Very cool Louis Vuitton commercial...
What is a journey?
A journey is not a trip.
It's not a vacation.
It's a process. A discovery.
It's a process of self discovery.
A journey brings us face to face with ourselves.
A journey shows us not only the world, but how we fit in it.
Does the person create the journey or does the journey create the person?
The journey is life itself.
Where will life take you?
Wow! I can't believe that it's been over a week since I last posted. Things have been crazy-busy at work, but good. I've put in some long hours, though, and so any extra free time is spent on homework or sleeping. : ) Other than that, there's really not much else that's going on with me!
Yesterday was quite the Monday, that's for sure. It was not a good day, in many ways, so I was glad that today was MUCH better. But guess what started yesterday? Snow. And wind. And cold. I really can't complain because we have had such a lovely fall season, but this change sure happened quickly. One thing I can now confirm, though...all the trees have lost their leaves!!! : ( It had to happen sometime, right?
Well, if anything more exciting than this comes up, I'll be sure to let you know! ;) My life really does consist of work, homework and sleep right now, and I can promise that there's nothing exciting about that!! haha! :) Hope that you're doing well, too!! :)
This past week I received two envelopes in the mail containing my medical files from my surgeon who performed my thyroidectomy (when I had thyroid cancer). During that cancer time, I learned that it's very important to keep a copy of your medical records and even more so with situations that are as critical as this one. It's just always good to go to your doctor appointment(s) prepared with your OWN copy of your file.
For some reason, though, I never got a copy of my file from my surgeon! So, this year, I finally got my act together and requested a copy of my file. It showed up in the mail last week and I finally opened it yesterday. You know, I never cease to be amazed by the flood of emotions and flashbacks that occur when I spend time reading through my medical files from the years that I was fighting thyroid cancer. Honestly, this long out (seven years now since first diagnosed), you'd think that "reviewing" that time period wouldn't cause that much emotion, but I'll be the first to admit that it sure DOES stir up a lot of emotion! It makes me wonder...does a person ever really "heal" from something like that? Maybe that's something that no one can answer until they've been through such an experience (and I hope that it's an experience that YOU never have to go through!!!), but it just seems like I should be reacting to it like I would with any surgery. For instance, if I had my gall bladder taken out or something, I'd probably share the story with ease and remember it without much emotion. Why, though, does a cancer story do just the opposite and stir up a lot of emotion? Is it because in your first days and weeks of discovery, it's kind of like a "brush with death"? I just really don't know.
Anyway, it's good for me to read through those files and remember what I was experiencing and to review what the doctor's were saying about me at that time. It's just good to know of the details of the events that were taking place.
In addition to all that, my mom and I also got into a conversation this week about those first days/weeks of finding out I had cancer and for the first time (that I can remember, anyway), I heard from mom some more details about what she and dad were really going through during that time. I know it may seem silly to even say it, but I honestly didn't realize what THEY were experiencing then (outside of fear) and I'm sure it's because I was pretty focused on myself those days.
It's just been a good week of reminiscing and a good week to just remember how thankful I need to be. Cancer is something that changes everything about you and about your life and you're never the same person again, even in the littlest things. It's also something that you're never prepared for, either, no matter how many times you face it (and that was something that I learned during the time that I went to support groups for a little extra help).
Anyway, this is nothing super revealing or exciting, but it's something I've been glad to experience this week and it was just a little something that I wanted to share with all of you. : ) All for now, friends!!
With the miners all safely rescued TODAY, I thought this would be a fitting time to share my current favorite song. Turn up your speakers and ENJOY!!! : )
I was having a good day today and then I went to class. Class was a lot too liberal for me today, plus it covered a heavy subject that just made me feel awful. So, now I'm back to work and I just feel like I'm in a funk. : ( I have SO much to do today and now all I want to do is go home and sleep for awhile. Waaahhhh!!! : )
Part of me wonders, though, if some of this feeling is coming more from the fact that I'm so tired of school. Last night, I was getting ready for today's class and I just kept thinking, "Oh, I am so DONE with this!!" I just feel burned out. I know it's so silly to even say that, though, because I know that I'm ALMOST done and I just need to hang in there!! But, that doesn't change the fact that I'm just tired of it all.
Hmmm...I just realized that I'm hungry, too. Maybe THAT is playing into some of these feelings?!? haha! It's funny how low blood sugar can affect your mood, eh? :o) Enjoy the rest of your day!!
Just so you know, I love my blog. Right this very moment, I'm just HAPPY with how it keeps my family members in tune with what's going on in my life and it keeps my friends...entertained. ha! :) I really love how it's a journal for me. Sometimes I don't write things because of who MIGHT be reading (for instance, a coworker, maybe :) and so I keep those things to myself, but what I do write is important to me, even if I may not feel that way at the moment that I'm writing. When I go back, though, and read through some of things I've written, I feel happy. Sometimes I find myself thinking, "Was I really thinking/feeling that at the time?" It's good for me to reminisce and to see how things have or have not changed. Yes, friends, I do love my blog. :o)
As I am aging, I notice one thing (among many, let me assure you! :) about myself...I am a homebody. Now, don't get me wrong...I love getting together with friends and family and having some seriously good times, but I also L-O-V-E to be at home. I think that feeling is heightened even more right now by the fact that I'm SO busy with work and school that any free time I do have, I just want to be at home, being quiet, and relaxing.
I also love to travel the world and visit new places, but I always love to come home, too. I love traveling for the weekend to visit friends that are a few hours away, but I tell ya...I always enjoy coming back home to my own bed. Don't get me wrong, either...I am THANKFUL for all of the wonderful memories that I have from the various trips I've taken and I wouldn't exchange those for a penny, but there is something to be said about HOME. I know that it's a place that I certainly love.
What about you? Do you consider yourself to be a homebody or not really?
Well, let me share this past weekend with you. :)
On Friday night, my friend, Shannon, and I went to Cheyenne and ate some supper at Red Lobster (YUM!) and then did some shopping at Target.
Saturday...I slept. We'll come back to that.
Sunday, I went to my Sunday morning church meeting, out to lunch at a local mexican restaurant with some friends, took a short nap, went to gospel meeting in Cheyenne, out to eat at Olive Garden with some friends and then back to Target for a quick stop (it's that time of year to stock up on flannel sheets, you know!!).
All-in-all, I had a great, fun-filled weekend! :o) But, let's talk about Saturday. Do you know what a sloth is? No? Well, let me write out the definition: "aversion to work or exertion; laziness; indolence." That, my dear friends, was exactly what I morphed into on Saturday.
Now, before I begin, let me just state that every night last week, I was up until at least 1:30 AM, most nights until after 2 AM. Some of those nights were because of homework and maybe ONE of those nights was due to that stupid facebook that I've recently joined. Either way, by Friday night, I was seriously lacking on sleep. One other thing I ask...for those of my friends out there that are married with kids, please do not hate me for this post. I am not in any way PROUD of how I spent my day Saturday. :)
So, Friday night, Shannon and I got home around 11 PM. I was exhausted, so I promptly came home, took a HOT shower, got into my pj's and got ready for bed. I did check my e-mail and facebook before hitting the hay, so I didn't actually GO to bed until 1 AM, but that was fairly early, considering how the week had gone up to that point. My friends...when I woke up the next morning, it was 11:45 AM. I was still tired, though, and could tell that I had a nice headache to start the day, so...I rolled over and went back to sleep. I woke up at a little after 1 PM and my headache was NO better (honestly, I think it's because I don't get my usual espresso coffee drinks on the weekend and I think I go thru withdrawals!). I got up, though, and tried to make something of myself. Finally, around two, I texted my friend to say that I wasn't going to make it to the local college athletic event and then...I went back to bed and soundly slept until a little after 5 PM. At this point, my headache was MUCH better but my body was also starting to get angry because I hadn't eaten in 24 hours. So, I got up, ate some supper, did a few things and went to bed at 11 PM. Again, I soundly slept until 9:15 AM Sunday morning, when my alarm went off. Let me tell you, though...when I woke up, I felt like a MILLION dollars! I felt great and I proceeded to have a GREAT day, too. :)
So that, in all its honesty, was how I spent my weekend. I was glad that I was able to spend Saturday recooperating, but I do know it was rather extreme. It did encourage me to TRY to be a little better about going to bed at a DECENT time during the workweek and to be consistent about it! This past week was a little out of the ordinary as I had a few class related things going on, but even I know that 2 AM is a little CRAZY!!
So, tell me...how was your weekend?! ;o)
I'm glad that it's Friday because I am WAY tired this week! Too much going on and too many late nights (because of homework AND facebook, I'm afraid).
I received news this week that one of my aunts (on my dad's side) has liver cancer. They're still determining all the details, but maybe in the next couple of weeks we'll know more. It's just such a downer. I've said it before and I'll say it again...cancer sucks. It ruins so many lives and it's just a nasty, nasty thing. That's all I'll say about that for today.
On a more positive note, we just completed our SIXTH week of the semester! Only ten more left!! YAY!!!! :o) I really do hate to wish my life away, but I will be SO glad when I am doing with the "work full-time & go to school part-time" routine. The other day I was thinking about it all and I decided that I don't like the person I am right now. It's hard to get around that, though, because of how badly I want to finish this degree! The part about what I don't like right now just involves being SO busy that some things that are really important to you get cheated. For instance, I just haven't been able to keep in touch with my friends like I want to. I wasn't fantastically stellar at it before, but now that I'm SO busy, it just feels impossible. Another thing is getting to Bible study at a decent time so that I can sit and be quiet and think on things for a little while. It seems like not only have I missed out completely on Bible study more times in the last six months than I have in the last sixteen years, but when I do get there, I feel like I'm racing in at the last minute. That's not how I want it to be!! I'm also getting tired of feeling tired and stretched thin all of the time, too. I do realize that I am a procrastinator, though, and that does affect me sometimes (unfortunately!!), so I can't be too whiny about things since sometimes my "problems" are self-inflicted. :)
Weekend plans? Well, I would like to clean my apartment, so that's at the top of the list! I also have to study for an exam that I have next Thursday and, finally, I'd like to catch up on some sleep!! It's gonna be a good weekend!! :o)
