Yet Another Filofax on it's Way!

Yep!  I really didn't need this one, but Zulily had it in Ultra Violet at a pretty good price.  The hard part is waiting for it to arrive.  This is my first Zulily experience, so we'll see how it goes!  Looks like it could take a few weeks.

Here's the stock photo of the Filofax Mini Domino.  Can't wait for this purse-size sweety!

Adding to My Filofax Family

I just received my Filofax Finsbury, in Electric Blue! I also selected A5 for this planner. I write rather large, and this one won't travel with me, so the bigger size was preferred.

Being that my first Filofax was the gorgeous, patent purple, A5 Original, this one wasn't quite as exciting to receive. The Finsbury's construction does not seem to be of the same quality. The rings are larger and tight, which I LOVE, but the leather feels lower in quality, and the back inside cover feels slightly tacky. It's hard to explain, but it feels different from the leather on the rest of the planner. I covered that section with a piece of plastic straight away, as I felt like it kept the pages from moving to a good position when the planner was closed. (Although, I still have to move the back pages to an uncurled position each time I close it). Then again, that might be happening because of the larger rings.

The other issue I have with this is the color. This this is NOT blue in any way! Unless you count the thread in the stitching! The leather is definitely purple and black. I don't mind that one bit. I do love purple. My only gripe is I ordered blue papers to make dividers with. No big deal though, I'll still use the blue paper. If I'd read more reviews, I would have known before cutting the purchase.

I may grow to love this one as much as my Original. I will update again when I've customized!

New Things From My Resin Desk

Fibromyalgia Awareness Day

I held back tears several times today reading Facebook posts regarding Fibromyalgia Awareness Day.  It is the loneliest of things, feeling overwhelmed by invisible syndromes and illnesses.  I'm sad to know anyone else has to deal with this too.

So, today I did a few posts to help with awareness.  Unfortunately, I can't forget about fibromyalgia.  It may never be "invisible" to me.  I'm always aware.  The pain of it and the co-morbid syndromes that accompany it don't LET me forget.  

The more knowledge people have, the less stigma and shame those with the syndrome will face.  It's surprising to know there are still doctors that don't believe fibromyalgia exists!  A lot of people have a hard time wrapping their heads around things they haven't personally experienced.  I'd love the technology to have anyone who doesn't think this is real to spend a day in my body!   It would bring them to their knees - which have moderately severe osteoarthritis (bone on bone), by the way, so that would hurt too ;)

Progress on My Planner

I've just started to customize my beautiful planner.  So far, I've cut and laminated dividers from gorgeous black and white paper, added a dashboard and found inserts on Etsy I liked more than the standard included set.  I know a lot of women like the pink and frilly stuff in their planners, but I like more of a minimalist, clean and coordinated look of the purple, black and white.  I've never been accused of liking girly things, and my planner mirrors my likes perfectly.

I love customizing this, and might have to add another planner for journaling ;). We will see!

Here are some photos:

#dearme

In early March this year, I saw multiple videos on YouTube with the hash tag #dearme.  Essentially, it was women (and some men) writing letters to themselves as teens.  It had something to do with International Women's Day.  I was very inspired by this, so I wrote my own.  I love the thought of giving recognition to the wisdom that has been gathered with passing years.  It humbles and motivates me.

Anyway, here's my letter to me:

Dear teenage me,

Firstly, as awful as things seem, you WILL get through this time. I know, because I'm here! You are much stronger than you think. 

I'm so proud of all of the art you make and your bright mind!  But I am most proud of your HEART. Even years from now you will wear it on your sleeve, but I know now that is a strength, not a weakness.  To be open, honest and truthful is....really important.  It will give you freedom.  And yes, even in your 40's you can cry at the drop of a hat. 

I won't give you any advice on men.  After you get past that older jerk (and you really should get past him!), you find a truly awesome guy, who sees through the fight and hurt and LOVES you.  It won't always be easy and definitely isn't perfect, but you will mold each other as you grow, and every year you won't believe you could love him any more, but you do.  You've got this covered.

I know now that all that fight you have in you is for things you need and deserve, even though you have no clue where it comes from right now. Confusing, isn't it?  It took a long time to get that figured out, dear.  That fight keeps you going when things happen down the road.  It will morph into an asset.

Don't let that one sentence you heard from someone get seared into your head and change your entire view of your self-worth.  It simply wasn't true.  Do not blame yourself for that, it had nothing to do with you.

Don't get caught up in keeping up with your peers in regards to material things. When you get older and your health takes some blows, none of that stuff means anything.  Having new cars, a bigger house, all that unnecessary shit you think you need will melt away.  It is unimportant.  Instead, concentrate on what you need to be healthy and HAPPY.  And it isn't on an end cap at Target or in a new car, believe me.  Having yourself and your family is everything.  Build better bonds and deeper friendships - these things are free.

Get help being comfortable and happy with yourself.  Address the dark, haunting emotional side effects of what you had to survive - this is not free, but worth every last cent.  You will need to bare it all, and you won't want to, but it's essential for the help to work. 

Try not to let people take advantage of you.  It will be easy for them because you think you are worthless, like somehow you deserve to be treated less-than, but it simply isn't true.  Dig deep for confidence! Be proud of what you accomplish!  Your loyalty is second to none, but give it to things that give it back.

Exercise more while you can.  At 41, you will literally dream of just running, hiking or doing daily tasks swiftly and without pain.....but it may not happen again.  Do it all!  Now!

And lastly, ALWAYS remember, you are ENOUGH.  Be kind to and love yourself, it all starts there.

Filofax Love ❤

Well, I finally caved.  I've been keeping my eye on this specific Filofax for a while, but was trying to convince myself I'd find a cheaper one I'd like just as much.  I did a LOT of online comparison shopping.  Day-Timers, Day-Runners, Franklin Covey, Erin Condron...you name it.  It turns out I could spend the same, or even more, for what was comparable.

This beauty is on it's way to my front door.  I'm very excited!

I plan on using it for it's traditional functions, as well as some journaling, knitting notes and sketches.

I will update as I customize my new baby ❤

Therapy and Therapeutic Things

I forget sometimes that writing is very therapeutic for me.  I have loads of files on my tablet containing drafted letters, random feelings, ideas, lists, goals, plans....  So I need to remember I have a blog and share some of it here.  A little space dedicated to the very few who dig deep enough to find it, but mostly just a space I can get things out of my head to release it to the light of day.  Why does that help?  I don't know.  But it does.  Sometimes just seeing something in print gives it validity, solidifies it's existence even if its just thoughts or feelings.  I think that's important for a girl like me.  One that has felt like she's always had feelings that have been inconvenient, she's too emotional....had "wrong" feelings.  Stuff it down Wendy!  There are people in the world that have it much worse than you!  The emotional equivalent to being told there are starving children in Africa, so clean your plate and quit whining.  Well, to that I call bullshit.  Sorry, but it has to change for my sanity.  No more shame.  It's been here too long.

The majority of people I know have no clue how much I have, and continue to battle with depression, anxiety and PTSD.  And those that do know, really can't know to what degree, because I don't tell them.  Not even my husband.  Not that I don't trust him with that, but because it's all a lot to bear.  He has a wonderful and caring soul, and I know how empathy can sometimes be a blessing and a curse....a blessing because it helps you to be understanding, a curse because you take some of the pain yourself.  This is why I've paid someone to listen to my dark ramblings, real fears and personal demons.  I've been at it (therapy) for more than 2 years now, and I'm not done.  I DO feel better and more positive, although I discovered a very painful trigger to the PTSD recently.  A trigger I didn't think could happen.  It turns out I could and have forgiven the people who caused my initial pain, but I've discovered I still have work to do.  And that makes me vulnerable to certain personalities...I lost one of my only close friends because of this.  Cue the shame, guilt, feelings of responsibility for other people's emotions and lives.....double UGH.  At my core I believe every single person on this earth deserves compassion and love.  I truly do.  But I can't always be "hands on" with that feeling.  I just can't.  I lose a huge piece of myself in the process.  This is the curse I talked about earlier.  I take on pain in the process of caring about them. 

Some people believe in a God, the goddess, the "force", the universe, science, nothing....whatever grand designer of order or chaos in this existence you choose.  Personally I've come to trust the Light, and it is pretty much God or Love.  These terms are all synonymous for me. In my last therapy session, we did another imagery exercise.  In this exercise I was asked to imagine myself now, me at the age of trauma (which is about 8 or 9) and God, all having a conversation together.  It all sounds a little like a split personality exercise from hell, right?  Well, it's not.  I find myself gaining a lot of insight from these exercises.  Anyway, I sat quietly in this visualization, and asked the Light to help me with this situation with the triggered PTSD I'd come to find myself in.  Immediately I imagined a puzzle before me.  It was explained to me that this is my puzzle.  The outer edge was done, as were a few other parts of the puzzle complete, but there were still a lot of pieces left to join together.  The next image was of a different puzzle that had been partially put together, but the only available pieces left for me to see were perfect circles.  No matter how I try, they will never come together for me.  I drive myself crazy with, and am consumed by trying to figure out just the right words or things to say to "help".  It's a futile process.  It doesn't work that way.  But my brain has to be reminded from time to time of that,  because it can feel maddening and I can forget or be convinced it's different this time.  Even if I have the perfect words, actions..... Ultimately, I have no control over anything in another person's life.  They do.  I am not supposed to put anyone else's puzzle together, even though that's actually what I was trying to do recently even though consciously I didn't catch that.  Wow.  In essence, trying to "fix" the cause of my trauma so long ago.  Change the outcome.  But it's impossible to do that.  The ONLY person who can put your puzzle together is YOU.  I know this for myself, but why didn't I see what was happening?  See my vulnerability to this played on right before my eyes?   I guess the dark finds ways to crawl and writhe it's way back in.  In insidious, cancer-like, goading and mocking ways causing emotional warfare.  GTFO dark.  I will no longer welcome you into my life.  I'm rebuking that shit.  I gotta stay positive in all things.  It's literally a fight for my life.

Hello Again/Health Update

I see it all the time.  And I'm guilty too.  Posts about a neglected blog.  Ugh.  Yes, that is what this is.  Kinda.

My health is.....getting better.  I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome in my 20's, but was ignorant to exactly what that meant to my endocrine system until last year.  The drs in my 20's said a lot about helping me through my infertility, but not much about anything else.  I was given metformin at the time, but not told why, only that it would help with the cysts.  It didn't agree with me, so I quit taking it.  I was in my twenties and invincible after all!  I could handle it!  I was already on birth control pills, which did actually help, so I thought I didn't really *need* this other diarrhea-inducing horse pill, did I?  Yeah, I know now I did.  Because of PCOS, I've gained a significant amount of weight and have become insulin resistant.  I've also suffered from depression, anxiety and isolated because of it.  That means, when I had a lot of physical pain, I blamed myself and hid its severity.  It is a shameful feeling like I've "allowed" myself to become so "fat" and inactive, and figured the pain was ALL my fault.  At it's worst, I found a spark of light somehow though.  I decided to take charge and really try to get help.  It started with telling my regular doctor about the pain.  All of my joints cause me pain, but my knees and low back most of all.  Terrible pain.  Like, scared I'm losing my mobility type of pain.  He ran a battery of blood tests and ruled out lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme's and a few other things, but noticed an abnormal protein in my blood and a high SED rate.  With that info, he referred me to a rheumatologist.  There I was diagnosed with moderately severe osteoarthritis in both knees and moderate arthritis in my hips and back.  He also told me I have fibromyalgia, which I'd suspected for several years actually.  He also ran more blood work.  Looking further into this abnormal protein.  With those test results I was referred to a hematologist.  I was so scared when I made the appointment for that....the phone was answered by the "oncology department".  What?!  So of course, I had to wait a month to see this hematologist (whom is also an oncologist!).... During that time, google was my worst enemy.  Cancer.  That's what those abnormal proteins mean.  And ultimately, the answer is yes and no.  I have been diagnosed with MGUS, or monoclonal gammopathy of unidentified significance.  And not a lot is known about it's significance, just as the name implies!  Mostly because the age of people usually diagnosed with this are at least 20 years older than I am.  And they die from other causes before the MGUS turns into multiple myeloma.  Tests have shown over 90% of persons developing multiple myeloma have MGUS, so it's considered pre-myeloma.  But there's no known timeframe for the transformation.... It may or may not rear its ugly head.  So, for the rest of my life I will need to be monitored by an oncologist and have blood work done every 6 months to see if there are changes in the condition.  I've had a full body scan, and have no lesions on my bones at this time.  Good news on a bad condition.  So, I'm learning to cope with my physical pain.  It has improved about 30% with mobic and muscle relaxers at night.  Better sleep has also been helpful.  A glimpse into feeling better helps my faith in.....just about everything.  I pray it continues!  I've also lost about 50 pounds in the last 9 months.  I hope to lose enough to have it make sense to have my knees replaced.  I would love to have that freedom back, even if all I can do is stand to finish a sink's worth of dishes.  Something I think most people take for granted.

Resin Skull Tile

Once again, I've found myself neglecting my blog!

Well, I guess I've had good excuses.  My health has not been great,  which has put my jewelry making and crafting on the back burner.  My Etsy sales are unfortunately a good reflection of my decreased effort toward my business.  But, money had to take a backseat for a few months while I try to get on a healing path with doctor, endocrinologist and therapy appointments a plenty.

Anyway, here is my most recent large piece made with epoxy resin and various inclusions that are embedded in the piece. The piece is made of 6 layers of resin.

I'm quite proud of this piece and pretty sure I won't be able to part with it.

Big Snow and a Whole Lot of Cold

While most of the time I love Wisconsin, this winter has been very trying on my patience.  Not only is this the worst winter I've ever had with seasonal affective disorder, we have had more below zero temps than I can remember in any one season.  Last summer was the shortest growing season on record because of how late spring came.  I'm praying this year isn't the same story, but, wow, do we have a lot of snow on the ground!  The snow banks at the end of our driveway are taller than our SUV!  6+ feet!
Good grief.  Wake me when its over.
The cold has also been slowing down my resin crafting.  Cold resin = micro bubbles because the viscosity is way high when cold.  There is a warming technique that involves a warm water bath for the resin bottles, but the last time I tried that it didn't end well.  I ended up pitching a smoking, melting plastic cup of resin into a snow bank.  Hahaha! 

Resin Update #10 + Molded From Love Purchase and Life Update

I've Been Away....

It's been a while, internet!  How's it hangin?  I've been preoccupied and haven't given my blog much love, but I will try to put more of an effort in to keeping this updated.  I really do love what I've set up here and want to keep it going.
Well, the last post I made was about my changing craft space.  Here is a video of the finished product!

Studio Update Pictures

Still a way to go with getting everything done and organized, but here is my studio/office in process!  All the cabinets are up on the wall - YAY!  Now more of my supplies and stuff will have a new permanent home.  The cabinets still need painting, the counter tops need to be laid and some misc tool and spool holders need to be installed, but it is finally coming together!

My resin casting now has it's own workspace!  Formica still to be added.

Upper Cabinet for all of my molds and lower for supplies and curing resin.

Double cabinet and counter for my beading area.  Dedicated space for supplies and projects!

Trying to make it work during the construction.

Getting better!  Will be able to move my laptop back in soon!

Studio Improvements

Over the next several weeks, my step-dad will be doing great things in my studio.  New cupboards, counter tops, storage....it will be a mess for a while, but it will be so worth it to have everything organized and easier to work with.  I'm planning at least three different work areas to keep my different crafts to their own areas, with proper room to store and use the tools and materials they require.

I will post photos of the progress as it happens :)