Lexical Light

Hoo Whoo Who's a Night Owl?

I am, but just because I'm prone to something doesn't make it the best choice for me. Trying to find the balance between living within my bent and developing character to compensate for my tendencies is often a struggle for me.

Being in the midst of raising and education my 4 kiddos is definitely not conducive to being a night owl. However, I've had a hard time getting things done during the day for a few days now and the kitchen was scary, so I decided to take advantage of my get up and go and get some work done. I had quite a bit of fun w/my MP3 player doing laundry and cleaning. I even got a bit of a workout trying to choreograph some quicksteps to a Jody Watley song.

Instead of trying to get up for church, it's best just to stay up. Of course, I'll be napping tomorrow,this afternoon, but I feel I've put a dent in the housework. The trick will be to go to bed at a decent hour tonight.

I've done a little research into circadian rhythms before, but had never looked for blogs about them. A Technorati search uncovered a some posts. One was an article citing some research about a connection between certain circadian rhythms and obesity, depression, bipolar disorder and addiction. Sounds more harrowing than simply being someone who likes to stay up late. Maybe I'll take a vacation to Dr. McClung's lab to make sure I'm just a night owl...unless she only studies mice.

Thankfully I also found a helpful article and a blog post about how to cope.

One thing I need to do is get up at the same time every day. I'll get right on that, right after I get the TPS Reports done.

BTW, I also found a fun little page about the sounds different owls make. (I was trying to spell an owl noise correctly.)

Hey, I think I'm going to enjoy the sunrise now. :)

7 Keys to Health from Dr. Jordan Rubin

Dr. Jordan Rubin made a return appearance tonight because his visit in January was cut short due to the Austin Ice Storm 2007. (Cue dramatic music.)

Dr. Rubin is the author of The Maker's Diet, The Great Physician's Rx for Health and Wellness and other books.

Our pastor's wife has a passion for health, so I was familiar with some of Dr. Rubin's teachings. Some of it has rubbed of on me, but not enough, so I was open to hearing Dr. Rubin. He was an interesting speaker with an amazing story.  Hearing him reminded me Annie's journey at Chief Executive Mom.

The immediate take away from tonight (besides the book) will be to stop using Splenda and be more diligent in not drinking Diet Coke. (I don't drink a lot, but I don't need any.) Also, a renewed effort. for everyone at home, to eat more fruits & veggies.

When I took the kiddos shopping the other day, the kept asking for stuff. I had to remind them that ideally, we shouldn't eat most of the things in the grocery store. Crazy.

It's not like I don't like healthy food. If I had a personal chef/shopper, I would be happy to eat what they prepare. However, since that's not going to happen, I'll have to utilize what I have (including a husband who cooks) to eat well.

Another key to health was getting enough sleep, especially getting to bed before midnight. Because late nights can lead to rambling blog posts. Oh, yeah, your body needs the sleep. That, I can do.  That I will do.

Truth in Bloggin disclosure: I really posted this at 1:06 am on Thursday morning, but I changed the post time to 11:59 Wednesday so as not to break my "consecutive post streak" for March. I would've posted earlier if not for a late night at church & tuckin' in kiddos, etc. Yada-Yada-Yada   I feel the need, the need for sleep.

Goofy Workout Thoughts

Amazing how music can influence a person. I'm almost completely dependent on my MP3 player to keep my pace up on the elliptical machine.  My strides per minute are  directly related to the beats per minute of the music. Kind of sad, but easily taken care of.

The past few weeks my motivating music has been the "Theme from Mission Impossible" by Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. from the 1996(?) movie. I actually went to see the movie when it first came out and immediately dug the closing credits music, even more so when I found out who it was.*
It wasn't until late last year, 10 years later, that I bought the CD on eBay. Five versions of the theme. Oh, yeah! It's great music to play Tetris to.

It's also great to workout to. (I ripped the songs from the CD and put them on my MP3 player. Yeah!) Funny thing is that I picture myself running to the music, sneaking through the streets of Paris at night, dressed in black...sliding along the sides of buildings, then bursting into a full run. (BTW, Tom Cruise isn't in the picture.) I haven't settled on what kind of outfit I'm in. Definitely not a cat suit and definitely not heels, but something a little more "spyish" than my usual garb.

All my fellow Y members see is me really working it, smiling because I'm cracking myself up in my head. Marvel at the power of music.

*And they are......????? Chelsea, I know you'll get this one.

My Curly Hair

When I was a little girl, my hair was the bane of my existence. Growing up In the Marcia Brady era, I didn't stand a chance. Back then, straightening products & tools weren't as ubiquitous as they are today, so I used what I could find - pantyhose. According to my first grade logic, if I wore pantyhose on my head overnight, I would wake up w/straight hair. So what did I get for a night of looking like a convenience store robber? Curls plastered to my head. Not exactly the look I was going for.

My dear mother, out of neccesity, kept my hair short. She didn't know what to do with it. Even hair stylists I saw didn't have a clue what to do with it. With each haircut I hoped this would be "the one," the person who knew how to make my hair pretty. No luck, until  I met  him - the stylist who helped me like my hair. (Hooray for Bryan Piper!) Sadly, that wasn't until college. So, I went through junior high and high school doing the best I could with my curls.

Between Bryan's knowledge and late 80's hairstyles, I finally made peace with my hair, though I still kept it short. In 1992, after graduating from college, I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to grow my hair long. I didn't have much hope, because I had lost so many "who's hair is longest" contests with my sister. Surprisingly, curly hair can grow long and look okay. (Curly hair lesson  #1:  don't brush it!)

Then came my search for the perfect product. I tried various combination of products over the years. Every now and then I would find a creme product w/hold that would work, but then it would be discontinued. That left me frizzled, literally & figuratively. Up until last fall, my standard combination was some kind of moisturizing creme and mousse. It worked well enough. I would have my share of bad and good hair days, but I knew there had to be a better way. Then I read Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey & Debra Chiel. My hair will never be the same. :)

I found Curly Girl in the Junior Non-Fiction section of our library. I checked it out for my daughter, who has also been blessed with curls. Because it was written by a hairstylist with curls, I had hope. I wasn't disappointed. A few bits of her advice were so good I want to print it on cards and hand it out to the curlies I meet. Instead, I'll settle for blogging about it.

Now for the important part of the post - my advice to others with curly hair:

1. Never brush your hair. (Brush your teeth often, but not your hair.)

2. Finger comb conditioner through your wet hair. Leave the conditioner in. The amount to leave in will vary with hair type and humidity.

3. If you must comb your hair, do it with conditioner, while your hair is wet.

4. The Curly Girl author recommends not shampooing because of the harsh sodium lauryl stuff in shampoos. That didn't work for me. I switched to an organic, no sodium lauryl stuff shampoo and use it every other time. If I have to use a dry scalp shampoo (or if you can't stand the thought of not shampooing), put a little conditioner in your hair before you shampoo to protect your hair. That's also a good thing to try if you struggle with dry hair.

5. Don't twist my hair in a towel when it's wet. Use the "beauty shop" method - lay the towel over my head and gather it at the nape of my neck. Squeeze the excess moisture from my hair.

6. Use a clear gel. Currently, I'm using Tresemme. This, combined with the conditioner I left in, is the "perfect product" I've been looking for. It takes a little trial and error to figure out how much to use. Sometimes I'm a little too "crunchy" and sometimes I'm a little frizzy, most days I do okay.

The Curly Girl book has lots more tips about what to do with it after a wash, but if you simply watch the shampoo use, finger comb and leave in your conditioner, your curls will thank you.

500 mg Acetaminophen Recall

Are you wondering if your acetaminophen is part of the recent recall? Here's a link to the FDA list that has the batch numbers on it. It's a long list, but you can easily find your batch number by using CTRL-F, then typing the batch number from your bottle into the search box.

Of the three bottles I've tested, one was one the list. It's a small bottle we bought from HEB a while ago. I tossed it.

From a Nov. 9th, 2006 Reuters article:

"The FDA said in a statement that it believed that based on available information the probability of serious adverse health consequences was remote. "However, if a consumer were to swallow an affected caplet, it could result in minor stomach discomfort and/or possible cuts to the mouth or throat," the FDA said."

The recall is due to small metal fragments that may be in the pills. The risk  of injury is small, but better safe than sorry. My blog feels so useful now.

State of the Workout

A major part of being healthy is exercising. A major part of exercising is finding what works for you at different seasons of your life. Here's what works for me currently and a few notes on it:

*3-4x/week with Denise Austin's 2 TV shows on Lifetime, volume down. Ignore the commercials for all the wretched movies and series on Lifetime. Oy.

*2 things help me through the workout:  audio books and music. This morning it was Julia Cameron's audio version of The Right to Write and tracks 1,2,3,4 & 8 on my Lexical Bass Groove's CD. I use the music during the cardio parts & the audio books during the other parts.

*Pleasantly, I've discovered another thing to help me workout - results. A subtle difference in abdominal muscles (still in hiding under other stuff) and a notable difference in an overall sense of wellness.

*Jazzercise is my workout of choice, but it's not feasible now. So, until I have 2 hours (including travel time) to spend on a workout, Denise and a variety of authors & musicians will serve me well.

BTW, the 3-4x/week thing is a goal I shoot for. Ideally, I'd do both 30 minute shows 5 days/week. Yeah, about that. I'll just keep trying.

In the meantime, I'll feel better & stronger as I try. If I were trying to rehab an injury, I'd commit the time to it. Instead of rehab, I like to think of it as preventive maintenance.

Update from the Obvious Files, 7:44 am: If I go to bed at 3 am, odds are that I won't get up for a 6 am workout. Sleep is also an important part of being healthy.  Duh. On days I miss my 6 am start time, I either try again tomorrow, shoot for at least a walk later in the day, or go to the rec center & do the elliptical machine if dh can be home w/the kids.