May you all have a spooky good time!

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I scour the Internet on a fairly regular basis, and these are the links I have picked up for my wonderful readers this week!

I know this is on Perez Hilton and that is lame, but this video of Kellie Pickler meeting Clint Eastwood made me giggle like no other!!
http://perezhilton.com/2010-10-24-kellie-pickler-makes-us-laugh-on-the-ellen-degeneres-show

A dancing cockatoo can always bring joy to the world!
http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-this-cocktoo-flaps-its-wings-back-and-forth/

Pictures of cute children in Halloween costumes!
http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-8-sickeningly-cute-halloween-costumes-for-kids/

An AMAZING article on the nature of pain!  A complete must read <3.
http://gracefulagony.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/the-problem-of-pain/

An article I wrote over at The Fight Like A Girl Club that everyone who likes me should check out and comment on!
http://www.thefightlikeagirlclub.com/2010/10/the-dichotomy-of-chronic-illness/

Images of romantic places where people put together locks of love in mass form!
http://www.lock-master.org.uk/blog/index.php/locks-of-love/

I need this!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/howbrownmetblue/3340857968/sizes/l/

What have you found amusing on the Internet this week friends??  Please share!

xoxo,
Annie

When you have chronic illness, it often feels like life will just keep kicking you when you are down.  In most cases, this situation isn’t just exaggerated, it’s real.  The visible source of strength is what you do with the knowledge you gain when you fall down, and if you apply it to your life as you pick yourself up from the ashes.

As I can quote my lovely friend Kimberley, this is how people look at the chronically ill: “People know that with cancer or aids, people either die or they are okay. Either way, they don’t have to deal with that person’s illness anymore.  With us, it’s not going to kill us. But we have it forever”.  It’s hard to have a care system put into place for individuals who are going to be sick for what could very well be a close-to-normal lifespan.


It is a fight just to smile in our circumstance.  No one gets a break in this life, especially the chronically and terminally ill.  We feel guilt for everything we cannot provide, we feel pain at every second (or second moment…), and we become wrapped up in the world of learning about our illnesses.  It becomes hard for us to keep up our outside activities and to maintain friendships outside of the home.

As a result: the world sees us as both depressing and as sickly (which scares many healthy individuals away as they don’t have enough education on the matter!).

Even though it may seem like an uphill battle, there are still ways we can pull ourselves up when we hit rock bottom:

1. Ask for help.  If someone is frustrated with you, reach out to someone else.  It is very unlikely that someone near to you won’t come in and help you with the basic routine.  Self-care, self-care, self-care!!  THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT of living a good life.
2. Set up a support system, and I especially recommend one on Twitter.  The #spoonies there are an absolute delight, and my life wouldn’t be the same without them.
3. Focus on things external to yourself that you enjoy.  If nothing comes to mind, try something new that doesn’t take up much energy!
4. Repeat mantras.  Include that you are worth the efforts other people put forth.  Just try to treat them all in the best way you can (I recommend thank you cards!).
5. Decide how much effort you want to commit to the cause of raising awareness for your illness, versus how much energy you want to devote to your other interests.  It’s rare to have the get-up-and-go to do both things fully.
6. I use humor as a defense mechanism.  It isn’t perfect, but it is the best I have right now.  Laughing, even in awkward situations, can raise your morale.
7. Remember that there are always people who have life worse off than yourself.
8. Know when it is the right time to bring up a particular subject regarding your health, and when you should really leave the subject alone (I’m still working on this!!).
9. Cultivate happiness in the tiny joys of life (dark chocolate is one for me!).
10. Be forgiving and proud.  Of both yourself and everyone close to you in life.

My viewing and reading schedule has been ALL over the place this week!  I must say most of it was a delightful journey though!

Oz:

I was loaned all the seasons of this show from a friend and am totally psyched to watch it in it’s entirety!  So many major stars have grown out of this prison drama from HBO.  It’s not for the faint of heart, but every episode that I have viewed so far are stellar.  Definitely a good, too-sick-to-get-off-the-couch distraction!!

Piranha:

In terms of horror comedies – this was one of the most fun things I’ve seen in a LONG time.  It is completely schlocky, and yet is self-aware and used to good purpose.  It’s a splatter film, and it manages to make its kills random and exploitable.  It’s not a perfect film, but at a sleepover I had a fun time watching it .

I LOVED this book.  Gretchen Rubin may not have been going through a crisis when she wrote this book, but she was just interested in the subject and how she could apply it to her life.  I received so many good suggestions from this!  Plus, many parts of the book are done in lists which appeals to the organizational, control side of me.  The best part is – she’s honest about what does and doesn’t work for her, but gives options for other people as well.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

These are the foods that my body is currently not rejecting:

• Grilled cheese sandwiches
• Pureed soup.
• Dark chocolate
• Glucerna (meal-replacement shakes).
• All liquids minus orange juice.
• Sometimes scrambled eggs.
• Berries.

On the plus side, some of those things are pretty tasty. On the negative side, it cuts down my cooking by like 410%.

(Images from WeHeartIt)

• Detoxing off of the LDN has made my Fibromyalgia symptoms flare to the millionth degree.  On the plus side, it is the first time I can feel any of the other medication or be productive.  Such a hard trade-off. Lay in bed sleeping my life away and end up in a wheelchair, or deal with the pain and accomplish something, but cry all of the time.
• Moving is stressful but exciting.
• The fact that I missed out on the Island’s TweetUp last night due to stupid anxiety!  I really want to make it to one!
• The fact that my ultrasound came back clean and yet I have SO MUCH pelvic pain.  If my next MRI shows the tumor randomly disappearing, I may have a mental breakdown.
• Liquid diets are pretty boring.
• I have a bone bruise on my foot making it difficult to walk.
• Crazy mood swings.

Here are some of the sweet finds I have found on the Internet this week (just for you my lovely readers!!). Hopefully, these links will help make your Sunday more enjoyable .

If anyone is trying to make money at home from being a freelance writer, this is an excellent article to get you started!
http://www.tribalwriter.com/2010/10/14/how-a-writer-can-develop-multiple-streams-of-revenue-part-one/

I’m moving and this is a great article on trying to make the home both masculine and feminine, without either party being pushed to the side!
http://www.mischiefmydear.com/dramatispersonae/2010/5-tips-turning-your-space-our-space/

The BEST fashion finds for under $100 courtesy of Vogue.
http://www.vogue.com/guides/100-under-100/

A neat home design blog that was a recent find for me!
http://www.doorsixteen.com/

A baby in a WATERMELON, eating said watermelon! CUTEST THING EVER.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3FlBC1fvqg&feature=player_embedded

Perhaps the second cutest thing ever!!
http://thedailywh.at/post/1376350981/animated-gif-of-the-day-dun-dun-duuuuuuun

Reddit polled people for their best pieces of advice, so read away!!
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/du5ij/what_has_been_one_of_the_best_pieces_of_advice/

A beautiful fall photo meant to demonstrate the Autumn Spectrum .
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brunmarde/5073366253/

A glossary of funny GIFs – they always amuse me!
http://jezebel.com/5664134/the-comprehensive-gif-glossary

I hope these brightened your day my loves!

xoxo,
Annie

 I hate it when they say I don’t give a sh*t, because nobody cares more than I do. I’m telling you I don’t know anybody who does this that gives a shit more than I do.