About 7 months later.. I started to feel better and more alive and got back into the swing of things. I began going out, spending a lot of time with friends and felt better about life. I finally saw a silver lining after all of the confusion and unanswered questions. Life is life.. and sometimes we don't get answers for everything that happens.
More time passed, I met more new people, experienced new things, most importantly - remained healthy, and old memories were replaced with new ones.
Now.. let me catch you up on the last 6 months to a year... I began working out a lot and my body started to feel better. Less aches and pains as I went to bed at night. I learned that working out is by far the best thing for Multiple Sclerosis. It's very difficult to know when I have pushed myself too far - I can't seem to find a balance sometimes but most of the time, my body amazes me and I can handle so much more than I realize. But... there are the times, where I can't handle even the little things. It's a daily struggle but most days are wonderful :) I have been more daring and adventurous. This winter, I slacked a lot due to the cold weather. I am NOT a fan!!! It really disrupts my motivation in life.. and my outdoor activities. Last year, for my diagnosis anniversary, I went cave diving AKA spelunking which was an awesome experience! I tried white water rafting for the first time (very small rapids), and I biked and hiked a few times. Now.. it's getting warm again (FINALLY) and I'm ready for many more adventures this year. I'm back to exercising again, as the company I work for often has 'team challenges' to join in on! This makes it much easier to get motivated. This past Monday, Michelle and I started a team at work "MLB - Major League BonkSTARS" and we have been very successful thus far. Everyone is exercising daily! We plan to kick some major behind! While it's very difficult to find the time to exercise every single day, I feel much better when I do. I do find it hard when you first begin again from a winter hiatus but we all have each other to lean on, motivate us, and work out with!
In other news, I have also been busy with bridesmaids duties! My Schmoopie and My Shell are both getting married within 2 weeks of each other in late Sept -> early October and I get to be a part of both of their bridal parties! Congratulations and wooooohooooooooo for wonderful future memories! Have I mentioned, I love love? :)
Lately, I have been finding time for papercrafting and as always, I get in over my head with ideas vs the time I have to actually execute them all. My aunt, mom and I got together last weekend and made kits for each other so we could put 3 cards together of 9 types to walk away with 27 cards. I found that to be overly ambitious but surprisingly, we got 15 done and got to go home with the kits and pictures of the cards to finish them at home on our own! Of course, I haven't found the time to finish them with work and exercise this week. I'm very excited to have cards on hand since it always seems to be someone's birthday, etc. I purchased a 'scrapbook year kit' recently that came with themed paper and embellishments for each month! I have FINALLY started my own (since last year's was a total fail) and am so excited to finally have my very own scrapbook to keep for ME! I find it close to impossible to choose what pictures I like best each month!!! I'm almost up to date. I need to finish March and I will be ready for April! Once the month is over, I select my favorite pics from particular events and create 2 pages. It's a mini-diary of sorts. I make note of what I did each day so I can look back and see how far I've come each year :) I have added pictures of the pages at the end of this blog. I'm also slowly making one for Mike. Tomorrow, is the Stampin Up! Regional Event in Baltimore. I haven't been to one in over a year, when Sonia and I drove to Charlotte, NC to attend our last one. We had an amazing time and are very much looking forward to tomorrow! I just wish I had one extra day to make cards for the swap and for the Ronald McDonald Charity. I'll update a future blog entry with pics of things we make tomorrow, along with pics of projects I have been working on in the last few months.
Lastly, I wanted to mention I have met someone very special :) -- I am not sure if I should put it on 'paper' since I haven't had much luck in the 'everlasting love' department but I'm feeling pretty confident about this one. It's hard to find someone who adores you. Loving someone (well, for most) is easy but adoring someone is not as easy. That requires accepting their flaws -- and we all have them. But, I'm pretty sure he really does adore me. I am extremely lucky. Relationships are hard work and life gets tricky and can throw you some crazy curveballs but I'm pretty sure this one will stick by me for the long haul. My favorite thing about him is he ready and willing to be there for me when things get rough and my future has the potential to be very challenging in the health department. He is willing to give me the time, energy, and love (without even hesitating) that I'm willing to give people I love and well, I'm pretty over-the-top when it comes to loving someone and it's hard to find someone that isnt ready to run in the other direction when they get to know me. :) And... the best thing - he loves the Redskins even more than I do... We met at a game (and I'd also like to throw in there, won every single regular season game after that)! I had stopped believing in all of the cliches about life and love but what is meant to be truly will be and I do believe that. I also believe that what you least expect can make you the happiest person in the world. I'm so glad that I am lucky enough to be able to say that!
As promised, here are my scrapbook pages for my 2013 book...
Til next week....
