Cupping for back pain, how I cut my hair in layers at home, and the healthy meal my boys are obsessed with

Hi friends! Happy Friday! What are you up to this weekend? I’m going on a hike with my dog and buddy since it’s a rare day of full sun in the winter, and I’m seeing my brother on Sunday. There will probably be some board games with the family. I love a relaxing, low key weekend. Here are a few things I’ve been up to lately.

Cupping for back pain

I’ve had back pain in this area since breastfeeding my oldest son since I started sleeping on my side and my belly. Cupping has been the most effective way to treat my pain! Have you ever tried it? I learned about it when I worked at an acupuncturist clinic in college and one of my best friends bought me this cupping set for a wedding gift. Although I learned the traditional method using fire and alcohol, this set is safer and uses suction. I’ve been using this set regularly for 15+ years.

The idea behind cupping for pain relief is speeding up healing by increasing circulation and bringing old blood to the surface (hence the big hickey marks). The deeper purple the area, the more it needed it.

How I cut my hair at home in layers

I’ve never had a haircut at a salon worthy of the price tag. So, in an effort to save money, I’ve been cutting my hair at home. First I have my oldest son, Noah cut the back in a straight line (see him hiding behind me?).

Then I stand in front of my mirror and using the top of my shower curtain as my guide, I follow this video to cut my hair in layers. That’s it!

The healthy meal my kids are obsessed with

This meal might be categorized under “weird meals I ate growing up that are completely normal at our house” 😝

All I do is take firm tofu, cut it up in rectangles, dry it with a towel and dip them in avocado oil. Then I airfry these pieces for 30 minutes at 400 degrees until they are crispy, turning them at the 15 minute mark.

When they are done, I cut them up Into slices and serve with boiled or steamed green beans, brown rice, and soy sauce and lemon to dip in. The boys are obsessed with this meal!

Are there any weird, healthy meals you serve your kiddos? I’d love to know!

Do you have a word for the year? Here’s mine

Pic from Spain with my
brother and dad

Do you listen to The Happier podcast? I’ve heard every episode! One thing that Gretchen Rubin and her sister Elizabeth Craft do every year is choose a word of the year. I usually don’t do this yearly practice because most years, I don’t really have something I want to focus on specifically so the practice has seemed arbitrary to me (a true questioner! If you don’t know your tendency, you can take the quiz here).

This year, I actually have something I want to focus on, so I’ve chosen a word for this year-

“Words”

This word of the year has many meanings.

One of my goals is to write five days a week on this blog for the entire year of 2026- So “words” to remind me of the work I want to accomplish this year.

Another goal is to be listening to a fiction book on audio one after another. I don’t usually listen to fiction, only non- fiction but it’s my goal to incorporate this so I have something to enjoy every day for leisure. I’m somebody who has a hard time with leisure. I find myself antsy and not knowing what to do with myself on the days that I take a weekly sabbath or at the end of a long day. It’s easier for me to stay busy and check things off my to do list and have a routine than it it is to sit and enjoy leisure, so I want to get into the habit of having a good book to listen to at all times that isn’t another self help book- So “words” to remind me of what I want to do in my leisure time.

And lastly, I want to be mindful of the words I speak to my kids, my husband, my family, and my friends. I want to remind myself just how powerful words can be, and be mindful that I choose encouraging, life affirming words.

Here are some verses in the Bible in reflecting on-

Proverbs 16:24 — “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

Ephesians 4:29 — “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up…”

Colossians 4:6 — “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt.”

How about you?? Do you have a word of the year? Any fiction book recommendations? I’d love to know!

4 ways to upgrade your chicken adobo!

A Filipino friend used to make me her chicken adobo and it was the best I had ever had. Of course I had to ask her to spill her secrets! So, this is what I learned! Btw, this is the base recipe I use with these four tweaks below.👇🏼

1. Use seasoned rice vinegar instead of distilled white vinegar

She used this stuff!

Other chicken adobo recipes I had tried were too salty. This little switch makes a huge difference in balancing out the saltiness of the soy sauce. It’s perfection!

2. Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar or coconut palm sugar during the last 5 minutes

Other chicken adobo recipes I had tried were too watery. Adding this tablespoon of sugar at the very end makes for a thicker, more caramelized sauce. I swear if you do this, you’ll never go back!

3. Put the whole black peppercorn in a metal tea bag

I use this.

I love the flavor that the whole black peppercorn gives to the dish, but I hate having to fish out whole peppercorn while I’m eating. This solves the problem! Since it’s metal, it can cook with the dish.

1. Serve with eggplant

My friend started me on this too. Eggplant pairs really well with this dish! I just pan fry it and add a little bit of brown sugar and this soup base until the eggplant is caramelized. Serve everything with brown rice!

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A lazy day fit check with a trick for choosing hats that look right, the lazy salad I make almost weekly, and a case for having more than one child that maybe you haven’t considered?

Choosing the right sized hat

Happy Monday! Sunday I had my “regular” with my brother Allan. We had vegan Chinese food, and went to Goodwill, Costco, and the library. It felt like a lazy day for sneaks and comfy joggers. I’m kinda obsessed with my new red hat. ☺️

As someone who wears hats a lot, I’ve noticed the way to make them look right is to make sure the top of your head is touching the top of your hat here-

This is to make sure the hat doesn’t look too tall.

The lazy salad I make almost weekly

You know you’re a woman of a certain age when your favorite salad dressing is a combo of olive oil and red wine vinegar. 🤣

I crave some variation of this salad almost weekly. This is for one serving- like a big bowl for one. All it has is

  • 5ish slivers (must be slivers so it’s not too much of a bite) of red onion
  • Equal parts of any of the following, whatever I have on hand- garbanzo beans, chopped parsley, tomatoes halved (best is on the vine cherry tomatoes), hearts of palm, cucumbers, red, orange, or yellow bell peppers, or marinated artichoke hearts
  • A capful of olive oil
  • A capful of red wine vinegar
  • 15 turns of freshly grated salt (or more)
  • 15 turns of freshly grated pepper

Amazing with any meat dish and rice. My favorite is fried fish.

A case for having more than one child

My brothers Dee and Allan and I

I know not every couple is able to have more than one child, but if you are, please hear me out.

My father was just in the hospital with a host of problems after a bad fall he took last month. My brother Allan, in the medical field, was a much needed resource navigating this. My brother Dee, who works remotely, was able to drop everything in the states at a moment’s notice to fly to the Philippines to physically be with my dad. I’m mostly useless here, so the only job I had was to call and make follow up appointments for my dad. We have been on WhatsApp a lot over the last few weeks discussing all the details. My mom also needs 24 hour care.

It’s already so very stressful and emotionally exhausting to have a parent in the hospital, and I can’t imagine doing any of this without the support of my brothers. There are two of them and three of us.

So, please consider that if you only have one child, there is only one of them and there will be two of you to care for when you’re elderly. This is not something I have thought about until just now with my father’s stint in the hospital, but it has gotten me thinking about just how grateful I am to have my siblings to talk to, share with, and maneuver any health issues my parents go through. So, if you’re a couple with only one child and are debating about whether or not to have any more, please take this into consideration. I know there are many reasons to have one child or more than one child. This is just another case for the latter.

What do you think? I’d love to know!

The 3 beauty products that I never go without

Happy Friday! What are your plans this weekend? Nate is taking the boys to the neighbors’ to watch the Seahawks game. I’ll probably get a foot massage during that, and in the morning I’m hoping to get a hike in with a friend and my dog.

I am always curious what beauty products become a mainstay in people’s bathroom drawers, so here are the things that I’ve ordered a gazillion times and never plan on switching up.

The gel sunscreen that doesn’t need to be blended in

For anyone with a little or a lot of melanin in their skin, this is the sunscreen we’ve all been waiting for. Gone are the days where smearing on sunscreen took a little elbow grease and a lot of blending so it didn’t look ashy or like we were wearing a mask. This is a gel! It disappears in seconds. Cannot go back to anything else after this. It’s also acne safe if you have acne prone skin.

The dry shampoo that doesn’t leave a film, doesn’t feel gritty, and keeps your roots soft but voluminous

Want to hear something nasty? I only wash my hair once a week. Do you know how much time I save not having to wash my hair every day? I’d been on the hunt for the perfect dry shampoo for the longest time. Most would leave my roots feeling gritty and thus leaving a residue that didn’t feel good if I ran my hands through my hair the following day. This one zaps all the oil and gives me so much volume, while keeping my roots feeling soft and hand-through-hair worthy.

The key is to not use it from the bottle. I put product in a small container like this and use a fluffy blush brush, tap off excess, section off my hair one part at a time, and add product. Then I use a flat brush like this to distribute all the product so my dark roots don’t look white. I repeat this every day for 7 days!

A fluffy eyeshadow brush in goat’s hair to apply any concealer

The most amazing beauty trick I discovered in 2025 is putting your concealer on the back of your hand and using a fluffy eyeshadow brush to take in the product, blend on the back of your hand, and apply to the face. You use soooo little product and I’ve never seen it applied so full coverage but so natural. Believe me, in my days of being a makeup artist, I’ve tried large makeup brushes, beauty blenders, tiny beauty blenders, fingers, and flat concealer brushes. This technique works the absolute best!!

I learned it from this Hollywood makeup artist.

How about you? Do you have any tried and always true, must have items you use over and over? I’d love to know!

3 ideas for a stay at home date night

For those of us on the no spend or low spent route, I thought I’d share some of my favorite things to do with hubby at home for a date night! What I’ve realized is that while it’s lovely to have a date night away, the point is that we just want to connect in a more meaningful way and have some quality time having fun together. just the two do us.

So while the boys are doing their tv time, once a week we do some of the following-

1. Play one of our favorite two player board games

This is Lost Cities!

Nate’s favorite is Cribbage. Mine are Dutch Blitz and Lost Cities! Have you played any of these?

Dutch Blitz you both are playing quickly at the same time. It gets very competitive, very quickly and there always ends up being raucous laughter about someone illegally doing girl on girl or boy on boy plays. This is not one of those kinds of games, but if you’ve played the game, you know 🤣

Lost Cities is such a fun two player game. It’s not a fast play like Dutch Blitz. It involves a lot of strategy. After we learned to play this game, we played it every night for months! Both these games are so addictive.

2. Share one thing you both appreciate about each other this week and take turns answering two questions from this card deck

This is my friend Sabrina’s point! I’ve been wanting to buy those physical card decks on Amazon for couples but Sabrina told me about this free app from the Gottman Institute! It has so many questions! My favorite is going on the love maps and making it like a game- read the question and try to guess what your partner will answer and they do the same for you. It’s a fun, see how well we know each other game. This is great if you or your partner are “quality time” love language people.

The “share one thing you appreciate about each other” bit is great if you or your partner are “words of affirmation” love language people. Those are my top two! These were Sabrina’s ideas. So thankful for good ideas from friends. It takes a village to raise a marriage apparently. 🤣

3. Watch a good show or movie together

I don’t know about you, but I don’t watch anything really dark without Nate, but shows or movies that keep me on the edge of my seat or are “who done it” kinda thrillers are perfect to watch with a guy to cuddle with. He much prefers it to my regular teen movie or romantic comedy pick. 🤣

These four picks are the best shows we’ve watched together.

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Playlists for cooking, getting ready for a girl’s night, and settling down for the evening

Are you someone who likes to have music playing in the background while you’re going about your day? I am! These are the ones I have on repeat. Maybe I’m the only one using Pandora these days, but I love my Pandora stations!

What I listen to while I’m cooking

I have a Pandora station called “That’s Amore.” I don’t know why listening to Dean Martin reminds me of making pasta? I don’t like cooking, but this station gets me in the mood. I feel like I’m rolling pasta and vacationing on the set of the movie Under the Tuscan Sun.

What I listen to while I’m getting ready for a girl’s night

This station just screams 80’s girl punk, and it makes me feel like I’m in a high school movie dancing on my best friend’s bed with my hair in a side ponytail before we cut to a slow-mo entourage entrance of us all dressed to the nines walking towards a house party. 🤣

What I listen to while I’m settling down for the evening and just put the boys down.

Maybe it’s just me being a teen from the 90’s but there’s something comforting after a long day just listening to Lisa Loeb sing me lullabies in her tiny, angelic voice. And bonus points that it’s something soothing so if the boys happen to hear it, they can just be lulled to sleep.

If I need something even more soothing, I’ll listen to my Emile Pandolfi radio station.

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5 favorite things we’ve printed on a 3D printer

3D printing is all the rage these days! My son, Noah, is taking a 3D printing class that he is loving, so we got him this 3D printer for Christmas. Honesty, Nate has been making more stuff on it than Noah at this point. These are my top 5 prints!

1. Earrings I drew and Noah designed

Gosh, this is a proud mamma moment. Noah is now able to independently design and print his own designs using Tinkercad! So, for my bday, he designed and printed these earrings for me. Thinking we might do an Etsy shop down the road!

2. Taco holders in white

I asked Nate to print these out in white so that they kind of blend into the plate and the tacos are the star of the show. You know how tacos always fall over when you serve them? This is the fix! Btw, this is the pegboard we use for our plates and bowls that you see in the background. Of course Nate put these in. Very handy to have these separators.

3. Battery holders

I don’t know how anyone else stores batteries, but we used to just have them rolling around the bottom of this drawer. This was Nate’s genius idea. Now I can see how many we actually have instead of rummaging my hand in said drawer and guessing.

4. Shoe organizers for above the closet

This allows for three cool things, double the space for shoes, being able to still see what shoe lies behind, and being able to still include boots! Nate’s point.

5. Water bottle and coffee bottle holders

We also had no good solution for water bottles, so Nate printed out two different sizes to organize these. His point again!

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The only nail polish I’m using these days, the only way I store garlic, and the one Korean dish I always order in the winter months

How was your weekend? Nate and I stayed up late watching the new Netflix movie, “People We Meet on Vacation,” which I highly recommend especially if you love a slow burn kinda romance. I haven’t loved a movie/show in a while, so this was refreshing to watch. Here are a few other things I’m obsessed with currently!

The nail polish for anyone who is a summer or winter in color analysis

I am super, super picky when it comes to nail colors. I will choose one and wear it and only it for years. I have also gotten super, super lazy about my nails and can’t be bothered with anything dark because the chipping happens so soon and is so obvious. For a while I was doing gel nail polish with this awesome kit that lasted for a couple weeks, but I have currently reached a new level of lazy with my nails and cannot even be bothered with a UV light. My friend Amber was helping me choose between two at the drug store, and this one was her pick. I love it sooo soo much! It’s perfect if you are a summer or winter as it has a cool toned silver and pink hue. It’s subtle enough to not look absolutely terrible when it chips, and feels natural like clear nail polish with the added benefit of being opaque enough to hide dirt under a growing nail. I’m OBSESSED.

The only way to store garlic

This is my brother, Allan’s point! We have this silly inside joke every time we have made a suggestion to the other person and the other person ends up taking the suggestion. The suggester gets a “point.” This point system is for bragging rights, but nobody actually knows how many points anyone has. 🤣

Anyways, back to garlic. I’ve stored garlic different ways over the years that were not ways I’d recommend. Cut up and pre minced garlic in a bottle never tasted as good as fresh, and fresh garlic in the bulbs would end up growing stalks and shriveling up. Also no bueno. So Allan suggested buying garlic raw but pre peeled and freezing it!

I am obsessed because unbeknownst to me, when you take out frozen and peeled garlic from the freezer, it dethaws on its own in less than a minute, I swear! After a minute, you can take a chef’s knife and it’s soft enough to smash into a buttery paste.

The perfect solution! Lasts forever, tastes fresh, has no added preservatives, and easy to use. No more smashing and peeling raw garlic! I love to buy the bulk peeled and raw garlic from Costco and freezing it.

Trust me, when you start storing and buying garlic this way, you’ll never go back!

The Korean dish I’m always craving in the winter

If you’re local to the Seattle area, I love this dish from Stone Korean Restaurant

I was watching this beautiful, subtle romantic drama called “Past Lives,” which I highly recommend if you like a nuanced, slow moving, emotional love story. The American husband’s favorite Korean dish was yukgaejang, so being a foodie, I had to stop the movie and write it down! The next time my brother and I had our Sunday regular meetup, I had to try the dish. Now I get regular cravings for this dish, and it feels weird that I didn’t know about this dish for 43 years! It’s a hearty beef brisket stew with vegetables and scallions and it goes perfect with banchan and a rainy day.

Anyways happy Monday, thanks for reading!