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My ADHD Journey Day 1

January 26, 2021

My ADHD journey has been a bumpy one. Especially in the past several years. I have always been a little messy, always busy, unable to sit still for a long period of time, and someone who needs to make a list or two. But this has intensified over the last few years. The pandemic didn’t help make it any easier either.

Monday was the day I finally got to meet with a doctor who is going to help me get control of my brain back!

What is ADHD

When I hear of ADHD, I immediately think of a child in school who can’t sit still, scooches around in their seat and is a disruption to the other kids in class. Several things are wrong with this generalized assumption. It’s not just in kids, they aren’t always a disruption to others, and sometimes they can sit still.

There’s also adult onset ADHD; but many times the hyperactive element isn’t there. I don’t necessarily have that issue; but I do have ADD. Like I said earlier, I’ve always had some element of it where I will start things and not complete them 100%. For me that usually involved crafting projects, reading books, laundry, the dishes, my closet redesign… so many things.

One of the questions I asked the doctor was if my brain will ever relax? The answer was hopeful. He said that medication can help to eliminate some of the anxiety that is going on, which will take me out of fight or flight mode so then I can eventually have more clarity.

How ADHD Affects Me

Have you ever walked into a room and forgot why you walked in there in the first place? My short term memory has been affected the most with my ADD. If I don’t write something down that is important, I will lose the thought and sometimes not get it back. In meetings, I need to take good notes so I can remember what was discussed.

If I am at the grocery store and you call me to tell me to pick something up, I will ask you to text it to me because as soon as we hang up the phone, I’ll see something else and the distraction will cause me to forget why I was at the store in the first place.

I wish I had the ability to sit in a chair on the deck, with and adult beverage in my hand and not move for at least 30 minutes. That is very, very hard for me to do. I always need to jump up and “take care of something real quick”, or just start something so it can run in the background while I sit and “relax”. It’s not easy for me to relax.

My mind is racing 100 miles per minute. I constantly have things that I want or need to get done nagging at me. Thank God we can open multiple tabs in our browser windows! I will typically had a thought to order something on amazon, open a new tab, think of something else as I was about to type in amazon.com and end up with 3-4 other tabs open to address the other thoughts popping into my head as well.

What My ADHD Journey Will Look Like

Medication

I will be medicated – yay! This comes as a relief to me because I knew I couldn’t do this alone without medication. I’ve tried for too long and was suffering. We discussed a few options; but for now the decision was to start a daily medication call Wellbutrin. We discussed the use of a common drug used for ADD called Adderall; but my doctor feels this approach will work best for me.

There are certain criteria that need to be taken into consideration when selecting a medication to manage ADHD. In my case, I have a lot of night terrors, so if he were to prescribe Adderall to me, it may make those night terrors worse. It’s important for your doctor to get to know you and ask you specific questions related to your health and medical history to know the best medication approach to take with you.

As always, I like to research what I will be taking before taking something so I spent some time reading up on Wellbutrin. It is primarily used to manage major depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The science behind the medication is how the medication works with the brain’s neurons. If your brain’s neurons can keep norepinephrine and dopamine available to the neurons longer, it helps improve concentration, focus, and other ADHD symptoms.

Medical History

It’s important that your doctor get a thorough medical history about you, prior to prescribing you a medication. With my anxiety, he also didn’t want to make the anxiety ramp up more by being on a stimulant like Adderall. When you have ADHD, you typically have anxiety. The two go hand in hand. When the anxiety level is increased, your cognitive functions decrease.

The way it was explained to me is, if you were being chased by a lion, your brain turns off all unnecessary functions at the time, to tell your body to start running, increase your heart rate and send energy to the areas of your body to allow you to run fast so you can save your life from the lion chasing you. If you have an anxiety disorder, your symptoms may be so severe that they affect your ability to work, concentrate, enjoy life, or get motivated to go about your daily activities.

This happens to me and it makes me very frustrated. My biggest struggle is not about staying on task; but working up to doing a task. Once I am engaged in a project, I tend to be hyper focused on it and will sometimes work straight through until I am at a point where I can safely stop and won’t be confused where I left off.

Do You Have ADHD?

I think many of us live with some level of ADHD or ADD thanks to cell phones, social media, emails and texts that can find their way to us at any hour of the day via notifications. However, you may need to try things that will work for you such as turning those notifications off.

Living during a pandemic will also cause anxiety to ramp up, which can also cause ADHD to become more bothersome. That’s what was happening to me so I was just trying to live with it. But it came to a point where I just couldn’t anymore. The forgetfulness and the brain fog and disconnect were just getting to be too overwhelming.

You can go through online checklists to determine if you have ADHD; but it’s important to see a doctor to be evaluated for it. I used to joke that I had it; but I really think my dad has it and I’m a clone of my father! Little piles everywhere. I need to visually see my items around me. If I have important things to do they need to be front and center.

What’s Next For My ADHD Journey?

It’s my first day of medicine so far and I was able to finish a blog post within one day. In my opinion, that’s huge. My doctor told me that if the medicine is right for me, I’ll notice it within the first 72 hours of taking it that it is NOT right for me. Wellbutrin is also a drug with the least amount of side effects. It will not cause weight gain or weight loss, so that’s also a relief to me. I don’t want to work so hard at my fitness and weight goals, only to come up against a side effect that will make it hard to lose weight.

I’m documenting my journey with ADHD on my Facebook and Instagram pages via stories and reels, so come on over and check out my progress! I hope to also keep a log of it on my blog so I can also have it written out as a diary of my experience to look back on one day.

When His Heart Rate Dropped Mine Stopped

January 17, 2021

My heart stopped. We were talking to each other one minute, the next, he got very pale and said he felt like he was going to be sick. I went to find a nurse to help me. Then I heard an alarm going off and looked over and saw his heart rate on dropped down to 40, and he was slumped over on the bed.

I yelled for the nurses to help me he was passing out. It felt like I was in slow motion looking over at the group of nurses talking to each other. No one seemed to notice that his heart rate dropped and alarms were going off.

What Happened When His Heart Rate Dropped?

At that moment a million things went through my head… was he dying?! Did he pass a clot when they put the catheter and stent into his heart? Was he having a stroke? Did he have a stroke? Holy shit! What the fuck is happening????? This is all happening to the love of my life, my husband, my best fiend, my baby daddy.

Our big strong dad who pushes through so much to have a normal day with us was all of a sudden lifeless. I never want to see that again! I still have the image in my head often. I thought he was having a seizure. He was gasping or moaning. It almost sounded like he was choking when I was behind him as we tried to get him on his back again.

When we pulled him upright and laid him back in the bed he couldn’t open his eyes. They tried to open them and wake him up. He was really weak. He could barely speak. Then they started to make him respond to things like squeezing each hand, moving each foot, lifting each leg, and smile. They were checking for a stroke. I thought I was losing him. I began to shake and moved out of the way of the nurses while they did his vitals and asked me questions. I think the also injected his IV with a syringe of something; but I am not sure what it was,

His vitals came back great, they checked his sugar, and they did an EKG and it was fine. Thank God. He didn’t appear to have had a heart attack. They kept saying a word that sounded like bagel. That’s all I could remember at the time. A bagel with a vagina because it was vagal bagel or something like that…. it’s how I was going to remember it to ask about it later.

Thank God he didn’t get up out of the bed and stood up like he was about to. Thank God we were in the hospital and this didn’t happen at home. Thank God they were able to do an ultrasound of the heart right there with an iPad! I saw his heart myself. It was beautiful.

At this point, Kevin was shivering. He couldn’t stop shaking so we loaded him up with several blankets. But he wasn’t able to stop shivering. It was out of his control. We don’t know what caused it, but it eventually subsided.

What Caused Him To Pass Out

It didn’t appear to be an issue with this heart or the stent. I felt a lot of relief that it wasn’t his heart. And they didn’t seem to mention anything about a clot so I assumed it was probably medication or anesthesia related or possibly dehydration. Kevin still couldn’t open his eyes and whenever he moved his head he said the room would spin.

I was so scared when nurses would walk away. I didn’t want them to not hear the alarms if they went off. Kevin wanted a nitro because the chest pain was a 7 out of 10. I thought the procedure was supposed to relieve the chest pain immediately? Why is it getting worse? His doctor also informed him that he was going to have to spend the night because he passed out, and they needed to watch him closely. I know that’s not what he wanted originally; but at that moment, he didn’t care.

After several more doses of anti nausea medicine and some Tylenol, he went for an echo cardiogram to double-check and get a good look at his heart. Then he could be moved into a regular room for the night.

The common term that the nurses said he had was vasovagal syncope. They don’t know the exact reason for what triggered it because he was fine one minute and then passing out the next. Some reasons why it happens is emotional or physical stressors or nausea. I suspect these are the cause for his episode.

The Long Long Night

After being wheeled around in the bed down the halls with the bright lights and a splitting headache, we got upstairs to a room. I was immediately told that I would have to leave very shortly after he is placed into bed. I knew he heard that and his his heart dropped.

The nurses had to move him from the stretcher to the bed with a board. They kept rocking him back and forth I thought he was going to projectile vomit. He seemed so uncomfortable. I just wanted him to get comfortable. I saw his roommate telling the nurses to leave him alone and let him rest. So they closed the curtain on him.

Once he was in the bed he was given another dose of anti nausea medication. Along with more IV fluid. I leaned into him. Forehead to forehead. I knew he wasn’t doing well with the news that I had to leave. He was scared. I couldn’t even really comfort him by telling him I was going to take care of the kids and the house and chicken and dogs. He knew they would have been in good hands. I did, too.

I wanted to be with him. I didn’t want to leave his side to use the bathroom all day. I had to help get him settled in and calm his nerves. I set up his phone and headphones, and begged the nurse for 10 more minutes. Kevin was anxious about me walking to the parking garage. So we assured him someone would walk with me and I could walk to the east wing to get to it.

He slept for about 40 minutes after I left. I needed to stop by target for my coffee creamer. When I arrived in Target I realized that I needed a minute. I was texting with my girlfriends and it hit me. That holy shit, what just happened today feeling. He’s only 53 years old!

I picked up the kids from my parents’ house, ate a little something for dinner, and brought the kids home. I hadn’t told them he passed out. We just told the kids that he was dizzy and queasy and needed to stay the night. I didn’t want them to worry.

When we got home, it didn’t feel right. His stuff was next to his bed as if he was going to put them on when he got home and sit on our warm bed with his pillows. His tools are out like he’s going to pull them off the chargers and continue to build the shelves that he and Kevin started in the garage on Sunday night.

It’s not a nice feeling finding everything about him all around us but he isn’t here with us. He’s always here. I’m the one the kids are used to not having at home. But Kevin’s always there holding down the fort for me. I couldn’t wait to have him back home.

Why It’s Important To Have Your Heart Checked

Heart disease is a silent killer. Especially in women. If something doesn’t feel right, contact your doctor. Don’t wait. I should listen to my own advice. You can be as strong as an ox, or be fit and lean but have clogged arteries, if it’s in your family history. So be sure to check your family history and be proactive about your heart health.

Since this is new to us; we will be learning as we go and I’ll be sure to educate you along our journey. I’m going to share more on how you can maintain good heart health with fitness and good nutrition. I’ll also share some of the signs to look out for, and explain why Kevin needed a procedure done in the first place. I’ll also share the recovery process and how he’s been feeling.

Have you had to have an angiogram? How was your experience. I’d love to know more about your post procedure experience especially.

A Mile A Day Challenge - Gillette Castle

Join Me In A Mile A Day Challenge

December 11, 2020

I am encouraging you to join me in a mile a day challenge to keep you active and moving throughout the holidays. I am vowing to move (run, walk, elliptical, bike, or hike) at least a mile a day, EVERY day for the month of December. Not just up until Christmas; but beyond it as well. Walking, running, and hiking are the primary forms I will be using to get in my mile. Can you do this with me?

I started doing this on December 1st on Facebook and in my Facebook group. I decided to open it up to my blog audience to get you on board with moving your bodies and working towards some healthy habits to keep throughout the holiday season and beyond.

Why Participate In The Mile A Day Challenge?

Why would I need a mile a day challenge? Especially since I run several times a week. I am doing it because I need something to keep me accountable. I also thought it would encourage others to get out and move with intention. Now more than ever, we are indoors most of the day. Since most of us no longer commute to an office, it’s very easy to get caught up with your job and sit away the hours without moving.

If you use a smartwatch or have a system that notifies you to move your body that’s great. This is one more thing you can stack on to what you are already doing to help you achieve some movement goals or meet a specific step count for the day.

How To Do A Mile A Day Challenge?

I will check in with you at least once a day via the Facebook Group. This is to set myself accountable that I did or will be heading out to do my mile. Then, I encourage you to share a selfie of you doing your activity for the day.

I also intend to do include some fun activities for the week. For instance, a photo challenge of the holiday lights in your neighborhood. Then I may have a photo scavenger hunt to look for specific holiday decorations along your walk.

It’s super easy! If you are not part of the group now, please request to join.

Who Can Do This Mile A Day Challenge?

Anyone could and should do this challenge! I encourage my kids to come out with me as much as possible. But if they are busy with their sports and schoolwork, I’ll head out without them. Sometimes when the weather is bad and I don’t want to do the treadmill, I’ll head out to my driveway and listen to a podcast while looping the driveway for about 30 minutes.

We even bring our dog on many of our hikes and walks. His vet said he was obese for his age; so we scaled back on his food and increased his amount of exercise. We have seen a difference in his size, and his energy level. So the walking is good for all of us!

Enter to Win a Pair of CozyPhones!

Now that it’s getting colder where I live, I need to wear ear warmers when I am out running or walking. I either wear a hat or ear warmers. Now you have a chance to win a pair of Cozy Phone earphones!

These headphones come from a Veteran Owned business. These headphones are not only great for using in the cold weather to keep your ears warm, but you can also use them to help fall asleep and tackle insomnia. The headbands are great for sports, yoga, meditation and relaxation. Kids love them too! They won’t hurt your ears because they are not inserted directly into your ears, and there are no bulky headbands like over the ear headphones.

Fill out the form below for your chance to win! A winner will be randomly selected on Sunday, December 13th at 5 p.m. EST.

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I hope you’ll join me for your own health and wellness. It’s also a great stress reliever during these busy holiday times of buying and wrapping your holiday gifts. I also intend on doing more challenges throughout the new year. Will you join me? Leave a comment below and tell me why this will be helpful for you!

Mulan Activity Sheets

September 5, 2020

The much anticipated live action Disney film Mulan released in Disney+ on September 4th. I have a brief recap of the movie and Mulan activity sheets for you and your family to enjoy. I have been waiting to see this movie since we heard it was coming to theaters last March. We had a family movie night to end our family fun day together before the kids head back to school.

The Story of Mulan

Acclaimed filmmaker Niki Caro brings the epic tale of China’s legendary warrior to life in Disney’s “Mulan,” in which a fearless young woman risks everything out of love for her family and her country to become one of the greatest warriors China has ever known.

Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father, masquerading as a man. She is tested every step of the way and must harness her inner-strength and embrace her true potential. It is an epic journey that will transform her into an honored warrior and earn her the respect of a grateful nation…and a proud father.

“The original ‘Ballad of Mulan’ was written centuries ago and has been popular ever since,” says producer Jason Reed.

“The animated movie brought it to Western audiences. Now we’re hoping to take elements from the original ballad and the beloved Disney animation and create something that is new and exciting, while honoring the essential elements of this inspiring story. We focused on how someone can embrace bravery, loyalty and duty while still being true to oneself.”

Behind The Scenes

“What stands out about Mulan is her spirit,” adds Reed. “Mulan herself is what draws me to the story. When I watched the original animated film, I loved the locations, I loved the music, I loved the comedy, but what really stuck with me was her character. Even though she’s a woman and Chinese, her struggle spoke to me growing up. How do you fulfill your duty? How do you do what’s right? How do you fit in and how do you find your place? I think those are really important questions, and it’s the foundation on which we built the live-action adaptation.”

The Cast

“Mulan” features a celebrated international cast that includes:

Yifei Liu as Mulan
Donnie Yen as Commander Tung
Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan
Yoson An as Cheng Honghui
Gong Li as Xianniang
Jet Li as the Emperor

I love how these new Disney films showcase different cultures, traditions, and beliefs. The costumes and the music were beautiful, and the scenery was breathtaking! Especially the scene when they were attacking during battle.

Once again, Disney has released a movie with a strong female lead ad the heroine who brings honor to her family. Mulan is an empowering character, and Yifei Liu hopes the film will help girls and women trust in themselves.

“I hope they will not focus on just what they get in life, but will trust their instincts. Be true to themselves for sure, because they are the only ones who can surprise themselves in their lives.”

Mulan Activity Sheets

Disney Movies provided a beautiful educational packet for you to download and share with your family. It helps understand the story and culture behind the movie.

Download the Mulan Activity Sheets. It’s a great little workbook to encourage you to look inside yourself to find your strengths, seek out what feeds your spirit through nature, and also helps you learn more about your family history.

How to Watch Mulan

If you wish to watch Mulan now you can stream it on Disney+ with Premier Access (Disney+ subscription and additional fee required).

Follow Mulan

Like MULAN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WaltDisneyMulan

Follow MULAN on Twitter:https://twitter.com/DisneysMulan

Follow MULAN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mulan/

View the MULAN playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist

What Did You Think?

Did you watch the movie on the premier night with your family? What do you think of it? We loved it. I especially loved the ending. I loved the ceremony and Mulan’s expression as she opened her gift. It was beautiful.

Tips for Purchasing Face Masks for Back To School

September 3, 2020

The time has come in our town for back to school. We will be attending in person, 5 days per week. Since that is the case I found my favorite places to purchase face masks for back to school. Our kids will be wearing these masks for a very long time. We had a taste of it while on vacation in New Hampshire and took a tour of Castle In the Clouds where we had to wear them for a couple of hours.

This blog post contains affiliate links from various companies that I work with. When you purchase items through my link, I receive a commission at no cost to you.

Buy Your Face Masks From Young Entrepreneurs

My first mask shop recommendation is from someone in my blogging community. Cam Bowman’s daughter, Emma, began making masks and selling them. Now she has built it into and Etsy shop. Read about their story and purchase from her shop to help support this great venture for Cam’s daughter!

I also have a friend who is making masks and now selling them with personalization options. I’ve been saving old t-shirts and instead of discarding them or donating all of them, I am going to have Heather pick them up and sew them into masks. I figured why not customize some of the fabric from some things we used to like wearing!

Here are a few of the masks she created for businesses in our area. These are great for sports teams, schools, dance academies, wait staff and so many more!

Find a Face Mask That Fits Best

Not all the masks are the same. I happen to like the ones we bought at Target in the kids section for just $4.00. Adrienne and I wear those the most. They have masks for everyone in the family at Target so I stocked up on several to keep them on hand. I also want to personalize our masks with my Cricut machine.

Old Navy is another store I like to shop at that has a nice variety of masks. Aren’t these adorable?! These come in packs of 5 for $12.50. There are always sales going on with Old Navy so be sure to check their site for current offers.

I also like that stores like Old Navy and Target offer curbside pickup options as well. I can save time by shopping from my home, place my order, and show up at my convenience. This also helps me limit exposure if I don’t feel like shopping in person.

Athleta has some geared towards sports and those who have to wear them while exercising. I like that these masks also come with the extender and the adjustable buckle for the ear straps.

There Are Lots Of Face Mask Accessories

Having a mask around your ears all day will make them sore. You can purchase face mask extenders which can wrap the straps behind your head. There are a few different options; but we are trying these out to see what we like best.

If you feel like your face masks cause your voice to sound muffled, get a face mask bracket that will fit around your nose and mouth to press the fabric outward. This reduces the moisture building on your face and projects your voice more clearly.

Hate the stinky mask smell? Drop a little essential oil into your masks to help you breathe a more pleasant scent. I like to use a peppermint or eucalyptus oil to help my airways feel clear and open. My favorite oil is Breathe from doTerra.

Do you hate seeing people with their masks hanging off their ear or under their chin? It’s a pet peeve of mine. But there’s something you can do about that. You can get a face mask necklace or lanyard. These are cute from Jane!

Have fun and accessorize with them! As I am starting to accept that these may be here to stay for at least 2 years, I am enjoying shopping for them and using them now as an accessory to my outfits. I try to match the colors to what I am wearing, or even use them as an accent!

Keep Face Masks Clean

Most importantly, we need to wash our masks. I don’t want my kids to use the same mask day after day. I don’t even mind if they change it more than once during the day. I wash our masks inside of a mesh laundry bag and then hang them to dry.

While you are out and about during the day you may not need to wear your mask all the time. Keep them clean in these face mask pouches. I am making these to order through my Etsy store. You can personalize them with whatever you wish to have on them. These are great to keep on your kids’ backpacks or on your keychain or purse.

To help avoid or reduce the number of breakouts the masks can cause, keep a spray bottle of a Salicylic acid in your purse or backpack. Spray your mask with it before putting it on. It will help reduce the build up of makeup on the mask which can cause breakouts. For more tips on helping prevent breakouts from wearing a mask, read my friend Danyelle’s blog post for mask proofing your skin.

I hope this post was helpful to you and you will add more masks and accessories to your style and your kids’ back to school supplies. Please be sure to share my accessories with your friends!

The Adventures of Rockford T. Honeypot: Book Review and Activities

July 27, 2020

The Adventures of Rockford T. Honeypot is a great story about a shy, young germ-a-phobe chipmunk who was shunned from his family, and was left to fend for himself in the forest. Looking for a book for summer reading for your kids or perhaps even for yourself? Look no further.

Check out my review of this lovely story of determination and courage, and also download the activity sheets and a delicious hazelnut pancake recipe!

The Story of Rockford T. Honeypot

When Rockford was shunned from his family and left to find his own way in the big forest his mother gave him a special message. She told him to “reach for the uncracked diamonds”. She was referring to the stars in they sky.

During his time in the forest he meets several different groups of furry friends along the way. Very similar to how we live our lives. We have school friends, neighborhood friends, church friends, athletic team friends, etc. Some of those friends we keep for our lifetime, and some we only remain friends with during the time we share similar interests with.

Along his journey in the forest, Rockford learns some important lessons about life. He finds out a lot about himself, and uses the lessons from previous encounters towards new adventures he comes across.

I don’t want to spoil the ending of the book for you. So check it out for yourself!

About The Author

Los Angeles native Josh Gottsegen has a background in filmmaking and digital media and is the author of “Joosh’s Juice Bar,” an early elementary school children’s book series that encourages healthy eating habits through vivid illustrations and Dr. Seussian-style rhymes.

Earning his BA in Film Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara, Gottsegen has won numerous awards for his short films and video productions. Starting professionally at NBCUniversal Interactive, later Josh Gottsegen moved into editing as well as other creative projects for the Walt Disney Company, Fox Corporation, IMG, and the NFL.

Activity Sheets

Rockford T. Honeypot Stick Figure Templates

Rockford T. Honeypot Coloring Pages

Recipes

Looking to make something yummy with your kids in the kitchen? Here’s a great recipe idea based out of one of Rockford’s adventures in the book.

Some more great recipes are:

Enter The Giveaway To Get Your Copy!

The books are now available in kindle and paperback version on amazon. I am also giving away a copy of the book, so enter your information for a chance to win! Winners will be selected on Friday, July 31.

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