In sickness, and more sickness

We've lucked out for the most part this year.  Other than a brief bout with walking pneumonia, our household has been pretty healthy this winter. That was, up until this week.

Normally we get the sniffles around the end of November, and they stay until the beginning of May.  As happy as I have been to not have the constant sniffles, this week has made up for it and then some!

Sunday evening M started to get the dreaded sniffles.  I ran out to the grocery store, got some oranges and Kleenex, and hoped for the best.  Tim was off work Monday, so I gave him instructions to take it easy and went off to school.  By the time I got home, sniffles had turned into full out snot grenades and soon my vibrant, full of energy daughter was struggling just to get off the couch.  Add to that Tim was now reporting his stomach just didn't feel right.  Oh, yeah, and he had been called back to work; luckily, he wasn't going back until Wednesday.

Tuesday morning things didn't look any better.  M was up half the night coughing and blowing her nose and Tim's stomach was still "not right."  I came home Tuesday afternoon and both were on the couch.  M had a fever, and was beginning to get the Bob Costas red-eye effect.  I was feeling quite achy myself and decided Wednesday needed to be a day to rest and took the day off.

Wednesday night was miserable.  Tim up with stomach troubles, M was up coughing, blowing her nose, or complaining her eyes hurt.  I got maybe 3 hours at best, so much for rest.  Tim headed off to work Wednesday morning, I called the doctor.  M woke up with her eyes crusted shut, a fever, and a cough that could pass as the world's best seal impression.  Luckily they could fit her in.  As time passed, my house was slowly being taken over by used tissues and glasses of OJ.

Even this sick, she still wanted her picture taken.

It took the doctor 30 seconds to recognize there was a lot going on.  Five minutes later, we were told that M had a dreadful combination of a double ear infection. strep throat, and pink eye in both eyes, yikes!  We made the trek up to Wegman's to pick up her prescription.  The poor girl could barely keep her eyes open as we picked up a few essentials while waiting for them to fill the prescription and flavor it (bubble gum!).  Meanwhile, mommy was still achy and feeling less than stellar.  We got home, plopped onto the couch, put on Netflix and in 5 minutes we were both asleep. 

When daddy got home, he reported stomach issues all day, and joined us.  

Luckily, Thursday and Friday offered some much needed R&R time for M.  I headed back to work, but kept the exercising and extracurriculars to a minimum.  Now it is the weekend and although we aren't 100%, we are getting there (I'd say we are about 85% right now). 

If anything, this week has taught me that life sometimes throws some curve balls.  Just because we were sick didn't mean that dishes didn't need cleaned or work didn't need done.  Still, I will say that I almost enjoyed the way it made us all slow down.  We got to focus on each other, and for a brief moment many of our usual distractors were gone.  It helped us refocus on those things that were most important: health, wellness, and family.  

Did I say I thrived off of stress?

One of the things I've always said about myself is that I thrive off stress.  I think it went back to college when they were starting to train us for job interviews.  "Turn a negative into a positive," they told me.  So I did.  Instead of saying I was a huge procrastinator who waited till the last minute, I came up with some mumbo jumbo about thriving under adverse conditions.  Now in my defense, it's true.  I've always liked my plate full.  I don't do "down time" well.  Normally too much free time in my schedule leaves me cranky and unpleasant to be around.  That's typically when I either start yelling at people or go shopping.  I'm not sure which one Tim dislikes more.

So, in typical me fashion, I have once again piled it on.  Work has been requiring an increasing amount of my time as my caseload seems to be growing exponentially.  Luckily I work with some pretty awesome people who help out.  Still, being me, I insist on doing most of it myself.  

The new semester has also started in graduate school world.  This should be my last semester in school for at least a year or so (until I get bored and go back).  Instead of spreading out my last class and internship into two separate semesters,  I decided to do them both at the same time.  What was I thinking?  I've been going to school for 25 years straight (even longer if you count preschool).  You'd think I would have this whole classwork thing down to a science by now.  Still, with each class being so unique, I never know what to expect.  Keep piling it on!

Add in the detox and many upcoming events such as Tough Mudder and a half marathon to train for, and I would say my plate is pretty full right now.  Tim thinks I'm crazy, but I'm enjoying staying busy.  I've never been one to enjoying sitting in front of the TV all day without doing anything.  Even if I stay home, I try and find something to keep me occupied.  I like the feeling like I've accomplished something at the end of the day. I think that is why I keep my planner.  There is no better feeling than crossing something off when you've finished it. (And yes, I am one of those people who will write it on my list after I finished it just so I can cross it off)

It used to be when I overloaded my plate things got pretty nasty around here.  I would be moody and unpleasant, and poor Tim took most of the brunt of it.  It's a miracle I made it through student teaching without scaring him away.  But I think this time things are a lot different.  Sure I've got a lot to do and I'm stressed, but I'm not moody or angry.  Why?  I've found a new way of relieving my stress that doesn't require me yelling at those I love. 

So what have I been doing to alleviate stress?  Running as much as I can, although with a knee injury that wasn't much.  Still if I wasn't running, I was at least making it to a few Team Adrenaline workouts each week.

It's almost as if I sweat out some of the stress.

We also took a Sunday morning jaunt across the frozen bay.  I'm a self proclaimed wuss, so this isn't an activity I would choose to do on my own.  With the bay sitting with a good 10 inches of ice, the four mile walk across and back was quite interesting.

True, it's been cold, but I can't let that get me down.  Instead, we've just added more layers and the occasional face mask to keep the frostbite at bay.

Luckily I have some pretty amazing people who help relieve stress with humor or just an ear to listen.  I think that is what makes the biggest difference.  I find that when I'm able to escape from the stress, even if it is just for an hour, I come back feeling refreshed.  I know it's going to be a long couple of months and things aren't always going to be pretty; but at least I know that I can find a few ways to forget about it for a bit.

Tea and Detox

After last week's fun and festivities, this week has been a little rougher on me.  

School has been tough, several new kids and lots of paperwork to finish.  Add in one snow day and one two hour delay due to the Polar Vortex and that's even more of a downer.  My desk looks like a tornado came through, with piles upon piles of things that need finished.  If the desk fairy came through my room, I think she'd be quite disappointed in me.

I'm sure I'll catch up and everything will be fine, however stress and me never really get along.  

My normal go-to is a nice glass of wine, or three or four.  Seeing as I have quite the assortment (especially after my birthday) this would seem like a good idea.  

However,  I have embarked on another journey to help me "detox" from the holidays.  Doc (our fearless leader of Team Adrenaline) decided that a detox to start the new year would be a great thing.  In short, the detox consists of avoiding processed and artificial sugars, caffeine, and alcohol for six weeks. Here's his version for anyone that is interested.

The detox is very similar to what I did in the spring with Challenge Erie.  I had more or less stuck to the no sugar rule since then, with exceptions from time to time (and very frequently over Christmas).  

Always a glutton for punishment, I decided to also eliminate dairy and gluten.  I had toyed around with eliminating both for a while and discovered I felt a lot better without them.  But still, it makes for some difficult eating.

Instead of starting January 1 with all the other detoxers, I decided to wait until after my birthday.  After all the hoopla I had put around turning 30, the last thing I wanted to do was worry about what the labels said on everything I ate or drank that day.  

Since starting the detox, I feel a lot better.  My energy is back and I'm not feeling as "bloaty."  I've gotten past the first week of feeling crappy and cranky, which I'm sure Tim and M really appreciate!

When the detox was first starting, one of the more discussed topics was that of tea.  Because we are detoxing from caffeine, coffee is a no-no.  Decaf is ok, but unless you drink it black there really isn't much you can add to it (no sugar means no lactose means no milk).  I've never been big on coffee but I've always liked tea; so, I was excited about the green light to try so new types of tea.  It was through this discussion (and an impromptu Team Adrenaline trip to Wegman's) that I was introduced to the world of loose leaf tea.

Always some type of shenanigans when TA is involved.

I was excited to say the least.  In fact, I was so excited I immediately purchased my very first tea infuser, the Tea Rex!

I admit, I bought it more because he was cute than anything.  I learned very quickly, Tea Rex is only good for big, chunky teas.  The tea I was using ended up making its way through the holes and soon I was drinking chunky tea.  To add insult to injury, the thing was a pain in the ass to clean!

After sharing my Tea Rex saga with my TA friends, I received this adorable guy from Leslie.  She had seen him at the Co-Op and couldn't resist.

RoboTea (as I lovingly named him) did much better than Mr. Rex, although still  had some flaws.  My tea didn't end up near as chunky, although there still were bits of tea floating around.  And I quickly learned the importance of securely closing him, as the first time I tried he popped open spilling his contents all over my kitchen floor.

Finally ended up with a new tea infuser that has done the job.  This one, made by Teavana, not only came with a sample of tea (which I can't drink until after the detox because it has added sugar), but also has done a great job of allowing me to enjoy my new Green Tea with Blueberry obsession.

The way this detox is going so far, I have a feeling it is only going to get more and more interesting, but more on that later!

Challenges

"Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict." - William Ellery Channing

I had that feeling in the pit of my stomach walking into the doctor's office.  That feeling of impending doom that something bad was about to happen.  The pain in my foot had gotten progressively in the last three weeks; so bad, that after a short 3 mile run Monday morning I could put no pressure on it at all.  I had known something was wrong, and I ignored the problem until I no longer could.

The X-rays confirmed what I was already sensing was wrong.  A stress fracture.

As relieved as I was to learn this was not all in my head, it was a huge blow.  Six to eight weeks in an air cast.  No running.  As the doctor sat and explained everything to me I went numb.  Thank goodness he gave me a packet with all the information, because I honestly heard nothing for the last portion of my appointment.

I held it together in the office, just shook my head and promised to come back for a follow up in three weeks.  Then, with my brand new fashionable footwear, I hobbled out the door.

It wasn't until I got home that I fell apart.  Thank goodness for Tim.  He kept calm and reassured me I was going to be fine.  Still, all I could think was that all my hard work of the past several months was about to be reversed. 

The first place I wanted to go was the TA workout I would be missing.  I felt the need to tell them in person.  Then it was on to my parents (they had air conditioning and this stupid boot is hot!).

As a couple hours went by I calmed down.  This isn't as bad as it could be, and I'm not down for the count.  I'm just going to have to change what I'm doing.  I was really bummed that I won't be able to run in the 5k while on vacation next week (love running in new places) or the Half Marathon in August (what I've been training for).  Still, if all goes well I should be able to get back to training before the Beast on the Bay, and although I won't be at my best, I can still participate.  After going through two months of change for Challenge Erie I should be a pro by now, but the thought is scary. 

So now it's time to change things up a bit.  Instead of running, I'm going to try some other forms of exercise.  I found a great deep-water running plan written for runners with injuries.  Plus, I've been saying I want to get back into swimming.  I can still bike and a friend even suggested trying rowing.  I can still work on my abs and arms.  Luckily I have some amazing support through my friends.