DO IT NOW: Guide to Proper Bra Fit and Measuring because Victoria Secret and La Senza and whatever are full of shit and you are definitely wearing the wrong size ok? ok

agreekdoctor:

sameatschildren:

Hi guys I’m obsessed with this shit lately because I don’t want anyone to have unhappy, unsupported boobs like I did. Even if you think your boobs and bras are fine, try it. It will make a big difference in comfort, support, and shape, even if you have small boobs or big boobs. A proper fitting bra can fix back, shoulder, and neck pain, along with breast soreness – and it can help you look 10lbs lighter, and your breasts a hell of a lot perkier. This guide also works for proper-sized bikinis and bathing suits (many online stores linked to below sell both- sometimes for as low as 10$!)

Don’t just like this, REBLOG IT. EVERYBODY WITH BOOBS DESERVES A PROPER FIT. Even if you don’t wear bras yourself, spread it around to tumblr or with your friends or family.

Grab a soft tape measurer (use inches) and get nekkid – don’t wear a bra or shirt please, you don’t wear a bra or shirt underneath your bra, do you? This part is fast and easy, and will help you find your ‘Starting Point’ bra size – you may not end up in this exact size, but it will get you in the right ballpark.

How to Measure:

  • Measure your underbust – go right underneath the root of your breasts, but make sure the tape is straight/parallel to the floor. Take a firm, snug measurement – if you have chub, take it tighter.
  • Measure your bust bent over – bend forward so your back is parallel to the  floor and your boobs are hanging so you have access to all that beautiful breast tissue that is now brought forward. Measure very loosely around the nipples, keeping tape straight/horizontal/perpendicular to the floor.
  • If your breasts are kind of empty and/or have a lot of sag, this method may overestimate your cup size. Instead, take your bust measurement bent over, standing, and lying flat on your back, and take an average of those three measurements and use that for your calculations.

How to Use These Measurements to find your ‘Starting Size’:

  • Round up your underbust measurement to the nearest even number. If you are only half an inch or less away from being a lower size, use that instead (unless you have a bony ribcage). This is automatically your band size. No BS. There is no adding imaginary inches here.
  • The difference between your underbust measurement and your bust measurement dictates your cup size. Every 1 inch in difference represents a cup size, so 1 inch = A, 2 = B, 3 = C, 4 = D. As you can see here, a true D or DD cup is actually pretty fucking small. 
  • CUP SIZES ARE NOT STANDARD, UNLIKE COMMONLY THOUGHT (AND TOLD TO US BY ASSHOLES LIKE VS). They are TOTALLY relative to band size. The cup on a 30D has 4 inches less volume than the cup on a 34D. A 30D is actually the same cup size as a 34B! 
  • No one has their shit together on the lettering for each cup size, so here’s a handy dandy chart. Remember to go with UK measurement as they somewhat have their shit together (and because American companies do not make much above DD, so there’s literally no point in knowing it, but the European sizing may come in handy)
  • I DON’T CARE IF YOU LIVE IN THE USA, DO NOT USE THE AMERICAN MEASUREMENTS, FFS. YOU’LL ONLY MAKE THINGS HARDER AND MORE CONFUSING FOR YOURSELF. ANY BOUTIQUE IN NORTH AMERICA WORTH GOING TO, AND 99% OF ONLINE STORES, IS GOING TO SELL PRIMARILY BRITISH OR EUROPEAN BRANDS AND WILL GO BY THEIR SIZING. THERE IS LITERALLY NO POINT IN KNOWING AMERICAN SIZING
  • DO NOT USE AMERICAN SIZING
  • DO NOT USE AMERICAN FUCKING SIZING
  • EVEN IF YOU ARE AMERICAN
  • AND LIVE IN THE US
  • USE THE BRITISH SIZING

  • image

  • For example, I have a 29.5 inch underbust and a 38 inch bust when bent over. So, I should take a 30 band and then there’s an 8 inch difference. So I am a 30FF in UK sizing. This is just my starting point when looking for bras, and I may not always end up with this exact size
  • Do not pull the ‘omg no I’m not a G cup my boobs aren’t that big you’re more stupid that the idea of vegetable bread’ shit with me ok? You drank the Kool-Aid and now you need to piss it out. CUP SIZES ARE NOT STANDARD. A 34D IS BIGGER IN THE CUPS THAN A 30E. Here, take a look at a chart of cup volumes and see what I mean.
  • Also… not all ‘big cup’ bras are ugly and granny-like. Just check out brands like Freya or Gossard or Gorteks or Panache or Cleo! They are gorgeous!

Trying it on: What a proper fit is like

thatbradoesnotfither:    Here is an excellent graphic showing how a bra should fit! If your shoulders hurt at the end of the day, or you find yourself constantly re-adjusting your bra, it might be a good idea to re-evalute your bra size and find a bra that’s good enough to support your awesome boobs. (It’s the bra’s fault—not yours!)    If your bra does not meet all this criteria you need to measure yourself PROPERLY ok, Victoria’s Secret does not count at all  chances are you are not a 34-38 B-C ladies

  • ALWAYS SCOOP AND SWOOP BEFORE ASSESSING WHETHER IT FITS OR NOT. What does this mean? This means bend over, hike up your bra so that it sits right under the root of your breasts. Then, start smooshing all your back fat and armpit rolls or any loose tissue thats underneath or to the side of the cup, INTO the cup. All that stuff is breast tissue that got pushed around from your shitty bras, no I am not bullshitting – after a few months of wearing better bras, many people end up having to get a bigger cup and sometimes even a smaller band too, as all the smooshed breast tissue migrates back to the boob, where it should be. Not kidding. So get everything in there and make sure the wire is positioned perfectly under your boobs. Then stand up and assess the fit. If it seemed to fit before scooping, it won’t fit now.
  • THIS IS JUST A STARTING POINT. Try on your starting size and work from there. You may need to go up or down a band size, or up or down many cup sizes. Not all brands or even models in that brand are made the same way, and the shape of your boobs also helps determine the size and fit, so don’t try on JUST the size you calculated, say “it doesn’t fit”, and then give up and go back to your 36Cs. You aren’t doing yourself any favours. If you don’t feel comfortable in your ‘starting point size’, go ahead and try a size up or down in bands and/or a size or two or even three up or down in cups as needed.
  • ALWAYS start on the loosest hook. If you need to start on the tightest hook, go down a band size. The point of hooks is simple – as your bra gets used, it gradually loses its elasticity and gets loose. So, you use your hooks to bring it in, and when you reach the last hook, well, be prepared to get rid of your bra in a few months (unless you invest in a band tightener like the Rixie Clip)
  • A proper fit means the bra band is straight and parallel to the floor. If it isn’t, and seems to be getting pulled up, its too big and isn’t supporting you. Get a smaller band. You shouldn’t be able to stretch it more than a couple inches off your back. It may feel tight at first, but bras do need ‘breaking in’ and you are used to wearing things that do not fit correctly, so give it a chance. Of course, it should not hurt either!
  • A proper fit means your bra straps are not digging in. 
  • A proper fit means the gore (the little centerpiece of the bra where the wires sort of meet) MUST tack/sit firmly against your chest. If it doesn’t, then the wires are not truly fully underneath your boobs and so are not giving you the proper support. 
  • A proper fit means your boobs must fit smoothly into the entire cup (after scooping and swooping). The wire should totally encase all your breast tissue (this includes armpit fat and stuff). There should be no empty space at the bottom or top of the cup. Your boobs should not be overflowing from the top of the cup. If there’s overflowing or uncontained tissue after scooping, or of it feels tight, get a bigger cup.
  • A proper fit means you should be able to lift your arms over your head and jump around without the band or underwire budging or exposing underboob.

Size Tweaks/Troubleshooting (make sure you scoop and swoop first):

  • The band feels tight: Is the gore tacking or not? If not, go up a cup size or two (or maybe even three or four). Even if the gore is tacking, try this first. The band may be tight because the cups are too small, so your boobs are stretching the band out too much to overcompensate for lack of cup depth, making it feel tighter. If after trying larger cups, it still feels uncomfortably tight, go up a band size (and down a cup size if the first size fit well in the cups – remember, cup is relative to band, a 32DD is the same in the cups as a 34D). Remember though that it takes a few days to break a bra in, so it may feel tight or perfect at first, and then comfortable or too loose later.
  • The band feels loose/band is riding up and not remaining parallel to the floor: Go down a band size (and up a cup size or two because blablah relativity). 
  • The gore is not tacking, but band is not tight: Band size is too big, or maybe fits just right – but the cups are too small. You know what to do.
  • Boobs spilling over: Go up a cup size. Check first though that the bottom of the cup is not empty, and hike it up if it is!
  • Empty space at bottom of cup: Hike that shit up so it gets right to the roots of your breasts. This may fix bulging/spillage. If you can’t get it higher, then you need a smaller cup or this make of bra is just not suited to your shape.
  • Empty space at top of cup: You need a smaller cup, or this shape of bra just does not suit you your breasts, especially if your breasts are not very full on top. Or you need to scoop and swoop!
  • Straps digging in: Loosen them. If your boobs suddenly sag, then the band is not supportive enough, and you need a tighter band.
  • Armpit rolls: Bigger cup and/or scoop and swoop that shit. The cut of bra may also just not be for you (for now anyway – your armpit rolls may migrate back into the boobs and disappear eventually!)
  • They don’t even make my size!!: If you’re in a 28-48 D-KK (UK sizing) cup, you will find your size online easily enough. however, if you have a smaller band than that or need smaller cups, they are hard to find – message me and I’ll try to help you with a solution!
  • So, for example, my starting size may be 30FF, but I may end up wearing a 28G or H if the band of that model is too loose and the gore not tacking. Or the band may be fine and I may need a bigger cup so I’ll get a 30G. Or The band may be good but the cups too big, so I’ll get a 30F or E. Or the band may be too small to be comfortable and I’ll wear a 32F or E (same cupsize-ish as 30FF!). 

 What Not to Do:

  • NEVER PUT YOUR BRA IN THE DRYER. AND PREFERABLY, WASH IT BY HAND. The heat and twisting ruins the elasticity of the bra and reduces its life! This is the best way to ruin bras, don’t do it.
  • Do not add 3 or 4 or 5 inches or whatever to your band measurement. That is BS that American companies use so that they don’t have to manufacture a larger range of sizes – they use it to fit you into their stock, not their stock onto you. The band will be too big and unsupportive. Those 4 inches they add to the band are 4 inches that should be in the cup size, so no wonder people think anything over DD should be huge.
  • Do not measure your ‘overbust’ cause really what the fuck does that have to do with how large you are underneath your boobs, come on
  • Do not do the above because 80% of the support comes from the band, which needs to be firm against you and not be sliding or moving around.Would you wear underwear 4 inches bigger than your hips? No, so why would you wear a bra band 4 inches bigger than your ribcage that gets pulled up and stuff and would fall off if not for the straps, while expecting it to support the boobies at the same time?
  • Do not go down a band size and then forget to go up a cup size or two. Again, cup sizes are not static. A 30FF is the same cup volume as a 32F or E. If you don’t do this, no shit the bra will fit badly or feel tight.
  • Do not go straight to Victoria’s Secret or La Senza or whatever, even if you are lucky enough to fit in their small range of sizes – they don’t seem to follow sizing very well. Still, try, by all means, but be aware that their bras may be odd compared to others.

 "But where do I get these Bras? I’ve never even seen these sizes!“

Luckily, the internet makes this shit really easy. Buying bras online is nearly always way cheaper, even with shipping, and even if coming from somewhere in Europe! But of course, its best to try on stuff first, to avoid the hassle of return shipping (even though its still not that expensive – just annoying). So what I advise is to find a store near you, try stuff on there, note down the Brand, Model, and Size, and then buy it online for up to a quarter of of the in-store price.

If you can’t find a store near you, online ordering is still extremely cheap, even with return shipping. Instead of getting a whole bunch of bras in only 1 size each, pick out a few models and order a few sizes of each. Ex: one with a bigger or smaller band if your measurements are close to needing a bigger or smaller band size, and then some up or down a couple cup sizes so you can compare the fit. When you have the perfect fit in one bra, it will be easier to go on Bratabase or r/ABraThatFits and have them suggest bras that give similar shape or suggest a different size to you as a model you’re interested in may run large or small.

So, Where to Find:

  • Note: You can find proper-sized bras as low as 10$ US online (particularly from ebay or brastop.com) and most average 30-45$.
  • List of Online Retailers from BustyResourcesWiki: A complete list of online retailers around da world. Many ship internationally so take a look at all of them (particularly the UK ones)
  • Ebay, Etsy, and Amazon all have bras inexpensively.
  • List of Offline Retailers from BustyResourcesWiki: List of chain-stores (not of privately owned stores)
  • If in Canada, look for a Change Lingerie near you to try on bras. Note that they only carry their own brand.
  • If in the USA, look for a Nordstrom or Nordstrom Rack near you to try on bras. They carry all sorts of brands and have an online store as well (and also ship to Canada!)
  • Use a store locator from the webpage of a bra brand company to find non-chain, privately owned stores – if they have one of these brands, they’ll have others. Here’s the locator for Freya, Curvy Kate, FantasieChantelle, Panache, and Affinitas. There are more than just these of course.
  • If you are small in the band AND in the cup (under a D cup) look at the Little Bra Company.
  • Ask around on Bratabase or r/ABraThatFits for stores near you.
  • WOMAN, YOU HAVE THE INTERNET! GOOGLE! YELP!

WARNING: There are many chain stores (Nordstrom, Lane Bryant, Mark and Spencer, Change etc) that do bra fittings and have a good reputation. However, each store is different – some measure correctly, and some use the stupid VS method. Every store has a different team of employees and knowledge. DO NOT GO IN WITHOUT HAVING MEASURED YOURSELF FIRST, JUST IN CASE THEY ARE ONE OF THE BAD STORES. DO NOT TRUST ALL BRA FITTERS, EVEN IF SOMEONE RECOMMENDED THEM TO YOU. If your fitter gives you a measurement different from this one, be mentally prepared to have a difficult time getting them to help you find the right bra.

I had the fitter at Change help me, and when I mentioned that the gore did not tack, she said “Oh, the gore never touches the chest with these bras”. I was like HAHA NOPE BRING ME A LARGER CUP WOMAN. And lo and behold, 2 extra cup sizes later, the gore tacked (and my boobs stopped spilling out). She was very nice otherwise but if I hadn’t known better that could have been bad.

Resources:

  • r/ABraThatFits: forum for bras, they will help you with sizing, fitting, and finding the right model for your breast shape – they have links to a lot of resources, such as online stores, used bra listings, etc.
  • Busty Resources Wiki: Great resource for fitting tips, diagrams, explanations, styles.
  • Bra Band Project: an online gallery of what various sizes look like! Dump your disbelief!
  • List of Online Retailers: Online is MUCH cheaper and shipping is usually cheap too, even from Europe. Try bras in a store near you , pick out what you like, and order them online instead.
  • Bratabase: Database of bras, with user inputted measurements of each bra model in its size – bras may be marked the same size, but with this you can see which may have bigger or smaller bands or cups, or what style may suit what shape of breast, all of which helps find the perfect fit for you! 
  • Great Youtube Video on Bra Fitting: This is one of the few people on Youtube who knows their shit about bras. Great for the visuals to help you understand what a bad fit and proper fit look like.
  • Venusian Glow is a great bra blog – SO MUCH INFO. Suggests bras based on your boob shape amongst other things.

Reblogging to pass this information on.

I have seen many patients with back pain that could have been helped with properly fitting bras.

“Extremely detailed character sheet template”

cutieyama:

bacawica:

anakinskyloser:

Character Chart
Character’s full name:
Reason or meaning of name:
Character’s nickname:
Reason for nickname:
Birth date:

Physical appearance
Age:
How old does he/she appear:
Weight:
Height:
Body build:
Shape of face:
Eye color:
Glasses or contacts:
Skin tone:
Distinguishing marks:
Predominant features:
Hair color:
Type of hair:
Hairstyle:
Voice:
Overall attractiveness:
Physical disabilities:
Usual fashion of dress:
Favorite outfit:
Jewelry or accessories:

Personality
Good personality traits:
Bad personality traits:
Mood character is most often in:
Sense of humor:
Character’s greatest joy in life:
Character’s greatest fear:
Why?
What single event would most throw this character’s life into complete turmoil?
Character is most at ease when:
Most ill at ease when:
Enraged when:
Depressed or sad when:
Priorities:
Life philosophy:
If granted one wish, it would be:
Why?
Character’s soft spot:
Is this soft spot obvious to others?
Greatest strength:
Greatest vulnerability or weakness:
Biggest regret:
Minor regret:
Biggest accomplishment:
Minor accomplishment:
Past failures he/she would be embarrassed to have people know about:
Why?
Character’s darkest secret:
Does anyone else know?

Goals
Drives and motivations:
Immediate goals:
Long term goals:
How the character plans to accomplish these goals:
How other characters will be affected:

Past
Hometown:
Type of childhood:
Pets:
First memory:
Most important childhood memory:
Why:
Childhood hero:
Dream job:
Education:
Religion:
Finances:

Present
Current location:
Currently living with:
Pets:
Religion:
Occupation:
Finances:

Family
Mother:
Relationship with her:
Father:
Relationship with him:
Siblings:
Relationship with them:
Spouse:
Relationship with him/her:
Children:
Relationship with them:
Other important family members:

Favorites
Color:
Least favorite color:
Music:
Food:
Literature:
Form of entertainment:
Expressions:
Mode of transportation:
Most prized possession:

Habits
Hobbies:
Plays a musical instrument?
Plays a sport?
How he/she would spend a rainy day:
Spending habits:
Smokes:
Drinks:
Other drugs:
What does he/she do too much of?
What does he/she do too little of?
Extremely skilled at:
Extremely unskilled at:
Nervous tics:
Usual body posture:
Mannerisms:
Peculiarities:

Traits
Optimist or pessimist?
Introvert or extrovert?
Daredevil or cautious?
Logical or emotional?
Disorderly and messy or methodical and neat?
Prefers working or relaxing?
Confident or unsure of himself/herself?
Animal lover?

Self-perception
How he/she feels about himself/herself:
One word the character would use to describe self:
One paragraph description of how the character would describe self:
What does the character consider his/her best personality trait?
What does the character consider his/her worst personality trait?
What does the character consider his/her best physical characteristic?
What does the character consider his/her worst physical characteristic?
How does the character think others perceive him/her:
What would the character most like to change about himself/herself:

Relationships with others
Opinion of other people in general:
Does the character hide his/her true opinions and emotions from others?
Person character most hates:
Best friend(s):
Love interest(s):
Person character goes to for advice:
Person character feels responsible for or takes care of:
Person character feels shy or awkward around:
Person character openly admires:
Person character secretly admires:
Most important person in character’s life before story starts:
After story starts:

found here

@pastachyan hey yo sorry but can we do this for Richard and Thomas? ;n;

@gaysound

How to pay artists for digital-only commissions through Goods or Services

bonpyro:

Quick tutorial on how to pay artists for digital-only commissions ( which means no shipping) 

If you choose the shipping option when the artists is only doing a digital commission, and paypal sees that the artist didn’t ship anything, it creates trouble for the artist, to put it simply. So let’s not do that!

1.)

image

2.)

image

for those paying through MOBILE 

image

and you’re good!

rosietwiggs:

love-pro-choice:

evashandor:

skeleton-warrior:

wtfzurtopic:

sora2522:

gallicinvasion:

gallicinvasion:

Another woman utterly failed by our society’s devaluation of women’s reproductive health.

We can’t wait around for male doctors to decide what we need to know.

This is why we need to take control and educate ourselves about our own bodies.

and here’s some comments i saw under the post. why is this a pattern?? why is this a recurring theme?? why is this information not common knowledge? what the fuck are doctors doing??

This is news to me so let’s share it so people will know!

Gross tmi: but i passed a pretty big clot after having my daughter. It was about the size of a baseball. It actually hurt worse because while 15 hours of labor opened my cervix, i passed the clot in 30 minutes. I knew it was a possibility because of my midwife and reading, but everyone Ive told after this (mostly other pregnant women) were shocked that this could happen.

In our culture, it’s much more common to do deep research about what family cars we want to buy than we do about childbirth when we ’re pregnant.

Tmi: I passed a huge clot after birth in the bathroom of my hospital room and called the nurse sobbing because I didn’t know it was normal. She treated me like an idiot, but NO ONE told me it was a possibility. And the pain associated with healing for the first couple of weeks after birth was worse than the labor imo. Again, I had no idea. They didn’t tell me a thing besides “sitz bath regularly and change your pads.” Before discharging me from the hospital.

I was most definitely told about this in school. Fucking hell, 4-6 weeks of bleeding? My periods were/are bad enough, why the hell don’t we get told this?

I didn’t know it could last so long, wtf? Is the bleeding inevitable after birth? 

Bleeding is inevitable after birth – your uterine wall is shedding a fuck ton of lining. It can last from three to six weeks (possible longer) and it tapers off.

More TMI – I passed a MASSIVE clot after my fourth birth. At this point I already knew this could happen – it’s normal. What I DIDN’T know, was that I had caused it.

My post birth contractions were so bad after the birth that it felt like full transition labor. And they don’t give you anything for the pain. So I used a hot water bottle, without the nurses knowing, and it caused me to bleed even more. I lost so much blood that by the first time they sat me up to go to the bathroom, I fainted. It took three more tries until I could sit up.

Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is, the next morning I passed a clot the SIZE OF ANOTHER PLACENTA I KID YOU NOT, and I know what is and is not normal. So I called for the nurse and through the door told her I had passed a huge clot, and her response was – “It’s not big. I know what big is.” She hadn’t even looked. So I rolled my eyes and said, “Yeah, no. It’s big, I’m telling you.”

So, sounding extremely put upon, she asked me to open the door. I did, and after a long pause she goes, “Okay, yeah, that’s a little big.”

YOU DON’T SAY.

The point I’m trying to get across is that this shit is so common – women not knowing this stuff is so expected, and it keeps getting reinforced. People don’t expect you to know anything, don’t teach you anything, and then make you feel like you’re totally ignorant and a burden for your lack of knowledge when THEY WON’T SHARE.

Fucking learn EVERYTHING you can when it comes to childbirth, girls. It is the single most empowering thing you can do for yourself. And if you missed something, that’s okay. But the more knowledge you arm yourself with, the more in control of your situation you’ll be.

A few post partum tips:

  • DON’T use a hot water bottle – lol.
  • ONLY pads – NO tampons. Tampons can cause severe infection, not to mention, you probably don’t want to be shoving anything up there any time soon.
  • If you’ve had stitches, sitz baths DO help relieve the pain. Another great pain reliever? Dampen some pads and freeze them. Let one thaw slightly and use it on top of another pad. This will help with the pain as well as reduce swelling. Change the pad out as soon as it’s thawed completely. This REALLY helps on the first couple days after giving birth.
  • If you pass a clot, don’t sweat it. Even the one I passed, which was fucking massive, just required that we keep an eye out to make sure it didn’t happen again. If it does, talk to your doctor.
  • Take a pain killer half an hour before nursing. Because YES – your uterus is contracting after you give birth, to get back to its original size, and nursing causes much stronger contractions. Taking nursing-safe painkillers won’t prevent the pain, but it will reduce it. 
  • Buy disposable underwear for the first few days after birth. They will get VERY dirty. Or use your ratty old pairs that you’re ready to get rid of. Double up on pads – line them all the way up your ass-crack. I am so serious. And wear dark pants.
  • Pee in the shower. You do NOT want to wipe down there right after birth because ow. Peeing in the shower lets you just rinse afterwards. Especially if you’ve had stitches, peeing in the shower, with the shower-head rinsing AS you go, keeps stinging to a minimum. And fuck everyone else – keep on peeing in the shower until you feel ready to move back to toilet paper. Middle of the night and need to pee? Get your pants off – get in the shower and just go.

This is just a few things, but PLEASE feel free to send me an ask if you have any questions about ANYTHING childbirth/pregnancy/nursing related. I have four incredible kids. I’ve done it all – c-section, vacuume birth, episiotimy, stitches, with an epidural, without an epidural. I’m here.

A nurse has heart attack and describes what she felt like when having one

naamahdarling:

knittingpitbull:

elegantmess-southernbelle:

shinysherlock:

myallnaturallife:

I am an ER nurse and this is the best description of this event that I have ever heard. 

 FEMALE HEART ATTACKS 

 I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is description is so incredibly visceral that I feel like I have an entire new understanding of what it feels like to be living the symptoms on the inside. Women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have… you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor the we see in movies. Here is the story of one woman’s experience with a heart attack: 

 "I had a heart attack at about 10:30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might have brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, ‘A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.
A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you’ve been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you’ve swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn’t have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation–the only trouble was that I hadn’t taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m. 

After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasms), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR).
This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. ‘AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening – we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven’t we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, Dear God, I think I’m having a heart attack!
I lowered the foot rest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack, I shouldn’t be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else… but, on the other hand, if I don’t, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in a moment. 

I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics… I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn’t feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to un-bolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in.
I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don’t remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the radiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like ‘Have you taken any medications?’) but I couldn’t make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stints to hold open my right coronary artery. 

I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents.
Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand. 

1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body, not the usual men’s symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn’t know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they’ll feel better in the morning when they wake up… which doesn’t happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you’ve not felt before. It is better to have a ‘false alarm’ visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said ‘Call the Paramedics.’ And if you can take an aspirin. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER – you are a hazard to others on the road.
Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what’s happening with you instead of the road.
Do NOT call your doctor – he doesn’t know where you live and if it’s at night you won’t reach him anyway, and if it’s daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn’t carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.

3. Don’t assume it couldn’t be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it’s unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MIs are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let’s be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive to tell the tale.“

Reblog, repost, Facebook, tweet, pin, email, morse code, fucking carrier pigeon this to save a life!

I wish I knew who the author was. I’m definitely not the OP, actually think it might be an old chain email or even letter from back in the day. The version I saw floating around Facebook ended with “my cardiologist says mail this to 10 friends, maybe you’ll save one!” And knew this was way too interesting not to pass on.

snopes.com says this one’s true.

Save a life–Reblog.

Female heart attacks are much different, and most people don’t know it!

This is so much more helpful than the fucking lists that basically describe everything that happens during a really nasty panic attack and then tell you to go seek help as if you don’t have an anxiety disorder that does this to you on a regular basis and can afford to go to the emergency room.

elegantpaws:

eri112:

Eri112’s money saving tips.

So, did you reblog this money saving challenge last January?

I did.

I remember thinking that it would never work. I remember thinking it would be too hard.  I remember thinking HOW CAN I HAVE CASH IN MY ROOM AND NOT SPEND IT??

I just counted and it turns out I saved more than this person calculated.

I saved $1500 in cash. In one year.  In a Mason jar.

If you had told me last year that I could do this, I never would have believed you.  I have never been a financially secure person.  This activity taught me so much about myself as a spender. 

Here’s how I did it.

For those who have never seen this, the basic concept is that you print out this (or google 52 week money challenge…You can find many variations on this)…So the first week, you put in $1, second week is $2, third week is $3, etc.  The final week of the year, you’ll put in $52.  There are 52 weeks in a year.  See how that works?

As I said, though.  I somehow ended up with more.  I’m not sure how that happened.  Let me tell you how I managed to save money period.

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, I AM NOT A FINANCIAL PROFESSIONAL.  FOLLOW THESE TIPS WITH CAUTION.  I CANNOT GUARANTEE THEY WILL WORK FOR EVERYONE.

1. Create your own payday. I have 2 jobs.  One is my full time job that pays every two weeks on Thursday.  The other is a part time job that pays every week on Wednesday.  So, usually by Thursday, I have all the money I’m going to make that week.  So, I made Thursday my pay day.  Every Thursday, I made sure to put in the amount I was supposed to for that week.

2. Use small bills.  This was CRITICAL to saving money for me.  If I didn’t have the cash I needed, I would swing through the ATM and then ask a family member to trade a $20 bill for $1 bills.  I put in the required money and then hid all of the other ones under the jar.  That way, in future weeks I would have the ones I needed to make a payment.

3.  Hide the jar in plain sight.  I kept the jar in my room, but it was hidden.  This way, I wasn’t tempted to spend it.  I have 3 jars in my room.  One is my “happy memories” jar where I right down all the good things that happen to me.  Then I have my savings jar.  I also have a jar for paying myself to work out.  (Any time I work out, I pay myself a dollar.  I use this money for fun stuff like going to the movies)  In order to remember my savings jar and hide it at the same time, I put it directly behind my happy memories jar.  That way, I could see the jars, but I couldn’t see the money inside.

4.  Pack the money tight! It took my father a good five minutes to help me figure out how to get all of those bills out of that jar.  This was quite fun to watch (“HEY DAD!  I’m giving you $1400 in a jar!  Help me get it out!”) and quite difficult to do.  This is because I packed every inch of that jar.  Having the money packed in tightly made it really difficult to take money out.  The harder it was to take money out, the less I wanted to.  I’m quite lazy.

5.  Don’t be afraid to borrow, but write it down and pay yourself back in two days.  I’ll admit, there were a few occasions where I needed to borrow some money from the jar.  I never took more than $20.  I also forced myself to pay it back in two days.  Now that I think about it, I remember there was one time I borrowed and charged myself interest because I didn’t follow this rule…

Now, as I mentioned, my father is the recipient of this large stack of cash.  He was incredibly proud of me, but this lead to a conversation of how I could put away money that could earn some money.  He also suggested ways to get out of debt.  So here is what he suggested.

1.  Open a mutual fund with a high/mildly aggressive interest rate.  A mutual fund is an account that you deposit a set amount every month.  I’ll be opening one later this week.  We found one that earns 13% interest.  We agreed that I will put away $50 a month for 5 years.  Please note that these accounts will charge a fee if you withdrawal from them.  We did the math.  If I put away $50 a month for 5 years, I will have deposited $3000.  With a 13% interest rate, I will have $4394 by the end of those 5 years.  That’s correct.  The bank will pay me $1394 just for using their mutual fund.

2.  Snowball your debt. I also have acquired a lot of debt over the years.  I won’t lie.  I love to shop.  I have credit cards for every store, including amazon and LLBean (in NH, that’s a big deal).  When I receive my bills this month, he and I are going to sit down and compare them all.  We’ll be looking at total amounts due as well as the interest rate.  Then, I will pay in full anything that I can.  That way, I won’t continue to be charged interest on small amounts.  Then figure out how much money I can send to the bigger bills.  Once you know who has the highest interest rate, you can figure out how to divide that money.  You pay the most money to the highest interest rate.  On the others, you pay the minimum balance.  This way, you can put more money towards the bill that you lose the most money on.

Some advice from my rich sister:

Find a way to earn money when you shop or waste time online.

My sister and I use many different apps for saving money on groceries or shopping.  Message me if you’re interested and I can send you my sign up links.

I also use many different websites for earning money online.  Check them out:

Bing: Without using it for every search I do, I’ve managed to earn $10 in Starbucks gifts card through Bing.  I’m 54% away from my $5 gift card.  All you have to do is search for 30 things through Bing.  It can be random (I’ve searched my name a hundred times) and they suggest different stories for you to search.  You don’t have to click on any of the search results.  Just search.  There are other ways to earn with Bing, but searching is the easiest.  Check it out at Bing Rewards and start earning your gift cards now.

Treasure Trooper: I’ve also been on Treasure Trooper which I originally discovered through another Tumblr user (Thanks Diana!.)  I’ve been using it for a little under a year and have already earned $30.  You can answer surveys, listen to music, complete tasks…It’s pretty easy.  You should check it out.

Inbox Dollars might just be my favorite, though.  I’ve been signed up for a little over 5 months and have already earned $46.77.  They also have surveys and videos to watch.  They also send you e-mails and every time you click “view e-mail” you get 0.02.  That adds up.

Swagbucks is an awesome website where you can watch videos (in the background while you sit on Tumblr) and answer surveys, etc. to earn points.  Then you redeem those points for gift cards.  I have earned $45 Amazon gift cards.  It’s so easy.  I love it.

So, this is all I have to give for money advice.  I can certainly answer questions.  Don’t hesitate to message me.  Here’s to having a little more cash to play with!

Good luck everyone!

PSA

owlygem:

groundlion:

mylittledoxy:

Please support me so I may continue making tutorials and guides for everyone!

https://www.patreon.com/doxydoo?ty=h

HEAD’S UP ARTISTS THAT RESIZE IN PHOTOSHOP. This really saved my life. I’d noticed that gross halo around art whenever I resized something but never knew how to get rid of it til Onta showed me and ahhhhh. I’m just so happy there was a solution to it so I really hope this helps others out too!!
(also look at more cute bear faces I drew~)

YOU HAVE SAVED MY LIFE, I do some contract work often and I need to transform objects and layers all the time and I noticed this the other day that the quality of each element was going fuzzy and gross and It made me a bit like “oh crap wtf” 

thank you!!