Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary! by Robin Janney

Back in the early days when I was naively using a
whole sheet of stationary!

As I was going through the little pieces of paper I had placed in my Happiness Jar over the last year (or rather, the first half of last year) I came across a piece of paper documenting how partnering up with Carol to create Broads of a Feather made me happy.  And I realized with a shock, this blog would soon hit its one year anniversary!  Which was yesterday!

Why this was a "shock" since Carol mentioned it in last weeks' post, I don't know; perhaps seeing the date in my own handwriting, obviously exuberant, just made it more real.  Or perhaps I'm just a bonehead who doesn't pay that close of attention to the calendar accept for doctors appointments.  But obviously, the venture delighted me enough that I put it in the jar!

Ok, it's not a jar, but a plastic cheeseball container.  Whatever works, right?

But I'll be writing more about my Happiness Jar on my own blog as soon as I'm done with this post.

It doesn't feel like it's been a whole year already, but on the other hand, some days it feels like Carol and I have always known each other and have always been writing together.

Since Carol went over our highlights for the past year in her blog post, it would be rather redundant of me to do the same.  Instead, it is a new year with new challenges and new goals so I'll touch on them instead.

I know many eschew the entire notion of New Years resolutions and goals.  But not Carol and me!

Both of us would like to continue a healthier lifestyle into 2015.  Me so I can better control my diabetes, continue to lose weight, and maybe get off my meds someday; Carol with the goal of running in a 5K run this spring.  Since I'm still facing surgery at the end of this month, I think I'll leave the running up to her for right now.  I just hope I can manage my diet well enough afterwards that I don't balloon back up and hopefully continue to lose weight.  At one point last year, I was so happy with the number the scale gave me that I wrote it down and put it in the Happy Jar.  Needless to say, I was not happy with the numbers I gained since then.  But the numbers are coming back down again, so I'll focus on that instead!

Another goal we ladies share is finishing our works in progress, as Carol mentioned last week.  I have the middle of my third book written and need to work on the beginning and the end.  It is difficult right now, with a husband off of work because of his torn tendon (shoulder) but I was working on notes and the simple outline I use.  I say simple because it is far from being a proper outline.  I still have some decisions I need to make, on character involvement and interactions.  They don't always want to play well together!  From her updates on Facebook, Carol's Overcoming Sarah has been progressing right along.  Probably not as fast as she'd like, but every paragraph written is progress!

I am probably feeling too ambitious this year.  I've already failed at getting this post up on time.  But that doesn't put too much of a damper on my enthusiasm for my goals this year.  I will get better at social media and blogging.  I will get a blogging schedule written down, for both blogs.  I will finish my third book this year.

Can you tell I'm trying to keep myself positive?  This year is already off to a rough start.  Not only because of impending surgery and unknown treatment for hubby's shoulder, but his uncle on the one side is in the hospital battling for his life.  This is the last uncle for that branch of the family and he's already had a heart attack.  Not a great way to be starting out the new year!  One way or the other, I will work around the challenges in my life and if I don't come through them on top, it won't be because I didn't try.  I've even boldly started a GoFundMe campaign to help us out while my husband and I heal from our injuries.

There are times to be timid, and there are times to be bold.  I have a lot of bold ideas for this new year, but I won't tell you what they all are.  Mostly out of fear that I'll fail to achieve them!! Okay, okay...I give.  Maybe if I tell you, it'll help me keep focused on them and maybe I'll get them done.  Two of my bold ideas for this new year are 1. to start a newsletter of some kind and 2. finish a shorter book for submission to a publishing house.  A girl's gotta dream big, right?  I know what manuscript I want to work on, but I want to get my third book done first.  I don't know what I would want for a newsletter yet in terms of how often.

So there you have it, a few of our goals and resolutions for the new year.  What about you dear readers? Did you make any resolutions or goals this year?  What challenges are you facing already?

Physical Therapy and Hybresis: By Robin Janney

Monday marks the start of my second week of physical therapy.

Truthfully I feel kind of silly for being in physical therapy for something as "simple" as plantar fasciitis.  That's just a fancy way of saying that my plantar tendon has been torn and is inflamed because of those micro-tears.  Micro or not, they hurt.

I hope no one's offended by a foot pic...

Being off work has lessened the pain, but it hasn't erased it entirely.  And the brace that I wear at night causes ankle pain and swelling (that no one seems to think important)  What you can't see in the photo I've posted is the thick plastic support piece that runs up the outside of the leg.  There's a hole to release the pressure against the ankle bone, but it does not do a good enough job.

Lately, I have awakened in the middle of the night in such pain that I take the thing off and finish the night without it.  I shouldn't be doing that...but it hurts and it's the only way I know to stop it!

Part of the physical therapy, which I saw coming and knew of no way to stop, is the stretching they make me do with my foot.  How can something heal if it's being stretched?  I don't know, but I ache more after therapy than I do going in.  Of course, almost to the end, the foot does get massaged.  The therapist seems to know how to hit all the hot spot pressure points of pain too!  Especially the last one I had.  She didn't just massage the foot and ankle, but also the back of my calf up to my knee.  Her reasoning was that many people with plantar problems will develop pain and tender spots in their calf and not even realize it.  She wasn't kidding!

Please forgive another foot pic...

After that part is over, which admittedly is my favorite part, comes my least favorite part.  The Hybresis iontophoresis treatment.  Which breaks down to mean that the device uses a small electrical charge to push a medicine through my skin.  In my second picture, I am wearing the large medicated band-aid and Hybresis device.  The medicine, a steroid, is on the pad under the foot on the "negative" end of the charge and on the "positive" end is a saline solution.  Oddly enough it is on the saline end that I feel the most current!  And let me tell you, my foot does NOT like it!  I actually feel nothing at all on the medicated end and I can only hope the medicine is going into where it needs to be.

Being off work has completely messed up my normal routine.  By the time I get adjusted to it, I'll be all healed and on my way back to work!  That is how these things tend to happen, yes?

While I haven't gotten a jump on anything for my blog, which I need to, I have made progress with my sequel to Farmer's Daughter.  I think I might be closer to being done than I thought.  I still have gaps to fill, a couple rather large ones, but I'm edging closer to completion!  And that's exciting.  I haven't worked on it yet today, Sunday, because for most of the afternoon I was at a baby shower for a relative.  But the night is young yet.

It's hard financially being off of work.  I've got bills due this week that I'm not sure how they're going to be paid.  And I have to buy new boots for work too, as well as inserts for them.  How and with what, I'm not sure yet.  I am receiving short term disability, but it's not that much. Not compared to a full paycheck. I have a few leads to investigate, but regardless I know hubby and I will be okay.  Eventually.

In the meantime, I'll be keeping ice on my foot - I tie it on with a piece of denim I chopped off leg-bottoms of new jeans.  And elevating it while icing.  Even though I'm guessing at the right way to ice it anymore!  The nurses and doctors always say 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off.  The physical therapist says NO! to that - it should be 10-15 minutes every hour.  Uhm, ok, I'm glad we cleared that up!

Also, for any local readers who are interested - I will be speaking at the June book club meetings at the Bradford County Library on June 17th.  It starts at 1pm.  It's going to be a tad embarrassing sitting down for it, but I'll deal.  I hope to see some of you there.

Question for the readers: What fun things have you been up to so far this summer?  I would love to be out walking and enjoying the nice weather.

A pretty picture to make up for making you look at my foot...