Rock You Like A Hurricane

Posted on July 24, 2012 by flamidwyfe

So, exciting couple of days I’ve had! That little tropical storm that I blogged about yesterday morning turned into a full on Category 4 Typhoon (known as a hurricane in the Atlantic) and headed to come on land just a smidge west of Hong Kong in the middle of the night.

Yesterday afternoon, when it started heading north towards HK and became a slow moving Category 1 storm, I decided to ditch the free night I earned at Best Western and pack up. I then headed out in the torrential rain, that no umbrella would have protected me from, to see if I could get a train back to Guangzhou.

Category 1 in the afternoon, local HK time…

There were two reasons I wanted out of HK… 1. I was staying on the top floor (37th) of a hotel on a small island and 2. I had an interview to do in the morning and didn’t want to let the hospital down.
I got to the train ticket office, soaking wet, only to be told, “NO” 😦

The good thing about the typhoon was that I was forced to actually relax and I never lost my Internet connection! I chatted with Miri for awhile and her wit kept me distracted. Then, around 930 pm I thought I was having vertigo because the room was moving… Well the room WAS moving, the wind was howling and a peek at http://www.wunderground.com told me this…

Yes, a Category FOUR hurricane with winds that were shaking the building!
I took this shot of the outside…

So, while I’m Facebooking updates and pretending all is well with the world I’m freaking out and scared… Thank God my friend Teri popped up to chat…. Teri, you calmed me down and distracted me and I’m so grateful 🙂 I took a Lunesta and decided to sleep it away… Gently rocked (literally) to sleep by the winds!

I woke up at 515 to get ready to go to the train. The winds were still quite high and it was pouring rain. The concierge said that the subways were working and that my train was delayed because of trees on the track. I thought I’d risk it and go anyway. My train left just 13 minutes late!

My trusty personal assistant, Rose, met me at the station in Guangzhou and off to the interview we went. The interview was for a company called qq and it was about my passion, water birth. Here we are during the interview…

And the storm has followed me north… Downgraded to a Cat 3 typhoon now. Very odd that I had no idea about this storm until I was in the middle of it. At home, in Florida, everyone would be broadcasting around the clock if there was a storm brewing like that! No storefronts boarded up this morning and the street pork guy was opening his shop while I made my way to the subway! Different perspectives, different countries… Ahhhh, what an interesting life I lead 🙂

Ciao!

Dukan – Consolidation Day 73

Posted on July 23, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Wow! 73 days! I can’t believe it. And you know what? My weight has been between 144 and 147 each and every morning for about 6 weeks now. Woot!

Daily Weight: 146 lbs/66.22 kgs
Goal weight: 155 lbs/70.5 kgs

I’ve been eating very well. Mostly 3 egg omelets for breakfast, meat and veggies for lunch and dinner. I’m loving all the veggies and a sweet potato 3x a week. I’m doing a PP day once per week and a celebration meal.

I’m on week 2 of being in Guangzhou working, so eating out more than I like, because I’m not suppose to cook in my room. And I’m on my 2nd 2 day trip to Hong Kong in as many weeks. Hong Kong is a $20 train ticket and only 1 hour and 45 minutes away from Guangzhou. It is heaven. Although maybe not right now as you’ll see from these pictures…

About 10 minutes after arriving in Hong Kong yesterday, I stripped off my clothes, put on bathing suit and headed to rooftop pool… It is a small pool, just 15′ x 4′. I was perplexed as to why the wooden chairs and table weren’t there, but laid out my towel and took this glorious picture…

About 25 minutes later I noticed an abrupt change and looked up to see this…

And then the rain started… So inside I went. While waiting for the elevator I noticed this…

So WTH does that mean you ask? This…

So, I went from this…

To this…

Pretty quickly. But that’s OK because I still got a good walk in last night and a run in this morning and I’ve been forced to RELAX by just chilling in my room here at the hotel, which saves me money because it’s too yucky to be out shopping 😀 So all’s good!

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Ciao!

Dukan – Emotional Eating

Posted on July 18, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Emotional eating… Something most of us do at some point in our lives, but can easily get out of control. I emotional ate just now, for the first time since last August. It’s been an emotional few days. The 20th anniversary of my dads death, watching the first 11 episodes of Season 5 Grey’s Anatomy, topped off by my first headache in 11 months (I’m sure caused from crying… over both of the aforementioned things) and the cream on the cupcake? Hearing George Michael over the mall Muzak. Memories of my first birthday in Abu Dhabi flooded my memory. Oy!
So, I bought headache medicine (Bayer in the blue box), chased it with a double shot cafe latte and headed to the movie theater on the top floor and purchased a small container of popcorn. To make it even worse… It’s kettle corn! So sweet popcorn, yay!
It was good. I ain’t lying! And I feel better! Headache gone 🙂

Will I comfort feed again? Probably. Will I do it regularly? Nope. I love how I look and feel.

I will continue to eat good food, run 5 times a week and do yoga. I ran in Hong King yesterday morning, until a storm brought lightning! I love running in the rain, but not rain with lightning 🙂 Slow run since the ground was slick and I was being as careful as possible!

Want to end on a sweet note. My little baby from last week came in for a visit today…

Isn’t he a cutie?

Ciao!

Twenty Years

Posted on July 17, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Twenty years ago today, at 420 pm, my daddy died. I was there with him, at the Hospice residence, when he passed from this world into God’s hands. He died on a Friday.

My dad basically died from failure to thrive. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in May and he already had emphysema and COPD. He didn’t even want to walk to the toilet because he was so out of breath.

The whole week that my dad died was crazy. My dad had a DNR order (Do Not Resuscitate) and his doc was out of town. The doc who was filling in wanted to force my father to eat by placing a feeding tube in him, because he didn’t want him to die on his watch! We refused and after much haggling with the health insurance company, we got him transferred to Hospice.

So off to Hospice we went on Tuesday. These people are ANGELS. Amazing, compassionate human beings. They made my dad comfortable. He was still pretty lucid on Tuesday… But tired of the fight and in pain. The only medication he was getting was morphine by IV.

On Wednesday my mom and other family members came to say goodbye. My mom and dad were madly in love with each other right up to the end, and my mom didn’t want to see him suffer. I called my siblings to tell them that they should probably come (most of them lived about 4-5 hours away). My Uncle Andy (mom’s brother) and his wife Aunt Cleo stayed around the clock at the Hospice house. Their strength was amazing. Wednesday afternoon my daughters Jenni and Tiffany (who were 9 & 6) came and read a couple of books to their pop-pop and then cuddled up with him for a 2 hour nap. I am so glad they had that time with him. And I know he was comforted by their presence.

I worked the night shift Thursday night and was able to talk to my friend Carolyn who was my rock during that time. At around 5 am the Hospice called me to let me know that my dads blood pressure was slipping and that soon it would be time. I left work and headed there. All day Friday I kept my family updated and sat with my dad. He was not lucid most of the day and I knew it would be soon. I told my dad that I would take care of my mom and that he was he best husband, father, grandfather, brother and son anyone could ask for. I told him it was OK to go and a tear slid down his face… He was gone less than an hour later.

As I left the Hospice House to go to my little sister Nannette’s house, to let the family know I turned on the radio and Amy Grant started singing “I Will Remember You”. I remember sobbing while driving and being on autopilot all the way to my sister’s house.

I called my husband, who was living in West Virginia, and told him my dad had died. My son Nick and Michael drove to Florida in less than 15 hours. Michael didn’t want to upset Nick, so he didn’t tell him his pop-pop died. He just told him that they were starting their vacation a week early (we had a planned trip to our time share in Orlando for the following week). I think the most devastating moment of the entire week was seeing my son’s face when he walked into my mom’s house with Michael. He was 4 weeks from turning 11 and he knew… He immediately asked where his pop-pop was and my mom told him he had died. My dad was Nick’s hero. This is my mom and dad with Nick the day we brought him home from the hospital…

The viewing was Sunday and I took Nick early to the funeral home. He needed time to say goodbye without everyone else around. The funeral director brought a stool next to the casket and Nick leaned in and laid next to his Pop-pop and cried and cried and kissed him and said goodbye. I am still grateful for the funeral director allowing my son the time he needed.

The funeral was on Monday… The place was packed. Lots of people we didn’t even know. They had worked with my dad over the years and came to say goodbye. That day, July 20, 1992 was the first time all 7 brothers and sisters had been together since my oldest sister married in 1969. We haven’t all been together since, either.

I miss my dad. He was a pretty amazing human being. He rarely raised his voice. He was compassionate and supportive, he was a mentor and encouraged me to speak around adults instead of being hushed. We read the paper together on Sunday mornings. I wish, so wish he was here to meet my grandkids… They would have simply adored him!

I will be walking one day
Down a street far away
And see a face in the crowd and smile
Knowing how you made me laugh
Hearing sweet echoes of you from the past
I will remember you.

Guest post for AGoodRun

Posted on July 16, 2012 by flamidwyfe

My guest post on AGood Run… Check it out 🙂

A Good Run

Written by Sandi Blankenship

The past 11 months have been quite an adventure for me. Last August, I went home to the States for my 30-year high school reunion and met with a high school friend who is a life coach. I was living and working in the Middle East, had been offered a job in China and weighed 255 lbs. I completely changed my lifestyle a few weeks later, moved to China in September, started running in January and lost 111 pounds! I ran my first 5K on June 9th and came in just past the middle of the pack. I’m now training for a triathlon.

My Run:
I started my run at The Vineyard. A restaurant in the West Lake District that is run by an American chef, Reuben, who gets my diet needs. I am so thankful for the food I’m served there and the friends I’ve…

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Dukan – Consolidation Day 65

Posted on July 15, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Saturday was Bastille Day and I chose it to be a Celebration Meal Day!

Daily weight: 147 lbs/66.8 kgs
Goal weight: 155 lbs/70.5 kgs
Weight still hanging in there… It’s amazing 🙂

Traveled to Guangzhou on Thursday. Will be here for 2 weeks.

Friday assisted a woman who wanted a water birth. The patient and her husband gave permission for our marketing department to film the event. Unbeknownst to me there was a reporter from a national online pregnancy magazine in the room as well, blogging live and uploading pics from her iPhone (apparently with the patients permission, lol). The funny thing is, I thought she was our staff and kept telling her to put her phone away 😀
This photo is courtesy of the magazine website…

Saturday was Bastille Day. So far this summer I have celebrated British Day, the 4th of July and Bastille Day all in China. We were invited by the French Chamber if Commerce to a huge beach/pool party at a local hotel. Goodie bags when we arrived included a bikini, that fit I might add! We had a great time. I decided that I would make this my weekly celebration meal. I had BBQ meat and grilled veggies and my celebration food was two teeny scoops of decadent French milled ice cream… Coffee (my favorite since I was an itty bitty) and BLACK SESAME… Holy scamoly! We danced the night away to a live band that played some awesome music and a had 2 glasses of French white wine that caused me to have a headache 😦

This is Rose (my Guangzhou Personal Assistant) and Liza who works in the Int’l Department at he hospital.

Sunday was a routine day in the office. On my morning break I wrote my guest post for AGoodRun. I submitted it for publishing tomorrow… How exciting is that?? And in the late afternoon we headed to the Bud Theatre for a marketing event. I did a water birth presentation for over 400 parents to be… It was awesome. Immediately following my talk there was a live theatrical performance of The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. I believe it’s a Swedish story… Hearing it in Mandarin made it even more fun 🙂

I also got to pass out the prizes that we awarded. After the show ended Rose, Liza and I went to the Oriental Palace Arabic restaurant for dinner… Again… Lol. I love the friendly atmosphere and the food is gorgeous!

I’m off to Hong Kong in the morning! So off to bed I go!

Ciao 🙂

Wheat Belly

Posted on July 13, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Wanted to share Dr. William Davis’ blog once again. It’s been a few months since I put up a link to his site Wheat Belly.

I found this post to be funny, yet educational. A big thanks to Mel at wwangel for pointing me to Wheat Belly blog and book back in December!

Off to bed… Long day. Baby boy born at 155 pm. 3.4 kgs, healthy and cute!

Ciao!

Posted on July 13, 2012 by flamidwyfe

I make it a habit to go to bed at 10 and get up at 6. I think it’s made a significant impact on the 111 lbs I’ve lost. I rarely sleep to the alarm, I wake up refreshed and ready for my day!

Blogging From the Labor Room

Posted on July 13, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Sitting in a labor room here in Guangzhou, China. I’ve realized a few things…
1. I’m glad no one called me until 8 am, as I much prefer my sleep now.
2. As much as I love birth, I am totally ready to handover the torch. I’ve got my fill. I now want to educate about birth and handling the tough births, the business end and my new passion health and fitness!
3. I’m missing home and can’t wait to get there! Come on September!

A glimpse (with permission) into my Chinese world…

A supportive husband and classical music from the phone… All a woman needs.

Quietly encouraging poolside. Another thought, can’t wait for Dr. Viggiano to fix my arms. A contrast… Muscular from lifting and yoga, flabby from years of obesity.

I love the different colors in this picture 🙂

Here’s hoping for a fast, easy water birth!

Kindness, Kourtney, Divorce & Tom Cruise

Posted on July 10, 2012 by flamidwyfe

This should be a fun post 🙂

So for starters, this morning a post on one of the blogs that I follow was about kindness. What prompted the post was ugly comments written on another bloggers page. You can read A Beautiful Day kindness post here. This is the reminder she has there…

I’ve been thinking for a few hours about what this poster says. I’ve not been so kind this past week. I’m angry about a decision here at work that I wasn’t consulted on and I’ve been trying for 6 days to be more zen about it. The cool thing about the people here is that they don’t hold grudges… ME… I’m a GRUDGE holder and I own it 🙂 I just don’t get over things easily. I stew about them, work them out and then throw them out… but it takes me a while.

This morning, once again, something silly and non-evidence based practice came up in morning rounds. Sunday up on the mountain I PROMISED myself to stay zen, to stay calm, to practice breathing, to not care (although I totally do), to just let go. So the past 2 days when something comes up, I take a deeeeeeep breath, say the word zen, think of something positive and don’t comment on it… I’m a big under the breath commenter… sometimes inappropriate words (thank God most of the people here don’t understand English… lol). My personal assistant/translator, Vivi was with me. I went into the stairwell, took some nice deep breaths, said out loud, “stay zen, do not allow it in, meditate.” Vivi asked me if I was a Buddhist 🙂 It made me smile. I got over it pretty quick and continued on with my morning.

Then I started reading the Entertainment news on my morning break. I usually don’t follow Entertainment news… I don’t care what these people do in their personal lives, I want to be entertained by them. Two stories piqued my interest this morning.

First… Kourtney Kardashian had her baby girl. So, why would this pique my interest? Well, she was planning a home water birth and I’m a huge home water birth advocate… in fact, a water birth expert… so I was rooting her on. She had an “all-natural” birth according to her sister’s tweet, but no further info. I’m looking forward to the results… So what does this have to do with my Kindness post? Oh my… the UNKIND comments people made on the story. Calling her a whore and loser and a bunch of other names. How sad is that? Why do people even bother on commenting? I would say that for every 1 kind comment there were 10 or more UNkind comments. I personally like watching their show when I am at home in the States… I don’t have to think, they are funny to me and they have pretty much the same problems the rest do with life & relationships. Congrats Kourtney… I hope this child brings you as much joy as your baby boy has!
**On a side note, this article from Australia has nothing but KIND things… is it Americans that are so cynical and unkind?

And the next news item… Tom and Katie have divorced in just 11 days since Katie filed. I love Tom Cruise… I don’t care about what he practices spiritually… I seriously don’t… I love him as an actor. He always entertains me and I could look at him forever. His latest movie, Rock of Ages is hysterical and the man can sing! And oh what I could do to those gun tats on his err, um, lower abdominal area 😀 The soundtrack has all of my favorite songs from the 80’s and I walked out of the movie theatre HAPPY… HAPPY, with a grin on my face… I can’t say that about many movies. The high from being happy from the movie lasted for hours afterwards. OK… enough about that movie, hehe… The comments were SO UNKIND after the story that I just stopped reading. Again, why are people so unkind? What is the point of writing horrible comments. What cracks me up is that the people writing the comments write them as if Tom Cruise will actually read them… LOL.
You know what I say… good on them. I’m sure there was a prenup and things were hammered out quickly for everyone’s benefit… especially their child Suri. I think it was very grown up for them to handle things so quickly and without it dragging on forever.

And finally… as I was walking back to work after a yummy lunch at home, I saw this on the sidewalk, while listening to the Rock of Ages soundtrack and the song, “I Wanna Know What Love Is” was blaring in my ears…

Isn’t that what all of us want… a little heart? A little love? A bit of kindness? After seeing the leaf, I started thinking about writing this post. I then walked back a block to take this picture. I’m going to practice showing some love for the rest of the week… I’ll let ya know how that goes 😀

Ciao!