Did I Really Need That Parent Class?

Every May, we all flock to City Aquatics to our 'not so' coveted parent class which is a pre-requisite for our children to participate in swim team for the summer.  All of us parents roll our eyes and think, what a waste of time, on top of that we must pay $5.00 to attend. 

I was one of those parents yesterday, rolling my eyes, racing through lunch hour traffic to make it on time.  Parking is always a hassle too!  So I park at the church across the street thinking my truck will NEVER get towed from a church. (this is after I drove 3 blocks looking for the perfect parking spot)  As I enter the crowded room, with little air flow, and sweating as I raced across the street to make it on time.  I flop down in my seat and think, my gosh... do I have to really be told how to treat my child at a swim meet?  I like to think I am not hard on him, cheer him on every step of the way, and teach him that he is still young and has plenty of time to 'do his thing'. (whatever that might be)

All of a sudden, a breath of fresh air enters the room.  A very pale red headed woman with a soft voice enters the room and welcomes all of us.  She does not lecture us about anything but rather gives very important advice regarding nutrition, and NOT to coach our kids.  Hmmm... my ears are perking up at this point. 

I learned quite a bit, one point really stuck with me.  How many of us parents out there think we have the next prodigy?  Whether it be swimming, golf, baseball, etc.  They told us in no uncertain terms that it takes children over 10 years to develop into an elite athlete.  Hmmm... so if you have a great athlete NOW - in ten years they could potentially plateau or soar.   I also learned how to potentially feed my child before during and after a swim meet. 

Moral of the story? 

I learned quite a bit yesterday and having a negative attitude is NOT always the best attitude to have.  With an open mind imagine how much more I could have walked away with?

Transform Toenail Fungus for Pretty Beach Feet!

YUCK

It's an acronym for the common symptoms of nail infections and also how we feel when we see our nails turning on us in front of our eyes!

Y Yellow discoloration of the nail bed


U Under the nail bed, a buildup of skin


C Cracking of the nail


K Keratinization, or thickening of the nail

What can we do at home to get rid of these symptoms or prevent them from happening?

Let's First Address the Entire Body as a System

If a fungus is on a toe, its highly likely that its present somewhere else inthe body. If you've ever had yeast infections, athletes feet, or jock itch for example, you will be apt to get fungal infections on the nails. Make sure the foods that you are eating are more alkaline to balance the body so the unwanted fungus can't take up residence. More alkaline foods are fruits and vegetables. Stay away from acid producing foods, such as sugar, refined carbohydrates, coffee and alcohol.

There are certain "anti-fungal" foods you can eat such as:

Avocado

Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts

Cabbage

Cinnamon

Cloves

Collards

Lemon

Garlic

Kale

Onions

Coconut

and "anti-fungal" supplements:

Grapefruit seed extract

Oregano essential oil

Ginger

Pau d'arco herb and tea

For local application...sure, there are over the counter topical creams. Often they are full of chemicals you may want to shy away from. More natural topical applications would be oils: therapeutic essential oils, vitamin E oil, castor oil, and Vicks VapoRub.



Some ways to use these:

Castor Oil: "Horny" Toe Nail is a common problem especially in the elderly. It's a toenail that is large, angled, and difficult to trim. Soak feet in Epsom salts for 15 minutes every night, and then wrap toe in a castor oil soaked gauze. Put a sock on.



Therapeutic Essential Oils Use one of these directly on the affected toe:

Oregano - Melaleuca (Tea Tree)

Mix tea tree with lavender

Mix tea tree with mountain savory You can use about 5 drops of these oils. Use directly on the site, or dilute with Vitamin E oil. Use the Young Living Blends of Melrose, Thieves, and Purification.

Vicks VapoRub as a remedy? When Vicks hit the market decades ago, people were using it for everything, including fungal nail infections.

The magic of Vicks in the eucalyptus!

(But I say why use Vicks when we have our Young Living Oils!)

Vicks has essential oils in it. Essential oils are naturally anti-microbial and can get rid of any unwanted microbes in their environment, including fungus.

Now Make Them Pretty

Paint them anyway. But be sure to take off your nail polish regularly and reapply. It gives you the opportunity to follow its healing course. You have to pay more attention to your toenails when you are working on getting rid of a fungus. Cleaning, soaks, oil applications, and regularly taking off your polish and reapplying it will take time, stay with it, its worth it.





Reprinted with permission from "Home Spa Lady's Tips of the Week," a free weeky offeriing. Subscribe at http://www.homespalady.com/ 

Have Pencil... Must Write!

This may be the last time I have to be reminded how utimately important it is to blog!  How many times must the PR Guru's (ideally The Publicity Hound) tell me.. blog blog blog!  Search engines such as Google will find you, Twitter - you have to post to Twitter, and don't forget about Facebook.  How does a simple soap girl deal with it all?  Not sure, but I will figure it out come (H E double hockey stick, or high water)

I sit and search my Stats on http://www.statcounter.com/  all  the time!  Hmm.. not working.  Of course it is NOT working, nor is any traffic of any kind going to visit My Site unless I work it.  I am not sure why it has taken me years to jump on the 'social media' band wagon.  But... I think the time has come.

I really have to be serious this time, so hold on to your hats, and fasten yer seatbelts because I think my time is here...........

Might not always be soapy driven, but I will find something to mutter about.

Peppermint Not Only Smells Good....

We all know that peppermint smells and tastes great but....

Did you know??

Peppermint essential oil relaxes the muscles of

your digestive tract, which may ease indigestion.

It numbs pain due to the menthol, which acts as a

local anesthetic. It also stimulates cold-sensitive

nerve endings and helps you breath more freely.