This post is way past over due… So I’ll try to make it short, but keep all the highlights….
I ended up pulling out of the Great Race last Sunday. Luckily I was able to sell my bib to a friend’s friend so someone at least could use it. Earlier in the week I had gone to my asthma/allergy doctor and he diagnosed me with Vocal Chord Dysfunction. The fun think about this was that one of my good friends (known her since 3rd grade) diagnosed me with this about 3 months ago and I told her she was crazy. The good news it’s totally fixable. Basically, I just have to learn to breathe correctly again. I was able to run 3 miles both Tuesday and Thursday. They weren’t world records (but close) but it felt good to be able to run and now have to feel like I was suffocating myself. I know that the therapy will take 6-8 weeks, but hopefully once this is all gone, I will be back to my June ’10 self. So I’m back to feeling alright with myself. I was also able to refocus on my lifting and strength training and I don’t feel like such a looooser anymore.
Another subject, I got the best text earlier this week (or late last week) from my sister. It was a picture of what my niece did at school. The paper had her name, age, what she liked to eat, and what she liked… in which she responded… get ready for this… ‘I like to go ice skating with Aunt Sarah.’ I’m not going to lie, I might have gotten a little teary. It’s crazy but a lot of my friends are now becoming Aunts/Uncles… and I can’t stop explaining how awesome it is. I absolutely love being an Aunt. Last night I went out with two ladies from Jazzercise and I was just braggin’ about those kids. But I told him, 7 years ago (my nephew is 7), if you would have told me that
a. I’d be THIS in love with the kids, I’d call you crazy.
b. that my family trusts me enough to have the kids for sleep overs and take them out in the city, I laugh in your face.
c. Think that the best Friday nights are when I take the kids to dinner and then to a laser show, I’d roll my eyes.
The truth is, they have in their weird way taught me how to be a “responsible” adult. There is just something so endearing with their innocence and their constant wonder, which I just can’t get enough of. Last weekend I think I finally realized how much these kids really do mean to me when I was driving my niece from point A to point B and I wasn’t paying attention, but when I got her out of my car she had applied make up to herself… and it was all over my seat…. And instead of getting made and worked up and freaking out (my car is my baby), I laughed, smiled at her and told her she looked Beautiful and hugged her. Surprisingly, the world didn’t end. Maybe I’ve finally figured out this whole growing up thing… who knows… All I do know is I am so proud to be an Aunt.
I hope you have a fantastic weekend… It’s finally going to get cold here…. Like REALLY cold.. Furnace turning on type weather. But I'm so not complaining! Bring on Fall!
Take it easy.
PS. Happy Birthday Jo. Love you sista! I can’t wait to celebrate with you tonight
Friday, September 30, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Weekly Words To Inspire
Happy Monday! I hope the weekend went well and you have enjoyed your September thus far. Can you believe that this is the last full week in September?
That can only mean one thing... Christmas is 3 months away! Crazy, I know.
I hope you have an enjoyable week.
'Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small steps.'
- Variations attributed to David Lloyd George
'Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of everyday. Do it! I say, Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows.'
-Pope Paul VI
'Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.'
- Will Smith
' Children will not remember you for the material things you provided, but for the feeling that you cherished them.'
- Richard E Evans
Take it easy.
That can only mean one thing... Christmas is 3 months away! Crazy, I know.
I hope you have an enjoyable week.
'Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small steps.'
- Variations attributed to David Lloyd George
'Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of everyday. Do it! I say, Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows.'
-Pope Paul VI
'Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.'
- Will Smith
' Children will not remember you for the material things you provided, but for the feeling that you cherished them.'
- Richard E Evans
Take it easy.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Weekly Words To Inspire
Another wonderful September week is upon us! Boy is it really starting to feel like fall!
Hope all is well!
'You either make yourself miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.'
Carlos Castaneda
'They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.'
Tom Bodett
'Never make permanent decisions on temporary feelings.'
Unknown
My favorite for the week!
'Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you. '
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Take it easy.
Hope all is well!
'You either make yourself miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.'
Carlos Castaneda
'They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.'
Tom Bodett
'Never make permanent decisions on temporary feelings.'
Unknown
My favorite for the week!
'Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you. '
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Take it easy.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Fantastic Friday!
Today really felt like fall this morning. Which, I won't complain about. I love fall, the changing trees, the crisp air, sweatshirts, and foooooooootball.
I'll be spending this weekend with some good friends at the Covered Bridge Festival. Which is a festival at all the locations in the county where there are covered bridges.
Sunday I'll be at Heinz field cheering for the black and gold.
Take it easy.
I'll be spending this weekend with some good friends at the Covered Bridge Festival. Which is a festival at all the locations in the county where there are covered bridges.
Sunday I'll be at Heinz field cheering for the black and gold.
Take it easy.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Strong.
Strength… What is it?
That’s a good question. I always believed being strong meant never quitting no matter the risks… I’ve slowly been learning that sometimes strength is walking away, knowing that it is the best choice.
On the 25th of September there will be a 10k race running through the streets of Pittsburgh. A race that I committed running to a few months back. A race that I’ve been training for and even ran a 10k last month in preparationfor it. During that race I ended up aggravating my lungs. I was very disappointed and not just with the time of the race, but with how my body reacted. My will to succeed and body just are not on the same page currently. So I took sometime off and was lightly running.
Fast forward then to last week and I’m at work, I go to a different floor for a meeting, I return and within 5 minutes I start coughing. Now this is not your run of a mill coughing. No, this is the coughing that I did when I was fighting the Whooping Cough. My co-worker sense my uneasiness in my eyes. We both knew something was not right. I had not coughed like this in months. Something was going terribly wrong. I was sent home so no one had to listen to the cough. My boss was gracious enough to let me work from home on Thursday to rest and recover and hope that it was not more serious. I called one of my Doctor’s on Thursday and they said that due to my sensitivity with my bronchial tubes, allergies for me could turn up in the form of a cough. Awesome. Right?
During this bought with this issue that I have been dealing with since July 2010. I’ve learned a lot of things. I was determined to not let it get me down. I rested when I should, I took the medications when I was told. I learned that just because everything you do does not always mean you get the result you want, no matter how much you wish and pray. I’ve learned that living a healthy lifestyle is the only way to go, as I can’t even imagine how I would have gotten through all of this being the person I was back in 2009. I learned that I am so much mentally stronger than I ever believe I could be. I learned that I will never take being able to breathe without thinking about how the air quality with irrate my lungs and cause me to cough ever again. Most importantly, I learned that sometimes walking away does not mean you are weak, it just means you are strong enough to realize that maybe this isn’t the best course for you to be on.
With that, earlier in the week I took a run outside with one of my gym rats. We ran a slow (about 10 minute mile) 2.5 miles along side the river on Tuesday. It was perfect conditions, the sun was shinning it was in the upper 60’s with light winds. However, on the side, I was struggling. My legs felt great but my lungs were falling apart. They actually felt like they were on fire at one point. The next thing I knew, I could barely breathe. The amount of frustration, of disappointment was huge. I couldn’t understand why I’m still dealing with this because for once I actually have followed the advice I have been given by the medical professionals treating me. I quickly got over it and realized how far I have come in the past year, physically. My workout that I do, I couldn’t have done a year ago. I would have laughed in your face if you told me my program would be like this.
So as I sit today and think about the next week and a half and the 6.2 miles looming in front of me, it makes me nervous and a little disappointed. I am planning on doing one run today. If I have the same result as Monday, I’ve told myself that it’s okay to withdraw from the race. I could try to run it, but I know me, and I won’t quit when I should and things would get worse from there. I keep reminding myself that this is probably the best course of action, but it’s hard for me to withdrawal because of circumstances that I can not control. Maybe that’s the real lesson this past year has been trying to teach me, sometimes no matter how hard you want, desire, train, there are circumstances that are out of our control and all you can do is control your reactions to them. So yes, I’m quiet bummed I might not be joining the other 14,500 people running through the streets of Pittsburgh. I guess this just gives me more time to focus on my lifting.
Not matter how old I get, quitting still sucks.
Take it easy.
That’s a good question. I always believed being strong meant never quitting no matter the risks… I’ve slowly been learning that sometimes strength is walking away, knowing that it is the best choice.
On the 25th of September there will be a 10k race running through the streets of Pittsburgh. A race that I committed running to a few months back. A race that I’ve been training for and even ran a 10k last month in preparationfor it. During that race I ended up aggravating my lungs. I was very disappointed and not just with the time of the race, but with how my body reacted. My will to succeed and body just are not on the same page currently. So I took sometime off and was lightly running.
Fast forward then to last week and I’m at work, I go to a different floor for a meeting, I return and within 5 minutes I start coughing. Now this is not your run of a mill coughing. No, this is the coughing that I did when I was fighting the Whooping Cough. My co-worker sense my uneasiness in my eyes. We both knew something was not right. I had not coughed like this in months. Something was going terribly wrong. I was sent home so no one had to listen to the cough. My boss was gracious enough to let me work from home on Thursday to rest and recover and hope that it was not more serious. I called one of my Doctor’s on Thursday and they said that due to my sensitivity with my bronchial tubes, allergies for me could turn up in the form of a cough. Awesome. Right?
During this bought with this issue that I have been dealing with since July 2010. I’ve learned a lot of things. I was determined to not let it get me down. I rested when I should, I took the medications when I was told. I learned that just because everything you do does not always mean you get the result you want, no matter how much you wish and pray. I’ve learned that living a healthy lifestyle is the only way to go, as I can’t even imagine how I would have gotten through all of this being the person I was back in 2009. I learned that I am so much mentally stronger than I ever believe I could be. I learned that I will never take being able to breathe without thinking about how the air quality with irrate my lungs and cause me to cough ever again. Most importantly, I learned that sometimes walking away does not mean you are weak, it just means you are strong enough to realize that maybe this isn’t the best course for you to be on.
With that, earlier in the week I took a run outside with one of my gym rats. We ran a slow (about 10 minute mile) 2.5 miles along side the river on Tuesday. It was perfect conditions, the sun was shinning it was in the upper 60’s with light winds. However, on the side, I was struggling. My legs felt great but my lungs were falling apart. They actually felt like they were on fire at one point. The next thing I knew, I could barely breathe. The amount of frustration, of disappointment was huge. I couldn’t understand why I’m still dealing with this because for once I actually have followed the advice I have been given by the medical professionals treating me. I quickly got over it and realized how far I have come in the past year, physically. My workout that I do, I couldn’t have done a year ago. I would have laughed in your face if you told me my program would be like this.
So as I sit today and think about the next week and a half and the 6.2 miles looming in front of me, it makes me nervous and a little disappointed. I am planning on doing one run today. If I have the same result as Monday, I’ve told myself that it’s okay to withdraw from the race. I could try to run it, but I know me, and I won’t quit when I should and things would get worse from there. I keep reminding myself that this is probably the best course of action, but it’s hard for me to withdrawal because of circumstances that I can not control. Maybe that’s the real lesson this past year has been trying to teach me, sometimes no matter how hard you want, desire, train, there are circumstances that are out of our control and all you can do is control your reactions to them. So yes, I’m quiet bummed I might not be joining the other 14,500 people running through the streets of Pittsburgh. I guess this just gives me more time to focus on my lifting.
Not matter how old I get, quitting still sucks.
Take it easy.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Weekly Words To Inspire
I hope everyone had as good as weekend as they could have had. All in all, I can't complain. At least WVU won on Saturday... it wasn't pretty, but it was a lot better than the Steelers loss on Sunday.
Here are some random thoughts, that I have really been diggin' lately.
Enjoy!
' We can't become what we need to be by remaining who we are.'
-Oprah
'Your past is just a story. And once you realize this it has no power over you.'
- Chuck Palahniuk
'After all, if growing up is war, then the friends who grew up with you deserve a special respect. The ones who stuck by you shoulder to shoulder, in a time when nothing was certain, all life lay ahead, and every road led home.'
- Kevin Arnold - The Wonder Years
'You have never really lived until you've done something for someone who can never repay you.'
-Unknown
Have a great week!
Take it easy.
Here are some random thoughts, that I have really been diggin' lately.
Enjoy!
' We can't become what we need to be by remaining who we are.'
-Oprah
'Your past is just a story. And once you realize this it has no power over you.'
- Chuck Palahniuk
'After all, if growing up is war, then the friends who grew up with you deserve a special respect. The ones who stuck by you shoulder to shoulder, in a time when nothing was certain, all life lay ahead, and every road led home.'
- Kevin Arnold - The Wonder Years
'You have never really lived until you've done something for someone who can never repay you.'
-Unknown
Have a great week!
Take it easy.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Fantastic Friday
Ahhh - Fall Sweet Fall.
This weekend begins the first game of the NFL, whoop.
My weekend will be filled with Family tonight, WVU football tomorrow, and Steeler Football on Sunday.
Let's hear it for the boys! I love Fall.
WVU:
Steelers:
Let's do it!
What are your weekend plans?
Take it easy.
This weekend begins the first game of the NFL, whoop.
My weekend will be filled with Family tonight, WVU football tomorrow, and Steeler Football on Sunday.
Let's hear it for the boys! I love Fall.
WVU:
Let's do it!
What are your weekend plans?
Take it easy.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Weekly Words to Inspire
I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. I know I could not have asked for anything more. I spent Friday watching Sophie, then we went to one of my favorite places ever for dinner, Tropical Treat (it's an original drive-in!) I had my first ' Birch Beer' (which is delicious). Saturday was spent making applesauce with my best friend and her Grandma, with apples we hand picked from a bin. Then we went out to dinner with a few of my favorite people, followed by a bon fire on top of a hill... topped off with a late night quad ride around apple orchards and the first time I've ever actually picked a good apple off a tree and ate it! Sunday I met my brother and sister-in-law for bunch and walking around Cabela's. Sunday night my best friend made dinner and the four of us (plus Sophie!) ate outside and just enjoyed life. I drove hom across PA yesterday, witnessing one of the coolest things. If I didn't pass 60 Utility trucks yesterday coming from the East, then I didn't pass 1. It was so cool to see how people go to the rescue of others. I saw a bunch of trucks from Pittsburgh, but I also saw a lot of trucks from Minnesota. So neat. Anyways, hope all is well with everyone!
“A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It's a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity.”
Jimmy Carter
"Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan. "
Tom Landry
"In short, in life, as in a foot-ball game, the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard; don't foul and don't shirk, but hit the line hard!"
Theodore Roosevelt, The Strenuous Life (1900)
And in response to my weekend…. This is all I can say…
“And it made me think about where I'm at
On my not so straight and narrow path
All the generous and mostly undeserved
Blessings that I've had
I had an all-American mom and dad
Some of the coolest friends you could ever have
Found love I thought I'd never find
Sometimes I can't believe this life is mine
And I'm not plannin' on leavin' yet
But the truth is you just never know
And if this is as good as it gets
Man, I think I'm good to go
I'm good to go”
- Jason Aldean – Good To Go
Take it easy.
“A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It's a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity.”
Jimmy Carter
"Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan. "
Tom Landry
"In short, in life, as in a foot-ball game, the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard; don't foul and don't shirk, but hit the line hard!"
Theodore Roosevelt, The Strenuous Life (1900)
And in response to my weekend…. This is all I can say…
“And it made me think about where I'm at
On my not so straight and narrow path
All the generous and mostly undeserved
Blessings that I've had
I had an all-American mom and dad
Some of the coolest friends you could ever have
Found love I thought I'd never find
Sometimes I can't believe this life is mine
And I'm not plannin' on leavin' yet
But the truth is you just never know
And if this is as good as it gets
Man, I think I'm good to go
I'm good to go”
- Jason Aldean – Good To Go
Take it easy.
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