Going on a date with Caldwell

Caldwell Luc that is. I'll be getting this surgery in a few weeks. I saw my ENT doc on Tuesday, and he wants to do the surgery before I finish this round of IV's. I should be getting the surgery date in the coming days. I am SO not looking forward to this. My previous sinus surgeries were much easier, and the recovery time was a lot less than it is with the Caldwell Luc procedure. I would be eager to hear from any of you CFers who have had this done.

Desensitization was successful! It lasted for about 5 hours yesterday, and I was discharged about 6:45 last night. We made it home safely, and Jason went into work last night for a few hours.

I am going to be catching up on my photography class today. I am enjoying it, although we are just learning the basics right now. I still haven't finished last Friday's class, and I have to do yesterday's class too. I also need to catch up in the blogging world. I have so many blogs to catch up on!

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

Crime Scene at Duke!

Jason here........at Duke..........with Christy..........waiting. So far, Christy and I have had less than minimal sleep, two half-lousy meals, watched two episodes of Torchwood, and have had countless consults and interruptions by doctors, nurses, and countless other medical professionals.

Christy and I had some downtime between our boredom and enui, and we decided to take a couple of laps around the floor. We noticed this scene, which I photographed below. After a minute of logical deducing, I realized that this patient MUST have died; and most likely from waiting for their own desensitizing!

Alas, I kid; the patient in that room is fine. They put the faux crime scene tape up themselves.

A day of..... nothing!

Sooo... I guess I'll be on the computer all day, or watching tv, or walking the halls, because they can't do my desensitization today. :( It requires an extra staff member, because an RN has to sit with me through the entire procedure in case I have an allergic reaction, and they are short staffed today. They assure me that I will be desensitized tomorrow though, which means I'll be going home Thursday instead of tomorrow.



So I guess Jason and I will hang here for the day and maybe go out to dinner somewhere tonight. They are pretty cool about letting me off the floor for awhile if I have nothing going on.. and I don't. They have already done blood cultures, but ENT hasn't been in yet to get cultures of my sinuses. That will happen sometime today. I have a student nurse working with me today. Having been a student nurse myself, I think I'm a little more sympathetic to them than most patients. She's really good, and on top of things.. which I like. I also met one of the new transplant pulmonologists today. He seems to be on the same page as Dr. P., my regular pulmonologist, so thats' good.

I'll update more from this exciting place later. Right now, I have a cheese danish (and lots of insulin) to devour. :)

Party Room!!

We arrived at Duke about 6:00 and I was in my room by 7:00. We actually got one of the "party rooms" that has a sofa, frig, table and chairs, and tons more room than the other rooms. I have been coming to Duke for 8 years now and have only gotten a party room 3 or 4 times. Anyway, it's really for those who have a lot of guests, and well... I won't be having any (other than my hubby), but it's still nice to have extra room.

As I've blogged before, I have been having night sweats for several weeks now. They have gotten so bad now, that I have to change my clothes sometimes twice in a night and have to move from bed to bed because my sheets are so wet. Because of that, and because the Cipro doesn't seem to be taking care of my sinusitis, they have brought me in for some IV antibiotics. I was supposed to come in last Thursday, but they had no beds on the floor I need to be on, so they said to wait until today. Nurses on this floor are trained to do desensitizations, because this floor (the pulmonary floor) is also a step-down unit.

The last time I had night sweats this bad was when I had a mycobacterium in my lungs. They do not think that I have any mycobacteriums in my lungs, but they are going to do a blood culture and a sinus culture to make sure there isn't one in either of those places. These sweats could be coming from the pseudomonas that they know is in my sinuses already. It's just strange that it has never given me night sweats this bad. My body has changed a lot.. in a lot of different ways.. since kidney transplant, so it's possible this is just something else that has changed.

So... Jason and I are settled in. Casey is at her dad's. It was his birthday today, so it worked out well that she got to go be with him. I talked to her earlier and she was baking her dad a carrot cake. She was whispering on the phone and she said..."Mom, what do you do if you don't have any vegetable oil and the recipe calls for that?" I told her to use olive oil, and she had no idea that one could be substituted for the other. She later called and said it turned out great. :)

Jason is on his playstation.. no, he doesn't go anywhere without it.. haha. I have been going through admission paperwork with the nurse and intern. We have good interns this time around (the nurses have confirmed). When you are in a teaching hospital, you just never know what your gonna get.

They are supposed to come in later tonight and get blood cultures and sinus cultures. Who knows how late I'll be up for that, but that's ok, as long as they can start the desensitization tomorrow. If all goes well, I should be out by Wednesday, and will be on the IV's for a month. I see the ENT next week to discuss surgery options.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, prayers, comments, phone calls, emails, etc... They mean so much to me!

On my way to Duke

I have to go to Duke for a couple of days to get started on some IV antibiotics. I'll be blogging tonight about it, but in the meantime, this post will give you an idea about why I have to go in.

Gotta go... check back later for updates. It might be 7 or 8 tonight before I get a bed. They've been really low on beds.. it's why I waited until today to be admitted. I guess everyone is sick... :(

You're Christy? Hmmm....

This dialogue took place between the fellow who saw me in clinic yesterday and myself...

Fellow (looking back and forth between me and my chart): Christy?

Me: Yes

Fellow: You're Christy?

Me: Yes

Fellow: Wow. Ok.

Silence as he looks at me and my chart several more times.

I smile.

He looks puzzled.

Fellow: You have quite the history.

I smile.

Fellow: I heard about your story a month or so ago.

Me: I keep hearing that.

He looks at chart again. Has puzzled look on his face.



Most of you CFers have heard the line before from others.. "Well, you don't LOOK sick." I guess the fellow was expecting me to look half dead. I wanted to say.. "Do you see anyone else in here with a moon face and a "manstache" from prednisone?", but of course there was no one else in the room.

Girl's weekend continued

Casey definitely had a full long weekend. She had a blast on Sunday skiing at Appalachian Ski Mountain with her best friend Megan. Casey hasn't been skiing since she was 9 years old. I am not "allowed" to do any sports that may cause injury, because of my osteoporosis. It's been almost 3 years now since I broke my arm from a fall while I was ice skating, soooo I'm glad Casey was able to go with a friend. She said she did pretty good and only fell once.

On Monday, we went to see Bride Wars. What a cute movie!!! We loved it. It didn't get very good reviews, but I don't see why. Marley and Me got better reviews and this movie was MUCH better. I think the critics sometimes don't even watch the movies that they critique. We also went out to eat with Casey's best friend on Monday. Casey was exhausted from her ski trip, so Monday night, she slept 13 1/2 hours.

Yesterday, we went to the mall with some friends of ours. Casey got 2 pairs of shoes, 2 shirts, and some jewelry. We then went to Ruby Tuesday to eat. What a mistake! I used to love that place, but their entire menu has changed, and basically it's just horrible food loaded with spices and salt to cover up how bad it is. It was also expensive for what you get. I will never go back. I'm getting really tired of those cookie cutter restaurants anyway. We went back to the mall after we ate and Casey and her friend Michele tried on prom dresses. It's great entertainment for them, and it's free!! LOL. They had so much fun trying on dresses. Here are a few pictures, but please excuse the blurriness. My hands shake from the medications I'm on, and Casey's camera doesn't have an image stabilizer, so this is what you get...





We went to Duke today for my kidney transplant appointment. I've been having some tenderness around my kidney incision, but the surgeon didn't think there was anything to be concerned about. He said he would wait until my labs come back, and if they didn't look as good as they have been, he would schedule an ultrasound. I also left a message for my lung transplant coordinator about my sinus issues. I don't think the Cipro is helping, and my pulmonologist wanted me to let him know if it wasn't. I think my sinuses are getting worse. My appointment with the ENT isn't for 2 more weeks, so I may have to go on IV's before then. They will call me back tomorrow probably.

After we left Duke, my mom, Casey and I ate at this wonderful Italian restaurant. Here is a picture of Casey outside the restaurant. As you can see, Durham got a little snow yesterday. Most of it has already melted though...



I dropped Casey off at her youth group meeting at our church a little while ago. She got her homework done today while she waited for me to see the doctor, so she's all set to go back to school tomorrow. :( She goes to her dad's house tonight.

Jason has been working everyday for a week now. He will be off Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If I don't have to go in the hospital for IV's, we are going to do some work around the house on Saturday, and go to his nephew's baptism on Sunday.

I'm getting ready to start my online photography class. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm also going to get on the treadmill tonight. It's been 4 days since I've been on it.

Quick update

I'm on my way to Duke for a kidney transplant appointment. It's the first time Casey is going with me to an appointment in years because of her school schedule, and because she's with her dad on Thursdays, which is the day I have my lung transplant appointments. It will be so nice to have her along!

I'll update on our awesome long weekend tonight. Casey goes to her dad's house tonight and back to school tomorrow. I'm not ready for our little vacation to end. She takes the SAT's on Saturday! I'm so nervous for her, even though they won't count for anything except to see where she stands as a 7th grader compared to the highschoolers.

Oh, and my photography class starts today! I'm nervous and excited!!!

Have a great day everyone. Check back later for updates.

Girl's weekend.. interrupted

Yesterday, Casey and I just hung out at home and watched movies and organized her room.. somewhat. Last night, we went to my sister's house and got take-out. Casey and her cousin Caroline played Wii Fit for about 2 hours.

Casey and I were supposed to go shopping today, but she decided at 10:30 last night that she was going skiing with her best friend today. They have been gone all day, and are actually doing some night skiing right now. I've gotten some laundry and house cleaning done. We are going to go shopping tomorrow after I pick her up from her friend's house in the AM.

I won't be blogging for a couple of days. I'm going to enjoy the time with my daughter. It will be so great not to have to send her off to school. :)

One Lovely Blog Award

I received this "lovely" blog award from 2 wonderful new blog friends named Carrie at Capturing Glimpses, and Jessie at Breezy's Bravery. Thanks so much Carrie and Jessie!!




This award is being passed to new bloggy friends, and ones who step out of their comfort zone to make new friends via blogging. So I pass this award to my newest bloggy friends:

Christy over at The Jobe Family

Aubrey over at The Fam Five

Jen over at My Journey

Tracy over at Just Being Who I Am

Thanks girls for stepping out of your comfort zone and making me a new bloggy friend!!!

Girl's long weekend part 1

Casey doesn't have to go back to school until next Thursday. I am so excited! We started our girl's weekend when I picked her up from school today. We went to my friend Angela's house first to see some of the new things she bought for her house. She just got hardwood floors and decided to redecorate her great room. It looks so good!

We then went to Ulta and Casey bought a few things with a gift card that she got for Christmas. I bought some Nioxin products that Sara recommended. They still had the buy 2, get 2 sale going on (it ends tomorrow for any of you interested). I really hope this product works on my thinning hair.



Casey and I then met some good friends of ours and Jason for dinner at this great authentic Italian restaurant. My friend's mom passed away this week, so we thought that she and her daughter might want to get out tonight. It was great fun.. like it always is with them.

After we got home, Casey and I both worked out on the treadmill, and then watched Psych, one of our favorite shows!

Tomorrow, I think we may hang out at home and work on organizing her room. We are meeting my parents and sister for dinner. We have a few things planned the days after that. I'll try to get some pictures of our "girl time".

PS... I talked to my kidney transplant coordinator today. She wants me to start taking 10 mg of prednisone tomorrow and I can go to my maintenance dose of 5 mg in 6 weeks. That's February 27th. I'm so thrilled about that!!!! She also said my potassium is low, so I have to eat bananas and potatoes and other potassium rich foods to see if that will bring it up. If not, I'll have to start potassium supplements. She said they were happy with all other labs. :)

Duke appointment

I saw my transplant pulmonologist (lung transplant doc) today at Duke. It's the first time I've seen him since before my kidney transplant. My lung function studies were a little lower than they were last time, and he is thinking it's because of my sinuses. For post-lung transplant patients who have chronic pseudomonas in their sinuses, it is crucial that we keep it from draining to our lungs. Obviously, if your sinuses are draining, you can't help but get some of that gunk in your lungs, but they want us to do the best we can at keeping it from flaring up and draining. We do this several different ways... irrigating the sinuses, using sinus nebulizers, going on antibiotics when you have a flare-up, and/or having sinus surgery. I have been taking oral Cipro, an antibiotic used to treat pseudomonas for a week now. I see some difference, but my doc isn't convinced it's going to do the trick. My ENT and pulmonologist discussed me having another sinus surgery last year, but chose to get me through kidney transplant first. My doc today told me that he is thinking I'm going to need it done soon. My ENT (who I see on Feb 3) doesn't like to do sinus surgeries in the winter time. He prefers to wait until springtime when the humidity level is up. My doc today told me that if he opts to wait that long, I will probably have to go on IV antibiotics before then to take care of this flare-up. The problem with me going on IV antibiotics of course, is that I have to be desensitized to ALL IV antibiotics, since I am allergic to them all. That requires an allergist consult, a hospitalization, and of course the risk that I will have an anaphylactic reaction to it. I am going to stay on the Cipro until I see my ENT, and we will decide the next course of action then. Again, this next sinus surgery will not be an easy one. They will cut up under my upper lip and go into my sinuses that way. It's a very painful surgery.

My labs looked good today, and so did my chest xray. My doc told me that the EBV test I had done 2 weeks ago showed a low level, but not a level to be concerned about. He also said the "knot" on my arm indicated some kind of trauma/hematoma, so again, nothing to worry about.

Because of my sinuses flaring up, my pulmonologist is all in favor of me lowering my prednisone quickly. I am going to call the nephrologist tomorrow and see about lowering my dose again. He says the quicker I get to 5 mg/day, the better.

Jason is working this weekend, so Casey and I are going to have a "girl's weekend". I'm sure it will involve shopping, movies, and cooking, but not sure what else. :)

A very fun photo tag!

Ok this tag is easy and a lot of fun! I was tagged by Carrie over at Capturing Glimpses. Carrie is a mother of 4 beautiful children and has been married for 18 years now. Her youngest son has Cystic Fibrosis, and her blog is awesome! You should check it out.

Here are the tag rules:

1.) Go to your 4th folder where you store your photos.
2.) Select your 4th picture (no exceptions)! Seriously.. no exceptions.
3.) Post the picture with an explanation and link it back to your tagger.
4.) Tag 4 people to do the same!!

Ok, so here is the 4th picture in the 4th folder under my iPhotos:



This is Casey and Jason, not long after Jason and I started dating. I think it was taken around October, 2005. We were at The Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC to visit the museum and watch an IMAX show about whales. We had an awesome day!!!

Now, I'm going to tag the following people. I chose people totally at random by closing my eyes, going to the blog list at the right, and putting my finger on a name. I chose two who had already been tagged by another blog, so I didn't put you guys down here (Genevieve and Somer). I wanted to choose you all though... I hate just choosing 4, but am sticking by the rules.

1.) Piper- a beautiful fellow Cyster (CF sister) who is amazing. She works as a lawyer in NYC, is 6 ft tall (which is just incredible given that she has CF), and despite already having been evaluated for a lung transplant, continues to work, and live life to the fullest.

2.) Amy- another beautiful Cyster!! She writes about her daily struggles with CF (those pesky things that I don't have to deal with anymore since lung transplant), her work, her social life, and just about dealing with day to day life while juggling everything that comes with this disease. She makes me laugh and is a breath of fresh air for her blog readers.

3.) Sara- yet another beautiful Cyster who is 6 months post-lung transplant, training for a marathon (yes, you read that right), has an amazing outlook on life, and will inspire you after seconds of reading her blog. What a great friend she has become!!

4.) Alicia- a beautiful, Christian, Navy wife and mom. She has 2 beautiful children, the youngest having CF. Now, I have to tell you, CF moms ALWAYS amaze me. I have always thought myself so fortunate to have CF instead of having a child with CF. Alicia will inspire you, make you laugh, and her positive, cheery attitude makes you want to keep going back for more.

Have fun girls!!

On another note: Happy Birthday to my dear friend Nicole in Virginia. I do hope I got the day right this year. She and I became friends when we were cheerleaders in high school and she turned 17 on her next birthday, so I always got the day mixed up and called her on January 17th every year instead of the 15th.. I had the number 17 in my head. Have a great day girl!!! I love you!

And another note: I'm headed to Duke now for my pulmonary transplant appointment to see Dr. P. I'll update tonight!

Skin changes since transplant

Ever since my kidney transplant in November, my skin has completely changed. I have always had dry skin. I have always used products for dry skin. For 2 months now, my skin has been oily. Thankfully, I haven't had any problems with acne like I did after my lung transplant (due to prednisone), but I think that's because I am using the Clarins skin care line. However, I am waking up with oil all over my nose and forehead. Even as a teenager, I never had this. I have read that oily skin ages slower than dry skin, so that's definitely a plus, but I used to could go 2 days without washing my hair, and now there is no way I could do that. My hair is oily too.

I am wondering if this has to do with diet changes. I mean, I went a year or more without eating much at all. Getting in one good meal a day was a chore. Now, I'm eating tons of protein, taking vitamins, and drinking tons of water. I'm also eating at least 6 meals a day.

Have any of you (post transplant or not) had such sudden skin changes?? I'm closing in on 40 pretty fast, so maybe age has a lot to do with it.

There is a college nearby that has an esthetician training program. They offer facials for $10 a pop and microdermabrasion for $50. I think it's usually $100 or more. I am thinking of taking my Christmas money and doing this. I do have some age spots that have recently (like in the past couple of years) shown up. I hear that microdermabrasion will help with those, and reduce the appearance of pores. My mother-in-law recently got a facial from them, and her skin looks incredible.

Just when you thought I was normal

I want a pet tarantula. My husband and daughter do not. I am trying to convince them that tarantulas are nothing to be feared, they are easy maintenance and they will come to love him/her. They aren't listening.

I had a neighbor growing up who had a pet tarantula. I was fascinated by it. He let me hold him and it was such a thrill. They can't be handled much, but don't mind being held every now and then. They aren't harmful to humans, and are really very docile animals as long as you do your research and get the right kind of tarantula.

Here is a guide to owning and taking care of a pet tarantula. I think I'll just buy it and keep it on the coffee table for Jason and Casey to look through on their own time. Don't get me wrong, I do hate finding spiders on my bathroom floor, or any other place they shouldn't be, but for some reason, I have never been scared of tarantulas. I have let them crawl all the way up my arm before, and it really is awesome. You should try it!

Scarf anyone?

Rebecca is trying to raise money for In Vitro Fertilization. She is making scarves and baby blankets. I told her I wanted a bright scarf with fuscia in it to go with my winter white coat. The very next day, she had it made and it was shipped to me within a few days. It was prettier than I imagined! It is longer and wider than it looked in the pictures she put on her blog.

Help her out by checking out her blog and ordering one of her scarves or blankets. She will make it to your specifications. Here are a couple of pics of my new scarf...

In a funk

.... and my daughter is sick, but I promise to be back to blogging soon. I am keeping up with all of my fellow bloggers though, and praying for all of you who are having a rough time right now.

Quick Update

I started Cipro yesterday for my sinusitis. I hope it helps. I won't know for a week or so.

I haven't heard back from any of my blood work from last week. I am assuming that's a good thing??? Surely, Duke would have let me know if something was not right.

I go to see my lung transplant pulmonologist next Thursday. It's been 3 months since I've seen him. I need a chest xray and pfts.

I see my kidney transplant nephrologist on the 21st of this month. That's the day my photography class starts too. I will probably miss it, but since it's online, I can just catch up.

I see my ENT on February 3rd.

I am keeping up with my food journaling and my exercise program, but hey.. it's only January 8th, right?

A big happy 1st birthday to Gwyneth. What a miracle you are. I wore brown today to celebrate!

Happy Birthday Mom

I hope you are enjoying your 60th birthday! I can't begin to tell you how much I love and appreciate you. You are the best Mom anyone could ever ask for. You sacrifice so much to give your children and grandchildren everything. You have given me life 3 times, and never, ever complain. I hope I get to celebrate many more birthdays with you!

Happy Birthday Luv!

I saw Jason across the room in May 2005. I was at church on a Saturday morning rehearsing for a drama performance. Jason had come to help the band set up. I said to myself... "That is the man I'm going to marry". I really did say that. No lie. :) I asked the guy I was in drama with if he knew him. He said, "Yeah, that's Jason. He's on the prayer team with my wife." I was like "what? the prayer team?" He told me that Jason had gone through a divorce and was really active in the church. My divorce had been final a couple of weeks. We saw each other twice over the next few months in passing, and then at the end of September, Jason caught me at a Wednesday night service and asked me out. Our first date was October 8, 2005. We were engaged a month and a half later. We were married February 14, 2006. We knew we were soul mates.

Casey and I are going to cook Jason dinner tonight. Casey got a new cooking game for her Nintendo DS, and that is where she found the recipe that she wants to cook. Unfortunately, Jason has to work, but hopefully he will be able to come home for dinner.... hopefully.

Jason, I love you from the bottom of my heart. I wish you all the happiness in the world on your 35th birthday. Wow.. you are such a baby. :)

Here is one of my favorite pictures of Jason that I took when we were in Venice:

What I learned from one day of food journaling

Update: Apparently the site www.livestrong.com is getting twice as many hits today as normal. It was just unbelievably slow earlier today, but now I can't even log in without getting an error message. I guess everyone is trying to keep their New Year's resolutions. :) Hopefully they will fix the problem soon.

The website that Laryssa gave me about food journaling redirected me to www.livestrong.com, Lance Armstrong's website. In only ONE day, I have become addicted.

It allows you to sign up for free, create a profile, keep a daily food and exercise journal, take challenges (such as the "drink more water" challenge), and has tons of great articles about getting healthy. Jason and I both started our food journals yesterday and we were both astounded at the calories we ate!! Jason wants to lose about 10 pounds. He wants to lose about a pound a week, so it calculated how many calories he needs a day to do just that. He went over by 700 calories yesterday!!! Holy cow! Most of it had to do with the fact that we went to PF Changs for dinner, but still... holy cow!

I am at a good weight now after gaining some weight post-transplant, but I desperately need to get in shape. Think... deflated balloon... haha. According to this website, I should be eating 1600 or so calories a day and of course exercising to maintain that weight. I ate over 2,200 calories yesterday. I burned some on the treadmill, but not that many.

I see now why my diabetes educators have always told me to keep a food journal. You can really monitor what goes in!! It even breaks down the percentage of protein, fat, and carbs you are getting. How cool is that? To build muscle, of course I need to be getting a lot of protein. I'll be watching that closely.

For those of you needing to drink more water, journaling will help you do that, because after you add all of the foods you eat, you don't want to have to go back in and add all those sugary, calorie-filled drinks. It is amazing how many calories you get if you are drinking several soft drinks, coffees and sweetened teas a day. I read an article last week about how those who drink diet soft drinks might be gaining weight. It increases your appetite for sweet foods. More reason to drink water!

A big thing for me is eating a low sodium diet. I have to do that for the rest of my life. Being on prednisone causes a lot of sodium retention, and anyone who has had a kidney transplant has to eat a low sodium diet to protect their new kidney. The website gives you sodium content of all of the foods you eat. I will now be able to easily track the amount of salt that goes in.

Livestrong.com also has all of your popular restaurants listed, so there is no more guessing about how many calories you are consuming when going out to eat. We put in the dishes we had at PF Changs last night, and it gave us all of the nutritional information on that dish. Since it was Jason's and Mom's birthdays, they were given these 2 mini-desserts. I mean they were tiny. Well, they had over 300 calories each in them!!! Amazing!

This is a way to start the New Year off right. Start journaling, and I bet you that you will have more willpower to not only eat fewer calories, but to eat healthier in 2009!!

Birthday dinner

Here are a few pics from dinner tonight. We got together to celebrate Mom and Jason's birthdays.

Sinusitis Sunday

A lot of us with CF deal with sinusitis on a daily basis. Some of us pretty much always have a headache. Actually, I'm fortunate to have had only 3 sinus surgeries in the past. I know people in their 20's who have had close to 20!!! I can't complain!

I just went on IV antibiotics in October for my sinusitis. It really helped, like it always does, but they are rearing their ugly head again. My nephrologist says that because I've been on high doses of immunosuppressants and because at the time of transplant, they gave me a medicine that completely wiped out my immune system, my sinuses are flaring up again. I couldn't get an appointment to see my ENT doc until February 3rd, so I am calling my transplant pulmonologist tomorrow to see if he can start me on Cipro, an oral antibiotic that may or may not help. The bacteria in my sinuses is very resistant to medications, so most of the time I have to go on several different antibiotics (usually at least one of these being IV) to work together to fight the infection. We'll see if the Cipro helps.. I really hope it does.

I haven't heard back from my EBV test yet. I think the results are supposed to be back by tomorrow. I'm still very tired, and that of course could be due to my sinuses too. 

We took Jason to a German restaurant last night for his birthday (which is Tuesday). It is about an hour from here, but the closest one that we know of. It was awesome! We all love German food. Tonight we are taking my mom (who's birthday is Wednesday) to dinner. Jason will be 35 and my dear mom will be 60! I can't believe it.. she was just 40... uhhh...yesterday? Where does the time go?

How to get in shape by summer

Some people have to lose 20 or more lbs, some people have to lose 5, and some people have nothing to lose, but definitely need to get toned. Whatever it is for you.. hopefully these tips will help....

1.) Ya gotta start now! Don't wait until May to say... "Oh, I have to be in shape before I go to the beach in June". That just won't work, and you will feel horrible about yourself.

2.) Exercise! Ughh.. you say??? Well, it's really easier than it sounds. If you are used to doing NOTHING, then take a 15 minute walk with your dog, or get on the treadmill for 10 minutes. It doesn't sound like much, but you will eventually start walking more, and isn't doing a little something better than doing nothing at all?

Also, get some small handheld weights. Do a few repetitions while you watch your favorite show. If you can't invest in weights, then use soup cans. Again, it's better than nothing.

Buy an exercise DVD and start off doing 5 minutes of it. Don't try to do the whole thing. It does nothing but leave you feeling like a failure. I've always been one to jump right in and try to do the entire DVD on the first day. I have learned that not only does that make my body so sore I can barely get out of bed the next day, but usually that's it for me... I don't even try again.

3.) Diet! This sounds horrible I know. But by diet, I don't mean invest in Jenny Craig, or Nutrisystem meals. I just mean monitor what goes in. If you are a chocolate lover, don't cut out chocolate completely, b/c then you will find yourself getting a pound of M&M's and eating them in one sitting. Just limit yourself to 10 M&M's a day, or 3 bites of that chocolate cake instead of the whole thing. I heard that you have to walk the entire length of a football field to burn off the calories of 1 M&M. That's crazy!

Another thing here is choose good foods. When we went to Italy, I was so amazed at all the fit people there. Not only do they walk instead of drive, but they eat good foods. They don't eat all of the processed foods we eat here in America. We had 4 course meals there, but it consisted of a healthy salad (no iceberg lettuce, no croutons or cheese, and only oil and vinegar dressing), a SMALL bowl of pasta, a meat and fresh vegetable, and a light dessert. Of course, the first thing I wanted when I got back to the States was a cheeseburger, but going over there truly did change how my family eats. It's sad that here in America, if you want to eat good, fresh, wholesome foods, you are going to pay for it. It's cheaper to eat at McDonald's and that's why we have so many obese people living here.

4.) Drink water! And I mean lots of it. This is probably the biggest one! Not only will it make your skin healthy, but it will help curb your appetite. I have 1 or 2 cups of coffee a day, and the ONLY other thing I drink is water. I keep a liter bottle beside me at all times; whether I'm sitting on the couch, driving somewhere, or at the mall.. I have that bottle with me. I have found that since I started drinking water, I can't even drink a soft drink. It tastes absolutely disgusting to me. You will be surprised just how much water you can drink if one is beside you all day.

5.) Eat at least 6 small meals a day and don't skip meals.. ever! I don't care what anyone says.. your stomach DOES shrink if you start eating smaller meals. Eating 6 small meals a day will actually help you. If you skip meals, your metabolism will slow down.. that's not what you want.

6.) Don't beat yourself up if you cheat. If you skip a week of exercise, then think nothing of it.. just get on the treadmill and forget all about it. We are human, and we are going to eat that whole piece of cake sometimes. It's ok, and it doesn't mean we have failed. 

7.) Per Laryssa's request, I am adding another tip... Start a food journal. My diabetes educators have always told me to do this. I'm not very good at it!!! I will start one and then after a couple of days, I'm done. Laryssa pointed out that there are online journals that you can use, and hey... I might even stick to it if I can do it online!! Here is one website that I found, but I haven't really looked it over, so although it advertises as being "free", make sure you read the entire thing first. It's www.fitday.com.

Sound easy??? No??? Ok, it isn't! BUT, it is definitely worth it!

Get started today and you will be bikini ready (or at least a cute one-piece ready) by the time beach season rolls around!

Good Luck!

An exciting year?

Here is a little New Year's survey I stole from Katelyn and Katey's blogs. Thanks girls!

1.) What did you do in 2008 that you had never done before? started blogging.

2.) Did you keep your previous New Year's resolutions, and will you make new ones for next year? I don't really remember what they were, but they probably involved "getting in shape" and no, I didn't keep it. I actually got more "out of shape".
3.) Did anyone you know give birth? yes, at least 4 people that I can think of.
4.) Did anyone close to you die? yes, CF friends.
5.) What countries did you visit? none.
6.) What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? a brand, spankin' new 10,000 sq. ft. house... hehe... I'm kidding. I'd settle for 8,000 sq. ft. :)
7.) What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? November 10, 2008... the day I got a new kidney from my wonderful Mom!!
8.) What was your biggest achievement of the year? living another year... it's always my biggest achievement.
9.) Did you suffer from illness or injury? yes.
10.) What was the best thing you bought? my Canon SLR.
11.) Did your behavior change over the year? only after going on high doses of prednisone. It wasn't for the best either.
12.) Where did most of your money go? bills.
13.) What did you get really excited about? mostly the little things in life, but also getting my transplant.

Compared to this time last year, are you:

1.) Richer or poorer? richer because we paid off some bills.
2.) Did you fall in love? more deeply in love, yes.
3.) What was your favorite TV program? House.
4.) What was the best book you read? Redeeming Love (I think I read Twilight at the end of 2007, or I would put that).
5.) What was your favorite film of the year? The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
6.) Thinner or fatter? Thinner, but well on my way to becoming fatter.
7.) What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? went to The Melting Pot with Jason and Casey. I turned 28 (oops.. I mean 38).
8.) What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Chocolate (I only started liking chocolate in the last month and a half.. it's awesome.. really, you should try it).
9.) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? T-shirt, hoodie, jeans, converse shoes.... ughh, I have to get some sophistication in 2009... add that to my resolutions. You know, the ones that I will have forgotten about by the end of 2009.
10.) What kept you sane? Casey and Jason.. always Casey and Jason.
11.) What political issue stirred you the most? Our 2 party system that should be more like a 4 or 5 party system.
12.) What was the best new person you met? Hard to say. I met so many awesome people from the CF community online. 
13.) What is a valuable lesson you learned in 2008? Maybe you shouldn't ALWAYS say what you think...