Ove had never been asked how he lived before he met her. But if anyone had asked him, he would have answered that he didn’t.
– From A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Category: uncategorized Page 3 of 76
I listen to a lot of podcasts. A whole lot of podcasts and a whole lot of the time. Enough that I recognize many of the advertisements that appear across multiple podcasts and have started to feel a little insecure. If I pay attention to the ads, then…
- I am either too lazy or too busy to visit the Post Office (com).
- I am either too lazy or too busy to cook a healthy meal (BlueApron) and need all of my meals mailed to me.
- I am either too lazy or busy to do clothes shopping, and am a dude (Bonobos).
I’m starting to get a complex, even though I know it’s all not true. I love visiting my Post Office, both for the break from sitting at my desk at work and because the staff at my Post Office are nice. We eat great at my house for about half the cost per meal as what BlueApron advertises, all using cookbooks. And shopping? Sure it’s a pain sometimes, but it’s usually fun and why would I outsource fun? Oh, and I am not a dude.
I used to be so impressed with companies who were advertising on podcasts, because I assumed it was a cheaper medium with great reach. But now? Now I respond back to the ads with, “I like the post office, thankyouverymuch.” And “Seven hundred calories is your healthy meal? Ha!” And, “I am a GIRL!”
I mean, there is name recognition, but I think it’s not what they wanted.
I mentioned a while back that I’m feeling almost back to my pre-surgery self, excepting a few areas: occasional pangs of pain, losing some weight gained before surgery and on bed rest, regaining My core strength, dealing with hair loss and addressing my skin, which is irritated and breaking out more than normal. It’s funny how much can be affected by a seemingly unrelated organ. While all of these complaints are minor, they’re still complaints.I’m actively addressing what I can. I’m regularly hitting the gym and slowly getting stronger, My nephrologist let me know that my thyroid should be a little out of whack for the next several months. He and I are monitoring it, but I assume that it’s to blame for the hair loss.
My skin is the one that I’ve struggled with the most. I know it’s not serious and mostly just vanity, but I’m in my mid-30s. I don’t want to be back on the skin regimens I used in high school!
My specific complaints are:
- Persistent dry patches that turn painful and leave dark spots
- General acne (likely not helped by my trying to treat the dry patches)
- Some spots along my hairline that could be dryness or could be acne
- Signs of aging that I used to be able to address with creams, but I’d had to discontinue the creams because of the dry patches
This is all coupled with the fact that I have really sensitive skin and will break out in hives if I use the wrong product!
I regretfully had my annual appointment with my dermatologist about 2 weeks before my hysterectomy, so I’ve been trying to come up with home remedies. I’ve spent a lot of time on Google. Do you know what you don’t want to do image searches on? Skin conditions. Yikes! The closest match I could find for the spots I was seeing, based both on definition and images, was Seborrheic Dermatitis. That label would cover both the dry spots on my skin and the spots on my hairline. I’ve found some shampoo and conditioner that is helping and that two different kinds of skin cream that seem to be slowly doing the trick.
Now that I’ve got things moving in the right direction, I’ve been trying out skin creams again. I’ve had great luck with Imbue Naturals 20% Vitamin C Serum. I’ve used it for the past several weeks and can see the difference. My skin feels tighter and, where I’m not dealing with other issues, looks great. So often when I try out a new product, it causes me to break out in hives. I haven’t had an issue with that at all! The directions indicate that you should follow use with moisturizer and that’s definitely the case. The serum leaves my skin a little dry but it’s easily addressed with lotion.
I still have my list of complaints, but now that I’m working on addressing them, they don’t seem so bad. I look in the mirror and see skin that is a little clearer and a lot brighter and that thrills me. I’m starting to get back into my regular clothing sizes and wear things that are a little more fitted. It’s a work in progress but at least I can see the progress.
This post was sponsored by Imbue Naturals. I received free sample of this product to review. All views shared are my own.
This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.
This hasn’t been a bad winter. Truly, it hasn’t. But these last couple of weeks have been trying to prove otherwise!Right now I am sitting inside while Wonder Boy is outside using the snow blower to clear our driveway and sidewalks (and maybe taking care of our neighbors’ sidewalks as well). Last week I spent a lot of time doing the same.
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| Snow blowers are amazing! I should have invested in one of these years ago! |
I’m grateful I have the option of working form home, but we’ve still spent a lot of time having to make it on poorly salted and cleared roads, dodging other cars. Also some mini bikes??? Here’s a picture I took of a guy drying his best to make it down a fairly busy road on a mini bike. FAIL.
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| Sorry for the poor photo quality. This was taken from inside the car. He knows he looks like a fool. See the smile on his face? |
I’m hoping late today I can have a little more fun with the snow. There are two sleds sitting in my basement and they need to be used!
This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.
In planning for my hysterectomy surgery, I had ideas of the type of things I would need to assist in recovery. For some I was spot on, but for others, it took a while to figure it out. If I have a friend who ends up in a similar position, and I hope I don’t, I’ll have all sorts of great gift ideas or tips to give for planning ahead of time. Why not share those with you?
The Perfect Ways to Support Yourself or Your Friend, Post-Hysterectomy
- A Breakfast-in-Bed Tray
This is a must have if you’re going to be spending the better part of many weeks in bed. It lets you have a surface on which to write or prop up a book, but it also protects your stomach from pets who might walk all over you. This is especially important if you have an overweight cat, teetering precariously close to 20 pounds, who likes to stand right on top of you.I bought the cheapest one available at Bed, Bath & Beyond. This is about functionality over quality.
- Entertainment StationWonder Boy and I don’t have a television in our bedroom. In fact, we only have one television in our house and it’s in the living room, which is on a different floor than the bedroom. Fortunately, I have an old iMac that was sitting in the attic and I carried it down to on top of a bedside bookshelf. The computer was slow for doing real work, but was fine as an internet browser. I was able to watch lots of Netflix and stay up to date on my ever-essential reality television shows, like America’s Next Top Model. (Don’t judge.)
If you don’t have a television or computer you can use for while on bed rest, maybe another sort of device will work like an iPad or smartphone. Bed rest sounds like a great time to catch up on reading, but pain medicine hinders that quite a bit. Mindless entertainment is where it’s at!
- TV and Movie AccessHulu and Netflix are great options for access to mindless entertainment. If you feel like splurging, Amazon Prime is another good option. Services like these expand viewing options tremendously! I was fortunate to have a Netflix account of which I could take advantage and I watched a lot of television.
- Comfy Pajamas and HousecoatsNot too surprisingly, my stomach post-surgery was huge. (Stomach isn’t quite the right description … The area under my belly button? Stomach is close enough.) It took me a few weeks move up to even yoga pants so I spent the time leading up to that in pajamas. My Thanksgiving attire was very casual this past year! I was grateful to Wonder Boy, my mom and my sister for hooking me up with cute PJs, cardigans and a bathrobe.
- Small Foam PillowWhen you’ve lost all core strength, one challenge that looms large is sitting upright. It sounds so easy! But, after you’ve been in bed for a while, you just start sliding down in your seat and scooting back upright is an ordeal. What worked for me was a foam pillow, really intended for neck support, set just below my butt. The foam prevented me from skidding down the bed.
- Some Nurse or Murse SupportWe always joke about Wonder Boy being my personal murse (male nurse), but I don’t really see him exhibit nursing day skills too often. When I was sliding down in bed and struggling to get upright (see above), he had some fancy maneuver where he pulled me back up to sitting in no time flat! Not everyone has a personal nurse or murse, but it’s worth making sure your caregiver gets some tips and tricks from someone with some medical background. Much pain saved!
- KindnessI had people let me know they cared about me in so many different ways. Some friends found book on my Goodreads To Read list and sent those over. I had food sent over that I could just heat up, which made lunchtime a much easier process. I had at least one visitor every day, which definitely broke up the monotony. Some came for lunch, some for movie dates and some just to hang out. I had cards and flowers galore mailed to me. My niece called me almost every day, and while I know that some bribery was involved in that and the conversations weren’t actually very good (she’s more interested in my cats than me), it was so entertaining and so sweet! I received gift cards to Michael’s (for crafting I could do while sitting), Amazon (more books!) , Graeters (ice cream!) and more. The outpouring of love was much appreciated.
- RestWhen I returned to work I had one person ask me, “So, felling well-rested?!?” To be fair, I don’t think he knew why I was gone, but still. No matter how much sleep I got on bed rest, it wasn’t enough. My post-surgery tired was unlike any tired I had ever known. People would come and visit and all we would do is talk. Afterwards I would take a two hour nap. I was grateful that all of my friends were okay with me saying to them, “I need to take a nap now.”
I know everyone’s experience is different. If you have things you’d add to this list, please share!
This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.
