PKU Camp 2014

I had a wonderful week off last week hanging out with the PKU ladies and going to camp!

PKU is a genetic disorder that I have had & will have for life. To streamline -- my body can't break down an amino acid found in protein, so I cannot eat foods high in protein. It's easiest to say what I CAN eat: fruits, vegetables, and limited grains. It is most important to be strict with it in childhood and when preparing for/during pregnancy. 

Tuesday and Wednesday I stayed with one of my best friends at her cousin's house in Madison. One of our other friends joined us on Wednesday. We hung out, caught up, watched movies, drank wine, and played board games. 

Thursday we headed to the UW Madison campus and PKU camp. We did lots of fun things this year. My favorite was Piloxing (Pilates + Boxing). It was an hour workout and it was harder than Zumba which I do once a week. It was NO JOKE. This was the 20th year of the camp, which is CRAZY. I attended from the time I was 12 years old in 1996 until 2003. Then I went back last year for the first time. It is always so much fun to hang out with other people with PKU.

 My dietician Nikki and me. She is awesome!

 The older PKU ladies.

My best PKU friend Barby :)

One of the most exciting things about the weekend was that my Phe level was 6.8 mg/dL which is really good! I was just aiming for lower than last year (8.0). Excited to start sending in weeklys and being approved to start trying to get pregnant.

Five on Friday

Out of town right now but I'm loving so many things this week!

1. E-mailing with Elise.

Elise was one of the commentators on the webcast for the rhythmic gymnastics Nationals this past weekend and all 3 days were live streamed on YouTube via USAG. I don't watch rhythmic gymnastics but of course I had to tune in since Elise was a part of it. I emailed her to let her know how excited I was that she was doing it and Monday she emailed me back. She said that my support means so much to her and that she hopes I'm doing well. It really made my day, I love her! I can't wait for UW's schedule to come out for meets this year ... they usually compete against Minnesota and if it's in MN I'm going!

2. LANA!

Lana Parrilla is one of my favorite actresses (from Once Upon a Time). I wrote her a letter in December and after a few months of not getting it back I didn't think I put correct postage on my envelope because they film in Canada, but the other day I got this in the mail!

3. Speaking of Once Upon a Time ...

Another one of my favorite actresses, Elizabeth Mitchell, is going to be on OUAT season 4!! She is going to be a character from the Frozen storyline that they are starting!! At first I was hoping she'd play Elsa, but now I'm just so thrilled she's going to be on it that I don't care who she plays. SO EXCITED!

4. Less than two weeks until the Secret Classic!

I AM SO EXCITED PERIOD THE END. The field has been announced! Kyla and Simone will be there, but McKayla and Gabby aren't on the roster. I am most excited to see Madison Kocain and see where she's at after having to withdraw from Nationals last year but I'm excited for all of them of course. I am so psyched to be there live and for the juniors as well. 9 of the juniors are competing in the senior session (but still as juniors), which should also be different but definitely interesting! For the juniors I think we are right in front of the vault (where they land) and FX and for the seniors we are in front of the bars.

5. Vacation!

This week I am at PKU camp Thursday-Sunday and the two days before I am going to stay with one of my best friends that lives way up North. We are going to stay at her aunt's house (she's on vacation) and then head to camp Thursday. It's the 20th anniversary of the camp and I know it's going to be a great year. I am super excited to spend time with my NP and my dietician as well as all my other friends. Having a week off work is definitely nice too!

Everyone enjoy your weekend!

Recent Happenings ...

Haven't posted in awhile!

I've been super busy working and tutoring! It gets really crazy at times but I do love the crazy-busyness of my life, its almost like I never left school. I am still loving my job and I am honestly so grateful for it and my amazing co-workers. This past week we were really slow but they all made sure I still had things to learn -- we pulled out all the instruments from the OR that we use for a C-section and I memorized them all. I work with the best people in the world. Other than working both jobs, this is what I have been up to recently ...

1. Saving for and looking at houses.

Last I talked about our home-owner journey I mentioned we were almost 100% set on moving to a town about 40 minutes away. Since then we have rethought that idea, just due to the driving in the winter (it would be all back roads to drive to see my mom and our friends, we'd probably spend a lot in gas and it'd take longer than we'd like to get to work and to see my parents). Right now we are looking at houses and we've found a few around here that we really like. When I get back from vacation next week we're going to meet with someone from the bank to see how much we'd be able to borrow.

2. Getting back on track with my PKU. Time to get my levels down in preparation for pregnancy. I will get my first level in a long time when I go to camp Thursday, so we will see how it goes. It really sucks though and it's a lot of work.

3. Planning our trip to NYC. Flights are booked, booking the hotel next week. Super excited!!

4. Celebrations. This past weekend I went to Sawyer's graduation party and it was my dad's birthday :)

So Thankful

Yesterday I received a blessing that many people may not think about or worry about, however, this worry has been in my life constantly for the past 12 years. I have not had any medical, dental, vision, or any kind of insurance since I went off of my parents at age 19. I took a year off of school after my first year of college so I was not able to stay on their insurance. Once I got my job at Olive Garden at age 20, they offered benefits, however, their coverage was little to nothing and we figured out that I would end up owing thousands of dollars in taxes at the end of the year since I was a server and only made 2.33/hr. I checked into private policies like BCBS, etc, but they were all unaffordable for me because I was a college student and only able to work part time. At one point I did have state insurance (for 11 months), but I had to cancel it when my premiums hit $325 a month. I just could not afford that only working part time, and yet I wanted to finish school. 

I am so beyond thankful to God for being with me every single day the past 12 years and watching over me and keeping me healthy essentially the entire time. God does work in mysterious and surprising ways -- proof being that I did have a few medical issues come up (two sprained ankles that required x-rays, two wisdom teeth that needed to be extracted, mole removal and an excision, and a CT scan due to a suspected kidney stone) and somehow they all occurred within the 11 months that I was covered under the state insurance. I know that God was watching over me and I am so grateful to Him for keeping me safe and healthy.

My poor mom was a basket case any time she though about me needing a possible unplanned surgery such as an appendectomy, a cholecystectomy, or something unforeseen like that. A surgery like that without insurance could have put me in debt for my entire life. 

As of last night, I was able to register for medical, dental, and vision insurance through my work!! I am so excited and this is a goal that I have been working towards literally since I began nursing school. I'm so blessed that I made it through being uninsured and I will always be thankful to God for bringing me through that time.