Celebration & Women of Faith

We have a few celebratory items in this post. First up: 

The blog has over 10,000 page views! 

As I type, We're past 10,100 which is pretty exciting! This blog started when Nick and I got engaged (February 2009) - funny thing is that he started the blog. I didn't know much about it and it was really his idea as we started to plan our wedding. He wrote in it more than I did for a while - check out a few of his posts here, here, and here. 

Compared to some other blogs, that number may be not very big, but this is also a creative outlet for me and a place I can write my thoughts out and process through things. I like to blog about our life and look back on older posts to see how far we've come. The numbers aren't my goal, yet it's fun to know others enjoy it as well. Living away from home, it's a great way to keep everyone in the loop with the happenings of our life. 

Another celebratory item to share about was at the Women of Faith conference the weekend before last and the theme was Celebrate What Matters. Rachel made the trip from Des Moines and treated me so we could enjoy this getaway together and it was a much needed break from the norm. She's a busy mom of two little ones, and we just don't get to see enough of each other these days, so it was great to have her here and enjoy the weekend together! 

 Cece Winans was great and rocked the house Friday night! Her voice has the crispness and passion that really reminded me of Whitney Houston.

 Looking at this photo, I realized that Instagram photos have those black strips top and bottom since they are in a different size. Sorry about that:) I'm definitely still learning this new phone and experimenting with Instagram - but am loving it so far! 

 Max Lucado took the stage on Saturday- I have read his book, Traveling Light. I highly recommend that book and I really want to re-read it. It's great. 

We also got to hear Angie Smith, of Bring the Rain blog. Rachel has followed her blog since Angie lost her baby years ago (this was when the blog began), and I've followed off and on since then, always appreciating her writing from her heart. On stage, she shared about her battle with anxiety from the age of 4 and was even hospitalized for anxiety/worrying at that young age. She bravely told her story, as she does often now, and is such an inspiration for facing fears and overcoming battles that have come her way.

After hearing Angie spoke, they were playing a song, so Rachel and I snuck out to find where we could eat lunch. We walked by this pretty short line and I looked at the sign to realize this is the line to meet Angie! We looked at each other and quickly and excitedly made the decision to get in line and meet her. We anxiously waited in line, and I tried to think of what I would to say to her. 

She was SO sweet and looked me in the eye and smiled the warmest smile like she was thrilled to see me. I said something like "You are such an inspiration, thank you for sharing your story"... something I like that, trying to recite my rehearsed line to her. I didn't have anything else with me to have her sign other than my event ticket - so she signed it. I would love to have coffee with her and have a heart to heart. She is such a wise woman. She has written a few books now, one of which Rachel has been reading - What Women Fear. I want to read her books now:) 

After our lunch and after our nerves calmed down;) Justin Bieber's mom came in a surprise interview on stage and has a great story to share. She has overcome a lot as well and I was surprised by what she has endured and overcome.

Pat Smith, Emmitt Smith's wife, shared her story as well. There were so many great stories shared here - some of which I wasn't able to fit into this post, it was so much inspiration to soak up in one quick weekend. I took notes and hope I can dig back into these stories and soak them up a bit deeper too.

We also got to hear Selah perform - that's Angie Smith's husband, Todd, too by the way! These two are an incredible duo - you've got to check them out. I added a video of one of my favorite songs by them so far at the bottom of the post.

All in all, the conference was a breath of fresh air. We laughed (so hard that I got a good ab workout), cried (sobbed in one case. embarrassing.), worshipped, and learned. An arena full of women (even the men's restrooms were converted into women's ones!) walking together in this life, side by side, learning from each other and from teaching of the Bible as we go. 

Each story shared was deeply moving. Everyone had experiences that took them to a new low and brought them to their knees, where in most cases, is where they found the Lord or found Him again. It was truly inspirational and I am excited to read some of their books and learn from them even more. 

Here are videos I want to share:

Here's Angie's story as she shared it a few years ago:

One of the songs I really enjoy by Selah: 

The Righteous Ruth rap:
I didn't write about her up above, but Liz Curtis Higgs is a hilarious speaker, best selling author, and had a wild (really) story to share about her past and how she came to know the Lord. She did part of this rap and had the entire arena cracking up. 

Lastly, here's Today's Pinspiration:

This artistic writing of John 3:16 is so neat and very fitting to sum up the Women of Faith weekend.

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Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup is a classic soup we enjoy every fall/winter. 

Pre-cooked soup

It's hearty, easy to prepare, and delicious! 

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup (recipe adapted from All Recipes)
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded
1 15 oz can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 10 oz can enchilada sauce
1 can drained black beans
1 medium onion, chopped
1 4oz can shopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cajun pepper
2 cups water
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 10oz package frozen corn
1 bay leaf
*We've added 1 can of garbanzo beans to some batches, they're a great addition

Directions:
Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, cajun pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn. Cover, and cook on low setting for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. When ready to eat, sprinkle broken tortilla chips on top of the soup if desired.

These photos are from my most recent batch - they're on my phone in bad lighting so look a bit weird. But trust me, this soup is delicious. 

I've also been having fun with Instagram and trying out the camera on my new iPhone! 

Fall Sunday drive

 Pearls. Some of my faves. 

 We've seen a few of these dreary cloudy days lately..

I'm still loving the Bon Iver Pandora station - I listen to it when I get home from work.

I've been having fun adding some fall inspiration around our home - I'll share them soon. I'm also excited that a very good friend is coming to visit this weekend! She called me just last week and came up with this plan to visit and I was thrilled. I don't get to see nearly enough of my friends these days! Just a note too that if you're looking for a house in Des Moines, I know of a great place for sale! Check it out, here is the website with details:

 

Happy Mid-week! We're on the downhill slide. Here's today's Pinspiration:

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Fibro, Fall, Football & Fun

I'll start with a fibro update:

All in all, I can say I'm at a better place right now than I was a few months ago. Every day is still a challenge, but I have more "tools" to help me cope and make this load easier to carry. 

My mornings aren't quite as stiff, my headaches aren't as intense or as often, my pain can be managed better, and I can think and focus more clearly. I've seen definite progress! I hadn't seen much progress almost in the past year and a half and was really starting to believe it's just the way I would have to accept it. It was a very painful reality I dealt with every day, trying not to accept the place I was at. I'm not 100%, and am not sure if I'll ever be (I don't know what 100% feels like anyway), but I have seen real, measurable progress and have to note what I'm doing, if for nothing else, for future reference to stay on this positive path to wellness. Here are things I'm currently doing that seem to be helping in each of my main problem areas:

Fatigue: I've been using CoQ10 (over the counter). I think this is helping as I haven't needed to nap as much nights or weekends since starting this back in August. We'll see how it helps over time, but the fibro specialists said this supplement can help with fatigue at the cellular level (unlike coffee/caffeine from what I understand).

Pain: I still take a prescription for nerve pain 3 times a day and a muscle relaxer every night. I use prescription pain patches as needed (I use the patches for 12 hour increments a few days a week). I also am fortunate to get a back/neck massage from Nick every morning before he goes to work, and he also helps me get my heat pads on my back/neck muscles and wrap one around my jaw and temples so I can use them for a little while before I go to work. I also reheat my rice heat pad before work and have it on my shoulders as I drive to and from work. I have lots of exercises to help my neck, shoulders, and knee, but really haven't been using them much - I really should though. 

Headaches: Excedrin Migraine (over the counter) helps me with bad headaches/migraines as needed, physical therapy for TMJ (facial massages on TMJ muscles and temples, eating softer foods, awareness of keeping the muscles loose etc), and adding a bottom mouthguard to wear along with my top mouthguard have all helped me. Wearing the bottom mouthguard with the top one is supposed to make the plastic slide as I grind my teeth around rather than letting my teeth dig into the plastic and grind all night. I just got the bottom one two weeks ago and it seems to be helping, although I still notice the symptoms, they are reduced in severity. The tight temple muscles also contribute to the "fibro fog" feeling I get where it's more difficult to focus and think critically. This is very common for fibro, but I have noticed giving myself temple massages and using my heat pad there daily has helped reduce the "fibro fog" symptom.

Dry Mouth: This is a new symptom, one I believe to be a side affect from the muscle relaxer I take each night. According to the fibro specialist I see monthly, dry mouth is common for that medication and I've had this symptom since I increased my dose from 1/2 pill to 1 pill. To help with it, I've been using Biotene mouthwash (over the counter), and the Biotene gel (over the counter) which has a bigger impact, but I really only can use at night. At times, my tongue has a burnt feeling and it so dry. I also talk on the phone all day at work and have had the cotton mouth feeling a lot since increasing the dose of that medication. I honestly think my ER trip (explained in this post) was due to this side effect making my mouth and throat dry, making it painful to swallow. 

Digestion: There are foods I have to avoid eating (raw broccoli, hot dogs, greasy foods, etc), but excluding dairy and gluten from my diet has impacted me in a positive way. When I stopped eating all dairy products (even shelved goods containing dairy anywhere in the ingredient list), my frequent bloating got much better. Stopping gluten just makes my whole system seem to work better, and I think it has helped my pain, digestion, and possibly other symptoms. 

I still have good hours and bad hours, good days and bad days. I have to keep my posture in check at work, sleep with lots of pillows to keep my body aligned at night, and not push myself physically. I try to be more proactive than reactive, using my heat pads regularly to prevent any flareups. I have to keep snacks on hand, especially while running errands, I can get overwhelmed/anxious with certain activities and I think it exhausts me and I need to eat food more often in those cases. I'm thankful to see some progress and am thankful for all of the prayers that have been lifted up for me. 

I snapped this photo on one of our recent evening walks 

I've been a fall paparazzi for a few weeks now, trying to capture the beauty of the season everywhere we go. I just love the fall colors. They've been fading as the days go by, so I have to enjoy these days while we have them.

I had this ready to post early this week and am obviously late since it was the game before last now! Better late than never (and jumping over our loss but good game yesterday)...

In other news, ISU had a great win over TCU (a week ago now)! TCU was #15 and this led to us to yet another great upset! 

There were many times we were jumping and shouting with joy to see our team fight for the win.

Coach Rhoads has led us through some great upset in his 4 years as head coach! 

So proud of ISU!

In other news, I went to a friend's Stella & Dot Trunk Show party yesterday.

It was so much fun to play with the jewelry and enjoy time with some friends I care about! I'm such a frugal girl that it was a long decision making process:) but I got these simple cuties I'm excited about:

Stella & Dot Demi Earrings

Here's today's Pinspiration:

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Aunt Marissa & Uncle Nick

We're excited we can share that my sister in law (Nick's sister), Amber, is pregnant! 

We've been keeping it on the down low for a few weeks now and are excited to share the news! We found out when were in Omaha for a wedding a few weeks ago, and have been waiting until we could share the big news. 

I have to share the story how we found out she's pregnant:

We were all in Omaha for a family friend's wedding that weekend, and after the wedding back at Charlie and Diane's house, Amber said she had a little gift that was a late adoption gift for me. I was surprised since they didn't need to give me a gift, plus they sent a sweet one for our anniversary which is on the same day. Anyhow, we open this little round box and Nick notices the little marble and is looking at it while I right away read the text sharing the big news. Wanting to be sure he thought what I thought, I waited until he asks, "Are you pregnant??" to find out it was true, Amber is expecting a little one due next April 19th (Nick's birthday!). The funny thing is that Amber had Zach taking a video of us without us knowing and they did the same for her parents and his parents so they could get all of our reactions on tape. Our reaction was shock and excitement - I had no idea and was just shocked and excited for them. Amber has been talking about being a mom for quite some time and we're all having fun with this being the first baby in our immediate family. 

Here's the happy couple on their wedding day two years ago this November.

Here we are with Amber 3 years ago on our wedding day

Zach was one of our ushers at the wedding

Proud big brother 

Amber keeps us on our toes ;) and we can't wait to welcome this loved baby into this world! 

Today's Pinspiration:

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