Kandi Kreations

 NOTE: Picture-heavy post - may be best viewed on a computer or tablet rather than a mobile phone.

I promised my friends that I would write a post featuring Lizzy's Kandi art. For those not in the know, Kandi is jewelry (usually bracelets) or other creations made from pony beads (plastic beads in different colors and/or alphanumeric symbols). It started in rave culture, where people would trade single-strand bracelets ("singles") with others, and has spread to everything from small jewelry pieces to full-on clothing and other accessories.

Lizzy would be thrilled to take commissions (prices below) to further fuel her beading habit, and examples are shown.

So without further ado, have some great examples of pony bead art (descriptions attached)

A set of six singles in a dark chess theme.
Red, Purple, Blue, Green, Gold, Brown
King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, Pawn

A set of six singles in a light chess theme
Pink, Lilac, Cyan, Mint, Yellow, Orange
King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, Pawn

Four star-shaped earrings, two in a pink-
purple-yellow design, and two in a
sunflower-with-leaves design

A set of three singles in a Barbie theme,
accented with each wearer's favorite color

A much simpler cuff for the Ponies' friend
Spike the Baby Dragon, in purple and green,
with his name spelled in black letters on white.

A pyramid of each of the Mane Six My Little Pony
friends (Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle,
Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy) on
rotating cuffs in their signature colors.

Cuff Trio: rainbow (six colors in pastels), fire (yellow shading
through orange to red), and purple-green Spike again.

Fire cuff close-up in yellow, orange, gold,
red, and dark red.

Rainbow cuff close-up in pink, orange,
yellow, green, blue, and purple.

A set of three Shaker Cubes, in black/purple, pink/white,
and blue/black. These contain extra beads, which create a
rattling sound. Great for fidgets! (NOT for babies)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Price List (written by Lizzy herself):

• A pair of star/flower earrings: $10 (be warned; these are heavy.)
• A shaker cube: $15
• A simple cuff: $20
• A rotating cuff: $60 (these take ages so they're very expensive!)

Pricing for singles is a little complicated so please bear with me!

It starts at five dollars, and every additional is three more! So:

• 1 - $5
• 2 - $8
• 3 - $11
• 4 - $14
• 5 - $17
• 6 - $20
• 7 - $23
• 8 - $26
• 9 - $29
• 10 - $32
• 11 - $35
• 12 - $38

And so on!

Shipping costs will be added to the total! Details below.

All orders are custom! I have a wide assortment of colors so don't be afraid to be creative!

I've used too many exclamation points. I'm excited!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you want to commission a piece, please contact me (Jenn) and I will get the info to Lizzy.

Shipping runs eight dollars for a single shaker cube or up to three singles (in the contiguous 48 states of the US plus Washington DC).

Prices for international shipping and larger pieces vary.

Thanks, I Hate It

Though it wasn't nearly as bad as the last time. 

An image of a U-shaped red and
white magnet with gold lightning shapes
to indicate electricity.

But then an MRI for one's knee is an almost certainly less stressful experience than the one they tried to do on my head a few years back. That one was a very scary experience because it was at the end of a (later diagnosed) massive panic attack and I wasn't having a stroke at all. And, you know, going headfirst into a very loud and very cramped machine (at my size) when I was already so panicky that there were half-moon grooves in my palms where my fingernails hit my palms in my clenched fists.

This one was not pleasant, of course, but it wasn't horrible either.

For one thing, it was planned ahead of time. My momma brought me in and took me out to lunch after.

For another, I was only in the MRI machine up to about my waist. And I've lost just over eight pounds in the last couple of weeks, which is probably not enough at my size to have an actual, physical effect; it's enough for a psychological effect, though.

There was a video screen on the ceiling with a soothing sea scene of colorful fish and shells and stones and coral and so forth.

I had expanding earplugs.

Over the earplugs I had headphones, and the technician asked me ahead of time what kind of music I wanted. I was a little surprised that it was something I had a choice about, and said so. She said, "Oh, it's just Pandora," so naturally (being the 55-year-old woman that I am), I said that I would like 80s pop, please. I got Hungry Like the Wolf, Whip It, Footloose, and Eye of the Tiger, and so I was content.

I could feel my pulse in the right knee that they were scanning(?) Oh... Imaging, I guess.

I did my deep breathing a la Emergency Calm, which worked pretty well, though I have never tried to do my Calm breathing at the same time as 80s pop music before.

Afterward, I had a bit of a headache and felt slightly shaky/lightheaded. This only lasted a few minutes, and the tech assured me that these are really common reactions to being the focus of a giant magnet.

I just looked in MyChart and the results are not up yet.

So I guess we shall see.

Are You F*cking Kidding Me Right Now?

EDIT: Of course, after all that BS, it's sloooowwwwly doing its job now. For the moment anyway. Definitely on the First Thing To Repair list though.

If it's not one thing it's another.

So... as any of you following the sitcom that is my life know, I hurt my knee (more details here), and here is the Inigo Montoya summation: My left knee has hella-arthritis, my right knee probably has a torn meniscus root, but I can't get in for an MRI for another nine days. I can't drive (which means I can't work my day job) but I can do my side gigs of remote technical writing (if I can find any).

So... (she says again) I'm minding my own, feeling proud of myself for staying within budget for the Fun Things We Had Already Had Planned, feeling even more proud of myself for taking hold of my life and working to lose some of the weight that is affecting these knees in their first place. I got a really nice note from my dad (who has just introduced my stepmother(!) to my blog) for my writing style, humor, etc., and I was feeling good about myself, bad knees and unfit body and all.

And the water heater goes out.

This has happened before, including when were still moving in, over ten years ago (that time they just replaced it since it started out that way. Also, why in the hell do these things happen when I am injured and unable to drive?). It has happened several times since then - one time the plumbers even came out and took a look - but it has always been fixable by merely resetting the breaker. It happened Friday (and I had a tantrum because I had really sore knees and couldn't take a shower), but we reset it and it worked fine through Saturday. Happened again Sunday evening and Lizzy noted that it seemed to be more frequent. 

And now today. Monday. Today it won't even reset at all. My dishwasher is running a cold load of dishes, evidently, because my dishwasher doesn't heat the water on its own. Grand.

So I went online, and Google told me that replacing a water heater costs about a thousand dollars, maybe $1200. It's a small house (mobile home), with a small water heater (30 gallons, I think), so I can probably scrape that up (while I stayed well within my budget for Fun Things, etc., that does not mean that my savings accounts are reasonable yet... since the last plumbing disaster). I googled how to get a water heater replaced and Home Depot said they would have a trusted, bonded, insured, sensitive clever, well-mannered, considerate, partner call me. Awesome; maybe we can work something out.

No. Not really. For $2369, we are unlikely to be able to work something out.

Why so expensive? Apparently, 30-gallon ones don't exist anymore. Well, nothing much bigger is going to fit in this tiny closet on my back porch.

Now what the hell do I do?

In the past when there has been some sort of water problem, we've gone to my mom's house a block or so away and used her stuff (thanks, mom) but I can't do that right now - I can't drive and it's not a straight, grid-layout block with a sidewalk; it would take me ages to crutch my way up there. 

At least we can flush a toilet this time and the issue is hot water. We can heat it on the stove if we have to, and Lizzy already has done, cleaning out the crisper drawers in the fridge. But I also can't freaking carry it anywhere, not while using crutches.

So I write it all down, as one does (if one is me) in my patented sarcastic way, and that helps with the emotional, aaaarrrrgggghhh part of today's programming. I'm sure I'll come up with something.

Wish me luck.

Help, Please

Please read the whole thing before jumping in.

A bitmoji cartoon of a
wavy-haired brunette
person with an apple.

I've been dithering about how to phrase this for about 24 hours, so I'm just going to say it: I need to lose weight.

I'm going to get eye-rolls and oversimplistic "solutions" from folks who don't share my physical, mental, emotional, medical, hormonal, dietary, neurodivergent, financial, etc. limitations. No Nike "just do it" please, and no remarks about willpower. If it was simply willpower, I'd have done it already.

I'm possibly going to get annoyance and disappointment from those of my friends who (quite rightly) feel that we should love our bodies how they are and not be concerned about whether we meet societal expectations, etc. And honestly, I'm not all that fussed about how I look according to society; I'm fat and as far as society goes, I'm just fine with that.

But I have also messed up both of my knees now. Those knees, my sleep apnea, my blood pressure, and my asthma are exacerbated by extra weight, and I'm the only parent Lizzy has left.

I'm lactose intolerant, mildly allergic to whey protein, have IBS triggered by these and some vegetables, a certain amount of food trauma from adolescence, and my food sensitivities are worse in springtime because of other allergies. Perimenopause is a complicating factor as well, because why not? I do not have a specific eating disorder but I have disordered eating habits. I know what to do - as in I know what's good for me personally - but I struggle with portion size, timing, and emotional eating.

There has been a lot to emotionally-eat about for several years now.

I (usually) get a reasonable amount of exercise (60-90 minutes a day), although not a lot of it at the moment because of that Other Knee injury. My Apple Watch and its fitness app have me striving to complete those rings and I am here for it. Gamifying usually works well for me. Weight Watchers or SparkPeople notsomuch, though I haven't tried them recently. I am not interested in weight-loss surgeries or medication options. I already meditate at least once a day. And I'm not going to respond well to let-go-and-let-God suggestions.

What I am looking for here is recommendations for apps, groups, plans, programs, etc. I have already tagged my therapist in on this topic, and I'm about to tag my PCP ditto.

Happy to take hugs and care reacts. Not okay with tots and pears or snarky remarks. Just serious recommendations, please.

Dude, Seriously?

So... blew out the other knee.

An annoyed-looking Bitmoji cartoon of a
curly-haired brunette with the caption
"SRSLY?!" in a speech bubble.

This is the one I use for work, so... bad words have been uttered, loudly and indiscriminately. Especially when I stubbed my toe on the opposite foot. On the crutch, lol, just to make things even more ironic.

Dear Universe, please stop using me for your April Fools jokes.

Anyway, at this moment about 14 hours after I hit the ER this morning, I have random tidbits of information, some interesting, some useful, some just funny (as my sense of humor is reasserting itself).

I can't work until at least next Monday, after I see the orthopedist on Friday. The Monday in question - April 8th - is the first day of spring break for me, my younger child, and my students. This gives me extra time to recover. Lizzy's trip to the aquarium on the 6th (and then a sleepover) with her besties will either have to be with a different driver for the outing part of the festivities or be pushed to summer break. I won't be able to drive yet, and I certainly won't be able to walk around the aquarium; look what traipsing all over SakuraCon did for to me!

But just in case this ends up being longer term than a couple of weeks, I plan to contact the company through which I get tech writing gigs and tell them my availability is for more hours than usual... at least after I talk to the ortho. I suck at being idle for longer than a day or so... so I did a lot of phone calling and online stuff.

Lizzy is an excellent nurse. She even has that gently-bullying-the-patient-into-taking-their-meds skill down. I knew this because I'm asthmatic, but it was nice to see anyway.

There are a whole lot of other things I can do - some of which I have already done. 

I linked my MyCharts between the hospital and my regular doctor. Now I can see X-rays and follow-ups in the same login! No bone damage on the X-rays as far as they can see; it looks like SSDL (same shit different leg).

I called and canceled my physical therapy for this week, and alerted them that next week might be rather more involved.

I discovered that some of the medical jargon around messed-up joints is downright hilarious, at least in the moment. Who knew that a knee could be "internally deranged?" It makes it sound like my knee is having some sort of psychotic breakdown.

I stayed hydrated and did not overeat today, as hydration is important for healing, and obesity (which is already considerable in my case) just makes recovery take longer and hurt more. To that end, I ordered healthy and portable snacks (that can fit in a pocket, of which I attained lots at the Other Knee party last year).

I set my Apple Fitness goals wayyy down today. I'll set them a little higher tomorrow. I can still use my little hand weights after all.

Abby and I plan to do laundry tomorrow. I can fold as long as she brings me things and puts them away.

So, as usual, I've got this. I'm pissed that I'm in a position to be required to "got this" but here we are.