I am an avid reader. And I read insanely fast. So for me to finish a book in a few days is not exactly out of the ordinary. But the last book I read was definitely out of the ordinary. And I will not say much about it other than you should read it. You really should. I started it one night, and stayed up later than I should have. Woke up the next morning before the alarm clock (and the kids) and dove right back in, then finished it that night. Kept trying to read a snatch or two whenever I had a free moment during the day. I just couldn't stay away from it.
I had heard that there was a lot of media buzz about this book a few months ago, but had not actually heard any of it firsthand. Just remember a few people telling me to read it. And my mom gave me her copy, so now I can pass it on to someone else. Maybe my husband will read it. Or a friend (or two or ten). Read it, and pass it on. I am not even going to tell you the title, so you have to click on the link to see what book it is. And maybe explore the website. Maybe order the book for yourself. Or for a friend. Or two or ten.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Deodorant that actually works!
This past Sunday was, I think, the hottest day so far this summer in the Chicago area. And, of course, the one day this summer that I was actually riding in a horse show. Not just taking students and coaching, but riding two horses. In two classes each. For a total of four rides in four hours. And did I mention that it was 95 degrees? And let's just not talk about the heat index.
As for the horse show, everybody had a blast (isn't that what it is all about?) and we even won some nice ribbons. I came home with a fancy tri-color for high point champion with one of my client's horses. Good stuff!
But the next day, while my brain was starting to recover from the soup-like consistency the previous day's activities had caused, I realized something. Throughout all of the heat, sweat, and general overall nastiness of the day, I honestly never got smelly. Okay, I might have had a more than faint horsey aroma. But at least I was not stinky in the "my deodorant just isn't cutting it" sort of way. Pretty miraculous, if you ask me.
And what deodorant would that be, you wonder? I can honestly say that Degree UltraClear took home the blue ribbon.
I used Lady Speed Stick for years because I liked one of the scents. Then felt like it just wasn't working as well as I expected. I guess your body chemistry, along with everything else, changes after having kids. Then I switched to Dove, and really liked the cucumber melon scent and the fact that it did feel nice on the skin. But it just honestly did not work for me. Or my sister, for that matter! And if you wear perfume for the scent, why wear deodorant for the scent if it doesn't keep you dry and fresh? I prefer my deodorant to prevent less than beautiful smells, not cover them up!
The Degree that I have is just the Pure Clean scent, if you can even call it a scent. And I admit to buying it only because it was in a special multi-pack on sale for a better price than any other name brand. I was really planning to try Secret again (haven't used that since high school), but price per unit was cheaper with the Degree deal. I tried Suave a while back to go the cheaper route, but I'd rather spend the extra bucks to get a product that actually does the job. (Obviously, Suave did not work for me.)
So if you happen to be less than satisfied with your current underarm product, go out and give Degree Ultra Clear a try. Hopefully, it will work as well for you as it does for me. The fact that it won't leave white marks on your clothes is a nice bonus. But I have to say that the best deodorant is the one you don't notice.
As for the horse show, everybody had a blast (isn't that what it is all about?) and we even won some nice ribbons. I came home with a fancy tri-color for high point champion with one of my client's horses. Good stuff!
But the next day, while my brain was starting to recover from the soup-like consistency the previous day's activities had caused, I realized something. Throughout all of the heat, sweat, and general overall nastiness of the day, I honestly never got smelly. Okay, I might have had a more than faint horsey aroma. But at least I was not stinky in the "my deodorant just isn't cutting it" sort of way. Pretty miraculous, if you ask me.
And what deodorant would that be, you wonder? I can honestly say that Degree UltraClear took home the blue ribbon.
I used Lady Speed Stick for years because I liked one of the scents. Then felt like it just wasn't working as well as I expected. I guess your body chemistry, along with everything else, changes after having kids. Then I switched to Dove, and really liked the cucumber melon scent and the fact that it did feel nice on the skin. But it just honestly did not work for me. Or my sister, for that matter! And if you wear perfume for the scent, why wear deodorant for the scent if it doesn't keep you dry and fresh? I prefer my deodorant to prevent less than beautiful smells, not cover them up!
The Degree that I have is just the Pure Clean scent, if you can even call it a scent. And I admit to buying it only because it was in a special multi-pack on sale for a better price than any other name brand. I was really planning to try Secret again (haven't used that since high school), but price per unit was cheaper with the Degree deal. I tried Suave a while back to go the cheaper route, but I'd rather spend the extra bucks to get a product that actually does the job. (Obviously, Suave did not work for me.)
So if you happen to be less than satisfied with your current underarm product, go out and give Degree Ultra Clear a try. Hopefully, it will work as well for you as it does for me. The fact that it won't leave white marks on your clothes is a nice bonus. But I have to say that the best deodorant is the one you don't notice.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Household Hint
Here's a sneaky tip for any of you who have, like me, left flowers a bit too long in a vase...or forgotten to rinse out your water bottle/thermos...or just can't get the coffee stains out of your carafe. Wait...here it is....DENTURE CLEANER!
It has started getting hotter these last few weeks, so I have been trying to stay hydrated and bring a half-gallon thermos of ice water or tea with me when I go to the barn to teach lessons. Last week, I did drink the whole thermos worth of iced tea. And then left it in the car for days.
Let me tell you, opening that up was NOT pretty. Luckily I had literally drank the last drop, so it was dry at least. But stinky. And with a faint dark haze of something that shall remain nameless but was probably mold. Yummy.
Before I even dove in with a sponge or anything, I dumped four effervescent denture tabs in the thermos and filled it with the hottest water my tap can provide. And a nice minty-fresh scent filled the air while I let the funk marinate.
So a few minutes later I go back to rinse and scrub, and the thing was practically clean already. Just took a quick wipe with a soapy sponge and I was done. I put the lid in a bowl to sit with two tablets and hot water of its own, and while that took a bit of creative scrubbing (baby bottle nipple brushes are useful for more than just baby bottles!), it came clean quickly as well.
I have used the denture tabs to clean vases that got that ring around the collar sort of mark at the water line, to clean pitchers used for iced tea, and to freshen up old glassware. Great to clean up garage sale finds. And you know that the denture cleaner has to be safe to use on items you might eat or drink from since it apparently is safe to soak your teeth in! Let me know if you have any other sneaky uses for handy household stuff...
It has started getting hotter these last few weeks, so I have been trying to stay hydrated and bring a half-gallon thermos of ice water or tea with me when I go to the barn to teach lessons. Last week, I did drink the whole thermos worth of iced tea. And then left it in the car for days.
Let me tell you, opening that up was NOT pretty. Luckily I had literally drank the last drop, so it was dry at least. But stinky. And with a faint dark haze of something that shall remain nameless but was probably mold. Yummy.
Before I even dove in with a sponge or anything, I dumped four effervescent denture tabs in the thermos and filled it with the hottest water my tap can provide. And a nice minty-fresh scent filled the air while I let the funk marinate.
So a few minutes later I go back to rinse and scrub, and the thing was practically clean already. Just took a quick wipe with a soapy sponge and I was done. I put the lid in a bowl to sit with two tablets and hot water of its own, and while that took a bit of creative scrubbing (baby bottle nipple brushes are useful for more than just baby bottles!), it came clean quickly as well.
I have used the denture tabs to clean vases that got that ring around the collar sort of mark at the water line, to clean pitchers used for iced tea, and to freshen up old glassware. Great to clean up garage sale finds. And you know that the denture cleaner has to be safe to use on items you might eat or drink from since it apparently is safe to soak your teeth in! Let me know if you have any other sneaky uses for handy household stuff...
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Healthy Cookies!
Now I have to admit to a certain weakness for cookies. That weakness was greatly increased to something more like a temporary addiction when I was pregnant with my daughter. Preferably something with chocolate, but there are few cookies that I don't like. Fig newtons being one of them. No thanks.
Anyway, the other day while grazing my way through sample day at Whole Foods, I came across a sample table for these new World of Grains cookies. And I bought two boxes, so you can bet they are good.
Here's the crazy part - they are full of whole grains (even flaxseed and quinoa!), they have only 8 grams of sugar and 4 grams of fat per packet, and they still taste great! Each box comes with four easily trasportable little packets, each of which contains about seven little cookies. Seven! And the whole grains help make you feel full, and your brain always gets more satisfied when you eat seven of something instead of one or two!
So I have the oatmeal raisin and the blueberry right now. Next time I'm going to try the chocolate chip and the cranberry. Might just have to throw a pack in the diaper bag when we head out to tumbling class this morning...
Anyway, the other day while grazing my way through sample day at Whole Foods, I came across a sample table for these new World of Grains cookies. And I bought two boxes, so you can bet they are good.
Here's the crazy part - they are full of whole grains (even flaxseed and quinoa!), they have only 8 grams of sugar and 4 grams of fat per packet, and they still taste great! Each box comes with four easily trasportable little packets, each of which contains about seven little cookies. Seven! And the whole grains help make you feel full, and your brain always gets more satisfied when you eat seven of something instead of one or two!
So I have the oatmeal raisin and the blueberry right now. Next time I'm going to try the chocolate chip and the cranberry. Might just have to throw a pack in the diaper bag when we head out to tumbling class this morning...
Monday, July 27, 2009
My New Mazda 5
Yippee, I got a new car! And I have been very happy with it. And while it may have sliding doors, it does NOT feel like a minivan. Just makes life a whole lot easier for me with two car seats as compared to life with a Volkswagen Jetta.
Today's "mini" vans are monstrous. And expensive. And guzzle gas like you would not believe, making them more expensive to drive. We were looking for a vehicle that had sliding doors so that garage damage would be minimized. Our garage is quite deep, but on the narrow side, and getting the baby's car seat out of the car meant pushing the side door against the wall of the garage. Once my son is old enough to get himself in and out, he would have been hitting daddy's car with his door.
So as much as everyone likes to give people a hard time about driving a minivan, the Mazda 5 is really different. Check out the specs. It sits up high enough that I feel like I am not driving a car, but is still small enough that I don't feel like my carbon footprint is a size 14 when I drive it. And while it is rated up to 28mpg, I have heard that straight highway driving can get up toward 30mpg. Which is virtually what I got in the Jetta. Now I just have more room! We had looked at the Routan, the Caravan, and a few other things and they just seemed too big. And I was adamant that we would NOT have a tv/dvd player in the vehicle. Some of those other vans have them standard with certain packages, and if you don't want the dvd player, you can't get that package. But regardless, they all just cost so much more and I don't need to cart around that much stuff or that many kids at this point.
The Mazda 5, like other vans, has second row captains chairs and then a third row seat. Not like full-grown adults would really be comfortable back there, but hey, not many of those SUV third rows are really useful anyway. But it gives me the option of being able to take a couple of extra people along with both the car seats installed, unlike my old car. I have to admit, I have only had the 5 just under two weeks, but I can honestly say that I am quite pleased with it. And it is kind of fun to have in-dash bluetooth connectivity. It isn't exactly the fastest car on the road, but it has enough pickup that it doesn't get left in the dust. We'll see how it handles in the lovely winter weather in Chicago later in the year (much later, I hope). But for now, I am enjoying the zoom-zoom of my new Mazda.
Today's "mini" vans are monstrous. And expensive. And guzzle gas like you would not believe, making them more expensive to drive. We were looking for a vehicle that had sliding doors so that garage damage would be minimized. Our garage is quite deep, but on the narrow side, and getting the baby's car seat out of the car meant pushing the side door against the wall of the garage. Once my son is old enough to get himself in and out, he would have been hitting daddy's car with his door.
So as much as everyone likes to give people a hard time about driving a minivan, the Mazda 5 is really different. Check out the specs. It sits up high enough that I feel like I am not driving a car, but is still small enough that I don't feel like my carbon footprint is a size 14 when I drive it. And while it is rated up to 28mpg, I have heard that straight highway driving can get up toward 30mpg. Which is virtually what I got in the Jetta. Now I just have more room! We had looked at the Routan, the Caravan, and a few other things and they just seemed too big. And I was adamant that we would NOT have a tv/dvd player in the vehicle. Some of those other vans have them standard with certain packages, and if you don't want the dvd player, you can't get that package. But regardless, they all just cost so much more and I don't need to cart around that much stuff or that many kids at this point.
The Mazda 5, like other vans, has second row captains chairs and then a third row seat. Not like full-grown adults would really be comfortable back there, but hey, not many of those SUV third rows are really useful anyway. But it gives me the option of being able to take a couple of extra people along with both the car seats installed, unlike my old car. I have to admit, I have only had the 5 just under two weeks, but I can honestly say that I am quite pleased with it. And it is kind of fun to have in-dash bluetooth connectivity. It isn't exactly the fastest car on the road, but it has enough pickup that it doesn't get left in the dust. We'll see how it handles in the lovely winter weather in Chicago later in the year (much later, I hope). But for now, I am enjoying the zoom-zoom of my new Mazda.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Living Close to Family
So, this idea may not be considered a favorite "thing" but it is definitely a favorite part of my life. We are lucky enough to live within easy walking distance of my sister and her husband, and my aunt and uncle (and whichever of my cousins might be at home). It is a bit longer walk to my brother and his family, but definitely walkable, and while it would be a stretch to walk to my parent's house or my in-laws, they are but a ten to fifteen minute drive down the road.
Aside from the convenient child care that this arrangement involves (thank you, thank you, thank you), here's a quick example of how much fun this can be. After an early dinner tonight, my son wanted to go to the playground. Well, my sister happens to live across the street from one of the four parks in walking distance from our house. But it looked like rain was on the way, so we cheated and drove. Honestly, we usually walk, I swear! Anyway, we head over to the park, give them a call, and lo and behold, while the kids are on the swings, aunt and uncle come walking around the corner.
Quite a nice way to end the day, if you ask me - pushing your kids on the swings, hanging out with friends that you just happen to be related to, and all on the spur of the moment. I hate to admit it, but sometimes too many weeks go by when we don't see our extended family members. We are so lucky to be this close to each other, but sometimes life gets too busy, things get in the way, and we don't make the effort to keep closer in touch. This weekend, we are looking forward to a big family get together to celebrate some birthdays and have a send-off for my youngest cousin as she heads off to play volleyball at Ole Miss this fall. And even though someone might get a cold from someone else, a new recipe one of us tried might be a flop, or one of the kids happens to knock over a glass of red wine (hopefully not on my mom's white dining room carpet!), we'll have a blast. Right up until the last kid is dragged kicking and screaming off to the car to go home to bed :)
Aside from the convenient child care that this arrangement involves (thank you, thank you, thank you), here's a quick example of how much fun this can be. After an early dinner tonight, my son wanted to go to the playground. Well, my sister happens to live across the street from one of the four parks in walking distance from our house. But it looked like rain was on the way, so we cheated and drove. Honestly, we usually walk, I swear! Anyway, we head over to the park, give them a call, and lo and behold, while the kids are on the swings, aunt and uncle come walking around the corner.
Quite a nice way to end the day, if you ask me - pushing your kids on the swings, hanging out with friends that you just happen to be related to, and all on the spur of the moment. I hate to admit it, but sometimes too many weeks go by when we don't see our extended family members. We are so lucky to be this close to each other, but sometimes life gets too busy, things get in the way, and we don't make the effort to keep closer in touch. This weekend, we are looking forward to a big family get together to celebrate some birthdays and have a send-off for my youngest cousin as she heads off to play volleyball at Ole Miss this fall. And even though someone might get a cold from someone else, a new recipe one of us tried might be a flop, or one of the kids happens to knock over a glass of red wine (hopefully not on my mom's white dining room carpet!), we'll have a blast. Right up until the last kid is dragged kicking and screaming off to the car to go home to bed :)
Cavalia!
So for anyone out there reading this who does not know me personally, one of my multiple jobs is training horses. Specifically for dressage, but we won't get into all of that right now. All I want to talk about right now is Cavalia. The greatest show under a big top, currently stabled in Chicago.
I saw Cavalia a few years ago in Scottsdale, Arizona and absolutely loved it. I was lucky enough to have been treated to that event by my mom, and it was so good that I went and paid to see it again this weekend here in Chicago. I could go on and on about what I liked, what I loved, and what I wish I could be a part of. But I would hate to give everything away for those who have not had the opportunity to see it.
For the non-horsey crowd, I think anyone would appreciate the beauty and artistry of the show, and of the horses. It is a beautiful blend of equine grace, equestrian skill, acrobatic strength and musical inspiration. From the opening of the show where yearling (one-year-old) horses are literally playing together loose on the stage, to the older stallions working at liberty with their trainer, to the trick riding and quadrille demonstrations, this show is amazing.
For those of us into horses, it is an inspiration to behold. The relationship between the riders/trainers and the horses is one of love and play, never forced or contrived. I left with renewed inspiration to ride for the love of horses, and to teach my students to develop a more harmonious relationship with their horse. This is why we love horses. Go see the show. Whether you ride horses or not, it is worth every penny.
I saw Cavalia a few years ago in Scottsdale, Arizona and absolutely loved it. I was lucky enough to have been treated to that event by my mom, and it was so good that I went and paid to see it again this weekend here in Chicago. I could go on and on about what I liked, what I loved, and what I wish I could be a part of. But I would hate to give everything away for those who have not had the opportunity to see it.
For the non-horsey crowd, I think anyone would appreciate the beauty and artistry of the show, and of the horses. It is a beautiful blend of equine grace, equestrian skill, acrobatic strength and musical inspiration. From the opening of the show where yearling (one-year-old) horses are literally playing together loose on the stage, to the older stallions working at liberty with their trainer, to the trick riding and quadrille demonstrations, this show is amazing.
For those of us into horses, it is an inspiration to behold. The relationship between the riders/trainers and the horses is one of love and play, never forced or contrived. I left with renewed inspiration to ride for the love of horses, and to teach my students to develop a more harmonious relationship with their horse. This is why we love horses. Go see the show. Whether you ride horses or not, it is worth every penny.
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