Naughty Right Lung!!!

Well everything was going really well, i was walking Sophie and i was feeling lots better until Lung function day.  I swear lung function day is becoming a jinx to me, i spend all week at home feeling fine, waking up and feeling good, not coughing n splutering everywhere, then lung function day arrives and i wake up i feel like a bag of crap and i'm coughing, out of breath and filling a pot with sputum and that before i get to the hospital.  So there i was hoping for good results, i got to the hospital and decided to see if i could walk up the stairs, normally i'm a lazy bugger n use the lift and come down the stairs.  The hospital stank of rank hospital food, so when i got to top of the stairs i was out of breath and the smell of food nearly made me sick!! Nice!! Next Joey just use the lift x

I got to room to do my lung function, sat down and straight away the physio went and got me some water, while she was gone i had a grabbed the pot on the side and started to fill it, not normally like me at all!! To my delight streaks of blood, but as it wasn't a big bleed I was still allowed to do my lung function.  Which was quite hard work considering everytime i started to blow i wanted to cough n clear the crap! Worst thing about it is I could feel exactly where it was coming from - my RIGHT side just under my booby!! :) This was a bad patch for me last year that caused me alot of problems and I had about 5 IV courses before it actually dampened down in December, it's been quiet since then till now!!

It's strange I never had a bad patch that I could actually feel before, its not like pain, it's just strange, when i cough and clear the crap i can feel where it's coming from and when I have bleeds this is always where it's from, 90% of the time i've always know where my bleeds came from but now with this side I feel the vessel pop n know i'm bleeding before I even get the gurgles.

So friday started to worry me abit, I was hoping for a lung function in the 40's, 41 is my target number, I only managed 38 which to be fair actually wasn't too bad it was a flook blow after clearing all the crap the other 2 blows weren't that good.  It turned out to be a good physio session, in fact i did comment to the physio if possible could I stay for an hour, just do a blow every 5-10 mins and clear all this cuz doing my lung function has always been brilliant for me, but just the usual physio response, i'd like you to go home and do your nebs and acapella please! Well i do have a busy life, that wasn't on my agenda for the afternoon!! :)

What was on the agenda was picking my mum up from hospital, she was being discharged and now has all clear fingers crossed from her kidney stone problems after her operation on wednesday last week.  So thats something hopefully I won't need to worry about anymore.

I wasn't too bad over the weekend, my friend Gemma dyed my hair for me, i no longer have grey roots, lol and we went and did a little shopping then made rice krispie cakes.  They were yummy, so yummy that on sunday i was going round to my mum and dad's to watch the Stoke match, i asked my dad to get me some rice krispies and chocolate so i could make more before the game started.

I used to help my mum and my nan bake loads when i was a kid, i used to love it, especially licking the bowl from the chocolate cake mix and butter icing.  Yum Yum!! xx

So when I got there, I ate my Sunday dinner and then started baking, i wanted to make some rice krispie cakes for Steve too to bring home and then mum said why don't you make flapjack there are some oats and syrup in the cupboard.  So seemed like a plan.  I had to make sure my mum took photos of me though cuz Steve so wouldn;t believe i made them myself. lol.

Then I watched the Stoke Match, The Semi Final against Bolton, I was hopeful at  the beginning but kinda thought we were gonna loose to be honest, we not beaten Bolton for a while, but when the first goal went in, then second and third in the first half it was brilliant.  I think me, my bro and my dad gave my grandma and grandad a heart attack everytime the ball went in the back of the net.  I would of loved to be at Wembley but I have been years ago when we were in the Auto Windscreen.  It was brilliant game and to win 5-0 was amazing.  Come on Stoke i hope we beat Man City in the final.

After the game I was just sat quietly eating a sandwich then my right lung started again, this time a Bleed, my nan ran into the kitchen and got me the kitchen roll.  I was pretty calm, knew it was coming but didnt want to move myself, I felt bad cause they were all sat eating and i was sat coughing up blood into a kitchen roll, but I'm so used to them now, i sit and I control it, I cough when i want to cough and clear it, when I feel it ready,  although it horrible to have a bleed, this bleed was being kind to me letting me control it, if i can control a bleed then i feel safe and comfortable with it, it's when I can't control it and have to go to toilet with it that i worry.  But it was controlled, i cleared what i needed to then drank a glass of coke and carried on eating my sandwich.  It had come from that naughty light bad patch on my right lung.  When i got home i started myself on the transamic acid i have in cupboard.

I have had a lot of bleeds though, all very random, it's stupid, quite often my bleeds come in the middle of the night and i lie there thinking well i must of ran a marathon in my dreams or something, cuz i've been still for 8 hours.  Then other times i've had them in the middle of a night out, so inconvient, my friend will be worried cuz i always tell someone i'm having a bleed before i dash to the toilets, quite often my friend Ames would be the one with me, as soon as i'd clear it she's ask if i was ok and i'd be like yes, i'm fine, BAR now!! I normally needed a drink to swill my mouth out and i'd normally have a vodka and coke, for some reason i crave coke after a bleed.  Bleeds to me are quite normal, when i know i'm ill I do something about it, but when i'm well i know its probably just random bit of mucus that has been stuck to vessel wall that has moved and the tiny little vessel has bleed.  How i think of it is its just like a scab you get on your knee of something, if you catch it or rub it it bleeds and thats what happens in my lungs. I think thinking like that helps me not to get so scared by them because when i was about 10 the girl who i had looked up to and was like a big sister to me Donna Hackney died and she died from a huge bleed.  So as much as I play them down as being part of my life i know they can be serious, but i have to stay calm to stay in control so that i can keep living my life.  xxx

So with my naughty little right lung miss behaving, i rang the hospital yesterday morning to ask for another week of iv's, to up my steroids and told them i had had a bleed and had started the transamic acid.  He consultant said fine, but he just would like to see me at 4.15 at end of clinc to check on me! Which was fine, i was working till 4 and then i'd be going up hospital to get my drugs and everything anyway.

So thats me, another week of IV's!! xx Fun Fun Fun xx

Hopefully my right lung will start behaving now!!

Mission to get Lung Function UP and keep it UP!! With the help of my Puppy xxx

Last week was a bit of a wake up call for me really, it's not that i've really neglected myself it's just so many things were going on in my life that mentally and emotionally i didn't actually have time to rest!! Thats why after only finishing IV's 4 weeks ago, i ended up back on them again a week ago!!

The IV's 4 weeks ago I booked in and I was feeling well when I had them, my lung function was 41 when I started, I had booked them in because i knew I was going to have a big weekend with my dad's birthday and also because I wasn't too well in January so I figured book them in for middle of Feb would be good.  I've done this before, I book them in because it means you get to have them mixed with pharmacy.  Mixing IV's can be hard work and it's alot of added pressure when you feel like a bag of shit and you've got to start mixing the drugs, i rely alot on Steve to help me mix them! He is brilliant though but it's hard on him, like last week he worked a few nights till 7 8 o'clock at night, came home, had tea and then had to help me mix my drugs.  He mixes the Ceftazadime, I hate that bit, he's really quick at it now, years of practice, i do the rest, tobi and heparin but it is a lot to put on him sometimes.  Sunday night was last night we needed to mix my drugs and Steve made the most of my friend Sarah being round, she is training to be a midwife and like Emma from work loves doing my drugs.  Steve however said that she could mix the Ceft for him.  Sarah ended up mixing all my drugs, with me telling her what to do, she loved it!

Maybe next time i'm on iv's i just need to invite a different friend round each night because i am quite lucky that they are all interested in my CF and get excited about mixing and giving my IV's.

So my mission, Saturday i actually thought i was having an adrenaline day, expecting to feel like shit on the Sunday i decided to make the most of it.  I got up and cleaned the kitchen, then had a little rest while my tobramycin went through, which now take half an hour on silly pump!!

Then after than i got another sudden burst of energy and went and cleaned the bathroom, why cleaning the bathroom is such a bloody work out i don't know!! Cleaning round the bath don't half wear ya out!! Then i did my nebs and had a shower! I was then waiting for Steve to come home so we could go to Tesco and Homebase and he was taking me out for tea!! :)

In a moment of pure madness i decided to take my little pup for a walk, it's something i'd been thinking of doing ever since the light nights started, it was such a lovely day saturday and i was feeling ok so i figured i give it ago, if i got tired i could always turn back or take a shorter route round the estate.  I don't particularly like walking and have tried walking Sophie before but not kept it up, like did it for a week and then it would rain or something and that's it.

But i did it, Steve actually got home whilst me and Sophie were out, he rang me worried, Jo i'm home and your gone, the dog's gone but you're car still here!! "That's because me and Soph are out for a walk" I said, to say Steve was shocked is an understatement.  Even his mate Joe didn't believe where I was.  I actually enjoyed it, enjoyed it that much that I took her twice on Saturday, i took her again when we got back from having an early tea at Frankie and Bennies. Yum Yum.

So it's now Tuesday and Soph has been walked everyday and i'm quite enjoying it xx Lets hope i can keep it up, If i can at least walk her 3 times a week i'll be proud of myself.  But for now i'm going for everyday cuz the sun is shining and its so much better than doing physio!! xx

Soph's having a nap right now, so it's Tobramycin and Lunch and Cuppa time for me, i've just turned the Wii on for the first time in probably over a year! Not to do exercise i wanna watch the bbc i player and that Candy Cabs programme, looks brilliant.  After that i'll get dressed, take Sophie for a walk and treat myself to a Sunbed.

So my mission is:

• To be good girl with my IV's 
• Do my nebs once a day
• Walk little Sophie
• Get a Tan

Then when i'm back to myself i think about getting back into my fundraising, i've got lots of ideas just need to get well first so I can start planning.

CF got the better of me this week!!

I think it's clear to say although i had been on Cipro and higher steroids for the last two weeks my body was running on adrenaline or the drugs were just keeping me ticking over!! As soon as Saturday came my body felt physically exhausted, i was lucky my friend Ula had actually stayed over Friday night after the pub crawl cuz she spent the day making me lots of cups of tea, even bought me tea and biscuits in bed!! :) x

By Friday evening i felt like "The Tap" had been turned on!! My poor little lungs were filling with crap (sputum) and it was a struggle to do anything without coughing my lil head off!! Sunday wasn't much better, i managed a shower in the morning and made it round to my mum's for Sunday lunch, even my mum knew i was ill, she said she could tell last Wednesday from round my eyes!

It was when i was trying a dress on for my mum to shorten for me that i realised it was gonna be on iv's soon.  Just taking my top off and putting the dress on i felt out of breath.  Very frustrating.

Like a good little girl, knowing I was back at work Monday i decided to call first thing to try and arrange iv's to start over the next few days.  Monday my adreneline kicked in again, i had a horrible morning, getting ready to go to work but then once i actually got to work i felt ok, after work i wasn't as exhausted as I thought and in my house there was seriously no food so I rang Steve went and picked him up and we went food shopping.  I survived getting round Tesco and Steve had got Squash booked, he told me just to leave the shopping and he put it away when he got back but somehow I had energy to do that too!

Monday was a day of me so surviving on Adreneline like me sorting my life out ready for the IV's cause Tuesday morning I felt horrible, like really horrible.  Some of you reading this would prob say i over did things on Monday, your probably right but sometimes things in life just have to get done.  At 12 I was meeting my physio to do my lung function, getting out of bed n too the hospital was hard work, by the time i actually got to the ward i felt so ill, it was a question of if i needed IV's and I didnt need no doctor to come see me, I was having IV's.

My lung function was 32, and that was bit of a fluke blow, the other 2 were quite a bit lower.  Being anywhere below 35 scares me to be honest, 30 is a number that is way too low for me to cope with.  39 is me stable, 41 is good and 44 which was my best last year is me swinging from the roof tops.  So now i'm on my iv's i'm aiming high this time,  I'm gonna be a good girl and do my nebs each day and when im feeling bit better i'm gonna try taking my cute little puppy for little walks.  I'm still going to work, I only work 12 hours a week, so many people shout at me for going to work when i'm ill, but once i'm there i'm OK and if i'm not i got a good group of people around me to help me out.  I think yesterday a few of them were a little shocked when i walked in with tubes dangling off me and my tobramycin pump in my handbag.  I had just been for my levels and had the pump going through as I was driving to work.  I'm not the kind of girl to hide away from my CF so walking from my car through shopping centre with tube hanging from my arm to handbag really doesn't bother me!! My friend Emma was quite excited when I got to work, she loves doing my drugs so she sneaked in the back and flushed me off!! She thinks it's ace doing my drugs, i'm sure she wouldn't think the same if she was doing them 3x a day for 2 weeks, but its a nice little break.  I take my Ceftaz to work with me and do it at about 4ish and if she can she loves to do them for me!! "Nurse Emma" xx :) xx

Anyway talking of drugs and work that's where i need to be going now!! Just one last shift and i can rest till m
Monday and hopefully the drugs will have made me feel better by then too xxx

Here's to a Brilliant Night and many more pub crawls!!!

So the day of my Pub Crawl came, to say i was nervous was an understatement, i felt pretty sick to be honest.  I had arranged it all with the pubs, about 8/9 new i was coming and i had my 5 best friends all lined up and ready although they were feeling pretty nervous too!!

I'd never arranged anything like this before so I was really nervous it was gonna be a failure and i'd come home with a bucket full of pennies equalling about £10.  But hey my moto of the night i borrowed from Tesco "Every Little Helps".

I had asked my friends to dress kinda like Gangsters, but as there was only a few of us I hadn't really thought too much about the outfit, i'd just said shirt, tie and black skirt or trousers!! I had bought myself a black shirt and purple tie, purple was for Breath of Life.  I'm kinda big headed but i like to think it looked pretty good.  Except my shirt had come untucked in this piccie!! lol

When we got to our first pub the Weathervane in Meir Park we were all so nervous, I so a glass of rose was needed!! We piled the tubs in a corner and told the people behind the bar that we were here to do collection as planned but we all needed a drink for dutch courage to start with!! lol

Steph started talking to a few people at the bar and before i knew it i was giving people information for the Skydive i was arranging!! Which was great.  Two lads even helped start us off with the collecting by going round with the buckets,Then my two girls Ula and Steph started going round too, they did great job and it gave me the confidence to join in!!

Steph, Ula and Me

Emma and Me

Me and Ames

Then i bumped into a lad called Dan who i had met only a couple of times, he was married to my childhood friend Larah who I hadn't really seen since we left college.  He was with his friend Mike who i found out was going to marry Liz who was also my childhood friend.  We had a great laugh with them, as i made the mistake of saying to Dan when he was off to the Loo or something, when you come back Dan I want you to "Fill my Bucket" (Sorry Larah) not my best line, but hey it worked!! When we were about to move on to the next pub, which was only round the corner, the came along too, on the condition they helped us out by getting money from the ladies!! hee hee xx

So the next pub was the Potters Bar on Meir Park, here I had my confidence and went round with Ula!! She was great and had a whole little speech going about raising money for Breath of Life to help people with breathing difficulties like her friend Joey (me) who has Cystic Fibrosis to help buy them equipment for hospital and keep them looking well so they can arrange amazing night like this and look so healthy!! which was so lovely!! She was really good!!

Me and Gem

Next we were off to Windmill at Meir Heath!! Every pub i went to i seemed to meet people i went to school with which was great, helped to get more money in the bucket from there friends.  We were doing so well though it was so good.  The boys were doing great and Steph was in charge of one of the girls buckets and Ula the other, they were both great at talking to people and telling them about it.  I managed to get a 10er off one guy who said my husband was a very lucky guy and he would of loved to take me out!! Personally what I  loved about him was his money for the charity!! I have my man!! :) xxx

So then it was off to the Lightwood Tavern, the time was getting away from us, we were having a great night and everyone was so kind and generous and they didnt just chuck money in and want us to get lost people were really interested in knowing what the charity was about and what we were up too!!

Last stop was the Florence, it was 10.45 by time we got there and the puub was quiet, but a Gem knew a guy who she used to work and he was on a work night out with crew from Tesco Mobile Longton!! They were all really generous!! Breath of Life are gonna be at Longton Tesco Collecting on 6th and 7th of April so if you pop in to do your shopping peeps making sure u put some money in the collection boxes!!

So the Florence was our last stop!! We had a great night, Liz came to pick Mike up and i hadn't seen her for years, Mike is now gonna do the Skydive too so that's great.

So after giving everyone a lift home, Ula decided to kip on my sofa we came home, ate pizza and sat up till half 2 counting the money, we were two excited to sleep!!

We raised ...........

£283.33

Thanks to all the pubs who let us do the collections and for everyone in the pubs for there very kind donations.

I wanna thank my girls and my boys for an amazing night and for helping me raise money for Breath of Life!! Your all stars and i love you all!!! Next time and I definitely think there will be a next time we're all gonna were Black Shirts, Purple Ties, and Black Skirts (even my newly recruited boys) lol!!!

Love you all xxx

What started off as a terrible week, ended on a High thanks to my very special cousin Leanne!!!

Well I have finally found the time to sit down and write about my week!! I hope you're sat down with a cuppa because it's been a long week, full of lots of up's and downs!! Today i'm knacked, you'll understand why!!

So Friday evening my poor mummy had to go to A&E, after 8 longs hours, we finally had an answer to what was causing the terrible pain she was in, it was a kidney stone, one that had gone on a little adventure and left the kidney and was stuck in the tube.  Painkillers slowly slowly started to dull the pain for my mum and she was able to get some rest, the 8 hours of pain for me and my dad though was dulled, it was just made worse with worry.  At 1am she was admitted and we were finally able to leave her knowing she was in safe hands and had a bed for the night, not just a trolley in a corridor.  The next day we were back up the hospital visiting and my mum had started to have temperatures, i was quite impressed with how fast the urology registrar acted, the temperatures ment though my mum had kidney infection now and they needed to put in a drain.  Which they did very fast that evening and moved her to the urology ward where she has been all week.  Waiting for the infection to clear and hoping the stone might pass, but no such luck yet so tomorrow (monday) they plan to put in a stent.  

So not only have I spent the week visiting my mum everyday, I've been visiting Aaron a few times (it was his Birthday) and nipping up there for lung function etc myself.  It always seems to be that when anyone in my family is in hospital, me n my little lungs need attention too, my lung function not too good, so i'm hoping upping my Steroids and Cipro will sort me out, but if i want that too work, i need rest for the next few days.  

This Photo is from my wedding of me and Aaron xx

Sometimes I hate CF, but it's not a healthy was too live, when I saw Aaron on his Birthday last Sat i was quite upset, he'd only a few days before had his operation for his kidney stone to be removed and was feeling pretty rough, broke my heart that whilst me and his lovely girlfriend Cara (who i normally refer to as Zippy because apparently she's really chatty, but goes very shy n quiet when i'm around) were visiting him he hardly had the energy to open his pressies.  For his tea, the strange boy just fancied some McDonalds Bacon on a Bun!! We all know they don't do bacon burgers.  Luckily it's not what you know in this life it's who!! His cousin wasn't working in Mcdonalds that day, but there were people there who knew of Aaron. So with the help of two cute girls (Me n Cara) a tiny little sob story and a little note from Aaron.  We returned back to the hospital with a FREE Bacon Bun and Coke for the Birthday Boy.  

When i saw Aaron on Tuesday though after a rough weekend he looked a lot better, so this time i took him to Mcdonalds with me to get him out of hospital for an hour, i ended up dropping him off at the local car garage for him to go test drive a new car too, but i couldn't wait around for him as i had a meeting so i had to ask the lady at the car place if she could take him back to the hospital afterwards.  It was only few mins up the road so after I played the CF card she soon obliged.

So yes, i went to a Meeting, me and Emily my Breath of Life (change the world) partner in Crime were going to the Breath of Life Commitee meeting, to meet everyone and to tell them all about our ideas.  Not to be big headed, but they loved us, fresh blood, young blood and were so pleased how both of us wanted to get involved.  We stayed for the whole meeting it was really lovely to learn all about the charity and how it works and what's going on, other than the parts that i've been planning.  My skydive this week has had 3 more people interested, which is great and 4 of my other interested people have signed up.  So it's all going good.  My pub crawl plans are on hold right now, too much stress going on, but i'm off work next week and plan to get it all sorted out and ready for Friday night.

This week so happened to be my busiest week in a long time and it doesn't stop there, sadly on the sunday morning Steve's nan passed away.  She had been poorly for about 12 months with Cancer which we knew wasn't going to get better but she sadly had a stroke at the weekend.  The funeral is on Tuesday, so it will be good to get together with his family to give her a lovely send off.  

These photos were taken Christmas 2006!! :)

Wednesday was a relatively simple day, i went to work and to visit my mum in hospital and also planned my thursday night!! My lovely cousin came to town in her tour of the play THE NAKED TRUTH!! Which if you haven't seen you should so go and see, its brilliant and so funny.  

http://www.theatre-productions.com/shows/the-naked-truth/

It stars, my cousin Leanne Jones, Michelle Heaton, Claire King, Julie Buckfield and Maurine Nolan.  I went to see it in October with my family, not the easiest thing to watch when sat next to my grandma, but she laughed her head off, even when Leanne was been naughty little lee lee saying lots of rude things.

I'm very proud of my cousin, she was the star of Hairspray and played Tracey for a few years on the West End and won an Olivier Award.  I went to see Hairspray 3 or 4 times down in London, i think if i'd of been closer i'd of been there all the time.  I love watching her on stage and Hairspray was an amazing musical.  Now she is touring till June in Naked Truth, playing a witty and funny character called Bev.  Not the girl i grew up with that's for sure.  So Thursday night me and my brother went with my CF friends, Emma and Aaron, i took them for there Birthday Treats.

The show was brilliant, even more funny than i had remembered, in the second half, we moved to 4 empty seats on the very front row.  Which was for my brother in scenes a little too close for comfort, when my Leanne's bum was in his face, but there was no complaining when Michelle Heaton was doing a sexy pole dance.

Me, Emma and Aaron with Michelle Heaton

We all had a great night and after the show we met a few of the cast and got some photos and went for a drink with Leanne.  Which was lovely.

Me and Em with Claire King 

Friday, i rushed around like a mad little hatter, visited my mum, went to pharmacy, delivered information packs to my newly interested skydivers and visited my Auntie Vera to give her her Birthday present, its been a week full of birthdays for me, with Aaron, Emma, my Auntie and Leanne's too.  Which was perfect timing for her tour coming to Stoke.  On the thursday night Leanne had asked me and my brother Andy if we wanted to join her and the cast for her Birthday drinks on Friday night in Revolution after the show.  Of course we said yes, who gonna say no to hanging with a few stars xx

So we met Leanne at the Stage Door of the Regent Theatre at 10pm and went off to Revolution, Michelle Heaton had reserved the table and was the cast already there.  It was so lovely and relaxed, inside I was like a little 5 year old at Christmas and I think if my brother was honest too, so was he!! but we contained how excitement and had a wicked night having shots and pitchers and loving spending some time with Leanne too.

Here's a few photos xxx

Leanne, Me and My Brother Andy

Group Photo xx :)

I'd been a bit worried before the night, obviously i wanted to act cool, but i also wanted to take photos, not every night u get to go for Birthday drinks with your cousin and her famous friends xx :) x I'm the kinda girl who always has my camera and likes to take lots of photos, i'm definitely my daddy's daughter!! xx  But luckily for me Leanne didn't have her Camera and just like the last night in Hairspray at the aftershow party she hired me as her photographer and told everyone to pose lots for my camera!! :) xx

Even managed a couple of what i like to call "Joey Specials" xx 

And my Brother even got the snap that her was after all night xxx Well i don't suppose you can blame him!!

So that was my night, think the photos show we had a brilliant time and everyone was so lovely to us.  

I have actually met Michelle Heaton once before at the Caudwell Ball about 4 years ago, i was a volunteer and was lucky enough to be invited down to London to help with the Ball.  Tina Turner made her first come back that night, it was a shame I wasn't allowed to walk around with my camera that night because I saw lots of stars then.  I actually took Michelle and her now Ex-husband to get there bags at the end of the night and she was walking with me complaining how Andy was more of a woman, could never get him out of anywhere because he just kept talking to people.  :) x See it's not just us woman who like a good natter!!

So saturday i thought i had planned a morning in bed catching up with TV, the soaps and i love watching the Biggest Loser USA on a Saturday morning.  However one of the girls, Mandy from the naked truth was in the Potteries Centre Clothes Show and i knew they would be wearing Monsoon Clothes as I kinda helped Mandy and Emma pick a few items out for the show!! So i decided to go down and watch.  The night before i had told Mandy to pick out the Jump Suit if she got to chose cuz she looked so good.  It was also another to chance to hang out with Leanne and family and a few stars.  The clothes show was quite good really, i got my camera out and took some photos of the Mandy and the others wearing the Monsoon outfits.  Which my boss Tracey wants me to get developed now.

I then met my lovely friends Steph and Gem and we went into Monsoon so i could but a new maxi dress for uniform, but they ended up in changing rooms too trying things on and then at the tills took advantage of my lovely discount. :) x

Then in evening I took Gem, Steph and my friend Emma from Monsoon to see Naked Truth, you know i think i could of watched it every night this week and still not got bored of it, i laughed all the way through xx

I also made them have photos, i'm a little sad, just because i'm so proud of Leanne.  I still well up at the end of the shows, i'm very loud and give a lot of woo hoo's!!! Even shouting "Love you leanne" at top of my voice.  Which i didn't have to shout to loud this time because we sat on front row all the way though the show this time!! But all the cast looked and smiled at me this time when i screamed it at the top of my voice!! hee hee xx 

So after the show, I met Leanne at the stage door and then dropped my friends off at home and gave Leanne a lift to a party, it was a family friend and it was his 30th, but I also went to school with his sister, so i decided to go in with her, my Uncle and Mags were there too.  It was lovely to see Ashley as i've probably not seen her for at least 8 years.  It was lovely to meet her little baby too, Esme and she's so cute xxx

So that was my Saturday night.  What started off as a week i truely would of loved to forget turned out to be a week to remember thanks to my very special cousin Leanne Jones.  Thank you for treating me, making me laugh in ur show and letting me share it all with my friends.  Thank you for making me smile this week.  

I love you lots Leanne xxx Although you probably won't love me lots for this last photo xx But i like it xx :)

"Joey The Kangaroo"

Well today i was feeling a little bit low, considering it's been my week off work i've been way more busy that normal.  Think today paired with getting up early to take my nan to the doctors, my little body is telling me i need a rest.  After the doctors i went for some tlc, Steve's mum is a nail technician, when I first got with Steve i had the worst nails ever, i had bitten them for years, i even remember when i started biting them, it was assembly is about year 3, biting my nails really helped to pass the time whilst Mr Darlington droned on and on about a load of rubbish.  So i didn't have any nails left at all, but once Steve's mum had done them once with extensions i was well untruely hooked on having pretty nails.  So for last 4 and half years, every two weeks I go on a friday morning for my nails with my now mother in law!! lol, there was a reason I married Steve you see!! Pretty Nails! xx My nails are now all my own and i love them, i try my best to look after them, Pat does tell me off when i've not looked after them and they're chipped or not got any gel left on but occassionally i surprise her.  Even though my nails are all grown now i still have the Gel overlay, one because they look so pretty and two my health means that sometimes when i'm unwell my nails become very weak and break alot.  This a photo of the nails I had for my wedding!! So pretty!! This is how i have them all time, i change the colours though, to match outfits, handbagsm coats and things, what ever my craze is at the time really, you should know by now i'm little miss match it!!

So I guess you wondering why i called this blog, "Joey the Kangaroo" and so far i've gone on about my pretty nails.  Well like i said i was feel a little low today, CF belly ache, lack of food and in the rush this morning i hadn't taken my steroids first thing, so i was still waiting for them to kick in.  I tend to rely alot on my daily dose of steroids for that boast to get me through the day.  It's one drug as a child I really didn't take properly, but now I pretty much rely on and have to take every morning around 10 or 11ish to get me through my day.  They also help give me an appetite, make sure i eat my main meal at night.  When i'm not well and my dose in increased I proper get the munchies, i have to carry chocolate bars and crisps in my bag for mid afternoon snacks and i struggle to get through my four hour shift at work because i'm thinking about food.  Normally me and the thought of food just don't even live on the same planet.  I don't generally get hungry, i have to force breaky down me each day, quite often i got to work and go till tea time just having had a couple of biscuits in my tea.

Today when i got home from nails, i was feeling quite weak, so i came in, picked up the post and headed straight for the fridge for the bacon, turned the grill on and got the tinned tomatoes out.  Put the toast in the toaster ready and then whilst bacon was cooking i opened my post.  I wasn't expecting a parcel, i have been good and even though la senza and new look have been emailing me all week with there 50% offers and free delivery i had resisted, which if you know me was very difficult. lol.  But surprising the parcel was for me!! With a lovely little note inside sayin

"I saw this and thought of you"

So this kinda explains the "Joey the Kangaroo"!! This started at school really, I used to have this hoodie coat with a zip in the post, wouldn't be seen dead in it now, but was so cool at the time!! lol x Everyday my mum would send me to school with chocolate and sweets to eat a break time, now it seems daft that i didn't sell them for a profit, i was obviously not born a sales woman about to take over the world with a business enterprise! In fact u can see why i'm not into charity work, cuz i always gave my goodies away for free! Occassionally i'd even swap them for some of Ashley's bran flakes!! It was like i was allergic to any food with calories in!! lol.  Actually I blame my mum for that too, as a young child i was sent to infants school was mars bars and forced to eat them buy the dinner ladies and a horrible little tupperware beaker full of orange juice with maxijul in it, it was horrible, it was sticky and always leaked too.  I was never allowed to go out to play till i had drunk it, most day's i'd make it outside just as the bell rang to come back in! I'm sure the exercise would be just as good for me, i so wasn't quick enough to argue that case as a child.  I was always last to leave the dinning room too, my best friend Larah's mum was a dinner lady and so was her mum's best friend so between Pat and Val there was always someone watching over me to make sure i'd eaten all my dinner, they just didn't understand I don't like carrots!! lol

So back to today, i love been called Joey by my family and friends.  When I met the lovely Naomi at university she was on the same course as my friend Amelie, who i'd know from when I was 11 at high school, not really liked till i was 15, she cried alot and i always used to think, Christ god help her if she had CF, she cries at like everything.  HT lessons though in Year 10/11 and we actually became quite good friends, we went to college together and then to university in Chester.  Also our friend Melanie too, she was part of our group from school, who went to college and then uni.  So I met Naomi, she was tall, blonde, big boobs and holding a pint, next to me, small, tiny boobs and couldn't even get my little hands around a pint! Straight away i knew we'd be great friends.  lol.  One of first nights out together was Halloween, christ we all look different from then!! Thank god, in my case though! Contacts and dark hair, made a hell of difference to little Joey!!

Naomi or Gnome as i always called her, always called me Joey, we had a module to together in the second semester of first year, i managed to sort it to hire her as my note taker!! Yes i had a note taker at uni.  It's kind of a funny story, I had an assesment before i started uni, my mission was to try get a free laptop so as when i was in hospital or ill i could still do my work!! Mission was successful, but in the test i was asked to draw a tree!! Which i drew like, Tree 1, which he then said, have you ever looked out the window at a tree and thought it looks like a trunk with a green cloud on top of it!! He then drew a tree similar to Tree 2. He then explained how I had drawn a very simple tree the kind that was exceptable what I was at infants school, but it was a good job i wasn't doing art as a degree, can u believe the cheek!! By the way how hard is it to draw on paint these days!! lol hense the really lame drawing, but hey they were needed to explain my point!! lol.

He then asked to list a 5 essential items i would need if i was even stranded on a desert island.
Of course the girl that can't live with out tea, thought i was been clever and listed,

TEA BAGS, MILK, KETTLE, POT NOODLES, MOBILE PHONE!!

Well u can imagine his reaction to that, to make a cup of tea or a pot noodle, i needed water.  I also needed power for my kettle.  My milk would go off, because of the heat and my mobile i would have no battery.

Again, Simple minded, but hey i got my a laptop, a printer, £350 a year to pay for expenses for my printer, paper, cartridges etc.  I also got a note taker, who was paid £9 quid a hour and who went every lecture with me, took all my notes, so all i had to do was sit and twiddle with my pen.  If i was hungover and couldnt get to my lecture, it was ok, my note taker went! It was brilliant.  To be fair i do think i have a problem, you know when lecture saying something, i'd be trying to write it down but then i'd be thinking what i was writing and end up not hearing the next bit to write down.  It was something i noticed about myself at school as teachers always wrote everything on the board anyway for you to copy.  The note taker was great, brilliant for when i was in hospital, didnt need to rely on friends, but when i was in this lecture with Gnomie i realised she could be paid for going to her own lectures, so it was win win!! Talk about buying your friends hey.

While we were in the boring lecture, i can't even remember the subject, i used to sit and write letters to Gnomie.  I'd start them Dear Gnome and draw a picture of a Garden Gnome, i'd write a load of gobbledy gook and then i'd sign it love Joey the Kangaroo!! xxx Even since then, every birthday, christmas card or letter has been written from me to the Gnome in this way.  When we lived together in second and third year, quite off as her Brocoli pasta was boiling over on the stove, i'd scream up the stairs "Garden" xx It just kinda stuck and she's always called me Joey, sometimes with a Joey the Kangaroo!! So now you probably understand in a very round about way why this DVD came in the post from a very lovely friend today and really made a girl smile.

Photo of me and the Gnome from my Wedding!

Me and the Gnome at her Wedding!!!

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog so far, here's a little more!!

I just wanted to thank everyone who has read my blog over the last few days and sent me a message.  I would love it if you could all follow my blog, saves me putting it all over facebook in a million different places to make sure you can all see it.  It's simple to follow just click the button on the top right hand side and it takes you through what you have to do, it would be lovely to get a good following.

So many of my lovely friends on Facebook keep "liking" my link, which is great but you actually have to click the link to read and follow my blog. Lol xx

Anyway enough of that, you know what to do now!!! xx

So now to what have i been up to since i released my blog to the world on Monday.  Well it's been full steam ahead with my fundraising ideas.  I have designed some coolish posters with the help of my friend Amy Baker who also has CF, she came up with two wicked slogans for my posters, going with the Gangster theme and thinking along the lines of the Breath of Life gangster mob coming to rob you of all your money.  Amy came up with two fantastic slogans for money.

"Your money or your Life, give to Breath of Life!" and "This is a Stick Up, So Cough Up and Give to the Breath of Life Gangsters".

I'm no computer genius so my posters are just designed on publisher, but i think they'll do the trick!!

After designing my lovely Posters I then sat and rang all the Pubs I plan on terrorising on the night.  I asked to speak to all the managers and had a brilliant response, they all said it would absolutely fine, just have a couple to call back or nip down and speak to.  So as soon as I have it all confirmed i'll let you know my planned route.  However it will be starting in Meir Park at the Weathervane Pub and going round the back route through Trentham towards Newcastle, hopefully finishing at the Cherry Tree.  To this i'm obviously relying heavily on my close friends so if anyone wants to join us please just let me know!!

If you read other areas of my blog you'll know i'm fundraising for a Cystic Fibrosis Project set up with Breath of Life which is a local Respiratory Charity in Staffordshire.  With all this fundraising I hope to raise awareness for the Charity, they do alot of work helping people with Respiratory conditions, not just CF.  Please check out there new website http://www.breathoflife.org.uk/ for more details and join their Facebook Page and Twitter, they need more followers, it so easy to do, just click the links in my page.  It's all about raising awareness.

Breath of Life are always looking for people to help raise money and the awareness of their charity, so if you wanna set your self a challenge this year then why not do it for Breath of Life.  I have a friend called Vicky who going to be doing the Great Salford Swin 2011, this involves a mile swim in Salford Quays between the docks.  Vicky is doing this challenge to raise money for Breath of Life.  I also have a few people who are going to the Potters Alf Marathon, even one of my friends with CF might be signing up for that, she's planning on dressing up, walking and taking her time, her mum even joked about taking a wheelbarrow, for if she gets tired and then they could dress as Bill and Ben.  I said if it was round an indoor shopping mall i'd be there in a second, i always manage to walk round and round one of them, but outside, with hills etc it would be a bit of a struggle for me!! but maybe that's my next fundraising idea.  An indoor shopping mile trek.  Christ i'm writing my new ideas in my blog, don't any of you go stealing that one!! It's mine!! lol xx Hmmmm, brain overload now!!  There's also my Skydive, if anyone fancies doing a Tandem Skydive on Saturday 2nd July, please contact me, for more details.  So anyway like I said if you've got an idea or want to join in, then be great if you could do something for Breath of Life.  It's a great little Charity.

If your unable to get involved, but would like to donate, you could sponsor my husband Steve on his Skydive through his JustGiving page.  Steve is going one step further and doing an Accelerated Freefall, this means he going to do a course and then will be landing himself, ie there's no person attached to him.

Today, along with a hospital visit for bloods, i've been for a meeting at Breath of Life, with Emily, Emily's uncle has CF and we're both set about changing the world, we want to try and get Breath of Life more well known and get more people involved in helping the charity out.  So i have myself a little partner in crime in my mission to change the world.

Think that's all for now!! Kind of a bit of Charity overload for you all to read today.  But that's what this blog is about, me, my CF and how I want to get really involved in Fundraising.

xxx