Motivation Strikes!

This past few days since I returned from Sacramento have been very productive, hence my lack of writing. As soon as the rain finally stopped I found myself on a mission to fix up our backyard - and boy, did it need fixing! The dogs have pretty much owned the yard since we moved in a year ago and because of that it has been looking very sad. In the spring/summer/fall, one of my favorite things to do with Jake is to just sit on our porch in the backyard and grill and relax and talk about our day... so I decided that while Jake is away I will turn our yard into something we can really enjoy and actually be proud of!

So I put on some old clothes, pulled on my garden gloves, blasted some good country music and got to work! Here's a play by play of some of the things I did:

• Weeded the yard... which is kind of a ridiculous task in yard that has never been weeded in the entire year we've lived here
• Got loads of dirt to fill in all of the holes that Bailey has had fun digging 
• Reseeded and fertilized all of the bare spots in the grass... again, it was really ridiculous how many there were 
• Mowed the whole lawn again because it has been growing out of control with all the rain
• Installed a new fence to keep the dogs in only a certain portion of the yard
• Put out pretty new patio cushions and other outdoor decorations that have been put away for winter
• Installed rod iron plant hangers on the fence posts 
• Cleaned/organized our outdoor storage shed

And there is still a TON to do! I haven't even attempted the front yard flower beds and those are reaaaallly bad. I was going to post some pictures of the back yard but right now it still looks pretty unimpressive until those bare spots grow back in and I add some more plants and flowers.

Anyways, yes I have been very motivated to get stuff done lately and so I've not spent as much time online blogging and facebooking as I usually do. Tomorrow the excitement continues with a day of "deep" cleaning the entire house (haha!), something that desperately needs to be done and something that is SO easy to put off when Jake is away. Okay now that I've completely bored you to death... let's move on to a new topic :)

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Another area that motivation has struck is with my design business. After thoroughly enjoying a month off of work, the wheels are now really starting to turn in my head with a ton of new ideas about my relaunch. At this point, I'm trying to figure out exactly what direction I want to go design-wise. Previously I have focused solely on blog and website design, with almost all of that being custom designs. Right now I'm toying around with some different options in addition to web design such as print design (invitations, cards, etc), logos/branding, and website/blog templates. Because of my schooling I have enough experience and a good enough portfolio to pursue any of those options but I'm still going to need to do some research and see what's the best idea.

I definitely don't want to spread myself too thin... I also don't want to let myself get bored or run down by only focusing on one aspect of design, which is what had begun to happen last time after a full year of only doing blog design 30+ hours a week.

On top of those decisions, there are several other things that need to be done before I bring on any new clients/projects. I need to rebuild my website (which is easily a 40+ hour commitment on it's own), refresh my branding/logo, and then rework all of the tedious aspects of small business such as preparing the contracts, the business plan, the instructional pdfs, the pricing structure, the accounting, refining my contact list, and strategically placing my advertisements.

Oh gosh, this post has turned into a wacky to-do list. 
If you've actually managed to read this entire post - BRAVO! 
I'm sure you're now either totally bored or completely overwhelmed...

So anyways the main goal here is to have my design studio ready to relaunch by the time Jake gets home in roughly 6 weeks. I know it's going to be a lot to tackle (and the thought of it all makes me want to only procrastinate more) so hopefully this motivation keeps up!

I've built this business into a full time job/salary once before... can't be any harder the second time around, right?? Yikes... Thanks for listening to my chattering thoughts :)

This Year's "Spring Break"

After my doctor appointment on Tuesday, I packed my bags, loaded up the dogs and headed out to visit Jake's family for the week in Northern California, just north of Sacramento. Jake's mom and aunt drove down from Oregon for their spring break (hoping for sunshine even though we just got rain, rain, rain) and we were all excited for some fun girl time. I was so thankful that I was able to bring the dogs with me to Cynthia's house and it felt nice to get away from base for a few days.

On Wednesday we drove into Roseville for a shopping day at the Galleria and it was such a fun surprise that my mom decided to drive up and join us! I have to note that before we started our shopping spree, we stopped for lunch to stuff ourselves with the best tacos in the world (Jimboys) - I'm pretty sure I could eat those tacos every day :) After that we spent most of the day shopping the mall and then ended with a birthday dinner for Connie at The Cheesecake Factory. Sound like an awesome day? It was just about perfect! I love my family!

On Thursday we decided to shop the thrift stores in the area and see if we could find any hidden treasures. We had a great time and all walked away with bags of fun stuff! I spent a whopping $4 total for the items pictured below. I got a really cool 3-sided vase which I'm debating using with a candle or maybe as a reed diffuser ($.50), a gorgeous spring wreath ($1.50), and two of my all time FAVORITE games, Rummikub and Apples to Apples (each only $1!). I got some more things as well but these were my best "steals" by far.

The dogs had a great time too and spent their days exploring Cynthia's yard (which is giant compared to our little one) and running up and down her stairs multiple times :) I was a little nervous about taking them with me because they are definitely a handful to travel with without Jake but they behaved really well and were worn out every single day. I love my sweet doggies!

This afternoon I headed back to base feeling very thankful for a nice week away. Time is flying by and we're almost to the halfway point in this deployment. Let me hear a woo hoooo!

GI Motility Specialist

On Tuesday I had my long-awaited appointment with the GI Motility Specialist at UC Davis in regards to my stomach pain spasms. I've had many of you email, text, and call to ask how it went (thank you so much for that!) and so I thought I'd write a little update. I really don't have too much to say at this point being that it was just a consultation and no tests were done that day but overall  the appointment went really well and I liked the new doctor a lot.

I was really nervous going in because it felt like the millionth time I would have to explain what has been going on to someone new and every time I see a new doctor I feel like I have to try to convince him/her about the severity of the situation and that they never fully listen to all my symptoms/explanation. I've found that past doctors tend to just pick out a few of the symptoms and match it to a general syndrome that is nowhere near accurate to what I'm going through. I'm so happy to say that this doctor was not like that at all. In fact, the appointment was over an hour long because he asked me about a hundred questions and wanted to know every detail about the attacks, what tests I've had done, meds and diets I've tried, etc. He knows that I've seen many doctors and wants to make sure he knows the entire scope of what's been going on. He was very "matter of fact" about it all and showed no emotion or sympathy for me as I sat there fighting back tears (and not doing very well at that) while describing what it feels like to be paralyzed with shrieking pain out of nowhere... to think I must be dying... to have it keep happening with not even a slight indication as to why. But honestly I really don't need or want a doctor's sympathy at this point; instead, I just need someone who wants to try to fix me. And this doctor really really does... and that is awesome!

At the end of the appointment, he sent me to the lab for some more bloodwork (seems like I'm a pro at that now when that used to be one of my greatest fears) and he is setting me up for a few more tests. All of them are very non-invasive thankfully. I made it clear to the doctor that I don't want any more tests done that involve radiation - In the past year I've had 2 MRIs and 2 CT scans, each including various types of contrast dye. I know that is VERY bad on my young body and honestly if they didn't find anything with those 4 tests there should be no reason to keep doing them. The doctor found this to be a reasonable request and just asked for me to send over the images from my those previous tests so that he can take a closer look at them himself.

So that's where I stand as of now. Waiting, waiting, praying, hoping, waiting, and more waiting.

Last time I went a whole 7 weeks between my attacks which was a huge record! ...But then I had 2 back to back attacks on the mornings of March 8th and 9th which got me discouraged all over again. I've never had 2 back to back like that and it was so hard for my body and mind to handle. It was very scary. I pray desperately every day, multiple times a day, for God to take this pain away from me and never let it come back. I believe that He will. Even if it is not this time or even the next I have faith that God does not want or intend for me to suffer like this forever, and WHEN he heals me I will have a wonderful testimony to share with the world :)

Thank you all for your prayers! Keep 'em coming please, especially while Jake is away and I battle these attacks on my own. I'll be sure to keep you all updated on any and all progress.

Fun Weekend Around the House

I've said this before but one of the best things (if not THE best thing!) about living here at Travis is being so close to my family. My dad and brother decided to come visit me for the weekend and it was awesome! I was still really not feeling well all weekend, with a bad cough and low energy, and having my family there really made it so much better. On Saturday it was really wet and rainy so we just got some pizza and watched a few movies. A relaxing day was exactly what we all needed! That night Seth also lost one of his last baby teeth which was totally a big deal! Even though Seth tried to play it cool like it wasn't :)

Sunday was a very productive around the house... and I did absolutely nothing! haha! Let me explain. There were a lot of "guy" chores that needed to be done since Jake being gone and I've just been putting them off, planning to get to them eventually. Well I didn't even have to ask but Seth and my dad got to work and did them ALL and more. By lunchtime on Sunday the yard had been pooper-scooped, mowed, edged, and fertilized! Seth did most of the work and I was amazed by his endless amount of energy. He and my dad also filled in the areas around the fence where Bailey had been digging which was a big help. It's so funny to see the difference between boys and girls because where I think that yardwork (other than planting pretty flowers) is a pain in the butt, Seth loved it! He thought it was so fun to mow and edge the lawn and he did a great job!

After the yard work was done and we had some lunch, Seth proceeded to run both my dogs around the neighborhood park and completely wore them out. He then even helped me give them both baths, which is definitely a two-person task. I haven't seen the dogs that happy in a while and they slept for the rest of the day after my family headed home.

I'm just so proud of my little brother and what an amazing young man he is becoming. I've never met a 9 yr old so eager to help when he was getting nothing in return. He's so awesome :) Thanks Seth and dad for all your help around the house and especially for the good company! I love you both so much! 

OSC Masquerade!

On Friday night I went with a group of fabulous ladies from Jake's squadron to the TOSC (Travis Officer Spouse Club) silent auction masquerade. I'd been planning to go for weeks but being so sick last week I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it. After I saw the doctor on Friday and she said I was not contagious I decided I should just load up on the cold meds and get out of the house for a bit. I had already paid for the $25 ticket, bought a mask and a dress so it would've been a huge bummer not to go. I wasn't quite myself that night and had really low energy but I'm so glad I decided to go because we had a great time!

Manda and me!

The paddles that were used for the live auction were masks with feathers on them and they were so cute. We had to be careful taking this picture below because any time a paddle was lifted in the air the auctioneer automatically made you the next highest bidder and at this point in the night the items being auctioned were in the high hundreds! Such a fun night :)