Friday, June 4, 2010

Stress Me Out!

Today I will be undergoing a stress test. During my lunch hour I will befriend a treadmill while hooked up to various machines and walk/run until my heart reaches a targeted rate. All this in an effort to see if I have a healthy heart. My physician ordered this test after hearing I've been experiencing irregular heart rhythms while exercising. Could be I don't need a stress test as life is always creating enough of the dreaded reaction to life's woes. All that's needed is a monitor attached to my hip as I go about my daily do's and I'm sure a few off-the-chart heart rhythms could be recorded. There are days I look and feel just like this...





Home repairs, car issues, mounting bills, to-do lists that rival the length of the Appalachian trail...all of it keeps piling on. But at the end of the day, I take a good hard look at what must be done and realize it isn't all that bad, especially if I take it one task at a time. It could always be worse. I've come to appreciate the adage that basically says: If I were to throw my troubles into a pile with everyone else's, I would quickly retrieve my own. That isn't the exact verbage but you get the point.

Personally, I think my erratic heartbeat is caused by nothing more than excessive caffeine consumption prior to exercise as the problem seems to only arise on days I've guzzled more than my fair share. Then again, my heart also seems to race when I make eye contact with a few hot, buff, studly men at the gym. AND, it will skip a beat when one of them actually smiles at me. But it always returns to a regular rhythm....cause a smile is all I get. Can't blame a girl for dreaming, now can you? ;-)

In other news, I'm heading to Atlanta to rescue my daughter's car from airport parking. The child was fortunate enough to go to Canada to visit her boyfriend's family. As her week long visit was coming to a close, she made the decision to stay for the summer. Ahhh, to be so young and carefree! His family helped her find a job and she is getting the experience of a lifetime. The plans to retrieve her car fell through and it is now momma to the rescue. But isn't that what moms do? Ride in and save the day? Her spontaneity has had me shipping boxes of clothes across the border and now bailing out a vehicle that has been locked up for almost a month. Fees have been mounting daily. I can only imagine...and literally cringe...at the thought of how big this bill will be. Just another example of how life creates an never-ending stress test.

Before I go, I have a favor to ask. For all you blog friends who live in the Atlanta area...if you see I'm AWOL from the blog scene longer than usual, please come rescue me. I fear I may still be aimlessly wandering the rows and rows of parked cars looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. I plan to pack a snack just in case I get lost.

TGIF everyone!!!!!

10 comments:

  1. Girl... been there, done that. Twice. Last time was in December... aka stressful time of the year. Assuming you have the same prognosis as me... the biggest things that cause this are caffeine, alcohol, stress & nicotine... among many other things. (When I gave up caffeine a long time ago, it was a HUGE help for me). My issue is PVC's (premature ventricular contraction). Supposedly it's not life-threatening, but it sure doesn't feel great when it's happening. And of course, the more it happens, the more STRESSED I get! LOL! Around Christmas I took a pill ordinarily prescribed for high BP (weened myself off after 2 mos) & it totally helped! Lately I've started feeling some irregularity again, but of course I have a LOT going on again, so that could be it! May/June is always just as freakin' busy as December for some strange reason.

    Hope all goes well. Will be thinking about you, Lisa. Email me if you have time afterward.

    Hugs...

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  2. Ooooh...me too...been there, done that!! I didn't do the treadmill bit, I was just wired up for 48 hours to monitor irregular heart rythms!!...& ditto the advice...cut back on caffiene, prioritise to avoid undue stress & balance out the exercise with plenty of 'quality' sleep! I opted not to have the proffered meds & no longer experience that weird sensation of missed beats & a heart racing to catch up!!

    Only you could fill a post about stress & irregular heart rythms with humour! Thanks for the giggles yet again...& I now have visions of a you camping out in the airport car park, awaiting rescue by search party!!

    Hope all goes well today anyway! Have a great weekend! {{Hugs}} xx

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  3. I started have the same thing in my twenty's and I'm forty something close to 50. Anyways, my doctor told me not to worry. I also notice that when I eat nuts, like walnut or almonds, my heartbeat is regular. And I only have one coffee in the morning, and it's a weak one. Just for the flavor. Hope everything goes well for the car. Have a great week-end!

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  4. funny...I have to have one too on the 9th of this month....it will be hugely scary to have julie on a treadmill...lol lol lol lol...good luck with getting the car! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

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  5. Oh no! Best of luck finding the car!

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  6. Hope everything turns out ok...isn't stress just the most fun!?! Not!!! But I think we all have our fair share...take it easy...& good luck finding the car :0)

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  7. So how did the stress test go? I spent a month in Montreal with my BFF not too long after I graduated from high school and loved it...wow what memories :) I think that was the most carefree I've ever been. Good luck with moms to the rescue!

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  8. Thinking about you friend. Stress STINKS.....Maybe if we move to Hawaii we can live stress free lives! Yeah right lol!

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  9. Don't you just love the 40's! I think stress has become and everyday occurance these days, oh well, someday things will calm down and we can all relax! Hope the stress test went well and you are healthy. Caffeine gives me the jitters really bad but I can't do without my morning coffee, at least 2-3 cups! Hope you found your daughters car okay and it didn't take too long to find. Hope you have a great weekend! Hugs, Annette

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  10. Oh Lisa I hope you made it out of ATL airport ok, that place can be rough at times.

    Best of Luck with the stress test.

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