oops

I've been forgetting to post in this blog for, uh...the last two years. Le Whoops.

The main reason I haven't been posting, actually, is that, despite the fact that this is supposed to be a "health and beauty" blog, I have been feeling very ill in the past two years. Just before I created the blog, my family and I moved from Juneau, AK to the Washington DC area (having previous moved from VA to AK the year or so before), and it was just too much for my fibromyalgia. My health declined all through 2014 and much of 2015. When I finally started feeling better, in mid/late 2015, I changed positions, overdid things physically as a result, and subsequently felt ill again.

So, finally, about six months later, I'm emerging from all that, and realizing that I have a poor neglected H&B blog here that could really use some love. And since I have certainly been thinking about the subject, even while feeling sick, I certainly have things to say. I'll try to be updating at least weekly from now on.

My first entry had focused on the "no poo" method of hair/scalp cleansing, and I'd like to talk a little more about that. It's been working really well for me, and except for when I color my hair (still using LUSH henna), which is every four to six weeks, I never use shampoo any more at all. My normal routine is to no-poo on Monday mornings, using a tablespoon of baking soda, a squirt or two of honey, a drop of rosemary oil, and a cup of warm water. On Fridays I usually do a rinse consisting of a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, a squirt or two of honey, a drop of rosemary oil, and a drop of tea tree oil, mixed with 16-20 oz of warm water. The final rinses for both of these preparations is cold water for as long as I can stand (usually a few seconds). I might vary the days depending on what I'm doing; since currently I telework on Mondays and Fridays, those are the most convenient days for me, but if that changes I might do the washing/rinsing the night before instead.

As I mentioned, I haven't felt at all well most of the last two years. However, I have been seeing a really good doctor, who has put me on the one medication that actually works to help with the pain of FM, Tramadol. A lot of doctors, and particularly the ones in AK, have been against using Tramadol because it's a synthetic opioid. They think that makes it the same as an opiate and that it is therefore addictive, but they are wrong and it isn't (I did a lot of research before I ever asked for it). I take very little of it - usually about half the allowed dosage per day - and while I am not exactly pain free I have received quite lot of relief from it, which is not true of any of the other medications I had taken (all of which, by the way, were physically addicting, and had awful side effects, but were approved by my doctors in AK).

During 2014, I gained some weight, but then lost it in 2015. I'm still a bit higher than the weight I got down to in 2012, though, and I probably need to lose at least another 50 at that, so I need to start moving around more. Currently I'm eating a bit less and walking more, and I'm hoping to work myself up to being a bit more fit in 2016.

So that's where things stand. I hope to start posting at least once a week in this and my other blogs. See you then!