Life and Times of Leish

I am about to start a strenuous program at school, that will leave me with very little time and with the desire for more energy.  I was looking for a supplement program that would give me what I needed.  A friend of mine started a program called Advocare, and I thought I would try it out.  They are all natural products, it offers meal replacement drinks (so you can ‘eat’ on the go); two different energy supplements (b-12 in a bottle ~ both of which I have used and receive the needed boost in the middle of the day when I was lagging; and at night when I had to study for a test and needed to focus).  They also offer a body cleansing package, weight management, and vitamins…their list of products is very extensive and has what anyone would need.  You can pick and choose.

 The best part is that it’s cheap to start out ($79.00), they send you $50 in free product, there is no auto-ship (nothing that you do not want comes monthly), and you can get an automatic 20% discount when signing up.  You make the choice if you sell to others or enjoy the 20% discount.  The more product you purchase the bigger discount you receive. 

You can check out their website and products at:   https://www.advocare.com/110414713/

If you are interested, you can join by clicking on the become a distributor button.  I’ve been happy with the product, and it helps with working out at the gym, for busy life styles when you need just a little more ‘umph’.

No pressure, I think that decisions are personal to each individual.  If you decide to try it, good luck and I hope that it works as well for you as it has for me.

ERM

I got my letter from the college about two weeks ago…I was accepted into the RN program at TRCC.  Two years, four semesters, and I will be the proud owner of a new degree and be able to help people.  I attempted to go into civic service and work for the MO Highway Patrol, but they wouldn’t allow me to wear a skirt on the job (though I would only be doing a desk job); so I had to turn them down after receiving the job.  But it opened the door for me to take this next step in my life and go back to school.  Everything happens for a reason.  I’m excited and scared both, and hope that I get some of the scholarship money that I’m applying for; but everything will work out!!

Well, I’ve been at the gym for a month.  It’s coming off slowly, unfortunately it comes off a lot slower than it goes on.  One step at a time, one weight lift at a time…I’m still learning all the machines and it will all be worth it!!  It has helped a lot with some of the symptoms of my MS, which is always a bonus.  Here’s to a new month!!  I’ll weigh and measure this Monday, hopefully there will be some good progress.  I’ll fast tomorrow!! :)

That about wraps it up for now…until more exciting things happen in my life, I’m signing off for now.

ERM

Well, I went back to school in January and am taking only one class (A&P II); it’s been interesting.  I love learning, but some of the kids in my class really make me want to bang my head against the table.  They ask the most inane questions and want to know if every-other idea out of the teachers mouth is going to be on the test.  WHO CARES…you’ll have to know this eventually, why not get a good basis now rather than later. 

Another GRRR! is that they always try to get by with the least amount possible.  I’m a TERRIBLE speller, I have issues and always have.  Our teacher would allow us to re-write words that we misspelled on our lab exams to gain the point back. FOUR people did not take the time to look up their words and misspelled their misspell corrections…so therefore he took this option away.  I therefore spend hours upon hours of learning my words (I would usually maybe miss one, two at the most).  So on a recent test they were all asking if they could abbreviate a majority of the words because they were ‘hard to spell’.  HELLO, are we in junior high or college.  Buck up!!

I took my pre-entrance exam back in February for the RN program, we won’t know until the second week of April if we got in or not.  It’s been a long month of March.  I’m ready to find out what’s what and where I’m going to be going next semester.  I’m praying that everything works out like it should and I’m trying to find money.  It would be nice if it grew on trees. :)

I took the first weekend of Spring break off and took a mini vaca to STL and West Plains.  I woke up Monday morning to three inches of snow in STL, it was great.  Very pretty!!  On Sunday, I went to church and one of my professors from college totally did not recognize me, I got a really good laugh out of it.  He kept blaming the backlight from the window behind me, yadda-yadda.  He felt really bad and kept apologizing, I just got a good laugh out of it.  It was a great relaxing weekend, topped off with dinner and games at my friends house in West Plains on Monday night, and time with her on Tuesday. 

I’m the proud owner of a gym membership!!  I’ve always worked out at home via video or walked at the track or around town.  It was time to bump up some weight limits, and I didn’t really want to own a whole set of weights at this time in my life (no place to store them); so I went the next best route and joined our local gym.  I think it will work out nicely, if I can figure out all the machines…the owners don’t really have a show-n-tell session or know all the in/outs themselves. :)  Here’s to skinny clothes!! <clink, clink>

I’m going to wrap it with that…it’s already midnight and 6:00 am is going to come very early.  Not to mention I have a three chapter exam tomorrow night and lots of stuff to do tomorrow on lunch (other than study).  Live still moving forward…one day at a time!!

ERM

For the past several years I’ve written a Christmas letter, and I enjoy receiving them.  What is a Christmas letter?  It’s when individuals write a letter that updates their friends and families about activities that have transpired over the past year and they send it in the Christmas card.  Usually they are upbeat, cheerful, full of great opportunities and activities; though sometimes they have a bit of news that is not cheerful or upbeat…but the MAJORITY of the letter is good.  I did absolutely nothing this year.  I had nothing cheerful or upbeat happen to me.  I’m still alive, but I didn’t think my friends/family would want to receive a letter of 72 font that stated I was alive…they can gather that from the fact that they received just a card from me (which I did send out cards).  So following is my un-cheerful, end-of-the-year letter of what has transpired in my life this past year:

Positive:  I continued my schooling.  I was in Anatomy and Physiology in the fall semester, I ended up with a good lab partner who challenged me to do my best and was able to help me out when I needed it.  We were at first disliked by our teacher, but by the end of the semester he seemed to like us pretty well — since we were two of only semi-bright students in the class. 

Negative:  I was diagnosed with MS, May 27.  My brother has battled this disease since 2003 (when he received his diagnosis); so I have a crystal ball of what my life holds.  Some people go in blind, not knowing what can/will happen…I have my very own walking fortune cookie.  It’s been an interesting road so far.  I take shots three times a week; they leave large red/purple bruises on my skin because the medicine is very acidic and it leaves an allergic reaction at the shot sight.  The medicine also made me lose my hair…not completely, but it is very thin and it is reacting differently to my mousse and therefore is interesting to fix now.  But at least I still have hair (POSITIVE).  My doctor thinks they caught my early enough that if I stay on my medicine that it should progress slowly; I still have symptoms sometimes even though I’m on my meds; you just deal with them and continue on with life one day at a time — it’s all a person can do.

Positive:  I’ve reconnected with a friend from High School. We have ‘coffee’ dates.  It’s good to just be able to ‘be’ with some people.  They have their ‘issues’ and I have my ‘issues’; sometimes we skirt the subjects…but most of the time we just talk nonsense and say ‘THE COFFEE IS GREAT’.

Negative:  I lost my Granny this summer.  She was a great lady and the cornerstone of our family; the solid rock that kept us going with her love and prayers.  Though I didn’t go see her much, I miss having the knowledge that she’s ‘here’.  I also lost an aunt in the spring, she was spcial need and loved everyone.  Her favorite songs were Jesus Loves Me, and ‘Don’t Miss with my Toot-Toot’.  The week before she passed away she sang Jesus Loves Me for me and my grandma.

Negative:  A friend I went to school with was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer.  I graduated with her, she’s my age, she has two small children and a husband.  She’s having trouble winning the battle.  Cancer is a disease that is becoming very common…but it’s not supposed to happen to a 33-yr old.

Negative:  Another friend I graduated with lost her mom a few months ago.  Totally unexpected.  She was here one day and gone the next.  We don’t plan for things like this (which I guess  you don’t ever plan for it, but when you’re older you may expect it more).  We’re still young, we have families that we’re starting and kids who need their grandmas.  We think we have all the time in the world…but unfortunately we find out the hard way sometimes how mortal we really are.

Positive:  I got to see the inside of an MRI machine for the first time; but it took pictures of me instead of me taking pictures of it.  A new experience!! :)

Positive:  Spent a weekend in Columbia, MO, doing a ‘habitat’ weekend for my friend M. Bielski.  I got to meet his family and spend the weekend working my hiney off trying to get his house weatherized and fixed up.  It was a great weekend.  I really enjoyed myself and got to have dinner with a college friend that I hadn’t seen in years (Dust-Man).

I’ll end there…on a positive note…but as you can see, not much happened in my life this year that someone would want to sit down and read about in a Christmas Letter that would have came with a card that I would wish them a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  It would more than likely have the OPPOSITE affect on them and make them run the other direction and be very ‘un’-merry or ‘un’-happy for the Holiday Season.  So therefore, I sent happy cards out wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and a great year to come.  And I do wish them all well, and I’m happy that I myself have grown from each experience this year and continue to learn from what is happening in the world around me.  I will be MERRY and I will be HAPPY…I know that regardless of how things looks today, that God is in control and He knows what is best even if we don’t and we question everything.

Here’s to the year to come and whatever may be in store…ERM.