Having a Heat Wave A Tropical Heat Wave

Irving Berlin wrote the song back in 1933 and Marilyn Monroe sang it..

We're having a heat wave A tropical heat wave The temperature's rising It isn't surprising, I certainly can-can!

You are probably thinking "What?  We are in November..there are no heatwaves happening here." Wrong!  The Drippy Diva is experiencing her own, internally generated, nuclear level, power surges/hot flashes, tropical heat waves.

The reason she is sharing this is the drippy one has begun increasing her activity level once again.  It has been a long 5 weeks since surgery and she can no longer wait.  In a brief moment of downtime she had this week, the drippydiva hit the gym sans sister-in-sweat and boarded a "dreadmill". Yes, "dreadmill".  She would rather walk outside, but now that it is getting darker earlier we are all being forced to move our activity indoors.

While sweating makes one feel gross, there are many benefits.

-Boosts endorphins and helps to alleviate pain.. -Detoxifies the body.. -Sweat generates a natural antibiotic, such as dermcidin, to help cure any surface injuries we may have.. -Lowers kidney stone risk.. -Helps to prevent colds and other illnesses.. -Zaps zits.. -It's happy juice for the brain.. -And sweating is our own personal HVAC system..

Yeah, sweat is good for us, we might not like it but such is life.

This has been a public service announcement from the sweaty one. Now get movin' and do your body some good!

The Results Are In

In the last installment it was revealed that "The Drippy Diva" had a heck of September; a torn rotater cuff, a new mortgage and a cancer diagnosis. Since then, she is still dealing with the shoulder, she is packing away the funds for the first mortgage payment, and cancer has been dealt with. I am going to dive into my faith for a moment, if you will indulge me.

God has a way of working all things out, period.  In the whirlwind of receiving the diagnosis God was working overtime. To me it's overtime, to Him it's normal.  On a day where I was expecting a call date regarding pre-op testing the call was "there has been a cancellation, we can move your surgery up five days to 9/29."  My thoughts were, hold up, back up the truck! This throws a monkey wrench into the plans that I have made (you know God laughs at that kind of stuff) and now all sorts of calls and conversations need to happen.

After several calls to my husband, my mom, a hotel, and my wonderful boss Deb who said to do whatever I needed, the surgery was set and I was packing up my desk so I could work at home during recovery.  After all, my brains and hands were not broken, it's just below the waist that was out of order.

The Diva had to go to Boston immediately, that night, to get situated to be at the hospital for 8:00 am and then do a wonderful cleanse so there was room for them to fill me with air and make room for all those robotic tools. So I put on my big girl pants and headed to Brighton, MA all by my lonesome (for the time-being.)

Throughout all this, God was by my side.  God kept me safe and calm (as I drove to Boston, at night) and I knew whatever the end result was going to be it would be ok, regardless.

Fast forward to 10/13, my Disney loving Uber driver and great friend Rita and I headed up to Foxborough to hear the pathology.

My Surgeon/Oncologist walks in and delivers the news/results that was being prayed for by so many. Cancer was stage 1A, no spread, all contained, no further treatment besides a one month follow-up with him and 2 follow ups per year with my normal GYN for the next 3 years.

Rita cheered, I thanked God, and the very next words out of my mouth were, bring on Disney.

I am beyond blessed by all my friends and family who have reached out to me and who have cared for me in one way or another.  From the meals (thank you mom and work peeps), the cards, flowers, fruit, emails and texts, I am humbled. I could never thank you all enough.

I look forward to getting active again, as it has been a struggle. The activity restrictions after surgery are/were kind of strict.  My sister-in-sweat has been coming by my house to take me for little walks occasionally (like a dog minus the leash).  I can not go to far or too fast as soreness still presents itself if I over do it, but I am getting better day by day.  Thank you Kelly for your friendship, your prayrs and the laughter while we walked slower than turtles in mud. You are a blessing to me.

So that is all this drippy gal has for you at this time...I would say get me a towel, but the only reason I need one now is for the hot flashes.

It's A Whirling Dervish!!

Holy Smokes!!  September has been a month of craziness.  Long story short, shoulder muscle tear, cancer and I bought a house.

NOT MY MRI!!

First things first, back in May 2016 I was doing my household chores and reached into the dryer to take out the clothes and "OUCH!"  I figured it would pass, yeah, nope, didn't pass and not feeling better.  So I saw my PCP 9/13 and she ordered a MRI. Getting the MRI scheduled turned out to take longer than expected because I did not want to go to the MRI at the physicians practice. After 2 days they called to say that the office could not book the scan without a pre-auth and she reiterated she could book me at THEIR facility.  Um...no...I want to go to Shields. Upon returning to work on that Friday, I spoke with the CIO about the whole pre-auth thing.  He said, why I was asking, so he was informed that I was in need of a scan and my physicians office tried to book one and was told they couldn't do it without pre-auth; but they could book at their facility without one.  His reply, "Hold on, we can fix that.  What do you need scanned and when and what do you want it done?"

I really do work for a wonderful company.  Benefits may not be the best, but my co-workers and the employees here are fantastic.  Let's just say this, we take care of our own.  The motto our company lives by is "treat everyone like they are a family member" 2 days later, scanned; 2 hours later report read and submitted to my PCP.  Have I heard from my PCP yet, no.  Do I know what's wrong, heck yeah.

Now the second event is a little troubling but I do not have fear.
Three years ago, in September, I had a thyroidectomy because of cancer.  Out it came and and I have been cancer free, until.....

I don't want to get in depth, after all, this is the Internet and you have no idea who is reading it.  When you are a female you know when something isn't quite right.  Well, I knew something was not right when Aunt Flo was showing up sporadically for 3 weeks straight.  So I made a call and was booked the very next day for an appointment.

I have spent entirely too much time with my legs in stirrups riding a ghost horse with no name.  A smear, an ultrasound and a biopsy later, results come back on 9/21 as cancer.  Freaking wonderful!!  All my lady parts below the waist need to be exercised like a demon - ASAP.

I can not lie, that diagnosis kind of gripped me by the gut and put me into a 24 hour session of unknowing and fear.  Why me? Why now?  I don't have time for cancer and everything that goes along with it?  I have more things I want to do? God, what the heck, didn't I pass my test of faith the last time?  Don't you know I am buying a house? I have obligation and commitments that I take seriously...come on!!

Saw the gynecologist oncologist yesterday 09/22 to confirm diagnosis and schedule surgery for 10/3 to get the parts removed.  I am glad it is fast tracked, I have a vacation in November. I know, health first but I LIVE for my vacations.

If the results of the pathology prove that cancer is contained and has not spread I will be good to go. Normal recovery time six weeks, short recovery time 2-3 weeks.  If the pathology comes back and it has spread further treatment will be necessary.  We will cross that bridge when and if it gets here.  No need to worry, worry only steals joy from life, and dang it, life is too short.  I am enjoying my time here.

People say I look at life through rose colored glasses.  That may be true 3/4 of the time, because I choose to look for the good in all things, BUT I acknowledge the other 1/4 of the time where realist views are necessary.

I am hopeful because God is concerned with everything about me and I have faith that tells me whatever it is, God has this and things will be as He plans.  This is not a shock to God, but it is a shock to me.  We all have an expiration date, I'm just hoping mine does not come up for a LONG time.  This is a testimony in the making to prove God is good in ALL things.

Time to bring this post up to my normal happy place. If all this medical madness was not enough stress for one person, I closed on my house today!! We have been living in a family home for 12 years now paying rent that covered all the basics of house maintenance, no one was getting rich and we had a roof over my head. Again, no need to get into the specifics but we bought the house and now I have a mortgage. Buying a house was not on my bucket list but God has a plan.

Oh, I almost forgot!! This coming Sunday, 9/25, #theleakinglady and #thedrippydiva are doing a color run in Providence.  I still need to keep moving!!

So here I sit, shoulder muscle tear, lady part cancer, a new mortgage, planning a Disney trip, doing a colorful 5K this weekend and happy to be alive.

I think I need to go for a walk....

Sending you all love from #thedrippydiva

MOVE IT or BUST

One of the questions that some of my friends have asked me is "Why are you exercising?" "What motivates you?" "How do you stay motivated?"

Those are 3 questions which I think about and rehash often.  So here are my answers today (subject to change depending on my mood).

Let me be up front and tell you all this....I don't enjoy exercising.  The professionals tell us "exercise, it makes you feel better", "exercising gives you energy," "you will sleep better," "exercise relieves stress." For some, these may be a true statements.  For me, it's  horse pucky. When I am done exercising I am tired, sweaty, and I feel like a 5'7" pile of blah.  I have no more energy now then I had 10 months ago when I started this whole process.  *Disclaimer* I have always had plenty of energy so that is why I notice no change. My sleeping pattern has not changed, on average I get 6 hours of sleep on weekdays and I am lucky to get 7 on weekends. My internal body alarm goes off at 4:30 so there is no getting around it.  But I digress...

1. First question that needs to be answered is Why?
Basically the reasons why I do this is over the past few years, whenever I saw my primary MD she always brought up my weight and all my diagnoses.  Obese, high blood pressure, acid reflux, type 2 diabetes, my health post thyroid cancer (I am fine - nothing to report - no cancer has returned). Her topic of discussion, weight loss surgery.  She has talked to me at length about the options and her recommendation is to have gastric bypass surgery.

This is a serious surgery (and like marriage) should not be entered into lightly.  It would mean a total revamp of my lifestyle (and my husbands). Surgery is an option that may be right for some people at different stages of thier lives.  At this point in my life, I do not wish to go down that path, for now. So the path to a smaller, lighter, and healthier me is old school diet and exercising.

2. What motivates me?
Hmmmm...the fact that I do not want to go under the knife is one MAJOR motivator. The committment I made to exercise and be an accoutability partner to my "sister-in-sweat" is reason number two. I promised I would exercise 3 times a week, so when my word is given, I do my best to keep it.

3. How do I stay motivated?
Simple answer, refer to the question 2 above above.

There are some frivilous and selfish reasons why I am doing this as well, I can not lie.  If you know anything about me, you know my vaction spot of choice is WDW.  Going to the happiest place on earth requires LOTS of walking (minimum 9-12 miles A DAY), but it also requires stuffing myself into airplane seats and ride vehicles. Both things can be challenging and humiliating.

I hate the fact that when boarding a plane I need to ask for a seatbelt extender. I dislike the fact that my poor husband gets stuck in the middle seat so my girth and fatness does not invade a strangers space.  Just once it would be so nice to tell  him "Babe, of course you can take the window seat."

The uncomfortable feeling of worrying that I will not fit in a ride vehicle at the parks and not be able to enjoy ride makes me sad and anxious.  At Disney, fitting in a ride vehicle is not normally an issue (Disney ride vehicles are Pooh-sized friendly), but occasionally when I get in one, my constant companion know as "bertha" gets in the way of a lapbar or seatbeat. I have to physcially pick "her"up and then put "her" down so the lapbar or seatbelt can be in a proper position for the ride to proceed safely.  It is not very comfortable and is very embarrasing.

So a small goal is that by my next vacation, I hope to not be asking for an seatbelt extender when I get on the plane.  I will know sooner rather than later.

Who Wants Bling? What girl likes bling?  This girl!!  So as small goals I have been doing 5K races, both in person and virtually (we can cover virtual racing at a later date.) Another goal that was set is to do a Disney Princess 5K AT WDW - that is happening Feb 2017.  I am signed up and currently walking/running trying to achieve a 16 minute mile - I am almost there.  What do you get at the end of every race? BLING BLING!!

I don't want adult..
I know that if I do not exercise 3 times a week I will never get to the time goal needed for the Princess 5K, nor will I be able to lose weight successful (having no thyroid also impeeds the process.)  Those facts (and my hands) get my ample size deriere dressed and out the door, that and a promise. As long as I am upright, and I am physically sound (no colds or injuries) I am getting dressed and hitting the pavement or "dreadmill" weather dictates location.

There are days that I JUST DO NOT want to exercise, and there are somedays my schedule and the schedule of my partner in sweat do not line up (I prefer not going alone - if I have to sweat someone is getting sweaty with me.) For days like that, I put out the call out to my friends or drag my most faithful groom with me. Thank GOD for my friends & Chad, without them this journey would not be as successful.  I also know me, if one day is skipped, one turns into two and then, BAM!!,  its been a week and I have not moved.

So that is what keep me moving and loosing.

Friends, I know that this journey to better health is not easy and can sometimes feel lonley, and be very frustrating to say the least.  It also know that you my feel like you are doing all that you can and the scale is not moving and there are no visual physical changes.

Know this, everything you do will yeild results - the changes may be happening internally, but they are happening.  Please know, you are not alone.  Just keep moving and grooving ladies it will pay off in the end (and I am not talking about your backside)...if this #drippydiva can do it ANYONE can.

That's it for now...someone get me a towel the sweat is on!

It's a Colorful World

This past weekend I participated in the ColorVibe 5K event in Seekonk, MA at the Seekonk Speedway.  The charity supported by this event was the Ronald McDonald House. A group of ladies from the FB group Stronger Together participated, Kelly Coury, Donna Drew, Lisabeth Dion, and yours truly. We arrived at the Speedway at 7:00 am dressed in white ensembles and were ready to roll. Registration took place and we hung out waiting for the event to begin.  While lingering we watch many people of different shapes and sizes file in all sorts of attire. Around 8:15 am a Zumba class started.  Let me tell you, when I grow up I want to be as fit as those instructors.  Wholly Macaroni!  It was a warm morning and those ladies were tearing it up.  God Bless them!

If you would have told me 9 months ago that I would be participating in a Color Run/Vibe event I would have told you "you are nuts!"  But low and behold, here I was standing around with 1000+ other people waiting to get colorized.

The run kicked of at 9:00 am and the four of us started together in the second wave of runner/walkers.  I must admit it was a neat experience to run through a cloud of colored pink dust.

We trekked 3.1 miles through the property area of the Speedway.  Who knew they has so much land!  I started running and ending running, but in the middle I walked.  The land was not flat with lots of places anyone could have sprained an ankle.  You all know me, I am as graceful as a cow on crutches.

Donna Drew lead the pack and the rest of us walked together at points in time.  When it was all said and done we all finished the race colorful as could be. Kelly crossed the line multiple times for fun and celebratory purposes.

We thank Mark Lambert and Kaycee Lowengrub for coming out to support us.  Thank you Mark for the crossing line pictures.

Moral to the story...

My friends, Henry Ford said this

 
You will never conquer a goal you don't set for yourself, no one can do it for you.

The good news is if you set your mind to achieve a goal and do everything in your power to attain it, you WILL do it.  We live in a "microwave society" we want it now.  Listen. the timing may not always be what we want it to be, but DO NOT give up.

Quitters never win and Winners NEVER quit. This is #thedrippydiva signing off.   Someone get me a towel......

How Did This Happen?

I was doing laundry a few weeks back I was mindlessly sorting, washing and folding. When I went to put the clothes away I realized there was a drawer of workout clothes.."how did this happen?" I thought to myself. So lets back up to Thanksgiving 2015.

My husband and I were at the dining room table of my sister from another mother.  We had just consumed a wonderful Thanksgiving feast with all the trimmings.  All parties were full and no one had fallen into the "turkey coma".  Kelly made a comment that she would like to start working out because she wanted to improve her health.  I opened my trap, a.k.a. my mouth, and piped up saying "I have a membership at Planet Fitness.  If you want to go try it out and see if you like it we can meet up there one day and workout." That was the statement that got this whole ball rolling.

I've had a membership there for many years and went occasionally when feeling up to the challenge of trying to get fit.  Visiting PF is not uncomfortable as they are a "judgement free", although what to wear to the gym was a nightmare.  

I normally want to wear long shirts to cover all my rolls and more importantly cover "Bertha". 

Yes, I have named the fat apron that is located on the front of my body Bertha.  She is a constant inconvenience and should have her own zip code.  Let's face it we all have problem areas, mine span between my neck to my knees but more precisely there is more belly than butt, which makes the lower hemisphere of my frame the issue.  Anyhow back to the story...

We visited together, Kelly liked it, we made a commitment that if she joined we would workout a few times a week. 

I only had one pair of workout leggings and a couple of 5x t-shirts that were huge, long, covered everything I needed covered and also took care of hiding the bat wings better know as my "second wave".

Side note...why do we call the clothing we place on our bottom half "a pair?"  Granted I am big enough to wear 2 but heck, I am only wearing one garment, but I digress.

This is what I was going to have to wear to cover up this bohemith size body due to my embarrassment of Bertha and my other unattractive bits.  After a few weeks I found that I could no longer handle these long t-shirts as they were heavy got in the way.  

Side note, I sweat like a nervous bride so these shirts would also keep the heat in and cause me to sweat even more. #drippydiva party of one.

This began the quest to find clothing that I could wear that would cover my ample tummy and yet be cool enough to work out in.  It started with sports bras because I only had one, then it was tank tops, shortly thereafter I progressed to workout skorts instead of leggings for these summer months. Before I knew it I had workout clothes.  Thank goodness because I needed them and use them three times a week.

The moral of this story is....heck, there is no moral.

I have a drawer full of workout clothes!