It's INVISIBLE ILLNESS AWARENESS WEEK! And because my Invisible Illnesses happen to be keeping me awake, I decided to do my 30 Things tag! If you have an invisible illness or five, I TAG YOU!
I stole this from the wonder Shay Batte.
30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know – 30 Things Meme
1. The illness I live with is:
Fibromyalgia syndrome, chrondomalacia patellae, polycystic ovarian syndrome, panic anxiety disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, depression, tempromandibular joint disorder, a genetic hip socket malformation that I can't name, hypermobility syndrome (under investigation as to whether this is EDS or just HMS), multiple food, medication and other allergies, 'sticky' blood, undiagnosed heart palpitations...I THINK that's all...
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year:
Several different years of course, mostly beginning in 2010 though some from birth.
3. But I had symptoms since:
Looking back it seems my symptoms of fibromyalgia have been around since I was a young child, however I was 18 when they ramped up enough for an investigation. That was the worst period of time in my life.
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is:
Adjusting my goals and dreams. I don't think I'm quite there yet but I'm trying.
5. Most people assume:
That I'm faking or exaggerating, because I come across as bubbly and smiley. I've become a good actress.
6. The hardest part about mornings are:
Lethargy, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headaches and the feeling that I didn't sleep at all (I probably slept very little)
7. My favorite medical TV show is:
I like House, I quite liked The Red Band Society but I don't watch any others at all.
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is:
My phone, having a connection to the outside world and a means to call for help is vital.
9. The hardest part about nights are:
Pain and insomnia (painsomnia), nightmares when I do sleep.
10. Each day I take:
Medication to keep my pain at a bearable level, it doesn't always work. Extra pain meds of varying strengths. Meds to keep anxiety at bay, which doesn't always work. Meds to counteract the side affects of the other meds.
- A deep breath and thank Him that I have another day here.
11. Regarding alternative treatments I:
Am sceptical. I've tried a fair few and only had bad experiences. Unless you have a truck load of medical experience, specialist knowledge and infallible research don't peddle your wares here. I'm currently out of medication options, what I'm on now is ruining my body but I have no choice.
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose:
I want to say visible because being invisible is so hard. But then I think, and feel grateful that some days I can pass for 'normal' whatever that is.
13. Regarding working and career:
I would love to, I love the career I studied for but I can't do the hours the employers want. I had to realise that my career goal would likely end up crippling me physically, mentally and financially so I still haven't really adjusted to that.
14. People would be surprised to know:
98% of my friends are online and are sick too, because able-bodied friends don't seem to stick around much. (this is Shay's answer...I don't need to change it)
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been:
I lost a lot of what I thought defined me, finding a new identity was and still is hard. I'm not good at accepting my limitations, not being what I think I should be is incredibly hard to manage.
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was:
At a few points I thought just living wasn't a possibility, now I strive to thrive instead of survive.
17. The commercials about my illness:
Don't exist.
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is:
Being spontaneous, living IN the moment and not contemplating every moment.
19. It was really hard to have to give up:
My self imposed expectations of what my life would be. To be honest I don't remember life before...I miss denim I think.
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is:
Blogging, book tube, embroidery, colouring...anything I can do whilst at rest really.
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would:
This is my normal, waking up in pain is normal to me. I don't remember not feeling that way.
If I could wake up free of all symptoms? I would run, I would cry, I would go to the beach, I would eat so much cheesy pasta and garlic bread, I would probably actually just lay silently crying.
22. My illness has taught me:
That it's okay to not be perfect (which I'm working in accepting)
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is:
'You just need...'
NO
24. But I love it when people:
Take me into account when planning or being around me in a sensitive way. I love, love, love how kids are when they ask questions and make comments.
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is:
'Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.' D&C 64:33 (fun fact, this was my favourite saying for years before I even knew what D&Cs were)
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them:
I believe you.
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is:
The community, I felt so alone until I found the utterly amazing community of sick people around me.
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was:
Stayed with me, six years and counting, after I begged them to leave and find someone better.
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because:
If we don't shout about it, who will?
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel:
Like there may be hope.
Friday 30 September 2016
Tuesday 27 September 2016
Is it worth it?
This week is LDS General Conference week, it's also invisible illness awareness week, the week we held Young Womens presidency meetings, the week in which my husband is out at sea over 8000 miles away so I won't be able to talk to him, as well as the week coming up to my birthday plus all the usual weekly things that go on. Needless to say that my mind is in overdrive. How to gather my thoughts into something intelligible and vaguely coherent? Well it's a challenge, but I'll try my best.
Oh and it's also the week that Autumn really took hold in the south of England, which is never great for me and happens to coincide with being on 1/2 doses of my main medication. So, a great week health wise. Want to know what keeps me going? What's keeping me sane, somewhat treading water and with a glimmer of hope? It's the knowledge that Heavenly Father gave his only begotten son to us, knowing he would have to suffer and be sacrificed for us in order for us to one day return and spend eternity with him in a perfect world. Let's back up and look at a really important word there, 'knowledge' not a thought or an idea but firm knowledge. It's not a belief, it's a knowledge guided by faith. And what a wonderful thing to know, that we will spend eternity with unfailingly perfect bodies. I can't even begin to imagine that. I don't even remember a time before pain and fatigue controlling every second of my life.
This week is hectic, there's a lot to think about for all of us. I'm sure we could all write a list similar to the one I opened with containing all of the items we need to cross off our to-do list this week but I'm still going to ask you to add one more thing. Forgive me?
Think of the pain in your life, both physical and emotional, then think of that amplified to cover the pains of everyone around you, again amplify that feeling to cover all the pains of everyone you ever have or will meet. Don't dwell on it, just spend a few minutes thinking. What you just pictured cannot even be one percent of what our saviour felt as he sacrificed himself for our sakes. For you. Just you.
Then release all of those pains, every single one, and imagine the greatest day you can. It could be spending a day outside with your children with no worries at all, or spending all day with your partner akin to a chickflick montage of summer romances. Then think of that amplified to cover all those little things you worry about, let them all melt away. Again amplify that feeling to cover more than a day, perhaps a week or even a month. What you just pictured cannot even be one percent of what we will experience when we are reunited with our Heavenly Father. Except it isn't just for you, it's for everyone you love.
Does the second image justify the first? In my mind it isn't even a question.
Spend some time this week thanking your Heavenly Father for that opportunity.
Oh and it's also the week that Autumn really took hold in the south of England, which is never great for me and happens to coincide with being on 1/2 doses of my main medication. So, a great week health wise. Want to know what keeps me going? What's keeping me sane, somewhat treading water and with a glimmer of hope? It's the knowledge that Heavenly Father gave his only begotten son to us, knowing he would have to suffer and be sacrificed for us in order for us to one day return and spend eternity with him in a perfect world. Let's back up and look at a really important word there, 'knowledge' not a thought or an idea but firm knowledge. It's not a belief, it's a knowledge guided by faith. And what a wonderful thing to know, that we will spend eternity with unfailingly perfect bodies. I can't even begin to imagine that. I don't even remember a time before pain and fatigue controlling every second of my life.
This week is hectic, there's a lot to think about for all of us. I'm sure we could all write a list similar to the one I opened with containing all of the items we need to cross off our to-do list this week but I'm still going to ask you to add one more thing. Forgive me?
Think of the pain in your life, both physical and emotional, then think of that amplified to cover the pains of everyone around you, again amplify that feeling to cover all the pains of everyone you ever have or will meet. Don't dwell on it, just spend a few minutes thinking. What you just pictured cannot even be one percent of what our saviour felt as he sacrificed himself for our sakes. For you. Just you.
Then release all of those pains, every single one, and imagine the greatest day you can. It could be spending a day outside with your children with no worries at all, or spending all day with your partner akin to a chickflick montage of summer romances. Then think of that amplified to cover all those little things you worry about, let them all melt away. Again amplify that feeling to cover more than a day, perhaps a week or even a month. What you just pictured cannot even be one percent of what we will experience when we are reunited with our Heavenly Father. Except it isn't just for you, it's for everyone you love.
Does the second image justify the first? In my mind it isn't even a question.
Spend some time this week thanking your Heavenly Father for that opportunity.
One pot Tomato Pasta
Anything I can cook in one pot is great in my books but quite often they require a lot of prep and a long cook time. Now this recipe takes almost no prep, none at all if you splash out on pre-chopped meat, and cooks in under 20 minutes!
Effort and cost depend on what you buy. Spend more for marginally less effort.
You can easily add any vegetables, I would recommend mushrooms fresh tomato or courgette.
Effort 1-2/5 Cost £-££
Ingredients for 2 people
• 1 chicken breast or pre-cut chunks of chicken breast
• 3 rashers of bacon or 1 pack of bacon lardons.
• 150g of penne or fusili pasta or 2 mugs full
• 1/2 jar of tomato based bolegnese sauce. I used a mushroom flavoured sauce but feel free to use any you fancy. Leftover sauce can be frozen in a bag.
• 1 mug of water, you may need more but you'll be able to see if it's running dry.
• Garlic oil
• Cheese to taste, I used on pre-cut slice of Emmenthal because I'm not a cheddar fan.
• Garlic bread or salad to serve.
In a fairly large non stick pan add one teaspoon of garlic oil. Cook the chicken and bacon through, make the chopping easier with scissors. You don't really need to stir this about more than once.
Once it's cooked through add the sauce, water and pasta. Now is also when you can add vegetables.
Turn down to simmer and cover with a lid or a plate.
Have a rest, maybe make a brew. Half way through give the pot a stir and add any more water you might need, it depends on each type of pasta. Start by adding a little amount because you can't take any out!
After 12minutes, once the pasta has cooked through stir in the cheese and serve!
I used the same spoon to cook, serve and eat. Don't judge me.
Enjoy!
Effort and cost depend on what you buy. Spend more for marginally less effort.
You can easily add any vegetables, I would recommend mushrooms fresh tomato or courgette.
Effort 1-2/5 Cost £-££
Ingredients for 2 people
• 1 chicken breast or pre-cut chunks of chicken breast
• 3 rashers of bacon or 1 pack of bacon lardons.
• 150g of penne or fusili pasta or 2 mugs full
• 1/2 jar of tomato based bolegnese sauce. I used a mushroom flavoured sauce but feel free to use any you fancy. Leftover sauce can be frozen in a bag.
• 1 mug of water, you may need more but you'll be able to see if it's running dry.
• Garlic oil
• Cheese to taste, I used on pre-cut slice of Emmenthal because I'm not a cheddar fan.
• Garlic bread or salad to serve.
In a fairly large non stick pan add one teaspoon of garlic oil. Cook the chicken and bacon through, make the chopping easier with scissors. You don't really need to stir this about more than once.
Once it's cooked through add the sauce, water and pasta. Now is also when you can add vegetables.
Turn down to simmer and cover with a lid or a plate.
Have a rest, maybe make a brew. Half way through give the pot a stir and add any more water you might need, it depends on each type of pasta. Start by adding a little amount because you can't take any out!
After 12minutes, once the pasta has cooked through stir in the cheese and serve!
I used the same spoon to cook, serve and eat. Don't judge me.
Enjoy!
Saturday 24 September 2016
Kinda-Carbonara
Kinda-Carbonara
2/5 effort and £/££
One of my favourite meals that makes me feel a little fancy and works great for a date night!
Ingredients for 2people
• 1 piece of Gammon, I prefer smoked, but that's upto you. You can make this cheaper with cooked ham or add mushroom for a veggie option.
• Frozen peas, a generous handful.
• Tagliatelle, I use a gluten and wheat free brand but any pasta will do. Three nests or 90g per person.
• Carbonara sauce, half a jar or one stir-in pot. Spare sauce can be frozen in a bag!
• Garlic oil. Shop bought or homemade by adding a few chopped cloves of garlic to a small bottle of oil and leaving it to infuse. You'll use it more than you'ld think.
• Cheese, salad or garlic bread if you fancy it.
Boil a pan of slightly salted water, turn down to a simmering heat (medium) and pop the pasta in. It should take around 12 minutes, perfect time to cook the rest!
Using scissors slice the Gammon into thin strips about 1cm wide and 2cm long. In a frying pan heat a small amount of the garlic oil and cook the gammon on a medium high heat until slightly crispy. This should take no more than 5 minutes and only needs stirring about a few times.
When you have 5 minutes left on the pasta add in your peas! Yep, right into that pasta pan.
Pop the kettle on or just use the hot water tap if it gets reasonably hot. (Mine is way too hot!)
Now rinse the pasta and peas in a colander with the hot but not boiling water. Be careful! Use a cup so you don't have to carry the whole kettle of hot water.
Add the gammon to the pan of peas and pasta then pour over the sauce. Put that back on the heat for a minute or two, give it a few stirs to cover everything in sauce.
Job done! Serve up and enjoy.
Add cheese, salad or garlic bread if you want to!
2/5 effort and £/££
One of my favourite meals that makes me feel a little fancy and works great for a date night!
Ingredients for 2people
• 1 piece of Gammon, I prefer smoked, but that's upto you. You can make this cheaper with cooked ham or add mushroom for a veggie option.
• Frozen peas, a generous handful.
• Tagliatelle, I use a gluten and wheat free brand but any pasta will do. Three nests or 90g per person.
• Carbonara sauce, half a jar or one stir-in pot. Spare sauce can be frozen in a bag!
• Garlic oil. Shop bought or homemade by adding a few chopped cloves of garlic to a small bottle of oil and leaving it to infuse. You'll use it more than you'ld think.
• Cheese, salad or garlic bread if you fancy it.
Boil a pan of slightly salted water, turn down to a simmering heat (medium) and pop the pasta in. It should take around 12 minutes, perfect time to cook the rest!
Using scissors slice the Gammon into thin strips about 1cm wide and 2cm long. In a frying pan heat a small amount of the garlic oil and cook the gammon on a medium high heat until slightly crispy. This should take no more than 5 minutes and only needs stirring about a few times.
When you have 5 minutes left on the pasta add in your peas! Yep, right into that pasta pan.
Pop the kettle on or just use the hot water tap if it gets reasonably hot. (Mine is way too hot!)
Now rinse the pasta and peas in a colander with the hot but not boiling water. Be careful! Use a cup so you don't have to carry the whole kettle of hot water.
Add the gammon to the pan of peas and pasta then pour over the sauce. Put that back on the heat for a minute or two, give it a few stirs to cover everything in sauce.
Job done! Serve up and enjoy.
Add cheese, salad or garlic bread if you want to!
Hungry? No energy?
Low energy cooking!
It's the dream right? Food that doesn't cost a bomb, isn't junk and won't sap every last milligram of energy you have... Well, good people, I may have an answer! (I'm not egotistical enough to claim it's THE answer, that's for you to decide.)
From here on out I'll be typing up my favourite low energy recipes and sharing them with you lovely lot. You're welcome.
I won't be referring to them by that famous piece of cutlery used for soups that some people are brave enough to use despite the 'owner' sending out law suits like greeting's cards.
So for energy rating purposes I will be rating them out of five based on this handy chart-
1/5 - No chopping, minimal stirring, lowest effort.
2/5 - Some chopping, small amount of stirring, maybe something grated.
3/5 - Fair amount of effort. Chopping and stirring.
4/5 - Stirring most of the time, range of chopping styles.
5/5 - Most effort. Whisking, something that needs stirring the whole time.
I'll also be using a rating out of three for cost which I think is fairly self explanatory. £ being very cheap, ££ being reasonable price and £££ being pretty pricey.
Plus, I'll base all of the recipes on two people eating. If it's just for you then feel free to store leftovers like usual by letting them cool and then refrigerating. More than two? Scale the recipe up to suit.
Now that's the housekeeping over with we can begin!
Oh, before I go. If you have any suggestions or ideas please feel free to email me leanneglentworth@gmail.com
I really am going now...bye!
It's the dream right? Food that doesn't cost a bomb, isn't junk and won't sap every last milligram of energy you have... Well, good people, I may have an answer! (I'm not egotistical enough to claim it's THE answer, that's for you to decide.)
From here on out I'll be typing up my favourite low energy recipes and sharing them with you lovely lot. You're welcome.
I won't be referring to them by that famous piece of cutlery used for soups that some people are brave enough to use despite the 'owner' sending out law suits like greeting's cards.
So for energy rating purposes I will be rating them out of five based on this handy chart-
1/5 - No chopping, minimal stirring, lowest effort.
2/5 - Some chopping, small amount of stirring, maybe something grated.
3/5 - Fair amount of effort. Chopping and stirring.
4/5 - Stirring most of the time, range of chopping styles.
5/5 - Most effort. Whisking, something that needs stirring the whole time.
I'll also be using a rating out of three for cost which I think is fairly self explanatory. £ being very cheap, ££ being reasonable price and £££ being pretty pricey.
Plus, I'll base all of the recipes on two people eating. If it's just for you then feel free to store leftovers like usual by letting them cool and then refrigerating. More than two? Scale the recipe up to suit.
Now that's the housekeeping over with we can begin!
Oh, before I go. If you have any suggestions or ideas please feel free to email me leanneglentworth@gmail.com
I really am going now...bye!
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