6 years, my how time flys!

Well, would you lookie there. It’s May 23 all over again. This makes 6 years, 6 years since my life changed forever. Today makes 6 years since they wheeled me into an operating room drilled a hole in my skull, played with my brains a bit, and shipped me back to my parents blind. At the time we all thought it was temporary, but here I am 6 years later and not much has changed. Well, at least not with my eye sight, but my life has changed in so many different and interesting ways. If someone would have told me in December of 2005 that 6 months later I would have horrible headaches, blurred vision, then little to no vision, and this was all part of a disease that would plague me for the rest of my life, I might have just told you that I’m going to jump off a bridge and that my life will be completely over. I was a dramatic teenager, but who isn’t? I had a bright future, made the drill team at a local private college, scholarships to help my parents with the costs; I wouldn’t have to live in a dorm because the college was driving distance from home… I had friends and lots of them. We partied, I thought I was in love, Ah, the graduating class of 2006 was a force to be reckoned with and we were prepared to make the world see that. We had a lot of smart people in my class, and I would like to consider myself to be a part of that group. I learned early how to manage my party and study time so that my grades didn’t suffer. I was president of the school’s chapter of DECA (business and marketing club) and I was district secretary. I had composed a monster paper about my favorite charity and made a kick ass PowerPoint to go along with it. I was smart, bright, and ready to take on the world. I feel grateful that I got to have the experiences I did while I was in school. Being able to do the business and marketing competitions, be on the drill team for all 4 years of high school, run wild and crazy with my friends, and be able to be a normal teenager. But now let’s fast forward, its 2012. I’m now 24 years old and its 6 years to the day that I lost the majority of the eye sight that I have lost up to this point. I’m really mostly happy with my life and the turns and changes it’s had. I didn’t get to go to that private college, or be on that college’s drill team, but I really think that I’m ok with that. I think that this way has been better now than it’s ever been. I got myself out of a dangerous and horrible relationship. (This relationship was the same one from high school where I thought I was in love.) I’m in a new relationship, this one just helped me and Taylor celebrate our 5 year anniversary in April. I know I’m in love this time around. I’m older, wiser, and more aware of the hard knocks that life can throw at you and feel that I’m mostly more prepared for that now. My parents live in Oklahoma City, I live outside the DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) area, and my sister still lives in the town we all grew up in. I’m content for now. I’m close to finishing my bachelor’s degree in business administration; I’ve got the green light to get my masters after I take a semester off. This whole going blind thing really hasn’t been too bad. This way I’ve saved myself and my parents a ton of money because the state of Texas pays the costs of my classes, I get financial aid for my books, and I don’t have to buy my own technology unless I want to. (I usually do buy my own tech) I’ve got a wonderful guide dog that I love with my whole heart and wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world. This is all brought to me by going blind. If I hadn’t lost my sight, I might have not met Taylor; I might be like my sister and still live in the same hole in the wall town, and may just be stuck. I also wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet lots of cool, interesting, nice, and awesome people. I wouldn’t have heard about Guide Dogs for the Blind, or received Leah. I also don’t think that I would have come to love sports as much as I do without going blind. If it weren’t for going blind I might not have met RO, and then may not have been such a huge Rangers fan! Baseball and football make my life so much better, it’s nice to enjoy a game and only care about the game for a few hours! I really can’t make myself sit down and try to figure out where my life would be if I had not lost my sight. Comparing my way of thinking to my 18 year old self’s way of thinking, I think that going blind could’ve been one of the best things that ever happened to me, and I can’t say that I would change anything if I could. My 18 year old self is screaming at me from the inside calling me all kinds of ugly names, but just give her time... she’ll grow up and realize that things are pretty good from where I’m sitting. I’ll admit there have been drawbacks to the blind thing, and yes they can be frustrating. This doesn’t mean that I spend my days longing to have my sight back. This just means that yeah, every once in a while I find myself saying that if I had my sight this task wouldn’t be as hard or impossible without help. I love my life, surgeries, crazy friends, up and down emotions, grumpy boyfriend, crazy loveable pup, twitter friends, network of friends and family from my hometown on Facebook. I enjoy visiting my parents whatever part of the country they might be in at that time. I love Taylor’s family even though they drive me up the wall sometimes; I love my family even though we would like to wring each other’s necks sometimes. But mostly I love life. I can’t wait to finish school and see what life has in store for me outside the institution of school’s walls. I’m thankful for the people that have entered and left and stayed in my life. I think that by having such great friends it has made it possible for me to love my life this much. I thank Taylor for loving me and being there for me in his own special way. I thank Taylor’s family for doing what they do for us, because it’s honestly more than I can name. I thank my parent’s for not giving up on me when things didn’t look so great. I thank Twitter, without Twitter I wouldn’t know the awesome Canadians I know. I love my Canadians, and you guys are awesome! I thank all of you guys, all of you have contributed in some way to help make my life as great as it is. Thanks everyone for being a part of this melting pot I call life! Here’s to another 6 years and many more to come! Lots of Love, Amanda Ellen

Day 17 of workouts, a life lesson learned, and the surprise revealed

Just a tip for anyone who cares, *do not get completely shit faced the night before a workout, it will not end well in the next days workout* lol
Yeah, learned my lesson the hardway... but I managed to muster through it.
And now on to the workout for today:
Set 1:
1 ab circuit 6 reps
20 girl push ups
1 set of lunges 10 reps
6 regular push ups
25 crunches

Set 2:
1 ab circuit 6 reps
20 girl push ups
1 set of lunges 10 reps
6 regular push ups
25 crunches

Cardio:
4 minutes at 2 MPH
14 minutes at 3 MPH
Betcha thought that I forgot that today was reveal the surprise day didn't ya?
Nope, I didn't, I'm just stringing you along :)
But yeah, today's workout was extremely difficult for me,
and I can only come up with 2 reasons, 1 was because I got shit faced last night,
or 2 is because I did a little more cardio yesterday to compensate for the ice cream I had for supper last night :)
Before you go assuming that I did extra cardio on the treadmill, I'm going to say that you are wrong! hahaha
I did my extra cardio on my surprise that I got yesterday! Best part is the surprise was free :)
Well, guess I've strung you along long enough..
and the surprise is...
a new to me excersise bike!!
Taylor's grandparents bought it a few years ago at a garage sale and they weren't using it, so it's "on loan" to me...:)
I think they were happy to find someone who would use it and give it a good home.. and I'm happy to do both of those!
So, of course with every new toy, you've got to try it out.. so I did it!
I managed to do 10 minutes at a brisk pace yesterday.
Riding the bike really works a whole new set of muscles I haven't used before!
But to settle my off day antsyness, I'm going to ride my bike on Tuesday's and Thursday's...
I'm hoping to be able to move past 10 minutes once my muscles learn the routine with the bike!
I'm so excited, this is something I really wanted!
I even made myself a bicycle playlist to randomly shuffle through so I have good music while I ride!
Well, I guess that is it for today!

See you on Monday,
Amanda Ellen

Day 16 of workouts, a hint at a surprise, and the letter of the day : )

So kids, todays letter is S.
Using "S" in a sentence, I'm sweating my ass off today! :p
Its been a rather mild day outside today, but its sweat time in my house.
Think today's theme is sweating, sweating, and more sweating!
But no complaints, I think of the drops of sweat as little drops of calories dripping off my body :)
So, here's today new and improved workout:
Set 1:
1 ab circuit 6 reps
1 set of lunges 10 reps
3 sets of 8 reps for the weight work out
25 crunches

Set 2:
1 ab circuit 6 reps
1 set of lunges 10 reps
3 sets of 8 reps for the weight work out
25 crunches

Cardio:
4 minutes at 2 MPH
14 minutes at 3 MPH

Keep in mind that weights are a wednesday thing and have not yet become a permanent part of the routine for all work out days :)
I'm really sweating today!
I only did a back to backer today because I hate to get my self off schedule, so this was my attempt on keeping myself on the Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule!
I have a surprise for my readers on Friday!
This surprise is a new toy, one that I'm excited to add to my household :)
I supposed it could be said to be on loan, but if I play my cards right, it'll be mine for all intensive purposes!
Sweating, sweating, and more sweating...
Oh, and my legs still look great today :)
I upped the treadmill time today, I'm now at 14 minutes at 3 MPH on the treadmill!
I'm also getting better with my eating habits, and I'm starting to learn that I need at least 3 meals a day, not just 2.
Today really kicked my ass with the weight workouts, my arms are resembling something close to jelly, but it's ok because it feels great!
Oh, and this is day 2 of the antihistimine/decongestant experiment, and I have to say that I started to get a headache around 12, but I took the meds at 1 and no headache!
This makes me hopeful that this is all sinus/allergy related after all!
So, after all this sweating, its time for me to hit the showers, finish up getting supper cooked, and relax with some TV time!

Until Friday,
Amanda Ellen

Day 15 of workouts and I love my legs! :)

I'm in love with myself because I finally memorized the ab circuit!
This makes me happy, and it gives a much more satisfactory burn when there is no break between ab circuit exercises!
Feel the burn! lol
Here's what I did today/tonight with a little commentary :)

Set 1:
1 ab circuit 6 reps
20 girl push ups
1 set of lunges 10 reps
6 regular push ups
25 crunches

Set 2:
1 ab circuit 6 reps
20 girl push ups
1 set of lunges 10 reps
6 regular push ups
25 crunches

Cardio:
4 minutes at 2 MPH
13 minutes at 3 MPH

Wow, waited late for this one, but I needed a make up for yesterday.
The return of the monster headaches put a damper on yesterday's workout.
I am however being proactive and trying to find the root cause of my headaches.
Today I got Allegra (an antihistimine) and some Mucinex D (a decongestant) in hopes that these headaches are somehow allergy/sinus related.
Man, I love the feeling that this workout seems to get the slightest bit easier every time I do it.
I did however, find out that my regular push ups are the cause of my frequent lower back stiffness.
Guess this just means to be careful with those, and make sure I stretch my lower back out really good when I'm done for the day.
And 1 last little thing I noticed today, when sitting on the floor with legs straight out in front, my calfs look freakin sexy. They are rock hard!
I haven't had calfs like this since Jr. High! lol
This post is really rather short as there isn't any thing else to update on, except for that I most likely will push the treadmill time up tomorrow to 14 minutes.
I'm getting ever closer to my 1st goal of 20 minutes over all on the treadmill!
Then my next goal is 20 minutes at 3 MPH alone. :)
Well, guess that is it for tonight, we'll have to see what tomorrow brings us :)
I'll see you all tomorrow :)

Amanda Ellen

Day 14 of workouts, 2 weeks of just workout days, and monster headaches!

Hooray! This marks 2 full weeks of just work out days!! This makes me happy!
*happy dance*
I feel very accomplished, and I love milestones :)
Sorry, but I ended up unable and slightly unwilling to do my workout yesterday.
I had a monster of a headache that would not leave me, despite the amount of Advil I ingested.
I didn't really want to take a chance on making it worse, and with a headache of that magnitude, I didn't really want to workout.
So, I'm making it up today!
Here's what I did:
Set 1:
1 ab circuit 6 reps
20 girl push ups
1 set of lunges 10 reps
6 regular push ups
25 crunches

Set 2:
1 ab circuit 6 reps
20 girl push ups
1 set of lunges 10 reps
6 regular push ups
25 crunches

Cardio:
4 minutes at 2 MPH
13 minutes at 3 MPH

My abs are loving me today, feeling the burn!!
I love the burn, its comforting to me.. its like a sign that I'm headed the right direction.
Also, my arms are burning... those push ups are just extremely intense for my arms :)
No dance cardio today because I just craved treadmill time.
I love the feeling I have while on the treadmill, and the feeling afterwards.
Treadmill time is more satisfying to me than dance cardio, but this doesn't mean I'll never do dance cardio again.
This just means that if I want a change that dance cardio is there as an option, or if I'm at 1 of the parents house, I can do dance cardio since they have no treadmill :)
God I love treadmill time.. today I listened to the Rays Vs. Red Sox game..
I almost thought they were going to call the game about 2 minutes after I started listening lol.
But, all in all.. I am happy I could get my missed workout from yesterday in today.
Working out always makes me feel good :)

Well, guess I'll catch you all on Monday :)
Amanda Ellen

Day 13 of workouts and a minor injury

Yay! It was increase day!
I only increased the treadmill time since I'm happy with where everything else is right now.
So, now treadmill is up to 13 minutes at 3 MPH!
I'll be extremely happy when I can reach an over all time of 20 minutes. This includes warm up and cool down periods.
So, I guess here's what I did today!
Set 1:
1 ab circuit 6 reps
1 set of lunges 10 reps
25 crunches
Weight routine 2 sets each (8 reps each)
Set 2:
1 ab circuit 6 reps
1 set of lunges 10 reps
25 crunches
weight routine 2 sets each (8 reps each)
Cardio:
4 minutes at 2 MPH
13 minutes at 3 MPH
I added a weight routine in this week.
It gives me an alternative to the push ups.
It is made up of 6 different workouts, but I forgot how to do 1 of them.. oops? lol
So, this week I only got 5.
I plan to try doing this weight routine 1 time a week and see how it goes... if the pushups continue to be brutal to my shoulders, I may increase the weight routine to 2 a week if they don't kick my ass!
I'm using two 3 lb weights if anyone was curious, and I'm starting out with 2 sets for each total set.. and each set has 8 reps for each excersise normally totaling 48 reps in total per set.
So, for each total set, I'm doing 16 reps for each individual excersise wwith the weights.
Ouch! I think I tweeked a groin muscle today.. probably with the lunges, not sure how I could've done it on the treadmill.
Although, I didn't feel it till I was done with the treadmill, so it either exascerbated it or that is where I did it. Strange.
Also, I'm not even sure girls can tweek groin muscles, but that is where the general pain and tenderness is...
Its right there on the panty line... that is putting it nicely I think lol.
I will just keep an eye on it, take a anti inflammatory, and try to stretch it out a bit.
Also if I have time tomorrow, I'll try to fit in a hot bath, that is the best thing for sore and strained muscles in my opinion!
Maybe next week I will pick up some Icy Hot... that might be good too.

Guess that is it for today...
Hope I'm better to workout on Friday!

Amanda Ellen

Day 12 of workouts and sorry for the late post!

Sorry, I got caught up in life in general around here and forgot to post this!
But yes, this is day 12 of workouts! Oh, my shoulders are sore, but thats the worst of it :)
Its Monday, its the last normal Monday I'm going to have for a few weeks, so I thought I better enjoy it.
After this week, my workout schedule and general life schedule will be in complete disaray until April 26.
This is because I have my final major project due by then, and I've got to dedicate some real time in to coming up with a 12 page marketing plan!
*I hate marketing* lol
Anyways, here's what I did today:
Set 1:
1 ab circuit 6 reps
20 girl push ups
1 set of lunges 10 reps
6 regular push ups
25 crunches

Set 2:
1 ab circuit 6 reps
20 girl push ups
1 set of lunges 10 reps
6 regular push ups
25 crunches

Cardio:
4 minutes at 2 MPH
12 minutes at 3 MPH

Feeling very blah today, so I had hope that the workout might make me feel better.
My problem is too much on my mind and it is makeing me feel very claustorphobic, because I feel like I have no real outlet for all my questions and concerns.
Also, Google doesn't help answer my questions quite as well as I would like :)
Did Yoga yesterday, and I wasn't as sore the day after like last time! That's a yay! :)
I did however not notice what it did to my abs this time around until I went to doing abworkouts and noticed a fair amount of soreness, it was a nice surprise!
No game until 8 or 9 tonight, so this means that Lady GaGa was what I settled on for my cardio on the treadmill today.
Working out is just what the doctor ordered, I feel slightly less crazy!
I think I'm on schedule for another treadmill increase on Wednesday, but the rest of my work is actually almost perfect where its at for now.
Now, I should be off to find out about a free set of 3 or 5 pound hand weights! Just another option for my arm work outs :)
P.S. I should have said weights tomorrow :) YAY!

TaTa For Now,
Amanda Ellen