One week.....

One week till my first birthday!!! Such happy and sad
feelinngs...happy that I am better and that transplant worked for now
but sad that I had to go thru all that. I still think about it
everyday and how there is someone somewhere sitting in a hospital bed
getting a transplant and just hoping and wishing it will work.

I guess I am one of the lucky ones..looking at stats and all. Out of
those patients with leukemia receiving a stem cell transplant, the
survival rate for 2-5 years is 40-80%. That's not including all the
crazy side effects that this procedure has. We are looking at effects
like: infertility, muscle problems, bladder control, failure of
transplant, organ complications, etc.

My Craftiness!!!

I spent all day making these super cute invites for my future sister
in laws bridal shower that we are throwing!! Pretty proud of myself
for this one!!

obsessed with hair

soo i can't get hair off my mind..all i can think about is having longer hair! BLAH!!! I think all this wedding business just makes me really really miss it! i think its one of those things when you imagine walking down the aisle you don't imagine having boy short hair...

soo if anyone knows anything about hair extensions that are safe and will be able to be hid easily -- let me know! Girl needs some help..or at least something to calm my mind about it!

Cancer candy!!!

I hid candy in this bag..this was the bag I took to every appointment
while going through cancer!!

Love me some SMARTIES!!!

Work it girl....

This is why we are friends....

Why America will stay fattt....

Three words: Starbucks happy hour

Just bc it is half price, it doesn't mean it is half the calories

Julie

Sent from my iPhone

1 year later....

So its officially been one year since I was diagnosed with Leukemia....and just thinking about everything that has happened over the past year is just plain C-R-A-Z-Y!

Chemo, losing hair, being infused with all sorts of different bodily needs, taking steriods, body blowing up from the steriods, had a transplant, lost all my muscle, kept some sort of external line in my body, didn't work, barely could get up some days, and significantly lost alot of weight....whew! there is probably so much more but just all that makes me tired thinking of it.

At first thinking of this day coming made me sad because of all the horrible memories of finding out and not knowing a single thing about what was going to happen. But as i got to think of it, all of this CRAP that i had to go through just made me STRONGER and that much of a better person. Don't get me wrong me, those memories will stay with me the rest of my life and i will always remember how horrible i felt and how NOBODY should have to go through what i had to. I would have to say that the worse "emotional feeling" i felt personally was when i lost my hair. I remember that day like I am still there. I remember going to the bathroom and not feeling the greatest and sitting there started running my fingers through my hair and it just started coming out in big clumps and falling to the wayside of the toilet. I cried and then i screamed to only find my mom running into the restroom to pull me out of there. That's when i decided i just need to shave it so i would NEVER have to have that feeling again.

This disease let me see that even though I almost lost my life, that I can come out better than I was. All the stupid crap that I use to worry about is just nothing and not a big deal. What is a BIG deal is living your life to fullest and always doing things that make you happy. Life is too short to do things that don't fulfill you.

Sooo i am OFFICIALLY a one-year cancer survivor -- YAY me! May it never come back and may I keep living my life to the happiest that I can!

love you all..thank you for supporting me this past year..it has meant the world to me to know that there are soo many people out there that care.

Birthdays = cake...and lots of it!

So I had a small celebration with family on Sunday with my usual
delicious bake shoppe cake and had a surprise celebration at work with
the cake above. My coworkers are awesome and sure know how to make a
girl feel special!

Now I feel fat though...cake overload!

Doing things you don't recall...

So I am sitting at work, just finished drilling through a spreadsheet
and eating a donut. I look over at my water bottle and it is
empty...where did it go????? I don't even recall drinking this
morning...weird

Unfortunately, I do remember that donut I just ate...

Heaven in an EGG!!!

My boyfriend...a lifesaver!!

So I am here at MD Anderson all day for various appts. Have a big
break right now so Jordan decided to give platelets! What a lifesaver!

I have never seen the process from this end so it's cool to see how
the platelets come out and within 48 hours will be used here at MD
Anderson!

I must say I am the luckiest girl in the world to have someone who
will give on behalf of me in order to save a life! :)

SHARPIES!!!

Never realized how many sharpie colors there actually are..

Well in case u didn't know...there are 30..couldn't find that pack and
couldn't decide on a smaller pack of colors so I bought the 24 pack!

I have a thing with sharpies right now. Ultra fine point that is!!! :)

Gas prices---AHHH!

So as the gas prices are going up yet again...i came across this interesting article from yahoo.

Gas Saving Tips that Don't Work

Basically it talks about all the myths people say help with fuel efficiency like turning off the AC, fill up your gas tank when its cold outside, additives, tire pressure, etc.

I would like to point out the BOTTOM LINE in this article:

"In the end, best fuel economy comes from a calm and safe driver, something that's a good thing regardless of the price we pay at the pump."


Also known as - - - ME! I consider myself very calm and safe driver and like to think I get excellent gas milage even with my SUV. So just remember this article next time you are in the car. Reviving up your engine when you release the break and step on the gas pedal at a light will only cost you more money (and possibly a ticket if you are a speeder) and honestly you are not going to get there any faster! :)

My book!!

So I printed off my caringbridge journal so I can put it in my
scrapbook and it's like a book. I was like holy schmokes!!!

Note- those are half page of a regular computer sheet.

Only with Adrienne...

Yay for holidays!!!! Adrienne and I having fun in Target! Couldn't
help but dig thru the dollar section there!!!

Note: this is right before we convinced this little girl to wear bunny
ears with us!! We may have scared her too...

GLEE-BER FEVER

Soo its official. I have GLEE-BER FEVER!!!

I am not a big Justin Bieber fan but I do like the songs that GLEE covered on their last episode that are from Justin Bieber. Actually LIKE is an understatement...let's go with LOVE. (check it out below)

I guess I also like it because the guy singing this song is like 22 and not 16. AND GLEE IS AMAZING!

Enjoy the song..because i have been singing it in my head all weekend!

Red Velvet Cake BALLS!!!!

This is what happens when your boyfriend tries to help you make cake
balls...he ends up eating it!

I decided last night we should make these. Quite a process but turned
out well. They are little round balls of red velvet cake and cream
cheese icing. They are then dipped in chocolate!

I guess these are sorta valentines-ish even though I am not very into
valentines day.

SHOESSSSSS!

I am totally in love with these Naturalizer shoes I found out at DSW on sale a few weeks back! I have realized this is nothing better than a good comfy pair of shoes for work that are still cute!

So I have them in brown and decided to buy the same shoes in a black tweed..and i also decided to buy a 2 inch black heel shoe so i can wear some pants that are a little longer on me. Reviews say they are super comfy as well..soo hopefully they work out as well!

yay for sales! :)

check them out! (if you can't tell, i am into round toe right now!)

Black Tweed Naturalizer Shoe

Madden Girl - Black Tweed

My bubble!!!!

This is my office/closet/bubble at work! It is literally that table and thats it. This way I stay away from all the germs in the office and not get sick. One day I will make it to cube world...one day!

First Day of Work..Success!

So i started back to work today...after a long and painful 10 or so months. I was a little nervous this morning, but was quickly welcomed back with a breakfast in my honor from the team! It was soo nice! They even had a banner with my name on it! :)

I got settled in and was able to rummage through my boxes and get rid of things as well as set things up. Went through many many emails and finally got to the point where my inbox will accept emails now..soo yay me!

still don't know what is going on, but that will come with time! now its time for a little snooze and then off to pilates!

thanks again everyone for all your support. I am truly blessed with everyone in my life and without your support there is NO way I would be back to work this soon! Love you all!

Julie

Teaching my husky how to be a husky

This is Sersha...standing at the back door ready to come in...after 2
minutes of being outside. Seriously?!?!?

Ok, it is 26 degrees and the grass is a little icie but she is a
HUSKY...good thing I don't need her to pull my sled in the snow
because we would go nowhere...except back inside...actually back to
bed.

Look who got a NEW lunch kit!!

That's right...me!! Super pumped about the lunch kit and I got a good
deal! Yay outlet shopping!

Painting..with a drink!

As part 2 of our Anniversary celebration, we went to Painting with a twist in Garland. That was incredibly FUN! For those of you who do not know, Painting with a Twist is a place where you can go take a 2 or 3 hour class and come out with a really awesome painting (no matter how good you are at painting). You are allowed to eat and drink throughout the class which adds to the craziness/understanding of how to paint.  They have locations all over the US or other companies that are similiar.

We went this last Saturday and painted  "Stroll at Night 2" which is pretty cool. I have never painted in my life and neither has Jordan..soo check out our canvas paintings!

We decided that we will be giving each other the paintings we have made. Looks like we will be going to do this again sometime!

Anniversary Celebration!

Jordan and I had a fun night out for our 3-year anniversary! Once Jordan got off work, we headed down to the theater/arts center in Dallas. They have a beautiful facility that I believe is fairly new. Since Jordan and I had NO idea what Young Frankenstein was about, we were very excited to see what it was all about. We first grabbed appetizers at a nearby restaurant called Fredora - which was very good as well. It ended up being a really good musical - very funny and entertaining. We are watching the movie right now and I personally like the play a whole lot more!

We stayed downtown that evening. And spent the next morning just hanging out and getting coffee. Always very relaxing!

Overall, it was a great night and it still amazes me that we have been together for 3 years. Time flies....

Dallas has been fun so far. I never get tired of just being able to hang with Jordan especially since I know its going to be alot tougher once I start work.

This weekend is the big 3-year anniversary - let me just say this is the LONGEST relationship I have been in. YAY me..and us! hehe. We are going to go see Young Frankenstein at the Dallas Theater-not really sure what it is about, but its like the only thing playing and sounded like something Jordan would be interested in since it is sciency and what not. We are also going to do dinner and stay downtown.

On Saturday we plan on going to one of those paint and drink places. Supposedly, we are suppose to paint the picture and they show you how to do it and you can drink (alcohol or non-alcohol) if you want. First off, I am not a good painter..especially when it is suppose to be good. Then if I drink alcohol while doing this..I may be in big trouble. My alcohol tolerance is like 1 drink and I am feeling good and that just won't mix with painting beautiful works of art! Soooo...we will see how it goes. I will be sure to post pics of the outcomes..both mine and Jordan.

Jordan is good at everything and his will definitely show me up. We went to paint pottery a few months ago and his painting looked like a professional did it. It was a helicopter with all this detail and I felt stupid with my little coffee cup painted pottery that looked like a 5-year old did it. haha.

more to come..

Road trips...

So as planned, Jordan and I are on our way to Dallas! With any Texas
road trip, you must stop at Buc-ee's for a clean restroom, dr pepper
icee, and food. Always fun!!!

Spent the weekend down in Sugar Land, TX for his little brother's
confirmation. Lots of family and always lots of fun! We are headin
back to Dallas for a week or so of fun! We will also be celebrating
our 3 year anniversary next weekend...wow that's a long time! Should
be fun even though we don't have anything planned to my knowledge!

Back on the road..

My life is back on track...or at least my closet!

So I spent the last 2 days (literally) going through that huge mess. I
found things I never knew I had! Always fun!

Anyways, I ended up with a nice organized closet to start my new year
off! So refreshing...take a look!

Organizing my LIFE!

One of the things I wanted to do before starting work is to organize
my house, so here we go. Here are some before pics of all the stuff! I
will make sure to post an after...hopefully I just get rid of alot of
it!

Fun...fun...fun.

The New Year has definitely been good to me! I have spent the last week up in Dallas with Jordan. Lots of hanging out with friends. We actually went rock climbing, which I was able to do (even more than once). I came back this past Sunday right when it decided to snow here in Texas. Wow! What a drive..still not really sure how to drive in snow..but I did it! very slowly...haha.

Last week I also decided when I will be making my return to work. The official date will be February 7th. I got alot to do before then including buying new work clothes since everything is too big. Hello Outlet Mall Shopping! :)

Today was my first doctor's appointment of 2011..yay! Of course it was super busy there and I had to wait over an hour just to get my blood drawn. Doctor was happy with my progress and we are still decreasing the anti-rejection meds I am on (down to 1 every other day for the rest of the month). 

My next project to keep me busy will be organizing my closet in my bedroom as well as my study. I need to go through all my clothes and I need to go through all my paperwork and organize things. I will be sure to take before and after pics and post to the blog. 

well back to the grind and catching up on my tv episodes :)

julie

Happy 2011! New Year, new blog!

I have officially created a new blog! I figured I have "graduated" from CaringBridge and should now create my own blog that will document my triumphs and trials these next few years as I start the journey of life with my new "normal".

I will probably update this more than my CaringBridge with personal and medical things. I will still update the CaringBridge but it will only be medical and not very often as there isn't too much going on much more.

I hope you all continue to read and please comment as much as you like! Love to read those!

me on xmas

-Julie-