Christmas in California, Part 2

These are just some pictures Christine and I took while she was here.

We were the only ones at the Christmas tree lot and got to take a picture with Santa.

A cool sandcastle that was on the beach  next to the ice rink in San Diego

Disneyland!

California Adventure! Yes, my eyes are open.

This is the ride we waited two hours for.

Lit up Christmas tree in Disneyland.

Looking our best for The Nutcracker. :)

Christmas in California

Most of you know that I haven't posted a blog in a couple of weeks because one of my college roommates was here visiting me and my family. We did a lot and it was super fun having here her. She was here for about 10 full days and 2 half days. (December 13-24) and I was pretty sad to see her go.

Day 1 Evening: Christine got to my house on the evening of Thursday, December 13 and we had a very typical Mexican dinner at home. After some catching up, we ended the night with some Grey's Anatomy.

Day 2: We out to the local mall to meet up with our friend Caitlin, a fellow SMC chick, for lunch at the Yard House and some shopping. I think the weather that day influenced our purchases because we all ended up buying some species of sweater. After shopping we went home and helped my mom with baking fruitcakes. We tried to watch The Polar Express, but ended up pausing the movie 17 minutes in before going to sleep.

Day 3: We spent the morning getting at the dedication mass for my new church. We got lucky and ended up sitting next to the choir during mass thanks to extra seats. The Mass was quite long, about 2.5 hours, but it was a pretty cool thing to experience. Once home, we finished The Polar Express, took showers, and made delicious chocolate chip cookies. We ended the day by going to get the Christmas tree, decorating it, and watching Elf.

Day 4: We all went to San Diego for the day to go ice skating. One of the hotels down there sets up an ice skating rink where the pool would be during the summer. It's pretty cool because the beach is about 5 steps away from the ice rink. We skated for well over an hour and ended up playing a fun game of tag. After skating we had dinner, dessert, and got some things from the gift shop before heading home.

Day 5: We had a bit of a slow start since we had stayed up late the previous night watching a Christmas movie. Our adventure for the day was going to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. I had never been there before and Christine volunteers at The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, so she wanted to see it. We were able to see the whole aquarium in under 2 hours and were able to see lots of sea life, watched a seal and sea lion show, and got a backstage tour of some of the aquarium. Upon coming home, we made a delicious pasta and salad dinner. We ended the night with some ice cream, girl talk and the claymation Christmas classic, Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

Day 6: Today's plans got a little warped due to some misinformation. Long story short, we were supposed to go see the Hobbit but we ended up at the wrong theater so we then walked across the street to do a little more shopping. It ended up being for the best because we were able to help my brother pick up stuff for my mom's birthday celebration. To celebrate her birthday, we went to daily mass, went out to dinner for Chinese food, and then went home for cake and wine.

Day 7: This was our Disneyland day. We spent a good 13 hours at both Disneyland and California Adventure. We saw the Christmas Fantasy Parade, fast-passed a few rides, and stood in line for almost two hours to ride Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land California Adventure. Let it be said the wait is worth it. Radiator Springs Racers is much like Test Track in Disney World. We didn't leave Disneyland until we had finished shopping on Main Street for some souvenirs.

Day 8:  Day 8 was extremely enjoyable. I was supposed to babysit, but they cancelled last minute. It was a bit of a relief for me since I was still pretty tired from Disneyland. Christine decided to go on a run after breakfast while I stayed at home to chill. After she came back, we laid out in the grass for a good half hour enjoying the sunny 66 degree day. Later, we went down to Balboa Island to walk around and had to have some frozen chocolate-dipped bananas. Once we got home, we got all prettied up to go see The Nutcracker with the family. This was the first time I had seen a full Nutcracker performance, and I loved it.

Day 9: Day 9 was what you could call a lazy day. We spent the early part of the afternoon driving around looking for ugly Christmas sweaters to wear to a Christmas party we had been invited to. Well, we didn't find ugly sweaters and ended up not going to the party. Instead of going to the party, we drank wine and watched half of The Nightmare Before Christmas. We also had nap/rest time in the later half of the afternoon.

Day 10: We had another slow start to the morning and decided to do some more baking in the afternoon. We made two batches of almond cookies to both give away and keep for ourselves. It took us about two hours to finish, ate lunch, and went wine tasting. We tried to see some of the Balboa Island boat parade but parking was near impossible and we ended up seeing about 10 minutes of it. Then it was time for more shopping, home, and another claymation Christmas classic.

Day 11: This was Christine's last full day in California so we spent the day doing laundry, packing, and going to mass in between the two. Packing was a struggle since she bought lots of gifts and clothes during her stay. But, thanks to my small yet spacious carry-on and the superior packing skills I have developed over the years, we were able to get everything to fit perfectly. It was a relief when everything was packed away, but that meant we had to go to sleep, which we didn't want to do.

Day 12 Early morning: We had a rather early wake-up yesterday because of when Christine's flight left. We were awake at 7am and it was time to say good-bye an hour later. I was planning on going to the airport with her and my dad, but he had to go to work.

Thinking about the good-bye gets me choked up simply because she is one of my best friends and I miss her even though I know I'll see her on Skype soon. All in all, it was so good to have her here for Christmas and I hope that someday I will be able to visit her around Christmas and/or have our families come together for a Christmas-time visit.

DIY Ribbon Bow

Before Thanksgiving, I decided that I wanted to make a Christmas decoration for my room. I decided to make a bow out of thick wired ribbon. It was relatively simple to make and only took about fifteen minutes. Here is how I made it. I will also include the video that I used to make the bow.

1. Gather supplies:

• Thick wired ribbon (the one I used was 2.5 inches wide)
• Scissors

2. Measure a length of ribbon that is about 8-12 inches long. The larger the length, the fuller it will be.
3. Bring the end of the ribbon halfway across the length and fold.
4. Take the length you measured in step 2 and fold the ribbon on itself however many time you would like. I think I did 10-12 folds.
5. Finish the fold by taking another length of ribbon that is half the length of your Step 2 length over your last fold.
6. Adjust your ribbon so that the two half-length pieces line up in the middle
7. Take your scissors and cut a slit about 1/3 of the way down the width of the ribbon. You want to leave at least a 1/2 inch uncut.
8. Measure out another length of ribbon as long as you would like. Mine was 4 feet long.
9. Find the center of the ribbon and tie it around the folded ribbon.
10. Start separating and fluffing out the folds until you are happy with how your bow looks.

This is what my ribbon bow looked like in the end:

 

 

To get it to hang on the door, I simply took a smaller piece of ribbon and tied it around the thumbtack that I put on the door. I used the knot from the ribbon in Step 8 to anchor this third piece of ribbon.

Christmas time is here!

Hello, again, fellow readers! After being MIA for almost two weeks, I have returned. No, I have not forgotten that my blog exists. I have just been pretty busy between my hospital work, nannying, and getting ready for Christmas.

There are various things I have been doing to prepare for Christmas, some are typical and some not so typical.

The most obvious is putting up Christmas decorations and buying gifts. In my room, I have put up a ribbon bow that I made, a ornamental tree from Target, and a mini Nativity scene. A blog about how I made the ribbon bow might be up soon. My older brother, his girlfriend, and I will be putting up decorations around the house and outdoor Christmas lights.

As usual, I have been working at the local hospital for my internship. I love working at the hospital. Yes, it is tiring and hard on the body, but it is so incredibly rewarding. This rotation, I seem to be doing only minor things such as changing sheets, fetching items for patients, talking to patients, and and helping the nurses with minor procedures. Last week, I helped an older woman get EEG glue out of her hair. Every single time I do these seemingly mundane tasks, the patient I am with always seems to be a little bit happier than they were before I had done the task. I guess in a hospital setting, it truly is the little things that matter the most. The patients love having someone change their sheets.  I will be going in for a shift on Christmas day and I am interested to see if the energy on the floor will be any different than it is on a daily basis. I've found volunteering to be a great thing to be doing at Christmas time because it is a humbling experience and I get to bring my service and joy to others.

Another way I was able to serve and bring joy to others this seasons was at a Christmas party over the weekend. The youth ministry team at my church and an organization called Stand Up for Kids put together a Christmas party for homeless teens and families. The whole idea of the party was to give them a Christmas since they are not able to have a Christmas of their own. We had over 70 kids and teens at the Christmas party and they were all smiles. The one thing that I found most interesting was that the phrase "Homelessness does not have a face" could not have been more true. Every child and teen at the party had a sponsor who gave them gifts and more often than not, a teen that I thought was just another volunteer with youth ministry or Stand Up for Kids was in fact homeless. The Christmas party was a great way to spread Christmas cheer and I also got to know some of the youth ministry teens better.

In a few short days, I will have one of my best friends from Chicago come visit me until the 24th. I suspect my posts will be less frequent, but I will do my best to put up at least one post while she is here.

That is all for now. Christmas blessings to all!

I Have Been Personally Victimized by Noro Virus

It seems like everyone and their mother are being victimized by Norovirus. Norovirus is the bug most commonly known as the stomach flu. Last week was Thanksgiving week and we had a total of 12 family members come over to our house either just for Thanksgiving or overnight. Of the 12 of us, 4 of us were struck down with stomach flu, myself included. This year's round of stomach flu must be really strong because this was the worst round of stomach flu I've ever had in my 22.5 years of life. To put it lightly, I was bound to the bathroom for almost 3 hours and was so dehydrated that I almost fainted a few times.

Anyway, here are my tips for recovering from the stomach flu.

1. The most common symptoms of stomach flu are diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and headache. These symptoms can cause dehydration, so you want to monitor your fluid loss and watch for signs of dehydration. These include

• dry mouth
• thirst
• decreased urine output
• headache
• being dizzy or lightheaded, especially upon standing

2. While the diarrhea and vomiting are present, focus on replacing your fluids. This doesn't mean drinking water. Yes, you are losing water but you are also losing salts in the form of electrolytes. The best drink on the market that you can get over the counter is Pedialyte. Pedialyte is essentially pure electrolyte. Try to drink at least one bottle per day. If your symptoms do not improve or worsen after 2 days, it would be wise to go see your doctor.

3. Once your symptoms start to improve, keep a simple diet of bland carbohydrates and lean proteins. Foods that are easy to digest are things like bread, saltine crackers, and rice for carbohydrates and turkey and chicken for lean protein.

4. Slowly add more fruits and vegetables into your diet as your appetite improves. Once you have a normal bowel movement, you should be okay to continue your normal diet.

I hope this helps those stricken by the stomach flu feel better. Please be advised that I am in no way a medical expert. I am just going off of what has worked for me. If you have any concerns, please consult your doctor or other medical professional.

Senior Game

Tonight was a great night for Notre Dame players and fans everywhere. They played a shut-out game with a final score of 38-0 and are now number 1 and the only undefeated team in the nation. I must admit, I teared up several times during tonight's Senior Game. Watching tonight's game brought back many memories from lasy year's Senior Game.

I don't remember who we played, what the final score was, or even if I did push-ups. Here is a list of the things I do remember, including things before and after the game:

• Watching the band play in front of Bond Hall and then rushing over to see the trumpets under the Dome
• Taking pictures under the Law School arch
• Sneaking a picture of Nick and Jake as they marched by with the trumpet section
• The Marshmallow fight
• My feet being plastered to the seats by marshmallow goo glue
• Praying for a win
• Chanting "Go Irish, Beat Aztecs!" as the stands cleared out and only the seniors remained
• Precariously making our way down to the field and holding hands with Joe and Mary on the way down
• Playing a round of ninja on the field
• Doing cartwheels on the field
• Taking countless pictures as we celebrated our victory
• Cody's post-game party

Of the various pictures we took, this was my favorite.

This was probably one of the happiest moments of my senior year. Not only had we just won the senior game, but I was surrounded by the best people I know. I could not have chosen a better group of people to be in a football group with after much deliberation a few months before this picture was taken. I have this wonderful picture on my nightstand (Thank you, Joe!) and it can always bring a smile to my face when I look at it and remember all the great times I had with this wonderful group of people.

I only have one final thing to say. LOVE THEE, NOTRE DAME!!

A Ballet Lesson

A couple of weeks ago, I posted that I have started doing pre-pointe work and bought my first pair of  pre-pointe shoes. A few of you may be wondering "What in the world is a pre-pointe shoe?". I am here to enlighten you.

There are three types of shoe that ballet dancers use: a soft ballet shoe, a pre-pointe shoe, and the coveted pointe shoe. Each is built differently with different fabrics and are used at different levels.

The Soft Ballet Shoe:

This shoe is the first shoe that a dancer will wear. They are made of either canvas or leather and are either full-soled or split soled. The full-soled shoe will have the sole running all the way down the bottom of the shoe. The split soled shoe only has the sole on the ball of the foot and the heel of the foot. There is no sole on the arch of the shoe. Split-soled shoes are more flexible and are preferred over full-soled shoes. They will usually come in pink, black, tan, or white. My soft shoes are pink and split-soled

 

 

 

The Pre-Pointe Shoe:

 

This shoe is the next step to the coveted point shoe. Pre-pointe shoes are also known as half-toe shoes or demi-pointe shoes. They are harder and less flexible than the soft shoe. The main difference between a pointe shoe and a pre-pointe shoe is that pre-pointe shoes is that pre-point shoes don't have a shank. The shank makes the sole of the foot more rigid, which provides more support to the arch. This is why pre-pointe dancers are still able to rise up to the ball of the foot, but not fully onto the toes. These shoes are covered in pink satin and come with ribbons which help support the arch.

 

 

The Pointe Shoe

 

 

Pointe shoes are what every little ballerina wants to end up wearing on their feet. Pointe shoes are also called toe shoes. Pointe shoes, though highly coveted and beautiful are also very hard on the feet because of how inflexible they are. Point shoes have all of the same components as pre-pointe shoes, except they have a shank. They also are covered with satin and have ribbons. Both pointe and pre-pointe shoes have a full-sole.

 



My First Shift

Today was my first shift at the hospital as a CCE. I was supposed to start on Monday, but I got sick with congestion and wasn't well enough to go in on Monday. My first shift was exciting. I am up in the Medical Pulmonary floor which means the patients are there if they have a respiratory related issue. I didn't get to do too much with the patients, mostly because a majority of the patients were isolation patiens and CCEs are not allowed  to go into an isolation room. The four hours went by rather quickly except for the final hour due to slight dehydration and fatigue.

I was able to discharge a couple of patients, which I was glad to do. Since patients don't choose to be in the hospital, they are pretty happy when they get word they get to leave the hospital. I would say the most rewarding experience I had today was with a confused patient. I was paired with a CNA and we were changing her. She was nervous about it so my job was to hold her hand throughout the task. That woman had a strong grasp. I found this particularly ordinary task to be the most rewarding because even though it was simple, my holding her hand helped to make her less nervous. Since this was my first interaction with a bed-ridden patient, I was nervous and started to feel like I was going to faint or have a panic attack. All it took for me to get out of my head was one look at the patient and reminding myself over and over again "You are here for her."

Next week I will be working two shifts during the week. By the end of the next two weeks, I hope to become more comfortable with the floor, have more patient interactions, and start showing my assertive side.

Miss Thee, Notre Dame

This is another original poem about what I miss about being at Saint Mary's/Notre Dame. It kind of goes hand-in-hand with my previous post, which is why I'm doing two posts today.

Glee Club concerts

Football games
Push-ups
The best football group ever
My ECDC kids

Coffee, Cupcakes, and Conversations
Carroll Christmas
South Dining Hall
The Undertones

The Grotto
Hugs during Peace
Singing the Our Father
Fr. John
Retreats and adoration
Basilica mass
LeMans Hall masses

Countless trolley rides across the street

Walks down The Avenue
Walks around campus
Watching the seasons change
Wearing winter  clothes
Snow

Study days in Hesburgh
Getting paid to play
Late nights with friends
Movie night with the roommate
Making countless memories
Coming together in times of tragedy
Feeling like I was home

The small things

The big things
Everything

 

Looking for a Place Called Home

As part of yesterday's post, I said I had the choice on Sunday to either help with a youth ministry event or go eat with the young adult group and ended up choosing the youth ministry event which left me feeling more fulfilled than the other choice probably would have. This is my elaboratory post on that.

One thing they don't tell you about coming home after you've graduated college is that you might find yourself lacking the most in the place that you grew up. Home might not feel like home anymore. Your church might not feel like your church anymore. And that you might feel like you are your own community. And that is not a good feeling. I guess it makes sense because a lot can change in four years. People move in and out of the neighborhood, priests change, your friends that you went to youth group with are doing their own thing elsewhere, and you've just been forcibly sepearated from the people that may have become your life-long friends.

I knew I would be leaving a place that felt like home to me and where I had a wonderful, faith-based community. In order to prevent the feeling of being community-less, I signed up for a small faith-sharing group through my church. I went every week for two months before giving up. I gave up because I felt like a complete outsider at most of the meetings and wasn't feeling any more at home than I had right after I left Saint Mary's and Notre Dame. I just wasn't happy. After leaving the small faith group, I went to a couple of events with the young adult group but I still didn't feel like it was right for me. For one thing, everyone in the young adult group is at least 3-5 years older than me and have real-people jobs. I also felt that some of the women in the group were a little bit cliquey; they tended to have their own conversations without regard for any fresh pairs of ears. The men in the group are inclusive in their conversations. After talking to a friend of mine who also just graduated college and is relatively new to the church, I realized I was not alone in how I felt about the young adult group. I really do hope someone from the young adult group reads this post so they can learn from my experience and be aware of it so no one else goes through feeling like they don't belong in a group where they are supposed to belong.

That is why I chose to help man the youth ministry event instead of going out to eat with the young adult group. Some of you may be wondering, "Why didn't you keep trying with the young adult group? It takes more than a couple of meetings to know if its for you or not." In my experience, I have always felt like I belonged to a faith-based group after the first meeting or two. Granted, I knew most of the people that were in my junior high and high school youth groups. While I was at Saint Mary's, I joined a group at Notre Dame called Four:7, which is essentially a praise, worship, and fellowship group. When I went to my first Four:7 night, I knew one person. One out of about 50. I left that night with a smile on my face, less stress, and an I-can't-wait-to-go-back-next-week-and every-week-after-that feeling. This was not the case with the young adult or the small faith groups. It was the case with the youth ministry kids.

I'm glad I made the choice that I did. I don't know if I'll go to any more young adult group events, but I may. For now, I have found my place with the junior high and hihg school youth ministry team.

A Week's Worth of Excitement

So we are into week 3 of my blogging and I failed to post a blog last week. For shame. I'll make up for it by posting two blogs this week. Now for a quick run-down of last week's highlights.

1) I usually nanny on Thursday afternoons, but had last Thursday off because the little girl's dad wasn't feeling too good and, considering I had just gotten over a cold, he didn't want me to be around him and get sick all over again. This was a welcome change in my schedule because I was able to get some errands done earlier than I would have been able to and was able to have my weekly Skype date with my good friend Christine at a decent time for both her and me.

2) Christine is coming to visit me! After about 5 months of talking about having her come down to visit me, it is finally official. She will come visit in the weeks right before Christmas, so we will be able to do all the Christmas things together. I'm most excited for going to Disneyland, picking out and decorating the tree, and ice skating on the beach in San Diego.

3) I am growing up as a ballerina. I've been taking ballet classes at home for about two months and ever since I started, my ballet teacher has been telling me that I am strong enough to start pointe and pushing me to get pre-pointe shoes. This past Friday, I finally caved and bought my first pair of pre-pointe shoes. I will put up a blog about the different types of ballet shoes for those of you who are not familiar with ballet.

4) After mass on Sunday, I had a choice to make. I could have dinner at a local pub with some people from the young adult group at my church or I could help out with/chaperone the youth ministry event. I chose the youth ministry event. I was extremely happy with my choice. I had fun, I ate for free, and I finally got that feeling of belonging that I had been searching for in my church. I honestly don't think I would have gotten the same feeling had I gone to eat with the young adult group. Perhaps I will elaborate on that in another blog post.

5) The Irish beat the Sooners and are now 8-0. I don't think that needs any further explanation. Side note: while I was watching the game and possibly swearing at the TV, I was also sewing elastics and ribbons onto my pre-pointe shoes. Ironic much?

A Day to Celebrate

Hello again! As promised, here is my blog update of yesterday's blog. I am extremely happy to say that I passed my CCE written and practical exams with flying colors. I recieved a 91% on the written portion and a 9 out of 10 on the practical portion. On Wednesday the 31st (Halloween) I will be getting my ID badge and can officially start my hours on the first Monday of November. Getting here was not easy, but it will definitely be worth it in the long run.

The process started about two months ago with my application. As part of the application, we had to write six short essays about ourselves, what we can bring to the program, obstacles we have overcome, etc. aside from all the general information that comes with an application. Next came interviews in September where we were asked some pretty difficult questions. After passing the interviews I had to get shots and tests done, CPR training, and uniform clothes. Then came two 10-hour training days before the test. Today, after we recieved our test results, we on a tour of our floors and went over some more rules and regulations. It was intense. As our guest speaker said, we are the cream of the crop, the best of the best.

Also worth celebrating is the fact that my beloved Fighting Irish are now 7-0 defeating BYU with a score of 17-14.

That is all for now. I'm off to watch a movie so I can unwind a little bit.

Anticipation

Tomorrow is a very big day for me. Tomorrow I take a test and find out if I will finally be a Clinical Care Extender (CCE) at my local hospital. For safety reasons, I will not be disclosing the name of the hospital. I have spent the past two Saturdays at the hospital training to be a CCE. I have spent 10 hours in lecture learning the theory of being a CCE and another 8 hours learning and practicing the skills I will be doing as a CCE. If I pass my test tomorrow, I will be a full-fledged CCE. As a CCE, I will be going onto the hospital floors for at least 4 hours per week to provide comfort care to patients. Comfort care consists of everyday tasks that we take for granted such as eating, bathing, taking a walk, etc. Each rotation lasts 3 months and we are to have at least 48 hours completed by the end of the rotation. My first rotation will be on the medical pulmonary floor. Here, I will get to see anything lung-related from asthma to a collapsed lung. All of this is dependent on tomorrow's exam. Any and all prayers would be very much appreciated. I will probably blog about the results tomorrow so you can all know.

Quick update on my cold: Zicam has done it job super well. I'm still a tiny bit stuffy and still coughing, but I feel great. Today is day 4 of my cold and I am feeling how I would typically feel on day 8 or 9. Cold/flu season is upon us. If you feel a cold coming on and you're first thought is "Oh hell no. This is cannot happen right now" go out get some Zicam. It works. It tastes gross, but it works. You can find it at your local pharmacy and should be upwards of around $10 for a box.

Good night for now!

Reliv

Yesterday, I posted on my Facebook that I have come down with a cold and my goal is to get through it by only taking Zicam and doubling up the Reliv. Well, so far so good. While I definitely feel run-down and stuffy, I don't feel nearly as sick as I have on day 2 with all my previous colds. Some of my readers may be wondering what this Reliv thing is. That is what today's post is for.

Reliv has been produced since 1988 and was started by Dr. Theadore Kalogris and Bob and Sandy Montgomery. In 1995, Dr. Ted started the Kalogris foundation. "When the Foundation began in 1995, the primary focus was providing products to individuals in need throughout the United States. As Distributor donations increased and news of the mission spread, the Foundation’s vision became more global. Year after year, the Foundation’s efforts have steadily grown. What began as simply supplying product to a handful of missionaries working in the Philippines has evolved into the full support of more than 270 nutrition programs in 10 countries. Today, the RKF feeds 42,000 people every day."

Reliv products are, in short, advanced nutrition. Reliv's success is because of bioavailability and synergism. This means that Reliv is formulated in a way that each dose provides the body with instant access to the nutrients it contains (bioavailability) and combines nutrients with other nutirents that increase their effectiveness (synergism).  Reliv success stories range from weight loss and increased focus to live-saving stories. Without further ado, here is my Reliv success story.

My body has always carried its stress in my gut, so I would periodically have stomach upsets due to nervousness, stress, etc. Starting the summer after I graduated high school and into my freshman year of college these stomach upsets became more frequent and more bothersome. As the frequency of my symptoms increased and researched on why I was feeling this way, I came to the conclusion that I had IBS. About a year after my IBS self-diagnosis, I started exhibiting symptoms of GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease). Over time, I became extremely sensitive to most foods and essentially had the diet of either an elderly person or someone who was recovering from a GI infection. About a year ago I found myself having to take Immodium or some other OTC medicine at least once per week just to keep from getting sick. Despite all my best efforts, my IBs got to the point where I was afraid to go out to eat for fear of needing a bathroom and not making it. In March of this year, I finally found the relief I was craving in the form of Reliv. A friend from school (shout-out to Rose Franzen)introduced me to it and I was so desperate for a solution that I went ahead and ordered some. Within 2 days of starting Reliv, I started feeling relief from my IBS and within 3 weeks from my GERD. I have been taking Reliv for 7 months now and have felt healthier than I have in a long time, minus this mild cold. I frequently said that if there was ever a magic pill/medicine out there that would cure me of my ills, I would buy it. With Reliv, I have found my magic medicine. It is also really easy to take. All I need is 8oz of liquid per every 1-2 scoops of Reliv powder, depending on the individual product.

Sorry this post was so long. If my story resonated with anyone and you want more information about Reliv, feel free to contact me. And here is video clip for your enjoyment:

A Few Poems

In my last semester of college, I took a poetry writing class. Ever since then, I have found writing poems to be a wonderful way of releasing ideas and emotions. A year ago today, my grandfather Raul passed away. While it was a very sad time for all of us, there was a sense of relief because he was no longer suffering. Inspired by my new-found love of poetry, I decided to write some poems about what the week he passed meant to me and how it affected me. Many thanks to those who helped me through it. You know who you are.

October 10, 2011
Unexpected news at the end of a great day.
Confusion.
Why is Dad going?
Slight panic.
What is going to happen?
When is it going to happen?
I want to go

October 11, 2011
All the feelings come at once.
Sad that he is slipping away.
Anxiety not knowing what
or when it would happen.
Guilty about not being with the cousins.
Hopeful that I might see him again.
Scared that I won't.

Everything is hard today.
Hard to eat.
Hard to sleep.
Hard to talk.
Hard to pray.

I can't do anything but cry.

October 12. 2011
A wave of calm takes over.
Or maybe I've exhausted
all the feels.
I still feel it all,
just not as intense.
This day is not lived,
but survived.

The call comes at night.
I keep packing
and try to sleep.
I can't.

October 13, 2011
1. Wake up.
Try to eat.
Go to class.
Try to sleep.
Last things to pack.
Quick lunch.
Get picked up.
Drive to Chicago.

2. Time with family
Just what the doctor ordered.
Though I barely know
most of them,
I know I belong.

I eat two meals.
I sleep a full night.
I still cry.
Baby steps.


That's all for now. Blessings and love!

Welcome to my blog!

Hello all!

Welcome to my first blog post. I have decided to finally start blogging. I'm sure there are many people in my life who want to know about what I am doing. I aim to update this blog at least once per week, if not more often. I will also feature some original poems every now and then. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading.

Love and blessings to all.