ACV and other ramblings

I like to start my day with a little cup of warm ACV drink. I just pour in a capful of apple cider vinegar, a half cup of hot water and a half cup of cold water. Sometimes I add honey, but it's not necessary. ACV is known to detox the system, give your digestive tract a warm up, and help to flatten the belly. I don't know how that last one works, but I'm looking forward to seeing if it's true.

ACV has a million and one uses, but my second favorite use is as a hair conditioner. I don't always use shampoo and conditioner. Sometimes I simply wash my hair with warm-to-hot water, scrubbing vigorously with my fingers, and rinse with a diluted solution of ACV. Instantly I can feel how soft my hair feels. And once your hair is dry, there is no odor.

I don't know about other people, but ACV helps me get rid of itchy scalp. I have noticed less dandruff since I started using it. I don't use it every time, maybe every other shower. And, *gasp!* I only shower once or twice a week. I just don't get that dirty. I like to let my hair's natural oils build up and then I brush them down the hair shaft.With this method, my hair doesn't look greasy at all.

So anyway, after my morning ACV drink I'll have my tea and breakfast. Lately the only thing I've been having for breakfast is a smoothie. Banana, frozen blueberries, egg, and milk or yogurt. I haven't had much of an appetite for anything else, but I believe this is one of the healthiest ways to start the day.

Today's tea is rose gunpowder. I purchased it from the Chinese market down the street. I am only guessing that it's gunpowder by the pellet shape of the leaves; I can't read the Chinese writing on the jar. I love to watch leaves unfurl in the hot water. 

The only errand I need to run today is to return my library books. I just may renew them, they're quite interesting. One is a book on opening our wild hearts to the herbs (she's rather a pagan kind of author), and the other is also about herbal medicine. The first author talks about finding our herbal ally. I'm not exactly sure what she means; is it like finding your spirit animal? 

In any event, if I were to have an herbal ally I believe it would be rosemary. It helps with remembrance, which is good for my poor memory, and it smells divine. Not to mention we have an abundance of it on our property. I wonder if tea leaves would count as an herbal ally. I'm all about health these days, and am interested in as much natural alternative health information as I can get my hands on.

It turns out, according to the second book on herbal medicine, that the ashwagandha I've been taking really does have an effect on psychotic symptoms. I just chose it at random, really, hoping it would help. Lucky for me, I guess. So here is my morning routine:

Wake up
Drink ACV
Make tea and smoothie
Stretch
Make bed
Put dishes away
Sweep floors
Start laundry
Sounds like a good start to the day, doesn't it?