Happy end of February, fellow EO nerds!
Today—well, for the past four days or so—I’m battling a respiratory infection. It’s in my chest, and has begun migrating to my upper respiratory tract, too. Blech.
My dad had the same thing a few weeks ago. The doctor told him, “Yeah, I’ve seen a lot of this the past few weeks.”
“Okay,” my dad said. “But what is it?”
The doctor shrugged in a very knowledgeable, doctorly way. “I can tell you what it’s not. It’s not pneumonia. Sometimes these things just evolve out there.”
Meaning this crud doesn’t have an official name. It is the Respiratory Crud of Mystery.
“So what should I do?” asked my dad.
“Just let it run its course and come back if it knocks you on your ass or something.”
Then my dad went home and drank some whiskey. That’s his go-to home remedy for just about any type of infection he comes down with. He is convinced that because alcohol kills germs, getting some alcohol in his blood is the way to go. Nevermind me trying to explain that’s not how the immune system works.
Now that I have the crud, he keeps trying to push whiskey on me. He gets a little offended when I decline. I try to remember that, as my father, it’s his instinct to keep me alive. It’s not his fault that he’s approaching this in a moronic fashion.
Well, if my dad could get better while on a regimen of whiskey, I’m confident in my own approach of using essential oils and plenty of rest.
There’s a Vapor Rub recipe in this month’s list of cool natural shit, which will help you if you come down with the Respiratory Crud of Mystery. You’ll also find a few awesome natural kids’ toys, a great read about African American herbalism, and more goodness to bring in March. :-)
Apply essential oils to your back! Oil applicator and back scratcher from Oillife.
This family’s tortoise had been missing since 1982. Then they cleaned their house and found it. This is a cute story from Treehugger that made me smile!
Make mushroom chocolate… shaped like mushrooms. This quick 1.5 min video from Real Mushrooms shows you how simple it is to make your own chocolate, and all the fun things you can add to it.
Here’s that Vapor Rub recipe I promised! This is a great recipe, though I’d reduce the drop count of the cinnamon to just 3 or so. Also, if you’re blending for kids younger than 6, be sure to use her baby-friendly version. (I don’t agree with some of her comments about the oils being safe for kids, but the baby version is excellent.)
In honor of Black History Month, get a cup of mushroom hot chocolate and enjoy a good read about African American Herbalism. (This is a 2-part series. Here’s part 2.)
A cool Montessori ocean-themed felt wall! Perfect for little kids, and from an indie seller on Etsy.
I often find multi-colored roller bottles, but these are pretty, colorful 1-oz dropper bottles.
A great place to get pure, high-quality, affordable jojoba oil! Jojoba is my #1 favorite essential oil carrier. It’s gentle on skin (even on the face, because it closely resembles skin’s natural oil). And it has a very mild scent (I can’t actually smell it at all) so all you’ll smell is your oils.
Toothpaste tablets. Go natural with your toothpaste and reduce packaging waste. Earth Hero also has a fluoride-free version of these.
I’m on Twitter now! Follow me and let’s chat. :-)
And finally, a bit of beauty and fun! The Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was the one involved in that Olympics controversy. Remember, when she was found guilty of doping? And the scandal affected her so much that she couldn’t nail her free skate, and fell a lot? (Poor thing! But you can’t dope without consequences.) Well, there’s still a lot of controversy about whether she’s allowed to skate in international competitions. But she’s been skating in Russia, and recently had a dynamo exhibition! Check out her on-ice performance of Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday Addams dance.