5 posts tagged “recommendation”
I've managed to stay well this entire winter, but this morning I woke up with a fever blister.
Granted, being sick isn't the only thing that brings on these annoying blisters, which is exactly why I don't call them "cold sores." They can also pop up when I don't get enough sleep, during times of stress, after being exposed to the sun, and upon experiencing any sort of trauma to the lip area. But since (a) I've been sleeping better lately (thanks, in part, to my braids), (b) we're in the dead of winter, and (c) no one has punched me in the mouth recently, I can only assume one thing: My streak of good health must be coming to an end.
It's really quite amazing how just one little fever blister can make you feel so completely wiped out. Thank goodness for Abreva, which usually clears up my blisters within a couple of days. Before this miracle cream came along, I had to rely on Famvir, a prescription pill for genital herpes (as you can imagine, it was a little embarrassing to have to explain to people that I wasn't taking it for that reason). Before I had Famvir, though, the blisters (and the scabs they left in their wake) would just run rampant on my lips and the surrounding skin—not pretty! So I guess things aren't as bad as they could be.
Mr. G might disagree, though: Because fever blisters are so contagious, I must withhold all smooches until my lips are healed. Sad!
Cats are self-sufficient creatures who don't need much. But having the following items around the house sure does make it easier for humans to coexist with them!
DRINKWELL PET FOUNTAIN
When Pepper was still a kitten, I noticed that she did not drink very much from her water bowl. But as soon as she discovered the faucets, we could not turn one on without her trying to drink from it! I thought it was cute, but Mr. G was grossed out ... and I began to worry that she was not getting enough water. Remembering that our vet had recommended getting a pet fountain, we decided to give the Drinkwell a try. Now Pepper gets plenty to drink (avoiding the health problems that can result from being dehydrated), and the fountain even provides entertainment for her: She has a grand old time preying on the bubbles that the water makes as the stream hits the pool.
I thought it might be a pain to clean, but all the parts (except the motor) are dishwasher safe. The only annoying thing is that, since we have hard water, sometimes the motor won't turn back on when I reassemble the fountain. The first time this happened, I called Drinkwell, and they told me to clean the motor with vinegar. This works pretty well, especially if you are faithful about cleaning the fountain once a week (that does not always happen at our house). However, over the course of two years, the water stream has gotten progressively weaker, and we've recently decided to purchase a new fountain to have on hand when the old one finally croaks.
CLEVERCAT LITTER BOX
Because I had only owned indoor/outdoor cats before, I'd never had a litter box in the house; Mr. G had never even owned a cat before. So when we first got Pepper, we just bought one of those small litter trays with no cover for her to use until she got big enough to climb into a regular litter box.
While we were waiting for her to grow, I researched litter boxes and found many consumer complaints about how a cat could "miss" and pee over the edge of the box. Or if you had a box with a lid, the cat could spray the side of the lid. Because I wanted as little mess as possible, I was elated to find the Clevercat. This ingenious contraption looks like a trash bin with a flat lid that has a hole in it. Pepper just jumps up, climbs in, and then jumps out when she's done. She has plenty of room in there to turn around and cover things up ... and she has plenty of privacy.
Clevercat also sells custom-fit liners for the box, which ensure that the only surface not covered by a liner is the lid (and this has no chance of getting pee on it). If your cat is declawed, the liners are great because then you can just toss out the used litter with the liner, and you never have to wash out the box (cats with claws tend to rip holes in the liner, which defeats the purpose of using the liner).
ARM & HAMMER LITTER
Again, since neither of us had owned a litter box before, we didn't know what type of litter was best. We tried eco-friendly litter made from corn cobs or recycled newpaper, but they didn't do the job. We settled on clumping litter, but we were bothered by the "perfumes" they used to cover up the smell of cat waste. Sometimes, the perfume smelled worse than the stuff it was supposed to cover up! I was using Neutra-Air plug-ins to neutralize the odor, but then Neutra-Air went off the market. I bought a Febreze air filter, and that helped, but I didn't want to have it turned on around the clock.
Fortunately, I mentioned the issue to my brother and his girlfriend, and they suggested that we try Arm & Hammer clumping litter. The combination of cat litter and odor-absorbing baking soda is AMAZING. We buy the fragrance-free kind, and you can't even tell there's a litter box in the room unless Pepper has just used it. It's so nice to know that your house doesn't smell like old cat pee.
LITTER LOCKER
You know how no one wants dirty diapers sitting around in the trash can? Well, the same goes for the little clumps that have been scooped out of the litter box. Because we didn't want to have to take little baggies into the garage each time we scooped, we tried to get away with putting the baggies into a trash can that we kept in a cabinet under our sink. By the end of the week, however, the air in that cabinet was TOXIC.
Enter the Litter Locker. It's like a Diaper Genie for cat litter! And it may work even better than a DG ... we empty it once a week and never have an odor problem. We keep the Litter Locker right next to the Clevercat, so scooping is a relatively non-messy, definitely non-smelly cinch.
KITTY NESTS
We noticed a few specific spots in the house where Pepper liked to hang out, so we decided to find some beds to put there in order to protect the carpet. We hit the jackpot with these kitty nests made by Companion Road. They have a faux-suede exterior and are lined with faux lambskin (Pepper is a fleece addict, so this is perfect). Their circular shape is just the right size for a curled-up kitty to snuggle up in.
The best part about these beds, though, are their high sides (about 7 inches), which allow Pepper to feel protected and secure while she sleeps. And when she's feeling playful, the beds double as forts and hiding places for her. We own two and have just ordered a third!
HONORABLE MENTION
I must give shout-out to the Comfort Zone plug-ins. We wouldn't have survived the past two years without the calming pheremones that turned my mean kitty into a less-mean kitty. Thankfully, it seems that Pepper has finally started to trust us enough to shed her psycho persona, and in the past few weeks I believe we've successfully weaned her off of the feel-good vapors. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
I rarely wear lipstick. It's not because I have anything against it, or because I think my lips are luscious enough without it. It's because putting anything on my lips dries them out so badly that I end up chewing it off before I even leave the house.
For as long as I've lived in the States, in fact, I have inexplicably endured peeling, raw, often painful, sometimes bloody lips. And every remedy I've tried (chapstick, the liquidy contents of vitamin E pills, expensive lip balms from department store makeup counters, regular lip gloss, and almost anything else you can imagine) has only made the problem WORSE.
But all that changed last Christmas, when my mom (bless her) discovered Blistex Gentle Sense and put a tube of it in my stocking. Colorless, odorless, and flavorless, it claims to moisturize your lips without irritating them. After using it regularly for a month, I am happy to report that it works: My lips are smooth—and they no longer hurt!
This product is a godsend for me, and I can only pray that it never goes off the market. Now that my lips are healed, we'll see if I can start sporting something other than a nude lip ...
The first time my brother and I flew to Peru without our parents, I forgot to take my passport to the airport. It didn't even occur to me to grab it before leaving my house—which happened to be 1,200 miles away. Needless to say, we did not get to board our scheduled flight that day. I had to ask a friend to break into my house, find my passport, and overnight it to my parents' house so that we could catch the next day's flight to Peru. Humiliating—especially considering that I've been flying internationally my whole life.
Still, I had to laugh when my mom called this morning to tell me to put my passport in my purse right now, two days before she and I are scheduled to travel to Peru. I was way ahead of her, though, thanks in part to the wonderful travel checklists from JCPenney (of all places). My mom stumbled across them a few years ago, and Mr. Guycita and I have come to rely on them every time we travel. Using them is much faster than making up a new list for each trip (which is what I used to do). And now I'll never again forget to pack my passport ... or a toothbrush ... or deodorant ... or anything else important!
I was in the McDonald's drive-thru on Saturday, waiting for my Happy Meal, when I saw a very yummy-looking ad for their new (limited edition) Southwest Salad. I tend to avoid fast-food salads, but when the HungryGirl newsletter sang this salad's praises a mere two days later, I knew that I had to try it.
The salad mix contains assorted greens, a few ultra-thin carrot ribbons, and a small amount of black beans. It's garnished with shredded cheddar-jack cheese, a lime wedge, and a few crispy chili lime tortilla strips. If you want, you can add either crispy or grilled chicken breast (I ordered it grilled, and it was deliciously juicy). The salad also comes with a packet of Newman's Own Southwest dressing (I used only half, and that was plenty). The end result is a slightly sweet salad with a little bit of a kick (from the chili-lime glaze they use). I confess that I ate every last bite of it, which is one reason for my hearty recommendation.
The other reason is that, if you are watching what you eat, it is a delicious yet healthful fast-food option (and how often do you find one of those?). You can see the nutrition facts for yourself at the McDonald's website.
¡Buen provecho!
