3 Products for my Health

I'm really into taking care of my personal healthy lately, a big change from my usual couch potato self. Here are 3 things I recently bought.

1) Umcka by Nature's Way : I get cold/flus pretty easily. Most of the time, when I get sick, I'm laid out in bed for days. I don't get little colds, I get out for a week type of sick. Well, I got sick last week but my sister and Mindy were visiting me in Portland the next day so I went to Whole Foods to do some grocery shopping and asked the worker there if she can recommend anything for my cold. She suggested Umcka and I took it faithfully and seriously it really shortened my cold, the symptoms were very mild with this cold. I know, it could be a fluke but why not try anything that could possibly help. Umcka is made from the root of a plant called pelagornium sidoides, from the geranium family, and the root has been used for hundreds of years by the Zulu tribe in South Africa to treat upper respiratory illnesses.

2) Oravive Toothpaste : I have sensitive teeth, it's from years of brushing too hard. I can't help myself, it's a compulsive thing. I have receeding gums as a result of it but I still brush with clinched fists. Then, I read in Prevention Magazine that there is a new substance that actually hardens the teeth surface with essential calcium and phosphorus ions. So, I've been using it for almost two weeks and I am starting to feel less sensitivity.

3) Hip Hop Abs : I hate to work out but I know I need to stay in shape. After months of inactivity, I finally decided to get a work out DVD. I know, I'm not a Hip Hop type of girl but it's really fun! Here's to your good health!

My new place

I recently rented a house in Hillsdale (a small community near Downtown Portland). So this is my first time living alone, ever. Can you believe it? I went from my parents' house to the dorm to living with roommates. Friends have told me that I should never live alone. They know me well enough to know that I am a people person but I have a tendency to isolate myself, bad combination. I must admit that's been true. I REALLY enjoy living alone, maybe a bit too much. :)

Some of you know that I'm a minimalist. I hate buying things and owning things, that's why I lived with people who had everything and I just moved in with my bedroom furniture. I am the anti-consumerist, or at least I USED to be. Lately, I have been a shopping fiend! I didn't even own a set of utensils. I had to start from scratch. It's been stressful and time consuming, but at times kind of fun.

I LOVE Craigslist. I found pretty much all my furniture there. So the other day, I called on a CL ad for a dining room table and chairs. I drove to the east side up to a cute little house in a fun neighborhood. I rang the bell and a tall thin guy, ironically named Craig, answered the door. I went there to look at a dining room table and ended up sitting there for an hour hanging out with this interesting guy. He told me stories of being a chef at the vegan restaurant he owned, rescuing greyhounds from the race track, being beaten up by police at a rally. We talked about politics and tatoos. What he didn't tell me but I found out later is that he's the spokesperson for a national ecoterrorist group! :) I just really enjoyed meeting someone who is living a passionate life trying to make a difference in this world. Of course we differ in our world view and in how to actually make that difference. However, I had to applaud that he not only had deep convictions but that he was willing to take action on those beliefs. Sadly, so many Christians (including myself) are falling into the trap of living the comfortable middle class lifestyle. We don't take the risks and pains to find out what we really were created for. We end up in jobs that we can do instead of passions we can't live without. I know, here I go idealizing again. Anyway, I just think it's fun cuz only in Portland can you buy a vegan restaurant table from an ecoterrorist activist/lawyer/handyman/chef. :)

Alaska Cruise

I'm going on a 7 Day Alaska Cruise for our family vacation this year. I'm super excited. It was my sister's suggestion and I think it'll be awesome. My dad really didn't want to go, he's a total home body but I really think it's because he doesn't want to leave our dog. (He takes that dog everywhere he goes, seriously). See how in the picture below he has his arm around the dog and not me. I'm not bitter. :)

We're taking the Norwegian Pearl from Seattle to Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan and back through Victoria. It's our first time to Alaska so please let me know (in a comment) if you have any fun experiences or helpful suggestions on what to do or see while we're on the cruise. We leave August 10th.

Family

For 6 years I lived 3,100 miles away from my family. Now I'm only 150 miles away, and it's fun to be able to go home for holidays. I was able to go up to Federal Way for both Mother's and Father's Day on the Amtrak. Speaking of which, the Amtrak is really the way to go. I once rode the Amtrak from Orlando to New York, taking a detour through Kansas City and Chicago. That was my whirlwind vacation after I graduated from college (my planes, trains, and automobile trip across the US). Anyway, I'm back riding the Amtrak (for gas price reasons now.)
Mother's Day was fun. We went a restaurant my family likes to go for very special occasions called Palisades in Seattle. It's a nice seafood restaurant with a great buffet brunch. For father's day we went to a new Asian seafood buffet called Blue Fin. For a family of really small thin people, we really like buffets. :) I don't think we get our money's worth but hey, you can't deny heredity.