What Is Essential In Life + #MotivatingMonday Link-Up

 There are so many things we can focus on these days. It's so great! Any hobby you want to take up, every cause you want to champion, every book you want to find, every question you have, you can easily find out on the internet. It cuts down the long process of research and planning one had to do before the mid-1990s. With that ease of discovery, comes the thirst for more knowledge and interest in more topics. Yet our time stays the same--24 hours in a day!

It's not a secret--children don't raise themselves, dishes don't do themselves, housework doesn't get done on its own and neither do relationships flourish with an occasional text or Facebook post. They all take time, but priorities must be made! No one can decide for someone else what those are.

Some of my favorite memories with my mom are when she would read to me and my sister, one on either side of her, before bedtime. I would blissfully lean my head on her shoulder and everything seemed right with the world. Not that things were perfect in our lives or childhood, but those times were so reassuring to me. It was something she stopped everything to do for us and there was no agenda other than to spend time with us. It made me feel loved and cherished as a child. I recently saw a meme that said, "No App is a substitute for your lap! Read to your child!" How true! I'm glad that I took time to read with my own son and play with him and do all of those things that children love. The time went by all too quickly. 

And there are other things that are so important. It may be a good exercise to list everything that you feel is important to you in your life. When everything is listed, estimate the amount of time that you currently spend on each item. You might be surprised at what things you are devoting more of your time to. I know I cringe when I think about some of the things I spend inordinate amounts of time on, things that are actually lower on my priority list!

Here's to another week, with more time spent on the things that matter most!

Image by Bryan McEwan

Today is Motivating Monday!  We all need a little motivation!  I, for one, love to explore other sites for motivating, non-sponsored posts, tips, pictures and videos! Sponsored posts are great and I appreciate the information from great sponsored posts, but I also love non-sponsored posts because they are all about the person and not the brand! If I happen to find a great non-sponsored post, I'll link it up and share it with you here and on Twitter via the #MotivatingMonday hashtag!  It's like being featured!  I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!  So, in addition, if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too!  I'll visit your site, comment, promote and publicize! Remember, any link to your posts helps your blog numbers increase! (Affiliate links OK)

The Cheryl Lee MD Rejuvenation Package + Added Bonus! #AntiAging #Excema

  I'm always on the look-out for fine products that are effective, safe, and of course, have an anti-aging effect. I definitely found it here, plus a bonus effect! A product line named for it's creator, Dr. Cheryl Lee Eberting is steadily gaining momentum. Cheryl Lee MD True Lipids is a product line made to normalize skin that has acquired unhealthy amounts of lipids in the skin barrier. When this occurs, skin becomes susceptible to conditions like:

• excema
• itching
• redness
•  dryness
• abnormal pigmentation
• premature aging
 I had extremely bad excema when I was a child. I remember having red, dry patches of skin in the bends of my elbows and on my hands. I remember various prescription ointments that my mom used for me, all to no avail. Eventually it went away on its own. But a few years ago, it came back. Every summer I get excema on my fingers and hands. It is so uncomfortable when it itches so badly and then becomes dry, cracked, and then painful. I hate it when I squeeze lemons or limes into my water because it really hurts, or when I do dishes because it gets even more exacerbated. I have to use a special dishwashing liquid in order to be able to do dishes at all. Just waking up in the morning and having your hands so itchy and scaly isn't fun, period!
Back to this product line---I got the Anti-Aging Package, which is an anti-aging kit, and includes the TrueLipids TrueTherapy Ceramide+ Cream, the TrueLipids Hydrate, Correct & Perfect Lotion, and the TrueLipids TrueLips Lip Balm.



I began applying the patent-pending products on my face and noticed that at first they didn't seem much different than other creams and lotions I had tried. They do have a distinctive scent--definitely not perfume-like, very mild, not lingering, but like it means business!  Of course my nose is extremely sensitive because there are actually no fragrances, parabens, Polyethylene Glycol (PEG), or formaldehyde added. They are hypoallergenic and non-irritating. But the ingredients they do have are amazing and healing!

The Hydrate, Correct & Protect Lotion is the smaller bottle and has a pump. It is has a thinner consistency and I put this on my face first, like a serum. It absorbs quickly into the skin. The Ceramide+ Cream is the larger tube and is thick in consistency. I put this on after the lotion absorbs. It doesn't absorb quickly and actually leaves a residue that feels like the natural oils on my skin. I suppose it is doing it's job of normalizing the lipids in my skin. The lip balm is also in a tube and feels like lip gloss with no taste or smell. I love the consistency!

Two noticeable results: After two weeks, the pores on my nose are now visibly smaller! That is great news! I have the same effect when I have a facial at my favorite spa and afterwards my pores are temporarily smaller. This has given me the same result, but it is a lasting one. Also I have noticed less redness or "warmth", as they say in spa lingo, again around the nose area and the cheek area as well.

A third, unexpected bonus: I decided to put the Ceramide+ Cream and the TrueLipids Relieve & Protect Ointment (from the sample pack) on some of the dry and itchy places on my hands. I had been trying to keep it under control with some other products, which I feel are excellent. I felt like it was barely working. Now, using these products, within 4 days time my hands were feeling so much better, the itching had stopped and the onward progression of the excema halted. This was such a wonderful bonus for me! The reason I think the products in the anti-aging kit worked for me is because they don't contain harsh chemicals, which can be triggers for excema sufferers. Therefore, the anti-aging products are great for people with excema!

Cheryl Lee MD has many different kits for different kinds of problems. They do have an Ultimate Excema Kit, specifically targeted for the condition. But I am thrilled that my Rejuvenation package has done a great job with my own little excema issue--lol! (If you have any excema at all, you know that having excema is no small issue.)

 

To Be Happy Over Being Right + #MotivatingMonday Link-Up!

Photo by: Jennifer Peterson

The state of being seen as right is something that many people pursue relentlessly. It doesn’t matter what other points of view or proof is brought up, the need to be right supersedes everything. Most people aren’t really aware that they are choosing between two values—being right or being happy. These two ideals are present in most of life’s key situations. If you are unconscious of it, the powerful ego usually will do the choosing for you.

“Nothing is more deadly to happiness than the pursuit of being right ... which is to say, being seen as right. For personal proof of this, consider the people you know who are most insistent on their politics, their patterns, their viewpoint, their way… they tend to judge the most, insult the most, complain the most, and suffer the most. They reek of misery. This is often also reflected in their physical health.” 

Source: http://j.mp/1jajMar

The closer to home the situation is, the less likely most people will recognize or remember the choice between these two values of being right or being happy. Ironically, the more intimate the situation, the more damaging the wrong choice is. It is very seldom that in a close situation that being right is paramount, or more important than a person to be loved.

I’ve found when I back off, even when I am dead sure that I’m right, when in the heat of a discussion, it can possibly save a week of bad feelings in my marriage, rescue a relationship, or maintain a reputation.

Does it mean that you let go of your morals, beliefs, and principals to give in to someone else’s stronger or more insistent opinion or belief? Absolutely not. But when there is not a huge reason to die on the hill, why not just let it go? It can actually save yourself from stress-related illnesses, if you let your ego take second place to your sense of deference for the sake of peace!
Challenge: Next time you find yourself in a difference of opinion with someone, ask yourself, "Is it worth raising the stress level right now to prove that I'm right?" If you find that it isn't, find a peaceful way to resolve it as quickly as possible and congratulate yourself for choosing the happy route!  

Today is Motivating Monday!  We all need a little motivation!  I, for one, love to explore other sites for motivating, non-sponsored posts, tips, pictures and videos!  If I happen to find a great one, I'll link it up and share it with you here and on Twitter via the #MotivatingMonday hashtag!  It's like being featured!  I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!  So, in addition, if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too!  I'll visit your site, comment, promote and publicize! Remember, any link to your posts helps your blog numbers increase!

Getting Rid Of The Monster

 It's the beginning of the big 3--Halloween,Thanksgiving and Christmas!  Right now, ghosts, goblins and spooks are restless to get out! And since we're in Halloween mode, I thought I might talk about something very much in keeping with the season, but a lot more serious. It's about that monster that lurks on the nightstand, in the medicine cabinet and in your purse to take you down. It's very much an epidemic in the U.S. and it's called opioid addiction. With two million Americans living with prescription opioid abuse or dependence, the latest statistics say that 46 Americans die each day from prescription opioid overdose. If you're not creeped out yet, watch the video below!

I can speak from experience because someone I know is entrapped by addiction to pain medication and doesn't want to admit it. The addiction occurred because of 2 back-to-back injuries. This person  suffers all or many of the symptoms of classic opiate withdrawal like----

• Irritability
• Insomnia
• Yawning
• Muscle Aches and Pains
• Abdominal Cramping
• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Vertigo

 But this person won't admit he has an addiction problem. Instead, multiple doctors are consulted because of his on-going symptoms, tests are taken, days of work are missed. After awhile, my friend gets tired of the constant pain and symptoms, and falls back onto what gives some sense of temporary relief--opiate pain killers. Then the cycle starts all over again.

I know about the denial because I approached him about it, and he flatly refused to consider it. He takes pride in saying he has outsmarted the pills and knows when to quit and how much to take. His doctor finally put limitations on him, but probably too late. Now he has acquired a cache of medications that he uses when he feels "sick". Deep down, I know this person is a fine human being. But when he is suffering from opiate withdrawal, he is a horrible person to be around. His irritability is irrational. He becomes a bully. He can't make rational decisions and he destroys relationships because of it. He blames others instead of himself. Another thing that I see is that he is extremely paranoid about people and his good-will is buried underneath the monster of his addiction.

Total recovery from opiate addiction usually takes 2 full years. During this time, the symptoms tend to alleviate for awhile and then they surge back to their original, painful state. The good periods gradually become longer and longer, but each withdrawal period is extremely troublesome and the danger of relapse is very real and present. Many people experience severe depression because they do relapse. But they need to know that they should keep trying. So many people give up right before they reach success.

The first step to overcome addiction, obviously, is to recognize it for what it is and admit it. Some people go all the way to the grave before they will admit what is obvious to everyone else around them. Take this easy test and if you answer yes to 3 of the questions, you are addicted to opiates.

• Has your use of opiates increased over time?
• Do you experience withdrawal symptoms when you stop using?
• Do you use more than you would like, or more than is prescribed?
• Have you experienced negative consequences to your using?
• Have you put off doing things because of your drug use?
• Do you find yourself thinking obsessively about getting or using your drug?
• Have you made unsuccessful attempts at cutting down your drug use?

The second step is to get professional help. This is an almost insurmountable thing to conquer on your own. 

The third step is to utlilize opiate withdrawal medications that are designed to take away or greatly lessen the torturous symptoms of withdrawal. One of the most successful of these medications is Elimidrol.
It can be purchased without a prescription and has been scientifically formulated to be the #1 opiate withdrawal supplement! 
The fourth step is to get into a support group that will walk you through even more steps to get you on the road to recovery! One excellent group is the Addiction Recovery Program by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a 12-step program that uses your faith in God to help you get through the hard process. 

If you know someone who is struggling with this problem, try to get them to understand that it isn't them, it's the monster of addiction that has them hooked. There is hope for recovery and relief from these symptoms. Hopefully, they will get help and know that they will only be stronger for doing so!

Sources: AddictionandRecovery.org
ASAM