When I say this isn't suitable for men, I am not kidding. This post is going to be all about relieving female issues. Women still here? Men tune out?
I have suffered with menstrual problems for pretty much my entire life. I got my "gift," young, and it was never on time like a lot of people I know. It could vary up to a week difference every month. When I was 16 I was told my ability to have kids was extremely small. I don't remember exactly why, doctor speak and all. As I got older, the varying in my menstrual cycle got worse. First, it was two weeks. Then, I wouldn't get it for an entire month. Then, I didn't have it for almost 3-4 months. I had some health issues about two years ago and then it started being normal. My doctor even said for some reason, things cleared up. Then, the whole cycle started over. So you can about imagine, the pain and cramps that came with it every time my "gift" did decide to present itself.
Up until recently I would just take 5 Ibuprofen and use a hot pad for a few hours and feel sort-of better. There would still be a dull throbbing, but at least I would be able to walk. Right? I was miserable though. Sometimes I wouldn't even get out of bed, sometimes I would take 8 baths in a day. Anyone know what I am talking about?
Recently, one of a friend's mom, who is really into oils, told me to try Lavender and Clary Sage together. She knew I was getting into using oils, and she is like a fairy Godmother when it comes to the topic. So, I went a long with what she told me to do. I put the two oils right around the area of my abdominal (or lack there of) that I was having pain. Now, the difference wasn't instantaneous. I won't lie about that. It took a while to kick in, much like those 5 Ibuprofen. Not like those Ibuprofen? It actually did take all the pain away eventually. I ended up having to rub some on my back as well, due to pain back there. But, it really worked.
Research! Apparently Sage and Lavender and about 10 other herbs/oils have been used to relieve menstrual cramps for YEARS. I wish I had known this sooner. You would think in the day and age of Google, I would have thought to look up something that would help more. Oh well, lesson learned.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Friday, June 20, 2014
Literally.. Dance in the Rain!
Where I live is a pretty small place. I used to live in a bigger city (Mandan-Bismarck) but we moved for a job. Ever since we got here I have noticed weather here is more tempermental than it was there. Yes, North Dakota has weird weather all the time. At any point of the year, you can hear someone complaining about the weather changing too fast.
For the most part, it has been pretty hot in this part of the state ever since May. This week though, rain after rain and it is still hot so it is extremely muggy. It's making a lot of people crabby, and I can honestly say one of those people was me. Last weekend, Chris and I went to ribfest and it rained the whole time. At first, everyone else was super upset about it so I let that influence my mood and I was sort of crabby. Then Chris and I talked about how, when we were little, the rain never bothered us. We would play in it, dance in it, and it was just another day. So, I did. We finished the whole ribfest in rain and had a great time.
This week it chose to rain all week, but because it was muggy the rain was warm! I sat outside spinning around and looking up to Heaven smiling at God. It was beautiful. I remembered that we need the rain, even if it is making the humidity in the air attack my hair. I remembered to look at the positive side. I remembered, to be a kid again, and isn't that when you were the most natural?
For the most part, it has been pretty hot in this part of the state ever since May. This week though, rain after rain and it is still hot so it is extremely muggy. It's making a lot of people crabby, and I can honestly say one of those people was me. Last weekend, Chris and I went to ribfest and it rained the whole time. At first, everyone else was super upset about it so I let that influence my mood and I was sort of crabby. Then Chris and I talked about how, when we were little, the rain never bothered us. We would play in it, dance in it, and it was just another day. So, I did. We finished the whole ribfest in rain and had a great time.
This week it chose to rain all week, but because it was muggy the rain was warm! I sat outside spinning around and looking up to Heaven smiling at God. It was beautiful. I remembered that we need the rain, even if it is making the humidity in the air attack my hair. I remembered to look at the positive side. I remembered, to be a kid again, and isn't that when you were the most natural?
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Skin Care the Natural Way
I have been telling you all about Essential Oils for a while now. No, I probably haven't found the BRAND I will be sticking with, but I will be using oils for the rest of my life. My latest find is Frankincense and Lavender combo. Every one of us at some point in our life has had a pimple, even if it was just one, that drove us nuts. Now, I will admit to having pretty awesome skin, partially because of good genes, and partially because I have ALWAYS taken care of my skin. It's my one routine. But, I get pimples too, and when I do, they leave scars. No one wants scars all over their face, right? So ... more research! Actually, the credit goes to my sister-in-law for this one. Brit found this lovely cure and "pinned," it for me. (Did I also mention I am a Pinterest nut?)
On to the main event, as they say. After Brit pinned something to her board about getting rid of acne with Essential Oils, I had to try it. There are a couple more than Frankincense and Lavender that you could use, but for the purposes of this conversation, that's what we got. I put a drop of each, not diluted, on a pimple that really hurt last night. It was large and under the skin and right by my mouth. Anytime I talked, yawned, breathed, or whatever, it hurt. When I woke up this morning, even after sweating all night because we forgot to turn on air conditioning, my pimply was almost completely gone. GONE. What the heck? I felt my face, even though they tell you not to touch your face, and I felt a tiny bump but it didn't hurt! I would show you a picture, but I didn't take a before, so all you would see is my face close up. Next time, I swear I will get those shots for you all!
About the brand thing, if anyone has any brands of Essential oils the recommend, let me know! These seem to work really well for topical and aroma, but they aren't digestible. Before you go asking how I put Peppermint in my water on Monday, I will tell you I had a trial packet of it from a friend. HER brand is digestible.
Also, last little tidbit for the day. We didn't put Rose Geranium on my puppy yesterday, and I completely regret that decision! He had to visit the Vet this morning for shots, and they found a wood tick IN his ear, completely engorged. It looked like it would pop if it was there for any longer. My poor baby bled for like 10 minutes after that thing got taken out of his ear. ROSE GERANIUM YOUR PETS! (and yourself, obviously.)
On to the main event, as they say. After Brit pinned something to her board about getting rid of acne with Essential Oils, I had to try it. There are a couple more than Frankincense and Lavender that you could use, but for the purposes of this conversation, that's what we got. I put a drop of each, not diluted, on a pimple that really hurt last night. It was large and under the skin and right by my mouth. Anytime I talked, yawned, breathed, or whatever, it hurt. When I woke up this morning, even after sweating all night because we forgot to turn on air conditioning, my pimply was almost completely gone. GONE. What the heck? I felt my face, even though they tell you not to touch your face, and I felt a tiny bump but it didn't hurt! I would show you a picture, but I didn't take a before, so all you would see is my face close up. Next time, I swear I will get those shots for you all!
About the brand thing, if anyone has any brands of Essential oils the recommend, let me know! These seem to work really well for topical and aroma, but they aren't digestible. Before you go asking how I put Peppermint in my water on Monday, I will tell you I had a trial packet of it from a friend. HER brand is digestible.
Also, last little tidbit for the day. We didn't put Rose Geranium on my puppy yesterday, and I completely regret that decision! He had to visit the Vet this morning for shots, and they found a wood tick IN his ear, completely engorged. It looked like it would pop if it was there for any longer. My poor baby bled for like 10 minutes after that thing got taken out of his ear. ROSE GERANIUM YOUR PETS! (and yourself, obviously.)
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Sickness.... BLAH
Sorry I was out yesterday. I either had food poisoning or the flu.. we aren't sure which. It was sort of a miserable day. I was up at four getting sick and when I went back to bed I didn't wake back up until ten am. Then, when I woke up, I woke up to the dog's tornado that destroyed a whole bunch of stuff in the house. So, to clean up that mess. Then sick again, back to sleep.. Dogs got sick from eating part of a leather couch.. I got sick cleaning it up.. etc. You get it. I don't think I have ever felt worse in my life...
And yet, I woke up this morning feeling better than I have in a couple weeks. Sure, my tummy is still queasy, but my body isn't sore, I'm not stressed about what I forgot to do at work, and I feel extremely rested and ready to go with the day.
Now, I am not encouraging you to go get sick and be miserable. I am, however, encouraging you to take a random day off every once in a while. The pace the world moves at now-a-days is extremely unnatural and with all the stress and little sleep we get, we are harming our bodies but too busy to realize it. If you have vacation days, or even if you don't, take a day and just say ... no. No to the world, no to your job, no to getting out of bed. Trust me, your body will thank you for it.
Have an issue getting yourself to relax? Try Lavender on your temples and the base of your neck. I did it to my husband the other night. I had to vigorously shake him five times to get him to wake up, and he is normally an extremely light sleeper.
Also, for a stomach ache, use peppermint. Trust me on this one! I put three drops of Peppermint essential oil in my water yesterday after I woke up the second time. About three hours later, I felt a ton better and even a little hungry. I ate a salad for dinner last night and it stayed down. :-D
<3 Tif
And yet, I woke up this morning feeling better than I have in a couple weeks. Sure, my tummy is still queasy, but my body isn't sore, I'm not stressed about what I forgot to do at work, and I feel extremely rested and ready to go with the day.
Now, I am not encouraging you to go get sick and be miserable. I am, however, encouraging you to take a random day off every once in a while. The pace the world moves at now-a-days is extremely unnatural and with all the stress and little sleep we get, we are harming our bodies but too busy to realize it. If you have vacation days, or even if you don't, take a day and just say ... no. No to the world, no to your job, no to getting out of bed. Trust me, your body will thank you for it.
Have an issue getting yourself to relax? Try Lavender on your temples and the base of your neck. I did it to my husband the other night. I had to vigorously shake him five times to get him to wake up, and he is normally an extremely light sleeper.
Also, for a stomach ache, use peppermint. Trust me on this one! I put three drops of Peppermint essential oil in my water yesterday after I woke up the second time. About three hours later, I felt a ton better and even a little hungry. I ate a salad for dinner last night and it stayed down. :-D
<3 Tif
Friday, June 13, 2014
...Be Happy
Today's post is probably an unusual one. It is about being happy, naturally. Some of you may have noticed, or not, I am generally in super high spirits. I like to use a lot of ! and I rarely get down about things. If I do it is because I feel extremely under pressure or forget things. To some of you, this may be annoying. However, some of you probably want to be happy and not take life too seriously. So, I will let you know my trick.
First, when you wake up in the morning you have to stretch. I don't know what it is about a good stretch, but it can put a smile on my face faster than anything. Now, I am not saying do toe touchers as soon as you wake up. Actually, I am saying quite the opposite. Don't sit up, don't get out of bed, just stretch out as far as you can lying down.
Second, look outside and thank whoever you pray to for the beautiful day. I don't care if it is snowing and you hate snow. Try to find a reason why the snowfall is a good thing at that moment. Same if it is raining, sunny, or whatever. When it rains, I thank God for supplying the farmer's crop with water. (If you need an example.)
Third, tell yourself to be happy. If you decide you are going to have a good day, truly decide, nothing can talk you out of it. Period.
Last, but certainly not least, don't let other's attitudes about life ruin YOUR day. Here I will give you an example; the other day I was having such a terrible day. Everything that could have gone wrong that day, did. It was so frustrating but I kept telling myself there is a silver lining to everything. Until, someone else's attitude upset me to the point that I couldn't get back from the crabbiness anymore. I sat moping for almost an hour before I realized I was letting that person control me. That's not okay.
Be the best and happiest person you could be every day. Yes, I know the world these days is stressful as heck. However, if you can't find something beautiful in all the chaos around you, what is the point of living? The world isn't a dark place, (unless it's night) but we try to make it. If you have to, think about people who have things a lot worse than you. If you can still maintain your sucky attitude to the world after realizing how fortunate you are, no one can help you. Also, remember you being happy can turn someone else's day from bad to good because of your influence.
One last thing- Good music can also naturally lift your spirits!
First, when you wake up in the morning you have to stretch. I don't know what it is about a good stretch, but it can put a smile on my face faster than anything. Now, I am not saying do toe touchers as soon as you wake up. Actually, I am saying quite the opposite. Don't sit up, don't get out of bed, just stretch out as far as you can lying down.
Second, look outside and thank whoever you pray to for the beautiful day. I don't care if it is snowing and you hate snow. Try to find a reason why the snowfall is a good thing at that moment. Same if it is raining, sunny, or whatever. When it rains, I thank God for supplying the farmer's crop with water. (If you need an example.)
Third, tell yourself to be happy. If you decide you are going to have a good day, truly decide, nothing can talk you out of it. Period.
Last, but certainly not least, don't let other's attitudes about life ruin YOUR day. Here I will give you an example; the other day I was having such a terrible day. Everything that could have gone wrong that day, did. It was so frustrating but I kept telling myself there is a silver lining to everything. Until, someone else's attitude upset me to the point that I couldn't get back from the crabbiness anymore. I sat moping for almost an hour before I realized I was letting that person control me. That's not okay.
Be the best and happiest person you could be every day. Yes, I know the world these days is stressful as heck. However, if you can't find something beautiful in all the chaos around you, what is the point of living? The world isn't a dark place, (unless it's night) but we try to make it. If you have to, think about people who have things a lot worse than you. If you can still maintain your sucky attitude to the world after realizing how fortunate you are, no one can help you. Also, remember you being happy can turn someone else's day from bad to good because of your influence.
One last thing- Good music can also naturally lift your spirits!
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Coffee and Tea
So, one of the major things people ask me since I started doing my whole natural living, and getting back to nature thing is, did you give up coffee? No. I can assure you right now, if I ever had to give up coffee my head might explode. However, I did change how I drink coffee.
I don't add sugar and cream anymore, I don't buy French Vanilla flavored things to overload my coffee, and since I live in an area with no "gourmet," coffee, I don't get a fancy type coffee more than once a month. Basically, I drink my coffee black. Now, for some of you I know you just said, "Oh, I can't do that. I hate the taste of black coffee." I have two things to say to that; One, you don't really like coffee then, you like the super sugary packaging Starbucks and other companies of the like put on coffee. Two, coffee is an acquired taste. No one just woke up one morning and said, "I will ground these beans and this will be delicious." Most times, we start drinking coffee because our parents do, so it is sort of a learned thing. I know I didn't really like coffee when I first started drinking it. I just wanted to be just like my dad. If you drink it every day, you will grow to love the taste.
The other thing is, I started drinking more tea. Green tea, Black Tea, Herbal Tea, it doesn't matter. Find a flavor you like and drink at least two cups a day with a little honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon. It is so good for you, and so natural. There is also a little caffeine in green and black tea so if that is what you worry about, problem solved. :-D
I don't add sugar and cream anymore, I don't buy French Vanilla flavored things to overload my coffee, and since I live in an area with no "gourmet," coffee, I don't get a fancy type coffee more than once a month. Basically, I drink my coffee black. Now, for some of you I know you just said, "Oh, I can't do that. I hate the taste of black coffee." I have two things to say to that; One, you don't really like coffee then, you like the super sugary packaging Starbucks and other companies of the like put on coffee. Two, coffee is an acquired taste. No one just woke up one morning and said, "I will ground these beans and this will be delicious." Most times, we start drinking coffee because our parents do, so it is sort of a learned thing. I know I didn't really like coffee when I first started drinking it. I just wanted to be just like my dad. If you drink it every day, you will grow to love the taste.
The other thing is, I started drinking more tea. Green tea, Black Tea, Herbal Tea, it doesn't matter. Find a flavor you like and drink at least two cups a day with a little honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon. It is so good for you, and so natural. There is also a little caffeine in green and black tea so if that is what you worry about, problem solved. :-D
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Weight Loss Much?
Hey all!
I went to lunch today and in the place I went to they have a scale you can weigh yourself on. Daring to be brave, I said, "Why not?" I haven't weighed myself in a little over a month which is sort of amazing for me. I was always one of those girls who was on a scale every day with no noticeable difference what-so-ever. Ever since I made the decision to get healthy and start eating more natural and nutritious things though, it hasn't seemed important because I have been focusing on health, not weight. Let me tell you how this scene played out.
I left work, (after falling down a flight of steps because I am the most clumsy person in the world) and wondered why I am having such an off week. Now, I am just sore and crabby and my pride hurts. Maybe stepping on that scale was the unhealthy side of me coming out because I was so upset, I don't know. I got on and it seemed like it was taking forever. You know the scale on, "The Biggest Loser," that shows you around eight numbers before it will actually give you the weight you really are? Yeah, it was like that. So now I am crabby, and impatient. When it finally showed me the number, I didn't believe it. I stepped off the scale and tried again. SAME NUMBER..
Wait... but that means ... I have lost 10 pounds in a month ... I am not normally the type of person to share this kind of thing, I swear. Even when I do, I take it with a grain of salt because generally it is like three pounds and mostly water weight, right? I am so proud of that number you guys. I am proud because it means I am getting HEALTHIER, not skinny. You want to know my weight? As of January 1, 2014 I was 272 pounds. I am now 251. I know I have a very long way to go to be truly healthy, but I have never felt more proud of an amount in my life.
So, I guess, my two points of advice for today would be this; Don't step on a scale everyday, it isn't healthy for any part of you, and it isn't natural. Two, going natural and organic truly does make a difference. If you have thought about trying it before and decided not to, I implore you to change your mind. I want you all to feel this way!
<3 Tif
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