Make It Yourself Monday - Pup Treats

Aside from the fact that we began the day at a mere two degrees, guess what?

I am beginning the new year on a wonderful note. Not only did I set my goals, as I wrote about last week, but I won a runner-up prize, a gift certificate from Brableberry.com, for sharing those goals with the Soap Queen and her blog readers! I am so jazzed, especially since things went so off track last year. Really, I have only won something once or twice in my whole life. I just can't tell/explain to you how blessed I feel. It is so nice to have this year beginning on such a sweet note!

Okay, enough gushing and on to the Make it Yourself Monday post. Since we pampered ourselves with last weeks recipe, this week, I wanted to share the love with our four-legged, furry, barking friend(s). It is a very easy treat to make, and one that your dogs will love, mine all do! But, of course, if you don't feel like making a treat yourself, feel free to check out my Unique Treat Dog Bones shop for all natural dog treats!

FRUIT PUPSICKLES

Take 1 Quart of your choice of fruit juice (my dogs like pineapple)-DO NOT USE GRAPE,

add 1 mashed banana

and 1/2 cup of plain yogurt.

Mix the ingredients thoroughly, then fr

eeze in small containers. This is an enjoyable, healthy snack any time of the year, but a real special treat during the hot, summer months.

Frankly Speaking Friday

Week one of 2011 is just about over, can you believe that? I remember when the year 2000 was almost inconceivable.....of course that statement pretty well dates me! LOL!

Here in Ohio the weather has changed again. We are now snow-covered and cold, instead of simply dreary and cold. No use complaining about it, but the cold really doesn't agree with me at all. The weather can have a great impact on our moods, and I tend to get the "I'm cold and I wanna hibernation blues" every winter. Since I can't afford to get to a beach every year, and even when I can go I have to come home long before the Spring thaw, I look to small things to keep me going and to get me through. These mini vacations for my mind, are enough to elevate my mood and soothe my soul.

First I turn on a small space heater and get the bathroom extra warm and toasty. Then I begin a very HOT bath, one that beats any commercial jacuzzi. While the bath is running I choose my soaking ingredients, depending upon my mood and my ache and pain level. When I am extremely stiff and sore, I use my "Raphael's Healing Blend" bath soak. When I need a mood elevator more than a healing touch, I use one of my Body, Mind and Soul essential oil blends. The aroma hits your nose as soon as the heat hits the oil. While I have a "winter blues" blend, I generally use, either the "Uplifting" or the "Relaxation" formula (although my BFF says I should use the "Anti-depression" one, lol).

Last night I went for a combo of both healing the aches and pains and the mental fatigue, as I used my "Healing Waters Sparkling Bath", infused with an anti-stress blend of essential oils. After I soaked for 20 minutes, while I read a novel, I used some body scrub on my heels, arms and elbows, and got rid of the dry skin. I then rinsed off, patted dry, and used some "Heel and Elbow Cream" on my heels. After that, I then immediately bundled up in a warm, fuzzy robe and headed off to bed to get under warm covers with Gizmo (my Yorkie). For a few hours I could have been at any spa, and it was almost as good as being on a beach.

No matter where you live, or what season it is, we all need to "treat" ourselves to some pampering now and again, it is so important for our physical and our spiritual health. So think about what could give you respite from your stressors, and then dedicate some quality time to yourself, you deserve it! If you need some ideas, you can read about giving yourself a home spa day here or about how to give yourself a massage (toward the bottom of the post) here.

Tripod Thursdays

I love to take photos, and take thousands, so I would love to share some with you...don't worry it wont be more than a few hundred, lol. Now that I think of it, I guess that I should have saved the pictures from yesterday for today, oh well, as I said, I have plenty! I thought it might be interesting to offer to include some of your photos at times, so feel free to let me know if you one or two that you would like to contribute (all copyrights remain the sole property of the contributor and by their submission, they represent that the work is their intellectual property).

I live in Ohio, referred to as the Buckeye state. We have four seasons and weather that changes frequently. Everyone says [that] "if you don't like the weather here, stick around it will change!" And change it does. To help you understand, we had snow on the ground for Christmas, and temperatures down in the single digits. By new years eve we had no snow and temperatures in the 50's! Of course, now it is back down in the 20's. It has snowed a tad, but did not stick, so it is just dreary and cold! The only time I like winter is for Christmas, then I hate the cold and the grey of it all. I can't wait until spring when it will be muddy but colorful again!

The pictures today are all Ohio scenery. I love nature and nature's palate is my favorite photo opportunity, which drives my Mother crazy. She is all for pictures with someone you know in them, so she says "wait, wait, til I get over there" and I am quickly shooting or saying, "move, I want to get that great flower or tree-line, or whatever", lol! As a matter of fact, several people have suggested that I sell some of my (scenery) photographs. That may turn out to be part of my new listing goals, I haven't quite decided. At any rate, I do have about two thousand pictures of my Grandson already, so I take my fair share of people shots too, I just truly love nature shots, they move me!

What's Happening Wednesday

Wednesday, hump day, so I have decided to dedicate Wednesdays to whatever is happening. This will not always be work related, rather, whatever I happen to be up to that day.

Today, as part of my new years' goals mandate, I have been working on organizing and executing my work, in particularly for my on-line shops. To that end, I finished a new pair of earrings the other day, as well as a pre-designed, mini scrapbook. I had not, however, taken the pictures to list them yet. Since both of these items need to go into my uniqueXpression shop, they would never make it there if I didn't get down to business and get those pictures. Soooooo, as of this posting, I have 3/4 of my task completed! The pictures are all taken (of course I allowed myself to get side-tracked and uploaded several holiday pictures and organized some folders) and I have completed the listing for the scrapbook, but the earrings listing is now pushed to the top of my Thursday to do list. I am so out of practice (and maybe a bit unfocused), it seemed to take me most of the day just to complete these few things, lol! Oh well, practice should make perfect, and I expect that I will soon be cranking out the on-line work again, I have confidence....deserved or not, I guess we will soon see!

Since the pictures are all done, even though they are not yet listed, I will share them with you.

These are 19g, sterling silver w/ ball, shepherds hooks, with a Swarovski crystal-studded chandelier. They have champaign and clear crystals and are about a 1 1/2" drop. They are quite lovely, and can be easily incorporated into a more dressy outfit or just used to dress up a casual look.

This is the front of the 8"x8", pre-designed scrap book that I did. The front has a picture frame, and it contains 24 more pages for pictures (for a minimum of 25 pictures, although the framework is set for additional ones). I made each page background either a winter or a Christmas theme, so it will be perfect for anyone who just wants to paste down their holiday and winter pictures and be done with it! Hmmm, maybe I should keep this! LOL Here are some more views of the earrings, as well as all of the individual page pictures of the scrapbook. I hope you enjoy them!

So what have you been up to this Wednesday? Comment and share, maybe you will inspire us all!

Make It Yourself Monday - Honey Mayo Face Mask

Here we go, the first Monday of the new year and the first "make it yourself" recipe of the new year!

This one is for a sweet facial. You should have most of these ingredients in your kitchen, although you may have to purchase the essential oils if you do not regularly use them. This is a make and use recipe and should not be stored.

Ingredients;

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/8 cup pure clover honey

4 1/2 TBS. powdered milk (leave it in powdered state)

2 drops rosemary essential oil (EO)

1 drop lavender essential oil (EO)

Warm the honey, then blend into the mayonnaise and add the powdered milk. Once this is well blended, and not too hot, add the essential oils and mix well. Apply to your face and neck and allow to sit for 15 minutes, then rinse with tepid water and pat skin dry.

This is a really a nice, moisturizing mask, for any type of skin. However, if your skin is generally oily, you will want to limit this type of a face mask to no more than 1x a week. Not sure? Try it! If you live in a humid area and/or have extra oily skin, at worst, you may need to follow with your usual toner, but your skin will still enjoy the treat and, either way, your skin will look and feel smooth and soft.

Please note that Rosemary should NOT be used by epileptics. For most people, however, rosemary is a great essential oil. It is considered to be a non-toxic, non-irritating, non-sensitizing oil, and has a long list of benefits. In this application, its most noticeable attributes have to due with its effects on skin, especially skin with acne, eczema, scabies or dermatitis. Rosemary also enhances circulation and helps displace fluid retention. Just the aroma of the EO is said to fight off mental fatigue and reduce or eliminate headaches and migraine pain.

Lavender is the number one non-toxic, non-irritating, non-sensitizing essential oil and, as such, is a basic for everyones' medicine cabinet. It is one of the few EO's that can be used undiluted on the skin, and it has many properties, covering a wide variety of ailments. In this application, it is very toning to the skin and works well for all skin types. Lavender has anti-inflammatory properties, which make it perfect for skin care treatments. It also, specifically, helps with oily skin and acne, as well as skin problems such as burns, rashes (good for diaper rash too), sunburns, psoriasis and insect bites. The inhalation of lavender EO is known to have a soothing, calming, and relaxing effect on the nerves, the mind, and, in turn, one's mood. It is also an effective treatment for headache and migraines, and it promotes restful sleep.

*Remember that you must use therapeutic-grade EO's to reap the benefits, but together, these essential oils will give your skin a great treatment, along with protection, while the aromatherapy aspects will serve to calm and relax you as it rids you of the days stress and headache.

Goals for the new year

Aside from the fact that I want to enter a contest to win soaping items from Brambleberry.com, I have decided to share some goals for the new year to help me make myself and my businesses better. Like a lot of people, I have fallen into the habit of making goals in my mind, then forgetting or altering them as real life intervenes. As you have probably already guessed, this method does not really do anything for you as a person, let alone as a business. Sooooo, for 2011, my first goal was to go back to the formal method of goal setting, which means sharing them. For the contest I needed to share some on the Soap and the Finer Things in Life blog, which I am attempting too do, but I thought I'd go one step farther and share them here, for you to see.

My word of intention for the year is BALANCE.

My theme for the year is Developing/cultivating relationships.

A few of my goals are;

1) To get back to development (my love) by dedicating 1 day a month (minimum) to experimentation/cooking. Which will help lead to success with my next goal

2) To introduce at least 6 new products to my on-line Unique Garden Essences shop, 6 to the uniqueXpression shop, and 2 to the Unique Treat Dog Bones shop.

3) To finalize the organization of the brochures by Jan. 15, 2011 and to begin distribution by Feb. 1, 2011.

I could go on and on, as I have done in my journal, but I don't want to bore you! In case you are at a loss about how to set goals for your personal or professional life, you may want to check out the Soap Queen's posts for the past week, or even go back to last year this same time. CEO, Ann Marie offers some very educational and inspirational posts about personal growth and goal setting. I have been reading her blog for almost two years now and find her to be quite a role model. I hope that you agree!

Happy New Year!!

2011 is here, so let me offer you wishes for an abundance of HEALTH and HAPPINESS in the new year!!!! As you enter this new year; may all your goals be reached, your health be great, your love be extended and your wealth be increased....or something along those lines, lol!

2010 was challenging in many ways, physically and mentally. However, while it brought some very sad and difficult situations to bear, it also had some bright and shinning moments. My youngest Son married last Valentine's day, and my eldest Son had a Son of his own this past July. Being a Mother-in-law and a Grandma has truly been a joy and a blessing!

I was disconnected from the internet for about nine months, but now I am reconnected and have begun to set goals for updating and maintaining my web sites, as well as this blog. While I still do not see myself posting daily, I am simply too long winded to do that much writing daily, lol!, I will be posting between one and three times a week beginning this week.

I appreciate the good wishes that I was sent these past few months, and I want to thank you all for caring. I hope that you will forgive my lack of presence on the blog and stick with me as I get back into the groove of things.

Be sure to Look for MAKE IT YOURSELF MONDAYS because I still want to provide you with great, easy to make recipes. I will, however, be expanding to offer you some food recipes, as well as some nice gift ideas.