so, i’m weening myself off of high fructose corn syrup, and i’m trying (though unsuccessfully) taking food colorings out of my diet too (not that there’s anything wrong with them, but i don’t think my food needs any coal tar in it). but i need to wage a different war on sodium lauryl sufate (sls). it’s the additive that makes stuff foam it’s in a lot of things like soap, shampoo. my problem is when it’s in my toothpaste and mouthwash. i’m among the 15% of the population that has an allergic reaction to it. it’s causing canker sores.

i’ve done a lot of research about it, and most of it points to the sls additives, but other causes are stress (hello!), menstrual cycling (check!), nutritional deficiencies (got them too), genetics (dad’s been known to get them), and taking nsaids (take them too). as far as i’m concerned, i’m their fucking poster girl.

so, yesterday, at our monthly trip to whole paycheck foods, i found a new toothpaste that i don’t mind the flavor of. i got the powersmile with coenzyme q10. it cost a lot ($5.50 a tube), but if it means i never get another canker sore, that’s worth it. plus, it takes like 2 months to finish a tube by myself anyway (salty said he won’t be sharing it with me.).

so, in short, i’m not a health freak. really. i’m not. but i take vitamins (multi, c, Ω-3, garlic, condroitin, gingko biloba, and i probably should add a b complex and l-lysine), i buy special soda that doesn’t have corn syrup, i have special toothpaste, and i try to drink 1.5L of water a day. i’m really not a health freak.

for the first time in 25 years, i finally have matching furniture.

if you are fortunate enough to live in los angeles, and fortunate enough to be alive today, you will notice several lovely things:

1. no rain.
2. nary a cloud in sight.
3. the current weather, as of 10:04 am, seems to be about 67°. the high, for later will be about 79°.
4. singing birds.

sometimes, i get so wrapped up in my work and getting things done, that i forget the profound peace that is around me. true, i live in the thick of the city, but i also have my own private piece of heaven carved out of her that i can retreat to, and find solace in. i took today off to mentally recouperate. last night, i came home, sat on the couch for a little tv, and promptly fell asleep. i woke up enough to realize that salty had gone to bed (this is about 5:00 in the afternoon, btw). crawled into bed with him, and slept the whole night through. i had woken up briefly at about 9:30 and noticed that he had gotten up, but didn’t muster enough energy to join him. he came back two hours later. we both woke up chipper at 6:00 the next morning.

good times, ‘yo. good times.

i’m recovering from a very expensive weekend.

coach is love.
as is sephora.
video games to appease the boyfriend.
off to fry’s to get a new router because the old one died.
and i made a costco stop.