Ashley Hackshaw, Author at Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

Holy Joint Pain, Batman

December 30, 2011 by Ashley Hackshaw

New today: joint and nerve pain.

I finally got some sleep last night……after I finished reading my new book (that might be the fastest I’ve ever read a book in my life). I was thinking that the recent Neulesta shot was no big deal and I made it through with no side effects…….but then this morning I woke up feeling like I got hit by a truck. It’s mostly joint pain in the thigh, hip and lower back……but the most surprising is the jaw pain. I went to take a bite of a cake donut and the pain radiates from my teeth all the way out to my ears. I’ve never felt anything like it. I took some Tylenol and my mom picked up some Claritin which was recommended to alleviate some of the pain.

But…..a little pain never kept me from eating a donut.

The Nuelesta shot stimulates the growth of “healthy” white blood cells so I imagine the pain is from my white blood cell factory working overtime….so it’s not a bad thing:

I held my morning meeting with Lisa from bed and showed her a new “when I grow up” dress I want them to make today……something super bright and cheery. I want Brett to take me to L.A. next week so I can pick out some new fabrics that I need to round out our Spring line coming at the end of February.

I think the most exhausting thing for me right now is insurance companies and medical bills. When you don’t feel well, the last thing on your mind is opening up an envelope and writing a check. The worst feeling is getting a letter in the mail saying that they decided not to cover something and then you have to go through the appeal process and pray they cover it. And then there are all the phone calls trying to get payment plans set up…..it makes my head hurt. I haven’t even balanced my checkbook in 3 months….how on earth can I figure out a payment plan that makes sense?

Oh, last night all I could feel was my scalp and hair! It feels like little tight ponytails. I told Boo I was thinking about cutting my hair again and she was really upset.

My mother changed her flight to mid-January so she’s staying another week to help out with Boo. I’m so thankful. She’s been such a huge help already. She took Boo to the desert zoo yesterday and Boo is her kindred spirit because my mom likes to read every single plaque of information at each exhibit and Boo loves that. They were both full of new information last night at dinner. If I feel well enough next week we might make the 2 hours drive to the San Diego Zoo. My mom helped Boo write some Christmas thank you notes last night too…..she writes out the present and the names and Boo copies them onto the thank you card:. It was so sweet to see how excited Boo was to write and send mail to everyone:

Lisa and Brett have been moving the office to it’s new location. It’s going to be pretty awesome once we get to paint and decorate….my in-laws gave us a hand-me-down chandelier that will add some “shabby chic.” Right now they are just clearing out the old office so it can become a writing room / playroom. We need a place for the 3 foot Barbie dream house and Boo’s kitchen. With the girls out of school they’ve been making great use of the new space and had their OWN morning meeting…..I imagine one day these two girls will take over:

Photo of the Day: Henrietta Lacks

December 29, 2011 by Ashley Hackshaw

A cancer related book: Henrietta Lacks. Two nights ago I bought this book: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks ….and I haven’t stopped reading since. Good think because one of the drugs I get as a pre-med with my chemotherapy is Decadron…..it helps with nausea but it also has a side effect of insomnia. I’ve been wired for 2 days straight! I’ve learned more about the science of cancer through just a few pages than I would have ever actually absorbed from another source:

From Amazon: “Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.”

Ombre Dyed Streamer Garland (A Tutorial)

December 29, 2011 by Ashley Hackshaw

Check out this yummy ombre dyed fabric garland we made! It was a super easy project…I just spread it out to work on as I felt up to it. The streamers were dyed using a subtle ombre dye technique so the bottom of the streamers are a darker shade than the top. We used 1″ rolls of silk habutai from Dharma Trading (each roll has about 70 or 80 yards on it) and it’s so soft and amazing to the touch you could almost sleep on it:

We used one roll of silk 1″ habutai per color…..my garland strands were over 2 feet long so for a shorter garland the silk ribbon would go a long way.

Note: 5 rolls at 2 feet long ended up with about 4′ of garland…..so a 1 ft long streamers would end up with about 8 feet of garland to give some perspective.

I used my stove handle as my “ribbon wrapper”……wrapping the silk ribbon around the handle 4 times and then cutting the strands at one end to make streamers:

Every 4 strands I clipped at the top with a clothespin:

I used a wooden dowel to knot the top of the strands around so I would have a small loop at the end to string rope through at the end:

I used a pipe cleaner to hold the streamers that I wanted to dye a particular color:

For this project I used iDye packets.…they are great because there is literally NO mess. All the dye is enclosed in a plastic packet that dissolved in water:

I put the iDye packet in a small container of water for it dissolve:

Boo loves watching the packet dissolve:

I admit….it’s my favorite part as well….right when the packet starts to dissolve and the dye starts moving through the water:

I always strain the dye to remove any clumps that might not have dissolved completely. To do this I cover another container with a scrap piece of sheer material or pantyhose and secure it with a rubberband. Then I just pour the dye through to strain it:

Once the dye is strained I add it to about a gallon of water with about a 1/2 cup of salt dissolved into it:

I used Boo’s art easel to hold each set of streamers as they were dyed:

To get the ombre dye effect I lowered the streamers down into the bucket so just the bottom third was submerged in the dye. I set a timer and let it sit for about 15 or 20 minutes.

Then I lower the streamers down into the dye so that 2/3 is submerged and leave for about 3 to 5 minutes:

Finally I submerge the rest of the streamers…..but only for about a minute:

Then I rinse the streamers well hang them to dry:

Boo and I dyed 5 pretty colors:

We alternated the colors onto a thick cable rope……ready to string up in a room, across a doorway or for a party decoration!

The silk habutai is gorgeous:

You only need about 5 rolls of silk to make a pretty substantial garland that will hold up forever! Customize your colors for a party theme, photography prop or for beautiful room decor: