Alright, so many of you know back in January I came down with a terrible…TERRIBLE…allergic reaction. I am apparently allergic to sulfa. Who’d a thunk!
allergic reaction n.
A local or generalized reaction of an organism to internal or external contact with a specific allergen to which the organism has been previously sensitized.
Nowhere in this definition does it say anything about it lasting FOREVER! I never in a million years would have thought that an allergic reaction would take such a toll on my body. All of the training that I had done, gone. It put me on my butt for over a month and ever since a little before Denver, I have been building my endurance back up.
IT IS THE CRAZIEST THING! I don’t know why, but I have had this weird cough thing going on. I’m not sure if it is allergies…or if it a weird side effect of the allergic reaction that just came way late... or if secretly I am coughing because it is the first step until I start breathing fire like a dragon. Really though, these attack thingy’s like to come when I am talking to people. And they have gotten a lot better than what they were before, but seriously, all of the sudden I just start coughing like a maniac mid conversation and the person next to me is like, “BETH…are you okay?!?!” And I’m like spitting out mucus and pretending I know sign language. It happened when I was talking to mike lauckner on the phone the other day and he thought that I had died! Sorry for the scare mike…
All of that said, I have been getting out and biking around the neighborhood and every time I bike, my throat feels amazing! So this is a good sign. I can’t wait to be with a group of people! I’m loving the training now and I can only imagine what it’s going to be like with 30 people! 58 degrees and sunny today. Once I get out of class, I’m hitting the pavement!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
10 year old boyfriends and lingual frenulums, but not together...EWWWWW.
I get home from Denver and it is as though the snow melted in NARNIA! Well, I wish I was coming home to Mr. Tumnas and the wonders of Narnia, but alas, I’m back in Saginaw. Mountain less Saginaw. But…I seriously cannot complain. The weather here has been prime biking weather.
I strap on my lime green slash white classy helmet, I strut outside in my tight leggings and my new kicks, and I raise my hands in the air, “YESSSSSS.” With music in the background like I won. I’m not sure what I won, but I won. Okay for real, I’ve marked out some smooth roads within the neighborhood that I might get sick of really soon, but they are good for now. I’m learning how GREAT biking feels. Seriously..it’s a rush.
I used to think that people wearing helmets just looked so lame. They just reminded me of when I was young and my dad would make me wear my helmet when rollerblading with my super cool 10 year old boyfriend, or like riding my bike to 7-11 and coming home with a huge slurpee. I would try to be a rebel back then and not wear my helmet on occasions. Whoa. Now that’s when I looked the coolest. Okay, I don’t even know what I’m talking about anymore. I guess moral of the story is that now I think helmets look legit. As my brother Eric would say, “dat helmet looks ‘GIT!”
Right now, in the biking story, I want to remember how incredibly busy school is. LIKE SO BUSY. I don’t go a week without taking an exam and it consumes so much of my time. Not that I’m not enjoying it, it is just a huge part of what is going on right now. I dream of what summer will look like with time off and meeting new people and just laughing and having great conversations. Maybe I’m just writing this so when I come back and read it before school starts in the fall, I will be okay with going back. “BETH…I’M TELLING YOU IT IS OKAY TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL. Just in case you are nervous.” If you know me, you know that I like to over analyze things and then I get nervous. Why? Well, Im not so sure. But I really do like school. Today I learned what that thing under your tongue is called….lingual frenulum. BOOM!
I strap on my lime green slash white classy helmet, I strut outside in my tight leggings and my new kicks, and I raise my hands in the air, “YESSSSSS.” With music in the background like I won. I’m not sure what I won, but I won. Okay for real, I’ve marked out some smooth roads within the neighborhood that I might get sick of really soon, but they are good for now. I’m learning how GREAT biking feels. Seriously..it’s a rush.
I used to think that people wearing helmets just looked so lame. They just reminded me of when I was young and my dad would make me wear my helmet when rollerblading with my super cool 10 year old boyfriend, or like riding my bike to 7-11 and coming home with a huge slurpee. I would try to be a rebel back then and not wear my helmet on occasions. Whoa. Now that’s when I looked the coolest. Okay, I don’t even know what I’m talking about anymore. I guess moral of the story is that now I think helmets look legit. As my brother Eric would say, “dat helmet looks ‘GIT!”
Right now, in the biking story, I want to remember how incredibly busy school is. LIKE SO BUSY. I don’t go a week without taking an exam and it consumes so much of my time. Not that I’m not enjoying it, it is just a huge part of what is going on right now. I dream of what summer will look like with time off and meeting new people and just laughing and having great conversations. Maybe I’m just writing this so when I come back and read it before school starts in the fall, I will be okay with going back. “BETH…I’M TELLING YOU IT IS OKAY TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL. Just in case you are nervous.” If you know me, you know that I like to over analyze things and then I get nervous. Why? Well, Im not so sure. But I really do like school. Today I learned what that thing under your tongue is called….lingual frenulum. BOOM!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Here we go.
Right now, I AM LIVING IT UP IN DENVER (and wishing I had my bicycle. the hills here would be amazing to take on). I am really excited about this blog. I am hoping that it will read like a story when this adventure is all said and done with. By no means did I mean that in a way where you will not see any grammatical errors. If you know me, you know that I inherited my dad's concept of english. :) The last time I decided to blog was when I was in high school and looking back on those days, I'm not too sure that was such a good idea. But I figured that it's not like my bike has a couch seat on it where I can sit back and tell you over the phone how each and every day is going. My butt is probably going to hurt more than I can imagine (thank you grandma for the butt paste for my birthday) and not that I will be talking out of my butt, but I imagine time is going to be precious.
Really, this blog is meant to let everyone know how training, fundraising, and the trip itself goes. What I learn along the way and how God is working in this crazy adventure he is sending me on. I want to remember little details about this trip that I would otherwise forget if they aren't written. Sooooo, I will do my best not to bore the boom scooter out of you if you decide to follow me state by state!
I never knew how hard fundraising could really be. But at the same time it is so easy. Well that doesn't make sense. Okay...dollar by dollar, I feel like asking people is almost torture, but remembering that every dollar given has nothing to do with me and everything to do with poverty makes all the hard work totally worth it. Last weekend, I walked around asking my fellow neighbors if they were interested in buying these amazing butter braid pastries that have different fillings in them like raspberry or strawberry....you know just another fundraiser. I swear half the people didn't want a silly butter braid but they just wanted to give. A neighbor two houses away that I had never met, pulled out her check book and gave me a fifty dollar donation right there on the spot. My jaw dropped. Now, not everyone is going to give so freely, but it is those people who humbly and graciously give that make me even more motivated to get off the couch and get things done.
I was given a book this week by a friend that a few other people had actually recommended I read. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. I was aware that this guy had biked across america and wrote a little about it in this book. Essentially, this book was about stories. A book on stories... sounds so thrilling. But seriously, I could not put this book down and even started crying in a starbucks. Call me a baby, but...well...okay you can call me one.
There are few huge things I was able to take away from this book.
1. The bible repeats over and over, "Do not fear." Which is going to imply a couple things. One, that we are going to be afraid, and two, we should not let fear boss us around. If we let fear boss us around, it is a great guide in "keeping us safe," leading us into a BORING life. There are so many times when I am freaking out like, "WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO?" Which kind of leads me to my next point...
2. "JOY is what you feel when the conflict is over. But it is conflict that changes a person.... and there is no conflict man can endure that won't produce a blessing." If fear is going to take over my life, I will never face conflict and if there is no conflict, then what sort of offering do I have to give to God. So... bring on the hills, bring on the sore butt, bring on the hard floors to sleep on and the flat tires. Bring on the conflict.
3. And if you are on my team this summer....i hope this quote speaks to you like it did for me...
"None of you is in the kind of shape to do this. I don't mean that to be offensive, but it's going to be harder than you thought. But you will make it. Just don't stop and stay together. You'll make it." Don't let me stop guys. And i wont let you.
Really, this blog is meant to let everyone know how training, fundraising, and the trip itself goes. What I learn along the way and how God is working in this crazy adventure he is sending me on. I want to remember little details about this trip that I would otherwise forget if they aren't written. Sooooo, I will do my best not to bore the boom scooter out of you if you decide to follow me state by state!
I never knew how hard fundraising could really be. But at the same time it is so easy. Well that doesn't make sense. Okay...dollar by dollar, I feel like asking people is almost torture, but remembering that every dollar given has nothing to do with me and everything to do with poverty makes all the hard work totally worth it. Last weekend, I walked around asking my fellow neighbors if they were interested in buying these amazing butter braid pastries that have different fillings in them like raspberry or strawberry....you know just another fundraiser. I swear half the people didn't want a silly butter braid but they just wanted to give. A neighbor two houses away that I had never met, pulled out her check book and gave me a fifty dollar donation right there on the spot. My jaw dropped. Now, not everyone is going to give so freely, but it is those people who humbly and graciously give that make me even more motivated to get off the couch and get things done.
I was given a book this week by a friend that a few other people had actually recommended I read. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. I was aware that this guy had biked across america and wrote a little about it in this book. Essentially, this book was about stories. A book on stories... sounds so thrilling. But seriously, I could not put this book down and even started crying in a starbucks. Call me a baby, but...well...okay you can call me one.
There are few huge things I was able to take away from this book.
1. The bible repeats over and over, "Do not fear." Which is going to imply a couple things. One, that we are going to be afraid, and two, we should not let fear boss us around. If we let fear boss us around, it is a great guide in "keeping us safe," leading us into a BORING life. There are so many times when I am freaking out like, "WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO?" Which kind of leads me to my next point...
2. "JOY is what you feel when the conflict is over. But it is conflict that changes a person.... and there is no conflict man can endure that won't produce a blessing." If fear is going to take over my life, I will never face conflict and if there is no conflict, then what sort of offering do I have to give to God. So... bring on the hills, bring on the sore butt, bring on the hard floors to sleep on and the flat tires. Bring on the conflict.
3. And if you are on my team this summer....i hope this quote speaks to you like it did for me...
"None of you is in the kind of shape to do this. I don't mean that to be offensive, but it's going to be harder than you thought. But you will make it. Just don't stop and stay together. You'll make it." Don't let me stop guys. And i wont let you.
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