We had sold our laptop to Jason’s parents months ago because they were interested in having one and we were thinking we might get a new one eventually.  We haven’t really needed to get a new one and Jason’s parents never used the laptop so we got it back from them and I am currently on it.

Since we got Ginger one of us has to be upstairs to keep an eye on her. So my computer time has been cut about 75%.  I don’t mind it really because I can be on the computer too much and it can suck my time away very fast.  BUT …

I have missed blogging, I have missed being able to connect with friends/family and also missed photo editing and photo uploading.  Now with the laptop back I can get connected again.

Is it sad that I have to have a computer to feel connected?  I don’t think so.  It’s like someone that loves to write and has no pen and paper.  You get that pen and paper back and you can write again.  You get your tools back and life takes on meaning again.  I am glad I can blog again. I am glad I can be a part of my photos again.

Life is good.

In other news, Ginger is doing good, yes this is the first time I have blogged about her and we have had her for a month now.  Life has been hectic with a new puppy. New puppy supplies, new puppy routines, new puppy hours.  Life has been a challenge lately.  But things are settling in now and life is good.  Ginger gets her final set of shots on February 16th and she will then be completely clear to go on walks and be around other dogs.  We can start taking her for walks (and taking ourselves on walks). I love having another animal in the house, being able to care for another being.  Our house is a zoo, but a very happy zoo!  Five fish, three cats and a dog.  One big happy family.  :)

Holidays are over. Life is back to normal, I guess.

Christmas seemed to come so fast and be over even faster. I feel like I rushed right through it. Probably taking down the tree on Christmas night didn’t help that feeling but it was nice to get everything packed up and put away so it was out of the way and the cat was not in the tree every 2 seconds like he had been doing for the past month. I don’t even remember sitting and just enjoying the holiday. It was nice to be with my mom and brother and Jason for the whole day.   But It was weird at the same time because it was the first Christmas since my grandmother had passed away.  Actually all the big family get together/holidays/birthdays are strange without Mom and Pop.  Just feels like something is missing.

I also feel like I haven’t relaxed in a week or so, that would be because we got our new puppy a week ago.  I love our little Ginger, she is so much fun but right now she is a lot of work.  I don’t feel I can relax at all. I am constantly making sure she isn’t chewing on this or that, watching for signs she needs to go outside, making sure she gets enough to eat, enough to drink, has plenty of toys, clean blankets, etc.  I don’t feel like I have a break from her at all. All I want to do is lie on the couch and not have to worry where she is or what she is doing. I just want some time to relax every once in a while. It’s wearing me out.

Sunday morning I woke up with a sore throat and I felt so tired.  I just wanted to sleep all day, just give my body time to heal and feel better.  It didn’t happen and I ended up feeling even more tired as the day went on.  This morning I woke up with a stuffed up head, a sore throat and my ears hurt.  As of right now my throat is alright but not 100% and my sinuses are back to normal.  My ears still hurt a bit and the worse part so far is my tiredness…….so achy and tired.  I just want to lie down. In fact if I could get away with it I would sleep right here at my desk but I wouldn’t be the most comfortable place to take a nap.

 Other than all that life is back to a semi-normal schedule, working, and Taekwondo classes, taking care of the puppy and just plain trying to keep motivated.

It’s the season of giving and eating and eating and eating!!!  I am fat. Yes, that’s right I am fat.  I have gained weight steadily since my grandfather got sick and passed away in 2007, gained some more trying to take care of my grandmother in 2008, gained some more after my grandma died this past February. Grand total I think I have gained 25 pounds in the past 2 years.

I am unhappy being this weight.  I thought that joining Taekwon-Do classes would do the trick, that the weight would just drop away and I would be this fantastically fit martial arts goddess!  Well, it seems I need to still tweak the way I eat.  Which sucks if you ask me!

I love food, I love flavor, I love sweets, I love it all!!!!! 

I realize that I am getting older and that I can’t keep on this track of gaining weight.  I am hoping that Taekwon-Do classes will help me build some muscle and tone up and that the weight will start to drop.  I will try to do better with my eating habits (of course, changing eating habits at Christmas is not the best time so maybe I will do a gradual change slowly over this month and start gun ho in January!!!)

Other than that, life is good!  We are learning new things in class. Our testing pattern for yellow belt is Chon-Ji (CHUN-GEE). It has 19 moves and a lot of foot work!  It’s weird to start something new and struggle to figure it out, but at the same time it’s so much fun learning something new. 

We learned new kicks too.  The low kick is my favorite right now cause I can kick hard that way.  It feels good to kick the crap out of a padded kick shield.  It feels REAL GOOD!!!! The other kick is a side piercing kick, we learned two ways to do it and both require some pivoting on one foot.  Let’s just say I will need to work on my balance!

All in all, I really shouldn’t complain about life, I am healthy, I have the world’s best husband, the world’s best mom, the world’s best brother(s) and the world’s best friends.  I have a home and the ability to put food on the table. I should be very grateful.

Be the change you wish to see in the world.

I was introduced to this website by my brother.  I love checking it daily and reading notes that I myself could have easily left for someone.  Today I decided to check out a lot of the past posts on this site and came across my very own picture!!!  How creepy is it to know a website that you watch is in fact watching you!!!!!

My photo is the 3rd photo on this post … .

CLICK HERE!

The only time we are allowed to be on the Internet at work is on our lunch hour.  So here I am on my lunch break with nothing to do so I figured this was a good time to blog.

We had a drug rep today that had a lunch for us delivered from El Sombrero.  A beef enchilada, rice, salsa and chips.  Pretty darn good actually and now I am ready for a nap and to put up my foot so it can rest.

The story on my foot is that I broke a re-breakable board in Taekwon-Do class.  They are different colors for different strengths.  You can check them out here: http://www.revgear.com/product/43/rebreakable_boards.  We broke a green board in Monday night’s class.

Well when you break these boards they break apart in the middle and the interlocking teeth that keep them together can sometimes catch your foot/ankle/leg etc.  Well I was the lucky one and I got my foot good and bruised.  I pulled my leg out too fast after I broke it and busted up the side of my foot.  Needless to say it hurt but it was that kind of good hurt because I just busted up a board with my foot! 

It’s still a bit sore and at class last night I didn’t really have any problems with it, but all the patterns and exercises caused it to flair up a bit and it’s sore today.  Tonight I will have to put ice on it and get it back to normal again.  I have a lot of walking to do on Saturday with my mom in Tri-Cities!!

I am still enjoying class so much.  Today I can actually feel a difference in my body from all the work that we have been doing.  My core feels strong, I feel myself standing up straighter and my energy is at a level I haven’t had in a long time.

On Monday November 23rd we test for our next level in Taekwon-Do, I am excited and nervous at the same time.  I know what I am doing, I can get through my patterns, but this will be a big test for me to perform in front of people and do well.  To not let the nervousness get to me, to concentrate on each move and tune everyone out, it will be a test in more ways than one.

We got new furniture … this is the first time in my life I have actually had brand new furniture … I am all grown up now! :)

I have been having headaches since I can remember, I have had migraines since I was in junior high or high school too.

I was emailing one of the nurses that used to work with us and has moved over to work with the new neurologist.  We were talking about my headaches when she suggested that I come and have an appointment with him because he helps lots of people with migraines.  So I went to Dr. Barga’s nurse and told her the situation and she said it sounded like a good idea and that she would ask Dr. Barga.  Turned out he thought the same thing so he referred me over to him and I had my appointment this past Thursday.

It was an interesting appointment to say the least.  Lots of little tests, remember 3 words and say them back to him in a bout 5 minutes, reflex tests, sensation tests, tongue twisters, walking, walking on tip toes, walking the heels of my feet, poking me all over with a lancet (face, arms, legs, and feet).  Tons of medical history questions too, have you had this, have you ever done this, does your family have this, or history of this?!

At the end of the appointment he said a few things:

1. When he did the reflex tests that my arms and legs were good and that when he did my feet he actually got a double/triple tap instead of one solid jerk.  He said this could be a disc problem in my back and/or a tightening in the nerves in my neck.  He said it wasn’t serious but something to be noted.
2. He noticed that I have more space between my eye and the eyelid on my left side and that only a neurologist would notice that.  He wanted to look at my old DMV photo and my name badge but said I was smiling too much so it squished my eyes up.  So after the appointment I was to find an older photo of me not smiling so he could see if the problem is recent or something I have had for a while.  Again he said it was nothing serious but it needed to be noted.
3. I am to start taking Naproxen 220mg tabs (generic Aleve).  I take 3 in the morning and 3 at night for 5 days. Then I take 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening for 5 days, then 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening for 5 days, then none in the morning and 1 in the evening for 5 days and then none unless I have a headache.
4. I am too AVOID taking Midrin, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Excedrin, and Aspirin as these are all short term pain medications and they cause the headache to be dulled for a short time and when they wear off the pain comes back.
5. I am to start taking vitamin B2 (riboflavin) 200mg in the morning and at night for 5 days then increase it to 300mg in the morning and at night forever (as long as it is working to help keep the migraines away). If the B2 does not work then he would consider medications to help me.

I have been taking my new medication regime as of yesterday and I am hopeful that this is a step in the right direction to controlling the migraines I have had for the past 20 years.

I know I keep gushing about Taekwon-Do but I can’t help it.  It has been a long time since I have felt a part of something besides work.  I felt like this back in high school when I was in Track and Field.  I was part of a group, a group that was supportive of each other and all therefor the same reasons.  I have found that feeling again at Centerline Martial Arts.

Going to class on Mondays and Wednesdays is the highlight of my week, I look forward to it so much. Knowing that I am going to a place that is full of people that are there to learn, that are ready to support each other, to have a good time but also respect the art we are training in. It’s also so nice to have an activity to share with Jason.  It so easy to get set in our own activities and just co-exist at home. This is something that we both enjoy (when he isn’t teasing about quitting!) and it’s so much fun to be together.

Last night we got our patches for our do baks.  I am so excited to get those put on and have that official look and feeling.  We have 4 patches, the American flag (it’s wavy just like our instructor’s) there is the ITF patch, the UITF patch and then the Centerline school patch.

There really is something about a uniform that changes a person when they put it on. It makes me feel a part of something that is so much bigger than myself, I feel empowered but at the same time humble and grateful to be able to study such an interesting art.

I totally forgot to share my parking story.  My Taekwon-Do class is downtown on Main Street.  It’s very pretty down there but in the evening it’s filled with rough lookin’ kids, homeless people and just plain riff raff.  Now those are the things that worry me about downtown in the evening, BUT last night I got a big suprise from something totally different.

After class I walked to my car which was just across the street from class. When I got to my car it was literally covered from rear end to hood with bird poop!  It looked like a flock of 4,000 birds decided to sit in the tree above my car and POOP!!!!

Needless to say I took my car to the car wash to get it all off …