More Nail Catch-Up

 My brother-in-law saw them from afar & said "Is that Starry Night?"  Nice, Bro!

String of Christmas lights.

Holiday Peppermint Nails.

Used lots of new nail stamping plates for this one.

The Week My Body Went Whackadoo, Part 2

Wednesday was pretty much the same poo.  Whenever I would get stressed, random welts would present themselves on my face.  It was so bizarre.

On Thursday, I had an appointment with my regular doctor, but not for this. I had recently taken x-rays for shoulder pains that I had been experiencing for over 2 months, and was going in to review my results.  While in there, my face was so flushed, I felt I was radiating heat.  I stopped my doc from talking and said "Please, read this paperwork from my weekend visit.  I can't take it anymore."

She read everything, looked at my skin and asked me "Did you try Benadryl?"  I explained yes, but it was only working for an hour or so.  She then asked "Did they offer you any prescription medicine for the itch?"  I said no.  She shakes her head and prescribes me what she calls "Super-Benadryl," and had two vials of blood drawn for allergy testing.

I get my pills from CVS, take one and in half an hour...   AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Oh My Word!  The RELIEF!  And this is WHY I said in the last post that I don't like walk-in clinics!!!  WHY did they not give me this "Super-Benadryl?"  The itch was GONE.

SO MAD that I spent 4 days in misery when I could have been spared it.

The blood work was nothing new; allergic to dander and dust mites. Nothing new to me.

So we still don't know what happened.  I will randomly get splotches on my face still, but so far, so good.

The Week My Body Went Whackadoo, Part 1

It was last Friday; an uneventful day.  Went to work. We got pizza in for lunch.  Met David at the local 7-Eleven to do the "Isabel-Swap." While waiting for him, I bought a pack of Starburst to share with Is.  She & I went home, I watched her play outside for a bit, had more pizza for dinner (leftovers from the previous night; I'm so very "pizza'd" out.) and settled in for the night.

Around 7:30 p.m. or so, I started getting itchy in my thighs.  I'm scratching through my jeans.  I finally say "I need to take a shower. I feel itchy."  The thighs continue to itch all night.

I wake up Saturday morning.

Now, here's what I look like on a really good day. I was having a good hair day, my makeup was on and I felt  pretty good.

Saturday morning?

I was having a SEVERE allergic reaction to who-knows-what.  Isabel cried when she saw me.

Really, no clue. I've been over it a dozen times.  Nothing out of the ordinary. No bug bites, no change in chemicals at work or at home, no weird food..except the Starburst candy.  

EVERYTHING ITCHED.  My hands, my feet, my sides, my thighs, the worst was the back of my neck. I took Benadryl, I covered myself in calamine, I took oatmeal baths. What the heck?

Sunday, and I was still bad, but now my wrists hurt, my ankles and knees.  The weirdest?  The soles of my feet were so swollen that I could not walk without being in severe pain.

By 3 p.m. Sunday, I could not wait anymore. I went to a local walk-in clinic. 

Now....I am not a fan of these places.  I have a prejudice against them. I feel like they don't care for their patients at all. I feel like their doctors are not the best ones.  Why? I worked at one in my 20's.  I saw behind-the-scenes and was not impressed.  Also, most, not all, but most of my previous experiences in these places have affirmed this bias I have.  I was trying very hard to wait until Monday, when I could see my regular doctor.  I just couldn't.

I was seen & prescribed both an antibiotic for a sore throat and a steroid treatment for the rash and was told they would call me during the week to schedule an appointment for allergy testing.

Monday I worked from home, keeping my feet in socks, so I would not scratch the skin off them.  Benadryl was only working for like an hour and a half at a time, and I could not take it but every 4-6 hours, which left me miserable the rest of the time. 

Tuesday, I drove to work.

Pretty, huh?  Still taking the steroid treatment, still itching all over the place.

To be continued.

Fifth Ornament of the 2013 Buffyfest Whedonverse Ornament Swap

Number five hails from Canada.  It's the Angel Investigations logo from Joss' "Angel."

Frozen Nails!

I am subscribed to "IHaveA Cupcake's YouTube Channel.  She is an amazing artist who does really cool nail art.

She recently posted a Tutorial for nail art for Elsa from Disney's "Frozen."   It's a great movie and I just love the nail art.  Here's her tutorial.





AMAZING, RIGHT?

Now, I do my cakes and random craftiness, but this is portraiture on a minuscule level.  I don't have her talent, but I'm trying it any.

No where near as good as hers, but for me? I am JAZZED!

Fourth Ornament of the 2013 Buffyfest Whedonverse Ornament Swap

Heh heh heh!  Thanks Spy Kitten!

Books Read 2013

Abysmal.  This is the word that I must use for my reading rate for 2013.  Abysmal.

2010 - 56 books read
2011 - 75 books read
2012 - 60 books read

2013? This past year, I read 36.  Thirty six.

Like I said, Abysmal.

It wasn't even like I was baking a lot or ill or anything. I really don't know.  I was lazy.  What a low number of books.  Boo!

1. "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
2. "Where Do I Go" by Neta Jackson
3. "Harry Bentley's Second Chance" by Dave Jackson
4. " The Casual Vacancy" by J.K. Rowling
5. "To The Nines" by Janet Evanovich
6. "Who Do I Talk To?" by Neta Jackson
7. "The Woman Who Died A Lot" by Jasper Fforde
8. "Who Do I Lean On?" by Neta Jackson
9. "Everwild" by Neal Schusterman
10. "A Hat Full of Sky" by Terry Pratchett
11. "The Sorceress" by Michael Scott
12. "Dead Beat" by Jim Butcher
13. "The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection" by Alexander McCall Smith
14. "Wintersmith" by Terry Practchett
15. "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"* by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
16. "Harry Bentley's Second Sight" by Dave Jackson
17. "Front Porch Princess" by Kathryn Springer
18. "Picket Fence Promises" by Kathryn Springer
19. "The Prince Charming List" by Kathryn Springer
20. "A Study in Scarlet"* by  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
21. "The Sign of Four"* by  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
22. "The Necromancer" by Michael Scott
23. "The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets" by Eva Rice
24. "Deadly Decisions" by Kathy Reichs
25. "The Stepsister Scheme" by Jim C. Hines
26. "The Colour of Magic" by Terry Pratchett
27. "Ten Big Ones" by Janet Evanovich
28. "Trains and Lovers" by Alexander McCall Smith
29. "The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells" by Andrew Sean Greer
30. "Who is my Shelter?" by Neta Jackson
31. "Proven Guilty" by Jim Butcher
32. "Fatal Voyage" by Kathy Reichs
33. "Intervention" by Terri Blackstock
34. "The Cross Gardener" by Jason T. Wright
35. "Building Better Relationships" by Bobbie Yagel
36. "The Last Dragonslayer" by Jasper Fforde

I also read books for/with Isabel, but I don't count those, nor do I count comics I read.  There are only a few books that stick out as the best of my pitiful year.

J.K. Rowlings "The Casual Vacancy."  I reviewed it here.  It was a read that stayed with me.

Pratchett's "A Hat Full of Sky" is book 2 of the Tiffany Aching series, but I liked it even better than book one.  Small review here. It was just sweet.

In the non-fiction category, I read "Building Better Relationships" for a Bible Study group that met Monday nights at church.  I fully appreciated all the helpful hints and ways to make your relationships with your loved ones, including those difficult people you cannot get away from, better. Mainly, give up the pride, which I have a lot of when dealing with specific people.

The rest were ok, good even (McCall Smith never disappoints.  Fforde is always good for a smart laugh.  Neta Jackson is hokey but sweet in this jaded world) but there were some that were just not my cup of tea.  This would include Blackstock's "Intervention" (I completely disliked the main character and will not continue reading the series), and  Pratchett's "The Colour of Magic" (I KNOW!  All you Discworld people are gasping! I loved the "Tiffany Aching" Discworld series, so I thought I'd go all the way to the start with book 1.  Not a fan. But I will have you know, I am still giving the series a chance and am currently reading book 2 anyway.  It might get better.)

So there's my list.  I'll have you know I am currently reading 4 books at a time, because I'm weird like that; "The Light Fantastic" (Pratchett's second Discworld book), "The Tail of Emily Windsnap," "The 365 Day Chronological Bible," and I'm especially excited to read "11/22/63" by Stephen King.   This 860+ page behemoth was recommended to me by my youngest brother-in-law on my husband's side. I was so impressed that he'd read it, until he told me he'd listened to it in the car; cheater.  :)  I cannot wait to get deeper into this book; the premise is fascinating!

Wish me luck for 2014.  It HAS to be better than 2013 for books!