Wordless Wednesday

Update from Friday's Post: A Few Steps "Behind"

Just wanted to let you guys know that everything went fine yesterday and that I am okay. No abnormalities were found during my colonoscopy, which is great!

I'm recovering just fine and we're treating my belly with some meds that I hope will calm things down and keep the IBS at bay (since we now know that's what I have.)

I don't remember much about what the doctor said afterwards, but she told my Mom that my belly tensing up and spasming like it does is a direct result of the fibromyalgia! I never thought the fibro could actually CAUSE bowel distress, but apparently it does.

I do plan to research this a little and when I see my doc in a couple of months, I'm going to ask her some questions about it since my inquiring mind always wants to know everything! LOL!

Anyhoo, Thanks for the encouraging comments and tweets guys. I really appreciate it more than you know.

Look out for a new post tomorrow!

Do you guys use those pick flossy things you get in the grocery/drugstore? You know the ones I mean, the white ones with the sharp stick on one end and the string of floss on the other? I have those things everywhere - my office drawer, in my bathroom, bedroom, purse, and car. I hate getting stuff stuck in my teeth and then I have to search around looking for one of those pick things or something to get the food out!

When I first opened the Bryton Pick, I wasn't too keen on trying it out. The ends are made of stainless steel and do resemble razor blades. I was really afraid of cutting my gums up, especially since I do have trouble with my gums already.

I did find that it was very easy to use, and worked great! It does a great job of getting those tiny pieces that really get stuck in there that floss just can't always get. The stainless steel is actually pretty soft, although you do want to be careful during use and not force it in-between teeth.

The great thing about these is that they are re-usable up to 30 days since they are made of germ-resistant stainless steel. Just wash them off between uses. Each one comes in its own little package (pictured above) that you can keep in your pocket or purse.



Here's a better picture of what they look like, since it's hard to tell from the pictures

They are very reasonably priced and the re-usable aspect of the product is definitely great! No more looking around for those white picky things, or toothpick to get your teeth clean.


They can be bought at several major drugstores including Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid, and can also be ordered through Amazon.com


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Just a few steps "behind"

Thought I'd digress this week from the IC Awareness Month posts due to the week I've had, and I wanted to share it with you guys.

First off, it has rained here just about all week and I swear if my fibro doesn't stop flaring I'm going to go INSANE!  God, I am tired of hurting, plus rain makes me extremely tired so I'm just draggin my ass everywhere.

The main event of this week is that I finally had my first appointment with a Gastroenterologist about my stomach issues.  I first wrote about this in the post Fibro Friday: Related Conditions - Irritable Bowel Syndrome and shared with you that I have had my issues since I was a teenager.  They have worsened in the last year and I shared with you in this post in July Fibro Friday that I had scheduled my appointment but had to wait until September to get in. 

Well my appointment day finally arrived on Wednesday, thankfully so I was off to see my new doctor.  I chose a female doctor and I like her a lot so far.  She did her exam (OW!) and after prescribing me a few meds for an immediate issue I won't get into here, she came in and told me she wants me to have a colonoscopy.  She wants to rule out Colitis, see what is going on that is causing my symptoms to be so bad. (I have lots of severe cramping). 

I'm only 38 years old, so this is definitely not a routine test for me at all.  I've never had one and I'm a little freaked out to be honest.  I know, people have them every day, yadda yadda.  I get scared anytime I have a procedure where I get knocked out. 

What I'm dreading most is the prep on Sunday.  I can't eat after 7am, can only drink clear fluids, then I have to drink that nasty stuff and stay in the bathroom all evening.  Great, right?  I am going to be one evil fucking bitch since I can't eat....I am a mean-ass thing when I'm hungry. 

On the bright side, I have to take off work Monday and I'll get to sleep all day long! You guys that follow me on Twitter might even get some drunk tweets that day!  You've never gotten drunk Karen tweets before....what a treat! 

Anyway, planning on doing a few things today and tomorrow, hoping my hubby will perhaps take me out for a "last supper" on Saturday night so I can get a really good meal in before the starvation begins. 

Say some prayers for me on Monday morning...around 9am eastern standard time.  That's the time they, um....."go in."  LOL!  I'll definitely follow this up with a post afterwards and let you know how it turned out and what they found or didn't find. 

Thanks for letting me vent, guys and as always, thanks for reading!

Karen

Wordless Wednesday

Funny pics below!

Bondi Bands Review/Giveaway

We have a winner!!!!  The winner of the giveaway is Suzanne of Suz and Allen!
Suzanne, I'm sending you an email with instructions on how to claim your prize!


Hello there boys and girls!  Welcome to my very first product review and giveaway!!! 

How many of you are exercise freaks, love outdoor activities, or have kids that have you running 24/7?  All of us have things we like to do or have to do that have us running around from time to time, and we all break a sweat.  Some of us do a little spritzing, but some (like me) sweat buckets! 

That's where Bondi Bands come in!  I was sent a great pink headband to try out!

These headbands are wonderful!  They can hold your hair back while you're at your activity, all the while absorbing and evaporating sweat. 

They have two different types of headbands.  The one I'm wearing is the Heavy Sweat Wicking Band  These are made of a dry-tech coolmax material that take all the sweat you can give!  You can take it off, wring it out, and put it back on.  I found that it was easier to wrap in a hand towel and wring it out - the moisture came right out and I put the wrap right back on!

The Heavy Sweat band comes in all types of solid colors as well as bands with different sayings on them. 

The other type of headband they offer are Lycra Light Sweat Wicking Bands  These dry fast also but aren't made of the same wicking material as the Heavy Sweat Wicking Bands.  These headbands are all about fun colors and fashion!  They come in tons of awesome patterns and colors....I want all of them, they are so cute!

Bondi Bands also have hats, sweat towels, bands for kids, and dog bands!  They have something for everyone and their products are so affordable! 

So, on to the giveaway!  I'm making it real simple to enter - you have 4 ways to enter:

Mandatory Entry: Go to Bondiband.com and check out their wicking bands, leave me a comment as to which one you would want to win!  +1 entry

Additional Entries: 
Follow me on Twitter at @Karenappy  Leave me a comment below that you've done it!    +1 entry
                               
Follow Bondi Bands on Twitter at @Bondiband  Leave me a comment below that you've done it!  +1 entry
Tweet the entry on Twitter, leave a comment with a link to the tweet below +1 entry

The winner will be announced on next Monday, September 19th.  Good luck!

Wordless Wednesday

The South is not Dead Series - Where Have all the Cowboys Gone? They're Still Around!

As many of you know, I grew up and still live in the South – more specifically, North Carolina.  Where I grew up is not exactly out in the country, but not in the middle of the city either. It was just outside of a middle-sized city and there is a rural area there that was full of farmland that grew tobacco mostly. These days much of that farmland is gone and has been built up into subdivisions. It is much more populated than when I grew up there and everything is much more modernized – not just here but in the South in general. Our rural areas are shrinking, and we have many transplants that have moved down here from the north (and no I am not dissin the Yankees).  Things have really changed down here and sometimes it is hard to find traces of the Old South that I remember and was raised with.  So, I decided to search out a little bit of that old southern living that is still around, perhaps just write about some things I remember about growing up and share it with you.

The first installment starts with a cowboy.....

I was at Food Lion one day and was reminded that the Old South is not dead after all. I saw a man that I swear to God is a modern day cowboy. Now he's probably a farmer working a farm nearby, we do have several farms out near where I live but this guy just fascinated me. My mind instantly said, “Cowboy!”

The first thing I saw was the plaid shirt. Now it was hot as hell that day, so it was short sleeved but it still counts. The second was the Wrangler jeans – who else wears tight dark washed Wranglers but a cowboy? I didn't think to look for a big belt buckle, I could just kick myself for that....but I would bet money that he had some sort of decorative belt buckle on.

I got in line later and he was across from me in another line. I looked down and I'll be damned if he didn't have dusty old cowboy boots on.....WITH SPURS ON THE BACK! Now how fuckin cool is that? Spurs........on the cowboy boots! Spurs! I just had to smile to myself when I saw that and that's when I got the idea for this whole blog.

I haven't gotten to the face yet. His face was weather-worn, and he had one of those thick cowboy mustaches. I call them the Magnum PI mustache. He had a hunting cap on, it was so old and dusty it looked like it might have once been camo.

As I left the store, I halfway expected him to be leaving on a horse but that's just silly. He got into a Ford F-150. That's the next best thing down here for a cowboy to ride off in.  Of course it was white, a cowboy would ride off on a white horse so why wouldn't this guy drive off in a white truck?

Next installment...Southern women. What are they like now?  Come back to find out!