Friday, April 29, 2011

Allergies, Unfills & Stress

My allergies kicked in full gear a month ago and I had been getting stuck daily. I had my first experience with fluro and the funny (yet, not so funny thing)is that I had No visible restriction. This was at a fill level of 9.55! What the fluro doesn't show is inflammation and the guess is I had some. I had .2 removed and have had less issues but still have to be careful. I have been on allergy medication for about a month and am going to wait until the end of May to get a Big Girl fill again as I have some travel plans in the works. Good news is weight is holding steady at least I am not gaining.

I think my kids are trying to put me over the edge. All three are experiencing trouble with wisdom teeth. Really? Wonder if there is a group extraction discount available?

My husband and I received some relieving news about his kidneys. He is in Stage three (of 5) which is bad but the doctor said it would not progress "fast" as long as his blood pressure and blood sugars stayed under control. It still doesn't explain his stroke like symptoms but they are not relating them to kidneys, stroke or his thyroid which have all recently been tested and experts have been seen. The hunt continues for answers but we keep ruling out the really bad stuff I guess its good. Frustrating but the answers are out there somewhere.

I am returning to work for the construction company for a temporary gig at the end of May so that might work out well to help pay for the kids dentist :/ lol Looking forward to a routine even if it is just for a couple weeks.

I feel I am slipping a little into very co-dependent ways. I am aware of it but I struggle for the balance of taking care of me vs. all the others. The guilt seems overwhelming sometimes. As a Mom & Wife I feel like they all are sucking me dry and I feel guilty craving time to re-charge and relax when there are so many things going on. But I have vowed to take off for a few days in mid May and do just that. Time will tell if I actually get off the mountain (or can afford to drive anywhere) Fuel was $4.08 yesterday DAMN!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

~Jen


Just a couple pics from Easter out at our pond.





Saturday, April 23, 2011

and the winner is......

"Theresa aka Tessie Rose" if you would email me your mailing address to jenisgonnaloseit@gmail.com I will get it out to you soon!

***(for the record, I assigned your comments to numbers, then had the hubs pick a number...very official stuff)***

Thanks to everyone who commented!

I hope everyone has a nice Easter. We are planning an easy day with the kids and if the weather holds have plans to take some family pictures. That is something we don't have a lot of. Jeremy, our oldest is not here, he lives in Arizona :(

I've got a few updates that I need to blog about soon. Just life keeps throwing roadblocks into my computer time.

Grrr!

~Jenn

Friday, April 22, 2011

just a reminder

The giveaway ends at midnight.... (please see prior post)
Your odds are pretty good right now :)

Things are crazy. I Hope to get a post soon but just wanted to bump the giveaway!

Happy Good Friday.

~Jen

Monday, April 18, 2011

My First Giveaway! Cultivating Radiance - Tamara Gerlach (Author)




I'm offering a brand spanking new copy of the above-pictured book in a giveaway that will end on Friday at midnight. I will announce the winner Saturday morning.

If you are interested please leave a comment with your email address. If you would like to double your odds subscribe to the newsletter HERE and let me know that you did so in your comment.

My thoughts about this book and the tools that it offers is that so many of us on this banded journey have completely neglected self-care for the most part until we made the choice to change our lives and started taking control of our food addictions and overall health. Why not learn some new tools beyond that? Find ways to self-care, forgive, try new things and find passion in our lives. (Passion - My 2011 word of the year)

About the Book

“As my outside ages, my intention
is to become stunningly beautiful on the inside.”

Cultivating Radiance is about fully honoring yourself and all that you have to offer. Our Radiance begins on the inside and is reflected on our outside. In order to keep up with our dynamic lives and to sustain a high level of energy, we must take care of our whole selves. Cultivating Radiance provides simple tools to align our personal elements of health before we “hit the wall” or exhaustion becomes our standard. You will be given mindful “Discovery Questions”, Activities, Inspiration for Gratitude, and Mantras to broaden your understanding and empower yourself to make choices that will give your life deeper meaning and to live a joyful, harmonious, Radiant life!

Here is one of the blog entries from the authors website that I love the most:


Make 2011 The Year You Light Up Your Relationships

The longest relationship you will ever have is with yourself. Why not spend time consciously cultivating that extraordinary relationship?

Sometimes we spend so much time taking care of everyone else that we forget to grow ourselves. Take a few minutes to look at your connection with you!

Self Talk- Do I use kind words without self-criticism or beating myself up?
Acceptance- Do I appreciate and accept myself as I am without judgment?
Motivation- Am I committed to never giving up on myself and taking responsibility for my own happiness and success?
Fun- Do I enjoy who I am and who I am becoming?
Spiritual Connection- Do I have faith that I have all of the support I need when life gets really tough?
Quiet down and Check in
o Physically- Do I know what is going on in my body?
o Mentally- How serene do I feel?
o Heart- Am I living with passion?

When we feel awesome in our own skin with a healthy, radiant relationship with ourselves, we inspire authentic relationships in all aspects of our life.

Take time to light up your relationships…especially the one with yourself!


If you would like to skip all this fun and order your copy now you can do so HERE

Hope you all join in! ~Jen

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

coming out of hiding

My blog has turned into such a dang pity party I don't even want to post anymore.

If I could convey one thing to you all it is that my life has not EVER been like it has been the past few months. I am truly a positive, upbeat, optimistic, strong individual.

a few bullets:

*I'm going to be a Grandma. My youngest son (18) is going to be a father.
Here is what I can do....
Support him, love him, hug him (which I've done more times in the last week that in five years)

* My husbands kidneys are not functioning. Confirmed today. Next week we find out more but looks like further treatment will be in Portland (3.5 hrs away) Hope that is temporary

* I can't stop stuffing my face when I get nervous. I realize it when I am doing it but I don't have a great hold on it.

* the other night I was talking to my BFF and going into all the above and I took my ambien near the start of the call. I got distracted and while chatting and knowing I would hang up soon I took my ambien. AGAIN!
Slept Like A Rock! I split mine and only take half doses, so really it was a full dose and there was no harm except for the pillow wrinkles on my face that lasted half the next day.

So there it is.
I will get through it.

It's Wednesday so here is my sad, sad weekday dish.

Coffee

yearly mammogram - Have you scheduled yours? Do IT!

Coffee

three bites of a bacon cheeseburger (no bun)

a few sips of water, not enough for sure (headache, tired, mean)

a half of an orange cream slush from sonic (yes I did)

coffee

cheese it chex mix stuff (1/2 cup) I bought a 4lb bag of it when company was here. Sigh

two cookies

Yup... need to get a handle on this and I will.

<3 ~ Jen

Saturday, April 9, 2011

a day in the life of a bandster (18 mo. out)

I can't watch the clips from the Dr. Oz show but have read enough to realize this woman was 1. lying or 2. way too tight!

Yesterday went as such:

5-6 am 2 cups of coffee

7am one bottle of water with my allergy medication

8am luna bar - nutz over chocolate

water

about 11 the husband wanted some pancakes. I tried a couple bites of one (I hate syrup) so it was dry. Got stuck, dumb girl

water

Went for my hike

1pm sliced some skinless apple, sharp cheddar cheese, hummus, and about 5 crackers

water

5pm made ground beef taco's with the super small corn tortillas. I ate two, both with a little cheese, green onion, olives and one slice each of avocado.

Although that was a larger dinner than most days, overall it was a pretty light eating day.

Typical meals
Breakfast/brunch I have one of the following:

Protein bar
canned corned beef hash
an egg w/cheese in a low carb wrap
special k protein cereal

Lunch 1-3PM

I eat tuna often for lunch. An entire can mixed with cottage cheese and avocado
few slices of deli meat wrapped around string cheese
taco bell if out - pintos and cheese, crunchy taco (I can't do the chicken there)

Dinner 5PM

I cook most nights
We have a lot of the same things over and over and over again.

canned salmon patties
baked fish
whole roasted chicken
tortilla soup
pinto beans
Mexican based meals

I try to include a veggie with dinner.

Things I can't eat:
reheated meats
cooked mushrooms
bread for the most part
pasta - although I can eat ravioli
fruits with skin still on
french fries
hot dogs, sausage, links unless I skin them

trigger foods:
carbs.... nuff said! I will be chasing that carb high all day long.

Well... I have some major events I need to blog about soon but right now I get to go pick up my kitty from the vets where he had surgery on Tuesday so I need to run...

~Jenn

Saturday, April 2, 2011

100!

A couple days ago I hit the 100lbs lost mark. (from my highest) I thought I would be more excited but it really made me think how far I had let myself go. I'm proud of my most recent efforts though, especially in light of all that has been happening here at that home front.

Last week I noticed I was pretty tight and had got stuck a few times. My allergies kicked in the first sunny day we had and I ended up getting an unfill of .15 which is the fill I had received on 1/28. I haven't been stuck since the unfill but I haven't had any additional hunger either. I'm not super worried about it because I know if I feel like I need more I won't have to fight for it... Love my NP!

I started on some Zyrtec and also went back on Omeprazole just in case my morning cough was acid reflux related vs. allergies.

I wish I had more to blog about. I didn't turn on my computer for a few days (I did use my phone to look at facebook) but I think I needed to check out for a bit. By the time I had a little news to share and planned on posting we ended up with company which I prepared for. I got a pretty good workout deep cleaning this house. Feels good to Spring clean, have the windows open and smell fresh cut grass.

It's been a long ass winter.

Gene's MRI came back with no evident stroke.(good news)
In the words of his Doctor, his kidneys are "Going South". (not sure if this is better news or worse) All his stroke type symptoms are connected to the the high blood pressure which he is now on 12 medications a day for. Not sure it is working as his last reading was 224/107 but he has several upcoming appointments in the next two weeks so I am hoping they figure something out soon. I can't really think about it because we still don't know everything. Trying to stay positive!

Thank you all for the thoughts and well wishes.

~Jen