Pretty much amazing!!!

Yes that's right...I got to go running today! Not far, but it felt great! I only was allowed to run up to 2 miles, so I ran a mile and a half because I didn't want to push it too hard too fast. It was really awesome to even just be back in the gym again! Plus the run didn't feel to bad either. I was in a very small amount of pain...more so, discomfort, not pain. Anyway, it was awesome!

Then I met up with one of my friends from work, who I've been hanging out a lot with and did some shopping. No luck on finding a top that I liked, but it was still fun. We then headed over to check out some canvas. Why you ask!? Well, she is having me paint one of my designs for her! It is going to be HUGE (30 x 40 inches)! It's going to be different from the previous ones that I've done too because it will be horizontal instead of vertical, and it will be earth tones instead of bright bold colors with black and white. I really think it will turn out great though! Hopefully I'll have it done in the next couple weeks. I'll be sure to take a picture of it, and post it for sure!

After my long day out, I got home kind of late and when I got in my apartment...there was a HUGE box in my living room! It was my massage table! I tore that package open real fast and popped it up to see how it looks and the different features on it. This one has a arm rest/sling so the client can rest their arms under their face if they would like. Also, the face cradle is adjustable so, I can tilt it to where is most comfortable! I'm pretty excited about having it so I can actually get some massages in outside of class. Seriously, this day was just what I needed! So awesome! Over and out!

Lo!

Another Blow...

Just when I think that I'm full on my quota for bad news...I get another blow. I found out last night that my aunt has breast cancer. I really don't know much about the situation, as far as treatment that she'll be going through, but I know that she has stage one breast cancer. Obviously this is not going to be an easy road by it self, but with the added stress of another situation, it's going to be a long uphill battle. Please keep my aunt, and the rest of my family in your prayers as we brace for impact (or at least that's how it feels). Thank you so much.

Over and out.

Lo

Prayers

I'm not going to any detail right now, and possibly not at all in the future. Please keep my family in your prayers. We have some serious things that the whole family is dealing with and needs all the support possible. Some of you might have an idea what is going on, and if you have any questions please contact me. I don't want this to get muddied and create even more problems, hence why I'm not really saying anything. Thank you for your support and prayers.

Over and out.

Lo

Running...

Running...

Only through my head...

So fast it seems I can't stop...

I can't really even understand all of my thoughts...

It's as if I'm running so fast that my feet aren't even touching the ground...

Thoughts that need to be understood and dealt with...

Running...

Only wishing that I could actually run physically...

Wishing that there was some way that I could train again...

Wishing that the pain would go away...

Sitting here in pain unsure why...

Scared of what the possibility is...

Running...

Feeling as if I'm running and rays of light are streaming by my face...

Only able to focus on things for a brief moment before the next thing comes rushing at me...

Trying to take in as much as I can...

Trying to focus on the small flicker of light that isn't moving in any direction...

Trying to slow down and let nature do it's thing...

Running...

So fast I can hardly breathe...

Breathing in only enough to get by...

Not enough to excel...

Over and out...

Lo

Possible surgery!? UGH!

Well I've been away from the blogging world for a while, so I'm going to update this a little bit. This past week has been crazy. Between class, work, and acupuncture appointments I feel like I've been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off!

I had an acupuncture appointment on Tuesday, and was told to see how far I could walk with a vigorous pace before I started to feel pain. Well that didn't last long at all. I only was able to walk about a quarter of a mile before there was pain, and then stopped when I was at half a mile. It took every ounce of restraint to not up the pace to start running, yes even though I was in pain. I was, and still am so frustrated! I went back to my chiropractor on Friday and we sat down to talk about what is going on. She mentioned that she was frustrated that things aren't moving faster and thought that I must be frustrated as well! She couldn't have been more correct! She discussed with me about going to a family doctor to get an MRI done of my ankle (this is not my MRI, just a picture of one). We talked for a while about it, but even if they find a tear and want to do surgery, I wouldn't have it done until after the race anyway. So I'm holding off on that for now and I'll continue with the treatments that I've been receiving, but will have more aggressive treatments.

So after discussing my options for a little bit, I had my adjustments done, and then it was acupuncture time. She made a comment that she doesn't even need to look at the acupuncture site chart anymore because you can still see the pricks from the sessions before! Eek! Anyway, so when I was getting them put in she said that she was going to use a new point, but that it would be VERY painful, just to warn me. So I made sure to take a few deep breaths before she was to stick it in...in the very bottom of my heel! OUCH! I literally moved forward some when she did that, like I was trying to get away from the needle! It's a good thing that my pain tolerance is high, but dang that one really hurt! I also had the electrodes on longer than normal, in hopes of a faster recovery. So I'm not allowed to walk anymore than I have to, or anything else that would use my foot really. As you can guess, I'm so not excited about that, but there really isn't much I can really do. I did and get some insoles for my shoes that I wear for work, so hopefully that will help some too. I don't have another appointment until Wednesday, but I have a feeling I'm going to sit down and discuss my options with her further. I'm running the race...well okay, if I have to walk, or crawl, I'll do that too, but I'm going to finish it! Call me stubborn if you want, but I call it determination! Over and out!

Lo

I'm back!

Well it's been a while since I've posted anything on here, so I'll do a little recap...

I started training at work on Wednesday, which it went really well. I'm learning my way around the store, which being that I'm a regular customer it's coming to me really easy. I have already picked out a few things that I'm planning to buy, big surprise I know!

Friday I went to another acupuncture appointment, which seems to be helping, just not fast enough for me. After my appointment I met up with a few classmates and had some amazing pizza!

Yesterday I had the day off which was nice to just hang around and catch up on a few things. I finished reading Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson, and went out and bought Soul Cravings by Erwin McManus, which was recommended to me by a friend. I already have read quite a bit of it, and really am diving in. It seems to be a pretty fast read so far, and really gets you to think about a lot at the same time. I'll give you my final verdict once I'm finished with it.

Well nothing else too exciting really going on...still no training for my race...which really is starting to get to me! Over and out!

Lo

Acupuncture & God moments!

Well I had a new experience today! I went to my chiropractor and had some acupuncture done! It wasn't actually all that painful, which was great! I think I ended up getting around a dozen needles all together. Most of the needles were in my foot, or ankle area, and then a few up my legs. Honestly, I can already start to feel a difference, which is amazing! I have an appointment this Friday to check and see if it is working, as well as a few more adjustments, but I feel like things are finally moving in the right direction.

After my appointment, I had dinner with my classmate who came to the appointment with me. It was such a God moment. The entire way out to my appointment we talked about God, faith, sin, forgiveness, etc., as well as at dinner some too. Then we went and got coffee and talked for another hour at least about it all even more. It was so amazing! I know that she is searching, and questioning things right now, and so it was awesome to be able to talk to her about all of that, and to let her know that I'm here whenever she has any questions, or anything. It was so cool to be sitting there talking about God, drinking coffee, and honestly feeling like God is speaking right through me. I think I just realized why I was supposed to come out here to school rather than somewhere closer to home. What an amazing evening! Over and out!

Lo!

Art of another kind....

Well I just tried to find a picture that would work, but no luck, so I'll do my best to explain what I would have for the picture! So tonight for dinner I wanted to make something with a few of the potatoes that I had. I thought about making mashed potatoes, or a baked potato, but then I came up with a GREAT plan! So I sliced up the potatoes, and cooked them on the stove in some water until they were cooked through, and then put them on a cookie sheet with some salt and pepper and baked them for about 20 minutes! Talk about amazing homemade french fries! They didn't even need ketchup! Plus I have enough left over that I'll be able to snack on them tomorrow on my break at school! Yum!

Also...I was making some green beans, and would normally put some bacon in to give them flavor, but didn't have any. I did have some turkey pepperoni though! So, I threw in about a dozen slices or so of them to give the beans some added flavor, and they really did the trick! I took the pepperoni out, but I can't see why you couldn't leave it in if you so desired! Dinner was random, but very tasty! Over and out!

Lo!

Finally!

New Design Image

Well I finally finished my new art design! It took me a little longer than I was hoping, but that also had to do with some very intricate detail with the broken pieces of the vase. It's not so easy trying to get tissue paper and rubber cement to co-operate with you! Anyway, so feel free to click on the image above and it will take you to the web album which has the design in a few different stages throughout the process. Also, please let me know what you think, I'd really love to hear what people think about it! Over and out!

Lo!

Running again!

Well you can guess that is so not a picture of me! I just thought I'd find a picture of someone running because...I actually ran today! First time in almost 2 weeks! Granted this was a very short distance, only 1 mile, but that was what my chiropractor wanted me to do. To test it out and see how my ankle felt. So I tested it out, and I let it get to about a pain level of about a three, and made sure to really be aware of the pain levels. I was able to finish the mile without having to stop because of a pain increase, but it's looking like acupuncture is going to happen this Tuesday. I'm not too sure what to think about it, but am going in with a very optimistic view and really feel like it will help. Over and out!

Lo!

Exams, Adjustments & Cards...

Well today was my written final for Deep Tissue/Sports Massage, and did really well on it. I think it only took me about 15 minutes to take the 100 question exam! I received an "A" for the written as well as the practical exam which was the previous day. So I have a solid "A" in the class. It's amazing to think that I'm already finished with four sections and moving on to neuromuscular next week! To prep for the test today a bunch of my classmates got together yesterday evening for dinner and studying, although not much studying got done. From what I've heard though, everyone that was over passed with "A's", so we're talking about doing this before every final. I think it would be really awesome if that does end up happening, but we'll see what the verdict is in about six weeks!

After class I went and worked out a little bit with some upper body weight training, but am playing it low key for now with my legs, specifically my ankle. I had another chiropractor appointment today for more adjustments, and re-taping around my achilles tendon. Hopefully this will help out, and I'll be able to feel improvement by the beginning of next week. I already have an appointment made for Tuesday for possible acupuncture if I'm still not seeing much improvement, so we'll see if I do end up getting that done. My doctor did warn me that if I do get it done that it is going to be rather painful just because of the area, so prepare myself if need be. Which my pain tolerance is crazy high anyway, so I don't think it should be too bad, but I guess we'll find out if I do end up getting it done.

Also, Monday I will be going to Hallmark to fill out paper work for my new job! I'm just waiting on technicalities, but I talked to the manager and she said that I'll start training by the end of the week! If you know me at all you know that I love snail mail, especially cards, which I literally have a pile at all times just on the chance that I feel the need to send one to someone! So now that I'm working at one of the main sources of cards, yeah I'll be in a little bit of heaven! Seriously, it's like the Mother ship is calling me home! Over and out!

Lo!