I love reading blogs with honest advice that I can relate to or apply to my life, but occasionally I also like to read blogs with differing points of view to my own. And because I know the work that is involved with blogging, I thought I would do a little appreciation post for some of my favourite blogs. Of all the blogs I follow, these are definitely on the top of my list, but this is by no means an exhaustive list of blogs I read or am subscribed to. Check them out, I’m sure you will find something you can relate to as well!

We will start with BBHwithMS I first discovered Meg from BBHwithMS (you will have to check it out to see what BBH stands for) when I started to look at alternate approaches to help me manage my Multiple Sclerosis because I am tired of popping pills everyday.  Pills to help with muscle spasticity, pills to deal with neuropathic pain, pills to deal with an overactive bladder, pills, pills, pills and boy did I hit the mother load when I stumbled upon Meg and her blog, as she is a wealth of information. Meg has been treating her MS through a change of diet and cannabis use for some years now and if you know me, you will know that I have been trying to rid myself of pharmaceuticals and replace them with Cannabis for quite some time, so we are very like minded in that regard and she has successfully done just that.  She is a passionate, educated and funny as hell kind of gal that I have had the pleasure of chatting with about her use of pharmaceuticals and the damage that they have done to her health and well-being (many of the medications she was taking are ones that I am currently taking). Meg has recently penned her first book which I highly recommend (Segway into my New Life) available on Amazon.  It is lighthearted, easy to read (I finished it in a day) and oh so relatable.  She has recently purchased a little piece of heaven called Camp Sunshine which will become a high-end cannabis retreat and event centre in the Pacific Northwest (think of her as the PNW’S Martha Stewart of Cannabis).  I would encourage you to follow along as they progress on her dream of educating as many people as possible about the use of Cannabis for treating Chronic Illness conditions.

Next up is Bethy Bright and Dark  Bethy Bright and Dark .  Bethy is a self proclaimed crazy cat lady  and among other things, is a widow, has Multiple Sclerosis and works in advertising.  She welcomes you to her good days (the bright), her bad days (the dark) and every kind of day in between.  One of my favourite posts is titled These Days https://bethybrightanddark.com/2020/06/23/these-days/  I mean, who doesn’t need an attitude adjustment some days? Am I right? Bethy’s frustration with her body and lack of control over what is happening to her body is refreshing, raw and totally relatable. Here’s a little excerpt from this post that I have felt many times during my MS journey “I am ashamed of myself because of how desperate I feel. I search for gratitude and grace in my soul and I find fear and anger. I tell myself I am blessed in so many ways but instantly forget them all the second I stand up and feel my legs that are somehow stiff and weak at the very same time. I cry. A lot. I’m not handling this well. I’m so very tired. I’m tired of being tired. I want to stay in bed and hide from all of this but when I’m in my bed I can no longer relax because my legs go stiff making it difficult to get out of bed again when the time comes to pee for the 47^th time in a 24-hour period. Bed isn’t a relaxing place. Again.”  I feel you Bethy, I totally understand how you feel, I have been there too. Thank you for being so relatable and honest.

Just when I need it most, I read something so relatable that it’s almost like she is in my head.  That’s what Ardra from Tripping on Air does for me trippingonair.com She approaches her MS with humour and a refreshing honesty. Like her post about questioning whether she has a new symptom or something else? https://trippingonair.com/2020/06/is-this-a-scary-new-ms-symptom.html Or her post titled Feeling MS’y: Trapped In A Bad Multiple Sclerosis Day https://trippingonair.com/2018/07/feeling-msy-trapped-in-bad-multiple.html.  I can so relate to this excerpt from the above post “I feel MS’y; which is to say, I feel lousy, useless, beat. Like I’ve been mother-fucking voodooed. Of course, I have multiple sclerosis and it affects many parts of my life every damn day; but, that doesn’t mean I feel MS’y every day. Feeling MS’y is when you just can’t. It’s the worst of the worst of what fatigue can do to you, and it just shuts you down. Feeling MS’y is what stops you in your already slow, drunk-walking tracks”.  She’s right, the struggle is real between your body and your mind and she’s especially right that MS doesn’t give a fu&%.

Six Sisters Stuff  https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/  is literally 6 sisters sharing their family favourites that use ingredients commonly found in your pantry. This blog is one of my favourite go to’s for good eats (and crafts if you have any craftiness in you, (which I don’t). Their crafts and home decor projects can be made with little or no money (although I’m not 100% confident that you don’t need any crafting skill, but if I judge their home decor and craft projects with the same criteria I judge their recipes on, I may even be able to do them). They also know the importance of feeding your family a home-cooked meal and sitting down to eat it together (and I absolutely love that in and of itself). They know the importance of family time even when you are busy.  One of my favourite recipes which I have made multiple times and will continue to make it each fall and winter is their  Slow Cooker Cheddar Broccoli Soup This recipe is easy, creamy and warms you up when the weather starts to turn cold!  Six Sisters Stuff are one of the first places I look when wanting a yummy new recipe.  Thank you ladies!

Pain Pals Blog Claire Saul is a blogger from the UK – she talks about self-doubt, chronic pain challenges, her journey through a chronic illness and more. Claire has a lot of great posts, but one that I particularly love is the post titled Farewell My Chronic Companion – where she talks about the sense of loss she felt when she lost her faithful companion, her dog who stands for so much more than just her pet.  I too will be losing my little buddy sometime sooner rather than later for me.  My little buddy Tucker is a sassy little Pomeranian and has been by my side for almost 12 years (which is about their average life span).  Tucker has been with me while my husband worked in Africa for months at a time, he’s been by my side while my son was unaccounted for during the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, he’s been with me since I left work due to my disability, he has seen me through some crappy, scary, happy, sad times and even though he isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, he has been my steady friend since he came to live at our house and I will miss him when he’s gone.

Next up is Family Life of a Single Parent – tales and ramblings from a single dad with a chronic illness. I love this blog because it’s a view from the other side of the hand, and by that, I mean from someone who is single and who is a man finding his way through life with a chronic illness lol.  Andy has Fibromyalgia and lives in Australia with his 8-year-old son Jack. Here’s a fun little tidbit for you……Did you know that It’s estimated that as many as 4.8 percent of men worldwide have fibromyalgia?  One of my favourite posts of his is Another Week, Shit Happens This post is awesome, because he puts into words what everyone is thinking – “I think we can all agree that staying up to celebrate the coming of the New Year on the evening of the 31st of December 2019 was really a waste of time !!! Unless you were a virus, which has had a merry old time so far……..”  I’m sure we can all agree with him on this one. Or how about the post titled Grufflbungalug which is a word made up for the feeling you get when you’ve just encountered a clusterf#ck of crap and a word that I will fondly think of when I encounter my next clusterf#ck of crap (as soon as I figure out how to say it).

My next fave is Cresting the Hill I love this blog for a variety of reasons starting with Leanne’s views on midlife.  She says there is more to midlife than having a crisis, or being in menopause, or crying over an empty nest. She says It’s time to focus on freedom, re-discovery, and becoming the best version of ourselves. She invites you join her in a journey where we replace Midlife crisis with Midlife connection and contentment.  For someone like me, a woman in midlife minus the crisis, this blog is a welcome respite in my crazy pre-menopausal world. One of my favourite posts is Checking In On My Word of the Year – Symphony I’m not sure if I got the idea for a word of the year (which by the way I didn’t do this year) from Leanne but I love her word for this year.  I appreciate her why of choosing this as her word “Life’s short and we need to be living it in a way that brings contentment and a sense of joy and gratitude”.   I can also totally relate to this excerpt from the above post “I find myself settling into early retirement with surprising ease and not missing being part of the working world at all. I used to define myself by all the things I did…. now I’m just “me” with no strings attached. I like this new version of “me” – I like that I’m content with a smaller life that holds very few complications and conflicts.”  Isn’t this what we all strive for? Or is it just me that is striving for it? Thank you Leanne!

I’m going to end this post with another funny gal – Yvonne deSousa  Yvonne is funny, sassy and oh so real and My Left Breast  the story of the late blooming boob is a great place to start. Yvonne has MS but she also found herself battling breast cancer. In this post she also talks about some things that have fallen apart in her world since March – such as her boob, TV, microwave, phone charge, computer modem, TV remote, printer and cable wires.  Even with all of this, she realizes how fortunate she is.  She does however blame some of these bizarre things on Sally the Ghost. And if you want to know how she knows her ghost is a female, you will have to read the post! On another note, Yvonne has a book out titled MS Madness! A “Giggle More, Cry Less” Story of Multiple Sclerosis.  Available now through Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com and SDP Publishing Solutions. I have to be honest though, I haven’t read the book yet, but if her blog is any prelude to her book, I will be ordering myself a copy.

There you have it, my ever changing list of favourites – Now, I’d love to hear what your favourite blogs are. Are there any blogs you think I absolutely am missing out on?

Until Next Time!

Raegan