Same Blog With a New Look!

Hi Ya'll! It's still me with my same ole self but I decided that my ole blog needed some freshening up so, here it is. I hope you find it a little more upbeat with the new colors and the crazy pic of myself in the background. 

I'll still be posting about gadagets and gizmos that help me with my everyday life and how to make things easier and helpful ways to help myself. I'm an Amazon Associate which means if you click on the links in the blog and happen to purchase an item then I will get a tiny commision for that. It's a great way to help support me so I can continue to do research for the EDS communitiy and all the other commuities of all the other disorders that we EDS people tend to have. 

I will be traveling soon in a van that I hope to live in while traveling. As of now it’s broken down!  I'm a missionary and I have a call of God on my life to go and minister and teach the Good News of Jesus Christ to the nations and here on the home front as well. Living in a van is an experince that I have loved and I have done very well physically, mentally and emtionally while living in the van, other than the time I fell out of the van and broke both of my legs. Well, that's a story for another day, but for now I want to tell you that I love van life because most everything I need for the day is right within reach of me and my set up is different than most van lifers that I see but then again I am different than most people I know other than my EDS peeps. GO EDS PEEPS! 

I hope you take some time to click around on the links on the blog and see what all I'm up to. Photography is my passion and I love it and I take all of my photos from my car window, meaning I'm in the car when I'm taking the picutres. I'm sure this is what will get me on Good Morning America one day for being the crazy lady who makes a living taking photo from her car. Hey, we can all dream!

So, the links will take you to some of my other blogs and to my shops where I sell my photos and where I sell T-shits and greeting cards and tote bags and puzzles and all kinds of stuff with the photos on them that I take. Of course you will see me posting when I put new things in the shops because a girl has to make a living somehow.

Also I'll be posting about van life and how I deal with that having EDS and how I handle dr appointments and such. It should be interesting and I really hope to inspire you to get out and try something new and us your imagination to step outside of your box, even if it's just a few minutes every now and then, to explore what passions you have that you could still participate in or find a creative way to fullfill those dreams you've always had.

Have blessed dreams about your future and together we can encourage each other. 

I promise that I'm going to be posting on a more regular basis here from now one. That should be one or two posts ever few weeks about EDS and all the things I'm learning and researching. 

 

This is my van that I named Bean Dip. I love him 
soooo much even though he is old and scared up, 

hmmmm that's sounds like me, old and scared up.... lol 

This is this inside of Bean Dip when I first got him. Not too bad for an old guy. 

My friend hiding behind the arm rest of my seat. 

We were checking out the interrior lights. 

They work well!

That's Allie hanging out with Bean Dip while her 

Dad was busy taking out the seats  so I would have 

room to fix up the van the way I wanted it to be. 

So Bean Dip is old, like I said, and his carpet is well used, but this is the 

recliner that I got to use in the van. It's nice to be able to sleep in it like 

I do in the house and then I do all of my compture and editing 

work from my recliner so I feel like I'm at right at home. 

Of course I still have to put all the things in that I need for traveling..... 

more to come later. 

Having less work to do in the kitchen are such a blessing to me!

 Things that help me having less work to do in the kitchen are such a blessing to me. With the cooler weather starting to show up, well, I hope it's going to soon, I will be ready start eating warm soup! 

Not that I eat cold soup, but the cool weather calls for extra warmth and making soup, either from some wild thoughts of what sounds good for soup or just popping open a can to heat some soup up my main dilemma is what to eat the soup out of. 

I use paper plates and plastic wear all the time because living alone there is no one to do the dishes after a meal so for me I have to do what is best for me in order to keep tidy kitchen. Paper and plastic wins all the way around and now my new favorite item that I'm adding to my make it easy for me list are soup containers that don't need washing up.

I searched high and low looking for something besides a bowl or a cup to eat soup out of and sometimes I eat just beans and corn bread and I like this same idea for eating oatmeal and cereal with milk. I think I could even pour my flavored hot drinks in these and even have a lid to keep it warm until I'm ready to drink it. 

What am I using for all of this yumminess? These!!!!! 

 

 https://amzn.to/3xHyPAW

These have been a game changer for me! I'm so excited to share these with you. I pour whatever it is that I'm planning on eating out of it and stick it in the microwave to cook it up. It's a one container cook and eat situation which makes less work for me in the kitchen!!!! 

Please click on the link https://amzn.to/3xHyPAW to order these to try them out for yourself. I would love to hear what you think about them as well. 

Here's to happy warm soup weather coming!!!

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome And How PTSD And The 9/11 Anniversary Has Affected Me

 You know that having Ehlers Danlos Syndrome opens up plenty of opportunities for emotional mayhem on a daily basis. That is because of the organic depression that EDS offers and the histamine overloads that Mast Cell Activation Syndrome gifts us with if you have that, not to mention the offerings of Dysautonomia and POTS and all the other bodily disorders that EDSer's go through. Daily life for 'our kind' is tough for sure but as you know if you are reading this and you have EDS then it's common for our bodies to react in harsh ways and it never gets easier but instead it gets harder and harder with each episode of stress or anxiety or depression or even a sneezing fit, - typed with a dramatic flare and sarcasm implied. 😁 

{To learn more about the above mentioned disorders look in the archives}

The anniversary of 9/11 is one of the bigger events in my life that cause extra stress and sadness for me. I had moved to NYC the day before 9/11. Maybe I got there then because I have poor timing skills or maybe it was because that was exactly when God wanted me to be there. It was a hit the ground running experience that changed my life in many ways. 

I didn't know at that time that I had EDS much less had I even heard of EDS and I honestly thought that all of my health issues were due to me being overweight. I'm not even sure why that matters for the point of this post, but thinking about that today and knowing how stress causes all kinds of things to flare up in our EDS bodies I have to be keenly aware of what I take in on TV and social media during the day of and the days leading up to the 9/11 anniversary. 

I'm a missionary and going to NYC was a stopping point for a few months before going to Nigeria for who knew how long. Well, that was the plan anyway....then 9/11 happened and travel to Nigeria became impossible at that time so that trip was delayed for a few years. As my EDS has progressed I am not as able bodied to live in a 3rd world country but I can still reach people all over the world and really by having the internet I can reach more people than I could have ever met in person. 

Why am I explaining that in this post? 

I'm doing so because I want to share my experience about 9/11 and the stress and sadness that I experienced, not that it was more or less than what the rest of the world went through, but for our purpose of supporting each of us Zebra's together, and to help those who need peace in their lives or are extra sensitive to big events like this one to know that they are not alone when remember 9/11 and also to share the Good News of Jesus Christ that brings Hope to us! 

With that said, take a look at my video and if you are interested then follow the link to my other blog to read the rest of the story! 

https://www.thetriumphalentryamystheory.com/2022/09/an-american-looks-back-at-911-by-amy.html

The link to my other blog can be found on YouTube in the description under the video. 

 

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome Dislocation- How I keep from dislocating my joints so often!

I’m updating this post with one of my favorite tools to help me in my everyday activities. 

As it goes with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome there are lots of times that we experience dislocations and subluxations when people without EDS would never consider this happening. It's the same with POTS. When you have POTS and do the most normal thing you are always at risk of being dizzy and unable to function. This makes life difficult at times and it seems like we are never able to get things accomplished, or at least accomplished without injury to ourselves. Simple things like picking up things that are dropped on the floor or on the floor of the car can cause great damage to our EDS bodies.

One of the ways that I dislocate my joints the most is reaching for things that are out of my reach. My car is a place where this happens a lot. Of course, bending overreaching for things on the floor or near where I'm sitting also causes a dislocation or two and for sure a few subluxation of some ribs.  

Instead of spending my time talking with you about how to treat these injuries I want to share with you about how I can reach the things that are out of my reach without injuring myself as much.

My solution is my favorite new tool!

Y'ALL I use this all the time!!!! I sit and realize that I've left my remote on the couch or someone has moved it or it's on the floor. I use my Grabber Reacher and pick it up and it saves so my precious energy for me. 

I know this tool will help you too!  

2-Pack 32 Inch Extra Long Grabber Reacher with Rotating Jaw - Mobility Aid Reaching Assist Tool (Yellow)

 https://amzn.to/3UwHT5g

I love knowing that I have a tool that lets me get a few things done without injuring myself. I do have to be careful not to use my new tool for too long at a time because my hands cramp and ache, but overall, I'm so glad that I have found this and that I can share it with you.

So I used to have one that folded in half so it was smaller to store but it also broke very quickly. 

This one is solid and doesn't fold. The gripping part at the end twists so that you don't have to turn your arm and wrist around to reach things.  I was pleasantly surprised by the shorter of the two.  I decided to keep it in my car for all of the things that end up on the front passenger floor. I use this grabber to reach it without overstretching my fingers, wrists, shoulders, or my ribs and hips. I use the longer one in the house to pick up almost everything that is below my knee height. This has saved me the above problems plus the dizziness that I get when I'm bending over.  

I urge you to check this out because I know it will change how you are able to do things that often cause injury while you are reaching just that bit too far.  

I am not selling these but I am encouraging you to take a look at them. 

“As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”

Journal It Out

One of the ways that I contend, so to speak, with my pain and my overall health and what all it keeps me from is by journaling. I started journaling about 20 years ago.  I was seeing a counselor at the seminary where I attended and it was suggested to me to start a journal. I thought that it was the dumbest idea I had ever hear of. I'm not even sure why I thought that was a dumb idea but it turns out that without journaling I would have not survived this long.

Journaling helped me in several major ways and really I think that the most important way was to allow me to calm my mind. What I mean is that I would worry about so many things, we all do that, and then I would get frustrated because I would worry that I would forget what I was worried about and that would cause more worry because I knew that if I didn't know what all I was worrying about that I wouldn't be able to work through those worries. Whew, I think I'm worried now that I worried so much back then. Just kidding, I did worry a lot but I'm not worried that I worried. OK, enough of the worry business.  How journaling helped me not worry so much is that I found that if I would just jot down my thoughts that I could get them out of my head but I knew that the thoughts were right there on a piece of paper, or in my journal, right where I left them and that I could go back and read them as often and as long as I wanted to then I could let go of those thoughts. No longer did I have to carry all of those thoughts around in my head. I could rest and not only rest but having these thoughts written down allowed me to see that there were not too many things that I needed to do and if there were more things than I could have handled in one day, all I had to do was organized my day by the most important tasks and what could wait until another time. It gave me the freedom to be organized and rest my mind and free up energy sources that were being drained by trying to remember everything that I needed to worry about.

Justs writing down my worries were not the only way that I used journaling to help me. I also did work with my counselor that involved looking at my past and learning how to heal emotionally from those things so journaling was a big tool for me in that process. I was able to express feelings and upsets that I had inside of me that I never knew how to talk about or get out of my mind.

At first, I didn't have a clue how to get started journaling. It was suggested to me to cut out pictures and words from a magazine and make a collage using the pictures or words to help me express how I was feeling or what those pictures and words stirred up in me. I still thought this was a dumb idea but I gave it a try and to be honest, I was shocked at my very first journal entry. This first journal entry said what I had felt from everyone I knew my whole life and how I felt about what I believed was happening to me.
Here is a picture of that journal entry.

Well, I won't go into what it all meant to me, but I will say that because I felt a bit of sadness lift from me after I finished that first journal that I had to admit that I no longer thought that journaling was the dumbest thing I had ever heard of, as a matter of fact, I fell in love with it.

Fast forward to 2019, almost 2020, and I am still journaling but not as often as I once had. With my EDS and other chronic disorders, I still need to journal to get too many thoughts out of my head, to express frustration about dr visits, new symptoms that come up, friends and family that don't understand, trouble with everyday tasks, and how much I am not happy about my body and all of its ailments I'm thankful that I know how to journal. Journaling saves me that precious energy of spending time being upset and worrying. I still use the rule that I can always go back to my journal and read all the things that I have written and it still gives me comfort to know that I don't have to carry those things I've written in my journal in my head because if I need to know about them there are all in a safe place.

I encourage as many people as I can to journal because we all deal with things that are "too much" at times and we all need a way to get things out of our space and mind. The comment that I get the most is "I want to journal but I have not idea how to start."  Journaling is, for me, the perfect way to help me keep track of my emotions and my stress levels and my energy in a way that protects me from myself.

Have you wanted to start journaling and don’t know how to start or when you try to journal do you get stuck and find yourself at a loss of what to actually put in the journal?

Sometimes all we need is a little prompt to get us going so the journal that I created will help you start your journaling journey.

 In my journal "Journaling It Out",  there are questions to answer that will help you organize some of your thoughts for the day and from there you can write about other thoughts that you have from your day.  This journal is 8x10 so it gives you lots of room to journal your thoughts.

 Y’all. Go check out my new journaling book. It’s pretty cool and I love using it to help me journal when I can’t get my journaling on.

 https://amzn.to/3LC1DR1

Holiday Stuff Is Here!

Hi and Happy Holidays to you all!

It's a good day to have some fun even if you don't feel like getting out and doing much you can at least look good staying home. Here's how!

Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah or something else during this time of year, it's a great time to buy a gift for others or branch out and treat yourself.
I have lots of fun products in my store. You can go check them out at
https://teespring.com/stores/wear-it-out-loud-amys-theory Be sure to look around the site for all the colors and products that are available. 

and at https://amy-hosp.pixels.com/ to find Christmas cards.

Here are the Holiday items I have:

At my store https://amy-hosp.pixels.com/ there are lots and lots of things to choose from. Take your time to scroll through the collection of things!
We have Prints of Photos, Greeting Cards, Tee-shirts, Coffee Mugs, Notebooks, Tapestry, Bath Towels, Round Beach Towel, Shower curtains, Phone Covers, Portable phone charger, Tote Bags, Carry-All Pouch, Weekender Bag, Duvet Cover, Throw Pillow, Fleece Blanket, and more!

Buy 1 card or a pack of 10 or 25 cards.
Description
Our greeting cards are 5x7 in size and produced on digital offset printers using 100 lb. paper stock.
Each card is coated with a UV protectant on the outside surface which produces a semi-gloss finish.
The inside of each card has a matte white finish and can be customized with your own message up to 500 characters in length.
Each card comes with a white envelope for mailing or
gift-giving.
The cards ship within 1-2 business days.
Any photos on my site can be turned into a greeting card so have a look around while you are there!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

https://amy-hosp.pixels.com/featured/santas-helpers-helper-amy-hosp.html

https://amy-hosp.pixels.com/featured/friscos-santa-pete-amy-hosp.html

https://amy-hosp.pixels.com/featured/santa-pete-amy-hosp.html

In my TeeSpring store: https://teespring.com/stores/wear-it-out-loud-amys-theory
we have: T-shirts, Hoodies, Tanks, Pocket Tees, Baby Onesies, Leggings, Canvas Prints, Pillows, Posters, Tapestries, Phone Cases, Beach Towels, Flags, Tote Bags, Mugs, Stickers


Randolph is the Texas Rudolph
from Wear It Out Loud Amy's Theory

Randolph the bow-legged cowboy is the Texas version of Rudolph. He's a legend that you need to know about and spread around. You'll be a legend when you wear this shirt!

If you don't know this song then here are the words. Sing it to the tune of Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer.

Randolph, the bow-legged cowboy

Had a very shiny gun

And if you ever saw it

You would drop your pants and run

All of the other cowboys

Used to laugh and call him names

They never let poor Randolph

Join in any cowboy games

Then one foggy Saturday night,

The Sheriff came to say:

"Randolph, with your gun so bright,

Won't you shoot my wife tonight?"

Then how the cowboys loved him

As they shouted out with glee:

"Randolph, the bow-legged cowboy,

You'll go down in history!"

Here are just a few of the selections: Go to https://teespring.com/randolph-is-the-texas-rudolph to see all of the items.

Check out these products with Santa's picture of them.

Santa Brings a Bible
from Wear It Out Loud Amy's Theory

This is my Dad, one of Santa's best helpers! My Dad helped Santa out as the Town Santa in Frisco TX for more than 45 years. It was one of his favorite jobs ever!
https://teespring.com/santa-sees

Hanukkah Lama
from Wear It Out Loud Amy's Theory
Hanukkah is a wonderful time of year also known as the Festival of Lights. This Hanukkah Lama is wishing you his best during this Hanukkah Holiday season.

https://teespring.com/hanukkah-lama

Get your FREE e-book, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome With Liberty The Dog, with your Kindle App!

 Get your FREE e-book, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome With Liberty The Dog, with your Kindle App!

Liberty The Dog and I are so excited to let you know that for the next 5 days (Oct 23-27 2019) you can go to https://amzn.to/3UDgEpU and download our book, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome with Liberty the dog, FOR FREE!  

You can get your FREE e-book copy with your Kindle App. Hurry before the 5 days pass.

This book is a quick read with lots of cute pictures of Liberty, she made me tell you that. We would love for you to read through the book and leave us a review of what you think about it.

FREE Y’ALL! Who doesn’t want something for free?

What is this book, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome With Liberty The Dog all about?

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome with Liberty the Dog is a book Written by Amy Dee Hosp where the dog who has the same genetic disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome as her owner does, tells her story.

Liberty explains:

The book Ehlers Danlos Syndrome with Liberty the Dog is a book for children. There is just a hand full of children’s EDS books on the market and this one is at the top of the list. If you know a kid with EDS this is the perfect gift for them. If you know an EDS kid or you’re an adult with EDS this book will help you as well.

We are extremely excited about this and can't wait to help kids.

For a quick look inside Liberty’s book go to YouTube at                                                

https://youtu.be/mc5rsSJmZbs

You can get a paperback and e-book copy of Ehlers Danlos With Liberty the Dog at

https://amzn.to/3UDgEpU

or You can buy your paperback copy anywhere books are sold online.

  

 

Author Info:

Amy Hosp grew up in Frisco TX and she is a graduate of Dallas Christian College where she earned a B.S. in Ministry & Leadership and has spent some time working toward earning a master’s degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth TX. In 2005 Amy served as a missionary in Nigeria. 

In 2012 Amy was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome Classical Type I and in 2018 another rare genetic disorder called Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type I. This extremely rare combination of genetic disorders causes a host of health issues that have left Amy disabled. Despite her disabilities, Amy enjoys random adventures ranging from a spur of the moment road trip to the country to exploring ideas of the unknown in life.  Her life is a voyage and she wants to invite you to go along with her and find in you, what she has and is still finding, "The person that God created me to be!"  

Amy is a writer, photographer, musician, and a missionary. She deals with life by always looking for the positive side of every situation and she will leave you with a smile. Her passion is to challenge the minds of others to look deep inside of themselves and look at life from a different perspective and to find the true giftings of God in their lives. Amy brings a unique view to understanding God’s fullness and happiness for today’s Christian believer.  

Find me at:

Blog about Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

https://genesthatdontfit.net

To purchase Amy’s photography and products with Amy’s pictures follow this link

https://amy-hosp.pixels.com/

Here are a few of my fav’s.  We have Prints of Photos, Greeting Cards, Tee-shirts, Coffee Mugs, Notebooks, Tapestry, Bath Towels, Round Beach Towel, Shower curtains, Phone Covers, Portable phone charger, Tote Bags, Carry-All Pouch, Weekender Bag, Duvet Cover, Throw Pillow, Fleece Blanket, Yoga mat 

To get a paperback and e-book copy of Collection of Sketches For Reaching Out To the Hurting and Lost: Do You or Your Church Need An Attitude Check about How Others Are Being Treated? … Vignettes For Sermon or Discussion Starters follow this link

https://amzn.to/3Ssb1bX

Amy’s Store at Teespring – shop for lots of great Tee-shirts and other products designed by Amy.

https://wear-it-out-loud-amys-theory.creator-spring.com/

Here are some examples: There are lots of sizes and styles and colors also we have mugs and totes as well. 

Amy’s Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ymadeehosp

Amy’s YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxYH0BTI6dg&t=8s

Find Liberty at:

Liberty the Dog’s Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/LibertyEDSdog/

Liberty’s Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/liberty_the_ehlers_danlos_dog/

Amy and Liberty’s Blogs that have A Little Bit of This And A Little Bit of that

www.thelibertyofitall.com

 Liberty’s YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs4svFRtXK9dd79vMK2Jdwg