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A Quick Request

Posted on January 6, 2017 by Georgia's Pampering

If you have the time would you please consider signing the following petition for the White House to review at CBD Petition?  CBD stands for Cannabidiol, which comes in two variations.  You can get it “…from medical marijuana plantsor from industrially grown hemp plants.  Both are varieties of Cannabis, but they are grown for different purposes, and each one comes with its own legal status…Cannabidiol from industrial hemp also has the added benefit of having virtually no THC.  This is why it’s not possible to get ‘high’ with our products.   There simply isn’t enough THC.” (via HealthyHempOil.com)

 

Until this past December Hemp derived CBD was legal and helped with a lot of ailments, varying from headaches all the way to Fibromyalgia, and has several options of delivery, such as tinctures or e-vaporizers.  The high CBD is for medicinal use while there’s almost no THC, so it’s not like the users are wanting to get stoned.  This is for people who are searching for alternative treatments for their ailments, and as of December the government has ruled that even Hemp derived CBD is now considered a Schedule 1 Substance (effective January 13, 2017).  You can read the DEA’s ruling HERE.  It was argued that the other parts of the plant has little to no THC, but since it can’t be confirmed that it’s absolutely free of THC, they are including Hemp Derived CBDs in this ruling.

 

I don’t usually get involved in political or governmental stuff, and as a rule it’s on my “no talking about” list, but I’m hoping that the petition gets enough signatures to just get a review at least.  Our government’s views on drugs has grown outdated and maybe a review would help bring a call to action that they be re-educated.  If you don’t agree with this, then delete this post and have a great day anyway.  If you don’t mind taking a few minutes to add your signature a lot of frustrated and hopeless patients will be very thankful.  Either way, thank you for your time and I hope you have a fantastic weekend everyone!  🙂

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Merry Christmas 

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Georgia's Pampering

Merry Christmas to all of those who celebrate and my best wishes to everyone!  I wanted to write a quick little post to share that Santa brought me a diagnosis of hyperplastic polyps instead of stomach cancer, so I’m one happy gal!  🙂 The polyps are benign and none of the others will be removed. We are back to the starting point for figuring out what’s causing my symptoms, but at least it’s not the big C. Thank you so very much to those that gave such incredible support during a tough time and I promise to personally write each of you. It took a bit to process things and then time got away from me. Each of you mean so much to me and are a blessing to have in my life. 

Before I get all mushy, I hope you all have a safe and healthy Christmas!  Don’t forget to pamper yourself a bit once all of the guests go home. 😉

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A Scary Time

Posted on December 4, 2016 by Georgia's Pampering

I’ve debated about writing this post for probably close to two weeks now.  It’s quite simply been a scary time for me and I didn’t know if I wanted to put that vulnerability out there, but as I was saying my daily prayer, which includes a prayer to expand my opportunities and benefit to others, and it dawned on me that this post might help someone out there who is looking up these tags.  Therefore, I’m laying it all out.

 

I have a new doctor that is systematically trying to go through each medication and condition that I have, and trying to find out if I have other underlying conditions that are being masked by these medications or have gone undiagnosed.  After a 20+ year history of taking antacids and preventatives for reflux, which finally got diagnosed as GERD about 5 years ago, she decided to change my preventative, which no other doctor has done since I was diagnosed with an Esophageal Ulcer in my teens (without a GI consult, mind you).  I have just taken whatever works until it doesn’t and then switch, and my long list of doctors couldn’t have cared less as long as I kept them informed as to which medication was currently keeping the reflux, vomiting, and nausea at a liveable level.  She also took me off of my Marinol (synthetic THC), which brought back a fair portion of the nausea and vomiting.  The reflux medication she prescribed didn’t work, just like I told her it wouldn’t, sit I’d tried it 15 years ago, so she changed it to a prescription strength of one that usually works for me and then said there was something else going on that needs to be investigated to be causing this.  Keep in mind she believes in Fibro, treats it, and everything, so she knows it can happen it Fibro, but doesn’t believe it should be so uncontrolled that I need Marinol to keep my symptoms at bay.  She has scheduled me for an endoscopy of the esophagus and stomach.  “We need to figure out what is going on.”  So me being the nerd that I am, especially with the medical background, started researching EGD (the procedure) and then found a lot of articles from reputable sites (as in, the ones that the neuro office used when I worked there) about the causes of symptoms that lead to this procedure.  It turns out I have a lot of risk factors on board and a lot of my unexplained symptoms that the other doctors never paid attention to when I mentioned them were all red flags saying I needed this scope.  Long story short, due to all of my medical history and complications, I have around an 80% chance of having stomach cancer that has gone undiagnosed for at least a little while, if not quite some time.  It could actually explain why my Fibro has progressed so intensely while I was still young and why it is so debilitating now.  It could explain this continual cycle I’m in right now of getting really sick, then seeming to recover, and then starting back over.

 

I don’t react to things like a normal person, I’m the first person to admit that.  There was a reason that I was awesome as a Risk Analyst for HIPAA at the office.  I am that worst scenario kind of girl that usually has pretty bad luck, so I tend to prepare for the worst.  It prevents me from shattering in front of others when I don’t want to (what can I say, I’m an introvert, so I’d rather keep that to myself or apparently share it in writing for the world to see *small laugh*).  Also, if things turn out to be just a little bad, then it’s a big relief and things will be a lot easier to handle.  I HATE being unprepared for anything, but most especially my health, since there are so many parts that, excuse the wording, makes life kind of shitty sometimes, most especially if it’s a new diagnosis that I was blind sided by.  So I’m looking at that 80% chance right now and going off of that.  I did a cross research of survivability of stomach cancer with all of my health issues, which didn’t come up exactly, but came up with enough that left me without a lot of hope honestly.  And before you say it I know there’s at least a 20% chance that it’s something small and fixable, I KNOW, but I’m that other kind of person that prepares for the 80% with 100% failure later.  I’ve kind of distanced myself from it and am just analytical about most of it.  I have a to do list of things that must be done in case I die and I’m working on it.  Some think it’s morbid and it’s hard for others to even imagine doing such a thing, but I’ve had 2 friends die from health issues all ready that were younger than me and let’s face it, my health pretty much sucks.  I don’t try to seem morbid; I’m literally just focused on what I need to do, how to handle things, and it’s my way of coping.  It’s the only thing I’m actually in control of now, if you really think about it.  So I’m working on getting my car title changed to my married name so that my husband won’t have to fight probate for it, I’m working on an instruction manual for the household appliances and cleaning that he has never done, and I’m working on making these the best holidays ever.

 

I want togetherness and happiness, just in case this is my last one.  Hang every ornament while remembering how it came into our family.  Have a deliberate reason behind each gift instead of it just being about commercialism.  Our Christmas tree stays lit almost around the clock because of my love of Christmas lights and we even got a strobe of snowflakes that should be outside, but he kept it inside so I can sit and watch those lights too, and try not to miss too many chances to bask in the comfort of those lights.  This year it’s all about the love of our tiny family.  By Christmas Day I should have my results, since my test is just under two weeks away, but until then, I’m going to keep coping.  I’m also going to keep cherishing every moment with my family, my loving and insane fur babies, and enjoy every little ounce of Christmas cheer that I can.  Maybe we should always act like it’s our last one, since anything can happen.  I know that as soon as I started treating it as such my heart seemed to overflow, feeling too big for my body or soul.  I count my blessings and stop to see the beauty all around me.  And maybe this is the impact that I can share.  While a little bit of my heart is tearing itself apart over the thought of losing those I love, my little life, and the moments I might miss, the rest stays focused and works on my end of life goals because of the love in my life.  I want to protect them if I’m unable to handle these things later.  I love them too much to leave it unresolved and in their lap.  So if you’re going through a really tough time too, focus on the love and let it guide you.  And cope however you need to no matter what anyone else says!  You do YOU and just try to get through this however you can.  And if you feel alone, just reach out.  It can be a relative, a counselor, or even to me.  For me, though, I’m going to do my to do list and then make sure everything is easy peasy for Christmas Day so we can just spend time together and have our grinchy hearts grow two sizes too big from all of the love.  🙂

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Better Days Ahead

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Georgia's Pampering

Hi there!  First, I want to apologize for being away for so long.  I had to take a break from blogging because when I first started this blog I meant for it to always be a fun, uplifting little blog that gave a look behind the scenes of the sometimes crazy bath and body product creative process.  I was in a dark place though and knew that anything I wrote would reflect that, and I didn’t want to spread that.  So I just slipped away for a while.

 

Things got really bad for a few months.  As in, I even considered committing suicide when all of the medical stuff got overwhelming and some personal emotions caused it all to topple over.  Thankfully I was cognizant enough to call my mom and when I said I needed her she was here within minutes and I took some clonazepam to help tame the emotional side.  Between a mother’s love and hugs, and a great sedative, I was able to get through the night and we made some plans for dealing with everything.

 

I was able to track down my former psychiatrist at her new business and was able to get an appointment really quickly.  Within the first few minutes she saw that my medical team had really let me down and took over until I could find some new doctors.  It turns out that I had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism over a year ago and not a single doctor had treated it or even notified me of it.  I actually found it by reviewing my records so that I could provide her with any records that might help her.  She was shocked that no one had treated the condition and immediately prescribed something to help, and it turns out that my Fibro had supposedly gotten so debilitating because I actually had a whole other condition attacking my body!  Basically hypothyroidism means that the thyroid isn’t working right, so it’s not handling the metabolism, hormones, etc., correctly.  Untreated I was gaining weight even when I was unable to eat and was unable to function, since I had no nourishment and my body was in such turmoil.

 

Unfortunately I found a great doctor to add to my team, but he was unable to treat me due to bureaucratic red tape, but confirmed all of my conditions including the IBSD and Hypothyroidism on top of my Fibro, CFS, GERD, and a few others, which is ironic because officially no doctor had told me they diagnosed the IBSD or Hypothyroidism.  Thankfully he sent his recommendation to remain on my pain management system to the upcoming new PCP (primary care) and sent these confirmed diagnoses to them.  So when I went to the new PCP she agreed to prescribe my pain medications, which I was having trouble with my regular medical team refilling and was about to land into the hospital in withdrawals, and that took a huge fear and weight off of my shoulders.  She added a few other medications and agreed with the psychiatrist’s course of treatment.  In a month we will run labs to see how my levels are now doing and will even see about finally getting a referral to an ENT.  I’m actually in a good place with my medical treatment and am doing much better.  Since the thyroid has started to be treated I have actually had energy to do some restorative yoga and household chores that I haven’t gotten done in years!  I had forgotten what it felt like to have energy.  It’s so easy for people to take that for granted, but I’m able to recognize the blessing.  Instead of having one or two good days a month I now have about a week of bad days with the rest of the month being good days!  I still have a lot of problems eating and sleeping, and at times I get wildly hyper.  *laugh*  Thankfully I have also had time to come up with some great business ideas that I’m excited about and will actually have the energy to make some of the ideas!

 

First off, I can’t wait to make chocolate scented brain soaps with strawberry jam drizzled “blood” for the gore and TWD fans, and think they’ll make fun stocking stuffers come Christmas.  I also bought some luster glitters that I can’t wait to try in some soaps and go in the opposite direction to delicate, pretty soaps.  I got a Maple Bacon FO that I am so excited to make in so many molds, including the brains.  *grin*  Don’t you think that brains would smell enticing to zombies?  So why not make some that smell awesome to us too?  Mawahahaha.

 

Anyway, I just wanted to get back into the swing of blogging and wanted to beg your pardon for being away for so long.  By the way, I got an amazing pressure cooker while I was away, too, and since I’ve often posted recipes I considered including my favorite pressure cooker recipes.  If any of you are interested in my posting some of these specialty recipes, please comment so that I know there’s some interest.  In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful day and look forward to sharing some new product info soon!

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My Favorite Things, Part 2

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Georgia's Pampering

Today’s post is going to get somewhat nerdy, so push the glasses into place and get prepared for some electronics.  *grin* I can’t help it; if I’m going to talk about my favorite things, there must be some tech toys!  I promise that all of mine are in the affordable range though, so they truly are favorite things, instead of things I daydream of.  😉

 

 I have several different fans to help cool my heavy duty gaming laptop and I really love my Opolar LC05 Laptop Cooler with Vacuum Fan.  It has several different silicone shrouds for best fit over the exhaust vent, a neat little set up for attaching the unit to the laptop, and boy does it work!  Even at just the second wind speed (out of 13) it will take my laptop from being a bit scalding to the palm to almost cool, in a mere minute! At $25.99 on Amazon Prime it’s a pretty cost effective cooling option, especially for people that need a second (technically third, if you count the on board, of course) source of cooling for gaming laptops.

Opolar

Hold onto your hat, because this next one will probably really surprise you…Tracey Mallett’s The Booty Barre Beginners & Beyond DVD is my next favorite thing.  Despite the belief that people with disabling chronic illnesses just want to lay around, most of us spend a lot of time (plus effort, energy, and money!) trying to find exercises and stretches that work with our limitations.  It’s super easy to get discouraged when five minutes on an exercise bike causes you to be in massive pain and unable to walk for the next 6 days, or ten minutes of learning tai chi causes your muscles to give out and you fall to the floor (let’s not discuss how many injuries one can get from such a small fall! *shaking head*), or a ton of other similar scenarios.  We really miss being able to do things, and (really, really, really) want to lose the weight our medications and limited activity has caused us to gain, but it’s difficult.  I found Tracey Mallett’s work out techniques completely by accident.  She was featured on Hallmark’s Home & Family Show and what was so impressive is that she talked about adjustments that can be made for people that aren’t able to do the regular moves.  She created workouts that she had previously incorporated the Ballet Barre for and made them doable for the home user, but then also gave options such as doing leg exercises from the floor on your hands-and-knees instead of trying to balance on one leg while exercising the other.  Those with limitations really need to utilize the ole timer method when starting this though, because it is so easy to get caught up in the routine and overdo it.  (It’s recommended that we set timers so that we stop our activity and rest, so that we don’t cause damage or extra pain, and we’re supposed to rest for an equal amount of time as the exercise, then.)  Ms. Mallett is encouraging, yet not all excessively excited like most exercise hosts.  Those chirpy folks make me want to strangle them and say very unladylike things to the television.  *laugh* The DVD mentioned is only $16.99 on Amazon, but she also currently has some free examples on YouTube.  It’s definitely worth a shot, especially if you are looking for exercises and stretches that allow accommodations.  And especially if you dream of a little less jiggle when you wiggle.  *wink*

booty barre

These two items are grouped together since they are both Amazon products.  Thankfully I bought both on sale, but they were both worth the investments for me.  First, I have a lot of fun with my Amazon Echo.  We wanted a Bluetooth speaker since I listen to a lot of music and books, plus I stream a lot of programs on my devices, and after a lot of research and discussion we decided that a multiuse workhorse like the Echo was the perfect choice for me.  Yeah, I wrote us first, but realistically, she’s my gadget.  *grin* I love the different skills that are always improving, it’s super handy to have a voice activated device that can give me measurement conversions and timers when my hands are busy or covered in product when I’m making soaps and lotions, and she is actually a really great Bluetooth speaker.  I can move her all over the house easily and it’s a breeze to sync her with nearly every device I own.  I don’t really care for having her wake name being set as “Alexa”, but they’re supposed to do an update  someday that allows people to change the name.  She incorrectly hears activation every few days from other words that have an “x” in them and I really hate that the television commercial for the product  can activate her (especially when they had all of the Baldwin commercials for the product leading up to the Super Bowl), so suddenly I’m startled by some disembodied voice right beside me saying that she doesn’t understand what I’m asking.  Meh.  She’s a bit expensive at the current price of $179.99, but most of the decent to good Bluetooth speakers are just as expensive if not way higher.  Moving on, I also got an Amazon Fire e-reader/tablet.  For being so light it has a great processor, a lot of storage (and can be expanded via microSD), and so many freebies compatible with it!  I was a loyal Nook user, with multiple versions of Nooks, until this little guy came into my life at Christmas, and I find that I seldom ever pick up my Nook anymore unless it’s to read a book I have on it all ready.  Everything new is being loaded onto the Fire and there are way more books available for free for Amazon than the Nook, at least in the genres I’m interested in.  The picture is so gorgeous that I love to play games on it when it’s too painful to have my laptop rest on my legs and boy howdy can it access the library’s e-books fast!  I actually did a comparison between it and my newest Nook, and I was all ready reading a book’s description on the Fire before my Nook was able to finish logging me in.  I am still very fond of my Nook, so please don’t take this little status change as a total desertion from the brand.  *smile* I’m just really impressed with this little tablet, especially if you can catch it when it’s on sale!  And I must mention, if you’re a Prime member you even get to select a book for a group of new titles that haven’t even hit the market yet.   It’s a great way to get introduced to new-t0-you authors and some great possible future bestsellers without the bigger cost of a new release or bestseller. 

 

Tying in with the Fire and Nook I’d like to mention a service that I really love called BookBub.  It’s a free service that you can sign up for where you mark what types of books you enjoy and which reading platforms you have, and every day you get an email with a list of books ranging from free to $1.99 in the categories you specified (I believe you can even change it to once weekly, but I’m not positive and I’m not going to hit change to see, since I love my daily setting *grin*).  My TBR list is so long I can get bored scrolling and I have found some new incredible favorite authors, since many authors offer their first book in a series for free.  They even added another service recently that will send you notifications when favorite authors have new releases or sales.  I may have one email every two weeks where it’s all misses, but there’s an average of about three books a day from my list that I’m interested in.  If you love to read, this saves you time from trolling websites or the digital bookstore to see what free books are currently available, so you have more time to actually read.  It’s such an awesome service and by the way, if you love to hoard cookbooks like me, they can even be added to the service’s list!  *happy dance!

 

This part is going to be about a couple of television shows.  I have a lot of options for watching videos (extended satellite, Amazon Video streaming, Netflix, YouTube, and Roku channels), so I don’t buy DVDs very often, but I bought these in box sets.  There are a couple of sets of older television shows that I’d like to recommend for you to look into, if you haven’t had the chance to experience them yet.  The Vicar of Dibley is an English comedy that we thoroughly love and actually watch certain episodes several times a year.  Sadly many of the episodes have been pulled from Netflix and it’s getting harder and harder to find some of the episodes (and it’s not available on Acorn TV’s streaming service either), so the box set had to be in my life.  Another show that is slowly slipping away is Eureka.  Granted, I think the last two seasons aren’t nearly as awesome as the earlier ones, but it’s still one of my favorite shows, and I got several season box sets for Christmas since I’m so obsessed with the series.  (Yep, I had an incredible, tech filled Christmas this past year!! *grin*) Larry is more of a good ol’ country boy instead of a nerd, yet I got him into the series, so that should give an extra vote for the series!  I also got him into Scorpion and The Big Bang Theory.  We finally stopped collecting box sets on TBBT, but we have the first few and still crack up at those early episodes.  Scorpion is definitely a darker themed drama, but there is enough action and MacGyver-like moments to keep him interested, and enough intellectual and personality highlights to make me love the show enough to watch episodes repeatedly, despite having so many other new videos available to me.  Despite everything that’s available, these two are my favorites.  I even have the Eureka ringtone.  I’m that girl.  *laugh*

 

The last item I want to mention is an online 3D virtual world called Second Life (SL).  In the simplest of descriptions, it’s like online chat and the Sims game joined together.  It’s an interactive world that is created by the users, so most interests are represented and you can always find something interesting to do or explore if you are willing to try.  You can shop to improve your avatar or SL home, you can hunt for free gifts from designers, you can go listen to music and hang out at a club, or you can hang out at your home with a few friends and play board games together.  There are so many fascinating places that users have created!  I’ve parachuted off of the Eiffel Tower, gone to a formal dance on a replica of the Titanic, participated in support group meetings for my illness, floated on a star in space, explored beautiful recreations of castles in Scotland, and even explored the incredibly creepy halls of a haunted insane asylum.  The possibilities and the creativity are endless.  I have gone to a variety of conventions, several memorials, and even went to a few RP sims (where I learned that I am just not that good at creating a fake persona for myself *laugh*).  On the usual night I’ll visit a few of my favorite shopping spots to watch for good deals or freebies, then join my roommates/friends at our house to play some games together while chatting.  I even have some virtual cats to play with, some crafting furniture to represent my real life (RL) interests, and I even have a library!  *grin* I love to decorate our little home (okay, I went a little nuts and splurged on a mansion I found, but it is SO amazing that I couldn’t resist, and it has the perfect living room with overlooking sitting room for displaying a Christmas tree with lights and presents that I did!  *shakes head and realizes I’m seriously fangirling my SL home* Anyway…) It’s a fun and interesting online world, but it’s also a great resource for disabled people or even people that need some socialization but aren’t able to in regular life.  There are support groups for most any ailment, there are sims that provide information about resources available, and there are even volunteers at some places that are happy to just emotionally supportive for you if you’re struggling.  I’ve met so many people in my years on SL who also have invisible diseases and it brings me to tears sometimes to see, and experience, the incredible support we all give one another, and this awesome resource that allows the homebound to just be normal for a bit.  I like to think that my avatar is the representation of the inner me.  She’s a lot skinnier, with a much better wardrobe and better hair, but she’s not a movie star clone.  She’s more like the girl next door and more often than not she’s sporting a very nerdy t shirt or smexy Tetris nail polish.  My second life is part of my real life and I’m actually a happier person for it, because it has truly helped me to cope while also giving me a creative outlet that helps to distract me from my issues, as well.  I met some of my best friends in SL and would never have had the chance to meet in RL, so I’ll always be thankful for having my second life.  I hope you’ll take a look at their site if this sounds like a good fit for you and if you decide to join, please don’t hesitate to send me an email or text, and I’ll happily share my SL name with you so I can help you get acquainted with, and enjoy, your second life.  🙂

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My Favorite Things Part 1

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Georgia's Pampering

Hi there!  I have been coping with some emotional and medical issues, and honestly tend to become even more introverted when dealing with things, so I tend to opt for things that distract me, and blogging makes me WAY too reflective to be considered a distraction.  *grin* I’m doing a little better today, so I wanted to take this opportunity to write.  J  In light of everything I thought I’d keep things light today and wanted to share some of my favorite things.  I don’t believe I’ve ever done that, other than recipes, so prepare yourself for an eclectic collection of items. I added the links to Amazon for what items that I could, in case you’d like to check them out, so just click the hyperlink and it should give you a new window with Amazon instead of steering you away from the post.  (I divided this into two posts with home and organizing being first and next with be electronics and entertainment.)

 

First up, I’m absolutely obsessed with all things Command related.  Hooks, bins, and picture frame strips; you name it, I have them all!  *grin* I especially love the cord hooks, wire hooks, and the all-purpose 3 lb. hooks.  I have a hanging shoe organizer on a door with all of my extra cords, label maker, candle melts, and other knickknacks, but dedicated an entire row to command products so that I always have a variety on hand when I spontaneously decide to organize things. I even have one of the bins on the wall beside the couch holding both of my e-readers in easy reach, yet safe from the animals, and still able to charge.  I’m tickled by the simplest things sometimes.  *laugh*

 

Second, although there are a few features that are definitely missed, I love the performance of my Shark Navigator Deluxe Vacuum.  It auto adjusts to carpet pile, which is my favorite feature, and picks up kitty litter really well, which is actually very rare.  I wish it had a light, a spot for all of the tools to attach, and an edger, but it’s a powerful workhorse at just $123.99.  It is super light and moves so easily, which means I can vacuum without causing myself more pain.  (Seriously, it is so effortless that people will keep vacuuming when I have them test it out, instead of doing just a push or two!)  Despite missing a few features that I like, I honestly wouldn’t trade this for a different brand.

 

shark

My absolute favorite kitchen gadget, which I have even given as gifts because I love it so much, is the simplest piece of plastic that is seriously handy.  The Jokari Baggy Rack Storage Bag Opener and Holder quite simply has clips that hold your zip bag open so both hands are free for filling the bag.  I know that you’re probably thinking I am the laziest person in the world to need and love this little device, but think of how many times a zip bag has folded in on itself as you tried to put leftovers or some meat in?  Or what about when you try to pour something with some sauce on it?  Or had it fold as you were trying to spoon corn into the bag with one hand and holding your pot in the other, and those evil little kernels of deliciousness found their way under the edge of the cabinet, under your mixer, or made a wet path across the counter?  I especially love it for when I’m doing meat prep, like chicken strips, and then I can even pour marinade in without worry (my wild, unexpected movements cause enough messes, so I need every bit of help available *laugh*).  The holder works really well when pouring bagged ingredients in, too, like making your own trail mix.  At $6.78 for a single unit and $10 for two, it’s a very cost effective gift that will be priceless for the recipient for years to come.

baggy holder

We bought a gas meat smoker and have been learning different techniques, etc., which brought on our first attempt to spatchcock poultry.  Prior to this we always bought broke down birds and we figured I should use what little energy I have on other tasks instead of trying to break down whole birds.  No shortcuts are allowed when smoking a whole turkey, though, so we did our research and bought the OXO Good Grips Spring-Loaded Poultry Shears (at an investment of $24.95).  According to the “Man of the Smoker” (yep, that’s my nickname for him when he messes with the smoker) it’s pretty easy to spatchcock a thawed turkey with these shears, although it would be a little more difficult for someone with less hand strength (like me).  They work so well in most food prep, though!  They cut chicken into pieces easy enough that I prep a lot more chicken than ever before, they make short prep work when used on vegetables such as broccoli, and can even cut hunks of clingy fat that some of my knives have trouble with.  The best part (for the one that has to do the dishes *laugh*) is that they come apart and are a breeze to completely clean. 

Shears

Another often used kitchen gadget is my professional SaladShooter.  I bought this through Walmart’s website years ago, so I have no idea what I paid back then, but I found one that looks almost identical to my unit and attachments here for $44.66.  We mainly use it for cheeses, since we’re kind of obsessed with cheese and it’s a lot cheaper to buy a block at Sam’s Club.  We had a lot of problems with packaged shredded cheese molding quickly too, especially during our humid, hot summers, but only shredding a few cups at a time when we want it on hand, and covering up the rest of the block until the next time, has massively cut down on waste.  To top it all off it is running perfectly over 5 years later!  If you buy one, make sure to keep an old toothbrush (dedicated to this task) with your kitchen washing items, since that’s the most effective way to get the cheese grime off of the grids and out of the grater holes. 

saladshooter

 

Lastly, I thought I’d throw in one of my favorite desserts.  The best part is that it’s a diet ice cream that tastes and feels just like the real deal in our opinion.  Edy’s Slow Churned Ice Cream has several flavors with that awesome slow churned texture, yet they have half the fat and a third of the calories of regular ice cream (depending on what you eat, of course).  I actually prefer this ice cream over regular ice cream, now!  It can sometimes be difficult to find some of the flavors in the Midwest, but even plain ole vanilla floats my boat.  *grin*  I am a big sucker for the Mint Chocolate Chip though and it helps cool down my GERD, too, so I almost always have a legitimate excuse to eat ice cream whenever I’m wanting it without anyone making me feel like I’m just being a pig.  *biiiiig grin* Yeah, I’m shameless sometimes. 

edys

Tune in tomorrow for the other half, when I totally get my nerd flag flying.  Until then, happy pampering!

 

 

 

 

 

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Cyber Monday

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Georgia's Pampering

Hi there!!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday, if you celebrate it!

 

I wanted to drop a note that the website itself has been updated with some new products, updated scents, a few updated pictures, and even some corrections!  While adding the new products I discovered that some of the pages weren’t showing to the public, so this has been fixed.  I’m SO sorry if you tried to access a page and couldn’t find it!  All of the scent pages have been fixed, along with the About pages.  Yikes!  Before I show the two new soaps I want to mention that I’m celebrating Cyber Monday by taking off 20% off all orders (before shipping is calculated)!!  This sale is in effect an extra day, since I hate one day sales myself, until 12:01 AM Central on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015.  So if you want some stocking stuffers or full sized gifts, this is the time to get hold of me.  *smile*

 

On to the exciting new soaps!  These are Star Wars inspired and there are a couple of more soaps that are in the works now, but haven’t made it to a sellable state yet.  First up is The Good Guys Soap.  I love this one and it’s a great size, too!

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The Good Guys Soap

Second is the Dark One Soap, featuring that main man that is so tragic and awful.  He’s a little soap and the price reflects it.

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Dark One Soap

 

I also want to mention that I recently purchased some new FOs, so I’ll be working with those once I get the other “inspired” soaps finished.

 

And just to remind you of my best sellers here are pictures of my top male-friendly products and a couple of the best selling goat’s milk lotions.  *grin*  You know, just in case you haven’t found gifts for everyone on your list.  I’m just trying to help.  *laugh*

Winter Woods Scrub, Luffa Soap, Mechanic Soap
Goat’s Milk Lotions

Have a safe and fun Cyber Monday! 🙂

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National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Georgia's Pampering
National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day

Today, May 12th, has been selected for National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day. There are several disabilities that don’t have any visible signs and a lot of sufferers tend to hide from others when the symptoms are really bad. In light of this, please take a moment to learn a little about any of the “Invisible Diseases” or take a moment to just show a sufferer that you’re there for them. Just a note to say you’re thinking of them, offer to do something that would help them (believe me the smallest thing to you can be incredibly hard for disabled people sometimes, so you don’t have to bend over backward to make their day), or even just tell them that you’re there for them if they would like to talk about what they’re going through. Illnesses can be very alienating, so every little effort means the world. 

If you’d like to learn more, I’m including a few trusted links. First is the Fibromyalgia Network, which has a lot less medical jargon, so it’s an easier starting point to learn the basics about Fibro. Second is a really awesome letter to “normals” from a Fibro sufferer’s point of view, which may give you a better insight into what we may be going through and how you can help, which is also on a post at the FM Network, here.   Third in line is a post explaining how Invisible Diseases can be a disability and be disabling, which is over at Invisible Disabilities.   Just having someone that understands the struggles a sufferer is facing can literally stop suicide ideation even, so the few minutes you spend reading is an awesome gift.  

I saved the one that I think says it best for last and wanted to put it all by itself. It explains the “Spoon Theory”, which applies to any chronic illness, and is one of the best ways to depict and explain the daily struggle of living with a chronic illness. It is absolutely amazing and eye opening. Even if you don’t do anything else, please read this brief post. I think it is a phenomenal way to raise awareness. You can read it here. 

Thank you for reading this and participating in today’s event in whatever way you do. It means so much to all of us when someone tries to understand or tries to help. It means more than I could ever express that you all show support and encouragement during my journey, and I thank you wholeheartedly. 
  

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Happy News!

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Georgia's Pampering

I haven’t written lately because I’ve actually been enjoying being a little more “normal” than I have been in years (not mentally of course – I’m still pretty much insane probably lol).  I’ve filled my time with doing things and then a few marathons to make myself rest, so that I don’t overdo it and get really bad again.  The tide began to change two weeks ago.

I saw my Fibro specialist and we went over my abnormal labs, plus went through older labs, etc.  Since he’s actually an Infectious Disease doctor he is the one to ask about any wacky things that I might have picked up.  He’s so awesome that he actually worked his way through the entire page of stuff I had researched.  The best part is that he ruled out everything else except for Hep C, which he forgot that he was going to order labs for (so I’ll get those soon, but he really doubts it anyway).  The abnormal labs actually are due to the muscle relaxers, as I had found in clinical trial results, although the reasons for the abnormal results were actually a good sign.  The way he said it is that it just shows that my body is actually processing the medicine, although the higher dose is probably why I never had elevated labs before, and that although the labs were abnormal for a normal person we don’t have to worry until it’s many, many times higher than these abnormals.  *happy dance*  (Back on the muscle relaxers now thankfully!  I can’t wait for the involuntary movements to stop again!)  Oddly enough no one has ever tested for Hep C despite having several inches deep of lab tests.  By the time I saw him I think we all figured everything had been ruled out all ready, so it slipped through.  There are enough overlapping symptoms between it and the combination of conditions that I have that there is a slight chance that I have a mild case of it, but it’s most likely just the same old conditions.  It’s kind of crazy to feel so happy over having the miserable conditions that I have, but I am so thankful not to be facing new challenges!  He thinks that the other doctor’s nurse just isn’t familiar with chronic illnesses like mine, so that’s why she wanted to just blow it off until the next round of labs, and why she focused on the one part that she understood and was instructed to inform me about.

Next, we went through all of the other research.  I had learned about a Midwest doctor that believes that most Fibro sufferers actually have black mold in their sinuses and has a very different treatment protocol, etc.  As luck would have it my specialist actually knows a lot about this other doctor and knows that there hasn’t been any proof of success.  He actually put it really well when he said “If you look for something strange in a group that has problems, then you’re going to find something”.  Well, hmm.  That’s true.  If the black mold in the sinuses truly was the cause, then why hasn’t almost every one of those patients had tremendous successful recoveries?  To give my doctor credit he also offered to get the labs and refer me to the other doctor if I’d like to check for myself, but I have no need since his thoughts make a lot of sense to me.

We also agreed on trying two new medications.  One is prescription and the other is a supplement.  The supplement is 5-HTP, which is a tryptophan in pill form, and helps with mood, appetite suppression, and sleep.  As to the prescription, I had compiled a lot of success stories from patients and research, plus even talked to a few friends in the medical field, about Marinol.  It’s not a recognized treatment for CFS or Fibro, however there has been a lot of success with it blocking the receptors.  Using it for anything beside nausea/appetite is still pretty controversial, especially in the Bible Belt, but he agreed to prescribe it for me to try it for a few weeks.  It had to be prescribed to help with the nausea I’ve had from the IBS and sinus stuff, but I don’t care what is said as long as I can get it.  I don’t know if it will work for everyone, and it definitely won’t work for anyone that is still working, but so far it’s a huge success story for me.  Between the two of them I am sleeping a whole lot, although it’s actually restorative sleep for once.  *little chair dance*  One of the benchmark symptoms of CFS and Fibro is that sleep is non-restorative, which is part of why we’re so fatigued.  True sleep makes such a huge change, let me tell you!  I still sleep really odd times, but who cares?!  After I’ve been awake for a bit I get these bursts of energy and can get some stuff done.  I made a bunch of freezer meal and partial prepped meals, cleaned several rooms, and made some product.  The coolest part is that when the Marinol is in effect it somehow stops a lot of the chatter in my brain.  At any given point I usually have at least a handful of messages bombarding my brain to say a body part hurts.  I get tons of messages about pain that has no reason to exist, then on top of all of the hyper responses from my body I have the real pain messages, plus a lot of random thoughts.  I’ve never understood when people talk about having just one thought or even staring into space without a thought.   My mind has always been cluttered and busy.  The Marinol quiets my brain and almost all of the false pain messages are quiet now.  The pain that I experience now almost all has a reason – injuries, overuse, etc. I never realized how tiring it is to have so much input continually being processed  until it finally quieted down.  It’s been hard to relearn what my limits are without my body continuously complaining and it has been an awesome lesson to learn.  I had truly started to believe that things wouldn’t improve again, so this has been a huge sun filled vacation during an ice age.  *grin*

Today I started another two week trial of the Marinol and restarted the muscle relaxer.  I’m hoping that the next two weeks will be just as successful, although it’d be nice to be awake during lunch a few times.  *laugh*  Poor Larry didn’t have any lunches made for him lately.  It is super hard to fight off the sleepy pull from the medications right now and my eyes feel like sand paper is rubbing over them when I try to fight it.  I’m going to just go with the flow for now and enjoy all of this sleep.  *grin* Expect to see some freezer meals and prep shortcuts since those have been my current research topics.  The next post will be an awesome shortcut that I’ve been absolutely delighted with.  🙂 Anyway, I hope you don’t mind my sharing what’s been going on and I’ll try to post the shortcut later today.

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I’m Baaaack! :)

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Georgia's Pampering

I’m finally done researching, dealing, and wrapping my brain around everything. It’s been a long few weeks of dieting, medication withdrawals, fighting two bugs, and recovering from a few injuries. At least I stayed busy, right? *laugh* Plus, you should be proud, because we didn’t make the bloody snowman I found instructions for on Pinterest during either of the snow storms that came through in the meantime. *grin* It’s been SO hard to resist the morbid temptation, so I deserve a lot of credit.

 

First, I am really sorry that it’s taken me so long to respond to those that wrote to me. I hope that I replied to each comment; if I missed yours, it was not intentional!  I want to tell you all that the support shown means the world to me and was a massive help in getting me through to this stage, despite it taking me a while to be able to come back and say so. I have a habit of crawling inside of my mind until I feel like I’m back in control. It’s something I’ve been working to improve, but I’m a work in progress, as they say. *smile* Regardless, thank you so much for the support, encouragement, and just being there.

 

I found a little light to focus on during my research. I kept researching for a good week after my last post about the possible causes of the liver damage and found that the muscle relaxers that I was on had a very rare instance during two clinical trials of Fibro patients showing liver damage occurring. Very soon after the medication was discontinued and it was fully out of their systems their labs returned to normal. The only thing that had changed in the few months between lab draws was that one of my specialists had doubled the dosage of the muscle relaxer to fully stop most of the involuntary movements and spasms. There is no way to know if I’m in that tiny percentile that may have troubles with anything beyond a minimal dose except by doing exactly what I did – I immediately discontinued the medication, cold turkey (you SO shouldn’t do that without physician approval and I am definitely not recommending it to anyone, but it’s what I needed to do in this situation),  so that I would be able to get labs drawn at my next appointment, which is next week. This visit is to my guru, the one doctor that I fully trust, the one that diagnosed me after so many years of I don’t knows. Plus, he’s a take charge kind of guy. He won’t react like the other doctor’s nurse did and say “I don’t know” when I ask him if it could have been that medication, or what to change in my treatment plan, or how to manage the changes of my treatment plan and lifestyle that the nurse demanded. He won’t leave me on an iceberg in the middle of an ocean of fear. He’s pretty awesome. He’s really great about letting me be involved, and about getting involved when I ask him for help, so I have a good feeling that when I tell him about everything he will run follow up labs after the appointment to see if my counts have changed from discontinuing the medication. Even if they haven’t, it was worth the withdrawals and getting the movements back, because I’ve had a few weeks with hope. If it was the medication that had started to cause liver damage, and it has been reversed, then it reduces the likelihood that I am facing any of the scariest disorders, too. If my labs have improved, then most likely I’m just having reactivation of the EBV with progression of my relapse. I never thought I’d be happy for that, but it sure beats the other possibilities!!

 

I also need his help to keep up these dietary and lifestyle changes. Changing the diet of a regular person is one thing, but I have so many intolerances that it makes this a bit difficult. Add to it that almost everything has to be cooked from scratch now and with Chronic Fatigue it feels like I’m trying to climb a freaking mountain some days instead of just prepping and cooking a meal. I’ve been getting so sick due to reflux and I’ve had a nonstop bloody nose since my last post (small nasal ulcer from botched septoplasty), which has done an amazing job of making me nauseated about 75% of the time. Meh. Plus, limiting my dairy intake has only caused me to become absolutely obsessed with most things dairy. *laugh* We’ve always been big milk drinkers, although Larry has always drank more than me since I’m more of a sipper. Since I decided to use Slim Fast and Special K to keep the good counts up when I can’t eat, and it is SO much easier to figure up how much of each percentage I’ve had for the day then, I can justify having some milk fairly often. It’s been hard to limit my cheese intake, but I don’t crave it nearly as much as I do the milk. I figure I’ve tried, I made some changes that I can deal with, found out that I have some healthier cooking habits all ready (I’ve always trimmed meats really well, etc.), and found that I just can’t do everything that she demanded of me because my body is way more complicated than she thought or assumed or whatever.   If she feels I didn’t give it enough of a shot I swear to you I’m going to ask her what her advice is for handling vomiting acid from reflux, and then I might just take her down with my cane. Unicorns might fart glitter too, so I figure that means there’s a slight chance that one of the mean thoughts floating around might actually take place some day. *sassy wink* Anyway…lol I am so exhausted, but I’ve been trying really hard. It’s always been pretty much impossible to get Larry excited over eating chicken anyway, so now that it’s a main protein he’s really not too wound up over the latest menus and changes. Thank goodness for Pinterest and the bazillions of chicken recipes that at least make it look and taste a little different every few days. *laugh* I managed to actually get an “it’s all right” for two of the dishes so far, so I’m learning to celebrate the small successes. And I burned out my crockpot. Seriously. It can now cook 4.5 pounds of chicken on low to so done it shreds itself when you try to pick it up with a fork in just over 3 and a half hours! Dude! So I have a new crock pot on the way next week. I splurged and got the fancy kind that even has a probe on it. I figure if it keeps me from overcooking a roast, then it’s made up the cost of the upgrade all ready. *grin* (No matter what I have to have one item of red meat a week – I mean, I’m in the Midwest! It’s impossible to go without red meat fully and it’s also a very cruel form of torture to limit it, too.  Just saying.) By the way, I can’t even fake excitement over another shredded chicken meal. The blahs are worth it to help make meals easier though, since my fatigue has been so insane lately. I trim and prep the chicken breasts when I’m not really bad yet, then the slow cooker cooks them insanely quickly, and now I have precooked protein on hand, so I can get a meal in front of Larry within 20 minutes usually. Someone else will have to prep and clean up if I’m going to have enough energy to make an exciting meal out of it now though. Dishes are only awesome and exciting the first few times when they’re in a small rotation. *laugh*  Maybe my failing crock pot will short out and give me super powers, or at least super energy, in the next week.  Can’t blame a girl, especially a nerdy girl, for hoping.

 

As you can see from tonight’s post I get cranky and sassy when I don’t have enough red meat, dairy products, and energy. *wink*  I put my crankiness to good use though.  I even came up with super sassy ideas that would have worked as Anti Valentine’s themed products, but now they’re just going to be some fun and tongue-in-cheek items since I got too sick to get them done in time to market. I was going to wait to share, but you’ve read enough about the blahs to get some good stuff tonight! First, you’ll have to understand that I’m just not that into much of anything that’s really mushy, super cheerful, bright, or extra sentimental. I’m even making the “somebody farted” face just thinking about the words. To clarify, I can be all of those things (though if they happened at once I’m pretty sure I’d die, possibly from the shock to my system lol), but those moments are pretty widely distributed over my life and mostly avoided. *laugh* I may get all girly about glitter and pink, but add in anything cutesy and the “fart face” kicks in immediately. It’s totally cool that people are into all of it, but it’s just not for me (or especially Larry). And I found out that there are others that aren’t so into it either! (I even follow some Anti Valentine boards on Pinterest. Friends, trust me, there are some hilarious pins on those boards!) In honor of those that are a little edgier, shall we say, I wanted to make black glitter soaps for Anti Valentine’s Day. Mom and I made a batch of daisy soaps, named “Black Magic”, and a batch of skulls and crossbones, which I amusingly named “Love Bites”. I used a clear soap base, then a little new black sparkle soap bar color, and a few generous puffs of iridescent glitter that shimmers throughout the black soaps. Maraschino Cherry with an undernote of chocolate. I love these soaps so much! I’m not sharing pictures quite yet though. I’m hoping to build a photo tent box tomorrow and take pictures of them then, so I didn’t want to give in to temptation and share blah plain pics that won’t capture them as well. (See, I’ve been productive during my time away! I learned how to do photo tent boxes, took up Tai Chi [although I’ve only made it to fifteen minutes so far – but that’s big progress for a fatigued and hurting person], researched alternative causes for the liver damage, made a list of whimsical product names to invent products for, tried about twenty new recipes, and got quite far into my TBR pile!)

 

I saved the best for last, too!! Malice & Mayhem. Roll that title around in your mind a few times and delight in the perfection of that name. That is the name of my next batch of soaps. I got a silicone mold during my time away of small pistols. I’m going to sell a duo of pistol soaps packaged together with this name. One in black with glitter (can you tell that I LOVE how that combo turned out? Lol) and the other hopefully in hot pink. Malice & Mayhem here for all your gifting needs. *grin* I’m sure I’ll do later batches in some conventional, male friendly, colors too, especially since they’ll be awesome in the Redneck Combo, but this duo is for those sassy ladies out there. I really hope they go over well because I am so incredibly excited about them. The name, the colors, the mold…I figure I have ten months to experiment with the mold and maybe by next February I can do a sassy themed combo with “Love Bites”, “Malice & Mayhem”, and hopefully a few other whimsical and amusing items.

 

On that bit of cheerfulness I’m going to end my “return” post. *smile* Again, thank you for the support shown and hopefully I’ll have lots more cheerful things to post about this year like Malice & Mayhem! In the meantime, happy pampering.  🙂

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