A Girl Named PJ

Do amber teething necklaces work?

March 27, 2013

A handful of people this past week have asked me about Levi’s beaded necklace, so I thought I’d explain its significance today. Though I suppose it does make Levi look like a free-spirited beach bum, the purpose of the necklace is not solely to make a fashion statement (little boys can wear jewelry, too!).

Levi was just about a year old when I bought him the amber teething necklace at an Omaha baby store. Supposedly, Baltic amber contains healing oils and anti-inflammatory properties that, when worn next to the skin, help alleviate pain associated with teething (or any other ailment, I imagine). While my husband dismissed the fossilized resin accessory as “hippie voodoo bullshit,” I was willing to give any natural pain remedy a shot.

The salesperson instructed us to let Levi wear it 24/7, although some websites advise taking Baltic amber teething necklaces off at bath and bed times. As a parent who is notoriously paranoid about my son’s safety, I thought long and hard about letting Levi wear his necklace while sleeping.

Note: Although I eventually felt comfortable with him wearing it overnight, it is not my place to convince you to allow your child to do the same.

So does the amber teething necklace work? It’s hard to measure its success since there’s no control group in our little pain relief experiment, but I can say that although Levi has experienced crankiness, unwillingness to eat, and insomnia while teething, he’s never been in inconsolable pain. However, we do often supplement the natural analgesic with Hyland’s Teething Tablets and ibuprofen.

Would you consider letting your baby or toddler wear an amber teething necklace or do you think it’s “hippie voodoo bullshit” like my husband? Do you believe that Baltic amber has natural anti-inflammatory properties or is it all a marketing ploy?

Childhood idols

March 26, 2013

Who was your childhood idol?

Twenty-five years ago, I loved Debbie Gibson. I have vivid memories of listening to her debut album “Out of the Blue” on vinyl in my friend Jodi’s basement. Jodi and I played that record over and over and over again until we learned every word to every song. I can still visualize the album cover: a teenage Debbie Gibson wearing a striped shirt and ripped jeans (she even drew a smiley face on her exposed knee!), sitting next to an oversize white teddy bear wearing a watch. To my seven-year-old self, she was the epitome of cool.

I was a huge fan of her second album, “Electric Youth,” and even owned her Electric Youth perfume by Revlon. Sadly, I don’t recall stuffing my Caboodle with any of her Natural Wonder cosmetics. (Did you?)

Although my adoration for the 80s pop icon began to wane around middle school, Debbie Gibson’s music and style left an indelible impression on me as a little girl. In fact, I didn’t realize how important a role she played until this past Friday when, at 33 years old, I finally had the opportunity to meet my childhood idol…… READ MORE!

On regret, moving forward, and turning 33

March 22, 2013

What do you dream about? I typically have crazy vivid dreams featuring characters from my past, usually high school friends or sleep-away camp bunk mates. This past weekend, however, somebody I knew when I graduated from college make a rare appearance in a dream, and for the rest of the day I couldn’t stop thinking about that time in my life.

I spent the first couple of my post-collegiate years living in Washington, D.C. In our nation’s capital I experienced a traumatic breakup, got my first job, quit my first job and found a second one, and made new friends–several of whom I still try to connect with sporadically. Sometimes if feels like it was just yesterday that I was living in Glover Park, so it boggles my mind that my first taste of adulthood was actually 11 years ago. Where has the time gone?

Today I turn 33 years old. My life has changed in so many ways this past decade. To start, I’ve lived with various roommates in eight different apartments or houses in three different states and have worked for 9 different organizations, including my own short-lived stationery company. My hair has been every length from the tips of ears to the bottom of my bra strap, and I’ve experienced life as a redhead, brunette, and blonde. I once had no dating prospects; now I’m married with a toddler son. Like I said, so many changes.

For some people, their 20s were the best years of their life. I wish I could say that about mine. My 20s were complicated and messy, as I was desperately trying to figure out who I was and who I wanted to be. Truthfully, I’m still looking for the answers to those questions, and I’m envious of those entrepreneurial twenty-somethings who seem to have found theirs already.

I regret many things that have happened in years since I graduated college. I regret things that happened to me, and I regret things I have done to other people. I’m jealous of those people who claim they have no regrets in life. I would love to be able to detach from my past and focus on the future. Better yet, I’d love to learn how to live in the now, to be focused on the present.

That’s what I wish for myself in this upcoming year: To stop obsessing over the past and worrying about the future and start being present in the moment.

There are popular song lyrics from the musical RENT that my mind goes back to every so often. “Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.” We can’t undo the mistakes we’ve made or the experiences we’ve had, but why is it sometimes so had to move on from them? Even a decade later. Even more than a decade later…

But maybe it’s not about forgetting regret or not feeling regret all together. In her 2011 TED talk, author and journalist Kathryn Schulz makes the case for embracing regret and making peace with it:

“The point isn’t to live without any regrets, the point is to not hate ourselves for having them… We need to learn to love the flawed, imperfect things that we create, and to forgive ourselves for creating them. Regret doesn’t remind us that we did badly. It reminds us that we know we can do better.”

Now that I’m 33, I hope I can do better.

You may be thinking that regret is depressing topic for me to be addressing on my birthday, so let me assure you that I’m not sitting at home crying! (I actually did that when I turned 30.) However, one of the reasons why I blog is to connect with real women, women like me who experience complicated, sometimes not-so-pretty emotions like jealousy, sadness, and confusion. I don’t know about you, but I just can’t relate to bloggers with picture-perfect lives. So while I hope you find the information I share with you on the blog inspiring and entertaining, I also hope that you find me to be real and accessible.

And now, I’m off to enjoy my birthday!

PS: Here are some thoughts on turning 31 and 32.

{Photos by Joe Curtin}

A DIY manicure that lasts a week!

March 21, 2013

Remember how I painted my nails green last week in honor of St. Patrick’s Day? Well, when I glanced at my hands last night I noticed they looked almost as good as when I polished them seven days ago! Somehow they’ve remained chip-free with just some minor growth near my cuticles.

Perhaps I’ve finally cracked the code on how to make at-home manis last. Here’s how I achieved my long lasting manicure…… READ MORE!

Before-and-After Portraits

March 20, 2013

Ana Oliveira photographs older people and juxtaposes them with portraits of their younger selves to illustrate the effects of time. I think it’s fascinating to note how each person’s facial features changed over the years, some subtly and some dramatically. Can you believe that a few of the newer photos were taken more than 60 years after the originals?

Perhaps another reason why these before and after portraits by Ana Oliveira speak to me is because I recently spent time with both my newborn nephew and my 97-year-old grandmother. Talk about an age difference!

In the last couple of years I’ve become somewhat fixated on age. Maybe it’s because I’m slightly older than my husband. Maybe it’s because I’m still struggling to determine what I should be when I grow up, yet everyday I learn about another twenty-something woman who’s already found success (especially in the blogging world).

Of course, my age is at the forefront of my mind right now because I turn another year older this Friday — and I still don’t have anything on my birthday wishlist.

Talk to me about age. Do you ever think about growing old? Are you happy where you are in your life right now, or did you think you’d be doing something different at your age? Do you enjoy celebrating your birthday or acting as if it’s just another day?

{photos via Behance}