I haven't forgotten...

So my lull in blogging is due to getting the stomach bug right after the Great Strides walk, going to the local Urgent Care clinic to get a phenergan shot, and a topical prescription, and then trying to make up important school things (like my English midterm!) on top of Homecoming week this week and preparing for big sis/lil sis week next week!!

The race was a huge success, as I mentioned before in my last post. I really appreciated everyone who came out to support me (including Alissa who drove several hours to get there!) and the amount of money that was raised was incredible. I'm still floored. $29,000. Wow. Just... wow.

Nothing else to really report on right now I guess. I've been given another incredible opportunity to tell more people about CF, but I won't actually tell about it until after the fact. Hee hee. :]

My birthday is coming up! I'll be 20!

Umm... other than that, I can't really think of anything to report. I'm back on Cayston, I'm on bactrum because I had a cold (prevent a second infection), and otherwise feeling much, MUCH, better than I had been over the last week or two.

Ok, I'm starving. Time to EAT!

-Annie

My life is always busy....

....and I wouldn't have it any other way! But that's why I'm slow to update. Current status: my hair is wet from my quick shower and I have step-show practice in 25 minutes.

I slept for 15 hours last night. That's insane. My body literally shut off at 7pm last night. I couldn't keep my eyes open. I crawled into bed and the battle was over. Gracious.

Doctor's appointment this Tuesday. *anxious*

Ummm I can't think what else to type at the moment. Super busy with the new Sigmas but really enjoying my time hanging with them and my other sisters.

Morgan (real life fake sister) and her friend Celeste came and toured the campus and then hung out with me after I got out of class. Morgan cooked for me (again). :] Then I passed out. Maybe she drugged me or something....... just kidding.

Ok, I need to get ready for practice.

Bye!

-Annie

ps. Lots of people from Sigma have signed up to be with me for the Great Strides walk this next weekend. :]

A little of this... a little of that...

My mind has been going 1000 different ways at once all week. I still don't have much of anything to post about to take up a whole post, so I'll carry on about a few different things. I'll even number them for pure entertainment.

1. Guys rush is over!! No more late nights cooking food in mass quantities. Thank goodness.
2. I found out I cook a mean sheep dip. Don't google "sheep dip" because what I cooked is not what you will find. What sheep dip is in my family = meaty cheese dip in everyone else's. No one is completely sure where our term for it came, but it still stands.
3. I'm tired of people pointing out that I cough. Thanks, but I'm pretty well aware of it. Mind your own business.
4. Tonight is Sunday Night Soccer again! My legs hurt just thinking about it. It's gonna be fun, but I still won't be able to hang with the guys for very long. I get so winded...
5. Doctor's appointment quickly approaching... really nervous about that. I know I always say I have a bad feeling about the PFT results, but I do this time too. aaaahhhhhhhh!
6. I studied way too long for a test I didn't do nearly as good on as I had hoped. *frustrated*
7. Went back to my college-town church today and was reminded of how much I love it!
8. Great Strides is Oct. 9. This evening at meeting I'm going to get up the courage to ask my sorority to walk it with me. I'm terrified.

That's all for now.

-Annie

Brief college update

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am back at college, mostly unpacked, fully stocked with food, and already hanging out with friends on night one. I'm super super DUPER thrilled to be back and I can't wait for all the Rush stuff to start. And then classes. And then I can't wait to hate school and plead for summer. It's a cycle and I love it.

It's been a long day and I'm pretty tired. About to do treatment and hit the sack. Night! :]

-Annie

Finals week... here we go.

Well it has finally arrived. This is week I dread every quarter. Let it begin...

We initiated our Sigma Kappa seniors into alumnae this evening. It was bittersweet.

This evening I coughed until I threw up. That wasn't fun. At all. But, despite feeling sick. I'm doing my Vest right now. *sigh* Ready to turn it off though, but I won't.

Bought a bunch of junk/study food (at Mom's orders) to last me through finals week. Here's to the Dr. Peppers, Propels, Whoppers, Junior Mints, Nerds, and Zapps jalapeño chips to get me through finals!! Cheers!!

Saturday morning was the Kickin' Grass for Alzheimer's disease that Sigma puts on to raise money for the Alzheimer's foundation. It was a huge success! But I was tired.

Oh! I had a Pop-Crawfish boil on Saturday. "Pop" because it was like a "pop-quiz": I check my email and it said "Crawfish boil at [church college leader]'s house from 1-4!!" and it was 1:15 at the time. You can bet I White Pages her address, Google mapped it, printed it out, dried my hair, and practically ran to my car to get to her house. I was there before 1:30. I *love* crawfish and I can't stress it enough. The crawfish were SPICY and BIG! They looked like lobsters! And all this with great company made for a wonderful Saturday afternoon.

Time to finish treatment, get some food, and get back to studying. Ahh finals. ONE MORE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Annie

One week left

One week from today is the next doctor's appointment. Let's see how I'm feeling:

My sinuses feel pretty good, and have over the last few days, despite the sudden pollen explosion.

My gut has been bloated and feeling not-so-great off and on over the last few weeks.

My lungs have stayed about the same, I think. I'm still coughing more than I'm used to, but no more than the last visit I don't think.

My weight should be up!!! We have a scale in the bathroom that has always said ~118lbs. Monday, I stepped on the scale, and it was over 120!!! I've never been that "heavy" and I'm thrilled. We'll see what the official weigh-in is in a week.

Wish me luck!

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Now, I had mentioned before that I read Betsy's book Rodeo Sweetheart and I finished it about a week ago. It was so great! Betsy's country/rodeo lingo was flawless and you'd think she grew up on a dude-ranch herself! While it is a romance novel, it's not trashy at all, like so many of other modern-day romance novels, but that doesn't mean it's boring! It's full of mystery, passion, and classic confusion where you want to start a relationship, but know it won't work, family tension, good friends, and financial distress. It's got everything! Betsy takes all of these problems and weaves them into a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat from page one, as if relationships don't cause enough problems on their own! Order your copy today!

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Yesterday was the Spring Fling on campus! That means 2,000lbs of BIG spicy crawfish! Needless to say, I was there right at 4 when it started, and the line was already ~40 people. It was the best crawfish I've ever had, several lbs for $10, corn/potatoes included. I inhaled it. *happy sigh*

Time to start (continue) studying for my Psychology test tomorrow.

-Annie

I would like to thank the Academy....

I have nominated and awarded myself the "Best Pill-Taker Without Anyone Else Noticing" award for my performance last night.

I am jammed in a car with 5 other people so we can all go to Taco Bell at about midnight last night. We get our food and pack in the Taco Bell parkinglot to eat. I'm smooshed between two of the three other people in the back seat. The back seat, facing the front, is Sarah, me, Bethany, Scotty. The window next to Sarah is opened so we have some light, some air, and less Taco smell living in the car. I decide to eat first because it would have been impossible to get my pills out with so much food in my lap. So after I finish my 3 crunchy tacos, meat and cheese only with Mild sauce, I whip out 5 of these babies:

(ACTUAL SIZE)

(ok just kidding. Sometimes they feel this big, but I'm just joking.)

Actually, I just did a little sizing up, and those pills in the picture are exactly half the length of the actual enzymes. Hmm.

Anyway, I digress. So I pull 5 of those out of my pill bottle that lives in my purse, and take them one at a time. Somehow, probably based on years of experience, I managed to do this without anyone knowing and without trying to hide it! I wasn't being all secretive. I was just getting something out of my purse, simple as that. And yet, no one saw. And this is why I'm giving myself that award.

-Annie

A Full Day of Sub-Freezing Temps

Wow. Just wow. For Louisiana, this is COLD! I can't remember a day when it was below 32 all day long. There are ice patches all over campus. When I walked to class this morning for my 8am, it was 18 degrees, 10 mph wind, felt like 6 degrees. Let me see if I can explain this... I DON'T DO COLD. I am not a cold-weather creature, by any stretch of the imagination. I have been wearing full-body underarmour as a base layer of my warmth. But the wind is unbearable. Southern cold is different from northern cold, and I've been in both more than once. Northern cold is dry. Southern cold has humidity that sticks to you and "chills you to the bone" (as I heard from a Northern lady visiting). Today, the humidity ranges from 60+% to about 30% throughout the day. That's enough water in the air to make anyone very very cold, without wind. Then add in the 10-12mph winds... ugh... needless to say, I didn't want to leave my covers this morning.

On a different note, it was roughly 2 days until I heard my upstairs neighbors use water again. And since my bathroom is not a rainforest anymore, I'm assuming it has been fixed. Yay!

Oh!! Last night was the College Football National Championship game! I cooked dinner for the boyfriend and his best friend (came out HORRIBLE. The recipe was just awful; not my fault. Never cook 3-cheese pasta bake from Campbells recipe book EVER. Smells good, but don't be fooled.) as we cheered on Bama (Sorry Anjea!! Nothing against Texas, but I like Bama more) as they won the National Championship! Roll Tide! It was a fun game to watch.

After I finish this post, I'm going to wash all the dishes from last night (and the tray we cooked the pizza on afterwards), load up Dora, and head home! Celebrating boyfriend's best friend's birthday tomorrow.

So I've been unable to run all week. For the first few days, I had a random hip-flexer injury where I couldn't even walk well. Once that healed, I now have very sore quads from my kines 292 class where we've been doing muscle strength trainings and workouts. So I still can't walk well. *sigh* Maybe Monday will be better.

-Annie

Thanksgiving and such

Piles and piles of food: turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, peas, rolls, green bean casserole, corn, sweet tea and I don't even remember what else! Food galore! And yet, I ate almost nothing.

The worst part of Thanksgiving is when you can't have any. My appetite went out the door that day. I munched on some food, forced more food down my throat, and told my mom that if I ate anymore, I would be sick. And just like that, my Thanksgiving meal was over. I was more frustrated than you can imagine. Thankfully, I still got to enjoy the time being with my family, which is ultimately more important than the food.

Since Wednesday, I have not left the house. Is it just me or are the rooms getting smaller??

But now! I'm leaving to go to Joanne's to buy fabric. :] Yay!

-Andrea