www.WickedTheMusical.com

While I’ve been busy testing out various herbal shampoos and conditioners (reviews still to come), I’ve also been sleeping—and dreaming.

At least once every other week I have the same dream. I am on stage performing. The performance is always different: Sometimes it’s a musical, sometimes a drama and more often or not, it’s a dance recital. While I’m on stage performing I suddenly realize I have forgotten my lines and/or choreography—it’s all a blank. Last night I dreamt I was on stage performing “Wizard of Oz – The Musical” (my unconscious version of Wicked, which I’ve been listening to a lot) and I didn’t know my lines, so I brought a sheet of paper on stage with me to help me out. But suddenly I had a dance number and had to sing my lines. I dropped my cheat sheet and started to freak out. There I was on stage and I had nothing to say. I had forgotten everything! Then I woke up.

What does this recurring dream mean? I’m afraid of failure? I’m forgetful? Who knows…But it has made me think about sleep and whether I’ve been getting enough of it.

An Herb Companion article, Sweet Dreams, offers herbal dream pillows as a solution to your sleeping woes. The article recommends mixing ¼ cup of rose petals, ¼ cup of rosemary, ¼ cup of lavender and ¼ cup of hops to ease your nightmares. Click here for the instructions on how to create your own herbal sleep pillow.

Other herbs that help facilitate asleep (according to Drift Into Dreamland, Naturally):
• Valerian
• Kava
• Passionflower
• Reishi
• St. John’s Wort 

How do you help yourself fall asleep on sleepless evenings? Have you crafted an herbal sleep pillow? What recurring dreams do you have? Comment away!

My hair before I finally got it trimmed (and my manager's puppy Guiness).

A recent visit to Salon Di Marco in Lawrence, Kansas has made me rethink the way I take care of my hair. After a six month period of avoiding the hair salon (due partially to laziness and partially to lack of money) I finally scheduled a hair appointment at a hair salon close to my new home—and I had major split ends.

My new stylist analyzed my hair with a skeptical eye and asked me what I use to wash my hair. “Garnier Fructis” I replied.

Then, she scowled.

Evidently my money saving techniques were damaging my hair. The shampoo I was using, she said, might have been causing my hair to dry out and loose its shine. She recommended I use an organic shampoo with natural essential oils such as shampoo from John Masters Organics.

So begins my journey toward proper hair care. Please comment and let me know what products you think I should try out. Our first stop will be John Masters Organics, as I scavenge for shampoos I might want to use on my soon-to-be healthy hair.

For more articles on herbal hair care, check out these stories:
• Shimmer and Shine with Herbal Shampoos
• Hair Care Recipes
 

Now that Halloween is over it’s time to start thinking about what to do with those pumpkins you never got around to carving (Come on…you knew you’d never get around to doing it this year). I had big plans for mine. Last year I carved my pumpkin into a Kansas University Jayhawk. This year, it is still sitting on my countertop.

Here are some pumpkin recipes from The Herb Companion website I am definitely going to try cooking sometime this week:

• Pumpkin Soup
• Pumpkin Ravioli
• Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
• Creamy Pumpkin Nog

If you actually got around to carving your pumpkin this year, here are few other things you can do with your leftover jack-o-lantern:

• Use what's left as compost.
• Bury it in your herb garden.
• Save and store its seeds to plant pumpkins next year.
• Roast its seeds.
• Redecorate it for Thanksgiving.
• Wear it as a hat (okay...maybe not the last tip).

Clockwise (from top right): Caleb, Americana; Hank, Giddyup; Jessica, Century Gothic; Me (editorial assistant), Curlz MT; Jean, Book Antiqua; Kim, Pussycat; Ilene, Trajan Pro; Jenn, Informal Roman; Allison (associate editor), French Script.

 

What are you going to do with your leftover pumpkins this month? And what did everyone dress up as for Halloween this year? Your Herb Companion editors dressed up as their favorite fonts in what we like to call Editorial Humor, 2008. Comment away!