Jungle’s Wife

I’m not particularly into cosmetics.

But I do use a few of them to make myself reasonably presentable in public.

One of the products I use is mascara. I have a love/hate relationship with it. My eyes tend to be dry and sensitive. So I want a product that performs well and is gentle.

Is that too much to ask?

I forgot to add “cheap.” I’m sorry, but $20 is just way too much to pay for a small tube of mascara.

Even if you’ve never used mascara, you can get an idea of the “issues” by reading the packages. Various products claim to be anti smudge, anti clump, fiber free, fragrance free, easy to remove, waterproof (AKA impossible to remove), flake-proof, etc.

The product that drove me to this post is Cover Girl LashExact.

Here is what they claim:

Get no clump, no glob, beautifully-defined lashes. The LashExact brush is a patented technology with bristles that are aligned and clean, so you get the Exact look you want. Also available in Waterproof.

I tried the non-waterproof variety. It flaked off A LOT! I had these yucky bits all around my eyes. They were impossible difficult to remove on the road without just washing off everything. Even then some of the bits wanted to hang around.

Anyway, I don’t recommend the product.

Some users seemed to love it and others complained about the same issue I experienced. One such reviewer said she ended up with a lot of “chips” under her eyes. That is a good way to put it.

So if having “chips” under/above your eyes is the Exact look you are going for, this is the product for you.

Rant over. The End.

My granddaughter spent a couple of days with us this week. I made sure to bring along some of her toys. What was I thinking? Why would a baby want to play with anything she’s seen before when there is a whole house full of new stuff?

Things that are way more fun than age appropriate toys:

1. Garbage can -It was really cute when she put the paper towel in the trash for me. But apparently it’s just as much fun to remove things.
2. Grandma’s water bottle - It has the cool flip top.
3. Grandma’s purse - lots of stuff to pull out
4. Diaper bag - more stuff to pull out
5. A bunch of cans of diet coke that hadn’t been stashed out of sight. - Jungle better open them outside.
6. The cat - The cat was so not into it! I’m talking growling and hissing if the baby came within 4 feet. This was the safest place the cat could find out of harms way.
7. Cell phone - Sometimes you can even hear daddy’s voice. You can practice saying “hi” even if no one is there.
8. Portable phone - The buttons make cool sounds when you press them - especially the redial button.
9. Television remote - More buttons and makes a good cell phone substitute.
10. Keys - My keys entertained her dad on many occasions. In a pinch, the clicker also doubles as another nifty cellphone substitute.

But even keys get tossed aside in favor of being carried around.

I’ve seen quite a few lists of top 10 super foods. They usually include some sort of nuts, fish, legume, and berry.

Sunday’s Parade had a list a six great foods for men.

The obligatory fish was sardines. I’ve read before that small fish such as sardines are low in mercury. Sardines are also high in fish oils, and if they aren’t boneless, they are high in calcium.

Two legumes made the list: Edamame (for regulating mood) and lentils (for energy.)

Blueberries made the list as usual. The benefit highlighted is improving memory.

Brazil nuts are supposed to be good for prostate health. I read in an Early to Rise newsletter that brazil nuts have more selenium if they are shelled right before eating. The article didn’t mention any preference for freshly shelled raw over roasted. I’ve tried shelling them before. I usually make a huge mess. So my preference would be “shelled by someone else!”

Sesame seeds is the one item on the list that surprised me. They are supposed to “enhance blood flow through the arteries and - ahem - to various other male body parts.” The article mentioned hummus as a food that contains sesame seed paste, called tahini.

Hummus happens to be very yummy, too.

According to research by Swinburne University of Technology, blogging is good for your mental health. So, if you need justification, there ya go.

This happens everytime we pull out Jungle’s vintage Lands End luggage. It is quite difficult to pack with an overweight cat snoozing on top of the overnight bag. Aside from the fact that it makes a comfy bed, she seems to know we are up to something.

An afternoon storm deposited a generous amount of marble-sized hail with a deafening sound. It was still coming down when I took this photo under the shelter of the porch.

I saw several ducks in the front yard darting this way and that - trying to figure out how to escape the onslaught. One lucky duck was safely sheltered under the car - not because she was smart, but because she happened to be napping there before the storm. The ducks apparently know how to get out of the sunlight, but not out of the hail.

The cat, on the other hand, was cowering under the bed-covers as soon as she heard the first rumble of thunder.

An hour later, all evidence of the storm was gone. The sun was peeping through the clouds and the cat was begging for food. Even the garden looks fine. Amazing.

Not everyone is rushing out to stockpile rice and other food items in the face of shortages and expected higher prices.

A journalist for the Virginian Pilot blogged about the experience of digging her way through all of the chicken breasts, turkey bacon, and corn on the cob in her freezer as well as all the non-perishable items in her pantry.

Basically, she needed to find a way to trim her budget. When she discovered she was spending an average of $110 per week on groceries for one person, she decided to see how long she could go without buying anything other than milk, bread, eggs, and fresh fruit and vegetables. The experiment began on January 1st, 2008.

As she blogged about it, others joined in.

All of the participants realized they had certain weaknesses when it came to food shopping. For example, one reader had a weakness for sales on chicken.

The participants reported preparing some interesting recipes and menus along the way - some good - some not so much.

The blogger just finished the experiment culminating with an article in the newspaper.

For those who don’t have several months’ worth of food on hand, it’s not a bad idea to try skipping a week or two. We do that occasionally to force ourselves to eat the things that have gone untouched. It also helps us make better decisions when we do go shopping.

Not all of the neglected purchases are a result of skillful marketing. Some are a result of buying things we should eat instead of what we will eat.

One area of purchases I’ve been thinking about lately is condiments. When I was growing up, we had ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard (the yellow, redneck kind), pickle relish, jelly or preserves, syrup, and honey. I think that was about it. My mom made salad dressing by combining mayo, ketchup, and relish.

These days, we often have more than one kind of mustard, several types of prepared salad dressings, etc.

Another downfall of mine is specialty tea bags. I don’t even use them very often. Now that warmer weather has arrived, I’m determined to use up what I have - even if I have to make it into iced tea. It actually sounds interesting.

Other types of items also need to be cleaned out - like cosmetics, shampoos, soaps, and cleaning products. We are still working our way through all the cleaning products we inherited from Jungle’s mom. We are switching to greener alternatives, but we really should use up what we have on hand.

In order to use up some of the cleaners, it has become obvious they will have to be used for unintended purposes. Otherwise, I would have to wash my windows on a daily basis for the next year to use up all the window cleaners. I’ve learned that just about anything will clean the toilets - even the 10 year old hotel shampoo samples! That patio furniture cleaner should work nicely on the car’s hubcaps.

I get so excited every year when the mommy ducks stop by to show off their new babies. Okay, they really just know I will feed them, but still. It’s one of the joys of living near water (or one of the curses if you have a pool.)

I gave the mommy the name “Peep” when she arrived last summer. She was alone as a duckling - probably about 4 to 6 weeks old, and I sort of adopted her. She has continued to stay close by.

I hadn’t seen her recently. Now I know why.

I hope that Peep (guess I should give her a more appropriate grown-up name) and her babies fare better than her mother and siblings.

Happy Mother’s Day!