You're, um, uninvited?

Hello! I may have recently posted that you were invited to my upcoming choir concert.

I lied. Sorry.

Turns out the tickets for said concert sold out WEEKS ago! I was lucky to scrape up a few for my immediate family. So. Yeah. I'm sure your whole weekend plans are ruined now. But may I highly recommend A Christmas Carol at the Milwaukee Rep! A most excellent beyond excellent interpretation of the Dickens classic if I do say so myself.

Cheers!

It's ME!

Hello World! Lovely, gorgeous, precious world.

I'm up. I'm back. And I'm here to tell the tale.

Now I shall try to summarize the past 7 months.

• Completed college courses for the first time in YEARS! Got a 4.0 for spring semester!
• Went to Hawaii with my family (Mahalo to our cousins, the St. John family!)
  
• Totally ROCKED my bank teller job. Loved it so much. Ah! When you've been so isolated for so long, visiting with and interacting with people every day is such a gift. My co-workers couldn't understand why I was so darn happy all the time. (I chose not to share my health history unless it came up, which it didn't.) (Left the job a few weeks ago, due to being rather over-scheduled, and looking to be a full-time student come January.)
• Completed the Undie Dash 5k in Chicago with all our neighbors!
•  Started my first fall semester in 5 years! Taking Intercultural Communication, Intro to Art, and two choirs (yay singing!) - Gospel Choir and Chamber Singers
• Went skydiving. I have no physical fear anymore. Seriously. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. We have conquered! We have overcome! God is amazing!
  

 

• Started a nannying gig. Fell in love with children. Nuf said.
• Was invited to membership in Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society. Also was accepted to the CLC Honors program.
• Was honored with a choir solo - one of my favorite Christmas songs ever! (O Holy Night.) Concert is Sun. Dec. 15 at 3:30. You're invited!

I'm sure there are lots of other highlights... like celebrating my 23rd birthday with Cary, Clea, and baby Anneliis! She's just 10 weeks old now. 'dorbz.

I am coming across more and more people who have stories of chronic illness. Maybe it's just that I'm so much more aware of it or open to talking about it, but I swear, I think about invisible illness every day. My communication professor's 12-year-old son has POTS (a somewhat mild form). My choir friend's ex-boyfriend in California had severe POTS for 3 years, and is now preparing to go to medical school. I hope he is inspired to research more on  this crazy illness!

Today I had a burst of energy and went through some piles of old mail, hospital statements, receipts, and other clutter that I hadn't sorted through since it first came through my hands several years ago. I want to thank EVERYONE who was (and is!) so incredibly supportive, encouraging, and just present during my darkest days.

Things continue to look better and brighter. Sure, I have days where I need a nap, some extra superfoods, and a couple rounds of relaxation, but I have come so far, by the grace of God.

Hope to see you in real life sometime!!

xoxo
emma

April Attacks! Wahoo!

Update: I got the job. (What the heck! God is good!) Tomorrow I start my new life as a bank teller. (This is crazy. Who woulda thunk it?) I am so nervous and excited and channeling all my energy into cleaning the whole house...when I should be writing a research paper.


I got the opportunity to go with my mom to treatment at CTCA last week, and after one chemo infusion... both her cancer markers are down! Definitely been riding that high this week. Again, thanks be to God!


Things I'm into right now:

April sure is a busy month!

love you all,
emma

Chick in a Pantsuit

My nephew Charlie is here with his mommy and daddy (Matt and Katie). Having an adorable 4-month-old around is delightful and distracting. Time to study for midterms! Work hard for the next couple days... then Spring Break!

Started running again yesterday. Feels so good. Yay body!!

I have an interview for Thursday afternoon. Say a prayer! Wish me luck!

dress socks and fragments strewn about,
emma

Easy Come, Easy Go

This week I was effectively fired. Or "let go." Or "put on probation until further notice." GAH.

Seriously? I trained so hard for this job. They spent so much time and money training me! But it's too costly to keep me, I guess. Blogs hang around in cyberspace for a long time, so I'll leave it at that.

Onward, my friends! I have two positions I'm interested in at the moment. I'm sure I'll dig up some more possibilities over the weekend. If you know anyone who's hiring part-time, let me know!

I am smart and nice and talented. I can do just about anything I set my mind to. This is not a reflection of who I am, or what I will be. This will not break me. Nothing can break me.

more power to ya,
emma

We all need a good laugh

Watch this one first...

and then this one.

For best results, watch multiple times, with multiple groups of people.

enjoy,
emma

Obligation

I love my speech class! Soc is pretty great too. Been sick on and off for the past week, but I'm feeling well right now. Getting back into the swing of relaxation CDs, my HRV training, and stretching. I know it's been said a hundred times, but I have to take care of myself. Like I have to actually DO it. My mom keeps a "Wellness Journal" -- a list of the things she actively chooses to do each day to promote wellness. A good night's sleep, a power smoothie, a good chat with a friend, it all goes into the journal. Maybe I should start one for myself. Today's would look like:

-90 min relaxation/visualizatoin
-60 min exercise
-60 min talking with a friend ;-)
-75 min learning new material in class
-one giant, delicious salad! with pine nuts and craisins
-other good foods. peanut butter. milk. kiwi. hummus. lots of water.
-60 min catching up on Downton Abbey :)

Ah! Downton Abbey Gingerbread House! Brilliant.

Anyway. I don't expect I'll be writing on here too often, so in the meantime, love one another. Be well. Embrace any and all opportunities to enhance your health. Love your bod. It does a lot of nice things for you. It deserves to be loved.

peace and all the rest,
emma

TGIF

"Worked" another 20 hours this week, getting trained. I am ready to have normal shifts, people! I'm tired after being in practically every day for the past 3 weeks. It's 8pm on a Friday and I'm in my jammies and going to bed pretty soon here. Must not burn out!

Highlights of the week:

• Started class! Sociology! My prof seems great and I'm looking forward to learning about the subject. Plus, upon reading the syllabus, NO GROUP PROJECTS! I was worried about that, seeing that many of my classmates texted throughout the first two class periods. (Kids these days.) Anyway. School. Yay!

• Seeing people I know at the gym! Former band director, physics teacher, old acquaintance's parents. It's fun. I like being up front.

• Making 30 cold-calls to business partners. Smiling and talking are two of my favorite things!

Things with Mom are rough. She's in the hospital tonight. I'm sure she'll write about it on her blog. Thank you to everyone who's expressed such kindness. Things will be difficult for a few months around here. Whatever prayers, loving thoughts, or support you can offer (and have offered) is so very appreciated.

sweet dreams, friends.
emma

Momma

For those of you who want to know the latest with my mom, here is her CaringBridge site.

We don't give up. We fight on. TREVORS FOREVER!

love.

Gettin' Trained

I am feeling SO much better -- big thanks to my mom for pushing me to eat my superfoods even when my digestive system was nutty. Getting proper nutrition from real food is so important.

Last week I started training at the front desk at work. Wow, what a sudden appreciation I have for people who are on their feet all day! Fitness centers in January can be insane-- all the special promotions for New Years Resolutions, plenty of tours, and a good chunk of new members.Still so much for me to learn, but I'm picking it up pretty quick. Hoping I'll be able to man the desk alone before too long. I trained for 14.5 hours, plus my usual 4 hours in childcare... I worked almost 20 hours this week! Crazy! (Can't wait for that paycheck *wink!*). I am so blessed to be this healthy right now. School starts in 10 days!

Please continue praying for my mom, and for my whole family. We have come upon an emergency situation, and it is a very stressful time. I will keep the blog updated as we get more information.

My sister goes back to college tomorrow. It will be a bittersweet parting. Sweet because I get the bathroom all to myself!! :-)

take care. love each other.
emma

New Year

I'm not doing very well. I don't really want to talk about it, except to say that I'm working on it. I haven't been able to drive the past few weeks, but I've still been able to work, thanks to my Dad schlepping me back and forth on Sundays. I have a lot of fun with the kids. :)

My mom's having a minor surgery on Thursday. Please keep her in your prayers.

I'm very happy to still be able to read.
Currently reading: Spiritual Formation by Henri Nouwen, Christianish by Mark Steele, The Help by Kathryn Stockett (again), and Hark, A Vagrant! by Kate Beaton.

Also obsessed with Downton Abbey on DVD. Season 3 premiere next Sunday!

Happy 2013 to all!

et