ishte

So, if you don't know this about me... I don't really spend a lot of time on my computer in Summer anymore. Generally speaking, I have other things that I want to do than sit on my ass in front of a computer. What this ends up meaning is that I don't write much in Summer either.

My activities have been different this year, because I haven't been feeling exactly stellar most of the year due to (probably stress induced) GERD. I'm doing better now. I had an upper endoscopy in which the doctor stretched a stricture. After the procedure I was really sick for two weeks and missed three weeks of work because it took me another week to get my strength back. GI doc thinks that I probably had a GI tract infection, backed up by the fact that the morning of the procedure I had some low belly pain which I mentioned to them, but I though it was just a little IBS due to being pretty nervous about my procedure. She said if that was the case, probably being inflated for the procedure might have just aggravated an already unpleasant bug. Also, my meds had recently been changed and turned out to be less effective so I was feeling worse instead of better. Went back to the original med, got the infection resolved and now things are going better and I feel more like myself except I still have to take a damned pill every morning, which I don't like. >_<

The good news is that as unwell as I have felt for the last 9 or 10 months, tests have verified that there is nothing seriously wrong. Just uncomfortable, and nerve wracking (and the nerve wracking part has probably contributed to how bad I've felt, and having those fears laid to rest is probably also going a long way towards me feeling more like myself, since this was probably stress induced in the first place.

Now Summer is almost over and I haven't accomplished much that I wanted to, but at least I'm feeling like myself the majority of my days. YAY! I didn't get the house painted. Can't really afford it right now. Next year for sure. My brother's estate will settle from probate pretty soon, and I'll have a little inheritance most likely so next year I'll probably just some of it to hire professionals instead of us doing it ourselves. Wanted to fix the gutters as well, which I could normally do myself, but haven't felt well enough to invest myself in a project like that. I wanted to start building my tiny house on the trailer I inherited from my brother. I totally planned to do that this summer, but I really didn't start feeling like myself again until maybe 3 weeks ago, so I'll make plans to start that as soon as the weather is nice enough next spring rather than start now, and have it sit half finished through Winter. Nope. Seems stupid to do that.

This weekend I'm going to go see Duran Duran. I'm excited about that, and also about getting to go with my friend who lives too far away to visit often, so I haven't seen him in quite a few months now. YAY! Music Festival type thing.

I managed to get the Irish Session going again at our local Irish Pub which is also awesome, but it's slow going because it's been two years, and now it's on a different day, and some of the original gang aren't as available as they would have been if I'd managed to get it on the same day we always played. But it's happening. Slowly but surely we're getting a group of regulars to come and play with us, and relearning the songs and tunes based on who knows what.

Now I think I'll try to spend a little time writing, since I'm up here in the Creation Room, windows open, and pleasant weather, cicadas singing outside. I'll try to speak more regularly now. We'll see. I do go long stretches. lol

Whew. Holy cow. This has been such a busy month.  First working in Retail during the holidays. That's busy enough, but then there is also the stuff to DO with the holidays. Decorating, shopping, wrapping presents, shopping more lol (Yeah... I did that.  I wrapped 90% of my presents and then went online and bought some more lol!), Making new festive holiday masks for work.  AND because my old Nutcracker festive holiday vest is not only wearing out and fraying now, it's too tight! I lost almost 10 pounds since October.  Why oh WHY are my BOOBS popping the top button... WHY BOOBS? WHY!?

So in addition to all that, because my vest won't last another year, I have also been learning how to make a vest so I can make myself a NEW festive holiday vest. I learned today how to sew a dart. What's a dart for you ask? It's to make room for my... BOOBS. Yes. I traced the pattern off my existing vest, and learned how to modify a pattern to add a dart. So I made it an inch or so bigger at the sides and added the dart to the new pattern.  I bought some clearance Xmas fabric to use for making mock-ups (aka prototypes that won't waste the fabric purchased specifically for the final product) which, if I've done this right the first time, will actually result in a festive holiday vest in and of itself since it is also festive. lol.  I sewed two darts and have two to go which I did not do today because I was too lazy (too busy actually) to take the time to change the thread for the lining fabric.  I might do that tomorrow and then maybe baste the thing together to test the fit.  I've left enough seam allowance to actually tweak it a little. Mistake? I forgot and sewed the darts with a real seam instead of basting, so if it's wrong, I'm spending a couple of hours picking those two seams instead of a couple of minutes.bleh.

On top of that, there's all the stuff to do with settling my brother's estate.  Meetings two weeks in a row on my day off, both of which ate into a large part of my only weekday off, and a lot of other things not getting checked off my list for that day, including not getting to go the the chiropractor when I REALLY needed to, and I'm hoping I can go on Wednesday this week, but I don't know if his office will be open or not.  I also wasn't able to call my gut doctor, and I need to ask about my medication - i.e. it costs 3 times as much over the counter as it does with a prescription... so if he wants me to continue taking it, I need him to write a scrip... and if he doesn't, he needs to tell me how the hell to stop taking it, because I tried to follow the urgent care doctors instructions and ended up in a very uncomfortable situation within a couple of days reducing the dose. I did not like that, and could not function by the fourth day. I had to start taking it again. Not happy about that. Also, I'd like to pay his bill, but the bill provides a website that I can't log into to pay it, because I wasn't provided with a special code or something that I'm supposed to have to create my account? Uh... Ok...

So anyway. Busy.  I didn't work on CTT at all the last three days. Too busy.  I just want to sit down and write it now, but guess what. It's bedtime! lol... It's also thrown me off a bit that my day off changed because of Pink Sunday. So I was off today and working tomorrow... I might try to beg myself off an hour or two early if it's not too busy.  I just might. I hardly EVER EVER ask for anything or leave early unless I'm deathly ill or something. I don't ask for favors hardly ever, but I might ask for one. I have stuff to do. lol.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

So 14 months ago, after some study on the subject, I decided to try an experiment with my hair. I wanted to stop using shampoo and conditioner. Period. I had been reading these labels and looking at all the crap that is in these products and realizing that it was full of phosphates and wax and silicone and all kinds of crazy stuff that I didn't really want on my hair. Firstly, because most of them actually make your hair dry and brittle, while disguising that fact by coating it wax and silicone. To date, I have not used shampoo (nor any sort of soap) or conditioner on my hair (other than when I dyed my hair once every 6 weeks or so) since October of 2012 now. After a brief adjustment period, my hair started feeling healthier than it's ever been. Since then, I also decided I wanted to see what my hair would look like without any dye, so I stopped, and when I had an inch or so of hair grown out dye free, I also cut it super short to let it grow out clean and natural. I guess that was probably about 6 months ago. It's probably about 5 or 6 inches on top now. The change is amazing. I'm not sure yet if I'll keep the natural color. I'm considering using henna on it, but will do a test swatch first to see if I can get an acceptable color first.

Since I've gone no poo, a lot of people ask me when I mention it, how I care for my hair now. Obviously I do care for it or it would like terrible and dirty all the time and probably smell bad too. It doesn't. However, I can now go for 2 weeks without doing anything other than scrubbing it out with clear water and have it still be clean and healthy looking. So because I get asked so often, I thought I'd post an explanation of how I keep my hair clean.  I clean it with baking soda solution and rinse with apple cider vinegar solution.  The vinegar does not leave a scent on your hair. You barely use any at all, and then you rinse it out very well.  If you want a scent, you can use a drop of essential oil, but I just put my favorite perfume on a q-tip and run it through my hair a couple times in the morning. That way it's not overwhelmingly strong and wears off by the end of the day so I can choose a different perfume if I like the next day.

Here's what you need:
1. A pair of 2 oz squirt bottles like this one (I actually used bigger ones empty from hair dye at first, but found the small ones were plenty for my shoulder length hair)
2. A box of baking soda (my first one cost 97¢ and my current one cost 80¢)
3. A bottle of apple cider vinegar (mine is 32 oz, and cost $2, and in a year I have used only half the bottle even after I stole some from the bottle for a yarn dying experiment)

Step one: Don't change any products yet. Just spend a few weeks gradually extending the time between washes. If you wash your hair every day, start washing every other day. Then every third day. Then twice a week... for example, at this stage, I washed every Wednesday and Sunday because it worked well with my schedule. Stick with that schedule for a couple of weeks. In the mean time, you can get your supplies

Step two: Ditch the shampoo and conditioner. You may have to play around with your amounts a bit to get it perfect for your hair type.  I started out with a teaspoon of baking soda in 4 oz... and that has worked pretty well, though I have smaller bottles now, I do about half a teaspoon in a 2 oz bottle of warm water. I don't measure it exactly just eyeball it.  I give it a shake to dissolve it and then squirt it onto my hair while it is dry. Start at the scalp and then you can use your fingers to work it to the tips.  For me the 2 oz is enough to pretty thoroughly saturate my hair though it is pretty thick.  Longer hair may need more.  This will of course not foam up like shampoo.  That's part of the adjustment, is thinking foam is necessary.  Just scrub it around with your fingers for a couple of minutes. Especially your scalp, but make sure you are getting the ends in there too. Rinse thoroughly.   Now in the second bottle (or really you could just rinse out the same bottle I guess.  Mix about a half teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar per 2 oz of warm water.  Give it a shake and also squeeze the entire bottle onto your hair. rub it in, especially on the tips. (I usually start at the tips and work my way up to the scalp. Rinse it very well.

Step three: Continue with Step Two for a few weeks.  Staying with the same twice a week wash schedule you've been using.  This is your adjustment period.  I noticed that at first my hair felt heavy and strange, though it looked clean and I could style it without too much trouble.  I adjusted my amounts, as I may have started out with too much vinegar. I don't actually remember! haha.. but some of it is just that your hair and scalp is recovering from years of having wax and silicone applied in conditioners after having all the natural oils stripped out by the shampoo as often as daily or for some people even more.  Just stick with it and let your hair adjust.  It's been over producing oil for years too, as it tries to compensate for what the shampoo is stripping out. Clogged follicles can also open up after a while and your hair may grow in thicker and maybe even more of it. 

Step four: Once you feel like your hair is starting to normalize, you can either continue to wash twice a week as I did for quite some time, or you can try washing once a week, and just giving it a good scrub with your fingertips and clear water the other day you would have been washing.  If this isn't working for you, then just go back to twice a week, and gradually extend your time between washes until you can reach a week.  I don't think there is any shame in it if you don't get there. The main thing is that you don't want to go back to washing every day, as even with this natural method, this will strip your hair of oils and cause it to over produce again.

I hope this is helpful and informative.  I don't have a good picture of my hair today, and I'm not going to take one since I'm in my pajama's, but I do have some at varying stages

These two were taken on Day 71 of the experiment:
 

This picture was taken further out. April 17. I've just decided to stop dying and you can see some of my silver.

You'll notice it looks glossier and healthier, this is because I'd gotten a lot of the damage cut out of it recently.


Here I am on New Years Day 2014 playing Apples to Apples with my spawn and some friends.


Ok so anyway, if you're interested in trying this out, feel free. Share your results with me and feel free to ask any questions you may have about the process.  I also no longer use any styling products.  Honestly, I have so much body that I don't need them, and I've learned over the years that my hair styles best if I just have a good cut and let it do what it wants to

I love this, and appologise in advance for the mild rant it induced once I started thinking about things as they stand and how they have effected me in what is touted to be (one of) the wealthiest nation(s) in the world. (dependent on whether you include the EU as a whole or not as I understand it, there is a bit of switching back and forth just now.)
I love this guy's last line "Pretty neat, huh?"

I would like to see a version that shows the disparity in the USA.  I can pretty much guarantee that most people in the US still believe there is no such disparity, however, I know it's there, I've experienced it, and I've seen people MY AGE, have serious health problems ignored or given very minimal treatment until they became to sick to work.  This was permanent in one case I know, that was given very minimal treatment for a serious heart condition which could have been treated and kept her working at the same time. Ultimately she had to go on permanent total disability, and then she could get medicare to pay for the CORRECT AND PROPER treatment now that it was too late to heal her well enough to ever come back to work, and I promise you she WANTED to come back to work badly.  So now that person is living on everyone else's dime, deprived permanently of the ability to earn her own way, because some people think that a shared and equal health care plan for EVERYONE here is the worst idea in the world.  Would it not have been better for us all to pay a few pennies towards her proper treatment so that she could also continue working and paying into the system? Yes. it would have been better for her, for her family, for her self-esteem, and also for US...the rest of us down here on the bottom.

Is having a 'measured' success if you will pardon the pun. As in, I measured it this morning and I have dropped 5 pounds now. It's amazing how you can gain 20 pounds when you are sick for months. I really thought I was watching what I was eating, but no being able to exercise really makes it difficult, and also I imagine I was eating a lot more comfort food, and stuff that requires 0 effort. Most of what I cook is pretty simple to make anyway, but often I didn't even feel like the 5 minutes of prep to cut up some veggies to steam. I just wanted to nuke something and be done. Also, since I wasn't able to use my trainer all winter due to these ear issues, I also didn't get any exercise. 5 weeks total that I spent primarily in bed or in my chair without the energy to do much else. My finances are a mess now, but being back to work will get that in order soon. I have a raise coming in another few weeks. I thought it was supposed to be another 40¢, to total 80¢ in the first year, but I've been told by some that it's actually 80¢ for the second raise. Either is fine, but 80¢ would be grand. That works out to about $60 more each pay check. Also I am one of the center's sales leaders, so I get a decent sales bonus too once a month.

Now I have to get on my bike. I need to go to the bank, and also I want to go to CVS and use my $10 extra bucks before they expire. Then down Maple to the library. Then home again.

P.S. My bike says I went 57.1 MPH today.
I don't think this wireless speedometer is completely accurate.

See... Dove has this wonderful campaign. A study showed that only 2% of women believe that they are beautiful. Much of this is because of the image of beauty that is stuffed down our throats from a very young age. What most of these beautiful women do not know or fully comprehend is that what they are seeing on the covers of these magazines is not real. They have no idea the amount of photoshopping that goes into these images before they are published. The fact is, most of these women are quite 'ordinary' looking before they go through makeup and image enhancement.

Ok.. apparently the problem is that LJ has decided to require a special set of tags to embed anything now or something. I don't know.. we'll see. I need to go to bed, and I will if this doesn't work.

( Watch this: )

Dear Self,

Head-Banging to Irish dance music for the sake of personal amusement will cause a neck sprain the pain of which no amount of pain rub will relieve for at least 5 days, and is in fact only mildly amusing for a very short period of time.

Much Love,
Body