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Journey to Wellness

~ Fighting for health in my life one run, meal, and choice at a time

Journey to Wellness

Category Archives: General Living

The Little Things! {Rebranding Update}

07 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by Caroline in General Living

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Hi Friends!

I have a huge announcement for you all! All summer I’ve been busy planning for a secret goal for the year- to rebrand and become a self-hosted blog! I’ve truly enjoyed blogging in this space, but a few months after I made this blog, I realized that someone else had the Fighting For Wellness domain outside of wordpress, so I guess I could say this new blog has been in the works since January of 2013.

I hope that you all will follow me over to my new book at The Little Things– I’ve transferred my blog over there but it’ll take a few weeks to really get everything straightened out. I’ve also added some fun new ways to connect on social media! Here they are (click on the links to go straight to the sites!). A huge thanks to Melissa (who also redid her blog this weekend too!) who sat beside me for hours over the last week as we worked on everything!

Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Bloglovin. I’m still at my same twitter handle!

Thanks again for the love and support you’ve given me here. I’ll see you at the Little Things!

Coffee Date Saturday #3

05 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by Caroline in General Living

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Holiday

Happy Saturday! Today I’m once again linking up with Jill Conyer’s Ultimate Coffee Date– are you ready?

Coffee Date

If we were having coffee this morning… I would tell you all about my new blog rebranding that is in the process of being done. I’ll tell more on the blog very soon, but if we were in person, I’d tell you how excited I am for some of the new ideas that I have!

If we were having coffee this morning… I’d tell you all about this delicious bagel I got from Einsteins Bagels this morning. It was an everything bagel with honey almond cream cheese, and it was one of the best bagels I’ve ever had.

photo 2

If we were having coffee this morning… I’d tell you all about my 4th of July- the race I ran, the pool party I went to, the dinner picnic I went to, the games of corn hole I played, and the fireworks I saw! The fourth was a really great day- exactly what I needed!

fourth of july

If we were having coffee this morning… I would tell you all about the smoker who moved in below me, and has completely ruined my ability to be in my place anymore due to how bad the smoke is. I’d tell you what maintenance is trying to do to keep me from moving…

If we were having coffee this morning… I’d tell you all about how much my friendships and relationships are changing right now, as most of my close group of friends have moved away in the last couple months. I’d tell you how sad I am about it, and I’d tell you about all the new friendships I have as well!

If we were having coffee this morning… I would tell you all about the delicious no bake energy balls that I’ve been making. They’re delicious and have become my favorite summer snacks.

Now it’s your turn to share! If we were having coffee today, what would you tell me? How was your 4th?

Looking for more ways to connect?

  • Connect on twitter @kalolainastar
  • Find me on ‘Bloglovin

 

Thankful Thursday

26 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by Caroline in General Living

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Thankful

Happy Thursday! It’s been quite the week on my end- I’ve had some huge job related opportunities pop up, which is exciting, had one of the greatest bike rides of my life yesterday (will be on the blog tomorrow), and my step-grandpa died yesterday (I only saw him a small handful of times ever though- maybe around 5 times?). Lots of stuff going on here. Here’s what I’m thankful for at the moment.

I’m thankful for a fun weekend running and going to the pool with friends. This weekend was comprised of some of my favorite things- food, friends, TV, nail polish, and exercise! I loved running the Neon Dash race with Meg and Melissa, and am glad I got the opportunity to run with them (even though the race was poorly organized).

I’m thankful for fun nail polish colors! I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. I smile almost every time I see my nails painted. I don’t know why… I just love it. I tried these two new colors at Melissa’s this past weekend, and really like them both (sorry for the feet picture- if I had access to the blue color on my fingers, I’d obviously use that instead.).

Summer Nail Polish

I’m thankful for having access to a gym for free! This is one of the perks of my job- a free gym! It’s not as nice as the gym I grew up with, but I save a lot of money by using the one at work, and I appreciate it quite a bit!

I’m thankful for my bike. I love being able to hop on my bike and go where I want. I love getting to experience nature up close. I’m also thankful that I didn’t have to pay for my bike (it was a hand me down from my younger brother).

I’m thankful for fans.  I’ve been able to pay less for air conditioning while also being comfortable because of them the last few weeks. What neat little inventions 🙂

Now it’s your turn to share! What’re you thankful for right now? What’s your favorite summer nail polish color?

Looking for more ways to connect?

  • Connect on twitter @kalolainastar
  • Find me on ‘Bloglovin

 

Freedom From Stuff

25 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by Caroline in General Living

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

2014 Challenge, healthy living, simplify

After reading the book Notes From A Blue Bike, I subscribed to Tsh Oxendreider’s podcast. A few weeks ago I was listening to Tsh Oxenreider’s podcast on Freedom From Stuff, and about 10 minutes in I started going through a bunch of old containers of papers (it was that inspiring).

The thing is, I actually have a really difficult time getting rid of things. I connect memories to material objects so much that it sometimes feels physically painful to toss things (and of course there’s the whole “but I might need or want this someday” thoughts too). However, I like living in clean, organized spaces, so that requires me to toss things. This is why I included “going through all my clothes” in my 14 in 2014 Challenge– to give myself an extra little kick.

The fact is that stuff DOES load us down. We need some of it, but doesn’t it get exhausting to wade through the piles of clothes we don’t want, the stacks of magazines we’ve read but haven’t thrown away, or the _____ (fill in the blank) that we’ve saved because we might need it again. Our physical stuff can weigh us down and take away energy that we can use for other things. I’m really forcing myself to actually evaluate why I’m keeping what I’m keeping, and going through and tossing (or donating) more things than ever this year.

So far this year I’ve gotten rid of about 110 articles of clothing, a few books and movies, 4 pairs of shoes, 4 old belts, and a bunch of other random things. On top of that, I’ve tossed about 70 old magazines (YIKES- why was I saving all of them!?!), and tossed about 5 or 6 other bags of old papers from school, notes, articles, etc… that I was saving. I think about some of the stuff from time to time, but overall I’m enjoying the extra breathing room more than being able to visually look at the stuff.

Getting Rid of Unneeded ItemsOn the left is the VHS tape I used in college to record TV shows that were on when I was in group meetings or night classes. Clearly I still needed this in 2014… right? 🙂

I try to take a few pictures while cleaning every year, just to remind myself the following year that I got rid of all that stuff and was happy that I did it.

So here’s my challenge to you- this next week try to throw out one bag worth of things. Sometimes it can be really overwhelming to look at everything that needs to be cleaned, so start with what’s easy first, and enjoy the feeling of creating some space and breathing room in your life. The week after, do the same thing. Who wants to join me in doing this for the next few weeks?

Now it’s your turn to share! Are you someone who has a hard time getting rid of things? What are some of your tips for getting rid of things?

Looking for more ways to connect?

  • Connect on twitter @kalolainastar
  • Find me on ‘Bloglovin

POTS and Vision {How I Make Tiny Adjustments to Live With POTS}

23 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by Caroline in General Living

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Health, POTS

I was talking to my parents a few weeks ago about how most everyone in my life has no idea about all the tiny things I have to do each day to manage my POTS symptoms. To be honest, I haven’t even shared much with them. However, I was talking about the issue with my vision in regards to POTS, and they were really surprised I do this one thing every day to help deal with my symptoms. I thought I’d share here too:

As I’ve said before, with POTS I get really dizzy upon standing up, sometimes almost to the point of passing out (when I first got diagnosed, before I was on my beta-blocker, I actually did pass out a few times). With dizziness and passing out comes loss of vision. I’m sure many of you reading this who don’t have POTS have experienced some loss of vision (or at least seeing black dots) when you stand up. This is a similar experience to POTS, except with POTS it can be much worse. There are times where my world is completely black for 15-20 seconds or more, and at first this was really scary and overwhelming for me to deal with.

When I stand up, sometimes I’m completely fine, but other times I lose complete vision. At this point I have two choices- stand in one place until my vision comes back, or continue to walk forward and wait for it to come back that way. When I stand up in my office with clients, I can’t very well stand in one place, so the walking to the door option is what I take. So this is how I’ve learned to manage it- before I stand up, I look at my surroundings. If it’s in my living room or office, I know how many steps I need to take to get different places. I look for things I might have put on the ground (shoes, books, etc…) so I can avoid them.

When I stand up and my vision goes, I can continue to walk forward despite the fact that all I can see is black. I don’t think my clients have ever noticed that at times I can’t see them start to leave my office. Usually by the time I get to the door and start to open it my vision is back, and I smile as they are on their way. As I said, this certainly doesn’t happen every time I stand up, but does definitely happen from time to time.

That’s the thing when it comes to any long term diagnosis or illness- it’s about normalizing what is going on within us and then learning to manage it as best as we can. This is something I’ve done so much that I don’t even think about it much anymore, which is nice. But when we have to do these little things to manage our illnesses, it takes energy. If you’re a friend or family member with someone with an illness, have a little extra patience with them. It’s likely that they are constantly using energy to manage themselves in small ways so they can remain functional and live a full life!

I wanted to share this for a few reasons- First of all, no one told me that this brief vision loss was part of POTS, and it freaked me out at first. I hope that this might serve to encourage some of you who have POTS. Secondly, this is meant to give a little insight to family and friends about what your loved one deals with on a regular basis (in multiple ways- it may not even include vision loss).

For other posts in my POTS series, click here.

* I am not a doctor, and these posts should not be taken as expert medical advice. I’m simply someone who has lived many years with POTS and has found resources around the internet that help to explain this syndrome. I’m just sharing my personal story. Please contact a doctor if you have questions about POTS or think you might have it. 

Thankful Thursday

19 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by Caroline in General Living

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Friends, Thankful

I definitely need to write this post today. It’s not that I’m in a bad mood- today I’ve just felt pretty “meh”. The friend I spent the most time with the last 4 years moved to a different state on Sunday, and that’s been sad for me. It’s another little loss in a string of little losses for me over these past months, and while nothing has been huge or catastrophic, it’s been sad for me. Today is also the birthday of a friend who died 8 years ago, so that brings a bit of sadness with it as well. So, I definitely need my practice of gratitude more than anything right now! Here’s what I’m thankful for at the moment:

I’m thankful for a fun weekend with friends. Last weekend I ran the 5k foam fest, and then headed out to a fun weekend with friends. Spent Saturday day/evening/Sunday morning with a friend from grad school (going out to eat, seeing the Fault In Our Stars in the theater–i sobbed and thought it was a fantastic movie, watching Orange Is The New Black, and just catching up), and spent Sunday afternoon with Melissa and Meg at the pool. It was really wonderful and I definitely needed that. It was awesome. (Those bright orange sunglasses are from the Color Me Rad race I ran last September)

photo

I’m thankful for good books. I’ve been reading SO much lately, and I’ve been enjoying it so much. Last week was “Fault In Our Stars” (go read it AT ONCE!), and this week I’m reading “Gone Girl”.

Im thankful for my porch. I’ve been spending a few hours most days of the week sitting out on my porch writing, reading, and enjoying the sunshine and flowers. Most of the time (unless my very loud neighbors who love to scream are outside) it’s such a peaceful place to be, and I’m glad that I have it.

I’m thankful for the World Cup. I love huge sporting events that bring groups of people together, and I love the excitement of international competition. I filled out my bracket for it last week, so now I’m officially invested.

I’m thankful for fresh, cold water. It’s been in the 90s and HUMID this week, which means that I’m drinking far more water. I fill a few water bottles with water and keep them in the refrigerator so I consistently have really cold water to drink, and it’s so refreshing.

Now it’s your turn to share! What are you thankful for today? When you’re feeling a bit down, what’s one thing that helps you turn your day around?

Looking for more ways to connect?

  • Connect on twitter @kalolainastar
  • Find me on ‘Bloglovin

 

 

BioSkin Ambassador and A Discount!

17 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by Caroline in General Living

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I have something exciting for you all today!! As you know, since April of 2012 I have been obsessed with my BioSkin calf sleeves, and have worn them for almost every race since the sports med doctor gave them to me. Within the last few weeks, I accepted BioSkin’s offer to be an ambassador for them! I’m excited to represent something that I believe in, and something that I used long before I connected with them via social media!

BioSkin

From the 16th to the 22nd of this month, you can get 10% off your purchase using the code “Epic14”. They have all sorts of bracing and support items, and I’ve continuously heard great things from those who use the products. I myself swear by their compression sleeves (here’s a post I wrote about it that will give you more information), and these sleeves helped me get through my 6th half marathon a week ago!

Indy Women's Half MarathonSee those sleeves? They’re amazing.

Go check their products out and take advantage of the discount!

Thankful Thursday

12 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by Caroline in General Living

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Friends, Running, Thankful

Happy Thursday! This week has felt a little strange and off to me this week, I think mostly due to recovery (and a random out of state trip on Tuesday to help one of my friends move). Here’s what I’m thankful for at the moment:

I’m thankful I’ve had the convenience of a friend living a two minute and thirty second walk away from me.  Seriously, how convenient is that? We walk together on occasion, and watch TV or movies together almost every week. We went to grad school together back in the day, and it’s been really nice (and convenient) to have a friend so close. She’s moving three and a half hours away now for a new job, and I’m definitely feeling sad about that!

I’m thankful for another half marathon. For some reason it almost seems like that half didn’t happen last weekend- I wonder why? I’m thankful for the chance to get out and run again in a race setting- so fun (even when it’s tough)!

I’m thankful for fun with new friends! I have friends that are moving away, but I also have new friends too! I spent Saturday hanging out at the pool with these girls, and had a great time!

I’m thankful for fresh air. What a simple and beautiful thing, right? I love it!

I’m thankful for the rain that is watering my flowers. They are growing so quickly and they are beautiful and vibrant!! I love looking at them.

Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?

Looking for more ways to connect?

  • Connect on twitter @kalolainastar
  • Find me on ‘Bloglovin

 

While Looking At The Parthenon

11 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by Caroline in General Living, Travel

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Memories, Music, Travel

In 2006 I got the chance to study abroad in Greece, and it was truly one of the greatest times of my life. During the trip, I fell asleep almost every night to Josh Groban’s album Closer. I love assigning music to different experiences, as I can listen to the music later and be transported back to that awesome time of my life. In Athens, the place I stayed at looked straight out onto the Parthenon.

Parthenon at NightIt doesn’t get much better than this.

The Parthenon has light shining on it at night, and it’s absolutely beautiful. I’d leave the curtains open at night, and fall asleep looking at the Parthenon. Amazing, right? I wish I could be transported back to those nights just for a few days. I close my eyes, listen to the music, and am transported back to a truly wonderful time of my life. I didn’t know it then, but that trip was the foundation to a lot of growth in my life, and I’m thankful for that time.

Parthenon at SunsetParthenon at sunset.

As I’m sitting here in the middle of the night (just one of those nights where I’m sleepy but can’t actually sleep), I thought I’d spend a few minutes listening to the music and being consumed with those memories. I thought I’d share two of the songs that stand out to me from my time falling asleep looking at the Parthenon:

This song is “Si Volvieras A Mi”- I immediately feel like I’m looking at the Parthenon when I hear this song.

And I just love this song. I learned to play it on the piano back in high school, and every time I felt stressed or overwhelmed I’d play it- awesome stress reliever!

 Now it’s your turn to share! Do you have a song that reminds you of a great time of life? What song/experience is it?

Looking for more ways to connect?

  • Connect on twitter @kalolainastar
  • Find me on ‘Bloglovin

 

Indy Women’s Half Marathon Race Weekend

10 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by Caroline in General Living, Racing

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Friends, Race, Racing

The entire race weekend for the Indy Women’s Half was lots of fun, so I thought I’d share a little about that. If you haven’t read my race recap yet, make sure to check it out too!

I ended up getting to Melissa‘s place around 11 am on Friday morning, which meant the weekend started early! We immediately headed downtown to the expo. Walking back and forth to the car gave us about 15 minutes of walking each way, and we were both so happy to at least let our legs move a bit; the taper crazies were really getting to us. We walked around the expo for about 20ish minutes (it was pretty small and wasn’t too crowded since we were there at about noon), and then headed back to the car.

expo on race weekend

Melissa is such a creative gift-giver (seriously- I wish I was half as good at buying gifts as she is!), and this was sitting waiting for me when I got to her place:

photo 1

After eating lunch (she ate pasta, I ate this awesome quinoa dish— we really just both wanted fried food), we headed out to the pool for a few hours. We finished the day with dinner (I ate my pasta then, along with some of those delicious doritos!), and we watched the first season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, which was really funny (especially how much they talked about how they only wanted to do things that were “tasteful” and “classy”- this has now become a joke of ours), and really relaxing as well. We headed to bed around 9:30, and I ended up sleeping about six and a half hours– a record for the night before a race!

After the race, we headed off to Mexican food, and Meg met us there! I felt a little badly for her, as Melissa and I were both still feeling a bit off from the race (or really, the heat during the race). I got a migraine as we were leaving the race, and took some medicine in the car on the way to the restaurant. I almost passed out as we were leaving too–I was in rough shape. We went back to Melissa’s place, changed, and headed off the pool for a few hours again. I was wondering if it would be good being outside because it was warm, but the pool was nice and cool, and that helped to revive me and cool down my body temperature.

photo 3

We spent a few hours there talking, which was great! I wish we all lived closer so we could hang out more (but we ARE running a race in tutus together in a few weeks!). Overall the Friday and Saturday of race weekend were the most fun I’ve ever had around a race, and I think I’d like to spend every day post-race at a pool with friends!

Now it’s your turn to share! Are you a good gift giver? What’s your favorite way to rest after a race?

*********************************************************

Looking for more ways to connect?

  • Connect on twitter @kalolainastar
  • Find me on ‘Bloglovin

 

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