Wordless Wednesday: Because, why the heck not?

New Diagnosis

It's been a bit since I've written, more or less because I've felt like crap and have a hard time telling you awesome things when there really isn't that much awesome to tell.

I do have answers though, and that is something to celebrate.  Last week my mom came to visit and I went in for my EGD, which was an endoscopy of my upper digestive system.  It was an interesting experience which included me being partly awake and gagging hardcore while the scope was taking a look around.  The long and short of it is that I have gastritis, which is an inflammation of the lining of the stomach.  There are also complicated terms about what's going on in my esophagus, but what you need to know is that it's being treated

I've had to cut out mondo amounts of good tasty things from my diet.  I miss potato chips horribly, and as for my decade long love affair with Diet Pepsi, that is pretty much over.  I'm not feeling better yet, but I'm hopeful, which is all I can be.

While Mom was here we did a lot of other fun things as well.  Ryan and I celebrated our Seventh wedding anniversary on June 25th and Mom bought us our gift on her visit.  It's a Sodastream that allows you to carbonate and flavor your own water at home.  So far I am loving it.  Pre-gastritis diagnosis I was drinking carbonated water with lemon juice.  Now that citrus is off the menu we bought some water flavors without any sweeteners in them.  VERY TASTY.  I have plans to take pretty pictures of sparkling water and fruit, but probably not today.

We also went to the Grandview Farmer's Market and bought some very tasty veggies.  I took Mom for a short walk on the Scioto Mile, and we spent some time at the Grandview pool.   Mom also bought a couple books at Half Price Books before her trip home.  It was nice to spend time with her, as it had been since Christmas.  Was sad to see her leave.

I haven't been doing much on the creating and selling front, but I have some things planned for the fall as long as I start to heal and do not get any more sick.  So even when I'm not creating I'm always thinking about what I'll be doing next, keep a look out!

An Update: health and insecurities

This is me today, feeling rough and crazy haired.

I haven't blogged in quite awhile and there are a lot of reasons for that.  This might be a long one, but I wanted to explain what's up.  The main reason is my health is pretty horrible right now.  With chronic illness one does never get "Better" but there are times of feeling well.  I can meet people for drinks or lunch, attend concerts and picnics, and have a general all over happiness.

Then there are dark times of complete utter helplessness when the illness takes over.  Getting out of bed is a task, showering is next to impossible, and forget about any kind of social activities.  This most recent bout of horribleness started around Thanksgiving.  I glutened myself at a Thanksgiving dinner with friends.  I knew it was a possibility but took the chance and ate anyway.  I barely made it home that night.  I struggled through Christmas, and started really paying attention to my diet in January.  I was nauseated and worn down.  I hated eating and I didn't have energy to do anything.  All of my Fibromyalgia symptoms were out in full force.

In March or April I FINALLY want to the doctor.  When she pushed down on my stomach I thought that pain was going to make me pass out.  The initial diagnosis was an ulcer caused by the amount of NSAIDs that I take for my chronic daily pain.  I took my medicines, avoided coffee and alcohol, only took pain meds when I really needed them, and crossed my fingers that I would get better.

That hasn't been the case and in fact I continue to feel worse.  I've lost at least 10 pounds, which I had the weight to lose, but it's still not good.  My skin is pale and there are dark circles under my eyes.  I have an esophagogastroduodenoscopy on July 3rd.

On top of all of this my headaches and neck pain were becoming unbearable.  So I finally bit the bullet and cut my dreadlocks off.  This was a really stressful time for me.  I miss them, and feel like I've lost part of my identity.  But my headaches are better.  My neck pain is something I will need to address when I fix whatever is wrong with my stomach.

So this is why I haven't been writing.  I have a lot to say, and it's frustrating.  But hoping things will turn around soon.

Another reason I've been pretty quiet lately is my insecurities.  When I think about blogging, I think about what others are doing and how I don't really fit into what is suppose to be a successful blog format (at least according to the "experts").  When what I have to say doesn't make a "good" blog post, I just toss it all together.  That won't be happening anymore.  If I want to tell or show you something I'm vowing that I am going to do it.  No matter how unorganized or how irregularly I post.  I've never done things the way they are suppose to be done, I'm not sure why I was trying to start now.

I hope you stick around to see what I have to offer.

When Popeye Attacks!!

My least favorite bit of running my Etsy shop is getting my photographs to accurately represent the size, texture, and color of the items I am selling.  I love taking photos, however I live in an apartment with less than stellar lighting, not to mention I'm unorganized and cluttery.  Ryan was home this morning, so I took the opportunity to use his assistance and took some pictures of things that have been waiting to get posted to the shop.

It's no secret my cat is a camera hog, and he has as special affinity for gnomes (he thinks they are funny to bat around anyway.)  He enjoyed getting in on the action a bit today.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

What I've been working on: Socks and Gnomes

Over the last couple of weeks I've been developing some new projects.  I haven't been a super good Etsy shop keeper lately, really only selling things that are custom orders.  But honestly that is my favorite part.

One thing I have been developing for the shop are these little mini gnomes.  They popped into my head one day and would not go away.  It's a great way to use a lot of my small balls of yarns, there is an endless amount of hat, top, and pants color combinations.  I've even made them so they can go on a skewer and sit in your house plants.

Besides developing things for my shop, I also like to work on projects for myself.  These are usually things that won't be on my shop for a very long time, or ever.  But they are things I enjoy making for friends and family.

The last few weeks I have been working on socks.  I haven't done any cool patterns or anything yet, just a normal short sock.  I am making short socks because that is what I wear and does not require as much yarn for the learning knitter.  I love self striping yarn, one of the best inventions!  Each sock takes quite awhile, so they won't be something I will be making in large quantities.  But it's been totally fun!