LYSINE OINTMENT FOR CHICKENPOX

(AND OTHER HERPES VIRUSES)

Recently my 3 and a half year old, Heffalump, was lucky enough to be blessed with chickenpox. It was a textbook case. Exactly 14 days after exposure his first three blistery spots showed up. That night my oldest son was admitted into the hospital after an asthma attack he had at his grandmother's house, so we traded kiddos. Mimi kept the chickenpox boy all 5 days I was staying with his brother at the hospital.  I asked how he was doing every day. Every day I got the same answer. "He's doing great, not even itching, waking up a little more than normal at night".  On the 5th day I got a call before we were released from the hospital saying he was starting to itch, and complain, and asking what to do until I could come get him. I told her that she could put him in a bath with oatmeal. Turned out the other kids had all eaten the oatmeal that morning so there wasn't any left for a bath. OK....baking soda. That she had. It held him over. On the way there I picked up a tube of Lysine ointment but it was seriously pricy. $15 for a small tube. It was gone in 2 days. At that point about half his blisters were scabbed over, so I figured we were still going to have to deal with itchy days.  

These photos were taken on day 4 of the rash

I had L-Lysine capsules in my cabinet from when I had shingles last year that I pulled out. Turned out it was a good thing I had them in this form. I had just pulled them out to pull together some sort of homemade ointment when the Heffalump asked for a cup of lemonade. I was not expecting the screams of "ITS BURNING" at all, but a glance in his mouth confirmed he had a big open blister on his tongue. Water didn't calm the burning. Milk didn't calm the burning. So I opened a capsule, and tried a taste (just to see how awful it was). No flavor...perfect. I dumped contents of the open capsule directly on the open blister and he immediately calmed. Then the Heffalump pulled up the step stool and helped me make his ointment. 

Day 8 of the rash, most blisters were scabbing over

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 C Coconut oil

1/3 C grapeseed oil   (The coconut oil is pretty important because of its semisolid state, but could be done with another solid oil or shea butter maybe? And whatever handy liquid oil you have for grapeseed oil)
3-4 Tbsp Bee's wax

2000mg L-Lysine (for me this was 4 capsules opened up)

Optional Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Raw honey (this made the mixture slightly sticky, but I stuck it in there for the fast healing benefits)
Frankincense essential oil (good for fevers, seizures, and cp) I got it here, for a great price.
(I had the following homeopathic remedies all in 30c on hand, so that is what I used):

Aconite, Rhus tox, Sulphur, Calendula, and Arnica


I crushed three or four of each homeopathic remedy pellets along with the powder from the Lysine capsules with my mortar and pestle. so it would be ready when I needed it.
In a small pot over a low heat I melted the oils, honey, and bee's wax together. After the wax pellets were well melted in I shut the heat off, and waited for the mixture to cool, about 7 minutes or so, whisking frequently to keep a good texture. While still warm, but not hot I mixed in the powder mixture until well blended and dissolved.  I waited until it was room temperature before adding 15-20 drops of the frankincense oil, and whisking that in also.

This fit perfectly into 2 separate 8 ounce containers.



We are on day 12 now. There are no liquid filled blisters left, most of the scabs have fallen off, but there are still many waiting to fall off. He never got so itchy as to scratch them off. I have great expectations that he will not scar at all.

 

Cold Cucumber Soup (Dairy Free, Gluten Free)

As some of you know, I'm currently on the HCG diet and have a VERY limited list of foods I am allowed to eat for the month that I am actually using the HCG injections. Needless to say I'm getting a little bored with my food choices, so I've found myself getting creative. Luckily it is summer time, so I have easy access to lots of fresh fruits and veggies.

I've been doing tons of plain sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, but I decided I wanted to switch it up some, so I did a search for cold cucumber soup recipes to defeat the boredom.  Lots of the recipes look incredibly delicious, but include ingredients I can't have at this time, like avocado, and sour cream (but OMG they make my mouth water!!) I wound up modifying and combining several different recipes and came up with an amazingly tasty solution, that I'm going to share with you.

Ingredients

-3 Large cucumbers (or 6 pickling cucumbers), I used a mixture of both
-1/2 c. water
-1/2 lemon juiced
-garlic (my diet requires me to use garlic powder, but if you don't have any restrictions like that and have fresh garlic available go ahead and mince a whole clove of garlic)
-salt

Peel and dice up your cucumber and put in blender or food processor, blend until everything is smooth, and a liquid texture.
Add in the water (give or take depending on how runny or creamy you like your soup), and lemon juice.
Continue blending as you add in the garlic (I used about a 1/2 tsp of garlic), and salt (about 4 or 5 shakes).

Go ahead and taste it just in case you want to add more seasoning, and you are done. Go ahead and refrigerate it to chill before serving. The longer you can let it sit the more the flavors will come out, so keep that in mind as well, if you like it less or more spicy.

Then enjoy your yummy summer soup!!

Fluoride links list

• I have often had people ask me about fluoride, and for good links to aid in their research. I have found myself repeatedly typing this out. So I'm posting it here for ease of use in the future. I hope you all find it helpful as well.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  The CDC and AMA both actually advise AGAINST routine use off fluoride:
  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/13/cdc-and-ada-now-advise-to-avoid-using-fluoride.aspx
  
  This one discusses some of the history of fluoride, as well as its current use in psychiatric drugs, and its purpose in them.
  http://rense.com/general3/fluo.htm
  
  10 facts about fluoride discusses some of the most important problems with fluoridation programs.
  http://www.fluoridealert.org/articles/fluoride-facts/
  
  photos and graphs about the increase of dental fluorosis over time as fluoride programs spread.
  http://www.fluoridealert.org/issues/fluorosis/
  
  This piece gets into the chemical composition and toxicity of fluoride from a chemistry point of view.
  http://www.just-think-it.com/no-f.htm
  
  Another top 10 dangers of fluoride, but I like this one especially because it has a listing of foods that have hidden fluoride (which will help you understand why the danger of over-fluoridation is so high).
  http://www.cheeseslave.com/top-10-dangers-of-fluoride/
  
  In this 1998 interview, Dr. John Colquhoun explains why he went from being New Zealand’s leading promoter of fluoridation to being an opponent of the practice.
  http://www.fluoridealert.org/fan-tv/colquhoun/
  
  Abby Martin takes with a look at the 50 year long practice of water fluoridation in America, outlining adverse health effects and breaking the myth that it helps prevent tooth decay.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqQkqZKBuV4&feature=youtu.be
  
  Russell Blaylock M.D., a neurosurgeon discusses the toxic consequences of fluoridation
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvA-Ph-L0io&feature=youtu.be
  
  Discusses the differences between naturally occurring fluoride and the byproduct being added to products and water as fluoride.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAg8saQWhiI
  
  I like this on for the list of non-food products that use fluoride.
  http://www.knowthelies.com/node/3519
  
  Fox news's report on the EPA reversal stance on fluoride use.
  http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/02/22/epa-reverses-fluoride/

Black Salve

1 T of dried calendula, 1 T dried comfrey, 1 T. dried chamomile, and 1/2 c. olive/apricot kernel oil. Infuse the oil with the dried herbs. Then use 2-3 T of this oil, along with
2 tablespoons shea butter, 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil, 2 Tablespoons Beeswax,1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil, 2 tablespoons Activated Charcoal Powder,2 Tablespoons rhassoul Clay, 1 Tablespoon manuka honey, and 20 drops (or more) Lavender Essential Oil. Melt the beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil in a double boiler. once melted, remove from heat and mix in remaining ingredients except for the essential oil. Let cool slightly then mix in the lavender e.o. and place into clean jars and store until needed.

Recipe written by J. Lindsey Morgan

Me? I Want A Hula Hoop

I spend a lot of time outdoors in the spring and summer with the kids and I'd been looking for a good way to exercise while they play in the yard when I stumbled upon this youtube video of a girl hula hooping, and appearing to have a great time while doing it. As I stared in amazement I wondered HOW she did it. I mean, I've never been able to keep a hula hoop up and moving. I remembered a friend of mine having talked about making hula hoops so I got chatting with her about it, and soon found that the key to hula hooping was in having a decent hoop to work with rather than one of those cheap light-weight hoops from department store toy sections.
After a trip to her house, and some test drives of her hand made hoops over coffee and laughs she gave me the low down on how to make my own usable hula hoops. After acquiring all the materials we needed we spent yesterday afternoon making our own, so I'll share with you our experience.

First you want to get your materials together.
We got our irrigation hose ($17.47), as well as our couplers ($.38/each) at Lowe's. Those are the two necessities, but we also found a few huge spools of ribbon, and some black electrical tape at our local discount store, Marden's, for really cheap to decorate our hoops with.

100ft. 3/4 in irrigation tubing

3/4 in tubing couplers

 



 

 My hula hoop making friend told me to use a hack saw to cut the tubing and a bowl of hot water to soften the plastic before coupling it, but out here in the woods we tend to amp things up a bit so my welder neighbor lent me his skill saw and my landscaper boyfriend gave me his torch (apparently that's what they use when they are installing irrigation systems, go figure).

Skill saw and torch to cut and soften the plastic

 If you've read my blog before you already know I'm not really big on measurements, so I eyeballed the circumference I wanted for my hula hoop and cutting that length of tubing.  We also decided to weight some of the hula hoops by adding water (somewhere between a half a cup and a cup) to the tubing before coupling the two ends together.

adding water to the tubing (can you tell the toddler is begging to let him do this job?)

After adding the water we heated the tubing up using the torch, when it made the plastic shiny that indicated it was soft and pliable enough to couple together easily.

my little man demonstrating how and where to use the blow torch (no worried, the torch was OFF for demonstration purposes).

Once the plastic had been heated we slid the coupler into one end of the tubing, and then the other, completing the circle.  As you can see from the photo, my cut wasn't very clean and left a gap when coupled together. We remedied this with the black electrical tape we had to make it a smooth connection. Once the plastic cools it tightens back up on the coupler, sealing it tightly.

the coupled tubing

 

 After completing the hula hoops we decorated a few of them (and we still have some waiting to be decorated) with the ribbon we got on sale. We taped one end near the coupling and spiraled tightly around the tubing until the ends met up, and then took an alternating color and did the same thing in the gaps naturally created in the spiraled ribbon on the tubing which gave the appearance of alternating colors on the edge of the hoop. I also took the electrical tape and spiraled it around between the ribbons so it held down every other edge (though I could have done twice and gotten every edge) which seems secure and hasn't loosened even though we played with the hoops all yesterday and today.

ribbon and electrical tape pattern on tubing

Thing 1 showing off the completed project

Add caption

giving it a whirl

practicing some new moves

 

The boys showing off their new creations.

 

 And, just as a warning.....if you happen to be knee high to a grasshopper, and your face is right at the same height as mama's waist, DON'T do sneaking up on her while she is attempting to hula hoop because this is what happens.....

Don't let the tears fool you, he was already finished crying, he just started up again when he realized I was making him come inside (big surprise, this is the little Heffalump that wakes up screaming "ME GOOOOOO OOOUUUTTT!!!!")

 

I hope you enjoyed our little adventure creating out own hoops.  Let us know if you try it out too.

BREAKFAST COOKIES

Recipe by a very sweet facebook friend :)

1 cup dry oatmeal (not steel cut, not instant)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup flax or hemp seed
1/3 cup of honey
1 tsp vanilla

Mix it up, roll it into little balls and serve. I use a little coconut flour on my hands to keep it from sticking as I make the balls. But recently I bought a gadget from Pampered Chef. It's a chip clip but both ends have scoops, one large and one small. So next time I'm trying that scoop to make the balls.


I copied and pasted her directions here so I don't loose it, and can try it out. I'll take photos to post, and if I make any adjustments I will note them later as well. I'm kind of already thinking these would be yummy with a dried fruit of some sort as well, like raisins or cranberries :)

Microwave chocolate cake

Reposting a microwave cake recipe from Jennifer Blyth so I don't lose the recipe:

Microwave chocolate cake... the most dangerous recipe EVAR!

4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1 whisked egg
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp chocolate chips
1 tsp Vanilla

microwave on high for 3 minutes.