My Battle...

ECZEMA.... This is my battle. I have had this skin disease for as long as I remember.  For the past 3 months I have had a really rough time fighting with my Eczema. As silly as it sounds it gets pretty draining both physically and emotionally. Lately I have had pretty bad outbreaks, mostly at night. It is as if I am ringing a cow bell saying "come on down Mr. Eczema!" ( I gave it a gender just because) But lately I will wake up in the middle of the night with hives. So what I have to do every night before I go to bed is take an allergy pill (loratadine) or if I am really not up for the fight Benadryl. But let me go through the routine for you...

When I shower I have to use a cleanser (not soap). Then I have to "pat" myself dry out of the shower. Then I have to immediately (I mean ASAP) apply my special ointments or creams. Then apply my special lotions....

Specifically Cetaphil but without the SPF because guess what??? I am allergic to SPF on my face! Fun!

Having Eczema also means I am allergic to a ton of chemicals... for example chemicals found in lotions, makeup, lipsticks, lipgloss, etc.

Eczema flare ups are related to an allergic reaction. So I do not know what I am allergic to or what is causing this uncomfort. So recently I have been researching foods or special diets. Basically I learned that I practically can't eat anything. See for yourself...

Please pray for me in regards to my eczema. It really isn't fun. I am constantly itchy 24/7. I wish I was exagerrating but I am not. Honestly I am really frustrated with it. :(

Good Read

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper

Read this book!

Today I went to Cornerstone Fellowship Bible Church. I there today because Willie had his Phlebotomy class. I thought I should check out a local church out here where we live. I went to the Masters Seminary alumni list and thankfully it was divided by the city in which the alumnus are at. So I clicked Moreno Valley and then Riverside. Then a name that was very familiar popped up "Vincent Green". Well the funny thing is that this pastor, Vincent Green has visited the church I attended (South Bay Christian Alliance Church) before I got married, then a year later he visited the church I currently go to (First Fundamental Bible Church). So I checked out the church and it was a guest speaker Pastor John Koh from Faith Bible Church. Any who all in all I was really blessed today. It was a great Lord's day! Even though I went with out the hubby it was good. I am glad I went, and as a visitor at Cornerstone Fellowship Bible Church I received this book as a gift. This book could not have come at a better time. I am glad the Lord moved me to open this book and begin reading it. It took me back to the first time I fell in love with the Lord. I am very blessed that the Lord has saved me. This book is a good reminder of my first LOVE, Jesus!

Validation

This is validation that I live in the desert!

When the hubby first took me here to Moreno Valley this is one of the first things I saw. He said not to worry it only occurs every once in a while. Little did he know that he was wrong. I see these dust devils quite often!

Still sad...

I miss her!

She's gone... :(

She is gone... My Mimie... I miss her so much! But she is in a good home. We gave her to a family from our church. They have 3 beautiful children and live in a beautiful home with a yard perfect for Mimie to frolic and play. Mimie made herself at home there.

I won't lie... I cried when we got home because I didn't hear her whine. I am sad and really missing my beatiful puppy Mimie. She was a good puppy despite all of the headaches.

Puppy 101

So the hubby and I have decided that we are putting our puppy up for adoption. Unfortunately our living conditions aren't suitable for her needs and for ours as well. I am really sad but understand what needs to be done. I want to sell her to someone I know so if you are interested PLEASE contact me ASAP. We want to give her up by tomorrow!! :(

HOME

Hello Readers!

Sorry I haven't posted anything. Currently I have been ordered to stay home for 3 days by the doctor. See here is what happened... I had gotten a few rashes (see if you know me, this is normal since I have eczema). Well the rashes continued to get worst then a month later I went to urgent care to get it checked out. Well the doctor I saw just said that it may be an infection and she prescribed me a "cocktail" (a mixture of creams in this case). Well see the problem with getting a cocktail cream is that you have to go to a special pharmacy called a compound pharmacy. Well these type of pharmacies aren't that accessible to me since I live in the desert plus I am sure insurance wasn't going to cover it and it was going to be pricey. So I figured to just keep my rashes clean and put neosporin! Great idea right? Nope! Apparently since I had been using neosporin and cleaning my rash with an antiseptic for two months my body had gained a resistance. So I went to urgent care again on Monday after getting hives and random fevers.. and wala.. I had gotter a Staph Infection (infection of the skin). The doctor totally freaked me out. She said I had to stay home from Mon-Wed and to go back to her on Wed for a follow up. She said it was a MUST!!! She said that my follow up on Wed will determine if I need to be admitted to a hospital! GREAT! Yeah on top of this she practically prescribed me the entire pharmacy... 2 different creams, 1 antibiotic ointment, 1 oral antibiotic, 1 ibuprofen, and 1 vicoden (because it was painful, I was practically crying when you touch the rash)... if you added those all together that was 6 prescriptions! Not including the antibiotic shot I got on my tush (which hurt pretty bad)! I asked why I needed a shot and she said, "I do not think you understand the seriousness of your infection and its potential." Yeah that freaked me out among other things, let alone the fact that I had to endure all of this by myself (hubby had to go to work). All in all I am feeling better, PRAISE THE LORD! But we shall see tomorrow what the doctor says... the upside is that my rashes are looking better the downside is that it is still inflamed. :(

FYI: I am sparing you some details in regards to this infection... I am doing you a favor because it was pretty gnarly!

Recipe of the Week

Shrimp Wrap with Creamy Cilantro Sauce

1. First the sauce... Mayo, yogurt (although mine went bad and I had greek yogurt), 1/2 a bunch of cilantro, some cayenne pepper, cumin, salt & pepper

2. Cabbage sliced thinly, lime juice from one lime, 1 tsp of vegetable oil, salt & pepper

3. Onion, Garlic, Butter, Shrimp (seasoning of your choice)

4. Whole Wheat Tortillas!

Then Ta Da!

Yummy goodness! The hubby really liked it so you know its a hit! Comment me with your email address if you want step by step directions.

Cheers!

As I continue to write these posts I come up with more and more titles for categories.. Here is one of them... CHEERS!

So as I was at work today I noticed that my slacks (bought in March) have become really loose on me. They were tight when I got them (like major gut hanging out kind of tight). Two weeks ago I noticed that my skirts that I got in a bargain have become really lose as well. But my slacks have become significantly tight and all day today I struggled to keep them up. I complained about them to my husband and it wasn't until he saw me when I got home he noticed how loose and baggy they have become. So we were at Costco and right when we walked in there were $20 Kenneth Cole Slacks! What a bargain and what a way to celebrate my weight loss. Well I never buy pants without trying them on. But I took the chance. I grabbed the size I would have liked/ and realistically fit into. I already made a note to myself that these pants may be quite tight and I might have some love handles hanging out.. I went home and tried it on and to my amazement I dropped two pant sizes! How exciting! Cheers Cheers Praise the Lord! This only motivates me that much more!!!

I think these are the ones I got...

Shopping Cart

Here is a peak into our shopping cart...

It is kind of hard to see but here is a breakdown:
- Special K Cereal
- Kashi Cereal
- Organic Reduced Fat Milk (this was a compromise because I wanted to get non-fat)
- Apples
- Bananas (for the hubby)
- Grapefruit
- Mixed Rice (blend of brown, red, and black rice)
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Brocolli
- Tomato
- Onion
- Cilantro
- Non-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt
- Turkey Bacon (this is a treat)
- Whole Wheat Macaroni
- Panko Crumbs (for when we crave for something "fried")
- Bread ( the healthiest one we could find)

Stay tuned to see what I make out of all of this!