Camp...

Wowie! Where has my summer gone?! I've done a lot this summer. I've had my dance recital, gone to two camps, done a whole ton of AP homework, and had summer intensives for dance. Next week I'll be in Canada the first half of the week, then my parents are going to drop me off at camp on Wednesday. So... Here's a problem. What do you do with your brace at camp?

Well that depends on a lot of things. How hot it is, what you're doing, and where you'll be going.

The first camp I went to this summer was called Impact. It was a youth rally down in Tennessee and it was HOT there. Most of the days it was 90 something degrees but if you were outside it felt like 100 and something degrees. This was a conundrum. So for that camp I ended up only wearing my brace while I was sleeping and when I was in my dorm room with my roommate. I really wanted to wear it more, but we were constantly outside for one reason or another and even when I was inside their student center, sweat would run down my back. I tried to wear it the first full day I was there, but I was boiling.

The second camp I went to was called NOCYC. It was at this really rustic camp and I got 30+ mosquito bites I swear. I COUNTED them. Again, it was uncomfortably hot with the brace on, and I tried it for a day, and then couldn't do it. We were constantly doing sports activities and so I really shouldn't have worn my brace for that anyway. So I again just wore my brace at night and in the evenings when we just had devos and stuff.

The one I'm going to next week, I have been to before. I have gone every year for the past seven years. I know what to expect at this one. I know for sure I'll be able to wear it more than at the other ones, because I know what we'll be doing everyday. It doesn't really matter all that much anyway since I'll be getting there halfway through the week. I'll only be there Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

So my advice for this is to wear the brace as much as you can. You can ALWAYS wear it while you sleep so that should give you some time in it. Ask someone what you're going to be doing so you can take an educated guess as to whether you should wear your brace. But also remember that the time you have in your brace is limited, so you SHOULD be wearing it as much as possible.

Also, if you're going to camp this summer, stay safe and have a good time!

ILY ALL,

Ann Marie *>*

Brace Adjustments...

Wow, has it been a while. I always do this but I actually had a really good reason this time! I was part of our school musical and that with dance was a lot more commitment than I thought it would be! Now it's the season for dance recitals and finals and I've been going crazy over the past few months. And I messed up my scheduling for next year and have to go get it fixed by the guidance counselors on Monday so I'm pretty much not gonna get the classes I want next year for school. :/ But whatever right.

Lately my brace has really been hurting my hip, (it was way too tight) so I went and got it adjusted by Bryan. It's weird because at Children's they're doing this renovation thing right now so his office moved to this old Boy's YMCA club across the street. It's kind of cool. But anyways I go that fixed. My hip still really hurts because it had been cutting into my hip for a long time and me being the idiot that I was, didn't do anything about it.

Ann Marie *>*

To The Doctor's...

So I went to see the doctor again today after six months. My curves from top to bottom are now:
32 degrees
32 degrees
21 degrees
So yay for that! He said I have about six months left in the brace and then I'm done forever. To be honest, I never thought I'd hear those words... It's been a long road... But I mean that's still six months away. Six months ago I had barely started high school. A lot has happened since then.
He also said that if my curves stay around the same that they are now, which he said they probably will, then I will have minimal back pain when I'm older. So yay for that too.
I love you little grunge nuggets,
Ann Marie *>*

Questions...

Okay:
What are my curves?
I go back to the doctor tomorrow, but of last time I went (from top to bottom curves) they were:
36 degrees
31 degrees
17 degrees
What is my best tactic/technique for covering up the brace?
Haha well usually because I'm lazy and I'm tired in the morning AT FREAKING 6:00 and because it's easy, I just wear t-shirts and that does the job pretty well. I wear jackets a lot if I get cold so I like to use jackets too I guess.
What color is my brace?
Mine is white and his name is Pablo. I have had Pablo for almost two years. I have only ever had one brace and will probably have Pablo 'till I'm done.
Does anyone else in my family have scoliosis?
Actually no. My older bro has kyphosis (which is scoliosis, but with curves that go back and forth instead of side to side). This makes sense though because I think I caused my scoliosis myself. One time like three or four summers ago, I swam in a lake and jumped off a platform. I accidentally kept my knees straight (like you would if you jumped off the deep end) because I thought I was going off the deep end. Turns out I was jumping off the shallow end and when I hit the bottom, it hurt my back REALLY bad. It kept hurting for a few minutes after I got out, but eventually went away, and I didn't think anything of it until a LONG time later. But if that didn't cause my scoliosis, my brother (who is a history buff), says that our ancestors from Wales "interbred". Which means they had children with, like, their cousins and stuff. Which is... weird... But it could explain our scoliosis and kyphosis.
What type of music do I like?
I'm really weird because I listen to literally everything. I can have a conversation with you about anything. Alternative, contemporary, rock, old music, today's top hits, rap, pop, hip-hop, anything. I really love Lorde. Not just Royals, but like Glory and Gore, Love Club, Tennis Court, Team, White Teeth Teens, anything. I have all her songs. I also really like Imagine Dragons, Maroon 5, and old bands like Blue Oyster Cult and Bad Company. But like I said, I listen to everything.
What is my desktop wallpaper?
Well I don't have my own computer, but on my account on the computer, it's a castle. I really love castles and wish I could go to France or Belgium to see the beautiful, old castles there. I think they're astounding and breathtaking.
Do I like Doctor Who?
I LITERALLY LOVE DOCTOR WHO. IT IS WONDERFUL AND MAKES ME CRY AND I BLOG ABOUT IT ALL DAY ON TUMBLR AND I HAVE SO MANY DOCTOR WHO PICTURES LIKE 2,000 ON MY IPAD AND IT MAKES ME HAPPY AND MY FAVORITE DOCTOR IS THE NINTH DOCTOR BUT I LOVE THEM ALL AND I THINK RORY IS WONDERFUL AND THE PONDS MAKE ME CRY AND BAD WOLF AND OSWIN AND THE BROMANCE OF DONNA NOBLE AND THE TENTH DOCTOR AND UGHHHHHHH. So I guess it's okay.
OKAY. Recovering from that... Last thing I ate today?
I'm actually eating vanilla ice cream right now as I type this.... Hold on I need another spoonful...And it has chocolate chips in it and I put little gold sprinkles on it. I literally turned the bottle of sprinkles straight upside down over the bowl and shook it hard. So you could say I'm a bad eater. But it tastes so good! Promise me you'll try next time you have vanilla ice cream. Put a whole lotta choco chips on it and a crap ton of sprinkles to top it off!
Fin
Ellen: I LOVE YOUR BLOG TOO! But for some reason it won't let me on it... I keep trying to get on and it won't let me :( Please help me. I WANT BACK ON YOUR BLOG

WHATEVER HAPPENS TOMORROW AT THE DOCTOR'S I LOVE YOU ALL DEARLY!
ILY,
Ann Marie *>*

Here's The Deal...

I need questions! I don't really know what to post right now, so leave me some questions! Anywhere! I don't care. Instagram, email, here, anywhere. You don't have to have an account to leave a comment on my blog! But if you leave your comments on Instagram or something, tell me that you want me to answer them on my blog because I'm pretty thick sometimes. So leave me lots and lots of comments and questions!

Please do this for me!

Ann Marie *>*

New Update Coming Soon...

So I went shopping again yesterday with Christmas gift cards and money and such so hopefully I will be putting more pictures up really soon! But tomorrow's my birthday so maybe not tomorrow. :)

Ann Marie *>*

Fashion...

Forget about me putting the outfits up in a couple of days! Here they are in a like, an hour! Also, excuse my hair. I took a shower like, an hour and a half ago and it hasn't quite dried yet.

Alright so I kept the same jeans on the whole time because I was lazy and didn't want to keep changing them. The shirt and jeggings are from American Eagle. This is one of those under-over technique shirts. I have a tank top over the brace and under the shirt. It's black. You could add a cool colored one underneath it to give it a little more color.

Everyone likes a good old Superman shirt every once in a while right? For this, there is a tank top underneath. The same black one, but I tucked it in. I thought I looked cooler that way. :) The shirt I found at Plato's Closet. Gosh, I love that store.

This is one of those shirts that I'm really not sure how to wear. The shrug and the shirt are from American Eagle. This is yet another one with the under-over technique. I kept the same black tank top on for all three of these. Sometimes if you want to add a little bit of a pop of color to your outfits, you can add like a neon green or pink shirt underneath. I have a green-yellow one that might look cool under this that's from Aeropostale.

 

So that's about it for right now! I'll do some more tomorrow 'cause this girl's off school for two weeks! Yay! :)

 

Fly on for now,

 

Ann Marie *>*