Lessons from the ER

A few things I've learned after being on call [for after hours mental health crises] my first week:

1. I need some more CD's to keep me company on long drives [new Matt Kearney CD, anyone?]
2. I've got to remember to change out of heels before I go do a screening, ouch!
3. Never let a patient walk out of the ER after a screening until the hospital ok's it [severe scolding results]
4. ER doctors are surprisingly friendly [for some reason, I thought they might be unfriendly/condescending]
5. If you've got a pen & clipboard in your hand and act like you know what you're doing anyone will take you seriously
6. Medical staff are [often] scared of mental health issues and will likely answer "Whatever you think" to all of your suggestions
7. Curtains are hardly sufficient to separate patients in an Emergency Room...according to one of my patients, "I think he needs you more than me right now."
8. Jails are smelly & cold places [I did some screenings in a jail]
9. ER staff love to eat [according to one doctor..."It helps my nerves when I'm here."]
10. After screening other people, my life doesn't seem too hard after all [a little perspective]

Pump it UP

This is clearly my goal as I weight train [minus the blonde hair of course]. I want to be an amazon-donna [her nickname]. Is she not lovely?? And if they would let me stand on a pile of rocks while I lifted...

I cannot feel my legs. I cannot feel my arms. And I cannot handle the fact that the sixty year old woman next to me was lifting more weight on her barbell.

I am very new to real weight training [I've done some pretty easy machine lifting for the past few months]. In my usual fashion, at my first class, I was much too proud to admit to the teacher that I was new and actually ask for assistance in setting up my weights. My first class, I had no idea that a barbell required "clips" on the ends to hold the weights?! Mid-lift my weight became a dangerous projectile. How embarassing. I think the guy next to me was a little unnerved by his near death experience. But who knows if a 2.5 weight could really kill anybody? Good thing I'm not too strong yet. My eventual goal is to use the big weight with a medium weight stacked on like the cool people in the class. During the second class today, I definitely remembered my clips.

Does anybody else out there hate squats? Lunges? I LOATHE them! And that plank thing?
And when the instructor says "Let me see your smiles!" during the last excruciating set? Really? Again, really?

Nonetheless, some reasons to suffer:

1. Stronger muscles will make everyday tasks, such as picking up kids, not only easier but also safer as you will be less prone to injury.

2. Lifting weights will help you lose body fat! As your body mass decreases your resting metabolism (how many calories you burn just sitting around) will increase. Did you know that for every pound of muscle you gain you’ll burn 30-50 more calories per day? The extra muscle will also benefit you as you get older by keeping the fat off and helping you maintain strong bones.

3. I can hear you now, “I don’t want to look big and bulky.” Don’t worry, you won’t bulk up. Unlike men, women don’t have enough testosterone to build bulky muscles. Men have 10 to 30 times the amount of the hormone than women.

4. As I mentioned before weight lifting helps keep bones strong and decrease the risk of osteoporosis. Weight lifting can significantly increase the density of the bones in your spine in just 6 months.

5. Weight training also helps prevent arthritis and even back pain

6. Weight lifting can also increase your cardiovascular health by lowering your blood pressure and increase “good cholesterol”.

7. The risk of diabetes is also decreased with weight training. That’s because it improves the way your body processes sugar.

8. Feel Better. A study done by Harvard showed that after 10 weeks of weight training, people suffering from clinical symptoms of depression felt better than those only receiving counseling.

9. Weight lifting also helps ward off sluggishness that often affects people as they get older.

10. You’re never too old to start weight lifting programs. Just make sure no matter what your age your consult your doctor first.

weight-lifting-programs.blogspot.com/2008/01/...

Confession

Honest Confession...there are times when I have a problem with cute clothing jealousy. I will see someone with a really cute outfit on...great shoes...maybe some adorable accessories. They look good. And while I admire their outfit, I feel a twinge of jealousy. Jealousy that they look that cute. Jealousy that I don't have that outfit...that I didn't think of putting something that cute together. It's ridiculous, right? Instead of simply admiring their great style, it goes one unnecessary step further in my head and becomes a comparison issue. I suddenly feel insecure about what I'm wearing and about my own ability to look good.

I made this observation the other day when I caught myself feeling jealous. It honestly surprised me. You know how every once in a while you have this out of body experience that leads to some startling new insight about yourself? [ok, well at least this happens to me! :)] While I don't fall prey to clothing jealousy all the time [as in, it's not an every day or even an every week battle], it's a problem all the same when it does happen.

I also realized that this type of jealousy hasn't always been limited to clothing. In fact, I have experienced this same type of jealousy when I see a really nicely decorated house. As silly as it sounds, it was a struggle for me starting years back [high school?] And I've never even had a house!! But there have been times that I would immediately go from admiring to jealousy to doubting my own ability to create something that grand. And it totally stole the enjoyment right out from under me. Sad, huh? I definitely remember freshman dorm move-in week and being beside myself because so many girls had the most amazingly decorated rooms, and I felt like mine just wasn't going to be cute enough!! Luckily, I relaxed soon after! But, really??

I would guess [in fact, I know] that I'm not completely alone in struggling with jealousy & comparison . But I do wonder what things other women experience jealousy/insecurity about? Husbands? Parenting? Kids' development? [Just some guesses] You get the picture. Maybe while it's just about clothing and decorating a home I don't have I should nip it in the bud. Starting with a confession & following with prayer....

Hedging

Do you know that the word "hedge" can have three different meanings? I only knew two of them - until this week. Then I learned the third.

Boss: Lindsy, you really have a lot of good things to say during the kids' doctor appointments. But you need to be more confident. You hedge a lot.

Me: I what? Oh, do you mean that I qualify my statements? Yeah, I do that all the time. People have told me it's annoying.

Boss: Well, you need to stop!


So what did I do once the conversation was over? Google "hedge" of course! Unfortunately, I wound up with a bunch of sites for hedge funds and grass hedges. But then I found this:

A hedge is a mitigating device used to lessen the impact of an utterance.

For example:

He is a slightly stupid person.
I'm not an expert but you might want to try restarting your computer.
The party was somewhat spoiled by the return of the parents.
There might just be a few insignificant problems we need to address.

In order to avoid offending someone/sounding too harsh, I tend to hedge all over the place.

I mean, you don't have to if you don't want, but I'd really appreciate it if you'd....

Well, I might be wrong, but I think that....

My personal favorite, Not to be rude, but [insert rude statement here].

Basically, don't believe anything I say because I have no idea what I'm talking about. Or I'm kind of afraid you might hit me so I'm going to sugarcoat whatever I say to you.

I'm sure it leaves people saying, "Will you just SAY IT?!"

Yeah, I'll maybe try to work on it, ok?

Chi=Lifesaver

Yes, this is how I walked into HEB this morning. My hair was washed, it was blow-dried, and it was embarrassing.

My hair was wild. I left my precious straightener at my friend's house in Houston. My life almost came to a screeching halt. My sister brought her Chi over for me yesterday morning [what a lifesaver!]

But I still knew I was going to have to do something drastic...like spend 100 bucks for a new one. gulp
My amazing Chi broke a couple of months ago and my hair has never been the same. I've been using a knock-off [gasp] brand since then. I think it was fate that I left it in Houston.

Now I'm 100 bucks poorer but so much happier. And my hair, oh my hair! So shiny and straight! As I
walked out of the HEB parking lot this morning [yes,
they do sell them there under lock & key], I wondered,
"Shouldn't I feel ridiculous for spending that much on
a hair tool?" But the answer was clear, "No, no,
it's totally worth it."

Can I Get a Hanger?

For the last month or so, I've decided that hangers are optional. It's much easier to simply keep your clean clothes in a laundry basket - or two - or three - and just pick stuff out as you need it. Sure, it gets wrinkled, sure, you forget you even own it. And ok, sure, it takes like twenty minutes in the morning to find that sweater you just know was on top of the basket yesterday.

A little more than a month ago, I got inspired to do a major clean up of my room. I worked for two straight days. And it looked great when I got through. I separated every single piece of clothing into piles and put them up accordingly. I even hung them according to season/category. It was lovely while it lasted. I came home every day and admired my beautiful, organized, rainbow colored closet. And this lasted two weeks max.

When I get home from work, I just don't feel like cleaning up my room. Lazy much? I swear I'm going to pick up the clothes on the weekend. Heh.

I keep it pretty contained most of the time. But in the mornings it's a mad scramble to find what I want to wear and get to work. The result is that I come home to something like this every day:


Ok, so maybe not quite that high - but close! Then I heave it all back into a laundry basket or two and go on my merry way. Saying, mind you, "Oh, I have got to do something about this next weekend!"

Do you think if I had these [Huggable Hangers] I'd be more inspired to use my closet? They have me pretty convinced that they just might change my life when I watch HSN.



Here's to airing my "dirty laundry" on the world wide web. Stay tuned for tips on how I deal with de-cluttering my desk. [Hint: It usually involves a similar philosophy - sweep off desk into trash bag and sort later].