The Chronic Consumer

WARNING: The following post is not meant to be a substitute for medical advice. Please adhere to the dosage limits on all over-the-counter drugs or consult your doctor before beginning any kind of home treatment.

I’ve chronicled my acne problem pretty thoroughly on this site. I think just from reading my reviews you can get a good idea of how many different products I try in an effort to control and prevent breakouts. Unfortunately, very few of these products have worked for me, so I usually end up with tubes and jars of half-used junk.

But I’m happy to say that one trick I read about over at Acne.org has actually been quite effective, namely, using Aleve over-the-counter pain reliever to prevent mid-cycle acne breakouts. I know this sounds like a strange use of the product, but it truly works for me!

My acne, though very mild by most standards, is quite stubborn and persistent. Right now, I only have trouble on my forehead, especially around my temples. This stuff never seems to go away, no matter what I do, and it definitely gets worse about two weeks into my cycle. The acne spots become larger and more inflamed, which is not what anyone wants.

So the trick is to take two (just TWO, mind you) Aleve tablets for about four days in a row in the middle of my cycle. Aleve contains naproxen sodium, and is a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). The anti-inflammatory part is key, as this is what works to suppress acne. I take one Aleve with breakfast (always take NSAIDs with food) and one with dinner. This helps keep my mid-cycle breakouts to a minimum, and prevents any new pimples I get from becoming red or inflamed.

I am very careful about tracking my cycle, and always send myself a reminder on Google Calendar so I know when to start the four-day Aleve treatment. I’ve been doing this for 3 months with amazing results. The Aleve really does make a difference in my case! I’m not totally clear, but my face doesn’t go crazy in mid-cycle like it used to.

Please heed the warning above and FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS on the Aleve label. You CANNOT more than 2 caplets in any 8-12 hour period, or 3 caplets in 24 hours. This stuff can do a number on your stomach if you ignore these warnings.

I’ve been seeing these Burger King chips for a long time now, but never bothered to try them until recently. It turns out I wasn’t missing out on much. While the chips aren’t that bad, they’re not anything special either, so I probably won’t buy them again.

I chose the Flame Broiled flavor, and thought that the chips tasted exactly like those Tato Skins chips from Keebler (are those still made??). The BK chips are round and are of a decent thickness so they don’t break apart in the bag, but really, that’s not enough of a recommendation. I was expecting more of a distinctive flavor, but I’m apparently not going to get it from these chips. At least I can say that I tried them…!

I’ve been studying the Japanese language for a few years now, with the hopes of maybe one day becoming a translator. Since I have something of an engineering background (from way back when I actually had a career), I thought that studying technical Japanese would be more useful for my future goals than simply studying conversational items. Towards that end, I recently purchased a book called Basic Technical Japanese by Edward E. Daub (and a couple others).

This sounds and looks a bit intimidating, but it’s actually aimed at beginners, so no previous knowledge of Japanese is assumed. You start right from the beginning in learning hiragana and katakana, before progressing to kanji.

And when this book says it’s all about technical Japanese, it means just that! So you’ll learn how to read and write things like linear motion (直線運動), two-phase flow (二相流), and principle of relativity (相対性原理). Obviously, this is not for the faint of heart or those who would rather learn how to order food at a Japanese restaurant!

Anyway, there are several more books in the series, so I’m going to have to buy them and keep on studying if I ever want to have a “real” career again!

When I was a child, I remember having a dinosaur pop-up book that I absolutely loved. I would look at it day after day, and never seemed to tire of seeing fearsome cutouts of T. Rex, stegosaurus, triceratops, pterodactyls, brontosaurus, and all my other favorite giant lizards. Since my son, who recently turned six, also likes dinosaurs, I decided to look around for a dinosaur pop-up book for him as well. After checking around, I found that the Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Dinosaurs by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart was rated pretty highly, so I went ahead and ordered it.

First of all, I have to say that the pop-ups are absolutely amazing. They’re very colorful, which is important for kids, and they’re actually quite complex and detailed in some cases. Each set of two pages has a large pop-up in the center, as well as several flaps at the edge of each page that you can open to reveal more pop-ups (and text). The publisher information says that there are “more than 35″ pop-ups in the book, but I haven’t counted to find an exact number.

However, even though the pop-ups are excellent, they’re kind of delicate and look like they can very easily be torn. The side flaps are supposed to tuck into a corner holder to keep them closed, but I can already tell that my son is likely to rip those little holders off while trying to reopen the flaps. The book is recommended for kids ages 5 and up, but I think if you’re dealing with the lower end of that spectrum, you’ll have to supervise and/or help your child with the book.

Another problem with this book is that the text is rather dense and doesn’t make for “fun” reading. I expected there to be lots of fun facts and details in the book, but that’s not the case at all. This is not something that a 6-year-old can read on his own. In fact, I’d say that getting a 10-year-old to read and understand this book would be a triumph.

And then there’s the price. This pop-up book cost a whopping $27, which is astronomical for a children’s book. It’s nice, no doubt about it, but seriously, I think shaving $10 off the price wouldn’t be unreasonable. Would you pay $27 for a kids book? How about $17? Sounds much better, right?

So overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. While it is a lot of fun for kids to look at the pop-ups, I wonder how long the novelty will last. Without being able to read and enjoy the text, the book loses some of its attractiveness. I guess I can hold onto it for several more years until my son is ready to understand what’s written, but I really wish the publisher’s description hadn’t been misleading.

I rarely walk down the candy aisle when I go grocery shopping because the last thing I need to do is indulge my sweet tooth on a regular basis. Plus, I don’t really want my son to get used to having candy and gum all the time, and I simply don’t have the energy to argue with him when we’re shopping.

But today I couldn’t help myself, and when I saw the display of Grape & Strawberry Nerds candy, I couldn’t help myself. I bought one, just for old times’ sake.

Grape & Strawberry Nerds used to be my absolute favorite candy when I was a kid. I love the way each flavor is kept separate in the box by a divider. I often switched up the way I ate my Nerds, sometimes electing to mix both flavors at once, sometimes electing to consume them one at a time. As a kid, the presentation of candy is almost as important as the taste, so Nerds were especially fun in this way.

My son didn’t really like them too much. I mean, he could eat them and everything, but I doubt he’ll ask for them again. Perhaps Nerds are just too simple for this generation!

I am not much of a cook, so I love products that can help make dinnertime less of a hassle. That’s why the Old El Paso Soft Taco Dinner Kit has been a staple in my pantry for as long as the product has been around.

The dinner kit comes with 10 soft tortillas (a perfect number for my family of 3), as well as some salsa and seasoning mix. All I have to do is add the meat and toppings, which is easy enough. I usually use lean ground beef or chicken in the tacos, but have occasionally used steak as well. All three varieties taste delicious with toppings like sour cream, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese, and all are equally easy to prepare.

The whole family loves these soft tacos, which makes dinner a real treat. The Old El Paso Soft Taco Kit is a cheaper (and probably healthier) alternative than hitting the Taco Bell Drive-Thru, so the next time you want tacos for dinner, try this kit instead!

It’s been a while since I added to my DVD collection, so I decided to treat myself by buying the final two seasons of Moonlighting. I ordered both Season 4 and Season 5 today, and will write a full review of the set once I’ve had a chance to sit down and watch everything.

Moonlighting was one of my favorite shows when I was younger. I loved everything about it, especially the witty dialogue. And David and Maddie were definitely the first TV couple that I ever ‘shipped (to use modern lingo)… I wanted so badly for them to get together.

Of course, everyone knows that once that happened, the show pretty much went downhill. The fourth season featured Bert and Agnes more than David and Maddie because Cybill was off having twins and Bruce was filming Die Hard. By then, I was in high school and just didn’t have as much time to devote to watching TV. I don’t think I’ve seen a single episode from the 5th season, and know that I didn’t catch the finale.

Anyway, I can’t wait to see these DVDs. Can you believe that even now I don’t know how David and Maddie ended up. Did they stay together? Did they break up? I refuse to Google the answer until I have a chance to see for myself!

I’m sure you’ve seen those infomercials for the Little Giant Ladder by now, right? These things have been around for years, and I’m finally thinking about getting one. We just have a tiny 2-foot stepladder in the house, which is fine for getting things down from a high cupboard or something, but is useless for most other projects.

According to the official website, the Little Giant Ladder is like having seven ladders in one. It’s extendable to different heights, from a low of seven feet to a high of 23 feet, depending on which model you get. It can be adjusted in different ways, including on sloping surfaces such as stairs, and is far sturdier than standard ladders.

I’ve read a lot of reviews of this thing and think that it sounds pretty good. Little Giant Ladders are pretty expensive at $279.99 for the most basic model, but most of the reviews are overwhelmingly positive and say that the product is worth it.

Having a tool like this would allow us to get a lot more work done in the yard and on the exterior of the house, and would just be convenient to have on hand. I’m putting it on my wish list for now!