Another Razor Burn Remedy

Every day when I get online I always click through the featured stories on Yahoo and sometimes come across a gem or two. Yahoo Shine, kind of like their online women's magazine, had an article talking about summer skincare and I found this section about skincare that I thought might be helpful. I still love the Kiss My Face shaving cream that I've been using, but after around 24 hours my legs start to itch. It's better than it used to be, but maybe this will help make it even better!

Even the most careful shaver can burn the heck out of herself. Next time it happens to you, apply a thin coat of one-percent hydro cortisone cream, or Aquaphor Healing Ointment, $5.49 for 1.75 oz; drugstore.com, to soothe inflammation. "Then keep the area out of the sun until it heals, since UV exposure can worsen the bumps and irritation," suggests Vivian W. Bucay, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in San Antonio.

You can read the full article here.

It's So Hard Being A Puppy

Snuggles, Puppy, and My Sweet Babboo are just a few of the nicknames that I have for this poor dog. My dad says that Charlie doesn't know his own name anymore, that he'll answer to pretty much anything.

Who needs a guy when I have this stud?!?! He's just my type: brown hair, brown eyes, he would be pretty tall, loves to cuddle and already loves my family! =)

My Grandmother's Congealed Salad (Orange Fluff)

I love this stuff! My grandmother has made this pretty much every holiday for as long as I can remember. And let me tell you, it's not Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, or Christmas without it! lol With July 4th coming up I thought this would be something nice to share if you're trying to eat better. My grandmother adds pineapple to it, but I like it better without it. I don't think she uses the sugar free Jello and whipped topping, but I've had it fixed this way and I can't tell the difference!

• 11 oz can of mandarin oranges
• 16 oz sugar free Cool Whip
• 1 lb cottage cheese
• 3 oz sugar free orange Jello

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and combine, except the oranges. Drain the oranges and add to the bowl. And *boom* you're done! Place it in the fridge for about an hour or so and you're good to go. Hope you enjoy!

My Sadness

A few months ago I had all of this sadness come over me. I'm not sure where it came from, but I'm glad it's passed. As I was opening the fridge to pour me a glass of sweet tea out of no where I had this thought that I needed to share it. Who knows, maybe someone is going through something similar. I dunno.

So, just to share a little bit about me so you might understand me a little bit better. I'm a sensitive caring person. I like doing things for people and most of the time have a smile on my face. It takes a lot to make me cry watching tv or at the movies, so that doesn't happen very often. Sometimes there will be a story that everyone is talking about and I feel bad for the people involved, but it seems like everyone else's emotions are so much stronger about it than mine. That still doesn't do it justice, I'll have to come back and try to explain it better later.

There was a few months that I would cry or get upset at almost anything. Maybe it was me coming to terms with the fact that there's a pretty good chance that I'm not going to have a family of my own. I know that just because I'm in my early 30s doesn't mean that I can't or won't necessarily, but come on. Let's be honest. It's not going to be that much longer that I'll be able to have kids, if I even can, and unless I meet someone relatively soon I don't see that happening.

I tried blogging about the sadness I was feeling, but I don't think that it really came through. I can remember texting my best friend when I was out shopping with my mom and sister telling her that I really needed to talk. I was already having a not so good day, so trying to drag myself out of that funk didn't help. I was walking into TJ Maxx (I love that store! lol) when she called and it was so hard not to burst out into tears! It was like I was mourning for all of the things in my life that weren't going to happen. I tried to tell her how everything was weighing me down and effecting me so bad. Since being best friends since fourth grade she knew what I was trying to say even though I felt like I wasn't making any sense. I think part of why she understood so well was because a few years ago her biological clock was ticking, yelling at her. Which, all of that is another story.

Last week I was listening to the PCOS Diva on the PCOS Challenge Radio Show. In one point of the show she was talking about how when some women are diagnosed with PCOS that they pretty much go through the stages of grief. I don't think that I really went through that. I was just happy to find out what was wrong with me. When I asked if I would be able to have children she told me that it would be harder for me, but that there was medicine that could help me. And I was with my boyfriend, but now I'm not. So, all in all I felt like if I decided that I really did want to have kids that it was sort of within reach. As compared to now, where my symptoms have worsened and I've put on weight.

But, I got through it! I don't cry when I go to the kids department to buy my niece an outfit or when I found out that my cousin, which is my age, is getting married in a few months. I still can't watch that one episode of Law & Order SVU, but I'm okay with that. It's progress! So, if you're going through something similar, in the words of Winston Churchill "If you're going through hell, keep going". And know that you're not alone!

Music Monday: P!nk "Perfect"

Made a wrong turn, once or twice
Dug my way out, blood and fire
Bad decisions, that's alright
Welcome to my silly life
Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood
Miss 'No way, it's all good', it didn't slow me down
Mistaken, always second guessing, underestimated
Look, I'm still around

Pretty pretty please, don't you ever ever feel
Like you're less than, less than perfect..
Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel like you're nothing,
you are perfect to me!

You're so mean, when you talk about yourself, you were wrong
Change the voices in your head, make them like you instead
So complicated, look happy, you'll make it!
Filled with so much hatred...such a tired game
It's enough! I've done all I can think of
Chased down all my demons, I've seen you do the same

Oh, pretty pretty please, don't you ever ever feel
Like you're less than, less than perfect
Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel like you're nothing,
you are perfect to me

The whole world's scared so I swallow the fear
The only thing I should be drinking is an ice cold beer
So cool in lime, and we try try try, but we try too hard and it's a waste of my time
Done looking for the critics, cause they're everywhere
They dont like my jeans, they don't get my hair
Exchange ourselves, and we do it all the time
Why do we do that? Why do I do that?

Why do I do that..?

Yeah, oh, oh baby, pretty baby..!
Pretty pretty please, don't you ever ever feel
Like you're less than perfect
Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel
Like you're nothing, you're perfect to me
You're perfect, you're perfect!
Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel like you're nothing
You're perfect to me...

Miss USA Pageant

Like many people around the country I watched the Miss USA pageant tonight. I saw that it was on, but what made me turn it on was a comment on Facebook. Miss Alabama was in the top 15! Not only that, but she's from my hometown! How awesome is that! I thought it was! lol It's not a town that if you blink you'll miss it, but it's not a huge town either. Plus, Alabama doesn't have always have a great reputation, well the South as a whole doesn't really. But I loved watching her and she represented my town and state wonderfully! It was so nice! She did really well, runner up is nothing to joke about.

I was heading to bed and I got on Facebook for just a minute and the Today show had a picture of Miss Alabama and Miss Connecticut holding hands before they announced who was Miss USA. I clicked on the picture and was confused. The only thing everyone was talking about was that they needed to eat something. Yes, both women are really small but come one! One lady was talking about their BMIs being too low. This is only my opinion, but I can't stand BMIs. Mine is on the higher side, but I'm not as obese as the chart says that I am. It doesn't take into consideration the size of my frame. I know that I need to loose weight, but that is besides the point. What I'm getting at is that more than likely she doesn't know anything about either women, let alone their silly BMI.

Why are we so hard on women? Either they need to go eat something or loose some weight. I'm never been on the smaller side, but I thought all of the ladies were beautiful! What happened to if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all? I know some people were trying watch out for there kids self esteem, but if it's not ok to bash a fuller sized woman why is it ok to do it to a smaller woman?

Roll Tide by the way! =)

I Wanna Scream And Shout And Let It All Out

Sometimes I just want to scream. I get tired of having to deal with everyone and all of the stuff going on and it drives me crazy! I keep everything bottled up inside and I know that that's not good for me. It's just how I learned how to deal with stressful situations when I was growing up and let me tell you it's a pretty hard habit to break.

Stress is not good for anyone, but especially bad for women with PCOS. It can make us turn to comfort food which can make our insulin levels rise, we produce more cortisol which makes our insulin levels rise and progesterone levels decrease. Two things that we don't want. 

Part of this post is to hopefully help y'all and me both. I've been trying to get back into college for either Occupational Therapy Assistant or Sonography (Ultrasound) and I'm waiting to hear back from the financial aid office! Classes start in about two months and I have no clue if I'm going to have enough grant and student loan money when classes start again. The campus is an hour and a half away and the dorms are already full so if I don't have enough gas money there's no way. So between that, looking for a job, my family, and everything else it's really hard not to freak out sometimes.

Another reason is that I get cold sores when I get stressed. And the last few times that that's happened I've had them not only on my lip, but on my cheek! They itch more than hurt, which I can deal with, but they leave this little patch of scars! Speaking of which, if you get them, too, try taking Lysine! Mine normally last about a week or so, but when I take these it's gone in around four days. Ish.

Ways To Deal With Stress

•  Ask for a hug or a back rub! Multiple studies have shown that the human touch can be comforting and can lower stress hormones cortisol, norepinephrine, and dopamine. You could also get a manicure/pedicure or get your haircut if a back rub or a hug isn't an option. 

•  Work it out! Exercise in almost any form can act as a stress reliever. Being active can boost your feel-good endorphins and distract you from whatever is on your mind. Meditation, yoga, and going for a walk are other good options. 

•  Have a dog or cat? If I'm upset the first person (well, sorta lol) by my side is my dog, Charlie. Just seeing those big brown puppy dog eyes of his and the touch of his fur can make me feel better. I don't know of anyone who's a better listener and can make me smile like him. And he doesn't judge me, he just loves me no matter what. Plus, research shows that, when conducting a task that’s stressful, people actually experienced less stress when their pets were with them than when a supportive friend or even their spouse was present.

•  Crank up the music! Sometimes when I get mad I'll get my ipod and listen to something that'll help me get my anger out. I played trumpet for ten years, so I love all kinds of music. It doesn't have to have words for me to connect to a piece of music. Whether it's Linkin Park, The Fray, Kelly Clarkson, Drum Corps (DCI), Phantom of the Opera, Keith Urban, Adele, or the Civil Wars, I love music! No matter what kind of mood that I'm in there's some kind of music that I can relate to.

• My sister cleans a lot when she gets stressed. If she's in the kitchen cleaning like a mad woman I know something is up. My dad goes outside and works in his garden or mows the yard. One of my former close friends used to go fishing. What I'm getting at is that we all have something that we enjoy and can help us blow off some steam and get our minds off of our troubles. 

I hope you find this helpful and if there's anything you know of that I'm leaving please share! Have a good weekend! =)

Pennington Biomedical PCOS Study in Baton Rouge

I saw a couple of PCOS pages on Facebook posting about this trying to help get the word out about it, so I thought I might also. If you're interested all you need to do is go to www.pbrc.edu/pulse

Study Qualifications

• Female only
• Have an irregular menstrual period
• Age: 20-40 years
• BMI 25 and above

If you qualify you can be compensated up to $1,500 for participation and all study related expenses will be covered (exercise sessions, medications, and procedures). It's a ten month study and will require multiple trips to Baton Rouge, LA.

I've signed up for consideration and have pre-qualified, so now I just have to wait. When I signed up I thought I would be needed to be there three times for the overnight visits, but I was wrong. I just found out while writing this post that I would need to be there for 30 clinic visits, 3 overnight visits, and 2 screening visits. If I lived closer I would have no problems using the money from the study to use only for my gas and hotel stays, but living in Northeast Alabama I don't think that would cover most of it. Oh well, maybe on of the hospitals in Atlanta or Birmingham will do one soon!