MdDS Update and New Projects

I know, I know... it's been too long! Well let me catch you up. In early December I had another recurrence. Most of my days were 3-4, sometimes 5-6. Needless to say, anytime in front of the computer doesn't help much. I did my usual stint of upping my vitamin D, and found something new. I'm sure many of you out there in cyber world have heard of the Whole30 diet? Well in case you haven't I recommend checking out YouTube.  In a nutshell, its super, severely strict Paleo. I followed it to the letter for a full 60 days, not just 30. I was late in the game, but attribute it to one of the things that helped put me back in remission. Yes, just one of the things. The other is all the walking I started doing when I got my new puppy in February. 

Isn't she just the cutest?!!!

Towards the end of April, was the last day I remember having any symptoms. I remember the exact last moment I felt any real symptoms. I was at a Business Boutique Conference and they had some flashing lights on stage that made me a bit fuzzy, but I looked away and covered my eyes for a moment and then felt fine. Don't get me wrong, my symptoms had started diminishing over the past few weeks, where I'd go a few hours without really noticing any movement, but then at night it always seemed to be somewhat present. Then after that day really nothing other than the occasional light-headedness that I usually get from sinus issues.  Honestly, after that conference I was feeling so inspired and positive, it was hard to not feel great!

Christy Wright and Dave Ramsey on stage at Business Boutique Conference 

As for the "new" projects, I'm still attempting to keep up with my painting group. This year I've only managed to complete one project thanks to my symptoms.  This beautiful zentangled piece designed by Golda Rader. "1958 Prom Dress".

Sewing projects... I've gotten only a few done, and not the ones I should be working on...

 



A princess dress for my niece Lulu...

 and one for niece P.J.











They turned out pretty cute and the girls loved them... just in time for Easter.  BUT I still have a wedding dress that needs a makeover. I've been procrastinating thanks in part to my mind going a million miles a minute thinking about all the other things I want to do..... ah... there's the A.D.D!!! hahaha!
But wait... SQUIRREL!!! Here's another new hobby I've been working on since last year...

There's more, but if you want to see them, you'll have to wait till I get them into my Etsy shop! Hopefully that will be soon. I'll keep you  all posted!  <3 umbrellagirl!

New Projects

In the painting and sewing world I'm sure we all have a "dead" zone. You know the projects that are just sitting there waiting to be completed. They pile up fast due to boredom, needing more time, space, supplies, or just life. It happens. The pile up at my house is starting to grate on me though, so I'm devising a plan to get some of my old projects completed.

For Painting:
First, while I plan to continue my membership with the Decorative Painting Society and my local chapters, I'm going to be very choosy on any new projects they offer. What I mean by that is I'm going to only choose items that I really want to do, not just for the sake of doing them for my portfolio.
Second, one of the requirements I plan to require of myself is, it has to be a project that can be completed in a timely manner (90% during the class not including prep time) and when it is finished have a plan for it.... ie "gift" it away.
Third, set aside a few hours per week to just paint and complete some of my older projects. For me this time period will be on one day per week. Wednesday sounds good. Yep, Wednesdays.

Here's a recent project I completed:

This lovely little galvanized watering can was purchased at Ikea. Pattern from Gigi Wright "Sitting Pretty" in The Decorative Painter Issue No. 2, 2013.



For Sewing: 
My biggest problem for sewing is space. I cut my patterns on my self healing mat on the floor. Sad. I've done it at the dining table, but I'm tired of the table always looking cluttered. I've got some space scoped out I could do it in, if I could get rid of a z-rack of wedding dresses. Time for some deep discounting.  In the meantime, the dining table may have to do.
Seriously, I'd love to be sewing a bit everyday. Actual sewing. Prepping patterns and cutting are the bane of my sewing existence. A necessary evil I guess. That in mind, my plan is to spend at least an hour a day, four days a week just working on sewing and design. Most likely it will be more often, as I'm hoping to make this a future source of income. (My own designs of course!)

Here's a project finished for my little niece, P.J. It's completely lined!!!! <3 <3 <3

Pattern Butterick 3762

Remission

MdDS is a curious thing. A full blown episode can completely debilitate you. Don't get me wrong, there are good days and bad. Hours that are okay and some that just are not. This past episode again lasted about 5 months. I'm happy to report I'm in remission again, but its not what you think. Let me explain....Just because I'm in remission doesn't mean that I feel "normal". There are still days I feel unbalanced. It isn't rocking or swaying, but little moments that I feel a kind of heaviness in my head, a moment of unbalance, or forgetfulness. These seem more apparent when confronted with stress and sometimes even the weather can affect it. Overall though there is no rocking, swaying, or bobbing. This is a good thing.

Now the question.... How? How did I go back into remission again? Well to be honest I think it maybe a combination of things. First, I quit my job. Yes, this was the biggest stress in my life. I know not everyone can just do this. Fortunately I have a wonderful husband who has made it work. Now I haven't completely given up working, but I'm concentrating on my hobbies and creating "some" income. "Some" is in quotes because it is very irregular and not anywhere near what I was bringing in to our family. Someday I hope it will blossom into much more.

Second, I started taking more supplements and eating more whole foods, less grains and sugars. Specifically, I take 6000-8000 iUs of vitamin D3 per day, 200-600mg of chelated Magnesium glycinate, a vitamin B complex sublingual, and a multivitamin. Also, I started juicing a few times per week. Ah, the benefits of Kale and Spinach! Now I know what you are thinking.... that's a lot of Magnesium!!! Yes, it can be, hence the range. Back off when the need arises. Also, taking it at night seems to help with sleep and cramping muscles.

Third, Chiropractic Care. Twice a month, now once a month, I see my chiropractor Dr. B. This man has helped me more than any other healthcare professional! He's offered ideas and suggestions to help me cope and reset my body. As long as I listen and follow it has seemed to help. The adjustments aren't too bad either.... haha! Seriously, Dr. B is kind, concerned, and really cares about his patients.

Lastly, but most importantly, Exercise! Walking, even if its for a few minutes a day outside. Stretch! Everyday, as soon as you get up, or take a class that focuses specifically on stretching. I'm not afraid to admit  I did this and it was mainly with a Seniors group, but hey, whatever helps!!! Gardening is great exercise. Specifically I exercise Organic Gardening.  I could spend 15 minutes to several hours several times a week doing this. I think this helps with balance and vision. Looking at things near and far. Plus, getting your hands dirty is actually healthy!!! The best part is I get to eat what I grow, and I know what's going into my body! Check out some of the pictures of my square foot gardens under the "Gardening Adventures" tab!!! Seriously though, anything that gets you moving and using your eyes and brain together helps. There are some studies that say MdDS is related to the  Vestibulo-Ocular reflex (VOR).  Readaptation of the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex Relieves the Mal De Debarquement Syndrome
and
Dizziness and Balance  and New Treatment Successful for Rare and Disabling Movement Disorder, the Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS)

MdDS, I pray you stay away for good this time! For other sufferers out there, I pray you will have relief, and we will all have a permanent cure/treatment soon! 

What's in the Garden March 2016

 Winter is finally just about over, but it's already spring here in Texas. Our raised beds will hopefully be completely filled out and productive this year! Currently we are in Zone 8b. Here are a few pictures of what we have going on in our raised beds. 

This Lavender was planted last summer. Now it is starting to bloom!

These Cabbages I started from seed in January... Nice heads. Also planted some Romaine seeds. Both were started indoors. Supposedly Romaine doesn't do well in Texas, but this is looking super! The back of the bed are some Curly Kale bought as transplants from my local organic gardening nursery.

These Cabbages were transplants. They are healthy, but not as big as the ones I started from seed myself.  The little green plant next to the Cabbage on the left is Oregano. In the back is Dinosaur Kale, also from transplants... those are doing well, and have already been harvested a few times this year. The seedlings in the front of the bed are Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans I planted about 2 weeks ago. I also planted some French Filet Bush Beans to the left of the bamboo stick, but they still haven't popped up.

This bed has some Red Cabbage, bought as transplants, along with some Turnips, Mustard Greens, and Broccoli. The Broccoli will have to come out. It didn't produce and its already getting to warm to do anything. On the left are a few Onions and the seedlings in the front of the box and behind the Onions are Beets (Ruby Queen, I think). The beets in the front were started mid February, and the ones behind the Onions about 2 weeks after.

These two Green Globe Artichoke Crown transplants have really started to take off!!! I positively love Artichokes, so I'm hoping they will be good producers. To the right of these are a few Lavender Plants. No blooms on these yet though.

Here are a few Texas Sweet Onions, bought from the nursery.  A few didn't make it, but overall I'm pleased with the results. This bed also has a Sage plant on the front left and a Dill just behind it.

Here are a few Garlic bulbs I planted, courtesy of HEB! The rest of this bed is empty for now, but hopefully next week will have a few Roma Tomato Plants in it as well.

Just some lonely Leeks... these will be the last in this bed. We are changing its location!  The bed behind it unfortunately is full of weeds and falling apart after several good years of use, so it will be going to the burn pile.

MdDS rears its ugly head...

Almost 2 years of feeling "normal", and then, the last few weeks of January, my allergies kicked up. Those imbalanced feelings only started getting stronger. I verified with my PCP that this was indeed a re-occurrence. (I was hoping the Mal de Debarquement was nothing but a distant memory.) No such luck.
This time is a little different though. I don't have a constant pulling sensation on one side of my body. Now its more of a swaying and bobbing sensation. Its irritating. It always seems like I have this low-grade headache. Concentration and short term memory seem to be out the window, and most days I think "how much longer can I deal with this?".  I try to remind myself that there are so many worse things I could be dealing with than MdDS. It is a struggle though, and I wish I would just hurry up and go back into remission and stay there.
I've tried eating Primal again. Sometimes it really sucks. Its hard to plan meals, and I really miss freezer pizza and other "easy" meals. It's also back to chiropractic care, and next month I'll probably start up acupuncture again, but  I just need to plan it for a day that I can take those "flu" like symptoms for the first session. I'm trying everything I did before. Eating a primal diet, vestibular/ eye exercises, and even the supplements.
Speaking of supplements, one of the forums I belong to mentioned passionflower to use instead of a benzo. I only used benzos (Diazepam) in the very beginning the first time around. I'm not sure how much it helped except the first few days. Besides I'm really not much on traditional pharmaceuticals. Many people said passionflower really helped when they were having a "bad" day with extreme symptoms, or traveling. Maybe I'll have to check it out. 
In another forum I belong to, someone said essential oils were helping her symptoms. Ginger, Basil, and Frankincense. I already belong to Young Living oils thanks to my Mother-In-Law, so I immediately jumped on that band wagon and ordered them up. Again, I think it helped initially, but now I'm not sure its doing anything for me.
Work takes on a whole new meaning for me now. I like my job mostly as far as jobs go, but its a catch22. The lighting definitely doesn't help my headaches, its moderately stressful, but it keeps me busy and sometimes so busy that I don't feel my symptoms as much.
Most of my days are 3-4 days or 5-6 depending on stress levels, and what I eat. (Low inflammation seems better.) Often I have a low grade headache even though my symptoms are low. Bad days are a 7-8 and I have had a few of those, but generally the 7-8 only lasts for a few hours, and mostly occur first thing in the morning or at night when I get home from work. Only one day that was for sure a 10. It literally woke me up! I had a dream that started out as feeling like I was in an earthquake and suddenly turned into a tornado. I woke up and everything was rocking and bobbing violently. It felt worse than the 15ft swells from the reminisce of Hurricane Sandy in the back dining hall of the cruise ship that I got this from being on. This one lasted for about 5-6 hours.
Finding a cure would be fabulous and everyone of us who have it are praying it happens soon, but since very little is known about Mal de Debarquement, there aren't that many researchers studying it. Most Doctors have never even heard of it before. There are "treatments" at Mt. Sinai, but it hasn't worked out for everyone... and supposedly there is still danger of re-occurrence. I wish I knew what caused it exactly... and why is it mostly women? They say it isn't hormone related. Sure seems like that must have something to do with it. Maybe if we knew what cause it, it could be prevented or even cured. For now, I know I just have to live with it, but if I could manage the symptom so all of my days were 1-2 or 3-4. It sure would be nice to have some normalcy back.

If you would like to know more about MdDS (Mal de Debarquement) please click the link below.
MdDS Foundation

Bata de Cola

For the past few weeks, I've been working on a BIG project.
I was invited to join a group of Flamenco dancers from Flamencura, at the Austin School of Fashion Design to design my own Bata de Cola skirt. The basics of the skirt are similar to wedding dress design.

How could I say no to that???

With the help of the instructor, I found these lovely fabrics at JoAnn's. The pink daisy fabric also comes in white with yellow or navy, so I think I'll be making another. We used the pattern ordered online at flamencodressmaking.com. to sew up the basic skirt, but changed many aspects of the actual instructions as you'll see if you follow along. This project was time consuming and gave me a real eye opener to the amount of time that goes into an actual wedding gown. (I know hundreds of hours sometimes.) I think I spent about 45 hours or more on this. Of course the second time around will probably go faster. 

Here's the basic skirt sewn up with zipper attached...

 Next come ruffles....

 

 Starting to look more formal...

 You can't tell very well from the above picture, but I did chalk the lines for ruffle placement.

But wait... I don't think that's quite enough ruffles you say???

How about now?
This looks pretty good, but there's still the under ruffles to contend with to give the Bata that lift and heaviness for movement while throwing the skirt around with your feet....so MORE RUFFLES!!!

Using the seam from the underside of the skirt I tacked these stiff ruffles in between the lines. You can also see where I surged the lining to each of the upper parts of the skirt... you don't line the whole skirt, because that makes it too slippery against the body... specifically the legs. You need to be able to move the skirt with your legs and feet.

 Here's what it looks like from the right side All fluffed from underneath. 

 

Next just finish up the waist facing. Add a few left over ruffles to a tank top and
Ta-Da!!! I'm ready to Flamenco!

 

Gardening Adventures

Coming Soon!
I thought it might be fun (and useful I hope) to document some of our successes and failures of gardening. I'm quite the amateur in this hobby, but my goal is to eventually grow enough to supplement some of my family's favorite produce. If nothing else hopefully this can be a forum where we can help each other!