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in Lifestyle &middot May 30, 2016

May Favorites + J.Crew Giveaway

I know, I know – a few weeks ago, the blog was on a holiday schedule, but this week (when there’s an actual holiday), it’s not. Don’t question that strange schedule that is my life! Anyway, here are some of the things I loved in May. It’s a shorter version than usual because I’m working on finals plus my health plus yada yada yada. Check out the things I loved in May and/or enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post! My birthday is next Sunday, June 5, and so I’m kicking off the celebrations now. And at some point there will also be a birthday ad discount, so keep an eye on Twitter!

May 2016 Favorites

Reading

The Time of Singing – This historical fiction novel is about Ida de Tosny, an unwilling mistress of King Henry II, and Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk. I love it!

The Royal We – This is based on William and Kate, and while some of it is a little too close to reality (there’s only so many similarities I can take), it’s a wonderful book. It’s their take on what the relationship would be like of a modern prince and an American girl who he marries. Again, very close to reality, but still great.

I listen to books on Audible! It’s a great way to pass the time when commuting or traveling. Get 2 books for free when you sign up for a digital membership (which is so, so worth it to me since I listen to long books that are way more expensive than the monthly membership charge).

My All-Time Favorite Books

Wearing – Style, Clothes, Etc.

May 2016 Favorites

Old Navy boyfriend shorts, Maxi skirt, H&M jersey tees, Jack Rogers sandals, Keds

My All-Time Favorite Clothes, Shoes, Etc.

Wearing – Beauty

May 2016 Favorites

Benefit Consmetics ‘Hello Flasless!” Oxygen Liquid Foundation, Benefit Boi-ing Industrial Strength Full Coverage Concealer, Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara, Sally Hansen Inda-Dri Nail Polish in Set Sail, ColourPop Dope Taupe brow pencil, ColourPop Lippie Six in Frida

My All-Time Favorite Beauty Products

Enter to win $75 to J.Crew!

On June 5, I turn 25. To celebrate, a bunch of us have gotten together to give away a $75 gift card to J.Crew, my favorite store.

J. Crew Giveaway

Kate the (Almost ) Great | Anchored to Sunshine | Briana Mae Morgan | Travelvan | Rhyme & Ribbons | The Girl Who Loved To Write

This is only open to the US (sorry!), and you must be 18 or older to enter. The giveaway runs from 12:00 AM EST 5/30/2016 to 11:59 PM EST 6/5/2016. If you lie on any of your entries, you will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen and their entries examined within 48 hours of the giveaway ending, they will then be emailed, and they will have 48 hours to respond to that email to claim their prize. If they do not respond, another winner will be chosen, etc. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning that when you click on them and purchase something, I receive a small profit. You can learn more by reading my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting Kate the (Almost) Great!
Kate Mitchell

Kate Mitchell is a blogger, chronic illness patient, and advocate who helps people understand chronic illness and helps chronic illness patients live their best lives.

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Previous Post: « Lessons My Arthritis Taught Me
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emelia @ Dream Big & Buy the S says

    May 31, 2016 at 10:02 am

    I think I’m going to check out Audibile for listening to books at the pool. I get a headache reading in the sun, and this sounds like the perfect alternative!

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  2. Emily of Em Busy Living says

    May 31, 2016 at 3:04 pm

    Happy birthday to you friend! Thanks for the fun giveaway opportunity!
    The book “The Royal We” sounds right up my alley 🙂

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  3. Sandra Meaders says

    June 1, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    Happy Birthday!

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Trackbacks

  1. What To Do if a Doctor Doesn't Believe You - Kate the (Almost) Great | Boston Lifestyle Blog says:
    June 3, 2016 at 8:01 am

    […] Don’t forget to enter to win $75 to J. Crew! You have until 11:59 PM EST on Sunday. […]

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    Reply
  2. Kate the (Almost) Great | Boston Lifestyle Blog - Gift Guide: Books & Bookish Gifts - Kate the (Almost) Great | Boston Lifestyle Blog says:
    December 1, 2017 at 8:02 am

    […] your friend who loves the royals: The Royal We (here’s my review), Kings & Queens of England and Scotland, The Heir and the […]

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    Reply
  3. 2023 Recent Reads: April-June says:
    August 17, 2023 at 4:35 pm

    […] Check out my review from the first time I read this book here. […]

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Living with chronic pain is really hard. You’re wi Living with chronic pain is really hard. You’re winning every day you’re still here.⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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#ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #RheumatoidArthritis #Fibromyalgia #Endometriosis
I've been spending a fair amount of time at my foo I've been spending a fair amount of time at my foot surgeon's office this year, and boy has it been messing with my head. ⁣
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I spent a lot of time from 2001-2010 dealing with my left foot. Long story short, it took until this foot surgeon saw me in 2010 after fixing this foot for me to be diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. But I spent those 9 years going from doctor to doctor, having surgery after surgery, trying to figure out what was causing my pain and to fix it. ⁣
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Was it the tarsal coalition? Did I have another chronic health issue? Etc. ⁣
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I spent from age 10 to 19 unsure what exactly was wrong with me and in huge amounts of pain. We thought we figured it out, and then something else happened. ⁣
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We know exactly what is wrong with this foot this time around: in 2024, I got 3 stress fractures, and no one put me in a boot. They almost fully healed before breaking in 2025, and then the same thing happened in 2026. ⁣
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This is a different part of the foot than I used to deal with, but any problems with my feet and especially my left foot messes with me. While this doctor eventually fixed the problems and even got me diagnosed with RA, every time I go back to his office, I have to fight not to become 17 again. ⁣
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PTSD is a bitch.⁣
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(PS - if you want to know why I'm going back to this guy when it messes with me, it's because I don't trust anyone else to fix my foot.)⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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ID: Kate takes a selfie in a doctor's office. ⁣
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#PTSDAwareness #ChronicallyIll #TarsalCoalition #RheumatoidArthritis #Osteoporosis
Week 25 of #2026Weekly Happy to be in Maine for Week 25 of #2026Weekly 

Happy to be in Maine for a few weeks! I didn’t get up to a lot, so another week of very few pictures

1️⃣ IVIG 
2️⃣ Lots of beautiful birds have been coming to my mom’s bird feeder!

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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣⁣⁣⁣

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IDs: 
1️⃣ Looking at Kate’s lap. Tubes are coming out from under her shirt and there’s a Kindle
2️⃣ Birds arriving at a bird feeder as seen through a window

#ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #ChronicPain #IVIG
What do you have to do every day for your chronic What do you have to do every day for your chronic illnesses? ⁣
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For context, I have rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, POTS, heart disease, osteoporosis, and more. ⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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Things I Do Every Day for My Chronic Illnesses⁣
Take pills at least 4 times a day⁣
Don’t eat gluten, dairy, corn, soy, or eggs⁣
Sleep 7+ hours a night⁣
Consume 80-100 grams of protein, 120 mg of calcium, 5-10 grams of sodium⁣
Wear a mask whenever I leave the house⁣
Do pilates 4+ days a week⁣
Work from home⁣
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#ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #RheumatoidArthritis #Fibromyalgia
Filmed this back in April (hence the sweater) but Filmed this back in April (hence the sweater) but it applies to whenever I have appointments! 

Video: Kate talks to the camera while holding a purse. She holds up individual items mentioned in the video before putting them in the bag. There are captions. 

#ChronicallyIll #RheumatoidArthritis #Osteoporosis #ChronicPain
There are a lot of medical advancements that I'm g There are a lot of medical advancements that I'm grateful for, but one of them is the ability to do IVIG at home. ⁣
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I'm on IVIG - or, in my case, subcutaneous immunoglobulin replacement therapy - because I have to kill the better part of my immune system. There are, in fact, some parts of my immune system that don't attack me, which is why we add them back in. This helps reduce my chance of serious infection and also made my rheumatologist feel comfortable enough to increase my Rituxan dose. ⁣
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This is a weekly treatment that I do, but it's so much better that I can do it at home than going into the hospital. It takes around 2.5 hours from taking my pre-meds to tossing my needles into a Sharps container. While it's another thing that I have to do, because I do it at home, I don't have to risk exposure to infections at the hospital or deal with Boston traffic, which would add another hour to the process. ⁣
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I can finish my treatment and then go about my day, which I'm very grateful for.⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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ID: A Kindle on Kate's legs. There are tubes for an infusion coming out of her shirt.⁣
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#IVIG #ChronicallyIll #RheumatoidArthritis #Autoimmune #AutoimmuneDisease
Weeks 23 and 24 of 2026 Weekly! The last two wee Weeks 23 and 24 of 2026 Weekly! 

The last two weeks were prepping for my infusion, having/recovering from my infusion, and getting caught up after. This meant things were very busy but also I don’t have a lot to show for them. 

1️⃣ New glasses! I really like having multiple pairs so I can switch them as I want.
2️⃣ One of my current projects. I got this standing hoop for my birthday and I’m working on an alphabet (uppercase and lower, although I’m still working on the lower) with extra floss.
3️⃣ Infusion time! I got my higher dose so hopefully my symptoms improve a lot in the upcoming weeks🤞🏻

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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣⁣

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IDs: 
1️⃣ Kate takes a selfie. Her new glasses are thin silver circles
2️⃣ An in-progress cross-stitched alphabet in a special hoop stand that Kate is sitting on.
3️⃣ Kate takes a selfie in an infusion chair.

#ChronicallyIll #RheumatoidArthritis #AutoimmuneDisease #CrossStitcher
Week 22 of 2026 Weekly 1️⃣ Off to see my foot doc Week 22 of 2026 Weekly

1️⃣ Off to see my foot doc … and my foot is healing! Yay!
2️⃣ A very cool notification to get!
3️⃣ This is 35 🎂
4️⃣ Featuring Harley snuggles 
5️⃣ And then it was my mom’s birthday! 
6️⃣ With Harley again 

ID: 
1️⃣ Kate takes a mirror selfie 
2️⃣ a notification from WordPress saying “Receive views from 150+ counties. The United Nations has nothing on you!”
3️⃣ Kate smiles for the camera in a cafe 
4️⃣ Kate in the same outfit with Harley the golden retriever on her lap. 
5️⃣ Kate’s mom smiling in a restaurant 
6️⃣ Kate with Harley again 

#GoldenRetrieversOfInstagram #ChronicallyIll #ChronicPain #InvisibleIllness
Lifestyle Changes I Made for My Rheumatoid Arthrit Lifestyle Changes I Made for My Rheumatoid Arthritis⁣
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While these are not my treatments, they have made my life better in some ways. ⁣
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What lifestyle changes have you made, for RA or another condition?⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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IDs: ⁣
A series of pictures. Each has a text box on them related to the picture. ⁣
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1️⃣ Lifestyle changes I made for my rheumatoid arthritis⁣
2️⃣ Wearing a mask⁣
3️⃣ Using a cane⁣
4️⃣ Changing my diet⁣
5️⃣ Working from home⁣
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#ChronicIllness #RheumatoidArthritis #AutoimmuneDisease #Arthritis #ChronicallyIll
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