Take a look at what I’ve been eating for breakfast:

I know, I know.

It looks delicious and you wish you had some.

That’s not what you were thinking?

Here’s what Jenny had to say about it:
“Cousin, I KNOW we’ve had the discussion before about how lunch should be CHEWED, not SLURPED. Don’t make me get out my “INTERVENTION” banner on you. YOU KNOW I WILL.”

Jenny loves green drinks but prefers them chock full of caffeine and high fructose corn syrup.

In any case, I’ve been drinking green smoothies every morning in 2012, and I love them. Seriously, I do. I put a pear, a banana, an apple, some celery, and either spinach or kale in the blender, hit the “smoothie” button, and one minute later I’ve got a delicious, nutritious concoction that I can sip/slurp/chew on the way to work.

All five servings of fruit and vegetables before I’ve even had my coffee.

I’ve found a zillion recipes – my favorite website so far is IncredibleSmoothies.com. You can look up recipes by ingredient, which I find helpful. I can’t wait to try a watermelon smoothie this summer.

Any other green smoothie drinkers out there?

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This post is linked up to Things I Love Thursday at the Diaper Diaries.

I hate my hair.

I addition to it being not curly but not straight, gray, and all around annoying, it is so thin on the top front of my head.

It makes me cringe to call attention to it, but take a look…

The thin part on the top of my head is the bane of my existence. I’ve been trying to do things that will make it better (or at least hide it)… vitamins, different shampoo, styling products, etc. A year or so ago I discovered something that did help quite a bit – highlights. I had resisted highlights for so long because frankly I was cheap, but once I got them I was hooked. So every few months, I grit my teeth and hand over my credit card to the girl at the salon. Expensive? Sure. Worth it? Definitely.

I’ve come to terms with the expense. Just recently I told my sister that the only way I’ve found to make my hair situation better is to throw money at it. It was then that I had a revelation – I was getting pricey cuts and color and using high-end hair goo, but I was using cheap hair appliances every day. My hair dryer and straightening iron together probably didn’t cost $50, and it seemed entirely possible that better models would produce better results. I started scouring the internet and found folica.com. Not only do they have every hair tool anyone could ever possibly need, the customer reviews are amazing. These people are serious about their hair! Since I was clueless, the reviews were a big help to me.

I reached out to the people at folica and they were nice enough to send me the Sedu Revolution Pro Tourmaline Ionic 4000i (say that 5 times fast) hair dryer for review.

This hair dryer is definitely an investment – the regular price is $200 (although it’s on sale for $159.99 right now), but I love it. It is a serious machine – according to the website, the air comes out at 80 mph. It has an on/off button for the ionic generator, which is great when you’re going for a smooth, straight look, but not so much when you’re looking for volume. It’s got 6 different speed/heat settings and a cool blast button as well.

I can seriously tell a difference in my hair when I use this dryer, as compared to my drugstore model. I’m not sure how to describe it, but it leaves my hair more fluffy (in a good way) and full, which is critical for hiding my thin spots! I also love how quickly and thoroughly it dries. Kate has really thick hair (lucky girl) that’s below her shoulders, and most of the time she and I lose interest in getting her hair dry when it’s about half way there… the Sedu Revolution cuts the time it takes in half, so she is no longer going to bed with a wet head.

I liked this new hair dryer so much that I asked Andy to buy me a professional-grade flat iron as a Christmas present (and by asked I mean sent him a link with a coupon code for $25 off if he ordered it that day. Which he didn’t. So I did. He stuck it in a gift bag on Christmas Eve, though, so it was still technically a present). After scouring Folica for the perfect model, I decided on a Sedu 1.5 inch flat iron.

The flat iron came in a set with clips, a heat mat, Sedu Antifrizz Polishing treatment (which I am obsessed with) and a black clutch for travel. It’s regularly $244.98 (*gulp*) but thanks to some CRAZY sales they had going on, I managed to score it for about $80. Even that is about 4 times what I’ve ever spent on one before, but it is worth every penny. It makes my hair so straight and smooth, I feel like I just came out of the salon.

These new toys have made such a difference in how I feel about my hair and about myself as I head out the door every morning. Like I said – Expensive? Sure. Worth it? Definitely.

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I’m linking up to Things I Love Thursdays at the Diaper Diaries!

Over the years, I’ve written a lot about my attempts to become a runner. There was that one time when I started the Couch to 5K program… and then promptly quit. And then there were the subsequent 23.9 times I started that program again, and quit somewhere along the way.

Once, I “ran” a half marathon… and decided about 12 seconds after I crossed the finish line that I would never. Run. Again.

But then, nine months or so later, I decided to give it another go, even though I hated it. Needless to say, I quit.

Here’s the thing. I hate running, I’m not good at running and I’m never going to be a runner. So rather than continue to set myself up for failure, I decided to try to find something I actually enjoy, and I tried a yoga class.

People. I love it. It’s not the calorie-burning intense workout that running is (at least the class I go to isn’t, but I would love to try out cardio yoga) but it feels so good, both while I’m doing it and after it’s over. I love it and I wish I could go to class every day! But since I don’t have time for that, I’ve been looking into the next best thing – yoga I can do at home.

I’ve discovered a few good resources… there are yoga videos on Netflix, for starters. There’s also a huge library on GaiamTV, with a subscription fee. I’ve been wanting to get Kate into yoga as well, because I think it would be a great thing for us to do together. I got a review copy of Shanti Generation: Yoga Skills for Youth Peacemakers, which is designed to teach yoga exercises and mindfulness techniques for kids from 7 to 16.

We’ve done it a few times and it is a nice way to end the day. Kate is on the young end of the age range they’re targeting, and she sometimes, uh, lacks focus. But she enjoys it and I’m sure she’ll get better over time. Yoga cultivates body awareness, flexibility, concentration, stress reduction and self-expression – all things she and I could use more of.

It’s exciting to me that I’ve finally found an exercise that I actually look forward to and want to do. I never, ever felt that way about running (and seriously, runner’s high? I just don’t buy that).

What about you? Do you have an exercise you love?

This post is linked up to Things I Love Thursday at the Diaper Diaries. Check it out!