where my oil pullers at?

just kidding, i don't think that anybody who reads here is an oil puller. but you never know!

i first heard of this practice - oil pulling - a few years ago on a facebook for hippies site called "tribe," where a lot of alternative thinkers would post questions and solutions, most with a decidedly natural bent.  i was looking for carcinogen-free toothpaste recommendations and saw a post about oil pulling. it was interesting but i did not try it.

fast forward to last fall when i was becoming aware of the wonders of coconut oil. i was fighting a cold and there was a recommendation i saw online for mixing coconut oil with eucalyptus oil and putting it on the bottom of your feet to clear sinuses. it seemed like a better (less malodorous) idea than the bowls of chopped onions i put around the house last year. the same thread mentioned oil pulling. several commenters chimed in with anecdotes of oil pulling easing everything from tooth decay to rheumatoid arthritis - head colds, blood sugar stability, cramps, asthma, back pain, skin problems, the works.

i bought a jar of unrefined cold pressed virgin coconut oil and was happy with how it plus eucalyptus helped my cold. 

i figured the ancient Ayurvedic practice of oil pulling might be worth a shot.

basically you put a tablespoonful of oil (unrefined coconut or sesame seem to be the most popular) in your mouth and swish it around for 10-20 minutes, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.  i floss my teeth beforehand so the space between my teeth is bigger. after swishing through your teeth, you spit it out in a jar or trash can *NOT DOWN THE DRAIN* and rinse with warm salt water and then brush your teeth as usual.

it supposedly works like an intense mouth wash - the coconut oil is anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and it collects all your mouth germs and then you spit them out.

bonus is the lovely trippy layered tiers of half solidified - half liquid coconut oil collected in the jar!

i have been doing this for 2 months now. i can report my mouth feels terrific! i cannot attest to any other health improvements at this point, though i usually have a sore throat/ear pain at least every other week in the winter, and i have not had a hint of either since starting.  considering i spend many hours per week in the germ nest of thrift stores, and we went on a floating petri dish carnival cruise, i am pretty happy.

it seems that western science has proven oil pulling to have a positive effect on oral health, though the other hundreds of benefits have not yet been verified scientifically. i have a baby tooth - a molar that doesn't have an adult molar to push it out - and i would like to keep this baby tooth as long as possible before i need an implant. i am hoping oil pulling will at least help in this endeavor.

i will keep you all updated on this riveting oil pulling journey. i have my 6 month dentist appointment in april and i am interested to see if the hygienist can tell a difference.

at the bare minimum, it serves as a kind of meditation. for 20 minutes every day i am not talking.


as an aside: how great is talenti gelato and sorbetto? the mango is out of this world!

frozen valentine

happy valentine's day from snow-covered asheville! 

may your hearts, cockles, and fingers stay warm today. 

nachodoggy is ready for besos.

Macy's and Hallmark made it what it is today - well it's a corporate holiday!
http://www.alomusic.com/player.html - "Valentine's Day" (about 20 songs down) ALO - Animal Liberation Orchestra

 boogie boarding down the driveway. looks like more fun than it is!  should've greased the board.

formation of a polar bunny vortex:

love and hearts and chocolate to all!

time to fetch the donuts

what happens when there are 3 inches of snow on the ground, the roads are still not plowed, and your dogs have cabin fever?

snow party! fiesta de snow!

frosty whiskers!

powder pounce!

time to make the donuts

what happens when there are 3 inches of snow on the ground, the roads have not been plowed or sanded, but the court has not gotten itself together enough to declare whether it's open or closed?

you put on your suit and hike up the driveway and go to work! behold asheville's most dedicated bankruptcy lawyer.

pointing out the trail of footprints made overnight by small rodents.

carnival fantasy

i spent last week on a cruise ship in the atlantic ocean going between south carolina and the bahamas.

charleston is only 3 and a half hours from asheville. the cruise left at 5 pm on monday, so we drove down monday morning and got on the ship. no airports, no hotels. easy breezy!

i have never been on a cruise before. it was not exactly like the love boat, but it wasn't too over the top cheesy either.  it was a lot like woodloch pines, but on a ship.  lots of activities available, but nothing was mandatory.


 there were over 2000 people on the ship. if you're looking for relatively agreeable, polite passengers, i recommend a ship leaving from charleston as opposed to one from south florida and/or new jersey. it seemed like 99% of our boat was from NC, SC, or Kentucky. They blessed their food before eating, but did not bless out cruise ship staff.  Good trade.

here they are learning the 'thriller' dance

 the weather in asheville last week was snowy and sub freezing. the weather in the bahamas was 72 and sunny.

we got off the boat in nassau and went to a resort nearby- site of many james bond movies. they try to keep the riff raff (us) out, but our cabbie lied and said we were staying there and snuck us through the gate and we went to the spa to sign up for a couples massage. it was all very uncomfortable. we were chased out of a hammock in a deserted park while waiting. we drank the world's loneliest un-garnished bloody mary in a fantastically beautiful but soulless heartless silent bar.

we weren't supposed to be there, and everybody knew it. i was happy to see it and happy to leave it.

after a peek at the vegas-disney spectacle of the atlantis, we found a sweet spot at the other end of the island called traveller's rest.

people were nice! they spoke to us! and wanted to take our money! it was glorious!

they even gave us a bonus fritter. they are serious about their conch down there. delicious giant clams.

the next day, the ship stopped in freeport. we took a cab to the reef golf course at the grand lucayan and kevin played golf. it was very beautiful and relaxed. the course was in pretty dang good shape and greens fees were reasonable. he was the second person out at 9 AM and did not wait for a shot, done in about 2.5 hours. it was lovely.

the ship left the bahamas at 5pm on thursday and we had a 'fun day at sea' friday, arriving back in charleston at the crack of dawn on saturday. the carnival staff were great - friendly and diligent. they cleaned our room 2 times a day. all of the common areas were constantly being maintained - scrubbed, painted, re-tiled. twice i saw them RECARPETING somebody's room. i guess when there's an accident, instead of cleaning the carpet, they pull it up and replace it. it may not be the greenest method, but it definitely seemed clean. 

 one fun, quirky thing about carnival is they make 'towel creations' - twist towels into animal shapes. i thought this was extremely funny and wanted to buy the instruction book. kevin wasn't so amused, and so we didn't get the book. if anybody is looking for birthday present ideas for me, i would like this book.

all in all, it was a great escape for 5 days, and i would definitely do it again. 

deeeeep freeeeeze

the swannanoa river is bigger than a creek. with this week's polar vortex bringing sub-zero (really) temperatures to asheville, the river froze over in parts.

there's a platform of ice along the bank.

thankfully today is back up into the balmy upper 30's and the ice is now chunking and flowing downstream.

many people were without power and many have burst pipes and flooding. we had a burst-scare yesterday afternoon when i turned the kitchen cold water faucet and nothing came out. frozen pipe! all other faucets in the house worked, so we knew it wasn't a main pipe, but the kitchen sink happens to be located DIRECTLY over my 1200 precious heirlooms (vintage clothing) stored on shelves. i strongly considered buying dozens of plastic bins and moving hundreds of pounds of clothing upstairs, just in case. for over 24 hours the pipe was frozen, but i just kept a sharp lookout/listen out and this afternoon it thawed. no burst, no flood, thank you baby jesus!

pouncey has two balls!

hola 2014

2013 was a good year for me. and for skippy haha vintage! i really enjoy selling on etsy, it is user friendly and the seller fees are reasonable. everything continues to move in the right direction as time goes by - more views, favorites, and sales. 

a few major highlights of the last year: 

i opened a skippy haha vintage t-shirt shop on defunkd.com vintage t-shirt collective. dozens of sellers post hundreds of authentic vintage t-shirts all in one convenient location.  jimmy j does a fantastic job of keeping the site fresh and functional. there's a funny, informative blog and an interactive forum - lovers of true vintage t-shirts can get lost for hours on this site.

in 2013 i taught myself to sew. more accurately, i reacquainted myself with the sewing i learned in mrs mcdonald's 7th grade home ec class. though that was sewing with a machine, and now i've been sewing like betsy ross.  seams. buttons. burnholes. a 2 foot dog nail rip in a duvet cover. it has opened up a whole new world of vintage for me! instead of passing on things, or reducing prices for missing buttons, i repair them and sell for full price. win-win!

last but not least, i mentored a sweet, funny, kind woman in etsy selling. she went from being a young mother/goodwill junkie/semi-hoarder to a professional 20+ etsy seller in a couple short months.  after hundreds of emails and text messages back and forth about shipping and keywords and photos and customer service, check her out: robin egg surprise - i am totally proud of helping allison get her wings!


i hope everybody is off to a great start in 2014 - can't wait to see what treasures the next 12 months bring!

merry christmas from dog

holidays are as festive as you are.  festive is as festive does.

even if it's raining and gray and muddy, you can always put on the carpenter's christmas album, boil some cinnamon on the stove, focus on the twinkling lights, and be merrier than buddy the elf.

happy holidays to you and yours! warm puppysnuggles to all!

olive and friends

i think photo calendars are a FUNctional and often hilarious present. i like them.

dogs like them too!

big thanks to betsylife for sharing a yearful of puppy pics!

starring adorable black lab puppy olive, and her big sister tally.

nacho approves.


pouncey approves too.

the dachshund i think is named boozer. i have no real life experience with dachshunds (weiner dogs), though i know that one of them bit kevin in the nose when he was a little kid. so now i think they're pretty funny and awesome.

check out betsylife for more puppy pictures, great recipes, and moooooore! 

*ps - dogs were enticed into kissing olive through the magic of coconut oil. 

time sure flies

 
there are very few things in my life that i have done for consistently for 5 years straight. 

i haven't stayed at one school, or played soccer, or played clarinet, or played tennis, or given up eating meat, or kept the same job, or lived in california, or lived by myself, for 5 years straight. 

 i HAVE, however, been (as facebook says) In A Relationship for 5 years as of today. 

 it was 5 years ago that kevin & i met up in hickory for dinner, and nothing's been the same since! 

i have changed my sleep pattern completely - i used to sleep midnight to 8AM, now i sleep 9PM to crack of dawn. i have learned to can it when it should be canned, and speak up when it should be said. for the most part. 

the sum total of my relationship advice is - if you love retriever dogs, pick a partner who acts like a retriever dog! 

i happen to love retriever dogs. they are loyal and friendly and smart and cute and love to be outdoors. i am not saying i couldn't love somebody who didn't have these traits, but it is soooo much more natural for me to love somebody who does! 

basically, i didn't mature and grow as a person in patience and compassion to get to 5 years - more like i found somebody from the start with whom i am highly compatible. when you share values and a general direction, they can get 'their way' and it not be offensive to you. and vice versa. things that could be struggles with a different person, are more like win-win. it's nice.

onward!

pouncey's puppy reunion!

this weekend we took pouncey out to trails end in waynesville to play with his brothers and his mama.

there were 4 pups in his litter. all boys - 1 was white, 3 were brown. the white one was picked first. his name is harley and he lives in franklin, nc.

next we picked pouncey out of the remaining 3 brown ones.

then another family came and picked jake. sadly for jake their circumstances changed and jake didn't get any attention and he was returned to trails end a couple of weeks ago. he is kind of like a feral animal. he has stubby legs and was trying to hump pouncey the whole time, but there's a sweet dog underneath.

the last puppy was duke and he stayed at trails end with their mama, blizzard.

mama blizzard thinks this is fun but wants them all to go home later

pouncey had a BALL!

pouncey, duke, and jake

pouncey was the best fetcher. the fastest. the most energetic.

also the goofiest. and tied for best manners.

pouncey, jake, blizzard, duke, and harley

jake wins coolest eyes.

clan of the cave dog, jake

cover dog, duke is the biggest by 10 lbs. he is very friendly and sweet, and he is definitely in charge.



pouncey is the only one who is fixed. (jake is getting fixed soon to curb the humping.)

harley also sucks on his bed! just like pouncey. they were the first two taken from their mama, i think this is why. harley doesn't really fetch, he runs in circles. much like nacho. his fur is soft as a bunny, too.

l-r: pouncey, harley, jake, duke

pouncey and duke have matching tongue spots on their XXL tongues. of all 4, they are the most similar.


family portrait time!

pouncey, duke, harley, and jake - the 4 brothers!

i don't think they recognized each other, but maybe they sensed a familiarity, and i know they did have lots of fun!

recipe - bedazzled bananas!

you will not find many recipes on this blog, but this one is fun: 

1. peel a banana 
2. bedazzle it with cashews 
3. mangia!