(no subject)

[cupcake_goth]

- We are going to have a Christmas tree this year! I think this is the first year since 2011 that we'll have a tree. The Stroppy One indulged me, and a pre-lit tree in PINK is arriving this week. PINK SPARKLY TREE! Things are going to be interesting, because this will be the first time ever that the Kitties of Chaos will experience a tree. My theory is that Vlad will lose his mind in glee and Erzabet will be freaked out. (And yes, we're securing the tree to walls with hooks and fishing line.)

- Mood swings and crying for no reason continue. I'm meeting with my doctor next week to talk about what non-HRT options there are. 

- Related to visiting my doctor: I read the site for the medical weight loss specialist the oncologist recommended to me, and their approaches will not work for me. Intensive exercise isn't possible with my physical issues (plus that lovely post-exertional malaise that is a gift with purchase with ME/CFS), and calorie tracking + very restricted calorie intake will send me on the path of madness of an eating disorder. (Also the place offers "medispa" services, which makes me very suspicious of them.) So! After a ton of research AND being in customer service chat hell with my insurance provider, my doctor and I are going to talk about GLP1 meds. Yes, the "magic bullet" weight loss drug family that's gotten so much press. However, there is strong evidence that that drug family not only helps with weight loss, but reduces inflammation, some menopausal issues, and mental health. (I discussed them with my psych, and he thinks they'd help me.) And because I have some interlocking health issues, there's a strong chance my insurance will actually approve and pay for this med. Fingers crossed.

- I've been getting back into vintage perfume, specifically Opium. Which has gone through several reformulations, so I'm only interested in ones from the 80s to very early 90s. The holy grail, of course, is an OG bottle from the late 70s when it was released. I just got my tiny decant of that from a specialist store, and mmmmm. Yes, this is the sort of fragrance I want. This, Chanel Coromandel, and the OG Thierry Mugler Angel are my favorite "name brand" perfumes; thankfully I have enough of Angel from the era of me wearing it every day that I don't have to haunt eBay to find some. Now let's see if my skin does the thing where it completely absorbs and nullifies any perfume I apply. This started a few years ago, which is part of the reason I collect scent lockets. 

Comments

[sparrowpunk]

Where do you get your scent lockets, please? I have a couple of BPAL ones, but I haven't found anywhere else that does them in particularly interesting designs (but maybe they just can't compete with a silver coffin covered in roses).

[cupcake_goth]

My main 3 scent lockets are from BPAL. Other than that, I continually stalk eBay and Etsy for them. Another option is aromatherapy lockets, and those can be found damn near everywhere.

(In my dream world, the folks at Bloodmilk suddenly decide to make perfume lockets.)

[sparrowpunk]

Thanks! I would love to see Bloodmilk scent lockets, but my truly ideal world gives me the budget for them (and a constant supply of the BPAL/Thorns clove cigarette oil). Actually, I think my ideal world might have an expanded range of BPAL scent lockets as well :)

[carmenbeaudry]

I have a teeny-tiny bottle of original Opium you can have. I love it, but don't wear it because I have a LOT of perfume I like better. My picks out of mainstream perfume are original Opium, original Poison, and Delice de Cartier, which I actually won a gift set of in a raffle Nordstroms did when the Tacoma store opened.

[musyc]

A pink sparkly tree!! That sounds delightful for you!

Fingers also crossed for the meds!

[gatheringrivers]

Yes, the "magic bullet" weight loss drug family that's gotten so much press. However, there is strong evidence that that drug family not only helps with weight loss, but reduces inflammation, some menopausal issues, and mental health.

My observations of someone else who had it for a while: It REALLY destroys the appetite. Collaterol: Less food, less inflammation.

I'll shoot you a DM with a couple other things too.

[icprncs]

In line with the comment above, also anecdotal from observation of someone on a GLP-1: In addition to destroying appetite, it can make you physically ill if you overeat--like stuff coming out both ends ill and feeling flu-like. (And it will probably reset what "overeating" is for you.) You will likely also be ill the first couple of days after starting it, and if you miss doses. It will also have a significant effect on your alcohol tolerance. And to be perfectly honest, I would also have concerns about it setting off the brain raccoons; the weight loss can be very rapid, but it stops (and often reverses) if you stop using the med.

I hope the kitties are mildly curious for a day or so and then it loses novelty. We're debating whether any trees at all, but especially the big one, will happen this year, since the new girls are extremely curious, climb-y, and prone to chaotic action.

[tactilemuse]

We got a full size faux tree from my mother in law and it was also a first time for some of our 5 cats! So far so good. No major accidents so far, but we also weren't brave enough to put any of our ornaments on it. I hope yours goes well.

[danabren]

I can't trust Bucky with a tree lol and Fi would likely be an additional criminal!

Wishing you the best of luck getting new meds approved, and success with using them.

[staxxy]

I wish you great luck with the med approval.

Hoorah pink tree at last!

Mood swings are very rough seas indeed.

I somewhat hoard what little opium I have, for it has always been my favorite scent