There are about 2 people I'd let mess with my glasses: My best friend, and my boy toy (who has never actually seen me in my glasses and doesn't know that I've never really seen the details of his face particularly well up close) I'm far sighted and have occasional issues with vertical nystagmus in my right eye due to a traumatic brain injury as a teen so I don't generally wear them since I do alright with compensating unless it's night time or I'm dealing with a migraine. But! They've expensive as hell with fancy prism lenses, like 4 different specific coatings, and they're an older frame style that I just buy new lenses for every few years. The lenses alone cost me almost $500 with my insurance. My best friend has touched my glasses twice during wine and whine nights when I've passed out on the couch, and boyfriend doesn't know they exist, but he's going to figure it out fairly soon because I'm sick of not reading before bed when he comes over.
Read enough stories featuring characters who very notably wear glasses, and you start to notice certain trends in romantic scenes.
That's because the race wars don't harm the rulling class like a class war does, and the state and its agents are not here for the common man but for the corporate oligarchs that run its campaign donations.
They got an alleged killer of 1 guy in fucking time prison with all the kings horses and all the kings men gaurding him and dudes with rifles pointed at him as if he has super strength and can fly away but a school shooter gets arrested and they take him out for burger king
There's also dietary changes, supplements & vitamins, and psychotherapy options for treating PMDD. I'd recommend going to a female D.O. + OBGYN who generally will present you with a more well-rounded and wholistic (not holistic) treatment plan. My original PMDD team consisted of a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a dietician, an endocrinologist, and a D.O. gynecologist.
We figured out hormonal birth controls aren't an option for me due to both lifestyle factors and the exacerbation of my PMDD symptoms. We also restricted/eliminated soy from my diet as my intolerance of it went beyond bloating, and it also influenced my mood and psyche due to hormone levels being thrown off when I'd eat soy products as part of my inflammatory response to it. We added in psychotherapy with a focus on DBT and regulation skills to help me better adapt to psychological stressors. For about 3 years, while I was gaining those skills, I was on antidepressants.
My current treatment plan addresses both my seasonal affective disorder, birth control needs, and my PMDD through vitamin D & magnesium supplementation, a paragard IUD (non-hormonal copper IUD), dietary changes to a more whole foods high protien diet, and exercise. I haven't had a true PMDD episode in almost 4 years with this plan. Treating the underlying psychological disorder, getting my hormones balanced, and controlling the inflammatory response has done incredible things for me.
Talking to your primary care doctor or gynecologist about PMDD is an important step, and if you feel your needs are being ignored or aren't being addressed by your medical team, you can and should change providers. Your doctors also can't help you if you don't ask them to help and advocate for yourself. I've gone through a lot of good doctors and bad doctors and now have a fully female medical team whom I trust and who trust me.
Pre-menstrual depression is always depicted as like "He He! I had a box of icecream bars and cried while watching the Titanic!" But in reality, it's more like, "I'm standing the edge of an abyss. There is nothing good inside of me, I'm filled with rage and desperation."
It's crazy that being told how to deal with that is never a part of anyone's menstrual sex education.
Your soundscape is the finishing touch on the whole "vibe" of your home. I have a wonderful housecall client has the local public radio classical and jazz station playing at a soft hum through her house, I remember the first few housecalls after her late husband died and it was silent, but gradually the classical and jazz returned. My childhood best friend lived in an old colonial house, where the hearth in the front room crackled and creaked with a fire from September through March and the nails of some black lab or another through the years clicked alongside the groans of the old hardwood floors and the boisterous noise of both the adults upstairs at their dinner parties and us kids down stairs up to our antics on the Xbox waxed and waned as the nights went on. The kitchen fan hums along in time with the humming of my mother in my childhood kitchen, along with the whine of the not-quite-right bearing in her kitchen aid stand mixer and the slightly deeper and more dull clinks and clangs of her enameled cast iron pots and pans. We are sensory creatures, our minds forming memories from scents and sounds and textures and sights and emotions and tastes all entwined together.
new kind of guy dropped
Weekly Date Night
I'm pet sitting for my "Bonus Parents" (the parents of one of my oldest friends) this week in a lovely 1700s farm house and had permission from them to bring BoyToy over for date night this week. We cuddled into the couch after chatting about the features of the house we'd like in our own future farmette and watched the Lord of The Rings extended editions. As it got colder in the evening, we snuggled in with my dogs and the dog I'm dog sitting and built a fire in the great room. It was absolutely lovely. We got takeout barbecue from the honkytonk we met at and just generally had a great time having a lazy night in with the dogs.
Bag Tour 2024: Daily Bag Edition Feat. Hannibal Lector
All images have alt text descriptions with items listed, bag tour, and the reasons for each item below the cut
The Bag Itself:
This bag is a Coach Turnlock Tote bag in the pebbled leather color Blossom. This bag, the belt bag I now use as a bag organizer, and the wallet were all gifted to me in 2019 by a family member. The belt is too large for me at this point in life, so the pouch has been repurposed as a Toolkit of sorts. While it is a hair small fully packed, I enjoy the color of it and the balance of it as well as the functionality of the pockets it has.
The Straps:
My straps on this bag usually aren't this cluttered. However, Hannibal has been coming with me to work on a daily basis to get him used to the idea of traveling, and I needed a place to put his harness.
On my straps there is a malachite pendant necklace attached to the charm loop at the bottom of the right side of the outer strap, and my keys are also usually attached here with a carabiner unless I'm going somewhere that I'd want my keys a little bit more secured. I just like malachite. It looks cool. It's the right shades of green, and it's fairly easy to get ahold of.
I also have my stethoscope looped here if it's not around my neck or on my desk at home. I have a neonate size littman stethoscope since I primarily work in companion animal medicine, and I find that it focuses a bit better on my patients who are less than 15 pounds. I do have a regular litmann as well, but that one stays at the office. Most of my after-hours calls are on cats and small geriatric dogs who have standing orders for as needed injections of certain medications whose owners are either unwilling or unable to administer those medications.
Then, the big thing on the straps today is Hannibal's harness. Little dude is 17 weeks, and a whopping 7 lbs already. I could gush about him literally all day, though. His harness was only on the bag while he was allowed to have free roam over the back of the reception area and wrestle with Chewbacca (my terrier).
Turnlock Pocket:
This is where I keep my human med kit for myself, plus treats for my pets, or snacks for myself. Image 8 is the corresponding image.
Human Med Kit:
Glucometer: I have struggled with Non-diabetic hypoglycemia, POTS, and hemiplegic migraines for about 7 years now due to a moderate traumatic brain injury in my teens. So I tend to take 2-5 glucose readings per day. The rubber gloves in my glucometer bag aren't for me to use on me so much as they are to be ready if I need to assist someone in a first aid setting or administer narcan to someone.
Excedrine Migraine: A tried and true beloved OTC medication, both my terrier, Chewbacca, and my malinois, Phobos, are trained for migraine alert and POTS electrolyte imbalance alert work, although Chewbacca is retired at this point. At the first migraine alert from my dogs, I take one tablet of Excedrine and then wait an hour. If the migraine continues to worsen, I then take the second half of the regular dose. This is what works for me, and you should talk to your doctor about treatment options if you have migraines. Currently, I'm down to only 2-4 migraines a month and only experiencing breakthrough hemiplegic migraine symptoms about once every 3 months with this routine.
Narcan: I carry it everywhere. I was never an opioid addict. However, after my TBI, I did struggle with perscription amphetamine addiction, and as a result of having been through that, and having gotten clean, I've become a really big proponent of harm reduction and narcan access programs. There's a few charities I'm involved with that give away narcan locally, and I'd be happy to put anyone interested in carrying narcan some national resources. I also live fairly close to Philadelphia and have unfortunately had to utilize narcan to assist strangers in bars in the past from tainted supplies.
Menstrual cup: I have PCOS, so my cycle isn't super regular and I'd rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it.
Not Pictured: My supply of both instant iced coffee, instant electrolytes, and protein bars that I keep in my glove box, office desk, and at home. Both the caffiene (increases blood pressure) and the electrolytes (increases sodium and potassium) are important in managing my POTS symptoms. The protein bars are for when my glucose drops a bit too far.
Chicken Churu: This was Hannibal's treat for today, we worked on saying hello to strangers and walking nicely on a leash.
Tech:
Corresponding Photos: 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, & 9
Samsung Galaxybook Go: This is my laptop for work and personal use, it has an LTE data chip so I can use it on the go without sucking up my Hotspot data, and it's got fantastic battery life. I bought this refurbished off of Amazon at the beginning of the year. It also charges with a USB-C cable which is super convenient since the rest of my tech with the exception of my smart watch also utilizes USB-C charging so I can just pack a fast charge block and 2 USB-C cables rather than lug around 5 different chargers.
Samsung Galaxytab S6 Lite: It was on special at costco and has an S-Pen which is great as someone who's memory for reading/typing isn't nearly as effective as my memory for things I've written down. I mostly use this for notes on patients and my studies.
Samsung Galaxy23 Ultra: It has a stylus and is of a similar design, feel, and functionality to my Note9 I just replaced last fall.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro: The active noise cancelling is fantastic for working in busy coffee shops on Mondays, and the Ambient sound is great for getting a Podcast in during charting or longer monitoring stints.
Samsung Galaxy Watch5: LTE enabled watch helps when I'm away from my phone during the day, it allows me to still get calls, texts, notifications, and keep track of active time and calories burned.
Charging Bundle: One 8" USB-C -> USB-C cord for charging my tablet, phone, or earbuds off of my laptop, one 4' USB-C -> USB-C cord to charge my laptop or other devices if my laptop is sufficently charged, a USB-A -> hard drive cord for my 1TB portable drive, and a USB-A Smart watch charging cord.
Data storage: 8GB flash drive that is mostly used for ultrasound capture transfers and X-Ray Diacom transfers, although occasionally it also gets used for in-house lab data transfers when the WiFi link is acting up. 1 TB portable hard drive, this contains textbook PDFs, a large music library, archived notes, and lesser used reference tables and software. It also has copies of my more important documents.
Vlogging/Content Creation Supplies: Light bar, microphone, mini tripod, comfort grip, and microphone stand. Basically just stuff to enhance recording quality for tiktoks, reels, and YouTube videos (coming soon).
Books & Stationery:
Pocket Edition Book of Common Prayer: No, I am not carrying a Bible around, I have an app for that. This is a Book of Common Prayer (1979 edition) for The Episcopal Church. While I'm laity, I do still try and take time for Morning Prayer/Matin, Noonday Prayer/Diurnum, Evening Prayer/Evensong, and End of Day Prayer/Compline. These are quiet moments for me to break away from the stressors of the day. I also utilize 2 additional devotionals for quiet time upon rising and before bed that supplement my regular journaling, however these stay on my bedside table with my primary journal.
Martha Stewart For Staples Discbound Junior Notebook, this is my planner, quick notebook, and lazy journal, I basically dump my brain out right here throughout the day.
Paper clips: From marking off the current month and week in my planner to organizing papers from drug reps, to getting a client printed copies of their records, there's lots of paperclip usage.
Correction tape: I don't often use pencils and sometimes my brain goes faster than my hand and mistakes happen.
Erasers and pencil leads: If I'm out and about I don't want to lose my ability to sketch and use pencils if they're needed
Pens: Pink, Red, and Black ink, my standard for personal notes is Pink ink, while business notes are done in black, the red is for corrections on both
Pencil: it's the same grip as my favorite pens that I can write for hours with, super beneficial for long study sessions.
S Note App: My longer rough notes and revised notes are done in SNote with a SPen/stylus and handwritten out. I also tend to keep spare nibs on hand, however I am currently out of spare nibs.
Sticky notes/flags: great for passing off notes to coworkers, flagging charts, or marking messages.
Snack Attack:
Travel Cutlery set with a fork, spoon, and knife so that I don't have to get utensils when I grab breakfast or lunch at Wawa or the local BBQ joint
Travel straw: Save the turtles while still enjoying my Starbucks
Bandana/neckerchief: No single use napkins here
Coozie: Perfect for NA Seltzers, Sodas, or a beer at the bar after work. Plus it holds all my other eating supplies.
Beauty/Hygiene:
Hand lotion: washing hands between every patient can leave my hands feeling pretty gnarly, so I always pack lotion
Perfume: Anal Glands happen, and sometimes you just... need to freshen up a bit.
Dry Shampoo: my hair always looks super greasy after taking my scrub cap off after surgeries, this buys me enough time to get through my shift
Hand sanitizer: ideal for housecall visits or visits to elder care facilities where you may not be able to properly wash your hands between patients.
Lip gloss: I'm not a huge fan of lip balms and the waxy feeling they leave on my lips vs the glide of a lipgloss or oil.
Sewing kit: Because if your shirt rips in vet med, it's probably going to be in a place you really don't want it to rip
Manicure kit: wrestling with animals can cause nail breakage and hang nails, and I'd rather not have to chew one off. It also has tweezers that come in handy for splinters or thorns picked up from animal coats.
Blotting sponge: again, I tend to start looking greasy after surgery because I sweat. And I'd rather be able to take care of it quickly and discreetly
Condoms: These don't need to be in my work bag, but they're in the tool kit along with my most basic essentials because the Toolkit is in every bag I use, including bags I use when I go out for girls night or linedancing. Also another have and not need vs need and not have item.
Hair tie, bobby pins, barette: just little extra bits and bobs as needed for hair issues, sometimes the dry shampoo isn't enough and the only solution is to throw my hair up into a slicked back ponytail instead of having it down.
Cooling wet wipe: again, surgical sweating
Other Essentials:
Wallet: Obvious Reasons
Nicotine Pouches: I've quit vaping but I haven't quite kicked the habit entirely yet
Unpictured: Glock 43. I uber and doordash after work, I also deliver controlled substances for patients in some not-so-great areas being ravaged by the opioid epidemic. I'm also a 5'5" disabled female who lives alone and has had a stalker. Sorry not sorry, it's insured, I'm licensed, and I take courses for it routinely.
If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts, feel free to DM me, comment here, comment in the tags, or reblog. Also, I'm aware this is Tumblr and that the Jesus stuff can be frightening to see, just want to make note that I do fall somewhere between a pluralist and a universalist. As long as you aren't using your religious views to oppress, marginalize, or harm people, we're good as far as I'm concerned.
So here's mine, it's not as good as it is on paper just yet, however, for 2025 I decided to go paperless and have just been using my tablet as my notebook. First is a photo of the tablet, and because there were some glare issues I also uploaded a screen shot with the cursive and print alphabet and a few phrases to show how my handwriting works in general. On paper my print is even more like... slender and elongated and weird, so I kind of like how using the tablet has softened it. My numbers still look like my hand on paper with digital though (See below) and I usually add a little diagonal line through my zeros if I'm not just writing numbers since they look too much like my Os
Studyblr !! Reblog with your handwriting (pretty please) !!
I like seeing how people write