What's been keeping me so busy?

Watch out Jillian Michaels...

You're going to have some competition!

So as Brad mentioned in a previous post, I'm studying to become a Certified Personal Trainer. Don't worry, I'll probably be a little nicer than Jillian:). What is motivating me to do this all of the sudden? Well I got a job at a new gym that will be opening in Twin Falls the beginning of February. It's not a regular gym. It's only open for circuit training classes. My bosses (two ladies) already have one up and running in Sun Valley and now they are opening one in Twin Falls and Los Angeles. I found out about this opportunity from my friend in my ward who will be managing the gym and teaching some of the classes. So, in October, I went to Sun Valley for a couple of workouts and interviews and I got hired! The first step in the process is to become a certified personal trainer, which they are paying for (thankfully!). I also need to make it to at least one workout in Sun Valley per week until the gym opens in Twin in February (starting next week). Then in February, I'll train with Angela (my fitness guru boss) for a couple of hours every day, learning how she wants things to be done. I'll also need to get in at least two of "the workouts" each week from then on. I'm hoping that by the beginning of March I can start running my own classes. They said I will probably be teaching about 4-5 classes per week. It kind of depends on the demand. The classes are basically intense circuit training using different bands, machines, balls, weights, steps, etc. Everyone rotates through the different exercises. Their goal is to have about a dozen people to each class. Angela has come up with about 30 different total body workouts. My job, as I understand it, will be to set up the equipment and stations for the workouts, make sure everyone's doing the exercises correctly during the workouts, telling them when to rotate and what comes next, and taking down the equipment. Each class will take me about 2--2.5 hours total.

I've been keeping busy trying to fit in at least few hours of studying each day. I've found that I have to be really disciplined with my time in order to keep up with this, my workouts, the housework, the cooking, church stuff and most importantly taking care of Landon. I will be putting in a lot of hours between now and March, but I really feel like it will pay off. I will get a lot of free training and once I do start to teach the classes, the pay is more than I could have hoped for. Brad has been very supportive of me in this endeavor. If it wasn't for his encouragement I probably would have quit already (I don't like stress). Brad's schedule is pretty flexible so we probably won't have to get a sitter for Landon too often. We feel like this will be a good thing for our family. We could use the money and I've always had an interest in this type of thing so it seems like too good of an opportunity to pass up. Wish me luck because I'm going to need it to pass this test!

The other thing that has been keeping me busy is having surgery and recovering. As Brad mentioned, I had surgery to help correct my severe acid reflux (GERD) in the beginning of November. It was important for me to have this surgery sooner rather than later for a few reasons: 1) the ulcers on my esophagus have gotten worse over the last few years, resulting in some pain, 2) acid reflux can cause a condition called Barrett's Esophagus and I wanted to prevent that from happening down the road, and 3) the constant acid was causing damage to my vocal cords and inflammation in the surrounding tissues, despite medication. The surgery is called Nissen Fundoplication. Basically, the surgeon took the top part of my stomach and made a new lower esophageal sphincter to keep food and acid from splashing up and burning my esophagus and throat. My own lower esophageal sphincter had been almost nonfunctioning for years. I've recovered really well and I'm back to a regular diet. I had the surgery done in Idaho Falls (by the same surgeon that did this for my dad) so my mom was able to help me with Landon during the recovery. I couldn't have done this without her help! We're actually in Idaho Falls right now because I had my last follow-up appointment today. The surgeon said I'm healing up well and I can start working out more rigorously. It's been so nice to not have to take acid reflux medicine. I only wish I would have done this sooner! I'm trying not to dwell on regret. One plus to having it done now is it was free since I met my deductible with having a c-section and I have 100% coverage after the deductible. Anyway, I've been struggling with acid reflux since I was a young girl and I've tried about everything under the sun to try to fix it. I've tried different drinks, heavy medication, all kinds of dietary changes, seen all kinds of doctors, energy kinesiology, ignoring it, supplements, elevating the head of my bed...you name it I've tried it. So now after all these years of dealing with this issue, you can only imagine how relieved I am to be done with it for good (I hope!). So far so good.

My biggest frustration with this issue is the effect that it has had on my vocal cords. The acid has caused some real damage and my voice has slowly deteriorated over the years. Many tears have been shed over this. I used to love to sing, but by the time I finished high school, it was so frustrating because my voice was so undependable (it was also from allergies, but I've got that under control now with allergy shots). I've kind of given up on singing too much, because I've been unhappy with my damaged voice and it has hurt to sing. So now I'm hoping that my vocal cords might heal up enough that singing will become easy once again. I had pretty much given up on what had been my passion and pushed it out of my life, and now I'm hoping to be able to open up that door again. I need to be patient and give my voice time to heal. But I'm feeling hope and that's something I've been wanting for a long time.

So basically, I spent September going to doctors and having several tests done to make sure I was a good candidate for this surgery. Then I spent October storing up 5 days worth of breastmilk for Landon. Then I spent November healing from surgery. It was worth every minute. I can already tell my throat is feeling better. I have a lot of faith that this surgery will last my lifetime. If you have made it this far, sorry for bombarding you with so much personal stuff. But it feels good to get it out. So thanks for reading.

To add to the list, Brad and I are speaking in church on Sunday. If any of you have any great ideas on family traditions that remind us of Christ at Christmastime, I'd love to hear them. That's what my talk is on. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!