Colorful Ciss

Hi there! Recently, I have been working on trying to boost my self confidence and overall happiness. Sometimes being sick gets to you. All the doctors appointments, and needles, and flare days. Its not fun. And frankly it is slightly discouraging. I can recall weeks where all I have been able to do is focus on the fact that I am sick and nothing more. Not on my friends. Not on the house. Not on fun stuff. It puts a damper on your spirit. And I get to a point where I just want to get by one more day. But you know what, sometimes you need to just give yourself a break and pamper yourself. It's the little things that help me to feel more normal, more put together, and that helps my confidence. Something as simple as doing your nails or even getting them done can really help. Okay so this isn't for everyone, but I happen to really enjoy this. This is a simple task that doesn't take much energy. And, I don't know, maybe it's the girly part of me, but whe...

Hi there, April has come! Easter is just around the corner. The weather doesn't know what to do with itself. We wear layers and bring multiple jackets wherever we go because we simply don't know how cold or hot it may be. Plants are producing pollen and the massive amounts of wind blows that pollen all over the place. Okay, okay, its not that bad every day (just most). But seriously, I happen to love this time of year! Not for all the sappy reasons like "its so pretty to see all the flowers blooming," or "It's starting to warm up so I can wear my cute spring-y clothes." Every year around this time there is a different feeling in the air. And no its not just the pollen and dust in my lungs. I don't know how to describe it exactly. It's a feeling of accomplishment. Or maybe its a feeling of something new. Or its a feeling of anticipation (of summer maybe?). Maybe a mix of all of these. Whatever it is, I love it. Not only does the beginning ...

Hi there,  I have a couple of things that are potentially going to change soon. Change can be good, and it can be scary. Sometimes it's a new adventure! Sometimes its something so small that it slips into your life without you really noticing. But either way change happens in our lives sometimes more than we would like.  One major possible change is whether or not I will be staying on Remicade. Now, before you ask, no, I have not had a reaction to it, and yes, it is still working very well for me. So, why am I possibly removing this life changing treatment from my life? Well let me be blatantly honest: money. Some of these treatments that help those of us with chronic illnesses can cost an arm and a leg. They can be (depending on your insurance) a very high expense each time you go in for a treatment. Its sad really. This infusion has given me complete control of my life again. I am able to walk and go about my day with minimal pain most ...

Hi there, As you know, I recently got married. Along with having our beautiful wedding, we also had the opportunity to have a week long honeymoon. Yes, one whole week of vacation! I thought it fit to continue my "How to" series with sharing my first experience with a long vacation since I have gotten diagnosed.  We decided to honeymoon at Disneyland. And let me tell you, we absolutely loved it! Sounds silly, but we found it to be more practical to get annual passes so we could continue to enjoy it all year long (considering if we flew somewhere, an annual pass was the same price as a plane ticket to most places). We decided to stay a Best Western across the street from the entrance and I believe we both would stay there again in a heartbeat. There were so many great food options both at the park as well as near the hotel. I couldn't be more happy with our honeymoon. It was perfect for us. Now being that we had annual passes, we felt able to really relax. We...

Hi there, Okay so I have procrastinated quite a bit on writing another entry but am now back to writing posts. So very much has happened in the last few months. Specifically, one of the biggest days of my life. My wedding day. We got married in July of 2016 I thought it might be fun to start a little bit of a "How to" series documenting how I accomplish different things in my life with a chronic illness including my tips and tricks, and quite possibly what I would do differently.  So, as I mentioned before, I recently have gotten married! Our wedding ceremony took place in a gorgeous chapel at our home church. It came complete with the double door entry, the high vaulted ceilings, and of course beautiful stained glass windows. We hung green vines and some floral garland on rods that rose to the ceiling. White and blue rose petals filled the isle. Purple orchids and ribbon were at the end of each row of chairs. I cannot tell you how satisfying it was to see my vis...