Vlog: What If You Skipped Christmas?

Have you ever thought about skipping Christmas?  Skip the hubbub?  What would be your reasons for skipping it?  What would you do instead?  Regroup?  Do some introspection?  Meditate?  Go on a retreat?  How would your family react?  Your friends?  Freak out?  Understand?  That's what this vlog is about.  Have you ever skipped Christmas?  What happened?  Do you think you would consider trying it in the future?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.  

Vlog Post: Take Care of Yourself First

Hi all.  I'm sorry I'm late with this post.  I got to watching Christmas movies and lost track of time.  I'm a kid at heart.  In this post, I talk about our weekend away and how the pain in my foot and knee influenced the trip.  The message is, take care of yourself first.  Cancel trips and other plans if you need to in order to heal.  

Have you had plans changed or negatively influenced by your health issues?   How did you handle it?  I'd love for you to share your experiences.  Thanks.  

Vlog: Knee Update: Saw the Surgeon Today

Hey there!  I finally saw the surgeon about my knee again today.  This vlog talks all about what he said and what happens next.

If you're celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, I how you have a wonderful day surrounded by those you love and who make you smile the most.  Or, if you're perfectly content to have a quiet day by yourself or with a couple people you're closest to, that's cool too.  However you prefer to spend the day, I hope that's how it goes.  I'll catch you again on Monday with another vlog post.  Be safe!

Vlog: In A Funk? Try This Exercise

Hi!  It's a brand new week, and a holiday week here in the US.  For some of us, the holidays trigger the blues.  And, for some of us, chronic health issues can trigger the blues as well.  I have been in a funk for a bit for these reasons.  I know I can't hurry a funk.  I have to work through it.  But it has hung on for awhile, so I decided to do something about it.  At least try.  

I have started a daily journal exercise.  Each day I write down three good things:  observing someone paying it forward, someone paying me a compliment, someone trusting me with deeply personal thoughts, etc.  I also write down three not so good things or things I'm worried about:  my foot pain, my knee pain, having trouble losing weight, for example.  Then, I write down one thing I can do for each of my worries to ease them.  I don't have to fix the problem, just take action to make it less stressful.  

And, it does make me feel better!

I encourage you to try this exercise if you're in a funk or going through a tough time.  Journal about it and see if it helps relieve some of the stress you're feeling.  See if you can come up with a resolution to your problem, or at least take steps toward a resolution.

If you try this exercise, I would love for you to share your results with me.  Either comment below, or email me at amy@acnlifecoach.com  Thanks!  Have a great week.  I will catch you back here on Wednesday.

Guest Blogger: Lauren (Lo) Najar

I'm pleased to welcome guest blogger, Lauren (Lo) Najar, to share her battle with cancer and how she used laughter to win that battle--twice.  

"The best thing you can do is master the chaos within you.  

You are not thrown into the fire, YOU ARE THE FIRE" – Mama Indigo

I am a cancer survivor (still sounds odd to me).  I am coming up on the five year mark (woo no more “pre-existing condition") and I couldn’t be more anxious or excited.  These anniversaries are celebrated the same, if not more, than my real birthdays.  Life began again for me on January 14th, 2013.

In May 2011, when I was 23, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  I received this news on my way to work in my car alone.  Within an hour, I was meeting with my mom’s previous oncologist, going to the clinic she once used to go through more tests.  My brother and sister met me there, who were both very upset (understandably).  My parents at this point were both deceased previously and their deaths were recent.  We couldn’t find the light at the end of the tunnel at this point.  Nothing seemed to be going right.  The only thing I wanted to do was become a hermit, answer phone calls from doctors when I had to, and the least of all was to face anyone else than my closest friends.  I couldn’t even call my family to let them know what was going on--my siblings and boyfriend did this for me.  I was the oldest in my family, and ever since my parents left, I felt the need to be in charge or to hold the house together.  My sister and I are close in age, however I still had the feeling that I needed to do this because I am the oldest.  I totally leaned on people this first weekend.  I felt so alone; no one could understand what I was going through. 

Eight months of chemo and radiation went by and I was soon in remission.  Chemo was difficult as the certain drugs gave me bad side effects, however I was able to complete it in the time table allotted.  I told my friends and family that I was free of any treatment and didn’t need anything else and we had small celebrations.  I was starting up my routine checkups and my oncologist spotted something in my lungs on one of my scans.  I was soon back going through a new round of tests as my cancer had come back.  I was sent to a new hospital, and had a new oncologist.  I was going through the same old regimen, and none of these tests were foreign to me anymore unfortunately.  My next set of treatment was going to be three rounds of chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow transplant (sounds scary right?!)  I had absolutely no idea what I was going to be going through or how these different drugs would have an effect on me.

My bone marrow transplant was the hardest part for me.  I spent three weeks in the hospital (this is a normal time frame for someone), however I was in a hospital that was not exactly local in my town.  I spent a lot of days alone as I didn’t have parents that were able to stay with me and my siblings all had jobs/school that they had to keep up as well.  Some days I wasn’t feeling well and the loneliness of it all was what I needed.  I had a lot of time to reflect and to think of what I wanted my life to be like after all is said and done.  I had an enormous support group, which some days I shut out as no one was there to answer questions for me such as “When are you coming home?,” “How are you feeling?”.  A girl can only answer those questions so many times and at times it was difficult to always keep someone in the loop.

I signed up for running races in the hospital, and planned a cancer remission party for the summer time when I was going to be healthy again.  I needed to focus on living life again.  I was so done with life being miserable, that you HAVE to make the best of it.  There isn’t an option.  Life is meant to be lived and sitting around focusing on all of the bad things in your life is the absolute worst thing you can do mentally.  I am incredibly lucky that I had such a great support group coming out of this second battle that life has been especially amazing becoming closer with friends and family.  It’s not easy making fun of your bald head, your treatments, and everything else by yourself!  (Try dancing to “I whip my hair back and forth” when you completely don’t have any…that is a good laugh J)

Everyone knows that chemo and radiation have long term effects.  On paper, I am a healthy and active 30 (!!) year old now.  I do not have any pain issues or any other issues from chemo or radiation.  However, I probably see enough doctors still to make sure that nothing is going to relapse and that all of my body parts and organs are still going to be working.  One thing that I was diagnosed with back in 2015 was Hypothyroidism.  This is the slowing of your thyroid function and likely caused by the radiation I received in 2011.  I have always been a consistent weight my entire life, even through chemotherapy.  As I was in remission, I gained ten pounds and it wasn’t because my lifestyle changed drastically or my eating habits.  I tried to up my workout regimen and started focusing more on my eating and I just wasn’t losing any weight.  This was caused by my thyroid no longer working as well as it did and it was more than 3 times the amount it should be at.  My heaviest was at 30+ pounds of my normal weight as well as my blood pressure increasing and my cholesterol was high.  With focusing more on what I eat and working out consistently as well as getting my thyroid medicine regulated, I am losing weight, but slowly.  I was never a person to worry about weight or body image, however because of this I am very self-conscious now because of the new weight gain.

The best advice that I can give from this is you need to learn to live with it.  I will not be as thin as I was before, and that is okay.  Am I healthy now?  Essentially yes.  Can I eat whatever I want like before?  No, but that is a good thing.  I need to eat better and I need to find foods that work better for my body.  I know my body now more than ever and I love how much I have learned about it.  I am thankful for this experience and now for this chronic side effect because it makes me truly watch what I eat.  I am getting older as well, and for everything that my body has endured thus far, I really need to focus on prolonging life and making sure I am trying to be as healthy as I can be (I do love chicken wings though).

There is something to be said about when life gets tough; you need to laugh.  You need to find the humor in how SILLY it is that these bad things happen.  How are these things happening to me?  You can’t dwell on it and try to make jokes either about yourself or the situation.  I did both and there was just nothing that I could have done.  All you can do is laugh and live through life! 

____

I am Lauren (Lo) Najar and I live in Chicago, IL.  I am an active person--I enjoy running races, yoga and any kind of healthy activity.  I am the founder of Laugh Always.  Laugh Always was created to inspire others on their personal journeys and to bring a community together to share their inspiration from all walks of life.

Social media links -
laughalways.net
Instagram.com/laughalwayswithlo

Facebook.com/laughalwayswithlo

Vlog: Chronic Health Issues and the Frustrations That Come With Them

Hi!  I'm back.  Jim and I spent the weekend with friends up in Park City, UT.  That's what this vlog post is about actually.  Mainly the knee problem that made me almost cancel the trip.  

Have you had chronic health issues that get in the way of life?  Cause you to have to cancel plans?  Put a major cramp in your style?  I'd like to hear about it.  Please share in the comments below, or email me at amy@acnlifecoach.com.  Thanks!  

On Friday, I'll feature a guest blogger, Lauren (Lo) Najar, cancer survivor, talking about how laughter helps her deal with health issues.  Please check it out.  Thanks!

Vlog: Life Happens

Hi!  This vlog post is on all those unexpected things that happen in life to change your course that often make you frustrated.  

• Having to cancel a vacation because you are sick.  
• Having snafus happen that keep you from getting a promotion.  
• Friends calling to change plans, which then seems to send the rest of your day into a tailspin.  

On and on.

But life may happen in an unexpectedly good ways too.  

• You change your mind the last minute and decide to go to a different college and meet the love of your life there.
• You lose out on a job transfer only to find an even better opportunity shortly afterward.
• Your favorite doctor retires and you're thinking "Oh no!."  Yet, the new doctor suggests a surgery that ultimately changes your life for the better.

I also include ways to better handle life change.

What unexpected events happened in your life over the years that either sent your life into a tailspin or were pleasant surprises?  Please share in the comments below or email me at amy@acnlifecoach.com.  Thanks.  Take care.

Vlog: All About Reunions

Hi!  I hope you had a great weekend.  We got a lot of chores done and had some fun, too, so it was nice.  

Today's vlog is all about reunions.  Types, favorite types, memories, and how to prepare.  

I used to like reunions more than I do now.  Volleyball games, picnics, walks, music, joking, getting reacquainted, and so on.  Now, I prefer one on one or small group conversations.  To me, it's too hard to really connect with people if I'm competing with 25, 50, 100, or more people.  

What about you?  Do you like reunions?  What type?  Have you ever been in charge of planning a reunion?  If so, how did it go?  I'd love to hear your memories of past reunions.  Please post them below in the comment section or email me at amy@acnlifecoach.com  Thanks!  Take care.

Vlog: Thanksgiving and Christmas Memories

Hi!  I expected to get this posted yesterday but ran into technical difficulties.  I apologize for the delay.  In this video, I share some Thanksgiving memories and traditions and encourage you to share yours as well.  For example, do you go out to eat on Thanksgiving or have a big dinner at home with friends and family?  When do you start decorating for Christmas?  Do you prefer to say Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or Season's Greetings?  And, so on.  I also talk about the other holidays besides Christmas that are celebrated in December.  I hope you'll share some of your holiday traditions and memories.  I'd love to hear from you.  Post them in the comments below, or email them to me at amy@acnlifecoach.com  Thanks!  Take care.