Better Living Through Chemistry?

I must admit, my "chemical exodus" hasn't been entirely successful.

This last month has been particularly stressful for me, in terms of my job, which coupled with the wonky un-summer-ish weather, didn't let me go biking as often as I liked, so I gained a couple of pounds, my face broke out, I got a horrid cold and I got an abnormal medical test result. YAY.

I dealt with the medical test (by going back for an additional, briefly-but-intensely painful test, after which the doctor pronounced the area 'uninteresting', which is nice to hear sometimes ;-) ), but I have had to reign in my eating, and went to Target in search of my old-faithful ProActiv replacement kit (which was about half the price). I found something interesting by Neutrogena; basically a salicylic acid face wash, 2.5% benzoyl peroxide face lotion, and a moisturizing lotion. I am surprised they did not include a toner, but I have a hyaluronic acid (sp?) toner I like. So I have said "Bollocks to Lush face care (for now)!" and have been using that. I also bought Burt's Bees Blemish Stick, which is basically SD-alcohol 40 with a bunch of healing oils (everything from fennel to tea tree oils). My face is finally (!) calming down, after about 3 weeks.

In terms of eating, I had become fond of having a cup (10 0z) of home-French-Pressed coffee every day, with full-on cream and 2 tsp real sugar. The whole thing fit into my 12 oz coffee mug, but I know that, since I'm not on Atkins, the cream just was too much fat for my inactivity, plus the dairy was probably messing with my face, and the sugar was...unnecessary (though I did start measuring it, which definitely helps rather than just dumping it in from the bag!). I gave up the stuff about two weeks ago, and have fallen back to mostly herbal teas, although I am trying to use up my stash of Market Spice's signature tea (SO good..but caffeine-riddled because it's black tea). I also stopped buying the odd pint of ice cream.

Most of these changes are OK for me. The coffee was not a big deal, as I was never really addicted to caffeine, and I was just getting fond of being able to have dessert at restaurants and not see a waist-size increase. Ah well.

To remedy this situation, I am looking for an indoor cycling (or spinning) class. I figure this will help to keep me in shape through the winter, too. I tried to sign up for a pole-dancing class, but they are all full through November. My teacher got a very favorable review in the "Best of Seattle" issue of Seattle Weekly, so I can understand why! :-) (I wish she was more underground, though! ;-) it'd be easier to get in!)

As for my cold... well, thanks Mom for all the herbs you've supplied me with. Here is the twice-daily ritual:

1 tsp astragalus extract
1 tsp Cat's Claw
1 tsp echinacea extract
2 drops oregano oil (BLAH!)

Then I have a constant feed of Chlor-Trimeton and Robitussin DM to quell the post-nasal drip and coughing, as well as Ricola drops whenever I feel the need, and Yogi Tea's "Throat Comfort" tea - it is pretty effective, I gotta admit. I also have the Yogi Tea "Ginger" tea on hand, too.

Between the Yogi tea and fizzy water / iced tea, I am in the bathroom every 20 minutes. Thank god I am working from home! :-)

Backtracking

Back in June, my family decided to meet up in North Carolina for a well-deserved family vacation. We were trying to get everyone to go, but my sister-in-law was out in Canada at the time, visiting her birth parents, and my brother had too many rehearsals imposed by his band's CO, so it was my parents, me, my sister, and my brother-in-law.

Here is a picture of us (with two strangers in our boat plus our raft guide, Nicole) in the French Broad river outside of Asheville. It was our first whitewater rafting experience, for any of us! We also learned that the French Broad is the third oldest river in the world, behind the Nile and the Nu rivers. It makes sense, since the Smoky Mountains are so rounded; our guide told us that they are one of the oldest mountain ranges on Earth.


(L-R: Me, my sister Rosanne, our guide Nicole, my dad (behind the lady in the front), my mom, Paul (brother in law), and guy in front


This is a picture of me and my dad enjoying a beer in a German restaurant in Georgia. We stopped off at Helen, GA on our way back to the Atlanta airport (where my parents would drop me off). This is significant because my dad never (hardly ever) drinks anything alcoholic...

Fast Forward!

This next picture is me and my pasty coworkers. This was taken when we took our intern, Derek, out for lunch on his last day here at Boeing before he went back to school to finish his masters degree.

I had to throw in my Simpsons avatar in here ;-) (you can make your own at www.simpsonsmovie.com if you are so inclined):

And finally, here is a picture I pulled off the web of my sister practicing intubating someone at the Johns Hopkins simulated operating room area-thing-a-ma-bobber. She is currently a resident in the anesthesiology department.

The Angler

I thought this was a particularly thought-provoking piece of work. A Washington Post series on Dick Cheney.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/cheney

Less Chemicals, More Stuff

So, here is an updated on the Chemical Exodus:

- I have finished both Method hand-pumps in the kitchen and bathroom, and have put in a 1:1 solution of Dr. Bronner's Almond soap and water. They are working great, although you have to watch it and make sure you don't squirt yourself in the shirt or face with soap when all you want to do is wash your hands!

- I did something (god-knows-what), and irritated one armpit, so I am back to chemical deodorant for the time being. It's almost better, and I used Powdry the other day (from Lush), but I am hoping the red bumps go away.

- I will buy Soap Nuts after this new box of Trader Joe's laundry soap (powder) is done. I like it because it's biodegradable, and you can recycle the entire box when it's done. Plus, it's like $5 for 40 loads' worth of soap.

Drum Carder

Wow, I keep getting inspired to get a drum carder. The universe must be calling it to me. Every web site I go to has the most beautiful and creative mixes of fibers all rolled into perfect little batts. I want to be a Batt DemiGod, too! I saw some great batts on Etsy.com earlier today, and saw one that integrated sari silk, glitz, wool, and possibly alpaca as well - it looked like a rainbow on a cloud! There was also one called Mermaid that was especially enchanting. I am taken with all things that look like sparkly versions of nature...Besides, I am getting tired of having to hold glitz in my hand and draft it in along with the wool as I am spinning. That is annoying and probably uses more glitz than I would if I just preblended everything together.

I just got a chance to read Pluckyfluff's blog, and she had a photo of her studio... all I can say is: I'm jealous! She has two wheels and a wonderful white work-room in which to retreat. I have...a 466 sqft condo. Which is great, I'm not complaining, but it is hard to have to put away everything when you're done. Which is why I think I want some miniature-type drum carder, and I am somewhat frustrated that I haven't been able to try any out recently. I keep going to the LYS (mentioned below), but they only have this ginormous Louet one...seriously...the thing is huge. I think it has a 10" or 12" wide roller?!

Speaking of LYS'es...I just went to the LYS (The Weaving Works, over on 45th St. in the University District), and picked up a bunch of yarns and needles for some new projects to keep me busy on tomorrow's 6 hour (or so) plane ride to Atlanta. I've got a couple of www.knitty.com patterns, one is a short sock with a lace pattern up-top (which I believe the yarn I picked for it is...cotton/wool? I hope so..I love wool's springiness to countact cotton's lollabout tendencies), and one is a cabled headband (which I am making in an alpaca-silk combo yarn). I am also taking Cat Bordhi's "Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles" book, and am going to attempt to make her Simple Sock out of there with some really pretty rainbow-colored self-striping sock yarn! (I have to say, I bought a sock yarn that was supposedly self-patterning back when I was in college, and I FINALLY got around to knitting with it, and...it is lame. It gives you little pointilist dots of color everywhere, but I don't really like the overall effect... At the time, I didn't realize the color repeats were way too short for anything that I would consider self-striping. Who knew 4 balls of yarn and three new needles (well, one dp set of #5's and two 24" circular #3's) would set me back $75?

I am practicing making socks now for X-mas, and for the Boy. (My coworker got a kick out of the fact that I call him "The Boy" to those who don't know him). I think I blogged about this, but a few months ago, I dragged the Boy to Whidby Island with me to go ogle some alpaca fiber on sale, and I ended up getting a pack of very pretty light gray alpaca (it tends to match the Seattle sky much of the year (heh)), and so I figured I'd make him some socks or fingerless gloves out of it. I've noticed that even in the dead of winter here, he is not a hat-guy, so I figure at least he can wear the socks. And the alpaca is uber-soft, so I figure if I blend it with some Bluefaced Leicester to give it some "pep", it'll be A-OK to spin. Or I could spin it pure alpaca, since I know he'll throw them in the washing machine, and I want it to felt as little as possible!

The Great Chemical Exodus

I am on my way to becoming chemical-free (or at least using a lot less chemicals) in the bathroom.

I already clean with extremely environmentally friendly materials - vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, Bon Ami scrubby cleanser, and Ecos (?) toilet cleaner. I wash my clothes with Trader Joe's eco-friendly powdered laundy soap. I figured it was time to try to extricate the chemicals from my body products.

First to go was the lotion. I used to use Curel, but discovered that Trader Joe's has a body lotion (and creme, for the winter) that are not only biodegradable and natural, they are way cheap.

I have also switched to Method hand soap in the bathroom and kitchen. When that is gone, I will replace the soap in the pump bottles (re-using them) with Dr. Bronner's liquid soap. I have used solid soap in the past, but I think the liquid stuff keeps the countertops cleaner, overall.

I just finished off my last bottle of shaving cream (the metal bottle that makes the cream foam). I replaced that with Prince shaving cream from Lush. I love Lush. www.lush.com

I also finished the benzoyl peroxide face wash I was using, and replaced it with Coalface face wash bar from Lush. I basically got rid of my acne, so I figured I could start using natural products to control the last vestiges of it.

I have also been experimenting with natural deodorants. I have gone through phases in my life- wanting to smell clean, not wanting to smell like anything but be dry, and also a hippie phase where I didn't mind the smell. At least I don't smell too bad, like some folks. However, I am back in the "don't want to smell" phase. I am experimenting wtih three different deodorants from Lush: Fuwari ( a solid bar that is based on baking soda and some other powders), Powdry ( a powder deodorant with juniper oil, among other things), and Aromacreme (a creme deodorant that you rub on with your fingers). From the get-go, I scrape off Fuwari into a little sushi sauce-dish that I have. I also dispense Powdry in this way. I have a "kabuki" brush from when I bought a mineral makeup kit that I use to apply the powder - I tried my hands, but a brush does a much more effective job. I have had pretty good success with the Powdry, and with the Aromacreme, but I also have tried layering the Fuwari over the Aromacreme with good results. The one thing I notice is that the Powdry, for me, should be reapplied after about 6 hours, and probably wouldn't hold up to me biking. But you should shower anyway after doing something physical like that. :-)

Thoughts on a Small Space

This morning, as I woke up on my Murphy bed at 6:05 AM (then again at 6:15 AM), I pondered the wonder that it is that I can live in a 460 sqft condo. I immediately began my Friday morning routine of pulling out my work laptop, plunking it onto the couch, and plugging in the cord to the outlet as I turned on the machine, then plugging in the other end of the cord to the laptop. I folded up my bed as the laptop whirred to life, then briefly sat and entered my first of many work-related passwords so that the computer would give me access.

I then made the tiny trek across the Pergo-ish floor to the electric fireplace (?!) and carried the IKEA $15 coffee table to it's spot in front of the couch (which it can't occupy when the bed is down), and moved the computer to the table. Then I rounded the couch, getting my flannel pajama pant leg briefly caught on the side of the fuzzy couch fabric, and poured myself some iced tea.

Life Happening In Under 500 SqFt.

I often wonder what compels people to think they "neeeeeed" a 3000 sqft home. For them and their spouse, and maybe one kid. Not even a century ago, people were living in much smaller spaces. The argument will arise that today's Americans, perhaps because we are so affluent as a whole, own a lot of stuff.

I don't have a problem with owning a lot of stuff. I think I own too much stuff, myself. I am pretty sure I could get rid of half my books, all my plants, some of my kitchen gear, and my grandpa's dresser. But I'm talking about people who own stuff that they don't use.

This is one of my big beefs about people (in America, in particular). They own things that they don't use. Some people have closets full of clothes with price tags still on them from 5 years ago. Some people bought things with the good intention of using them - the most ironic are things designed to organize other things. Well, folks, they don't do a lick of good unless you use them. The Organizing Fairy isn't going to fly out of that wall-hanger for mail and fix up all your paperwork for you. You have to get off your lazy-obese-American-ass and do it yourself.

I have gone through several "clean-outs" in recent years. The first happened in 2004, when I graduated from college. The last year of college I lived alone in a 700 sqft 1br apartment. Ohh how I wish I could transport that apartment to Seattle in my current location. Anyway. I had sooo much random crap in there. I ended up selling almost all my possessions, except for some clothes, my instruments, and some other stuff like my spinning wheel. You know, I can't even remember what all I stuffed into that 5x5 storage locker when I moved out for Louisiana (a way-station before getting my first job)... I don't think I own any of it anymore. Anyway, so once I moved to Maryland, I came into some new furniture, etc. And then I got the job at Boeing, so I gave up some more stuff. But they actually moved me here to Seattle, so I didn't feel the need to clean out as much, although I knew that because I was planning to live downtown, I would need to downsize (my apartment in MD was 780 sqft, and 1 br. Almost twice the size of this place! The bedroom was truly monstrous). Then I lived in a 550 sqft apartment in downtown Seattle, which was awesome. But when I bought the condo, I figured out that some additional stuff wasn't going to fit, based on the architecture of the place. So I sold some more stuff. I feel confident now, though, that I would be able to live in a Manhattan apartment that was under 400 sqft, based on a few things:

- I can install a Murphy bed in the apartment to house my queen mattress
- I can install a closet organizer to use in the closet space

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There are some improvements I want to make to my condo, though (there always are):

- buy a new couch that is shorter and possibly only has one arm (like a chaise lounge)
- get new pots for outside (pretty big ceramic pots)
- get a new coffee table that either can fold up or has extra storage in it
- get new side chairs (the wooden ones just aren't doing it for me)
- get a gas grill
- get a new bedside light (maybe one of those "clip-on" style lights so it can hang onto the edge of the shelf next to the bed