Salty Zebra

     I returned last week from a two-week trip celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary.  It was great.  I got to do a lot of things, enjoy beautiful weather, and eat fancy food.  I also overdid it, like every single day.  I keep wanting to think that I've made peace with my physical state and abilities but based on what I sign up for and do, I don't think that's true.  There was a lot of "shoulds" being thrown around in my head.  I "should" be able to enjoy a full day in a Disney World Park if I'm in a wheelchair.  I "should" be able to take down time in the park and not need to go back to the room to rest.  The reality was, spending even half a day in a Disney World Park was too much, even in a wheelchair.  I went into it with a game plan.  I wanted to do as much as we could each day, trying to ride all the rides that my physical condition would allow and see all the different lands.  My husband is a morning person that doesn't requir

      In my opinion, cruising is the easiest way to travel when you have a special diet, and Carnival did not disappoint.  What's important, though, is knowing the best way to navigate dining with a special diet, so I'm here to give you the 411.     Most cruise lines request that you inform them of your dietary needs before the cruise, but Carnival does not.  What they do ask you to do is inform each server you work with about any allergies or special diets.  Their special needs website ( Facilities & Services for Guests with Disabilities | Carnival   > Guests with Dietary Needs) talks about a system called Menu Mate.  I never saw anything like this onboard, nor was it offered to me, but perhaps the crew uses it to figure out what is safe to offer.       Carnival is able to customize many of the menu options for different diets, but they need the request to be put in the day before so you will need to order something off the regular menu the first day.  Thankfully they h

Carnival                                          V S                                 Norwegian      Last week my husband and I set sail on our first Carnival cruise.  He insisted on coming along because of the reputation Carnival has built for wild parties and brawls.  He just didn’t feel safe letting me solo cruise on this one!  I’m happy to report that I didn’t seen a single fight and while the parties have definitely had more energy than on other lines they were not over the top or inappropriate. I did not go out after 10pm though, so things might have been crazier as the night went on.      So, what are the differences between Carnival and the cruise line I have the most experience with, Norwegian (NCL)?  1.       The drinks package is more expensive on Carnival . This is a little difficult to measure exactly but if you just take the surface cost NCL offers their “Free at Sea” promotion which gives you unlimited cocktails bear and wine by the glass. This is not actually free as th

    We've just returned from a four-day cruise on the Carnival Radiance departing from Los Angeles, California and I learned so much about getting around in my new electric wheelchair.  If you're interested in hopping on one of these very affordable cruises and you have mobility issues, you might be wondering if it will work for you.     Carnival has taken many steps to enhance accessibility on the Radiance including: Providing maps with accessibility paths on every floor at the elevator banks (see images below)  They have added in many automatic sliding doors The stateroom hallways are the widest I've seen on any cruise ship They have tables marked for handicap use in restaurants and seats in some lounges In the buffet, staff watch out for people with mobility issues and offer to help When going up and down ramps to enter or exit the ship there were always staff there to help They had a special guest services counter window with a lower, accessible height They had an acces

      I came in here to start writing this post and thought that my app must not have updated because I couldn't believe that my post about the gastroenterologist was the last one I had uploaded. Turns out, when you hear certain things, a bookmark is placed in your life. I've heard about this concept in other arenas before, catalyst points. After them, you see your life as before x, and after x. I was surprised to not see any other posts because so much happened last week, and in my mind I had written several. I think I just felt like I couldn't actually post them here until after I had put them into context. It's funny, I have no readers for this blog at this point, but I was afraid that if I put my news up here before I shared it with my children they might hear about it the wrong way, and it was really important to me to not have that happen.      Last Tuesday I spoke on the phone with the dermatologist office about the results of my biopsy. I had fully expected it t

      I think that picture says it all... So I've been dealing with digestive issues since, well since I was born I think.  Some of it was definitely linked to anxiety and depression, but some of it was just how I was made.  They really came to a head in the fall of 2016. At that point ANYTHING I consumed, even plain chicken broth, had me doubled over in pain.  I kept finding things that helped a little, but they were band-aids at best and in the spring of 2017 I was diagnosed with SIBO for the first time.  There was a host of other issues present as well including a parasitic infection and a lack of digesting protein or fat.  We treated it aggressively with antibiotics, antiparasitics and a whole host of digestive support supplements as well as the most restrictive diet I've ever heard of.  It started off with me being able to eat a chicken breast (baked over a grate so there would be no fat present and with NO seasoning), ground beef cooked the same way, and boiled/pureed car

      This is a picture from Christmas last year.  I can count on one had the number of times it has snowed on Christmas in my life.  Yes, the grass is green, and the snow that came down was sloppy and wet and didn't stick much, but it snowed.  From the time I was a little kid, Christmas has been equated with snow, even though it almost never happens in the Pacific Northwest (at least on the West side of the mountains).  Every year I hope it will snow on Christmas, even if there isn't a snowball's chance in...  Well you get it.  If you asked me, I wouldn't admit it, because sharing my disappointment is so difficult for me.  I think it makes it more real.  If I don't tell you what I hoped for that didn't come about, maybe I can convince myself that I never actually hoped for it in the first place and I don't have to feel the disappointment.       This Christmas season has been a difficult one for me, and until recently, I wasn't even aware of why.  I have