M.G.G.

Hello World!

Last night I got a chance to go to a lecture, or story telling actually by Matthew Gray Gubler. MGG is on the show, Criminal Minds. He plays Dr. Spencer Reid. I almost didn't go because I had no one to go with and I'm not really good at going to event on my own. But I thought about it, and I really wanted to go, so off I went! I am soooo glad I did. It was so great! MGG was super nice, quirky, funny, and it was so mellow and casual. He was open to anything. He allowed pictures to be taken throughout the entire evening. MGG is a great story teller. If I got a chance I would definetly see him again!

The venue, UNH Durham, was awful though! The campus is not handicap accessible at all! I wish I had known that ahead of time. Good thing I was wearing oxygen!! The building of the event sat ontop of a huge hill. I had to climb 4 sets of about 10 stairs just to get to the doorway of the building! And the trek up all those stairs occured AFTER I had to stand in line for an hour, with no place to sit. So once the line started to move I had to try and keep pace with "healthy" people... HOLY STAIRS BATMAN! I thought I was going to diiieee!!! Once I finally got to the building, up another 2 flights of stairs I had to go. There was NO elevator. JUST PLAIN AWFUL!!!

The part that bugged me the most was not 1 person asked if I was ok or needed help. Most people just stared at me. I felt like a freak!! I've never been stared at so much in one place, it was like no one there had EVER seen a person wearing oxygen. It was super awkward and uncomfortable. My mom said a lot of it was probably in my head and not that bad, which is possible. But, sheesh, its not polite to stare!

So overall the event itself was GREAT but I'll never go back to that campus, ugh!!

Here are some pictures, I forgot my camera on the counter (oopsy!) so these were taken with my phone...

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The Cough

Hello World,

I hear once you get a lung transplant you have to be taught how to cough again. Can I decline this? haha. I HATE coughing. I know, I know, coughing helps move and clear junk out of my lungs. But come on! Couldn't God or whoever given Cystic Fibrosis people a better, more flattering way of moving and clearing junk?

There is not one thing that is sexy about coughing. When I have a coughing attack, my face becomes red or even purplish, sometimes I gag or throw up, sometimes I pee, and about 95% of the time I get a lovely glob of mucus to come shooting up from the depths of my lungs. Now doesn't that sound cute?!

Now that I have drawn all this attention to myself with the coughing freakout, people are worried about me, asking if I'm ok. ORRR They back away and think "What the hell does she have!" Its pretty awesome. I get asked EVERYDAY if I'm sick or have a cold. I worked at a take out place one summer, I didn't even touch the food, but the looks I got from people if I starting coughing at all could burn a hole through a cement wall. I understand, kind of, I mean I wouldn't want someone to cough on my food either, but to glare at me like I'm carrying the black plague is just plain ridiculous.

Coughing is so not cute. And what makes it even worse, I think, is that fact that after I cough up a storm I need to spit the junk I just hacked up, out! If guys didn't line up before, they sure will once they see that! haha. Coughing just plain sucks. After transplant I DO NOT want to be taught how to cough again! Haha, leave that pesky monkey behind.

I WANT TO BE COUGH FREEEEE!!!

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Music

Hello World!

I wish I was more musical. I love music but have no musical talent of my own at all! Ha. I cannot sing and have no ability to play an instrument. Even when people are like "Oh that sounded flat," half the time I'm just thinking they sounded good, haha. But I love music. And I love all kinds from oldies to rock to rap to pop to r&b. Little Red Riding Hood by Steppenwolf and Leader of the Pack by Shangri-Las are some classics. Dreaming While You Sleep by Gensis, actually most of Gensis is great. I use to rock out to No Son of Mine on replay when I was younger. Ha! I also went through a hardcore Michael Jackson phase when Free Willy came out. O and I can't forget my teeny-bopper stage, 'Nsync baby!! But I will say the first CD I ever bought was Hootie and the Blowfish, Cracked Rear View. Still have it.

I was cleaning out my closet and found some old CDs I made back in high school. And high school was 2000-2004. Man, there is some hardcore rap on those CDs haha. Old school Eminem, where he is not very nice. I have Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre and Tupac. Best part is I remember all the songs! I played the CD and it just came flooding back to me. I also found some of my country CDs. It was like finding gold! haha.

The shower is one of my favorite places to listen to music. I just make a playlist fitting my mood and crank it up. It is also good physical therapy! The heat and steam from the shower breaks up the junk in my lungs and I hack it up! I sing along to my music as well and that helps with lung capacity and such. I can't hold my notes as long as say, Sarah McLachlan or Christina Aguilera but I sure do give it a try. Its good for me! If I'm feeling extra spunky I may even dance a little bit. Of course I becareful not to fall because that would not be helpful. The car is my other favorite place to rock out. I just crank it up and belt out the words. Other people are probably looking at  me thinking, "Crazy!" Haha but whatevs its my own world.

I usually only sing in the car when I'm by myself, because I stink at it, haha. But sometimes I'll sing with my parents or Grandma. My Grandma cracks me up because she is always amazed at how many different types of songs I know. She has asked me thousands of times how I remember all those lyrics, and I don't have an answer. I just do. I don't have a great memory, I forget things, A LOT. But songs, haha, I guess thats my talent. Now if only I could actually sing on-key.....

BreatheEasy

Feeling Good

Hello World!

I have been feeling, overall, good the past few weeks! I'm definetly ready for this warm weather to be here all the time. I've been out walking more with the dogs. We even went for a walk through the woods. It was great fun and a little challenging. Maybe I'll try hiking again this summer. Last summer I tried hiking a baby mountain and couldn't make it to the top, but hey, I tried atleast. Next month I plan of going Kayaking for the first time ever with my Aunt. She has a mellow river near her house that she said is good for beginners. I'm excited. I've wanted to try kayaking for a couple years now. I've just been nervous that I'm not healthy enough to keep up with people. I hate 'dragging' people down with my Cystic Fibrosis. I know they are friends and family and they will gladly go slow for me but I still feel like I'm holding them back. I'm getting better though. I make sure EVERYONE that is going with me knows that it'll be slow and have many breaks because I tire easily, so when they agree to go they know what to expect. Its actually funny, my friends will go slow and not complain about it, even if it may bug them, they won't say anything to me. My brothers on the other hand, haha, are always telling me I'm slow and weak. Now some may think thats mean but I know they love me and are saying it half jokingly. They push me more than anyone else. I like it.... most of the time. Sometimes it does bug me but they can pick up on that and they leave me alone. But I love them, they are the only ones I would let get away with talking to me like that.

So overall I have felt good. But there is always something little 'wrong' with me. I had this great appetite and its gone. So eating has been a struggle again. Not sure where the appetite went but I would like it to come back, so if you see it, send it home! While I haven't been hungry, someone cranked up the thirst! I have been sooooo thirsty lately. Its ridiculous. And no its has nothing to do with my Blood Sugars, I've checked. So thats been annoying. I've had crampy legs for a week now. They aren't getting any better. They fall alseep a lot too, another mystery. I've talked to the doctors and I have to go and have a blood test to 'check' everything out on the inside. Hopefully they don't find anything and this junk just goes away! I don't need anymore problems.

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Spring is Here!

Hello World!

Well Spring has finally officially hit New Hampshire...

Tuck n Lucy ready for the frisbee

Reach for it!

Super action shot of Lucy, my favorite!

Bringing the frisbee back

Shotti being nosey, staring at the neighbors

Maxi-Pie!!

Shottie leaning against me

Maxi digging for something

Ruby Girl!

Lucy on an old dock

TuckerBear!

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Good Times

Hello World!

Me and Tucker finally took our first adventure out to fight his stranger phobia! I know we are a week behind but weather delayed our plans. O well, we did it today! Felt great. And he did WONDERFUL! Better than I actually anticipated. He made it through 2 stores and got his nails trimmed. A reward for being a good dog, he got some new frisbees! We used the frisbees as soon as we got home. Frisbees and any kind of ball are his favorite toys. In other news, my friend, Chad, is out of the hospital!! FINALLY!! He is still not feeling 100% but he is well enough to go home. I'll be going bridesmaid dress shopping Tuesday! I'm in 2 wedding in the fall. I already have my dress for one. So hopefully I'll have my other one after Tuesday!

The weather was beautiful here this weekend. It was the first real nice weekend of the season. I spent all day Saturday outside. The first half of teh day was spent with Tucker and the rest of teh pack playing fetch in the yard. Our yard is snow free, with the exception of one pile of snow from where we shoveled snow off the roof. So the dogs would run and run and run and the lay in the snow to refresh themselves. Ha, it was rather entertaining. The other half of the day I spent at my Aunt's house. She grilled up a pork tenderloin, it was DELICIOUS!! Then the had a small fire and we just chatted away. It was great, lots of fun.

I hope everyone had a great weekend as well!! This fire just cemented that I am ready for summer!!

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The Weekend

Hello World!

Well the last 24 hours have been an emotional rollercoaster for me. I'm not going to go into real detail because it involves other people. But let me ask you this, How would you feel if you were told you were no longer allowed to see one of your best friends, because of your CF? Would you you cut all ties?

I have been thinking about this for the past 2 days. My answer is no. They have been a great friend. They were by myside when I almost dies in 2009. I'll take being sick over giving up that friendship. You can think I'm crazy if you want, doesn't bother me. But what is the point of fighting CF for a better life if I can't have my friends around to enjoy it with me?

"Its hard to believe 'everything happens for a reason' when you have no idea what the reason is." -E.N.

Shifting gears a little bit, My friend, Chad is still in the hospital. Some progress has been made but overall he is still a medical mystery. He is in good spirits though. I've been up to see him a few times, going to go back on Friday if he is still there. Please send good thoughts his way!

It's E.T.!!!

This weekend I went to an awesome Expo. It was called the Made in NH Expo. It was a bunch of vendors showcasing and selling their items. Everything was obviously, made in NH. I got to see my...second?.... cousin. Haha, her name is Amber and she is my mom's cousin. ANYWHO, her son Ben has his own sugar shack!! He has been running his own buisness since he was like 15, or something. And I believe he is about 23-24 now. So for a little while. But of course I had to stop by their booth and get some maple syrup and MAPLE CANDY!! I just LOOOVVEE maple candy. Its so good. If you are interested, he is on the web! Check him out and show some support!! http://www.bens-maple-syrup.com/

Tucker's wonderful Vest came on Monday! O my gosh, he looks so handsome in it. Its nothing super fancy, just a basic walking vest but it has 2 patches on it that says "in training" and "please ask to pet me." I got the vest for him to wear, because he has a stranger phobia. And there are people out there who think its ok to just walk up to any dog and think its ok to pet them. Tucker won't bite, has never, but he will give a nervous growl. I don't let him growl but that can be scary, especially to children. I got it for EVERYONES sake. But me and Tucker are going to work super hard on this stranger phobia, so hopefully by the end of the summer it will be all gone. If you have any tips for me to try, please share them!

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