Our trip to Curaçao turned out to be the dreamiest vacation we’ve ever taken. I suppose a colorful, tropical island with hints of Europe is easy to fall in love with. I spent so much time putting together this 10 day Curaçao itinerary because I did not want to miss out on a single thing Curaçao had to offer. However, having lupus and a six month old baby did limit the trip in some ways. Before all this we would create overflowing itineraries, […]
Year: 2018
A Fall Walk Around Lake Lure.
Heading to Lake Lure in late October was my fourth failed attempt over the past year to see stunning fall colors in the North Carolina mountains. Since we are fortunate to live just one and a half hours drive from the internationally known Lake Lure, I will have plenty of chances to keep trying (it’s certainly a great excuse to road trip into the gorgeous western North Carolina region). And, even though the leaves weren’t on fire, the walk was […]
A Lupus Flare and a Teething Baby.
For the first five months, my baby has been an easygoing, dream baby. He has slept 12 hours straight through the night almost every night since he was six weeks old. In fact, he slept so well that from week eight to 12 my husband had to wake him up at night to ensure he consumed enough milk overall (a newborn shouldn’t sleep for more than around four hours without eating). He is one of the happiest and sweetest babies […]
The Dangers of High Blood Pressure.
This post on blood pressure is sponsored by Aeroflow in collaboration with Chronic Illness Bloggers. As always, all opinions remain my own and were not influenced by the sponsor. Do you know what your blood pressure is? When was the last time it was measured? The first time that someone told me I had high blood pressure, or hypertension, was about three years ago. I was at my OBGYN’s office getting checked in for my annual exam, and the woman […]
Lupus and Pregnancy in the Third Trimester.
The third trimester of my pregnancy didn’t have nearly as many sweet spots as the second trimester, unfortunately. It turned out to be quite difficult. Of course, lupus and pregnancy mixed together is never going to be easy. I was able to cope fairly well with most of the issues I encountered until the last two weeks – at that point I was just outright miserable. In this post I’ll be sharing about my medical care, lupus symptoms, and pregnancy symptoms. In […]
Things to Do in New Bern, North Carolina.
A trip to New Bern is absolutely one of the best things to do in North Carolina. This beautiful and historic riverfront city, located in the coastal region of North Carolina, has plenty of fun activities to choose from. New Bern is the second oldest town in North Carolina and its European influence is obvious in the architecture and walkable downtown. It was settled by a group of German and Swiss immigrants, including some from Bern, Switzerland (hence the name). […]
Signs That You Need a New Rheumatologist.
Choosing a new rheumatologist was relatively easy, but getting a referral, finding an office that would accept my referral, and then actually getting in to see the doctor was quite difficult. I started trying to find a new rheumatologist after only three appointments with the one who diagnosed me with lupus. In fact, I almost walked out of my third appointment with him after waiting 2.5 hours to be seen – the only reason I didn’t walk out is because I […]
Walking Along the Rose Route in Hildesheim, Germany.
We were able to stop in Hildesheim for just a few hours on our way to Hamburg, Germany in August 2016, although the lovely city certainly deserved more of our time. I had developed a deep wanderlust for German cities that were full of half-timbered houses and so Hildesheim had quickly risen to the top of my must-see list. Walking along the rose route in Hildesheim was a bit inadvertent, however. I had planned a walking tour for our visit and it just […]
The Second Trimester of Being Pregnant with Lupus.
It turned out to be true for me that the second trimester was the sweet spot of pregnancy. A lot of my first trimester symptoms faded or disappeared entirely and I didn’t experience many new or intense pregnancy woes until the second trimester was nearing its end. Being pregnant with lupus meant that it wasn’t completely smooth sailing, of course. I had more doctor’s appointments, medications, and potential complications compared to the average pregnant woman, and I’ll share them all here along […]
Hiking Humpback Rocks in Virginia.
I discovered Humpback Rocks because it happened to be within walking distance from the luxury yurt we chose for our anniversary trip. I saw a few striking photos of it while browsing through the listing for the yurt and figured it would be the perfect local adventure to tackle during our vacation this past December. Humpback Rocks is a massive rock formation with an elevation of 3,080 feet. It’s near the peak of Humpback Mountain and its name reflects the bulge […]