Three Strikes, You’re Out! Part 2

Like I mentioned… it's been a really rough couple of months…  The last week of May, I received another last minute e-mail requesting me to attend a meeting that afternoon with my boss, Jackie*. In this meeting, I received my third and final write up. This time I was written up for being a minute …

Three Strikes, You’re Out!: Part 1

The university that I work for is in the process of making A LOT of changes. Once these changes are completely put into action, no one at the university will be able to purchase their own travel or process their own travel reimbursement request. It will all flow through a center that specializes in travel.  …

Recipe: Instant Pot Beef Stew

This weekend I tried out a new recipe (a twist on beef stew) and it was a huge hit. It even had vegetables in it any my brothers didn't pick them out or take several hours to eat their dinner! An even bigger shock? After dinner, Branden came up to me and asked if we …

“100 out of 100 relationships involving care giving fail”

Recently there has been a lot of discussion in our community surrounding a quote by Dr. Phil McGraw. I have never been a very big fan of Mr. McGraw but I will admit that I was a little surprised to hear that he said something even remotely close because his show airs during the middle …

The Day My Mom Died: March 15th, 2011

March 15th, 2011 started like any other day. I woke up after having slept in, and like most teens on spring break, I immediately picked up my cell to see I had texts and various other notifications awaiting my response. One of those texts was from my best friend, Ryann, who was home from college …

Rare Disease Day 2019

Today, February 28th, is International Rare Disease Day.  What is a rare disease? The answer to this question varies depending on where in the world you live. If you live in the United States like I do, in order for a disease to qualify as rare, less than 200,000 people are affected by the illness …

Changes to the Blog

As some of you may have noticed, I decided to change the page names and URLs on the Medical History section of my blog. Instead of labeling the page according to a diagnosis, I've decided to list them according to the medical specialty that treats that diagnosis. There are several reasons for this but the …

Blogmas Day 11: Favorite Christmas Movies

I don’t think it is a secret that I HATE the cold with a passion. But one benefit of cold, crappy weather is getting to curl up with a nice cozy blanket and enjoy your favorite Christmas movies! Charlie Brown’s Christmas The Muppet’s Christmas Carol Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of the Misfit …

Blogmas Day 10: Show Off Your Christmas Tree

In my previous post I showed you my favorite ornaments so I thought it would be fun to show your our Christmas tree in all of its glory and then for kicks and giggles... I threw in our front yard decorations as well. The other night dad and I went to Walmart to pick up …

Blogmas Day 9: Favorite Christmas Ornament

I have seen others share their favorite Christmas tree ornaments so I would take a moment and share mine with you. I will be honest... I can't just pick one... So you are going to get to see our collection of Peanuts ornaments and our collection of the Misfit Toys from Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer …