Week in Pictures: February 19-25

Tuesday starts off my dialysis week. I go 3 days a week, 4 hours per day. I wasn't feeling too good during this treatment.

Wednesday I wore my Tokidoki Panda tee that I got on Melrose in Los Angeles. The jacket is a Fox jacket that I picked up for like $2 at Goodwill. My mom was awesome & she treated my brother & I to Jason's Deli. I had the California Club, Broccoli Cheese Soup & Fresh Fruit Cup.

Sunday, I wore my amazing "fancy" sweatshirt with lace detail from Urban Outfitters. Topped that off with my super warm button up from Aeropostale. Wore that with skinnies & UGGs, of course. I wore makeup & felt good that day, so I actually smiled, lol.

Today, I wore another Tokidoki top. I actually borrowed the red sweater cardigan from my mom, lol. And the jeans, they were just meant for the Tokidoki top, since they have a matching plaid lining all the rips in the jeans. I was shocked to find these skinnies at Wal-Mart, they are a brand called Red Rivet & they are very well made & I just love them. And for only $20?! How could I pass them up? My cute short & slouchy boots I actually bought from my bestie Ashley, since she was going to return them. I was happy to fork over $40 to her, they were just what I had been searching for.

Lastly, today I finally tried the Fish McBites at McDonalds. I mean, these things are insanely addictive. I LOVE them. I can't eat them too often because of my restricted diet for renal failure & dialysis, but they were definitely a nice treat. And of course, I had to have fries with that.

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Transformation

Arise, shine; for your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

~Isaiah 60:1

Image Credit: Unknown

For the past few months, I have been rediscovering my faith. I am what's commonly referred to as a "born-again Christian". My journey didn't start off easy. On October 1st of 2012, my younger sister Leslie, was killed in a horrific head on collision with a drunk driver. She was only 25 years old, 6 months pregnant with her second child, a precious little boy named Shelby & a wonderful mother to Rhiannon, who turned 7 just a month after Leslie's death. My sister had been on her way to work at St. Dominic Hospital where she worked the night shift as a Certified Pharmacy Technician. I had just moved to Southern California one week to the day, before the accident. I was in a place that I feel God put me on purpose, to ease the insanely painful phone call that I would receive about 3 hours later that night. I was sitting on Pismo Beach, beside a cozy campfire, listening to the beautiful sounds of the ocean waves. Nothing could have ever prepared me for the words I heard that night when I got a call from my mom around 9:30 that night (11:30 CST was the time at home, where she was calling from). It wasn't even my mother on the phone. My mom later told me that she just couldn't tell me herself. It was a woman named Natalie, whom I'd never heard of or met before, but she knew my sister & had come upon her accident that night. I freaked out, screamed at her, cussed her, accused her of lying to me. I demanded to speak to my mother, who confirmed what the woman had just told me. I lost it then. I don't remember much after that, aside from falling out of my chair & nearly into the campfire right beside me & ripping off my hat & jacket because I sudden;y felt so hot I thought I was going to melt. My sister & I were closer than anything, we were thick as thieves. A part of my heart was shattered & I will never get it back.


The next week was a huge blur of emotions, planning & arguing. When it was over, I immediately immersed myself in keeping so busy, that I didn't have time to truly just let go & break down & let it all out. It was nearly 2 months later, at the end of a road trip across the country & a break-up that landed me back home in the South, that I realized how broken I was. I was angry. I was angry at the man who killed my sister, at my sister for not being late like she usually was & at God, for allowing this to happen. I needed someone to blame, or else I couldn't deal with it, or anything else. Finally, I couldn't handle my anger anymore & I sought out to talk to our former pastor, Brother Ed Hauser, who was also 1 of the 2 people that officiated my sister's funeral services. I told him I needed to find peace. I needed to make peace with God & be forgiven for blaming Him. He prayed with me & talked with me for a long while.


Later that night, something inside me felt different. I felt a calm I hadn't felt in such a long time. The next day, I began to pray again. I picked up a book, which I recommend to anyone facing a serious crisis in life or swimming in grief & confusion as I was. The book is HELP ME, I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up by Bishop T.D. Jakes. Since the end of November, my love for God & his word, have been steadily restored. I am growing stronger in my faith every single day now. I feel that I have purpose, that I have meaning & that I will heal.


Thanks to renewing my faith, I was unafraid & ready when I got the news a few weeks later, that my kidneys had finally failed & I must start dialysis. During my weeks in the hospital leading up to that news, I watched a lot of late night tv & started watching Pastor Joseph Prince, since I wasn't physically able to go to church. There is no doubt in my mind, or my heart, that God put this man in front of me to learn about His grace & the unmerited favor we receive from our amazing God. Pastor Prince really puts things into terms I can understand & related to. He is a moving speaker, an eloquent writer & I only wish I was able to attend his church. Since his church is located in Singapore, that would prove a little difficult though, lol. I will continue to attend his services through YouTube & Podcasts. I hope to get some of his books soon, namely Destined to Reign & Unmerited Favor. I do own a CD set of his powerful sermons, now I need a CD player for my car so I can listen to them in peace & quiet.


Which brings me to the verse at the heading of this post. I feel like it spoke to me very personally when I came across Joseph Prince's blog entry entitled "There Is Just Something Special About You" where that verse was the subject of discussion. The concluding thought on this post was "People of the world are drawn to the glory of the Lord which has risen upon you!". In the past 2 months, since I received the Lord as my Savior again, people have commented to me about being different, seeming happier, more confident, smiling more. I have been shocked at how obvious it seemed to others that I had the light of Christ in my heart & soul again. I've truly begun to feel alive in a whole new way, even when my health is at it's worst! I've even begun to share my love for Christ with others, which I've never been able to do before & it feels amazing to not be afraid to prove my love & faith in God. It is just so true that my light has come back to me & the glory of the Lord is steadily rising upon me.


Before I go, I'd like to thank a few of my friends, who have definitely been there for me & helped me along on my journey with God. Two of them have amazing blogs of their own, so I hope you will pay them a visit. They are Angieleigh from Once Upon a Book & Chrissy from Chrissy, Inspired. Chrissy also has an amazing blog dedicated to dog rescue, namely of the terribly misunderstood pit bull terrier, The Lazy Pitbull. The other is my amazing friend Mandee, who is my daily inspiration to keep trying & not give up. We decided we would be on this journey together & it feels great to have such a great friend to go down this path beside me!! Thank you so much to all 3 of you ladies. I couldn't do any of this without your support, friendship & fellowship!!

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Sunday Social: School Days

This Weeks Questions:

1. Biggest middle school fashion mistake: My super fluffy hair with curled under bangs!!


2. Who were your best friends in high school? Pics? Stephanie Whitfield, Melissa Bounds, Bonita Couch. No pics, but they are all 3 on Facebook, lol
.

3. What was a typical weekend like for you in high school? Honestly, I partied WAY too much. There was a lot of drinking, sneaking to New Orleans to go to raves, being dishonest about who I was spending the night or weekend with so I could get away with all my rebellious teen activities.


4. Did you have any boyfriends/girlfriends? Tell us about that. I had several. My first one was Justin Caicedo, then a couple of serious ones, Sean Copeland, Luke Greenlee & Joseph King. I spent my entire high school career crushing on a guy I was never more than friends with, Aaron Nations. I am currently friends with ALL of the guys I listed on Facebook, haha!


5. Did you have any secret codes with your friends? Spill your secrets! Not really secret, per se. We spoke in pig latin of course, had notebooks we shared between a few of us & of course, like most groups do, we had certain words that only we knew & certain things we wore that were significant only to those in our group.


6. If you could relive one day/moment/experience from middle school or high school, what would it be? If I could relive it in order to change it? Probably the night of my choir dance during our 2nd trip to New York City. I argued with my choir director after getting in trouble for dancing too close to my (future) boyfriend Joseph King. That led to me getting removed from choir & suspended from being allowed to rejoin during my senior year. It broke my heart. Choir & art were my passions & that took away one of the reasons I even bothered going to school at that point.

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My Favorite Things: Winter Must-Haves

Today, I think I want to approach a bit lighter subject. The past couple of weeks have been pretty focused on my health. So for this Friday's 5 Favorite Things, I am going to go with my favorite items to wear & carry right now!


ONE. UGG Bailey Button Boots These boots are just plain wonderful. They are warm, super comfy & look great with skinny jeans & just about any style tops. I currently have 4 pairs of these; Chestnut, Black, Grey & Ivory Cable Knit. I especially love the versatility of this style. You can wear these folded all the way over & they look like a totally different style of shoe. :)




TWO. MARC by Marc Jacobs Classic Q Percy Crossbody Bag (& the matching wallet!) in DIVA PINK. The second I walked into SAKS & saw this bag, I knew that it must be mine. And $400 & some change later, the bag & matching wallet were indeed, mine. I get comments on this beautiful purse everywhere I go. I absolutely adore it. I don't care what it matches or doesn't match, it is THE color to carry!!






THREE. The North Face Fave-Our-Ite Pullover Hoodie in Linaria Pink. I discovered that The North Face had hoodies on my trip this past October to Gulf Shores & Orange Beach, Alabama. I initially went into a store in search of a classic North Face fleece jacket & ended up leaving with this hoodie (& several bills worth of shoes). I love how comfy, cozy & warm their outerwear is, even just a simple hoodie!






FOUR. Vera Bradley Laptop Sleeve in Lime's Up!. I love love love this super fun & bright pattern by Vera Bradley. I am definitely going to add more of her bags to my collection in this fun & bold print!





FIVE. Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 2 7.0 (Wi-Fi) 8GB I was never big on the touch screen tablets. Until I picked this up in Best Buy one day. I fell in love. I love Samsung & I love Android & I just love everything about this very capable little tablet. It does absolutely everything I need & so much more when I am on the go & need more than a cell phone.



Aside from that, you will always see me in skinny jeans or leggings, with a tank top, followed by a tee shirt or thermal & topped off with a hoodie, sweater or cardi from Urban Outfitters or Forever 21 or the like. In the Winter, 95% of the time I am wearing a pair of my UGGs with some neon socks from Target underneath, lol. My cold weather attire is fairly predictable, since I stay freezing pretty much all the time!

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Sunday Social: Valentines Day

1. Best Valentines Day you ever had: The first Valentine's I spent with my now ex-husband. He took me to my favorite beach in Gulf Shores, AL & we stayed in a beautiful historical bed & breakfast right on the beach. The whole weekend was just perfect.

2. Worst Valentines Day you ever had: Probably this one, since I was both single AND in the hospital, lol. But I am thankful for what I have, so it's all good.

3. What did you do for Valentines this year? I spent the first 4 hours getting dialysis & then I worked on my blog.

4. Best Valentines Idea if you’re single: Watch flicks at home with some friends & order pizza.

5. Favorite Valentines Candy? Conversation hearts, oh my gosh I can't stop eating these things!!

6. Favorite Valentines Memory from your childhood: My dad always brought my sister, my momma & myself a dozen roses. Nobody made me feel as special as our daddy did by doing that.

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My Favorite Things: Soothing Foods & Drinks for Yucky Days

This week, I have been feeling under the weather. In other words, just plain yucky. I've got 5 tried & true not necessarily remedies, but definitely the perfect ways to ease my way through these yucky days. I used to think that good ole homemade chicken noodle soup, saltine crackers & diet Sprite were the only acceptable items to go to. So let's get to the list, shall we?

1. Creamy Broccoli Soup. I know what you're thinking. That sounds like a horrible sick day food, but it is so not!! It's warm, creamy & very tasty. Broccoli contains twice the vitamin C of an orange. It has almost as much calcium as whole milk, and the calcium is better absorbed. Broccoli contains selenium, a mineral that has been found to have anti-viral properties. It also has incredible antioxidant properties.

2. Pretzels! They are salty which most upset stomachs love. They are a nice bulky & bland carbohydrate, so they fill up your stomach a bit & absorb excess liquids. Pretzels are low fat, have a nice amount of dietary fiber & are ven fairly low in sodium, surprisingly enough. They are a nice alternative to the normal saltine cracker suggestion.

3. Diet Ginger Ale. It's carbonated of course, which gives it automatic stomach soothing abilities. No nutritional values, but yay it has no caffeine.

4. Mashed Potatoes with salt & pepper. These are bland, easy to eat & downright tasty. Add just a touch of salt. They are a good source of Vitamin C.

5. Lime Sherbert. It's cold, it's super tasty & if you mix it with Sprite Zero it becomes the most soothing, decadent drink a hurting tummy can find!!!


I can't wait to see some of y'alls subjects you come up with for a 5 Favorite Things post. I hope you will leave me links so I can learn some new things!!

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My Favorite Things: Pampering Yourself in the Hospital

Time for a few of My Favorite Things!! Today it's all about things to make you feel a little pampered while you are in the hospital. Nobody likes to be hospital bound, so why not give them a little bag of things to make them feel a little pampered & lush?

I just love these Colored Lip Shimmers by Burt's Bees!! They are made with shea butter & antioxidant rich fruit oils, so they are super moisturizing. They add just a perfect hint of color & shine to your lips. And they makes your lips feel so tingly because it has peppermint in it!! The best part is that these are 100% natural!!

• Nourishes & moisturizes lips with Vitamin E & Beeswax
• Enriched with Sunflower & Coconut Oils
• Invigorates with Peppermint flavor
• Comes in 12 shimmering shades

My personal favorites are: Radiance, Peony, Strawberry & Cherry. They retail for $5.00.

I discovered this Stress Relief Shampoo by Bath & Body Works just a few months ago in October. I absolutely love washing my hair with it. It is incredibly refreshing, cooling & soothing. It gives your scalp a great tingle & you can just feel your hair getting clean. It is scented with Eucalyptus & Spearmint for a truly invigorating experience. It is perfect for anyone with thin & unhealthy hair. It adds shine & volume & nourishes your hair from root to tip.

• Breathe deeply for best results
• Fragranced with essential oils and other natural fragrances
• Not tested on animals





It is available in 2 sizes; a smaller tube that retails for $5.00 & a large bottle that retails for $10.00.

Using these Daily Facials Express Wet Cleansing Towelettes by Olay is a great way to efficiently cleanse your face whether you are in the hospital, on the go or just need a quick solution to touch up your makeup. They keep your skin fresh & radiant. I use the ones made for Sensitive skin. They are fragrance free & quickly lift dirt off your skin to leave it feeling soft & smooth.

• Fragrance-free and formulated with aloe for sensitive skin
• “Lift and lock” texture thoroughly cleanses skin
• Light moisturizers and vitamin E condition skin
• Cleanse and condition sensitive skin in one easy step
• Quickly remove make-up



These retail for $9.97 for a pack of 2 convenient travel packs. They are 30 count each.

Everyone knows that laughter is the best medicine. What better way to cheer up someone in the hospital than with a large plush organ? It's easy to be specific to the patients needs with the wide variety available from I Heart Guts. Since I have Stage 5 CKD & am currently on dialysis, the perfect choice for me is their Colossal Kidney plush. These would be especially good for children, who might not understand their illness so well, because they include a helpful guide with information for each specific organ. An excellent teaching too with a great fun side.

Hangtag Details:
• Your Kidneys: Urine Good Hands
• Location: above waist toward the back
• Likes: nephrologists, beans, bilateral symmetry, homeostasis, living donors
• Dislikes: rejection, dialysis, stones
• Fave song: Just the Two of Us by Bill Withers


What's not to love? He's soft, cuddly, colorful & hilarious to boot!! The organs retail for $20.00.

I firmly believe in the power of prayer. I believe that God takes care of us & answers those prayers. When you're sick, whether it's something with an easy fix or a chronic or terminal illness, sometimes it's hard to understand why God doesn't just fix us all. Keeping your faith strong isn't always easy, but with so many resources, it is very possible. My mom brought me this book, The Prayer That Changes Everything: The Hidden Power of Praising God by Stormie Omartian. It is full of prayers, with many different specific needs covered. It even has a place after each prayer to write down your thoughts & feelings about the prayer.

• Stormie Omartian, the bestselling author who has helped millions of people develop a powerful prayer life, now inspires readers to open their lives to the prayer that changes everything—the prayer of praise to God.
• Intimate conversations with God often focus on immediate needs, concern for others, and direction regarding His will, but praise requires believers to look beyond themselves and their circumstances and place their attention solely on God. Stormie shares personal stories, biblical truths, and practical guiding principles to reveal the wonders that take place when Christians offer praise in the middle of difficulties, sorrow, fear, and, yes, abundance and joy.
• Study questions are included in each chapter, making The Prayer That Changes Everything™ perfect for personal application or group discussions.

I really love books like this, where you can work with specific issues & be guided in times of trouble when you might need some help with understanding the situation. Of course, everyone is different, but you can find books that are better tailored to your own personal needs & beliefs.

I spend a lot of time ill & hospitalized. I am currently on dialysis due to my Chronic Kidney Disease which has progressed to End Stage Renal Failure. I have also been a Type 1 Diabetic since I was 10 years old. So 22 years later, I am suffering the consequences of not being on the mark every single day with taking care of my Diabetes to avoid all these complications I now suffer from. I am getting ready to start a new blog, which will be geared toward those illnesses & living with them every day. I haven't found too many blogs out there that really deal specifically in that type of area. I'd really like to take steps to open up to others with these same issues that need to communicate with someone who truly understands.

To close today, I'm going to do something I used to love doing on my Livejournal entries. I'm going to tell y'all my 5 favorite technology related things right now. It can include anything from songs to websites to a game I'm currently playing. :)

1. JosephPrince.com & JosephPrince.org • Joseph Prince is a Non-Denominational minister & inspirational speaker. I love listening to his sermons!
2. Treatment Diaries • This is a great place to vent & talk about your illnesses & easily connect with others with the same illnesses as you.
3. Dear Agony by Breaking Benjamin • Benjamin Burnley has an AMAZING voice. This song really describes how I have been feeling since my sister died.
4. Zynga Slingo on Facebook • This game is so addictive it's not funny. I started playing it on AOL in 1999. Ha!
5. Burn Notice • Michael Westen is the ultimate spy & he never fails to deliver on this addicting show on USA!

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