RiBbOnS and PeArLs

Organic Excellence Hand & Body Therapy

2013-03-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

I adore the Organic Excellence Hand and Body Therapy! It's literally the best cream I have ever used on my skin. My feet feel so silky, smooth and soft. In fact, I have the Hand and Body Therapy on right now -- I just applied it a while ago after showering and there is just nothing quite like the way my skin feels! My feet feel smoother than ever before, even smoother than when I had a pedicure (something I didn't take well to because it tickles!)

I know this seems like a lot of excitement over a cream, but for the love of Pete, this is amazing. My legs feel almost velvety... Yea, I slather this stuff all over. Go big or go home, right?

Besides the softest, most beautifully-feeling skin I have ever had in my life, there's plenty more amazing things to say about Organic Excellence's Hand and Body Therapy cream. For instance, my skin is somewhat dry and my legs kind of have a scaly look to them. My knees often are dry and paler than the rest of me, my feet are dry and somewhat cracked. After smoothing on some of the Hand & Body Therapy, this all completely disappears. It doesn't just enhance the look of my skin, it almost just gives me completely new skin!

I looked down at my bare thigh just now and it is so smooth and the skin just looks flawless. No wrinklies/cracks from my scaly-ness. The Hand and Body Therapy cream just smoothes everything out and almost seems to get rid of little wrinkly lines on my hands and feet and legs. This stuff is incredible.

Another thing that I want to rave about is the no-residue left behind! The cream is so thick and rich that I did expect some greasy or thick residue left between my fingers which usually irritates me, but I always deal with it by rinsing my hands of the lotions I use and leaving it on the rest of my body. No need with this stuff! There's no residue. When I apply it all over (hands, feet, legs) the cream is absorbed in less than 5 minutes and it absorbs well without leaving this weird sticky or shiny mess behind. And that's one thing I hate -- when I've applied lotion all over and then I find little flecks of dirt stuck to my feet from where the lotion left sticky residue that picks up pet hair and dirt on my skin!

Ah! I just wish ya'll could rub my arm right now and feel how soft. You can't even begin to understand the softness, smoothness, pretty-ness just by my words. But I'll move on and tell you more...

So I was reading about the Hand and Body Therapy lotion and here's what Organic Excellence says about it "Hand & Body Therapy offers special anti-aging ingredients to support collagen production, and restore skin elasticity. Protective nutrients prevent signs of aging and give your skin a fresh, youthful glow."

So if you were reading that description (above) you may not get overly excited if you're like me and have used countless lotions, creams and serums that claim to have collagen and all these anti-aging benefits, but holy moly! So this must explain why I notice such smooth, wrinkly-free skin! This must be a pretty hard-core lotion and seeing those little wrinklies and scales smooth out of my skin instantly make me want to use this stuff every day for the rest of my life because it's probably going to do a serious job at preventing aging signs like wrinkles, which I'm very paranoid about since I turned 23. Everyone says your skin (and body and everything else for that matter) goes downhill after your 20's, so since I turned 19, I began using anti-agers and paying serious attention to my health and skin.

And hey, I could use this stuff everyday for the rest of my life without it doing any harm since it's all organic ingredients.

I also love that the Hand & Body Therapy does leave a beautiful glow on my skin-- enhancing the complexion of my legs and arms -- without actually leaving some shiny, greasy sheen on me. I sure love some shimmer, but when a lotion claims to give me a glow and it ends up doing so via a greasy residue or shimmer, I get irritated. This happens to me with every lotion I have used! So I'm ecstatic that my skin does have a glow, but it's a healthy, natural glow from being truly moisturized and not from some weird ingredient that just lays on top of my skin.

Even after I've washed my hands, they're still incredibly smooth, soft and silky. The Hand And Body Therapy cream keeps my skin so soft and silky all throughout the day & night.

The first time I used the Hand and Body Therapy, while rubbing it in on my feet, I noticed the thick, creamy and super rich consistency means this could make a wonderful foot massage. Simply apply, massage and then leave it rubbed in for lovely, moisturized tootsies!

The cream is white and rich, somewhat thick. When I apply it to my skin, it doesn't feel watery, and as I rub, the white lotion fades away (into my skin.) I have noticed if a lotion is clear-ish and not a deep, rich white, it doesn't moisturize as well for me. Just something I thought I'd include.

There is virtually no scent to this since it is fragrance free, which is a good thing because fragrance often means irritation to skin. Being fragrance free also means this isn't going to send those of us who are migraine-prone into a dark room with an ice pack and ibuprofen (or BC powders if you're me) for a whole day.

Hand and Body Therapy is:

Rich in certified organic herbs and beneficial vitamins & nutrients.
Chemical, Gluten, fragrance and GMO free!
Made with truly high quality ingredients.
Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing.
Lotion penetrates deeply, bringing instant results.
Will hydrate even the driest skin.
Protects skin and is anti-aging while giving a youthful look to skin at the same time.
Contains Centella Asiatica, Evening Primrose Oil, Hyaluronic Acid and Shea butter, which each have amazing anti-aging, moisturizing and more benefits.
Antioxidant rich.
Renews collagen, restores tissue firmness & skin elasticity.
Repairs sun damage and prevents premature wrinkles!
Won't cause itching, but ingredients suggest it'd even be helpful and calming for those who have itchy skin.
Contains aloe vera! Ya'll know I love aloe. It has super healing properties for everything, including skin.

Since I'm talking about Organic Excellence and their ingredients, I want to mention the importance of organic/natural products. You can't always be sure that a product will be 100% natural or organic just because the label says so. I've had more than a few products claim 100% natural and organic but seen plenty of chemicals listed in the ingredients! So this is why it's important to look for "Certified organic" and check the ingredients. Organic Excellence's products are all completely, totally natural, safe and also Certified Organic, so no worries there.

Ingredients
Purified Water, Aloe Vera Gel*, USP Vegetable Glycerin, Evening Primrose Oil*, Lecithin, Sesame Oil*, Centella Asiatica Extract*, USP Hyaluronic Acid, USP Dexapanthenol (Vitamin B5), USP Vitamin E Acetate, Shea Butter*, USP Vitamin A Palmitate, Sodium PCA, Alpha Bisabolol (German Chamomile) Grape Seed Extract* *Certified Organic

*I recieve no monetary payment for my reviews. Each review is my honest opinion. My reviews are in compliance with FTC's guidelines. See my disclosure page and honesty pledge for more info on sponsored reviews!*

Green Street Luxuries

2013-03-17T20:23:00.002-07:00

Sprayco

2013-03-12T22:36:00.002-07:00

I have a really lovely little share for you guys. You may remember when I posted about a perfume I'd been working on making. Well, I did and actually made two different fragrances that turned out to be pretty amazing (I call them Temptress and Enchantress.) Well, I'd done so well with the perfumes -- everybody liked them, so I kept making them, gifting them or giving them away to friends. My point is, I'd also done a little DIY body scrubs that my family and friends loved, but I ran out of ways to package them.

So I had been looking around to try and find a way to buy bulk containers for all these things and prices for simple containers were really, really high everywhere. So I gave up hunting and just put my supplies up for the time.

Then I was discussing my needs for spray bottles (for hair, the large amounts of cleaning supplies we desperately needed spray bottles for, beauty and watering my herb garden as well as to spray the dog when he's bad!) During this discussion, a friend recommended that I try looking to Sprayco for the supplies. I told her I'd already looked around for packaging supplies (containers for my beauty products like the perfumes I mentioned) and wasn't down with paying high for it, especially since at this moment and for a good while I'm sure, I am not really making profit off the products, but more just producing high quantities and basically giving most of it away. So buying expensive supplies was not an option, but I love doing what I do! Anyways, so I ended up checking out Sprayco and I hit the jackpot! They have everything & it's nice and even better, not sky-rocket high prices!

So that big ol' story all to show you this...

Awesome Salon Art spray bottles! They're even stylish! These are the two I have -- a pink (love it!) and blue. They're great for hair uses since they have a mist spray, a shooting spray, etc. to choose from. It's also wonderful for misting a light amount of hairspray on to styled hair. I often like to add a small amount of hair spray inside one of the Salon Art spray bottle and just mist the hair instead of use an aerosol can of hair spray because not everybody likes having that mess everywhere & it's hard to keep from getting a large amount all over everything.

Another thing is you can hang the Salon Art spray bottles by their squeeze handle! Handy! Now I can keep one at my work station for hair, one at home, etc.

The Salon Art bottles come in 16 oz. which is what these two above are or 8 oz. Most of Sprayco's products come in smaller or larger sizes, so it's really awesome to have choices.

And..

These awesome little guys! They're actually not little, but still. The colors are fantastic and the bottle is a beveled square shape. This bottle is actually called Beveled Square and comes in a 12 or 22. oz. These too can be hung by their squeeze handle. And these are perfect for watering my little herb garden! It has to be kept wet but not "soaked" in order for my herbs to germinate, so I knew if I tried pouring a glass of water over the seeds in the garden, I'd ruin them or drown them, so I just give them a few spritzes with the spray bottle. I also use these spray bottles to water my two baby aloe plants. Since you have to avoid getting water on the aloe stems (or else they mold and have black flecks), I can just aim the nozzle of one of the Beveled Square spray bottles down toward the dirt and squirt, squirt, squirt!

I have squirted my cat too (she bit me is why I squirted her), but she wasn't as fond of spray bottles as I am.

In case you're interested, here's a picture of my little herb garden the very day I planted it all -- which was the very day my Sprayco bottles came to me, which was also my birthday! Aha! How neat, huh? Lovely birthday. I'd been waiting to get a spray bottle before ever even planting them because the instructions said specifically to water using a spray bottle and I was stickin' to the rules on this one!

The little herb garden (I'd just put the dirt in when I took this)

Now, let's talk a little about Sprayco.

"Sprayco is the USA's most complete line of Spray Bottles and Travel/Personal Accessories. No other manufacturer offers the quality, selection or variety of products manufactured by Sprayco.

Sprayco was established in 1983 as a division of M. Jacob & Sons, the nation's oldest and one of the largest packaging distributors. M. Jacob & Sons has been a family owned business for over 125 years.

Sprayco offers the largest variety and highest quality products at great price points. Each Sprayco product is manufactured to the strictest quality standard. All products are fully tested to meet or exceed the tough, rigorous testing standards set by the USA's leading retailers. Our outstanding products, in stock/on time policy, shipping, and customer service provide the "best service in the nation", a reputation we greatly value."

I love Sprayco! Here, I've only talked about the spray bottles that I love, but as I was saying previously Sprayco carries a huge supply of products such as containers for lawn and garden, super handy travel selection, beauty, janitorial, and travelguard. You can choose from their household, personal, industrial and even veterinary selection! So it's really handed to have all your needs from one place. Especially when they're as nice as these.

In the travel supply section, where Sprayco has items like tooth brush holders and similar items, I notice they all said "with Microban," and that was exciting to know because Microban protects important things like your toothbrush from becoming contaminated with bacteria and mildew! I also seen a soap dish that is basically a little house for your bar of soap so that you can take your soap with you when you travel and aren't stuck using some hotel soap! The dish was this plastic container that holds it in and can even be brought safely in your luggage. I noticed it also had Microban. They also have a razor container -- how handy! I love containers for everything, so Sprayco is like real heaven for me.

Here is what they say about Microban:

"Microban: antimicrobial protection is molded into our products during manufacturing to inhibit the growth of odor and stain causing bacteria, mold and mildew providing continuous antimicrobial protection. From contact lens cases to toothbrush holders, Microban protection keeps our products cleaner for longer."

The more I read about "Microban," the more I became interested. I definitely like to keep my toothbrushes clean & have always had this paranoia after once reading that germs from the toilet can often make it to your toothbrush if it sits nearby on a sink! And there's really nowhere else for my toothbrush besides the sink, so I'm totally in love with this whole Microban ideal! You can read all about it here.

Proof that male doctors treat their female patients as sex objects

2013-03-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

Guys, I have something to share my upsets about. I was reading this blog post that many of you have likely seen. The post was called "The Other Side of the Speculum: A Male Doctor's Point of View."

If you have not already read that post, I encourage you to do so before reading what I am about to say -- number 1. because it's important that you as a male or female be informed of what's going on at your Dr.'s office. Number 2. because it'll make a lot more sense to you if you've read the article.

If the article that appeared on the Daily Mail UK about the doctor sexually abusing a female patient for 13 years before admitting having an erotic dream about her wasn't enough to make some of you wary about having male doctors, what you'll read in "The Other Side of The Speculum: A Male Doctor's Point of View," surely will.

In any instance, though, I'll still briefly tell you what that post/article is about. It's a male doctor sharing that men who are in the medical field do actually enjoy giving a pap-smear or pelvic exam or breast exam to a female. Not only do they enjoy it, but the author also goes on to say that they discuss it with others & they even tell women they deem attractive that a pap, pelvic or breast exam is "necessary," only so they can do it. Not because the patient really needs it! The author even explains instances in-depth of this happening! And if you read the comments, you'll surely be sickened to hear others' stories!

After reading that post, I felt so strongly. So many thing I want to say. I wanted to comment. I considered writing an article myself on this, then I considered discussing my feelings about it in a video, but I am so furious and upset after reading the post that the quickest way to get this off my mind and out there to ya'll is to write it here. In the future, I may do a video version or even an article, but right now, I'm so pissed I can't think straight. Let me see, where should I begin..

There are many reasons why upsets arose for me while reading that post about men who perform pelvic exams/pap smears are actually using their profession (and our bodies) as excuses to do immoral things to us, in reality, without us even knowing or approving, really. I mean, if I go in for a pap smear and my doctor is a male, I would think he was professional and not viewing my body in a sexual way and not using my body for his own sexual gratification. I wouldn't expect him to damn near demand me have an exam for his own fun, and not my health.

So say I allowed the exam & it turns out he is doing these things. He is using his profession as an excuse to touch and look at me -- in other words to treat me as a sexual object. Also, if I do not know he's doing these things (looking at me and touching me with such thoughts and ideas) then I'm not a willing participant. The only part I would be willingly participating in would be the exam for my health, not the sexual part he's getting out of it!

That's point number one I wanted to make.

We automatically have this idea that doctors are trustworthy and wouldn't ever do these things, right? Wrong. So very, sadly and disgustingly wrong.

Point number two would be

The author of this blog post admits that he is a doctor (not in the field of doing exams such as paps though), and during his training, he did have sexual feelings when performing these exams on "attractive" women.

He goes on to share his view from experience on how these other male doctors feel about it. They totally enjoy it, he says, but not in so little words. He does say there are some male doctors who expressed none of this sexual pleasure or fun of doing a pelvic exam on female patients. This worried me to death because I figure most of them must be this way, and what if the ones that don't openly admit it, secretly are so perverse that they use their patients' bodies in such a degrading way (whether the patient knows or not.)

This is the statement that gives me that impression:

"...given a choice between doing a lung exam on an 80-year-old guy or a pelvic exam on an attractive 30-year-old woman, I’d say most docs would MUCH rather do the latter. They’re only human. They would flatly deny having any such thoughts (in most cases), but deep down, they ARE men, after all."

So there you have it, folks! Not only does he admit that male doctors are doing what many of us girls have feared since we first stepped foot into an exam room with stirrups -- that the doctor isn't neutral towards the exam he's giving us, but he enjoys it.

Not only is our big fear about that confirmed, but the author gives the impression that in his mind, all men are like this (all male doctors enjoy a sexual thrill from this!) That disturbs me, it infuriates me and to tell you the truth, my head is throbbing in pain to learn this crap. My stomach turned when I read it, but before I even finish typing, I am going to have to stop and take a BC powder for the migraine that is quickly coming on. Okay, I am over-sensitive to this type of thing, though and it's doctors like this to blame for it.

Let me make my next point: "...they ARE men, after all." Now let me try and keep from saying ever ugly word in the book.

Okay, the F bomb has passed. Are you blasted kidding me right now? The author, an actual educated, respectable doctor, gives the excuse that they ARE men after all. Almost as if he's saying "oops! You can't blame them. They're just men. What do you expect?" Not only does it give the impression that he's making excuses for men, but also making all men look downright bad. What? "They're just men?" And we shouldn't even bother to expect better of them? They're have a complete and utter lack of any control over themselves because, oh! They're just men, didn't you know? But if it were a woman? You wouldn't say "what do you expect, she's a low-life woman. That's how they all are. We all know they cannot control themselves."

Using "they are men after all" is a sorry excuse and most of all, it has put an ugly label on all men for way too long. It says that men are spineless, helpless, self-centered creatures. It almost gives the impression that men are so brainless that they can't even focus when an "attractive" woman is nearby. How shallow and that's not a pleasant assumption, guys. To be thought of as spineless, brainless and out of control? That's fucking scary. Not cute and it's no longer an excuse because some of us know for a fact, without a doubt that there are men who can control themselves. Not only that, but they even make men who don't have to control this "urge" for any "attractive" woman. It's simply not there. It's probably referred to as morals. I guess this author doesn't know many doctors with those things.

I can't stress this message enough -- the message that men are so brainless and spineless and ignorant that they don't know how to treat a person and her body with respect. That they cannot help that they want to use her up and manipulate her into the stirrups just to get a touch and feel. Am I making myself clear, on this message? Men, how many of you really are sick of being thought of as that? Does it bother you guys that this impression the world has of you (mostly thanks to your own kind, like Doc desperation here) is one that causes fear of your actions since you're merely a man. Who could expect you not to do such things?

I ask this because my male partner does get upset that this is the impression of men. He says "I don't want you to look at me as someone who will lose my head and become an out of control, raging sexual being whenever I see your body. I don't want you to think 'oh crap. If he gets turned on, I'm doomed because he is a man, what else could I expect?'" It gives the message that men cannot control themselves sexually -- and that is why it's so scary.

Now, digging deeper.

I mentioned how this whole doctor and private parts ordeal has been scary for me since I was a very small child. I don't know why! I just remember being very timid and even furious at times over a doctor just being able to do such things to a girl.

These feelings were there for me as early as the age of 4. Being the extremely modest girl I was as a child, when I was sent to a doctor during my 3rd or 4th grade year of elementary school for some scoliosis check, could've made these feelings worse. I know they were there though, at such a young age. During this whole scoliosis thing, it so happened that during my 3rd or 4th grade year, we had these nurses come to the school to check out all the students for a scoliosis screening. We each would be called into a room behind one of those tall screen things to cover you from the other kids being screened in that room, and were told to remove our shirts and then bend over. The school advises all the girls to wear a sports bra or some type of swim top for extra coverage, even though we were tiny kids, that's still our privates. I wore a silky green sports bra and remember them saying to bend over as they felt of my spine. I don't remember feeling uncomfortable during this at all, but a few months later, a letter came to my parents saying I needed to be sent to some specialist for a closer look, that I'd shown signs of scoliosis. I was asked about back pain and such. Never had I recalled having any problems besides the occasional back ache from sitting for so long.

Anyways, my mom took me to this specialist and I don't remember much besides being in the room, and what do you know? A male doctor. This automatically upset me (I'd already developed these intense feelings about doctors and privates), but my mom told me it was only my back being examined.

Good ol' back doctor comes in and tells me to take off my shirt! Then even worse, my pants! But made sure I knew to leave my underwear on. He gave a dumb backless gown and came back, told me to bend over. I was so upset that I cried. I don't even know if I actually bent over or flipped out and refused. I don't remember leaving or anything. I just remember those parts and getting so upset and then never going back. I also remember that the topic of my "back issue" was never spoke of again by anybody. Not my mom, and not the school, but I always always always wondered why we never followed up.

And I also remember skipping school the next time we had a scoliosis screening and ever since that first and last screening that got me sent to the specialist, I skipped every single screening throughout school.

So perhaps my intense feelings that were there at such a young age, combined with experiences such as the pelvic exam or no endometriosis treatment ultimatum and these minor upsets along the way, and then being raped are part of what has caused my weirdness on this topic.

...

Then, I had my first pap-smear (early-mid teen years). It was done by an amazing, caring, thoughtful lady. I flipped out, but she made sure I was okay and comfortable, and I'm about 99.9% sure she didn't think of me sexually during or after the exam.

It was just a given that I would never allow a male doctor to see my naked body. I had strong feelings about this as long as I can remember. At the age of 4 is when I remember first becoming furious and having the thoughts about a doctor being able to do as he pleases to a female.

Then a few years ago, at the age of I think 20, I needed surgery (endometriosis.) I've been going to the same office that I went to for my very first pap-smear. Still go there. They were all ladies. Until we found out about my endometriosis. I'd had a pap-smear 3 months before I went in for the endometriosis visit. The doctor, to my horror (literally) was a male. There was the regular female doctor who was completely half out of her mind every time I'd had to see her, but she was there too. She told me that the male doctor wanted to do a pelvic exam. I'd had one three months before!

So I cried. I cried so much & said I couldn't let this happen. She laughed. No joke! Then she said it'll be okay. That did not calm me. Then she said "you have to." I can't tell you guys how furious I am at myself today for not knowing that I actually did not have to! She said it was either him or nobody and that I'd be living with the endometriosis because if I did not let him do the exam, they would not get me in for treatment.

So I did the only thing I though I could, and cried the whole time. Then felt like a moron for being so emotional. To me, though, a pap smear feels so much like rape that it drudges up the actual event from years ago. I will spend days (before and after a pap smear every year) feeling so much like I did right after I was raped. I recently talked to someone else about this who was also raped and had similar feelings, but no matter how much searching I do, I never read of this being an issue. I thought it was just me for a while. So this has been on my mind since I have one coming up next month. Call me overly sensitive or prudish, but there's nothing I can do about that feeling. So there's some honesty for ya, whether it makes me look badly or not.

In fact, if I could, I would perform my very own exams down there just to avoid the feeling of being raped all over again ever year of my life. To avoid feeling violated. In fact, I already get my own personal speculums (this began just for the sake and interest of learning more about my body) and I have started looking into at-home pap smear kits where you send your results in to a labratory. As extreme as that sounds, it's something I'd like to look more into, perhaps experiment with but still have my regular exam unless I happen to end up feeling the at-home kit would be just as beneficial.

I will never in my life agree to let a male doctor come near my private parts ever again, and after reading the post "The Other Side of the Speculum: A Male doctor's Point of View," I feel even more intensely about this. I will never allow myself to be used up like that. To be looked at like that. This body belongs to me! What fucking part of that can you men not understand? And answer me this, what do I have to do in order for you to ever respect and realize that it's mine and not yours. Not yours! Not yours to look at. Not yours to manipulate me into showing you. Not yours to sexualize. Not yours to put anything inside. Not yours to go home and think about. Not yours to do any of these or other forceful acts upon without my verbal consent!

Now, let me pause to take that BC Powder. This is killing me.

Okay. Doing good.

So unless I offer my body (and any part herein!) to you, you have none of those rights. You cannot do it! I don't care if I'll never find out. It does not make it okay simply because you'll keep it to yourself while thinking your sick thoughts while performing your scam pelvic exam. It's still doing something to my body, a body that I cannot stress to you enough, is not yours! Would you want me to do anything I please to your body?

And I can assure you that unless you are my spouse, I won't ever be offering up my body to you. Despite what you have in your head, no, coming to your office for help because I'm in pain is not my consent. Let me squash your last excuse. If I come inside your office for any reason, it is not consent for you to do my body in the ways that I have discussed or in the ways the author of "The Other Side of the Speculum: A Male doctor's Point of View," discussed. It is not me offering my body to you if I come into your office.

I realize that you may not understand my ferocious feelings. I understand how you may think "what they don't know, don't hurt them," but I want some man (besides my spouse) out there, preferably a male doctor somewhere, anywhere to get it. Understand it. Please! Please.

The author of that post definitely gives the impression that all men are this way, that all male doctors are like this & those who are male, but not necessarily doctors, would still do these things if they had the chance.

On another hand, in the article, when discussing his wife and how her own doctor had manipulated her into receiving a totally unnecessary pap-smear, the author goes all out to rate her "attractiveness," and that just added fuel to my fire! Gosh, can we as women ever escape it? Even while he's trying to help us in that article, he still is being shallow in the way that he rates women's attractiveness! He says she's the most attractive woman to him, but in reality she's not "magazine model attractive." Fucking seriously? Because that's a doctor's view of what's attractive and what's not, folks. If you ain't magazine model beautiful, you're not the best. You might be the "most" attractive, but never the only attractive.

I'd hate to know that my own partner rated women. I'd hate to know he felt that the highest level of beauty was the fake kind, the photoshopped kind known as "magazine model attractiveness."

These few things are exactly what turned me into a feminist. These are the things that disgust me the most in the world -- this kind of treatment towards us as women that we cannot escape.

I'll stop right there to say, ladies, there are men out there who would view you as their one and only beautiful partner. There are men who don't rate women on their looks. You don't have to be beautiful, but not "magazine model beautiful" because that is not what beauty is to a person with a big, kind heart. That mess is for the shallow people like doctors who spend their time not being able to control their sexual urges and manipulating women into letting them look inside their vaginas.

It's important to note that the author of that post didn't appear to be condoning that behavior from male doctors. In fact, it seems his intentions of the post were to make us aware and to wake us up and tell us to not go to male doctors, protect ourselves. For this, I am grateful to him.

I appreciate the author for speaking out and for caring enough to make us aware of what is really going on. I applaud him for being this brave, even though my anger seems to come across at him. I'm not necessarily angry with him, but angry in general at all male doctors who have done these things to a woman.

As of this very moment, there is only one man I know for certain that does not have the disgusting traits mentioned in this article. Anybody else? I want to hear from you. I want to be able to say "you're wrong, not all men are spineless, brainless humans who only live for sex, who objectify women and who rate their attractiveness based on "magazine model" beauty." I want for the men who truly are not like this to step up and say "these people are wrong. I'm proof." And I want to be able to back you up, just as I have in my previous words where I complained about the author making you all look like jerk-offs.

I originally read this article on Forwomen'seyesonly.com. I found the author's name, which I wanted to note here since I do quote him and I do believe in crediting others' work. It appears, by the way Forwomenseyesonly puts the link to the article "Uneccesary pap smears" that the author of the work "The Other Side of the Speculum: A Male Doctor's Point of View," goes by the name of "bookofjoe" and his website can be found at www.bookofjoe.com. I could be wrong though, but I couldn't find an author name on the article.

Thanks to that site that featured the post I've talked about (For Women's Eyes Only.com), and the comments left on that post, I've learned a few more things:

* It's actually very common for women to be pressured, manipulated and/or in some cases, forced to allow a pelvic exam to happen, even when they say "no."

* As in my own case, it's common for doctors to refuse to give you treatment (or your birth control, which also happens to me in order to get Depo) unless you allow a pelvic exam/pap smear. In fact, next month I will be forced to have an exam or else no Depo (which isn't taken to prevent me from getting pregnant -- I cannot anyways -- but to help with the endometriosis, which I still have!)

And it's not uncommon for us to not realize how crazy it is that we're truly forced to allow doctors to do certain things to our private areas. I didn't realize for a long time. Not that I am against the pap smears. I happen to think they're very useful, which is why I do go through with mine yearly. The lady nurses at the office I go to are pretty good with me about the exam and even endure my freak outs and crying. They have allowed me to refuse a rectal exam, and I hope that's one thing we at least are entitled to!

Kegel Ball From TooTimid

2013-03-10T16:17:00.002-07:00

Close up of the Velvet Kiss iOrgasm in its package

Back

You guys may remember a recent post I did on a vibrator from Too Timid called Rhiannon. In that post, I promised to post about the other item I was really fond of from the same place (Too Timid,) and here it is!

As promised in my video, I'll explain a little more about kegels and why they're important, and then I'll add some more very useful information about the iOrgasm kegel ball from Too Timid.

In previous posts, I've written about how you know if you're doing a kegel correctly or not. I'll briefly explain that again here.

How can I know if I'm doing a kegel properly?
A lot of "sex experts" say to cut off your urine, mid-stream to know exactly what a kegel is like. It's because you use those same muscles to hold urine and to cut it off as you do when you exercise your PC muscles.

However, the first time I began trying to do kegels, this wasn't very helfpul for me as I couldn't tell if I was doing it correctly when I wasn't in the middle of urinating!

So you can actually figure this out by using one finger. Inserting it just a little, relaxing and squeezing. It took me several tries to figure out exactly what I was doing. The reason I say to use a finger and then squeeze your PC muscles is because you'll feel a sort of clamping down onto your finger, and then you'll know you did a kegel! It's a good idea to continue doing it like this for a few minutes, and then you'll be able to squeeze the muscle without using your finger as a guide, but I think feeling the "clamp-down" on your finger is the most useful way to tell if you're doing a kegel.

Another way to tell is it'll feel as if your crotch is jumping. I've noticed over time, this jumping gets even more intense. By that I mean, when I first started doing kegels, I could feel a slight "jump" like my crotch was moving, and now, at this point I can actually see it! If I'm looking, and do a kegel, I can see movement. It's kind of like when you raise one eyebrow. You feel it move and if you look, you can see it move.

If you still can't figure it out, you can always message me or refer back to my post on kegel exercises.

Moving on...

Size of the iOrgasm Ball

Length: 6.75"

Diameter: 1.1"

Why are kegel exercises important?

You've probably heard people say that kegel exercises are to "tighten" down stairs. I cannot say whether or not that's true. I've been doing kegels religiously since last Summer, but before that, I didn't do them daily and didn't ever use a product to help. I did begin noticing a drastic difference in things when I started using kegel balls, which I'll explain in a minute.

I don't know how one would tell if their vaginal canal actually became tighter unless there was such a significant change that it was noticeable. For some women though, they have said that kegel exercises have done this for them & they were able to tell through intercourse, from a partner noticing or from them being able to feel more during intercourse or using a toy internally.

My way of thinking is you can only get it so tight. You can maintain it, but I figure once you reach the ... maximum tightness (nice words, huh?), that's where you stay.

For me, I didn't really notice any signs of needing to "tighten," thing per say, but I did notice some minor symptoms of rectocele, which is why I went out and decided to start using an actual kegel ball for exercising.

So, while some people use kegel products like the iOrgasm ball to "tighten," there's actually a whole nother world of benefits.

I mentioned being slightly paranoid about a minor rectocele symptom I had. This is one of the main reasons we should exercise our PC muscles -- prolapse and incontinence. Yep, it's possible that kegel exercises can be a great prevention method for these issues.

You have cystocele and rectocele -- both are forms of "prolapse." Retocele is pretty much where the rectum kind of begins to fall out, and cystocele is where your bladder does this. It's common after child-birth and surgeries like hysterectomy. In fact, the only thing that prevented me from getting a hysterectomy (due to endometriosis a while back) was the concern of developing these terrible issues. The organs can de-tach and just fall out. There's nowhere for them to go but down and out.

So at only 22 (well, I just turned 23, but I began worrying about prolapse at 22), I was determined to prevent anything like this from happening. So after finding out that kegel balls make a bigger impact in strengthening your muscles, I bought some. Not the iOrgasm ball, but others. As I talked about in my video, I couldn't find the right size for me.

There you go. Put briefly, that's why kegels are important. Doing kegels can also prevent incontinence and improve it if you already have it.

Besides those health benefits though, there is one more benefit that does come from using a kegel ball -- longer or sometimes more intense orgasms. The ball won't cause orgasms while wearing it, but after you've worked up your muscles some, you start to notice a big difference where that's concerned! I probably hadn't been using my kegel ball for longer than 4 months (using it daily) when I noticed this change.

It's important to remember that your pelvic floor muscles, like any muscle, won't become the hulk overnight. You have to keep at it.

The good news is, with an easy kegel ball that you can insert and go like the iOrgasm, you will be working your PC muscles while doing regular activities like walking. You don't have to set aside time to focus on doing them.

Some people say that simply wearing the kegel ball will cause you to work your PC muscles because you're muscles are trying to "hold it in," but I also like to squeezing my muscles whenever I think about it (like right now. And now), while I'm using the iOrgasm kegel ball just for a better workout.

For me, walking makes me do the most work down there, while using the ball of course. The more I walk, the more they work to keep the ball in place.

Why the iOrgasm ball is so awesome

If you watched my video, you already know the story about me having trouble finding a ball that wasn't too big. The iOrgasm is amazing! It's the most comfortable kegel ball I've used. I can easily insert it without pain and it works my muscles because it isn't so large that it gets so stuck in there. As I explained in my video, you don't want a ball that's too large because you won't work your muscles. It'll be almost imbedded in there, if that makes sense. You also don't want one too small that it falls right out as soon as you stand up.

The somewhat pointed tip also helps to insert the iOrgasm ball easier.

As for the tail, I did end up cutting it off since it wasn't necessary for me, but if you have anal experience or have been wanting to go there, this would be the perfect way to try. Since you'd have the iOrgasm ball inside the vagina, you could insert the tail into your .. bum and the small tail would be a nice introduction to anal, I suppose. Also, you could even insert the iOrgasm ball into the vagina, add some lubrication and use the tiny ball at the end of the tail to stimulate the clitoris -- this does work too! If you've got it inserted, the tail automatically curves up and rests on the clitoris, or if you've got it turned the other way, it'll rest against your bum.

If it so happened that the iOrgasm ball wasn't big enough for you, Too Timid carries a wonderful selection of other kegel products to choose from.

It's firm, but has a soft, smooth silicone coating. And again, as I said in my video, you definitely want silicone in a kegel ball. It's safe and non-porous, so it doesn't harbor bacteria and can even be sterilized.

The iOrgasm ball is phthalates-free.

How to clean the iOrgasm ball
Since the iOrgasm ball is made of silicone, you can boil it for a few minutes to completely sterilize. Some people use a 10:10 bleach solution. It's a good idea to boil it once every few weeks, if you wear it daily like I do. It just feels necessary.

At the end of the day, I usually just use hot water and Dawn dish detergent to make sure I clean the ball really well.

Too Timid carries other products too, not just the kegel balls. As I said, I recently talked about how much I enjoyed a vibrator I got from there too. They have an awesome selection of vibrators, massagers, male sex toys, dildos (even glass!), lubricants, lingerie, anal toys and more. They definitely have one of the biggest selections of toys I've seen available online.

Navitas Natural

2013-03-04T21:54:00.000-08:00

Hello, hello my health-consious, snack loving, beautiful readers! I want to share a snack product I've had the luxury to be introduced to and try lately. It's Navitas Naturals' items. There are a few I've had and I do want to discuss them all, but I will start with my favorite -- the Cacao Goji Superfood Power Snack.

Below is a photo of the actual Cacao Goji snack. They are a nice size and are so packed with so many different amazing foods, which I will list in a moment. First check out the delicious little guy...

The bite-size Cacao Goji Power Snacks resemble a brownie or oatmeal candy (which is chocolate, peanut butter and oatmeal patties).

The Cacao Goji Power Snacks are just one of the amazing, healthy, organic products from Navitas Naturals and I happen to love them!

"Navitas Naturals Cacao Goji Power Snacks are made from the most nutrient dense functional superfoods including cacao, maca, chia, and camu-camu. We sustainably source the most nutritious, wholesome and delicious ingredients available, and now we’ve combined them into flavorful grab-and-go snacks that you can enjoy anywhere."

You see all those small pieces of "stuff" in the Cacao Goji Power Snack photo? That is the tons of different health foods mixed into one delicious snack. Below, I'm going to do a bullet point list of all the different amazing things in the snack and other important information, so that it's easier to read.

Each Cacao Goji snack contains antioxidants & essential amino acids.
Gluten & refined sugar free.
USDA Certified Organic, raw and vegan.
Contains Cacao, Maca, Chia seeds and Camu Camu. In a moment I'll discuss the benefits of all those.
Contains omega fatty acids, polyphenols, iron and fiber.
Contains Vitamin A & Vitamin C.

Here's more informational information (nice wording?) I thought would be useful to share from Navitas Naturals' website...

"Cacao is one of nature's most complex superfoods. There are thousands of phytochemicals stored inside each little bean. A rich source of magnesium, Cacao is also loaded with antioxidants and theobromine. Goji Berries contain some rare compounds like germanium -- an important mineral. The red chewy berry also provides protein, fiber, antioxidants and lots of beta carotene."

What's it taste like?

The Cacao Goji Snacks taste like a wide variety of different things in your mouth. My first impression was the chocolatey taste, then I thought I felt a chia seed, so I looked closely at the square and was positive I seen chia seeds in them -- sure enough, it does contain them! I love chia seeds! I usually have a handful of them daily since they're high in omegas and I don't eat fish, so choose to get mine via chia seeds.

I also noticed the goji berry taste. Goji berries have a slightly dried cranberry slash acai taste to me -- both of which I love. There are also oats and what looks like sesame seeds in there that add a little something to the texture.

The 8oz bag of the Cacao Goji snacks comes with about 8 servings.

Benefits

Reduces heart disease and cancer.
Ingredients like the raw cacao cause "feel-good bliss," and the chemicals in it can boost your mood.
Theobromine (the ingredient found in cacao) is a mild stimulant with diuretic effect. This means it helps remove toxins from the body (because diuretics cause you to have to urinate more) and also enhances your mood.
Cacao also contains Phenylethylamine -- another mood booster! Phenylethylamine is like a very low antidepressant.
Cacao increases serotonin levels, which also gives you a happy-ish, peaceful sense of well being.

So it's definitely safe to say that cacao is pretty good for mood-boosting! However, it also contains calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, potassium and manganese as well as Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, E and pantothenic acid.

More benefits of Cacao include:

Increase blood circulation, which means it may help with headaches and improve focus.
Cacao is anti-aging.
Reduces cholesterol.

If I went on to include the benefits of every single ingredient, this would get real lengthy! So I will stop here, but do know that the goji berries and chia seeds and other amazing ingredients do have their very own big health benefits!

"The mission of Navitas Naturals is to provide the finest organic superfoods that increase energy ans enhance health.All of our products are certified organic and use methods such as freeze-drying and low temperature processing to ensure maximum nutrition and flavor. Organic is important for ensuring the integrity of our foods that people eat, and for protecting the health of farmers."

"Navitas Naturals helps people achieve optimal nutrition to fuel a busy lifestyle. Health-conscious consumers choose our organic superfoods because they are a diverse whole-food source of antiioxidants, protein, essential fas, vitamins, minerals and other key nutrients. Try them in your smoothies and join the smoothmentat www.navitasnaturals.com"

In the mean time, keep on the lookout for my other posts (soon!) on a couple other Navitas Naturals products I am fond of.

Wish Garden Herbs

2013-03-01T00:51:00.002-08:00

Above is a photo of 3 wonderful herbal concoctions, each designed for different needs. First, I want to talk about my favorite, the one located furthest on the right.

This super neat herbal product is Wish Garden Herb's Kick-Ass Immune Activator, and kick ass it does!

The Kick-Ass Immune Activator is obviously designed to boost the immune system, but I'd like to go deeper into detail about it, so let's go!

Here is what it does:
-Provides first line immune defense
-Boosts natural resistance
-Ingredients include stellar team of respiratory-immune herbs

Now you have an idea of what the Kick-Ass Immune Activator does, so let's talk about the ingredients (herbs) and why they're so beneficial for your immune system and overall health..

"Wish Garden's Kick-Ass Immune Activator activates healthy system response. Our unique and powerful team of immune, respiratory, and lymphatic herbal heros support your body's natural resistance now! Keep handy when traveling or in schools, hospitals and events."

Kick-Ass Immune Activator isn't necessarily something you just take daily, I don't think. Instead, it's kind of your emergency rescuer. Your knight in shining armor. It's great to take it when you've been around sick people or during flu season and the like. I have had the perfect opportunity to put Wish Garden Herb's lovely Kick-Ass Immune Activator to the test since I have had used it during flu season when every single person in my family except for me, one of my sisters and my spouse had been sick, badly sick! My mom had the flu, all my neices and nephews, my grandmother, my twin sister, my brother in law. Parts of my spouse's family too! And I don't think any of us got a flu shot, yet my partner & I and one sister are the only ones out of all of us that didn't catch it & we were all around each other!

And then on my birthday, which was 3 days ago, my mom and older sister came down with a yucky semi-cold type of thing. I felt my throat stinging when I woke up the morning before & had already been taking the Kick-Ass Immune Activator on three different days the previous week, took some again that morning of the tingly throat & here we are. 3 days later. My mom was so sick she couldn't work on my birthday, my sister was so sick that day & they both stayed crappy for two days. What did I have? A tingly throat and a funky taste when I coughed, some drainage. Nothing else. I wasn't sweating, no fever, no migraine that blinded me. & that's unusual because I normally suffer from migraines a few times a week. I haven't had a headache all week & I've been using chemicals all day to clean, which usually send me straight to migraine city. Perhaps the Kick-Ass Immune Activator even helped there.

My spouse hadn't taken the Kick-Ass Immune Activator as much as I did -- I think he took it twice, but a pretty hefty dose & it kept him from catching it too!

How to Use Kick-Ass Immune Activator

Wish Garden Herb's herbal "tonics" as I call them, come in a dark tinted glass bottle with the dropper as the lid. This is really good because a good quality herbal product needs to be kept in a dark place & it really says something about a company who packages their products carefully, and with quality and time in mind. You have much better herbs that'll provide much better results when they're in a bottle like this, and the glass dropper is icing on the cake because you simply use squeeze the little squeezy thing (sorry, lack of words tonight!) and suck up the liquid herbs & then add to your drink or if you're like me, directly under the tongue. This is a much easier method than if it came in a jar where you had to pour and measure things out. Convenient!

So, how you use it...
Wish Garden Herbs recommend 1-2 droppers full in liquid or under the tongue every 2-4 hours as needed. They say to mix in a water bottle for frequent use for up to 1.5 days for additional herbal heroics.

So if you've already came down with something say the flu or another type of cold, then you can still benefit immensely from the Kick-Ass Immune Activator since all the healthy herbs in it will basically activate your immune system and increase your chances of getting well sooner as well as decrease the symptoms of the problem.

Bottom line: Kick-Ass Immune Activator is a life-saver.

Now, let's talk ingredients:

Active Ingredients: Yerba Santa leaf, Baptisia root, Elderflower , Yarrow aerials, Osha root, Goldenseal root, Echinacea Purpurea root

Other Ingredients: Pure Rocky Mountain spring water, vegetable glycerine & organic gluten-free alcohol. - See more at: http://www.wishgardenherbs.com/herbal-remedies/Kick-Ass-Immune-Activator-399#sthash.tzz4AyES.dpuf

WishGarden Herbs' best selling Kick-Ass Immune activates healthy system response. Our unique and powerful team of immune, respiratory, and lymphatic herbal heroes support your body's natural resistance, NOW! Keep Kick-Ass Immune handy when traveling or in schools, hospitals, and events.* - See more at: http://www.wishgardenherbs.com/herbal-remedies/Kick-Ass-Immune-Activator-399#sthash.tzz4AyES.dpuf

The Active Ingredient in Kick-Ass Immune Activator are:

Yerba Santa Leaf, Baptisia Root, Elderflower, Yarrow Aerials, Osha Root, Goldenseal Root, Echinacea Purpurea Root.

Other ingredients:
Pure Rocky Mountain spring water, vegetable glycerin and organic gluten-free alcohol.

You can see that Wish Garden Herbs uses high-quality ingredients here and each one are beneficial. Also notice that there aren't any harsh ingredients that are often found in other herbal products that only dilute them, reducing their effectiveness. Wish Garden Herbs is hardcore!

Taste

Taste! Oh my. The taste is a bit intense, but nothing I cannot handle when I know the benefits. I can consume almost anything if I know there are health benefits! This is true. But I will admit, the taste is harsh. However, you can always mix your dose into some other juice or liquid to mask the flavor.

The flavor is very herby. Sorry for being vague, but it's tough. If you've tried the herbs that are in this product, maybe you'll have more of an idea of how it tastes.
To me, it's tolerable. I don't gag or anything. It's bitter, but sweet-ish. It has a very planty taste. If you've ever cut the stem of certain plants and noticed that strong, fresh smell, this is something like what I am reminded of when tasting Kick-Ass Immune Activator.

Instead of mixing it into a drink, I like quick, convenient and efficient, so I just added the droplets under my tongue, slowly. I didn't squeeze the entire dropper full into my mouth, but instead put 3-4 drops in my mouth at a time. And really, if you have some drink to "chase" it with, you don't notice a lot of the taste.

I kind of think it tastes cinnamon-y in a slight way. Maybe it's more of a ginger taste, and I did say "this kind of tastes like alcohol," so that's a tad noticeable too.

Kick-Ass Immune Activator is a yellow liquid. I think you may need to give the bottle a slight shake because I noticed the other day, that the dropper full of liquid looked cloudy, so I gave it one small shake to be safe.

The aroma is very potent. It smells slightly bitter and I think that's the Goldenseal Root because I've had Golden Seal Root as a kid. We'd dig it up from my grandmother's woods and chew it -- very bitter, but not terrible. There's something a little addicting about the taste. I've heard so many numerous health benefits that can come from Golden Seal root, so there's a lot to gain here. I always heard it called "Yellow Root."

Now, I don't want to drag this part out too horribly much, but feel it's important to focus a little on just some of the benefits of each ingredient.

I was just discussing the Golden Seal Root. So I want to start there. I'll do this in bullet-point style to make it easier to read.

Golden Seal Root has astringent, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and laxative properties.
Golden Seal Root has astringent effects on the mucus membranes of the upper respiratory tract, hence the reason Wish Garden Herbs uses it in their Immune system tonic. It also is an astrigent for the digestive tract and bladder. It's helpful for digestion too. Golden Seal increases mucus membrane secretion and increases the flow of healthy secretion. Works as a natural anti-biotic.
Golden Seal can also help with other problems including colds, flu, sinuses, sore throat, laryngitis, ear ache, gastritis, mouth sores, colitis and chest congestion and more! When used externall, it can be hugely beneficial for skin disorders of about every variety (exzema, psoriasis, etc.)

Yerba Santa Leaf

Native Americans used Yerba Santa Leaf to treat sore throat, coughs, colds, flu, bronchial congestion, asthma and clears phlegm and mucus.
It's also been used externally (in a bath or something) to help relieve fever, heal acne, and reduce pains.
Also a digestive stimulant, has been used to cure rheumatism and allergies.
Yerba Santa Leaf is an anti-inflammatory.

Contains flavanoids, which may have potential to be anti-cancerous

Baptisia Root

Native Americans used Baptisia Root as a natural antiseptic to treat wounds. It's also been used to help with extreme fever, fatigue and even confusion.
Used to treat influenza (the flu), gastric infections, fever and throat infections.
Baptisia was developed to treat typhoid fever (according to Herbs 2000)

Just a note on the Baptisia Root ingredient before moving on: You see that the active ingredients are both used for flus and respiratory issues, infections and digestive problems. Baptisia Root also seems that since it has been used to treat extreme fatigue and confusion, it may help clear the foggy head and sense of dreaming, being thrown off and mentally cloudy and drained when you have the flu or a cold. I often feel this way when I'm sick and it's one of the most annoying parts of being sick, so from the information I've gathered and shared above, I've came to the conclusion that it may possibly help with those aspects of the flu or colds as well. Okay, I'll shut up on this now.

Elder Flower Root

It's been said that Elder Flower Root is the oldest herb cultivated by man.
Used to build the immune system by clearing out toxins through lymph glands (removing toxins is going to benefit you whether you have the flu or not, so this is great news)
Used to treat asthma, respiratory problems and to clear catarrh. In fact, I have heard the other herbs I've listed above have been used in the treatment of catarrh too, so this could be worth looking into if you suffer from that.
Used to build the immune system of low-immune people such as children, elderly (maybe that's one reason for its name? Kidding), sick people, around the time of influenza breakouts.
Used to relieve sinusitis, treat pollen allergies and used externally to remove skin spots like freckles.
Very high in antioxdants and contains Vitamin C. Also full of flavanoids, caratenoids, amino acids, vitamins and tannins.

Yarrow Aerials

Used in wars to heal wounds and has been used to heal bruises and skin problems. Helps stop bleeding.
Remedy for colds, fever and flu.
Yarrow is an astringent and digestive tonic (like all the other active ingredients).
Reduces fever, aids in stimulation of sweating, is a blood vessel strengthener.
Promotes quick recovery from the flu and colds.
Cleanses waste from the body. This ingredient also stimulates digestive activity (like the other ingredients, which is a good thing).
Helpful for diarrhea, IBS (I've been there! Suffered with IBS for years).
Helps with circulation problems, high blood pressure, can tone vericose veins.

Osha Root

Has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.
Used to treat flu, coughs, cold, soothe sore and inflammed tissues of the throat and other areas.
Increases blood circulation to the lungs making it helpful for emphysema, pneumonia, allergies and asthma.
Increases oxygen intake.
Clears mucus from sinuses, throat and lungs.
Used by Native Americns to treat all sorts of respiratory problems.

Echinacea Purpurea Root

Cures colds and flu, fights all sorts of infections.
Stimulates cell activity and new tissue growth.
Promotes T-cell activation
Causes our immune cells to be more efficient in attacking bacteria, abnormal cells and viruses and cancer cells.
Increases the amount of immune system cells like anti-tumor cells.
Reduces inflammation, is sufficient in wound healing, and can be especially beneficial for arthritis sufferers.
Helps prevent infections.

Clearly, judging by all the useful information I've added about the different hebs in the Kick-Ass Immune Activator, it's safe to say that all the active ingredients are highly beneficial for treating all sorts of respiratory problems, and if you noticed, digestive too! So it's safe to say this would be extremely beneficial for digestive ailments as well as it could relieve inflammation, possibly relieve constipation (very possibly, believe me) and more. Wish Garden Herbs knew exactly what kind of ingredients to use for this product because if you read the information I put on the herbal ingredients, you'll see just how extremely effective each are for colds, flu, respiratory problems and digestive problems. All of those combined make the Kick Ass Immune Activator one powerful remedy.

And when you're not sick, you can definitely be more ass-kicking!

Eternal Water -- Alakine water

2013-02-27T20:56:00.001-08:00

As boring as you might expect a post about water to be, this is actually something I've been very excited to talk about.

A few weeks ago I tried this water, which is called Eternal Water. I really planned and hoped to talk about this a week ago after I'd gone through 6 bottles of Eternal Water, but had some crazy happenings in my life and didn't get to until now.

Why is this such great news? Why is me drinking water worthy of writing about? Well, let me just tell you what Eternal Water is first.

Eternal Water is an awesome, awesome water with amazing health benefits because it's alkaline water, not your typical tap water. I've included photos of the water just for your information. I got a little photo happy so there are a few throughout this post, but hey! I get serious when there's something I fall in love with.

The special thing about this water, as I said is that it's alkaline. If you don't know why that's a good thing, I will share with you what I've learned & why I was originally attracted to Eternal Water in the first place. Instead of dragging this out into a very lengthy post, I will try to make it easy to read by using points and such, so bear with me because what I have to say really is informative.

A pH 7.0 and higher is necessary in order for something to be alkaline. Eternal Water has a pH of 8.0. Anything under 7.0 is acidic, the opposite of alkalized.

Alkaline water works kind of like antioxidants because it is able to counteract free radicals, and since it's in liquid form, it absorbs quickly. This would mean by drinking alkaline water, there's a big potential for anti-aging and even better, anti-disease!

I have also read that it may have the ability to help prevent cancer. I just don't know about studies on this and all that so I couldn't tell you where to go for proof, but it's just like with herbs and other natural healing methods -- of course there's no studies to prove it, but there are plenty of people that are living proof. For instance, remember my healing from years of severe, debilitating IBS & endometriosis and anxiety? You've read so much about my story through my healing process. So it's kind of like that in this case too -- you may not find scientific studies for proof, but there are people who are proof. And you may actually be able to find studies proving the benefits of alkaline water. I've not dug that deep yet because I drank it long enough to love it and didn't need to see any of that scientific proof.

Anyways, now that that's out of the way, more important things to be said about the effects of alkaline water:

- Alkaline water is a cleanser for the entire body and system. It cleanses the organs & most people love most the fact that it cleans the colon. This in turn means that it could help remove toxins and other harmful stuff built up in your insides.

-Some of the reported effects of drinking alkaline water include being less suseptible to illness such as flu's, colds, sinus issues and even constipation and other digestive issues as well as other viruses like stomach viruses and even allergies.

-Alkaline water can be used for its beneficial skin properties. Drinking it is beneficial for the skin and using it to rinse your face and delicate skin areas can also result in improvement where acne and other skin problems are a concern.

-From my experience alone, not the things I've found from research, but something I noticed after drinking Eternal Water was that my normally very dry, flaky skin was improving and I wasn't feeling the tightness from my dry face or seeing as much dryness after applying makeup every day. I've not read about this being a big effect, but I mean, if tap water clears your skin of acne and dryness, then I know alkaline water will do it for everyone else too.

I've also read that it's beneficial for skin in a lot of other neat ways too -- replace tissues and contribute to elasticity and that it can even aid in detoxifying your skin of impurities, causing smoother skin with less breakouts.

- We know that there have been studies to show that adequate amounts of water can in fact decrease your chances of cancers and diseases like colon cancer, so I imagine alkaline water can enhance prevention.

-And another huge favorite of mine: Alkaline water helps nutrients to be aborbed better! This is good because I've been working hard in this area and desperately need for the vitamins and nutrients I consume to be absorbed since I tend to be deficient in many of them, especially calcium. So this has been one big deal for me.

- If you've read about alkaline water, I'm sure you've read the benefits it has for someone trying to lose weight. It can help break down the fatty elements in foods and is even sufficient as an appetite supressant-- a natural one.

And if you thought there was nothing left to gain, it's also supposed to be good for joints and muscles because it's said to lubricate them, resulting in a prevention of injuries. I've read that people who suffer from arthritis use alkaline water for that.

I haven't actually read that this is possible, but I happen to think myself that the Eternal Water, being that it's alkaline and not acidic might be able to help with heartburn? I'm not making any claims here, but found my "thoughts" interesting enough to bring them up.

On Facebook, I also read where someone said they'd been drinking Eternal Water for 4 months and said "my health has increased." So it's really helpful to hear what others have noticed from drinking Eternal Water.

So that's a lot of benefits, even if you didn't benefit from one of those listed, I personally have felt like pH water (alkaline water) is very important for my health. And let me just go ahead and say, the price of Eternal Water is so low that even if you happened to be someone who thought alkaline water had zero benefits for your health, it'd still be worth a shot and at the very least, you'd have yourself the best tasting water to drink. I paid a $1.69 for a large single bottle of Eternal Water. The price does vary depending on where you're buying it. I've seen it in two different retail stores as well as online. One store sold it for .99 a bottle, which I think the bottle was a tad smaller than the last one I bought, which was large and costed a bit more. The 6 pack, I seen at one of those places for $4.95. So it's not expensive as you probably expected. Course the prices can vary at different stores, so these aren't any for-sure prices for what you will find, but that's the prices I have seen them for.

I'm not trying to say everyone should drink only alkaline water, but when reading some very negative things about people who believe alkaline water is good, I felt compelled to share everything I've learned. Eternal Water doesn't make those claims that I described. They're simply things I've learned and wanted to share.

Eternal Water does improve cellular absorbtion and hydration, contains naturally occurring electrolytes and in their water, there is nothing added and nothing removed. This is very important when it comes to the water you drink.

And did you notice how neat the bottle looks?! I know, I'm a sucker for neat looking bottles, but Eternal Water's bottles are BPA free, phthalates free and 100% recyclable!

Eternal water does not contain any fluoride! This is very important too! If you've read my posts about fluoride, you already know why you don't want it in your water (or anything, for that matter.) A lot of water comes with added fluoride and you should always look to be sure there's none! I won't even get into detail here on why we don't want fluoride because that would be off-topic and I have already written plenty about it, so most of you already are aware.

Now, I'll stop telling you the possible benefits & move on to tell you more about Eternal Water.

The very important part:
Eternal Water comes from protected underground springs (their own). "Our water's voyage takes it through layers of volcanic rock and sandstone to a vast underground aquifier. These layers of rock and sandstone provide a natural barrier from any environmental pollutants, providing a pure and uncontaminated source. The location of our rare springs have been carefully selected, ensuring isolation away from commercial and industrial pollution."

You can do some research for yourself and see that alkaline water that's naturally alkaline is said to be better for you than that that's not. Eternal Water is natually alkaline spring water, which is said to be the best source of water you can consume. While I'm on the subject, when I first drank the Eternal Water, it reminded me of when we used to stop at this spring in Murphy's Hollow a few minutes away from my house, we would stop and drink the water from the hose there. It was such good water that a lot of people around here would do that often and even bring a container to take some home! The true spring water taste is definitely like nothing else and Eternal Water is the only water I've drank that tasted like that spring water to me. I guess this could be because most bottled water labeled "Spring water" really isn't, but I did not know that until recently.

You can go on Eternal Water's website and see all kinds of very helpful information about their water. One thing I learned on their site was under the "Typical Analysis" section, it says their water has 7.8-8.2 pH. TDS: 100-110, although I'm not totally sure what TDS is, but I really thought that was a nice thing, to have a company really lay down how their water comes about and what the pH is and all that information that you never see on your average bottle water. It also says "Calcium: 25-29" that made me happy! As I said, I desperately try to work calcium into my diet as much as possible. Magnesium: 6-8, which is good too because you really need magnesium and it's important for bones and teeth and the absorption of calcium I believe. Once my herb-store lady told me that you should always be getting magnesium with calcium to prevent constipation, so I suppose that's another good thing! And potassium: 8-10.

How this works is, during the process of the water going through the layers of sandstone and volcanic rock (as described previously), and through pressurization, these minerals (calcium, magnesium and potassium) are naturally picked up. Eternal Water does not add artifical stuff to their water, it happens naturally, which is what you should look for when buying alkaline water.

And on that same page on Eternal Water's website, you can even click to get their quality water report! If you're considering alkaline water, I highly recommend looking into Eternal Water and even reading their Quality Water Report. That alone speaks for itself. I would list the info here, but that would be very long, so you can view it yourself by going to this page and looking under their Water Chemistry report and then, you'll see "Quality Water Report" and you can click it to bring up the report.

I'll admit, when looking at Eternal Water's Quality Water Report, I didn't understand some of the words like heptachlor, but it's still worth checking out.

Taste

Of course I wouldn't skip talking about the taste! I already told you that tasting Eternal Water brought back memories of drinking our local spring water. It does taste like no other bottled water, and I was surprised because I'd heard it was great water that would definitely be something I loved, but I couldn't imagine it really tasting much different from the bottled water I've drank for years.

Looking at the water, it even looks different from distilled, boiled or other bottled water. It looks thicker, if that makes any sense. It's so clear! You think your bottled water is clear? This is clear clear! And there aren't any floating particles.

As for the taste, it's different for sure. It feels different going down too & I do wish I was making more sense, but I don't know how to explain it. It's smoother than other water. It doesn't have a chlorine taste like a lot of water does. My mom tried it and she also said "it's so different." She really liked it too & in fact, bought herself a few bottles of it this evening.

The first time I'd tried Eternal Water, it was in the 6-pack bottle. I noticed they're larger than your average bottle of water too. When I ran out of the 6 bottles, I bought some of the single, individual bottles. It's something I will keep drinking.

I had been using this water filter (Brita) and even had a water bottle with its own filter inside. I thought that was as good as it got, but I guess there's really nothing quite like Eternal Water because even the filtered water has nothing on that lovely spring, alkaline water.

And yes, it does hydrate quickly and is very satisfying when you're thirsty.

"Rhiannon" Vibrator from TooTimid!

2013-02-21T21:49:00.002-08:00

This is the lovely vibrator I mention in my video about the kegel ball I got from Too Timid, so here I want to share with you all about this really lovely (and affordable) vibrator that goes by the name of Rhiannon. Too Timid has one incredible selection of sex toys, but Rhiannon stood out to me because of its bulbed tip which made me think it'd be nice for a little g-spot stimulation and the awesome ribbed texture through the middle.

Rhiannon is a lovely, pastel purple vibrator that has ribbed texture running the mid-section and two tapered, bulbous tips at either end.

While the ribbing on this vibrator doesn't look like it would really make much of an impact, they are noticeable during internal use & provide very fun sensations! This is the second toy with this same type of ribbing that I've really loved. The ribbed texture just provides some pretty unique stimulation. The ribs aren't so pronounced that they'd cause discomfort, but they sure are a nice addition to this vibrator when using internally. On the other hand, you could also apply lubricant (water based!) and use the middle of the toy, where the ribbing is to rub for stimulation that way too.

Rhiannon is a sort of slim vibrator with ribbing throughout the entire mid-section and the same bulbous-shaped tips at either end. One end of the vibrator is used to control the vibrations, while the other end can be used on the clitoris or anywhere else or internally as well. That's one of my favorite things about this vibrator -- the sensations it provides internally. The bulbous tip is wonderful for subtle g-spot stimulation and the ribbing texture is fantastic. I also love the size. It isn't monstrously huge and is a suitable size for even somone who's never used a vibrator before. As I've said, it's smaller than average and isn't going to cause discomfort. I love the slim, comfortable size.

Rhiannon is a pastel lavendar color -- as I think all Dr. Laura Berman vibrators are. The outer surface is matte and smooth due to the PU coating, but the vibrator is rigid and as hard as plastic -- it is plastic, but the PU coat does prove to be far more comfortable than your regular plastic vibrators. It's not flexible or squishy to the touch and doesn't have a draggy grab like plastic and jelly and some silicone does. It will glide over skin without dragging, which is something I appreciate very much. This also means it doesn't attract lint and hair like jelly and silicone toys.

Size
Rhiannon is only 1" in diameter or 3 1/2" in circumference (and an inch smaller at the middle), which is pretty slender, but that is what I prefer in a toy. I don't use much over 1" anyways. Some of my adult toys are 1 1/2" especially my glass ones, but I am more comfortable using a smaller diameter that doesn't cause me any pain or discomfort, so Rhiannon is definitely a favorite where that's concerned! It can be kind of tough to find many vibrators that aren't on the thicker end, especially vibrators with a lot of lovely texture like this one.

On another note, Too Timid also has a similar vibrator of the same Berman line called Sina. It's almost identical to this vibrator (Rhiannon) but looks to be fatter, so if you aren't the kind of person who prefers a slender size, then Sina would be a fantastic alternative. That way you can have the lovely pleasure of the ribbed texture and bulbous tip, but have a thicker toy.

Rhiannon is kind of a lengthy toy at 7.5" long. It's not overly long, and the insertable length is about 5 1/2" inches, but I adore the length it does have because it means you or your partner can use it to thrust with ease, and this is a magnificent toy for thrusting, in my opinion. Also, there aren't going to be many girls who'd complain of it not being long enough, surely.

Packaging

Here is some of the information you'll find on Rhiannon's box:

Satin finish, which pretty much means it has a smooth, matte finish on the plastic due to the PU coat.

Package describes Rhiannon as a non-therapeutic, external-use-only vibrating wand that can be used on the clitoris, labia or other external areas of the body. Then there's the ever famous "disclaimer" on the packages that says "novelty use only & for external use only." However, other parts of the box do say that it "can be used internally." It's just that disclaimer that some toy manufacturers use. Some do and some don't.

It says that the toy was named after a "goddess of the night" -- Rhiannon.

The side label goes on to say "This adult sex aid can help you discover your own enchanted pleasures. Rhiannon is a vibrating adult toy massager that offers multiple possibilities for pleasure" (Ahem, such as insertion?). Powerful vibrations in the tip of the toy vibrate throughout Rhiannon and the ridged surface of the toy offer extra stimulation and variation for different uses. You can use Rhiannon externally, as a non-therapeutic clitoral vibrator to stimulae labia and outside the vagina. You can also use it internally for powerful vibrating pleasure. Not intended to treat any sexual dysfunction or to have any therapeutic effect on anyfunction or structure of the body."

Then there's the California Exotic Novelties logo at the bottom and top. The rest of the box just shows Berman's photgraph, the toy as well as size and "satin finish."

Use

Remember that this vibrator does not come with batteries, so you'll need to put them in yourself (3 AAA's). To do so, one tip of the vibrator screws off. You can figure out which end does this by looking closely at both bulbous-shaped ends and locating the end that has a tiny seam running through it. This is also the end that you twist to control the different vibration speeds, hence the seam you see. Twist the entire bulbous tip off from the rest of the toy by turning it counter-clock wise. It will screw off and you'll see a white piece of paper that I am pretty sure should be removed. I took mine out. Then you pop the batteries in, screw the cap back on and go!

Material
The other side of the box gives a description about Laura Berman being an author and stuff, and the back includes some important-to-know detail such as that this toy is body-safe, phthalates free and unscented. This is very good because if you didn't already know, phthalates used to be a common "ingredient" in the making of toys -- still is in jelly toys -- and is a very harmful chemical, even linked to cancer. So it's great that this toy is safe to use. The label also mentions again the silky, smooth satin finish. It tells you that the Rhiannon takes 3 AAA batteries and is even waterproof (another great, wonderful feature.) And "powerful, multi-speed vibrations."

This is also printed in 4 other languages on the box.

The box also features the CE symbol (which has to do with it being suitable as a device and such) as well as the "recyclable" symbol.

The very bottom of the box has a website you can go to to "register" your toy, which is one good thing about California Extoic toys -- you can always register them.

Almost done, but there's more on the box -- the "safe and pure" logo meaning the product is made of safe and pure materials, the waterproof symbol and "batteries not included."

While we're talking about the packaging I definitely want to say that there's no nude images or tacky pictures/text on the box. It does show a photo of the vibrator as well as text that clearly states what it is, but it's very tasteful packaging and I appreciate that a whole lot!

Care
Only use water-based lubricants with Rhiannon because silicone could damage the finish. You should also wash the toy well before and after every use. It is water-proof, so it's easy to clean. I put Rhiannon in the water just to be sure that no droplets made it to the inner batter compartment & it did excellent! I like to run my toys under a stream of water first and then dry it, and then open the compartment to make sure no water goes inside, so I know whether or not it'll definitely be okay to use in the bath tub or hot tub. This did fine under the stream of water and in the tub. There's a little clear O-ring on the inside of the battery compartment, and this ring is what keep the water out, so you shouldn't ever poke and prod to remove that ring.

Back to cleaning. This vibrator does have deep ridges that will trap fluid, so it's really best to wash it as soon as you're done rather than let it set & the fluids dry on it because it's tougher to clean if you do that. To clean it, I used a mild, natural soap with hot water and scrubbed up and down the vibrator, rinsed and dried it with a towel. However, you can also use a toy spray cleaner if you don't have time to fully clean it in the sink. I recommend using only natural toy cleaners. Don't boil it because it has a motor!

Another important thing to note is that tiny seam I mentioned where the bulbous tip twists so you can change vibration speeds. It could definitely trap fluids in there, so what I do is remove the bulbous end of the toy as well as the batteries & use a paper towel with hand sanitizer (or toy cleaner) to carefully wipe around the seam just or extra assurance.

Sound

This is actually one of the most quiet toys I've had from California Exotics. I've had one other Dr. Laura Berman vibrator and really wasn't fond of it. This one makes up for the lack in the last one I owned, which was a long time ago though. I can turn Rhinnon up on the highest setting and it wouldn't be heard outside the bedroom door. However, it's nice to have extra background noise such as a heater, air or music running. Still, the noise level is quiet enough that it could be used comfortably without the worry of someone hearing the buzzing unless they were in the same room with you. My toothbrush (it's electric) is louder than Rhiannon.

Vibrations
This is a multi-speed vibrator. The vibrations start out the lowest when you first twist the base of the vibrator, then to increase the speed, simply continue twisting which will bring you to a higher, higher and higher setting until it doesn't twist anymore. Once you can't twist anymore, you're at the highest speed, which is very powerful I must say. It's definitely more powerful than any bullet vibrator I've used, but maybe about the same kind of power as the RMO-120 mm bullet vibrator (also available on Too Timid), which is pretty darn powerful. The vibrations are felt most at the tip of the vibrator, but I can also feel them in the ribbing as well. I like this buzzy vibration for internal use because it's buzzy and powerful enough to really be felt while using it internally, but I've found that it's so strong externally that it kind of numbs my crotch. The vibrations aren't penetrating like you might notice in an all over massager, but power-wise, they'll be suitable for most people if not all, in my opinion. It's by no means a weak vibrator.

So, I hope I've covered everything possible about this lovely little toy. If you guys happen to have questions, I'll happily answer. I read all messages, emails and comments. In the meantime, I hope you guys check out the awesome toys (and BDSM gear, lingerie, male toys and more) at Too Timid.

I also have a video I've made talking about the neat kegel product that also came from the lovely Too Timid. I hope you guys keep your eyes peeled for that one. I've done a kind of half video and half written part on that one because I realize sometimes I have so much to say about products I like that I end up making an uber long post & I don't want to be too overly lengthy, but I also don't ever like to leave out information, especially when it's something I'm fond of. So I hope ya'll are okay with me doing half video & half written text in my next post. It'll do my best to have the written portion done and publish the entire thing this week, so keep a look out!

Maadisha Natural Bar Soaps

2013-02-21T00:24:00.000-08:00

I've shown you guys this photo before. Do you remember? I introduced you to the Maadisha Shampoo9 and promised to tell you about the gorgeous Ayurganic soaps from Maadisha. Well, here we are! I'm going to share with you every detail I can about Maadisha's lovely natural soap bars. This is exciting because out of every single natural soap I have ever used, my favorite has been Maadisha! Let me share a photo of the soaps...

Above you see 5 different natural soaps from Maadisha. Each have different ingredients for different people. I'll discuss each soap below.

And in this last photo, you see a close-up of the bar of soap. It's whit-ish in color and just by the view you can see how incredibly creamy and rich it is!

Maadisha has this entire line of soaps I've showed you. You may remember my post on their Shampoo9? Well, the soap is called Soap5.

One of my favorite things about Soap5 is that it's organic and all, but also that it's enriched with different "Ayurganic" ingredients, which mean you can get some mind-blowing benefits from using the soaps.

Maadisha never uses harsh ingredients in their soaps. Using natural soaps, especially those with ingredients like Maadisha's means no more UTI's caused by the soap products you use, no more yeast infections from your soap, irritation, eczema and other skin irritations! I even put my neice a bar of this in her back-pack because the poor thing has been suffering from UTI's since the summer and the doctor keeps giving her products that only make it worse! I know this because I read the ingredients on her "meds."

Moving on...

Soap5 does not leave a film on your skin, but instead conditions and leaves it feeling silky. This is not a feeling I have experienced before, either.

Let's talk about some of those ingredients in Soap5

Sunflower Oil – helps treat skin infections and inflammations
Safflower Oil – offers powerful dirt and oil-removing abilities
Coconut Oil – prevents dryness and flaking of skin
Palm Oil – contains natural antibacterials that help protect skin cells
Aloe – shields your skin from dangerous toxins

Y'all guys know how crazy I am about aloe! I eat it straight from my plant, I use it on absolutely every part of my body. So I'm of course impressed that Maadisha put it in their Soap5! I could go on talking about ingredients and what each are good for for literally hours, but I'll just keep it short this time... Aloe is not only amazing for healing and for your skin, it's also a natural anti-fungal & anti-bacterial agent! This means those of you who suffer from recurring UTI's or yeast infections will find much relief in Soap5, and possibly prevent them from keeping on happening.

Also, while we're on ingredients, I want to go ahead and share something else really exciting about Soap5. Ya'll may have kept up with my journey with my teeth. I hope so. If not, you will not have a clue what I'm talking about. I also done a video showing you all the different soaps I've used to brush with and why, which were the worst and which were best. Now, I've used Soap5 for brushing and have been for 2 weeks now! Let me stop to do my disclaimer thingy: I'm not a doctor. I'm not recommending that any of you brush your teeth with soaps. I'm simply telling you what I have done and how it has helped me, so if you try it and it makes you gag don't go blaming me.

Now, when I seen the outstanding ingredients in Soap5, I knew I'd be using it on my body and in my mouth. Here's why:

1. Safflower oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil and aloe are all top 'ingredients' for the healthiest teeth when brushing and going natural. I've been studying on this for ages, and I was so stunned when I read the ingredients in one soap that had everything Dr. Judd had recommended! See, before I would find soaps with one or two of the recommended ingredients, but Soap5 had it all, so I immediately decided to brush with it.

Also, it's neem enriched and I've been needing to incorporate neem into my brushing because it's said to be one thing that provides the most healing for someone who wants to remineralize and restore their dental health. By the time I read "neem" on the soap label, I was headed to the bathroom to brush!

Now, I want to stop rambling about my teeth-brushing and talk about Soap5, so I'll end this briefly by saying that I'm totally satisfied with the way Soap5 works for my mouth! Also know that Maadisha is not encouraging people to brush with their soaps. This is simply something I decided to do on my own. In fact, on their website they say "This product is for EXTERNAL USE ONLY. Avoid contact with eyes. is not known to have any side effects, but should you develop any reaction please stop using it and consult your physician immediately." So whatever you do, do so as I did -- at my very own risk.

I like that Soap5 has the least taste of every soap I've used.

Now, more about ingredients:

sunflower oil, safflower oil, palm oil, coconut oils, aloe, lime essential oils, turmeric. Additional ingredients based on Soap5 scent selection.

It'd be helpful to include the short detail Maadisha has added on each of their soaps, so I'll do that now:

The unscented bar (for sensitive skin):

"A treat for our friends with allergies we have a fragrance free, all organic, sensitive skin soap. This soap creates a creamy lather and contains moisturizing properties to help maintain healthy, beautiful skin."

The Patchouli Enriched bar:

"Earthy Patchouli soap contains many essential oils blended with organic orange peel for a refreshingly soothing experience."

Lavender Enriched Bar:

"Using our Lavender soap will create for an overwhelmingly calming experience . Strongly scented Lavender combined with organic comfrey root are soothing and relaxing with built-in hydrating qualities."

The Neem Enriched Bar:

"Our traditional Ayurvedic, organic Neem and Holy Basil antibacterial soap helps maintain healthy skin. A touch of wild ginger prevents any infections, and the addition of Olive Oil serves as the perfect complement."

The Orange Enriched Bar:

"Our Orange enriched soap forms a creamy smooth lather enriched with Ayurvedic blends of timeless organic extracts. Spicy orange peel for exfoliation and refreshingly cool lime as an astringent. Antiseptic turmeric brings in the radiance and forever aloe serves as a moisturizer and repairs skin. Therapeutic rosemary makes for a soothing experience. A marginal touch of fragrance is added to make a perfect soap."

The “Ayurganic” ingredients in Soap5 are a rich source of Vitamins A, C, D, and E, all of which play an essential part in the holistic method of rejuvenating and revitalizing your skin. Soap5 is chemical-free and gives your hands natural moisture, leaving them feeling like satin.

Each of the Maadisha Soap5 bars have their own scent, unless you get the unscented version. The scent I am currently using (Neem Enriched Soap5 bar) has a light fragrance that is hard to describe. It smells soapy, but I have no words or anything to give you a better idea. It doesn't smell like flowers or grass or fruits. It's just a barely there scent. This is good for those of us who are sensitive to fragrance. I can use this and smell it lightly, but it doesn't linger on my skin for long. It just leaves it with a clean scent. This is good because it doesn't end up giving me a headache.

As for the satin and silk claim, it's true. The first thing I told my lovie after using the Soap5 was that it was so creamy and left my skin feeling silky smooth. I've never had any soap do this for my skin. Also, for those of us who tend to get dried out skin after showering, this is the best soap to prevent that! It leaves my skin soft, smooth and moisturized. I can even use it on my face, and since the ingredients are actually good for all skin types (no breakouts, no ingredients that'll cause acne, but many of the ingredients will actually help heal acne and scars and prevent breakouts!) it works wonders on my face as well.

Note: Maadisha recommends letting the soap dry between uses (don't let it set in a puddle of water) and it'll last longer.

I wish you guys could just touch my skin and the bar of Soap5. Seriously, it feels so different than other soaps! It's a soap I look forward to using, and it cleans me better than anything. I love that I don't have residue left behind like I do with Dove bar soaps, Dial orange bar and Olay Ribbons. Also, using it to shave could even help prolong your razor's life! This is because you aren't dulling it with the ingredients in most other soaps, but are helping the blade with ingredients like olive oil and coconut oil, which are actually used to keep a razor blade sharp over time!

Vienne Milano Thigh-Highs

2013-02-15T01:12:00.001-08:00

The picture above is the lovely box that the Vienne Milano thigh-highs come in. Very unique & handy too!

Here is my attempt to show you the nice sticky band that lines the inner portion of the thigh-high, right on the back of the lace trim so that they hold up better. A garter belt is definitely nice insurance, but that rubbery (or silicone?) band is certainly useful as it does help the thigh-highs to kind of grab onto your skin and stay better. And it does so without causing discomfort!

And something you don't see everyday -- my hand inside panty hose! This was an attempt to give you an idea of the actual fabric stretched over my... hand.

These are very comfortable thigh-highs. They look like your typical panty hose on. They're opaque, but still see through enough to see plenty of my skin, which is something I like. They're really silky though, unlike any other panty hose I've worn. The fabric is thin and breathable, not the kind you may be used to that tends to make your legs sweat. I'm actually quite fond of these, especially to be a simple pair of thigh-highs. You wouldn't think there'd be much special about a pair of thigh-highs, but these do feel a good bit different than others do.

I suppose the reason behind these nice, comfortable, silky-to-the-touch thigh-highs could be that the company, Vienne Milano does boast "luxurious" hose. I never thought there was a such thing, but I would definitely call these luxurious.

Another thing I want to mention, in my above photo you might notice the shimmer look where the flash caught the little shimmer in the fabric? They don't actually have any kind of sparkle in them, but the shimmery silk looking fabric will give you an idea (maybe) of how silky these feel on.

And I certainly want to brag about the durability. I've never had a pair of thigh-highs or panty hose that lasted through 2 wears without running. I am a cat owner, afterall. These nice, lightweight little dudes have yet to show any wear or tear to them after three wears, although they do have a few cat hairs stuck on them to prove my kitty ownership. Thankfully, they can be picked off or sticky-rolled off the hose as long as you're careful.

During the winter months, I normally wear my fleece-lined leggings because they allow me to wear my dresses and skirts (not limiting me to only jeans, thank God!) without freezing. I wasn't sure how warm these Vienne Milano thigh-highs would be, but couldn't resist em'. So the first time I wore them, it was under a skirt and just for a night out, not the full day. I could feel the wind through them, but they're very tolerable for me, even in winter. I did wear them again two more times and wasn't too cold.

Vienne Milano's hosiery is made in Italy, and they have some adorable thigh-highs to choose from, not just the plain ones you see here. These have the nice lace band, which is cute, but Vienne Milano also have a pair that have a little lace-up thing on the back of the thigh-high, where the lace band is and they are so cute! They also have colored ones, back-seam thigh-highs and a lot more really lovely and sexy designs. I adore the variety. I cannot find stylish hosiery anywhere in my area, so the only place I can get any is online & this pair of Vienne Milano has been nice enough quality that I'd buy the others on their site that catch my eye.

As I've made clear, I'm very fond of the comfort of these and the added sticky band to help them stay up. I didn't have a lot of trouble with them falling down on me, but the last time I wore them, I did add a garter belt to hold them up since I was going to be to busy to take the risk. I just snapped the garter clasps on the lace band and they stayed up, but you could also gather the lace band up and then snap. I don't know that the flimsy plastic garter clasps would hold them well, but the metal ones do.

Chewy's Tooth Powder

2013-02-08T23:15:00.000-08:00

Chewy's Tooth Powder is a product from Cayce Concepts. I want to discuss how this product works, what it is and why I prefer it over your typical drugstore tooth products.

First of all, I'd like to spend the next 24 hours going into detail about why your average toothpaste is so horrible for you (this is just an area that I've became really passionate about, as you've probably noticed) but that would be murder for your eyes. So I will be as brief as possible. If you guys have been keeping up with my updates on dental health, you already know that I've done quite some suffering since September of 2011. You also probably know that I went and made immediate, drastic changes to my dental health and my lifestyle period, really. I've spent a very good chunk of my time from September of 2011 up until even this very day doing extensive reading, learning & studying everything I can about dental health so that I can improve mine.

You probably know that I have not used toothpaste since about early August of 2012. As soon as I learned the dangers of fluoride & glycerin (both in toothpastes) I couldn't bring myself to ever put it in my mouth again. So I followed the advice of Dr. Judd & started using soap instantly. Bar soap. Natural, with no glycerin or other additives. It was torture.

I could also spend the next 24 hours explaining all the harms of using fluoride, but again, that would be torture for your eyes. So I'll just be brief and say these things: 1. glycerin is bad to use on your teeth because it creates a thick coating on them that takes 20-something washes just to remove. This coating is a problem because it means your teeth cannot take the nutrients needed in order to be healthy and especially can't remineralize!

2. Fluoride is bad because (I could list about 100 reasons) it actually contributes to tooth decay (look it up if you don't believe me. Dr. Judd's book Teeth Total will give you plenty of information.) Not to mention it is poisonous to your health, but we'll leave it at this.

So naturally, I wanted to avoid these two ingredients like the plague. And I have. I have.

I've been using soap mostly until the past couple of weeks when I've had the luxury (and believe me, it's a luxury when you've been gagging on soap every morning) to use this Chewy's Tooth Powder.

Now, if you haven't caught up with all my blabbering, I hope you'll continue to read about Chewy's right now, and later if necessary, you can look into my previous posts about my journey & to learn why commercial toothpastes are bad & what you could be using instead. Those are all here on my blog -- some in video form where I discuss things more in depth and some in written form.

If you've been following my YouTube updates, you probably have already seen the videos on my own personal journey. Now, onto the Chewy's!

Chewy's is basically a white powdery product. The good thing about it is it only contains 3 ingredients, and all three have great benefits for your teeth. Those ingredients are: real salt, soda & peppermint.

Now I want to discuss a little about Cayce Concepts, which is the store where Chewy's is sold. Cayce Concepts' URL is: http://www.cayceconcepts.com/

Cayce Concepts page description sums it up nicely by saying "

"Our web site is dedicated to the complimentary health care movement and the insights presented by Edgar Cayce; America's most beloved psychic and the father of holistic medicine. Our mission is to make the best Cayce products available. If for any reason you are unhappy with the purchase of anything we make you can return it for a refund or replacement within 30 days. As we are researchers by nature, we are always interested in hearing about your experiences with our products, so don't hesitate to e-mail, snail mail, or call us if you want to chat, and thanks so much for your ongoing support."

Impressive, huh?

So in case you're wondering, Cayce Concepts sells products based on Edgar Cayce's findings, if that makes sense to you. I highly recommend checking more into Edgar Cayce's work. I've actually been glued to it since I was provided with the wealth of literally life-changing information.

How do You Use Chewy's Tooth Powder?

Simply sprinkle some of the powder onto your toothbrush & go! I dampen my toothbrush first, then open the lid, which has a hole in it to sprinkle a bit out. I usually end up with some excess that falls onto my sink counter, so I'll scrape it off & back into the jar so I don't waste it.

The neat thing about Chewy's Tooth Powder is that you kind of expect it to be sandy/gritty because it looks that way, but you sprinkle it onto your brush & watch it dissolve onto the bristles instantly! I worried at first that it would be like raking little rough salt grains across my teeth because I expected it to be gritty, but it isn't at all. It's actually a very fine, non-gritty powder. It dissolves completely & then it just feels like you're brushing with salt, minty water instead of getting foamy or pasty like toothpaste, which is something I appreciate about Chewy's. Also, other good news is you won't have those white toothpaste stains on your clothes that you notice but never know how you managed to get your toothpaste on your black blouse!

When you think of brushing your teeth with salt, it really doesn't sound that pleasant. It doesn't sound like it'd get your teeth clean, but Chewy's Tooth Powder is actually a whole different experience than what you'd expect. It does clean, and the truth is, while it might not leave the sweetest taste in my mouth like the chemical-filled commercial toothpastes, it does leave my mouth feeling cleaner too. Also, have you ever brushed your teeth with your typical Colgate or whatever other drugstore brand & still managed to have a bad taste on your tongue -- like it wasn't totally clean? Coffee leftover? I have and I'd have to use mouth wash and brush my tongue repeatedly to get rid of it. When I use Chewy's, I don't have to go through all that. After brushing, I swish the excess in my mouth a little & then spit and swipe my brush over the back of my tongue well and I'm done. My mouth is like new. It's a very unique experience, using Chewy's and I definitely hope all of you end up trying this stuff.

What does Chewy's Tooth Powder taste like?

Surprisingly enough, Chewy's is more tolerable to brush with for me than any toothpaste. It doesn't burn my mouth or taste awful. The taste is actually very salty due to the salt content & as soon as I begin brushing my mouth has a really clean, subtle minty feel, but one thing I love about Chewy's is that it doesn't leave that overly minty taste in my mouth afterward. It just feels really clean instead of horribly minty or alcohol-y. I can brush & go immediately and have anything to drink or eat without having it taste funky, which is what happens when you use regular toothpaste. If you've ever taken a drink of orange juice right after brushing with commercial toothpaste you know what I'm talking about! Not pleasant.

I'd also like to note that the tooth powder comes in a glass bottle with a snap-top lid where you can easily pour out a little powder. Under the cap is a safety seal.

Does it really clean your teeth?

Yes! I remember when I thought only alcohol in mouthwash killed germs in your mouth, so I'd use it all the time thinking I was doing great. Actually, I learned that it's bad for your mouth because 1. alcohol can dry out your mouth (or skin if you use it there) and having dry mouth leads to tooth decay, believe me! I already have dry-mouth issues. And 2. I learned that alcohol can lead to tooth decay. I will let you decide on that one after you've done your own research because everyone believes differently there. I personally know that I can't deal with any more dry mouth than I already have, so I've no qualms getting rid of alcohol mouthwashes even for that reason alone.

I was curious too, when I first learned about Chewy's. I wondered if 3 simple ingredients could actually do the job of cleaning my mouth, so I set out to be sure. Here's what I found:

Salt & soda are known to remove stains from & whiten enamel & you know what? I did not know this, but the very first time I used Chewy's toothpowder I had looked in the mirror while applying makeup only minutes after brushing & seen that my teeth looked a really good deal whiter, so I thought either I've used too dark of foundation (which ends up making my teeth look whiter) or this Chewy's has actually whitened my teeth a bit! So I went to researching & confirmed both from the lovely Phil Thomas at Iodine Source.com & Edgar Cayce's findings that soda & salt actually do whiten enamel!

I usually have extremely white teeth, but as I've told you, when I quit using toothpaste back in August 2012 and started using bar soap, months later I noticed they were a little dull and not as in-your-face white as usual. Then all the coffee & wheatgrass powder (which I'd been holding in my mouth daily rather than drinking) had definitely left them slightly stained. Now my teeth are back to their old white selves again! It's really common for me to get compliments on how pretty & white my teeth are, so I was stoked (and I never use that word, but it totally fits in this situation) when a week of Chewy's Tooth Powder was all it took to start getting them white little guys back again.

Oh, I almost forgot! Soda & salt also promote gum circulation & by using a soft toothbrush & then rinsing with warm water, it's supposed to give your teeth a very thorough cleansing!
Can help with swelling & inflammation of gums.

So what is "real salt" anyway?

I don't know if you guys know what "real salt" and non-real salt is or if you even know there's a difference. I did not, and perhaps I'm just strange for not having a clue. So I'm pretty sure that "real" salt means it is iodized salt. I could be wrong though. I also found that real salt is sometimes what sea salt (has some amazing benefits) is referred to. So either way, it's a good thing.

More about the ingredients in Chewy's Tooth Powder

I wanted to be sure I added as much information about this product & how it works as I could. I'll admit, you could learn a lot more if you simply done some reading up on the whole Edgar Cayce concept & all, but I will do my best to include the information I've learned here.

Chewy's Tooth Powder -- and most of the Cayce Concepts' products, from what I gather -- are based on Edgar Cayce's findings, as I've told you. So Chewy's came about because Phil Thomas, who runs Cayce Concepts over at Iodine Source.com (where Chewy's comes from) took what was learned from Edgar Cayce's information and turned it into products that we could all use. Mr. Cayce found that we actually need nothing more than real salt and soda to get a totally clean mouth & keep things healthy. Chewy's is basically that -- soda, real salt & peppermint!

So, by using Chewy's Tooth Powder, I am able to get rid of commerical toothpastes and finally be able to remineralize my teeth because Chewy's is pleasant so that means I'm not gagging each morning while trying to brush with bar soap. It also means that my teeth aren't being damaged and subjected to more cavities due to the horrible ingredients in all commercial toothpastes. My enamel has more chance of not breaking down & well, I'm not poisioning myself by using toothpaste, so it all works out pretty darn well! I know I blabber on and on about chemicals in toothpaste & I never shut up. I know this, but I can't help it! As I've said, I've spent a big chunk of my time the past year+ researching and making changes so my teeth will be healthy and I keep talking so much about this whole ordeal because I feel like if this kind of information (about toothpaste's harms & about their being other products out there that were healthy & safe for your teeth and health) was available to me a few years ago, I might not have gone through near as much pain as what I have with my teeth.

And I simply want to be sure that I make my own experiences available to others & just hopefully, someone else will learn before they've ran into problems & also because I remember having questions and fears when I first learned that toothpaste was not healthy, but had a tough time finding answers to all the questions I had. What KIND of tooth products should I be using? What's safe? What's not? So I try to put my entire experience out there & make people aware of a product like Chewy's that can save you some serious health problems, dental problems and well, in the end probably money. I am fond of Chewy's because I know that it's safe to use & that I can brush with it, get my teeth/mouth truly clean all while not hindering the remineralization process of my lovely pearls, which I am proud of because I have lovely teeth & am doing everything in my power to keep em' healthy.

Don't forget to check out the Cayce Concepts blog: http://iodinesource.blogspot.com/ -- a very interesting blog with valuable information.

I also wanted to talk a little bit about a book I've been reading, but have yet to finish. I've been learning a whole lot of really interesting information that'll definitely be handy to know for my entire health, and my familie's, and I wanted to share it with you so you guys know about it too. The book is by Bill Risley called Regaining and Maintaining your Health & in this book, he's discussed about every single health ailment there is & how to heal. It's truly been a God-send. I've been reading it via a DVD/CD copy, but it is also available in book form, and I checked Amazon to be sure it's available in Kindle form too, it is! It's a very, very low price too & I'm telling you, the information you learn in the book is worth millions more than just a few dollars -- this coming from a real cheapskate too!

I have just been eating this information up. Oh, I want to put a link to Bill Risley's book here real quick so you guys can go check it out on Amazon & even read a bit because Amazon lets you "peek inside" and read several pages. I hope you do. I really hope you do because you'll want to read it all. I'm not real familiar with doing book reviews, but I'd love to share a little more about the Bill's book when I do finish it. I hope to do a video on it soon just talking about some of the things I've learned & how I've implemented these new things into my lifestyle and such. I'd also be really happy to hear from others who have read it & how you've used Bill's information to make changes in your own life. Really. I hope to hear from you guys who do read the book.

The book is "an alternative healing handbook," which discusses literally everything from cellulite to dizziness issues to digestive issues and then more! I actually do not think there is an ailment not covered in Bill Risley's book. You even have ADHD topics! It's probably the most valuable book I've read to date (including my bible. Cannot leave that one out.) It's like having every answer to every health question/problem right on your Kindle. You guys really have to read it! Okay, I'll stop being bossy now.

As I said, I do plan to set aside time in the upcoming weeks to do a video discussing more about what I've learned from Bill Risley's book & which things I'm personally doing in my own life to make changes, so I hope you guys stick around for that too!

In the meantime, I hope you'll check out the many amazing products over at Cayce Concepts (and they are really interesting products! I recommend also looking into their Iodine products. I've yet to try iodine for my health, but holy crap am I starting to learn how great it can be!)

Much love and best of health to each of you,
Kendra

OraMD Review & Giveaway!

2013-01-31T15:17:00.003-08:00

Hey guys, I've been sharing about my journey of improving my dental health with you as I go along, and I'm here with a little update on a new product I've been using called OraMD from www.oramd.org.

What is OraMD?

OraMD comes in a small tinted glass bottle, so you know it's going to stay fresh. The lid screws on over the bottle, which has a little dropper stopper so that it comes out in drops rather than pouring out.

OraMD is made in the USA and the ingredients are absolutely safe and also will even benefit your teeth health. I won't go deep into discussion about the harms of regular toothpaste as that could take a very long time and I have already made plenty of posts on that particular topic. If you are interested in learning more, you can find those topics on my page or do research for yourself. I also have been sharing my journey via blog posts and videos throughout my months of stopping toothpaste and I've discussed all the different soaps I've tried for brushing, which ingredients are safe, which are not as well as how exactly I plan to remineralize my teeth. So here, I will keep these topics brief and to the point.

The bottom line is: you do not want to brush your teeth with toothpastes that contain glycerin (I've been told that as long as it is glycerin from natural sources -- animals/plants-- then it's okay) because glycerin coats your teeth so thickly that they cannot leech any nutrients! And numer 2: toothpastes contain fluoride which is detrmental to both your teeth and your entire health. Instead of naming you off the hundreds of ways it is bad for your body (it's truly poison!) I will simply just say that it does contribute to tooth decay. So the most important things you can do for your teeth at any point in life is to at least avoid those two harmful ingredients. If you research, you will likely never look at a tube of toothpaste the same ever again. I won't even go into discussion on all the other toxic and unhealthy ingredients in toothpaste. You see where I'm going.

These are the reasons I was interested in using OraMD. And also because I've been using bar soap to brush my teeth since early August and I was sick and tired of gagging every morning trying to brush my darn teeth.

Moving on...

OraMD is safe and contains so few ingredients, which are all very safe, effective in cleaning, killing bacteria and more. Let me discuss the ingredients and what they are each capable of so you can better understand why they will benefit you/teeth.

Ingredients in OraMD:

The ingredients are all 100% natural, pure botanical oils and are as follows:

Peppermint oil - This 100% natural botanical oil is a proven natural combatant to many types of the bacteria in your mouth. Since OraMD is an oil, it does not dry out your mouth like toothpaste and mouthwash can because it is not alcohol based. The oil seeps between the gum line and attacks your bacteria even while you sleep and provides additional support to fight dry mouth. Dry mouth causes the bacteria to multiply at an accelerated rate and must be controlled for good oral hygiene.

Spearmint Oil - We use only the most potent and powerful species of all our botanical oils and our spearmint oil is no different. Like the peppermint oil, spearmint oil fights the 22 known harmful bacteria in your mouth, but when the two are combined they make a synergistic and powerful product.

Almond oil - By using OraMD, with its almond oil you’ll be allowing your mouth to have the bacteria control you need for your mouth to heal itself. Almond oil provides just the right base for peppermint and spearmint.

You can guarantee that regular toothpaste will not kill bacteria as efficiently as OraMD. On another note, I even like to hold the OraMD liquid in my mouth a few seconds before beginning to brush so that it can get around in those crevices between my jaws and teeth, under tongue, on top of tongue, etc and really get those hidden germs. OraMD actually has something called "interdental access," meaning it gets between your teeth & in all the nooks and crannies of your mouth and kills the hidden bacteria!

Let's talk about more benefits you get from using OraMD

If you're like me and have dry mouth all the time, you will appreciate the mouth-watering effect that OraMD has. My mouth waters like crazy when I first put it in my mouth. I can lick a drop of it and salivate! I like this because it seems to keep the dry mouth issue away for a good part of the day, usually until late at night and I'll notice it back again. I also have extremely dry mouth while I sleep (no, I'm not a "mouth-breather!") so I like to brush with OraMD right before bed.

And on another note, which is not related to your mouth, I have had horrible sinus crap all week and my nose and head was so stuffy and congested that I was finding it hard to get enough air, felt as if I was suffocating. I remembered how strong the smell of OraMD is, so one day while trying to sleep, I went & stuck the bottle up to my nose, slowly inhaling in and it cleared my stopped-up nose right away! I could breathe instantly. I used to use tea tree oil for this as a kid, and it would only work after sniffing for a long time, and the stopped-up nose would come back immediately after I quit sniffing it. OraMD will clear that right up!

While I truly believe every single person will benefit immensely (yes, I am that confident in OraMD) from using this, I feel that people with serious gum problems and issues like halitosis will benefit even more. That's because of the abilities to truly kill the bad, odor-causing bacteria. It does not contain alcohol, which most people use thinking it'll kill the bad bacteria and kill bad breath, when actually, alcohol FEEDS the bad bacteria!

It's not abrasive, thank God! My teeth have been feeling like they may be thinner than they should. I've noticed spots on the bottoms of my two front teeth that are transparent and this is a recent thing. I feel a lot better using something that won't be abrasive on my enamel.

Oh, and I swore that when I looked in the mirror the very first time I used OraMD, my teeth were a good deal whiter! I have always been complimented my entire life on my beautiful, extremely white teeth, but when I began using soap to brush, it seems they dulled in their pretty bright white. These suckers were shining when I was applying lip gloss and noticed them in the mirror! This is something I'll keep checking on and update you guys on how the color goes. I'm guessing they'll get whiter because it's been a week since I started using it and they're still white.

It will not cause tooth sensitivity! If you're someone who suffers from tooth sensitivity and you use regular toothpaste, you'll probably notice a change in the sensitivity soon after using OraMD. I think my teeth became sensitive only this past year, and it's a pain, but it definitely seems OraMD is good for this.

It'll reduce swelling/inflammation in gums and could be extremely beneficial for those suffering from gum issues/disease! In fact, the natural ingredients have such great qualities that those of you suffering from gum disease could see some real life-changing improvements.

How do you use OraMD?

OraMD is probably the most simple to use product for brushing teeth, possibly even more simple than toothpaste, and most definitely 100 times healthier for you! Simply add anywhere between 1-5 drops on your toothbrush and brush like normal. It's not a paste, but a liquid, so your first reaction may be to add a lot of product like you do with toothpaste, but it's far best to start off with 1-2 drops or else the strong minty taste may overwhelm you. I can brush my teeth and have a completely clean mouth with 2 drops.

What does it taste like?

Surprisingly, OraMD has a fabulous taste! My first thoughts were 'darn it! I wish I'd have known about OraMD before I went through months of brushing my teeth with soap!'

If you are someone who's been considering making the switch from toothpaste to something more safe, but worry about the big transition and don't want to give up the fresh, minty taste, or if you simply don't want to have to taste soap everyday, OraMD will be a perfect option.

The taste is somewhat sweet, but not sugar/glycerin sweet like toothpaste. If you have ever tasted spearmint or peppermint essential oil, this is very similar. It has an extremely intense mint taste that instantly gives my mouth a clean feeling/taste. In fact, no mouthwash or toothpaste has ever given my mouth the clean, fresh taste/feel that OraMD does. Dab a little on your tongue and you immediately lose whatever was left on your breath. I'm a coffee drinker and as soon as OraMD is in my mouth, it totally eliminates any leftover taste on my tongue. This means it also eliminates any breath odor for good. I've use this once a day so far and no matter how much coffee I drink, I never have a smell on my breath. This stuff is probably the absolute best thing someone with bad-breath can use. No joke. And I've used other natural mouthwashes and toothpastes that had peppermint oil as an ingredient and they didn't hold a candle to what OraMD does for me.

OraMD is the most easily tolerated product I have every used to brush with. I will warn you though, the first time I used it, I thought I'd need a lot and added 5 drops to my toothbrush and it set my mouth on fire! I was drooling, so I had to stop and rinse my mouth and start over because it was too strong. You really only need a small amount. Now, I've found that 2 drops is a comfortable medium for me, personally. Two drops isn't so strong that it burns my mouth any. It does say that even if it does feel strong to you at first, you'll get used to it quickly.

One thing I really appreciate about OraMD is that I didn't have to "adjust" to it really. It's not hard to use, it's not a pain to use & for once in my life, I do not dread brushing my teeth each day. I'm telling you, since I began brushing with soap, there are many mornings when I get downright angry having to brush my teeth because I gag and gag at the horrid taste. It never leaves my mouth, so OraMD is a total God send.

You would think a product so strong would basically numb your tastebuds (ahem, Big Red chewing gum! Always totally burns my tastebuds off and leaves me with a stinging tongue that cannot taste for days.) but I'm able to get back to eating or drinking almost right after using OraMD without having a big impact on how my food/drink tastes. I'll have a minty feeling mouth, but the intensity goes away quickly and doesn't linger.

Special OraMD Offer For Readers Of This Review

For a limited time, everyone reading this review is eligible for a 20 percent discount on their first OraMD order. To use the discount just go to www.oramd.org to select your order and simply enter the discount code THP20 when checking out.

You can shop for OraMd products by going to www.oramd.org

OraMD Giveaway -- How it works

Three different people will win a bottle of OraMD. Please make sure you follow the instructions (which are simple!) in order to participate. If you do not, your entry will be invalid.

To enter the OraMD giveaway:

1. Like OraMD on Facebook by going here

2. Share this OraMD video on one of your social networking accounts.

***Leave your name (first and last!), email address, and the link to your Facebook account. If you also shared the video, please leave your link to whichever social media site you used to share (your Youtube, Facebook, etc) in the comments section so that I can contact the winners to get your addresses and have OraMD ship you your product.

Maadisha Hair Mask

2013-01-27T19:50:00.002-08:00

If any of you remember me posting recently about a few Maadisha products, you're in luck! You probably remember how many great things I had to share about the Maadisha items. And for those of you who have been asking about the Maadisha hair products and how well they've worked for me, you'll be happy to hear about that as well as how this Maadisha hair mask is going for me! Just hold your taters, I'm gettin' there!

So the tub of creamy looking stuff you see is the Maadisha's Hair Mask 2. I have been using this for a couple of weeks now.

I'll start now by sharing what the Hair Mask 2 is designed to do. You probably already guessed that it is a hair mask. For those of you who do not know, a hair mask is basically the same as a face mask -- a cream or serum you leave on your face (or hair in this case) for a period of time in order to receive special benefits that you can't otherwise get from a regular product.

This hair mask2 is very different from most hair masks available, and if you read my last posts on Maadisha products, you may have guessed why -- the ingredients. Now that I've told you what this is, I'll let you in on how to use it and what's so special about the ingredients, and then we'll talk results!

How to use Hair Mask2
Hair Mask 2 is meant to be applied to damp hair. You can smooth it onto your hair using your fingers or a comb. I use my fingers starting at the root, applying only a small amount, and adding more as I reach the tips. I do this because my roots aren't the damaged part of my hair, the tips are! Maadisha recommends applying it to your damp, clean hair, but I have actually used it before my hair-washing as well as after. Both gave me great results.

You can leave the mask on pretty much however long you wish. I've left it on for 25 minutes at the shortest and 2 hours at the longest. Of course, the more damaged your hair, the better results you'll see if you leave it on longer. An hour usually suffices, but after using it several times, I find that 25 minutes does the trick just fine. You can leave it on for just 10-15 if you like or you could put on a cap and sleep with it on.

I simply dip my fingers into the tub, grab some of the creamy Hair Mask and begin. I want to tell you how this stuff feels . . . when I dig in, it feels as if it's melting onto my skin and hair. It's kind of cool, creamy and almost reminds of me ice cream the way it melts. It feels so neat!

My first time using this was a tad scary. I worried it would leave my hair greasy, even if I washed it afterward. This has happened to me with so many products that I was preparing for a whole new shower just in case. I'm really happy to say that it didn't leave any greasy residue. At. All!

The Hair Mask2 does have a scent -- minty. It's not really strong while it's on my hair, so this is a plus. I don't mind the minty aroma, but I like that I cannot smell it while it's on my hair. It's not overpowering to my sensitive nose, sinuses & migraine-prone head.

What is Hair Mask2's Purpose?
Maadisha's Hair Mask2 is designed to make hair stronger, thicker, fuller, bouncier as well as add shine. And even better, it also takes very good care of your damaged, dry hair and split ends! This is like the perfect all-in-one Hair Mask. It is exactly what my hair needs.

Maadisha says the hair mask "virtually eliminates all split ends!"

About what makes Maadisha Hair Mask2 special
If you remember my posting about Maadisha's Soap5 and Shampoo9, you know about Maadisha's "ayurganic" ingredients, which is basically a combination of using ayurveda and organic ingredients. This is good.

"Hairmask2 is formulated with traditional Ayurvedic ingredients including Fenugreek, Henna and Indian Gooseberry. This treatment restores energy and elasticity while stimulating hair follicles. Now you can rejuventate your hair in just 10 – 15 minutes in the comfort of your own home, with immediate results."

The ingredients aren't only completely safe, but they have amazing benefits too!

Gooseberry – Promotes hair growth and hair pigmentation
Henna - Conditions hair while eliminating split ends
Fenugreek - Strengthens hair to help hair grow
Shea Butter – Natural conditioner to leave hair silky

Now, as far as split ends go, Maadisha is right -- my horribly split ends are hardly even noticeable after using the hair mask. I usually have to use it once-twice a week to keep my hair looking nice. To me, it looks almost as if the mask has sealed my hair shaft or something and usually my ends are bad!

Also, I was really excited to have so much bounce to my hair! I have really flat, lifeless, limp hair and I can even tease the heck out of it and have it totally fall flat. :( I blow dry my hair at the roots after using the Hair Mask2 and my hair is so bouncy and has volume that my eyes have never witnessed before. I adore, adore, adore it! It's so lightweight and bouncy, and doesn't lose it's volume until I've slept on it and it's became a bit oily.

Another great thing: I really expected the HairMask2 to weigh my hair down since it's so moisturizing and creamy, I expected results like hair conditioner -- weighed down. I never use conditioner because it makes my hair disasterous. But I have even slathered HairMask2 on my roots and it still does not weigh it down. If my hair is really damaged, I'll slather it on my damp hair from root to tip, let it set for at least 15 minutes, and then rinse it out since I put so much on and then my hair looks and feels amazing.

*I recieve no monetary payment for my reviews. Each review is my honest opinion. My reviews are in compliance with FTC's guidelines. See my disclosure page and honesty pledge for more info on sponsored reviews!*

How to preserve receipts and prevent fading

2012-12-28T00:40:00.001-08:00

A tip for you guys:

Do you save receipts? Well, today when I needed my Chi flat iron receipt so that I could file a complaint with the BBB, I realized most of my receipt was beginning to fade! This can be disasterous. So I was able to see enough to get my information to the BBB, but I thought what will I do if I need this again and it's already faded almost completely? This happens with receipts. I even found one receipt that was important and had faded completely! So I came up with a quick plan for preventing your receipts from fading .. . .

Tape them son of a bitches! Yes. I am serious. It works. I've got a whole receipt book filled with taped receipts now. All you need to do is place a strip of tape over the imporant parts of you receipts, and if you need them in the future (to return something, for future references, etc.) you can be sure they won't be faded! This was so genius I think I need a reward. Kidding. NO, I'm really not kidding. I actually think this, but don't hold that against me. I don't have genuis ideas very often.

Anyways, what I done was use my handy ass Scotch Pop Up tape dispenser and the small strips were the perfect size to cover the important parts of my receipts -- the date, the products purchases and total.

So, get out your tape and receipt book! This will come in handy. One day. I know it will.

Rocks-Off Ltd RO-120mm Bullet Vibrator Review

2012-12-27T23:08:00.003-08:00

Hello my sexy readers! I am so excited right now because I am about to introduce you guys to the world's best bullet vibrator! (in my opinion).

Yep. There you see er' right there in my hand. A plain, silver bullet looking much like any other bullet vibrator you have ever seen. Looks simple, huh? If you were shopping around for a toy, it probably wouldn't catch your eye, right? Well, it'll catch your cooter, that's for sure.

I had similar thoughts when I first got the RO-120 MM Bullet from Rocks-Off Ltd. I'd had such horrible, crappy experiences with every bullet vibrator I've owned that I wasn't overly excited about this, til' I spent a few minutes with it down my pants.

Let's take a look at another photo of this small, but powerful little dude and then I'll move on to tell you all about it..

As you can see, the RO-120 mm Bullet is a small, thin, pointy-tipped chrome bullet with the Rocks-Off Ltd. logo engraved on the side. Other than this logo, the entire bullet has a smooth surface.

The RO-120 Rocks-Off Bullet is waterproof. You may be able to see the little bitty purple O-ring righ at the base. This is what ensures safety while the bullet is in water. This means you can take it with you in the shower & cleaning is easier because you don't have to be careful not to get the battery compartment wet.

The bullet is a great size for someone who's totally new to toys and simply wants a little clitoral or other external stimulation during foreplay, alone play or intercourse. The short length means it's not the best for insertion or thrusting, but it can still be inserted a little for teasing fun.

Measurements:

Total Length: 5"

Insertable length: 3 3/4"

Circumference: 3 1/4"

Diameter: 1"

This bullet comes in chrome or pink. The pink is beautiful!

The RO-120mm bullet has 5 different functions.

To turn the vibrator on, you simply press the single purple button located at the very base. However, when you very first get the bullet, the batteries are already inserted, but you need to twist off the cap and remove a white piece of paper in order for it to turn on. To turn the bullet off, and to cycle through the 5 different speeds, you'll use this one button.

The pointy tip is good for ladies who like pin-point stimulated directed to one single area of the body, for instance the clitoris. This bullet is perfect for that. However, since the vibrations carry evenly throughout the entire length of the vibrator (tip to base), you can also turn it side ways and use the side. The RO-120mm Bullet Vibrator is nice for running along other external body parts such as the labia, thighs (if that turns you on), butt cheeks, back, etc. It can also make a nice addition to foreplay. Having a partner run it along different body parts is exciting. My favorite way to use this bullet vibrator is by taking it with us on one of our mini road trips! Since its small size makes it so discreet, I've been able to carry it along in my purse (which is where it lives) or my pocket and use it while he drives and I'm in the passengar seat. I can also place this bullet vibrator inside my panties and leave it for hands-free use. It only weighs 4 ounces, so it hides away anywhere I want it without trouble.

Like I said, it comes with batteries already in it, which is nice considering it takes watch 2 batteries and those aren't always on-hand like some batteries. I normally won't go out and buy watch batteries just to continue using a vibrator.

Material the RO-120mm Bullet Vibrator is made of

The bullet vibrator is made of ABS plastic that has a chrome finish. It is not metal. The good thing is, ABS plastic is a very safe material for sex toys. It's not as durable and safe as glass or steel or silicone, but it's the next best thing. ABS plastic is food-grade material, it is body-safe and hypo-allergenic as well as phthalates and latex free. So you should feel totally safe using the bullet vibrator.

The RO-120mm Bullet Vibrator comes in a neat little plastic tube with a purple lid that fits on the tube. It reminded me of the tube my Tweezerman's came in. I actually really like this simple packaging for a couple reasons:

1. it's simple and didn't have an excessive amount of plastic to toss in the trash.

2. It had no nudity on the plastic tube! While the clear plastic isn't the most discreet since you can see through it, it isn't a big deal at all and I was so thankful that Rocks-Off Ltd. didn't trash their packaging with tacky images of nude people.

3. It's useful. You can store the bullet in the tube when you're done using it, which protects it and makes it easier for me to grab in my purse.

The Rocks-Off RO-120mm Bullet is absolutely, without a doubt the most powerful bullet vibrator I have ever had in my pants! This is actually saying a lot if you consider this claim is coming from a girl who's owned 30+ bullet vibrators. None of which have ever pleased me, and certainly none of which have ever brought me to orgasm. So if I were to ever in my life recommend a bullet vibrator, it would be this one, no doubt.

It is so incredibly powerful that when I power it on and let it set in my hand, it spins! I can feel the intense vibrations easily through my jeans. It's so powerful in fact that when it's touched directly to my clitoris, it's too intense for me. When I put the bullet on my crotch, I can feel the vibrations all the way in my lower abdomen and butt cheeks! This is enough power to please about any woman. The only thing I don't adore about the bullet is that the vibrations are buzzy and numbing. My entire crotch is numb after I use this, which means oral sex is useless if I've used the bullet prior. However, 10 minutes after use, I regain sensation back. It also numbs my hand. Besides that though, it does create a very powerful orgasm while using on the clitoris during intercourse. It's probably the best vibrator for that purpose due to its small size not getting in the way and the intense vibrations -- if we're talking bullet vibrators anyways. It doesn't beat Noa, but that's a $100+ couples vibrator.

Another quality of the RO-120mm Bullet that makes it far better than any other is the noise level. It's very quiet, especially for how powerful it is. When we're in my car it can barely be heard. Sounds somewhat like a tiny white noise and is hard to notice unless you're paying attention. If we're in my lovie's truck, it's not even noticeable when the vehicle is running. In a dorm room, it may be heard by a roommate, but not behind closed doors, and especially not if you have the TV or an AC running for a little cover-up.

Caring for the RO-120mm Bullet

This is an easy task! Simple wipe it down with toy cleaner or toy wipes or go my route and wash it down with hot water and a mild (natural!) soap. I've used Dawn dish detergent when I wasn't around my natural soap though, and it sure did bring out the shine on this thing. You can even use a 10% bleach solution to really get it clean.

I recommend placing the bullet back inside the tube when you're not using it. It's also not a horrible idea to remove the batteries, but the watch batteries don't seem to have as much trouble leaking/damaging as the AA's do when they're left inside a toy. I keep mine in the tube and in my purse (for ease of use when I want it!) You can store it in a drawer under clothing or inside your pillow case for discretion.

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Rocks-Off Ltd. appears to me, to be a company that takes special care in the design process when it comes to their toys. I notice something very different about Rocks-Off Ltd, something I'm not used to with other toy companies. The bullet is outstanding, and their other products come across as if they were really well thought-out, not cheaply tossed together as a product that appeals to someone one time and then turns out to be trash. Sorry, but this has been my experience with so many toy companies (ahem, cal ex!) that I was surprised by Rocks-Off's quality. I really had a great first impression of them.

*I recieve no monetary payment for my reviews. Each review is my honest opinion. My reviews are in compliance with FTC's guidelines. See my disclosure page and honesty pledge for more info on sponsored reviews!*

Yantra Mat -- Spikey Accupressure Mat

2012-12-26T22:45:00.001-08:00

I know a lot of you guys use accupressure, but have you ever used an accupressure mat? If so, great! I'd love to hear how it worked for you, and if not, I hope you're as excited to learn all about them as I am to tell you about them.

The accupressure mat I have is called the Yantra Mat and it has some amazing benefits that I'm going to explain. First, I want to show you a photo of the mat itself.

I apologize for the funny size photo. Blogger always re-shapes my dang pictures when I've cropped them. But, you see the mat well enough. The mat is green, and on top of it you can see little white circles. This is the front of the mat, the area you lay on. And those white round things are the spikes! Sounds scary? Well, let me re-assure you.

Change of subject real quick. My lovie and I took a trip to Panama back in October (August too!) and we went to Wonder Works (the house that's upside down) and they had this one activity that was the bed of nails where you lie down on this table that has nails all underneath it, when you lie down, the button is pressed which then lowers the table and causes the nails to go straight onto your skin! I tried it because I'm one brave little thing. It was nothing to squirm about, but I cannot deny that those nails did prick big time when they went through my fleece-lined leggings and right into my butt cheeks! Other places, like my calves and back didn't really get as poked as my buns.

This is similar to the bed of nails. It's pokey and while those spikes look like nothing, that is the wrong assumption to make, my friend. They are something and they're far more pokey than you think. I've had my entire family lying on this mat to check it out and each and every person swipes their hands across it first and jumps back saying "ow!" You don't expect them to be so pokey. The thing is, they actually don't hurt when your weight is spread out across the mat, but if you press your bare hand onto the spikes, it's a little scratchy. But like I said, not painful. Even if you're sensitive, this won't produce actual pain. The only time I really felt some discomfort was when I laid my bare back side on the mat and slid up by accident, not thinking how badly those spikes would dig in and scratch when I slid! Not painful, but that's the only time it was actually uncomfortable. Otherwise, I'd describe the sensations as pressure, honestly. Pokey pressure, but not pain.

And to even further reassure you, my 7 and 3 year old neices have touched it! My 7 year old neice stepped on it with her bare feet, laid on it and wallowed all over it like a mad woman. She was fine. My 3 year old didn't get that far because I put my foot down, but I let her touch the spikes and she was intrigued, so no worries! It's not going to hurt ya.

Now, let's get to the good stuff.

The Yantra Mat is a mat with foam lining for comfort. One side is covered in the spikes and the other is not, but has a design -- the Indian Meditation symbol called the Yantra -- that when looked at, is said to cause great relaxation, which I can attest to being very true! This design is also printed on the carry-bag the mat comes with.

"The word Yantra comes from the Sanskrit word yan, which means “form,” and tra, which means “free.”
The Yantra Mat comes in a variety of colors: green (like mine), purple and black.

How this part works is, you stare at the design on the back of the mat (or on the bag, if you're lying on the mat) and it will clear & stimulate your mind. The Yantra symbol reminds you to breathe deeply and relax. You can see a photo of this back-side of the mat below:

The spikes are made of 100% ABS plastic. Hundreds of them are on the mat, and each mat 8,820 effective pressure points (more than any other mat on the market). Now that is impressive!

Minutes after lying on the Yantra Mat, you'll begin to feel warmth in the body parts that are touching the mat. This is due to an increase in blood flow, which is a natural response to accupressure. Improved circulation means lower blood pressure and better nutrient delivery! I didn't even know this was a benefit of using the mat until I learned that on the Yantra Way website!

The points on the mat increase clarity and focus and a more relaxed state like that that comes with prolonged meditation or intense physical activity. And all you're doing is lying on this relaxing mat!

It's common to fall asleep on the Yantra Mat. I do it every single time I use it! It instantly puts me in relaxation mode and I can hardly hold myself awake, even if I've had 10 hours of sleep the night before. So I began using this at bed time rather than 4 hours after waking.

Here is some information pasted from Yantra Way website informing us of accupressure and what it's all about. This is a better explanation than the one I'd typed up, so here it is:

"The healing art of acupressure has its roots in traditional Chinese medicine. Scriptures written over 4,000 years ago describe "nail beds" that were used to heal the body and mind.

Says Wikipedia: “Reviews of acupressure clinical trials have been conducted… according to the protocols of evidence-based medicine; for most conditions they have concluded tremendous effectiveness in well-conducted clinical trials.”

Acupressure may even induce the release of endorphins and oxytocin, the body’s own pain-relieving and happiness hormones. And there is some evidence that it increases metabolism as well."

How to Use the Yantra Mat

Begin by distributing your weight evenly over the mat when you lie down on it. It'll be really pokey for the first few minutes, but you'll breathe deeply and it'll pass. I actually have gotten a little used to the pokes because I can plop right down on them without feeling the pokes so intensely. It should never feel painful. If it does, you should place a towel between you and the mat. I often have jeans on when I sit on it doing computer activity or sometimes a thin shirt. This adds a good bit of protection from the spikes, so wearing clothing can help ease the spikes if you aren't yet used to them.

Yantra Way recommends at least 10 minutes of use each day for the first 1-4 days. Yantra Way says you'll notice the mat's effects right away. My effect is usually passing out for a deep nap.

From day 5-14, they recommend about 20 minutes of use preferably at bedtime.
Eventually, they say you'll feel more awake and refreshed when you wake up, and this too is true. I've been even getting up a couple hours earlier because when I wake up, I feel ready to get things done, so I don't have the urge to stay in bed. I did this morning though, that's for sure. But I didn't use the mat for the past couple days either. I do wake up ready to go and without slacking though. It does do that, and it's always wonderful to wake with motivation.

After 14 days,they recommend trying for 20- 40 minutes or more each day. You can lie on the mat as long as you want. There is no maximum time for using it. I often sleep on it for 4-5 hours, but usually I awake after right around the third hour and remove it.

Note: The most important thing about the accupressure mat is to relax while using it.

Does the mat cause skin discomfort after using it for a period of time? Nope! Other than some tiny little indents in my skin when I first get up (just like those lines you see on your arms and face from clothing or other material when you wake up) I have no problems. There's no swelling, burning, stinging or anything to that nature. If you happen to experience that, you should probably stop using, but it's highly unlikely that the mat itself could cause any such reaction, unless you jumped up and down on the spikes or deliberately intended to hurt yourself, in which case a Yantra Mat is not the only thing you need...

More benefits of using the Yantra Accupressure Mat:

A difference in energy levels. I read that some people feel an increase in energy after lying on the mat. Then you have those of us who fall into one heck of a sleep. However, using the mat regularly can cause you to be more alert, focused and energetic during your days and even assure good sleeping at night. Some people never sleep without it.

As for me, I usually lie on it as I'm reading on my Kindle because I read until I fall asleep. So I stick the mat on the bed first, snuggle in with my Kindle and sleep on the mat. Later I usually wake up for whatever reasons and end up removing the mat and going back to sleep. It doesn't bother me or cause me any discomfort during sleep.

Others like to sit on it while doing some kind of computer work, reading or watching TV. I sometimes sit on the bed, propped against my "chair pillow" with the mat under my back while I do work on my computer.

Some people notice a decrease in pain, especially those who suffer from chronic conditions. I read one person saying that the mat helped with fibromyalgia. I have chronic migraines, and have been using the mat for 2-3 weeks now. I was so exhausted the last 3 nights that I crashed before putting the mat down, and I did awake with a migraine instantly today. It very well may help with headaches too. I did find it really comfortable to lie with my head on the spikes. I like that position a lot.

Using the Yantra Mat drastically helps decrease my stress levels, and I used it all last week, which was ahem... 'that time' if you understand me. And I'd wondered if using it daily would help ease some of my outrageous symptoms I get around my cycle, and I definitely wasn't as irritable as my first 2 days. Usually I'm a mess and I hate that I can't seem to get a grip on myself. I finished out the week without feeling so irritable, none of the typical crampy pain, and no back pain! I can imagine the mat is going to be one very handy product during the monthly curse!

It also helps you to sleep better, and works wonders for tense muscles. This is what my lovie has used the mat for -- achy, tense muscles. It helps with fatigue and muscle pain too.

My lovie has aches after work (he works mostly outdoors and it's freezing weather right now) and this weather causes tension and aches, so I got him to try lying on the mat. Yea.... when I looked over to see why he wasn't responding to what I'd been talking about he was out! It puts him to sleep too.

Positions you can use the Yantra Mat in

- Lying on your back.
-Lying on your stomach.
-Lying with the side of your face resting on the spikes.
-Sitting propped up (in a chair or with pillows behind you) with the mat under you.

When lying on your back, bending your knees will allow better contact between your lower back and the spikes.

Make sure the mat is also touching the back of your neck to stimulate points along there and your spine.

Material and Caring for your mat

The inner foam slides out. The spikes are basically attached to a piece of fabric that slides over the foamey inner portion. You can easily slide the spiky cover off and wash.

I would not recommend washing the spikey cover. I don't know how it would do in a washing machine or dryer, so I avoid that. It can be wiped down with a wash cloth, wipes, or maye handwashed. I can't promise anything though. The good thing is the spikes are 100% ABS plastic, so no serious safety concerns.

As I mentioned earlier, the mat comes with a bag, a very very nice and handy bag! It comes rolled up inside this tubular bag, which zips shut at the top. It also has a cute keychain of that Indian Yantra symbol attached to the zipper. I roll my mat up and store it inside this bag every time I'm done using it. It's a great place for storage. The bag is nice for rolling it up and storing it since you don't have to make room for it in a closet.

The bag also has a handle for carrying. This also makes traveling with your Yantra Mat very easy. On the side of the bag, it says "Yantra Mat." See the photo above.

I really love my Yantra Mat. I even get excited when it's time to pull it out and use it! I've had my grandmother trying it, my aunt trying it and my sisters, my neices messed with it as well as my mom, lovie and our 13 year old who cannot resist poking himself in the fingers with the spikes. We're all really fascinated, and yesterday when my family was over, my grandmother was telling my aunt and other family members "go ask Kendra to let you lay on her spike mat!" Ha. Ha. It was like taking turns on a merry go round. My aunt who tried it has a slipped disc that's pinching a nerve or something, so I offered to let her borrow it and when it helped, I'd buy her one. She didn't wanna take my mat, so I'm considering buying her her own because I feel like it could truly help her pain immensely! Especially from the things I've heard other users say.

For more learning about accupressure, stress and relieving it (as well as much more info) check out Yantra Way on Facebook. I've actually learned a lot from their fascinating and informative posts.

Real Time Pain Relief

2012-12-26T21:17:00.001-08:00

Today we're talkin' pain! I just tried samples of this product called Real Time Pain Relief and really wanted to share a little about the product and my experience with you guys.

In the photos above you can see the packets of Real Time Pain Relief. I want to share a few things about the product...

Real Time Pain Relief is basically a lotion or cream that you rub onto the area causing you pain in order to decrease the pain or in most cases, stop it all together.

After getting these 3 packets of Real Time Pain Relief and an informative newsletter in the mail, I was really beginning to get more intrigued, so I waited until the migrain struck, which how lovely for me, it's basically been non-stop for an entire week! Since I was so impressed with this pain-relieving product, I really wanted to write about in hopes of this being helpful for someone else.

First, what impressed me was what I read in the little informative letter. I remember trying this product a couple years ago that's designed to get rid of headaches by rubbing the stick of wht looked like chap-stick on your temples, and I recall getting a worse headache every time I used the stuff. So I was hesitant about the Real Time Pain Relief, so after reading the information, I was feeling pretty excited to try it. It's a homeopathic formula, which really eased my mind about using it for pain.

Real Time Pain Relief helps relieve chronic and temporary pain associated with arthritis, back aches and muscle strain. I decided to try it for my migraine since that is where my pain was when the samples arrived today.

Also, after reading, I was more than happy to smear some of this on my head! It's homeopathic, as I said, which means it works to trigger your body's natural relief mechanisms. It's herbal! Yay for herbal. Heavens knows how much I'm into any herbal product. You guys have read my many posts on herbal soaps, teas and other products I use on a daily basis. They're almost always more effective in any product than if you bought non-natural and non-herbal.

The homeopathic ingredients in RTPR include: Arnica Montana 3x, Capsicum Cordiforme Mill. 3X.

The other ingredients are:

Aloe Barbadensis -- yay! You guys know I'm an aloe fanatic! I even eat my aloe plant. Aloe is amazing for reducing inflammation, so keep that in mind. Moving on to the rest of the ingredients...

Purified Water, Emu Oil, methylsulfonymethane, Sorbitol, SD Alcohol 40, Salix Alba (willow) bark extract, Witch Hazel bark, leaf extract, Menthol Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Rue leaf/stem/root extract, Pimpinella Ansium Fruit extract, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Fragrance, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Glucosamine HCI, Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate, Extracts of: Calendula Officinalis, Anthemis Nobilis, Tilia Sylvestris, Centaurea Cyanus, Matricaria Chamomilla, Hypericum Perforatum, Coriandrum Sativum (coriander) Fruit Oil, Blue1

Now I'm going to paste some awesome information about how the ingredients help with pain relief straight from the Real Time Pain Relief website below. To read more about it though, visit their webpage here.

"Emu Oil... is a fast acting skin penetrating oil. Because of this, Emu oil is an excellent trans-dermal carrier for many other added moisturizers or therapeutic ingredients. Emu oil is used to reduce the pain & swelling of arthritis, and heal wounds. Emu Oil is an effective anti-inflammatory.

The potency of the anti-inflammatory effect from Emu Oil is similar to ibuprofen without the negative side-effects commonly found with traditional prescription or corticosteroid based anti-inflammatory medications.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin... are two nutrients that support joint cartilage. Inside your joints, cartilage undergoes a constant process of breakdown and repair. However, to be properly repaired, the building blocks of cartilage must be present and available. – Jonathan Cluett, MD – About.com

MSM... relieves inflammation, warms the muscles, prevents and relieves soreness and assists healing.

Capsicum... cordiforme stimulates circulation, enhances blood flow and reduces Substance P (see Substance P article for details). The warming properties of Capsicum are useful for people suffering from poor circulation to the hands and feet and other related conditions. Capsicum is commonly used to buffer pain from other ailments, including arthritis, varicose veins and headaches.

Aloe Vera... leaves contain transparent gel that has been used topically for thousands of years to treat wounds, skin infections, burns, and numerous other dermatological conditions.

Arnica Montana... is used on a wide range of conditions to soothe muscles, reduce inflammation and heal wounds. Arnica is great for sprains, bruises, muscle aches, rheumatic pain, swelling due to fractures and trauma to soft tissues.

Menthol...is an organic compound found in mint plants. It works by stimulating the skin's cold receptors and producing a refreshing cooling sensation."

Note, there is of course a caution note on the packet, just like any product. It says Caution: Keep out of reach of children. For external use only, if soreness persists, consult a physician.

Also, I was told to avoid rubbing the product into the palms of my hands prior to applying to my painful spot because my hands would absorb it, basically wasting good product. Unless my hands were what hurt. So keep this in mind too.

Directions: Rub half of contents in packet directly on area that hurts, wait 5 minutes and repeat.

Yes, RTPR does take pain away. Using it on my temples, where my head was aching so badly (so badly in fact, that my veins there protrude when it hurts) did take away my pain. I didn't even need to take a BC Powder along with the product, and I normally take them daily for these headaches. What I did was rub the product on, lie down on this pokey, neat little accupressure mat -- to help relax myself -- and close my eyes. . I felt relief in less than 10 minutes and the headache was totally gone, not to come back within an hour max. My veins in my temples went down, were no longer bulging. I couldn't believe how easy and quick!

Would I buy RTPR and continue using it? Absolutely! Why? Because it I have headaches almost daily and of course I like the relief RTPR gives me, and also because it is much better than taking pain relievers like Tylenol or BC Powders, which are extremely bad for your health (stomach, liver, etc problems can arise from taking thes OTC drugs) and RTPR is a fabulous alternative that's far healthier, and for those of you who hate the side effects of OTC meds, you'll certainly appreciate RTPR as it has none.

My lovie often has back pain too, as do I (but haven't tried this on my back yet since it hasn't hurt me today) and we're definitely going to try this for the back pain as well. His can get pretty rough. I plan to also share the RTPR with my family members, especially my lovely aunt who's got a slipped disc and it's pinching a nerve or something. I'm excited to have her try this product to help with the pain she has from it. The only thing I don't love about Real Time Pain Relief is that it contains parabens (methylparaben and propylparaben) but far beats any OTC medication even with parabens in the ingredients.

If you use this particular link, which is Doncella Lancey's, she gives you free shipping, no taxes, no handling fees by going to http://rtpr.com/main/c0f29689/ and use Promo Code 2638. And you'll receive a free gift.

Maadisha -- Ayurganic Shampoo9

2012-12-21T23:38:00.002-08:00

These are two lovely bags of Maadisha product. Let's look at the photos of the products and I will share the wonderful qualities of each...

These two above, clearly, are Shampoo9 (pictured on the right) and Oil6. First I want to talk about the shampoo - it's simply fabulous! Note: Maadisha uses what they call "Ayurganic" ingredients, which I thought was amazing, and I love the cute word. Ayurganic is Ayurveda and Organic put in one. Ya see?

The Shampoo, called Shampoo9 from Maadisha is a natural shampoo with the some of the most amazing ingredients on earth. Besides cleansing your locks though, this Shampoo9 is completely unique to any other and 100x's better than any shampoo you'll find in your drug-stores. Here is why...

1. Shampoo9 has no harsh chemicals. Every drug-store brand and even some shampoos that boast the words "natural" on them still contain very harmful chemicals.

2. Revitalizes scalp, gives luser to hair and truly cleanses your hair, removing oil, which means your hair will not become oily before your next wash, even if that wash is a day away! I began washing my hair every other night rather than every single night because it was so damaged. I wash my hair with Shampoo9 and it won't be greasy even when I go to wash the very next night. Tonight was my night to wash again and my hair looked as if it could go another half of a day without being greasy.

Also, I don't know for sure if this shampoo prevents/helps dandruff issues, but I came to my own conclusion that it does.

What about those Ayurganic ingredients?

To name a few,

- Gooseberry – rejuvenates hair and relieves the scalp of excess sebu

- Soapnuts – cleanses the hair of oily secretions

- Henna – naturally conditions and maintains color

- Neem Extract – acts as a natural antibacterial

Entire list of ingredients in Shampoo9:

lawsonia inermis (henna) leaf, aloe barbadensis leaf extract, melia azadirachta leaf extract, sapindus mukurossi fruit extract, emblica officinialis fruit extract, citrus aurantifolia (lime) fruit extract, triticum aestivum (wheat) leaf extract, ilex paraguariensis leaf extract, rosemary officialis, organic olive oil, purified aqua, vegetable glycerin, citric acid.

Benefits:

"These “ayurganic” ingredients are a rich source of Vitamins B, C, D, and E, Iron, Proteins and Anti-Oxidants, all of which play an essential part in the holistic method of revitalizing and conditioning your hair. Shampoo9 is chemical-free and gets your hair back to being, not just looking, naturally radiant."

Aroma/smell of Shampoo9

The aroma of Shampoo9 to me, smells pleasantly, and subtly of lime and mint leaves or maybe tea tree oil. Not strong at all, and after my hair has dried, I never smell the aroma in my hair. This is likely due to their being lime on the ingredient list.

You may notice that Shampoo9 feels and looks differently from your average shampoo in that it doesn't lather as much, requires more product for full head coverage (for me anyway) and is almost a clear-ish color.

Directions for using Shampoo9:

You basically use this as you would any shampoo, but the bottle says to use a "dime sized amount and leave on for 3-4 minutes, then rinse." A dime sized amount definitely isn't even close to how much I have to use to cover my head. I use about triple that, if not more! For someone with longer hair than mine (mine's shoulder length), it'll take even more, and for shorter haired folks, it'll take less.

What do I love about this Shampoo9?

Besides the amazing ingredients that have so many beautiful benefits, and that it's organic, not chemical-infused, etc, I love that it does so much good for the looks of my hair! I have used several natural shampoos and have yet to find one that doesn't make my hair really strange looking (do not know how to explain that) or super hard to flat iron. I expected that with Shampoo9, but they done something right because my hair actually is doing better than it has in months. My highlights which are really worn out, turning golden and in desperate need of re-bleaching look better, not so orange and dull. All shampoos claim to "remove build up, leaving bleached hair looking nice and not dull." That has never been true. Not with Pantene. Not with that darn purple shampoo. Not with Garnier Fructis, not with any shampoo. Not even Herbal Essence. The only other shampoo in the world that I've felt really makes my hair easier to manage and nice looking is Aveeno, but now I have Maadisha!

My hair is strange. It's puffy but airy. It's curly, but not kinky. It's a poofy mess before I iron it. And at this shoulder length (I'm way past due for a cut!) my hair is a royal pain to manage, and even after ironing, it gets all crinkly and stuff (you know what I mean? Like after it's been pushed behind my ear, it just has a crinkle in it and looks off?) I have been actually admiring my hair the past few days! I looked in the mirror yesterday, and for the very first time in 6 months said "my hair looks awesome!" I really think this shampoo makes my hair look so nice. It doesn't turn messy and flat a few hours after ironing if I get to working, cleaning house or doing any kind of real activity, wheras previously it was getting out of control with any type of movement.

That is my scoop on the Shampoo9. Love it. Love it. I also want to talk about what is in the other Maadisha bag -- the best soaps I've ever touched to my body. I'm not even playing. But I am going to do that in a separate post, okay? Just look for the title "Maadisha soaps or something similar." I'll get it up soon.

Charcoal Bamboo Deodorizers from Ever Bamboo

2012-12-21T22:47:00.000-08:00

Hello my smelly readers! Sorry, but everyone has odor, and it's okay. It's especially okay when you have deodorizers that are natural, safe and totally efficient for every smelly part of your home! That is what I'm going to talk about. I have several of these very awesome deodorizer products from Ever Bamboo. I'll describe each of the products and what they do below, but first let me tell you how the Ever Bamboo products work, because they're very unique and unlike any other deodorizers out there.

Above is the large room deodorizer still in its package.

What they are/how they work

These products are all made from bamboo charcoal, which is 100% natural. How they work is by absorbing odor. Here's how Ever Bamboo described the process "Due to the growth characteristics of moso bamboo, millions of tiny holes are created as the plant densifies as it matures, a process taking approximately five years. It is these tiny holes that ultimately give the resulting bamboo charcoal its revolutionary abilities as both a deodorizer and dehumidifier. These benefits have been enjoyed for more than five centuries in Asia."

And before I go on, I'll go ahead and answer the question "how long will it work?" Ever Bamboo products can last up to one whole year if treated with proper care. By placing the bamboo charcoal in the sun to kind of reactivate it.

Ever Bamboo products are 100% natural and can be recycled into the ecosystem.

The large, 1kg black bag you see in the photo way absorbs moisture and odor. It works well for covering and absorbing odors of really large areas such as kitchens, basements, rooms, garages, warehouses and pet areas! Yes, if you have pets, Ever Bamboo will be a God-send!

This one works for areas up to 400 square feet.

Below is a really neat one, and happens to be one of my favorite Ever Bamboo products. It is a bar of soap. It's a great soap for keeping away odor. Below, you see it still in the package.

You can see the bubbly white stuff on it. I think it's neat. The bar of soap is well, is black. I placed my bar in a clean MisFits ashtray in my bathroom (you can use a soap dish, but hey, who doesn't like the MisFits?) I was absolutely shocked with this product. I couldn't wait to get on here and tell all about it.

It's really a great alternative to chemical filled soaps. I love that I can use it all over without worries of ingredients like fragrances and harmful chemicals causing me issues.

NOTE: I actually thought this was an air freshener at first, but I was wrong! I have been using it as that for weeks now. This bar is actually soap. And it's one heavy-duty soap for odor! I love the fresh scent it leaves on my skin. But do know that it's a soap, not deodorizer for the air. Lol.....

When I thought this was a deodorizer, I placed thr bar of on my bathroom sink at night. I have a clogged sink right now so it's been having a smell, and then I cleaned my ex-turtle's cage and whoa buddy! It left a really nasty odor in there that I couldn't get rid of.

I should mention, when I first opened the bar of soap here, it did have an aroma. Very subtle, but there. It was a lovely, fresh, green type of scent. Nothing perfumey or bothersome and it's totally dissipated now. I enjoyed the scent. Anyways, I checked my bathroom the next morning and it had no noticeable odor. So not only is this a great soap, it also seemed to deodorize the room!

I've been using the Ever Bamboo products for about 2 weeks. I didn't want to begin writing about them until I'd had a good couple of weeks to really share everything about them. And boy do I have a lot to share. Next is the shoe deodorizer! I personally don't have shoe smells. I'm not much of a sweater and my feet never smell (thank you Jesus!) but my partner's sweat, the 13 year old's sweat and my neice who's 7, well, let's just say, if she takes her shoes off within 5-6 ft. of you, you are going to know it quick. Hers are some very bad smellin' tootsies. So, we had a nice smelly group to try these out with...

Let me also say my lovie has really been struggling over his new work boots smelling. He's been using baking soda, those balls you put in your shoes overnight, everything. It would help a little until he worked again and the sweaty smell was back. So I was really excited to have him try these. Sure enough! Nothing works for smelly shoes like the Ever Bamboo Shoe Deodorizer. Seriously. These people are shoe-smellin' free now. And we've been able to use the same deodorizers by alternating them between everyone.

These work so well, that my lovie and I were shopping last week and a lady and her daughter were looking at those shoe balls I mentioned. We spent 10 minutes talking to this strange lady about the Ever Bamboo deodorizers! My lovie was telling her that he'd used those balls before and they weren't near as good as these. We told her where to buy them and she actually said she'd be looking into them.

The 25g x 3 mini Deodorizers are basically the same as the large black bag I mentioned first. Only these are small and work well for areas like closets, gym bags, lockers, cabinets, diaper pails, etc. You can even slide one down in each shoe and it'll work to remove odor there too.

Video of me speaking about body acceptance

2012-12-19T02:43:00.000-08:00

Lately there's been this body-acceptance trend where all sorts of women are saying "embrace and love all body types!" Great. That was a step in the right direction until many of the women who are part of this acceptance did not choose to actually accept all body types and be kind towards all sizes. Instead, many of them (maybe even you?) started leaning towards one type, their own, and being downright hateful toward other types! What?! How is that body-acceptance? So I wanted to make a video bringing this to light. I'm using a new camera so I clearly have some learning to do! The quality is rough, especially the lighting where I video'd, so please bear with me. I want to know what other people think about this. Do you hear women say "only a REAL woman should wear this" or "a size small is not a real woman?"

Scrubba - wash clothes free while traveling

2012-12-19T02:33:00.000-08:00

This funky lookin' bag up there, yes, the one next to a weiner-dog's bum, is a bag called Scrubba. What does Scrubba and a dog's bum do, you ask? Well, let's leave the a** out of it. Scrubba is actually a bag made to conveniently and quickly wash clothing while on the road or.... or maybe your washing machine just broke?

Pictured above is the front of Scrubba. You can see all its lovely features here. It has a little clear window down the side, where you can see these little rubbery spikes if you look closely. Those spikes are located on the inside of the bag, to help scrub clothing clean. Then you see a valve on the other side -- just like one on those beach balls. And then you have the black snaps at the top. I'll explain exactly how to use Scrubba below.

How To Use Scrubba
Fill the bag with the clothing items you want to clean (I've cleaned a few t-shirts all at once. You can add as much as it'll comfortably hold, but I wouldn't pack it more than half-full since that wouldn't really clean your clothes and could be messy.)

Add water and your cleaning liquid.

And this is where I was stuck. I'd seen the Scrubba on the Scrubba website, but forgot all about needing to roll the top down a few times, so I was having a very awkward experience trying to wash with it like this. You'll need to roll the top down 4-5 or more times and then snap the snaps to hold shut.

Open that little valve and squeeze air out. Then you're ready to begin washing. The bag will be laid flat, just like it is in my photos, only it'll actually contain water, clothing and soap. I tried photographing the entire process, but it was extremely messy (water + brand new $500 (but got it on sale for $200something, yay!) Canon camera makes for a very hysterical female. I couldn't seem to get photos that showed the process. I just kept ending up with a bunch of pictures of the chubby Scubba bag filled with clothes, water and soap. So here we are.

Oh yea, lay the bag flat. And remember those nubs/spikes we talked about? Well this is where they come in. You'll press down on the bag and rub. Back and forth. up and down. In and out. Okay, no! Not in and out. If you've ever hand-washed clothing, it's similar to that only through a bag.

Those spiky nubs I talked about is the "flexible washboard." Continue scrubba rubbin' for at least 3 minutes. Or for a really quick wash -- 30 seconds. I'd probably scrub vigorously if we're washing socks in there. For delicates -- press and gently rub. Keep those panties in good shape!

Now, you're basically done, besides rinsing but you do have a whole Scrubba bag full of dirty water and soap. To fix this, and get your clothes back, carefully un-snap those buckles you snapped after rolling down the top of the bag. Empty dirty water. Re-fill with clean. Rinse clothing. Or you can do what I did and rinse them in a tub or sink, if you're near one.

Now, as far as drying goes, you're on your on with that one unless you also buy the Scrubba Traveller's Kit.

The Scrubba bag is really handy for times when you're out of the house, biking, or your machine tears up. I suppose it'd be handy then. It's even handy for using it to handwash the delicate items you can't put in the washer like stockings for example. I've washed several pairs of fishnets and other lingerie with Scrubba because I felt like it done a better job of cleaning than hand-washing. My hands don't have an inner flexible washboard, dang it!

What would I rate Scrubba's handiness/effectiveness? It's definitely handy enough that even someone who's not always traveling would find it useful. It's easy to use -- as long as you remember to roll down the top! So far, I'm using it enough that it's worth it for me. It's even great for quick-washing baby clothes. I just throw em' in the dryer when I'm done. Beats havin' to mash a bunch of buttons on the washing machine, right? Kidding, but you know? Busy life, little children. Things like this come in handy!

Scrubba is also very durable. It does wash well. At first I did wonder how well our clothes were going to be washed when they were done, but I wasn't disappointed. A little scrubbin' does the trick and it does clean better than using just your hands. I also like that when not in use, it will fold up very small and fit almost anywhere -- a drawer, purse, suitcase, car, etc. At the moment, I left mine hanging on the shower rail. It was still wet, so I just snapped the two clips around the shower curtain rod and bam. Handy. As. Hell.

Tips on Dealing with Families who dislike your spouse, miscarriage and my journey to healing, Natural Birth control, Relationship advice

2012-12-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

Hello there, my sex-kittens! I was getting a few random questions lately in my inbox, and one or two of them actually was about a topic I recently wrote an article about -- the X-orgasm, so since there's been quite the discussion from you guys here and on my Tumblr page, I thought I'd link to a few of my articles here, in case it ever may come in handy for some of you... or in case one of you lovely people just find my article titles interesting enough to go take a peek! I'm going to put links to a few of my articles dealing with things like sex, orgasm and relationships below:

- How To Deal With A Family Who Disapproves of Your Spouse

This is a relationship article, my most recent article was published this evening! It's the one called How To Deal With A Family Who Disapproves Of Your Spouse. I wrote this a couple weeks ago since the Holidays are coming up and well, people struggle to get along with families and deal with families who generally dislike their choice of partners. So in that article I share some really good tips. Or I think they're really good anyway!

- Natural Pregnancy Prevention Methods

This one speaks for itself! It's the most interesting one I've yet to get published, and yes, there really are natural ways to prevent pregnancy! Women have used them for years. For example, parsley or lemon!

- Communication Methods & Steps To Avoiding Anger

- Forget Time Outs and Counting To Ten -- Here's How We Fight!

This article called "Forget Time Outs And Counting To Ten -- Here's How We Fight." That one deals with fighting and anger in a relationship. My partner and I have been together for 6 years and I share some of our unique, funny methods of avoiding or sorting through the bad.

- Miscarriage -- My Experience And Journey To Healing
The article titled "Miscarriage -- My Experience and Journey to Healing" that article was written a couple months back. I talk about my own experience with losing two of my children and how endometriosis was a reason for it. I also talk in that article about how I broke through. I've talked a little over the past couple of years here on my page about our losses, but in my article I'm specific and share what it was like after the loss, going through it all over again and how I finally managed to break out of that awful, dungeon-y depression.

- God Loves Sex Too!

This last article I linked to up there is called "God Loves Sex Too!" I wrote that article a couple of months back when there was some debate over Christians not "being allowed" to enjoy sex, or needing to feel guilty, condemned or wrong for enjoying sex with their spouse. So basically, I wanted to clear the air -- make it known that there are myths about Christians and sex, especially when it comes to women.

I'm linking to these articles of mine because a lot of them have to do with my own personal struggles. I just feel that sharing my own struggles and what helped me through different ones may be of help, so they're here if they ever do interest you guys.

Icicles No. 6 From Adult Sensations

2012-12-12T20:43:00.001-08:00

Ladies and gentlemen....

Icicles No. 6, straight from Adult Sensations is here to meet you! Take a look at this beauty.

Icicles No. 6 is a dildo made of hand-blown glass. Icicles is a line of glass adult toys made by PipeDream and the entire line/collection is named by numbers. For instance, there's Icicles No.7, which I own too, and Icicles No. 8, 9, 10 and +. So that is why you'll see me referring to this glass dildo as Icicles No.6.

This lovely, hand-blown glass dildo can be used to thrust with, to slowly insert or even to insert and twist, feeling the sensations of the bumps. On another note, it feels really nice to insert the round tip only, then slowly remove, and repeat. With all that lovely texture and shape, you have a few different ways to enjoy this dildo.

Material:

Clearly Icicles No.6 is made of glass, pyrex to be exact. And in case you didn't know, pyrex glass is extremely durable and long-lasting. A lot of readers leave me messages saying "what if it broke inside you?" when I talk about glass sex toys, but let me clear the air real quick: it's near impossible for a glass dildo to break inside of you. It would take some serious, probably fatal, kind of use to come close to breaking a dildo while you were using it.

Pyrex glass is food-grade. It's durable, made to last and even if dropped, it's not likely to break. Out of my entire glass dildo collection, this so far, is the only one I've yet to drop on my hardwood floor. All of my others have been dropped, most of them multiple times and never have I had one break on me. That's not to say it's impossible, but if pyrex glass does break, it will do so in large chunks, not small splinters. So you will notice it and not accidentally use a broken dildo. Still though, the manufacturers do advise looking over your dildo for chips before using if you have dropped it.

Another important thing to note is the material and its safety. Icicles No.6 (and all other Icicles dildos) are hypo-allergenic,phthalates-free,has anti-bacterial properties and is non-porous, meaning you don't ever have to worry with bacteria getting trapped in small holes in the material and breeding. Not with glass. In fact, glass is one of the most safe toys to use sexually. There is nothing un-safe about the material. Whereas you have jelly toys that are extremely bad because they're so porous they are bacteria's BFF.

Why glass for a sex toy?
In a recent article I wrote titled "The Extra Pleasure Spot: Cervical Orgasms," I mention glass being a great toy for those who're looking to achieve the X-orgasm (a cervical orgasm.) So there's one reason why I personally enjoy using glass toys.

A lot of people find it erotic or sensual or just plain enjoyable to warm up a glass dildo before using either internally or as a massage aid (using a heavy glass dildo with a rounded tip like this one makes for one awesome deep-muscle massage!) On the other hand, it can be cooled for those who like a more thrilling temperature.

So there's the most common reason people like glass dildos -- for temperature play. I personally don't ever warm mine, but I always enjoy the coolness of the glass at first. After it's been used internally for a few minutes, when you feel of it it'll be very warm from where it heated to your body's temperature, which is interesting.

Note: If you do plan to use a glass dildo, such as Icicles No.6 for temperature play, you should know that the glass will heat or cool extremely easily when exposed to certain temperatures. So you'd never need to place it in say, a microwave to achieve this. Never do that! Simply run it under warm water, and if your water is as steaming hot as mine, you may even want to test it on your fingers before putting it on your more sensitive areas.

As for cooling, same method. Run the dildo under cool water. Some people say put it in a bucket of ice for 5 minutes, but that has never been necessary in my case, unless I was trying to actually give my cooter hypothermia.

Other reasons for using glass have to do with the unique, one-of-a-kind sensation alone. Glass feels like nothing else. Not even like steel dildos. It's heavy, it's cool, it's so rigid and it's intense.

I like glass also because of the intense sensations. I often like things slightly rough rather than really slow and gentle, and I find glass to be perfect for those moods. However, a dildo such as Icicles No.6 may do best when used gently, like I do. I could never thrust vigorously with this thing! It's got a lot to it, which I will get to.

As I mentioned, I own 3 glass dildos (No.7, No.6 and No.16) from this Icicle line, and they've all been great dildos. I've never had trouble with any of them, and my oldest Icicle is over 1 year old. Adult Sensations carries several of the Icicle line as well as many more amazing glass pieces.

Texture
As you can see, this glass dildo has a unique texture and a bulbous shaped tip for different purposes.

The texture includes little pink, raised bumps, which are felt during use and ridges that are also raised, but not felt during use for me since I cannot insert that much of the dildo.There are two pink ridges under the bulbous tip, which I do feel intensely during thrusting. A lot of thrusting can cause the ridge there to become uncomfortable, but when this happens, I like to just leave it inserted and sort of make a very subtle rocking or twisting motion. Rocking it a little will cause the bulbous tip to stimulate the g-spot. Twisting is nice for gently feeling the round tip move and the ridges/texture internally. All of these uses are very stimulating, and even with slow, gentle use, it's a unique sensation.

The shape is straight & basic while the tip is rounded, again, there are those ridges under the tip, and then further down you have raised pink bumps. These bumps are about identical to the ones that cover Icicles No.7. They're not pointy or sharp, but slightly raised...dents? They are noticeable during use, but not painful.

Further down from the bumps is ridges running around the dildo, just like the ridges under the tip. These are never felt during use for me, because like I said already, I cannot insert the dildo that far. And further down from these, the dildo bugles out a bit in a rounded shape, and then there's the flat base.

On a side note, this dildo makes the most gorgeous decor! I collect a bunch of funky hand-blown glass balls and similar decor that sits on a shelf for display, and I could not resist setting this out for a couple days! Nobody knew what it was. Everyone who came by though, did notice it because the beautiful color stands out. One person had suspicions that it was a smoking device like some sort of funky, not fully-developed bong! Another did actually say that it looked "a little funny." It's beautiful, but some people will recognize it as a well, a dildo silly!

Size/Measurements

Let's talk specs. I've listed the measurements of Icicles No.6 below, but would like to go more in-depth in a moment.

Length - 8 1/2"

Insertable Length - 7"

Girth - 4 1/2" around at largest

Width - 1.4" at widest

Material - Pyrex glass

Icicles No.6 is one of the larger glass dildos available. In fact, this is the largest glass dildo I own, both length and width. I also own Icicles. No.7, which is a traditionally shaped dildo with the pointy end, not round head-like end, and is straight and covered in purple bumps. That one is the second longest glass toy I have, and this Icicles 6 is by far the biggest, but also the most gorgeous one out of my collection.

Size comparison time...

To show you an idea of the size and length of this dildo, and because it'd be fun, I took some photos with it next to some common items. In 2 of the photos there's the dildo next to my Kindle Fire. And in another is the dildo next to my hair straightener. These give you an idea of how long this baby is!

As you can see in one of the earlier photos, Icicles No. 6 has a round, flat base so it can be stood up straight on a flat surface. This type of base also means that Icicles No. 6 could be used gulp... anally. If you're into that kind of thing. I personally cannot tell you how that works out because I've never actually put anything in my bee-hiney, but if you were set on putting this glass dildo in your own, the round base should keep it from going all the way in there, and yes, that can happen. I have had someone tell me that they actually had an object get "sucked into" their rear. So I can't say I'd ever recommend putting anything in there, much less a dildo of this size, but the base would make it suitable.

Now, let's stop talking about inserting things in the rear and talk more about inserting Icicles No. 6 in the vagina...

This baby is intense! It means business. People who enjoy unforgiving rigidity and length as well as something less than slim will like Icicles No.6.

I'll admit, the first time I used this I was a little in over my head. While this is only a little wider than my other glass toys, when you're using glass, a toy that would normally be average, feels a bit bigger. For me, anyways. For instance, I do well with average to smaller sized toys width-wise, and can comfortably use a toy 1" around and sometimes something slightly larger as long as the tip is pointy and not blunt. Most firm toys that are larger than 1" will either be painful to insert or impossible to insert for me. I have to say, this one was cutting it close. It's not a toy I can just insert without any kind of "warm-up."

For someone who's not so sensitive to girthy toys, you won't need as much "warm-up" as those like me. I have to take things slow, get some foreplay going and keep the lubricant handy when using this, but once all that's accomplished, the experience is wonderful and totally worth it.

As for length, I do prefer lengthy toys since I often enjoy cervical orgasms or "X-orgasms," but I'm not able to use the entire length of this toy. However, the length does make it perfect for those of us who don't like limits on how far in you can go.

And now that I've talked about cervical orgasms and thrusting with this, I should probably note that some women do experience a "bruised cervix" if they're too rough with glass. The way you'd cause yourself to bruise your cervix would be by thrusting hard and roughly. I personally haven't ever experienced this no matter how hard and rough I get with glass. I don't know if it has something to do with my ability to achieve the "X-orgasm," and instead of hurting my cervix, it's just pleasurable or what. But there are times when it's sensitive and I have to be careful not to "ram" hard. It's all dependant upon your own body and preferences.

And last, but not least, I'll tell you how to clean and care for this dildo

Icicle No.6 box

We've already discovered the joys of glass toys, but there's also another thing gives glass an advantage over others -- cleaning is easier than with any other toy.

To clean Icicles No.6, simply soak it in hot water and use a mild (preferably natural) soap. You can also use a toy spray cleaner or toy wipes. You can even put the darn thing in the dish washer! I'm not even kiddin' ya.

I clean mine after every single use, and I just run it under hot water, add a natural bar soap that I use in the shower as well, and rub good with a wash cloth to be sure I clean over the bumps and under the bulbous tip and ridges. Normally, running it under hot water will remove any residue or lubricant. It doesn't stick to the toy and become hard to remove like bread does on a pan. Giving it a nice scrub over that texture is good though, just to be safe.

To dry it, you can just let it air-dry or use a lint-free towel or paper towel to wipe the water off. After its clean, you can basically store it anywhere you please. A closet, drawer, toy box. It's bulky so it doesn't fit well in a purse, but can be done. The box it comes in is durable enough, so it's a good idea to place it back in there and in a closet or something. It's also a good idea to not store it in areas where other items might brush against it -- like hard objects that will scratch it. A sock would even suffice!

I only talked about one particular toy here -- Icicles No.6 -- but Adult Sensations also carries an entire selection of all types of adult products: vibrators, clitoral vibrators, dual-action vibrators (rabbits), dildos, realistic dildos, sensual products, Kama Sutra products, men's masturbators, other male products and they even have a nice selection of BDSM items.

And in case I have interested someone in the joys of the X-orgasm (what it is, how to achieve it), and you're interested in reading my article on that, you can do so here. Now, if I've left you with questions, concerns or something you want to share about your own experience with a glass toy (or X-orgasm!), don't you dare hesitate to get in touch. I always respond and love hearing from you guys!

Mighty Tidy Toy Cleaner

2012-12-04T21:08:00.001-08:00

Mighty Tidy! How cute is that name for a toy spray cleaner? I like it. So that is what you see in the photo -- Might Tidy, an easy to use, simple cleaner for your adult toys. It makes quick clean ups after and before use really easy and quick.

" Mighty Tidy Toy Cleaner is safe to use on all of your sensual accessories. Effective on plastic, silicone, glass and latex. This light cleanser will provide gentle thorough cleaning, leaving a fresh scent. Feel confident knowing all your adult accessories will be clean for years of pleasure."

"Mighty Tidy Toy Cleaner was developed exclusively for adult accessories and contains no harsh detergents that can damage your toys. This product is not to be used internally."

And the above statement is why I always rinse my toys off after using this cleaner. I accidentally got a bit in my mouth before I ever opened it -- I held the top between my lips -- and it was not pleasant. At first I noticed a really sweet taste, and then numbing and super tingly feelings in my mouth on my tongue and lips. I do not want to put that in my vagina, and since it clearly states it's not for internal use, I don't advise using it unless you plan on rinsing your toys after spraying anyways. Sometimes if I'm already going to be going to rinse the toy off, I'll just skip the spray cleaner anyways.

This spray-on toy cleaner is available in an 8oz and 4oz bottle. Since it's basically the same consistency as water, a few sprays is enough to cover one vibrator and the bottle will last a very long time.

Like all Jelique products, Mighty Tidy toy cleaner is made in the USA & is cruelty free and vegan!

Ingredients:

purified water, cocoamidopropyl, PG dimonium, chloride phosphate, sodium benzoate, citric acid, fragrance.

It does have a subtle aroma when I unscrew the cap and smell it. It smells soapy like and a lot like a moisturizer I've smelled on my grandmother, but when I'm spraying it, I don't notice any smells. It shouldn't leave a scent on the toys either, as I have not noticed it doing so.

To use, simply spray on your adult toy, wait a good minute and then wipe down. Sometimes I like to rinse it off in hot water just for extra assurance.