck.

Scans and blood tests all came back okay. So I just thought I'd cook along with the new antibiotics and start to feel better. My uvula would get unhooked and life would go back to a normal way with a dangly, hanging uvula-ah the simple things in life! Well, it is one week later with being on the new antibiotic and I'm still not better. Tonsils are swollen and my uvula is still not just hanging around like it is supposed to.

A made a quick stop by the school nurse today to see if my uvula was free but instead she tells me that not only are my tonsils huge and my uvula is caught but that I now have white spots on the tonsil my uvula is caught/stuck to. NO! This can't be happening. I started all of this a month ago with a shot and then some heavy duty antibiotics. Followed by my current and second round of antibiotics. How can I have the strep throat white spots?

So to sum things up, I have HUGE tonsils, which are entertaining to the medical world, a uvula which is caught and won't hang down like it's supposed to. (yes I've tried to reach back there and free it without gaging myself with no luck there) and NOW I've got white spots on my tonsils aka they are polka-a-dot, meaning I have strep throat.

I'm trying to keep my sense of humor while feeling like poo through all of this. I have learned not to assume that nothing else will happen with my tonsils, and life for that matter, as I've about had it with them. I wish they would magically disappear and I'm fearful I'm going to hear those words "they need to come out" uttered sometime along the way. No!

So I'm going to coast through the rest of my Monday and try to manage not to increase on my tonsil situation in any other ways. I just want this junk gone and back to plain, simple, normal. Appreciate the little things in life, like normal sized tonsils and the little hangy thing in the back of your throat hanging rather than being caught!! It's the little things in life!!

Positive thought of the day: Thank goodness for the nicer weather, espcially when you have a fire alarm go off!!!

The power of being kind

I saw today on a social media website a friend who did the "I cleaned house and if you are reading this consider yourself lucky, you made the cut" post! Whew, I can sleep better today knowing that. Not really-I don't care. But I see this often. You can threaten all you want but whether you cut me or not does not matter. I was not put on this earth to make you happy!

Have you noticed some people have over 1,000 friends or followers or snapchat or Instagram friends? I used to think they were pretty popular people. Wow! Now I don't think that so much if you really take a look at these people. Some people are just people persons or think/hope they are. Some have that many friends because of their job or business. Some people are just lonely and insecure, which I think this is more the case. The bigger the number on your favorite social media of choice the better you feel about yourself. This kind of goes hand in hand with whats in your bank account, your credit score, the value of your house or the kind of car you drive the better person you think you are. What matters at the end of the day is how you treated other people. When you leave this world none of that other stuff will matter. What people will remember is how you made them feel.

The person who "made the cuts" had someone comment about the whole "birthday" thing. What? What is wrong with wishing someone a happy birthday? Would you say it to their face if you saw them that day and knew it was their birthday? I would hope so. It is always kind of fun to read the posts and texts you receive on your birthday. It is your day of birth and should be a celebration. I don't get what is wrong with wishing someone a happy birthday. Heck if I am some place and it is a strangers birthday I will wish them happy birthday! It needs to be celebrated! Be kind to one another and celebrate each day.

I have a friend who gets upset with another friend does not text them back. Yes, that is frustrating. Yes, I've been in those shoes. Some people just don't communicate well. Some people are rude or are only friends on their terms when it works for them or they want to be. You either have to take or leave these kinds of people. No, they will never be the text you at 1 a.m. lets go looking for a lost child or I'm driving an hour to see you, hang out with you late at night kinds of people. That is just how some people are. You can't change people. I've gone back and forth with the I'll treat you how you treat me, an option. And I also can't be mean and rude to people (unless you really, really, really, really piss me off). If I block or delete someone in some form from my life it took a lot for me to get to that point and you put yourself there. I am not an option. I've cut people out because they are not good for me or my family. I also filter some people for the same reasons, a little bit goes a long ways with some people. Ironically most of the people who fit in either of these categories are related to me. Sometimes you just have to do what is best for YOU!

I have made my family, kids, and other people a priority in my life and make myself second. And yes some people know that and take advantage of that. They treat me like I am a second option or secondly important. Sadly I have let this happen. And the only way that is ever going to change is if I make the change, I'm not second, I'm not the second most important person in any room. I'm just as important as you and anyone else in the room is, we are all equal. I think this way of thinking comes from being a female and a mom. It's what you do when you have kids, but we are still every bit as important as anyone else. All women need to remember this.

They say how people treat you is a reflection of themselves, and I agree. But I also think it is a reflection on how you have let them treat you. Kindness goes a long way. And never let yourself be an option to someone. Life is too short to be an option. A little kindness goes a long, long ways.

The positive thought of the day: This was my Thursday blog, but guess who forgot to post it? Meeee! It happens!

Ash Wednesday, Lent and eating fish

I can't believe it is Ash Wednesday and Lent already. It seems like we just finished with Advent and Christmas and here we are. But the good news is despite Easter being early we are heading in the right direction....towards spring and warmer weather. And as I write this a soft, gentle snow is coming down. It's rather pretty if you like snow. But remember we have ZERO control over the weather! Just go with it.

Lent as a kid meant mandatory things at home that you gave up and did. Our usual evening snacks of popcorn or ice cream along with all candy and pop were all off the table. In addition, we said the rosary as a family every night. Can you tell my parents were very devout Catholics? As an adult my mom still refused to believe Sundays during lent were not part of lent. I can't remember the reasoning here but we got no reprieves from our lenten sacrifices and as kids they were sacrifices! Nor did lent end at noon on Easter Saturday as it is believed. It's a small wonder none of us kids, or my dad either for that fact, ever ended up sick by the time we'd get to church on Easter Sunday! We would gorge ourselves on chocolate and marshmallow peeps before heading off to church in our Easter outfits! Talk about a sugar overload! : )

But lent is not all about giving up what is difficult or a reminder to sacrifice but it's also about doing better, even if it is a small thing. The saying goes it takes 21 days to make a habit and 21 days to break a habit, so technically with 40 days of lent you can make some big time changes or improvements in your life.

Regardless of what you do for lent, making the effort, and yes we all trip or fall off the wagon but making an effort is a start and the beginnings of better things. I used to have a cousin who would "give up" smoking and watermelon for lent! He never smoked a day in his life and this was back when watermelon was only found in grocery stores during the summer months. My mom found a watermelon during lent one year and when my cousin was over she served it!! This brought lots of laughs and we all enjoyed the rare treat, even my cousin!

But my take on lent is that it does not matter what you do, give up or change about yourself during this time, but rather making the effort-just do it! And everyone does not need to know what you are doing. That 21-day take on habits, changing them or developing them is a good reminder-don't give up if you fall off the wagon. That means to keep the hope and faith and that in less than a month you can make changes and improvements to your life. Also being the private person I am I don't like to advertise what I am doing or giving up for lent to make it a sacrifice unless you need the accountablility. I love this:

Yep, this pretty much sums me up! So here's to day one of lent 2016. Whatever you choose to do, give up, change or improve on don't give up if you falter or forget, just get back up, cheer for yourself, say a prayer and keep going!

Positive thought of the day: Eat fish...it's good for you and it's not so difficult to take some red meat out of your diet!