simple sunday style

I have decided to try going natural.
I am already a pretty natural kind of lady (gal?).
But I'd like to be more so.
Good health and self-care are most beautiful.

I do wear makeup, but not so anyone would notice.
Just a little brown eyeshadow, mascara, and natural lip color (more of a gloss).
I think I'd like to try to do without.

I'm not really sure what "real" color my hair is now--I've been using henna on it since I was 15 years old!
It's been a lot of shades, from aubergine to auburn to bright red to dark brown to a medium brown now.
I used to enjoy mixing the powdered henna colors and waiting for the surprise result.

Henna is a plant-based color that also naturally conditions the hair.
However, it is becoming quite expensive, and it's a lengthy and messy process
(think slathering green mud on your head and leaving it on for several hours!).
I'm getting tired of the quarterly upkeep.

My hair is growing in silver around the temples now...

One of my coworkers has the most beautiful silver hair, looking very stylish.
My mother also has lovely cascading silver hair.
I'm ready to try. I cut off about three inches last night.

Following the recommendations of Mrs. MM (and many others!),
getting a good night's sleep of 8 hours, daily exercise, and healthy food with many fresh fruits and veggies, are among the best (and certainly most frugal) beauty practices.

mood magic

I keep thinking about a term I read long ago in a book called Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.
That term was "wrestling with the tofu" (or how about "wrestling with the futon"-ever tried to move one?)
It's the process that one's mind can go through when sitting down to meditate.
Or in my case, trying to overcome inertia or grumpiness.

Rather than wrestling with my own mind (sounds so complicated), I resort to linguistic tricks.
When I am sitting on the couch with my laptop and need to get up and get moving,
telling myself "You know you need to go EXERCISE" just makes me feel teenage rebellious.

So instead I use...it's time for a little Mood Magic!
Once my shoes are on and I'm out the door (with my trusty big brown dog), I feel instantly better.
And that elevation lasts for hours. Effects are doubled when the sun appears along the way.

Minou used to complain when I headed out the door to jog, leaving him alone with two tiny p'tit minous.
He learned over time to say "Good for you--it's good for your heart".
These days I bet he's pretty glad for the existence of Mood Magic.
I'm much nicer to live with because of it.

Some days he even says "Don't you want to start your day with a jog?"

How about you? What's your Mood Magic?

flu vaccine

image from cdc.gov via google images

A friendly reminder to get your flu (and pertussis, or whooping cough) vaccines...

I work in population health. In every population there are people who can't be vaccinated for a number of reasons. Or, even if they get the vaccine, it's not effective because their immune system isn't functioning well.These individuals depend on those around them to create the "Community Immunity" that protects them as well as us.

image from niaid.nih.gov via google images

A healthy person might have a really bad sick week with the flu, or even just some mild symptoms for a day or two. They might not even know they have the flu (the same is true for whooping cough). But that person can pass it to someone for whom it could be fatal, such as a senior citizen with other health problems, or a newborn, or someone going through chemotherapy.

Your vaccine protects me, and my vaccine protects you.

simple saturday: lady stuff

I don't know why I dislike the term "feminine hygiene products" so much...
but let's talk about them! Please stop reading now if this topic makes you sqeamish.

Disposable products can obviously generate a large amount of waste and can also be quite expensive.

Around the time that I started to use cloth diapers for my older son, I decided to invest in cloth menstrual pads. I bought a set of Glad Rags from an Oregon-based, small female-owned company. They are very soft and comfortable, and still (we're talking 15 years later) in good shape after many washings. Much like cloth diapers, I used these most of the time, always when I was at home, and supplemented with disposables when I was out and about or working.

source: www.gladrags.com

 

 

However, for a long-distance runner, there can be a little issue with chafing. So I tried The Keeper, a menstrual cup:

 

source: www.gladrags.com

 

I have heard great things about this ecological and inexpensive option from friends, so I was disappointed that I didn't love it--but I didn't. I had trouble with leaking, and it can be awkward to empty and rinse if you are out and about, to say the least, unless you find a private restroom. Also, the stem was uncomfortable, though it can be trimmed.

 

I am happy to report that I now have the best solution I have found, for a woman not planning on more children for a while (or at all):

 

source: www.mirena-us.com

 

This is an intrauterine contraceptive (IUC) with just a bit of progestin, which causes the lining of the lining of the uterus to atrophy while it is in place. So after a few months of spotting...no more bleeding to cope with. I love it. I can't even tell you how much I love it (I will spare you the humourous/distressing tales of my years of menorrhagia). Let me just say that I am not planning to have a menstrual period ever again, if I can help it. I'm going to use this puppy (I'll have to change it out once) right through menopause.

 

And since the Mirena is effective for at least 7 years (though only FDA approved for 5), it is a very economical, simple, and space-saving solution. I was recently doing some tidying/decluttering in the upstairs bathroom and realized that I hadn't used the bag of menstrual supplies in at least a year--out it goes!

 



bus pass

I just spent $130 dollars on something that I haven't used yet. What is it?
I bought a 3 month bus pass!

It felt like a lot of money up front, but it's a good investment in keeping my lifestyle car-light. At an average of $33 dollars monthly, it's still less expensive than one tank of gas. My health center just moved to a (beautiful) new site about 5-6 miles from my home. It's a great bike ride when the weather is good and the days are long. There's even a changing room and a shower at work if I get sweaty on the way. However....come the rainy, early fall evenings and mornings, I know I won't be so eager to wheel out my bike.

So, the bus pass gives me options, while providing incentive not to request a ride from Minou (we're a one car family, so he as the official p'tit minou-chauffeur has first dibs on the vehicle). After all, I paid for it, so I need to get some use out of it. The rapid-transit bus runs from the city center (about 2.5 miles from my home) right past the health center.

Having a bike and a bus pass allows for all sorts of alternative transportation combinations. I can bike downtown, hop onto the rapid transit line, then bike home. I can walk downtown to the bus station and then take the bus to work and back. I've even thought about jogging to work, then taking the bus home in the evening. The possibilities are good for my waistline, wallet, heart...and endless!

leave this home!

Nasty viral illness, I banish you from our home.
Runny-nose causing, blocked sinus sniffling, dizzy unsteadiness, begone.
Summer bugs seem so much more unkind than winter ones.
Somehow I mind less when I can curl up under layers of comforters with cooling mugs of herbal tea.
When the sun is out, the garden needs weeding, and the blueberries are ripe for the picking
it just doesn't feel right to be lying on the couch. Also,
the problem is that life doesn't ever seem to slow down enough to take a healing time-out...

So I am compromising with quiet evenings sitting on the couch with my Minous while they watch library movies. Last night was a great one: Stranger than Fiction. Tonight: Le Valet.