The Little Things
October 23, 2013

Growing up I absolutely loved having a song with my name in it. Let’s be honest- I still love that fact, and get oddly giddy when I hear the song playing anywhere. I had heard that there was a restaurant in Boston called “sweet caroline’s”, and I made a mental note on my Boston “to-do” list. When I realized that I was going to Boston for work, I knew I needed to make my way down to that restaurant I ate there after visiting Fenway and walking the final mile of the Boston marathon route. By the time I arrived I was feeling the Boston love, and was giddy to see this:

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I walked in right after they opened, so I ended up being the only customer there as I quickly ate lunch (I had to eat early and quickly so I could make it to my meeting). I chose a seat right by the huge window front, and enjoyed the sunshine as I sat and watched people walk by. This was only the second time I’ve ever gone to a restaurant on my own (not including airports of course!), and my phone had died, so I was really there alone. I actually enjoyed having the chance to just sit, think, and enjoy Boston.

The restaurant itself is quaint (you can click here for pictures), and is only a few minutes from Fenway, so it’s location is fantastic! I wanted something simple after a long day (I had a 2 am wake up time that day) so I went with the grilled chicken sandwich (you can see the menu here). The sandwich was pretty standard; it wasn’t too fancy but hit the spot. It also came with a delicious side of sweet potato fries.

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The staff were very friendly, and my waitress stood and talked to me a bit, which was nice since I was alone (and no one else was in the restaurant). She told me a bit about some of the things she remembered from the marathon this year, and it was interesting to hear about some personal experiences having just walked the final mile.

Overall I would go back to the restaurant in a heartbeat! The only thing that could have made my experience any better would have been to hear “sweet caroline” at some point while I was eating.

Do you have a song with your name in it? (If so- what is it?) Do you have a favorite place to eat in Boston (or have you been to Sweet Caroline’s before)? 

October 22, 2013

I’ve seen a few different people do “a day in the life” posts, so I thought I might do one too. Counselors have all sorts of different schedules, so mine isn’t necessarily indicative of what each person’s might be. Each day also looks different (depending on work meetings, an “after hours” client one day a week, teaching pilates, etc…) so this post might look different every day. Tuesdays are pretty standard, so I thought I would chose today! Here’s what an average Tuesday (sans crises with clients) looks like:

4:45 am: First alarm goes off. Groan, hate myself a bit for deciding to teach early in the morning, and hit snooze

4:55 am: Finally get out of bed. It’s dark, and now that it’s getting colder outside, getting up feels even worse. Turn on the space heater and get ready

5:15 am: Grab some orange juice and a banana and eat quickly while watching a few minutes of the news and checking my email.

5:25 am: Head out with my multiple bags and food for the day. Drive to gym

5:50 am: Arrive at the gym. Throw my stuff in a locker, get the lights in the studio turned on, get pump up music started!

5:55 am: Students start arriving to class. I help them get set up and chat with them as they arrive.

6-7 am: It’s Pilates Barre day! Class is exciting and flies by!

7-7:05 am: Group members head out of class, and I talk to them as they leave. Close up studio and turn down lights.

7:05-7:30: Shower and get ready for the day in the gym locker room. Listen to the Today Show as I get ready.

7:30-7:35 am: Drive to the office and admire the sunrise!

7:35-7:45 am: Unpack lunch, turn on lights in the office, and eat 2nd breakfast for the day. Check work email.

7:45 -8 am: Pull client files for the day, make copies or print handouts if needed, etc…

8 am- 1 pm: See clients (my 8,9,10, and 12 hours come in for 50 minutes. My 11 o’clock hour is split into 2 25 minute client appointments. The last 10 minutes of each hour I go the bathroom, eat a snack, warm up more water for another cup of tea, chat with co-workers, reply to email, contact doctors, fax paperwork to the health center, and take a moment to breathe. Oh- and maybe work a bit on a client note). This chunk of hours flies by at an unbelievable pace most days.

1-2 pm: Lunch time! Sometimes I take the full hour for lunch, sometimes I end up only taking 40ish minutes for lunch and spend the rest doing paperwork. This depends on how much I got during my 10 minute breaks after each client. If it’s a nice day I’ll go outside with one of my co-workers to eat or take a quick walk.

2-4 pm: See my last 2 clients of the day.

4-5 pm: Paperwork hour. Type up client notes, finish client assessments, respond to emails, etc…

5-5:25 pm: Commute home. I’m already tired! By the time I get home I’ve been gone at work and commuting for 12 hours, so I’m ready for a break.

5:30-8 pm: Any variety of activities. I may work out, but usually Tuesdays are a “rest afternoon” since I usually do about 30 minutes of the barre class along with my students and work so many hours! If it’s really nice out I may go on a short walk. Unpack exercise bag, eat dinner, do dishes, pack lunch for the next day. If I have other things to do for my writing and speaking gigs, I might get some of that done during this time as well. Often one of my friends comes over and we watch Criminal Minds as I do all of this.

8-9 or 10 pm: Watch Biggest Loser. Foam roll, stretch, ice ankle, and other PT activities.

10 pm: Bedtime! 4:45 am wake up calls means I’m usually dozing a bit before 10, but I officially head to bed around this time.

So, this would be a very “average” day. Like I said, this can vary day to day based on after work meetings, client crises I might be dealing with, what exercise I choose to do, etc…

So, does that sound like a day that you would like?

What is the highlight of your day? To you have a group of hours that tend to fly by? What do you think sounds the most interesting about being a counselor?

 

October 21, 2013

Happy Mental Health Monday! Right now I’m in the middle of a series on healthy trust and safety. Here’s what I’ve talked about so far: Losing Our Safety and Characteristics of Unsafe People {Part 1}, {Part 2}, and {Part 3}. These characteristics are from the book Safe People. Today I’m going to talk through the last few characteristics of unsafe people. These are red flags that are beneficial to look for in those whom you have allowed into your life. Remember that when we look for these characteristics, we are looking for the degree at which they occur, not if they have ever occurred (we can’t be perfect people!).

Unsafe people condemn us instead of forgiving us. Have you ever been in a relationship with someone who constantly held the past and your mistakes over your head? Safe people confront and forgive in healthy and appropriate ways. “People forgive can-and should- also be people who confront. What is not confessed can’t be forgiven…Therefore, you shouldn’t discount someone who ‘has something against you’, labeling him as unsafe. He might actually be attempting to come closer in love, in the way that the Bible tells us we are to do” (p. 50). People who are safe see that we are imperfect, know our failings, and love us anyways. This is a healthy and safe relationship.

Unsafe people are unstable over time instead of being consistent. “Are you the romantic/trusting/naïve type? If so, you’re particularly vulnerable to unsafe people because you tend to trust people immediately instead of putting them through the test of time. As clichéd as it may sound, time is indeed the best judge of character” (p. 54). It’s dangerous when we trust immediately, as we don’t have a good idea of who we are trusting. With time we give people the chance to earn our trust, which helps keep us safe and healthy. Put people through the test of time and make them earn your trust.

 Unsafe people are a negative influence on us, rather than a positive one. Safety in relationship breeds safety. Have you ever been in relationship with someone whom you’ve had to hide your weaknesses or imperfections from? This isn’t safe, and will not breed safety in relationship.

Unsafe people gossip instead of keeping secrets. Have you ever been hurt in relationship because something you told one person was leaked to others? “No matter what, this is nothing but destructive. We all need a place for our secrets to be held and respected. Secrets don’t get well without relationship. We’re all looking for safe relationships where someone knows all of our parts. So, when you divulge a private matter with another, it’s a big deal. You are taking a risk with an important part of your soul. And when confidence is broken, so is trust, hope, and healing” (p. 59). Gossiping cannot in any way lead to trust and safety in a healthy relationship.

So there you have it. Not only are the characteristics outlined in these 4 posts important to know in terms of being wise in who we chose to trust, but it is almost meant to encourage each of us to become safer people for others around us.

Now it’s your turn to share! What characteristic of safety was the most surprising to you, or the one that you tend to skim over when “evaluating” people? 

October 20, 2013

Yikes- for “peak week” this week did not go at all according to plan. My body hates me right now, and it feels like everything on my legs is unhappy, aggravated, swollen, or tight. I don’t know what’s up, but walking is a little painful, and running even more so. I’ve decided not to run this week because I’m more concerned with getting to the starting line of this race (in 2 weeks. YIKES!) then in getting in my last miles. Then again, this seems to happen almost every race cycle, but this time it just seems worse. More parts aren’t happy, and more things are aching. So, despite an awesome PR last weekend, mentally my head was just not in the game this week. Here’s how it looked:

I’ve done a good amount of pilates and upper body weights this week, and still fit in 4 times of cardio throughout the week, so that’s a positive. It could definitely be worse, but could definitely be better. I would’ve liked to run 10 miles Saturday, but I knew that wouldn’t be a smart decision.

Eh- it happens, right? I’m just trying to give my body what it needs leading up to race day…

October 18, 2013

Happy Friday! I didn’t post a list of things I’m thankful for yesterday because this week just got away from me! This weekend is fall break, but all that means is that I get Friday off work. My paycheck will only show about 2 hours of difference though as I worked extra long days the first 4 days of the week. I’m thankful for this day off. I’ve been up for 3 hours and already feel so restored. I “slept in” until 7:30 (I really have to laugh at how my definition of sleeping in has changed over the last 2 years!), watched a TV show while eating breakfast, and then cleaned for a bit. I’m taking a small break, and then it’ll be back to my big fall cleaning again! Other things I’m thankful for: my co-workers (so fun, so supportive!), my compression sleeves (I even wore them to work one day under my pants! sneaky!), salt packets (everyone with POTS should carry these around), and the sunshine.

Here are a few other facts for this friday:

1. Yesterday I had my highest day of page views on my blog by over 100 views. The day before I had also hit a new high. Thank you, thank you for reading!

2. Today my brother in the Air Force gets his official plane assignment (he’s just finishing pilot training). I am SO nervous and SO excited and SO proud all at once. I will be glued to my phone tonight.

3. I finally created a Recipes Page for my blog. Make sure to check it out!

4. I just finished my first session of teaching pilates mat and pilates barre classes. I’ve had a great time so far, and look forward to teaching more in the future! I owe you all a post on some of my thoughts from teaching. It got much better after almost missing the start of my first class at the beginning of September. Oops!

5. We’ve finally hit fall temperatures (40’s, 50’s, a few days here and there in the 60’s). I finally caved and turned my heat on last night because it was 62 degrees in my place. Brrrr!

6. I HATED the taste of pumpkin until 2 years ago. I decided in the fall of 2011 that I would like pumpkin, and started putting it in oatmeal. I guess my taste buds adjusted, because I love it now!

7. This fall I’ve been obsessed with criminal minds! I never watched the show before August and I’m currently in season 5!

8. I bought a pair of leg warmers. I’ve never owned them before, and I love them! They’re so comfy 🙂

9. I REALLY miss working with all my flowers. I even have dreams every week or two that I’m weeding again. I fell oddly in love with it this summer, and found so much relaxation in it. I miss it.

10. I got a grant!! This is HUGE HUGE HUGE for me, and I’m so excited to delve into the research!

Now it’s your turn to share! What’re you thankful for today? What’s a random fact about your life?

October 16, 2013

After a warmer than average start to the fall, it has high highs in the mid 60s so far this week! It’s chilly in the morning, nice and warm for after work walks, runs, or bike rides, and cool at night. This soup typed up in this recipe is the type of soup that goes along with boots, scarves, and crisp nights. I was in the mood for a minestrone type of soup, packed with delicious vegetables. Because I wanted to add some protein, I decided that ground up chicken was the game to go. This soup was DELICIOUS, and I was hungry just smelling it as it was slowly cooking in the crock pot.

Ingredients

I started by throwing the chicken into a pan and cooking it. While it was cooking, I stuck the butternut squash several times with a fork and put in the microwave for 2.5 minutes to soften it. While both these things were cooking, I peeled the white potatoes and threw them in the crock pot, along with the broth.

Once the squash was done, I took out of the microwave, holding onto it with a few paper towels. It’ll be fairly warm, so use a towel if it’s too hard to get a good grip on. I cut it in half width wise and them cut the skin away. I scooped the inside out and tossed in the trash, and then cut the rest of the squash into bite size pieces before putting it into the crock pot.

Next I threw in the beans, onions, and the garlic cloves (which I finely chopped).

Once the chicken was done cooking, I drained most of the fat away and put red cayenne pepper and salt on for flavor. Once that was mixed together I dumped that into the crock pot.

The mushrooms and spinach I roughly broke into smaller pieces. I only broke up the large pieces of spinach, but most I just tossed into the pot!

I threw red pepper flakes in for extra spice before letting it cook on high for an hour and then on low for about four hours. Enjoy the smell as it cooks:)

If you want to add pasta, you can cook separately or add in for the final part of cooking (just make sure it’s not too long or it’ll get too mushy).

hearty fall soup

I make a large quantity and so anything extra I make that I know I won’t eat during the week I immediately freeze to enjoy at a later date.

When dinner time hits, I fill a bowl up, heat in the microwave, and sometimes add a bit of cheese on top! I thought that it might taste pretty good as I made it, but I have to say that this far exceeded my expectations, and I ate it 4 nights in a row without ever getting sick of it! YUM!

For other great cold weather soups, check out this taco soup and this lentil and vegetable soup!

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one of your favorite fall soups? 

© 2013, Caroline

October 15, 2013

Saturday morning I ran the homecoming 5k race that was my first 5k back in 2011. The last time I ran the race I had no idea what a race high was, what it was like to step up to a starting line, or what it was like to finish a race, no matter what distance it was. On Saturday, I knew those things well, but I wasn’t particularly stressed or excited. I needed to leave my house at 7:05, so I set my alarm for 6:45, but ended up snoozing until 6:50 (talk about relaxed, right?!). I threw on my clothes, grabbed a protein bar and my standard 8-10 ounces of orange juice, and ran out the door. My 5k time has been set since November of 2011 (30:48). I set it on a Turkey Trot (my 2nd race ever), and haven’t been able to break the time. It’s been frustrating to say the least, so today I had no expectations other than to just have a fun run.

I stuffed down the bar and OJ as I drove to the start line, and once got there checked in, warmed up, and put on my race bib. I talked to a few people I knew, not bothering to try to get into any sort of racing mentality. Then it was go time.

The race horn went off (it was a pretty small race), and I hit my runkeeper and went. I did the 3:1 (run:walk) Galloway Method, and although the first minute or two my legs were really hurting, I quickly fell into a good pace. I was feeling really good, and I hit the first mile in a pace MUCH faster (by about 1.5-2 minutes) than I traditionally do my runs at. I suddenly got nervous. I was feeling good, but I didn’t want to crash and burn after the 2nd mile. I thought about dialing it back, but then thought that it didn’t matter if I crashed and burned this time because I was only trying to have fun!

Everything sort of fell together. The traditional aches and pains seemed to go away. I was breathing hard but didn’t get a side cramp (so rare during a race!). It felt GOOD. My runkeeper told me when I hit 25 minutes, and I realized that I was about half a mile from the finish. This was the first time I seriously thought that maybe I could beat my PR.

I kicked it hard the last .3 of a mile, and looked up as I crossed the finish line: 30:33! I PR’d by 15 seconds when I wasn’t trying to do that at all! Of course I am still frustrated that I haven’t hit below 30, but I’m so excited to move on from this PR I’ve held for almost 2 years!

5k PR5k PR!

This also got me thinking- do I psych myself out? Have I been training better/differently/done more cross training and has increased speed? Was it just my day to race? No matter what it is, I’m so happy to have a new 5k PR!

October 14, 2013

I’m taking a break from my series on Safety to talk about OCD Awareness Week (October 14-20). OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) is something that a few of my friends have struggled with, and between watching them and my clients try to live well with the obsessions and compulsions ruling their life is heart breaking.

The best guess is that 1 in 100 adults and 1 in 200 children struggle with OCD, so it’s not rare by any means. You may know someone who has OCD, but you also might not know that they do. Some compulsions (hand washing, counting, etc…) are easily identifiable, but some compulsions might not be evident (having to repeat statements or prayers, for example). No matter what the obsessions and compulsions are, people can easily feel like OCD controls their life and saps it of joy.

OCD is best treated with a type of cognitive behavioral therapy called Exposure Response Prevention therapy (ERP), as well as medication. ERP is hard work, but the results tend to be great, and people tend to feel that they experience freedom and joy once again.

Please spend some time this week educating yourself on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The International OCD Foundation website has a list of activities you can participate in this coming week.

Here are a few resources that may be helpful:

October 13, 2013

I have to admit something: I felt pretty mixed emotions coming into this week in training. I knew that the week was going to be very busy work wise, homecoming weekend for my college was at the end of the week (making the week busier since I wasn’t going to be able to get much done this weekend), and I had come off a pretty difficult 8.5 mile training run. I managed, though, and here’s how the week looked:

Cardio was sort of “meh” for the week, but it was certainly a balanced week. I got in stretching/flexibility work, core work, strength training, and 3 days of cardio. Especially in light of having POTS, the balance is very important to me, and I try to strive for that in my plans each week. I’m really enjoying Best Body Bootcamp, and if you’re wondering what it is or my actual thoughts on it, check out my post here!

Now it’s your turn to share! How do you try to aim for balance each week? 

October 10, 2013

Happy Thursday, and welcome to the start of the end of the week (that makes sense, right?). By the time Thursday hits I regularly feel like I’ve conquered the week, and am just sliding into the weekend. Some Thursdays give a real run for their money though! Here are some of the little blessings and provisions I found this week:

My grandma. She died 2 years ago today, and I still miss her almost every day. There are so many things that I use almost every day from her (on one of my last visits with her she gave me a bunch of things from her kitchen), and I smile at the laughter and memories we shared. I’m glad I had her in my life for as many years as I did.

Apple Cider! It’s officially fall and officially apple season! I could drink multiple cups of this stuff a day, but try to hold off on a cup a day. I often strategically bring it to work so I can drink it during the middle of the afternoon slump time. I have time to look forward to it throughout the day, and then I get to enjoy it throughout one of my last sessions of the day! Win-win!

Fall sunshine right before sunset. Do you know what light I’m talking about? It’s that beautiful, golden light that happens in the maybe half an hour or so leading up to sunset. Every day I try, regardless of what I’m doing, to walk outside or to a window and take a few breaths while I stop and enjoy the moment. It fits in with my “being present” goal in my 13 challenges for the year.

Good weather to eat outside! This fall we’ve been really blessed with fantastic weather, and it’s been so fun to be able to eat lunch outside. My office has no windows, so I feel like I’m in a cave all day. Being able to have the space to get outside and enjoy the sunshine has been absolutely fantastic.

Great co-workers. Over the last 6 or 7 weeks I’ve really strongly felt that I have awesome co-workers. As counselors we still ultimately work alone with our clients, but they are fantastic encouragers, are genuinely excited and sad for things in eachothers’ lives, and give great advice and support. They are fun, and I love spending time with them!

My bike! Such a little thing, but such a fantastic thing. Yesterday the weather was fantastic, so after work I headed out for a 10.8 mile ride, and it was the perfect way to unwind after a few busy days.

Now it’s your turn to share! What are you excited about or enjoying this week?