Well, I was supposed to be writing this post from my grandmother’s couch in Florida but as seems often be the case with all things in life…the plan changed. I picked Finn up from school today and instead of heading to the airport, we headed home. The moment I laid eyes on him, I knew he wasn’t well. His face was so pale – almost gray – and he had those “sick eyes.” I know y’all know what I’m talking about. His teachers said he had good energy through the day but they could also tell he wasn’t himself. I canceled our flights and we will reschedule our visit when Finn is feeling 100%. There are so many respiratory viruses going around right now and I just cannot risk taking any of it to my mom or grandmother. For now, I feel so grateful that his symptoms started before we left so that we could fully avoid bringing germs to my family.
I am definitely feeling disappointed and sad – Finn and I are both missing everyone a lot right now (he’s been asking me for a month when we can go to Florida). I know we’ll get there soon. Thankfully, I booked with miles so they were reinstated and I didn’t lose our flight credits. That can be so tricky these days.
So that’s the start of life lately and we’ll keep rolling from there!
THE PAWFECT HOUSE
Speaking of my grandmother – she recently sent me a very cozy “Paw-jama” sweatshirt with me, Zoey and Benji on it. Finn was a little jealous and wanted one for himself. He called Mema and told her wanted a shirt with him and the dogs so of course she was going to order him one. 🙂 Unfortunately, they don’t offer youth sizes but she did get him this cuddling blanket and He ADORES it! Here’s a link to the company that makes these custom items!
My sweatshirt in my favorite color. Love it and feels like a warm hug from my grandmother every time I wear it.
GOLD STANDARD DOG GROOMING
I took my fur children to be groomed last week and we visited Gold Standard Dog Grooming for the first time. One of my favorite things to do is support other women in growing their businesses. Molly and her team did an awesome job with the grooms and my pups had a great experience. I cannot even with how much Zoey is feeling herself!
Gold Standard Dog Grooming is located in Plaza and offers convenient drop off/pick up options. Mention this post for a free teeth brushing and breath spray! 🙂
TOY PURGE
Do you hear that? It’s the angels singing hallelujah because Finn and I finally did a MUCH NEEDED toy purge. I can breathe in our den/playroom again without feeling pressure to clean and declutter. I explained to him that we were going to share the toys that he didn’t play with anymore with younger kids and was pleasantly surprised when he really leaned in. I honestly can’t believe how much he decided to get rid of. We ended up selling some of it very cheaply in our neighborhood parents Facebook group so Finn gets the reward of having $20 to buy something new. Worked out well!
CREW SOCKS?
(leggings, crew socks, shoes)
I am in the gym every day and it’s impossible to ignore that it has become a trend to wear crew socks again – and to wear them over leggings. I resisted for a very long time but have caved and I can’t believe that I’m admitting that I don’t hate it. I will still choose no show socks 9 times out of 10 when I’m getting dressed but if the leggings lend themselves to a sock over or if it’s really cold – I’m going with it.
QT AT GREENAPPLE SPORTS
I’ve been spending a lot of time at Greenapple Sports & Wellness the last few weeks.
- I was eager to check out their new location in the Orthocarolina Building on Park Road! It’s just a couple of blocks down from their previous location but SO nice, fresh and clean. Love it.
- I had a mini flair with my hip that I think was possibly due to skiing. It didn’t hurt in the moment but that was around when it started getting a little achy/feeling locked up. Reminder, I have a bi-lateral labral tear and an impingement that I’m managing well non-surgically but every now and then things go a little sideways and it needs extra TLC. Dr. Bradberry got me right back on track and it’s feeling great again.
- I started doing laser therapy on my left shoulder. I have had some nagging shoulder pain for a few months and I’m trying to get serious about healing it. The good news is that we are 99% sure it’s not torn due to the amount of strength and range of motion that I have. The likely culprit is bicep tendonitis and an impingement and unfortunately tendons are slow as molasses to heal.
Low-level laser therapy is used for pain relief, to accelerate healing and to decrease inflammation. I’m doing a series of 2-3 treatments per week for a few weeks to see if I can make some meaningful progress with my shoulder inflammation. I’m able to pretty much operate at full activity level – I just don’t like having a nagging injury/pain like this and don’t want it to become a chronic thing.
I’ll share more about my experience with lasers after we finish our treatments!
RAYNAUD’S IN FULL FORCE
I have dealt with Raynaud’s Syndrome since I was in high school. My fingers go numb so much during the winter – especially my index, middle and ring finger. This photo was after a trip to ALDI – for whatever reason the grocery store during cold weather really seems to trigger it! The only thing that helps to rewarm is running my hands under warm water and they usually turn a crazy purple color in the process. The only time I haven’t struggled with Raynaud’s in my adult life is when I was pregnant. I attribute it to the extra blood volume in my body and that it helped my circulatory issues but who knows!? There are many mysteries of pregnancy.
IT’S GIRL SCOUT COOKIE SEASON!
I was a Girl Scout and worked as a camp counselor at the Girl Scout camp that I attended so I can never resist putting a big order in every cookie season. I fell for the S’mores cookies last season and Finn loves Tagalongs! You also can’t miss out on Samoas – a classic!
Time to wrap this one up but you’ll hear from me again soon! 🙂
QUESTIONS
Have you embraced the crew sock trend? I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do it with shorts TBH.
Anyone else struggle with Raynaud’s? Have you found anything that helps?
Favorite Girl Scout cookie flavor?
I have Raynaud’s. I have found it has gotten worse as I have gotten older – I think we are about the same age! I always keep gloves or mittens in my purse – always! Especially for the grocery store. I don’t know what it is about it, but it always seems to get set off there. My husband is a pain specialist and he says there are treatments available – injections similar to botox – but I haven’t tried them. Best of luck with your poor fingers. I totally feel your pain!
Second this. My dad has it too, and he definitely has more problems with his feet than he did when he was younger even though he remains active.
Ugh, I hate that for him Sarah! Thanks for sharing.
I also have Raynaud’s and it gets triggered in the cold sections of grocery stores! Echoing what others have said too, that it is worse now than when I was a kid. I will say that feet and hand harmers work wonders in -20 Celsius weather, even if they are a pain to grab before heading out the door.
Ugh, grocery stores seem to be the worst! I freeze. I have to wear a sweatshirt a lot of times even in summer. Agree that the hand and feet warmers are SO helpful when it’s really cold!
I wear my socks over leggings, but didn’t know it was a thing! It’s a game changer for outdoor exercise. I’m kind of pathetic bc I wore tube socks w palm trees the other day. Bad look, but so warm!
Yes! Isn’t it crazy how much difference it makes to have your ankles covered!? And I am on team “whatever it takes to be warm” – so the socks sound perfect to me! 🙂
I suffer from Raynauds as well and the toe and hand warmers have been a life saver. I put one toe warmer on top of my toes and one on the arch of my feet. I also have mittens on all the time with hand warmers inside. I had it so bad last year I had small blisters on my toes!
What treatments are there? I’m curious about what others are doing to help.
Jessica – I’m sorry you struggle so much with Raynaud’s too 🙁 I just bought a mega pack of the hand and toe warmers on Amazon. They are so helpful. I’m not familiar with treatments.
I have had Reynauds for many years. If you swing your arms like a windmill forward and then backward each way it greatly helps! Also eat lots of dark leafy greens. The cold, wet veggies at the grocery store get me every time too, I dry to dry them quickly with paper towels.