Purling Oaks

Just a little babbling and a review

Monday's journey to Kansas City, MO was without any major incident despite having to connect through O'Hare, the absolute worst place to have to make an airline connection.  I also see that TypePad's automated timed posting worked well, even if I can't compose a complete sentence.  The weather is warmer here than Wisconsin with no jacket required but an umbrella is a pretty good idea.  I need more hairspray applied in the morning if I want to keep my hairstyle past 11 am due to the humidity.  (I also need a haircut.)

I'm experimenting with the Diva Cup this week and I'm having a great experience.  I read about the Diva Cup at Enchanting Juno's blog, where she has written several super posts about menstruation and related issues--read the comments to the posts, too, if you haven't all ready.  The Diva Cup isn't hard to get used to and it is handling my heavy flow easily.  Where I would be changing a pad and tampon hourly, I only have to deal with the cup every four hours.  I find it pretty interesting to actually measure the volume of my flow.  It feels better than tampons, too.  It was about $25 or maybe a bit more at Whole Foods Market and it was worth it.  It is making me more confident that I won't have an *accident* at work, and in a place far away from home at that.

Winter Sugar

First things first: Dad got some sleep last night and felt alot better this morning so he went home from the hospital this afternoon to sleep (actually, he used the word "crash") in his own bed. I spoke with him just before dinner and he was really enjoying a glass of beer. We won't be able to get the results from the tests for several days, so I'm just thinking positive thoughts. Dad's able to breathe better and is happy at home. All good things.

Winter stuff: Winter continues to grip Wisconsin and points west, east, north, and a bit south. I got away from my skin care routine for a few days and now I'm experiencing a severe case of winter alligator skin. I have my excuses...I was out of my body oil and had the winter blahs and family stress had set in, so I didn't care for myself as well as I normally do. BUT, I have now replenished my body oil supply and will prepare my super, ultra-effective remedy for winter skin that will make me feel like a smooth, hydrated, and (dare I say...) sexy woman again. I'll share my recipe since it is so simple. You all probably know it all ready but just in case you don't here it is:




To remedy my current winter skin malady, I will mix about a half cup (maybe a bit more) of sugar with several tablespoons of apricot kernel oil--enough oil to saturate the sugar--and, maybe, a drop or two of lavender essential oil. The essential oil is not, well, essential. Definitely go light on it if you add it because a drop will go a long way. Then I hop in the shower, get wet, then rub the sugar concoction all over and rinse. Be careful if you do your feet because the oil will make them slippery. Then I soap up my essential bits, shampoo, rinse, and towel off. In my current state, I'll have to do this for two days to achieve complete recovery. Then I just use a few drops of apricot kernel oil before I step out of the shower to keep my skin moisturized. I try to repeat the sugar scrub once or twice a week when the weather is this cold. I like apricot kernel oil but there are different kinds like almond or avocado or even olive oil....it just depends on your preference and skin type. You can substitute salt for the sugar, if you want, but if you have ANY cuts it will sting, sting, sting! I think this routine is healthy (no weird additives), pretty darn inexpensive compared to what you can buy at Target or the drug store, and quite effective (if you remember to DO IT!).

Sonnet: I've made my way to the back but not too far on the back so you really would not see any progress in a new photo.

Bath to Tub Conversion: This evening DH and I talked with a representative for a firm that will replace our at-the-end-of-useful-life basement bathroom fiberglass BLUE tub with a nice shower with all the fixings. This is our first bid and this guy's number$ just made me sit back in my chair. Looks like I'll be doing some cost comparison shopping this weekend to see if the fancy-pants shower is worth it.