Izzy and Buster

Fall 2008

Hey all,

I know, I know--I've been slacking on this whole blog thing. I've been super busy with school, and since I now actually have some semblance of a social life, I've had almost no free time!

I have some great news though--I've been accepted to the University of Maryland-College Park! Starting this fall, I will finally be a full-time student again! I haven't talked to anyone yet about credit transfers, so I don't have any definitive idea of when I'll graduate, but I'll let you know when I do.

I hope everyone is doing well!

NYC Trip

Here are some pictures of our fabulous view:

And here's a video of the entire view from our balcony on the 44th floor of "Riverbank West":

(yes, our apartment building had its own name)

Holiday Update

I've been really busy lately, but I wanted to update everyone on what I've been up to!

I finished school on December 10th with a 4.0, which was an amazing way to end my first semester back in college.

I spent my birthday at home with my family and boyfriend, Justin. He conspired with my mom to surprise me by coming over for dinner. It was really nice to have a quiet celebration at home, and it was definitely my best birthday in years.

Christmas was wonderful. All of the Maryland Andrews came over for an early Christmas dinner, which was absolutely delicious! A few days before Christmas, the New York Andrews (Peter, Susan, Carol, and Mark) stopped by for a few days. It was great to see everybody, especially Carol. Susan surprised me with a beautiful "hope" quilt that she made for me, and I still can't believe how much work she put into it! It's amazing and will be something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I just got back from a New Year's vacation with Justin. We spent a few days in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It was my first "real" New Year's, and it was fantastic. We arrived on Sunday afternoon and spent some time at the outlets before having a quiet evening at the hotel. On New Year's Eve, we spent the afternoon at the Dogfish Head Brewery, followed by an early dinner at Fusion, a great (and GF-friendly!) restaurant less than a block from our hotel. After I rested a little, we went out to Finbar, a very mellow bar in the heart of Rehoboth. We spent the evening chatting with our bartender and just enjoying each other's company. Tuesday morning we walked around a little and spent some time sitting on the beach. It was a beautiful day, and we watched families and dogs (in sweaters!) playing in the sand. If you ever get the chance to go to beach in the off-season, do it--it was a real treat to see the ocean in the middle of the winter. Although I caught the flu during our travels, I had an amazing time. I look forward to more adventures with Justin in the future. Click here for pictures and his take on the trip.

Tomorrow, my family and I are heading up to New York for our Christmas trip. We are planning to see a few shows, do lots of shopping, and just enjoy New York in the wintertime. We are also planning to have dinner with Molly and Erica, which is super-exciting for me since I've been really missing them lately!

Well, that's it for now. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays as much as I did!

Thanksgiving

My family and I went away for Thanksgiving this year to a small ski resort in Pennsylvania (no, we didn't ski). We all had a great time just relaxing and enjoying our first gluten-free Thanksgiving. Although nothing beats StoveTop, Chrissy did make a tasty gluten-free stuffing for the GF-ers in our family.

The whole family


Dad and his three girls

We also drove about an hour and a half to Pittsburgh to visit the Wagner clan for an afternoon. It was the first time all six of us had been there in several years, and we were able to see just about everybody. As usual, Grandma Aggie was her spunky self.

Aggie with her grandkids

We had such a great time that we have another trip planned for after Christmas--but it's a surprise! Our parents won't tell us until Christmas Day, so you'll know when I know!

Oh, the best part: it snowed on Thanksgiving Day!

Finals Week

I can't believe it, but my semester is already almost over! My first final (accounting) is this Friday, and my psychology final is the following Monday.

Forgive the sparse amount of posts lately--I've been incredibly busy with school. In fact, I just finished a 10 page accounting paper. It was a little rough in the beginning (it took me a little while to get over the mental block of the last time I wrote a huge paper like this, which took me 2 months working all day, every day), but I prevailed. It wasn't my best paper, but I still think I did pretty well.

Overall, I'm pretty proud of myself for working so hard this semester, and I'm excited for my next 2 classes. I will say that I'm looking forward to finishing up school--I wish I could be out working like all of you--but I will enjoy it while I can.

I hope everyone is doing well!

School Update

Hey all!

I'm over halfway through my first semester, and I have good news! Not only have I gotten 100%s on both my midterms, I've also finished my first paper--3 weeks early!! I've never finished a paper that early in my entire life, and to be able to do it now is such a blessing. Yes, I'm actually celebrating college papers. Those of you who were with me at Fordham know how much this means to me--you saw firsthand how hard it was for me to write, especially at the end. This is the first time I've written a paper with no stress and no Adderall in over 4 years (maybe even 5).

Oh, the college stuff for Fall 2008 is on the back burner until I finish school (on December 10th), so I won't have any new information about that for a little while.

I know everyone must be super busy, but if you get a chance, try to get in touch--I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Birthday, Carol!

They grow up so fast!

P.S. I'm Blonde

As my dad says, "You can tell how well Beth is feeling by how light her hair is." I'm feeling pretty great, and I'm definitely a blonde again.

RIP Putt-Putt

UPDATE: It looks like the Putt-Putt is going to pull through (although just barely)!

The beloved '97 Corolla (the same one from "Office Space") may have been totaled this morning (luckily, Molly is ok). Keep your fingers crossed that we can repair it.

An Izzy Post

It's Izzy's birthday today! She is 4 years old! In honor of her birthday, I've posted a clip of Izzy "playing" with Murphy (may be NSFW). Enjoy!

The New Plan

I am starting the process of applying to Georgetown University and University of Maryland for the Fall 2008 semester (maybe even Spring 2008 for UMD). I'm very excited, but quite nervous.

Updates to come shortly.

I am officially a geek!

So I've finished two weeks of classes--I've been quite busy, but I love it.

Psychology has been really interesting. We're finally out of the introductory material (the history of psychology, etc). This week we studied neuroscience, and I am definitely in love. I hadn't realized how much I missed having science in my life.

I'm also kind-of in love with accounting. I know this makes me even more of a geek, but it's just so. . .organized. I like that it's logical but has no real basis in math (which I happen to be terrible at).

Now I really have no clue what I want to do with my life. Would it be excessive to major in English, Biology, Psychology, and Accounting??

One Year!

On Saturday, August 25th, I was officially one year into my recovery!

It's hard to believe how far I've really come in just one year. At this time last year, I was a complete mess: I depended on Adderall just to shower, and I spent 95% of the day lying down or sitting. I was much sicker than I think even I realized.

For those of you who don't know, I suffer(ed) from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Fibromyalgia (my doctors consider them the same illness) and complications from a severe gluten intolerance (like a form of Celiac disease). In addition, I was essentially poisoning myself with Adderall, which severely damaged my central nervous system (sort-of like what hardcore drugs might do).

As of now, I'm doing amazingly well. I'm really happy, and I truly feel like me again; I haven't felt this good in at least five years. I'm off all of my pain meds and my sleeping pills, I'm doing yoga almost every day, and I'm taking classes again.

In other words, I'm back!


Side note to Carol: Congratulations on finishing your movie!
I'm so proud of you!!

NYC

My sister, Chrissy, and I traveled to New York City a few weeks ago.

We had a fabulous time visiting with Erica, Molly, and Cody (as well as Amber, Loren, and Brian!).

Chrissy and I arrived on Thursday afternoon, and since everybody was still at work, we happily wandered around the Upper East Side for awhile.



On Friday, Chrissy and I ventured down to the SoHo area for some of the oh-so-delicious (and award-winning!) Babycakes gluten-free cupcakes. We bought a few (or twelve) to take back to the apartment so that we could share the deliciousness with everybody.

The fabulous Babycakes bakery
(babycakesnyc.com)


On Friday night, Chrissy and I met Molly, Erica, and Amber at Sambuca restaurant on the Upper West Side (at 72nd and Central Park West). We thought about walking, but it was too rainy and cold (58 degrees! In August!). We did, however, wear our new matching shoes. We bought these shoes thinking that they were just cute black and white flats...
But once we got home, Chrissy noticed an unusual pattern: skulls and crossbones. It's very me, I know.


Saturday was a beautiful day, and we took a walk through Central Park since Chrissy had never been there before. Loren was in town, and he was nice enough to take our picture whilst dodging annoyed runners.

Erica, Molly, Chrissy, and me at the Jackie O. Reservoir.
Yes, I realize you can barely see us, but it's the best picture we could get.


Unfortunately, Chrissy had to leave early (it was her last weekend to visit with her friends before she had to leave for school), so we all escorted her to Penn Station Saturday afternoon.


Saturday night, Amber and Brian came over for dinner and an intense Monopoly game. I never played much Monopoly as a child, so it was the perfect time for "Team Body" (Beth + Cody) to reunite.

Fun was had by all.


Amber and Brian (showing off his newly-discovered moneybag game piece).


Erica and me.

"Team Body" is not doing so well.


The whole crew (minus Erica).

Sunday was another beautiful day, so we walked the two blocks to Central Park and spent the afternoon people-watching and eating fruit with chopsticks. It was the perfect way to spend my last day in NYC: relaxing outside with my friends, watching two over-grown frat guys attempting to play frisbee.

No, this is not actually them.

I had a wonderful time visiting NYC, and I know Chrissy did too. It was the perfect way to cap off a great summer.

The three girls, so happy together (cue cheesy music).

25 Years

Tomorrow is my parent's 25th wedding anniversary.

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad!

My parents today...

and on their wedding day.

My parents actually met when they were 17 at science camp.

Yes, I come from a family of geeks (and I love it!).

In honor of their anniversary, we held a big party (a BBQ and crab feast) at our house in July.

Dad grilling away.

The lone crabbers.
Even though we live in Maryland, this was our first foray into the art of the crab feast. Needless to say, the smell was overwhelming, so we banished the crab table to the edge of the yard.

The party gets under way.
It was really interesting to see the Andrews and the Wagners together, which hasn't happened since the wedding.

Part of the Andrews clan.

Grandma Wagner boozing it up.
Some of you may know her as Aggie, mistress of amazing care packages.

Grandpa and Grammy Andrews (George and Clare).

The whole family.
And yes, I am extra-smiley.

It was a great party--something the entire family will always remember. It was wonderful to be healthy and able to enjoy the party as much as everyone else. I even had some wine!

Fun Fact

According to Newsweek's "Top 25 Hottest Colleges", Fordham University is considered the "Hottest Catholic School".

Taking the Plunge

Starting September 4th, I am officially a student again! For a long time, I wasn't sure if I would ever get to go back to school, so I can't even describe how happy I am to be going back only a year into my recovery.

I am taking two classes (yes, two!) online through a branch of University of Maryland: "Introduction to Psychology" and "Accounting for Non-accounting Managers".

I was hesitant at first to even sign up for one class because my last semester at Fordham was such a disaster. After thinking about it for awhile, however, I decided to just go for it. Psychology seemed like a good fit since it is part practical applications and part theory.

I'm a little nervous about writing papers since that seemed to be my biggest challenge at the end of my run at Fordham. I'm sure it'll be rough at first, but I'm excited to use that part of my brain again.

I actually decided on the other class today--I've been feeling a lot stronger, and I'm definitely up for the challenge of taking two classes.

I thought accounting would be a good choice since it uses a totally different side of the brain. I needed a class that would be more logical (i.e. a class that I can't overthink) and maybe even a little boring. I've never taken any type of business or financial class, and I'm really looking forward to trying something new.

Now it's time to go to Staples to get some school supplies!

Beth, the Blogger

While up in New York this past weekend, Molly suggested I think about starting my own blog. I had thought about it several months ago, but I was still too sick to really do what I wanted with it.

There are several reasons I wanted to start this blog. First and foremost, I wanted a way to keep in touch with all the people I love. I want to share all of my exciting new adventures with the people that stood by me during the hardest time of my life. Without all of your support over the past five years, there is no way I could have made it through.

This blog will also be a personal journal of my progress. The recovery process takes a lot of hard work, and I'm sure over the next several months (and years!), I will encounter many ups and downs. I get better every day, and with so many new things on the horizon, this blog will be a record of both what I achieve and what continues to challenge me.

I'm also very excited about this blog because it is a great forum for me to really get back into writing. For too long I was unable to express myself the way I always had in my life.

Finally, this blog will, quite simply, be a way to truly give thanks for all of my blessings. I have so much to be thankful for: a loving and supportive family, wonderful friends, and now my health. It's so important to remember why I fought so hard to get better.

I love you all.