Archive for the ‘Health and Beauty’ Category
November 20th, 2008The Lost Week: There are no “paid” sick days if you work at home.
Yes…I am still alive.
Barely.
The end of my nose needs to be amputated. It’s so red and sore.
I have coughed and coughed and coughed…..
I’ve gotten some kind of creepy cootie crud - and it’s not about to leave my body any time soon.
So…I’ve lost an entire week of work. There is no one to take my place after all. No one to “fill” in.
That’s the price of working at home……running your own gig.
And of course….along with running your own gig…..getting no work done because you’re sick etc….
It still doesn’t excuse you from getting dinner on the table, cleaning out the kittybox, taking your sick son
to the doctor because he’s got the same creepy cootie crud, doing laundry, helping with homework, picking kids up, dropping kids off….and picking up everyone’s crap in general.
A fulfilling life for sure.
Now….don’t get me wrong. I still feel blessed. Yes….blessed. Even with all the nose blowing and coughing.
I mean…..it’s a cold….thank goodness that’s all it is.
And I have a warm house to shelter me. Chicken noodle soup. A husband that does his best to help out. And really….so much more.
So back to work today. I think I’m over the hump.
I have my arsenal on my desk. I’ve taken some kind of Tylenol Cold and Cough stuff….and then there is my bevy of cough drops, vitamin C drops, kleenex….(oh and a partial grocery list and my cellphone). Still gotta get to the grocery store!! I need to have them set up a cot for me there because I’m always having to go and pick up something!
I’m determined to get some work done today.
So if you’re in the same boat this winter - remember, even with no co-worker to step in and help cover the “office” - it’s ok. I took a few days off and nothing earth shattering happened. I didn’t get fired, no clients where super upset and well….my house is not exactly in tip-top shape - but it hasn’t fallen down around me either.
Sometimes it’s hard when you work at home to allow yourself some time off. A vacation is PAINFUL for me.
I swear. It’s not just that you lose income…..it’s that I feel this sense of “ONLY I” can do this - so I MUST.
But this week. I had to. There was no way around it. When you’re sick…..rest is best.
Take it from this work-at-home-workaholic with NO workman’s comp. If you don’t have your health….you have nothing.
Stay well this winter!!
Blogger: You’re Lookin’ Like a Hunched-Over Chicken Neck Alien
Dear God…..
I am….seriously upset tonight.
I mean….I am trying to laugh it off - but I’m in pain. My chest feels like it’s being cracked open.
What IN THE world is going on with my poor body??
I’m 42. A healthy 42. I eat a mostly vegetarian diet, I’m maybe 8-10 pounds over weight…..and working really hard at making that ZERO over weight. (Ask my friend Kim in Indiana….if she has to hear one more meal off my diet menu….she’s going to puke!)
Anyway…
I DON’T…..DO NOT have heart issues. I had a 64 CT Slice Scan done on my heart less than three months ago, two echos and two stress tests. MY blood work is perfect as well.
I’m blessed. Really. But ya know….you have to be an active player in your health. You can’t just “hope” those Pringles don’t clog your arteries. You can’t just “hope” the blubber around your waist won’t cause you to have a coronary. You can’t just “hope” not getting the stress in your life under control won’t cause high blood pressure. You can’t just “hope” sitting in front of your computer and TV all the time won’t cause permanent damage to your spine.
YOU have to be a willing participant in your “good health” game plan.
Which….leads me back to my chest muscles.
I need to practice what I preach. BIG time.
For years….and years…..and years….
(You ladies out there right now that are up late working on your website and/or blog…..you’ve got to go to bed!! You’ve got to get some rest, some exercise and change your nutrition habits!! Especially with all this damn Halloween candy laying around….Jesus….it’s not even Halloween yet and I keep sneaking mini-Heath bars!!)
Anyway….what I was saying….for…years….and years….
I have known that the amount of time spent at my computer was bordering on “psycho-possessed-woman” zone. I KNEW that as my body aged from 34 years old to 42 (this is how long I have worked in front of my computer), that if I wasn’t careful - if I didn’t listen to my body….I would pay dearly.
Well…here I sit. Chest muscle pain so bad it’s making it hard to just sit up straight!! Just sitting up straight is an issue!!! I’m a blogger that from a side view looks like a hunch back with a chicken neck jutting out!! Some kind of weird alien basking in the glow of a monitor. Scary.
All those years of ballet, all those years of eating well, all those years of keeping my weight in check, getting my yearly check-ups, going to the dentist, mainly drinking water….
It’s pointless effort if I continue to sit….all hunched and slouched in my computer chair….with my head and chin jutted out….
What I have I done??
Can it be undone??
Are you in the same boat? Maybe you’re standing on the shore just about to get in this boat of misery??
This is one of the horrible aspects of working at home on a computer (like many of us home based business moms do!) that no one talks about. OH it’s ALL rainbows and butterflies until you can’t move and you’re getting up from the couch like a 139 year old woman with osteoporosis!
I did some research tonight. Yep….sitting here at my computer (again!) - but now in a perfect, straight-backed posture which is about to kill me and feels as unnatural as an enema - but I had to find out. I had to get more info. So researching….
From what I can tell I have what is called…well, WE (yes…I’m dragging you into this with me AGAIN!) have what is called upper cross syndrome. It’s real…look it up.
Upper Cross Syndrome - I found a great site that defines this:
http://www.lifewest.edu/courses/syllabi/uppercrossedsyndrome.pdf
The site states: “Upper Cross Syndrome describes a compromise in the musculoskeletal system
which tightens or facilitates the anterior compartment of the “upper” torso while at the
same time weakening the posterior. While the majority of muscles involved in Upper
Cross Syndrome are anterior to the shoulders there are a few posterior elements to
consider as well. The chest muscles become tight and shortened as well as the neck
muscles (both posterior and anterior compartments).”
Additionally…they go on to say…”Where do you typically see Upper Cross Syndrome? Being that it is
predominantly a postural issue, it is seen in individuals who work at a desk or are
constantly leaning forward. Through postural adaptation, your body adopts the classical
hunching of the upper thoracic spine, internal rotation of the shoulders, and anterior head
carriage.”
I call this…simply….“Hunched-Over Chicken Neck Alien” Syndrome.
Proper posture at your computer is of course, the best way to prevent this. Are you even aware of your posture? Maybe every now and then….but not all the time. Breaks with stretching exercises should be incorporated as well. Something I was not doing. Are you?
I could certainly go on and list tons of preventive measures for this Upper Cross Syndrome - which I am sure….right now….there are MANY women 25 years and older that are thinking as they read this…..”Hmmmm…..am I sitting correctly at my computer?”
No….you are not. You’re all hunched back and slouchy.
My advice….
Find exercises NOW regarding Upper Cross Syndrome and start incorporating them into your daily routine. You youngins’ out there that haven’t hit your mid-30’s just yet might think this is stupid….but your body will only compensate for you for so long….and then…..it will turn on you. Heed my warning….I’m 42 - and I’m suffering.
Here is a good site for some exercise ideas for Upper Cross Syndrome - but I am sure there are many other sites with helpful info as well:
http://www.issaonline.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/10/2/Combating-Upper-Cross-Syndrome
I am going to bed now. I am tired. My hunched over shoulders are aching from sitting up straight for just 20 minutes….I feel like I’ve been in a car wreck just from sitting properly!? I yie yie! MY neck is NOT enjoying being tucked back into it’s proper alignment either…..the “chicken” in me is desperately trying to cluck it’s way out.
I know we’re real close to Halloween being late October and all….
I am sure my tale is quite scary. But scarier would be NOT needing a Halloween costume because your posture is in such bad shape you look pretty creepy already!! So sit up straight like your Momma told you to! You’ll be so glad you did….
This chick(en) is heading for bed!! Tomorrow is a new day in my hen house (home office)! A day filled with stretches and straightening…..if you hear any crackin’ noises….that’s probably me! Cluckin’ noises? Yeah….probably me.
Fat Free Chocolate Pudding is MY DRUG of Choice
Yep….
I’d shoot it in my veins if I wasn’t so afraid of needles.
You may wonder….Geezopete Kelly, why not something better than chocolate pudding? Why not cheesecake? You KNOW you love cheesecake (yes…yes….I do!)? Why not carrot cake….that’s your all time favorite? (Oh man….you got that right….carrot cake with cream cheese frosting! Heaven!)
Well…let me tell ya.
When you’re on a “healthy eating plan” (aka: diet) - and all yummies have been taken away - and it’s been replaced with the only treat you allow yourself, which is…..fat free chocolate pudding….you become mesmerized by this one indulgent moment. And I mean MOMENT. I can suck that Snack-Pack pudding pack down like a cowboy shootin whiskey in a western. At 6PM in the evening you will find me on the back deck with my spoon laid down and my finger in the LITTLE plastic container trying to get out the last smidgen of a smear of pudding. MY husband has named this the….“Feeding of the Lion” nightly ritual. “Kids….leave mommy alone….she’s having a quiet moment.”
Quiet??
Can you hear my stomach growling, Honey?
Today I thought about eating FOUR snack packs. I really did. I REALLY did. I’m thinking about it right now.
But I’ve lost 3.3 pounds and I cannot let anything derail me. Those size 10 jeans from 1998 are laying on my dresser. I look at them every day.
Now..some women scoof….
“Gosh Kelly….it’s not about a pair of jeans….it’s about being healthy….loving who you are….”
My friend Rose says….”You don’t want to lose weight too fast. That’s not good for you.”
Too fast??
If it started melting off. Like I was a walking blubber sloughing machine….that would not be fast enough. If my 14 year son was horrified by my little blubber messes that I left everywhere I went….I don’t care. Bring it on. Grab a blubber scooper and start following me.
OK…well….maybe too fast can happen.
Sure…Oprah lost 67 pounds on a liquid protein diet in something like 4 months? I’m not doing that. Liquid is NOT food. Not in my book. I’d rather eat dirt then have to have some kind of slim fast shake as my “MEAL”.
I’m eating food. Good food. It’s not carrot cake - but I’m not starving. Well…..my brain is starving at the thought of not getting candy, cookies, cake, ice cream, chips, donuts and buttered popcorn….
But my body is better for it.
So….even if it’s not about the jeans….
It IS about self control. I’ve been out of control for about 5 years. Can any of you home based business moms relate? That fridge is just too close. The pantry whispers to you all day. Work leaves you rushed, tired…the kids need constant care…
A package of Twinkies does sound like a fabulous alternative to preparing a healthy meal or snack. It’s when you do the Twinkie thing for YEARS….and sitting at your computer desk for YEARS….it starts morphing you….and not in the good Mighty Morphin’ Power Ranger way. More of a….”DANG…..the scale must be broke because I do NOT weigh that much!!!!” Or like me….. you go to put on your bathing suit for a beach vacation and you end up a sobbing blob looking through online catalogs so you can express order a suit “cover up” that you will wear the ENTIRE time you’re on the beach no matter how hot it is.
Don’t want to go there again.
So…chocolate pudding is powering this blog today. I am thinking about it. Dreaming about it. All 3.5 ounces of chocolaty goodness. Our 6PM “devour-fest date” can’t come soon enough.
ROOAAARRR!!!!
