Starting a new journey of change.......

It has been a long time since my last post. Things in my life have changed a lot since then. My two oldest daughters have graduated from college and just this past May my youngest daughter graduated from High School and she will be starting college next week. We are extremely proud of all three girls. Have you ever heard the saying " Don't blink! "?  Well, I just had to go ahead and blink. It does not seem possible that my girls are old enough to be at the spots they are in but the plain and simple fact is that they are. No matter how much wishing they could still be little girls does not change the fact that they have grown up before my eyes and have become smart, funny, talented and strong young ladies. Some would tell me that I have done my job. In fact, some have already told me that. I have always been very involved in my girl's lives. Whether it was helping in their classrooms, working on the PTA, being their Team Mom or being the sideline photographer trying to capture all of their moments it was always very important to me to be involved in what they were doing. I did love it that is for sure. I can't help but feel a bit sad as everything in my life is now changing. Can you relate to this feeling? Well, I hope to find my way through all of the changes that life has in store for me with laughter, grace, and patience with myself and others. Transition is not always something that I enjoy. I really do not like the feeling of the unknown. I was very comfortable with my life as it was.

I can not tell you how many times people have asked me " What are you going to do with your life now that Holly has graduated?" Believe me when I tell you that it really is a frequent question that I get from people. The question is not meant to make me feel bad and I know that but the bottom line is I often walk away feeling bad. I do have a life that is very blessed and full with or without my girls in school and all of the extracurricular things that I was involved in. I was lucky enough to have been very involved in activities that two of my closest friends were also involved in. We got to work on many things together. We will continue to do many things together without a doubt and I look forward to the new things that we may try to do. They still have a couple years left with their girls in High School and I know that I will enjoy being able to watch them participate in the things they love at school however their boys are going off to college within the week. There are also things that I know I will miss dearly, like Friday Night Lights and Basketball games where Holly cheered on the sidelines. There are a host of other things that I will miss so much.  I will miss the interaction with her friends that are still in school and her teachers as well, some of which were awesome.

I truly believe that God does not close a door on you without opening a window. I know that new things lie ahead for my girls as well as myself. I got to thinking that I surely am not the only person that is going through changes. It got me thinking about my blog. I decided now would be a great time to get back into it. The adjustment of no longer having a child in High School and entering College is not the only thing that is changing for me. This next change really started prior to Holly graduating. I had not been feeling great and went to the doctor. It was not a surprise that I needed to improve and change my life as far as losing weight and changing the way I eat. I started back up at Weight Watchers. I can tell you that I have tried every single version of Weight Watchers since 1986. I lost 11 pounds at that time and became a Lifetime Member. Oh to be back there where that was the amount of weight I had to lose!!! Life happens right. I have been overweight since the birth of my first child in 1989. I have battled this weight loss monster ever since. I would never stay on the program long enough to really see much change. I would become discouraged. I compared myself to other people and how quickly that they were losing weight. I felt overwhelmed with the amount of weight that I needed to lose. I had small children and I was tired all the time. I felt like I was hungry all the time. I felt so down on myself. I felt like I had let my family down and let my parents down. I knew that my parents worried about me for many reasons one of which was that diabetes runs in my family. Knowing that your parents are worried about you is not a good feeling. I only have wanted to make my parents proud of me throughout my life. No matter how much that I wanted my parents, my husband, and my kids to be proud of me it seemed that I always failed at the weight loss. My husband and my kids always tell me they love me no matter what. Have you heard the saying " You can't judge a book by its cover."? Well, they would tell me that all the time. They really meant it too. One thing for sure is you can not change anything about yourself for other people no matter how much you would like to. You have to change things in your life because YOU want to change them. You also have to change things in your life when you are ready to change them. I finally felt it was time to make this big change for myself. After consulting with my doctor I decided to start back at Weight Watchers the very next day. I am so very happy that I did. Life changing, to say the least!!

I want to tell you that the new Freestyle Program from Weight Watchers is awesome. There are so many foods that now have a 0 point value. This is HUGE! I plan my meals by building up from 0 point foods. This allows me to get the most bang for my buck so to speak. I have changed so much about myself with this program. I have changed the way that I look at food. I work very hard every day to work this program and it is paying off. I feel so much better after following the program. It has been a few months since I started and I am down 36 pounds. 36 pounds! this is such a wonderful feeling to me. Wonderful in many different ways. My body is feeling better. I actually feel better every morning before my feet even hit the floor. I seem to sleep better. My activity is higher. My knees do not bother me as much. I have had two knee surgeries for a torn meniscus and I still have some issues with that knee but it is so much better than it was. I have had to buy new clothes several different times. I have bagged up roughly 7 large bags full of clothes and donated them. This has NEVER happened to me before. Talk about a wonderful feeling. I do have a very long way to go before I get to the place that I need to be but that is OK. I am a work in progress.

I want anyone that may feel that they can't do something be it losing weight, making a life change, starting a new job, taking a big adventure, no matter what your " it" is I want you to know that you can do it! If I can do this you certainly can do whatever you may be working towards. My goal with this blog is to encourage people that may be going through the same things as I am to create a life that they love. We are all going through something, some of us are going through big life changes. To know that there are others out there going through similar things makes it a little less scary. Like I said earlier I hope to navigate through these changes with grace and laughter. I hope that I may be able to encourage others through this journey. Until next time I want to leave you with a quote from one of my favorite Princess's, Rapunzel as she said in the movie Tangled...Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it!

A Garden Fresh Recipe

I have talked about how much I enjoy having a garden before. When I was growing up we would go to visit my relatives every summer in British Columbia. These summers hold some of my favorite memories. We got to spend time with my Grandma's and Aunt and Uncle and cousins. My Aunt and Uncle had a very large garden. We would love to check it out. It took up a nice portion of their back yard. I remember looking at all of the different things they grew and being amazed by it all. I always used to think that one day when I grew up I was going to have a garden of my very own. I am happy to say that I have a garden of my own now. I have cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, anaheim peppers, bell peppers, parsley and basil. I have had a great summer full of fresh vegetables. I am so thrilled ! When I came in from the garden with this harvest I decided I was going to make a zucchini lasagna for dinner. Believe it or not there were 42 cherry tomatoes from this harvest alone. My husband and I love to snack on these any time of the day. 

The recipe was something that I just made up as I went along. I enjoy doing that. I think it kind of mixes things up a bit. I like to add my own touch to dishes. So for this recipe I started by chopping 2 cloves of garlic and also chopping up a bunch of basil and some parsley.

I was really excited to find the tomato sauce I use in these nice new cartons. The cartons are just like the ones that  Swanson Chicken Broth come in. I love this because it makes things so easy. Sometimes when I am making something I do not need the entire can. This way I can store it right in the fridge.

This recipe is a definite make again. It tasted even better the second day. I think that is the case with some recipes. As good as they taste the first night the next day they often taste even better. I think it has something to do with all the ingredients sitting together over night.

One of my daughters needs to eat Gluten Free and also has to watch certain foods because of her Ulcerative Colitis. I am always trying to come up with recipes that will work really well for her. If you have not had to go Gluten Free then you might not know that Gluten is in so much of what we eat, including sauces. We have tried many GF items from the store. Unfortunately they do not always taste very good. This recipe is GF and was a big hit with my daughter.


The recipe for this dish is as follows:

2 cloves of garlic chopped ( you can use as much or as little garlic as you like )
Bunch of fresh Basil, chopped ( My bunch amounted to about 1 tablespoon)
Bunch of fresh parsley, chopped ( My bunch amounted to about 1 tablespoon )
1 teaspoon seal salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 large box of tomato sauce ( if you use cans then use 2 large cans )
Zucchini ( I used my large zucchini from the garden. If using store bought you will probably need 6)
Mozzerella cheese

Start by chopping the garlic, basil and parsley. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to a pan and then sautee the garlic about 2 -3 minutes. Add tomato sauce, basil, parsley, sea salt and sugar. Mix together well. Let sauce simmer about 20minutes.

Slice zucchini. Scoop some sauce into the bottom of a lasagna pan. Place strips of zucchini over sauce and continue alternating just as if you are making an actual lasagna. Top the last layer of zucchini with sauce and then top with mozzarella chefs. Place in a 375 degree oven and bake for a half hour until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes. Slice, serve and enjoy!

I have been working on some recipes that are GF and I will be sharing them on my blog. I want to share what I can through this journey and hope that it might be something that will benefit others as well.

I have been going through many changes recently. Some of these changes have helped to open my eyes about many things. It reinforced in me the need to stay true to my feelings, to stay close to my family and really take a deep look at what is really important in my life. After all we are all given one life to live. It is up to each person to make the best of their own life. I will be sharing many things on my blog and I hope that people will be able to find something to take away from my posts. Remember your life is a dream in the making, so go out there and be happy!

Until next time,
Teresa

Surgery….Recovery….It all takes time

                     

It has been a long time since my last post. Much has happened during the past 3 months. My injury was finally diagnosed after treatments, X-rays and an MRI. I had torn my lateral meniscus. Let me tell you it was definitely something that I hope I will never do again! To say it interrupted my life would be an understatement!  I really like my Orthopedic Surgeon. He is a very nice Doctor that takes the time to fully explain to you what is going on, what his plans are and what you can expect during your recovery. I ended up having surgery near the end of May. When the Doctor got inside my knee he noticed that I had much more damage than the MRI had shown. He said I actually shredded my lateral meniscus. I also had some bone damage. He cleaned up the bones and the actual injury. I was in and out of the hospital the same day.

Once I was at home my recovery began. It went very smoothly with the exception of me getting very sick one day from the pain medication. My Doctor had given me an exercise that he wanted me to start doing 3 days after surgery. He explained that if I followed this plan I would most likely not need any Physical Therapy. I really hoped to not have to go to therapy so I faithfully followed the exercise plan that he had laid out for my knee. I did 300 repetitions throughout the day. The exercises became a bit easier with each passing day. I am still required to do them everyday.

I went in for my check up a couple weeks ago. Things had been going along fine. The Doctor was very happy with my progress. I was given a list of things that I am not able to do anymore. I have to take it easy on my knee. With the shredding and bone damage I will have to be more careful of everyday things. which is very normal for anyone that has any type of injury. There will be some things that I will no longer be allowed to do at all. I will talk about that in another post though. I am trying to concentrate only on positives, things that I can do. I will also be adding a new exercise to my routine starting next week. I will be starting on the exercise bike at the gym with zero resistance. This is to help improve my range of motion. It is a somewhat standard exercise. He says that with time I can add resistance. Like I said I am just concentrating on what I can do now.

Last week I went on a trip with my dear friend to Disneyland. It is my very favorite place on this entire planet. We did LOTS and LOTS of walking. Some days my knee let me know it was not too happy but mostly I did very well. The heat is a factor sometimes with how the knee feels. I just had to make some changes and it all was fine. The trip was something that I believe helped me everyday prior to going. We all need something to look forward to. For me that was my thing to look forward too!

No matter who you are or where you are from we have all had things in life that come at you from left field. Sneak up and surprise you so to speak. It is all a part of life. I am just happy to be living my life everyday the best that I can. One of my daughters has a disease called Ulcerative Colitis. She has had to make many changes in her life over the past year. Some of the changes have required her to eat a Gluten Free Diet. She does not have Celiacs Disease. People with her disease as well as Chrons Disease often times have to stop eating any Gluten. Gluten is harder to digest. We have gone through many changes here at home. Separate toasters, separate cooking utensils, separate pans, ect. Cross contamination can be very bad. I am trying out many new recipes and I will be sharing them on my blog. I am hoping that they might be helpful to other people that have to be Gluten Free. I will be making a new post about this very soon.

The title of my blog is one that everyone can put to use. A dream in the making. Isn't that what life is all about?  Dreaming new things everyday and working to make them come true. No matter who you are or what age you are there is always room to dream. Until next time…May all of your dreams come true!

One step forward, 100 steps backwards…..

Have you ever heard the saying 1 step forward, 2 steps backwards??? Well I have been living with a similar saying myself. It goes like this, 1 step forward, 100 steps backwards. On March 12th I injured my knee. Now I wish I could tell you some interesting story where I was doing something great and then hurt myself but sadly I can not. I just stood up from a chair and turned to go see what my husband needed. The movement of turning is one which we all do through out our day many times. Well on March 12th my body turned but my knee did not want to have any part of it. It made a LOUD awful noise and then I simply could not walk! I was limping all over the place. I took it easy that day, elevating my knee. Icing my knee. Taking ibuprofen. I had myself thinking tomorrow is another day. It will be a better day………

Fast forward to the next day. Nope, not better! I had to use the dreaded crutches periodically. I went to the Doctor. He felt all around, moved my knee every which way until I nearly flew off the table. He told me he felt that I had done something to my lateral meniscus. He prescribed me some anti inflammatory medication and advised me to continue what I was doing and if I was not better in a week to come back. My week seemed to progress very slowly. The medication did not elevate any of my symptoms. My husband had given me the cute little nick name of Hoppy. Nice right? I headed back to the Doctor where I received a very lovely ( NOT!!!) cortisone shot. It did seem to help a bit but lasted for only a week. I returned to my Doctor to see what we would do next. He referred me to an Orthopedic Surgeon and sent me for an X-ray first. The way most insurance companies work you must go through this crazy chain of hoop jumping. After having the X-ray I waited for the Orthopedic Surgeon to call for my appointment. I guess I should mention I do not like waiting. I am not good at waiting. I finally received the call and an appointment date. The appointment date was over 2 weeks away. I tried to just be happy that I had an upcoming appointment. Through out this wait period I knew that even once I saw the Doctor I would not know right away because I had been told that he would then have to refer me to get an MRI. Ugh!!!!!

The day finally came last week. I saw the Orthopedic Surgeon. I really like him. He probed and moved my knee around. Feeling all over and behind it. He checked my X-ray and told me that he sees I have developed mild arthritis to my knee. I was thinking, NICE! Just what I need. He then told me he was referring me for an MRI. He says he believes I have torn my meniscus. Lovely. When I checked out at the front desk the lady explained that they had to get this approved through my insurance company and it would take about a week. Once I received my MRI appointment to call them back right away for another appointment here. I left there with mixed feelings. Glad to know that the Doctor thinks he knows what is wrong but bummed for the additional wait. The next day I received a call for the MRI!!!!! So I have that on the schedule for this coming Thursday! Woohoo! I called the Orthopedic Surgeon back and I will see him a week from Monday! Thank goodness I will be receiving an answer in just a little over a week.

The problem with my injury is that I can not walk normally. I limp. I can be walking and my knee will lock up on me. When I have been sitting and I stand I can not just move. I can not extend my leg at all. I can be walking and then all of a sudden my knee will just give out on me. This is not good. I am hoping to have an answer and a plan for treatment as of next Monday afternoon. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Anytime anyone receives a bump in the road, whatever path they are on, it is discouraging. You might not be able to do all of the normal things you are accustomed to doing. This is the case for me. I have been sidelined from the gym. That has been very hard for me. I had a routine that I had going and it all came to a screeching halt. I have to remember that this is going to be temporary. I will be able to get back into a normal routine at some point. My everyday life has changed due to this injury. Not being able to move around as I have been for my entire life is hard. We take for granted that we can move our legs, walk, dance, run or whatever. I have been learning that is not a given. There have been many days that have left me feeling very down and discouraged. Pain is no fun for anyone. I have to always be aware of my movements. One wrong move and I feel it right away. It has also made me realize that this injury is just that, an injury. I can recover. It has made me think about the millions of people all over the world that have catastrophic injuries and their lives will never be the same. It made me think about our soldiers that have lost limbs. It has brought to mind the victims of last years Boston Marathon bombings who lost limbs. These people's lives will never be the same. They have been struggling with a new kind of normal. I am in awe of the strength and positive attitudes of these brave men and woman. These are people that have had life altering injuries and yet keep going.

My knee will eventually get better. Until that time I will just keep moving to the best of my ability. I will not get down thinking about the things I can not do. I will concentrate on the things I am doing and enjoy each day as it comes. My youngest will be graduating from  8th Grade next month. She is very excited. We have lots of fun activities on the calendar for her last month of school. Before I know it Summer will be here and we can just take things slow and easy. I hope that everyone of you will be able to do the same thing. Take time and enjoy everything life has to offer you. Even if you hit a bump in the road there are always good things around the corner.

I did it! My Tinker Bell Half Marathon recap.

Today marks 3 weeks since I ran in my first half marathon. In a way it still seems surreal. It was something that I had worked towards and planned for and it seems to have flown by in the blink of an eye. It is something that I will always remember. Once we arrived and checked in to our hotel I bid my husband and daughter farewell and headed over to the Expo.I was very excited to check everything out. I wanted to go down and pick up my race packet before I did anything else.

  I had to go underneath the actual Convention Center located in the main tower of the Disneyland Hotel. Now for this Disney history loving girl that alone was a huge treat!  

  The race packet area was very well organized and moved very efficiently. They even had you go to a different line to pick up any pre ordered items. Once I finished with that I headed back upstairs to go into the Expo and pick up my race shirt. I was very excited. I saw the new Balance booth. I had definitely wanted to check that out because they had just come out with some Cinderella New Balance shoes and this Cinderella fan wanted to see them in person. Much to my disappointment I was told that they had sold out of all of the "spots" for today. I really was bummed. I figured since I was going to be with my family the following day that I would not have a chance to come back and get a " spot ". I went around the other side of the booth and talked to some people that were in line. They explained the entire process to obtain a "spot" and it just left me discouraged. I said well I'm off to look at the Dooney and Bourkes! I was then told by someone that they sold out of them on Thursday. WHAT??????? How could this be? The two things that I had most wanted to see were sold out!!!!!! I was feeling sad to be honest. I mean in my mind I had counted on buying the Tinker Bell Dooeny and Bourke because this is the only place that you can actually purchase one. I lucked into 2 bags last year after the Marathon weekend when  I was there with my friend. There were 2 in the World of Disney store and I bought both of them. One was for my daughter for her 21st Birthday. I figured they would have plenty of the new ones this year. I was wrong. I have looked just for the heck of it on ebay and people are seriously disgusting as they are charging upwards of $600 for the purse! I will never play into that. So as I was walking around feeling a bit sad looking at all the booths I turned the corner and as luck would have it I saw someone that I admire so much. There he was Jeff Galloway!!!! I stood in line and he signed my pamphlet and I was able to get a picture with him.

Race day quickly approached. I had followed my plans of not too much walking at Disneyland and an early evening. I was in bed early. The morning quickly came as my alarm went off at 3:30 am. I got up and had my breakfast and got ready to head downstairs. The race started on the street directly in front of our hotel so I didn't have far to go. One of the bell men outside of my hotel was kind enough to snap this picture of me.

I found my corral area very quickly. In the picture below my hotel is in the back ground. I knew there would be  thousands of people but still couldn't believe my eyes. These pictures do not even begin to show how many people were actually there.  You could feel the excitement from the crowd.

 

As they would release a corral our corral would begin to move up. There were 3 announcers who were very up! It was really neat.

It was almost our time! This is a jumbo torn screen that we went under. As the people were going in front of us that is the picture that you would see. Literally thousands of people! There were close to 14,000 people participating! Yes 14,000 people!!!!

It was soon our turn. The announcers told us to go. You could really hardly move. People were so nice through out the entire event. It was a nice and cool morning but to me it was just perfect. I prefer cool weather to hot weather.

As we started off people were really bunched up.  Along the way there would be spectators with signs and encouragement. As we started to make our way in to the parks we were at mile 2 and a cast member was kind enough to snap my picture. This spot actually ends up being mile 12 as well.  We made our way through the back stage area in California Adventure first. I LOVED it! There were sights to see but guess what I had to keep under a certain pace time so I couldn't snap lots of pictures. I am not blessed with a quick enough pace time to stop often along the way for pictures. 

It was really neat running inside the parks. First of all in California Adventure it was not yet day light and they had the lights on everything including the World of Color fountains!!!!! It was so neat! We began to make our way into Disneyland. In the area between California Adventure and Disneyland was the Mile 3 mark. As we entered Disneyland I became very emotional. I am a life long Disney fan. To be doing something I had never thought possible in the place that means the most to me in this entire world was overwhelming at this time. As we headed up Main Street USA the music was playing, Tinker Bell herself sat up atop her parade float waiving at everyone. Peter Pan was there too. I love Peter Pan and so does Holly. They actually have a long history the two of them. It was just about time to run through Sleeping Beauty's Castle. At this exact moment the feelings that were rushing through me were wonderful. Running through this particular place means so much to me. The history of this wonderful park is embedded in my soul. I don't think that the smile ever left my face.

As I continued along through Disneyland and approached Mile 4 it was then that I really took notice of the race pacers. Now prior to this I had only heard reference of the race pacers as the balloon ladies which are the official pacers of the Run Disney races. They start at the very end of the last corral and you must stay ahead of them or you will get swept. Well that is what I thought anyway, however there are pacers that stay with each group and are on bikes. These pacers are ever so happy to yell out to you throughout your journey how far you are ahead of pace or how far you are behind pace. They are also ever so happy to yell out that you need to pick up your pace or you will be swept. I was not a fan of our particular pacer. There were many times that I wanted to kick her off of her bike. Yes, seriously I wanted to kick her off her bike.  As the race continued on I could hear people saying " Oh my gosh we have 8 more miles to go!!!!" That changed with the miles dropping. I would never let my brain think that way. I just tried to concentrate on one mile at a time. That seemed to work well for me. As I continued on I kept in mind everything my brother had told me. At every water stop I would drink a bit of water and the power aid. I just tried to concentrate on taking one step at a time. Just when I would get comfortable with this then I would hear the pacer come by on her fabulous bike and yell out how far we all were behind pace. I kept thinking to myself, " It's OK. You are going to do this. " At Mile 8 I didn't feel very well. I was very shaky. I had a little snack in my pack so I nibbled on that and it seemed to help.

All along the route there were school bands and dance troops and just spectators with signs. Many of these people were just there to cheer the participants on. They would cheer as we went by and waive signs. Some of the signs made me laugh. The names of each participant were on their BIBs so many people would actually see that and say " Great job Teresa!" There was a school group that formed a tunnel with their arms and would have everyone go through it and chant way to go! As I was at Mile 10 the lovely pacer lady said " Come on you guys got this! " I replied to her " I HAVE to finish this. My Dad is at the finish and he has been through cancer and I HAVE to do this!!!" She told me that I would. Shortly after that another pacer pointed out 2 LARGE buses and said that if they pass us then we have to board them. Not going to lie, that scared me. I did not want to have to board these buses and be dropped off. I wanted to finish! It was about this time that I had to once again change my train of thought. I started to get really bad side cramps. I could hardly stand up straight. I just kept saying to myself, " Look IF you have to get on the bus you will survive. This is the farthest you have ever come before. Be proud of this. " I could hear the busses approaching and then I saw then out of the corner of my eye. I thought " OK here it is." Just then they passed me and they were FULL of people that had been swept. They kept going. I was very relieved. I passed Mile 11 and the lovely pacer said , " If you keep us this pace you will finish! " I felt a bit better. Traffic had to be rerouted through out the city due to road closures for the race. It was right at this point when I could hear my name. It was my brother, sister-in-law, my nephew and niece. They were being rerouted and I really feel this was a blessing. I have talked about my brother before and how much he means to me. He asked how I was and told me I could do this! It was exactly what I needed at that time. I feel like God placed him where I needed him the most. I was able to pick up a bit. The smile returned to my face. 

Mile 12 brought us back inside California Adventure back stage area. I was smiling, I was moving forward. I was behind California Screamin! The finish line was within my grasp. I had my cell phone in my hand so that I could snap a picture at the end. I received a text right before I got to Mile 13. It was from my daughter Holly. She told me " You got this Mommy! I am so proud of you! I LOVE you! " It made me tear up. At the Mile 13 marker I saw my Dad and he yelled my name. I grabbed the pacer who at this point I really liked and told her " This is my Dad. This is who I am doing this for! " I kept going, seeing my Mom and my niece Maddie. They were smiling and my Mom was snapping some pictures. I was now very emotional. I then saw my husband and daughter Holly waiving and shouting out to me. I had tears flowing down my face. I was almost there. As I approached the Finish line I could see some of my favorite Disney Characters, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Chip and Dale, Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse. They gave me high fives! To this Disney fan that was so completely AWESOME!!!!!!!!! Then I crossed the line. I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!! I achieved something that I had been working hard for. I had achieved one of my dreams. I had tears flowing down my face. I felt good, I felt proud of myself. 

I met up with my family. It was so nice. I can not even begin to express how much it meant to me to have them there to support me. I LOVE my medal! I wore it all over Disneyland and California Adventure that day.

I love my shirt too. I wear it proudly. I learned a lot about myself. I have a wonderful family. I have wonderful friends. I greatly appreciate all of the texts from everyone wishing me luck and congratulating me after wards. I appreciate the posts people put up on Facebook about me. It all meant so much to me. I also love how my life is a dream in the making and if I set my mind to it, all of my dreams can come true.

It's almost here!

Well next Monday at this time it will all be over. What I have been working towards for the past 9 months will have come and gone. It will just be the start of things to come for me. By accomplishing this Half Marathon I will be proving to myself that I can do anything that I want as long as I believe in myself. As I have said before I have NEVER been a runner. Not ever, even when I was a young girl running was something that I hated. As I got older it was also something that I hated. I would look at people that were running and think " Oh my gosh! That's great but why do they like to run? You get all sweaty and hot and yuck!" Since I first started my journey towards a healthier lifestyle I have dealt with lots and lots of sweat. It's not pretty that's for sure. The gym is a place that I never liked before. The gym is now a place that I can be found at during my week. Running is definitely NOT easy for me. I am a 49 year old over weight lady that has never run prior to now. It is something that I think many people take for granted. I was in my first 5k in September and was so proud of myself. Since then my running had improved. Now I am not what you would call a " Real Runner " I am more of what is called a Run/ Walker. That means I run for a small period of time and then walk for a small period of time. I had gotten to a stage where I was running for a few minutes and then walking for a few minutes. Then it happened……I got injured. I hurt my knee when I was out doing my routine. I had to take a couple weeks off. So I started back to below where I was before and started to try to work back up and then I got sick. I was really sick. First a stomach bug and then a very, very bad case of bronchitis. My doctor sidelined me until the beginning of last week. That was nearly 6 weeks off! 

Now this was really starting to freak me out a bit. I mean I have this Half Marathon which is 13.1 miles coming up!!! There are pace time requirements! I do not know what to expect as to where I will start in reference to when they start holding to the pace time requirements. I have my family including my parents, my sister and her family and my brother and his family going to support me!!!!! What if I can't keep the pace time requirements?? The last thing I want is to be pulled off the course and transported back in a vehicle!!!!! Tons of things were swirling around in my head. My doctor, who is a runner, told me that the number one most important thing was my health. He told me I just had to readjust my mind set. He said look if you have to walk each and every step of that race you will be so far ahead of where you were last year at this time. That in itself is an accomplishment. He also went on to say that there are many, many people that never run during a Half Marathon, they will walk every step. He assured me that if I could just change my mind set then I would be able to feel confident and everything would be fine. So that is what I have done. I will already be in my favorite place on this entire planet and what's not to enjoy about that! 

Since I have started working towards this goal I have noticed there are many people that really think about their pace time and beating it. They place so much importance on that time on the clock.  I have also seen many people that compete with others to beat them or beat their time. I do not get caught up in any of that. I mean yes my pace time is important. I want to improve. I do not want to get taken off of the course however I do not let that number get to me. I am not in competition with anybody else. This is just for me. 

I feel very strongly about this quote from above. Too many times in life people seem to forget this. The world is FULL of competitive people. Hey that's great but it's just not for me. It is something I have never really been into. I am fully aware that there are people out there that are faster then me, there are people that are better than me and I could go on and on. I have told my family to not expect me to be at the finish line in a certain amount of time because I am not fast. Just to have them all there when I cross the finish line is going to be so AWESOME! I have mentioned before that my brother is a runner. He has competed in 3 Boston Marathons. Now my brother is the baby of our family. He has ALWAYS been awesome in my eyes. If I could have even 1/100th of his talent for running then that would be great. Sadly though I do not.

The thought of competing in and finishing my First Half Marathon is a very emotional thing to me. I was very emotional when I competed in and finished my first 5k. To have my family all there waiting for me at the finish line brings tears to my eyes right now. Their love and support is everything to me. My husband and girls have been there cheering me on for months now. They are always there to pick me up whenever I fall. They have the right words for me at the right time. They notice my progress when others do not. As far as my parents and siblings go to have them there is a feeling that I can  not begin to describe. I want to make them proud of me. I want them to see that I was able to accomplish this.  I can tell you one thing for sure, I will definitely have the absolute CUTEST Cheer Squad there because it will be composed of my daughter and my nieces and nephews! I have been asked by so many people who I am doing this with. When I tell them I am doing it by myself they usually respond with " Really" or "Oh" but this is something I HAD to do by myself and for myself. I am 100% OK with my decision. I am of the mind set that I do not want to slow anyone down or make them feel as if they need to hang back with me.

I am keeping only positive thoughts in my head. Nothing negative can enter. I've got this!  In the words of one of my favorites " I Think I can! " I am looking forward to being in Disneyland with everyone and enjoying the park with my family and rides with my nieces and nephews. I have already been asked to ride Winnie the Pooh with my little niece Maddie. I'm looking forward to everything about that weekend. So in the words of Peter Pan all I need is a little bit of pixie dust and to think of a wonderful thought. Any merry little thought. Think of Christmas, think of snow. Think of sleigh bells of you'll go like reindeer in the sky… You can fly, you can fly, you can fly! Off to Neverland!!!!

Having to start all over is NO fun!

It is coming up on New Years Eve 2013. Now for most people that is a time to reflect on the year that is passing and also a time to look forward to what the coming year has in store. It is a time millions of people all over the world make New Years Resolutions. If we are all honest most New Years Resolutions last for a relatively short period of time. There is the occasional resolution that makes it a little longer that most. Last year I made a promise to myself that I was going to work towards a healthier me. It wasn't that much different from resolutions I had made each and every year for the past 20 plus years. The difference being I did not make a resolution to lose weight. I had done that every year before and every year before I had failed. Last year I made the resolution to work towards a healthier me. Well I can honestly tell you that I have accomplished that resolution! I am very proud of all the hard work and dedication I have put into making this resolution a reality. I am FAR, FAR away from where I want to be. I know though that by the choices I have made over the past year I can just keep moving forward into 2014.

I have made great strides during the past year. Little changes amount to good things. The weekend after Thanksgiving I came done with the stomach flu. The timing of this bug was very stressful. It was exactly one week before my daughters wedding!!!!!! It made the rounds to everyone in my house. Thankfully we were all fine by the wedding. The wedding was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It was PERFECT. When I first started my blog I spoke of how I wanted to feel comfortable on her wedding day. I can tell you that I felt very good on her wedding day. I felt comfortable in my dress and comfortable taking pictures. This alone is a big deal for me. After the wedding I new I had to get back to my schedule. It was a bit altered with wedding preparations and then getting hit with that awful bug. I went to my training on the Monday after the wedding. My trainer had come up with a new plan for me as I have the Half Marathon coming up in January. I was ready to get on this new plan. I was happy. I went to the gym the following day feeling good, feeling happy. Then it happened……. I woke up on Wednesday morning and I could hardly move. Not in pain from the gym but I was SICK! AGAIN!!! This time it was a respiratory illness. I had a high fever, body aches, chills, cough, you name it and I had it. I thought I would surely feel better the following day. No such luck! This went on for over a week and a half and then I knew I had to go to the Doctor. Well my Doctor had me in his office every day for a week. I received a steroid shot and an antibiotic shot everyday plus he put me on oral antibiotics. He told me I was a very, very sick girl. GREAT!! I will be honest here, I was more than freaking out a bit. I couldn't stop thinking about the Marathon. I have trained for months towards this goal. When you stop you can not just start back up where you left off, it doesn't work that way. Especially for someone that is 49 years old and really fairly new to working out. My mind was really doing a number on me. My Doctor knows of my plans and we spoke about it. He told me that I am not going to rebound quickly because I was so sick. He told me that I will be short of breath for awhile and the cough will linger most likely. He also stressed to me that I can not push myself to hard due to the lungs just not wanting to cooperate. He asked me what is the worst thing that can happen at the Marathon???? I thought about it for a minute and said, a couple things. I won't be able to finish and my family will be there to see me fail. He looked at me and said, " Listen you are not going to fail. You need to just alter your thoughts. Even if you walk EVERY SINGLE STEP of this marathon you are accomplishing something that you would NEVER have been able to do last year at this time. Period! There is nothing wrong with that. You have to put your health first. Worrying about the things you can't do right now are only causing you more stress. You need to just take it one day at a time and do ONLY what your body can do. You need to be proud of how far you have come over this past year.  Most people can not walk 13.1 miles easily." I agreed with him. I left his office reflecting back on his words to me.

In Life everything doesn't always work out the way we want it to. There are roadblocks and detours along the way. There are struggles with all kinds of things. I had to look at this as a detour. So life just threw me a curve in the road. I could either let this detour stop me or just slow me down a bit. It was my choice. So I decided that I just needed to alter my thoughts and get right back up and try again.

I think it fits right in with the upcoming New Year. Starting over. That is what I will do. I will look back on this past year with a feeling of pride. I will look back at the changes I have made in my life and feel good about them. I think back to the 5k I participated in. That is something I definitely could not have done last year. I will look ahead to the coming year will anticipation. The year is like a blank canvas for me to paint however I chose. Making small changes in my everyday life can amount to big changes health wise.

I hope the New Year holds great things for everyone. Health, happiness and love. That is really what life is all about. Enjoy each and everyday. Happy New Year!

Far from where I want to be but farther than I once was......

When it comes to making changes in your life depending upon what those changes are, they can either be easy or they can be difficult. The way you look at the changes that you are wanting to make can have a lot to do with your ability to make the changes. I remember hearing that the things in life worth having do not come easy, you must work for them. I am finding out the truth to that. If you are working towards a healthy lifestyle then you will find out that it is not always an easy thing to achieve. It will require much work and dedication. I do believe at least for myself that it will all be worth it. 

I have said before that I am a list maker. I make lists all of the time. There is something about making a list that brings me to a level of calm. If I have a list going then I feel that I will not forget anything. Earlier this year I decided to make a special list. A list of some specific goals that I have. I look at my list often and it serves as a reminder of just what I want to achieve for myself. I feel that by looking at my list often I will be able to stay on track. I believe that so many times in life we all have the best of intentions. We all want to achieve things but for one reason or another life throws us a curve ball and we get a bit off track. Sometimes we can all together lose our desire to reach a certain goal and maybe come up with another goal instead. That is OK. Life changes every single day. When you wake up in the morning you have another blank canvas to paint on in any way you wish! I have been able to keep a focus on my goals. I have also added new goals as I go along.

I have found myself being able to look at things in a different light. I am not so stuck on the scale. In fact I do not step on it as often as you would think a person with a weight loss goal would. I learned very early on in this journey of mine that the scale is not an accurate measure of success. In fact it is often the opposite. It can be your worst enemy! In our society much is made out of certain numbers on the scale. If you are not in a certain number range than you are considered less than. Whatever that means! I can tell you that for me being overweight is not easy. It comes with many bad feelings. It comes with many insecurities. It comes with looks from others and words that hurt. Simple things like going shopping for new clothes becomes a stressful experience. Self doubt can fill your head. I know all of these things to well. I have been working very hard to bring about change in my life. I have had to make time for taking care of myself. This was very, very hard for me because my job is to take care of my family. Not feeling healthy myself was a wake up call to me. It scared me. I had to do something about it. I had to change. I had to make different choices for myself. The changes I had to make were not easy ones.

I can tell you that looking back to one year ago I have made great strides. There is no way that I could have done the things I am currently doing last year. I have people ask me all the time how my training is going. I find myself explaining things to them. I always end up telling them that I could not have done what I am doing now a year ago. I have a very long way to go. I am not fooling myself. I am not close to where I want to be at all. The thing is that I am so far from where I once was that I am so proud of that. Everyone has good days and bad days. They happen to everybody no matter what they are doing in life. When a bad day comes along I have to remember all the good days that have happened. I think that is true for everyone. Sometimes it's easy to forget. I think it is important to be proud of how far you have come without being over shadowed of how far you have left to go.

 

Celebrate each little step of progress when it happens. Have you heard the saying " Rome wasn't built in a day? " Well life is the same way. No matter what your goals might be do not wait until you reach them to take pride in yourself. Be proud of every single step you take along the way!

Enjoy the entire journey! Life is a wonderful thing. Be happy, be proud and do whatever makes you happy! No goal is too big! If you can dream it you can do it.

My first 5 k! Boy what a day!

 Last April I began a journey. It has been filled with many things. It has made me see a very different side to myself. A side that I never knew existed. A strong determined side. I laid out some very specific goals. I continue to work hard everyday to reach them. Changing my left one step at a time. Learning along the way that I have been very blessed with people who support me. My husband and girls are at the top of that list. The list is one that I am very grateful for. On the list of supporters are my parents, my brother and sister, my nieces and nephews, my Aunt, and my friends. Some friends I haven't seen in years and others I see all the time. As the time for my first 5k approached I was blown away by the messages of support and good luck that I received. Many messages on Facebook and through email. I received a couple beautiful plants with special wishes. I can not even begin to tell any of you just how special these wishes were to me. I greatly appreciate everyones gestures.

Aren't these plants and special crafty touches so ADORABLE???? I LOVE them! I am going to do something special with both the sign and the pennant banner. I can't wait to do it and share it with you!

 Last Saturday night I knew I needed to get to sleep. I knew I wanted to have a good sleep. I had to get up very early to be downtown for the Peace Officer Memorial run. It was my very first event and I just wanted to be well rested. Well let me just say that wasn't going to happen.  I had talked with my brother before hand and he told me don't stress or think to much about it before that day. I didn't think that I was worrying at all. In fact I thought I was in a pretty good place. Well apparently my body thought it didn't need as much sleep as I had planned on. It also thought why don't we let Teresa dream strange dreams tonight. I actually woke up about 15 minutes before my alarm went off. I just got up and started my morning.  On the way to the race my husband asked me if I was excited. I told him yes. I was excited. Once we arrived I looked around for my friends. I found several of them. Some running, some were just there with their families. We were just listening to the Opening Ceremonies and then it was time. The Half Marathon runners left first. As we all lined up I started speaking to a nice lady beside me. I asked her if this was her first 5k. She said she had been in several. She told me that she would be the person that finished last. I'm going to be honest I was relieved to hear that. In my mind my fear was that I would be the last person to finish. Pretty soon they said those magic words, READY, SET, GO!!!!!!!!

  At the beginning I just tried to settle in. I wanted to be comfortable. There are all kinds of people that participate. Many are walkers and then some people do run the entire length, which in this particular case was 3.15 miles. Now the runners finish as early as 20 minutes. These are people that run all the time and are very quick! I just wanted to take this race one step at a time. I knew why I was there. I was there because it was a goal of mine to participate in this particular race. I wanted to honor the memory of our friend CHP Officer Earl Scott.  Let me tell you to me the first mile seemed WAY longer than a normal mile. Once I reached it I felt good.  I could feel people all around me. I could hear them. Many running, walking and talking. I do not run outside with an iPod. I know many people that do. I made the choice not to use an iPod while running outside after speaking with my brother. He uses one on the treadmill but not outside. He likes to be aware of what is happening around him. I think it is much safer. For me I am not a very coordinated person. The last thing I have any business doing is trying to adjust my music or my earphones while trying to run. This would just be a recipe for disaster. I did notice that many people that participated in the Half Marathon did not have iPods. I do ALWAYS carry my phone when I am out.

As the race progressed I just NEVER wanted to look behind me. The thought of looking behind me scared me. I did not want to look back there and see a couple people. I just kept my head forward and my feet moving. I knew that at mile 2 there was a water station. I just kept looking ahead to that. About 2 blocks before the mile 2 marker and water station there were volunteers handing out water bottles so I took one had a sip and just kept moving. I passed through the mile 2 water station and volunteers were cheering everyone on. At different points throughout the course there would be people with cowbells and signs and they were all cheering. I thought this was so awesome! With just about a half a mile left to go there were two girl volunteers cheering and yelling at the runners so and so is waiting for you at the finish line. Just shouting out names of different celebrities. When I was right in front of them they yelled out " Ryan Gosling is waiting for you at the finish line! " I got a big kick out of this because I actually have a saying that says that posted on one of my Pinterest Boards. My daughter Alissa and I love him. As I turned the corner onto the final stretch of the race I became filled with excitement. I could see the finish line. This was what I have been working towards. Then I looked over and saw my husband and my youngest daughter Holly. As I got closer I could see that Holly had run up a couple of blocks. The look on her face was awesome. It was right then that I began to get emotional. I could see her big smile.

She actually ran out to me and grabbed my hand and ran with me almost all the way in to the finish line. She kept telling me how proud she was of me.  She told me you can do this Mommy! She told me to finish strong just like Chris tells you. She has been with me to some of my training sessions and listens to everything that Chris tells me to do. I really couldn't talk. I could feel her love. It was AWESOME! A little bit before the finish line she let go of my hand and went around to the other side. As I crossed the finish line I had such a rush of feelings. I DID IT!!!! I accomplished what I have been working towards for months. It was such a rewarding and amazing feeling. I received my medal and a banana and some water.

 


As I came around the other side my oldest daughter Tiffany was waiting there for me. My husband was able to snap a few pictures. I was so happy that Tiffany could be there. After I was done I went over to the chairs that my family were sitting in. I sat there and watched the rest of the 5k. As I began to relax I noticed that there were a lot of people left in the 5k. I realized I finished ahead of many people. This was a great feeling. The lady that I met before the race really was the last person to finish the race. We all cheered very loud for her.

Here I am with my medal. I was so happy! A couple days later I made this shadow box as a keepsake. I placed my shirt, bib and medal inside. It is now hanging on the wall in my craft room. I can enjoy looking at it everyday and feel proud of my accomplishment.

I LOVE this saying... It is so true.

I think for me I can honestly say that 1 year ago there would have been NO WAY possible for me to do this. I have worked very hard to change my lifestyle. There are days that it is very hard and then there are days just like this one where I feel like my hard work has helped me achieve something that I could only have imagined before. As I continue this journey towards a healthier life I will look back on this day with much pride. I will remember how it feels to overcome something that I once felt impossible. I will also remember that my life is my dream in the making. I will build on that dream one step at a time........

Fresh from my Garden....Stuffed Bell Peppers

I love having a garden. Last week I had a nice harvest of 6 bell peppers. I knew right away exactly what I wanted to use them for. Stuffed Bell Peppers! I know that the days of my summer garden are coming to and end so I am trying to savor each and every thing that I harvest. When you make stuffed bell peppers you can put anything inside that you like. There are no rules. I will share the recipe that I made up. 

I like to make a sauce first. My family enjoys rice so I serve the bell peppers over rice topped with the sauce. I start by chopping up mushrooms and fresh basil. I also chop up a clove or two of garlic. I start by putting the garlic in my skillet with a little bit of Olive Oil. I sauté the garlic until lightly browned and then I add the mushrooms. I also use a bit of sea salt at this time. 

I add diced tomato at this point. I use 1 large can. I like to add a little bit of sugar to my sauce. Using sugar helps to counter act the acid from the tomatoes. I use about a teaspoon. I let this sauce simmer for about 20 minutes. The sauce is ready after this.

For the filling I make some rice and just eyeball the amount I like to use to put inside the pepper. I had some baked chicken left over so I chopped it all up and mixed this with some sauce and rice. I do not use a lot of rice but you can use whatever amount you would like.

I then get out my fresh Parmesan cheese and grate away. Once it is grated I set it aside until I am ready for it.

Below is a picture of my mixture that will go inside of the bell peppers. This time I decided to add a small can of diced olives. It helped to give the filling a little something extra. I cut the tops of the bell peppers off and clean out the inside and begin to stuff them.

I put the remaining sauce in the bottom of a pyrex baking dish and place the stuffed peppers on top. I will then top the peppers off with the freshly grated parmesan cheese. I place them into a 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes.

The mixture will be bubbling and the cheese will be a light brown color. I remove them from the oven and let them sit a couple of minutes before serving.

My family likes to have their bell peppers served over a bed of rice with some sauce. This is a very healthy and filling dish. I have to say that if there are any left overs they taste even better the next day. There is just something about cooking with sauces that makes them taste even better the next day. This dish is always a crowd pleaser at my house. I can't wait until I have another batch of bell peppers to bring in from my garden.

  I have a busy week ahead of me. My first 5k is coming up on Sunday. To be honest I am starting to get a bit excited about it. I have no idea what to expect. I just know that I am going to go out there and do the very best that I can. I am not in competition with anybody. I am doing this for me. With each step that I take I will be thinking of my friend that lost his life in the line of duty as well as all of the other law Enforcement Officers in our County that have lost their lives in the line of duty. It is a day of remembrance and a way to honor them. It should be a very nice day.

Feeling very thankful and also very blessed.....

When I first started this journey I kept it mainly to myself. My husband and girls knew what I was working towards but other than that not a single person. I explained my reason as to why I needed it to be that way. Since I started my blog and let others know of my journey I have received so much encouragement. I can not begin to express exactly what that means to me. When I started back at the gym I was nervous of everything. I did not want to be looked at by physically fit people in a negative way. I knew that the only way for me to work towards my goal was to be there doing what made me most uncomfortable. I quickly realized that I didn't care what anybody there might be thinking of me or my shape and size. I knew how I was feeling about myself, proud. It takes real commitment to do what I had embarked on. The way that I feel about the gym now is a totally different feeling than a few months ago. I do not find it a scary place. I am not uncomfortable there. I don't feel as if others are judging me. I feel good about being there. It is a part of my life 5 days a week now. 

I have been touched by so many different people. I have received so much encouragement. I get messages from people, likes on my facebook page and comments left on my blog. My friend Nancy leaves me encouraging messages and will even post fitness inspiration to my facebook page. I have known Nancy since we were in Kindergarten. She inspires me with her routine. She works hard. My Mom and Dad ask me all the time how things are going. They are very supportive. My Aunt will read my posts or my blog and always leave me an encouraging reply. I am also blessed by the support I have received from my friends. I have a group of friends that will ask me how things are going on a regular basis. There are no words to describe how much this support means to me. I appreciate it so much.


As I am getting ready for my first 5k I have mixed emotions. I am nervous and I am excited. To most people a 5k might not sound like a big deal but to me it is HUGE! I know full well that to many people 3.1 miles is nothing big. Easy peasy. To me I do not look at it that way. To me it may as well be 10 miles. My friend that participates in events a lot has told me many times that this is a big deal. She tells me often that she is proud of me. I recently had a Birthday. I turned 49 years old. I received a very special gift from a very special friend. I read the card and as I was reading it  I started to cry. She told me that she wanted me to know if she had not already had plans with a certain famous singer ( Justin Timberlake. She LOVES him ) that she would be there at the finish line cheering me on when I run my first Half Marathon in January at my very favorite place on this entire planet, Disneyland. She got me this beautiful necklace. It will remind me every single time that I wear it of the words she wrote in my card. I will definitely be wearing it in January so I can feel her there with me at the finish line. It is a gift that I will treasure always.

I just wanted to take this post and let everyone know just how much your encouragement means to me. I feel very lucky and very blessed to have so many people in my life that believe in me. It truly means the world to me.