Motivation

vivre you can get back at me in July when we are having 110 degree days and we do not leave the house.  That is when you can brag aboutyour weather.  That is also when I go to the air conditioned gym and do the tread mill. 

Ainm ~ Wow! 47# You have so much to be proud of! That is not easy to do & if your onc doesn't notice, he will find out what a cyber-attack really is! LOL

Harley ~ very nice avatar pic!

I was doing so well on exercising until Nov. Had "our" Christmas with DD & Grandkids Thanksgiving, so Nov was a very busy month. And, then there was Dec & well, had lots of excuses to not get on the skier again.   I didn't overeat too much, did have some of my Christmas cookies, gawd, I only make them once a year. There were things I didn't make that I usually do, so talked myself into "hey, I didn't have everything!" If that makes any sense!!

Anyway, after this busy weekend, I am back at it come Monday. I know I can get my motivation here. Springie, you are always sooo motivating, I wonder how you do it.

Kari ~ Speaking of snug pants, my jeans are a little more snug than they were a couple of months ago. But, I know those workout clothes will still fit. LOL

vivre ~ see you on Mostly!

Thanks for the warm welcome back guys! I've missed you!

Val

Love your new avatar, Harley!  And Val, is yours new, too?  You look great! 

Ainm, 47 lbs. is *AWESOME*!!!  I will be shocked if your onc doesn't notice, although I guess vivre said hers didn't.  And Happy Cancerversary, whichever date you decide to go with!  (I think I'm going to use my biopsy date, 2/1/08, since it's the one that's most stuck in my mind and the one that technically changed my life.)

Hi, Diane.  Welcome!  I was just in LV last month for the NFR, and it was pretty cold there, especially at night.  But I know by now to bring my warmest clothes.  Actually, I turned the TV on this morning for the first time in several days and was shocked at how cold it is everywhere.  You girls have every reason to stay indoors!!  

So, what's everyone doing this weekend?  There's a major dog show in our area, and DH and I thought we'd check it out.  I'd like to get a Havanese puppy, but I'd like to know more about the breed first, and thought that might be a good place to start. 

Have a great weekend, everyone ~  Deanna

Has anyone heard from Lisa? I keep wondering how she is. I am hoping to get her to come and teach us some Zumba at the prevention convention I am planning.

For those of you who do not follow the natural girls thread, where I have mentioned it, I am organizing a girls getaway weekend. I have found a very nice resort in St Charles, IL called Pheasant Run for the weekend of March 13th. I have several doctors willing to come to speak to us about nutrition, hormone balance, thermography, dental amalgams and toxic metals, etc, as well as some fun social stuff. You only need to pay for your room and food. The docs are all donating their time and the resort is giving us the meeting space. It is going to be a fabulous weekend and a great chance for everyone to meet finally. If anyone wants to stay longer, I will be glad to do some tours of Chicago too. I can negotiate better room prices if I have committments. Otherwise, everyone will just have to sign up on their own. This is a great way to get away with your friends or sisters and have some girl time. If you think you might like to come, send me your email, and I will give you more information. I sure hope a lot of you can come. I think we are going to have a fabulous time, and learn a lot!

Greetings, all! I'm glad to read all your posts and get caught up again! The last time I posted I was down with a sinus/respiratory infection, and I am greatly improved. The transition back to work after 2 weeks off, for vacation then illness, was a little tough, but, hey, I've been through worse! Our weather here has been quite cold as well, and yesterday we lost our main furnace (this with temp of about 10 last night!). Thankfully we were able to get someone to come out yesterday and we finally got it fixed today (can you imagine the expense of Sat & Sun service calls?), so at least we won't have the challenges tonight that we had last night.

But, I must say, you all would have been proud of me this morning: even with temps in the low 50s in the main area of the house (the rest was much colder!), I challenged myself to a work out. I did a bone strengthening workout for 45 minutes. I worked out yesterday as well, only for about 30 minutes though. I am trying to be realistic since I am still recovering from illness.

All these cancer anniversaries coming up for so many of us! My third breast cancer 1 year anniversary will be January 28th. I always count from the day of surgery (7/25/95, 06/26/06, and 01/28/09) since that is the day malignancy was removed from my body. Although I have to say,  I never forget the diagnosis days and the circumstances around being told. I have a mix of feelings about this anniversary--glad to know that I have survived another year and feel more empowered about my life, apprehensive about the next round of tests and the onc visit.  kmmd, I am glad to hear that acupuncture is helping you. I understand so well your comment about where you are this year in comparison to where you were this time last year. I would have been even more terrified if I had known about the chemo hardships I would endure last year. Now I am glad that I am stronger, have hair covering my head (especially since it is so cold), and still NED status. Ainm, take this upcoming time slowly and respectfully of your heart/mind/body, and try to expect confirmation of stability and improvement, including your amazing weight loss (your ONC better notice all your hard work like we do). What do you think about the Wii Fit Plus? Valjean, I hope your checkups will yield NED and evidence of a stronger you!

pk, I am amazed that you are able to do the P90X workouts. I would be hospitalized if I tried to do those. What do you do for fun? Please don't tell us it's P90X! And Spring, warrior woman yoga--let us know how that works out; you are amazing doing the walking and gentle yoga after the surgeries you have had. Deanna, I'm sorry to hear of your son's complications but glad to know that you know how to de-stress and that exercise works for you.I hope all that check out this thread discover the wonderful anti-stress properties of movement! Diane, welcome; you will certainly find inspiring stories and support here. You also will find lots of humor (like Harley's comments about her elliptical torture machine...). Many of us have been really challenged in our efforts to "make a come back" after the rigors of treatment. Let us know how you are doing!

So, Harley, how is the torture, um exercise, going today? Do you "enjoy" anything other than the elliptical? I have to mix things up some, or I go crazy. And I really am looking forward to getting back outdoors for walking again, one of my faves. (By the way, I really miss NC; I lived there for about 17 years, 10 of those in Boone.)  kari, I so hope for you that you have discovered some essential back interventions, with the chair and pillows and exercise, so you can build a stronger back and have less pain in your everyday life. You are such a strong, positive force here, and I know that many of us are hoping you will be as well as possible. And I am glad to hear that you are happy about your weight gain. I have really struggled to get back to my pre-chemo weight; I lost about 18 pounds, and I have only reclaimed about 7, even with holiday eating, since last May!

Okay, I will try to check in more frequently, so my posts to catch up won't be so long. In the meantime, let's all take good care, keep moving, and keep inspiring each other!

Harley, I am in Raleigh, where in NC are you? Did you hear? It is going to hit 58 later this week! Yay!

Hi all. Greetings from the central coast of NC. I made it to see me DS. The ferry ride cost $30 but the hug was priceless!!! Had a great time but short. Took the Dd with me and she did really good traveling. My DS took me to meet friends and play poker. We won over $40 so it wasn't too bad. Played with quarters.

I had trouble with my septic and pipes before leaving and had to deal with that "crap" Had 2 loads of towels to wash from mopping up my floors. Took 5 days to get it fixed and running again. With this cold I couldn't even run the water to keep my pipes from freezing. But luckily that didn't happen.

I have been to the center and walking on the treadmill and also doing some arm exercises. Will try the "tortue" machine sometime this week. I went 3 times last week and will try it again this week too. Yoga on Wednesday. Also the Dd gets her 2 walks a day. Even in the cold!! Come on Harley get up and out!!! Working nights this week. I'm with ya'll and looking forward to the warm up this week. I'm off on Thurs/Fri so hope to enjoy it. In the midst of this I also broke my toe and have blisters on both feet on my toes. I'm falling apart!!

Harley - did you have radiation in Wilmington? I was sent down there for my tx.

Time to walk and get ready for work. Hugs to all and sorry this is so lengthy. Ainm - great work on the weight loss. Everyone good luck on the anniversary dates. Will check in later.  

I contacted our dear Zumba Lisa. She is doing great, busy as all get out (what a surprise) and thriving! She will be doing Zumba in Vegas in March but gave me the name of a local teacher who said she would be happy to teach us Zumba at the prevention convention. So Friday is going to be fun fitness night. We will do yoga, Zumba, and I am going to talk about rebounding. Maybe you gals can get together a NC carpool. Harley, please get Shirley to come. I want to harass her in person! If you all share a room and gas, it will not cost very much.

As for you gals on that "torture machine", why don't you try the mini tramp? It is so much fun, easy to do and mindless. I do it in front of the tv. It is like dancing and bouncing at the same time. And moving the lymph is so good for you. I cannot do any of those exercise machines. They bore me to tears. And some are so unsafe. You only need to do about 20 min. on the mini tramp, followed by some pilates and free wts to have a complete work out. Go for it!

Hello, ladies... I am so dragging today.  Don't know why, but I just have no energy.  I'd walked 4 miles each of several days last week, but after missing Fri, Sat & Sun, I could barely drag myself 1.75 miles today.  It was also unbelievably hot!  I didn't get out of the house until 11:00, and when I returned a bit later and checked the forecast on-line, it was already 72!  I'm thinking I'm probably dehydrated.  If it stays warm, I must remember to take water, which I haven't had to do in recent weeks.

So glad you got to see your DS, Joy. Sounds  like you had a wonderful time, except for that toe!  Ouch!     Deanna

OMG Deanna! You made me laugh! You poor thing. It is so HOT out there! Come on down! A couple of days around here will cool your jets! Or maybe I will just sent you some cool thoughts and you can send me some warm ones.Just laughing about it is already warming me up!

As for dragging, are you taking iodine? I had  a couple of really tiring days when I started. It is a detox symptom. You need to do the salt loading to get the stuff out faster. Just a thought.

As for you Caroliina girls, when it finally gets to 40 around her, I will be breaking out the shorts!

Yesterday DH and I took a nice walk in the snow. I had on long pants, two pairs of  long socks, long coat, swetshirt, tshirt, my fur lined vest, polar fleece headband, long scarf and gloves under mittens. It was like walking with weights! Love that cold fresh air! Don't worry, it is not so bad in March!

Just a quickie: I CONFESS! I did not exercise today. I stayed in bed for the extra hour this morning, worked a bit of a long day, then went out to dinner with my husband and my sister, whom I had not seen since Thanksgiving. I came home to give my confession and go to bed! I will try again tomorrow: up at 5:45 and work out for 30-40 minutes before work. Wish me luck, or should I say, motivation!

reading but haven't had time to post...Brenda, loved your post as well.  Joy so happy for you...regarding your son not your toe!!  yes, how did you do that?  ouch!

Deanna, your post reminded me of my similar experience.  Saturday I did 2 workouts, one in the a.m. and felt so great that evening I did a really aggressive workout.  Well, I did myself in, cause Sunday I didn't feel well, was really tired and sore, so I took that day off, but I did do a short yoga gentle routine.  Maybe your body just needed a break, but I agree, it was probably dehydration.

Yesterday did a mile in the morning and one at night with hills on the treadmill, this morning did 20 min again with cross training and will get back to my abs/arms/legs after work.  I'm trying...I'm trying!!   

...I just typed a message, and POOF! it's gone! 

for the past couple of days, I've been running through my neighborhood.  I think it's 2 miles.  It's been in the low 40's so I've been bundling up...  if it's colder than 40, I will have to resort to that elliptical torture machine!     vivre, you make me laugh... you will bring out the shorts, if the temps are above 40!! 

I've just started taking Curcumin, Deanna, and I think it's the active ingredient found in turmeric.  My calves have been sore for the past couple of days, but I think it may be from that elliptical torture machine.  Either that, or I'm just not used to running again... 

Hope you are all keeping warm, except for Deanna... hope you can keep cool!! 

Harley

Looks like many of us have limited time but want to stay connected to each other! My confession starts out dismal then gets pretty bright: I had woefully inadequate sleep last night and actually whined--several times, too--when my husband crept in to perform alarm clock duties ( he is a much earlier riser than I). The whining quickly turned to begging, and he agreed to let me have another hour's sleep. (Can you imagine the man disagreeing with me at that point?) So, I had a better day with the extra hour of sleep, then immediately marched myself into my workout clothes when I got home late this afternoon and worked out for 30 minutes! Yeah, more would likely have been better, but that is the best that I can do. I hope you all are keeping up with your workouts and coming here for some great encouragement when you're feeling sluggish. Thanks for all the support!

Ainm

Sorry about your pipes... hope everything is ok and all back to normal.

Brenda,

I can always use MORE sleep!  I just started Femara on Jan 1st, and I am sleeping better, so I guess that is a good thing.  But... when I have to go back to work, it will be difficult...

kmmd

I often skip the makeup so I can get a few more minutes of sleep... at least you'll be using the time productively, by exercising!!  

Harley