free, Free, FREE ETSY Shop Giveaways and Sales Through Labor Day Weekend

Online Blog and ETSY Shop -

Giveaways and Sales for the Labor Day Weekend:

Happy Labor Day 2008!

Good luck!

Lots of giveaways below. Be sure to click on every one so you can enter and win something.

Adora Art Original Paintings is offering free shipping
Alesi has a "Buy One, Get One for $5.00" sale
Ann Made Stuff is having a 20% off sale
Azaiez ETSY Shop is offering 10% off
Baby White Elephant's ETSY Shop is having a 30% store-wide sale and free domestic shipping
Batiz Jewelry's ETSY Shop is having a 10% off sale items, 20% off items not on sale
Beads by Sam is offering free shipping anywhere
Bloggy Giveaway Giveaway from Swede at Heart
Calypso Mineral Makeup's ETSY shop is having a 40% off sale
Cards By Jenna is having a giveaway on her blog
Clean Rinse has a "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" sale on laundry samples
Cool Crafty Mom's Blog is having a giveaway of a beautiful print from Groovy Inclinations
D'Elle Juwelen's A freshwater pearl charm with swarovski crystals and sterling silver giveaway
Diba Beads and Vintage is having a "Find Indy" sale - 10-20% off
DZ Fantasy is having a "Wear a Fairy" giveaway
Erin T Fashion Accessories has 20% off anything in her store - mark "Labor Day Sale" in the "notes" section to get your discount
Goldentone Designs is offering free shipping
Goldtone Design has free shipping anywhere in the US
Groovy Inclinations ETSY shop is having a $10.00 off 3 prints
Handmade By Pam has a 10% off sale
Hodge Podge Bricologe is having a 10% off sale + free shipping
Home Studio's ETSY shop is having a "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" sale
IXTIL is offering "Buy One, Get One 1/2 Off"
Jewelry by Mel is offering free shipping
Joyas Bellas Jewelry Giveaway
Just a Girl's ETSY shop is having a 15% off sale + free shipping for orders over $25
Kimber's Handmade Bath & Body has a monthly drawing and is currently having a sale
Kristina Laurendi Havens ETSY Shop is having a "Buy 1, Get 1 Free" sale
La Chapina Huipil Crafts is having an earring giveaway through Thursday 9/4
La Mia Designs A necklace and earring set that is made out of japanese washi papers from LuLu Village
LillyD Bags has free shipping on select summer bags
Lindentree Photography is having a "Buy 5 cards and Get 1 Free" sale
Little Hand Studios is offering free shipping
Lizard's Jewelry has a 20% off sale
Megan Speers ETSY shop is having a HALF OFF sale through Sept. 5th on notebooks and zines
Melanie's Originals is offering a FREE SOAP with any order
Mimowha's Boutique is having free shipping in the US and $1.00 shipping in Canada
Mommy's Monkey is having a 10% off sale and has a new $5.00 section
My Cozy Creations ETSY Shop is having a HUGE sale
Natasha Designs ETSY Shop is having a 50% off sale
Nebulamystic's ETSY shop has everything marked down 10-20%
New Hope Beads is having a 15% off sale through 8/31 on all handcrafted jewelry
Prizey Directory of Online Giveaways
RavenX - Dirty Pretty Things is having a "Buy 3, Get 1 Free" sale on cards
Red Barbi is offering a free business card holder with every purchase
Rock My World Inc is giving away a Peace Pin with every purchase
Rocki's Supplies Handcrafted Artisan Jewelry Findings is having a big sale
Sha Nic Design is offering free shipping to celebrate her grand opening
Simply Raevyn's ETSY Shop -and- Raevyn77's ETSY Shop 20% off of everything in both of my shops, except summer clearance items. Summer Clearance items are Buy 1 Get 1 Free!!
Square Expressions is having a store-wide sale - everything is $0.75 cents
The Bead Sock Lady is offering free shipping for US residents
The Gaudy Goddess has everything 10% off + free domestic shipping
The Tribal Market has a "Buy One, Get One Free" sale
Thread Spider ETSY Shop is having a sale on her hand stitched sampler
Timeless Designs is having a 20% off sale
Tribal Witch is having an earring giveaway
Vintage Goodies is having a SHOP sale
Vintage Opulence is having a 20% off sale
Viva la Violette is offering free shipping to the first 5 customers
Win Crafty Handmade Giveaways Listing
Zuccini & Co is having a "Buy 2, Get 1 free" sale

Alcohol Consumption: Drinking with ME/CFS

Alcohol Consumption

How Badly Can It Affect ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Sufferers? Part I

(Copyright, Claire Williams, 2003-2007. All Rights Reserved.
The wonders of alcohol. )

The achilles heel for many people. The 'norm' for some others. And probably poison if you have ME / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ...

I remember when I first got Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS /CFIDS) back in 1995, I thought that having a drink or two wouldn't affect me any differently to my pre-PVFS days. Unfortunately I didn't realize what I was doing to myself.

I didn't know how badly alcohol consumption can affect the severity of Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS /CFIDS) ...

Nowadays I don't touch alcohol at all, and haven't done so for a few years now. I'd rather see at least a few hours in the day instead of being bedridden for weeks on end because of one alcoholic drink!

Because when you have ME/CFS /CFIDS , you might as well be pouring arsenic down your throat...
------SIDE NOTE-------

Okay - so that comparison might be a little 'dramatic', but you get what I mean right?
-----SIDE NOTE-------

You see when you have ME/CFS /CFIDS , you are likely to develop **alcohol intolerance**...
The smallest alcoholic drink - even a tiny bit of alcohol consumption, can send you into a relapse - as I learned the hard way many years ago.

Having an alcoholic drink now and again was enough to tip the severity of my ME/CFS over the edge and put me in bed indefinitely.

When a **normal** person gets drunk they may feel ill for a day or so after which, they're back to 'normal', bouncing back and raring to go. But when a person with ME/CFS gets drunk - or even has just one drink, they're likely to feel like 'death warmed up' for what seems like an eternity!!!

Personally, I don't actually like alcohol much so I don't miss it. But even if I did, I have realized that alcohol consumption no longer makes me feel the way it used to before I had ME/CFS ...
Drinking alcohol now feels like I'm feeding myself poison, and my body reacts accordingly - i.e. a flare, or worse, a relapse - and I suffer the consequences for a long, long time afterwards.
Unfortunately, most of us ME/CFS sufferers are just not strong enough to resist the poisons of alcohol.

So for most of us, it's unfortunately a case of accepting it, or getting much, much worse.
As Dr Shepherd writes in his book 'Living With M.E.', many people who might have been able to drink alcohol before the onset of their illness, often find themselves getting very unwell even after small amounts of alcohol consumption.

So if you have ME/CFS, it is likely that you may have developed an intolerance to alcohol.
To find out more about diet and nutrition for ME/CFS visit:
http://www.sleepydust.net/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-nutrition-supplements.html

And to read reviews of my favorite supplements & items for ME / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome visit:
http://www.sleepydust.net/ME-CFS.html

This article will be continued in Part II...

Copyright, Claire Williams, 2003-2007. All Rights Reserved.

-------Claire Williams is editor of sleepydust.netand has suffered from Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome/ ME / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since 1995.
She created 'Sleepydust' to helpME/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgiasufferers deal with their condition - fromrecovering from their illness, to handling their money worries.
http://www.sleepydust.net/

4 NEW BASKETS Available in my ETSY Shop

Click here to visit my ETSY Shop!

One Patient's Story - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

If you have CFS, this story will sound earily familiar ...

One Patient's Story

By Angela Generoso, Staff Writer, MedicineNet.com
Reviewed by William Shiel, MD, FACP, FACR

At 21 years of age, Sarah Jones* felt like she was falling apart.

Once an energetic cheerleader and member of a professional dance team, full of energy and life, Jones gradually found herself bedridden and unable to work. As time went on she became more confused as to why she was feeling constantly tired.

Then one day a friend of hers, who was a nurse, asked if she had ever heard of chronic fatigue syndrome.

"My doctor back then didn't believe in chronic fatigue syndrome," Jones says. "It was still up in the air; people didn't believe it existed. I think it's better now, but back then it wasn't."

Jones found herself undergoing a series of tests, and when they were finished, she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, a disease which inhibits people from performing everyday activities due to severe tiredness. Although the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome is still unknown, doctors can diagnose it by ruling out other possible causes of fatigue.

"There was a sense of relief because finally there was a reason for all I was experiencing," Jones says. "People would constantly ask what was wrong with me, and I felt like I was going crazy. I never guessed it could be one particular illness that could be causing it all."

Jones started on a long journey of medical tests in an effort to get better. She went through years of disappointment, having MRIs taken, going through blood tests and a thyroid test, and was put on a series of different medications and herbs. She put time, money and effort into seeing naturalists, visited mainstream doctors, and went through a series of allergy injections in an effort to find an answer.

For about three years she was on a strict allergy diet where she had to exclude milk, sugar, corn and wheat from her diet, and also had to remove all dust particles from her house.

"My diet just became more and more limited," Jones says. "I was basically eating meat and salad, wheat free pasta and wheat-free, milk free cookies. My diet was very, very plain."
Although she followed her diet strictly, she still felt tired. Then in 1998, five years after her initial diagnosis with chronic fatigue syndrome, the dizziness started.

"I have constant dizziness," Jones says. "When I look at things, everything is always moving."
Jones sometimes has dizzy spells that are worse than others where she feels off balance and has to grab onto something. Her symptoms are sporadic in that she often can go a few days without feeling severely dizzy, but then experiences several dizzy spells in a short amount of time.

"With chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms come and go," Jones says. "I also have muscle aches, headaches, sore throats and TMJ to name a few," she said. "I sleep with a night guard to help prevent my jaw from locking while I sleep, although it still happens from time to time. My teeth will ache and I even went a whole year unable to chew on one side of my mouth."

Another symptom of chronic fatigue syndrome that plagues Jones is sleep disturbance. She often wakes up during the night for no reason on an average of 15 to 20 times and can remain awake for hours at a time. She underwent a sleep study to find out the cause, but was unable to come up with an answer. It still takes her at least an hour to fall asleep at night.

Jones also experiences problems with her joints and has elbow pain as well as pain in her thumb joints and knee joints. Her list of symptoms goes on to include temporary memory loss , depression, anxiety, irritability, acne, PMS, and lightheadedness. Yet, above all, her strongest and most constant symptoms are her fatigue and dizziness.

"The fatigue I experience isn't just ‘being tired,' she explains. "Every fiber of my being feels sick from fatigue."

Since Jones was too fatigued to work, she had to move back with her parents while going through the fight for social security and the wait for housing. It wasn't until 2000, at age 28, that she was able to finally live on her own for the first time since she was 21.
"That was a great feeling, to have my own place," Jones says.

Jones says one of the hardest parts of her condition was the amount of people who didn't believe she was actually sick.

"There were so many skeptics," she says. "I was not only fighting to feel better, I was constantly having to justify being sick to others because so many people didn't understand. Others view people with chronic fatigue syndrome as unmotivated and lazy."

Jones grew tired of putting hope into new doctors and new techniques to only be disappointed. After numerous attempts with different medications and diets, she decided that taking no medication and small, well-balanced foods was the best choice for her. Her relationship with God, an understanding husband and a daily nap is how she gets through the day.

"It helped me to just accept what it is and live with it," Jones says. "I try to live each day to the fullest and not get so caught up in being sick. It's important for me not to dwell on it."

Today Jones is happily married with two children, which is something that she never thought would be possible with her condition. She says her strong Christian faith is what has made the most difference in her life.

"I really try not to think about the illness itself and how much it has changed my life or that I'll never be better," Jones says. "Some days I'm not able to do as much and some days I'm able to do more. There is life with chronic fatigue syndrome. It may be different and more difficult than originally planned, but it still can be a full, beautiful life."

*Name has been changed.

Editor's Note: Although no cure for chronic fatigue syndrome exists today there is still hope for future research and development. Researchers have been working to find a cure since it was officially accepted as a disease in 1988.

For additional information on chronic fatigue syndrome tune into the chronic fatigue syndrome podcast on MedicineNet.com: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Symptoms and Struggle

Week of 8/3/08 CVS Deals

Scenerio: I only purchased what was on sale in the CVS weekly flyer + found coupons in the Sunday paper.

Worth buying:

1. PERT Buy-one-get-one-free + $3.00 coupon in paper.
2. Children's or Infant's ADVIL : ** You receive a $5.79 register coupon for future visits **
3. Ivory Bar Soap 3 Pack: ** You receive a $1.00 register coupon for future visits **
4. Fuze Tea Buy (2): ** You receive a $1.00 register coupon for future visits **
5. OB Tampons Buy (2): ** You receive a $5.00 register coupon for future visits **

6. Tylenol or Motrin 225 ct: ** You receive a $3.00 register coupon for future visits **

See how it all adds up?

Out of pocket: $33.48
Total Before Sales & Coupons: $75.00
Minus Manufacturer Coupons & Sales: $41.52

Minus ExtraCare Card Coupons on Register Receipt: $17.79

It's like paying: $15.69

Read About Other Great CVS Savings Trips:

http://kdcshenk.blogspot.com/2008/08/cvs-tonight-0-paid.html

http://thriftyinthecincy.blogspot.com/2008/08/cvs-deals-for-83.html

http://financialdiva.blogspot.com/2008/08/heres-what-im-stirring-up-deals-for.html

http://www.financegetspersonal.com/2008/08/03/83-cvs-trip-walgreens-scenerios/

http://liqin.bravejournal.com/entry/31099

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/