Self Discovery

Well this week went very different than I anticipated but in a fabulous way!  Our training was some of the best I have ever been a part of and I think everyone there agreed.  Instead of learning all about what is out there to support people with developmental disabilities we focused on ourselves and working together better.  I don't think I've ever really talked about work in my blog before because this is not what my blog is about.  For those reading who don't know, I work for a small agency (about 50 employees) that supports adults with developmental disabilities.  We are working on Person Centered Thinking and Planning for the people we support.  This week we focused on using some of that person centered thinking to look at ourselves and our teams.  I found this very beneficial and am super excited to go back to my everyday work refreshed and ready to work harder than ever.  The past year or two in our field has been one of change and much stress.  This has come out in many different ways but I think we broke down a lot of barriers for ourselves and our teams this week.

One of the things we will be doing is making something called a One Page Profile for ourselves.  It will include things like what is important to us, what other people like and admire about us, and how to support us in our jobs.  I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with!  I'm excited to see how these can really make a difference to our everyday working environment and relationships.  I think this is going to be a very good thing!  I also think this is something I am going to do with my kids.  As I have mentioned before Adryanna has a heart defect and I have always been leery of telling new adults in her life about this because I am afraid they will limit her activities out of fear.  Don't get me wrong all of the important people are told but I think that having something like this one page profile for her that details what her defect is and how it effects her is important.  I also think she has a very quirky personality that her current teacher has a really good understanding of but I worry that next year or others in the future won't understand her so well and she'll get kind of lost in the shuffle.  I also think this is a valuable tool for all kids to have and maybe, just maybe if I give one to her teacher for her she will see it and think it's a great idea.

It's interesting how a week that has lifted so much weight off our shoulders can be both mentally stimulating and exhausting.  I'm looking forward to the upcoming weeks and months but right now I'm more importantly looking forward to bed:)

Sitting Week

This week I will be in training for work four out of five days. This means being in the same place all day instead of meeting with 3 to 5 different people in different places each day. This means much less activity than usual. In the past this would have worried me but this year I am embracing the change in routine and going to make sure I eat well and exercise just like any other week.

I've had a bit of a glance into the training that we will go through this week and am looking forward to the things we are learning. One of the new things is we are being certified in is Public Access Defibrillators. We have been shown then in the past but this year we actually get to use them. We will also be doing some person centred training which is the root of a lot of the work we do. I'm going into this week with an open mind and hopefully by the end of the week it will be full of new information.

Breakthrough!!!

The past couple of weeks have been full of self discovery! Just when I think I have my head figured out something new gets thrown at me and blows me away. For the last two years I have worked on this Journey and while I knew it would be an eternal one I was not prepared for the beginning to last forever.

Something seems to have just clicked this last month. I made a decision just before Christmas that I had slacked off long enough and that I was going to get my butt back out the door and running. I had no idea the ripple effect that was going to have. I got back to basics with running, eating and the gym. I have missed only a couple of workouts and that was because of illness. I have eaten well and avoided fast food. The real discovery came just a few minutes ago when Meag called to say her and Adrian were stopping at A&W and asked of I wanted something. With absolutely no hesitation I said "No". This is the biggest moment of happiness I have had in a long time. I am so proud of that moment. I busted my butt at the gym earlier and wasn't about to ruin it with junk.

I feel like things are really falling into place now!

Happy Birthday to Me:)

Every year the agency I work for gives us our birthday off.  In social services there isn't a lot of funding for extras so a few years ago they decided this was an easy and inexpensive perk.  Today was my birthday and because it landed on a Monday it gave me a nice long weekend.  I spent the day with Christina and just did little things.  We went to the Y this morning and she went to a new program which she loved.  I went up to the track and ran a bit to warm up then did the Gravity class followed by a bit more running.  We then did some errands and went out for lunch.  At the end of the afternoon I had a doctors appointment to get some blood work results.  I always have fun with this part.  People often assume that overweight means you are in terrible shape.  Doctors are no different and it bugs me.   Let me back up a bit, when we went for our initial appointments with this new doctor he gave me a full sheet of blood work including and ECG, he gave Meag nothing.  His reason for her getting nothing was that she is young with no symptoms of anything.  So today my blood work was back and it was time for the results.  I went in, he pulled them up, looked them over and said everything was perfect.  There were absolutely no concerns.  My glucose was fine, cholesterol wonderful and everything else functioning just fine!  I have never had any issues when I've had blood work done but it is always nice to hear that things are good.

I feel like this year I had a great theme of health going on for my birthday between going to the gym, a nice healthy lunch and a clean bill of health from the doctor.  If this is any indication of the year I am going to have it's going to be a wonderful one!!!

Gravity

Last night was the first Gravity class at the gym. I found out about it because I was looking for the kids program schedules and there was a little bit about it. What surprised me at that moment and still does now is that right away I had to try it. I knew I had to try it on the first day so that everyone else would be on the same level as me. I have never jumped to try a new exercise before especially one that I have never heard of before. It was great though! Despite the fact that I was on a downward spiral into the stomach flu I had a good workout and feel it today. I should note that I didn't realize I was getting sick until after the class. See I started the day fasting for bloodwork then didn't get to eat right away. I was tired and feeling sluggish all day but was expecting the workout to help with that. Unfortunately I was wrong.

So what is Gravity??? It's a strength training class that also throws in a bit of cardio. The machine you use looks a bit like a weight bench but it's on an incline and adjustable. You hold onto two handles that are attached to a cable. Then you do a series if exercises using your natural resistance and weight. I loved it and am pretty sad that I may not be able to go tomorrow night.

Life As A Girl

Sometimes being a girl really sucks! Take today for instance. I have been doing so well this week and decided to hold of this weeks long run for today instead of the usual Saturday run because it was supposed to warm up and I figured that would mean the terrible ice on the side roads would be mostly gone. That part of the plan worked out well for me so of course I had to wake up to my period this morning. Now the thing to know is that the first day (sometimes two days) of my period can be hell! Having polycystic ovarian syndrome brings a lot of symptoms but the worst is the terrible heavy and often unpredictable periods. Despite that I decided to get up and run anyway. I knew my legs often get very sore and tired very quickly and that my calves often cramp more but I wanted to keep up the momentum so I got up and went. Just a few minutes in I knew it was not going to be a long run and that was okay. I decided that it doesn't matter the distance as long as I get out on those days that I don't feel like going. If I go anyway I will keep the momentum and before I know it I'll be back to my old distances.

Monday a new class starts at the gym and I am really excited! It's called Gravity and looks hard and fun! I'll let you know how it goes!

Slippin' and Slidin' Away

I can't believe how quickly it gets dark in the winter in Ontario!!!  I left work today at 4pm and it was still quite light.  I picked up my mom and the girls and we got home just before 5pm to head out for my second run of 2013.  While I was putting my shoes on it was still a bit light, by the time I got 300m away from home and onto the main road it was really dark!!!  I do not like to run on sidewalks in good weather and in the winter it is near impossible because even if people have shoveled there is usually still ice that hasn't been cleared properly.  It just gets too dangerous.  Tonight I found myself running down two quite busy roads in the dark.  I have never been so thankful for my little flashing clip on light and bright yellow reflective vest.  It's not like I have never run in the dark or in the winter but today it just seemed extra dark.  Most drivers are pretty good about moving over an extra bit and I make sure to stay very close to the curb so I felt safe for most of the run.  The thing I was very aware of though is that one lane of the road is much wider than the other and my trip back home was on the narrow side.  Everything was fine until the bus came along!!  I decided that the space between the curb and the bus was going to be too close for comfort.  I jumped onto the curb and of course right into the deepest pile of snow I could find.  Oh well at least I was safe!!!  The rest of the run was uneventful and despite the major ice on the side streets leading back to home I made it here in one piece.

Run number two of the year was a success and I feel much better having finished it.  I have kept my distance the same for the past two runs but Saturday I'm going to try to increase a bit.  I would love to be able to run that 8k on my birthday that I was planning to.  After all if you add the numbers of my age together they will make eight!

New Doctors

Just before Christmas I decided I had put it off long enough and booked an appointment to get my flu shot.  Little did I know that when I got to the doctor I was in for quite a shock.  Turns out my family doc had decided to retire from family practice and didn't think it was important to tell anyone immediately.  For whatever reason he made the decision quite quickly, so quickly that when we called to book the appointment no one knew and when we went to it just 10 days later he only had two days left.  Had I not needed that flu shot who knows when I would have found out.  It has been more than two weeks since his actual retirement and still no form letter or anything from his office.  Oh well that just pushed me to find a much needed new doctor.

Last week I went to meet a new doctor who had been recommended by a friend.  His office is close to home, he has great hours and he seemed to be very nice and knowledgeable   So before leaving I signed the paperwork and went back today for my mini physical.  He said he likes to do a sort of baseline just to see where things stand.  It was the usual blood pressure check, heart rate, listen to breathing and the dreaded weigh in.  I thought for sure he would tell me that I was going to die if I didn't do something and would instantly assume that I was lazy.  Much to my surprise he did none of those things.  He remembered that during our interview I said that I run and exercise.  He encouraged me to keep it up and to eat healthy.  He even joked when he asked how I felt about my height and weight and I responded with "I would like to be taller and skinnier", he responded with "I'll see what I can do".  No "you're too damn fat, you need to lose weight, find a good salad recipe".  These are all things my previous doctor said on more than one occasion. On the contrary this doctor said that I was doing a good job and to keep it up.  You know what my internal response to that was?  I have a couple of weeks before I have to go back for blood work results and I'm going to make him proud by losing a couple of pounds so that he knows I really am trying.  My former doctor would have gotten some nasty words (thought not said) and a big old "see ya later".   I feel inspired by this new doctor to do better and to take care of my health just a little bit more than before.

I think this is going to be a good relationship!!!