How busy can life get?

LOL I've all but stopped reading e-mail, especially the ones that start with FWD. while I appreciate people thinking of me, I'm just too busy to open most of it. I delete advertisements immediately , then look and see if I have any mail from friends or people I am mentoring...They are important to me and I always answer as fast as I can....Sometimes friends send stuff that does not say FWD but is..again I have to delete them. If I took the time to read all these "pass alongs" I'd never get away from this computer...So if you are one of the people that send me all that cute stuff...Thanks, but please understand that I probably never get to see them so if you want my attention you might want to include it in the subject line.
I am busier now then I have ever been in my life...I've got a stack of BD cards I've made and yet to get around to mailing...That's just WRONG, but I always feel that I should add a note and there lies my problem. Finding time to write one LOL
The animals require daily attention and I love giving it to them. It always starts my day with a smile when I feel their unconditional love.
Yesterday I noticed a new critter is living in the barn...A skunk...yup...I call it Petey, have no idea if it's a girl or boy...It is almost solid white with a thin line of black going down it's back and tail. It doesn't seem to mind the horses or the goats, but I think it's best to keep the dogs away. It doesn't mind me at all. I know what you are all thinking.."That crazy lady will get the stink bomb one of these days". You may be right, but I think animals, much more then people, recognize the pure of heart...by this I mean a person who would never , ever harm another living soul. Have I? I'm sure many times...with intention? NEVER?
I believe it's why the deer do not run from me. Why the baby fox sleeps under a near by tree and why the skunk walks over my feet and sits and waits for me to put down a dish of food...They feel it...they know they are safe..
So I don't mind the time I spend with my fur babies. I find it comforting...
Then I have normal household work to fit in...laundry, cleaning and at this time of year, filling my freezer and shelves with stuff to last through winter...Not because I have to, because I like to.
Then there is my time spent at the play house...either teaching or making stuff for an up coming FAIR...Of course there are days I just about get the animals done and I'm off to Binghamton to the doctor..between him and therapy you are looking at 8 hours (with travel time) sure takes a chunk out of my day. Then I have meetings and volunteer stuff, my Butterfly Project..Oh and lets not forget Christmas is right around the corner..Not sure I will be making a lot this year...I'd like to and I've made a list...but time seems to be moving ten times faster then I am..
Normally it would really bother me not to be able to make the things on my list, but I'm learning. besides, last year I sent packages to soldiers in the names of people I normally would have sent something to for Christmas, as well as my art group and my Lizzies (which I seldom see anymore) but still, I care and think of them...So sending boxes in peoples name was a way I could remember special people and still be able to get Christmas to soldiers. I think I'll do it again this year. I've already started collecting stuff...
So days continue to stay busy and I've given up hope that it will calm down any time soon. I do have to fit in getting Rave St. taken care of...but time will only allow for so much.
It is true what the say about life. It is indeed like a roll of toilet paper...the closer to the end, the faster it goes LOL

Another Day of Graston

It was with great apprehension that I went back to Binghamton for more torture. I did so because , in spite of the sorness left behind by the technique, my Achilles actually feels better...The burn in the stretch isn't as severe and it has been a while since I've felt any relief in that area. So off I went....Dr. was kind enough to be a little gentle, I think he knew I was still hurting. It hurt like hell while he was working and all I kept thinking was "No one died from having this done and it will end someday"...Hopefully it won't end with my heart giving out LOL
It really is mind blowing pain. I left Dr. and went straight to therapy which is a good way of working things out...Problem is, I think she fit me into an already busy schedule just to please Dr. Trachenberg...I wait over 15 min. in the office, being told that she'd see in in a second...I could have cooked a meal in that second...Then she hooked me up to the first machine and left...said 15 min...after a half hour I rang the bell. She seemd annoyed that I was watching the time...I reminded her that I had over an hours drive once I left there and had animals to feel and bed down....The next machine also ran over time, then there were exercises....she's a good therapist, just over booked and not very diligent to someone she knows stressed over time.
Needless to say, we got home after 9, still had animals to tend too and then we were so wired we needed to just sit and relax for a while before trying to sleep.
I feel bad asking to have appointments shifted around, so I will grin and bare this, but...if I need anymore, they won't be at night.
I am wiped out today...from the pain as well as the stress...
On the bright side...I'm very pleased with how my foot feels :-)

Surviving the Graston Technique

Well I made it...Do they hand out a tee-shirt for this? A button? A plaque on the wall? It was every bit as painful as the doc promised and more...Far more then I dreamed possible. Rich was there to support me, he held my hand as the steel tool ironed my muscle and tendons...the burn was incredible and the pain, mind blowing. No wonder he said it took commitment...it also takes a mindless idiot. I was given 4 shots prior to the technique but they had nothing to do with it...actually they helped numb it a bit. He tried a gun that shoots the medication in rather then use a needle (which he felt would be less painful...like that mattered) My tendon is so tight and thick that the medication bounced right back at him, could not penetrate...Gave a whole new meaning to me being a "tough old bird", which he said I most certainly was. Thanks for the compliment doc, but I'd rather have a teensy bit less pain. At one point the pain reached such a crescendo that I went to bite down on my hand and hit Rich's thumb instead...he just nicely asked that I not bite him LOL Poor guy at that point I probably would have bitten it off...I didn't and once he reminded me to breath I did better. Why I felt holding my breath would take away the pain only God knows...perhaps I just thought it would help me pass out.
After leaving the office we headed over to the Therapist, she did some deep massage and some electrical stim, along with injecting medication into a pad that then pushed it into my skin using electro magntic energy...I could actually feel it..Considering my heel was like a raw piece of meat by then I would have felt a feather...air even.... I started this whole journey at 3:20 (at the Doc) and finally got back home at 9:30 pm. It was a long and extremely painful day.
I was hoping to get on here today and be joking about all this...It's no F***ing joke and I ain't smiling. Okay...I am smiling, but basically because it is over and it is a beautiful day..but I dread tomorrow and if the surgery wasn't going to knock me out of the game for 6 months to a year..I'd have it done just to avoid this....This technique has helped people who were told there was no help...It is practiced nation wide and in a number of hospitals...so it's not voodoo and I am not alone in my suffering...Even the therapist said she has seen big burly men brought to their knees but it does help...Bottom line, fixing me is what it's all about...I'm sure it will get better in time.
Stay tuned......

Just Catching Up

I don't know if it's me or is the whole world turning much to fast? I heard a little ditty once "Life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer to the end the faster it goes"...Turns out, it's true and not "Cute" at all.
My time management isn't what it once was, that's for sure. Heck I'd be done with house cleaning and laundry before 8 a.m. every day. Now I don't have half the laundry I once did and If lucky to have it washed before days end and it sleeps in the dryer sometimes over night...
I never had a dish washer and don't ever let my kids fool you by telling you they did dishes. I was forced to do dishes and vowed I'd never do that to my kids. they did clear the table and sometimes help by washing or drying...but dishes were done after every meal, mostly by me and put away...Now, with a dish washer, it seems I barely have time to load the darn thing much less push the button to start it.
My day starts very early but I don't get done with chores until almost noon. What the heck is that about? My studio is still a mess. I started cleaning and organizing it almost a year ago...I've got all my cubbies in place and some fabric folded but the rest of the place looks like a war zone.
I love working in a clean organized place, yet it never seems to be that way. Even down at the play house we seem to work in chaos. It's nice not to have to worry about cleaning up before a project is done...Oh wait..that's why I had a private studio built...hmm maybe studio's aren't supposed to be organized..but then how do they print that magazine? You know the one...all nice pictures of PERFECT studio's. Who do they belong to?
I love being busy and I must say, I am most of the time. Too busy to worry about cleaning up after myself. I do wish I had more time, the end of the day comes too fast, but when I look at all I accomplish in my day, I'm pretty satisfied...I just wish there was more day left at the end of my business LOL I thank God for the amount of weight loss I've had over the past two years. I can't even imagine myself having this much energy with those extra pounds.
I see heavy people waddling along and I just want to grab them and say..." There is help for people like us...You don't have to be trapped in that body"...but then I remember how contented i was at times, to be trapped. At least I thought I was contented..Looking back now maybe I just accepted something I thought I could not change..
So I know my day will be too short, they always are. But I will be grateful for all I manage to fit into this day and what I don't fit in...I'll tackle tomorrow.

Grow up and grow Old

I was recently talking to a local store owner who is going out of business (I'm sure her winning personality has a great deal to do with it) When I asked if she was "Retiring" she said she was too YOUNG to retire..I suppressed my laughter as not to embarrass her until I left the store.
First of all...is there an AGE to retire? I have a friend who retired at 35 so he could enjoy the millions of dollars he had made as a young entrepreneur. I have several other friends who retired way before 65, pretty much to start enjoying the fruits of their labors. So perhaps what she meant to say was "I haven't made enough money yet, in order to retire"...
I was left with the impression that she fears growing old. I've seen a lot of that recently. Women (not girls) in their 40's and 50's who refuse to believe they are growing older...who want others to believe they still look like they are 25...They may act immature but thats where their lack of maturity ends...They not only LOOK their age, there are times they look older...So , do they have a trick mirror? Or are they just in denial...I have seen older woman...totally expressionless, frozen by Botox...do they really think they look younger? Most of us think they look plastic, because that's what an old face looks like when it has no wrinkles and is void of character.
Ladies you need to wake up..You aren't young anymore, the beauty of youth has been replaced with the beauty that age and wisdom brings. Wear your wrinkles proudly, they define your face and add to your expression. To deny you are getting older, only makes you look foolish because we see what obviously you are missing when you look in the mirror. You can change to a youthful hair style, wear the clothes of a teenager and use a ton of makeup to hide the flaws that come with age....The only one your kidding is yourself.
When I was younger I saw so many older woman grow old gracefully and I remember how "stunning" I thought they were. I admired woman who dressed and acted their age. I'm not talking frumpy, these were professional woman who dressed appropriately and met their age with dignity and poise as opposed to denial.
There is no age of retirement (only an age to collect SS) Bless your heart if you can retire at 40 and do something worth while with the rest of your time here on earth.
You have to age...so grow up and deal with it...but you don't have to get old. Many of us "Oldies" remain pretty darned active....and I for one am enjoying the hell out of early retirement..
chew on this:
You are young as your faith, as old as your doubt;
as young as your self confidence, as old as your fear;
as young as your hope, as old as your despair.
Douglas MacArthur

Changing Minds

It seems that there has been a great deal of talk lately about changing our minds on surgery or which surgery to have. I'm not really sure why people feel that once something crosses their lips, it is cast in stone. Especially when it comes to surgery...
Anything that involves anesthesia is risky...bottom line...even though with RNY there is a bit more cutting...with the Band they are still invading your body. They are making the same cuts with both surgeries. In one they reconnect your own body part to a different area and in the other they leave a piece of plastic behind for your system to deal with. If you don't adhere to the "program" neither tool will work. Looking back on notes I've kept on each surgery within our group that people have been willing to talk about. I find that there were more complaints after Band surgery, then from those having the more invasive procedure of RNY...Those are FACTS, true facts accumulated within our own group. There was more complaining of pain, more talk about NOT losing weight or losing at a much slower pace and seemingly more frustration...mostly over not being able to find the "sweet spot"...That being said..there are several who had the Band, who not only didn't complain, went on to lose a great deal of weight (equal to that of a RNY) While certainly not in the majority, they obviously decided on the Band for all the right reasons and with a firm commitment. In all fairness, over time (I've not been in the program for years and years) perhaps the data will change considerably...but for now...people who have had RNY over the past 2 years, that speak openly and honestly are doing better then Bandsters fitting the same criteria and thems the facts folks. FYI I do not use names in my Journaling only "Subject #". I wouldn't want anyone to think their life is an open book...I don't even know who you are LOL It is something I decided to do, simply because it is in my nature to be a fact finder. I don't just find them, I research where they come from (most of the time negating their validity)
So why is changing ones mind such a trauma, such a dilemma ?How many times a day do we, in fact, change our minds? I wake up thinking I'm having cornflakes and have grits instead. I was going shopping and decide to clean stalls instead...I was going to finish a quilt project and started a new one instead. Life is full of change and certainly when contemplating something as important as a life altering surgery, one should be entitled to change their mind often, until they get it right.
This is something we do for OURSELVES so women have a hard time with it. We are so used to doing everything for our families or with them in mind. We tend to worry about all the ramifications of this surgery involving them...We do not seem to consider the fact that in losing weight, we not only become healthier, we can do more with our families, for our families and chances are we will be around longer to enjoy our families. So having the surgery is an easy choice...which to have is a harder choice and only the person making that choice knows in their heart which is best for them. Lets face it, both are a radical way to lose weight...However, if you've tried everything else and failed, chances are you suffer from a disease of Obesity and you're not just over weight...There is a difference..recognize it and deal with which one you are. I don't think anyone should rush into this surgery. The time allowed to us is for a reason, it should be used wisely and with a great deal of thought and research.
I am extremely happy with my choice...it changed my life in so many ways I've lost count. I can honestly say I am happier then I've been in a very long time and much healthier.
It wasn't a cure all, but it certainly made life more enjoyable just to be thinner....Now I contemplate yet another surgery to remove excess skin....Does it ever end?

Time Just keep s Passing

Days get so busy and never seem to end the way we plan...Hell mine don't even begin how they're planned...
I can have a day all planned out and one phone call can change everything...Like last week, I had planned out my day (I very productive one I might add) but then a call came that Matt missed dialysis, which lead to sending a friend of mine to his apt. which lead to Police and Hospitals and....the day did NOT go as planned, neither did the next one or the one after that.
I think if I was as smart as people seem to think I am...I'd stop planning my days and just go with the flow. Much easier, much less stress and frustration.
I still haven't started my visits for the Graston Technique or for therapy...Next Tuesday is the day....Did I mention when Rich questioned the doctor as to why he keeps stressing the painful procedure...the doc said he had an athlete bite a towel in half? So stay tuned for this one...my life is quite an adventure when I stand on the outside looking in LOL
My public speak adventure went well last Tuesday...I received a lot of compliments...One man came up and told me how impressed he was that I did not use a "Cheat sheet" he said every Motivational Speaker he ever saw needed noted...WOW is that what I am? A motivational Speaker...I like that handle. Several people remarked about my lack of notes...like it was something real special, who watches stuff like that? I'd never notice....I didn't have notes simply because I hadn't had the time to write any. I thought about writing some cue's on my hand and then figured what the hell...why not just let it come from the heart...It seemed to work just fine.
In between running for Butterfly supplies I'm trying to get ready for a show we are doing...Tried making up some Fairy babies and when they cooked they darkened to little Spanish fairies...I broke off the head of a big fairy I was working on and an ear fell off another. I decided it wasn't a good day for fairies to be born and put all the clay away.
I'm sure there are people who know me (or think they do) that believe I have a very charmed existence...While that may be true in some respects (heaven knows I DO have an angel on my shoulder) ,my days are no different than anyone elses. Some are better then others and some just suck all together....but each one is a gift .
My visit with Bob was good...allow me to brag a bit by saying I weigh exactly what I did last year...woohooo I figure once this *&^%$ foot is fixed and I can walk without wanting to scream...I can get back to exercise and knock off another few pounds...but I'm very contented where I am...Have a great day everyone.....