Look Alike Chan Lou Wrap Bracelet

Since it is summer, I have had more time on my hands. I was on pinterest looking for crafts to do and I saw a bunch of things for jewelry and it made me think of christmas and presents. Yes I know it is kind of early to be thinking about that, but somehow I am always feeling stressed about getting people gifts. So I thought that I would start making some... for the woman in my family. I came across look alike Chan Lou wrap bracelet. Later that day I went to michaels and got all the supplies I needed. Lucky for me there was a big sale on the beads. I bought bigger beads than the instructions told me to, but I like making things different than the instructions. I have made three so far. Each one is getting better than the last. Practice really does make perfect. Here are some pictures of the ones I have made.

I didn't get a picture of the third one since I already gave it to my sister as a gift. The one I gave her though is definitely my favorite.

Rejoice and Be Patient

Someone close to me told me to take each day how it is. If it is a bad day because you don't feel well, then rest and don't let it effect tomorrow. If today is a great day, then live the day to it's fullest. These words have helped me so much in the past week. 

Then someone else who I have been getting closer with sent me this bible verse. 

To me, I feel like these are important things to think about. When you are having a bad day, think about the verse and take each day how it is. If you are having a blessed day, then think of the same thing! 

Sequoia Road Trip

On Saturday my sister, cousin, and I went to the Sequoias. I made two road trip cd's that we listened to for the four hours it took for us to get there.

Once we got there we stopped at a river where we swam for about an hour. It was a lot of fun, so much fun that I ended up getting at least five bruises. We got lunch and then headed into the Sequoia National Forest to look for a River big enough to float in intertubes. Well trying to do that was quite the hiking adventure. we have made memories that are going to be awesome stories in the future. After the hiking fiasco we tried to check into our hotel, but couldn't sue to the computer changing the reservation dates that my sister made the day before. Trying to deal with the rude employees at the hotel was getting us nowhere so we decided to go back into the forest. When in the forest we drove around and drove through the fallen tree, walked through trees, saw a buck and a bear, took pictures with a fallen tree that showed it's incredible roots, and my cousin and sister got attacked by mosquitoes.

Once it got dark we drove home since we had no where to stay. On our way home we got some delicious dinner and coffee which helped us stay awake through the drive. We finally arrived at my sister's home at 2:30 in the morning. I had a fantastic time with my family. This trip made me feel so incredibly blessed. 

Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes

For church group we normally have a sweet treat and a couple of weeks ago I got to make it. For my birthday I got a mini bundt pan and I have been trying to find an excuse to use it. In my cupboard I had a box of lemon cake mix that has been begging me to use it. So finally I made lemon mini bundt cakes and they were a huge hit! I was a little worried that they were going to be hard to get out of the pan, but that was not the case. Here is a picture of this yummy dessert.

OC Fair

The OC fair has been going on near where I live so I like to go at once a year. One visit to the fair is good enough for me. Last year I went with my cousin Michelle and we went again this year. Each time we hang out something hilarious always happens. This time the hilarious event definitely made number one! HAHAHA. Let's just say funniest things happen unintentionally. When we were at the fair we got a soft serve ice cream cone and dipped deep fried oreos in it... it was super yummy but only a once of year kind of a treat. Then we played a bunch of the games. I dominated the game where you throw bean bags to pop balloons. We got quite a few stuffed animals. Here is the evidence... well part of it :)

Guardians of the Galaxy Red Carpet

Last Monday my cousin and I went to Hollywood. It was her first time ever going and it ended up to be the day of the Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy World Premiere Red Carpet! Oh my was I stoked to find that out... let's just say I have a tad obsession with the Marvel Movies :p We had a blast! We got coffee and chocolates then waited to see the celebrities walk through. While we were waiting I received the Star Lord action figure. I felt so lucky to get that for free hahaha. After that we went to have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, it was delicious and so cool to see all the displays in there. I love being able to spend time with my cousin and have a close relationship. So that day was a great day. Here are some pictures :)

I am so excited to see this movie!!!

Almond Meringues

A couple of weeks ago I was looking for an easy dessert that wasn't too many calories. After a long time of searching on pinterest I found Chocolate Dipped Almond Meringues. This was my first time ever making meringues and first time eating homemade meringues. So this was a real gamble since I had no idea what they would taste like. They were not difficult to make at all and they were very delicious. Here is a picture of them... this is a picture from the website I got the recipe. The only difference from these and the ones I made is mine weren't sipped in chocolate.

Success Quote

Each day there is some type of goal that you try to achieve. For me, it is trying to get stronger and increase my endurance. These goals are not easy to achieve but I am not giving up and I don't plan to. Here is the quote that will help me for today and forever.

USS Iowa

Today I was finally able to go to the USS Iowa. I have been wanting to go for years. A few months ago I told my brother that I really want to go and he said he wanted to take me and today we finally went. It was even more incredible than I imagined. The battleship was giant and so were the guns and missiles on it. After exploring the ship we went to lunch. The place was in the harbor and we could see the water from inside... it was a beautiful day. Well where we went has seafood. So today I tried oysters for the very first time. They are not as bad as my mom has been telling me for years. I kind of liked them, although the big ones I didn't like that much. Now I can say that I have tried oysters (3 to be exact) and been on the USS Iowa. Here are some pictures from today...

Taking Control

After the last few years of doctors, medicines, tests, sickness, and hospitals I am deciding to stop letting this illness control me. It took my energy, happiness, friends, and hobbies. I am not going to let it take anything else. I am going to beat this illness. This illness is going to lose... I really like to win! (Thank you Grandma for my competitive spirit). The doctors want me to exercise so that is exactly what I am going to do. I am stopping the continuous resting by going on walks. This started last Monday. I went on a walk for 11 minutes and got a .7 miles. Tuesday I walked for 15 minutes and reached a mile. Wednesday I decided to walk faster, I did a mile in 13 minutes. Thursday I did the mile in 12 minutes and 50 seconds. Friday I went on my adventure with my sister which consisted of a lot of walking. Saturday I wanted to walk longer... so I did... for 25 minutes and reached 1.7 miles. Today I went to the USS Iowa with my brother, it was so much fun and was quite a bit of walking with stairs. Each day I have been taking a picture while I do my walking adventure. Here are the ones I have taken so far...

Getty Villa

On Friday my sister came over to my house. I thought we were just going to hang out at my house. Nope. She had other ideas. I got ready for the day and she then gave me the options of go to a movie or to the Getty Villa (I had no idea what this was). I chose the Getty Villa! I love exploring new places, especially when it is with my awesome sister. We get there... or at least thought we did... and find out we were at the Getty Museum hahaha. So we get back in the car and head to the villa. On the way there I told her that I have never been to Malibu and I want to. She said that she hasn't either and wants to also. Finally we get to the villa. When we get there we find out that it is in Malibu! Already it is an exciting day but it got even better. We got a tour of the gardens and then explored on our own. This place is magnificent. We loved it. There is a cafe there so we decide to try it, we both got a lemon chicken greek wrap and it was delicious. When we were done with this adventure we were stuck in two and half hours of California traffic. Traffic is not fun unless you have a ukulele... which my sister did :) I got to play it in the car and had a blast. I must say that I got the hang of it pretty fast. Here are some pictures of Friday's fun filled day.

Raquel playing with shadows

 Me playing with shadows

 Us in front of one of the many fountains

My Life Challenge

For the past few years I have been going through medical problems. It started with dizziness and tunnel vision when I would get up sometimes. There were a lot of tests and new doctors and drugs to try to fix it. I was also admitted to the hospital a couple of times. The medication just made it worse. So then I was dealing with getting dizzy at least 7 times a day. With just the dizziness though I was able to go to school and be a normal teenager. During this time, I went to an endocrinologist and he thought that I had POTS so he sent me to a cardiologist. When I saw the cardiologist he did a couple tests and diagnosed me with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). This was a relief to have a diagnosis because that meant a treatment plan.

Then I got sick for a 10 days with what we thought then was just a flu but now think it could have been a worse virus. I got better from it so I went back to school. I was really tired all the time though and I did not know why. About a week or so later I had a mini stroke followed by non-epileptic seizures. I was taken to the nearest hospital by an ambulance but by then nothing was happening. I was then transported to CHOC hospital where they did more tests. The next couple of days I was there I had more non-epileptic seizures which were all recorded. Since nothing was coming out in the tests they sent psychiatrists to see me to find out if it was stress related or if I was making it up. So they came, evaluated me, made me do biofeedback (which they said I did fabulously :p). They then reported to my doctors saying that I handle stress well and that I was not faking it... WELL DUHHH! After more than a week in the hospital they had me go home, follow up with some doctors, and had me go see a therapist.

Once I was home for a while I started getting: bad stomach pains every time I ate, needle-like pains in my body, difficulties breathing, extreme fatigue, and the tunnel vision I used to get worsened into temporary blindness along with the dizziness and sometimes collapsing. At this point I was not going to school. With all of the new problems I went to many different doctors. I went to a neurologist who did some more tests and she diagnosed me with Dysautonomia but unsure why I have it. She said that with this illness you can have a mini stroke causing seizures due to a lack of oxygen to the brain. As strange as it sounds, it was great to hear this because now doctors can stop saying that I am faking it or that it is all because of stress. Then she said that there is no cure, you have to manage the symptoms. I was now going to multiple doctors regularly to try different medicines or changes in my diet to manage symptoms. 

A few months later, things got worse. I had a hard time breathing and talking... to CHOC hospital I went! They admitted me into the ICU and did tests. They diagnosed me with vocal chord dysfunction. There is nothing much you can do about it other than retraining yourself how to talk, at least that's what they said. I was in the hospital for about 5 days and they sent me home. No, I was not better. I was still having a hard time breathing making it difficult to walk and talk. I then was at my follow up appointment with my pulmonologist where they have you do a simple breathing test... I almost fainted trying to do that so the nurse didn't have me do the others. Once my doctor saw me all pale, weak, unable to talk, wheezing, hardly able to walk, and found out about my experience with CHOC he made me go to the hospital that he works at immediately. While I was in the ICU there, I was constantly getting breathing treatments which helped tremendously. Also, he had various doctors see me and do tests to try to figure out why I had those other symptoms. The GI doctor diagnosed me with EOE and acid reflux. This hospital stay was a couple days under two weeks. When home, I was on stomach medication, inhalers, and in-home breathing treatments regularly, but still did not have my voice and barely walking. I was slowly getting my strength back. 

There was then another hospital stay due to worsening breathing problems. This was another long stay, which was a total bummer because it was before my birthday. Luckily, they were able to treat me. I got my voice slowly back and since the breathing was better I was able to walk better all two days before my birthday. Unfortunately it didn't last long. I over did it at a fundraiser and landed myself into another long hospital stay. After all these hospital stays I really got to know the awesome nurses (mostly awesome nurses... only had one awful and rude nurse). 

With all this symptom treating that didn't work and being in a wheelchair, we were sent to the mayo clinic in Minnesota. This was all out of pocket so we spent a few months raising money. During this time I got to meet some wonderful people. I felt so blessed and loved by God and hundreds of kind people who helped me I was at the clinic for a week constantly doing tests and seeing doctors. The end result was you have a type of dysautonomia, acid reflux, EDS, vocal chord dysfunction, allergies, stop all inhalers, come back for a four week program to retrain your body which is for people with dysautonomia and EDS, and see a genetic specialist where you live to find out what type of dysautonomia you have and to see if there is an underlying cause. I followed all their instructions other than going back for the program since it was $35,000 out of pocket. A few months later I started to have breathing problems again! When I saw a doctor for it, I was put on the inhalers again. After this I had another time of difficulty breathing so I my doctor gave me all the medicines and treatments to do at home instead of going to the hospital.
I am currently seeing a genetic specialist. I have done one test that came back normal, I am now waiting to do another one to see if I have ashkenazi jewish in me. There is no longer a need to see a neurologist. I finished with my allergist. Right now my cardiologist ordered me to have a heart monitor on and I will for the next few weeks until it completes a month. I see the GI doctor Tuesday to stop a medicine since you can't be on it long. Soon I will have to see my pulmonologist and pediatrician for just a regular check-up.
This is all SUPER fun stuff going on. It has definitely all been a challenge but this is my life right now... not forever. I can get through it.

A Little Bit About Me

Hey everyone! My name is Cherise. I am going into senior year of high school this fall and am really excited about it. These last few years I have been having quite a few medical problems. It all started with something little and then has gotten worse. There have been many different doctors and hospital stays, I even had to go to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. They know that I have a form of Dysautonomia but they are not sure why I have it. So I have to do more tests and deal with more appointments. Currently, I am managing but I am unable to do normal teenage things... like go to normal high school Monday through Friday. Instead I am going to a high school where you only have to go to class once a week for about an hour and you do practically everything at home. Going through all of this I have lost the ability to do things I enjoy such as bike riding, hanging out with friends for a long time, or dancing. Since I can't do those things, I have been baking, cooking, crafting, and watching A LOT of television. Probably too much TV but what else are you going to do when you are not feeling well and have no energy or strength to get up? I have a little Chin-Pin, Ginger, who is my little love bug and brings me joy. I truly believe that she thinks she is a baby, she loves to be held like one and cuddle all the time. This is just a little about me and eventually I will share more bits about my life with all of you.   :)

Cafe Mocha Cookies

This weekend my friend and I made cookies. They were super delicious! Even the batter was... I never like cookie dough. We both love coffee... like a lot... hahaha! So when I saw this recipe on pinterest I knew this would be the perfect thing to make. http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/cafe-mocha-cookies/ We had to do a little trial an error with the baking times due to my annoying oven. On the third bath we finally perfected it! It was quite exciting.

This is a picture of them... not my picture of course. They looked exactly the same though which never seems to happen. While we were waiting for these yummy treats to come out of the oven, we worked on a 2000 piece puzzle. Yeah we got some done but it is not even half way done and I have already been working on this puzzle for a couple of weeks : / It was an all around really fun day though. 

Let Life Be

My sister chose today's quote and I love it. Here it is: 

Trying not to control everything in your life is tough. All you can do though is pray, relax and let go, and have faith that what God has planned for you will happen.