Shopping Switch-ups

 Aging has made me cranky in my shopping habits. For one thing, I have really gotten tired of bad food ingredients. That's why I post so much about finding better ingredients. Another thing is, I'm tired of buying things I like only to have them go up in price and go down in quality.

The Switch from Wax Melts to Incense

I love having my living space smell nice. I think it helps my mood when there's a nice scent wafting in the air. My favorite home scents are of the lemon-vanilla variety. For years I bought these ScentSationals wax melts called Iced Lemon Sugar Cookies. LOVE the scent. I would try to buy them in the multi-pack and the scent used to last forever. Everyone in my family associated that scent with my house. Then, suddenly, the scent didn't last as long. I'd have to replace the cubes almost daily I thought I was getting nose blind, so I gave that scent a rest. Nope. The quality had definitely gone down.

I tried other brands of wax melts and some oils to use in the warmer. I found some really nice scents. One of my favorites was an oil from Virginia Candle Supply. It was lemon-vanilla scented, and I would use it with some soy was. Then they discontinued the scent. Even now, when I try to find it, it comes up as another name. I like to know something is going to be available so I stopped using them on a regular basis. VCS is great though so I'm not knocking the site and will use them occasionally.

Anyway. After trying different melt and such - the best smelling ones didn't last or were way too pricey - I gave up. For a while. Then...

I found these incense powder bricks (this one is a favorite) and love them. Of course, the scent is nothing like the lemon-vanilla that I love so much, but it smells amazing. It's an ambery-musk-cedar type of scent and reminds me more of a light perfume. 

Now I do NOT like incense of the normal type from my '70s youth. I detest that kind if incense. But I do love UAE perfumes and that is what this reminds me of. It's not sweet and exactly feminine; it's more the way I picture a Eastern boutique or spa smelling.

The best thing about the bricks is that they last and last and last. They work best with t much hotter warmer than those used for wax melts. The "Bakhoor burners" get real hot real fast. I got one for cheper than I could get a multi-pack of those wax melts... I generally turn mine on for about 10 minutes at a time. So that's what I'm using now.

The Switch from Euro & American Perfumes

This is something you know all about it you've come near this blog in the past year. I started with the sprays and now I almost always by the oils.

If you to see my quick reviews of the ones I have gotten to sample or buy, here ya go. 

The Switch from Random to Specific Food Choices

Again, you might have seen my posts on this. I started making my own sandwich bread at home and realized I wasn't putting on a pound for every slice I ate. Recently I have been making Focaccia almost twice a week for myself and my brother's family. Again, not putting on weight.

I no longer buy just anything as far as food. I check the lists that compare ingredients and potentially toxic additives. I have a whole list of YouTube channels I follow just because they keep up with this sort of thing.

Soon I will be putting together a page of all the posts I've done about food and ingredients. For now, here are some:

• Being Free: What Is the Function of the FDA?
• Being Free: **Food Revolution** Replacement for Old Bay Seasoning
• Being Free: UPDATED With Recipe **BREAD MAKING** Artisan Bread Is SO Easy (Kind Of)
• Being Free: **UPDATE #2** My Personal Food Revolution (and Good Chop)

Now that I think about it, I should make a page of all the useful YouTube channels...

I just wanted to rant with yall for awhile. I am trying to make myself stay busy. I got my second shingles vaccine and, man, that is no joke. I kind of recent vaccines but I am so afraid of my current health issues getting worse. This vaccine tried to kill me. I am having head and muscle aches and I am more wipe out than usual. Hopefully, it will pass quickly!

Peace

--Free

*REVIEW Revisit** DIM (Di-indolyl Methane)

Back in May, when I was still prepping for moving, I started taking this amazing supplement. It's for balancing estrogen levels, but I like to think of it as my "Fatigue Fighter":

Now, usually when I review a product, I'm done and move on. Sometimes, I will go and do a little bit of an in-post update. Rarely, do I return to do an update in a separate post. This time, I just had to.

I was pretty happy with DIM when I first started using it. Like, from the very first day. It's one of the few supplements that I was faithful about taking. I hate pills and tablets and I already have to take enough of them. It's not like I want to add something else to the mix. In this case though, I really feel that these tablets help. DIM gives me added energy (I can always use more of that!) in addition to helping with my depression.

Free of GMOs, gluten, soy & dairy

If you really want to know if a supplement works for you, try running out of it. That's what happened to me.

In the midst of moving from my temporary digs at my brother's place and into my new apartment, I ran out of DIM. I took the last tablet and kept the bottle to remind myself to order more when I could budget for it. To be honest, I didn't think about it again after a few days. I was too busy getting to doctors' appointments, getting utilities set up, and just stocking up on basic household necessities. Like food.

After my last infusion, I felt worse than I ever have after a treatment. Then, when I took my weekly shot at home, I got so sick that I almost wanted to die. Getting slightly sick and extra fatigued is normal after my shot - for a couple of days. This time, I was so nauseous that I got dehydrated. A couple of times, I literally crawled part of the way to the bathroom. It went on for three and half days!

Once the med-sick wore down a bit, I was wiped totally out. Getting to the kitchen to heat up soup in the microwave made me want to nap for a couple of hours. At least the nausea had passed though, I was so happy about that, the fatigue didn't matter as much.

When I got back to "normal", I skipped my next shot. I had so much left to unpack and put away. I managed that, but I was dragging butt the whole time. I'd spend half and hour getting stuff done, then have to rest for an hour.

My nephews were bringing the last of my belongings from their place and when I opened up a bag, the empty DIM bottle rolled out.

To cut to the chase, I had the extra bucks to order another bottle of DIM so I did. With a quickness. I mean, I cut back on some of my grocery spending so that I could afford the DIM. That's how seriously I wanted it because I remembered what it had done for me before.

I am back using the supplement as of today. I didn't get the immediate boost of energy that I did the first time. That was disappointing until I realized that I'm way, way more run down than I have been for a while. Regular fatigue is bad enough, but after moving and still getting settled in (and don't forget what I think of as Hell Week after that infusion), I guess this super fatigue is to be expected. The DIM might take a couple of days to give me a bit of an  energy boost. However, I can tell you that my mood was better today than it has been for a couple of weeks.

Of course, you need to check with your healthcare team to see if this is something you can or should use. I think too many of us who are battling with an illness tend to jump on every supplement band wagon that comes along. We want so desperately to feel better, but we have to be careful we aren't making things worse. Amen?

This, this, THIS!!

This is, I suppose, my report about at least one supplement that not only works for me but that feels necessary. And, yes,
I am going to let my new doctors know about my experience with it - not just because I have to inform them of anything I take anyway, but because it might be something they can look into for other people to use.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** DIM (Di-indolyl Methane)

(I'm ahead enough with the packing that I could take a little time to post!)

You all know me. I will try just about anything (within reason) to improve my health and energy. I've tried some things that I initially liked but gave up on after awhile. It's like dieting: seeing results increases motivation. Out of about 15 supplements, vitamins, and other health-related things that I've reviewed, I continue to use some of, specifically:

• Ceylon Cinnamon (I like to put it in my drinks)
• Beetroot powder (and beetroot juices because I like the juice better than the powder)
• Matcha tea (though I still don't like the taste and mask it in smoothies and foods)
• Raw Honey & comb (and I have a couple of favorites that I will try never to be without)
• Magnesium oil 
• Most of my natural skincare oils (especially coconut, castor, and nearly all my essential oils)
• I've slacked on using the super greens & wheat grass but only because of lack of money.)
• Yacon syrup & Blackstrap molasses

As a matter of fact, I am shipping my oils and I made a list of other items that I plan to restock once I get moved and settled in a new place. Of course, I will have a kitchen of my own and room and time to make use of everything.

Back at the beginning of April, I started using a supplement that I plan to keep using. The reason I even tried it was because I'd heard it could help with menopausal symptoms and weight loss. It might actually do that - once I get back on my sensible eating/Keto plan - but that's not the result I'm experiencing. What I am experiencing is a lift in energy and mood.

Moving is stressful, number one. My reasons for moving were super stressful, number two. Then, of course, there is my struggle with fatigue due to health and required medications.

Honestly, I had no idea how I was going to manage the planning and packing, etc that comes with moving and a big life change. That's why I started so far in advance.

As soon as I started taking this supplement - and this is the particular brand I am using right now

- I could feel the boost of energy. Not a buzzing boost - like you get from coffee or an energy drink - but a definite surge. That was on Day One, Tablet One.

There are lots of different brands out there. Some brands are solely the Di-indolyl Methane and others add something other than the BioPerine (which is a black pepper extract). I picked this one because it had high reviews and was a 2-months supply for a good price.

After about three or four days (to the best of my poor memory), I was feeling a lot less of the general "blues" and those sneaky attacks of anxiety I'd been having. Understand that I was so stressed and depressed that I was having bouts of inner weeping and wailing. After about another week or so, I was actually able to get things done.

The one thing this doesn't alleviate (and I had no hopes that it would) are my general cognitive problems. I still struggle with keeping details and tasks straight in my head, and I have days when I feel as if I'm functioning with half my brain. But... I don't feel so crazily fatigued that I can't get anything done. Matter of fact, because I have to work so hard to get even basic tasks done, I count on the DIM to give me energy for perseverance.

As of today, I have finished most of the packing and other little tasks that come with planning a move, All I have left to do is sell the car - not something I plan to do until the last second!

The DIM has caused no side effects for me other than promoting more regular bowel movements. Sorry for the TMI, folks! Also, I tend to sleep a little bit better on most nights. I still have a bit of insomnia but I think that's just going to be a fact of life until things settle down for me.

Now, since I am no kind of medical professional, I am not recommending this to anyone. I am just reviewing MY results with DIM. You can do your own research and talk with your medical care team. I have to admit that I did only light research before I started using the DIM.

I read that our bodies create DIM naturally when we eat a lot of certain vegetables. I read that DIM can have an effect on the metabolism and hormones and might even either act like estrogen or block it.  

Like I said, I haven't experienced any weight loss with the DIM. Because it improves my general mood, I can believe that it does impact hormones. I'm post-menopausal and if I thought monthly PMS was bad... Hah! Menopause is like PMS without end.

So, along with the other natural and non-RX things that I use for my health, this is going to be a staple in my new home.

Peace

--Free