Home Remedy-Dry Skin

           

Please remember that these are remedies that have either been mailed onto me, or that I have found on the Internet.  I haven't tried them all and cannot guarantee the effectiveness of them.  Of course, you should always check with your physician before starting any type of medical regimen.

Dry Skin

• Combine 1 cup oatmeal, 1 cup warm water, 1 Tbls. vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup baking soda in a blender or food processor until you have a smooth paste. Pour this paste under the running water while drawing the bath. Very soothing to dry, itchy skin.
• To relieve dry patches, massage in vegetable shortening like Crisco.  Sounds gross, but it is emollient rich and full of vitamins and replenishing oils.  It is also preservative and fragrance free.

• Beauty Mask for Dry Skin
  1 egg 
  1 teaspoon of honey, 
  1/2 teaspoon of olive oil and 
  few drops of rose water
  *Mix the ingredients thoroughly and use as a mask.

• Tea tree oil has been known to penetrate into the skin's cellular level. Add 1 drop of oil to your favorite day or night cream to help moisturize and smooth skin.

• Aloe Vera is soothing, healing, and moisturizing. It also helps to remove dead skin cells. Apply aloe Vera gel topically on affected areas.

A diet consisting of a lot of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, and Vitamin E can be taken for an inner glow in the skin. Leafy vegetables help the most in replenishing the moisture in the skin. The water intake needs to increase a lot to help the body have the required amount of fluids. Fruit juices are also considered to be very helpful in softening the skin.

Have a great day & hugs to all my friends!

Tags: dry skin, home remedy

Cleaning grease

Good Tuesday morning!  Time for another cleaning tip.  I've found some more tips for cleaning grease, I hope you find these helpful.  I really like the last one, the skin so soft.  The last time I tried to use a product on my kitchen cabinets it almost took the stain off along with the grease.

 

                    

 

Kitchen Grease 

• When I went to clean the hood of the stove exhast fan, it was covered with grease and accumulated dust.  The cleaner I had wasn't doing much good, just gunky it up and slightly moving it around.  So I put a little dishwasher powder on a wet sponge and used that.  It worked great!  It cut the grease and the powder acted as a mild abrasive without scratching the finish.
• Ammonia - cuts grease really well
• Washing soda - cuts grease and disinfects (For those of you who haven't heard of this I've included this link at Wikipedia that gives more information)
• White vinegar - cleans grease
• For grease on wood cabinets, use Avon original Skin So Soft bath oil. Wipe it down and the grease will literally roll up. It puts a great luster on the cupboards, the kitchen smells great.

Ohmahgosh!  This heat is just about unbearable.  I took Rylie to the pool yesterday, but it was almost too hot to even be outside for that.  She doesn't care though, she loves to play in the pool.  Although as soon as she gets out, and it doesn't matter that heat index may be 100, she start's in with the shivering and "I cold, I cold mommy!" 

 

So there she is, sitting under a blazing sun, almost 100 degrees, wrapped up in one towel, another one covering her legs and one over her head.  She is too funny.  Don't worry, I took plenty for her to drink.  I just left my own jug of ice water sitting on the kitchen counter.  LOL

 

Oh, and here are some recent pictures I made into a little "picture page".  Thanks to Shelly for sending out the request to her friends for fishing picture tubes.  I really appreciate the help and I think it turned out real cute.  I just need to work on being able to free hand draw a smoother line.  LOL

 

How do y'all like that Bass?  That ol' boy was having no luck fishing at all.  He wasn't catching anything, broke a pole (mine, by the way) and was looking a bit like a child that lost his lollipop.  So on Saturday evening, as they were pulling away from the dock, I did a "fishing dance and chant".  LMAO  Then he came back with that big ol' Bass.  How funny.

 

Have a great day & hugs to all my friends!

Tags: cleaning tip, grease, fishing pictures

A couple of different steak grilling recipes

These are a couple of steak recipes I found at Better Homes and Gardens.  Enjoy!

                       

Garlic Steaks with Nectarine-Onion Relish
Ingredients
4  boneless beef top loin steaks, cut 1 inch thick (about 1-1/2 to 2 pounds total)
6  cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2  medium onions, coarsely chopped
1  teaspoon olive oil
2  tablespoons cider vinegar
1  tablespoon honey
1  medium nectarine, chopped
2  teaspoons snipped fresh applemint, pineapplemint, or spearmint
  Fresh applemint, pineapplemint, or spearmint (optional)

Directions
1. Trim fat from steaks. With the point of a paring knife, make small slits in steaks. Insert half of the garlic into slits. Wrap steaks in plastic wrap; let stand at room temperature up to 20 minutes. (For more intense flavor, refrigerate up to 8 hours.) Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, for relish, in a large nonstick skillet cook onions and remaining garlic in hot oil over medium heat about 10 minutes or until onions are a deep golden color (but not brown), stirring occasionally. Stir in vinegar and honey. Stir in nectarine and the 2 teaspoons mint; heat through.
3. Grill steaks on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium heat to desired doneness, turning once. (Allow 8 to 12 minutes for medium-rare and 12 to 15 minutes for medium doneness.) Serve the relish with steaks. If desired, garnish with additional mint. Makes 4 servings.

Make-Ahead Tip: Up to 8 hours ahead insert garlic slices into meat. Wrap and refrigerate.

Peppered Ribeye Steaks with Grilled Sweet Peppers
Ingredients
4  10- to 12-ounce beef ribeye steaks, cut 1 inch thick
1  tablespoon olive oil
1  tablespoon paprika
1  tablespoon garlic powder
2  teaspoons dried thyme, crushed
2  teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
1-1/2  teaspoons lemon-pepper seasoning
1  teaspoon salt
1/2  to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2  to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1  recipe Grilled Peppers (see recipe below)

Directions
1. Trim fat from meat. Brush steaks with oil. In a small bowl, combine paprika, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, lemon-pepper seasoning, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. sprinkle paprika mixture evenly over meat; rub in with your fingers. Cover steaks and chill for 1 hour.
2. Place steaks on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals. Grill until desired doneness, turning once. (Allow 11 to 15 minutes for medium-rare doneness [145 degree F] or 14 to 18 minutes for medium doneness [160 degree F].) Cut steaks into serving-size pieces. Serve with Grilled Peppers. Makes 8 servings.

Grilled Peppers: Seed and quarter 4 yellow, red, and/or orange sweet peppers. Brush peppers with 4 teaspoons olive oil. Place pepper quarters on grill rack directly over medium coals. Grill for 12 to 15 minutes or until peppers are crisp-tender and lightly browned, turning once. Remove peppers from grill; cool slightly. Cut peppers into wide strips. Place peppers in bowl. Add 2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; toss well. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature

As soon as I get done with them I'll post some neat little pictures I took recently.

Have a great day & hugs to all my friends!

Tags: grilled steak

A couple of pictures

Here are a few pictures that I took recently.  One is of Rylie at Grandma's birthday party and the other one is Rylie conspiring with her Aunt Cathy.

                    

                 

I know Cathy, your gonna kill me for putting your picture in here.  But you have to admit, that is a good picture.  It pretty much sums everything up.  You whisper in our ears, we listen, get that devilish smile and then we get in trouble for letting you be a bad influence on us.  LMAO!  Well, that's the story I'm sticking with anyway. 

I just found this in my email from the Daily OM.

July 6, 2007
Just Being There
Acting As A Guardian

One of the greatest gifts we can give another human being is to act as their guardian. Whether this gift is related to a specific situation or is representative of an ongoing commitment, we each benefit from the association. To protect someone is to walk with them in challenging times and see them through safely to the other side. In doing this, we grow with them. And those under our guardianship derive confidence from our support and assistance, enabling them to persevere through almost any conditions.

There are many reasons we feel inspired to serve as guardians to those we care for. Sometimes just holding the space for somebody allows them to do what is necessary to grow or heal. We may simply want to see that our friend or loved one is taken care of and equipped to prevail over difficult circumstances. We may also sense that we are in possession of knowledge our loved ones are lacking yet need in their current stage of development. Our offer to serve as a guardian may also be both unsolicited and unrelated to any one situation. Instead of helping someone we care about cope with a specific challenge, we may find ourselves providing them with a more general form of emotional sustenance that prepares and strengthens them for challenges yet to come.

Our ability to empathize with those under our guardianship is our greatest asset because our comprehension of their needs allows us to determine how we can best serve them. Even when this comprehension is limited, however, the loving intentions with which we enter into our role as guardian ensure that our care and protection help others grow as individuals while living their lives with grace.

I would consider Cathy to be one of my guardians.  She is usually one of my strongest support systems and I depend on her for guidance and alliance.  She is also trouble with a capital T, LOL.  Come to think of it, I've gotten myself into quite a few "situations" since we've met.  I wonder if that has anything to do with it.  LOL

Have a great day & hugs to all my friends!

Home Remedy-Diarrhea

Good Morning!  I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. 

Back to the same ol', same ol'.  Holidays in the middle of the week are not nearly as much fun as those on Monday or Friday.

Please remember that these are remedies that have either been mailed onto me, or that I have found on the Internet.  I haven't tried them all and cannot guarantee the effectiveness of them.  Of course, you should always check with your physician before starting any type of medical regimen.

Diarrhea

• Eat boiled sweet potatoes seasoned with salt and pepper before bedtime to cure chronic diarrhea.
• For some people eating blueberries works very well.
• Get BRATTY. BRATTY is an anagram for bananas, rice, applesauce, toast, tea and yogurt. It's recommended that diarrhea sufferers follow a diet that consists solely of these foods until the condition has been alleviated, since these foods have the effect of adding bulk to the intestines--thus relieving runny stools. Additionally, the pectin in applesauce should help firm bowel movements, and the beneficial bacteria present in yogurt can help restore the ecology of an ailing stomach.
• Buttermilk is one of the most effective home remedies in the treatment of diarrhea. Buttermilk is the residual milk which is left oven, after fat has been removed from curd by churning.
• Cardamom-Take about 1/4 teaspoon of powder of cardamom seeds and boil them with tea water. Add a bit of sugar for taste and drink.
• Water, Sugar and Salt Solution-This solution is an essential medicine for diarrhea. It is effective treatment for adults as well as for children and infants. Add lime juice (sour/sweet) or orange juice to taste. For adults, a mixture of 1 liter of water , 1 teaspoon of salt and 8 teaspoons of sugar is good for curing diarrhea. For children, 1 liter of water is added with ¾ teaspoon of salt and 8 level teaspoons of sugar.
  

*If your diarrhea lasts more than 2 days, see a doctor. Also seek medical help if your diarrhea involves tummy cramps, fever, jaundice or rashes, or if your stools contain mucus, blood, pus or abdominal cramps.

*Know that diarrhea in babies or the elderly can be dangerous and should be treated by a doctor.

 

We were going to go downtown for the fireworks last night, but we ended up taking Papa to the hospital.  We had told Rylie that we were going to take her downtown to see the fireworks, so she go a bit annoyed with us.  She just didn't get it and kept saying "I want to go to town".

Poor thing.  She was getting grumpy...which meant mommy was getting grumpy.  It can be hard to deal with when she just starts whining and wants this or that, but not really.  Then she starts in with "I want Papa.  I want to see Papa" and crying a little bit.  It just about broke my heart.  We finally came home around mid-night and she went right to sleep. 

I've got a few calls to make this morning and an excercise machine that is just screaming my name, LOL.  Have a good one!

Have a great day & hugs to all my friends!

Tags: diarrhea, home remedy

Happy Independence Day!

Hello and Happy 4th!  We went to the fireworks in Sylvania last night and are getting ready to leave here in a bit to go to downtown Toledo tonight.  Today we pretty much just hung out aound the house and had a little BBQ.  Just hamburgers, potatoe salad, pasta salad, baked beans, some fresh veggies and cookies.

I forgot to take my camera last night, so I'll need to make sure I take it tonight so I can get some pictures of Rylie Jo.  Have a wonderful and safe night!

                          

Have a great day & hugs to all my friends!

Cleaning tip-Ink Stains

Good morning!  I've used this tip many times...Rylie loves to display her artwork directly on our walls...and it works very well.  Thank goodness.

        

 

Ink Stains: The best way I have found to get out ink stains is to use rubbing alcohol on the stain - it disappears! This must be done before washing. For ink on the wall, try using the alcohol, if it doesn't completely remove the ink go over the mark with bleach and it should disappear.

 

Cathy and I talked again for a little bit yesterday.  We just kept talking about the weekend and giggling about the whole time.  Oh yeah...holler out to JB...Eeeee-Eee-Eeeee-Eee!  ROFLMAO!  <<<Which I pratically did too.  Inside joke...but he and Cath will get it. 

 

Just waiting for the sun to make an appearance here.  I should go outside and get on that contraption to get my 30 minute cardio in, but Rylie is up early this morning and I'm not sure if she will tolerate my attention being elsewhere for that long.  I did an extra 30 minutes last night, so maybe I can skip this morning.

 

Hey Cathy-bear, LOL, maybe you should come over early every morning and we could take turns on my cardio contraption and ab cruncher.  LOL  That would be fun.  Yes, you can bring coffee...oops, no.  I know, I know...you won't come unless I have a pot of the stuff ready for you.  And even then, your just going to sit and watch me and laugh.  You think I don't know you...but maybe I do, at least a little better than you think.  Huh?  LOL

 

I think that sounds like a good idea.  Then while your laughing at me, we could discuss the N&BW Club that we were talking about earlier.  Time to get those tee-shirts ordered, dontcha think?  {{{wink}}}  Here's a tagline I was thinking of..."When second is better than first", or something along that line.

 

Have a great day & hugs to all my friends!

Tags: cleaning tip, ink stain