Why use ceramic mugs? These are the very best in terms of allowing your coffee to taste as good as it can. Because ceramic is not porous, it holds the heat in longer which helps preserve the flavor. These mugs are reusable so they’re environmentally friendly. They’re easy to find in any store and you can find lots of cool designs.

Stay away from paper, plastic, and styrofoam cups. Each of these can add the flavor of their materials to your cup of coffee which changes the taste. You might not realize it at first but the taste of your coffee is slowly degraded by these kinds of cups. Worse still, there is some debate as to whether these cups will release some of their more toxic chemicals into your coffee as the hot coffee sets in your cup.

Wash your coffee mug regularly. You can get rings around your coffee cup if you don’t wash it out regularly, but this also affects the taste. The oils in the coffee can cling to the sides of your cup and then be deposited into your next cup. Be sure to wash out your coffee mug with hot water and dishwashing detergent each day. If you forget and can’t remove a coffee stain, use a little vinegar in warm water or salt in warm water and let the cup sit for an hour or so. Rinse the cup out and then wash with warm soapy water. The ring will be gone and your flavor will be back.

As busy women working, grocery shopping, cooking, washing, cleaning, taking care of the kids, driving the kids to all their activities and all the things we do everyday we think we don’t have any time for ourselves. But can we really afford NOT to take time for ourselves? We need some down time and some time to give ourselves a little luxury. An easy way we can do this is by creating a home spa.

A spa should make you feel good and look good, so in creating your home spa do like the big spas do and turn down the lights. Once the lights are low, place small jar candles on the counter and candle tins around the tub. Candlelight is flattering to everyone. Mix candle sizes, using large and small pillars with votives and tea lights and choose a single scent to keep the aromas from interfering with one another. Lavender is the ideal soothing scent.

                            

Fill the tub with hot water and 2 cups of just plain Epsom Salts. Epsom Salts are made of the mineral magnesium sulfate and when magnesium sulfate is absorbed through the skin, such as in a bath, it calms the nervous system, draws toxins from the body, reduces swelling, relaxes muscles, is a natural emollient and exfoliator. (NOTE: Consult with your spa dealer before using Epsom Salts in your hot tub or whirlpool & consult your health care professional before beginning any kind of treatment) Use a lovely scented soap, either in the same scent as your candles or a complemetary scent (if you use a floral candle us a floral soap). The aromatherapy will do wonders to wash away the stress. Make sure to really enjoy the feel of the water on your skin.

 

 

                           

Put a couple low maintenance plants in the bathroom to give a sense of fresh air. They are an inexpensive way to decorate and stir the senses. You can line your window sills with shells or river rocks. Just looking at your shells or pebbles can give you a feeling of the seashore or the outdoors.

Make sure you have fluffy towels. Choose the warm, soft luxury of 100% combed cotton towels. Warm them by tossing them in the dryer for a few minutes, hanging them over the heating vent or laying them over a radiator. Have a cozy spa robe on hand for after the bath.

You can rest your head with a headrest, soothe your eyes with an eye pillow, listen to music or be silent and let your mind go - anything that makes you feel relaxed and then just lie back and let yourself totally dissolve into relaxation.

Approximate cost for your spa for 1/2 hour bath a week:

You can add or subtract the number of candles you want to use:

2 medium jar candles - approx $30 (2 candles will last a year if you use your spa once a week for 1/2 hour bath)
5 votive candles  - approx $10 ($20 year for 1/2 hour bath once a week)
2 candle tins  - approx $20 ($40 year for 1/2 hour bath once a week)

(2) Philodendron plants (low maintenance, low light)- approx $40

(1) 100% cotton towel - approx $12 (shop the sales & some are $6.00)

eye pillow - approx $20

professional spa robe - approx $90

shells and river rocks - bring back from a day at the beach or hike - $0

Initial Investment Total  - approx. $222.00  

You can build your spa a little at a time. For instance, start with a luxurious towel, a couple candles, and a box of Epsom Salts. Include music you already have and some sea shells and/or pebbles. If you have some plants, just move one to the spa area.

Epsom Salts - approx $3.00 (48 oz.) If you use 2 cups a week, this costs $1.00 a week.

Replaceable items total per week: $3.11

If you use your spa once a week for a year this breaks down to a cost of approximately $3.11 a week or 44 cents a day. 

Many women feel that this is a self indulgence that they cannot afford but you cannot afford not to take time to take care of yourself. Give yourself a half hour get-away in your self styled spa and watch how much more relaxed, focused and productive you will be.

Concerning Epsom Salts: This article is for informational purposes only and not meant as an endorsement or as a substitute for health care advice.

 

 

 

At Serendipity, our customers have a great sense of humor and we offer many gifts which reflect humor. Particularly, we offer travel mugs with funny sentiments. In a time of crisis we turn to humor to help alleviate the stress. We all have been going through tremendous stress with high gas prices and food prices, the bailout/rescue bill and now more than ever we need a little humor.

Check out our funny travel mugs by Ganz and share the laughter. Sayings include:

Good morning. Let the stress begin.

If God wanted me to cook, why did He invent restaurants?

Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to the real world?

I consider on time to be when I get there

Given enough coffee, I could rule the world.

I always arrive late at the office, but I make up for it by leaving early.

I chose the road less traveled. Now where am I?

Can I trade this job for what’s behind Door #2?

Women like Silent Men, they think they’re listening.

Kids - the gift that keeps on taking.

I don’t do mornings.

I wish I was NOT going to work!

Humor has been shown to improve your health by lessening stress, lowering your blood pressure and strengthening your immune system. Remember to try to see the humor in situations and laugh often!

At humor-laughter.com here are some strategies for keeping it light:

At home, at work, or as a customer - don’t tick off the person who has the power , or who can give you what you want or need from them.

At work, if having a bad day, keep it to yourself. It’s entirely possible that others may have even a worse day than you.

Avoid negative people. Avoid negative situations and negative self-talk. Surround yourself with ‘fun’loving and ‘positive’ people.

Give yourself permission to have fun and to laugh. It’s a good feeling to release the ‘child’, or the ‘clown’ within you.

If you have a bee up your…… about something. Go to the person who can correct or resolve the issue. Don’t waste time whining to people who could care less.

When things are stressful, try to look for the humor in the situation. If you can think, or say to yourself, “Someday I’m going to laugh about this -don’t wait! Laugh about it now If you are stressed, stuffing yourself with all that is edible will only result in even greater stress when you step on the scale.

Address your anger. Don’t build a mental hairball on an issue that bothers you - Cough it up!clamming up, silent treatmnet, being sarcastic, heavy sighs, dirty looks, rolling of the eyes all are ineffective. You have to address what is bugging you, because more than likely nobody will either notice nor care about your silent indications of being peeved off.

Address your stressors! If your body and muscles ache from tension and anxiety do some rolling of the shoulders, do some stretch and deep breathing exercises. Relax with a humor video, audio, or comedy tv program.

For those who are truly unhappy in your jobs, look for a job that is more suitable. If that is not possible, develop a hobby, play a sport, or get into an exercise program that will take your mind off your job.

Plan for ‘relaxation’ in your daytimer. If you don’t plan for it, it more than likely won’t happen.

Schedule your own humor and relaxation breaks into your daily routine. For example taking a deep breath almost feels like a mini vacation.

It has been proven that you can’t laugh and be stressed at the same time, so learn to take yourself lightly.