I am absolutely loving this...
Last night, I was upset. I felt like I didn't have enough positive quality time with the girls, mostly Kenzie, and I was also upset that I have not been exercising enough, ironically because I feel like I have to stay with the girls, I was talking to (whining to) Geoff about this and then...
"AHA!!"
I can go jogging WITH Kenzie!! She's gone with him once before, it didn't work out well because she couldn't go at his pace, but for me just starting out that is PERFECT because I'm not fast and don't mind stopping so we can smell a flower. Ironically she wanted me to push her in the stroller, lol, something that the Kenzie I now would be insulted at ("I'm not a baby!!") but it was smooth, tough to jog ad push but hey that's just room for improvement. I'll be on the market for a double stroller soon as we move into the house for the walk to daycare and back soon too...steep hill though don't think I'll be jogging then. Weight from both of the girls will make that a decent lil workout too.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Growing up...
Kenzie has this dress, she absolutely loves it and if she could wear it every day she would! She has explained to me many many times, that she needs to wear it because she has not married "C" (a boy in her class) yet. So sweet! I let her wear it unless it is really dirty maybe 2 times a week, it gets dirty a lot so this hasn't been too difficult of an agreement. Today though, I was so sad when I saw what she was putting herself through! Now I don't know if this is every day for sure, but it sure seemed like it! She and I walked into the classroom and right away a boy, I think the one she likes, says, "Why are you wearing that dress AGAIN, you wore it YESTERDAY" and other kids start pitching in saying "Yeah, why do you wear that dress so much" "Why are you wearing it again" and so forth...she didn't react except was quiet and held the door open so I could go. I suppose this is an important learning experience about 'social norms' and what is appropriate, she might not understand how mean they are being, she didn't cry or anything, but (sniff!) it's hard to not feel like i need to protect her. I do think it is good she's learning the natural consequences though. Next time I probably will bring an extra dress she can change into if she likes.
Hit and Run...
Someone at my daughter's school hit my car yesterday!! I got to the school, parked, grabbed Hazel and went inside to get Kenzie, came right back out as we were headed to swimming lessons and saw that my drivers side door was hit! dented in pretty far (way worse than when that big pick-up hit me!), called insurance, police etc.
Soooo frustrating, no note or witnesses. There is a sign-in/out computer for the kids though so I asked them to please look up who was there. I also called the police, they said someone would call me to take a report over the phone.
I'm tempted to go hang out there today from 3:30-4 to see if i recognize/see any cars with a dent in the back corner of their car that matches...such a pain!
What would you do?
Soooo frustrating, no note or witnesses. There is a sign-in/out computer for the kids though so I asked them to please look up who was there. I also called the police, they said someone would call me to take a report over the phone.
I'm tempted to go hang out there today from 3:30-4 to see if i recognize/see any cars with a dent in the back corner of their car that matches...such a pain!
What would you do?
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Ideal Health
I've been interested in my health for a long time. I think it started with being the 'chubbier' of two sister's growing up and wanting to be thinner...now though, it has gone to a whole new level. In 1999 I was 18 years old, and I had a stroke. Having had a stroke I started taking a drug called coumadin. Coumadin is a drug that thins your blood, and since I had a clot (though at the time they had NO idea why) it just seemed to make sense as a precautionary measure to give me a drug to thin my blood so it didn't clot. Interesting things that involve coumadin, are vitamin K, alcohol, and many more things that can 'affect' coumadin, honestly I don't remember them all. I do remember I had to be very careful not to eat too much garlic, broccoli or anything with a lot of vitamin K though, as it could throw off my protimes. Ah...protimes, I was 18, in my first semester at Parsons School of Design and I was in my first year (called the foundation year, known for being a difficult year to put it nicely) and going to the hospital 2-3 times a week to get my blood drawn for a protime test, which measures how fast my blood was clotting.
This lasted for about a year, eventually they figured out some other variables, mainly a PFO that I had in my heart (Patent Foramen Ovale I think is how it is spelled) which is basically a tiny tiny hole between the two chambers of my heart. TEE is the name of the test they used to find this little hole...it was the most disturbing test I'd gotten at this point (until eventually getting a spinal tap a year later that led to a spinal headache, but that comes later). This combined with the fact I was taking birth control at the time of the stroke were my main 'risks' and loosely determined cause of my stroke. To remedy this we scheduled a surgery to put a 'CardioSeal' in my heart to patch the hole (PFO) I believe the day was September 20th 2001...it's hard to forget those things.
Long story short, I had the surgery at Lenox Hill in NYC about a week after 9/11/2001 the doctor happily told me afterward that my risk of having another stroke was back to any other 20 year old girl now. Sometime in the next week, I'm thinking the next day or next month but I'm not sure so I'll say week, I became weak on my right side, and went to NYU ER trying to explain that I thought I was having a stroke. My 'stroke' in 1999 had been my left side, this was on my right, there was freaking out, lots of tests, more coumadin, and eventually a spinal tap (the one I mentioned before) after which I had to get a 'blood patch' procedure to treat the spinal headache caused by my spinal cord leaking and pulling on my brain (terrible terrible terrible, I wouldn't wish it on anyone). Then I was diagnosed with MS on 11/21/2001.
At this point I started doing a LOT of research and found out about the SWANK diet, cut way back on milk, beef, and continued working out (as I'd been doing before) to do all that I could to keep the feeling in BOTH sides of my body from here on out. I learned a lot about the impact of what we eat, the excercise we do, and the way we think about things affects our physica self, and I'm still learning more to this day.
I was first exposed to Arbonne sometime in the late 90's when I saw what my mom was using, then again in 2005 when I went to a party of someone who had come right into the store I was managing offering a facial for free. Skip ahead to 2009 when I was looking for additional streams of income...at first I just figured my mom would like it so she could be my first customer, then I learned about the product. More importantly than that, I learned about what WASN'T in the product, namely cancer causing ingredients found in most other products as well as things like petroleum jelly being a leading cause of aging coming second only to sun damage. My mission for more money turned into a mission to keep people away from parabens and petro-products they put on their skin as well as their families (especially babies!), and of course to provide an alternative with Arbonne. Then of course I lost my job, and so the mission became a dual mission, to protect people AND to make money...
I also found out about something called Trump Network, which is actually in pre-launch, I won't post too many details here but contact me if you want details through the site I have registered with them HERE or you can listen to/read information from Dr. Mac HERE. Basically it is providing custom nutritional sup0plements to people meeting their personal needs as determined through simple metabolic testing and prices WAY below what your doctor would charge for the same service. Again it attracted me because of the high standards for quality of product and the attention to the different needs of different people. Different tests are there to measure variables related to eeverything from allergy testing (which is the next test I'll be getting), how your body deals with stress , absorbs calcium, hormones are processed and so much more.
SO...yeah. It's been a long but short journey and if you have any questions or are interested in any of the above, shoot me an email and we can chat about it.
Cheers!!!
This lasted for about a year, eventually they figured out some other variables, mainly a PFO that I had in my heart (Patent Foramen Ovale I think is how it is spelled) which is basically a tiny tiny hole between the two chambers of my heart. TEE is the name of the test they used to find this little hole...it was the most disturbing test I'd gotten at this point (until eventually getting a spinal tap a year later that led to a spinal headache, but that comes later). This combined with the fact I was taking birth control at the time of the stroke were my main 'risks' and loosely determined cause of my stroke. To remedy this we scheduled a surgery to put a 'CardioSeal' in my heart to patch the hole (PFO) I believe the day was September 20th 2001...it's hard to forget those things.
Long story short, I had the surgery at Lenox Hill in NYC about a week after 9/11/2001 the doctor happily told me afterward that my risk of having another stroke was back to any other 20 year old girl now. Sometime in the next week, I'm thinking the next day or next month but I'm not sure so I'll say week, I became weak on my right side, and went to NYU ER trying to explain that I thought I was having a stroke. My 'stroke' in 1999 had been my left side, this was on my right, there was freaking out, lots of tests, more coumadin, and eventually a spinal tap (the one I mentioned before) after which I had to get a 'blood patch' procedure to treat the spinal headache caused by my spinal cord leaking and pulling on my brain (terrible terrible terrible, I wouldn't wish it on anyone). Then I was diagnosed with MS on 11/21/2001.
At this point I started doing a LOT of research and found out about the SWANK diet, cut way back on milk, beef, and continued working out (as I'd been doing before) to do all that I could to keep the feeling in BOTH sides of my body from here on out. I learned a lot about the impact of what we eat, the excercise we do, and the way we think about things affects our physica self, and I'm still learning more to this day.
I was first exposed to Arbonne sometime in the late 90's when I saw what my mom was using, then again in 2005 when I went to a party of someone who had come right into the store I was managing offering a facial for free. Skip ahead to 2009 when I was looking for additional streams of income...at first I just figured my mom would like it so she could be my first customer, then I learned about the product. More importantly than that, I learned about what WASN'T in the product, namely cancer causing ingredients found in most other products as well as things like petroleum jelly being a leading cause of aging coming second only to sun damage. My mission for more money turned into a mission to keep people away from parabens and petro-products they put on their skin as well as their families (especially babies!), and of course to provide an alternative with Arbonne. Then of course I lost my job, and so the mission became a dual mission, to protect people AND to make money...
I also found out about something called Trump Network, which is actually in pre-launch, I won't post too many details here but contact me if you want details through the site I have registered with them HERE or you can listen to/read information from Dr. Mac HERE. Basically it is providing custom nutritional sup0plements to people meeting their personal needs as determined through simple metabolic testing and prices WAY below what your doctor would charge for the same service. Again it attracted me because of the high standards for quality of product and the attention to the different needs of different people. Different tests are there to measure variables related to eeverything from allergy testing (which is the next test I'll be getting), how your body deals with stress , absorbs calcium, hormones are processed and so much more.
SO...yeah. It's been a long but short journey and if you have any questions or are interested in any of the above, shoot me an email and we can chat about it.
Cheers!!!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Flu Vaccine
Flu Vaccine's are a hot topic every year...and normally I don't think much of those emails that get forwarded around each season made to scare the pants off everyone.
Recently Geoff took a trip to California and met a doctor whose lifes work is dedicated to educating the public about what is going on with the vaccines we are giving our children year after year.
Here is an informative email she sent out today on this topic, I published the flyer that was attached as a web page via google docs with her permission.
DOCUMENT HERE
See, recently I've gotten involved with Arbonne, through which I've learned a lot about regulations and lack there of regarding the poisons that are being used in everything from vitamins to baby soap. There is a huge lack of regulations and information available to the public is tainted. I recommend reading this article & I'll be posting more similar articles as I get them in the future.
Recently Geoff took a trip to California and met a doctor whose lifes work is dedicated to educating the public about what is going on with the vaccines we are giving our children year after year.
Here is an informative email she sent out today on this topic, I published the flyer that was attached as a web page via google docs with her permission.
DOCUMENT HERE
See, recently I've gotten involved with Arbonne, through which I've learned a lot about regulations and lack there of regarding the poisons that are being used in everything from vitamins to baby soap. There is a huge lack of regulations and information available to the public is tainted. I recommend reading this article & I'll be posting more similar articles as I get them in the future.
Friday, July 10, 2009
So close but...
Applying to jobs now...I've got my side projects still going strong but am now focusing on finding a steady stream of income via employment.
I have no problem with this, except of course, I will miss my baby. She is getting close to 3 months old now and the thought of leaving her with someone just breaks my heart. I was able to stay with Kenzie through her whole first year, and though it was a tough year I strongly feel it was worth it.
Now though, there is so much to gain from a job...and lose without one.
My husband of course is also well into the job searching, applying to jobs as a "Web Producer" and other creative project management jobs mostly. I'm also interested in project/program management though the job I'm most interested in has a title of "Strategic Initiative Manager" though I am missing the 5 years of corporate sales they require, so we will see how that goes. I am also applying to a variety of non-profit jobs that are all for wonderful causes. They don't seem to pay as much but I believe that the feeling of doing something that is truly worthwhile and helpful would balance that out a bit. I would really like to learn about fundraising and how the whole non-profit scene works though anyway because Geoff and I have some pretty grand ideas about the kinds of non-profits we want to be able to start in the near future. Some experience in working with non-profits would be valuable in so many ways.
I have no problem with this, except of course, I will miss my baby. She is getting close to 3 months old now and the thought of leaving her with someone just breaks my heart. I was able to stay with Kenzie through her whole first year, and though it was a tough year I strongly feel it was worth it.
Now though, there is so much to gain from a job...and lose without one.
My husband of course is also well into the job searching, applying to jobs as a "Web Producer" and other creative project management jobs mostly. I'm also interested in project/program management though the job I'm most interested in has a title of "Strategic Initiative Manager" though I am missing the 5 years of corporate sales they require, so we will see how that goes. I am also applying to a variety of non-profit jobs that are all for wonderful causes. They don't seem to pay as much but I believe that the feeling of doing something that is truly worthwhile and helpful would balance that out a bit. I would really like to learn about fundraising and how the whole non-profit scene works though anyway because Geoff and I have some pretty grand ideas about the kinds of non-profits we want to be able to start in the near future. Some experience in working with non-profits would be valuable in so many ways.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Mom's With MS
I just launched a new site!! "Mom's With MS" is at http://www.MomsWithMS.com.
I created it after working with another local mom to create a meetup group for Mom's with MS and getting EXTREMELY motivated to create such a resource for other mom's like me who have MS and need a sounding board sometimes!
Please pass along the URL to any Mom with MS that you know who would like to connect with other mom's who are in similar circumstances, it's no fun to go through it alone.
Thing's are tough but looking up!!
Tonight's perfect metaphor for life involves fireworks...a couple of hours ago, I felt like the ultimate failure. It was like this...
...It was dark, I was in the passenger seat, Geoff was driving and girls were in back. Hazel was sleeping and Kenzie was anxiously asking where the fireworks where. I was fuming as I stared at the car in front of us...friends who we recently met and have become very close to. We could hear the popping of fireworks but weren't close enough to see any, it was clear that our friends didn't know where they were going or where/when to see the fireworks and we'd missed them and I was so mad at myself for leaving Alki and couldn't imagine how I'd explain to my almost 4yo why she didnt get to see the fireworks we promised.
Prior to this we had a GREAT night though, fabulous company & yummy yummy food...not to mention the playdate the girls had which was just adorable.
Geoff was very mellow and accepting of it all, pointing out all the good times we had and the great friends we are making.
It got to a point though where ot was up to me. We'd agreed to head toward Bellevue to see what was going on but I recognized where we were from about 10 years ago and told Geoff no...to turn right instead. I am sooo glad that I trusted my instincts and went south to the northern part of Renton by the lake!! It was a perfect scene. Nobody was around, and we could see the whole southern tip of Lake Washington where fireworks were exploding all across the horizon the whole time we were there...and they were far enough away that Hazel didn't get woken up at all which was absolutely an added bonus to say the least!
I could have just kept sulking in the car feeling sorry for myself or being angry at myself for changing the plans last minute...I am so glad that I didn't.
My lesson tonight was to trust my instincts. I knew that it was important that Kenzie saw her friend, Geoff and I have been stressing out so much these days trying to get our numbers out of the red that she needed the fun play time with a friend...and we needed to step away from our problems for a couple hours. We decided that the friendship was more important than being on Alki for the fireworks, I still think that's true and was a good decision, and in the end with the beautiful show that the girls loved it was even better since Hazel didn't have to suffer from the noise, at least not until we got home.
As soon as I saw how clear it was and the lights were popping up in the sky there wasn't an angry bone in my body just pure relief. Kenzie got her fireworks & her playdate.
How we're going to get through this next week I don't know, the important thing is I know we will. We have so so many good things going on right now it is just a matter of time before we get everything back in line.
...It was dark, I was in the passenger seat, Geoff was driving and girls were in back. Hazel was sleeping and Kenzie was anxiously asking where the fireworks where. I was fuming as I stared at the car in front of us...friends who we recently met and have become very close to. We could hear the popping of fireworks but weren't close enough to see any, it was clear that our friends didn't know where they were going or where/when to see the fireworks and we'd missed them and I was so mad at myself for leaving Alki and couldn't imagine how I'd explain to my almost 4yo why she didnt get to see the fireworks we promised.
Prior to this we had a GREAT night though, fabulous company & yummy yummy food...not to mention the playdate the girls had which was just adorable.
Geoff was very mellow and accepting of it all, pointing out all the good times we had and the great friends we are making.
It got to a point though where ot was up to me. We'd agreed to head toward Bellevue to see what was going on but I recognized where we were from about 10 years ago and told Geoff no...to turn right instead. I am sooo glad that I trusted my instincts and went south to the northern part of Renton by the lake!! It was a perfect scene. Nobody was around, and we could see the whole southern tip of Lake Washington where fireworks were exploding all across the horizon the whole time we were there...and they were far enough away that Hazel didn't get woken up at all which was absolutely an added bonus to say the least!
I could have just kept sulking in the car feeling sorry for myself or being angry at myself for changing the plans last minute...I am so glad that I didn't.
My lesson tonight was to trust my instincts. I knew that it was important that Kenzie saw her friend, Geoff and I have been stressing out so much these days trying to get our numbers out of the red that she needed the fun play time with a friend...and we needed to step away from our problems for a couple hours. We decided that the friendship was more important than being on Alki for the fireworks, I still think that's true and was a good decision, and in the end with the beautiful show that the girls loved it was even better since Hazel didn't have to suffer from the noise, at least not until we got home.
As soon as I saw how clear it was and the lights were popping up in the sky there wasn't an angry bone in my body just pure relief. Kenzie got her fireworks & her playdate.
How we're going to get through this next week I don't know, the important thing is I know we will. We have so so many good things going on right now it is just a matter of time before we get everything back in line.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Supposed to lie?
I just did something that people have told me not to do.
I was honest in my unemployment claim. I admitted that yes, I worked 40+ hours in the last week (despite having the worst MS Relapse I have experienced since diagnosis in 2001), and that no, I didn't make any money.
This is after being encouraged to pursue self-employment, which is what I am doing. It was recommended to me that I don't admit to making any money until I am making enough to replace the unemployment funds.
I don't lie, it doesn't feel right.
Now I don't have money, I don't know how we're paying rent, don't know how I'm paying daycare, and don't know what I'm doing for food either. my arm is tingling. I feel like crying but I know it won't help so I will just keep working.
I was honest in my unemployment claim. I admitted that yes, I worked 40+ hours in the last week (despite having the worst MS Relapse I have experienced since diagnosis in 2001), and that no, I didn't make any money.
This is after being encouraged to pursue self-employment, which is what I am doing. It was recommended to me that I don't admit to making any money until I am making enough to replace the unemployment funds.
I don't lie, it doesn't feel right.
Now I don't have money, I don't know how we're paying rent, don't know how I'm paying daycare, and don't know what I'm doing for food either. my arm is tingling. I feel like crying but I know it won't help so I will just keep working.
Things are rolling...
Okay, so day two of what they call the 'Taper' (Prednisone in this case) which is a meant to smoothly take me off of the steroids I had been taking (Solu-medrol).
My feeling is almost totally back, I can safely say that I feel close to 90-95%. All I can really detect is with my right leg, and my right pinky/ring finger. I can't run/jog, but keeping my balance isn't really an issue, nor is walking which I'm thrilled about.
On the other side of things, I have definitely experienced that boost of energy that you hear about from these treatments! In addition to that after listening to a local doctor in nutrition talking about the effects of different supplements and foods have on MS I've taken s0me new supplements today as well (Alpha Lipoic Acid, Sardines, B12). I also had some nice time in the sunshine to boost my vitamin D a bit, any of these could be upping my energy.
The results of this boost today are as follows:
My feeling is almost totally back, I can safely say that I feel close to 90-95%. All I can really detect is with my right leg, and my right pinky/ring finger. I can't run/jog, but keeping my balance isn't really an issue, nor is walking which I'm thrilled about.
On the other side of things, I have definitely experienced that boost of energy that you hear about from these treatments! In addition to that after listening to a local doctor in nutrition talking about the effects of different supplements and foods have on MS I've taken s0me new supplements today as well (Alpha Lipoic Acid, Sardines, B12). I also had some nice time in the sunshine to boost my vitamin D a bit, any of these could be upping my energy.
The results of this boost today are as follows:
- Sent in my application to join the board of CAFETY
- Submitted my application to become an MS Ambassador to represent the NMSS and spread MS Awareness
- I started a new online NING community for Mother's with MS
- Created new MEETUP group for Mother's with MS (so we can meet in person too!)
- Met 2 great women through the course of the day that I hope to be working with soon
- Launched KristinBennett.com again finally (not yet! you can look if you want but it is very in progress...)
- Started July Fundraising Campaign benefitting NMSS
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