Every Day Blogging

So - I'm not so good at blogging every day. It also helps to not have a kid staying home from school and barfing up their guts every hour on the hour - that has a tendency to keep a person busy doing laundry...especially when said child doesn't make it to the porcelain throne. Yucko!

Everyone told me that when I had a child, bodily functions wouldn't bother me - maybe I should rephrase that - their bodily functions wouldn't bother me...Well, whomever said that LIED! I am telling you that even as a baby, barf bothered me. Made me want to barf myself. Poop in the diaper wasn't such a big deal, but barf? Yucko! Granted, I'm not changing my 10 year old son's diapers anymore (thank the Goddess!) but barf is something else entirely.

I mean, is it really so hard to puke in a container? Granted at 3 a.m. when it all started he was sitting on the potty, and it's hard to barf in the toilet when you're sitting on it...but the tub is right there - as a matter of fact, the trash can was right there too! But did he choose either receptacle? Nope, he puked several times on himself and his pajamas and on the floor! When hubby joined us in the bathroom (a small room made even smaller)he at least made the child get in the shower. He showered himself off, then we gave him the puke covered clothing while I mopped up the floor - by hand. Hey! At least I only gagged twice. That's a HUGE improvement over the last time the child barfed in the bed. A loft bed. Ugh! That was seriously nasty.

So - other than barfing, cleaning it up, and using my genius brain to make crackers seem like a fabulous culinary experience, what have I been doing? Working out.

Yes, it is time to take control (although today was bad) - of my eating and exercise. Since I am a domestic goddess, my job is to get in shape! I did it on Tuesday and I worked out on Wednesday, but today? Today I ate. Maybe it's the hormones, but my goodness, I've been eating all day and I'm still hungry! I like to call it the "time before." Time before what you ask? Time before the monthly visitor appears. I've been eating since I got up at 7:30 a.m. I had yogurt and then oatmeal. Let's not forget coffee, then tea, then water, then a small salad, then jelly beans (Jelly Belly Sour jelly beans totally rock!), then ice cream, then a sandwich, then steak and corn on the cob - literally, I'm a walking, talking garbage disposal. Ugh! And did I work out today? No, unless you count walking back and forth from the table to the refrigerator.

Medium

So - I'm a medium. What does this mean? Well, for some I can equate it to either the movie, "The Sixth Sense" where the little boy states "I see dead people." So - do I really see them? Sometimes. Mostly, I hear them. And no, I'm not crazy or schizophrenic.

When I was 6 I started to see things out of the corner of my eye. By the time I was 10, I could fully concentrate and see in focus those things that flit in and out of our awareness. When I was 10 I had mononucleosis. I had a very high fever and was hallucinating. This was about the same time that the movie "Amityville Horror" was released and the movie previews freaked me out. Well, when I was at home sick, there was an old black couple that would come and take care of me. Betsy was her name. She called him "the Mister" so that's what I called him. Miss Betsy and Mister would tell me that everything was gonna be alright, and she'd sit on the side of my bed and rub my back and gently stroke my head. It was comforting. Betsy and Mister hung out with me a lot when I was younger. They took the scary thoughts away and made everything okay. They were protectors. I called them my angels.

See, my house was near an old cemetery. Betsy and Mister showed me where they were buried. Betsy was Betsy Mills and Mister was Samuel Mills. Both were freed slaves and had taken care of the children and family of the plantation on the land where our neighborhood was. I don't know what the name of the plantation was. I was real happy to know that Betsy and Sam had known freedom though.

When I was 17 and a senior in high school, other spirits came to visit. It was almost a constant. I was very involved in my church and had been elected as President of the MYF - Methodist Youth Fellowship - within my church. I had felt the light of God within my heart and felt that I could trust my Minister with my problem. I knew that this wasn't a curse of the devil, but that is exactly what he told me. This enraged me...it was also when I broke from my Christian faith - not my relationship with God - that has evolved and become so much more - but the Christian faith as a whole. I can go on and on about the hypocrisy of Christianity and those who say they follow the path of Jesus, but that will lead to a great deal of negativity and I'm sharing a path of knowledge in this blog and not negativity and prejudice.

So - the summer I was 19, after flunking out of college - well, I didn't flunk exactly. I received a 1.2 gpa. They told me I could take a semester off to think about what I wanted to do with my education and that I could return on academic probation. I took that semester, moved down to Orlando and got a job with Disney. In the meantime, every time I wasn't working I was at Casa Dega. When I had been at the University of Florida, I participated in a study with their psychology department in regard to paranormal studies. As someone who "spoke with the dead," my psychology professor my Freshman year (when I was living at home and actually attending classes - I got a B in psych 101) felt that I would be a good candidate for the study. The first thing they did was make sure you didn't have a psychosis (schizophrenia, etc.) that would lead to hallucinations, hearing voices, seeing ghosts, etc. Once it was determined that I was mentally healthy, they did all kinds of tests. Psychometry, the study of energy and feelings that someone can get from an object, telekinesis, mediumship, clairvoyance, etc. I am a medium and can use psychometry. I am not a clairvoyant nor can I read minds. Most of those online "Are You Psychic" tests, I fail. However, when the good researchers began to research with me in regard to contacting the dead, that was where I excelled. They attended a psychic camp with me at Casa Dega which is near Daytona Beach, Florida. I attended seminars in how to control my "gift" (it can be a HUGE distraction) and the researchers learned more about how mediumship, psychometry and many other psychic gifts work with people who are Masters of their gift.

As a result of my work with the University of Florida and Casa Dega, I am a registered, certified psychic. Wild, huh? Now, do I make any money off of it? Nope. Mostly, I try to hide it from my family. They don't believe...well, some do - mostly it's my mom and dad.

However, during this time, I met up with some folks who practiced an ancient religion called Wicca. Actually, Wicca itself is not ancient, although the rites and rituals can be considered prior to Christianity. Gardnerian Wicca came about in the late 40s or early 50s and was called the Age of the Golden Dawn. It is a belief in the use and power of harnessing the Earth's energies to use for good. The tenet of the Witch "Do as you will as long as you harm none" is a good and true use of Magick. It has to do with free will. For example, the power of prayer - we all know it works, right? It really does. I know it does. Well, when you cast a circle, either as a solitary practioner or within a coven (or group), and you call the towers and welcome sacredness into your circle - when you ask for what you want - that is prayer. The difference is in how it is done. Some can see and feel the energy as it is being cast, others cannot. It is definitely how sensitive one is to the energy that can be raised. As a psychic, I am extremely sensitive, and for me, the practice of this earth based religion has strengthened my relationship with God, the Goddess, and the Creator. It has also strengthened my "gift."

So - why am I writing about this? I just needed to. It is a burden at times to hear those who left with unfinished business. I am also contemplating using this gift of mine as the basis for a business. We'll see what happens.

On another note, my kittens turned one today. They've been with our family since last June of 2009, and they are a joy, a pleasure and they can also be a pain (like when they're chasing each other around the house and they knock a lamp off the table).

Blessings to you all.

Whew!

Today, after several weeks, was a return to the gym. I'm not saying that I haven't been working out because I have. I believe I have the largest library of video tapes, dvds and exercise equipment ever sold on television - and believe it or not, some of them are incredibly challenging.

I have the Tae Bo set - that is enough in itself to kick one's large rear end. However, I have two, even more difficult dvds. Jillian Michaels - that tough trainer from "The Biggest Loser" has a series of videos that she released. These are NOT for the novice exerciser. Some are easier than others, but all are incredibly difficult. The other dvd set that I have is actually, or more appropriately entitled a system. It is the PX90. Even my personal trainer (when I had one) said that this was for training the elite athlete. These dvds are incredibly difficult. The system comes with a chin up bar as well. There are supposedly ways in which to do the chin ups and pull ups with assistance, but I haven't figured this out yet. Suffice it to say, I do not use the chin up bar.

However, there are a series of like 14 dvds. Some are more focused on lifting weights (you can use light weights and do more reps so you don't need to purchase an entire set) while others are cardio based, yoga, pilates, etc. Each dvd offers a different kind of exercise. Each one is different and focused on something different. It is a very good system, but you have to be willing to give up 90 minutes of your day in order to succeed with the program.

So - as an unemployed Domestic Goddess, I have the time. Today, however, rather than using my own personal gym quality elliptical or one of the many and varied DVDs that I own, I chose to go to the gym. It has really been a while since I did some serious exercise (before Snowmaggedon on February 10th, 2010 - by the way, I live near Washington, DC). So, today off I went. It was awesome. 30 minutes of warm up on the treadmill (this included running at level/speed 5 on an interval basis - 60 seconds of walking then 90 seconds of running - this can seriously kick one's butt) then downstairs to the weight area.

I did my squats, my leg extensions, my hamstring pulls, then on to the upper body and back. Curls, triceps, chest, back and shoulders (I hate shrugs with ever fiber of my being, but my shoulders look AWESOME!). All of this took about 45 minutes. Then back upstairs to stretch and do a good abdominal workout (crunches baby) as well as my physical therapy exercises to keep my hip flexor in place. Once all of that was done, I determined I needed to do a wee bit more.

So - off to the elliptical where I did 45 minutes to Lady Gaga. First, let me just say that her album "the Fame Monster" rocks. Some of the beats on this are fast, some are slower, but each one offers something awesome. My favorite song is "Teeth" - it's sexy, the beat is something akin to that commercial with Charlise Theron for Tresor by Lancome. I mean, it's steady, it's heavy and if you up the resistance on your machine to about 15 it's a butt burning workout for about 4 minutes. Totally rocks. The rest of the album is just as good, but that song I can really up the resistance and push myself - something about it...

So - now that I've explained my atavistic self - I'm moved by music - let me say that I am soooo glad that they have a juice bar at the gym. I got a strawberry, banana with some powdered protein thrown in. It perked me right up! And it was seriously yummy! It's always good to have a little snack after a hard workout for recovery purposes.

Upon my return home, I took the dog for a walk - 1 mile today - I was pooped. Then a shower. After a light lunch of tomato caprese (mozzerella cheese and roma tomatoes sliced and lightly covered with olive oil, balsamic vinegrette and fresh ground black pepper) it was time to take a nap, from which I've just awakened - lazy, I know. I don't often indulge, but today it was necessary. See, Luna, my italian greyhound burrowed under the covers while I was showering, and upon my completion of lunch, well, I just joined her. It felt really good.

Now, I'm off to pick up my 10-year old son. Tonight is his first practice for Spring Baseball. I've got to get him a heavy snack so he's not starving before practice (probably leftovers from last night would be a good option - salmon and saffron rice with some veggies). If he's still hungry after practice, we'll think of something for the child to eat. He's going through a growth spurt right now and is pretty much eating us out of house and home.

This is the first time in a few years that Zac has played baseball. He really enjoys it and is very athletically talented. It wasn't always this way, but baseball usually brings out a better parent than football. Football parents are mean, cliquish and blood thirsty. While I'm all for pushing the boys, I don't enjoy the backstabbing that goes on behind the scenes, so am glad that this is not going on right now.

Upon our relocation (I'll talk more about this in a later post) - Zac will do a different league of football. He will be a part of the Pop Warner league. This league is more academically supportive as well as respect driven. Also, where we're moving, I am hopeful that the folks who are a part of the league are more open to involving parents rather than being cliquish and closed. I hate that. I didn't like it in high school and have zero tolerance for it as an adult.

So, it's baseball. Hubby and child have been hitting the batting cages, playing catch and working on sprints to up speed for rounding the bases. Love that!

So - I'm off to pick up my sweet boy child, feed him and prep him for his first practice of the season.

Toodles for now,

Amy

Bringing you up to date...

My name is Amy Anderson. I'm a 40 year old (soon to be 41) woman who is in the process of recreating herself. Part of this is due to the fact that I'm unemployed. I was laid off by a financial giant in December of 2008, was re-hired by that financial institution in July of 2009 and released from employment in November. Released from employment sounds so much better than "fired" doesn't it?

There was no reason, no feedback, no evaluations leading up to my "release" so I am still rather befuddled by this occasion. However, after a great deal of discussion with my husband, we've decided that at this point it would be best for me to remain at home. So, rather than call myself a "stay-at-home" mom (my son is 10 so it's not like he's at home or anything), I call myself a "Domestic Goddess." After all, I sew, I clean (even though we have someone come in every other week), I cook, I grocery shop, I drop off and pick up drycleaning, I drop off stuff to goodwill, etc. Not to mention - I. Am. A. Goddess. Huh! So, there ya go.

I am many things beyond a goddess but as I was created in the Creator's image, I am that which is divine. How about that! A good outlook, yes? I am also a diva. I sing, I write, I create. Therefore I am divilicious :)

OK, up to this point it would seem that I have no self-esteem issues. Actually, I have a great many insecurities, but those are not currently up for public consumption. I'm in a phase of my life that I'll call self-improvement. I'm working hard to become healthier - both mentally and physically - although it is true that the physical side greatly aids the mental aspect of health in regard to the "blues." I believe that exercise is the cure for most of the ills that are out there. Here's why:

1. Despite the fact I have severe arthritis in my hips, back, knees, ankles, etc. exercise has made it better - granted, losing weight has helped immensely.

2. When I exercise, I sleep better.

3. When I exercise, I lose weight. This makes me feel better about myself, which makes me friskier so I initiate intimate occasions with my spouse on a more frequent basis.

4. The seratonin high that one can achieve from working out is better than a drug, a glass of wine, and even good sex...Yes - I said it! It relaxes you, yet puts you in a fantastic frame of mind.

So those are my current reasons. For my biggest reason though, I failed to put that exercise increases the individual's ability to get healthy, stay healthy and want to make the necessary changes that we need in our lives.

I'll put this out there - in July of 2009, I weighed in at 250 pounds. I am currently 45 pounds down. I have a great deal more to lose, but I feel mahvalous dahlink. My knees don't hurt (as much), my ankles, while still stiff don't have as many twangs, twings and dings. Most of all, when I place my shrinking butt in my office chair, my ankles no longer swell to she size of grapefruits. These are all accomplishments. Being two dress sizes down doesn't hurt either. This leads to new shopping expeditions, but I digress...

Today, I'm going to shower, then run to the dump to get rid of old paint (we're cleaning out the garage) and then I'm dropping off all my fat clothes at Goodwill...However, I've got two beautiful formal dresses that I'm donating to a special charity that provides prom dresses to girls that cannot afford them. Most of those girls will be my size or larger...So it feels right and good.

Blessings to all - I'll write more tomorrow.