Sick as a dog :(

Hello, all!

I've developed a icky, terrible cold/ flu on Saturday evening and have been totally out of all my normal activities since.  That explains why I haven't posted anything recently--or done much or anything!  Today, I had to miss out on my swim class and in addition, call in to work "sick".  Definitely not what I planned on doing; I actually wanted to go to work.  I enjoy swim since it's my one of main work-outs for the day, but you gotta do what you gotta do when you feel under the weather.  Big, huge bummer.  First it was my foot-- which has actually felt the best it's felt in the last couple days-- now it's the cold.  Geez, I can't WAIT to get back to my normal self and be on my feet healthy again.

Since I don't feel like writing a drawn out, long post, I'm going to share a essay I started recently about an event that's impacted the person I am today. Coincidentally, I choose to write about what I'm going through now, as it's been a TOUGH couple of weeks.  It's only the first draft, people, so don't get too excited.   Ignore the bad grammar when you see it, too :)

Many events in my life have shaped the person I am today and there’s still so many to come.  Events in my life have been greatly negative and never-ending; on the other hand, they’ve also been constructive and life-giving.  I’ve gone through many illness, surgery, weddings, new jobs, losses, cries, and much more—all had an extreme impact on me despite feeling it at the time.  Currently, however, I’m going through a circumstance that’s not entirely over yet, but I can certainly see the lesson and change that is coming about through me.  Sixteen days ago, I twisted the arch of my foot at the conclusion of my morning run.  As a daily runner and overall physical person, you can only imagine how hard it’s been for me to go through this.  I’ve had to give up much of myself and fully surrender to ensure that my foot would heal quickly.  It hasn’t been a easy thing to do and in fact, it’s still not over.

            Friday the 24^th?  Are you sure it wasn’t “Friday the 13^th?!?  On a sunny, positive-ensuring day, I went out for a morning run before my English lab.  It looked like it was going to not a good day, but a wonderful one.  The sun was strong and promising that it would stay, I was going to swim after class, go to work later in the day.  And better yet, it was the weekend almost—how much better can that get!  All that affirmative jibber

-jabber came to a halt when my foot bended inward at the closing of my jog.  Luckily, I was seconds away from my house, so I hoped to my grass lawn and fell down—crying deeply and angrily.  I knew what I was in for—no running, no work, no nothing!  A long recovery of resting and not moving my body.  Images and thoughts ran through my crammed head as if I was in a deep pool and couldn’t come up for air. 

            Later, when my parents found out, my dad’s first comment was, “Don’t even worry, it’s just a simple sprain, you’ll be back on you feet in a day or so. Just rest today and you’ll be better tomorrow”.  Heh, I’d like to say that was the case two weeks later, but it’s been a much longer journey than I expected.  I called into work sick that night, guilty and angry I couldn’t make it.  All I wanted to do was go out and ride my bike and enjoy what’s left of the September sun. 

            A week later, I scrambled over to Urgent Care to really see what’s going in underneath my skin, as the progress in my injured foot was little if any.  I could certainly stand on my foot now and do much more than the fist—yet horrible—day I wounded it.  But anytime I did do anything, such as going for light walks and riding my bike shortly to school, the poor thing would start to throb again.  The line, “It’ll be better in just a couple days, no need to go to the doctor” wore off quickly and I decided I wasn’t going to wait for anything to magically happen much longer.  According to the doctor and urgent care, my foot was not broken—as I knew—or fractured.  It was probably just a tendon twist or tear.  “Who knows how long it could take to heal”, was what the newly known physician at urgent care replied. 

            Despite my arch on my foot hurting a little more, or a little less each day, I can still manage to go to my swimming class and bike some.  As I’ve matured and blossomed into a woman, a main joy in my life has been physical fitness.  One that I think it necessary for proper health and is a wonderful reliever of stress and aches.  I try to aim for one or two hours of physical activity a day as it’s a significant part of my daily routine.  However, as I’ve had my foot injury, one to two hours hasn’t made in on the charts for my daily activities.  I’m lucky now to get even a half hour as I never know the case of my foot.  Body maintenance is wonderful for health and many other mental and physical cases, but not always.  Reality is reality and you must learn to adjust your beliefs and thoughts depending on “reality”.  It’s most definitely fine to rest while your foot heals.  I’ve learned recently that I try to fight reality often, not fully accepting what’s happening.  As my injury continues to get better—or on some days after I’ve been on my foot too much, a bit worse—I’m learning to be tolerable of little or no exercise in a given day.  Life happens and we can’t always control what comes our way.

            Over the past week, I’ve been down and low about my foot not progressing the way I’d like.  Also, that I’m not able to take long walks, hike, run and do many more foot- depending activities.  Being on my feet at work for seven hours, or even swimming on it twice last week, or biking could have impeded the healing.  But it’s over with and done, so I must accept and move in with reality.  In addition to my still wounded foot, I just got a grueling cold yesterday.  Just another hinder for me being able to again enjoy the simple pleasures of life that I once did before all these incidents happened. 

            It certainly won’t help—as I’ve learned—to dwell on what could have happened had I not taken that morning run or been around people who were inflicted with cold viruses.  And getting mad at life’s occurrences and God won’t make my foot feel normal again nor will it take away my cold sickness.  If I just simply comply with what’s currently going on by resting, having a optimistic attitude, and loving my body, circumstances will change.  And my outlook on life will change and has changed, too.  Even though this pessimistic journey is not over yet, I can see the fruit that has come out of it.  Yes, I miss my usual physical exercise each day and the norm, but taking a short break from it won’t do me any harm.  Life is hard and has its troubles, and we can’t always steer the way of them.  But we can change how we deal with what comes at us—our attitudes and actions.  As the quote says, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.”

To be honest, the last couple days I haven't had too much of an appetite--definitely not the norm-- but I do have a few photos of my odd cravings in the last few days.

Friday's lunch before work and pre- getting sick: Grilled tofu (marinated in soy sauce, rice vinegar and stevia), grilled sweet potato and carrots, and onions a-top broccoli slaw.  

It's never too late too grill even when it's not summer, is it?  Not when you have lovely indoor George Forman :)

A lovely bowl of oat bran before work saturday morning topped with homegrown apple, cinnamon and almond butter.

On Saturday night, I definitely felt something coming on me as I felt achy all over.  I still ate something as I didn't want to skip dinner.  A simple kale- carrot stir-fry with tahini mixed in and topped with a Sunshine Burger.

The one thing you can depend on when feeling icky is TJ's boxed soup: Butternut squash soup, to be precise.  I jazzed it up by adding some chickpeas, curry powder, cinnamon, kale and ginger.  Even though I couldn't taste it very well, the warmness was soothing.

Oat bran is another WONDERFUL food while you're sick, as I am.  I got no sleep what so ever last night, as I kept sneezing, blowing, sniffing... I was craving a bowl of pumpkin oats, so that's just what i made.  After drinking some Lemon Zinger tea with lots of lemon, I made a bowl of oat bran with pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger an banana--topped with almond butter and more cinnamon.  I could actually taste it, too!

As you can see, my eats were quite boring the last few days.  I had to keep  it bland as I haven't been vary hungry due to all the congestion and sneezing.

With that, I bid you a wonderful and healthy Monday :)