Archive | June, 2019

Health Update June 2019

28 Jun

When I go to write these health updates, the very first thing I do is pull out my phone and go to my notes. Where I’ve faithfully – or not- kept a log of how I’ve been feeling. Then I’ll email that log to myself and copy and paste it below my Overall Health section… (the wonders of technology that makes that so simple). Well. When I just searched for it, apparently I didn’t put down one day in my log for this month. Not even one day! So, I’m having to rely completely on my memory for this post. Which should be interesting…

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Overall Health: I hesitantly say that I’m doing better than I was at last month’s update. Overwhelming fatigue and visual auras still command much of my attention though.

Migraine:  Thankfully, I haven’t had  more than one turn into a nuclear migraine but there have been several that have wanted to. Mostly, the pain level gets to an 8. And hovers. There have been several days that I didn’t need a clonidine until later in the afternoon, and others where I was taking one right after getting up (and all through the day) and yet nothing would touch the pain.

Sleep:  I’m hitting 6 to 7 hours a night, with at least 3 wakings. Majority of them I need the ice pack on the pillow.  But there was about a week where I barely needed the ice pack.

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Memory/Brain Fog:  This has improved a little I think.

Vision: The auras just don’t want to go away this month. Most days I have a vague sense that my vision is off somehow and others, I get the more intense colors/blur/black spots. Thankfully so far this month, I haven’t lost sight in my left eye at all.

TMJ:  This is about the same as last month although since I’ve been randomly falling asleep during the day (this means without my night guard), my jaw is tenser and my teeth ache a little more. Other than carrying my night guard around with me, I’m not sure how to help this.

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Fatigue: I can’t even tell you how much this has decreased you guys. Partly because it would be hard to describe that change and yet get across how much it is still affecting me -and like I’ve mentioned above, I’m taking almost daily naps. Most of them are right after dinner (picture me dragging myself from table to couch without cleaning up from the meal type of tired).

Fibromyalgia:  Even with cheating last week, this hasn’t been near too terrible. I still have my left side (especially my calf) aching/cramping/burning pain fairly regularly but the intensity has eased.

Weight Loss: Minimal

Mood: I’m very pleased to report that this has mellowed out again and I’m certain it’s because I started back up on Xiao Chai Hu Tang. Remind me to stay on these chinese herbs. It’s worth it.

Digestion:  We’re staying at my normal! Which, is clearly not what it should be but I’m okay with it for now.

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SO. I’d like to state the reason for my improvements for this month.

We took me off the doxycycline. The day before I went in to my doctor, it hit me that I’d been feeling awful for 6 weeks. And I’d been on the doxy for….6 weeks. My body just couldn’t handle it. You know what else has disappeared? The rash all over my face.

I am still taking the NP Thyroid and believe that it’s helping my fatigue.

It’s been a slow battle coming back from being on that antibiotic and I’m thankful that I’m getting back to how I felt before. Of course, it’s frustrating that I fell that far downhill but I’m glad I tried it because now we know. 

As of the 24th, I started LDN’s (low dose naltrexone)- we’re targeting my migraines with this. I’ve been told that they are tolerated very well. We’ve started me out at 0.5mg and are going to slowly increase the dose til I reach 4.5mg (which is the standard dosage). I had to really force myself to do this – after such a strong reaction to the antibiotics, I really just wanted to curl up and lick my wounds. But I knew that that wasn’t the right decision. I can’t waste any more time that I could potentially be getting well, just to get over fear. Sometimes, that’s the right choice. But this time, I knew I had to push myself and just try it.

Because I can’t even imagine life without migraines. I’ve been having them since I was…18 or 19. To go through a day, two days, a week! without one… Ahhh, what a thought. And if we can get these to go away/ or just minimize them, we believe that some of my other pains will ease as well.

So here’s to being bold and trying new things in the slow journey to health.

~Laura

 

 

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War Torn Heart Book Review

18 Jun

I have another book review for you today! There’s something fun about just reviewing one book in a post. I’m able to expand on what I thought of it, which obviously, talking about books is one of my favorite things.

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War Torn Heart by Allison Wells is set in South Carolina as the rumors of war are starting. Abigail Walker is sixteen and set to enjoy her last summer as more a girl than young woman but then she meets Harvey Nicholas. As a cadet at Celmson College, he’s as far from her world as he could be. But sparks fly and Abigail happily spends her free time with Harvey. As summer progresses, they fall in love.

When the rumors, and then the reality of war, reaches their quiet small town, Abigail is worried that Harvey and her brother are going to go running off into it. And when Pearl Harbor is bombed, that’s exactly what happens. Both young men are eager to protect their loved ones.

Neither of them are prepared for the tragedy and cost of what the war will bring. It will test their love, loyalty and faith. If they let it, they will grow to be men and women of faith and endurance.

But will Abigail be able to hold onto what she knows is right and true in the midst of it all?

~I was so excited about this book. Plus, I mean, look at that cover. Go ahead. Scroll back up and look at it. I’ll wait. Isn’t it just perfection? I love when a cover just hits the nail on the head. I’d never read anything by Wells before, so like I said, I was excited to dive into this war-time coming of age story. 

I did end up enjoying this book, I want to start with that, okay? There were some places in the story that just dragged too much or I felt that the story line was rushed where I would have loved to have more details. I greatly enjoyed seeing Abigail grow up through the trials. She went from a young woman of girl-ish beliefs to a woman that had been through struggles and come out knowing who she was in her faith. The heartbreak in the book was – so- heartbreaking – it – hurt. There were twists and turns that I was impressed with. While the ending did seem a bit abrupt, it was sweet. 

There were some things I didn’t like about it, but mostly they are more of a personal problem that I have when they are in ANY book. The statements that most any young girl will make/think but that, as they grow, they realize just aren’t true. Statements about God, mostly. I would have loved to see Wells work in the fact that Abigail learned how incorrect her assumptions in those areas were.  

Like I started out with, I did end up enjoying this book. Will I read it again? It’s a mix of maybe and probably. It was a sweet story overall and the setting of the war is one that I don’t read a lot of. I wouldn’t recommend it for younger readers unless an adult has pre-read it for them because there is some mild content that was a bit more than I can recommend for young readers. As well as some aspects of their relationship that while it is real-life accurate, can come across as completely acceptable. (which clearly, I don’t think is.)

While covering different genres, I do not read anything that has blatant sexual content. I will tell you if there is any sort of such (typically very mild and delicately put) in them and if I don’t think they’d be appropriate for young/teenage readers.

~Laura

*I did receive this free for my personal opinion and review from Ambassador International*

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I Tried FlyLady for a Month. Here’s What I Think

11 Jun

 

In the beginning of May I started reading up on a cleaning system. It’s called the FlyLady Cleaning System.

“FlyLady is a support and self-help group that offers advice to help people with housekeeping, founded by “The FlyLady”, Marla Cilley. … FlyLady’s messages cover topics include clutter, the value of routines, weekly and monthly cleaning, increased self-esteem, and letting go of perfectionism.” – wikipedia

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Photo by Good Soul Shop on Unsplash

Now, I have to tell you that I’m not a naturally messy person – I can’t stand piles of anything laying around. The messier the space around me is, the more stressed out I get. I’m a self-professed clean freak. But.

I’m also chronically ill. And have been for the last 14 years. (*thankfully it’s only been the last @7 years that I haven’t been able to work.)  This means that I am just not able to keep the house at the level of clean that I want to. I wear out so easily and get frustrated that I can’t get to the deep cleaning because I’m struggling to just keep up with the daily.

Day 1 : I’d already prepped the lists to be ready for today. I did the Swish and Swipe, emptied the dishwasher and later in the afternoon, set my timer for 15 minutes. I wiped the counter and sink in the guest bath and then did a quick vacuum of the guest room. Since I still had (almost half) of my time left, I decided to do a quick vacuum of the whole house. I’ve also started a load of towels. I’m pleased with what I got done as I’m still battling fatigue today and a fluctuating migraine. Thankfully, I’ve been working on doing the dishes in the morning anyway so that habit was already started.

Day 2: a day of fatigue and migraine. I did the Swish and Swipe and emptied the dishwasher. Nothing else.

~I was going to keep track of the days but I didn’t… coughcough, but I feel like these two days give a good example of just how it goes. One or two days I’ll do well with hitting the 15 odd minutes of zone cleaning and the next, I’d do nothing. But that’s fine! Those few days I still made progress.

~It’s been over a week since I started the Flylady, but with fatigue hitting me last week as it did, I wasn’t able to keep up with even the Swish and Swipe (a quick scrub of the toilet and wipe of the sink). But, I have been more intentional (when I could be) about emptying the sink of dishes at night and having the kitchen counters clear and wiped off.  The relief in the morning of coming into a decently clean kitchen is definitely worth the extra effort in the evening.

~I’m noticing that I’m more intentional about doing quick wipe downs of things that before I would probably have waited until I was doing a full clean of the area/room.

So, while maybe I wasn’t quite as successful my first week as an unofficial FlyBaby, I’m already benefiting from this cleaning system.

My feelings, three weeks later, are the same. I am finding that I have started thinking about cleaning differently. Instead of seeing a whole room or situation that needs tackled, I am able to focus on one area (like cleaning out and wiping down a side table in the living room) and being proud of myself that I accomplished something. Now, I do want to point out that I did not follow her baby steps. As someone who wasn’t starting from a cluttered house, or from a lack of any sort of cleaning habits, I skipped the baby steps and settled into a wee bit of a morning routine and cleaning in zones. The point of Flylady, that I’ve gathered, is to make it WORK FOR YOU. Go as slow as you need to on her baby steps. Don’t go for perfection. Just jump in wherever they are in the daily emails and join them.

I’ll also add that I’ve not been good about setting the timer for 15 minutes. Maybe it’s because I move at a slow pace and know that if I try to hurry and get as much as possible done in that amount of time, I’ll end up causing my fibromyalgia to flare later, or I’ll just use all of my energy up and be stuck on the couch the rest of the day. So. I move at my own pace, get however much done in a bit of time and stop when I need to.

Now, the website is daunting. Don’t worry about it though. Just sign up for the emails and follow along. Since I didn’t start from the very beginning of Flybaby steps, I click through the email link to the current Zone Detailed Cleaning List and hand write those out. The emails are a bit overwhelming in their amount. But to deal with this, I’m thinking that once I’ve written all the detailed cleaning lists out, I’m going to unsubscribe from them. Once again though, if you really want to try this, don’t worry about it. Just delete the ones you don’t absolutely need in order to do this at your own pace.

As you can see in the first photo, I am not even attempting the evening routines. (you’re encouraged to take each task on one at a time, slowly building up to having these full routines morning and evening). Evenings are when my pain flares, so like I said before, the only thing I try for is to get the kitchen cleaned up. But, I wrote this list out at the very beginning, so I just ignore it now.

The second photo is of zone 3 and for me that means it’s the guest bath, guest bedroom and closet. This is my second time in this zone but apparently I already wiped away the check marks from last month! So sad.

And the third photo is zone 4 and for me that is main bed, bath and closet. It is encouraged that you go from the top of the list down, so that, when you come back to the zone the next month, you can pick up where you left off. And by doing that, you rotate nicely through the room over the months. But, as you can tell, I did what I felt like in the room and left it at that.

I am trying to follow that idea better in the other rooms now, because it does make sense. I even wrote out the list for the dining room from top to bottom cleaning (starting with dusting cobwebs, down to windows and ending with cleaning baseboards and mopping the floor).

What prompted me, as a person struggling with multiple chronic illnesses, to start this? I’ll tell you, The Secret Slob. She’s so fun to watch and breaks this system down into something a bit more understandable and manageable than the website does. Go check out her videos – she’s just finished up a video series of going through the zones with us. This one just might inspire me to fancy up my lists as well.

If you’re struggling to keep up on house cleaning, or are feeling like you’re drowning in clutter, I recommend you giving this cleaning system a shot! And if you do, come back and let me know, I would love to hear about it.

~Laura

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May 2019 Book Review

4 Jun

Now, if you’re wondering by my picture — if I really only read three books in May, no, I read more than that. Double that – plus a few I’m still reading – actually. But, some are part of a series, and one you have to wait a little longer for! You’ll be able to tell that I started and am actually still in, a genre read. It’s been fun pairing light, historical fiction novels with the meatier, slower read of Robert Jordan.

~While covering different genres, I do not read anything that has blatant sexual content. I will tell you if there is any sort of such (typically very mild and delicately put) in them and if I don’t think they’d be appropriate for young/teenage readers.~

Let’s get to it, shall we?

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The Inheritance by Tamera Alexander – Accepting her cousin’s invitation to join them in Colorado was an easy decision, but McKenna Ashford’s real reason lay in the haughty attitude of her younger brother. She is determined to get them a fresh start and hopefully, tame his ever growing wild streak. But life in Copper Creek isn’t what she thought it would be. The responsibilities of an unexpected inheritance threaten her resolve to be independent while offering an second chance, if only she can keep it.  U.S. Marshall Wyatt Caradon never expected to be drawn into such a heartbreaking situation – but something about McKenna pulls him back to Copper Creeek and makes him think of leaving behind his years of living on the trail. Can they both trust again though?

~I don’t know why it took me so long to pull this off of my TBR shelf but it quickly shot up to my historical-fiction-favorites list. It is no secret I enjoy this genre, especially when it’s western-based. But Alexander delivered such a refreshing story – filled with obstacles, tender moments, sweet friendships all with a realism that I appreciated. The morals/life lessons within add depth to the story, helping lend weight to the full plot and well-rounded characters. There really can’t be enough good said about this book! I’m already ready to read it again, honestly. (I can’t though, I’ve far too large of a TBR pile) I highly recommend this heart-wrenching-and-warming novel. 

Libby’s Cuppa Joe by Rebecca Waters – When Sonja Parker receives an inheritance from her grandmother, she buys a popular coffee shop in a small town in Wisconsin’s Door County. She eagerly leaves behind her disappointing city life and settles into the new one of business owner and coffee maker. But she quickly learns that there’s more to owning a business than serving up a good cup of coffee – repairs must be made to the building, and to her heart.  Can she make a go of this new business? And can she find her way back to the God that she’s left behind?

~I received this free in exchange for my honest review and I have to tell you, right now, it’s not a great review. I didn’t connect with Libby at all (her actions/thoughts felt more in line with someone much younger). I made it halfway through the book before giving up on it. And that took at least two weeks to get that far on it. BUT! I’m passing it on to my mom to read and then I intend on giving it another shot. 

Letter Perfect  (California Historical #1) by Cathy Marie Hake – Ruth Caldwell has tried hard to live up to the expectations of her mother. But no matter how hard she tries, she always ends up doing or saying just what she shouldn’t. And she unknowingly steps into another scrape when she travels out to the Broken P Ranch. Josh McCain is stunned to learn that Ruth has a legitimate claim to the ranch, the one he was all set to inherit. His future at the ranch suddenly precarious and as ‘accidents’ around this green-eyed beauty turn sinister, Josh has to decide just who he trusts- and loves.

~Hake is now officially one of my favorite authors in her genre. Of course, I’ve read books by her before but this (and the Gooding series below) have cemented her place in the Favorites category. This is a great first book in the series, although it’s a great stand alone novel. I liked Ruth’s inclination to pitch in and help (even if things don’t necessarily go as planned) and how she gets creative to meet her goals. Even though she doesn’t fit in the mold that society has cast her in, she still is herself. The twists this story took were so unexpected that I kept gasping in surprise and shock! I enjoyed getting to know Gavin O’Sullivan and his family as well (he’s a main character in the second book -review next month!). You definitely should read this one if you are in the mood for a make you laugh and cry faith based novel. 

Serendipity (Only in Gooding #5) and That Certain Spark (#4) by Cathy Marie Hake – Apparently I’m reading this series back to front. But I’m okay with that as I’ve read all of them before. You’ll get a series review when I’m done with them. Trust me though, This series is just as much fun as you hope for.

Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier – click here for a full review of one of my favorite series! I have to add that I showed considerable restraint by only grabbing the first book from the library but when I went back with the intent to get the second one, it wasn’t there! It was probably for the best though, as I am still making my way through Lord of Chaos…

War Torn Heart by Allison Wells- Click here for a separate review!

 

Currently Reading:

Lord of Chaos (book 6 of the Wheel of Time series) by Robert Jordan

Write by Karen E. Peterson, Phd

The Binnies and the Dogs and Cats from Everywhere by Jo Ann Stover

 

To Read:

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King

The Painter’s Daughter by Julie Klassen

and 3 Cathy Marie Hake books I just got from the library =)

As you can see, this has definitely been a month of reading for me! What have you been reading lately?

~Laura

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