A Few of my Favorite Things...

Yes to Carrots Gloss, Lip Tints,and Lip Butter

So that’s technically 3 different products but I love them all! I posted abut them here a few months ago, but they’re definitely on this list and I've added a few colors since then. I love that they are paraben free and free of other nasty chemicals and the color options are nice (ready red is my fav)! I’ve been layering my tints to get one of a kind colors and I’m sold on all of their products I've tried so far.

 Homemade Brown Sugar and Honey Facial Scrub

I posted about this in this post a few months ago. I still use it regularly (as you can tell, I need to refill my honey container!) and love how it makes my skin feel and look afterwards.

 

Scentsy Warmer

I just got mine last month and I love it! There are so many scents to choose from and I love not having a flame to worry about. I don't have to stay in the same room and I can take a nap while it produces a nice scent. I can't wait to try more scents :) If you've tried one, do any of you have favorite scents? I've just tried these three so far...

Microwaveable Heat Pad

I love these. I have one at work and just got one more to have at home in addition to my plug-in head pad. They can shape to be used wherever there are aches/pain, they're so easy, just takes 1.5 minutes or so to warm up and I like it better in most cases than my plug in pad. If you have a need for one, I recommend it! I got mine at Kohls and Bed, Bath and Beyond. I also gave my dad one for Father's Day!

Physicians Formula Organic Wear Foundation and Powder

At some point, I’ll do a post about my fav beauty items and the foundation is definitely a new favorite of mine. It has great coverage (especially used with the powder, which I've been using for a while), no parabens or nasty chemicals. I haven’t been able to find the liquid foundation in a store so am ordering it online for now – if anyone happens to find it at a store, please let me know!

Snuggie

That’s right, I love my Snuggie. And I'm crazy enough to post a photo of me wearing it ;) Seriously though, it’s so comfy, big enough for no limbs to stick out and get cold, and the shape meets my needs in a blanket.

 

Vitamin E Oil

 I bought this when I burned my arm on the oven a few months ago to help with healing. I read it can help and I do believe it's helped. It's also supposed to help with stretch marks and other types of skin healing. Most days, I add about 1/2 tsp or so to the palm of my hand, add some of my body lotion and use it as a moisturizer and I love it! It's so hydrating and doesn't have crazy additives in it.

What are some of your favorite things? Do any of these top your list? 

The Reality

I had my checkup doctor appointment at the Pain Center today along with a pre-screening appt for physical therapy. I guess I haven't written yet that after my evaluation a few weeks ago, they recommended a "FIT" class meaning Focused Interdisciplinary Treatment offered at their Pain Center. It is a 4-week program two days per week. Thankfully, my work is going to be flexible with my hours so I can make that program work. It has 3 components - 1 hour of relaxation training and biofeedback, 1 hour of physical therapy, and 1 hour of group education classes. I have to admit I am slightly apprehensive about the physical therapy helping since I've tried two "rounds" of it already, but I do also know different techniques may affect me differently and I'm hoping this time it really helps.

So on to today's appointment - in the physical therapy pre-screening, she had me move my body in different ways to help see any limitations and she also had me flex certain body parts and try to withstand her force trying to make it move. She determined that my hip flexor and upper back/shoulders are my weak areas that we can put more focus on during physical therapy sessions. She also confirmed tight muscles in various areas of my body.

After that appt, I met with the doctor. He has been in local magazines/articles about good doctors in this area and appears to be a well respected doctor in the pain management field. My appt was scheduled for 10 minutes with him which confirmed in my mind that he's a man in high demand! He was very nice and I wish I could've talked with him longer, but here are the main take aways from the conversation:

     He increased (doubled) the dose of my pain medication, Neurontin

     Switched me from Cymbalta to Savella (it's supposed to be cheaper...)

     Encouraged me to walk/do cardio 25 - 30 minutes 4-5 nights each week. (Ahhh!)

He said the two treatments for fibromyalgia that have been shown to help are exercise and pain medication and he thinks I'll really see results from exercising more since endorphins are released with good cardio and as a bonus, it can help build my muscles. Hopefully Nick will help me walk more, it's hard to add that (or anything really) into our nightly schedule with how tired I am at night, but we've got to make it work. He did also say that he looked through my records my family doctor sent over and with all of my X-rays and labs coming back normal, he does also believe I do have fibromyalgia.

I left the office feeling a bit down to be honest. I think it's just hard to soak up the reality that I have to take more medications and do more to try to reach my goal of being pain free. As you've seen from other posts about this, I know that everything will work out in the end and I know God has a plan for my life, but tonight the reality just hits harder again that I can't take a magic pill and make this all better. I was hoping (dreaming really...) he'd be able to offer a quick fix that would rid this pain forever, but the reality is that it's just not that easy. I'm going to have to work at this every day, even when my energy is low and my body aches, I'm going to have to pull myself up and do what I need to do to get better.

As hard as this is physically and emotionally for me, it's just as difficult for Nick to see me go through. Most nights, he comes home to his napping wife, and most mornings he wakes me and reminds me to turn on my heat pad because he knows it usually helps me before work. He helps me remember to take my medications at the end of the day, and gives me many back/neck massages each week.The past few weeks, he's made many trips to the pool with me because it helps give some relief to my shoulder muscles. He tirelessly cares for me, gets things done around here even when I'm not able to help much, and with no clear end in sight for this pain, it can wear on both of us. He remains a positive force, encouraging me that we'll get through this once day at a time. I am so incredibly thankful for him and his selfless love. I have the greatest family and friends I could've imagined - thank you for all of your continuous love and prayers!

My Thrifting Jackpot

Many of you know that I am a "sale shopper". I love a good deal and clothes are the hardest for me to pay full price for (aside from the $100 jeans I bought in high school.. it pains me to write it, I was desperate for jeans that fit!). Anyway, this week, I was introduced to an awesome thrift store in Fort Worth called Double Exposure (nice name, isn't it?) that carries nice, newer, slightly used items. Items that are donated that don't meet their standards are given to Salvation Army. This place keeps the best of the best, makes money for a local charity, and I'm pretty sure is my new favorite store.

Check out my stash!

I'm so excited about my new items, and best of all, they were affordable! If anything happens to them or if I grow out of them, no biggie since they were such great prices. The shirt in photo 3 may be my favorite item of the day, but I'm excited about all of them really. I'm looking forward (can't contain my excitement really) to going back and getting more bargains!

Check out my good friends' blog post here about her estate sale purchases, she got some incredible buys! One man's [older items] are another man's treasure! I'm glad to allow these clothes to live on and see more good days :) 

Have you found any treasures lately? Please share!

My New Obsession

Ok so obsession is a strong word, but I have been spending a lot of time this week on a website I FINALLY checked out after numerous friends had "invited" me to join the site. It's called Pinterest. It's really a collection of images you can "pin" to your "board" - an online bulletin board. It helps you get a sense of what you like and see what your friends - or strangers - are liking too. 

It has given me many ideas of things I want to make! Crafts, baked goods, accessories, etc. It's worth checking out and an Iowan started the site which is pretty cool too. Here are a few of the boards I've made so far (some photos below are small and won't stay where I want them, but you'll get the idea).

Home Likes

 

Jewels

 

Retreat

 

 

 

 

Stylista

 

Goods I need to bake

   

Flavah

   



At this point, you have to be invited to join, so feel free to leave me a comment and tell me your e-mail address if you'd like me to invite you.