Improvements

I had staph and the viral outbreak, so good thing I took anti-biotics! I'm feeling better, but I think I should go on a suppressive therapy since I plan on being in the sun as much as I can. As for the the non-dissolving stress..I don't know what to do about it.

This weekend is kind of a big deal!
Last year I had attended Potlatch, but only as a carry-on, photographer, cheerer, and partier. I said to myself, and a few people, that next year I will be here- on my own team.
Potlatch is an ultimate frisbee tournament, where many folks from all about the nation come in to do it up right. It's 3 days of at least 3 games(yikes!), and lots of partying.
I have resisted the urge to play for the last 2-3 weeks, I'm trying to let my shins heal. While the tearing sensation persists, it's gotten a lot duller. Doesn't mean that if I should get out on the field it will magically be better.
I bought athletic insoles, I'm interested to see how they will perform... they feel good just walking around in my cleats. I will also have Icy-Hot, Ice packs, and heat pads at the ready for the weekend.
The plan is to heat patch in the mornings, stretch-warm up. Remove heat when ready to play. Ice packs after the point/game. We'll see how it goes!

A dash of stress

I'm not entirely sure where it's coming from, but I am feeling a little ball of stress in my tummy. No matter how hard I've ignored it, as usual, my skin has reacted.
I have a herpes virus dormant in my system that is from cold sores, but people with eczema don't get lip cold sores. It is more like chicken pox. Very painful, quickly spreading, and potentially fatal chicken pox.

As you can guess now, my stress has manifested into the sores on my chest and on my neck, with little random blisters on my shoulders, tummy, and face.
I would totally provide an example for you, but the images are so gross, and it makes me really upset to remember how my first outbreak was. If you do google dermatitis herpeticum, that's basically what my entire chest looked like. It was horrifying.

I went to the dr, and they cultured just in case it was staph, but i know for a fact by the tingling sensations all over my body that these are blisters.

Anyways, now i'm trying to realize what i'm holding inside, what I need to mentally exfoliate or take care of.
It's amazing how powerful our mind and bodies are. I need to listen to mine and take care of it. I'm ignoring my shin splints which is limiting my participation on the 3 ultimate teams i've paid for. I have this flyer to finish and get printed ASAP, because it will be distributed over July 4th. I'm trying to brainstorm guerilla ways to help save the homestead.

On second thought, maybe it's just too much sun that's triggered it. My chest/face has been burned at least 3 times already. X.X

Ultimate workout

I had Ultimate frisbee practice for the previous 2 weekends. This last weekend, it was for both Saturday and Sunday. We played from 2-4pm and then a game of scrimmage.

I'm filling out my cardio chart for my work's health program brought to us by The Mayo Clinic. It's pretty cool, very web 2.0. Here's some information I learned from their cardio site:

Q: How much physical activity do the guidelines recommend?
A: Adults should get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity a week or a combination of the two. Activity should be performed in at least 10-minute increments and should be spread throughout the week. Adults should also perform muscle strengthening exercises of all major muscle groups at least two days a week.

To gain additional health benefits, adults should increase their aerobic physical activity to 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity or 150 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity or a combination of the two.

Q: Why should these guidelines matter to me?
A: The bottom line is this: All adults should avoid inactivity. Some physical activity is better than none, and adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits.

Research shows that most health benefits occur with at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking.

I counted the practice and scrimmage as vigorous activity because I was almost always out of breath from running so much.

I want to work regularly on my strength training as well. I know after you start a sport you get sore, activating and continually using muscles you never realized exists, but I'd like to be able to have some say in how strong I am! I downloaded and printed a sheet for me to use. I think I'll do free weights in the gym at work, and save cardio for 24 Hr Fitness- unless Jamie is training me.

The beginning of a new decade

Happy New Year!

January, I hope, will not be an accurate indication of how 2010 will pan out. I have been sick with a cold/sinus infection/chest congestion for about 3 weeks. The week before all this happened I pinched my C6, which is the base of my neck. I had pain spasms in my left shoulder for days, and I had limited turning capability as well.  I could even feel the pain in my index finger! Three emergency chiropractic appointments and one deep massage, and $100 in copays later, I was feeling better only to come down with the cold progression I mentioned previously. This also interfered with one of my new(unreleased) goals for this year concerning the gym. I only got in twice before this whole health debacle.

THAT aside (inhale) I have some results for you:
In 2009 I bought my first car. I went to Europe. I created my first dreamboard. got strep, found out I have hyper thyroidism- which fixed my insomnia and anxiety woes. I joined dodgeball. I moved out of my 3 year relationship. I made some poor judgement at work. I met my current relationship. I contracted swine flu. I got motivated to subscribe to 24 hour fitness. I submitted my interest with a local historical society. I can fit into size smalls again! I got broke. Really broke.
(exhale) Up down up down. Wheeeee.

Here are my much anticipated(and more specific) goals for 2010:

• Health. 
• I have a terrible track record with my health. Here I am as it stands, my hyper thyroidism seems to be under control. I missed my last appointment, and when  I have a spare $25 I need to keep up with my maintenance. You have to keep your thyroid hormone levels monitored, but I think I'm doing ok. I skip my medication frequently, so I don't have to worry about over consuming the hormones, but I should be more diligent about taking them. I don't have issues with insomnia, but anxiety comes about after a couple of weeks of not taking it. Then I start thinking crazy thoughts and get really claustrophobic. No good.

1. Eat less sugar. Develop healthy alternatives- suggestions?
2. Clock in at least 150 minutes of cardio every week(also a goal on work's health assessment)
3. Work up to being capable of lifting 15 lbs each arm, currently at 8 safely for reps)
4. Focus on building strength in arms, back, shoulders, stomach, and upper legs)
5. Record food intake
1. Increase fiber, protein, and water intake awareness

Notice no focus on weight gain or loss.

• Outreach. 
• My chosen community outreach is through the South West Seattle Historical Society which owns and curates the Log House Museum on Alki Beach(the birthplace of Seattle). I have volunteered to be on the board, which involves participating on several committees.

1. Public Relations committee
1. Manage social networking portals
2. summon interest in the Scouting networks to involve with docent/volunteer/service projects
2. Facilities Committee
1. Gain an appreciation for the effort being involved with the log house structure
3. Gala fundraiser committee
1. Create invitations, envelopes, etc for Gala. Finish by the end of February.
2. Public outreach, ticket sales, participate

• Work. 
• I've had an interesting past year. Please note that my year at work is September to September. I've become very complacent, and you should know that there is nothing that drives me more to anxiety than complacency. My boss recognized this, especially when in the middle of last year I began to quietly act out. He's deligated some more challenging tasks to me, which in itself is a challenge because my work requires me to drop anything I'm working on at any given moment, repetitiously. It's a distraction in itself. I already have my ADD mind distracting myself, but then outside forces as well??? Sometimes I feel almost schizo!

1. Earn an Outstanding on my next review (September)
2. Create and finish an inventory spreadsheet, any suggestions? 
3. Develop deeper knowledge of SharePoint for my newest delegation as the dept. Records Manager
1. Classes will be offered, have already been certified for one training. I feel it's not sufficient.
4. Develop a habit for creating and maintaining to-do lists. This has proven to keep me the most motivated to see a project/assignment through
5. Gain knowledge of the proprietary software used at Shilshole Bay Marina for potential(desired) relocation.

• Money. 
• Yuck. I don't have much left over after paying for bills/debt/gas. I'm lucky if I even have enough to cover gas. Jamie suggested seeing a financial advisor he has recommended to his brothers and friends. I might just consider it. Currently I owe $800, $1800, $500(different credits), and 21k(car)

1. Refinance my car loan- If it's even possible. Right now I pay $495 a month. I saw a Mercedes car lease for 435/month. That's CRAZY. I pay waaaayyy too much.
2. Car insurance decrease- I'll be 25, isn't that when it happens? 
3. Pay off at least 500 in credit. Currently I owe 3,100. Again. Ugh.

• Personal life. 
• Create and maintain friendships with women. For some reason this is super difficult for me. I was never a gaggle of girl friends kind of girl. I get along with guys so much easier. It helps that I like video games, skateboarding, and being active. I confess this difficulty to other ladies, and they have the same issue. I think it's a primal thing, everyone is seen as a potential threat to your man. But then where does the village come from? I find myself feeling super cut off from everyone, especially because I can't drive to the East Side like I used to all the time.

1. Continue craft nights. We've kind of dropped them recently, maybe because of dodgeball picking up again. But I miss those ladies, a lot. It's like a breath of fresh air to see and chill with them. Plus we make cute things!
2. Nikki and Lauren are my two gemini friends, and I think potentially I could be friends with them for a long time! I'd like to work with them on photoshoots more
3. Speaking of which. I miss photography and modeling. I want to come up with some concepts and work with different photographers/make up artists and stylists. Which also means networking!
4. Increase my wardrobe with more versatile outfits. 
1. Need stylish and simple pumps
2. Timeless and flattering dresses, skirts, and blouses
5. Maintain a healthy and productive relationship with Jamie :)

Please support me and I will support you. Good luck to you! Thanks for reading or subscribing. I might add vlogs!

Slackin!

• Money issues: so remember how I wanted to withdraw my money to kind of hold so as to not spend it all? Well apparently i can't even have the chance because I don't have much money left over after attending to bills. That's cool.
  This paycheck is my car payment check, and so I have more room to pay for other things. So I caught up on Swedish Hospital bills, BofA(sorta), groceries, and gas. Turns out, I didn't have as much luxury as I thought I would. I'm sick and tired of these furloughs ruining every paycheck.
• Health issues: I am over swine flu, finally, and I can be closer than 3 feet to a person. I'm having some difficulty keeping my allergies at bay. For my hyper thyroid I got a lower dose of methimazole, the 10mg was too strong for me, making me sluggish and depressive. Something I'm a little concerned about is the pill, which I haven't taken since high school.
• Yesterday I applied at the Seattle Art Museum to be a docent or visitor information.

Today my friend Adrian told me that my skin has looked really awesome the last several times we've hung out. That made me proud of myself.

Here's an updated to-do/goal list I've been mulling over.

1. join 24 hour fitness (they have hip hop and yoga classes in the evening!)

2. look into night school more intently

3. find some more volunteer opportunities

Have you ever felt so goddamned strong?
How come its takes some people so damn long?
He turned to squeeze the lemon juice to rain
The citrus drawing out the scene in stains

Dream Board

Amazing how fast this year has gone by so far. Better make the most of the rest of 2009. 9 is my favorite number!

I made a dream board with my friend Lisa in the early days of 2009. You can write down your goals, or you can make awesome visual displays of it, and I am a visual person...so I was pretty excited to create my dream board.

In the winter I tend to feel a bit SAD, so most of my goals were intended to make me feel better about me, life, my future, my dreams. It's a board full of happy images, basically. I mentioned my sleep habits a bit, becuase I was in desperate need of more satisfying sleep, which I've accomplished due to my new medications for my hyper thyroidism.

I have nice stomachs featured pretty prominantly on my board due to my insecurity of my pudgy tummy. I wanted a visual motivation for what I think is attractive and where I want to get to, or even a little closer to.

Anyways, here's some close ups, and then the full board:

If you try the best you can
If you try the best you can
Dinosaurs roaming the earth

Belly Dancing

Tonight I had my last belly dancing class with Natalie(Jen couldn't make it). We pick up again in September.

I have to admit, I've been doing a lot of partying in the last week or so because of my birthday, but also because I don't like feeling lonely.

I did belly dancing for 8 weeks, and after each class I've felt more physically comfortable with my body. Not because I've gotten skinnier or leaner, but because rounder bodies are beautiful in belly dancing, whereas poles are not. I'm not saying I'm fat or skinny here, I'm just saying I feel ok being where I am. It's not something I focus on.

It definitely has built up my core muscles a bit, the first couple classes would leave a sharp sensation in the center of my abdomen.

I like that I committed to something and completed it. I like that I feel happier about myself, and I will return to the class in September. It boosts my confidence and gets me sweaty.

When I got home I had a lite ceasar salad and a fat free pudding cup.

Natalie and I are interested in taking up a beginner hip hop class. Then we could create a routine fusing belly and hip hop together! And we talked about yoga as well, which makes my heart sing. Check this out for some serious inspiration.