My NEW least favorite things

As many of my loyal readers may remember, I absolutely, positively despise poison ivy. Not that anyone actually likes poison ivy - but the old P.I. and I have a hate-hate relationship. It wreaks havoc on my skin, and, perhaps because I'm prone to all things systemic, once P.I. hits my system - my whole body is compromised. It takes weeks if not months to clear up - and only with the help of lotions and creams, prescriptions and special baths, ointments and scrubs. The time and energy I spend prepping, treating, and caring for my poison ivy-ridden skin is unbelievable...and for every ounce of energy and moment of time I spend, it makes me hate P.I. even more.

So it's hard to believe that P.I. actually has some competition now. Alas, there are two new things I've recently discovered that are quickly by-passing P.I. on my list of leasts, tied in the lead  for the top spot. One is malware. The other is eczema.

Alright - so let's talk malware first. I cannot believe how much time and energy had to be spent to clean up my website. It was unbelievable! People shutting down "backdoors", extricating "redirects", and deleting lines of "stray code" just scratched the surface. I have email after email, and help desk response after help desk response, detailing the issues that kept cropping up. It wasn't until I hired a malware-deletion service, www.sucuri.net that the problem was (fingers crossed) solved. But that wasn't without weeks of wasted time and energy beforehand. I definitely compare it to P.I. - it would crop up anywhere, wouldn't go away no matter how hard we tried, and left a trail of pain and suffering in its path. Yup - that pretty much sums up P.I. And it sure sums up malware, too.

And now, to finish off the triptych of menaces, I can add Eczema to the list. Miss Bernadette seems to have a crummy case of it right about now. You want to talk lotions and creams, potions and antidotes? Baby B has been lathered up from head to toe at least 700 times by now - and not with a little dab of baby lotion here, and a little dab there. This is heavy duty, Aquaphor, full-body coverage, with a little hydrocortisone thrown in now and again to really get the job done. I'm so proud of my little lady though - her little skin condition hasn't changed her sunny disposition one ounce. And the fact that we spend 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes before nap, and 10 minutes after her bath, slathering her with lotion doesn't seem to faze her at all. She just smiles, and reads her book, and tries to stick her hand in the tub of Aquaphor. I think she kind of likes the Mommy-Daughter time...and truth is, I guess I kind of do to.

But the eczema, I could do without.

Bernadette reminds me, however, that all that time and energy pays off, because every morning when she wakes up, there's not a sign of eczema on her precious little baby skin. She's allowed that lotion to work all night, and she wakes up soft, silky, and smooth, without a red patch anywhere. It's those kinds of results that remind me that diligence in your pursuits and dedication to a routine really do work. Living well, despite lupus requires just that kind of diligence, and that exact sort of dedication. I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled for the benefits.

Oh - there's one now. :)

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