I've been out of the house more today than I have in the past week. We went to the grocery store, my bank, and Wal-Mart, where I got some schizophrenic Halloween underwear and a glow-in-the-dark Toy Story shirt, but I forgot to get nail files and a new toothbrush and we never got anything for J for his lunch at work, so we're going to have to go out again. We took the Toddler to Arby's for a quick lunch, and he got to sit on the bench next to S like a big boy, which was really cute.
Why is it that we always have lots of errands on days when there's a heat advisory? It's some sort of... can't think of the word, but it's like the world is working against us. S can't think of the word I want, either. Stupid brain.
Today, I ordered some stuff online, one of which I am really excited about - this shirt. Oh yes. I am so excited.
I'm still using the No 'Poo treatment, and my hair is wonderful. I have next to no frizz, except on particularly humid days, so this winter will probably be wonderful. My hair feels much thicker and silkier, and it's much easier to get a brush through it, unless it's in the morning. I think I get in a wrestling match with my pillows or something when I'm sleeping, because I always wake up with the craziest morning hair ever. It almost tops how I remember my mother's from when I was little. Then again, she's always had curly hair, so her hair will always be crazier than mine. Anyway. My hair is great, and since S is also using the same stuff, we're saving about $240 a year, because we're not buying shampoo for each of us anymore. (Everyone in the house has different hair types, so each person needs their own shampoo when we buy commercial shampoo.) But that's a ridiculous amount of money we're saving by not having to buy shampoo and conditioner, not to mention styling products!
In other "crunchy" news, I still really want to make my own body wash. I'll probably do that after I have a job and have the money to throw at it so I can get really nice stuff.
The dogs never got bathed last night because S was in too much pain and I was too tired. We have to get it done sometime soon, but I don't even know when we'll be able to. Whee!
Speaking of dogs, Shadow was just laying all over me. He just leaped off the couch, though. And now the baby is awake, so this post is done, because we have to get dressed all over again and go out and finish errands. And oh god, the laundry!
Showing posts with label crunchy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crunchy. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The Lazy Blogger and the Linktastic Post
Okay. I should write an update.
Things around here have been great. Really. Life is awesome, everyone here rocks. Girl Child finally came home yesterday afternoon, and it was great to see her. She's such an awesome kid. I really like it when she comes home after she's been away for awhile, it reminds me how much I love her and how great she really is, which I sometimes forget when I see her all the time.
Yesterday was S's birthday, as I mentioned in my ridiculously short post last night. My mother was nice and sent me some money so I could get some stuff that I've been needing that J and S can't really afford to get for me, and I spent some of it on S's birthday - I got her a Shoebox (Hallmark) card that has a dog birthday party, and the dog has just opened a present with a candle inside and the speech bubble says, "Butt-scented! My favorite!" I don't remember what the inside of the card says, but I was looking at noisy cards and happened to glance over and see that one and knew it was The Card. S liked it, I think. I also got her a new pack of white t-shirts, because the ones she already has are kind of dying, and she really likes wearing t-shirts.
I also spent some of the money on the kids - I got Girl Child a new shirt and vest combo that is terrific and will look wonderful on her for school, and the Toddler got a brown onesie that says, "My Mommy is exhausted," which I thought was very apt, since the primary reason S is always so tired is because of him. I can't wait for him to wear it, I'm so amused. I got some stuff for me, too, and am planning on ordering a pair of jeans that will actually fit me online from Old Navy this week.
In boring laundry news, I'm almost completely caught up. I have two hampers of laundry left that is dirty, plus the comforter that J and S usually use on their bed needs to be rewashed - Girl Child didn't check it when she brought it upstairs from the dryer, and it was still wet, and then it got on the floor. Yipee. I have a lot of folding to do, but I'm not terribly interested in doing that at the moment.
I cooked dinner last night because it was S's birthday. If you have back problems, you should not go on an epic Wal-Mart expedition and then try to cook a giant meal. I could barely walk when I got up this morning (hence my disinterest in folding laundry), and it took a hot shower to loosen everything up to the point that I'm able to at least move fairly well.
I'm going to be making tuna goop at some point today, which is a recipe of GM's mother's that I learned in 2004. I have also learned that usually when I make it, no one but me likes it. I think it's just wonderful. I'm planning on making curry soon, too, but definitely not tonight. Hell no.
Last night while I was cooking and singing very loudly, J and S rearranged the living room. J's desk is now against the wall the coffee table (cedar chest) was against, and a bunch of stuff in front of the fireplace has been moved to the corner where the desk was. It really opened up the room. The only downside I've seen so far (other than the Toddler constantly messing with J's desk and chair) is that I can't see the TV if J is awake because his chair is in the way - I'll have to move the chair across the room in order to see the TV from my spot on the couch at all, or else move to the big chair right next to the TV to watch anything, and since I'm pretty sure I've got some form of ADD, it'll be difficult for me to watch anything without having my computer, which can't be moved. (The battery doesn't work at all on this laptop, so if it gets unplugged, it immediately turns off, so I'd have to completely shut it down, transfer my entire TV tray and computer across the room, string an extension cord across the room, and generally create a hazard to have my computer in the chair.)
J's new work schedule is working out wonderfully for everyone - I can sleep in the living room without being disturbed on the nights he works, J is getting enough sleep and is much less grumpy, and he's up when we're awake more because he stays up until about noon and then gets up in the early evening before the Toddler goes to bed.
So I'm still experimenting with no 'poo, and it's weird. My hair feels kind of okay and kind of awful right now (I washed it this morning), and it's still damp, so it may turn out to feel great once it's all dry, or it may just feel like poop. It's a tossup.
I'm so glad the heat wave finally broke. It feels wonderful outside right now, and it's making me very excited for fall, which has become my favorite season.
Yesterday I wrote a summary of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for someone who hasn't read the books since Prisoner of Azkaban, but has seen the movies. (She asked me to explain what happened after the events of Half-Blood Prince after I expressed horror at her asking if Snape was Harry's father.) I condensed the entire book into four pages, and a little over 2,000 words. It took almost an hour to type, maybe longer. I also learned that the character cap for Facebook comments is 8,000 characters, so when you write something with over 10,000 characters, it will sort of explode. I'm very glad I had the forethought to copy the full text and paste it in a Google document before I tried to post it.
I have a lot of links to post, because I've been collecting them for days. And a good bit of them will require me to bitch quite a bit, because a lot of them make me angry.
Link Round-Up
According to this Senate candidate, welfare recipients are like raccoons. They want to get the easiest way to live possible, and of course there's no possibility that they just might not be able to find work.
Michele Bachmann is a really, really big hypocrite, and I'm terrified that she's going to make it past the primaries. I'm definitely voting for each election that I can vote in, to try to keep her ass from ever being President.
Truck drivers are seriously underappreciated, and this story really points out what it's like for truck drivers in this day and age.
Apparently what's happening with E and her marriage (she knew she didn't want to get married before the wedding but felt like she couldn't back out after all the expense and everything) is becoming a really common thing among women who get divorced. I still say she was dumb for not telling me she didn't want to get married before the wedding - I'd have stopped the wedding.
The fashion industry is sexualizing 10-year-olds now. Lovely. Poor little thing.
These people are assholes and their smug, snide attitude about what they did makes me so angry.
I find the concept of courtroom dogs very interesting, and it certainly would have helped me when I had to testify in 2001. Of course, because the dogs are cute, that will totally sway the jury to convict the defendant. I hate lawyers.
I can't imagine how it must feel to move to America from the country of your birth, live and work in America for over 20 years, and then be asked to be Prime Minister of your home country and live there for nine months as Prime Minister before going back to America and your cubicle at your job that you've had for 20 years. that must have been so surreal.
Apparently what you eat during pregnancy and while breastfeeding will affect what foods your baby will enjoy eating as they're older.
Things around here have been great. Really. Life is awesome, everyone here rocks. Girl Child finally came home yesterday afternoon, and it was great to see her. She's such an awesome kid. I really like it when she comes home after she's been away for awhile, it reminds me how much I love her and how great she really is, which I sometimes forget when I see her all the time.
Yesterday was S's birthday, as I mentioned in my ridiculously short post last night. My mother was nice and sent me some money so I could get some stuff that I've been needing that J and S can't really afford to get for me, and I spent some of it on S's birthday - I got her a Shoebox (Hallmark) card that has a dog birthday party, and the dog has just opened a present with a candle inside and the speech bubble says, "Butt-scented! My favorite!" I don't remember what the inside of the card says, but I was looking at noisy cards and happened to glance over and see that one and knew it was The Card. S liked it, I think. I also got her a new pack of white t-shirts, because the ones she already has are kind of dying, and she really likes wearing t-shirts.
I also spent some of the money on the kids - I got Girl Child a new shirt and vest combo that is terrific and will look wonderful on her for school, and the Toddler got a brown onesie that says, "My Mommy is exhausted," which I thought was very apt, since the primary reason S is always so tired is because of him. I can't wait for him to wear it, I'm so amused. I got some stuff for me, too, and am planning on ordering a pair of jeans that will actually fit me online from Old Navy this week.
In boring laundry news, I'm almost completely caught up. I have two hampers of laundry left that is dirty, plus the comforter that J and S usually use on their bed needs to be rewashed - Girl Child didn't check it when she brought it upstairs from the dryer, and it was still wet, and then it got on the floor. Yipee. I have a lot of folding to do, but I'm not terribly interested in doing that at the moment.
I cooked dinner last night because it was S's birthday. If you have back problems, you should not go on an epic Wal-Mart expedition and then try to cook a giant meal. I could barely walk when I got up this morning (hence my disinterest in folding laundry), and it took a hot shower to loosen everything up to the point that I'm able to at least move fairly well.
I'm going to be making tuna goop at some point today, which is a recipe of GM's mother's that I learned in 2004. I have also learned that usually when I make it, no one but me likes it. I think it's just wonderful. I'm planning on making curry soon, too, but definitely not tonight. Hell no.
Last night while I was cooking and singing very loudly, J and S rearranged the living room. J's desk is now against the wall the coffee table (cedar chest) was against, and a bunch of stuff in front of the fireplace has been moved to the corner where the desk was. It really opened up the room. The only downside I've seen so far (other than the Toddler constantly messing with J's desk and chair) is that I can't see the TV if J is awake because his chair is in the way - I'll have to move the chair across the room in order to see the TV from my spot on the couch at all, or else move to the big chair right next to the TV to watch anything, and since I'm pretty sure I've got some form of ADD, it'll be difficult for me to watch anything without having my computer, which can't be moved. (The battery doesn't work at all on this laptop, so if it gets unplugged, it immediately turns off, so I'd have to completely shut it down, transfer my entire TV tray and computer across the room, string an extension cord across the room, and generally create a hazard to have my computer in the chair.)
J's new work schedule is working out wonderfully for everyone - I can sleep in the living room without being disturbed on the nights he works, J is getting enough sleep and is much less grumpy, and he's up when we're awake more because he stays up until about noon and then gets up in the early evening before the Toddler goes to bed.
So I'm still experimenting with no 'poo, and it's weird. My hair feels kind of okay and kind of awful right now (I washed it this morning), and it's still damp, so it may turn out to feel great once it's all dry, or it may just feel like poop. It's a tossup.
I'm so glad the heat wave finally broke. It feels wonderful outside right now, and it's making me very excited for fall, which has become my favorite season.
Yesterday I wrote a summary of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for someone who hasn't read the books since Prisoner of Azkaban, but has seen the movies. (She asked me to explain what happened after the events of Half-Blood Prince after I expressed horror at her asking if Snape was Harry's father.) I condensed the entire book into four pages, and a little over 2,000 words. It took almost an hour to type, maybe longer. I also learned that the character cap for Facebook comments is 8,000 characters, so when you write something with over 10,000 characters, it will sort of explode. I'm very glad I had the forethought to copy the full text and paste it in a Google document before I tried to post it.
I have a lot of links to post, because I've been collecting them for days. And a good bit of them will require me to bitch quite a bit, because a lot of them make me angry.
Link Round-Up
According to this Senate candidate, welfare recipients are like raccoons. They want to get the easiest way to live possible, and of course there's no possibility that they just might not be able to find work.
Michele Bachmann is a really, really big hypocrite, and I'm terrified that she's going to make it past the primaries. I'm definitely voting for each election that I can vote in, to try to keep her ass from ever being President.
Truck drivers are seriously underappreciated, and this story really points out what it's like for truck drivers in this day and age.
Apparently what's happening with E and her marriage (she knew she didn't want to get married before the wedding but felt like she couldn't back out after all the expense and everything) is becoming a really common thing among women who get divorced. I still say she was dumb for not telling me she didn't want to get married before the wedding - I'd have stopped the wedding.
The fashion industry is sexualizing 10-year-olds now. Lovely. Poor little thing.
These people are assholes and their smug, snide attitude about what they did makes me so angry.
I find the concept of courtroom dogs very interesting, and it certainly would have helped me when I had to testify in 2001. Of course, because the dogs are cute, that will totally sway the jury to convict the defendant. I hate lawyers.
I can't imagine how it must feel to move to America from the country of your birth, live and work in America for over 20 years, and then be asked to be Prime Minister of your home country and live there for nine months as Prime Minister before going back to America and your cubicle at your job that you've had for 20 years. that must have been so surreal.
Apparently what you eat during pregnancy and while breastfeeding will affect what foods your baby will enjoy eating as they're older.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
No 'Poo Update
I thought it might be time to write a full update on the no 'poo experiment.
Just to recap, I washed my hair for the last time with Pantene Pro-V for fine hair last Thursday (July 28th), and conditioned with the matching conditioner. That afternoon, I had gotten so sweaty from being out of the house that I took a second shower, but I only rinsed my hair with lukewarm water. (It was too hot to use anything warmer, and I actually really like cool showers in the warmer months.) On Friday, I also showered, once again only rinsing my hair with water.
So, S, being the research maven she is, did some more research on it after we started talking about it, picking up a few more tips than what I had gleaned. Of course, I actually stumbled upon the no 'poo movement completely accidentally - I was searching Google for various food items I could try rinsing my hair with in an effort to get some control over it, and found Crunchy Betty's blog.
Anyway, thanks to our combined efforts, it was determined that the baking soda mixture should ideally be made fresh each time, but you can make a lot of the apple cider vinegar mixture all at once and just store it in whatever container you use when you put it on your hair. We use a spray bottle. The recipes we've been using are:
1 TBSP baking soda
1 cup warm water
Mix well until the baking soda is dissolved. Pour into the bottle you use to put it on your head.
And:
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1-2 cups water (I think S used 2 cups when she made it on Friday)
Mix well, pour into whatever you use to get it on your hair.
Anyway, I tried this for the first time on Saturday (July 30th). I only used about three ounces on my hair and I didn't rub it in the way you're supposed to, as you're supposed to vigorously massage with your fingers in a circular motion - this stuff also is only supposed to be rubbed into your scalp, not the rest of your hair. I'm pretty sure I didn't get it all rinsed out, and I definitely didn't use enough either, because my hair was still kind of greasy when it was dry. And I really didn't use enough apple cider vinegar, because it was still pretty dry and greasy, at the same time. It was great for the first few hours, though; it looked really nice, and it kind of gets this flippy thing at the ends that it doesn't do when I use regular shampoo. I will say, it felt absolutely awful while I was in the shower, it was horrible and felt like sticky snakes were attached to my head when I first put the baking soda stuff in it. Yuck! But it was really easy to brush - normally my hair is in knots constantly, but I had no problems getting a brush through it, even though it still constantly tangled. I think that's just the curse of fine hair, though. I actually had some changes immediately after the first wash, even though what I've been reading says you may not see anything real until a few weeks in, after you're past the greaseball stage (which I frankly may not go through at all on the level other people do - I already wasn't washing my hair daily), so that was really, really exciting. It had a lot less frizz and more body than it usually does - most of the body that my hair has when using shampoo is it trying to be a frizzy afro, or what I call the "Hermione Phenomenon" - which is when my hair starts to need its own zip code from being so bushy and frizzy. It hasn't done that to me at all since I started this, which is very exciting, because it has always done that to me once it reaches shoulder length, which it finally has done.
On Sunday, I ended up rinsing with warm water again because it felt like poop and I felt like poop, too.
Last night, I used six ounces of the baking soda (that's all that fits into the bottles, not the full eight that you make with a cup of water), and scrubbed my head much more thoroughly than before, and I noticed it didn't do the "sticky snakes" thing this time. I also used more apple cider vinegar after I very thoroughly rinsed out the baking soda. The whole bathroom made my eyes water when I was done, the smell was STRONG. After rinsing, my hair didn't smell like anything at all, though, which was nice. After this time, my hair was noticeably shinier - in fact, I've never had hair this shiny in my life. It also appears longer because it's no longer trying to be like Hermione, and at the same time, it had a lot of body and was just generally absolutely beautiful. I have never been more happy with my hair. I'm still having small problems with frizz in the curly parts by my temples, but I no longer have Einstein-like tufts sticking straight off my head (my hair is truly ridiculous with shampoo), and what frizz I have completely disappears after brushing it a lot.
Right now, my hair is soft, shiny, and I'm completely in love with it. It's starting to get a little bit greasy, so I'm not going to rinse it tomorrow and rinse it on Wednesday instead, and then wash it again on Friday, unless it's just completely unbearable. I am so thrilled with this and don't plan on ever using shampoo again, and it hasn't even been a week yet! I cannot wait to see what my hair will look like in a month!
Just to recap, I washed my hair for the last time with Pantene Pro-V for fine hair last Thursday (July 28th), and conditioned with the matching conditioner. That afternoon, I had gotten so sweaty from being out of the house that I took a second shower, but I only rinsed my hair with lukewarm water. (It was too hot to use anything warmer, and I actually really like cool showers in the warmer months.) On Friday, I also showered, once again only rinsing my hair with water.
So, S, being the research maven she is, did some more research on it after we started talking about it, picking up a few more tips than what I had gleaned. Of course, I actually stumbled upon the no 'poo movement completely accidentally - I was searching Google for various food items I could try rinsing my hair with in an effort to get some control over it, and found Crunchy Betty's blog.
Anyway, thanks to our combined efforts, it was determined that the baking soda mixture should ideally be made fresh each time, but you can make a lot of the apple cider vinegar mixture all at once and just store it in whatever container you use when you put it on your hair. We use a spray bottle. The recipes we've been using are:
1 TBSP baking soda
1 cup warm water
Mix well until the baking soda is dissolved. Pour into the bottle you use to put it on your head.
And:
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1-2 cups water (I think S used 2 cups when she made it on Friday)
Mix well, pour into whatever you use to get it on your hair.
Anyway, I tried this for the first time on Saturday (July 30th). I only used about three ounces on my hair and I didn't rub it in the way you're supposed to, as you're supposed to vigorously massage with your fingers in a circular motion - this stuff also is only supposed to be rubbed into your scalp, not the rest of your hair. I'm pretty sure I didn't get it all rinsed out, and I definitely didn't use enough either, because my hair was still kind of greasy when it was dry. And I really didn't use enough apple cider vinegar, because it was still pretty dry and greasy, at the same time. It was great for the first few hours, though; it looked really nice, and it kind of gets this flippy thing at the ends that it doesn't do when I use regular shampoo. I will say, it felt absolutely awful while I was in the shower, it was horrible and felt like sticky snakes were attached to my head when I first put the baking soda stuff in it. Yuck! But it was really easy to brush - normally my hair is in knots constantly, but I had no problems getting a brush through it, even though it still constantly tangled. I think that's just the curse of fine hair, though. I actually had some changes immediately after the first wash, even though what I've been reading says you may not see anything real until a few weeks in, after you're past the greaseball stage (which I frankly may not go through at all on the level other people do - I already wasn't washing my hair daily), so that was really, really exciting. It had a lot less frizz and more body than it usually does - most of the body that my hair has when using shampoo is it trying to be a frizzy afro, or what I call the "Hermione Phenomenon" - which is when my hair starts to need its own zip code from being so bushy and frizzy. It hasn't done that to me at all since I started this, which is very exciting, because it has always done that to me once it reaches shoulder length, which it finally has done.
On Sunday, I ended up rinsing with warm water again because it felt like poop and I felt like poop, too.
Last night, I used six ounces of the baking soda (that's all that fits into the bottles, not the full eight that you make with a cup of water), and scrubbed my head much more thoroughly than before, and I noticed it didn't do the "sticky snakes" thing this time. I also used more apple cider vinegar after I very thoroughly rinsed out the baking soda. The whole bathroom made my eyes water when I was done, the smell was STRONG. After rinsing, my hair didn't smell like anything at all, though, which was nice. After this time, my hair was noticeably shinier - in fact, I've never had hair this shiny in my life. It also appears longer because it's no longer trying to be like Hermione, and at the same time, it had a lot of body and was just generally absolutely beautiful. I have never been more happy with my hair. I'm still having small problems with frizz in the curly parts by my temples, but I no longer have Einstein-like tufts sticking straight off my head (my hair is truly ridiculous with shampoo), and what frizz I have completely disappears after brushing it a lot.
Right now, my hair is soft, shiny, and I'm completely in love with it. It's starting to get a little bit greasy, so I'm not going to rinse it tomorrow and rinse it on Wednesday instead, and then wash it again on Friday, unless it's just completely unbearable. I am so thrilled with this and don't plan on ever using shampoo again, and it hasn't even been a week yet! I cannot wait to see what my hair will look like in a month!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Today Was Obnoxious
I didn't end up posting yesterday partly because I had nothing to say, but also because I ended up getting sick toward the end of the evening. At that point, I decided it would be better to just forget it and not write anything.
I'm feeling better today, no ill effects, but today was obnoxious nonetheless. Why? Because the Toddler decided the best way he could spend his time today was to be as obnoxious as possible. I love the kid, but jeez. There was banging, doorknob removal, hitting, kicking, and general destruction, part of which caused about five extra loads of laundry. Woo. (I figure S would be a bit displeased to discover that I wrote explicitly about how there came to be so much extra laundry or what exactly he did today, so I'm not explaining it. Ha.)
After all that, he also didn't bother to nap. Because obviously, that's the last thing he could ever possibly want to do. He's been driving us crazy all day, and without a break. At least he's really cute.
Today, Girl Child was supposed to go visit her great-grandmother four hours away, and some relatives that were on the way down were going to pick her up and take her. Unfortunately, the driver ended up feeling very sick and they all got stranded in the middle of nowhere at a gas station an hour into the trip, and then Girl Child started to feel sick again (she's been sick lately), so she wanted S to come pick her up, but S couldn't, so Girl Child is spending the night at the relative's house and being picked up in the morning. Poor kid, what bad luck.
Today just hasn't been good for anybody in this house, not even the dogs - when the relatives came to pick Girl Child up, Shadow went outside just fine, but Sunshine wouldn't, and tried to escape again, so I ended up carrying her away from the door, all 80 pounds of her, before I could get Girl Child to get me a leash so I could have a more reliable method of restraining the idiot. Apparently Sunshine has forgotten that the reason she's been so scared for the last 6 weeks is because she got hit by a damn car. It is very hard to restrain a dog like that, especially one that is as muscular and energetic as Sunshine.
On the subject of No 'Poo, I think I'm going to end up changing my washing schedule for whenever the hell I feel like it. Because while I think OCD, I am not OCD in my actions. So I'm washing my hair tonight instead of tomorrow because I did it wrong on Saturday.
It is really hot here right now. It's so hot that the air conditioner can't keep up. I hate summer and I hate heat waves, and I wish this would just end already, because I am so ready for fall to get here, preferably in a nice cold rain with fallen leaves. I love that part of the year, when the leaves are falling and it rains and it's only about 60 degrees, maybe even 50, and it's denim jacket weather (which reminds me, I still need to replace the one I lost a few years ago), and it's all so beautiful and nostalgic. I really, really love October, especially when it's a wet October.
Sometimes I kind of wish I'd stayed in Washington, just for the weather, but then I remember that I had no friends and was completely miserable and I'm glad I came back. I wouldn't mind moving somewhere with similar weather, though. Seattle's weather is very similar to the UK in the winter - it's usually about 40 degrees and it doesn't usually snow, just rains.
Blah, blah, blah, lots of inconsequential nonsense. I'm not doing too well, I'm really overheated at the moment, so my brain isn't working correctly.
Today I finally moved about 100 gigs of my stuff from J's computer to mine. Woo! I have so many pictures. Oh my god.
Anyway, tonight I think I'll put on a movie and ... stuff?
Links Round-Up!!
Apparently dolphins like to play frisbee with jellyfish. And wear them as hats. There are pictures.
"She was my wife! She's still spitting out hairballs!"
Health insurers will soon have to cover birth control and other things without a copay thanks to a new Department of Health and Human Services policy in Washington.
Vocaloids are really cool.
Despite what I said about loving Washington's weather, the fact that the state has the highest rate of parents skipping vaccinations for their children makes me too uncomfortable to want to raise children there.
There is such a high instance of domestic violence in one county in Indiana that the women's shelters there are now having to enact waiting lists.
Deadbeat dads affected by the BP oil spill won't be seeing their disaster relief payments anytime soon.
I'm feeling better today, no ill effects, but today was obnoxious nonetheless. Why? Because the Toddler decided the best way he could spend his time today was to be as obnoxious as possible. I love the kid, but jeez. There was banging, doorknob removal, hitting, kicking, and general destruction, part of which caused about five extra loads of laundry. Woo. (I figure S would be a bit displeased to discover that I wrote explicitly about how there came to be so much extra laundry or what exactly he did today, so I'm not explaining it. Ha.)
After all that, he also didn't bother to nap. Because obviously, that's the last thing he could ever possibly want to do. He's been driving us crazy all day, and without a break. At least he's really cute.
Today, Girl Child was supposed to go visit her great-grandmother four hours away, and some relatives that were on the way down were going to pick her up and take her. Unfortunately, the driver ended up feeling very sick and they all got stranded in the middle of nowhere at a gas station an hour into the trip, and then Girl Child started to feel sick again (she's been sick lately), so she wanted S to come pick her up, but S couldn't, so Girl Child is spending the night at the relative's house and being picked up in the morning. Poor kid, what bad luck.
Today just hasn't been good for anybody in this house, not even the dogs - when the relatives came to pick Girl Child up, Shadow went outside just fine, but Sunshine wouldn't, and tried to escape again, so I ended up carrying her away from the door, all 80 pounds of her, before I could get Girl Child to get me a leash so I could have a more reliable method of restraining the idiot. Apparently Sunshine has forgotten that the reason she's been so scared for the last 6 weeks is because she got hit by a damn car. It is very hard to restrain a dog like that, especially one that is as muscular and energetic as Sunshine.
On the subject of No 'Poo, I think I'm going to end up changing my washing schedule for whenever the hell I feel like it. Because while I think OCD, I am not OCD in my actions. So I'm washing my hair tonight instead of tomorrow because I did it wrong on Saturday.
It is really hot here right now. It's so hot that the air conditioner can't keep up. I hate summer and I hate heat waves, and I wish this would just end already, because I am so ready for fall to get here, preferably in a nice cold rain with fallen leaves. I love that part of the year, when the leaves are falling and it rains and it's only about 60 degrees, maybe even 50, and it's denim jacket weather (which reminds me, I still need to replace the one I lost a few years ago), and it's all so beautiful and nostalgic. I really, really love October, especially when it's a wet October.
Sometimes I kind of wish I'd stayed in Washington, just for the weather, but then I remember that I had no friends and was completely miserable and I'm glad I came back. I wouldn't mind moving somewhere with similar weather, though. Seattle's weather is very similar to the UK in the winter - it's usually about 40 degrees and it doesn't usually snow, just rains.
Blah, blah, blah, lots of inconsequential nonsense. I'm not doing too well, I'm really overheated at the moment, so my brain isn't working correctly.
Today I finally moved about 100 gigs of my stuff from J's computer to mine. Woo! I have so many pictures. Oh my god.
Anyway, tonight I think I'll put on a movie and ... stuff?
Links Round-Up!!
Apparently dolphins like to play frisbee with jellyfish. And wear them as hats. There are pictures.
"She was my wife! She's still spitting out hairballs!"
Health insurers will soon have to cover birth control and other things without a copay thanks to a new Department of Health and Human Services policy in Washington.
Vocaloids are really cool.
Despite what I said about loving Washington's weather, the fact that the state has the highest rate of parents skipping vaccinations for their children makes me too uncomfortable to want to raise children there.
There is such a high instance of domestic violence in one county in Indiana that the women's shelters there are now having to enact waiting lists.
Deadbeat dads affected by the BP oil spill won't be seeing their disaster relief payments anytime soon.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Lots of Nonsense, Plus Links!!
Well, today hasn't been terribly exciting so far, just the usual stuff that happens around here - S and I made stupid faces at each other, the Toddler refused to nap until he fell asleep on me at 4:30, right before J and S were about to take him to see some family (of course), Girl Child is sick.. the usual, for the most part. We're supposed to be having D&D tonight, so I may have exciting things to post tomorrow if W and A show up at a decent time for us to start game. And if I get my ass off my computer and shower and nap.
Speaking of showering, today will be the day that I start the No 'Poo thing - I washed out some old travel bottles from when I went to England last year because the ones S bought aren't sufficient, and I will be mixing up my baking soda once I'm done writing this post and hopping in the shower, as you're supposed to mix it fresh.
I've been really slacking on the laundry and I kind of hate myself for it. I think I may clean up the living room after my shower and vacuum, and then nap. Actually, that's a stupid idea, I'll just get instantly sweaty and gross. Okay. I'll clean and vacuum, mix my baking soda, shower, let my hair dry, start a load of laundry, and nap. There. Hopefully I'll feel a little better when I wake up, as I've felt like poop all day.
I've got another link round-up from the course of the day - apparently I read enough news websites to qualify for a daily dose of links. They'll be posted at the end.
Wow, there's just not a whole lot to say. Today's just been a day. The last few weeks have basically been the exact same, except I'm sucking with laundry the last couple weeks - I almost got completely finished and was all awesome and stuff, and then I just failed because I was so exhausted, and then it got so hot and I don't like to move at all when it's hot. So I just suck and need to cut that shit out.
Anyway. It's just me and Girl Child, and she's in her room. It's really quiet. And I have such strange taste in music. I've been listening to Voltaire's Star Trek songs, and the CD Brent Spiner put out a few years ago today. Combine that with all the other weird stuff I listen to, and you've got the ultimate dorky collection. I have more music in that vein than anything else, probably. I wonder when I started liking satirists so much? (I've also got Garfunkel and Oates, Jonathan Coulton, Weird Al, and some other stuff I can't remember offhand right now - my playlist is currently over 2,500 songs strong, and the only thing I have in a truly high concentration is M's music - about 20% of my music library is him.) And oh god, I just went from Zombies On Your Lawn to The Good Stuff by Kenny Chesney. That is such a strange transition.
And now.. onward to... LINKS!!
Link Round-Up
This is one of the most terrifyingly mesmerizing music videos I've ever seen. Oh. My. God. I.. just.. what I don't even..
This is just asinine. I hate commercials, and this is a big part of why. It's so disturbing!
Here are some reasons why filesharing is good for music.
It's seriously time to allow change to happen, and if you don't understand computers, you should definitely step aside and not make laws about them.
I found this New York Times article about atheism being on the rise (written in 2009, but still fairly relevant) to be pretty interesting.
Michele Bachmann, who I hold in about as high regard as I do Sarah Palin, won't answer questions about the small business she and her husband own that she's always going on about. Please don't let her be President, America. That would really suck.
I officially love this lady. Seriously, what a person!
I need to research this issue a bit more, but I'm not sure how I feel about e-tickets - it feels a little bit too Big Brother for me. Do they zap the car and get the information, or is it just an electronic machine that they create the tickets on when they pull someone over? Or maybe I'm just an idiot, because obviously they're still going to pull you over, so it must just be an electronic method instead of the paper method. Duh, me.
I already do not like praying mantises (manti?), but this video is hilarious. I love how the announcer is just dying with laughter at the end. It definitely does not increase my love for the things, though. Bleah!
Anyway, time to go do things!
Speaking of showering, today will be the day that I start the No 'Poo thing - I washed out some old travel bottles from when I went to England last year because the ones S bought aren't sufficient, and I will be mixing up my baking soda once I'm done writing this post and hopping in the shower, as you're supposed to mix it fresh.
I've been really slacking on the laundry and I kind of hate myself for it. I think I may clean up the living room after my shower and vacuum, and then nap. Actually, that's a stupid idea, I'll just get instantly sweaty and gross. Okay. I'll clean and vacuum, mix my baking soda, shower, let my hair dry, start a load of laundry, and nap. There. Hopefully I'll feel a little better when I wake up, as I've felt like poop all day.
I've got another link round-up from the course of the day - apparently I read enough news websites to qualify for a daily dose of links. They'll be posted at the end.
Wow, there's just not a whole lot to say. Today's just been a day. The last few weeks have basically been the exact same, except I'm sucking with laundry the last couple weeks - I almost got completely finished and was all awesome and stuff, and then I just failed because I was so exhausted, and then it got so hot and I don't like to move at all when it's hot. So I just suck and need to cut that shit out.
Anyway. It's just me and Girl Child, and she's in her room. It's really quiet. And I have such strange taste in music. I've been listening to Voltaire's Star Trek songs, and the CD Brent Spiner put out a few years ago today. Combine that with all the other weird stuff I listen to, and you've got the ultimate dorky collection. I have more music in that vein than anything else, probably. I wonder when I started liking satirists so much? (I've also got Garfunkel and Oates, Jonathan Coulton, Weird Al, and some other stuff I can't remember offhand right now - my playlist is currently over 2,500 songs strong, and the only thing I have in a truly high concentration is M's music - about 20% of my music library is him.) And oh god, I just went from Zombies On Your Lawn to The Good Stuff by Kenny Chesney. That is such a strange transition.
And now.. onward to... LINKS!!
Link Round-Up
This is one of the most terrifyingly mesmerizing music videos I've ever seen. Oh. My. God. I.. just.. what I don't even..
This is just asinine. I hate commercials, and this is a big part of why. It's so disturbing!
Here are some reasons why filesharing is good for music.
It's seriously time to allow change to happen, and if you don't understand computers, you should definitely step aside and not make laws about them.
I found this New York Times article about atheism being on the rise (written in 2009, but still fairly relevant) to be pretty interesting.
Michele Bachmann, who I hold in about as high regard as I do Sarah Palin, won't answer questions about the small business she and her husband own that she's always going on about. Please don't let her be President, America. That would really suck.
I officially love this lady. Seriously, what a person!
I need to research this issue a bit more, but I'm not sure how I feel about e-tickets - it feels a little bit too Big Brother for me. Do they zap the car and get the information, or is it just an electronic machine that they create the tickets on when they pull someone over? Or maybe I'm just an idiot, because obviously they're still going to pull you over, so it must just be an electronic method instead of the paper method. Duh, me.
I already do not like praying mantises (manti?), but this video is hilarious. I love how the announcer is just dying with laughter at the end. It definitely does not increase my love for the things, though. Bleah!
Anyway, time to go do things!
Friday, July 29, 2011
My Very First Link Round-Up!
This is like a milestone! Or a day when I should get an award! I'm starting the foray into semi-mainstream blogging. I think. Maybe. Anyway.
I'm finding more and more that I have a lot of links I want to share with people, and I generally don't post them on social networks because I expect most people not to be terribly interested in what I post on Facebook.
Here, though, it's a bit different. This is my blog, so if you're here reading this, you've either got an interest in me personally or find me interesting (*dies laughing*), or you reached me while using Google to find something else (which has happened a few times now).
I digress. I'm going to start posting links, possibly daily, possibly a few times a week or once a week. I don't know. I'll start writing some form of title on them once I have some idea of how often it is going to occur.
Also, after this one, there will not be nearly as much pointless explanation before the good stuff.
Link Round-Up
Alec Baldwin wrote a piece for the Huffington Post about the national debt and all the problems with the debt ceiling and the defecit that I found interesting and accurate. I think I agree with him.
A really dumb man from New Jersey didn't bother to turn off the water for his automatic sprinkler system when winter came, and then was astonished to find that he would have to pay the water bill after the pipe froze and burst.
The school board of a small town near Springfield, Missouri has unanimously voted to ban Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five from the shelves of the schools because it is "biblically contrary". The complaint that brought the issue before the board came from a man whose children are homeschooled. Goddammit.
This article from Mother Jones started the abortion rights rant I was writing, which morphed into the sex education rant in my last post.
GraphJam very accurately portrays what household objects look like to a toddler.
The Bloggess made me want a giant metal chicken sculpture. Which I already posted about, but I forgot, so here's a link to the specific post.
And more No 'Poo articles, all of which are at least a year old:
NPR
MSNBC
A woman's personal experience with going No 'Poo.
So far, most of the articles I've found that talk about it negatively are people who haven't done their research and are horrified by how their hair will feel if they don't shampoo daily, not realizing that it eventually balances out and turns out fine for most people, from everything I've read so far.
I don't really have anything else of import to add except that I actually cooked for once last night and it turned out fabulously. I'll post a real post about it tomorrow, since I'm making it again when I feel less like a murdered migrane. For now, it's time to start getting ready for bed.
I'm finding more and more that I have a lot of links I want to share with people, and I generally don't post them on social networks because I expect most people not to be terribly interested in what I post on Facebook.
Here, though, it's a bit different. This is my blog, so if you're here reading this, you've either got an interest in me personally or find me interesting (*dies laughing*), or you reached me while using Google to find something else (which has happened a few times now).
I digress. I'm going to start posting links, possibly daily, possibly a few times a week or once a week. I don't know. I'll start writing some form of title on them once I have some idea of how often it is going to occur.
Also, after this one, there will not be nearly as much pointless explanation before the good stuff.
Link Round-Up
Alec Baldwin wrote a piece for the Huffington Post about the national debt and all the problems with the debt ceiling and the defecit that I found interesting and accurate. I think I agree with him.
A really dumb man from New Jersey didn't bother to turn off the water for his automatic sprinkler system when winter came, and then was astonished to find that he would have to pay the water bill after the pipe froze and burst.
The school board of a small town near Springfield, Missouri has unanimously voted to ban Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five from the shelves of the schools because it is "biblically contrary". The complaint that brought the issue before the board came from a man whose children are homeschooled. Goddammit.
This article from Mother Jones started the abortion rights rant I was writing, which morphed into the sex education rant in my last post.
GraphJam very accurately portrays what household objects look like to a toddler.
The Bloggess made me want a giant metal chicken sculpture. Which I already posted about, but I forgot, so here's a link to the specific post.
And more No 'Poo articles, all of which are at least a year old:
NPR
MSNBC
A woman's personal experience with going No 'Poo.
So far, most of the articles I've found that talk about it negatively are people who haven't done their research and are horrified by how their hair will feel if they don't shampoo daily, not realizing that it eventually balances out and turns out fine for most people, from everything I've read so far.
I don't really have anything else of import to add except that I actually cooked for once last night and it turned out fabulously. I'll post a real post about it tomorrow, since I'm making it again when I feel less like a murdered migrane. For now, it's time to start getting ready for bed.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Switcheroos and Baking Soda
I am so lazy! I've been having a hard time finding the desire to write anything. Really, all I'd like to do at the moment is a whole fat lot of nothing. Or sleep. My dark circles have bags. Even when I get enough sleep, I look exhausted.
I haven't done anything more with that essay about abortion that I talked about - I've been busy ignoring it in favor of things that require much less brainpower. In fact, I'm pretty sure that my brain has just completely deteriorated to a point where I'll never be able to think deeply again. That's kind of a scary thought, so maybe now I need to work on that essay and post it.
I'm listening to my favorite song by M at the moment, which is making it hard to sit and type everything out because it's so beautiful that I want to sit with my eyes closed and just listen to it.
Last night, I switched from my poor Frankenstein of a computer (which I never posted any photos of) to S's old XPS that used to be J's a few years ago. S inherited M's XPS (they're actually almost the exact same computer, except M's old computer has a better processor and RAM but a smaller hard drive than the other XPS), so I get a computer that I can actually keep most of my crap on, but now I can't play the Sims, unless I turn this one off and put it somewhere safe and hook the other one up with its eight thousand cables, because the optical drive on this one is broken from J dropping it so much. However, this computer has a much better, and less broken, keyboard. It's also faster, has Windows 7 instead of XP, and it's prettier. Not to mention, I could theoretically take it places with me that allow me to use the electricity, since the battery does not work at all. And I can close it if I need to, which is nice and something I've definitely missed. Anyway, I was intending on formatting this computer before using it, but then discovered that because the optical drive only works sporadically, it can't reinstall Windows (or run the Sims, since you need the disc to play if you don't want to play pirated copies), so what I've done instead is delete all of S's old files, reconfigure all of her settings and basically change absolutely everything to suit me. It's almost like having it be mine, except that it says Users>S-- instead of Users>L--, which just bothers the hell out of me, but honestly, if that's all I've got to complain about, I'll take what I can get.
Anyway, so lots of excitement surrounding the transference of computers - I'm keeping the Frankenstein as a way to play the Sims until I manage to acquire one with a functioning optical drive and other good parts, and this also means transferring my music library over - that's almost 18 gigs of music! And I have to completely resort it and delete all the stuff that I only deleted out of iTunes last time, because it's all back now since I never deleted the source files. (Over 1,000 songs, actually, that I'm going to have to go and find and delete. Oh joy.) Then I have to readd my audiobooks and fix all of them as well, probably, knowing my luck. Maybe it'll let me fix the chapter titles so they don't suck anymore, though, because a lack of formatting makes my head want to explode. And I need to find a better copy of Order of the Phoenix, as the one I've got is missing the end of the chapter The Woes of Mrs. Weasley.
Well, that's probably enough bitching about how disorganized I am and how much work I'm going to have to do in iTunes before I can even attempt to sync my iPod, so in other news, S and I are going to be trying out this "No 'Poo" thing that I found on a blog, which sounds completely awesome - basically, we won't be using store-bought shampoo or conditioner on our hair anymore, but a mixture of baking soda and water (and after J gets paid, we'll also be adding essential oils to give it a scent) for shampoo every few days and apple cider vinegar with water for conditioner, though just on the ends at first. Funnily enough, I found this not by searching for ways to stop using shampoo, but to find ways to make my hair healthier with food items, out of a combination of curiousity and frustration at how pathetic and weird my hair is. And because I just joined a long hair forum, hoping for some information that I might find helpful in growing my hair out. Anyway, I found this blog after a bit of googling, and it sounds like an absolutely terrific idea, especially after I got a load of her before and after pictures - her before picture had her hair looking dry and weird and poofy with this weird wave, and in the after picture, her hair was tame and soft and silky-looking, and it had darkened, too, to a shade of brown that she apparently was in love with.
Anyway, I've devised a schedule of how often I'm going to use the baking soda mixture on my hair, and I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to use the ACV every time I wash my hair or every other time. The way I've drawn up the schedule looks as if I'll be washing my hair on Saturday, Tuesday, Friday, Monday, Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, and then back to Saturday again, in a nice little cycle, so there'll be two days between each washing. I don't know if I'm going to need to move them closer or not - you're supposed to just rinse your hair with warm water in the shower on the days you don't wash it. It's going to be an interesting first week, though - the first 10 days or so apparently involve some truly horrific hair days while the scalp stops being all weird and re-regulates the natural oil production, which is basically the purpose of this experiment. I'm going to give it about a month and see how I like it by the end of August, and if it ends up looking okay, that's just how I'm going to wash my hair from now on. Hopefully, I'll never need to use a styling product again.
I'm really excited about this! I've read one account of someone's hair falling out in clumps, but 90% of them say that after the natural oils of the scalp regulated, they were so happy with it that they'd never go back. Also, some people discovered that they had curly hair, or straight hair, or another entirely different hair type than they previously thought, and it cuts out frizz almost completely. Also, if this works and we keep at it, we're going to save SO much money in the long run - we use a lot of shampoo and conditioner right now, and it'll be nice to only have to buy a box of nice, cheap baking soda instead of shampoo and conditioner for every person in the house, if J and Girl Child switch to it as well. Actually, I'm doubtful that Girl Child will make the switch, since it's so close to the start of the school year, but J probably will, if it does good things for our hair. I'm hoping M will make the switch, too, from what I've read, it does amazing things for people with very curly hair, and I think he'd be very happy.
Today, we went on errands involving the Kansas Department of Revenue - specifically getting the car registered and going to get Girl Child her first state ID and to get my instruction permit so I can work on driving and get my license. Unfortunately, I'm listed as having suspended driving privileges, so I couldn't get my permit today, or take the test, or do anything but be hung up on by customer service in Topeka. So I'm calling tomorrow morning, after I call the other relevant places to get more information on why this happened. Hopefully, it'll be quickly resolved with little effort on my part and I'll get my permit on Tuesday or something. If I'm lucky and it doesn't turn out that my driving privileges are suspended for life or something ridiculous.
In D&D news, we're starting another new game what W is going to run, and I'm going to try out being a rogue. Basically, I'm a fancy beat-stick, but it's still a slight departure from the norm, and since I'm not all that good at the roleplay aspect as of yet, that's the best I can do right now. I decided to name my new rogue Zoe, and S told me that I'd damn well better live up to the name and be a Big Damn Hero. It should be interesting with W running - I've never actually played a game with him running, because LW was born right as he was about to start running the last game that I was going to participate with him as DM, and we basically had to give that campaign up after one session. So, yeah, I'm a little nervous, as from what S has said, W's games are usually something that turns into a Lovecraftian horror. Anyway, because J's work schedule is changing, we're moving game from Saturdays to Mondays, which is handy, because that is the day I'll be watching LW every week, so we'll be able to get started sooner since they won't have to drive all the way out to Raytown to pick him up before even getting here.
I applied for a job with the county a day or two ago, I can't remember for what position right now (it's in my email, so it's not like I'll be totally clueless if they actually called me), and I'm intending on applying to be an election worker, so maybe that'll help me get a normal job. The permit thing is going to cause me problems, though, but maybe not too many.
I don't really have anything further to add, so I'm going to go and be very frustrated with iTunes now.
Also, thanks to The Bloggess, I now want a scary metal chicken sculpture.
I haven't done anything more with that essay about abortion that I talked about - I've been busy ignoring it in favor of things that require much less brainpower. In fact, I'm pretty sure that my brain has just completely deteriorated to a point where I'll never be able to think deeply again. That's kind of a scary thought, so maybe now I need to work on that essay and post it.
I'm listening to my favorite song by M at the moment, which is making it hard to sit and type everything out because it's so beautiful that I want to sit with my eyes closed and just listen to it.
Last night, I switched from my poor Frankenstein of a computer (which I never posted any photos of) to S's old XPS that used to be J's a few years ago. S inherited M's XPS (they're actually almost the exact same computer, except M's old computer has a better processor and RAM but a smaller hard drive than the other XPS), so I get a computer that I can actually keep most of my crap on, but now I can't play the Sims, unless I turn this one off and put it somewhere safe and hook the other one up with its eight thousand cables, because the optical drive on this one is broken from J dropping it so much. However, this computer has a much better, and less broken, keyboard. It's also faster, has Windows 7 instead of XP, and it's prettier. Not to mention, I could theoretically take it places with me that allow me to use the electricity, since the battery does not work at all. And I can close it if I need to, which is nice and something I've definitely missed. Anyway, I was intending on formatting this computer before using it, but then discovered that because the optical drive only works sporadically, it can't reinstall Windows (or run the Sims, since you need the disc to play if you don't want to play pirated copies), so what I've done instead is delete all of S's old files, reconfigure all of her settings and basically change absolutely everything to suit me. It's almost like having it be mine, except that it says Users>S-- instead of Users>L--, which just bothers the hell out of me, but honestly, if that's all I've got to complain about, I'll take what I can get.
Anyway, so lots of excitement surrounding the transference of computers - I'm keeping the Frankenstein as a way to play the Sims until I manage to acquire one with a functioning optical drive and other good parts, and this also means transferring my music library over - that's almost 18 gigs of music! And I have to completely resort it and delete all the stuff that I only deleted out of iTunes last time, because it's all back now since I never deleted the source files. (Over 1,000 songs, actually, that I'm going to have to go and find and delete. Oh joy.) Then I have to readd my audiobooks and fix all of them as well, probably, knowing my luck. Maybe it'll let me fix the chapter titles so they don't suck anymore, though, because a lack of formatting makes my head want to explode. And I need to find a better copy of Order of the Phoenix, as the one I've got is missing the end of the chapter The Woes of Mrs. Weasley.
Well, that's probably enough bitching about how disorganized I am and how much work I'm going to have to do in iTunes before I can even attempt to sync my iPod, so in other news, S and I are going to be trying out this "No 'Poo" thing that I found on a blog, which sounds completely awesome - basically, we won't be using store-bought shampoo or conditioner on our hair anymore, but a mixture of baking soda and water (and after J gets paid, we'll also be adding essential oils to give it a scent) for shampoo every few days and apple cider vinegar with water for conditioner, though just on the ends at first. Funnily enough, I found this not by searching for ways to stop using shampoo, but to find ways to make my hair healthier with food items, out of a combination of curiousity and frustration at how pathetic and weird my hair is. And because I just joined a long hair forum, hoping for some information that I might find helpful in growing my hair out. Anyway, I found this blog after a bit of googling, and it sounds like an absolutely terrific idea, especially after I got a load of her before and after pictures - her before picture had her hair looking dry and weird and poofy with this weird wave, and in the after picture, her hair was tame and soft and silky-looking, and it had darkened, too, to a shade of brown that she apparently was in love with.
Anyway, I've devised a schedule of how often I'm going to use the baking soda mixture on my hair, and I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to use the ACV every time I wash my hair or every other time. The way I've drawn up the schedule looks as if I'll be washing my hair on Saturday, Tuesday, Friday, Monday, Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, and then back to Saturday again, in a nice little cycle, so there'll be two days between each washing. I don't know if I'm going to need to move them closer or not - you're supposed to just rinse your hair with warm water in the shower on the days you don't wash it. It's going to be an interesting first week, though - the first 10 days or so apparently involve some truly horrific hair days while the scalp stops being all weird and re-regulates the natural oil production, which is basically the purpose of this experiment. I'm going to give it about a month and see how I like it by the end of August, and if it ends up looking okay, that's just how I'm going to wash my hair from now on. Hopefully, I'll never need to use a styling product again.
I'm really excited about this! I've read one account of someone's hair falling out in clumps, but 90% of them say that after the natural oils of the scalp regulated, they were so happy with it that they'd never go back. Also, some people discovered that they had curly hair, or straight hair, or another entirely different hair type than they previously thought, and it cuts out frizz almost completely. Also, if this works and we keep at it, we're going to save SO much money in the long run - we use a lot of shampoo and conditioner right now, and it'll be nice to only have to buy a box of nice, cheap baking soda instead of shampoo and conditioner for every person in the house, if J and Girl Child switch to it as well. Actually, I'm doubtful that Girl Child will make the switch, since it's so close to the start of the school year, but J probably will, if it does good things for our hair. I'm hoping M will make the switch, too, from what I've read, it does amazing things for people with very curly hair, and I think he'd be very happy.
Today, we went on errands involving the Kansas Department of Revenue - specifically getting the car registered and going to get Girl Child her first state ID and to get my instruction permit so I can work on driving and get my license. Unfortunately, I'm listed as having suspended driving privileges, so I couldn't get my permit today, or take the test, or do anything but be hung up on by customer service in Topeka. So I'm calling tomorrow morning, after I call the other relevant places to get more information on why this happened. Hopefully, it'll be quickly resolved with little effort on my part and I'll get my permit on Tuesday or something. If I'm lucky and it doesn't turn out that my driving privileges are suspended for life or something ridiculous.
In D&D news, we're starting another new game what W is going to run, and I'm going to try out being a rogue. Basically, I'm a fancy beat-stick, but it's still a slight departure from the norm, and since I'm not all that good at the roleplay aspect as of yet, that's the best I can do right now. I decided to name my new rogue Zoe, and S told me that I'd damn well better live up to the name and be a Big Damn Hero. It should be interesting with W running - I've never actually played a game with him running, because LW was born right as he was about to start running the last game that I was going to participate with him as DM, and we basically had to give that campaign up after one session. So, yeah, I'm a little nervous, as from what S has said, W's games are usually something that turns into a Lovecraftian horror. Anyway, because J's work schedule is changing, we're moving game from Saturdays to Mondays, which is handy, because that is the day I'll be watching LW every week, so we'll be able to get started sooner since they won't have to drive all the way out to Raytown to pick him up before even getting here.
I applied for a job with the county a day or two ago, I can't remember for what position right now (it's in my email, so it's not like I'll be totally clueless if they actually called me), and I'm intending on applying to be an election worker, so maybe that'll help me get a normal job. The permit thing is going to cause me problems, though, but maybe not too many.
I don't really have anything further to add, so I'm going to go and be very frustrated with iTunes now.
Also, thanks to The Bloggess, I now want a scary metal chicken sculpture.
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