A recent article in the Des Moines Register September 17 of Mom's and Me featured my friends Jill and Laura Olsen. If you have not had a chance to read the article, a short snipit and photograph is included below. Laura Olsen of Urbandale does push ups on a picnic table while her son, Tate, 21 months, rides and is spotted by trainer Jill Olsen at Walker Johnston Park In Urbandale.



Moms routinely put themselves last, but following a few simple fitness gurus' tips and inspiring moms' stories can help shed the mommy guilt, along with a few pounds or high cholesterol points.


Keeping up with the kids, work, housework, volunteering, whatever it may be, moms really do need to eat healthy and exercise regularly. But how?

"First, make time for yourself before you do anything. Take five minutes first thing in the morning to be still, which is so hard to do," said personal fitness trainer Jill Olsen of Des Moines. "Even if you take (only) 20 minutes a day to exercise, that's 20 minutes more than what you were previously doing."

Olsen works with a variety of moms, from new moms to stay-at-home moms to working moms. Some fun exercises to do at home are squats while holding a baby and planks while kids sit on your lower back, rocking from side to side and front to back.

"Some moms have way too much going on, so I help them fit in exercise at their homes. I also work with moms at the gym," she said. "I've taken moms and their kids to the playground and put together an obstacle course for exercise. I try to make exercising fun and incorporate several body parts in one exercise to make the best use of their time. I also help with nutritional guidelines, too."

Blog and you shall receive! Check it out.....on the morning of my 2 year and 1 day anniversary at DoctorsNow Walk-In Care, a giant chocolate chip cookie with fanciful frosting was delivered to my clinic. Y'all know by now, that nothing is better than many warm chocolate chip cookies drizzled with chocolate syrup and topped with light cookies and cream ice cream is my absolute favorite treat of all the universe!

Not knowing who sent it, my first intuition was to notify everyone on my blog list. Not so fast I thought to myself.....I must have millions of fans! HeeHee. Then, the most obvious struck me...my sly workout companions, who not hours before delivery, had been joking me about my lack of excitement in my life.

Hmmm, I wonder if I blog about a classy new Mercedes E-class convertible, I will get one of those delivered to my door??? Yahoo!

It is a special day!! Today, September 15, 2010, is my 2-year anniversary at DoctorsNow Walk-In Care! I still remember the excitement and anticipation I had when I landed my NEW job. It has been an amazing time and I am grateful for the opportunity to have a job and serve my patients. Two years later and I am still going strong.

Since my anniversary fell on a Wednesday, I am not at work to celebrate. Is it ridiculous to celebrate anniversaries at work? "Oh hey, Dr. J, congratulations on sticking it out another year! Here's your bronze medal. Next year you get a silver medal and the year after that a gold medal."

Personally, I do not think anniversaries are ridiculous. An anniversary gives me an opportunity to appreciate both how far I have come and how far I can continue to go. Anniversaries can be a wonderful time to celebrate another year of engaged employment.

The road to becoming a doctor is a long and difficult one. In fact, doctors go through more education and training than almost any other type of professional. At the very minimum, it takes eleven years to become a doctor...4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, and 3 years of residency. For some specialties, residency training may take up to 8 years before they are fully trained. Still, most doctors love their work and believe it was well worth the years of effort.

An anniversary is a beautiful thing. I will think of it as celebrating myself as a thriver rather than a survivor! Bring on the medals!

Some days my blog writes itself. The ideas flow like a river winding through the woods. Some days I love to teach. Other times, I love to get you wrapped up in the story I am telling. Nothing helps me write blogs better than reading other blogs and short stories. There are some seriously exellent writers out there. The stories are so believable. The characters so real.

A good story is written every day. I am referring to "life." Amazing things are happening all around you. You just have to see them....and listen to them. "Like what," you ask?" Well, already this morning my front office staff told my first patient to "get better soon." It's her favorite phrase. It's almost like a recipe to her. "Would you like to pay your copay today?" "Thank you, have a nice day and get better soon." You might think that is so nice of her to say. Unfortunately, he wasn't sick at all. He was here for a simple cholesterol and thyroid check. Oh that poor lady. She means well. I watch her antics every day. It's important to really know your characters in order for the story to seem real to the reader.

Paying attention to the world around you is the first step in developing ideas. When you are at the store, the gym, work, a new resturant, or on a vacation around the world...look around, listen, and make notes. Your story will blossom from there.

One of these days, I hope to have so many ideas piled up to write a book. For now, my blogs are my plants and trees. A plush garden is on the horizon!

Everyone has a dream. And, in your dream you are basically living out a story...a story written one page at a time. But who is writing your story? You? Your friend? Your parents? A divinely higher spirit?

Pretend for a moment that you could change the script. Ask yourself if the story you are living is the best you can do. Is the story you are living written by someone other than God? Paul wrote in 2Cor.5:17 "so for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation." The essence of Christianity is that each person is actually given a new part, a new script. All we have to do is have faith in the fact that God has given us every tool that we will ever need to build our life. He has instilled in us all the equipment we will need to do His work.

The part that is confusing is that at any moment in your story, the script can change. At first, it may seem like your path is only full of obstacles. But what you will find is that your obstacles are really a series of opportunities. God does not want us to fail. He wants us to live a life full of more abundance than we could ever imagine.

It all sounds so easy...have faith, get abundance. Somebody pushed the "EASY" button. If it is so easy, why is it that we get off track so easily? Could it be that we forget to focus on the one thing that never changes....God's love? Once you lose focus, it is not hard to see your dreams disappear. Have you ever had someone tell you that your dream will never come to pass? That your ideas are dumb? That what you do with your life is stupid? Someone always putting you down, telling you that you are not good enough?

I wonder how many people will one day discover that they spent their lives killing other people's dreams. I will tell you only once.......these are the ones who lack focus on the ONE thing that never lets you down......GOD!

Once you realize that dream killers are nothing but opportunities given to you by the DREAM GIVER, you will be able to live your story to its fullest. Do not get stuck on a page in your book. Turn the page and see what amazing things the Lord has given to you to fulfill your dream.

Go ahead, dream a little dream!