Since it’s been almost six weeks since my surgery I have had plenty of time to get cozy with a few items, some of which have become favorites of mine. For your enjoyment (and amusement) I decided to give you not one, but two Favorite Things lists.
Here are some items that I’ve come across recently that I think are pretty outstanding. I have not been paid to promote or have been contacted in any way about endorsing any of these items. I just happen to like them and thought I’d share them with you:
Things I’m Loving Right Now:
Bolthouse Farms Caesar Parmigiano Yogurt salad dressing. Actually, I’ve been using this brand for some time now, but this flavor is currently my favorite. I’ve tried their Ranch, Thousand Island and Blue Cheese dressings as well and they are all really yummy. This one in particular however, is being used from sandwich spread to vegetable dip. And the calorie count is an amazing 45 calories per serving (2 tablespoons). How great is that?
Since my surgery, my skin has been crazy-dry. This is very unusual for me during the summer months. I had plenty of lotions to slather on my body, but my face (which is pretty sensitive) was not responding to any kind of moisturizer and I was breaking out in acne along my jaw line. Seriously? Adult acne?
I’d read a while back that Argan Oil helped all kinds of skin conditions so I shopped the internet for a deal and bought Josie Maran’s 100% Pure Argan Oil. This stuff is amazing. Not only does it balance out my uneven skin, but if I feel a breakout coming on I rub a little oil onto it and by the next morning it’s dried up and healing nicely. Oil drying up acne. I know – crazy. This oil is not just for the face, either; it can be used anywhere on the body, including to soften cuticles and it’s great taming dead ends. The best part is that a little goes a long way.
You all know how much I LOVE my tea. I use it as a staple in my household because it has a habit of curbing my sugar cravings, not to mention all of its other health benefits. I was a Teavana Girl for a while; then I started really enjoying Lupicia teas, but while cruising the internet a few weeks ago I came across a small tea company called The Tea Guys. They had two flavors I had to try: Chocolate Delight and Coconut Truffle, which is the one you see in the photo above. Can I just say that this is some of the best tea I’ve ever had? Look at all of those goodies sitting amidst that black tea! Steeping a heaping teaspoon to 8 oz of hot water for a couple of minutes and then adding my favorite sweetener and a splash of milk, and I could swear I was drinking a warm, creamy Almond Joy chocolate bar. Mmm……
When I finally got the okay to begin slowly exercising again, my husband found a free exercise app for my IPhone to help keep me motivated and show me that I am indeed making progress – even when I think otherwise. I’ve downloaded several of these freebie apps in the past and have been unimpressed, but this one is really useful. It’s called Allsport GPS LE. It uses GPS to track your time, distance, change in elevation, calories – the works. And it allows you to see the actual path you took during your walk, run, hike, bike ride or other activity. It’s very user friendly and worth downloading if you have an IPhone. And did I mention that it’s free??
My list of post-surgery must haves:
This list will most likely do you little good to read, unless you’ve recently had surgery. Or enjoy seeing just how little it takes to excite me these days. Either way, this is a more humorous but completely legitimate list of my favorite post-hysterectomy items. Seriously, if I were J Lo, these things would be my entourage because they must be within my reach at all times.
1. Stretchy, drawstring shorts.
I tried these on before surgery and they were so big, the crotch came halfway down my thighs. I thought, ‘Well, that was a waste of money,’ yet I hung onto them because my mother – with her never ending wisdom, reminded me that too big is better than too small. Right, indeed. I have worn these during the day and I’ve worn them to bed. Double-duty lounge shorts! They may not be pretty, but they stretch with my stomach when I’ve had a rough day of overdoing it.
2. Ice Pack.
Never before have I had a more regimented routine of icing any part of my body. This ice pack is draped across my tummy all throughout the day. I don’t know if it helps the swelling go down, but it sure feels good. Courtesy of Walgreens.
3. This chair.
This is like the Archie Bunker’s Chair of Chairs. So comfortable. Thank goodness the 100+ degree heat has broken because I can now return to my favorite park-it spot. When sitting becomes too painful I can lean way back in this lounge chair and it takes all kinds of pressure off of my lower back. Courtesy of Bed, Bath and Beyond (with 20% off coupon, of course)
4. My Succulent Garden.
Remember this post when Craig and I bought a bunch of seed packets so that I could have a deck garden since I couldn’t do anything strenuous after surgery? Yeah well, this is how all of that played out (prepare yourself for a dramatic reading here):
And thus the seeds sprang forth from the fertile soil and rose towards the heavens. And lo, if you listened closely enough you could hear them announce their purpose for this world – each of them introducing themselves to their neighbors: I am fancy lettuce! I am a poppy! I am rosemary!
…and then they all keeled over and died. Every one of them. Bummer of an ending to that riveting story, I know. (I have no idea what I did wrong, either.) So, I decided to go a different route and plant a succulent garden. Here’s how that is going, which in contrast reads more like an infomercial:
Oops! I forgot to water! So what. Who cares? They certainly don’t! Won’t my lovely plants die in this 100+ degree heat? No way! They love it! Everything else is wilting in the sun! Not these babies!
Basically, I couldn’t kill these plants if I tried. Don’t they look great? I’m telling you, if you have no skill at keeping things alive, try a succulent garden. They’re great.
Well, I think that’s about enough punishment for you today 
I’m about to leave my Fort of Solitude and go out to have breakfast with my friend, Mel. As always, thank you for taking the time to stop by and read. Oh, and if you have anything new and exciting that you’ve tried and cannot live without, I’d love to read about it!
Have a great Tuesday!
XO,
~Ellen
LOL at your creative writing about the plants. I just put together a succulent pot for my mom. It was a lot of fun, gathering them from several different sources. Glad to hear that they stand up well. She loves them.
And your comments about the tea make me want to try again to use tea as an evening treat instead of ‘dessert.’
It is good to hear you progressing, and good to hear that you are taking it slow and not over-doing.
I am so thankful for my succulent garden – especially this summer. We have had such little rain that it would have been difficult keeping flowers alive if I hadn’t had surgery.
Debby, the tea is definitely worth a try. If you get the right kind (full of flavor) it really kicks the sweet tooth to the curb.
I am slowly progressing – enough so, that I can say it with confidence now. Thank you for your comment
I want to try one of those succulent pallet plant wall thingies that are all the rage on pinterest. Or perhaps I just want to pin and pretend
Glad you are leaving the fort – enjoy yourself.
Oh, I have SEEN those. I’d love to try those, too. Pinterest is my crack right now, I swear. SO many good ideas on that site!
Love the shorts – think I’d hang on to them as a souvenir!!
Sharon, I’d be happy to send them right along to you when I’m done with them (I have two pair…..think about it!) lol
Breakfast with Mel sounds splendid! Your mom IS a smart cookie. Double duty shorts are perfect. Now if only they would slip off in the middle of the night and sweep up dog fur.
I like that you are hemming in the succulents with a fence.
I put argan oil on my frizzball hair. It is good for zits too? Is there no end to the miracles of the argan? What is an argan?
Can’t believe it has been six weeks.
Thanks for the heads up on the salad dressing, numbers look very good. Will try it.
My brother thought of very good activity last Thursday that I could do with my foot and kept us all out of the heat. We spent the afternoon at a ceramics paint shop. It is the kind where they fire pieces in a kiln. My two girls, my niece, nephew, self and my brother painted the afternoon away.
I can’t believe it either. In some ways it seems longer, but then I’m quickly reminded whenever I bend over that it has not been that long. I am so glad that you went painting at a ceramics shop! How exciting (and what a good idea your brother had!) Nothing is more relaxing than creating.
I checked at several stores before I was smart enough to use the “find a store” option on the dressing web sight. They are carried in my area, but only at one chain, so it was a good thing I looked.
Darn, I almost picked up a jar of argan-oil moisturizer last night!
(There’s still time, I can swing back by Ross & snatch it off their clearance table)
& thanks for the App recommendation… I was looking at a “Zombies Run” one which seemed like a big investment of $7.99! (maybe it will even work in NM)
I think this app would work beautifully for you during riding, Val. Realtime maps showing everywhere you went, and you have the option of uploading to their site to see where other people who are doing the same activity goes, so it gives ideas to new spots….although, I’m sure there are only so many places to go riding. Hope you can still snag that argan moisturizer!
I’m loving the Moroccan hair oil, which my stylist calls ‘hair crack’. I can’t stop touching my hair when I’ve used it.
Such good stuff, isn’t it? I can’t get over how smooth my hair feels, too – even in humidity. Love the hair crack reference. You crack me up, Cammy.
You say “adult acne” as if it’s a foreign concept. Wait! Is it? I’ve had acne all my life. I need some of that oil!
Love the succulent garden. That’s pretty much the only thing I can keep alive too.
I had terrible acne as an adolescent, but when I got into my twenties my face cleared up very nicely. I’m stunned that I’m getting it back again, Hanlie. What’s up with that??
Ugh, I totally sympathize with the jawline acne! I have been dealing with it for about 2 years now, and it’s driving me CRAZY. I never had acne as a teen, but suddenly when I turned about 28, it appeared.
I am definitely going to try out that tea–it sounds amazing! I have to admit, after reading your e-mail about the Teavana Perfect Teamaker, I still didn’t buy it because it seemed SO intimidating. However, I went out for coffee (tea for me) at a coffee shop, and they served my tea in one of the Teavana Teamakers! Since I got to try it out, I realized that it seems very simple indeed. I have it in my shopping cart on Amazon–I really need to just purchase it already
Katie, I can’t remember if you liked coconut or not. If not, the Chocolate Delight is out of this world. And this is a pretty reasonably priced company. Oh, and they have carrot cake flavor, too. REALLY good!!
Ooh, I love Bolthouse Farms yogurt dressing. I switch back and forth between the ranch and the caesar. Soooo tasty.
I’ve been drinking tons of (sugar free) iced tea lately myself. The batch I am currently on is a mixture of apricot and chai, and it is very tasty. It does reduce my desire to consume sweets too, which is a good thing. There is something subtle and cookie like about chai tea, isn’t there? I am a teavana fan, but haven’t heard of The Tea Guys. Those flavors sound tempting enough to make me head over to the internet shop right now…
And I am currently downloading the AllSport ap. Thank you for sharing that! I’ve not purchased a pedometer yet (thought I’d wait and get a fancy one) but perhaps I can find a free ap for my iPhone. As it is, the AllSport ap seems pretty dang useful.
It hadn’t occurred to me to look up an app for a pedometer before. Thanks a million for putting that in my head, because there are several really nice (and really free) aps available. Oh, how happy I get when stuff is free.
You’re right, there is something cookie-like about chai tea. And this tea by The Tea Guys – well, I’d never even heard of them before, but it’s some of the best I’ve had.
I hope you like the Allsport app. I used it the other day on my outing to Target. I figured, ‘well, walking is walking so I don’t want to overdo it.’ When I was done there was a green line that showed my path throughout the whole store – me zigzagging through past the clothes aisle. It’s actually better than a pedometer really, because with some pedometers you have to wear it in order for it to count your steps. With these gps apps, you just need to have the phone on you – anywhere (mine was slung into my purse).
Hi Ellen! Just catching up with you after not visiting for awhile– sorry to hear about you having to get surgery, but it sounds like your recovery from surgery is going well so far and I wish you continued health! ps the Boathouse Farms dressing looks amazing
Leslie! Always excited to get a comment from you. I hope you are well! Thank you for your thoughts and for checking in. Email me sometime and let me know how things are going