Here we go...again!

You guys will just have to excuse this plain boring blog...one day maybe I will have a fancy one, but for now...this is it!  I just need a spot to chat :)


People tell me all the time that I should write a book about this long journey I have been on, but for now I think I will just stick with a blog.  My life has just been one long saga in the quest to get healthy.  I played softball in high school, but wasn't ever much of an exerciser.  Then I got to college and I REALLY didn't take care of my body through all those rollercoaster years.  The worst idea I EVER had was picking up a cigarette.  I was in Paris...too bad it didn't stay in Paris! Oh well...nothing I can do about that now...no sense in having regrets!  They just take up too much valuable space, in my opinion.  I wouldn't be the person I am today (who I kinda like!) if it weren't for the choices (stupid or not so stupid) I've made throughout my life. After my rough early 20s (even with cancer involved, my 3s are WAY better than my 20s!!), I started getting my life together.  Mom and dad helped me buy The Beaded Tiger...I finally had a purpose in life.

Step 1 of getting healthy: no more cigarettes!  I had my last one on September 7, 2007.  At that point, I thought that was the hardest thing I would ever do (I was sadly mistaken!).  I took Chantix to help me, and it made me a little nuts, but it definitely help!  I don't even think about the anniversary of my quit date anymore...which is a good sign that it is way in the past.

Quitting smoking is AWESOME but boy did I gain some weight when I quit!  In March of 2010, something finally clicked and I drove to the gym that I had joined 2 months before and walked through the door.  From March to December, I worked my ass off (literally!) and lost 120 lbs.  I was the healthiest I have ever been...for about 2 months anyway!  I was walking 4-5 miles a day and doing all kinds of weights and TRX and crazy stuff that wears me out just thinking about it now.  I had about 50 pounds left to reach my goal weight, but I felt FANTASTIC!  Check this out...it still trips me out to look at before and after pictures:

See what I mean??  Nuts!  I enjoyed this sassy version of myself for about 2 months before I noticed a rash on my legs...and that little rash totally changed my life!  If you are reading this, you probably know about my cancer/stem cell transplant journey, but if you want to play catch up, you can go play catch up on my Caring Bridge journals from my Houston days here.

It has been 2 and a half years since my transplant and let me tell you I do not wish that on ANYBODY!!  That is by far the hardest thing I have ever done and hope to ever do!  The whole time I was having chemo and after my transplant, I was able to eat just about anything and I didn't gain any weight...it was awesome :)  That changed a little while after the transplant unfortunately and I put a little of my weight back on.  I was maintaining that for awhile and then I had to go back on steroids in August 2013.  since then, I have gained 30 lbs...steroids are just awful!  They do good things, but good lord do they have awful side effects.  And when you take lots of them, you lose a little of your immune system, which causes you to be on other preventive medicines.  So anyway...the past few months, I have just felt cruddy.  My clothes don't fit, I'm tired, bogged down by medicines and just blah and I am tired of it!  I am the only one who can fix it.

I hope you will follow my next journey...I have much more success when I know I have a good support system.  I started back officially this past Monday and have lost 3.4 lbs this week!  I know I won't keep up that pace, but it sure does help to jump start the motivation :) I will update as much as I can...with my exercise, recipes, and whatever else I may feel like telling you.

Thanks for reading!

Jodi :)