Stuff I like #5: Fall in Kentucky!

After interminable days of rain and humidity, the weather finally broke. It's late September, and I was expecting cool weather long before this. It's my second September back in Kentucky after 6 years in Los Angeles. There is no fall in L.A. There is Summer, Wildfire Season, 15 rainy days followed by mudslide season, and winter that never drops below 40 degrees but results in people wearing North Face down jackets anyway. And of course, it's always Earthquake season.

Kentucky is another matter. There are 3 proper seasons, and usually a fairly mild winter unless you live in Eastern Kentucky. There are years when it gets bad. This past January, we saw quite a nasty ice storm. It took me 30-45 minutes to bash the ice off my car in order to get to work when it was through. Tree limbs fell all over and took out power lines. My mother's school was out for just shy of 2 weeks because they were an emergency shelter for those without electricity.

Fall is my favorite, though. My theory is that it's my favorite because I was born in the fall, but that doesn't hold true for everyone. It's cool enough that I don't sweat all the time, but warm enough that I don't have to wear a jacket and can still go barefoot. I get to leave my windows open at night and don't have to pay as much for electricity. Plus, my apartment gets the smoke aired out of it--I live with smokers.

I love the smell of fall. I love the crisp smell that leaves get when they are dried out and ready to drop off the trees. I love that it gets cold enough that I want to bury my nose under the blanket when the window is open. I love getting up in the morning and taking a steaming hot shower to chase out the cold. I love how the knobs in my home county light up with the brilliant colors of leaves changing.

I love fall!

Stuff I like #4: All laundry detergent

I have chemical sensitivities. They aren't horrible, but they can give me a migraine in no time flat. I try to avoid the candle stores simply because of the horrid mix of crazy scents. It's a chore going in The Body Shop or Bath & Body Works sometimes. I do it anyway because I love their products. I don't spend much time browsing, though.

I like having scented clothing. However, there have been times when the scent was overwhelming to me. My clothes made me feel ill. In addition, I try to avoid some scents more than others. Flowery smells knock me over.

I finally found the absolutely perfect balance in All's Small & Mighty laundry detergent! Their scents are agreeable, and not overpowering. I love them, in fact. I feel like my clothes are clean, the stains come out. Plus, it's biodegradable! That's something that's really important to me. I don't want to use a detergent that doesn't harm the environment. I can't imagine being happier with my laundry detergent.

Stuff I like #3: Rain

I've been a fan of weather since I was a little kid. During thunderstorms when I was young, I would pull a chair up to the front door and watch the light show with my nose pressed to the door. If my parents had let me play outside during thunderstorms, I probably would have! I would race outside as soon as it was over and feel the wet pavement on my feet, smell the post-rain scent.

In college, my love of rain popped up again. I hadn't thought about it much in the intervening years. Too much teenaged angst, I suppose. I bought a CD of thunderstorms from a store in the mall called Natural Wonders, which is now out of business. My roommate and I would play it on repeat every night while we slept. It quickly became one of the most relaxing sounds I've ever known. I even managed to get my roommate the following year addicted to listening to thunderstorms at night as well! Rain never fails to make me drowsy now.

It's been years since I was in college and listened to those CDs at night. I spent six years living in a city where it rained only about 15 days out of the year as opposed to the 100 or so days it would rain out of the year where I grew up. I missed thunderstorms during that time. It was a real pleasure those times when it would rain at night in Los Angeles. It's still a pleasure (and happens more often!) when it rains at night now that I've moved away.

Stuff I like #2: My Diva Cup!

Fellas, if you're reading, you might want to skip this one. Especially if you're squeamish!

I have always hated buying sanitary supplies from the store. I always felt like it labeled me with a big sign on my forehead saying "I am on my period!" Anything to do with my crotch is my business and no one else's. Not even someone who could care less.

On top of that, women produce a huge amount of waste during that time of the month. It's ending up in landfills and moldering there for years and years. One of my classmates in my certification program I was in at the time mentioned that she used something called Instead. I was intrigued and did a little research online since I'd never seen Instead at the store. I found a whole list of alternatives other than Instead. There are sea sponges. There are natural tampons that are unbleached. There are cloth pads. There may even been inventions that I haven't heard of.

I didn't like the idea of the Instead because it reminded me of a diaphragm. I've never used a diaphragm, but it seems like kind of a difficult thing to use! After debating the choices, I finally decided to purchase a Diva Cup. It's made out of surgical silicone, and appealed to me a lot more than the rubber Keeper. I don't like that rubber smell, and the thought of having it in private places totally turned me off.

I'll admit to having a bit of a problem figuring out how to use my Diva Cup at first. I consulted the FAQs on their website and found a second suggestion for folding before insertion. That worked like a charm! There are times when I feel like it presses on my bladder, but I think my Diva Cup is a God-send! I have used it for at least five years now, and I will never go back!

Things I like #1: Blogs!

So, apparently I'm addicted to blogging. I can't have a general blog about all this stuff, no. I have to make things complicated and have a blog for every little thing I want to blog about.

The purpose of this blog is very simply to write about the things I like. The things that make me happy, the products, people, and places I enjoy. If you agree, awesome! If you disagree, awesome! I like a good debate! If you think I should try out something new, leave me a comment or contact me by email at mykingdomforabook(at)gmail.com!