Heather's visit

originally written June 2010

"Friends are angels who lift our feet when our own wings have trouble remembering how to fly.” I read this quote recently and it made me think of so many people - I have been so blessed throughout my recovery with the amazing love and support from so many people.  Heather is definitely one of those blessings!

 My friend Heather recently came to visit from Arizona, we discovered that it had been 5 years since we last saw one another. Its hard to beieve that it had been so long but the beautiful thing about true friendships is that they can handle a little separation. It took Heather and I about 2 minutes to "catch up" and get back on track. She listened to the story of my accident, listened to my parents tell what they had witnessed, looked through all the photographs from my time in the hospital, and still, she is my friend.  I know that we will remain close after this visit, hopefully I will be able to travel on my own again one day because Heather has invited me to visit her in Arizona and stay with her at her house~ which I would love to be able to do!

We also got to see our friend Regan while Heather was in town.  We saw Regan, her husband Brian, and we were able to meet their beautiful twin girls Quinn and Zoe. What a great weekend!

Joining the gym

originally written June 2010

I have recently joined a new gym. I am so excited to have good, dependable equipment to work out on again, plus they have a pool where I can do water aerobics and walk in the lanes with water weights. I also signed up for a trainer once a week - which is super cool. So far, I have met wonderful people at the gym and I believe that they really want to help me recover. Telling the story of my accident is always tricky because I never know how people will respond, but as I told my story to the people at LA Fitness I was pleasantly surprised at how they seemed to understand my limitations yet still see the potential for me to continue recovering. I'm up to 17 minutes on the elliptical machine and my left foot is starting to stay where it is supposed to while I am working on the machine so I am very happy to watch my progress. It is crazy to think about how long it takes to re-build stamina after a little coma-stint.
So, I went to water aerobics and made it through the whole class, there were a few things I couldn't do because of pain in my left shoulder but I will have to talk to the instructor to find out what I can do instead.  After class several people sat in to hot tub and I joined them,of course the being at the gym means I am among people other than my friends and my family for the first time in almost a year - so leave it to me to spark the interest of a weird dude in the hot tub...there I was minding my own business and bamn - out of nowhere I get hit on in the hot tub.  So, I quickly got out of the hot tub and came pretty close to telling the weird dude that my boyfriend worked at the gym...of course I only know a few people at the gym and I don't know anything about their personal lives so I think its good that I escaped the situation without fibbing about an imaginary boyfriend!  Why me?  Seriously, haven't I been through enough lately?

Sandi & Bobby

originally written June 2010

My aunt and uncle are coming to visit this weekend for an extended weekend visit. I have to say I feel pretty special knowing that they are visiting because they want to see me (now that I am home from the hospital) and just make sure I really am doing as well as I say I am. I haven't seen them in a long time and they are always so much fun to be around so I am sure it will be a great visit! Jamie is coming home to join in the festivities and celebrate with us.

We had a wonderful time with Sandi and Bobby, they stayed at the hotel del in Coronado so we got to spend some time in Coronado too. Sandi and Bobby took the family to the coolest concert at Balboa theater in downtown San Diego. We saw a group called Straight No Chaser and I have to say, they were amazing! Here's some information straight from their website:



"If the phrase "male a cappella group" conjures up an image of students in blue blazers, ties, and khakis singing traditional college songs on ivied campuses... think again. Straight No Chaser (SNC) are neither strait-laced nor straight-faced, but neither are they vaudeville-style kitsch."



"Originally formed over a dozen years ago while students together at Indiana University, the group has reassembled and reemerged as a phenomenon – with a massive fanbase, over 20 million views on YouTube, numerous national TV appearances, and proven success with two holiday releases, 2008’s HOLIDAY SPIRITS and 2009’s CHRISTMAS CHEERS. In an era when so much pop music is the product of digital processing and vocal pro-tooling, Straight No Chaser is the real deal – the captivating sound of ten unadulterated human voices coming together to make extraordinary music that is moving people in a fundamental sense... and with a sense of humor."



If you get the chance you really should go see them! It was an amazing show and its hard to believe that there are no instruments in their show, just voices - extremely beautiful voices.



Sadly, our visit with Sandi and Bobby has come to an end. Jamie did spice up their visit by announcing that she is expecting a baby in December - holy crap, I am SO excited!  Sandi and Bobby head back to Atlanta today, I hope I get to see them again soon!