Salty Zebra

Image Credit: AphantasticDesigns - find them on Etsy    Sometimes life isn't ideal. Let's face it, most of the time it isn't! So, we do what we need to, to make things work. In my "Making It Work" posts, I share life hacks and ideas that have helped me so that, maybe, they can help someone else too. I hope you enjoy!  Over the last year or so I've been noticing a troubling trend. When I finish fixing dinner, I am often too exhausted and in too much pain to eat it. I have found that being on my feet for that length of time (1-2 hours typically) puts a great deal of stress on my spine in all the wrong places. Yes, I've tried body positioning, lifting my foot onto a step, moving as much as possible, and stopping to stretch as I go. None of it has helped. I was getting worried that I would have to give up fixing meals for my family (not sure what we would do then!) when I saw a wonderful post put up by Chronically Jenni on Instagram. She uses a saddle stool ...

"With pacing, the goal isn't to use as little (or as much!) energy as possible, but to find a stable amount of activity you can do each day that won't worsen your symptoms." -Visible Pacing Lessons   Pacing is something I'm not very good at, as evidenced by my new lowest stability score on my Visible app * this morning. So why am I writing about it? What could I possibly have to offer you on something I obviously am not doing well in? Well, I want to get better at it. I need  to get better at it. I have found that putting in the research and learning to put together a post helps me so much to grow in an area, so you're getting insight into the mind of a Salty Zebra.   Yep, you read that right. That's a 1, a 1 out of 5. And as it reads below the 1, I am, "Out of balance." How did I get here? Well, I worked pretty hard at it, I can tell you that much! This month, I traveled to Florida, spent 10 days at Disney World with my family, traveled home fro...

 Since I developed a brain tumor, many of my cognitive functions have suffered. I have notable short-term memory loss, brain fog, processing disorders. This can lead to a lot of wandering aimlessly around the house trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. Thankfully, before all this happened, I started collecting Amazon Alexa devices. I got one in my kitchen, and then thought one would be helpful in the bathroom, my bedroom... next thing you know:  What initially made my husband roll his eyes, he now touts as one of our greatest assets in the war on mental challenges. These have come in handy so many times and in so many ways that he even sees it worthwhile to set them up when we visit the beach house. So, what is so great about these little speakers?  Well, to start with, they are speakers! I have them connected to my Spotify account and I can have them play music for me in one room, a group of rooms, or everywhere in the house! Music is my heart language and ...

  I've gone through a lot of different haircare routines over the years. From the standard, "Whatever is cheapest at Costco," to No Poo to Conditioner only wash. I've tried baking soda and apple cider vinegar. I've done sugar scrubs and honey hair masks. I've made my own shampoo bars (I still do in fact). I've been slightly dissatisfied with my current routine as my scalp has been dry and itchy of late. Now, that could have to do with the varying climates I've been visiting this year, but who knows?! So, when Prose kept popping up on my social media feeds and I was gifted some post-Christmas money by my dad, I decided to give it a shot.  The online ads led to a 50% discount offer, which was great as it allowed me to try out the shampoo, conditioner and curl cream for just over $50 when I signed up for a subscription. That's a great shopping hack, by the way. Companies like you to sign up for subscriptions because so many people don't notice and...

“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD, Isaiah 1:18a   I am an empath. I feel things others feel, deeply. I have learned to use this gift from God to connect with people and I have had to learn how to create healthy boundaries around myself to keep myself safe and sane. Often this has come in the form of avoiding the news, and sometimes social media, especially during election cycles. I feel intensely the things that are spoken by others, and it affects me in more ways that you could imagine.   With the change in administration on January 20th, there has been a flood of news. On the first day of his term alone, President Trump signed 26 executive orders that significantly affect our country. I didn't want to read 26 executive orders. I didn't want to puzzle through their meaning or the implications they might have on the future of our country. I wanted to hide in a hole. I wanted my husband to filter things for me and just tell me what I needed to know. I s...

 You wake up feeling pretty good. Sure, you've got some soreness and getting out of bed takes more energy than you think it should, but you're better than most days. As you head to the bathroom, you notice a basket of towels and think, "I really should run some laundry today!" And you do. In fact, you start tackling lots of little tasks as you see them. As you clean up from breakfast you do a bunch of dishes. When you walk through the living room you see the clumps of dog fur on the carpet and grab the vacuum for a "light cleaning" that might become a little more. Then you see the sink in your son's bathroom and... Well, you get the idea. Next thing you know it's lunch time and you definitely don't have the energy your started the day with. In fact, you're noticing some of those warning signs that a flare is coming on and you're about to be down for the count, possibly for days. But you had that important dinner with friends tonight!  Thi...

     Bandana Print Shirt Collar Button Through Blouse – BloomChic  My brain surgeries, and perhaps the tumor itself, had more than a few unexpected side effects. Two of these were me becoming pre-diabetic and having high cholesterol. These both changed shortly after the surgery and without any change in my diet. My doctor has been working with me for quite some time to address these issues - my body is not cooperating so far - but in the meantime I have gained a significant amount of weight, about 50lbs. I weigh more now than I ever have in my life, even when I was pregnant. As you can imagine, that is a challenge for both my physical and mental health. Adding on to the mental side of this, none of my clothes fit anymore. Kick a girl while she's down why don'tcha?    V Neck Crocheted Cut Out Jumpsuit – BloomChic  My husband, in his precious compassion and wisdom, encouraged me to find some new clothes that I would enjoy. I kept seeing ads pop up on Fac...

  So said a plaque in my Mom's office at the Fire Department. She worked in IT there for more than 30 years before she retired last year. One of the main things she learned? At the Fire Department, everything is an emergency!   For many years (maybe decades?) I've been a big proponent of having a meal plan. This informs my grocery shopping and keeps me from overspending and wasting food. It also solves the age-old question of "What's for dinner?" One of my favorite tools? I use a meal planning service called Plan to Eat *. On it I store my recipes (I have nearly 2,000 saved at the moment). Then, using the planning tool, I schedule my meals by dragging and dropping them onto a calendar. Plan to Eat then generates a shopping list based on the ingredients from my recipes. It learns over time which stores I prefer to buy things at and what category (like produce or dairy) things will be found in. It takes just a few minutes for me to delete any items I already have on...