Everyone Needs A Mentor

Ginnie Gellie Salt Scrub

The Ginnie Gellie Salt Scrub is a new listing for Cotton Ginnie Studio. I got the basic recipe for salt scrub on the Internet and then did some tweaking. The results floored me. I used the product last night in the shower .... it was sublime. I slipped between the sheets feeling relaxed, fragrant, and really beautiful and I slept like a baby. It is recommended that a salt scrub be used once a week. I may be tempted to use it every night. The Ginnie Gellie Salt Scrub contains course salt, grape seed oil, vitamin e oil, aloe vera, plant pheromones, and a jasmine scent (I would like to experiment with a ylang ylang & nutmeg scent next).

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Jasmine flowers are picked at night after they open. It requires 2,000 pounds of hand picked flowers to render one pound of jasmine oil. Jasmine oil darkens and becomes more fragrant with age. In India the jasmine flower is called "moonshine in the garden" and it is the favorite fragrance for French women. Ginnie Gellie Salt Scrub made me feel absolutely luscious.

Nature's Way Not Far Away

Nature's Way, A whole food store located on Kirkwood Highway near Elsmere is directly across the road from where we live in North Roselle. Yesterday I went into the store for some colloidal silver and to my delight found that they now carry produce from local farms. Today, I needed milk and eggs so I simply crossed the street to buy organic at prices comparable to the Acme. These products are available in the back of the store from the Delaware Local Food Exchange. The proprietor, Karen also carries local cheese, beef, poultry, bacon & sausage, fruits and veggies. Also in this corner can be found some handmade note cards, soaps and jewelry. As long as I was there I picked up some other items from Nature's Way including some flax seed oil and protein shake which since it was rather warm out seemed like a healthy alternative to a milk shake. Good marketing move Nature's Way. I will be in your store more often.

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Just a P.S. about colloidal silver or Silver Biotics. This product fights infection so well that I am rarely every sick for taking it. Nature's Way also carries homeopathic medicines. As a gardener I keep rhus tox in my medicine cabinet .... nothing works better to nip poison ivy rash in the bud.

Good Things #1 Coffee

The best coffee I ever had was in France. Since then I have been on a search for something comparable. To this date my favorite is Java Delight Double Chocolate Light Roast .... Java House is available in a number of bean at the Acme (ground or whole). I also like their Ethiopian Coffee and Hazelnut Cream Decaf. I keep my coffee in tightly sealed Plastic Protectors that came with my Longaberger Canister Baskets. We like our coffee perked in a Faberware coffee pot. It produces a hot cup of coffee in under two minutes. For awhile we were purchasing our Faberware from a vendor at the flea market but the coffee was not heating properly in the old units so we did the necessary and went to Kohls with a coupon.
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I like my coffee with cream. No sugar but with toast or desert is nice. Having given up gluten I found I was not drinking as much coffee. I will be reintroducing gluten in moderation because I really can take it or leave it. Sometimes fasting from something is about breaking an addiction. Addictions cause imbalances in the body and in behavior. I believe that fasting is most effective when combined with prayer in breaking addictions because imbalances begin with a life that is off center and if God is not the center something else has to be. We were made to worship something .... if not God then we will worship something he created (Good things in themselves when taken in context). This is revolt (commandment #1 Thou shalt have no other gods before me). The scriptures also tell us that behind addictions their are evil spiritual forces. They do not love God and they do not love us. They would see us destroyed mentally and physically and every other way. Satan is a harsh task master.
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While I give this idea mental assent I'm still learning to let go .... it's really about trust. Trust that my Father in Heaven, The Good Shepherd, loves me and will do what is best for me ..... and it's about intimacy. The closer I get to him the more I realize he is the incomparable .... the Pearl of Great Price ... perhaps I should go back to French coffee.

Good Things #5 Twittering

No I am not referring to the Internet. I mean singing, making or listening to music. I mentioned earlier that I have been on a health quest the past year. One of the Scripture verses that seemed to keep coming up during my prayer time was, "Sing praises to the Lord." I have always had prayer and scripture reading during my devotions but praise songs were something I did on Sundays or road trips. Let me tell you, along with vitamins and exercise, singing is one of the best things I have done for my health. But if you are skeptical you may recall the fellow who cured himself of cancer with laughter. I recommend praise songs to God in particular .... music and lyrics can provoke many moods including riot, sadness and even anxiety. But a praise song promotes thankfulness, love, joy and comfort.

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At first I sang for an hour every morning and then sometimes for an hour at night. Gradually my health improved. Now my singing sessions are shorter but much like my vitamin regimen ..... now and then I get busy or distracted and miss a day but if I go two to three days without, I suffer for it.

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This morning I was singing in my rocker near the window when my ears caught a churppie sound. I stopped and it stopped. I started and it started. This happened several times. At first I wondered if my chair was squeaky but then ... no ... it must be coming from outside. I peeked out and there was a little bird perched in the burning bush just outside the window. I think it is a tufted titmouse as you can maybe tell from the pictures above. It was light blue grey with a white and coral belly and a tuft on it's head. It was soon joined by it's cousin. We sounded something like this; "There is a name I love to hear, (churp! churp!) I love to sing its worth; (churp! churp!) It sounds like music in my ear, (churp! churp!) The sweetest name on earth (churp!) O, how I love Jesus, O, how I love Jesus, O, how I love Jesus - Because He first loved me (churp! churp!)!

I Heard A Bird Sing

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December

A magical thing

And sweet to remember.

"We are nearer to Spring

Than we were in September,"

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December

-Oliver Herford

And it is now January so we are even closer!

Good Things #10 The Rice Sock

I decided just the other day to post some simple ideas that work for me around the house. Like everyone I have a basket in my laundry room with stray socks. I believe this idea came from my brother -in-law Bryce but you can fill a sock with rice (a funnel is helpful with this process) and tie a knot in the end. The rice sock can then be heated in a clean microwave for 2 minutes and applied to achy back or shoulders for arthritis or muscle relief. It can even be used instead of a hot water bottle on a cold winter night. To purchase a heating pad at the drug store costs about $24.99. For this article I purchased a pair of socks for $3 on sale and bag of white Acme rice (also on sale) for $3.49.

Baby Are You Down?

For my friends suffering from cancer, for those who work in the medical field and for those who just want to find a cure. Enjoy this up beat video and provide free mammograms to women in underserved population.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdVfyt-mLw

Note to Self

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which you have learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.~Apst. Paul

Oh Yes, They Call It the Blues ...

Mental Illness describes all brain malfunction from Dyslexia & ADD to Post Traumatic Stress, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, to Bi-Polar and other stranger conditions. I have had my share of brain malfunction usually triggered by some kind of grief. Negative & dark emotions had come to stay and wreak their havoc on me mentally and physically.

The politically correct hope that is held out to the mentally afflicted is in the shape of a pill. I will not say that medication is wrong. It has it's place but it is inadequate. I have always believed in a holistic approach to depression, treating body mind and spirit because each affects the other. Vitamins and exercise have value and unlike medication have positive side effects. Medication should not take the place of proper exercise and diet nor should it be a cop out for having the right attitudes. Putting off negative thinking and emotions and putting on the positive. Emotions trigger chemicals in the body. Anxiety triggers cortisol and stress has been fingered as a major cause of illness and disease.

Neither can medication take the place of God in your life. God is the great healer. Recognizing that we are not God is the first step to sanity. Submitting to his leadership will keep you grounded. Discovering his love for you beginning at the cross where Christ took the penalty for your sin and rebellion will fill you with praise and thankfulness. His presence with you through the Holy Spirit will give you contentment. Prayer will calm your anxiety and fill you with quietness and trust. Repentance will dispel your sinful thoughts and replace them with what is wholesome and good. Accepting God's forgiveness and forgiving others will bring peace to your heart and relationships. No pill will do this for you. Praise God!

I have tested and tried these things and they are true.

Taking Care Of Me

Taking care of me means that I enjoy my work and serve others better and with more enthusiasm. I start with vitamins, proper sleep, and a healthy diet. I spend about an hour in the morning with devotions. These give me the stamina to exercise. If Dave & Jon are going to the WCS gym I try to tag along. It's family time and I feel really good afterwards. But we can't always take the time so I exercise at home. Besides gardening & housework ..... I joggerwalk around the neighborhood most mornings for about 20 minutes .... jog up and down the stairs, trampoline (they sell little ones at Walmart for around $30) and play with my rubber band for about 10 minutes a day, yoga or stretching for about 15 minutes. Some of these things can be done while watching TV all though I usually knit or quilt. It is a quiet pursuit at the end of the day that calms me and gets me ready for bed.
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In the area of personal grooming, I get a good haircut about once a month. I do not color my hair. When I was young and had little to spend on my appearance I used apple cider vinegar for just about every skin condition. It is a great hair rinse too. Now that I am .... well, older (I didn't say old) I will admit to using a face cream. I've thought about the whole nip/tuck thing and while my family has had it's share of surgeries they were not the kind that would enhance your appearance. I'm not against cosmetic surgery but I don't think they are always that successful.
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A little make up and having clothes that fit properly certainly helps me feel better about myself and I find people treat me with more respect too. When I was working full time I kept a running acount at my favorite dress shop on mostly sale items. In between full time jobs I shop thrift stores very successfully.

Yum Color

Fresh Lychees from the Farmers Market.