Me Myself and I Sailing Along

Hello! My name is Valerie Arena
I am a physically disabled individual as most times I am in a powerchair or just being very careful when I walk! I have really bad joints, degenerative joint disease and I'm too young for surgery.  (and not a good candidate either).

I certainly don't allow myself to be limited by my physical difficulties. I actually am quite successful in whatever I put my mind to and enjoy spending my time educating myself. I work full time and I also work part time. I have been able to utilize my education and experiences to secure and maintain fully virtual employment. I have been an instructor with Excelsior College for over 10 years! I am a Senior manager of Academic Assessment full time with a non profit education company. I work with a lot of questions and derive a lot of answers! Solutions!

I live with Rich, Bear and Sheena. The latter two are my babies, my dog and cat respectively. I have had my dog for about 9 years, from when he was born! He was born in Phoenix, AZ. I lived in AZ for over 30 years and moved to PA in 2007. I have since (2014) moved to Georgia and like it here!

I am curious, alternative, confident, goal oriented and silly at times. My family would describe me as successful and a go-getter, someone that fights for others.

This is me - the professional me, sitting at my desk, books and musical instruments behind me, looking intelligent. ha.

 This is the art rendering of myself, a little tiny piece of art I created with my Prismacolor markers, one of my favorite art tools.

This is me and Sherman Alexie, one of my favorite authors! I had the honor of meeting him right before I left Arizona, he is a fantastic writer and person and speaker! I met him at the Heard Museum. He writes a lot of literature for children/young readers. I am currently taking a Writing Children's Literature course at Western New Mexico University and one of his books is on the required reading list and I am working on a children;s picture book right now.

I make jewelry of all kinds from ornate beading to simple items, here is a picture of my line of moon and fairy necklaces. I run a few shops on Etsy and sell my jewelry art and excess supplies.

When I lived in PA I would put my art and jewelry up for sale at the well known Rattlesnake Round Up in Noxen, PA. Neat event, annually held not too many of these anymore. This is a picture of part of my booth.

I have fallen into the adult coloring craze! This is one of my first ones that I started working on.

I LOVE music, Adele and Enya are two of my favorites! 

 In Chattanooga, there is the Riverside Market and it has vendors and music and food trucks and its fun, its almost every weekend. There is a Saturday and Sunday market every week and a farmers market every wednesday (in the winter days). I currently live in NW Georgia and plan to move up to Chattanooga soon to be on public transit and take advantage of these events more often and probably sell my art and jewelry there too from time to time (or hire someone to do that for me).  I love going to these, they are busy and have lots of fantastic artisans and a lady who makes really cool steampunk home decor! I make a lot of steampunk jewelry.

As I said I can be silly sometimes and this was one time recently near the end of 2015 we were at Walmart and this HUGE display of potatos just had me cracking up! I took this photo with my phone and put it on facebook, this display of potatos just overwhelmed the whole produce area and I just found some humor in it.  It was like something out of South Park!

These are my babies, Bear and Sheena. I love them! They are just awesome pets and my poor baby Bear got ill about six weeks ago and I took him to the vet and it was determined that he had DIABETES! I was so shocked I had no idea dogs got diabetes (cats do too...I have since met a (online) worker in my company whose cat has diabetes!) I have to give my poor pup insulin shots twice a day! Yes, sticking a needle in a dog twice a day... some days he is a little antsy about it and i have to put a muzzle on for the few seconds that I have to do this.  Its been enough time and he is doing better but he was so sick and I was so scared! 

Quote

I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination

The philosophy that is for me: is exemplified in this quote. I actually bought this ring for myself last year after surviving necrotizing fasciitis.  I was in the hospital for six weeks and away from my home. I had further mobility and physical limitations put on me while I recovered, and some remain to this day. I ended up with a 24 inch incision along my abdominal/pelvic area. I was not expected to survive. I did. Just as my initial physical disabilities made me unable to work in the traditional sense...I found a way to get work from home and built up my resume and have been able to be influential as a teacher despite being "virtual."

a. What are some of your favorite moments during the week? Describe what you love about these moments. How do they affect you/your day & those around you? 

When the work day is over....somedays I can shut off the computer and phone at 4pm and just go put my feet up in my recliner and watch silly shows or something more meaningful. I love series like Orange is the New Black, Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, Transparent, etc...I like the new People vs. OJ series and anything with Lady Gaga in it! People know its my time to relax and my partner just does what I ask of him and makes my relaxing time pleasurable, because I honestly don't get that much of it considering I have 2 jobs, I go to school (grad school) full time, I write books, make art, make jewelry, run 3 shops on etsy and shop and dine out and go to events..many of the things I do are work related so to just put ones feet up is priceless!

Another favorite moments is when I cook or bake. I love cooking and baking! I also love shopping for all kinds of things, and shopping for spices, unique food items (picture Pier 1, World Market, farmers markets) is something I enjoy greatly!

b. We all have them: what are some of the everyday challenges or struggles you face? Describe how you feel in these moments. How do they affect you/your day & those around you? 

(I think my description about myself pretty much answers this one!) I get through it, I find ways to adapt to what I want/need to do. I love to cook and bake and have to use a variety of tools to do so, finding out what I can use/access most easily is something I work at. I just got a new stove and it's a little lower than the other one I had so that is really helping me have full access to do what I want to do.

When you think about your own health & wellness, what would you say your philosophy is? What is working well vs. not so well for you? What are your own personal goals right now related to your health & wellness? Are they the same or different for your family—how so? 6. If you think of yourself as being on a health & wellness “journey”, how would you characterize that journey and how it feels to you? Choose and post an image from Google Images that captures where you are right now on your health & wellness journey. Describe why you chose the image and how you relate to it. 

My health and wellness is good. I try to eat healthy and like to try new things.  I do not have a philosophy I don't get too heavy on this area of my life, I just take it as it comes and I use good judgement.  I am trying to stay away from sugar. I gave up soda for 2 years. Right now I have 1 or 2 sodas a week (the little 8 oz cans!) My body just does not feel well when it has too much sugary food in it.  My goal right now is to loose some weight, get some exercise, I plan to move to Chattanooga so I can be more accessible to a hospital that has a wonderful aqua aerobics and exercise facility that is fully accessible.  I went there for therapy after my surgery last year and they offer a monthly membership for $30 and its so worth it.  I want to get moving more! Do what I can despite being in a power chair. I can get up and out and into the pool so I am!  Here's a philosophy of sorts and a photo of where I am at (swimming to success).

Cheers! 

Valerie