#SEBestLife

What's up #SEBfamily? I know we haven't talked in awhile, so I wanted to just stop in to check-up and check-in with all of you! Did I mention I'm currently living on the Island of Lanzarote in Spain? Well if you didn't know, now you do! :@). I can say there's like a gazillion reasons why I made the decision, but the only one that really matters and would be the truth is, it is what was best for me! I won't live in Spain forever, in fact it is my goal to travel to as many countries as I can this year and in my lifetime. Live as a global citizen, on a budget, of course. My ticket to Europe was $140 USD, pretty ridiculous right? If you know any of the Spoonie Essentials Box back story, then you know my nick name is "Inspector Gadget" because of my mastery of googling things. Lol. Really I just have insomnia so I have more time than most people to look things up, but really you can find some incredible deals online that are not available in-perso...

    Hi, My name is Andrea, one year ago today I was diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancer. It has been a long year of ups and downs.  Too many new doctors and more procedures than I would want to recall. If I had to list what was the hardest to deal with this past year, it would be self-advocacy. Several times throughout the year, I was made to feel that I had  no  right to question my doctor’s treatment plan. I had no right in the decisions, the decisions that my body was going to have to go through. I learned to question my doctors.  Not because of my mistrust. I questioned them because the course of treatment with the best outcome; was not in my best interest. My treatment plan was based on my insurance coverage. Today we live in a world where doctors get paid more for the pharmaceuticals they sell. Certain procedures performed bring in a higher reimbursement for the doctor.  This is a big factor in chemotherapy....

In order to love others, we must first love ourselves. Happy Valentine's Day #SEBfamily, may you spread love to everyone in your life that you love today, especially yourself!  Xo SEB

Like seriously? What's so wrong with staying in? Where have we come as humans where people who stay in and do not participate in social activities for health reasons are shamed? Like wow right. I mean I won't lie, for awhile I bought into it too. I used to think  “Staying in Fu**ing Sucks” whenever I'd log on Facebook and see all these updates from my friends who were still busy living their lives while I was "stuck" inside. What I’ve learned on the journey back to truly being me though, is that you have to to learn to adjust and adapt. That’s it. T hrough the process of loving myself and truly finding my happiest version of myself, I just learned to adjust and adapt my perspective. Let me explain. I used to be so hung up on where I “went” or “wasn’t able” to go that I missed the point. Spending time with people who matter to you or even spending time with yourself is the point. If you don’t fully understand what loving yourself completely means you ...