Month: February 2019

Thank you for 100+ followers !

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Hello, my bucket list friends ! I was very excited When I saw that I got to 100 followers. I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while and here it is ! Let’s go !

 

Thank you for 100+ followers !

The best way to start this off is to say thank you to all of you !! I started this blog back in 2015 and I’ve grown to love it so much ! I love sharing my stories with the world. Blogging has quickly become my favorite hobby and I’m excited to continue to share my life stories with all my amazing readers!  I knew I had to celebrate my 100 + followers so I deiced to do one of my favorite things color ! I found a coloring page online from Twisty Noodle. (you can see the coloring page HERE     ) The coloring page has a big number 100 on it along with 100 dots to color . I colored all 100 of the dots . I loved the way the coloring page looked when I was done coloring it , It was full of bright and colorful dots! Coloring 100 fun and colorful dots was the perfect way to celebrate my 100+ followers! Once again thank you all for reading!

Rock on – Christina Epperly

 

Things I love February 2019

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends . I’ve been so busy this month that it has flown right by without me hardly even noticing but here we are at the end. Just keep on reading to see the things I’m loving in February 2019

 

Things I love February 2019

 

Hello tooth paste

I love using natural products and I was excited to try a brand of tooth paste that I had not heard of before. I got the mint flavored tooth paste and it has a simple taste that is not overpowering ,plus it always makes me happy when I’m using products that have not been tested on animals.

 

Judy Moody and the bucket list audio book on Audible

I’m always looking for bucket list stories so I searched Audible’s library for the any books on the topic. I came across the fun and funny story Judy Moody and the bucket list and I really enjoyed it. It’s a children’s book so it’s great for all ages ! I love how the book captured the frustration and excitement when it came to crossing items off your bucket list. I highly recommend this book book for all bucket listers.

American girl brain benders book

I picked up this book before I started my week at Stanford and I’m very glad I did. It was full of fun puzzles that kept me entertained during my downtime in between treatments. I liked the word searches the best. If you like solving puzzles this is a great book for you.

song – House of Fire by Alice Cooper

Now, This is not a new song or even song that I  newly discovered . It’s one of my favorite songs that I’ve loved since high school. Well years ago my OCD told me that if I listened to the song bad things would happen. Even though I knew that it wasn’t true the anxiety I felt kept me from listening to it. Until I started receiving TMS treatments during my week at Stanford. During the week I decided to try listing to the song again. Any anxiety I felt quickly faded and I was filled up with joy ! I was so happy that I was able to listen to the song again I played it over and over ! This is for sure my favorite song of the month!

Lara bar Gingerbread flavor

I love Lara bars and I was excited to see a new interesting flavor to try. On the wrapper it said it was a limited addition. I’m guessing that this flavor was released for Christmastime but there were some leftovers. I’m glad I got to try this flavor I really enjoyed it . I also tried the Snicker doodle flavor but the gingerbread was my favorite.
My little pony Equestria girls pinkie pie doll

I have quite a few Equestria girls dolls but I hadn’t got any in the newer style until I went to Target this month. I got the doll of my favorite character Pinkie Pie. I love her dress ! the balloons on it are so cute and fun. I also like her shoes with the heart cutout. I wish I could get some clothes like hers ! I’m so happy I bought her.

Rock on – Christina Epperly

 

 

My 2nd MRI

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Hello, my bucket list friends ! Yesterday I got my 2nd and final MRI for the OCD study at Stanford. As always I’m excited to share my experience with all of you. Here we go !

 

My 2nd MRI

 

Things have changed a bit since my last MRI. After the TMS treatments my relationship with my OCD has changed in a huge way ! I’m now in control of my everyday choices instead of my OCD. I feel so free now. I wonder if the MRI showed any change . The MRI was just the same as before. I changed into scrubs and got some ear plugs. After that I got into the machine. I felt really cozy in the MRI machine and towards the end I almost fell asleep ! After the scan was finished I had a call with a doctor to discuss how I was doing after the TMS treatments. On the way home we stopped at this huge whole foods and I got this very cute dog cupcake Overall I’m doing really well right now and I’m so glad that I took part in this study.

Rock on – Christina Epperly

 

A new job and fun times !

Posted on by crazydreamsgirl

Hello, my bucket list friends ! My life has been jammed packed lately. In addition to participating in the OCD study at Stanford I got a new job that I’m excited to tell all of you about. I’ve also been enjoying some fun days. Let’s get going!

 

A new job and fun times !

 

2/16/2019 – The day after I got home from Stanford I started at my new job . It was hard to leave my other jobs but I’m really excited to have one amazing job. I’ll be both a receptionist and a massage therapist at this job. My first day went well and I’m excited to go in again this week.

 

2/17/2019 – This day was jammed packed with fun ! I met up with my amazing friend we went to the Goodwill ,the Dollar Tree , an awesome pizza place, and frozen yogurt. Then that evening we went to church with my parents. This day was filled to the brim with my favorite things. I’m so great full for days like this.

2/18/2019 – Another jammed packed day filled with my favorite things. My mom and I got coffee , went for a walk and went shopping at Target. I found some great things in the dollar section. I also go a My Little pony Equestria girls pinkie pie doll. The only downside was that everything was very crowed that day but overall it was a great day!

Rock on – Christina Epperly

 

TMS day 5 ( the last day !)

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Hello, my bucket list friends ! It was a long week but I did it ! I completed five days of TMS treatments. I can’t wait to tell you about my last day so here we go !

 

TMS day 5 ( the last day !)

 

I was very excited for day five because I was going to be going home that evening . I was missing my bed and my cats a lot ! As always the day followed the same pattern of treatments as all the days before . I was feeling pretty good about how I was handling my OCD. I felt in control for the first time in years . When the day ended I was so proud of myself ! It had been a long week but I did it ! After my mom picked me up we went to the Stanford Shopping center. I went shopping at the American Girl store and I got a quiz book and a cute little lamb from the new girl of the year collection. After the American Girl store we went to Starbucks before making our way home. I was very happy to be back home and to have my OCD in it’s place.

Rock on – Christina Epperly

TMS day 4 ( Valentine’s day)

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Hello, my bucket list friends ! Valentine’s day 2019 was my fourth day of TMS treatments. Hold on tight as I tell you about day 4 !

TMS day 4 ( Valentine’s day)

Day four ! It was so close to the end of the week ! Plus it was Valentine’s day and my mom was coming to pick me up and were going to get frozen yogurt ! The thoughts of seeing my mom and frozen yogurt kept me excited for that night. The day of treatments were the same as the days before. I was very used to the treatments by day four . Every hour I went and got my TMS treatments and then I went back to my office and hung out . While I was in my office I decided to challenge my OCD again. Things were going pretty well I wasn’t listening to OCD’s orders any more so I went for it . I went on to YouTube and I watched a horror movie trailer then I watched a countdown about horror movies and I didn’t freak out ! Before I began the TMS a trailer for a horror movie popped up on one of my social media feeds I could only make it through a few seconds before closing the ad . Now let me make this clear I don’t like horror movies and I’m not gonna become a big fan of them but with my OCD I can get very easily upset if I see an ad for one . It can raise my anxiety levels and even make me angry . Now I’m able to work on getting myself use to seeing those kinds of ads with out getting upset.  After the TMS sessions were done for the day my mom picked me up. First we went to Whole Foods then we got some Frozen Yogurt at Pink Berry. It was a great way to end another long day of TMS .

Rock On – Christina Epperly

TMS day 3 ! ( Breakthrough)

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Hello ,my bucket list friends ! Yesterday was my third day for TMS treatments . It was awesome when I noticed even more change in myself . Ready to ready about it ? Here we go !!

TMS day 3 ! ( Breakthrough)

Day three was a very rainy day but other than that it started out just like the other two days before . Get up early ,get the tracker put on , do TMS,and hangout in my office . Well ,while I was spending some downtime in my office. I got an idea what if I tried listening to a song that my OCD told me I couldn’t. Years ago my OCD told me I couldn’t listen to one of my favorite songs House of Fire by Alice Cooper and if I disobeyed the order and listened to the song something bad would happen. I was a little nervous at first but I went for it and it was one of the best choices I’ve ever made ! I was so happy playing the song over and over and even watching the video ! I felt so free ! I can now make more of my own choices without suffering anxiety . While that was the biggest highlight of the day. I also got to enjoy some yummy snacks from the cutest Disney snack pack ever ! After the treatments were done for the day I went back to where I’m staying and ate, relaxed, and watched the masked singer . I get tired on these long days and I miss home but I’m so thankful to be a part of this study ! I’m also thankful that I’m showing less OCD symptoms !

Rock on ! – Christina Epperly

TMS day 2

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Hello, My bucket list friends ! Yesterday I completed my second day of TMS sessions . If you want to here more about it just keep reading !

TMS day 2

The second day followed that same steps as the first day . I arrived early in the morning and had the tracker put on my head and then received my first TMS session for the day . Then I went back to my own office for the week . During my downtime I filled the time by reading , listening to Audible ,doing word searches and other activities in my American girl brain benders book, and various other things . For the TMS treatments we decided to increase the intensity . It was more intense for sure but not bad . All throughout the day I went in for my treatments every hour . Towards the end of my sessions for the day . Something interesting happened. I was scrolling through Pinterest looking for things to pin to my boards when my OCD blasted in giving me orders not to pin certain things or if I did pin it I had to for sure make the project. This kind of thing is normal it happens all the time but what isn’t normal is for me not to listen to it . At first I was going follow along with what it told me to do like always but them I stopped myself . I decided to pin what I wanted to. I knew deep down that it would have no effect on anything that happened to me or anyone else . You see OCD is always threatening me that if I don’t obey it’s commands that something bad will happen to me or someone I care about. I reminded myself that bad things happen even when I obey the commands . It’s just life ! I pushed through the small amount of anxiety I had and I disobeyed OCD’s orders . It was a little scary at first but I did it and soon the anxiety was gone. It was odd but in a good way . After my day of sessions was over my mom picked my up and we went to dinner . I had some much needed coffee and pasta then I set my sights on getting ready for the next day .

Rock on – Christina Epperly

TMS treatment day 1

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Hello ,my bucket list friends . This week I’m getting TMS treatments at Stanford for an OCD study . Today was the first day of my TMS treatment . It’s an interesting topic that I can’t wait to tell all of you about. Here we go !

TMS treatment day 1

My first day of TMS started bright and early . I didn’t sleep well last night so I was already tired but I was ready to begin .First stop was the room where I would be receiving my TMS treatments. I had been in the treatment room before but now was the time for my first official TMS session . A device called a tracker was placed on my head and it would stay there for the rest of the day . It made me feel like I was in a science fiction movie ! I liked the tracker and I took lots of pictures of it . It felt weird when it was first put on but I got used to it very quickly . There were also stickers put on my chest to measure my heart rate thoes stayed there for the rest of the day also . Since the TMS sessions are short and only take place once an hour I had a room to go to in-between treatments . I filled up my down time with different activities but my favorite was doing word searches in my American Girl brain benders book . The treatments themselves were pretty simple I sat in a comfy chair that is similar to a dentist’s chair. Then the heart monitor was connected to the stickers on my chest . After a few sessions I was able to connect the cords to the stickers myself . After that a coil was placed on my head and the treatment begun. TMS is a very interesting feeling and it’s kind of hard to explain but each treatment seemed like it was over before I knew it . I was there until evening with some wonderful supportive staff . It was a long day but I’m so happy to be a part of this research ! Now , on to day two ! Rock On – Christina Epperly

Getting ready for TMS and a trip to the American girl store

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Hello, my bucket list friends ! Next week I’ll be up at Stanford all week for TMS treatment. Today I went for one more appointment before my treatments officially start also I finished my appointment early enough to walk across the street to the Stanford shopping center. It was quite a day and I’m excited to tell you all about it . Here we go !

 

Getting ready for TMS and a trip to the American girl store

I had a two hour appointment scheduled at Stanford today . This appointment took place in a different building then the MRI scan did. ( you can read about my MRI HERE ) I have been to this building before for other appointments related to the study . Today I talked to a doctor about some of my OCD symptoms then it was time to meet the TMS machine . today we were just figuring out the right way to set the machine for my treatments since everyone’s bodies are different . After getting it all sorted out I was done for the day . I still had sometime before my ride came so I walked across the street to the Stanford shopping center . It wasn’t raining when I left my house so I didn’t bring any rain gear but it was raining pretty good by the time I left my appointment . I got a little wet on the walk over to the shopping center but not to bad . I love American girl dolls so I was excited to go shopping at the two story American Girl store. I have been to the store before but it’s been awhile.  I bought two books . The first one I decided to buy was a book about Blair the girl of the year for 2019 . The 2nd book was a brain teaser book filled with fun puzzles. I also got some free stickers . I spent a while walking around the store looking at all the dolls and other items . I really like this store it’s so fun and decorated very nicely . After going to the American Girl store I got some lunch at Starbucks. It was packed day and I’m both nervous and excited for next week . I can’t wait to tell you how it all goes !

Rock On – Christina Epperly