MS Update - A New Ride in 2019

Well it is that time of year again.  I am registered to participate in an MS Bike ride.  I am not able to do the Iowa ride this year which is fine as it is only so exciting after so many years of doing that one.  So I signed up for a two day ride in early June only to learn that is the week I am due to close on the houses.  So third time’s a charm, I’ve signed up for a one day ride in May in Minneapolis (I hope it isn’t still snowing up there).

I have a couple of friends interested in riding with me but would love to have a few more people on our team.  The team sign up is here: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/dream_team

As you know the MS ride is important to my family as I was diagnosed in 2013/14 and these MS rides are a major fundraiser for supporting the great work of the National MS Society.  Their big push lately is supporting research for people with progressive MS like some of my friends. They are also supporting research in mylien repair which can be of direct benefit for people like myself.

I know on the surface I look like I’m doing well and getting around fine (well maybe not on weeks when I am having a flare up but thankfully those are not frequent.). I still struggle with neuropathy (tingling) in my hands a feet, brain fog and slowness as well as occasional bladder control issues.  I’ve figured out things to help me when those get overwhelming and most of the time I do pretty good (so long as I manage my stress that is).  I am actually struggling with intermittent flare ups the last five days so I've been

taking time to rest since I will be on the road seven working days starting next Monday.

Anyway the purpose of this blog is just to do a gentle ask, if you can afford to help (even the smallest donations can make a difference if many people give) to send a donation to the MS society on my behalf and support the great things they do for people like me.     http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/ShawnBlaesing2019

Thanks for the consideration.  Sending you all love.

Just keep smiling and swimming

The last six months have been some of the hardest I’ve experienced.  There have been stress, worry and yes tears but hopefully my smile is quick to return and as the saying goes just keep swimming (good thing I’m a strong swimmer).  I’ve had some ups and downs and a few of the things I set down became even more evident as I plowed through four months of 1000+ unread emails in my inbox this week(note to self purge some email mailing lists).  I’m slowly starting to get my life back on track but the struggle has been real.  A friend said to me they wished they could find the bravery they see in me.  It feels more like surviving one day at a time but I am filled with hope that soon I will be thriving again.

January was filled with navigating paperwork to get the separation process started and figure out how to live together for the next six month.  February brought one health set back after another.  I had an MS flare for a couple of days that rolled into a couple of weeks of shingles rash on my face (still healing) followed by another MS flare.  That left me whimpering into March.  I started working with a dietitian in February to try to identify what my food intolerances are and was doing well until I started taking meds for shingles which left me struggling with upper GI issues and caused a hard stop on adding more foods I could tolerate.  For several weeks going to the super market threw me into depression.  I’ve grown so tired of eating the foods I know are safe after nearly two months of the same options.  Then I ran out of allergy meds (my acupuncturist ran out and I couldn’t get more in time) and had a major flare up with that which now has me hacking through the last of the drainage.  I have not had much control over any of this so just have to keep moving forward.

January through May is also my busiest time of year at work and I would not have survived so far without the help of my amazing interns who polished the training manuals we use with the field finished updating content with limited guidance.  I’m also doing an extra project from the agency director working with teams across the agency on improving engagement, so I’ve had a lot of extra travel on top of my regular travels to work with the maintenance and construction teams with their IPad technology.  I know my work output has been only enough to get by so trying to get refocused and get a handle on my projects that need more attention.  Starting to make strides in that area knowing I have four more weeks with work travel ahead but I love my job so I’m not complaining.

I’ve also been working with Joe to figure out what makes the most sense for housing, co-parenting, etc.  After getting beat out on a couple of properties he was interested in I was able to connect him with the family of my intern who graduates in May about buying their condo and that worked out.  Just before that while we were all looking at houses together Abby encouraged me to look at a house up the street that was out of my budget.  It turns out it has a tiny house behind the garage that is income earning with a long-term renter which put it well inside my budget so in early June we will all be moving back to town with Joe out by the middle school and me just a couple blocks north of the library in Ames.  On the selling of our beautiful acreage which neither of us could afford to stay on, an acquaintance from the ISU pep band saw me post about it on FB and we now are working through the last of the details for that contract.

Pieces are starting to fall into place but still a lot of work ahead to start the next phase of my life.  I’m sure there are more though days ahead, and I’ll be asking for your help along the way but I have hope for brighter days and new adventures ahead.  As always thank you for reading.

Tough decisions and major changes

Joe and I have been together for 22 years with a lot of ups and downs.  I have been pretty private here about our time together because we’ve had good days and bad days and if I’m being honest the struggles never seemed appropriate to share here.  We’ve been through two rounds of heavy counseling together over the years as well as individual counseling but never could get to the part where we could come together enough. Through all the ups and downs of 22 years we have both changed, grown apart, become less tolerant.  


We have lived in three states (four if you count the first six weeks we spent together), working to raise two kiddos (and cats, dogs, lizard, goats and chickens), riding through the waves of different jobs good and bad.  In December the hard decision was made to dissolve our marriage. While it continues to be a painful, stressful time for our family we both agree we probably should have done this a while ago. What this means for us is separating the household into two with the kids going back and forth each week.  Moving into two new homes and saying goodbye to the acreage we all love. And most of all, depending on all the people who care for us to help us navigate the path ahead.

We are making this change amicably and with the best interest of our family in mind, and we are both determined to be better coparents than we have been partners.  So we ask of you not to pick sides as we will always be a family even if we are not sharing a home. Help us by listening to our sad stories and remind us that the sadness will lift with time, make us laugh, pull us out of the house when it's our week alone, remind us to be grateful and that we are loved.

This dissolution may not be like others as we are still in the same house as we work through the financial changes needed. We are making decisions together and trying our best to be kind and supportive to each other.  Please do not share your divorce horror stories or try to push us into choices you would make as we are taking our own path. We are going to need help moving (two times) and hope that the dust will have settled by August so we can establish our new normal.

So moving forward if you have questions ask them, we don’t want you to feel sorry for us or try to change our minds.  If you want to help or listen then check in, help us lighten the load for the kids if you are able. They are doing pretty good with all of this so far but the hard days are still ahead.  Just know we are grateful to have your support in whatever capacity you can provide.

As always thanks for reading.

Shawn and Joe

Building the Chicken Palace - Last round

 Here is the coop finish work coming together.  The darker blue is the chicken door hatch.  Still not in completion but making progress.  Below is the front of the coop all trimmed out but still needing paint.  Below is the human door side with the big door in and the window open for ventilation.  Still need to build a couple of steps up and add handles to the windows in these photos.

Left are the girls and handsome Amelio in the upper left of the grassy photo.  This was the chickens first introduction to their feeding container.  Below are the girls checking out their new roosts, feeder and waterer.  I had the waterer suspended but decided to put in up on cinder blocks still attached to the ceiling to keep them from shaking all the water out or tipping it over.  I still need to work up a process for keeping the water warm in the winter but I have a couple of ideas to try.

 
Here is the storage area loaded up with supplies for the coop.  I still haven't trimmed out this side but might get it done one of these days.

The last two pictures are the 

chicken yard.  I have buried the fencing 12" under ground to try to keep the raccoons and coyotes out of the coop.  I still have a little more painting to do on the chicken yard but it's getting there.  Need a little warm dry weekend and we may be out of those for the season.  The yard has a bunch of roosts for them to check out and a dirt floor for digging.


I also installed a floor mat split in half over the coop door so they can get in and out to cut down the wind from blowing in.  I'd like to eventually get a solar door opener and closer to shut the hatch instead but this will have to work for now.  

Now if I can only get the darn tiny brained birds to push through the flap to get in and out.  Well still a work in progress.  The tire on the ground will soon be a chicken bath with sand and dirt mixed together in their yard.  Always more to be done but never enough time or help to get it finished.  In the meantime we are enjoying the eggs and often have some extra so just let me know if you are in need of any.  Thanks for reading our adventures.

Building the Chicken Coop - Part one

The story of our coop creation in photos.  Abby was my build sidekick for the first week so she did several of the Lowe's runs with me to procure materials for what ended up being quite a process of getting an idea out of my head, onto paper, and built into a solid 3D structure.

Below is the base the coop lives on.  It is 5 feet by 8 feet and trenched into the ground and set on concrete blocks.  The pad is insulated between the top and bottom panels to help keep the chickens warm in the colder months.

Below are the walls for the coop all framed up and ready for someone to help me get them set on the base.  Abby is shown below just after three of us set and screwed together the walls.

The next photo below is of the roof joists
set on the walls and the plywood roof 
sheeting in place.  The end closet to the camera is a built in storage space for feed and bedding.  The bump out with the plywood to the left was our attempt at nesting boxes.

The photo below has the wall plywood installed as well as one of the two windows that open.  It also shows the metal roofing installed.

Below shows the coop from the human and chicken door sides.  There is a full sized old wooden door next to the window, and the coop door for the chickens is to the right of that (this is before it was fully installed).

The photo below shows paint starting to go on before the trim was installed.  The nesting box top is hinged so it can be opened from the outside.  I still need to switch the hinges to the top of the box so it opens better and get some insulation installed in the lid as well.

The storage space also has the doors installed in the photo below.

On the inside, below, this was after several coats of paint were installed to brighten the space as well as to seal it.

Below are the girls and Amelio exploring their yard space for one of the first times.  Getting too big to live in the laundry room by now.

One more post of the mostly finished product and chicken yard coming next.  As always thanks for reading.

Chicken Babies in the Laundry Room - Oh My

So I am a bit behind in my story of the chickens and how they came to be with us.  For several years Abby and I have been talking chickens and while several of our neighbors had them Joe didn't want to be that family so we opted to wait until we found another location to live that was more appropriate for farm animals.

The family of one of Abby's friends are expert chicken people so we went in with them to get some day old chicks and some base knowledge on how to keep them alive and what to look for.  We got a big clear tub, and I built a chicken wire and wood lid for it.  We have a chick warmer and food and water containers and were as ready as we could be for them to arrive.

They were about the size of a tennis ball with legs when we got them.  They are seven different kinds of chickens.  Abby could rattle them all off for us but I don't have all of them filed in my memory bank.  As a result they all look different from one another and that makes it easier to remember all their names (yes they all have names).  They lived in their little chicken bin until May when we had to upgrade them to a dog kennel (see the last photo).  It took a while for me to get the chicken coop built and ready, and we couldn't even let them outside for several weeks because the black flies (little gnats) were killing chickens in Boone and Story county.

We did let them out of the kennel under supervision without the kitties present.  The cats would sit on top of their first chicken house and watch them when we were in doing laundry and they could be in the same space.  Chicken TV really is quite fun to watch even for the humans in the house.  Eventually I finished the coop and got the girls and rooster out to their outdoor living quarters.  Below is a photo of each one with their names.

Bob Mother Clucker

Rainey one of Abby's show chickens

Lacey Abby's other show chicken

Ginger the Americana

Summer

Journey the escape artist

Eley

Amelio formerly known as Amelia

All but one chicken on the roosting bar in the dog kennel shortly
before they were freed to the back yard.

Season End Run Race Reports - Ups and Downs

Run for the roses

In late August I started batting around the idea of doing another half marathon this
year, but I wanted to get a longer timed run in as well.  It’s been a long time since
I’ve done a 10k run (6.2 miles). Run for the roses (in mid Oct.), which is a
fundraising run, was coming up and we decided to do it as a family.

Abby (just finishing cross country season) and Joshua (in the middle of soccer
season) were both in good shape for a 5k.  Joe who had major back issues
earlier this year has been rehabbing and working with a trainer while easing
back into the run. This race runs a 5k and an hour later runs a 10k.  So I
watched the family start and then went inside to get warm as it was a cool wet day.

Then I watched them finish with Joshua coming in first (3rd in his age group),
Abby came in second (6th in her age group just short of her goal) and Joe
came in third (2nd in his age group).  

I gave them my rain gear and we headed out for the 10k start.  I was happy the rain
stopped shortly after our start and we were off.  This course begins on the middle
school track where we do two laps before heading off down the trails behind the
middle school, up state street hill and around to the front of the middle school,
then we reversed our trip and went through the hilly neighborhoods and back up
state street to the trails to finish.  The 10k race was mostly dry but threw plenty of
hills at us. I felt strong the first four miles or so but then the little hills started to get
to me. I managed to push through and finished in good spirits with a solid time
and 2nd place age group finish. The family had finished their omelettes by the
time I got in and were at the finish to cheer me in.  All in all it was a solid race
for me and I’ll have to do it again next year. Hopefully with less soggy weather.

Before the 5k start

Race stats 2/6 W40 Shawn Blaesing-Thompson, 44*, Kelley, IA 57:29

Hillbilly Hike Half Marathon

As I noted above this was a bit of a last minute decision.  In mid-September I was
trying to decide if I had enough time to train for the Des Moines half, which I have
done several times, or Hillbilly Hike half which was purported to be flat and a
fundraiser.  I opted for Hillbilly which gave me a couple more weeks to train.
About the same time I signed up I rolled my bad ankle on a training run and
am still nursing that back to a point where it doesn’t ache.

I spent the weeks leading up to this race training with a group of experienced
runners several of whom were also doing this race.  I felt like I put in the miles
I needed although I had no expectations of having a PR as I hadn’t been real
consistent with my training.  

Leading up to race day, my body had other ideas so while my MS is pretty much
in check although not without limitations, I started having some other issues.  
Starting a couple months ago I’d take my evening meds and feel like they would
get hung up in my esophagus and make me uncomfortable.
Then I had several nights where I’d wake from sleep with shooting pain in my
chest and back.  After the second time in a week I went to see my Dr who put me
on a reflux med and five days later another attack. I finally got a scope done but to
no avail. Either stress or med induced acid reflux I guess. Anyway, I’ve generally felt rather crummy the last three weeks so wasn’t sure how things
were going to shake out for the race.

So race day.  This is a point to point race so we had to be down to Carlisle early to
catch a bus to our run starts.  Joe decided to do the 10k so was on a different bus.
It was chilly and I had batted attire ideas around the night before with my coach
John Mongar and opted for more layers rather than less.  We stayed on the bus
until 15 minutes before the race started in Indianola, and then with my training
buddies we started the race. The pace was pretty assertive and on a normal day
for me it wouldn't have been a problem, but by the first water stop at about 2.2 miles
I started to get a stitch in my side.  I never get stitches and it started to work itself
around into my mid back like the attacks I’d been having only milder.

I just kept running and my teammates started to pull away by mile five.  Fortunately
it seemed when I’d start to get in a funk a new temporary running buddy would
appear, chat with me and keep me going.  This went on over and over throughout
the race and for that I was grateful. I still had stretches alone where I had to dig
deep on this cold and eventually drizzly race day but just kept putting one foot in
front of the other.  By the last four miles I was really struggling and started to walk
longer at each water stop and then shuffle some more. I walked half of the last
mile and finally was walking with another lady and we decided to hustled to the
finish.  By then I kept getting dizzy and was really feeling not well. Thanks
goodness Joe was at the finish line and offered to go get the car as I was shaking
from the cold, dizzy and really uncomfortable.

By some fluke I managed to finish the race in the range I gave my coach (2:10 - 2:20)
but without my body failing on me it probably could have been a PR day.  Either way
I was grateful to be able to run even if it didn’t turn out the way I expected.
Here is to improving health. I have big plans for 2019 so will post more about that
later.  For now, thank you for reading.

AG finish 13/21 Shawn Blaesing-Thompson - Final official time 2:19:28