I've had severe dry eyes for many years; eye drops only helped me for literally the two-seconds immediately following application.

The only remedy I've found (from an Ayurvedic home remedy book) that actually worked for me was to put a glob of castor oil in my eyes every night.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 1:55 PM on April 8, 2008

Apartment Therapy
How About Orange
Things I've Bought that I Love
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 5:25 PM on March 30, 2008

This makes me laugh (not in a bad way!) because I used to be exactly like you.

People would tell me, hey zippity; you're not assertive enough! You let people walk all over you! Be rude! Be aggressive!

Following that advice just made people disrespect me even more, and I don't blame them for that.

It sounds like you have a problem setting a personal boundary with people. But specifically you don't know how to set one, or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 10:17 AM on March 19, 2008

Having recently overcome my stuttering, here are some things that I appreciated/disliked in regard to other people's reaction to my speech:I absolutely hated it when people finished my words/thoughts. My sister (with the best of intention) got into a habit of doing this when we were kids and soon began taking over entire conversations people initiated with me.

People began asking her questions of myself as if I was not standing there; I got a lot of people talking over... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 10:01 AM on March 19, 2008

oops, I don't know why that one sentence got repeated.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 10:04 AM on March 19, 2008

From what I understand, this type of extreme anxiety is due to the outcome of similar situations that occured in the past (having not learned a healthy coping mechanism for such types of events), along with the false idea that if you had done something differently, then the [anxiety producing event or idea/mistake/other persons reaction] could have been avoided.

The thing to realize is that how other people respond to you is not something that you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 8:46 AM on March 18, 2008

The Art of Civilized Conversation: A Guide to Expressing Yourself With Style and Grace is the book that really opened my eyes on how to be a gracious conversationalist. I've read How to Win Friends and Influence people and a bunch of other books, which are good starting points, but The Art of Civilized Conversation gives incredibly useful examples of conversation and situations which are incredibly useful.

There are also many Ask.Mefi threads on... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 7:44 PM on March 16, 2008

I find that 50/50 cotton/poly shirts don't stretch out in this manner. I like the ones from American Apparel.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 10:46 PM on March 5, 2008

I use the stainless steel UtiliTEA from Adagio. Used pretty much the moment it arrived in the mail and everyday since without a hint of metal taste in the water.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 5:56 PM on March 2, 2008

In the book Delivered from Distraction there is mention of this mind-exercise program called Brain Gym. The author says his own son who has ADD had tried the program and afterward there was significant improvement in his school work and reading comprehension.

I haven't tried it myself but I've been meaning to look into it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 5:16 PM on March 1, 2008

Funny, I was reading about cooking barely earlier this week. You may have had problems searching for a method to cook them because the whole-grain variety of barley is typically called hull-less barley (sounds like the opposite of what it actually is). There's this page that has a pretty basic whole-barley cooking instruction Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, add 1 cup hulled barley. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until done.

In the first linked article,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 11:56 AM on February 22, 2008 marked best answer

I've heard the argument against drinking liquids with your meals (but specifically large amounts of liquids either prior, during, or after eating, and even more specifically cold beverages) will dilute your stomach acids and cause reduced digestion power (er.. whatever) in Ayurveda.

On a side note, I ended up trying to avoid any guzzling of water around meal times and avoided all cold drinks for a couple months. It became increasingly burdensome and I've since gone back... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 9:56 PM on February 6, 2008

My eyes use to feel like this allthetime until I started a nightly regimen of a blob of castor oil in each eye before bed.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 3:58 PM on January 31, 2008

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posted to MetaFilter by zippity at 5:57 PM on January 22, 2008

I've found that cotton/poly blend t-shirts work the best in this regard (100% cotton just stretches out too easily when you need a tight fit). I like the 50/50 Cotton Poly shirt from American Apparel.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 1:24 PM on January 11, 2008

Believe me, I totally understand your frustration!

I used to have similar skin problems (excessive oiliness, pimples; both cystic and small, and dark acne scars and sun spots). After trying basically everything available, this is what I have found works for me:For Cleansing: Just use something gentle that is good at removing make-up (if you wear it). I use Kiss My Face Olive Oil Bar or plain old Cetaphil. I'd also recommend something like Ivory or Tone (the unscented... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 12:33 PM on January 11, 2008

Ah, and a couple more tips:

Use an extractor tool weekly to get rid of blackheads and such, as the MoM mask brings them easily to the surface of your skin.

It couldn't hurt to use a cheap alpha hydroxy cream at night for overall clarity of your skin tone (I do this a couple nights a week).
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 12:36 PM on January 11, 2008

My favorite brand of protein powder is Nutribiotic Rice Protein. It tastes good (I use the vanilla flavor) and is also good for people who have allergies or whatever issue with soy or whey. It's vegan, too!
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 12:45 PM on January 4, 2008

I get like that in the mornings after eating food late at night (whether it be full meals or snacks). Any time I finish dinner earlier in the evening (say, 6:00 at the latest) and don't eat a thing afterwards, I feel completely awake and lucid the minute my alarm goes off in the morning. YMMV of course.

And I full heartedly agree with 45moore45's sugar advice.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 4:50 PM on December 14, 2007

I've heard that oil pulling with sesame oil helps whiten teeth, however, I've never tried it myself. There's a whole host of testimonials along with the method on the linked page.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 1:15 PM on December 7, 2007

croutonsupafreak, I can certainly identify with your hatred of demin with stretch. My recommendation for non-stretch blue jeans are Levi's 501 Shrink to Fit, which (are technically for men but really) are unisex. The pair I'm breaking in at the moment have turned into the best fitting pair of jeans I've ever owned. You can get the [[super.cheap]] at langstons.com. There's a method to buying the correct size (as, obviously, they shrink in length and width so you need to go up a couple/few inches... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 12:24 PM on December 4, 2007

Oh yea, and the Shrink to Fits are slightly tapered in the leg, but they don't look that way after they've been properly broken in. (peg leg = UGH) They actually just look like straight leg jeans.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 12:26 PM on December 4, 2007

I have a few of these "age spots" from being over exposed to the sun in the past, too. This is despite slathering on sunscreen daily for the past ten years or so though. What I've noticed is that if you have the combination of very hot weather and too much sun, reapplication of sunscreen is key.

I'm too lazy to be that diligent about reapplying though. I'll be watching this thread for a homemade remedy for the spots!
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 5:57 PM on September 22, 2007

I recently picked up this book about folk medicine, and the author suggests rubbing castor oil nightly on sun spots to help them fade. No clue if it actually works but it couldn't hurt to try!
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 5:46 PM on November 27, 2007

I highly recommend Levi's Shrink-to-Fits! Just be sure to get the proper size initially since they'll shrink up quite a bit (add around 1-2" at the waist and 3-4" to the inseam). Since they are essentially mens jeans I worried they wouldn't shrink correctly on me, but they actually shrank perfectly snug to my body. The rise sits at the waist so it defintley catches any muffin-top spillage you'd get from wearing lower-rise pants, without being too "mom jeans.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 10:15 PM on November 26, 2007

They're always in stock at my local Walgreens. MM MM I love me some Andes Mints!
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 5:03 PM on November 25, 2007

Seconding Carlson's Cod Liver Oil (I get the lemon flavored kind) which only tastes like lemon and no weird after taste, as well as dancinglamb's suggestion of refrigerating the oil (I'm pretty sure it'll go rancid super quick if you don't, anyway).... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 11:25 AM on November 2, 2007

I have had similar problems with gas and bloating after eating high fiber meals. Beano doesn't work for me at all, however I doubt it affects your body's ability to produce it's own digestive enzymes (if it did, I would think there would be a warning on the label somewhere. For instance, occasional laxative use can turn into dependence, which can cause your bowels stop working correctly; there is a warning about this on the label of every otc laxative).

If you're worried... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 5:39 PM on October 14, 2007

or what porpoise said.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 5:39 PM on October 14, 2007

nthing alopecia. I had a couple bouts of it in high school (I never had a problem with it when I was a kid though, but I hear it's quite common) in which I ended up with several huge bald spots.

According to him (from what I recollect, this was about 10 years ago): Some people lose all their hair, some just get bald spots. Some people will go completely bald, while some people will lose their hair and regrow it. And it's not caused by stress as most people assume.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 6:04 PM on October 13, 2007

oops, "According to him" = dermatologist.

And for the record my hair grew back each time it fell out and hasn't fallen out in at least seven years or so.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 6:24 PM on October 13, 2007

24 year old female, 5'7" @ 129

1) What's your typical breakfast?
I always have a banana, a protein shake (Nutribiotic Vanilla Rice Protein, 2 tablespoons) with ground flaxseed (2 tablespoons) in sugar-free almond milk, a whole mess of supplements, and THEN I usually alternate between something like a couple pieces of toast with jam and an egg, or a bowl of dry cereal and an apple, or a hummus/vegetable sandwich.

My... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 11:58 PM on October 10, 2007

There's a chapter in this book which explains male hormones and according to it, the development of male breasts is due to fat cells converting more testosterone to estrogen than usual (it's normal for SOME testosterone to be converted to estrogen, but gaining body fat increases the frequency for which this happens).

From the book: "Progressive increase in body fat in a man tends to lock in an abnormal estrogen production, thus keeping testosterone... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 8:23 PM on September 25, 2007

Oh, and IANAM (I am not a man) so I have no personal experience with moobs, or how to get rid of them. Best of luck to you. And seriously, feel free to email me if you need more information.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 8:27 PM on September 25, 2007

Another thing: if you haven't been doing so, you should probably be avoiding soy food products.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 12:11 PM on September 26, 2007

I really appreciate all of your answers. None will be marked best because they are all excellent and useful.

I wish I could give an example of the discussions we've had in class that I didn't understand or know how to engage in but I don't remember what the answers other people gave were so it wouldn't be of any help.

I will check out all the links and books suggested!
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 3:59 PM on September 24, 2007

sneakin, I just wanted to let you know I miss the Neutrogena Rainbath spray lotion too (I contacted them about it as well!). As far as I've been able to tell, they only seem to be using their unique spray bottle for their sunless tanners and sunscreens now. I've given up on finding a similar replacement and now I just use Queen Helene Cocoa Butter lotion (smells good, disappears into skin easily, and heck, it's cheap).
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 11:29 AM on September 16, 2007

When I was a kid (during kindergarten) I used to walk to my friends house after getting off the bus since my parents were away at work. One day I happened to walk up to our house to check to see if they'd come home early to see that the front door was open and the house completely ransacked. I hadn't realized we were being robbed since I hadn't even grasped the concept of stealing or evil-doing in general at that time.

Later my older sister came upon the same scene and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 6:53 PM on August 30, 2007

I used to have a HUGE sweet/bread tooth. Honestly, it took a while (many months.... er.. years) to get a hold over the cravings. The turning point for me was realizing that it was easy for me to avoid bread and candy binges when I wasn't pmsing. Taking large doses (3 g) of Evening Primrose Oil for the past few months has really put an end to that problem.

This may or may not apply to you, but I read somewhere that some people who have severe... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 12:09 PM on August 30, 2007

This happened to my Camry once and I ended up having to catch a ride to school that day. When I got home later that day we called a tow truck to tow it to the dealer because we couldn't figure out why the heck the key wouldn't turn. The tow truck driver arrived and after we explained our situation she sat in my car and immediately got the car to start. Embarrassing. She explained that something happens when the steering wheel it turned a certain way (sorry, this was about... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 8:25 PM on August 16, 2007

I wrote a post earlier in another question that may be of help to you. Basically, for me, the only supplement that's really helped stop my PMS cravings (and I am one of those people who will normally eat healthy, sanely-portioned meals, but once PMS rolls over it's a non-stop junkfood binge-a-thon where I gain weight so quickly and intensely people have had trouble recognizing me) is Evening Primrose Oil (EPO).

This article on Depression.About.com... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 8:14 PM on August 16, 2007

I've tried various samples of lip plumping gloss treatments. City Lips was by far the best (the clear nighttime treatment version; it does not sting). This may just be me but I've found that if I use a good dollop of a really moisturizing lip balm (I like Rosebud Salve) and have a good nights rest, my lips get the same sort of plumpness that I've gotten from using the specific lip treatments.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 11:00 PM on August 3, 2007

For years I had the same symptoms you described (2 weeks normal, then two weeks completely wiped out). I began charting my period on this website called My Monthly Cycles and after several months realized the only thing different between my "good" weeks versus my "bad" weeks were that my bad weeks were always the two weeks before my period. OH, is this what PMS is?!

After months of reading tons of pms literature (seriously) and guinea pigging myself... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 10:41 PM on July 29, 2007

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posted to MetaFilter by zippity at 10:17 PM on July 21, 2007

Ex-oily faced girl here.

There was a thread in ask.mefi awhile ago where someone suggested using jojoba oil as a cleanser (while that seems extremely counterintuitive for oily skin it actually works pretty well and takes off make-up too). However it didn't cause me to become oilier but it certainly didn't make me less oily. Instead I started using Dr. Bronner's Castille Soap (warning: the peppermint kind will make your eyes burn, but I use that kind anyway) which has... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 10:47 PM on July 19, 2007 marked best answer

The piercing shouldn't hurt that much (unless you go to an unexperienced piercer). Your eyes will definitely water up since your sinuses get pinched during the piercing process but that's about it. There was no crunching sound, and I seriously remember the whole thing taking like less than a few minutes.

My experience with the healing was something like this:

The first week it was pretty sore and would occasionally bleed a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 7:17 PM on July 5, 2007

I bought a set a few years ago after reading a review in a magazine (Jane) where the reviewer said that exercising with the foot savers enabled her to wear stilettos without pain.

They are a bit painful to use but sadly I hadn't noticed any difference in my ability to wear high heels or have less foot pain overall (I also have flat feet). Bah!

Maybe they work for some people but the only thing that ever did anything in regards to my ability to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 7:31 PM on May 5, 2007

Listen to your local NPR station then test your retention of information at the end of the week by playing along with the Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! quiz show.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 10:26 PM on April 26, 2007

This has happened to me for as long as I can recall. If you think it's sleep apnea, I'll save you the useless trip to the doctor and tell you what mine told me about it.

1. To see if it really is sleep apnea, you'll have to do a sleep study. It costs. A lot. If you indeed have sleep apnea and your tonsils are the problem, you can get them sliced out after the study OR get a CPAP machine.

2. The easiest alternative to easier... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 10:32 PM on April 11, 2007

One of the HUGE red flags I look out for is when a person acts above and beyond any normal boundary of patience and kindness towards someone (small, cute children are their normal targets). It's always to impress someone within eye/earshot distance.

To me it screams: I'm displaying the most obvious, generic displays of kindness and patience so that you will think I'm a good person. But really, I am a huge, manipulative butthole who doesn't... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by zippity at 8:59 PM on March 7, 2007