Diane's Favorite Things of 2010!!!

I always love hearing about other women’s’ “discoveries” that make life better or easier for them. Magazines and Oprah do this kind of stuff all the time, but I don’t really know how much they are paid for their product placement and would much rather have an honest opinion of a woman I know. Hence the decision to do my own version of Oprah’s favorite things… welcome to Diane’s Favorite Things from 2010! (Here is where you are supposed to scream and go into seizure-like hysterics.) Hopefully some of you will create your own so I can see some of the things that you were excited to find this past year.

9. Archer Farms Italian Soda. This is an unashamed plea for people to start buying this stuff so they will bring back the full line that they used to have. This is a delicious soda that is a great accompaniment to a nice dinner. I get the lemon soda when we grill salmon and we LOVE it. There used to be a blueberry pomegranate and strawberry pomegranate, but now there is just strawberry pomegranate (which is really good, I just miss the variety). They have a blood orange flavor that also has a really clean, refreshing flavor. Try this the next time you head to Target. SAVE THE ITALIAN SODA! (And please ship some to Deutchland....) 8. Amazing Grass. Sounds like something they called marijuana in the 70’s, huh? This basically is a powder that you can add to your juices, smoothies, milk or water. The powder itself is made from dehydrated veggies and fruits… nothing else. It is chalked full of vitamins. And while it is definitely not as good as eating fresh fruits and veggies, it helps you get to your almost unattainable 5-7 servings a day. You can get powders that are chocolate, berry, or mango flavored. The only downside is that it doesn’t dissolve fully in liquid and will always have some powder at the end of the drink. Smoothies are really the best thing to put this in. 7. Liberty’s Kids. This is a cartoon series that highlights the American Revolution through the eyes of three children who lived through it. They work for Benjamin Franklin’s printing press and are miraculously always in the middle of every major happening of the Revolution. Funny how that happens. The kids learn about key figures in the Revolution and American history. They also touch on issues of slavery and individual rights in a way kids can understand. I have had discussion with my kids about some important subjects, like slavery, because of this show. I became a fan of this series when I found my kids giving Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death” speech (and I mean, the speech… not just the line) and knew that it was Patrick Henry that gave it. Logan loves talking about General George Washington. Those DVDs are gold as far as I am concerned. 6. Clarisonic Brush. Most of you know what this is so I don’t need to say much just that it works just like it says. I use Retin-A on my face at night and a lower concentration of Retin-A during the day. Needless to say, I have a lot to exfoliate everyday and this little tool does the job. You can use it in the shower and it needs recharging every two weeks or so. The only negative is that you have to pay for new brushes every three months (though I find that if I soak it in a bleach/water solution that will extend the life of the brush) and that could set you back $20 a brush. There are less expensive options out there now, though I don’t know how they stack up. I really like the waterproof recharging stand feature. You never have to open it up to change batteries and you can start recharging it while it is wet. 5. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. A little background here: I knew for a year that I was going to homeschool Logan for a least part of his Kindergarten year and knowing that this year was setting a foundation of reading skills for the rest of his life, I became obsessed with finding a reading curriculum that would help a child who had no interest in reading. I bought flash cards, games, books, and even enrolled him in an expensive summer reading program. After wasting a bunch of time, effort and hundreds of dollars, I found a book that made all the difference. It worked so well with Logan that I started with Reagan and she caught on quite fast. It is to be noted that while the lessons are brief and easy in the beginning, they do not end that way. The end result? In a few months, Logan went from not reading at all, to a second grade reading level when he finished the last lesson. (I think age, inclination and sticking to it also made a difference as well, of course, but the book was the best program I had come across and all my children will learn to read from this book! Best of all, all you need is the book and a piece of paper for the lesson, no cards or extra books to buy as with other reading programs. Simple and only $15!!! 4. African Black Soap. Honestly, 3, 4 and 5 are all really tied. I love all of them and don’t go a day without them. I am trying to slowly change the products I use to more natural, less chemical riddled products. I change each product after a lot of research and couple trial runs. One big thing I always look for is that it is not a new natural product. Ones that have been around of decades or even centuries usually wok much better, in my experience, than something a guy mixed together a month ago and added crappy lavender oil to cover the smell. This was one of my big winners. I have very acne prone skin… VERY. As in, if I forget to wash my skin one night (almost never), get stressed, use an unfriendly product and it is breakout city! (And this is after I went through a full course of accutane!) I have tried almost every acne product out there, over-the-counter and prescription. I have read books on acne treatment and skin care philosophies… all because I have horrible skin. I wanted to try this product because it has been used for quite a long time, has less than five ingredients (all of which I could pronounce), it was inexpensive (I wince at what I have shelled out for a skin care bottle) and many people who used it loved it. This soap is ugly and not something I would look at and say “Oh baby, let me put that all over my face!” Especially since I am so crazy about what I do put on my face. I must say though, this soap is AWESOME! It cleans my skin and doesn’t over dry. My acne (I started using is during a particularly fun stress breakout.) responded immediately. You only use a small amount, it lathers really well and this chunk will last me an awful long time. I actually have one in my food storage and 72 hour kit. 3. Apple Cider Vinegar. I do not love how this tastes or smells, but I love what it does! Blake, who is very sensitive to smells, has to make a comment every time I open this bottle, but I will keep opening it! I drink 2 teaspoons ACV in 8 ounces of water and raw honey to taste every morning (two weeks on and one week off). I feel like it has really helped me feel more alert during the day and I have more energy. I am the first person to admit that it might be the placebo effect, but hey, it works either way! I have also put a cotton pad soaked with the stuff on a wart on Reagan’s foot at night for about two weeks, covered with duct tape and then just a band aid on during the day. I didn’t know what wart treatments were too harsh for a four-year-old and we were far away from our pediatrician at the time, so I went with the least invasive method. The wart turned black all the way thorough the root and died. It took about two weeks for the wart to dry up a fall of, but it was gone and no gaping holes and blistered skin that I experienced in my childhood from treatments where the wart always came back. It has been a few months and no new warts. I use ACV in a hair rinse I use and a shine spray I use on Reagan’s hair. I also put it in the dogs’ water every so often. It is a staple in my house now and I keep finding new uses for it. (I am talking about the real, organic stuff here.) 2. Organic Virgin Coconut Oil. I use coconut oil ALL the time now. It is not just for cooking either (though I suggest using it in fried brown rice and cut the soy sauce by a ¼ and then you have a light, yummy fried rice). I also use it as a lotion. It started with Chase’s eczema and me trying different products to not aggravate it and keep it in check. I tried all the staple lotions for sensitive skin and eczema and none of them were that great, though some helped more than others, but all of them were pricey $$. The doctor gave me a steroid ointment which I was too afraid to use unless it really started getting bad and Chase was cracking and bleeding. I started using coconut oil on him after every bath and giving him Noni juice (supposed to help with allergies). His skin started clearing up. Noni juice became too pricey to continue to I slowly stopped using that and still his skin was better. Score! As of right now, Chase does not have a trace of eczema on him and I use it on all my kids now and myself. Although coconut oil is a saturated fat, it is a plant-based saturated fat and does not work in your body as a meat-based saturated fat. There are people who claim that using coconut oil has aided in bring down their cholesterol, but I have no first-hand experience in that happening. What we know about fats now verses 20 years ago really tells us that coconut oil should be given another look.

1. Amazon's Kindle. Oh, dear, dear, Kindle… how do I love thee?! I shall compose thee a sonnet though it could never give full voice to the way you have changed me… I love to read and I love to keep those books to reread… no joke, it is not unusual for me to read a book 3 times. How else do you get all the nuances of a story or argument?! Blake and my house, on the other hand, hates the clutter and really, if I keep buying books at this rate, I will be on hoarders when I am forty-five and my kids will be too embarrassed to bring their friends over because their mom is the crazy book lady. All of this is beside the fact that we have to move every three years minimum and the packers are starting to hate me even after I buy them pizza. Last time they had to come back for another day of packing because they had to bring more book boxes from their warehouse. No joke. Though I am pretty sure they were just ill-prepared… they had walked through my house a few days before after all. This is what I have to tell myself when the guilt comes. I have had two kindles. I had a DX (which I passed onto my Dad since I needed one that would work in Europe) and now I have a third-generation. I miss the big screen of the DX, but that is about it. The third-generation is about ¼ inch thick, fast and I can fit it in my purse. In a few seconds I can download a book I want and start reading (this is also a negative, since that instant gratification is never good for the pocket book). I have downloaded the scriptures at church and looked up cookbooks that friends were talking about. On trips I would often bring a stack of books that would take up a large amount of space… now all I have to bring is my Kindle. It has made a world of difference to my mobile lifestyle! It also has a slow internet that I use in a pinch if I don’t want to go home to look something up or have sent my Kindle a document that I didn’t want to bother printing out but needed. It goes everywhere with me. It is my one, my only, my precious…..