Oct 2, 2002
9:15am

Yayyy!!  430 times to go!  And it's years until Saturday!!

Anyway, let's talk about something else.  I was thinking about cool stuff as I was going to sleep last night and figured I was being pretty doggoned selfish if I didn't share them with you.  Of course, these are all based on my experience and opinion.

Snore Stop

Available at www.snorestop.com or at select drug stores.  Cost:  $5.95 for 20 tablets when on sale.  The website also has a locator on it.  I've snored for my entire adult life.  I went to a doctor about in in 1995 and the guy was really insistent that it was because I'm overweight.  I told him that I snored when I weighed 120 and he skimmed right past that and insisted that I snored NOW because of my weight and began discussing a weight loss program with me.  I was at the doctor's office because my husband at that time was pretty determined that I was going to have my soft palate lasered out to stop the snoring.  The doctor said I would have to undergo a pretty intensive sleep study first and it was just never the right time to do it, so snore I did.  Fortunately, my next husband was/is a sound sleeper and beyond poking me in the night to "snore the other direction," it's not really a big deal.  The problem was that I was waking myself up at night and waking up with a sore throat the next day.  I heard about this stuff on TV and was understandably skeptical.  It didn't really seem conceivable that a tablet could stop snoring (the "extinguisher" form I could understand, figuring it freezes up the stuff in your throat that moves when you snore.  Unfortunately, it was $20.  Grabbed the pills and even though it said it would take about 5 days for it to work, I saw results the first night.  I'm now sleeping better and more deeply and I don't wake up with a sore throat any more.  When Eric had his recent bout of insomnia, I was able to verify that the snoring is now very minimal.  If you order from the website, the cost is very inexpensive and they even pay for the postage.  Good, good stuff.

Bissel Pro Heat Carpet Steamer  Cost:  About $200 at Wal-Mart, etc.  I miss mine so much!  I got one of these babies about 2 years ago and about 2 months ago, the sucker stopped pumping the water out to clean.  I used it about twice a week (at least) and it really did a wonderful job of keeping these nasty carpets clean.  It's easy to use and doesn't take up much storage space.  I am mourning mine like mad.  Now I have to employ this ancient technique called "scrubbing" where you take a scrub brush and some carpet cleaner and forcefully rub out all of the stains with brute strength.  I have to tell you, scrubbing really sucks and I do NOT recommend it in the least.  Scrubbing = bad.  Bissel = good.  The only downer is that the carpet cleaner solution is fairly expensive.  I found that other brands, like Dirt Devil and such work just fine in it, unless, perhaps, that's why mine doesn't work any more.  I am more inclined to believe it is from overuse and rebellion against sucking up even one more pee spot from a blind old dog with severe incontinence.

Hydroxycut  Cost:  Too Damned Much But Worth It.  Can get it at Wal-Mart, Drug stores and over the net.  I've tried a number of fat burners (Stacker 2, Therma-Pro, Ultra Slim) and while they have all worked, this is definitely the best I've found.  No way could a human take the recommended dosage (4 a day!!) and live, so it's economical in that sense.  I take one in the morning and I'm good to go for the day.  No speedy feelings (and I'm very susceptible to that) and you have great sweats.  It's not that sick, hot flash sweat feeling, but more like there's water coming out of you in buckets.  It feels very purifying and you can really feel the metabolism cranking in.  During our most recent crisis, I've found it to be a wonderful tool because once I am able to override the appetite suppressant, I can emotionally eat like a pig and not gain a pound.  I strongly suspect it was not designed with that purpose in mind and may, in fact, also be good for losing weight.  A friend of mine gave me some of hers and they are almost gone!  I'll definitely order more when the money is better.  At Wal-mart, they were about $18 for a bottle of (I think) 50.  Not bad for almost 2 months worth. 

Body Flex  Can be ordered all over the net, found in used video/book stores across the nation or can be checked out here, which I'm sure Greer Childers (the person who markets the technique) does not appreciate.  The book is very helpful and will serve you great even if you don't have the video tapes.  I found viewing tapes once to be helpful because it let me see someone do the techniques and work out a few bugs.  Greer (sorry, Greer) is a bit annoying to watch because she's something like 70 years old and has a supermodel figure and rather pleading voice.  She claims she was once huge and that this caused her to lose the weight (combined with a sensible diet).  Further investigation by some debunkers also revealed that she was simultaneously touting some kind of Nordic-track type thing, so my guess is that Body Flex, combined with a sensible diet, combined with a Nordic-track type thingie caused Greer to lose the weight, but the bottom line is that this system really, really works.  It only takes about 15 minutes for the average person to complete the routine (twice the first week, then once afterwards) once they've got the techniques down pat.  Pee before you do them.  I lost 10 inches off my ass in the first 10 days.  It really firms up your muscles through the very, very simple techniques, but if you stop doing them regularly, everything will loosen up again more quickly than it tightened up.  The hyperoxygenation provided by the system is also your friend, causing you to sleep better and have more energy.   It also really cleans out your lungs.  I haven't done it in a while because I'm rebelling against God knows what, but it really does work!  Maybe I should go do it.  Hmm.  The support group for Body Flexing at http://pub17.ezboard.com/bbodyflexsupportgroup is a wonderful group of people and fantastic network for info.

Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom by Christiane Northrup.  Absolutely the most vital and significant book on women's health to ever be published.  Click on the picture of the book to order it used from Amazon for about $5.  Go on.  Do it now!!  This is the book EVERY woman should read and have on her nightstand for reference.

Pledge Grab-It Wet.  Cost:  About $7 for the pads, $20 for the initial package.  I laughed like mad when I first saw these silly things.  OK, so it's a handiwipe that is wet that you put on the end of a stick to mop your floor because you're too prissy to wring a mop.  O...K...  But then I noticed that I never mop my floor and in a moment of weakness, I bought the set.  When I had them, my floor was clean all the time because it was so easy to mop it!  I loved them.  Notice, I am speaking in past tense because I am now poor, but when I have money again, I will definitely be using these puppies!!  The only complaint I have is that the mop itself is like trying to mop with a pick-up stick.  It's very thin...aluminum, I guess, that threatens to snap at any moment.  Love'em.

Tupperware Horizontal Peeler.  Just the best.  I recently lost mine in a horrible garbage disposal accident and the house has been in mourning ever since.  A moment of silence please.  Thank you.

Topsy Tail.  Still have mine...still love it!!  It's one of those things that turns your pony tail inside out and helps it stay in place.  Eric calls it, "that thing that makes your hair look like a butt."  Ever the poet, that one.

Needs no introduction nor explanation, I think.

Armour Potted Meat.  Don't ask why.  I can't explain it.  I just love it. I think it's some bizarre childhood associated fondness, but it makes me feel warm and loved and nostalgic and filled with the nutrition that can only come from pig lips and chicken combs.

The US Post Office.  In my humble opinion, still one of the best deals going.  Yeah, I remember when you could mail a letter for 7 cents.  Gasoline was also about 29 cents a gallon back then as well and bread was a quarter a loaf.  You could get those little tiny Butterfingers candy bars for a nickel and a quarter would also buy you an ice cold GLASS bottle of coke from those big red coolers with the bottle opener on the side.  Now grow up, get in the 20th century and realize that paying 37 cents, only 37 FREAKIN cents, for someone to schlep your oh so important letter across the states in a matter of 3-4 days isn't a rape on your wallet and won't make a significant dent in the beer budget!  Plus, stamps are much cooler than they used to be and that costs money!  No more licking the back, no more stale pictures of dead presidents.  Now we get to be entertained as well!  You want cheap?  Send an e-mail.

Scrubs.  If you aren't watching this after Friends every Thursday night on NBC, you just might be a scrooge...not sure.  You better watch it and see.  It's just the funniest thing I've seen in a long time and I'm a really, really tough audience.

The Twilight Zone, New Series.  So far, I'm impressed.  UPN, Wednesday nights after "Enterprise."

Succulent Wild Woman by Sark.   This is a WONDERFUL book, as well as a series of books, for women who have been (I hope) temporarily left with no visible source of nurturing.  Sark is fabulous at making us feel full and rich and wild and, well, as she puts it, JUICY!!  You'll love it...especially if you are lonely or undernutured (read:  not juicy).   By clicking on the book to the left, you can get it used at Amazon for about $5.  You'll be really, really glad you did.

I am sure there are more fabulous things that I'm forgetting and will remember around 2am when I'm looking at the ceiling.  ;)  Hope you try some of these and enjoy them as much as I have!

Love,

  
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