It was a gorgeous day out yesterday. The sun was shining, hardly any clouds, and the temperature was about 24. It was nice to see this so I told Chris when I got home from Weight Watchers, we should do some geocaching. We set out and did some local caches then we headed out towards the Lakeshore and ended up at the PJ Hoffmaster State Park outside of Muskegon. There was some icy spots but the hike was awesome. I wore my HRM and burned about 500 calories in the time we were out there. I was surprised to see how many calories I burned from the hiking. The trail was getting too icy and we needed to go down the hill so I found a clear spot and just went down the side of the hill on my bottom, I've always wanted to do that! It was just a cool day and it was a nice change from the gym.
The past week was totally draining. I think I need a vacation from work because I'm just feeling a little burnt out. I'm closing a lot of cases, starting with new families and that can be draining. Establishing relationships in a therapeutic process takes a lot because you have to establish that trust quickly because usually the family is in crisis. I'm also getting anxious about hearing if I got certification for my therapy skill that I learned. We had to submit tapes and the state is viewing them. I was the second therapist in my cohort to put tapes in but I haven't heard anything yet. It's like, okay, you all can tell me at any time that I've passed or failed because I want to move on and I feel kind of stuck right now. I'm going to be out of the office two days next week so that could be what I'm needing. I'm looking forward to better weather because the commute this week was also a pain. The other morning we had freezing rain and a guy was on my butt for about 15 miles. I hit some black ice and slowed up a bit and I watched him spin out of control and hit a barrier. That was my "Thank you Jesus" moment that I had. It will be nice when the commute goes back to driving 55 without worrying about the slick roads. Oh, it will be nice soon, won't it?
I'm happy today is March 1st. That means spring is around the corner soon. Spring in Michigan is wonderful. Michigan has three great seasons around here and that's why I love living here (despite the poor economy, it's a wonderful state). When I lived in Louisville, I thought the spring and fall were terrific but the summer...oh my, that humidity was horrible. I'll take cold over humidity any day. Though, I do miss Louisville in the spring when all the magnolia trees come out. When I was going to U of L, the campus was laced with a ton of Magnolia trees and I couldn't believe how beautiful they were. Last spring I spotted a magnolia tree at a garden store and was interested in planting one but at $50, I doubted if it would take off. I'm getting excited to prep for my garden this year. I would like to plant some lettuce (not as much as last year though), some onions, radishes, beans, tomatoes, and other various veggies. I didn't have any luck with the corn so I think I will pass on planting that. I would like to plant some proper grass in the front because it looks horrible in the front. The neighbor said when the house was in foreclosure, no one took care of the leaves so it killed our grass. All we have is dirt/weeds up there. I need to do some researching on how to get it going properly. Last year, I just threw down some seed and that didn't work so we'll see.
Thanks for the advice Anji about the cat's teeth. I got Bolton crated the other day (it took me five minutes) and I took him to the vet to get his teeth cleaned and he had two extractions so it was worth it. We've had to give him antibiotics twice a day via oral syringe and that has been an utter pain and he totally hates me now because I'm the one giving it to him. He's one ticked off kitty but at least he has healthy teeth!
Drum roll {please} I am down 2.2 pounds!!! So I'm 179.8 now!! I'm done with the 180s, so good riddance to them! I had to stare at my book several times to believe the loss. In the two months of being at WW, I'm down 8 :) that's terrific! I'm not a fast loser and my losses are in consistent. I gain some weeks, lose the next but I'm going down and that's all that matters. So everyone, don't get down on yourself if you don't lose/gain, it will all work out in the long run, really! Don't give up! I really journalled hard this week. I wrote everything down so it did pay off. The meeting was about journaling/tracking. A new interesting fact about journalling is that people tend to slack off with doing it around week 6. Wow, they hit the nail on the head with knowing that. The workouts are going terrific and training with Ryan is making a huge difference. Chris and I are looking forward to the class again in a few weeks. That accountability is nice. I'm also challenging myself on the exercises. There's a couple that he's taught me that I can't do yet but I'm almost there...thank Goodness to modifications. I must be a hoot to look at when I'm at the gym but I'm getting it done and improving! My core exercising is doing better and I can actually balance myself on a balance ball for a minute...when I started doing this two months ago, I couldn't even hold myself up for four seconds, now I'm up to a minute :) That's success in my book. Take care all! Kellie
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Hey! Glad the extractions took place, nothing sucks more than rotting teeth...
Now, for the syringe stuff... at least you have a syringe but I will tell you how I used to "pill" my cat. It'll work for a syringe too i think.... first off, kneel on the floor and cross your ankles. Then kind of "sit back" on your feet. This allows you to "close" that part of an escape route for the kitty. Then, take the cat and put his butt-end in the "hole" you just created... so his butt should be kinda under yours with your ankles crossed behind so he can't squirm out. This positioning would usually take two hands to hold him down but but you'll still have both your hands free!!
So, with your left hand (if you're right handed), put it under his chest up towards his neck. You actually don't have to use much strength at all because, he braces himself. He's going to try and go backwards but doing so, he's only pushing against the hole you created.
Then, split your left hand fingers so the thumb is under the left side of the jaw, your middle finger under the right side of the jaw, and your pointer/index finger can be used to open his mouth from the front. It'll go inbetween his "vampire"/canine teeth... just be sure to not press down his tongue on his teeth but usually it'll go back... finally, tilt his head back a smidgeon.
THEN... with your right hand, take the syringe and bring it close to the back, right hand side of his jaw... at the corners, and slowly inject it into the mouth. if you make it too fast, he'll choke and spit it out....
Then, let go of the syringe, close his mouth lightly and give him a big ol' kiss on the top of his head and tell him what a good kitty he is. The key is to NOT show your frustration through your voice. This will take a few times to master but 14 years of medicating my cat, this was the best and easiest way to do it... if you have pills, when you close his mouth, bring his head forward a bit (to a more natural position) so he can swallow and massage his neck for him.
Hope this actually makes sense!
P.S. I guess I kinda forgot to say that, when you are doing this, sometimes you may need your elbows too to prevent him from going out the sides... you can lean forward over him and kind of give him a bear-hug with your elbows. As long as you aren't squeezing the crap out of him, he'll be safe. Don't squeeze him hard at all, it's just creating a small place that he backs into... let me know if you try it and if it works!
Congrats on the loss. That is awesome to pass that milestone. I found you on the WW message boards. Hope you don't mind me following along.
Hi Kellie. Congrats on the loss this week!! Keep up the good work!!
Congrats on the loss! Your hike sounded awesome!
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