Yoga

All pictures are from the Instagram account yogainspiration

As mentioned in my 2015 goals blog, I am doing a 30 day yoga challenge. I did day 23 today, and I'm really enjoying it! Erin (the woman in the videos) made this challenge a few years ago, so no one is able to suggest anything now, but she took suggestions from the people watching them at the time and catered the videos to what people wanted. There is so much variety and it is nice to have something new to look forward to each day.

I can't do quite a bit in the videos, but I have other things I've learned that I can do until she goes back to something I can do. I'm decent at the stretchy part of yoga - not really the poses part of yoga. Either way, I feel so much better, and I really enjoy doing yoga every day.

I found this website that lists 38 health benefits of yoga. Here are some that have happened to me since I started:

• Improves your flexibility

I wasn't very flexible before, and I'm probably not very flexible now, but I sure do feel like I am! I noticed this within the first 10 days of starting yoga. I can now get deeper into the stretches and it feels so much better.

• Makes you happier

It sounds silly, but it's so true! I think it has a lot to do with seeing results after such a short period of time, but I really do feel happier now that I'm doing yoga every day.

• Relaxes your system

Oh my word. After day 1 of this yoga challenge, I felt like an entirely new Jen. I've talked before about my insomnia, but this helped SO much. After the first video, I was in bed for 13 hours! I definitely didn't sleep the entire time (how great would that have been?), but I can't even remember the last time I felt that good. Now, I was super sore when I finally got out of bed, but just the fact that I was able to rest for that long was amazing.

• Increases your self-esteem

Even on the days where I don't like the yoga video or didn't feel like it helped me, I feel better because I know I tried. I have also talked about my self confidence issues, and I feel better about myself knowing that I'm trying.

•  Eases your pain

I have lower back pain because of my weight. I would guess that I carry about 85%-95% of my fat in my stomach, so it puts a lot of pressure on my back. Within the first week, I felt that pressure go away. Not completely, but it definitely doesn't hurt to lay on the floor anymore.

I am so incredibly happy I have started consistently doing yoga. I encourage you to try yoga and see if you feel better. I'm not trying to say it's a cure-all, but who knows how much better you can potentially feel after taking just 15-20 minutes out of your day to pamper yourself.

If you have done yoga before, have you tried any of the different types besides traditional? I would LOVE to try aerial yoga, but I don't think I'd be able to do it. It looks absolutely terrifying, and I know my adrenaline would be pumping like crazy (I'm not an adrenaline junkie). I'm getting nervous just thinking about trying it haha.

If you have any questions or comments, please let me know! I would love to talk to you about anything :)

XOXO

Jen

Tumor-versary (Central Giant Cell Granuloma)

*Remember when I said I wanted to work on getting my blogs between 300-500 words? This isn't one of those blogs.*

2010
I had my top 2 wisdom teeth and a couple bad teeth removed. Those couple bad teeth were from the bottom of my mouth, and one was on each side.

2012

I noticed the bottom left space was squishy and the right wasn't. I had no clue what that meant, but I didn't have dental insurance, so I just didn't worry about it. Well, that squishy spot started growing. Before long, it was big and noticeable. When my mouth was closed, there was a big bump on the left side of my lips. I don't know how people didn't notice it, but only 3 people said something to me while at school that fall.

When I came home for Thanksgiving, my ma noticed the bump, so I had to show her and my dad (I was planning on telling them later in the week). They were furious that I hadn't mentioned anything before then. I knew money was super tight, especially without dental insurance (I didn't know it would end up being covered by my medical insurance), so what was I supposed to do? Anyway, we got hooked up with the dental office where I got my teeth removed, but I had a different oral surgeon.

I first saw my oral surgeon during Christmas break, and she was amazing. She was super nice and didn't make me feel bad about my teeth. She was super laid-back and told me everything up front. I had to have a lot of tests, x-rays and random stuff done before I could get the squishy thing removed, so I was at the hospital and / or dentist office multiple times a week for 3 or 4 weeks.

2013

Have you ever had a biopsy done? Waiting for results has to be the most nerve-wrecking thing I've ever experienced. I would much rather have results right away, especially if they are bad. The scenarios I made up in my head were driving me insane, but I couldn't stop. I can't even put into words how bad those 2 weeks were. Fortunately, the squishy thing was benign and we had a name for it: Central Giant Cell Granuloma. CGCG is a benign tumor of the jaws, and is twice as likely to affect women than men. While they are most common in people younger than 20, I was 24 when I was diagnosed. Aggressive tumors (like mine) have a higher chance of reoccurring. If you're interested in reading more, here is the Wikipedia page (or ask me - I am more than willing to explain what I know and experienced).

Since my tumor was reoccurring, we had to take some action to prevent that. I needed to see a hematologist, but since I was on such short notice, I had to see an oncologist instead. As if that wasn't scary enough (even though I knew it wasn't cancer), she Googled it right in front of me. I had done some extensive Googling myself, so I told her everything I knew. With the little bit of research she did, she decided that interferon injections every few days would be my best bet. The only problem was they had a flu-like effect. I was really hesitant because I had a super busy semester coming up, so I was hoping there was another option. She threw in nasal spray, but she was pushing for the shots. I met with my oral surgeon, and she decided to go with the nasal spray.

We scheduled surgery one week after my results, because I had spring semester starting in 2 weeks. In my surgery, every tooth the tumor touched had to be removed. I had a total of 6 teeth removed in the surgery. When the surgery was over, I had no teeth on the bottom left part of my mouth.

The tumor was pretty big (about 3cm X 3cm - which I know doesn't sound big, but it was in my mouth...that's huge), and it was by some nerves. My oral surgeon said she didn't hit a nerve, but since she was so close, the nerves froze up in order to protect themselves. I had absolutely no feeling on the left side of my chin or the left side of my bottom lip. There were quite a few times I had drinks on my shirt and food on my face :( haha.

To use the nasal spray, I had to do one squirt up a nostril each day, while switching nostrils every day. To make sure I wouldn't get confused or forget, I bought a calendar and put it on my fridge at school. One of my roommates, Katie, had a lot of fun with my calendar, and this is what I came home to one day:

It was really funny, I'm not going to lie. I still get a smile on my face when I see this picture. I was on the nasal spray for about 2 or 3 months.

In May, after I got home from school, I went to my oral surgeon for another check up. I had an x-ray done, and everything looked really good. There was absolutely no sign of my tumor coming back, so she was happy - as was I. Here is my x-ray from that visit:

It's weird seeing my mouth with no teeth, but it's even better seeing my mouth with no tumor :)

2015
I still don't have teeth on the bottom left half of my mouth. I didn't realize how expensive they are. I'm trying to save money to get some teeth, but I still need to fix the teeth I have. I do have dental insurance now, but it only pays up to a certain amount, which I am going to exceed pretty quickly.

My lip and chin are still numb, but not numb at the same time. I don't feel when water or toothpaste drips down my lip and chin (until it's too late), but I can feel whenever something else touches those places. I still have faith that I will get full feeling back, but even if I don't it's better than where I was before the surgery.


I have a few notes that I wrote on Facebook that I can transfer over to blogs if any of you are interested in reading them. Writing has always been an outlet for me, but it was even better this time around because I couldn't talk for a while.

I hope you enjoyed reading my story, and if you have any questions or comments, please let me know! :)

XOXO

Jen

Ebates

I was extremely hesitant when I first heard about Ebates. I had no clue what the company was, and I didn't understand how they could give me money back after I bought something. But I did some research and decided to make an account by using someone's referral link.

When you first make an account through a referral link (I'm not sure if it's the same with just going to the website), you get to choose a $10 gift card to a store that you want (I think they have 5 or 6 options). If you make a $25 transaction through their website within the first 3 months (I think it's 3 months), you get that $10 gift card. If you don't, then you don't get that $10 gift card (I learned that the hard way).

My first purchase was on a pair of Toms, and I spent $59.00. The link on Ebates I used to go to the Toms website gave me 10% cash back. I figured I was buying them anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to try. A few weeks later, I received a check in the mail for $5.90. While that's not a lot of money, it's $5.90 more than I expected to get back. They only pay you every four months, so don't expect to get paid right away.

How it works (taken from the Ebates website):

It really is quite simple. Just like almost every other online shopping center, we get a commission from the stores when you make a purchase. Instead of keeping that money - like almost all other sites do - we share it with you!

Ebates is partnered with so many different websites, so there is a good chance you can get money back for what you're buying if you just go look. It really is that simple. Different websites have different cash back amounts, so you can choose the one you want (some even offer coupons for free shipping). If you want to sign up, here is my link. If you have more questions, I am more than willing to answer them for you. I am no expert, but I sure can do research if needed ;)

XOXO

Jen

2015 Goals

I feel like resolutions are meant to be broken. I hate making resolutions. I know they're the same as goals, but using the word 'goals' makes it seem more attainable to me. I have never kept a resolution, but I have kept a goal. It's all in my mind ;)

Here are my goals for the year:

• Blogging
• Get a schedule
• 1 or 2 days a week
• Write less
• 300-500 words per blog (this will take some time)
• Have better topics
• I will take suggestions
• Figure out blogspot website
• Add social media links
• Figure out layout / design
• Loving myself
• Be happy with my body at all weights (but still focus on losing weight)
• I've been working on this for over a year. Read more about it here
• No more pop
• I used to not drink it at all, but now I drink it again. NO MORE
• 5K
• 45 minutes 
• Consistent exercise
• I just started this 30 day yoga challenge last night (I LOVE IT)
• Art / Music
• Cross stitch
• Do more
• Latch hook
• Do more
• Crochet
• Learn
• Knit 
• Re-learn
• Piano
• Learn
• Practice
• Singing
• Practice
• Reading
• Do more
• Here is a link to a reading challenge for 2015 that I'm excited to try. Let me know if you try it!
• Electronics
• Limit phone usage
• Limit computer usage
• Limit TV usage
• German
• Practice
• I'm on a 42 day streak on Duolingo :)
• Bible
• Read more
• I would love suggestions for reading plans

This is a lot more than I thought I would write, but I get really excited when I look at this list. I have faith that I will stick to these and be able to check them off this list at the end of 2015 :)

What are your goals for the year? I would love to read them!!

XOXO

Jen