#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--BUBBLE BATH FOR MOTHER'S DAY

Sunday is Mother’s Day. Every mom needs a bit of pampering, and this gift is not only sure to please but easy to make—even for those of you who claim you don’t have the crafting gene.

Materials:

12 oz. canning jar with lid

4 oz. unscented shampoo

4 oz. water

1-1/2 T. baby oil

1/2 teaspoon essential oil (your choice of scent*)

sheet of cardstock

hole punch

1/2-yd. 1/2” wide ribbon

computer or pen

*Suggested scents for relaxation include vanilla, lavender, and chamomile, but when it comes to gift-giving, always choose the scent the recipient likes best.

Combine all the ingredients in the canning jar. Seal tightly. Shake to combine ingredients.

Set the text margins on your computer to 1” high x 2-1/2” wide and type out directions (see below) using a decorative font. Print on cardstock. Trim cardstock evenly to 1-3/4” x 3-1/4”. (Note: if you don’t have a computer, use a pen to write out the directions by hand.)

Punch hole in the center of one short end of the cardstock.

Loop ribbon through hole and tie around jar.

Bubble Bath

Add 2-3 T. to water as tub fills.

Lie back and relax!

HEALTHY LIVING--GOOD SENSE SCENTS

Smell is a powerful sense. Research shows that it can trigger memory, improve your mood and your sleep and relieve pain and stress. But which scents work best for which?

Lavender—acts as a calming agent and relieves stress and anxiety.

Peppermint—great for the relief of tension headaches.

Note: Peppermint is an irritant. Keep it away from your eyes.

Clary Sage—works as a mood enhancer and anti-depressant, heightening happiness. Rubbing on your belly may ease menstrual cramps.

Note: Clary sage contains estrogen-like compounds. For that reason it should not be used by women who have had breast or ovarian cancer.

Eucalyptus—relieves congestion and respiratory problems because it contains antibacterial, antiviral, and antioxidant properties.

Note: Keep eucalyptus away from infants, small children, and pregnant women. The strong odor might also adversely affect those with asthma and COPD.

Tea Tree—This is great for your skin. Its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties help treat fungal infections and fight acne.

Some common sense dos and don’ts when it comes to scents:

Always test scents on a small patch of skin to check for an adverse reaction. Don’t use if you experience itching, burning, swelling, redness, nausea, stuffiness, or a severe headache.

Never take essential oils internally.

Use cautiously around infants, small children, and pets.

Some oils can increase the risk of sunburn. Never expose yourself to direct sunlight after using essential oils.

Oils are flammable. Keep them away from candles and other open flames.

Overuse of oils can lead to sensitivity and inflammation.

HEALTHY LIVING WITH JANICE - AROMA THERAPY WITH GUEST AUTHOR CHRYSTLE FIEDLER

Joining us for another visit today is natural remedies expert and mystery author Chrystle Fiedler. Scent to Kill is the second book in her Natural Remedies Mystery series. Chrystle is also the author of several non-fiction books as well as magazine articles on natural health, home remedies, and diet. Learn more about her and her books at her website. 

For a chance to win a copy of Scent to Kill: A Natural Remedies Mystery, leave a comment about your favorite natural scents. Don’t forget to include your email address or check back on Sunday to learn if you’re the winner. We can’t get your book to you if we have no way of contacting you. -- AP

Scent to Kill, my latest natural remedies mystery features tips about aromatherapy which is the practice of using essential oils to improve health and well-being. Aromatherapy can ease stress, insomnia, anxiety, depression, aches and pains, and more. Three of my favorite scents are lavender, jasmine and roses, so I thought I’d share a few simple tips on how to use them today.

Lavender

Not only does Lavender (the Latin verb lavare means “to wash”) smell terrific, it’s calming and soothing and good for cuts and burns, insomnia, diaper rash, tension headache, PMS and cramps (use with clary sage and Roman chamomile). The phytochemicals (plant-based chemicals linalool and linalyl acetate) in lavender are absorbed in the skin and in the membranes inside your nose, slowing nerve impulses, and reducing stress. An easy way to start using lavender is to put five to ten drops of essential oil in your bath. Add the oil after you have filled the tub so you can enjoy the full benefits of this wonderful aroma.

Jasmine

The aroma of jasmine (Jasminum officinale v. grandiflorum) is intoxicatingly sweet, exotic, and floral. It’s also incredibly therapeutic for a variety of conditions. Jasmine essential oil eases mild depression, anxiety, and tension. It also balances energy and helps you feel more optimistic. It calms coughs and laryngitis, soothes sore muscles, stiffness, and sprains. You can apply it topically, use it on a warm or cool compress, put it in the bath, inhale it from your palm, or put it in your diffuser. It will make any room an oasis.

Roses

I love the rich, sweet floral bouquet of roses and the approximately 275 compounds have a myriad of therapeutic uses. For example, if you apply it topically, rose oil can help banish eczema, wrinkles, and acne. If you feel blue, rose essential oil will naturally lift your mood. If you have painful periods, it helps to balance hormones (just put the oil on a warm compress and apply to your lower abdomen). Rose oil also eases nervousness, anxiety, anger, sadness, and grief and can be helpful if you have respiratory problems such as allergies and hay fever. You also use rose oil to help you sleep better and feel happier. For all these conditions, simply put some on your palm and inhale it or put rose essential oil into a diffuser. Your bedroom will smell like an English garden.

Scent to Kill: A Natural Remedies Mystery

When naturopathic doctor and shop owner Willow McQuade’s ex-boyfriend Simon Lewis invites her to a party for the cast and crew of a new television show at Long Island’s scenic Bixby Estate, she’s most excited to visit the property’s exclusive lavender farm. But a whole field of her favorite stress-reducing herb can’t provide enough soothing support to calm the effects of a murder!

Even the show’s psychic star didn’t predict the demise of Roger Bixby, the estate’s owner and estranged husband of Simon’s new girlfriend. Now Simon, who’s been collared by police, needs Willow’s help to remedy the situation. As Willow snoops about the mansion, offering natural cures to ease the mounting tension, a strange energy—and the discovery of an eerily similar unsolved murder decades earlier—makes her wonder whether the alternative source of the crime might actually be . . . supernatural. Can she find harmony between mind, body, and possibly even spirits before somebody else goes up in smoke? 

As a bonus, you’ll find dozens of natural aromatherapy cures throughout the book that can improve your health. I think you’ll be surprised as how much they can help you feel better in mind, body and spirit!

Buy Link 

Don't forget to leave a comment to enter the drawing for a copy of Scent to Kill. -- AP

HEALTHY LIVING WITH JANICE - TAKE A DEEP BREATH!

Is there anyone out there who doesn't feel stressed at some point during the day? We all deal with way too much stress in our lives. One stressful situation that occurs on an almost daily basis for anyone living in a metropolitan area is the stress of traffic. Being caught in a traffic jam, whether you need to be somewhere you have an appointment to keep or a backseat filled with complaining, hungry, irritable kids, sets those stress hormones soaring.

So here's a tip:

The next time you're stuck in traffic, practice some deep breathing exercises. Take a deep breath, then exhale slowly to the count of four. Do this several times. Deep breathing creates a road bloke against those stress-causing hormones. You've heard of the phrase fighting fire with fire? Now you can fight one road block with another road block.

And once you get out of that traffic jam, head to the store to buy yourself some lavender, mango, or lemon scents. These fragrances contain a chemical called linalool which helps banish stress when you inhale it.