No Hugs Please!

A hug is a good thing. Right? Well not if its associated with Multiple Sclerosis.  I dont know who named it MS Hug but they certainly dont feel what I do!  The hug for me is more of a kick in the chest kind of feeling that lasts for minutes or up to an hour.  I call it the Demon Grip.  I have experienced it a few times in years past before I was diagnosed.  Was in the hospital twice.  Ignorant dr gave me a GI cocktail.  Well I guess it worked because I threw it up and got some relief from the terrible spasm.  That is what the hug/grip is.  A terrible muscle spasm that can make you feel like you are having a heart attack.  I recovered in a few hours but now I am feeling like crap.  I suppose this is a flare.  Hard to tell the difference between 'normal' life for me and a flare these days.  I will rest today.  Try to not talk to anyone.  Maybe find a movie in my collection.   Crafting is out.

Make a Plan or Wing it?

Im the kind of person who likes to plan everything in advance, well in advance.  That doesnt happen much anymore.  Life with MS and fibro means not knowing how you will feel from one day to the next. Sometimes it means not knowing from morning to evening.  Things have gotten more predictable and stable for me now. I know that shopping will have to be a one store, as quickly as possible trip.  My Hubs does most of the grocery shopping now.  He makes way more trips to the store than he should but I really appreciate it.  Lifting a huge bag of cat litter to the cart, to the trunk and then up my stairs is just too much for me.  Oh those steps!
The Kits keep me company.  Ive heard having one will lower your blood pressure.  I dont see how, considering mine are either constantly begging for food or getting into trouble.

A New Year The Same Me

Christmas is over.  The decorations were taken down as quickly as possible. I reconfigured the storage situation.  Most of them are no longer stored in the attic. They will be easier to retrieve next season.  New Years resolutions?  I dont make them anymore.  I only strive to do my best but I did realize the need to schedule some rest time everyday.  This will be harder than resolving to get organized this year !  I normally do all I can until I am ready to fall out...then I rest.  With Multiple Sclerosis and Fibromyalgia you should NEVER over do.  Do as I say not as I do :)   In order to get more rest I have to be better organized.  Wardrobe needs to be simplified, clutter must be removed. Ugh.  Why cant you do one thing without doing a dozen more?  Ok. I will do my best.  Simple, uncluttered, probably not but I will get more rest.

Christmas in the Kitchen

The Lord blessed my friend with a large crop of pecans and she shared some with me.  Thanks Janice!  Pecan pie ?  Maybe but first I put up my final Christmas decoration.
I had bought a garland from the Habitat Restore months ago.  It was about $1, maybe less.  I had purchased some of those red satin balls at a yard sale.  I never intended to use them on the tree :)  Pretty Christmas ribbon was bought last year at a discount price.  I cut off 2 sections of the green garland with some snips.  I began laying some decorations I already had on top of each piece of garland.  Since I had no wire to attatch them I used some black fishing line.  Wrapped it around each item like I would have wire. It worked well and didnt show from the front.

Since I was going to hang this on my cabinet doors I added a long length of red ribbon to the backside of the top of the garland bundle.  I wrapped the line around it also.

I brought the ribbon to the inside of the cabinet door and tied it to an upside down hook.  I used the removeable kind.  You could also use a nail or tape.
A quick job finished.  Cost almost nothing and I have garland left over to decorate the mailbox. Maybe this is not the final decoration?   Pecan pies first or maybe that yummy apple pie thing Mama used to make.

My Favorite Gift Wraps

For some reason I was in the Christmas spirit around September.  I found wrapping paper and ribbon for cheap.  Some very pretty plaid wall paper was less than $1 at the local Habitat store and I found a roll of tulle decorating ribbon on clearance at Hobby Lobby.  I dont remember if I had a specific project in mind.  I liked the subtle gold sparkle and it has been useful for other projects too.

The wrapping has begun.  Even a clutz like me can make a bow from wire edged ribbon. You dont need a tutorial for these if you can tie your shoes.  A simple bow looks pretty if you add curling ribbon of different colors.   I find the curling ribbon is easier to secure to the package than the organdy ribbons.  I pull a few strings to the back of the wire edged ribbon bow and tape securely to the package.  If the ribbon gets crushed before Christmas you can easily reshape it. If you are on a tight budget you can even reuse the wire edge ribbon next year.   Just retie the bow and add new curling ribbon .  You can staple the bows to the top of a gift bag but be sure there are no sharp edges to the staple.  I decided to tie mine around the bag handle after cutting my finger on one.

I cant put these under my tree before Christmas because my cats manage to tear off the bows .  :)  Look for different colored ribbons on clearance racks and start a collection to decorate your packages year round.