It's time for another "products I am liking" post

Not like I have any sort of clout or anyone interested in sending me free schwag to review, but just in case anyone cares, I just really am liking this stuff.

1. Rachel's yogurt

This yogurt is the bomb diggity. I eat a protein snack every morning sometime between 11 and 12, usually yogurt or a string cheese, and when Scarlett visited in April she turned me on to Rachel's yogurt. While this yogurt is more expensive than I'd normally pay, the stores we go to regularly have it on sale, so I stock up when that happens. It's made with lowfat, not nonfat milk, so the fat and calorie content are a little higher than I was used to eating in the store brand yogurt. However, the fat doesn't seem to be hurting me at all and the yogurt keeps me going through a 1 PM daily workout. The best part is that it comes in so many amazing flavors and the ingredients are milk, evaporated cane juice (sugar, but not HFCS), fruit juice/pulp, a bit of cream, and live cultures. Nothing I can't pronounce. It tastes like yogurt, and fruit, and not like sugar or gelatin. Yum.

2. Salad in a box

One of the things I started doing recently was bringing salad for lunch. It's paid off, not only because I've lost a little bit of weight, but because I feel like I'm getting good amount of vegetables in daily. For some reason, despite the lack of bulk, I feel full on a lunch salad. Some days I might put leftover hummus/falafel on it, some days some slices of turkey, some days some leftover bean/corn salad. It always has a few other veggies, and I've been getting large amounts of prepared salad in these plastic box things at the grocery store. It's $4 or $5 for about the equivalent of 4 of those bagged salads, and I get the dark leafy greens, and because I eat it every day it isn't going bad. Yay!

3. Aveeno ultra-calming moisturizer

I've always had sensitive skin that is prone to irritation, contact dermatitis, and breakouts when exposed to any number of products or ingredients. For example, I'm allergic to every product I've ever tried made by Bath and Body Works. I read labels diligently and have a few trusted brands I've found over the years that don't seem to aggravate my skin. Recently, I noticed another bout of contact dermatitis starting up, and I couldn't figure out what was doing it, but it seemed to be bothered by the moisturizer I was using. (Moisturizer is very important in this dry climate, even though I have oily skin.) We went to Target and I spent a good long while staring at all of the moisturizer plus sunscreen options, and ultimately decided to go with this Aveeno product, hoping it was worth the money I was about to spend. Luckily, my instincts were correct. This stuff is awesome. My face is smoother, my skin feels healthier and is certainly happier, and it's light and soaks in quickly. I do wish the SPF were higher, but that's what my wide-brimmed hat is for, right?

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.