Pay Yourself Back

Well, well, well.  The drippy one finds herself with a pocket of time so let's wind back the clock back to December 2016 shall we?

The story begins with getting my fitness journey back on track after recovering from surgery (covered in my other posts) and still in training for my very first Disney Princess 5K to be done in Feb 2017.  For giggles and grins, the diva and a small group of friends decided to try something new, run/jog/walk 2017 miles in 2017. This is a program associated with Run The Edge.

My sister-in-sweat, my daughter from another mother, one of my Disney loving friends and the drippy one joined forces and set out to accomplish the goal to cover 2017 miles in 2017.  As a team we hit that number by June 2017 I believe.

Personally, my chubby stumps carried me through 1346 personal miles.  Let me say that again, the #drippydiva and all of her sparkle-like sweat and flapping fat wogged to a personal grand total of 1346 MILES.

This former couch potato who would rather sit and binge watch a TV series actually got of her more than ample buttocks and covered 1346 miles.  It's still unbelievable to me.  If I could have only earned cash for that I would be rich!

So as 2017 was nearing the end new goals for 2018 needed to be set, so why not do it all over again? Princess Marathon, 10K this time (signed up and participating at the end of the month) and lace up my Sauconys and take a stab at doing  2018 miles in 2018.

Sounds a bit daunting but when you break it down it is roughly 5 miles a day for the next 365 days. HAHAHA!  Knowing myself and my body in its current state, I know I will not be able to wog (walk/jog) 2018 miles.  However, besting myself and complete 1500 miles is something much more attainable.

I put a call out to my trusty friends and we formed a team for 2018 - we call ourselves the #DisneyDivas..wonder why?!  We are committed, as a team, to complete 2018 miles.  As of today, this mighty group of 3 ladies have already logged 328 miles, not too shabby.

Back to my title and my thought about making money for exercising.  If you are familiar with the whole rewards concept - you do something (like run mile) you get something ($$).  What? Pay yourself for exercising?  Yup, that is exactly what is happening.  For every mile I am depositing .25/mile into a jar.  As it stands today, I have successful deposited $30.75 into the run jar.

What will I do with the funds? More than likely I will put it towards something Disney related, after all it’s all about MM.  The other possibility would be putting the money towards new sneakers.  Last year I went through 4 pairs.  Never in my 49 years have I ever worn our a pair of sneakers, never mind ware the treads down to flat on 4 pairs? That's it for now, stay sweaty my friends.

Am I Really Running?

The tile of this post is the question my brain fires off when I find myself at the gym on a “dreadmill” doing 3.7 miles/hr or approximately a 16 minute mile. Why does this even enter into the brain of someone working hard to make changes to build healthy habits and improve their body image?

When you are “fluffy” the natural action of comparing yourself to “thin” people just happens.  I see all these individuals effortlessly pacing along at 6-7 miles per hour, and here I am expending every ounce of energy to run an apparently slow 3.7 miles an hour. 

This is when I get a visit from those two little people that live inside my brain named Negative Nellie & Positive Polly.  You know they exist, I am not the only crazy person.  

Nellie says  “You have no right to say you are running. You look foolish, sweating like a pig on a spit, breathing heavy, fat bouncing every which way, why don’t you just quit.”  

Polly pipes in and says “Gurl!! Who cares what everybody thinks?  Gym hair, don't care! You are sparkling like the drippy diva that you are! You are crushing it! Run girl, run!”

The mindset of self-hate can and will breakdown even the strongest willed person and deflate motivation in the blink of an eye.

The only thing that can be said is do not listen to “Negative Nellie.”  She is not a fan and will hinder your progress. Tell “Nellie” to back up the bus and step off because she is not welcome on this ride.

For me, YES, running is happening on the very machine being occupied.  Granted my stride is short, but this girl is getting faster & healthy as time goes by.

The lesson that needs to be learned is to never compare your goals, the way you look or your journey to someone elses goals and journey. 

Fast or slow, a mile is a mile and every drop of sweat makes me sparkle like the #drippydiva that I strive to be.

Full Exposure Disclosure

So my Sunday started off as a normal day.....

Roll out of bed, make sure the other half gets up and dressed, grab the prepared gym bag (prepped the night before) and out the door we go.  Pull up to church 7:30/7:40 am shove my beloved out of the car - yell to him as he exists "now get out!" Arrive at the place of no judgement - work out for the predetermined time - fulfill my roll as the #drippydiva, grab my gym bag and off to the locker room I go.

NOW....this is where things take a turn

• Get in the stall, unzip the bag, mindlessly empty it, place soap and shampoo in the shower, return to the changing stall, hang clean clothes to jump into when complete

• UNDRESS and put all sweaty clothes into plastic bag to contain the ungodly aroma of sweat

• Here I am, in only my birthday suit then go to reach for.........my towel....

Yeah.....I totally forgot to pack a flipping towel.  How the heck did I forget to pack a towel?!?!

So I apologize to all people I came into contact this morning at church for my offensively nasty hair and the possible odiferous aroma that may have accompanied me.

LESSON:  double check your gym bag before you leave the house 

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!