Category Archives: Health

I must have done something right

familyYesterday was rough. I floated in and out of consciousness for most of the day, delirious with high fever. I spent a painful half hour in the waiting room at Urgent Care desperately wishing I could lie down on the floor, or lie down anywhere for that matter, as sitting up was just too taxing.

I struggled to fill out the new patient forms, and I know I would have cursed myself for never getting around to finding a primary care physician if I’d had enough energy to think of anything but keeping myself upright.

Tony took the forms from me, filled them out, helped me get to the exam room once my name was finally called, and took care of payment when my appointment was over. He drove me home, made a bed for me on the couch, and left to fill my prescriptions.

He woke me gently every 4 to 6 hours to give me my medicine. He called my boss to let him know that I wouldn’t be in for the next couple days. He made me toast and chicken broth to make sure I was eating something. He kept my glass full to make sure I was getting enough fluids.

When he went to bed, he left my cell phone on the coffee table and told me his would be on in the room just 30 feet away. “If you need anything at all, and you’re not feeling well enough to get up, just call in case I can’t hear you.” It seems ridiculous now that my fever has broken, but at the time, I probably was too sick to walk to the next room or even call loudly enough for him to hear me.

My dog, who usually sleeps soundly on the cushion next to our bed, kept silent vigil at my side through the night. He spent most of the day at my feet, and slept on the end of the couch beside me all through the night.

The day was foggy with fever and illness, but one thing remained incredibly clear through it all: I am so so lucky to have a husband who cares for me so much and so well. Yesterday was rough, but I don’t know how I would have gotten through it without my little family.

Sick

sick dayI fully intended to edit and post photos from my fantastic trip home to see my five nieces and nephews. There are even adorable Halloween costumes involved, which you would think would give me extra incentive.

I fully intended to get all of my writing done and clean the house and go to the gym to start working off the candy I ate over the weekend.

I fully intended to make a meal plan and a grocery list and go to the store to restock our pantry and refrigerator.

I fully intended to get up this morning and go into work.

Unfortunately, my parents’ house was an incubation zone for what seems to be the plague. They were all coming down with it as I left, and it seems I’m the latest victim.

I was vaccinated for both seasonal and H1N1 flu three weeks before the trip, so I’m assuming it’s just a cold, but I haven’t been this sick in years. I don’t even have the energy to read or write.

So there will be no new post from me today. I hope you’re all feeling well. Take care of yourselves! Hopefully I’ll be back in action tomorrow.

Photo by smaku

Vaseline Sheer Infusion giveaway winners

Thanks to everyone who participated in my Vaseline Sheer Infusion giveaway this week! Unfortunately, there can only be three winners. Here are the lucky commenters who were chosen randomly:

  • Bobbi, whose biggest winter beauty problem is dry feet. “They get pretty dry on the tops and around the heels,” she says.
  • Kara, who hates to wear tights in the winter. “There’s nothing that will ruin my mood more than having to put on scratchy tights,” she says.
  • And from the desk of … me, who gets itchy skin and cracked hands in the winter.

I’ve contacted all the winners by email. Hopefully this lotion will help them get through the winter!

Have any suggestions for their common winter beauty problems?

Giveaway: Vaseline Sheer Infusion lotion

Disclosure: I received three free sample bottles of Vaseline Sheer Infusion lotion for this review. Please view my Disclosure for more information on my review policies. In short, I do accept free products for review, but I do not guarantee a positive review. All product reviews reflect my honest opinion.

As the weather turns colder, I start to struggle with dry skin. So it was perfect timing when the nice people at Vaseline sent me two sample sets of their new Sheer Infusion lotion — one to review and one to send to my lucky readers!

According to Vaseline, this lotion is different because it penetrates below the surface of the skin to moisturize deep down. Obviously I can’t test that claim, but I can tell you that it made my normally dry skin very soft, and the three different scents are all pleasant and relaxing.

Vitamin Burst has kind a citrusy smell, Mountain Renewal is more perfumey, and Botanical Blend has a fruity, tropical scent. My favorite is Vitamin Burst.

Overall, I really liked the product, but I do have two complaints: Despite claims that the lotion immediately absorbs into the skin for a clean, non-greasy feeling, I felt like it took a little long to dry. Once the lotion had a chance to absorb into my skin, it didn’t feel greasy at all, but it took a few minutes to get there.

I’m also a little disappointed at the price. Vaseline typically offers great, budget-friendly products, but the retail price for Sheer Infusion is in the $7-$8 range for a 6.8-ounce bottle. It seems like they’re trying to cross over into the high-dollar market to line up with brands like Aveeno and Olay. To be honest, I’ve never found the pricier lotions to be better, so I kind of wish Vaseline would continue to offer their products at a more affordable price.

Now for the giveaway! I’m giving away one 6.8 ounce bottle to three readers. To enter, just comment on this post and tell me your biggest winter beauty problem. If you have a solution to offer, then go ahead! But if you haven’t figured out a solution, maybe someone else will comment and help you out!

Be sure to include your email address in the email box and your top two choices for scents (Vitamin Burst, Mineral Renewal, or Botanical Blend). The three winners will be selected at random on Friday night. First place will receive their top choice. Second place will receive their second choice if they requested the same scent as the first-place winner. Third place will receive what’s left. :)

Go here to learn more about Vaseline Sheer Infusion and print a $1.50 off coupon.

Oh, organic food. Why are you so expensive?

foodincWeekend before last, Tony and I saw the documentary “Food Inc.” for free on his campus. It was an incredibly well produced, enjoyable film, even for people who aren’t into documentaries. But it scared the crap out of us.

I won’t go into gory details here. I do recommend watching it, but if you’re squeamish you might want to read about the issues on the website instead. The scenes inside the hatcheries and “farms” are pretty brutal. I’m not particularly squeamish, but it was hard for me to take.

I’ve never really liked the idea of something dying so I can eat, but I’ve never been a vegetarian either. This movie almost pushed me there, not just because I feel guilty, but because I have serious concerns about the sustainability of current farming practices, the effects on our environment and our health.

So. Where am I going with this? I have a point, I promise.

My husband and I decided to try a halfway approach to organic and sustainable food. We’ve always bought organic produce when we can. We shop in season and try to buy locally, which is good for the environment and for our budget. Organic meat is just so expensive. Our solution is to buy the expensive organic meat — only less of it.

This week at the grocery store, we bought a whole organic chicken (marked down 25% because the sell-by date is tomorrow) that we’ll cook tomorrow and use in three meals. We also bought a pound of organic ground chicken that we’ll use next week because it was on sale for half price.

I left the movie feeling pretty powerless. We spend all this time trying to make the right choices for our health and the environment, and yet so many decisions about our food are made before we even have the option to buy it.

Unfortunately, this won’t change unless we’re willing to change our lifestyles — and our budgets. It means shifting the grocery budget to allow healthier food without spending a fortune. The only uplifting part of the movie is that it reminds us how much power we have as consumers. If we demand healthier food from producers, then they will deliver. And as the movie says, “We vote three times a day.” Every time you make a choice about what to eat, you’re telling food producers the type of food you want to buy. If you choose healthier foods, they’ll get the message.

After finishing our grocery shopping this week, we felt empowered. Our grocery bill was only about $5 more than normal, but we bought all organic meat and more organic, local produce than normal. By making smart choices (like buying higher quality meat only less of it or stock piling organic foods when they’re on sale), we can minimize the impact on our budget and still eat a healthier, more eco-friendly diet.

If you want to get involved, you can sign a petition here asking that school lunch programs serve healthier, more nutritious food to children. Or you can also learn more about how to change the food system.

I usually try to keep politics out of my blog, but I really believe this is a bipartisan issue. It affects our environment and, most importantly, our health and the health of our children.

Win a 30-day supply of Pond’s Cleansing Face Wipes

ponds-clean-sweep-0709-lgIt’s hard to believe that after blogging for over a year this is my first giveaway!

Last month, Pond’s was nice enough to send me two packages of their cleansing face wipes: one to try and one to give away to a lucky reader.

Before I tell you what I think, let me remind you of my review policy on this blog: Free products do not guarantee a positive review. All thoughts on this blog are my own, and they’re not influenced by anything but my personal experiences. I promise. :)

These wipes are hypoallergenic for those of you with sensitive skin, and they’re safe to use for removing eye makeup even if you wear contacts. They’re also super convenient. I can be pretty lazy in my nightly beauty routine, and when I’m exhausted the last thing I want to do is go through a face washing routine. With these wipes, you just pull one out, scrub your makeup off, and you’re done.

My favorite time to use them is after my workout. Not only do they take off all the sweat and “waterproof mascara” that still somehow smudges when I sweat, but they’re cool and refreshing on my skin. And they definitely make my face feel clean.

Like a lot of beauty products, though, they can be a little pricey. That’s why I want to give one of you the chance to try them out for yourself for free! Here’s how to enter:

Leave a comment on this post, and share your favorite beauty shortcut. Make sure you enter an email address in the comment form so I can contact you directly if you’re the winner. The winner will be selected randomly tomorrow night, and I’ll announce it Friday morning. Good luck!

If you don’t win, you can get a coupon for $1.50 off here if you want to try them out.

A personal story about anxiety & depression

This is a post I’ve been thinking about writing for months. In the beginning, I wanted to keep this blog about money. But now that I’m writing more about lifestyle and well being, I feel like it’s appropriate to share something personal about myself that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share here.

Several months ago, I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

I know, in this day and age, what’s the big deal? It seems like everyone has some sort of mental health issue. Diagnoses of anxiety and depression are a dime a dozen. But I’m sharing this here because when it happened to me, it didn’t feel like a dime-a-dozen diagnosis.

For my whole life, I’ve been unhappy for no reason. I thought that when I found the right person, we’d live happily ever after. Then I found Tony and everything was perfect, but it still wasn’t enough. I thought I needed to lose weight to be happy. I lost 40 pounds, and I still felt unhappy. I was working in a job I hated, or struggling with money, or I was unhappy with our location, or I wanted a baby. I always had an excuse for my unhappiness.

Finally, several months ago, Tony and I had a serious talk about it. “It’s always something,” he told me. “I don’t want you to look back 40 years from now and think that you were never happy because something was always missing.”

I decided to see a therapist. We talked about my constant unhappiness. Even though I knew I was blessed and saw all of the reasons I had to be happy, I just couldn’t feel that way.

We talked about how my whole life people had told me, “Why can’t you just be happy? Just wake up tomorrow and decide to be happy.” I can’t tell you how frustrating that was. Of course I wanted to be happy. I wanted to appreciate all of the wonderful things in my life. I tried and tried for years. I felt like there was something wrong with me.

We also talked about the worry and the fear and the anxiety. In a lot of ways, it had prepared me for the worst. It made me plan and think ahead and live carefully. But it also kept me up at night and stole away the happiness that I should have been feeling.

For years, I thought this was just who I was. I lived with it like a constant noise in the background. It drove me crazy, but I didn’t ever think to investigate or find a way to turn it off.

When my therapist suggested I try medication, I was hesitant. I’m sure frequent readers know, I can be a bit of a control freak. I dealt with the fear and anxiety and depression by micro-managing every aspect of my life. I tried to stay one step ahead of everything, and I told myself there was nothing I couldn’t do. I felt like taking medication meant I was surrendering to the depression and anxiety. If I had to “take the easy way out” with medication, then I’d lost.

After some soul searching and discussion with Tony, I made the decision to give it a try. I had tried everything else; it wasn’t working. In fact, things were getting worse. I was open to trying something new.

I was prescribed a low dose of a mild anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication. The change in me was instant. It was like someone had finally turned off the static in the background. I could think clearly. I could deal with the feelings of sadness and fear I’d faced my whole life. I finally felt like it was possible for me to wake up in the morning and just decide to be in a good mood.

After three months, I can tell you it’s not magic. It’s still work. I still have bad days. I still feel depressed and anxious sometimes. But a bad day now is nowhere near as bad as my best days before. I feel capable of coping now. I feel like the road blocks that I faced before when I tried to be happy are gone. The blinders have been lifted, and I can finally appreciate the beauty in my life.

Most importantly, it didn’t change who I am. That was my biggest fear; that taking away the anxiety would change my personality or take away all of the things that had allowed me to stay one step ahead.

It didn’t make me a zombie. I’m still a bit of a nut case. I still overreact a little (I’m working on it). But now when I overreact, I don’t take it out on Tony. I don’t completely lose my cool to the point that I feel guilty later. I can cope with changes in plans and problems and bad days much better. I’m still me; I’m just a better, happier version of me.

I still want to plan. I still want to prepare. But now it’s not out of fear, but out of excitement for the future.

I know this is something that a lot of people face, and I’m sure there are many of you out there who feel like I did. You’re afraid to seek help. You’re afraid to try medication. I want to tell you — don’t be. It won’t change who you are. It doesn’t mean you’ve lost. I lost many years of my life when I should have been happy to these feelings of sadness and fear. Don’t waste another day feeling this way.

If you’re considering medication, please feel free to send me an email if you want to talk to someone who’s been there. I’d be happy to tell you about my personal experience with minor side effects and the amazing benefits.

If you feel like you’re losing the battle with depression and anxiety, maybe it’s time to try something new.

Curing the summertime blues

end of summerMost people are likely to feel a little blue during the dark winter months, but I always start to feel down at the end of August. In North Carolina, it’s been unbearably hot and muggy since the end of May, and we’re still facing another 3 months of heat and humidity. I’m homesick for fall and cranky from the heat. I start to feel like I need a pick-me-up.

Here are some surefire tactics for combating the summertime blues:

Take a short trip.

We planned our frugal vacation back home strategically during one of the hottest weeks of the year in North Carolina. Right now, it’s 104 degrees back home. It’s still hot and muggy in Indiana, but we’re dealing with 85-90 degrees instead of an unbearable 100+. We’re also spending time with family, taking a much needed break from work and home life, and relaxing. Since we still have a couple months left of muggy summer weather, this is a nice break in between to recoup and recharge before Tony heads back to school.

Take advantage of the things you love about summer.

For many of you, this may not be a problem. When I talk about being tired of summer, most people think I’m a little crazy. But if you’re like me and you’re craving fall, remind yourself of all the things you do love about summer. For us it’s fresh produce, driving with the window down, and late sunsets.

I remind myself that pretty soon I won’t be able to enjoy fresh produce for cheap or drive to work with the wind in my hair. Pretty soon the sun will set before I even leave work. So I’m trying to enjoy the end summer instead of thinking about how miserable the heat makes me or how much I dread those summer electric bills.

Start a new project.

With the summer winding down, it’s easy to feel sluggish and unmotivated in the heat. The easiest way to pick yourself up again is to immerse yourself in a new project. Find something that excites you, and get started on it now. Last year around this time, I started this blog. Now is the perfect time to clean your house top to bottom and make some money at a late-summer garage sale. This year I’ll probably commit myself to finally finishing one of my quilting projects or purge the junk in my apartment.

What about you? Are you feeling the summertime blues? How do you fight them?

Photo by jimntonik

Simple ways to sleep better naturally

sleep betterI’ve struggled with insomnia my whole life. Anyone who’s ever had sleeping problems knows that without enough sleep, you’re less productive and less happy. Recent studies have even shown that poor sleeping habits can increase your risk of obesity and all the health risks that go along with it.

In the past, I’ve made the mistake of relying on over-the-counter medications to fall asleep. It was never a habit, but every once in a while I’d be desperate for sleep and believe I had no other options. It turns out I was wrong.

Here are the simple ways I improved my sleep (and my health):

Take a serious look at your diet

It’s possible your diet is keeping you awake. Back when my sleeping problems were at their worst, I was drinking 2 or 3 diet sodas a day (to be fair, this was college). I never drank soda in the late evening, but it turned out I was more sensitive to caffeine than I thought. When I stopped drinking caffeinated beverages after noon, sleep came much easier. Examine your diet closely to make sure you’re not sabotaging your sleep.

Are you getting enough exercise?

If not, you may not be tiring yourself out enough. Once I started working out daily, not only did I fall asleep more easily, but I slept more soundly.

Stick to a schedule

We’ve all heard it before, but it’s really true: those luxurious Sunday mornings when you sleep until 9 or 10 can throw off your schedule. If you’re a problem sleeper, try setting a bedtime and wake-up time and sticking to it throughout the week. It may be tough to give up sleeping in, but you’ll feel better rested throughout the week.

Add a calming ritual to your nighttime routine

Whether it’s a bubble bath, stretching, relaxing music, a cup of herbal tea or a book, do something before bed that puts you in the most relaxed state possible. Avoid stressful activities in the last hour before bed, and give yourself some “you” time.

Disconnect before bed

Though I addressed some of the physical reasons I couldn’t sleep, I still struggle with mental roadblocks. While living during the age of constant connection has its perks, all that electronic stimulation can interrupt your sleep cycle.

We’ve all been there. You log on to Facebook to check up on your friends before bed, and five minutes turns into an hour. You start channel surfing and end up staying up way too late. Or a quick call to your best friend turns into an hour chat.

To avoid these distractions, force yourself to tune out at least an hour before you want to sleep. Put away your laptop, turn your cell phone to vibrate, and yes, turn off the TV. I used to think I needed the TV to help me sleep, but a book turned out to be a much less distracting, more relaxing bedtime companion.

What’s your advice for getting a better night’s sleep?

Photo credit: neaners