Trial By Water

Posted on April 6, 2013 by labeso

It isn’t that I don’t like water. I really do, especially during a bike ride or after a workout. It is just so boring to drink all day. It is like white walls, sometimes they are chic, and sometimes you just need a little color in your life. My ongoing drink of choice is black tea, preferably Blackberry Sage or Mango Ceylon Republic Tea. It is the cleanest tasting tea with a hint of fruit flavor and provides a little caffeine as a bonus to stave off my cola cravings. I even read that drinking unsweetened tea is actually better for you than water because tea has antioxidants (Yes, the antioxidant preference was Green Tea, not Black Tea. Black Tea came in third after White Tea, but it still has antioxidants.) Whether it is really true or not, I chose to go with it because it was what I wanted to hear, but I readily admit that I should incorporate more of the clear water variety into my daily regime, if I want to stave of dehydrated skin and wrinkles.

I was really excited when companies like HINT hit the scene because their water has just a slight HINT of flavor, not overpowering, just clean and refreshing. I haven’t really tasted a flavor that I don’t like. My only issue with it is that I don’t always want to spend $1.50 – $2.00 for a bottle of water. Thus, my search began looking for ways to incorporate flavor into my water in a more economical way.

At first, I thought it would be best to go the natural route, so I scoured the intranet for recipes, and I found that most recipes involve acquiring fresh produce, mashing it, and then letting it sit in the water for 6 – 24 hours. This is probably a great way to add flavor to water if you are using produce that you grow yourself to ensure it is free of pesticides, you don’t have any issue with fruit pulp and pieces floating in your water, and you don’t mind waiting for your water to be ready to drink. I did find this really cool plastic water infuser on AMAZON sold by JOKARI that will keep most of the pulp out, but you still have to wait awhile before your water has any flavor. When I tried this one, I found that ginger root and slices of lemon worked the best. Berries on their own worked fairly well but disintegrated quickly and then actually seeped into the water. (NOT my thing) Lemon mixed with anything else tended to overpower the other flavors.

I noticed on the HINT bottles that the water is flavored with ‘essence’, so I tried to find out what exactly essence is. Is it an essential oil, flavoring extract, ?????? I couldn’t find any clear answers, so I tried the oil first and WOW! If you are using essential oils you MUST make sure you are using edible oils. I purchased mine from Columbus Essentials. They have some really interesting flavors and a collection of recipes, but talk about overpowering. I just couldn’t get the mixture right. The orange oil worked the best with a single drop in a 16 oz bottle of water. I wanted to try the Rose Oil, because how cool is rose water, but it is a bit pricey for an experiment I wasn’t sure would work. I had some McCormick flavor extracts in my pantry, and thought I would give that a try. I started with the raspberry flavor, and I think I found the winning formula. An 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon (.6 – 1.2 ml), depending on your preference of intensity, works fabulously when mixed with 16 ounces of water. McCormick is definitely the most budget conscience choice, but their flavors are a little limited. If you don’t mind paying a little more and ordering online, I found a terrific vendor that has exotic flavors like Hibiscus and several more fruit flavors, Natures Flavors.

http://www.republicoftea.com

http://www.naturesflavors.com

http://www.columbusessentials.com

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.mccormick.com

http://www.drinkhint.com

The Craze of Crossfit

Posted on March 3, 2013 by labeso

This gallery contains 3 photos.

It seems like wherever you turn Cross Fit is the new craze, so what is it? Crossfit incorporates a little of just about everything in a group setting, performed at high intensity. Crossfit will not help you specialize in any one fitness area. It incorporates functional movements, the key word is functional, combined to [...]

The Zodiac Influence – Shoes

Posted on February 23, 2013 by labeso

This gallery contains 81 photos.

Shoes. Everyone loves shoes, and the best thing about them is that your shoes size doesn’t quite fluctuate as much as everything else on your body might. I was rummaging through some pictures of famous closets this morning and after looking at my own meager collection, I began to wonder if the shoes you are [...]

Racist, Artistic, or Unworthy?

Posted on February 23, 2013 by labeso

This gallery contains 1 photo.

The 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition was just released, and this year, the objective for the photo shoots was to capture the SI Beauties on all 7 continents. Not only do you have the opportunity to see scantily clad beach babes, but scantily clad beach babes in exotic locations around the world. The hot topic [...]

Feminism Today

Posted on February 3, 2013 by labeso

This gallery contains 12 photos.

It isn’t very difficult to find examples of women being exploited for capital gain. Kate Upton is a prime example. She uses her physical attributes to appeal to men for money. You can blame the men that leer at her for objectifying women, but realistically, it is her that profits from the exposure and attention. [...]

The Virtual World

Posted on December 9, 2012 by labeso

If you live with boys like I do, you know that there are basically two types, the outdoor sportscentric group and then the indoor electronic group.

The outdoorsy group doesn’t stay inside for anything. They leave the house in the morning and are home in time for a meal and to sleep. They are always outside honing their skills, preparing for the next game. The electronic group doesn’t quite understand the concept of physically going to a friend’s house to play or being outside for fun because they don’t have to. They have technology at their fingertips. They will call their friends on Skype and sign into a common server where their ‘characters’ can interact virtually. Their skin glows with the irridescent ghostly shimmer of never seeing the light of day. They should never have wrinkles or hyperpigmentation, not that they care.

They position themselves strategically in front of their PC. Headsets sitting precariously on their heads. It begins with the call on Skype and a brief exchange identifying availability, then time and place for hooking up virtually. They sign into their accounts, and then the avatars take center stage. On one hand, fingers frantically typing on their keyboards, while the other masterfully maneuvers the mouse navigating the avatar thru whatever trials they wish to encounter that day. Erstwhile, the players verbally banter back and forth as though they were together in the same location until one of them is forced to log off by a parental unit, and then play stops for everyone.

This whole process of interacting virtually begs to ask the question if this type of quazi human interaction is enough for this young generation. Outside of not getting enough physical activity for health reasons, is playing in a virtual environment sufficiently advancing their interpersonal skills and teaching them how to survive in the world? Is this a component of evolutionary advancement where humans become so dependent on computers that they essentially begin to morph into a human-computer hybrid?

It does familiarize them with the technology available to them, so if they choose to follow a career in technology or a career that uses technology (which most do) they are learning valuable life skills. They are not isolated nor are they alone. They don’t leave the safety of their home. They appear to be intellectually stimulated albeit physically unchallenged.

Optimally, I think the sporty and the electronic personalities would merge to create balance. I think I will soon be sending my boy outside to the park………..

Image courtesy of [Stuart Miles] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Toddler Knee Pads, Really?

Posted on December 2, 2012 by labeso

I have a very young nephew so I was perusing the shopping ads in preparation for Christmas. I am always intrigued by the Zulily advertisements I see because they have the most adorable little girl clothing. Why don’t they make these outfits in MY size? I don’t think girls ever outgrow their desire to be a princess. I never did. Anyway, I digress. I saw this really cute frilly number and navigated to the site when I saw knee pads for toddlers. See image on left from Zulily. They come in all sorts of cute designs, styles, and colors, but seriously, since when have toddlers needed knee pads? I must have missed something. Who is letting their child crawl around on a surface that warrants toddler knee pads? Toddlers don’t weigh much and are not putting much pressure on their chubby little knees.

I understand the push behind forcing children to wear the helmets and safety pads when riding their bikes, scooters, and skates, but I think toddler knee pads are a bit much. When will we recognize that the bubble wrap we place our children in do more harm than good? In some cases, I think it might be better to spend more time teaching the kids to be more responsible and cautious instead of overpadding them so that they can be reckless and not get hurt in the slightest. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to see any child in an emergency room, but if a child never gets a scraped knee or bruised elbow, how will they learn to avoid the larger mishaps?

Who are we really protecting, the children or the parents?

DeVita C and Rose Toner

Posted on November 17, 2012 by labeso

Topical vitamin C is being heralded as an all purpose skin miracle. It is supposed to stimulate collagen, have anti-inflammatory & anti-oxidant properties, kill pimple causing bacteria, and maintain cellular integrity. Not only is it supposed to protect your skin from sun damage and skin cancer, but it is supposed to repair existing cellular damage. Unfortunately, not all forms of vitamin C are stable so the actual benefit is reduced dramatically when introduced into your favorite cream or serum. I have been looking online for awhile to find a stable serum to try. I found a few but didn’t really want to wait for my order to arrive so I wandered over to my local health food store and found one that I thought I would give a try. The brand is DeVita and it contains 17% stablized vitamin C. You apply it in the morning after cleansing and toning. It has been a few weeks and it hasn’t performed miracles but my skin is clearer and softer.

I liked the vitamin C serum well enough to try the Morrocan Rose Toner. I used the tester bottle to splash a little on my hand. Oh my goodness,if you like the smell of roses, this stuff smells heavenly. I’m not big on toner, but I have been wanting to try a rose toner to take advantage of the natural rose anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, so when I ran across the DeVita toner and had a chance to smell it, I had to have it. You spray it directly on your skin or apply with a cotton ball. Then you can choose to let dry or wipe off. It can also be used to set makeup or as a midday facial refresh. The scent alone leads to a great start for the day.

The Mosquito Ring Tone

Posted on October 27, 2012 by labeso

I was recently acquainted with the Mosquito Ring Tone. It is this amazing ring tone with a special frequency that only children can hear. It has been around for a few years, but this was the first I had heard of it, and I think every parent should become familiar with it, so I’m sharing it with all of you.

When I first heard about it, I didn’t believe it. I was very skeptical that my son could hear something that I could not, especially since most the time he cannot seem to hear me…….. Lo and behold, it is true. I even tested it on him and didn’t tell him what I was doing. Apparently as you age, the range in frequency of sounds that you are capable of hearing diminishes over time, so those with very youthful ears can hear supersonic sounds that most adults cannot.

Wouldn’t you know that someone would capitalize on this and create a ring tone that kids can hear that their parents and teachers cannot. Well….actually, the concept didn’t originally begin as a ring tone. It was invented by Howard Stapleton as an anti-teen repellent to keep teenagers from loitering in front of stores. It was a huge success, but the teenagers found a way to capitalize on the discovery and use it for thier benefit. Hence, the Mosquito Ring Tone.

Click on the link below. You can check to see if you have Mosquito hearing, and then you can check your children’s phones to see if they have already discovered it.

http://www.freemosquitoringtones.org/

Image courtesy of [Ambro] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Desert Essent Organics Pomegranate Facial Care

Posted on September 27, 2012 by labeso

In my quest for fewer wrinkles and clearer skin (work in progress), I have found a new favorite, Desert Essence Organics Age Reversal Pomegranate Facial Care. As a bonus, the line has some great ingredients like Vitamin E, Chamomille, Grape Seed, CO-Q10, and of course, Pomegranate extract.

A few weeks ago, I had been researching the wonderful benefits of Retin-A, so I thought I would give it a try. I don’t know for certain if it was the Retin-A or if it was the myriad of cleansers/moisterizers I was using, but my skin had a horrible reaction, of which, it is still trying to recover.

After about ten days of Retin-A treatment, I noticed small bumps and a few painful large cysts on my chin and jawline. I had read that you can expect some extra breakouts so I wasn’t too concerned, but then it worsened. I couldn’t tell if my skin had blistered or if it was acne. On top of that, parts of my face had begun to dry out so much there was massive peeling.

Imagine if you will, a face with cystic acne (I’m much too old for acne), raw skin from peeling, blisters, and dry patches. Lovely, eh? Anyway, I was at Sprout’s, and I decided to find something more organic with fewer chemicals. I came across Desert Essence Organics Facial Care. The first eye catcher was the Pomegranate. I love Pomegranate. My grandparents used to have a wonderful Pomegranate tree that produced the best fruit. As a kid, my grandfather and I would pick the best ones and eat them on the spot. Then, my grandmother would prepare yummy Pomegranate jelly.

I tried the cleanser and face serum first. The cleanser cleans your skin well enough to feel clean without drying. Next comes the facial serum. I have oily skin with some wrinkles, go figure, so I prefer the serums. The serum absorbs really quickly into your skin so it feels hydrated without greasy.

Then I picked up the Eye Serum because that is my most problem area and the mineral sun block. I live in a very sunny place, so sun protection is a must. The Eye Serum is a little more rich than the face serum, which is great. The mineral sun block is the only thing I think I’ll have to pass on. It works great, but it turns your skin so white that if you don’t wear makeup, you look ghostly, and if you do, it lightens it up so much that you still look ghostly. I love Halloween, but I don’t want to look like a spector every day.

It has been a few weeks since I began using the collection and my skin is clearer, more hydrated, and looks better than it has in awhile. Thumbs up!

Sisterdom

Sharing Thoughts and Ideas for Life's Sisters