Routine

 Do you have patterns or rituals that you perform like habit every morning?  I most definitely do. 

They involve the following steps:

• using a blend of  oil for moisturizer around my eyes, I just gently caress a drop or two around my whole eye area...
• using oatmeal cleanser to wash my entire face & throat, I just use a teaspoon in my wet hands and slough it all over then rinse away...
• I fill a big mug with a few inches with hot water and soak my bottle of natural toothpaste to get it warm and free flowing, I only have to do this if it is chilly in the bathroom- I do this while I begin the next step...
• If it's tuesday I take my container of cinnamon lip scrub and stir it with my finger then apply some to my lips, gently scrubbing in a circular pattern-then rinse well with warm water and pat dry...
• I now can use my all natural toothpaste, a little more than a pea size amount , and brush my teeth and mouth and gain the feeling of clean fresh confidence in my smile :o)
• I then apply all natural lip balm to my lips & feel it soothing &protecting and tasting oh so yummy...
• lately as I comb my fingers through my hair I apply a small dab of home made conditioner through the ends of my hair to heal the split dry areas I seem to get if I don't.

I actually wrote most of this post on my previous blog about a year and a half ago.  I had to edit because since then I completely stopped wearing makeup and everything I use in my routine I make myself.   I make my own eye care oil, I make the oatmeal wash and the lip balm, I even make my own hair conditioner and natural toothpaste.  I really enjoy the idea that I make this stuff for myself but I love the idea that I can also share it with others through my home made business.

What do you do in the morning as your daily rituals?  Would you like to try some natural means of performing those steps?  Would you like to feel confident that you are taking steps to try to be healthier, environmentally aware & economically wise?

If so just look through my blog for ideas, look at my facebook page and contact me if you have any questions, ideas, or requests as I get my online shop up and running again.

I hope your week is full of fresh signs of life!

take care

BettyK

Wake me up!

I almost didn't even have time to post this about market tomorrow...I will have a stand at Los Ranchos Grower's Market again tomorrow- from 7am-noon.

Los Ranchos Grower's Market

I also am so excited to have created a new body scrub that is just phenomenal!

It has coffee, coconut oil, sugar, avocado oil & a couple of other ingredients and it works fantastic!  I was reading about coffee improving your circulation, exfoliating your skin, energizing your mood...all lovely qualities, then I read about how people are seeing coffee used to reduce cellulite!

Hold on-this can't be.   But it is true!  I have created this combination of ingredients that actually visibly is making my skin so youthful and YES it is decreasing my cellulite marks as well as diminishing those pesky old stretchmarks from my ahem, last baby. Well, I guess that really is no excuse, she is 25 now.  I just have a lot of evidence that I did bear three healthy 10 pound children, had 10 pounds worth of tumors removed when I was 40 and overall carried too much weight in my middle for too many years.  So this scrub is a tremendous thrill for me to create and use!

So, come to market tomorrow, see what I have.  I will have a few pretty glass jars of this new scrub, plenty of lotion and sunscreen, even a new lotion fragrance~ Sandalwood~ mmmmm.

Enjoy the music, food, and fresh fun at the market in Los Ranchos tomorrow!

Until then, remember to Think Natural!

BettyK

just breathe...

Just a reminder to take the time to rest, get pampered once in a while, and enjoy this life we have!

I was talking to someone recently who is going through so much right now, broke my heart to hear her burdens.  In listening and caring I know it helped her walk away feeling jut that bit of strength to walk ahead a little more with what she was carrying.

I guess I just want to mention the fact that as I offer you bubble bath, soaking solutions, facial masks and lotions...it isn't just to spoil yourself selfishly.  We all need to be able to work as we need then rest as we need to regroup and go again.  I feel like urging you to take that time for the walk after dinner, or take the soak in the tub and think of nothing for 30 minutes, listen to the sounds of nature as you enjoy a bench or your balcony and embrace the moment of peace.  And talk to those you have in your life to support and connect...we all need these things, let's take that time to seek the peaceful rhythm we can have in our lives.

Have a terrific day today, I will post here by tomorrow if they have told me they have space for me at the market this weekend- take care.

BettyK

Good Monday Morning to you!

This week I am excited to be making fresh lotion- Vanilla Silk as well as some special request fragrances.  I will also be making some fresh Sunscreen!
I am so excited that all of my product supplies have arrived and I am looking forward to getting my hands silky from working to create items for the market and my online store.  I love that when making these natural items I rarely have to wear protective gear and get to just soak in all of these wonderful oils and nutrients.  It is a fantastic sort of work!

I am also looking forward to painting several rocks and wood items. In case you didn't know I love to add a little gift when I ship items I sell in my Etsy shops, I have had so many sales that I am running low on gifts and really need to amp up the production.  I am thankful this end of my work is tremendously therapeutic!

                                             So here is a pic of the day for Monday:






Thanks for checking in, take care,
BettyK

Bergamot and Market

Two things, first of all some of you have asked me what exactly Bergamot is in the Peppermint

Bergamot lip balm I make...here is the run down:



Bergamot is an oily substance extracted from the rind of a fruit that is yellow in color but the fragrance and taste is citrus like an orange. It is used in cosmetics for it's healing and stress relieving qualities and also found in the flavor of Earl Grey tea.







Second of all, I will have a stand at Los Ranchos Grower's Market again tomorrow 7am-noon ...looking forward to seeing you there!

http://losranchosnm.gov/growers-market/

Our skin and the sun, the good the bad and the ugly of it all.

Many of us, when we were younger and unaware, spent too much time in the sun.  Many of us used things like baby oil (eek!) to produce a more intense effect from the sun while we laid out day after day in the summer time.  Many of us used tin foil or foil blankets as reflectors while we caught as many of those golden rays as we could.  We wanted to be bronze in the summer, it was the evidence of a fantastic summer when we were younger.  I admit it, I was guilty of each of these practices.

Fast forward to today, we realize that there are such dangers in what we did.  Many who are now in their mid forties and above have had at least one suspicious mark removed from their body.  Mine was a white spot on the tip of my nose that I just thought was a wart or something.  It was embarrassing so I went just for it to be cosmetically removed, I had no idea that it was a concern.

I had that removal and the reality check several years ago now.  Since then I have read up so much more on what effect over exposure to the sun has on us, as well as the scary things out there offered as 'protection' in the harmful ingredients in the sunscreens on the market.  Because I did not like the options I had, I began to think...what if I could make something that would work but be nutritious for my skin at the same time?

If you read my earlier post you realize that I did come up with something, a fabulous sun screen.  It has bees wax and coconut oil, vitamin E and avocado oil, sunflower oil and castor oil...each of which helps zinc oxide in shielding us from the sun.  The bees wax also makes it water resistant so you can swim and it should protect you even when wet.  As I stated in my earlier post though I had tried to cut some corners and used the wrong coconut oil and made a bad batch.  I have learned from that, which is the best thing to happen from mistakes - learn.  I feel bad that I did not have my best product at the market I was at in Los Ranchos, but I look forward to having some amazing bottles of this wonderful stuff when I get the new batch of the right coconut oil I ordered recently.  I look forward to you trying it, it really does nourish your skin, and my husband I did not get burnt after using it ourselves, and I got great feedback from other users.

In the meantime, though having wonderful products to use, being wise and not attempting to bake ourselves like we did before we knew better are good things- we should still be on the lookout.  Do you understand what to look for and why when it comes to skin cancer and issues of such?

If you would like to be aware as well as know how to go from here check out this website:

SkinCancer.org Helpful Information

and this link will be great to inform you on ingredients as well as details about sunscreen you often don't hear:

CNN sunscreen report

So, here's to safe, healthy, natural summer fun....

Stay Natural!

BettyK

A tip, more or less...

A few questions:

Do you feel like your cuticles or around your nails gets dry and peels easily?

Are you lacking nutrients or taking medication, or dealing with an illness that leaves your nails lacking luster?

Were you a nail biter and just can't seem to get decent looking nails without diving into artificial nails?

Mistakes, errors, cutting corners...

I am writing this post to inform the customer who bought sunscreen off me last week at the Los Ranchos Growers Market that I need to apologize for the poor quality product you purchased and I hope I can find you to make things right.

I offer a sunscreen, a fabulous recipe I came up with, a product that I have tested and used and have had terrific success with.  I recently made a poor choice to purchase an ingredient from a different source and made a batch to sell at market.  I spoke with many about the wonderful product I had but thankfully only one person bought the sunscreen from me.  This sunscreen was made with a coconut oil I recently purchased.  It was not the quality or type of oil I preferred and it made a product I do not like at all.

Today!!!

I am set up at the Los Ranchos Market again today....stop on by!  Link with address is in previous post.

Sorry for the late post, been a super busy week!

See you at Market!

Monday Monday...

So we start a new week...  I am only going to give you a brief update right now because I have a large list of things to do today ~ it is my fabulous husband's birthday!

To market to market...

Tomorrow I will be holding a stand at the Los Ranchos de Albuquerque Growers' Market and Arts & Crafts Fair.  I am so excited to have this as my first venture into market in New Mexico.  As my husband and I relocated here from Pennsylvania July of 2014 this past 9 months of our lives have been learning about our new home and discovering the beauty of living out west.