Recently, my hair (like my body and brain) has been going off-script. It has been unmanageable, drier than usual, and just doing all the crazy...
I took a look at the products I use regularly and decided that it might be time to switch things up. The problem with that is finding a good brand of products that is also affordable and regularly available. By sheer luck, I found a brand that I am falling in love with. The products work and, praise the Lord, they are all very affordable.
The brand is So Cozy. I found them via their curl leave-in product. I looked at a bunch of different brands but kept coming back to the SC brand because of the ingredients and the fact that the products are USA-made.
Once I used the leave-in, I took a look at the shampoo, conditioner, and detangler. All are affordable, all with good ingredients, and all are effective. Perfect. Here's a quick take on what I've tried:
My concern was that this would not be cleansing enough. As an adult, I use grease and oils on my scalp and hair. Would this shampoo be able to cleanse those products? Actually, it was able to do the job. As with any shampoo, I use a scalp massager and maybe that helped. I do know that my hair was really clean without being dried out. (I wonder if I should have been using a kids' shampoo all along!)
I used this and put on a plastic cap for a few minutes while I continued my shower. When I rinsed it out, did get good results. My hair didn't have the same feel as when I used Aussie Moist or any other heavier conditioner, but I like that my hair didn't have the "weighted" feeling. Since I was experimenting, I didn't didn't use any other conditioner. I was tempted because old habits...
I was a little undecided about this one. Since the brand has the Curl Leave-In that I already tried and loved (see below), I wasn't sure if I'd need both products. Since this was a trial run, I got one bottle without subscribing, and, uh, I will be subscribing ASAP!
I have used at least 4 or 5 other detanglers. This worked better than any of them and cost so much less. You know how pricey detanglers for afro-natural hair can be. A certain "knot today" one costs around $17. To be honest, that one did not work anywhere near as well as this one dit. I mean, it works but I have to use a lot of it and it didn't leave my hair as soft.
This worked so well that I was able to finger-detangle my hair instead of using my special detangling brush.
This was extremely softening to my hair after I took out my twists. Afro-natural folks will understand when I talk about the "crunchy" hair problem. After a wash, my hair usually needs at least a couple of days before it begins to get a soft feel. Of course, softer hair means lots less breakage.
Overall, without the Subscribe and Save pricing, I paid around $28 for everything. With Subscribe and Save, I will be getting a better deal. If the price goes up, I will go the the brand website and order (or to Walmart. The bottom line is that this is such a good lineup of products for my 4C hair.
I think this shows that sometimes we bypass good and affordable products because we get hung up on marketing. Normally, I wouldn't have tried this for my afro-natural hair. I would have stayed in the adult lane and looked for something that showed a lot of ethnic faces on the labels. After all, there are several brands for kids:
Aussie has a kids' set and a line for kids. I love the adult conditioners but I don't like Aussie's detangler for adults though.
So there are a lot of offerings out there for kids. Pricing and effectiveness are the important things. Of course, the smaller or more specialized the brand (vegan, ethnic, small biz), means that they are often more expensive. That's why customers need to support good brands from the start.
Likely, I will try some other kids' brands. For now, though, this one is working for my hair and my budget.
Peace
-- Free
DISCLAIMER: I am not/have not/will not be compensated by this product or any sellers.
For the past few weeks, I had to deal with a bout of depression. Then some more of my family came to town for a quick visit. Their presence renewed my spirits.
Whenever I think of family and good friends, I am reminded of one of my favorite parts of the Gospels.
"...for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ (Matthew 25:35-36 )
That's how my family makes me feel. I feel surrounded by love, acceptance, and protection. I feel blessed that God gave us each other. My little brother and I miss our other siblings a lot and we both just drunk in their presence!
Everything
I got to meet one of my grandnieces (who I haven't seen since I held her right after she was born) and we both fell in love with each other. This is the first time in a long while that all of us siblings were together for a happy reason. They all LOVED the 4th of July celebrations.
When my family left to return home, I spent half the day in tears, missing them already. I also realized that not everyone is so blessed with a big, loving family. Some of my neighbors are quite alone in this world. Some of them are widowed or their children have passed away. Some of them were never part of a close family. All I can do is pray that people find love among friends. Family is not just blood relatives. Family is anyone who loves, accepts, supports, and treasures your presence in this world.
I just want to thank God again for bringing some of my family to me - and just when I really needed them.
If you don't have family or close friends, you should know that Jesus is all the love you need. When we leave this life, we are going to be one big happy family and I can't wait to meet you all.
When I say that my 63rd started with a pop, I'm being literal. I can laugh now - but only if I do so carefully...
This actually happened the day before my birthday. I had a lot going on. I was (am still) fighting a nasty cold/infection/something lung-wise; I have family coming for the 4th (how exciting!!!); and I was stressing over my medical insurance booting my doctors out of network (that is a rant for another post).
Anyway, I wanted to put on nice clean sheets for anyone staying with me over the 4th. I did a couple loads of laundry and realized that I had already strained my side a bit. That had happened when I'd twisted my body the wrong way getting out of bed earlier. I was sore but not in real pain. I took a rest and then got started stripping the bed to put on the clean linens.
When I was stripping the bed, I had to keep resting because my right side was getting more sore from all the activity. Also, my cough was acting up so I put on a mask. I don't want to put my family on germy sheets! Finally, I was ready to get down to business and get that bed made up. I got the bottom sheet on and was getting the top sheet lined up. (My bed is queen-sized so I have to do a lot of leaning and stretching to get the sheets on properly.)
As I leaned across the bed to pull the top of the sheet even, a cough snuck up on me. It was a big one. Thank God for the mask, right? I didn't have time to straighten up or get into a good cough position (???). That cough came out like a Cat 5 and I felt something in my right side pop. I'm not sure it if made a sound of "pop" but I clearly felt it pop. It was a big pop.
That pop felt like what I imagine a gunshot feels like. It was hot and sharp and took my breath away. All I could do was drop onto the bed and be still for a minute. Sweat broke out all over my body. When I tried to take a breath, I felt like something was burning or stabbing or doing something crazy to my ribs.
For 2 years a good 2 or 3 minutes, I could not move without severe pain. So I'm lying there stretched across the bed, face down, trying to remember exactly where my phone was. Thankfully, I remembered having sat it on the bedside table. All I had to do was slide down, maybe get on my knees next to the bed and blindly reach for the phone. Maybe.
It took a while - and a lot of very shallow breathing and truly praying to God that I wouldn't have another cough - but I got my phone in hand and called my brother. I think he could hear the pain I was in.
By the time my brother and SIL got to me, I could stand and walk slowly. As long as I didn't take any deep breaths, I was fine. I coughed once and thought I went blind for a second. I literally almost passed out.
Cut to the ER. I had to wait almost an hour before I even got to triage. I think that's when the staff realized I was hurting more than I'd mentioned. It didn't take that much time to get me to an exam room.
I did fine holding back any coughing. I sipped water and sucked on a Luden's. A nurse brought a Lidocaine patch while someone took a blood sample and ordered x-rays. Then I had to wait another half an hour before someone finally came to - give me a pain shot? cut me open and rip out the rib that was punching into my lung? save me from drowning in the sweat that was running down my face because I'd coughed again? NO. The girl was there to get my payment info. They take Discover...
Finally, a nurse peeked in (she was there to close the door blinds for the daily observance of "quiet time" the hospital has. Luckily, she noticed that I had broken into another sweat. It was running down my face and I was clutching my side and leaning against the wall. She left and came back with another patch.
Anyway. I managed to hold in any more coughing. Maybe the patches were working because I could take breaths a little deeper than before. And the doctor came back in with the results.
It seems that I had been coughing due to a mucus plug (possibly, but I'm going to have to get that checked out with my primary doc). Apparently, there are muscles between the ribs. Apparently, because of the position I was in when I had coughed, I'd sprained all of those muscles on my right side. Unfortunately, there is not a lot that can be done to quickly alleviate that pain. They dosed me with Tylenol and sent me home with a prescription for my old friend Prednisone.
You've heard me rant here about how I hate prednisone (aka the devil drug), but it has its uses. I took 40 milligrams and the pain eased up almost immediately. Of course, it eased back in every time I moved wrong, but...
My brother and SIL refrained from jokes until I brought it up. But when I did bring it up, they were on the same page. We all had this in mind:
(He just had to curse once, didn't he? ~sigh~)
I'm going to be seeing my doctor soon. I am so excited to see my family but I won't be able to do a lot. I can't really eat much except soft foods and I'm going to have to be careful taking walks. Yay.
But I am blessed and thankful that the God Lord let me live to see another year - another day, another moment. Not everyone woke up this morning.
For mhy Facebook friends, thanks for the beautiful wishes!
The past couple of days have been a bit rough. I'm so fatigued and blue that I can't believe there's a sun shining outside my windows.
It's so weird how the mind and the brain work. You can be so happy and energized on a dark and cloudy day, yet so sad and gloomy feeling on a day filled with sunshine. I could hear my neighbors out on the front patio today, chirping and chattering away like little birds while they soaked up some of the good weather. I was actually a little annoyed. Why can't I feel like that today?
I thought that getting out into the sunshine air outdoor air would blow away some of the blues. I walked over the the neighborhood store for some pudding and soda. It's the only place nearby that carries Cokes made with real sugar. I did feel a little bit better for a minute, but then all I wanted was to get back home and rest. I was positively worn OUT by that short little stroll. Insane,
Of course, I know that part of this is sarcoidosis. Knowing that doesn't make me feel better. Just thinking about it now makes me feel tired. As a matter of fact, I am forcing myself to write this post before the fatigue hits me again.
Tomorrow, I am going to get back to reading the Bible. That usually does make me feel better. I haven't spent as much time as I'd like reading Scripture since I finished the last full read-through. Maybe I need to get back in the habit of reading a little before bed or listening to the audio version as I fall asleep.
Next week, I have family coming into town. That should make me feel SO much better. In the meantime, for those of you who believe, keep me in your prayers.
It's now been almost exactly 3 weeks since I had my uppers pulled. I have been back for the follow-up so the dentist can see how well I'm healing. He's really pleased, but he's very meticulous. He shaved off a little bit of a "spur" while I was there. And when he mentioned that he was going to be "shaving" that spur, I almost threw all over the place. He was surprised at how queasy I got but my brother gets me completely. Later on, he said that he bet the dentist now understands why I was so gaggy about all the blood before. Lord.
Oh well. Now I can get the bottom teeth done next month, hopefully. Then those extractions have to heal up before I get any new teeth. At least most of my toothless time will be during the winter.
While I am waiting, my biggest gripe has not been about vanity. It's been about food! If nothing else, this ordeal has been a great lesson about appetites. Since my food choices are so limited right now, I'm losing weight like I did when I was younger. My plan is to keep the smaller meals when I do heal - I mean, after I eat my way through the state...
Seriously. For a couple of days, I couldn't make myself eat any of the soft foods I'd been depending on. I have been eating a rotation of Cream of Wheat, rice, potatoes (mashed, not mashed, sweet), beans (cooked to as soft as I could get them and with softly-fried hot water cornbread), Greek yogurt with honey, Greek yogurt with milk and honey, and then I added some Carnation Breakfast drinks.
I realized I needed the vitamins from the Carnation drinks when I was getting even more fatigued than usual and feeling blah more often than ever. It's amazing what little changes in a diet can do to you. When I get through this, I might never eat mashed potatoes again! On the other hand, I am down about 14 pounds. I'd be losing more weight if I had the strength to do at least a little exercise...
My brother and SIL are so sweet. Every time I see them, they ask what they can cook for me. On our way to an appointment the other day, my SIL asked if I wanted to swing by a fast food place to get a shake or some ice cream. I jokingly requested that they buy a piece of chicken just so I could lick it. Okay, I was half-joking.
Anyway. Today I decided to jazz up my Carnation Breakfast drink. It's decent-tasting but it's thin and not (in my opinion at least) very satisfying. I got the chocolate flavor so I added a couple tablespoons of Greek yogurt and blended it all up. At least it felt more like a liquid meal than before.
I was going to get some kind of meal replacement drink mix but, not only did they cost more than my regular groceries, but it was hard to find anything with my preferences:
No artificial sweeteners
No high fructose corn syrup
No invert sugar
No stevia
No artificial colors
Nothing with the word "soylent" in it. (I only read the old book that the movie was based on, but someone just had to tell me about the movie. Ick.)
I couldn't find a Boost drink in chocolate and I don't like vanilla or strawberry flavors in drinks. Ensure has chocolate but their product line is so varied, I got tired of weeding through to find something with the rest of my wants.
As far as the dental work, the top is all healed up and I'm getting ready to start having all the bottom down. And I know this sounds really strange, but I've gotten so used to having no top teeth that I'm going to have to adjust...
Right now, I am fighting off a new cold. I'm drinking garlic water with honey as I write this post. Keep me in your prayers. The time is going by slowly but I'm looking forward to the end results. I know it will be worth it. And, on the positive side, I am saving a lot of money on groceries!
Peace
--Free
P.S.: I recently learned something that terrifies me. Apparently, wearing dentures takes practice. I'm pretty sure the dentist mentioned that but it only hit me when I saw it online. I will have to get used to eating and talking with the dentures. Now I have something new to keep me up at night.
I have never watched the film but I just finished with a library copy of the audiobook "The Help". It stirred up memories of a job my mother once had.
I was born in 1961 and when I was about 3 or 4 years old, my mother had a job working for a white lady in Texas. Mama was a military wife and Daddy was temporarily based out, I think. So Mama stayed behind in the Midland/Big Spring area.
The lady mama worked for was another military wife but her husband was an officer. She had a daughter about my age - I think we were within a few months of each other's age. I will call the mother Anna and the daughter Jane.
My mother's experience working for Anna was not much like what was portrayed in the book. But she did look after Jane and she did light housework for Anna.
As I was listening to the fictional story, I kept recalling bits and pieces of what my mother told me and my sister about her years (it was almost 2 years, I believe) working for Anna. In my mother's case, she and Anna treated each other more like friends than anything else. She called Anna by her first name and Anna called her by her first name. My mother and Anna often had coffee and light meals together when Anna wasn't out doing whatever she and the other officer's wives did during their days. I believe Anna spent time with scheduled socializing - lunching, organizing drives and such.
I did ask my mother what it was that she did for Miss Anna ("Miss" because I was raised right, not because Anna was better than us) and she said she did some laundry and took care of Jane during the day. Basically, Jane was at our house as much as Mama was at Anna's.
The one thing about my mother's situation that matches the ladies portrayed in The Help was that she and Anna didn't socialize much outside the hours Mama was working for her. I cannot imagine that either of the women would even want to spend time together outside Mama's working hours. This was around 1963 and both ladies were Texas born. Their relationship was probably oddly casual and friendly for the times as it was.
The only reason my mother ever told us about Miss Anna was that she and Mama exchanged Christmas cards for years and I asked about this woman who stayed in touch As we moved around the U.S., somehow the two women kept in touch that way. When Miss Anna died (I think I was about almost 30) Jane called to let Mama know and she took up the Christmas card exchange. Jane sent photos of herself and her young family for several years.
We made a move from Alaska to Arizona and Mama and Jane lost touch with each other. I don't remember if it was because we'd moved or that Jane had moved and somehow a card didn't get forwarded.
When Mama died and we were all going through old photos and scrapbooks, we ran across a photo of Anna and Jane when Jane must have been about 7 or 8. We only knew who they were because their names and date were noted on the back. I'd never thought before about what Anna and Jane must have looked like. In the old photo, they looked like any other mother and daughter of that time. They were posing side by side in summer clothes and they looked very touristy. Miss Anna was very tall and thin and she was holding a lit cigarette in one hand while her other hand was resting on the back of Jane's neck. She wore large sunglasses and had a scarf tied over the back part of her hair. Jane had her head tilted and one eye squinted against the sun. She was lanky and plain but looked happy.
Listening to the fictional story about black maids with their white employers, I tried to picture Mama ever being in such a bad position as some of those women and I just could not. Mama had put up with people calling her "colored" back in the day because that wasn't impolite at the time but I remember she once sniped at a man in a grocery store when he casually addressed her as "gal".
Mama might not have had to deal with the indignities of those fictional maids but I remember things from the late sixties and early seventies that still shock me now. I remember traveling as a family when Daddy was reassigned from one base to another. There were places it was not safe for a black family to drive through at night. There were many lodging places we weren't welcome to stay so we would sleep in the station wagon.
It's probably hard for someone younger than I am to even imagine a time when racism was so blatant and tolerated. Most younger folks probably feel like that was a time way, way back in the past. But I am 63. My paternal grandfather's mother (I have her obituary) was the daughter of slaves. She was treated not better than a slave because of the times and place in which she lived.
Doesn't it feel like slavery was so much longer ago? Sometimes, my young relatives are astounded to know that I met this woman who was the daughter of slaves. I think this is when I was about 7 or 8 years old and, for some reason, I remember her clearly.
I'm just sitting here now, thinking about all these connections to the past. I'm thinking about how far we all as citizens have come and it somehow doesn't seem far enough. Time is so weird.
My step-grandmother who died just 4 years ago was a little girl of about 10 when Bonnie and Clyde were doing their thing.
Weird, right? Think about people in your own family. What famous event or person was current when they were alive? What news was making the headlines? What were they learning in school? It can be very interesting to think about.
Time is weird and strange and wonderful. I spend a lot of time thinking about it.
Anyway, I wish my mother was here because I have so many questions about times that are only secondhand memories for me.
Yesterday, I dared take a really good look at myself in the mirror. Before today, I would almost enter the bathroom sideways so I wouldn't accidentally catch a full glance. Silly woman.
My first thought as I studied myself was "I'll be a really cute little old(er) lady one day". That made me smile and, Lord have mercy, with that smile, I saw my mother looking back at me! When I was young and thin, I looked like my father. Now that I'm old and fa, uh, heavier, I look like Mama. Without my top teeth, I dang near am Mama!
When I got through laughing at this, I had to text my older brothers (they haven't seen me in person for a while) and share the humor.
Bro 1 is quick to respond.
Funny man, Bro 1!
We are so silly! I do love my entire family so much that I sometimes get overwhelmed with the joy. #WeAreFamily
Anyway. I know they will try to make me feel beautiful, teeth or no teeth. Hopefully, soon, with teeth!...
I'm pretty sure the last of the stitches is dissolving or something. They can't go away fast enough for me. When I get the other teeth removed, I am going to ask the dentist about some kind of gum guard or something to use while I eat. Just thinking about my tongue hitting those stitch strings takes my appetite. Shoot, if I really wanted to lose weight, all I'd have to do is get some long-term stitches in my mouth... Ugh! When I get the bottom teeth done, I'm going to ask the dentist if there is a way to cover them with wax or something - just long enough for me to eat.
Also, something weird is happening with my coffee. I can't seem to enjoy it for some reason. My little brother (Bro 3) thinks that will pass when I get my new teeth. All I know is, I had to make a Dalgona coffee today just to enjoy my java hit. Guess I'll be doing that for a while.
Finally, I went out in public for the first time. I had to go and get laundry quarters at the bank. I willed myself not to wear the mask but, as soon as the teller came to the counter, I put it on. Maybe when I get the rest of the teeth removed, I can be braver.
So, I'm up to 10 days with the first extractions. I'm eating a little better. I got some Bisto to liven up my potatoes. Between the potatoes and Cream of Wheat, I'm doing okay. I am going to whip up a veggie smoothie at some point. I know my body wants something green - maybe Spinach and Kale with some kind of sweet juice? ~shrug~
I will do another update soon. If I get really, really daring, I might put up a picture...
This is my 4th full day without my upper teeth. I cannot wait until I get the others out but I don't know when that will happen. I follow up with the dentist next week and, hopefully, my upper plate has healed so well that we can move forward soon.
Now, let's talk about food. I'm down 12 pounds already. I think I gagged away 5 of those pounds while I was dealing with the first day! As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been able to eat Cream of Wheat, and what a lifesaver that is. But it's pretty boring so I had to find some other foods to eat.
Two things I learned during this process: 1) Eating a lot of Cream of Wheat is very, um, moving - and I'm talking about the tummy! 2) Making mashed potatoes from scratch is a breeze.
I had never ever made mashed potatoes before. I didn't even realize that until I had to do it. My SIL, who thinks I'm such a good cook, almost fell out when I told her I was making the dish for the first time. I had to look up a recipe.
Anyway, I killed the mashed potatoes recipe, if I say so myself. I figure if I have to eat soft foods, they don't have to be bland. For my potatoes, I roasted some garlic cloves to mash into the cooked spuds and added sea salt (just a smidge) lots of butter, some milk, and a bit of cream. Let me tell you what! Either those were some good potatoes or I was just starving. I can't wait til I get my fresh can of Bisto gravy...
So, as far as food while I go through the toothless part of this journey, this is my repertoire:
Cream of Wheat (with cinnamon and brown sugar or honey)
Mashed Potatoes (with or without garlic, gravy, or cheese)
Greek yogurt (with honey or canned pumpkin pie puree, or fruit and/or juice)
Mashed sweet potatoes (with spices and butter)
Smoothies
Ice Cream and sherbets
Lemon & honey water
Water, water, water, water! I can't have sparkling water yet though.
And (hopefully, soon) "flaky soft fish", I heard that might be okay. I'm thinking salmon or cod.
And let's talk about my beloved Java Juice. I was so excited when the dentist gave the okay for me to have coffee. Until I realized that I had to drink it lukewarm. Also, as with any liquid, I can sometimes feel the stitches and that grosses me out. I've had 2 cups in 2 days and I didn't finish either.
My fatigue is worse than usual. That is not totally out of the ordinary though now that I notice I have an infusion coming up soon. I usually feel better after that. Also, I'm not getting my usual coffee boost!
Now that I'm past the first couple of rough days, I noticed that I didn't have a lot of pain. I am tender right under my nose so I have to be careful when blowing my nose. I have some tenderness in the roof of my mouth and I think that is from the shots of novocaine. Other than that, I haven't had to go overboard with the Tylenol.
So things are progressing. I'm just anxious for these icky stitches to finally dissolve away. They are just noticeable enough to be annoying when I am drinking anything. If I had a stronger stomach, I would use some sterilized scissors to trim the loose ones. But that ain't gonna happen!
I will keep updating, of course. For now, I am just thankful that the journey has begun.
Well, I did it - or had it done. I now have no upper teeth. That was on the 5th and today is the 7th.
As happy (and blessed) as I am to be able to get this dental work done, I feel another kind of way about it.
The dentist and his assistant were amazing. I feel zero pain during the extractions. Like that told me beforehand, the shots to numb me would be the only painful thing. Even that wasn't so bad. What amazes me even more is that I now realize that not only did the dentist extract my teeth, but he shaved bone and, - gag - trimmed things...
The whole thing took under an hour. That was the easy part. The hard part was afterward.
I'm someone who has a very sensitive stomach and an intense imagination. That doesn't help when I have to chomp down on gauze to staunch bleeding. Even when the bleeding stopped - which it did after about 7 hours - there are the stitches that I can feel if I accidentally touch them with my tongue. Ugh!
I remember joking about all the weight I would lose once I was no longer eating so many carbs (that are easier to chew). What I didn't realize is that the weight loss starts the day of the extractions!
The days before the extractions, I wasn't very hungry so I had some eggs and some toast with cream cheese and marmalade. On the day of the extractions, I didn't eat anything, just had my morning coffee. My appointment was a little after noon and I'm not a morning eater. I should have eaten. I should have pigged out!
I came home with gauze stuffed in my mouth. I wore a mask because the gauze was so messy and awful-looking. I had to change the gauze every 10 to 15 minutes at least. (Remember my weak stomach? Yeah.)
I couldn't even stand to drink water without gagging. I have to force myself because I have antibiotics and Tylenol to choke down. Ugh. It's better now that the bleeding has stopped.
Today, I drank hibiscus tea with creamed honey and for lunch, I had some Cream of Wheat with Ceylon cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and a little bit of milk. Hot cereal never tasted so good! I think that Cream of Wheat is going to be my main thing for a while.
Apart from that, I mostly slept, changed gauze, gagged (and vomited once), and mourned the loss of my teeth.
Someone online made an interesting statement about having to lose all your teeth. Everyone tries to make it sound like it's such an easy thing to do - doing it is easy, but dealing with it is a different thing. This person made the point that losing your teeth is a sort of amputation. No matter how old you are - I'm 63. It's a pretty big change.
Now, I am not vain. I just want some chompers that I can finally eat with. I want to be able to choose my foods for how good they are for me rather than how easily can my teeth handle them. Also, I'd like to be able to smile again without feeling so self-conscious or to talk with friends without worrying about my gums bleeding. Yeah, that was a real thing.
I have a niece who is a bit younger than I. She had to have implants after an accident. She said that I am going to be so glad to be able to eat and drink things again without worrying about the pain or loose teeth. She said that recovery was challenging but that the end results were worth it. I trust that.
I will try to update as this goes. I have nothing else going on and no energy to do much. I'm awfully tired. Tomorrow I will have coffee for the first time! And I want to see if I can get some chores done around the apartment.
~Folks, I am going to be losing some weight because I am having these 'toofies' of mine taken care of!~
For a long while now, I have been having dental problems. In general, I started having bone problems a while before my Sarcoidosis diagnosis. I cracked a rib sneezing once and didn't think much about it. I was told that it does happen. Once I was diagnosed. my doctors scheduled regular bone density scans - I think it was every other year at first, but I will be having one soon after a three-year lag.
I always told people that my bone and teeth issues were from one of the medicines I take. I was completely wrong. The bone problems are from the sarcoidosis. Aside from every other horrible thing about this disease, it causes bone loss.
My dental issues started over a year after the diagnosis. I cracked a front tooth and had to have a crown put in. The dentist mentioned the bone loss in my jaw and said I would have to think about doing something about it at some point. At the time, all my other teeth seemed okay. Fast forward to about 4 years ago and, yeah, the problem got worse.
At first, my canines were just a little loose. Then some of the teeth on the side got weak. I was at a family barbecue and when I took a bit of meat, I felt one of my bottom side teeth shift and when I released the meat the tooth lifted up a bit. Good Lord!
I slowly started losing teeth until I couldn't even smile at people without wanting to cringe. When I finally saw a dentist, the skies opened and I heard harps. My insurance would cover everything - removals and replacements. I was thrilled for 2 days. Then I got the call that this particular dentist wouldn't be able to treat me because of my sarcoidosis. He worked in a community clinic and was concerned about liability.
That was 2 years ago. I felt like I was being punished or something. Some other people were going to the clinic and having their dental work done. A neighbor of mine had her extractions and dentures done within a few weeks.
I wasn't being punished, I was being blessed. Had I been treated by that first dentist, I might be doing what my neighbor is doing: not wearing her dentures and complaining about the work that was done in her mouth.
As I have learned to do in my older age, I prayed about the situation. I found another dentist but they were a few hours away and I didn't feel good about the practice. Then, one day, my little brother noticed a dental office right down the street from where I live. The practice is well-spoken of around town and the staff was lovely. The dentist is a young dude (I joke that "he's ten!") and happens to be a Christian.
On Wednesday, I'm having all of my upper teeth removed. We are doing things in stages so I have time to heal after each appointment.
I am anxious, excited, nervous, and happy. Thanks to my family, I don't have to worry about anything my insurance doesn't cover. When I tell people I'm blessed, they think I'm just saying it, the way people say "Have a nice day". When I say I'm blessed, I'm giving my testimony.
I will end this now and try to come back to update you on the process.
I tried Good Chop, you guys. Here are the pros and cons of my experience:
PROS:
Sign-up was easy & with LifeMart, I got a good discount of $170 over the first 4 boxes.
It was easy to choose my box size, delivery frequency, and which items I wanted in my box.
The website makes it easy to change the choices for each box.
The website gives detailed information about each type of meat or seafood.
Choices include beef, chicken, pork, and seafood. There were also a few desserts.
The delivery is very controlled to make sure the meat stays frozen until it reaches you.
The box and the packing are all of recyclable materials.
Each meat selection was very securely sealed and labeled.
The website has chat and phone call options for you to contact help.
The delivered box lists the contents on one of the inner flaps (though not the weight or piece count).
For the quality and the healthy aspects of the meats, the price was fair.
You "send a 'free box'" to friends and family via their email addresses. (I sent out 4, I think, and still had more to go.)
CONS:
The website needs work, IMO.
You can only reach help via chat or phone during certain hours.
I did not get a promised tracking number - even after I contacted them about this and was told I would be given a tracking number via email.
The chat reps were very nice but not all that helpful. They don't seem to be that knowledgeable. I got some bad/useless info.
There is no phone app for the service (even though I was told via chat that I would be able to make changes via "mobile").
I could not figure out how to "pause" my service. I ended up deactivating the service (which then put it into "pause" mode. Weird).
The LifeMart discount did not include the free-for-life option (free packet of chicken or bacon for the life of the account).
I had to screenshot my order. There was no other way (that I could see) to keep track of what I'd ordered before the shipment arrived.
Finally, it pays to check this out on Truth in Advertising before making a decision. You will learn more about the Hello Fresh controversy and about those "free for life" chicken wings, so...
What I wish I'd known:
Good Chop is owned by Hello Fresh (and there has been some concerning controversy with them...). You can Google up quite a few articles on the subject.
That the customer service was so... iffy.
That I'd have to "cancel" just to "pause".
That there are quite a few reviews out there - good and otherwise. Of course, everyone's opinion might not seem so legit. (One guy complained about "missing info" on the products when he could have contacted them or Googled the info. Most of the info was right on the website so I'm not sure why he overlooked it.)
I wish I'd known someone who used the service. (This is why I was the guinea pig for my family!)
That's the short take. Despite all the negative aspects, I plan to sign back up for the service when my dental work is finished. Here's why:
I am determined to eat better, even if it means eating less because of my budget.
Every single thing in my box was DELICIOUS. The meat and seafood were gorgeous, filling, and so tasty!
Buying the same meat locally with the same qualities is almost as much as what the box costs. Sometimes, depending on the availability of seafood, the box selection is cheaper. (For instance, jumbo shrimp bought locally is also non-GMO, etc, etc., but it's no larger than what I got in the box. Also, the pink shrimp in the box is wild-caught and has a better taste and texture. (But shout out to Walmart for having a decent selection of jumbo shrimp for around $9/lb.) I priced out similar local selections of what was in my box and it would have cost me around $170. Also, I would have to go to 3 different stores. The sockeye salmon was only available at the butcher's and did not have all the options of what came in my box.
The delivery schedule options are 4, 6, or 8 weeks. You can also skip a box if needed. I would only have to order 1 box about every 12 weeks - versus buying locally. Again, I would have to shop in more than one place to get the same options.
It's convenient to get my different meat types delivered in one box.
I can change my selection from box to box. (Since I will have all my teeth the next time I order, I will probably try the baby back ribs!)
Here are some photos and comments about the box:
This is the opened box, It is well-insulated & all my items were
still frozen rock-solid. I am in Iowa & the box shipped from Kansas.
These are the contents of the box. I got the "medium" box (there is no "small") and it includes 6 items of my choosing: Sockeye Salmon, Florida Pink Shrimp, Uncured Bacon, Mild Italian Sausage, Chicken Wings, and Ground Beef.
This is the bacon. I loved it but will probably only order it in every other box.
It's 12 ounces & cooks up deliciously but not quite as crisp as I like.
This is the ground beef. It is AMAZING. I will be ordering more. It cooked nicely with almost no water noticeable.
The wings are good but I wished I'd gotten more of the winglet than the leglet, if that makes sense. This bag was around 20% leglet, which I could do without.
I am still raving to my brother about the sausage. It did NOT shrink at all during
cooking. They are so plump and juicy that I went through them too fast!
The salmon reminded me of home a little. It didn't take long
to bake and it absorbed the seasonings really well.
You can see that I got some nice cuts. Some didn't look the same
weight but I have a scale. They were pretty even, with some
just bit thicker or thinner than the others.
I've never had this type of shrimp. It
better than any I've had here in Iowa but not as
tasty as some I had in Alaska.
Because they aren't shelled, I had to either thaw & shell them
or cook them shell-on. I found them not to be as
"sweet" as I like & I won't rush to order more.
And this was on top of the contents.
Verdict:
So, yeah, I like it. For future boxes (I'll have my teeth fixed then, the Lord willing), I want to try the scallops, ribs, pork chops, and halibut. I thought about the crab legs but they are fully cooked. At any rate, I am a fan of the box and selections I've tried.
Initially, I thought the price was a bit high. It does seem pricey at the outset, especially for someone on a small budget. However, there are always coupons and discounts. (I see that now there is a promo on the boxes. The smallest box (called "Medium") which is normally $149 ($108 with the LifeMart promo I used) is currently $99. Not bad at all! The most important thing is whether it is worth it to eat more healthfully and I know that it is.
Once I decided to work the box into my budget, I talked it over with my family. My brother, SIL, and my niece and her family considered going in together on the Large box ($269 regularly or $219 with the current promo as I write this). The problem there was choosing meat options! We are all so picky. Going family by family is what we decided on - with me as the guinea pig.
When I was trying to compare shopping locally for everything in the box, it got tricky. For instance, Walmart has a lot of the same things but I would have to hit the butcher's, Hyvee, and Aldi to get the complete list. Also, local availability can be iffy. What I can get this week, might not be available the next time I shop.
Again, I really do like the convenience, the quality, and the selection of products. I cannot wait until all my chompers are in working order! I might eat nothing but meat and hard apples for weeks.
Do I recommend the subscription based on my experience? I can only say that I will definitely be using them again - when I get my chompers! Perhaps someone you know can send you an invite for the "free box".
By the way, I checked with my brother. I gave their email to Good Chop for the "free box". It was free (but they had to pay the $15 or $16 for shipping). They were able to select 3 meat or seafood cuts. I think they chose the chicken wings, ground beef, and bacon. I will try to update this post when they get their box and I hear their feedback.
Peace
--Free
DISCLAIMER: I am not/will not be compensated in any way for this review. I have no affiliation with Good Chop or its parent company except as a paying customer.
I have developed a habit. Whenever I have to be down for a couple of days to recuperate (and I'm not proud of this)... I love watching YouTubers react to TikTok videos. And as a Boomer, I can be so stereotypically critical.
TikTok is so full of self-styled experts on almost everything. One guy talking about space not being real proclaimed himself (with all earnestness) to be an "investigative journalist".
There are the Tokkers (is that what they are?) who talk a lot about UFOs, the Annunaki, and the other "fallen" entities or even underwater worlds; there are the ones who love to look beautiful (or handsome) while they point upwards at someone else's content (one girl's false eyelashes were so huge they could have fanned and cooled a whole house; and then, there are the ones who never fail to annoy me with their constant exclamations of "Y'all", "bro" (or "bruhhhh") and so on. There is one guy who I've come to dislike so much that I can identify him by voice. I can be going into a deep doze, but as soon as I hear his annoying "Y'all. Yawl!" I can't fast-forward past his segment quickly enough.
Not only does the Boomer in me get tired of the Y'all-ing and bro-ing, but I really hate the way Tokkers curse as if they just became grown enough to do so yesterday. I miss a lot of content because I can wear out the L on my keyboard fast-forwarding through all the ridiculous and needless cursing. It's almost as if some people cannot articulate a thought without using some foul word or phrase.
Another thing my inner Boomer hates is the sheer ignorance of some of the Tokkers. I'm not being high-minded here. I know that I am not the brightest person around, but... I have listened to grown Tokkers - some of them at least in their late 20s and older - show a complete lack of knowledge about some very basic things. Some of them don't know about major world events of the last 15 or 25 years. One person was puzzled by some general political history - so general that I have 13-year-old relatives who are aware of the information.
watching some creator "content"
"The strangest thing about the ignorance I've seen is that a lot of the Tokkers (in these examples) claim to be college-educated.
Now - to be clear, when I say I'm not the brightest person around, I'm serious. I remember feeling overwhelmingly embarrassed once when I (as a not-so-young adult) was in the company of some much younger European-educated kids. They knew more about American politics, geography, and even our economic policies than I ever learned about while in school. It was then that I decided to clean up some of my knowledge shortcomings.
I do get secondhand embarrassed for the folks who seem not to have mastered even middle school language skills. It's my opinion that young people (and some of them not so young) are educated by their social media use and have forgotten skills they were taught in school. I have heard content creators string together words in ways that make my brain cringe. Sometimes, they are so confident in their use of bad grammar that I question if they said anything incorrectly!
Anyway.
The other thing I notice about these videos is that it's weird in the first place that someone's content is just them reacting to another content creator. What gets weirder is when the situation multiplies... That's happened more than once. I will be watching YouTuber 1 responding to a video of TikTokker1 who happens to be playing the content of TikTokker 2. It can be like wandering into a digital hall of mirrors.
Of course, while I'm doing all this criticizing, I am subscribed to at least half a dozen of these reaction channels. Sometimes, I do chores while watching them on the television. That's much better than seeing the videos on a smaller computer screen.
One of my favorite things while watching these reaction videos is to keep another tab open on a search site. I will pause the video to go over and Google topics like "Who is Billy Carson and why is he so annoying?" Once, feeling like a complete idiot, I Googled "Was there really a nuclear emergency warning recently?" Yeah, I really did that.
Not all Tokkers are full of crap. Some of them do talk about interesting things. I've seen a couple of Toks (again, is that a thing?) showing feel-good content. One was about a homeless kid who got his life together and is now helping others.
Not all Tokkers are full of crap but a lot of them are sure full of themselves. They like to create new conspiracy theories or inflate old ones. Some of them are just pure entertainers who have a cool schtick. One guy is so personable that I enjoy watching him talk his nonsense.
After all the videos (Toks?) I've watched, I still don't understand the pointy-finger madness...
I point to look... smart???
One day, I'm going to find a reaction video full of Toks that are totally believable. In the meantime, it's going to be my guilty pleasure to hear Tokkers go on ranting about their collective consciousness or some special vibration they follow, and so on. It's not always a bad way to spend some sick time.
Peace
--Free
P.S.: Well, y'all, I hope this post is fairly error-free. It's been a rough weekend. Peace!
First, I have to say that I am not the only one feeling revolutionary over here! LOL. I just discovered a site called Food Revolution. As it happens, it is not my cup of tea since it seems to be profit-driven. However, it's nice to know there are other Hueys out there...
Not too many days after writing this post the first time, I came across a couple of videos that I want to share. I'd seen one a while back and had forgotten. Both of these videos help strengthen my resolve to eat better.
I can only show trailer cuts for this one.
You can see more on the YouTube channel here. The full video can be found at conspryre.TV.
Watching that one makes me wonder if I didn't develop my sarcoidosis because of the foods I was eating. I also wonder if changing my diet will help my condition. I am slowly working toward better/cleaner eating habits so I can't wait to see!
That one also made me mad. The creators have content over at Conspyre also and I saw this video. Had to add to my list of rant-worthy things...
So if I was on a path before - to eat better, even if doing so means eating less because of budget constraints - I am even more determined. I have been feeling too sick, too fat, too unhealthy for too long. As Fannie Lou Hamer put it: I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.
*********
I posted not long ago that "We Need a Food Revolution". The truth is, every man is his own revolutionary. I believe I need to be more careful about what I eat and drink and put on my hair and skin. I believe that my health has been much more impacted by past decisions than I realized.
Sometimes, when I think about this weird autoimmune disease I struggle with, I wonder if it came from things I was eating and drinking. I wonder if years of eating processed foods and drinking beverages with substitute sugars, artificial flavorings, and food coloring just caught up with me. Maybe. Probably.
I am pretty sure that if my lifelong dietary habits were not the cause of the sarcoidosis, it certainly didn't help. Maybe if I'd had a better diet all along, my body could handle the sarcoidosis better.
At any rate, I decided that it's never too late to start doing better. So I started a few months back. My biggest frustration for me has been researching ingredients. The sarcoidosis stilts my brain power sometimes so researching anything is a huge challenge.
I started with the most common things I tend to consume: meat, eggs, bread, coffee, and juice.
Meat:
I am almost ready to give up on all meat. Everything has antibiotics, or are GMO, or are... maybe not even meat at all...
I decided to stick mainly with seafood and eggs for protein. That doesn't mean I gave up bacon or pork sausage, but I do limit those things and I do try to be more careful about sourcing. This is why I am so glad that I found Good Chop (which, my health insurance offers a discount for).
Good Chop is where I can get meat and seafood that is safer and healthier. I don't have to worry about the ingredients. This is what I love about the meat and seafood:
wild-caught or US-farm-raised seafood
US-born/bred meat
no additives, hormones, antibiotics
grass-fed beef
pork that is "fed a 100% vegetarian diet (aside from milk protein)"
In other words, this is meat and seafood the way it should be. When you think about the fact that it is a bit more expensive (not really), it's better to think about what healthcare costs. At least, that's my attitude.
Bread, desserts, beverages:
Bread is my lifelong love. When I was younger, I could live on a bag of Wonderbread and peanut butter. That's when I had a working metabolism! In recent years, I started baking my own bread to control the ingredients. That was great until I started having slight issues. Suddenly, I would bloat if I ate more than a slice of bread. I'd bloat and put on 10 pounds (or so it seemed!). So, I was ready to dang near give it up. But then...
... I randomly heard about bread made with French flour. What I heard was that Americans found it to be less problematic for their diet. Apparently, it didn't cause the uncomfortable bloating. Better yet, it didn't cause as much weight gain. WHAT?
Of course, I needed to see if this was true. I scoured the internet for more information. Then I tried to find some of this flour to use in my own baking. At some point, I will do a post about French flour and its use. For now, just know that there is truth (for me) in the rumors about the bloating and weight gain.
(When I do the post about my trial runs baking with French flour, I'll go into more detail. For now, let me just say that I do prefer the taste and texture of the bread I baked using the flour.)
I'm not as big on dessert as I used to be. I do love the occasional Rhodes cinnamon roll (I am learning to make my own version using French flour), and I like some plain vanilla bean ice cream every now and then. Mostly, these days, I stick to Greek yogurt with honey. I can't wait to learn to make the cinnamon rolls though!
When I want ice cream and don't want to drag out the Ninja Creami, I will buy the Premium vanilla ice cream from Aldi. It has really good ingredients, is affordable, and tastes like sweet clouds of joy.
As for beverages, I do like water and sometimes, I jazz it up by drinking a cold Pellegrino water. When I want a soda - which happens about once or twice every couple of months, I will opt for a "Mexican Coke" (made with cane sugar) or one of the other sodas that use cane sugar and not high fructose corn syrup or some other "bad" sweetener. There is a brand I can find at my corner store called Spring Grove. The brand is from Minnesota (don't ya know?) and is pretty tasty. They are not as expensive as some cane sugar sodas.
The one thing I am still in pursuit of is a coffee creamer that is healthier than the sweet types I love... I will have to keep working on that!
In General:
When I shop now, my goal is to avoid GMOs, antibiotics, lab-grown products, and basically anything unnatural. This is a time when even vegetarians will have to watch where their plant-based foods come from.
When I look at ingredients in consumables, I am really trying to avoid fake sugar, "bad" sugars, colorings, and weird flavorings.
As for my personal budget, when I looked at what the GoodChop box cost me, I realized that because I only get one every 8 weeks (and can skip when I want or need to), I am not spending any more than I was at the grocery stores. Here's what one order looked like.
This is under $110 including S&H (with the discount)
That box will last me for-ever - or at least almost forever. I do know that I am going to need longer than 8 weeks in between boxes.
At any rate, I know that we can't change everything in life all at once, but we have to start somewhere. If you are interested, I suggest you research ingredients. Also, shop around when you do find products you like. Here are some tips from my personal experience:
I got my T55 French flour from Amazon but I do plan to visit the supplier's store (they are a state over from me) to buy some in bulk since the flour there is sometimes up to 40% cheaper that way. See if you have a store near you. I have been using the Francine brand. The T45 flour is a bit cheaper (and I can add some wheat gluten to raise the protein levels). Someone told me that Italian flour is just as good, but I find it costs more than the French brands. BTW, I will explain the different numbers of flour when I do the post on French flour.
Aldi's Simply Nature brand has non-GMO juice that is 100% juice not from concentrate. Best of all, they were affordable - under $5 for 34-ounce bottles. Walmart (and sometimes elsewhere but for a higher price) carries the Antioxidant Solutions brand juice that is as good as the Simply Nature brand. I got a quart of blueberry juice for about $5. Both brands have various flavors or flavor combos.
For condiments, I use Simply Ketchup and recently found a sweet and sour sauce that I like. It has no HFCS, artificial flavors, or dyes. And it's affordable.
Some sodas that don't use HFCS are Stewarts, Spring Grove, "Mexican" Coke, and Pepsi, this Malta beverage (?), Jarrito tends to have a lot of colorants but this one is a bit better, IBC Black Cherry Cola (if you like that) isn't awful-sounding, and Reed's ginger beer sounds amazing... BTW, Jones soda used to be all cane sugar but now they use "invert cane sugar" and I am avoiding that until I know more. I don't like that Jones shows "Cane Sugar" in big letters but the fine print shows invert sugar. and it also has a "modified food starch". Again, what???
If you can't find a product to your liking, look for copycat recipes with healthier ingredients. That's what I did with aioli sauce when I was making pizza.
Just read the ingredients. If you don't know what an ingredient is, look for a definition.
Find a list of sneaky names for ingredients. Salt and sugar have all kinds of names for them.
Watch for your personal health. What's "healthy" for one person might not be for another. For instance, there are many healthy things that I have to watch out for. One example is greens (collards and spinach for two). I can't have all the collards or spinach I want because I have CKD.
This is my first loaf of bread made with T55 flour:
My SIL says it was "like manna"
Anyway, I hope this was somewhat interesting and perhaps helpful. I am NOT a professional and have no training in diet, nutrition, or medicine of any kind. Do your own research. Talk with your care team. And just try to be a little healthier today than you were yesterday.
Peace
--Free
P.S.: Forgive any sloppiness with grammar or typing. It's been a rough week and I threw this post together as quick as I could before I get too tired. - Peace
DISCLAIMER: I was not and will not be compensated in any way for anything mentioned in this post. I have no medical trainer nor am I qualified in any way to advise on diet and nutrition. This post is about my personal experiences.
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