Chicago!

October 23rd and 24th, We went to Chicago to see an Endometriosis specialist there. We had a consult and ran some tests. He advised me to see a urologist 
(check for IC) , a GI doctor, and a HIDA (check on gallbladder) scan. Then see if my pelvic pain was any better (he didn't think all of my pain was coming from the endo), if it wasn't  then give him a call and he would gladly see what he could do to help me. While we were in Chicago, we of course had to have some fun!

Had to take a picture of this for all of my spoonies! Do you think if I took a swim in the river I would magically get more spoons?

Had to stop at Vera Bradley and Lush! (I had been saving my money up)

They had a Lego store at the mall with a Lego Ironman!!

My friend Aubrey happened to be in Chicago at the same time we were, so we went to a professional soccer game! We played soccer together all growing up so it was really fun!

We were in the first row!

If any of you live in Chicago and/or are going to Chicago anytime soon and eat gluten-free, you HAVE to go to Do-Rite Donuts I had not had a real donut since I had stopped eating gluten and these are soooo amazing! They taste even better than regular, gluten filled donuts. You just have stop there! 

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Halloween 2014

For Halloween this year, We had a party at my neighbor's place. Aubrey and I were Zombie Soccer players, Kelly and Dakoda were Lumberjacks, Alli was a clown, Kayla was a kitty, my neighbors were anima characters, and one of them was a lumberjack! 

I carved a minion pumpkin this year!

Sabrina wanted to copy us and went as a zombie soccer player as well!

Aubrey and I

Aubrey, Kelly, and I

Aubrey and I wondering what the heck Kelly is doing (She was trying to twerk)

Kelly and Dakoda

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Colonoscopy and Endoscopy

On November 26th, 2014 I had an endoscopy and colonoscopy. When I went to see an endometriosis specialist earlier in late October, and he had suggested that I see a urologist and a GI doctor. He suspected that not all of my pelvic pain was from Endometriosis. I had my appointment with the urologist and he ordered an ultrasound and HIDA scan. The HIDA scan showed that my gallbladder is functioning at 4% and needs to be taken out. He also suggested that I get a cystoscopy done, which will be done by a different doctor while they do the gallbladder removal on January 30th. So then I had my appt. with the GI doctor and she put me on Linzess for my chronic constipation and scheduled these tests. 

Before

After

The scopes and biopsies came back clear so I have an appt. with her this week to figure out what our next step is! 

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Thanksgiving 2014

Yet another holiday that I apparently forgot to post about, Thanksgiving! This year we had our big Thanksgiving meal at a local fancy event center. It was delicious with lots and lots of options! I love going there because of the variety and we don't have to clean anything up! Plus, it still feels like a real Thanksgiving dinner because we are all sitting at one big table. 

Family Picture

Hassan, Teme, Dad, Me, Sabrina, Mom, and Jake

Having fun with the big mirror in the bathroom with Sabrina

Jake "modeling" with Grandpa's shoes and Grandma's hat and scarf.

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The Snowflake Express

My ultimate favorite Christmas movie is The Polar Express. I don't know what it is, but I just love it! A local organization (like Make-A-Wish) called Magical Mix Kids, does a recreation of it called The Snowflake Express! You get hot chocolate and cookies then board the train. It's about a 40 minute ride where you get to meet the conductor, listen to Christmas music, have your ticket stamped, get a bell (just like the movie!), and you even get to meet Mr. and Mrs. Claus! This is their third year doing it and out first year going because the tickets would always sell out so fast! My mom, sister, Aunt Karen, Uncle James, Cousin Emily, Cousin Colton, Cousin Cristian, my grandma, and I went!

My cousin Emily and Christian 

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Christmas with the Roommates

Obviously living in an apartment with three other college girls, we had to decorate our apartment! On of my roommates, Stacey's, mom got us a tree from Goodwill, so we decorated it and put it in our living room.  We also have a patio door where we like to hang lights according to the season or holiday. We put twinkly lights around the pillars on our patio, around the living room, and above the cupboards in the kitchen. Our apartment was quite festive!

We also had a "Roommate Christmas party" before everyone went home for the holidays. We went to Olive Garden, exchanged presents (we did Secret Santa), and watched Christmas movies!

Our "normal" picture

Stacey, Me, Leah, and Molly

Of course we had to take silly pictures too

Waiting to open presents (notice me in the back, almost tipped over in my chair trying to get in the picture)

Stacey got Molly two videos, one of which she broke later that night trying to get it out of the case so we could watch it.

I got Leah a pajama set from Victoria's Secret!

Molly got Stacey a minion body pillow with a wrongly spelled Christmas card

Leah got me a Victoria's Secret gift card and a mug that says, "Be Happy It's All That Matters."

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Christmas 2014

Next event-Christmas! Christmas is personally my favorite holiday, I know that a lot of people think that and it's not uncommon for Christmas to be someone's favorite holiday. I just love driving around and seeing the beautiful Christmas lights everywhere, the sparkly fresh snow, Christmas music and dancing around the kitchen with your little sister, baking with your mom, seeing family that you haven't seen in at least a month, Christmas Eve service at church, celebrating Jesus's birthday with a cake and singing, hearing the Christmas story, wearing cute pajamas to bed Christmas Eve and being oh-so excited to see what you got from Santa in the morning, and of course the delicious food you eat surrounded by the people you love. Surprisingly this Christmas I didn't take a lot of pictures but I will post the ones I do have! (It didn't help that I had a cold so I didn't much energy to do anything else but the normal Christmas stuff!)

My present from one of my amazing spoon friends, Macayla. The spoon says, "I saved a spoon for you." Of course everything was pink! Getting this brightened my day so much. I can't wait to take a bath with one of the bath bombs and use my new bath pillow! 

This year was the second annual "Secret Spoonie Santa" gift exchange. You sign up and you are given someone to make or buy a gift for. It's like secret santa but long distance and everyone has at least one chronic illnesses. Then you post about what you like so your Secret Santa has some idea of what to get you. I got my person a cute stuffed panda filled with rice and lavender, so that it can be used as a hot or cold pack with the benefits of aromatherapy. I also put a EOS lip balm and cute card in the package! From my "Secret Spoonie Santa", I got a Victoria's Secret gift card and this amazing card. I can't wait to find out who my person is! Last year I participated and got a small zebra heating pad that is perfect for when my endo is flaring! 

This was my amazing present for my Best Friend, Kaylee. I have a slight obsession with Lush and pink, so she got me the "Little Snow Fairy" gift that had Snow Fairy shower gel and Pink Fun. They both smell like bubblegum and candy! 

Sabrina, my mom, and I went to get our "Christmas nails" on December 23rd. Mom got red nails with gold sparkles. Sabrina got green and red nails with a Christmas tree on the big toe. I got pink/red nails with a snowflake on the big toe.

My Christmas gift from my other best friend, Melanie, was maple sugar candies (my favorite), a Rudolph spatula, and a customized apron! I, of course, used it to help cook/bake for Christmas Eve and Christmas. 

Here is the gluten and dairy free cake that I made for Jesus's birthday! 

I don't have any pictures from gift opening, but I'll tell you how it went. On Christmas Eve, after the church service and dinner at our house, my immediate family opened all of our presents (besides Santa). Jake, my older brother, went to Dollar General a few hours earlier and got everyone's presents there and "wrapped" a.k.a. put them in a garbage bag, which actually came in hand earlier when cleaning everything up. I got some heat pain patches, two bottles of sparking cider, and One Direction trading cards from him. I planned a little better and got everyone's presents on Black Friday. I got my little sister, Sabrina, sparkly perfume from Victoria's Secret and cute cupcake pajamas from Target. I got my younger brother, Teme, Green Bay Packer sweatpants from Scheels. I got my other younger "brother", Hassan, a string sports bag from Dick's Sporting Goods. I got Jake the movie Fargo, the newest season of Big Bang Theory, and a funny Christmas cat shirt from Target. I got my mom a sleep shirt from Victoria's Secret. Lastly, I got my dad a nice pullover sweater from Scheels. I got a bunch of things from Victoria's Secret and a book from my parents. In the morning, we woke up and opened our presents and stocking from Santa! I got a new pink, sparkly phone case and a label maker!!! (which I have been enjoying tremendously) Then we headed over to my grandparents house to open our gifts from them and the aunts and uncles. I got one of my favorite perfumes from Victoria's Secret (Tease), a gift set from VS, and a book from my grandparents. Then I got some Lush bath bombs and a body scrub from my Aunt and cousin! After presents, we had Christmas Day brunch and just hung out with each other. It was a great Christmas!

I hope all of you had a great Christmas and enjoyed spending time with your family!

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