Wordless Wednesday

This is a Zorse--cross between a horse and a zebra!

DIY Pedicare

                                      
Sandal weather is finally here! Are your tootsies looking their best? Here are some tips to give yourself a pedicure at home. It feels so good and your feet will look great! I love, love a pedicure!!

     Take a bowl or dishpan and fill it with warm to hot water. Give yourself the hottest water your feet can take for optimum softening of the tough heel skin, and to promote relaxation. 
    While feet are wet, use a foot scrub to soften the calluses built up during everyday exercise and ordinary tasks. Be gentle. If the tough skin on your feet has been building up over a few years, realize that it may take a few weekly pampering pedicures to bring your feet back to softness. If feet are really rough, a pumice stone will also help. 
    Rinse foot scrub off feet. Feet can soften in the footbath for a total of about five minutes, or until water is too cool for enjoyment. Gently dry off feet with a towel. 
   While skin and nails are soft, take a few minutes to gently push back toe nail cuticles with an angled cuticle stick. Use big toe nail clippers to cut toe nails straight across. Don’t clip them too short for this can cause problems with ingrown toe nails as the cut nails grow back. 
    Now for the foot massage. If you are giving yourself a pedicure, don't skip this step. Massaging feet increases blood circulation, relaxes muscles and relieves aches and pains. Any lotion or cream will do but using a peppermint oil foot cream brings added benefits: the peppermint also promotes blood circulation in the foot, and overpowers lingering foot odor. 
   When polishing toe nails start with a clear base coat. This will help to prevent yellowing on the toenails resulting from dark polish painted directly on the nail. Two coats of color will help the nails stay attractive for up to two weeks. Finish with a protective top coat to keep your pedicure looking great. If you are really creative, you could add some nail art before your last top coat!

    You can do this anytime and it doesn't cost much. Win win!!

Baths That Heal

     Relaxation can come in many forms and for some a warm bath at the end of a long day can be just what the doctor ordered. Baths can do more than just relieve stress. They can be wonderfully healing as well. Here are 8 baths that heal.


Apple Cider Vinegar Bath: This helps relieve sore muscles, itchy skin, and sunburn. Vinegar helps draw pollutants out of the body. It is an acid medium and contains alpha hydroxy acids. It is also mildly antiseptic, antifungal and naturally deodorizing.  

Athlete’s Bath: Epsom salts help to reduce inflammation to relieve the aches and pains from muscle cramps and works as a muscle relaxer. Sea salts are loaded with natural minerals and nutrients. Soaking in sea salts helps to remove the latic acid build up that occurs in sore muscles. Mix ½ cup Epsom salts with 1/8 cup sea salt. 

Baking Soda Bath: This alkalinizing and detoxifying bath can help calm allergic reactions, chicken pox, eczema, hives, itchy skin, insect bites, poison ivy, sunburn, and fungal infections. Use one pound per bath.

 Cold and Flu Bath: fill your bath tub up with some warm water. Next toss five cold and flu tea bags, five peppermint tea bags, and one cup of Epsom salt directly into your bath tub filled with warm water and allows these ingredients to mix together. 

Dry Skin Bath: One of the oldest home remedies for dry skin is an oatmeal bath. When you are using a bath as your in-home dry skin therapy,soak only for 15 to 20 minutes,and when you are ready to dry yourself off, don't towel dry briskly. Instead, pat your body dry so as not to strip too many of the natural oils off. Powdered milk, also, is a wonderful dry skin therapy for the bath. Just add enough to give the water a fine milky appearance and soak in it for 15 to 20 minutes. 

Epsom Salts Bath: This method is lymphatic cleansing, relaxing for sore muscles, softening to the skin, and detoxifying after bodywork. Epsom salts help to get drugs, chemicals and pollutants out of body. Epsom salt can assist in blood circulation, aid in wound healing, remove foot odor, soften your skin and increase your strength and stamina. Those with diabetes, hypertension or heart disease should rinse off after the bath. If pregnant do not use Epsom salts. 

Itchy Skin Bath: To calm itchy skin, resulting from insect bites, chicken pox, and poison ivy, try using bath additives like oils, milks, clays, and baking soda to soothe itch. Avoid salts and other drying bath additives, which will leave the skin feeling dry. Oatmeal baths will also help to soothe itchy skin Keep soothing baths tepid, rather than hot, and remember to gently pat, not rub, dry and moisturize afterwards. 

*Oatmeal Bath: This calms irritated skin, poison ivy, dermatitis, high blood pressure, and stress, It is very simple to grind plain uncooked oatmeal in the blender or food processor to make a bath powder. Or tie 1/2 cup into a bath bag. 

Sunburn Bath: Adding black tea, or apple cider vinegar to a cool bath eases burns.


 *To use uncooked oatmeal for the bath, simply tie a large handful into a washcloth and secure. If you have a stash of clean lost “single” socks, those also work great for bath bags. Use the filled cloth to scrub your body as you deeply inhale the benefits. Your plumbing would prefer that you not allow bulky material to go down the drain.

     I have used the Baking Soda bath on my children when their skin was irritated. I have also used Epsom Salts for sore muscles. I'm anxious to try adding some Sea Salt with the Epsom Salts next time.

     Have you tried any of these?

Wordless Wednesday

Playing with my new Lensbaby Velvet.

20 Nail Hacks

     I haven't posted any fun nail tricks/ideas for a LONG time! So here is a really fun YouTube video--20 nail hacks in less than 5 minutes.You've got to watch it!

Which one is your favorite?

A Book for Our Times

      I am reading If My People, A Prayer Guide for Our Nation by Jack Countryman. This is a small hardcover book containing a 40 day prayer journey for our nation. Being that this is an election year in the United States I found this to be especially meaningful.

      There is a devotion for each day that includes a short prayer, two different Bible passages and a short reflection. Sandwiched in-between these devotions are various articles and speech excerpts from former leaders of our country. Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower to name a few.

      The devotion pages are decorated with a blue tinted picture of our flag with two monuments overplayed on it. Throughout the book are pictures of our country’s symbols along with pictures of some of our country’s leaders. The artwork is subtle, yet meaningful and doesn’t distract from the text. I am enjoying reading the devotion for each day.

      It has got me really thinking about how much our country needs prayers right now. As I finish this book I have someone in mind that I want to pass it on to. I am hoping that person will pass it on when she finishes it also. This would make a really fine inspirational gift.

I have received a copy of this book free to review. All opinions are my own.

Happy Easter!