i did WHAT with milk?

My Dad gave me two cartons of milk the other day, saying he noticed I like drinking it.  I actually prefer almond milk, or sometimes low-fat milk when I need to stretch the budget - but I just received two liters of the full-fat variety.

I'm not exactly willing to drink full-fat milk, but I decided to accept the gift because it was a sweet gesture (minus my Dad's story about how he can't properly digest the stuff anymore, hee hee).  So I did a web search for recipes I could use milk in.  Just then I remembered a snippette I read in a teen magazine several years ago, about using milk as a homemade hair mask.  I remembering trying it out back then and that I was very happy with the result.

Image from yahoo.lifestyle.co.nz

So this is one of the things I did with the milk:

milk as a hair treatment

• After shampooing, apply milk to hair.  A spray bottle makes it easier.
• Work it into your hair.  Leave it on for a few minutes. For even better results, leave it on for thirty.  A shower cap is a good idea.
• Rinse well.

The result:  soft, silky tresses.  I find it more effective in taming my hair than store-bought straightening conditioners.

I was surprised to find a lot of beauty blogs discussing  the wonders that milk does for hair. I've read that it helps to remove product residue accumulated through the years, and it provides nourishment.  I also learned that the creamy beverage was used as a hair and skin treatment way before commercial shampoos were available.  This practice goes back all the way to Cleopatra, who bathed in milk because she believed in its healing and beautifying properties.

A lot of women are opting for traditional hair treatments nowadays, and milk is one of the ingredients in some homemade shampoo recipes.  This method of washing hair in milk is an all-natural, sulfate-free alternative to conditioner.

springy wallpaper

Click for full size. 
Background image mine; photo taken in North Las Vegas, May 2011.
Text from the Bible.
.

The Jewelry of the Sky

Extravagant jewels

On perpetual exhibit
In God-made heavens

All photos mine.

Top: Manila Ocean Park, November 30, 2011.
Center: Just outside our home in Taguig, March 2012.

Bottom: Estrellas de Mendoza, Laiya, Batangas, March 17, 2012.

.

still crazy over coconut oil ^_^

It wasn't very long ago when I discovered the many good things about coconut oil, but it's now one of my favorite things ever. It's very affordable (especially here in the Philippines), all-natural and loaded with benefits.

I've been using virgin coconut oil as make-up remover and as skin moisturizer, and I quite prefer it over chemical-laden products (My skin is super dooper sensitive and it often breaks out when I use certain lab-concocted substances). Since I started using coco oil there's been a visible improvement on my skin.

I've also been making an all-natural body scrub with it. Previously shared the recipes here.

Speaking on homemade beauty products, someone recently tweeted this link to a recipe for body butter using coconut oil. I think I'll be trying that sometime.

It is said its subtle scent has a calming effect. Using it thus doubles into an aromatherapy session. ^_^

I've already tried cooking with it - it not only smells better than the usual store-bought cooking oils, but it also lowers the bad cholesterol. And it tastes yummy too.

The other day, I stumbled upon this lady's blog entry on 80 Uses for Coconut Oil. Intriguing. I'm a bit cynical about some of the claims, but I'm willing to test a few. ^_^

Photo from here.

"the most awesomest place ever," my sister said

All photos in this entry mine.
Right-click and open in new tab for enlargements.

My youngest sister said "This is the most awesomest place ever!"

I can see why she thought so - the Valley of Fire State Park really is a remarkable work of nature. I'm so glad we took the time to go there during out visit to Nevada.

I've actually never heard of it until I saw this sign on our way to Lake Mead a few weeks earlier:



The name got me very, very interested. Valley of Fire. I supposed it was a valley full of reddish rock that looked all "fiery" when sunlight hit them. Hmmm.

It was just a few days before we headed back to Manila that my Mama thought of taking us to the Valley of Fire (It was her birthday that day, BTW. Thank you Ma!). She has never been there before either, but she heard it was a beautiful, must-see place that would really make our trip to Nevada more memorable.

But "beautiful" and "must-see", as we learned later, were gross understatements.

A bit of trivia before I continue: Las Vegas is Spanish for the valleys. Anywhere you go in Vegas, you would be surrounded by mountains. They aren't blue, distant mountains like the ones I'm used to seeing on the outskirts of Metro Manila - these are huge, up-close mountains and mountains and mountains and mountains, brown and near-bald, with horizontal striations carved by wind and water.

Seeing the ridged mountains driving through Vegas, I thought those were pretty.



Then we drove out of the city and into the desert where we saw a lot of interesting rock formations. And I thought those were pretty.



We drove on and on, until we finally got to our destination.



As we followed the curve of the road around the mountain ...



... a burst of bright, red rock peered over the dull gray.



We couldn't help saying WOOOOOOW! It was just ... - ... - ... - breathtaking.

Throughout the valley, there were these massive, fascinating rocks, mostly in various reddish hues - from a soft peach to a vivid magenta to a deep bittersweet.


It was as if we were on another planet. Like Mars. Or Tatooine.

Coming to think of it, a lot of movies had a couple of scenes shot in these unique, alienesque vistas (Transformers, Star Trek: Generations and Total Recall, to name a few).

Every now and then, the Hubby, my sister and I went out of our vehicle to take closer looks. We made sure to monkey up and down a few smaller formations.



We went up a stairway to a massive balancing rock named Altlatl to see the ancient petroglyphs on its face.



We trekked through a half-mile long canyon trail that featured more petroglyphs and peach-toned rocks.


There was an area aptly called Rainbow Vista, showing off rocks decked in various colors. Not just reds now, but even the lightest creams and the most royal of purples.


The road twisted through colorful formations that looked like lumps of striped candy and molten marshmallow. Really, surreally, pretty.


There are a lot more breathtaking sights at the Valley of Fire, but I couldn't possibly squeeze all the photos I took into this single entry. Besides, whatever pictures I take wouldn't ever suffice to convey the beauty I saw. ^_^

As we drove out of the valley, the interesting rock formations thinned out. The sun set the scenery cooled down from dynamic reds into soft blues.


If it were an easy thing to do, I'd love to visit that place over and over again. It's a definite must-see. If you are anywhere in the area of Nevada, like, if and when you decide to check out what Las Vegas is all about, clear a day in your agenda to visit the Valley of Fire State Park (Especially if you're a movie buff or a sci-fi geek; i.e., you might just want to sight the site where the Autobots rolled out to save the world, or where Captain Kirk fell). Be sure to slather on your sunblock, bring a lot of water and food, and wear comfy-but-sturdy shoes and a good hat. An air-conditioned vehicle would suffice, but I'm sure a decked-out RV wouldn't hurt.

the drive to southern cal

June third, Friday prevening. The Hubby and I rode with some family-friends to Southern California. We thought it would be good to come over and say hello to some relatives over there since California is just a few hours' drive from where we were in Nevada.

We were told it was going to be a five hour drive through the desert. No biggie, I thought; it would be the same length of time driving from Manila to Baguio through very light traffic. Nonetheless I prepared myself for a possibly boring few hours, keeping my inflatable pillow handy in case I decided to sleep the ennui away.

But I hardly slept a wink -- the scenery outside was extremely photo-worthy.


We made the trip in the late afternoon through the early evening, so there was a warm, golden glow about.


Since we were just hitching a ride, I thought it best to just considerately and discreetly snap shots from where I sat. I did my best in a moving vehicle, through tinted windows, no tripod, fully manual.


I found fascinating the way the cirrus clouds marbled over the mountains.


We also stopped by the world's tallest thermometer at Baker.


I kept taking pictures until it was too dark to shoot with high shutter speeds. Which was fine by me, since we were almost at out destination by then anyway.

I have a new "like" : virgin coconut oil

Someone told me that virgin coconut oil (VCO) is a good skin moisturizer. Since I happen to be allergic to a lot of lotions and stuff I decided to give VCO a try.

I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and I'm liking it. It has kept my skin from drying and helped my cold-rashes subside.

Since VCO is all-natural, there aren't any allergic reactions or side effects.

I did a bit of Googling around about VCO and I learned that it has a whole lot of other benefits. Aside from being useful as a skin and/ or hair conditioner, I mean. It is said to treat eczema, dandruff and fungal infections, and helps to keep skin looking young and healthy. It's also a good massage oil and stress-reliever.

VCO ingested in small amounts could help to regulate weight. You could cook with it too - it is said to be "the healthiest oil on earth".

I'm no pro on this though, so don't take my word for it; you can do some research yourself. And by the way, make sure to pick out virgin coconut oil, not just regular coconut oil.

There's this homemade body scrub recipe that I've been using. Instead of the usual olive oil, I tried virgin coconut oil instead this week, and I've found that and it works just as nicely. VCO is a cheaper alternative, and it smells yummy too.

girls talk: planning for better health

I personally dislike making "New Year's Resolutions" just for the sake of having some at the beginning of the year, since resolutions usually fizzle out. I instead prefer to make practical plans. The former is an expression of good intentions, or things that should happen; while the latter entails definite, measurable, realistic objectives, or things I will make happen and how I will make them happen. The difference is that resolutions are vague and therefore have the tendency to fade into the background; plans and objectives are well-defined, time-bound and written and provide a referable "tracking system".

For the first week of January, we're girls talk-ing about what we hope for / plan for about our health.

This year I intend to get some physical exercise back into my routine. I used to walk on the treadmill regularly, but that all stopped when I noticed that our particular treadmill was too hard on the ankles (and then there was a convenient change in work schedules, so I decided to ditch walking altogether, haha). Recently though I noticed how much easier - and more fun - it is to take actual walks outside, especially with a good, comfortable pair of running shoes. I got the Hubby to be my "walking partner". We'll be walking at least twenty minutes, three times a week. After we get used to the routine, we'll increase it to thirty minutes, and then maybe to forty or an hour.

Health not only refers to physical health, am i right? With that in mind, I intend to maintain my emotional and mental health by continuing to do what I've been doing the past several years:

• Choose my friends. While anybody is welcome to be a friend, not everyone must be allowed in my inner circle. A woman's inner circle contributes to her personality, and I don't want anyone's negative vibes or misplaced values influencing me.
• Choose what I allow in my mind, because my thoughts shape my attitudes and so on. It pays to be discerning when it comes to simple things like books, movies, music and stuff. It's also good to be a critical thinker regarding the stories people tell, i.e., don't be an idiot.
  
  

About health - I was watching a rerun of "America's Next Top Model" last night, and the judges mentioned that true beauty lies in health. A truly beautiful person, they say, is really just a picture of good physical, emotional and mental health. With that definition of beauty, I aim to be a person who is beautiful and brings out beauty in others.

girls talk: health and beauty section

This week on Girls Talk: What do you usually grab from the health and beauty section?

Ever since I was a kid, I've associated Nivea with good-quality skin-care.
I'm a sucker for Nivea. Whenever an advertisement comes out about a new product, I'd get instantly intrigued and make a mental note to check a sample the next time I stop at Watson's.

Nivea's line is complete - they've got facial wash, various lotions and creams, deodorants, shower gel and everything. My favorite thing though is the lip balm / gloss, a.k.a. caregloss. I loove it; I make sure to always carry one in my purse.

While I'm loyal to Nivea, I feel the need to switch brands every few months when my skin starts to get dull. My other brand of choice would be Pond's.

Pond's items are also effective, and very affordable. The brand's range of products are not as extensive as Nivea's, but they've got pretty good facial care stuff. I like how they come in small sizes that are easy to tote around.

So that's what's in my shopping basket. Shimmy over to Beauty Queen Gene to see what's in other girls' carts.

a very good reason to think happy thawts

Here's something memorable from Roald Dahl's well-loved children's book, The Twits.

real women

I quite enjoyed Girl's Talk yesterday. ^_^ I mean, I always enjoy Girls Talk but yesterday was especially refreshing because it was so nice to hear from real women about what they loved about their bodies.

When I say real women, I mean us regular people who aren't surgically-enhanced, airbrushed celebrity goddesses.

I've gotten tired of the daily media barrage of the made-over Angelinas, the Marians and the Next Top Models reinforcing the lie in our minds that beauty is necessarily 1 : 1.618. Real women are beautiful too - including their stretchmarks, c-section scars and a few extra pounds here and there.

It was very pleasant to even read about how the Girls Talkers appreciate even their imperfections, and how the people they love appreciate them too.

Women are made beautiful by their confidence, their kindness and how they touch other people. And as I've come to believe, sexy is an attitude. I'm loving the Dove campaign that feature ladies of different shapes and ages and show them all as beautiful.

TV and the movies might want to stereotype "ordinary-looking women" into supporting or comedic roles - but we are the leading ladies of our own lives, the celebrity goddesses of our own husbands and children.

daytrip to sonya's garden

I've been wanting to go to Sonya's Garden for a long time, and I finally got to do it last week with the Hubby's family. On our way to Batangas, we stopped by Sonya's for lunch and it was utter bliss. Here are some of my favorite captures from that daytrip.

I love the lush, natural greenery nestling the entire site. It provides a relaxing atmosphere that distracts you from the stressors of day-to-day existece.

I love the scent of herbs, flowers and honey and the sound of birds that waft through the air.


I love that there are fresh flowers all around, some of them oversized. Some of them I don't see in the city anymore.


I love the architecture and interior of the bed and breakfast.

I love the 19th-century Fil-Spanish style combined with early 20th-century Art Nouveau. It gives off a romantic, slightly surreal ambience.


I love the oversized windows that let the sunlight and scented air in, even the diaphanous white curtains they are trimmed with. I love the crisp, white linens, the fresh flower arrangements, the glass chandeliers and the knicknacks and reading materials purposely choreographed to create a place like a home.

I love how things were cleverly repurposed - wineglass bases in the stained glass windows, old wood beams that have survived termite attacks and have been reincarnated as flooring or paneling, antique calesa chasis as benches, colored perfume bottles as windchimes, authentic capis latticework panels as sliding windows.


I love how everything is shabby-chic yet pristine and uncluttered.

I love the bathrooms and washrooms with the beach-mimic baths, charmigly furnished with organic soap and rosewater. Not a single inch of mildew or stains anywhere.


I love the restaurant snuggled in the middle of the greenery.

I love the menu. The dalandan juice with mint leaves. The bread and kesong puti. The salad with fresh-picked greens from the very garden, including rose petals. The make-your-own-sauce pasta. The tarragon tea (I never knew tarragon could be made into tea)


I love the serene feeling it left in me.