Domestic Geek

When I got out of the shower yesterday, I looked in the mirror and the skin all over my face was dry and flaky. Ewww. I've also been scratching a lot and have noticed a couple of dry patches on my arm that aren't usually there. Since I don't have these problems in the summer when we're running our swamp cooler most of the day, it's got to be the result of the dry Colorado winter air. I do have a small vaporizer than I run when I'm sick, but it barely puts moisture in my bedroom, let alone the whole house. Plus, the dang thing is noisy! I know I need to get a humidifier to run when we kick the furnace on for the winter, but have you seen all the choices in the store? While hunting around online, I found a complete guide to buying a house humidifier. There's a page that breaks down the different types of home humidifiers as well as desirable features in a model. There is also some information on the top brands of humidifiers. If you suffer from dry skin and sore throats every winter as well, a humidifier just may be the answer—check out all the useful information at HumidifierInformation.com.

One thing I miss since the Coomers crafts malls went out of business is the one seller who had a booth with Burt's Bees products. Burt's Bees produces a really good lip balm. Sure, you can go to the health food stores to get some of them, but I really hate going there. For some reason, I feel out of place. I found a great online site called N101 Nutrition that not only carries a lot of products in the Burt's Bees line, but many other well-known brands of nutritional supplements, vitamins, herbs, sports nutrition and natural beauty products. That reminds me that I really need to find a new vitamin supplement. I'm almost out of mine and though it worked pretty well, it was really expensive. Fortunately, this site offers everyday low pricing and many of their items include volume discounts. N101 Nutrition also has a rewards program where you earn 1 point for every dollar spent that can later be redeemed for select product discounts or free merchandise.

Besides just listing the products for sale, the company provides detailed information including ingredients and facts about each one. There are also many articles and guides to help you choose the right products or to get more information about health and supplement topics. I'm definitely going to be delving further into this site.

Note to Self: Stop drinking carbonated beverages, especially now that you don't drink them all the time. I had a Coke with dinner because the place we went to dinner doesn't serve brewed tea (only that nasty fountain crap). I have got the worst case of heartburn right now as a result. Ugh. This sucks because I had intended on going to bed early to get a good night's rest (still trying to fight off sickness). Does a woman's immune system drop right before her period? It always seems that when I do get sick, it's right around this time of month. *sigh*

If you didn't already know, Colleen is partipating in a 60 mile 3-Day walk for The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation this weekend in Philadelphia. She is very close to her goal of $2200 in pledges, so if you can help out, please visit her 3DayMom site for information and the link to donate.

Good luck this weekend, Colleen!

I've often wondered if there is something physically wrong with me. I've suspected for years that I may suffer from depression. I've also suspected a bipolar disorder. When my mother and I were watching an episode of Oprah together and I mentioned my suspicions, she said, "Oh, you're not depressed. You're just a little down and you'll snap out of it." Since we will have lost my mother 10 years ago this January and that conversation happened well before that, I've had this problem for a very long time. I've never sought help because I never had insurance and don't have money to pay for doctors myself. I didn't want to be drugged up and suffer other problems. I cry alot and shut myself away. I honestly can't remember a time when I was happy and at peace. Even though I try to put on a happy face once in awhile, that feeling of wrongness is always there. It's why I overspend and overeat and push away people trying to be my friends. It's why I'm so self-destructive. It's why I'm so angry and frustrated. It's why I always used to move alot. I was trying to escape something. The sad thing is, what I'm trying to escape is inside of me.

Today, my friend Chrissy pointed out this blog entry about Depression in the IT Professions. It's got me to thinking again. Maybe there isn't anything wrong with the jobs I've tried to get, it's all me. I'll never be happy in any job because that deep seeded feeling that everything is wrong is always there. The author of that post had many resources about depression. Maybe it's time to figure out what's wrong and fix it.