Another Month (+7 Days)

I have been MIA again! I am in my last week of classes, finals next week and graduation after that. Since we last spoke, I have had my head shaved, found a new place to live and am preparing to shave my head again. I have sold most of my furniture in preparation for the move and I will be selling most of my clothing. It was nice when I went through some of my clothes last week to see that I still have stuff I bought two years ago that is still too big for me. I ended up only keeping about 12 hanging items to sell over 50 others. I need to go through my shelves to do some purging there as well.

My BFF, who is not thrilled about the move has told me that she is getting her act together. Well, I must be a part of this! I thought about joining WW, but I know I should just save the money and get myself in shape. I hate this cold weather and am so ready for it to be warm so I can enjoy some outside exercise. I haven't weighed myself for a while, but will try to do so tomorrow at my mother's.

A Full Week

I have done something every day this week! I logged 11.9 miles walking a riding (only 3 were riding). I think it is a great start for spring. The pain from the shingles is almost gone. I only notice them once in a while. The weather has been gorgeous and I have been really enjoying it. Today, I hung clothes on the line and did a little (very little) organizing. B and I went for a walk with the neighbor girl and now he is passed out!

Monday is the big day! I am really looking forward to this year's event. My BFF's daughter is shaving with me this year. She's a sweet and kind 10 year old girl who is making a difference!

First Bike Ride

I took my first bike ride tonight since August 17th of 2011(pre knee surgery). Wow! Was that hard! I only went 1.2 miles, but my legs were all shaky after it. I also grabbed the dog and walked to get the kiddos from school. It was such a gorgeous day, I couldn't pass up this awesome weather.

I think I am going to get serious about my eating again. I am going to sit and read Women Food and God again, too. I was doing really well losing weight when I was reading that. I do, however, think that book had a lot to do with the ending of my marriage. While reading that book, I realized that my inner voice was really quite wonderful. It was the voice from Ginger (Yankee named him that) that was pretty hateful. By asking Ginger to be kinder to me, he felt like he was losing control of me and only became meaner and more hateful. It is not okay to be treated that way, and I will do my best to keep myself out of that situation again.

I really need to face the scale. I am a little nervous about it. I also forget to get on before I eat or drink in the morning. I know it's there and I know it's not horrible because I still fit in most of my clothes. I just don't fit into all of them, so that's how I know it needs to be faced.

Oh yeah! I am shaving my head again on Monday. Feel free to donate money that goes to raise money for childhood cancer research! http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mandyknapp3

More Than Six Months

It has been a long time since I've been here and my life has changed so much. Right after I had surgery in August, I asked my husband to move out. He had been violent with our children, violent with me and threatened more violence. I think he is mentally ill, and have diagnosed him (I still DO that!) with bipolar disorder. I tried to get us counseling but he refused to discuss anything he said or did because he claimed it was no one's business. So I thought I'd share it with the interwebs! So, about three weeks ago, our divorce was final. He got a job (I find the timing suspicious) and moved away. So now, my life is getting back to "normal." The kids and I feel comfortable leaving the house without worrying about him showing up. Heck, we feel comfortable knowing he's less likely to show up and break-in!

He moved about a week and a half ago. Coincidentally, I got shingles a week and a half ago. Last semester was hard, but this semester is proving to be the most difficult for me. Thank goodness my course load is light, because I am doing my internship 15 hours a week, working two part-time jobs and still taking 7 credit hours. Last week was spring break, so I only missed my internship.

I did miss work on Sunday because I came down with yet another virus. I thought it was strep, but the culture came back negative. YAY! On Sunday afternoon, when I was taking my antiviral for the shingles, I accidentally took Dimples' ADHD medicine. Once my heart stopped racing, I felt GREAT! I was all zen and able to balance the national budget. But, I couldn't sleep. I was up until 2:00. I did enjoy some of the beautiful weather we've been having. I took the dawg and the youngest on a walk. It was the first time I've walked outside since my surgery over six months ago. I was kind of wobbly from the meds, and from the shingles, but we ended up going 1.6 miles. I took advantage of the nice night last night again and took the dawg and Jee for a walk again and went two miles. They were not fast walks, but they were resistance walks as Bee was pulling on me like crazy.

I would like to think I'm back to the blogging world. I felt better when I exercised and I really enjoy writing. Here's hoping everyone's favorite auntie is back!

I Faced The Scale

It was scary. I didn't know what it would say. It had been 45 days since my last weigh in. EEK! So I got myself on that scale and it said, after 45 days, with a road trip, a wedding, surgery, and very little exercise, I was +2.6. I am bummed because that puts me at 162.3, but on the other side, it could have been a LOT worse.

It has been really hard for me not being allowed to run, or walk long distances without a crutch. I see my son running morning and night, and I so desperately want to join him. I am signed up for a half marathon taking place in two months. Will I be allowed to even train? I go back to the doctor in a week, and I hope he at least clears me for PT, that way I can at least know what I am allowed to do as far as stairs, running, walking, strength exercises, etc.

Have a happy Labor Day! I am off to make me some corn meal mush. It is perfect for a day like today, high of 65, cloudy.

Long Hiatus?

It is one of the longest I have had yet. So much has happened since we last spoke. First, I found my niece's father/my brother after 12 years of no contact. My mom and I took my niece to where he lives for his wedding, so she got to meet her daddy in person. Very exciting. Two days after we got home, August 18, I had knee surgery. I had a tendon snipped, arthritis scraped out, and holes drilled into the marrow to produce new cartilage. It was pretty painful, but the doctor is pleased with my speed of recovery. He told me on Monday that I shouldn't even try stairs until the 12th of September. I will have been doing stairs for two weeks by then. 

So two weeks post surgery, I am feeling pretty good. I am still experiencing some pain, but it's really not much worse than before I had the surgery. Since I am still healing, I am noticing my knee giving way some times, but I still use a crutch when I will be doing a lot of walking. 

Yankee has started running cross-country. I want so desperately to be out there running with him, but he is keeping it up. He ran 24:16 for two miles the other night. It was 97 degrees at the time. Today, he ran two miles in 20:12. I am really proud of him.

Dimples is on a new ADHD medicine that has turned him back into the funny, witty boy he used to be. He doesn't seem to get angry as fast, and his moods have improved greatly. 

Brown Eyes is a stink pot. He is in second grade now, mainstreamed for most of the day, and improving beyond anyone's expectations (well, except mine). 

I have not weighed myself since they put me on the bed at the hospital, and that was in kilograms, so I'm happy being 70 something K. I noticed that my size 12s are a little snug, but I am sure that will fall away as I am able to start moving more.

Today, I had the first day of my Horsemanship class. I dare anyone to do something like that 16 days post surgery! It was a little rough. First, I have only ever ridden a horse. I have never had to do anything besides ride the beast, never ever groom, put on the saddle or any of the other stuff I did today. I even had to clean her hooves! That was really tricky. I would lean on her so that I could lift her foot, and she would lean back over on me and almost know me over. We finally came to an understanding. I would only clean one hoof, and everyone got to laugh at me. 

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired!

Last week, I figured that I was getting a migraine from the Celebrex. So I stopped taking it. It took a few days but the skin itching stopped, the migraine went away and everything was peachy. Then Friday, I started getting stuffy. I have a full blown cold that is causing some phlegm in my throat and chest. Our water heater went out last week, too. Oh! And my oldest ran his bike into a light pole, needed three stitches in his face and broke his toe. In all of the confusion, I have been not paying attention to my health the way I should be. But, I decided to weigh in this morning. 156.9!!!! That gives me a BMI of less than 27! I was shocked, and happy. Now I am making sure I don't let it creep up on me. I am ready for bed and it is only 6:15.

What a day!

I had to take Pumpkin home yesterday. I love getting her and taking her away from her less than ideal living conditions, but I hate taking her back. She just thrives when she is here. So yesterday was a bad day as far as that goes.

Last week, my sister-in-law's van broke down. She drives a rural route for the P.O. So does Hubby. Anyway, the engine is shot, needs to be either rebuilt or replaced. She borrowed our van last week and we were a one car family with 6 people and 5 seats. We didn't go anywhere together for a few days. Then we got our van back last week on Friday night, had two nights of late baseball games and a noon game yesterday. Yankee's team lost all three. It was pretty sad. The team had a losing season, but it was the most enjoyable season we have had for many years. Yankee has been playing baseball since 2004. He has had some good coaches, some not-so-good coaches, and one really horrible one. I can say, that hands down, we had the best coaches this year. And because of those good coaches, we had some great fans, and great games. The sportsmanship and grace these coaches taught our boys made this a winning season. I am SO happy!

I have started making gluten-free chocolate chip waffles. Everything is 100% gluten-free as Dimples seems to be allergic to most kinds of grains, so I am very careful of cross-contamination. I will post the recipe another day, though, because it is somewhat involved, and I don't have exact measurements.

Hubby called me today while he was out on a mail route to tell me that the van was running hot. Then he called to tell me it was overheating. Then he called to tell me that the van wouldn't run anymore. So I went out to the rural backroads to find him. I pushed his van for two miles in the rain (by nudging the bumper of the other car to his van).

Sister-in-law drove Poppy's truck to get me and the brakes went out. She put it into park to stop it. A very kind member of our church family brought a vehicle to us to use for hubby to finish his route and then he borrowed a vehicle from a co-worker for tomorrow.

The meds are not helping my knee, but I've only been on them since Friday, so we shall see.

Doctor Visit #2

This week, Brown Eyes went to the doc to get his stitches out. He has been cleared for pond swimming! YAY!

I went to the same doc on Friday. I had more x-rays and the doc decided to try first with Celebrex, a knee brace and some physical therapy exercises. I go back in a month. If that hasn't helped, I will get an injection of some sort. If that doesn't help, I will have arthroscopic surgery. If that doesn't help, I will have a partial knee replacement.

The doc did tell me that I am cleared to run! WOOT! I can resume training as usual. I am thrilled. Anyways, that's my news. Pumpkin has to go home tomorrow. So we will go back to a five member family with no little girls. *sigh*

Enough With The Excitement Already!

I have spent more time visiting with doctors, nurses, physician's assistants, and the like than I care to mention, but nonetheless, I have spent a LOT of time in the last two weeks. I finally had my MRI last week on Thursday. Sunday night, Brown Eyes slammed his pinky finger in the door near the hinge end causing his finger to be severed from the base of the nail bed (removing it from the bone) to the fat pad. It was gruesome! The kid made it through the reattachment phenomenally and watched the whole time. Monday, I had to take him in to make sure that the nail bed had been successfully attached to the bone, and it did. They changed his dressings and rewrapped his finger only for the wrapping to come off the next morning. We went back to the doc to have the finger rerewrapped and it has stayed. I have been given all the stuff to do any rewrapping that is necessary.

Today I went to see my doctor to get the results of my MRI and the results of Dimples' IgG test. Dimples has some major allergy issues! He needs to be completely nut free, gluten-free, yeast free, mostly dairy free (he can have yogurt and cottage cheese), and melon-free. We are hoping that with the elimination of these foods, it will reduce some of his agitation and anger issues. We shall see!

Now for the results of my MRI. I have no tumors! Yay! That is the good news. Now for the bad news: I will most likely need surgery. there is a severe loss of hyaline cartlage at the lateral facet of the patella suggesting advanced chondromalacia. There is a large joint effusion; a Baker's cyst that measures approximately 4 cm in diameter. I see a orthopedic surgeon a week from tomorrow.

What a Week!

Summer is busy! I feel like I have been going non-stop all week!

On Tuesday night, I hosted a girls' night sleep-over at my in-laws' for my niece, my fake niece and my husband's niece. We were having a great night of swimming when fake-niece yells to me, "Look at the sky!" I yelled back, "What guy?" She said, "The sky! Behind you! Up in the air!" I did pick up some eye rolling in her voice, but there was a scary storm coming from behind us (the southeast) when the storms usually come from the west. Well, all I can say is that I'm glad I've been running lately, because that superpower came in handy. I ran around to the other end of the pond to get the girls out and get them into the house just before the storm really started going. We ended up losing power for a couple of hours which gave us the opportunity to play Mad Libs, charades, and 20 questions.

I got the girls to sleep and I slept on the couch. Well, "slept" is too strong of a word. I had one nightmare that I was being sucked up by a tornado and woke myself up doing that moan scream that you do in your sleep. Apparently I woke up my mother-in-law who woke up my father-in-law and very little sleep was had by any of the adults after that. I also at Bis-kit sleeping with me and every time I moved, I disturbed her. Now in my exhausted stupor, I forgot who was the human and tried not to bother the poor cat anymore.

The girls got up bright and early Wednesday morning and I made them some awesome waffles that also happened to be gluten-free. The recipe was my mother-in-laws and I don't know that I can recreate it. Anyway, we then went back outside where the girls gathered eggs. They swam some more and then we went back inside for lunch. Then the girls went out to collect mulberries. Then parents came to pick up two of the girls. Fake niece went back out to the pond to show her parents how she can jump off the pole on the rope swing.

After the girls were gone, I grabbed my niece to take her to Yankee's baseball game. On Thursday, I cleaned my house as much as I could because my cousin was coming to visit and I wanted my house clean for her to see it for the first time. We never made it to my house. On Friday, we went to the hotel where my aunt and uncle were staying. They have an indoor pool there. We swam for about 5 hours with a lunch break in the middle and then took the whole clan over to my in-laws for a cookout. I also rode the elliptical and the recumbent bike while at the hotel. My niece and nephew were there, so there were 8 kiddos and 8 adults there at one point. We cooked brats on the grill, went for a hike in the woods, went fishing and roasted marshmallows. Yankee caught a bass over 20" long!

Oh yeah! On Thursday, I had my MRI. I will know the results early next week and will update when I have them. I am tired just going over my week! Time for another nap... (still under 160!)

New Friend!

I made a new friend this week. Her name is Molly, but she is known by her pen name M. L. Gardner. She wrote a book that I just loved. It is called Jonathan's Cross. It is historical fiction set in the aftermath of the stock market crash of 1929. I loved this book. Did I mention that I loved this book?

She has a sequel coming out sometime in the next few weeks. I have been dying to read it. So I friended her on Facebook and asked about it. We started chatting through Facebook. I told her about my schooling, my dream to be a famous writer, and a little about my blog. Then, get this, she asked me to preview her new book! Of course I said YES! How exciting is this???!!!???? So she emailed it to me, I downloaded onto my Kindle and will dive into it tonight.

I picked up my niece, Pumpkin, today. She is so stinkin' cute! We have already had so much fun, and I get to keep her for almost a month!

I did some working out yesterday at the Y. I walk/ran for 2.18 miles and rode the recumbent bike for 6.8 miles. My weight has leveled out under 160 (yay) and now I am working on getting below 150.

Doctor Visit

I went to see my family doc on Wednesday. He took a look at my knee, and noticed swelling (when I thought there was none). He then started moving my leg around. He frowned at the grinding behind my patella. Then he frowned at the pain I experienced when he tried to twist my leg in a way it's not supposed to twist. He then ordered an MRI, told me to stick to riding my bike, and we'll go from there. I am REALLY disappointed. I want so much to run. I am noticing a slight increase in my weight (which could also be from AF).

I am still waiting to find out when my appointment is. It needs to be precertified by my insurance which could take a while. The doc is concerned that there could be another tumor (benign) causing this pain and grinding. I'm not too worried, I just don't like anesthetics. I get really sick. It's another allergy thing. Anyway, we'll see what happens. I'll let y'all know.

Very Disappointed

I tried to run tonight. "Tried" is the working word in that sentence. I started walking and then picked up the pace, my knee was THROBBING! I ended up walking just one mile and my body thanked me profusely when I got home. Dimples has an appt. with the doc next week and I think I'm going to see if I can get in also. Of course, I have convinced myself that I have cancer in my leg and just when I get to where I can be ultra healthy, another injury/disease plagues me.

One thing I DID notice is that my little running girl is over half way to the finish line!

Today was the last day of school for two of the kiddos. Brown eyes doesn't want to go to second grade and Yankee is ready for Jr. High. Dimples is done tomorrow. Next year, they will all be going to the same school so I don't have to worry about who gets home when.

Motivation?

Where are you? I can't find you anywhere! You are such a good hider! Or am I a bad seeker? The last two days were horribly hot and sticky. I didn't want to move at all, let alone move on purpose. I am still down in weight (another .2). Today, I got on my bike and rode. I really need to run again. I think I am afraid of mosquitoes. They are really nasty here. I know that mosquitoes have some kind of purpose, but do there have to be so many? Last time I ran, I spent a lot of time swatting my arms and legs. Anyway, Yankee has a baseball game tonight here in town, so I will be either running there or riding my bike. Probably riding my bike.

Dead Camera

I realized that our camera died at Yankee's 12th birthday party. It is not the time for us financially to get a new camera, so I couldn't take pictures this morning at our town's Memorial Day service. I also can't take pictures of the crazy flooding! So if anyone would like to donate a digital camera to Auntie Mandy, I think that would be a GOOD choice!

I am down another 1/2 lb! I can hardly stand how excited I am! 158.7 is lower is only 3 lbs away from my wedding day weight!

I hope everyone is safe today. Let's remember!

Dreary Day

It may be dreary, but I am positively thrilled! I am in the 150s! I am lower than I have been in YEARS! I have not weighed 159.2 since the Ides of March 2002! I still have 30 lbs to go, but I am going in the right direction. Consistent exercise, Good Choices, and hydration have been the key. I am elated! EEEEEE!!!!

Okay, so Yankee had a baseball game last night. He had made an out playing third and scored a run. It was not enough for our boys to win, but it was still a good game. We rode our bikes to the game and back giving us a short mile and a half bike ride.

Becoming gluten free has been a bit of a challenge, but I am really liking the results. I don't have anymore crazy skin rashes, I seem to have more energy, and I don't make music in my sleep (if you know what I mean!).

Here's the psychological aspect of the whole thing. You know when you get to a point in your life and you think, "I will NOT allow myself to get over 200 lbs." or whatever number you are thinking about. I have been moving mine down. I will now not allow myself to get over 160 again. This past March, when I got a little crazy and gained 10 lbs in a month, I said to myself, "I cannot be over 170!" So I got below 170. Then I said that I couldn't get above 165, so I got below 165. Now I am below 160. Being a shorty mcbutterpants, I still have quite a few lbs to go, but I am over half way there.

Rain Rain Rain!

We have had our share of it! The nice thing is that USUALLY, we have days of sunshine in between, except today. That's okay. I'll be alright. I refuse to turn on the h eat. Last time I said that, I turned it on about five minutes after I said it.

Anyway, we have had a LOT of rain! The water really has no where else to go. Our back yard was flooded (something not seen by anyone who in the recent past). Our basement was running water into the sump pump. It actually sounded like water was running, which I guess it was. We didn't have more than a steady stream, but my neighbor across the street had 13 inches in her basement.

I enjoyed the Biggest Loser finale the other night. I was wondering why so many looked so good so long before the end of the season. Well, Allison said at the beginning of the show that this was the longest season ever. Well, there you have it! I could not believe how good so many people looked! Here I thought they were fine when they left the ranch, now they look even better! Some of them have even reached my goal! :D

I have been having some pain down the front of my right leg. My knee has been getting very swollen as well. Well, I decided that I would forgo running last night. Instead I went to the Y with the kiddos and swam for about an hour. Well, for the week, I have lost 1.1 lbs. I am very pleased with that. I was hoping to increase the amount of time I could run to 4:00. I am up to 3:20. I will extend this week's training to two weeks to get up to 4 minutes.

Less Gas, More Movement

Not THAT kind of gas! I mean gasoline! I am doing my best to drive as little as possible when it is nice out. That means more movement. Today, I didn't drive at all. I rode with the youngest to and from school today, rode my bike to the store to get 7up for Yankee (who is still not feeling great), and rode my bike to the library to get a new book to read and some movies.

I am planning to do a 30 minute run/walk tonight, then go to my mom's and watch the season finale of Biggest Loser. I hope she doesn't mind me being stinky. Maybe I'll stop at home, get a change of clothes and ride my bike over there. That way I won't make her furniture stinky.

What I am really excited about is that I am down to another low. I am at 160.7. I feel like I am back in a groove. I also think that running is a big part of it. It takes a discipline to keep it up. If you don't continue, you have to start from scratch. I have learned that and will do my best to keep on keeping on.

Last Monday of the School Year!

The kids are excited! Me, not so much. I have been staying on track with eating, and my weight hasn't changed, so things are good. One thing that has changed is my time! I did a 5K on Saturday benefiting Conquer Childhood Cancer Now, a local organization to raise awareness for childhood cancers. Yankee was supposed to run with me. The idea was that on Friday, I would wear him out as much as possible so that I had a chance of beating him on Saturday. On Saturday, he could barely walk, let alone run. So, I WIN! Well, he didn't even go with me. That's okay, though. My mom went and she did all of the data entry stuff for the event. I have really enjoyed having my mom close by.

Back to the race. So the race starts and I am jogging along. I am thinking, "Wow! My body feels great! I am not experiencing any pain, I might run the whole way! Wait, I can't catch my breath. What? Why can't I breathe in?" So I slow down to a slow walk. I catch my breath and then my right knee starts hurting. I make it to the half-way mark at 24:30. I was okay with that! That would have me finish at over two minutes faster than the last 5K about a month ago. Then I am still walking and this group of women start running past me. One woman is about 60 and says, "Guys! Stop running! I don't run!" Well that got me thinking that I could let the old lady beat me! I mean really, I've been training to run and this old lady who doesn't run is going to finish before me?" I don't think so!

So I picked up the pace and started running. When I would get tired, I would walk for a while, and that pesky lady would come upon me again. So then when I started passing her on the home stretch, I said, "Pick up the pace, Lady!" And then I said, "Not THAT much!" Anyway, I finished the race in 46:20. The race I ran in April was 51:08. My friend who organized the race this past Saturday wants me to race with her this Saturday. If I can find a sitter, I will go again and try to finish even faster!

I have been trying to drive as little as possible, so I will be riding my bike to the library, and then walking to pick up Brown Eyes from school today (if it doesn't rain by then).

So Stephen, at Who Ate My Blog, said, "You will never lay in bed at night regretting that you ran, just that you didn't run." Well, that is true, my friend, but I might regret it the next day ;). I am sore!