One book off my list

It is almost 2 a.m. in Aspen and after 300-some pages and multiples bawling sessions, I finished The Fault In Our Stars. Yes, in a matter of hours. I guess my old self was just hiding, waiting to be unleashed again by a truly amazing work of literary genius. 

Read the book, people. It will make you laugh and cry. 

"Best Book" list

As a spin-off from my previous post, everyone answer me this:
"If you could recommend the best book you have ever read, what would it be?"
Be a part of Megan's Best Book List!

Reading for pleasure

After a hiatus from pleasure book reading, I have finally picked one up that I love. The hiatus started freshmen year of college and hasn't really stopped since. Really sad, since I say I love reading so much — which I so, but when you do it for work, reading for pleasure is a little hard.
When my mom visited Aspen last she left a book she had started reading for me called "The Fault in Our Stars." I've heard a lot about it, from Facebook to Buzzfeed, but it sat there for awhile on my bedside table while I was either too tired or busy to read for pleasure.
I must have felt a slow day at work this morning, as I slid the book inside my bag before I left. Just as I predicted, it's 7:30 and I have nothing to do until the BCS game is over.
I'm already quite far in the book, having only started reading some 20 minutes ago, and I love it already.
Being me, I always have a "Books I Need to Read" list either on Pinterest, iPhone or in my head.

• Halfway through second book of Game of Thrones (I got hooked on the TV series)
• New J.K. Rowling book on Kindle (one of my fav authors)
• New book by author of The Kite Runner on Kindle (another of my fav authors)
• Anna Karenina (sparked by conversation between my mother and I)
• The Other Boleyn Girl (again, sparked by Madre)

While there are probably many more that will be added as 2014 unfolds, I will probably not get to them.

Allergies

I was told by my chiropractor that it was possible for intolerances may go away after this detox process, but I was never told anything. About allergies. I've been highly allergic to cats since before I can remember. Before I moved to Aspen, I had a Harry Potter date at the apartment of a good friend. She has a really friendly and silly cat. I pet him then washed my hands. However, I was in his domain, and by the time Harry was told he was a wizard, I could barely see the tv, my eyes were so allergically swollen! (Not that I needed to see the movie to really watch it...I have the whole thing memorized anyway).

A lot of kleenexes, two Benadryl and sleeping in the next day got me over the eyes, drippy nose and almost-exploding headache. 

I recently spent the night at a friends house where there are currently two cats dwelling. The blanket on me that night had been slept on by a cat. There was Benadryl, kleenexes and even my inhaler in my purse, just in case. 

I didn't need them. ANY of them. There wasn't a single drip from my nose. Not a single swollen eye. I woke up the next morning and greeted one of the cats with a little head scratch. And I was still fine. 

Text between Dr. Mike and myself

Dumbfounded, I promptly texted Dr. Mike  on Monday morning. His response was heartwarming. I am now than excited for the future of my nose. There is a strong possibility of not being bedridden when visiting my parents during harvest season. I may be able to — finally — smell the roses. 

My new gluten-free life

I started seeing a chiropractor in Aspen not too long after I got here to keep my migraines at bay. On Oct. 30 I woke up utterly exhausted and in a complete brain fog. I could barely get out of bed. I was able to make it to the restroom but almost fell standing up. I knew something was wrong, and a coworker took my to the ER. After some blood work there wasn't anything definitive so I was told to go home and sleep and follow up with a family doctor. After blood tests came back, we found out I was iron-deficient anemic and also had very low iron levels. 

When I told my chiropractor about my hospital visit the next week, he went into hyperdrive. Having treated multiple patients with my exact symptoms, he knew exactly what was wrong. 

Soon after I started a gluten-free diet. It's not for certain if I have Celiac's disease yet or just a gluten-intolerance, but I feel so much better already.

However, I still suffered from extreme fatigue, high anxiety, joint and muscle pains and brain fog. Turns out I  also havebeen suffering from a leaky gut. This is where undigested food slips into my bloodstream. I am now toxic. My body is freaking out. 

Because of the leaky gut, my body isn't absorbing the nutrients that it needs to function, so I go into a fight-or-flight mode; it thinks I'm starving! Hence the inability to lose weight over the past three years no matter how hard I try. 

I'm nearing the end of the detox phase. As soon as all the crud gets flushed out of my body, we are going to give it a little vacation; let it heal and then start working on its own. Once that happens, the weight will fall off, apparently. (Yay!)

The weight and my incompetent knowledge about money and budgets makes for multiple anxiety attacks over the past few months. The money has been hard because I have to eat healthy AND gluten-free so my body can start absorbing what it needs naturally and then I can get off the crazy amount of supplements I'm on. 

Until then, it's a ridiculous amount of pills, chiropractic adjustments and eating as healthy as I can, not to mention a ton of water. 

Wish me luck! And to fellow gluten-haters, stay strong!

Aspen is pretty sweet

So it's been awhile since my last post. I've been soaking up all that Aspen has to offer! This past weekend when my mother was here, we went up to the Maroon Bells with the Times' new intern, Abby. It was beautiful up there, and we racked up almost 8,000 steps on our pacer app!

I am probably the luckiest girl in the world. I got a job before I graduated college. Did I mention that job was in the same field that I got my $40,000 piece of paper for?? Yup. On top of that, my job is in a pretty amazing place. AND...I LOVE my job. I love the work I'm doing and I love my coworkers. But there's another part to what I've been feelings during my first few months in Aspen. It's like that scene in "The Help" when the two main maids are in the super market and end up spying on a lady who's reading the book.

OK, so I'm not actually writing, but I put that paper together. I chose those wire stories. I helped make sure everything was perfect before it was sent off to press. 

And I still get that same feeling that Abilene and her friend got when they saw a person reading what they helped put together. It's a pretty awesome feeling and I am so blessed for this opportunity.

I'm alive...how could I NOT be?

After finishing my first full week of work, I've decided I like it. My coworkers are awesome. My apartment is awesome. I've made tons of friends already--human and K9 alike. 

My mom has stayed a few more days than originally planned (personally, I'm not surprised.) We took a walk down the Rio Grande footpath right across from my apartment today since it's my first day off. I will be taking that path more often to see my new furry friends. One of these friends I made today is part wolf part husky named Pistol.  This morning, Pistol's mom informed us that he chased a bear up a tree. Apparently he does this a lot, and the walkers and bikers of town know that if Pistol is on the walking path, they are safe. 

I am loving Aspen and everyone that I have met. I can't wait to continue on this amazing journey.