I know I have been totally absent on my blog lately. And to tell the complete truth... I have been really down. My foot has got increasingly worse... like by the day. I am unable to walk w/o pain now. And I don't know if any of you have ever had constant pain but.... it really wears on your spirit. It just drags me down. So I haven't wanted to blog or even talk about this lately. HOWEVER- that is all about to change! A week from tomorrow I am having surgery! My doctor is removing the bone from my foot that is causing the problem and I really can't wait. Some people don't like surgeries and try to avoid them. Here is my rationale... If you have tried other reasonable means to fix a problem, you've done research on the outcomes of a procedure, you trust your doctor, and do you really need this problem fixed- then I am down w/ a surgery. And I am sooooo at the point right now. So it is under the knife I go! I am going to work hard to keep up w/ my blog these days... I think it will be good for my preparation for surgery and my recovery afterwards. Peace.
Something else that is familiar to me is my favorite pilates workout. I love this Denise Austin pilates DVD. I have seriously been doing this workout for years. (I know I had it before I got married and that was in 2002. So it has been at least 7 years.) I had it on VHS until we moved to this house. Previously, I insisted on keeping our old VCR plugged in and running for the sole purpose of doing these workouts. When we moved to this house we tossed the VCR and I bought it on DVD. It needed to be done. She does 2, 20 minute workouts here. They are both good. The second one is a little challenging for me to do on my foot so I just do the first one these days. But it is wonderful. I have her entire monologue memorized- all her directions and pointers. My favorite thing she says is: "Your spine is your lifeline. Keep it healthy. Keep it supple. Keep it strong." Totally cracks me up every time. But I do love this workout!
Ahhhh. There is something so nice about doing the same old thing. After a few hectic weeks here at the Napier house, I've pulled our schedule out of the dustbin! It has been so hard to fit in trips to the pool for lap swimming. (Not that I WANT to lap swim.) And eating healthy? Ha! I actually had a bowl of Lucky Charms for dinner one day last week! So in an effort to reign things in around here I've pulled out my charts. Charts for the children. Charts for me. Charts for our food. Charts for our time. It is really so much simpler when your day is pre-planned. And much easier to fit in a workout! I also went to my center and got a weeks worth of Jenny Craig food. (Read- yummy!) I LOVE getting up in the morning and being told what I am going to eat and when I am going to eat it. No fuss. No guessing. Just delicious, wholesome, easy to make Jenny Craig cuisine! I've gone back to eating JC's food a few times since I reached my goal in April of 2008. But this is the longest I've gone w/o it. I think it has been at least 3 or 4 months. I was due for some good meals! In the workout area- I made it to the pool for 45 minutes of swimming at 8 am this morning. Whew... I am beat. Well, according to my schedule it is almost time for bed. Peace out!
Yes- that was the photo on my folder! I remember it distinctly. And this is how I think of him really. I listened to his music through grade school, a little in high school, and then a lot more in college. In recent years Michael has not been high on my radar. When I would see a news story on him- like about something weird he had done or the allegations that were brought against him- I would always just feel bad for those involved... including him. He was such a tortured soul. It is really sad. I've spent some time the past few days watching his videos. There is something charismatic about how he sung and performed. Like he really loved what he was doing. (Go watch "Will You Be There" from the movie "Free Willy".) 
I love this picture of my Dad and me. This was the last race we ran together. It was last November just a few weeks before my family moved out of state. It was so freezing cold that day. We weren't prepared for it and we were really taken by surprise. (That is what happens when you live in Ohio and have to run indoors all winter!) I remember we both felt like we had inhaled icicles. But we both raced well and had a lot of fun. The post-race bagels were great there, remember Dad? Then I think we went to "Half-Priced Books" afterwards. Ahhh, what a great day! Happy Father's Day, Daddy. Everyone says that I am a complete and total carbon-copy of you. I think that is pretty cool! Thanks for teaching me so much about life. I'll never forget- there is no free lunch. I love you so much!
