Hello again.
I almost wrote so many posts last month that had absolutely nothing to do with this series. I had so much on my mind that I wanted to talk about! However, it was an insanely busy month and honestly, I have no idea why. Where did it go? What on earth was I doing? Whatever. I can't be held responsible for my actions under any circumstances. Unless they were good actions...those are all me.
Anyhow, here is a rather long list of new things that I tried last month. Some were (much) better than others.
In March, I tried two new hair products. The first one was a new hydrating conditioner by Moroccan Oil. Honestly, I have used this company's products for years, and have always found them to be rich and luxurious. (I used to use their hair oil until I switched to Kenra's Blow Dry Spray. I also use their hydrating cream on occasion.) Unfortunately, this conditioner was total garbage, especially for the price. It left either (1) buildup on my hair or (2) dried my scalp out so much that it was flaky. To tell the truth, I'm not sure which one of these things happened, but I know that I have never had these issues before (buildup or dry scalp), and they went away almost as soon as I switched conditioners...
...Which leads me to my next trial: Pureology's Hydrate Conditioner. Basically, this is the same idea from another company. Fortunately, the salon where I buy my expensive hair stuff has a 30-day guarantee with the receipt, so I got a full refund for the Moroccan Oil conditioner and was able to purchase a different item. Normally, I would never buy Pureology. That stuff is friggin' expensive! BUT, I have used a couple of their samples in the past and -MAN!- are they good. I had a really good coupon, so I decided to give it a whirl. This particular conditioner has been great. I love how it smells, and there is a minty-ness to the aroma that is so refreshing in a hot shower. If you decide to try it, it's the one in the lilac colored bottle. It's great for thick, coarse hair and is completely color-safe! However, I doubt I will be buying this one again soon...unless I have another amazing coupon.
To fund my addiction to expensive hair stuff (not that you'd know it by looking at my 'do), I have to cut corners in other areas. One thing I have done in order to improve my family's physical and financial health is make my own home and linen sprays. My favorite linen spray is one that I recently (well, within the past year or so) found on Pinterest: mix about 2-2.5 oz lukewarm water, 1 TBSP of witch hazel, and 25ish drops of lavender essential oil in a small spray bottle. (Note: The witch hazel acts as an emulsifier to aid in mixing the oil and water. Evidently, you could sub Epsom salt for this, but I've never tried that.) Shake and spritz on your sheets whenever you want to inhale the relaxing smell of lavender, without any harmful additives or chemicals.
Using more or less the same formula as above (water + witch hazel + essential oil), I have attempted to make room sprays with different smells: lemon, sweet orange, and tea tree to be precise. However, I recently switched to a different brand of essential oils, and I'm not sure if it's the quality of the oil (the brand) or the nature of each individual oil (i.e. lavender versus sweet orange) itself that is affecting my results. (I used to use Aura Cacia, but I'm trying Plant Therapy since many of their oils are organic and much more affordable than most of their competitors of comparable quality.) The bottom line is, with the varieties that I have made for the various rooms in my house, I'm not able to smell anything after spraying. Perhaps I need to add more oil? I'm following the prescribed guidelines on ratios for oil to carrier for each type of oil, but maybe I need to break the rules a bit. Clearly I'm neither an aromatherapist,nor very experienced with this. Got any suggestions, Crunchy Friends?
Speaking of crunchy, let's talk about food. Every month, my dad and I go out for a nice dinner. In March, we tried a new Korean joint in town where we ordered japchae as part of an elaborate, multi-course meal. This Korean noodle dish is beyond exquisite. Normally when I eat Korean food, I go for the beef galbi and/or bulgogi (as recommended by an elderly Korean man I once met), but this was totally different. Basically, the Koreans have made sweet potato noodles their bitch by mastering that perfect sweet-savory combination with just the right amount of crunch from the veggies and satiating beef. If beef isn't your thing, you can still totally enjoy this dish. It can be made with another meat, or even no meat at all. In fact, I tried a homemade version yesterday using shrimp. It was good, but paled in comparison to the japchae I inhaled last month. Thank goodness I was using chopsticks then, or my dad wouldn't have gotten so much as a whiff!
Another new alimentary adventure that I experienced last month was a new kind of beverage: Tantric Turmeric Kombucha. I am a nut for this fermented tea, but I'd never tried a turmeric flavored drink. I like turmeric. I like kombucha. Win-win, right? WRONG! Turns out, despite my love for turmeric (and its anti-inflammatory properties!!!), I don't particularly enjoy drinking it. Live and learn! I'll go back to my pre-approved varieties of kombucha, and leave the turmeric in my food.
With all of these healthy choices (foods, essential oils, etc.), the only thing remaining in the physical wellness spectrum is my activity habits. I still work out 5-6 days each week (both cardio and lifting), but my timing has changed. I got sick a month or so ago, which derailed my routine. When I finally got back on track, my sleeping habits had also changed. Lately, I have been sleeping in later, and doing my workouts after the kids are up. Not ideal. We all still survive and get our daily tasks completed, but I would much rather spend that workout time doing something fun with Jammy and Ribbers. The trouble is, I'm turning into a night owl! I'm dog tired by 1:30 pm and drag until about 9:30, when I'm suddenly wide awake. I then have such difficulty quieting my mind when I finally get to bed (usually around 11:00 or so). I can't read a book in bed because any light bugs Habibi, so I mess around on my phone until I pass out. This perpetuates the problem as LED lights -like those emitted from an iPhone- are crap for your sleep cycles and habits. So I crash hard, then cannot wake up in the morning when my kids jump on my face.
I know what I need to do to get back on the wagon: go to bed earlier, don't nap during the day, no caffeine after 3:00 pm, blah blah blah. It just feels so unnatural for me to do those things since I believe that I am innately a night owl...despite my desire and best efforts to be an early bird. I really want to get back into my morning workout routine, so I'll keep working towards that goal.
The last category of new stuff I have tried is in gaming apps. First, let me just say that I am in no way, shape, or form interested in any sort of video gaming, online or otherwise. That being said, I recently set about to find a fun game that Jammy would want to play on the iPad, that would also encourage her to use her French. One of the free ones I found is called Fun French, produced by Study Cat (an educational game company). It's pretty mediocre, but she seems to enjoy it. She practices identifying animals, mixing colors with digital paint, and even works a little bit on spelling. It isn't amazing, but at least it is one way I can coax her into practicing. I'll be looking for other free/inexpensive French game apps for kids as she gets a little older.
The other game I downloaded is for me (although Jammy also enjoys it). I spent so much of my down time last month playing every level of Mahjong. Ridiculous, I know. I don't speak a lick of Chinese (I can say I love you, hello, and snow, none of which are very helpful), so I have made up names for each of the symbols/characters on the tiles. These include: eyeball, single eyebrow, double eyebrow, triple eyebrow, pointy eyebrow, owl, sword in the stone, broken teeth, TV, Arabic letters, flowers, pictures, hot dog, twirly blue thing, cursive R, cursive T, guy walking, bd, and so on. Clearly, I am a Mahjong Master.
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March was full of new experiences for me. I'm not sure I'll have the energy to repeat it (or to be cognizant of it) in April, but I'll do my best. I've got a couple of "news" in the bullpen for you, including long-term birth control, and my personal favorite: rap parenting.
I almost wrote so many posts last month that had absolutely nothing to do with this series. I had so much on my mind that I wanted to talk about! However, it was an insanely busy month and honestly, I have no idea why. Where did it go? What on earth was I doing? Whatever. I can't be held responsible for my actions under any circumstances. Unless they were good actions...those are all me.
Anyhow, here is a rather long list of new things that I tried last month. Some were (much) better than others.
In March, I tried two new hair products. The first one was a new hydrating conditioner by Moroccan Oil. Honestly, I have used this company's products for years, and have always found them to be rich and luxurious. (I used to use their hair oil until I switched to Kenra's Blow Dry Spray. I also use their hydrating cream on occasion.) Unfortunately, this conditioner was total garbage, especially for the price. It left either (1) buildup on my hair or (2) dried my scalp out so much that it was flaky. To tell the truth, I'm not sure which one of these things happened, but I know that I have never had these issues before (buildup or dry scalp), and they went away almost as soon as I switched conditioners...
To fund my addiction to expensive hair stuff (not that you'd know it by looking at my 'do), I have to cut corners in other areas. One thing I have done in order to improve my family's physical and financial health is make my own home and linen sprays. My favorite linen spray is one that I recently (well, within the past year or so) found on Pinterest: mix about 2-2.5 oz lukewarm water, 1 TBSP of witch hazel, and 25ish drops of lavender essential oil in a small spray bottle. (Note: The witch hazel acts as an emulsifier to aid in mixing the oil and water. Evidently, you could sub Epsom salt for this, but I've never tried that.) Shake and spritz on your sheets whenever you want to inhale the relaxing smell of lavender, without any harmful additives or chemicals.
Using more or less the same formula as above (water + witch hazel + essential oil), I have attempted to make room sprays with different smells: lemon, sweet orange, and tea tree to be precise. However, I recently switched to a different brand of essential oils, and I'm not sure if it's the quality of the oil (the brand) or the nature of each individual oil (i.e. lavender versus sweet orange) itself that is affecting my results. (I used to use Aura Cacia, but I'm trying Plant Therapy since many of their oils are organic and much more affordable than most of their competitors of comparable quality.) The bottom line is, with the varieties that I have made for the various rooms in my house, I'm not able to smell anything after spraying. Perhaps I need to add more oil? I'm following the prescribed guidelines on ratios for oil to carrier for each type of oil, but maybe I need to break the rules a bit. Clearly I'm neither an aromatherapist,nor very experienced with this. Got any suggestions, Crunchy Friends?
Speaking of crunchy, let's talk about food. Every month, my dad and I go out for a nice dinner. In March, we tried a new Korean joint in town where we ordered japchae as part of an elaborate, multi-course meal. This Korean noodle dish is beyond exquisite. Normally when I eat Korean food, I go for the beef galbi and/or bulgogi (as recommended by an elderly Korean man I once met), but this was totally different. Basically, the Koreans have made sweet potato noodles their bitch by mastering that perfect sweet-savory combination with just the right amount of crunch from the veggies and satiating beef. If beef isn't your thing, you can still totally enjoy this dish. It can be made with another meat, or even no meat at all. In fact, I tried a homemade version yesterday using shrimp. It was good, but paled in comparison to the japchae I inhaled last month. Thank goodness I was using chopsticks then, or my dad wouldn't have gotten so much as a whiff!Another new alimentary adventure that I experienced last month was a new kind of beverage: Tantric Turmeric Kombucha. I am a nut for this fermented tea, but I'd never tried a turmeric flavored drink. I like turmeric. I like kombucha. Win-win, right? WRONG! Turns out, despite my love for turmeric (and its anti-inflammatory properties!!!), I don't particularly enjoy drinking it. Live and learn! I'll go back to my pre-approved varieties of kombucha, and leave the turmeric in my food.
With all of these healthy choices (foods, essential oils, etc.), the only thing remaining in the physical wellness spectrum is my activity habits. I still work out 5-6 days each week (both cardio and lifting), but my timing has changed. I got sick a month or so ago, which derailed my routine. When I finally got back on track, my sleeping habits had also changed. Lately, I have been sleeping in later, and doing my workouts after the kids are up. Not ideal. We all still survive and get our daily tasks completed, but I would much rather spend that workout time doing something fun with Jammy and Ribbers. The trouble is, I'm turning into a night owl! I'm dog tired by 1:30 pm and drag until about 9:30, when I'm suddenly wide awake. I then have such difficulty quieting my mind when I finally get to bed (usually around 11:00 or so). I can't read a book in bed because any light bugs Habibi, so I mess around on my phone until I pass out. This perpetuates the problem as LED lights -like those emitted from an iPhone- are crap for your sleep cycles and habits. So I crash hard, then cannot wake up in the morning when my kids jump on my face.
My kids be all like...
...and I be all like.
The last category of new stuff I have tried is in gaming apps. First, let me just say that I am in no way, shape, or form interested in any sort of video gaming, online or otherwise. That being said, I recently set about to find a fun game that Jammy would want to play on the iPad, that would also encourage her to use her French. One of the free ones I found is called Fun French, produced by Study Cat (an educational game company). It's pretty mediocre, but she seems to enjoy it. She practices identifying animals, mixing colors with digital paint, and even works a little bit on spelling. It isn't amazing, but at least it is one way I can coax her into practicing. I'll be looking for other free/inexpensive French game apps for kids as she gets a little older.
The other game I downloaded is for me (although Jammy also enjoys it). I spent so much of my down time last month playing every level of Mahjong. Ridiculous, I know. I don't speak a lick of Chinese (I can say I love you, hello, and snow, none of which are very helpful), so I have made up names for each of the symbols/characters on the tiles. These include: eyeball, single eyebrow, double eyebrow, triple eyebrow, pointy eyebrow, owl, sword in the stone, broken teeth, TV, Arabic letters, flowers, pictures, hot dog, twirly blue thing, cursive R, cursive T, guy walking, bd, and so on. Clearly, I am a Mahjong Master.
This could be me some day, with my Asian gang in a white collar prison.
(Arrested Development, Season 4)
(Arrested Development, Season 4)
March was full of new experiences for me. I'm not sure I'll have the energy to repeat it (or to be cognizant of it) in April, but I'll do my best. I've got a couple of "news" in the bullpen for you, including long-term birth control, and my personal favorite: rap parenting.
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