Health and wellness journey

Hi there!  Welcome to my blog and welcome back if you've been here before!  I have been on this crazy journey of life for 50 years now.....Wow that sounds unbelievable!  I just turned 50 years old a week ago and I truly feel better than I have in years.  I didn't know when I was a pre-teen just how difficult being a woman was going to be.  Life has a way of getting the best of you sometimes and no one really knows what they are doing.  Hind site they say is 20/20 and I believe that is true.  If you can look back on yesterday, last week or even last year and pick one thing that you can improve on or make better in your life then you are conquering it!  

Everyone is going through something and we may not all handle that something the same way.  We all have our own ways of coping, learning and getting through our day to day struggles.  I never asked for help in my younger days, I thought I knew it all and what was best for me and my family.  I did struggle from time to time and tried to work things out myself.  It certainly would have been easier if I asked for help.    

A few years ago I herniated a disc in my lower back.  It was so hard for me to stop exercising like I usually did and no running either.  It took a year for it to heal then I was back on it.  Only to reherniate a few years later and have to have surgery.  WOW, what a set back!  Now almost 3 years after surgery I am able to do the things I love again.  Working out, running and playing with my grandkids!!

I am married to the love of my life, we have four grown kids and 5 beautiful grandchildren with another on the way.  I feel so at peace with where we are.  I love the time we spend together and how close we are.  I am also extremely happy in my work life. I take every day and try to make it the best I possibly can.  We all have our ups and downs and no one has a "perfect" life, but we only get one life so make it the best it can be.

I am in a great place mentally and physically, although there is definitely still room for improvement. I started seeing a wellness coach at work about 2 years ago and she really helped me put things in perspective.  She asked what my goals were, what my interests were, what my limitations were and what I needed to do to get me where I needed to be.  She helped me set realistic goals, stick to them and be accountable to myself.  Self care and self love are two things that are non-negotiable for me and once I realized that it's not selfish for me to put me first, stress levels went down & physical and mental health got way better!

 I want to let you know that I am here to coach you in getting to any goals or dreams you have.  Maybe you just need some help figuring out where to go from here, where to start, or just need a sounding board, someone to talk to about your goals and the hurdles you have to get over to achieve those goals.  If you need motivation, someone to help keep you accountable, cheer you on and celebrate achievements then you can count on me!  Email me at mainegirladventures@gmail.com or check me out on Instagram @mainegirl_daley. I would love to connect with you and help you achieve your goals, big or small.

I  

Maine Nature

I am such an avid outdoors person.  I just love being out in nature and seeing animals, birds, all creatures, flowers, edible and otherwise.  My mind just doesn't stop!  I want to learn about all the edible flowers and plants in my home state as well as document by photograph all the local wildlife.

I started saving seeds from all of my perennials, just learned that you can eat rose petals and use them for tea, in skin care recipes and put them on toast!  Haha!  Yes my mind works like that all the time.  I am currently drying rose petals from the bouquet my husband gave me for Valentine's Day this year and I have little jars with seeds for lilies, heliopsis, sunflowers, black eyed susans, cosmos and poppies.

My husband just shakes his head and says "you have a problem"...and I totally agree with him!  I believe I have ADD and I don't see that it's a problem except that I don't stay focused on one thing for too long.

There is a spot on our road where the crows, eagles and osprey are feeding right now so I take my camera with me whenever I go out because I can't go by without taking a few pictures.  I am always in search of the perfect photo of a majestic bald eagle

or a duck bathing in a small pond of water at the golf course.

We have had "pet" raccoons which really aren't pets but one I could actually call and she would come to me whether I was on the deck or down on the dock.  Once she, Nelly, was on the deck getting into the bird feeder and I was down on the boat.  I saw her and yelled at her to get off the bird feeder and come to me.  Kept calling her name and telling her to come on.  She obliged and came right down the steps to the dock where she and I shared wheat thins and hummus.  Well, she didn't like the hummus, she wiped it on the dock and then ate the cracker.  Haha!  She brought her babies to the deck several times and didn't mind when we sat out with them.  She would eat the dog food we put out for her and the babies would get up on our lap to eat birdseed from our hands.  Too cute!

I love love love going out on the deck in the hot tub at night and listening to the coyotes howl up on the hill across from our driveway.  It is so cool to hear them and wonder how many there are and how close they might be.  In fact we have a game camera I have set up a few times down by the shore and in the winter the coyotes like to walk close to the shore on the ice looking for their dinner in the middle of the night.

One day while out for a run, on our road which is 2 miles long in the woods, and I came around a corner to see a moose standing in the road eating the baby leaves from birch trees up ahead.  I about crapped!  I wasn't scared but was thinking quickly of where I might go if the moose decided to charge.  It didn't and I got to stand there for a few minutes in awe.  Of course, I always expect to see a moose there in the same spot now.

Another day I was driving home from work and was less then a half mile from camp and up ahead was a bobcat and her 3 cubs!  I didn't get my phone out in time to get pictures but was amazed at how kitten-like the cubs were, playing on the side of the road, not paying attention to the mama who was trying to get them to follow her into the woods.  So cool!  I have not seen a wild cat since but there have been tracks, LARGE tracks in the snow in the last year or two.

Be safe and stay healthy!

Carin

The "M" word

Thank you for coming to my blog and if you have been here before thank you for coming back.  I have so many things going on in my head that it is hard for me to focus on one thing at a time.  I want to touch on menopause for today I think.  I didn't realize how hormones during pre-menopause, peri-menopause and post menopause can affect every aspect of a woman's life.

I'm sure there are more women out there who have had the same experience but are ashamed or unsure if they should share their stories.  I have recently started listening to Dr. Mariza Snyder's podcasts at www.drmariza.com and she has helped me to understand a lot about my body, hormones and why things happen the way they do.

So to start, a little bit of background.  I had some abnormal pap tests in my late 20s and my gynecologist and I decided, due to my biological mother's history of cancer, that I would have a hysterectomy.  So when I was 31, just before my 32nd birthday, I had my hysterectomy.  I was left with my ovaries which I think was a good thing because that meant I would not be spiraled into menopause and would still ovulate.  I didn't miss my monthly menstrual cycle at all, which I'm sure you can imagine.  Through the years though, I realized from time to time that my moods were changing, from crying to being pissed off at stupid things and every emotion in between.  I would have night sweats randomly, literally waking up in a pool of sweaty sheets. Sleep problems, not being able to stay asleep, waking several times during the night. I actually had to, several times, go upstairs or in the next bedroom to get away from my snoring husband because I thought that he was the reason I wasn't sleeping.  And a couple of years ago I had my first anxiety attack.  It was building and I was super emotional, crying at EVERY little thing, from a comment from my husband that would normally make me laugh, to my stepson showing me a ring he had bought for his girlfriend who he was planning on asking to marry him.  I sobbed at these things and more, songs on the radio, sad things or happy things on TV, some nights I just cried myself to sleep for no reason.  I had dealt with depression once before in my mid 20s, but never to this level.

My bio mom passed away from colon cancer, when she was 51 so I didn't have her to talk to about her symptoms of menopause.  She has 4 sisters to whom I looked for advice.  I reached out to them to see what their symptoms were to find out if they had any of the same ones I had dealt with and also see what they did to ease them.  Unfortunately they didn't have any significant information that I could use.

So a year goes by and my symptoms seem to be better, not as severe, no more anxiety attacks and I have my annual physical. My physician ordered, at my request, an FSH lab order. Follicle Stimulating Hormone, which tells if you are in menopause.  YAY, mine came back that I was post menopausal, which meant that I wasn't going crazy!!  My symptoms were legit and if I had realized that sooner, there may have been something I could have done to  ease them a little.  So without knowing exactly when I was in post menopause, because I wasn't having periods, I didn't realize what was happening.

From listening to Dr. Mariza, I realized what was going on with my body and that there are natural ways to ease symptoms of menopause and balance your hormones.  From what you eat, to the beauty/skin care products we use and daily self care rituals to get in the right mindset.

I am now 49, turning 50 this year!  I have created a place in my home where I can take care of my mind by doing some healing yoga, meditation and self love rituals.  I also try to put in and on my body all the healthy food and non toxic products I can get my hands on.  Diffusing essential oils which I haven't yet but will be subscribing soon to www.doterra.com and practicing in hygge when ever I can.  I am getting through this stage of my life and embracing what will be the best years of my life.  I would highly recommend any woman going through any changes that don't seem like normal or make you feel like you are not yourself, to talk to your doctor about menopause and ask all the questions, take care of YOU first, create some daily self care rituals and enjoy this next phase.

If anyone is beginning their journey into menopause and wants support, I would be happy to be that person.  I am not a professional in this subject, I only have my own experiences to go by but it is nice to be able to talk to someone who has been through what you are going through and who doesn't judge you because they don't understand.

Take care of you and live your best life!
Carin