November 8, 2008

I’ve had high-maintenance skin for my entire life; in fact I don’t think I’ve gone to bed without washing my face since I was 12 years old. So it isn’t surprising that I can’t get by with just one trusty facial cleanser. I love to try new skincare products, like those from the Victorian Cosmetic Institute, but there are certain products that are my favorites. I actually have a team of 5 cleansers that I rotate as needed, depending on what my skin is demanding that day.

• My favorite cleanser right now is Serious Skin Care’s C-Clean. My biggest skin care concern is keeping my skin clean all the way to the bone in order to avoid breakouts, and C-Clean does that but not in a harsh way. It’s made for over-40 skin, and leaves my skin feeling really clean but not ravaged. It has Vitamin C as the name would indicate, but also includes aloe vera, comfrey, chamomile and calendula.
  

  Serious Skin Care C Clean

• Serious Skin Care also makes a Glycolic Cleanser that used to be my #1 “go-to” cleanser, but it can be a touch too strong on some days for me now since I use a retinol product every night. I still use it, but only when my skin feels tough enough to take the super-duper cleansing that it offers. Let me give you one great tip about Serious Skin Care. They are awesome about putting together try-me kits of their products, and this is the best (most affordable) way to get started with their line. You can order their products directly from seriouskincare.com, but in my experience the best sampler kits are found through HSN.
  

  Serious Skin Care Glycolic Cleanser

• I also love the Warming Deep Pore Cleanser that Biore used to make. You know Biore; they’re the folks who make the Deep Cleansing Pore Strips that clear all the clogs out of your pores. Well, you may not know that they also make cleansers. They’ve revamped the cleanser that I’m using, and it’s now called Warming Anti-Blackhead Cream Cleanser. It’s not a very pretty name, if you ask me, but I’ll definitely give it a try once my bottle of the previous formula is gone. The warmth of the cleanser seems to help the product more effectively sweep away makeup and everything else that clings onto your skin during the day. This product is inexpensive, and widely available at drugstores and discount stores.
  

  Biore Warming Anti-Blackhead Cream Cleanser

• DHC is a skin care company that is based in Japan, and they have some great products and a very devoted following. My favorite of their cleansers is the Deep Cleansing Oil which is their #1 selling product worldwide. The main ingredient is olive oil, with Vitamin E and rosemary oil too. Since I have oily sensitive skin, I NEVER would have considered using an oil cleanser on it, but that just shows how our closed minds can keep us from experiencing things that are good! Like the Glycolic Cleanser, I can’t use this every day because of my retinol product usage, but when I need a good deep cleansing and my skin isn’t already irritated for some reason, this is an excellent product.

  I love the application process. You take a pump of the oil into your palm, and then massage the oil into your dry skin with your fingers. They say it can be used to remove eye-makeup, but I haven’t tried that. Once the oil is thoroughly massaged in, only then do you add water and rinse it off. To make sure all traces of the oil are removed, I then use DHC Pure Soap and rinse thoroughly again. I can honestly say this tag-team duo makes my skin feel cleaner deep down than anything else I’ve ever used.

  

  DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

• Last of all, with all this deep cleansing, there are days when my skin needs a more delicate touch, and on those days I use CeraVe. My dermatologist recommended it to me last year when I had some laser treatments done (I need to post on THAT experience!). It’s a hydrating gentle cleanser, but it’s also non-comedogenic so it doesn’t cause any breakout issues. It’s too mild to be my daily cleanser, but on some days it’s the perfect choice. It’s a bonus that I can buy it just down the street at CVS.
  

  CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser

That’s my facial cleanser team, and I haven’t even gotten to scrubs and masks yet! I love that they are all affordable, and all very effective at what they do. Hey LilSis, you got lower-maintenance skin than I did, and I’m betting your cleansing routine is not as high-maintenance as mine. Is that an accurate assumption? Hmmm?

~BigSis

November 7, 2008

Call me a dork if you want to, or Susie Homemaker, or a Martha Stewart wanna-be, but I LOVE finding a new household product that works wonders!  It makes me happy happy happy.  So in this edition of Friday Favorites, I unabashedly present my favorite household items!  But be careful, if you try them, you just might find yourself in my dorky shoes!

Clorox GreenWorks All Purpose Cleaner

• Clorox GreenWorks All Purpose Cleaner.  It has a fabulous fresh scent thanks to the lemon essential oil, and on top of that, it works!  Before I thought of trying it, I read about the bathroom cleaner in the GreenWorks product line in the August/September issue of ShopSmart Magazine (you already knew I had a bad case of magazine mania, and I love this one!).  ShopSmart said that Clorox GreenWorks Bathroom Cleaner worked as well as others, but didn’t cost more.  I figured the All Purpose Cleaner was a safe bet, and I wasn’t disappointed.  It even does a great job of cleaning my granite countertops, and leaves a nice shine on them.

Caldrea Citrus Mint Ylang Ylang Dish Soap Liquid

• Caldrea Citrus Mint Ylang Ylang Dish Soap Liquid.  The scent of this is heavenly, and makes doing dishes MUCH more pleasant!  I also love the countertop cleaner (great on the granite), the window spray, the home fragrance spray, and the powdered scrub in this scent.  Imagine essential oils of orange, lemon, bergamot, mint and ylang ylang, all blended together!

Simple Human Stainless Steel Trash Can

• Simple Human Stainless Steel Trash Can.  I don’t like for my trash can to be in the pantry with food in case it gets stinky; just one of my many little quirks.  So that means my trash can has to be out in the open, and that means it has to be pretty!  I think this can is very beautiful, plus it doesn’t absorb any odors, and it holds a good amount of stuff.  It’s spendy, but you’re not going to need to replace it for a long, long time!  Maybe never!

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

• Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.  Several years ago, I had some nasty tile grout at my old condo, and was racking my brain to try to figure out how to clean it.  I knew that LilSis had someone clean the grout at her house in Texas, and it cost a fortune (pre-Magic Erasers), plus they had to use some kind of caustic product.  I was hoping to avoid that kind of expense and chemical experience.  The Mr. Clean Magic Erasers had just come out, and for some reason, I tried them on a bit of grout, and viola!  It worked like a dream!  Better than a dream!  I emailed everyone I knew to tell them of this miraculous discovery.  Now, in this condo years later, I’m still using this product to clean tile grout, and it’s still the best product on the market for the job, and lots of others.

~BigSis

November 6, 2008

• CookieMadness whipped up these brownies from the new cookbook called Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, which I just ordered and can’t wait to get!  Can you ever have too many great brownie recipes?  I say, heck no!
• I’ve had a lot of biscotti, but NEVER with banana so I’m really tempted to try Picky Palate’s White Chocolate Dipped Cinnamon and Banana Bread Biscotti.  These would make beautiful Christmas gifts!
• Joe from Culinary in the County reminded me of a delicious recipe I used to make frequently called Cowboy Cookies.  They’re hearty and full of goodies!
• I’m SO dying to make this Guatemalan Hot Chocolate Bread, thanks to Culinary Concoctions by Peabody!  Chocolate and bread together?  Count me in!
• Bakerella just proved that there IS a new cookie under the fall sun!  It’s Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Maple Brown Butter Frosting.  They look tender and full of flavor!
• It’s a Vegan Sushi Party over at the Post Punk Kitchen. The Elephant Roll is calling my name!

~BigSis

November 3, 2008

It’s been a month now since the Nasty Virus hopped on me, and 3 weeks since I got out of the hospital.  You’d think I’d be back to my usual workout schedule, but it hasn’t happened that way.

• I was shocked to realize that after about 11 days with no physical activity whatsoever, I had not only lost weight – which I expected – but I had lost a lot of muscle.  I don’t understand how it can take months of regular focused exercise to build muscle and muscle tone, but only 11 days to lose a huge percentage of it!?  Somebody needs to splain that to me!
• It was really jarring to me to realize how weak and puny I had become, when I had gone into this illness as a very strong and healthy person.  To walk up the stairs to my condo almost winded me, and to stand up after kneeling was a huge challenge for my quadriceps.
• And stamina?  Forget about it!  After sleeping 10 to 11 hours a night, I still woke up exhausted and struggled to work even half a day.

Those are the facts of the situation.  So what to do about that situation?  I NEEDED to get back to working out; both physically and mentally.  But how well should you feel before resuming exercise?  Should you start when you still feel crummy and build up super-gradually, or do you wait until you feel better to begin at all?  Meanwhile, how much more fitness would be lost?  I haven’t really known the right thing to do, but I do know that my body is saying “I NEED EXERCISE!”

So off I went to the internet to do a little research about resuming exercise after an illness. Melanie at Healthy Eating Coach talks about the struggle of getting started again, and she reinforced my thoughts to walk first and then gradually add back in weights with more strenuous workouts much later.

There is a great article on TheBody.com which addresses the importance of listening to your body, resting without necessarily sleeping, getting back to your work routine before adding exercise back in, and eating well even if you don’t feel like it.  Excellent advice!

The Denver Post also provides some excellent guidelines to follow when you’re getting back to an exercise regimen.  I thought it was a great tip to work out at the gym during less crowded times, since your resistance to germs could still be diminished.

And lastly, I found that according to the National Institute of Health, exercise boosts the immune system. They say that:

• exercise flushes bacteria from the lungs
• exercise may flush out carcinogens (cancer-causing cells) by increasing output of waste
• exercise sends antibodies and white blood cells through the body at a faster rate
• bacterial growth may be reduced by the rise in body temperature when you exercise
• stress-related hormones that increase the risk of illness are reduced with exercise

I didn’t know all of these things, did you?  These are all great reasons to get back on track!

After reading all this information and thinking it through, I decided that moderation and patience were the keys, as well as common sense.  This past weekend was gorgeous weather, and I couldn’t stay indoors resting on the sofa one more day.  So my modified workout plan resumed.  Here’s what I did:

• One hour walks outdoors last Saturday and Sunday at a slow pace
• Three trips to the gym during the week for walks on the treadmill at a medium pace
• One hour walks outdoors this Saturday and Sunday at a medium pace
• Plans for this week include stepping up the treadmill pace a bit and adding a few minutes to the workout, and adding a couple of light weight workouts.
• I also want to add back in my yoga and pilates workouts, but I’m trying not to overdo it so that may be placed on the agenda for next week if I’m up to it.  I feel like the first order of business should be to do the light cardio and build from there.

So far, it’s feeling fantastic to be active again, even at a reduced level.  I can feel my muscles beginning to wake up a little, and they’re very happy about it!  Hopefully this process will continue to go smoothly.  It’s been an exercise in patience, if nothing else!  How about you?  Have you had this experience, and how did you handle it?

~BigSis

November 2, 2008

Last weekend, as I was just trying to get back to exercising, I caught a cold.  I haven’t had a cold in AGES, so I’m sure it was because my resistance is low, but I was determined it wouldn’t drag me down.  I made a beeline for Central Market and got the ingredients to whip up a batch of what I call Immune-Boosting Soup.  I didn’t have a recipe because you can really throw in anything you want.  The key is to use shiitake mushrooms and lots of garlic.  Do you know about the benefits of shiitakes?  Studies have shown them to be incredibly immune-boosting and anti-viral.  They’re one of the amazing super foods that do so many wonderful things for our bodies.   And garlic is known to be antibiotic, anti-viral and anti-fungal.  Sorry there’s no photo, but this soup in NOT very pretty or very photogenic.  Let’s just say it’s brownish.  But this is not a beauty contest recipe, it’s a healing recipe!  Here is what I used for my soup:

5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
8 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/3 large red onion, chopped
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp Penzeys Vegetable Soup Base
Few dashes Penzeys Mural of Flavor (salt-free)
Dash cayenne pepper
Shallot pepper and garlic pepper to taste
Salt to taste (be careful since the soup base has salt and you’re going to be reducing the liquid a little)

Saute the onion, garlic and ginger together until soft, and then add the sliced mushrooms and continue to saute until they are browned and tender.  Add about 6 cups of water and the seasonings and simmer for an hour.  Add more water if you like, and adjust the seasonings as needed.  Makes about 3 servings.

I had this soup for dinner three times last week, plus I immediately started taking a supplement called Super Lysine which has really helped me squelch bugs in the past.  Besides l-lysine, it has vitamin C, echinacea, goldenseal, licorice, garlic, and propolis.  Within a day, I literally felt better!  The cold started over the weekend, and on Monday I was sneezing and blowing my nose like a mad woman, but by Tuesday it was better!  Usually a cold can drag on for days and days, so I’m happy that this little combo of soup and Super Lysine did the trick for me.  I’m not a doctor so I can’t tell you what will work for you, but if I can get some relief naturally without having to resort to a medicine, I’m happy!

~BigSis

October 31, 2008

I already mentioned that I don’t ‘do’ Halloween, but gosh darnit, I’m not about to miss an opportunity to share a laugh about cats in hats!  What’s so funny about cats in hats?  Maybe it’s how much they hate it, but how cute they can look at the same time!  I even have this 2008 Cats in Hats Wall Calendar, and you can bet I’ll be looking for the 2009 version.

Ok, enough chit chat.  Here is my own personal “Cats in Hats Gallery”.  Keep in mind that I was usually the photographer and the cat wrangler at the same time, so you’ll frequently see my hand in the frame, trying to keep the cat still enough to snap a shot.  Remember too that no kitties were harmed in the making of this gallery!  They may not be artistically fabulous photos, but just enjoy the expressions on the kitties’ faces, as I do.

Here’s AshyPoo in his 2008 chicken hat.  I love the nice profile shot, it reminds me of a kitty mohawk!  Gaby would have NONE of it; the only shot I got of him in it showed some pretty scary bared fangs.

From last year, we have the parade of kitties in the witch hat, complete with orange and black braids!

I have to mention that an actual store-bought cat costume hat is not necessary.  Use what you have, use your creativity!  Anything that will fit on a cat’s head without endangering his health can be a hat!  For example, a simple brown paper bag can become a chef’s hat!

Or, my personal favorite, a Taco Bueno bean container can become (what else) – a beanie!

Now, these photos are cute (to me), but Gaby is clearly hating it, and even though AshyPoo allows it, he’s hating it too.  Warren Bitey, on the other hand, was the greatest cat model of our time.  I actually used the second of these photos for my Christmas card that year.  It has kind of a Grinch vibe to it, don’t you think?  I put the Santa hat on him, and starting snapping photos with very little need to hold him.  I’m not saying he loved it, but he did work it!  Miss you Warrie!

~BigSis

October 30, 2008

Once you see everything there is to see on BigSisLilSIs today, you have to look at what CuteOverload.com posted on October 27th.  It’s a pet costume extravaganza!  There are only 3 kitty-pie costumes and none of them are that full of cuteness, so come back on Friday for our Cats in Hats post.  To tide you over til then, check my favorites from CuteOverload:

Ewok Puppy

No explanation necessary!

We're not in Kansas any more, Toto!

The donut man kills me

There are lots more of these hilarious photos.  Let me just give you a little hint of what you’ll find.  A boxer with completely inappropriate cleavage, perhaps?

~BigSis

October 29, 2008

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is almost over, but this adorable little Pink Ribbon Cookie Kit from King Arthur Flour is timeless.

King Arthur Pink Ribbon Cookie Kit

You get the ribbon cookie cutter, but you also get the vanilla sugar cookie mix, the white icing mix, pink food coloring, and pink sprinkles!  That’s everything you need!  And look at the cute little box the kit comes packaged in!

Great packaging from King Arthur!

And, you definitely need these sprinkles for the cookies.

Pink Ribbon Sprinkles

I frequently check out the King Arthur web site, but I missed this.  If it hadn’t been for this great blog, Baking Bites, I would have never known about this kit so full of pinkness!  BTW, Baking Bites introduced us to this Williams-Sonoma Acorn Cakelet Pan today, and I can’t stand how cute it is!

~BigSis

October 28, 2008

So, I’m on this bland diet for a while longer and I’m existing on apple sauce, baby bow ties, mild veggies, fruit smoothies, toast, cereal, and too many bananas to count.  But this boring diet won’t last forever, and when I get completely back to normal, look out!  I’m making a beeline for my favorite guilty pleasure snack … Cheddar Jalapeno Cheetos!

I’ve never been a fan of the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos because they just seem hot without any flavor, but these are a whole different story.  They’re cheesy, they’re spicy, they’re salty, they’re crunchy, they’re so yummy.  I have to stop thinking about them now.  But soon, my little Cheeto, you will be mine!

~BigSis

October 25, 2008

In Part 1 of Nasty Virus, I talked about how I knew there were lessons to be learned from this experience, and some of them are clear to me.

• Be ready to be diverted. Clearly, we should live with goals and plans, rather than aimlessly drifting through life.  But we have to realize that God may detour us.  It could be a temporary derailment, or it could be a permanent redirection.  I had lots of plans for the last few weeks, but I went off on this little detour for a reason and I have to pay attention to it.  If I don’t get anything out of it, then it was just a wasted few weeks of illness and recuperation and not a learning experience.
• You have to let people help you. I’m pretty independent, but the main reason I don’t like for people to help me is I feel it’s inconvenient or an imposition, not that I’m too proud to accept help from people.  I had to have some help during this illness, and I realized it wasn’t right to block people from blessing me.  So thank you to the people who drove me here and there, who brought me groceries, who brought me things from home, who took care of my cats, who sent me flowers, who visited me and kept me company.  You were a blessing!
• I can do a better job of taking care of myself. I usually live pretty healthfully: I eat well with no meat at all, I don’t consume caffeine, I don’t smoke, I drink a ton of water, I take the supplements that I think are important, I exercise regularly, and I try to get adequate sleep.  I have a strong immune system and I’m generally strong.  But I can do better, and I’m inspired to do so.  There are those nights when I have a handful of almonds for dinner (single people: you know you do this too).  Or even worse, how about cheese and crackers or cheetos for a meal?  I have my salty snack weakness and when I’m stressed or tired it takes over.  I want to eat more intentionally, wash my hands even more, faithfully use the germ wipes on grocery carts, and do more yoga to handle stress better.  Doing these things won’t prevent an illness like this from happening again…I know I’m not bulletproof.  But I want to do better.  If I hadn’t been strong and healthy going into this illness, it would have taken a greater toll on my health than it did.  Out of gratitude for that blessing, I want to take even better care of myself.
• God is in control. This isn’t something I just learned, but it’s a reminder that I can always benefit from.  I was reminded that I can be put into a frightening situation that has an unknown outcome, and God will bring me through it with peace.  I had never been in the hospital until this, and had never been seriously ill.  Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, I wasn’t freaking out.  And I know it was and is because the peace of God was with me, and He is in control.

There will probably be more lessons to learn from the Nasty Virus experience, but these are the ones I see already.  In Part 3 of Nasty Virus, I’ll talk about the challenges of getting back to exercise.

~BigSis