Can this weather get any weirder?

I am so, so unamused right now. Some of you may know this, but if you don't, I have fibromyalgia. Fibro is basically lots of chronic pain, and it's affected by lots of things- stress, overdoing physical activity, and weather changes, among other things.

I mention this because the weather here is insane. How insane? Look for yourself...

Ok, maybe it's REALLY cool, but it still sucks.

So yea... I'm happy for the new meds, because I was hurting enough before that I'm not sure I'd have made it through this cold snap without losing my mind. As it is, I'm not terribly comfortable, but it's totally manageable. Plus, I get to snuggle with the husband, which is always good. :D

Stay warm, and stay sane!

Old man winter? You can kiss my ass.

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Manicure By Robot

Wow. I just found the coolest video thanks to Win! It was sort of a roundabout journey- my son told me about an amazing video of a man using a robot to make a paper airplane, with a killer surprise ending. We then went to Win! so I could see the video, and after it was finished, I saw another video showing someone using the same robot to paint a St. Patrick's Day nail design!

Now, the guy doing the manicure is a doctor, so it's not all that great artistically, but wow! The technology here is amazing. I can see this being used for so many things...



And no, I haven't abandoned this blog. I've been having the worst fibro flare I've had in years. I saw my pain management team last Wednesday and we made some changes to my meds, and since then I've slept a LOT. I seem to be adjusting to the new meds though, and I'll take sleeping lots over 8 & 9 pain days and not being able to do anything. It's just gonna take some time to get this straight.

Miss you! *hugs*

I love the internet!

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...So I Googled "My Dryer Smells Like Fish."

Yea, I couldn't come up with a better intro for this than my title, so... I did. I googled "my dryer smells like fish."

It's a strange story, but what here isn't? The last few times we ran the dryer, the entire house was filled with this strange odor. Imagine, if you will, an open can of tuna left in the Louisiana sun in June for a week, then condensed into a fragrance spray that was then liberally poured over every surface in my house.

The stench was nauseating.

It's bizarre, too, because why would our dryer smell like fish? We don't own fish, we don't eat fish, and when we do we don't cook it in the dryer. We don't even live near water. Did some suicidal fish somehow hitchhike to our dryer vent to off itself in the smelliest way possible?

This is why I asked google, the repository of all knowledge. Would you believe I'm not the only person whose dryer smells like fish? Try 764,000 results.

From a preliminary look, it appears the problem might be a fuse going bad. Although why it smells like fish is beyond me... hey, who am I to argue with Dr. Google?

Sometimes my life is just too strange for words...

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My New Hair!

Thanks to L'Oreal for sponsoring my post about my favorite beauty looks, tips and tricks! Check out Makeup.com for beauty advice from the experts.

OMG I'm so happy! For years, I've wanted to do something kind of crazy to my hair- pink chunks, red chunks, maybe blue. I've dyed my hair in the past, but always stuck to mostly normal colors.


When I was approached with the opportunity to write about a daring beauty look I wanted to try, I knew what I wanted to do. I get to share it with all of you, too! How fantastic is that?


I decided to use a kit from Splat color, although I think the L'Oreal Color Rays would work just as well. I got the kit with three colors- red, blue, and burgundy. This turned out to be a bit of a problem, as you'll see... in fact, this process was problem after problem- all user error! But more about that soon...


I started this process with long hair- SUPER long hair. My hair was hip-length at the longest, and I realized about a month ago that the weight of my hair was giving me headaches. So, being the DIY-type person I am, I grabbed my shears and started cutting. I only cut a few inches at a time, but ended up cutting off over 10" over the course of three weeks.

My hair ended up bra-length and layered, and lots of fun. Then came the bleaching. Since I wasn't sure if one round would lighten my brown hair enough, I split the bleach into two portions, saving about half for the next time. It did take two times, although I think that might be because I'm just not that good at coloring my hair! But it turned out blonde enough to scare the heck out of me... :D


Then I opened the color packet and started applying... and MAN that stuff is bright! My husband could hear me laughing, because it was really fun. Unfortunately, I didn't have quite enough to really saturate the hair, which made the red seem sort of faded even the first day. If I were doing this over, I'd have chosen a single color, rather than the kit with three. Again, no big deal- I can run to Sally Beauty and pick up a bottle of dye to refresh with.

Once I was finished, I went back and forth trying to decide if I loved it or hated it. It's a huge change, but overall I think I really like it! It's fun, and crazy, and it's just the change I wanted! However, I do have some tips to help you, if you decide to do something like this:


1: Enlist help! Sectioning hair, getting the bleach and foils on, applying the color... it's not easy! Having extra hands is something I would call a necessity.


2: Read the instructions ahead of time. I did, and still found myself going back to the instructions for timing and so on.


3: Do it when you don't have to be somewhere the next day. That way, if it's something you hate, you have time to fix it!


The bottom line is simple- you get one chance at this life, and it's just hair. Cut it, color it, do whatever... it will grow out. Don't wait your whole life wanting to do something!

Thanks L'Oreal for giving me the opportunity to do this!

See my disclosure statement for more information.

New hair!!

OMG, so excited! There will be much more about this in an upcoming post, but for now I want y'all's input. I've gotten a bit crazy in the last month!

For years, I've wanted to have crazy color chunks in my hair, but I haven't really been brave enough to try it. However, due to an awesome opportunity (details soon!) I'm doing it! I've got the color kit already, and it came with three colors: Cherry Red, Royal Blue, and a Burgundy color. I'm going to bleach a few chunks of hair, then put a color or two onto it.

My dilemma? I don't know which color(s) to try first! I'm leaning toward the cherry red, but I just can't decide. Thoughts?

Also, I've made a fun change to my hair. Instead of having hair to my butt, I've cut it to above bra strap length! I've been cutting a bit every few days/weeks. After the fourth cut this morning, it's now short (for me) and layered and adorable! I sort of wish I'd gone to get it cut, though, so I could have donated the 10" to Wigs for Kids. I've donated hair to them before, and it was such a rewarding experience!

So- thoughts? Blue, red, or burgundy, or a mix? Leave me a comment!

I haven't had funky colors in my hair since high school!

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Withdrawing

It's strange, lately. Normally, I'm a very upbeat cheerful person. Optimistic to a fault, to the point that it's rather disgusting to other people. But then there's the other side...

Chronic illness does weird things to your head. When things go well, it's easier to be upbeat. In the bad time, though, I find I withdraw, pull all my energy in. I'm not sure why... it's probably a combination of things. I don't want to bring other people down, and I know it does. I don't want to waste energy on fighting this compulsive need to look like I'm fine, especially on the days when I'm so very clearly not fine.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suicidal or anything. I'm just so very overwhelmed by this constant state of not well. I'm so sick of being unable to do the things I want to do. I'm sick of trying to put on a happy face, only to collapse into a pile of frustrated tears at 2am because I just can't do it anymore. I'm so angry that all those plans I made years ago, schooling and working to be more was wiped out because my body is defective.

It's been one of those times again- this illness wore my body down, and then the next one stepped in and the next one and now I think I've got a relapse of mono, except that I can't actually make the trip to the doctor because it's expensive and even if I had the money, I don't have the energy/ability to ride for an hour each way and spend an hour or more sitting in their uncomfortable chairs.

I'm realizing that no matter what I had planned, this is my reality. Frankly? It kind of sucks, and I don't know any way to fix it. Everything hinges on being able to DO things, and my body won't cooperate.

Anyway, that's why I'm not around on Facebook or Twitter or anything, and that's why I'm not posting as often here. It's hard to be creative when you can't sit up long enough to paint your nails.

I'll show up again though. Probably 3-4 months from now, when this mono has worn off again and I've gotten almost back to what normal was. Things always get better, and I've been here before. I know it will pass, so I'm reminding myself of it.

Self? Hydrate, eat, and don't wallow. It gets better.

Has anyone seen my immune system?

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Happy Thanskgiving to my US readers!

One of these days, I won't be so scatterbrained. I won't be forgetful, and I will remember to do things on time or ahead of time like I always intend to do! I won't be sick, either, and I won't be fat.

Until then? I'm the fat, disabled, happy person who still loves updating this blog and loves all her readers!

Even though the past year has been hard, it's also been wonderful. I am so thankful for so many things- my family, my amazing friends, my wonderful husband who is my best friend on this planet. I'm thankful for our home, and for the ability to make art. I'm so thankful that even though I'm disabled, none of the myriad things I have wrong with me will kill me.

Most of all, I'm so thankful for the sense of humor that allows me to laugh at the things that happen. Life is too short, too fragile. It's not worth freaking out over everything, and being able to find the joy in little things makes all the big hard things easier to tolerate.

I'm also thankful for you- yes, you reading this right now. On your phone or on your computer, at home or work or school or wherever you happen to be, you make it worth writing this blog. Thank you for the time you spend reading my silly stories and looking at whatever I happen to post. I hope your thanksgiving day was filled with love and laughter, and if you aren't in the US then I hope your Thursday was wonderful!

While at my dad's house for our celebration, I pulled out my notebook and doodled a little chibi punk rock girl. Consider it today's art. :D

One of these days I'm going to have to cut down on the number of art supplies I carry in my purse, or just break down and get myself a backpack or something. Oooh, or I could get a burro! He could be my pack burro, and I could stock him with pens and sketchbooks and water and snacks! I could even name him something cute, like Armand, or Doctor!

... I think I've been without sleep too long, and have ceased to make sense. I've definitely been watching too much Dr. Who... if there is such a thing.

Til next time. <3

Turkey cake was provided by family for a delicious meal. He didn't survive, poor guy.

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