The Verdant Life: Vegan Food Swap Reveal! August 2012 edition

The Verdant Life: Vegan Food Swap Reveal! August 2012 edition

Simplicity Boye Electric Yarn Ball Winder Giveaway

Simplicity Boye Electric Yarn Ball Winder Giveaway

Happy Mother's Day!

Uggghhhh... All the Kings Horses and all the - you get the idea!

Can anything else go wrong with me!!!! NOW!, I have sinusitis and most probably strep-throat. I just feel like a Mac truck will be along any minute to end it all. If I am not scratching my head, back, leg, [stuff] - yea, I got a flare there too! At least it is a strong probability. I had a biopsy taken Monday - yep!, they took a chunk or at least a bit out of my [stuff]. On my way out, I stopped the nurse: "How bad is it going to feel when the local wears off?" "Oh, not bad at all... you'll just know that something was done there." YEEEEAAAAAA! riiiight! If I didn't like the ITCH before... NOW IT BURNS! Ha! Oh, yea, went to my eye doc to see why my eye was hurting (felt like I had an extra eye-ball in there!) and why my vision in that eye was all blurry. Turns out - I was at the WRONG doc's office! That's when I found out about the sinusitis - from my eye doc! Talk about feeling stupid with a CAP 'P'. It very quickly moved to my throat - thereby giving me the possibility of strep or even tonsilitis! yea, 40 y/o and still have those problem makers!

So, I am trying to get to my PCP this week (pray for the SQUEEZE in for me!). When I do get there I have a HOST of 'shine-ola' to go over with her. The pain in my shoulder, back and knee... derm said to ask my PCP first before giving it the 'psoriatic arthritis' name. Great! In the mean time, I can use but only half my friggin' limbs!

Man! And being vegan through all this - THAT is a whole different set of FIREY RED HOOPS I need to maneuver. Currently the treatment I have for the pso is all external... and I read ALL ingredients. Save the fact that each pharm company (now up to 4) has labs that test.... well, you get the idea. At some point, I just cannot avoid certain unsavory things as a vegan. For Pete's sake, I am not suicidal! Nor am I stupid or a masochist. I don't want this disease NOW or later or EVER... the best I can do is my best. I cannot control anyone's ignorance, heartlessness, or otherwise inhumane behavior. But I digress.....

Being vegan and trying to deal with the upper respiratory infections - THAT is a trick. Most if not ALL antibiotics are laced with some form of cow milk product. Uggghhhhh! I've tried that before.... pill came back up with in minutes. There is, though, another option: getting an injection. I am not afraid of needles... just WHAT'S in the thing behind the needle. The upside to this option: it can not come 'back up'. Sooooooo, I wait for that 'squeeze in' appointment with my doc (who, btw, has bent over backwards for me as a vegan and she is wonderful about it!). Pray that she can come up with a solution for me that is minimally invasive and put me back together! Feeling like Humpty Dumpty! lol

In the mean time... I will probably not be blogging very much as I really need to get this illness behind me. Classes start on May 17th. And if she (my doc) decides it's time to put the 40 y/o tonsils out of their misery - I'll need time to recover before school starts! Not that I talk a lot - I don't. But heaven knows... I AIN'T EATING JELLO!! I prefer the awesome ice cream from God Himself: made of coconut milk!

Any-who.... I am off here! Ta-ta my friends!

In His Gracious Grip,

Me

Does IT know... I mean REALLY!!

Well, today is a blah day. I've been 'treating' since Friday... it's time consuming and it seems that I need to be an acrobat! The places I need to stretch to and reach! Seriously! I am tired - not from pso, or maybe it is... all I know is that the physical exertion from doing what is necessary is wiping me out! Add to that that it seems this THING knows! IT knows that I am fighting it and it is attacking me in other ways.... I have been in a lot of pain lately. My shoulder has been so sore for about a month (since before my dx). My ankle, my knee and my back are getting there too! Oh, and lets not forget the flares that have come up since I started treating! WOW! Does this stuff have eyes and ears to KNOW that I am trying to rid my body of it??!??

I just want this under SOME kind of control before I start school. I don't want to start school and have like a zillion doctor appointments to go to during my first week of classes! Is that too much to ask?? Just some down time for me to acclimate to my new schedule of being a student again.

And speaking of school: I have received my acceptance letter from DTCC! YAYYY! My FASFA, is well on it's way to being complete... just waiting on award letter from them now. I have my New Student Orientation Session on April 22. That's when I will see my advisor and pick my classes and such. I am sooo anxious to get started. Last week, I made myself a whole nuisance as I was trying to push things along for myself - something that some folks say is a good thing. Others, the people I kept after, not so much! Ha Ha! Well, this is the life and actions of an adult student. I am not a teenager fresh out of high school. I have more anxiety than the entire senior class of every local high school *combined*. Not only will I be nearly the oldest student in class, but I could quite possibly have a very visible, uncontainable pso problem when I start. That makes me anxious and uncomfortable to think about.

Anyhow, trying to lay this all at the cross. Along with all this going on, I am still the parent (a single one at that!) of a 16 y/o girl. Scratch that! A young woman! AAAAHHHHHH!! Yea, I will be pulling things together to go prom shopping soon: YESTERDAY! I guess I should be happy with this one: he's WAAAAYYY better than the last one and I am more comfortable now than with the first one! (Dr. Jekyll, if you're reading this: DO NOT LET YOUR HEAD SWELL!! Szchuk: if you're reading this: DO NOT GET ANY IDEAS!!).

So, this is my list of jobs lately:

• Child of God
• Prayer partner
• Mother of 16 y/o
• Student
• Friend
• Daughter
• Pso survivor

Wheewww! I am tired just at the end of the written list! lol. Oh yea I almost forgot: I am vegan too! What does that mean? Well, everything I eat is made from scratch mostly because I am an Organic Vegan. If its got more that 3-5 ingredients in it, I leave it! I'd rather make my own! And that's not just for me, my girl is an Organic Omnivore. So I really spend a lot of time in the kitchen. With the pso attacking my joints now, that is a chore!

Made lasagna the other day... uuuggghhh! When it was done, I had a small piece and just about fell over with exhaustion. Last night I threw together some stuff to make tofu steaks... Y U M M Y!! I try to remember what I put in things so I can develop recipes. Hopefully THAT one I'll remember. I will post my recipe for Vegan Lasagna on here... maybe later tonight??? And I will jot down what I did last night for the steaks for a recipe on that.

Well, I got an eye doctor appt this afternoon, so I'd better get going. The process to get myself ready to be out in public now takes longer....maybe I'll make it to the appointment a little early!?

Will bring paper/pen to write out recipes to share! Thanks for reading and letting me ramble!

In His Gracious Grip,

Me

Jesus Is my Strength!

Well, today I wake up feeling a bit better. My shoulder not as pained as yesterday. I am trusting FULLY in God to give me strength today. I want Jesus to run my life - not this disease. I know He can ease the pain and the uncomfortableness that this has burdened me with. I press on to the mark He has set before me.
I will clean up, cream up and off I go! Lots to do today - I don't have time to sit and have coffee with anyone called psoriasis! I have an appointment with Jesus and His plan for me!
This dx is going to bring about a vengeance in me to press on; to "run the race".
A long time ago, while facing a crisis in my life, I was given this Word from a woman who didn't know me but saw my pain: Psalm 91. It talks about the Lord being "my refuge and my fortress"
There are some very real promises in this Psalm. And He tells me, because I love Him and believe in Him, He will be with [me] in trouble and deliver [me]. So here I go: doing what God has set before me to do; being the best ME I can be today; not worrying about what man things of me. I am RUNNING THE RACE "in such a way as to get the prize"!
So, get out of my way world - here I come (itching and scratching as I may be) with a vengeance to conquer what ails me!

In His Gracious Grip,
Me!

The routine begins...

Ok, so I finally started my treatment today! Geezzzz, I am exhausted! It takes soooo much longer to do simple things like shower and dress! Coupled with the fact that I haven't been able to move my right arm much for the last 3 weeks... made 'application' quite difficult. [Thank You, Szchuk!] Had to have help doing everything: head, back, and arms. Then came the fun of doing my head AGAIN after my hair dried! Lovely! I know there are people out there that have been doing this for YEARS! But I just found out what all this crap is on Thursday.... it is hard to acclimate this new thing in my life - knowing that it will be like this ALWAYS. And now that I know what it is...I get exasperated when 'something' new flares up. It just is plain frustrating!! Hey! I get to do my face tonight! Yayyyy! Sorry for the sarcasm, but I am still trying to wrap my brain around all this... and keep some semblance of sanity to me.
I know I need to trudge on in life...but after waking this morning and not being able to move even out of bed...I am not anticipating going out into the world tomorrow: regular things like bank, PO, school, stores. I feel like EVERYONE will notice (though I do have ways to contain all this). That's another thing! I can't even wear my hat anymore... AHHHH! That was how I contained the WORST of this - my hat! :(( I just feel like everyone will be staring at me and will be disgusted by me. uggghhhh... maybe I should carry a BIG STICK! lol. Seems like I'll already be carrying a Scarlet Letter on my chest. How does one deal with the stares and disgusted looks??? Do I go out of my way to explain, or just suck it up and ignore the ignorance?
Well, I am done rambling for the day... 'Hasta!

IHGG,
Me