Awww Murphy, I Really Hadn’t Been Missing You!

Yesterday was one of those days. Actually, it was more than that. It was one of those weeks rolled into a couple of days!

It really started 2 days ago. I was going to switch pre-pay phone service and bought a new phone and a bunch of minutes. There was one day left on my old service days.

When I went to port the phone number, the instructions said it usually takes a couple of hours, but might end up taking 2 days and if the old phone became inactive, I would lose the number. Well, I have to keep that number.  I wasn’t chancing that. So the plan was to add minutes to the old phone one more time.

Well, the next day I forgot. I got tied up in other stuff.

Next day, there I was, all connected to wifi with my laptop and I can’t find a single link on the main web page to log in. So I do a search, but that browser said the page didn’t exist. So I tried a different browser. I finally get there but the login button is completely dead.

So I thought I would just get a card and do it that way, from the phone.

So back to the store yesterday to buy more minutes on my old service. Then I would wait until there were about 4 days left to switch. But my phone had become inactive at midnight the night before.  No go. You have to reactivate the phone but which do you do first then?

It’s funny, when you miss the last day for adding minutes, your phone will be inactive but your number will be retained for 30 days. BUT when you want to port your number to a competing service, you would lose your number immediately in the above scenario. Shame on you for switching!

I did this once before and remembered it was tricky. I had just bought the card because I can never access their website from our dial-up connection at home.

I walk back across the road and across the campus annex of our community college to where I can pick up the wifi. That was all I was doing so I just carried the laptop in hand, no case, and I even remembered my reading glasses. BUT I forgot the darn card with the big long number on it!

Now it’s time for screaming or tears. I go back home and on the way I trip and fall onto my hand and knees, with the unprotected laptop. Somehow I managed to not let it go flying and keep it from hitting too hard, all the while not breaking or spraining my hand. I open it up when I get home and it’s fine. Phew!

Now I reach up to take the sunglasses off the top of my head, and they go flying across the floor. Then some other little thing happened that I don’t remember now. Hmmm, it was time to start blocking things out of my head.

I had lots to do, but I was now afraid. I went ahead and picked green beans, fearing I would fall flat out into them and break a bunch of plants, then get my foot tangled in the vines trying to get up and go headlong into more beans plants. Somehow, everything worked out ok, but I did get more irritation on my inner forearms than normal from the plants.

Still afraid, very afraid, because something went right and there was surely revenge around the corner. I decided no sharp objects, no heat, no breakables, minimal walking, no eating…..wait. Now I really want those chips up there in the cupboard and a beer! (I was actually thinking wine in the box, but we had none; and never do, but cheap wine sounded good right then). I decide I’m doing nothing for the rest of the day. So I grab the goods and head out back to hang out under the trees be in nature.

Awww, cute little orphaned raccoon! NO, I tell myself, he is not a pet, stay away. Remember it’s Murphy’s day with you and you will probably get bitten! Then I recalled all those beans that needed to be snapped. I brought them out without any more mishaps.

Happily, it seems snapping green beans is a safe activity, at least while seated! No more stuff happened that I recall. Or maybe I was totally blocking.

Today’s a better day and I feel rested. And Murphy gave me something to write about!

Have safe week, all!

Gena

 

Pics from the Gardens

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Gardens and Marketing

I’m finally getting some flyers done and maybe get something dynamic on my website. Flyers have to go out of town just to get some color copies made. You would think this town had a population of 1000 or less. I would think you could at least get copies done with a population of 6800. Not so.

Our gardens are looking great but not quite productive yet. We got stuff in so late. But they certainly are lush, if not fruitful. I should have taken a pic this morning before I left, but was in a rush.

The below pics are from just 3 weeks ago. That was all we got out of our second year clematis plant. I figure it will really take off next year. The white flowers are elderberry. The tomato plants are now close to shoulder height. These were the “leftover” plants. The main garden tomatoes were planted a bit earlier and have some fruit almost to ripening stage. The squash way at the back are now as tall as they get (close to knee high) and are vining.

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That’s it for today.

I Am a Health Coach!

Not much to write today. My new Health Coach tank top, in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition School red (a little washed out in this photo), arrived yesterday. I’m proudly wearing it today.

I’m working on marketing at the library so I took this cheesy self-shot with the web cam; to show off my shirt and prove I’m working!

When I ordered the shirt I didn’t quite see in the pic that the lettering was done in little rhinestones. Bling has never been quite my thing, but I didn’t try to change my order. I thought I needed to step out of my comfort zone again, so here it is. Hopefully this will be eye-catching enough to make people stop and ask.

I feel we learn more each time we step out of our comfort zones and open ourselves up to new experience. How do you feel about stepping out of your comfort zone?

Sugar

Depicts the evils of sugar and soda

Shamelessly Self-Promoting!

Someone has to do it and here it is!

 

I am now taking appointments for free initial health consultations, with actual coaching services beginning in mid-July. Boost your health and energy, feel and look better, lose weight, de-stress… My service incorporates life-style changes in an easy step-by-step approach based on you, not a one-size-fits-all approach. Appointments may be in person or via phone, Skype or FaceTime. I am also available to speak to groups in the Crawford County, Illinois region. Visit my website and/or contact me at genahowe.health@gmail.com

 

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The Importance of Health Coaches

Why we need health coaches

Story Time

It is time to somehow get into all this marketing stuff for business. And time to write my bio and About pages. I’ve been thinking this may be a good place to start with that. I already did an About, but it’s pretty long and boring. You know, kind of like from grade school and “How I Spent My Summer Vacation”.

 

So I think some practice here (this is a personal blog after all!) is in order, and here is what got me moving again. Just yesterday I listened to 2 very inspiring motivational speeches. I didn’t know quite what I was going to be listening to, but there they were, right at a time when I was starting to feel really down, and truthfully like giving up, again.

 

One speaker talked about her story. And so did the other. On the most superficial level, I realized that my About page is like a timeline and really isn’t a story. It has no voice.

 

These people also made me realize I need to keep on going.

 

The second speaker also talked about how we as health coaches need to think of transformation vs information. Our potential clients may or may not know much about nutrition, but they can always look it up. Then they become confused because of all of the conflicting information. And they aren’t getting what they need to look at a lifestyle change, not just another diet.

 

Clients need to see these things, but to tell them they need to see these things and then do something about them, doesn’t usually work. That is too static and I realized that how I was imagining coaching was a bit static also. As health coaches we need to guide and support our clients. That’s a given. But many people will simply have a hard time “believing” so we need examples. Not written examples, but personal ones.

 

We need to tell our story or stories in a truly authentic, from the heart way. Our stories of transformation are what will really drive their need and desire to bring about their own transformation.

 

So thank you Christine Hassler and Michael Ellsburg, for telling your stories of transformation. I learned how to own my story and drop that which doesn’t serve me; and also to find a way to bring those messages forth to my own clients.

 

Christine and Michael* are truly inspirational, so I encourage anyone to look them up and hear their stories. We will all grow together.

 

*At this point I’m not certain you will find Michael’s personal story other than in the lecture modules through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. So if you are an IIN graduate or student, you can hear it; if not, it’s worth some search time to find his story if possible.

What I’ve Been Doing for My Health

Last week I talked a bit about what you can do to help yourself. This week I’ll share some of what I’ve been doing lately and what I’ve done in the past.

As I wrote previously, my husband and I recently did a whole foods cleanse with unexpected and fantastic results. His blood pressure went from on the danger zone line to well within normal and 3 weeks after the cleanse was done, we’ve each lost 15-16 pounds, plus many other benefits, like having more energy, less brain fog, sleeping better, no more snoring, less joint aches, better skin tone, and no migraines so far.

Since I’ve experienced the wonderful results of doing a whole foods cleanse, it will be a normal part of my life. I tried the types of cleanses with supplement kits, but didn’t really see much change.

AND I learned that 2 or even 3 large glasses of water a day just isn’t enough; especially if you still consume caffeine and alcohol, and/or are very active.

Over the course of many years, I’ve had issues I’ve to deal with on my own by necessity or by desire or both. The biggest thing was getting out of plantar fasciitis pain. I suffered tremendously for 5 years. I did research and tried many things. But that one did eventually take outside help as things had gone way too far.

If I had been more on top of it in the beginning, I may have done well enough on my own. But I now know what to do to avoid having the condition again and what to do if I get any little signs of stress in those tissues.

Very recently I’ve learned quite a bit about inflammation, not just localized inflammation as in arthritis, but over-all inflammation with no obvious signs. Knowledge really is power! I want to take care of this to avoid the many life threatening diseases believed to be caused by this. Preventive medicine.

So along with researching everything, water, and cleanses I’m ready to add deep breathing exercises to my repertoire of health tools. Every time I’ve tried it, I’ve felt energized, but it works the other way around too, to calm you and reduce your stress. But I haven’t made it a daily thing. That is changing right now. We don’t breathe properly and as a result don’t get enough oxygen to properly fuel our bodies and keep our hearts strong.

I’ve been unable to ride my bicycle due some sciatic pain lately, so I’ve been looking into that; the possible causes and what type of strengthening/stretching exercises to do for it. Also I just finished reading a book on gait correction in order to correct other structural imbalances. Much, much of this is related to problems such as plantar fasciitis and sciatic pain, among many others. One more easy, and cheap, too for me to have.

This is just a little of what I have done to help myself.

Knowing the problem is half the battle, so they say. I do believe that. I’ve had many tough crossroads in my life and by exploring outside my sphere of ingrained habits and comfort, I learned so many things, including a lot about myself.

Many of our journeys may be long and full of strife, but if we stay on that journey, we *will* come to a better place! I hope all of  you explore and experiment to find health tools to build your own personal health tool kit.

Now, I’ve been feeling guilty because I have recently posted pictures of all but one of my little furry feline babies. So here is Libby, presenting herself as I gift, which she truly is. I’ve also found that a cat’s purr is healing to me!

What Have You Been Doing For Your Own Health Lately?

Yes, we can have some problem and run to the doctor. He or she will then prescribe something that treats, maybe, the symptoms. You might exchange 20 words with the doctor himself if you’re lucky, but the rest is talk with the nurse or physicians assistant and the office staff.

Very often the problem remains, or returns, because the real problem wasn’t addressed, only the effect, or symptoms. And it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon.

It’s not really the doctor’s fault either. He does what he was taught, what he has time for, and what the insurance companies tell him he can or can’t do. And he is also influenced by the big drug manufacturers. Sometimes, many times, HIGHLY influenced.

So what can you or I do to help ourselves? Plenty!

Let’s start with becoming informed, and to be truly informed we need to be open to new ideas. After all, at one time the world was believed to be flat, and Columbus was proclaimed a heretic for believing otherwise. But exploring new thought is the only way we learn and progress.

In my own health journey, I’m not only looking at improvement, but also prevention, which is something our current healthcare system does not look at, not do they want to or want us to, because it’s not a profitable endeavor.

I want to understand as much as possible about how my body functions and what the possibilities are so I can walk into any medical office informed and able to weigh the pros and cons of any procedure or drug suggested or prescribed.

For me, at 54 (tomorrow, btw :), it may seem prevention is mostly water under the bridge and many others feel that way also. But it isn’t really. Stop what’s causing the dysfunction now, correct it, and prevent it from occurring again. And learning preventative measures, even if there really is no going back, can give you the background you need to truly understand your conditions and manage them, if not turn them around.

Then you may take charge of your issues and use your newfound knowledge and desire (ah, desire/want, another BIG factor in healing) to take charge of your health and move forward. IF you have serious issues, you need to keep your healthcare provider informed and work with him or her. If they don’t want to listen to you, you might want to get another opinion.

Don’t spin your wheels. Use your innate healing power to drive change!

What have I been doing for myself? Come back next week to find out.

Til then, Get Happy and Get Healthy!

And more furbaby pics!

Eza on the left and Simon sharing some sunshine. Forgive the bright light in these photos. I can’t get these animals to pose in the right places or to sit still long enough!

Annie and Peeper.