March 21, 2020 was when our Shelter at Home directive was put in place. Today is July 15, 2020. It has been a long time, as everyone knows, worldwide.

We Were Lucky

Fortunately, we have a lovely home in the woods that we finished building last year, so we have had a comfortable place to stay. Our son, Joel, who has Down Syndrome, was not able to work at the YMCA for three months but he adapted well to living with us.

Less people contact was a challenge for him, but he was a good sport. We hunkered down, minimizing our treks out and about to essential business (my Real Estate company) and necessary shopping.

Now, as our state begins to loosen up a bit on restrictions, I am making note of really special things that we have to remember from this time.

Joel is back at work and living mostly independently. We make more trips to town, adjusting to Joel’s needs and our schedules.

I have a busier schedule with speaking and with Real Estate. My husband hopes to figure out a way to take travelers to the wonderful parts of Mexico that he so dearly loves.

My Pandemic Takeaways

But, as life returns to a somewhat normal rhythm, I want to remember some things from our time of restricted movement. We had it much easier than many, but our lives changed along with everyone else’s, and I am determined that life will be different going forward.

I Need Time on My Own

While most would call me an extrovert, and while I am very comfortable with meeting and serving people, I do enjoy quiet, alone time. I will make room for more of it in the future.

Humans Need Sun Exposure

Sunshine makes a HUGE difference in everyone’s mood. I’ve known this, but this year it was particularly obvious. Going forward, I will make note of stretches of rain and clouds and be conscious of the effects on myself and others.

We Can Make Do with Ingredients We Have

We have a lot of edibles in our home at all times. Trips to the grocery store are not needed as frequently as we once thought. If I didn’t have an ingredient for something I wanted to make, I substituted. Or, I waited. I will make use of what I have in my kitchen to conserve and to have less waste.

Being Mindful of Our Purchases

The teapot I bought makes noise! I had no idea until I filled if full and forgot it one day. It makes a lovely, tugboat tone. I will pay better attention to what I purchase so I can enjoy all of the details sooner.

We Don’t Need Mindless TV Watching

Joel has good taste in shows to watch when he is limited to options. We don’t have a television at our River Home, so we spent much less time watching mindlessly. I see no need for television and will continue to be selective in my viewing time… no more mindless watching.

The Beauty and Predictability of Seasons

The thrill of spring and hope and beauty was so much more vivid in slow motion. Because we slowed down, we noticed more.

How the individual trees bloom and bud. The mud from spring rains and how quickly it dries out. The effects of rain north of us on our streams and river. When the rains (or lack of rain) seem endless, I will remember that seasons come and go, predictably.

Birds, So Many Birds

I’ve always wanted to be able to identify birds by their physical appearance and by their song. Turns out, if you sit and watch and listen, it is possible.

Our mornings and evenings are rich with watching and listening to many species of birds. Even Joel will get up early to sip coffee and to hear the birds. Another slow down, take time, experience reminder.

Music Fills the Soul

The sound of classical piano music coming from the shower every time Joel is here. A lovely sound. One purchase we made was a wireless speaker for Joel. He loves music and listens a LOT. He discovered classical piano music during the pandemic and plays is specifically when he is in the shower… loudly.

Spending Feels Better When Limited

Even as our state is opening up a bit and being out and about is possible, I am content to limit my outings.

We are in the “at risk” age and we really have most (if not all) of what we need, so why venture out to peruse ways to spend money or to eat at a restaurant or to visit more indoor venues? Since our earning years are waning, I willingly am ready to limit my spending for non-essentials.

Aim for Positivity

For sure, there are things that I miss… evenings out for dinner, having friends in for a meal, in-person book clubs, working out at the YMCA. But, outdoor visiting, a kayak trip down the river, or a walk out of doors is satisfactory for now.

While I long for a return to a time of more certainty and less fear, I am grateful for being reminded of what makes me deeply satisfied so that I can always find something positive in my circumstances.

Which parts of your current life give you some relief from the stress of Covid-19? What do you want to remember from your experience of 2020, so far? How will you keep positive and healthy going forward? Let’s have a conversation and support each other with a positive mindset.

I’ve never had a migraine, nor has any member of my family. In truth, watching Khloé Kardashian deal with migraine symptoms on Keeping Up With The Kardashians over the years was my first up-close look at how severe migraine pain could be—and I’m not the only one who was educated thanks to Kardashian’s decision to be open about her struggle.

It’s so easy to assume that celebrities, with their glossy lives and perfect Instagram feeds, don’t have to deal with everyday ailments and inconveniences. But when these people choose to let fans and followers in on their struggles, the result can be a beautiful bonding experience. That’s exactly what I felt when I spoke to Khloé Kardashian about her long history of migraine pain, and the scenes in which I’d watched her suffer through it on the show. “It’s so funny, when that was happening, I was like ‘Stop filming me,’” she says of the first time the KUWTK crew filmed her mid-migraine. “You’re so on edge when you have a migraine, and any little thing just annoys the hell out of you. I was like, ‘Get out of my face, stop filming me, no one cares to watch this.’”

At the time, Kardashian thought the footage wouldn’t entertain viewers—and in a way, she was right, but she majorly underestimated the clip’s power. Rather than entertain, it raised awareness and allowed fans to see first-hand what migraine pain was really like. “It’s so interesting how many people remembered that from the show,” she says. “But that just shows how many people do suffer from migraines or know somebody who does, because for some reason everyone remembers that scene of me laying on that couch in agony.”

I was like, ‘Get out of my face, stop filming me, no one cares to watch this.’

As a mega-celeb in the public eye, Kardashian has waded her way through enough tabloid headlines to know that people will pick and choose which parts of her story they want to believe—but when it comes to her migraine journey, she wants to be sure she’s heard loud and clear. Her first migraine symptoms began at age 12, making her a regular at the school nurse’s office.

Invisible illness is a hard concept to grasp for those who haven’t experienced it, and if a person who gets migraines knows no one else with the same pain, it can become quite an isolating burden. “I don’t have anyone in my family who has migraines, so I would express how I was feeling to my family and they would all just kind of say, ‘Oh, you have a headache,’ and brush me off,” she recalls. It wasn’t until a family friend suggested she see a neurologist that she realized she could seek out help for her pain.

That said, the diagnosis itself is often easier than the journey to finding relief. “I’ve tried everything under the sun, from homeopathic remedies to acupuncture to peppermint oil,” Kardashian says, adding that she used to regularly tweet her followers asking for their at-home recommendations. “You get desperate, you just want some sort of relief,” she says.

When she first reached out to her fans, she was overwhelmed with support, and surprised that so many of her followers could relate. “I know my fan base, we’re like BFFs in my head, so when I saw people like, ‘Oh my gosh I suffer from migraines, too,’ that was surprising for me—just how many people I saw that were in this little group with me, the migraine group,” she says.

I get presented and offered a million things a day, but if it doesn’t work for me I’m not just going to talk about it.

Kardashian says she has found relief, though, and it came via new migraine therapy Nurtec ODT (rimegepant), which is approved for the acute treatment of migraine in adults—so much so, in fact, that she’s become an advocate for their Take Back Today campaign, the focus of which is to foster a digital community where people with migraine can connect and share their experiences. The campaign encourages people with migraine to use the hashtag #TakeBackToday on social media to share their stories.

Like so many other people with migraine symptoms, Kardashian had her fair share of trial and error before she found a medication that worked for her. “For my whole adult life I was trying different prescriptions, prescribed and over the counter, and I was actually given Nurtec ODT as a sample,” she shares. It was after success with the sample that Kardashian consulted her doctor about the decision to use the dissolvable medication long-term. “I have been looking for a remedy, a medication, for something for so long. I get presented and offered a million things a day, but if it doesn’t work for me, I’m not just going to talk about it.”

Source: Instagram

Real talk: With everything going on in the world right now, we’re all more on-edge than usual. For Kardashian and so many others, stress is a major migraine trigger. “With the pandemic, I was experiencing more migraines because of stress and the uncertainty of the world,” she admits. Even outside of a global pandemic, it’s easy to see that Kardashian lives a majorly stressful life, with millions of followers watching (and judging) her every move, many of which end up captured on reality TV the following season. On top of all that, she’s a mother to beautiful toddler True, who just might be the most beloved baby on Instagram.

Kardashian insists that wanting to show up for her daughter was part of what made her so determined to find migraine relief. “After my pregnancy, I experienced a spike in my migraines. I think it’s from hormones, I’m not really sure, but you get this Mom Guilt,” she says. “True just turned two not too long ago, so she’s not gonna remember all this, but as a new mom every little moment is precious to you. So when I do have a migraine and I’m knocked out for the day, I feel so terrible. You’re just like, ‘I’m such a bad mom.’”

Kardashian describes how frustrating it can be when True wants to play and all she wants to do is lay down and rest her head. When I joke during our interview that it sounds like a cliché medication commercial I’ve seen before, she acknowledges how true-to-life those commercials sometimes are. “Those commercials are so relatable because they’re just so spot-on,” she says, adding, “I’m just grateful that True is so young and I that have found relief for me.”

All the skeletons are out of my closet. I don’t really have anything to hide.

With True as her top priority, Kardashian has quickly discovered that maintaining her own health is essential to caring for her daughter. “We don’t realize how delicate our bodies are, and we just put them through the wringer every single day,” she says. “It’s kind of miraculous what our bodies can endure.”

With this in mind, Kardashian is taking steps to ensure both her mind and body stay healthy. “You can’t get rid of stress altogether, so you have to learn to cope with it,” she explains. “Working out has been a game-changer for me, drinking a lot of water…all the things that we should do that we probably don’t make ourselves do daily, but they all help.”

Whether or not you experience migraine symptoms or any other health issue, Kardashian’s advice applies to you: “Make sure that you always put yourself first. Take care of you,” she urges her fans. “I’ve always been pretty open—all the skeletons are out of my closet. I don’t really have anything to hide. I’m an open book and I’m happy to be, so I think people were surprised about the way I’ve been able to push through my migraines and still do what I have to do.”

That said, she doesn’t want to downplay the severity of her struggle. “It’s not that easy, so I want people to know, you’re not alone for wanting to lay your head on the floor and not lift it up. I’ve been there, and it just sucks.” The only way to get relief, though, is to proactively seek it out. “I think people put off medical advice because they’re afraid, but with information, then you can do something with it. If you have no information, you don’t even know where to start, so I think being informed is the best,” she insists. “But first and foremost, make sure that you’re happy and healthy, because that’s the heart of everything.”

Adrienne Maloof’s Crystal Studded Dress and Starburst Earrings

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 10 Episode 10 Fashion

While the first thing I think when I see Adrienne Maloof is Lisa Vanderpump saying “The Maloof Hoof” in my head (don’t ask me why that stuck), the second is how much I liked her as a cast member back in the day. As a business woman and mom I always respected her. And as a woman who scooped up a man half her age—on again off again boyfriend Anheuser Busch heir Jacob Busch—after she divorced Paul Nassif, I respect her more. I seriously love when a woman flips that script like that since you see so many older men with money with younger women.

But really, I wish we heard more from Adrienne this episode but I feel like her style was never to get in the middle of the messiness. So I’ll just stand back like she does and admire her crystal studded dress and starburst earrings and rich 29-year-old boyfriend.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Also Seen on Tinsley Mortimer:

Click Here to Shop her Jonathan Simkhai Dress

Click Here for Additional Stock

Click Here to Shop her Jennifer Behr Earrings in Gold

Click Here to Shop them in Silver

Originally posted at: Adrienne Maloof’s Crystal Studded Dress

Dorit Kemsley’s Strapless Crystal Fringe Dress

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 10 Episode 10 Fashion

Dorit Kemsley’s is all beads, boobs and bling on tonight’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in her strapless crystal fringe dress and I am HERE FOR IT, HUNNY (Lisa Rinna voice). I think she looks like a total ten in this dress, complete with hair bling, and this is exactly what I want to see out of my Beverly Hills Housewives.

Based on the previews tonight is the night it looks like this season finally picks up in the drama and the fashion department, so while I’d love to dwell on Dorit’s dazzling piece, it’s time to move onto the next number.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Click Here to See her Attico Ludmilla Dress

Click Here to Shop it in Pink

Click Here to Shop it in White

Photo: @DoritKemsley

Originally posted at: Dorit Kemsley’s Strapless Crystal Fringe Dress

I’ve never had a migraine, nor has any member of my family. In truth, watching Khloé Kardashian deal with migraine symptoms on Keeping Up With The Kardashians over the years was my first up-close look at how severe migraine pain could be—and I’m not the only one who was educated thanks to Kardashian’s decision to be open about her struggle.

It’s so easy to assume that celebrities, with their glossy lives and perfect Instagram feeds, don’t have to deal with everyday ailments and inconveniences. But when these people choose to let fans and followers in on their struggles, the result can be a beautiful bonding experience. That’s exactly what I felt when I spoke to Khloé Kardashian about her long history of migraine pain, and the scenes in which I’d watched her suffer through it on the show. “It’s so funny, when that was happening, I was like ‘Stop filming me,’” she says of the first time the KUWTK crew filmed her mid-migraine. “You’re so on edge when you have a migraine, and any little thing just annoys the hell out of you. I was like, ‘Get out of my face, stop filming me, no one cares to watch this.’”

At the time, Kardashian thought the footage wouldn’t entertain viewers—and in a way, she was right, but she majorly underestimated the clip’s power. Rather than entertain, it raised awareness and allowed fans to see first-hand what migraine pain was really like. “It’s so interesting how many people remembered that from the show,” she says. “But that just shows how many people do suffer from migraines or know somebody who does, because for some reason everyone remembers that scene of me laying on that couch in agony.”

I was like, ‘Get out of my face, stop filming me, no one cares to watch this.’

As a mega-celeb in the public eye, Kardashian has waded her way through enough tabloid headlines to know that people will pick and choose which parts of her story they want to believe—but when it comes to her migraine journey, she wants to be sure she’s heard loud and clear. Her first migraine symptoms began at age 12, making her a regular at the school nurse’s office.

Invisible illness is a hard concept to grasp for those who haven’t experienced it, and if a person who gets migraines knows no one else with the same pain, it can become quite an isolating burden. “I don’t have anyone in my family who has migraines, so I would express how I was feeling to my family and they would all just kind of say, ‘Oh, you have a headache,’ and brush me off,” she recalls. It wasn’t until a family friend suggested she see a neurologist that she realized she could seek out help for her pain.

That said, the diagnosis itself is often easier than the journey to finding relief. “I’ve tried everything under the sun, from homeopathic remedies to acupuncture to peppermint oil,” Kardashian says, adding that she used to regularly tweet her followers asking for their at-home recommendations. “You get desperate, you just want some sort of relief,” she says.

When she first reached out to her fans, she was overwhelmed with support, and surprised that so many of her followers could relate. “I know my fan base, we’re like BFFs in my head, so when I saw people like, ‘Oh my gosh I suffer from migraines, too,’ that was surprising for me—just how many people I saw that were in this little group with me, the migraine group,” she says.

I get presented and offered a million things a day, but if it doesn’t work for me I’m not just going to talk about it.

Kardashian says she has found relief, though, and it came via new migraine therapy Nurtec ODT (rimegepant), which targets the acute treatment of migraine in adults—so much so, in fact, that she’s become an advocate for their Take Back Today campaign, the focus of which is a digital community where people with migraine can connect and share their experiences. Kardashian is also encouraging people with migraine to use the hashtag #TakeBackToday on social media to share their stories.

“There’s this wonderful open forum and community where you can talk about migraines, and you can hear everyone’s different stories, what works for them, what doesn’t,” she says. “So that’s a great place to go if you just want to see what people are saying and feel like you have a community base.”

Like so many other people with migraine symptoms, Kardashian had her fair share of trial and error before she found a medication that worked for her. “For my whole adult life I was trying different prescriptions, prescribed and over the counter, and I was actually given Nurtec ODT as a sample,” she shares. It was after success with the sample that Kardashian consulted her doctor about the decision to use the dissolvable medication long-term. “I have been looking for a remedy, a medication, for something for so long. I get presented and offered a million things a day, but if it doesn’t work for me, I’m not just going to talk about it.”

Source: Instagram

Real talk: With everything going on in the world right now, we’re all more on-edge than usual. For Kardashian and so many others, stress is a major migraine trigger. “With the pandemic, I was experiencing more migraines because of stress and the uncertainty of the world,” she admits. Even outside of a global pandemic, it’s easy to see that Kardashian lives a majorly stressful life, with millions of followers watching (and judging) her every move, many of which end up captured on reality TV the following season. On top of all that, she’s a mother to beautiful toddler True, who just might be the most beloved baby on Instagram.

Kardashian insists that wanting to show up for her daughter was part of what made her so determined to find migraine relief. “After my pregnancy, I experienced a spike in my migraines. I think it’s from hormones, I’m not really sure, but you get this Mom Guilt,” she says. “True just turned two not too long ago, so she’s not gonna remember all this, but as a new mom every little moment is precious to you. So when I do have a migraine and I’m knocked out for the day, I feel so terrible. You’re just like, ‘I’m such a bad mom.’”

Kardashian describes how frustrating it can be when True wants to play and all she wants to do is lay down and rest her head. When I joke during our interview that it sounds like a cliché medication commercial I’ve seen before, she acknowledges how true-to-life those commercials sometimes are. “Those commercials are so relatable because they’re just so spot-on,” she says, adding, “I’m just grateful that True is so young and I that have found relief for me.”

All the skeletons are out of my closet. I don’t really have anything to hide.

With True as her top priority, Kardashian has quickly discovered that maintaining her own health is essential to caring for her daughter. “We don’t realize how delicate our bodies are, and we just put them through the wringer every single day,” she says. “It’s kind of miraculous what our bodies can endure.”

With this in mind, Kardashian is taking steps to ensure both her mind and body stay healthy. “You can’t get rid of stress altogether, so you have to learn to cope with it,” she explains. “Working out has been a game-changer for me, drinking a lot of water…all the things that we should do that we probably don’t make ourselves do daily, but they all help.”

Whether or not you experience migraine symptoms or any other health issue, Kardashian’s advice applies to you: “Make sure that you always put yourself first. Take care of you,” she urges her fans. “I’ve always been pretty open—all the skeletons are out of my closet. I don’t really have anything to hide. I’m an open book and I’m happy to be, so I think people were surprised about the way I’ve been able to push through my migraines and still do what I have to do.”

That said, she doesn’t want to downplay the severity of her struggle. “It’s not that easy, so I want people to know, you’re not alone for wanting to lay your head on the floor and not lift it up. I’ve been there, and it just sucks.” The only way to get relief, though, is to proactively seek it out. “I think people put off medical advice because they’re afraid, but with information, then you can do something with it. If you have no information, you don’t even know where to start, so I think being informed is the best,” she insists. “But first and foremost, make sure that you’re happy and healthy, because that’s the heart of everything.”