I am taking these pills. This year I have had a lot of hair loss and even am seeing my hairline recede. I don’t know if it’s stress, age, toddlers playing hair salon with toy kitchen utensils or what, but my hair has looked pretty rough. I have been taking for almost two months and I have seen a change. First week or two – some constipation and that’s about it. But now? Thicker shinier hair and stronger nails. Only bad thing is my hair gets oilier faster – I can wash it, put in no product, let it air dry and it’s suddenly greasy looking. Changed shampoos and have been trying to wash less and manage with dry shampoo, will see how that does. The pills aren’t cheap, but it’s cheaper than desperate trips to CVS for products to hopefully provide shine, body, thickness, control, and the hair I had five years ago.It’s cold, then it’s warm. It’s rainy more often than not. Work is busy, home is busy, blog is busy and my personal style suffers. Sorry folks for day after day of black boots and gray tops, but when life gets hectic, it’s nice to have a uniform to rely on. It’s important to care for your appearance and what you put on your body, but what’s the point if you’re a frazzled, stressed-out mess?
I have been half-hearted with my vegan weekdays, but the days I stick to it I really do feel amazing. Karl and I are thinking it has less to do with meat and more to do with dairy. The days sans dairy we have less allergies, more energy, and even less body aches. One day recently when I worked from home or had the day off or something, I caught an episode of Dr. Oz where he discussed “miracle foods” and one was coconut oil. Karl has been on a coconut oil kick for a while, but I didn’t realize fully why. Since seeing the episode, I have started eating my morning oatmeal with a tablespoon of coconut oil in it and I really like it. It melts like butter, and while it smells like warm coconut, it tastes more like butter. I have also switched to have Emerson’s beloved toast and butter breakfast now toast with coconut oil spread on it (it comes in a jar and has the consistency of Crisco until it warms up) and she didn’t notice the difference. Dr. Oz suggested popping popcorn with coconut oil and then topping with shredded unsweetened coconut and a dash of cayenne – will have to try that soon!
I realize I didn’t mention that last week I went to see Alice Smith at The Hamilton. I honestly hadn’t heard of her before my friend Nicole mentioned the show, but I trust Nicole’s music taste and we decided to double date to it. Kenny Wesley was the opener – a local guy who has a nice voice and great personality (got to meet him and thank him for his performance), Alice Smith has an amazing voice. Some of her songs were meh for me, and then she would sing one that would send chills down my spine or get me dancing in my chair. The next concert on the books is Grace Potter on December 6th; this will be my… sixth time seeing her? Last night we were in bed, Karl reading his book, me my Kindle app on my phone and I remind him that this weekend is Emerson’s friend’s fourth birthday. “Oh awesome, that would make for a fun Saturday!” Then we realized we are truly parents when we find the idea of a kid’s birthday as the sign of a fun weekend. But really, it’s at one of those party places full of inflated slides and stuff, and we like the kid, the parents, and the friends. So we’ve become those people… and we’re okay with it. Going to Key West really made us realize how much we have changed since having Emerson. While we still like to have a good time, we’re more selective and often find a good time can just be a really kickass bottle of wine, some nice lighting, good music, time alone, and more than six hours of sleep or a nice meal, a great concert, and being in bed by midnight.
So far each Christmas we have purchased Emerson one big gift instead of a bunch of little ones. A dollhouse, a kitchen, that sort of thing. This year I was thinking a dress up box full of wings and tutus and such, but since this idea in August I realized it’s not such a good idea because our house is covered with neglected costumes. She’s not old enough to create stories with the costumes. I can recall having a dress-up box when I was little, playing hospital or The Depression (dress in layers and layers to stay warm and eat out of cans – hey, I was 6 don’t judge), or rock stars. Right now, it’s just princesses and she has as much fun with one of my scarves as with a pair of pink wings or a crown. So this idea will wait, but in the mean time I have no clue what to get her. She’s now the age where she absorbs what she sees and hears so she wants a Lalaloopsy (I had to Google to figure out what she was talking about) and I already got her a new Fancy Nancy book, but she doesn’t seem to be into anything else. She’s not really into drawing or crafts, she loves clubhouses and such but has a castle tent and we do that DIY with blankets, she gets bored quickly with her Duplos and blocks, has all but neglected her dollhouse and has a fully-stocked kitchen, and we don’t really want to buy her anything specific to a character (Disney, Dora, that sort of thing). She LOVES technology but she already has two kiddie computer things and I don’t want to encourage her sitting and staring at a screen. I did bid on some lots of Groovy Girls on eBay because she found one in the local community swap and likes it and likes dressing her “babies” but that seems more like a birthday present. She loves running and playing outside, but already has a bike and chalk and a fun backyard with places to hide and make clubhouses. I expect her to like what I liked as a kid, and keep reminding myself that she is her own person with her own interests. The last thing we want to do is project and try to make her into a Mini Me of either of us so it’s hard to figure out a quality gift that she will truly enjoy.
