Last blog of the year!

Wow, It's time to say goodbye to 2010. Without sounding terribly cliche' where the heck did this year go!? I feel like I can think of stuff that happened in early Winter like It just happened yesterday. Unbelievable.

While a reflection on some years is much happier or brighter than others, each one that we have to reflect on is a gift. For this, and so many other things I am extremely grateful.

2010 has brought a lot of things my way be it good, or not so good. I'm happy to have my wonderful husband, good health, our home, good jobs, friends, family, laughter, happiness, and the ability to LIVE our lives to the fullest.

I am so very ready for 2011 I must say though. I'm not a huge resolution person, however there are some things I'd like to tweak about myself ;) I'm also very hopeful for 2011 and grateful to be here to enjoy it as it's merely less than 7 hour away.

Here's to 2011 and to hopes, dreams, and wishes coming true! <3

Mini Vacation!

Hooray for being off work until Monday! You can't see me, but I'm dancing in my chair as I type this ;) I'm so ready to have some down time and enjoy the last few days of my most favorite time of year. On the agenda is girl time and dinner tonight with a close friend and gift exchange with her girls. One of which is my Goddaughter, so I'm super excited to give them their presents. We have a New Years Eve party, Christmas with some friends, and then Christmas with my best friend on Sunday. Very busy, but very grateful for this lovely time of year.

As soon as the work day was over I ran out of the door (ok not literally) but close. I headed up to the gym and did a 2 mile run. My legs are feeling it for sure. I'm happy to report that according to my FEV1 meter, my #'s were awesome!

Here's to 4 days off work!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas 2010

It has been such a busy holiday season but I wouldn't change a thing. This is my most favorite time of year and it truly has been wonderful. We had a great Christmas and are so very fortunate for all that we have. Santa also treated us very very well this year ;)

Truth be told, I'm so sad that it is already over. I really try to absorb every single day, but alas the time still flies by. I can't believe we're already talking about New Year's Eve. Yikes! Umm 2010, where did you go exactly?

I've been running but have been a mega slacker documenting it. So yesterday I did 2 miles, and today I had to cut my workout short due to work but still managed 1.5 miles. Happy lungs= Happy Me!

Attacked by a 7 year old ;)

Today we spent the day with Scott's family doing our Christmas together. It was a wonderful day all around. I think for me though, besides the obvious Christmas feel in the air was my niece's reaction to her present.

We have her a "Moxie Girl" playset. I was sitting on the floor watching all the kids open there presents chit chatting when suddenly I heard a shriek and soon after landed on my back. That's right, my 7 year old niece LOVED her present that much that she tackled me to the floor in hugs and "thank you's." I have NEVER had a better reaction. And bonus, it was caught on video ;)

Today was a good day!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

So I haven't been the best blogger on the planet for a few weeks. I, like everyone else get so busy this time of year. I LOVE it though, as It's my absolute favorite time! Haven't been great about tracking the exercise on here either, but don't worry It's being done. I'm blaming the bad blogging on the Holidays, k? ;)

This weekend has brought us a lot of holiday fun. To start things off on Friday we got together with some family and I made dinner and we watched Christmas shows on TV. It was great, and a tradition we've kept for years now. Then on Saturday I actually slept in! *Gasp* I can't remember the last time I was able to do that, ahhh perfect! After a nice cup of coffee we decorated the Christmas tree while listening to Christmas music :)

Later that night we went out to a fantastically (is that even a word?) delicious dinner. Oh yeah, It was THAT good! Also something we haven't gotten to do in so long with Scott being in school at night. Afterwards, we headed over to Starbucks for holiday flavored lattes, yum! The evening was ended with driving around looking at Christmas lights in some of our favorite neighborhoods. It-was-perfect.

Today, Sunday being one of my favorite days as I get older has brought similar holiday spirit. The Christmas music has been on all day and we made TONS of sugar cookies! I don't know If they are going to survive the day honestly ;) The goal of the day is to finish the Christmas cards and get them sent out tomorrow!

Happy Holidays to everyone! Also, please continue to keep my friend Geneva in your prayers. We are still waiting on our miracle.

We need a miracle...

Please keep my friend and Cyster in your thoughts and prayers. She needs the miracle right now of a second double lung transplant. Please keep her, and her family close to your heart right now during all of this. Cystic Fibrosis sure knows how to rear it's ugly head at times. But you know what, we have an amazing community thanks to this lousy disease. For this, I am so thankful. So here's to good thoughts, prayers, love, and wishing for this miracle to happen.

SO not feeling the gym today, SO unlike me.

I left work and headed up to the gym as usual. Something just didn't feel right as I walked in there today. I just didn't have my regular "let's do this" attitude. I kind of felt out of sorts and just blah maybe? I've had a ton on my mind so maybe it was weighing me down somewhat?

Anyway I pushed myself to do the Elliptical and ride the bike for a total of 20 minutes. I started to run on the treadmill and just couldn't. This is so NOT me. I decided to stop beating myself up, because I DID go, I DID exercise, and it's ok to have an off feeling day.

I got home, took care of the dogs and went to bed immediately. Just tired perhaps? Well, yes. I ended up taking a 2 hour nap. Thankfully I set my alarm clock or else maybe I would've slept all night long.

Oh, and I woke up with a sore throat :/ Perhaps this explains the weird vibes today...I think so. Oh well, at least I have an explanation of feeling so strange right?

Thanks Day 30 (My Dogs aka babies)

Last, but certainly not least are my babies aka furry children Elektra and Hooper. Hands down, these two dogs completely own my heart. I could go on and on for hours about how much I love them, infact I'd never stop talking about them. They are my world, and sometimes It simply takes looking at their faces and it makes my day 100% better.

They are the best snugglers, and love bugs in the world. They have completely different personalities, yet are the best of friends. It's hard to put into words how much I love them honestly. I think I've waited to write about them simply because I wasn't sure how to express it. I still can't.

However, I am so thankful to be the Mommy of 2 of the best Canines in this world. They make my world a wonderful place. Having rescued both of them, I think they both hold a piece of my heart and always will. So here's to my wrinkly beautiful faced Rottweiler/Shepherd mix Elektra. And to my skinny insane Momma's boy Greyhound Hooper. I am thankful to have them in my life, as they are my world, my heart, and soul.

Exercise: Today's included 30 minutes on the Elliptical (jogging type) @ 1.45 miles.

Thanks Day 29 (The GYM!)

I LOVE going to my gym. It's literally steps away from where I work, so It is super convenient. I actually prefer my gym be near work, that way I can go there right after working and be done! It's a pretty small gym aka no "meat heads" walking around (haha). Everyone there is very friendly, and I feel the people are very down to earth which is nice.

Everyone is different in what they choose to do for exercise. However, for me, cardio is the only way to go. I've tried yoga and just didn't feel the thing I was looking for. So I tend to rotate running, biking, and the Elliptical with different routines. As long as I have my IPOD there to pump me up, we're golden!

I always feel physically and mentally on top of the world when I've accomplished a good workout. The cardio has made a big difference in my lung function too. Just when I think I feel good, I go to the gym and really work the stuff out of my lungs, whoa then I feel great.

For the way it makes me feel, the convenience, and providing me with being able to get the job done...I am very thankful for my GYM!! :)

For todays workout I did 2 miles jogging for 30 minutes on the Treadmill (Or as I heard it referred to today.."The Dread-mill") That cracked me up ;)

Thanks Day 28 (5 Days off work!)

Tonight I am very sad to see my 5 day break from work end. It was a wonderful time off, infact it was amazing. Thanksgiving x2, Black Friday, Christmas spirit, lazy time on the couch, Football...and lots of it, Family time, and pure holiday fun.

However, despite being sad it's over, I am VERY thankful that I had 5 days off to begin with. My job allows me off every weekend, and holiday. I am so thankful to have been able to have this time off, especially to spend with Scott. It's been a long time since we had so much time off together due to his school/work schedule. Goodbye 5 days off and hello back to work tomorrow. I will miss you good old days off, thank you for letting me enjoy 5 of them :)

Thanks Day 27 (Our Christmas Kick off tradition)

The day after Black Friday Scott and I go out together. We usually do a little window shopping and start giving eachother ideas for Christmas presents. I love it! Then after that we always put up the Christmas tree and start decorating the house for the BEST time of year!!! (At least my favorite anyway)

We started off the day with a Starbucks stop for Pumpkin Spice Lattes. One word, delicious! Walked around the mall for a while, then had an amazing lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, my fav!!!! We both crashed when we got home and took a nap to refuel.

We got ourselves up in the attic, pulled the mound of boxes down and the decorating began!! I LOVE this time of year! One of the traditions besides the shopping, and decorating is wine. I pour us a glass of wine in a red and green wine glass. Yes yes, I know I am a huge nerd but that's ok with me ;) Oh, and the Christmas scented candles CAN NOT be lit in this house until the Fall scents have burned, and it's after Thanksgiving. So, needless to say my holiday Yankee candles are burning away making the house smell like the holiday's!

So, today (well yesterday since I'm a day behind) I'm super thankful for our Kicking off the holiday traditions. There's no one else I'd rather do these fun and special things with <3

Day 26 (Black Friday and my parents surprise!)

Black Friday is one of my most favorite days of the year! Yes, I know I am officially insane in admitting that. For me, it's not just about the shopping (don't get me wrong, I love it) but it's about the start of the Christmas season, and just the feeling in the air.

My best friend and I have a tradition of going out every Black Friday. Each year our time that we meet seems to get earlier and earlier. This year we met just after 3:30 am to get in line at Target. Normally I don't "need" anything from the stores, just go for the fun. However this year I was out for a gift to surprise my parents. I bought them a 46" flat screen TV! We decided to take it over to them last night as a surprise. I had just talked to my Dad on the phone and told him I was going to bed after a long day of shopping (hehe, not). We drove over, and then walked in the door with a gigantic box. Merry early Christmas to them! They LOVED it!!!!!

Back to Black Friday...I pretty much got a few odds and ends I wanted to pick up and am finished. I was honestly about 90% done already (thank you amazon.com!) The only person to buy for is Scott, and he's mostly done online anyway so it's perfect.

Yesterdays marathon shopping lasted 15 hours. I really really wish I would've worn a pedometer all day. I'm positive we walked well over 10 miles in steps. It was an awesome day!! Here's to kicking off the Holiday's and to one of my favorite days of the year yesterday. I'm so Thankful for the fun I had and the joys of Black Friday!

Thanks Day 25 (Thanksgiving Day)

Today I am so very thankful for the way I got to spend Thanksgiving day. I'm summing it up in a list, and it goes a little something like this :)

I'm Thankful For:

Sleeping in today after a wonderful yet exhausting day before of feasting and entertaining.

Waking up to a huge pot of coffee

Not taking my pajamas off all day long

Watching The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Lounging all day and snuggling with my dogs and husband

Eating a delicious brunch prepared by my husband

Barely getting off the couch

Watching tons of football

Hearing my family members say how nice our Thanksgiving was on Wednesday

Eating way too many yummy leftovers and having good blood sugars ;)

Preparing my Black Friday list and game plan with the BFF

Going to bed early and getting extra sleep.....since I have to get up at 3:15, yes I am nuts, I know (haha)

I have to say, today was pretty much the perfect Thanksgiving, and for this and so many other reasons I am beyond Thankful.

Thanks Day 24 (Thanksgiving Eve)

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving we have our dinner with my Mom's side of the family. Last night was our dinner at our home. I got up early to run a few errands, pick up my Mom, and start cooking. We spent all day in my kitchen preparing every last drop of food. It was great! One of my absolute favorite things to do is to cook!

Overall we ended up having 16 people at the dinner table. Those that were there truly made it a wonderful Thanksgiving. To me, there is nothing like having your family sit around a HUGE table, laughing, talking, telling stories, and just being thankful for being together. It was perfect. Oh and the smells of the Thanksgiving food lingering in the house all day long, yum!

As part of our blessing last night I wanted to recognize my Mother. We had a very rough year with her, and her health. I honestly didn't even know if we'd be where we are right now. She's come a long way in the last 8 months and I couldn't be happier with her progress. I finally have my Mother back. For this, and our Thanksgiving Eve dinner, I am so very thankful.

Thanks Day 23 (Short work weeks)

This week was only a 2 day work week for me and it is O-V-E-R! I was so excited when I got up this morning knowing it's almost Thanksgiving and today is my last day of work until Monday! Woo Hoo!

My Mom's side of the family celebrates Thanksgiving on Wednesday, we have for years now. The last 2 years I've hosted it at our house. That means today after leaving work meant a lot of preparation for tomorrows festivities.

So here's to a fun week ahead, and being off until Monday! I am VERY thankful for a 5 day break. Yippee :)

Thanks Day 22 (Automatic Refills!)

Oh automatic refills how I love thee. On Sunday's I sort out all my medications for the next week. I organize them into the "AM and PM" categories. It is so convenient, and well worth the few minutes it takes to do this.

So yesteray as I'm refilling everything I realized I had zero Nexiums left. Uh-Oh! I NEED my Nexium. I mean NEED NEED NEED! Yikes, I semi panicked then ran to the computer to check my Rx website. According to their records since I am an automatic refiller the Nexium was sent to me in October. Hmmm, really? *scratches forehead*.

I go into the closet which holds all my meds, and lookie there...in a random box was my precious unopened Nexium! Ahhhh. *breathes sigh of relief and jumps for joy*. Thank you automatic refills for keeping me on track and slapping me when I needed you so ;)

Thanks Day 21 (Get-Togethers)

Today we hosted our annual football party. Originally I had it scheduled for last month, then somehow my brain malfunctioned when I realized that I'd planned the party for the same day Scott was in a wedding! Doh! Luckily it was no biggie and easy to reschedule. Around this time of year schedules start to fill up, but we were able to fit it in and everyone had a great time!

Today my Ravens played Carolina, and I'm sure you could hear us screaming and cheering across the country! WOO HOO!!! Throwing parties, or small get togethers is one of my favorite things to do. I love love love to entertain! Making food, drinks, and preparing to have a house full of people is just awesome to me!

So we made tons of food, had great drinks, wonderful family and friends, and a wonderful day. Of course the day was even better since my Ravens won ;) And for all of these things, I am VERY thankful.

Thanks Day 18 (My Co-workers)

I've been at my job for just about 7 years now, and love it. I work for great physicians, it's close to home, and I truly love the type of nursing it is. I really lucked out when I stumbled upon the teeny tiny ad in the newspaper looking for a nurse.

My job would be no where near as enjoyable or tolerable as it is without my coworkers. I've never had a job where we've had such a close knit group of people who genuinely care about eachother. I absolutely love it. My coworkers are more than just that, they are my dear friends, and in some ways my family. Today, I am thankful for my wonderful coworkers.

Thanks Day 16 (Back massages!)

I'm a day late, oops! Somehow I've managed to hurt my back....bad. It's at the base, and boy does it burn. I have no clue what I did to it, but I'm well aware that it is not a happy member of my body at present time. My back seems to give me trouble, a lot honestly. I'm always asking my husband for a back rub and I know he gets tired of it (sorry bunky). It's the ONLY thing that works though, and he is THE BEST.

Maybe It's more than just helping my back though. I notice that if he massages my back I always breathe better. Makes sense, increasing blood flow to the muscles and organs, hence supplying more oxygen. Whatever the case, I.Love.Back.Massages!

I am so thankful for them and the relief they give my back. Oh and I'm super thankful for my husband's willingness to always help :)

Thanks Day 14 (My Inlaws)

Today we spent the day with Scott's family for Thanksgiving. A little early, yes, but they are going to Disney World during Thanksgiving so we had to. It was such a nice day, and the food was delicious. As I stated on Facebook, I'm glad I wore my loose fitting jeans today ;)

I am very thankful to have married into a wonderful family. Scott is the youngest of 4. I have a great Mother In Law and Father In Law. This also brought me 3 Brother In Laws, as well as 3 Sister In Laws. And to round out the greatness, I have 4 nieces and 2 nephews which I adore. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family. It's nice to actually enjoy spending time with you Inlaws, not because you have to, but because you want to. It's a lovely thing.

So on top of wonderful food, laughter, and all together family filled day...it's this I am so very thankful for.

Thanks Day 13 (CF support system)

Ok, so I missed yesterday (Day 12), sorry. I was having a pretty good day, and even made it into work for the first time in a week! Then about half way through the day I knew I had pushed my body to the max and went home. I then slept like I bear in hibernation for hours. I then got a fever shortly after, bummer. I then went to bed early and never made my post for yesterday. However I'm happy to report I have now been fever free fro 24 hours! This is HUGE!!! Good-bye rotten virus! Thank you Immune System!

Today was a sad day in our CF world. We lost one of our dear members, a cyster of mine named Jennifer. I have to admit I was shocked and speechless when I read the news earlier. Infact, I still am having a hard time wrapping my head around it. I want to do my best by pulling the positive from a situation like this, despite how awful it is. So tonight as we've lost one of our own, I am thankful for the wonderful support system I have gained in the CF community. We are there for eachother, support eachother, understand, lend shoulders to vent, or cry on, celebrate accomplishments, and are there for eachother in these awful times. Despite this disease, I am thankful for the amazing people CF has led to me to meet and share my life, and my story with.

Thanks Day 11 (Fresh Air)

Being cooped up in the house for almost a week now has almost driven me mentally insane. I'm so used to being on the go, and not stuck in the house. However, I've listened to my body all week and rested.

Today I did venture out of the house and it felt great!

I met Scott for lunch at a local restaurant, and did great. I did wake up with a fever at 5 am, but have been fever free ever since. So this was sort of a trial run to see If I really am feeling better. It was so refreshing to just walk outside and smell the Fall air and the coolness on my face. Driving...man that was exciting too! Not driving for a week has been so weird.

Overall I was just so thankful to be outside today functioning normally! The fresh air was superb. Tomorrow, I will attempt to actually go to work. We'll see how that goes. Here's hoping the fever stays away!!!

Thanks Day 10 (Hydration)

I woke up with another fever today, and decided it was time to see the Primary care Doc. Flu, and Mono were negative thankfully. Altough they said I still could have one of the hundreds of unknown flu strains. My bloodwork was ok overall. But the major finding was SEVERE DEHYDRATION. Despite me trying to drink a ton of water, the fevers have been winning and dehydrating me.

So I ended up getting stuck 3 times which was no fun. I have wonderfully huge veins, but today those veins were somewhere else. Oh that's right, they were off in the land of dehydration. So we get an IV in, and about 500cc's into the IV bag my wrist swelled up like a golf ball because it had infiltrated.

I was sent home to hydrate orally today, again. Only today I was given specific instructions which was helpful in making this happen. Scott brought me home 2 big gatorades to aide, and they have been great (I love gatorade).

The good news is that today I've been fever free since this morning's temperature check! I've been rehydrating, and sleeping my head off. I've woken up a few times completely drenched in sweat, eww. Oh well, I'm hoping with everything I've got, that the hydration has knocked this virus down and out for good!

THANK YOU HYDRATION!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Day 9 (Feeling Better!)

Still at home today tackling whatever germ(s) decided to invade. I'm happy because after a very rough night of about zero sleep, topped with fever, chills, and aches, today has been much better! My body is showing this crud who's boss. I'm very proud of my bodies resiliance :) Don't mess with us! So today, in short, I'm thankful for feeling better, and well, more human as opposed to zombie-like.

Thanks Day 8 (My cold not being a CF thing)

I'm home sick today (boo-hiss). No fun at all, but heck we all have to go through it. Thankfully I don't feel that it is respiratory at all. My FEV1 is great, my lungs are clear, and my sinuses are behaving. What I do have is a lovely fever, chills, and body aches sort of deal. Still, I'd rather it be something like this than something with my lungs. No thank you!

So today I'll be spending the day in bed snuggling with my dogs. I'll be wrapped up in huge comforters, have a heating pad on my back, watching TV (Food Network of course) all day long, while sweating out this nasty thing.

Yes it totally stinks that I'm feeling under the weather, but I'm sure thankful it doesn't appear not a CF thing :)

Thanks Day 7 (Lazy Sunday's)

I've been feeling slightly under the weather this weekend. It honestly just feels like exhaustion, not like I'm actually sick. My body feels super tired for some reason.

There are a few things combined that make me love my lazy Sunday's so very much. First, being day light savings time again, we get an extra hour of laziness ;) Also, it's Fall (my favorite) which means It's Football season (Go Ravens)!! All of these things make Sunday's absolutely perfect.

I'm thankful to have had the opportunity today to lay around on the couch and do absolutely nothing today. It was perfect, and something I don't do quite enough. Ahh, I still have a few more hours of lazy Sunday to enjoy...see you tomorrow :)

Thanks Day 6 (Being a Godmother)

Today I am thankful that I have been chosen to be a Godmother. To me, it is the biggest honor I could've been asked. I am blessed to have 2 wonderful Goddaughters who mean the world to me. I adore them both, and any time I get to spend time with them simply makes my world.

After an incredibly LONG and beyond stressful work week I get to spend the evening with one of my Goddaughters tonight. I can't wait. Being a Godmother to me isn't only an honor but a commitment to these girls. I want them to know that I will always be there for them, and will do whatever they need. Granted they are currently only 13 months, and 19 months, but still ;)

I am Thankful today have been chosen to be a Godmother to my wonderful Allison and Kara. <3

Thanks Day 5 (Campfires)

One of my favorite things to do this time of year, or really any time is to have a campfire. Scott built us a fire pit in our backyard and we spend a lot of time sitting around a campfire. I love it.

Tonight was one of those nights. After a long week of work and feeling completely exhausted, we "vegged out" and sat around the camfire with the dogs. It was cool and crisp outside, so wearing a hoodie was a must. We roasted marshmallows and just relaxed while being mesmerized by the flames that kept us warm.

Did I mention that our dinner was an entire bag of marshmallows? ;)

Exercise today: 15 minute jog @ 1 mile, and 15 minute jog on Elliptical @ .63 miles.

Thanks Day 4 (My Best Friend)

I love my best friend, and as every day, today I am thankful for her. It's been a very rough week at work and she totally understands it, amongst everything else about me. You see, she too is a Registered Nurse, and she works with me 3 days a week. After yesterday's day of work we decided we needed a mini retail therapy night, stat! ;)

We've been through a lot together. We started working together as teenagers as hostesses at a local restaurant. We survived Nursing School together (though not in the same class), been through the break-ups, weddings, house buying, my pregnancy and loss, CF, I could go on and on....

My best friend obviously holds all of qualities that, well, a "Best Friend" has. However my favorite thing is her ability to make me laugh. Infact no other friend can make me laugh like her. We can merely make eye contact and she knows exactly what I'm thinking. I can imagine what she's going to say and just about lose it laughing hysterically. She listen to me, supports me, and best of all, is my Gym buddy. I am very fortunate.

Today after work we met up and got together to run a few errands which was just lovely. She listened as I talked to her about my own current stressors, and big things I'm going through. What started out as a coffee date, turned into some Christmas shopping (that's right I said Christmas shopping, GAH!) and a cheap but fun dinner at Wendy's :)

A blog post simply can't do it justice on how important my Best Friend is to me. But today I'd like the bloggie world to know how thankful I am for her.

Day 3 of Thanks (Wednesday Date Nights)

Since Scott's in school for his 2nd degree in computers, it doesn't allow us to really see each other during the week, except for Wednesday's that is. That is the one night he doesn't have classes (maybe the occasional homework) but he's mine all mine at home :)

We've decided to make Wednesday night our date night. To me (us) it's just perfect If I say so myself. By date night, I don't mean going out to dinner, we don't even leave the house. The rules are that when you walk in the door, it's time for comfy clothes, we throw in our favorite frozen pizza, and watch Ghost Hunters that have Tivo'd for the week.

Tonight's date night was lovely. We decided to pop open a bottle of wine and just enjoy each others company...while chowing down on pizza, and a cheese tray with crackers. Yummy. My stomach is very happy, as is my heart ;)

It.Is.Fabulous! I look forward to Wednesday's so much!! I miss my best friend during the week, but am thankful for our time we get together <3

Today's exercise included: Circuit training! 10 minutes on the Elliptical (.5 miles), 10 minutes on the bike (2 miles), and 15 minutes jogging (with cool down @ 1 mile). It felt awesome!

30 days of Thanks (Day 2) My VOICE (3 fold)

Whoa isn't that like the longest blog title ever? :)

Today's Thankfulness is my voice. Not just the the sound that comes out of my larynx, but indeed more than that. Let me explain..

Today is Election Day all over America. I am so thankful to have a "voice" in the election. I'm allowed to voice my opinion, and it counts. How cool is that? This is something I don't take for granted and am very appreciative of most definitely. It's an honor to walk in to the voting facility and cast my ballot.

Another aspect of my voice is that I still have it. I've recently started back on Tobi and am just waiting for my voice to disappear. But guess what?, it hasn't! Hooray for still being able to speak, even though there is a slight hoarseness going on, I have my voice. I'm sure sounding like Rachael Ray isn't too far off, but today I have my voice for which I am thankful.

Lastly, my voice was heard at work today and I am very proud of that. To say the least I am completely non-confrontational, hate conflict, and am NOT good at voicing my opinion. I guess you could say I tend to hold things in. Well, one of the doctors was throwing a "mantrum" today (Male Tantrum) and I let it be known that it wasn't acceptable. Ahhh, my voice sure did me proud today. Today, this is what I am thankful for!

Exercise today included: 40 minutes on the Elliptical @ 1.65 miles :) I also joined what I think is an AMAZING running opportunity today. Go over to CL and check it out here!

30 Days Of Thankfulness (Day 1)

I got this idea from my wonderful cyster Colleen's blog (thanks Colleen!) This is such a wonderful idea so I'm going to partake in it. I have to say without sounding like I'm tooting my own horn, but I'm grateful each and every day and make it known. It could be the smallest thing like a cloud in the sky, to something large, like receiving good news. I honestly make sure each day that I am grateful, and now I get to write about it. I have to be honest, it' s going to be hard to choose just 1 topic each day. Where do I start....life, health, husband, dogs, friends, family, career, being alive...here goes!

Today I am thankful for my wonderful doctor. I had an outpatient procedure today that went a little off the planned course to say the least. He was wonderful and talked me through everything. He gave me hope and reassurance, and was every bit of how a doctor should be. Despite being tired and a little uncomfortable, I'm choosing to focus on how lucky I am to be in such great care. I am thankful for the incredible thoroughness of my doctor. Today this is what I am very thankful for.

No exercise today, as the doctor ordered rest for me :)

Happy Halloween!!

Today is one of our favorite days here at the Muir house. Scott LOVES Halloween, more than Christmas, I can't go that far ;) However he goes all out on this night and people really look forward to it.

I think what makes our house so unique is that he sets up a movie screen in the front yard and plays Halloween movies all night long. We don't play anything super scary, but some good classics and stuff that the kiddies in the neighborhood like.

Each year our best friends come over too, and partake in our tradition. This year on our Halloween menu is a lot of good stuff I think. I made crock pot chili, taco dip, sweet corn cake, 2 loaves of pumpkin bread, and we have apple cider (spiked) mulling as well. YUMMY! I can't wait to dive into the feast.

The food is ready, the movies are playing, the fog machine is doing it's thing. Now time to sit back, relax and enjoy one of our favorite days of Fall. Happy Halloween everyone!!

That's It I'm DONE!

Colistin has finally beaten me. I've tried every single trick I know on how to deal with the inflammation and these awful side effects. Last night was the final straw for me.

I noticed at work that I was feeling REALLY short of breath and overall like I'd been hit by a truck. So when I got home I did my FEV1 monitor and realized, my #'s had dropped about 15%!!!!! No wonder I was having a difficult time :( I took it upon myself to stop it (don't worry Hopkins will be made aware). I just can't keep doing this every other month and hurting my brain trying to work something out.

I think part of the problem is that I'm so used to being on an inhaled antibiotic ALL THE TIME that I think I need it. Maybe not. I'm so open to trying new things, so that's what I'm going to do now.

For the next 2-3 weeks that I should have been on Colistin I'm going to see if it's ok to do this:
Hypertonic saline 2x/day
Pulmozyme 2x/day (if appropriate)
Hit the gym like usual so no gunk can settle.

I'm hoping my plan works, if not I'm not sure what we'll do since the last time I was on TOBI it was a sudden nightmare of side effects as well. I'm sure there are a lot of CF'ers out there who aren't on something every single month. I need to see experiment because for now it's Colistin-1, Jess-0.

30 Minutes of Hell = :)

The sinus drainage reared it's ugly head again this morning. I could not only feel it in my head, but in my chest too, and it wasn't pretty. I checked my #'s with my FEV1 meter and wasn't thrilled to say the least. I was able to sleep without interruption and needing cough medicine last night which was so nice. Today, first thing, I loaded up on my Atrovent spray. That stuff is like a miracle for my sinuses. It stopped the drainage and let me get my workout in at lunch time...

Today at the gym it was a tough work out for sure because I felt so tight in my chest already. I decided to do the Elliptical for a full 30 minutes on a higher resistance than normal. It was killer! I was sweating SO much, and then began coughing my head off. Don't get me wrong, this is totally a good thing! :) By the time I was finished I was completely soaked and looked like I had just gotten out of the shower. Yowza!

After that workout my #'s improved drastically, and my sinuses seem much happier as am I ;)

30? More like 80.

According my birth certificate I am 30 years old. According to the clicks, grinds, and aches of my joints I'm apparently 80 years old. I was so wore out at work today that all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and nap. Instead I came home and got on our Elliptical for 20 minutes. Whoa momma, what a difference than the one at the gym. It was T-O-U-G-H! I'm happy that I survived the "at home" workout today, and am even happier to give my 80 year-old-feeling body a break....until tomorrow ;)

The Never Ending Sinus Rinse!

Along with the beauty of the Fall here in Maryland comes a vast aray of snot related issues ;) Today I'd like to focus on the Sinus Rinses. I've been trying to do mine definitely once, if not twice a day during this time of year. Last night before bed I decided to do one more before bed in hopes that it would stop the drainage and I'd be able to sleep all night, wrong.

Anywho....little did I know what was capable of coming out of these good old sinuses of mine ;) OH.MY.GOODNESS! Where the heck does it all come from!? Does it ever end!? It's SO gross, but man does it feel good to get it all out of there. Ok, enough booger talk, sorry. I just can't believe that doing these rinses twice a day and still I'm shocked at what's taking up residence near my brain. Ok, done, I promise.

Today's gym routine was a sweaty one. I bought a few shirts like the Under Armour ones, only these are from Target ( a lot cheaper, and boy's size) woo hoo. I must say these things are amazing! I did the Elliptical for 25 minutes, and the bike for 5 minutes, and lifted weights. Time sure does fly working out when you are being entertained by watching "Ellen."

Happy Monday All!

For Me, Exercise is proof.

For those of you who follow this blog, it's no surprise that I have a hard time on Colistin months. Though every other month I do my best and just, well, deal with it. I weigh the pro's and cons and it boils down to this....Fighting of PA vs. chest tightness, hence the "dealing" part.

On top of Colistin this time of year, be it my favorite, is awful for me health wise. Fall allergies are my enemy though I don't like to admit it. Every night for the past week, I've been woken up by horendous sinus drainage, coughing, etc. I should take stock in nasal spray, zicam, and lozenges this time of year. But it's the whole mind set of doing whatever it takes to get through something.

This morning I woke up all kinds of junky in my chest, sinus drainage, you name it, it was happening. I blew into my FEV1 monitor and was NOT happy at all. Although, it would have been more of a shock if I'd have felt "normal." Luckily, I did not. On Colistin my #'s go down because of the bronchospasms, but this was worse.

We had planned a big hike today, and I knew that exercise would be the BEST thing for me and to make my lungs feel better. After about 3 or 4 hours out on the trails and a total of a mostly uphill hike of 5 miles, my lungs got the workout that they NEEDED so badly.

I worked those lungs hard today, and am happy to say that when I got home and blew into the FEV1 monitor, my #'s were up by about 1/4. For me, exercise was my proof today on how important and imperative it is for my precious little wind bags :)

For the Love of Circuit Training

Yesterday at the gym I decided to switch things up. The reason being that I had a board meeting after work which I knew would go late into the evening. I had to figure out a quick way to get in my gym time, so I thought why not do some circuit training?

So on my lunch break I did a 30 minute workout which consisted of 3, 10 minute circuits. I challenged myself to really kick it up and boy did I! The first was 10 minutes on the Elliptical as fast as I could go. Then the treadmill for a 10 minute run. Lastly was the bike for 10 minutes. Overall I did about 4 miles which was awesome.

I can't remember the last time a workout was so intense! I LOVED it! I'll definitely be doing circuits more frequently.

Workout. Interuppted.

Today at the gym, I was rocking out to with my iPOD on the Elliptical. Little did I realize that my cell phone was ringing and it was the Alarm company from work. Apparently our alarm at our surgery center was going off. Rats! I jumped off the Ellpitical after 15 minutes to run down the street to make sure everything was ok. Luckily it was...

It was my fault, I forgot to lock the door. Ah well, at least the alarm was set right!? ;)

That's what I get for chit-chatting outside of work. Hello brain where are you?

Anyway back to the gym I went. I wasn't going to let an alarm going off interfere with my workout. So I jumped back on and did the Ellpitical for about 10-15 more minutes. I got my half hour in, some extra adrenaline from the alarm call, and over all happy lungs. Yay :)

My First Boss's Day!

I walked into work with to the biggest surprise yesterday. I had a GORGEOUS bouquet of Fall flowers on my desk, a pumpkin spice latte (my favorite), the most touching card, and a box of yummy snacks!

At first I was super confused, but then I looked at my calendar with a red face of embarrassment and realized it was Boss's Day! WOW! I never expected all of this, but it literally set the tone for an amazing day.

I've been adjusting to being the Nurse Manager for about 3 months now. I've been pretty nervous and unsure of myself, but yesterday made me feel like I was going to be ok. It's hard to have worked with this amazing group of people and then to be in charge of them. In a sense It's wonderful because they are simply the BEST. There is no way I would have accepted this job any other way. They are the ones that make it worth while.

Yesterday this boss had a busy day after work so I had to use my lunch break to hit up the gym. It was nice, no one was there! I did the Elliptical for 15 minutes, and rode the bike for 15 minutes. Kick butt workout for sure!

This weekend is a busy one as our friends are getting married. My legs are happy to have a much needed break I'm sure ;)

Today, CF didn't seem so bad...

Too many times in the Nursing field we have to tell patients bad, or grave news. Does it ever get easier? No, absolutely not. We had a patient today that came in to be evaluated for abdominal pain. As a GI Nurse I expect to see the usual, non life threatening findings post operatively. Not today.

She is only 43 years young, and prior to even starting her IV we got bad news. The radiologist called to tell us her CT scans showed cancer "everywhere." It has taken over her entire abdominal cavity, and beyond. I think it may have been one of the saddest cases we've ever seen.

We brought back the family to talk to them which we do with every patient, as they have just been sedated. She knew before the Doctor even spoke. She cried, her parents cried, we cried...There was nothing we could say. She began to gasp for breath and said "This is treatable right? I want to Live." At that moment our hearts were torn in half for her.

I later spoke privately to her doctor and asked him about her prognosis. He said she probably won't be here in 6 months :( It was today that I got some amazing perspective about my disease, my life, and my care. I think we are still numb from this patient, but if anything I tried to put a positive spin on these events, and thought, you know what sometimes CF isn't so bad.

Today's exercise consisted of 25 minutes of jogging on the treadmill.

"Oh She's an ATHLETE!" you talkin' to me!?

I've had a crazy busy few days, so this is a catch-up exercise blog :) Recently we went to our FAVORITE Fall Festival in Western MD and walked all day long. I really wish I'd had a pedometer, because I'm sure it would have been up there! By the end of the day these legs wanted nothing to do but be lazy.

We also recently went on an amazing hike. We ran into a huge family of deer, saw huge waterfalls, and all the lovely trees changing. It was perfect! That day our total hiking was just under 3 miles. I should add that some of those hills were so steep, I think they were more like mountains ;)

As for the gym the past 2 days I've worked out a little longer than I normally do. No reason really, maybe it's the good tunes on the iPOD (hehe). Anyway I've been doing 25 minutes on the Elliptical, and about 35 on the treadmill. By the end I'm a salty sweaty mess, but that's ok....I had 2 people walk past me the other day and say "Oh She's an Athlete!" Umm, don't mind me as a turn my head and look at you like you are nuts. Are you talkin' to me!? YES they were! (Insert huge cheesey grin here)

PFT's say what!?

Well today was the quarterly Hopkins CF visit that we all love ;) I've been fighting a cold for a bit now, but have been feeling so much better thankfully. I was anxious about PFT's even though If they were down I had a darn good reason for it. Still, I'm a perfectionist, and a worrier, so I was still anxious about it.

Well....*Drum Roll Please* I knocked the PFT's out of the park! Each time they went up significantly. I honestly couldn't believe it. I went up 3% from 3 months ago, and haven't blown #'s that good in 5 years!!!!!!!!!! I haven't blown #'s like that, consistently in almost 10 years!!!

I'm beyond THRILLED right now! I guess the Gym is really paying off, and I couldn't be HAPPIER!!! Here's to some much needed good news!

:)

"I Miss Your Blog"....so much to catch up on!

I feel pretty honored to actually have people like to read my blog and wonder where the heck I've been. Believe me, I haven't not blogged just to be recognized. September was a very hard month in this house, and honestly I just wasn't even sure how to put into words how I felt about things. So on to better things and time to get back to what I like to do...blog!

To sum things up in a nut-shell if you will, my month started off with terrible tragedy. I went over to my parents house to shower because our water system had went up. I walk in the door, and my Father sits me down and said he and Mom had terrible news to tell me. I thought I was going to pass out. My 17 year old cousin who had cerebral palsy passed away in his sleep. To say I was shocked would be the understatement of the year. I can't even explain it. I felt completely numb for days. Our family is in mourning and I still can't even wrap my head around it all to be honest.

I ran another 5K on September 11th. It was respectfully called the "Run to Remember" and it was the most emotional touching races I've ever run. Overall I'm happy with my time and proud of myself. I was on Colistin during the time of the 5K so my chest was tight (side effect) but I still did it, hills and all. What an amazing way to honor our fallen heroes and their families.

We went on a cruise to New England and Canada 2 weeks ago. I can't even begin to explain how WONDERFUL it was to get away!!! There was a slight chill in the air, the leaves were starting to change, and just an overall Fall feeling. This is my favorite time of year, we thoroughly enjoyed it. That reminds me, I really need to post some pics!

My souvenier that I brought back was one I wish I hadn't...a raging sinus/chest cold. I thought I had it by just doing sinus rinses, but turns out I had an ear infectin so the sinus rinses just added to it. Note to those who do sinus rinses, DO NOT use them if you have clogged/blocked ears, or suspect an ear infection. Ouch.

I've been on Levaquin for almost 2 weeks now. I can't complain though, it finally seems to be helping me. This is a stubborn old cold and I want it outta here please. I haven't been on oral abx since January so I'm pretty happy about that.

Aside from the CF stuff, without delving into too much on here, I got diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis in September as well. It came as a shock to me, but I'm doing my best in taking it all in and making sense of it all...believe me it's hard.

My job has been a major stresser to me. Without sounding like a negative nancy, It's just an adjustment and I need to stay focused and not give up. I need to realize I have to power to make things better and do it. It's been causing me a lot of anxiety which I'm not used to at all, bummer.

Scott is in college working on his 2nd degree after work during the week. It's hard not seeing him all week, but my goodness I am so proud of him, his hard work, dedication, and drive are amazing to me.

I've been working out 4 days a week at the gym and things are going well there. All during the cruise we hit the gym, and the track, so I didn't miss a beat. Infact on the ship I was referred to as an "athlete" I was glowing after I heard that :)

This past weekend we went away for the weekend camping with Scott's family. It was wonderful to be in the woods, outdoors, and be around family that I love all weekend long. I am very fortunate for that.

I decided to take some down time for myself with last months whirlwind things happening. I've always had a MAJOR fascination with JFK and Jackie Kennedy, and well, the whole Kennedy clan since I was about 9 years old or so. I'm reading a great book about them right now, and am hooked to say the least.

I'm sure I forgot things, but that's the gist of it all....

Things aren't awful, I'm not a negative person to harp on things. However, September was rough, and in the words of Green Day..."wake me up when September ends"...

Giving Colistin another try...

This morning I got up early and decided that yes I may be off work today, but I can't take a break from running. Instead of going to the gym I ran around my neighborhood. It was the perfect weather for it too, cool crispy fall-like in the low 70's, ahhhh. I did 2 miles in 28 minutes. I have to say I really feel a difference when running outside. I suppose it's all the hills that I don't have on the treadmill. I'm excited since I only have 5 more days until my 5K!

I'm giving Colistin another go. It has caused me some bronchospasms in the past, but I decided to see how I did this month. So far so good I must say. I think I have to realize that It does make my lungs tighter, but it's killing the bugs. My FEV1 meter shows a decline when I'm on it, but in the big picture the PA is having it's butt kicked so I should be happy. It's VERY easy for me to obsess over that little monitor. Heck if It's not preventing me from running It can't be that bad right? ;)

Avoiding the Plague

Scott has had a terrible cold/virus since last Friday. I've been doing everything possible to avoid it believe me. It does help to live in a split foyer I must say. Scott's been living downstairs and I've been upstairs. I think we've both washed our hands to the point where they just may fall off ;) Oh well, you can't be too careful right? I just hope he gets to feeling better soon, I don't catch it, and we can actually be in the same room together. I really have missed my buddy aka wonderful husband this week for sure.

Change of Pace

Today at the gym I was really on a time crunch, but knew I had to get my workout in. I decided to take a break from the treadmill since I feel like an 87 year old lady today ;) I did the Eliptical instead and liked it....a lot actually. The ones that the gym are so nice and glide so well, no so much like the one we have at home. Before I knew it 25 minutes had gone by, and I was a sweaty salty mess. Guess that means a good workout eh? Tomorrow is break day, and I think this body will be happy to let these muscles chill for 24 hours. Until then....

Moving on Up

Poor Scott was plagued by a horrible cold/virus on Friday. It was so bad that we actually had to pass on going to the Ravens game Saturday night. Ahem, to miss a football is a big deal you ask?! Oh yes it is in this house!! Poor guy had fevers, congestion, you name it, he had it. The whole weekend was spent resting and fighting this infection. Me, I spent it avoiding Scott like the plague unfortunately.

So far so good (Knock on wood!) I went to the gym today after taking a few days off last week due to my bowel obstruction I had last Monday. My body needed some rest, plus I'm not sure the pain I felt would've even let me attempt to run. Anyway feeling great and moving on.... I had a hard run and loved every bit of the 30 minutes it lasted. I realized today that my 5K is only 2 weeks away!!!

Today's Totals:

Ran 30 minutes

Total 2.1 miles

Pulse 165 max

Weight training: bicep routines

My FEV1 monitor is showing numbers that I REALLY like too! I gave Colistin another 'whirl' after stopping due to some side effects. I have to say, so far so great! Here's to more running, feeling good, and positive things this week!

Too Sensitive? Maybe.

I can't help but feel a little, hurt, maybe even frustrated. This may sound very silly, but let's face it we can't help the way we feel right? It's a simple thing, yet something that has really been bothering me. I feel like when you email friends/family etc. about stuff that is going on, especially when you've had a recent illness it would be nice if they acknowledged it. I feel that when I am a part of emails, and someone is sick, hurt, upset, or stressed, I try to respond quickly and lend a helping hand or thought. I suppose my feelings are just a little hurt that after having some bumps in the road lately, I haven't gotten what I feel I always give....

When Life Hands you Lemons....

Oh it was that kind of a week no doubt, and I hope that I have officially seen the end of GI issues for a bit. I think I've officially paid my dues in the Gastroenterology department. Earlier this month it was Gallstones, and after seeing my GI doc he clarified I did NOT have pancreatitis, bonus. Although on Monday night I had a raging bowel obstruction that sent me to the ER. Awful, just awful.

To see the silver lining which I'd rather do, my body is amazing. My body passed those stones early this month, and we've been feeling good "stone wise" ever since. The bowel obstruction situtation was brought on by steamed crabs, so I need to make some changes there. Over all I am so grateful because my body naturally took care of itself and fixed itself without major intervention. Honestly all it took in both situations was some good old aggressive IV fluids. For this I am happy beyond belief. Me and my "gut" have been through a lot this August, but she's tough ;)

That all being said, I am so ready to move on. I had my follow up with my GI doctor on Wednesday and he made me feel so much better! He said "Jessica I just think you've had a run of bad luck this month, you are doing wonderfully!" I don't think he realized just how much on so many levels I needed to hear those words. Again, for this I am grateful. For now it's on to healthier things, positive moments, and a lot of HOPE.

"When you are at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on"

My First Blog Award :)

I received this awesome blog award from my Cyster Colleen. I love having such a great network of those who also have CF. It sure is wonderful to have such amazinginly supportive and understanding people. If you haven't, go check out her blog, here! Thank you Colleen!! :)

SMOKING!! The RN vs. CF...

I found myself in a tough place yesterday at work. I had a patient call and ask about if she was able to smoke before she came in for her procedure because of her "nerves." Of course I told her no way, but I actually had to convince her as to why. This slightly boggled my mind, and my brain had a hard time comprehending it. Well the CF side of my brain anyway...

I sat there on the phone with her telling her the risks of anesthesia causing respiratory depression and that cigarettes on top of that do not work (in a nut shell). I found myself quietly frustrated. I had to remind myself that this woman has no clue that I have a lung disease and how pissed off I am right now. She's just calling her nurse for advice, and that was who I had to be and was for her, her Nurse. This woman never knew how much I wanted to blurt out and somewhat go off the handle about lungs period. How she is a typically healthy woman who is choosing to kill her lungs, when those of us born with CF have no choice but to try and stop that from happening.

I hung up the phone with her after I gave her the Nurse's side of my advice. The CF side of me was frustrated, but proud of how I kept my composure and did my job. I then went off to the gym for my "other job" of keeping my lungs as best as they can be.

My body despises Cross Training

I've been a rule breaker. Not really hard core, just funny really. My running plan calls for 4 days of running, 1 day of rest with a day of walking, and a day of cross training. I have yet to do the cross training honestly so I gave it a shot today. Now it's not like it's anything major it's just my stubborness in my brain. I have such a rush from running, and such an amazing feeling afterwards that I have no desire to do anything else.

Today I decided to follow the rules if you will and do the cross training. I did it, but my brain can't comprehend it, as if it rejects it. I did the bike, walked on the treadmill eventhough I was itching to crank it up and run, and did the eliptical.

Boo. Hiss. I watched the clock the whole time, tick, tock, slowly. I thought it was never going to end. I guess I am just so used to what I do and I actually feel the results by running. I reluctantly followed the rules and I'm glad I listened, but boy it wasn't easy.

New Nebulizer + 2 more miles

I am officially the proud owner of a brand spankin' new Vios Nebulizer! Woo! Who'd have thought I'd ever be so excited to own a new nebulizer? Well after trying to troubleshoot mine, take it apart with no answers, and treatments taking double the time...ME!

I literally talked to someone around noon, and by 7pm I had one delivered to my house. Yay! It feels so good to do my treatments at the regular length of time, and to actually have my treatments be effective! That makes for happy lungs and a happy me :)

Today at the gym I ran another 2 miles. I could feel it was harder today for my lungs than normal. I'm guessing that's due to a few days of treatments not really getting into my lungs properly due to the failing nebulizer. However It didn't stop me at all, and I pushed through it.

Today's totals:

3 minute warm up

2 miles @ 14 minutes each

total mileage of 2.12

Pulse 155

The lungs didn't miss a beat

I was finally granted permission to go back to the gym today! Hooray!! Could you hear me yelling happily from where you lived? Hahaha. It's been almost 2 weeks, and I've been going crazy waiting to work out again! I know I had to play it safe post hospitalization, and I am happy I did. I, however, am even happier I finally got to run today!!! Ahhh.

I'm even happier that I didn't miss a beat lung wise and am so grateful! I got on the treadmill and was able to run 2 miles without even thinking about it. I wasn't winded, tired, nothing! So happy for that :) It feels wonderful to be allowed to run again, and thank you to my lungs who continue to do their part in making our team a success ;)

Totals: Warm up 3 minutes

Running: 2 miles @ 27 minutes total

Pulse post running 155

Total 2.1 miles

Surprise 30 (and a half) Birthday Party!

I still can't believe that I had a surprise party yesterday. I woke up this morning still in complete awe of the day. It was the absolute best. Here's how it all went...

Apparently the plans have been going on since my actual birthday which was in February. Unfortunately we had 2 back to back blizzards so the birthday plans really didn't pan out for the big 3-0, or so I thought ;)

Yesterday my best friend and I went shopping and got some coffee, the regular routine to be honest. Around 3pm we headed home and she suggested we go to my community beach for a while and just hang out like we do often. As we were getting close to my house I offered to go home and pack us a quick cooler for the beach which she totally ignored (haha). Now I know why...

We pull up to the beach and I see people, tents, and a lot going on. I suggest to her that we probably shouldn't go to the beach today since clearly there was a party going on. Then she hit the accelerator, and we pulled up and everyone I love (minus a few who couldn't join) were all right there to greet us. There were signs being held up, noise makers being blown, and I was in complete shock and totally confused that it was a party for me! I hope I never forget how I felt yesterday.

My best friend drives a jeep, so during the ride home my flip flops were off. So in my complete phase of confusion she had to reach over me and open my door. My husband then unlatched my seatbelt and pulled me out to be surrounded by everyone. Later I wondered where the heck my shoes were, then I was gently reminded of how I'd never had them on.

I started to look around at everyone and everything and just cried my eyes out. I was so happy and overwhelmed with warmth and love. The biggest kick of the day was they got me a Moon bounce and a Cotton Candy Machine!!!! Talk about pure AWESOMENESS!!!! It was like being a little kid, and I adored every single second of it.

I had a wonderful day with wonderful people! I will never forget my birthday for so many reasons. I mean really, who ever is lucky enough to be thrown a 30.5 birthday party!?

I love my friends and family, and truly am blessed with the BEST!!!!

Withdrawl

I'm totally missing running and overall exercising in the worst way. I think I'm in the midst of gym withdrawl, haha. I have to play it safe and be smart per doctor's orders and take it easy for a couple of days. However, they didn't specify when I could go back to the gym. I guess this calls for basic common sense :) I've not done anything major since last week, rested my body and let it heal, and am so ready to get my run on!! Maybe one more day.....but that's it!

Hospitalized for Pancreatitis/GI issues

What a week. However in the grand scheme of life I have a lot to be grateful for. Where do I even begin...

I left off at the 102 degree fevers and hoping the stone would pass quietly and painlessly. Wrong.

I ended up spiking another 102 degree fever that woke me up at 1:30 am. I relied on Tylenol yet again to come to the rescue and break the fever and it did.

Wednesday morning I called my CF nurse to touch base with her since the on call doctor told me to watch things over night. I was told to go to the E.R. for evaluation and if something was going on, I'd be transferred to Hopkins. The rest of it is kind of a blur to be honest.
I was given so much pain medication and nausea medication that I feel as If I were sedated the last few days.

Skip ahead to Friday.....I had an MRCP done which is an MRI of the Liver, Gallbladder area etc, and it was clear for stones. So the doctors think I passed the stone probably on Tuesday when the fevers hit. That was good news though because if I were to have had a stone, the risk of an ERCP (procedure to remove the stone) would have been very risky. I ended up with Pancreatitis from the stone, but all is resolving nicely.

I was discharged late Friday night which I barely remember, but so happy to be out of the hospital. The plan is to increase my Urso in the hopes that it prevents more stones from forming. *Knocks on Wood*

I'm so fortunate that this hospitalization didn't call for further intervention like a stent placed etc. I'd also like to mention how wonderful my husband is for being by my side and taking care of me and being the my best friend.


I am so beyond fortunate and grateful for my wonderful friends, family, and CF family for the wonderful outreach of love and support.

Happy Healing....

And it continues...

Today I came home from work and felt terrible. I was suddenly freezing and absolutely exhasuted. I took my temperature and it was slowly creeping up and hit 102. I NEVER get fevers like that so it scared me. I've not had the normal gall-stone pains today, just some dull aches, but this fever was wicked. It all scared me pretty badly I have to admit.

I called the on call Doctor @ Hopkins and they said for now I have to "ride it out." Since I'm not having acute crippling pain they aren't really sure what it is. I have to hydrate like crazy, and if I get a fever again I have to go to the ER. I sure hope this fever stays away as does the pain.

This totally sucks because we were supposed to go to the Orioles game tonight with visiting family. I felt terrible that we had to cancel and am so dissapointed that this is happening.

I just hope that whatever is going on in there makes it's way out....painlessly and quitely. :(

From new shoes to phantom pains...

I was ecstatic today to see the package laying on my front step this evening. Ahhh, my new running shoes have arrived. I can't wait to break them in tomorrow! This week started week 3 of my plan. I ran my 2 miles this afternoon and felt great afterwards!! Looking forward to tomorrow with the new shoes to break in...

In other health stuff, I've been having phantom gallbladder pains, uncool. I'm not sure what it's about, but I'm watching it and hoping it goes away on it's own. Otherwise Hopkins will know on Thursday. I'm wondering if I have a gallstone, or sludge, or a blocked bile duct? I had my gallbladder out in 2003 so I haven't felt this pain for a while.

We had a great night tonight eating crabs and hanging out on the water with family that is up visiting from Florida. We rarely get to see them, so it was wonderful :)

Week 2...(check)

Hooray week 2 of my running plan is complete. That's a total of 6 miles this week including my cooling down. Feels great, and I'm definitely looking forward to next weeks challenges. I bought a new pair running shoes yesterday and can't use them. My feet burned so badly in them today that I couldn't wait for them to get off my feet. So I found another pair online that I know will do the trick, so I'm excited to get those and break em' in!

Out of no where this evening I spiked a mini temp of 99.1. I usually run low 97's. Didn't last long, but it happened quickly and I felt HOT! Been feeling pretty tired, make that exhausted, and a little "sinus-y." I'm hoping it's nothing major. I'm supposed to go for my annual glucose tolerance test in the morning...

Happy Weekend!

Stitches

No worries, these stitches are not the kind you get after you've had an injury. Instead, I experienced these kind of stitches today. One word: ouch. I knew it was going to happen though unfortunately, but I wasn't willing to give up my run because of it. I had 2 meetings today, resulting in a very late lunch at 2pm. Yummy italian food, but nonetheless not the smartest thing to consume when you're due at the gym in the next hour or so.

About 8 minutes into my run these not-so-friendly side pains struck. I slowed down my run and pushed through it for a bit. I was then able to go back to my normal speed, waiting for them to strike again. They delivered their promise of course ;)

At any rate I experienced the whole "no pain no gain" saying today. For sure I had a choice to make. Quit my run and go home? Or push through it and finish my goal? Of couse I chose to push through it and I'm so glad I did! I'm always happy when I've completed a great run, but today I super happy since I survived it (haha).

Today I ran 1.75 miles
.25 walk/cool down aka "De-stitching" :)

2 5K's sign me up!

Hooray I have a running plan! Well, I mean I have a running plan in progress, but I guess now I have a date(s) to push myself to! A goal of such. Today I signed up for 2 different 5K races in the Fall. I'd love to do a 5K now, but i don't think my lung-ies would be too happy about that. Infact I know they'd throw a temper tantrum ;)

The first race is on 9/11 and it's a rememberence run so I'm super excited for this. In a way I feel like I'm doing a good deed or something. The second is in late October and it's a Cross Country challenge. This one will be different since it's 70% road, and 30% trails. Interesting.

At any rate I can't wait to challenge myself and my running. My last 5K was in the Fall so I am definitely excited and ready! All good things! :)

Salty+Sweaty= Great Run!

After last weeks fiasco I wasn't able to get any running in and it's been weighing on my mind heavily. So today, I wasn't only determined to make it a better week, I was making a run happen no matter what.

Today I am happy to say I got in a fabulous sweat and salt filled run and it feels GREAT! I'm now on week 2 of my next running plan and did 1.75 miles as planned. Can't wait for more running time tomorrow!

:)

Bad Experience

I've always been told I should have been a counselor. Being a Nurse, in a sense I am a counselor among wearing many other hats. I'm the person in the grocery store that random strangers gravitate to and start conversations with. I've been told I have "a way" about me, and people are drawn to that. In our family and in life I suppose I've always been the peace keeper, middle man, and "the nice one."

Well on my business trip this week, that was cut short because of the acts of a stalker. Sparing details, I was followed, it got bad, and I was flown home urgently. I am still shaken up and can't seem to shake this awful sense of pure "creepy-ness" and I hate it.

I hate how someone took the person that I am and used those qualities to make me feel scared, and actually terrified as to what may have happened. How do you get past someone making you question who you are? I'm just not sure....

Luckily I have the most amazing support system, loving, and abundantly caring people in my life. And for this I am truely grateful.

Leaving on A Jet Plane...

I'm headed to Nashville, Tennessee here in a few hours for work. I'm excited to be going to a new place, but not excited to be doing it alone. Anyway, it's a short visit and I fly home Thursday evening. I'm just hoping for smooth traveling, and of course getting through security with my boat load of CF meds ;)

I'm also happy to say that I am 100% in love with Cayston!! Stopping the Tobi and going to Cayston has been wonderful and I feel so much better. My FEV1 is back up to where it was before this whole fiasco. And did I mention how convenient and small this little guy is to travel with? Perfect.

The hotel where I am staying has a gym which is really nice! Needless to say the running shoes are packed. Operation kick butt while traveling will now commence...

5K and A Half Marathon?

I've been debating for a few months now when to run my next 5K. I want to avoid summer for obvious "code red" air quality and humidity days, but don't want it to be freezing either. Decision made, Fall it is. Yesterday while spending time with our close friends, the next 5K was planned for October 23rd!

I'm pretty excited to have another one lined up and in sight. It really does push you harder when you have a goal insight, and even more, a running buddy. I officially now have both and am thrilled!

In even bigger news, we decided to get serious and train for a HALF MARATHON!! I'm so excited, and so scared at the same time. It may be a huge goal, out of my league, but you know what? I don't care and I'm going to try my hardest to do it! The Half Marathon goal is set to be run by May of 2011. I found a bunch of training plans and they are on average a 30 week plan. Wow! I have my work cut out for me.

Guess I'd better get off the computer and get my shoes on the pavement ;)

Swimming

Taken at our neighborhood beach at sunset

The air quality remains pretty awful here today still. So instead of running or doing something crazy active outside, we decided to take advantage of our beach. We packed a cooler, and went down late in the afternoon and got a good hours worth of swimming in. It felt good, and I worked the lungs pretty hard. I'm still annoyed with the tightness in my chest. It's better since stopping Tobi, but I'm inpatient I guess and want to feel 100% better now.

I got my Cayston a little early, and started that today too. I'm hoping to see a difference that I'm comfortable with before I travel for work Tuesday night. Part of me is wondering if the tightness in my chest could also be from anxiety?

I'm the first to admit, that I've been a ball of nerves here lately. I love to travel, just haven't done it alone and I'm going to miss Scott, and the pups like crazy!!! I've never flown alone etc, and I think I'm just afraid of being out of my comfort zone.

Here's to some happy breathing and decreased tightness :)

Ran 4.5 miles in 3 days!

I'm happy to report that I finished the running portion of my new plan this week. I'm feeling pretty good after running 4.5 miles too. My lungs are happy, which in turn makes me ecstatic. I was supposed to take a break today too, and do some weight lifting but I decided against it. I had my first board meeting tonight since getting this Nursing promotion and I was wayyyyy nervous. I think the run definitely helped me out a lot and let me rid some of my stress prior to tonight.

I've also noticed that in the 2 days off of Tobi, after I run there's a lot more air moving around in there, and a lot of productivity. Awesome. Here's to a big day that has come to an end, and a run that helped in more ways than one :)

On a break with Tobi

It's official, after maybe 10 years or more on Tobi, it's time to break as per Hopkins orders. I'm continuing to have chest tightness after inhaling it, so we're withholding it as of yesterday. If this isn't the culprit, we'll withhold the HTS next, stay on the Prednisone, and go from there. The docs are fairly certain it's the Tobi causing the problem. I guess it's just frustrating when I feel so good, am running without hesitations, yet am being bogged down by a side effect. Thinking positively.

Today was a break/rest day from the gym and my muscles sure did enjoy it :)

Another 1.5 miler and the faces of Prednisone

Day 2 of the new running plan is officially in the books. Well recorded in the blog anyway. It went well, and I'm beyond grateful to say that I could have run further and it wouldn't have phased me. I limited myself to a 3 minute warm up walk, followed by a 1.5 mile run with the treadmill set at 4.4 mph. All in all a walk of 3 mintues+ a run of 21 minutes= a very happy and accomplished feeling me :)

On a side note, the Prednisone has me all over the place no matter how hard I try to hide it. I broke down at work yesterday morning, luckily with my closest co-worker so no huge deal, but still. Sometimes on the big "P" I'm just fine, no issues at all, well of course there is always the ravenous bottomless pit hunger. Honestly, I'm ok with that because this girl loves to eat!

It's just hard when you already have so many emotions and things going on in your mind. I have a lot of "firsts" coming up this week and next, so I'm slightly anxious. Add Prednisone to the mix and you have yourself a not-so-great combination of your eyes leaking like a faucet.

I just got back from changing my Mom's dressings on her legs and as I went to leave I just broke down. Seeing her in a hospital bed at home (granted we are making huge progress) hurts my heart a little bit. Mr. Prednisone is only enhancing these emotions.

Well, that's it for today...

New Running Plan

I'm happy to say I've completed the Couch to 5K program which has you running 30 minutes straight. It was rough getting there at first, but now I'm totally comfortable running that far without problem.

However now, I want to go further and today my co-worker found this new plan for me! So instead of just running by time, you have to run by distance. I like this because I know it will be a challenge and will push me hard!

After a weekend of hiking several miles, and swimming/tubing several miles I'm one hurting pup. I still drug myself to the gym today and did day 1 of the new plan. 1.5 miles down, and looking forward to the rest of the week!

On a side note...I definitely think it's the Tobi causing my wheezing. After a few days of Prednisone, my chest feels so much more open...ahhh. Not sure where this will lead us, maybe I'll just have to take Prednisone when I start my Tobi courses? No worries, I'm feeling good :)

Bloggie is getting an addition....

So I've been a bad blogger, as previously noted so I want to change that. I think I get bored, or honestly not enough time in the day sometimes to write everything I want to say. Or perhaps, I feel that my daily life may be painfully boring some someone else ;)

Either way I've decided to take the blog in a new direction starting TODAY! I've been into exercising and running for a few years now, and thought that tracking my workouts, highs, and lows would be motivational for others? Who knows, but I'm giving it a whirl....

So welcome to the Exercise Journal of a Cyster :)

*Ok so I don't have the heart to completely change the blog (what a creature of habit) so I'm making it routine to add my exercising accomplishment each day :)

Adventure Weekend

I decided a few months ago that I wanted to surprise Scott with a mini weekend get-a-way. Well this weekend it actually took place, and over all I think it went really well...

We camped in treehouses, at a campground about an hour and a half away from home. Despite not being too far away, it sure felt like a different world. We spent the weekend relaxing by campfires, listening to music, eating great campfire food that someone, ahem, had all planned out ;)

Our first excursion on Saturday was that I had planned for us to go white water tubing. We've been white water rafting, but I thought it would be so cool to do an unguided tour in a tube. I loved it!! It was a lot of work, don't get me wrong and my every muscle feels it today, but it was totally worth it :)

Today as we packed up and headed home from the woods, we decided to go hiking on a part of the Appalachian trail. We did a few miles in the lush forest, and saw some gorgeous sites.

I think my lungs are happier this weekend too. I started the Prednisone, am opening up and enjoyed the mountain air. I definitely don't think their is an infection brewing that needs to get out, it's officially either Tobi, or just our awful air quality and humidity lately. Not sure which it is yet...I'm just happy I was able to be super active this weekend, and play hard.

"Tobi" and I may be on the verge of a break-up

I've been a mega blog slacker *slaps own hand* I guess with it being summer time I want to be outside and at our beach. Anyway.....

The lastest health wise is that I think Tobi is starting to give me issues after all these years. I'm hoping that it's not the case, but I'm not sure. Granted we've had HORRIBLE air quality in Baltimore this week. It's never really been an issue with me before that I've noticed, except lately. The other day my SUV's temperature gauge read 109 degrees. Gah! So I know that no matter what, that's an issue.

I started using a Tobi mask recently and am wondering if it's causing too much irritation in there. I mean before I started Tobi I felt fine, great even. I've been running, swimming, biking, etc. So I'm back to the regular Tobi set ups, and am just keeping a close eye on things.

I called Hopkins and am starting a Prednisone course today. What fun. We're going camping this weekend, and I refuse to let this get in my way. My health always comes first, but mental health has to be taken into consideration too and I really want a weekend away to relax.

What's My Name?

So lately I have been questioning if my name should really be Jessica. Here's why...

For example, at work I introduce myself as the patients nurse Jessica, etc, only to have them come over to me once they are dischared to say "Thanks SO MUCH Jennifer!" Gah!

The other day I had the CF pharmacy call me to and left a message asking if "Jennifer" is ready for a refill on her prescriptions. Hmmm nope, but Jessica is ;)

Now I have people calling my cell phone asking to speak to "Candy" which is strange since I've had the same # for years now. And on a side note, every time they ask to talk to "Candy" I suddenly crave skittles.

Today I placed an order for steamed crabs and shrimp. Upon picking up my order which was placed under "Jess" I find out my order is infact under the name "Jeff."

I'm seriously debating changing my name ;)

Anxiety and Decisions

My boss ahem "resigned" 2 weeks ago and I was offered the job as Nurse Manager of our center. The chief of the practice, and the practice administrator came to be privately and offered me the job that same day. I accepted. Now I'm not sure If I'm happy...at all.

For the past 6.5 years I have loved my job, and truly enjoyed going to work each day. I loved my job in all aspects, and felt like what I did mattered. Taking care of my patients made my day.

Now it appears that I will be doing mostly administrative stuff, and so far I feel like a "paper-pusher." My patient care time with be almost non existant, as I will be in charge, and have a Nurse that already has filled my position as a floor nurse. I'm scared.

I know that I have to be fair and give this job a chance. But what if I hate it? What If I made a huge mistake? I think I would feel like a failure to tell them I'm unhappy and want my old job back. Granted I didn't apply for this, I did it because they asked me to. I know I can do it, and keep telling myself If my old boss could do it, anyone can!

I just don't like bringing work home with me. I don't like worrying if I did everything right. I'm unsure of myself right now and don't like that feeling. I'm anxious as of recently, and have had significant knots in my stomach. I'm trying so hard to think positively, but it's hard without a million thoughts going through my head. I have to travel (a tiny bit, but still) for this job too. I don't think @ 30 years old I want to be done taking care of patients :( And I certainly don't want the stress level to affect my health.

I'm so unsure of myself right now...

Why thank you CF...(gross)

Thank you Mr. CF for making me cough so hard the other night that I threw up in my hand. Wow. Sorry, but it's true. I was in the middle of doing my "Huff" coughs and right there in my hand it happened. Ew. I'm pretty sure that was a first for me. I mean sure, I've coughed so hard I saw stars, got nauseated, got light headed, you name it...But vomiting in my hand, yup that goes in the books.

I'm reallllllllly hoping that doesn't happen again. It was definitely one of those "You know you have CF when..." moments.

CF Clinic Visit

Yesterday was my 3 month appointment @ Hopkins and I'm happy to say it went very well. I'm doing a study currently at Hopkins on how I balance CF treatments with everyday life. I met with the counselor for the first time, then it was off to PFT's.

I'm not sure the exact reason of this but I really really loathe doing PFT's. It's just one of those things, that If I let it, I'd have a full blown anxiety attack. Ugh. Yesterday I thought long and hard about why it bothers me so much. Besides the obvious fears, I think it's because maybe it's like going in for an exam and having test anxiety? Not sure how many other of my CF'ers out there feel the same way....I'm happy to report that my PFT's were up 5% from last time, and I am THRILLED!!! I've been running at the gym 2 miles or more, 4 times a week. It's nice to see my running paying of and looking at that paper and seeing an increase.

My clinic visit was by far a record for the fastest visit I've ever had! My poor doctor was so slammed, when he saw me he jumped right over to see me. It went something like this.

Doc: How are you feeling Jess?
Me: Great!
Doc: How do you like Cayston?
Me: I love it so much for so many reasons.
Doc: How were your PFT's (shows him paper)
Me: UPPPPPPP!
Doc: Great! Anything going on?
Me: Nope, just allergies.
Doc: Exercising?
Me: Yes sir @ the gym 4 days a week running several miles.
Doc: Ok great, keep up the great work and we'll see you in 3 months.
Me: Woo Hoo, later gator ;)

Despite sitting in traffic and it taking me 2 hours to get home ( I live 30 minutes away from Baltimore/Hopkins) It was a GREAT visit! Note to self...Never schedule a clinic visit in the summer when the Orioles are having a home game. Makes for some crazy city traffic ;)

Overall very happy!

Personal Best

Today I had the best run and beat my personal best record. I am still over the moon about this! I've been running at least a mile at the gym 4 times a week. This last week I decided to kick it up a bit and try to add at least .1-.2 each time I run. So far so good I have to say. Today I was supposed to run 1.4 miles and went way further. I was watching Ellen and jamming to the good ole iPOD and looked down and bam I had run 2 miles non stop!!!!!!! My lungs didn't even hurt, I wasn't short of breath, I was just a salty sweaty mess. I still can't believe it!! My legs feel like jello right now, but you know what?...It's the best feeling in the world :)

Blackberry meets Coffee

I repel technology, let me explain the most recent episode:

This is not a good combination as you may have already guessed. And no I don't mean blackberry as in a coffee creamer flavor either (thank you Piper) ;), I mean my phone THE Blackberrry. I had the day off work and was laying in bed with Hooper watching TV. I can't remember if we were watching "The Golden Girls" or "Tori and Dean Home Sweet Hollywood" (insert nerd label here I know) haha....Anyway somewhere in there a door bell rings on TV. My loving companion, Mr. Greyhound Hooper thinks it's the door bell at our house. He proceeds to jump up, bark, knock the Blackberry that was on my lap clear into my steaming cup of coffee. He couldn't do that again if he tried!

So we had "operation Blackberry emergency" at our house. The reason for this is, the case for my phone is as secure as Fort Knox ;) I ran downstairs like a maniac for Scott to help me get the case off! I used the blow-dryer on the phone for a while, and sat it under a ceiling fan for the rest of the day.

I was sure it was a goner and fried since it wouldn't even turn on after several hours. Even this morning I got nothing out of it. However about midway through the work day I thought I would just check it out. Bam, it actually turned on and IS working!!!!!!!! Woo Hoo!

The only thing so far is that the "A" key isn't working. So sorry for those who receive texts from me, will look a little silly without use of that key. So for now, shopping for the Droid is on hold. We shall see if the Blackberry continues to work, hope so!

Pink Eye!?

Yes, I have Pink Eye, and I'm pretty sure I haven't had this diagnosis since oh...about 3rd grade? I woke up for work on Monday and my eyes were bloodshot, it was pretty scary looking. I get into work and realize I need some eye drops stat or I'm going to scare my patients away. I thought nothing about this, chalking it all up to my allergies.....wrong.

I woke up Tuesday morning with the classic symptoms, bloodshoot, all junky, and swollen shut. Not what I was expecting at all I have to admit. I made my way to the local "Patient First" facility, which is so much better than my Primary Care office, more efficient, faster, and nicer.

The Doctor came in and did her examination of my eyes and of course said it was indeed Pink Eye. She had a feeling I may have a scratched eye, so we examined a little further, luckily we did this. Turns out I have 2 rather larger scratches on my eye (not the cornea thankfully) hence causing the infection, which then spread to the other eye. We determined that I scratched them while hiking last weekend. It was the windiest day I've ever hiked in and I remember a few things getting in my eyes here and there. Well turns out it was pretty significant and caused all this.

Luckily enough, the Gentamicin drops are doing their job and my eyes feel so much better today. Yesterday it actually hurt to look at something. So thankful it's getting better :)

Nebulizing...I've come a long way baby.

Last night I did something that I honestly thought was no big deal. In the middle of us having our best friends over on our back deck, I went and grabbed my nebulizer, came out with it and starting doing my treatments. Yes that's right, amidst friends, food, laughter and drinks I masked up and started my TOBI.

Rewind...years ago, when I first met Scott I was mortified to let him see me doing any of my treatments via nebulizer. Oh and the vest, forget it, I thought he'd never see that happen! Wow, it's funny how things change I guess. Granted I was 19 years old then, and now at the age of 30 I'm totally comfortable with it and this is who I am. Infact, I was so comfortable in front of our friends, that It never crossed my mind to neb in front of them.

I went inside to get something and Scott followed me in. He caught me off guard when he said how proud of me he was for "nebbing" infront of our friends. I had to take a second and think to myself, wow, I've come a long way baby ;)

Happy Nurses Day!

Being a NURSE means you carry immense responsibility & very little authority. You step into people's lives and make a difference. Some bless you, others curse you. You see people at their worst and best. You see life begin and end. You see people's capacity for love, courage, and endurance....

Today was a wonderful Nurses Day! I gave my fellow RN's Nurses day cards, and it went up from there. We were delivered bagels, donuts, fruit platter, and an Edible Arrangement. The BEST part of the day was when my wonderful Husband surprised me at work (while putting an IV in someone mind you) with BEAUTIFUL roses and a card. It was so sweet, and the flowers are stunningly beautiful! I then treated myself to a relaxing pedicure :)

I absolutely LOVE what I do, and know It's what I'm supposed to be doing. Everyday when I go to work I realize how lucky I am that I get to take care of people, comfort them, and alleviate stress. I've saved lives, and I've lost them too. No matter what, there isn't any other career I'd rather do.

Happy Nurses Day!!

Kitchen Remodeling

Here's the before and after of the kitchen (minus the countertops)

Last week we both took off work to rip out and install the new kitchen. I have never, I repeat, I have NEVER worked so hard in my life. Well, maybe, well yes, but you get the point right? We started last Friday and were basically finished everything by Wednesday. All we're waiting for now are the countertops to be installed in a few weeks. I learned a ton, got to play with rad power tools, and even have a few "battle wounds" to show off our hard work. ;)

Since we were finished with the big project, Scott surprised me with us ripping out the carpets in the entire upstairs. This was awesome!!! The previous owners of the house had cats, and no offense to cat lovers, but I am allergic to them unfortunately. The best part besides ripping out the carpet, was the underneath is GORGEOUS original hard wood floors!! I'm so excited. Wow, I must be getting old if carpet removal puts me on cloud nine. Haha. We're still working on the floors as far as restaining them, but boy does the house look amazing. I'm so grateful for my "handy-man" husband and all of our hard work.