Let's Talk about Supplements!

 Let it be known that I am not a professional. I'm just a 50 year old woman who feels really good and isn't on any medications. So take this information that I'm about to give you and do your own research. I'm just sharing because if you're like me, you want to feel good and might not know where to start. So there's that. Moving on. :-)

So I grew up with a mom who was always getting in on the latest trend. Microwaved eggs anyone? Blah! But one thing I always remembered her taking, was her vitamins. I'm convinced she's kept dad alive all these years as well. Go Mom! Now that they are 88 and 85 and have been married for 67 years, I'd say whatever she's been doing has been working. They also had friends who made fun of all the supplements they took daily and unfortunately one of those has passed away and the other has a tirade of health problems and not living life to her fullest. Mainly because of diet and lifestyle. 

Now am I saying that if you eat pure, take vitamins and exercise that nothing will ever go wrong? No I am not. Stuff happens. Even to those of us who try really hard to do things right.  What I am saying is that it's worth giving it a shot because when those things hit, maybe you can get through them quicker or easier. 

I'm not going to talk about what I eat in a day in this post,  but I am going to show you the supplements I take in a day. 

Now this may seem like a lot and maybe it is but let's face it, as you hit middle age, no matter what you do, some things start to wear out. I've come to grips with it, sort of. 

Now I take stuff for my eye health, hormones, immune system, vein health, anxiety, dehydration and my heart. 

Here is a website I found that gives a run down of a selection of different vitamins and minerals and what they do, if you're interested.  

Now I don't suggest you stop taking any medications that you're currently taking but I do suggest you seek out a health care professional that specializes in nutrition helping the body heal itself vs. just masking a problem and not fixing it.  

Take the time to do your research. Invest in your well being. You are worth it. Your people need you to be around for awhile. :-) 

Also find an exercise that you enjoy and is fun for you. If you don't enjoy it, you probably won't keep it up.  

I love these two ladies and their videos. Easy to do inside with no equipment. 

Lucy Wyndam Read and Leslie  

And lastly, get outside and soak up some of that Vitamin D. It's so important to your health. In Florida we have it in groves but if you live up north and gray skies are the norm, them make sure you take a supplement. 

Okay, I think I'm done. *smile*

If you have any questions I would be more than happy to try to answer. I don't know everything but I have learned a lot over the years. 

Have a lovely day my friends.

HUGS!

Kim

 

Organic Goodies!

Hello Everyone!
I want to introduce you to a friend of mine, Angie, who makes wonderful body products made with only organic and all natural ingredients.
I don't know about you but I don't like putting stuff on my skin when I can't even pronounce the ingredients in it.
You all know me well enough to know that when I like something, I'm all over promoting it!


Out of the goodness of her heart, she sent me a beautiful box with loads of body products in it.
AND to top it all off she knew all about my love of coffee and chocolate and incorporated it in the scents that she whipped up for me.

Just take a look at how wonderful everything is!

I have to tell you that I am in love with the Foaming Body Butter. It makes shower time so much more enjoyable because it smells so good and makes my skin so soft.

You see the soap dish? It's hand painted by her daughter. Cool huh?
Everything smells so nice.

And just in time for Father's Day, she said she's ready to whip up some special goodies just for Dad.
Here's some of the things she said she's got going on just for him.
A bar of soap, body wash, cooling after shave, shaving soap with brush or a hand painted coffee cup and coffee from Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee...This is a wonderful ministry that helps the people of Rwanda, they grow the beans there and dry them in Roswell Georgia....
(Must have orders in no later then Wednesday morning to get there by Father's Day.)

Are you intrigued yet?
Well if you are I suggest you hop on over to her Etsy shop and check out her goodies.
Look around and feel free to email her with any of your questions concerning her products.
She even does some custom orders. How cool is that?
So head on over to her shop Lovies Songbird.

Tell her Kim sent you and she'll throw in a wonderful free soap of your choice with any purchase until the end of this month.

*This just in. She told me that the Father's Day gift boxes will be up later on today if you are looking for that. But feel free to peruse her other items.*

A Natural Mood Enhancer

Flowers, they do it every time. I don't care what mood I'm in, when my husband comes home with a bouquet of wild flowers my mood instantly lifts to a higher level. I wouldn't call my husband a typical romantic, but for the last 12 1/2 years he's brought me home a bouquet of flowers around the day of our anniversary. He's been buying them from the same guy who sells them on the side of the road up where he works. (Since he's a regular customer the guy cuts him a pretty good deal lol) The only time I didn't get flowers is the year he was laid off from work, but now he sometimes comes home with two bouquets just to make up lol.

Flowers can change the whole feel of a room. A room can go from ho hum to happy happy in seconds. A nice way to keep this going in between bouquets is to have a nice arrangement of false flowers. Granted they don't have the thoughtfulness of someone you love bringing them to you, but they are still pretty. If you are lucky enough to be someone who can grow them in their yard , then do it. See what they can do for your home. God knew what he was doing when He made the mass variety of beautiful flowers and all their wondrous colors. My young 6 year old is already learning from his Daddy. He will go out in the yard and pluck these little brown eyed susans that grow wild near our driveway and he'll come in all excited and say, "Here Mom I picked these for you. Do you like them?" Oh how the heart melts!
So the next time you're feeling blue, go out and pick yourself a flower, (or your neighbor's flower LOL) and stick it in your hair. Watch your mood naturally lift. If the flowers aren't working for you then I suggest you go brew yourself a pot of coffee! That ALWAYS works! LOL! Coffee the Christian drug of choice. :)

Here are the two wonderful bouquets that inspired this post this morning. Aren't they beautiful?
Have a most excellent weekend my friends.

Iodine Deficiency and Depression

First of all let me clarify that I am in no way a doctor or professional. I am just going to share my own experience so that it may help those of you who suffer the same thing.
By nature I am a very happy, goofy, all around upbeat kind of gal. About a year ago I noticed that I was feeling very sad and unhappy(which I guess would be considered sad lol). I lacked motivation and drive to do just the everyday things, like laundry, cook supper, etc. I have the most amazing family yet I didn't want to be around them or associate with them. This is when the red flag went up! Almost a year went by like this and by the end of that year I was ready to pull my hair out (along with the rest of my family). We have this Chiropractor that we've gone to for different things with our kids and what not. He does CRA (Contact Reflexology Analysis) as well as chiropractic. But I didn't think he would be able to pick up this emotional thing that was happening to me but I was desperate (and by now so was my husband) so I went. He did his analysis and said that my body was so low on iodine that my hormones where all out of whack. Iodine helps your thyroid which in turn helps many other things including your hormones. I didn't think that the fix could be that easy but went home with my iodine and took my first dose. Within an hour I was a new person. I was my old self again. I couldn't believe it. One little mineral was missing and when I replaced it, I was back to normal. I call it my holy water and feel like sprinkling it on every irritating woman I run into( but that would cost me a fortune lol). You can do your own research on it but my suggestion to you is if you have any symptoms of depression, lack of energy, forgetfulness, weight gain etc that you go to a Doctor that isn't going to just write you a prescription to mask these things. Find a doctor that wants to get to the root of the problem and fix it, not mask it. I share this with you because like so many women I thought that my problem was based on my circumstances in life but my life was great, I have great kids and an awesome husband, how could I be depressed about that! So I knew it was something deeper. Check it out for yourself. If you want to feel better today do something about it. It will be so worth it.
I hope that you found this helpful. If you have any questions about it you can email me or leave me a comment.
Disclaimer: Don't buy the iodine that you get from Walmart or drug stores. That could kill you! Get it from a health food store but better yet a professional.
Blessings!

Ode To Garlic

I love garlic. I love everything about it, okay except the bad breath it leaves behind lol. Our family recently all got colds and one of our tried and true remedies is what we call "garlic tea". Here is the recipe and how to make it. We tend to get colds once a year but with the natural things that we do it really cuts the staying power of the cold in more than half. By day 3 you are feeling quite human again. Here is what you need: Honey, Apple Cider Vinegar (i use organic unfiltered), 2 cup measure, garlic press, spoon, small metal strainer, garlic and a hot pot to heat water..

I use anywhere from 2-3 cloves of garlic depending on size of cloves. Start heating your water as you prepare the tea. Take your cloves of garlic and run them through the press into the strainer. Hold the strainer over the measure. Heat your water just before boiling. Pour over garlic in strainer. Now set your strainer in the water a little and mix it around and press the juice out into the water. I throw a few chunks in there just for good measure. Do this for a minute or two to get the most benefits. Now discard garlic or put it in your chicken soup for later. Now here is where the "to taste" comes in. We put 3-4 TBS of honey and the vinegar in with the water. You may use more or less. Mix this all together and sip it while it's hot. Also gargle with it and swallow for soar throats. My kids even like it. When feeling poorly we drink this 2x a day. We each drink about a 1/4 c. -1/2 c. You may have to make a couple of batches depending on the size of your family.
Here is a picture of the finished product.
You'll either love it or hate it but either way it's good for you. Elderberry is also good for colds but that's another blog lol. Maybe I'll do that one next. Now back to garlic. Garlic has so many other uses. You can make a poultice by preparing the garlic like for garlic tea but this time lay the garlic in the middle of a double folded paper towel and fold the corners in . Place the washcloth on a plate. Heat water up to the point where you can still keep your fingers in there for 5 seconds or so and then pour the water over the paper towel until saturated and let sit for 10 seconds. Squeeze out excess water and then you can place this poultice on your chest, your back or the soles of your feet alternately for 60 seconds for the cold or flu.
Avoid extended direct contact with the skin as it can "burn" the skin. Garlic taken in large quantities can cause nausea and vomiting. I hear it can be grown quite easily but I haven't ventured there yet. But I may give it a try some day in the future.
I hope this helps.
Blessings.

Wonderful Aloe Vera

If you don't have an aloe vera plant I suggest you get one. This is such a versatile plant and it's so maintenance free and easy to grow.


Recently my family and I were working out in the front yard and I guess we all got a little too much sun in the process. My 2 sons got sun burn on the back of their necks, their face and a little on their arms. My husband and I got some one the back of our necks and I also got it on my shoulders. Well the first thing we did was cut off an aloe leaf, cut off the skin and rub the gel like substance on our skin. We did this twice a day for 2 days and now you wouldn't even know we were burnt. No pealing skin and no redness.
Aloe forms a protective barrier over your skin and is best if left to dry instead of rubbing off. It increases the the availability of oxygen to the skin therefor speeding the healing process.
Aloe is also good in adding in digestion. You can scoop out the gel and process it in a blender and add two TBS. with juice and drink ( preferably) before meals. Cut back if diarrhea occurs. Each individual handles things at different levels.
I recently had to use aloe vera in a poultice to aid in a dog bite for my husband. Instead of becoming infected it had minor swelling and redness but there was no need for antibiotics. I will try to post the poultice for that at a later date.
Like I said Aloe Vera is very easy to grow. It grows easily in pots and very little sun. It tends to like sandy soil (great for living in Florida) that is well drained. Do not over water. They spread quickly and before you know it you will have more than you can use.
As always use caution when trying anything new. I am not a doctor but am sharing my own personal experiences. Consult a professional if in question. Ok now that I've said that if you want me to post more of these things leave me a comment about what you are interested in and I'll see what I can do.
Blessings to you.