Meet my little friend, Ramsay...it has been a strange week.

So much for posting every other day, at this point in time a weekly post may be all you get ;) This week was challenging. Allergies started, which has my family hacking and blowing and irritable. More so it has triggered some Ramsay Hunt symptoms for myself.

August 2010 I was diagnosed with the rare syndrome, Ramsay Hunt. The easy explanation is that it is shingles in the cranium and effects the facial nerves causing symptoms that are similar to Bell's Palsy. Once the sores erupt they are accompanied by a very high fever, severe pain to the effected side of the head and vertigo. If not treated then nerve damage sets in causing facial drooping among other weird symptoms.

Not much is known about this syndrome, other than it exists, how to treat it and how to deal with it, as it really never goes away and can fester at any time. If you have ever had the chicken pox then you can get it. Some say that the new chicken pox vaccine can prevent it but given how the syndrome operates that does not make sense to me. Usually times of stress or when your immune system is down is when you get an outbreak. Not all symptoms are the same for everyone.

I belong to www.ramsayhunt.org, a place for those effected to gather and chat. We are of all ages, all backgrounds and all deal with a different set of things. Some have recovered and deal with it mildly every so often, some never recovered and deal with the pain and nerve damage daily. We are hard working, life stressing people. Through this organization I have learned that stress is a major contributor and that taking good care of yourself is key.

My story is that of a miracle as I did not have a primary care doctor at the time and was diagnosed in the hospital ER (after first receiving the wrong diagnosis, which is common). This made it very hard to get a referring doctor to refer me to a specialist. Luckily, I know a person who pulled some strings and got me into the specialist. Which I am forever grateful for! God was by my side during this time, no doubt...absolutely, NO DOUBT!

So, for me, this time the vertigo is back, blurred vision to the right side, ringing/muffled sound in the ear, sensitivity to light, confusion/disoriented, heart palpitations and lethargy. This has made it hard for me to get motivated to walk or do anything for that matter; however, I did manage to get out there four of the seven days this week. So, moral of this story is that I am a fighter so please don't pity me...most of us have some health issue we are dealing with; mine is just rare and weird. Kinda like me!

I forgot my camera on one of the walks, can you believe it? I felt naked but it was nice to just be!

Saturday- The in-laws came up and we walked to the pond. Good times, good times!

Spring is on the way!

Blossoms

 Sunday - Pup and I went by ourselves at around sunset.

I love this part of the trail, it glows when the sun hits it just right. This picture does no justice to the intensity of this experience.

Sunday Sunset

Monday - No walk, too busy!

Tuesday - Today was the day to drop off the heart monitor I had been wearing for two weeks. We are waiting the results and I will post about the experience once we have the results. I have a feeling that the heart palpitations are associated with the other symptoms I am having as I had them with Ramsay before. Pup and I walked and enjoyed the calm before the storm.

Yep, them are clouds!

 Wednesday - No walk, I did not have the gumption to do it.

Alyssa did find a heart shaped potato chip though. Pretty cool!

 Thursday - Forgot the camera! Oops! Walked the usual trail and took the BIG hill! Love the BIG hill!

Friday - No walk, no gumption, lots of work.

So today, I feel a little better. Still sensitive to light, muffled hearing and a little disoriented/scattered. Hopefully, I can get back in to the swing of things this week.

Love and Light my friends!

What it is like to be me...a day in the life of The Herbert's

Being me is not bad, being me is actually pretty wonderful! Many have commented on how busy I am, how much I do, etc., so I thought I would blog about what a typical day is like for my family, that is if it is a typical day...at least once a week the unexpected happens.

I wake up anywhere from 430 am to 630 am, depending upon my work load. Usually, I am up around 530 am because that is just when my body says to get moving. I say good morning to the dog and cat, start the coffee pot and if it is cold I start a fire. KCRA 3 News is on but turned down all the way so that it does not wake my family. This is my time to get things done so I do whatever I can to let them sleep; plus they need their sleep. This is also a time where I watch the sunrise and thank God for life. Since I have started doing this, I am noticed small changes happening for the better in our lives. Prayer is very important.

With coffee in hand, I sit down at the computer to check email and Facebook. This gets my brain juices flowing. Then, if I have work, I work. If I do not have work, I find something that needs to be done. With three businesses being operated out of  our house, there is always something to do whether it is bookkeeping, marketing or just planning. What businesses, you ask? My husband's handyman business, my virtual assistance business and my handmade creations business. I will include links to them at the end of this blog.

Then at about 7:30 am the family starts to get up. If Pat has work that day, I get the invoices and map ready for him and if he wants I make him a lunch. If it is a school day, it is all about getting our daughter ready. This is my least favorite part of the day. 1) I have to become a NAG  and 2) I have to be with out my baby for the day (this is a bitter sweet thing, LOL). We leave the house by 8:40 am, daughter is off to school by 9 am and if it is Monday I stay to volunteer in her class. If it is any other weekday, the second part of my "work" day begins.

I emphasized "work" with parentheses because this is the time of day I have to prioritize the things that need to be done.  Work comes in many different forms as I am a wife and mother as well as a professional. Some day's one or all of our businesses take top priority, other days housework, chores and other personal responsibilities take over. Most of the time, it is a blend of business and personal tasks that make it on the calendar. It just depends.

How do I keep it all together? Giggle, on the days I do, LOL, Google Calendar is my best friend! I keep this calendar color coded so that I know what tasks are the most important and who they are for. Most days this calendar looks like a rainbow! Thank you Google!

If I have any errands to run before getting my daughter from school I stop work at about 2 pm and head out. If not, I work until 3 pm. Since I sit in the pick up line for sometimes up to a half an hour, I bring work with me. I have a bag which I call "My Mobile Office", this bag allows me to work anywhere!

We are back home at 4 pm, just in time to give my daughter a little break/snack, start dinner and dive into homework. Homework, dinner, shower, bed by 9 pm. This time of the day, my favorite (because we are all home) goes by the fastest. Go figure!

Walking? Walking has become a top priority for me although it does not involve the business or taking care of the family I be sure to fit it in somewhere on a daily basis. While that realistically does not happen, I hold that intention all day until it gets done or has to be forgotten about. So far, I have only missed a couple of days.

Walking is top priority for me now because it allows time for me to gather my thoughts, sweat and spend time outdoors; it is a time that is all about me. Those of you who have known me for a long time know that this is a huge change! I have never put myself first. Honestly, it felt strange at first. I recently realized that if I want things to be good with my family and career, I have to make sure that I am all good.  Hey, if Mama aint happy, nobody is happy!

On the weekends things are a little more relaxed; however, we live by the motto, "No rest for the wicked" so we keep ourselves busy doing the things we did not get done the work week before and preparing for the work week ahead.

Herbert's Overhead Maintenance is my husband's bread winning business. He is a handyman that specializes in roof and gutter maintenance. I run the office and he does all the work. Together we are a good team!

Sarah Herbert's Virtual Services is my business. I help businesses virtually with many different tasks like e-news letters, social media, research, etc. I am at a crossroads with this project and will soon be going over all the aspects to fine tune, adjust and move forward.  I went to school for this and received my Virtual Office Professional Certificate June of 2011.

Crandall's Creations is also my business. I make and sell handmade earrings and other jewelry. In the near future I hope to add on things like sachets and note cards. This is the third time, third name and third attempt at making this work. I just cannot let this project go. Three times a charm!

My passion is helping people and creating things...all three of these businesses fulfill this. In my spare time I write. I am currently working on a children's book and book about life. Both I hope to publish someday, but for now they are an outlet. I also look for recipes to tweak and subs to use for healthier living. Perhaps this will turn into a book too. Healthy living for myself and family has recently become a priority.

So there you have it, a day in the life of the Herbert's!

Day 10 - I don't want to do this...

6:26 am - But I do want to do this...just not today. I woke up wanting to go back to bed. All I can concentrate on is work...which is the very reason I have to find motivation by the end of this day.

7:28 am - When I saw the sun begin to shed light on the Western Hemisphere, something inside of me said "Stop sitting here and worrying over being motivated, just get off your butt and do it". So I did! I am happy I did too because it is a beautiful morning and today was the first day the walk became a little "easier". There is motivation is just that. Here are some pictures of this mornings walk...

It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is best from the top.  ~Arnold Bennett

Good Morning Nevada County! This was my view once I got to the top of the hill.

Good morning, moon!

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth." ~Buddha

Any my trusty walking partner, Poppy.

What the heck am I doing?

Now that I have spent eight days spilling my personal life change/weight loss journey over the internet for the world to see (and because I often do things without thinking them through), I have to ask myself, what the heck am I doing? Am I really into posting daily and exposing myself to you all?

The answer is I don't know but, yes, I am in it for the long hall and ready for being healthier. I believe that the change I hope to achieve happens over time. Because I am stubborn, I feel I do not need a program or diet to get me started and see me through. I know that this is completely based upon MY decisions and actions. I am tired of being over weight. I am tired of seeing my photos, looking for clothes and not being able to keep up with my daughter.

Posting daily keeps me accountable for doing what I say I am going to do. I have not been on the journey for just eight days. This is probably the sixth or seventh time since I gained most of this weight that I have "started" this life change. While I do feel a little irritated with myself, I know that I am not the only person who has been in this place. I do have the strength to do this.

This time, I can and will do this. For myself, my life's longevity. If inspiration is found in what I am doing, that would make this journey even that much better.

Here is to new beginnings!

Snoop Lion and Bob Marley

So, I am sure you heard that Snoop Dogg is changing his name to Snoop Lion. Upon Snoop’s visit to Jamaica he awakened to a new reality that he may be connected to the spirit of Bob Marley.

A few years ago my reaction would have been, “Yeah, right!” But today, knowing what I know about spirit, my reaction is “Right on!”  Like Snoop, I have gone through my own awakening and realized that there is more to us than what we can see. There is a part of us that is not yet explained and that part is one part of life that feels right and makes sense to me now.

I have been feeling the “changes” occur. I see it in our strong minded loving children, I see it people everyday who act randomly out of kindness and I see it in nature. I have had a feeling, possibly a premonition that some one that we all recognize would have an awakening and bring upon huge change; not just for themselves and their families but one they could share with the world. I saw this person as a celebrity or someone who is well know by the masses. This just might be it.

As anyone who awakens and chooses to share that part of their life with the world, Snoop will get a lot of resistance. He will face scrutiny and people plainly telling him he is crazy. While, the truth that Snoop is reincarnated as Bob Marley is only known by the Divine but for those of you who smiled funny at me when I considered Bob Marley to be a Divine Master…maybe I was not too far off. Once Snoop Lions first album comes out in the form of Rastafarian beats, it will be interesting to compare the two.

Check out these videos I found on the subject. What do you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX7EqelDuQg&feature=player_embedded#!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UePv182E2Ac

Love and Light, Onward and Upward, Peace!

It has been awhile..I joined HubPages!

The past few months my life has consisted of many things. I keep acquiring these "hats". These hats come with responsibilities and help me be in a certain state of mind.  I have a different hat for Pat's business, my business, my creative writing, my creative hands-on pursuits, a hat for family and now I have to design a hat just for ME! This is a hat that is continuously evolving, growing and changing. This "I AM" hat is not ready for debut.

The most recent hat that I developed was my creative writing hat. This hat looks a little like newspaper; there are many words and thoughts scattered all about. This hat does not have the wide brim that some of the other have but it does shield my face from the sun. There is nothing hanging from it, yet anyway. I wear this hat while writing in my journal, in my blog (if it is personal), and for HubPages. In fact I a wearing it now!