Series: 10 lame Questions

So I've come up with a focus to the blog - aka living and loving life in a wheelchair. I am constantly saying "failing to plan is to planning to fail." And this is kind of what I have been doing with my blog and that changes today. I am reading this new blogger, Jeff Goins, and really like his feedback and suggestions on how to grow as a writer Last night I was also thinking this through and realized beyond the focus of living and loving life in a wheelchair to inform and bring about awareness to others of what it is like to live in the wheels of me. I needed a series to keep my focus and hopefully capture an audience.

So , I came up with "10 lame questions." And yes that is supposed to be funny.

They are two common reactions people portray when they begin to become my friend. Often times either they choose to not ask any questions for a long time and basically until I bring it up. The second reaction or response I get is the asking tons, some may be inappropriate questions about how I shower, get into cars, and what I have (often times when this question is asked, I want to say I have wheelchair!). What response do I appreciate more? Hmmm...I would say it tends to depend on the situation but most of the time, the second response.

Ultimately these questions are going to be asked whether I've known you for 5 minutes or 5 years. I still have my friends who have known me forever asking these questions so maybe it's better to just ask them at the beginning. I mean it makes for a heck of an icebreaker which I think can cause for a closer relationship.
What question has been bugging you since knowing me and let me answer it!! I have the first couple planned but open to suggestions and questions.

Wheels & Writin'

Over the past 6 months I haven't written much in my blog. One reason being, I didn't have a personal laptop - the other being I was on a journey.
*cute dramatic voice* I was on an epic quest. I have always loved writing and not long after graduating college decided
To start a blog. I am going to be rich and famous through this blog - I decided but with little direction. So I needed to figure out what the focus on my blog would be.

(This isn't a bad thing, mind you. Direction and definition are key components to a life.)
In my mind, it needed to be important, special, uber-spiritual, and ultra famous. You know what I ended up doing on this journey? Nothing. Yup absolutely nothing. I pretended to be contemplating my ultimate purpose but really I just was not writing. Reading other blogs for sure but not my own. I wanted to be the subject-matter-expert on something but I didn't know what. I wanted to wow and bedazzle people with my wit. I didn't want to fail or have an unread blog. So I had a non-blog. A pretend place where I could look at it occasionally and be like-" seem, I write sometimes."

Really my blog did have a focus with the title I gave it but I pretended to want to write more than just being in a wheelchair because I am more than just a person in a wheelchair. Yet God has given me great passion and desire that He has placed me in a wheelchair in life to share His story and how much my physical weakness is a picture of how our human race weakness is in need of His great strength and grace. Why should I try and find some other niche to write about like baking or something else I clearly can't do. (P.s. there is nothing wrong with baking blogs - I love them and what people create from them) But I am officially embracing my wheels and writin' focus and moving forward. It encompasses so much off my life that I promise it won't just be, "so…. today I wheeled out of my room and my left wheel fell off!" So here I go troking, wheeling, rolling, strolling, sitting, and all the other words I can possibly use AND loving life!!

Come journey with me if you choose!

The Gym - Strong and Independent

I have been working out consistently at my gym since last July/August and by consistently I mean 3-5 times a week. It started with me wanting to lose weight for my friend's wedding. I got a trainer, started rolling the track, and did my best. Little did I know how much I could really do at my gym, how strong I could get, and the friends I would actually make. My trainer, Tom, has been very influential in this area of my life. I really consider him more of a life coach than just a personal trainer. :) Tonight I was working out by myself. And it was one of those moments where being a strong, independent women working out did not benefit me. I had one of the least dramatic falls ever getting off a machine. I don't think a single soul noticed. So I was somewhat awkwardly sitting on the floor in a not so common place and needed to get back on to my chair. Not a soul, I repeat myself, not one person stopped by to see if I need help. In fact people did the opposite, I had people stepping over and around me to get to their next burn. I don't know if this has ever happened anywhere else. To be fair, I am really independent at the gym and get on and off the floor pretty regularly. But I only get on to the floor in the designated floor areas which this clearly was not one of those places. It took me a couple of minutes and some deep breaths and I was able to get back into my chair with ease. I am thankful I started working out because I have gotten a lot stronger and didn't panic at this floor adventure. That's a day in my life.... Have you ever had one of those moments where it seems obvious that people around you should being paying attention but they aren't or choose not to??

Troking Incident...

DISCLAIMER 1: I don't love this title - Let me know if you can think of something better
DISCLAIMER 2: Be ready to laugh your pants off - this is hysterical

So, this morning my dad told me we needed to leave around 7 so he could drop me off at my internship work and he would go to his hospital. So I got up at 6 and got dressed, make up done, lunch packed, hair pulled up all in time to leave. Well, right before leaving my mom had put up my hair and told me to go look at it. I also needed to grab my purse and backpack for the day. At the end of the school year, I discovered I loved using backpack for carrying around large amounts of needed things, like my computer. I took a glance at the mirror to make sure my hair looked ok and quickly grabbed my turquoise, plaid backpack. I do this awesome swing around move to get the bag on my shoulders. This morning I was moving especially fast because Dad was already in the car waiting for me. As I swung the bag around with its especially heavy contents, I suddenly found myself on my back, laying on top of my backpack with my legs up in the air and my arms flailing upwards. As soon as it happened I yelled out of frustrating, my brother Tim happened to be walking toward the bathroom. He timidly asked me, "Are you dressed?" I responded with a simple, somewhat defeated yes. Once my brother and my mom walked around the corner to see me clearly being out-weighed by my backpack - we all burst out in laughter! Mom and Tim swiftly helped me up in order for me to head outside and go to work. It was definitely one of the funniest ways to fall and be seen by others. The next time I put on my backpack, I will remember to be careful it doesn't weigh too much and that I'm not trying to move to quickly. :) What a troking incident to have happen at 7 a.m.