I cannot believe how fast time has flown by this year! It seems unreal that it is already New Year's Eve today. 2012 has definitely been an eventful one, I'm not sure if 2013 can live up to it, but we'll see!

January: I continued dating Tim (my now husband). We enjoyed lots of fun dates, cooking meals together, and enjoying each other's company. 

February: The month my health started to decline. I was newly diagnosed with some heart problems. We spent our Valentine's day in the ER after I passed out at school during a test and had seizure like symptoms. I also got a bunch of tests done in preparation for my cardiac ablation. Most importantly Tim proposed to me! 

March: Wedding planning begins. I continue to work at Good Earth Natural Foods and attend school at the Aveda Institute and Tim is a TA for Stats at BYU. We enjoy some fun sledding at Soldier Hollow!

April/May: Cardiac ablation surgery. Wedding planning. Tim graduates from BYU with a bachelors in Business Management/Strategy. 

June: We spent most of our days enjoying our season passes to 7 Peaks Water Park. 

July: Tim leaves for Manhattan for 2 months of training for his new job. I graduate from Aveda. 

August: I go home and spend some time with my family in Denver. We go white water rafting, to the zoo, and do some hiking. My mom, two brothers, and I went to NYC to visit Tim. We had a blast sightseeing. We were there right in the middle of their big heat wave. It was incredibly hot and humid!

September: We get married! We were sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple and then honeymooned in San Diego, CA.

October/November: Tim settled into his new job. We enjoyed having our first Thanksgiving together as a married couple. 

December: I was diagnosed with endometriosis and had a laparoscopy to remove some of the problem areas. This month has been full of family Christmas parties, white elephant exchanges, and spending time with loved ones. We are so thankful for the holidays and the time it has given us to reflect on all our blessings. We are grateful for the Savior and tried to remember the reason for the season. 

I'm so excited to see what next year has in store for us! We have certainly been blessed this year. 

Today I'm linking up with Helene and Emily for a "tell me about it" post. 

So I'm going to tell you all about my laparoscopy yesterday! Yayyy! So interesting! I know, I know.

As some of you may know I was suppose to get this procedure done a week ago but I had a little fiasco with insurance and it got put off for another week. So I went in and got all my paperwork signed, got all prepped and ready to go. My heart rate was fast (obviously, that's why I have A-Tach) and so they ordered an EKG. Then the anesthesiologist came in to chat with me and was telling me I had nice teeth and asked if I had braces before and next thing I know....BAM! The whole thing was over!

They didn't do the gas mask or anything they just slipped the anesthesia into my IV and then they took me into the operating room so I didn't even know I'd been put out, kinda bizarre. I woke up and couldn't see a thing but just realized how loud it was so I got all cranky and starting whining and crying, haha! I didn't have my contacts on so I couldn't see anything and they had put vaseline all over my eyes to keep them closed and help them from drying out. I was SO thirsty from fasting all night and day so I downed 3 cups of water and they listened to my nurse's wife yell at him on the phone for missing dinner. 

They took me to a little recovery room and Tim was able to come back and hang out with me. I ate graham crackers and Sprite to my heart's content and then they gave me a cute diaper to wear (sexy I know) and wheeled me off to the car. 

I haven't felt any endometriosis pain at all since the surgery which is AWESOME!! They said they were able to get a lot of it out on my left and right sides and also scrape some blood and fluids out that were trapped in there from some ruptured ovarian cysts. 

Right now I'm recovering really well and my incisions are just super sore. My stomach is still really puffy from being inflated with CO2 and I'm pretty bruised. It kinda feels like I did like 3000 sit ups yesterday.

Warning: The pictures may be a little graphic. I've always been fine with bloody stuff so sorry if it's gross.

Right after surgery

 Left side after surgery

Belly button after 1 day 

Stomach 1 day after surgery (you can tell my stomach is still kind of full of CO2)

A couple weeks ago I was contacted by eShakti to do a product review. I had so much fun looking through their catalogue to pick out a dress I wanted.  My favorite thing about their company is you can totally customize everything! I got to choose the length of the dress and could even customize the sleeves.

eShakti is a fresh concept in custom clothing.  They believe that all women have the right to wear affordable fashion.  What began as a small website offering basic cottons and modestly embellished pieces has grown  into an international company offering  fashionable custom clothing.  eShakti offers both design and fit customization for women size 0 through 36.  This is the heart of their business.

I've been pretty sick lately and have lost some weight so the dress that I ordered is swimming on me! I love it though! It is made with great material and seems to be very high quality. 

You can read below to learn a little bit more about eShakti! 

"Our custom capabilities allow customers to easily tailor any item to their specific requirements ensuring a flattering fit.  Built-in customization tools guide women through our simple 3-step design and fit page where they can increase the size of a bust, shorten the length of a skirt and modify sleeves or a neckline!  We believe that custom clothing does not have to be expensive.  By keeping up with technology as it is advancing, we are able to provide customization at a modest cost and offer it to all women.  We do not stock any sizes.  Since each style--whether standard sized, custom styled or custom sized--is cut to order, we do not have to warehouse our merchandise.   Therefore, every style requires a height measurement--whether customizing or not.  This ensures  a "truer" fit.   We ship directly to our customers in about 2 weeks from the date of order.   We ship across the USA and Canada."

 *I was compensated for this post but all thoughts and opinions are my own*

Christmas {Giveaways}

Things are pretty crazy today so I don't have time for a post but here are a couple great giveaways  to enter! You won't be disappointed! 

These lovely ladies below teamed up with me to give you one AMAZING giveaway!

(Which could not have had better timing since it's the Holiday season.)

Check out the list below to see what each blogger is giving away!

1. Kaitlin from Kaitlin Leigh - A Starbucks Glitter Tumbler

2. Brandi from Brooklyn State of Mind- $15 Target gift card & a Holiday Glam Surprise

3. Melissa from Grin & Barrett- $25 Starbucks gift card

4. Meg from You're Meaghan Me Crazy- Crocheted Infinity Scarf

5. Haley Brianna from The Ink & Anchor- Ad Space

6. Crystal Taylor from Billie Jean- $15 Anthropologie gift card

7. Kelsey E. from Stories of Kel- 1 Premiere Ad Space

8. PipLey Vintage- 30% off all store items include sale items

9. Stephanie from The Vintage Modern Wife- ELF Eyeshadow Palette

10. Kelsey G. from Beauty without Limits- 1 Month Ad Space

11. Amy from Not Your Average Baby Blog- 1 Month Ad Space

12. Abbey from The Makings of a Mess- Ad Space

13. Brittany from The Domestic Geek- Ad Space

14. Jessica from Sew Do Something- $20 Gift Certificate to her shop

15. Lisette from Northern Belle Diaries- 2 Month Ad Space

16. Sarah from Scissors and a Whisk- Frost Bitten, Twice Shy Nail polish Set

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!!

You can also find another great giveaway at the link below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is pretty self explanatory. Awesome. I'm jealous.

This month I have been SO lucky to have all of these amazing ladies as blog sponsors. Getting to know each and every one of them has been so much fun. And, they've all put up with the craziness that has been my life the past few weeks.. with our move and such. When I mentioned to them that I wanted to give away a really rad gift, they were all just as excited as I was. This wouldn't have been possible without all of them. So.. from all of my lovely December sponsors (and myself) to you, Merry Christmas!! 

And now for my biggest giveaway of the year....

Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I have some terrible eyes. I can't see a thing without my contacts on but everyone needs a break from them right? It's so nice to wear glasses every once in a while and just whip them off and on as I please.

That's where Firmoo comes in. If you haven't already heard Firmoo is an online glasses company with a huge selection! Best part is you can easily enter in your prescription and BAM! Prescription glasses at your doorstep without having to drop a ton of money at the optometrist. 

When Firmoo contacted me to see if I would accept a free pair of glasses in exchange for me writing a review I wasn't expecting much. I figured I would get a crummy pair of glasses that would probably fall apart within a few weeks. I was pleasantly surprised! I've had this pair for a couple weeks now and I love them! They are so comfortable and don't give me headaches like some pairs of glasses I've worn. You know the squeezing your head till you want to scream kind of feeling? 

Good news for you! As a first time customer you can order your 1st pair of glasses for free! All you have to do is pay for shipping. You can read about it all right here. 

Here are the glasses I picked out for myself. A little out of my comfort zone but they are fun and comfortable and I actually really like them! 

Thanks Firmoo!
Excuse my pasty white skin, t-shirt, and nappy hair. This is the most dressed up I've gotten all week due to feeling like road kill. ;)

P.S Do you like my doorstop? :)

First off let me apologize. This might not be the most positive blog post but I think It'll help me feel a lot better to write out how I'm feeling.

You may have read about it in my last post but I have felt incredibly sick off and on for the past year but even more so the past couple of months. I try my best to put on a smile and act like I'm just fine but I've never been in so much pain in my life. I have shooting pains in my pelvic area, my stomach is nauseous and bloated, my back aches like I've been kicked by a horse, and my entire body is just tired and achey.

I was suppose to get surgery done yesterday to remove the endometriosis and ruptured ovarian cysts but the hospital called me 2 hours before the surgery and told me my insurance hadn't approved the surgery. I am double covered with insurance so I didn't understand how that was possible. Turns out being double insured bit me in the butt!

I'm still insured under my parent's and since I've had that longer than my husband's insurance that is my primary insurance. The hospital that the surgery was to be done at is under my husband's insurance. My husband's insurance wouldn't pay for the surgery because my parent's insurance is the primary. My parent's insurance wouldn't drop me off their plan until the end of the year. My doctor only has the rights to do the surgery at the hospital that my husband's insurance covers so I was out of luck. I could have still had it done under my parent's insurance but I would have to pay the out of pocket deductible before they would cover anything. The deductible is over $7,000. Just a liiiiitle out of my budget.

So my doctor put me on some heavy narcotics which don't allow me to drive so I am stuck at home waiting it out until the New Year when my husband's insurance will become my primary insurance. Let's just say I am going crazy, I feel so unfulfilled. I feel like I haven't been able to do anything productive lately and it makes me feel completely worthless.

I also need to write two review posts for some products that I was given in the mail. The last thing I want to do is have my picture taken. Why can't my organs just heal themselves? HA! :)

My goal this week is to work on being more positive. What tricks do you have to keep from feeling gloomy? I know this could be a LOT worse. So I'm incredibly thankful for that. I really do have so many blessings and I try my best to always remind myself of those things.

About a year ago all my health problems all kind of came at me at once. I started having the heart issues and I also was in chronic pain a lot of the time. My stomach always hurt, my back was killing me, I've had no appetite, I've been nauseous, and my entire body aches. Sometimes I've been in so much pain that I pass out which hasn't been fun at all. A few times my stomach has swelled up and sticks out like I'm 8 months pregnant. I have hardly left the house the last few weeks because I feel so awful. BUT. I have FINALLY figured out what's been going on. Thank goodness for good doctors! 

I had another ultrasound today and there was a bunch of blood and fluid in there so my OBGYN was able to tell that an ovarian cyst had just ruptured. This explains the stomach turning into a balloon and the sudden acute pain that I've had a few times. 

We are about 99% sure the chronic ongoing pain is being caused by endometriosis. You can't tell until you undergo surgery and they do a biopsy on the tissue that they take out. My doctor scheduled my surgery for this Tuesday and gave me some narcotics to help me over until then. I'm feeling a little loopy so hopefully this all makes sense. 

They make three incisions in my stomach and fill it up with carbon dioxide and then they are going to burn the crap out of all junk that has been putting me through hell. They'll also suction all the fluid and blood that is floating around from the cysts rupturing. Cute huh?? 

Source : www.cincinnatifertility.com

The thing that stinks though is I'm going to have to push back my state board tests AGAIN. One day I'll get them done and be able to start working. 

I am so excited for all of this pain to be gone! Once this is over with I just need to get my heart back in working order and then I will be one lucky son of a gun and can do whatever I want again!

If you guys don't follow Megan from Shaping Up To Be A Mom you need to! She is so fun and shares so many great posts. Plus you can read her hilarious story about meeting her husband while working at a carnival.

She was gracious enough to invite me to guest post on here blog. You can check my post out here.

Also...if you haven't entered the giveaway you can do so by clicking the link below! 

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I went to another Cardiology at the University of Utah yesterday to get another opinion. My original doctor is great and a great surgeon but won't ever sit and talk to me about what's going on. I feel like I am pretty clueless as to what's going on with my heart.

This doctor was pretty awesome. We talked for about 45 minutes about what was going on while he took notes. Unfortunately my previous Cardiologist never sent my records over so he couldn't see all my test results from previous tests. I'll meet with him again once he gets ahold of them.

Meanwhile he wanted me to wear the Holter monitor for 48 hours to see how my heart has changed since the last time I wore it almost a year ago. The 1st time I had it was only for 24 hours which wasn't too bad. The worst part is trying to sleep with it. The sticky patches are so itchy and the wires got caught in everything. I finally fell asleep around 4:30 this morning so needless to say I am exhausted! As soon as I would start to fall asleep I would wake up all tangled in the cords. This morning I woke up with all the cords wrapped around my neck. Let's just hope I don't strangle myself in the night! Hopefully tonight goes a little better.

This time I only have 5 "nodes"  which is way better than last time. I have one on either side of my ribs, one on my left breast, and 2 on my clavicle. The nodes are connected to a monitor attached to my hip that record all my heart's rhythms.

The doctor wants to see how my heart reacts during various activities so I'm going to the gym to do a crazy workout so they can see another glimpse of what's going on. I'm kind of nervous since I haven't done much more than walking for almost a year. It'll be pretty fun to be able to push myself, though.

I'll spare you a picture of my tummy but here's all the wires coming out so you can get an idea of what it looks like.