chiropractic – We Only Get One Chance

SPRINGTIME

There is something super magical about SPRINGTIME here in Michigan and I know you are all feeling it!

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Dr Erica Peabody - Expansion

Being that our office is right downtown, we are all always so happy to be part of the walking culture that the DDA of Fenton created for this community!

I often walk outside after a day of work and take a quick jaunt down the street to the post office and put the outgoing mail in the mailbox. Since I am just half a block from there, I usually just continue on around at least the block. But since I am heading around one block, I usually pick one more block….and then one more…and that is how a 20-30 minute walk is done. It goes along with the Law if Inertia – a body in motion will tend to stay in motion…

And if any of you spend any time downtown Fenton, you realize just how much pride people have put into their homes and businesses and IT IS BEAUTIFUL down here!

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Dr Erica Peabody Blossoms

Sitting front and center in town for almost 6 solid years already (ALREADY!!!!!), we see lots of people out walking, biking and strolling around. We often see sports teams running by in big groups from Fenton Middle School and Fenton High School. We love all the energy as our community has become a small hub of people taking good care of their bodies and getting their exercise in.

A friend of mine was asking me yesterday how many gyms and fitness centers are in the city of Fenton. I began to list them and it was upwards between 12+ that I could name off the top of my head and I am sure there were some that were skipping my mind. We are fortunate as our city grows, so does our health and wellness culture surrounding it all!

The Peabody Center for Well-Being is the location of Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic office, my chiropractic office and this building is completely occupied with some of the area’s greatest health/wellness/well-being professionals in the area!

Even after 6 years in this location, and many of those years with occupied office spaces, it surprises a lot of people to know that the building houses so many awesome businesses.

About a year ago, we launched a website that serves as a building directory. This is a virtual landing page for all the professionals in the building. I wanted to take a moment and invite you to take a glance through and connect with the businesses that can help you along you and your family’s health and wellness journey!

www.healthyfenton.com

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - 3 Days In - Dr Erica Peabody (810)69-6023 - Grouchy

Take a moment and browse through the site. This is the location that allows you to directly connect and contact each person to set up your appointments! We keep this information up to date to help you!

Enjoy the SPRINGTIME energy of our world right now and make a plan for the healthiest and happiest season ever!

(CLICK LINK BELOW TO ACCESS BUILDING DIRECTORY)

https://www.healthyfenton.com

BE MINDFUL

I am hoping that you are connected with us over Facebook, but if not, HERE IS THE LINK to go straight there. You can also look me up individually and follow that way. I have been doing some live shares over facebook as I drive and think and the last one was a warning to BE MINDFUL!!!

…and here is why that came up.

Last Wednesday I was in my practice and a woman came in that had been under care in the past but had to take some time off to heal from a fall where she fractured a vertebra in her neck. She was carrying a box down a set of stairs and stepped off the side in a bad way and hit the back of her neck on a steel handrail resulting in a fracture. She has healed well and is ready to get back under regular chiropractic care (some of you may be curious at this point that I can even adjust someone with this kind of injury. I want to remind you that I have a lot of tools in my bag of chiropractic techniques that allows me to work with and around all kinds of injuries as each person’s care is tailored for each individual and their needs).

I see a lot of people with injuries which probably goes without saying. Some of the stories make my stomach churn as the phrase that follows is always “WOW! That could have been way worse!!”

The next patient that same day was up north and cleaning up the kitchen and tripped over the dishwasher door that was out of her line of sight. This resulted in yet another conversation that went “Wow! That could have been a whole lot worse!” The final one that day was a slip and fall while getting into the car and sliding right underneath the vehicle…which “Could have been a whole lot worse!”

Our lives are super busy these days. I have to be honest, I am trying to do too much at once, carry too much at once and my brain is filled with all kinds of running thoughts also!!! I am in that same club however when I get to see these kinds of injuries, I take note of the theme. The running theme of all of these injuries…trying to do too much at the same time. Me too!! Me too.

Be mindful. Easier said than done often. What I notice for myself is that if I can slow down my mind to focus on the task at hand, I am so much safer, healthier and happier.

Being mindful wouldn’t necessarily have prevented these injuries however, we can’t know for sure, it may have. It is always hard to say at the time and easier to reflect backwards to see situations retrospectively.

I was getting ready the very next day and listing to a podcast or making a video for a friend AND curling my hair at the same time. Without looking down at my curling iron, I didn’t realize that it had spun around and was facing the other direction. When I reached down and thought I was grabbing the handle, I was actually grabbing the hot barrel, resulting in burning the pads of my thumb and two fingers.

When that happened, my first thought was how easily that would have been avoided by simply being present, looking up and then looking back down. I am notorious for trying to do too many things at once. As I navigate through my days, I notice just how many things I drop and realize that is a strong indication that I am not fully paying attention.

Look around in your life. Where do you find yourself trying to do too many things at once? Have you stumbled as you were trying to do something else? How many different directions do you think the mind can handle going in and still pay attention?

Be mindful.

Being mindful is much easier said than done however I am hoping by just having this brief read and reminder, it is more in the forefront of your mind as you navigate through your days.

I am not minimizing any of the things I mentioned before nor am I saying that they for sure could have been avoided. I just wanted to share this theme of the week so that you can be mindful too.

FOUR YEARS

So many things can happen over the course of four years. Four years ago today, June 14, I purchased Big Blue. Some people say that I should have started referring to it as THE CENTER or something more “on brand”. But honestly, Big Blue was mentioned at one point and stuck and so here we are.

I share this story a lot but I first saw the building on Zillow. My Mom and I are always looking around at real estate on that app just to see what is out there. When I saw the building, I sent a quick screen shot and message to my realtor. “What is up with this place? What is the story?”

His response, “I don’t know but let’s go and take a look!”

It used to be an assisted living facility so when we initially walked through we had to pretend that we were “looking for a spot for family members to live”. A sale like that that had to be that way due to the business and employees and how the sale was being concealed.

Prior to going inside, my Mom and I said to each other, “let’s take a look but more than likely this place will smell weird, be weird or be unrecoverable from what it had been through.”

Half way through this 10,000 sq ft beauty, my Mom and I both looked to each other and said “Wow this place is amazing and already set up for what I want to do.”

And so the due diligence process began. That started in February of 2018 and I finally closed June 14.

When patients visit us for the first time, they look around in awe of the beauty that is so natural to Big Blue. Even after 130 years, it has the original woodwork, original wood stain color and craftmanship that is not seen in current day construction. It is absolutely beautiful and feels like working inside of a museum. If only the walls could talk, I can only begin to imagine the stories they would share.

The purchase of Big Blue has not been without its downfalls though. As most of you know, I had a very serious “life sidekick” when I began this project. That didn’t last like we had planned which threw life through a loop…but here we are still standing and thriving inside this space.

We have many businesses join us over the past 4 years, incredible practitioners helping to increase the health and wellness in and around our beautiful community. The services offered inside Big Blue include: chiropractic care, massage therapy, supplements, acupuncture, family therapy, psychotherapy, speech therapy, esthetician, life coach, reiki master, photography as well as connection with hypnotherapy and functional medicine. As you can probably imagine, there are a few more business partnerships in the works for the future.

The practitioners that are currently in our building have taken great pride to enhance their office spaces and I will share a sneak peek into their working spaces in the near future so you can get a feel. I feel fortunate to have business owners taking such pride in beatifying their office spaces.

There is a “special something” in the air at this spot that is inherent to the building itself. Although the business prior to us did well, a revived energy to Big Blue has been a welcomed addition to the center of our growing and bustling downtown Fenton.

People often say “I have driven by this building thousands of times, I am so glad to be able to finally see inside!”

There is a long, beautiful and thriving future for this building and we are so happy to be just the ones to help make that happen!

Swing in and say hello! Or get in touch with one of the providers inside of the building and experience for yourself. I am in awe of the first four years, I can only imagine what the next four years will bring!

EXPANSION

As we were navigating a busy day at the office, a patient began to ask questions that led me to share a bit about what is currently happening in and around the Cafe of LIFE and the Center for Well-Being.
As I answered the questions, he said, “WAIT! You are expanding your office during a GLOBAL PANDEMIC?!?”
“Yes, I guess I am.”
As we have navigated this crazy year, there have been many opportunities thrown my way. And although I had so much on my plate already, I began to step, SLOWLY step, in the direction that has gotten us to the point we are at today.
Which is truly just the beginning.
I wanted to take a moment just to clarify all the things happening in and around the Center for Well-Being and also the Cafe of LIFE.
In the spring, Dr Navpreet Saini-Conn reached out to me to share that, after working 2 years in Brighton, she wanted to move up to Fenton and open a practice.
We sat down to a few conversations and it turns out she is a great fit for our office and she has joined us. She will be building her own practice alongside what we already have here and the great thing is that THERE IS SPACE for her to do just that. She joined us at the beginning of October and she will be sharing more and more as the time goes on. We won’t be seeing each other’s patients but there is possibility for us to fill in for each other, if ever the need arises.
We moved Dr. Nav into the rooms that you are all used to our massage therapists being in and so we have moved them on to BIG AND BEAUTIFUL rooms in another section of the building. Many of you have already had a chance to experience this new massage therapy area and have given us lots of positive feedback of how peaceful and cozy it is.

We have added 2 more massage therapists to our team to accommodate the demand on our schedule and you will be seeing Rachael and Anna in and around the office. They are incredible and are both talented in their work and enjoy being part of our already established team of great therapists, Stephanie and Laura.
We have had Lauren Lay, MSW, a family therapist, renting space on our second floor for the past year and she has MANY RAVING FANS! If you are looking for a good therapist in the area, she is a really great place to start!
Many of you have seen Michigan Community Holistic Health, Sabrina Bastian, who has been offering acupuncture and other services in the other part of the building. Throughout the last 18 months, her patient base has expanded and she has added 3 more treatment rooms to what she was already doing!

We have a commercial kitchen in the back part of our building and if you are looking for a great meal prep service, Feed Me Michigan is prepping meals through the weekend and we are a pick-up spot for those who have ordered ahead of time! We have additional days available inside our kitchen space in case you are someone you know are in need of certified commercial kitchen space.
A couple other businesses we have teamed up with are Optimize Hypnosis and an incredible functional medicine practitioner in the local area.
I remember when I purchased the building 2.5 years ago…the constant mantra of all those around me was (just like the Field of Dreams) “if you build it, they will come.” It is incredible when I really look around at what has happened in the past 2.5 years and just how much the Center for Well-Being has come to life, THEY REALLY DID COME!!!
This building is an ongoing project, 10,000 sq ft of space and half of that being 130 years old, it is naturally always going to be a project. I have an incredible team and am bringing more staff on board to help as it grows and evolves. I have a continuous checklist of stuff that needs to be done, but to be honest with all of you, I am happy to be the one that the Universe sent to take care of this place.
As I was busy designing our new massage suite and expanding our adjusting space and spending a lot of after hours time doing the work, it reminds me back to the beginnings (the initial help has moved on in life, thank goodness) and how it feels like a big playground for creation. All in all, it has actually been a lot of fun to repurpose.
As I stated before, this is only the beginning and the natural attraction to the building, location and charm has let us become the “go-to” spot for all things health and wellness for the entire family.

PART 2

To continue from the previous blog, I wanted to give you an update on where I am now, following my Patent Foramen Ovale closure surgery, but also answer some of the questions you have had since the first post. Welcome to part 2.

In August of 2019, I was at my regular yearly check-up with my primary care physician. Now when I say “regularly yearly check-up” I haven’t been to anything “regular” and “yearly” except to see my chiropractor and functional medicine practitioner in years. Being a spouse of a GM employee required that I do certain things on that insurance and so I am following the rules.

When I was in that appointment, I said to her, “I know I have a hole in my heart. I may be planning to have my own family in the next couple years and I would like to pursue getting is closed ahead of time.” I had a different cardiologist recommended to me but she told me to absolutely go back to the same one I saw before and that he is the greatest in this region.

One test was redone and a few more tests were added to the mix to determine exactly the size and location. Funny and not funny part of this is that I happen to be a healthcare provider and also in good health inside of a cardiologist’s office and so they sort of took it for granted that I would already know how this whole thing would go.

I asked questions along the way, and although I didn’t get “blown off” it was more like “of course yes that happens…” and “of course no way it would go that way…” was always the attitude. Which ended up probably being a test to me and my ability to trust.

I am a generally trustworthy kind of person and so I just turned it all over to them to do what they needed to do and know that I was in the best care in the region. On that I settled in, navigated through it all and am now here to tell the story on the other side.

Many have asked “How are you feeling now?”

I feel GREAT!!! I truly do. Instantaneously following surgery my hands and feet were warm for the first time in my entire life. I remember back in chiropractic college, my fellow classmates would always mention just how cold my hands all the time. I didn’t know any better so I had no idea it was even an issue.

Best Chiropractor - Part 2 - Dr Erica Peabody - Kilimanjaro

By this point in the game, 12 weeks out from surgery, I have skipped what I would count to be 9 migraine headaches (I’m tallying this due to my history of roughly 3 per month). I haven’t had even one. I don’t even get any headaches that I know of anymore, or nothing that I would even count as a tension or cluster headache.

I am able to workout and do what I want to do at this point and feel pretty amazing. Three weeks ago I started back at step aerobic class and looking back on teaching step for over a decade of my life, I feel incredible. The step I take now I can keep up with the HIIT moves and can actually do a burpee without blacking out!!!

I will begin to run again soon. If you have been to my office, you can see my collection of participation medals although not many from anytime recently. I will know more once I begin to train for the CRIM this year, it is a race I have done numerous times and I am curious to see if my finishing times improve and just how well I recover. I will begin back to the triathlon sport as well and look forward to seeing how my swimming progresses.

If you have followed this blog at all, you know that I had a severe foot injury following my summit of Mt Kilimanjaro back in 2017. (I have added the video log link below in case you missed it thus far…it was EPIC!!)

I wore a walking boot for 6 solid months and have been working with that foot at about 80% healed. Now I am beginning to not even have to think about it at all…warm hands and feet mean that blood supply is actually going to my feet at a better rate and I AM HEALING!!!

I truly feel great and I am so, so, so, so grateful to have been a candidate for the closure as I just know for the next decades of my life, I will be far better off.

One of the questions I have gotten a few times along the way is “how do I find out if I have this or not?” as a few of you may be suspecting something similar for yourself now listening to this story. I have to send you right back to your own general practitioner to get that resolved.

The recovery has been amazing and pretty simple for the most part. The cardiologist had me on a blood thinner since the anatomy of the heart changed and has since taken me off to proceed into my life exactly as I want to.

Dr Erica Peabody - Part 2 - Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan

Your words of encouragement as well and your good wishes are appreciated more than I can really say in words here on this blog. It has been quite an experience and I hope that my sharing this information, that you feel a little more informed and educated about the possibilities.

Of course, all along I have continued chiropractic care, massage therapy and stayed in touch with my functional medicine practitioner. I have continued yoga and meditation and am now back at full capacity in the gym. In essence, I have done the things that we talk about in the practice all the time: eat well, move well and think well. These are truly the keys to optimizing the body and it’s inborn ability to heal, and even more critical to healing from something like that.

Thanks for checking back for part 2 and stay in touch as time progresses…there is a lot more to share!

WHOLEHEARTED

I am living wholehearted.

I am nine weeks post heart surgery. It feels crazy to even be able to say something like that and it has been an incredible shift in my life!

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Wholehearted - Dr Erica Peabody

14 years ago I was diagnosed with what is called a Patent Foramen Ovale, a congenital heart defect that is present in twenty percent of the population. Many go un-diagnosed and often the first sign is stroke. I feel very fortunate to know this info and I also feel really fortunate that I didn’t have to have a serious incident in order to get this information.

Playing sports growing up, there was clearly something wrong but they just lumped it into the group called “exercise induced asthma” and “when you start gasping and wheezing (which was happening all the time on the soccer field especially) take this inhaler.”

The inhaler never worked, never made a difference except just to make me shake…and be more frustrated because I still couldn’t catch my breath. I continued to play sports and excelled regardless.

When I was 12 years old, I started getting migraine headaches. I can remember my very first one as I woke up around 2am one morning and told my parents “It feels like a bowling ball hit me in the side of my head.” At 12, those were the best words that I could come up with to describe that pain. The migraines have happened anywhere between 2-10 per month since then.

I am sure there are some migraine sufferers out there reading this that know the kind of pain I am talking about, debilitating to say the least. I learned through the years just to deal with them and after the first few years, I still had the same level of pain but I never let it stop me. Life, school, tests, finals, patient care…nothing stops just because I have a headache and pushing through all of it has always been the way I handled them…and most other things in my life.

Best Chiropractor - Wholehearted - Dr Erica Peabody — they made me lay on my back for 8 solid hours following my surgery which was the hardest part

Shortness of breath upon exertion and migraine headaches, combined with numbness into my hands (which would come and go since my late teenage years) are the classic symptom group for Patent Foramen Ovale and I tested positive. To top all of these symptoms off, chronic hypoxia (lack of oxygen) was the over-riding theme since the blood would just skip the trip to the lungs altogether. On a scale of 1-5 for the size of the hole, I tested as a 4.

I scheduled to see the cardiologist 14 years ago and was looking forward to having all of these things improve for me through a surgical procedure where they inserted a patch in the heart. His exact words “I make a lot of money doing these patches but we do not have the research of what happens to the current devices 30-40 years down the road and so if you are not suffering every single day, don’t do it.”

I was bummed because I was truly looking forward to a shift for me, but I was going to listen to the expert.

I revisited the idea and the tests and all of the procedures this past fall. When I went back to the same cardiologist he said “We have the BEST devices now and so YES!!! …considering how you test and just how compromised you are, lets do it!”

I know what you are thinking out there, “How compromised is she? She has done all these things with a hole in her heart, long distance running and biking, hot yoga, taught aerobics classes for 10 years, even climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro! How is that possible?”

I am (well was) VERY compromised but was going to do all the things anyway because that is the fabric I am built from. I do my best not to let anything slow me down.

November 21, 2019 I went under the knife. This is the procedure they did.

The cardiologist wanted me to take on Thursday off work to have the procedure done, stay the night, go home Friday and head back into work on Monday the 25th. Unbelievable to me in the moment he had said that but that is exactly what I did, and I probably saw many of you that day!

I didn’t share much about this ahead of time for the simple fact that the words “heart surgery” freak most people out. I wanted to get through it, survive it and then tell the story when I can really share the details.

This post is getting lengthy and so I will leave this info here for now and then I will share more in the next post.

When you take a moment to do the math of chronic hypoxia my entire life and never slowing down, to getting full amount of oxygen moving forward, you can see how great of a thing this is and the how freakin’ incredible the medical profession is to be able to develop a fix like that video I shared. Literally I am now finally living wholehearted.

GRATITUDE

November always has a gratitude theme to it. I wish more months did that, but I guess with the very best of all holidays (in my humble opinion) being in November, it just makes sense.

“What you think about and thank about, you bring about!”

One of the greatest quotes and OH SO TRUE!!!

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Gratitude - Dr Erica Peabody

There are so many things to be grateful for, just look around you. No really, stop for a moment from reading this, look up and look around you. I bet you can instantly find 5 things to be grateful for! If not, LOOK HARDER!!!

There is always something to be grateful for and gratitude, when used as a driving force in our lives, is a really powerful tool for bringing about more of what you want and shifting energy around worry and fear.

I have been using the month of November to express my gratitude towards individual things inside of my life and my days that I am grateful for. Just a few more days to go however my list truly goes on much longer than just the number of days inside of this month.
When I take a glance around in my life, one of the greatest gifts ever given to me is the army of people that support me every single day. There is a lot happening in life and for whatever reason, I tend to not take the easy path to some of the life lessons sent my way. It is tough stuff sometime. Just when the world seems like it is crashing down on one side, I reach out and ask for a little bit of help and support and someone always steps in to help me until I can do it all myself again…well that is until another side starts to crumble.

When I head home after my day of work, I realize that within a mere 3 miles of my home are some of the greatest people I know. I feel so lucky to be living and working inside this incredible community of Fenton, but beyond that, I have so many people, family and friends, that are part of my daily life. I am so, so grateful!

As a little call to action inside of this simple blog post, go grab a piece of paper and a pen. Go ahead, I will wait right here…

Okay, now that you have paper and pen, just write 1-30 down the left side. Sit for the next 10 minutes or so and fill up each one of those slots with 30 things you are grateful for.

Want to take it one step further? Go share that with your spouse, your kids or give a friend a call and share it with them. It is one thing to think about it, it is a whole other thing to write it down and it takes it up a level to share it out loud with someone. Then report back here and let me know how you did. You can simply read through this blog post and say “Oh wow Erica, I can see how that would be beneficial.” …or you can GO DO SOMETHING!!! Get off of your phone (I know you are reading this from your phone), set that thing down, pen it to paper and SHARE THE GRATITUDE!!! I can almost bet that it will spark something inside of that next person to do the same.

You will see… Expressing gratitude is the first step in bringing more of those things you are grateful for into your life…and it is quite contagious!!

THE FIRST YEAR

I cannot believe that we are already through the first year of practice here at the Center For Well-Being, our beautiful BIG BLUE!!!

This will mark my 15th year in private practice but the first year in this location. It has been nothing less than incredible!!! We have, hands down, no exception, the most beautiful office space in the area. I am not saying that just to toot our own horn either. As you look around during your appointments, you will notice it is like being adjusted in a museum. The woodwork is incredible, there is so much to look at. I do my work by hand, and the fact that all of this woodworking was done by hand is just so impressive.

The space that we adjust out of is just absolute perfection for us. We have room to move and breathe and as our reception area packs full, which happens on the regular here, we still have room for everyone and do not feel like they are sitting on top of one another. The greatest thing is being able to have so much room to move as I dance around my tables adjusting all day long.

I am grateful beyond any words that could describe it all. One year later, I look back to where it all began with a big unveiling of our sign out front in the front yard on Monday, September 17th of last year at 9:45 to accept our first patients at 10!

Every single day I feel more and more healing coming from this building, but as we work with her more and more and begin to shine her run-down corners, I can feel her healing as well. She hasn’t had the TLC over the past years that she is so deserving of.

Have you been in here yet? Do you feel the grounding and healing energy like we do?

Over the past 3 months, we have been able to really begin to shine up those run-down corners, hallways and rooms. She was already so beautiful but you need to SEE HER NOW!!!

Dr Erica Peabody - Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - The first year

We have our first tenants moved in and joining their businesses under our roof. It was the intention from the start that instead of saying “The acupuncturist is across town” we can now officially say “The acupuncturist is just down the hallway and to the left.” as Michigan Community Acupuncture has joined us early September.

I have many practitioners that I refer to on a regular basis and now we can ALSO say “An incredible psychotherapist, Lauren Lay, is just up the grand staircase and to the right. She has created a beautiful cozy space to work in.”

What I love the most about all of this is that there are other great people now loving on our building just like we have over the past year, and it is only the beginning. We have a few other things in the works and only 11 more office spaces available up for grabs at this point and we couldn’t be any more excited about this whole thing coming together as my dream is brought to life.

WOW!!! One whole year!!!

Just WOW!!! And if the first year is any indication of where this thing has potential of going, I stand in pure amazement. Swing by and see for yourself! It is time to plan an official OPEN HOUSE!!! Stay tuned….

SIDE EYE

Mike says to me, in a side eye expression, “I have something to tell you. I got a dog.”

“YOU WHAT?!?!?!”

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Dr Erica Peabody - Side Eye — Lou

Let’s go back a bit.

As a married couple, some things you talk about and some things you don’t need to talk about. Getting a dog is one that falls inside of the “things you talk about” category…except for this time apparently.

At first I flipped out and if you know anything about the logistics of our life together, you would easily understand why living between two houses is a challenge for a family without a dog, much less a dog family.

BUT this little guy is like having a real live teddy bear around. He is a Bernidoodle and his name is Lou. He is almost 3 months old and is an absolute lover. They say he will end up around 35 lbs but, hmmmm I am not quite convinced and will wait and see how that goes.

I am not a dog person because I have been lunged at by 3 dogs. I do not have breed preference at all, I am just one that doesn’t necessarily trust that any breed will always stay calm, cool and collected…until I met this guy.

Gentle, peaceful, cuddly, and lazy – are good qualities in a dog in my opinion and Lou is all of them. At 10 weeks he has had a couple days in the office but he does have a lot to learn. Many people love dogs but some people do not and I can respect that. For now, he will remain sleeping at my feet under my desk back in my office when I have him. One day, when he grows up a bit, he will hopefully be wandering around during my office adjusting times that he is with me.

Which I am not exactly sure how much that would be because he has an awesome group of triplets that he is very fond of as well. They will take priority in having him and taking care of him.

I reject the idea of a dog for about 2 hours and 45 minutes until I had an actual change to meet Lou in person. When you have a chance to meet him as well, you will see what I mean and just how special it is to have a real, live teddy bear walking around with a heart of gold and wanting to spread pure puppy-love.

That side eye expression, when Mike gives it to me next time, I will know to just trust and hear him out and that most likely, even if it is a “should be talked about” item inside of our marriage, it may end up being a really good thing anyway.

PS Mike, do not do something like that again. 😉 And Lou, WELCOME TO THIS CRAZY FAMILY!!!!

SUPER BOWL

I had a really interesting Super Bowl experience this year and I will tell you a little bit about how it went.

First off, I didn’t even realize it was Super Bowl weekend until maybe Friday. I do like to watch sports but my time is demanded in other areas of life right now and I haven’t even watched one single professional football game this year, and maybe caught portions of 2 Spartan games (and I don’t mean going to the stadium, I mean just on TV) the entire season.

We missed the entire first quarter of the Super Bowl and started around 8 minutes left in the second quarter. Of course the half-time show was great however I am still wondering why a guy like Adam Levine needed to take his shirt off? I am so confused by that. He is crazy talented and put on an exceptional show, and as soon as he took his shirt off, it sort of ruined it for me. Am I the only one?

Second half started and I fell asleep, not because of the pace of the game, but because the energy the TV puts out is so low and slow that I sit down and zonk right out. I was a little surprised by that but I do not have TV in my house and I do not watch any TV on a regular basis and I feel like my brain was sort of saying “A better use of my time right now is to rest.” We had a very busy weekend and so I am actually grateful to have spent some good time sleeping.

I woke up with 5 minutes left of the game. The Patriots were ahead. In all sporting events, the last minutes are the best so I was intently watching as they progressed through those last few.

Good Game Patriots!!!

Here is what I learned from watching the Super Bowl this year:

I am not a fan of TV and every time I turn it on, I want to turn it off immediately. The commercials are not even worth watching the game anymore…well except for maybe the Verizon commercial, that was really well done, but I am already a Verizon customer.

I learned I value my sleep over anything the media has to offer. The game gathers a lot of energy around it and people get really excited and happy. I am massively impressed by Tom Brady; for his performance on the field over and over and over, that is a given. More than that I am impressed with an athlete who really values health and puts in the work to keep his aging body, and brain, at tip top shape as the years go by. He fuels his body and works out, of course, but more than that, if you listen to interviews, podcasts and read some of the articles over the years, his value on health is right at the top of his priority list.

I am a pretty big fan of the idea that health comes from within and that it happens through continuously doing healthy things, and that we don’t get something for nothing and it REQUIRES WORK!!!! Tom also is a huge proponent of chiropractic care, and not just for pain, but for optimal performance. In fact, all NFL teams have a team chiropractor these days.

Now, I am no dummy to the fact that there are possibly some things that are in the hush hush about his life and actions behind the scenes, I believe those at the top of a game like that have some secrets somewhere.

I also learned that I love my little family-to-be (in 5 weeks from now) and when we spend time together, it fills my heart. I love my future husband and the fact that he will snuggle in on the couch with me for hours even if I am sleeping.

Over the years, people have asked “how do you live without TV?” My honest answer is “I don’t believe much in spending my time that way”, however, now I realize there is a bit that I can learn from watching the Super Bowl. 🙂