Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!! :]

It's Christmas morning! I'm so excited. Yes, I'm 20 and still love Christmas morning. I'll always be a kid at heart.

I had another post ready but it just crushed the Christmas mood so it will have to wait until later.

I hope everyone has a very, Merry Christmas with your friends and families!

-Annie

Long time no see!

Hey blog readers,

I apologize for my MIA tendencies lately. However, when a lot of things come up at once, my blogging hobby gets put on hold.

So two weekends ago, I went to Dallas with almost 30 of my sorority sisters, just because! It was a blast. Instead of getting a hotel, 5 of us stayed at a mom's apartment and that was no doubt even more fun than a hotel would have been. Here's a picture to share!



The 5 of us piled in a Honda Fit and hit the road. Between the Tahoe, ice skating, shopping, that crazy mechanical dog that laughs, and my sisters, it was one of the best weekends ever.

And, be proud. I didn't bring my Vest, but Saturday morning me and two of my friends ran 2 miles. Yeah, you read that right. 2 MILES. I walked a little bit (a few seconds) of mile #1 but mile #2 was killer. Especially the uphill section at the end that I was unaware of until we got there!! Haha. I was really proud of myself though, and really appreciated my friends who ran it with me. I couldn't have done it without them.

So it's Christmas break! Yay! I'm home again and with my family. The brother/sisinlaw/niece from Austin are here for several days. It's been really great to see them and my precious niece! Yeah, it's picture time again.



Isn't she adorable?! *sigh* she has my heart.

That's about all that I can think of that's going on right now. The next several days will be spent with family and I'm pretty excited about it. My puppy is so tired though. She's working so hard to entertain the babies and avoid the big dogs while chasing the little dog. She's looked like this most of the time:



Oh, and with this little guy, we've hit a whole new level of fun: he's a pro at walking now. He's walking good, standing up by himself, chatty, and happy. He has my heart too, that precious little boy.



Oh, one more thing, I got an executive position in Sigma Kappa and I'm thrilled about it! I've been preparing to go back to school so I can perform my duties well. I just wanted to add that to the blog since it's about my life in general! :]

Until next time, have a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, and a fantastic winter holiday!!

-Andrea

Busy busy busy!

This MLK day break will be nice tomorrow (already is nice, seeing as I'm normally in bed by this time) because it's going to be a super busy week!

Monday: finish my Kines 290 project, finish studying for my Kines 292 test (both due Tuesday)

Tuesday: Present project and take test. SLEEP. Go to the lab between 3:30-6:30 to run another test, soccer game that night at 7.

Wednesday: Go to biology at 8, drive home, eat lunch, go to the doctor (GET A GOOD REPORT), visit Casey's new puppy, head back to college-town, mandatory self-defense class at 7. Study for bio test Friday

Thursday: Soccer game at 6. SLEEP MORE. Study for bio test Friday

Friday: Bio test. Sleep a whole lot more. Busy weekend ahead!

WHEW!!! I've got to be careful with my time-management this week so I can get ample amount of sleep for all the running around I'm doing. I live a crazy life! (Take THAT, CF!)

I finally went to the "big church" service at the church I've been attending. Before, I had only gone to the college Sunday school and college worship. I found out last week what time the real service started and made a point to go today. So I spend from 9-12; 3:45-5 at the church now (I joined the choir too, so that second chunk is singing!). That really makes me happy. I had been missing that greatly and I adore my church here in college-town. I feel at home. :]

When I have time to take a breath, I'll give the report on my doctor's appt. from Wednesday. Cross your fingers, your legs, and your heart that it's a good report. My January resolution was a bust, but I'm hoping my PFTs will still be good enough!

-Annie

Confession

A tradition that appeared unintentionally, and is still going strong: I forget enzymes on with Christmas breakfast.

It just happens! I do it every year and don't notice it until it's too late. However, I DID take them with Christmas lunch, which is very very important. I did not eat dinner this year, a twist on the normal routine. I still felt full. Well, kinda. I did feel full, but it was a "bad" full. That full where you can eat, but your body is going to h.ate you for it later. Either way, my body is mad at me today for whatever reason. Something's wrong. It seems to be way worse than just missing breakfast enzymes. Something bigger. I'm hoping I'm wrong and something just didn't agree with me, because I held Carter for over an hour yesterday and I really can't be "sick" sick (as opposed to "CF" sick). Aside from urgent bathroom runs (sparing you the details, you're welcome), I feel fine. My GI gurgles much more loudly than usual, but no other serious symptoms. I figured that if I have a stomach bug, I'd be throwing up too. I have a lot planned these next few days! I can't be "sick" sick!!! *sigh*

I usually don't feel well around the holidays (change of patterns, visitors, change in eating habits, large portions, less sleep, etc.). But this... ugh this is annoying.

We'll see what happens with all this junk.

Merry Post-Christmas!

-Annie

"No Excuses!"

And yet... still not running. And my running buddy just left for Illinois. *sigh*. The cold outside takes my feeble motivation and stomps it into the ground. And the stationary bike was put up in the closet to make room for family. So I sit.

I've noticed a change in my level of coughing, and so has my mom. THAT'S NOT GOOD because now she's worried I'm either getting sick or CF sick and I have a Dr. appt in January. Fantastic. I'll be up and running starting around Jan 4 (since I'll be back in college-town) but it's going to be another tough start from the beginning.

On a lighter note, it's Christmas Eve! Today will be a good day with going to the grandparents' for the traditional pizza lunch and then to a family friends' house where every year they host the after-dinner party. The dinner was at another family friends' house, but they've had a busy year with 3 weddings and sick parents, so no annual Christmas Eve chili dinner. So the after-party people this year are picking up the slack and serving dinner too. Life's pretty great around here around this time of year.

So my dog is strange sometimes. In her crate, she has a water bowl that is attached to the metal door. We fill it every night. We also always give her her pink blanket (that her birth owner gave her as a parting gift). It seems by every morning, the pink blanket is put in the water. And not usually just a corning, but stuffed in there. And this morning, I think she tried to take a bath in it, and was pretty successful. One side of her face, her belly, her tail, and all four paws were sopping wet. And as soon as I let her out of her crate, she heads for my bed. *sigh*

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a great morning. :]

-Annie

Rough Running Day

Ouch. Today was a very difficult day for running for me. I went out with Alissa to go run, but I didn't make it very far. Bad bad bad...

I think it was a combination of a few things:

1- I had NO concept of how far a mile was on this track. No markings or anything.

2- It's cold outside! More importantly, it's OUTSIDE!

3- Talking/laughing while running

4- Running with someone who is way better at running. We probably started off faster than I normally do.

5- Hills.

All of these things put together resulted in me coughing until I felt like keeling over and me saying "Alissa, I HAVE to sit down." My lungs felt like they were getting punched. My legs, however, felt fine. Ugh. If it's not one thing, it's another, right?

But, on the plus side, that difficult run produced a lot of mucus. Those really good coughs got plenty up and out, believe me. So while I was disappointed with my short distance, the ultimate mission was still accomplished, so I guess it evens out.

The rest of the day was pretty good though! I saw New Moon with my Dad, and it was good even with the movie stopping at a very tense part. Stopping = the film stops, the lights come on, and the screen moves back to the "pre-movie" position. This was happening right after Jacob cuts his hair and says, "This is me keeping that promise Bella. Now go home." As he turns to walk away, the movie cuts. Classic Dad, he says loudly in the theater, "Well that seems like an odd way to end the movie." The lady 2 rows in front of us laughs even louder. Oh Dad.

This evening was pretty epic, I must say. It was the Christmas scavenger hunt with my friends from high school!! We all met up to eat a cheap buffet dinner (we are broke college kids after all) and then go to our starting/ending house, form teams, get the list, and GO GO GOOOOO!!!! The list included things like: the Black Santa, snow, kissing someone under the mistletoe, caroling to someone, employee in an elf hat, ghetto Christmas decorations, Christmas underwear, etc. We had to take pictures of us with this stuff (and a video of the caroling) and meet back at the house by 9:30. It was a crazy and fun night!

And now, as I do my last dose of TOBI for this 28 days on (and smile!), I say goodnight!

-Annie

Perfect Timing!

I had been thinking all morning about how much I was dreading running in my neighborhood, or even outside at all. Running outside, in the cold, on hills, by myself, with shin splints is not my ideal running conditions. I was beginning to get discouraged about running over break, and was about to surrender and only use the stationary bike. But, you know how God likes to step in an take a seemingly hopeless situation and make it all work out? TA-DA!! I *just* got a text message from a dear friend of mine, Alissa, who enjoys running (well, at least it looks that way since she runs all the time!). We have played soccer together for many years. She just text me asking if we could have running dates while we were both in from college. YES PLEASE!!! So Alissa, I know you occasionally creep on my blog, and if you are reading this: THANK YOU!!

I think today, unless we work out a running date, I'm sticking to the stationary bike today to give my legs one more day of healing.

Oh look! Another text. Running date set for tomorrow. :] Love her!

-Annie

Shin Splints: You win... for now

Ok. Today I'm taking a break. My shins are so incredibly painful. Walking across campus and back felt like I was having my leg broken with every step. Plus my calves are still in constant "cramp" mode. I'm going to ice my legs when I get home (HOME home!) and run again on Saturday, Sunday at the latest. We have a stationary bike at the house, so I'll do some of that tomorrow if I still can't run. Hopefully it won't hurt quite so much. Besides, my mom is always a huge help when my legs are in pain, so going home for Christmas break will really help me out.

Speaking of, I need to pack!! I haven't even started packing up the apartment, and the boyfriend will be here soon to load up Dora (my car) for me! I haven't started yet because I'm waiting for a friend, a marine, to call me back on if he can help me (or get someone else) move our Sigma Kappa letters inside over break. They are WAY too heavy for me to move.

Oh, and my biology test today? Piece of cake.

-Andrea

Three days strong

I am so proud of myself. I can't even describe it. I don't necessarily feel "better" yet, but I know I'm doing good things for myself by running every day. In between two classes (tests) I have in the same building, a gym to be exact, I took the initiative to go running in their indoor track. How convenient! I ran roughly the same time as yesterday, which I'm proud of. Today's run was really hard, so a consistent time is good. My legs are KI.LLING me and my shin splints decided to return. I had to talk myself through the run, but I got it done. I'm already making arrangements for running over break (which starts tomorrow!) but it will be done outside! This cold air and hills are difficult! But I will do the best I possibly can.

Trying to stay strong!

-Annie

Highlighting the Best Moments of Christmas '08

• Family came into town!(Including 2 huskies)
• My brother/sis-in-law got a new puppy!!
• My mom unwraps a Quesadilla Maker box: "Oh! I've never had a Quesadilla maker before." "And... you still don't. Sorry! Open the box!"
• My aunt giving my mom and myself Fancy Bibs: for those nights out to protect your dress!
• My sis-in-law giving her sister earrings.... when her sister has gauges.
• GREAT FOOD.
• The family's attempt to sing a Christmas song together and my mom disliking our choices.
• Watching home-videos of myself and my brothers when we were really little.
• An hour long Uno game.
• Cutthroat.... aka "I h.ate this game"
• And the Christmas Eve service and the true miracle of Christmas.

And one more thing: my favourite gift this year-
I called my brothers, their wives, my aunt, and my grandmother to pitch in money to surprise my parents with tickets to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra coming to town on Dec. 27. That was gift I was most excited to give this year. :]

-Andrea

Cliche, sure, but...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

:]

Love, me