Girly Fru-Fru Stuff

I got my package of wonderful soap and shampoo bar samples from Chagrin Valley Soap today. Opening our mail box sent the most wonderful minty-herbal scent wafting out. I had taken Oreo over to the big central mail box thing for the apartment complex and actually wound up using the lovely scents to keep him moving.
He's a sucker for pretty smells. Loves chamomile and baby's breath especially. No idea why.

Anyway, my acne has flared up something fierce lately and I've been getting sores on my scalp again. Not fun. I seem to be getting the acne to ease off a little, but cycling through my shampoo/conditioners and even trying some new ones hasn't helped the head much.

I had tried Chagrin Valley shampoo bars several years ago in Chicago. I had fallen in love with LUSH products, but not so much some of the ingredients or the price tag. I had chin-length hair then. Between the water and the hair, I just could not make a go of them, even waiting several weeks, vinegar rinses, etc., etc. So I used up the bars to wash the rest of me and that was that. Then I found one of those old samples stashed in one of my dresser drawers (they smell wonderful, so they serve double duty as potpourri when not in active use). Used it to wash hair and face and it turned out very nicely. Several days in and I don't have that weird grungy-greasy feeling, haven't needed to do a vinegar rinse yet, and scalp sores seem to be improving. I'm guessing the change in water and maybe in hair length helped.

Anyway, Chagrin Valley has lovely, lovely stuff and it is incredibly reasonably priced and there are samples for nearly everything. So I grabbed whatever looked fun. They also have doggie shampoo bars. Tom discovered they're easier to use on Oreo than liquid shampoo when we borrowed one at a friends place. And Oreo is also having some skin itchies, so I'm hoping this will help.

I also scored a solid lotion bar. They're made of waxes and oils that are solid at room temperature but melt when massaged on skin. My hands have become more prone to eczema over the past year, so this is part of my plan of gradually having hand lotion available all over the apartment and in my purse as that seems to be what keeps the itchy, nasty pustules away, but I am sometimes too lazy to hunt for lotion.

So this is the soap I've been making little soap holders for. My first one seems to be just the right size. The one I started last night is going to be too big and will probably need to be frogged. And no, they aren't paying me to gush about their soap on the internets. I will post further info as I try things out.

Also, I have started using Astrid as a to-do list reminder thing. I really like it so far. It's free, web based and has an Android app. Easy interface. You can add in a social component as well.

Bonus Oreo Cuteness

Good Day

This week has been one long migraine, which hasn't been so wonderful. But, Twitter friends helped me figure out that it might have been forgetting my magnesium supplements that was at least contributing to the problem. Social networking and asynchronous communication at its finest.

Part of why the migraine lasted so long was also that I was being very, very stingy with my clonazapam because I was running low. We still don't have our insurance cards or account numbers so I'd have to fill things out of pocket. That wouldn't have been an issue except that the clonazapam script was written on the same sheet as two other meds, one of which would have cost $536 out of pocket for a 30-day supply. Apparently in MS, it's standard practice to fill all the meds on a sheet, especially if it's from a hospital (never mind that it was an outpatient clinic, the sheet from UofC says "hospital." So I asked if they could please, please let me just fill one and come back for the others when I have my insurance info. The pharmacy assistant at Walgreen's was fabulous and called around to see if she could fill it. Fortunately they could, because I was not looking forward to either going without my clonazapam or paying for everything and then trying file an insurance claim. We are covered and have been since Tom's first day of work, we just don't have proof of coverage. Bleh.

Anyway, getting the script helped a whole lot.

I'm never getting that arm pillow back.

Yesterday our new washer and dryer arrived. Oreo sounded much more ferocious than he actually is, because the delivery guy was standing well back from the door when I opened it. I had Oreo tucked under one arm and the guy peeked around me and asked if he was really the only dog.


I managed to drive over to fill out my HR paperwork to teach in the spring. And I ordered some evaluation copies of a few potential textbooks.

Today the migraine is almost gone. I've been doing laundry. And I went for a swim, which wore me out, but helped loosen up all the super tight muscles in my lower back (from scoliosis) and neck (from migraines). I only have a few more weeks to enjoy the pool before it closes, so I'm hoping the weather will stay warm enough. It seems to have temporarily helped with the swelling in my feet and ankles too.

For now, Oreo and I are sacked out on on the couch contemplating a nap.

Big Changes for a Little Dog

I was just talking to Oreo (yes, of course I talk to him - anyone who thinks that's super weird has obviously not known me long) and realized he's still got a lot of big changes coming up. He's already gotten used to sharing (mostly) a house with 2 dogs who are much bigger. And he loves having a yard to trot around in and an extra person to wiggle for.

In a couple weeks we'll be moving into our own apartment though and we were talking about the changes to come.
There will be a whole new big apartment to explore. With two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Tom and I are wondering what he'll do with two bathrooms. Oreo prefers to be in the bathroom with us - there is much scrabbling and whining and head-thunking if he's outside, but until now, we've only had the one bathroom. I have no idea what he's going to do if we are occupying both bathrooms at the same time. It will be a major Oreo conundrum. Will he run back and forth between them? Sit in the middle and cry?

He'll be going back to walkies on a leash, but we'll have a whole complex to explore. Should be fascinating. So many new smells!

There will be a patio. Mmmm, sleeping in the sunshine is a favorite Oreo activity. He'll have container gardening to supervise too.

We'll eventually have a washer and dryer and I suspect there will be lots of head-tilting and inquiry grumbles at the noise.

We will also have a gas fireplace (the hilarity of having a gas fireplace AFTER moving from Chicago is epic). He's sort of been around them before, but I wonder how he'll react.

Squee! Pottery

Image via WikipediaIn between colds, UTIs, CFS-flare ups, revenge of the grumpy-ass thyroid, and migraines I've been trying to pull things together for the archaeology day-camp for adults course I'm team teaching this summer.

I found the last time I taught that working out a general outline for lectures and then going to look for pictures for PowerPoint (or whatever presentation software) is often really helpful in getting my own brain in gear for teaching.  So, I tend to go type a few phrases in to Google Image Search and see what turns up. This is also immensely helpful in shutting up the little voice in my head screaming "how on Earth are you going to illustrate *that*?" which sends me into fetal-position procrastination.  Because if I don't work on it at all, somehow that will make it less scary.

Seriously, brains are stupid sometimes.

Anywho, as is often the case with the wonder that is the internets, I inevitably find things that are interesting but not of immediate use.  Like this link:

Project Grant Report | Byzantine Studies | Research | Dumbarton Oaks

Kiln furniture!!!  And fabulous incised sherds.  And those are the wasters - stuff that got chucked after the first firing because it didn't come out quite right.

Itty Bity Spinny Committee?

I ordered 2 new drop spindles from Spinerosity earlier this week and they arrived yesterday.  One is a full-size lace weight, the other is a mini-spindle that was just too adorable (and too reasonably priced) to pass up.

I decided to play with some Norwegian undyed top (I think it's top) on the mini-spindle and am soooo glad I did.  It was ridiculously fun to spin with and I think has really really helped me get a bit better at drafting.  For the non-fiber fanatics who read the blog drafting is pretty much pulling fiber apart enough to create a thread of desired thickness via twist from spinning the spindle without pulling too much and having the spindle drop.  If you don't pull fiber apart enough you wind up with thick, chunky yarn, if you pull too much the fiber can't sustain the weight of the spindle and breaks. 

I have a spindle I bought for my birthday last year that is a bit heavier and in the range for medium weight yarns and recommended for beginners.  While I've made some progress with it, I had big problems drafting, mostly with my yarn being waaaay thicker than I wanted.

The smaller, lighter mini-spindle seems to have really, really helped me get the hang of drafting and general hand motion.  I'm still doing park-and-draft, but I'm getting better at it. 

I have my hood up because I've got a migraine. 

Spinning

Image via Wikipedia

It's a spindle, just not one for making yarn

I picked up my birthday spindle the other day, having abandoned it sometime around May or June because it seemed just too damn hot and humid to spin.  And then I sort of forgot about it.  Plus, I'm not very good at it.
So, I decided time to try again.  I already have Respect the Spindle: Spin Infinite Yarns with One Amazing Tool, but it wasn't quite enough for me.
Then I discovered that Interweave Press is having a sale on the companion video which is available as either a DVD or an mp4 for download.  Sweet!

I just finished watching it and am very pleased.  I especially like her point that you shouldn't regard your first few attempts as "waste" - you have to learn and there is no way you're going to be perfect immediately.

It's ridiculously cold here today, so I'm not sure I'll be spinning tonight, but hopefully I'll pick it back up in the next few days to practice at least a little bit.  

I also had the chance to look through a copy of Fearless Knitting Workbook: The Step-by-Step Guide to Knitting Confidence on Thursday after my endocrinology check-up and am definitely going to buy it, probably from KnitPicks as they're having a sale on books and I can get some inexpensive wool yarn to work with as well.

I'm also deeply tempted by the ball winder from KnitPicks as well as The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques, but that particular book is available at the public library, so I'm dithering. 

And, as I mentioned, it's ridiculously cold here.  I haven't been able to feel my toes properly all day.  Brrrrrrr.  Even with a blanket, my heating pad, and Oreo I'm cold.  I only did dishes earlier because the hot water feels good through the gloves and I managed to keep my fingerless gloves on under the rubber ones. 

I'm going up in Synthroid dose, starting today.  Would be nice if that helps with fatigue but, to be honest, I'm not expecting much.  I have been warned to avoid soy products as they can apparently mess with thyroid function.  Shouldn't be too much trouble as I can do dairy so I won't have to find an alternate.  If grumpy thyroid is causing my arthritis flare, though, this should help.

My glasses are awesome.  I've had waaaaaay less neck pain and as a result fewer migraines.  I sort of wish I hadn't spent so much getting them from the optometrist, but whatever.  They are awesome.  I'm contemplating ordering some non-Rx sunglasses and maybe an extra pair of reading glasses from here. 

Less neck pain has highlighted how much my right shoulder hurts all the damn time though, so I need to nag my rheumy about that in February.  And I've started getting more honest with myself about other pain too - like pokes in the ribs (including poking myself in the ribs) or even hugs sometimes *hurt!*  even wearing a bra a lot of the time.  This is not ideal.

Nevada Trip - Down South

When we got back to Las Vegas we decided to visit Red Rock Canyon.  It has lots of hiking trails of varying difficulty.  It also has an amazing interactive visitor's center that covers the canyon, desert climate, the microclimates in various parts of the park and is generally amazing.

I'd really like to go back and camp and do a few more of the trails. 

Prickly Pear

One of those sort of microclimates along a gully

Sad ickle pinyon pine

Yep, I look like a dork, what of it.  Worse, most of what I'm wearing is slightly too-small dig clothes

I feel like this most of the time

Pictograph

Behold my magical glowing shoes

Deciding how to make my ascent

Another more forest-y microclimate

Archaeological Geekery

Okay, so it's about "Vile Asiatics" but still kinda cool.

Pinchy on the Road

My friend Scott apparently got to see Machu Picchu recently and took these freakin' awesome, nay, downright bitchin' photos of Pinchy the scorpion visiting one of the world's great archaeological sites.

Pinchy is becoming quite the traveller. I'm hoping he at least defends Scott's luggage from intrusion in exchange for transport.

Blog-cation

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeTom and Oreo and I are heading out to visit my family in Nevada.  Wooo!  I love air travel so much (/sarcasm)!
Anyway, I'm not sure what or when or if I'll blog while I'm actually gone, but hopefully I will have hilarity and photos to share when we get back home if not before.  At the moment, I've got my bed covered in clothes I am likely to pack, along with 2 books and at some point I plan to gather up some crochet hooks and yarn and some patterns to take to keep me occupied.
I'd rather not push my luck at security with pointed sticks, especially since we'll be having enough fun with Oreo (who has to be taken out of his carrier and have his harness taken off so he doesn't set of the metal detector), me with my CPAP, and me in and out of a wheelchair to get through security.
(The Double-Stuff Oreo mascot showed up via Zemanta as a possible image to include and it was too horrifying not to share.)

Tonight's crafting

Fairy Wand

One of the groups I belong to on Ravelry for people with chronic illness decided we should have a fairy wand swap. The idea was to make something fun and sort of whimsical to cheer each other up and maybe have to take to doctor's appointments and hit people with.

Every one who participated got assigned a random recipient and we had some basic information about likes, dislikes, allergies, etc.

My recipient is a fan of ribbon and feathers and pink, blue, and teal.

I started with a wooden dowel cut down to size and made a marbled polymer clay handle. The handle was sealed with Mod Podge and polyurethan sealant. I painted glitter Mod Podge onto the rest of the wand and sealed it as well.

I found the rose on top in the $1 section of Michael's crafts - it was supposed to be a sort of bath poof thing. I cut off the hanging loop and glued it to the end of the wand.

I drilled a hole near the end of the wand and ran some beaded cords and various types of ribbon through, along with the pink maribou feather boa thing.

Then I made the grip decoration. I dyed some white feathers with food coloring to get the blues and teals and made some bows with more ribbon. And I made a little polymer clay brooch sort of thing and stamped it with some meaningful initials.

Amazingly, I had this done well before the due date and managed to send it off.

The recipient seems to really like it. I had a blast making it. I definitely went for the nearly ridiculous level of silly fun with it.

Granny Square

I agreed to contribute a square to a sympathy afghan for a friend of a friend who had a sudden health crisis in the last few months. Finally got around to actually making the square today.

I used a pattern from SmoothFox - a Celtic Granny Square and worked it up in some Pine Simply Soft Eco. It went much faster than expected andI think it turned out lovely. The free pattern includes instructions for single or multiple colors, so I may works with this a bit more in future.

Plus I got to use one of my polymer clay handled crochet hooks.

I did most of it sitting on my zafu while watching the first episode of Elizabeth R. My back is less than pleased about this. I've now retreated to the couch and my "boyfriend pillow" and heating pad.

Not terribly much else going on lately. I had one of my very bad migraines starting Thursday night with the major pain lasting through Friday and residual suckage through today.  The concurrent thunderstorms aren't helping.
I've also been a bit depressed, but I suspect the migraine had a role in that.

Hoping to get going on some other projects this week.  I'd like to try designing my own amigurumi for sale as finished objects and/or as patterns, but keep feeling inadequate to the actual task and so keep doing loads of "research" into pattern templates, etc., etc., without actually doing anything.
The same with polymer clay stuff.  Must actually do instead of just thinking.
There's also sewing to be done.  I'm finding long-ish skirts more and more comfortable lately for a variety of reasons and would like to make some out of cotton in some good neutral colors.  I've got fabric and pattern for jammies waiting.  And I've still got an excessive amount of buckwheat hulls and a ton of fabric a lovely friend from Ravelry sent to me waiting to be made into pillows and hot/cold packs.

I also need to quit daydreaming about the homestead.  It'll happen when it happens.  Chickens!  Vegetables!  Goats!  Bunnehs!  Horsies!

New Hair for Me, New Shoes for Tom

I couldn't take it anymore and got my hair cut off again the way it was since, oh, I graduated from high school up until 2 years ago or so. Yay, less hair. Yah, more spikes. I really, really like it. It doesn't look quite as awesome as it did just after the cut since I was stupid and wandering around getting overheated, but, yay! Awesome! I think I'm just going to be one of those women who has short hair for most of her life - famous examples that come to mind are Julie Andrews and Judi Dench and, really, I could be in far, far worse company. (Also, I can I be M when I grow up?)  Hilariously, the stylist and her supervisor both commented "yeah, that looks more like it fits you" when the cut was done.

I rode the bus to the South Loop to the Paul Mitchell school (yay, cheap cut!) Unfortunately there was a bus back-up and I would up standing in the sun for about 30 or 40 minutes without sunscreen (because I'm stupid and didn't wear any and couldn't bear to keep my cardigan on), but I got there eventually. Then, like an idiot, I walked around after the cut. And very nearly passed out and/or threw up by the time I made it to a nice, air conditioned Best Buy with a nice quiet ladies room in which I rested for probably close to 30 minutes before walking a few more blocks to a shopping center so Tom could meet me with the car when he got finished with work.
One day out from therapy and I already failed this week's assignment: "DON'T OVER-DO IT!" Heh. Hopefully pointing at my head and repeating "but, pixie cuteness!!!!" will get us past that issue...

The plan was to go to REI with our member's 20% off coupon to get Tom some Vibram Five-Finger shoes that we looked at over the weekend. Alas, they were sold out of his size. Fortunately, my girly need to go to Ulta for hair gunk (and lord was that a long, confusing, aggravating process for me and my cheap ass) put us next to another shoe store that happened to have the very shoes he wanted which you can see on his adorable feet below.
To top it all off, we had a tasty, tasty dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen. I may need to sleep for the next two days, but I have awesome pixie punk hair and Tom has wicked cool toe-shoes (of which I am slightly jealous).