Gym junkie

How do you know if you are gym junkie? I ask because today I found myself feeling really restless, like something was missing, like I had all this pent up energy that needed to be burnt. To be honest I did contemplate putting that energy to good use and cleaning the house, again. But let’s face it housework does not give you that same feeling of accomplishment that a good physical work out does.

It must be because I missed my boxing session on Tuesday because up until today I hadn’t really noticed anything like this before, sure over the Xmas break I did miss the boxing but it was a busy time of year and it was also pretty hot.

So I’m guessing now I must be a gym junkie, I pretty much work out 4 times a week these days, and do a variety of things like Zumba, yoga and ofcourse the boxing which is by far my favourite! What started out as a challenge, a way for me to push myself and keep healthy,has now become a way of life. I’m happy with that! 

Feeling blah!!!

I feel so sick and miserable. My nose is as red as Rudolph’s from all the blowing, my throat aches and my body feels like I’ve been hit by a truck.

I’m sitting up in bed with my trusty iPad surfing the net and the blogosphere feeling sorry for myself. There is so much I have to do especially tomorrow which is my twins graduation day and honestly I don’t have the energy to do any of it.

My friend just called to discuss last minute preparations for our boys and she suggested I try making myself a warm drink of lemon, honey and whiskey – said it worked wonders for her, she slept like a log. Another friend suggested heating up some Cointreau or Dom Benedictine and adding some honey to that. I’m game to try anything that will help me feel better that’s for sure.

Any other suggestions with or without alcohol???

I choose life

We had CPR training at work today, it is always good to have a refresher in first aid and CPR it makes you feel just that little bit more confident knowing that if the need ever did God forbid arise you would have a small idea of what to do and who knows, hopefully even be able to help save a life.

In Victoria 80% of the population is now trained in CPR this is the highest number for any state in the world. It is quite an impressive number I feel, but despite so many people being trained in CPR many people are still not willing to step in and help in an emergency we were told today. Disappointing I think.

If there is one thing that is drilled into us year after year in these refresher courses is that you should definitely have a go. If someone is not breathing by doing something you are at least giving them a chance at survival whereas by doing nothing you are effectively condemning them to certain death. I hope that if ever faced with a life or death situation that I would choose life.

When it rains it pours!

When it rains it pours!!! How can people be expected to deal with so much heartache? At times it sure feels like some people just can’t catch a break. I am struggling to come to terms with the fact that only 3 short months ago my dear dear friend was on top of the world, had everything going for her. She had a great relationship with her soulmate and husband of 34 years, a good job that fulfilled her, her children were happy living their lives, each of them successful in their own way. She was a doting grandmother, a daughter, sister and best friend to anyone who is lucky enough to know her.

Then in some bizarre horrific twist of fate, her son is diagnosed with a brain tumour, which knocks her for a six, after the shock of that blow and the surgery that followed, it looked like he was on the mend, and life was back to being rosy when wham the second blow, her husband suffers a stroke and dies at the age of 58 leaving her alone, her world shattered, this blow came so left of centre and hit so hard.

Now three months later still struggling to come to terms with her loss and another blow, her sons tumour is returning!! The medication has made working not possible, it brings with it headaches and nausea. For a young man with two very young children this is devastating indeed. For a mother who has already been through so much, even more so.

I wish there was something I could do to help her through this trying time, but there is nothing I or anyone else can say or do to help I am afraid. I feel hopeless ! Yesterday I posted the uplifting quote “count the blessing, not the worries” what happens though when you are all out of blessings like my friend. What does she count now?

Smart Dog Collar

Saw this on Facebook today and of course had to share. A dog collar that can tell you how your animal is feeling. This new smart dog collar promises to tell owners when their pets are feeling happy – and TEXT them when they are sad.

Apparently this invention is designed to monitor the temperature, heart rate and breathing activities of our precious pets. So worried families will be able to tell when their pooches are sick, hungry, or just a bit down in the dumps.

The PetPace smart dog collar has sensors built into the hi-tech device which are similar to those used by athletes to keep a close eye on their health. The collar can also monitor how many calories have been burned in a day and can detect if an animal is in pain by assessing physical and behavioural signs. This kind of monitoring system veterinarians agree could be very helpful in the diagnosis and management of disease.

This hi-tech invention will go on sale in Britain next year for $150, or around £90. What do you think is think???

Dexter is unwell

Dexter is unwell. The call came just on 3pm today from my eldest who had just come home after spending the day with his cousin. Dexter was squealing in pain which as far as my son could tell seemed to be coming from his back legs.

When I got home around 3:40pm I found Dexter shivering on the floor beside my son. He did run up to greet me and the twins (who I’d just picked up from school), but was unable to jump up and down as he always does whenever we come home. He couldn’t even sit down properly and from my first observation I could see that his hip joint seemed rather swollen at either side. Running my hand down his back and across his hips resulted in more screams of pain.

We called the Vet and Madelyn and I drove him down to the clinic, which fortunately is only up the road. Dexter couldn’t jump into the car by himself and so I had to lift him up which of course caused him more pain which resulted in more yelping.

Without an X-ray it is hard to determine what the problem is. The Vet was able to rule out knees and feet, the problem seems to be more lower back /spine and hip. It could be a pinched nerve, it could be arthritis, it could even be nerve damage.

The Vet gave Dexter an anti inflammatory injection and a pain killer injection and has sent him home with a bag full of tablets that he will need to take for the next 10 days. At the moment he seems to be comfortable although he was not able to get up on the couch or the bed, and has chosen a warm spot on the carpet in Madelyn’s room, where she has lovingly wrapped him up in her blanket.

To some people a dog is merely a pet, an animal they have taken in for one reason or another, but for us Dexter is a member of our family, he is the happy face that greets us every day, he is a best friend, a companion, fur kid and fur brother. The boys didn’t want to come to the vet today because they couldn’t stand seeing Dexter in so much pain. Hopefully Dexter has just pulled a muscle and will be back to his crazy bouncy happy ways in no time at all.

Sick dog tip

My mother-in-laws little dog Taya, chihuahua cross foxie, seems to be having a lot of problems lately with her stomach. Ever since my in-laws adopted Taya she has had good days and bad days. Numerous visits to the vet, several tests later and they are no closer to finding out what is wrong. Initially it was thought that perhaps Taya was anxious and it was this anxiety that was causing her to vomit a bile like substance, (sometimes this bile even has blood in it).

On these bad days Taya goes off her food, even getting her to drink water is a challenge. So when I stumbled upon this fantastic idea I knew that this was something I should definitely share. It is simple but effective, just add some low salt chicken broth to your dogs water, a great way to entice a sick dog to drink and prevent dehydration.

I nearly died of embarrassment today..

I nearly died of embarrassment today!! At about 2pm I was putting some files away at work when when one of my colleagues approaches me and informs me that I have a massive split right up the middle of my pants. To make matters worse I was wearing black pants at work today with white underwear underneath!!

So all day long I have been walking around oblivious to the fact that I was flashing everyone my backside. Once the initial horror passed I assessed my options and quickly threw on my raincoat which I had thankfully brought in with me today. Boy was I glad to leave work today.

Why?

Life is so precious, every moment in our lives is a gift that needs to be cherished. I am reminded of this yet again as a dear friend of mine struggles to come to terms with her life being turned upside down.

My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family during these tough times. I sometimes wonder why we are given the challenges that we are. Why it always seems to be the best of us that are given the largest crosses to bear.

I don’t have any of the answers I am afraid, I can only guess that these challenges are meant to test us, to make us more resilient, there must be some greater plan out there that I seem to be missing.

And I guess it all comes down to one thing, and that is the present. We must each and everyone of us live our lives to the fullest. We must be thankful for all that we have. For all the wonderful people in our lives, for our beautiful pets, and even for our jobs, after all they are what put food on the table and help us pay the bills. There is no point worrying about tomorrow for all we know tomorrow may never arrive.

30 Day Facebook AB Challenge

After being inspired by fellow blogger Uncle Spike and his recent post aptly titled “Oh dear what have I done??” I decided to bite the bullet and enrol for the Facebook 30 day AB challenge.

Not wanting to go it alone, I promptly recruited my sister, husband, son and dear friend along for the ride as well. Initially my sister had doubts, which is fair enough. Although the challenge starts off slowly it does build up and so that by day 30 you need to be able to do 125 sit ups, 200 crunches, 65 leg raises and 120 seconds of planking.

Today being only day one of the challenge started off relatively mildly, 15 sit ups, 5 crunches, 5 leg raises and 10 seconds of planking was all that was required. We took turns holding each other’s legs. George wanted to video record his dad on my iPhone but I wouldn’t let him.

The whole thing only took a couple of minutes and of course Dexter wanted to get in on the action, so did the cats. Looks like this challenge is going to be a real family bonding experience, who would have thought?

If you haven’t heard of the 30 day Facebook AB challenge, you can simply google ’30 day Facebook AB challenge’ and it will come up with all the in formation required. You don’t even need yo have Facebook, it’s really just a personal challenge for yourself aimed to make you feel better, healthier and that can only be good right?