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Observations Of A Different Kind — No Comments
27
Mar 14

Pamper Your Feet

Pamper Your Feet

Most people try to take care of their face and hands but ignore their feet. We just take our feet for granted even though they work hard every day. We have a tendency to only think of them when they hurt. It’s a great time to pay some attention to your feet and get them in shape for sandals. A nice way to pamper your feet is a pedicure.
You can have this done at a salon or you can do it yourself at home.
  • Remove your nail polish (if you’re wearing any).
  • Soak your feet in warm water (use dead sea salt or epsom salt if you have it!) for five to ten minutes.
  • Dry your feet and use a small brush to remove dead skin (a pumice stone also works well for calluses).
  • Soak your feet in water for a few more minutes.
  • Apply your favorite Body Butter to your feet and massage thoroughly.
  • Next you’ll want to trim or file your nails. Just cut straight across to prevent them from becoming ingrown. If you are prone to this, just cut a small notch in the middle of the nail to relieve the outward pressure.
  • You can use a cuticle stick to push the cuticle back at this point.
  • Finish with your favorite nail polish. You might want to add a clear base coat to smooth the surface out before adding the final color coat. Adding a top clear coat will help your pedicure last longer.
Now that your feet are feeling and looking great don’t forget the advice of the American Podiartric Medical Association for taking good care of your feet.
Properly fitted shoes are essential. Many people wear shoes that don’t fit right and cause foot problems. Shop for shoes in the afternoon because your feet swell a little during the day,and it’s best to buy shoes to fit them then. Also, have your feet measured every time you purchase shoes and do it while you’re standing. When you try on shoes, try them on both feet because many people have one foot larger than the other. A shoe with a firm sole and soft upper is best.

  • Pantyhose or stockings should be the correct size. 
  • Never cut corns and calluses with a razor or knife. 
  • Bathe your feet daily in lukewarm (not hot) water, using a mild soap, preferably one containing moisturizers, or use a moisturizer separately.
  • Test the water temperature with your hand.
  • Trim or file your toenails straight across.
  • Inspect your feet every day, especially if you have diabetes.
If you can’t do this,have someone do this for you. If you notice any redness, swelling, cracks in the skin or sores, consult your doctor.

 

 

My Life and Family — No Comments
28
Feb 14

View From My Window – March 2014

3This month the view from my window has been very white. This winter has been extremely cold and Facsi has had a really bad attitude about it. She throws a little fit every morning waiting for her breakfast to arrive. Poor Caddy is usually the object of her displeasure. She taunts  him over the fence throwing and shaking her head at him with her ears pinned back and occasionally tries to nip him. When all of this is going on the goats pretty much just try to stay out of her way. But little Caddy isn’t the least bit afraid of her and doesn’t back down and tries to nip at her too. This goes on until it’s about feeding time, then they both look in the direction of the house and wait for their humans to come and feed them.  When we get to the barn Fasci bangs on her door with her front foot!   She is rather grumpy and demanding when she is hungry. I think part of the reason she bothers Caddy so much is because he is a very slow eater and she gets mad that after she has gobbled up all her hay she can see him happily munching away on his hay.

Observations Of A Different Kind — No Comments
26
Feb 14

Dry Skin Care Tips

images-2Spring may be just around the corner but Winter may still cause dry skin. The climate varies around the country, but the problems our skin experiences are similar. In the winter your skin is exposed to many harsh environments like dry indoor air, cold and wind outside, and a lack of sunshine. All this causes very dry, flaky irritated skin in the winter months. But there something you can do to be comfortable in your skin!  What you need to do is moisturize, exfoliate, and moisturize again. Your skin reacts differently in the winter so you need to adjust accordingly.

Cleansing: In the Winter one of the most important things to keep in mind is hot water dries your skin. As good as it feels to take a steaming hot shower your skin will suffer the consequences. If your skin is very dry try washing with water that is warm but not hot. You want your cleaning routine to be as moisturizing as possible, so you might want to change to one of our more moisturizing soaps such as Baby Me or Olive soap if you are not already using it.

Moisturize: Replenish Moisturizer is great but if you need something more in the winter try the Shea Body Butter, even though it is a heavier moisturizer, the ingredients are all non-comedogenic, so it can be used on your face without fear of clogging pores.
It is a good idea to use a heavier moisturizer in the winter since your skin has more extreme conditions to deal with. Itchy skin often happens because the dry air of winter is causing the moisture in the top layer of your skin to evaporate.

Exfoliate: This is done to remove dead skin cells and allow your skin to absorb the extra moisturizer you are applying. But don’t exfoliate more than twice per week.

Hydrotherapy: This stimulates your circulatory system for better blood flow to your skin. You can do this at home by using your shower. Start out with a warm shower, before you finish switch the water to cold for about fifteen seconds then back to warm. Repeat the process for two minutes. Try it and see if you don’t feel better.

Moisturize: The best time to moisturize is right after a bath or shower. The bath helps to hydrate your skin and the Shea Body Butter helps to keep it from evaporating.

And remember healthy skin starts from the inside, so eat healthy whole foods and drink plenty of water.

 

My Life and Family — No Comments
30
Jan 14

View From My Window – February 2014

View-from-my-window-wThis time last year I was lamenting the demise of Fasci’s Tail. One long winter night, one or more of the goats decided it would break the boredom to chew Fasci’s tail. Overnight they chewed off about two feet of tail hair. So when I looked out my window and saw the goats messing with her tail I knew I had to take immediate action.

I think the main reason for the goats sudden interest in Fasci’s course black tail was the decrease in their hay. I was giving them extra rations because of our colder than usual temps. When the temps returned to the usual winter cold, they are thinking they need something more to munch on.

So I got out the “Bitter Yuck!”. It is a bitter tasting product used for dogs. It keeps them from chewing on items they shouldn’t. When I went out to the barn to spray Fasci’s tail, I had forgotten how much Allie liked the supplements she got when she was pregnant that came in a similar bottle. But Allie didn’t!  So I had to fight my way past a goat, determined to taste a sample of my bottle.

Eventually I was able to spray Fasci’s tail with “Bitter Yuck” and we’ll just have to wait and see if the goats let her keep her tail for fly season this summer!

Essential Oils — 1 Comment
29
Jan 14

The Scoop on DIY Body Scrubs

Body ScrubI posted this last winter but I thought I would post it again. This is the perfect time of year to use a scrub to help keep your rough winter dry skin patches in check.  So here is the low down on the the difference between a salt scrub and a sugar scrub and a DIY recipe too!  Enjoy!

So you may be wondering why use body scrubs? Should I use a sugar or a salt scrub?  Can I make it myself?  The good news; it’s easy to make it yourself for a fraction of the cost of buying one. Here is why you might like to try a body scrub: some folks, especially mature woman, find they have dry rough patches on various parts of your skin no matter how good your skin care routine. And this time of year, when it’s really cold and dry it really compounds the problem. This is when body scrubs can be particularly helpful. Body scrub ingredients helps to exfoliate the rough dead dry skin and moisturize at the same time. The scrubbing part is usually sugar or salt but sometimes grains like ground oats or almonds can be used too. The moisturizing part is often Sweet Almond oil or Olive oil, or any moisturizing oil.

Scrubbers; Sugar is finer then salt and dissolves more quickly which makes it the perfect all around exfoliate. If you prefer something courser use salt but it is too abrasive for your face or sensitive skin and stings if you have a break in your skin. For something less abrasive try ground oatmeal, it is very gentle and is also a humectant but it won’t dissolve in your shower, so you may need to make sure it all goes down the drain.

Moisturizer: You don’t have to stick with Almond or Olive oil. I like them because they are both very stable and have a long shelf life and are good for your skin.  If you use virgin coconut oil it smells really yummy!

TO MAKE a body scrub simply measure out 1 part oil and 2 parts sugar, mix well and store in a wide mouth jar. You can add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil.

TO USE:  Step into your shower with the water off and apply it to dry skin (remember the sugar will dissolve in water). Being careful not to get water into your jar, take a small amount in your palms and rub onto your skin where needed. Rub for a minute or two and then turn the shower on to rinse off.  After you towel off you can still apply your favorite moisturizer as usual. I apply the large Shea Body Butter to the problem areas. I find doing this at least once a week keeps my skin feeling smooth and comfortable this time of year.

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