2011 Blizzard...Johnson Style!

So it's no surprise that we had a blizzard a few days ago. I guess I'll start from the beginning. Tuesday morning I had an appointment with my favorite foot doctor (who, by the way, took his family to Disney World over Christmas, due largely in part to my regular visits!) My appointment was at 10 AM, but I went in 40 minutes early, figuring he'd have some cancellations. I was right! I was on my way home by 10 AM! At this point in time, it was snowing pretty good, but the wind hadn't quite picked up yet. I went on an ambulance call at 1:30 PM, and that was pretty rough. The snow was deep, and the wind had picked up a lot. That may have been the worst drive to the hospital I've ever had! We got our patient situated at the hospital, which was a ghost-town at this point as they sent all but a bare-bones crew home before the storm got really bad. We were met by our EMS coordinator, who advised that we have to make an effort to get to our patients if we are called, but also reminded us that our safety is KEY! (I feel like I need to add here that we have a group called the Knox County Snowmobile Search and Rescue Team (SRT) that has been in place for quite a few years, but we have never had to call them out.) He also reminded us to use SRT (duh, they are stationed in our fire department!) if we needed to.

Well, let's just say the SRT have been going pretty much non-stop for 3 days! For about 20 hours, they were the ONLY people on the roads. Plows and dozers were getting stuck in the drifts. County deputies and state troopers were stranded. People who had tried to drive home after work were stranded on the highways, sometimes with kids inside. And the roads were a total mess! The winds, sometimes, were as high as 50 MPH, and it was snowing soooo hard, that it created huge, and I mean HUGE, snow drifts.

In my naivety, I honestly thought that I'd be able to respond to calls from my house, as I'm literally only 4 blocks from the station. I don't think I understood the magnitude of this storm. I mean I knew what they were predicting, but I didn't realize how bad it would be. I planned on sticking around home for a few days, as I knew I'd have lots of calls and wouldn't be able to leave town. I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to leave my front door, let alone my driveway! Oh, and I did get my car stuck...twice...right in front of my house. My brother, thank God, came to my rescue though!

Now that it's all said and done, I think we've learned a lot. Our fire station is a warming center for the town (thank God no one lost power!), and we had cots, but no food. Well, that's a lie, we have a ton of pancake mix, but that wouldn't have gotten us very far. I think I'll be making a trip to Sam's Club in the near future to get some non-perishables to keep on hand up there (we do have a large back-up generator.) And next time, I'll be staying at the station. I prayed that our pagers wouldn't go off, because there was no way I could get out. By the grace of God, they didn't. People, for the most part, stayed put at home. The SRT saved a lot of lives in the past few days, and I'm so thankful that they are dedicated to their communities!!!

I took some pictures to share with you. They're not the best quality, as I used my phone's camera, but I think you'll get the idea. The drifts aren't as pronounced in the pictures as I would have liked, but the drifts in our yard are well over 4 feet tall! It's going to take a LONG time for all of this snow to go away! Enjoy!

This is my little pal Mason trying to sled down a drift. You can't tell too well from the pictures, but the drift on the deck was up to the top pane of glass on the screen door! My brother and I had to go over and shovel them a path to get out of their house!

My neighbor's mail box, surrounded by snow!

My favorite coffee shop! This is in Galesburg, on a two-lane street. There was no where to go with the snow, so they just plowed it up in the "middle" of the road! Crazy!

The south side of our house, and our generator. Somewhere under there are some well-established bushes!

The large drift behind our garage. You can't tell from the picture, but it is well over 4 foot tall!

Six...Five...Four...Three...Two...One...Whoa.

So, as I sit here typing this blog, I am just a week shy of my 30th birthday. I've talked with some of my friends, and they have struggled with the "Big 3-0." To me, however, it's inevitable. Why fret about something you have absolutely no control over, like time? It's just not in my nature, I guess. But it does have me thinking. My life now is nothing like I planned it to be. I only have a few Type A traits, and one of those is definitely "planning." I plan how I think things will go, what I'll do if they don't go that way, and typically a second contingency plan. In the words of one of my dear heathens, "It's what I do!" Of course, since I plan on things not exactly going according to schedule, I TRY to be flexible. Sometimes I do better with this than others. Inevitably, though, right before I need to be somewhere, my pager will go off, and I'm headed out the door to help someone else, putting my plans on hold. But it's been 11 years of this...I'm used to it by now. It is because of this new found "flexibility" that I'm not stressed over "the big day." It is what it is, or rather what I make of it.

My "plan" for 30 was:
To be a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
To be married.
To have a child(ren).
To be in Wisconsin.
To love my job, and love the work I do.
To volunteer wherever I saw fit.
To travel.

My "actual" for 30:
I'm a counselor for juvenile delinquents.
I'm single.
No children (though I have been fortunate to enjoy other's children!)
Back in Illinois.
Fortunately, I do love my job (some days, it's just "okay"), and I do love the work I do (even if I rarely see the pay-off.)
I've given 11 years of service back to my community, and plan to continue doing so as long as I can.
My travels are to Wisconsin. And I think I'm okay with that!

Funny how life works out sometimes, huh? I've been blessed to be surrounded by great people who treat me well. They have made all the difference in the world. Am I where I want to be? Nope, not even close. But I think I'm happy with where I am. Afterall, without all the things I've been through, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I am forever humbled and grateful. To celebrate, I'll be headed to Las Vegas (for the first time!) in April with my friend Wendi, who's turning 40. We'll be joined by some other great friends, and I CANNOT wait! So here's to the next 30, may they be as amazing as the first!

Waiting, and waiting...

So I mentioned in my last post that I hadn't started a workout routine yet. I so totally have the commitment, but I have a slight issue. Okay, not a slight issue, a big issue...plantars warts. And lots of them. They are so gross, and have left me feeling like one huge herpes virus. Awesome, I know. I was going to post a picture but it didn't really do them justice, and I decided that the pain I feel day after day cannot be properly photographed. Actually, I'm kinda pissed that they photograph so well...because they H.U.R.T. Bad. Really bad. I'm not sure I can even describe it or compare it to anything. I will say, however, that I did not realize what was in store for me when I sought out treatment for these nasty little (err, some not so little) viruses. I saw a doctor for over two months, and she didn't produce any results. Huge waste of time and money. Luckily for me (and unluckily for her), she took a medical leave, and I was able to switch doctors. This doctor is very nice, but aggressive. Which I appreciate on days 5-7 after a treatment, but for days 1-4, he's Satan. Seriously. I've been hurt a l0t in my 29 years, but nothing, and I mean nothing, has hurt like this. It's like a nerve pain. I'll be okay, and then a spell hits me and there is nothing I can do to get comfortable. I assume this is what Restless Leg Syndrome kinda feels like. I'm sure it's entertaining to watch, but it hurts like a...well, you know. I think what is worse is that it hurts for over half the week, then gets tolerable, then he attacks again. I usually can make it out of the office before I cry, but not last week. Oh my word did it hurt! I was treated last Thursday and just stopped limping today. I really hope it's because he froze the areas for so long that he was able to make a lot of progress. If he didn't, I don't know how much more of this I can take. Last Thursday, I took 3200 milligrams of ibuprofen, and it didn't even touch the pain. Gave me one hell of a stomachache, though! He offered me pain meds, but I've never taken them and am not sure I want to now. Plus, like I said, it feels like nerve pain, so I'm not sure it'd work. I am at the point that I'd rather have my feet amputated and walk on nubs the rest of my life than finish these treatments! So sad, but so true! ARGH! I'm enjoying my time until 2:00PM Wednesday, then it starts all over again. *Sigh.*

Speechless

Have you ever received some news or a comment from someone that left you utterly speechless? It doesn't happen very often to me, but recently I received such a comment. Usually, when I hear something, even if I don't make a verbal response (say, if it's not worth hurting someone else or making them mad), I am giving a response in my head. This time, however, I had NOTHING...couldn't think, couldn't speak, and devastated. What was this news, you ask? The "W" word...WEIGHT.

I was at my yearly exam with my OB/GYN. She asked if I had any health concerns, any problems, any questions, etc. I told her I didn't. She said, "Well, I do. I'm concerned about your weight gain over the last 5 years." And rightfully so, it is ridiculous. And I know that. I'm thinking, "You're right...I have to do something. I wonder how she wants me to lose weight? Low carb? Weight Watchers?" And then she says, "I think you need to have Lap-Band surgery done." WTH? She asks if I'd ever considered it. I tell her "NO!" She babbles on about how other patients have had a lot of success...yadda, yadda, yadda. To tell you the truth, I was trying not to cry, and thinking in my head why I don't want to have this done; I had stopped listening. She sent me on my way with some pamphlets about bariatric procedures. And I made it to my car before I started crying.

(So, here are my issues with LapBanding for me:
*I have no physical ailments that prevent me from making eating and workout changes.
*I haven't had kids yet, and the thought of some foreign object being in my body while pregnant creeps me out.
*After the procedure, you have to eat a low fiber diet. Doesn't every healthy diet promote high fiber? If I recall, isn't fiber what cleans your colon? (I also have quite a family history of diverticulitis, so the low fiber thing scares me.)
*I'm not 30 yet, and I have no health issues besides allergies and asthma (lifelong.)
*There are no long-term studies of people who have had LapBanding, and I worry about possible side effects later in life (mostly due to nutritional issues and how that can affect bones, heart, etc.)

Okay, so it's no big news that I need to lose weight. Especially when you look at the pic Kate posted of me at H.'s baptism...whoa. That's not the version of me who I want K. and H. to know. Or anyone else for that matter. I have a ton of self-confidence, and that is probably one of my best assets. I refuse to change for anyone but me. I'm not ashamed to wear a bathing suit, and, in fact, spent most of my summer on a boat. I know my friends won't judge me, because I surround myself with great people. And I don't care what anyone outside of my circle of family and friends thinks about me. I like who I am, and I love food! I don't eat emotionally, I just have slow-ass metabolism (no thyroid issues, of course), and used to eat too late at night on my second shift nights. I say "used to" because on that fateful day in August, I stopped drinking pop (soda, if you will), stopped eating late, and given up fried food (not too big of a deal, because I didn't eat it that often anyway.) I also fill up on low calorie, low sugar, low fat snacks (bring on the sugar free jello!) and have increased my fluid intake immensely. It's a good thing I like water, tea and crystal light! I look at everything I'm about to put in my mouth, and ask "Is it worth it?" If it's not, I find something else. I haven't started a heavy workout routine yet, but I'll blog about that later. When I can workout, I plan on joining Weight Watchers...I want to get the most out of my money! (Yes, seriously! But I have friends who have done it, and I have the general guidelines that I've started following.)

I had often said before that I couldn't find the motivation to make the change...guess my OB knew how to help me there! I should mention, however, that I've known her my entire life, and she knows my struggles with weight. And I was able to quickly realize she only wanted to help me, even though the words hurt like a bi#$h! Thanks to some great friends, and great advice, I'm committed to making some changes. Apparently, so is my waistline...need to take in my work pants! Boo-yah!