Juggling life through a bi-polar lens. Sometimes up, sometimes down. Mostly trying to tread water in the middle. Creating a likeness to a normal life. Whatever "normal" is...

Thursday 26 May 2011

All different cards....

I posted earlier today about how I've been doing head-wise and stuff, so scroll down if you're up to the heavier stuff!!! Meanwhile, here are some cards that I've made for people over the last month.....

This first one is a birthday card for Luvbug's mum, Oonagh. She's a lovely lady and always makes me giggle......




This is a First Holy Communion card for Luvbug's niece, Yolanda. (The exotic name is because her daddy is from Nicaragua!)

I really enjoyed doing some embroidery again. I took a pattern from an old book on blackwork embroidery and turned it into a cross....



Something completely different next, for the Confirmation of one of Luvbug's nephews....

 Now a Dufex decoupage card. I've seen Dufex for sale on a craft channel on TV and it's true what they say- you really don't get to see the depth of the engraving unless you see it in real life!

As this was a peachy coloured cat, I sent it to Miss Peach. I was very happy when I heard that she loved it :)

 Another Dufex decoupage puss-cat went to Yolanda, for her birthday:

 Lastly, here is another decoupage birthday card, for my friend Josephine's mum. I've known Jo since we were 8 years old!
Decoupage has its critics, but I find it so relaxing to do. This last card is my favourite. It has 6 different layers of coloured card/paper and 5 layers in the flowers which doesn't really show in this photo... Luckily, Jo paid us a visit on Sunday so she was able to take it with her to deliver in person this weekend. I was worried it would get so squished in the post!!!

I think I'll do a bit more sewing. I enjoyed that......

Bye for now!



Visiting the depths again!!

Oh boy, I've left it weeks again! I keep forgetting to get online, and then most evenings, I am soooo tired, I just want to sprawl in front of the TV once we've dropped Mum off home.

I think it's partly a side effect of the pregabalin I was prescribed in January. I does knock me out. Another bad side effect: I've gained another stone (14lb). I wasn't warned this could happen and it really got me down. It went on in just 3 weeks and now I can't shift it. Go to Google and type in "pregabalin weight gain" and you'll get pages and pages of stuff; research, forums, drugs sites, all saying it makes you gain weight. Normally I'd have looked it up before taking it, but I was in such a bad way in January, I just wanted anything that would help so I just took it.

Mum's on it too. It can be prescribed for anxiety (me), pain, and seizures (mum). Guess what? She's put on over a stone too!! She needed to gain *some* weight, but now even she is gaining too much.

You go to the doctor and they just shrug, like it's so unimportant compared to what it's treating. But it *is* important, isn't it? It affects your fitness and you feel about yourself.

I've been keeping a food diary and also a log of my activity, to see if I get enough 'exercise'. I've got my bike out again and I'm walking a bit more. All this isn't always possible if you're feeling completely bushed though!

Let me know if you have any weight loss tips!!!!!

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Head-wise, I hit rock bottom a few weeks ago. One night I was crying so badly I went into an asthma attack which was quite scary and I was coughing for a few days afterwards.

I hadn't been as low as I was that day for a very long time and I really didn't want to hang on, but told myself I had to hang on for Luvbug, and Mum, and my gorgeous Scooter-cat, too.

It occurred to me- and sorry if this causes offence- but it occurred to me that dying for someone else is easy in comparison to living for them, once you are in so much pain inside you can't bear to go on otherwise. To carry on for someone else's sake alone can feel a lot harder than dying when you are down in that abyss.


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I've managed to do some cards for people but I'll put them in separate post so people don't have to visit this depressing stuff if they don't want to! LOL