The Liebster Award

Brown Eyed Girl.

JFK. He is probably the most famous Addisonian. He also kept his health problems a secret to not appear weak. I would love to ask him if his high stress and high profile life style was worth all of the physical pain and stress on his body. He was on a large amount of medicine to survive from day to day. If he had spoken openly about his health struggles, perhaps our medicine and treatment would be more advanced.

During my senior year of high school, I tore a muscle in my leg. Yay for x-rays, MRI's, and the doctor going, "Dang. You tore that good." I completed several months of physical therapy and missed my senior year cross country season. Being the crazy gal that I am, my first race after being cleared from physical therapy was a half marathon!

It gives me great joy to know that not only did I over come a torn muscle and cross that finish line with my Primary Adrenal Insufficiency, but my family crossed that same finish line! Although I'm proud of my accomplishment, I'm even prouder that my mom, dad, younger brother and I have matching finishers medals.

I have wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember. However, I don't want to be just any type of artist. I want to be a crazy artist. I would love to be commissioned to paint wall murals and show clearly.alive.art around my community. I do plan on eventually selling prints on Etsy, but that will have to wait until I'm settled in the States again. Until then, I have a few of my pieces showing at Cafe Brazil in Addison, TX and will keep doing occasional paintings for friends.

Want an original clearly.alive.art piece? Just ask :)

Thanksgiving in Korea. 2009. There was no Turkey, only Chicken.

Thanksgiving, but not because of the food. I never know what we are going to do which makes this holiday super fun. Some highlights from past Thanksgivings include hot dogs and snow skiing in Canada, 6 kg of "big" chickens in Korea, completing an 8 mile Turkey Trot, crashing another family's Thanksgiving dinner but brining pie, and tricking picky relatives into eating a gluten free meal.

No, I don't love to shop at bbKLCC.

Kuala Lumpur has way too many malls. Seriously people, there is more to life than shopping. There are over 3,000 stores spread across nine malls all within a ten minute walk from our hotel. Can we swap some of the claustrophobic and panic inducing shopping malls for open air and breathing space? I am positive this city would be much happier.

My favorite family tradition is the fact that we have no traditions. We have moved around so frequently that it is rare for a "tradition" to happen more than once. We have no routine for Christmas, we never know what Thanksgiving will look like (see question 5) and it is perfectly acceptable for us to celebrate each other's birthdays months after the actual date.

We place very little emphasis on traditions and routines. Our lives are too unpredictable for that. Instead, we laugh at our "non-traditions" and celebrate the fact that we are a close family with some absolutely ridiculous stories.

I have no idea. I consider myself a very practical and logical person with my husband being the more romantic one. I'm not even sure I know what the word romance means. I think it means saying and doing extremely illogical things to try to make the other person smile. I'll let y'all know if I ever figure this one out.

The beach. I want no worries, no obligations, no stress, and no disease. This is a hard thing to confess as my entire mantra and is how I fight to be Clearly Alive. But at times, I get tired of fighting. I get tired of worrying about medicine, food, water, sleep, environment, and even the weather. All of these things will influence how well I feel. People tell me to just relax and not worry while I'm on vacation, but it takes so much pro-active planning to be able to enjoy any change in the routine.

Andes Chocolate Mints. They are one of the few things that are actually labeled as Gluten Free in Malaysia and that I actually trust the labeling. I use them as my motivational treat at work. Before I smock up and step into the production line to solve engineering problems, I'll eat one or two (... or five).

Does it have to be a snowman?

I love both of these blogs. Like me, both of these lovely ladies also live with Addison's Disease. It gives me great joy to know that I am not alone in my journey with my Primary Adrenal Insufficiency. We realize that we are more than our list of medical diagnoses. Our broken adrenal glands might make for some more interesting adventures every now and then, but they are in no way the central focus of our lives. Taylor's writings are constantly putting a smile on my face and Eva's journey towards a diagnosis gives me chills. May we constantly fight to be Clearly Alive, reminding ourselves of how very lucky we are because life truly is beautiful.

1. How did you decide on the name for your blog?
2. What is your funniest "brain fog" story?
3. Cats or Dogs?
4. Favorite piece of advice ever received?
5. Dumbest piece of advice ever received?
6. Can you share one of your favorite pictures from your traveling adventures?
7. What keeps you going when times get insanely tough?
8. Favorite ice cream flavor?
9. Sunrise or Sunset?
10. Quick! Describe yourself in only four words!
11. And in conclusion, please share one picture of yourself that you believe captures your personality.