Heat pad!

Heat pad, y'all, heat pad. Normally, I bet you're all like, "oh let me go to the store and buy a pad filled with chemical death and wrapped in plastic to soothe my aching muscles". That is silly, my friends. Here is a cheaper, more ecological, less carcinogenic option: MAKE IT YOURSELF! And here's how:

• Get an old sock. I used one of Matt's that he gave me months ago, because he was sick of it for some reason. After I convinced him of this and that I was, in fact, not stealing socks that he loves, I was ready to begin!
• There weren't any holes in it, which is key-- otherwise you have to do some sewing, and I was very lazy.
• Fill said sock with rice! I put in less than 2 cups-- it's really up to you and how big you want the heating pad to be.
• Then, to be extra super lazy, I just tied the end of the sock in a knot.
• Ta da! Done! To use it, just stick that baby in the microwave for around 20 seconds, and you've got a heating pad!
• For other options and pretty pictures, check out this awesome instructable!
  

It worked great for me when I had a really bad neck cramp due to the (teensy) bit of stress I'm under right now...

Try it out! Let me know how it works! Or tell me other options you use!

OH, and our adorable cat, Annabel, enjoyed dragging it around the house. So apparently it makes an Annabel-approved cat toy. For a similarly adorable dog toy using old socks, check out this fantastic idea!

Practice Prelims!

For those of you who don't know, the next major hurdle in my obtaining of three letters (PhD) is my prelims. It's basically a defense of my dissertation proposal and an oral exam combined into three FANTASTIC hours. It's scheduled for Friday, April 30, from 9 to noon-- so everyone be thinking of me then. Anyways, today I did a dry run with a bunch of PhD students, and I did really well! THEY EVEN SAID SO, I AM NOT MAKING THAT UP. AND NOT JUST BECAUSE I BROUGHT THEM DONUTS AND COFFEE. So *phew* I feel a lot less worried about prelims, but still a healthy dose of terrified. Now to find the inspiration to do work...

Ok, for real, y'all

Taking my boyfriend's months-old advice, I'm going to try to start blogging smaller amounts-- it'll be less stressful for everyone.

I'm going to talk about one of my favorite eco-tasks of late: no more shampooing! I haven't shampooed my hair since last fall. And the fine people who interact with me daily can promise you that I don't smell weird AND that my hair doesn't look funky...

First off, WHY would I do this, you might ask? To that I have three answers: the environment, my health, and my money. It's better for the environment, doesn't have a million carcinogens, and is super cheap! HOW AWESOME, you are probably thinking. HOW CAN I TAKE PART??? See below, my friend.

Basically, you use baking soda for shampoo and apple cider vinegar for conditioner. You only need to do this about twice a week (rather than daily). My hair is short and tough, but people online (and my little sister, who has REALLY long hair) have tried it and agree that it works fantastically. Check out the instructables here. And let me know how it goes!

I'm still working on convincing Matt to take part... Some day....