Month: August 2017

A Blogging Milestone: Thank You

Daily prompt: homage

Milestone: 100 Followers and Counting

This post is to pay homage to my readers, visitors, and followers, as my little blog reached a milestone today: 100 followers! I know that doesn’t seem like much in the blogging world, but considering the fact that I don’t follow a regular schedule and don’t monetize the blog with advertisers, I am pretty proud of that number. I want to thank each and every reader, visitor, follower for keeping me motivated to continue to post and helping me reach that goal. I appreciate the likes and comments you leave for me, and I am truly grateful! So a big THANK YOU!

snoopy happy dance
Wouldn’t it be nice if we expressed joy and gratitude every day?

Why I Blog

I started my blog almost two years ago as a way to share my love of photography (hence the blog name – PhotoBaugh – my last name is prounouced “Bow-man” so it’s a rhyme), things that inspire me, and tips about living with fibromyalgia. In that time I haven’t spent as much time with the camera as I would have liked due to other commitments (my day job and my board memberships), but those days do come. So I mostly share things that work for me to live a healthy, inspired life while dealing with chronic pain, and hope that I can help at least one person with each post.

“As one person I cannot change the world, but I can change the world of one person.”   ~ Paul Shane Spear

Blogging Tips I Have Learned

  • Consistency is Key: While I am not the most consistent, I have found my views and follows go up considerably when I post regularly. Life has gotten in the way a few times for me, as I have written about (here and here), but I am still working towards my goal of regular content.
  • Be Authentic: Life is not all perfectly posed pictures of travel to glorious places or sipping lattes. My best read post has been the post where I talked about my blogging journey and my screw-ups. 🙂 (I started the WordPress fundamentals course that day!) Write about what you know and what makes you happy!
  • Share Your Content: Some of my other big days have come from link-ups I do with the FibroBlogger Directory, WordPress prompts, or other bloggers’ prompts. I also share on Twitter and Pinterest, and less rarely on Facebook (I just have a personal presence there).

Gratitude and Joy

Just like Snoopy and Woodstock, I am doing my little happy dance right now. Thank you for reading about my little slice of life. Today I honor my readers and I hope you have a joyful day!

“Find out where joy resides and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the joy is to miss all.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

What milestones are you trying to reach? What are your tips for blogging success?

Cheers!

Cynthia

Magnesium for Pain Relief

I truly believe in using food, exercise, and things from nature to heal the body.

Finally, I have had some pain relief! If you have been following my story the last several months, you know I have been suffering with some acute pain. I am happy to report that I have not had numbness or pain in my arm now for three whole weeks!!  Zip. Zilch. Nada. That’s not to say all is well or I have any answers. Really, more questions. But for now I am enjoying the long-overdue break from my neck/shoulder/arm pain. 🙂

“Relief is a wonderful emotion, highly underrated. In fact I prefer it to elation or joy. Relief lets the air out of the Tire of Pain.” ~ Adriana Trigiani

I saw a non-surgical specialist a month ago, and was ready to go in for cervical facet joint steroid injections. One of the things I had to do was quit taking Fish Oil 7 days prior, so on Monday, July 31st I did just that. I was still experiencing pain through that week. On Saturday, August 5th I read an article by Donna of Fed Up with Fatigue about 30 Low Cost Fibromyalgia and Chronic Lyme Treatments. (Major shout out to Fibro Blogger Directory and the Friday article link-ups!) The second item on her list was magnesium malate that she said “helps to reduce my pain levels, soothes my restless legs, improves my sleep, and keeps me regular.” So I read the reviews, bought a bottle, and took a pill that night. Continue reading “Magnesium for Pain Relief”

Reblog: THE SECRET LIFE OF PAIN…

If you have read my last few posts, you know I have spent the last 5 months in and out of doctors spending tons of money on tests to diagnose some chronic and acute pain I thought was associated with a past neck surgery. The tests find little to nothing, so now I am wondering if this is just new manifestations of my fibromyalgia. The last few days I had decided it is time to regroup and try a more holistic approach. Reading this blog post from Back Pain Blog UK and the linked article this morning just confirms that for me. Check her blog and all the other great bloggers on FibroBloggerDirectory.com.

Cheers!
Cynthia

BACK PAIN BLOG UK...

The Secret Life of Pain is an article in New York Times which a friend sent me to read, and I just felt I had to share with my pain pals.

The article starts off by telling you about the double life that David Roberts, a former academic physicist and diplomat who lives and works in New York City.

He goes on to explain how he hid is chronic pain in many ways, one being that he had an orthotic cushion inside his briefcase and would make a joke out of sitting on the briefcase. He also wore a corset and heat wrap which he disguised under his tailored suit. He had become adept at hiding his back pain from everyone except his family.

He would even sneak upstairs when working at conferences to get some pain relief from his wife who would work on his back. Eventually he had…

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