Tag Archives: big boned and broken

Holy Guacamole Batman, I Did It!

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  • This is my view point of just a portion of Peralta Hills
  • Yes, we just came down that!
  • Noooo, we have to climb up to get home?
  • Get ready for some dirty hands climbing up this mountain.
  • Almost there friend! We can do this!
Just a few shots at our mountain. AllTrails said 35% grade. Eesshh!

Holy Cow, we did it! Yesterday, if you have been following me, I went on a hike and found a really steep mountain I wanted to climb. I tried a portion of it and got scared because I was alone and headed back. But I knew I was going to conquer that hill if it was the last thing I did. Well, why not the very next day.

Last night I texted my girlfriend Kathy who hikes with me 1 or 2 times a week. I asked her if she was going to hike with me tomorrow and she said sure. I also asked her if she wouldn’t mind if we did harder than our normal hikes, and again she said yes! Whoo-hoo! Now I had a partner to go down and back up this mountain and be there in case something happened and I needed help. I went to bed feeling ecstatic in anticipation for the next morning. I arose at 5 am feeling ready to go, did my morning yoga session, and off I went to the park.

When we got to the park before we even set foot in Santiago Oaks Regional Park I asked her if she was OK with about a 35-40% trail grade and she agreed so off we went. When we got to the top of the trail, I think she did a triple take and was a little nervous about it even though she did not say it. We discussed how just 7 months ago, I would have never even contemplated doing a trial like this. I did not have good balance or footing and my fear would have overtaken the hike. As a matter of fact, we did a trial, Grasshopper, that was a pretty good grade and very rocky once at the beginning of the year and I almost had a heart attack doing it. I was terrified and vowed NEVER again!



Well, that never is here. Kathy and I took on Peralta Hills Trail going down very gingerly and slowly making sure every step was secure and firm. It took us probably a little longer than a nimble, not big or broken 20 years old would do, but we got to the bottom of that huge hill. As we meandered further along the trail we were keeping a close eye on the time. I wanted to give us double the amount of time it took us to come down to go back up. I wanted to make sure Kathy was able to get back to her car so she could get to work on time.

Once we were good ways down the trail it was time to turn around. Yeah, that is when the reality of what we had to do to get back to our cars set in. Yup, we had to climb that hill. So off we go. I have to be honest, it was not as bad as I ever thought it would have been. Going down was way scarier and harder. Thank God for my trekking pole. They help me so much with balance and keeping that firm footing on the path as well as giving me a full-body workout while I hike. Poor Kathy she does not have a pair.

Anyway, about 1/4 of the way up Kathy started feeling sick in the tummy. It was time to stop! Unfortunately, she was dehydrated and overheated. She had not hydrated up the night before or that morning. You see when you hike, run, or whatever in this kind of California summer/fall heat, it is so important to drink plenty of water the day before and then drink at the extreme very least 8oz when you get up an hour before the hike. Anyway, I told her to sit right there in the middle of the path, drink, and cool off! I had some extra iced water for my dog (clean water) and I poured some over her head and gave her some to drink as well. We actually had a nice cyclist stop and ask if everything was ok and if we needed help. Aww, most of the people I meet on the trails are so nice. Then we proceeded to watch this guy go down this ridiculous steep mountain at a speed that made my tummy start hurting!



Once we got her tummy and legs feeling a bit better we headed back up. Now I have trekking poles and my girlfriend does not, so unfortunately there were a few spots she had to use her hands to get up that hill. I am very grateful for my poles because my hands stayed clean-ish.



It was the most exhilarating climb I have had on these trails since I started back to hiking mid 2020. When we got to the top I stood there looking out and then I could not help myself. I put my arms high up in the air and screamed “WooHoo”! The rest of the hike was just basic, nothing too hard, but the whole way back to the car I was smiling. I (we) had achieved something I never thought I could do. We both felt so accomplished and able. Even as I write this I am still on a hiker’s High!

I am glad I decided to start sharing some of my hikes with you all. It has made me realize just how much I have accomplished in such a very short time. Especially since I am going backward and writing out my journal from early on in my journey. You can check out some of those posts on the category called My Journals.

Let me tell you if I can do it so can you! I mean obviously, you have to start at whatever level you are at, but just start. I have another girlfriend who is an ironwoman and runs miles and miles. And I realized one day when I was looking at her post and wishing I could hike and be able to keep up with her that she, at some point in her life, started out small as well. She did not go out the gate running 30 miles a day, right? And that is what I have learned from my experience with these hills I am hiking.

About 1 1/2 years ago I was on a scooter for most things that required any amount of walking including the grocery store. I would have never been able to walk the entire OC VegFest like I did last weekend. I was not able to go to Costco and walk the entire store without a scooter. Shoot I wasn’t able to stand and cook a full meal without sitting down every 5 minutes. And NEVER would I have been able to climb the mountain I climbed today!

Yes, I still use my scooter sometimes when I have problems standing still in long lines or anything that required lots of hard concrete walking like Knotts or Disney, but just look at what one step at a time haS done for me? I have come from quitting teaching choir because I could not handle the pain of 3 hours of teaching to hiking a 35% grade mountain. One step at a time has changed my life and It can do it for you as well! All you have to do is start and not expect your body to do what it used to do before your illness or injury. You want to start hiking and live near me, contact me. let’s do it TOGETHER!

BTW, when I say we hiked an hour I meant just an hour going down. We hiked another hour+ going back up.

OCVegan Fest is Back

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This is a 360 view of the OCVegan Fest Use your mouse or fingers to view it in it’s entirety

Some of you may know that I am a pescatarian/vegetarian. I went from a meat-eater to a vegan right after Easter 2012. I was feeling bad all the time, always had an upset tummy, sluggish. I had done some research on different ways of eating to make my tummy feel better and decided since I was not a huge meat lover anyway, trying veganism couldn’t be that hard. Well, I was wrong, going from meat 3x a day to nothing was not an easy task. Not hard to stop eating meat, but hard to figure out what to cook.

Anyway, after about 2 months of trying to figure it out, reading, reading, and more reading, I decided to go more of a vegetarian lifestyle with eggs and cheese now and then. Plus I had to think of my family. All three of them were vigorous meat-eaters. Well, eventually, I decided to add fish back into my diet. I am a massive fish lover. I grew up eating squid, clams, trout, salmon, etc. I could eat it 24/7. Now I only eat it when we eat out or 1X a week at home. So that is, in a very brief nutshell, how I went from meat-eater to pescatarian/vegetarian and I feel my best when I stick to very little eggs, no milk, and a little cheese and lots of colorful vegetables with some fish 1 or 2 times a week. My tummy feels better too. And the best thing, my family (even though they won’t admit it) feels better too without all that meat! But this article is not supposed to be about my eating habits…LOL.

After a very long wait, the OCVegan Fest is back. They actually changed their location and it is better. And let’s not confuse this with the SoCal Veg Fest which is 10X the size and happens only 1x a year. This is a small hometown (Santa Ana) one time a month food fest that happens in a nearby town to where I live.

I am so grateful that they are back. The food is Out Of This World delicious. If you have never tried vegan food, you don’t know what you are missing. My husband and I decided to have the Franks. I never was a huge Hot Dog fan when I ate meat (except when we were really broke), but these sausage dogs are the absolute best. OMGsh! There were also tamales, tacos, fresh-squeezed flavored lemonades, faux chicken and burgers, of course, fries, salads, shoot, you name it, they had it. My only complaint about the whole thing is they had about 4 tables with a tent over it and the rest were in the direct sun. For next month I am hoping they will bring out more tents, at least until it cools down.

On the other side of the fair were several traders selling their wares. It is always fun to look at what people are selling. Some of the products were crystals, homemade clothing, tie-dyed T’s, Mexican wrestling masks, vegan purses, jewelry, and more. I do hope since they are back the vendors will start wanting to come and sell and that as time goes on, there will be more and more vendors selling their goodies! it is fun to look at all the handiwork and buy the stuff you don’t really need and sometimes really need! LOL

The other thing is this is very dog friendly. My only complaint, it is on blacktop and only one tent for shade. It was a bit too hot for my all-black coated pooch. While we were eating, I shoved her under the table with some water to keep her cool. That worked well, but my poor shoulders got a bit of a beating while we were listening to some great music and munching on our lunch.

Overall, I am so glad we went. We had a great lunch and spent a couple of hours looking around, eating, and then strolling some of the shopping on the main shopping street in Santa Ana. If you are in or around the area, I highly suggest you check out the links above or below for them and come visit next month. They hold it every month. Hope to see you there next month!

@ocveganfest #ocveganfest @socalvegfest #socalvegfest

Podcasts & Me

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Hmm, Well, I am sure you have realized by now I have not posted a podcast in a long while. I realized it is just not me. I am not comfortable doing them, my brain doesn’t think fast enough, I truly do not have the gift of gab. I am more of a straight-to-the-point type of person. For me to talk for 30 minutes straight was really hard and I just do not like to do podcasts. I much rather write an article and post some pictures and videos. So I have decided to do just that!

I also am going to add another element to my blog. I am going to take you with me on a journey of recovery. I am going to backtrack to the beginning as well as take you to where I am today! When I was going through the onset of being broken, I wrote down some of my thoughts as well as photographs of what was going on during this time of recovery. I thought I would post some of those writings and pictures/videos if available.

I am hoping by doing this I can inspire someone out there who is going through what I have had to go through. Even though I was never alone on this journey, I had my family and friends, it still felt as if I was all alone and I was so terribly lonely and sad. I felt I could not share those feelings because I either didn’t want to bring others around me down or want them to get tired of me complaining. So I shut up, sucked it up, put on a smile 99% of the time, and jotted down some of my feelings.

I really hope you find this helpful to know you are not alone and the feeling of loneliness in the midst of being surrounded by people or being angry at God or even your family or even at yourself is OK! You too can get through this.

No 2 people are alike in their injuries or illness and I am not a medical professional by any means. So I am not saying my steps to recovery are the exact steps you should take. What I am saying is I am here to show you how I got out of a wheelchair, walker, cane, and scooter, got out of a full blow state of depression, got away from being angry at God, and stepped away from the thought that I just wanted God to take me home NOW! This is my journey to getting as much of myself back as I possibly can.

Yes, I will be backtracking and posting my journal writings and pictures from as close to the beginning as I possibly can. I wish you all the best in your journey and I want to hear from you if something inspires you! Just remember to be careful with any physical exercise you do, get your doctor’s permission, and try to stay positive. There is ALWAYS a light at the end of a very dark tunnel. I know because I found mine!

What the Heck is CBD?

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CBD oil is a Controversial subject around our nation. Our friends, family, Government officials and even our doctors do not understand what it is and whether or not there are real benefits from this medicinal drug.  In this podcast I will be discussing what CBD is and is not as well as my experience and my opinion with using it.

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Meditation-What Is It?

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Meditation. What is it? What is it not? In this episode, we are going to take a look at the value of meditation in our lives. We will take a glance at a couple of different types of meditation and how to do them. We will look at meditation from a religious and nonreligious way as well. Does it have to be a metaphysical thing???

The Blame Game

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It was his fault. It is my fault! It is God’s fault! Yep, the blame game. We have all done it, but ultimately we are in charge of the thoughts that go through our head and how we react to situations. Yes, you can blame your husband, wife, mother, father the rest of your life and be very unhappy. Or maybe we can let go of the blame and take responsibility for our own actions and feelings.

 

Party Here, Party There! I am Drained!

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Do social situation drain you? Yes, I know how this feels. Being big boned and especially being broken, it can make these parties and social gathering impossible. There are times I just want to say no way am I going  In this episode, I will take you through the 6 different ways I am able to get through those draining social gathering.