Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Curly hair--who knew?!

I have been waiting to update you all on my health because I am ever hopeful that next week will be the one that I can say, "I've got this!" All good, clean bill of health, on top of things again, full of energy, a creating madwoman, WOOOHOOO! But then, are we ever really there?! My husband, the astute man that he is, once said that in order to truly excel at one thing in life, you have to let the others go a bit. Instead, he has decided to aim for pretty good in all areas. Not a bad goal, if you ask me ;). And, frankly, in doing so, he actually is amazing and not too stressed out. Yes, I will admit, I can still learn a lot from him--beyond appreciating sushi, scotch and chocolate! 

I also realized that in not updating at all, it has left many of you wondering how I am doing, possibly worrying that things haven't improved. The reality is that things have improved--immensely, even! My energy levels are at about 80% of normal (which, if you know me in real life, is probably about normal ;). I feel better than I ever have on a day to day basis without gluten and milk or cream in my diet. I am much less crabby, which is great for those of you who do know me in real life. And, the bleeding from the fibroid has diminished greatly. Every time I get a week that is free of bleeding, I am ready to declare this battle over--only to wake up one day to more. So, it isn't over, but this is so much more doable than before. Acupuncture, chinese herbs and a diet change have been the keys to this improvement. I have actually been able to lower my medication levels to half of what I had previously been taking to control the PCOS. 

As I am typing this, I am realizing that once again, it is the hardship that has pushed me out of my comfort zone, allowing me to find a better alternative. I was previously on the highest levels of medication to control my PCOS. It was allowing me to live symptom free, but it left no "big guns" to pull out when I relapsed. I was able to maintain my weight, but dropping weight was terribly difficult. This left me hovering about 5 pounds below my relapse weight (weight can be a trigger for PCOS symptoms). But, through acupunture and diet change, I am now sitting 15 pounds under my relapse weight and my body appears to be functioning along the normal calorie in, calorie out scenario! I currently don't have to work out like a crazy woman just to maintain! Woot! Another crazy development is that my hair is currently curly. All of my life, my hair has been straight. Curl-resistant straight. In humidity, straight. In dry air, straight. Straight, straight, straight--as in NO body! Well, all of my life except two other times, both lasting about 9 months. You guessed it, during both of my pregnancies. In case you are wondering, I am not pregnant. Yes, I am sure! However, this is another sign that my hormone levels are changing and in a good way. For those of us with PCOS, we have low female hormone levels and high male hormone levels. The only time my hormone levels are in the normal range for women is when I am pregnant--or, now maybe! 

So, long story short, I need to count my blessings. With acupuncture and a few diet adjustments, I am feeling really good. I am not sure yet what to do with this crazy mop of hair, but I will happily deal with that over chronic fatigue, irritability, sweating like a man and any other number of symptoms! I will beat this fibroid eventually--because I am ridiculously stubborn. 
What does all this have to do with N's Whims, you ask?! Well, seeing as how N is the heart of the whims, you should know that I am itching to get back in the studio. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, I will get my current creative project completed and then my girls will be back in school. I have truly enjoyed this summer, playing with them and pouring a bit more of N into our home. Would you like to see some of the projects I have completed? You would? YAY! 

This is my St. Vinnie's lamp project. When I purchased it, the lamp was a lovely 70's mustard yellow. While I do enjoy mustard yellow, it did not work in my living room at all. So, I thought I would spray paint it turquoise. Turns out, the turquoise was too blue, and the lampshade I fell in love with at Target was just a touch too small. So, this summer, I finally got around to round 2 on the lamp. I spray painted it again with a cream color. Then, I got out the shoe polish (which we rarely use anymore on shoes) and darkened up the details. I found this shade at World Market, which was surprisingly economical! However, the shade was not made for this type of lamp connection. So, I found some wire in my studio and rigged it so that it would stay level on the base. What do you think?!

My next project was to paint this beautiful sideboard that I found on craigslist. It had actually been painted and was a beautiful shade already. But, the color was off for the living room--it had too much red in the paint and turned a bit purple next to my shade of sea green. So, there is sat, taunting me for months. Mike helped me tackle it a few weeks ago and now it is lovely! It houses all of the stereo equipment AND hides the gaping hole with wires that was never finished in the middle of our living room wall (seriously, who does that?! the wall has a hole, 12 inches up, smack in the middle of the room). I now walk into my living room and exhale. It is lovely--it is as therapeutic as yoga when a room comes together, don't you think?!


My current and last project for now is in our covered porch. There were some beams that our porch builder, Matt Parnell, suggested I do something whimsical on. While it has turned into a bigger project than I thought, it has been fun and exciting to see it come together. My mother-in-law donated her scraps from stained glass projects (boy am I glad she didn't just throw them away), and I started making glass murals on the beams. My mom came up yesterday and helped me for a bit. I am hoping some of the other creative people in my life will do a section, too. Won't it be fun to look at and see the work of others that I love while relaxing on the porch?! 

Once again, thank you for reading, your support during this summer of flux, and every single sweet and encouraging word!