It was one year ago today since we lost our precious Kat to congenital heart failure. It has been an eventful year, but she is always in our hearts and often in our thoughts. RIP little girl. 💞
Kat – King Charles Cavalier 2013 – 2022
Memories of Kat
Year Two – Week Six
Spring has sprung (so they say), my broken arm is healed, and I am off to the races! Finally! This week I am going full on Goggins to get back to where I left off mid-January.
Since I received the good news on Thursday, I have been stepping up my workout plan. Nothing heroic yet, but steps in the right direction. Speaking of steps, I was out walking on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – over 24,000 steps (Nine Miles). That is about 24,000 more steps that I have taken outside since November when I came down with my brutal winter flu, which lasted until I ventured out and broke my arm. 24,000 steps is pretty impressive. 😏
I also, started the week out well nutritionally wise. I have our menu penciled in for the entire week – one nutritious meal after the other (at least supper wise).
- Monday – Taco Salad
- Tuesday – Stir Fry with rice
- Wednesday – Chicken Alfredo, steamed broccoli, and Side Salad
- Thursday – Chef Salad
- Friday – Home made Pizza with Caesar Salad
- Saturday – Barbecued pork ribs, baked potatoes, and Ramen/shredded cabbage salad
All home made! All include fresh vegetables! All delicious and nutritious! 🌞
This morning, I kicked off the day with a full two armed Zumba routine and a series of physiotherapy exercises to improve my range of motion for my left shoulder. This afternoon, I am heading outside with Molly for some sunshine and fresh (very fresh as in feels like -22C) air. And.. tonight I am getting strength training back in my schedule. That is my plan for this week – plus, with warmer temperatures expected Wednesday and my walking partner available Wednesday thru Sunday – there is a fair amount of Molly walking on the calendar for later in the week.
The rest of my days are filled with brushing Molly, cleaning house , laundry, dishes, and the like – all which is easier with two functional arms.
That is my plan for this week. I am focused, locked in, healed, and ready to go!
Take care and have a great week! 🌞💞
Year Two – Week Five
Whoo Hoo!!! It is nine weeks since I fractured my proximal humurus and humurus head. I saw my orthopedic specialist today for an update on my latest x-rays and ultrasound and the news was amazing! I am healed – ALL healed.
I had natural healing, my bones stayed in place and healed perfectly and I am off of ANY restrictions. I can do Zumba, lift weights, wave my arms in the air like I just don’t care! I have to work on my range of motion for a bit but the doctor said I was a very good healer. 😁
I know it may partly be genetics but personally I think that it has helped considerably that I was in good shape before the ‘incident’ and that I have taken care of myself since.
I have been following doctor’s instructions and maintaining the limitations he had me on. I have been drinking my beet juice, taking my vitamins D and B12, and taking calcium and zinc. I have been doing aerobics virtually every day. And I have been meditating and keeping a positive attitude. 🤗🤗🤗
I am so excited. I never asked about a prognosis but at my age (almost 68), I kind of wondered whether I would ever be healed well enough to full on Zumba again or lift weights. I just didn’t know how strong a bone could be once it broke right through like that. Who knew?
Anyway, this is the best news I could hope for. I came home and did a full You Tube Zumba lesson. Our weather is mild today so I will go spend some time outside soaking in the sunshine and enjoying the fresh air.
Tonight, we are going to celebrate with KFC. Dan did buy steak and shrimp to barbecue for me but since I asked for chicken, we will do the steak supper tomorrow night.
That is all for today. I am so excited to be back to my full fitness routine. In a few weeks, I can look forward to garden planting and getting some much needed outdoor maintenance and painting done.
Keep safe and have a great day! 🌞💞
Happy St. Patrick’s Day 🍀
My family is French Canadian three hundred and sixty four days a year, but on March seventeenth we turn Irish for the day to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day – and my father’s birthday! 🍀🎂
My father and I were close. I still feel that closeness, even twenty-nine years since his passing, especially on days like this – his birthday/St. Patrick’s Day. This morning, his presence was felt more than ever.
My father enjoyed any number of simple pleasures, none moreso than relaxing and watching good entertaining television programs. His favourite ever was “The Littlest Hobo”. My Dad loved that show. With his love for dogs, “The Littlest Hobo” was an obvious hit for him and the best part of his week as long as the series ran.
This morning while having my morning coffee and vaguely aware of the television running in the background, I heard this familiar tune….
Yes, one of our channels has resurrected Dad’s show and my husband Dan (😍) had flipped to it in honor of my Dad’s birthday.
Molly, who is not typically the least bit interested in television, was mesmerized. Like my Dad, she has found her all time favourite show. 💓
Anyway, that just made a brilliant start to my day so I had to share.
Now to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, I wanted to share an old Irish blessing…
May love and laughter light you days
And warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours
Wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
With joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons bring the best to you and yours.
Take care and have a great day! 🍀💓
Empowerment
NB.. I woke up at three A.M. this morning with my mind swirling and my heart pounding. I was awake for a couple of hours, thinking and working through my angst. I feel better, so I thought I would share for anyone who has ever been there or who is there now. 💞
There is nothing worse than feeling trapped in a situation that causes overwhelming fear, grief, anger, resentment, and anxiety. I know because many years ago that was my reality.
Bizarrely, I thought that I was coping. I thought that despite everything that was wrong with my life, and the way that I was reacting to it, I was relatively functional. I had to be firing on all, or at least most of, my cylinders. I was a wife, a mother, a full-time homemaker, a responsible reliable employee. I was good! Except that I wasn’t – and the stress of doing it all in the confines of a volatile, dysfunctional marriage was too much for too long.
One day I reached my breaking point. I hit my knees, looked up to the heavens, and said “I can’t do this anymore”.
The heavens did not open up and make all of my problems go away. My life did not instantly change. But, I did. (And for that I do give total credit to the heavens above).
It was like a huge weight was lifted off of me. I was determined, fearless, confident, pro-active, and happy. As my state of mind changed, my life changed. It wasn’t anyone’s idea of easy, but somehow it was easy for me. I left my husband, created a new and peaceful home for my family, built a career and worked countless hours to support us. I didn’t have time for doubts or fears or grief to set in. As time went on, my life got better and easier. I met and married a good man. 💞
My life did not become the proverbial rose garden. There have been challenges along the way. Lots of challenges!
But, way back from that day that I hit rock bottom, I began to learn how important the right mindset was to living a good life.
Over the years, I have learned…
- That once I hit ‘rock bottom’ and climbed back up, I never fell that far again. The climb gets easier, taking me higher every time – stronger, happier, and calmer.
- That coping mechanisms are endless. By searching them out, I have discovered self-help books, social media accounts, podcasts, and You Tube channels that have been invaluable in creating the life I wanted and always knew I deserved.
- The importance of making my physical, mental, and emotional health and well being my top priority.
- That I cannot control everything and everybody in my life – and they cannot control me. The more I focus on improving my mental, physical, and emotional well-being, the less judgemental and stressed I am by outside influences.
- That the healthier I get – mentally, physically, and emotionally – the more I am drawn to like minded people and the more they are drawn to me. 😁
- That all of the power in MY life is within ME. As my favourite Rumi quote goes (with a bit of tweaking) …”It’s my road, and mine alone, others may walk it with me, but no one can walk it for me.”
Have yourself a good day. You deserve it!
Year Two – Week Four
I am already four weeks into Year Two of my journey to health and fitness. This is a journey that I am enjoying far more than I thought I would – and that has taken me to places that I never imagined possible.
This is a journey that requires commitment, motivation, determination, and focus. Fortunately, between my husband Dan, my Volley friends Dwight and Jackie, and all of my friends here on WordPress, I have the support and encouragement that I require to push on with this journey, even on those days when my commitment, motivation, determination, and focus is a bit lacking.
This week, I am determined to focus on ‘living my best life‘. My best life is one where my priority is my health, happiness, and peace of mind – because I deserve it and because I cannot give to others what I do not myself possess. That means working out, eating well, getting adequate rest, meditating, enjoying the company of family and friends, appreciating the blessings in my life, and overlooking (or trivializing) the blips and bleeps.
My fractured arm is coming along, although my shoulder continues to be bothersome. But I am feeling better, which is helping my workouts and my sleep. I managed a fairly good Zumba class this morning. If Molly had given me a bit more space, I would have crushed it! I have been meditating on a regular basis, which has obviously been good for my peace of mind. And I have been doing a pretty good job of keeping up with cooking, cleaning, and laundry. I have even been doing up my hair every day. That’s probably the biggest challenge for my achy shoulder but well worth it. “If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you do good.” As my mother used to say. 😉
That’s it for this week’s health and fitness update.
Keep well & keep safe! 💞🌞
Seven Weeks…
I am only three weeks into Year Two of my health and fitness program, but it has been SEVEN WEEKS since Molly and I collided and I walked away with a broken arm. (Literally walked away! We were at the dog park a few blocks from home, so we had to walk home. Ouch, ouch, ouch!)
I think that I am healing quite well. The fractures in my proximal humurus and humurus head do not bother me at all. I do feel frequent and considerable pain in my shoulder, elbow, and wrist. Go figure. I am pretty sure I pulled or tore something in my shoulder, but I am three weeks from getting my ultrasound report so who knows. This morning, I had ripping pain down my right side from my shoulder, down my arm, and down my side from my armpit to under my ribs. Since I did not injure my right side in my fall, I have to assume it was either sympathy for my left side or something I pulled compensating for my left side. Who knows?
Either way, that brings me to where I am at with my physical health and fitness levels. I think I am doing okay all things considered. I work out, try to sleep well, try to eat healthy, take my vitamins and beet juice, and try to get outside for a bit of fresh air every day. 🤗
Mentally and emotionally, I have struggled a bit this past week. It’s nothing serious – just frustration, sadness, and good old grumpiness. Nothing debilitating for sure, but something I have had to work on.
- I have backed away from checking my online ‘Fractured Humurus Group’. There is way more bad news than good and it just isn’t helping me. I do still drop in once or twice a day and send ‘Caring Hugs’ to those who are struggling, but I don’t let myself get too engaged.
- I have made daily accomplishments a priority. Yesterday I made breakfast for Dan and I, did dishes, vacuumed, dusted, cleaned and re-assembled our humidifier, made a dental appointment, AND I did our taxes!!!
- I have been meditating every day. I think that is really helping me to feel more grounded and focused. It also is helping me to sleep better.
- I have been watching You Tube video clips of comedy sketches – mostly ‘Golden Girls’ and ‘Bob Newhart’. I wasn’t really a fan of ‘Golden Girls’ when it was on tv, but their clips are funny. I always loved ‘Bob Newhart’ – especially Larry and his brothers Darryl and Darryl. 🤣🤣🤣
My efforts seem to be helping to get my mental and emotional self in a better place. And… Our March sunshine isn’t hurting the cause. 🌞
That is my health and well-being update for this week.
Take care and have a great week! 💞🤗
Year Two – Week Two
Another exciting week in the life of a somewhat invalid. It has been two weeks since I hit the reset on my health and fitness program and six weeks since Molly took me down at the dog park and fractured my humurus head and surgical neck.
Today, we had a family outing. Dan drove me across the city for an ultrasound on my shoulder. I thought this was to determine whether my bones were mending. Unfortunately, the tech said she was just checking out tendons and ligaments – not bones. I was sitting on a chair, holding my arm in awkward poses for a solid hour! And… I still have no idea if I am on the mend. 🤦
I have been struggling to sleep soundly for the past couple of weeks and the pain in my arm seems to be getting worse. I’m not sure if that is from the lack of sleep, a natural part of the healing process, because I was overdoing the dancing and/or therapy exercises, or if this situation is just starting to wear on me. I am still working out every day, but trying not to overdo it for now. On Saturday, I did a Zumba class – but I was very careful not to engage my left arm.
That is about it for this week’s update health and fitness update.
Weather wise we are welcoming back some warmer temps at least for a few days. Our snow and ice won’t be going anywhere any time soon, but at least the sun is shining. 🌞
Take care and have a great week! 💞😁⛈️
Year Two – Week One
I am barely into the second year of my new life of health and fitness, but I am feeling it and it is feeling pretty good! 😁
It is five weeks since I broke my arm (humurus surgical neck and head). That has put my Zumba, dog walking, and weight lifting on hold – but I have improvised.
My fitness plan these days is mostly dancing around our kitchen and doing my therapy exercises. That doesn’t sound too impressive, but I do both three or four times a day, so it keeps me active and I can feel the benefits….
- My range of motion for my arm is improving daily. I did my hair up yesterday. It wasn’t perfect, but I did it myself with my own two arms. 😉
- I seldom use anything for pain – day or night. I used regular Bayer aspirin for the first week or two but only used it one night last week.
- I feel good – physically, mentally, and emotionally. 😁😁😁
- I went shopping on Saturday, bought myself a new outfit, AND I was pretty happy with the fit. (I don’t have a photo but will post one on Thursday after my follow up appointment.)
- I am sleeping okay most nights. Last night, I slept so well that my arm was stiff and sore when I got up. My workout this morning shook it loose. 🤗
That’s it for today but I have to wrap things up with the latest addition to my You Tube dance mix. 💃💃💃
Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞
Molly is ***ONE***
Molly was born into this world on February 16th, 2022. After spending her first few weeks with her Mom and siblings, we welcomed her into our home on April 22nd.
Our big girl is an entire year old. It hasn’t all been easy, it hasn’t all been fun, but every day is so worth it! 😁 Happy Birthday, Molly!
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 