Nicole
Threenager
Alternate Title: The Annual Post Where Mr. Lady hates me
So I would just like you all to know that this:
Becomes this:
And then today became this emo who didn’t want her picture taken:
And when she heard me call her an emo, she asked: “What’s an emo?”
Happy 3rd Birthday, Poptart.
(we are in so much trouble)
2012 Miles for Mental Health Run & Walk
So awhile back, I signed up for Yet Another 5K Run For A Cause. This time, it’s the Miles for Mental Health Run & Walk put on by the Simon Fraser Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association.
I’d been swamped at work and barely able to run twice a week (if that – it was more like twice every 10 days), the Poptart was being a pain because she was going through some sort of developmental THING and fundraising was just a bit beyond my available resources. I was at the point of deciding that I might just throw some money at my team and sleep in that day.
Last week, one of my coworkers came and put $20 on my desk. “Here,” she said. “That’s for your mental health run.”
Today, I was sitting at my desk, cleaning out my inbox, when an email arrived from someone who works at another site. And she explained that she sponsored me because she has used mental health services in the past. And she thanked me for helping “people like her.”
And in one fell swoop, she made sure I met my (computer-assigned) goal of $250.
And my point? Well, you never know who “people like her” are.
I am one of the lucky ones. When I finally admitted my depression, I was at the end of my rope. I am lucky that I have a knowlegeable and experienced doctor, a supportive partner and social circle, and excellent extended benefits that cover the little white and yellow pill that keeps me on an even keel.
But, a strong support network doesn’t always help. I have a work friend who lost her fiance to mental illness.
And then there are the people who have no one else, at all. One might be that guy in front of the train station you pass every day. You know, the one with the dog, and the old A&W cup to collect coins in.
Or the elderly lady wandering down the street talking to herself. Is it a bluetooth device or something else?
These are the people the funds help: the woman in the cube or office next to you, the guy in front of the train station, the woman who may or may not have a bluetooth device, or the young man who is emotionally troubled and that there is only one way out.
We are all “people like her.”
If you’d like to support you can sign up for the run (5K) or walk (2.5 K) here, or sponsor me here.
Or if you like to help out with another great cause, check out Bloggers for Boobies 2012
Earth Day Giveaway: A Turtle’s Tale – Sammy’s Adventures
While I have mentioned before that I am not entirely convinced about things like global warming – or at least the full impact of human of us on this (read: we just don’t know enough about climate change to say anything precise), I do know that we have some impact, often detrimental, on our environment. As a mom, I want to leave the world a bit better for the Poptart. This includes teaching her about what we do, intentionally or otherwise, to the environment.
The question is: how do you teach an almost 3 year old (OMG) about the environment and what’s happening around us?
When I was contacted to review a new DVD called “A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventures” I jumped on it. The movie is the life story of a turtle, from hatching all the way up until he’s 50. The main plot line is Sammy is trying to find the love of his life: a female turtle named Shelley.
Around this, however, are his other adventures, many of which illustrate the impact of humans on turtles and the underwater ecosystem. From hatching and being immediately abducted by a seagull (spoiler: he escapes and survives), to encountering an oil spill and being adopted by well-meaning hippies – it turned out to be a great way to introduce the Poptart to some concepts that are difficult to get across. It’s also entertaining enough for the entire family.
The Poptart got immediately attached to Sammy, Shelley and their buddy Ray. Added to the fact that I could actually make dinner in peace, I like to think she actually learned a thing or two about our world.
GIVEAWAY: And since Earth Day is April 22, I will be giving away a copy of “A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventures”. The package includes both the Blu-ray and DVD copies as well as a code for a digital download (note: the download is only available in the US).
Additionally, since I am Canadian and cannot use the code I was given, I am giving away an EXTRA digital download code.
To enter, leave a comment about something environmental.
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of the DVD/Blu-ray of “A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventures” to review. Opinions are my own.
New Adventures, Locally: Big Feast
“Time to get dressed and go out!” said the Poptart at about 9:45 this morning.
So we went out to breakfast. I’d been hearing quite a bit about this place called Big Feast which wasn’t that far from us. After a quick call to see that they were open, it being Good Friday and all, we got dressed and hopped in the car.
See, for the past few weeks, I’ve had a craving for the crabcakes benny I had a couple of years ago at some restaurant on Commercial Drive. It was awesome and I only got half because the Poptart, who was just a bit older than 1 at the time, ate the other half. Big Feast has a crab benny on their menu, so I figured I would try that.
We got there, and were greeted and told to sit anywhere we like. The server immediately brought over a kids colouring page and crayons for the Poptart:
Shortly after that, we were served. The Poptart had the Dippy Egg with Toast Fingers breakfast:
There was also a strawberry on the fruit salad, but she ate that immediately:
And I had the crab benny – barely. I nearly ordered something off the daily sheet insted. But here’s the crab benny with roasted potatoes:
It’s topped with capers and drizzled with a chipotle sauce. Under the eggs are slices of avocado and crab meat, all served on top of a cornflake coated rusk.
I cannot begin to describe the yum involved in this.
Big Feast uses a lot of locally grown products – wherever possible, they source from within 100 miles – and I expect that except for the avocado on my crab benny, everything else came from within 100 miles. And there’s now a bigger menu than what’s listed on the website.
Just as we were finishing up, Alex and his kids stopped by so he could get a Salt Spring Island Coffee to go. We also had to go off to the vegetable market so it was just a quick hello and the kids played together for a few minutes. Then we went on our merry way to the market – which is another story entirely.
What’s your favourite local place to eat? Does the source of food served influence whether you’ll eat there or not?
There’s no disclaimer because I wasn’t paid for any of this. I just really enjoyed the food and highly recommend it.
What I learned before 10:30am on a Saturday
I’m sharing this with you in the hopes that someone can have a relaxing Saturday
1. If your toddler is in her play tent and suddenly says, “I’m cleaning my bus.” then goes into the kitchen to get a towel, something is wrong.
2. If your toddler is in her play tent, and says, “I’m cleaning my bus” make sure she doesn’t have your container of (dark brown) powdered eyeshadow in there.
3. Never assume that you’ll be able to do things when you planned. Just like I planned to break out the Bissel carpet cleaner tomorrow and ended up having to do it today.
How about a 2012 resolutions update?
So I’m told that you get more traffic and “better” numbers to your blog if you post more than once a month.
It’s a good thing I don’t care about these things. My last post was about a month ago because I have been swamped at my day job, working weekends, having birthday parties to go to and people to host. I also have at least 6 draft posts sitting in the back end of my blog but they’re not ready for posting.
So how about a resolutions update? You may remember that at the beginning of the year I had Grand Plans and in February was well on my way to accomplishing those. Well, I can safely say that I have not completed two of those; it’s a good thing I have a longer timeline on the last one.
My plans for getting off zoloft were thwarted by my brain chemistry. I went down to 25mg of zoloft and things were okay. Not great, but okay. Then I went off zoloft entirely and for the next 10 days or so wanted to rip everyone’s heads off.
It was supposed to be a good time for me to play with this. Since I was phasing back into work from a secondment, my workload was low. And then, because Murphy decided this would be a good time to enter, my workload exploded for reasons beyond my control. At the same time, I couldn’t focus and the “buzzing” in my head started up again. Not brain twitches like people say they get when they go off zoloft, but that old, familiar buzz in my head when depression rears it’s ugly head.
So I started taking zoloft again. And I feel much better now.
And the running – well, I got up to week 6 and accomplished running 20 minutes straight on one warm February afternoon.
And the next week it snowed. I don’t mind running in the rain (unless it’s sideways rain), but the snow makes everything slippery. Then I collapsed an arch and could barely walk, let alone run. Then I worked through my lunches for a week because of the pile of paper on my desk. Which means I haven’t run for 3 weeks. Apparently in my head, running for 20 minutes straight was some sort of milestone in my head.
But next week is another week, right? And as long as it stops snowing, because that’s just sick and wrong.
So how are your 2012 Resolutions coming along? What are you doing to get back on track?
It all started with no poo
Over the past few months, my bathroom counter has started looking more like a pantry than a typically modern bathroom counter.
It all started with no poo.
Now I know what you’re thinking (or at least I know what I’d be thinking if I read that): why the hell is she telling us about her toilet difficulties? And I’m telling you that today, or this weekend at least, with a touch of a norovirus my toileting difficulties are quite the opposite of what you’re thinking.
Ahem. TMI?
Anyways, no poo: the art of cleaning your scalp without shampoo. For the last while, I’ve been diligently cleaning my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar (ACV) – not at the same time, mind you. Doing that is sort of…interesting (I did it accidentally when I mixed up the bottles, okay?). I have a couple of old plastic containers that used to contain Rooster Sauce (washed in the dishwasher because hot sauce on my head? ouch). I mix up solutions of baking soda and water and ACV and water, wash my scalp with the soda, rinse, and then rinse the ends of my hair with the ACV solution.
So in addition to the baking soda in my pantry and laundry room, I also have a container of ACV. Oh and coconut oil.
A few months ago, the Poptart started getting some really ugly red, dry patches on her legs and complained that they were itchy. So I bought a package of silly-expensive colloidal oatmeal bath at the pharmacy, washed her in it and the next day the patches were 90% better.
And then I promptly forgot about it. Until she started scratching and complaining again. So I went to three different drugstores and none of them had it. In a rare moment of brilliance, I googled “colloidal oatmeal” and realized I could make my own.
I came home, popped the oatmeal in the coffee grinder and ground away until it got fine and powdery. I tossed it in the bath and tossed the Poptart in and now she demands her oatmeal baths.
So finely ground oatmeal joined the cast of characters in my pantry and on my bathroom counter.
I started noticing after a few of these that, not only was her skin healing, but her hair was amazingly soft and shiny. I’d experienced some dry scalp and breakage with the whole no poo thing, which I kept at bay with bi-weekly coconut oil treatments (which, while they work, are time consuming and the oil is a pain in the arse to get out). So I thought I’d try some oatmeal on my hair in the shower one night.
And the next day, my hair was soft and shiny too! and no itchy scalp! I’d scrubbed my face with some leftover oatmeal and my skin was soft too.
Yesterday, I was in the pool for 3 hours and broke the cardinal rule of Being In the Pool: If You Are In the Pool for More than An Hour, Wear a Swim Cap. I scrubbed my scalp and hair when I got home, but today my hair was dry and crispy.
I’d moisturized my face with coconut oil, but was too lazy last night to do the coconut oil treatment. My norovirus decided to make an encore appearance today, so I decided it was a good idea not to voyage too far from the bathroom and called in sick.
When I woke up again, I felt somewhat better and decided today was a good day to do something about the crispy state of my hair. I toddled into the kitchen and found half a (very ripe) avocado and 2/3 of a banana left over from the poptart’s breakfast (all nicely blackened on the skin).
I mushed those up with a bit of olive oil and put it on my hair. Then I wrapped a plastic bag around my head and watched an episode of Jekyll on Netflix. Then I had a shower.
I still had to use actual shampoo on my hair to get all the oil out. I am not a huge fan of the residual banana smell, but my hair is soft and manageable and not crunchy or frizzy.
And I’m now contemplating a countertop cooler for my bathroom. So I don’t have to keep the avocado-banana paste separate from it’s other bathroom friends.
What sorts of unusual, weird, or non-mainstream beauty rituals or products do you have/use?
Bloggers for Boobies 2012
I have a dream. I expect it’s a dream that most parents share: to leave the world a better place for our kids.
My kid is (un)lucky enough to have a history of breast cancer on both sides of the family. I’d really like to leave a future for her where there are guaranteed cures and preventions for breast cancer. Just in case so that if she’s affected, the treatment she needs is available.
Last year, after my mom was diagnosed, I decided to actually do something about it and I decided to do the Run for the Cure. Alexis joined me and we formed a 2-person team called Bloggers for Boobies.
And then more people joined and all of a sudden there were 10 of us.
Together we raised over $2000 for breast cancer research.
This year, my dream is to have a Bloggers for Boobies national team. The Run for the Cure happens in many cities and areas all across Canada. If you get 10 people in at least 2 locations, you have a national team.
Requirements (these are flexible):
- Must have boobs, or know someone who has boobs
- Must be generally supportive of boobs and good booby health*
- Must not mind bloggers who may randomly stop to send a text or tweet while doing the run
- Should be able to run or walk 5K (or however you usually get around – crawling is not recommended as the runs often take place on concrete and that can be hard on the knees). Scooters and roller blades are not allowed for safety reasons, but strollers are welcome.**
- Must be willing to fundraise or pay the entry fee (usually around $40)
- Must not mind wearing a team shirt that says “Bloggers for Boobies” on it (see above for example).
- Be available Sunday, September 30, 2012 for a couple of hours in the morning.
*Note, this does not mean you have to hold the boobs while you’re running. Hopefully you (and the people you know who have boobs) have good, supportive bras.
Since it’s actually too early to sign up for the 2012 Run for the Cure, I’ve set up a tracking form. You can also fill it out by clicking the Bloggers for Boobies 2012 page at the top. If you’d like to participate, please fill it out.Even if you’re not in Canada, you can pick the “Virtual” location.
When the time comes, I’ll register the team and let everyone know.
If you have problems filling out the form, email me at rtissues(at)gmail(dot)com or on twitter @Nicole013.
I would really like this to succeed so register as many people as you like – family, friends, your mother in law. And think about having a future for all our kids free from this cancer.
All photos in this post borrowed with permission Tracey (@tjrossignol) from her Flickr account.
2012 Resolutions Update
Magpie dropped by and asked for an update on my 2012 resolutions. So here you go.
Resolution #1: Fit into a size 10-12 by my birthday
It’s hard to tell at this point. I think my pants feel a bit looser and I’m down a few pounds for sure. I just refuse to get into the rollercoaster of stepping on the scale. I have been eating better, especially breakfast and not eating after dinner’s done. I’ve been starting with soup or salad as much as possible and eating slower.
I got unexpectedly swamped at work when a coworker had a family emergency and another coworker was injured for the first three weeks of the year. So I haven’t been focusing on food too much, and breaking the one soda/no booze during the week (although, it’s coke zero with a splash of rye).
But this week is another week, right? Baby steps, people, baby steps.
Resolution #2: Get off the Zoloft
I’m down from 50mg to 25mg. Next week, I go to ever other day.
I’ve had some other stuff going on: an earache for the last couple of weeks (complete with vertigo! and nausea! and no! I’m not pregnant!) and I have an appointment with an EENT on January 31 to go over what’s been going on. I had my head radiated sinus x-rays a couple of weeks ago and will find out this Tuesday what, if anything is going on. I’m kind of worried he’ll take one look at me and say “Oh there’ s nothing wrong with you“. Combined with the unexpected swampedness at work, I wasn’t ready to go cold turkey on the zoloft.
Resolution #3: Complete the Couch to 5K program by March 15
I’ve been mostly successful in this one. We had a stretch of snow, followed by rain so I took a few days off running. BUT on those days I used some torture devices Jillian Michaels workouts and accidentally stumbled into a circuit training class at work one night when I was looking to kill some time before a meeting. 30 Day Shred + circuit training (awesome instructor) + Ripped in 30 = not being able to go down stairs very well for a couple of days.
But pffft. Am not a wimp, no pain, no gain, right?
(Except, apparently, when it comes to snow. And cold wind)
In fact, the first run after the snow, I almost enjoyed. I like the c25K app because I can run it in the background on my ‘droid while listening to a book or music. It tells me when to run, when to walk and when I’m halfway so I know when to turn around.
Even though I took a couple of days off running, I still managed to get to the next week of C25K and I think I’m on track to finish by March 15.
So a mixed bag. February will be more about focusing on food amounts and quality, since I’m a firm believer that, at the end of the day, it’s really about the quantity of energy you stuff in your maw that lets you fit into a smaller size.
Did you make resolutions this year? How are they going?
Review and Giveaway: The Garfield Show
As a kid in school, we used to have the Scholastic book orders and there were two series I ordered every book from. The first was the Little House on the Prairie series. The second was the Garfield series. I really loved reading the little vignettes and they were a good escape for me. I think part of it was that I just loved cats, and Jim Davis had a knack for capturing the behaviour of cats in a way that explained it to very young readers.
I also loved the Garfield cartoon specials. I had them all (recorded on VHS, of course, from the TV), so when the opportunity came to share Garfield with the Poptart, I immediately said “yes”.
The other weekend (when I wasn’t feeling well), I popped The Garfield Show: Dinosaurs & Other Animal Adventures video in the DVD player. The menu screen shows a few scrolling scenes from the six episodes on the disc so she was able to pick one that interested her.
We started the episode and she was immediately entranced. Although the cartoons are no longer hand-drawn, and I don’t think Jim Davis has much to do with it, the antics of Garfield, Odie and their friends bring back a lot of fun memories. And the fact that I can share this with my daughter means a lot to me.
The best part is that she seems to love Garfield as much as I did. She’ll ask to see the video or part of it about once a day.
And for you, I have a copy of the video to give away. Just leave a comment by January 31 answering the question, “What’s the thing from your childhood you wish you could share with a small person in your life (or a big person, if you have no small people)?
Open to people with a Canadian or US mailing address. Winner will be picked at random with the “And the winner is” plugin.
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of the DVD for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
