Living Healthy

Odds & Ends

/ Ally Bean / 10 Comments

::  The daffodils that we planted last autumn are up now.  Known as Gigantic Stars, they have been a rousing disappointment.  The bulbs that have managed to bloom are a whopping 8-10″ high.  Whether we planted them wrong [ain’t hardly likely] or whether the winter took its toll on these bulbs [could be possible], I don’t know.

All I know is that tall beauties, they are NOT.

::  A few months ago I bought a Clarisonic Mia 2.  It’s a rechargeable,  face-washing device.  Rather cute, actually.  I’d read about it and wondered if it was worth the price.  Well I gotta tell ‘ya that for me, it has been great.  In fact, when I went to the salon for a haircut the woman who has cut my hair for years commented that my skin looked so much clearer.

So there you have, proof positive that this device is worth the cost.  😉

::  I am a lousy ironer.  Z-D, on the other hand, is a marvelous ironer.  So last night, while watching the final March Madness game, Mr. Man was ironing his pants.  While doing so, unbeknownst to him, a stink bug was inside a pant leg and Zen-Den ironed the stink bug– thereby killing it.  Mr. Man didn’t squish the bug as much as he flattened it, meaning there was no stink.

The things you learn…

::  Over the weekend we finished watching Torchwood.  [Spoilers, Sweetie]  The last year of the series, Miracle Day, took place in America and was a darker story– much less Dr. Who-ish.  I enjoyed it, if only to see Wayne Knight [Newman from Seinfeld] play a heavy [figuratively] and to find out that Captain Jack Harkness is, indeed, indestructible.  But there was lots of violence & blood– and a disturbing, but believable, plot line that did not reflect well on the human race.

I’ll be thinking on this one for a while.

[Hello FTC!  I think that you know by now that when I recommend something I have not been given this something by the manufacturer.  No, I’m just saying, in my opinion, I liked it.  So we’re good FTC, right?] 

The Return Of Five Senses Friday

/ Ally Bean / 15 Comments

It’s been a long time since I did this meme.  It originated a long time ago on a blog that is now defunct.  However, this wonderful idea lives on.  If you wish, you may play along in the comment section below or on your own blog.

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FEELING:  relaxed and happy.  well-rested.  ready to throw myself into new projects, dreamed up during my quiet days at home during our snow emergencies.

HEARING:  energy.  the fan of the furnace as it keeps this house a cozy temp.  the clickety-clack that my keypad makes when I type anything.

TASTING:  coffee.  bold, yet not harsh.  the way most of my days begin.

SEEING:  prettiness.  sunshine streaming through the open wooden blinds in the living room, illuminating the artwork that hangs on the wall above the loveseat.

SMELLING:  lime zest & cyprus.  freshness.  all because I washed my hands with my favorite kitchen soap before I sat down in our home office [across the foyer from the living room] to write this post.     

A Book Chat [Sort Of] About The Three Books That I’m Reading [Kind Of] This Month

/ Ally Bean / 12 Comments

[This month I’ve read three books.  Well, to be more accurate– I’ve been browsing through, glancing at, skimming across three books.  Because these books are not my usual fare of novels, histories, memoirs, I didn’t feel like I needed to read them in a linear way.  Kind of fun to read like this, btw.]

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•  For Christmas I received a copy of Giada’s Feel Good Food by Giada De Laurentiis.  The book is mostly a cookbook with a few pages of personal details every so often.  Over the weekend I sat down to read the personal parts of the book and found this quote on page 198: “I have curly hair, so I always brush it in the shower.”

This makes no sense to me.  I’ve always been told to never brush my curly hair when it is wet.  Yet here is Little Miss Accomplished & Gorgeous telling me to do this.

I’m confused.  More than normal, that is.  Why is she doing this?

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•  A business acquaintance gave me a signed copy of Bring Your Superpowers To Work by Darcy Eikenberg, ACC.  As some of you know, I have a love/hate relationship with self-help books.  A few of them I’ve found to be useful, but most of them I find to be stating the obvious, poorly written and ultimately defeatist.

That being said, I love this book.  Darcy is a life coach who knows how to write and provides practical ideas about how to become a better version of yourself.  My favorite witticism of hers is on page 51: “affirm the squirm.”  Meaning that if you’re intellectually uncomfortable with a new healthy behavior, then you’re growing a superpower & going in the right direction for you.

I’m still working on my Superpowers List;  but when I complete it, I’ll be epic.

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  •  I’d forgotten all about Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg until I found a copy of it when I was reorganizing our home office after the new desk arrived.  I decided that reading bits & pieces of this book, in no particular order, would be a great way for me to jumpstart my writing career.

To wit, the piece that I’m currently enamored of is on page 119 where she talks about making writing sweet:  “… always associate learning with sweetness.  It should be the same with writing.  Right from the beginning, know that it is good and pleasant.  Don’t battle with it.  Make it your friend. “

Isn’t this a lovely thought?  Who doesn’t need more friends?

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In Which We Learn The Secret To Longevity According To My Husband

/ Ally Bean / 14 Comments

~ An early morning conversation between husband [HIM] & wife [ME] that took place in our bathroom ~

HIM:  { stepping out of the shower, drying off, looking in my direction }  You look pretty.

ME:  { awake for less than 15 seconds, standing in front of the mirror, looking at the crazy mess that is my curly hair pre-styling }  Huh?

HIM:  { hanging up his towel }  Your hair looks pretty like that.

ME:  { wondering why I am being forced to converse before my first cup of coffee }  Huh!

HIM:  { looking into the mirror, starting to comb his straight wet hair }  I know that you think that I’m being facetious when I say that you look pretty, but I’m not.

ME:  { using a scrunchie, pulling the top portion of my bobbed hair up into a vertical straggly looking ponytail-esque style good enough for going downstairs to get a cup of coffee }  Huh.

HIM:  { applying shaving cream to his face, looking like Father Time }  And do you know why I’m not being facetious when I say that you look pretty?  It’s because…

ME:  { distracted while searching for my eyeglasses }  What?

HIM:  { looking into the mirror, starting to shave his face while chuckling at his supposed cleverness }  …I don’t know what “facetious” means, so I can’t be saying anything facetious.

ME:  { finally realizing that I’m going to have to talk to him because he’s so full of it }  So if you don’t know what a word means when you use it, then when a doctor tells you that you have some sort of disease that you’ve never heard of, you won’t have it because you don’t know what it is?!!!

HIM:  { stopping mid-shave, looking at me, pontificating upon his brilliance }  Yep.  That’s it exactly.  That’s how I’m going to live to be one hundred: if I don’t know what it is, I can’t get it.  Ignorance is the key to good health.

ME:  { putting on my slippers, leaving the bathroom in search of coffee }  Well then, you’ve nailed that ignorance part.  Enjoy your long life.  I hope you and your second wife will be happy together.

~ The End ~