Dealing with tidal waves

The stress from an emergency is different in some ways from our everyday stress.  It's important to treat and be prepared for both kinds if possible.  That being said, today I wanted to share some emergency ideas.

I've learned over the years different ways to be prepared for emergencies.  If a tsunami makes it this far inland I'm afraid I'm out of luck, but we are prepared for many other things.  My DH was out of work for about 7 months and while we received help from our church there were certain things we didn't have to go without.  From our supply - we never rain out of our normal medications, toilet paper, laundry detergent, etc.  There's a peace of mind that comes with being prepared that can help you focus in the day to day.

There's a site in prelaunch that I found that has dehydrated foods available at a very good cost.  You can check it out here:
Click Me!

I also recommend you have a supply of water for any short term emergencies.  (Keep in mind that your water heater could be emptied for some short term emergencies.)

In addition, remember that health, fun and relaxation now provide us with an excellent tool in stressful times - our memories.  Make some, and have fun!  Drink your water. :)

Wee hours

I'm up, it's late.  How are you doing?  Late nights do strange things to my head, like trying to find an old book on using hand pressure to overcome fear.  I have a large selection of weird books like that.  Some help, some make me laugh, and others just intrigue me. 

Has anyone seen the Ford commercial from the super bowl that the guy goes out on a date and then uses his car to check the facebook status where she writes "best first date ever?"  This brings up an interesting idea for me.  This may be none of my business, but if you're willing, I would love to hear what some of your best dates or most romantic things from you lives are. 

Romance is a beautiful key to life.  Relationships that are good improve, increase and prolong our lives.  Making our relationships good, should be as important as what we should be doing for our bodies.  It doesn't have to take that long either.  I'm challenging myself this week to work on my relationships.  I want to give a little of my time, a little of myself to those that I love. 

Want one of my romantic stories?  I should preface this with a "do not try this at home" but when engaged the man who is now my DH, we had reached a very difficult part of our life planning.  I felt unsure and told him I couldn't marry him with things the way they were.  He left work (and got fired) and drove the 2 hours to where I was so we could talk all day until we worked it out.  We also found him a new job closer, but it was very important for us at the time.

A different tale perhaps?  My mother used to leave for work before I got up sometimes, and every once in a while she would leave me a note with a little present, just so I knew she was thinking of me. 

Sit down and write that email, call that friend, bring home a flower or candy bar, reach out and be reached.
<3
Love.

March Hair

I, and much of my family, are in need of haircuts.  It's spring, that time again.  I've been learning about natural beauty products more lately and the things in or not in the hair care stuff we use.

Biotin - great for hair, but can't be absorbed by the shaft, so don't be fooled.
Sudsy - detergents, bad for hair, bad for body, but we're so accustomed to the feeling of lather that our "experience" is incomplete without it.  This is something we just need to overcome I guess. :)
Chemicals - there's a lot of hype about shampoos, toothpastes, creams, causing cancer, in reality, according to the ACS (American Cancer Society) our risk of getting cancer in our lifetimes hasn't increased that much in the past 20 years, which is what a lot of sites and emails would have you believe.  Cancer has always been around, fight it with exercise, fruits and veggies, whole grains, and faith.

That being said, our hair needs care to look good.  Our thyroids need balancing, our body need vitamins, and we need to not stand too long in really hot showers.

I'm off to luke-warm myself - later!

Getting warmer

With the sweat lodge news it may be time to talk about heat.  Heat stroke is a dangerous side effect of summer fun and is especially dangerous to those with weaker systems.  Use sunscreen, drink lots and bring along that paper fan.  The movement of air across the skin really does help to lower the body temp faster.

To get summer ready begin vitamin B's, vitamin D, and vitamin E.  Get out, have some fun, even sweat a little.

For great summer herbs, start a pot today.  Easy to grow and highly usable herbs include basil, parsley, mint, oregano, and rosemary.  Studies have shown that rosemary can improve memory (the studies themselves were both a little weird to read about). 

Let me know what you're growing this year!

Recovery

Had one of those weekends?  Did a little too much, stayed up too late, or overexerted?  Time to get better!  I love the title of this book

Sometimes exercise is the answer.  Going for a walk or run can do wonders for any sort of recovery.  It can help emotionally, physically, and chemically.

For pains in places, a go to list:
Muscles and Joints - capsaicin, arnica, glucosamine, vitamin D, magnesium, white willow, apple cider vinegar (ACV).
Stomach and digestion - peppermint, ginger, aloe vera, ACV, chamomile

Water, sleep, social activities, all good for the feel good.

And of course, a massage.  Anybody know a good therapist?  I could use a massage today!

Stress This!

Stress is a weird word in my opinion.  People work better under stress, unless they are stressed, then they have poor performance.  Bones need to be stressed to stay strong, but you can get a stress fracture.  So my question to myself today is, how do we draw the line on stress?

Stress heightens, strengthens and invigorates.  It induces hormones of fight or flight and oddly enough can induce feelings of strength, confidence, fear and even love.  Then you reach the too much point, the over 5 on the meter of comfort, you push too hard, do too much, or have one too many problems.  This week is a stressful week for me, let's just say I have a lot going on, and didn't start with the greatest mental status.

Here's my advice, but PLEASE, add comments with your own thoughts.  I love to hear and learn how others deal with their stress.

First, get sleep.  Nothing takes away performance, alters mental status, or inhibits body changes like a lack of sleep.  If you have a killer week or month or life, get your rest.
Second, drink water.  I won't beat this one down.  :)
Third, add feverfew, ginseng, st. john's wort, Omega 3, or B vitamins.  These can all aid your ability to get through it.














Forth, eat small snacks to keep your body regulated.  Low fat dairy, fruit (bananas, berries and melons are great), and veggies are an excellent way to stabilize and in some cases add serotonin (the happy hormone) to help you keep going.
Fifth, keep short term goals and rewards.  This offers breaks in the stress.  If I get this done I can play online for 10 minutes, or if I get through this week I will go for a bike ride with my family.  If you set rewards in your mind that are also good for you it helps to build the positive feelings about those activities.

Chin up, we'll make it.  Or we won't and then it's someone else's problem!  Either way.  :)  See you soon!