Craigslist Strikes Again

I am so sick of Craigslist. People giving dogs away "Free to good home" and then I get emails like this: Hi my name is Mary. I run a rescue in (month). I received a frantic phone call this morning from a man who recently adopted a jack russell. He has only had the dog less than a week and is already to dump in a shelter. He claims the dog is around 20 pounds and is mixed breed. Unsure on any shots and is not neutered. He was a free to good home on craigslist. They are unequipped to deal with the dogs issues and asked me to take him. I am really full right now and can not take this on. I am hoping to find the dog a safe place before the end of the day or I fear they will take him to a shelter where he will most likely not get adopted. I can be reached at (phone number). Thanks - Mary. This is so common! People dump their problems on someone else and then that person who has no emotional attachment to the dog dumps the dog and then what happens. Dead dof! I guess the kill shelter is better then abused. Seriously I think free to good home should not be allowed! Well really I wish Craiglist didn't exists for animals to be traded like inanimate objects.

Good Things

Ooops. I wrote something slash-y. Okay, so, for the uninitiated, I wrote a short fanfiction story. I've published it on fanfiction.net, and so far I've received amazing reviews, which has just blown me away. I was so nervous about posting it! Now I'm just so happy that people like it and think that I got Castiel's thoughts down perfectly... what a compliment! I wrote it from Castiel's point of view, because I find him fascinating, and the fact that we don't really get to see what's going on in that head of his... he's a bit of a mystery. And that's fun to explore! And, well, it's slash, which means it's kind of a love story between Dean and Cas. That isn't everyone's cup of tea, I know, hell, it wasn't mine, that's for sure, for a long time, but hey, we're all different. So if the idea of that freaks you out, icks you or makes you uncomfortable, please don't read it. I wont mind! In any case, it's not physical, that's only implied. There's no touching, etc. So, really, it's very tame. Just Castiel's thoughts and the resulting conversation with Dean. Anyhow. If you'd like to read it. I'm almost feeling a little proud of it... weird, but, I've had such good feedback that it's really allayed my fears, and I'm definitely encouraged to write more. 

Especially because I've written 2 fantasy stories and drawed 4 fantasy coloring pages now and they were both liked and got wonderful reviews. So, I'm feeling a bit braver! (Here is a short demo of the first story I wrote: "Exclusive Interview With Castiel, Angel Of The Lord". Anyhow, I have posted it here before, but there it is in case you missed it. I'm actually considering doing a few more in this interview series, with other characters like Bobby, Sam, etc). If you do decide to read it / them, please let me know what you think. Meanwhile my hand / wrist is feeling better. Not completely, of course, but I'm just glad the brace and Celebrex are helping, because that's a good sign it's only temporary. My house is so cold right now! They did say we'd have a cold winter this year, didn't they? Luckily, I have an awesome heater, thanks to mum, so with door snakes and closed doors along the hallway, along with solastic-ed windows to stop the drafts, it's infinitely better. I hope everyone is keeping warm (or cool) wherever you may be. I'll be back tomorrow probably to post something more substantial. Take care!

Lose Weight Naturally

Certain changes have to be made to your diet too. Start first by getting rid of all those fries and sweet stuff. Sounds too tough - well, think of all those eager eyes staring mercilessly at you! Use natural substitutes instead. Get pre cut fruits and veggies. You can nibble on these when you are hungry. Having real fruits instead of fruit juices will cut out a large number of calories and will also fill your stomach more. The increased fiber intake is good for your bowels too. Have gallons of water, if you can! Water will alleviate the sharp pangs of hunger. By dissolving toxins, water will be good for your skin also. Water will remove any dehydration and the skin will take on a beautiful luster. Control your portions. Substitute white bread with brown. Eat in a smaller plate to help you lose weight. Visual appearances do affect our food intake. If you stuff a smaller plate with food, though the amount you take is lesser, your eye transmits the message that you have eaten a good quantity.

Another way to "trick" your body is to eat slowly. It takes about 8 minutes for the brain to tell your stomach that the food you have eaten will suffice, thus you lose weight. So, take it slowly. Chewing on your food also gives you the kind of satisfaction that aids in reducing food intake. Starting off with a salad or a low fat soup is another great way to cut your food intake. Soups can be very beneficial if they are home made and thick. In addition to giving you lots of vital nutrients, they will also take away the sharp pangs of hunger that urge you to eat more than you actually want. Snacking in between meals is a good idea. Have a small salad bowl or a low fat cracker plate by your side. It is ok to eat 6 times a day provided your overall intake is lesser than before. Actually, healthy snacks especially those high in fiber will reduce hunger. Never eat after 7 pm. Go to bed on a light stomach. Eat a good and healthy breakfast. Go natural! 

Just Riding The Rollercoaster

Okay! So... I've been gone forever it seems, but, well, I'm still alive. Technically. Haven't been doing much. Another hospital visit, which was really helpful since I was very sick at the time. I'm going alright now, just climbing back up slowly. I hate the fragile, walking on eggshells feeling you get after a crash. But, need to be gentle with myself I suppose. I got in contact recently with someone from my past who I haven't talked to for 8 years. It was very emotional, but ultimately, a good thing. I was incredibly happy. For 24 hours. Then, my body and subconscious mind seemed to catch up with my brain (even though I was okay with it all), and just have a conniption of it's own. Without my input. So, okay, body, have you're little WTF, hissy fit, freak out moment and we'll get back on track, okay? Right? Good-o. God, I have never had anxiety or panic attacks like it. I nearly crashed my car a few times, and could barely see straight from adrenaline. Kept almost blacking out as my vision would go black around the edges. My hands tingled and got numb, my heart palpitations never left. It lasted 3 straight days. And I'm talking 24 hours here. I barely slept, and only just managed to eat. I was a complete wreck. Luckily this started just before I went into hospital. When I finally got there, I could barely string a coherent sentence together, they sedated me and I slept for 19 hours. Talk about scary. When I woke the next day, the anxiety was finally waning, but I remained a mess for 5 days, although slowly getting better. I'm okay now, back to normal, but my mood has plummeted a bit. 

To be expected I guess. The annoying thing was, I was actually happy about what had happened, I was okay with it. It was scary and nerve-racking and a fucking HUGE step to take, and I took it by myself, my own decision... but my body had other ideas, and that's the thing about anxiety that peeves me the most - sometimes, you just don't know why, and you have no choice. No amount of thought-challenging, CBT, coping skills, deep breathing, etc will help. You've just got to ride it out. With some chemical help :) Meanwhile, I've been looking for a job (yep) and just generally wasting time watching DVDs, creating graphics and funny pictures, getting addicted to social networking, writing more fan fiction, reviewing fan fiction, finishing my downloads and burning of season 5 Supernatural so I have the whole season on DVD, helping an online friend with her novel, trying to do what needs to be done in the house and garden, some photography and editing, going for walks with mum and Jessie, and making sure I have lots of support around me while I'm still a bit fragile. Trying to keep busy is my main focus right now. I need the distraction, to give myself time to get my focus, centre and connection back. Need to repair some of the roots holding me upright, because they got torn up a bit. (And I think there's a branch or two that needs pruning). My wrist got a lot better and I stopped wearing the brace for about 2 weeks. Then 3 days ago, the Tendinitis seemed to come back and I was in pain again, so... brace back on. Annoying, but at least I know what helps it. I'll leave you with a little meme I found today. You can do it if you want, it was fun. (By the way, don't worry, I don't know who half the people are either! Hello Google!). Take care BlogBugs. Cheerio! P.S. Can't remember if I posted this, but I wrote a short Supernatural 'drabble' fic. It's 500 words and you can read it here if you're interested: "I'll Hold You Up If You Hold Me Together". Enjoy :)

Book Review: Lily (McDade Cycle) by Cindy Bonner

Title: Lily. Author: Cindy Bonner. Genre: Historical Romance. Hardcover: 350 pages. Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; 1st Edition (October 1992). Description (from News-Bite.com): Loosely based on historical events and possessing a simple, frontier-legend plot-farmer's daughter and dashing outlaw fall for each other-this sensitive, winning western a la Larry McMurtry might easily attract fans outside its genre. The year is 1883. The town is McDade, Tex. Narrator Lily Delony, 15, can't stop thinking about 18 year old Marion Beatty, kid brother of three notorious ruffians known as "the Beatty gang." Marion begs Lily, "Don't judge me by them over there" meaning his robbing, murdering siblings and she trusts him, risking her reputation to sneak out with him at night. When McDade's citizens organize a posse to rid themselves once and for all of the Beatty gang, Lily is torn between loyalty to her respectable family and love for her gun-totin' Romeo. First novelist Bonner credibly conveys her heroine's sincerity, bravery and naivete as well as rugged Marion's charming yet dangerous persona. 

Even readers who ordinarily shun shoot-'em-up, rough-and-ready novels will sympathize with the lovers and become caught up in this exciting story. My Review: I read a lot of western-y books back in the day. Little me enjoyed reading about my country's history. Something about early Americans trying to survive hard weather, trying to get by without much, is very fascinating. I believe that the thing I liked most about the book was the setting descriptions. Not that there were tons, I credit my imagination. I have a set of brain pics that pop up when the book is about "the west," etc. Anyway, I like books with cowboys and farmers. So, I was kind of hoping I would like this better than I did. I was tolerant of the first 50 pages or so, but I started to get annoyed when the only development between Marion and Lily was that Lily was finding out that she really did not know her lover-boy all that well.

The thing I hated the most, and it is magnified by the fact that I read a review about the second book in the series, is that Marion is a big ol' d-bag. I hate him. He is a liar. A drunk. A gambler. A thief. A rapist (okay, maybe he's only a semi-rapist). And probably a killer too. I was so frustrated at how Lily easily believed that she was in love with Marion. The second book (spoiler) tells how Lily lives with and sorta-kinda-maybe falls for Marion's brother, who turns out to be a decent, loving and caring provider to Lily and her spawn of Satan... um, I mean Marion's kid. And still she goes back to her jerk-wad man in the end. (end spoiler) I couldn't really think about finishing the book after I learned that. I asked myself, "Why bother"? Rating: Did Not Finish. Side Note: The reason I put the ya in parenthesis is because this book wasn't initially aimed towards young adults... I am basing this assumption on the fact that the old covers look like romance covers for adult books. So I could be wrong. Okay, I would recommend this book to people who like their boys very bad. And for people who like old west-y type books.

Let it Snow Manicure

I don't know about you guys, but the snow here in the south of Sweden has been delayed for quite some time now. The last 2 years we've had one of the worst winters in 100 years, while this year it almost seemed as it skipped winter and went straight for spring instead. In a way I wish it stayed like that, I can't stand the cold but it sure would be nice with some snow at least... but then again I always get bored with it after a week. However, during the weekend the temperature went down and we got a tiny amount of snow which barely covered the ground. 

The manicure I have to show you guys is something which I actually wore for Christmas Ever, but it's a great winter manicure if you want to go for something more frosty or snow-like. The nail polishes I used to achieve my goals were the following: Ekineda - Purple 12; Orly - It's Up to Blue; Rubens - Hd 23; Opi - Alpine Snow; Le Man Colour - 14. I received quite a few compliments on this mani. It's quite fun and cute. I think I'll try out some more layering variations in the future, well more nail art actually. I've been quite inspired lately, so who knows what I'll come up with. And I just changed the layout of this blog and I want to start over. I felt the other one wasn't me any more and I needed something new with a better structure. Hope you like it!

What's Better than Asprin?

Cherries! Cherries are a great source of Vitamin C, Potassium, and Boron (which plays a role in bone health for women). Cherries also help fight inflammation. According to a study done at the University of Michigan, the anthocyanins that make cherries red could help relieve pain better than Asprin. The study found that anthocyanins were potent antioxidants that could prevent oxidative damage and also inhibited enzymes called cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 (cox 1 and 2), which is similar in the way anti-inflammatory drugs seek to reduce pain. The study appeared in the Journal of Natural Products published by the American Chemical Society. Lead researcher Muralee G. Nair, Ph.D., Professor at Michigan State University College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, noted about this cherry effect: It is as good as ibuprofen and some of the nonsteriodal anti-inflammatory drugs. Nair said that his lab results indicate that consuming 20 tart cherries could provide anti-inflammatory benefits. Finding a natural way to reduce pain is important, given the serious side effects from common pain relievers called NSAIDs, examples of which include Advil, Motrin, Aleve and aspirin.