Ah...Spring has Sprung

It's a gorgeous day outside today. A little cold for my liking at 59 degrees F, but the sun is still shining and there is a nice gentle breeze. I knew from the moment I saw how nice it was outside that I was going to have to take advantage of the weather - so I went for a walk. I have to admit, after not getting a lot of sleep last nice and not feeling that great today, it really made me feel good to go for that walk. Have you ever not wanted to do something that you know you should do and then you finally build up the willpower to do it? It feels wonderful, doesn't it?

Since I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night, I was up fairly early by my standards (about 10 AM CST) and decided that I should read more of the "Migraines for Dummies" book, since it is borrowed from the hospital and I need to return it in about a week and half. The things I am learning from this book are inspiring. When I first started reading this book, I was actually kind of depressed - I was happy that there were all these options available for treating and living with migraines, but then I thought that I would probably need to go through all of them in order to find any relief. But now, I'm taking all the information in - learning about different lifestyle changes that I can make in order to improve my situation. Not only should it help with my migraines, but it will make me healthier and happier as well. Who wouldn't want that? I'm not quite done with the book, so I won't give my full opinion yet (although I seem to mention my opinion every chance I get), but I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who deals with frequent headaches. Even if they are not migraines, this book might offer some good information for you.

Alright...so I've recently decided to start posting a "question of the day" type thing (although as of right now, I have been very bad about posting every day) and I came across an interesting question today. I'm going to try and respond to each question on my next post so that you all get a chance to comment with your opinions first :). So the question of the day is: How do the seasons impact your moods? Do you take any measures to ward off depression and would you ever consider moving to another climate?

Peace and Love!

Hey Hey It's Opening Day!

As you can tell by my happy title, today is Opening Day for the 2010 Major League Baseball season. Yes! I am absolutely excited about this event. First of all, my favorite team - the Minnesota Twins - have signed Joe Mauer, our incredible catcher, to a long year deal. They will feature their brand new ballpark - Target Field - next Monday, April 12th, as they start the season away from home in Los Angeles against the Angels. No matter where they play, I'm super excited for the season to start.

Secondly, there is a multitude of baseball games on ESPN and ESPN2 today, so I can watch baseball all day, which is great because I am playing fantasy baseball this year. I absolutely couldn't be more excited.

Also going on today, the championship game for the NCAA tournament - Butler vs. Duke. I, of course, had my bracket collapse within the first couple of rounds, so watching this will not be a huge priority. But I definitely will be watching what I can of the game (with all the baseball on, I don't know how much that will be) because I would LOVE to see Butler - the underdog - beat Duke.

Now, I know that none of this has to do with reading at all - but as this blog is not only about reading, it's about life in general, I thought I would share with you all my excitement. For those who have not heard about my sports obsession, you can now see a little bit of how into sports I am. But that doesn't mean that I haven't had time to read. I recently had to renew a couple of books that my neurologist wanted me to read and since I only have a couple of weeks to read them, that is exactly what I am doing. Now I may have mentioned before that I am reading the book "Migraines for Dummies" by Diane Stafford and Jennifer Shoquist, M.D. I am working my way through it and trying to learn as much as I can about where my migraines could be coming from and ways to treat them. I am trying to keep a positive outlook on life, which can be hard at times when I am in pain most of the time, but hopefully I will be able to find something that works.

I'm going to start proposing more in depth questions to my readers because I think it would be incredible to hear what you all have to say to some interesting questions. These questions may or may not have to do anything with reading, so be prepared for some pretty generic and sometimes off the wall questions. So my question of the day is: If there was a breaking news story, would you check online for details, turn on your radio, or turn on your television to get the information?

Peace and Love!

What an Amazing Challenge!

Today I came across one of the most interesting articles that I have ever read. It's the story of a young 16 year old girl named Abby Sunderland. If you have not heard of this girl, you probably don't follow boating, which I don't. I like to check out the stories on Yahoo each time I check some email because they seem to offer something different in the realm of news. This story is about Abby Sunderland traveling on a solo expedition around the world. She is one of two 16 year old girls who is currently on solo travels around the world - the other is an Australian girl named Jessica Watson. Being younger than Jessica, if Abby completes this tour, she would become the youngest person to ever circumnavigate the world. If you would like to check out the full story, here is the link: http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/16744/teenage+sailor+abby+sunderland+approaching+treacherous+cape+horn/ (which you will have to copy and paste)

Has anyone else read any interesting news stories lately?

I should follow my own advice

I recently came across a situation where I felt obligated to give someone some advice. That person was my father. He's in a situation where he has a goal he wants to accomplish, but with so many tasks in from of him, he's not sure he can do it. So I told him about how he should be optimistic and how being pessimistic isn't going to get us closer to our goals. It made me realize that I need to be the same way. I have been so hopeless and pessimistic about my conditions that I have sheltered myself from hope. Optimism is something I definitely need to start believing in again.

I actually finished a magazine this morning. I don't know if I have previously explained my magazine situation, so here it is. About 9 months ago, I subscribed to two magazines: Time and Smithsonian. Both of these magazines are tremendously good (in my opinion) and I looked forward to receiving them. Time is a weekly magazine so I knew I would get that every week, while Smithsonian was a monthly publication. Now my boyfriend also receives Sporting News, which comes every other week. Now I am also a sports fan so I was reading that too. So there are three magazines that I am reading. Well, back in October of 2009, I kind of slacked off on reading my magazines because I was working then and didn't have a lot of free time. Normally I would be able to read a magazine and then read a book before the next magazine came in the mail. Well, after about two months, and no longer having a job, I had a stack of magazines to get through and once the migraines got worse, so did the pile of magazines because I couldn't read for very long. I'm proud to say that I finished reading the Sporting News from the beginning of February -- I know...almost two months behind and began the Time from the weeks of Feb 8th. I know what you're all thinking..."Man, she is really slow at this reading thing." But to be honest it has been the migraines and vertigo that have significantly affected my reading. I used to be able to read for hours at a time. Now, after about 30 min to an hour, I'm feeling dizzy, or tired and so I have to put down whatever I am reading.

I'd be interested to know what magazines any of you subscribe to and what you like about them or whether you think they are good magazines. As always, I appreciate your recommendations on anything I should check out. Remember...my goal is 75 books this year, so I better start reading more often.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Hello everyone and Happy St. Patrick's Day! I know that it seems unusual that I am writing another blog entry so close to my last one! But that's good right? I actually have something really important that I want to talk about. Two words: Earth Hour.

Earth Hour is an event sponsored by the World Wildlife Foundation that takes place each year. Earth Hour is a simple event to participate in. On March 27th, from 8:30 pm - 9:30 pm (your local time), simply turn off your lights. Sounds too simple right? Well, it is. But if you turn off your lights, and your neighbors turn off theirs, and you each tell others about it, and your city turns off their lights and then other cities turn off their lights, and eventually the whole state turns of their lights, etc. You see where I am going with this. Millions of people are going to take part in this, in over 4,000 cities around the world - to show that we are all fighting against climate change. There is a huge push for as many people in America to participate to show that we are fighting for a cleaner air, independence from foreign oil, and green jobs. We want to show the world that we can lead through a crisis such as global warming and climate change. I encourage each of you to go to http://www.myearthhour.org/earth-hour-video. You can also check out this site by clicking on Earth Hour underneath my favorite websites on the side panel. By checking out this website, you can learn more about what is happening to our planet and how we can fight against climate change.

Let me know if you are participating, and if you know of any others that are participating as well. Let's show the world that it doesn't matter what country or city you are from, but that we all share the same planet.

Horrendously long time

I've been meaning to write. I really have. I even added something on my phone so that I would be able to blog from my bed when I was unable to get to my computer. Yet, I have not done so. I've let you down. The good news is...I'm here now.

The migraines are still pretty prevalent, but even more so is the vertigo. The pain in my ear and right side of my jaw is so unbearable that I let the tears flow freely these days. But I've begun to go walking, if for nothing else than some fresh air to try and make the pain go away.

I have been able to do a little bit more reading though, which is fantastic for me. I just finished a book the other day by Max Lucado, a Christian author, called "A Gentle Thunder". His writing style is second to none and he seems to have one of two phrases throughout each of his books that seems to punch you in the stomach to get your attention. I've been less faithful in the last three years than I would have liked and have struggled to remember my faith. While reading this book, I came across the following sentence in which the Gardener is God: "The person so healthy, suddenly sick - was it to remind him to rely on the Gardener?" - This quote in the book cut me like a knife. It grabbed my attention and did not let go. All I could think was -- are the migraines and vertigo and all the pain I have been going through God's way of getting my attention? I don't know the answer to that question, but it sure has made me realize how much I miss my faith.

I am also trying to get through the book "Migraines for Dummies". I have never read any of the books in the Dummies series, but it seems so straightforward and informative that I may have to read some other books in the series on subjects I'm interested in. There is so much information in the book that I'm actually a little overwhelmed. But hopefully that feeling will go away the more I learn about the condition that I am in.

The one thing that I really need to do as far as reading is get back to reading my magazines. I am issues behind on Time, Smithsonian, and Sporting News. The pile just keeps getting bigger because I have wanted to read other things ahead of those -- especially the migraines books I borrowed from the hospital. But I so desperately need some motivation in order to get back to reading those magazines.

As always, I'm so sorry I've not been keeping up with the blog -- sometimes the pain is just too much to contend with. Don't get me wrong; I have not forgotten about the blog, nor have I wanted to be away --- I'll catch you on the flip side very soon.

Slacker should be my middle name

Hello my fellow bookworms. It has come to my attention that I need to give you all an update on my condition. I used to think that I didn't need to share this with the outside world, but I feel it necessary when I am slacking on my duties to my readers.

You may have already learned from my profile or elsewhere in this blog that I suffer from daily chronic migraines. That in itself should not necessarily keep me from being able to function, especially since I have had these headaches since November of 2006. The reason I am letting everyone in on this now is because the migraines have gotten to the worst level of pain that I have ever felt. Since the last week of February, which is only last week, I have been to Urgent Care twice, the ER twice and to see a neurologist. The pain has never been this bad and I am doing everything that I can to make the situation better. I just thought I should let you know that if you see a while between postings, it is probably because the migraines are bad and I am lying a dark room trying to survive the pain.

On that note, when I went to see the neurologist last Thursday, she asked me to check out a book from the hospital library called "Migraines for Dummies." It is actually a very informative book, but I haven't read too much of it because my migraines don't allow me to do much of anything these days. Has anyone else ever read or heard of this book and what did you think of it? Are there any other book in the "For Dummies" series that are worth reading?

Thanks for bearing with me everyone. I hope to be back to functioning soon.