Magic in the A.M.

Although it's uncomfortably cold at 5:30 am and I'm so layered in hoodies I look like an Eskimo, I love it when I walk my dog and notice the grass glistening with iced dew.  With the silent streets, the chill in the air and the grass sparkling as the street lights shine on them, it feels like magic.

--

*Allene Angelica*

       =^_^=

I Don't Know What People Are Talking About

People tell me that I don't look old enough to have a twenty-three year old daughter but I look in the mirror and all I see are the ravages of time. I feel old. Especially this week. It's been a very brutal week. Stress, stress and more stress. I believe it was Tuesday or Wednesday night that I woke up at 12:30 a.m. with major lower back and stomach pains. I couldn't lay down comfortably in any position, sitting up was also impossible. I took a couple of extra strength Tylenols and an hour later it dulled the pain enough for me to get back to sleep. And then for the rest of the week the pain in my lower back has persisted. Even now as I sit here typing I feel it. Maybe I need to start doing yoga again. I don't know...

*Allene Angelica*
=^_^=
Sent from my iPad

I Really Did Try

Back on October 1st I swore to myself that I would really try this holiday season to not indulge too extravagantly, to stay on the straight and narrow, workout regularly and stick to a tight budget.  Well it is now December 15th and I'd say I did indulge (several times, I must have gained 100 lbs I'm sure), stepped off the beaten path here and there, worked out sporadically and blew my budget out of the water, to my boyfriend's chagrin.  I'm glad the season is almost over but I can't say I didn't enjoy the lunches, dinners, shopping and parties because I did...immensely!  The one thing I've been consistent with is not smoking...hooray!  I'm really proud of myself for that.  I do still have some shopping left to do but not a whole lot, to my boyfriend's relief...hehehe....  The year is starting to wind down and I'm already thinking about my New Year's Resolutions.  This year I'm happy to say I accomplished one of my resolutions, which is a first.  It's time to set new goals for 2012.


--

*Allene Angelica*

      =^_^=

My Aphrodisiac

As I lean in to kiss him, I inhale his familiar scent. The scent of Irish Spring, Armani, cigarettes and whiskey on the skin of the man I love, for me, will always and forever be an aphrodisiac.

*Allene Angelica*
=^_^=
Sent from my iPad

I Don't Mean to Offend But...

So, I read an article today, probably on Yahoo somewhere, I can't really remember exactly where I saw it.  You know how cyberspace works...we flip through millions of information a day between that and actual work by the time you get home your brain is exhausted.  Anyways, back to the main topic, I read that scientists did a study on college students to find out how many times realistically do men and women think about sex.  They found that the men thought about sex over 300 times a day while the women thought about sex around 140 times a day.  Huge difference!  Well then that got my brain thinking back on an asian anime that I watched a year or so ago, I'm sure it was rated R.  Well, this particular anime was majorly gory, I couldn't watch the entire series but I do remember clearly this one episode where a woman was being guarded because she committed some sort of offense and because she was miserable she wasn't eating enough and had lost a lot of weight.  The two guards guarding her were talking about her weightloss and made a comment that she was so thin that when she bends over while bathing they can see her butth--e and that it was so unattractive.  I was like "Really?".  So of course you know what I had to do, don't you?  I went over to my wall mirror and bent over...hahaha...and was relieved to find that I had enough junk in my trunk...hahaha...  So back to men thinking about sex over 300 times a day...I wonder if one of those times during the day if that particular thought passes through their brain?  Well, as for me, if us women think about sex 140 times a day, I'd say that thought has crossed my mind today about 10 times already.  And when I see an especially thin woman my mind wonders.....hmmmm....

FYI...Red LED Light Treatment

Just to update regarding the red LED light treatments for my eczema.  I no longer have the eczema issue on my face.  It's been completely abolished and has not relapsed since my last posting about the subject.  I am still doing the red LED light treatments on my face a couples of time a month.  Usually during the week after I do a chemical peel.  So far so good.  Really happy with the results.

My Spa Weekend at Home Part 2

Ok, compared to today yesterday was a breeze. How many of you have heard of coconut oil? To use for the face, body and hair? Well if you have then I must have been living in another dimension for the last few decades because apparently coconut oil has been known and used worldwide for quite a few centuries. Why didn't I know that? I don't want to get into all the specifics, you can google it yourself, but it has been proven to be a healthier oil to cook with and use as part of a beauty regimen for the hair and skin. There has been some controversy regarding using it on the face. If you read the reviews some people have benefited from it's antimicrobial properties but some claim that it's comedogenic. I think it just depends on the person and how their body reacts to it. So, I spent most of this morning googling coconut oil and by the afternoon I was excited enough to go run to the nearest Whole Foods Market and purchased myself a jar. When I got home I was dubious as I looked at the white solid oil. It smells delicious but it looks a lot like that Crisco lard that people use to fry some fried chicken in albeit the coconut oil looks a lot prettier. So standing in front of the mirror I had to plan my strategy. I wanted to use the oil as a pre-shampoo treatment so I used a clean spoon and scooped out about a teaspoon full and warmed the oil between my hands by rubbing my palms together. It melts quickly. As soon as it was melted I saturated my hair with it concentrating on the ends and working my way up to my scalp and then massaging my scalp with the oil. When I was satisfied that I had slathered on enough to saturate each strand I rolled my hair up and secured it on top of my head and covered it with a plastic cap. While the oil was doing it's thing I prepared my face for the fourth installment of my chemical peel treatment. I did the treatment leaving it on for five minutes and then rinsed it off with cold water. I then got in the shower and did a sea salt and honey body scrub. I massaged my entire body with the scrub. It felt invigorating. I then took off the plastic cap, let my hair down and shampooed it. After rinsing the shampoo and all of the scrub off. I got out of the shower and towel dried my hair, while it was damp I scooped out maybe 1/3 of a teaspoon, melted it by rubbing my hands together and softly ran it through my hair concentrating on the ends and avoiding my scalp. I don't want my hair to look too greasy and then I scooped a little bit more of the oil, melted it and massaged it on my face. I know I'm taking a huge risk experimenting with an unknown product right before Thanksgiving but I'm just too curious to not give it a try. Hopefully I don't wake up Thanksgiving morning with a break out of acne or pimples. Knock on wood. So here I sit on my bed feeling soft, relaxed and smelling like dessert. My dog keeps sniffing me and looking like he wants to take a bite...

*Allene Angelica*
Sent from my iPad

My Spa Weekend at Home Part 1

Saturday:

During my teenage years I used to indulge in weekly hot oil treatments for my hair because I used to change the color of my hair on a monthly if not weekly basis. I was never into the out of the spectrum of natural hair colors like green, blue or pink but I did range the shades from jet black to red and every shade in between. No matter the abuse I managed to do to my hair it felt and looked healthy because I conditioned it well on a regular basis. As I got older I started falling short on the regular conditioning treatments and my hair just became another extra nuisance I tried to ignore. Eventually my hair started showing it's dislike of the neglect by becoming dry and frizzy. There was nothing I could put on it that would ease the dryness or eliminate the frizz. Until one day after getting my hair color touched up a couple of weeks ago by my hairdresser, I asked her about hair cellophane. She had no idea what I was talking about. I told her I used to go to another salon a many number of years ago that would cellophane my hair every few months and my hair would turn out smooth and shiny. She had never heard of it but she suggested doing a hot oil steam treatment for my hair. I thought why not might as well try it. She took some oil and a heavy cream conditioner and mixed it together in a bowl and slathered on my hair. Then she rolled my hair up on top of my head and put a plastic cap on and stuck me under a steamer. I was under the steamer for a good 30 minutes. After it was done she rinsed my hair out and dried it. My hair felt soft, supple and healthy. And no frizz. Amazing! She suggested I do the treatment once a month. I agreed because I loved the results but I knew a month would be too long so I started doing a similar treatment at home. Because I don't have a steamer I did the treatment in the shower. I mixed a plant based oil with a heavy cream conditioner, slathered it on all over my hair then secured my hair on top of my head and put a plastic cap on. I left it on my hair for about as long as it took me to soap and scrub the rest of my body, then removed the plastic cap and rinsed my hair thoroughly. Right now this very minute as my hair is air drying it feels wonderfully soft. I plan on doing this every weekend because I've decided it's time to stop neglecting my poor head of hair.

*Allene Angelica*
Sent from my iPad

Day 2 SharePoint 2010 Class

I'm home, just finished eating dinner. The class today was interesting and fun. Met some nice people, one is a Kaiser employee, 2 Federal Reserve employees and a Macy's.com employee. We were all in class together. The Macy's.com employee and I got along great since we were the only women in the class. She lives in S.F. so she knows all the great places to eat. For lunch she took me to The Galleria. Tons of restaurants to choose from. She was craving Japanese food so we went to a little Japanese restaurant. Once again I ordered a salmon dish. Delicious! For dessert she took me to Specialty's for some awesome cookies! These last couple of days was a great experience. I got to not only learn a valuable tool but I also got to experience a real city environment because realistically living and working in San Jose is suburbiaville compared to San Francisco.

*Allene Angelica*
Sent from my iPad

Day 1 -SharePoint 2010 Class in S.F.

The day is going fabulous so far. It's 1:06 pm and I'm half way through my class. Just finished doing five Lab exercises. I took a window seat on the third floor so I have a great view of New Montgomery St. People busily walking up and down the street going about their day. Outside my window across the street is a parking garage. The building is old and beautiful. I love that about S.F. All the great architecture.

6:03 pm. Been home for a half hour. It was great day and an interesting class. Very nice teacher. Very informative. If it was my choice I would take all my classes there in S.F. I don't think my company would go for that, though. It's nice to be in a classroom environment, you tend to concentrate more and are not interrupted by work related issues. Looking forward to day two of my class...hmmmm...where will I have lunch tomorrow?

*Allene Angelica*
Sent from my iPad

Happy Veterans Day!!!

Happy Veterans Day to my daddy and all the other veterans out there.  I thank you for fighting for our freedom and defending our country.  I'm sorry I couldn't be there at the parade to watch my dad walk proudly along with his fellow soldiers but my thoughts are with them.

Third Installment of My Chemical Peels

Just finished my third round of a series of five DIY at home chemical peels.  I'm getting better at applying the chemical peel, more confident.  My hand was steady and knew exactly where it wanted to go and what areas it wanted to concentrate on.  My previous two applications I was a little apprehensive and was much more timid with the acid.  My skin must be getting used to it because it didn't burn as much as the last time.  I left the acid on for a total of five minutes before washing it off.  We'll see how my skin does in the next couple of days.  I also want to mention that after the last chemical peel I thought the peeling had ended after about the third or fourth day but I noticed over a week after the peel that my skin was still peeling in random areas on my face.  I feel really good about doing the peels at home.  If I would have gone to a salon it would have cost me $100 per treatment so not only am I giving myself a beauty treatment my skin really needs but I'm saving money in the process also I am able to control the procedure so that if things go well I have only myself to thank but if things go sour I also have only myself to blame.  So far so good though.

--
*Allene Angelica*

I'm Getting Better

I'm improving! Tonight I ran longer than I have in the last week. Can I get a woop woop! I'm a happy camper. I can go to sleep tonight dreaming sweet dreams. I'll continue this distance for the next couple of days but I think starting Monday I'm going to add another 1/2 mile to my route. I don't think I'm pushing myself too hard do you? Thanks to my sis for her breathing tip I'm no longer feeling my throat burning when I run and I feel my stamina has improved quite a bit. I'm really proud of myself for getting off my lazy ass although I sure love being lazy...
*Allene Angelica*
Sent from my iPad

A Day of Pleasure and Pain

Yesterday I woke up bright and early and took my dog, Talon, for his .64 mile morning walk.  It was a surprisingly brisk walk.  Talon was more interested in jogging than sniffing.  I swear I saw a huge grin on his cute little face as he skipped through the grass.  After the refreshing walk I decided to treat myself to a brunch consisting of nutella crepes topped with whip cream and strawberries, eggs, bacon, sausages and hash browns.  Yum!!!  I was celebrating almost three weeks of not smoking.  It will be officially three weeks tomorrow, Tuesday.  I know the breakfast wasn't a very healthy choice but when celebrating a personal milestone one should not begrudge oneself a little pleasure.  To make up for the decadent meal I bought a weight scale, right after.  I haven't owned an accurate scale in years.  I had one that was passed down to me by an Aunt but I was very dubious as to it's accuracy.  The pain I felt when I saw my weight in bold digital numbers was mind numbing.  I decided to relax for a bit and read a book.  I read for a few hours and then took Talon out for his .64 mile evening walk.  After the walk I dropped him off at home and went for my jog/walk.  I was very proud of myself.  I jogged farther than I did the previous night.  My goal is to jog the full .64 mile and then up my goal from there.  So, that was my day of pleasure and pain.

Update - Chemical Peel Part Deux

Just wanted to give you an update on the chemical peel results.  As I expected I haven't noticed any dramatic changes.  I still have the two dark skin discolorations from the two large pimples I had months ago on my right cheek, although they have faded a little they are still noticeable.  It's hard to determine any minute changes since I see my face everyday all day long.  My skin did peel, not obviously but it did peel just the same.  The second day after doing the peel my face was covered with a layer of dead skin cells that I scrubbed off with a washcloth in the morning and again in the evening.  The same on the third day.  Today I didn't feel too much dead skin on my face when I woke up so maybe that's it for the peeling.  We'll see.

Pictures I Take I Like To Change Into Something That Looks Like Art

I like taking pictures and changing them into something that resembles art.  It makes the photo look more interesting.  It gives it texture, substance and a story, in my opinion anyways.  For example:  I've attached three pictures that I took of myself with my iPad in the same night, the originals and changed them to the final the transformation below each original.

I think the finished product looks so much more interesting than the originals.  The originals just looks like a person taking pictures of herself in her room but the changed photos say something else, each one has a story all of it's own.

Chemical Peel Part Deux

I just completed doing my second application of the chemical peel. The first one was three weeks ago. I followed the same procedure as the last time. I wasn't expecting the chemical to burn as intensely as it did tonight. Maybe because my skin isn't as thickly layered as it was three weeks ago. It was pretty bad back then. Exfoliation was definitely in need. I left the chemical peel on for four minutes this time before rinsing it off. My skin feels good but I probably won't see any results, any real improvement anyways, until the fifth procedure.

*Allene Angelica*
Sent from my iPad

Pic of Me in the Middle of Watching "Arahan"

I just got done watching the martial arts flick "Arahan". It's hilarious! If I would have known it was that good I would have watched it ages ago. It's about a young police officer new to the job, full of ideals and gets himself into a few scrapes until he meets the seven masters. A ton of great fight scenes with a lot of gravity defying gymnastics involved, hey what can I say, it's fun to watch, funny comedic lines and the facial expressions are to die for. It's an Asian film so it is subtitled but it doesn't take anything away from the movie. Loved it! I threw in the picture of me because I snapped it during one of my bathroom breaks while watching the movie.

Met Up w/ a Girlfriend For Drinks Last Night

So, last night I met up with a girlfriend for drinks. Her and I were sitting at the bar having a great conversation catching up on stuff that has happened in our lives in the couple of weeks since we saw each other last, when we were interrupted by a Canadian man (according to him, we didn't ask to see his passport). He proceeded to give us financial advice for the next hour or two, while the conversation itself was interesting and he was giving us very good logical information it wasn't really the evening my friend and I had expected to have. Can you imagine sitting at a bar on a Saturday night talking to a total stranger about financial matters, investments, the pros and cons of timeshares and real estate. My friend thought the whole thing was weird and ridiculous while I on the other hand thought it was just another of life's little surprises. Always the optimist, that's me.

One of Two Pics

Taken last night.

One of Two Pics

Taken last night.

So Far So Good

Glad to have everything back to normal again although I sure didn't mind being pampered, sleeping in, watching movies, and just being all around lazy, it's nice to be able to read a book or look at my iPad without feeling like vomiting on it.  Hahaha...the drugs helped but you can only do that for so long.  I was starting to not care what day or time it was.  I've quit smoking and I haven't had an urge to light one up in about a week and a half, thank goodness...whew...well if I do get the urge Vicodin is here to the rescue.  I've started jogging in the evenings, jog/walking more like.  After taking my pooch on his nightly walk I drop him off at home and I take a spin around my neighborhood.  Next week I'm going to attempt "The Stairs" with my buddy, who's an expert at it and it will inspire me to reach her level of fitness.  Fingers crossed.  I hope, I hope, I hope.  Of course, I'm going to take it slow at first, I don't want to keel over and die (I'm sure her skinny ass won't be able to lift me) but it's always good to have a goal.  It's FRIDAY, my favorite day of the week!  I look forward to going home, maybe getting some work done on my book and eating dinner with my honey buns.  I hope he brings me one of my favorite dishes...

Pics of me sitting at work, happy to almost be going home.

October 21, 2011

The Lowdown and Dirty

First of all, I want to apologize to my family for not letting them know I was hospitalized last week.  Sorry about that.  I really didn't want to worry you and seeing me look like a science experiment might cause some stress.  Well, it all began with a migraine, waking up to extreme pain and vomiting was not fun.  After waking up on the fourth morning to the same pain I decided to take myself to urgent care.  Once there, after checking my vitals they decided that my blood pressure was too high and that I needed to be hospitalized.  So an ambulance came and took me to the hospital.  The ambulance ride was actually quite pleasant.  The two male paremedics were very easy on the eyes (for those who don't know what that means, they were very cute) and I talked to one of them during the entire ride.  The driver was a soccer player in his youth and is studying to be a nurse.  While the other guy was keeping an eye on my vitals we talked about my kids and how two of them want to study nursing and so on...  Once at the hospital I was given all different kinds of tests.  Too many to remember while at the same time lowering my blood pressure slowly.  My hospital stay was a very positive experience.  I met three great doctors (or was it four?) and a ton of nursing staff that treated me like a princess.  They were all afraid that I would have a stroke or heart attack so they kept a close I on me and my blood pressure was checked every 15 minutes.  Overall they were great, I will have to remember to send a card or a gift of some kind to the staff to show my appreciation.  Now, they still haven't decided what caused my blood pressure to sky rocket.  Was it the migraine?  Or did the high blood pressure cause the migraine?  Personally, I think the migraine caused the high blood pressure because once my blood pressure was under control my migraine continued to bother me.  I still have more tests that need to be done.  One of my doctors noticed something in my kidneys and says I could have FMD.  I need to take a CT scan to find out for sure.  I will be doing that soon.  I have my fingers crossed that I can have it repaired and that I won't have to deal with high blood pressure anymore.  Now for the migraine...that's another story...

The Stairs

A friend of mine goes up and down (about 4 - 5 times) these stairs (over 200 steps) once a week.  She got the bright idea of inviting me to join her.  I accepted thinking to myself it can't be that hard.  We arrive at the bottom of the stairs and I thought "Oh how pretty."  (Looks are very deceiving.)  The cement stairs zig zags up to the right and then to the left, there is a nice terrace with concrete benches to rest your tired ass if you so desire, before heading up the last set of stairs.  I was optimistic on my way up...I made it up the first set of steps no problem...the second set...I started breathing heavier...and the last set I grabbed the handrail and was physically using my arms to pull me up the remaining ten steps, my breathing had become increasingly ragged.  I felt such relief and happiness when I finally reached the top step.  I leaned on the banister at the top, sweat pouring down my forehead.  I am so out of shape.  I looked down at the scene and thought how beautiful it all looked from here and mentioned to Minnette that I should have brought a camera and taken a picture and she says well let's go down and get your camera and come back up...I looked at her and said "Huh?".  Needless to say, we went back down, I didn't have my camera but I had my iPad and brought that with me back up the second time I climbed those stairs and below are the pictures I took.  After the second round I decided to rest and wait for Minnette while she she climbed those stairs about 3 more times.  I'll do it again with her next week and hopefully I'll have improved a little. :)  I think maybe I need to practice in between and do some step ups at home.

Chemical Peel

With the rain today I feel the summer is officially over and with that the sun over exposure. Although I did my best to always wear sunscreen and wear hats I wasn't always consistent. I took a good long look at my skin this weekend and noticed that my skin was looking pretty ragged. It was time to exfoliate. But with the economy the way it is I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars at a salon for chemical peels because truly that was what my skin needed. So, being me...I'm not afraid to experiment on myself. I bought a 15% chemical peel solution and a neutralizer. Due to my Asian skin coloring I decided to go with a Salicylic Acid Peel at 15%. I didn't want to over reach so I went with a lighter solution and the neutralizer is to neutralize the acid once the time is up. Now I've had chemical peels done before and I watched the esthetician closely while she performed the service. So I basically knew what to do. I started with washing my face with a non soap cleanser, then swiped on some alcohol free toner to make sure I got rid of all the residue. I let my face dry for a couple of minutes then swiped on the chemical peel solution quickly never going over the same area twice, avoiding my eyes and mouth. I set my timer for 2 minutes. I felt a tingling sensation. I didn't wait for the two minutes to be up. I applied the neutralizer after about 1 minute 30 seconds. Again I didn't want to over extend since it was my first time doing it by myself. After the neutralizer, I splashed my face with cold water repeatedly, after patting my face dry, applied moisturizer. I've read on several websites you need to do the chemical peel several times to see results so I'm mulling it over whether I want to do another application in three weeks to a month. Some sites tell you to do it once a week for 5 - 6 weeks but that sounds a little much so I'm thinking once every month for 5 - 6 months should be good. We'll see... I'll keep you updated on my results. I'm not saying for you to go out there and do what I just did. I'm not afraid to try things myself because I'm pretty hands on but I'm also very cautious. So please research and get advice before trying to do this yourself. This is acid we're talking about. Always use with caution.

Video of Boo Heading to the Finish Line

Poison

Poem I wrote back in March 1, 2005. I pulled this out of my archives because it reminded me of a friend's situation currently. She found out some things were said about her behind her back and she didn't know why.


There is poison in our midst!
Beware, beware the ugly creature
With invisible tentacles that oozes
Venom out of her soul!
Only God can save the cruel beast
For her life is full of misery.
Unfortunate for all around her.

Bank of America is Going to Charge Customers to Spend Their Own Money Via the Debit Card

When I read these articles I was disgusted.  I'm not a B of A customer.  I used to be many years ago but I became disgruntled when every month I would see new bank charges on my statement.  As I was young and barely making any money to support myself I decided to close my account and take my business elsewhere.  Ever since then I've watched as B of A over the years has done it's best to take as much money from it's customers as possible, through some miscellaneous charge or other, either by reading the headlines or listening to my friends complain about their dissatisfaction with the bank.  And now this new $5.00 charge to use your debit card, YOUR OWN MONEY!, you're not borrowing money you're just spending what you've worked hard for.  When you use your debit card it's a convenience to not have to write a check but really is that convenience worth $5.00 a pop?  So, if I decide I want to go buy a pack of gum at 7-Eleven, that two dollar pack of gum is going to cost me and extra $5.00?  And right after buying my gum, I stop at the gas station to fill up my car it'll cost me another $5.00?  So for those two transactions B of A has made $10 off of me just for the convenience of using that plastic card!  What a bunch of scam artists!  It's despicable!  I hope my bank doesn't jump on the band wagon because I'm already considering to close all of my bank accounts and find another means of socking away my money.  The decision makers of B of A apparently are not living in reality.  The country is still in turmoil financially with foreclosures not showing any signs of slowing down and the joblessness rates not improving.  Are they living in palatial mansions up in the mystical clouds in a land where everyone in the their world makes a billion a year and $5.00 a transaction is but a pittance we can all afford?



http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/bank-of-america-faces-outrage-over-debit-card-charge/2011/09/30/gIQAp8zGAL_story.html

http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/29/pf/bank_of_america_debit_fee/

Alternative Living for a Lighter Footprint

I am a very private person so not too many people know how I think or what I think about.  I keep my friends to a close trusted few but even they don't know what thoughts flit through my mind.  The last few years I've really been mulling over the idea of living outside the box.  My boyfriend probably wouldn't agree with me and he doesn't know I've been kicking around the idea of living a different way of life.  I need inspiration.  I want to look outside my window and feel inspired by the scene before me.  I want to live a life of freedom.  I don't want to be restricted by four walls.  I want to minimize my carbon footprint.  There are tons of ideas out there for alternative living/housing.  For example:

1.  Yurt Housing

http://www.squidoo.com/yurthomes

http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-06-02/entertainment/17297169_1_yurt-sonoma-county-structure

http://www.yurts.com/gallery/photo-gallery.aspx

2.  Earth Berm Homes

http://www.earthshelteredhome.com/building-styles.htm

http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/12/01/hand-build-an-earth-sheltered-house-for-5000/

http://www.lifeunplugged.net/greenbuilding/earth-berm-and-earth-sheltered-home.aspx

3.  Recycled Shipping Containers

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/daily_green_news/8/twelve-amazing-shipping-container-houses.html

http://www.shipping-container-housing.com/shipping-containers-housing.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/SmartHome/story?id=6201752&page=1

4.  Earthship

http://www.daycreek.com/dc/html/dc_earthship.htm

http://www.genrefluent.com/earthshi.htm

http://www.cedointercultural.org/earthshiptext.htm

These are just a few of the ways you can live greener with a lighter footprint on our environment and because your dwelling isn't the typical cookie cutter abode your creative juices just might flow indefinitely.  Well, that is my hope, anyways.  So, don't be surprised if you find me living outside the box in one of these alternative homes in the future.

http://kristinwood.suite101.com/alternative-housing-options-a208976

http://www.survival-spot.com/survival-blog/9-unique-alternative-housing-ideas/

http://simplyoptimal.net/dont-think-live-outside-the-box/

http://maryeaudet.hubpages.com/hub/How_to_Minimize_Your_Carbon_Footprint_and_Save_Money

Open Chasm

(A poem I wrote back on November 2, 2005)

With a heavy heart
I look upon the instrument
That shreds to pieces
The well placed armor
I have surrounded myself
The arrows that randomly
Fly out of the open chasm
Spears my soul
Leaving a gaping hole
That bleeds internally.

My Babies

Pictures of my pretty daughter, Angelique and my handsome sons, Shane and James.  Angelique's picture was taken by my sister, Angela and the picture of my three babies was taken by a smart phone, Summer of 2011.

4 Out of 6 Siblings in Santa Cruz, CA

A picture my sis took of four out of six siblings in Santa Cruz, CA with our families.  I wish our other two siblings, significant others and kids could have been with us but hard to do with busy schedules.  I love you guys!!!

Awkward Coffee Date

I'm sitting at my favorite coffee shop and a couple of tables away from me is a couple on their first date. It's a Vietnamese woman and a Latino man. It sounds so awkward but I can't help but hear them. He's filling her head with compliments while she's talking about herself, about how good and generous she is. Is that what we all sound like on a first date? Is that what I sounded like on my first date with my boyfriend? All I recall is that I did do most of the talking while he sat there and listened. I do remember that he didn't compliment me once on our date. Hmmm...maybe that's what caught me. Too many mushy compliments and I feel nauseous. Oh, they just got up and are walking to their cars, he's dressed casually in a white t-shirt, black cargo shorts and tennis shoes (appropriate wear for a coffee date) while she's dressed in a back exposing very skintight mini mini LBD (appropriate wear for clubbing on a Friday/Saturday night) and sky high black stiletto heels. I wore jeans, a cream blazer and high heels on my first date. If first impressions count what does that outfit say about her and what did my outfit say about me? Hmmmm.... I don't have too much experience with first dates...in my lifetime, which is a long time, I can probably count the amount of first dates I've had on my two hands, more than five but less than ten. Is that what men are looking for now? Women who just put it out there on the first coffee date? Dress to impress while he can show up casually comfortable? My mind says not. I think we all should dress for the occasion. Coffee dates, dress casually. Save the LBDs for a night of dinner and dancing, don't you think?

City Hunter (Korean Show)

Right now I'm totally into City Hunter.  It's a Korean show (subtitled).  I'm on the 9th episode I believe.  It's a cute show.  It has action, comedy and drama.  It's mainly about a baby boy who grows to be a man believing that his mother had abandoned him.  He is raised by a man completely bent on revenge.  I really like it.  Some of the drama I can do without and there are moments when things kind of don't make sense.  It does get a little too mushy sometimes but overall it's well done.  It has a 5 star rating on Netflix.  I would recommend it.

People Crack Me Up

It's funny but when you sit quietly and just watch the world revolve around you, you can observe the most amusing scenarious.  Like me for instance, at work from my desk I watch as my coworkers flit by me back and forth and the drama unfolds in front of me.  A couple of months ago there was a certain person who was talking crap about people she barely new and then an incident happened and she is now brown nosing to everyone she comes in contact with especially the ones she talked smack about and now those same people that she used to talk crap about are her buds stopping in front of her office and making small talk.  It cracks me up.  I wonder if they know what she really thinks of them?

A Weekend At The Beach September 2011

A short clip of our weekend at the beach with family.  Featuring Gracie, our aspiring model/actress; Ella, our quiet one;  Aurora, our little princess; Esmee, our honey badger and last but definitely not the least Ava, our mommy biting sand eating cute as a button new addition to the family.

Yay!!! I'm So Excited!!!

My sister in Alabama and my brother in Michigan are coming down for a visit.  I'm so excited!  It's been a long time since us siblings have been together in one place.  It's a sibling reunion!  Can't wait to give my nieces big fat slobbery kisses.  Just kidding, I wouldn't do that to you guys...  I promise just petite dainty kisses on the cheeks.  I've arranged to take Friday off work and we are going to do some touristy sight seeing stuff.  I'll help my brother with his girls.  He'll have his hands full I'm sure.  I can't wait!!!

Talon

My dog, Talon, is cracking me up right now. I know I'm terrible for teasing him but it's too cute for words. Every time I give him a treat he wants to save for later he tries to find a good hiding spot for it. I usually pretend that I'm not paying attention but today I've been keeping watch and each time he thinks he found a place he looks up and sees me watching so he picks it up and searches for another nook. He's tried three times now and he's caught me looking...hahaha...so now he's running around whining with the treat in his mouth trying to find a place where I can't see him. Awww...I'll give him a break and pretend to ignore him.

My Little Insurance Policy

A creepy thing happened to me yesterday.  A middle eastern middle aged man followed me home when I took my dog out for a walk.  I didn't even realize he was following because there were several people out for a walk that evening the same as any evening in my neighborhood.  He was on his cell phone speaking to someone in another language.  He had walked past me a couple of times back and forth and I assumed he was just one of those fidgety types but every time I would stop because my dog would want to sniff and mark he would stop as well.  I decided to end the walk and entered the locked gate of my complex shutting the gate door firmly behind me.  As I walked towards my apartment I noticed he had managed to enter and was continuing to follow me.  So, I stopped and turned not wanting him to know which apartment I lived in.  He approached me and asked for my phone number (are you friggin' kidding me!), I told him very politely "I'm sorry but I have a boyfriend." and I stood there until I knew for sure he had walked away.  I entered my apartment and bolted the door.  Later that night I told my boyfriend what had happened so he can keep an eye out when he comes home to my place after work.  I pulled out the gun my daddy gave me (of course he taught me how to use it), gave it a little pat and set it next to me on the bed where it will be every night from now on.  My little insurance policy.  You can bet I won't go down easy.  I'll take someone with me.

A Message To Me

The people have caught the hate frenzy!  The most important thing is to not care what people around you are doing and do what only you can control.  I can control myself.  I’m not going to worry about the ignorance of people and continue to educate myself, to stay upbeat because I have so much to look forward to and look the haters in their eyes and smile because at the end of the day feeling myself smile makes me happy.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (The Book)

I started reading Bram Stoker's Dracula a couple of days ago and I unexpectedly like it. I avoided reading the book because I had already seen the movie and thought it would bore me but I was pleasantly mistaken. I'm a little more than half way through the book. Pretty Mina has already died a second time and Van Helsing has already suspected that Jonathan was also a victim of the dreaded Count Dracula. I'm on pins and needles to find out how true to the book the movie was. I'll soon find out...

Dinner w/ Friends

I meant to write this a few days ago but I've been busy with my book that I kept getting sidetracked.  I had dinner a few nights ago with four friends of mine that I hadn't seen in a very long time.  We had so much fun catching up on what everyone was doing now.  They all looked great and happy.  One of the gals is hoping to retire in a year or two depending on how her stocks do, another just won a medal for completing her first 1/2 marathon, another is training for her first 1/2 marathon and last but not least the most animated of the group is very determined to stay single.  Hahaha... One of them, Carol, gave me some good advice regarding my book and I have definitely been thinking on it (I just don't know where to begin).  I know once my book is complete and I'm satisfied with it, I'm going to need a graphic artist to help me design the cover and I'm going to have to write a good descriptive summary.  It's going to be a lot of hard work.  The book itself is a joy to write because I love writing but it is my first time dabbling in this venture, of course, whether the book fails or succeeds it's not going to stop me from writing another and another and another.

Update - Family & Friends Should Butt Out (In My Opinion)

I heard that the husband came to his senses and apologized to his wife and posted on Facebook to stop the negative comments about his wife.  Well, I should say so!  People were calling her a prostitute without knowing the facts and making assumptions with their small little minds.  She is the daughter of a judge and is well educated.  I'll tell you what, I can bet that 90% of those commenter's barely finished high school.  She studied law before marrying that almost 40 snot nose whelp.  In my opinion, he married well while she drew the short straw.  Poor thing.  Love can be blind.  I'm hoping that the blinders will soon be lifted from her eyes before she has any miniatures of him running around.  I know I sound harsh but in order to be respected you have to show respect yourself.  I don't think his family even knows who paid for all of his trips abroad.  His wife's family, that's who.  He probably pretended he paid for all of his airfare.

Family & Friends Should Butt Out (In My Opinion)

I just heard a story today about a young newly married couple who are already having issues in their marriage.  He made three mistakes in one day.  First, he yelled at his wife in front of his family.  You should never do that.  Keep your issues private between husband and wife behind closed doors.  Second, he aired his marriage problems on Facebook allowing his family to get involved with their opinions, of course, they sided with him.  His wife saw the comments further alienating her to him and his family.  Third, when she walked out the door after he yelled at her, he didn't go after her.  He should have gone after her to at least talk to her, it was an opportunity for him to discuss their problems in private without his nosy family butting in with their two cents.  Apparently, he's not ready to cut the umbilical cord and stand on his own like a real man.

Sad Ending

Today I met an interesting man. A sad man. He and his beautiful English Golden Retriever sat at the table next to mine. He is in his 70's and lives in the white van he pulled up in. I felt sorry for him. His blue eyes looked sad and beaten. He is retired and disabled (a cancer survivor) he explained that most senior housing programs in the Bay Area don't accept dogs of the Retriever's size. He said he made a commitment to his dog nine years ago to take care of him and he was going to do that even if they have to live in a van for the rest of their lives. He does odd jobs here and there and lives on his social security. What a sad end to a long life.

Lunch and a Movie

I had a lunch and movie date with a very good friend of mine today. We had lunch at the Yard House in Santana Row. I ordered the Vodka shrimp pasta and she ordered the Gardein Thai Chicken Noodle Salad. Both dishes were delicious. She let me try her salad, I'm not a huge salad eater but I will definitely order that dish next time. After lunch we walked over to the theater in Santana Row and watched "The Help". In my opinion it was a very good movie. Very well done. I was blubbering throughout most of it. It's a definite must see. The acting was superb. I loved every minute of it.

The Boys Kayaking in Santa Barbara 2011

The Boys Kayaking in Santa Barbara.  Filmed with my iPad.

My Boys Kayaking in Santa Barbara

My Boys Goofin' Around

My Boys At The Wharf In Santa Barbara

Solvang, CA

The Boys In Solvang

Brothers

James at Pismo Beach

James looking for sand crabs.

Shane at Pismo Beach

Shane just back from swimming.

Another Shot of Our Spot

My Boys Chillin' In Our Spot

Cousins Hanging Out Poolside

My Fitness Pal + Fun Countdown

My daughter and I have been trying to lose weight for a while now. It's been an uphill battle for the both us. She fortunately inherited my curves but with those curves comes the struggle of trying to not have too much of it. The perfect balance is wonderful when you're there but when you start leaning towards the wrong side it can be a landslide effect. You get too comfortable and next thing you know you're looking at yourself in the mirror wondering what the hell happened. That is where the both of us are at today. So, she's been working out everyday trying to stay motivated. She and I talked about it and she convinced me to download the "My Fitness Pal" app which I did and I invited her to be my friend. The both of us are going to urge each other every day to work out and eat right. The app actually tells you how many calories you can consume each day to reach your weight goal. It calculates your daily intake of calories and calorie burning (work outs, activities, etc...). We also downloaded a countdown app to encourage us further by setting a date of when we want to reach our goal. I'm hoping this will really work for us. I'll keep you posted of course.

Picture I Took With The iPad

This is a picture I took with the iPad and edited with PhotoForge2. Pretty cool huh? The same thing with my profile pic.

Uploaded Profile Picture in Blogger

I had to upload my profile picture the old school way, thru my laptop.  I'm going on vacay next week and I'm hoping the email/blog function works well because I'm not bringing my laptop just my iPad.  I tested it out last night and it seems to transfer to my blog very quickly, no sooner did I hit send and it was there in my posts list.  Nice!  I'll be able to attach pictures thru email and have them instantly on my blog page which will save me the hassle of trying to upload the typical way.  If all goes well...

Blogger + Picasa/Photobucket + iPad

I am so irritated!!! I can't seem to change my profile picture on Blogger thru Picasa using my iPad!!! I read a forum that said if you use Photobucket it's a breeze. Well, if it's a breeze where's my friggin picture!!! There has got to be an easier way! Just needed to vent.

Weekend Office

I'm sitting in my weekend office relaxed with an iced mocha in front of me while I work. I prefer working like this. I can spend hours and get a lot of productive work done. I'm able to work quietly and the other patrons respect each other's privacy. I don't have to worry about office politics and whether or not a coworker is going to stab me in the back. I'm in comfortable clothing and on my feet, thong sandals. This is definitely the way to go.

My Manuscript

Can you believe I have a manuscript?  Of course it's not complete yet.  Can it be called a manuscript if it's not complete.  Hmmm...I'm going to have to google that.  I'm still working on it.  I'm about 12,827 words in.  I've sent the first three chapters to one of my brother dears for proofreading and of course, his opinion since he has a Bachelors in English and is published himself.  I've also sent the first three chapters to my daughter dearest for a young person's perspective.  They are both under oath to not reveal my story at any cost.  I'm waiting on pins and needles for their input.  I'm working on the 5th chapter as we speak.  It's of course a fiction story.  My goal is to complete the book by the end of the year and hopefully have it published by next year.  Fingers crossed.  I hope, I hope, I hope.

A Couple of Female Scammers in San Jose, CA

Hey everybody in the Bay Area. There are a couple of female scammers hanging out at gas stations trying to scam unsuspecting customers. After work today I stopped at a gas station over by Saratoga and Moorpark and while I was standing there waiting for the car to fill up a thin young woman with a foreign accent approached me saying that she saw my aura from a distance and wanted to give me a reading because it was so strong. I asked her how much and she said she's from Hollywood, she's here on vacation and is waiting for a cab and that she would give me 1/2 off because she just had to read me. Again I said how much and she said $20. Bitch tried to scam me for twenty bucks. That might have worked back when I was twenty-five but now oh hell no! She walked back to join her friend none the richer.

Pages = Story

Ok, so ever since I got the keyboard I've been typing away like crazy. I bought the Pages app. How much was it? I think it ran around $10. Pages is o.k. it'll do for what I need it to do. It's pretty basic. Anyways ever since I've been typing away like crazy, I've started writing a story. Yes, a bonified story. I'm about 3,800 words in. I'm working on the second chapter. I'm hoping the story is interesting and I can't wait to see where it will lead me. It basically writes itself. Once my fingers hit the keyboard, it's almost like something just takes over and the story takes shape all on it's own. I all of a sudden have characters and they are slowly taking shape in my head and coming to life through my fingers. They are having conversations and feeling emotions. It's wonderful really.

Oh My Jaws

I must have been under a lot of stress at work today because my jaws are killing me. They feel like I was chomping on iron bars all day. Stress. I didn't realize it but I was probably holding them rigid most of the day because now they feel sore. I just took my last Extra Strength Tylenol 500mg. Reminder: Need to buy more Tylenol. It didn't help that my allergies attacked me today too. It started this morning because I was cleaning yesterday and kicked up dust. Now the skin around my nose hurts as well as my jaw. Ughhhhh...

Apple Wireless Keyboard

My brother gave me my wireless keyboard last night. It's small, sleek and AWESOME! It matches my iPad perfectly. It was very easy to set up. With help from my sis-in-law and a few clicks of buttons I was ready to go. (My dad in the background stressing me out telling me I broke it when I tried to open it up to see if there were batteries in it.) This is more like it. I can type up a storm with this. Typing using the touch screen was fine but I was missing a lot of features an actual keyboard has. Like the arrow buttons. Something as simple as the arrow up and down buttons makes a huge difference. I'm so much less frustrated now when I type. Thanks brother dear!

Poker Face

Ok. So, I'm trying to gather my thoughts. Someone the other day, who shall remain nameless, asked me how many letters there were in my language. If you haven't guessed already I'm Filipino from the Philippine Islands. I was born there and then came to the United States when I was just a wee little thing but I was there long enough to learn two dialects fluently but of course now can no longer speak them, unfortunately. I told him our alphabet is very similar to the English alphabet. As a child in the PI I remember learning my ABCs. (I just learned recently that the modern Philippine alphabet contains 28 letters which includes the basic 26 letters of the basic modern Latin alphabet, the Spanish ñ and the filipino ng) Drum roll please...so he continues to ask why does our language sound like we are saying "ping pong" all the time. I tried so hard to not burst out laughing. I was proud of myself I kept a poker face during the entire conversation. In answer to his question I gave him a quick rundown of our history. As far as I can tell listening to my family speak and other Filipinos speak I've never gotten the impression that our language sounded like "ping pong". Unless of course you count the times when my father would challenge me to a game of ping pong when I was a child. Another ignorant fool in our midst.

Coffee Date

I had coffee with a couple of my best buds tonight. It was good to see them. I really have to make a point of seeing them more often. It's hard when we all have such busy schedules. Good friends are few and far between.

Yesterday (Saturday)

Yesterday was a beautiful day. I spent the entire day at my brother's and sister-in-law's place. We were having a BBQ to wish our parents Bon voyage. My parents are retired so they spend part of their time here in the U.S. and the other in the Philippines. The weather was gorgeous and the pool was glistening. I met for the first time my parents senior citizen friends. Now that my parents have so much free time they hang out at the mall with their buddies, watch movies at the theater, go ballroom dancing and wait you won't believe this, they go clubbing. Yes, they go clubbing. My parents are more hip than I am. It's too cute. I told them "Hey what is this? Role reversal or something? When I was a teenager I would take every chance I could get to go and hang out at the mall with my friends. Now you guys are doing it while I'm slaving away at work." Funny how things work out that way. We all did shots of Don Julio, my dad's favorite drink. I think I did about about 3-4 shots with my dad. I can't remember. I was definitely feeling good. My nieces and nephew were having a blast swimming and hanging out in the hot tub. They were in heaven. I sold an iPad. One of my sister-in-laws parents were hanging out with me by the pool and they watched me playing with my iPad. I showed them all the nifty things they could do with it and after they left the BBQ they went straight to the store to buy one. Awesome! And I think my brother's friend's boyfriend is also a contender. He was definitely considering it by the time they left. One of my brother's gave me my magnetic cover for my iPad last week and he told me yesterday that it's my early birthday present. I was like "Hey, not fair." but considering the cost of the cover I'll accept it. So, hey brother dear, if you read this, you don't need to get me a birthday gift this year. So, you better read this or you're still on the hook. Hahaha... And my other brother is going to get me a wireless keyboard (right?) and if he does he's off the hook for a birthday gift too.  I feel like we have gotten so much closer as a family these last few years.  My daughter was there, as well.  I think all in all she had a good time.  We ended the day with a bonfire in their fire pit and sat around roasting marshmallows and just chillin'.  I love all of you guys that includes my whole familia! And that's not drunk talk!

What the...?

There is this young person I know, whom I feel really sorry for.  She must have really deep psychological issues of insecurity.  She confronted me today because of something someone else said to her.  Accusing me of talking about her behind her back and that we are all colluding to get her.  Please, like she is so important in my life that I would waste one second of my time to talk about her in the negative sense.  Whenever someone brought her up I would always respond in the positive.  It totally threw me for a loop.  I was like "What the...?"  What ever issues she has, it's with the person that she seems to have a problem with and NOT with me.  Well, she lost a supporter today because if she can turn so quickly to think that I would betray her then obviously she's not worth knowing.  I always thought highly of her and listened when she needed someone to talk to.  I thought of her like a daughter or younger sister because we've all been there.  We've all had to nagivigate the rough waters of reality.  Well, I'm no longer on her side that's all I have to say about that.  And now it's time for me to go.  I've got a party to get to.

Legend of The Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen

Ok, so this morning when I woke up I turned on the TV to add some background noise while I got ready for work. I was on Netflix scrolling thru the movies trying to find one interesting enough to wake me up when low and behold I found one of Donnie Yen's movies. "Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen". Can I just say AWESOME! If you like movies that are just plain entertaining and kick ass this is one you should definitely watch. The martial arts scenes are well, let's just say Donnie Yen does not disappoint. I watched half of the movie this morning and finished it off at lunch. Wow!

Of course you know that Bruce Lee played this character (Chen Zhen) first right? In Fist of Fury.

NARUTO!!!

Naruto!  Where are you?  You came into my life, stayed for two seasons and then disappeared as if you'd never been.  Netflix, bring me my Naruto back.  I miss him so!!!  Sigh...  I'll wait patiently until you come back to me.

Atomic Web

If you're new to the iPad experience like me and are trying to navigate thru all the different app choices out there I would recommend one of the apps you purchase is the Atomic Web. It's $0.99 of greatness. It's a web browser very similar to your desktop or laptop web browser. Lot's of features...like TABS! I was really missing that when I started surfing on my iPad.

25th Annual San Francisco AIDS Walk

I'm at the Aids Walk in San Francisco. It's a little overcast but a wonderful turnout in general. Tons of people with lots of positive energy. Families with little ones, coworkers and friends all gathering today for the 25th Annual AIDS Walk. My dog Talon is having a marvelous time barking endlessly at people, getting fed hotdogs and being petted by everyone around. Sadly it's the last time our company is going to actively participate in the charity. Every year the employee participation is dwindling so it's no longer cost effective for us to be here. I'm very sad about it because it's a wonderful event and we have a great time being here. Great music, good food and interesting people. Don't get me wrong we are still donating to the charity but we will no longer be physically here. C'est la vie as they say but if 100 people sign up and only half actually show the cost of food, time and effort goes to waste. As I said before, I'm disappointed but what can I do.

Look at my little buddy.  Isn't he adorable!  I just love him!

iPad2

My mom and dad bought me and my siblings iPad2's. Awesome!!! 64 GB, Wi-Fi & 3G of pure fun.  Can I get a Woop Woop! With the help of my siblings I got mine finally set up because I'm technologically challenged. Actually the truth of the matter is my apple laptop is just plain old and I couldn't download the most current version of iTunes. That's my reason and I'm sticking to it. Yups, uh huh. Well, now I'm just having a good ole time playing with it. How do you think I'm writing this blog...on my iPad of course. I tried out that FaceTime. Boy, I definitely need to wear make up while I'm on that thing because I looked downright awful. No one needs to see me look like that. I guess I don't need my laptop anymore. Thank goodness. It was running on it's last leg.

Finally - My Eczema Treatment

I’m sure all of the eczema sufferers out there have heard of phototherapy or light therapy from your doctor, research online, word of mouth, etc…  The doctor’s typically recommend UV phototherapy for extreme eczema conditions.  (I am UV phobic.  I equate the darkening of my skin to premature aging, age spots, wrinkles, skin cancer, etc…) Light therapy has been used to treat a number of skin conditions like psoriasis, eczema, jaundice, acne as well as sleep disorders and some psychiatric disorders.  I wanted to find a natural, pain-free treatment that didn’t consist of taking pills or using some sort of steroid cream/ointment on my skin.  During my research I discovered light therapy but I’m talking about a specific wavelength of light.  The wavelength of light that I preferred and that I ended up doing a lot of research on was the Red LED light (660 nm).  There are several wavelengths of visible light (400 – 700 nm; colors ranging from violet to red) but the 660 nm (red light) seems to be the most promising due to its safety, healing and light penetrating benefits.  This particular wavelength of light contains no UV rays so it will not damage your skin.  It kills bacteria on the skin and penetrates it enough to heal damaged skin cells; it does nothing to the healthy cells.  After all the articles I’ve read about this particular wavelength I believed it would help me with my skin condition.

There are a lot of overpriced products out there that sell this particular wavelength or at least close to this wavelength for beauty enhancement or as an anti-aging product which I feel minimizes the credibility of this treatment.  After watching an infomercial of one of these overpriced units it puts doubts in your head as to whether or not this product is legitimate.  I do believe that because the Red LED light does heal damaged cells there is truth beneath the hype.

NASA initially discovered the benefits of the Red LED lights while doing research on plants and from there went on to discover that it helped patients suffering from cancer.  I’ve attached links from the NASA website for your perusal.

Nasa News Release 2003

Nasa Spinoff 2005

I did not want to spend hundreds of dollars on a product that may or may not work.  So, I found an alternative.  I made my own.  I bought a Red LED light bulb from Amazon.com (approx. $40).  They sell the 660 nm wavelength I was looking for; make sure to purchase the bulb that includes free eye goggles (you want to use the goggles every time you do a treatment).  (I would not recommend buying any light bulb with an infrared wavelength.  God only knows what that would do to your skin.)  What’s great about an LED light bulb is that it does not generate heat so there is no need for concern with burning your skin but you do not want to look at it directly because it may damage your eyes.  I then bought an adjustable gooseneck lamp with a clamp base at Target ($12).  The bulb screws right into the lamp perfectly.  You might also want to buy an egg timer if you don’t have one already.  It’s good to use the timer to time your treatment in case you fall asleep because I’ve done that on several occasions.  Like I said before, it’s very therapeutic.  (The instructions I’m about to give are instructions for using the treatment on my face because that is where I have eczema but you could use it for anywhere on your body as well.)

Before doing the therapy prep your skin:

1.  I typically wash my face with a non-soap facial cleanser using a soft wet washcloth in circular motions to remove any dead skin cells so that there are no barriers between the light and my skin.  That way the light can penetrate as deeply as it possibly can.

2.  While my face is damp I rub oil evenly all over my face.  I prefer either 100% Argan oil or coconut oil but some people like olive oil, vitamin E oil, etc…  Use whatever makes you comfortable if not oil use a preferred moisturizer.  I have tried the treatment without any oil on my skin; straight after washing and it was so uncomfortable that I had to stop mid-treatment to put oil on. I wait a few minutes for my skin to absorb the oil before continuing.

3.  Wrap a scarf or towel around your neck to protect your thyroids.  The light might cause issues with the thyroids although they have said that it doesn’t penetrate the skin deep enough to reach the thyroids but it’s better to be cautious.

Now there are several ways you can do the treatment once you are ready:

A.  One way to do it is to clamp the lamp on to your bed’s headboard, lay down underneath it pointing the lamp towards your face a few inches away.  Another way is to clamp it to a table and point the lamp towards your face a few inches away for a total of 15 minutes.  If the light doesn’t encompass your whole face you might have to do one side of your face at a time.  I prefer clamping it to my headboard and lying down with the light shining on my face.  It’s the most comfortable position.  (Don’t forget the goggles.)

B.  Make sure you set the egg timer just in case.  I’ve never gone beyond the 15 minutes.  Leave it on too long and you might cancel any benefits that you may have achieved.  You might also want to try to use it for 5 minutes the first few treatments if 15 minutes is too uncomfortable for the beginners.

Another way I like to use it is by laying the mouth of the lamp directly on my face and moving it to different areas every 5 minutes making sure I don’t use it in one area for too long.

You can use it every day or every other day or once a week, whatever works for you.  I used it every day for about a week and a half but after the eczema had receded from most of my face I started using it every couple of days.  I’m pretty much eczema free now.  Knock on wood.  Hopefully I can keep it at bay and will not relapse.  My skin feels soft, smooth and looks absolutely fabulous, in my opinion.

You can customize your treatment to your own preference just remember the importance of protecting your eyes and thyroids.  Below I’ve added a few more links to just some of the information I’ve read.  There are tons of websites for the Red LED Light but you have to separate the adds/gimmicks from the real information.  I really hope this helps you as much as it did me.  As far as I can tell there are no negative side effects to using the Red LED Light as long as you use it correctly.

Wikipedia - Light Therapy

Ehow - Blue & Red Light Therapy

Heelspurs - LED Light Therapy

MI-5

I've been watching MI-5, a British show based on the British Secret Service in the U.K.  I'm on episode 51.  I can't stop watching it, one episode after the other.  There are 80 episodes total on Netflix.  It is heartstoppingly good.  A lot of suspense, action, espionage, deals and double deals.  Not to mention the hot spies or spooks as they are sometimes called.  The show is very intelligently done with the right amount of high tech gadgets, sex appeal and interesting plots that make it so very believable that I wouldn't be surprised if the events were based on real life facts.  The acting is superb as well as the characters.  They give you enough insight into the characters personality and personal lives to give you a sense of knowing them and caring about what happens to them.  I highly recommend this show to all of you Netflix streamers out there if you haven't seen it already.

Have a Great 4th of July Everyone!

Thirteenth Day of Treatment

Just finished a treatment session and almost all the eczema has receded.  The only stubborn patch left is on my right temple but I'm confident that it will recede eventually.  I'm so excited that I found something that works well and is continuing to work well.  I will tell you soon what treatment that is.  I need to write up a set of instructions on how to use it and the most economical way of obtaining it because it can be quite costly but I found an easy alternative.  Believe me, I spent many a long night gathering research.  Research that I will provide for your perusal so you can decide for yourself whether or not to use it.  It worked for me and I hope it will work for the other eczema sufferers out there.  Although I've never suffered eczema to this extent before, this was my first and hopefully last major outbreak, I've always suspected that I carried the gene.  Two of my children have suffered from it, not to the extreme that I just experienced but they had over the years had small outbreaks on their bodies.  Lotions, creams and hydrocortisones were enough to control it for them but I'm glad that I found something else, another option for them to use in the future.

What's All The Screaming About?

Tonight there was a little bit of excitement in my neighborhood.  It was 10:30 in the evening and I was laying in bed getting ready to go to sleep watching a little T.V. (MI-5, a British show from around 2002) when I heard a low guttural scream.  At first I ignored it, occasionally the young twentysomethings in my complex can be heard laughing and screeching while consuming alcohol.  Annoying really, I tolerate it because I remember when I was that age.  I wasn't very different.  But the low guttural scream was getting louder and louder as the seconds ticked by.  My dog, Talon, agitated started barking.  Then I heard my neighbors talking.  I decided to check to see what all the commotion was about.  I stepped outside (it was like a scene from an asian horror flick) there before my eyes was an asian woman, petite, short black hair dressed in a long flowery skirt and a dark cardigan walking haphazardly down the street waving her arms above her head and screaming.  She seemed intoxicated.  I didn't know what was wrong with her.  Questions were flying around in my head.  Was she attacked?  Was she running away from an abusive husband?  Was she mentally ill?  She was alone.  No one was running after her.  I turned to my nearest neighbor and discussed with her whether we should call the police.  We still hadn't made up our minds when she stopped screaming and walked further down the street.  We thought it was over.  Maybe she was having an episode of some sort?  While my neighbor and I were talking the woman surprised us by quietly walking past us going back the way she came.  She was walking firm and steady.  Maybe she wasn't drunk afterall.  My neighbor called out to her to ask if she was OK but she continued walking past barely glancing in our direction.  We looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders and turned to walk back in our apartments.  Once inside I exhaled a sigh of relief, glad it was over, thinking about the strangeness of people.  A few seconds later I heard another scream.  I grabbed my sweater stepped back outside and there was the woman standing outside our gate (my complex is a gated complex), just standing there screaming.  Then she turned suddenly and continued walking down the street in the same direction.  One of our other neighbors armed with a flashlight walked outside the gate and followed her.  He didn't have to follow her long, she turned back in our direction and walked towards him.  He was able to calmly talk to her and in broken English she kept muttering about her daughter coming home late.  While that neighbor was talking to the woman my other neighbor called 911 and requested to have an officer come here to deal with the situation.  Maybe her daughter has a boyfriend living in our complex and she was trying to get their attention?  Why would she be screaming outside our gates?  So dramatic don't you think?  She must suffer from a mental illness.  We waited outside until the police arrived.  Hopefully they can figure out what the heck is going on.  What a strange night.  It seems that as the economy has gone to the dogs so has my neighborhood.  So much for a good night's sleep.  I'll be up for a couple of more hours I'm sure.

Ip Man & Ip Man 2

Just finished my Ip Man movie marathon.  I've seen Ip Man already a few times but I just found that Ip Man 2 was available on Netflix streaming so I watched them both one after the other.  Ip Man I knew was already awesome and Ip Man 2 was just as good as the first.  Love it!  The first one had more humor and revealed more human emotion.  The second one concentrated more on the action but I still loved it nonetheless.  I can't wait until "Ip Man: The Legend is Born" is available on Netflix.  It's the prequel.  I don't think it has Donnie Yen (my new favorite martial arts actor) in it though.  Too bad.  He's friggin' awesome!  If you watch these two movies you'll think so too.

Eighth Day of Treatment

I just finished another round of treatment.  I am so happy and excited I can't contain myself.  I am bursting with energy.  I feel like doing cartwheels but in my little studio apartment I would probably hurt myself.  I know I shouldn't get my hopes up but this is the first weekend in two months that I haven't been suffering from eczema.  I am really confident that the treatment I'm using is working.  Last weekend, I caught a bug and developed a fever.  The fever inflamed my eczema and my face felt on fire.  I thought to myself, "Well,  back to square one."  Stubbornly I started the treatments anyways.  I officially started the treatments last Saturday regardless of the fever.  So, today is the eighth day and there is a marked improvement in my skin.  I would have taken before and after pictures but I'm quite vain so no I refuse.  The texture of my skin today is fairly smooth.  Most of the rough patches are gone especially on my cheeks which makes me extremely happy because they are the most noticeable areas on my face.  I still have some rough patches along my jawline, the temple area next to my eyes and on my nose.  My forehead and my cheeks have pretty much cleared up.  The best way that I've found to have worked well for me is before the treatment I wash my face with lukewarm to cold water using a gentle non-soap facial cleanser and a washcloth.  I take the washcloth with the cleanser on it and rub it softly on my skin in circular motions.  It removes the loose dead skin cells.  After rinsing my face with water I rub some oil on it while it is still damp.  I make sure to rub oil in every nook and cranny of my face.  I wait a few minutes for the oil to absorb and then start treatment.  I know I haven't mentioned what the treatment is but I want to make sure that it really is working before I make it public knowledge.  I don't want to be irresponsible.  Because of the eczema's tendency to reoccur just by a touch of anything the skin doesn't like I only use the washcloth to clean my face before treatments.  When I wash my face in the shower or before going to bed I just use my fingertips.  We don't want any reason for inflammation.  We basically have to walk on eggshells in regards to eczema because she's a diva.