I have to write a bio for work. Blah.

Oh, did I mention here that I finally heat treated my jewelry? I wasn't sure it was safe to, but since I am relatively confident that I am bug-free, I did not want to wait another year for my jewelry. Anyhoo I wore round cut garnets in gold yesterday and today drop earrings with gold spiral and brown glass beads. Also wearing a gold chain necklace today.

I also put in gold studs into the second piercing on each ear (more than 6 months since they have been worn, maybe more than a year), darn that is sore here on day two. I am treating it as a new piercing just leaving them in, twisting and cleaning every night with alcohol.

Msbelle, yep! You mentioned that a goal was to wear more jewelry this year I think! You wanted to wear a different set each day for a week iirc.

Hillshire Farms has a cheese-filled smoked sausage that is teh yum when cooked up with hash browns.

No pain vibes to Sue, Suzi and ita.

Interesting article on what it's like to freeze to death, and what doctors can do to revive people with severe hypothermia: As Freezing Persons Recollect the Snow--First Chill--Then Stupor--Then the Letting Go

ita, I hope you make it through okay.

msbelle, you must be so happy to get your jewelry back. Note - alcohol/peroxide aren't recommended for piercings any more, nor is twisting. Probably not a big deal, but fyi.

From the Association of Professional Piercers: [link]

Cleaning Solutions

* WASH your hands thoroughly prior to cleaning or touching your piercing for any reason. * SALINE soak for five to ten minutes once or more per day. Invert a cup of warm saline solution over the area to form a vacuum. For certain piercings it may be easier to apply using clean gauze or paper towels saturated with saline solution. A brief rinse afterward will remove any residue. * SOAP no more than once or twice a day. While showering, lather up a pearl size drop of the soap to clean the jewelry and the piercing. Leave the cleanser on the piercing no more than thirty seconds, then rinse thoroughly to remove all traces of the soap from the piercing. It is not necessary to rotate the jewelry through the piercing. * DRY by gently patting with clean, disposable paper products. Cloth towels can harbor bacteria and snag on jewelry, causing injury.

What's wrong with alcohol/peroxide?

Saline!! That actually makes sense. Lots of the cleaning we do for Grace's trache/g-tube are done with saline or just soap and water. Saline is also great to get blood stains out of things... much better than just water, ftr. Don't know why.

In fact, we have these but in 15ML instead of 5ML: [link] which are awesome for things like contacts or you know, helping your sick kid. Also, they are perfect for nasal stuff.

I have had a truly sucky morning so far. First, I slept in until 9:15 (I meant to be at work by 9:30). Then, after making three stops on the way into work, I managed to spill my large orange juice all over my desk as soon as I got to my cubicle. My garbage can is now full of all of the paperwork which I was meaning to go through and mostly get rid of anyway, but I also have a slightly damaged family photo (the oj seeped into the picture frame) and I've depleted everyone's napkins in the aisle.

New Guy has joshed me about having an 8-5 headache. He really has no place to make those jokes, given when he does or doesn't start his day. Yes, I was an hour later than I normally am. No, I don't feel up to being here. Hmmph.