Is your level of busyness effecting your overall health?

A few weeks ago, I could barely make it up and down the stairs...had to take them one at a time I was so achy.  I had just completed two shows back-to-back and had not realized just how poor I was eating.  It happens over time.  These poor habits creep in and before you know it, we're feeling like crap and we're grumpy!  We love pasta and it's one of the cheapest and easiest things to make.   Ed had also been complaining A LOT of very painful arthritic pain in his shoulder.  Finally, I said...this is enough.

I did a three day juice fast and added lemon water with gingeroot to my diet.  It's great warm and replaces my coffee or tea.  I also have a great ginger-lemonade recipe.  I encouraged Ed to give these things a try too since I had done this before and remembered how different I felt.  The guys at work 'ribbed' him a little bit, teasing him about doing a 'cleanse', but I asked him how he felt and he felt better so he kept doing it.

We also eliminated soda and sugar....well, I eliminated, he drank less of them. (One battle at a time)  This includes all refined foods, flour, white rice, white pasta and watching which fruits & vegatables you eat the most of because the body does not differentiate between natural sugars and manmade.  I was also very open with Mackenzie and Maura about the changes we were making.  Realistically, you can't change bad habits overnight and you're not going to be perfect about it.  Doing the juice fast, well, it tweaks your taste buds and kind of re-educates your body so that you don't crave sugar or carbs.  You may not think that carbs are the same as sugar but your body does!

On a side note, the girls did not do the juice fast with us.  Maura would try them, but she did not like the taste.  There are kid-friendly smoothie and juice recipes, but that's another topic for research.  At this point, I was more concerned about US being around for THEM.  When you can't do the activities that you're used to doing because you're achy and tired, well...that's a problem.

Where was I?  Oh yeah.  Then, went about my daily routine.  Yes, the juice fast and eating fresh was work intensive.  I spent a lot of time in the kitchen.  Yes..I did a lot of research trying to separate the fads away from what was practical for us.  Fast forward a few days and into the next weeks:

1. Both Ed and the girls are less tired and grumpy!  (Well, for the most part)
2. Ed seems to have more energy and says he feels lots better. He is less achy, too.
3. My speed and stamina is back to what it was and I am now back to running/walking up and down stairs normally throughout my day.  This happened a few days after the juice fast and was almost an immediate reaction.  I was in the midst of a very busy day and suddenly realized my speed and that I didn't have to take them one at a time!  Don't you just love those epiphany moments?
4. I'm not as tired at night.  This is a biggie.  It has always seemed to me that I sleep better when I am not overtired.  I'm also more productive.  Yes...you need adequate sleep.  I'm not saying don't get what your body requires, but I was so tired that I was often in bed the same time as my daughters. I often had a list of things that I could not get done because I was just too-plain-tired.  Thank God...now I can get more writing done!
5. Less headaches...for both of us!  In fact, I have not had a migraine, neither a hormone-related one nor a weather-related one in weeks.  For awhile there, I was getting them often.

In my opinion, sugar is evil.  We have gotten our tastebuds so messed up, we don't even realize what our food is supposed to actually taste like.  We have not used processed convenience foods for years.  I had elminated that from my cooking habits long ago.  Even so, we were still consuming too much of it.

Sugar has been shown to be just as addictive as crack.  When you start keeping track of how much sugar you're actually eating and then realizing how many diseases grow by our intake of it, it's eye opening.  Other interesting reading includes the history behind sugar and our desire for it as a society.  It's not a very nice history.

I'm not saying that one needs to stay away from pasta or bread forever, but you do need to moderate and get your body back on track.  Consider them a treat rather than food that nurishes.  We have started adding a few things back into our diet, but they will not be with every meal.  One grain per day or week, depending on our schedule.

Moral of the story?  When you've had enough, stop complaining about it and DO something.  Make a change.  I think that this applies to anything in life!

Hangin' in and hangin' on

It's been awhile, but then again, a lot has been keeping me busy.  I'm grateful for a "slow-down" time so that I can catch my breath because it looks like I'm in for a wild ride of challenges.  At least, that's how 2014 has begun so far.

The spiral began December 16th with a lovely (*sarcasm*) fall on the ice.  Yep!  There I was, flat on my back, everything I was carrying in my arms, all scattered around me.  It was after 9:30 p.m, dark, cold, snowy and icy, and of course, my cell phone was dead.  It was a very good thing that my husband just happened to be walking down the stairs at the time and saw me out the window or who knows how long I could have been out there, lying on the ground!  It was not the best time for an injury, but I got through it.  It wasn't until two pain-filled months later that it was discovered that the knee had been fractured and the ACL Ligament was torn away. No worries!  Even when bad things happen, there are always blessings.  You just have to look a little harder.

1. My husband found me right away, was able to help me into the house to assess injuries and then for the trip to the hospital.
2. One of the items in my arms was what I call "my magic pot".  It had been a Christmas present from my mom the previous year.  Thank GOD! it was still in working order.  I use it a LOT for fast, home-cooked meals for my family and our busy schedule.
3. The family Christmas Weekend wasn't scheduled until two weeks away so I had a little bit of time to heal and great friends who came over to help me with the cleaning chores and laundry.
4. As soon as I got the OK from the doc, my butt was at the gym, strength training and that helped immensely with the healing process.
5. It healed enough that I could be on my feet by the time rehearsals were scheduled to begin, though I had to be mindful of how I moved and to "take-it-easy".  A huge challenge for me since I'm not known to be a person that even knows the definition of that!

Fast forward....the knee is still in the recovery process.  It's much better, but is still giving me trouble with range of motion etc.  I'm sure it will continue to improve.  I am awaiting results from a second MRI.

During the last part of the year, prior to the knee injury, I had committed to being "Guest Director" for the Stow Munroe Falls Kimpton Middle School.  It was an honor, I was excited about the challenge and the fact that it would be my first "paid" Directors gig!  The timing worked out perfectly because it would not overlap the 4th Annual Mystery Dinner Theater Production.  At least I thought it wouldn't.  There's a quote about "best laid plans"?  Another about "Make Plans & God laughs"?  You got it!  There were scheduling complications which resulted in lots of challenges throughout the rehearsal process of "Dorothy in Wonderland"!


It was a horrendous winter.  For the first time in years, we used ALL of our snow calamity days and then some!  This was a significant reason that the performance dates had to be pushed forward, causing the middle school show to overlap the rehearsal schedule for the Mystery Dinner Theater.  

Despite the intense work schedule, the numerous complications and challenges, it was worth it.  I had been working with nearly 80 students and though frustrated at times, (middle schoolers, after all! Got one myself!) I was so very  proud of all of them when we got to performance time.  They worked so hard and there were so very many compliments received from audience members who attended!

There was also one other little thing that was going on at this crazy time!  My beautiful daughters, Mackenzie & Maura, are also involved in theater and both of them had roles in a very cute theatrical production, Dr. Doolittle.  Mackenzie was playing "Pull-u", 1/2 of the two headed llama, and Maura was "Dab-Dab", the duck.  Hats off to my friend, Liz Hickman, for having the courage to Direct a cast of nearly 50 for her family gala and most of them were children!  The girls did a fabulous job as did the entire cast and it was a wonderful performance.

On to the next project!  Though I have had overlapped theater projects before, it was usually an acting project doubled with a directing project....never TWO directing projects!  Complicated by the fact the mystery dinner theater shows are original scripts of shows built from the ground up, let's just say that it was stressful but always enjoyable!  I am extremely grateful to the cast and crew of "The Mysterious Case of the Mournful Cowboy".  Without their support, I would have LOTS MORE gray hair!  Thank GOD I don't have to use TWO boxes of hair color!  LOL!

The Cast & Crew of "The Mysterious Case of the Mournful Cowboy"
Act-It UP! Community Theater's 4th Annual Mystery Dinner Theater
Photo Courtesy of my very good friend, Mark Brown

Just as we were heading into Dress & Tech Week for the dinner theater, my family received some difficult news.  My mom, who had been in remission from breast cancer since she fought it in 2010, shared with us that her cancer has returned.  The news, of course, is devastating for our family.  As a result of that news, my sister, my mom, and I planned and whirlwind trip to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.  It was something mom wanted to do so we did it!  The very day after the final performance of "The Mysterious Case of the Mournful Cowboy", I headed out West to share an adventure with them.

The delightful off-the-highway small town stop, Hillrose.
This little restaurant/general store is called the Open Season Restaurant.

None of us know what the future holds.  True to the name of this blog and what life has been like in recent months....Life! Expect the Unexpected!  Good things, bad things...that's life...and sometimes bad things happen to good people.  It's just the way it is and you have to take the good right along with the bad.  You can choose to drown in the "bad" or pick yourself up and focus on the good mixed in between.

Hangin' in and Hangin' on....living in faith and knowing that no matter the storm....God has got my back and is walking right along with me.

There's more to me than meets the eye!  Check out:
AVON Business Blog
Act-It UP! Community Theater
Faith Musings Etc.

Living Life - Always to the Fullest!

So many blessings....I can't think straight!  Yep!  That's it!  That's exactly how I feel and continue to feel. I really meant that when I posted it long ago on my Facebook profile page. Sometimes it's hard to keep my feet on the ground and concentration on the tasks at hand.

My AVON Business is growing well.....I made ROSE CIRCLE!  That's quite an achievement and is level THREE in the President's Club Recognition Program.  This year, my husband is invited as an AVON Guest to celebrate my achievement with me at the Gala!  I was also very excited to achieve the recent "Meet Me in Las Vegas Incentive" where I was treated not only to pampered care of all sorts....BUT an exclusive to AVON Representative Achievers only....Jon Bon Jovi concert!  I made some new friends and had an amazing time!  I even participated in a "go-viral" event doing the Harlem Shake-AVON Style!

I just finished producing the 3rd Annual Mystery Dinner Theater....a ministry project that is very near and dear to my heart.  Mackenzie and Maura were a part of it this year and made some new friends.  Plus, I introduced my love of theater to some more new people.  "The Mysterious Case of the Broken Heart" was quite a journey!

The upcoming projects and adventures will include...

• The Summer Show at ANTIC - Auntie Mame (One of my "dream" shows!)
• Working with our new Kid's Praise Dance Team at church.
• Preparing to accept new members into our church!
• Getting geared up for our God's Garden Vacation Bible School.
• A week without any kids!  ---  They're going to Daring & Dangerous Church Camp this summer
• Research begins for next year's MDT because it will be intensive!  Want a hint?  We're heading out to the Wild West for a setting and the hero/heroine are Jeremiah Colton & Floralee (Johnson).  Of course, I know that book of the Bible it will be based upon but Shhhhhhh...mum's the word on that!
• Taking steps to publish both The Case of Dutiful Delilah's Deeds and The Mysterious Case of the Broken Heart.
• Continue working on growing my AVON Team and building my customer base.  (Love, Love, Love, my JOB because of the flexibility!!!!)
• Training Princess Amber Star to not be such a Nervous Nelly in the car so that our all-family vacation is a pleasant experience.  (This ought to be fun! LOL)
• All-Family vacation to Assateague Island in August!

It is what it is

I've heard people say "If only I could go back in time knowing what I know now". In fact, I'm pretty sure that I've said that very same thing!

In reality, you'd just make different decisions that might have good or bad consequences. Because, the truth of the matter is just that. Decisions, even well thought out ones sometimes don't have the results that we've foreseen. Living a life of faith is how you deal with those consequences, whether good or bad!

I try my best not to let my schedule get out of hand and this is a huge struggle for me. It never fails, though, that no matter how well-planned activities sometimes run together. You'll have that when you're a Christian trying to live her faith, a wife, a mother, and a business owner who works from home.

When I say "it is what it is" doesn't mean that I don't do everything in my power to make sure whatever I'm doing or organizing isn't done to the best of my ability. I am a perfectionist, but I do reach a point where I finally let go and recognize that I can't control everything.

We'd studied the book of Esther awhile back in our Wednesday evening Bible Study at Pilgrim Church and it really struck home. If you've never taken an in-depth look at this book of the Bible, you should really check it out.

It illustrates very well that God is the only one in control. We have free will, true. We cannot understand how God can be in control yet we need to take action at the same time. Maybe it's because God chooses to act through those willing to act for Him.

One of the most important things I learned from this book is that as Christians, we should avoid the two extremes.

1. Doing nothing
2. Feeling that we must do it all

So, I do everything I can in my power to make whatever project I'm working on successful and I might drive myself a little crazy in the process, but when it gets down to it, I realize that it really...

It is what it is!

Let go and let God.

In Christ,
Shari

It's all good....Sam & Elliot are settling in nicely!

Yesterday completed full day number two since Sam & Elliot came to be with us. We've settled into quite a routine and have already learned some things along the way. We're much better at feeding, meaning milk gets sucked into their noses. When that happens, it can be aspirated--don't you hate that feeling...when something you're drinking goes up you nose?

They're fed with a medicine syringe like the ones you use for babies, but as they both settled in and gotten more used to us, they've started competing with one another to get to the food. I looked in a drawer in the kitchen I used to keep baby stuff handy so I wouldn't have to run upstairs all the time when the girls were babies and found a couple of extra medicine syringes. They were both smaller than the other one, but actually work better. They glide easier when pushing the plunger and allows Sam & Elliot to suck the milk out of the end rather than pushing it into their mouths. Another plus? Sam & Elliot can both be fed at the same time. With close supervision, I've allowed Mackenzie & Maura to begin feeding them and it works out much better with the two little syringes. Someone suggested a hamster bottle, but I'd tried that and it did not work. The milk came out too fast for them. All the information I've found online indicated baby medicine syringes were the best way to go. Thankfully, my de-cluttering journey had not been completed as far as that kitchen drawer yet!

Sam & Elliot still sleep a lot, but as they start to get more active, I'm going to have to find something better than an AVON box for them to stay contained. For now, they're small enough and sleep so much, that it works fine. It fits well on the heating pad and they have a nice snuggie area in the corner of our bedroom.

Bedroom, you say? Well, it was the safest place where we could close the door when we weren't in the room and where we knew they'd have complete supervision. With two cats and a dog in the house, you can't be too careful! Princess Amber Star is a cocker spaniel, a hunting dog, after all! Buddy is almost 17 years old, our orange cat, but I still wouldn't trust him and Josie, she's about 8 and I definitely wouldn't trust her!

They hardly ever pay attention to the hamsters any more, but you can bet if they got out of the cage...that'd be another story. Since Buddy is the oldest and sleeps a lot, usually on our bed, I felt bad about kicking him out of the bedroom. He also likes to sleep in my office chair so I made him a big, fluffy bed under my desk on my favorite blanket. Notice I said my favorite blanket. I've never liked him laying on this blanket because it seems to collect cat hair like nobody's business and it's hard to get it all out! But we all have to make sacrifices, I guess! Plus, I'd always be kicking him out of my chair. He seems to have adjusted well.

Since I have to work and do everything now in three-hour increments, I guess I'd better get working! I'll post more pictures and updates as the journey continues.

Far out Friday

If any day there was the UnExpected, it was today. It all began with the morning drop off of the girls at school. I'm sitting in the traffic jam, waiting to turn when I look over at this guy parked on the side of the road. I guess that he'd just let his kids out for school too. Nothing unusual, right? Then, I got really grossed out and sick to my stomach. He lifted a bottled water container, that had this gooey brown stuff in the bottom and spit in it. How anyone can have that disgusting habit is beyond me. I thought that I'd never have to see that again when I moved back to Ohio from Alabama, but I guess that I was wrong. Disgusting! I tried to erase it from my thoughts as I turned so that I could stop my roiling belly.

I went home and the rest of the morning and afternoon were nothing out of the ordinary. I had some office time, got some AVON brochures ready to deliver to my customers, and got on the road. I had a couple of personal errands to run as well so that meant that I wouldn't finish my AVON brochure route in time to pick up the girls. I decided to treat them to some ice cream and finish up before heading to church to help with our book sale.

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and our car windows were all at least partially open as we let in the nice breeze while driving around town. I pulled to a stop at the intersection of 3rd and Hudson Dr. in the Falls and another car with a mom and teens in it turned onto the street. As they did so, we heard the mom go "Awe, look at the baby squirrel!" I think she might have started to tell me to be careful, but I was already jumping out of my car. And there it was, sitting in the street, right next to my tire! The most adorable thing! I was never so thankful for traffic because if I'd pulled out, the poor baby might have been ran over. My first thought was that I had to get it out of the road.

I dumped out the AVON brochures onto the seat and used the box to scoop it up. The poor thing was so scared that I didn't want to scoop it up in my hands or anything, but I would have if it meant getting it out of the road. Thank goodness I almost always have AVON boxes in my car. After coaxing it into the box, I started looking around at my surroundings. There was busy traffic everywhere! How could I let it out in this area without it going back out into the road. It'd never survive on its own and though I wasn't very experienced with baby squirrels, it didn't look old enough to be away from the mommy yet. I decided to take it home with me and got back into the car. At the very least, it could go in my fenced back yard and have a little better chance at survival.

The other car had left and I looked over in the yard, hoping to spot a mommy squirrel. Instead, I saw ANOTHER baby squirrel climbing up a tree! Surely the mommy had to be somewhere nearby....at least I hoped. I turned left and took another left into the adjacent parking lot next to the yard. By that time, the other baby squirrel had come back down the tree and was sitting at the bottom. My girls and I began walking over to it and all of a sudden it started running towards Mackenzie and wouldn't stop running towards her. She kept backing away from it and it kept going towards her. It was kind of comical. I'd told both the girls not to touch them because you never know with animals how they'll react to people and certainly never touch wild animals, especially when they're scared. The silly baby squirrel kept going towards Mackenzie and she kept backing away. I told her to stop and it stopped so I scooped it up in the box with the other one. It kind of reminded me of that nursery rhyme about Little Bunny Foo-Foo only with squirrels!

We began looking around for the mommy, but no luck. I decided to head on my way, with the babies tucked safe in the box, but I had no idea what I was going to do with them. We were stopping for McDonalds as I continued delivering my AVON brochures. I was talking with my mom on the cell phone, telling her about the squirrels and asking if she knew what to do when Maura piped up, "I think I saw the mommy squirrel in the tree, only she was dead or not moving." So, I turned around to be sure. We hung out in that parking lot for 45 minutes to make sure mommy squirrel didn't show up, but the freeway is right next to this road and there's busy Hudson Drive. I really don't think mommy was able to be around any longer or she wouldn't have left the babies.

Thank goodness for the Internet! I was able to find out exactly what to do. I tried to do the right thing and contact a "re-habber" which is a person who takes in wild baby animals and raises them until they're old enough to be on their own. However, no one has called me back. Again, thank goodness for the Internet because now it looks like I'm caring for them myself until they can be let loose in the back yard. We have a big back yard that's fenced in. Who knows..maybe they'll stay, but if not, there's a nice field between a few of the properties back there. At least they'll be grown enough to have a fighting chan ce.

I guess it's going to be a good experience for Mackenzie & Maura (me too!) We've named them "Sam" & "Elliot" after one of my favorite actors, Sam Elliot. I've posted some pictures below. According to my research, they're about 5 weeks old right now and they can't be released until they're about 5 months old. They can start having solid food when they're 8 weeks, but for now, they have to be formula fed (puppy milk formula) every three or four hours. I'm lucky to have a flexible schedule as an AVON Representative.

They have to be kept warm, too, so a bed has been made for them in a box with a lid (holes in top)and it's sitting on a heating pad on low. When they get bigger, they'll go into the dog cage, but for now, all they seem to do is sleep between feedings. They like to burrow & cuddle together in the pillow case. You use a pillow case or something smooth for covering because their toenails are so long (needed for climbing--they're tree squirrels). Towels or other types of material would get tangled in the loops.

I've posted some pictures below and also a video! I'll keep you posted on the journey! Talk about the UnExpected!

8th Annual Jackson-Schneider Teddy Bear Drive Kick Off!

8th Annual Teddy Bear Drive
Donations Accepted Through March 21st

We invite you to participate in the 8th Annual Jackson-Schneider Teddy Bear Drive! Donations of NEW stuffed toys will benefit the Akron Children's Burn Center. The Burn Center can only accept new toys due to trying to maintain as sterile an environment as possible.

**Mackenzie's sister, Deanna, established the Teddy Bear Drive in 2002 as a way to say 'thank you' to the staff and to encourage patients on their get-well journey. We know from experience that recovering from this type of injury is a lengthy process. To date, our family has collected and donated more than 4,400 stuffed toys to Akron Children's Hospital Burn Center.

In 2008, we added to our list of items to donate....coloring books and crayons. These were a very welcome addition! (Thanks to your help, we've donated more than 500 coloring books & crayons to Akron Children's Hospital so far!)

******NEW THIS YEAR******
The Akron Children's Hospital Burn ICU welcomes patients from all over the state of Ohio, Pennsylvania and other nearby states. They not only treat children, but adults as well. This year, we'd like to add to our offerings a gift for those patients. If you would like to donate $1 towards the purchase of hand creams, please let me know. You can email me at avon4shari@aol.com. As an Independent AVON Sales Representative, I'll purchase as many hand creams as possible at my cost with your generous donations.

If you'd like to make a donation of a new stuffed toy, coloring books and crayons, or a cash donation, there are several ways to do so. You may contact me at spansies@aol.com and I'll make arrangements for pick up. You may also drop your donation (during office hours 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Office Phone (330) 928-4847) at Pilgrim Church, 130 Broad Blvd., Cuyahoga Falls. Please make sure to leave your name and address so that an acknowledgment can be sent.

Find us on Facebook! Annual Jackson-Schneider Teddy Bear Drive

Thank you in advance for your generous gift!
Sincerely,

Shari Schneider