Blue-Eyed Breather

I'm not a huge fan of driving. I know some people like the open roads and could spend hours going absolutely no where. Some like to roll the windows all the way down and feel the rushing wind speed through an open car. Some like to show off how well they can drive by making it look supremely easy, driving with one hand on the steering wheel and having a look of absolute relaxation on their faces. Some people use driving as a way to clear their heads, thinking about anything and everything on long road trips. However, I am not one of those people. I see driving as a necessity to get me from one place to another. I would always rather someone else drive on trips longer than an hour than me. I always get out of the car after driving a substantial distance with cramped legs, a sore lower back and butt, and a craving to give my body some exercise. I also start getting sleepy on lengthy trips, which is obviously a problem. The endless scene of landscapes and cars as well as the gentle ...

1. Sleep- This week, I have realized even more the necessity of sleep. To all those people who can pull ridiculous all-nighters, I do not know how you do it. I'm pretty sure I can't function without a decent amount of sleep every night. Sleep is my friend! It allows me to remember all I learned during the day, helps what I studied stick in my brain, and keeps me energized throughout the day. I strive to go to bed by 10:30 or 11:00 every night so that I can feel my best the next day as well as fight off infection. 2. Advising appointment- It's true, I had my advising already for next semester. It's not even October, and I'm already thinking about my next round of classes. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit insane? I feel like this semester just got started, but here I am, already planning for the future! I am thankful that I do not have to figure out my schedule all by myself, however. I have two advisors (one for BIC, the other for speech pathology), as we...

The song, "Never Once," by Matt Redman, has been on my heart a lot lately. I decided for my blog today, I would simply post the lyrics to the song. I encourage you to meditate on these lyrics, relishing in the fact that never once are we ever alone. I hope you take peace in these lyrics as I have so many times recently. God bless you today! "Standing on this mountaintop Looking just how far we’ve come Knowing that for every step You were with us Kneeling on this battle ground Seeing just how much You’ve done Knowing every victory Was Your power in us Scars and struggles on the way But with joy our hearts can say Yes, our hearts can say Never once did we ever walk alone Never once did You leave us on our own You are faithful, God, You are faithful Kneeling on this battle ground Seeing just how much You’ve done Knowing every victory Was Your power in us Scars and struggles on the way But with joy our hearts can say Yes, our hearts can say Never once did we ever walk alon...

Confession: I am not perfect. No where close, actually. I am a fallen being. I am controlling, selfish, and prideful. I want things to go my way, and if they don't, I tend to get pretty ruffled. It is hard for me to trust other people because I don't want to get hurt, yet I often crave human attention. My choices often revolve around what will be best for me, not necessarily what is best for other people. Long story short, I am a broken woman. But God. But God loved the whole world so much, He sent His only Son to die a gruesome death on a cross so that humanity can live forever with Him in Eternal Paradise instead of Eternal Torture. But God is totally and completely sovereign. Time is not a limiting concept to Him. He knows all things past, present, and future. He is in control of every single situation. No detail escapes His gaze. But God is the keeper of my heart. He alone exemplifies perfection. He is the only One who can fill the gigantic void in my heart. He alon...

1. I get to spend Friday and Saturday with my sister! She goes to college about two hours away from me, and this weekend is my first trip this year to see her. I'm excited to check out her apartment, talk with her roommates, and have some serious sister bonding time. I know she is happy at the school she is at, and I love my school; God has placed us where He wants us and where we will succeed. However, I definitely miss our daily interactions, and I'm excited to see my sister face to face and hear what's going on in her life. 2. I'm thankful for the janitorial staff at Baylor who work tirelessly to keep my school clean. I see them with giant vacuums and cleaning supplies constantly around campus. Baylor prides itself in its impeccably clean campus, and I know this would not be possible without the janitorial staff. 3. This week had been pretty relaxed. I haven't really had much work due, and my test week was last week. Therefore, this week I have been able to r...

I've come to enjoy browsing through Pinterest when I have time. There are a variety of interesting pins on the site, from recipes to quotes to fitness to inspiration, and everything in between. One of my favorite things to pin would have to be recipes. I love cooking, especially cooking new recipes. I think it's fun to experiment with food, and even if you don't find a recipe you would love to make again, the experience of cooking a new dish is well worth the effort! Here's a recipe I found recently that I would love to make sometime soon: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars. It sounds like an interesting combination of ingredients and is definitely on my list to bake! Ingredients: Crust: 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract...

Man, did I get some funny looks today! After my 3:30-4:45 class, I decided to do my treatment on the bus ride back to my apartment. I felt like I really needed to at least start my treatment before I got back because my lugs were feeling pretty tight. I had brought my puffer and flutter with me to school in anticipation of needing to start my afternoon treatment. No big deal to whip those two things out, right? I mean, I wasn't going to start hacking in the middle of the bus (that might would cause a major disturbance), but I figured I could at least open up my airways with my albuterol puffer and first set of flutter. I often forget how normal breathing treatments are to me and how foreign they are to everyone else. By the looks I got on the bus, you would've thought I was an alien! It was as If no one had ever seen a flutter before, imagine that! ;) Note to self: CF is not normal for most people. Therefore, what you consider an everyday occurrence might weird some people ...

Ever have those moments of complete insecurity when you feel like you just don't measure up? You don't know if you can stand still because the world seems to be shaking like crazy? You're struggling to see the beauty in life, no matter how hard you try? Try listening to this song by David Crowder Band. No matter how insecure, shaky, scared, disheartened, or sad you feel, God never lets go of you, my friend!! He's holding on to you, walking side by side with you through any heartache, pain, joy, or blessing, whatever range of emotion you may be feeling. Be secure in that truth. Know that He loves you more than you or I can ever imagine! John 16:33 "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world."

This may not seem like much.... but I've gained one pound! I haven't seen a gain in any weight whatsoever in a year and a half. Instead, I've seen a steady decline, dropping pound after pound no matter how hard I've tried to beef up my caloric intake. I've had a lot to deal with over the past year and a half, no doubt. However, thoughts of feeding tubes and constantly intaking high caloric foods have been on my mind pretty consistently. To be honest, I'm pretty sick and tired of it. I think my reason for gaining this pound is two fold. First, I'm on new enzymes that are very similar to the enzymes I was on before I lost all the weight. My old enzymes were taken off the market due to new FDA requirements, and I've had to play around with new enzymes and dosing since that happened. Finally, these new enzymes seem to be absorbing much better and helping me digest my food. It's wonderful not to have quite so many malabsorption problems! Seco...

My mom recently bought me the book, The Breathing Room . It is a collection of poems and photographs sent in by adults living with cystic fibrosis, depicting their lives, joys, and struggles. The adult realm of CF is so much different than the pediatric arena I had grown so comfortable with. As I've transitioned into this foreign territory, I've realized how much I don't know about CF, and the ton of junk many CFers live with on a daily basis. The older you get, the more hardships come your way. That makes sense; after all, CF is a progressive disease that only gets more challenging with time. Yet one of the things I like best about the CF community is that we are brutally honest with each other. We comfort each other when life feels like it hits rock bottom, but we also celebrate with each other when something amazing happens. Even though we are a small group and can never connect face to face due to infection control, I am blessed by the people with CF who share their str...

September 11, 2001. A day we will never forget. I was in third grade when this disaster struck our nation. I remember being in utter shock and disbelief of the images I was seeing on the television. How could my home country be under attack?? What was going on? How could we protect ourselves?  Even though I was young, I will never forget that tragic day, the emotions I felt but also the patriotism of the country.  I am so grateful for the men and women serving our country who are fighting to defend freedom and liberty. I can't imagine the sacrifice our troops go through on a daily basis, consistently dying to their desires to serve the needs of the country. They give so much more than we could ever dream. So men and women of all branches of the military, thank you for serving. Thank you for fighting. Thank you for standing firm in your convictions and striving to better society. I will forever remember that I have the freedoms I do because of you!

Taking time to enjoy the little things in life... All above pictures from justlittlethings.net

You know you're a CF patient when... after being outside on a hot day for two minutes, you see salt crystals formulating on every square inch of your skin. you hear students coughing in a class and automatically flinch, trying to find the culprit who could be passing you respiratory germs. When you find him or her, you may or may not give the evil eye, depending on how well you are feeling. you have your doctor appointments for the year planned and on the calendar so that you will miss as little of life as possible. your life and health do not go according to plan, and your wonderful forethought all goes down the drain. your hands and feet start pruning up within seconds of being submerged under water. your evenings seem to revolve around breathing treatments. I mean seriously, what is this "relaxation at night" thing, anyway? you know the ins and outs of the hospital and how to navigate the medical world. you carry so much medical equipment with you, a po...

1. "I am not"- I just finished reading Louie Giglio's book, "I am not, but I know I AM." It was a humbling reminder to me that I do not know everything. If I rely on my own strength and knowledge, I will fail. I will crumble under pressure to be the best. I will question my own abilities. I will never be perfect in any relationship. If I forget that my name is I am not, I will get sucked up into conforming to the world. Yet God, who is named I AM, can do all things. I AM has made the whole universe. I AM knows my struggles and hurts. I AM is my source of strength and comfort. I know I AM, and nothing can ever be better than that. I am grateful for Louie Giglio's reminder that my name is "I am not", but I know I AM. 2. Pilates- Bearobics classes have begun again at the SLC. There are a variety of classes, ranging from weight training to yoga to water aerobics and everything in between. I have gone to Pilates two weeks in a row, and each week I hav...

The never-ending ping of the metronome pulsed through the air. After 8 counts, the sound of a drum cadence joined into the mix, adding to the music. Then all of a sudden, the cadence stopped, leaving only the metronome echoing across the field.  A few counts later, the cadence began all over again, repeating the pattern ten, twenty, even thirty times. I don't think I will ever get tired of hearing drumline practice. As I was walking across campus today, I heard the familiar sounds of the drums practicing repetition after repetition. I actually found myself trying to get in step with the metronome (imagine me, skipping steps to catch up to some random beat probably no one else noticed, and you'll get the picture of how ridiculous I'm sure I looked). Yes, I'm a band nerd at heart, and I always will be. I could listen to drum practice all day and still be in awe of their excellence. I'm always so impressed by drumline's incredible discipline and constant standard...

And in the blink of an eye, it's that time of year again.... College football season. There's nothing more exciting than the atmosphere at a college football game, especially a game in Texas. If you're not from Texas, football may not be quite as big of a deal. Down here, though, a school's football record determines the popularity of the school and settles many rivalries year after year. Football is  the fall semester, not just a part of it. Weekends revolve around tailgating, losing your voice, and spending far too much money at the concession stands. Such is the life of a college football fan. Baylor's opening season game was tonight against SMU. Not to brag or anything, but we wrecked shop. Nick Florence, our new quarterback did an incredible job. Anyone questioning his abilities were shut down tonight. As we scored touchdown after touchdown, the whole stadium knew Baylor was out to win--and win big. We pulled off the victory, completely dominating SMU. ...