Category Archives: Health

Jan30

Max Your Health & Happiness By Minimizing These 3 Things

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Max Your Health & Happiness By Minimizing These 3 Things

Balance is something that we all struggle to achieve in life. However, one way to produce more harmony is to get rid of or, at least, minimize the things that are doing us harm. A topic you can find out all about in the post below:

Social media:

I’m not saying social media is evil or anything, it’s just that it’s not always good for us, either. In fact, studies have shown that spending too much time on social media can aggravate anxiety and depression. After all, it’s easy to get caught up in gossip, drama, and comparing our lives to everyone else’s, as well!

With that in mind, it’s well worth minimizing the time that you spend on social media, even if you don’t cut it out completely. Happily, many phones now come with screen time controls that can be set to remind you to let go of your virtual life for a bit and live your real one, instead. Something that can help to make you both psychologically healthier and happier.

Over-trying:

Yes, it is possible to try too hard at things. So hard, in fact, that you put your mind and physical body under undue stress which can have a devastating effect on your health and happiness. To that end, it is a good idea to both know your own physical and mental limits as well as prioritize what is most important in your life and spend a more significant amount of effort on that. As humans, we can do anything, but not everything all at once!

Similarly, if you do find that you have caused yourself harm from pushing too hard either mentally or physically, it’s worth investing some time in rest, recuperation, and rehabilitation. For physical ailments, this may include accessing professional rehab services at your local clinic. While for mental overexertion a vacation or change of scenery may be in order, as well as coming up with strategies for minimizing stress that will ensure that you can cope better going forward. Yes, it may be hard to reduce or even minimize your effort in certain areas of life, but it could make all of the difference to your overall well being.

Worrying:

Now, worrying can be hard to cut out, especially if you tend to be an anxious person by nature. However, there is a way that you can prevent it from having such as hold on you and affecting your life. It’s all about getting to understand our thought and realizing that just because we think something, it doesn’t mean it’s true. Yes, this can be something that is tough to grasp at first because many of us tend to take the thoughts our brain generates at face value.

However, with activity such as meditation and CBT, we can gain some distance from our thoughts and learn to pick the ones that we choose to believe and act on. Something that can not only minimize the power of worry in our lives but also help us move towards a more healthy and happy way of living.

Maximizing the good and minimizing the things that cause us undue stress is the name of the game when it comes to increasing your well being!

Jan30

Using Keystone Habits To Build A Healthier Daily Routine

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Using Keystone Habits To Build A Healthier Daily Routine

We all have habits that we carry out every day. Some habits are healthy, such as going to bed early and drinking a lot of water. Other habits are not so healthy, e.g. smoking and snoozing the morning alarm ten times. The healthier habits we have, the better our day usually goes. Overall, this can add up to a much more productive, satisfying life. Those with healthy habits tend to achieve more, enjoy life more, and feel their best. Wouldn’t you like to be one of those people?

In this post, we’re going to focus on keystone habits. What’s a keystone habit? A keystone habit is a habit that can impact how you act the rest of the time. They are the habits that can spark chain reactions. If you’re still confused as to what this is exactly, we’re going to go through a few great keystone habits to pick up:

Making Your Bed In The Morning:

Making your bed in the morning takes mere seconds, but it’s a habit that can spark more productivity and a sense of achievement for the rest of the day. People who make their bed without fail get that sense of having completed something great before really getting the day started, and this can have a fantastic impact on mental attitudes.

Drinking A Pint Of Water Before Anything Else:

Drinking a pint of water rehydrates the body after a long sleep, flushes out toxins, and keeps us energized. Doing this before you have your daily coffee will get you off to a great start, and you’ll likely drink more water throughout the day as a result.

Exercising Earlier On In The Day:

This isn’t an essential keystone habit – some people prefer to exercise later on, and that’s fine. However, many people report feeling absolutely unstoppable after a morning workout and, of course, this can directly impact how much a person gets done during the rest of the day.

Journaling:

Journaling can free the mind from wandering and annoying thoughts. It can help you to spot patterns and come up with solutions. It can even help you to reduce your stress levels and increase your productivity! Journaling is a great way to cope with difficult times, too, so if you know you’re going to be heading somewhere like the radiation oncology department, journaling beforehand can help you to deal with your feelings and get into a more positive mindset.

Meditation:

Meditation is said to reduce stress and depression as well as improve sleep and creativity. Even just 5 minutes per day is better than nothing at all.

A Morning Routine That You Enjoy:

Getting up and starting the day with a total morning routine that you enjoy could give you a headstart on the day. For instance:

  • Brush your teeth and wash your face
  • Make your bed
  • Drink a pint of water
  • Read a chapter of a book with a coffee or tea
  • Work out
  • Eat a healthy breakfast
  • Shower and get ready for the day

Doing all of the above in succession will literally make you feel unstoppable and you’re far more likely to have a better day because of it! How will you use keystone habits to build a better daily routine?

Featured Image By: Pexels

Jan30

The Surprising Side Effects Of Stress To Your Body

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The Surprising Side Effects Of Stress To Your Body

None of us are immune to stress. Problems with the boss. Issues within our families. Financial worries. These are just some of the factors that bring about the side-effects of stress. And when we say ‘side-effects,’ some of them will be of little surprise to you. Headaches, feelings of depression, and bodily aches and pains are some of the common symptoms of stress many of us experience.

However, there are other more surprising side-effects that stress causes to our bodies. You probably have experienced these before, and while you may not have attributed them to stress previously, you might after reading this article:

Skin Issues:

When stressed, your body produces more cortisol, and that can cause your skin to become oily and sensitive. As a result, you might notice a break out of acne, blisters, and eczema around your body. Psoriasis symptoms, Inspire have suggested, can also occur, and you might also have signs of vitiligo (white patches around your skin). While reducing your level of stress will alleviate these conditions, you should still see your doctor if they persist.

Tooth Pain:

Toothache is intolerable, and it is usually brought about by some of our worst bad habits, such as not brushing regularly and unhealthy eating. However, it can also be brought about by stress, as we are more prone to clenching and grinding our teeth in both our sleeping and waking hours. We might also experience jaw ache. The problem can be alleviated in the short-term with a mouth guard, but in the long-term, finding ways to cope with the stress we feel is crucial to prevent damage to our teeth. Not only will we stop clenching and grinding our teeth, but we might also be less prone to reaching out for those sugary items we use as comfort foods.

A Lower Immune System:

Stress produces the hormone corticosteroid, and that can suppress the effectiveness of your immune system. As a result, you will become more prone to colds and other viruses. So, if your boss has been wondering why you have been taking a lot of sick days recently, the fault may lie with him/her if they have been stressing you out at work. You can boost your immune system with stress-relievers, such as sleep, exercise, and healthy eating. You might also want to have a word with your boss about your workload if that has been a contributing factor.

Cold Hands & Feet:

Don’t turn up the heating just yet! Stress can cause you to experience cold hands and feet, no matter the warmth of your home. This is caused by the ‘fight or flight’ response that is activated by stress, which can bring about physiological changes to your body, such as the redirection of your blood flow. You can find out more here. So, if you have the heating on full, and are sitting with multiple pairs of gloves and socks on and still can’t get your hands and feet warm, then stress might be the reason for the problem. See your doctor for advice – there might be other reasons for cold hands and feet – but if you know you are stressed, look for ways to relax and calm your body too.

Stress manifests itself in many different ways. Have you ever experienced any of the above?

Featured Image By: Pixabay

Jan28

Surgery Story

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Surgery Story

Hello! A lot of you have shown interest and sent well wishes in regards to my surgery from hell last month and it has been so appreciated. Now that I’m finally in the clear, I figured I would give all of you a run down of what happened, because it was pretty intense! For those of you who don’t remember, last month I got all four of my wisdom teeth out as well as a gum transplant, which is when gums from the palette of the mouth get sewn into areas where the gums are receding. In my case, it was essentially along the front length of my bottom teeth. Hurray!

The first thing that I can remember about waking up from surgery is screaming from the anesthesia, which is what always happens when I come out of it. A nurse then walked in the room to inform me that I had to be quiet because other people were in the office. Then, she had me get up and go into my dad’s car to get home. Sweet! The entire car ride home, I can remember asking my dad if he was my dad. And he, in fact, was. So that’s always a plus.

Once I got home, everything went as expected and I spent the rest of that Friday and weekend recovering. Then, on Monday, I returned back to work. And everything until Thursday was going as good as it could be, despite the pain. It was about six days out from surgery that things started going poorly, and I had to leave work because the pain was getting really intense. I went home and figured I had pushed myself too hard post-op and decided to spend a long weekend recovering. At that point, I was still eating even though it was really hard and soldiering on thinking that this was all just part of the surgery drill. I was oh so wrong.

Within the next few days, the pain got so bad that I could no longer eat and I decided to take a trip back to the surgeon. He informed me that my oral hygiene was bad and to brush better. Yes, brush better even though I had seven open wounds in my mouth. I received no pain medication, left the office feeling just as miserable, and went home to try and implement the doctor’s advice. It was within this time period that I had to start drinking with a syringe, because I couldn’t stand any type of food or liquid touching the surgery sites in my mouth. I also had to cancel all of my clients for the week, because I was too weak and woozy with pain, lack of sleep, and hunger to do anything.

For EIGHT DAYS, I drank Gatorade and water from a syringe and, then, the weekend rolled around and I couldn’t stop throwing up. My empty stomach couldn’t handle the medication cocktail of Motrin and Tylenol that I was taking. So, you can only imagine what stomach acid felt like on all of the wounds. Sunday came and I had to go to the ER to get fluids, anti nausea medicine, and Morphine administered to me via IV and I was given a prescription for some liquid Codine and nausea meds to take home.

The following day, I went back to the surgeon and he told me that the sites where he took gum from the roof of my mouth pretty much bottomed out on itself and I had nothing but exposed bone up there. Thus, the extreme pain when it came to basically anything. He also treated a dry socket, during which a smiling nurse told me to be quiet while I yelped in pain as a pack of gauze was shoved in the hole where my wisdom tooth was taken out. So nice!

The only positive about that visit was that I learned what was wrong with me and that I finally was prescribed with painkillers so that I could try chugging some Ensure to help get my strength up. The surgeon told me he has never seen anything like what my mouth was doing, so that was also very reassuring. For the next several days, I was drinking up to ten Ensure a day to try and make up for the eight days where I ate nothing.

Although I still could barely sleep or do anything, for that matter, I felt like I was somewhat on the upswing, because I was taking in some calories. And, then, when it felt like nothing else could go wrong – my jaw got infected on Christmas day. Happy holidays to me, am I right? A huge, painful knot had formed in what felt like an hour and one side of my face was extremely swollen. So, another trip to the surgeon was scheduled for two days later.

At this appointment, I was given antibiotics for the infection and, although the surgeon noted my obvious need for more painkillers, I was not given any because of the opioid epidemic, so that was awesome. From December 27th to January 3rd when I returned back to work, I was in a weird limbo of doing nothing, drinking Ensure, and attempting to eat pureed food. I don’t think I started eating soft food somewhat regularly until the following weekend. You guys have no idea how good any type of food tastes after throwing back bottles of Ensure day in and day out!

It took me a while to get back into the swing of work because, unfortunately, I had to take over three weeks off. And, during my first week or so back, I got tired very easily while on the job and had to rest a lot. The only major upset I’ve experienced was two weeks ago, when I pulled two huge chunks of bone out of the roof of my mouth, which was super delicious. Other than that, things have gone fairly well, thank goodness.

December truly was a miserable month for me. Not only was the pain in my mouth so extreme, but I didn’t get my first full night of sleep until January 5th so I was utterly exhausted, my stomach was a mess because of the medicine that I was taking and the liquid diet, and it hurt to do just about anything. I had to take a lot of time off of work and, because I’m self employed, I got no type of sick leave. The Ensure was expensive. And, the holidays just felt sad and gloomy, which made me feel even worse, because it is usually my favorite time of the year.

I am so thankful to be feeling better and back to work and I am slowly forgetting about the major trauma that I went through for the duration of a month. And, obviously, I will never be recommending the surgeon who I saw to anyone, EVER! Woof.

Has anyone dealt with the trauma of a surgery gone wrong? What is your least favorite type of doctor to see? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan15

How Do You Take Care Of Childhood Or Unexpected Skin Damage?

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How Do You Take Care Of Childhood Or Unexpected Skin Damage?

If you had any kind of serious skin condition growing up, it could continue to affect you in your adult life. For example, if you grew up with eczema that was quite bad, skin scarring is normal. You could have patches of skin that have darker or lighter pigment. You might also have little dents and dips in your skin, especially on the face since that’s where a lot of soft skin tissue is. Or you could have dry patches of skin that somehow never really seem to heal fully. They feel coarse and rugged as you graze your hands over them, despite not scratching or having a condition in that spot for a long time. So how can one repair skin damage of different kinds to get back to your normal color and healthy bounce? Find out below:

The thicker the better:

Stop using store-bought creams if you can. They often have acids and harmful chemicals in them to make them more broad in terms of use. It’s far better to speak to a doctor that can give you advice for every day emollients that come in ointment form. Emollients are purposefully designed to sink into the skin layers and retain moisture. That’s where the issue is in dry skin. Because it cannot retain moisture it cannot properly heal, so the pigment doesn’t change and the skin feels very coarse. Ointment is a lot thicker and sinks into the skin deeper than cream can. The trouble is, that it takes time for this to happen, so go easy on the amount you use and spread it around evenly.

An unexpected burn:

Our skin is incredible and the largest organ on the body. However, even though we can walk away from horrific accidents, our skin may not be aesthetically pleasing. The body doesn’t care about looks and it just wants to survive and heal as best as it can. If you have been unexpectedly involved in an accident of some kind be it in a car accident or a machinery accident at work, you should let NBA Law Firm handle your legal case. They have many different kinds of legal case experience. It’s not just your typical personal injury claims they deal with, but burn victims too. They recognize that burns can be both emotionally and physically traumatic and can get you compensation, which can then be used for surgery that can help your burned skin. But, for everyday maintenance, you should be using sensitive skin creams and doctor-prescribed topical steroid creams. These will prevent cracks from occurring in already damaged skin and protect you from the sun’s rays.

Skin damage can occur when we’re little and unless we take action to heal up by ourselves, our bodies may never make that final push. Speak to your dermatologist today and see what can be done to help your skin heal.

Jan14

Guide To Chinese Massage Therapy

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Guide To Chinese Massage Therapy

There are many different types of massages available nowadays. However, one that has been popular for many years is Chinese massage therapy, also known as tui na. It is believed that this therapy originated in 2700 BC to balance the energies in our bodies. The theory states that the body is an imbalance of energies that can lead to stress, illness, and disease. Chinese massage therapy balances the energies to ensure a natural flow occurs and the body is relieved of stress. Today, Chinese massage is practiced regularly. This article reveals the benefits of this therapy in detail:

What are the benefits of Chinese massage therapy?

  • Treatment of soft tissue injuries – From sciatica and lower back pain to a frozen shoulder; Chinese massage therapy helps with a wealth of different soft tissue injuries. You can combine this with physical therapy for a complete approach. The masseuse will use techniques to help eradicate pain and ease any stiffness you may be experiencing.
  • Increased energy – Do you get those moments where you feel completely drained? Energy is something we all wish we had more of. Chinese massage therapy can provide you with more energy as it realigns the flow of Qi in the body. You will leave the spa feeling revitalized.
  • Decrease stress levels – When you couple decreased stress levels with the former part regarding increased energy; it is not hard to see why everyone should have regular Chinese massages. This treatment can do wonders for your psychological well being. It is extremely relaxing and will relieve you of any tension or stress you are experiencing. Practitioners of this treatment believe that the imbalanced energies in the body and the blockages of the flow of Qi disrupt an individual’s mental state. This is why Chinese massages are advised for those who suffer from depression or anxiety.
  • Helps with circulatory problems – In addition to the points that have already been mentioned, Chinese massage therapy is ideal for those suffering from problems with their circulation. The masseuse will focus on various pressure points and use an array of hand techniques to stimulate your circulatory systems. This is something that is beneficial for all.
  • Physical and mental well being – On a final note, it is vital to recognize that Chinese massage therapy focuses on the physical and mental health of an individual. This is undoubtedly the main benefit of all. Most treatments tend to focus on one or the other. There is no way you won’t feel the benefits of this type of massage.

When you take all of these points into account, it is not hard to see why Chinese massage therapy has been extremely popular for many years now. If you have never experienced this treatment before, do make sure you give it a try!

Featured Image By: Pixabay

Jan10

Boosting Your Health & Well-Being In 2019

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Boosting Your Health & Well-Being In 2019

It’s a new year, so it’s time for a new you, and this means looking at how you can improve your health and look after yourself better. There are a lot of things that you can do to achieve this, and it is important to get this right as much as you can. Think about how your health and fitness plays a role in your every day life, and what you can do to make improvements. Here are some ideas that will help you to boost your health this year:

Exercise is Key:

It is vital that you get out and about and be sure that you are focused on exercise as much as possible. You have a lot to keep in mind when it comes to improving your well-being, and this is something that plays a big part in the process. Make sure you think carefully about the different things that you can do to keep fit. Getting out and staying active as best as you can is going to be really important in helping to keep you in shape and improve the way you do things.

Self-Care Matters:

There are a lot of elements of your health and well-being that are important, and one of the biggest is self-care. There are so many things that play a massive part in the process, and this is something that you can always get right. The balance of mind and body through self-care is one of the best things that you can do in your day to day life. Make sure you are looking after yourself and watch as your mood improves for the better drastically.

Improve Your Mental Health:

Your mental health can positively or negatively affect your life and it is up to you to determine how it does. Seeing experts like Cynthia Telles Kaiser can be helpful if you are having problems that you need to talk through and so can improving your self care routines as previously discussed.

Get More Rest:

Resting is a great way to rejuvenate your body and mind, and help you to operate at the best level that you can. We all need our rest, and you must never underestimate how much of an impact this sort of thing can have on your health. Catch some Z’s and get yourself feeling well rested and ready to take on the day.

Being in the best shape you can possibly be in, both physically and mentally makes the hassles of your daily life seem a lot easier. Take control of how you feel in 2019 and be amazed at how your new world opens up to you.

Jan7

Making Sure Accidents Have A Minimal Impact On Your Financial Life

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Making Sure Accidents Have A Minimal Impact On Your Financial Life

Hopefully, you won’t be involved or implicated in any accident throughout your lifetime. But it’s a good idea to prepare yourself in case of accidents and to know what to do if you find yourself injured in an accident. Injury can have a profoundly detrimental effect on your overall health and well being, making it difficult for you to work and, consequently, negatively impacting your finances. Here are a few different ways to avoid the financial strain from happening if you find yourself hurt:

Taking Out Insurance:

A precautionary step that you can take in regards to accidents is to take out insurance. Insurance policies essentially protect you from experiencing financial difficulty if negative events occur in your life. Travel insurance can cover medical costs incurred overseas, such as care, treatments, and procedures. Disability insurance can ensure that you still have an income if you become disabled and are no longer able to work.

Gathering Savings:

Another step to take is to gather savings. This means that if times get financially hard during your process of recovery, you will have funds to fall back on. You won’t have to go without at any point. You can generally gather savings by dedicating a portion of your disposable income to a savings account each time you are paid. Make sure to compare different savings accounts and to choose the one with the best interest rate.

Seeking Legal Help:

It is extremely important that you seek help after an injury if the injury was no fault of your own. Generally speaking, injuries take place in spaces where others are responsible for your safety and well being and, if you have been hurt, someone needs to be held accountable. This goes for injuries that occur in the workplace, in public places, or on commercial premises. Should you have been at work when your injury occurred, you will want to research the best workers’ comp lawyer in Wisconsin (or your local area). Getting help through a lawyer that specializes in workers’ comp not only benefits yourself but your fellow employees. With a job site injury, equipment and safety protocols will be improved to prevent another worker from getting hurt.

Seeking legal help through a lawyer for your specific injury such as a Spine Injury Lawyer can ensure that the same doesn’t happen to someone else in the future, and it can also help you financially. Those in the wrong should pay compensation, which can cover your medical costs and can go towards your lost earnings during your period of recovery. This will help you to avoid going into debt if you have to take time off work to get back to your usual, healthy self.

If you are needing assistance from lawyers, remember to find a firm that specializes in your specific case. You might be surprised to learn that there are lawyers that primarily handle Truck Accident Spinal Injury as opposed to spinal injuries in general. Finding a lawyer that has a ton of experience for your specific situation can only help you. It means that they are well versed on the ins and outs of these cases which can speed up the legal process immensely.

On the flip side, legal help can be sought when you were in the wrong and this can help lessen your punishment in court. Everyone makes mistakes and if no one was harmed if, say, you got a DUI then a lawyer can emphasize that point to the judge. Should this be the case for you, a consultation with a Denver DUI attorney (or your local area) can be most beneficial. Perhaps they can assist in getting driving privileges to work so you can maintain your source of income.

Living Within Your Means During Recovery:

Recovery can be a relatively dull period in our lives. We have limited entertainment and distractions and can quickly grow bored of watching the same television shows each day. So, it’s not all too surprising that many people tend to treat themselves excessively and live beyond their means at this time. They might spend more on comfort food. They might purchase films they’ve not seen before. They’ll buy more reading material. The list goes on and on. But it’s extremely important to live within your means during your period of recovery, or you might find yourself sinking into debt.

These are just a few different steps that you can take in order to ensure that accidents have as minimal of a negative impact on your finances as possible. Incorporate them into your routine as soon as you get a chance!

Featured Image By: Pexels

Jan2

The Science Of Sleep: How To Get More Quality Shut-Eye

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The Science Of Sleep: How To Get More Quality Shut-Eye

Imagine regularly engaging in an activity that stops your brain from processing and filing away your days’ experiences. That negatively affects your memory and stress levels and robs your body of much-needed energy. That literally stops your body from repairing itself. Well, science has shown that this is precisely what you are doing if you are denying your body enough sleep. Read on to find out more:

Shift work:

Traditionally, those working in a shift pattern rather than the traditional 9-5 or 8-6, as is more common these days, have had trouble regulating their sleep patterns and getting enough to optimize their health. Of course, with the disadvantage mentioned above, this can be something that can significantly affect both their physical and mental well being and so steps need to be taken to rectify this.

One method that can be helpful, is to identify your own personal sleep rhythm and find work that best fits around this. For example, those that wake naturally later in the day and are often up past midnight may suit working the late shift much better than someone that thrives on being up at the crack of dawn.

Noise disturbance:

Something else that can cause you to get too little sleep is noise disturbance. In fact, there is a significant number of people whose sleep is disturbed by factors, such as traffic, noisy pipes, and even a partner that snores. Each issue needs to be dealt with individually but, the good news, is that there are things that you can do to help.

For instance, those plagued by traffic noise may choose to have their windows triple insulated against the sound or wear earplugs at night. While those kept awake by a partners’ snorting can research into the latest practices such as how fotona laser can treat snoring and will minimize any issue of disturbance. Something that will be a great relief to anyone whose quality of sleep is affected by this issue.

Methods of opening obstructed airways, can not only provide relief to the person kept awake by the snoring but can also make it easier to breathe during the night for the person having the treatment, too. Therefore, allowing them to get a much better and more refreshing night’s sleep as well.

Sleep hygiene:

Lastly, when it comes to the science of sleep, what researchers have recently found is there are all sorts of things that can interfere with your ability to drift naturally off to sleep and stay asleep for the required amount of time. Many of these issues arise from over stimulation of the brain, either from caffeine, sugar, light, and particularly blue light. To that end, many specialists are now recommending a return to a more traditional routine before bed know as sleep hygiene.

This routine cuts out too many stimulating factors and naturally allows our bodies and, most importantly, our minds to relax, decompress, and prepare for sleep in the right manner. Something that has been proven to have a positive effect on both nodding off, and staying asleep for the right amount of time to promote optimum well being.

 

Dec23

I’m Back!

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I’m Back!

Hello! After some grueling time away from my blog baby, Lil Red is officially back. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still in a buttload of pain but, it’s somewhat manageable now and I missed everyone too much to keep away. Long story short, after my wisdom teeth and gum transplant surgery, I had some pretty major complications. This included dehydration, exposed bone in the roof of my mouth, sockets that needed irrigated, and excruciating pain. It. Was. Awful.

But, I’m here now just in time for the holidays and I am so happy to be back in the blogging world with all of my beloved friends and readers. I would appreciate it if everyone would continue sending me the warm fuzzies though, because I’m still hurting pretty badly. And, I will see all of you tomorrow to chit chat about my December finishes! Much love. -Sarah