Your health is very important

OK, so mostly I blog about knitting, my shop, etsy :)
But today I thought I would give a little friendly advice (being I am a healthcare professional)...That brings me to my statement, always check with your healthcare provider before taking any advice from lil ol me...
So anyway, here are my two bits of advice.

Numero Uno...Get a mammogram. I just had my yearly done. It takes 5 minutes and you know what, a little squeeze and you get piece of mind. 5 minutes ladies :) that's it. Life saver. Probably one of the easiest tests you'll ever have.

Second,
Have you ever had accupuncture? What a novel idea for pain. I went today for my first visit. I have had chronic tendonitis, (hmmm could it be all the knitting????) anyway. I have had 3 steroid shots and 2 rounds of physical therapy and 1 year later, I still have alot of pain. But, for me, no meds. Nope. Look, if I break something, that's a different story. Don't get me wrong tendonitis is extremly painful, especially at night when you are trying(key word~~~trying) to sleep. But I'm a suck up the pain type of gal, always have been. Tough german stock here. So anyway, back to the accupuncture. I went in feeling my normal in pain, stressed out self and came out 2 hours later (initial visit, paperwork, interview, etc...actual time of needles in body~~half hour) feeling like a limp noodle. That's right...a noodle. I still feel like a noodle, all relaxed and, well, happy :) Pain in arm is less (still there but hey it's only one treatment). So if you've got issues. Try some eastern medicine, especially if western isn't cutting it for you.

Alright, that's my "rant" for today. I was just so excited about the way I feel post treatment I wanted to share.

EtsyNJ central jersey meetup

We had a really cool meetup yesterday. I'm loving the street team thing, what a great idea Etsy admin!!!! We met at Panera on Rt 1 in North Brunswick. So I had such a nice time I thought I would feature some of my favorites from these girls shops. Angela~~such a lovely woman~~I will gladly feature you when you post some items :)

So first up is Marisa from Purplelicious, great shop!! This is her ChezMoi green floral head band check it out here she has some awesome stuff in her shop.

Next up is Heather's shop Astrums, this is an awesome shop!!!! I instantly fell in love with this Dorset Rex brass evening bag. Oh boy do I have a spot in my heart for vintage :) check it out here. She has alot of really cool jewels and vintage in her shop.

Next up is Ribbon craft Botique. If you have little one's this is the shop for you. She has lots of goodies for little girls :) check these cool barrettes out here

Next up is creations by Danielle. This shop has lots of cool vintage stuff also. If you have read through any of my blog or seen my work you know I LOVE vintage buttons. check them out here. Very cute shop, lots of goodies!!!

And last but certainly not least Kerrie from Phoenix Jems. She is so talented with her craft. She had one of her beautiful necklaces on at the meetup. Simply stunning!!! I love this necklace in her shop~~One of my favorite colors~~ check it out here. So as you can see the EtsyNJ street team has some real talent!!!! But of course that's just how us Jersey girls roll ;)

Saint Lucia my home away from home

We just returned from our 3rd trip to Saint Lucia. The island is so beautiful and it will be my description of "paradise" forever. We stayed at Sandals again and the people there are exceptionally nice and outgoing!! So I am relaxed and rested. I was up at 7am everyday and took a nap at 2pm daily. I also am proud to say that I hit the gym 4 times while we were there and tried to keep the frozen drinks to a minimum. I had my hair corn rowed because in the humidity it's either that or frizz :) and besides I think it's a fun hairdo to have. So I will mention here that although we were in paradise we noticed immediately a big change in the island. Here where the surface area is sufficiently smaller than in the US it is easier to see the effect that global warming is having. We were in St. Lucia just 2 years ago almost exactly the same week. It was hot then with very little rain (maybe a 10 minute sun shower). This time around the weather was not as good. It rained alot. It is not their rainy season. Perhaps even more disturbing to me was the Carribean sea~~~~looking like the Atlantic Ocean with 7-8 foot swells for the first 4 days that we were there. The beach erosion is evident. The islanders that we spoke to said that their weather changed drastically 7-8 months ago. Changed so much that their crops are being effected by it. Scary, very scary.

So Hubby and I also decided to check out the town of Castries. We took a cab in for some shopping. Bought some cool stuff and then took off in search of a pharmacy (this is what pharmacists do on vacation--look for pharmacies--) So we found one and asked to speak with the pharmacist only to be told that she was not in. Hmm...here the store cannot be open if the RPh is not in the building. The gentleman also informed us that she was out for 3 weeks and that they have a severe shortage of pharmacists on the island...Ummmm can I have a job application??????? My motto as island pharmacist...No pressure No problem mon :)

Handbook to Handmade

Just a quick blurb, got a convo from Bee tonight and guess what....We are both on the cover of Handbook to handmade v5 how exciting is that???? I am super psyched. Please go check out Timothy Adam's shop, he's got some really cool jewelry in there. Thanks Timothy!