Need a New Therapist!

Hi guys! I hope everyone is having a great week! We are halfway there!

Anyone out there a REALLY good listener or certified therapist?!

UGH!

I hate writing this post! It makes me face reality which, right now, is not all that awesome as far as running goes!

Running has actually become a really amazing stress-buster for me. It helps me get rid of frustration and anger and also really helps me focus and zone in on the positives in my life and also the things I need to take a look at changing!

Basically - - - it's my therapy!

Well, about two months before the half marathon I just finished, I "tweeked" my knee. I was at a Cardio HipHop class and my knee kind of just gave out when I landed on it wrong I guess.

I did not want to bail on the Hershey Half-marathon so I kept training and getting in all my scheduled runs but my knee felt unstable and hurt a little at night.

After the marathon I went for X-rays and MRIs and I have now found out that I have a torn medial meniscus and a Bakers Cyst :-(

I have googled it and they look nasty!  The cyst is what was causing the ligament to snap behind my knee and it is a horrible, shooting pain when it happens.

Long story, short...I could not get in for a consult with the surgeon until the end of December!!! UGH!!!! Until then, it is walking only! What?!?!?!

The hardest thing is that I am able to eat the way I want because of running and now I foresee a future of veggies only - it will be salads UNTIL the end of the year?!?!? UGH!!!!

Anyone else out there ever dealt with this? Or know someone that has? How long is recovery? Can I ever run again? 

Your experience, strength and hope is welcome!!!!!

Thank in advance guys! I will keep you posted :-(

Banned from Exercise

Let me first apologize for my absence! I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off! Holiday planning, wrapping, shopping, etc. have had me in a tizzy! I have been really good with my workout routines and losing at a healthy and steady pace! Yea me!!!! Down another jeans size also - whoopie!!!!

And then...of course...life throws a glitch! HA  I woke up unable to turn my head on Wednesday morning...Boo Hoo! Major pain, literally!!! I went into work at 5:30AM and returned home by 7AM to schedule an appointment to get to my chiropractor ASAP.

He xrayed, scanned and tweeked me and sent me home to ice with instructions for NO exercise except walking! That will throw a glitch in your workout plans. Serious though, I could not even walk...the pain was really bad and soooo annoying everytime I moved at all.

I went home and finished out the day working at home and then set in for a relaxing night with myself. (My new boyfriend was busy with a dinner out for his daughter so he was unavailable to hang with me :-(  - more on him later ;-)

So, this was my night! I tried out the GlamGlow mask I got from Birchbox last month....loved it!!!!! Sexy right, in my little chipmunk PJ's!!??

And I spent the evening with this little girl watching over me...

And her little brother snuggling up with me!!!!

All the while...this pot of deliciousness was cooking in the awesome All-Clad Crock Pot that I got from my besty Jenna!!! I made this Chicken recipe HERE - I found it on Pinterest and it truly was amazing! I took it into a luncheon we had at work today and everyone loved it!! YUMMO!!!

I saw this on Pinterest...it totally sums me up right now. I only like to winter when I have someone to hug and snuggle with - my cats work but a real man is so much nicer sometimes...and their attention span for movies is much longer!

This also caught my eye on Pinterest!  I have started dating someone who will remain nameless for now. Lets just call him MH for Mr. Handsome! He is really so handsome and such a great Dad to his two kids, one girl 17 and one boy 15. He works really hard at a good job (in the same line of work as I am) and I have known him for about 8 years now. We have been friends in a common affiliation for years now and he is such a good, sweet, caring and loving guy on top of, did I mention, handsome?!?! Only drawback is that I am a very impatient person and he is a very busy single Dad that puts his kids first (and that is how it should be!) and he is trying to step in for an ex-wife that has really pretty much checked out of life at this point! And again, I am just very impatient. I LOVE that he protects, loves and takes amazing care of his children!  We have not had a lot of time together at all and it is wayyyyy too early to meet the kids so I have to be patient and enjoy the little bits of time we get at this point. As the relationship develops, we can have more time together both with and without the kids but this initial stage is really tough for a person that wants what SHE wants when SHE wants it! HA! HA! The good Lord above is teaching me daily lessons in patience and I have NO DOUBT that this man is worth waiting for so we are taking it really slow right now and I cannot wait to see what develops.

I have to say that I love that new relationship feeling - every time I see him my heart skips a little faster and the butterflies start. He is the worlds BEST hugger! He is tall and strong and when he hugs it feels like nothing bad could ever happen!! We had our first kiss in the parking lot of Pizazz Pizza a few weeks ago and I am sure that, just from that first kiss feeling, this is the start of something amazing. The best part: I trust him with my life already...just from what I know of him as friends, etc. I honestly thought it would be FOREVER after my last two men that I would ever trust another guy but I do with all my heart! I only wish I could share with you the amazing feeling I get when we are together - I love this stage of a new relationship!!! Tingly from head to toes!!!

As I went to bed last night I noticed my beautiful blue crayfish Charlie that was supposed to live in harmony with my tetras is not doing so....

 He is eating them...see the top fish that has no back tail :-(
It is making me horribly sad thinking of how much pain he is probably in too :-(
Sorry to leave you on this sad note...such is nature I guess :-(

On that lovely note:  I hope you are all ready and excited for this Holiday Season!!!  I will keep you posted on all aspects as time and censoring  allow...hee hee!!!!

Happy holidays yinz!!!!!!!!!!

Posted with Blogsy

5 on Friday

TGIF!!! That means its that time again!!! YEA!!

Time for 5 on Friday with  Christina, Darci, April, and Natasha and you should too! 

Here we go!~

ONE:  My run yesterday!! I am sure that this time looks slow for a lot of people that run but for me it is actually pretty great! Especially since I have been icing my knees lately because of slight pain. Not horrible pain but enough the really be annoying when training for a marathon!! The entire run was completed without any pain - yippee!!!  Two more weeks of long run and then two weeks of shorter runs till the marathon - I GOT THIS!!!!

TWO:  Speaking of icing...this is my ice pack at work!!! HA HA!!! Wont be eating these edamame beans anytime soon!!!

THREE:  I built this bathroom shelf unit last night! I got it from Amazon at a great deal! They had it on sale for $119 and I ended up scoring one that was "used". From the description it said the box it came in had some damage and it would be sold for half that so around $60. If you know me at all, you know I am CHEAP!!! I got the beat up one and it came yesterday! One tiny chip on the top and one tiny crack on the INSIDE of the door that you cannt even see! SCORE me...saved over $60.
It took awhile but it is sooo sturdy and thick - I love it!!!

FOUR:  I am absolutely obsessed with our Pittsburgh Bald Eagles nest! The bald eagles built a nest (over 6 feet wide) in Hays right outside of the city of Pittsburgh. A camera is attached to a nearby tree and zoomed in on the nest.  The bald eagles laid three eggs and within the past few days all three have hatched. It is sooo cool to watch via live stream - it is up on the internet 24 hours a day and is free!!! I love this sooo much! You can watch real time as they feed the babies and scare away predators (one archived video of dad scaring away a racoon) - it is soooo cool! Here is the link to the LIVE FEED. Check it out - if you love nature you will thank me! My nieces and nephews are as obsessed as me!

FIVE:  This is my night tonight! I am heading down to the Pittsburgh Convention Center with a friend from work for the Tekko 2014 Convention. It is a comic book convention where adults dress up in comic costumes and visit. My friend is dressing up as a character and I actually helped her make parts of her costume (Swords, blade holder, etc.) all of out foam and spray paint. I PROMISE I will take pictures for you guys and she PROMISED me that there will NOT be any Furries here! I have heard rumors about those conventions and hope to not run into any of them! HA HA

Hope yinz all have a fantastic weekend!! ENJOY SPRING!!!