Who Loves Fall?!...This Girl!!!!

So it has been a while and Brittany and I are EXTREMELY guilty of not being consistent with posting. I plead being in classes, and I know that if Brittany were to plead anything she would plead working a crazy schedule! So anyway forgive us, and we are going to get better I promise :) Anyway since it is FINALLY September that can only mean one thing...it is FALL!!!! Fall is my absolute favorite season! I love the changing leaves, the crisp chill in the air, I love scarves, and gloves, and cute coats! My birthday is in the fall so that probably has something to do with the fact that fall is my favorite season lol. Anyway, I am so excited for fall because that means it is time for college football! I love college football It is a way that Tyler and I bond. Tyler could watch football all day and all night long and I enjoy snuggling on the couch playing with the iPad during games I don't particularly care about or screaming (I can get intense when I'm watching my favorite teams and it can get so loud in my apartment when Tyler and I are watching teams we care about lol) and cheering when I'm watching a team I care about. Anyway, this isn't supposed to be a post all about football, so I will change the subject lol. So this is going to be a short post for me, but I really just wanted to post, so that's ok. Anyway, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and Facebook, Tweet or comment on the blog if you have a topic you want us to talk about!

Summer Is Ending

Hey everybody! It has been a while huh?! Well I am back for a few days anyway. I have been working as a CA on campus still which I love. And training is getting ready to start this Thursday so things are crazy this week with preparing. This week I have cleaned the apartment entirely from top to bottom (which it despearately needed!). I have door decs and my bulletin board to get up tomorrow after my desk shift which will make for a very busy day, but a very good day. After a week and a half of training, school starts! I sound like a nerd saying that I am excited for classes to start, but remember, I have been spending a lot of time alone at the apartment. I bring my hubby lunch every day, which I love! I'm sad that once training starts I won't be able to do that anymore :( I'm looking forward to having something to do everyday and to have homework, I really love homework, and I love to learn. I have done my best this summer to plan my whole year out CA-wise. I have made flascards for every month that has what my bulletin board is going to be what my door decs are going to be, and my program ideas. I have cut out my door decs for every month up until December. That planning will hopefully allow me to not be stressed out this year. I am so excited to not be in the respiratory therapy program because that will allow me to be a better wife and CA this year. Anyway, I am off to do more training and schoo prep!

An Ashley Update

Well, I finished my crazy last semester finally! I made it through mostly unscathed. Unfortunately I am no longer in the respiratory care program (it's a kinda long story so I won't bore you with the details). But I feel good about life though. I am going into Political Science now, and I know the program will be tough but I shouldn't go as insane as I did in the respiratory care program. And I will have more time for my CA job (oh yeah, I'm a CA again next year!), my hubby (we've  been married a year already! Saturday was our 1 year anniversary!), keeping up with housework, and of course, blogging! Our plan for this summer is to really get the blog rolling again, we both got lax during the school year.  Anyway, like I said, hopefully some very exciting things will be happening in the near future so look for that on the blog, our Facebook pages, and our Twitter page! Life has been a pretty amazing ride though lately. We moved almost a month ago into a new apartment on campus and that was a very stressful process. I luckily didn't have to start packing and cleaning until after finals last semester so that was good. But the moving process was bad! Ok, it wasn't so bad, I just hate moving with a passion! I don't mind the packing or the cleaning-in fact, packing and cleaning were very therapeutic after a stressful semester. I just didn't like moving in the heat, and then once we had moved everything to our new place, we had to unpack which took longer than moving things did! And of course I'm OCD and the chaos and the mess drove me insane. So I worked tirelessly (along with my amazing husband) to get the apartment unpacked and ready to be lived in that night (which we did). We have gotten to see a lot of family since we have moved in. I think every week since we have moved we have had family stay with us for a weekend or so. I love it, and I love seeing family, but I am so excited to have a break for a week and for the hubby and I to get to relax. Other than moving, not much has happened lately, other than our ONE YEAR anniversary! This has been the most amazing year and I am so excited for so many more to come! Anyway, be looking out for more and more exciting things coming up on the blog and on Facebook and Twitter pages! And Folow us if you don't already :)

It's Time For A.....GIVEAWAY!

So we posted about this on Facebook, but in case you don't have a Facebook, or don't follow us (which you should ;) ) we are doing something that we have never done before. We are very excited about this! We are doing a GIVEAWAY! That's right folks, a giveaway! The wonderful Jewellery Bug has decided to do a Facebook giveaway with us! How do you enter this giveaway do you ask? Well to enter the giveaway you need to Facebook message us or email us telling us about your most memorable experience with Turner Syndrome. It can be something simple like "I got to meet a lot of people at a TSSUS conference", or anything like that! The more creative the better! Make it something that sticks out! We are giving you guys 2 whole months to get us your messages. There will only be one winner who will be chosen randomly. If you are the lucky winner, you will Facebook message Jewellery Bug and work out the details (you will tell her your address so she can mail it to you, and you will tell her which one of the three jewellery options found below that you want, and the color you choose). The winner will be chosen on 7/27/13. Only one entry is allowed per participant. Depending on how this giveaway goes, we will work on trying to get other giveaways setting up for you guys!

Below are the three jewelery options that you can choose from if you win:

Here is our email and Facebook information (ya know, in case you don't have it already or don't follow us)

Facebook: Turners Bloggers

Facebook Page: This One's For The Girls

Email: turnersbloggers@yahoo.com

We hope to hear from lots of you! 

Make YOUR Voice Heard!

    So we are giving you another chance to make your voice heard! You know how in class you have to go around and do those "getting to know you" activities where you have to choose a word that describes you to help people remember your name? Well we are doing something like that! If someone asked you to use ONE word to describe yourself what would you choose? What word defines you? It can start with the first letter of your first name, or can be any word of your choosing (appropriate though please :)). Once we decide to end this activity (which, who knows when that will be right?!), we will combine the words into a collage and post it on our Facebook, blog, and Twitter! How fun is that?!
    Are you interested in participating in this fun activity?! If you are, you can email, tweet, facebook, or comment on this blog post, the word of your choosing! New to seeing/following our blog? Here is the information you can send your word to! Facebook: message us (or post on our wall if you're that brave :) ) by searching Turners Bloggers. Email: email us at turnersbloggers@yahoo.com. Twitter: tweet @TurnersGirls

This Crazy, Beautiful Life!

So it has been a while since I have done an update on my life huh? Well things are pretty good, I am in my second semester of the RT program and I love it! It has been one of the toughest semesters of my entire college career, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Other than school, I'm loving being a CA (I told you about this right?) Being a CA is hard work, but it so rewarding when I get to hear things from my residents like "You're a great CA"! I love being able to help people, it genuinely makes me so happy! Married life is completely amazing!!!!!!  I am still trying to find the wife-CA-student balance (and sometimes I epically fail at it!) and it has been tough, but when I let go of my OCD (I'm pretty sure I have told you about this one, if not, my name is Ashley and I am horribly, horribly OCD (*insert like AA introduction here*) and focus on the more important things than cleaning (and yes I'm discovering there are such things! Crazy right?!) life is pretty darn good. Anyway, I have a test tomorrow that I am avoiding studying for...I mean taking a study break...by blogging and I need to go study again before my staff meeting! Oh, and I promise that you will get more substantive blog posts from me again when life slows down (oh wait, does that happen??).

Book Update

So we don't have much done on the book...ok let's be honest we really haven't gotten anything done yet. I knew it would be hard to find free time to write. And when I do have free time my only thought is hanging out with the hubby (yes I'm still in that disgusting I love my husband and don't want to be away from him mode) not writing in the book. I love the idea of writing a book, but being a student, being a CA, and having a semblance of a life, have proven issues to writing. But, we are writing, I promise :). We just need to really set time aside to write (maybe I will look into doing that at least one day a week. We did tell you to be patient with us ;) so until we really get time to work hard on it...the book release date is still TBD. We will do our best to keep you guys updated and will hopefully have some book previews to let you see soon. So stick with us during this learning time :)

We're Writing A Book!!!!

So a little while ago Brittany and I decided to do something that was really exciting for me, and for Brittany. We are going to write a book about Turners and our experiences with Turners. Brittany has always wanted to do a book about TS, but it never occurred to me. I mean, I like to write, but no one, and I mean no one reads my stories so this is pretty big! This is going to be a kind of slow process, we are both in school :). So we are going to work on it slowly and see how long it takes. We don't even have a 100% set goal for when we want to publish. So we have decided to do a little teaser I guess. We are both going to work on a chapter and then get it polished so that we can put a little excerpt on the blog and our Facebook! These excerpts may not even end up in the book when all is said and done. We are going to polish them up, and they will probably be different if they end up in the book at all. We aren't sure when we are going to even get these excerpts up on the blog or Facebook, but be looking out for them! We are excited about this and hope you are all excited for the finished project!

TS Thankful

We are working on compiling all the comments/emails/tweets we received for the TS Thankful promo. We are also sorry if this idea offended any of you, that was not the intention at all. We realize that have TS isn't really something to be thankful for necessarily. The idea was more to get people to think of what things in your life have come about as a result of your experiences with TS. It was also meant to be motivational to other TS sisters. Anyway we will be taking submissions until December 1st if you are still interested in submitting something :)

In The Spirit Of The Season

So since it is fall (It's about time I L-O-V-E the colder weather) we decided to do something a little different than we have done before but we think it could be a really cool thing if it works. What are we up to you ask? We are asking all of our TS sisters why they are thankful they have TS. I know you're probably thinking that it's hard to come up with reasons to be thankful that you have Turners but they are there, I promise :) So if you want to participate, and we really want you to, all you need to do is email us (turnersbloggers@yahoo.com), tweet us(@TurnersGirls) or Facebook us(Turners Bloggers) and let us know why you are thankful you have TS. When it gets closer to Thanksgiving we are going to compile all the responses we get into a blog post and post them on the blog and maybe put them in a note on Facebook. I really think that this could be a cool thing for us to do and if it goes well we may make this a yearly tradition :) Just think about the positive influence you could be on one of your TS sisters who gets to read your words about why you are thankful you have TS. I personally know I would have benefited greatly from having some encouraging words to turn to from other TS sisters when I was first diagnosed. If you do choose to participate but don't want your name to be shown after what you have written, please let us know that when you send us your reason you're thankful. We really hope you participate because you never know who your words could touch for the good!

Just Keep Swimming!

      So lately things have been pretty stinkin' crazy in my life. I recently got accepted into the Respiratory Therapy program at my school. This all happened rather suddenly...I mean totally suddenly. I walked into an appointment with an advisor intending to ask her about the program, and walked out starting the program the next day...with the hubby's approval of course :) So that really threw me for a loop and for about a week I was feeling like I was a fish out of water trying to get used to the program and catching up to the level that the other people in the program are at. On top of that, I have to juggle my job on campus, my apartment, and find time to spend with my hubby. I do this all very happily because I love keeping my apartment clean and spending time with my hubby, and my job is stressful at times but can be very rewarding at the same time. So like I was saying, I felt like a fish out of water for about a week and on some days, I felt like I was a fish who was about to drown. And one day, I was thinking about how exhausted I was and the quote from Finding Nemo where Dory is like "Just keep swimming...just keep swimming", you know the rest, popped into my head. It at first made me smile because that is such a cute movie and I love that quote, but it inspired me too. There is a reason I was accepted into the RT program the way that I was, and it is rough, and difficult, and exhausting, but it it TOTALLY worth it and I LOVE every second of it.
        What does this have to do with TS? It has a lot to do with TS in my opinion. I choose not to let my diagnosis of Turners get me down. I have issues with math sometimes, but that's just me and I have come to learn to live with it. I feel that if we let the fact that we have Turners define us, we won't be able to reach our full potentials. I think one of the critical things about the diagnosis of TS, especially when you are first diagnosed, is to not let that define you and your relationships like I did. I really let TS affect me socially for a while when I was first diagnosed, and I am STILL getting over those hurdles I put up for myself and that effects how I approach going into a patient's room when I do clinicals and it can really make me seem insincere and kind of like a robot when I am dealing with them if I'm not carefully paying attention to my every interaction with them.
        So the moral of this story? Don't put hurdles up for yourself just because you have Turner Syndrome (trust me, you will regret it!), learn to embrace it, learn to love it and how it affects your life and the lives of those around you that you touch everyday. I know it is hard, believe me, I know it is, but putting hurdles up for yourself just makes it harder to become the amazing, wonderful woman that you can be! So my TS sisters, "just keep swimming!" and remember, that when it feels impossible to swim and keep going, it gets easier and you have help, there are so many people around you who are willing to help you and give you support. The key is you just have to LET them, and be willing to ask for help and support when you need it.

The Dash

   I was doing a little thinking recently and I realized that the first year that I was diagnosed with TS was pretty much one of the greatest years of my life. I know it sounds crazy to call the year that you were diagnosed with a disease one of the greatest years of your life, but it reallly was for me. I was able to do some really cool things and I was able to meet some really amazing people because of my diagnosis. And I can honestly say that those people that I met and the experiences that I had, along with my diagnosis of TS in general changed my life completely forever.

     I told you in an earlier post about getting to go to the TSSUS conference in Atlanta the year that I was diagnosed and that is how I met Brittany (aka the super-duper amazing person who also writes on this blog with me). I remember we stayed at the Westin hotel in Atlanta which was where the conference was being held and the rooms all had huge windows that you could pretty much walk right out to. And I remember that from my room you could see the Centennial Olympic Fountain and also the CNN building (which was a little harder to see than the fountain, but the point is that you could still see it). I remember looking out that window and staring at the fountain and all of my cares and worries just seemed to disappear. It didn't matter to me that I had literally just been diagnosed with TS a few months ago, all that mattered was looking out the window and appreciating that amazing view. I'm sure you're wondering why I'm writing about staring at a fountain, but I am writing about it because it was a major turning point in my life. From that moment on, I wanted to try to live my life with no worries and live my life to the fullest. Now that was an impossible goal for me to not worry because I am one of the biggest worry-worts on the planet so I changed my goal. I wanted to live each day so that I could keep that feeling of freedom and live my life to the fullest. Now it hasn't been easy, and I admit there are some days that I utterly fail, but I still try, and setting that goal for myself helped me to come to terms with my TS and realize that it is just a speed bump in the road of life, and it wasn't even that big of a speed bump once I actually thought about it.

     In conclusion, on of my English teachers in high school read us this poem and it really inspired me, so I hope that it inspires all of you to think about how you spent your dash. 

 The Dash Poem, by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

It's Up To You!

As a fun, end of summer kind of thing for the blog, we are going to do a fun little thing where you guys can email us the topic you want our next blog post to be about! It can be anything TS related- from boys, to marriage, to kids, to dealing with TS, to diagnosing TS, the choice is up to you! We will do more than one, so don't think if you're suggestion for a blog choice didn't get chosen that it won't be written about, because it could be! So here's what you do:
1: think of a topic
2: email us that topic...turnersbloggers@yahoo.com
3: check back and see if your suggestion got chosen!

TSSUS Conference

Hey everyone!
If you are going to the TSSUS 25th Anniversary  Conference in Anaheim, CA or the TSS Conference in Canada this year, we would like some pictures so we can put them on the blog and on our facebook site. If you are interested in sending us pictures, email us at turnersbloggers@yahoo.com. For more information about the TSSUS Conference click here and for more information about the TSS Conference in Canada, click here .

TS Fact Sheet

We had a Twitter comment saying that our next blog post should be about what exactly TS is. So I found an awesome link called the TS Fact Sheet  that is a brief summary of TS and I thought that it would be a good way to give a quick overview of Turners. And for those of you who don't know much about Turners or who are looking for more information about TS and support groups click here! I hope you enjoy! And keep up all the comments, twittering, facebooking, and emailing it means a lot!

Live Life to the Fullest

I was doing a little thinking recently and I realized that the first year that I was diagnosed with TS was pretty much one of the greatest years of my life. I know it sounds crazy to call the year that you were diagnosed with a disease one of the greatest years of your life, but it reallly was for me. I was able to do some really cool things and I was able to meet some really amazing people because of my diagnosis. And I can honestly say that those people that I met and the experiences that I had, along with my diagnosis of TS in general changed my life completely forever.

     I told you in an earlier post about getting to go to the TSSUS conference in Atlanta the year that I was diagnosed and that is how I met Brittany (aka the super-duper amazing person who also writes on this blog with me). I remember we stayed at the Westin hotel in Atlanta which was where the conference was being held and the rooms all had huge windows that you could pretty much walk right out to. And I remember that from my room you could see the Centennial Olympic Fountain and also the CNN building (which was a little harder to see than the fountain, but the point is that you could still see it). I remember looking out that window and staring at the fountain and all of my cares and worries just seemed to disappear. It didn't matter to me that I had literally just been diagnosed with TS a few months ago, all that mattered was looking out the window and appreciating that amazing view. I'm sure you're wondering why I'm writing about staring at a fountain, but I am writing about it because it was a major turning point in my life. From that moment on, I wanted to try to live my life with no worries and live my life to the fullest. Now that was an impossible goal for me to not worry because I am one of the biggest worry-worts on the planet so I changed my goal. I wanted to live each day so that I could keep that feeling of freedom and live my life to the fullest. Now it hasn't been easy, and I admit there are some days that I utterly fail, but I still try, and setting that goal for myself helped me to come to terms with my TS and realize that it is just a speed bump in the road of life, and it wasn't even that big of a speed bump once I actually thought about it.

     In conclusion, on of my English teachers in high school read us this poem and it really inspired me, so I hope that it inspires all of you to think about how you spent your dash. 

 The Dash Poem, by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

Turners and Proud!!!

       So, since I was encouraging everyone else to go out and do something creative that expresses how they feel about Turners or how they cope with Turners, I figured I would do my own little TS Creativity project.
       I have decided that having Turners is a blessing...I know you're thinking WHAT IS SHE TALKIN' ABOUT?!. Turners really is a blessing. It makes all of us special and unique...and the best part is that you are who you are because of having Turners. I'm not saying that Turners is all that you are, you are just a girl who happens to have Turner Syndrome.  I know it's hard sometimes and it feels like you are nothing but a walking health problem (I myself have called myself walking birth control before), but you are not a walking health problem! You are a strong, beautiful, smart, confident, bubbly, friendly, loving, caring, friendly (SOOOO many more adjectives could added here) woman and you should never forget that-no matter how awful things seem at the time. So, I want all of you out there to sit down and write a list of all the things that you are, but make turners the last thing on your list. For example, my list is: A fiancee, a daughter, a cousin, a niece, a sister, a friend, a girl with TS. So I know it seems like I get on the soap-box a lot about not letting having TS define you, but it's true, TS shouldn't define you...you have so much more going on than that! So, I hope this inspires you all to go out and embrace your Turners...and do it with a SMILE!

TS Creatvitiy!

So, I kind of want to do a fun little project for everyone. I want everyone who is interested to draw a picture, make a flip-book, create a comic book, write a poem, write a story, the possibilities are endless!! We want all creations to be about TS, how it affects you, how it affects others around you, things like that. As we gather pictures, stories, poems, etc, we will post them on the blog, and on our facebook page so that other people can see your wonderful creations! If you are interested, just create something/write something/draw something and email it to us at tsbloggers@yahoo.com. If it is a story or poem or anything like that, email it to us as an attachment. If it is a picture or something like that, send a picture of your creation as an email. Make sure that all emails have your name(last name is not necessary if you don't feel comfortable giving out that information) so we can give credit where credit is due, and make sure to look for your wonderful creation on the blog and on facebook!

A Big Shout Out

I just want to post on here and give you guys a great big THANK YOU!!!!! The blog has been getting so much support and so have the Twitter and Facebook accounts. It is amazing to think that when we started this whole adventure of blogging about living with TS we we had the small hope that we would maybe have a few people follow us. We just mostly wanted to get our feelings out there, even if they weren't even being read by anyone. I remember how exciting it was when we got our first page view (and it wasn't from one of the two of us). That was such a gratifying feeling, and now we have people who want to be guest bloggers and that is totally amazing and mind blowing. We are actually being read and that is so exciting!!! Thank you guys so much for all the love and support, and keep it up please, we really appreciate it!!!!

Facebook...

Hey everybody, we are joining the Facebook world! We haven't quite worked out the kinks, but if you want to find us and friend us, search turnersbloggers@yahoo.com. We would love to have all of you guys as facebook friends so add us if you want!