A chat session from instant messager with my husband:
Angie... I got a text msg from your daughter
Angie... I about died
DH... ?
Angie... "Hey ma im on my way 2 the haircut place i no texting is a wast of money sry also im getting faster at txting luv u bye"
Angie... .05 cents well spent, I'd say
DH... oh god
DH... /sigh
Angie... those teen years seem closer and closer every day
Angie... what a whirlwind she is
DH...she's awesome, she cracks me up
In honor of Mother's Day (in America), a tribute to the "words of wisdom" every mother offers in a given day. Comedienne is Anita Renfroe. Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!
The actual lyrics are posted on this YouTube page.
Continuing my saga of being poked with sharp pointy things...
I had my 6th acupuncture treatment on this past Monday, and my 7th yesterday. Monday's session treated mucus (again), hormones, and parietal lobe. Wednesday's session treated mucus (yes, a third time), and fungus. (Very glamorous, this last session.)
On Monday I told him that I had been having bad headaches along the sides of my head for the past week; he nodded and said, "temple headache". So he treated "parietal lobe" at that session - which means he gave me a liquid-filled vial labeled "parietal lobe", and added three extra needles: one about halfway up on the outside of each calf, and one smack in the middle of my eyebrows. Later I had to wonder exactly what was in that liquid-filled vial - if they give you a little bit of the allergen to increase immunity, was I holding 'Essence of Parietal Lobe', with little bits of brain floating around in it? And whose parietal lobe would it be? I hope they chose someone really smart.
I still had an awful headache for the rest of Monday following the treatment, but it eased up on Tuesday, and was only mildly annoying yesterday. Certainly much more manageable than it was. I have no idea if the onset of the headache is related to the acupuncture treatments - the doctor didn't indicate one way or the other.
When I started treatments. I anticipated about three treatments, four at the outside. At seven treatments now, with little to show for it, I keep feeling like I'm just throwing money away, with no guarantee that there's going to be any vast improvement, and no indication of how much longer it could take. So yesterday morning I told him this would be the last treatment, at least for a while. He tested me for everything he has treated: vitamin C, grass mix, tree mix, mold, dust, (rag)weed, flower mix, hormones, histamine, parietal lobe, and mucus (eeeueew!) I passed everything but mucus. He also tested me for fungus, which he hadn't tested before. When I didn't "pass", he said, "Ah! Fungus! That can take several treatments to get rid of." And I thought, why didn't he test that earlier on, then?! My husband's skepticism crept in, and had me thinking that I just told this guy I was going to stop treatments, and he "discovers" another allergen that still needs additional treatment. How convenient. (and fishy).
You may remember a post I made a couple of weeks ago, describing my first acupuncture appointment: On Pins & Needles. I realize you are probably waiting with bated breath (dare I say...on pins and needles??) for an update.
I've had four more treatments since then, pretty much like the first one - 8 needles, and two vials of liquid allergens. He treated different allergens each time:
1st visit - Vitamin C
2nd visit - tree pollen & mold
3rd visit - grass pollen & dust
4th visit - grass pollen (again), histamine, & weed (ragweed, I'm assuming)
5th visit - flower mix & mucus (eeeewwww!)
To report back with answers to questions I had the first time around - I haven't asked about how the allergens produce a decreased muscular response. But I did ask about Vitamin C - he confirmed that my body had problems processing Vitamin C, and that is common with people who have "autoimmune problems", which includes allergies. On my 2nd visit I "passed" the Vitamin C test, so now my chi is in tune with processing Vitamin C. And since he treated mucus this morning (again, euuuuw!), that means my body has a problem processing mucus. Lovely.
To be honest, I didn't really feel any different, and still don't really, even five appointments later. He keeps asking me how I feel, and I'm like, uh, not really any different. I have been taking Claritin D through it all, but decided to try not taking it this past Saturday. I made it through the whole day just fine, but started getting a headache and sneezing in the evening, then woke up about 2am with a terrible allergy attack - I felt like I was drowning in snot (sorry, not a lovely visual, but there you are.) I got up and took some Claritin and a Benedryl and laid on the couch for about an hour and a half before stumbling back up to bed.
I mentioned this to the doctor at this morning's appointment, and he seemed a bit perplexed. He proceeded to test me for everything he's treated, and I passed everything. So today he treated flower mix and mucus, and added a couple more needles up by my brow/sinus area. I have a bit of a sinus headache this evening, so maybe that's a result?
My skeptical husband made me ask today how many more appointments the doctor expected I would need to be "cured" - the doctor smiled when I asked (phrased just that way), saying that husbands are supposed to be skeptical. Then the doctor said it should take just one more visit. I told my husband that, and he said, "Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Just *one* more."
I really wish I had better results to report. I'd love it if this worked - I mean, how can I really be part of the, like, 3% that don't find relief through acupuncture? Sigh - we'll see. I'll keep ya posted!
So I had an acupuncture treatment this morning - my first ever. And at this point, let's just say I'm withholding judgement. I talked to a woman last week who was seeing this same doctor for treatment for seasonal allergies, and she said she was almost completely "cured". Considering we're spending $60 a month on Claritin-D, I figured I'd give it a try.
The little booklet they gave me said that acupuncture stimulates the flow of Chi - "any misdirection, blockage, or other derangement of the amount, flow, or balance of Chi may result in pain, dysfunction, and ill health." The doctor described acupuncture as "reprogramming" your nervous system to process correctly, kind of like rebooting a computer to function like it's supposed to. Sounds pretty new-age-y, but 5000 years of documented results have to count for something. The process this doctor (a licensed chiropractor) uses is Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET).
I told him I'd had allergic rhinitis/seasonal (year-round) allergies since childhood. For his evaluation/to confirm diagnosis, he had me lay down on the exam table, and handed me a series of small glass vials, each filled with a different liquid. While holding the vial in my right hand, he had me press my left pinky to my thumb, and resist while he tried to pull them apart. If I had a strong resist response, I didn't have a problem with that element (in the glass vial). If he could pull my fingers apart, I...I don't know...had a problem processing that element. (I didn't quite get exactly what that the decreased response indicated - something about electromagnetic fields - I have that on my list of questions to ask.) Since I was there for allergy treatment, the first element he tested was Vitamin C, which I thought was interesting. But I guess that's related to the immune system, so it kind of makes sense. He could pull my fingers apart, so I had a "problem" with Vitamin C, whatever that means. Then he tested a number of other vitamins, but didn't mention any problems with any of them. I don't actually know exactly what all he tested.
He asked me if I'd ever had traditional allergy testing. When I indicated I had, he asked what I tested allergic to. I told him grass, pollen, trees, ragweed, dust, mold, and cats. So he tested each of those elements, and each time could pull my fingers apart. He tested maybe thirty vials total. The fact that he "confirmed" what I already knew I was allergic to raised a skeptical flag for me, but like I said, I'm withholding final judgement.
After the diagnostic process, he said he would treat me this time for Vitamin C, then I would come back for other treatments - one or two allergens per treatment. They bill per treatment session, not by allergen - $60 a session. It's not covered by insurance, but we can submit it for flex spending account reimbursement. I figured out that if it allows me to stop taking Claritin for eight months, it would be worth it, financially. I told the kids that I was willing to be the guinea pig, and if it works for me, they're next. Their response was...not enthusiastic. Go figure.
So then the doctor proceeded to insert the needles...
Aaaaaaaand another one! W00t! Hamburger Soup with Barley is from the Fix-It & Forget-It Cookbook. I love how this one turned out. And at 4x6, I can print these cards like regular photos!
(Click on the graphic for a full-size image to save for your own recipe collection)
Digi Credits:
Colorful Kids kit by Michelle Underwood
Fonts: Pinky BV and American Writer
Software: Photoshop Elements
I put together a little video of a hybrid album I did recently. I'm really pleased with how cute the album turned out, and so is my daughter, which is a nice bonus!
Last summer, my daughter and I went on a Mother-Daughter Overnight campout through the Girl Scouts - just her and I, no one else from the troop went with us. Which actually was kind of nice - our schedule was our own, and we didn't have to wait for or check in with anyone before we did the next activity. This was our second year participating and we really enjoyed all the activities. Plus even non-campers can handle 20 hours in the "wilds" of Missouri (about 20 minutes from our house!).
The album is hybrid because I created all the layouts/pages digitally, using the Funky Junky Quick Album by Colleen York and Emily Merrit. I sized the layouts to 4x4, placed them on 4x6 "canvases", and had them printed as 4x6 photos. I painted the edges of a C&T Publishing blank board book with acrylic paint. Then I trimmed off the 2" white strip, and adhered the photos/layouts to the board book. Easy peasy project! Especially with Quick Pages that complete a lot of the work for you!
See the actual layouts (not in the hybrid album) here: Mother-Daughter Overnight
EDITED TO ADD: Read Miss Mint's great Board Book Bonanza Tutorial on how to create one of these!
Digital credits after the "jump"...
Continue reading "Hybrid Scrapbook Album: Girl Scout Campout" »
This video pretty much answers the question of why I don't scrapbook - at home. I crop with a group of girlfriends at stores and retreats as often as I can, which is about monthly to every other month. But watch this to see why I can't get anything done at home.
So I enrolled in a scrapbooking organization challenge class at a local store. We had two sessions - the first session's assignment was to take "before" pictures, then sort paper. The above video is my "before". I haven't gotten around to sorting paper, but I did purge. BOY, did I purge. I had to do that before I sorted - why sort what you're going to purge? Details of my purge in the next post.
I want to convert a number of home movies currently on VHS-C to DVD - anyone have a good service provider they can recommend?
