At the beginning of the year I became part of a network of Chronic Illness Bloggers. In addition to opportunities to test and review products, we support each other in living with our conditions, and share with each other tips, articles, resources, and posts.

One such post is the following: “4 Women Share What It’s Like To Live With An Invisible Disease.”

“You have no idea how sick someone is on the inside when you can only see the outside. We talked to four women who are struggling with chronic (read: lifelong) illnesses that are all but invisible to the naked eye. Here, they share what it’s like to suffer from the diseases and the doubt.”

A great description of what it’s like to come up against the attitude of, “But you don’t look sick”.

I just have a quick links to pass along today, as fibro has risen up to smite me for all the energy I expended over the holiday, because it TOTALLY SUCKS like that.

It’s an episode of the podcast, “Explore Your Enthusiasm” by Tara Swiger called “How to survive the holidays as an introvert”. But the things she talks about apply equally as well for someone suffering from chronic pain and illness. She gives a lot of practical ideas for how to navigate stressful situations gracefully while taking good care of yourself, as well as ideas for how to help yourself recover.

Extra Bonus Links:

OK, I lied. I just remembered 2 funny Thanksgiving-related items I wanted to pass along.

1. As a (self) certified Crazy Cat Lady, I love these “17 Cat Reations For Every Thanksgiving Situation“.

2. For the second Thanksgiving in a row, the website Buzzfeed asked the employees in its London office to correctly label a map of all 50 United States (confession: I’m not sure I could actually do that). Make sure you’re not drinking anything near whatever electronic device you’re reading this on.

Have a great weekend!

A collection of small treasures I’ve found while out and about.

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You can click on the “share” buttons at the bottom of any post if you feel inspired to spread a little snarky love online.

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Fun Finds:

Last month I turned 42, which I’ve been told is the answer to everything. I haven’t found that to be quite the case, but it’s early days yet-I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

It does seem that every time I turn around I find another article about Generation X-ers and how we are embarking upon middle age, so I’m including a few of my favorites here.

-I know I’m late on this, but I love this comparison between Halloween for Kids in the ’70s vs. Halloween Today.

-Generation X’s journey from jaded to sated discusses how we’re coming to terms with this next stage of life:

Boomers cry “More, more, more!” and Millennials whine “Me, me, me!” But Gen Xers know when to say “Meh”

“Because of this, we’ve learned not to get too attached. And because of this, we’re content.

Does that mean we’re above reproach? Of course not. We Xers can be aloof and arrogant. We tend to name our dogs after people (“Meet my pug: Zachary Jones.”) and our kids after dogs (“This is my oldest: Howl.”). We get misty over the smell of Aqua Net. And if acid wash jeans come back, we’ll be the first to have them on, no matter our age, particularly if they are ripped at the knee to reveal thermal underwear.

But all of us aged 36-ish to 51-ish should be pretty proud of learning how to “let go and let life.” It’s been a hard-fought battle, and we’ve got the untouched scars to prove it. We don’t need an award—we’ve never even owned a trophy case—so please hold your applause. We’ll just celebrate it quietly, right here, in our hammock of “just fine”, murmuring our “Meh, meh, mehs” while we DVR another generation’s biting reality.”

–What you learn in your 40s and 40 Things I Can Do at 40 That I Couldn’t Do When I Was 20 celebrate wisdom gained from our 4 decades of life.

-And 40 Effed Up Things About Being 40 highlights the other side of the coin.

Fibro:

This week, in honor of all those who take care of us, here’s A Not-To-Do List For Caregivers of the Chronically Ill.

Funny:

Trying to exercise around cats. Mwa ha ha ha ha.

A collection of small treasures I’ve found while out and about.

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The newest addition to the Resources page is a tool called The Satisfaction Finder, which was created by life coach and spiritual teacher Jennifer Louden. Given how much time I spend at home alone with my thoughts, I’ve found this tool to be a lifesaver when I’m attacked by thought gremlins preaching their different variations of, “You’re not trying hard enough to overcome your illness, you’re not doing enough in your life, and therefore, you suck.”

If you’d like more Cranky Fibro Girl, you can follow me on the social media account of your choice by clicking on the brown buttons in the sidebar.

You can click on the “share” buttons at the bottom of any post if you feel inspired to spread a little snarky love online.

If you’d like to receive news and updates, you can sign up for my email list by filling out the form at the top of this page.

Fun Finds:

Here’s an article that explains “The Science Behind Baking the Most Delicious Cookie Ever“.

And while we’re on the subject of food, it seems that “Edible Chocolate LEGOs Exist, Childhood Dreams Can Now Be Stacked And Eaten“.

Fibro:

The blog Life in Pain featured a wonderfully articulate post titled “Letter to People without Chronic Pain“. It is one of the best resources I’ve found that describes what it is like to live with chronic illness. For example:

“Pain can inhibit listening and other communication skills. It’s like having someone shouting at you, or trying to talk with a fire alarm going off in the room. The effect of pain on the mind can seem like attention deficit disorder. So you may have to repeat a request, or write things down for a person with chronic pain. Don’t take it personally, or think that they are stupid.”

And,

“Pain can sometimes trigger psychological disabilities (usually very temporary). When in pain, a small task, like hanging out the laundry, can seem like a huge wall, too high to climb over. An hour later the same job may be quite OK. It is sane to be depressed occasionally when you hurt.”

Or,

“Not all pain is easy to locate or describe. Sometimes there is a body-wide feeling of discomfort, with hard to describe pains in the entire back, or in both legs, but not in one particular spot you can point to. Our vocabulary for pain is very limited, compared to the body’s ability to feel varieties of discomfort.”

Funny:

A collection of small treasures I’ve found while out and about.

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So a few years ago, I decided to join Toastmasters. I’ve always been pretty comfortable getting up in front of people; all through high school I performed on the piano in recitals, competitions, and plays, and then starting in grad school I was a Spanish teacher for a number of years. But I wanted more practice in getting up and telling funny stories, so that’s what did (or, tried to do at least) in my speeches.

The following year I took a class in stand-up comedy, and at graduation performed a 4-minute routine on stage, in a comedy club, in front of actual, live people. This remains the scariest thing I have done in my life so far, and consequently is one of the things I’m most proud of having done.

My speeches and my comedy routines were all recorded, and can be found on my Podcasts page; they’re a little something you can listen to when you need a bit of a pick-me-up.

If you’d like more Cranky Fibro Girl, you can follow me on the social media account of your choice by clicking on the brown buttons in the sidebar.

You can click on the “share” buttons at the bottom of any post if you feel inspired to spread a little snarky love online.

If you’d like to receive news and updates, you can sign up for my email list by filling out the form at the top of this page.

Fun Finds:

One of the basic, guiding principles of my life is the belief that there is no such thing as too many books. Therefore, I was delighted to discover the site Book Bub, which sends you a daily email full of “limited-time free and discounted ebooks matching your interests”.

Fibro:

In her latest blog post, Why don’t you just know how to help me?, Lizzy, of The Pillow Fort, shares how she was inspired to put together a list of how her friends and family can help her when she’s sick and in pain. She also shares a free, downloadable template that you can use to make a similar list for your loved ones.

Funny:

A collection of small treasures I’ve found while out and about.

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Back in the early, more hostile days of Cranky Fibro Girl I wrote a manifesto born of my frustration in dealing with the medical establishment. I’m fortunate to have found really good, supportive doctors over the past five years, but that was not always the case in the beginning.

If you’d like more Cranky Fibro Girl, you can follow me on the social media account of your choice by clicking on the brown buttons in the sidebar.

You can click on the “share” buttons at the bottom of any post if you feel inspired to spread a little snarky love online.

If you’d like to receive news and updates, you can sign up for my email list by filling out the form at the top of this page.

Fun Finds:

This article describes how “Chilean architects from Undurraga Devés have recently worked with members of the indigenous Mapuche community in Huechuruba, near Santiago, to help build a very specific type of housing: a place that would not only meet their basic needs, but also respect their traditions and ideas. ”

This is a story about a dad who made his little girl a real-life princess by finding and claiming an unoccupied space in the world.

Fibro:

I love the tagline of The Pillow Fort magazine and community: “Making chronic illness suck less”. Lizzy, the founder of the site, has just published the third issue of her ezine.

She’s also posted an article by one of the members of the community on “An A-to-Z of Self-Care”.

Funny:

A collection of small treasures I’ve found while out and about.

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It’s hard for me to believe, but my blog turned 9 years old this summer. The sheer volume of words can be a bit overwhelming, so I’ve been pulling together a selection of posts that capture the highlights of the past 9 years. It’s a work on progress, but you can check out what I’ve done so far by clicking here, or by clicking on “My Story” in the right hand sidebar.

If you’d like more Cranky Fibro Girl, you can follow me on the social media account of your choice by clicking on the brown buttons in the sidebar.

You can click on the “share” buttons at the bottom of any post if you feel inspired to spread a little snarky love online.

If you’d like to receive news and updates, you can sign up for my email list by filling out the form at the top of this page.

Fun Finds:

I love a good story-especially a good mystery-and I also love TV. So I was thrilled to find this site, which offers a selection of some of the best British Crime and Mystery TV Series. I binge-watched all of “Broadchurch” a couple of weekends ago because it was such a good story, so I can highly recommend it if you’re looking for a place to start.

Circling back to the subject of overwhelm, I frequently feel paralyzed by the amount of information available in any given moment, on any given subject. So I was thrilled to discover theSkimm, which bills itself as “the daily email newsletter that gives you everything you need to start your day”. Every weekday I get a quick rundown of major news stories, with a variety of links to additional resources if I want to explore a story further.

Fibro:

Overestimated My Potential by Fightin’ The Fibro. Oh, how I recognized myself in this post by Fibro Facial Gal

You would expect that 20+ years of chronic myofascial pain and fibromyalgia would result in a more realistic gauge of my abilities, but, nope. Apparently reality is for other people.

I consistently am convinced I can do whatever I put my mind to, even if the evidence to the contrary is nudging my grossly overblown expectations into more realistic territory. Part of this issue is that I still want to get things done, dammit. Not a recipe for realism, I am afraid.

I just discovered Save a Spoon (@Spoonie_Life) on Twitter. I haven’t had a chance to explore very much yet, but I’m looking forward to discovering all her “tips & tricks to save every drop of energy possible”.

Funny:

A collection of small treasures I’ve found while out and about.

Featured On The Blog:

I’ve added a Resources page to the site to showcase various helpful items I’ve found on my fibro journey. Check out the posting guidelines and then feel free to add to the list in the comments.

If you’d like more Cranky Fibro Girl, you can follow me on the social media account of your choice by clicking on the brown buttons in the sidebar.

You can click on the “share” buttons at the bottom of any post if you feel inspired to spread a little snarky love online.

If you’d like to receive news and updates, you can sign up for my email list by filling out the form at the top of this page.

Fun Finds:

This week, a random collection of helpful hints.

A list of 70 of the most useful websites on the Internet.

This article from Life Hacker shows the best ways to use fresh herbs in your cooking.

When you need some help with “cooking math”, check out The Common Cook’s How-Many Guide To Kitchen Conversions.

Fibro:

Jenny Lawson (also know as The Bloggess) suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, and has written a brilliant piece on what it’s like to finally stop hurting after an extended period of pain.

This article explains why telling someone to just “cheer up” makes people feel worse. Just substitute “chronic illness” for “low self-esteem”.

Funny: