There's something wrong with my thyroid, and no one believes me.

I've been talking with my older cousin, who is quickly becoming a mother to me. She is a thyroid cancer survivor and has Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. And she is the only person who really understands what I'm going through. I am also lucky to have a supportive, loving, wonderful boyfriend. My issues scare the crap out of him, but he's strong and is enduring along with me.

Over the last month and a half at least, my throat has been bothering me a lot. No, I don't have a 'sore throat'. It feels like something is garroting my throat and before they gave me prednisone in the ER last night, I couldn't swallow food and was choking on my own saliva and was fearful of not being able to breathe.

After a throat Xray, a shot of ativan and a shot of prednisone, I was sent home. Diagnosis? 'choking episode'

My GI docs seem to care well, though they can't do much about my thyroid. But they sent me for an upper GI study yesterday morning and an upper endoscopy on monday. And I managed to get in with the Endo doc I saw once a few months ago, an appt tomorrow. So maybe he will listen?

Here's to hoping.

In craft news, I crocheted Joey a hat and still need to finish his scarf. But he doesn't wear his hat, so....

I am making Cori this though: http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/its-hoot-owl-hat-cape

Or at least I want to do these things. We'll see what gets done.

Ok. So I have sucked at blogging about this so far.

But, I'm learning that it is truly hard to really get organized so you can integrate the complexities of internal and external adversity in life. So what I've begun to do is print out these sheets:
* IBS and Constipation Symptom Tracker
*Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire
*Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire Score Sheet

I have begun organizing my medical info into a binder. I will keep these weekly evals in the binder to take to my appointments so I can show my docs what's going on. I requested that I have my thyroid tested due to my family history of thyroid issues. If I do and can get it treated, it should reduce the impact of everything else. I also took all of my lab results off of my providers web resource and compiled them into an excel document. I keep it updated on the spreadsheet and can print it off before appointments, to reference when discussing my issues.

In creative news, I'm still working on Joey's scarf, as my hands allow. I am currently taking a break to make him this hat. The colour he chose is oklahoma city green though. It's an easy single crochet and the yarn is a real pleasure to work with. It's wonderfully soft but doesn't work up too chunky. I'll try to remember to add pics as soon as I'm done!

A Reincarnation of my Blog.

Yesterday, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. A part of me knew that it was the reason for my medical issues, but I never quite realized how perfect a packaging this diagnosis is for all of the random problems I seem to have. And as a new, young traveler of this path, I want to share this journey with those of you who also share this path, or know someone who is walking this path. I hope that my experiences, coping strategies, and methods for overcoming this disease will be helpful to my audience. I will still keep posting the crafts I make, though as you may have noticed, it's seldom a steady stream of items. I am currently working on a lovely scarf for my boyfriend, and will post it when it is complete. In the mean time, thank you for following my blog. I am always open to suggestions if you have any. I hope this becomes a haven for those with chronic pain and fatigue issues so that we can help one another overcome. You are not alone.

Please Excuse my Absence!

I've still been crafting! I just lost the card for my camera, so I can't upload the photos :( And to boot, I've been in the hospital and otherwise ill lately. However, since my last craft post, I altered the pattern of the hat I made for Cori, at her request for a 'Witch Hat'. So it's a springy-green witch hat with a pale blue, star-print ribbon  hat-band, and a crocheted flower with button center for accent. I'll post pics soon!

I also made two flowers for an awesome friend, and I hope she likes them! I loved making them. I got the pattern for the flower on Cori's hat, and the two I made for my friend Jess from here

 I hope to find the card soon, so I can continue posting photos of my craft adventures!

Contest Opportunity! (Adults only)

Everyone loves free stuff, right? How about a new free toy? Here's your chance to win an adult toy from vanillafreesex.com!


http://www.vanillafreesex.com/2011/07/spicy-giveaway-purple-plunge-vibe-enter.html#comment-form

Have fun!

Crochet 'Flapper Hat'

I'm currently working on a flapper-style hat for Cori, to help keep the sun off her head and face. She has finally decided that she likes hats, so I'm making a lovely open-weave hat to keep her cool. The pattern is free on <a href="www.lionbrand.com">LionBrand's website</a>, you just have to register to access they're awesome, free patterns.

<a href="http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10459.html?noImages=">Here's the pattern for the hat I'm making.</a>

This is the hat I'm making!

Cori has a large head, and I was afraid that a child's hat wouldn't fit. She has a much better chance of fitting into an adult small ^_^. I'll take a photo of the finished product for you guys!

Other things I've made for Cori!

I made Cori a strawberry purse last summer. It was a project worked on in stages, but she tore the clear glass bead 'seeds' off so I never bothered to take a final photo. I made a fringe-y green top and laced it up.

I experimented with crocheting cherries so I could sew them onto dish towels.

I crocheted Cori a pair of Mary Jane slippers.

Top view.

Final product. Buttons sewn across the top.

Dora dress! Cori loved it ^_^

Bows!

Tag ^_^.

Sock puppet.

Hair with bow!

Ok, an actual craft project.

    Alright, so I finally put everything else aside and am making a 'Piratey Princess' version of <a href="http://creatingbycami.blogspot.com/2011/03/business-in-front-party-in-back.html">this dress</a>, featured on <a href="http://creatingbycami.blogspot.com/">this wonderful blog!</a> I'm taking as many photos of the process as I remember to ^_^

This is the bodice of the dress, cut from a red jersey pillow case.

On the left are 4-inch white and black strips cut from soft cotton t-shirts for the ruffles. On the right, tattered-cut strips for the empire waist-band.

This is the remaining portion of the pillow case, pinned to the scrap-flannel I'm using to attach the ruffles to, for the bustle. (I pinned it for accurate sizing).

Finished ruffles.

Ruffles sewn to backing. I staggered them to make them look a little less polished, considering it's a pirate dress.

I cut the back skirting to lay over the ruffles and pinned the top. I didn't hem the fabric because I want to leave the edges raw and am going to sew a black edging on the inner edges of the skirting.

I ruffled the top of the skirt front, and attached it to the bodice. I left the top edge of the skirt raw, to go with the un-polished look I'm trying to achieve.

Skirt finished, with edging on the sides.

Neck edging sewn on!

Sleeve sewn on.

Body detail, showing off the beautiful low-scoop neckline and tiny skull patch on her sleeve.

Back detail, with long bow, back patch and sleeve patch.

Sitting on the stairs. I wish I would have placed the flower further towards the middle.

Posing! I love how the bustle works so well.

Side view, though I forgot to rotate the photo first!

Touching her flower ^_^

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bodice shot! She loves her new dress ^_^

Showing off!

The only thing I have left to do is sew the patches on. They're pinned right now, and I probably won't be able to get them sewn on until after Cori is asleep. She's so excited about her new dress, and it thrills me deeply to know she adores it!

Not exactly creative, but still worth sharing.

Lately, not a lot in the way of creating has been happening at home, (other than food. I made a fantastic stir-fry today, courtesy of decently-priced produce.) because it would seem that I'm in a period of growth. It's funny how we tend to grow best, with adversity as our compost. I've learned about my personality (Myers-Briggs ENFJ) and have fallen in with an incredible group of INFPs. God-willing, I will be finishing my nursing degree, starting next spring. This means a lot of change is on the horizon!             

  Joey is almost halfway through his counseling. I'm proud of his progress, and I look forward to seeing what this means for him, and for us. There's a lot that I'm not sure of right now. But I am sure that God is with me, and that I have a great daughter and a hopeful future ahead of me.

My first Blog!

Okay folks! This is my first blog. My intention for this page is to share my creativity, parenting, rants and basically, my life with you. Hopefully someone out there will find this to be helpful, and I am open to ideas and questions at any time. I also intend to link you to other blogs that I love, and draw upon for ideas. And if you have a blog and want to share here, please do! All I ask is that if you find inspiration in these posts, please do not sell them. The owners of the patterns I find, use, and share (myself included) are kind enough to share, so lets be nice in return. Okay? Okay ^_^

Thank you for visiting my page! I hope you enjoy the birth of this as much as I do!

~RetroMama