Monthly Archives: February 2016

25Feb/16

How I Got Rid Of My Cold, Naturally!

and in less than 2 days…

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Disclaimer: “The Helpful Hellion is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.” This means I could make a little money if you click on one of the links below and actually buy something. Also as stated before, I am not a doctor, nor do I pretend to be one. Do not try anything here if you have serious issues. Please consult your physician. I only tell my story and what happened when I used this. If your toes fall off after using these oil mixtures, don’t blame me!

I started sneezing and honestly could not stop. I am dead serious here, I must have sneezed at least 20 times in a row each time. My ribs and back were starting to hurt from it and I thought, oh great here we go. My grandson has had a cold lingering on for weeks now and insists upon kissing me on the lips. He is such a little love bug! And the keyword in that statement is “bug.”

Not wanting to go the medicine route as anyone that knows me even a little bit knows  that I do not do medicine. I started researching my trusty copy of The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy and found immediate relief from the sneezing. A drop of Lavender 100% Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil by Edens Garden- 10 ml rubbed on the inside of your cheeks..who knew? But I did it and did not sneeze again, even once. It really did amaze me. How did I not know about this miracle cure for sneezing?

So that took care of the sneezing, now what to do about the achiness, coughing and slightly feverish feeling? Back to the book. Die some more research and then I made up a concoction of Majestic Pure Fractionated Coconut Oil 16 Oz(two tablespoons) and 5 drops each of Lavender, Eucalyptus and Peppermint oils in a little bottle and then shook it up and rubbed that on my feet, chest and back. I did this several times throughout the day. I especially reapplied it right before bed. Make sure to rub it on the feet and put on some nice thick warm socks.

I love Edens Gardens Essential Oils, they are a very good quality for the price. I have used them often and have had no problems. I don’t take them internally so I don’t worry about having some kind of weird reaction from them. But you should always do a little test to see if your skin can take the oil and never put it directly on the skin with out being diluted in a carrier oil, such as Coconut Oil, Grapeseed Oil or Sesame Seed Oil. I did rub the lavender oil on my cheeks but it was such a small amount and I feel like it went into my system through my cheeks, I didn’t really swallow it. Surprisingly, it did actually taste pretty good.

The reason I picked these three oils are…Lavender oil has antiseptic and anti fungal properties. Peppermint oil has antimicrobial properties and a calming effect. Eucalyptus oil has a wide range  of properties include anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, decongestant, antiseptic, and antibacterial as well as other great qualities.

You can also do this and I highly recommend it… put a few drops of the lavender and eucalyptus oils on a few tissues and keep them near by or carry them in your purse in a baggie to pull out and sniff if you get congested. A few drops on a tissue by your pillow also helps you to breathe freely and sleep more soundly.

A steaming hot bath with 3 drops each of Thyme, Tea Tree, Eucalyptus and Lemon essential oils will relax you and open up your sinuses. If you don’t have a bath or the time for one, you can put the oils on a washcloth and lay that on the bottom of the tub while taking your shower and it will still give you some much needed relief.

Diffusing the house or your bedroom with the above mentioned oils will help get rid of the germs and help you to breathe and feel better. I use this one from Amazon..

I did a few other things to get rid of the “bug”. I ate things that were good for me. I never remember if it’s, “starve a fever but feed a cold or feed a fever and starve a cold” ..whatever…but what if you have both…then what? Do you just starve? Well, since I wasn’t sure, I ate when I was hungry. I do have to disclose that I may or may not have had some ice cream…but that was for my 100 degree fever..and it worked. Fever was gone…I had tea every day this week instead of coffee and cinnamon on my bagels. I did take my Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar 32 oz. straight twice a day instead of just once. You don’t need to do it twice..or straight, you can out it in some water with lemon or in your tea. And I got lots of rest and slept very soundly, I think due in part to the lavender.

The best thing I ate for my “bug” was the homemade chicken noodle soup my daughter in law made me. Nothing like homemade soup especially when you don’t have to be the one making it. There is just something to be said for this old remedy. It really truly works and it’s yummy!

I can not believe all of this worked. I have never gotten over a cold or a “bug” so quickly in my whole entire life. You better believe I will be doing these things again should the dreaded “bug” return. I hope you try some of my natural remedies next time you get a cold or the “bug” and that they work as well for you as they worked for me. I wish you all good health and long life!

Do you have any natural remedies that you would like to share, maybe something passed down from your grandmother?

“I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived.” ~ Willa Carter

 

 

 

18Feb/16

Top Ten Things I Learned From Mom

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“we are our Mother’s Daughters”

At least I know I am…I find myself so often doing things or saying something just like  Mom. These were things I hated as a child, but now here I am doing the exact same things. I look in the mirror and I see her. I hear her in my voice. She has molded my life like no other person and shaped me into who I am today. I wish I could pick up the phone and call her so many times recently and ask for her advice. She always helped me through tough times and I’ve had a lot of them lately. Yes, she sure taught me a lot…and not all of it was good. LOL..

Things I learned from Mom:

  1. A Love of family – She loved her family above all else. Everything else came second to them. Mom didn’t just say she loved you, she showed it in every thing she did. Her Mother and Father and siblings were so very important to her, she respected them and honored them. And she passed that on to her own children and grandchildren. We knew we were loved.
  2. To have a caring heart – she deeply wanted to help people and she did that. She gave freely of her money and her time. She volunteered at the schools, was a PTA President and a Girl Scout leader. She also gave to over 100 charities. Yes, really.. If someone, anyone, needed something or a few dollars Mom was always there to help them, all they had to do was ask.
  3. Love of animals – Mom loved animals and had 3 dogs. She loved them and treated them like her kids. Personally I didn’t like any of them.
  4. To be a strong woman – She was a little ahead of her time, my Mom.. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and didn’t care if anyone liked what she had to say. If you asked for her advice, you were going to hear it. Most of the time she was right. She fought for what she believed in and heaven help those who tried to tell her otherwise or hurt someone she loved.
  5. A love of food – this is one I wish I didn’t learn quite so well. She loved food and was a great cook. We had dinner together every night and we ate what she made for us or we didn’t eat. I just wish she wouldn’t have taught me to love potato chips.
  6. To love yourself – Mom did a good job on this one. She was a beautiful woman and she took care of herself. She wasn’t skinny by any means, and at times was quite heavy, but her weight never made her think less of herself. She thought she was beautiful and so others did as well.
  7. A sense of style – she had her own sense of what looked good on her and what didn’t. Mom didn’t follow trends or wear what everyone else did. She looked amazing in everything she wore. And as I have mentioned before, she had a statement piece that was her….the big earrings. She was never without them.
  8. Get up and make up – my Mom got up and put on her makeup every single day, whether she was going out or staying in. She styled her hair and put her makeup on, every day. And she would never go out of the house without dressing up or her make up.
  9. A love of the beach – writing this now is funny to me since I can hardly ever remember her getting in the ocean. She would get in pools but not the ocean. She didn’t want to get her hair wet. But she did love the beach. We went to Florida and the many beaches close to PA. Even if it was just for a day, we would all pile in the car with sandwiches made by her for lunch along the way and we had the best time ever. As a side note… I hardly ever get in the ocean anymore either, unless the grandkids shame me into it. But I love to sit on the beach and enjoy the beauty of it every chance I get.

And my favorite is #10. Shopping and bargain finding – My mom was the queen of  shopping and she loved it. It was her hobby. Finding a bargain was the best thing in the world for her. We would go shopping all the time. When we were kids she took us downtown every Friday and we shopped until we couldn’t walk anymore. As she got older, she still loved to do it and made my Dad take her every Wednesday and Saturday and my sister and I and then later my kids went with her on Fridays. I honestly think she would have loved to go every day. This has certainly had an effect on me and my daughters. We all love to shop and when we do it together it is even better. Trying things on and laughing together until we almost pee ourselves is the best tribute to my Mom. I am sure she is looking down on us and saying to herself…”I taught them well.”

“When you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know.” ~ Charley Benetto

What’s the best thing your mother taught you?

 

11Feb/16

Things I’ve Learned In My First Year Of Blogging

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Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of my blog. I can’t believe a full year has gone by that quickly and that I have now been doing this for a year! I didn’t know if I would even do more than one and yet here we are a year and many posts later. I had always wanted to write ever since I was in junior high school and started writing the “great american novel.”

I learned so much about blogging, writing and myself during this past year and all of it is a little overwhelming at times. I have written one post every single week since day one. I had made that my goal when I started and I accomplished that goal. I think there may have been one week I did it late and it ran into the next week, but I did it! That in itself is a big accomplishment for me. I sometimes have a tendency to go “all in” for something only to give it up a month later..like the piano keyboard I bought.

There has never been a week in this past year where I didn’t have anything to write or even had a hard time thinking of something to say. Sometimes I had started on one subject and then changed to another when I sat down to write. I keep a little notebook at all times and jot down things that happen or that I see and think, “wow that would make a great blog post.” And also anyone that knows me also knows I have an opinion on just about everything so this is just another way of expressing myself.

I amazed myself with setting the whole thing up from the very first. I researched and researched every little thing about writing a blog, I started out on Tumblr and used that for about a month and quickly switched to a self hosted WordPress site. Which is no small task, especially for someone that put a disc in the wrong place when I first started using a computer. I decided on The Helpful Hellion as the name of my blog due to the fact my dad used to call me a little hellion and I wanted to in some way help people with my blog. I hope I have done that even in a small way at least, maybe by making you think of some good memories of your past or that you learned a helpful health tip.

I knew this blogging thing wouldn’t be easy.. however I foolishly thought all I had to do was write it and post it. I didn’t know I had to learn all about SEO, analytics, security, backups, PHP code and on and on and on…I want people to see it, not just friends and family. I want to get it out there in cyberspace so I had to learn about all of these things that seemed so foreign to me to the point I felt like I was reading and learning a different language. And in fact I was. Oh, and an important thing to note, you can’t just put a picture on your site you took off the internet somewhere or you may wind up paying a pretty penny for that indiscretion.

Being on a schedule and making myself stick to it was the hardest part. I have never really been good with this… and having recently retired the last thing I wanted was to be on a schedule. But for some reason I stuck to it. Maybe it’s due to the fact that I am doing something I truly love doing. I may not ever publish that “great american novel” but I’m writing and people are actually reading and enjoying it and that gives me so much joy! I know I should care how many people are reading it and how many page views I’m getting. I know that..but what I’m getting is so much better than any of that, I am getting to do what I’ve always wanted to do and I don’t have anyone telling me how to do it or what to do differently.

There are so many people blogging now it is almost as if everyone has one. So the chance of me getting noticed or becoming the next big thing is slim. But I’m doing what I love to do and I’m just going to keep doing it. I’m writing about what I’ve lived and what I’ve loved. I write what I know and enjoy talking about. One of my goals is to help people live a better life through alternative health solutions. I write about things I use myself and have helped me to stay healthy and enjoy life. I love passing those stories on to others.

This is just a little of what I’ve learned this year. I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog and will continue to do so and share it with others. I love reading your comments and the stories you have shared with me. Some of your favorites have been about my memories from days gone by. I love writing about this as it helps to fill up the holes in my heart of the things and people I love and miss. And there is a lot more where those came from.

I just want to say thank you for reading and that I am thrilled to have all of you on this journey with me.

“You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say” ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

 

04Feb/16

Fashion Trends For Spring 2016

And there is something for everyone…

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It looks to me like the 70’s are still going to be with us a while longer, especially into Spring/Summer 2016. Also for those of you who like the romantic/flowery, Victorian type clothing.. that is going to be big as well. Underwear as outerwear, not a fan of this. Do we really need to see your underwear? My dad always said, “it is more fun to unwrap something and be surprised.” Gotta go with Dad on this one.

The colors for Spring will be Peach Echo (coral/peach), Snorkel Blue (navy, one of my favs), Iced Coffee (sounds yummy and looks like what you would think it would..coffee), Lilac Grey (just looks like grey to me, but then what do I know, Pantone says its Lilac Grey so thats what it is, I do like grey by the way) Rose Quartz(which looks pink to me and not a color I wear, makes me look like I’m dead) There are a few others like Limpet Shell(which is a light colored turquoise, love this) and Buttercup, which I’m sure you can figure out. All in all not bad choices. Not that I ever go by their picks, but it does carry over into what colors the designers use for the season.

The one trend I am excited to see and have been personally wanting for quite some time is suede as in a suede jacket. I just had a conversation with a friend last week where she told me she was cleaning out the attic and came across her husband’s suede jacket from high school. She had it cleaned and her grandson is now wearing it. How cool is that?

So here are some of the top trends of 2016:

1.Straw and wicker handbags like The SAK Cambria Large Tote Shoulder Bag,Gypsy Stripe,One Size

2. Half Moon Handbags like this one from Silpada. To check it out go to my website www.mysilpada.com/renee.stambaugh

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3. Suede coats, vests and jackets like this BGSD Women’s “Anna” Suede Leather Car Coat

4. Victorian Flowered tops and dresses, I myself was never a big flowery person. Well I do enjoy real ones, just not wearing them.

5. Maxi skirts and dresses – like this AGB Women’s Knit Maxi Skirt. I have been thinking of trying one of these, seems like they would be comfortable.

6. Aviator sunglasses – not sure they ever left but they are back…Go Maverick (as in “Top Gun”, one of my favs)

7. Statement jewelry, earrings, necklaces and bracelets like the one below from Silpada. Again, you can check out my website above for more like this one.

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8. Denim, denim and more denim – shirts, jackets, skirts and dresses. I must say I do love denim.

9. Pointy toe flats and gladiator sandals – I like pointy toes because they feel better on my feet than round ones for some reason. Evidently, I must have pointy feet. However, as a side note, there will be no wearing of the the afore mentioned gladiator sandals. They are also showing shoes that look like slippers, even calling them slipper shoes. I guess the pajama people will be wearing them. And some weird looking sneakers unlike any sneakers I ever saw….um, no..

I am happy to see so many flats because I just can’t do the heels anymore. Been there, done that, ruined my feet to prove I’ve done it. Here is a cute pair of flats Breckelle BA45 Women Suede Pointy Toe T-Strap Cutout Flat Sandal – Leopard

10. Pleats – showing lots of pleated skirts, and dresses. Never been a “fan”..get it?

It looks like it is going to be a great Spring for fashion and the groundhog said it will be early, so you better get a move on.

I will end as always with a question and a quote…

My question – Which one of these trends is something you think you would wear?

My quote – “Playing dress up begins at age 5 and never truly ends” ~ Kate Spade

 

Disclaimer: Some of these links are affiliate links to Amazon and I may get paid a little bit if you would purchase an item…