The 90 Day Beachbody Challenge

I issued a challenge to some friends. We are all doing a 90 Day Beachbody Challenge.

Now, as I stated in my last post, I'm a Beachbody Coach. I'm an accountability coach on TeamBeachbody.com, and guess what? I'm free. Yup, you can sign up for a free account on the site and you get me as your coach. I'll be there to help you with advice, questions, support, motivation, whatever you might need. Did I mention I'm free? Yes? Then why haven't you signed up yet??

Anyway, I issued this 90 day challenge to some fellow coaches, and several have accepted. The challenge is simple: to commit 100% to a Beachbody program of your choice for 90 days. And when I say commit 100%, I mean not only the workout, but diet as well. The FULL commitment.

I started my challenge today. I'm doing the P90X program, and I'm keeping a blog journal of the whole thing. Here's the blog: Bring it, Dalyla

Wish me luck!

Yes, it's been a long, long time

But here I am.

I haven't blogged in forever, so here's some quick updates.

I'm currently working 3 jobs. Yeah, I know. It sounds crazy, right? Well, just last week it was 4 jobs. I had to give one up, which wasn't something I wanted to do, but it was necessary at the time. I am looking to replace the job, I've been sending out resumes.

I'm teaching PE to preschoolers, ages 2-5 years. Its only once a week for a couple of hours, but I LOVE the heck out of this job. Seriously, I wish it were more hours. I get paid to play games. It doesn't get much better than that.

I'm still watching my nephews part time, and it's still going well, and I will be picking up another kid for the summer part time, too. In the fall they will all be in school, so my days will be free. What I'm going to do with all that free time is beyond me.

And I started a business as a Beachbody Coach. Beachbody is the company that sells awesome workout programs like P90X, Insanity, Turbo Jam and Turbo Fire, and this amazingly delish meal replacement shake called Shakeology. (if you want to find out more, either email me, or check out my link www.debihamby.com)

And yes, I'm sure you've noticed I didn't list teaching at the gym. That's the job I'm currently on the market for. I can't remember when I posted last, but I am now certified to teach Turbo Kick, a cardio kickboxing class, and Hip Hop Hustle, which is an easy to follow Hip Hop dance class. Both classes are great fun, and if you haven't had the chance to check them out, DO IT! Find one near you. You'll burn crazy amounts of calories, and you won't even realize it. So much fun.

In other news, I tried out for the Dallas Derby Devils back in October. The Devils are a Flat Track Roller Derby League here in Dallas. And guess what... I actually made a team. I'm a proud member of the Death Row Rumblers, and I couldn't have asked for a better team.



If you live in the area, come check out a bout sometime. The season starts next Saturday, April 23, and you'll see my awesome team take on the Wrecking Crew.

And my last little update... I registered my baby girl for Kindergarten. :( She's growing up so fast, and I can't believe that she not only just turned 5 already, but she's going to be starting school in the fall.

Well, that's the latest highlights anyway, I'm going to try to get here and post more often. Yeah, yeah, I know, I've said that before. I'm working on it, ok?

I swore to myself...

...that I wasn't going to slack on my blog again. But what do you know? I did exactly that.

I know, I'm such a slacker.

But I'm back, with nothing in particular to blog about, so here's some random nonsense:

I'm learning to teach a new class at the gym. It's Turbo Kick, a class that is very fast paced. Cardio Kickboxing, I never would've thought I'd get the hang of it or learn the choreography. I struggled, because let's face it, I'm not the most coordinated person out there. But I didn't give up, even though I would get frustrated at times. Now I'm teaching it twice a week Tuesdays and Wednesdays. And since I started it, I've lost 10 pounds. Yay, me!

I have reopened my online store, something I wasn't sure I was ever going to do again. I decided to close it at the end of last year. Since Ryan's diagnosis, we have hospital bills and monthly prescriptions to pay for, so every little bit helps. What's my online business, you ask? I sew shopping cart covers for little ones. You can check them out at www.debsbuggycovers.com, and find me on facebook. (Yes, that was shameless spam)

I've fallen completely and totally in love with roller derby and am considering trying out in the fall. I've been visiting the local roller skating rink with some friends weekly and trying to get more comfortable on skates. I haven't missed a Dallas Derby Devils bout since I discovered our local league.

My son is going to be in the third grade this fall. What the hell? Where did the time go, and why does he have to get bigger?? At least I have one more year at home with my daughter before she's off to school and I'm left wondering what to do with myself all day. Might have to get a job *gasp*

In October, we are participating in a walk for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Ryan wanted to put together her own team, and we have some wonderful friends and family who are going to walk with us. We've been working on raising funds, but we are only 9% of the way there, and trying to think of ideas for fund raising. If you are interested in finding out more or would like to make a donation, you can check out Ryan's fundraising site here: http://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmID=87702617

Ok, I suppose I should stop here... I am supposed to be doing cleaning chores right now, and instead I'm stalling with this blog. But unfortunately, I don't have a self cleaning house. *sigh*

So it's been over a year....

Since I last blogged. Yeah. I know.

A lot has happened this past year, so I'm going to start with the events that changed my life. I will warn you now, this is a long, long blog.

You might be wondering why I decided to relive this horrific experience. Well, that's easy. There's several things about these events that still make me feel like I failed my baby girl. Even though, in my head, I know I can't change anything, and I didn't know any better at the time, but my heart still breaks when I think back.

I decided to post this, in hopes it might help someone else. If you are witnessing any of this with your child, I hope by hearing my story, that you will act faster than I did.

*Deep breath* Here it goes:

November 18, 2009.

The scariest moment in my life, hands down. I've never been more terrified.

And it all starts with my daughter, Ryan. She just turned 4 last month, and her little life has changed dramatically since this time last year.

On the week of November 8th, I noticed Ryan seemed to be drinking more water than usual. She's always been a big drinker, so I didn't think much of it. She also seemed a little more irritable than usual, but she hadn't been sleeping all that well. By the end of the week, she was back to taking a nap in the afternoon, which isn't like her, but otherwise, she seemed ok.

On Monday, the 16th, I noticed she kept laying down and was saying she was tired a lot. She was also drinking a ton more, and only eating a little. I asked her several times if she felt ok, and she would just say she was tired. I took her temp several times, thinking she might have a virus. No fever, so I thought her little body was just trying to fight something off.

By Tuesday, she started falling asleep on and off. She would only sleep for 30 min at a time, and she did this several times. Still drinking, and now not hardly eating anything. By the afternoon, I was pretty concerned, so I thought, if she's still feeling off tomorrow, I'll take her in. She still wasn't running a fever, she just seemed tired all the time.

That evening, when I was getting ready for bed, I realized I could see her ribs clearly. This was odd, so I went and weighed her. She lost 5 pounds from about 2 weeks ago. I was really nervous, so I decided to call the dr in the morning.

The next day, Wed the 18th, before calling the dr, I was talking to my mum, who told me that the excessive drinking is a sign of Juvenile Diabetes. I didn't know anything about Juvenile Diabetes, and I thought, she doesn't have it. We don't have a history of diabetes in the family. I've never even known anyone with it, that I recall.

I called the dr and spoke to the nurse, and she said they could schedule me in for the next day, that the dr thought it would be ok to wait until then. At lunch time, Ryan threw up and became even more lethargic. Her breathing became a lot deeper and seemed like it took more effort for her. I called the Dr in a panic, and they said they would fit her in at 4.

I called DH and he rushed home. I had to make arrangements to get Trevor from school, and asked mum to come over and sit with my nephew since I was watching him that day.

We went to the drs office about an hour early, since they were squeezing her in. Once the dr saw us, he ordered some test, but the only one they could get immediate results on was the urine test. It came back with a large amount of ketones, and a lot of protein, that showed she was severely dehydrated. With the way she was drinking lately, it never even occurred to me that she might be dehydrated. He said due to the ketones, he was 99% sure my mother was right, it was diabetes. He told us to go to Cook Children's ER immediately because she would have to be admitted right away. He called ahead and let them know we were on our way.

By this time, my little girl had absolutely no energy, none at all. She could hardly stay awake.

We got to the hospital, and at this point we didn't know how serious her condition was, until we sat down with the nurse. She was going through her usual checking in routine, Ryan was pretty much out of it, when something caused her to pause. She pressed down on Ryan's foot and watched how long it took her skin to change back to normal color. It took WAY longer than it should. She stood up and said "Come with me" and took us to an ER bed.

She said some code to the Dr on duty and the next thing I know, we were surrounded by people, all trying to get an vein to get an IV into her. She was so dehydrated, they worked for almost 20 minutes. Her veins were collapsing because they were so brittle from the lack of hydration. My little girl was barely even crying, and she couldn't even fight them off because she had no energy left. I was beyond scared. Finally, out of desperation, they decided to use the vein in her neck.

They were finally able to get the IV in, and before they could hook up the IV, they needed to get some blood. Once, they got the blood for testing, a nurse had to stand over her and force these HUGE syringes of fluids into her body, because the IV wouldn't have gotten them in fast enough. By this time, Ryan was completely out of energy and had fallen asleep.

The Dr then explained to us, that the test the nurse did with pressing on her skin and waiting for the color to come back, shows the body going into shock. It should only take a couple of seconds, but it was taking more than 5 for Ryan's.

Once the nurse was able to get those fluid in her, about 20-30 min later, they were able to do the test again and the results were good, almost back to normal. They also had the results of her glucose test, which was 598. They said that was lower than they had expected, most people that come in in her situation are more like 800-1100. I asked what was normal, they said between 90-110 for most people.

They also told me that right now was a critical time, they had to watch out for brain swelling that could cause some damage. We needed to check with her every now and then to make sure she could still talk to us, and they would check her pupils to make sure they were dilating the way they should. We would tell her we loved her, and she would say, "I love you, too" in just above a whisper. Then they were very amazed that she opened her eyes and said loudly that she needed to go potty. (Although she fell back asleep before going.)

They hooked her up to an IV and insulin pump and moved us to ICU. Ryan slept most of the night, at least, whenever they weren't waking her up to draw blood or poke her finger to check her sugars. Ronnie ran home to get some clean clothes for us at about 10. While he was gone, the IV they had in slipped, and the fluids were no longer going in her vein. I noticed she was swollen and told the nurse, and they had to pull out the IV. But they needed to get it back in ASAP, and she still wasn't hydrated enough to get a vein anywhere. They poked her a dozen more times, then decided that their only hope was the other side of her neck.

This IV was much more terrifying than the last time, because Ryan had gotten some of her fight back. Last time she didn't have the energy, this time she was using what little strength she had to try to fight them off. She was screaming and crying, and I couldn't do anything. It was so hard, because I knew it was something that had to be done, but to listen to your child scream "Leave me alone" and "Get away from me" and not be able to do anything hurts, like you've been stabbed through the heart.

Once they were able to get that IV in, everything else went pretty smoothly. I didn't sleep hardly at all that night, but the next morning you could see a huge difference in Ryan. She was up and watching TV for a couple of hours, then she would nap. She finally asked for some food later in the day and the dr ok'd it, so she ate a whole big bag of tortilla chips. Her sugar levels were down, and they were just waiting on the ok from the dr to get us out of ICU and into a room.

We had also had a visit from the diabetes nurse, and she had dropped off a backpack full of stuff for us. In it, there was a book on diabetes, and a blood sugar monitor. We also then found Rufus, a little stuffed bear who also had diabetes.

We finally got into a room late that afternoon, and we began to learn more about diabetes, and what we were going to have to do to live with it. We have to count carbs, and the insulin she gets is based on the carbs she eats. She will have to have an injection with every time she eats, with the exception of a few carb free foods (less than 5gs of carbs) like cheeses, meats, some raw veggies, sugar free popsicles and jello, and sugar free drinks.

The nurses were fantastic, and Ryan was enjoying the attention by this point. She was even more excited to find out that she could have sugar free Popsicles and cheese sticks just about whenever she wanted them. The next day she had several visitors, and had a ton of gifts. She later told me, after everyone left, that she was glad they all came to her "party" and she had a lot of fun. She was up and running around with the kids when they came.

DH and I practiced count carbs, calculating her insulin dosages and giving her the injections. The diabetes nurse checked in and educated us as much as she could in those 2 days.

We were finally released that Saturday, the 21st, and we were sent home with tons of help, books, phone numbers to call with problems/questions, and with strict instructions on when to check her blood sugar levels (with every meal, right before bed, and at 3 am every night. I was so exhausted at this time) and how much medication she needs. We had to call in her numbers every day, and they are still making adjustments to her meds.

Overall, it's been quite and adjustment.

Now, we have to check her sugar levels with every meal. She still has injections whenever she eats, but she's a pro now. She even helps give herself the injections.

My son, Trevor, who is 7 and Ryan's best friend in the whole wide world, is helping her, also. He will help check her blood sugar, and he will also hold her hand if she's having a rare moment of protest to her injections. He's such a loving big brother. He adores his sister just as much as she adores him.

I'm so lucky to have the two most amazing kids in my world. Even through the rough stuff, they are both so, so strong, and from them, I find my strength.

Fear Really is Just a Four Letter Word.

Last month I posted about an opportunity that was presented to me at the last minute. It was something I felt unprepared for, and was lacking confidence. I was out of my comfort zone, and the fear of failure was weighing me down.

Turns out, all that worry and uncomfortable feelings were a product of my own issues. There was no need for them at all. I passed!!

I am now a Certified Group Fitness Instructor! My biggest goal I set for myself this year was to pass this test and have this certification, but it's not over yet. Now onto studying and becoming as knowledgeable as I can about Fitness and Nutrition.

Now that the Primary Certification is out of the way, I am a little confused about where to go next. I would like to learn more about several different specialty classes, like Zumba or Turbo Kick, even Pilate's. The problem I am having right now is deciding what to do. I want to it all, but I know I should focus on one thing at a time, take the time to learn it, then move to the next. But where to start??

A Miserable Failure

OK, so maybe not, but let's just say my blog hasn't been on the top of my ever growing to-do list lately.

So what the heck has been going on with me? Nothing too out of the ordinary, I suppose. I've had some time to think about my life and where it's headed, what I want to change and what I want to stay the same. I can't say I've made any definite decisions on anything, but there are a couple of things I have to look forward to.

I was recently given an offer that I couldn't really refuse, although it was something I wasn't prepared for. And although the idea of failing at something scares me beyond belief, I pushed it aside and took the offer. Emotionally, that was hard. Fear of failing has kept me from doing a lot of things in my life, and I am trying to work past it. If I fail this time, I WILL try again. This is important to me. So what if I wasn't ready for it? I did it. And while failing is still a possibility, I don't care now. It will only prepare me for my next attempt, and I WILL be ready if there is a next time because now I know what to expect. For the record though, things went much better than I had expected. While failing is still a possibility, also is succeeding. I never would've thought that, had I not given it a try. I'm slowing learning to have a little more faith in myself.

There are some plans in the works for a trip with some really great friends I haven't seen in years. Although it's not going to be until late next year, I can't wait. These are some of my favorite people that I grew up with, in those years before life became so serious. Back in a time of innocent fun, where we would laugh and be dumb asses all day and not care what others thought. We just enjoyed each others company. We didn't grow apart in the normal sense, we didn't go our separate ways by choice, but because we didn't have a say in it. I know that we aren't kids anymore, and the pointless joking and acting like idiots isn't going to have the same affect as it did when we were younger. We've all grown up, half of us are married with kids now, but it doesn't matter. It's a bond I just can't explain. It's more than I have ever gotten out of other friendships in my past. Good friends isn't even a close enough term. It's so much more than that.

And although I still have some things within to sort through, I am not going to hurry. There's no reason to.

Since it's Valentine's Day, and it hasn't been a good day (not due to my hubby, it;s just been a crappy day) I thought I would remind myself of things I love. Not the obvious things, like family and friends, because that's a given, but the little things in life that often get overlooked. The things you take for granted on a normal day, things that are small and insignificant, yet pleasantly enjoyable. I know there are many things I will forget to put in this blog, but I am going to do my best.

So here is a list of loves:

I adore the sound of children's laughter, when something is so funny to them that they can hardly breathe because they are laughing too hard.
I love the smell that's in the air when rain is on it's way.
I enjoy a good story, whether it's an actual book or just a friend telling me something interesting from their day.
I am seriously in love with Lofthouse Sugar Cookies... you know, the ones from the grocery store's bakery with the inch thick frosting on the top. Yeah, it's bad.
I can't help but laugh when my 6 year old tries to tell a joke that either makes no sense or he failed in the delivery. It's just so cute.
I love making up nicknames for my kids. I come up with new ones all the time.
Nothing makes me smile more quickly than hearing my soon-to-be-3 year old singing Pink's So What? There's just something about her singing "I'm gonna start a fight" that is irresistible.
The feeling of accomplishment after a workout gives me warm fuzzies.
This is going to sound crazy, but I really love admiring my many injuries as they are going through the healing process. As clumsy as I am, this is something I get to do a lot.
Daydreaming is something I still love to do, and I do it often, every day.
I love to push myself to accomplish something of which I thought I was physically incapable.
The smell of hot tea is one of my favorite scents.
I adore fuzzy slippers and almost always wear them when I'm at home.
The Ramones. Enough said.
Remembering the Croughton days with old friends always brightens my day.
My heart absolutely melts when I hear my kids tell each other they love each other. This is a daily occurrence in my house, and I hope it never ends.
The gloomy feeling of overcast days almost always lifts my spirits. I think it's because it reminds me of England, the place I grew up.
I love the colors of fall leaves, although we don't really get those in Texas.

I hope you enjoyed my list, I know I have many things to add, but if I keep going, this list may never, ever end.