Lifish update
I’ll do a full “anniversary post” in July but I’ve just had a lot of thoughts lately about life, crohns, everything.
To be honest I’ve had a lot of confusion and even discouragement which is not normally me. I’m coming up on two years and while I’m no where near how I was two years ago (I mean that was pretty bad...😳) I’m also nowhere near where I thought I would be, I remember thinking that on the year anniversary too and I kind of think that feeling has just progressed since then😕. I’m no better than I was 8 months ago to be completely honest with you and in some ways may or worse?
I am so so thankful to have a diagnosis and know what’s wrong with me, but with that I thought would come answers and healing.
I’ve had some answers and some healing of course, but there’s still really a lot of unknown! In the beginning I used to talk about finding my “new normal” well I’m here to tell you 2 years later I still haven’t found it😂.
Learning to navigate something new is hard for anyone, but learning to navigate a disease where literally every single persons symptoms are different is really a doozie lol.
I’ve now added a liver specialist into the mix and right now the severity is still unknown I do have liver disease and I have more upcoming test in a few months so we’ll know more then.
A day in the life of Chloe really depends on the day and the energy level I’m having. On a good day I’ll get up shower. Make breakfast, do a little cleaning, maybe bake something and then rest the rest of the day, if I’ve recouped by the end of the day I’ll make supper and if I haven’t, Joe will or we’ll get takeout from somewhere.
On a bad day, I wake up, shower, do an easy breakfast and then head to the couch to rest the rest of the day.
I have been soo thankful for these warmer days and being able to rest outside and get some Vitamin D! It really is good for the soul❤️.
I do have days where I’m up all day, but I always pay for it so I’m trying to learn balance
I keep track of my entire day.
what I eat, how much I drink, if I exercise (I’ve recently gotten into yoga and have really been loving it), how many bowel movements I have a day and every single tiny symptom I may be having that day.
My hope is that that gives my doctor a better understanding and hopefully come to a decision on things a little easier. We’ll see, I was supposed to see him in March but with everything shut down that’s been postponed as well, Soo the list just keeps growing of questions to ask😂.
I’ve been doing more research on my own, joined some crohns Facebook groups, and following some other crohns bloggers on Instagram.
I’m careful though because I’ve definitely seen a pattern that there is a lot of negativity which is to be understandable but I also think that can bring your own spirit down. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s good to vent, that’s basically what I’m doing here🤷♀️, BUT I also think it’s important to vent, feel sorry for, whatever, have your moment and move on because dwelling on things only makes it worse. This is something I’m working at because I WAY over analyze all of my symptoms or lab results but to be honest it’s just because I want a reason for why I don’t feel good.
I think the constant negativity is easy for anyone to get sucked into but I also want to be an encouragement to you as well.
if you have someone on your Facebook or whatever that’s just negative all the time, you don’t even have to delete them, just hide them! It’s so important especially right now to keep your spirits high and seeing that day in and day out is unhealthy. Same goes for if you have someone in your life that way, try talking to them about it and if that doesn’t work it might be time for a break.
I’ve talked about social media before, last year I did a week cleanse from Facebook and Instagram and it was soo freeing!
Lately I’ve been feeling very smothered by my phone to the point of anxiety and I’ve been choosing to take a step back. We always tease my mom because she never knows what’s going on because she doesn’t have or is never on social media but honestly I envy that freedom she has!
For the past week I’ve taken a step back and really paid attention to my time, if I notice myself aimlessly scrolling it’s time to put my phone down, I’ve also set my timer before so I know when it’s time to get off.
Joe and I have started trying to do one of the days on the weekends no phones and making an effort to put them away for at least a couple hours every night and I gotta say it is soo great.
I know I know...I tend to get a little lengthy and go all over the place in my thoughts🤷♀️😂.
Some other life updates l, Joe has “retired” (we’ll see 😉) from kickboxing as the heavy weight champion, he has it splayed up front and center under the tv😂.
He is also going to be joining the Navy Reserves which is why he decided to hang up the gloves so he can focus on this next step, while I’m going to miss him like CRAZY I am soo proud of him, this is something he has wanted to pursue since high school and I’m so glad he’s doing it, so we’ll see where that takes us! I put it in Gods hands and am just along for the ride.
We bought a camper project, and then 3 days later bought another one🤪. Both of them were much to good of deal to pass up and the second one is about double the size of the first. We’ve started remodeling the first and I’ll be sharing that process once we get it finished! When we’re done with that we’ll get started on the bigger one. We’ll use that one but we’re going to keep the smaller one for family to use.
We’ve wanted a camper for soo long! We had a pop up for a couple years but it was old and I’m such terrible shape we ended up getting rid of it.
We’re probably about halfway down with the “pop up” remodel and the bigger one may end up being a complete gut job, we’re really not sure yet. But I LOVE! The exterior, it’s the “retro” aka old style l, we’re going to power wash it and hopefully it’ll be good to go but if not I want to paint it white and robins egg blue.
Joe worked on the tin siding today and will have that finished tomorrow, then the list is kind of a mile long but I don’t think will be terribly time consuming.
We’re always saying we’re to busy to camp but I’m a firm believer if it’s important to you you’ll make time for it and this quarantine has taught us to appreciate those little things so we’re going to make time for it this summer!
We have access to tents but with my troubles breathing and the heat making it worse I need the air conditioning😬 and we’ll be able to take the dogs along having a camper.
I think I’m going to attempt a small garden this year, we had a big one the year I was put in the hospital and we couldn’t keep up with it after that and didn’t do one last year. I’m just going to do it in some buckets and some raised beds so it’s a little less work for me.
If you garden,
I encourage you, if there’s something you love doing but haven’t made the time to, go do it! Make it a priority, you won’t regret it.
I pray that when everything goes back to normal everyone tries to embrace the slow lifestyle we’ve been having, even if you only take one area away whether it’s more time at the dinner table with your family, more time outside, crafting, whatever. If you can’t take all the aspects with you, at least try channeling one. For us it is being intentional with our time together, joe works a lot of hours and we always have things that need done on the weekends so sometimes it feels like no break and I’m sure many of you feel the same way. For us being intentional means putting our phones down, spending more time outdoors, fishing, motorcycle rides, game nights, etc. just making the best of our time together.
I have been trying to spend more time relaxing outside or reading a book instead of just watching tv all day, I can read for very long because it wears me out but even if it’s a half hour break from the tv, it’s welcomed!
Anyways....super long post and super random but I just like to write what I’m thinking🤷♀️ maybe it’s the fact that I’ve barely talked to anyone other than immediate family in person for almost two months...😂.
I hope you guys enjoyed the little update and I’ve been trying to think of ways to do monthly updates again that aren’t quite so exhausting as the weekly recaps!
If you garden, let me know in the comments what you plant!
Do you can what you harvest or just eat fresh?
What’s one thing you’ve loved about this quarantine downtime and one thing you’d like to take with you when it’s done?
Xo,
Chloe
I’ll do a full “anniversary post” in July but I’ve just had a lot of thoughts lately about life, crohns, everything.
To be honest I’ve had a lot of confusion and even discouragement which is not normally me. I’m coming up on two years and while I’m no where near how I was two years ago (I mean that was pretty bad...😳) I’m also nowhere near where I thought I would be, I remember thinking that on the year anniversary too and I kind of think that feeling has just progressed since then😕. I’m no better than I was 8 months ago to be completely honest with you and in some ways may or worse?
I am so so thankful to have a diagnosis and know what’s wrong with me, but with that I thought would come answers and healing.
I’ve had some answers and some healing of course, but there’s still really a lot of unknown! In the beginning I used to talk about finding my “new normal” well I’m here to tell you 2 years later I still haven’t found it😂.
Learning to navigate something new is hard for anyone, but learning to navigate a disease where literally every single persons symptoms are different is really a doozie lol.
I’ve now added a liver specialist into the mix and right now the severity is still unknown I do have liver disease and I have more upcoming test in a few months so we’ll know more then.
A day in the life of Chloe really depends on the day and the energy level I’m having. On a good day I’ll get up shower. Make breakfast, do a little cleaning, maybe bake something and then rest the rest of the day, if I’ve recouped by the end of the day I’ll make supper and if I haven’t, Joe will or we’ll get takeout from somewhere.
On a bad day, I wake up, shower, do an easy breakfast and then head to the couch to rest the rest of the day.
I have been soo thankful for these warmer days and being able to rest outside and get some Vitamin D! It really is good for the soul❤️.
I do have days where I’m up all day, but I always pay for it so I’m trying to learn balance
I keep track of my entire day.
what I eat, how much I drink, if I exercise (I’ve recently gotten into yoga and have really been loving it), how many bowel movements I have a day and every single tiny symptom I may be having that day.
My hope is that that gives my doctor a better understanding and hopefully come to a decision on things a little easier. We’ll see, I was supposed to see him in March but with everything shut down that’s been postponed as well, Soo the list just keeps growing of questions to ask😂.
I’ve been doing more research on my own, joined some crohns Facebook groups, and following some other crohns bloggers on Instagram.
I’m careful though because I’ve definitely seen a pattern that there is a lot of negativity which is to be understandable but I also think that can bring your own spirit down. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s good to vent, that’s basically what I’m doing here🤷♀️, BUT I also think it’s important to vent, feel sorry for, whatever, have your moment and move on because dwelling on things only makes it worse. This is something I’m working at because I WAY over analyze all of my symptoms or lab results but to be honest it’s just because I want a reason for why I don’t feel good.
I think the constant negativity is easy for anyone to get sucked into but I also want to be an encouragement to you as well.
if you have someone on your Facebook or whatever that’s just negative all the time, you don’t even have to delete them, just hide them! It’s so important especially right now to keep your spirits high and seeing that day in and day out is unhealthy. Same goes for if you have someone in your life that way, try talking to them about it and if that doesn’t work it might be time for a break.
I’ve talked about social media before, last year I did a week cleanse from Facebook and Instagram and it was soo freeing!
Lately I’ve been feeling very smothered by my phone to the point of anxiety and I’ve been choosing to take a step back. We always tease my mom because she never knows what’s going on because she doesn’t have or is never on social media but honestly I envy that freedom she has!
For the past week I’ve taken a step back and really paid attention to my time, if I notice myself aimlessly scrolling it’s time to put my phone down, I’ve also set my timer before so I know when it’s time to get off.
Joe and I have started trying to do one of the days on the weekends no phones and making an effort to put them away for at least a couple hours every night and I gotta say it is soo great.
I know I know...I tend to get a little lengthy and go all over the place in my thoughts🤷♀️😂.
Some other life updates l, Joe has “retired” (we’ll see 😉) from kickboxing as the heavy weight champion, he has it splayed up front and center under the tv😂.
He is also going to be joining the Navy Reserves which is why he decided to hang up the gloves so he can focus on this next step, while I’m going to miss him like CRAZY I am soo proud of him, this is something he has wanted to pursue since high school and I’m so glad he’s doing it, so we’ll see where that takes us! I put it in Gods hands and am just along for the ride.
We bought a camper project, and then 3 days later bought another one🤪. Both of them were much to good of deal to pass up and the second one is about double the size of the first. We’ve started remodeling the first and I’ll be sharing that process once we get it finished! When we’re done with that we’ll get started on the bigger one. We’ll use that one but we’re going to keep the smaller one for family to use.
We’ve wanted a camper for soo long! We had a pop up for a couple years but it was old and I’m such terrible shape we ended up getting rid of it.
We’re probably about halfway down with the “pop up” remodel and the bigger one may end up being a complete gut job, we’re really not sure yet. But I LOVE! The exterior, it’s the “retro” aka old style l, we’re going to power wash it and hopefully it’ll be good to go but if not I want to paint it white and robins egg blue.
Joe worked on the tin siding today and will have that finished tomorrow, then the list is kind of a mile long but I don’t think will be terribly time consuming.
We’re always saying we’re to busy to camp but I’m a firm believer if it’s important to you you’ll make time for it and this quarantine has taught us to appreciate those little things so we’re going to make time for it this summer!
We have access to tents but with my troubles breathing and the heat making it worse I need the air conditioning😬 and we’ll be able to take the dogs along having a camper.
I think I’m going to attempt a small garden this year, we had a big one the year I was put in the hospital and we couldn’t keep up with it after that and didn’t do one last year. I’m just going to do it in some buckets and some raised beds so it’s a little less work for me.
If you garden,
I encourage you, if there’s something you love doing but haven’t made the time to, go do it! Make it a priority, you won’t regret it.
I pray that when everything goes back to normal everyone tries to embrace the slow lifestyle we’ve been having, even if you only take one area away whether it’s more time at the dinner table with your family, more time outside, crafting, whatever. If you can’t take all the aspects with you, at least try channeling one. For us it is being intentional with our time together, joe works a lot of hours and we always have things that need done on the weekends so sometimes it feels like no break and I’m sure many of you feel the same way. For us being intentional means putting our phones down, spending more time outdoors, fishing, motorcycle rides, game nights, etc. just making the best of our time together.
I have been trying to spend more time relaxing outside or reading a book instead of just watching tv all day, I can read for very long because it wears me out but even if it’s a half hour break from the tv, it’s welcomed!
Anyways....super long post and super random but I just like to write what I’m thinking🤷♀️ maybe it’s the fact that I’ve barely talked to anyone other than immediate family in person for almost two months...😂.
I hope you guys enjoyed the little update and I’ve been trying to think of ways to do monthly updates again that aren’t quite so exhausting as the weekly recaps!
If you garden, let me know in the comments what you plant!
Do you can what you harvest or just eat fresh?
What’s one thing you’ve loved about this quarantine downtime and one thing you’d like to take with you when it’s done?
Xo,
Chloe
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