Auto Brush

 If you are on the internet or doom scrolling your phone for any amount of time, especially on social media sites then you have more than likely seen an ad or a reel for the AutoBrush.  It's claim to fame is that it can brush your teeth in 30 seconds, and hit the areas that most people miss thereby cleaning your entire set of teeth in one go.  I know it sounds too good to be true.  

My daughter and I are not the best although we have great intentions of properly keeping up with our oral hygiene, but are not so great on the follow through.  If you have ADHD or depression, etc then you will understand what I mean.  If you do not have these things then please do not be an ableist. It has constantly been a struggle to brush teeth properly.  

For the most part I had ignored the ads until one day I noticed that these tooth brushes were approved by the ADA.  Still fearing a gimmicky situation, I brought the subject up to my dentist.  He was supportive of it.  So I ordered my daughter one.  They come in both kid and adult versions, although the heads are interchangeable.  My daughter picked out the one that looked like a unicorn.  It arrived.  It had a square looking base and a u-shaped brush.   My child brushed her teeth seven times that day lol.  Since then, she has been brushing consistently at least twice a day which is a vast and noticeable improvement over the barely even once she had been doing.  She loves it.  It plays a tune and has flashing lights.   

After struggling with my own oral hygiene after undergoing a bout of depression where every task felt insurmountable, I broke down and bought one for myself.  When I hit depression, I am putting all my energy into working my job and doing the bare minimum at home.  Self care becomes a struggle.  So I ordered one.  I have had mine for three days now.  I must say the first time I used it, my mouth felt minty clean and fresh.  I did not like the strong vibrations however.   It felt like it was vibrating my skull.    I figured out I was biting down on it too hard.  Once I let up the vibrations were not as bad.  The only other complaint I have is very specific to me.  I am missing a tooth from where I opted to have it cut out and a bone graft put in vs getting  a root canal.  The bristles irritate the gum tissue in that particular spot.  Other than that I love it.  I got the adult version.  Although I think the inner child in me would have rather had the lion one.  The adult one does not play music or have dancing lights.  The brush heads are interchangeable. 

Currently the only cons I have are:
- price $89 (on par I suppose with other top brands, but still I consider that pricey)
- the brush heads have to be their brand there are no generic ones that will fit
- it has to be charged

Everything else so far is a pro:
- you can use regular toothpaste on it
- it makes brushing so much easier as far as hitting every spot at once
- you can adjust the time from 30, 60, 90 seconds
- can get it off Amazon (free shipping yes please) and other retailers and not just from the autobrush website

At the writing of this, I am not affiliated with anyone.  

Zoloft

 The answer is yes!  Yes!  Yes you read the title correctly. It is titled Zoloft.  Your eyes do not deceive you, I promise.  I mean, to be fair, this is a blog called Random Reviews so it is reviews of everything.  

I have struggled with anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember.  My medication history is a roller coaster of various different psych drugs (lamotrigene, paxil, wellbutrin, to name a few), but they did not really work that well for me.  It does not help that I also have an anxiety related to taking some medications lol.  It's kind of a rock and a hard place sometimes.  It's like oh let me be anxious about taking a medication to reduce my anxiety.  It's a real problem.  Anyhow, I've been on and off medications for 16 years or so.  

The past year (and current) I have been dealing with a variety of health issues.  As a result, my anxiety also got a lot worse.  A month or so ago, my gp referred me to their psych unit (it was NOT a grippy sock vacation, just a regular doctor visit).  I let them know my history with psych meds and the adverse side effects I had experienced from the ones I have been on in the past.  I was put on Zoloft.  I have been on it for a little over a month now.  


Let me tell you, it's like the clouds in my brain parted and the angels sang!  My brain is freaking quiet!  I still overthink everything, but there is a difference as it is way less frenzied.  My brain no longer marks everything as urgent.  It does not catastrophize every single thing.    I never realize before how much my anxiety (both when treated with improper medication and untreated) had paralyzed me.  There is  less noise in my brain.  I never realized how much anxiety wore me out both mentally and physically.  My family has noticed a change as well.  I am way less irritable and I yell a whole lot less. I'm glad I have been put on something that is currently working for me.   The only complaints I have regarding side effects is some insomnia and hot flashes.  Like omg the hot flashes.  Sheesh!   

But the overall point of this review is to say don't be like me.  Don't suffer with your anxiety untreated.  Don't suffer on the wrong medications and give up.  There is hope!  Talk to your doctor. 

Disney Dreamlight Valley Updated Review

 So now that I have almost 100 hours invested in playing this game lol................. it is totally worth getting.  I have most of the biomes open and have ground (grinded) through a lot of things.  I will say that the quest for Wall-E's garden and Moana's boat are a little bit insane due to the amount of resources needed to fully complete. I was able to get one of my friends hooked on this game as well.  I've already maxed out the level.  My character is level 40.  But I am nowhere near done with the quests in the first part of the game.  I do have DLC stuff because I purchased the bundle when it was on sale.  I have not started Story Book Vale as of yet.  The game does occasionally glitch out. Some of the quests are tedious on the Switch.  The Switch has a a bit of a hard time handling the graphics when trying to decorate your house or valley. I finally unlocked the ability to farm pumpkins.  That in itself was a game changer.  But bottom-line after playing at or around 100 hours, I totally recommend this game as it caters to many different gamer playing styles.  

Disney Dream Light Valley (Nintendo Switch)

 Hello my peoples who humor me by reading this.  I hope you all are doing well.   I'm taking a quick break and thought I'd craft a short post.  

If you know me (which face it, this is the internet so most likely unless you are one of the few of my friends/acquaintances whom I told about this blog, then you probably don't know me), you know I occasionally like to dabble with gaming.  I'm very picky about games.  If I'm going to invest time and money into something I want it to be something I'll like.  I'm fond of the Lego games, GTA V, Lord of the Rings Online, Mortal Kombat, Kingdom Hearts II, The Sims 2, and Hogwarts Legacy just to name a few.  I never got into Animal Crossing.  I tried Stardew Valley and could not figure it out.   Previously, I would go months without playing any games.  This was mostly due to not being able to see the tv well from the couch.  I got a Nintendo Switch for Christmas this past year.  This significantly increased my video game playing since I could actually see the screen because of the handheld option.  I started playing Hogwarts Legacy, and I do enjoy that.  One of my friends plays it all the time.  I play at home maybe an hour before bed usually.  Or on the weekends.  

This past weekend, I had the crud.  So I was sitting on the couch resting and wanted to entertain myself.  I saw an ad for Dreamlight Valley being on sale.  I saw the previews and it looked interesting.  I used to play Kingdom Hearts II on the ps2 which had a lot of Disney characters in it.  I had a house fire in 2017  and lost the ps2 and all my progress.  I do have it for ps4, but I never got around to putting in the time required.  I enjoy the Disney games.  


Upon starting up Dreamlight Valley, I was very confused and almost quit immediately. So far I have maybe 12 hours invested into this game and I am still at the beginning.  I enjoy it so far because  you don't have to do the quests immediately.  You can garden, fish, cook, or hangout with the other characters.   You can play at your own pace.  I will admit I am old and had to look up some of the stuff on Google.  So far, I have only opened up one Realm.  I've been farming carrots for money and have maxed out both Goofy's stall and Scrooges store in the first biome.  

Pros:

You get to hang out with your favorite Disney characters
You can go at your own pace
You can easily change your wardrobe
You can design your own house and valley (although this comes much later in the game I am told)
You can craft storage boxes (simultaneously this is a con as well as you have to grind for materials)

Cons
Storage
Limited Energy - you have to go back into your toon's house to regain energy in order to play the game OR eat food which can be simple like an apple or if you want more energy you can grind and cook a lot of dishes to put into your already overflowing inventory
You have to grind to make money albeit you can plant and harvest crops to sell to Goofy, but that still takes time
There is soooooo much information to learn about this game and very little in game direction.  This can be very overwhelming.  My daughter was overwhelmed by this more than I was.  
The controls are a little fiddley (on Switch)  when it comes to clearing trees to put houses (I opened Remy's realm and am trying to put his house in the valley and have not been able to clear a spot).

Overall, I like it.  I played LOTRO since it debuted in 2007.  I am used to grinding.  While it can  be annoying at times, it's tolerable.  It's a cute game.  I like that if I just want to go fishing I can turn it on and grab Goofy to hang out and fish.  It's a bit of a break from Hogwarts Legacy which I do enjoy playing as well.  

Shameless Plug

 Just a quick shameless plug.  My daughter and I are building a small Lego city.  Granted, I'm more into it than she is, but she likes her sets and her contributions to it.  She will eventually be in some of the videos.  We started off just making a few videos that were not public except if we shared the link.  I have absolutely no idea what I am doing.  I do not know how to edit or make cute intros.  I'm just enjoying the creative process and talking about it.  I created a new channel that is separate from my main account.  It's called Bricks and Yarn.  It encompasses two of my favorite hobbies. So check it out if you want to.  I'll be "reviewing" some of the sets that are in or will be in my small city.  

https://www.youtube.com/@BricksandYarn

Mel Robbins, Author and Podcaster and YouTuber

A few months ago (back at the end of February), I was nervous about being in the same vicinity as an ex-friend.  That in itself is a whole other thing that will not be gotten into other than what is applicable to this.   Someone recommended that I listen to the audio book, The Let Them Theory, by Mel Robbins.  So I did.  Now with audio books, I typically have to listen to them multiple times before I hear the entire thing.  I typically listen to them while I am working and I tend to zone in and out.  I also have ADHD and my brain will occasionally go on vacation.  Anyhow, I thought this book was amazing.  The book was narrated by the author.  I found her tone of voice very uplifting.  She is positive, funny, and engages the listener.  I later found out via Reddit, that there is come controversy surrounding her and this particular book, but I don't care.  I like what I like.  I liked it so much, I bought a physical copy of the book.

Anyhow, after listening to this book, I purchased a couple of her other titles. I recently started The High 5 Habit.  It talked about how every morning we should high five ourselves in the mirror.  It went into the science behind it creating new positive  pathways in the brain (neuroplasticity).  I tried it.  It's a great way to start the day, I just don't recommend doing it in the rearview mirror of your car.  Don't ask me how I know this lol.  

I later discovered that she has a YouTube channel and lots of "podcasts" on YouTube.  She has guests on her podcasts and they are all very informative.  Some of these I am making notes and planning on ordering their books as well.  I've developed a bit of a long list of items to read (or listen to).  These podcast are usually over an hour long and go very in depth on their respective topics.  

I have listened to several and have gleaned a lot of information from them that I plan on utilizing in my own self improvement.  Some of my favorite videos of hers:

How to Stop Negative Thoughts and Reset Your Mind for Positive Thinking

Mindset Reset: Take Control of Your Mental Habits 

It's Not Your:  The Real Reason Adult Friendship is So Hard

Reinvent Yourself: Let Go of Past Mistakes & Create a New Version of You

How to Control Your Mind & Redirect Your Energy to Self Transformation

Why Making Friends as an Adult Feels Impossible & What to Do About It

I just named a few.  I have listened to way more than that. Now some might say not to listen to so much from one single author/podcaster.  However, I feel that she has opened up my options to numerous other individuals from them being guests on her podcasts on YouTube.  I love her delivery of the information as well.  I have had many lightbulb moments while listening to her material.  And I absolutely love how she opens up her videos with "Hi, it's your good friend Mel."  It feels more like listening to a friend than some random author.  I find that to be comforting.  

It was through listening to her that I heard some information, further researched it, took the information to my therapist and discovered that I have an anxious attachment style with abandonment issues.  This later led to the discovery that, that had a very active role in leading to the dissolution of friendship with someone that I held near and dear (the ex-friend mentioned here).  

My ex-friend once told me (generally speaking) when reading/listening to advice, etc to take the parts that pertained to what I needed and leave the rest.   That is loosely paraphrasing her.   So it is important to listen and take what you need and leave the rest or the parts you don't agree with.  My ex-friend's advice has made me more open minded when taking in new information.  But I digress.  Check out this author/podcaster.  You won't regret it. 

Hula Hoop of Ab Torture (Concussion Giver) UPDATE

 It's a good thing I do this exercise outside.  In the midst of swinging a weighted ball around on a string at a high velocity, it decided to break and go soaring across the yard  and land with an unceremonious THUNK in the yard.  I'm thankful there were no small children or animals in the crosshairs.  That would have been disastrous.  The metal hook piece that holds the weight to the string, snapped in half.   Now granted, mine was a knockoff from Amazon and was not the actually Infinity Hoop brand.   So just be mindful that they can break.   I'd hate to think would would have happened had I been inside and around people.   It might have injured my kid, hubby, cats, or the television.  I can't live without the television...... uh I mean my kid and hubby, yeah them lol   All jokes aside, be careful.   

As far as it trimming fat off my abdomen, that would be a big fat oh no it didn't!   As stated before,  you cannot spot reduce fat. no matter what TikTok or Instagram or Betty Boop the social media  influencer says.  They are selling you a pipe dream.    It was however,  a nice exercise to incorporate into my routine.     Will I purchase another one?   I am unsure at this time.  It was a nice tool to use, but I have other things I can workout with at the moment.  I might replace it one day, but not anytime soon.