Road Trips, Casinos, Poppin Bottles and New Friends

I seem to always have something going on these days... To start-- I'm still Ubering but mostly on the weekends.  I was with a Marketing company for a short time.. Nothing went wrong there-- we parted on good terms-- just wasn't the place for me.  

To be honest--I really needed to get back to my Day Trading E-mini Futures Education roots-- which I am happy to say I'm back in with!  Its a pretty awesome deal and makes me feel right at home again.  I'll share a bit more with you about it in the next post because its actually quite exciting!  Getting away from where I was before and landing myself right in the middle of where I am now is almost a dream come true!

But that's not REALLY what I came here to talk to you about today.. Today, my good folks-- I've got a doozy of a story to share with y'all about an Uber experience.. A few of them actually-- Lend me your little eyes and check out this stuff that I couldn't make up if I tried!

So here we go!!

Recently-- I was driving Uber on a Friday night in order to manage my weekend time "wisely" (making money instead of spending it going out).. I was on my way home around midnight from downtown Houston and as I'm getting closer to my bed-- I got pinged from a local bar, that's about 2 minutes from home here in Sugar Land, Texas....I figure-- what the heck-- I'll take this last group of people home, since they did order an XL ride, then I'll head on home myself.. Call it a night and figure out the next day when I opened my eyes again.

Now... Here's where I REALLY realize that I will NEVER have an idea what life is going to throw at me, so I might as well just be prepared for anything.. Once I accepted the ride and find one of the people, I look at the destination and it says: 

The Golden Nugget 

Lake Charles, 

Louisiana  

For those of you who aren't familiar with this area-- this is what that trip would look like...

Here's an abbreviated version of the conversation that went down...

Me: "Uh sir.. you put in the wrong destination.. this says Louisiana..."

Him: "Nope.. it was right! We're waiting on 4 more people to show up.. you down?"

Me: "Uhhh.. well... You have a credit card and wanna cancel this trip? Because that would be totally sway my decision a bit" (For the record, I have a Square Credit Card slider that I use when someone calls me back to pick them up.. this way I don't have to share 30% of it with Uber and it all goes through my LLC)


Him: "I've done this before...Uber says it will be x-amount.. I don't want use my credit card because that cuts into my gambling money but I have PayPal and because you're cool, I'll pay you more than Uber was going to charge"


Me: "ROADTRIP!"

How you let all your FB peeps know
that you've left the state..

At that point, I thought it might be a good idea to call my fam so they know I wasn't dead somewhere on the side of the road--well, at least not in Texas-- there were no guarantees once we hit the border..

They were polite, fun, had the best remix of 90's music on the planet, snacks out the wazoo from our stop at Buckees and pretty and interesting conversation... I got home around 6 am and didn't regret a thing!

BUT the story didn't end there...

I got a little ring-a-ding-ding on my phone Sunday that went a little like this:

"Liiiiiindsaaaaayyyyy!!! WEEEE NEEEED YOOOOU!!!"  

On my way back for the crazy crew!

That was about all I could get out of the words they were saying because they'd been drinking for 3 days straight... I also understood between slurs that Lake Charles has no Uber and those boys were now stuck there-- unless they took a cab-- which was gonna stick it to them AND they wouldn't have anywhere NEAR as much fun as they had with me.  So.. I finished up what I was doing and rolled out.  When I go there-- those poor guys were so wasted!  One was missing his shoes, another was missing his shirt.   They were super sunburnt and apparently the guy who funded the trip had lost his phone in the lazy river... twice.. The first time the phone worked. Second time-- not so lucky.  So we sat in the parking lot for about 40 minutes while he spouted out possible passwords to his PayPal account so that he could connect it on another friend's phone and pay me before we rolled out.

And while my Co-Pilot/ DJ/ Funder of this debauchery was a lot of fun on the way up-- he was definitely in need of a drinky-time nap on the way home.  He finally passed out, along with a few other passengers and it was quiet.. smooth sailing the rest of the way home.

As we were heading home, I told them I must have a picture of my "Lake Charles Ride or Die Crew" since they were now Facebook famous with all the people on my page.. We stopped at a place that they could buy beer but they were thrown out before they even got 2 feet in the door.  The woman inside took one look at how drunk they still were and literally said, "Hell no!  Just turn around and head right on out!" Denied before they even tried! Luckily-- They had found shirts and shoes by this time-- plus a few bottles of water in-- so meet they guys!

Meet the guys!

And to be honest with you-- I thought this is where it would all end--- but nooOOOoooo..The day after I started writing this little ditty-- my Ride or Die Louisiana Guy emailed me.. Said he had another road trip and was I down?  I was about to be kid free for a few days, so guess what? I WAS DOWN!

Since that trip, we've been on few adventures-- logging about 20 hours in the car (and keeping me from finishing this post when intended).. We've talked about religion, aliens, spirits, stock markets. party times, my kids, crazy youths and just how cool it is to get to know people you may have never crossed paths with-- its actually scary funny how much we had in common when it came to the places we had lived, some people we knew and all the likes..

Poppin' bottles!

BUT somewhere in between all of that-- I got to spend a little time on the other side of the Uber experience with them.. I was taught that some nights call for letting loose, bay houses, personal bottles of champagne, sparklers and quite a few things that may have slipped my mind at this moment... 

As soon as my adventure with them was over (like 3 am)-- and I was in need of my own Uber home-- he was ordering a hotel and another Uber since he was off to Austin for Austin City Limits-- and I was off to bed.. Maybe because I was slightly intoxicated or maybe because I knew I would be out there soon to pick up Mr. Ride or Die (which he is now saved in my phone as)..

There's so much that has happened, that was laughed about and learned about over these trips that I almost feel like I could write the most interesting book in the world on, what I find to be, one of the most interesting people in the world-- He's either the realest person I've ever met-- or a master manipulator.. Either way-- I'm on board with whatever comes next! But I do lean heavily towards a real, cool-ass mo-fo... And I'll count my days until we ride again!

Let's DO THIS!!

So, for now, its time to have my head back in to all things that have to do with Day Trading the Emini S&P. I really can't express to you how good if feels to back in to trading!  Maybe its because I'm looking at the market with new eyes... or took some time off.. or just was REALLY unhappy with the last few companies I've been with.. But this time really feels different.  I'm trading with ease and I'm kicking ass!  And I'm going to keep on doing it...  until I get that call that says, 

"You ready to ride?!"  

Because I'm SO down!

This One's For My Homies!!

Man oh MAN there has been so much going on in my life lately and I've been super proud of myself for really holding my shit together. I've actually backed off from posting on A Motivated Mama just because I had to put so much time and effort into setting some serious things straight in my life.

Those who know me already know all of this because, let's face it, I don't hold much back or hide anything these days. I'm a "lay it out on the table" kinda gal.. The good, the bad, the ugly aaaand the absolutely fabulous!

So to begin-- and I'll make this kinda quick-- my computer was recently hacked through a program called TeamViewer-- if you use it-- I suggest you stop ASAP. So they went directly into my PayPal account and just had a blast buying iTunes cards. Like, $3000 worth of iTunes cards.. They also logged into my Target account and bought cards through there-- as well as started accounts with places like Gyft(I know.. what the hell is that even??) and a few others that slip my mind.

It was a huge battle with PayPal that required multiple calls, getting denied MANY times to get my money refunded to me, a police report, a call to the BBB and a call to a lawyer. They did give my money back after a few weeks of being the squeaky wheel and they weren't very polite about it either. I was told I was being refunded the money as a "courtesy"... I didn't care-- I was just glad it was over with.

This didn't include what was negative in my bank account..

A few days ago, I receive a call from PayPal that was a response to my BBB submission (about 2 weeks after it was all settled). This woman went back and listened to all the calls I had made, apologized for everything they put me through and could understand how I would be so livid by the final few calls (because at one point, they said they would refund the money and denied it on the following call-- but that's all water under the bridge now).. Assured me that their people were going through sensitivity training in order to handle situations like this better and told me that the return of my money was a duty-- not a courtesy. And while I don't believe I'll use PayPal quite like I did in the past-- I am over it and SUPER glad its over as well.

Next-- Uber-- Oh dear Uber... What a mini nightmare you have been.. And it hasn't been the people. They've given me stories for DAYS-- like the mother of a family of 4 I dropped off a few days ago for their European Vacation--- who I'm pretty sure took a "healthy dose of Xanex" to keep the chill factor kicking. She was an interesting bird to chat with in the car for sure!

Or the guy who, literally, smelled like poop in my car on his way to church Sunday. I kept putting lotion on my hands that I keep in the cup holder... Then I'd hold my fingers across my nose-- almost like I was just kinda bored chilling there. Typically I'd hold my hair up to my nose if someone smells like they drank the whole bar-- but this guys was sober and I didn't want to make it too obvious. He tipped me $7 which was almost the entire cost of his 15 minute trip-- so no matter how bad he smelled 5 STARS FOR YOU BUDDY!

But anyways-- Uber is really quite a rip off if you drive in Houston. The wear and tear on your car can never be replaced by the little amount of money you make through them. I worked 52 hours.. 52, 1411 miles, 62 trips-- and after gas-- I'm taking home $487.95. That cant be right you say? Well-- it is.. I will even share a screen shot of my earnings this week to show you plus the picture of how the hellish week started for me. Had I not driven all of those hours-- I'd probably still be in the hole with Uber.

I started off this week -200 and something bucks because they said they forgot to pull gas out over the last 13 or some odd days... So, with the cost of insurance going up due to needing special insurance, gas going up a dollar, the price for the rider dropping AND (here's the REAL kicker) Uber's % that they take from each ride increased from 10% in January to (drum roll please!!!) 30%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is IMPOSSIBLE to make a decent living with this and I stress to EVERYONE I know.. TIP YOUR UBER DRIVE BECAUSE THE TIP IS NOT INCLUDED AND THEY DON'T MAKE SHIT FOR MONEY DRIVING YOU AROUND!!

Now, with all of that going on-- I came to a realization.. That I was not putting my feelers out there to get me out of Uber Hell. I was just spinning my wheels and quite literally, going no where. I was starting to feel that stuck feeling that I hadn't felt in a very long time.. "Gotta make more drives, to make more money, to pay for gas, to make more drives, to make more money, to pay for gas, to make more drives...." You get it..

So I put a little note on my FB-- and it went like this--

I really never imagined how much response I would get from this little post. I put it out there because-- well.-- its true and I figured no one would know that I was looking if I didn't say anything. So the rest of this is dedicated to everyone who believes in me-- seems like sometimes more than I do myself... This goes out to all who read my blog, comment, post, message and all that jazz to know that even though I might have a mouthful to say at times-- someone is always listening

So here we go--

I want you to know how much you all mean to me! I can't even begin to tell you how many people have reached out to me since I said enough was enough and decided to say--"I'm drowning and need some help!!"

It actually brought a tear to my eye a few days ago when I realized how many people care and believe in me :) There has been a lot of unexpected things happening in my life lately and I have been able to (sometimes through gritted teeth) take them all on with grace and gratitude because I have such an amazing support team..... Also-- with confidence that, no matter what, it will all work out in the long run.

Thank you so much for being who you are peeps!!

Now, with that being said-- I'm in talks with someone (that I'll wait just a little longer to mention) about moving forward as their first official employee with the potential to do great things with them! I'm REALLY excited about this and can't wait to dive off deeper into everything!

I do still have some offers that I want to look into that will be something to have my eggs in a few baskets (and could also help improve on my journey to a healthier lifestyle), so don't think I'm done with you yet if you haven't heard back from me recently. Between Uber, slipping in some work outs and my need to sleep a few hours a night-- my time has been VERY tight.

I don't exactly expect it to "free-up" BUT I do expect my time to be used just a wee bit wiser in the very near future!

So that's it in a nutshell straight from the heart of this nut!

I love you guys and thank you for always being YOU!!!

I'm definitely trying!!!

Letting Out the Truth and Moving Forward!

This is going to be a short one BUT I'm going to admit something HUGE to y'all that I couldn't even admit to myself until recently. I've been reaching out and telling more people as I slowly uncover what has been going on. And I realize that one of the reasons I couldn't admit it is because I try to play this game with myself that I let nothing bother me... I realize though-- I'm human-- and that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Sooo.. here she goes...For the last few months, I've allowed myself to slip into, what I considered to be, a deep depression. I was crying all the time, stopped working out, eating healthy or basically doing any of the the things that made me feel good-- anything that made me feel like I was advancing in life. I was not sleeping much and working myself into the ground. I felt like I had lost a grip on what was my path...

I let circumstances dictate my mood instead of thinking clearly about what I had to overcome in front of me. I let it defeat me. I was working harder but definitely not smarter. My brain was clouded by a lack of sleep, an overload of "WHAT THE HELLS?!" coming my way and I simply could not think to deal with them in the proper manner.

Over the last few weeks, as I've been reaching out to for an emotional hand to keep me from drowning-- I knew it was the ONLY way to get me out of this. I had to admit to myself AND others that I simply needed help. I've had SO many signs, offers and uplifting people bust into my bubble and give me the tools to say, "I can't do this for you-- but I can help!" And help they have.

So, as I put this out here-- I have no shame in the fact that I, Lindsay Duff, am starting over. But I'm not really "starting over".. I'm beginning again. I've got more knowledge under my belt than the last time I had to begin again. I've got people behind me to help push me through.. And I've got one thing I forgot I always had-- hope.

With that being said-- I'm heading out to my first REV (spin) class in months.. Pray for me that I don't keel over and die from the lack of care I've given this body over the last few months :) I'm confident with slow deep breaths (and all of your good thoughts) I'll make it out of the room alive-- I just may have to crawl over to the 2nd class I signed up for today!

Time to remember what keeps me in the zone... Forward focus instead of the thought that I am not good enough. Becoming more of the person I know I'm meant to be instead of trying to fold myself up into a tiny little box to make others happy. Time to simply begin again.

Tales From the Uber Side...

 GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!  I'll start with that simply because I've been using it in place of most of the cuss words I'd really like to put out there sometimes. I still cuss.. I'm not perfect. I don't apologize for it.  And sometimes-- an F-bomb fits better than any other word... Anywho---

Man-- I've got so much I want to write and so little brain power to remember it all to get it out there but as they say-- if you're gonna start, better start somewhere.

I did!!

So, what's been going on?  Well, I left the company I had been with for the last few years recently-- the middle of Jan.  The truth is---I simply stopped doing work for the company when my commissions were cut by way more than half-- which cut my will to work for said company to zero.  I really felt as though it back-tracked and made the statement that he "knew my worth and value" totally void.  And when I no longer feel appreciated in a place-- I remove myself from the situation.  

I decided to pick up Uber a few weeks before the "decline".  Also, if you've read my previous posts, I still don't know what's going on with my shark brain but we're leading towards endometriosis.. It will require more testing, which is more money than I can spend at the moment but I'll get there when the time is right.  Good thing is, right now, the waters are calm and the shark brain is chillin'.  I get pains and bleeding from time to time but the Ultrasound and the CT Scan came back completely normal.  Next is to get a scope and go all up in my junk to see what the heck is really going on... It will come in time.

Anyways!! Uber was GREAT at first and still isn't terrible-- which is not my ideal way of describing my way of making a living at the moment. There have just been some new "developments" that reminded me I wasn't working on my passion-- I've just been working on making money again..  I mean--the rodeo was in town which meant crazy surging prices and good money to be made for 3 weeks. But GOD BLESS AMERICA driving an average of 1500 miles a week can not only wear on a car but a person as well.  

I imagine this would be that dog's revenge..

Believe me... I've got some GREAT stories-- like the woman who told me she once peed on her dog to stop him from doing bad things in the house.  She said she watched some country dog whisperer show and the dude literally said, "Welp, if they ain't behavin'.. Ya gotta PEE on 'em to show 'em who's in charge."  So--- she said she put him in the bathtub, peed on him...then realized it wasn't the best of ideas because she just had a bigger mess to clean up after... She mentioned getting rid of the dog and that she wasn't really a dog person at this point-- Well no SHIT lady-- I mean GOD BLESS AMERICA LADY!  You don't go peeing on kids when they've drawn with magic marker on the carpet to make your point.  It's crazy that she took the advice-- but hey... I'm no judge...Although reflecting on this paragraph-- maybe I judged just a wee bit. She was, however, telling me this story completely sober.  So there was no shame in her game.

Now, obviously, I pick up a lot of really drunk people.  And believe it or not, some of them will impress you. So there was one drunk chick that I was SUPER proud of because, well,  she was a CHAMP!  She had to puke...but this chick--- she was a damn trooper. For real.  The girl had x-ray vision and could see right through me when I was picking her up. She was in the captain's chairs in the back with another chick and all of a sudden, I hear out of a nervous voice, "Uhhh... I think she needs to get out for a moment..."  I look back and this girl has a MOUTHFUL-- cheeks puffed out... a little funk hanging out... looking at me with total desperation in her eyes. I pulled over quick style, she got out.... and let loose.  She wasn't so "clean" about getting back in.  It was all over her clothes and in her hair but, miraculously, there was only a little bit in the car and her friends (chicks who didn't know her that well but REALLY didn't want her to go home by herself) got Clorox wipes from the house and made my car sparkle again.  Well, one did-- the other was inside convincing her not to sleep in her puke stained clothes.  Really- those girls are good peeps looking out for her that way.

NOT a pregnant stripper-- just the most impressive
pregnant belly I've ever seen. Had to share.

The next one that stands out was a crying and VERY drunk, ahem, "adult entertainer" who tried to say she was a bartender at first. Then, through the tears, ratted herself out saying that she not only did she not have a CLUE how to make a single drink, but she took her clothes off for money (her words). BUT the cherry on the pie was that she was 13 weeks pregnant.  She was going to have an abortion THAT DAY but her boyfriend, who wants to keep the baby, spent all the money on drugs so she couldn't get one.  She then went on to say that she was drunker than usual because no one had any "party favors" at work that night. I've only got 2, non-judgmental yet honest, words for this one-- Train. Wreck.

It's not all drunk shit-shows that get in my car.  I also pick up people like this one gentleman-- we spoke for a while-- found out he once lived in Sugar Land (where I reside)-- his kids went to the same elementary, jr. high and high school that I did.  Once they graduated, he moved to a very nice neighborhood in Houston because he had no reason to stay in Sugar Land.  His job, that he retired from 2 weeks prior, was there in the city.  He was so relaxed and chill that I had to ask what he left behind. To be honest, I was a little shocked to hear that he had been the Houston Chief of Police for the last 6 years and serving the city for 39.  He was happy.  He had just turned 61 years old and was not resigning due to a scandal nor leaving the force due to his own funeral.  He just knew it was time... aaand he was on his way with BEAUTIFUL roses to greet his girlfriend for her birthday.  Sounds like he made the perfect choice for himself!  And just so we're clear-- once I heard those words "Houston City Chief of Police"  I was a weeeee bit more conscious about my speed and using my blinker.  Not that he was going to write me a ticket or anything-- guess it was more of a "Pavlov" type thing.

Those 4 stories only scratch the surface.. Hell-- maybe I should start an Uber blog just to have a place to share all of the craziness-- At this moment, I've had 654 rides in my car, so believe me, I have a lot to share.  But for now, I'm about to hop in the driver's seat and make that money!  I'll be sure to keep y'all updated on the awesome craziness that I call--My Life

Just me and my ride! :)

Its All Sane in the Shark Brain... On to the Next Usual Suspect

UPDATE TIME!

Well, the ultrasound came back. It says that my lady parts are fit as a fiddle.. (whatever that really means.. because.. I mean.. how many people really fiddle in this day and age--- and no offense to those who do-- I just don't know a lot of fiddlers.. and I live in the South) The blood work says I'm most definitely not dying right now.  Although you wouldn't have thought I thought that through the entire process.  THANK GOD my bestie, who if you don 't recall is a nurse for a gynecological oncologist, went with me to the lady doctor appointment.  She knew I was going to have plenty of questions considering I had already sent her a screen shot of my blood work to "make sure that didn't mean I had cancer." . Now, mind you-- I have a little lingering hypochondriac-ism, if that's even a word,  from before I decided to take some control in my life--so I called her right after the ultrasound and the convo went a little like this.

Me: "Hey girl!  Uhh.. so had the ultrasound.. they used the outside thingy.. .. Then they pulled out a wand that would put any B.O.B. I've ever seen to shame and damn near poked me in the esophagus with it.  She pushed and poked and asked me to push in places that weren't too comfortable.. Is that normal??I mean-- does that mean something??"

Her:  "Yup... totally normal.. That thing has to be long so they can really GET UP IN THERE and make sure all of your parts are ok. Also, sometimes they have to push to get a good read. Just routine"

Me:  "Alright-- well, next they put the outside thingy (I'm so technical.. I know..) BACK on me and pushed and took more pictures--- Does THAT mean something??"

Her:  Yup-- perfectly normal to use the "outside thingy"  again after they've poked you from here to China.. Sometimes they need to get a better look at things.." 

Me:  Ok, sooooo then I got up and looked at the screen.. I SHOULD HAVE NEVER LOOKED AT THE SCREEN!! THERE WAS A BIG RED CIRCLE ON THERE!! DOES THAT MEAN SOMETHING??"

Now, mind you-- at this point in the ultrasound-- I'm trying to convince the technician to let me change in there so I could get her out of there in order to investigate the photos myself. I mean.. There's a HUGE RED CIRCLE where my ovary should be. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??!! I MUST INVESTIGATE!!.......You know-- since automatically in my mind, at this point, I'm an expert an all at these things because they are MY things and I must investigate further.... 

Her: Who is now laughing at my hysteria of certain death awaiting me "Well--- since unltrasounds are in black and white, that means she drew the red circle on there and it was probably just for her... To size things up properly"

Can you see why she volunteered to join me at the next appointment? She figured she would intercept the barrage of questions and just be there with me-- and I don't know if she knows it-- but it meant the world to me to have her there.

Anyways-- to cut an already long story a wee bit shorter.  All was good in my shark hood, so he referred me to a GI doctor.  I luckily got in 2 days later.. The GI doctor asked a few questions and pushed on a few spots until I almost came out of my skin to determine that he thinks it might be my appendix and told me no more work outs until we have a cat-scan... 

Alrighty.. All I've ever heard about the appendix is about people needing to get it yanked out because they were on the brink of death.  I didn't feel like that then.. I don't feel like I'm about to die now.. but I DO feel about 50x's worse than the day I saw the doctor.  The last few days I feel as though I'm going from chills to sweats every 15 minutes.. anything I eat makes me want to hurl and the pain is starting to get worse...I'm fuzzy in the head... and since I wrote this have a low grade fever kicking on and off-- explains the chills/sweats thing.

Luckily though, I got the call yesterday that the insurance approved it, its going to be a butt load of money to get the cat-scan (I haven't mentioned that I am no longer employed with my company of 5 years as of last month but picked up Uber to cover as many bills as I can..just a little too foggy to drive the last few days.. believe me though-- I can't WAIT to tell you some of my Uber stories!) BUT I'm hoping that I will have answers very soon. Also, I had a physical this morning to go through everything, including my thyroid, kidneys, diabetes and a few other things in there that I don't recall-- If there's something wrong with this girl, WE ARE GOING TO FIND IT AND FIX IT!

I have plans to live a long, long, LONG life.  I have projects that I've started and I'm ready to pour myself into.  I have kids I want to see grow up.. and see their kids grow up.. and possibly even their kids grow up.  I have a lot more love to give, life to live, people to meet, places to see and just a lot of things left to do... So I'm going to get better.. and do them.----- I realize it sounds like I think I'm going to die and I don't-- but I'm human-- the what if's do cross my mind.


Anyways-- its just strange to have this mix of fear for what they "might" find. Excitement for what they will find so we can start working on the best route for it. And finally anticipations of "what's next?!" once I can fix it and move on to better things in my life.

Oh-- and one last thing-- I've learned that I think most people are assholes when I don't feel good.  I'm just going to go ahead and apologize in advance to ANYONE on the road, grocery store, doctors office, my family, my friends, passers by, random people on social media...you know-- the world- for not having the patience and peace of mind to accept that not everything is about me feeling bad....nor does everyone understand that I don't feel my best. And sorry if I gave you an ugly look..(or possibly even the finger when I thought you cut me off on the road) I just don't feel great right now.  But I am a healing in progress... and that road is loaded with a few crappy bumps that I'm ready to smooth over.

Its temporary :)

Getting My Shark Brain Looked at Today..

I haven't talked to a whole lot of people about this but today-- I'm going in for a long awaited ultrasound. Soooo...I'm getting my lady parts looked at-- otherwise known 'round these parts (and by these parts I mean something that makes my daughter and I laugh for hours) as "the shark brain". It occurred to me that I haven't really mentioned it to a whole lot of people about what's going on. I mean, I have in passing-- I've mentioned that things haven't been "right" for a while but when you try to stay positive with every aspect of your life--on the outside-- I don't think people really realize what might be taking place on the inside. I didn't want that to be the main focus of any of my conversations.. There were better things to talk about. Also, it doesn't just come up in an everyday conversation that your lady parts may not be up to par and there's just weird shit going on with them..

Also-- if I'm going to lay it all out there for you today--I may have even ignored some important signs because I just wanted to make enough good choices to make it go away. But I can't ignore them anymore and I've also taken the steps to know EXACTLY what is going on inside my body-- one of the places that is quite a mystery to me. Plus, when I feel like shit, no matter how much I wanted to say I was making good choice, I tend to make shit choices.

So here it goes--I've had some issues that have made me worry, frustrated, lethargic, curl up and cry over the pain, feel sick, lose motivation,.. has given me such mood swings that people probably wondered why I went from zero to bitch in 2.5 words....and another lovely side effect is that I bloat and I bleed about 23 days out of the month. I have an IUD-- I shouldn't be bleeding at all.

Now, people probably wonder what is wrong with me when I strive SO HARD to be as positive and motivational as possible. Truth is--I haven't communicated how much this has bothered me for something that has been going on close to a year now. I've tried to be super strong to really not let anyone know the extent that it wears on me.  

It has come and gone for so long now and in the beginning I thought it was just some weird "getting older" phase.. My last gyno said, "Hmm.. strange" when I told her about my symptoms and pain..never mentioned an ultrasound-- nothing By the time I got the courage up to do the right things (thanks to one of my besties since the 6th grade, who works for a gynecological oncologist and was riding my ass to get this done), my insurance had run out.

What did I do next? I went to the dark side, the "ultra-mega-evil doctors" (other wise known as lifesavers in my humble opinion) Planned Parenthood. They got me right in, they looked at my junk-- they told me I needed to get an ultrasound as soon as I possibly could and even recommended me to a doctor that would do it for practically next to nothing.

That was at the end of November and I started working right away on getting myself enrolled with some health insurance, getting in with a doctor and getting recommended to a gyno who will have my back by actually going the extra mile and not saying, "Hmm.. strange".. But, "Wow! I'm sorry you're going through this and we're going to work together to figure out how to make you feel better. Let's get you an ultrasound as quickly as possible and get you on the path to health!" That was a week ago and the ultrasound is today!! Never thought I'd be so excited to see what's going on in my body besides having babies in there-- but I am... I've been told ovarian cysts or fibroids may be what's the cause of everything but It feels like cysts rupturing over and over again as each week goes by. I'm not sure if that's an accurate description but I know how I feel.

I have to say-- when these feelings would take over my body before, I would give up on everything. I wouldn't work out or eat healthy.. I would feel so bad that I'd let EVERYTHING take a back seat. In December, I decided to renew my thinking about it, get back in to a healthy state of mind then let my body follow along naturally. And, go-figure-- when I work my body and eat to live-- I feel SO much better. The pain doesn't last as long and I feel mentally prepared for the events that are to come-- whatever they may be.

As a final note-- week from today, I'll be turning 39... I expect to look back a year from today with a smile and say, "DAMN GIRL!!! You've come a long way!! Just like you've done every year before!!" There's no better feeling in the world than reflecting over your last 39 years and seeing that, even though some days felt like they took over my entire life-- the year has been good to me because I believe that I'm in a better, healthier, happier and more loving place than I was the year before.  And whatever the events of the next few days, weeks or months might bring-- I'm not only ready to face them-- I'm ready to take them ON!

That, my friends, is living! Pure, unadulterated, living... I'm ready.. LET'S DO THIS!