My May Day Walk

Today I decided to take a slightly longer, and different, route on my lunchtime walk.  This one was also to a church, a small non-denominational one that looks like the building may originally have been a Brethren Church, by its design.  It is well kept, as are the grounds, and as a matter of fact, a yard maintenance man was in the back puttering around.

I love the three-story belfry tower, and as I approached, I remembered that there was a Little Free Library in front of the building that I had previously noticed as I drove by.

The hasp was a bit rusty on the door, but I tapped it with my keys, and it loosened open.  Inside were mostly children's books--a good variety--but there were a few for adults.  I leisurely browsed through, mostly thinking of something for my grandson, but they were all too old for him.  Eventually, I chose a couple for myself and proceeded on my walk.

The church sits on a corner lot, and the north side is a grassy lawn with picnic tables and even a cute little gazebo.  Having some benches inside would have been a lovely idea, so that someone could sit and actually "gaze about," which is where the term comes from.

I tried to take a photo of the entire building before I left.  Even though the sky was cloudy, there was a glare and I didn't quite get the top of the steeple.  I'll have to try again on another day.

This really is a pretty building in good shape, and now I want to research the history of it, using local city directories and newspapers.  That will make an interesting future blog post, I think.

I decided to return up the parallel residential street, instead of the arterial. I was hoping to find a few more older homes to admire.  I wasn't disappointed.  There was a great display of bright red tulips near the sidewalk and steps. 

Several of the homes were displaying the American flag.  There were actually three in a row here, but the one to my immediate left was set back from the street, so I couldn't get it in the photo.  The rock wall reminds me of the one in yard, only this one is taller.

This home is so sweet and charming!  From the diamond on the gable, to the curved walls around the upstairs window, to the multi-paned sash windows, to the arches at the porch roofline, to the porch swing (I have *always* wanted a porch swing, but I don't think my porch roof is sturdy enough!), this place is absolutely darling.  It's just missing some cushions on the swing and some pots of flowers on the porch and steps to be perfect.

When I left the office, it was windy and cool, but by the last few blocks of my return, it was warming up and my cardigan felt a bit too much.

Here are my treasures from the Little Free Library.  The title of A Year in Provence seems very familiar to me, but I don't recall ever reading it.  And I grabbed Anne of Green Gables because just a few days ago, I was thinking I wanted to reread it.  My daughter now has my Lucy Maud Montgomery books, and although I could easily borrow them, it was a good opportunity I couldn't let pass.

I'm looking forward to another walk soon!

Wild Roses

It's June, and my wild roses are in full bloom! I wish they would bloom all summer, but unfortunately they only last a week or so.

How I Lost Weight in 2010 and What I Recommend - Part VII

Give yourself grace. Another thing I've learned is you have to give yourself grace. As women, we need to realize that our weight is heavily affected by our hormones. So if it's that time of the month or we are headed into menopause, it can affect our progress. If you are a person who has recently had surgery and have to take it easy, you'll be surprised how fast the weight can pile on, just because you may not be able to get up and walk around or move like you used to. All those things can make a huge difference in how many calories you burn or how well your metabolism processes. If you're under stress or have some sort of pain, it's easy to overeat to try to deal with that. Being in pain from my injured shoulder, the consequent surgery and recovery, and not being aware of how these things would affect me are to blame for my initial 40-pound weight gain two years ago.

Another area to give yourself grace in are the holidays. For instance, this year I knew it would be very difficult to lose weight and not feel deprived of the holiday goodies that would be around at work and at home. So my goal was to simply maintain by eating prudently for most meals during the holidays, exercising three times a week, but still enjoying the glass of wine, or small plate of cookies, or a couple of pieces of fudge as they made their way into my day. I gave myself five pounds to play with. When I weighed myself each morning and found that I was anywhere between three to five pounds up from my baseline, I would be extra careful in what I ate that day and throw in another exercise session. Because of all this, I have been successful in maintaining my weight loss during December and on New Year's Day weighed exactly the same as I did on December 1st, even though I sampled lots of goodies and saw my weight zigzag around a lot in that five-pound range!

I still have a long way to go. My next goal is to try to lose another 20 pounds by the end of my birthday month, March. I have some specific steps I'm planning to take, because 20 pounds in three months is a much higher goal than three pounds a month. My plan includes doing a month of maintenance in April, like I did in December before I do another big push. If you don't give yourself some leeway, you'll give up.

I hope these tips have been helpful and I wish you success and health in 2011. Please be sure to leave any comments or questions you may have!

How I Lost Weight in 2010 and What I Recommend - Part VI

Don't give up. I've already shared how having a damaged knee and injured shoulder prevents or limits some of the exercise I would like to do. I was very discouraged when I was diagnosed in the Spring of 2010 with degenerative meniscus of the knee because I knew that I could really love running (which kind of surprised me!). I knew that in my dad's family, nearly everyone has problems with their knees, but many of them are also obese and were diagnosed with their knee problems in their 50s and 60s. So to be an active person who was diagnosed with this at age 43 was very frustrating. My doctor sat me down and explained that it was exactly because I was active that I had been diagnosed at a younger age. I have almost always had some sort of exercise program in place, even when my body shape and size has not reflected my activity. All that high-impact exercise of brisk walking and doing aerobic dance and step box exercises when I was younger damaged what genetically were always going to be weak knees. Fortunately, I had already discovered spinning and cycling to keep up a healthy, hard workout I needed. And now I can do my Walk Fit in-home DVDs and just minimize the part of the routine that can be high-impact by using alternative low-impact steps instead. I also am going to do snowshoeing because I believe that I can adapt that as a low-impact exercise as well.

I also went through an entire year (2009) of plateauing, weight-wise, where even though I was attending spin class two and three times a week, I only lost about 10 pounds that year. Looking back, I realize now that I should have been exercising three to four times a week instead and also eating better. I nearly gave up on ever losing weight again. But I chalk it all up to the most important weight-loss tip, knowing your body. I learned from it.

(To be concluded tomorrow)

How I Lost Weight in 2010 and What I Recommend - Part V

Keep track. I weigh myself every single morning. I have to, because it's really easy for me to put on a few pounds because I don't count calories or points, being a more intuitive dieter. If I'm up a pound or two and it's not that time of the month, that means I better schedule exercise for that day and/or eat a healthy dinner. I also record my weight. I used to do it on a private blog, but it got too complicated. I found that Google Health works really well for me; I just stop in and record my weight and how many minutes I exercised that day. It graphs the info, and it's great to see the line go down!

I also recently bought a pedometer for $5.00 at Wal-mart. It tracks steps and distance (in either miles or kilometers) and you can set a goal for either or both. I can also record the info at Google Health. Currently, I am still playing around with it to find out my average daily steps and then I will set goals later.

(To be continued tomorrow)

How I Lost Weight in 2010 and What I Recommend - Part IV

Exercise Often and Rest. Here again you have to find something you like that works for you and stick to it. I have always loved walking, and in the past, I was able to lose weight well by walking half an hour every morning with a girlfriend. But both our schedules got too crazy and when I tried running, I discovered I had a degenerative meniscus in my right knee. I really damaged it further trying to run, to the point that I couldn't even walk for exercise anymore. Fortunately, I had already been spinning (stationary biking) during the week and cycling on the weekends and in the summer and that was a good low impact exercise that didn't bother my knee. I spin three times a week with a group from work at one of the local high school's fitness centers through a fitness program the district has set up. By paying money and by connecting with my fellow spinners, exercise becomes a financial and social priority as well as a physical one and so it helps me be consistent.

Having lost weight, I can now do my Walk Fit fitness DVDs (a walk at home program) again during holidays and weekends (because I can't ride my bike in the winter) and they don't bother my knee too much, so apparently it has either healed or the weight loss has lessened the impact. Part of my routine also includes strength training: core/ab work, squats, and arm exercises. I have to watch my arm exercises, because I have weak shoulders. I had rotator cuff surgery two years ago and if I'm not careful, I can re-injure myself. I did that a year ago and had to go back to physical therapy. So I started all over again, doing the exercises with no weights, then two-pound weights, and now I can do a long routine with three-pound weights. I hope to try four-pounds next session, but I always listen to my body.

My point to all of this is again, just like finding the right eating plan, you have to find the right exercise plan for you. Some people like working out alone (I don't) while others like exercising with a partner or in groups. Some types of exercise work well for some people (my boss was an Olympic swimmer and still works out that way) but not for others (I like swimming, but I never lose weight doing it). Having an exercise or a variety of exercises that are just fun for you is good, too. I'm planning to take up snowshoeing this winter because I know it will work out my butt, plus it just is a lot of fun (I've tried it several times in the past with borrowed snowshoes). I don't normally like being outside in the winter, except for skiing, which I can no longer afford to do, so this is a great way for me to get fresh air in winter, as well as exercise.

Lastly, get your rest. I can function fine on six to seven hours of sleep at night. I rarely can sleep more seven hours at a time anymore. But I can't function on less than six hours. And if I'm especially tired, I take a nap, even though I tend to be groggy and useless for the rest of the day. Not getting enough sleep puts your body into survival mode and it will hang on to calories and fat.

(To be continued tomorrow)

How I Lost Weight in 2010 and What I Recommend - Part III

Eat right. All the best diets and lifestyle changes are going to tell you to "eat right and exercise" but again, you have to know which kinds of food your body processes well and which ones it doesn't. Again I recommend the Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type book, but don't obsess over it. Basically, there are people who do well with high-protein/low-carb (like me) and those who do well as vegetarians, or as high-dairy eaters. Some people like having a lot of structure by counting Weight Watchers points, calories, etc., while others are more intuitive (again, like myself) and can have a basic plan in their head that they build around. If you know your body well and you work best with structure, find a diet plan that works for you. If I were to have a lot of structure, I'd go with Adkins or the Palm Beach Diet, because they work real well for O blood types (high protein/low carb). There are a lot of diet plans out there and if that is your "thing" then find one that works for you. Don't be discouraged if it takes some experimenting around until you find the right one.

For me, the intuitive person who doesn't like the rigid confines of a diet plan, I found that it worked best to eat a high-protein breakfast (a sausage patty, a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, or a simple two-egg omelet with a tiny bit of cheese and some veggies like onion and bell pepper). This was followed by a lunch of two rice cakes with either turkey breast slices or cheese (if I didn't have cottage cheese for breakfast) with a little mayo and mustard, a cup of raw veggies (like carrot sticks, pea pods, and grape tomatoes) with some ranch dressing to dip in. Some days I would have an apple or some berries. Sometimes I would have a diet soda (Diet Rite with Splenda, because I don't do well with caffeinated soda or NutraSweet, although once in a great while I will have a Diet Pepsi). I'd have a mozzarella cheese stick or a couple tablespoons of smoked almonds and maybe an 8-oz. can of V-8 juice for a snack, if I really needed one. At first, I had to have a snack to make it between meals. Now I rarely have one. Then dinner is a regular meal half the time, but in child-size portions. Think of an eight-year-old kid and serve up portions for him and that should be just right. About three times a week, I would try to have a really healthy dinner, like a salmon patty from Costco with a cup of steamed broccoli...or a veggie soup from a low-carb cookbook. But it's not unusual for me to have a couple slices of pizza if we order out, or a serving of macaroni and cheese with hot dogs with a small bowl of canned peaches on the side. Like I said, I don't cut anything out completely, or I would feel deprived. I do try to keep my gluten and my dairy down to one serving a day. And yes, I take supplements to make sure I get calcium, magnesium, B vitamins and the other nutrients I'm missing because I'm lactose- and gluten-intolerant.

One last thing: drink water. I try to go for half my weight in ounces each day. So if I weigh 150 pounds, then I try to drink 75 ounces of water a day. Dehydration is a cause of a lot of overeating. You think you're hungry, but your body actually needs water to be efficient.

(To be continued tomorrow)

How I Lost Weight in 2010 and What I Recommend - Part II

Set realistic goals. I used to be able to set a goal of five pounds of weight loss a month and easily meet it. But I got discouraged when that goal wasn't working for me anymore. Around the same time that I decided to go for three pounds a month, I had a physical, and that was exactly the same goal my doctor recommended for me. The funny thing is, once I set that goal, started losing an average of seven pounds a month instead! I made a graph of weight loss over time, with a baseline of three pounds a month, then recorded twice a month what I actually lost. Even if I gained a little, it was good to see, because it was always much lower than my baseline goal of three pounds a month! Plus I knew that if I plateaued for a while (a problem for me at times), I would still be "ahead of the game" in my goals.

One of the things I learned in helping my students at the middle school where I work is that the best goals are called SMART goals. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. For instance, instead of saying, "I'm going to lose 50 pounds this year," you say, "I'm going to lose three pounds a month this year by exercising for an hour three times a week and eating no more than 35 carbs a day" (or whatever your plan is).

(To be continued tomorrow)

How I Lost Weight in 2010 and What I Recommend - Part I

I gained 40 pounds at the end of 2008 and into early 2009 around a shoulder injury and consequent surgery. I slowly lost about 10 pounds in 2009 and then lost a total of 32 pounds in 2010. The first ten pounds of 2010 I lost in the spring right before I went to a genealogical conference in which I knew I was going to meet a lot of people in real life that I had been online friends with for about three years. That ten came off the way most people's ten pounds come off...exercising hard and really watching what I ate for about six weeks. Then I was able to maintain that loss because I kept exercising throughout the summer, although I didn't lose anymore until I started getting serious about weight loss again in September. From September 1st to December 1st, I lost 22 more pounds.

How did I lose that 22 pounds in three months? I've had a lot of people ask me in the last month or so and thought I would share it here. I looked back and figured out the most important points, which I think will be helpful to anyone:
  
Know your body. Over the years, I have read a lot of books and web reports on nutrition, diets, and exercise. My blood type is O- and I am short and curvy, but have a small bone frame. I have learned that my body is most efficient when I keep my diet low-gluten and low-dairy and eat lots of fibrous, low-carb veggies and some fruits (but not a lot of the latter). I do well with high-protein meals (red meat, fish, and some dairy). I don't try to eliminate any foods at all, just keep the ones that don't work well with my body to a minimum, so I don't feel deprived. I also lose weight best when I do hard, aerobic exercise that makes me sweat, three to four times a week, for at least an hour to an hour-and-a-half. It has to be low-impact, too, because of my joint problems. To learn more about your own body and which foods and exercise work best, I recommend reading Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type, but I don't insist you follow it to a T. Feel free to experiment around until you find out what works best and what is easy for you to maintain. If you feel like it's hard all the time, you won't be successful.


(To be continued tomorrow)

Week of October 17 - 23, 2010

(Actually, I should title this the "Week of October 16 - 23" because I will also include information from the previous Saturday.)

On Saturday the 16th, I carpooled over to Hayden, Idaho with several members of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society to attend the Hayden Family History Center's free Fall Family History Seminar. Donna Potter Phillips and I were both presenting. Her two presentations were in the morning and my two were in the afternoon. I ran the laptop for hers and she ran it for mine; it was good teamwork. I presented, "Finding Your Ancestors' Vital Records Online" and "Accessing Historical Newspapers Online." They served some great soups and salads for lunch. The ride over and back was beautiful, and I enjoyed the stunning autumn colors.

That evening, Missy and Brady dropped by to visit for a short while before they headed out to church. It was good to see them again, and nice to have them living closer to our home.

Sunday, I went over to my brother-in-law's to visit for a bit. He was gone up to Green Bluff with his youngest two daughters, but I visited with his wife and picked up her old bike she was giving me after purchasing a newer one. I don't know if I'll get any riding time in before the bad weather comes. The seat on her bike is much wider than what I'm used to and rather uncomfortable, so maybe Norm can switch out the seat from my old bike.

I didn't have spinning on Monday because my spin instructor was gone to attend her daughter's cross country race. Tuesday, I took some time off work to accompany Matt to his high school to withdraw from his classes there. On Wednesday, he attended his new school program, Contract Based Education (see second page of this brochure). He will meet with a teacher once a week, get his assignments in packets, and work on them at home. We are very blessed that he'll be able to continue with AP American Studies, because one of the teachers in that program taught it last year. Normally, the students at CBE only take basic courses and they are not set up for advanced classes. However, the CBE staff are so willing to work with Matt and know that he is very bright and needs the challenge. He will also take some credit retrieval classes, since he needs to make up a 10th grade Language Arts credit and a 10th grade History credit. Finally, he will continue to take AP Calculus, online. His CBE teacher called me and was concerned that Matt would not have the support he needed if he had difficulty in his calculus class, as she is not certified to teach it. I assured her that we had resources to help Matt if he needed them, including an uncle who teaches high school math up in Deer Park, and a former math teacher of Matt's that is a now colleague of mine at my work location who is always inquiring after Matt.

I already shared how I took Wednesday off work. But I did attend spinning that day as well as on Thursday, and both days had a very good workout. It is amazing what a stress reliever it is. I have now lost 12 pounds since I started really eating right and keeping track of my health on September 1st. I had planned to lose three pounds a month, so I am way ahead of the game and it also gives me room if I plateau again.

Friday I did errands after work. Got my nails done again. I wish I could wait and do them every four weeks, but they get really bad by the end of three weeks, mainly because they grow so fast. Plus, I was going to speak the next day and wanted them to look nice. I also just needed to allow myself to feel pampered. Then I did the grocery shopping. It was after 7 PM before I got home and got everything put away. Matt blessed me so much by offering to make me his famous chicken quesadillas. They are so good, and I enjoyed eating them while sipping a glass of wine and playing Mahjong on Facebook.

The next day, one of the EWGS members picked me up at o'dark thirty to head up to Colville so that I could give my presentations as the featured speaker at the Northeast Washington Genealogical Society's Fall Workshop. We met another member in Loon Lake and continued carpooling up, arriving at 8 AM. It was a good thing I arrived early, as there were some technical glitches with the computer I needed to use there, as well as missing information in the syllabus. Everything was taken care of before I got started, thanks to NeWGS President Karen Struve and her husband Gordy, and NeWGS member Gary Sheehan. My four presentations were: Using RootsWeb to Find and Share Your Ancestors; Finding Vital Records and Obituaries Online; Using County Genealogical Websites; and Finding Volunteer (or Low-Cost) Researchers Online. There were all sorts of cookies and sweet breads served with coffee in the morning and at breaks, and we ate a great lunch with croissant sandwiches, chips, veggies, and fruits. There were over 40 door prizes, so some individuals walked away with more than one, as well as a table full of freebies. I snagged some genealogy magazines that looked like they might have some articles of value for myself. I also enjoyed chatting with some of the 40 attendees during lunch and the breaks. They have an excellent well-attended group and I have always enjoyed speaking there.

The day was very rainy and the ride through the countryside not nearly as lovely as the week before, but still it was nice to get out of town. After I got home, I found that Missy had picked up Charlie (her cat that we have had living at our house for over a year) and brought him to her house, now that she lives in a place that allows pets. Norm was having a hard time with it, as he really enjoyed Charlie. That cat thought he was a dog and would follow Norm every where around outside, curious about each and every project Norm was working on. Missy had invited Matt to hang out for a bit, which is always nice for both of them. I popped a frozen lasagna from Costco into the oven and Norm and I drove over to Idaho so he could get his smokes and we could gas up. Again, it was dreary outside and getting dark, but after my long day, I really didn't have any energy to do anything except sit, anyway. After we got home and ate dinner, I had a glass of wine and we watched some old M*A*S*H episodes on DVD before bed.

What's Been Happening Lately

Years ago, I went through a difficult time in my life and I turned to writing to help me focus and move forward. The end result was my genealogy blog, AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors. I'm proud to say that it has won many awards in both the genealogy and in the blogging world. Lately, life has been throwing me curve balls again and I thought it would be good to do some journaling here on my personal blog for a while to help me through it.

So what are the curve balls? While I can't give all the details, some of the most difficult things lately have included the fact that Norm has been unemployed since the end of May 2009. His unemployment benefits ended a year later, so we've been living solely on my income--essentially a part-time one--for the past six months. We switched from his employer's insurance provider to mine, and although we are grateful it's the same HMO and that we are all still insured, it does cost quite a bit more through my employer. I have had a couple of health issues this year, and we are trying to get Matt's chronic sinusitis taken care of, because it has affected his school attendance so badly. Both of our cars have some major repairs due and we have been limping them along with the hope that they will make it until February, when we should get a fairly decent income tax return.

Needless to say, I've been under a tremendous amount of stress. Today I took a "mental health" day off from work, and my boss--who is also a good friend--offered me the use of her house which is located right on Medical Lake. It was very quiet and serene there, with only the occasional meow of her cat and the honk of the Canada Geese swimming just beyond her backyard. I brought a small bottle of wine, some tea, and my lunch. I spent time crying, napping, taking a hot bath, and doing a lot of thinking. Some ideas came to me while I slept, others while I was pacing the floor, thinking. And again, while I can't share every detail here, I was able to come up with some epiphanies and priorities:

• There are choices I've made recently because I just gave up on life. In some areas of my life, I felt worthless and felt that there was no future ahead. Today, I chose to believe that there will be some good things waiting for me at the end of this dark tunnel, and that until I reach that place, I choose to be the kind of person that will be worthy of those good things.
• One of the things I had given up on was really doing my best as a parent. The past three years have been a real struggle as both kids have had poor attendance and poor grades, with Missy barely graduating a year and a half ago...despite the fact that both my children are bright, intelligent people. The daily challenges took a lot out of me, and I didn't want to deal with things anymore. When they were younger and winning awards for their school work, sports, and activities, I never would have guessed we would end up on this path. I felt like a failure as a parent.
• I decided I really want to be there for my son in the next 20 months before he graduates high school. And instead of fighting him when he makes choices I disagree with or that may be harmful to him, I will try to come alongside him and support him with love and understanding, while standing firm on my parenting principles.
• Now that my daughter is on her own, I am so proud of many of the choices she has made the past year and a half. She has become a lovely, responsible young woman who is really blossoming. I want to encourage her to continue to grow as an adult, as a woman, and to see her develop in a career that will be fulfilling for her.
• My health remains a priority, and I will continue to exercise frequently and eat right. The exercise (spinning on a stationary bike) helps to relieve a lot of stress as well as improves my knee. I'm starting to feel better about my body now that I am finally losing weight again, after being stuck in a rut for over a year. Matt's health is also a priority, and hopefully with a visit to his sinus specialist in December, we can make a decision that will improve it.
• Getting my finances in order is another huge must. I know how much money I have, but I am way behind on entering my receipts into my computer, due to a computer crash that happened a year and a half ago.
• Enlisting the help of professionals for some of the steps I may need to make in the future is another item on my list. These may include a counselor, an attorney, and of course, my doctors.
• I plan on going on a retreat every three or four months, just in a quiet place, like a friends' house, or if I can afford it, a cheap hotel room for the weekend to evaluate and assess where these goals are going, to keep me on track, and to just give me a respite. I realized I really don't take time for myself; I tell myself that researching my family tree is my time for myself, but really, I end up blogging about press releases that are sent to me or writing posts that are not quality writing. This makes me feel frustrated and feel like genealogy is a chore, not a fun escape.

I don't at all expect life to get any easier any time soon. But I know that if I can just keep putting one foot in front of the other while keeping my eyes on my goals, that it will help me get through to the other side with my health, my heart, and my dignity intact.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I haven't written on this blog in ages, but I thought I would post a recipe that is one of my favorites. I recently bought a bunch of canned pumpkin at Costco because I love using pumpkin in a variety of dishes and recipes. This morning I woke up craving pumpkin pancakes, although I didn't get to making them until lunchtime. This recipe comes from Washington State University Extension's Nutrition Program (I think). My special needs classroom has several people from the Extension come in once a week to do a cooking class for our students and I believe I got this recipe last year from them.

2 c. flour
3 T. brown sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. allspice
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. milk
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 egg
2 T. oil
2 T. vinegar

Mix the dry ingredients and the moist ingredients separately, then combine and mix well. Batter will be lumpy. Pour by 1/4 cupful onto a heated and greased griddle. Serve with butter or peanut butter and syrup. Especially good with sausage on the side. Makes 4-6 servings.

These pancakes refrigerate very well, and I usually make up extra to eat later in the week.

February 22 - 28, 2009

Sunday I hosted Scanfest with a new platform. It had its kinks, but I think it will work out pretty well.

Missy had a bad headache and wasn't feeling well most of the week. She only attended school on Monday. I finally got her in to the doctor, who said she had one of the worst sinus headaches he'd seen in a while. She got on antibiotics and is feeling better, finally.

Monday I came home from work to find Norm home with some bad news. General Dynamix-Itronix is shutting down the plant in about 60 days to outsource overseas. It is a hard blow to take, but we have survived three other layoffs in the past 14 years. I know we can survive this.

Tuesday was the beginning of my six-week course, Intermediate Online Genealogy. This is only the second time I've taught this course, and I was amazed at how much I had to update on my syllabus and presentation. The amount of online military resources has magnified greatly in the past year!

On Wednesday, I attended a three-hour course after work on Trauma Training. This was the second of two parts, the first which I attended a month ago. This course taught us what tramau is, how to recognize the signs that students may be undergoing traumatic events in their lives, how trauma interferes with the learning/memorization/retention processes in the brain, and how to refer students to the necessary resources when needed. The presenter is a counselor for our school district, who has an amazing list of national credentials. She was a very dynamic and charismatic speaker and we were all very much engaged in her presentation.

After two evenings away from home, I spent a lot of time on Thursday evening just doing some necessary housework. It felt good to get my house back, so to speak! By Friday, I was just crashed and ready for the weekend!

Saturday, I got together with three other co-workers and we stayed overnight at a hotel downtown, where one of the gals had won a free room. We enjoyed the hot tub, going out to several places, and coming back to our room for refreshments and Apples to Apples (a great game that I highly recommend). It was

February 15 - 21, 2009

My parents dropped by Sunday evening after spending the day in town for a train show (my dad collects, repairs, and sells Marx toy trains and other Marx toys). We had an enjoyable visit with them.

Monday was Presidents Day, so the kids and I did not have school, although Norm had to work. I love three-day weekends, because there's enough time to rest up, get needed work done around the house/yard/home office AND have some time to plan.

The work week was kind of a rough one, however. The former husband of an acquaintance of mine passed away unexpectedly at his home the previous Saturday and one of my other co-workers was the one who found him and called the police. It put a damper on the whole week, as they were planning the funeral. Then, to top it off, the deceased man's mother passed away Wednesday. In the midst of it all, we tried to celebrate the birthday of the teacher I assist on Thursday with a mini-potluck lunch, but we had a lot of interruptions that kind of took away what little festivity we were feeling.

A physical therapist who is a colleague of the one I'm seeing came to assess the dynamics of my workplace. The tables and chairs of the room are all a good 25 - 30 years old (terrible ergodynamics). He suggested that I purchase a slanted foot rest which will help support me, since my feet don't touch the floor completely when I sit in adult-sized chairs. He also said I should use a gel wrist guard for any computer keyboard I use.

Saturday, I made two presentations for my genealogical society's computer class at the local library's computer lab. The topic was "Using Mailing Lists to Find Your Ancestors." I always enjoy doing these, because of the collaborative effect that it has among the attendees and the presenter.

February 8 - 14, 2009

On Monday, I went to see my surgeon about the shoulder pain and loss of range of motion I've been experiencing. He examined me and told me I did not have frozen shoulder, which was a relief, and that he agreed with my physical therapist that I should have the ergodynamics of my work place evaluated to see if they were the cause. He also prescribed a week's worth of steroids. I was a little hesitant to use them, because one of the side effects is weight gain, but they did the trick by bringing down the inflammation and relieving the pain. I had another physical therapy appointment on Wednesday, and got my shoulder taped again, which also helped tremendously.

On Friday, I met with the rest of the members of the Washington State Genealogical Society's state conference committee. Our local society, the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society, is hosting the state conference in September, and my responsibilities on the committee include finding vendors for the conference.

Saturday, Valentine's Day, Norm and I went to see "New Girl in Town." It was a cute chick-flick movie that we both enjoyed; however, Renee Zellweger did not look so great. I believe she is younger than I am, and although her body is in great shape, her face looked quite aged. I normally don't remark on actors' appearances, but it was so markedly different from the way I remember her from previous movies. We went to the matinee showing, then went to a candy store in the mall. Norm's niece and nephew-in-law had gotten us a gift certificate to that store for Christmas, and we hadn't used it yet. So we picked up some chocolates and red hots for all four of us to enjoy. That evening, we watched "Fireproof" on DVD at home.

February 1 - 7, 2009

I went to physical therapy on Monday, still in terrible pain. Nancy, my PT, was very worried about me and my shoulder and how I've regressed since I've returned to work. She suggested that I see my surgeon and theorized that perhaps the ergodynamics of my classroom were causing me to have so many problems. I was told to stay off the computer as much as possible. I saw her again on Thursday, and she taped my shoulder, which really helped stabilize it.

Monday was also the start of the new semester, which was hard to believe. Tuesday night was Groovy Shoes, a long-standing annual basketball and spirit competition between the two high schools that my teens attend. My daughter's school won the boys' and the girls' basketball games, but my son's school won the spirit competition, which is what really counts!

I taught the last Basic Online Genealogy class at the Spokane County Library District, and invited my students to take my Intermediate course through the Community Colleges of Spokane's Community Ed program.

Saturday was the February general meeting of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society. Rose Kraus of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture spoke on how to research the history of your house, a topic near and dear to me.

A New Chapter Coming Soon to Hubby's Career

http://www.krem.com/topstories/stories/krem2-022309-itronix-layoffs.461d455e.html

January 25 - 31, 2009

Well, my shoulder feels a tad bit bigger, so I'm going to try to start catching up on my posts, bit by bit.

On Sunday the 25th, Norm and I went out to dinner at the Onion with a couple from his work. I had met them at the annual barbecue they host at their home in the summer for many of the crew on Norm's shift. I had the Hula burger, which was pretty good, but not fabulous. We enjoyed our time with R and C and just getting out of the house to relax. Earlier in the day, I had hosted Scanfest and finished scanning my great-grandfather's funeral book and started on my grandmother's yearbook.

In the middle of the week, we got a notification from our credit union that my debit card would have to be canceled. Seems like a Visa processing center in New Jersey had a security breach and my card number was at risk for possibly being used for fraudulent purposes. So I had to either use Norm's debit card (our checking account was unaffected) or one of my credit cards for bills and shopping until I received the new one they mailed to me.

The kids had eye exams for the first time in years on Wednesday. When they were little, our insurance covered eye exams, but we changed providers over time and weren't covered. Later, when Norm was hired at Itronix, we added vision insurance for him and me since we were in need of reading glasses, but not the kids as they seemed to be doing OK. We decided a few months ago to add the kids to our vision when Missy started complaining of headaches and eye fatigue. Matt's vision was 20/20, but Missy did need some corrective lenses. I really like the frames she picked out.

I had been running short on sleep all week and it was obvious when I went to teach my third Online Beginning Genealogy class Thursday evening and discovered I had forgotten to bring my flash drive with my PowerPoint presentation, "Clues in the Census," on it! At least I had reviewed it the evening before, so it was fresh in my mind. I was able to wing it by simply going to the genealogy websites that had census data and talking about the various highlights of each decade's census.

Saturday was the best and worst day all rolled into one. It was the best because I got to see my brother and my paternal aunt, neither of whom I'd seen in a year. The awful wintry weather across Washington State had prevented my brother, who lives on Whidbey Island, from visiting during Christmas. My aunt is a nurse with a traveling nurses agency and she has been working in the San Francisco area. Both this year and last year she came at the end of January to stay with my other aunt who lives in Spokane Valley and to get together with all the extended family in the area at a restaurant. My parents came down, as well as my sister and her boys, and her biological daughter with her adoptive family. We celebrated the January birthdays of my visiting aunt, my niece, and my son Matt. I didn't take as many pictures as I usually do, and none of them were posed very well, but here are a few shots:

My mom and my sister

My dad and his sisters


My siblings and I

As usual, someone snapped the camera while I was talking.I'm sure some family member will now wisecrack about how it is impossible to photograph me when I am not talking!

And now the "worst day" part: Saturday night was the worst night I had, painwise, since my shoulder problems started eight months ago. While it wasn't the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life (that's a three-way-tie between ear infections, a tooth nerve dying, and childbirth), it was constant pain at a fairly intense level and I was so exhausted and frustrated that my shoulder has only gotten worse since I returned to work earlier in the month. I took a painkiller for the first time in about six weeks, which took nearly two hours to kick in. Fortunately, it did not make me itch (someone told me later this may be an allergic reaction), but I did get horribly nauseous, had insomnia, and swelled up (another symptom of an allergic reaction?). The next day I was simply exhausted, even though I slept til 1 PM (after finally falling asleep at 3 AM). This was not a great way to end the week.

Taking a Break

I'm taking a self-imposed break from blogging for one week. My shoulder has been getting progressively worse since I started work a month ago, in both the intensity and duration of pain as well as the involuntary movements and muscle spasms I'm experiencing--identical to what was occurring in the weeks before surgery. Last night was the worst night, painwise, I've had in the eight months since all this started and I can't continue blogging, working, driving, doing paperwork, and keeping house without risking injury or worse. Something has to give for a bit, and I'm hoping a break from blogging will relieve the symptoms some.

I'll still be online, as I can read other blogs and my e-mails and publish my comments. It's just keyboarding that is stressing my left shoulder and arm, and while it's possible to type with just one hand, it's too frustrating for me to go that slow.

Thank you for your understanding.

January 18 - 24, 2009

Beine's Blinkies

On Sunday, Norm and I went to the theater and saw Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood. What a great story of redemption. There are so many similar elements to John Wayne's last movie, The Shootist. I highly recommend it!

Monday, the kids and I didn't have any school because of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, of course, although Norm had to work. The furnace repairman showed up and cleaned the flame sensor to the tune of $100! In the course of trying to figure out what the problem was last weekend, Norm had cleaned out some of it, which improved the situation. Oh, well! At least now we know what to do in the future, and we're enjoying having warm, consistent air flow again.

Missy's boyfriend's mom had knee surgery a week ago Friday and Monday I brought over my famous Spicy Potato Soup along with some sour cream and potato chips. It was a definite hit!

I had four students at my Beginning Online Genealogy class at the Spokane County Library Thursday evening. It was nice to have a few more. I also discovered that I can get a county library card for free, and I was able to pick up They Became Americans: Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins by Loretto Dennis Szucs. I want to see if I can enhance the Immigration and Naturalization lesson in my Intermediate Online Genealogy class I'll be teaching beginning in February.

Matt and I had our yearly dental exams on Friday, with clean reports except for a soft spot on one of Matt's teeth. It's not yet a cavity, so he has to be sure to keep on brushing and also rinse twice a day with fluoride. We wondered as we drove home if dentists and dental assistants ever tell their patients, "You're brushing too much. You need to cut back." Ha!

Missy went to Winter Camp with her church youth group up at Chewelah Peak Learning Center. Sounds like she had a lot of fun as usual and got quite a bit of scrapbooking done. She's really been enjoying learning how to do scrapbooking for her senior culminating project.

My shoulder has really been giving me grief for about 10 days. I had seen my physical therapist mid-week last week, and she had suggested cutting way back on my exercises, which I did. In fact, I didn't do anything except some light stretches each day, plus I started wearing my sling to work. I was getting to the point where I was really worried that not only had I plateaued, but perhaps had regressed. It was very frustrating and the pain and stiffness were starting to get to me. Finally, this morning, I woke up and was able to do not only my stretches but all my exercises in the shower with the warm water cascading over my shoulder and upper back. I am encouraged and looking forward to going back to therapy tomorrow.

Did you know that Goodwill has its own auction website, similar to eBay? Looks like some great stuff here! I discovered this through one of the genealogy blogs that I read. I've been eyeing the teapots up for bid, because I think I want to get a few more. My aunt gave me two strawberry decorated ones years ago, to match my kitchen decor. One, the smaller one above left, is a two-cup teapot and I've been using it a lot lately for tea for both Norm and myself. Our favorites are usually the Stash brand, both black and decaf. I am looking for a good, quick, easy teapot cozy crochet pattern for free online, but haven't run across anything I like so far...believe me, I've looked! I might have to just make up my own.

Speaking of crocheting, I haven't added anything this week to the afghan I'm making for Missy because I was too sore this week. We'll see what next week brings!

Our yucky stagnant air will hopefully be going soon. The hoarfrost on fences and trees is just beautiful, but the gray skies and gray and brown frozen berms of snow everywhere are not. Just to the west of us, in Lincoln County, the hoarfrost (fog that freezes in feathery patterns of heavy frost) has brought down power lines all over the county and with them the poles, both wooden and metal, that hold them. School has been out for a few days in those districts and the local power companies' crews have been working 18 hours a day to get the lines back up and the power turned on for the thousands of unfortuante families in the area.

And that's a wrap!