A Day in My Life, Day 19 #blogchallenge

Jan. 20th, Day 19. #ADayinMyLife

Today I took the day off for appointments. I slept in, getting back to sleep after the bathroom wakeup call. Man, I really needed that sleep! We had a good dinner with my dad and Patsy again last night, with my son and Chris also. Everyone had fun! They’ll be leaving early Saturday morning.

The first appointment today was at JOI for physical therapy for my shoulder. I hadn’t gone in several weeks but decided to go back for a few appointments to see if that would help me get over the hurdle, since being at home over Winter Break had me feeling like I had plateaued. My physical therapist pushes me further than I push myself, but if I still feel I’m not improving, I want to try for another MRI.

Afterward,I got to go home for lunch, see my mom, and feed Bixby some of my apple. It’s a relaxing thing for me! You can see he needs his toenails trimmed, but I’ve been waiting since a spot on his paw has been aggravated and still healing.

Bixby loves apples!

The second appointment was to get checked for breast cancer and get a mammogram. I can’t stress how important it is to get those tests regularly. I’ve had aunts on both sides who had breast cancer, so I’m trying to be cognizant and careful. At least the clinic was in an interesting part of town that is sprouting several murals now!

The outside of Sherwood’s bar.

The drive home was scenic and enjoyable. I’m planning to stay in and sleep well again tonight! Have a good Friday evening, everyone.

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A Day in My Life, Day 18, Pre-Alarm Ideas

Jan. 19th. Welcome to Day 18 of #ADayinMyLife, in which the best ideas happen before breakfast, before my morning alarm even!

I kind of would have preferred getting back to sleep at 4 a.m., but that didn’t happen. I had a mixture of bright ideas and health worries (shoulder, inflammation levels, upcoming tests). I’m not sure why my brain was doing a jitterbug instead of a lotus on this night of all nights, but it is what it is.

On to the productive results of my insomnia! As I’ve mentioned, next week is Literacy Week in the U.S. , and I am an English teacher, so this is big for me! Several teachers did a recorded book talk with our Reading coach yesterday about a book from our youth. I did mine on a Judy Blume book, Deenie. Well, last night I remembered why it was once banned. No big deal, I am a quiet rebel. 🙂 Which led me to make this:

All true. But books are no more dangerous than walking out your front door.

My other idea had to do with newspapers.. I’ll share more Monday, since that’s newspaper day and the first day of Literacy Week!

Busy at work, hoping to spread the joy of reading!

My workday came to an end quickly. It’s a lot of fun planning for Literacy week and talking to my cohorts who share a joy for reading with me! Tonight, we’ll be having dinner with my dad again, but this time Chris can attend. It should be fun!

Day 10 A Day in My Life: Shoulder #RRBC

Jan. 11,2023.

I can’t believe this is day 10 of the blogging -daily challenge! I also can’t believe

*I’ve been dealing with my frozen shoulder for almost 7 months. It took just 4 months last time. 😦 I did see the orthopedic doc today, and he gave me another corti-steroid shot. It always provides relief, but I need to stop needing it. Time will tell. He also showed me a new stretch I should do to add to my repertoire of exercises.

* the school year is more than half over

*January is more than half over

*How old I am. I intend to continue not looking, or acting, or dressing like my age!

*How old my son is: 26. I met my ex, his dad, at age 23, which tells me it was probably too early. I hadn’t fully been independent yet, and that’s part of the problem. I let him cover me with possessiveness, and I took that to be caring. I grew out of that, though.

*It’s been more than two years since our COVID lockdown. I saw a former student from that year, and he asked for a hug. He was always such a sweet kid! I think those hard, fearful times helped us try harder to build a community, even if online.

*This week is more than half over. It helps that I got to leave after testing to go to my appointment. One more test tomorrow.

That’s all I’ve got for today. I have some shoulder stretches to do. Have a good night, all!

From My Life, Day 6: Weekend Decompress #MyLife and #weekendcoffeeshare @PamSCanepa1

Day 6, A Day in My Life-

Happy Saturday! It’s been sunny here in NE Florida today! Bixby is happy about that, too. I normally do blog as part of #weekendcoffeeshare on Saturday mornings, but since I’ve taken the challenge to blog every day in January, this blog post includes bits of my whole day. ***Addendum – I fell out of the competition with my book club due to forgetting something, as I do at times, but I am still going to try to write daily all month for myself.

Bixby and I enjoyed an extended walk this morning, it was too beautiful out to avoid! Who needs the gym today? Of course, there is a lot of stop and go with him getting urgent needs to sniff certain areas of the ground. That’s what dogs do, right? Of course, I featured him in my post’s featured image. The image was a great idea I got from Karl Morgan, fellow author, blogger, and RRBC member. I totally stole his idea, so go and check out his blog for me , okay? https://charleswjonesauthor.com/posts/

My morning was also a time for me to go shop at First Place Sports and replace my sneakers. They’re only a year and a half old, but they are running shoes so I wear them when I’m exercising, which is often fast walking, and I also wear them quite frequently to work. I have worn them out! I have to stay really active at work, you know? Comfortable shoes are really important to me now, and dress shoes will not make the cut.

New shoe on the left. Such good shoes, definitely worth the price! They comfort my bunion foot and cushion my bad knee! Man, I sound old….

After lunch, I went for my massage appointment which started with an infrared sauna. I’ve tried to get massages every other week since the frozen shoulder had set in over the summer. The masseuse applies a hot towel to my shoulder and my upper back, and it eases the pain of my frozen shoulder and the tension I frequently get in my upper back leading to my neck. The massage is very helpful to ease the tension and stress, but the infrared sauna is new for me.

It was a payday week, as you likely can tell! I enjoyed the infrared sauna. It gets really hot, but it didn’t hinder my breathing, probably since it was dry heat. In fact, it reminded me a lot of a Las Vegas summer. You are supposed to sweat in the infrared sauna to release toxins, and boy, did I ever! I have a membership with the massage company, so I’ll probably do the infrared again, as I get a discount.

Later, my boyfriend and I will have dinner. My son might join us. We’ll see. Some of our favorite places are Bono’s and Longhorn. Sometimes it’s Thai food, if I can convince my boyfriend! I had Thai delivered to me last night, so probably not. I personally could eat Thai food several nights a week! I love the ginger sauce, and they always add plenty of veggies!

Two peas in a pod, except when it comes to Thai food!

Have a great Saturday and a happy day!

Weekend Coffee Share, Evolving part 295

He is the King of all he surveys. LoL!

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. It’s a chai latte fo me, how about you? I slept in, but this’ll be enough to get me going on a Saturday, when things are usually at my own pace.

You can see above that we got our house decorated. Bixby approves! I’ll be wrapping a few more gifts today. I’m just about done with Christmas shopping!

Today marks the start of my Christmas break from teaching. Woohoo! Time to rest and catch up with some friends. I went to see a rheumatologist Wednesday morning, which also gave me a morning off.

The appointment led to two things: While I don’t have RA, she gave me gabapentin for leg and nerve pain. She also confirmed osteo-arthritis and said I might have fibromyalgia. If you’ve known me or read my blog regularly, you know I have a relationship issue with pain. So, there will be more tests. I feel this is proactive.

You may recall that I won a teacher award (MVT) from our Gator Bowl association, to include a $1,000 grant for my classroom. Well, I spent $400 of it on an oculus. My retired friend from last year volunteers with my News Club. He and his wife talk about this technology at schools.

He and his wife came out to demonstrate it’s use and the how-to’s during one of my classes. This so excites me! I’m learning something new. Maybe I’ll become an expert. I’ve been saddened by my lack of gumption to write, wary of hurting my shoulder or wrist. It will move slowly. But here is something new, that doesn’t hurt. I see possibilities! I can evolve.

It’s giving me ideas… but those are for another day, another conversation.

Don’t worry, I can still sit with a journal and hand-write a page of gratitude and/or intention for my day. Albeit sporadically.

This morning when I woke late, I was grateful for the morning air, for my family, my boyfriend, for my soft, handsome dog, and a restful night. Also, for my job! My challenging, yet rewarding job.

Have a great weekend, all, and a Joyful Christmas or holiday season!

Poem to My Pain

(c) 2022

Yes, I know you’re there.

I’ve read different theories on

Why you’re still there,

And none of them agree.

Maybe you’re telling me

I work too hard,

Trying to keep me from

Pushing it too far….

Do you want me to stay away

From volatile situations,

Warn me to stay away from

Unsavory places?

You seem to want to slow me down,

And some say I should thank you.

I’d like to say it’s over,

But that doesn’t seem to be happening.

So, today I’ll just remind you…

You are not going to stop me.

By Pamela Schloesser Canepa

Weekend Coffee Share, Downtime

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Here is a place where I don’t drink coffee, but you certainly can. My chai latte, however, was pretty satisfying this morning.

I hope you all had a blessed and enjoyable Thanksgiving. My mom went up North to spend time with my brother, his wife, and his in-laws. At my son’s request, I planned a visit to Cracker Barrel for him, myself, and his father, my ex-husband. My boyfriend wasn’t ready for that, so he went to a basketball convention in Orlando. I expected an awkward Thanksgiving, but it was relatively quiet, and we were there and support of our son. It worked.

The wait at Cracker Barrel -shorter than expected!

My son and I had some quality time walking with the dog before the early dinner, and there was no rush. He and I had good leftovers Wednesday night and watched a lot of Blacklist in Netflix. Spader is such an awesome actor! One thing I love about Thanksgiving is time with family. I didn’t have all of my family, but I enjoyed the quality time with my son and my dog, Bixby!

The only shopping I did yesterday was online. I felt good staying out of the stores. My boyfriend got back from Orlando yesterday morning, and he and I had dinner with my son last night, which was nice. I’ve gotten a few hints of ideas for the Ellie manuscript, and my boyfriend Chris has been helping me with that by asking clarifying questions. He really wants to see this come to fruition! So much has gone on and distracted my focus in the last two years. I’m still looking into ways to deal with my arthritis pain.

Today, I’ll have a massage and somehow try to get a 30 minute walk or bike ride. I’m committed to 30 minute cardio three days a week, and I sometimes get more. This is in addition to the work/ therapy on my shoulder, which includes arm exercises.

So there’s my weekend in a nutshell. Lots of relaxation and time with people I love (including Bixby). It can’t get much better! This is what I needed right now. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Weekend Coffee Share, What Day is It?

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Ah, the holidays draw near, we get time off, and we forget what day it is! Never mind that my chai latte has already been consumed before I can get to this! Grab your favorite beverage and pull up a chair…

My routine was topsy turvy Saturday morning, as I had to be awake at 6:30, get dressed, and leave the house without breakfast or coffee. I’ll use that as my excuse for not posting Saturday! I had to take a fasting lipids blood test. No, the lipids weren’t fasting, I was. 😉 I think it interfered with my sleep Saturday night, knowing I had to wake up and do that. Needless to say, my breakfast afterward tasted great!

Once I ate and had my chai latte, I was in a wonderful mood. Yesterday was the day for my school’s drama club to put on their play, a dinner theater style lunch of lasagna to start it off. Scrumptious! My boyfriend accompanied me and met several of my coworkers, friends,and my boss, who told him that I’m ” a treasure.” Nice!

The students put on a great show!

We all really enjoyed it! My friend Jen, her husband, and her son met Chris. He had a great time and enjoyed meeting everybody. The superintendent was there, and I’m sure she was quite impressed with the play as well!

Now, on to health, a thread as common as writing used to be for me . I made a good attempt to sleep Saturday, and despite the tossing and turning due to leg nerve pain, kept getting back to sleep. My shoulder has much better motion, but my pain gets worse with cooler weather change, which happened this week. I’m still in shoulder physical therapy, and I’m seeing a specialist on Dec. 14th about the nerve pain and overall chronic pain. I’ve been trying to take extra vitamins, like B12, and to eat healthy. You might appreciate this week’s random post on my experience: https://wp.me/p7aqV2-33W

I wish I had more to share on writing, but healthy living attempts seem a full time hobby in addition to full-time teaching lately. Hopefully the holiday vacation will allow some time to write. I joined Planet Fitness, as I can’t stand working out in the outdoors while it’s cold. So I bike in the gym and type blog entries. Their fees are low, too. Maybe I’ll get answers soon.

On the bright side, I have a wonderful family, things are great for my son, I have wonderful friends, a loving boyfriend, and the funniest dog. I ordered the new technology with my classroom grant, so my already rewarding job is starting to become more interesting!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone, and have a great Thanksgiving!

Zero Carb Revenge!

(c) Pamela Schloesser Canepa, 2013

She knows she has achieved it

When she reaches for a third slice

Of pizza piled with toppings, garlic, and sauce

Such an indulgence! What a rebel I am!

Fully deserved after zero-carb chicken pot pie for lunch,

She deserves and relishes an extra slice of pizza.

She ignores the fact that it’s served on thin crust,

That it’s piled high with only veggie toppings,

That she avoided the fat in beef, the sodium in pepperoni, the excess dairy in real cheese, the swelling, the aching, the stomach rumbles…

And she relishes in each garlic explosion that comes with a bite of her veggie pizza.

Boy, the things we call indulging sure do change with time!

Weekend Coffee Share, Tough as Nails?

Good morning, and welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie at https://natalietheexplorer.home.blog/2022/11/11/bay-of-fundy-5-historic-sites/ My beverage of choice today was a blend of chocolate -flavored mushroom coffee called Mojo. I got a free sample pack online.

So, yeah, I tried something new for my health. Low on caffeine and high on an adaptogenic herbal blend but tasting like chocolate, this is supposed to be the answer. Well, I can’t say much for it’s effects on my energy level. Of course, this is the first time trying it. :)I will admit, it produces less jitters than real coffee.

Need..more.. sunlight!

This past week, we had a level 1 hurricane come through Florida to the west of us. Bixby was not happy with the wind and rain. He did, however, bravely walk out in the rain once to relieve himself. We didn’t really have a rough time, but Bixby didn’t like the loud, howling wind. Nor did I! It kept me up one night as it battered against the back gate, like a monster trying to get in.

Photo by MESSALA CIULLA on Pexels.com

The next night, the wind was much more quiet. However, I woke in the middle of the night to a strange sound. Was it an alien? I saw that Bixby was on the bed. Was he choking? Was he about to throw up? The dog hadn’t moved. He was breathing steadily. I heard it again! He was sleeping so soundly, I thought he might have let out some gas, but there was no smell. (Dogs do that, you know). He kept sleeping unbothered.

I realized it was his stomach grumbling. Poor fellow hadn’t gone outside that day except the one time to pee in the rain. He also had not eaten all day, either because he was so spooked by the wind or he was determined to avoid a potty break in the rain again. That tummy of his was complaining chaotically! Bixby slept through it, unfazed.

That stubborn dog is, at once, tough as nails and frightened by the rain. At least he can sleep through the tummy rumbles! Sadly, though, he probably had to do that often when he was a stray.

Such was the worst the storm held for us here in my house. There was flooding in our downtown area. They had cancelled the Veterans day parade days before for the sake of safety. The storm is now gone. I caught up on my sleep last night, and Bixby heartily enjoyed his dinner last night, even after I’d given him bits of my apple!

I followed the extra day off and the storm watch with a massage yesterday and another night of peaceful sleep! Have a great weekend, everyone!