Celebrate The Small Things -- Oct 31

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

How about we celebrate Halloween?!  I have such wonderful memories of trick or treating when I was a kid.  Last year I made myself a TARDIS shirt for myself (Doctor Who reference) so I could be dressed up while I passed out candy.  I love seeing all the kids in the neighborhood, especially the really little ones.  My husband went and picked up candy yesterday afternoon, and I'm hoping that he got some of the good chocolate ones, so I can munch in between door bell rings :)

Happy Halloween and Happy Weekend!

This is a picture of my daughter for her second Halloween...the first one that she could actually go trick or treating.  The Hershey Kiss is still my favorite costume yet!  I still can't believe that she's now in high school!

What are you celebrating? 

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Celebrate the Small Things -- Oct 24

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

The biggest thing we are celebrating this week is FOX...as in the channel.  I don't know what happened, but we lost FOX a couple of months ago.  Since we don't have cable, we rely on our Roku box and an actual antenna that is set up in the attic to watch tv (we're so old school).  Our antenna provides us with "regular" channels (i.e. CBS, NBC, ABC).  Last night, while my husband was channel surfing, he discovered that we miraculously have FOX back...and in the middle of the World Series.  You must understand one thing...my husband is a baseball fanatic...a serious crazy man when it comes to baseball.  Getting this channel back during the world series is like a gift from God.  Peace and joy can now, once again, reign in our house. 

I'd also like to celebrate my acupuncturist.  She is a wonderful healer who works wonders sometimes when it comes to my aches and pains.  The past couple of weeks have been hard on my body because of the drastic temperature changes (read more about this here).  I feel very blessed that I have an all natural alternative to western pharmaceuticals.

On a lighter note, I'm also celebrating my two new nail polishes that I got for a steal!  I was back at Walgreens this week and picked up a Wet n' Wild polish on sale for $1, and found another polish on the clearance rack that was priced at $2.12.  When the clerk rang me up, he asked if I would like to use my Walgreens rewards.  Um, yes please!  So I had $3 taken off my order.  BAAM!...two awesome new nail polishes for 12 cents!

Happy Weekend!

What are you celebrating? 

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Voodoo Dirt Helps Arthritis

The drastic temperature changes over the past couple of weeks have been especially hard on my shitty bones, causing my arthritis to kick into overdrive and make me ache all over.  It will be 70 during the day, and drop to the 40's overnight.  Imagine if you took a hot glass straight from the dishwasher and put it in the freezer...it would shatter, right?  Well, my body seems to react with a similar anger to the temperature change.

This past weekend I barely made it out of bed because I was in so much pain.  Luckily, over the past couple of days, the temperature seems to have evened out a bit, although now I'm dealing with the achiness that comes with all this stupid rain!  My acupuncture treatment today has already granted me some relief...thank God.  God bless my acupuncturist...she is a true healer.  I asked for some herbs to help over the next couple of weeks and she gave me this concoction.

I have to take three small teaspoons a day, before meals. The taste is pretty terrible, and it looks like dirt, but all the herbs I've taken in the past have helped.  Let's hope I'm as lucky again this time around!

Here's a closeup of the ingredients:

Don't ask me about the ingredients...the only ones that are recognizable to me are cinnamon and licorice!  But if this bottle of voodoo dirt helps...then bring it on!

Have you ever eaten or taken anything out of the ordinary just to help you feel better?

Celebrate The Small Things -- October 17

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

The first thing I'm celebrating this week is new nail polish.  My daughter and I stumbled upon a new, inexpensive brand of polish while at Walgreens the other day.  And they were on sale for $1...so we got a handful.  In case anyone out there is a nail polish loony like me, here are the colors from left to right:  Sinful Colors brand Boogie Nights--a coral, Sugar Sugar--a shimmery maroon red, Bali Mist--shimmery lilac, You Just Wait--shimmery pale pink, and Midnight Blue--a royal blue color. 

 

And let's be honest, that blue is very close to being TARDIS blue (this is a Doctor Who reference for all who don't get it.  And if you don't get it, please stop reading and head on over to Netflix or Amazon Prime and get watching!).  If you've ever read my "About Me" page (you probably haven't, but that's okay), then you know that TARDIS blue is one of my favorite colors.  So, currently this is what I'm wearing...

The best part for me about nail polish is that it doesn't really matter what kind of health I'm in, I can still jazz up the fingers.  I remember my grandma letting me polish her nails every now and again.  It doesn't matter your age, your weight, your health, or your money situation (I mentioned the $1 price tag, right?), almost everyone can feel pretty with newly manicured nails...even if they are short and stubby like mine.

Of course, since they were so cheap, I went back yesterday and got a couple more...and since I was already there, I picked up a few more polishes that were on sale :)

 

Left to right: Sinful Colors Basecoat and Folly--a magenta.  Sally Hansen's Cinny Sweet--a shimmery cinnamon red, Insta-dry top coat, and Chic Pink--shimmery light melon.  I normally don't wear a basecoat, but the light pink color I picked up doesn't have a lot of color payoff.  I'm hoping that it will show up better with a basecoat...and if not, I'm only out a couple of bucks.  Actually, I think Walgreens has a good return policy...I may have to check on that.

I'm also celebrating finding a new orthodontist for my son.  My daughter is done with braces and is in the 'wear retainers for life stage' (yes, that's a thing), but my son is really just at the beginning of his journey with orthodontics.  We haven't been too happy with our current doctor, so finding a new one is one of those things I can cross off my "to do" list.  And the best part is that the new guy is only five minutes away...thank heavens!  What nobody ever tells you about the orthodontist is that you need to go every 5-6 weeks when you have braces or any other appliances in your mouth (my son currently has expanders).  That's a lot of visits, and it will be so much easier now that we won't have to travel a few towns over.  I've actually sat in traffic for over an hour, for what is normally a 20 minute car ride!  Ugh!

 

Happy Weekend!

What are you celebrating? 

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Celebrate The Small Things -- Oct 10

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating Skype.  I got to Skype chat with my brother yesterday and witness my niece farting on my brother...then she giggled and told my brother, "I tooted on you!".  Priceless :)

Happy Weekend!

Do you Skype chat with family?  Or use Facetime or Oovoo? 
 
What are you celebrating? 

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

I Really Hate The Dentist

Yesterday I had my scheduled cleaning at the dentist, and I hated every minute of it!  Sorry Doc!  I have to say, that since switching to my new dentist about a year and a half ago, I do love my new dentist.  She is very nice and super gentle with me.  No pain when I have my cavities filled.  Even the kids love her.  BUT, I still hate the whole experience.

The scraping on my teeth...the stupid lead apron for x-rays...the x-ray thingies that are too big for my mouth...the polisher that sounds too much like the drill...the grittiness of the polishing cream...the man-handling of my tongue...must I go on?  Just about the only thing I like about my semi-annual cleanings is the super cool sunglasses that are provided for me so my eyes don't get blasted by the crazy bright light that they shine in your face.  *note to self: take a selfie next time with the sunglasses :)

Also, did I mention the amount of antibiotics that I have to take before my appointment?  Yup.  Once you've had an artificial joint (and I now have 6!), the ADA recommends that you pre-medicate before your appointment to minimize the risk of infection.  How this all works, I don't know.  I just do what I'm told and swallow 4 horse pills an hour before my appointment.  Oh joy.  I felt sick to my stomach all day yesterday because of the stupid pills!  And when I go back in three weeks for my filling (of course, I have a cavity), I get to pre-medicate at that time as well.  I'm really looking forward to that day...not!  I'll probably end up taking a Xanax for that appointment since just the sound of the drill raises my blood pressure and gives me anxiety.

So, while I finally have a dentist that I'm comfortable with, I still pretty much hate the whole thing. I have all the usual things that many people don't like about going to the dentist...and I have the whole antibiotic craziness to deal with too.

Anybody out there hate going to the dentist as much as I do?

Celebrate The Small Things - Oct 3 - Girly Stuff!

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating a couple of girly things...shoes and makup!

First, my search for a pair of shoes that I can wear with my custom fit orthotics (and are not sneakers) has resulted in these!

Yes, they cost me $135...but considering that this is my second pair of shoes that I wear, I'll take it.  It's always been hard for me to find shoes because I'm a size 5.5, with a bit of a wider foot.  And now that I have my orthotics, this has made things even harder since I need to find shoes with a removable insole to accommodate them.  Next, I sort of need a bigger shoe...and this doesn't always mean a size bigger.  My new boots ended up being a great fit because I got them in a size 6, but they don't feel too long, probably because of the orthotics.  I ordered a pair of cute Clarks shoes, but I had to return those because when I put my custom inserts in I couldn't get my foot in the shoe...at all!  I think Clarks tend to run a bit small and narrow and just may not be good for my feet...too bad since they were really nice shoes.  Anyway, I'm really happy with my cute new boots!  (For anyone looking to order shoes that are orthotic -friendly, I ordered from onlineshoes.com --they have a great return policy and a wide selection.  Click here for the boots I ordered).

Second thing I'm celebrating is my new makeup palette (from coastalscents.com) that I got on sale at 50% off...and I had an additional $5 off coupon!  Total cost:  $5 for a 20 eyeshadow set!  So proud of my frugal shopping!  (As I'm re-reading this for editing purposes, I'm cracking up at the frugal comment...right after I just told you that I spent a fortune on my boots! LOL)

(The bottom picture has both the Revealed 1 & 2 palettes, just to compare both.)

Happy Weekend!

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Adventures In Ginger Root

Ginger root is a natural anti-inflammatory and has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries.  I was advised in the past, by my acupuncturist, to make a ginger tea to help with aches and pains.  She recently has shown me another way to use this root.

My daughter, the softball player that she is, has hurt her shoulder again.  Anybody who has kids knows how difficult it is to get them to eat/drink things that they are not thrilled about...hence, no ginger tea magic for her.  I was advised to, instead, use the root topically. Here's how you do it...

Get yourself some ginger root. It's usually in the grocery store by the garlic or potatoes, and only costs a few dollars.

Cut up your ginger...no need to wash it or peel it.  Just cut it up all willy nilly, any which way you like.  Then place your pieces in a cheesecloth.  I use a kitchen towel because I don't have cheesecloth :) You could also use an old t-shirt if you like.

Microwave it for about 1 minute. Your results may vary depending on how powerful your microwave is. You want it to be hot, but not too hot that it will burn your skin.

Pinch your towel closed (I didn't do this before I zapped it because I didn't know how my chip clip would do in the microwave) so the ginger is contained.

Apply to where you have aches/pains as you would a heat pack.  You can reuse and reheat the same ginger pieces a few times before you need to discard them.  Enjoy!

Have you ever used ginger root either topically or ingested?  Did you find that it helped in any way?

**As always, consult your doctor for medical advise. I'm not a medical expert of any kind, just a person who is always on the lookout for easy peasy pain relief.