Tip # 11

Over this last winter, I learned a lot about staying hydrated and have a tip to pass along. When you’re feeling dry, rub salve on body before going into the shower. I actually made my own hand salve this winter and use it before the shower. The shower helps the skin absorb the oils and you will feel nice and soft in the end.

Another part to this is the way to rub in the salve. It’s an aryuvedic tip. Rub your arms, for instance, across the length and then rub around your joints (wrists, elbows, etc). Do the same with your legs and so forth.

Who are you?

This is an excerpt from one of the blogs I frequent called The Happiness Project. I’ve added in my answers in pink:

Here’s a quiz, lightly adapted from The Creative Lawyer, to help you figure out your interests. Not what you WISH interested you, but what ACTUALLY interests you.

1. What part of the newspaper do you read first? The articles I know I’ll enjoy (my husband reads the whole thing)

2. What are three books you’ve read in the past year? The time traveler’s wife, All the names and a long list of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood books.

3. As a child, what did you do in your free time? The thing I liked doing most was playing detective.

4. What’s a goal that has been on your list for a few years? Be the best Leila I can be (I have the details in my head).

5. What do you actually do with your free time? Stare out into space.

6. What types of activities energize you? Sewing, knitting, reading from the Baha’i Writings and feeling like I get it (and that it helps me be the best Leila I can be).

7. What famous people intrigue you? Difficult people.

The purpose is to be truer to yourself, especially when doing any decision-making. So, what would you answer?

Random tip #4

Whenever we smoke up the kitchen with what we’re cooking (and have forgotten to turn on the fan beforehand) and the smoke alarm goes off, we use this simple trick (that you may already use, too) to get rid of the unwanted fumes:

Get a hand towel (or, really, any kind of towel is fine) and wet it a little. Then, using the towel as a cowboy would a lasso, swing it in the air where ever there is smoke. It’ll get rid of the smoke and the smell will go away quicker, too.

cracked up laughing

My daughter, who is now crawling at maximum speed, learning how to stand, crawling up the stairs, etc. was playing quite contentedly when I decided to check my email. I got up, went to the table and logged on. She crawled over to the table and was playing with a folder and the Ergo. I knew I had a couple of minutes.

All of a sudden I see a little hand creeping up over the table. I see her feel around and find some papers (some that she couldn’t have) and pull at them quickly. As I went over to swap them for something of equal entertainment value, I couldn’t help but laugh. It was just too cute.

100 pages

In an earlier post, I admitted to reading 200 pages of a book I wasn’t that interested in. After these 200 pages, it got interesting. Very interesting. It just took that long for me to start clipping along. The next book in line for me to read as part of our book club was another Saramago treasure Ensayo sobre la lucidez (we already read Blindness and were looking forward to getting a copy). I just hit the 100th page. A the same time, my daughter started to wake up. It was starting to get good! Now, I’ve got something to look forward to reading during her next nap. I really looked forward to reading the book that took me 200 pages to get into and now am excited to be looking forward to reading page 101 of the new book (I’m sounding like Saramago).

Reading this book brings with it a level of excitement but being excited because I’m going to be reading an exciting book whose first 100 pages didn’t grab me is my biggest thrill. A little meta for your day.

Pregnancy pictures

It doesn’t take much to take a good picture of a pregnant woman. However, a good eye helps. In general, I think the whole image is beautiful. Period. We took the monthly (and then weekly) ones of me when I was pregnant, but just of the belly. Now, they’re in a scrapbook so you can see how my daughter grew inside me. None, however, that invoke the inward, dreamy feeling you may feel or the closeness you feel to your partner. I know it’s idyllic. I’ll be making a point soon. I like the pictures we have. They work for my tastes.

My advice to you, take the pictures. Even if you’re not feeling great about how well your skin can stretch in those last couple of months. Or if your feet swell up. Or you’re tired. Or you’re tired. Or just plain tired. And out of it.

Here’s my point. On one hand, I think our society would do well to see pregnancy as a normal function of the body, not a “condition” that you have to be careful of that leads to a technical emergency. That reality might resonate back to pregnant women who would then be more active in pregnancy (in Holland, midwives recommend pregnant women to bike throughout pregnancy- see the current issue of Mothering magazine) and have wonderfully simple labors at home without the need for the reassurance of the beep of the fetal monitor or the drip of the IV. It might even help us see breastfeeding as another normal part of being a mother, not as exposing ourselves to others.

Most women having healthy pregnancies end up in birthing situations that they would even deem as scary or at the least end up in a scene where they have little to no say in how the birth takes place. The empowerment of having more information is just one step toward greater change in how our society views and supports pregnant women.

But let’s be light-hearted again… Take pictures of that lovely belly of yours, or your sisters’ or your friends’.

How about this? If you have an eye for photography and a decent camera and are wanting to give a special present to a pregnant friend, offer to take pictures of her and frame the best ones. You might even decide to get crafty and try something like this out with the pictures you take.

Random tip #1

Do you like soda, pop, coke (whatever you call it) but don’t want the calories, high fructose corn syrup, aftertaste, etc? Try this.

My random tip for the day is to try using seltzer water with organic juice of your choosing. At our house, we mix two juices. Sometimes we mix mango and apricot or banana. Yum. Just a squirt. It’s really mostly seltzer water. Seltzer is usually under a dollar while these organic juices run about $4 a relatively small bottle. Mixing a small amount with your seltzer will give you a sweet refreshing taste without biting you in the… um, wallet.

I am still fond of my wiggly baby

Wiggly baby wakes up next to me a little groggy, with a droopy head and eyes that aren’t sure the rest of her body should be up. Most mornings she quickly changes modes and in no time is eager to get down to business: play. She gives me a smile and somehow I can’t help but wonder what it is that makes her laugh. It’s a mystery I leave alone. I enjoy not knowing everything. She flips over onto her tummy and with a swift graceful move is sitting up rubbing her now full moon eyes. She looks at me and smiles again and starts to scan the room to see what she should play with first.

Query #1: organic or local

I’d like to introduce you to my internal switch. This switch gives me the go-ahead on some things while others just get the red buzzer telling me to steer clear. It’s made up of my moral code, the line that I draw in the sand that I won’t cross and the gray areas that make decision making difficult. Now when it comes to buying produce what does your internal switch tell you to do? You may not have thought of this or you may stare down your internal switch with a look of desperation from time to time when you see the glory of ripe blueberries at a price you can pay (but not organic nor locally grown). Regardless, to know you have a choice and that your decisions make a difference, why not make a solid choice? With this in mind, I present a query for readers.

When you feel you have a choice when buying produce do you choose organic over local? or local over organic?

by the way

Sí voy a escribir en español. La cosa es que la majoría de nosotros leemos bien el inglés y el español o sea que veremos que sale en que lenguaje. chao