RSS Feed

Whatever Wednesdays

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Georgia's Pampering

Okay, so technically it’s Thursday where I live, but I’m going to pretend I’m on California time and stick with it, since I want to start my “Whatever Wednesdays”.  I was talking with Larry today about methods to help loosen up my fingers and get back into the groove of blogging, and said that I liked the idea of a set theme that I can always default to once a week that gives me complete freedom.  No pressure to write about crafting, soaps, pampering, recipes, whatever.  He wisely pointed out that “Whatever I Want Wednesdays” didn’t fit my personality and wasn’t polite like I usually am in life, and “Anything Goes Wednesdays” could make people think I’m going to suddenly talk about burlesque or some other risqué topic.  *grin*  Simple and to the point, so Whatever Wednesdays has been born.  Granted I often go off on tangents and you never know what in the world I’m actually going to write about anyway, but an organized life leads to an organized mind is my latest motto, so I’m going to work to have some themes.

 

To kick it off I want to introduce you to the exciting excruciating life of a chigger.  For those that haven’t been to the Midwest or Southern areas of the beautiful USA I’m going to give you the heebie-jeebies, so settle in.  You’ve been warned.  *evil grin*  A chigger is simply a mite that is virtually invisible to the naked eye.  They love to live in the grass, but especially longer vegetation, although apparently they can infest vehicles and homes even.  (It gets better, or worse, depending how you look at it.)  I’m not going to go into the scientific stuff with you, so I’m going to give it to you Midwest style.  *teasing smile*  Basically, when the chigger is in the larval stage they eat skin cells and that can be four or two legged.  It was originally believed that the chigger burrowed under the skin, causing a “bite”.  However, due to the amazing nerds in lab coats (you rock!), we now know that they actually inject an enzyme into the host which starts to break down the tissue and they feed on that lovely goo of decomp.  The really fun part is that they prefer warm and damp areas (think about that for a second), so elbows, knees, where your socks are cinched around your ankle, armpits, skin folds (like the one that you sit on lol), and the groin are prime feeding spots.  After they’ve attached and inject that enzyme into you the spot becomes a nice little feeding tube for the larva.  They fall off when they’re done and become nymphs, which later develop into adult chiggers.  Thankfully it’s only the larva that cause such a problem, otherwise I’d be screaming to set the whole area on fire and that the land can’t be inhabited.  *grin* The Brooksville Garden Club very kindly put some informative pictures on their site, so I’m sharing two of their pics so you can get a mental image.  To top it off I added a nice little close up rendering of them feeding that I found on Wikipedia.

The chigger life cycle

The chigger life cycle

The larval chigger working some magic

The larval chigger working some magic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chigger larva "biting" host

Chigger larva “biting” host

This little feeding area becomes extremely irritated, as in one of the most intense itches you will ever have in your life.  There are tons of products on the market to supposedly heal thy chigger bite, but lots are just a placebo effect.   We’ll look into prevention first and then some treatments to try.

 

Well, you could always use lawn treatment that is indicated for chiggers, but what if you have a nice safe lawn and step out into your driveway, not noticing that some weeds or grass has pushed up through the gravel?  You might consider a secondary treatment.  Now this is tried and true, but doesn’t come with a 100% guarantee.  Take a shower as quickly as possible and wash with the original or orange versions of Dawn Dish Soap (works wonderfully for getting poison ivy’s oils off of your skin too!).  If you can, follow up the soap with some exfoliating (maybe a little Georgia’s Bath Products Mechanic Scrub, hmm? *wink*), although some vigorous towel rubbing seems to work just as well, but you’ll miss out on a chance to linger in that soothing cascade of water.  If it’s just not possible to take that shower, after all you might not be THAT close to your friend that you can say you’re going to go jump in their shower, then a “spit wash” usually works just as well if you don’t need to do a large portion of the body.  If you’ve just been walking, then usually washing your legs off is adequate enough, so suds up a washcloth or paper towel, scrub well, and then do a “rinsing” towel afterward.  Anyone that is a super supporter of all natural stuff please close your eyes and scroll down a few lines riiiiight now.  If you know you’re headed outside use a good repellent with Deet, but make sure it lists that it works against chiggers, since not all Deet ones do.  Plan to look like an über weirdo and tuck your pant legs into your socks for even more protection.  The evil little buggers can’t climb up your leg then, usually.  I’m a big fan of Off Deep Woods combined with the dish soap scrub.  (Always follow product instructions and medical advice, yada yada.)  I seldom ever do the pant tucking because when it’s chigger weather in the Midwest it’s usually pretty toasty and humid, so you won’t catch me in full length pants usually. lol

 

Say company stopped by and you ended up spontaneously having a chat in that slightly overgrown and untreated driveway.  You didn’t really have a chance to take any preventative measures and a couple of days later you’re suddenly itching in spots that would most likely embarrass your mother to see you touching.  Skip all of the items that claim they help chigger bites.  (You’ll still want to do a healthy rub to make sure that the larva is no longer on the skin before you apply treatments.)  Instead, try a little of the good ole Vicks VapoRub.  (Side note: who do I talk to at Vicks to get them to become my sponsor since I give a lot of marketing for off label uses of their products? *grin*)  VapoRub has healthy concentrations of menthol and camphor, which are the main ingredients that clear your sinuses out when you rub it on your chest.  (And also can help with some muscle pain, since those two ingredients are topical analgesics, but make sure you cover with something that you don’t mind getting stained up, since it’ll totally mess up cloth.)  Dab some of the Rub over the horrendous lump you’ve developed and you may just find some relief.

 

Since everyone is different, something else might work for you.  If that’s the case, try some anbesol/Orajel if you have it on hand.  These often help people overcome that intense itch and also works great for mosquito bites, so I take a tiny tube with me when camping.

 

You can also try a soothing bath with some Epsom Salts.  Remember a long time ago when I mentioned a lot of awesome benefits to Epsom or maybe that natural benefits tab on my business website that talks about the believed benefits of it?  Anyway, the Epsom will usually help heal some of that inflammation from the lovely tube of rotting muck stuck in you and may even help to shrink that little puppy up.  Next you can stay in the same line and apply a little skin benefiting oil (like sweet almond) to the spot and pat some plain table salt over the badge of summer honor.  This will not only help to dry it up, but it may also keep air from the spot.  The problem with this is that you have to lay or sit around while letting the salt dry, and once it’s dry it will start to fall off as you are active, which can get weird and uncomfortable.  Although I’d say you have a high tolerance for the uncomfortable if you’re able to lay in a compromising position naked with salt and oil drying on you, anyway, since most are in those areas that must not be mentioned.  lol  Still in the same concept you can also apply a simple baking soda paste to the spots, much like you can for other topical allergens.

 

Lastly, you might stick with the original old wives’ tale of covering the spot in clear nail polish.  We know that we’re not suffocating the evil little cell suckers, but the polish seals the area off from the air, which is usually part of what is making you itch, scientists believe.

 

I’ve read varying reports about the ability for these little guys to fall off of you when they’re done feeding and carry out their life cycle right there in your home or vehicle.  If you have more than one (and seriously, who usually ever gets just one?!  They’re like freaking potato chips!), and you didn’t get them off, then you never know.  You might just get them inside.  (Yet again, I’ve read contradictory research on this, so don’t quote me. lol Why not just try to make sure it’s not a possibility no matter what?

 

Oh, and in case you haven’t seen what a “bite” can look like, it can vary widely depending on how a person’s immune system responds.  We have small red spots, angry welts, or even nasty blisters in response to these feeding tubes.  MedlinePlus has a nice pic of the blistering version:

Chigger bite blisters MedlinePlus

Chigger bite blisters
MedlinePlus

The Mayo Clinic has a picture of a typical collection of “bites” on their slideshow:

Scabbed chigger bites Mayo Clinic

Scabbed chigger bites
Mayo Clinic

If you have immune system issues they often become huge welts that are about three to four times as big as the scabbed ones in the Mayo Clinic picture, plus they develop a nice dark ring around the affected area as the blood decides to come to the surface.  I’m not showing you pictures of my summer “war” wounds.  The main one I got this summer before I realized that our driveway was untreated (guess I should ask Larry more questions about his yard work) ended up bigger than the cap to my Chapstick.  (Yep, I used a stick for a ruler.  I have no concept of measurements when they’re in number form. *cracking up*)

 

All of the doctors agree that you shouldn’t scratch chigger bites due to the risk of infection.  I don’t know a single person that’s ever managed to avoid doing it at least a few times, especially in their sleep.  You might decide to cover the area with a bandage or even plastic wrap (no weirder than a spa treatment) after you’ve found the treatment that works for you.  For me I have to live a little dangerously.  I rub or scratch lightly around the raised center to make sure the larval vamp is detached, take some antihistamines, and use an analgesic.  With my condition I have an issue with hyper responses and stimulations, so what should be the size of a period on a piece of paper will rapidly swell to match a quarter.  Due to this I have to combat the inflammation from both sides (which is contraindicated usually, so do all of the legal stuff to keep yourself safe, because I am often noncompliant since my body never acts “normally”) and work on the inflammatory response.

 

Hopefully if you’re suffering from chiggers right now and that jar of Chigarid  or Chiggerex Plus isn’t doing much good, you’ll give one or more of these home treatments a whirl and see if something unconventional will work for you, too.  I hope you find some relief.  If you’re now terrified to ever enter these areas of the States that have chiggers, at least now you know about them, how to prevent them, and some treatment options if they decide that your cell buffet is the best in town.  They’re just a nuisance, so don’t let them discourage you from exploring.  If you have found other home remedies that work for you or others that you know, please feel free to include them in the comments.  You might just save someone else two weeks of misery!

 

This concludes the first weekly Whatever Wednesday post.  If you have any theme requests, just let me know.  I can always use some inspiration.  In the meantime, happy pampering!  🙂

Leave a comment

Posted in Whatever Wednesdays and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Bless Yore Beautiful Hide, Wherever You May Be

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Georgia's Pampering

First off, I want to say that I’m really sorry for the silence for the past few months. I’ve gotten caught up on all of the blogs that I follow, but not my own. I think that shows I just needed a little time away, I think. I also think it’s about time to give you the details, clear the cobwebs, and get back into the groove. 🙂

I’m sick. I try not to talk much about it except to those I’m close to, since it’s not exactly a cheerful topic and I pray every day to have a good impact, but I want to always be honest on this blog. I have a disabling case of Fibromyalgia with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Costochondritis, Chronic Insomnia, a compromised immune system, and a laundry list of other little things that get in the way sometimes. I went into this year with high hopes that I’d start getting better. Maybe not a full remission, but at least a bit better, since I didn’t think it could get much worse. Yeah, I deserve a total “Gibbs smack” to the back of the head for that thought. *grin* Between injuries, new symptoms, doctors altering my meds all of the stinking time, and some withdrawals from meds that just didn’t work well with my complicated system, I had a hard time. Sometimes I struggle with depression. It’s hard to always be happy when it can be a huge challenge just to get out of bed. I mean at ALL, not just the ole usual I don’t want to get out of bed this morning thing, either. Sometimes it’s as hard to get out of bed as a workout at the gym. It’s hard to believe, but that’s one of the truths that every Fibro sufferer will usually hide from you. We try to smile so you don’t see how broken we’ve become, we say “about the same” or “not too bad” if you ask how we are because we know most don’t want to hear the depressing truth that we seldom have good days when we’re in a relapse, and we try not to let you see us wince from the pain when you playfully nudge us or slap our shoulder during a joke. We want to be normal; we want to be loved and liked still. Most friends and acquaintances drift away because they think we’re just always going to blow them off or we don’t bother to participate in the friendship. Most of the time we desperately wish we could handle being hugged or that someone would go ahead and give us a hug anyway, because the pain is ALWAYS worth it. With all of that turmoil it’s easy to lose sight of who you are and what your dreams are. When every day requires adjustments just to do the basics, we don’t know that we can have dreams anymore, sometimes. Our dream can become having more than one good day a month and our world gets so wrapped up in the hardships that we can’t always see the shore when our ship starts to sink. Anyone with a chronic illness has these moments and sometimes those moments last a very long time.

Added to the muck I felt like I really let myself down with my business. When we got our taxes done Georgia’s Bath Products was officially downsized to a hobby instead of a business. I was too sick to be able to do the events and push sales, so I never met the standard needed in the allotted time. I’d all ready lost a full time job and ended my first business in the couple of years before this, so getting downgraded hit me a little harder than it normally would have. I lost my inspiration, my interest, and my way.

Thankfully something wonderful has happened in the past two months to help me start shaking this all off and work toward finding the new me. My newly single mom moved from an hour away to about eight houses away. When my days are so bad that I’m too sick to take care of my dog or get up off of the couch, she’s here for me. She cooks for the big guy and I when it gets hard and not only helps clean my house, but she even helped (well, really she taught me how) to make/install a shelf so I could organize some stuff. It may seem weird that I make attaching brackets to a board and screwing them into the wall sound like a huge thing, but when you can’t manage your own household anymore those little things make the sun feel a hundred times more glorious upon your face, and you can’t help but grin for days. Plus, she needs me. She accepts my limitations better than I do usually, but still wants me around, and visits me at home because she understands that it’s kind of an ordeal just to leave the house sometimes. No matter how dark the alleys in my mind got, how lost I became, she held my hand and said she needed me because I’m still the bright spot in her life. Hearing that when I did was a true blessing that has been helping me face each day.

So, now that I feel more naked than if I’d streaked at the World Cup, we can all look forward to the fun stuff.

During my time off I was on Pinterest quite a bit. (Hi, my name is Georgia, and I’m addicted to Pinterest…) Feel free to explore my quite diverse collection of boards by looking for the pinner Georgia’s Bath Products. You get a really good feel there for how eccentric I truly am. *grin* I’ve done some Pinterest pin reviews on the blog previously, but dude…for a while I really did have a problem. lol I also read a bunch of books that were completely and thoroughly fun. Raunchy historical romps, steampunk sci fi, paranormal romances, and Whodunits filled my hours, and it was glorious. *pushes glasses up my nose with a grin* I also spent a lot of time in the virtual world of Second Life. I learned some of the basics of building, mentored some newbies, and became a crazy cat lady in that life too. *laugh* I also got totally into learning and watching about cosplay (a bucket list item I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to check off, but it’s high on my list now *grin*) and came up with some awesome strategies (yep, I dare to say something so cocky) for my mom’s move. I got to utilize my love of lists and spreadsheets for the irritating process of moving. I rock sometimes. *cracking up*

Expect to start seeing my posts showing up in your inbox or feed a lot more frequently now. There will be some posts featuring interviews with one of my friends full of recipes, handy little tips, and some of the neatest decorating ideas. You’ll see my first attempt at spray painting something (shows what a goody two shoes I was as a youth, I guess lol) when I soon try to turn my ugly cane into a work of pink glitter art. I’m going to be working at trying to make a part of my mom’s office into a crafting section, so expect some fun info about that (most likely inspired by Pinterest, I’ll be honest *grin*). Who knows what other oddness I might get myself into, too. I all ready binge watched the second season of Hemlock Grove, so now I can focus on new activities. There probably won’t be a lot about the bath and body products until it’s closer to Fall, so if you don’t stick around, I understand. I hope you do, though, and maybe we can find some fun stuff to share with each other. Maybe if you’re also struggling with something in private this will help you to not feel so alone, too. I’m closing with a quote from the author that wasn’t afraid to confide about those dark thoughts, Mr. Edgar Allan Poe.

“I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.”

 

(To give credit where it’s due, the post’s title is actually a song [and a bit of lyric] from the 1954 musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  That song has been stuck in my head for a week now, and I thought it’d make a good title for the first post of my return.)

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Garlic, Jars, and The Bug of the Year

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Georgia's Pampering

Things have been squirrelly since I last posted. Most of the time was lost in a haze of cold medicine thankfully.

First I developed quite a reaction after testing a custom blend I was working on for a potential customer. The last bump just faded away a couple of days ago. As this started Larry became sick, so I had my hands full and got very little sleep. (Gentlemen, I’m sorry but some of you are more work than a child when you’re sick. *grin* Ladies, you know what I’m talking about.) With my incredibly useless immune system I of course caught the bug and was twice as sick as he was. (Of course.) I hurt my back bringing in firewood, got a small burn from the wood stove, and had a couple of small falls. I was busy. *grin*

During this I got a few things done, although very little business. I did a batch of dyed jars with food dye in shades of green and brown. Although I liked the vintage tint of the brown, all three streaked, as you can tell.

20140306-142323.jpg
So I decided that I’d work with the streaks instead of scrapping them and added a coat of paint to two of them. (The Snapple bottle didn’t go so well.) I love how they turned out!

20140306-142757.jpg

20140306-142822.jpg
The brown and khaki jar is my favorite. I used the same mod podge blend that I posted about before.

I also thought I’d try roasting garlic for the first time. The Mamas Girls blog has a tutorial for roasting garlic bulbs in your slow cooker and I covered the entire bottom of mine with garlic packets. There’s a little comment with the tutorial about how the house will smell amazing while roasting the garlic. Apparently we don’t fit the norm, since a big pot of garlic was quite an unpleasant smell to us. *laugh* I tried the whole squeeze technique, but maybe I’m not strong enough, because a whole lot of garlic was left behind, so I switched to using a spoon. By the way, if you haven’t roasted garlic before, I’m going to let you in on a few tidbits. First, the garlic gets really sticky. I hate to get “icky”, so I used some food service gloves. They fit a bit loosely and when I was working with the garlic it all stuck to my gloves. After Larry laughed at me for flailing around, trying to get the garlic peel off of my fingers so it wouldn’t get in the good stuff, I switched to some tighter latex gloves. Learn from my mistakes and just use them from the get go. *grin* Peel open each clove and you can scoop the garlic right out with a spoon. Six smallish bulbs came out to:

20140306-150019.jpg
(I totally understand if that doesn’t look so appetizing. LOL)
One tablespoon added to margarine made a pretty decent spread for a loaf of garlic bread.

20140306-150242.jpg
I mashed the rest of the garlic into an ice tray and they’re hanging out in the freezer (wrapped three times over *grin*). Once they set up I’ll pop them out and put them in a freezer bag. They look pretty weird, so I didn’t bother with a picture.

A nice side effect of the garlic is that my sinuses are a lot clearer now. After being so stuffed up that I couldn’t breathe, I’m pretty happy. I definitely recommend roasting some garlic if you catch this nasty bug. It was more effective than most of the cold medicines. *grin*

Now a fun tidbit to close this odd post out…for Christmas I bought us tickets to see the comic Gabriel Iglesias and the day is finally here. We will follow it up with dinner at our favorite Irish restaurant, too. Perfect timing since I won’t be wheezing or coughing during the skit, too. Bless the smelly garlic. *grin* Hopefully some of his comedic skills will rub off and I’ll have some really entertaining posts coming up. (Don’t hold your breath. *laugh*) I’ll be happy with some energy now that my nose is clear, so I can actually do more than wave my arms like I just don’t care (sounds a lot less embarrassing than flailing about, trying to fling or shake stuff off my fingers) and make pretty jars for fake flowers and hair ties (sounds much better than just fixing failed batches). Pamper on, Garth. 😉

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

Two Handy Tips

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Georgia's Pampering

 

First off, I hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s or Anti-Valentine’s, whichever you celebrate.  *grin*  While most people were dwelling in the land of love, roses, and mushy stuff (not that there’s anything wrong with that, Larry just doesn’t care for this holiday), I was testing a couple of things from the internet and they turned out so well that I’ve written this post a few times in my head. 

Up first is a beef recipe that I hope you’ll try. I ran across it on Pinterest, but here’s the link.  It’s for a Three Envelope Pot Roast.  It took me 10.5 hours for a 4.5 LB bottom round roast to be fork tender.  The big thing is the incredible flavor of the juices!  Please, please make a gravy from these juices if you try this recipe.  I just ladled out the juices into a saucepan and warmed it on the stove, then added a water and cornstarch roux to the mixture, and stirred until the gravy was the consistency that we like.  I’m not a huge gravy fan just because the flavor doesn’t usually add much in my opinion to the food, but as you can tell in the first picture it was lip smacking, smothering everything in it, good.  *grin*

Image

Image

You can barely see the mashed potatoes.  LOL  I ended up saving all of the juices to make more gravy and tomorrow night we’re having egg noodles with this gravy for dinner.  I may just freeze any extra too.  *grin* 

Next I wanted to let you in on a super easy and handy tip.  If you’ve been following for a while you’ll remember that I did a few experiments with removing labels and residue from glass and plastic jars, so that I can reuse them or go all crafty on them.  I’ve done the soaking in vinegar mixture, lathering up in oil in two ways, and even the lather in mayo version, but none were super easy and pretty quick.  I was reading online on a blog about reusing jars and about fifty comments in someone wrote that they didn’t remember where they’d heard it, but that peanut butter is a great way to remove labels and residue (“plus it’s fun to play with your food” *laugh*).  I decided to give that a try.  A few months back we had bought some PB at Sam’s Club and forgot to remove it from the grocery list, so we got another double pack on the next trip.  Even with Bo, the PB fiend dog, and holiday baking, we couldn’t go through four big jars of it before the expiration date, so I had been trying to figure out what to use it on or suck it up and toss it.  What perfect timing to find this little comment buried on a random blog.  First, proof positive that it actually works.  I lathered both jars up and after cleaning the first one off I took a picture.

Image

Now, here comes the helpful info from my experiences, since you ought to expect it from me by now.  *teasing smile*  It will help remove labels for you, but the PB is a one trick pony, so either you remove labels or you remove residue.  I recommend trying to get the label off as much as possible before you trowel the PB on, but if you have a stubborn one (a Minute Maid jug and a marinara jar come to mind), then put the PB on it and after it has soaked into the label, you’ll be able to push that label off.  Just lather the residue up and give it another rest. 

On a glass jar with just the residue put the PB on somewhat thick (I just used the side of a butter knife) and let sit overnight.  I took a pan scraper and scraped the PB off the next day, and then using a little water and my knit scrubber (picture to follow) I rubbed in a circular pattern with no muscle behind it.  There will be a residue left behind, since really this is a play on the oil concept (instead of having to try to soak rags in oil you’re using an oil based product that likes to stick where it lands, if you think about it), so just use a little degreasing dish soap like Dawn and you have a fresh jar. 

Image

If you don’t have one (or five) of these, get one.  I buy handfuls at every craft fair I go to and use them all of the time.  They hold up for a long time, they don’t scratch most surfaces, and they can go in the wash (I just set them on top of the dryer to dry instead of putting them inside, so it’ll last longer) so you can keep them sanitized.  It’s the most frugal sponge and scrubber that I’ve found that actually works.  I use certain colors to designate for business use (since I don’t want any bath oils transferring to a food pan if the scrubber is drying on the side of the sink while I’m trying to cook and clean up my latest business experiment), kitchen, and bathroom.   

Back to the jars…if you’re doing a stubborn glass jar put a thick layer of PB over the label and let sit overnight.  Scrape a bit off that next day (I kept it on the scraper, since sometimes the labels haven’t released and I don’t see a point in using new PB when what I scraped off will still work) and see if you can remove the label.  I found that I often had to use the scraper or my nail to get the labels off, but on glass usually my nail would work just fine.  Just keep letting the PB work some magic if the label is holding firm.  Once the label comes off you can try to do the whole soap and scrubber bit, but so far it never worked for me on that first round if I was also removing labels.  *smile*  I always had to reapply PB (you can definitely use the PB you just scraped off from the label unless it has label bits and adhesive in it) and let it sit around 12 hours or so.  I tried a few different methods, just because I’m that annoying kind of person that has to test everything, and rubbing the scrubber in a circular motion seriously worked the best on the residue.  If you get a little bit of residue that’s being stubborn and you’ve removed it everywhere else, just put a little of the scraped off PB on your scrubber and use it like a paste.  Works perfectly!

Now, plastic jars and jugs require more umph usually, especially if the labels are completely glued down, as most of mine were.  These were the only containers that I had to use some actual muscle on.  If the label can peel off for the most part, then use the same trick for glass.  (Amusingly enough the peanut butter jar was the easiest plastic to remove everything from.)  I found that most plastic, especially the bigger containers, glued the entire labels down and the straight PB soak did squat.  If you run into this and you stubbornly want that gallon jug (you all ready paid for the stupid jug, not just the ingredients, you  know, so you should definitely reuse it if you want to, IMO!), then fill your sink with a mixture of blue (Original) Dawn, the hottest water from your tap, and enough plain white vinegar to make your nose wrinkle.  I didn’t measure the vinegar, so I’d say for a sink full I used about half a cup or so.  Then fill your container to the tippy top with that hot top water and immerse in the hot bath.  Let the containers soak for an hour or so (as long as the water stays warm) and while everything is still warm, but no longer hot, you should be able to work on those labels.  I found my dollar square plastic pan scraper worked great at getting the edges up so I could peel the labels off.  If this doesn’t work, I’d give it another bath.  I was able to remove the labels off of ALL of my plastic containers after this bath and hope you’ll have the same results.  Lather the residue with some PB and let sit, and use the same technique as before. 

One container, a Minute Maid OJ jug, is relaxing under a second PB treatment right now, but otherwise all of my containers are now done.  Look at all of these lovely little jars waiting to be used to hold a new batch of homemade simple syrup for tea (yeah, Apple Juice jug, I’ve assigned you a new position in this house little soldier), just waiting to get dyed or painted, or get all glittered up (*squealing with delight now that I’ve accepted that I’ve become a complete glitter whore*).  Luminaries, hardware jars, vases, and hair clip holders galore.  I suddenly have the urge to start singing “Part of your World” from The Little Mermaid…

Image

 

*shaking head to clear it*  Anyway, hopefully I’ve addressed any problems you might run across and you’ve found this post useful.  I’m so tickled to have found techniques that work on both types and don’t gross me out, either. Bo wasn’t overly happy since he kept smelling the PB and looking for his favorite Kong to be filled and waiting in his treat spot (I have no idea why, but Bo picked a specific spot to take all of his treats to, so now I save him the effort, and the carpet any accidental drops, and just take his goodies to his spot.  LOL).  Poor Bo got a little new PB, but seemed pretty let down that I was slinging so much of the good stuff into the trash.  *grin*  Btw, sorry about the pictures distorting a bit in this post.  After six adjustments and saves I figure they’re probably good enough.  *smile*

I hope you get to sleep in and enjoy your holiday if you have tomorrow off.  I never got it off when I was working, so if you don’t, I feel your pain and hope it’s a light day for you.  I’m off to snuggle with Bo and a few heating pads and watch some Ballykissangel.  Happy pampering.  🙂

 

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Fizzy Salts

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Georgia's Pampering

20140212-211436.jpg
I have had a rough time lately, so I decided to experiment and see if I could come up with a few formulas that might help.

First I made a small batch of lotion loaded with essential oils that are thought to be anti-inflammatories, like Cinnamon Leaf and Fir Needle, with some extracts of Evening Primrose and Chamomile. To cut some of the funk from such an odd combination, since I wasn’t blending for scents, I added a little Honeysuckle Hollow FO. It sounds weird, but I swear it seems to have helped two bruises heal faster. I’ve had one for a couple of weeks now and it didn’t want to leave that gross yellow hue. Within two days of use it’s almost completely gone. I’m a pretty skeptical person, so I am leaning more toward it being a coincidence, but so far it’s helped with some of my skin irritation. If things are impressive, I hope to have it as the first product geared for people with sensitivities and inflammation, like Fibro.

Following the lotion I decided to mix my desire to try some anti-inflammatories with a new recipe I found via Pinterest for fizzy bath salts. The picture at the beginning of the post is the final result that is now residing beside my bathtub. It started out with some Epsom Salts, Citric Acid, and Baking Soda.

20140212-211511.jpg
Then I added a few essential oils with Wintergreen as the dominant note.

20140212-211538.jpg
Next I decided that fractionated coconut oil would fit my interests the most and then I got to blend them all together. A whisk can work decently, but I think that gloved hands break clumps and blend salts better (plus it’s kind of fun *grin*).

20140212-211556.jpg
I wasn’t so sure if the blend would actually fizz, since it was the first time I’d ever tried any fizzy salts recipes, so I went small scale first.

20140212-211643.jpg

I admit, I had fun. *laugh* Sometimes it is so easy to justify pampering myself since I need to test new items and don’t have many people nearby to test things when I’m antsy. (Hmmm, maybe there’s a little more to my experimenting than just a desire to keep challenging myself. *grin*) I went full scale that night and although it doesn’t fizz very long (not even as long as Alka Seltzer), it was a neat sensation. I’m super, super sensitive (part of the whole Fibro thing), so it was kind of ticklish. The combination of the ingredients, the light tickling, warm water, and a little Ballykissangel playing from across the room (I’m a little obsessed with listening to accents. Don’t judge. *grin*) I was so relaxed. The coconut oil made my skin so soft and as silky as it can be with a foot of snow outside my window, too. The only thing that concerned me was that I had a tingling sensation the entire time. I’m not sure if that’s my sensitivities or a normal thing, so there’ll be a few people testing it.

All in all I’m so happy with my experiments. I have a lot more testing before I can consider selling, especially on the salts, but it’s pretty encouraging. It is so uplifting that I might not just help people take a moment away from the hustle and bustle and pamper themselves, but I might actually help others struggling on the same journey find a little relief. The lousy few days and nights were definitely worth it for the inspiration alone.

I have some jars waiting for me to go all Crafty Cathy on, so pamper on. 🙂

Leave a comment

Posted in Bath Products (non-soap) and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Soapsicles

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Georgia's Pampering

I wanted to share my new soapsicles. They turned out pretty cute and in time for Valentine’s (although I’ve never sold an item for the holiday lol).

20140208-215531.jpg

20140208-215544.jpg
One even has a little pampering built in; poppy seeds suspended in the soap and then a concentration of them at the tip to give some stronger exfoliation. The color came out a little more tomato than strawberry, but I love the poppy seeds with the Strawberry Jam FO. The pink ones are in Cotton Candy. At $2.75 for the strawberry soapsicles and $3.25 for the cotton candy, I think they’d make reasonable Valentine’s Day or Just Because gifts.

Do you have big plans for the day? We aren’t too into celebrating it, but I appreciate any excuse that lets me indulge in chocolate. 🙂

2 Comments

Posted in Soaps and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Another Homemade Cleaning Spray

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Georgia's Pampering

I’ve been on bed rest for the most part for several days now due to an infection that my whole body is now fighting. Top that off with a phlebotomist that blew every vein she tried to draw from, and I’ve been a bit unsociable. *grin* Since I haven’t been able to do a whole lot I thought maybe you’d like some information about an incredibly easy DIY product I made a while back.

If you go to here
you will get the whole skinny about this homemade cleanser. It’s just warmed vinegar and blue Dawn dish soap. You let it soak in and work some magic.

Here’s where my results are a little less enthusiastic as the pinner/blogger…it did a good job on cleaning up dirt and even Goodyear Grime, as I call it (my husband works in a Goodyear Tire Plant), yet it doesn’t touch hard water stains.

I have been embarrassed about our shower/bathtub ever since we moved in. At first I thought the previous owners didn’t bother cleaning (which, by the way, they didn’t. I think it’s kind of gross to clean the toilet in your new home that first day because the previous owners never cleaned the boy’s “miss”take.), but I’ve fought the dinginess and hard water in that thing for ten years now, so it wasn’t just in need of a regular cleaning. It is the one area of the house I am too embarrassed about to even consider a before/after shot, but you can use that tutorial for that. *smile* This solution did a much better job than any other product I have tried, honestly. Compared to her bathroom I actually had to get out my Scumbuster to put some umph behind the solution, but the extra pressure really helped. It even shined up the faucets and stuff really nicely. It doesn’t clean caulking that has discolored or those fun hard water stains, but it’s not full of harsh chemicals and it’s even safe to get on your skin while you’re cleaning, so I’m impressed it can do this well.

Here’s where it gets good, though. I decided to try it on my seriously messy crockpot. I made crock pot ribs one night and then started the first round of getting sick. My husband tried to be nice, so he filled the crockpot with hot water that night, since the BBQ and juices had formed this brown lining that didn’t want to come off even with a scraper after soaking for a bit. When I finally was able to be up on my feet and get some things done, I was surprised that pot hadn’t grown legs and left the building. It was bad. Thankfully I had the spray bottle sitting there with the remaining solution (I needed 1 1/2 batches for my bathtub and shower), so I sprayed it and laid back down for a few hours. In the blog the user stated she just wiped everything down after the solution sat for a few hours and then rinsed. I tried that on the crockpot and the crust slipped right off! I’m telling you there were stains that disappeared with this one treatment!

I hope you consider trying this out, especially if you have any trouble with chemical sensitivities or have had trouble finding a cleaner that works for you. I honestly think it’ll take pumice, elbow grease, and a miracle to get the hard water areas clean, but for your normal in-depth cleaning, this is a really effective mixture. It’s super easy to mix up and requires very little effort compared to most products.

I hope you have a happy (and healthy!) weekend. 🙂

Leave a comment

Posted in Make at Home and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Crazy Lady’s Beef Fajitas

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Georgia's Pampering
Image

Crazy Lady’s Beef Fajitas

 

An awesome friend of mine, the one that actually encouraged me to start this blog, asked me to post my recipe for the fajitas we make.  Everyone my husband and I have made these for raved and now make them too.  Yep, they’re that good.  *grin*  So, bear with me since there isn’t really a true recipe, but there are several little tips.  The recipe is definitely not sponsored by any vendors, although that would save us a lot of money on marinades.  *laugh*

We usually get our flank steak at Sam’s Club, since they usually have the best marbling, the steaks are pretty big, and the price often can’t be beat.  I thoroughly trim the fat off and then put it in a trusty gallon sized zip bag.  Here comes the crucial ingredients…I add about an ounce of Allegro Original Marinade (found at most grocery stores, like Walmart and Dillons [if you’re in the Midwest]) and four shakes of Original Flavor Daddy Hinkle’s Marinade.  The Hinkle’s has a reducer top, so I literally just do four shakes into the other marinade.  Between the two your steak should have a nice amount of marinade on it.  We let it marinade at least overnight, but often about 30 or so hours.  I set it out to rest for ten minutes before it’s time to grill.  (Note: Daddy Hinkle’s is often sold in a combo pack at the grocery store [we usually have to go to Dillon’s or Hy-Vee to find Hinkle in any flavor, so you’ll want to go to whatever store you know often has hard to find items].  The other piece in the combo is a container of dry spices.  If you like more spice, then when you set the meat out to rest sprinkle your dry spice over the steak.  It usually makes my stomach upset, so I can’t use it, but Larry loved when we used to be able to add it.  Otherwise, that powder spice is great in breading!)

Larry is king of the grill, so on the gas grill he grills the steak 7 minutes per side, unless the steak is thick and then he will check the temperature and add time if needed.  He found that 7 minutes per side is the sweet spot to reach medium doneness on the grills he has used.  When it’s done we let it sit and rest for 10 minutes on the counter, and then he slices it into really thin slices.  While he’s doing that I’ll cut 2-3 green bell peppers into strips.  (For those that hate cutting bell peppers, there’s actually a less fuss method.  Just start a centimeter or so from the ring around the stem and cut along the contour of the curve down to the bottom.  If you do this the whole way around, the whole center will stay intact and you don’t have to deal with cleaning seeds off of anything.  Then just slice up your strips of pepper.)  In a large frying pan I sauté the peppers with one packet of Swanson’s Beef Flavor Boost and about a quarter cup of water.  If things seem to get dry, then just add a bit more water. I sauté them until they start to turn a pale green and are pretty soft.  You could always cook them less, but I found that there’s a lot less indigestion when they’re cooked down further than the restaurants do.  Once they peppers are all cooked we add the sliced grilled flank steak and any of the yummy juices that come out during the cutting.  *grin*  That gives the peppers even more of a beef flavor.  Once the steak is in I’ll put a splatter screen over the pan and put 2-4 tortillas right on top of the screen.  Why let that steam go to waste?  Let it soften up your tortillas and save you a few extra steps.  Once the steak is warmed back up (we try not to let the meat cook very long, so it stays tender), it’s time to serve. 

We usually put shredded cheddar cheese, ranch dressing, and some of the juice from the pan in our tortilla with the meat and peppers (plus salt and pepper to taste, although usually we leave it alone).  We’ve tried a variety of other things, but that combination has made it to finally being the standard for us, and those juices really set these apart.  Even family members that usually load their fajitas up with lots of toppings come to the dark side after they try it our way.  We’ve tried red and yellow peppers (although everyone says they taste the same, my super senses can’t handle either of them usually, so we stick with green now), sour cream, diced tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, and jack cheese.  Change things up and see what works for your family, but this is what works for us.  With just the two of us eating the picture is all that was left after having it for lunch today.  That pan was full to start with!  *laugh* 

Hopefully you’ll like our take on fajitas.  Now back to your regular programming… 😉

Leave a comment

Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

DIY Glitter Ornaments

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Georgia's Pampering
Image

DIY Glitter Ornament

 

 

I’ve been playing with glitter again and I have to share this with you.  The tutorial is at http://theornamentgirl.com/blog/being-crafty/how-to-make-glitter-christmas-ornaments-diy/ although I will give you a few tips, so it doesn’t take you as many attempts to make the ornament of your dreams.  *grin*  I know that’s a bigger picture than I usually bombard you with, but that’s just how much I love it.

Ornament Prep

Basically you rinse your clear ornament with rubbing alcohol and let dry.  After it’s dry you squirt a little floor finish in it (although there’s some sticker shock, it barely uses any, so that bottle will last almost forever), swish the finish until it coats the entire interior, and pour the excess back into your bottle.  Sprinkle your chosen glitter into the bulb and either shake or swish the glitter until it coats the ornament.  This is where I have a little input.  I never figured out how she had any to “swish”, since the excess liquid was poured back into the bottle, but I covered the hanger hole with a napkin and shook the tarnation out of it.  Super fine glitter didn’t coat very well, so I had to rinse the ornament and start over another day.  When I switched to the other glitter it dawned on me that I should take  a picture, so you could see the glitter (although it’s not an overly descriptive picture, I know lol), but mostly so you can see the bottle of finish in case you get as confused as me when standing in the store and trying to figure out which one to buy.  So, using the slightly less fine glitter things started out well, but after the bottom was coated in glitter I couldn’t seem to get the glitter to move.  I tried all sorts of fun shaking, rattling, and wiggling, but if you end up with a clump at the bottom, don’t worry.  Just add more glitter!  It takes a LOT of glitter.  I went through half of one of those jars of glitter just on the one ornament.  I tried sprinkling the glitter directly into the opening and I also used a paper funnel.  Once I realized that shaking didn’t actually harm anything, despite the tutorial stating that she didn’t like to shake, I stopped trying to funnel the glitter to the spots that I needed to cover.  Just put your glitter in and treat the ornament like a shake weight.  After a few minutes you’ll have a fully coated ornament.  If you still have some blank areas despite having a bunch of loose glitter inside, then the floor finish didn’t coat that section.  It bites, since there’s no fix at this point, but it happened to me in a tiny spot (notice how the top hardly has any glitter?  I didn’t realize that I had failed to swish that finish along the entrance.  I found that the ornament balanced well on the small Dixie cup and it kept it from rolling about spreading the glittery love across my table.  It’s also a handy little stand for the ornament to sit and dry on, and since it won’t roll my cats are leaving it alone.  *grin* The ring from a mason jar works well too to keep the bulb confined, especially if your dog happens to smack paper cups off of tables with his tail like mine.  The only down side is that it’s hard to get pictures of the pretty surface without dark spots or reflections when it’s too cold to have a curtain open for natural lighting.  LOL

Glitter Ornament

Glitter Ornament

 

I hope you give this project a try.  Knowing how to prevent the troubles I ran into this project should take you about fifteen minutes.  In the tutorial she also added stickers and things to hers, so imagine the possibilities.  You could bling it out with some little gems, initial them in puffy paint, or do it in green and paint a fun Grinch-styled face on there.  If you have any problems, feel free to drop me a line.  Otherwise, have fun! 🙂

Leave a comment

Posted in Make at Home and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Antique Copper Jar

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Georgia's Pampering

As promised, here’s the latest “dyed” jar. Although the paint streaked a little, I think this is gorgeous!

20140119-135548.jpg

Leave a comment

Posted in Make at Home and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →