Happy New Year!

As we ring in 2016 and another year has gone by we should take time to reflect on years past: our successes and failures and learn from them, while looking forward to the upcoming year. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions because I feel that if you want to do something the time to start is today. Here is something I recommend doing:

A Memory Jar

Use any jar (a cleaned out spaghetti sauce jar or an oatmeal canister) to write on bits of paper happy memories you have throughout the year. After a long year filled with ups and downs it is easy to only remember the negative parts. Ensure you start your next year off on a positive and thankful note with your memory jar. Take out each note and read it on New Year’s Eve to reflect on your awesome year!

If you are going to make a resolution be realistic and go for something that is attainable. Choose a person to help you with accountability and if possible have smaller milestones set to make reaching your goal easier and reward yourself for that progress.

The Saving Challenge
This guide sets you on your way to having saved over 1,000 at the end of the year. Saving is important and with this challenge this time next year you could be planning a trip you have always wanted to take! A good idea is to do it in reverse since it may be difficult to save that amount of money around the holidays, get the larger amounts done earlier in the year when you are still fresh in your goal of saving. If you don't have the funds to do the challenge before you can do a similar Penny Challenge. You would follow the model and save an additional penny each day.
Day 1: save 0.01
Day 100: save 1.00
Day 365: save 3.65
By the end of the year you will have $667.95

-XOXO

Home Sweet Home & Tasty Too!

Since it is the holiday season and I get to go home (Yay!) I will be giving you all some of the places at home where I love to eat. Here is the list for whenever you visit Columbia, SC!

My Favs

California Dreaming

This is an American style restaurant with locations in SC and GA. The Columbia location is an old train station and it is beautiful. Everything is good and my personal favorites are the she crab soup, Tijuana chicken wings, and the blackened chicken pasta. If you eat ham definitely get the California Dreaming salad, you can sub turkey on it too. It is delicious and everything is complimented by those warm sweet honey butter topped croissants!

Bert’s Southern Cooking

This is a restaurant my grandparents and mother introduced me to. It is exactly what you think of when you want good southern food. You can get turkey wings: original, BBQ, Lemon pepper or Cajun! They have lighter options such as grilled salmon and salads. You will have to find this one on Yelp. It is a nice sit down restaurant with décor that has all of those hints of southern living.

Tsunami

This is a sushi/Asian cuisine restaurant located only in SC. My favorite sushi roll is the My..my..Mai! specialty roll. I keep it simple and get the shrimp fried rice; it is some of the best I have ever had. It is a nice atmosphere to grab cocktails too.

New Places I Want to Try

Cellar on the Green

This wine bar offers a limited but quality menu. I have heard good things about it and it has a three course menu for $22. They do wine tastings and have your wine-based cocktails as well as the reds, whites, reserve and port wines.

2 Fat 2 Fly

This truck gained lots of popularity with their stuffed chicken wings. They also had/have a show on Oprah’s channel. I am excited to try these wings when I get the chance especially since they now have a static location too!

-XOXO

AIDS & HIV

In honor of Worlds Aids day (which was December 1^st) and those impacted by AIDS, I decided to share some information about the prevalence and prevention of AIDS. According to Aids United there are an estimated 1.2 million people in the US with AIDS, and 1 in 7 people who have it are unaware that they are HIV positive.

Newly affected has remained at about 50,000 each year. African Americans make up 44% of new HIV infections and 41% of people living with HIV.

One huge thing that must be done is getting tested. When you know your status you will be able to get help to manage this syndrome and you will not unknowingly spread it to others.

Reducing your risk:

• Know your status and that of your partner
• Use condoms
• Don’t inject drugs, if you do use sterile equipment
• Talk to your healthcare provider about PrEP

What is PrEP?

PrEP is the use of anti-HIV medication by those who do not have HIV for prevention. Truvada is the first and only drug approved by the FDA and it has been shown to decrease infection risk by up to 92% when used consistently. The CDC published guidelines for its use in 2014. It is an option for heterosexual people, those involved in homosexual sex and injection drug users. Living with this disease is becoming more manageable, but prevention is the best option for those who are currently negative for HIV.

Great sources for those looking for more information on this topic are the CDC, NIH, and organizations that do AIDS outreach etc such as Aids United listed above.

-XOXO

A Period Piece

This post is a short list options available during menstruation with a discussion about each one. Since menstruation is a big part of our lives it is a good idea to weight the options and determine which method is best for you during your time of the month.

1. Pads

Disposable & reusable cloth pads

Pads are designed to collect the fluids and need to be changed depending on how heavy or light your flow is. They generally contain absorbent materials and you dispose of them afterwards. They come in a basic shape a size and can have wings for any side leakage that may occur. You simply place them into your underwear sticky side down.

There are also cotton pads for those who are interested in producing less waste for the environment, those who are not comfortable with the absorbent gels in disposable pads or those who do not want to continuously purchase disposable pads. One company I know of that makes them is Luna Pads and they say that they can last upwards of 5 years if properly cared for. They come with wings as well and they do not stick but they snap at the bottom for placement into your panties. The reusable pads will need to be washed of course, by hand or using your washing machine.

2. Tampons

Tampons are sold in a variety of widths that you will choose based upon your flow. They are individually wrapped and come with a very easy to use applicator. Some feel the use of tampons is painful, which in this case you should most likely opt for a pad after giving it a good try. Tampons work by absorbing the blood. You can use them for up to 8 hours. Tampons come with a warning about Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS). TSS is rare and can occur due to a build up of harmful bacteria; it can be prevented by changing the tampon when needed. Other issues people have with tampons are the use of a bleached material that may contain harmful chemicals being inserted into and absorbed by the body and that it may dry the vagina out.

3. Menstrual Cup

The Menstrual cup seems to be making a recent come back, and it is exactly how it sounds. It is a soft silicon cup that you insert into your vagina and it collects the fluid. With the menstrual cup you can leave it in longer than the tampons (12 hour leak protection via Diva Cup) depending on your flow, and you don’t have the same risk of TSS..  The menstrual cup has to be put in at a certain placement or it will not collect the blood properly. There are tutorials on sites and Youtube. You need to dump the menstrual cup after its use before reinserting it and clean it if you are in a bathroom or at home where this is possible. With the long wear of the cup you may not have to clean it away from home if you time your insertions properly The Diva Cup recommends replacing the cup once a year. At a cost of about $40 it works out to be cheaper than purchasing other disposable options.

With the following information I hope you are able to try a new option if a certain one isn’t working for you to find the best fit. The following is not an original image/graphic.

-XOXO