Happy New Year! And a cleanse!

Goodness, it is January 12th and I have written anything in my blog yet this year!
Happy New Year everyone… I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you a happy, healthy, successful, and love-filled 2013.

Our Christmas and New Year was lovely. It all went by far too quickly and whoops, here we are back into the swing of the normal routine: early mornings, school runs, ballet classes, work, etc, etc.

We do have a new addition to our family. Maximus the guinea pig arrived on Christmas Day via Grandpoo.
He is the dearest little guy and I will have to do another post solely focusing on him!
Gwennie is completely enamoured (as am I !).

We all tend to indulge a little during holiday times. Well, I certainly do. Lots of rich food to taste and a little more drinking than usual.
I decided to do a cleanse this past week to purge my old body of some toxins.

A friend of mine works for a company called Beyond Organic. She suggested I try the 3-Day Suero Viv cleanse.
The Suero Viv cleanse is designed to support the body’s natural cleansing and detoxification systems and help you reach a higher level of health than you’ve ever experienced. Available in three options: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. I took the Bronze one which consists of two flavours… Raspberry Lemonade and Citrus. You drink 6 bottles of these juices per day… and eat nada. The drinks are made up of whey culture and potassium and sodium to help cleanse out the cells of the body whilst protecting the body’s natural flora.
You can watch a video describing the cleanse right here!
The cleanse was designed to be a group one and ran from January 8th-10th.

Day 1: This was the toughest day for me. I was teaching two classes at The Bar Method that morning and felt a little foggy in my head. By the late afternoon, my head was crashing and I couldn’t really focus on anything much. I texted my friend and she told me that I should have slowly weaned off caffeine before the cleanse. Whoops! I took some Advil and went to bed early.
Day 2: My headache had pretty much dissipated and I felt more human. I found it much easier to teach class today and even took a class, which I found challenging but got through unscathed!
Day 3: I felt really tired on this day. I didn’t teach, but I did go in to take a class and found it a real struggle. No protein = no bueno for muscles. By the third day I was just craving the sensation of being able to chew something and I was really tired of the drinks. They didn’t taste that great… they were both very citrus-y in flavour and left a yukky taste in my mouth so I had to clean my teeth every time I drank one. I have a confession to make… on this day, I ate a baby carrot! I gave one to Maximus and the temptation was too great! I had to have one of those cold, crunchy things too! It was uh-mazing! Hahahaha!

So, I made it through the cleanse.
Down sides; I got really fed up with the flavours of the drinks. I would have liked more variety. And I should have detoxed off caffeine beforehand so I wouldn’t have been so tired. If I choose to do a cleanse again, I would definitely start/do it on days when I am not working. (I did have horrible dreams whilst I was cleansing. Was it cleansing my brain also???)
Up sides; I wasn’t hungry at all during the 3 days. I wanted to chew food, but I wasn’t physically hungry. Impressive! I lost 3 lbs… not as much as I would have liked to lose, but it was something. I definitely lost that bloated feeling that I had post-holiday nosh-up! And my skin looks great.

If I do the Suero Viv cleanse again in the future, I think I would opt for the Silver one, as it has 3 varieties of drinks.
A little more variety makes a heck of a difference when that is all you are drinking for 3 days.

Cleansing isn’t for wimps! It definitely takes some willpower and I am so relieved I made it through 3 days.
Hopefully I did myself some good and got rid of some toxic sludge! Mmmmmmm!!!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I have been meaning to write a post on a variety of topics lately, but time has escaped me!
So before the sound of sleigh bells is nigh, I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Christmas!
I hope you all enjoy a wonderful time with family and friends… and I wish you all the very best for a happy, healthy, love-filled, and successful 2013!
I hope next year brings ever more peace, patience, tolerance, kindness, and goodwill to everyone!

Santa visits G's school!

Santa visits G’s school!


Gwennie & Santa Claus

Gwennie & Santa Claus


Stealing a kiss!

Stealing a kiss!


The Lord's Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer


Last but not least...

Last but not least…

Where are you, Christmas?

Yesterday, Gwennie and I were driving home from school and we decided to bust out the Christmas music.
Is it just me or does anyone else get all emotional listening to holiday songs?
I love Christmas.
I am not going to lie… there have been a few Christmases I would rather forget, but on the whole I LOVE Christmas.
I am not in the slightest bit religious but I will belt out Oh Come All Ye Faithful with the best of you.
I love the spirit of Christmas… the joy in children’s eyes and the act of giving to others.

Christmas is a time of remembrance for me too. I think about loved ones who are no longer with us.
Memories of Christmases-past with these loved-ones brings a smile to my face.
I am also reminded that there is someone important missing from our family.
There should be a little two year old boy running around our house right now.
But while his physical presence is missing, Henry remains constantly in our hearts.

I think about Christmases when I was a little girl.
I have fond memories of my Mum, Gran, and Great Aunt all cooking in the kitchen.
My Mum used to make the best mince pies and petit-fours.
My dear Gran would stuff the turkey each year.
We used to have the best parties over the holidays… I have such great clips in my head of fancy-dress hoorahs and evenings spent playing games and laughing raucously with family and friends.
I am an only child but I always felt surrounded by loved ones. It is a good memory.

Christmas definitely changes once you have a family. It’s so important to make your own family traditions.
Today, Bill, Gwennie & I are getting ready to decorate our tree together.
As I mentioned earlier, Christmas is a time for giving. I am trying to instill this concept into Gwennie.
Every year we have taken part in Operation Christmas Child. This year, we are adopting a Christmas Angel through G’s school.
We will be buying a present for a little 5 year old girl who “loves anything Barbie”! I can’t wait to go shopping for her with Gwennie!

So where are you, Christmas? I think you are in our hearts… in our memories… in our souls… in the laughter of our children and in the joy sparkling in their eyes.

Happy Christmas everyone!

A white Christmas at Ormond Road with Sammy Sparkles

A white Christmas at Ormond Road with Sammy Sparkles


Christmas at The Chase

Christmas at The Chase


Playing with one of my Christmas gifts whilst my Gran looks on (at Little Owls)

Playing with one of my Christmas gifts whilst my Gran looks on (at Little Owls)

It’s snowing here in WordPress Land!

And also on my blog! Cute!

Time for another update. We just enjoyed a couple of great weeks with my Mum here in town. It was so lovely to have her here and Gwennie just lapped her up.

Usually it is my poor Mum who comes over and gets sick (attack of the airplane germies), but she has since combated this by dosing up well with immune strengtheners and tonics. This time, it was both Bill and I who were poorly. Bill was fighting something off the first week when we had Thanksgiving. We hosted at our house and enjoyed having Bill’s Mum and one of Bill’s brothers, Bob and his family, come join us. Everyone mucked in and brought wonderful dishes of delights. It was a lovely afternoon.

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Mum, Gwennie, and I braved Epcot the next day. It was busy but bearable and we had a wonderful time. Epcot is definitely mine and Mum’s favourite of all the parks.

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On the Saturday, we braved Downtown Disney! That was a zoo! But we had fun and Gwennie loved going on the train and merry-go-round and we forced our way around the shops! We enjoyed a great lunch at Fulton’s Crab House.

Mum gets on really well with Ginny (Bill’s Mum) so they spent some time together whilst I was working and Gwennie was at school.

The second week of Mum’s visit, I got sick. I came down with some ghastly virus and was rendered out of action for the final weekend of Mum’s stay. I was so disappointed as we had plans to go to Animal Kingdom and/or Sea World. Alas, it was not to be.

Mum and I went to G’s school one morning and volunteered with her class… we had so much fun decorating pine cones for Christmas with the kids and making snowmen with the children’s painted white tootsies! Gwennie was very proud to show off her Granny!

All too soon, it was time to say goodbye, and Mum flew back to the UK on Wednesday evening. I know she was thrilled to be reunited with her little King Charles Cavalier, Alfie!

Bill came home with a Christmas tree this week. We have yet to decorate it, but that is the plan this weekend. Frank Frankypants (our Elf on the Shelf) has arrived and is up to his usual antics. This time he has a sidekick in tow… Buzz Lightyear!

After some discussion with Miss G, she is all signed up to start at the Orlando Ballet School in January. She is also going to be taking yoga classes at her school. She loves yoga and wants to incorporate it more into her regular schedule! She was a little hesitant at keeping up with the ballet, but when Bill and I talked to her about it, we discovered it was because she was finding it “tricky”. She has gone up a class this semester. She is the youngest in her class (she is 5 and the eldest is 8). She is learning a lot more theory now. Bill and I stressed the importance of not giving up on things just because they get tricky. We put it in context with her achievements such as writing and counting and Maths. It seemed to help and so she wanted to try a semester at OBS… AND practice yoga. Can’t complain with that! At least she loves to be active and do things which are good for her!

Right now we are looking forward to the holiday season. It’s a really busy time for Bill at work especially as he is putting together a new store at the same time. Hopefully it will all move along as smoothly as possible!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!

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Prancer!

The holidays are coming!

…and I haven’t posted in ages!

October was a funny old month. It was a month of feeling pretty blue. I am glad to say I have since picked myself up, dusted myself off, and am back on track again.

The end of October brought the loss of a dear friend of ours. Herb O’Brien was an amazing man who was like a father and mentor to Bill. It’s so sad to think he is gone and we won’t see him again. We loved him very much and we love his family. We flew up to Seattle the first week in November to attend his memorial service. It was held at his beloved Radar. It was a very touching affair and it was so good to see old friends. I am so grateful that I was able to go and I am very thankful to my lovely co-workers at The Bar Method for covering my classes so I could go and support Bill and Herb’s family.

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We enjoyed a lovely weekend with one of my dearest friends, Jenn, last weekend. It was her birthday and so she came to stay with us for a couple of days. We went to Epcot for the day on Saturday and had a wonderful time! She is so easy to be with and Gwennie adores her too!

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I had my evaluation with Karen at The Bar Method last week. It went well and was a positive experience! I am really looking forward to the future! I feel so lucky to be doing a job that I love!

Gwennie has had a busy week what with a Thanksgiving Pow Wow with her Kindergarten and The Nutcracker ballet recital! Such precious memories!

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Now we are gearing up to the Thanksgiving celebrations which we will be hosting at our house.

My Mum arrives on Monday! Can’t wait to have her here for 2 weeks!

A very happy Thanksgiving to one and all! I am so thankful for my amazing family, for dear friends, a job that I love, and good health!

 

Flat Stanley visits Granny in the UK…..

Via my amazing Mum and Super Granny…

The beautiful and sweet Granny Janny!

19th October 2012 England

Hi!

I’m Gwennie Porter’s Flat Stanley and I am on an exciting trip to England to visit Gwennie’s Granny. She lives in a pretty little market town called Wimborne near the South Coast. I had a long journey here with lots of delays, but finally got here two days ago! I have been thinking about what I would like to be when I grow up, and one of my ambitions is to become a doctor!! Granny works at The Royal Bournemouth Hospital, which is about 10 miles from Wimborne, and she kindly took me to work with her yesterday to meet the team and find out a bit more about becoming a doctor.

Dr. Stanley!

Granny works in the Postgraduate Medical Centre which continues the training of the doctors. They have a fantastic Skills Lab there, where they teach doctors and nurses on some brilliant manikins which look so real. They are worked by computers and can breathe, groan and generally show all the symptoms of real patients. It was very exciting to go and see all of this equipment. Firstly I went into the control room of the lab, where all the computers are. There the tutor can set up scenarios and the doctors in the next room have to diagnose and treat patients and deal with medical emergencies. In the first two pictures you can see me learning how to operate the equipment using a microphone and computer which links me to the lab next door. Then I went into the lab to see what equipment they had. I found a Sim Man lying on a trolley. He is linked to the computer and can be treated as a real patient. It was a bit scary at first seeing him “breathe” and “groan”, but once I got over the shock, I put on my stethoscope and listened to his heart beating ! It was amazing!!!! Then they showed me a simulated baby boy which the doctors practice on to perform various procedures. He looks very real doesn’t he!!!!

The Sim Man


Baby needs care!

There are lots of other pieces of equipment, and I got to practice suturing a cut on an arm. If you look very closely you can see one cut just above the wrist and there is another one which I worked on just to the left of where I am standing! It was very weird working on a limb!!!! Next they showed me a model of a foot which shows all the bones, veins, muscles etc. It was very interesting and I learnt a lot about how a foot works!!!! Next it was time to try out some of the equipment on me! That was very exciting indeed! I was shown how they would insert a drip into my arm and in the photo you can see a saline bag hanging on the drip stand! It tickled a bit when they did that!!!! Next I tried out a piece of equipment to help me breathe – but the mask that goes over the nose and mouth was a bit big for me – cos I am only small!!!!! Next they took my blood pressure. They wrapped a cloth around my arm and pumped it until it was very tight! They said my blood pressure was perfect – so that was a relief!!!! Then they showed me a Heartstart machine, which had lots of leads and dials and would help if I had a heart attack and needed to shock my heart! Thank goodness there is nothing wrong with my heart!!!! It was such an interesting morning learning about all the equipment and getting the chance to try some of it out!!!!!

That’s quite the foot!


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After all that excitement it was time for a coffee break, so we went into the kitchen and I helped to make the coffee and tea for all the girls. We also had some yummy chocolate chip cookies!!! They were great and I had worked up quite an appetite by then!!!! In Granny’s office I met all her work colleagues. They were very nice to me and we posed for a group photo. They are from left to right: Christine (the boss) Becky, Tricia, Grace, Zoe and seated is Jean. She is a very old lady of 84 and she comes into the office once a week as a volunteer and helps with some of the admin work. She was very sweet and they call her “The Queen Mother” in the office!!!

Coffee break!


The beautiful ladies of Bournemouth Hospital!

After our coffee break, they decided I should learn about the fire drill in case of emergencies. If the alarm goes off, all the fire doors close automatically and everyone has to evacuate the building and assemble at various places around the hospital grounds. There are lots of fire extinguishers in the building, and I got chance to inspect them (14). Then the boss took me into her office to meet some very junior Junior Doctors (15) – for once I met some people who were smaller than me!!!!

Then they showed me around the rest of the Centre. There are lots of Seminar Rooms which they use for teaching, a big Conference Room and a Lecture Theatre which seats 100 people. In the entrance foyer there is the bust of someone called Walter Child Clark. He was born in 1844 and was made an Honorary Freeman of Bournemouth in 1923. He helped to set up the original Bournemouth Hospital, which at that time was called The Royal Victoria Hospital and was on a different site. Now the new hospital is very modern and has bright blue roofs – very smart! It also has a big lake with with ducks and swans and lots of seats around so that patients and staff can sit and enjoy the view on nice days.

They asked me if I would like to go into the Lecture Theatre, which was fun. It was a big room and the seats were steeply staggered. You can see me sitting part way up looking rather small!!!! I went on to the lectern where they operate all the equipment for teaching – it was quite exciting! They asked me if I would like to give a talk, so I hopped on to the flip chart and gave a talk on the heart! I was a bit nervous speaking in that huge theatre, but I managed it OK and everyone seemed to enjoy it!!!!

Stanley the Lecturer!

After a long, tiring but exciting day, Granny took me home, where I spent the evening watching TV with Granny’s little puppy Alfie! He is a cute little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and is almost 5 months old. He gave me lots of licks and we had a nice evening cuddling on the chair! For a little dog, he does snore very loudly when he’s asleep!!!! He’s got lots of squeaky toys, and you can see “Dicky Duck” in the photo of us!!!!!

Alfie & Stanley!

After a good night’s sleep, it’s time for me to head back to Florida, so I must pack my bags and get ready to catch my flight!

Thank you Granny for a fabulous visit!

Flat Stanley xxx

Hard times can make you stronger…

Three ago yesterday, I walked into my OB’s office for a routine check-up. I was 16 weeks pregnant with our son, Henry.
What followed was a 4-day whirlwind of shock and grief.
Henry’s story.

As we approach the date of our son’s third anniversary, I find myself in a state of deep contemplation again.
Bill and I both have some things going on in our lives right now… personal matters, friendship woes, and work stress (in Bill’s case, not mine).
It’s easy to get a little “woe is me” now and again, but I have to say that I feel very lucky to have such a great husband.

After a very long day working yesterday (Bill, not me!), we both sat down on our bedroom floor and talked.
We talked about all the things that are going on in our lives right now. We unloaded and vented and offered one another support.

I know a lot of relationships suffer when a child is lost, but losing Henry has honestly brought Bill and I closer together.
Thank God. I can’t imagine losing my husband as well as my baby.
I am so grateful that I can talk to Bill absolutely anything. He truly is my best friend and confidante.
With him by my side, I feel we can get through anything and achieve all that we need to.
We are far from perfect, but we love and trust one another, and we are always willing to make things work… together.
I can’t imagine my life without him.

“Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
Joshua J. Marine