My Happy Dance

In reference to my previous post, my Happy Dance went something like this:




And it went NOTHING like this (although Chris could probably give a much better performance):

Booyah!!

I got a message from the town prosecutor saying that the girl who caused the car accident was entering a plea of guilty for negligent driving and the case would remain open regarding her conduct after (leaving scene of accident, and not going to the precinct to have pictures taken of her vehicle) pending good behavior.

Plus I will be receiving resistution for all expenses paid out for the deductible, and the car rental we had when the van was being fixed.

So no court for me, baby. You should've seen the happy dance I did while I was listening to the message. What. a. relief.

I Be Illin'

I'm feeling nervous. There's no way anyone can talk to me and make me feel better, so hopefully writing about it will help. Usually when I'm confronted with something new, I feel especially nervous and anxious until it happens. Once it happens, I feel a great relief because it's usually not as bad as I thought, and if it happens again, I'm better for it because I know what to expect.

Anyway, back in May, the kids and I were in a car accident. I was driving through an intersection when an oncoming car making a left turn neglected to yield right of way and hit me. None of us were hurt and the minivan just suffered a dent that we had fixed, but now I have to go to court on Wednesday to testify.

When the accident happened, the girl took off...she left the scene of the accident. An off-duty cop or fireman (forgot the occupation of the guy) gave chase because he didn't want her getting away. He chased her down a dead end street and kept her trapped until the police came.

In the meantime I had given my statement to the officer who came to the scene. Employees from the McDonalds on the corner of the intersection gave statements as witnesses. The officer later came to my house to take pictures of the damage done to my van. The second officer who dealt with the girl said to come to the police station to have pictures and measurements taken of her vehicle, but she never showed up and there was a warrant put out for her arrest.

Back in September I believe (not sure when) we received a call saying that the girl was arrested and to send in any receipts from the accident for money we paid out of pocket for the damages and the rental we had while the van was being repaired.

So now the day is about to come when I have to go into court about this. I'm afraid the defense attorney will brow beat me or badger me and I'll break down and plead mercy from the court.

I know I'm overreacting, but it helps to think the worst and get it out of my system.

OC Challenge Update

My eating is shot to hell and I'm not losing weight. I'm creeping up, but not so much since I'm still working out.

My Triathlon mentor thing is doing well. Here is my workout schedule:

Monday: circuit training, bike

Tuesday: Run, leg strength

Wednesday: circuit training, bike

Thursday: run, (swim)

Friday: circuit training, bike

Saturday: rest

Sunday: run, (swim)

I spend an hour on the bike, 45 minutes on the elliptical (this replaced running for now because my knees are hurting), and no time swimming since I don't have access to a pool...YET.

My circuit training is this (I do one set per exercise, then start over again until I've gone through it 4x's. Minimum is 2x's depending on time constraints):

BACK Seated row (4 sets, 15 reps, 50 lbs.)
ABS Flat sit-ups (4 sets, 15 reps)
ABS Flat bench knee raise (4 sets, 15 reps)
ABS Medicine Ball Twist (4sets, 15 reps)
CHEST Pushups (FB) (4 sets, 15 reps)
LEGS Lunges, Reverse (4 sets, 15 reps)
LEGS Hamstring Bridge (4 sets, 15 reps)

For my leg strength training, I do these.

I'm a Promiscuous Gold Digger Who Isn't Energy Efficient

I spotted this one on Carey's blog. Could some of these worked out any more perfectly?



What does next year have in store for me?
You (Radiohead)

What's my love life like?
Just One Of Those Days (Limp Bizkit)-no comment :P

What do I say when life gets hard?
C'mon C'mon (Von Bondies)-I can be a tad impatient

What do I think of on waking up?
My Doorbell (The White Stripes)-Doorbells are an integral part of my day.

What song will I dance to at my wedding?
Feeling Good Again (Robert Earl Keen)

What do I want as a career?
Gold Digger (Kanye West/f. Jamie Fox)-I'll be unemployed real soon if I stick with that line of work.

Favorite place?
Say It Ain't So (Weezer)

What do I think of my parents?
Foolish Games (Jewel)

What's my porn star name?
Promiscuous Girl (Nelly Furtado)-I've done it at least three times.

Where would I go on a first date?
Fade Into You (Mazzy Star)-Aww, how romantic

Drug of choice?
I Write Sins Not Tragedies (Panic! At The Disco)

Describe myself
Given To Fly (Pearl Jam)

What is the thing I like doing most?
Put Your Lights On (Santana)-and charge up a huge utility bill

What is my state of mind like at the moment?
Stay (Lisa Loeb)

How will I die?
Take Me Out (Franz Ferdinand)-Be gentle...please.

I Really Need a Hobby

I was looking through the TV guide for what's on tonight. I drifted into a cozy-morphine-like-haze when I saw this:

American Idol: 8 p.m.-10 p.m

Top Chef: 10 p.m.-11:15 p.m.

There's no watching a crap 1/2 hour show in order to fill time between two good shows....there's no flipping around watching a few minutes of one show and a couple minutes of another.

It's just pure uninterrupted watching bliss.

I haven't felt this way since NBC's Must See TV Thursday when Friends led the lineup.

I admit it...I'm completely pathetic :p

Weird Skeletons in the Closet

I've been tagged about revealing my skeletons in the closet....weird ones.

1. If you talk to me while I'm on the computer, or reading a book, I'll respond as though I were listening to you, but I'll have no recollection of what you said.

2. I'm deathly afraid of Chihuahuas.....DEATHLY afraid.

3. I have eaten a whole box of Twinkies in one sitting.

4. I love watching shows about eating disorders....anything from anorexia to obesity.

5. I can remember a face from 20 years ago, but ask me to recall a name I learned 5 minutes ago and you'll get a blank stare from me.

6. When I listen to music, I pretend it's the soundtrack to my life and that whatever I'm doing at the moment is a movie scene. I especially do this while I'm driving....and act like I'm being filmed.

I tag you!

Listening to My Instinct

I'm thinking of legally changing my name to Hermit. I mostly stay home anymore in addition to trips to the gym.

I used to go places a few times a week with the kids and today I'm sitting here contemplating whether to take Jake and Jess to B&N for a story hour.

But my mother's instinct screams at me not to do it because instead of paying attention to the story, I just know that Jake will want to maul the book displays in search for something to buy. And I picture myself tearing him away from the shelves and me becoming red faced and sweaty from holding in my urge to scream at him to sit the hell down and listen to the damned story.

So, maybe I won't take them there.

I'm off to find another place to take them today that won't be so anxiety inducing.

Friday OC Challenge Update

Erica had a great idea to give a Friday update, and here I am hijacking said idea.

This past week sucked in the workout department considering the headache episode. Before the headache hit, I was working on jogging for a 1/2 hour straight and was doing so at 4.2 mph, 3 days a week. Then the headache hit and today was the first day back at the gym.

I was on the treadmill for a total of 40 minutes (5 warmup, 20 min. jog at 4.5 mph on a 2% incline, 10 minute walk on a 5% incline, 5 minute cooldown)...that adds up to 40 minutes, right????

No headache which is a good thing.

AND, I'm down 2 pounds since I signed up to do the Challenge.

AND, I still have to pay my money to Allison's PayPal.

This weekend I have to buy running shoes. My $12 Kmart sneaks just isn't cutting it. My feet hurt and my knees get achy. But I do ice my knees for 15 minutes when I get home.

That's it until next week....

The Aftermath

This is a picture taken from our backyard in the morning. We had an icestorm a few days ago and because the air is so cold, we still have ice coating everything. With the sun shining brightly yesterday, the outdoors looked like a crystal wonderland. Even our grass looked like it was carved from crystal...little bits of jewels gleaming on the ground. Jessica wanted to go outside so she could pick 'em and put them in her jewelry box.



This is a picture taken from our backyard at dusk. See the tree in the middle? I've always thought of that tree as being the centerpiece of our yard. The sun lit it like a candelabra.

Don't you wish everything in life was affected so beautifully after a storm?

Moving On....

I saw my PCP and she said she'd rather have Neurology deal with my headache, so I have an appointment on Feb. 12.

On a lighter note, American Idol has begun their season and the auditions are as painful to watch as ever. I love it.

I can totally understand how people who sing really bad think they sound good to their own ear.

I'm the same way...or was. My step sister once told me I was a bad singer. I thought she was crazy until she pulled out her boom box, inserted a blank tape and recorded a song I chose to sing (I think it was The Rose by Bette Midler).

When we played it back, I couldn't believe I was able to hold a note...the one and only note I held while singing the entire song. It was then I realized I was tone deaf.

I guess I should've been clued in to how lousy I was when my neighbor came over to get his screwdriver back that my father borrowed. I was belting out songs from Side A of the Grease soundtrack when he came to the door.

I later found out he used the screwdriver as an excuse to come over to see if I was OK. He thought I was being raped.

Another time, during a beautiful summer Saturday, I was singing my heart out in the shower...with the window open. This time I was singing the Star Spangled Banner with vibrato no less.

I soon heard:

"SHANNON!!! SHANNON!!!!"

I looked out the window and saw my brother and his friends looking up to where I stuck my head out.

"SHANNON...SHUT THE FUCK UUUUP!!!!"

I was appalled, but soon thankful for when I looked to the side into our neighbor's yard, I saw a group of people looking toward the window laughing heartily. There was a BBQ going on and they could hear me!!

I still love to sing and sing out loud! I now make sure my windows are closed though.

Dare I Say?

I think Jacob is officially potty trained. He has graduated to pooping on the crapper and hasn't gone in his pants since a couple of weeks ago.

He's still touch and go with the overnight wetting, but more often than not he wakes up dry.

I feel pretty confident that I can now burn his diapers and do a jig on their ashes (remember that Jamie and Erica?).

It's the end of an era.


Side note: I've made an appointment with my PCP about the mystery headache (which I still have) for tomorrow. We'll see what she decides to do about tests, etc.

I Am Not A Maple Tree--I Am A Human Being

You'll understand the play on words in the title (ref. The Elephant Man) once I get through with the story.

On Wednesday I was working out at the gym and had completed a set of pullups. Once I finished, it felt like someone had shot me in the back of the head. The pain traveled through the side of my head and planted itself there. I assumed it was the start of a migraine so I left the gym to take some Advil.

It started fading but never really went away. At around 5 a.m. that morning, the headache woke me up only this time it was sitting on my skull like a heavy cap. Advil eased the pain, but like the day before, the headache never went away. It was eased enough for me to get through the day, and I actually ran for 1/2 hour on the treadmill without it flaring up.

I was a little bothered that it hadn't gone away by Friday because my migraines usually fade the next day and completely disappear before day 3.

I did my usual workout with my jackass trainer (see "Grrrr" story below), but when I did the pullups, my headache exploded to the point where I couldn't move my head from side to side. My neck was so damned stiff.

I finally called my doctor on Saturday figuring I could get an appt with the critical care unit (it's basically where they send patients who need off-hour appointments and really has nothing to do with the severity of the problem).

A nurse called me back and asked what my symptoms were. I described the characteristics of my headache and she said all indications told her to tell me to go immediately to the ER.

Jeff and I packed up the kids and off we went.

I was seen by an orderly who took my blood pressure. It was 155/103, so he took it on the other arm and it read about the same.

A nurse finally saw me to take down my symptoms. When she saw my BP reading, she asked if I had a history of high BP, and I said no. She figured it was because I was in pain from the headache. She took it one more time and it was still high.

She wanted me to see an ER doctor instead of a Physician's assistant, so they had me wait in the triage unit until a doc could see me.

The ER doc came in and I once again told him how my headache started and what it felt like. He asked if I'd ever had migraines and I said yes, but that this one actually started differently than my others and it was lasting much longer.

He said I bought myself a CT scan which has a 98% rate of detecting an aneurysm and bleeding. He felt that I had all indications of a ruptured aneurysm. He said if it came out negative and he felt good about my condition after that, then he'd avoid doing a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). If I had a ruptured aneurysm, then blood would show up in my spinal fluid.

I was waiting some more for the CT room to open up and the doc later came back to tell me that he kept thinking about me and that he wanted to go ahead and do the spinal tap even if the CT scan showed nothing. He was nervous about me being in the other 2%. I said that so was I!! He said even though I was only 35 yrs old, he was exceptionally bothered by the fact that I've had migraines before and I wasn't the type of person to come in to the ER or my doctor everytime I had an episode looking for a worse problem. That and the fact that this is different than my normal migraines definitely got his attention.

The CT scan detected nothing, so I was set up for the spinal tap.

The ER doc said he'd feel better having the PA do it since he's done hundreds of them and the doc only does a couple per week.

The PA, a nurse, and a student doc came in to do the procedure. The PA inserted the needle between my vertebrae, but kept hitting bone (which by the way hurts like a mofo) and I kept yelling out mainly because of reflex in addition to the pain. The second attempt wasn't successful either so they brought me up to x-ray so that they could see my spine.

Aside from the pain, it was actually pretty cool that they could see my spine on a screen and pick the area where they needed to tap.

They inserted the needle, and because they needed gravity to draw out spinal fluid, they tilted the table so that I was more vertical. Here's where I felt like a Maple tree being tapped for syrup.

Ten minutes later, they had 4 vials of fluid and said they'd have results soon after.

That thankfully came back with no blood (since they couldn't see it visually, they sent it to the lab to look microscopically).

There's no explanation for the headache I had although I'm hoping the high BP was indeed because of my discomfort and that the headache wasn't cause by chronic high BP which runs rampant on my mom's side of the family.

So, I'll be calling my PCP on Monday to schedule an appointment for a full blood workup and a stress test.

I now have to sit up to sleep to avoid a spinal tap headache. I have one more night to sleep in the easy chair in the family room.

What a joyous weekend.

What I Eat

I tend to do really well eating healthy meals. But the times in between each meal, I fall off the wagon and snack on things that seem innocent enough, but the calories add up. What I snack on is so random that I couldn't really say what it is I eat. It could be a few slices of American cheese, or leftovers from the previous night's dinner.

I've been playing around with different breakfast foods to see what will keep me fullest longest for the best calorie amount.

I've found the ideal breakfast that keeps me satisfied.

Breakfast:

One serving oatmeal (1 Minute Cooked)
1 scoop protein powder (mixed into oatmeal...gives a French vanilla taste)
3 egg whites
1 serving fruit

Calorie +/- 355 (depending on kind of fruit you choose)

Right before a workout, I'll drink a Slim Fast shake as a quick source of energy and to keep my appetite at bay until I eat lunch which is typically around 2 p.m.

Snack:

Slim Fast

Calories: 190

For lunch, I've been trying to find the same combination of foods to give me satisfaction until dinner, but because there is such a long gap between lunch and dinner, I have to have a snack....I have no choice.

Lunch:

A sandwich consisting of:
2 slices Weight Watchers rye bread toasted (it tastes awesome!)
3 slices of turkey or ham
1 side mustard
1 side mayo

A salad with either romaine, spinach, or both, julienned carrots, sprinkled with rice wine vinegar...no oil! But if you choose to use oil, a teaspoon of olive oil is more than enough to cut the acidity of the vinegar.

Fruit

Calories +/- 280

My rule is to have a fruit as a snack, or even veggies.

Snack:

Vegetables or fruit

Calories +/- 100 calories (fruit) or 50 calories (vegetable)

My dinners vary, but in general they consist of:

a lean protein (chicken, fish, lean cut of red meat, ground turkey, turkey sausage)
a non-starchy vegetable
and a starch (can be potato, bread, rice, pasta).

Calorie +/- 500

Total daily calorie intake +/- 1425

Grrrrrrr

I was 20 minutes late for my appointment with my personal trainer (I see him once a week or two or three). I was late because I had to drop the kids off at preschool and of course Jake had to go to the bathroom. The downside of potty training is that you have to take the kid to the bathroom, go through the rigamarow (sp?) of pulling down pants, going pee, wiping the "peanuts" with toilet paper (I'm trying to convince him it isn't necessary to do that), pull up pants, wash hands....holy fucking god.

I finally get to the gym and the PT is with another woman because he figures since I'm late, he might as well cut into my time being that I'm not there.

I start my routine until he's finished with a set she's working on and he comes over and starts lecturing me about being late, that I should call, that we may not get a complete session in, blah, blah, blah. I couldn't call him because I didn't have the phone number on me, but now I know to have it programmed into my phone.

At that point I wasn't going to say why I was late because I was seething that he'd say all of this to me in front of the other woman plus a few other people who were in the room with us doing their own thing.

This is the third day of a migraine I've had and I had gotten it down to a low roar until my first set of pullups. After I completed the set, my head started throbbing.

I tell the PT this and he says "That's punishment for being late." Bite me.

I count situps I'm doing and said I completed the 15 and he says "Oh yeah right, you were counting one up, two down." (rather than counting everytime I sat up).

I let it all slide and just plowed through my routines with him.

I did a second set of pullups and my migraine exploded. I couldn't move my neck at all and sweat was pouring down my face. Luckily I didn't start getting sick to my stomach otherwise it would've been all over.

Between the PT being upset with me and my freakin marathon migraine I'm pretty miserable.

I've eaten well today, so I'm feeling good about that. No matter how much I workout, it feels like a big waste if I eat like crap. So, I'm really making a point to eat the healthiest foods possible. (Don't give me credit yet since this is only the second day I've eaten really well).

Whoever is Doing The OC Challenge....

and for anyone else who's interested, there's a really cool website to go to to track your diet and exercise...and it's FREE!

Go to sparkpeople.com and sign up. You can either choose a diet and exercise plan and track it, or do your own plans. They have chockfull of articles and exercises and all sorts of goodies.

When you enter in your stats and how much weight you want to lose in a certain amount of time, it'll calculate everything and tell you the date that it's possible to lose the weight by (follow?).

If you enter in your food intake, you can see the amount of carbs, calories, fat and other nutrients you're taking in to see if you're getting enough of each.

There's so much more to explore, you'll need to see for yourself.

I think it's awesome. Check it out.

Skirting Disaster....Inviting Disaster

Apparently Brendon had that stinkin' bug that Jeff and I had over Christmas weekend. Acheyness, vomiting, headachey.

I thought I was in for a doozy by keeping the lows at bay when Brendon couldn't keep anything down at all...all day long.

Miracle of all miracles he wound up holding quite well. Here's the glucose readings and the times taken:

6:15 a.m=212

7 a.m.=185 (at this point I reduced his basal by 50% for several hours to counteract the carbs not taken in)

8:40 a.m.=170

10 a.m.=174

Noon=177

2 p.m.=178

Jeff extended the 50% rate for several more hours.
I guess he kicked the bug soon after because he wanted to get dressed and began acting like his old crazy self again.

By 5 p.m. he jumped up to a 322

Aside from the 322, I couldn't believe he held like that.

On the disasterous note, I have gained weight!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even with the Triathlon training I'm going through. It's no mystery as to why...I'm eating crap...and too much of it.

So I've decided to join the OC Challenge. I must prevail!!

The OC Bug

Well, it seems some illness is going around the OC. Brendon woke up early this morning complaining of a headache, so I checked him and gave him Tylenol. He clocked in at 212 which wouldn't cause the headache, but I corrected it anyway.

I had him lay on the couch and soon he complained that his stomach felt funny. I put a pot next to him and he wound up throwing up. So he's staying home from school for sure.

What especially sucks is that I corrected his 212 and since he probably can't keep anything down, I've got to keep check to make sure he doesn't drop too low. Looks like I have to feed him some juice by the teaspoon.

Oh happy crappy sick days.

Outsmarted By A 6 Year Old

Math was never my strong suit. It simply bores me...to death. It doesn't help that my son has a condition that requires strong math skills in order to count carbs, calculate ratios, etc.

This morning I figured his breakfast carb count in my head:

24+13+13=60

Brendon wants to figure it out too, so I wait for him to finish calculating (in his head mind you) and he comes up with 50.

Now, as the adult, it would've been reasonable for me to think that I'm right and he's wrong. But knowing how lousy I am with math, and how good he is, I trust his answer more than mine and recalculate to find that he was correct.

Yeah, I think I should stick to relying on my handy dandy calculator instead of using my math deficient brain.

I'll Take That!

I just discovered that I received Honorary Mention for Best Parent Of A Child With Diabetes Blog in the 2007 Diabetes O.C. Blog Awards.

Thanks to whomever voted for me :) It's an honor to have even been nominated.

Cross Your Fingers.....

OMG, Brendon just left for school. And once I noticed it, there wasn't enough time to tell him to come back in and change. I feel like I sent my child out into the line of fire...I just hope he comes home alive and well.

He had gotten himself dressed this morning and as he walked out the door, I noticed he was wearing floods. And it's raining. So if kids make fun of him, at least he has an excuse.

Please pray for my baby's safe return, LOL.

Wishing Upon A Star....

Oh how I wish there was a training school where you could send your kids to be potty trained and then sent back home when they're completely done.

I was upstairs blow drying my hair when Jessica came up to inform me that Jakey crapped his pj's (she didn't use the word crap).

I went down to get him and found him in the kitchen clinging to the top shelf of the pantry with a leg dangling mid air.

I didn't see a lump, so I figured it was Jessica's way of getting me downstairs more urgently in order to get him off the shelves.

Boy was I mistaken. When I lifted him off the shelving, a couple of fudge nuggets dropped out of the leg of his pj pants and landed on my foot then rolled off onto the floor. Luckily I had slippers on which went promptly into the garbage!

Thank GAWD he's the last kid....

Switch This Resolution To #2 On My List

One of my 2007 resolutions is to potty train Jacob once and for all. He's been doing pretty good thus far. He's been wearing underwear more often than not, he's had just a couple of peepee accidents and one night he even stayed dry overnight.

The only downside is his penchant for pinching a loaf in his underwear. Twice he's done this. He'll be walking around and I'll see a lump in the back of his underwear. I've noticed he doesn't poop as often as he normally does...I think he's holding them in! TMI here, but it winds up being about the size of an orange. Luckily it's solid enough to dump it in the toilet....and I do throw out the underwear (I refuse to clean them up).

I hope he'll get with the program extremely soon and hit the john when he's gotta do the doo.

Once this project is over and done with, I will be the happiest girl in. the. world!