I love the Olympics! No, really, really love the Olympics. I have been an Olympic nut for many, many years. It doesn't matter if it is the summer or the winter Olympics, just as long as it's the Olympics.

My family all know that they cannot watch TV during this time every couple of years. The nice thing is that they all have come to love them too.

So many great stories, so many magical moments take place during these two weeks. Like the Canadian mogul skier that took the gold last night. He is the very first Canadian to win gold on their own soil. Also, he has a brother with cerebral palsy and loves him so much that he said he was skiing for him. That touches me even more, because of our son who also has CP.

Brigette summed up the Olympics in a few words. "Somebody always wins" and "the national anthem always gets played whether it is our country or an other's".

So go USA and go Olympics!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Once again, I have to say I am soooo busy. I hate starting my blog this way, but I am, so there.

Brigette moved home a week ago and we have been extremely busy moving her in, trying to finish the basement where she will be living and also trying to find her a job. She did get hired in at a local Starbucks, which we are very excited about.

Oliver finally has a playmate, Pippen. Pippen is taking her time transitioning to another new environment and has been a little bit crabby and Oliver is so excited that he is not giving her the time she needs transition. Well, you can image the growls of joy and the growls of complaints going on around the house.

I have been working very hard on the BL contest and working out a lot. Also, I am spending time recording my eating, exercising and journaling. This takes quite a bit of time out of my day.

My time spent on the computer for fun is very limited at the moment. My prayer is that I can organize my time management much better than I have been and begin to enjoy my love of blogging again, as well as, visiting the blogs I love to read.

BTW, once in while there may be a guest blogger, so look for them and hopefully you will enjoy a new perspective on my blog.

Ouch

Here it is, day number four and I am still hurting from the exercise. Geesh...am I so out of shape. On Saturday I couldn't even climb up or down the stairs without wincing in pain. We were told we needed to rest on Sunday, well I chose Saturday because I just couldn't move. I was still sore yesterday, but able to do a few floor exercises and a brisk walk on the treadmill.

The nice thing is my little Ollie loves to hop on the treadmill and walk with me. I have a permanent walking buddy! He stayed with me even when I raised the incline. What a good little doggie he has turned into. I will have to have the Hubs take a picture, it is so cute.

Tonight I am going to an exercise class that is being led by some of the old biggest losers. What an inspiration that will be. Secretly, I am dreading going because I know they will whip my hiney.

The good news is, I have had three people ask if I am losing weight! My poop of a husband said it was because I finally broke down and cut and colored my hair. Leave it to him to burst my bubble.

My Thoughts

"It was fun to be with fifteen other people who want to change theirs lives too. The excitement was infectious. Pictures were taken, individual, teams and the entire group. (These will be the before pics). We were weighed in and our measurements taken."

Excerpt from my first journal entry. Our "official" Biggest Loser Program started last night. To tell you the truth, I am overwhelmed with information. I am not sure how those who work full time are going to do it. It takes so much time and energy to get everything started. Our meetings will be three hours long and one of those hours is a workout. Ohhh...did that kill me. I am so sore today. It helped to see the others struggle just as much as I did. I really need to have others doing this with me.

I think the biggest help though, is the prayer and devotions.

In the book "What Have You Got To Lose", Stephen Arterburn says there are seven keys to losing your burdens. The first one is surrender. "So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor" (1 Peter 5:6) "You must be willing to discover what is driving your negative behaviors and want healing more than you want your false comforts".

Stay tuned...

New Year

• Resting - still recovering from an antibiotic resistant bacteria (pneumonia) in my lungs.
• Reading - read three books in the last couple of weeks and have a bunch more to read, thanks Ang.
• Pounding - as the Hubs is working to finish off part of the basement.
• Exciting - daughter number two has graduated from college and is moving home for a short time.
• Growing - in the Lord as I challenge myself spiritually.
• Shrinking - as I start the Biggest Loser program this week.
• Organizing - because it always makes me feel neater and cleaner.
• Loving - the time spent with my children, siblings and their families over the Christmas holidays.
• Trying - to blog and read blogs again. It has been a very long time...

New Post

I know I haven't been here in a very long time. But feeling so lousy (fighting double pneumonia), I just haven't had the energy to write. I check my facebook status a couple times a day, but that is it. I am looking forward to the new year for many reasons.

I have a new post on my The Healthy Dream blog. Also, we are leaving soon to spend time with my family for Christmas. Our middle daughter Brigette, is graduating from college in one week. We are so proud of her and thankful to our oldest daughter and son-in-law for allowing her to live with them during this past year and a half.

Most of all, I am looking forward to writing again. The new year should bring lots of ideas for blogging.

Thank you to my many blogging friends for the encouragement and prayers sent my way. God bless you all!!

Slapped

About a month ago, I was diagnosed with a sinus infection, strep throat and bronchitis (the second time in four months mind you). So, after being prescribed a Z-pack (one of the greatest inventions in the modern era!) I started feeling better and was on the move once again. One week to the day after the diagnosis, I started feeling a little punky yet again. I ignored the tickley cough and general feeling of tiredness for a few days. The cough turned into a little more than a tickle, but I continued to ignore the worsening symptoms. Finally, on a Friday night when I couldn't sleep because of the nasty cough and wheezing that the hubs could hear across the room (he is suppose to wear a hearing aid because of his bad hearing and he wasn't wearing it at the time) he demanded that I go to the clinic. I wanted to wait until Monday when I could go in to see my doctor and the stubborn in me did exactly that.

So when the doctor listened to my lungs he said "ewww, that doesn't sound good at all". I asked if the bronchitis returned and he told me that it wasn't bronchitis but pneumonia. Because I just came off the nasties ten days before, he prescribed a two week round of two monster antibiotics, steroids and a strong cough med. It didn't take long before I was feeling better. Besides the constant feeling of tiredness, I wasn't coughing much and able to do things around the house. Not much, just a little here and a little there. By Sunday I had finished almost all the steroid and because the weather was so beautiful, went outside with the boys to put my flower beds to sleep. About an hour after cutting and pruning my stomach began to churn, hmmmm I thought, I will get the remainder of this done and go in to rest a bit. The tummy ache (looking for different word to describe it) didn't subside and continues to hurt today.

Monday, an old friend of ours (Steve, if you are reading this, I am not calling you old, just calling our friendship of many years old, wink, wink) came by to pick up a bag of clothes that Lance no longer needed, to give to the homeless men he and his family minister to every Saturday morning. Anyway I digress. Steve had noticed my post on facebook about my having pneumonia and proceeded to tell us that I should be resting. I assured him I was, but didn't divulge my cleaning out the perennials beds on Sunday and doing a little here and a little there around the house each day. He began to inform us that pneumonia is a sneaky killer. His doctor told him when he was down with it, that too many people start feel a little better and begin to do things and that is when the bottom falls out. Jim Hensen ignored the rest component of his remedy and even though he was taking antibiotics, he continued to work and that's when he died.

Okay, so God used Steve to slap me upside the head. I get the picture, I need to rest. Besides if the Jim Hensen story didn't work, the upset stomach from the antibiotics is keeping me down. I finally figured out that the steroids were helping my stomach tolerate the meds for the first week. Now I have to eat, take one tablet, then wait a while and eat, take the other tablet, all day long. I have to take these crazy pills seven times a day. And to try to eat when your stomach doesn't feel great, let alone seven times a day. Ughhh...

Thank you God for using Steve and what ever else you have to to get me back up on my feet.

Pneumonia isn't fun and it sure doesn't help fodder the imagination for blogging. I'll be back soon.