Age Spots Already?

So this concern was brought to me by someone, who I won't mention, as she might think I'm calling her old. But, as I was talking to her on the phone she said she was shopping for Age Spot Removal Cream. The first thought that went through my head was, that has got to be expensive! So I started researching while I was still on the phone and told her to go get cranberries blend them up and put them on her face. Her worry with the cranberries was, is it going to turn her face red? Well, I don't have age spots yet so I can't really test this one out for you but I did do some research for those of you concerned about age spots!

Age spots are circular patches on the skin more than likely on the face, shoulder, arms, and hands. They are caused by over-exposure to sun and aging. They aren't signs of disease or cancer as most people think.

A few ways to get rid of these spots naturally beside the cranberries are:

• Mix 1 to 2 Tbsp of fresh orange juice with 1/2 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar, stir well and massage onto skin.
• Dip cotton ball into castor oil and massage on spots.
• Slice lemons and apply to skin several times a day.
• Lemon juice with small amount of salt or sugar. Rub on skin.
• Raw potato slice and apply to skin several times a day. You could also grind the potato into a paste and apply to skin for ten minutes.
• Pierce vitamin E capsule with needle and squeeze and rub solution onto spots twice daily.
• Pick fresh dandelions and blend to a paste, add water if necessary. Massage onto spots. Wash skin well as dandelions will stain your skin!

Personally, I will try the dandelions when I have this issue. It reminds me of being a kid. And everyone thought dandelions were useless!

H1N1Vaccine Is Coming...

Since I just did a blog about vaccines and have been asked multiple times about the swine flu I figured this would be a good topic to touch on. Most of us are only hearing what they want us to hear, which is we HAVE to have this vaccine. They are trying to get everyone to get this vaccine but mostly starting with children, young people, and pregnant women.

Lets start with the myths that everyone is talking about. First, people are saying that this is the first outbreak of the swine flu virus. When really there was an outbreak in 1976 that affected 5 soldiers and 1 death at Fort Dix, New Jersey. There was also another outbreak in 1988 that infested a community in Wisconsin. My favorite myth is that you can only get the swine flu if your in contact with pigs or pork product which in not true! It would have been helpful for me since I don't eat many pork products. You have to actually be in contact with someone that has the virus.

The ingredients in the vaccine will shock you, atleast they did me! First of all there is thimerosal in this vaccine and they are saying all pregnant women need this vaccine but all the books I have read on pregnancy tell you to stay away from mercury. So tell me why they are really pushing pregnant women to get this shot? If you have egg allergies you should not take this vaccine as the virus is grown in eggs. It also contains MF59 composed of squalene, which is oil based and when it has been injected into rats it has been found toxic. Squalene has been known to cause arthritis and lupus.

I don't know about you but I really don't want to put those things in my body. So a few ways to stay away from the virus is to wash your hands frequently and stay away from large groups of people or individuals that might be infected. Also, use probiotics, vitamin D, vitamin C, anti-viral herbs and boosting your nutritional intake with your diet.

The one thing that shocked me the most was how difficult it was to research the truth about this vaccine. It is a lot easier to find what they are already telling us on the news but that doesn't include what is in the vaccine or the side effects or the fact that they are rushing this product. It makes you think what are they trying to hide? Why so fast? And definitely why are they pushing young children and pregnant women when its obvious the vaccine could be harmful and there hasn't been enough time to research side effect?

Slow Down For Yoga

So I'm currently in Louisville Kentucky which is such an amazing city I love it more and more every time I come. I always seem to forget something when I go on a trip and sure enough I forgot my prenatal vitamins. So, I made a trip to the vitamin store here and was I amazed! Maybe just because I'm from a smaller town and so our health food stores are smaller but it just seemed like I could find anything I wanted in that store! As I was looking around they had magazines for you to take and I noticed alot of them had something to do with yoga. Turns out, after picking some up and reading, that September is National Yoga month.

This started my interested in yoga again, as I did yoga pretty faithfully through my first trimester of my pregnancy. Most people think if your doing yoga you have to be flexible and everyone has to start somewhere but that doesn't mean you have to be flexible right now! When you pick up an infant out of the crib from a nap that baby stretches and the same as they grow up til they become wrapped up in busy lives like most adults today. Yoga is simply slowing you down teaching you how to breathe and your doing those stretches you should be doing anyways.

Breathing is the most important part of yoga. Our jobs and lifestyles, with the fast pace and hunched over backs, cause us to breathe fast and shallow. Breathing for yoga opens up your chest cavities and expands the lungs like they should be. By breathing this way, you can benefit by stronger lungs, healthier heart, relaxing the body and mind, improvement of health and brain systems, and also revive the skin, which has also been thought to reduce wrinkles.

Of course, the yoga positions are also very important. Poses don't have to be hard especially when your just starting out. You can't expect to go straight to the advance poses just like you can't expect to run a marathon when you have just started running and have no training. You can also focus on what fits your needs. For example, going into my third trimester I have had a lot of back pain so I am focusing on stretching my back and breathing. Within just a couple days of starting up yoga again, I could get through more of the day than I did before with out any back pain!

Now, if you have decided that this is for you to try out, then you need to find the best way for you to do that. If you do better with someone telling you what to do and showing you every step then maybe a class or even the Wii Fit is something you should look into. I did my Wii Fit faithfully for a long time, but for me I think I am better off with some quiet time by myself to help me focus on my breathing and just some simple relaxation, sometimes even outside. Remember to start out slow, pick out what is right for you, and Relax!

Bad Cholesterol?

Do you get your cholesterol levels checked? Did you know after the age of twenty you should get it checked every five years? I sure didn't! But there are ways to prevent high cholesterol. Having high cholesterol can play a huge role in the chance that you will get heart disease. Cholesterol build up can happen at such a slow pace that you can't tell the difference til it clogs up arteries and causes a heart attack or other related issues.

HDL levels, high density lipoprotein, which is "good" cholesterol should be 40 mg/dL or higher. LDL levels, low density lipoprotein, which is "bad" cholesterol should be 100 mg/dL or lower. You can get high cholesterol many different ways like it could be hereditary, or from what you eat, weight, stress, physical activity, age and sex. Men are more likely to have high cholesterol and then for it to lead to heart disease. Women after menopause have a greater risk than they did at a younger age bringing their ability to get high cholesterol to the same level as men.

To either lower your cholesterol level or keep it at a good level as you get older you should make sure to follow a few routines in your own lifestyle. Follow a diet with low saturated fat and trans-fat with exercise and don't smoke. Your doctor will tell you to get a prescription that you should use with the lifestyle changes. However, herbs have been used a lot longer than prescription drugs. You should look into these supplements:

• B vitamins
• Carnitine- increase HDL levels
• Chromium- reduce LDL levels and increase HDL levels
• CoEnzyme Q10- reduce total cholesterol
• Fiber-in food or by supplements, fiber binds to cholesterol in the small intestine preventing cholesterol to absorb into the bloodstream
• Garlic
• Grape Seed Extract- reduce total cholesterol levels
• Pantothine- increase HDL levels
• Red Yeast Rice
• Royal Jelly
• Soy- reduce total cholesterol levels
• Vitamin C- slightly reduces total cholesterol levels

There are also foods you should try to avoid like, butter, whole milk dairy products, cream cheese, cream, ice cream, duck and goose. If you are taking any other vitamins or supplements check to see what you are getting in those and what you need to add to your intake. Definitely make fiber a huge part of your diet as that is more of a proactive approach no matter who you are or your age.

Even through all of the supplements you can take and your foods to avoid the most important part to remember is the lifestyle changes to combine with those!

Should You Spend More To Go Organic?

We all know that it costs more if you are wanting to buy something organic. So, if your wanting to pinch your pennies a little bit but still eat healthy listen to a few of these tips.

Not everything you eat has to be organic. Stay away from the "dirty dozen".

• Apples
• Strawberries
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Pears
• Cherries
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Spinach

These foods should all be bought organic as the pesticide residue isn't easily washed off. They average about 50% more than regular produce that use pesticides but are well worth the money. If you have a little extra to spend then I would recommend going all organic with meats, dairy, etc. as the animals are not given any hormones or antibiotics. The produce with a peel or skin on it you won't have to worry about like bananas, pineapple, etc. you can buy these at any grocery store.

The main things to remember while starting to go organic to keep cost down is shop locally, stock up and consider canning, also consider starting your own garden for everything you enjoy and would spend more money on. Organic does go on sale so watch fliers and sale prices. Watch for organic generic items! They have to go through a lot to even be labeled organic so its all the same.

So you don't have to spend a whole lot to go organic as long as your ok with changing your diet just a little at a time. I plan on changing our meat next, which you can buy in bulk to save a little more!

Green Kids

So as my daughter is getting older I am wanting her to know and be able to help teach the newest addition, when she is old enough, how to be green in a kids life. There are many different interesting things that I have heard, seen, or read about so I decided to put it all together for you.

The easiest for young kids which you can also make into a game is sorting the recycling. When teaching your kids to brush their teeth make sure you're turning off the water as kids will watch and do what you do. That can also apply to doing the dishes by hand when you can, turning off lights and appliances when not in use, and also using reusable dishes not paper plates, silverware, cups, and even napkins.

Kids love being outside so teach them at a young age about gardening. The best part about this is that when they are older it will be so much easier on you and also give you something to do together for years to come! Another outside activity can be parking your car and getting the stroller out (depending on age) and walking around town to get all your errands done instead of driving.

If you have decided to send a pack lunch with your child to school instead of the school lunches use reusable containers. It's amazing how much you'll save the environment and your pocket on just those little sandwich baggies. There are so many great ideas for getting kids to go green and I keep finding more everyday!

Are You Educated About Vaccines?

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) makes a very important but sometimes neglected point: "Vaccination is a medical procedure which carries risk of injury or death. As a parent it is your responsibility to become educated about the benefits and risks of vaccines in order to make the most informed, responsible vaccination decisions."

Now to me this is a scary statement. Isn't it your doctors' job to know what is best and keep you informed? How is this all my responsibility? I might have found this out the hard way as I believe my daughter is now dealing with developmental delay as a result from vaccines. You should know that no vaccine is completely safe.

The most talked about vaccine is the MMR, which is said to cause autism when combined with another vaccine that contains thimerosal. Thimerosal is the most discussed material in vaccines because it contains mercury. The amount of mercury is very small especially in the vaccines used for children under the age of six. It is about 6 oz of mercury which is comparable to the same amount of mercury that is in a can of tuna. There are ways around an MMR which I'll discuss later on.

There are 8 questions to ask when you are taking your child to get a vaccine.

Is my child sick right now?
Has my child had a bad reaction to vaccines before?
Does my child have a personal or family history of

• vaccine reactions
• convulsions or neurological disorders
• severe allergies
• immune system disorders
  

Do I know if my child is at high risk of reacting?
Do I know how to identify a vaccine reaction?
Do I know how to report a vaccine reaction?
Do I know the vaccine manufacturers name and lot number?
Do I know I have a choice?

After going through all that let me just give you a couple simple pointers based on those questions. If your child is already sick or coming down with something then reschedule a vaccination as this would make it harder for your child's immune system to fight off the disease. Don't get more vaccinations than what is necessary at the time. Some doctors or nurses will try to get you to do multiple vaccines at one appointment and my personal advice to this is don't! Know exactly what vaccine your child is getting and look into what is in it, even though that can be scary to look at the materials individually. Vaccines do have benefits but you just need to know your options. There are laws about vaccines and some are necessary but you can check what your state law is for each vaccine. For example, to avoid the MMR your state might only require a vaccine for measles and rubella. There are also medical, philosophical, and personal belief exemptions.

There is so much information on vaccines I could continue to go on and on but no one really wants that! I would advise anyone that have vaccinations coming up to check out NVIC.org this is a great place to start to look into vaccines and laws. Even though they won't say that vaccines cause autism, diabetes, ADHD, eczema, allergies, etc. the proof to me is unbelievable!


{picture via imed.com}

Make It A Positive Recession

So I have been racking my brain all day trying to figure out a way to discuss the recession in a way most people overlook. Everyone wants to be stylish and seem like they still have money during this time when secretly we all know the person in front of you at the grocery store is probably hurting from this financial crisis just as much as you are. We have all read about the ways to stay stylish, your family vacations, and ways to save money. If your like me you could barely afford a vacation when times were good and now that they are bad you can just forget that picture of Jamaica you had in your head for the past year. Why aren't we more focused on our families? Our overall health together doesn't just mean physically. Is that relationship with your teenage daughter as good as it use to be? Or are you unemployed when you use to be a workaholic so you can spend time with your kids now?

We are all being negative about the recession when this is really what could bring a relationship to your family, or a friendship, or even a relationship with God closer. Lets start with the basics though. Are you spending too much time worrying and not enough time talking? Is your spouse or loved ones feeling left out because you are so down on yourself thinking that its your fault you don't have a job? Let me just tell you it's not your fault! To improve your self esteem start out with walking twenty minutes a day or less if you are physically unable to make it twenty minutes. Bringing yourself up is going to help your mentality with everything and everyone else in your life. After you have started this and making it a daily routine add in a spouse, friend, or even your entire family and talk about feelings or just every ones day, this will bring everyone closer together.

Now that you have improved your outlook on life just from simply breathing in fresh air and opening up, work on another area that you think could use improvement. Lets just say your family has become distant from each other, well, there are ways of fixing this. If your family is more physically active maybe find a sport everyone can enjoy together for an evening of fun once or twice a week. Game night was always one of my favorites growing up (even though I was horrible at Scrabble, my moms favorite). You could also try movie night. An all time favorite flick by the family or maybe a new one from the video store or Netflix. Grab some microwave popcorn (or make it yourself which is even better!) and a few sodas, cuddle up on the couch, and spend a good hour and a half with the whole fam!

As we are going into the fall or back to school season I tried remembering back to what I did when I was younger. I do recall a few parties I went to weather they were for school or church and what stands out the most to me now is that the parents all seemed to be having a good time just making sure we didn't get into trouble. So, then it made me think how cheap that must be to get a bunch of parents together to throw in some money/food/tractor and have a hayride and barn party or something of the sort. I know we are all embarrassed to talk about our financial situation but we just need to humble ourselves and realize we aren't the only ones and these parents will probably be so excited that you brought an idea like this up.

Now we all love our families but sometimes you just need a break especially if your one of those workaholics that is now a stay at home parent. You are not a bad parent if you take an evening away for a girls night out or even a girls night in. How bout doing a spa night with the girls at your home or a swap party where you bring old but still good clothes and swap with friends for their old your new clothes! How about an at home party for Entertaining at Home (which I sell so I had to mention it) , Tupperware, Mary Kay, and the options go on. While your thinking how can I have a home party when I can't afford new things? The thing that intrigues me about home parties is the socializing, the deals that you can find, and the hostess specials which are usually amazing! My other all time favorite is an at home wine and cheese tasting party which is great for a girls night but amazingly guys are getting into wine tasting more, so a great couples night idea! Another great couples night which goes along with that is visiting a local winery. Surprisingly, they are everywhere and not that expensive for taste testing! Plus wine makes everyone just a little happier!


{picture via images.google.com}

Greener Laundry Day!

I have continued to be amazed by these products that we already have in our homes. The top three items that I keep talking about are lemons or lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda. Its unbelievable what these items can do and keeps me wondering why don't we just use these instead of going out and buying more expensive products when they can do the same thing. Here are a few ideas I have ran across while looking into making my laundry room a little greener.

Lemon juice which of course smells good and fresh can whiten clothes when you add a cup to the wash cycle. It also removes stains and can be used as a bleach. All you have to do is pour lemon juice over the stain, rub the area with salt, place your garment in the sun for several hours then wash as you would normally. I'm extremely excited to try it out as a bleach as my daughter seems to end up with stains on her shirt everyday and I have no clue where they come from.

Baking soda of course freshens up the air as most of us already use it in our fridge and now we can add laundry to the list for this amazing product. Add 1/2 cup to a load of laundry as it will help boost your detergent. Certain types of water have minerals that need to be broken down so that your detergent can do a better job which in turn can mean that you won't have to use as much detergent as suggested saving you money! Baking soda is also great for people with sensitive skin.

Vinegar continues to impress me everyday! If you perspire a lot this is something you should keep in a spray bottle in your laundry room! Spray the vinegar on the underarm and collar area of clothing. This cuts through deodorant residue and prevents the yellowing effect you get on the underarms of shirts. Brighten fabrics by adding 1/2 cup in the rinse cycle which can also be used as a fabric softener. Now I don't know how your family is but my husband seems to always put a wet towel in the hamper only for me to find it a day later and it smells nasty! Well, I am so excited about finding that vinegar can help remove the mildew by adding 2 cups of vinegar in hot water to wash cycle. After you have run that then wash as you normally would. Most of us take our washing machine for granted but it does need to be taken care of! To remove soap scum and mineral deposits that can build up in your washer add 1 cup vinegar to hot water and run through the wash cycle. You should do this four times a year.

Now if your just looking into finding ways to save money and not necessarily the greener way these are a few ideas for you to try. The new cold water detergent does actually save you around 30 cents a load. You can switch to generic detergent and adding baking soda as stated above as the baking soda helps enhance the detergents cleaning abilities. You can use an aluminum foil ball to stop static cling in your dryer and can be left in for several loads. I haven't ever been a fan of line drying my clothing but as the economy gets worse the more I'm willing to try it out. You can save around $100/year on your utility bill and your clothes can last longer! The suns rays can help bleach and disinfect which of course can be bad for dark clothes but great for your whites! Your dark clothes can be laid on racks indoors if your worried about the sun bleaching them out which can also double as a humidifier in your home!

I think I am sold on line drying clothing! Especially with childrens clothing where I always find stains on white shirts! I am extremely excited to do laundry right now as crazy as it might seem!


{picture via armhammer.com}

DIY Spa Day!!

I don't know about you but I love the spa especially a whole day where you get the bath, facial and the whole deal. Well, maybe you can but I can't afford all that due to the economy right now so I thought why not bring the spa to me! There are so many different options for what you can use for a natural cleansing. The one thing you must do is stock up on honey!! Here are a few recipes that if I haven't used yet I will be soon.

Honey Cleansing Scrub-

• 1 Tblsp of Honey
• 2 Tblsp finely ground almonds
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Rub the mixture gently on your face and rinse with warm water.

Firming Face Wash

• 1 Tblsp honey
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp glycerin (which can be found at health stores)
• enough flour to make a paste around 1/4 cup

Smooth over face let sit for ten minutes and rinse with warm water.

Facial Toner

• 1 Tblsp honey
• peeled and cored apple

Puree ingredients in blender. Smooth over face, leave for 15 minutes and rinse with cool water.

Moisture Mask

• 2 Tblsps honey
• 2 tsp milk

Smooth mixture over face and throat and rinse with warm water.

Courtyard Milk Bath

• 2 cups dry powder milk
• 1/2 cup Epsom salt
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 6 drops rose scented oil
• 5 drops vanilla scented oil
• 4 drops lavender scented oil
• 4 drops lemongrass scented oil

This mixture can be premade and kept in a nice container for yourself or put it in multiple containers to use as gifts. Add a cup of the mixture to your bath and enjoy! The scented oils can be mixed to what your preference is.

For a simple skin softening bath add just 1/4 cup honey to your bath.

I'm looking forward to my next DIY day at the spa!