Coping with endometriosis my way

Basically, having endometriosis is rubbish. It’s not life threatening (as you’ll hear many times) but the frequent trips to A+E and having plans scuppered by chronic pain are somewhat grating.

I often think of it as a guest at a tea party who always turns up late and only ever brings Garibaldi biscuits, despite me telling them constantly I don’t like raisins.

However, there are a few small victories I’ve claimed. They’re not much in the scheme of things but they make me feel a bit better, and here they are:

Keep a diary: I should confess I haven’t got round to this yet but my doctor tells me I should keep a regular record so I know where I am in the month. I can see it makes a lot of sense. Perhaps tomorrow…

I have to spend several days at a time in bed with a hot water bottle, so I’ve taken time to ensure my hot water and bed clothes look brilliant. Whether its a Salvador Dalek t shirt, tie dyed nighties (find out how in this post) or a rainbow hot water bottle, at least I look colourful when I’m in pain. And that’s the main thing.

Rainbow hot water bottle and Salvador Dalek t shirt, yay!

Read Coping With Endometriosis by Jo Mears. It will at least make you feel less of a weirdo. Well, as much as could be possible for me…

Make a bath as pleasant as possible. Having a hot bath of course soothes pain and I make sure I have my favourite products on hand. As I mentioned before, the colourful soaps from Lush and the vintage inspired Soap and Glory range are brilliant.

If all else fails, at least you’re not one of these ants:

Recipe for rainbow cake!

If I ever decided to get married (and, you know, get a boyfriend and all that boring stuff) this is the cake I want! I found it on Deviant Art by ‘yobanda‘. It trumped a gingerbread house by miles:

I found the recipe here on tastykitchen.com:

“Ingredients

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 2 boxes White Cake Mix
• 4 drops Food Coloring (Use As Much As Needed To Attain Desired Color)
• FOR THE FROSTING:
• 4 packages Cream Cheese (8 Oz. Package)
• 1 cup Butter
• 5 cups To 6 Cups Powder Sugar (confectioners Sugar)
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Preparation Instructions

I use Ateco food coloring, which can be found at http://www.atecousa.net

For the cake, make one box cake mix according to the directions on the box. Separate batter into 3 bowls with roughly about 1 cup of cake mix per bowl. Add desired food coloring to each bowl (purple, blue, green).

Bake cakes in round pans according to box instructions, but make sure you check the cake about 10 minutes before it’s supposed to be done. With less mix in each pan, they can cook faster.

Repeat for the remaining colors (red, orange, yellow). You will now have six layers of different colors.

For the frosting, mix together softened (room temperature) butter and softened (room temperature) cream cheese until well combined. Add vanilla. Combine. Slowly add in powder sugar.

(After the 5th cup of powdered sugar, taste the frosting and see if you would like it sweeter. I tend to use the full 6 cups, but some prefer the frosting less sweet.)

Cake assembly:

I try to first level each layer of cake with a large bread knife. For the rainbow cake especially, if all the layers are level, then they will evenly display when you cut into it.

Start with the PURPLE layer first. Put the purple layer on your cake stand or plate. Add enough frosting to cover the layer and some to spill over the edges, anywhere from 1/2 to one cup of frosting. Run the flat, straight side of a knife around the cake to smooth out the edges.

Add the BLUE layer of the cake. Put frosting in the middle, start spreading out frosting with the flat, straight side of a knife so that it covers the cake and falls out over the edges. Then run your knife around the outside edge of the cake to smooth out the sides.

Put the cake into the fridge for at least 2 hours or freeze for 1 hour.

Repeat with GREEN layer, then YELLOW layer.

Put cake into fridge for at least 2 hours or freeze for 1 hour.

Repeat with ORANGE layer, then RED layer.

Cover cake with frosting and run the flat, straight edge of a knife around the edges of the cake to smooth out the frosting.

(It was important for me to freeze the cake between layers for a couple reasons. The cake can get really heavy by the time you are adding the 4th, 5th, and 6th layers, but if it is somewhat frozen at this point, it will not get schmooshed or crushed. Also, it is much easier to frost the cake when it is solid, or not wobbling all over.)

Once you have finished frosting the cake, add any decorative touches or words that fit your occasion! Good luck!

(I set the skill level as difficult, but ONLY because of the time involved. Truly, anyone can do this, and do it well! It just takes a little patience. The end result is SOOO worth it!).”

There now, hop to it and post me some!