Vinegar – It’s For More Than Poaching Eggs

Healthy living is about more than getting to the gym every day of the week or maintaining a 10-step daily skin regimen!! It’s about caring for your body, yes J but also your mind and peace of being…..

To me, this meaning changes by the day… Some days it is about squeezing in that extra yoga session to feel relaxed, one with my mind and body, and awake. Some it’s about a productive, positive day at my spa. And yet other days, it’s about the little things – a perfectly cooked healthy meal or a smaller win, like finding five minutes to get the vacuuming done.

Earlier this week, I found my peace over a late breakfast…. As I took to a mission of cooking a perfectly poached egg, I realized how strange it is that a capful of vinegar of all things keeps the egg together!! J My chain of thought went a bit down the rabbit hole with curiosity as to exactly what else vinegar is used for – it turns out that there is quite a list. Below are just a few of my favorites.

   ·       Burn remedy – A dash of white vinegar on a cloth, laid over a kitchen burn or sunburn soothes the pain and removes the heat

   ·       Un-over salt – If you have added to much salt to a recipe, add a dash of vinegar to balance it back out

   ·       Cleaning – Vinegar combined with salt (one tsp. vinegar to two Tbsp salt) makes a beautiful kitchen cleaner – it shines up even the most dulled or lime-stained chrome fixtures in a snap

   ·       Sparkling glasses – Add ½ c. vinegar to your dishwasher’s rinse cycle to make dishes and glassware sparkle

   ·       Stain removal – Add a teaspoon each of vinegar and a mild liquid detergent to a gallon of hot water to remove non-oily stains from carpeting

   ·       Facial toner – Mix equal parts vinegar and water for a great DIY facial toner

   ·       Body freckles – Rub full-strength vinegar over body freckles to lighten them

   ·       Age spots – A daily splash of 1:1 onion juice and vinegar can overtime reduce age spots

   ·       Lasting polish – Extend the life of nail polish by wiping nails with vinegar-soaked cotton balls before applying polish

   ·       Bug bites – Stop the itching from bug bites by dabbing bite marks with undiluted vinegar

   ·       Flower power – Extend the bloom time of cut flowers or liven droopy blossoms by adding two tablespoons vinegar and one teaspoon sugar to a quart of water, then use to freshen flowers’ water

Sometimes to achieve daily peace, we simply need to take a step back and appreciate life’s little wonders – whether it be the way vinegar holds the whites of an egg together to create a beautifully poached egg or a rainbow after a summer storm. The world is full of surprises – taking a moment to enjoy them helps put your mind at ease and bring joy to your day.

I hope that you are able to take a few minutes out of your day to enjoy peace, reflection, and one of life’s little wonders.

Shaz x

Finding Balance in a Busy World

Is the world getting busier or is it just me?

We are working ridiculous hours at our jobs, washing, ironing, cooking, doing household chores, paying bills. Looking after kids, spending time with husbands (wives) and family, caring for pets – the list goes on.

How many times have we said, “Tomorrow I’m going to start going to the gym,” or, “I’m going to catch up with our friends,” or, “do ‘this’ or ‘that.’” We are constantly running from one thing to the next, feeling uptight, getting stressed, losing patience – no wonder we‘re so tired all the time.

There are so many things involved in our everyday lives that it seems we focus on all of the tasks to complete without ever dedicating anytime to ourselves.

Think about it – we are always doing something for someone or something because it needs to be done; why is it that the “someone” is never ourselves? I realize that when I actually have spare time, I usually give that time to somebody else! Sound familiar? I think we are all able to relate to this because we are all soooo busy and left searching for that balance between work (whatever that work may be) and life.

So what exactly does it mean to find balance?

To me, it means simply taking time out to recover, recoup, recharge, distress, wind down, or do the things that help us cope with life – it’s allowing ourselves time to indulge in the activities that ultimately make us happy.

Life will go on if the vacuuming is not done or the car is not cleaned or the papers you have piled on your desk are not attended to at this very moment.

I love coming to work every day, running my new business Aquavit Spa & Wellness ; however, it has been very taxing on me and my family and I find it especially hard to find time for me!

When talking to Frank about finding some time for myself, he reminded me of some ‘activator’ thing we all have tucked away in our brains – the thing that alerts you to keep an eye out for something. Like when you’re thinking about buying a particular type of car and suddenly they are everywhere on the road and you’re astounded by how many are actually out there!  

Well those activators are very good at helping us find the gaps in our day/week where we can take time out. You just have to tell yourself that you’re going to find time to do… (you fill in the blank). Write it down…, “I WILL FIND TIME THIS WEEK TO (FILL IN THE BLANK WITH AN ACTIVITY JUST FOR YOU).”

Place the reminder in your purse or wallet or on the fridge…anywhere front and center to remind you of your goal.

My release is the gym; I go there and train hard with my girlfriends and feel totally invigorated and recharged. Usually I’m there five days a week, but lately that hasn’t been happening. I've made a goal for next week to allocate two days to the gym. I just looked into www.bikramyoga.com.au – there are so many great benefits to yoga http://bikramyogamemphis.com/2011/05/13-extraordinary-benefits-of-bikram-yoga/.   

I hope you all look at your day or week and think about how you can just do one thing for YOU...even if it’s just an hour a day. That's all... your body is a temple... look after the place you live...

Shaz x