Mood Swings, Moisturizer, and Minute Rice: I'm Trying Stuff in January

Most Januarys I spend a little time thinking about how I do things, what products I use, and what I might want to change. It’s not exactly about making “resolutions” because I know some of these changes will stick and some won’t—and that’s okay. I think it’s more a matter of long, cold, dark winter days giving my mind too much time to wander. In the grayest corners of my brain, ideas come and go, and I start experimenting with little things that catch my interest.

Most of these experiments are so mundane I don’t even mention them to Bob anymore. I’ve seen that glazed-over look enough to know better. But once in a while, I think maybe some of these things are worth sharing—or at least good for a laugh.

So here’s a non-recurring, possibly non-useful list of things I’m trying this year.

Mood and Energy Tracker

I’ve been thinking about health and wellness lately—hardly surprising in January with all the “New Year New You” messaging out there. It’s like annual mind control. This year I decided it might be interesting to try tracking my moods and energy levels throughout the day to see if it would reveal patterns related to activity, food, hydration, and stress factors. After a brief (okay, very brief) search on the Google Play store I settled on an app called “How We Feel.” It’s essentially a journaling app that allows you to check in and track energy and emotions, with a handy home screen widget for quick entries.

It has a nice visual aesthetic that I enjoy, and it’s pretty versatile. It uses AI to help you explore your feelings, as a way to kind of “talk it out” in a friendly, judgment-free way which I find useful. It saves your data and provides a weekly summary, showing when you felt your best and worst, with insights to tweak your habits. This app is free (free-free!) with no ads. It’s backed by donations and was created by experts including psychologists. I have no idea if this will last but for now, I’m feeling pretty positive about it—wait, now I should probably go check in with the app and record that!

Aloe Vera for Hair

I can already see and hear the hair people shaking their heads no. And then there are the eye rolls. Okay, so this one might not be a keeper, but hear me out.

I was temporarily out of conditioner and asked my friend Chat GPT to suggest some home remedies to get me through until my order showed up, and Aloe Vera was on the list. It has soothing and anti-inflammatory properties, which can help with an itchy scalp. plus it’s moisturizing and gentle. It sounded like it really couldn’t hurt a thing to try it for a day or two. Well, knock me over with a Denman brush, but the next morning when I tried it my scalp felt calmer and my hair was very manageable and a bit bouncier.

If you’re going to try this, it is recommended to use something that is free from preservatives or synthetic ingredients. And, it’s easy to use as a scalp mask or an occasional clarifier. I like that it’s inexpensive and multi-purpose!

Will I keep using it? Maybe. But if my hair falls out next week, I promise to tell you so you don’t have to learn the hard way.

Rice Bowls

This is not new, groundbreaking, or all that interesting, really. But my controversial take on this is (drumroll) Minute Rice. Yes, the boil-water-add-rice-wait-five-minutes-fluff-with-a-fork kind. No long cooking, no chef-inspired techniques, nothing fancy about it.

What prompted this rice bowl stint I am not sure, except that one day I noticed a pouch of 90-second microwave rice in the pantry, and a small container of black beans in the fridge, and thought I should use these before they expired. Once the rice and beans were hot I added some sliced cherry tomatoes and green onion and that was lunch. It wasn’t overly creative but at least I felt nourished and a tiny bit virtuous.

So on my next grocery run, I intended to buy some more of the microwave pouches, but I stood there in the aisle doing math in my head (so I was there for a while) and realized that these are very convenient, but also very expensive compared to a box of Minute Rice. The box went in the cart.

Most days I have time to make 5-minute rice. I make just enough for my bowl (1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup water) and I have done some research on making the rice a little softer and tastier. Yes, there are hacks for the impatient. Today I had rice with black beans, a little leftover cooked chicken breast, tomatoes, and green onions. It was delish.

I have several ideas I’m waiting to try. Rice is just such a blank canvas that it can go any which way from Italian to Asian and can even be breakfast. (My younger anti-carb self is writhing in agony over this. She can keep her kale chips—I’m eating rice.)

Trying Stuff

I do like to try stuff. I have tried that failed—I’m looking at you, chia seeds. My quest to find ways to make things nicer at home, improve my self-care, or find a hobby that helps alleviate some of my anxiety, is always ongoing. I will admit to scrolling through Pinterest and YouTube to pick up ideas and recently have been using Chat GPT to help me research things I’m curious about (like the hair conditioner). I guess I don’t want to get to a point where there is nothing new to try or learn. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually I want to keep trying to improve, before the clock runs out.

So, next up is finding new ways to use my balance ball, and dragging my old Rachel Ray cookbooks off the shelf to make some “yum-o” dinners at the Kings.

What are you trying?