Day 30: Thankful for Christmassy Upcycling!

Like many others out there, my funds are limited but the pressure to appear fabulously festive is on us.  So today, I am thankful for the endless do-it-yourself opportunities that amazingly creative people are able to share via the web.  I stumbled across this do-it-yourself style Festive Dollar Store Projects for Gorgeous Home Decor!  

Here are a few of my favorite up-cycling ideas; they listed (in no particular order). 

A garland of ornaments!  I always find myself looking at the small plastic bulbs that come in bulk packing at a low cost store and I'm sure many of you have extra ones just laying around.  This is a great idea!  The site suggests taking some ribbon (or maybe a shoe string?) to string together the decorations to a little elfy perk to your window sill or hearth or something.  

Tying candy canes around an existing vase can add a Christmassy touch for super low money.  But I would probably need a few rubber bands to hold the candy canes against the vase, that is probably why the red ribbon is there...   My experience with this one is to keep a stash of candy canes somewhere in your house, because people cannot help themselves - they will slip a candy cane or two out of this display!  Who can resist their pepperminty goodness?

Have an ugly awkward candle in a closet or in a drawer at your house?  I do too!  (I have lots!)  The link above suggests using double stick tape and glitter to create a festive up-cycled item!  

Caution: I'm not so sure how the whole lighting the candle and double stick glitter tape works together.  So please research this one a bit more if you are actually going to light up these bad boys!

I really really like this, its creative and unique and you can tailor it to whoever you are creating it for or for whatever room of the house you want to hang it!  Plus if you are like me, you have a ton of holiday socks that - while they may be adorable - you just simply cannot wear for one reason or another.  This would be a great way to recycle them!  I'm not 100% sure how they did this, I'm going to do some more research... 



For more amazing do-it-yourself dollar store decorating ideas, explore the possibilities! 

Budget Friendly Budget Secrets: Starring Michelle Phan!

Like so many others on YouTube, I am a faithful fan of Michelle Phan's videos.  I'm not one for wearing a lot of make-up and things, but I do enjoy her homemade skin care secrets.


For example, Michelle walks us through making an exfoliating scrub out of three things that can be found in anyone's kitchen.  This is definitely on my "to do" list!!





In this video, Michelle shows how to use an organic egg to give yourself a facial can tighten and boost your skin's appearance.  I haven't tried it yet, but I am considering it..  :)

Here Michelle walks the viewer through making homemade pore strips!

Here are the links to a few other low budget homemade tricks that she clues us in on: 

Do It Yourself Cucumber Eye Pads- Reduce dark circles and puffiness 

Creating kissable cheeks with hot chocolate

 Homemade lip scrub to get pucker worthy soft lips

Turn extra eye shadow into beautiful lipstick in just a few minutes

How to salvage your lip-gloss, lower your waste

Sickie Challenge: Fibro Friendliness in Nine Products

Thank you Monique for developing the 10 Day Sickie Challenge! For more information on how you too can take part in this experience, get more information here.

Nine Products that Make my Life Fibro-Friendly

1. Handheld showerhead – for days that I need a hot water massage on my back or am too sore to bend very much.  I love how independent I feel using the hand held, even on bad pain days.

2. Crest Spin brush – for days my shoulders/hands/back hurts too bad to brush my teeth on my own.

3. Easy Feet foot scrubber/massager – This feels amazing no matter how I’m feeling! Sitting on the side of the tub, this dandy little thing scrubs my feet from tiptoes to the back of my heel.  Absolutely worth more than the $10 that it sells for!!

4. Blackberry / Google Calendar – Not only does this keep up with work deadlines, family birth dates, and my schedule, it also keeps me in contact with my coworkers, family, and friends via text messages, twitter, facebook, email, etc. I feel totally lost without my blackberry.

5. Icy Hot Spray and Banana Boat's Spray on Sunscreen – Thank God for these inventions!  I am single, so I don't have the helpful hands of a spouse at my disposal when it comes to either putting on soothing muscle rub on my aches and pains, or even protecting my skin in those places pain will not let me reach with sunblock.  While some say aresol sprays are bad for the environment, they are a welcomed assistance in my world.  

6. Canvas Tote Bags for groceries – Find out more here

7. Facial Wipes – I try to be as skin-health conscious as possible, which includes not going to sleep with a dirty face. This wipes are a blessing! Even on bad days, I can save some pain by cleaning my face with a wipe.

8. Electric Blanket – I’m a good sized girl, tall and curvy. So an average heating pad will not cut it during muscle spasms that last all night long. I have discovered that an electric blanket is an excellent alternative!

9. Post it Notes – Fibro fog anyone? These little miracles save my life at work! This may not be a product I use at home very often but from grocery lists to reminding me to stop by the bank, they are amazing!

What her passing reminded me about living...

I’ve always admired Elizabeth Taylor, like many others I found her absolutely stunning and also an inspirational humanitarian.  Growing up, I had heard of Ms Taylor but in the sense of tabloid stories and her movies.  In 2005, I was properly introduced to her charity work and her pioneer spirit for dealing with AIDS research.  One of my best friends at the time, Lady J, loved Ms Taylor and respected her whole-heartedly.  Both women, Ms Taylor and Lady J, were strong examples of independent women who lived passionately.

Ms Taylor is a strong role-model for women everywhere.  No one told her who she could and could not love, she went bravely into relationships full steam ahead.  She turned a deaf ear to society’s attempt to restrict her affections to one or two husbands.  Yes in today’s time multiple spouses are becoming the norm but when she brazenly divorced her first husband – it was unheard of at that time!  This was also true in her friendships, when the world turned against Michael Jackson she stood boldly beside him as his friends, come hell and high water. 

I have truly be inspired by Ms Taylor’s refusal to turn her back on those that needed her, she forged ahead with AIDS and HIV research when others in Hollywood would turn the other cheek.  She was met with extreme negativity, even aggression, yet she didn’t surrender her cause. 

"Dame Elizabeth was without doubt one of the most inspirational figures in the fight against AIDS," said a statement released Wednesday by the American Foundation for AIDS Research. "She was among the first to speak out on behalf of people living with HIV when others reacted with fear and often outright hostility. - CNN 

I want to be that zealous about the people and causes that mean the most to me!  I want to follow her example of courage and dedication, so that everyone knows where I stand and what means the most to me.   I pray for the strength to love openly, not only people but charities that truly touch my heart.  I hope that I am an unyielding friend who  will not turn my back on people when faced with trials and tribulations. 

The biggest way that Ms Taylor has impacted me may sound a little vain, but she always looked fabulous.  She appeared confident, no matter what her health and abilities were at the time, she rocked it out – even in a wheelchair!  Lady J pointed out to me when I was newly diagnosed with my condition that even Ms Taylor needed mobility assistant, and she was so much “herself” that no one even noticed her adaptations!  That gave me the strength and guts to use a motorized scooter at the grocery store when I needed it or admit that I needed to hold onto the wall in moments of weakness while walking.  For that alone, I owe a great deal to Elizabeth Taylor for my inspiration, and my friend Lady J for the backbone to accept when I need a little extra help. 

When Lady J passed, in 2007, I didn’t think I could make it on my own.  I emulated her and Ms Taylor in my every day activities, calling on their examples when I needed to be brave and stay true to myself and my passions.   I miss her every day and as crazy as this may sound... When I heard that Elizabeth Taylor had passed, it felt like I lost Lady J all over again.  I am always thankful to both of these ladies for their strength, encouragement, and examples they both set that I hope will help me become a better friend and woman of independence. 

  

   

Revealing Your Baggage: Chronic Illness Edition

Baggage is a game show that Jerry Springer hosts, it is a dating show crossed with To Tell the Truth - sorta. The point of the show is that the contestant is presented with three possible daters who have three pieces of "baggage" (unflattering secrets) to reveal.  The contestant will then decide who will be eliminated based on their baggage (or ugly truths)  The secrets range from mild to wild, with each reveal, the baggage gets worse.  Once the contestant selects his/her pick of the available daters, then the contestant reveals a big piece of his/her own baggage and the chosen dater gets to decide if he/she can accept the contestant's baggage or not.  This afternoon's episode of Baggage got me thinking... what would three pieces of my baggage be? 

The first suitcase is always a some-what minor yet important thing.  I think I would use the first piece of luggage to reveal that I live with my Mom.  Yes I am independent, I financially contribute to the household and I have responsibilities that come with having your own house.  I also take care of my Mom and she helps me on bad days.

The second piece of baggage I would open, would be that I have a chronic illness.  Not that my condition is something that I am ashamed of, but it is something I like to put on the table before I become emotionally invested into something or someone.  Call me cynical, but not everyone can handle a potential partner with a condition.  I would rather put my cards on the table in the beginning, that way no one feels tricked later on.  Plus that opens a door for me to talk more about my symptoms and what things I am able to do on my own and what things I can find a way to do.

The biggest suitcase that is revealed in the very last round of questions/answers is the whopper of secrets.  So now it is time to reveal my biggest piece of baggage.  I am emotionally fragile.  Not really a big surprise eh?  Once upon a time I was confident and not easily shaken, but since my diagnosis I have really grown to doubt myself.  Things effect me in ways now that they never have in the past.  Commercials that once made me laugh for how sappy they were now make me teary eyed.  Perhaps it is the wild roller coaster that my hormones have been on since the addition of hundreds of medications over the years.  Or maybe it is the way that my sleep is interrupted frequently from pain, I can't remember the last time I had a night of good honest sleep that was not medically assisted.  Then again, maybe it is because of the rejection I have gone through (doctors, friends, bosses, employees, family members) who didn't believe in my condition or felt that I was "putting on a show" to gain attention.  Not to mention that I'm not able to trust my body anymore, I have no way of knowing if tomorrow will be one of energy, pain, tears, or an exhausted emptiness that I can feel down in my toes.  If I can't trust my body then how can I trust my emotions? 

I understand and admit that everyone, healthy or chronically ill, has baggage.  Someone once said "No baggage means you haven't been anywhere."  Yet I wonder what does a person with chronic illness bring to the show that someone without might not have?  I have friends who have similar insecurities yet they are perfectly healthy.  Now that I think about it, my issues have always been my issues ~ I think my condition has just made me more aware of them. 

These books have helped me so very much put events and hurts of my past in the past so that I can open my heart up again.  It is a work in progress but this book is amazing. 
  

More Information for dealing with emotional baggage:

• The Frailty Of The Human Condition (And Other Emotional Baggage)
• Letting Go of Emotional Baggage - Tapas Acupressure Technique (TAT)
• End Negative Emotions - Release Emotional Baggage Subliminal Cd

New Kind of Bag Lady

Hello, my name is Amber and I am a bag lady. 


No, I don't push everything I own down the sidewalk in a shopping cart.  But I do own approximately twenty of the reusable grocery store bags.  $0.99 here, $0.50 there.  Green ones, blue ones, brown ones, and a yellow one.  I keep a few in my truck, my Mom's van, in the kitchen, and on the freezer.  I have them everywhere!  And I love them!  Why so many you ask?  Because, sometimes I cannot remember to take them with me on a trip to the grocery store.. so I buy another one.  


Of course, on the surface I pretend to do it for the Green aspect of saving the world... but the truth is, the only world it is saving is my own.  Like many people with a chronic illness, I find myself with less energy than I have things I need to accomplish.  So I have a system now, and it works for me.  I limit my shopping trip to two of the fancy smancy canvas bags.  Everything I buy will need to either fit in there or add very little weight to those two bags (like a pack of toilet paper).  (Don't get discouraged, you will be surprised how much you can put in those bags if they are properly packed!)  I would much rather carry a canvas tote of my items than wrestle ten to twelve of the half filled plastic bags.  The bags make it so much easier to load and unload the car.  And when I have a cooperative cashier, I can group items together so that its easier to put up the groceries at home too!  (IE: Cold/Frozen things in one bag, park that right by the fridge!)  


For me this is a fibro-friendly item to have on a shopping trip, good day or bad!


The absolute best part is that some grocery stores (like Bi-Lo) will give you a nickel off for every tote bag you use that saves their plastic bags!  OK so it is just five cents, but that adds up at the end of the year!  That's the other reason I might mumble off when asked why I am always carrying the bags with me.  


But now I can say it loud and proud.  I'm a bag lady because it makes shopping easier on me!  


While I purchase mine at the local stores up by the registers, you can also order something a little more personal for a reasonable price offline. 




For more information on creating your own fashionable tote bags, please check out the links below.

• Cafe Press: Popular and Personalize a Tote Bag!
• Zazzle: Canvas bags and you can personalize tote bags