Becky, I have recently been seeing a massage therapist about all my various problems. I go for a Swedish massage rather than deep tissue. She still focuses on my problem areas (last week she told me, "Your elbows are a mess!") but I don't come away with bruises or anything like that. I have yet to see if it will actually help my arms but I paid for a 5 visit package so we'll see. FWIW the woman I see was trained in China at a Chinese traditional medicine university, so her massage involves some acupressure as well. It could be something else to look into if you're interested.
Jay - thanks! The underlying issue is a C7-T1 misalignment which *I think* happened when I was a kid - either when I was jumped on from a diving board, or when a 2-person somersault went wrong. I can remember how much it hurt! Hindsight being 20/20 - THAT would have been the time to go to a chiro, but my folks weren't into it. The more it twists and kinks, the more my shoulder and finger sensations go awry. Physical therapy got the shoulder to 90%, and chiro can fix it completely - but not permanently. I do appreciate the suggestion to try something more gentle first; that makes a lot of sense.
Jessica - thanks for the input. IMO, there are a lot of tremendously good things about Chinese medicine, so yes, perhaps rerouting some energy might be in order too! I'm even up for acupuncture. I had a friend that required both acupuncture and neuromuscular therapy to break up calcified scar tissue in her neck and shoulder - it was a brutal process but she is completely healed now. I hope I can tell a similar story some day (and you too!).
Boy what a hard week. I have been eating all sorts of junk to try to get some more energy. Totally overdoing the caffeine too. The only thing that's done is pack on the weight. I need to get back on track immediately or I'll hit 140 by Monday.
TGIF! I gave the walks this weekend to another walker. I will have enough work with my dad, the holidays, etc. I think that's what's so totally exhausting - never having an actual complete day off of everything. Ever.
I think a lottery win (and subesquent hiring of service help) would be a good Christmas gift right about now.
This is my weigh-in day, and I'm down almost two pounds, which I thought might be the case because my ankles and legs aren't puffy with fluid retention. This isn't because of me foregoing any handfuls of dry-roasted almonds or apples, but rather because TOM ended a few days back.
I have a Groupon print-out (or two ... or three) for massage discounts, but haven't used them yet. I went a little crazy when I first arrived up here, since in this area, massages only cost about $50-$55 when on special, or about half of what I'd pay downstate near my home. I am amazed by the proliferation of day spas and spa services in this area, as they were rare and confined to the wealthier Eastern suburbs about 10 years ago. Also I am seeing more Korean-owned nail salons around here, and their arrival appears to be forcing the salons and spas to drop their prices to remain competitive.
Now I really ought to go book a massage or a facial, as those things I've bought do have an expiration date. And it would be something nice to do for myself -- in my case, a personal indulgence rather than a therapeutic session. Though given the mind/body connection, who's to say it isn't therapeutic in some way?
House still in uproar from the builders. Taking the opportunity to cull our books. About 4 yards are in the boot of the car, bound for the charity shop (where many came from) or as donations to the library. There is a little more floor space for exercise now. Food so-so. I am very tired.
Here in my hotel room, I just made short work of a chickpea and spinach dish from inside a plastic bowl brought from home. I ate it cold and enjoyed every bite.
Unfortunately at the front desk they told me the hotel's gym is closed and under renovation, so I may try to get into my old gym tomorrow morning, then go back to the hotel to shower and change and drive to CT for work.
I had a long, long drive today, stopping in the Poconos to pick up an airconditioner listed on Craigslist and then heading east on I-80 and over the George Washington Bridge, which was, as usual, jammed with people returning to the city on Sunday night from sojourns elsewhere. I hate this bridge but the GPS lady talked me into it . I'll do anything to keep her from saying in that frantic voice, "Recalculating ... recalculating ...."
Saef- I hated that "recalculating" thing so much I stopped using my GPS and started using the Navigator function on my Droid instead. It is blissfully mum whenever I make a wrong turn (sometimes deliberately, when I know a better alternate for a portion of its route).
Jessica, I love getting massages. I have a chronically bad neck/upper back from fibromyalgia as well as a herniated C6-C7 disc and they help like nothing else. Unfortunately, the effects are very short-lived. As a Neurologist, high-velocity Chiropractic scares me and the stupid "activator" has to be a placebo effect. OTOH, I know many people who've experienced a great deal of relief from it, so who knows.
So I've spent the week on 2 different antibiotics, following doctor's orders to do as little walking/standing/carrying as possible. I've licked the infection I think, but I refuse to get on the scale since this near-complete lack of mobility has undoubtedly reduced my daily calorie burn to below my intake (even though I've been keeping intake below 1400). Every day this week has been a mental "fat day" whether or not I've actually gained weight.
Hope everyone's weekends went well. Finally got a fair amount of holiday shopping done (mostly electronically), so I'm feeling relieved.
The wagon got away. Friday thru Sunday I was deliberately unmindful, if there is such a thing, and the scale rewarded me appropriately this morning. I'm over it. I don't have any excuses left. So, I pushed the old wagon off the cliff and have started to build a new one using different plans.
Last edited by ICUwishing; 12-12-2011 at 12:53 PM.
I'm having a better day today. I slept well, have been eating according to plan, and spent some quality time assessing what I need to do versus what I want to do, and how those compare to what I CAN do. Two years have gone by since I was under 150! Two years!!! I can do better than this, but I have deliberately chosen not to make the effort - because it will be different, because it will be hard, and because I might slip and exceed my own expectations.
The tiny goals have done the trick and put me in a better place. Next up: remainder of December goal setting, and 2012 "big picture" targets.
to all! Did I kill our thread, or better yet, did everyone hit their target for trimming off a few for the holidays? It is a REALLY busy time of year, which is primarily why I hate it. I am committing to sticking to my guns on scaling back Christmas gifts to something meaningful - quality over quantity. One side of the family has this obsession with trying to increase the budget on presents every single year. I love these people, and try to find "things" that will please them ... but it's become this weird dance of "how much cr@p can we wrap?" I swear, they shop based on the amount of wrapping paper it will take to cover all of it! I've tried to get them to throttle back, or at least to spend the money instead by donations ... I was declared to be incredibly selfish because I would be denying them their pleasure of giving me vast quantities of stuff I don't want or need. I am learning to take deep breaths, and express my thanks ... while inside, just being thankful that they are restocking my re-gift piles.
Geez, no where NEAR goal....just getting by day by day.
Our Christmas this year is greatly pared down from years past. The kids are too old to want much and finding stuff they might like is too hard for me. Basically they're getting what they put on their lists (which for DD is a bunch of Wii games as she took her brother's Wii because he rarely plays with it). I remember the year he got the Wii--DH stood in line at two different stores to be one of the "lucky" ones! So glad he volunteered for that! Another reason we're paring down is that DH and I spent over $10,000 renovating the RV lot that his parents live on half the year. I think that's a good present! And we're taking them and the kids to Hawaii this summer. Nope. I don't feel bad about the kids having fewer gifts to open! LOL
I did do the charity thing. I've received a couple really nice letters from the recipients, too (one is a no-kill shelter that we adopted our Louie from, one is the local Senior center and one is a local food bank). I'm glad to be able to do a little for my community.
Sorry, I've been a body in motion -- as I suspect many others have been, with the holiday tasks piled up on the usual demands of daily life -- so haven't had a moment to check in. Also my weigh-in day is Friday.
Yesterday I spent time with three absolutely delightful men, each very good at what he does on his job and passionate about getting it exactly right. Being with them thrilled me and woke me up: Something about them called to something in me. These are My People, I feel, and we have something in common. A certain obsessiveness, perhaps. And high standards. They were, respectively, an architect, a furniture restorer and a furniture upholsterer.
The architect led me around my stripped-bare apartment. I had to kind of play hopscotch around floor studs (bare blocks of wood on the cement foundation, over which my new floor will eventually be laid) and try to imagine the see-through framing becoming real walls and supporting doors. We talked through what's going to happen with him brandishing a black marker & making signs & symbols on the wood framing, or little drawings as we talked things through. He was so energetic, full of questions, asking me things to expose the unthinking choreography of daily life, which would tell him what I need from a living space, while working in a kitchen, getting up in the morning, working from home, relaxing. And he loved my Greek Revival cast iron grilles, and we've worked out a way to set them into the walls of my hallway. I felt such hope & happiness after being with him. I have a vision for my future. Planning to build & create things is so intoxicating.
The furniture restorer, whom I know a little better, is a gifted man with incredible patience, ingenuity in problem-solving & command of all kinds of materials, from glue to varnish to stain to sanding to chemicals. He knows furniture from the inside out. He can't talk about the dates when it was made, or the value, but he knows the signs of handwork and good carving. He knows how to make it look good. Also he is unwilling to abandon anything. If it's maimed, he figures on fixing it. (The slogan for his shop is: "I Give Furniture Back Its Dignity." Someone else who's been a customer of his said, "And he gives the furniture owners back their sanity.") He would seem like a hoarder, except that he's industrious and actually works continually at his ambitions. I said to him, after looking around, "How long do you think it will take you to do all this?" and he laughed and said, "I'm gonna die with a piece of wood in my hand. They gonna find me with that wood."
The upholsterer was also fascinating to watch as, in addition to being a severe, focused, unsmiling perfectionist, he is a physically beautiful man. He looks like an actor or maybe a famous musician. I believe he is from the Dominican Republic originally. He has long, long black braids; liquid black eyes, almond-shaped; and beautiful hands. And there he was, tying springs onto my 1835 sofa. He was disgusted by the previous upholsterer's work on the sofa & saved bits from it to show me the low-class materials used, and also photographed it as he stripped it down. He didn't chat much, leaving it all to a smoother sales partner. When the sales partner asked me deferentially what color gimp (braided trim) I wanted on the edges of the sofa, I took a moment to respond, and the upholsterer looked up. "It should be the primary color, which is blue," he said severely as if there were no other options. I agree with him, but I adored him at that moment for his insistence on propriety and respect for such an old, elegant piece of furniture. There would be no messing around or fun-and-games on his watch. No using faux leopard or shearling or pink leather or whatever. In fact, I didn't want to bother him in his work and wrote out the check for the down payment in the office. There, on the wall, I saw that someone else had acknowledged how handsome he was: One of those NY street artists had drawn a charcoal portrait of him, and got him exactly right, and it was taped up on the wall looking down at us. Making sure I got the name right in the "to" line.
Thank you, awful flood, for being the instrument of my meeting these three men, and being inspired by how much they love their work & how much they care about getting it right.
FWIW the woman I see was trained in China at a Chinese traditional medicine university, so her massage involves some acupressure as well. It could be something else to look into if you're interested.
A very busy day with some dubious food through lack of time. I do hope tomorrow has more space but it's not looking that way at present.
It is a REALLY busy time of year, which is primarily why I hate it. I am committing to sticking to my guns on scaling back Christmas gifts to something meaningful - quality over quantity. One side of the family has this obsession with trying to increase the budget on presents every single year. 
I love these people, and try to find "things" that will please them ... but it's become this weird dance of "how much cr@p can we wrap?" I swear, they shop based on the amount of wrapping paper it will take to cover all of it! I've tried to get them to throttle back, or at least to spend the money instead by donations ... I was declared to be incredibly selfish because I would be denying them their pleasure of giving me vast quantities of stuff I don't want or need. I am learning to take deep breaths, and express my thanks ... while inside, just being thankful that they are restocking my re-gift piles.
