Tag Archives: list

Valentine’s Day: The Day to Celebrate Love

I love holidays, all holidays! My mom always made a big deal out of them when I was a kid: the entire dining room would get completely decorated (every bit), and there would be other small decorations scattered about the house; there would be some sort of present, even just small little goodies like some candy or fun socks, to open with breakfast; even special meals, like green eggs at St. Patrick’s Day or pink pancakes for dinner on Valentine’s Day. The holidays were some of my favorite times, and not just because I was a kid getting presents. Each holiday was special, just the excitement of family time! (Every time I test for my “love language” I flip flop between being word based and action/quality time based. ) My family would play games or watch movies together, and I loved that. Because the holidays were always so special to me, I do my best to continue the celebrations now that I have my own house and husband!

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What is POTS? A Short Video by Dysautonomia International

What is POTS?

  • POTS is an acronym. POTS = Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome
  • A type of dysautonomia
    • Dysautonomia = dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system
  • Characterized by a rise in heart rate by 30 beats per minute (or more) within ten minutes of standing
    • or a standing heart rate of 120bpm or more
  • Blood pressure can either increase, decrease, or stay the same
  • A collection of symptoms that can impact every part of your body
  • A life altering condition
    • quality of life analogous to congestive heart failure and COPD
  • Worth fighting!

Video from Dysautonomia International‘s Facebook Page

How to Clean with a Moderately Severe Dust Allergy

I’m allergic to dust. Yes, you read that properly, dust. Everyday house dust. (Read post 1 and 2 about this allergy.) As you can imagine, this makes things very complicated. Doctor’s orders say I’m supposed to stay away from dust, especially airborne dust, which also means keeping my house as dust free as possible. Do you see the catch?

Cleaning is very complicated due to the dust issues. First of all, let me emphasize the importance of good air filters if you have a dust allergy or sensitivity. Air filters are CRUCIAL!!! They are also necessary when cleaning. airfilterI have two different types of air filters, three filter units total. I have two Winix True HEPA filters, and love them. After we got them, we cleaned thoroughly, and it took significantly less time for a dust layer to accumulate. They also automatically sense air quality and will adjust the fan speed as necessary (if on “auto”) and can be put on a quiet “sleep” mode for overnight. We have one Winix on the main level of our house, and one in our bedroom. We also have a small Holmes HEPA mini-tower air purifier (I bought it from Target about 5 years ago). We buy the best filters we can for the Holmes, and it runs 24/7 in the office. All the air filters run 24/7. I’m not getting anything for these links, but these are the ones we use and I definitely recommend the Winix ones.

How to Clean and Dust Your House When You’re Allergic to House Dust

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Some Realistic 2016 Goals

I hate doing resolutions, really hate them. Growing up, I always felt like they were silly; why are all these people making these lofty promises that they couldn’t keep even if they tried?! However, being online means I’m assaulted by wave upon wave of resolutions from every corner of the internet. They are still (usually) crazy and out there resolutions, but they make me think about what I would like 2016 to look like for myself. So here is a small list of realistic goals (I refuse to call them resolutions) that I would like to accomplish in 2016.

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Tips for Winter Pain Flares

The links in this article are not affiliated links, they’re just so you can find things quickly if you are interested. I literally get nothing from them being in my post (sadly, hehe).

I’m sure many people with fibromyalgia (and probably other chronic pain conditions) experience discomfort when the weather changes. For me, cold weather causes a lot of discomfort: extremely overstimulated nerves, painful joints, muscle stiffness, muscle aches, extreme fatigue, etc. I think part of the overstimulated nerves comes from the dry skin I get in the winter.

Even though I only got officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia in January 2013, I have been having symptoms for most of my life. Thankfully, having symptoms most of your life helps you come up with some tricks. I’m still working on an effective routine, but I have a few things that will help when I need some relief.

Chronic Pain Relief in Winter – at Home

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25 Little Things That Make Daily Life Fantastic

The prompt from Writing 101 was to make a list of some sort. Originally, I was going to make a list of how my life had changed due to chronic illness… but then I realized how depressing that list was going to be. Living with chronic illness is challenging, at best, and can make it impossible to see the good in life. So, I decided my list needed to be happy. A major change is how much time I have to stay at home, and how trips and adventures have had to move to the back burner. I spend most of my time at home. Because I spend so much time at home, I decided to focus on what I love about my daily life. So here it is:

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