Health

Share your hair?

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Emily is my new hero. At 3 she might still be too young to understand cancer, but she already understands what it means to help another individual. When she got her first haircut, she decided (after her parents explained what she could do with her hair) to donate her hair for wigs for those with cancer. Emily agreed to it, as long as her Uncle (a hair stylist) cut her Dolly’s hair first. I love this, I love her, I love listening to her talk. Her parents own FlyPress Films, and decided to film the entire process.

You will love her, her uncle, and her sweet voice as she tells you what she is doing. The background music is also perfect to get you in the mood and maybe, like me, leave little pools in your eyes.

Click here to read more of her story.

“Reach out and touch someone.”

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I was talking to a colleague yesterday about “Orange is the New Black.” I had mentioned that scenes from the series kept coming back to my mind. She asked if there was a reason why, and I relayed a few ideas. One being that I NEVER want to ever go to prison. While you might have a simple response: “well then do not do anything stupid, Tami.” Easier said then done. We live in a culture that sues. You piss someone off, they sue you, and sometimes the law is not alway on your side. Maybe I have watched too much of “The Good Wife” but I am not optimistic about our legal system, and I do believe that innocent people often end of in prison. Sad but true.

I digress. One of the things I mentioned about Orange is the New Black that got me thinking was about being touched. They only subtly show you this in the show, but I picked up on it immediately. Inmates are not allowed to touch each other. When the main character gets her hair cut and is getting her hair washed (not sure how many real prisons have hair salons) she groans. Having her head touched by someone else is just so foreign, yet matters so much to her. They are starved and crave the human touch.

Yet, as the thought continued to spin around in my head yesterday I realized we ALL crave physical touch. Whether it is a gentle hand on our arm telling us we are going to be fine, or a hug, or maybe just a pat on the back. Touch grounds up in ways that words sometimes cannot. We are reminded that we are all right. We can make it through today, and tomorrow. So when I saw this  Chevrolet commercial “Maddie” (ugh I know another car company ad), the impact of this girl and her dog I thought to add that it is the snuggle of your pet, their sloppy, wet kiss, and the lifetime of comfort when we need it most. A dog always knows.

So not to jump back to the early ’80s but “reach out and touch someone.” [old AT&T slogan]

No Poo

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I know what you are thinking. I am going to talk about poo, or poop. You are wrong. I am talking about the “no poo” movement that has caught my attention. The “no poo” movement is about not shampooing your hair. At first you might think gross! Go ahead and think that, because I thought the same thing, but let me explain. “No poo” means you do not use traditional shampoos that clean AND strip the natural oils from your hair. Why do I care? Well, I like to wake myself up in the morning by washing my hair and letting the scalding hot water surround my head. It is the way that I start my day, but I end my day with a good long run and that means a head of sweat. I think it is gross to not wash all the sweat out before my head hits the pillow at night so I wash it again. Recently I have wondered what that is doing to my hair.

After extensive sleuthing on the Internet, I found quite a large “no poo” community. This Facebook group page shows endless posts from users by the hour or minute, with the community in full comment mode to support those that are embarking on whether to “no poo.” On Sunday I decided to start “no poo” by washing the sweat from my run out with baking soda. It was not that bad, and my hair actually felt clean. You “poo” your hair with baking soda and water, and follow-up with a vinegar/water mixture as a conditioner, shown here.

I wanted to try to wash my hair less. Meaning not twice a day, and possibly not for a few days. I have heard from many that giving your hair a break from washing helps to keep the natural oils present for healthier hair, but I have not been able to give in and try it for fear of my hair feeling “gross” all the time. On Monday (the day after my baking soda wash) I gave in and washed my hair regularly.

Have you tried it? I am curious if I am crazy or if I will be able to stick with it.

“I eat the same thing everyday.”

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We are all creatures of habit. I am not one to have to do the same thing everyday, but there are a few things in life that are pretty similar from day-to-day.

As I mentioned in my blog “Phone calls: No thank you” last weekend, during Portland’s mini snowstorm, I caught up on my Fast Company magazines and found the article: “Secrets of the Most Productive People” in the December 2013/January 2014 issue. There was a mention of the CEO of LearnVest. See, I am a finance buff, so I am a fan of LearnVest, a website that helps with personal finance. I receive their newsletter, and understand where the CEO, Alexa Von Tobel is coming from with this quote in the Fast Company article:

“Since the beginning of LearnVest, I’ve never left the office for food. I eat the same thing every single day [an apple, almonds, yogurt, a salad…], and I never sit still to eat a meal. My ultimate goal is to create operating systems for myself that allow me to think as little as possible about the silly decisions you can make all day long–like what to eat or where we should meet–so I can focus on making real decisions. Because mental energy is a finite quantity.”

I get it. I feel like during my work day I go from meeting to meeting, and often barely know when I am going to squeeze lunch in, or eat while at a meeting or at my desk while quickly trying to catch up on emails before my next meeting. Based on the crazy day, the last thing I want to do is think about what I want to eat for lunch. I usually just restrict it to salad. That way I am eating healthy, usually raw food that my body can easily process. However, often there are many different versions of a salad that I can decide from at work which always makes my decision that much harder, yet by just sticking to salad, I have narrowed my options and made my brain not have to think so much in an already busy day. So I am not as extreme as Von Tobel, but agree that often when you have so many other decisions to make during the day, why complicate things even more by having to decide what to eat.

Are you with me?

Gratitude for the little things

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After a long weekend, curled up on the couch dealing with the throat, nose, and head, I am finally starting to feel better. Feeling rotten for so many days (and not getting to run in over a week) makes me grateful for the normalcy of everyday life. Is it not true that we are more grateful for what we have when we have a period of time away from the goodness of life? Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Usually that line goes hand in hand with someone you love. When they are away from you, you miss them. These last few excruciating days have made me miss my normal life (as crazy as it normally is). There is something to be said for that hour a day I get to myself to run and read. It grounds me. Not feeling 100% means I do not want to exert the extra energy for a run, especially if it means that energy is needed to just get through my day.

Today I am grateful that I am feeling better and for the little bits of normal each day that keep me grounded. Even if normal means a run a day, closeness with my hubby (we’ve stayed away from each other so he would not get this yucky gunk), and just the energy and drive that a normal day brings.

What are you grateful for today?