Hello, friends....I thought I'd pop in with a little update for you, and since it's nearly March, thought I'd share a few February favorites with you!
First, an update....We're back home from Mayo Clinic and I've been recovering from surgery. Mayo has determined that my small intestine isn't working properly....it's a very big problem, but it's also super rare and therefore very hard to treat. They believe I'd likely be a candidate for a small intestine transplant, but it's such a new procedure, they don't even do it at Mayo yet so we'll have to travel to meet with the doctors who specialize in that surgery, at some point.
As it turns out, the 'small' surgery I had while I was there, ended up being a much bigger deal than we'd anticipated. We knew going in that the surgery wasn't going to solve anything, but they were hopeful that it would help me to be a bit more comfortable. Since we got home, I've continued to be sick while recovering from surgery at the same time, and in the process, have also gotten an infection at the surgery site on my stomach. AND, to top things off, I had a weird puke episode that has resulted in temporary hearing loss in my left ear. The ER doc called in an ENT because he was a bit baffled, and the ENT said it could take up to three weeks for my hearing to return. When it rains, it pours. ;)
So, the last couple of weeks have been hard ones to say the least. Thank goodness for my wonderful hubby who always takes such great care of me, my mom who came to stay for a bit to help out, and lots of friends and family who have been bringing meals and such, to help out while I'm recovering. We're so grateful! Thank goodness, too, that God has been carrying us through this tough time. I know that even though things are hard, He's been blessing us in so many ways and has comforted my heart and mind more times than I can count. Every time I want to be frustrated or discouraged, He's been there to help me adjust my attitude to where it needs to be. He never promised us that life would be easy, but He did promise that He'd never leave us or forsake us, and I'm so grateful to have been able to rely on that -- on HIM -- through all of this.
Thank you to all of you, for all of the encouragement you've sent via email and snail mail and instagram and twitter! I appreciate it more than you know and would be so appreciative of your continued prayers that all of these issues will start to improve soon! I'm trying to slowly get back in the swing of things. Tomorrow, I'll have some cards to share, for the Senior Design Team challenge, so I hope you'll stop back by!
In the meantime, here are some things I've been loving this month....
The first item is actually a website that I wanted to recommend to you. Gals at our church have been using it for a few years now, whenever someone has a baby or a surgery or whatever. It's takethemameal.com and it's a really great website that allows you to email out a meal schedule to family and friends who can then sign up to take them a meal, if they'd like to help out. You can set up the schedule for just a few days a week for a few weeks or more often, depending on the recipient's preferences and needs and you can list any food allergies or restrictions, what time the family would prefer the meals to be delivered, their contact info, etc. Just email the link to whoever might be interested in taking a meal, and they can simply choose the date they want to drop a meal off to their friend, and even say what meal they'll be taking so the recipient doesn't end up with duplicate meals! I've signed up to deliver meals to others before, but this is our first time to be on the receiving end, and I have to say, it really is so wonderful, when you're needing a bit of help....and this website makes it a cinch to keep everyone organized and on the same page! It even sends out reminder emails, so no one forgets what they signed up for! File this one away in your memory bank, next time someone has a baby or has surgery or the like, and you want to help them out! Never underestimate the power of a meal, when someone is sick or recovering! It's been such a blessing to us!
Next up, is this gorgeous pair of floral lounge-y pants from Anthropologie. These were given to me for Christmas and I have to say they are the softest, coziest pants ever! And not only are they so comfy, but they're so pretty which is a plus when you're feeling like crud and people are stopping by to drop off meals and such! So nice to feel like you're at least a bit presentable. ;) Never underestimate the gift of a great pair of pretty, lounge-y pants! Haha.
Next up is the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer, which I've recently started using and really like. It's great for brightening up that under-eye area, particularly on days when you haven't had enough sleep or ohhh, you know.....when you feel kinda cruddy but you want to look a little better than you feel. I have some experience with this recently! Haha. I wear the shade Light, if that helps you to determine your shade at all. It goes on pretty wet, but I pat it in with my ring finger and then set it with a powder over top.
I recently got some goodies from Makeup Geek, including some eye shadow pans and a blush pan. They're in the little metallic pans, so I needed something to put them in, and that's how I ended up buying these Z Palettes. I got the large black palette and the small black palette. I haven't begun to fill the large one yet, because everything I ordered will currently fit in the small one, but I'm planning to order some more shadows, so I planned ahead and got the bigger palette so I'm ready to go! I will say the smaller palette is great for travel.....I have 5 eye shadows and a blush in mine currently, and it's just right for packing along on a trip. The palette has a magnetic bottom, so the pans just pop in place but can be moved around whenever you want to. Very handy! I got mine at Amazon because they were less money that what Makeup Geek was selling them for.
Ok, I'm off for now.....I feel my cushy rocker calling my name. :) As always, let me know in the comments section if you have a favorite to share! And let me know, too, if you like these types of posts! If you do, I'll try to keep them coming for you!
Chat with you tomorrow, friends!
xo,
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