Half the Sky

Recently I saw the film Half The Sky which was originally a book. While traveling in Central America, Whitney and I went to this really cool bookstore and I came across the book and snagged it. It was the most inspiring book I have read in a LONG time and the movie was equally as motivating. Women everywhere NEED to see this (and their men)! Get your tissues ready...

Mouth Monsters: CANKER SORES

Its been awhile but I find myself looking for distractions from a paper I have been attempting to write for three days now, and have conveniently rediscovered this blog...so, here is a thought: Canker sores. What type of ungodly evil are these things?? I was the fortunate one of my three siblings to inherit the mouth monsters (my mom suffered through her life until post-baby days). I have had them since I was little and they never just come in ones or twos. Instead, these stupid sores travel in hyena like packs and ravage my mouth by the half-dozens++. Today I have six. One is conveniently located on the gummy part of my mouth where my wisdom tooth used to be. Interesting...my favorite one of all time has to be the behemoth that coated the back of my throat just months ago. So we've established one thing: canker sores are rotten. But what intrigues me is not what causes them (I've narrowed mine down to SLS containing toothpaste, lesions from carelessness *headbutts from babies, aggressive brushing, etc*, and a combination of menstrual cycle/stress/sleeplessness. My newest mission is to try to figure out how to keep these suckers at bay because I have resigned to the fact that preventing them altogether is hopeless. Things I have tried:

Vitamins: It seems that heavy doses of Zinc, Vitamin C and Iron when my mouth is under siege keeps the healing time down to just a few days. Natures Gate natural toothpaste: SLS free, noticed a huge decrease in frequency of sores after switching to this toothpaste Orajel: A waste in my opinion as the mere minutes it takes for the meds to wear off is nothing when facing three-four days of unbearable pain that leaves me sometimes angry and mute. Salt/Allum: Pain pain pain. Allum in particular is the culprit of turning my hideous sores into hideous bleeding sores. No thanks. Hydrogen Peroxide: Seems to be awesome and you would think because of its antiseptic property it would help...but I have read conflicting reports about how it might lengthen healing time? Yikes, no thanks. On the same token, Mouthwash particularly for canker sores...has the same hydrogen peroxide effect and does not seem to accelerate healing times at all (or reduce pain) Canker Covers: I have had mixed results...I am thinking maybe these are a godsend IF combined with the right other things (vitamins, mouthwash, etc?) and they are freaking glorious in that they cover the sore so it doesnt hurt for 8-12 HOURS! When you get those really really bad ones that make you want to die, these canker covers are heavy duty saviors. They look like pills and they adhere to the sore and create a patch that slowly dissolves over hours. The idea is that it makes a bandaid to give it time to heal. Some sores have LOVED this and recovered quickly..and others, not so much. I will keep them on hand for future use, definitely. Baking soda paste: Tastes gross, possibly helped healing time slighly? Not over the moon with the results. Alka Seltzer: Again, pain pain pain...but it would seem to be less pain then salt or allum. Still, only about 20 minutes of relief, maybe more. BUT I did notice a "cover" of sorts on top of the sores hours after using them. A sign of healing? Possibly. I will consider using this remedy in the future to test its validity. Maalox or generic liquid antacid mixed with the same ratio of liquid benadryl: I am not sure of the healing ability of this concoction but this definitely numbed my mouth for at least a half hour...a very much appreciated half hour. It caused little to no pain on application, did not require touching the sore to apply (touching it can re-open it and slow healing) and didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth (like orajel) Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated as I continue on in my quest to destroy the mouth monsters :) And like I have said before, damn you mother and father for passing this genetic malfunction on to me!

A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

While doing some research today for one of my classes, I came across this book. I was instantly catapulted in memory back to a hammock in Guatemala where I spent hours eating up the words in this book.

This is the synopsis: Michael Dorris has crafted a fierce saga of three generations of Indian women, beset by hardships and torn by angry secrets, yet inextricably joined by the bonds of kinship. Starting in the present day and moving backward, the novel is told in the voices of the three women: fifteen-year-old part-black Rayona; her American Indian mother, Christine, consumed by tenderness and resentment toward those she loves; and the fierce and mysterious Ida, mother and grandmother whose haunting secrets, betrayals, and dreams echo through the years, braiding together the strands of the shared past. A HIGHLY recommended read!!

Fall Bucket List

I was perusing Pinterest tonight while acting like a 90 year old and sitting home alone...I digress, I found some amazing fall crafts, outfits and images that have me THRILLED that my favorite season of all is fast approaching. A few summers ago I made a summer bucket list. With the help of some friends I quickly crossed some things off the list and had an amazing summer! I am feeling like it is definitely time to hop back on the bucket list train, this time, Fall themed!

Fall officially starts September 22nd. It just happens to coincide with my last week of work at ECI and my freedom into the real world again..which will be quickly limited by my full time masters student status but again, I digress.

*Go bowling and drink a fall ale at Arsenal
* go to a Steelers game
*make and hang a new fall wreath
*bake pumpkin pie from scratch
*go to a corn maze
*go to dave and busters on wed for half price game night
*go to the drive-in
*go to a pumpkin patch and pick out a pumpkin (trax farms?)
* go to the shooting range
*oct 20-21;nov 17/18 see a meteor shower


...list still in progress :) ideas welcomed!

Happy Waitresses Everywhere.

I always thought if I won a lot of money, I would love to leave huge tips for waiters/waitresses that were awesome...pay for someones groceries....pay someones medical bills...you know, randomly so it was a big surprise for someone who deserved it. Some bad ass guys dying wish was for his brother to do just that. And people are coming together to make that happen and I think it is the coolest thing ever! Check out the story: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/man-last-wish-big-tips-inspires-big-donations-195754349.html Before Aaron Collins passed away in July at the age of 29, he asked that his brother Seth "leave an awesome tip" for a waiter or waitress. "And I don't mean 25%," Aaron said. "I mean $500 on a ****ing pizza." The only problem, as NPR reports, was that Aaron didn't leave much money. His family began raising funds on the Web, so they could then pass it out to lucky waiters and waitresses. It's safe to say that the plan is working much better than they could have imagined. So far, the family has raised nearly $50,000. They've given out three generous tips of $500 each and have recorded the servers' reactions. Not surprisingly, the servers are quite pleased with the gratuity. On a site dedicated to his brother's wish, Seth writes: "Absolutely 100% of the donations we receive will be given to random waiters or waitresses. Our goal is to do this once a week, for as long as you give us the opportunity." With over $47,000 raised and only $1,500 spent, Seth and family have a lot of dining out ahead of them, and a lot of servers can look forward to more than just 15 percent.

Recipe Lady

I swore I'd never be the "recipe lady"and let my blog turn into a cook book...But apparently I lied. I guess now that I am cooking for myself every day and trying to be somewhat healthy about it, I find myself interested in recipes now. And you blog about what interests you. So, here we go..another DELICIOUS find": Peanut Butter-Banana protein waffles.

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder 1/4 cup egg whites 1/2 mashed banana cinnamon 1-2 packets stevia Mix it all together and put it in the waffle machine. I melted chocolate chips and peanut butter and used that as the syrup and it was amazing. Nutrition per recipe: Calories: 210 Protein: 32g Carbs: 13g

Emeli Sandé

An addition to the "Songs I love" List :)