Exhaustion on a Friday

Confession: I am a complete wench about getting enough sleep.
I admit it.
I think it's going too far to say I take pride in it, but at least I know my flaws, and do my best to deal with them. Now, that means that I am super duper sure to get enough sleep (but sometimes, things happen)

In future years, when I have little ones running around and less free time and such, I know I won't be able to be such a baby about it, but right now, there is no concievable solution - I go more than 1 night with less sufficient sleep, and Charis = Dragon.

So, today instead of a regular post (it's been one of those weeks), I'll give you a glimpse of what I did last weekend and what I'll be doing this weekend:

Enjoying the Pacific from a healthy distance (I don't know which is better, toxic sludge on our side or medical waste on the Atlantic side, hmmm., I'll stay in the sand, thanks.)

And dozing:

Have a lovely weekend!

And today's whiteboard quote:
"Dwell not upon thy weariness, thy strength shall be according to the measure of thy desire."
~Arab Proverb

Now get to work!

oh, and by the way, baking soda as deodorant totally works. Who knew?
last night this happened -
C: "Why the heck doesn't everyone use baking soda? It works 10 times better than regular deodorant..."
T: "Because it doesn't have millions of dollars of commercials pushing it. And it doesn't have special smells added to it (that are probably bad for you too)."
C: "Hmmm..."

Stinky Part II and Other Gross Stuff

So the alcohol worked just fine (I know, I was shocked too - who knew?), however after some further investigation by T and me, it turned out that having your skin absorb that particular stuff is also pretty bad for you. Mild poison is still poison, after all. T saw, in his research (and I caught up to him about an hour later) that you can use baking soda too - just apply it with your fingertips after the shower. Moisten your fingertips, sprinkle baking soda on them, then apply the paste it makes just like you would deodorant. So far, so good, although I am only about 1.5 hours out of the shower (still carrying that regular deodorant in my purse for backup, don't worry)....

Now, onto other grossness,

I'd been having some subtle and seemingly non-related physical symptoms that I couldn't quite peg down to any cause, and in finally sitting down and researching them yesterday, I found out something that still makes my skin crawl. Did you know that 85% to 95% of Americans have intestinal parasites? I'm serious, like, not even little bacteria, I'm talking hard core animals living in your body. And a lot of folks are criticizing USA health care because it's never addressed although so prevalent. Apparently in other parts of the world and throughout history de-worming (I'm cringing as I type that, ewwwwwww) is a normal part of life, because everyone and their Uncle Charlie has them.

Holy fudruckers.

Are you screaming inside your head right now?

That's what I did for most of the day yesterday.

Then I ordered this (one each for T and me). Scroll down and read the user reviews...

I have no words.

All I'm saying is, you can bet your buttons that I'll be doing that once a year from now on. And I'm kind of afraid at what'll happen. Ew, just the thought of it gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Oh, and I also found out in my research (this is right before I actually let myself come to the conclusion that it may actually be the problem) that these are the ways you can get them:

• Undercooked meat (yes, we all know that. And I don't eat much meat, but when I eat those couple of steaks a year, I'm a medium girl)
• And here's the big one: Produce. Yep, if it's been washed by water that's had contact with soil that held the eggs (which are tiny, and live for years and years, and are pretty much wherever animals are, hello farms and gardens), then you're screwed. And we eat organic (no pesticides killing the eggs). And I never wash my apples before I eat them. I know, I know. I will fo sho be washing them from now on...

So there's some information that I'm sure that you are thankful to now have floating around in your brain.

You're welcome.

I'll let you know how the baking soda works for the stinkiness. Don't expect updates on the other one though, this blog ain't that personal.

Strange Day

I am having a strange day today.

I can't concentrate and I'm having a rough time staying on task...I haven't even written my little daily minute-by-minute schedule (the mini spiral notebook for this express purpose still resides in my purse. That in itself is an anomalous phenomenon...)

I think, in response, I will do what my spirit's telling me to - be a good girl and continue to inhabit my office persona until 4:15pm, at that time drive home (listening to Dune, my current audiobook, very thought-provoking), and promptly go to bed, sip some herbal tea, maybe watch the Bachelorette online (my guilty pleasure), and wait for T to come home and snuggle me (I'll likely be asleep first. It's okay, I don't mind being waken up for a good cause)...

Stinky (or not)

Today's whiteboard quote:

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing, that's why we recommend it daily."
~Zig Zigler

So there.

Speaking of bathing and such, today I'm trying out the isopropryl-alcohol-instead-of-deodorant thing that I've heard of here and there over the past few years. Supposedly classic antiperspirant/deodorants have a bunch of nasty stuff in them that's bad for you (possibly poisonous, according to some. Mildly so, of course, but who wants to even be mildly poisoned?)

My dad did this while on his distance bike trip (he went around the northern border of the country - you can find his record of it here under the second bullet), and said it worked just fine. Lately T is educating me on how many household chemicals and even cosmetics can have dire consequences when absorbed through the skin (no more nail polish for me - I know. But I can understand how you would NOT want that, or remover for that matter, absorbed into your body. So I'm getting lots of mileage from my buffer, you'd better believe it...), and since I'd heard good things about this method, I decided at Target yesterday to give it a go.

Rubbing alcohol only has 70% strength, so I just got the isopropyl stuff and used it last night after a shower, this morning I was non-smelly, so I'm'a keep going and see how it is today (yes, if you're wondering, I do have a standby stick of regular stuff in my purse, just in case)...

Although now, after googling for the correct spelling of isopropyl, I'm seeing that IT may not be all that healthy either - bollocks! More research will be undertaken...

As WE Are

Today's whiteboard quote:

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."
~Anais Nin

I think most of us have a love/hate relationship with sayings and concepts like the one above. On one hand, it gives us the opportunity to change our lives in an instant, just by changing our outlook, and as a result of that shift in perception, to make future decisions that work "toward hope, instead of away from fear" (according to my undergraduate Learning & Behavior prof), and that will make our external lives better, bit by bit, until we one day raise our heads and look around and realize that we can't quite remember what it really felt like to be as unhappy as we could swear we once were....

Man, that sure was a run-on sentence.

But on the other hand, it also puts the pressure on us to choose how we want to live, and to choose how we want our lives to be. Once you realize that there is a choice, how can you justify making the choice to be unhappy? Also, once you realize there's a choice, how can you justify not doing things to improve the world, in whatever small or large way(s) that you can?

So having that power isn't necessarily always a good thing, from our own perspectives.

I know that I often sigh in begrudging frustration when it occurs to me, after a bad day or a fight or an unproductive week, when I'm feeling bad about myself anyway, that the whole thing is mostly, if not all, my own fault.

Yes, things happen that are outside of our control. But how we handle them is always within our control.

Dang.

So, with this knowledge of choice in my arsenal, I'm off to make my goals for the day, the week, the month (or, until I forget and need to be reminded again :) )

How will you choose to be?

Take Your T to Work Day

That's what Friday was for me.

Unofficially, of course.

The thing is, I had a conference to host (which = sitting outside in the courtyard of the conference building by the entrance and reading a book all day), and since T was going to be in Pasadena anyway, at the same campus, doing work, he came and kept me company, doing his work across the table from me.

I don't think my boss liked it very much.

However, my productivity wasn't stalled at all! (Before T = sitting at table, reading book. With T = sitting at table, reading book. I don't see much of a difference....)

But that was neither here nor there.

I was definitely more entertained with him there for this reason:
He's one of the reasons why college campus squirrels are so fat.

But I love him anyway.

In his defense, I think the nuts were organic so maybe it's not so bad....we did see a squirrel (probably the same one as featured above) hanging out with an entire blueberry scone....Maybe the "good fat" he gave them helped lower their cholesterol?


note: those pics aren't taken with my new and awesome camera. You'll see pics from it before long, promise :)

Bow Chicka Wow Wow

This is my new camera.
...or in other words, my new lover.

My fingers dance along its smooth body as I figure out which buttons to push to make both of us oh so happy.

I learn more about it everyday, as it is complex enough to make me work but gorgeously simple enough that I have full confidence of cracking every combination and hidden setting...

(oh yeah, right there...)

What does this mean?

No one is safe.

Prepare to have a blog overloaded by pictures.

Well, sometimes.

A girl has to keep her old lovers happy too (as in, the keyboard. You have to remember who's been good to you).