HiHoRosie's Place

Hey hey peeps! Hope you're ready and excited for another DIY, tried and tested by moi. Okay, maybe it's not that exciting. Today's DIY is using raw, organic apple cider vinegar as a facial toner. Now, I know some of you have used or currently use this method. Most recently, the twins shared their experience and so did flmom . So I thought I'd give it a-go myself. Let's talk benefits first. Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is best when raw and unpastuerized in order to retain its full benefits, vitamins, nutrients, and enzymes. To know you've got the real deal, ACV will be brownish in color and have the " mother of vinegar " floating around inside; it's living. Don't be grossed out. This is good for you! ACV has potassium, iron, pectin (helps with regulating blood pressure and lowering of LDL, bad cholesterol), magnesium, phosphorous, calcium, beta-carotene, and on and on... It's also been known to help those with type-2 diabetes, regul

image Happy Chinese New Year! Well, actually it began on January 23rd. It’s also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival; festivities go on for 15 days. Whew! That’s a lot of celebrating! It also marks the end of the winter season. The origins of the Chinese New Year are unknown but it’s been going on for centuries. In the month leading up to the New Year and its celebrations, preparations begin with fervor. Every house is cleaned from top to bottom to clean/sweep away bad fortune (gotta make way for good luck!), maybe even a fresh coat of paint, plus new clothes and presents are bought, decorations with themes of wealth, happiness, and longevity are placed in windows and on doors, and of course, there’s lots of food. Special attention goes into every detail and the huge feast on the Chinese New Year’s Eve with family is no exception. Dinner usually consists of seafood and meat of varying kinds, dumplings and sweet treats. And depending on the dish/food, they signify good wi

Continuing on what I'm calling my healing journey, we've moved from pride to humility to forgiveness with today's thoughts. ******

Happy Sunday everyone! Hopefully, the weekend has been great for you. They’re never long enough though, huh? So all last week, I worked from home due to the snow. You probably saw it on your news (sorry about that -- our snow made your news, believe me, it was on here too. All. The. Time.) and Californians made fun of us . Silly. In our defense, we're not equipped for much snow nor are we used to much snow. We get occasional snow in the city but not often do we get amounts equal to other winter wonderlands like we experienced last week (at our house, we got about 8 or more inches). This stuff is for the mountains! We don't have a fleet or two of snowplows at our disposal to help us get around and we have lots and lots of hills. However, most Seattleites cannot drive in the snow even when there's a little bit so you can imagine the mess. And because I know this after living here long enough, I also realized I didn’t want to get stuck on the bus for hours while listening

So last week for Thoughtful Thursday it was all about pride but now it's time for some humility . More good reminders for me. **** A sarcastic person has a superiority complex that can be cured only by the honesty of humility. ~ Lawrence G. Lovasik Affliction is the wholesome soil of virtue, where patience, honor, sweet humility, and calm fortitude, take root and strongly flourish. ~ David Mallet Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation. ~ Saint Augustine Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility. ~ Saint Augustine Humility is like underwear, essential, but indecent if it shows. ~ Helen Nielsen To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them. ~ Charles de Montesquieu I claim to be a simple individu

image Many of you have probably heard or read about Paula Deen, Food Network star and lover of all things with butter and oil, has type-2 diabetes. She's actually had it for at least three years but is now confirming the diagnosis publicly (it was previously rumored). Sad to say, this doesn't come as a surprise to me. Let me say, I like Paula Deen. She's fun to watch, has an infectious laugh and seems genuinely happy in life. She loves her boys too! I'm just sad to hear that she has no intention of changing how she cooks on TV ( source ). Hopefully, her own diet has changed...Anyway, to me, this would've been a great opportunity to show her loyal fans that healthy eating can reverse this diagnosis without the aid of medication and that healthy food isn't boring or bland. I think the thing that bothers me is her saying, "moderation." That she tells her viewers to eat in moderation but her shows do not show moderation. I think each show feature

The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important. ~Martin Luther King, Jr. Happy Monday and MLK day! It's a snow day for me today. Well, sorta. I'm working from home. My bus doesn't run today because of the holiday and then we had a big snow storm (for here) blow thru that my commute would be particularly long that I decided to just stay home. We went from this one night: To this the next: The weathermen were right for once! It's so beautiful. Cold but beautiful. And it's better when you don't have to drive in it. We're just not equipped around here for such snowy-ness. But, it's been fun taking YS2 out to play. Everytime I try to make a snowman though, he kicks the snow. Sorry Frosty! So I'm back again with another DIY for you, the main reason for today's post. It's fun doing homemade stuff, I think. Glad a lot of you liked the makeup brush cleaner . Many of these DIY projects are so simple and cost so lit

image source Happy Friday the 13th! I'm not superstitious so bring it on. :) Confession: I used to drink Mountain Dew. Note the words used to . It’s been at least four+ years since I last had a sip, but I used to drink more than my fair share (I ain’t kiddin’ folks). Where some drink lots o’beer or Gatorade or Red Bull or Dr. Pepper or Coke or whatever, I drank Mountain Dew. That was my vice but since I didn't drink alcohol, what's the harm in a daily shot of MD? I’d go to Costco and buy cases or stop at the store and pick up a pack if it was on sale, “it’s a good deal!” I’d say. Many of my friends were dew-heads and we’d party-harty downing the dew and chasing it with tons of Smarties then filling up my fireplace with the empty cans (crazy kids). You know, pyramid style or whatever fancied our creativity (like that tree). Just silly mayhem, really. I didn’t think much of it then. Silly young me. What shit that was! Excuse my language but it was and still is. Chec

I had a falling out a couple years, around this time, with someone once very close to me so it's been on my mind quite a bit lately. And because of this, I keep coming back to the word, PRIDE . Pride in the negative sense is very dangerous, unflattering and something we all have to watch. We are humans after all. It's good to have righteous pride (? doesn't sound quite right...) or to be proud of something but once you lose sight of HUMILITY , ugly pride takes over and the quest to prove you're right or justified at all costs is a taxing and lonely road. So for me, these quotes are good reminders to help stay on track. ******** “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you can't see something that's above you.” ~ CS Lewis “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” ~ Walter Winchell “Temper gets you into trouble. Pride keeps you there.” “The proud man

Hey-ho! In an effort to be a little more green and live a little more healthy, I've been doing a few DIY projects that I'd like to share with you over the next week or so. Many of my inspirations were found via Pinterest (what can't be found there?!) and I even created a board for such ideas. None are new; no doubt, you've seen, heard or even used one or more of these ideas. I decided to give some a try in my home instead of saying what a cool idea. I'm putting it in action! First up, makeup brushes. My source . I don't know about you, but my makeup brushes do not get cleaned often. I think I've washed them twice...and not recently. Frankly, I don't think much about them until I go to use them. So I put it at the top of my DIY-to-do list. ignore the q-tip Tipnut lists 7 different recipes to choose from. I went with option #3: one cup warm water mixed with one teaspoon castile soap. I filled a small jar and stuck a few brushes in to clean

Water is essential for life. It is required for the proper functioning of the body. However, not everyone has a liking for water. Packaged drinks cannot be used very often because they are very expensive. Water is one of the cheapest drinks available everywhere. But people do not have fun drinking it just because it is tasteless. The truth however is that pure water is healthier than all kinds of sweetened, flavored and carbonated drinks. Water can be made interesting by a number of ways. You can add a lot of natural ingredients to it in order to enhance its flavor. Given below are some simple ways to make water taste better. 1. Ginger water Ginger water is good for your health. It can help you to clear your throat and sinuses if you consume it often. If you enjoyed spiced drinks, then try making ginger water at home. Add a piece of ginger to the water when it is boiling. The resulting water has a special spicy flavor. 2. Salt Most of the energy drinks are known to have electro

Recently, Morrocco Method contacted me asking if I’d like to sample one of their products. Now, if you don’t know MMI , they are a fair-trade, cruelty-free company who specializes in chemical-free hair and skin products, many of which are raw and vegan. Get all that? Basically, they’re an awesome company who cares about your needs…and the environment…and fair trade…and animals. :) You can read more about them on their website . So yeah, when they offered of course I said yes. I’ve reviewed their shampoo before, which I love! They have many other products I’d want to check out like their henna but I don’t want to do it myself -- it’s kinda difficult to work with in my past experience. Anyway, MMI sent me a jar of their new product, Styling Dragon Pomade . As you know, my hair is my challenge so any help I can get is great. I wasn’t sure how to use this when I first got it. On wet hair? Damp hair? Dry hair? So I experimented in all ways. I used it when wearing my hair curly a