September '20 WISH Challenge - New Beginnings

[sjrec]

My husband and I have raised an amazing daughter. She’s smart, a wonderful wife and mother, so good at her job (elementary librarian) and has the kindest heart. She was the joy of my parent’s last years.
I joined and rejoined several weight loss programs before I finally stuck with it and lost 70lbs. I’ve mostly kept them off for almost 20 years-it’s not always easy and I have gained 5lbs over the summer, but I know what to do and it’s time to get serious before it’s 10lbs.

 

[piglet1979]

Hi wish peeps. Hoping I can ask for some prayers and positive thoughts. My dad was just taken to the hospital with severe anemia. My mom is currently with me as she has dementia and can only be alone for a couple hours.
I know dad is where he needs to be and thankfully I didn't wait to call the doc. I am trying to stay calm but am kind of freaking out internally.

Prayers and positive sent you way.

 

[piglet1979]

So my mom did listen to what I told her. She got a doctors note for work that says something to the point of she can only work when social distancing and mask wearing is being done. Their superintendent has already said no social distancing is happing. She will turn in the letter today and they have a big union meeting tonight with everyone about this. Hopefully good news will come for my mom. She is a 7th grade teacher but is certified 1-8 in all areas. She did tell me that she would be willing to go to a younger grade level where she only has 1 group of 20ish kids instead of about 128 kids a day.

I did get to spend the day with her on Saturday. We drove 2 hours away to go to IKEA. She is moving into a new house and waned a dresser. I wanted to spend time with her anyways so this was really nice. I am trying to get as much time with her now before I won't be able to for awhile. She has told us that if she is back full time with kids where she is at, that she will not be seeing us because she would feel like she is at least like she is a carried and doesn't want to get us sick. So I am trying to get my time in as I can.

So, I signed up for virtual 5k this morning. It just needs to be completed by November 22nd. I will most likely do it this weekend. I have never done one before and I don't really plan on running it. I will do it on my treadmill and will walk fast at times and then slow down. I am actually really excited for this.

Also in the news of my weight loss, I a down almost 3 pounds since I got the treadmill. So about 2ish weeks. I am really loving it.

 

[Summer2018]

1. The most important thing that I have done is to raise a strong, compassionate, open-minded, creative, resilient woman. My daughter is by far my greatest accomplishment.

2. I managed to put myself through college on my own dime while supporting myself shortly after the death of my mother. I later attended grad school while working and being a wife and mother, with a 4.0.

3. I have taught for nearly 20 years, achieving national accreditation from NAEYC three times, and had the model Pre-K classroom in the district.

 

[Oneanne]

Oh good question. I've suffered from a case of "not good enough" most of my life, so didn't recognize what I was doing well when I was doing it, but in looking back there were some pretty awesome things. When I was in my late 20's I sold everything I couldn't ship via UPS, got on a plane and moved myself across the country to Virginia to be part of the crew that opened our first store on the east coast. It was such an amazing experience that I am so grateful I had. I love that area of the country and want to go back and wander around so badly.

The weekend was lovely and again, I felt like I did the right things to refresh and restore - it was a good mix of getting things done and doing nothing. I finished my book, I did household chores, made good progress here in the office, had out-of-doors time (the weather was beautiful)... everything I needed. But after being signed into work for half an hour sorting thru things, my stress level is thru the roof again. I really won't have an opportunity for more time off until I'm actually off last week of October, so I'm going to have to try harder at finding things that help me to keep the boat afloat. I didn't get very far with my list of doing things differently last week, but I'll give it another go this week with just two things:

1. Leave the TV turned off in the evenings and read instead (except that I will watch the debate tomorrow).
2. Get out for walks each day... in the neighborhood or down at Alki Beach, doesn't matter, just get outside.

 

[piglet1979]

Something I can be proud of. This is hard for me because a lot of times I feel like I am doing everything wrong. Some thinking and I came up with my biggest accomplishment.

When I was in school I had a learning disability and a speech issue. The speech issue was huge. I started in speech when I was 3 and was in it for 9 years. You name the sound and I could not replicate it. My accomplishment was with my learning disability. When I was in 7th grade I worked my tail off and it paid off. At the end of that year I was able to start phasing out of tutoring. They didn't want to just end it because I was in it for so long. By high school I was no longer a part of the program. I was so excited. I continued to work hard and never needed to go back. This also had a down side. When I went to college I was not able to get help because I no longer had an active IEP. I was so mad but I kept moving forward. It ended up that I did not need the help. I would meet with people in the class and we would study and that helped a lot. I ended college with a GPA over a 3.0. This was huge for me. I was always more of a C student.

I have used this situation with my kids. DS had a speech issue as well. Thankfully not as bad as mine. and DD was behind in reading and English. When ever they would get down about it I would tell them this story and it helped. It also came in handy with DD. She went to Title One classes (like tutoring) but the school called them reading club. DD thought everyone went to them. When she found out the DS didn't and what the class really was she was devastated. She cried for a long time and told us how dumb and stupid she was. I was able to tell her that we all have something that we need to work on. DS was his speech (she didn't remember this) and mine was both and I told if she just works hard she will be able to move out of reading club. This helped and now she is no longer in the program and gets mostly A's. We just need to work on the classes she thinks are boring and doesn't try.

 

[dsnyfn1022]

Some personal accomplishments:
-earning my master’s degree while teaching first grade. Lots of weekend classes where I didn’t see my husband But felt so good to get it done and feel for these young teachers trying to do it now with little kids at home too. But it’s worth it!
-figuring out how to teach kindergarten online. I don’t know that it was as successful as teaching them in person in the classroom. But I feel good that I creating meaning online activities that helped them to retain what I had taught them in person. I’m hearing from the first grade teachers that they are surprised at what my kids are able to do (considering they were identified as the lowest kids entering kindergarten).
-a few years ago I lost 30 pounds. It was a combination of using MyFitnessPal to track my eating and then joining Beachbody. Unfortunately Iet my stress eating take over during the pandemic and I’ve gained almost all of it back. so now it’s time to get serious again and really watch what I eat!

My Motivation - if I did it before, I can do it again!

Amen to that motivation! Masters work is no joke. Adding on teaching work to the top no doubt compounds that. And I’ll forever feel astonished by all the hard work teachers are pulling right now with virtual school! Keep up the great work!

know what to do and it’s time to get serious before it’s 10lbs

Wow! That’s an amazing accomplishment. I also lost 70 or so pounds once upon a time. Baby pretty much did away with it all. But you’re spot on. We’ve done it before and can do it again

My daughter is by far my greatest accomplishment

love it! Mommin’ ain’t easy. Anyone who says otherwise is lying haha!

When I was in my late 20's I sold everything I couldn't ship via UPS, got on a plane and moved myself across the country to Virginia to be part of the crew that opened our first store on the east coast

that’s so courageous!! I wish I would have moved away from my hometown during college. Just to experience living elsewhere. But I was too afraid to be away from home.

I ended college with a GPA over a 3.0. This was huge for me.

WOW! That’s amazing. Your story is so motivating. I love that you pushed yourself and never gave up. And you friggin’ did it! Your kids are incredibly lucky to have someone who is willing to fight like crazy to beat the odds. Thank you for sharing this story with us.

 

[glss1/2fll]

Proud accomplishments. Hmmm I guess I never think about them because they're just things I do. Like I wanted to go to Paris, so I found a college that would send me for a semester. Awesome!!!! I've raised two lovely gentlemen, I have a wonderful husband of 30+ years, I have a job I love--though not so much since March 13th! I don't know if I'm proud to be raising some one else's kids or not, but at least I stepped up to the plate. And in little proud moments, today I was really ticked off at our teachers and sent them a cute little email reminder instead of blasting them the way I really really wanted to! I'm sure they'll conveniently forget and continue with their behavior, but I did try.

 

[dsnyfn1022]

~ Topic Tuesday ~
Let’s talk gadgets! What gadgets make your lives easier? What can’t you live without? Any underrated finds to share with the group? Can be anything from kitchen gadgets to fun electronics, big and small.

For me, my kitchenaid stand mixer has made my life sooooo much easier with baking. I love to bake (haven’t much with my baby now) but not having to mix by hand is game changing!

from a health standpoint, right at the beginning of the pandemic I bought a little exercise bike off Amazon and it has been an awesome investment . Nothing too fancy. It folds up, manual tension knob. We had to assemble it when it was delivered but I am so glad to have it! For days when I don’t wanna go outside for a walk it’s a great tool for cardio. I am pretty sure it was less than $200 too.

lastly, I’m a cross stitcher and a friend got me a little magnet needle saver (it’s a cat in a mug of tea) that I can stick on my project and it keeps me from losing my needles. I didn’t know I needed one until I got it.

 

[piglet1979]

My phone. I never wanted a smart phone. I was never a texter and didn't really like the internet. DH was getting a new Blackberry back in the day and It was buy one get one. So I ended up with one. He had one for awhile before this. I was hooked and if I leave my phone at home on accident I feel lost for the rest of the day.

My Treadmill. This is a recent buy and I love it. We are using in every day.

I do love my Kitchen Aid stand mixer but I will wish I didn't get the biggest one. It is so heavy and hard to move. I don't have the counter space to keep it on my county. It does come in handy for the holidays with baking and when I make dinner for the family. I can fit about 8 pounds of potatoes for mashed potatoes in the bowl. I keep a small hand held one for smaller things throughout the year.

 

[piglet1979]

We finally got confirmation on why Elizabeth has had so much pain in her ankle. For those of you that don't or don't remember, we found out about a year and half ago that she had a coalition in her right ankle. She had pain in that ankle for over 3 years before we found out what the real issue was. It is extra bone/tissue like materteral that is not supposed to be in your ankle and makes it so that you can't move your foot as good as people without it. This is something that is genetic and a birth defect. She had surgery to remove it a little over a year ago.

We new that there was a good possibility that it was in her left foot as well but were waiting to see if she had any issues before doing anything. She started in August with the same foot pain so since we all knew that it was most likely the same thing we went straight for the MRI. We got the results confirmed yesterday that she indeed has it in her left foot. They gave us 2 options. Keep her in a boot, take motrin and do PT until it is better or do surgery. We are doing surgery and her doctor thought the same thing as we tried PT and boot with the other foot several times. So she is having surgery on the 9th.

I am very nervous this time. I know what to expect so I am good there. This time I have to go by myself. This is one of the things that is freaking me out. I will have to maneuver the big main campus of the hospital by myself and sit their for the few hours while she is in surgery by myself. As long as I have someone to look after I am good. Last time I was dealing with DH being worried so I was good. Also, just being in the hospital with COVID going one freaks me out. I might try to get DH to drop us off and pick us up though. To top it off I didn't realize I scheduled it for our 16 year anniversary. We will celebrate another time. We were just planning on having a picnic in the park so we will do that another time.

 

[dsnyfn1022]

It is so heavy and hard to move

Seriously, that sucker is HEEEFTY. I just keep it in the same spot because I’m too lazy to move it haha!

She had surgery to remove it a little over a year ago.

Good vibes for your family and DD! Surgery is so intimidating and sometimes it feels like knowing what to expect doesn’t make it any easier (and sometimes makes it worse!) I’m sure you’ll all be happier once she’s dealing with less pain!

 

[sjrec]

We finally got confirmation on why Elizabeth has had so much pain in her ankle. For those of you that don't or don't remember, we found out about a year and half ago that she had a coalition in her right ankle. She had pain in that ankle for over 3 years before we found out what the real issue was. It is extra bone/tissue like materteral that is not supposed to be in your ankle and makes it so that you can't move your foot as good as people without it. This is something that is genetic and a birth defect. She had surgery to remove it a little over a year ago.

We new that there was a good possibility that it was in her left foot as well but were waiting to see if she had any issues before doing anything. She started in August with the same foot pain so since we all knew that it was most likely the same thing we went straight for the MRI. We got the results confirmed yesterday that she indeed has it in her left foot. They gave us 2 options. Keep her in a boot, take motrin and do PT until it is better or do surgery. We are doing surgery and her doctor thought the same thing as we tried PT and boot with the other foot several times. So she is having surgery on the 9th.

I am very nervous this time. I know what to expect so I am good there. This time I have to go by myself. This is one of the things that is freaking me out. I will have to maneuver the big main campus of the hospital by myself and sit their for the few hours while she is in surgery by myself. As long as I have someone to look after I am good. Last time I was dealing with DH being worried so I was good. Also, just being in the hospital with COVID going one freaks me out. I might try to get DH to drop us off and pick us up though. To top it off I didn't realize I scheduled it for our 16 year anniversary. We will celebrate another time. We were just planning on having a picnic in the park so we will do that another time.

I remember you saying it might be an issue down the road with her other foot. She had such good results from the first surgery- that must be comforting.

 

[Oneanne]

We finally got confirmation on why Elizabeth has had so much pain in her ankle. For those of you that don't or don't remember, we found out about a year and half ago that she had a coalition in her right ankle. She had pain in that ankle for over 3 years before we found out what the real issue was. It is extra bone/tissue like materteral that is not supposed to be in your ankle and makes it so that you can't move your foot as good as people without it. This is something that is genetic and a birth defect. She had surgery to remove it a little over a year ago.

We new that there was a good possibility that it was in her left foot as well but were waiting to see if she had any issues before doing anything. She started in August with the same foot pain so since we all knew that it was most likely the same thing we went straight for the MRI. We got the results confirmed yesterday that she indeed has it in her left foot. They gave us 2 options. Keep her in a boot, take motrin and do PT until it is better or do surgery. We are doing surgery and her doctor thought the same thing as we tried PT and boot with the other foot several times. So she is having surgery on the 9th.

I am very nervous this time. I know what to expect so I am good there. This time I have to go by myself. This is one of the things that is freaking me out. I will have to maneuver the big main campus of the hospital by myself and sit their for the few hours while she is in surgery by myself. As long as I have someone to look after I am good. Last time I was dealing with DH being worried so I was good. Also, just being in the hospital with COVID going one freaks me out. I might try to get DH to drop us off and pick us up though. To top it off I didn't realize I scheduled it for our 16 year anniversary. We will celebrate another time. We were just planning on having a picnic in the park so we will do that another time.

I hope everything goes well, and that you'll be more comfortable with the situation once you actually get in to it.

 

[Summer2018]

Quick mask break. I have to think about what gadgets I rely on.

Just a note...Para called out to my principal last night, but she didn’t notify me. It’s my para’s responsibility to let me know when she will be out. This is the first time that she’s pulled this nonsense. She left me hanging this morning. Not cool. I had to ask the principal if she was absent to find out. She’s so petty trying to make my last days in PreK difficult.

Whatever. Glad I don’t have to look at her and be pleasant.

I will check back with you all later.

 

[sjrec]

My Kindle! I get books from the library as well, but my Kindle allows me to read books that aren’t available from there.

My phone has a health app where I keep track of my steps and other data. I might ask for an Apple Watch for Christmas, though!

 

[Oneanne]

Favorite gadgets...

Interchangeable knitting needles: for those that don't knit you can get sets with different sizes of tips and different lengths of cord that screw together, so you need fewer needles. Up until 6 or 7 years ago I only knit with (inexpensive) Clover bamboo needles, it was a huge investment to get my first interchangeable set also Clover bamboo. They came from Joanns with a coupon so were really only about $40, but it seemed like a lot at the time. Shortly after that I started taking knitting classes and learning about needles and now have three different sets of interchangeables plus 30+ regular needles... once that door was opened buying the first set it was a slippery road...

I'm really loving my toaster. Last week I actually bought Pop Tarts, for the first time in the 10 years that I went without a toaster... fortunately they weren't very good.

And it's a big gadget, but I love my car. I've always enjoyed driving, and this particular car has been such a good one. The time has finally come that I need to get a new one and I'm thinking that will happen in December: it's going to be another sad loss for the year to let this one go as I've had it since 2004, but the time has come. I had the model I want to get picked out but have been thinking about hybrids and that model doesn't come hybrid, so still thinking about what to get.

 

[piglet1979]

I remember you saying it might be an issue down the road with her other foot. She had such good results from the first surgery- that must be comforting.

Yes, Knowing what to expect has been very helpful. It has also helped DD too. She is just worried about the COVID test she has to take.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Greatest Accomplishment - like others said, my kid! He's smart and funny, and cares about everyone. He's not perfect, but I think he's pretty great.

Current Accomplishment - continuing to grow as a person. I'm a firm believer that you should never stop learning! I love reading, including nonfiction on a variety of subjects, and I've tried to seize the opportunities in all the recent changes by learning new technology that was previously way out of my comfort zone.

Favorite gadgets:

My iPad - DH and DS got me my first one several years ago, and upgraded it last Christmas. I love, love, love it!!

Like Piglet said, my treadmill. We all got that together, two Januaries ago, but the boys' interest dropped off and I'm still using it.

DVR - best television-related invention ever!

And one quirky kitchen gadget - Years ago, we bought a can opener called the safety can. It wasn't great at all, and we've long since bought a different kind, but it came with a freebie called the safety jar that I still use all the time! Here is a pic on one from eBay:





I do not know what I would do without it in my kitchen.

 

[sjrec]

Yes! Our TiVo! I’m going to watch an old Columbo I recorded tonight instead of, well...(leftover self care).