T-Mobile HotSpot, Web Guard and Brian... My Experience

I was going to post a scathing review for T-mobile’s 4G hotspot prepaid internet. But then I talked to Brian. 

Brian, if you read this, I am REALLY sorry for how our conversation started out. I am SO sorry for being so mean and rude. I am not usually like this, I swayer (with a southern drawl) I am not! T-mobile customer support just brings out the mean in me!

I called the first time and got passed around from one person who turned off Web Guard for me to another who is useless. But I still couldn't get to the page I wanted because it was blocked. By the time I got to Brian, I was quite livid. After a few minutes on the phone with Brian, I wasn't as mad anymore and I was actually feeling a little better about the whole experience. Until I got him, I was planning on returning my T-Mobile 4G Mobile Hotspot Modem and never using them again!

Brian helped me out though. We ended up trying a few things to get it to work and then he said he would call me back in an hour and a half to see if it was working. I was pretty okay with that. I ended up giving up and taking a nap. He did call back like he said he would and the problem still wasn't fixed.

He told me the totally awesome tech department had put their heads together and figured out what might be causing Web Guard to stay on when it should be turned off. Whatever they did worked and after I rebooted the device, I was able to see all the pages I needed and I think the internet was a little faster too. I was VERY pleased!

If it weren't for Brian at Tech support, this review would turn out very different. But he was not only helpful… he listened to me vent, cuss and be a complete jerk for the first few minutes. He didn't take any of it personally and was very understanding. Even after being transferred (and hung up on) by customer service, when I got tech support, Brian went above and beyond.

Thank you to Brian at T-mobile tech support for your awesomeness. Every tech person should be this great!

Planning ahead this time...

I have been focusing on my other blog for a little bit to get it going. I started making a blogging plan for December so I can be ready and know what I want to do.

I actually have four blogs right now. But I am going to delete one of them and just keep posting the allergy stuff on here. Two blogs is a lot of work and I am struggling to keep up with them. Three blogs... meh, it's okay because Miles is helping me. We're working on getting all the video software so we can give the best reviews! We're hoping the video game section of the blog will take off in January at the latest.

But I just can't keep up with four blogs. I love the housekeeping missions for the gimpy and limpy people and I can't wait to get more games reviews going! But allergies just seems to go on The Baker's Acres because that is where I started it all. I will work on this blog to make it easier to navigate too. 

All in all, I am planning on making next year my best blogging year EVER! AND Miles is so great, he is going to help me set up the upstairs into an office where we can work (on my good days that is). And I'll also start doing video blogs.

Problogger suggested stepping out of your comfort zone a bit so I want to try that. Why? Because that is one area I have never really wanted to do because I am nervous I will look like an idiot. Or something like that. So I am going to work on that!

That's my update for now. I'll get into a nice posting rhythm as the time goes on!   

Back Injury Update... Chiropractor Seems to Help

I've been going to the Chiropractor for a few weeks for my back injury. Between him and the gelatin, emu oil and fish oil, I think I actually feel a difference in my back. Here is what I have noticed so far:

• I can get up and clean longer than before I started going to the chiropractor. While I still hurt, the pain isn't as intense and I can go longer before needing to rest from the pain. I was able to clean for 30 minutes today! 
• While my legs still have burning pain, they aren't burning so bad that I feel like I am standing in lava or like I am on fire. The pain does eventually calm down when I rest too.
• The sharp shooting pain that I get isn't as frequent like when I first hurt my back or  after the injections.
• I can walk further! I can actually make it two blocks and back home without writhing in pain!
• I sleep better. I am not waking up every hour from the pain and the sleep seems to be solid sleep, rather than waking up feeling like I didn't sleep at all.
• When the chiropractor touches my back, I don't practically jump off the table from tenderness.
• I haven't hurt so bad that I get nauseous from the pain. Now, when I hurt, it's tolerable pain. It doesn't feel like my back is breaking in half every time I stand up.
• I don't need my walker as often. Although I still have times when I limp a lot and I use my walker, it isn't so bad.
• I am able to stand up easier and by myself.
• I can feel my feet! I almost forgot what it was like to feel my toes!

Does this mean the pain is gone? No. I will probably always be in pain (even the chiropractor said that!). But I needed to be able to function on a daily basis and I am slowly getting to that point again. 

My chiropractor is doing more for me in a few weeks than the doctors did for me in a year and a half. I can't believe they refused to let me go. I wish they could spend one day in my levels of pain. 

Anyway, that's my update. And all I am doing is gelatin in my morning and nightly coffee, taking 3x the amount of fish oil as suggested, emu oil rubbed on my back once a day (when I remember) and going to a chiropractor. Too bad "modern" medicine won't allow alternative medicine. I suspect a lot of people wouldn't be suffering from back pain any more.

Blogging Platforms: What do I use?

I received a comment the other day asking...

Hi would you mind stating which blog platform you're working with? I'm going to start my own blog in the near future but I'm having a tough time making a decision between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I'm looking for something completely unique. P.S Sorry for being off-topic but I had to ask!

My Blogging Platform

My blogging platform is through Blogger. I bought my domain name through blogger as well. My background is through Cutest Blog on the Block where you can choose from a ton of different backgrounds, blinkies and other cool things to make your blog more original and they are free! 

Other Blogging Platforms

I haven't checked out BlogEngine, B2evolution or Drupal before but I have tried Wordpress. I was already using blogger when I tried them out and I found the user interface to be too hard to navigate so I stuck with Blogger. That was years ago so they may be a lot better by now.

Off topic? No way!

No problem with being off topic. I'm a blogger so this isn't off topic to me. Do you need help figuring it all out? I ask because I would love to share what I am using to help with my blogging!

Problogger Books that are Helping me Blog

Since I made my blogging my career choice, I started using probloggers books to help me propel my blogs forward and make them better. Right now I am working through 31 Days to Building a Better Blog. You can Click here to view more details. I worked through the free version awhile back but I found the paid version is more helpful.

If you haven't started your blog yet, Problogger has a great book I found helpful for my other blogs, The Gimp and Limp Club and For the Allergic in You. It's called Problogger's Guide to Your First Week of Blogging. You can Click here to view more details. It has a lot of great ideas to get you started!

Once you are going, you can use The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers. Click here to view more details.I recently started reading through this one and it has a lot of helpful tips and advice to hone your writing and your blogging skills. It actually has a scorcard for each post you write so you can score your posts and see how your writing improves. This post has a score of 90 out of 100. That's pretty good!

Go Start Blogging!

I have your blog link from the comment saved and I'll be checking in to see how it's going. I'll link to your blog once you have it moving along. Good luck my friend! Keep me updated on your blog adventures!

Back Update: Schmorl's Nodes and a Chiropractor

After getting all of my medical records from the hospital to show the Chiropractor, I went home and started checking them out. I have an idea of what a spine is supposed to look like but I wasn't too sure exactly what I was looking for. I did have fun finding the protruding disc though. FOUND IT! Not a problem! I also thought my back looked... erm, decrepit in some spots.

After that, I actually read every bit of the reports. I found it so interesting that before my injections, they don't even mention arthritis and after the injections, now I have it from L3-S1. And S1 on the MRI does look quite gangly compared to the ones that are higher up. If I knew I'd get worse from the injections, I would have refused. 

Also, in one of the reports it says I have Schmorl's nodes. I had to look that up. I have never heard of that. It made me think of smores roasting over a camp fire. Anyway, I looked that up and it's basically (from what I am getting from around the web) where the disc protrudes into the vertebrae. They are "vertical disc herniations". Ouches! 

I took this to the chiropractor since I stopped seeing Dr Quacky. The chiropractor is really good. I no longer feel like I have a rock under my spine when I lay down. Granted, my pain isn't gone but it is tolerable half the time now. 

Also, he was looking over all the MRI and the X-rays and he said he had to disagree with the "No nerve impingement". They claim I don't have a pinched nerve. He thinks I do which explains the pissing myself. at least now I don't have someone acting like they have no idea why I am having pain and issues. He did say the pain won't ever go away but we can make it something I can live with. He did! 

The first treatment he slathered my back with BIOFREEZE. Holy burning eyes, menthol-man! That stuff is AWESOME! After he straightened out my pelvic bone (funny how that makes it feel like rocks under your spine) I was actually feeling quite human. The pain was still... well, pain, but I didn't want to curl up and vomit from the pain. In fact, it's been pretty okay. Sure, my back is killing me. But this is a level of killing me I can handle.

I have come to terms with the fact that I will never be pain-free. I am also slowly accepting the fact that I really will not ever go to work again. But at least I won't be in agony all the time. I'll take that!

Let's all Welcome the New Admin!

My son, Miles, has decided to help me with my blogging as I slog through the book from problogger. Click here to visit ProBlogger and order the books for yourself. I am so happy! He'll mostly be doing the background work and helping me check emails and reading comments and such but I am thrilled! He will also be in charge of the video game page! WOOHOO!

Here's a picture of him...

Wrong child. My bad! He just helps type sometimes too.

Oops, wrong kid.

Oh yea. That's my kid! And he spells a lot better than the cat too.

"I heard that!"

This is why your mom said not to play with knives.

It doesn't matter how many times you tell a kid not to do something, they have to go and do it. My 17 year old son decided to goof off and try to chop something with a knife. You know, the totally cool knife chopping that impresses people. Instead he ended up with this...

Yep. That's muh baby's thumb *facepalm*

This just looks painful.

This is how deep it went.

If you just look at it wrong he panics and screams.

And you also end up with this...

This is after we taped it together.

If it weren't for the nail, well, he'd have chopped his finger off!  I am convinced. This is after sitting overnight.

Ewwww!

This is the nail view.

 BUT! You get to have neon colored bandages!

So kids, if you want to play with knives, just remember that you will hurt! Your fingers will look like this, you'll have to wear neon green bandages, you won't be able to play Xbox or computer games for WEEKS and if your mom is a jerk like me, you'll be posted on a blog for everyone to see!

Don't play with knives!

No Poo: What I am Learning from being Frugal

I posted on October 7th that I was going to No Poo my hair (Use no shampoo) and see how it went. I am pretty pleased about it so far! Here are some of the things I have noticed so far…

What I Notice with No Poo #1: My Pompholyx is getting better

For those who don’t know what pompholyx is, it’s eczema on steroids attached to the bottom of your feet. They crack, bleed, itch and it feels like you are walking on hot coals. It hurts. It hurts BAD!

The next morning after my first No Poo experiment, I noticed that my feet weren’t burning as bad. Instead of my pompholyx looking flaming red and itching, it was a slight pink. For the first time in a LONG time, I can’t feel the annoying pompholyx on my feet.

What I Notice with No Poo #2: My Skin doesn’t itch as much

After each shower before No Poo, I would spend time itching incessantly and slathering myself with lotion to try and sooth my angry skin. Since I have done the No Poo thing, my skin is nowhere near as itchy as before. I am really starting to like this.

What I Notice with No Poo #3: I can brush my hair!

I am not sure why, but before No Poo, I couldn’t put a brush through my hair twice without my hair turning into a wreck in between brush strokes. I usually resorted to Pink Oil for my hair so I could untangle my hair and avoid breaking brushes. Now, I wait for my hair to dry and then brush it. I have to work out a few tangles but after that, the brush goes right through with no problems.

What I Notice with No Poo #4: My hair isn’t falling out

I am so used to clogging the drain with hair that it became a shower time routine to wrap in my robe and then fish the gobs of hair out of the bathtub. Since going No Poo, I noticed an incredible difference in the hair left over in the tub, or lack thereof. I am no longer worrying about whether or not I am going to go bald.

What I Notice with No Poo #5: My hair feels so much smoother

I didn’t expect this, but my hair feels SO much smoother; So much so that I can’t stop playing with my hair. I can’t help it. It just feels so good! I even have to put it in a ponytail so I will stop running my hands through it.

Is No Poo working?

Yes, I think it is. I am much happier without shampoo. I am using castile soap for my body wash and I have not used conditioner since my second hair wash. My hair feels so wonderful I can hardly believe it!

Any questions for me so far? I’ll post an update with your questions. I know there were a few but I wasn’t keeping notes. So ask away!

Hearing Aids: I can HEAR again!

After the Epidural Steroid Injection, I noticed I can't hear for anything. I was feeling conversationally deaf. Guess what!? I am. Oh...

So I went to costco and had a hearing test done. I am conversationally deaf if there is background noise. Now I have hearing aids and I can hear again! I thought the speaker on my phone was going out... no, it's my ears.

Just for fun... Here are 5 things I am getting used to with having hearing aids!

1. The Expense of Hearing Aids. My they were pricey! Overall, the rest of the accessories that go with it aren't too horrible (like  Hearing Aid Batteries, cleaning wipes and Hearing Aid Cleaning Brushes  but trying to get used to the fact that I am going to have to pay to hear... well, that's a little weird! I used affiliate links to show you the items I bought for mine.
2. The NOISE! I forgot how much noise there was before. Now I am walking around going "What was that noise?" LOL
3. Hearing Aids in my Ear! I am not used to having anything in my ear. This is taking some getting used to but it isn't too bad. It tickles sometimes though LOL.
4. I don't need an interpreter.  Before I left the house, I would make sure I had one of my kids with me so they could translate when I just couldn't make out what the person was saying. Now, they don't need to be with me. They can still go, but I can have a conversation with these hearing aids.
5. Learning ASL is still fun :) My kids and I have been learning ASL and using it. It was getting a little stressful HAVING to learn ASL because we couldn't communicate verbally. Now we can learn ASL because we WANT to learn it, not because we HAVE to learn it. It's a lot more fun now!

Overall, I am very pleased with them. Although I don't keep them in all waking hours like the lady said to. That gets annoying and I end up with a headache. I have to give my ears a break every now and then. But the best part is I CAN HEAR!

I will Heal my Back Injury Myself!

Over a year ago, I injured my back. It's a long story and some day I will sit down and type it out. For now, we'll just say I am trying to find a way to make my back better. My W-husband and I have put our thinking caps on and here is what we have come up with. (and by "we" I mean "mostly it was his idea" and sounds really good.

Back Injury Treatment Plan
I will start a treatment plan that includes:

• Deep Muscle Massage Cushion (OMG! it makes me cry like a little sissy)
• Heat therapy for my back (in small doses)
• Liquid Norwegian Cod Liver Oil (mine is mint flavored)
• Vitamin D-3 (I found some I can actually take!)
• EMU Oil
• Tiger balm arthritis rub 
• Two Old Goats Arthritis and Fibromyalgia Essential Lotion
• Gelatin
• Inversion table (to be delivered by the 24th)

How the Back Injury Treatment Plan went today

Deep muscle massage makes me cry but it does seem to help a little here and there. I have no idea if the part where I piss myself from the pain is normal but I plan on asking the doctor up here. I'll keep you updated. On an up-note: the massager has heat so I killed two birds with one stone.

I took Vitamin D tonight. I will take it every other night so I don't overdose. considering that I get almost no Vitamin D in my diet, I barely go out in the sun and my major source is mushrooms, I would have to work really hard at ODing on it but I figure I don't want to risk it.

The two rubs are different. The two old goats seems to help loosen up my wrist. I didn't try it on my back yet. I waited a while to try the Tiger Balm. That stuff burns! Let me reword that, when you hurt really bad, it burns. In the spots that don't hurt really bad, it feels really cool. I will start emu oil tomorrow.

Cod liver oil I tried twice today because it says to take it 1-3 times daily. Attempt 1: I spent the next 1/2 hour trying really hard not to projectile vomit. I ate a lot of honey sticks, cheese, Pepsi and pretty much anything I could find to help get that taste out of my mouth. I guess I should have known that mint flavored fish oil wasn't going to be tasty.

Attempt 2: I mixed gelatin in my coffee, chopped up 1/2 ounce of cheese, added some sugar to the gelatin coffee, added instant coffee to my coffee, gave myself a pep talk and tried to convince myself that I wanted to do this, pried my mouth open and finally dumped the oil in. I immediately swished my homemade coffee extract Jell-O around my mouth, ate some cheese and sucked on a spoon full of sugar. Note to self: when making coffee Jell-O, add lots of sugar!

The extra strong coffee definitely hides the taste. Now I am going to go brush my teeth and pray to God that I don't belch while I am doing that.

I'll keep you updated on our results.

I am not Shampooing my hair... ever again!

I like to plan ahead for everything, sometimes compulsively so. I'll be talking to my therapist about that tomorrow. Until then, I had this brilliant idea for series of blog posts! Things you can buy on food stamps (or mostly on food stamps). I mean, besides food. You know, like, deodorant, fabric softener, glass cleaner, hair cleaner, soft scrub and more stuff like that.

"OMG... Dotchi has lost her mind!"
I know you probably think I have lost my mind by now but stay with me. 

You call in insanity, I call it frugal!
You see, there are recipes online for making deodorant (and it works quite well), lotion, fabric softener and on and on. I thought it would be a great idea to share my frugal recipes with my blog readers as I experimented with new recipes and of course, use my old ones. 

"And what does this have to do with shampoo?"
One of the things I thought about was that I don't have a recipe for homemade shampoo. I was bummed so I went looking. Somehow I ended up with a recipe for deodorant. I love it! And I ended up with a new recipe for fabric softener. Once my washer is clean, I will let you know how it works. Then I ended up on another site. I can't remember what it was about but they linked to a site about going "no poo". Really. That's what they are calling this trend.

Yea. We are crazy in the US
Just in case you don't live in the US, let me explain something to you... Everyone I know washes their hair every day. I am not kidding. It's a social faux pas to go like... 48 hours without washing your hair. I am one of those weirdos that washes my hair about twice a week. Why? Because shampoo itches. If I have to suffer through washing my hair, it's not going to be every single day of wanting to rip my skin off. I'll be lazy about it and have "hair washing showers" and "happy showers".

No poo speaks to my frugal, non-itching, eco-friendly side
In that order... I am cheap, I am allergic to so many shampoos and I kind of have an eco-friendly bone wandering around somewhere in my body. Since I have no job, I won't be able to get a job and I am probably going to be broke for some time, I figured I would try this No poo method. After all  wouldn't it be nice to get out of the shower not itching and crying like a whining little girl?

My First Shampoo Free Hair Washing Shower
Ah, yes it was! Tonight I started my first experiment with the No Poo. I washed my hair with water and baking soda. Yep. That's it. I just rubbed it right in, let it sit while I cleaned my body with Dr Bonner's Organic Castile Peppermint Soap (say that three times fast!) because it feels quite nice! Then I rinsed my hair with water. I will be buying Apple Cider Vinegar soon so I can rinse my hair the way they suggest... but for now, I am quite happy. I had a hair washing shower and I am not itching incessantly! My hair doesn't stink and guess what, it looks fine.

I'll keep you updated on the progress of my No Poo experiment too! Along with the rest of the ingredients coming up this week. Until then, here is my hair before the first No Poo shower.

Unfortunately, this was the best picture. Ugh. 0.o

So far, my only word of advice is... keep your eyes closed when rinsing your hair. Baking soda in your eyes isn't as bad as shampoo, but it still stings!

To read the two week update, click here.

No, I don't have Meningitis. But thank you for your concern...

Background
A few days ago, my friend sent me links to articles about cases of meningitis that are linked to tainted batches of the steroid they use for Epidural Steroid Injections. Shortly after that, I got more emails and texts concerned about whether or not I might have gotten injected with a bad batch.

The Short Answer
No. But thank you to everyone who asked. I feel pretty good knowing that my friends and family keep me in mind. I love you all!

The Long Answer
My injection was done back in November 2011. The incubation period for Meningitis is 2-14 days (depending on what kind of meningitis you have). If I did get a bad batch, well, I am sure it would have shown up by now and I'd be in the hospital already. 

PLUS, all I had to do was Google which states that got the bad batches and I found this link from NPR. My state isn't on it. And even if it does eventually show up on it, well, my injection was almost a year ago. I think I'll be fine!

It’s Football Season! And the Refs are Stupid!

This week I figured out that football season is out in full force. I know it actually started a few weeks ago but then too, I haven’t left my house until I actually had to.

Nothing gets me more angry, worked up and downright livid as football.This whole time of year just grates my last damned nerve, what with Thanksgiving (I’m allergic to turkey) and football and the whole football teams playing, the football talk, the football crap on my recipe websites and all that crap.

It makes me want to hop into my car, drive to the nearest mental institution, strip naked, run to the lobby and scream “I AM SKIN WOMEN! I WILL SAVE YOU!” and then attempt to jump through the nearest window. With any luck, I will be happily sedated until about two weeks after the super bowl.

"We feel you, man."

What most people don’t seem to understand is that there are people on this planet who don’t give a crap about some game where men in tights play ball toss up and down a field. I really don’t give a crap! And no, I don’t care if “your team” won, or lost, or fumbled, or touch down or touched down under or hiccupped or whatever else they did. I generally could not care any less about football than I already do.

I just don’t get why people are so obsessed about football. Before you try to get me to join the dark side, I DID try to get into football years ago. I am proud to announce that I did not kill myself during that time. And that’s all.

I couldn’t get into it. People around me would be furious that whoever fumbled and “our” team did this and that and THEIR team blablabla… and then the war between friends would start with who has the better team. I wish people would get this pissed off about something important… like the elections, or starving children or the pathetic health care system (or the worse one coming up)… the world’s problems would be solved.

I have seen family members disown other family members over the football team they chose. I have seen people fist fight when someone else’s team caught the ball or intercepted or whatever stupid football thing happened. There have even been riots because of football. RIOTS people. Are you kidding me? A riot because your team didn’t win?

What kind of sportsmanship is this supposed to teach kids?

"We lost? That's it! We're burning down the school!"

Anyway, I digress… so football season has started and I already have a headache. Now it’s something about the refs on strike… fine. Then it was the stupid refs… whatever. And now all I have heard for the last week is about [insert long string of profanity] FOOTBALL! I don’t give a damn about who called what, whose side caught it or didn’t and I don’t give a shit who won either.

I just don’t care! And I dread spending the next few months listening to the mind-numbing debate over who has the team that is the best and coolest.

Yippee freaking doo dah. I get to have it shoved down my throat for the next few months about how AWESOME it is to sit and drink beer while stuffing your face and watching a bunch of guys play with their balls!

I am so going to therapy on Monday…

"Can I have the hug me jacket and happy pills anyway?"

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Crying sucks… So does Unemployment!

I am officially jobless. Work comp is settling with me which is all fine and dandy, except that I still can’t work. The idiot doctor I have isn’t interested in helping fix my back. He’s only interested in getting more money by giving me injections that landed me in the emergency room… twice!

Because of that, I am right where we started. My back in screwed and I can’t work.

Instead of crying like a little girl and blowing snot bubbles into my pillow, I decided to use my time wisely and started searching for jobs. They can’t be any job either. It has to be a work-at-home job that I can do reclining or laying down.

Since I have kids I have to support, prostitution and drug dealer is off the list. I’m just kidding. I wouldn’t do that. I did start looking around for legitimate online jobs. I found one that I could do 20 hours a week, paid pretty good and I could have done sitting, standing or laying down.

I turned in my application. I studied. I took their test for three freaking days! And then I turned it in today. I failed.

Yes, my dear readers… I am a failure. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to go have a good cry and blow snot bubbles out my nose. After that, I will be creating children’s books and searching for other jobs online that I can do at home.

Well, that was my week. How was yours?

Weekly Surfing!

I almost forgot to update! I forgot about my web surfing idea and deleted my history on Wednesday, so here are seven places I went on the web this week.

CNN Iconic Photographs: I think this is by far my favorite this week. I love photographs and I saw this. I spent some time browsing the photos and dreaming of a life as a photographer.

Boyd’s Coffee Website: Since the people here in my town are all anal retentive with the “support our town!” philosophy, but no one can be bothered to actually keep the foods here that I can eat… and since they stopped selling my coffee that I love (both brands!)… and since I am in such a bitchy mood this week, I went to the Boyd’s Coffee website and started pricing. I’ll start buying my coffee online.

Cheezburger (I must have been craving): I was site surfing when I started looking for a good recipe for cheezburger! And yes, I misspelled it. Hey! Don’t you know! There is really a site for that! Although it’s not what I was expecting… It’s really a site!

WTF? How did I get here???: I don’t remember how I got here, but I was reading somewhere that Snooki said she wouldn’t change her baby’s diapers. 1) I don’t know who Snooki is. 2) I had a hard time believing it and did some research.

Potty Training Photo news: Apparently some dumb ass parent thought would be a good idea to potty train her twin daughters… in public… in a crowded restaurant! Suddenly, my parenting skills look stellar!

The Baby Name Finder: NO! I am NOT pregnant! I decided to make a few books and needed to know the name meaning of a few names. This is the one I found most helpful.

Cravings Fulfilled, Gluten-free foods: I was searching for a gluten-free surprise for my friend when I came across this site. My my my these look good!

So there you have it! This week I’ll try to remember not to clean out my history.

Happy Blogging!

Dotchi

Saturday Surfing! Web of Wonders Day!

Can you tell I like alliteration? This week I started searching for new career ideas since I finally came to terms with the fact that I will never again work as a CNA.

It’s funny how I can start googling (I am making up words now) “careers” and “writing kids books” and “how to draw a cartoon girl” and after about two hours of behaving, I end up reading an article about every day things that cause brain farts, researching sign language variations of different cuss words, and scaring the crap out of myself by reading about possible natural disasters that might be a little close to home.

I also surfed a little about blogging because with the whole never-going-back-to-work-again thing, I was trying to figure out what I really want to do in life and blogging is one of my loves. I figured this is something I can throw myself into!

I’ll be all write. <<< PUNNY! But then I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to share my weekly surfing and have a “web of wonders day”. You know, surf the web and wonder how the hell you ended up on this site? LOL Oh I am just full of them today!

SO, I will try to remember to post them on Saturdays. So far all the sites in the post are sites I have gone to this week. Here’s some more sites I stumbled across when I wasn’t actually looking for them:

After checking into Google every day to see if I could play with the doodle, I searched to see if there is a page I can check them all out. There is! Talk about wasting a LOT of time playing Google doodle Olympics!

Of course, I always end up YouTube surfing. I start at one video and end up in some other area of YouTube hours later. This weeks “how the hell did I get here” moment starts here and ends here.

While thinking about synchronized swimming, I thought it would be hilarious if they actually have synchronized walking LOL. Not just marching! But walking… Well, I’ll be… they do have synchronized walking! Way cool! You have to watch it!

In a feeling down and depressed moment, I was surfing people who actually suck at their jobs and found the 5 most hilarious ways anyone ever failed at their jobs. Suddenly, screwing up my back for life by catching someone doesn’t seem so bad.

And while looking for cartoons and how to draw them and kids books, I also ran across this article about 5 insane devices from kids cartoons (that actually exist).

On “Today I Found Out” I learned how deaf people wake themselves in the morning, what Twinkies are made of and why woman are called sluts, dames and broads.

I also started teaching my sons sign language, learned that some hearing people actually WANT to be deaf and that a girl lives with only half a brain.

And the best part of my week? I signed up for the Children’s Book Insider and I am working my way through their lessons and reading a lot on their site.

Next Saturday probably won’t be as loaded with links… but I am clearing my history tonight and I have the post for next week started too.

So where did you surf this week?

Day 10 of Not Smoking…

Today will make day 10 of not smoking. I used the program Smoker Reducer Quit Smoking Program to quit smoking gently instead of going cold turkey (and having a stress attack from nicotine withdrawals).

So far it seems to be going well. I still crave a cigarette every now and then. It’s not horrible though. I keep myself busy with reading or making some recipe or playing online.

The bad side to Quitting

I figured I would tell you the bad stuff first then I’ll share the good parts.

Bad part #1: OMG! The headaches! I keep getting headaches. I think it’s partly because my sinuses are clearing out, partly my blood sugar going crazy (mostly unrelated) and partly from withdrawals. I was pointed to a video on tapping and gave it a try. It actually works! Okay, so it’s not 100% gone. But I will take 99% gone over a raging headache any day!

Here is the video 

Tapping for headaches

I will say that I really don’t think her headache was a 9… but pain is subjective… but still, 9 is rather high. But I did the tapping and it does help.

Bad part #2: OMG! I am HUNGRY!:  Since I quit smoking, I found my appetite has come back in full force. Yea, I didn’t miss being hungry all the time, but it’s better than smoking.

Bad part #3: Getting in touch with my emotions: Since I no longer have the ability of running outside to smoke as a way of avoiding my emotions, I am actually getting in touch with them. That means I kind of have diarrhea of the mouth.

Now the good side of quitting smoking! 

Good part #1: Getting in touch with my emotions: I know, I know. This was a bad side… but it’s also good. I am being much more assertive now and saying what I really think rather than keeping it all bottled up inside. On the days I don’t just start spouting off my thoughts and I spend a moment thinking about what I am going to say, I feel down right assertive and it’s making me feel rather good about myself.

Good part #2: I can breathe! I feels good to breath again without all the smoke and toxins in my lungs. My kids are even breathing easier and I don’t smoke inside. So this is an added benefit!

Good part #3: I am saving money!: Without smoking, I am saving about $30 a week. YOUCH! That was an expensive habit!

Good part #4: I can taste my food! Not saying I couldn’t taste it before I quit smoking, but it tastes so much better now. Which makes it really hard to quit buying coffee shop coffee but at least that is a cheaper habit than my smoking.

SO, how many of you have quit? And if you quit, what changes did you notice?

Smoker Reducer Quit Smoking Android App: It Really Works!

I have tried to quit smoking several times since I moved and nothing seemed to work. I didn’t want to be cranky with my children so I would continue smoking. I tried reducing the number of cigarettes I smoked but it never really seemed to help.

Smoker Reducer Quit Smoking Program

I tried several android apps but they didn’t seem to be as successful as I had hoped. They assumed you were quitting smoking cold turkey. While they offered great suggestions, games to play and Facebook updates, they didn’t make it any easier to quit smoking and only made me obsessed about cigarettes.

Then I found an android app called Smoker Reducer quit Smoking Program… and it’s FREE! I downloaded it expecting the same type of app as I had downloaded before. But this one turned out to be a lot different.

Smoker Reducer Quit Smoking Program: set up

When I first opened the program, it asked for the time I first smoke a cigarette during the day and what time I go to bed. I thought this was a little weird but I entered it and then put in how many cigarettes I smoke a day, the price of a pack of cigarettes and the number in a pack.

It said it would assume I had already smoked some that day (since I downloaded it in the middle of the day) and then set up my smoking schedule.

Smoking schedule? Well, this is new!

I looked at the smoking schedule and it had me smoking a cigarette every 52 minutes. Damn, I smoke a lot! I decided to be cooperative and waited to see what would happen. 52 minutes later I was a little shaky and felt like I was crawling out of my skin when my notification went off.

I checked and it said I could go smoke… or I could “bank” the cigarette and smoke it later. I picked “Smoke cig” and headed outside. For the rest of the day, I smoked about every 52 minutes.  say “about” because by the end of the day, I had 3 in my “bank”.

I also got an achievement for starting the program. WOOHOO! I love achievements!

Good Morning minus one!

The next morning I woke up and immediately went to the Smoker Reducer Quit Smoking app. It was all ready to set up my schedule for the day. I was curious what would happen to those banked cigarettes too. I touched the circle on the screen and it got me started for the day but took away one cigarette.

So day 1 I smoked 15 cigarettes and day 2 I only had 14 cigarettes and the my schedule was 1 hour and 10 minutes apart. I should tell you now that my days aren’t always normal days. I go to bed at different times. I could change my bed time each morning to adjust my cigarette schedule.

I also got an achievement for saving money. By not smoking that ONE cigarette a day, even if I only smoked one less cigarette a day for the next year, I would be saving $215! Okay, I never thought of it that way before. Damn. what could I do with that much money?

As of today, I at 9 cigarettes for today. My schedule is 1 hour and 32 minutes apart.

Knocking them out one by one: The Cons

There isn’t much to put here actually. I am not going crazy with rage, crying or dealing with migraines. I am not walking past every cigarette staring and drooling. The withdrawals aren’t nearly as bad. I can actually function!

I do eat a lot more but I am not sure that is a con. I need to eat better and eat more but I don’t. My appetite is coming back slowly.

I will gain weight. In fact I have gained a couple pounds. Am I freaking out over it? Nope. It will come back off once my body realizes I am eating regularly again.

Boy I get sleepy! Since tobacco is a stimulant (and a depressant…) when you are cutting back, you will feel more tired that usual. That’s okay! Be prepared for naps though.

Knocking them out one by one: The Pros!

The hardest part for me is the first 3 or 4 cigarettes. I REALLY want to smoke by the time my notification goes off saying I can go smoke. But by the end of the day, I am not even thinking about my next cigarette.

By knocking my smoking habit by one cigarette a day, I am gently getting my body used to not having the nicotine without the horrendous side effects. I don’t feel angry at all, I am not ready to scream, I haven’t burst into tears and bawled uncontrollably. I just get a little antsy right before it’s time to go smoke.

The program doesn’t try to guilt trip you when you go smoke. It doesn’t make you view pictures of cancerous lungs, people in iron lings or anything else like that before you go smoke. It’s not trying to make you feel like sh*t for doing something you are addicted to. It just sets your schedule and reminds you that you can go smoke.

Although today I woke up with a tiny headache that Motrin took care of, I am not curled up in a ball in a dark room with a debilitating migraine.

My appetite is coming back! Even with all the stress that I am going through, my appetite is returning. I feel a little more lively most of the times… although I do have moments where I am just freaking SLEEPY!

I sleep better. I noticed that I am falling asleep a little easier. I am not sleeping sounder because of my back pain, but I am falling asleep better. If my back wasn’t waking me up, I would be able to tell you if I slept soundly. Anyone want to chime in on that?

I feel better! I can actually breathe a little easier now too. I don’t feel horrible about myself when I go smoke because “I should be quitting”… I am smoking BECAUSE I am quitting. That mindset is a actually pretty freeing for me!

How much money am I saving?

The Smoker Reducer Quit Smoking App shows you how much money you are spending and how much you are saving.

When I started, I was spending

• Day: $4.39
• Week: $30.73
• Month: $133.50
• Year: $1602.35

Holy Nicotine Addiction!

Now, at 9 cigarettes a day, I spend

• Day: $2.63
• Week: $18.41
• Month: $79.98
• Year: $959.95

That’s a decent difference! In case you don’t want to break out a calculator, that means I am saving

• Day: $1.76
• Week: $12.32
• Month: $53.52
• Year: $642.40

By next paycheck, I will not be smoking! So as a treat and celebration, I am taking the $30 I would spend a week and buying something for my kids and myself. Can you imagine what I can do with $1602.35 that I will save in a year???

How about those lungs?

I should point out that the Smoker Reducer Quit Smoking App does have a picture of lungs that look like a smokers lungs under the statistics tab. At first I was like “meh, it’s a quit smoking app. I figured it would be here somewhere.”

Then on day 2 I was waiting for my next cigarette when I noticed a statement at the bottom. It says that the picture of the lungs in the program isn’t a statement of how your lungs are, it’s representation of your progress. Over the days, I have noticed that the lungs are pinker and look healthier. So as I progress, the lungs will eventually look like healthy lungs.

Update is coming!

In about 10 days, I will be posting an update to let you know how my progress is going!

So I had an idea…

I was sitting here thinking about how dull a housekeeping blog can be. You start out with routines you do daily, weekly and all that good stuff. Then they give tips and motivational speeches.

It’s always the same with variations from site to site. Some are more laid back while others are like the housekeeper Nazis. But one things is always the same… it gets boring.

So I had this wonderful idea for my Gimp and Limp Club blog. I decided that each week I’ll be hosting scavenger hunts that work on the honor system and the winner gets $5. I am poor, I can’t afford much but I wanted to have prizes.

Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to find gift cards to buy for $5-$10 so there will be a choice of prizes. And I am hoping that once a year (or twice) I can give away something REALLY cool but I have no idea what that will be.

Anyway, if you want to play along, go check it out!

What Color is my Parachute? RAINBOW!

After my last appointment to the doctor, it finally all hit home. I might be MMI'd for my work injury. Which means they have done everything they can. Which is BS because they keep denying everything I want to try. But I digress... So now I am fully thinking about what else I can do for a career.

They keep asking what my back up career is. THIS WAS my back up career. Before I met my husband, I had planning on moving to Florida and joining the Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus Clown College and then traveling with the circus as a circus clown. With kids, that's not happening and I would totally not be able to do all the fun stuff that clowns do, so that is out of the question.

So I broke out the book What Color Is Your Parachute? 2012: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers and the workbook that goes with it. I originally bought it as a guide for my homeschooling children when they hit 11th grade. But I figured I would use it on myself. After going through a few activities, I thought "My parachute is the color RAINBOW!" So now I am working through my activities to figure out what I can do at home.

I thought about some things that would actually make money. Being a prostitute and a drug dealer are out of the question. I don't want to blow up my house or end up in jail for life. Writing is a definite idea! Now, if only I could figure out how to make blogging lucritive for me! I'll be researching more.

Google now has affiliates where I can put ads in the actual blog post. But I haven't figured out how to actually add them to the post. Now watch... there's going to be 20 ads show up for a parachute. It's not showing up in the post so I have no idea what I am doing. I also have amazon associates through a friends account that we set up for a business we started YEARS ago. She's not using it, so I am. I can add ads from there like this



They actually make that??? Okay. Anywhoodles, I can start posting relavent products in my posts. I did that with the books I am using (up there about the book and workbook). But that works only if someone wants to buy something. So she was telling me about this astore and I have been messing with it. I'll let you know when I figure it out.



She said I should put the rainbow bracelet ad on here cuz she likes it LOL. There it is... I so WANT ONE OF THOSE! Anyway, so I am thinking more now about how I can make money from home. Maybe I'll have massive yard sales... NAH! That would be too much for me.

Any ideas? LEGAL ideas?

3 Reasons to Quit Using your Microwave. By Guest Blogger, Kate Croston

     If you are anything like most people nowadays, then you use your microwave for everything you cook, practically. You use it to defrost the meat for dinner, heat up the soup for lunch and even cook the turkey bacon for breakfast. You use your microwave to reheat leftovers and warm your children’s hot cocoa. Why wouldn’t you? After all, it is much faster, cooler, and easier than using the stove or oven. Well, I will give you three reasons to stop using your microwave.

1. Taste – Things cooked in the microwave just taste different. It is a fact. If they didn’t, then why don’t you microwave your steak? Or your hamburgers? Meat in the micro comes out chewy and flavorless. The same goes for lots of other things, but you’ve forgotten what they are supposed to taste like, so you no longer notice. Try cooking things on the stove for a while and see if they don’t taste much, much better to you.

2. Diet – A microwave is quick. That means you can make and eat a lot of food any time your heart desires. When you are bored, when you are in a hurry, or when you just don’t want to think. Those are the worst times to be eating because you are not making healthy meal choices at those times. But what if you had to put a little more effort into your food? Wouldn’t you eat better if you had to plan dinner in the morning so the meat could defrost naturally? Wouldn’t you eat a lot more fruits and veggies if you didn’t have a micro meal ready to pop in? Wouldn’t you cook balanced meals if you had to use the stove instead of whatever could be thrown in and eaten within minutes? Wouldn’t you eat less when you are bored if you actually had to prepare it? All these decisions add up to an unhealthy lifestyle that can be changed by removing just one element.

3. Health – Last but not least are the health issues. Yes, we have talked about diet, but what else does a microwave do beside cook fast? It cooks with radiation. No, I don’t think it is going to give you cancer or anything, at least not at normal exposure rates, but can it really be healthy to eat all that food that has been irradiated? Now, it is not like it is cooking with x-rays or gamma rays or is going to make you turn green, bulk up and start smashing things, but it is something to think about. Why not limit your exposure to as much as you can, right?

Just some food for thought. If you are addicted to your microwave, then try a little break from it. You may find out that not only can you live without it, but your life is healthier, happier, and a little tastier.


Author Bio:
Kate Croston is a freelance writer, holds a bachelors degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She writes guest posts for different sites and loves contributing home internet service related topics. Questions or comments can be sent to:  katecroston.croston09 @ gmail.com.