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 …

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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 …

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 …

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 12: Christmas in Review

I am going to be blatantly honest… I don’t even know how to start this blog post which is why it is so late. We have talked a lot this blogmas about the new tradition my family tested out in place of exchanging material gifts for Christmas. And considering how much I spoke about it …

Blogmas Day 7: Five Gift Ideas for Someone with Chronic Illness

First I want to apologize for being behind on these posts. I knew when I decided to do this that the 12 Days of Christmas format was the best fit for me because I was (and still am) struggling with my health and didn’t have the energy to commit to posting a well thought out …

Blogmas Day 6: Give an Experience, Make a Memory

I have previously mentioned that as an extended family, instead of purchasing and giving material gifts, we are starting a new tradition called “Give an Experience Make a Memory”. Chances are you have probably seen or heard a little bit about this on social media somewhere but if not I will explain how this is …

Blogmas Day 5: Secret Santa Extravaganza

After having discussed the differences between a Secret Santa gift exchange and a White Elephant gift exchange yesterday, I thought that I would talk about the three Secret Santa gift exchanges I participated in this year.  I signed up for these exchanges online. The first exchange I signed up for was one that consisted of …

Blogmas Day 4: Secret Santa VS White Elephant

It is not uncommon this time of year for families, friend groups, teams, and even offices to partake in Secret Santa or White Elephant gift exchanges. However, it's also not uncommon for people to use these terms interchangeably, but the guidelines for each of these exchanges are very different.  Generally, during a Secret Santa gift …

Blogmas Day 3: Christmas Over the Years

Like most families, our family dynamic has changed and that has effected how we have celebrated holidays in general, but most significantly how we celebrate Christmas. My dad and Brooke (egg donor) separated when I was just 4 or 5 years old. Once they were officially separated, she stopped coming around for her designated supervised …