1. Diagnosis!!! I've been really sick for the last two years, and it has been pretty crummy. Thankfully after 12 doctors I finally have a diagnosis! I have Ankylosing Spondylitis. Google for more info. It is manageable, but there is no cure, so I give myself a shot every other week. At first the shots were hard to give myself, but now it takes less than five minutes and I feel so much better. Here is a picture of what my feet looked like for most of last year.
This is right before getting them painted for Jordan's wedding (they look weird unpainted). But, the real thing you should be looking at is the second toe on my left foot. Ouch. Compare to the right one. How about those cankles? Yikes. I hurt just looking at these. I can hardly believe how good I feel! The change is night and day different. Modern medicine is a wonder.
2. Sod party at my house! We can't thank all of our friends and family that came and helped enough. People that help you lay sod are people that you should never let out of your life, We had two semi truck loads of sod and it only covered the backyard, We finally got smart and had my grandpa go get his tractor. It was an entire day of backbreaking labor. I wasn't much help lifting (see #1), but I watered every inch of our yard. The pedometer on my phone still says that it was the most steps I've ever gotten in one day - 11 miles! We also got some boulders for the front yard and I planted bulbs the first year we moved in. The front yard will be our project this year.
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| Crocus flowers are my very favorite! |
3. 3rd Anniversary. We kept it low key this year and hung around town. We went to a baseball game which ended in pouring rain. I loved it! I never like sports until I met Stan, but have found out that baseball is a hoot and a half to watch live. If I wasn't so cheap I would buy season tickets. Maybe next year.
4. Travel. I finally started to travel a little bit with my company because I was put in a new position in May. Unfortunately, it was after my feet exploded so I was a bit slow walking around, but I got to explore Orlando, Boston, and Seattle this year. I would love to live in Boston for two years! I'll keep dreaming ...
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| Let's pretend that my coworker centered and focused this one better |
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| The Gum Wall smelled weird, but I was determined to find it |
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| I actually did work on my trips, there's just no pictures to prove it |
5. Jordan got married! What a whirlwind day that was. We were in Manti for less than 12 hours and that included spending the night. I feel really bad because I was so sick the day of her wedding. I wish I could have enjoyed it more, but I honestly think that was one of my very worst days. Every time I see pictures of me at the wedding I immediately think one of two things. "Yikes. Can you say prednisone cheeks? Or. Ugh, Every single part of my body hurt so bad that day I couldn't even stand up straight, I look terrible." That's ok, I'm glad I was actually able to attend, I was dreading that long car ride. Stan lucked out on the car ride and found orange flavored Moon Pies at a gas station we stopped at. Anytime we head south in the future I'm sure we will be stopping there.
6. We went to Lagoon with some friends for our birthdays. I was pretty miserable, but was not going to let it stop me from enjoying birthday week at our house! I paid for it dearly the next day, but it was so worth it. We now have the best family picture, of which I don't have an electronic copy. Come visit to see it.
7. I discovered some coloring books at Michael's that I absolutely love. I got them just before conference and this is the first time that I've stayed awake for all conference sessions. Don't judge, I don't know why I can't. Even more annoying I always wake up for those lame specials in between sessions.
8. We became adults and bought furniture this year!! We bought a kitchen table, an entry table/dresser, and an entertainment center. And not one of them have even a square inch of press board! I can't tell you how adult that makes me feel. It's fantastic. Although, the first time my brother saw my dresser was also the first (and only) time I've ever heard him swear. It shocked me so much, but also was one of the funniest things I've ever heard.
9. We ran a 5k! Obviously this was before the joints exploded. I've been trying to get Stan to run with me and he has absolutely no interest in it, so when I heard that his friend was having one for a scholarship in the name of her sweet children who were killed in a car wreck you can bet that I hounded him to run it. If she can go through something so incredibly horrific, we sure as hell can run a little bit to help support her. It was pretty close to the last active thing that I was able to do. My heart broke when I heard about the accident and was glad that we could at least do something, even if that something was so minuscule comparatively.
10. I was in YW for a little while in our new ward (my new med wipes my immune system, so figured it would be best to become a part hermit and get released). For our camp fundraiser we did a cafe rio style dinner. I was tasked with making the dressing. Have you ever had to purchase 5 - 5lb containers of sour cream and GALLONS of mayonnaise? Gross. I thought it might take a couple of hours ... ha ha ha ... um, we were up until well after midnight on a school night! We made over 20 batches of the stuff.
There you have it ... my year in review that should have happened in real time. I'm a work in progress.
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| Also from last year, but not in these categories. I was just proud of the results. And it makes up for the other things that I was too lazy to grab the pics of :) |
