Category Archives: Daily Snippets

Daily Snippets, Friends, Kids, Running

My hands are cold

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Today I went to the YMCA and ran for a bit, lifted some weights, read the newspaper. It was nice. I’m trying to increase my running speed. I ran a 5k last weekend and set myself a new Personal Record – my total time was 38:34, which is an average time of 12:25 per mile. This was only slightly better than my last 5k, but it was a movement in the right direction, so I’m happy with it. I would like to cut my time down, see if I can get faster. At this point I’m not really interested in running longer races; I would just like to get those 3.1 miles done faster.

Today my daughter had a playdate at the park with a friend from the old school. They played and climbed while the moms talked. I was so glad they had that chance to see each other again, and I’m also happy that her mom and I can now say we are friends in real life (not just on Facebook). It was a lot of fun, but we’ve been home for over an hour now and my hands are still cold.

I have much to say about that race last weekend, but it’s too late in the day to collect all my thoughts properly and also, my fingers… ice cold. Seriously. Which makes typing kind of a challenge I would rather not suffer through. So I’ll leave you here and maybe revisit tomorrow or Sunday when my hands have had a chance to thaw out.

Daily Snippets, Food, Running

Chicken what?

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Did I mention a new restaurant opened near our house? It’s this Lebanese restaurant and they serve the best everything, but especially the chicken shawarma. I ate there Monday and Tuesday and then just finished off my leftovers today and ohmagersh I could eat this every day EVERY DAY. It’s so yummy and my tummy is happy, but since it was just a small portion (leftovers) I’m wanting more. If it were earlier in the day I would ride my trike and go get some, but it’s already after 3:00 so I guess I have to suffer until next time. 

I will survive, of course. 

Now off to shower cuz I just ran 3 miles outside and I’m kinda stinky. 5k race Saturday, wish me luck!

Daily Snippets, Food, Kids, Memories

The Trike

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My husband’s employer loaned us a trike for me to try, and perhaps keep if I like. I guess they had purchased it for a single purpose and no longer needed it, so lucky me! It definitely makes riding feel a lot safer for me.

So Monday the kids did not have school (something about Columbus) so we decided to ride bikes up to the store to get donuts and hot cocoa. All was going well until I hit a rough patch of pavement, throwing the trike off course, and eventually me with it. It felt like slow motion but was really only a matter of seconds. I found myself pinned to the edge of the road, this enormous tricycle and basket on top of me. The kids looked back and immediately ran to help me. Thank goodness for them, really. I don’t know what I would have done if I had been alone. It was a pretty scary fall, and I shredded my elbow, so I was bleeding quite a bit for the rest of the trip. Thankfully we were able to snag some band-aids from the donut shop. 

The rest of the trip was lovely, with the donuts and cocoa, and then some shopping, and then lunch at a new restaurant that had just opened that day. Best chicken shawarma ever!

But then today. Have you ever been in a car accident, and you hurt worse the following day? It’s a ridiculously delayed reaction from the impact. That’s what’s going on here. I underestimated the impact of that fall. My entire upper body is in excruciating pain and I am finding myself to be the biggest wuss about it! I am such a big whiner baby right now, and so I’m just gonna try to sleep. Last night I kept rolling over on my elbow and it would wake me up and that was just annoying, so hopefully it leaves me alone tonight and let’s me sleep. 

I am always telling you all to be thankful for the day and enjoy every moment so now I’ve gotta remind myself to take that advice. Come on now Mindy, it’s just a little aches and pains, be thankful you’re alive. You could’ve been run over by a car, after all! Get some rest now people… get some rest.

Cochlear implant, Daily Snippets, Exercise, Food, Multiple Sclerosis, Photos

Monday, you are so good to me

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Happy Monday!! I was feeling pretty grumpy yesterday but I’m feeling a little better today. I went to the YMCA first thing this morning, after the kids were on the bus. I really, really love the elliptical machine. It’s able to work so many muscles in my legs in a much shorter time than walking or running does. So I’m getting a better workout, and I’m not overheating or getting fatigued. Well, I do get a little fatigued, and I have to be very careful getting off the machine and walking back to the locker rooms (next time I’ll bring my cane). I feel weird having to literally pick up my leg to remove it from the machine, and then hobbling across the room. It just seems backwards, that I would be able to exercise fine, but then have trouble simply walking to the locker rooms. But I see lots of people walking around with canes there, so I don’t feel self-conscious about it. Granted, those people with canes are much older than I am, but that’s ok. MS has only taken bits and pieces, so I’m happy to keep working with what’s left.

And now This. This is why I’m straightening my hair. The longer it gets, the less curl it can hold. My hair is thick and heavy, and those curls, while I do love them, just can’t stand up to the weight. Not that I tried to help it along today, as I tend to do with mousse, but even with that the curl seems to fall quicker and quicker. Now that I have the hair at my  implant sites shaved short, I’m able to wear my hair down without it knocking the magnets off. So it’s nice, but it was funny to see what my hair was doing when I walked past a mirror. And that is why I snapped a photo, so you all could share in the laughter! I suppose it’s not super crazy, just different I guess. I’m not used to seeing myself with my hair down. Ever since my cochlear implant surgeries, I’ve been wearing it in the same half-ponytail: every day, basically, for the past two years. It gets SOOO boring. Bleh.

Y’all, I’ve got barbecue ribs in the crockpot for dinner! They are gonna be so yummy and I just can’t wait. What are you having for dinner?

Daily Snippets, Friends, Multiple Sclerosis, Running

Free lunch and learning

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I just registered for a lunch seminar-event-type deal, and it’s way out of my comfort zone. The MS drug manufacturers sponsor these events all over the place, and I see my neurologist is often the keynote speaker. However, she is not the speaker at the event I signed up for (oh, well). The one I signed up for is truly just a topic I’m interested in, “healthy living with MS”, and I thought it couldn’t hurt to go. Several reasons: it gets me out of the house, I may learn something new and helpful, and it will be nice to be surrounded by others who can relate to the struggles we all face with MS. Also, it’s free!

It’s Friday, and this completes the second week the kids are back in school. I’m just now starting to settle back into my “normal” state. I did some outdoor running this week, as the weather is cooling off a bit (we’re coming into my favorite seasons, fall and winter). Also, I was able to spend a lot of quality time with friends this week, and I know that did my heart some good. I have some pretty incredible friends. All in all, it’s been a good week.

Cochlear implant, Daily Snippets, Photos

Changes to my hair

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So today I went to the salon for my usual trim. During my haircut, I sent this photo to my husband, and told him I was getting my head shaved:

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That is, indeed, a razor in my hairdresser’s hand. My husband texted back and said I should ask her if she had a couch I could sleep on. Because he’s a funny guy.

Of course, I wasn’t pulling a Sinead O’Connor and shaving all of it. We were just shaving the small spots where my cochlear implants are, so that the magnets would have a stronger hold. I have thick, curly hair, and the longer it was getting, the more difficulty I was having keeping the magnets connected. Every time they fall off it wears on the cord, not to mention the sudden loss of sound I experience. It’s super annoying, y’all. Anyhoo, my hairdresser has another client with a cochlear implant, and when she moved to town and started seeing my stylist, she already had the implant site shaved, and just has it trimmed back up. When my stylist told me about this, it was the first I had heard of doing such a thing, and I was skeptical at first. But after several more months of frustration with the dang things, I decided to go for it. And let me tell you, I am so glad I did! It is amazing how much stronger the connection is. I could feel the difference right away. I mean, these things won’t budge. I’m loving it.

My next plan is to go back in a month and perm my hair straight. I’ve enjoyed my natural curl as my hair has grown longer (it’s a real pain in the rear-end when it’s short, with all my cowlicks), but I think I’m ready for a change. My husband and my son both like my hair when it’s straight, but when I told my daughter my plans for permanency, she took it pretty hard. She says she loves my curls, and it just wouldn’t be the same without them. Somehow I think she will get over it. We’ll see. She has four weeks to say her goodbyes, I guess.

Daily Snippets

Yes, ma’am

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A woman getting off the Spec-Tran van last week said to me, “Have a nice weekend ma’am.”

I looked to the woman sitting next to me and asked, “Did I hear that wrong, or did she just call me ma’am?”

“There’s a first time for everything!” she replied.

“I guess so. I didn’t think I was quite a ma’am, yet.”

“Let’s see… I would guess you’re what? 35?”

“Pretty close! I’m 38.”

And then of course, she wanted me to guess her age, which is frightening because you never know how a stranger will react depending on how far off you are. So always, always, guess on the low side. Unless you’re talking to a kid, I suppose.

I don’t usually converse with the other passengers, but sometimes I get stuck with a chatty one, and that’s always fun.

 

Daily Snippets, Family, Food, Kids, Memories, Multiple Sclerosis

Every day kinds of memories

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As happy as I am to have the kids back in school so I can have “my time” back, I must admit I really enjoy their company when they are home. Especially as they are getting older, it seems. Today was especially memorable.

My son woke up at 5:30 this morning (in hindsight, he said that was earlier than necessary) to make homemade pancakes for the family. His intention was to surprise me, but his nosy sister spilled the beans last night at dinner. That didn’t matter though, because in the mornings I have a hard enough time remembering which button to push to snooze my alarm. So I was still surprised, and delighted, really. He makes really great pancakes! Of course he learned from the best (wink, wink). What I loved about this gesture is that it was genuine. He almost seemed to be doing it as a thank you to me, for everything he sees me doing. This is the first year he’s been entirely responsible for packing his school lunches, and I wonder if that’s sinking in with him already. I’m tempted to say it’s making him more grateful. It makes a momma proud.

That was memory #1. Memory #2 was far less significant but still worth mentioning.

My daughter loves the library. She loves reading books and loves that they are free. Also, she still loves horses. This morning she was telling me about the book she just checked out from the library. She said it had the ‘a’ word in it. I looked at the cover. Out was a horse book, and it was clearly a children’s book, so I thought a second more. Then it dawned on me: they were talking about a donkey. Ha! So I explained to her that in that context, it was just another word for a donkey, and that was ok. But when she asked if it was okay to read it out loud at school, I told her I was fine with it but that she would have to run it by her teacher, because she would have to be sure the other kids understood it was not a swear word when used that way. Maybe they could have a class discussion about double meanings and word origins. Might not be a bad idea!

So I started the day with some great moments with the kids and now I’m at the infusion center getting my monthly Tysabri treatment for MS. A typical day in the life of Mindy, you could say. 

Also, it’s Friday. Thank the good Lord that you were given the gift of another day, and go out and make it count!

Books, Daily Snippets, Family, Kids, Memories, Parenting, Photos

Reading

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When I came to bed last night I found a note on my bedside table from my son. He was asking if we could go to the library the following day, and if so, he asked that I wake him up. That last part is laughable because he’s an early riser – no way am I getting up before him. But I was touched by the request anyway, and super proud that with one week left of summer, my kid wants to walk two miles to READ. 

We had a great time. Luke checked out some Michigan Chiller books he had been wanting to read, and Natalie perused the children’s cookbooks. Then they both put on a couple puppet shows for me, and we headed back, stopping for lunch on the way. 

Nothing super special, but we all really just enjoyed each other’s company and had a good time. These are the times I hope they will cherish and store away in their memory banks for years and years to come. 

Daily Snippets, Movies, Multiple Sclerosis

Umm… I blame the heat

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I know, I’ve been a stranger. WordPress keeps reminding me I haven’t posted in awhile. But dang it all, it’s just been so hot and that seems to suck all the life right out of me. Even when I stay indoors with the air conditioning as much as possible. I feel like Westley in the torture chamber with Count Rugen – “I’ve just sucked one year of your life away. ” That’s a Princess Bride reference, for those of you who haven’t had the privilege of seeing my all-time favorite movie. If you haven’t seen it, I can’t help you. I just can’t.

But back to what I was saying. Life. Sucking. Heat. It drains me. Fatigues me. And makes me feel generally ill. Every time I go out in the heat for even a few minutes, and before I even realize it, I’m overheating. I can cool off easily enough and get some relief, but it still leaves me drained of all energy. So I decided to take my neurologist’s suggestion and a buy a type of cooling vest designed for people with MS. I actually bought something more than a vest – it’s a whole set of cooling products: a scarf, a torso wrap, and bra coolers (eek!). They work really well, and I’m happy with my purchase. Just another weapon to add to my MS arsenal.

I did some really fun things in the past few weeks, and I hope to reflect on them this week and share with you here on the blog. But not tonight, because it’s late, and all I’m really up for is reading or continuing my binge watching of The Gilmore Girls on Netflix. A girl’s gotta have her priorities, right?