The MS Walk and the Wii

Last year at this time I was out of work due to my MS and depression. This year I am signing up for, strike that, have already signed up for the National MS Society Walk on May 2nd. I'm going to walk for those who can't move it due to MS!

I have started a team called Weeble's Wobblers aka Team Weeble for short. I am doing my best to rope in my friends and colleagues to be part of this awesome team. I have a goal for our team of $1200 in donations. Just today I have received $150 in donations through Facebook. If you'd like to donate and we're Facebook friends, you can click on the link at the bottom left of my page and it will take you where you need to go to donate.

*Thanks BJM for being a part of my team!

As far as the Wii goes, I have lost 23 pounds since January when I started the Just Dance. I added in the Gold's Gym Cardio Boxing in February and that added a whole new dimension to the "shake up the fat" zone. The next thing I am going to do is add in Zumba DVDs to dance and shake my bountiful booty. I am actually enjoying moving my body, challenging it, and making it sweat. Maybe I will eventually hit my goal of running again! Woohoo, that's something to think about.

Tomorrow is also my Friday at work because Friday is a Tysabri day. That means I can go to McDonald's and get a Shamrock shake before the Ty. Yummo!

Snow day round two and bad cat

We had Friday off as a second snow day, woohoo. So what did I do?

I went out and purchased a money order for my rent; we can't pay in cash or a check so that's a pain in the rear every month. After the bank I went to a local store for some new Easy Spirit sneakers. I treated myself to two pairs of new sneaks but when I got home I noticed I bought a whole size larger than the 6 and a halfs I already own. I'm not sure if I should keep the bigger ones or go back and try the other size. Oh what a dilemma! (Insert loud snort here.)

I had a great workout on Friday with another hour of major boxing, some dancing, and lots of sweat. As gross as it sounds, I like the feeling of sweat rolling down my neck while I am running or punching the sand bags. Those endorphins are a free med that I don't need a co-pay for amongst my regular pharmaceuticals.

I like the feel of the flab moving around as I dance and jog and throw hooks. In my own convoluted head, I believe that the more the flab gets shaken up, the more it will deteriorate and leave my overweight body. I know it doesn't quite work like that but it helps me to keep moving it. A year ago I was such a mess. Now I feel like I have come such a long way, being able to move so much and feel so free. This is a good place to be.

As far as the bad cat goes, Edison has taken up chewing up cables on the back of my computer. I have a desk top so that brings forth some problems. He has one cable almost chewed all the way through. It's kind of pizzing me off. He's not supposed to be doing that and yet he is. I caught him chewing today and sprayed him about 8 times with the spray bottle. I also wacked him when I caught him chewing tonight. Neither thing seems to be doing any good. The computer is not up against a wall; it's against a heater so I can't push it back too far.

Any ideas on my kitty issue?

Saturday was tax day for me and I look forward to my returns coming soon. I also grocery shopped, read and napped. No exercise today; it's a day off. My arms are sore but a good, healthy sore. Back to it tomorrow.

I have MS but I'm not letting it control me now!

There's no day like a snow day!

Okay, I finally received the gift of a snow day. How excited was I this morning? Pretty darned excited, people.

What did I do with my day? Not a lot which is the beauty of an unexpected paid day off. I napped on and off and just took my shower at 7:30 p.m. I made beer bread and some dip and feasted on that. (Don't worry; there is still some left!) I watched some TV and read some of my book and a magazine. I worked out for 65 minutes with my dancing and boxing. I finally shoveled the car off and moved it into its correct space.

I feel so good it's unbeleivable. The shower has relaxed me even more after my exercise endorphin rush. I feel squeaky clean and cleansed of any frustrations or bothersome nuisances. I'm like jello with a spine.

One other thing I did was talk to the Tysabri people when they called this evening. I reported that all was good because it is. Tysabri, for me, is a good drug even with the risk of PML. I know everyone has their own opinion but I have had a spectacular school year this year.

Survivor is on so I have to go watch before it's my bedtime. I bet I am asleep long before half my class is. Night to all! :)

Maybe baby...

Tomorrow has the potential to be a snow day. Just wanted everyone to know that in case they wanted to put extra powerful vibes out into the universe.

Worked out today but I am having some pain in my right leg and my arms feel heavy. Take the pain away, Aleve.

This is short and sweet but so am I!

I miss my boxing.

I did not box today and I swear I am having withdrawal symptoms. I'm cranky and alert when I am usually sweaty and winding down. I took the day off from boxing because I have been working out like crazy lately. Everyone knows you need to rest up and not wear yourself out by doing too much too often.

Last night I was up about 3 hours after falling asleep and I was in some pain. My legs and back ached. Ached, people! I took some Aleve and finally got back to sleep. That was my sign to take it easy today.

A day off helps the body rest and repair itself from all the activity it's been undergoing. I just can't imagine three months ago saying that I miss exercise but it's true.

I'll keep moving it for as long as I can, with those occasional rest days thrown in there. Hope you're feeling well and able to move as much as you can!

OMB (Oh my blog!)

Yep, I'm at it again. Here I am typing away for a second day in a row. I hope there's still someone rambling around out here in my part of cyberspace to read this.

So what have I got for you?

No snow day again. No surprise. For those of you that don't "know" me, I live in the snow belt. We get a lot of snow in the winter, usually a minimum of 120 inches or so. We have not had one snow day yet. Any teacher in these parts will admit to being restless and eager for a snow day. SOON!

I know that no one else really gets snow days off. I understand your envy of teachers getting a day off for free. It's a bonus day that they pay you to stay home and watch TV and nap. Life doesn't get much better than that.

We have 5 days scheduled for snow days on top of our regular work days. Not one has been used and this is a record. We have never gone this long in the winter season without a snow day. Teachers all over the area awake each day to turn on the TV in hopes that a real snow storm has struck that wasn't on the radar. I can almost hear the collective groan of these dedicated workers getting up at 5 a.m. and being denied that special day.

I know, suck it up.

I will and I do. I go to work each day, sometimes begrudgingly, but my day will come.

In other stuff, I danced and then boxed for a good hour. I know I have had a good workout when my eyesight starts to get blurry. I know this is a typical occurence for MSers when their body temperature rises. Stuff tends to go a little haywire but it's just temporary.

I also know I have had a good workout when I am sufficiently sweaty and my body feels good. I am starting to crave this thing called exercise. I used to be thin a long time ago and I worked out often. I was even a runner. Then I got fat, real fat, and then I got sick and finally I got diagnosed with MS. Since MS I haven't done a lot of serious moving around until now. I never thought my Wii would motivate me because the Wii Fit didn't do much for me. I thought it was boring and not fun enough. Turns out, I just needed to find the games for me.

Who would have thunk that a Fatty McFattypants like me would be getting in shape with video games? Stranger things have happened.

Like no snow days, for one!

What's up?

I know I have been gone for a long time, over a month, and you probably gave up on me. Here I am though. SURPRISE!

Things have been going so well for me that I just haven't had anything to whine or kvetch about so I have been staying away. For me, no news on here has been good news.

MS-wise I have been doing fantastic, no relapses, no new symptoms. I'm going to have new MRIs scheduled sometime in the near future to see what Tysabri has been doing to my lesions, if anything. All I know is that a year ago I was out of work due to my MS and depression and now I am moving along swimmingly. Work hasn't been a total dream but this is my best year in a long time. Thud, thud! (That was the sound of me knocking on wood, or rather particle board.)

I am done with therapy after nine plus years and I feel so free not having to go in for my tune-ups once a month. I miss my therapist only in the way that we became more like friends by the time my therapy was done. I am still taking my depression meds, along with the rest of them, and I am doing well with that.

Work is good, emotions are stable, and my MS is not really in the forefront of my mind. I have started to do some positive work for myself on the health front. I bought the Just Dance Wii game after Christmas and started dancing several nights a week with it. Then a friend suggested Wii's Gold's Gym Cardio Boxing and I added that in to me exercise repotoire. I have now gone down two pants' sizes just by dancing and boxing and having fun.

Go me!

I haven't changed my eating habits but the exercise, and it is exercise, has been such a wonderful accoutrement to my quiet life. The boxing gets out any frustrations and I have fun throwing those hooks. I jump rope and run and box and then throw in the dancing. I get sweaty and the endorphin high is great, after years of not doing much more than the Walk Away the Pounds DVDs which are just plain boring after a while. I love moving my body around and seeing changes.

Things with my family are going well. My sister is now in Afghanistan and my brother is staying in Germany. My parents are holding their own health-wise. Edison kitty has been declawed and fixed and has all his shots. He seems to adore me and likes to sit or lay across me whenever possible.

Things are going well for me. I hope the same for you in your world. :)

New Year thoughts

I had dinner today with my parents sans siblings who are away from home. The turkey dinner was good, made even more so by the fact that all I have to do is show up and eat it. It was after the chowing down that we sat around and reminisced about family members not with us, my siblings, the economy, and life growing up.

From the outside looking in, I had what probably looked like a darned good childhood and adolescence. That was primarily a shaky house of cards but I made it through. I think now that my parents were stressed about many things as I grew up. I am not letting them off the hook but I think they mostly did what they thought was right. They are not people who believe in mental illness and therapy for anyone, least of all their own child and there I was severely depressed and bulimic for many years. I was afloat in a sinking ship in the midst of a typhoon. I needed help and understanding and they just could not provide that. So I ate and purged and ran and cried and wrote about my suicidal thoughts.

I came through the storm to the calm on the other side. I'm here and I'm finally ending therapy for the first time in ten years because I am doing well. I have survived and thrived and now I can write about the positive parts of my life. I'm in a much better place than I was even a year ago.

I see my parents as the flawed but loving people they are now. I see them getting older and wonder how long I will have them in my life. I can hug them now when I leave their house and truly wish them positive thoughts. I see the three of us as adults and not just me as the hurt child I was for so long. Shedding that role is like a caterpillar emerging from a cocoon after resting in the chrysalis for so long.

I have beautiful wings that are begging me to try them out. Watch me floating through this fabulous world, viewing everything with new eyes.

Happy 2010 to you all.

Where have I been?

So where have I been and more importantly, do you care? I have been busy with work and kitten duty and just taking a break from the blog. I have been thinking very little about my multiple sclerosis and about multiple sclerosis in general. I haven't even been reading my MS friends' blogs. I have just been living in the moment, sometimes blissfully and sometimes woefully but I have just been breathing and going with the flow.

Christmas was wonderful. It started with Christmas Eve at BJM's house where I arrive early to help out/chat for the party that takes place at her home. Christmas was spent at my parents' house with my younger sister. It was her first Christmas home in three years because she has been in Iraq the last two years. My brother is stationed in Germany and he traveled to Rome and Turkey with some friends for the holidays.

Gifts were exchanged and I had great joy in my heart as presents were opened by family and friends. I think that is one of my most favorite parts of the holiday: buying gifts for others. It's a neat challenge to seek out something special for someone special.

My sister leaves tomorrow to go see her best friend for a few days. Then she is off to Afghanistan next month. It was weird to hear her say, "I'll see you in 2011!" I was at the house helping her make deviled eggs today. Something so simple compared to what she'll be doing next month.

So how was your holiday? I hope it rocked!

I'll try to come back with more regularity. :)

Edison kitty

I *know* I haven't been updating the blog as I should but I have been busy being a kitty mom again. I adopted a two and a half month old kitten two weeks ago. His name is Edison. He is keeping me running from sunup to sundown.

We've been to the vet for our first series of shots. He has been treated for fleas and come out flea-free on the other end. He is three and a half pounds of cuteness with incredibly sharp claws.

INCREDIBLY sharp claws!

My legs are still trying to heal from all the claw marks from him scaling me like I am our seven and a half foot tall Christmas tree. I have to admit he is cute but those claws placed on my skin have caused me to curse every now and then.

He is darned cute in the tree even though he isn't supposed to be in it. Sometimes he just climbs it to sit amongst the branches. Most of the time he's knocking the ornaments out and I just pile them up instead of replacing them on the tree. Needless to say, our tree is looking a little pathetic now.

I talk to Edison about his big brother from another mother Franklin. I have a strong feeling that Franklin led me to Edison because I always talked to Franklin about how cute he must have been as a kitten. I had adopted Franklin as a two and a half year old cat so I missed kittenhood then. Now I am more than making up for that.

Edison also does this one-eyed wink that Franklin used to do. Even more reason to believe in Franklin's help from above.

That's all I feel like writing for now. Thank you for so many of your kind comments on here and on Facebook.