Four weeks ago while recovering from sinus surgery in the hospital, the foundation for my new house was being poured. Almost a year ago my fiancé, Scott, and I decided we wanted to build a house. My parents offered us some land on their property and we of course took them up on it. After LOTS and LOTS of paperwork we finally got a construction loan to build the house. The plan is to have the house up and closed in before the first big snow so we can continue working on it through the winter. So far we’ve been lucky with the weather and the house is almost closed in.

I am almost 30. And it’s a (surprise) celebration, as you can see! I’ve learned a lot of lessons along the way and still have a lot more to learn. In celebration I wrote down 30 pieces of advice for living with cystic fibrosis.

1. Cough your heart out. Do it, cough. Let it be. You’ll feel so much better and begin to care so much less about what others think around you.

Let’s talk about proper hydration shall we? Did you know it’s just as easy to become hydrated during the winter as it is the summer? While we may not be sweating as much we are still losing water through our breathing. And in many parts of the world winters can be very harsh and dry.

How do you know if you’re dehydrated? Here is a list of some early and mature signs of dehydration:

Yearning to get outdoors and challenge my improved lung function, my husband and I headed east from Ventura, CA in early September to visit southern Utah’s National Parks and Monuments. The state has five National Parks, six National Monuments and several National Forests. The landscape or should I say rockscape offers spectacular scenery, geological history and abundant outdoor recreation opportunities.