toothpaste

I'm exploring a world I've never explored before...the world of toothpaste. Exciting, I know!

When I went through all my dental work, my teeth were so sensitive that the regular toothpaste I used hurt SO much I couldn't stand it. N and I started using only Arm & Hammer toothpaste a long time ago (before my teeth started hurting, I thought it was awesome). I guessed it was the mint in it--that cold, tingling sensation--that really caused the pain. It was an impressively intense pain. So I went on a search for mint-free toothpaste.

We happened to be going to Trader Joe's the next day (we go there regularly to stock up on their brown rice milk...it's full of fiber, not expensive, and doesn't taste like "water with white in it" like regular rice milk does), and we stopped to look at their toothpaste. They have two kinds of "all-natural" toothpaste--peppermint (ew) and fennel/propolis/myrrh (wha?).

Anyway, I decided to try the myrrh kind out. An extra bonus was that it had no added sweeteners, and I always felt like regular toothpaste was too sweet for me. I fully expected it to taste like crap instead of sweet, but it doesn't! It actually tastes...good! It's altogether a neutral flavor with just a hint of sweetness from whatever else they put in there (the myrrh?). The licorice scent to it leaves you with a very nice clean feeling to your mouth without having that overwhelming mint taste that ruins everything else you eat for the next half hour.

I thought I had found an awesome thing, but I was still worried about how the toothpaste was "fluoride-free." This was my first foray into putting more than 2 seconds of thought into what toothpaste I should use, so I certainly did not understand why toothpaste that didn't have fluoride should even exist in the first place. Wasn't fluoride kind of the point of using toothpaste?

So, after some research, I found out that there are lots of Tom's of Maine-type people out there who think fluoride is toxic and should never be anywhere near the body, but practically all dentists advise against using a non-fluoridated toothpaste. My personal dentist wanted me to use a special $30/tube toothpaste that had 40x the fluoride regular toothpaste does since I'm so prone to cavities. I'm not the kind of person who thinks everything out there is toxic to me, so I want my fluoride. Give it to me! But...not a mint-flavored one! And preferably one that isn't sweetened! Can I have a regular fluoridated toothpaste that isn't overly flavored?

That's the new search that I'm on. If you find a toothpaste with fluoride that isn't minty or artificially sweetened...let me know.

public trans...in LA?

This is definitely how I felt during the last year I lived in NYC. It didn't have a very positive effect on my social life.

N got a temp job in downtown LA, which is in the opposite direction of where my office is. His first day is Tuesday, which brings us to the big question...can we survive in LA with one car? We'll see...

bike, no gears

N keeps making fun of me for wanting this bike (look how cheap it is! and cute, of course).

I just want to perch on top of a big, comfortable seat and leisurely coast around the city...do I have to sit on a road bike with my head low and my butt sticking out and switch between 20 gears to avoid embarrassing myself?? I guess so. The only bike I had growing up was a single gear pink Schwinn that was passed down from my sister and had a big banana seat from the 70s...and I LOVED it and rode it nonstop. I don't know what to do with so many gears! I'm also always stumped by how brakes are on handles...that Schwinn had the kind where you just pedal backwards to brake. I also was in love with the bikes Liberty of London came out with at Target, but they were limited editions and are gone now...only the girl's size is left. A small part of me does feel pretty lame for loving these bikes. And I think I probably would feel slightly embarrassed riding one in public...

dodgers follow-up/may gray

I couldn't write very much at the game on Sunday on my Droid--although I do love android, they have a lot of kinks to figure out. The blogger interface just wasn't working well in Dolphin or Opera Mini...anyway...

Here's a picture of the FANTASTIC garlic fries at Dodger Stadium. They were soooo. good.


And a picture of the game, too, I guess :)


Unfortunately, the day started out pretty gray. We've entered that time of year that people around here call the "May gray" or "June gloom," which basically means--sometimes, it's cloudy. *gasp*. I'm already spoiled, though...I still complain when it's not 100% clear and sunny outside. The day did get sunnier, though, but our seats were on the west side of the stadium so we were in the shade. The next time we go to a game, I'm definitely going to try to get seats on the east side to get more sun!

I don't know much about baseball, and I certainly don't know anything about the Dodgers, but it was still FUN!! Despite the fact that I was in the bathroom when the only home run was hit by the Dodgers...followed by the closer running out onto the field (which is my favorite part of baseball games). Oh, well. We'll just have to go again :)

*live* blogging the la dodgers game!

N and I are currently at Dodger Stadium watching a game against the Rockies! Travelzoo had tickets for five bucks each, so we decided to go (too bad parking cost $15, though!) I am continually amazed by how BORING baseball is to watch on tv, and how FUN it is to watch in person! And eat the hot dogs and garlic fries, too, of course.

fluff dog apartment

N and I are dogsitting this weekend for our friends in Silverlake. Now we have one white fluff dog and one black fluff dog in the house!

the best thing about having a car

Being able to buy a 20lb watermelon every time I go to the grocery store. And I do.

d...i...e...tttttttt....

My personal efforts in our diet have certainly gone downhill. I've been getting a lot of intensive dental work done which restricts the kinds of food I can eat (it's gotta be mushy, mushy, mushy), and having tooth pain just makes me want to eat junky processed foods to give me some kind of happiness. Meanwhile, N has lost a whopping 20 pounds. Twen-ty! (Which is more of a testament to how big he used to be as opposed to how skinny he is now, but still.) I plateaued at -6 lbs for the past week. I keep telling myself once all my dental stuff is done I'll get back on the bandwagon...right now the pain's so annoying all I can do is sit here and think, "PAAAAAAAAIN."

We did take another detour, though. On Midtown Lunch's suggestion, this past weekend we went to get Korean kahlgooksoo at Myoung Dong Kyo Ja, which some say has the best kahlgooksoo in the city. I didn't see a single non-Korean in the packed place, so that was a good sign. Some waitresses couldn't speak English, so when I asked for an extra plate (in English), I was responded to in a lot of Korean to which I said "Okay," while vigorously nodding, although I had no idea what she said. The extra plate never arrived.

Ban chan consisted of super garlicky kimchee (and mool kimchee, which was fantastic).

We also got an order of steamed mandoo (dumplings)--they were packed full of ground pork and green onions, kind of like a Korean version of the chive dumplings you get at dim sum. They were tassssty.


And, of course, the kahlgooksoo. It also came with a few dumplings in the soup, and topped with ground pork. Altogether a very homey, cheap, satisfying meal. A very nice find.

California Caution Signs

Spotted on campus at UCLA:

"CAUTION...SLIPPERY SIDEWALK. FIG TREE FRUIT FALLING"

I overly enjoy how caution signs here are warranted from fruit falling from the sky.