Book Review: Wide Awake And Dreaming

Merry Christmas!

It was an honor and a pleasure to be able to read a book that so much heart and passion was put into. Wide Awake and Dreaming was a trouble-free read that left me consuming the novel all in one day.

Julie Flygare has been an inspiration to me since day one of my diagnosis of both Narcolepsy and Cataplexy. Ever since finding her REMrunner blog I have had a constant positive role model who made a choice to overcome Narcolepsy, not suffer from it. Three years have passed and her writing has been an endless source of positive energy and has contributed to creating my own positive future.

In the beginnings of her book I found myself relating to every single question she raised on her pursuit to a diagnosis. The detail and the description Julie writes with had me questioning if in fact I wasn’t reading my own memoir. Whether she was sleeping in class or thinking up absurd ways to stay awake I was right there reminiscing my High School days. Julie sent me on a roller coaster of emotions; her words brought laughter, but they also brought tears as I was reminded of some of my own darkest day. It’s a book of struggles, lost dreams, uncertainty, but most of all it’s a book about rising above an illness and achieving what once was the unthinkable.

            The community of narcoleptics or PWN (person with narcolepsy) owes a huge thank you and a huge round of applause to Julie for not only writing a book, but for writing a memoir we all can relate to. Flygare’s writing goes into detail about the challenges we face not just with the sleepiness but the emotional and physical battles we constantly endure. Julie continues to be a upbeat advocate for people living with Narcolepsy with contagious optimism. I thank her for having the courage to talk about her narcolepsy/cataplexy in such a raw way but also for being brave enough to let it hit the shelves.

            I strongly recommend and encourage Wide Awake and Dreaming. It’s a must read for anyone who has encountered Narcolepsy and or Cataplexy, whether you are a family member, a friend, or the person who is confronting it first hand you will find inspiration and endless knowledge in all 213 pages! 

The Memoir can be found and purchased below:

Wide Awake and Dreaming

Jumble of Irrelevant Thoughts;

Six Meaningless Meanderings

• Exams and studying sucks therefore I have managed to procrastinate and find myself on blogger rather than buried in my text book.
• This morning during my last lecture for Financial Accounting I came to the realization that there are three days left of school and I have yet to even comprehend what happened in the first three weeks of my Accounting class.
• I have acquired a lot of stuff in just two years, I have a lot of clothes, a lot of shoes and by a lot I actually mean I have too many to fit in three bags.
• I am super excited for Thursday because Thursday is when school is over, and Thursday is when I get to go to the cities to spend my last night with my best friend. We will be eating junk food and drinking wine, and celebrating the end of both our times here at this particular college.
• Not only do I get to see my family on Friday but I get to see my favourite thing in the entire world, my dog Puma. I love the excitement she feels when I come home, seriously everyone should own a dog at least once in there life so they know how awesome it is to come home to one.
• Tomorrow I am suppose to receive my copy of Julie Flygare's first book "Wide Awake and Dreaming". I am beyond excited to read it on my flight home! Everyone I know, everyone who knows me or anyone with narcolepsy needs to read it. I haven't even read it yet but I know she's a phenomenal writer based off reading her blog the past three years! 

Five Things I Will Miss

• College soccer, a few of my teammates and the structured daily workouts that have kept me motivated and in shape up until now
• The fact that I could basically walk anywhere and everywhere and a car payment and gas money were irrelevant
• Photography Class & Art Students, being surrounded by art students and other photo students totally inspires you to try new things, explore new medias and all around just sparks your creativity. I will miss walking through those halls and seeing what everyone is up to these days!
• The Independence and ability to literally do whatever I want, whenever I want and having no one around to judge me for staying in my pajamas all Sunday
• I babysat a little girl named Abbey for the past year and a half, she is Four and really was a fun kid to be around. I will miss her and her awesome jokes. :)

Four Things I Look Forward Too

• Free Food, Free Laundry, and the occasional home cooked meal.
• Cable, It will be so nice to have a television again and being able to watch Ellen Degeneres and to watch Criminal Minds. 
• My family obviously, and my friends too. I will be able to see them when I want and catching up will no longer rely on a good internet connection for skype.
• Making money rather than spending money, it will be so nice to work again, I cannot wait to work my way out of this debt!

Three Things I Learned

• My dad was always a hard ass, my rules were sometimes strict but damn while moving out was a fun experience it definitely made me realize why my parents had rules. I may live in an apartment with "no rules" but some of these kids here have no morals and no conscience...So I suppose I learned to appreciate my parents a little bit of a lot more.
• Balance is key, my health comes first and a healthy balance is sometimes hard to maintain when there are one too many things I need to do and ten too many things I want to do. Narcolepsy can become ten times worse in just 24 hours of neglect, and it can take a lot longer than 24 hours to get it back on track.
• Just because you are good at something does not mean you have a responsibility to pursue it; Two All American Awards does not mean I need to go to any school to play soccer, it simply means I worked hard to get where I am and I am happy with where I am. If I wanted to be somewhere or if I wanted to do something, I would be there doing it. So to all the football boys and to the few soccer girl: I am happy not playing in the states anymore, I am happy pursuing my passions of traveling and photography.

Two Things I Highly Recommend You Do Over The Holidays

• Purchase this book to not only support and help a fellow narcoleptic but to also read it and learn something. Amazon: Author Julie Flygare Wide Awake & Dreaming
• Add Julie's REM Runner blog to your regular readings REM Runner Blog

One Thing I Will Do Today

• Ace my final exam in my Business Retailing Class.

Happy Holidays!

Sarah Beaulieu

You Might Want to Take Notes;

The thing I remember most about my narcolepsy when I was undiagnosed was school. Well that might be an ironic statement, I don’t remember much of school, I remember the struggle of school. I recall going to class and leaving class but never recall being in class. I would go home for the evening open up my notebook and see scribbles of notes I attempted to take. I would see the homework assignment, my notes, and realize I really don’t know how to do any of this. I am the type of person who hates asking for help, therefore I simply would just not do my homework, the vicious circle formed and soon I was slipping in class.

Now in college and having been diagnosed I am able to keep it together enough for classes...most of the time. This past week however I have had my fair share of micro sleeps and naps in class. While asleep I somehow always manage to still take notes…they never really make sense though…

What my writing usually looks like

Some Scribbles I apparently did...

What my writing turned into...really helpful notes ;)

Anyways haha, thought I would share my very informative notes I managed to make this week while sleeping in class.
Cheers

Sarah

worst kind of heartbreak;

Nothing says heartbreak like playing your last college game in America. Today was the end of it all, I knew going into the game that it could be my last game, but I never figured it would legitimately be my last. I pictured placing the ball in the back of the net a thousand times, got a good nights rest, stayed hydrated, iced, did everything in my own power I could to be prepared for today’s game. We all know that one person can’t win the game. It takes a team to win, and that’s something that this years group lacked. We weren’t ever a team, we faked it, and there was always drama between two or more people. It was just not our year, too bad for us sophomores because it was pretty apparent out there that we wanted it.

We had a brilliant first half, never gave up, and had great shots against our opponent. Sadly out of the 14 on net we came up with zero goals. The opponents well they had a total of 4 shots and 1 goal. Second half I felt like we put up a fight, we didn’t fight to win we fought to stay alive. I don’t think all of us can say we played our hearts out, I know we all didn’t leave everything we had in us on the field. That is what really gets to me. When I look at the clock, I am telling myself, 45 minutes left and you get that break, 30 minutes left, 10 left leave it all on the field, I even say it to my teammates…yet it didn’t get through. I don’t know if they just aren’t mentally strong or if they just don’t give a shit. Either way, I can’t change the outcome. I’m not happy with the end result, but I am certainly not disappointed with my own performance. Yes I could have better finished my shots, but I got shots away and I gave amazing passes to my teammates. I gave it my all, and although it wasn’t enough, I can’t be upset with myself. It was a great experience playing here in the states; it allowed me to do a lot of growing up. This won’t be the last game I play but it is the last game I will be playing here in the states. It’s a saddening way to go out, but it is what it is and I can only grow from it.

Now for the nine-hour bus ride home with a team that hates themselves and hates each other…oh joy.

My Parents are Pretty Smart;

I know I got lucky in the world of supportive family members when it comes to Narcolepsy. I have met many narcoleptics over the years of all ages, and honestly one of the main issues and contributors to their uncontrolled narcolepsy was the lack of support they got from there loved ones. It’s a huge stress when you feel misunderstood, when you constantly have to explain yourself or simply when someone says it’s all in your head. Trust me, I’ve been told plenty of times by peers, teachers, coaches and even teammates that it is all in my head or come on you can’t be that tired… or my favorite You’re lucky you can sleep whenever. It use to drive me nuts, it use to hurt my feelings, but sometimes you have to let those things go and just deal with the ones who understand or try to understand.

Lately I’ve had a tough go of it, I couldn’t even find the time to think any of my issues through, I felt like I was 14 again…Waking up and wondering when I fell asleep, wondering how long I’ve been out, and oh @!%# what time is it; am I suppose to be somewhere?! It’s an awful feeling but it’s a feeling all narcoleptics are faced with.

I finally had a bit of a break down last night, a bit of a realization thanks to my parents. I am finished my Photography certificate, the main reason I came to school in the first place. I only came back this year to play soccer and it was my choice to take on this Business Management Certificate. It was my decision, my parents had no influence on it, and I wasn’t trying to prove anything to anyone but myself. I hate failure; I hate struggling and worse I hate asking for help. With classes this year I am uninterested, unmotivated and struggling to find the time to do all the homework requirements. My schedule is busy, my narcolepsy gets worse with stress and with the never ending homework I am having trouble staying awake long enough to enjoy any of this school year. Did I mention I came back this year for fun, for the enjoyment of one more soccer season? Yes, apparently somewhere in the past 2 months I forgot to remind myself why I am here. Thankfully during a phone call with my two wonderful parents last night they reminded me to slow down, my health comes first. I’m not going to be disappointing anyone if I don’t pass a class, I’m not going to be a failure if I don’t get this certificate that I don’t need. I need to start remembering to eat, remembering to sleep, and reminding myself that I have 2 months left and this experience is over…I need to enjoy it and be able to look back on the good times, not the time I slept through it all!

Now I am saying screw grades, screw trying to get all A’s and B’s when I can have all C’s and D’s. My future is not at risk by taking these grades; I already accomplished good grades in my passion of Photography.

Now I must get back to homework so that I can go out to a movie tonight after practice…I need to have a social life again.

Cheers!

P.s

I am glad I have the parents I do, I never feel like I can't talk to them, I am constantly supported in all that I do, and most of all I am surrounded by their love. I couldn't ask for anything more from them, so thank you Mom & Dad.

My Bad;

We ended up loosing a game that we shouldn’t have lost, apparently loosing that game called for a 6am practice the next morning along with our usual 2pm practice. I understand our coach’s point but damn narcolepsy was not ready for this. My sleep schedule has been a little screwed as of late, simply just get 6-7 hours each night, going to 9am class and then sleeping 1-2 hours from 10-12 before heading to the training room. Not my ideal sleep schedule but I’ve been surviving. Throwing a 5am wake up call at me so that I could be at the school for 530 was not pretty.

I told myself I would go to bed early, I told myself I would shoot for 8 hours of sleep, 9pm bed time? Next thing you know its 10 and I’m not tired. I took some sleeping meds, tried to sleep but it was almost like narcolepsy had disappeared. I finally dosed off around 11:30 only to find myself awake at 1230, 2, 345, and 430. No such thing as sleeping the whole night through for this narcoleptic!

Now with it being 5am or 6am I can’t exactly take my meds or I’ll be passing out in class or passing out in the afternoon. I can’t exactly screw with the times I take it each day, especially that early in the morning. Well practice was a challenge but I did it. Next thing you know its 730 and I had class at 9am. Caitlin and I decided we would go to this really yummy bagel café, Brueggers. We had a delicious breakfast and then headed to school. I got there at 830; I was by myself, which probably was my first mistake. I had taken my Concerta, but apparently I was so far past tired that it wasn’t even going to make a difference. I took a seat down in the atrium, all I had to do was make it through 30 minutes then I would be in class able to listen to the instructor, doodle, etc. for 50 minutes. I was texting people to keep me awake, next thing you know I’m waking up and checking my phone. 920. Whoops, not what I had planned. How many people saw me asleep, how long have I been asleep!? I’ve missed 20 minutes of class and I am far too embarrassed to even think about walking into class late. I walked home, and went straight to bed. Fell asleep and slept for 3 hours straight. Felt so good to sleep but missing class kind of was a buzz kill. Oh well, can’t have everything.

Don't Understand What I Understood;

Financial Accounting is the hardest class I have ever taken simply because I find nothing fun about it. I honestly feel like it is the last career I ever want to engage in, and it mind boggles me that my brother is an accounting major. This class which is Monday to Thursday 9-10am is just a huge mind explosion in the morning. Miss a single class and you will sit there having an anxiety attack for the rest of the classes during that week. Not to mention the minimum of an hour of homework each night that he assigns, an hour is for those who completely understand it...I usually take a wee bit longer!
Basically what I am trying to say is that this class is not for me, and I honestly feel lost in it as if I literally don't comprehend a single thing in the class. The messed up part of it all is that my grades are awesome in the class. I have yet to fail a pop quiz, assignment or an exam...knock on wood. 87% in the class currently which works out to be a B+. It frustrates me to no end though that I don't understand how I am getting these grades, I walk away from each test thinking "I hope those guesses will get at least some half points". Anyways, that's the life of school I suppose, can't understand everything, but I'll take the pass in the class.
In other news soccer is going well this season, I really hope it continues this way through Regionals which is in two weeks. Provided we win Regionals we will find ourselves packing our bags to head to Nationals which is once again in Dryden, New York. Fingers crossed we make it happen! My body is falling apart, but taping my ankles before every game and practice has allowed me to continue to participate and play my 90 minutes. I can rest mid November when it all is over!
I am off to hang out with a few teammates for the evening. Tomorrow we have our home game in the evening at 7pm. During the day I plan on attending the Mens Football game which is also home! Should be a windy day so I'll be dressing warm!!!
Happy Napping!  =)

Nailed it;

Trying to describe what it feels like to have narcolepsy is next to impossible, you have so many things you want to try to explain but its sometimes too frustrating to try and give a good description.
I just finished reading Julie Flygare's recent blog and honestly it is the best blog post I've read in a long time.
Seriously take a look and read through it, it nails narcolepsy and what most of us narcoleptics have gone through. Whether we were surviving before we were diagnosed or we are at the point when we have it "together" enough to function as a normal human being we still have our daily struggles with daytime sleepiness.

Best most relatable article I'll be reading in a long time!

Sleep's Choice: Living with Narcolepsy's Excessive Daytime Sleepiness

Happy Reading! =)

one crazy month down, 4 to go;

If anyone other than my parents still reads this I owe you an apology. I am sorry, I haven’t forgotten about this blog I just haven’t had moments to myself in the past 30 days. I haven’t blogged on a bi-weekly or monthly basis in a long time. I vow to make a better effort starting now.

For starters, this month has been crazy busy. It started out with preseason; practising twice a day for 16 days. First day we did a fitness test, I finished top two much to my surprise. Second day I was in the top 3 for sprints and at the second practise on the second day… Just my luck I ended up getting injured. I basically took a tackle from behind when I had the ball, toppled over on my ankle and took a pretty good step on the side of my ankle. Yes it hurt, but I was more heartbroken about the amount of practise I’d be missing, the amount of fitness I’d be missing. It was tough, but with crutches and a walking cast I made my recovery in 10 days. No the swelling wasn’t completely out, nor was the bruising, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from playing in our scrimmage games. The tape job is practically a cast, but it allows me to play with no pain! Haha. This just might be my last college season, this just might be the end of my competitive role in the world of soccer, and therefore I definitely am going to make the most of it. I won’t be sitting out, no way no how.

Our scrimmage games went well, we lost the first one 2-0, but honestly for our team having been new and all the injuries we were going through I was thoroughly impressed. The second scrimmage we worked hard, hard enough to win against our opponent with 2-1. The game really could have gone either way, but we were working really well together as a team.

Our first game of the season, our first game of our conference was in Bismarck, North Dakota. Approximately a 9-hour drive, I chose not to take my meds for the bus ride, skip the day. We left at 6am, and since I barely slept the night before, I knocked right out for a solid 8 of the 9 hours! It was really nice to practically wake up and just be there. We had the day to get a light practise in and then bed before our game the next afternoon. We played at noon, it was extremely hot out, for the Americans it was about 95 degrees, and for the rest of the world, it was 35 degrees! When you play on artificial grass aka turf, the field is about 5-10 degrees hotter. It’s awful on the feet, and due to the heat I ended up with more than enough blisters for the entire soccer team. It was rather disgusting and rather a pain to heal! As for the outcome of the game, we came out with a win 2-0. It was a well-fought game, we really should have scored some more, but a win is a win!

School on the other hand is becoming a struggle. Its been a few years since I’ve actually “hit the books”. I was an art major, no art isn’t an easy major and I spent countless hours on homework…but art homework is fun and it was all part of the career I wanted and still want to enter. Now that I received my diploma I have decided to get my Business Management Certificate. Classes are not only difficult, but the homework is boring and uninteresting. Financial Accounting will be the death of me this semester. It’s so incredibly confusing, you mess up one part of the statements and you mess up the entire statement! It’s already caused me a few sleepless nights and I am only just barely 2 weeks into school. I will however pass it; I will get this certificate!

In other news, well I have no other news since my life revolves around eating, sleeping, soccer and school. Haha, no complaints though…I did willingly sign up for this shenanigans.

I’ll be back with an update hopefully in the next 2 weeks, even if it is a brief one!

xx

bittersweet;

Skipping a nap because you don’t want to miss out on something, not making a decision about plans for your Friday until you get the best offer, whatever it may be I am pretty sure I’ve been guilty. I’ve learned to stop having expectations, I’ve learned the less I know about a situation the better time I usually have. Things like asking whose all going to be there before I decide if I am going to go the social gathering or the party. Spur of the moment decisions are the best and I truly believe that, maybe that’s why I am good at procrastinating. That probably is the reason backpacking attracts me, not knowing exactly what I’m doing each day, it intrigues me I suppose. Too much of unknown things bored me…

Where am I going with this blog, I have no idea. I’ve had some difficulty staying sane these past few days. I have hated this city, I have loved this city, and I have resented being in this city, but yet I am not ready to leave. This city is nothing like home, not a place I dream of calling home, but it’s a city that I’ve had a lot of experiences in. Moving away, not knowing a single soul, living on my own, attending college. I wouldn’t say I am all grown up, but compared to 10 months ago, I feel like I have grown up.

I can’t find the time to pack, I have the time, I just can’t find the energy to pack up. It’s almost like I don’t want to leave, I am not ready to leave, and that’s why I can’t pack up my things. 10 months ago I wasn’t ready to leave, I was terrified of leaving home. I was terrified of loosing friends, missing out on things, not having experiences shared with my best friends. Now I’m terrified of leaving here and loosing friends. I only have a few months of being good friends with some of these people, how can I be sure in 80 or 90 days when I come back here that we can start where we left off? I can’t be sure, and for that I am bothered by it. My good friends back home, some of the best I know are people that I have shared many experiences with, we all keep in touch through blogging (personal blogs) and we all catch up within moments of seeing each other. I use to worry about getting off track, but I know now that we’re all capable of keeping in touch because I’ve lived through it. Having friends all over the map, well this is a new one. Although there are people here I don’t much care for, there are about 5 I do. Out of those 5, how many will I ever see again? It just is something that’s been on my mind, something that is making it difficult for me to pack my things.

Not everyone you meet, become friends with, or become best friends with are meant to stay in your life. No matter how much you want them too, every relationship you have is a two way street. It’s something I need to remember; I often find myself working hard to keep a friendship alive when in the end my time could be better spent. My friendships made here, everyone that walked in and out of my life, either made my time here more enjoyable or taught me a lesson. I guess it’s time I leave I it up to faith to decide who sticks around in my life and who was only temporary.

While I’ve just posted about meaningless thoughts, I think its time I cracked a beer open and went to work on packing my things. I’ll end this with some pictures as some of you have requested I post pictures more often! ;) Also, i get i am going to school for photography...don't mind the complete %#^$ quality of the following photographs, they were all taken with my ipod touch! Haha!

 Happy thoughts

Day of setting up gallery; notice the tea in hand. Tired Narcoleptic!

Images up on the wall, all printed at 20" x 30"

Opening Night of the Gallery, Happy Narcoleptic!

Abstract Painting I had to make for class

Self Portrait Painting I had to make

Painting I made for a good friends birthday (his favourite cartoon!)

Drawing before painting it, from the movie UP! by Pixar

Final Painting, Up! by Pixar

Lady & The Tramp, Just a painting I did for fun 

Long Awaited;

I owe you all an update on my life. I am sorry to those who actually read this blog on a regular basis, but I have been lacking this past month! I am going to blame it on life and me having my priorities somewhat in a scuffle. I am not slacking in school or anything but I have added more to my daily plate with workouts and it seems to be bettering me but also knocking time out of my day to finish everything; hence me failing to blog regularly.

For starters school is in the last stretch, close to finishing up this photography program and having all these late nights and tedious projects be worth it. My painting and drawing class aka 2D Design has been a rather large learning curve for me. I can honestly say this class has been enlightening to me. It has helped my photography in the sense of thinking about composition in a more thoughtful way, and really thinking about how colours communicate to a viewer different emotion. For that I am thankful I took the class, for the amount of work it put me through each week outside of class I dread it!

My intermediate photography class has a project that lasts 5 weeks; each week you take 576 photographs. Each week you print your 5 favourites, get a critique from your classmates and move on. At the end of it all you choose 20, they have to have a common theme, they have to flow together. It’s been challenging for me, I chose night shooting; it’s my favourite time to shoot inanimate objects. The sun goes down around 830pm right now, which leaves me photographing late at nights. It’s hard to always find people to tag along with me, and it’s hard to take 576 photographs a week when one photograph has the exposure of 30 seconds!! It will definitely be interesting selecting my final 20, not sure where I am going with this project!

My Photo lighting class has been enlightening; we had a guest speaker the other day. He is a commercial photographer who makes a living off of photographing inanimate objects. He photographs anything from air duct systems to construction sites. He does a lot of work, and makes a good living off of it. After listening to him talk, and hearing what he does each day to make his living, I have decided that I love photographing people, and the commercial side is something that I don’t see myself in. Although I could make money photographing a piping system, I don’t get the enjoyment out of photographing something I can’t interact with. As far as the class goes, it is kicking my ass right now. Having to book studio time and not being able to take lighting equipment off campus for a shoot makes it crucial that I plan a schedule and that I make use of my 2 hours in the studio. Almost done though!

Art Portfolio is my photography class in which has a gallery showing where we show a project that we’ve made out of our own passions. Ongoing projects are more about fine arts and creating a series of themed images based on an interest or investigating a topic. For me I investigated self-image and how we as humans (mainly females) have learnt to see ourselves. It was an interesting project for me, I don’t see myself as self-conscious so I’ve never really thought about it. Exploring self-image allowed me to really see the issues women have with themselves these days, the constant need to change the way they look. I am happy with the outcome of my images, and I am happy to have them in this gallery showing. I however am intrigued to hear the responses from those viewing them. The show opens April 17^th, so I will let you know the response I get from everyone! I will also post images of them up in the gallery!

Now that we are up to date on school I will fill you in on my spare time! I am still taking the energy supplement V16 Energy Drink from Advocare. It is still working wonderfully and is a great pick me up before my daily workouts. I have started to workout in a more intense manner than before. After soccer season I would run, I would do stairs, simple things here and there to maintain my shape. Now however I have decided to step it up, running at least 2 miles a day and working in either an arm workout or legs. On top of this all, a few of us soccer girls have been doing sprints to help get us back in “soccer season” shape. Although it’s making me extremely sore and tired in the moment… I am finding it giving me more energy in the long run! Having teammates to train with is just making it that much easier to stick with; motivation is always around me!

That is that for the update!  I get to go back to Canada in 34 days, I will be leaving to Europe in 38 days and really I just want to get my summer on the way! I am incredibly excited for what this summer will bring, a huge learning curve will probably be on order the moment I set foot in Europe. Until then, time to remain focused on school and getting myself out of here sane!

Till next time! 

Welcome 2012;

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I hope 2012 brings you nothing but positive energy and some great naps.

I am sorry it has been so long!  I have had some serious home time that has allowed me to see the friends, family and loves till 2 am and sleep till noon. My bed has never been so comfy. I am dreading having to go back to that single bed in Minnesota. Home sweet home, seriously. You don’t realize how much you love something until you are forced to be apart from it for months at a time. I am forever grateful for my family and friends and this beautiful city I call home.

My Christmas has been amazing. It’s been a few years since we’ve been home for Christmas. Last year we did the hot Christmas in Beautiful Panama; just near Costa Rica. My goodness, beautiful place! I am however happy that this year we are at home! I missed my house; I missed the free food and laundry. Anyways Christmas Eve’s Day was spent on the bathroom floor due to my error in not fully understand pacing yourself. That evening however I went out to family friends, finally allowing my body consumes food. It was wonderful to see the family friends, have a few laughs and then hurry home to get to bed before Santa arrived! My parents were super generous this year, and by that I mean Santa got me just what I wanted/needed! My parents were happy with their gifts, as well with my brother. Seriously I love giving gifts and having the person receiving it get all happy! I got my mom a Coffee Mug with out family photo in it, and then 2 charms for her Pandora Bracelet. I got the father a Flask that had “Learned from the Best” engraved on it. The brother got 6 shirts, the plain v-neck ones that he wears everywhere. Assorted colors of course, and the reason for 6…Urban Outfitters had a stupid awesome deal I couldn’t resist! My grandma always talks about the arts and crafts I did when I was little; painting flowerpots, drawing, painting little statues…anything artsy! Well seeing as she made a comment on how I don’t make those things anymore I took myself out to the crafts store. Bought myself 2 Christmas ornament statue like things. Got some paint, and spent my afternoon having fun proving her wrong. I love painting artifacts. She adored them of course and thought I had bought them already painted! ;)

As for what I received the list is wonderful! I got a pair of Ugg boots; they have got to be just the comfiest things out there! I got a new belt; I desperately needed a new brown leather one. My dad happened to find a perfect one! My brother got me this amazing blazer that I have wanted forever! It’s really cute; it can be worn with dressy clothes or with a pair of jeans. I adore it and am looking forward to wearing it! I also got a bracelet; it’s of Pandora type style and idea but a lot less expensive and really cute! I like it, and my mama put on a few charms; soccer ball, camera, heart, peace sign, luggage. It’s really quite cute! It was a successful Christmas morning and next was my favorite part… DINNER! I love my mom’s cooking’s, and I love my mom. I helped her here and there in between watching television with my brother, skyping with my friends and all that good stuff. Finally 5 o clock rolled around and dinner was served. Another amazing meal, for free and with the loved ones! I am so thankful for my family and being able to be with them over the holidays!

Well school starts up here in a week and with a 3.5 GPA from last semester I am happy to start the next! I am looking forward to more photography, more excitement! However I do kind of wish it was closer to home. I love the idea of travelling, but I don’t like the idea of living this far away from home. I don’t love the city enough to have that desire to be there. I will make the best of it though because miserable days make the time drag on! American spring break is Middle of March; a few of us have been talking about FLORIDA! The guys live there; so we’d have accommodation and the beach is 10 minutes away! What’s not to love about the situation! My dad even offered to allow me to dig into my “education fund” for some help with finding the money. I have the funds for it, but my excitement lies in the possibility of me doing a Europe trip in May! My dad however believes Florida would be a great idea and a great experience that is part of college. He said I shouldn’t throw Florida out the window just because I want to do Europe. I should compromise and do both and he’s willing to help. I love my father for that. The fact that he enforces me to travel and see things, do things is awesome. He’s travelled the world with work and he has come to find that it is the quickest way to learn about yourself, learn about the world and to learn to adapt at quick rates! I look forward to all the travelling I will be doing in my future.

Europe is on the agenda for leaving 3rd week of May. My friend is from Scotland and was going to go back for a visit. I thought, why not turn it into a trip!? We have discussed briefly on where we want to go, what we want to see and how much we want to spend. We will do the UK (Scotland, England) for about a week, visiting his friends/family. Next we’d get into Netherlands and travel through 4 countries. Hitting up the following cities; Amsterdam, Bruges, Brussels, Paris, Bordeaux, and ending in Barcelona. Of course we have room for hitting other cities but those are the main places we decided on getting too. We’d be gone for 4 weeks, and I have thoughts about staying another 2-4 weeks. I want to get to Italy & Greece. The places I want to see are endless, too bad my funds aren’t!

Well Narci needs a good nights rest! I’ve been getting a serious 10-12 hour sleep every night I’ve been home. It’s been amazing; I love the holidays! Although I did get Strep Throat, I managed to get antibiotics and get right back out there as long as I was on my Tylenol and Advil! I couldn’t risk staying home any days and not seeing my friends with the limited time I have! Also oddly enough my naps have been next to none, I’ve just had so much energy! I’ve been going to the gym as much as possible, trying to stay in shape with all the baked goods my mama has been feeding me! Hopefully my energy level sticks around for one more week! I got friends to see and things to do!

Good night all and have a good week!