so sweet

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Apis mellifera

Breaking news (at least for me): SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL HONEY MONTH!

I had no idea that my most favorite of sweet things in the entire world has an entire month dedicated to it. I'm so happy!

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Making honey, yum!

So. Honey. It's sweet, natural, anti-bacterial, and even contains trace amounts of essential nutrients the human body needs. There are, of course, a ton of other reasons why honey is, quite literally, the bees knees. Here is a fun post I found about the many, many uses of honey, including some awesome tips for DIY projects (fruit preserves, hair care, and skin care, to name a few!)

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Laden with pollen

Since it's National Honey month I'd like to express my concerns about the perilous state the honeybee is in now. Did you know honeybees pollinate $15 billion of produce every year, and that the almond blossom can only be pollinated by the honeybee? It's true. Life as we know it would cease to exist without the help from these noble, beautiful little creatures. Colony Collapse Disorder is real, and if people don't start wising up, pretty soon we'll be facing enormous health and agricultural issues. Please, please, please support local beekeepers, plant flowers that attract honeybees, preserve spots where wildflowers grow in your community, and for the love of almonds don't kill them! A little bit of research will show that there a lot of ways people can help save the honeybee. I mean, we sort of owe it to them to make sure they don't die, since they've been ensuring delicious produce for humans for centuries. You can start here, at the Save the Honeybee Foundation.

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Honeybee pollinating an almond blossom

indulge without fear

Lately I've been obsessed with what goes on my skin; I don't trust chemicals. I reserve make up for "special occasions" and I use it maybe once a month, usually less. This slight obsession has also seeped into my use of body lotion. There are some really scary, and unnecessary, things in conventional lotions. I've dabbled in research to find product brands that promote healthy cosmetic formulas. There aren't many. Today I found this short article on one of my favorite websites that addresses some of my concerns. It's basically a list of the 12 most toxic, common ingredients in cosmetic products. It's definitely worth checking labels before you buy anything to make sure the product is free of these vile ingredients.

But I'm not perfect and didn't check before I bought a new lotion from Whole Foods yesterday. I figured they would have the best selection of healthy/natural beauty products without having to spend hours on the internet, and then waiting, waiting, waiting for the product to arrive. So I scoured the isles and picked out one that I felt was worthy. I checked the label with the article today and, to my utter joy, the lotion I picked up checks out on the "Dirty Dozen" list! Yes! I am so happy.

This pomegranate sunflower (smells awesome, by the way) lotion from Nature's Gate is paraben free, phthalate free, mineral oil free, petrolatum free, PEG free, and butylene glycol free, and free of the other ingredients on the list. Plus it has extracts from sunflower seeds, safflower, pomegranate, sweet almond, apricot, jojoba, shea, vitamin E, soybean, aloe, pansy, marshmallow, calendula, sage, milk thistle, grape, red tea, oat, and horsetail! Nature's Gate also has products for hair and sun. Definitely worth checking out!

lavender salts

It's no secret I've been absent from the blog-sphere lately. Maybe I'll write a post about everything that's been happening to me. Maybe I won't and I'll just keep putting one foot in front of the other and pick up where I left off. But I do promise to do more worthwhile things, and that will lead to more blog posts!

I decided to take a bath with some lavender salts today. I ran the water as hot as I could. My shoulders and hips have been tense and I knew a steaming bath would melt some of that away. And it was there that I had an interesting experience with duality; the opposing, complimenting forces that define and drive life. This is how it happened: The water was hot, steaming. I was drinking a cup of hot tea. At first, I felt wonderful. My hips relaxed, my shoulders relaxed, the warm liquid passing from my mouth to my belly relaxed me. After some time, I started to feel a little panicky. [Note to self: next time when sipping hot tea in a hot bath, take drinking water]. I felt uncomfortable and decided to run some cold water. COLD water. Sitting in the hot bath with a cold flow sent a rush through my body. I let my legs cool off, then I sat with my back to the stream and let my back and hips enjoy the revitalizing flow. At first I was hesitant to try that, I thought my body would go into some kind of shock and I'd regret running the cold water. But I was wrong. The hot water melted my tensions, washed them away. The cold water took me to a place of clarity and strength.

And I realized that the challenge I'm experiencing is just a manifestation of the duality of life. Hot and cold. Sun and moon. Summer and winter. Everything about life is a process and a cycle. What I'm experiencing is no different. No matter what happens next, I need to stay balanced. I know this hard time will end and the cycle will lead me to a place of happiness and peace.

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smokey rolls down thunder canyon

Amidst a grueling day of packing I find solace in music. Devendra lifts me up every time.

And can I just say, no matter how many times I watch this bizarre video it doesn't get old. I laugh every time. It has so many things I love, all balled into one!

Teasicles

I had surgery today. The inside of my mouth could easily rival Frankenstein's monster, it's that tacked up. I have orders not to eat or drink anything hot. My Dr also recommended that I keep some icey treats on hand. I'm not a fan of the super sugary, flavored colored ice pops at the grocery store so I decided to make my own treats.
My love of tea and refusal to give it up during this healing process spurred some creativity today. Of course, I could always ice my hot tea, but sometimes I get a little bored with that. So I made teasicles!

First, I picked my tea. I figured green tea might be a tad bland in icicle form and I really love the cinnamon flavor in Yogi's Kava blend.
Thus, Kava won.
I brewed some water and steeped 2 bags to ensure maximum flavor.

 

I let the tea steep and cool for a while before I poured it into regular ice trays. I put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes before I stuck the sticks in them. The theory is that the semi-solid state will hold the toothpicks upright, but the meds made me a little hasty and sloppy. That's okay though, I'm not really going for aesthetics right now. Then I just waited until they were frozen all the way through.

My toothpicks are all willy-nilly!

Ta-da! Now I have two trays of deliciously iced tea in a miniature form! Have I mentioned I love mini things? Well, I do. These are especially great during the summer, too, since it's blazing outside. I'll keep making and refining these. I think next time I'll try to make an icicle-smoothie treat, complete with brewed tea and blended fruits. Yum!

oatmeal & orange peels

I'm somewhat obsessive over my skin. The generic products grocery stores carry always, always irritated my skin. So I was stuck with the expensive stuff; it was the only thing that somewhat worked for me. The drawback to that, besides the harsh chemicals and high price, was that if I skipped a day of exfoliation or a mask my skin would take 3 steps back... *sigh*

Because of all that I decided to try my own, home-made treatments. I have to say I really enjoy the experimenting and my skin can handle it, too. My problem with home-made is that I'm somewhat lazy and don't plan ahead. But that all stops now.

Today, I was in dire need of exfoliation. I must admit I haven't exfoliated for a while, and I'm planning an epic pamper-spa day, complete with dry brushing, oil bathing, hair treatments, mani/pedi, and a facial mask. But before I do a mask I need to exfoliate, and I don't like to do both on the same day. Laziness aside, I concocted an exfoliating treatment today.

This is what I used:
*2 Tablespoons of Oatmeal- ground up with a mortar and pestle
*2 Tablespoons of dried orange peels- also ground with mortar and pestle
*1 Tablespoon of honey
*1-2 teaspoons of yogurt or milk

After I cleansed my face, I ground the oatmeal and dried orange peel and put them in a small bowl. Then I added the honey and milk and stirred it all together. I applied it with gentle circular motions and let it sit for about 5 minutes. After that, I rinsed it off with lukewarm water, gently dried, and topped it all off with some sesame oil. The result: awesome feeling skin.

sesame oil

My sister-in-law asked me to dig around for some information on sesame oil to find out what makes it so great. And i'm glad to do it! She tells me it's been working wonders on her skin, leaving her soft and naturally glowing. The more skin alternatives I find the better. Having struggled with skin issues my whole life, I've recently become sort of obsessed with using only all natural, chemical-free products on my skin. My delicate skin! How could I torture you with chemicals?! I choose not to. So when I hear of new stuff, I try it!

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Here is what I found out about sesame oil:

• It's one of the most important oils used in Ayurvedic medicine
• Also known as gingelly or til oil
• It's popular in oil bathing, as it calms an imbalanced Vata dosha
• It provides natural protection against UV rays
• It's antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory (really good for fighting blemishes!)
• It's full of antioxidants
• It's full of vitamin E, which is excellent for keeping skin hydrated and healthy
• It draws oil soluble toxins out of the skin
• It's used in oil pulling, for oral hygiene 

Basically, sesame oil is hydrating, it helps regenerate new cells, protects against UV rays, it attracts and extracts toxins, and it has very sanitary qualities. Plus it has awesome nutritional value being high in mono- and polyunsaturated fats, as well as being low in saturated fats. It's a win-win situation all around.

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I can say with confidence I'll be getting my hands on some of this miracle worker soon!