Keep Up and Keep Going

Well I started Tobi once more for this month as I take it once every 3 months. I often wonder why I need to take it because I don't even have Pseudamonas, but I know it's important to prevent it from coming in my lungs at all costs. Since Tobi can make people lose their voice, I have had awkward moments while speaking normally to somebody, and all of the sudden my voice has died as I could hardly get any words out. That's when I either speak softly or stop talking, or people wonder why I don't want to talk to them when it's nothing against them. I can continue on, but I have a goal to keep up with Tobi no matter what this year, not matter how disgusting it is or how many whitening strips I may have to purchase afterwards.

Other than that, I have also remembered the importance of exercise. Yes, many people usually want to roll their eyes when they hear of exercise or staying healthy or fit at the beginning of the new year. Truth is, once I have tried to stay in shape and keep up with it no matter how difficult it may be, I have seen great results. Most people exercise to lose weight or get toned, but I have to keep reminding myself that it is crucial for living with CF to stay strong and have higher lung capacity. We often compare ourselves to others, but each of us has our own battle and needs that are sometimes different from everyone else's. I am hoping for higher PFT (Pulmonary function test) scores and for a little bit of tone, not to mention to hopefully cut down the CF belly a smidge :) While keeping up with exercise, I have noticed how my lungs clear out more gunk. I wish CF'ers could realize how cardio activity keeps lungs strong. It's hard to feel the pressure-like feeling on your lungs when you are running or increasing the incline on an elliptical, but afterwards they feel very open and free. It's a great feeling that is hard to explain. Not to mention I feel as if exercise prevents lung infections from stepping in. I often hear students say they get enough exercise by walking around campus, but I can't emphasize how cardio activity improves lung function. On top of that, I have noticed my digestive system works better while keeping up with abdominal exercises.
   
I can't express how grateful I am to have a free gym pass just by being a student and being able to use new equipment!! It's hard to go up the Mt Olympus stairs from the Smith Fieldhouse afterwards and I feel more out of shape when I do, but there's nothing like getting to the top and thinking about a good chocolate milk afterwards.

If you decide not to run out in the cold or can't make it to the gym, here are some tips I have. I am absolutely not an expert, but I can at least give a little bit of advice:
-For any of you cf'ers, keep up with abdominal exercises if you have digestion problems. It will help.
-Keep up with good, complete treatments. There have been some mornings where I have skipped Pulmozyme until nighttime, and remember during a workout when I feel a greater pressure on my lungs that I skipped Pumozyme that morning...
-If you have to choose between an elevator or stairs, always take the stairs
-Remember that carbs give you energy before (but not too shortly before) a work out, and protein afterward rebuilds the muscle that breaks down during the exercises.
-Don't try to do too much at once, otherwise you will want to give up. To keep good lung function, it takes keeping up with exercise and practice.
-And most importantly keep up with what you're doing and don't give up.

To sum this all up, I read a quote on Pinterst: "We must all suffer from one of the two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons." I would rather live longer through discipline than suffer from other consequences. Besides, exercise isn't too bad as it becomes an accustom.

Loving life

Loving life.
Now considering to become fluent in ASL.
I cannot emphasize how much I am loving my classes right now.
Classes today, studying in between, gym time for an hour and a half, made my first steak on the mini grill (while asking my mom over the phone how to marinade it, she exclaimed "You've never made steak before?!?! haha oh mom)
And I was happy to hear they are giving freshman free mugs of hot chocolate by the library for a few days this week. Can't wait to get mine tomorrow :)
And now about to get more study time in
But still working on my New Years Resolution to do treatments before 10 pm
And to eat less junk food
And exercise every day...which really means that maybe, hopefully, it will be every other day
And that is all for now.

New Schedule

I'll pretend that this post was a week ago (since I started classes). I absolutely love my schedule this semester. There were a few classes *cough* physical science and American Heritage *cough* that are the pits and I struggled horribly in. This semester, though, I actually enjoy what I'm learning. After getting ready and doing a treatment, I hop on the shuttle every day to start class at 10. Here's kind of what it is like:

Mon and Wed: 

Book of Mormon

Living With Plants

Writing

ASL

Tues and Thurs:

Ballroom

Social dance 

ASL

Friday:

No class until noon!

Living with plants

Writing

Don't you see what I mean when I say this semester rocks?! And I have to admit that living with plants is a great class to complete a biology credit. The teacher is very enthusiastic and one of the coolest teachers I have had. It says a lot when the students actually enjoy learning about plants by the way he teaches about them. 

This is the first semester I am taking ASL for the first time. My teacher is deaf but is such a sweet lady. I never would have expected to take ASL before, but it's for my major and I actually enjoy it.

Writing-eh, not too shabby. My teacher is also British and very down to earth so it's all good. 

This is also the first time to take any ballroom or social dance class. I wasn't sure if I would ever learn ballroom because I didn't just want to take it because my parents did. But once I took one class of Jazz technique, I knew it was a little too advanced for me. I was thinking "ok, so sorry if I am doing my splits, but my front toes are pointed 2 inches away from the ground instead of an inch." and "well too bad my arms don't close together at the right second for my chaines." I still love jazz and may eventually take the beginning class to refresh everything since high school, but realized the technique class just wasn't the right class for me and there were much more advanced moves I was not familiar with, so I decided to finally try out ballroom and social dance to learn something new :) Besides I'm not going to worry about having too many hours put in to practice dance when my priority is to prepare to become a speech therapist later on.

On top of everything I live with a couple of the greatest girls and live in a wonderful apartment with some great classes :) There will be more to post later but my homework is calling my name

Cheers to 2012

I'll say that 2011 was a good year. I won't forget: (get ready for another list. You know you love them) :)

Screaming with pre-schoolers in Mideivel Times
Riding only thrill rides at Disneyland for 12 hours non-stop
Seeing Jimmer play on the court
Having ice cream poured down my back as the other artists and I were made into sundaes
Throwing colors at my siblings (and Brady) at the color festival for the first time
Prom with the coolest high school students ever
Graduation
Playing on boulders at Moab
Youth Conference
1 ft in diameter fro's at girls camp
Planking 4 states at once
Visiting Texas for the first time since we moved
Harry Potter 7.2
Moving into Hogwarts
Football games
Dancing some nights away at Byu
Chilling with the wardies in our Bishopric's pool and hot tub
Laughing until 2 am with friends till our guts hurt at Del Taco
Having my prayer answered to see and hear President Monson speak at the devotional by getting one of the last seats
969836596 trips to the physical science lab
35875 hours studying
Black Friday shopping for about 10 hours in Arizona
Taking pictures with statues in Arizona
Moving out of Hogwarts, but very happy at the same time
Seeing Kara and Kasey get married
And banging on pots and pans for 2012 with friends from high school

It's been a very good year! I have a feeling that 2012 will still have its rough edges, but it will be a very good year. I'm glad for new beginnings to start over on some things, too. I was able to go to a farewell today, and his talk was really good, but (his bishop, I believe?) gave some great insights. I was reminded of how precious life is and it matters how we spend every second of our lives. One thing he said that stood out was that we need to build our own "reservoirs" of knowledge, goodness, faith, and courage by doing the small daily acts that matter to keep us strong to carry us through years of adversity, want, frustration, fear, etc. He mentioned that if we use our time wisely, then we can have enough faith and strength to keep going. So that's one of my new years resolutions: to use my time more efficiently, especially by doing the things that matter most such as communicating often with my Father in Heaven through prayer, reading my scriptures daily, and looking for ways to serve. Sometimes for resolutions we look for ways we can change or things to do (and yes I do have those goals on my list), but in reality sometimes we just need to keep up with important daily acts.

Well other than that, I hope everyone has a great year!! Time to party like it's 2012!!

I'm a fan

Now I know I'm a often a sucker when it comes to cartoon movies, but along with a few movies I have caught up on during this break, I saw the Muppets today at the theater and loved it. There were many things that I laughed at that nobody thought were funny, but I didn't care because it was a happy, feel-good movie. There are moments in it where the characters break out in song and dance, which would normally be weird, but hey they pulled it off in this movie. Anyone reading this should go watch it when they have the chance :)

Tis the Season

Here are some re-caps from this winter break

After moving into Wyview, I was finally able to go home for a while. Kara was about to get married, and so we had about 14 people staying at our house. Haha it was crazy but fun! Our younger cousins were over along with aunts and uncles, grandparents, Alicia, Josh, mom, and I, and of course Oscar. 

Our grandma gave Oscar the left overs after a dinner. She said she "only gave him a little bit" haha oh well :)

my aunt is also having her first baby soon, so the younger cousins decided to be silly by taking balloons to make themselves look pregnant too

Then the wedding day finally came. It was very cold and there was a slight breeze that blew around, but Kara and Kasey still looked stunning. We all could not stop gawking at them as they had a glow about them. Their happiness radiated and I am so happy for them :)

My cousin and I were desperate to keep warm

But look at these pictures because you will see what I mean :) 

After the wedding, there were was a 24 hour flu that spread through my family. It was not fun at all but luckily it did not last long. Afterwards, Christmas came quickly. When I woke up and came into the living room, there was a beautiful Christmas tree standing with our family's pictures (baby pictures, current pictures, and family pictures from Christmas's and different seasons) perched on top of its branches. On top of the tree was a picture of the Savior.  I was very touched as Josh said that it was his Christmas present to our family. He bought the tree himself and printed off the pictures to surprise us on Christmas morning.

 I'll admit, it was very hard Christmas as our grandpa's dimentia reached its peak later that morning. There was a lot of screaming, yelling, and much more, so my siblings and I headed over to our dad's place. Our mom decided to join us later on, so it was a little awkward with everyone over there, but we enjoyed watching classic Christmas movies and had a lovely dinner. I'm so glad they let us all go over there for the whole day

Afterwards, we came home late at night as we were glad that things had settled down. We were glad that we could spend time together as a family, and on the way home, Josh told a little more about his present. He felt inspired to do this for our family, and said that he placed Christ at the top of the tree because he is the head of our home and is always watching out for us. I know that what he said is true, and we have seen his tender mercies branched out to us throughout our lives. We were reminded on this Christmas day that families may sometimes go through tough situations, but they don't last forever and our Savior is always there for us. He brings us happiness and joy to us as we feel his love and accept the great eternal blessings that he offers. It's important to remember that Christmas is a time to remember his birth, but we need to continue remembering the miracles, grace, and light he brings throughout the year.

A new start :)

Having:
pure water so I no longer have to buy gallons of distilled water for my treatments
enough electricity to do treatments in a single room
great roommates
my coolers will be shipped to my door
and much more

Yes, those are a few things that will make a Cyster go bonkers over once she has them. New Heritage was wonderful and I already terribly miss my roomies and wardies, but Wyview has already been a great experience. I never would have thought I would move here. New Heritage was gorgeous, but I realized I really didn't care about things such as granite countertops and lights turning on when you walk in. Since it was new, there were maintenance problems that made treatments even more complicated. Unfortunately my roommate and I did not get along at all. I eventually found out it would yes best to have my own room, which would help with having more privacy for treatments and such. You can keep reading if you'd like but the story behind it is long (but awesome):


     My mom and I decided to look for the best option so I could escape the drama I was trapped into where I was living. We said a prayer, asking for the best option to open up because the Lord knew what was best. I knew the Lord knew what was best. I had been praying for ages and wasn't getting an answer, but I knew my prayers would eventually be answered. After my doctor suggested having my own room after I told her about my roommate situation, she wrote a letter saying I needed my own room. We went to the head of my dorm, the accessibility center, and the head of housing. I'll just say it was a very long day of trying to come up with a solution.
     As the accessibility center and the head of housing were talking about Wyview, I started to have a great feeling about it. It was cheaper, there were apartments that had single rooms, my packages would be sent to my door, and much more.  My mom and I knocked on doors to ask what people thought of Wyview, and possibly find a room to move into.
     I felt terrible about the first door we knocked on, but then we decided to go to another building the head of housing said had many spots open. We knocked on a door, and my (now) roommate-who I had never met before-and I got along very well and had a lot in common. I then found out she had a single room that would be open for winter. I mentioned my CF with uneasiness, but she said she knew what it was because she played the main role in a play- a girl who had CF! We continued talking and then my mom and I headed over a building and up a flight of stairs. Turned out the girls there were her FHE sisters, one of them is in my major, and much more. So many more "coincidences" were taking place one after another, and when I signed up for switching rooms, I was able to get into the right spot.
     Ok, the moral of the story? One of my favorite quotes is: "God always gives his best to those who leave the choice to him." by Jim Elliot. I know my Heavenly Father answered my long-anticipated prayers. This is just another beginning and I feel good about it :)