May Living

So it's been a little while since I've written a nice blog post..I've missed it.  Things have been pretty busy around here lately, which is a good things; to keep my mind off of everything else going on in my life health wise; it's always a nice distraction ;-)  May has been a pleasant month so far with a few hiccups along the way; Mother's Day, the Greek Festival & a couple doctors appointments...

Mother's Day was very nice.  Although I spend everyday with my mom & we are very close, we spent the day together; not really doing anything special in the beginning, except going for our usual walk.  Later in the day, I decided I wanted to treat her to a nice dinner, because she does OH SO MUCH for me, and she truly deserves the world.  I wish I could have given her more than I did, and I know she appreciates everything I give her, but if I could give her the world I sure would.  She truly has been my rock through this entire process I've been going through & I'm not sure where I'd be without here to be honest.  The sacrifices she's made for me, the loss of sleep she's gotten because of me, the arguing with insurance companies to try to make sure everything is taken care in that department for my surgery, & just making sure I am OK in general - She is a true gem!!! Oh how I love her!!! 

Happy Mother's Day!!!

The Greek Festival was this past weekend..it was a blast as always!!  I helped in the beer booth, where I always help, as much as I possibly could, although my energy levels just aren't up to par these days.  This is very disappointing & frustrating.  I could work all day & night, every shift popping my Mythos bottles a couple years ago, & now I have a hard time hanging around after a couple of hours, especially being on my feet for a good few hours, because the pressure in my back becomes so incredibly intense I can hardly move.  I thank God every day for giving me life & just being alive, but I also thank God for bringing me this opportunity to get better & possibly have this cure once & for all.  Be ready, because next years Greek Festival will be just a good as this years, but the old/NEW me will be back in business!! ;-D

I've been finding many different things for "therapy" to take my mind off of my pain when it becomes too much to handle.  Yoga has been my go to & that has helped with relaxation plenty, but walking has helped me a lot as well.. It helps take my mind off of the pain I am in & I can think & concentrate on other things instead of the pain I am currently in... If the pain is just too excruciating, I turn to meditation for relaxation methods.  Another method I have found to be relaxing has been painting.. I'm not too good at it, but it is fun & I love doing abstract type paintings.  They're so easy to attempt & it's hard to mess those up.  I can paint & paint & the next thing I know 4hours have passed by.  
Time is closing in on my time to head back down to Charleston, & I will get my official date of surgery.  It is TBD for July, but I'll know for sure June 12.  It's a little nerve wrecking, but I am ready.  I'm ready for this to be over with so I can be on the road to recovery...such a scary thought but I know it needs to be done.

Walking Goals

Abstract Paintings:  Tape Painting(Left) & Blended Abstract(Right)

Prayers that I ask for are decrease pain throughout these next two months until I have surgery;  I have to make it until my Total Pancreatectomy without having another surgery/stent exchange! 
Prayers for a good harvest when the surgery does happen, so we can have a less chance of developing diabetes post-operation once they mature.
Prayers for myself & my family to have peace within ourselves & for the entire process in general.
After my doctors appointment in June I'll get more specific about surgical prayers & doctor prayers & whatnot. :)
I truly appreciate all of the love, support, & prayers I've been receiving; it means the world to me & I can't thank you all enough!!
Love, Tiff <3

Keeping On, Keeping On

If you know me well enough you know I am a fitness guru.  I love anything about fitness, whether it be going to the gym, home workouts, stepping out of my comfort zone & taking a new workout class, or just plain & simple walking.  Simply being active makes me smile & always make me happy! With my illness, it has interfered quite a bit with my exercise habits that I use to have, just because my energy levels have gone down the drain; although that DOES NOT mean I have stopped being active at all.  I still attempt & try my absolute very best to go, for a  minimum, 30 minute-hour walk a day, as well as some sort of strength training to keep some sort of muscle on my body.  Does this mean I succeed in this goal daily, unfortunately no, but I try my absolutely damnest to get there!  I have been working extra hard on my strength training & yoga, that I have always loved, these past few weeks because I want to be in the best shape that I can be before I go into this surgery to make it just a tad more easier for my recovery process.  The stronger & healthier I can make myself before surgery, the better it will make me post-op for recovery, post-op infection, & just plain 'ol getting back to my old NEW self quicker!! (Sounds Great to me!!) :)

I always love to give reviews on things that I try workout wise, especially home workouts & such, seeing I have become a home workout guru!  I have been a Tone It Up girl for 3, going on 4 years now & I absolutely love their nutrition plan as well as all of their workouts.  They will always be my go-to for workouts & starting point!  Karina & Katrina are amazing women & know their stuff when it comes to a nutrition plan & kicking your booty in a workout.  Although I can't follow the nutrition plan truly these days, I can attest that it does work, the results are REAL & true & if you've ever contemplated getting a nutrition plan from an online trainer or anything like that, these are the girls to go with.  You're a member for life, you get constant updates & tips for these beautiful ladies & their FREE YouTube videos, as well as their BeachBabe DVDs are fabulous! 

Bikini Yoga

Routines from Tone It Up

I also drink Shakeology pretty much daily, from Beachbody.  That has helped me immensely through this entire process!  I'm not too sure if it's truly helped me health wise, just because I am so severely sick, although I can tell you there are SO many benefits to Shakeology that do help you in the health department.  It's been proven to decrease blood pressure, cholesterol, help with diabetes, aid in digestion, among other health conditions; so this truly is a wonderful product.  It has helped me with my digestion, curb my cravings & decrease my intense sugar cravings, which I have a ton, which my horrible hormone imbalance with the pancreatitis sugar cravings are a side effect & shakeo helps a lot with that!! I'm not here trying to sell you this product (although I do sell it, so if you're interested, please contact me at my email)  I'm just giving my review like I've wanted to do for a while now. :)  I, myself, love the vanilla flavor.  There are 4 flavors in regular, vanilla, chocolate, greenberry, & strawberry, & chocolate vegan & tropical strawberry vegan.  There are hundreds of recipes to tailor the shakeology to your likings.  I honestly love it with plain unsweetened almond milk & ice, simple, but it tastes almost like ice cream. I could name probably 20 recipes off the top of my head to do that are SO easy! Like I said before, this is just another supplement that I drink for me, to benefit me & I love it.
I pretty much have every Beachbody workout out there & I'll do individual reviews for all of them later on throughout the month, but I am here to say they are all very challenging & will for sure give you A: drenched in sweat & a great workout B: results C: your moneys worth(if that's your concern)

Regular Shakeology Flavors

I'll continue to be active until my body tells me I can't.  Like I mentioned above, whether I'm simply walking around the block, mall walking, doing a relaxing yoga routine or strength training, I'll be doing SOMETHING, and I'll be pushing myself even more until my surgery comes around so I can be 150% ready for it & recovery even quicker! With my strength, Gods strength, prayers & faith I can get through this with flying colors!! Keep a look out, I'll continue to do reviews on other workout programs that I've done or will be doing to help anyone out on if their looking into them or would like to know more about them. :)  Stay Positive!! <3