December 2018 - Simply Me DIY

December 25, 2018August 7, 2019

7 Tips To Help You Learn To Relax

Do you ever feel like you need to work at relaxation? Sounds like an oxy-moron, doesn’t it? But nonetheless, it’s true. For most of us relaxation actually is close to impossible. In our day in age, relaxation has become an art…a hard earned art and then, only if you practice it.

I have to remind myself several times a day to relax. It’s not something I remember to do naturally. If I don’t my shoulders and neck start to hurt and I can get a headache before I even realize it’s starting.

Just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean we all can’t learn to relax and enjoy the season just that much more. Here are a number of different ways I’ve learned, depending on where I am and what I’m doing.

Here are 7 tips to help you learn to relax for both work and home.

If I’m at work, I have to be able to use a quick method and it has to be pretty low-key as to what I’m doing.

I . I sit at a desk all day and in some cases I can sit there for several hours at a time using a computer, so I try to stop every hour or so. I’ll put my hands in my lap, sit up straight, feet flat on the floor and take several deep breaths with my eyes closed. While doing this I visualize a white/yellow light above my head and as I exhale, that light rains down on and through my head and body. With each breath my shoulders and/or neck will feel just a little more relaxed. After about 4 or 5 breaths, I’m ready again.

2. Or, I’ll take a deep breath and lift and tighten my shoulders, hold both for a count of 4 or 5 and then release my breath and relax and roll my shoulders slowly, again to a count of 4 or 5. Repeating this for 4 or 5 times.

While I’m at home I can use longer methods that are a bit more involved and more fun.

3. Sometimes a hot bath with Epsom salts, or maybe some bubble bath always with essential oils and of course candles.

A hot bath with candles. — Sitting in a hot bath makes all the difference

4. A bit of music maybe a mask made of crushed oats, yogurt and honey.

5. Listening to music and just watching the flame dance on the candle can be magic.

A lit candle. — Candles are always helpful

6. Maybe take a walk and enjoy nature.

A nature walk. — Taking a walk in nature is a perfect way to relax

7. As the saying goes, stop and smell the roses, enjoy the view, listen to the birds and even the wind blowing through the trees.

A pond with ducks. — Enjoy the wild life too.

The End Game

The point is instead of thinking of all the things that need done, just listen to what’s around you, enjoy what you see. Look for the simple things and fill your head with paying attention to those things.

Whatever works for you, use it. We don’t do it enough and it makes all the difference in dealing with stress and strain in our full everyday lives.

If you know someone who needs to learn to relax be sure and share this post with them.

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Health, Wealth & Blessings~ Tracey

December 18, 2018August 8, 2019

Loving the Canned Meat

Canned meat can make your life so much easier, especially in the winter.

I don’t know about you but I seem to be getting extremely lazy this last month of the year. Maybe it’s because it’s dark so much.

I’ve not been on the treadmill for a month now and don’t see it happening till next year. It’s so wrong for that kind of mindset, I know, but I do know I’ll get back on it, just not now.

Coming home from work in the dark makes me feel like I want to go straight to bed, so fixing supper is definitely not first on my mind. And I’m terrible at planning ahead enough to thaw meat the day before.

So I’m really grateful that I canned so much ground deer. Now I can grab a few quarts of that, some of my canned stewed tomatoes, and depending on the spices I want to use I can have supper in about an hour and there’s no thaw time.

Canned meat seemed pretty scary at first, but turned out to be no harder than anything else. You just leave it in the canner for 90 minutes.

I did cook mine a little first and then rinsed it to get as much fat out as possible. My husband used to have our deer processed at a commercial meat locker and had 10% tallow fat added. We don’t do that anymore, I don’t see the need.

Next time, I don’t think I’ll cook it, I’ll just crumble it. I’ve also cubed up the roast parts and cut the fat off the scrap pieces and canned those as small cubes. This give a little more flexibility in what you want to use them for.

I’ve also done this with chicken. It’s usually cooked first just because it’s much easier than trying to cut chunks of raw chicken. That makes for an easy chicken and noodle supper.

Other things you can try are ham and beans. Canning them makes them taste like it’s a day or two reheated. I don’t know about you, but I always think ham and beans are better the 2nd or 3rd day anyway.

You can always add spices to the meat. Preferably something that won’t be hurt by the heat, maybe some Worchestershire sauce or something of that nature. The canning process pulls the fibers of the meat apart to some degree. This allows any spices you may add to really get into the meat, so it taste spectacular when it’s time to eat it. Some meats don’t need anything and are awesome just the way they are.

This gives me a ton more freezer space and like I said, when it’s time for supper there’s no thaw time. YAY!

Next time you need to make room in the freezer and if you like to can, give it a try. Just make sure all your meat chunks are an inch or so in size or smaller. This allows enough heat to get through the meat to stop any bacteria from growing.

Leave it in the pressure cooker for 90 minutes at pressure. And there you have it, canned meat ready for those nights you don’t have time to thaw meat.

If you’d like me to do a DIY How-To on canned meat, please let me know in the comments below.

If you have any other ideas of canned supper or supper fixings, please share them. I’d love to hear from you.

Health, Wealth & Blessings~

Tracey

December 11, 2018August 10, 2019

Essential Oils

Do you have any idea how awesome essential oils really are?

I know it took me a long time before I really understood the potential of real, high quality essential oils.

Bottles of essential oil. — Essential oils

Since our grand-daughter was born our lifestyle has moved to a more and more organic and natural one, making most of our household products and using less and less store bought cleaning supplies and personal products.

The use of essential oils just fit with that perfectly.

I began seeing DoTerra Oils a lot. I’d used a few and knew their scents were top notch.

I did some of my own research and found they were of high quality.

I really liked that they are delivered through the mail because I really hate shopping. Then I found out how to get discounted oils.

DoTerra allows you to pay a fee (kind of like Costco) and you get wholesale pricing.

Nothing minimum to buy, just buy what you use, if you want. You can go on to sell them if you want, but it’s not necessary.

There are several of the blends I’m really happy with. And for what I use and how much I use them, that fee was minimal.

If I go on to sell some, that’s a bonus.

I continue to learn more and more. I’m really happy with what I’ve learned and experienced so far and I can’t wait to try new and different things.

Essential oils are the easiest “help yourself” I’ve ever run across. They can work miracles just as the actual herbs can.

They can change a mood, change an appetite, they can help you focus or help you sleep. The range of the uses of essential oils is almost endless.

I’ve used them in baths, in body sprays, in puppy sprays, room and upholstery sprays and personal care products like lotions, shampoos and body oils. You just can’t go wrong because, they smell awesome, and make the house smell great.

The scent of the actual herb is generally the same scent of the essential oils. The strength of the essential oils makes the herb so much more diverse.

In some of my other posts, you can read the different uses of different scents from various herbs. Whatever an her does in a tea, you will generally get the same affect in a scent.

There are a ton of choices for whatever you may be looking for. Try them each separately to determine what you truly like and then mix and match and create your own favorite blends.

If you’d like to look at more information, you can visit here. There’s a ton of information on this site for whatever you’re looking for.

A diffuser and essential oils. — Oils, a diffuser and candle.

I’d love to know what you’ve discovered about essential oils from your experiences. Leave me a note and let me know how you use them.

Until next time-

Health, Wealth & Blessings ~ Tracey

December 9, 2018December 24, 2018

Chamomile, A Flower or a Weed

Is Chamomile a flower or a weed? I guess that depends on who you ask. Even some in the herbal community will call it a weed. I never thought of it that way, although my husband does.

When I first planted Chamomile, I thought it was so pretty and it smelled remarkable. On top of that it’s full of uses, the best of which is drinking it in tea form. At that time, I had no idea how it spread. Even so, I think it’s great, BUT, you have to learn to control it.

CHAMOMILE, THE FIRST YEAR

Years ago I planted Chamomile in a raised bed. It was a circle bed about a foot & a half round. It grew so pretty and made so many flowers.

I picked and picked and dried the flowers and used them for many different things. At the end of that year, we had to move the bed. I was going to lose my Chamomile, but I knew I could always plant some more.

The following year, I found little plants along the driveway and the patio. I was so excited, I really didn’t lose all my Chamomile!!

CHAMOMILE, THE SECOND YEAR

So I protected them by not letting my husband mow them down and I picked and picked the flowers again. I was happy.

CHAMOMILE, THE THIRD YEAR

Then came the third year. I found Chamomile in every corner of my yard. The leaves are so feathery, the flowers are so pretty and smell so good and it makes magnificent tea, so no worries.

This time I had to really work to convince my husband to leave various patches alone so they could grow. I even had to make a deal with him that he could cut that area down, if he would leave this area alone. And I continued to pick flowers.

Some people may say that makes for a nuisance weed, I just think it makes the yard look nice.

There are so many things you can use Chamomile for, that I just can’t imagine ever thinking of this plant as a nuisance. Besides the fact that it smells divine, it taste great as a tea. For those teas that don’t taste so good, but are good for you, all you have to do is add a bit of Chamomile to make it palatable…to “help the medicine go down”, as they say.

Share in the comments what you use chamomile for. I’d love to know!!