I wasn’t going to post anything about the healthcare thing but then I saw this.

Her parents must be so proud.

I’m way too tired from this jam packed weekend to blog. But here are a few picture posts over at my other blog, jump in the ocean (work in progress), to keep you entertained. Hopefully, I’ll be adding a tour of our home soon!

10 yoga postures performed by cats – sad to say these cats are way more flexible than i am
Visualization of famous movie quotes – creative!
17 photos you won’t believe aren’t photoshopped – this makes me want to find the original list
The perfect formula for marriage – according to this, the female should be younger, smarter, and the 30th woman the man should meet hehe
Ryan seacrest’s yearbook photo – for real??????
Limit your exposure to cell phone radiation – I’ve been worrying about this ever since we got the iPhone. I’m on it almost all of the time!

funny headline…

One of my readers, Lori, emailed me recently about a project she is a part of called Window Farms. She asked if I wouldn’t mind blogging about it or making it a friday link and after reading more about it, I just had to make a blog post about it because I think it’s a great idea!

About Window Farms:

Window Farms are vertical, hydroponic, modular, low-energy, high-yield edible window gardens built using low-impact or recycled local materials.

As an apartment dweller for almost the past 10 years of my life, I really appreciate the idea of being able to grow a garden when you are limited in space. One of the aims of the project is to give people who live in low income and dense areas like NYC the ability to grow their own fresh food! With all of the news about fast foods targeting low income areas and how expensive it is to eat healthy (have you checked the prices on those organic stuff??)…this is such a great way to give people options again who can’t afford to eat the way we all should be eating!

Here are some instructions on their easiest windowfarm if you want to give it a try. They also have a great community that will help answer any questions you have and offer invaluable advice to help you get started.

If you like the idea, be sure to support them by voting for Window Farms at the Pepsi Refresh Project. The top 10 ideas get funding and they are #85 right now. I looked at the top 10 and some of them I can’t believe are ranked so high. This definitely deserves to be in the top 10! It only takes a second to vote, especially if you have facebook – you can sign in through that.

Sorry for the lack of posts….been SO busy….

Anyways, I had to take the time to post this….shall we say…kind of embarrassing subject! I have noticed in the past few years, that I have been losing an inordinate amount of hair. I am not sure if it’s my imagination so if you know me, can you tell me????? Do i look like I have less hair now then I did before???

All I know is that after I shower there is a gob of hair in the drain and when I brush my hair there is hair all over the ground!! Last time I went home my whole family says I look like I lost hair. (You can always trust your family to tell you the cold, hard truth!) But when I ask boyrobot he says it looks the same and that I look fine….but he sees me every day so that doesn’t count.

Anyways, I am kind of freaking out here. Baldness does not run in my family. Maybe it’s the shampoo I am using? I do notice that I shed more hair with certain shampoos. The more I think about this the more I start noticing when my hair falls out. WTF.

So I started doing some research and I discovered….THIS:

It’s a shampoo called Nioxin and according to the reviews I’ve read it STOPS YOUR HAIR FROM SHEDDING.

Hello. Why is this news not everywhere. Do I not see balding men everywhere? I’m an engineer, trust me there are tons out there. This magic bottle could have saved them! Well at least according to the reviews. and here. and well just do a google search. The internet does not lie my friends, Nioxin FTW!

Upon further reading, I’ve discovered that Nioxin won’t actually grow out hair that you don’t have. Too bad, I was starting to imagine myself with long, luscious, thick hair that I have been dreaming about my whole life. It just keeps the hair you have from falling out! And this is not a new thing…many of the people using it have been using it for YEARS.

SO, now I am wondering….shall I become a Nioxin convert? It seems like the trick to this is to use it forever and never stop. I LOVE shampoos. I buy a different bottle every time! I just like variety. Trying new things. The thought of using the same shampoo everyday kind of saddens me.

BUT. Having no hair saddens me more.

Now tell me my friends (at least the ones that know me in real life). Is my hair thinning? Tell me the truth. I can handle it.

(I just noticed this post is not viewable from an RSS reader, please click through for links and pictures to the items I am talking about!)

Things I’ve bought recently that I’m really loving:

Every house needs a vacuum cleaner and although I would love to have a Dyson…spending several hundred dollars on a vacuum is just not on the top of my list. This vacuum comes highly recommended and is under $100!

I particularly like that it works for different types of floors (carpeted or bare) and the suction is very powerful. It also has a HEPA filter which is a must in my opinion! And if you don’t have Amazon Prime (no tax, free shipping), you can pick this exact same model at Target for the same price!

While we’re on the subject of vacuuming, I have to bring up this little guy. He’s been such a lifesaver since the day we bought him. Bringing out the big old vacuum cleaner is such a hassle, so when we have a little cleaning to do…we use this instead. And it’s SO easy because it’s cordless! I love it. And it’s green. And it picks up EVERYTHING. Even the girl checking us out at Home Depot said she owns one and loves it.

Almost every girl I know has a thing for containers (right???). Well I discovered the most AWESOME CONTAINERS in the world. They are called Oxo Pop Storage Containers. So why are they so awesome? Well they come in a bazillion different sizes, they are stackable, they are BPA-free, they have an air-tight seal, and they are SO easy to open and close! I’ve never used better containers. The reviews don’t lie folks. I finally got a few of these 4qt ones to hold my rice and flour in. I wish I could afford to put everything in these containers and then my kitchen would be like a wall of Oxo containers. Ok, maybe only I would think that is cool.

And if the price is a little daunting to you, I searched high and low for a deal on these and the best I could come up with was to get them at Cost Plus World Market and use their $10 off $30 coupon. BTW, I absolutely LOVE this store…it’s also where I picked up my next item…

I picked these up on a whim one day when I needed something small to fill up my order so I could reach my $30. I had never used one of these scrapers before but I read on the tag that it works on non-stick cookware, glass, etc. Now that I’ve used it, I don’t know how I washed dishes before! Have you ever washed your pots and pans and end up with a gross sponge? Have you ever ruined your sponge trying to scrape off something gooey, burnt, or sticky? Well this little thing cleans everything up so fast and easy and without scratching your cookware. It keeps my sponge much cleaner this way as well. Even if you are stricly a dishwasher person, you’ll love using this to scrape off dishes before you toss them in the washer. I’ve never seen this at anyone’s house where I’ve washed the dishes…it’s like this big secret and I am sharing it with you! Run out and buy one now. I think I got mine for a $1! And it’s the best $1 I’ve spent in a long time! :)

If you don’t trust me on these amazing items, check out the reviews. I always read up on everything before I buy…well except for those scraper things..but those turned out to be great! :)

Some cool websites:

Favicon Generator – easily create a favicon with your own picture. See? I just created mine….need to find a cooler picture though!

Browsershots – see what your website looks like in different browsers

Kuler – my design friend showed me this website a long time ago. it’s a great way to find complementing colors!

Pingdom tools – tells you how long it takes to load up your website for a new reader

Sorry my post is a little late today…been busy setting up yet another blog! Hopefully I will be able to show it to you guys soon. Anyways, I stumbled upon this very cool website called Copy Paste Character. It takes some of the more commonly used “special characters” and makes them copy and pastable!! Now you’ll never have to worry about what the keyboard codes are for that darn copyright symbol: © or what if you think something is über awesome!

Just click on the symbol you are interested in and paste away!

As much as I love Trader Joe’s, not everything from there is the best thing ever. One product that I have tried recently that I am not really loving is:

Trader Joe’s All Natural Antiplaque Toothpaste

Maybe it’s the fennel but when I use this, I feel like my mouth is full of a parsley/herb-y taste and for a few hours afterwards I randomly taste it in my mouth. Gross! I’ve been sampling different products that are “natural” but this one has me thinking I’ll stick to my Crest/Colgate. I mean everybody else has been using it for ages with no problems right? If anyone can share why I should use a natural toothpaste, I might consider trying the peppermint one…which probably fares better.

So that is one product I don’t recommend but this one…is SOOOOO good. It’s my new favorite thing from Trader Joe’s right now:

Sun-dried Tomato & Pesto Torta

Sorry no picture because I can’t find one on the internet and I finished my torta off before I thought of taking a picture! But trust me, this stuff is GOOD. It’s 3 layers of cream cheese, pesto, and sun dried tomatoes. I used it as a spread for my sandwiches and also ate it with bagel chips. THE PERFECT SNACK! yummmmmmmmmmm.

America’s worst french fries – so glad to see my fave Mcd’s as the best fries you can eat!
How often should you flip a burger? – multiple times is the winner…but it’s close
If tiger woods apology was honest – anyone watch the apology? it was so rehearsed!
Pictures of the day – from a few weeks ago but worth a look
Why does my body do that – I’ve been getting charley horses lately….guess I need to drink more water! :(
Company political contributions – See which party companies donate the most to!
How to disappear – as taught by a PI who charges up to $30K to help you disappear
“Toyota defense” may free a man who has been sitting in jail for 8 yrs – if this is true it’s SO sad. i hate reading stories about innocent people getting convicted