Upon reading this list, I have realized I am truly ancient.

Here are some things I have been enjoying, as of late.

1. Method dishwashing liquid, cucumber scent

I was flipping through our eight channels a few weeks ago and saw a bit of an America's Test Kitchen episode (wherein they show recipes, cooking methods, and test products). They mentioned that Method brand dishwashing liquid had higher surfactants than lots of other dish soaps, and since we've been using Method cleaning spray for years I figured it was worth a try. I've been an Ivory girl my whole life but though it wouldn't be a bad thing to try something new. And we love it! One of the huge downsides to our apartment is the lack of a dishwasher, and so we wash all our dishes by hand. This soap is far less drying to my hands than the Ivory and seems to be more concentrated or last longer.

2. Pantene pro-v clarifying shampoo

Those of you who have been reading for a while may remember my lament about my beloved Herbal Essences shampoo being discontinued. Since then, I've been looking for a similar product to no avail; the new Herbal Essences line doesn't do a thing for me, and I've tried any number of natural shampoos from the granola stores. They don't get my hair clean. Most shampoos smell like perfume and my hair feels heavy and weighted down after using them. But one day I decided to look at one of the more mainstream drugstore lines and found this Pantene clarifying shampoo. Eureka! My hair is soft, shiny, and feels clean all day, and it doesn't smell like anything because the shampoo is unscented. I kind of miss the rosemary smell from the Herbal Essences, but I'd rather my hair smell like nothing than smell like a French whorehouse. So Pantene Clarifying it is.

3. Boots Botanics Skin-Softening body butter

While there are many things about Colorado to love, one of the things I *don't* love is how dry everything is in the winter. Before I moved here, I never thought much about lotion or moisturizer, but that quickly changed once I experienced how much dry skin can really HURT. I've experimented with all sorts of lotions and potions over the years and in the summer I usually use Kiss My Face Chinese Botanical body lotion. But this winter has been so dry that my skin needed a little something extra. Enter this Boots body butter (I got it at Target) - it makes my skin feel good and healthy without feeling greasy. I have super sensitive skin, so many products (I'm guessing the dyes and perfumes, really) make me have itchy rashes or break out. For example, I'm allergic to every Bath and Body Works product I've ever tried. So when I try new stuff, I'm always a little apprehensive. But this stuff is the shiznit.

4. Puffs Plus tissues with lotion

I didn't post on Thursday because I was in a day-long meeting (and then I went home and worked on a Secret Project) and I didn't post Friday because I woke up sometime around 3 AM completely unable to breathe through either orifice. For some reason, this year has been a real doozy for me in terms of contracted viruses; Friday I was completely nonfunctional, feverish, with chills and constricted airway and all that good stuff. Saturday I felt marginally better, and Sunday I was better enough to run a few errands. This is also the day that Dan went to stock up on tissues because we were nearly out, and I'm still going through them like candy. You might call me a cheapskate where a lot of products are concerned (I'll almost always buy generic or a cheaper brand if there's one to be had) but the comfort of my nose when I am sick takes top priority. We don't skimp on tissues in our house, and they are plush and help keep sore nose skin from falling off.


5. Our humidifier

I don't understand the bad reviews of this humidifier. We've been through two other ones since I've lived in Colorado, tried cool mist (doesn't work) and warm mist (works better) and our previous humidifier had a frightening tendency to grow black stuff and was impossible to clean and after a while it was making Dan sick. So we stopped using it. This year, when the weather turned cold (and therefore very dry) we went in search of a humidifier that would function well without getting the carpet wet, with a large water tank that was easy to clean and easy to fill. This one has lived up to the claims on the box - it's easy to fill, easy to clean, and generally keeps us from feeling as though we are dessicating to death in our sleep. Hooray!

Wow, not even 30 and I'm ancient. Reviewing humidifiers and tissues and dish soap! What an exciting life I lead.

Beautiful Soup, plus other random stuff.

My contribution to the week's dinners:

Wintery 10-bean and root vegetable soup

1 cup 10-bean soup mix (this is actually mostly a variety of lentils/split peas and barley with maybe 3 or 4 kinds of actual beans in it, from the bulk bin at the hippie grocery store), soaked overnight, water changed in the morning and soaked until I started the soup
1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped small
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped small
1 celery root, peeled (this is difficult, but so worth the flavor!) and chopped small
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped (plus the leafy tops thrown in)
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes with jalapeno
2 precooked chicken or turkey sausages (I used part of a turkey kielbasa and one chicken sausage, precooked), chopped into rounds and halved
seasonings to taste (I used 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriender, 1 tsp mexican oregano)
salt and pepper

Soak the 10 bean soup mix overnight and through the next day, changing the water at least once. About 2 hours before you want to eat, put the beans in a big soup pot and cover with 6 cups of water, heating to a rapid simmer and let it cook for about 45 minutes. Dump in all the vegetables (including the leafy tops of celery stalks), seasonings, and add some vegetable or chicken stock base or boullion if you like. Cook another 45 minutes, checking the largest beans for doneness. Add tomatoes and sausages. It will be done in 15-30 more minutes. Makes mass quantities of super tasty soup. The sausage is optional (the soup is super tasty without it as well) but I like animal protein in my soup. Serve with crusty bread. Very low fat, high protein, and high fiber and so delicious!

A thing that happened this week:

We were at the grocery store buying food and a DVD display caught Dan's attention. He found a copy of the Dark Crystal for 10 bucks, and as it's a childhood favorite and a movie I've wanted to own, we threw it onto the conveyor belt. The clerk scanning our foodstuffs asks, "Is that a good movie? I've never heard of it". "Yes it is," I told him, and realized he was likely a teenager and therefore born way after the movie came out. "It was made by Jim Henson," I told him. Blank stare. "You know, the guy who made the muppets?" Blank stare. "I don't know voice actors," he said. "Jim Henson was the guy who invented Kermit the Frog!" I exclaimed. Another blank stare. SERIOUSLY!?!?! Here's a kid who is at least 16 if he's old enough to be a checker at the grocery store and he's never heard of Kermit the Frog or the Muppets? What are they teaching kids in school these days? Sheesh, way to make an almost 30-year-old feel ANCIENT.

Also, Sunday is our 2-year engage-a-versary. 2 years since I said yes and we started planning the Big Event. It hardly even feels like it's been six months, let alone 2 years, but then again we're only 6 weeks away from our first wedding anniversary. Where does the time go?