She's got the six-carat Harry Winston on her bony, unpolished finger.

So I couldn't wear nail polish during my surgery.  Being intrigued with all the nail art going on though I've been buying a lot of polish the last couple of months.  I went through a ton of old polishes I had.  Many couldn't be salvaged so they were thrown out & many new polishes were bought.  And now that I no longer have a thyroid, the battle with hypothyroid had begun.

Within 2 days of the surgery the new complications started.  Now, I had been suffering from Hashimoto's thyroid before it turned into Graves' disease.  Technically, while suffering through Graves' I had both.  Yes, complicated, & I still don't fully understand all of it.  It's the wonderful world of suffering through autoimmune diseases.  I thought that it wasn't going to be that bad.  I thought that I was going to just go back to the way I had been before.  A bit of normalcy.   It has been more like hitting a brick wall because it's much more severe until I can get on the right track.  I'm positive it will.  I am constantly being told this is going to take a while, but when I get there I will know!  One thing I have learned through a lot of questions & research is that with this disease, numbers DO lie.  Every single person is different and will have a different range of hormones that they need to reach & maintain in order for them to go back to that normalcy.  I really have to be paying attention to myself & how I am feeling.

I'll start with some GOOD things:
I actually feel way more calm, like I have control over my anxiety now.  Haven't had a single panic attack.  My constant nausea is gone & I have not thrown up once!  No more hot flashes.  No more heart palpitations, getting dizzy, feeling out of control. 

But the BAD things:
Losing hair, joint and bone aching and pain, teeth aches, dry, thin, flaking, clammy and numbness in skin.  I get these disgusting cold sweats and it feels like I have someone pressing ice on my forearms, chest and forehead constantly.  When the AC comes on I can't stand the way the current feels on my skin.  It's like being sick with cold sweats but you don't get all the other awful cold symptoms with it.  It's just weird... different.  My depression is kicking in & I have been irritable, moody, awake, out of it & exhausted at the same time.  I already gained 5lbs but that's probably due to a nice combination of bed rest, the hypothyroid kicking in and the prednisone medication.  And last, (mostly because why I have been writing about nail polish) dry, soft & brittle nails.

Now it really pays to look through coupons online.  I usually go through Coupons.com, Save.com & Target coupons. 

I had 2, $1 coupons for Sally Hansen that I found through vaious sites. (Can't find them anymore.) On clearance at Target I found the Sugar Coat in Bubble Plum for $2.74.  Final price = $0.74.

$1 off Nicole by OPI coupon from Save.com & also from the Sunday paper.  I found a cool shimmery glitter one in the clearance bin at Rite Aid for $3.75. Final Price - $1.75.

$2.49 for both.

I really have no idea what I'm going to start using 1st.  We shall see in the next day or 2.

 

IF YOU ARE IN LAS VEGAS, NV

My good friend Andrea Lipomi, whom owns Feetish Spa Parlor, runs Confident Massage, also blogs under The Young Thumbs and is currently enrolled in beauty school at Destination Academy is looking to work her nail magic on YOU!  From Andrea herself...

PLEASE COME SEE ME IN CLINIC! Call (702) 360-3606 to book a mani or pedi with me at Destination Academy. I can hook you up with regular OPI polish or gel polish. I'll even rock some marginal nail art skills if you ask nicely! YOU ARE MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY, so mention this fact when you book so you'll save 50% off of regular prices. This means you'll pay $5 for a mani and $10 for a pedi. My school is located at 4280 S. Hualapai on the 2nd floor. You can enter through the Destination Spa & Salon on the 1st floor. DO IT!

Sephora stash!

So, I got a bunch more stuff today in the mail and this should keep me busy with my blog for the rest of the month.  I hope.  Out of all the things I got in my Sephora stash yesterday I wanted to write 1st about the Vanille Insensée Cologne Absolue by Atelier Cologne.

I love vanilla (with few exceptions) and was curious about its description with notes of Lime, Cedrat, Coriander, Jasmine, Vetiver, Oak Moss, Vanilla, Oak Wood, Amber.  So it was the 1st I opened to sample.  It came with a cool postcard.  The description makes it seem very earthy.  I'm not a huge fan of cedar though cedrat usually is much nicer, and amber, even as a base note, usually overpowers perfumes.

It is extremely earthy but an empowering and sophisticated earthy scent.  Not down-to-earth or hippy-ish.  A perfect night scent for a wine bar, business dinner, scotch with friends or a humidor gathering.  Very sexy and rich indeed!  The mix is well and I don't feel one note overwhelms another in any way.

Sample bottles are normally a pain so more got on my fingers if anything but I just wanted to keep taking deep, slow breaths in of its scent.

Of course, everyone's senses are different so I always recommend that if you are curious, go into Sephora, give yourself a small spritz & after shopping for about 10 minutes, you'll know if you'll want to have it all for your own!

Well, I was updating this post all through the day because of my eye troubles and now I'm tired.  More bath & beauty goodness later!

Post surgery social/online shopping boredom.

Being home on my ass all day is a recipe for boredom, & social/online shopping.  So, what have I been doing?  Social/online shopping, yes!  Also working on a lot of my mail art books, reading, resting, going to doctors, talking to doctors, setting up & moving around doctor appointments.  Not moving around much & still not allowed to drive.

Sephora still has an OPI clearance going on where you can get 3 selected polishes or top coats for $10.  You can find the available polishes right here, and the top-coats right here.  Remember, these usually do not last so get them while you can!  I placed the order August 6th & today's the 8th & I already have it in my hands!  The ones below are what I got with links to them.  Except for the light green one called "Is It Payday Yet?"  It's already sold out & gone from the site.  The links for the others will probably be disabled as soon as they sell out.

I'll be honest.  I'm not really a nail polish person & nail art has really kicked off with all the colors, coats, glitters, designs, textures.  It really has been mind blowing & pretty cool to see what people have been doing.  I can barely paint my right hand without getting it all over my skin & having to do a major cleanup after though.  So, unless I want something dramatic & wild, that I will leave up to the professionals.  I'm going to be pretty basic with how I will be doing my nails.

In addition to that I wanted to be pampered so I got something I had a sample of before.  SugarBath Lemon Bath Cubes by Fresh.  I had a few from a gift set I received a while back and just adore the soft, sugary, lemon scent.  They also left my skin feeling great & since after this surgery, & how "off" I have been feeling, I'm glad I made the purchase.  I would have bought it eventually.  Why not now?

Sephora really did good with my online order this time.  Not ONLY did I get EVERY sample I requested (usually always missing one I wanted, or was replaced with something else I didn't want/would not use) I got my samples of thickening shampoo/conditioner by Bumble and Bumble, rejuvenating serum by Tata Harper, Vanille Insensée Cologne Absolue by Atelier Cologne, a light argan oil deluxe sample by Josie Maran that I got with a code (those were all the requested ones) AND they also threw in a sample of Honey by Marc Jacobs, PLUS a Pink Sugar Eau de Toilette by Aquolina.  SCORE!

Other orders I am waiting for are Julep, a Drugstore/Beauty.com order & one from Fab.com.  I will post about those later when received.

So, I know I wrote before about how terrible the aftermath of the surgery was. This is my 3rd surgery ever & I really don't know what the problem was with this one.  All the nurses & doctors were nice but I'm paying a huge co-pay for this, I know I'm going to be feeling like crap & so I just want to be as comfortable as possible & after that one night I just couldn't wait to get the heck out of there!

After the surgery I was placed in a room with another woman who had colitis.  We didn't talk, she was behind a curtain.  I don't even remember going into the room.  I remember waking up & being overwhelmed with the smell of Chinese food because her & her family were in the room eating it.  Made me so nauseous, but I was still hungry.  I think this was around 4-5pm.  I didn't want solid food because I thought I may barf it up & around 7pm, they said they would put in a request to get me some juice, vegetable broth & jello.  Visiting hours were over at 8pm, Chris left at around 8:30pm & I didn't get any food until a bit after 9pm.  I didn't get what I asked for.  I got ginger ale, cranberry juice, water and a little container of raspberry ice.

It took them FIVE times & at least 3 hours of asking for pain medication after surgery.  Anytime you would ask a nurse for something that had to go through some crazy procedure & it would take over 1/2 hour to an hour or LONGER to get them to you.  The only time they were really quick was I had this faulty IV in my left elbow.  If I even bent my elbow some alarm kept going off over, & over, & over saying the battery needed to be charged, though it was plugged into the wall.  Only solution to that was to keep my arm arrow straight.

The woman next to me snored.  LOUD.  Because of her colitis she was up to the bathroom all the time & in the process, kept moving MY IV equipment through the curtain.  This also didn't help with the stupid alarm going off on it.  Her TV sounded like it was in my ear full blast all night also.  So I just turned & left my TV on the same channel.

There were ants in the bathroom.

Also they needed to have these things on my legs that would inflate/deflate to help with my circulation.  They had them on me but never turned them on.  I had to ask about it & I don't think they got them working until 1am.

I was up for over 12 hours after the surgery & they told me the pain meds would help me sleep.  Nope.  They just came in & jabbed me with something in the back of my left arm.  No idea what medication it even was.  Calmed me down but I was not tired at all.  It did cause a nasty bruise which is still there, but almost gone now.  So at like 4-5am I was crying because I was so tired & annoyed & asking for pain meds again that were not coming.  A nurse came in after I asked for them, looked at me, the left & I had to call & ask AGAIN for the medication, which took almost another hour to get someone back in.  I was also having a problem with phlegm & coughing because of the breathing tube that had been in earlier but I knew that would go away after a few days.

I think what concerned me the most was what happened the next day.  Chris came in the morning around 8am & I felt a bit more calm & maybe got 1/2 hour of sleep.  I was apologized to because apparently they were supposed to be changing my "drainage" during the night & no one did.  Instead of me using my own medication that I had filled & brought from home, they had to administer to me what was from their pharmacy.  So they handed me all these pills & they didn't look like what I normally take so I start asking questions.  What's this one?  What's that one?

They forgot to give me the prednisone all together.  I took it once I got home.  Now, I also have asthma & with all the pain meds, breathing tube I had earlier, & the surgery, I had to be really careful & monitor it.  The night after the surgery they gave me my steroid inhaler & then in the morning they came in with 2 different steroid inhalers to take.  When I asked about it, they informed me the 2 drugs made up 1 whole dose of what I normally take.  Thing is, the night before, the missed 1/2 of it & I don't know what 1/2.

I was SO GLAD to get out of there & home!

Here's a before/after picture of my neck.  Also my super swollen hand from the IV after the surgery.

I had a long day today though.  Still haven't had my bath & dinner so I'm going to work on that now &, hopefully, I'll be able to update tomorrow on how I am physically doing after the surgery.

Take care everyone!

ALIVE!

WORST SURGERY EVER

Yes!  So I have a (somewhat) clear head at the moment, am in between my generic brain fog of lortabs & pain and because I tend to think about others more than myself, I thought I would post some stuff.

I will write about the surgery later when I has a bit more strength & mindset.  Whenever that will be.

I posted publicly on my Facebook page today 2 links for certificates through Boomerang.  One is a $5 off $20 for Julep & the other is $5 off $50 when you shop at Target online.  They expire after 30 days &, from what I have been able to tell, can only be shared through Facebook wall posts at this time.  I couldn't find an option to tweet or e-mail them.

Boomerang doesn't bombard you with e-mails but you get at least 1 weekly with usually a free $5-10 off a certain amount spent.  Some place I usually haven't heard of.   You can also buy certificates in certain amounts for friends on their birthdays or special occasions for places like Bath & Body Works, Etsy, Groupon, Sephora, Anthropologie, etc.  In the past I've even received deals for Ghirardelli & Diamond Candle.

So, if you are an online shopper like me, sign up, take advantage.  When you send certificates, you may even get additional free ones of your choice. 

You may/may not be able to use these in conjunction with other promos & certificates, depending what they are.  I was able to use the Julep in combination with their July clearance and with another gift certificate I had that I had been saving up.  So a, close to, $50 order (including shipping) became $30 with the sale & then became $11 with the codes (I had $14 certificate plus the $5).  DEAL!

More later!

Under the knife... again!

Tonight's bath consisted of:

• Sandalwood Fig bath ice cream by Me! Bath
• Polished & Protected body scrub by EcoTools 
• Sweet Lemon shower gel by The Body Shop

I was happy to find three Me! Bath ice creams on my last trip to TJ Maxx for close to $5 each.  SCORE!

Over the last couple of weeks ideas, thoughts, plans of things that were going to happen were in the works for me.  And then.... things just turned in a completely different direction.  Of course this all has to do with my thyroid & autoimmune disease!  We thought RAI therapy was going to be the best option for me.  We decided against that.

I really have to thank everyone for all the kind words & support.  Family, friends, even people who hardly know me.  Others who have been through this, or are still going through this.  No one really knows how awful Graves' Disease is unless that are going through it.  Before being treated for Hashimoto's thyroiditis, I've talked to SO many people going through that & they tell me how terrible it is.  I know, I've been there & was being treated for that before the Graves' kicked in.  I just pray it doesn't switch on like a light to Graves' like mine did.  I can't wait to get back to hypothyroid... or even better... NORMAL!

Monday I am going in for surgery to have a total thyroidectomy.  There's no concern for cancer with me but when I was 1st diagnosed with Graves' the plan was to start on a high dose of medication & then get my numbers evened out & taper off of that.  Well, my body didn't want to work that way.  Instead, they would even out but then immediately slip.  So, the dosing went higher... then higher... then higher.  Now my T3 & T4 levels are in a good range for the surgery, but my THS is almost non-existent again so my anxiety is through the roof & a good reason why I've been so ill in many ways lately.

It has put a lot of things on hold.  On a leave from work, seeing 5 different doctors because of it, missing going to Toronto with one of my BFFs, etc etc etc.  Everyone keeps telling me things will get better after they remove it.  I've been feeling like crap for so long it's almost unbelievable!  Excited, nervous, anxious, scared.  I may & may not have a long road of recovery after.

And my eyes!  Oh my eyes!  So you can't really see it by looking at me but I have the start of TED in my left eye.  It's extremely slight & they had me on steroid eye drops for it but are weening me off of that & have me on a high dose of oral prednisone (WORST medication EVER), before the surgery &, under supervision, are going to ween me off of that (hopefully) by the end of September.  My eye is constantly tearing so it's hard to see out of it, things get blurry or light streaks across my vision, like if you were looking at lights through water. That in conjunction with the vision in my right eye being fine, causes confusion sometimes.  It's been making it difficult to not only see but drive my car also.  I can be sitting around & tears will just start rolling down my cheek like I'm crying & I can't get it to stop.  I do NOT want that to get any worse!

The whole thing is still so confusing to me.  There's so much to know & learn & do suffering through this.  Not to take up so much time writing about it but, it's my blog so I can do what I want.  Of course, I'll keep everyone informed.

In addition to this I really messed up my computer the other week also.  UGGHHH!  I did something that made it try to boot from the E: drive (which was what I was using my flash drive under) while moving some documents around.  Had a hell of a time getting past passwords & moving files from the hard drive to a portable one.  Then I had to reinstall Windows.  Reinstall all my programs.  Reinstall all my drivers.

Upon doing so I found some pictures I would like to share!

  
Can you tell I love purple?  That's an old picture of my closet too.  Things have kind of expanded to 2 more shelves.  This doesn't even get into my candle addiction.

I think once I get back on my feet I am going to also subscribe to both Birchbox & Ipsy. I have been toying with the idea of both of them lately.  This should be interesting.  I was doing Julep, but that's another story for another day.  I always have so many ideas & things I want to write about but with this illness everything I have been doing to get to this point, my blog has just been another thing put on the back burner.  I really hope not for much longer.

Well, I warned the hospital at my pre-operation appointment that, considering I can't eat after midnight, have to be there at 10:30am & surgery isn't until 1:30pm that I may become quite crabby & irritable.  They said no lotion, nail polish, perfumes, oils, makeup or deodorant.  Also went to CowPök to have my ear piercings removed that I couldn't get out on my own in prep for Monday.

Feeling more scared about it all... if anything.  Maybe I'll have some time to update tomorrow just some general fun stuff.  Kind of doubt it though it would be nice.

Wish me luck!

One day at a time.

Tonight's bath consisted of:

• Colloidal Oatmeal packet by Rite Aid
• Flying Saucers bath foam by Lush (*Note: The link is to the shower gel as the bath foam has been discontinued.)
• Honey shampoo by The Body Shop (Also discontinued.)
• Killer Beez soap by Villainess Soaps

There's a theme to that.  Can you guess it?

I hope my few followers are doing well.  I have been not.  My Graves' is not getting any better.  I switched endocrinologists, my THS levels dropped again since the last time I had blood work done (in April) & I am now up to 40mg of Tapazole a day.  This means I wasn't responding well to the 35mg I was already on.  Normal maintenance dosage of the medication is 5-15mg a day.  Medication is also supposed to be short-term & I have been on it for 8 months now.  My new doctor thought about putting me on PTU but after thinking about it for a while when I was at the office, due to it being less effective than the Tapazole & also known for causing liver problems, he decided against it & just to increase the Tapazole for now.

Eventually he wants my next step to be Radioactive Iodine (RAI) therapy.  To do that though, he said I would need to go off my current thyroid medications completely which, with how I am currently responding, will most likely make me very hyperthyroid & feeling much worse than I am now.  Then after the RAI, I have to wait a few months for it to even kick in so I may become extremely ill, like how I was back in October of last year (though I feel like I am almost getting back to that point now).  I've already had to go back on heart medication due to palpitations the fact my blood pressure skyrockets when I'm at work.  They do say stress aggravates it.

I really can't wait to get back to "normal."  Whatever that feels like anymore.  Between the stress, anxiety, palpitations, on/off problems with my pulse & blood pressure, dizziness, intolerance to heat, confusion, the fact my left eye will not stop watering & I'm having trouble seeing out of that at times now and people keep asking me if I'm ok because it looks like I'm crying, the shakiness & tremors I get, insomnia, the problems it's causing with my skin, eczema, keratosis, panic attacks, tiredness, exhaustion, tension, pain... I would do anything to not go through this anymore!  It was funny to mention that at my last appointment my endocrinologist was saying how nausea was an unusual side effect of the graves but it's not unheard of.  My response was along the lines of...



Now, back to bath blogging!

PLEASE check them out by clicking the photo to go to their main webpage.  Add them on Facebook!  BUY something of theirs!  There's tons of companies out there who use the same scents over & over, or try to mimic perfumes & signature scents of other companies but Villainess is truly unique!

Their line is limited to a few things.  Soaps, Smack! (foaming body scrubs), Smooch! (moisturizing body scrub), Whipped! (velvety body creme), perfume oils, About Face (a line of facial products), & now & then something new & different.  Like they currently have a "blood bubble bath" under their Limited Edition section.

I first noticed them on Fab.com as they were having a sale of their products.  It was something like, get 3 bars of soap or 2 scrubs, but in all the same scent.  I had never tried them before though &, to be honest, I had no clue if I would even like what they had to offer.  So I sought out their main webpage & ended up getting a few products on clearance and samples, even paid less in shipping than what I would have paid through Fab.

So I got soap, Smooch!, & Whipped! in the scent Blush.  "A blend of sweet berry and tart lime notes, grounded by a slightly tipsy touch of cheap dry wine."  Ohhh... I wish they still made this scent!  All the products & samples I got I just loved.  All the mixes of scents just work so perfectly with each other!

The Whipped! is fantastic!  It goes on really light & seeps in right away leaving your skin soft without a greasy feeling.  The scents linger for a good long while in all of their products too!

So, again, check them out in the links above!  Follow their blog, follow Villainess on Twitter, or follow them everywhere & give them a try at some point!

Chatterbug on Twitter.

Diamond Candles just had a chat party on Twitter.  I learned about it just before it started, plus I had never done one of these before, so I didn't post about it on here.  They are having another one on Valentine's Day!  So, if you will not be busy, mark you calendars & chat it up!  You might win a candle of theirs!  Follow them on Facebook & Twitter to see when it starts.  You will need to have a Twitter account for this!

If you're old school like me, you'll understand why I will say it's just like mIRC.  There will be a designated chat room for you & other fans.  They suggested, as I did, opening a 2nd window directly to their Twitter feed so you wouldn't miss any of their specific tweets.  The feed went really fast & it was supposed to last for an hour, ended up being 2-1/2 hours!  It even crashed my browser twice after a ton of script errors.  Oh my!

I didn't win anything but it was still fun.  They asked questions, re-tweeted (RT) and replied to a lot of posts.  I replied, RT & posted a bunch on my own.  They would randomly pick winners & will send you a direct message also to make sure you know you won.  It was fun seeing the ideas of others, and, I admit, it made me really hungry too.☺  I didn't just chat with DC, I also chatted with other Twitter users.

Here's a few (non-enforced) rules about chat:

(1) Chat it up.

• If you don't, you won't get noticed.  You won't win.  You just won't have any fun!

(2) Be friendly:

• Introduce yourself.  Say hello to everyone.  Acknowledge others.

(3) Watch what you say:

• You're in a room with more people you do not know then you do.  You don't know their beliefs or backgrounds.  You don't want an internet mob after you.  Don't swear or use any derogatory terms that may offend someone else.  You might not only get banned from chat (& future chats) & all the fun, but you could end up on a site like this one.  All they need is a screen shot folks, & it ain't just celebrities that get called out on their tweets.

(4) Don't complain!

• Simple.  No one likes a complainer.  Don't be all like, "Oh everyone else won & I didn't." Or, "How come I haven't won?"  Stuff like that.  If I were moderating a chat & giving things away, you would be the last person I would want to give anything to.  Be glad you even knew about it or had the opportunity.  Thank the company for holding the chat & congratulate the winners.  Don't be a Debbie downer.

(5) Turn off Twitter sharing to other accounts temporarily:

• My tweets are automatically shared to my facbook page and, as I learned with this chat, EVERYTHING was transferring over to my facebook page!  If you get into it you will have a ton of tweets that will seem to not make sense to people on different platforms & in different feeds.  All of a sudden on facebook there's a random, "LOL," here or an "I agree!  That sounds great!" there.

I  hope if anyone I was chatting with sees this, that they had as much fun as I did.  Depending what time the next chat is on Valentine's Day, I may be in for a bit to say hello!  If you decide to join the chat, have fun & GOOD LUCK!!

Love is in the air!

I really have too much stuff.  I do.  It's insane how much stuff I have.  In a way I am proud of this.  I always have something to mix & match.  If I feel I want something floral, I got it, fruity, it's there, spicy... that's not as common but I have it!  :)

Right now I am trying to organize.  I feel like that's something I am constantly doing.  This goes with that & that goes with this.  One week... then the next week I want to organize it a different way.  Lotions go with lotions, or no, let me put the scents together.  Though I have found that it's easier to organize not by scent, but by product.  These are somewhat organized though, it's other stuff I am having problems with, like my crafts & mail.  Labels go here, stamps, stickers, scrap papers... they're all over the place.

I learned Lean Six Sigma at work once.   It's been stuck in my mind since.  I have yelled at companies for their poor use of it.  Most of this in shipment.  As how it was taught to us, what is the most practical way of doing things to cut out the waste?  Why put the coffee maker in a spot where it is not convenient to fill it up with water & why put the filters in a far away spot from the coffee maker?  Like today, I somehow keep ending up between my living room, kitchen & office.  Trying to clean up my desk I have stuff I need recycled but the recycle bag is in the kitchen.  Just an example.  It's in the kitchen though because it's more convenient to put the recent mail recyclables in.  Maybe I could have separate bags?  Maybe I should, but the office is a disaster area anyway & I think I am putting more things off because I need a new desk & more storage compartments.

I was so excited I also finally got the Two Door Cinema Club "Tourist History" CD I have been wanting for a while in the mail yesterday.  Chris spends HOURS messing with music on iTunes & I just like to pop in a CD & listen to it until, weeks later, I finally need something new.  I wanted to use the CD players in the living room but one isn't fully set up & my other one is just skipping over all the CD slots & not reading the discs.  So, go figure, I'm listening to it on Spotify even though I could have just thrown the CD in on my computer.  I'll leave it for my car.

I am doing a lot better as far as my Graves' goes.  I have more blood testing next week & then appointments the weeks after to, hopefully, release me back to work!  I can't wait to go back but I also have that fear that if I do & if I become stressed again it will bring it on again.  I, besides the cabin fever, have been pretty relaxed (bored) here at home doing much of nothing... causing trouble online. ;)

I have been going to therapy also, numerous reasons.  Last week I had to write about early memories & how I felt about them.  That was pretty easy.  This week I am supposed to write about what I am good at.  We discussed a few things, so I can't put those.  Who knew how hard this was.  I, being who I am, am probably taking this a bit too literally & over thinking.  Well, I am good at something but not that good so I can't put that.  Or, I am good at this but there are people out there who are better than me at that so I can't put that.

I think it was funny, Chris asked me the other day what I would consider to be my favorite restaurant in the area.  Of course I said Amy's.  Mind you they have amazing food but it's more like a vegetarian/vegan friendly dive diner.  He was looking for something nicer for Valentine's Day.  Oh good luck getting reservations for anything I might consider "nice" as of now.  Hell, I'd be happy going to a dive but I understand.  We've never really gone out anywhere nice for V Day before, usually because he works pretty late & by the time he gets home I am curled up on the couch snoozing already.  I like flowers also but am allergic to them, some even give headaches, so I'm used to having boring V Days.  I'm also that kind of person that considers this a stupid commercial holiday & you should be shown this kind of passion, love (or whatever) any day!

So, besides being a bath maniac I am also a candle maniac.  And since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I am also a candy hearts maniac!  So when I saw this I HAD to have it!

Ok, don't mind the Yankee Candle in the picture!  Though I have it there for a reason.  YES!!!  That is a SUGAR HEARTS candle from Goose Creek Candle Co.  I don't even know what coupon I had, it was something I found on their Facebook page & they seem to be posting a lot of different deals.  I wanted to try something different but they didn't have any stores here & it's not like I can do a sniff test to see if I really like their products or not.  So I got this candle & a car air freshener from them for about $23.50 (no tax, included shipping).  Now, you can't go wrong when YC has their BOGO deals but considering YC's large jars now retail at $28 & these start at $22, what I paid for it all is pretty good!

It's really just like a YC but YC doesn't have a scent like this out.  To me this has a sugary scent with a touch of citrus & I am picking up a very light floral in it also.  GC describes it as, "Sugar Hearts is the wonderful aroma of sweet colored candies. Coated with powdered sugar, they are sweet and delicate, perfect for your valentine."  It's not too powerful of a scent & it fills a room nicely.  GC, just like YC, large jars maxes their burn time at 150 hours.  This is also 2 wick.

Now the reason why I put it next to the YC is to show you how the sizes are the same & also where the YC wax STARTS.  I've already burned the GC candle but there was also a bit more wax in it.  Take the YC wax line & move it up to JUST below where the plastic cap line is.  THAT is where the GC candle was filled to.  Not sure if the others are but that's how mine came.  Below are some pictures of it on its own.

I really hate having to mention YC so much in this but so many people know who they are, so sometimes you have to just to point out how, if you like one thing, there are other things out there in similarity but with their own, good differences.  I'll be interested in checking them out again when I want to go on a candle hunt.

I have yet to use the air freshener.  To be continued...

The DANGERS of Epsom salts.

I was going to put the dangers of "bath salts" but that's a WHOLE other story. (Which seems to include real life zombies.)  This is particular to Epsom.  Just as I think I am cured or I know what's going on with me, yet another thing pops up & I go in a downward spiral yet again.  It all started around the last posts I had done in October.

For a while throughout the year I had terrible pain in the soles of my feet.  That's where it started.  Maybe for a week, or a day here or there, then nothing.  After I got sick in October my whole legs & shoulders started to ache.  It progressively got worse & so I had just blamed it on a new medication.  Off the medication I went and another thing I noticed was that I couldn't tolerate heat.  I was off most of the summer, the hot hot summer we apparently had, so that I didn't notice it much because I was inside in air conditioning all the time.  I don't even like air conditioning!  I'll have my windows open on a 90 degree day & take in that humidity! When I went back to work, & after I get sick, is when I really noticed it.  The heat would kick on in the building & other people would agree that it was hot, but no where near the extent I was getting it.  So much worse than hot flashes!

Because of my pain getting worse & now this heat intolerance I just had to go to the doctor, again, who ruled it out as musculoskeletal but did a few additional blood tests.  I was advised not to exercise, since I tried to do this thinking it may have helped with the pain but it always felt worse after.  On my way I went feeling awful & even crying a lot because the pain was so bad at times.  All sorts of problems started arising.  Chest pains, shoulder, muscles all aching, heart palpitations, asthma, terrible shakes in my arms, hands, legs, terrible anxiety with vomiting.  My body felt like it was burning up all the time and I was sweating terribly when I didn't even have a fever anymore!  I missed my period & thought I was pregnant.  My eating habits were the same & I started to drastically lose weight.  I would be all hyped up but completely exhausted all at the same time.  The smallest ounce of stress would put my body in a shut down mode of problems.  What was wrong with me!?

Now, before I went to the doctor, I had been taking Epsom salt baths due to my muscle pain.

Here's the scary thing.

After these baths, & sometimes with other products I would use that contained magnesium sulfate, I would be completely dizzy, out of breath, heart palpitations & sometimes it would be so bad I would even vomit.  Gross!  I thought nothing of it.  Just thought it was another thing having to do with my condition, whatever it was.

I could have killed myself.  It was a sign!  Per my doctor (per many doctors I saw over a few weeks) my blood pressure was already dangerously low (hypotension) & pulse was too (tachycardia) high .  Epsom salts lower your blood pressure!  Here I am thinking it will help my aches & pains & help me relax when it was actually making my situation worse.  Epsom, Magnesium Sulfate, is in a lot of products.  A lot of products I was using.  I found it in a lot of bath bombs, "sea" or regular bath salt mixes, I even have it in liquid form in some of my products!  It's also a main ingredient in Me! Bath Ice Cream products.

I left work in early December due to my doctors advise and also because I had so many appointments and testing, thinking I would be back by the end of the month & to start the new year.  I didn't have good news though.  Mid to end December we had an idea of what it was but, being optimistic, I thought I would still be better because we had an action plan if the tests results came back positive. They did.  I have an autoimmune disorder called Graves' Disease and was on the verge of a Thyroid Storm.

I am not better.  I have the majority of symptoms still and am a complete mess.  The course of action is medication.  That's it.  And if the medication doesn't work, the next step could be surgery.  The medication could take 6-8 weeks for it to even start making me feel better so it is estimated that I will be back to work in March.  I'm bored, unhappy, bored, & disability pays shit.  I want to be back at work but I don't want to end up with heart failure or to make my symptoms even more worse than they already are, nor do my doctors or family.  My endocrinologist said I have a very serious case of Graves' & I need to "take it easy."

I'm off caffeine & alcohol.  I'm also on a beta blocker that has helped my blood pressure & pulse even out, this has taken away the pain I was getting but I still ache in my joints & am having trouble with movement in my arms, shoulders & legs.  I have trouble getting up from seated or laying down positions.  I have to be monitored for type 1 diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis and other conditions like Lupus and Addison's Disease.  They think I also may have Pernicious Anemia & so I am taking vitamin B-12 supplements.  They will be taking blood next week to see how my thyroid levels are changing.

Who thought one stupid organ could do so much damage!?  What's even stranger is I may have a combination of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (hypothyroid) with this.  I have read it is possible.  I still have a lot to learn & deal with.  I still have a lot of questions.  It kind of makes me want this...

So, I know this is my bath product blog but I needed to get this out of my system.  It did have something to do with bathing though, the dangers of Epsom and a very obvious, & dangerous, sign that I didn't get.  I'm still scared about how my progress will be with this.

I received some Plum Hill cranberry orange oil & sugar scrub today.  Maybe I will try that.

The perfect spiced apple cider.

In a bath.

• 1 Apple Jack & Peel bath bomb I got from jakegreymom01.
• Equal parts Gingerbread Girl body wash by Philosophy & Green Apple body wash from The Body Shop.
• Then a small touch of Glögg body wash by Lush. (Which BTW I found under their RETRO part of the UK site.)

I already have a spiced cider body wash from Philosophy but I always find it more fun to mix stuff.  Plus I think the mix smelled even better then just the 1 body wash on its own.  You could use any apple scented bath additive like salts or a bubble bath.

So a lot has been going on.  I got a new cat, still got my old cat, got my haircut.  Not just since the last post, but over the last few months!  I am still sick though so this is just going to be a small update today.  Fever every day since Sunday, except for today... so far.

Trying to decide what I want to do for my bath tonight.

It's about time.

I would totally be posting this from my phone now if it were not for the fact there is ONE LINK I want to post for everyone.  Which I will do in a bit.

So sorry for the long delay.  I am surprised I am even on here right now.  I have been doing as little concentrating as possible.  The most people have probably seen of me are random silly tweets, stupid Facebook updates, games & shares, and every now and then an instagram photo. (Yes I FINALLY got rid of my flip phone & have a smartphone!  No more "press 3x to get the letter C.")

Also right now I am probably the sickest I have ever been. *fever-wise  Clocked at 101.8 on Sunday night & have been fluxing from 96-100 since.  Just to share some of my health history, I do not get fevers.  I could have the worst internal infection ever, or illness that everyone else in the world would get a fever from & I will not get one.  I got my flu shot also!  I thought it was the flu.  Sure feels like it to me but the doc advised I have a bad virus & sinus infection.  I'm off work all week which sucks because I really need the $, but every time I open my mouth to talk I end up coughing uncontrollably for a good minute.

So I forgot for a minute why I wanted to post this... then I remembered!  I wanted to talk about eBay for a bit.  I both love and hate eBay for a multitude of reasons.  Now, when you are into bath products, like I am (duh), you could possibly be taking a gamble with the homemade products you are getting.  You may think that feedback speaks for itself, but if you have skin conditions or allergies you REALLY need to be careful.  Ask questions about their products about their ingredients & how long have they been making their items for.  I got a sugar scrub once that was made from regular granular sugar that I could buy in my supermarket bulk.  You can tell when you get these things. (At least I can.)  Smelled fantastic & my skin can handle it, but someone else may have a bad reaction to the sugar, or maybe the oils used in it.  Because who knows, maybe they just used cheap canola oil & scented it.  It's buyer beware out there.  So usually when I try new things & end up really liking it, I stick with it, & if I end up with a dud I won't touch it again.

I would love to have a soap shop of my own!  I'd wholesale stuff I have tested & liked, maybe experiment & start making my own bath products  & have bath product making classes.  Maybe someday.

So today I had:

• Strawberry bath bomb from jakegreymom01
• Fresh Cream body wash by Philosophy 

Jody, who makes the bath bombs, does a fantastic job.  These bombs aren't for everyone as they do make the baths rather oily & some people don't like that.  I don't mind it at all & kind of like it.  Also the soap drizzles on some of the bombs can oddly float around in the tub after the actual product dissolves but I always kind of make a game out of it to find them in the tub & then dissolve them myself with my hands.  I love how the scents linger & she makes them in a fun way, colors, scents, etc.

So upon bidding on almost every one she had up for bid since I didn't have any left of the ones I got from her before, I won 2 that she credited for me after winning due to the fact that they broke before shipment.  Which was kind of her.  So here comes my small rant.  Those people that complain about getting bath bombs broken in shipment.  Now her's broke before shipping but I really would not have cared if I got one even 1/2 crushed.  She packages them well enough so they wouldn't get all over if broken.  Plus, you are going to get the same scent & experience, except in a fizzy powder.  But I KNOW the people out there where I have seen the feedback of the complaining of how OMG 1 bomb broke in shipment & it's the end of the world.  The last 2 years during my holiday shipment when I ordered from Lush UK & 1/3 of my bombs came crushed I only complained about those that were not individually packaged & had pretty much dissolved into unsalvageable powder amongst the packing peanuts.   They knew where the order was going.  There's always that risk when ordering bath bombs in the mail.  So if you get 1 or 2 out of many crushed but it's packaged so it is still all there, be glad you got it at all.  It's still fine to use & your bath will be just as pleasurable as a non-broken bath bomb.  Trust me.

The other day I used a Trick-Or-Treat bath bomb she made with Lush's Glögg (which is available via Lush NA but not UK) & they worked amazingly together.  Perfect punch of spice between the 2!  She's got a ton up for bid (including a few philosophy items starting at a good price) so check it out! (The link to her sale is what I wanted to post.  There it is.  Here it is again.)

So I hope this fever will not kill me & I'll feel up to posting more bathing rants soon.

Take care & happy bathing!