So what!

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This week is a really honest post about where I am at with my fitness journey! I have been struggling lately and I know I am not the only person feeling this way. If I can encourage anyone with my story, then that is enough to help me get through this slump as well. So, this week, I am saying SO WHAT if you have a bad week or two?!?! 

I want to be straight with you guys...Last month was rough! 

• I had a birth control issue and basically had a 3 week period and then I started my period. Sorry to all the guys reading this, but being a girl sucks and I am not ashamed to throw it out there! I felt like crap all month and I felt really worn out the whole time. 
• I have said it before, but I have lots of food allergies and I have had lots of trouble again recently. I don't know if I am becoming allergic to something new or if something I am eating is contaminated. I feel bloated constantly so no matter how much weight is lost I still feel huge! I don't have health insurance right now, so I cannot go to a doctor at the moment...trial and error I guess.
• I was doing double spin classes and lots of workouts toward the end of Summer since I knew Fall was going to get really busy! I also had a groupon to the local gym, over the summer, but can't afford to pay their yearly membership fees at the moment, so I was trying to take advantage of the classes there! I was exhausted, but pushing through until I started to get knee pain in both knees. I think it was just over use, but the only way to heal tendonitis is ice, Ibuprofen, and rest. 
• I also started back to work. Going from very little signing all Summer to a full week is difficult on the body! My wrists and elbows hurt like crazy and shoulders don't feel great. 
• Oh, I forgot to say I am starting to catch a cold today so I guess I just needed one more obstacle to tackle! 

I don't like to complain, but this is "So What Wednesday" so thats the game! 

Saying that things are rough might be an understatement, but I am trying to get back on track! It just feels like it takes so long to get any improvements, but as soon as you slow down for a second, it feels like you take a hundred steps backward! 

Shaun T. (fitness instructor and creator of T25 and Insanity) posts on his Facebook page daily. I recommend you like his page if you need any kind of fitness support/motivation. Just when I was getting really frustrated, this was one of his posts...

The picture on the left is when I started the Insanity program last time (I had already been working out some, but still not toned much at all) and the picture on the right wasn't the end of the program, but probably the 4th check in/fit-test day. I really started to see results. 

These were taken August 25, 2014 I was feeling really in shape about 2 weeks before this but that's when all of the above started going crazy! I decided I needed a boot camp... I need Shaun T to get me through this slump so I am starting Insanity again and this was after my first fit-test. 

I will do the Insanity program most of the time, but occasionally I will sub in some spinning or cycling. I still have to modify a few of the moves for my knees, but doing something is much better than nothing! Weights are an important addition to the program so I will do my best to continue those on top of the videos. 

Remember fitness is a lifestyle; it is okay to feel like you're slacking and want to improve, but listen to your body and only push it to a level that is safe and healthy! A week is not going to take you back to square one! 

National dog day!!!

Didnt know this was a thing, but everything else has a national day, so why not? 

I love my pups more than words could ever describe!!! Please be praying, Flik will go for his knee surgery next Wednesday!!! 

Love these babies!!!!! 

Thank God it's the weekend!

Ahhh! I made it through my first week! I had schedule changes and extra meetings that made this week extra long! My wrists and elbows are extremely unhappy with me jumping back in so quickly, but I hope that pain will go away in a few weeks once they get used to the long hours of work! I'm thinking a massage is in my very near future! 

Playing with the H family Thursday and everyone was really happy when their mommy came home!!! Even Flik joined in! 

Friday, we just relaxed! Started 'House of Cards' and played some smash brothers on the wii! :) Oh, I also went over to play with the H kiddos for a little while before J came home from work! 

Saturday, we woke up late and hurried to the IM fields before it got too hot! High of like 100 and supposed to feel like 103 by 4pm! J played frisbee with a few teammates while I played with the pups in the shade! 

After about an hour of J's practice, the H fam (minus E because he was out of town) came to hike with us! We had a blast and can't wait to do it again especially with E so we have enough hands to bring their dogs too! 

Then it was back home to bathe the dogs and clean the upstairs! N moved out so we worked on cleaning and reorganizing for a while! It's strange to have the whole house back to ourselves! I love being able to use 3 closets! :)  

Then of course we relaxed at night! We watched the race (I love me some Bristol even if my guys didn't do too hot!) and played some more smash! :) 

J almost ALWAYS wins, but I tried out a new character tonight and really like her! So you know I had to take a picture of me beating him! Ps I promise I'm not a gaming nerd, but I do love this game! Ha! 

Today started a little rough! I was supposed to work a 2 hour assignment, but just after we woke up, I got a call from LA...baby girl O had fallen down a couple stairs and bonked her head. We immediately text our other neighbor J who is a nurse and called my friend Dr. A! J came over and said it deffinately needed stitches. E is still out of town so I watched EK and TJH while LA took O to urgent care. It was so not fun, but O was brave and the other kids were great at going with the flow! Hope she feels better fast because she is fearless and bumps and bangs go with the territory right now! :( 

Well, the rest of the afternoon is full of downstairs cleaning and a good workout! My fall grad classes start tomorrow so I'm just getting ready to hold on tight and pray we make it through this semester!!!! 

It's Wednesday???

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Here's what I'm saying so what to this week! 

So what if...

This week has been so crazy I honestly am not sure what day it is! 

I found out today my wrists are not huge fans of spelling medical terms for four hours, but hey, it's great money! 

I'm sad we set Flik's surgery date (sept. 3rd), but he will be done with his 3 month crate recovery before the holidays so that's one positive. 

I love that we can just hangout with our friends in the evenings right in our back yard! 

America got SYTYCD wrong again! At least Ricky has zero competition now! 

Suits finale was amazing! Period. That's all that needs said! If you haven't seen it, do it! 

I probably have a million more things to say so what about, but I'm so absolutely exhausted and my eyes keep closing, so goodnight! 

Vet Fun and A Slow Weekend!

Well, we finally got the vet to listen when I said something was wrong with Flik's leg! J had to work all night the night before, so he came home, showered, and then went to the vet with us so we could both talk about what needed to happen. We dropped Flik at the vet and she said x-rays would be about an hour so we went to find J some breakfast. Man, I wish I wasn't allergic to everything!!! We tried this really cool little place downtown called The Grit, and it was great and really affordable! 

Lilo came along for moral support... Plus we still don't fully trust her to not eat our house (especially without Flik there to correct her!). 

Li was holding onto Flik's leash to make sure he didn't leave her again! 

We found out it's Flik's knees. His left one is really bad and the right one isn't great. His patella (kneecap) is slipping around and is causing him a good amount of pain. After doing some research, we discovered that the success rate for this surgery is really high. It's a genetic thing, and is fairly common in small dogs. Flik isn't really small, but he is on the smaller side for a Carolina dog, so he may be mixed with something small. It's expensive, and we were already stressing about money because I am taking 3 graduate classes this semester, but of course, we will make this work. Anything to help my sweet baby boy feel better! He's not even 3 years old yet, so I just hope this surgery will give him a pain free, long, and happy life! J is taking him to the surgical center for his consult today so we should know more tonight. They will do the left leg as soon as possible and may or may not have to do the right one later if it progresses. J has been really supportive through this whole thing. Some guys would not be quite so understanding, but he knows Flik is a special pup that would do anything for us, so it's time we show him the same! 

J and I both had tendinitis flaring up in our knees and learning about flik was rough, so Thursday we decided to rest and mope a little. (LILO is on my lap to the right of the picture, so don't think she was left out. Ha!) I also got a sting or bite on my left shin that started to hurt Thursday and didn't start to feel better until Sunday! It hurt to stand or walk so I was a little slow moving all weekend! 

Since we couldn't take Flik out too much, I put up our kiddie pool in the back yard for them... They weren't thrilled though! Thankfully, J went to play disc golf Saturday, so he took Li and used up some of her energy while flik and I lounged by the pool! 

Monday was my first day back to work and the student didn't show, so it was a great first day! Today I am blogging because a clas finished early and now I have a long wait until the next one! 

So What???

Umm I just figured out that it is already Wednesday!!! It was almost a "so what thursday" post, but I still have an hour left! :) Click on the picture above to see the blog where this idea started. 

Here's what I'm saying "So What" to this week!  (SORRY, a lot happened this week I guess, because I had a lot to talk about!) 

So what if....

I am enjoying my LAST WEEK of SUMMER! I really am not ready for this to end! I have been playing with the pups lots and getting the house in shipshape before it all goes to hell! 

So what if I am not loving that I have to learn all kinds of anatomy before I can study to be a fitness instructor, I'm still excited (I'm just not sure when that is going to fit in my schedule!)!

J and I are both a bit cripple this week. I have not been feeling great and pushed really hard last week anyway. J has runners' knee and I started feeling a little knee and elbow pain too. I think I caught the tendonitis in mine early so I hope with ice and Advil we can both kick this out fast!!! 

I am sad because the genius of an actor Robin Williams died this week. It is hard to believe that such a brilliantly funny man could bring us all so much joy, but struggle with happiness himself. I hope that this brings more attention to the severity of mental illness and people who are struggling with depression, addiction, and other "negative" feelings will seek help. There is a support system all around you, you just have to reach out and let your friends and family help you. Sometimes talking through it is enough, but sometimes people need medicine to correct something that their body doesn't produce. It's not bad or wrong to need help, it's just how things are. My body no longer accepts gluten, dairy, greens, caffeine, alcohol, and other things I am still figuring out. I have acne that I would rather not deal with, but does that mean something is wrong with me...no, it's just my body and it's something I have to live with. If I need medicine, vitamins, therapy, or anything else, I will do it to take care of myself. Sorry for the long rant that I hope makes sense! It hard to explain...

J and I were talking about the overwhelming outpour of love for Robin and it is amazing to see that through his work he touched SO MANY lives, but (and I am in no way saying he doesn't deserve every bit of love) thousands of innocent people are being killed right now in Iraq. We just found out that women are being taken as slaves and children are beheaded and there is not half as much attention for them. I loved so many of Robin's movies and his stand up about golf kills me every time, so I am not saying we should care about him less, but we should consider a little more about what is really going on in the world! I know I could do a lot more to help, what can you do? 

I am sorry this post is a little bit of a downer, I really am a pretty positive person I promise! :)

I am loving the show Last week tonight with John Oliver!!! If you guys have not seen it, go to you tube now!!! That link will send you right to his channel! It is so great! He helps teach me a lot about what's going on in the world while making me crack up! Sometimes, well, most of the time, people just make me say... WHAT???? REALLY? Can't believe what is going on in this world! Watched the one on jail and nuclear weapons last night and it just amazes me! 

J is working all night tonight :( I know he needs to and I try not to ever complain about him gone if it's for work. Plus, the pups and I have a lot more room in the bed! ;)

OH!!! I almost forgot! I just finished SYTYCD and it was so amazing!!! Every dance was a huge tribute to Michael Jackson! Loved it! Without any spoilers, I just have to say I am not happy with your voting America!!! Best girl (in my humble opinion) went home tonight and doesn't even get a chance to win! ARE YOU ALL CRAZY??? The men in the bottom two were not right either, but out of the two of them I am happy with who went! 

Here is what I have been up to today!

Last night, Flik was helping me study in such an uncomfortable position! 

Today, he thought I put the blanket and book down for his personal sunbathing use! 


We headed to the park after I got lots of studying done! Lilo never goes out this far! 

We met the cutest little 7 week old Cocker!!!!Both my pups were intrigued! :)

Lilo "walking on water" lol or just balancing on a fallen tree, but she showed some true skill! 

Found an amazingly sweet pit bull puppy to play with! Flik like never cares to play with anyone other than Lilo, but he loved Molly Ann! 

Trying to get lili to swim! 

Lilo deciding it's still not worth it! 

Flik Never retrieves anything, but he wanted to play with Molly so bad! I had never seen his speed like that before! 

So Far, it has been a great Hump day and I still have 25 minutes left!