Salty Zebra

  I've gone through a lot of different haircare routines over the years. From the standard, "Whatever is cheapest at Costco," to No Poo to Conditioner only wash. I've tried baking soda and apple cider vinegar. I've done sugar scrubs and honey hair masks. I've made my own shampoo bars (I still do in fact). I've been slightly dissatisfied with my current routine as my scalp has been dry and itchy of late. Now, that could have to do with the varying climates I've been visiting this year, but who knows?! So, when Prose kept popping up on my social media feeds and I was gifted some post-Christmas money by my dad, I decided to give it a shot.  The online ads led to a 50% discount offer, which was great as it allowed me to try out the shampoo, conditioner and curl cream for just over $50 when I signed up for a subscription. That's a great shopping hack, by the way. Companies like you to sign up for subscriptions because so many people don't notice and...

 This morning I'm feeling the futility. I try so hard, so hard , to do the right things. I'm trying to be a good steward of the body God has given me and the resources He's provided. I'm trying to listen to all the medical professionals whose advice I've been blessed with. I'm trying to eat right and exercise right and sleep right and wear the right things and do the right things and not do the wrong things.  And still, things seem to be heading downhill. Sometimes I feel like Jack's partner tumbling head over heels down the slope.  It's become a frequent, more-than-daily occurrence. My husband says, "You're falling apart!" followed by something between a chuckle and a guffaw. I am blessed and thankful to report that my husband's empathy and nurturing have increased by leaps and bounds. As a side effect of this, he is noticing more when things are not right with me. He sees when I get a certain look on my face, or it grabs his attention...

Warning: I get a little outside of my standard writing style in this post. As my husband says, I am usually "flowery" and subtle in the way I present things. Today I'm being brutally real.     I've mentioned lots of times on this blog the fact that I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS), but I thought that today I would share a little of what that means to me. It's hard to know how to communicate this to people who don't share my experience. For example:  I am never not in pain. Do I take pain meds? Yes. I take a great deal of pain meds. But no, they don't take my pain away. What they do is (sometimes) take my pain down to a level where I am able to function. My daily functioning pain level is more than many people will experience in a year. Is it easier for me to deal with pain because I am so used to it? No. No, it is not. In fact, the ongoing, constant, chronic pain builds on top of itself over and over and makes it MORE difficult to deal with. I just do...

Pictured: Bruschetta made with GF bread - delicious!  When you are having to avoid certain foods, cruising can be your best travel option! For those with severe allergies, say to peanuts, where even having them in the air can be dangerous, I'm afraid this isn't the case. But for those who simply need to make sure that gluten or dairy or meat is not in their  meal, then this is for you! When you travel regularly, flying somewhere and staying in a hotel, you're having to visit a new restaurant for each meal and try to assess whether their preparations are safe, what menu items are available to you, and how to communicate with the staff. If you are in a place that speaks a different language this can be really tricky! Pictured: GF Flourless Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Compote (I was so excited to eat it that I took a bite before I remembered to take a picture!)  On a cruise, you not only unpack once and get to visit lots of places, but you also only have to sort out the d...

  So said a plaque in my Mom's office at the Fire Department. She worked in IT there for more than 30 years before she retired last year. One of the main things she learned? At the Fire Department, everything is an emergency!   For many years (maybe decades?) I've been a big proponent of having a meal plan. This informs my grocery shopping and keeps me from overspending and wasting food. It also solves the age-old question of "What's for dinner?" One of my favorite tools? I use a meal planning service called Plan to Eat *. On it I store my recipes (I have nearly 2,000 saved at the moment). Then, using the planning tool, I schedule my meals by dragging and dropping them onto a calendar. Plan to Eat then generates a shopping list based on the ingredients from my recipes. It learns over time which stores I prefer to buy things at and what category (like produce or dairy) things will be found in. It takes just a few minutes for me to delete any items I already have on...