What's In Your Purse?

How many of you ladies have heard your husband say, “What do you have in this purse...the kitchen sink?” Can I see a show of hands?

Yep, 96.87%...about what i figured.

Aren’t they precious?



If you mined my purse you would find: a tube of Burt’s Bees chapstick, a tube of Carmex, a tube of lipstick, my ID badge for work, a multipurpose tool, my sunglasses, my Big Fat Wallet (™), a dozen loose receipts from Walmart, Target, and Hy-Vee, two checkbooks, a pack of Wet Ones, three paper clips, a bottle of Febreeze, four pens, a comb, and a fishing bobber (thanks, Captain).





Not one kitchen sink to be found.

Know what else is not and never has been in my purse? Kleenexes. Even when the kids were little I just never got in the habit of carrying tissues in my purse. This has caused a conundrum on occasion when noses needed to be wiped, but I could usually come up with a dried out wet wipe that would do the trick. Or the kids would just use their sleeves.

One new thing I have started carrying in my purse due to recent events is a bottle of peppermint essential oil to sniff if my tummy is giving me fits. I don’t know why it works, but it does.

I am new to this essential oil game but I’m becoming a believer. Maybe it’s a placebo effect that is all in my head, but whatever works, right? Besides the bottle in my purse, I also have a diffuser (like a humidifier/mister kind of thing) on my nightstand.

As I was tiptoeing around the internet trying to find reputable information on aromatherapy I found multiple references that ginger was one of the best oils to use for nausea prevention and treatment. So the first night I had the diffuser, I followed the directions where it said to fill it with water and add 2 to 3 drops of oil.

If you ask Captain, he will tell you that ginger oil in a diffuser smells like dog butts. Don’t ask me how he knows what that smells like...I don’t want to know. It’s true it was pretty potent and I have since found out that it is much more tolerable if you use 1 drop of ginger, 2 drops of lavender, and 3 drops of peppermint.

Captain kind of turns his nose up at the essential oil craze and calls it hoo-doo. When you think about it, though, it is probably what people used before there were tens of thousands of pills to take. I’m sure Native Americans, among others, used many of the same remedies, and they must have worked.

I just know that it seems to be helping me to use these oils so I will continue to do so until they don’t work.

Blessings to you my friends!

Images used:

http://d21c.com/micjam/Winter/Think-Spring.jpg

http://healthfoundationsbirthcenter.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/essential-oils.jpg

Even Keel

Hello, friends!  

I realize it has been a very long time since I've posted anything.  Life has been...let's just say...beyond crazy for the last weeks and months.  

For part of that time, I found myself in a dark place.  This is uncharted territory for me as it has always been a point of pride--smugness--that I could handle whatever life threw at me with the grace of God and supportive family and friends.  

Turns out I was wrong.  Oh, I still had God, family, and friends on my side.  I needed more.

Apparently one person can only take so much crap thrown at them before there is a breaking point.  Or at least a crack in the foundation.

The cumulative stress of being treated for (and cured of...YAY) breast cancer, another dismal year in the farm economy, major surgery for Captain, and extended cold snaps beat me down enough that it affected my health by way of ulcer-type stomach symptoms.  

That's easy enough to treat, right?  They have all kinds of medicine for that.  So I started taking it.  Two weeks later when it was no better I finally made an appointment with my family doctor to talk about treatment for depression.  I'm not ashamed of having to take medication for this, but I'm not totally comfortable with it yet, either.

Meanwhile, for the stomach issues, I made major diet and lifestyle changes.  Folks, I haven't had any coffee--none--in three weeks.  Actually, make that I haven't had any caffeine of any sort in that amount of time.  I don't eat anything with tomatoes in it.  I've been eating a lot of scrambled eggs, peanut butter sandwiches, and any sort of chicken soup or entree.  I've even resorted to Ensure drinks to make certain I am getting enough protein.  

I also started using essential oils (peppermint) as a topical rub and aromatherapy in a diffuser to try and combat the stomach stuff.  I sleep with four pillows behind me...so basically sitting up in bed.  

When I had my implant exchange surgery I thought that would relieve some stress.  Nope.  Now I was having increased anxiety with ridiculous and illogical thought processes.  

Back to the family doctor for a follow-up.  He assured us that after a negative abdominal CT scan, H. Pylori test, and EKG/Holter monitor testing the most likely cause for the stomach issues was situational stress, depression, and anxiety.  He adjusted the medication dosage, and we'll see how that goes for the next little while.  

I said I wasn't ashamed of having to take medication, and I'm not.  I'm--what's a less harsh word than ashamed--that I got knocked off my even keel and have actually been sort of wallowing in victim mode for a few weeks.  

I don't like that.  At all.  

So I'd ask you, dear friends, to pray for me.   That God heals me and makes me whole again.  Or, if that's not the plan, that God gives me the strength and courage to find ways to manage these health issues and not fall into whiny butt victim mode.  

Images used:
https://www.brainyquote.com/photos_tr/en/h/huberthhumphrey/152600/huberthhumphrey1.jpg