2017 Wine and Dine Weekend

I joined three other running divas for a weekend at Disney's Wine and Dine 10k and half marathon (19.3 miles). We met at Epcot around 4AM on Saturday to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom parking lot for the start of the 10K. Badass Doreen made us coordinating costumes for each race. For the 10k, we represented different countries in Epcot (America, Germany, Italy, and Mexico). The 6.2 miles flew by as we chatted, told stories about being drunk, enjoyed the on-course entertainment, and posed for pictures!

After the 10k, we went straight to Animal Kingdom to explore Pandora - The World of Avatar! The Avatar Flight of Passage ride was out of this world! It felt like I was actually riding a Banshee! The effects were super cool. It's like as a futuristic version of Soarin' only you're on a Banshee in Pandora. We rode other rides and took advantage of photo-ops with characters. By 4:45PM we went to get our cars at Epcot before checking into the hotel.

The shower at the hotel was amazing! I started a pillow fight and jumped on all three beds (its my hotel tradition). Two of the divas went on a two hour adventure to pick-up dinner. I took a nap while they were on their adventure. Once they returned, we ate dinner and had a funny conversation about their dinner adventure among other topics that exhausted runners find amusing(basically everything was funny at this point). After dinner, we went to bed.

On Sunday, we caught the bus from our hotel at 4AM to the Magic Kingdom parking lot for the start of the half marathon.  Our costume theme was Beauty and the Beast (Beast, Belle, Gaston, and Lumiere). The fellow runners and volunteers loved our ensemble! I video called my sister, Kim, and we sang "Happy Birthday" to her. I also video called Taylor, which was fun even though I woke her up (sorry, Taylor). I got into character as Gaston and boasted about my charm, beauty, and muscles throughout the race. I was arrogant and narcissistic!  Whenever anyone cheered, I acted as if they only came to the race to cheer me on.  It was a blast! We focused on having fun and stopped for photos along the course. Another running diva was handing out cold towels at the finish line, so we found her and took a selfie together! After her volunteer shift, we all went to lunch.

Most of us took a nap after lunch to rest up for the after party at Epcot Sunday night. We washed our outfits so that we could wear them to the after party. The running divas even made doing laundry fun! Cindy and I explored the hotel. We played ping-pong, went down slides, enjoyed a bedtime story, and learned how to draw Nemo. The after party started at 8PM and ended at 1AM. We entered Epcot around 8:30pm and we left around 1:15PM. We rode rides, ate and drank at the food and wine festival vendors, and took advantage of more photo-ops with characters. In one of the lines, a guy was excited to see Belle (Cindy), until he saw Gaston (me) and then he wanted nothing to do with Belle. He asked me if we could take a picture together and inquired if I could flex for the photo. He handed Belle his phone and before Belle took our picture, he felt my muscle. I told him it was real! lol After taking our picture, Belle proceeded to take a selfie of her and the Beast. It was absolutely hilarious!

By the time we got back to the hotel early Monday morning, it was almost 2AM. Despite not feeling my best, I kept up with the divas all weekend! I experienced stomach pain this weekend. I gave vague answers when I was asked how I was feeling. My plan was not to acknowledge the pain. The pain wasn't constant. However, when it hit me, it took effort not to hunch over, moan from the torment, and wrap my arms around my belly until it went away. Speaking of pain, the bottom of my left foot also hurt. Was it really hurting though, or was it ghost pain?  Whether real or not, pain probably slowed me down a little, but it didn't stop me (story of my life). this weekend was the break from reality I needed! I laughed so much that my face cheeks hurt, too!

NYC - Part 1

Day 1:
After I met Taylor at the LaGuardia airport, we took a taxi to the hotel. The morning rush hour traffic was so terrible that it took us 45 minutes to go 5 miles. By the time we made it through the tunnel bridge from Queens to Manhattan, the GPS was estimating it to take 18 minutes to go 0.9 miles. We decided to ditch the taxi and walk the rest of the way to the hotel. Dare I say we walked faster than the taxi.

Upon arriving at the Renaissance at New York Midtown hotel, they had trouble locating our reservation because I reserved our room through a travel agency through the marathon website. Once they found our reservation, I think they felt bad because they let us check in five hours early. Our room was on the 22nd floor with a cool view of the city. The hotel is only a block away from the Madison Square Garden.

The Expo was first on our long list of things to do, so we grabbed a bite to eat, bought our unlimited 7 day metro card, and took a bus to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The Expo was HUGE!  I picked up my race bib and race shirt, and then we explored the Expo. I bought a tank, beanie, visor, coffee cup, and glass with the race logo.  We tasted different energy bars and protein shakes. Taylor even made a sign that said "TEAM LAUREN" and a customized bib that said "RUN LAUREN RUN!" We walked down every aisle and took advantage of photo ops. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to drop off everything. However, we realized we forgot to pick up Taylor's grandstand seating ticket, so we made our way back to the Expo to pick up her ticket. Shoutout to Taylor for being cool about my forgetfulness!

Once we had her grandstand seating ticket, we made our way to our first subway ride. We took the 7 train from the convention center to Grand Central! Grand Central Terminal looked just like it does in the movies! From Grand Central we walked to the New York Public Library. The library was really neat. I loved the architecture. Taylor even looked up her last name in the Genealogy room!

Our next stop, Ellen's Stardust Diner! On the way through Bryant Park we came across a Carrousel and I just had to go it! Taylor was a good sport and humored me. I rode a cat on Le Carrousel in Manhattan! At the diner, waiters and waitresses sing while they serve as they await their big break on Broadway. This was a really cool experience because they sang two of our songs "For Good" and "Let it Go"! We called it a night after dinner and headed to the hotel to get some sleep for our second day in the city.

Day 2:
Our first stop was the Marathon Pavilion near the finish line. We practiced taking the exact subway line Taylor was going to take on race day. The finish line stood in its full glory awaiting thousands of runners. It was surreal to see the finish line that I trained so hard for. I didn't cry, but I was still overwhelmed.

On our way to The New York City Fire Museum, we enjoyed Starbucks. It had a touching 9/11 exhibit. My favorite part were the fire engines from the late 1800's to early 1900's where they changed from being horse drawn to motorized. Also, the history of how the Dalmatian became the fire mascot was interesting. Dalmatians became the popular breed with fire departments because they used them to keep critters away from the horse drawn fire carriage. They were long winded and worked well with the horses, but they were smart enough to realize they could hop on the motorized engine once the horses were no longer necessary.

We finished the NYC Fire Museum just in time for lunch at Black Tap. They serve out of this world shakes and burgers. I got the Salty and Sweet shake that was peanut butter with pretzel bits and a delicious display of candies, whipped cream and drizzled chocolate. It was AMAZING!

After lunch, we headed to Wall Street. Wall Street found its way on my bucket list while I was a finance major at UCF. Although it's not for the public, it was still neat to see. We had a photo op with the Charging Bull of Wall Street where we rubbed its balls for good luck, and then we walked by the New York Stock Exchange. Security was really tight around the NYSE. The public isn't even allowed on that side of the street.

The Staten Island Ferry was only a few blocks South. We walked there just in time for the 2:30PM. It's a free 30 minute ride each way from Manhattan and Staten Island. The view from the ferry was picture perfect. I got great photos of lady liberty and Manhattan's skyline with the One World Trade Center.

Once we were back in Manhattan, we took the subway to the Brooklyn Bridge. There is something about bridges that fascinate me. The Brooklyn Bridge is on my list of top three bridges I've visited along with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and the Golden Gate Bridge. Although we didn't walk all the way across the bridge, it was still cool to see up close in person. After the bridge, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for Broadway.

On the way to see Wicked, we found an Irish Pub and grabbed a drink and some food before the show. I had my first Irish coffee (whiskey and coffee)!  I am so in love with coffee and it rocked my world.  I dressed as Elphie with black over the knee boots, black dress, black jacket, and green leg warmers to pull the witch look together. The show was phenomenal with powerful vocals, a talented cast, and Broadway style performances! It was so special to share the experience with Taylor! The story line and main characters closely resemble our own story and the friendship we share. When Glinda and Elphaba sang "For Good", it was the cherry on top of the experience. "For Good" is our song and while I was nearly moved to tears, a reflex fought back the emotion and I just soaked up the meaning and promise of every word.  "Who can say if I've been changed for the better? / I do believe I have been changed for the better/ And because I knew you / I have been changed for good." Taylor was a champ the whole trip! Even when I was moody no matter how well I tried to control the taper madness and prerace jitters, she was right there along for the ride snapping me out of my funk and bringing me back to reality. There's no doubt she makes me better and I love her for it!

Day 3:
We explored Central Park and it was absolutely beautiful! The leaves were changing color and it made it a picture perfect walk in the park. We saw the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain and the Loeb Boathouse. Even the hotdogs we ate in Central Park were supremely better than a normal hotdog. Central Park is where Taylor seemed most at home with the trees and lakes and without the stink of the city.

From Central Park, we went and rode the Roosevelt Island Tram. It's like a sky ride that takes you to and from Roosevelt Island and Manhattan along the Queensboro Bridge. We used our unlimited 7 day metro card for the round trip. The tram offered awesome views of the city! It was great for sightseeing. After the tram ride, we enjoyed NY pizza at Patsy's Pizzeria. Seriously, the best pizza I've ever had!

We quickly walked through Rockefeller Center and took a photo with the gorgeous St. Patrick's Cathedral before heading to the Love Structure for a picture.  The Love Structure was a lot smaller than I anticipated it was going to be. Afterwards, we went to the hotel where I took a three hour nap.
When I woke up from my nap, we went to Barilla Restaurant - Bryant Park and got lasagna to go for my pre-race pasta dinner. 

I'll blog about race day in another post. We walked over a marathon while exploring the city during the three days leading up to the race. Between the walking and the stairs to get to and from the subway, Taylor was sore and swollen. I was a little sore myself, but I like to think that my marathon training prepared me for exploring the city as well. Although there's no doubt it made race day a little more difficult, I don't regret it. Our days were packed with activities and I think we made the most of our time in the city!

Everyone Deserves a Friendship Like Ours

I just want to take this moment to brag about my best friend.  She challenges me and encourages me to chase my dreams. Before I found out I got into the NYC Marathon, she was on board to go with me in the unlikely event that I won a lottery entry.(I never would have guessed I would get in on my first try.) I know this trip isn't happening at the most ideal time in her life as she is busy making huge life plans (like planning a wedding and buying a house). Yet, her support hasn't faltered. She's in it for the long run, pun intended. Since I'm a marathoner, I know and appreciate her commitment to being my biggest fan and her dedication to being my best friend. I'm overwhelmed by the fact that she will be in the grandstand seating area to watch me accomplish this amazing achievement.  Not only does thinking about crossing the finish line make me emotional, the thought of sharing that experience with her has a powerful affect on my race mentality. I want to run the race for me and I want to finish strong for her. She wants me to cross that iconic finish line in Central Park as much I want to cross it! Everyone deserves a friendship like ours! 

As much as this trip is about the race it's also about being on vacation in NYC with my best friend! We haven't vacationed too much together. Will this be a test in our relationship? I doubt it, unless we're testing to see how high we can get our level of awesomeness. Will this be an audition for the Amazing Race? Unlikely, although I have a feeling using public transportation will be comedic and terrifying at times. I believe this trip will be one we remember for the rest of our lives. Even without NYC in the equation, I'm excited to get some much needed Taylor time!

Busy Week Ahead

After I stopped taking my iron supplements last week, I started taking multiple double doses of Senokot laxative tablets. It seemed like it took forever for it to work... it took at least 5 days. I finally had a bowel movement on Friday. I've had a few more since then, but I want more! I was constipated for almost a week and half, but because my belly was so empty prior to becoming constipated it didn't get too sore, thankfully. Once I feel like my bowels have become regular I'll start taking the iron again. Whatever regular means these days...

This week is going to be a super busy week. I'll likely be working overtime on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday because its accounting's close week for the month of November and because we have two payroll runs this week. My supervisor and I will be busting our butts in payroll during normal hours and staying late to help accounting for close. On Friday, I'm scheduled for a vacation day. On my day off, I'm going to go to Universal and IOA with Kelly. I'm just hoping that I feel well enough when the time comes and that I'll have the energy to last all day. I know I can push through a half marathon, but my will power is not the same when it comes to theme parks.

Fun Times

Update: I think I'm back to "normal" as I've only pooped a couple times today. I'm feeling good and I hope it continues. Btw, my dad cleaned the bathroom for me. I owe him one!

Finally, I can blog about girls weekend without the fear of pooping myself. Let me start by saying that I had four days off in a row!!!! I can't remember the last time that happened.

Thursday was absolutely incredible! Even though my rental car wasn't the convertible I booked, I picked up Taylor around 5:15pm and we headed to Miami for the Shania Twain concert. On the way, we mostly talked and caught each other up on our lives. Not much to catch up on since we just talked for a few hours on the phone the night before. We got to the arena early and we were giddy in our seats playing around on Dubsmash to waste time. Once the concert started we sang along with every song. We acted like we were serenading each other, screamed like fan girls, and danced like no one was watching! The night lived up to my expectations, which is to say it was a night I won't forget.

Friday, we returned my rental car and then headed to the hotel for girls weekend. After we checked in early, Taylor and I ate at Lola's. I had an amazing blackened dolphin sandwich. We got a huge brownie to share and that brownie lasted the whole weekend. It was excellent. Once we got back to the hotel we took a nap, and then we lounged by the pool while we waited for Brittany and Kelly to arrive. I enjoyed lounging because it was the only time during the weekend that I read The Martian. It's one hell of a good book. By the time we changed and I jokingly did Taylor's hair, Kel and Britt had arrived. We went to some Tiki place for dinner and it had the perfect atmosphere to set the tone for the weekend. When we got back to the hotel, we played games for hours and danced. It was great to have good old classic fun.

Saturday, we went to the beach. While there we played with a beach ball and Frisbee. Heck, I even joined the ladies in the ocean. The water was clear because there weren't many waves, which I loved. After the beach, we grabbed lunch and took showers, and then headed to the mall. I was exhausted, so I took a nap after the mall. To no avail I woke super fatigued. My stomach hurt, but I just thought it was gas pain. Anyways, I sucked it up and we went bowling and sang karaoke. I won both games of bowling with a 117 and Taylor pointed out my Taco Bell order # on the way back to the hotel was 117. Those numbers don't mean anything to me, but I thought it was weird.

Sunday, we went to the beach and headed home. For me, overall, this weekend was the relaxation I needed and great bonding time with amazing friends. I am noticing though that I don't feel as fun as I used to be. Is that a sign of getting old or just not feeling 100%? I want to have more energy. I don't want going to the beach to feel like it costs me half of my day's spoons.

I Pooped My Brains Out

I'll post about the fun girls weekend next time.

This post will be about fucking Crohn's disease.  I was supposed to do my Cimzia injections on Thursday, the day I left town. I decided to post-pone the injections by 3-4 days because they make my belly really sore and the injection spots tend to get puffy and sometimes bruised. I didn't really want a swollen tummy at the beach.

I knew going into the weekend that my energy levels weren't the best, but I thought with afternoon naps I would be able to keep up with the weekend. I did okay until Saturday afternoon. My two hour nap didn't help at all. I still felt really fatigued and tired. I had the chills. Maybe it was the sun and water... maybe it was the alcohol the night before... maybe it was because I post-poned my injections. Plus, I had gas cramps. I'm glad I sucked it up and went bowling and sang karaoke though. I got up a few times in the middle of the night to poop (it was diarrhea). I was as quiet as I could be, but I felt bad because I didn't want to wake anyone up with my potty issues. I tossed and turned and accidentally woke Taylor up a few times. I even woke up sweating at one point, which is strange because I was freezing most of the night.

Thankfully, I woke up Sunday morning with enough energy to get me through the beach and car ride home.  I took a three hour nap when I got home. After the nap, I was feeling way better until I ate dinner. After dinner, my stomach pain had me doubled over and I was running to the bathroom once or twice and hour.

Side note: I'm living with my family. My mom and dad hear me struggling to make my lunch for the next day in the kitchen. I'm moaning in pain. At one point I was on the floor. My mom got up to see what was going on, I gasped in pain when I told her I was trying to make lunch, and then she just said, "Oh, I used to feel like that after I ate Tijuana." (I hate when healthy people think that they have felt what I feel.) She then went back to the couch. I can't ask her to help make my lunch, but she didn't even offer to help and that pissed me off... which is weird because I hate when I need help. (She gets weird when I hang out with Taylor. Even though those two claim to be liking each other these days.) Don't get me wrong I know they care when it matters, but sometimes I feel like when I don't feel well it's just so normal for them that they don't think twice. They are constantly telling me that I can't live on my own because then I'll have no one to take care of me and I'm like it won't be much different than it is now. The only difference will be that no one will see me in pain.

I didn't really get much sleep Sunday night. Between 9pm and 6am I pooped at least 15 times. I pretty much pooped my brains out. How could that much shit be inside me? The last time I pooped that much was in Texas. (Mom has the nerve to tell me to clean the toilet. I know it needs to be cleaned and when I feel better, I'll clean it. Damn you woman,) I'm just glad this time I had at least some control over my bowels. Somewhere along the way the pain went away, but my stomach was sore from pooping so much. If I didn't have my new job, I would have called in sick. I was so tired. I put on a good face and made it through work with way more bathroom breaks than normal. When I got home on Monday, I did my injections, ate dinner, and then went to bed. Thank God, I only woke up 6 times between 7:30pm and 6:30am to poop. I slept much better.

Today, I feel way better than Sunday and Monday; however, I still don't feel as well as I did on Friday. My bowels are still calming down and I'm hoping it's under control before I start losing weight. I've already lost three pounds, but I think it's just because I'm dehydrated. I'll clean the bathroom tomorrow.

P.S. I got an amazing compliment from my supervisor today about how well I'm doing. It almost made me cry. Damn you, feelings.

Fun Times Ahead!!!

This Wednesday I was supposed to go to the Shania Twain concert in Jacksonville with Kim, but she will be in Texas visiting Baylor and learning about their PT program.  Have no fear, I was still planning on going even if it meant going by myself. Thankfully, Kelly will be going with me instead. I'm excited because this will give me a chance to start working her out of her shell before our girls/game weekend.  Plus, I know she will know all the words to sing along.

It's only my second week at my new job and I'm already taking off two days this week: Thursday and Friday. That's how fantastic my supervisor is. On Thursday I'll be in Sunrise to pick up Taylor from work at 5:30pm so that we can head to The Shania Twain Concert in Miami. I will accept nothing less than a night we will never forget.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be spent with Brittany, Kelly, and Taylor! I'm super excited because I think we all need this girls getaway for one reason or another. We will be playing games, drinking, karaoke-ing,  bowling, and beach going. Personally, I'm hoping to forget about life's negativity and my responsibilities this weekend. I don't even care that my pooper has been super active lately. They all know I have Crohn's and I know they will understand if I have to make a lot of trips to the bathroom. I'm not in any pain, so I'm up for a weekend full of fun. It's going to be an interesting dynamic of personalities between the four of us. There will never be a dull moment, which is awesome because I want this weekend to be unforgettable. I want to make memories that will have us laughing for years to come.

Part 1 of 3 - A Wedding, Marriage, and a Gut Check

A Wedding:

As you know I attended a lovely wedding in Alabama this past weekend. The wedding was absolutely beautiful, but I was a little confused at the ceremony! It was a Catholic wedding and the ceremony lasted an hour and fifteen minutes. I'm not Catholic and although I don't regularly go to church, I'm no stranger to Sunday morning Baptist church service. During the ceremony the 200 + guests would stand, sit, kneel, sit, stand, kneel stand, kneel, sit, stand, sit... Most of the time I was wondering how almost everyone knew what to do and when to do it? The audience would pray and/or shout back words toward the pastor/priest/father (I don't know what the dude is called that was conducting the union).  Anyways the guy looked like the one kid from the movie Sandlot.How did those folks know what to say and what the heck were they saying?  The only thing I knew was the Lord's Prayer.

If you know me, you know I'm very skeptical of marriage and weddings. I was completely lost when the look alike guy from Sandlot began praying in Latin... for like ten minutes. I sat there baffled because I was not understanding the prayer.

My cynicism was confirmed when he cited the Bible verses that feed my dislike of marriage because of the misunderstanding this part of Scripture creates: Ephesians 5:22 - 33. More on that in blog part 2 of 3.

After the wedding, the reception was held at a mansion with buffet style food and drink rooms, a dancing room that also had the wedding cake (that seemed like a dangerous placement to me), tables and chairs scattered throughout the mansion and outside, and even a photo booth. I had a great time with mom. I enjoyed dancing and the wedding cake was incredible.

Mental Chaos

Well, Sunday was my last day with Classic Mazda East. I finished May with 15 car sales! I hit and exceeded a bunch of sales goals and earned a bunch of bonuses, which is awesome! Honestly, over time I think I became good at selling cars. I don't mean to sound arrogant when I say that they will certainly be missing me now that I'm gone.  Why would I quit something I'm kind of good at? I'll have to dive into that answer later. I just know that I am happier now than I was prior to Sunday.

I originally thought I was going to be jobless until I found another job; however, my dad's company has been so slammed that I have picked up shifts with him all week and for the foreseeable future. At least until I can find a job where I can utilize my educational background.  I know I should be focusing on finding another job, but I could barely stand the idea of not working and not earning money. I'll be job searching and filling out applications on the weekends in order to hopefully schedule interviews during the week. So far, I don't have any job prospects, but I'm hopeful. After all, there is no motivation quite like working with family again to find a different job. I'm grateful to be working back with my dad, but I did not miss working so closely with my family.

At times my self talk gets me down because I hate that I just graduated college and I'm still working for my dad. Was it all for nothing?  Will I ever be independent? Will I have my shit together by the time I'm 30?

At times my self talk gets me pumped and makes me believe that I am going to find success. I'm smart, I'm funny, I'm charming, and I'm a hard worker. I should just take time off work to write an hour worth of a stand up comedic routine and try to tour comedy clubs and college campuses.

I am looking forward to the weekend because it will be my first weekend off in four months. Plus, it's two days off in a row. You bet your ass I have naps scheduled for this weekend. I'd love to go for a run too, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. I've got to ease back into getting myself back to being me.

I'm even going on vacation in nine days. I'll be heading to Alabama with my mom to go to a family friend's daughter's wedding. I can't wait to get on the dance floor!  This is the family who graciously let us stay with them on our road trip back from Texas when I was super sick.

The Texas Incident

... Continued

Once  I began vomiting in the early morning on Saturday, December 27th my stomach kept telling me I had to poop every hour, but I could not find relief.  I sat on the toilet and vomited in the trash can. That's how I spent most of the day on Saturday when I wasn't lying in bed with a heat pad on my belly. Veronica convinced me to call my parents and tell them what was going on. I didn't want to freak them out, so I tried to down play how horrible I really felt. My mom immediately offered to drive to come pick me up, but I thought I could wait it out and be better by my flight Monday morning. I was wrong!

Saturday night came around and the vomiting had stopped, but I still couldn't poop. I decided to take three pills of Veronica's mom's laxatives in hopes that my belly could find some relief. Sunday morning around 7am I began vomiting again. At this point, I hadn't eaten anything since Friday night, so it was just liquid coming up. I didn't sleep for more than an hour at a time before my body was waking me up because it thought I had to go to the bathroom, but I couldn't get anything out. Around 9am on Sunday I was finally able to poop. At first, beautiful turds filled the toilet; however, each time I went running to the bathroom my bowel movements became looser and looser until I could no longer control them. I pooped my pants twice because I couldn't make it to the bathroom fast enough. I wasn't even embarrassed. Just disappointed with my body. I called my parents at 11:45am Texas time to ask my mom to come get me because I knew I couldn't fly on a plane while having uncontrollable diarrhea and vomiting my brains out.

My mom and Kim left to come get me and I tried to gain some control of my pipes. I spent most of the day sitting on the toilet to avoid more messes.  We had family friends visiting Houston that were kind enough to meet my friend Veronica halfway between Houston and Austin to pick me up so that my mom would have a shorter drive. Veronica was a life saver. She packed my bags and got me ready for the car ride. We left Veronica's house at 4pm and I arrived at the Tous' hotel in Houston by 8pm. The car ride was extremely uncomfortable. Thankfully, I didn't vomit nor poo my pants. I was grateful the Tous had a suite and they gave me my own bathroom close to a bed. The last time I vomited was at Veronica's house. At this point, I was still shitting every few hours, but I hadn't had a mess since Veronica's house.

At 3am, mom and Kim arrived at the hotel. I put on the depends my mom brought as well as some comfy clothes. We thanked the Tous and left. While walking out of the hotel I could smell the staff cooking the continental breakfast, which made me dry heave and gag once I got outside. I slept in the car the best I could even though bumpy roads made my stomach uneasy. We stopped at most of the rest stops along I-10 East (when the GPS said I-10 East, I swear she was saying "I titties."). Mom and Kim alternated driving and resting. We made a pit stop at the Russo's, our friends in Alabama.  We got there around 11:30am. They fed me crackers and ginger ale. I showered and took bath, which I followed with a two hour nap.  It was nice to finally see them after 20 years. I want to visit them again when I'm healthy because they are so much fun! We left the Russo's around 4pm.

After leaving the Russo's, we went through a Chick-fil-a drive-thru. We pulled over in a Bed Bath & Beyond parking lot to eat. I took two bites of soup and then I shit myself in the backseat of the car. Thankfully, the adult diaper did its job and contained the mess. Mom went in with me to BB&B to help me clean up my mess and put on a clean diaper. My mom is a trooper! Once that was cleaned up we hit the road because I gave up on eating anything until I got home. Mom and Kim drove through the night making a few pit stops for me before we finally made it home early morning on Tuesday, December 30th.

I'm so very thankful to everyone that helped to get me home and everyone that took care of me when I struggled to care for myself. I'm grateful for all my friends that prayed for me. I'm crying just thinking about how much I am loved and cared for. Although I grieve for my independence during times like this, time has proven that I will get back up and find it again.

I lost 18 pounds during this whole ordeal. I dropped to 132lbs and I seem to be stuck there. When I look at my naked body in the mirror I see an extremely thin and toned physique that most women would envy. However, I feel very weak. I want to regain my strength and weight because this body image to me is one of illness, not health. While I'm stuck listening to how lucky I am that I can lose weight so easily and listening to everyone's new year's resolution to lose weight I am secretly fuming inside.

Christmas with Veronica

I arrived in Austin at lunch time on Christmas Eve. As soon as Veronica and her mom picked me up from the airport we headed to get some amazing Texas BBQ for lunch. We shared a delicious portion of tender brisket, smoked chicken, and juicy sausage links. It was absolutely wonderful! Following lunch we explored a gas station called Buckees. It had over 30 gas pumps and inside it was like an enormous Wawa. We walked around tried a sample of pecan pie. YUM!  On the way to Veroncia's house, we stopped at a little pecan store on the side of the road because there was a huge squirrel outside that I wanted my picture with. Inside I bought underpants bandages. "Dress your wounds with tighty-whities!"


A pic of the three of us after we filled up on BBQ!

Squirrel!

Once we got home, we got ready to go celebrate Christmas with Veronica's extended family.  I think I met over 30 people at her cousin's house. The food was awesome! Plus, it was great to meet so many people in her family. On the way home, we stopped by a huge Christmas tree made of lights. We twirled under tree at midnight,  which was magical! By the time we got back home, I was exhausted, but I gave Veronica her gifts before we went to bed.

On Christmas, we went to Ihop for breakfast and then we explored Austin. It was perfect because the streets were empty! We had the city to ourselves. We even went on a little hike.

Austin, Texas

The view from our hike

After we finished exploring, we stopped by a family friend's house to drop off gifts and celebrate Christmas. When we returned home, we watched my favorite Christmas movie 'Surviving Christmas' before going to bed.

The day after Christmas, we relaxed at the house in the morning before getting some more Texas BBQ for lunch. After lunch, we went wine tasting at a place called Water 2 Wine. We bought some wine of our own and a bottle to share at our painting with a twist later that night. After wine tasting we went back home to relax before going to paint. The painting with a twist was so much fun! The instructor was great and funny. "If you make a mistake, drink some more wine until you like it."

We went to In-N-Out on our way home, which was fun because Veronica had never been before.  By the time we got home, I was tired and went to bed.

3am Saturday, December 27th I woke up vomiting.... to be continued.










Texas for Christmas

I decided to use my Southwest Airline voucher before it expired in May 2015 to visit Veronica for Christmas. I knew I better use the voucher during my winter break because  I was not likely to use it during my spring semester.  I got the voucher when I cancelled my trip to Texas so that I could attend my grandpa's funeral. I debated on traveling to another city for an adventure of exploring it on my own, but I missed my friend Veronica too much to pass up an opportunity to see her! The last time I saw her was for only about 15 minutes when I had a layover in Austin in July of 2013 and she came to the Airport just to see me for that short amount of time. I felt bad when I had to cancel my trip to see her earlier this year when I lost my grandpa, but she was so understanding and comforting during that difficult time. Veronica was right on board with my idea to visit her for Christmas! We are both super excited!

Have you ever seen one of those awful Christmas movies on Hallmark Channel? The only reason I have is because my mom used to be obsessed with those movies. She no longer has the Hallmark Channel, praise Jesus! Anyways, I felt like the out of touch character from one of those movies when I first told my mom I wasn't going to be home for Christmas. She was overly disappointed.  I see my family all year round, so it's not like we only gather and see each other on Christmas. I don't think it's a big deal that I won't be home for Christmas. After some talking, my mom seemed to be coping with it better. I've never traveled during Christmas time before, but I think I'm up for the chaos. I booked nonstop flights so hopefully that helps me get to where I'm going on time. I also can't tell you the last time I had a 5 day long vacation. No school, no work, no family... it's going to be great!

Summer School - Term A

          Term A of the summer semester started today. I'm taking a senior level, six week course on International Financial Management. I'll have three exams and a team project/presentation within those six weeks. I think I'll have to cut back on naps, but that's okay because I think I'm really going to like the material. I'm hoping that since this is a senior level class the team project won't be such a burden with lazy teammates. In other words, by this point U.C.F.'s college of business should have weeded out the dumb, unproductive people that always find their way to group projects in lower level courses. At least, I'm hopeful. For now, my team consists of three men and a lady (me). We've already picked Google as the company we'll be analyzing and giving our presentation on its 10K report.

          I love to travel and I used to let the lack of time due to school be an excuse not to. My trips to Napa, Nashville, Miami and NY have proved to me that I can go on a short trip and still do well in school. Even if I got a C on my one exam after I returned from NY. I was waiting to get my syllabus today to make sure I wouldn't have an exam on the weekend I want to go to Texas to see my friend, Veronica, and attend the last George Strait concert with her in Dallas. Luckily, the exam that falls closest to the trip is one day before I want to leave and two days before the big show.  I'm excited to talk to her tonight and work out the details. I miss her and her mom.

P.S. I get to give myself injections tomorrow and I couldn't be happier.