47 Candles

47 candles

No I do not actually want 47 candles on anything this week. But the movie 16 candles was 1 of my favorites so I borrowed the title from the movie.

On Wednesday of this week I turn 47, thinking about that makes me wonder- HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? For many many reasons this really is amazing to me. I started thinking about all the reasons why I shouldn’t be here to celebrate this birthday.

• I have a birth trauma called a Chairi 1 malformation- that many many folks have huge issues with, and that can lead to death.
• 28 years ago I was hit by a speeding Buick- the car damaged my knee, low back and internal parts.
• A diagnosis 18 years ago, of Cushing’s disease, with a prognosis of 18-22 months to live.
• Blood sugars that were spiraling out of control, even 220 units of injected insulin weren’t controlling it.
• Uncontrolled Morbid Obesity- weights that would broke a normal scale.
• Severe depression after the death of my late husband.

That is all the past. Today I am happier healthy and living life to the fullest more than I ever have. It hard for me to remember at times how much of a struggle things used to be for me. The steps at the office used to scare me, I thought I’d have to quit my job because I couldn’t do the steps and now I do them several times a day without thinking about it. I was using a cane all the time, now a days I am not even sure where the cane is. I needed one of these motorized carts to go shopping at the grocery store, Wal mart, or Lowes, today I walk the stores without issue. There are so many other things that I now do without even thinking about it that it amaze me.

The most amazing part for me has been the reduction in Medications; I think it was April or May of 2010 that I last needed an injection of insulin. Once I was on super high doses of 3 different high blood pressure medications, today I am on 1 and that one’s dose has gone from 150mg a day to 5 mg a day. When I began this journey I was taking 17 medications a day, now I am taking 4 medications. I hope to soon be off most of those too.

Life really is great these days. I find I am moving easier and easier in the gym, in the office and in life. LIFE really is a gift. A gift to be celebrated.

Yes, 47 is cause for celebrating. One of our patients told me that other day that he celebrates his own birthday, his wife’s and his children’s birthday all month long the month of their birthdays. I really like that; I think I will be celebrating thru the month of March. HOW? I have no idea…

Wednesday we are having a Pink Day at the office to celebrating. I have requested pink cupcakes. Yes, I know not part of the new lifestyle, but I am betting even my Coach will say have 1 and enjoy.

The photo attached was taken on March 2, 2008 I was 44, 6 months before I met my amazing coach, it was taken while I was having dinner with friends, but I felt uncomfortable and miserable. This year will be much different.

There are milestones days during this Journey- they need to be acknowledged and celebrated.

Love and Laughter

Hoorah

Terry

Sometimes you just don't know and that is ok

Sometimes you just don’t know and that is ok


During this journey of life – there will be things that happen that we don’t understand or cannot explain. It’s ok when these things happen. Sometimes there is a freedom in the “not knowing”.


There are lots of things that happen that I have no clue how to explain. This week several things occurred for me. For starters I woke up Wednesday morning weeping and crying- for those of you reading this blog that don’t know me, who have not been in my life as some of my readers have been for 20 or more years. Crying and weeping is just not me, I am far too practical and logical for that.


My amazing coach- said it was just my body cleansing a bunch of built up crap. Well that is as good an explanation as there is I guess.


I started thinking about all the other times in my life when I just didn’t know:


* When Edward proposed- I didn’t know what I was doing, how I was going to be a wife, but our marriage worked out well we were married for 20+ years when he passed away.
* Ten years ago when I started working for Doc- I had no clue what this job would be like and look how it turned out. I love what I do.
* When I first met Dr. Wood and we began this amazing weight loss journey. I wasn’t even sure I could loss 1 lb let alone 270. I didn’t know if I’d be able to exercise, or eat the right foods, I wondered about food craving s and would I be able to handle the changes in my body.

Of course the answer to all of these was YES I handled being a wife for 20 years and loved Edward thru the good and bad times. Yes I learned the job of Practice Manager of Reisterstown Family Chiropractic. The weight loss journey speaks for it’s self.


Sometimes just embracing the unknown is where life happens. For it’s the unknown that challenges us , has us grow and has us become the US we truly want to be.


No one knows what the future holds for any of us.


There are many things not know on this journey that we just don’t know.


Love and Laughter


Hoorah


Terry



Love is in the air

Love is in the air
Love is in the air
Love is in the air
Oh oh oh

Love is in the air
In the rising of the sun
Love is in the air
When the day is nearly do

Tom Jones made this song popular when I was a kid- I remember hearing it coming from the radio my Mom kept in the kitchen. I recall her singing along to it.

As we prepare to celebrate Valentine’s Day tomorrow. We think about love, yes there is that amazing romantic love between two people that have declared themselves forever the other persons. This is an amazing love and should NEVER for any reason be thought of as anything less than truly a pure and inspirational love. As I write this today I have friends that are renewing their Marriage vows after more than 15 years together. Congrats Rick and Tina, may your marriage and the marriages of all my friends and followers last a long long long time.

There are other kinds of love too. The love a parent has for a child , the love a child has for a parent, the love siblings have for each other, the love our friends have for us and that we have for them. But there is 1 IMPORTANT LOVE that we all tend to ignore. The love of self.

It wasn’t till I figured out that I needed to LOVE myself, the way I love the others in my life, to begin this weight loss journey. This was such a hard concept for me to learn. I still struggle with it, not nearly as much as I once did.

Once I figured out that I needed to love myself, my life and lifestyle changed. It’s because I love myself that I get up and go to the gym. It’s the motivation for me to each right; it’s what prompts my choice of salad over fried chicken, or a protein shake verse a chocolate milk shake.

Find it within yourself to love you for who and what you are.

As we celebrated Valentine’s day- remember to tell those special people in your life that you LOVE THEM.

I love all of you, especially those of you that loved me even when I didn’t love me.

This journey is so much better with LOVE.

Love and Laughter

Hoorah

Terry

Celebrating Life

CELEBRATING LIFE
Celebration
Let's all celebrate and have a good time
Celebration
We gonna celebrate and have a good time

Kool and the gang sang this song in the midst of my adolescent. I loved the song then and still do.

I have talked about this before and will continue to do so- every day is cause for celebrating but there are some events that should be celebrated more than others.
This past Wednesday I quietly celebrated what would have been my Parent’s 48th anniversary. I celebrated not only their marriage but what their marriage produced, and the love that was uniquely theirs.

Next Monday we all celebrate my favorite holiday of the year. Valentine’s Day. Why is this my favorite holiday? Well yes it is expressed with lots of pink and red hearts, roses, and chocolates all favorite things of mine, but more than that it’s a holiday about love. I am not talking about just the love of a couple but the love of family, friends, pets, and most importantly the LOVE OF LIFE it’s self.
In just about a month I will be celebrating my 47th birthday. WOW – how did that happen? Well we all know I have been working at altering my life style. It’s an even bigger WOW given that in 1993 I was diagnosed with a death sentence and given 22 months to live. That was 18 years ago, not only am I still alive, but I am really living my life, I have lost 270lbs which NO one including me thought possible. I am doing things I never thought I would, things like dancing in the streets of Disney with Chip and Dale, swimming in the Caribbean, and being named Chiropractic Assistant of the year. All amazing given that 22 months sentence 18 years ago.

Maybe because of this, I try to celebrate each day. I really is amazing to me that I can swing my feet to the floor each morning, stand and walk unassisted, go to work and love our patients and staff, work for someone I am blessed to call my best friend, go to Vegas and have a great time, spend time with my family and friends.

When I thought I was worthless, life was not worth celebrating. Nothing was, but now that I have altered my headspace everything in my life is altered. No I really have no plans at the moment on how I am going to celebrate my birthday, but I will be celebrating it.

Celebrations for me are no longer about food. Food is just the fuel my body needs to keep going. Just like putting gas in the car. I have marked each 50lb weight loss with a special reward or celebration for myself, a new digital camera, and Acer netbook, a pink sapphire ring, a Sony reader, and a pink eternity ring.

When most people hear CELEBRATIONS they think of milestone birthdays, weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, etc. But everyday should be a celebrations, everyday is special, when my Grandma passed away she had bunches of dresses hanging in her closet with the tags still on them, all waiting for “a special occasion”, I found it sad that dinner out with my Grandfather, or her weekly high mass where she sang on the Choir were not “special” enough to have warranted wearing one of these beautiful dresses that would then be going to a charity.

CELEBRATE EVERYDAY!!!! Every day is special.

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that my wonderful Coach’s birthday is tomorrow. I hope you celebrate Dr. Wood. May your birthday be as special as you are
.
Celebrate good times, come on!
It's a celebration
Celebrate good times, come on!
Let's celebrate

There are many ways to celebrate this journey. How will you celebrate yours?

Love and Laughter

Hoorah

Terry