Morgan Freeman, fibro fighter.

Mr. Freeman told the world that he has fibromyalgia sometime last year in this article.
This Earth That Holds Me Fast Will Find Me Breath
The Morgan Freeman story

BY TOM CHIARELLA

Every so often he grabs his left shoulder and winces. It hurts when he walks, when he sits still, when he rises from his couch, and when he missteps in a damp meadow. More than hurts. It seems a kind of agony, though he never mentions it. There are times when he cannot help but show this, the fallout from a car accident four years ago, in which the car he was driving flipped and rolled, leaving Freeman and a friend to be pulled from the car using the Jaws of Life. Despite surgery to repair nerve damage, he was stuck with a useless left hand. It is stiffly gripped by a compression glove most of the time to ensure that blood doesn't pool there. It is a clamp, his pain, an icy shot up a relatively useless limb. He doesn't like to show it, but there are times when he cannot help but lose himself to a world-ending grimace. It's such a large gesture, so outside the general demeanor of the man, that it feels as if he's acting.

"It's the fibromyalgia," he says when asked. "Up and down the arm. That's where it gets so bad. Excruciating."

Click the article name or here for the full story from Tom Chiarella at Esquire

More cleaning.

As promised, I am posting the "stink stank" recipe (photo 1).  I know it sounds gross, my husband HATES the smell of vinegar, he actually begs me to light a candle when I use this stuff haha!  So, that's why I call it "stink stank", but it works great, even though it smells. 

Stink Stank Spray:
Ingredients:
*enough* vinegar (any type, I used apple cider, you can also use white distilled)
*enough* dish washing liquid (make sure you use dishwashing liquid, I tried this with laundry detergent and I  made a really big volcano)
10 DROPS tea tree essential oil
5 DROPS eucalyptus essential oil
5 DROPS lemon essential oil

Things you will need:
clean spray bottle (brand new, or used, I just cleaned one of my old ones out really well)
funnel

Directions:
Situate the funnel in the spray bottle. 
Pour *enough* vinegar (refer to photo 2 I attached to this blog, fill to the bottom orange line)
Still using the funnel, squeeze *enough* dishwashing liquid in (refer to photo 2 again, fill to the top orange line)
My cheap woman tip:  buy cheap dish washing liquid for this, I bought Walmart's Great Value Ultra Concentrated Green Apple Scent Dishwashing Liquid 24 Fl. Oz., just for this purpose, and other cleaning purposes besides dishes :-)
Now, I take the funnel out, and add the (20 total) drops of essential oils.  After adding the essential oils, twist the spray lid on, and shake.  Now, let this sit for about 30 minutes, then it is ready to use.  I give it a few good shakes every time I use it. 

This spray works for so many things, it really works great with my previous Gloopy Glop recipe.  You can use this stinky stuff on just about anything, and it requires very little elbow grease! 

Clean, clean, clean :-)

After trying a few of those pinterest cleaning recipes, and tweaking them to fit my needs, I decided to share the tips that I have come up with. 

The Gloopy Glop
(I didn't feel like telling the husband what all it was, so I just called it "the gloopy glop")
1 c. baking soda
1 tbs. salt
1 tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. cream of tarter
2 tbs. dish washing liquid (any kind)
10 DROPS peppermint essential oil
5 DROPS tea tree essential oil
5 DROPS eucalyptus essential oil
***Enough Water***

First, you mix your b. soda, b. powder, salt, & cream of tarter in a bowl (I use a old butter tub).  Then, add the dish washing liquid, and essential oils;  now mix it (I use my hands and just squeeze it all together).  After you have that mixed, add water.  I didn't measure how much was needed, I just add a little and mix, then add more.  If you are "one of those" who just need measurements, I would say, add about a tsp. of water at a time, while mixing, until it turns into this gloopy glop consistency (I would say like paste, but it doesn't feel much like paste).  If it seems to be too watery, add more baking soda, a tsp. at a time. 

Yay, you just made gloopy glop!  Ok, now, what do you do with this science experiment!?  Anything!  I grabbed a handful of it and  slopped it around inside of my microwave (which had BURNT marshmallows stuck to it **gross, I know, it was seeming impossible to get out**) then I let it sit for 30 minutes.  Then I sprayed it down with my stink stank spray (mostly has vinegar in it, the recipe to that will be next) and I let it bubble for a minute and took a damp wash rag and wiped it out a bit.  Then, I took a couple of my fabric softener (dryer) sheets and scrubbed it down more, then rinsed my rag and wiped again.  Once the microwave was completey clean I used a dry paper towel and dried it out!  I was able to get all of the burnt marshmallows off with using hardly any elbow grease! 

It really is amazing, that gloopy glop.  The dryer sheets help a lot also, plus they smell nice :-)   This stuff works for just about anything, I even cleaned my rusty iron skillet with it, and all of the rust is gone!  I used it in my bathtub, toilet, and my stainless steal kitchen sink, all are sparkling clean! 

Are we really free to be ourselves?

As my first post ,on this blog, I figured I would try to make it interesting.  So, I ask the question, are we really free to be ourselves? 

Who are you?  Who am I?  Who is anyone really?  Is there anyone left that does not conform to the standards of their own society?  Changing, like chameleons, with each hard spot you encounter?  Change is sometimes good, but you shouldn't lose your moral values or your beliefs, just because you are different from your family, or friends.  A black sheep never hurt anyone.  Actually, when I meet a fellow black sheep, it is like a breath of fresh air!  Someone who does not always conform, someone who respects their own opinions, no matter how different their opinions may be. 

Parents, for one moment, think about your children.  You know how little kids go through this, "I want to be a ..... when I grow up!"  At that moment, do you support their dreams and ambitions? When do you stop supporting them?  If you are going to call little Sally a mooch or a bum when she is 20, because she made the decision a long time ago (a decision you supported, in the moment) to become the next great artist, and it is taking her a while to go from good to great, then why ever support her dreams in the first place?  Better yet, just come crashing down on her goals and dreams by telling her that she isn't really allowed to be who she wants to be, not unless she wants to lose the support from the people who are supposed to support her the most. 

What about Johnny?  What if he chooses to marry the woman who means more to him than life?  Ohh, Sally isn't right for Johnny, you say?  Why is that?  Why should Johnny care about who you like and who you do not like?  Should he care?  Why not just raise Johnny to believe that he is not allowed to love who he wants to love?  Save him the heart ache and stress. 

Sometimes people need to take a leap back and realize how they are raising their children in a world of lies and contradictions.  The only change that is really needed is a change of heart.  You can be yourself, but you should allow Sally, or Johnny, or whoever, to have the freedom to be themselves also.  Be who you and to be, love who you want to love, and how dare you step on anyone's dreams!  If you are opinionated, give your opinion, but do not give your opinion in a way that will hurt anyone.  Love everyone, stop raising chameleons, stop being chameleons.  Different is beautiful, so see the beauty in everyone's differences.  The best rule to live by is, "live, laugh, and love". 

Never forget to stop to smell the roses every so often.