It's time for another challenge

Since my medication dosage had been significantly increased since December, I'm totally feeling the side effects. These suck. There are the most common side effects that I have been warned about since going on the meds, but I've found that some are worse than others. Fatigue that is common with lamictal, is one that bothers me the most. I've always been extremely active and I hate feeling out of it and like I have zero energy. Since stimulants are definitely a no no and lower my seizure threshold, I have turned to a more natural approach. The one thing that helps me the most is excercising. Once I can get off my butt and get to the gym or do a challenging at home workout I get my endorphins running and find some awesome happy energy! To get the most out of my workouts I am eating healthy and cooking most of our meals at home. My husband and I aren't on any kind of crazy diet, but just a balanced high protein, lots of veggies, and low carb diet. The improvements in my health and how I feel have been so helpful in dealing with my epilepsy and the medication side effects. The more I workout, the more I strive for challenges. Since one of my biggest goals is helping and inspiring people, I've decided to become a Beachbody coach. Beachbody includes all of the at home workouts like insanity, P90 X, PiYo, and some new awesome programs that are geared toward your individual goals. Also, along with the workout programs are healthy eating programs and Shakeology. Shakeology contains super foods, proteins, and natural ingredients that I feel safe using. It also strengthens your immune system significantly. These are all claims that the program makes, but I'll have to be the proof that it actually works. This is unknown territory that I am going to explore and along my journey hopefully inspire anyone else who wants to take the healthy lifestyle challenge with me. I will document my progress and am open to any questions about it. My goal is to get stronger and leaner (but not huge and buff and bulky) and ultimately be healthier and feel awesome. I will start the program 21 Day Fix along with a meal plan and Shakeology. Anyone who is interested in any meal or workout program just let me know and you can buy it through me and I'll help to coach along the way. The Team Beachbody website has all of the information on all of the programs and products. I'd love to get some followers and some workout buddies, it definitely helps you stay motivated. More details to come when I get my program in. It's time to take on a new challenge and conquer. I'm going to prove that it's possible to overcome epilepsy and the meds that mess with your body. 

Silence Can Be an Invitation for Music

Music can do wonders. Lyrics will touch and be interpreted to every individual in a unique way that can bring joy, comfort, jack you up for a good workout, or just to calm your mind.  Whether it be simple instrumentals or words that captivate you, music is an amazing thing. I've created so many different playlists for so many different moods and purposes. I can be super moody and there's no telling what I'll listen to on any given day. Some days I just feel down, I may feel shitty and pissed off about having to be on my seizure meds. Or just scared and emotional. A lot of times I get emotional and down for no reason. Some times I just need to calm the fuck down because I'm stressed and stuck on the thought of having another seizure and just wanting to be normal. I'm not going to lie, having epilepsy can be really fucking depressing sometimes. The challenge is finding a safe and productive way to manage those terrible feelings. Music is one thing that I've used to calm my anxiety. When I just need to chill out, come back down to reality, and stop being worried about shit I have no control over, I'll find a few songs I'm in the mood for that day. Like I said, I'm super moody and sometimes a very distracted lady. My musical choices are always pretty random. Throughout this whole blogging adventure I'll share some of my playlists. There's a wide range of songs I listen to so check some of this shit out and maybe you'll like it. Today I'm finally feeling more human and coming down off of this shit storm of a cold that I fought off cold medicine free. It's time for me to grab some tea, put some comfies on and relax. So here's some relaxing tunage.

A Tribute To My Husband

My strength, my best friend, my soulmate, the love of my life. You give me the strength and encouragement to conquer anything. You're a truly beautiful soul and an inspiration. You have more love, integrity, and more compassion than anyone in the entire universe. You have made me the happiest woman alive and I will show you every day how madly in love with you I am. With you my love anything is possible, let's conquer this world together and have a long beautiful life together. I could go on and on and on about how amazing you are and how much I love you. Words don't do any justice to how much I love you and our life together. Our marriage is like a fairytale. I will love you until the day I die and then continue to in the life after this. I love you with all of my heart forever and ever.  

The Virus Finally Got Me!

Everyone in my family and a lot of my friends had this shitty cold that has been going around since December. My husband came down with it so I pumped vitamin C into my bod and had a bad ass immune system going so I could take care of him without getting it. His cold came and went and let me add, I took on the mission of making sure he had everything he needed to beat it. My mom, dad, brother, niece, sister in law, grandpa, and some of our friends have come down with the same thing throughout December and January. I felt like a badass, I felt great, I thought haha biatches that cold can't touch me. Well, about 3 days ago a cough, sore throat, and stuffy nose crept up. Son of a bitch, if got me. I blame the filthy breeding ground for germs that is the gym. They just let anyone in... Ew, lame! The kicker to all this bullshit is I can't take your typical cold medicine and especially not that magical NyQuil that allows you to sleep peacefully. There is a danger. Diphenhydramine is found in over the counter drugs like Benadryl, cold meds, and over the counter drugs to help you sleep. These can lower my seizure threshold and increase my risk of having a seizure. I just stay away from that stuff all together. I've turned to natural remedies and little tricks to make my cold a little more manageable. Tea has been a big help. Peppermint tea and chamomile have been my teas of choice. Because of my cough and sore throat, I add a bunch of honey to it to somewhat coat and soothe my throat. I also read somewhere that cloves can be a cough suppressant. I'll add about 3-4 cloves to my tea and I can't tell for sure if it makes a big difference but it tastes yummy. Water is crucial, lots and lots of it. I've been staying very hydrated even though I have to get up a million times to pee it's worth it. Essential oils can be soothing as well. Especially eucalyptus oil. A few drops of this in some Epsom salt, throw it in the shower, hop in and let the steam clear out your sinuses. It's won't take care of it completely but it feels and smells damn good! I also have my husband to thank! He is always here for whatever I need and he keeps a close loving eye on me. So on this 3rd day of this shit, I am just going to rest, follow my own advice and kick this virus in the balls! And I'm going to do it the all natural way. Hopefully by Friday I'll be up and running and kicking ass at the gym. I need to get my immune system back to the roided out beast that it usually is.