A new leg

No, I didn't receive a new leg nor did Allen but better yet a new leg to our journey together. If you don't know me I HATE DESPISE going to the doctor. Dentist, optometrist, neurosurgeon, neurologist, internal medicine. You name it , I hate it. They give me the heebee geebees. This time it was one of those appointments that you have to make because you are an adult and being an adult means making an appointment when you need to and of course what do they want every time I go into the doctor. BLOOD. Except this time she took like four time more blood than normal. I think it was a total of 13 tests they were doing. A pint of blood total. The human body has 10 pints of blood circulating throughout but at the end of that appointment I had 9 and a very empty stomach. After that appointment Allen and I decided we were going to change the way we were eating and begin counting calories. So far, pretty good. Doing better that I thought thanks to my handy dandy Iphone!

Anyway... Thursday she wanted a follow up with the results of the rest of my blood work. Thyroid- fine, blood- count fine, hepatitis b and c- no but another issue arose. I have Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome, more commonly known as PCOS. Keeping my composure in the office, I was freaking out. First the tumor, then epilepsy now the PCOS. What next? I wasn't really paying attention when she was explaining what it all was, I guess a mental road block. So, I went to find a book. Of course the only book two stores had was "PCOS for Dummies".

So, if you read my blog and somewhat enjoy it, glad to hear. This new leg of our journey has effected us a lot. Instead of writing about my fabulous cakes, desserts and funny things that happen with Allen and I, it will be twisted a little. About our journey with alternative cooking, PCOS challenges, marriage funnies and yummy desserts just much better for you. Stay tuned in if interested, if not, see you on the flip side.

 

yummy goodness

 Finally able to close the door to MTSU, well at least to class anyway. It's hard to believe 5 years of school has passed and almost finished. Student teaching begins in August and a new leg of the journey begins. Now, it's working all summer in the Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) office and at the church of course.

So everyone knows I love to cook. I love to try new things and make a mess in the kitchen. The latest recipe I got from pinterest. This yummy goodness couldn't have been easier to make.

White Chocolate Oreo Cake

6oz of Hershey's Cookies n Cream Chocolate Candy Bar
1/2 cup of Sugar
1/2 cup of butter
Melted over medium heat until melted

Whisk in 2 lightly beaten eggs and ½ teaspoon vanilla

Add:
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
Stir until mixture is incorporated and smooth

Pour into greased 9" springform pan
Bake at 350°, 20 minutes 


Remove from oven
Immediately pour 7oz. sweetened condensed milk over top of brownies
Layer with ¾ cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
Let cool

The girls loved it. Yes, I had to taste check before I let anyone else eat it hence the little square taken out.
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Happy Purple Day!

With my seizures fire within my speech pattern, so one sign that one has occurred is that I can't speak. 

Okay, so Purple Day isn't until the 26th but it was on my heart.What is Purple Day you ask?

Cassidy Megan (on left) created the idea of Purple Day in 2008, motivated by her own struggles with epilepsy. Cassidy's goal is to get people talking about epilepsy in an effort to dispel myths and inform those with seizures that they are not alone. The Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia came on board in 2008 to help develop Cassidy's idea which is now known as the Purple Day for epilepsy campaign.

 I along with 3 million other Americans have epilepsy. That's 1 out of every 100 people. I have two types of seizures:

• Absence seizures: consist of brief episodes of staring for a period of 5-30 seconds. Impairment of awareness begins without warning and ends suddenly, leaving the person alert and attentive. You probably wouldn't even notice it was happening. A person may have 50 - 100 absence seizures a day. 
• Atonic Seizures: usually begin in childhood (lasting for less than 15 seconds) and are associated with an abrupt loss of muscle tone. 

A person may have 50 - 100 absence seizures a day. Without treatment, the seizures may interfere with learning. Absence seizures almost always begin in childhood (four to 14 years of age) and often resolve in late teenage years.

 With my seizures fire within my speech pattern, so one sign that one has occurred is that I can't speak. Sometimes it only lasts less than a minute other times hours or even days. In the beginning, We (family and friends) wrote notes back and forth but that got tiring. So, i brushed up on my sign language. My mom was the only one that really knew what I was trying to say but others tried to learn too. When I started dating Allen, we sat around for hours learning his letters to at least be able to spell things. Although I could hear him, he wanted to be able to practice speaking back.



 Everyday I wake up is a gift from God. Well not just for me but for all of us. The very breath that we breathe is a gift. I am often asked how do I do it? They are amazed how far I have come. At the age of 14, I was having brain surgery, at 15 battling epilepsy and at 23 graduating with a double major in Chemistry and Biology. WOW! It's called the power of prayer. For all the skeptics out there prayer works and I am proof. I don't know where I would be today without all my friends and family that were praying for my healing. 7 years ago I couldn't add or subtract in my head and now look. 

Mother's Day

 Happy (almost) Mother's Day. I love my mom. She has played a big part in my life that I don't know what I could do with out her. She's been a Girl Scout mom, Band mom, a Choir mom, Ashely's mom, Paige's mom and Chad's mom.  On Mother's Day 2004, My mom awoke to a phone call from my band director saying I had passed out while on a band trip to Chicago. She quickly got ready, got a flight and flew up to Chicago without her license. lol. After a Cat scan, the doctors knew something wasn't right. There was something in my brain. We flew home that night to return for a MRI. A few days later we received the news that at the age of 14 I had a brain tumor and needed to meet with a neurosurgeon soon. After many appointments and more scans, the surgery was set for June 13. I don't know how I could have gotten through the surgery and the recovery without her by my side. She stayed with me during the hospital stay. Drive me up to Vanderbilt 3 days a week for therapy. Anything I needed she was there.

Once school began, I developed Epilepsy because of where the tumor was taken out. Through all the seizures, hospitalizations, medication changes and side effects mom was always by my side. Always there to hold me, cry with me, and help understand what I am trying to say. See, when I have a seizure I dont flop like a fish or pee on myself. My seizures, well I have two types. One you wouldn't really even realize it's happening. They are called absence seizures, just like staring into space. The second kind are called atonic seizures. I lose all muscle tone and fall where ever I am. I also lose my speech because they fire in my speech pattern. My mom took a sign language class while in college. Using her book I learned the letters years before. Instead of writing billions of notes, we signed, even if they were having to spell everything out.

When I got sick things got pretty bad, emotionally that is. Although no one understood, mom tried her best to make things as easy as she could. 7 years later she (and my father) gave me away. This year is my 8 year MRI. Cancer did not beat me, I beat cancer.

Happy Mother's Day Mom.

 Love,

April showers bring May flowers

Welcome to May! April showers bring May flowers however we haven't had too much rain here in little Murfreesboro.  In our tiny apartment I have attempted to bring a little herbaceous life in doors and so far success! My little flowers are growing everyday and almost above the rim of the pot. I will continue to keep you updated on how my little ones are growing.

May is a very special time for me.  It brings back a lot of memories of where God has taken me on this journey of life. May is Brain Tumor Awareness month. Did you know there are over 600,000 people in the US living with a brain tumor of some kind? Don't mean to make you paranoid. At the age of 14, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. See that dark spot in the scan? That's where the tumor was. Anyway, I don't have time today to write down my WHOLE story. Will save that for another day.

School is over! Finally! About to leave to turn in the paper that I have had done since Sunday. If it's been done since Sunday then why have I waited to turn it in until today? Well I have a method to my madness. I figure that the the later I turn it in the less time he has to grade it thus the less time he has to analyze it. Cleaver ah?

face lift

So, I decided for my mental sanity to take the morning off from studying and finishing this dreadful Ecology paper. Instead I cleaned, at lunch with my sister and gave the blog a face lift. What do you think? I liked the old layout, don't get me wrong, it just wasn't springy enough.

Speaking of spring.... WE HAVE GROWTH!!!  No I am not excited one bit hahaha.

 School is almost over and I couldn't be more ready and excited. In my time here at MTSU I feel as though I have spent WAY too much time for my degree.

Time allotted:
English- 9 credit hours
History- 9 credit hours
Humanities- 9 credit hours
Mathematics- 9 credit hours
Social Sciences- 9 credit hours
Chemistry-  26 credit hours
Biology- 22 credit hours
Physics- 8 credit hours
Education- 30 credit hours

That totals to 131 credit hours. 5.5 years.  That's 154 weeks= 1078 days. But..... in December it will be all worth it. December 15th to be exact. I will have a degree in Chemistry and Biology with a minor in Education.

spring has sprung

 Allen says I do not have a green thumb. That I kill any plant that is given to me or that I attempt to grow. Examples: Strawberry plant- never sprouted. 2nd attempt strawberry plant- never sprouted. Parsley, Basil- both dead

 Here is the Orchid that Allen gave me for Valentines Day. Of course then it was a beautiful bloomed flower but now it is just a twig in a pot.

About a week ago I planted sunflower seeds when I got home from Church this afternoon,  I found this.... I SEE GREEN!!! THEY'RE ALIVE!!










 I couldn't have been more happy. Finally, 1 plant/seed I haven't managed to kill in the few months we have been here in our little home. More updates on my little seedlings as they grow.


What's up with Marley:

Marley at her finest. She had definitely found a place in our hearts. But she doesn't like other people. The only time she barks or growls is when then neighbors come around or someone comes over to visit. She's bit my mom, tried to bite Ivy (age 3), and charged my sister. I know she was abused before we got her but can take the chance of her attacking Ivy or one of our future little ones. So, Allen is going to try one last resort. He want to try and train her. Let's see how this goes.