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The blue awareness ribbon honors those people dealing with different illnesses such as M.E. (myalgic encephalomyelitis), CFS, colon cancer, arthritis, Dysautonomia, Huntington's Disease, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and of course, such organizations as Police officers lost in the line of duty.
I started making the support watches because I was trying to raise money for research for the Whittemore Peterson Institute . The WPI is committed to doing research to find treatments and/or cures for a lot of the above illnesses. To raise money, I gave away a free blue ribbon watch to anyone who donated $50.00 to WPI, or did a birthday wish which raised $250.00 for the WPI. Why did I do this??? I was trying to encourage people to donate to research, because another patient organization was pulling money away from donations for research and the WPI by soliciting donations for an ad campaign featuring xmrv and ME/CFS (and this ad campaign did not work). This other patient organization was trying to force the government to act by using a name which does not have a id case definition in the ICD- 9-CM US and a retrovirus which has not been proven to be the cause of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) or CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). Anyone who's been watching this whole saga KNOWS that you cannot force the government to do anything, much less force them to acknowledge an illness without an id code.
I brought a lot of materials up with me from Fla. I brought no furniture, but I did bring a all of my supplies for the business with me. The watch faces themselves were usually paid for by other patients advocates (Vera Swofford, Deb Bradshaw, Janet Suggs Jo Ann Cardogan, Barbara Kell, Malcolm Eaves to name a few )
This blue ribbon watch is made with labradorite and blue topaz chips with Swarovski spacers, and another one is done with Lapis. It is really a classy watch, and I hope it does what I set out for it to do, which is honoring those suffering with any of the above conditions. It can be found at the store
The price has gone up because now I have used all the supplies necessary to make this watch and have to buy chips, spacers, and clasps.
You can also find me on facebook....Earthslittletreasures on facebook also has a shop button on the left.
We are trying to raise money for research and the WPI has entered the Vivint contest..Just click on this Vivint link and it will take you to the WPI page...you will have to like the page, and then click on login in the middle of the page, and then scroll down to the bottom and click on Vote...voting is everyday and it would help the WPI in getting research dollars, so that we all might have a chance at being productive members of society, instead of drains on society.
We have closed the Ebay store. Their fees have become too steep.
We still have our regular store and have made some new things for the 4th of July weekend here in Alaska. We have some really nice herkimer diamond necklaces and earrings set in Sterling Silver, and know that they will sell fast. The metaphysical properties of the herkimer diamond (good for the immune system and great for dreaming, plus gives one a lift in their spirits) will attract those in need of healing. Herkimer Diamonds have the clarity of diamonds, the hardness of diamonds, without the price of diamonds.
The weather is beautiful here in Alaska now. Makes one grateful for every day. We have cleansed our crystals in the ocean here, and they really feel powerful. I wear several myself, as the CFIDS keeps me on my toes.
We have also created the bear and owl necklace. It is 24 in long and has adventurine, malachite, pink quartz, rhodochrosite, and emerald chips with 4 bears and 4 owls, and a 14k gold filled magnetic clasp..
The frog necklace is made with amethyst, malachite, and adventurine chips and has 4 frogs in different colors..metaphsically takes care of the mental, physical, and spiritual bodies.
I have been watching the CFIDS blog, and one thing I really notice is how many people are really upset about losing the life that they knew. I understand that feeling, as I have been dealing with M.E. ( which has been miss labeled by the CDC as CFS and CFIDS by the CFIDS ASSOCIATION of AMERICA) for twenty-seven years. But I for one, can't decide whether this challenge has been a blessing or a curse.
I started out getting married to a truck driver, and spending 10 years on the road as a bedbug hauler, driving an 18 wheeler. For the first year, my husband and I would change seats after he had gotten the truck up to the 13th gear, and then we would switch. Then he would climb back in the cab and go to sleep. For that first year, all I knew how to do was to stop the truck, so I always drove in 13th gear. It makes it kinda hairy going down mountains that way. I made him teach me the rest of the gears after that first year.
I managed to have 4 children, 2 of which died a few hours after birth, before I became ill. I became ill while on a run in Nevada, Lake Tahoo, in 1984, and that was the last trip I took in that 18 wheeler. But who's to say that's a curse...I never wanted to drive a truck for the rest of my life.
After I passed that first crisis with M.E., I went back to school and became a hypnotherapist, while studying hand-writing analysis, which took me 18 months to finish.
A year after that I had another big crash, where I then had to learn to walk and talk again. This is exactly where the crystals came in. And M.E. was a curse at this time, because I really liked what I was doing. But I did misuse it as I used self-hypnosis to get rid of pain (which really worked by the way) . It worked so well that I went into the beginning stages of renal failure. But did I stop then? NO, I pushed it until I couldn't walk or talk...and I was in my early thirties. So maybe, the M.E. was a blessing even then, as I had never learned limitations in anything. I managed to climb out of that one, and taught myself how to form sentences again by typing sentences from books, so that I would know how the words formed together to make a sentence. I did everything right, no smoking, no drinking, no sugar, no anything. Nothing was getting me out of that bed.
Then came my crystal, and I have already told that story.
My husband got the DUI that sent him to prison, and left me with 2 kids, 1 beat up old truck, and $25.00. I had to do something, so I became the only person in the United States to hold 5 packing contracts with different moving companies. It was unusual because major moving companies do not hand out packing contracts to you if you work for another agency. But thankfully, being an independent contractor meant that you had to show work from different companies, according to the IRS, and I pushed it with the companies. They each thought I would fail in the first part of the season and that would end the problem. And it could have failed, as I lied when I said I had the people to do the jobs. I remember sitting in the manager's offices, and shaking like a leaf, I was so scared. My face was twitching. But I pulled it off (its amazing what desperation will do for you) Once I got the contracts, I then had to train people to pack up the belongings in people's houses without breaking anything. I would answer the phone naked because i would drag myself out of bed to take the jobs for the following day. Its a good thing all I was doing was setting up the jobs, as I feel that people would frown on anyone coming out to the job site naked!
My son and his girlfriend were a great help in this area, even though they were only 16.
You do what you have to do when you have to have a place to eat and a place to live. The only problem with that attitude is that with M.E., sooner or later you are gonna crash.
I started having symptoms, and went to a doctor who put me on interfon treatments for 9 months. Now, having M.E. means you already have a cranked up immune system, and interfon cranks up the immune system even more. So guess what happen...well, you know what happened...But this time when I crashed I had enough money saved up until my husband came back home. Took me another 2 years to climb out of that one. Did I want to have a packing company for the rest of my life? No...I would have worked myself into the grave because I still hadn't learned my lesson. So, I guess we could say blessing again.
This is only the first part of the story, but I am tired now, and I have learned my lesson. I am going to stop writing, and finish another day. I posted some pics of the Seward waterfall on my facebook page.
Also, I am going to include a link to the store
Ya-Who, my cousin Lisa is starting to walk several blocks a day with her cane, and she is getting stronger every day, which is a good thing for me, because my M.E. is starting to let me know that I need to slow down. We have a 4th of July event coming up, and we need to make some more jewelry and soaps for it. We have a new mold, which we are sure the people here will like, as it is a bunny waving around a hockey stick. We are going to hand-paint the Alaska team colors ....should be really cute, and is as big as our Florida gator soaps. We also have some moose and bear molds to make up, and some firemen molds (for my son, the volunteer fireman)
I will have to rest a bit as I have been doing all the housework and heavy work for months now. The M.E. has reared up, and I am only sleeping in 2 hr intervals. I have noticed that the muscle pain just will not let up, and the head-aches have come back. I do have the strangest symptoms, as the lower half of my body gets very cold while the top half gets hot. I take about 10 baths a day for the lower half, and it is just starting to warm up here so I haven't had much of a problem with the upper half of my body. I am so thankful that I moved to Alaska, as it will not get much hotter than it is now, which for me will be good. Lisa is a Florida gal, however, and she sometimes misses the heat.
The plus side is that now I don't have to explain anything to anybody. I don't have to justify staying in bed if I need to. I don't have to apologize if I have to cancel on something I had agreed to do. This has been a great help in reducing the stress of this illness. I am hoping to build up enough energy after the craft fair to go traveling, and you know I will post pics!
I have added a following button to the site, although I am sure I am just talking to myself. Lisa gets a kick out of listening to me talking and answering myself...she just laughs and laughs.
I will post a pic of our little bunny hockey player soaps when we get them made and painted on the blog, and list them in the store.
For twenty five years I have dealt with Chronic Fatigue Immune Dsyfunction Syndrome, and for most of that time, it has tossed me this way and that, regardless of where I wanted to go. At least, that's what I thought...I thought I had no control over this disease that had taken control of my life.
However, a lot has changed since I first became ill. Good news is that I no longer deal with issues such as a fluttering heart beat, or my heart stopping for a beat; no longer have nights sweats. My blood pressure no longer drops all a sudden, sending me into a shivering mess.
My organs no longer get so cold I could tell you where each of them was, because they felt like blocks of ice inside my body. I no longer feel as if my head is going to drop off my neck. When I tell my eyes to open they do. When I tell myself to get out of bed, I can.
Two summers ago, I had managed to swim 100 laps in the pool a day. Did I do it all at once? No. I swam first 5 laps, then increased it till I could do 20 laps. Then I did 20 laps 5 time a day.
Last summer, I managed the 6000 mile trip from Fla to Alaska, then managed to get moved into a place here in Seward. I don't know anyone in Seward, and only one friend in Anchorage.
I planned this trip 8 years ago. Took me a while, but I got here.
I had to give up a lot of things to get to the place I am at now. First, my views on spirituality. I was raised a Mormon, and have 300 relatives who are Mormons. I had many blessings from Mormons for this illness. Didn't help. In fact, for me, I had to explore alternative spiritual practices in order to not succumb to the despair and depression caused by this illness. I explored a lot of things, including crystals and stones,
and Native American spiritual practices, (which I really like).
I gave up doctors also. Ten years ago a doctor told me I would be dead within the year. Last time I went to a doctor. Now I listen to my body; when it tells me to rest, I rest. If I don't want to do something, I don't. Unless it's really important to me to do, and then I accept the consequences of pushing past my limits. I know that I will be in bed until I replace the extra energy used. I've learned not to whine about my inability to do what other people can do. I do what I can do, and that's enough for me.
Crystals and stones really worked for me somehow. I was a real hard core case against these very objects when well, but one of my friends gave me one as I lay there in my bed.
I would stare at it, and it was like it gave me energy to focus my thoughts somehow. Crystals led me into a whole new area that I never would have explored had I been well. My mind was just too closed.
And this may sound strange, but somehow I am grateful for the path that CFIDS has led me to. I used to have no patience for sick people...I do now! I found that I could make some really beautiful things using crystals and stones, and it felt good while I was doing it. I could do it in bed if I needed too. I would never have found this talent for creating jewelry, had I not gotten sick. I am an Aries, we don't like to sit still...we like to be doing anything physical. I have found that I have other talents I never would have found otherwise.
And frankly, I've met some truly wonderful people on this part of my journey that I never would have met had I not had this illness. Call me a sucker, but I am grateful for that.
I like my life. No, I don't do everything the way that I did them before. But I still get whatever job I decide to tackle...I get it done. Maybe not as fast as other people. I do get it done my way tho.
The sun is shining and Lisa and I got out and took more pics. We mainly took pics of the things that tourists do in Seward, because we had already sent photos of the "real Seward". There were a few pics of the real Seward that we didn't get, such as the hospital, which we should have included so as to assure Lisa's family members that we have all the ameneties of a real town, but we forgot to take a pic of the hospital.
We also did not take a pic of our favorite restaurant...for a reason. You can smoke in the restaurant. We are not including the name as we fear the "Nazi" non-smokers will get their butts in an uproar and try to change it. Non-smokers are politely informed that this restaurant is a smoking establishment, and whining about the smoking is not permitted.
If a non-smoker insists on whining, they are given a list of non-smoking restaurants in the area and politely shown the door. A friend and I were discussing the smoking situation and we are sure the government is going to try to make smoking illegal. Now, the government tried to this with drinking, and look how far that got them. But they just might pull off making smoking illegal.
So what would be next...maybe fat people would be illegal. But how would you regulate that? My friend came up with this suggestion...the government could put scales at all restaurants, and if you weighed more than a determined amount, you would either be prohibited from buying certain foods, or paying more for foods not on your recommended diet list. (I think the government would like this option, as they do seem to like to profit from the weakness of others). If all fails, the third strike rule could be used against the overweight person, and they could end up in jail. And who is the government? Oh yeah, we are. We elect these people. The government is a reflection of our people as a society.
That's why I like Alaska. It is a third the size of the United States, and there are still many places in the state not controlled by the "government". The people of the town rules what happens. And you can always find a town which resonates with you.
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