Butterflies

Promise. Never, ever again. <<33
                                                                        


You know I never want to let you down
It cuts me up to see you sad
And I wish that I could undo what I've done
Give back the faith in me you had

Oh yeah
Oh yeah

You know I love you more than anyone
But I get a little wrapped up in myself
But you know I never want to do you wrong
Bring into question what we have

Oh yeah
I know I let you down
I know I let you down
But you're giving me a chance

Oh yeah
I know I let you down
I know I let you down
But you're giving me a chance




Love,
Romy

Every Day Is Earth Day

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet, and the winds long to play with your hair. -- Kahlil Gibran

Happy Earth Day 2012!!!

What are your plans to celebrate our beautiful earth today?! Troy is out helping with the bike race that is going through town and when he comes back, we plan on going for a run before we head out for a glorious day of hiking!

Troy took this picture a few years ago of Tiger Creek, where we will be spending our day today. LOVE!

Earth Day is about trying to spread attention to environmental education in hopes to implement long-ignored solutions to environmental problems. Education is key, yes and whoever said that ignorance is bliss...well, I just do not agree at all. I am of the mindset that I want to be informed because it is truly the only way to fight and make a difference.

I won't go on and on preaching about how our beautiful earth is in jeopardy, how so many creatures on earth are seriously declining, or how our food supply is actually experiencing a shortage. Nope! Not me! You will get plenty of that all over the place today. *as you should!*

Instead I will just ask you (sweetly of course) to log off your computers, turn off your tv, grab your loved ones and go enjoy our beautiful world even if it is just for a few hours. It is truly a glorious world out there, let's enjoy it!

                                    Show compassion, for the world belongs to ALL of us. <3


We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
-- Native American Proverb


love,
Romy

'cause down the shore, everything is alright

I am kind of afraid to say it for fear of jinxing it but the weather in WA has been gorgeous! We spent the entire day outdoors and I loved it. Between running, playtime with the pugs on the grass, a bit of grocery shopping and sitting out in the sun watching Tour Of Walla Walla and taking pics. Once again, Troy took pics of the race and I took random pics. Like this one.

See that tattoo there? It is the first tattoo I ever got and I am not too fond of it. I had it done in some little tattoo shop, it took about 20 minutes and it cost $50.00. I wanted an American flag and the guy was like "oh, let's put it on there like it is waving!"! He was cute and I said sure! Bad idea. I guess at some point I will get it redone or covered up. Who knows. I may just leave it alone to remind me of that time in my life.

Troy set up chairs for us to watch the race and as cyclists were flying by, sweating profusely and working their butts off,  the husband was snapping pics like crazy and I was eating salt water taffy while teasing Troy about everything under the sun.
                                                             Mmmm, so good.

Salt water taffy totally reminds me of my childhood growing up in Jersey.With the exception that these are vegan and I doubt the ones from the Jersey Shore were/are. Even though I spent over 20 years living in So CA , I was born and lived in NJ until I was 10 years old and went back twice in my adult years for a short while. I have no idea if I consider myself a Jersey girl or not. I guess it depends on the day and my mood. Today I am feeling Jersey.

I have always been a sugar-a-holic but lately each time I eat anything with refined sugar, I end up with a major headache and a horrific stomach ache. I tell Troy I am allergic to sugar and he tells me that the issue is that I eat so many fruits and veggies every single day that my body is no longer breaking down sugar correctly. Something like that. All I heard was - sugar equals pain.

Stay tuned for a 3am blog because I can't sleep due to my body screaming at me for the taffy. :/

love,
Romy

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice

I truly believe in love at first sight. It happened with my husband and it happened today with a little lady named Petunia and her mommy is my dearest girlfriend in the entire world.

Okay, her name is not Petunia but until I hear otherwise that is what I am going to call her. When Tina called me a few days ago to tell me she was having a little girl, I just started to cry. Tina has been my sister by heart for more years than I can count. We met in grade school and stayed close all these years. She has always been one of my biggest supporters, loved me when I least deserved it, my cheerleader, one of my "first" calls with good/bad/sad/amazing news, my conscience, my backbone when I felt too weak, her family is my extended family and I love Tina as much as I love my own sisters...she has been a huge part of my heart for nearly my entire life and always will be. To know that this beautiful woman is going to have another little girl to bring into our fold of girl power is pretty amazing. It is surreal actually. I wish Petunia to have a childhood friend for her entire life that has will be even close to what my Tina has been to me.  And now I am crying again.

Welcome to our family, little girl, you could not have better parents and I promise to spoil you rotten. I already am loving her little "no paparazzi" pose!

Oh and your dad, Mike, is pretty great too. He just is no Tina. :)

Well, today has been a freaking fantastical day! I will post a bit more about our day in our daily pic post but right now let me show you our delish dinner.

Vegan chickpea sandwich for me and aloo curry for Troy. Mmmm. We also split a raw, vegan chocolate cake that um...was half gone before our food arrived. It was so good we could not wait till after we finished!

The sandwich was so so good but I could not finish it because it was massive! Troy informed me what I have to order next time so he can decide if he wants something different at some point in the future. I like to try a little bit of everything while he finds one thing he loves and sticks to it! Oh. Good thing :).


love,
Romy

I wanna breathe, I wanna grow

I made gluten and dairy free cupcakes last night and I kept randomly calling out from the kitchen while I was preparing them "who has an awesome wife?" and then before he could answer I would sing, "you do, you doooooo".  Poor guy.

So back to the cupcakes, they were delish! I even made gf and df icing. They looked so cute all healthy and frosted. I would love to show a picture of them but...after I made them, I put them in a container anddddd then put the container on the stove. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY. Needless to say the frosting melted. They look like sad little soggy, naked cupcakes.

So instead, here...look at this pretty picture of fruit that I did not take.

You can barely open our fridge because of the massive amounts of fruits, veggies and coconut milk containers. Not to mention how much fruit I have laying around the kitchen and dining room in bowls. Love.

I have been cooking up a storm lately because Troy is doing the Paleo Plan for Athletes and I stick to a vegan diet...so while we match up for most things, main dinner meals are vastly different.  He is feeling FANTASTIC on the diet, never hungry, no bloat and tons - tonsss of energy! Yah!

That's it for me today. I found a list of great running songs, so I am off to download a bunch of them and update my iPod so I can go for a much needed run. Oh and tonight we are going out to dinner with Jeremy! No cooking for meeee!!!


“You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?” 
― Rumi



love,
Romy

Placed In A Queue

I have been feeling so fantastic lately. Better than I have in years, if I was to be honest. Physically I am so much stronger then I was a few years ago, I haven't felt this great since ...ugh, a long time.

I also have guilt about it. I read RA boards and 90% of them are in so much pain. They can't walk, they can barely type, they for sure can't exercise, simple things like cooking or doing laundry are beyond anything they can do. I read a post yesterday about how someone could not wait to share with everyone where to find the longest straws so that they can drink without having to lift their glasses. You would not believe how thrilled people were for the information. It broke my heart for them.

Why? Well, because I can lift my glass, I haven't had to think about anything like that in years. I can not only walk but I can run...and I do nearly every single day. I walk my three dogs for a mile or more daily. I run up and down our stairs to do laundry at least 4x a week, I cook several meals a week, I can dance, lift anything, turn any knob or open lids, I can do push ups and sit ups. I can sleep on an air mattress on the floor during any weather on a camping trip, wake up and feel great. I can swing on a swing while pumping my legs furiously to try to get higher than Troy. I laugh a lot too. Constantly. I live my life outside of RA. I am planning on running several races this year and am even doing some half marathons in CA with my older sister and a bunch of girlfriends. Next year I am doing a triathlon with my husband. Those are my goals. These are the things I train for every single day, my hopes. I plan weekend trips with my husband. We schedule hikes to the top of peaks. We run around the house being insanely silly without ever being scared that I will get hurt.  I stand up for hours in the kitchen cooking new dishes for us nearly every day. I thrive every single day.

The guilt of being able to feel this good is something I think about. I read these people's words...they are pleading for relief, they are praying for the answer to a life without pain, they are trying to hold on to their dignity as they lose further use of their limbs. Some are so angry, others are broken and several seem without hope. It is just heart wrenching and I ask myself  -"why is that not me?".  Is it because I am diligent about my medication? Can't be...because they are too. Is it because I eat very well? So do a lot of them. Is it the meds I take? Several take the same shot as I do. I don't know what it is. I don't know why I am doing so well. Trust me, this fucking disease has brought me to my knees several times. I have been furious with my body for failing me. Furious at every single person who ran past our home while I was on the couch praying for relief. I have had countless days where I laid in bed and prayed to not wake up the next morning because the pain was too much. I have literally screamed in pain when just trying to stand or sit. My hands have been so swollen that they failed to pick anything up. My husband hugging me caused me anxiety because it hurt so badly. But now...now I am in remission. I know I am not cured. There is no cure but God, do I feel great. Why did I get the golden ticket? Some of these people have been in so much pain for years, decades...even longer. I was in major pain for the first year after being diagnosed and after that it came in waves while my meds were sorted out. So many never ever get any relief.  Here I am able to function as if I don't have this horrible disease. Don't get me wrong, I am so damn grateful and even more importantly...I am aware that it could last another month or forever. No one knows for sure. The only thing that I do know is that I will never be disabled, disfigured or lose ability to use my limbs. That right there is pure and simple dumb luck. I knew enough of my body to know when something wasn't right and went to the dr. right away. Treatment starting at the very start of my condition made all the difference in the universe. For me. Not for everyone. Pure and dumb luck.

I woke up this morning and felt a bit of pain in my left leg. I thought, omg no...it's back. After the morning brain fog lifted, I realized that no...it was just muscle pain from exercising.

love,
Romy

Blast To The Roof

I never, ever take one step for granted. Running is a passion for me, not just a "race" or a look at what I can do...it is a gift that I never forget to be grateful for. I may not always be able to run but I will always remember the feeling of freedom in every stride, the feeling of happiness each time my foot hits the pavement.

love,
Romy

Every rule I had you breakin'

I can't sleep. This is not a new thing, I have been having a hard time sleeping for nearly 6 months now. I go to bed with my husband and I end up laying there for hours after he has already fallen asleep. I stare at the ceiling, I read my Kindle, listen to my iPod, read the news on my droid, play Angry Birds and try not to be jealous of how soundly my husband can sleep. The thing is, I am tired...but I can't sleep.

I have tried everything that you can possibly imagine to try to make me sleep but nothing works. I mentioned it when I went to see my dr. and she recommended sleeping pills but ugh, I hate to take medication unless I really have to. I eventually fall asleep around 2am or so but I like to wake up rather early so it is never enough sleep. I don't nap too often so you would think I would be exhausted come bed time, right? Wrong! I am also rarely ever tired during the day and typically have all sorts of energy.

So what I do is, lay in bed and come up with things I want to or try. I check off things on my mental To-Do list. I add things to my mental To-Do list. I end up jumping on my Kindle to look stuff up, wake up Troy to tell him about random things I think we should do, take notes on my droid and I eventually wear myself out. Eventually. Not before I think too much. Way too much thinking. I try to fight the urge to get out of bed because I tell myself that if I am laying down, I will fall asleep. Pfth. Tonight I decided to not fight it, jumped out of bed and came to write a blog about how I can't sleep.

Check.

I am going back in. Wish me luck.

love,
Romy

'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Spring cleaning is not just for the house! I have been sorting through various aspects of my life, trying to figure out what to change, get rid of and focus more on.

I decided that I have a lot of work to do. To start with, I am needing to take a break from social media, ie - FB and things similar to that. It just takes up so much of my time and the reality is that with warm weather coming - I just rather be outdoors or focusing on bettering myself. I am pretty obsessed with only wanting to spend time on positive things that will benefit me physically, mentally or emotionally. While I adore my family and friends, FB is just a huge time waster for me. I can easily pick up the phone and call or send text messages. I have so many different races and a few triathlons I want to do within the next year, I want to re-sculpt my body to make it as efficient as possible. I want to be ready so if/when I fall out of remission that I don't think, "I wish I had done more when I was pain-free". I have been working out quite a bit but I want to do more. I am also fully committed to a 100% plant based diet on top of everything else and that takes time! Sometimes I feel like I am in a race against time because I don't know for sure when or if I will wake up one morning and be unable to function without a lot of pain. So maybe it is more like a race against my own body. I want to gulp in as much life as I possibly can. No one can know for sure what tomorrow brings, I am aware of that. I just also know for a fact that I don't want to waste any time, not anymore. The bottom line is I just want to enjoy every minute I can, out in the sun by myself and with my husband. Enjoy evenings at home with just him...not on a computer or cell. Plus, I have three little roly poly pugs who insist my arms be free as often as possible when I am home!

I love blogging and I don't think I could ever stop, but it isn't the same as it doesn't take up huge chunks of time. I suffer from not being able to do anything without obsessing. I get an idea and that's it. I take it and run. It becomes a huge focus in my life and before I know it, I am totally swept up.

Speaking of swept up, photography is my newest thing. Be prepared for a lot more pics! See that? I replace one obsession with another. Ah, life.

love,
Romy

Well hellooo !

Ack! I have been so busy lately that I have sort of forgotten about my little blog!

On top of the bazillion things I have been busy with, my husband and I started a 365 pic a day blog. One of us has been posting an image once a day for the last 29 days and will continue to do so for the next 336 days. I tend to ramble when I post a pic while Troy is the more silent type :). Check out the Day 1 blog for more info.

Anyway, here is the link if you want to check it out!

I promise to be back soon'ish!

love,
Romy