The Soul Spa

Was browsing through some sites today.stumbled upon a great article on realizing and acting on the things you can control. Here are the highlights!!!

Here are a few things that you can control:

• Your perception:  “You can’t stop a bird from flying over your head but you can stop it from building a nest on you.” You control how you think. No one is so powerful that they can make you think a certain way. People are there to influence, but in the end the decision is your own.
• Your attitude: If WHAT you think is based on perception, then HOW you think results from your attitude.  What people have to realize is, life goes on after a bad day. How you respond to life greatly determines what you will get out of life. It has been proven that people with a positive attitude live a more fulfilling lifestyle than those who do not.
• Your time and schedule:  You can never EARN more time. It is far better to lose money then your time. Money can always be made, but once time is invested and loss, it is gone. It is your responsibility to cherish your time and use it wisely.
• Your circle of influence: We all have thought we would be better off with another family, or without a family member. We do not choose our families, however what you can choose is who gets into your ‘space’. Focus on who you are allowing and want in your life. Who we allow in our life, is who will influence us.

“Actions are simply our response to our motivation. Once the fire has been lit we have to move quickly to implement our goals and use that momentum. Life gives us what we are willing to put into it. Goals aren’t prejudice nor play favorites. Goals show up completed when the person pursuing them employs consistent effort and planning.”

I realized i really love shopping, a long time ago, but as i am young and putting myself through school, i can not always shop til i drop. Yet, thrifty shopping is a definite for me. I have always enjoyed cruising a good thrift store or stocking up at the local goodwill, on books, blankets, trinkets, and the like, but i never really thrift shopped for clothes,every blue moon and it was for one or two specific garments. Today, i got a real feel for shopping thrifty, and i loved it… Tailored jackets, linen wear, shorts, shirts, shoes…. you name it. And for a person like me who follows no one but myself, the fashion variety is truly unlimited. Sure there is a lot of “junk” to sort through, but that’s the fun of shopping. If you are “season” conscious buyer, don’t sweat, because “retro” is in, and believe me, goodwill has retro.

I wound up picking out a few articles and really enjoying the thrill of shopping and coming away with items i could use, I could tell were made well (so they will last me), and that could be mixed and matched with so much i already own.

Today’s lesson: Score 1 for Thrift shopping, my wardrobe from now on will be coming cheap!

*Every thrift store, consignment shop, and goodwill is different, what you find in one location may not be in another. Shop for your favorite locations, for a good selection of clothes.

Stuck with a cold two weeks before my wedding day….not a fan of medication, so dont have much in the house, so natural remedies it is…. a quick web search gave me this VERY helpful list….

Most of this is common sense, but some is actually very useful and new.

Cold Remedy #1: Drink plenty of fluids to help break up your congestion. Drinking water or juice will prevent dehydration and keep your throat moist. You should drink at least 8 to 10 eight-ounce glasses of water daily. Include fluids such as water, sports drinks, herbal teas, fruit drinks, or ginger ale. Your mother’s chicken soup might help too! (Avoid cola, coffee, and other drinks withcaffeine because it acts like a diuretic and may dehydrate you.)

Cold Remedy #2: Inhale steam to ease your congestion and drippy nose. Hold your head over a pot of boiling water and breathe through your nose. Be careful. If the steam burns your nose, breathe in more slowly. You can buy a humidifier, but the steam will be the same as the water on the stove. Moisture from a hot shower with the door closed, saline nasal spray, or a room humidifier is just as helpful to ease congestion.

Cold Remedy #3: Blow your nose often, but do it the proper way. It’s important to blow your nose regularly when you have a cold rather than sniffling mucus back into your head. But when you blow hard, pressure can carry germ-carrying phlegm back into your ear passages, causing earache. The best way to blow your nose is to press a finger over one nostril while you blow gently to clear the other.

Cold Remedy #4: Use saline nasal sprays or make your own salt water rinse to irrigate your nose. Salt-water rinsing helps break nasal congestion while also removing virus particles and bacteria from your nose. Here’s a popular recipe:

Mix 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda in 8 ounces of warm water. Fill a bulb syringe with this mixture (or use a Neti pot, available at most health foods stores). Lean your head over a basin, and using the bulb syringe, gently squirt the salt water into your nose. Hold one nostril closed by applying light finger pressure while squirting the salt mixture into the other nostril. Let it drain. Repeat two to three times, and then treat the other nostril.

It’s important to note that, according to the CDC, if you are irrigating, flushing, or rinsing your sinuses, use distilled, sterile, or previously boiled water to make up the irrigation solution. It’s also important to rinse the irrigation device after each use and leave open to air dry.

Cold Remedy #5: Stay warm and rested. Staying warm and resting when you first come down with a cold or the flu helps your body direct its energy toward the immune battle. This battle taxes the body. So give it a little help by lying down under a blanket to stay warm if necessary.

Cold Remedy #6: Gargle with warm salt water. Gargling can moisten a sore or scratchy throat and bring temporary relief. Try a half teaspoon of salt dissolved in 8 ounces of warm water four times daily. To reduce the tickle in your throat, try an astringent gargle — such as tea that contains tannin — to tighten the membranes. Or use a thick, viscous gargle made with honey, popular in folk medicine. Steep one tablespoon of raspberry leaves or lemon juice in two cups of hot water; mix with one teaspoon of honey. Let the mixture cool to room temperature before gargling.

Cold Remedy #7: Drink hot liquids. Hot liquids relieve nasal congestion, prevent dehydration, and soothe the uncomfortably inflamed membranes that line your nose and throat. If you’re so congested you can’t sleep at night, try a hot toddy, an age-old remedy. Make a cup of hot herbal tea. Add one teaspoon of honey and one small shot (about 1 ounce) of whiskey or bourbon if you wish. Limit yourself to one. Too much alcohol inflames those membranes and is counterproductive.

Cold Remedy #8: Take a steamy shower. Steamy showers moisturize your nasal passages and relax you. If you’re dizzy from the flu, run a steamy shower while you sit on a chair nearby and take a sponge bath.

Cold Remedy #9: Try a small dab of mentholated salve under your nose to help open breathing passages and help restore the irritated skin at the base of the nose. Menthol, eucalyptus, and camphor all have mild numbing ingredients that may help relieve the pain of a nose rubbed raw.

Cold Remedy #10: Apply hot packs around your congested sinuses. You can buy reusable hot packs at a drugstore. Or make your own. Take a damp washcloth and heat it for 30 seconds in a microwave. (Test the temperature first to make sure it’s right for you.)

Cold Remedy #11: Sleep with an extra pillow under your head. This will help relieve congested nasal passages. If the angle is too awkward, try placing the pillows between the mattress and the box springs to create a more gradual slope.

Cold Remedy #12: Learn about natural remedies like zinc, echinacea, and vitamin C. People looking for natural cold remedies often turn to supplements.