Dominate your chronic life
Spring Clean Your Chronic Life: Scour Your Social Media Feed
HOW TO SPOT SOMEONE WITH A CHRONIC ILLNESS
Unpack your unrealistic vacation expectations
Spring Clean Your Calendar and make room for your chronic illness
*Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. Meaning that at no additional cost to you, I receive a commission when you make a purchase through my links. The proceeds earned fund the giveaways I host in my Facebook groups.
Chronic Life: Does the waiting ever end?
How Charlie’s Angels Prepared Me to Live with a Chronic Illness
The Disabled Diva’s Top Ten Travel Tips
Spring Clean Your Chronic Life: Disinfect Your Diet
Are your spring break vacation expectations realistic?
Spring Clean: Spruce up your view!
*Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. Meaning that at no additional cost to you, I receive a commission when you make a purchase through my links. The proceeds earned fund the giveaways I host in my Facebook groups.
If you have psoriatic arthritis or psoriasis, or you are or may become a caregiver to someone who does, would you please spare five minutes of your time to take WEGOHealth’s survey that will benefit the psoriatic disease community? Participants will be entered into a drawing to win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards! Click here to take the survey.
I may have been born in the late 60’s, but I am a child of the 70’s!
One of my favorite television shows of the seventies was Charlie’s Angels. Not only did I never miss an episode, the following day I would make my friends act them out with me! For those of you who are not familiar with this show, Charlie had a private detective agency and he hired three sexy women that he called angels. The original angels were Farrah Fawcett as Jill Munroe, Kate Jackson as Sabrina Duncan, and Jaclyn Smith as Kelly Garrett. They were badass women kicking butt and uncovering mysteries.
I wanted to be an Angel, Jill in particular because, well, hello that hair!!!!!
Little did I know that a show about beautiful, strong, and intelligent women would also give me the “know how” I would need to surviving life with not just one, but multiple chronic illnesses!
Rainy southern California days may cause mudslides and flood streets, but they shouldn’t ruin your Disneyland vacation. I learned long ago, before living here, that you never know what the weather is going to be like. We have experienced cold and wet winter weather during spring break and triple digits on Thanksgiving, The good news is that those strange weather days never last for long and if prepared, they shouldn’t disrupt your vacation either. Here are some tips for cold and rainy days that will keep you warm, dry, and happy!
*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Meaning that at no additional cost to you, I receive a commission when purchases are made via my links. The proceeds offset the expense of running this blog and fund the prize pools for my Facebook groups. I am not affiliated with Disneyland or the Disney company.
There are a few rides that may be shut down when it rains, but they are outdoor rides and not ones that you would run to for shelter. Use this time to discover areas that you haven’t made time for in the past and enjoy lower wait times for everything else since most people leave when it begins to rain. In addition to attractions, there is nothing more beautiful than to walk throughout the park in the rain. Low crowds make it a perfect time to get some awesome photos of your favorite views. It is also a wonderful time to go shopping or to enjoy a meal at a sit down restaurant.
Here is a quick list of indoor attractions that have mostly indoor queues (if the lines are short, you shouldn’t have to wait outside):
Disneyland
California Adventure
All it took was one vacation in 1998 where the weather was freezing for one day of our multi-day visit to make sure to pack for at least one or two cold days. We haven’t always needed our winter attire, but my family was sure thankful I brought it along when our vacations were interrupted by a cold front.
Here is a quick list of items you should always bring on your Disneyland vacation to ensure that a day or two of chilly and rainy days won’t ruin your vacation. BTW Rainy days aren’t the days to wear your favorite Disney bounding outfit or cutest Disney dress, they are the days to dress for comfort, warmth, ability to stay dry, and functionality. Skip the ears and instead put a bow in your hair!
Click here to discover all the ways that PEMF therapy has improved my chronic pain. Click here to learn more about Oska Pulse. And as always, my discount code DIVA will save you $55.00
Just because everyone you know is traveling home for the holidays, it doesn’t mean you have to. Too often I see people do things they really don’t want to do or have the emotional or physical strength to do in order to please family members or to keep up appearances. Today I want to tell you that it is okay to not be okay with traveling during the holiday season! And here are a few reasons why!
If traveling triggers a flare from your chronic illnesses, you should rethink packing your bags. Pleasing family shouldn’t come at the expense of not being able to function when you return home. Traveling during the holiday season exposes you to more people and germs than if you traveled in a less busier time of year. Winter weather also increases your chance of becoming ill. Having a chronic illness doesn’t mean that you can’t travel at all, but rather you should travel during seasons when you experience less pain and will be exposed to fewer germs.
Disclosure: I am NOT a medical professional and I am not issuing medical advice. This post contains some affiliate links. Meaning that, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission from sales. The proceeds offset the expense of operating this site and fund the giveaways for my Facebook groups.
Those of you who suffer from anxiety, know how debilitating it can be. In fact if not managed well, it can literally paralyze us. If spending time with family during the holidays increases your level of anxiety or triggers attacks, do yourself a favor and stay home! Don’t look at it as letting your obnoxious or manipulative family members win, think of it as winning by valuing your mental health. However, I do suggest that you find a therapist to help you work through your emotions and possibly prepare you for dealing with those family members in the future should you decide to visit. Online-Therapy.com is therapy that available when you need it and there is no need to drive across town. My readers save 20% when they register through my link. Click here to check them out. Instead of putting yourself through an emotional battlefield, make plans to visit the relatives that you really want to spend time with during a time that wouldn’t warrant the whole family getting together.
Seriously, do NOT travel if you do not want to. If the cost of travel, the wear and tear on your body, and mental exhaustion have your stomach in knots and you haven’t even booked your ticket, stop!! Again, seek therapy to find out if your fears are rational or not! Do not make a bad situation worse by forcing yourself to do something that will have a negative impact on your finances, or mental/physical health.
On the other hand, if traveling home for the holidays is really important to you, do it! But don’t act surprised or get upset about any additional pain you may experience or the time your body will need to recover after you return home. Unless you are newly diagnosed, you know by now that living with a chronic illness changes everything. You also know who a disrupted emotional state can increase and trigger flares as well. What you decide to put your body through during the holiday season is up to you and only you are can decide what it is best. With that said, will you be traveling this holiday season? What steps will you be taking to reduce your odds of returning home in more pain? Not sure? Then check out my chronic travel trips!
Whether you choose to travel or not, I wish you a happy holiday season and a pain-free new year!
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Have you visited Disneyland on a holiday such as Thanksgiving or Christmas Day? If you did, did you make reservations at one of their sit down restaurants? If yes, did they have the entrée you had planned to order when you arrived? The reason I ask this is because, my family and I made reservations at one particular restaurant for Thanksgiving and we were shocked to find out that our favorite dish was not available on that day!!! Continue reading to find out what went wrong and how to avoid our holiday mishap!
*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Meaning that at no additional cost to you, I receive a commission when purchases are made via my links. The proceeds offset the expense of running this blog and fund the prize pools for my Facebook groups. I am not affiliated with Disneyland or the Disney company.
Via the official Disneyland app guests can view menus from every walk-up and sit-down restaurant and food cart. They can also make reservations up to 60 days in advance. Reservations can be made through the app, online, or by calling (714) 781-DINE or (714) 781-3463. Reservations are recommended, especially during peak and holiday seasons. As you can see in the picture above, we were able to view what the Thanksgiving special entrée and dessert were going to be as well as view the rest of the menu for Café Orleans. We knew that not everyone in our party would be interested in the Thanksgiving entrée, but felt safe making reservations as there were other dishes that our guests would have been thrilled with. With that said we placed our order……..
So the person who was not looking forward to trying the Thanksgiving Monte Cristo was me!! Sorry, but it just sounded disgusting (get used to this word)….. What I wanted to stuff my face with was their original Monte Cristo. Here is how placing our order went:
My husband: We need two checks. One with a regular Monte Cristo and basket of Pommes Frites and the other with one Thanksgiving Monte Cristo, one regular Monte Cristo, and a basket of Pommes Frites.
Waitress: We don’t have the regular Monte Cristo today.
Me: Is it possible to get the gravy on the side?
Waitress: No
Me: That’s disgusting!
My husband: Could they get the cheese Monte Cristo?
Waitress: Yes.
We were off to a bumpy start, but I let it go since it appeared that I would get to eat something that I liked. By the way, any Monte Cristo from Disneyland is huge and easily feeds 2 people, keep that in mind when ordering. Thankfully this is something that we already knew and didn’t order more than we did for four people. Thinking that the worst of our dining experience was over, we waited patiently for our food to arrive.
Well hello basket of Pommes Frites (garlic, parmesan fries)!!!
OOPS, where’s our second basket??!!!
We requested that both baskets be served prior to our entrees, but our waitress only noted our request on one of the tickets…. so we waited and waited and waited for the second to arrive.
By the way, the fries are delicious and come with a special sauce that has a little kick to it. Personally I am not a fan of the sauce, so I request a side of ranch.
Whew, we all have our fries! Now we can relax, dig into our baskets, and enjoy the rest of our meal when it arrives.
So, what should arrive? A mess!!!! Not one dish was correct!! Even the Thanksgiving Monte Cristo that was ordered was delivered to our table with gravy on the sandwich and on the side!! Then instead of receiving two cheese Monte Cristos, our table was graced with the presence of two more Thanksgiving Monte Cristos with gravy on the side. DISGUSTING!
At this point there was a shift change and our new waitress was stuck with the mess our original one created. She apologized for the misunderstanding, but couldn’t fix it because the Thanksgiving Monte Cristo was the only one being served that day. My heart went out to this girl, first for having to work on Thanksgiving, the second to deal with the mess another cast member created. We had a good laugh and she charged us the lower price of the entrée we had actually ordered. My daughter and brother in-law ended up liking the Thanksgiving Monte Cristo, but I thought it was…. wait for it…. disgusting… LOL….
I did mention to her and the manager that it would be nice if they app and website could inform guests not just of what the holiday dishes are, but what won’t be available on the holiday. Had we known this, we would have made our reservations somewhere other than Café Orleans. Because of this fiasco, we changed our Christmas Day reservations to Carnation Café, where there are plenty of entrees for us to choose from should we not decide to order the Christmas special.
My favorite part of the meal was dessert! Santa’s Lumps of Coal Beignets were amazing!!! You are lucky I snapped this picture before they were gone! The dish came with four beignets and peppermint ice cream.
Do you have any Disneyland holiday dining disasters to share? We’d love to hear about them!! In all of our years of dining in the park, this truly was the worst dining experience we have ever experienced. And this was NOT our first Thanksgiving in the parks, in fact it was our fourth. I get it, mistakes happen, but all of this could have been avoided had the app and/or website noted that the other Monte Cristo versions would not be available on that day. Having a waitress who understood this would have helped too, but………… Anyways, what is your favorite meal from Café Orleans?
I have received many inquiries lately from people who want to see if cannabis could help relieve their chronic pain, but they either don’t live where medical marijuana is legal or it is legal for medicinal use where they live, but they don’t want to sink a fortune into entering their state’s program only to discover it doesn’t help them. Today I am going to share a legal and safe way to find out if adding cannabis to your pain management plan is for you.
The best and most legal option is to plan an extended visit (at least a week) to a state or country that has legalized cannabis for recreational purposes. I say most legal, because in the United States, it is illegal to be in possession of or to consume marijuana on a Federal level. Before you say, hey I can’t afford a vacation, think about this…. A. It is not a vacation, it is a mission to find out if cannabis will improve your chronic pain. B. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Save money by reaching out to friends and relatives that live in those areas and ask to stay with them. C. Think of it as an investment. You either find out that it doesn’t work and you are out that money or it does help and you recoup that money with a better life once you begin at home. We’ll talk more later about how to make the trip more cost effective, but for now let’s figure out where to go!
Here is a list of the states and countries that have legalized cannabis for recreational purposes as of the publication of this post:
Alaska
California
Colorado
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Nevada
Oregon
Washington
Northern Mariana Islands
Canada (Click here to learn more about Canada’s cannabis laws)
While recreational use is legal in the District of Columbia and Vermont, neither allows it to be sold so I would not consider either as options.
When considering where to go, keep a couple of things in mind. If you don’t do well in cold climates, don’t visit Alaska or Michigan in the winter. If extreme summer heat, we’re talking triple digits, increases your pain, don’t book a trip to Vegas during the summer. Another thing to consider is, who do you know there? Do you have friends or family that are cannabis connoisseurs? Going into a dispensary for the first time can be an intimidating experience when you are new it. Not only can they accompany you, they can also help you choose products.
Disclosure: I am NOT a medical professional and I am not issuing medical advice. This post contains some affiliate links. Meaning that, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission from sales. The proceeds offset the expense of operating this site and fund the giveaways for my Facebook groups.
Once you have chosen your destination, you need to figure out where you are going to stay. The most affordable would be to stay with friends or family. Just make sure that they know why you are visiting and what you are planning on doing while there. Not everyone wants cannabis in their homes. Don’t be a douche, respect your hosts and if they are cannabis connoisseurs be sure to share! Another perk of staying with someone who partakes regularly, they can help you not freak out when the high hits and help you decrease the high if you try too much.
My second suggestion is to book an Airbnb that allows smoking, if you are choosing to try it in that manner, or book through a cannabis tour service. Note that Airbnb does not have a policy against the possession or consumption of cannabis.
Here are a few cannabis lodging services/tours to help you on your mission.
Have a cannabis travel business and would like to be listed in this post? Email The Disabled Diva to ask how at admin@thedisableddiva.net
Your last and least favorable option if you are planning on smoking would be a hotel/motel. Most have no smoking rules and most state recreational cannabis laws prohibit smoking cannabis in public places such as a smoking area. Anyways, there are other ways to try cannabis that doesn’t include smoking…. and I will cover that next week along with how to find the products you want to try.
One last thing to think about….. If you are traveling to try cannabis, do not purchase more than you think you will consume while there. It is federally illegal to transport cannabis over state/country borders. This includes all modes of transportation, including air.
California medical marijuana patients!! Although any resident can purchase cannabis for recreational use, having your medical recommendation allows for you to have access to stronger meds, to possess more, and o spend less than those who are purchasing for recreational use. Click here to get your California rec online today! New and renewals! New Yorkers, renewals and new certifications, click here to get yours online today!
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