Things I Cannot Live Without – The ROOMBA

OK, so I have been cataloging items that “I Cannot Live Without” – You can read my first entry HERE or you can click on the category on the right of the page.

Today’s latest item: THE ROOMBA!

So for my birthday last week, I received a group gift that was A ROOMBA.

OH.MY.GOD – where have you been all my life.

For those not in the know, the Roomba is a robotic vacuum. It’s got, like, FREAKIN’ LASER BEAMS.

So, you STILL have to vacuum, especially if you have crayon chewing dogs and children with dirt on their shoes, but in the in-betweens, Roomba does an awesome job.

I decided to name my Roomba “Armand”. I received many suggestions to name it “Rosie”, like the robot maid from “The Jetsons”, but as I am a bit of a feminist and get kinda PO’d when women are stereotyped as THE cleaners of the home., I opted for an exotic male name, as I can pretty much say with 100% certainty, a hot exotic sounding guy with a vacuum would rank quite high on a list of things that are enjoyable, at least to me.

I discovered though that “Armand” has a bit of a freak streak, and he does make me a bit uncomfortable.

He has barged into the bathroom while I was showering, under the guise of “vacuuming”, and was entirely too eager about sucking up my underwear that was on the bathroom floor.

He has also been found stalking me quietly under the couch. He says he was stuck, but there was nothing there.

I have also discovered him attempting to get into my closet.

He has shown no interest in my husband or my son, so I think we are safe on that part, but I may need to install a “Nanny Cam” while I am gone to see what he is up to. Hopefully I wont find him wearing my bra.

 

“Thing I Cannot Live Without” – AIRBORNE

Ok, not only 3 posts today, which is unusual…but 2 “Thing I Cannot Live Without” series posts in one day.

Well, circumstance is dictating this post as I look at my completely zonked 5 year old who went from GOOD to BAD in the course of about an hour…

So, my 3rd item in my “Things I Cannot Live Without” series:

AIRBORNE

OK, so as the story goes, a school teacher who was sick of getting sick from kid’s germs created this product to help your immune system fight off creeping crud of all types. It has a ridiculously high amount of vitamin C as well as other minerals and herbs. If you take it every four hours or so when you start to feel lousy, or if you take it when folks around you are sick, it either helps to fight what you have or aids in warding it off.

Of course there are those who say it doesnt work and is just a gimmick, but I’ll tell you that it works for me! SO THERE!

I could definitely see how though it may work for some and not for others. If you are missing certain vitamins and minerals, it couldnt hurt, you know? If you are “fine”, then it wont do anything….

It comes in the above dis-solvable version, which I have to say, the only good one is the Berry. The orange isnt TOO bad, but its effervescent, so you have to offset the tang with the fizz. Thats why I like the Berry.

There is also these:

THESE ARE TERRIBLE. BLECH!!!! These are what I am using right now to stave off anything from my kid, but its all that I have! So I will just deal with it! But ICK, they have a HORRIBLE aftertaste….the ones that dissolve leave a lot to be desired, but compared to the chewable ones, its like drinking a 1947 Château Cheval Blanc. OK. I have no true reference for expensive wines, but I googled “Most Expensive Wines” and it came up with that. So ya, I said it to get the point across. A Dr. Pepper Big Gulp from 7-11 is actually a choice drink for me, but the emphasis isnt there.

So there ya go….AIRBORNE. I’m due for another one….

EDITING TO ADD – This is GREAT if you have to TRAVEL BY PLANE. Being that I see travel in my future business endeavors, I have NO DOUBT that I will be stocking up….TSA better not have a problem with it! Airplane germs are like mutated classroom germs!

MELATONIN and How I Cannot Live Without You

This is the second part in my series “Things I Cannot Live Without”.

Melatonin – what is Melatonin. According to Wikipedia: Melatonin ⁱ/ˌmɛləˈtoʊnɪn/, also known chemically as N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine,^[1] is a naturally occurring compound found in animals, plants, and microbes.^[2][3] In animals, circulating levels of the hormone melatonin vary in a daily cycle, thereby allowing the entrainment of the circadian rhythms of several biological functions.^[4]

In normal people terms, Melatonin is the hormone that is automatically released into our bodies when certain cues occurs. For instance, when it starts to get dark out, the body secretes melatonin, as being diurnal entities, we sleep at night. Ever go to a movie during the day and come out and feel like you have been completely knocked on your butt? Dark room + melatonin (and I am sure sitting for 2 plus hours eating crap) =’s drowsy.

Now, our bodies naturally produce it via our Pineal gland, but as I have discovered over the years, some folks produce more than others.

I first learned of melatonin when researching Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Studies show that children with ASD produce LESS Melatonin than typically developing children. WELL THAT EXPLAINS WHY MY KID CANNOT SLEEP! Basically, a racing mind that cant shut off, coupled with a depleted amount of melatonin, makes for an insomniac child who is so overtired that it exacerbates EVERYTHING. (Dont even ask what an insomniac child does to parents…)

So our Pediatrician said we could give him a small dose of melatonin to help regulate him, and don’t you know? IT WORKED!!!!!

A sleeping, restful child equals a calm and regulated daytime child which again carries into bedtime as there is no over-tiredness.

It doesnt help you STAY asleep, but it triggers the correct processes to make you sleepy and cause you to fall asleep.

Now, you have to do a 3 week on, 1 week off schedule, as continually using will actually cause your body to just expect the supplement and not your body to produce it on its own. Because of the normal sleep patterns it creates, we can do the 1 week off with little issue. Sometimes we can actually go a little longer. This last time we went a good month without it and things were doing well. But sure enough, the inability to sleep creeps back in and we are back to the insomnia and as a result, back to the melatonin.

I HAVE decided to start taking it as well! I TOO have ALWAYS BEEN a terrible sleeper. It’s funny, I look at my quirks and idiosyncrasies, and couple them with my HORRIBLE sleeping issues that I have experienced since I was a child, and I swear that I TOO would probably have been given an ASD dx!

All I can say is that IT WORKS.

If you travel alot, and experience tons of jet lag, use it to artificially create a new sleep pattern….if you works nights and need to re-regulate, use it.

Side effects? Sometimes a headache the next morning, but usually when I dont sleep well (i.e. dog or child waking up) and FREAKY VIVID DREAMS. OK, this happens to some folks….but actually not really to me…

So Melatonin….I cannot live without you…

Oh VIBRAM FIVE FINGERS How I Love Thee…

Let me count the ways…..

Today I am going to start an ongoing series of “Things I Cannot Live Without”….and my first entry is

VIBRAM FIVE FINGERS

I either get GRIEF and AGGRAVATION when I where them, or I get people who love them as much as I do. I am discovering that I am part of a cult or something. Anyway, Vibram Five Fingers – I cannot live without them.

Basically, they are Barefoot Running Shoes. I know, the first association you think of when you see me is “Oh WOW, she must be a barefoot runner!!”. {{Sarcasm}} It’s more like “She’s must be a Barefoot Couch Sitter!”

Anyway, Im actually a very active individual stuck in a sedentary body. I can still hold my own, but of course I could be better. I just have a pretty lousy cycle of bad luck that usually goes in this sequence: declare a new fully active lifestyle, begin working out, work out awesomely (see! I still have it and I can keep up!), get into a routine, hurt myself, be out for weeks healing, sit around and get depressed, start from beginning.

My cancer, as happy as I am of course that I am still clean, managed to mangle my leg up pretty gnarly. I have some lymph-edema in my right thigh, atrophied muscles due to removal for biopsy as well as radiation treatment, and constant discomfort from scar tissue, trauma to the area, etc. Add to that a set of horribly flat feet, and its quite annoying! My body reorganized itself, for lack of a better description, to allow itself to acclimate to the weaknesses, and as a result, anatomically, I’m a bit messed up. So, something as simple as wearing sneakers or shoes with arches and supports in them (like they all are pretty much – and FORGET ABOUT HEELS) is torture for me, as it throws everything out of whack. For people with typical physiology, fine….me…..bad…

Then I found these. I have NEVER had issue being barefoot. I could do anything barefoot and have no issues. However, going running or going to the gym barefoot – yeah, that wouldnt fly. So I took the plunge and will never go back. These have LITERALLY been lifesavers.

I HATE running. Actually, hate is too nice of a word. I always said that if I were being chased by a large man with a knife, I better find myself the nearest body of water as I could swim no problem, and could tread water for weeks. It would be a battle of wills where I am sure biology would win out as a man with a knife cant wait for me at the shore forever….you know…you have to like go to the bathroom and stuff….If I ran any distance, I would be one giant charlie horse in my right leg and foot….and the shin splints…OI! Not with these….You have to change your foot strike from heel -toe to more of a ball of foot-toe….give yourself time to strengthen your muscles though…its different…ironically for me, it was more natural as being barefoot was very comfortable for me.

I would only wear them working out, then, I said to myself…”Self….if it works for you, who cares what other people think!”. So I said “SCREW IT” and grabbed a pair to wear casually. It took a greater sense of self to do it, but now I dont care. I get compliments, I get stares, and as they grow in popularity, I get “OH WOW! I see those at the gym! Or, “My Doctor wears those because he cant stand in surgery all day without his back killing him” or “I have a pair too and I love them”!

As a mentioned before, I think I have joined a cult….and its almost mandatory to take a pic (like above) and post them for all to see. Check out their Facebook Page if you dont believe me! (http://www.facebook.com/VibramFiveFingers)

I put my own spin on displaying my Five Fingers:

Barefoot Dog, Barefoot Horse and Barefoot Goat

 

 

So there ya go – Vibram Five Fingers! Their slogan should be “If you never wore em, dont knock em!”