Day 2 of MS Awareness Week: VOLUNTEER

I hope everyone sent their e-mails to Congress yesterday!! Thank you to everyone who did! Today's task is..............VOLUNTEER

Check out this link to find ways to volunteer:
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/get-involved/volunteer/index.aspx

Last year I volunteered in LaGrange at the MS 150 it was such a rewarding experience! Check out my posting from April of last year to read about it and see pics. I would highly recommend volunteering at the MS 150 this year. There are a million ways to help! And you don't have to drive all the way to LaGrange, you can help in Houston when the bikers leave and/or return. As of yesterday, they still need 3,000 volunteers!!! Here's a link to sign up to volunteer at the MS 150, just click on "Sign Up as a Volunteer":
http://biketxh.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/TXHBikeEvents?pg=entry&fr_id=10222

Unfortunately I won't be able to help at the MS 150 this year. Since I live so far from everything now except for Louisiana, Doug and I can't make the haul. We will be traveling the weekend before and after, so we have to stay in town that weekend. I'm super bummed because we had so much fun last year. I would highly recommend it!! Let me know if you have any questions on the volunteer process.

There are other ways to volunteer though if you're busy the weekend of the MS 150. Just click the first link I gave you and choose!!

Please send me comments or e-mails this week letting me know what you're doing to advocate, volunteer, and raise MS awareness. I've already received a few e-mails! Keem them coming!!!

Stand by for tomorrow's task.....

MS Awareness week is here......

Hi everyone! Can you believe it's already MS Awareness Week again??!! This year I couldn't find a calendar of things to do each day of the week. The reason is, this year's motto is "Make Your Mark 365." We want you to make your MS mark all year round, not just this week. But, here are some ideas to get you started this week and hopefully you'll carry on throughout the whole year!

Here's the first way.......

ADVOCATE
–verb (used with object)

1.	to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly

–noun

2.	a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, etc. (usually fol. by of): an advocate of peace.

3.	a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor.

4.	a person who pleads the cause of another in a court of law.

Any day now Congress will start making decisions about crucial funding for MS research. This legislation would invest $15 million to support MS researchers whose discoveries could hold the key to new treatments or a cure. Click on the following link or copy and paste it into your browser to contact your members of Congress today!

https://secure3.convio.net/nmss/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=585

Here's another link to find other ways to advocate:

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/TXH/take-action/index.aspx


Please show your support!!! I'll be posting tomorrow to give you your next task!! Thank you for raising the awareness!!

Heads up.....

Just a heads up.......Next week is MS Awareness Week!! So get ready to participate!!!

Worst Blogger Ever......

So, it's been FOREVER since I've posted on my blog. I feel TERRIBLE about that. I picked up and moved to East Texas and you haven't heard from me since!!! I have no excuse other than I've been lazy when it comes to blogging and e-mailing.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Dickinson, Christmas in Allen, and New Year's in Austin. Time has flown by that's for sure! I've already been living in ET for almost 3 months. For those of you who don't know by now, we are living in DEEP East Texas.....Longview to be exact. Longview is 2 hours east of Dallas and an hour and a half from Shreveport, LA. Going back to my cajun roots:)

ET has been a lot better than I had anticipated....or should I say dreaded. It's really beautiful here with the TALL pine trees and rolling hills. And it's been so nice to have a COLD winter.....it gets really cold up here! It is so dry here though, I NEVER thought I'd say I miss the humidity! We love our new apartment, it's super nice and so cozy. We have a great view of the pine trees. Our guest room is finally finished and is officially open for visitors! :) We'd love to show you around Longview and maybe party in Shreveport! We've met some really nice friends here and are so thankful for them.

Doug is loving his job! He's finally settled in to his new title.....Attorney at Law. He has a really nice, HUGE office. He's been meeting with and signing new clients, filing petitions, and is in charge of 12 or so cases.....all on his own! And he succeeded at his very first hearing!! He's kicking you know what and taking names:) I'm so proud of him!

As for me.....no luck on the job search. I have been working a temp job for the past couple of weeks in the HR department at the hospital in Marshall, which is about 30 minutes east of Longview. I am so thankful for the work! I really like the girls I'm working with and would love to stay there permanently, but they don't have any openings right now. I'm just helping them catch up on stuff while I look for a job. Please keep me in your prayers.

As far as my health.....I've been feeling GREAT! I would even say the best I've felt since my diagnosis! I'm pretty sure the cold weather is helping, as well as NO STRESS!!!! Hopefully Doug and I will be adding to our family in the near future, so I've got to keep up the good health! I'm headed to Houston Friday to see my retina specialist for my 3 month check up. My eyes are STILL giving me problems and I'm STILL on eye drops, but the plus side is they haven't gotten any worse.

I think this is enough of an update for now. I promise I will be better about blogging. I will update you all very soon. I miss my family and friends so very much, but ET isn't forever.....I will be back! Lots of love......

Here's the quote for today. A friend of mine sent me an e-mail that said this:

"When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go, only 1 of 2 things will happen, either He'll catch you when you fall, or He'll teach you how to fly!"

I want you guys to really think about this. I feel like this really relates to how I was feeling several months ago when Doug got this job offer and we went round and round about whether Longview was the right decision. Now I feel like God definitely is teaching me how to fly:)

It's been exactly one month from today since Ike....

I just realized I haven't blogged since Ike! FINALLY everything is back to normal for the most part since the storm. I hope all of you made it through Hurricane Ike safely and are returning back to your normal lives by now.

I think most of you know by now that the MS Walk in Kemah was cancelled. It was originally scheduled for Saturday, September 20th at the Kemah Boardwalk. But, no thanks to Ike, Kemah was destroyed:( I was really sad that we didn't get to walk this year, but I was even more sad for the families that lost so much, if not everything, during Ike. The NMSS is rescheduling both the Downtown walk and The Woodlands walk, but the Kemah one isn't going to happen this year. We'll have to wait until next year. However, we still made it in the top three for fundraising, rounding out at $5,705.00!!! Wooohoooo!!! Thanks again for all of your generosity and support!!

As for my MS.....my symptoms are under control for now. I have a few pains and twinges of tingling here and there, but I've been doing well for the most part. I know I announced in my last blog that Doug and I are moving, so many of you have been wondering what I'll do for doctor's, etc. I am going to keep all of my AMAZING doctors here in Houston. They cannot be replaced!!! Plus, Doug and I will be living back in Houston in a few years:) I'll just commute to Houston for the next few years when I need to see them. The only new doctor I'll have to find in the Longview area will be a high risk pregnancy doctor for sometime in the future:)

I'll post again soon to keep you up to date on the big move!! Doug already moved almost two weeks ago and I'll be joining him in 5 weeks!!

I'd like to share something with you that has really got me through the last month.....

To get something you never had,

you have to do something you never did.

When God takes something from your grasp,

He's not punishing you,

but merely opening your hands to receive something better.

Conentrate on this sentence.....

The will of God will never take you

where the Grace of God will not protect you.

Back to the odd numbers again....

So, I had another birthday last week. And I'm an odd number now:( So far though, it hasn't been too bad. I had a wonderful celebration....actually 3:).....with family and friends and wine!

Update on Nicole's Angels....we've exceeded our goal!!! Wooohooo!! So far we've raised $5,245.00!! The walk is in 2 weeks and it's still not too late to sign up if you want to walk with us or make a donation.

Update on my health....the heat and stress have effected me a little this summer, but overall I'm doing fine. I've had weird tingling and numbness in all different areas....my toes, feet, legs, arms, and even face, but none of it lasts very long. And I've experienced some fatigue. I've been better about resting and not overdoing it, but there is still room for improvement! I can't wait for some cooler weather though. Doug and I just got back from a 5 day vacation in Vail, Colorado. Talk about cooler weather!! It was in the 70's during the day and 50's at night. Sooooooo nice!!

Big news....Doug and I are moving to Longview, Tx!!! He got a job offer as an associate at a law firm in Longview. It's with an attorney that does work with the firm Doug works for now. It should only be for 2-3 years and then we'll be back in Houston. We're super excited:) Doug starts October 1st. Our current lease isn't up until November 15th, so that's when I'll be joining Doug in Longview. I'll keep you posted on the move!!

I think that's about all the updates I have for now. Please say a prayer that my odd numbered year goes well:)

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." ~Abraham Lincoln

Nicole's AWESOME Angels

I have the most awesome Walk MS Team ever!! We've been really working hard to be the first team to reach the $3,000 mark....and WE DID!!! We won the prize: having our own team tent set up at the walk, our own special starting spot for the walk, 25 t-shirts, and the bragging rights!! Wooohooo!! Thanks to all of my angels for working so hard:)

We only have $1,610 to go to meet our $5,000 goal!!

"Go for the moon. If you don't get it, you'll still be heading for a star."
-Willis Reed