Birth of a Garden

Hello, Sweet-Peas.  Spring is in the air, beautiful green and colorful things are growing, there are rabbits, ducks and geese all over my neighborhood, and I am loving life! There is a bit of weird weather for this time of year, but no complaints from me. The rain is making my herbs grow unbelievably. I'm very excited for the last frost so I can finally put my sprouting veggies in the ground. Here is a pic of where they will live:

The back, right corner has been tilled and I've built a 90 degree angled fence around it on 2 sides to block it off from the curb. These garden beds were an amazing find. Only $40 each (one garden bed is actually 2 squares http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1113676), what a deal! I estimate they will each need about 15 bags of soil to fill them before I can plant. Growing your own food is soooo easy to do, and you don't even need a yard. You can use window boxes, lattice, pottery...  and the taste and nutrition value difference is incredible.

I'll keep you updated as I go along, with pics and more info. Hope you're all having a great Spring, so far!!

Much Love
from Toni

Here Comes the Sun!

It feels like years since it's been here...
I'm SO excited to toss aside my shoes and spend my days bare foot, wear much less clothing, get some healthy sun (gotta get that vitamin D), and go SWIMMING! But most of all, I'm super excited about joining forces with Mother Nature in this newest cycle of growth and creation. How, you ask? I'm planning and growing my very own vegetable, herb and medicinal plants garden, aaaaaall by myself.

Oooh, I've dabbled in growing a few veggies or herbs in the past, and I even lived on a full-fledged farm in Northern California, where I tended to some already-growing veggies. But, I've never planned it all out and done every aspect from start to finish. This season I will!

These are my "babies"!! Look at them, aren't they beautiful?! Sometimes I get so overwhelmed, like some sort of veggie weirdo.

Anywho, looks like we'll be harvesting quite a bit. Here's the list, so far:

Vegetables
Yellow Pear, Black Krim and Red Roma Tomatoes, Bibb and Red Romaine Lettuce, Yellow Crookneck Squash, Bloomsdale Spinach, Calwonder Green Peppers, Sugar Snap Peas, English Pod Peas, Little Finger Carrots, Green Sprouting Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cayenne Peppers (actually, I consider part of my medicinals), Purslane and Red Beets.

Herbs
Peppermint, Chocolate Mint, Sage, Lavender (medicinal plant, again!), Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Sweet Basil, Parsley, Garlic Chives, and Dill.

Medicinal Plants
German Chamomile, Foxglove Digitalis, Purple Cone Flower (Echinacea), Borage (boy! this mama grows fast!! It really wants to be here. More on that, later...), and Milk Thistle.

Every morning, when I wake up, before I do anything else, I check on them to see how they are doing and I talk to them for a little bit. I really believe the extra love will help them grow larger and more full of nutrients...  and they seem to like it:)

I'll be posting my progress over the coming weeks/months, along with photos and gardening tips. Have any gardening tips of your own? Feel free to write in or comment.

Happy Spring!!

Much Love
from Toni

Dehydrated vs Dry. The Root of Oily, Congested Skin.

Do you know your skin type? Does it confuse you or seem to fluctuate? I get tons of letters every day asking me for help choosing the best products for certain skin types. And it never fails that many are confused because they either have combination skin or skin that changes seasonally or even week to week.The culprit is usually oily skin and congestion. The endless search for the perfect thing to decongest, scare away blackheads, or a non-clogging moisturizer that won't cause breakouts are the most sought after requests. For the many who write me each day, and to the rest of you who may battle with this conundrum, the Holy Grail you seek is water!

If you have oily skin all over, excess oil in the T-Zone, are prone to clogged pores and congestion, feel claustrophobic or dirty when you use a moisturizer, or break out from moisturizers or if your hair touches your face - your skin is dehydrated. Many associate dehydration with dry skin, and this can often be the case. Water and oil work together in skin to keep it soft, lubricated, moisturized and protected. Skin becomes oily when it lacks moisture, as oil production is increased to lubricate the skin.  Now you have excess oil, instead of a balance. Where this process fails is that when there isn't enough water to keep the oils moving freely through the pores, they can build up, harden and clog the pores, creating blackheads or trapping bacteria that can turn into blemishes. Without the proper hydration, ANY moisturizer you use can contribute to further clogging the pores or just lay in a layer on top of the skin. When skin holds enough water, oils move easily in and out of pores while the water absorbs them and other nutrients from moisturizers into your skin.

Dry Skin is lack of oil - Dehydrated Skin is lack of water.

The key is to hydrate internally and make sure you have plenty of moisture in the air around you.

 

The importance of water can never be over-emphasised. Water constitutes up to 75 % of our bodies, 85% of our Brains, and 15% of our bones.Water carries oxygen and nutrients through the blood and also regulates body temperature, as well as facilitating our body’s excretion processes. It not only hydrates and facilitates the delivery of nutrients to our cells, tissues, muscles, organs and bones, it cleans our bodies, and therefore our skin, from the inside out. Keeping your body hydrated can keep your skin clear and reduce your chances of early aging, wrinkles and fine lines for years to come.

5 Tips for Keeping Skin Hydrated

1. Drink at least 64 ounces of pure, spring, or filtered water each day to retain moisture and to hydrate the body internally. This will moisturize skin externally!.

 

2. Apply a moisturizer to the skin directly after showering or cleansing, while skin is still damp, to help lock in moisture and water.  

3. Limit the skins exposure to factors that will dry it out such as hot showers, heating, over-exposure to sun and  extremely dry climates or weather.

4. Use a humidifier! Especially during cold winter months. Central Heating and Electric Heaters can really zap the moisture from your skin.If you don't have a humidifier,  pop a bowl of water underneath your heater to disperse moisture throughout your room.

5. Use water based moisturizers that are free of mineral oil and petroleum ingredients that can easily clog pores.

Mmmmm.....  I think I'll grab a glass now!

Here's to your skin:)

Much Love

from Toni

Of the Earth

 

We come from the Earth,

We return to the Earth,

And in between

We garden.

Finding Meaning on Christmas

 

For man years now, I have searched for meaning in my life. From the time I was very small, I looked for god in even the smallest, seemingly insignificant things. I always find it. I can hear it speak to me in my heart with feeling I can rarely put into words.

But, when Christmas arrives each year, I find myself wanting. The meaning of Christmas is so clear to me, but when I look around at friends and family, I wonder if they know, or have searched for, what it truly symbolizes. It's not just a time of giving and receiving gifts, nor merely a time when most people forget about their fears and angers and begin to be nicer to friends, family and strangers. It's so much deeper than that.

I do wish you happy moments with family, friends and strangers. I do wish you moments of utter peace, without anger or resentment. And today, I do wish you gifts! But my greatest, most excellent wish can be summed up in the words of Merry C. Battles.

The Christ is not just one person. The Christ is an "office" or "position" we ALL attain to. The word Christ means, "the anointed one." Jesus came to show us the way to be a vessel for the Love of God to manifest.

When the Christ Spirit entered Jesus he had perfected His soul in many lifetimes to be a worthy temple for Love incarnate. Edgar Cayce said that Jesus was Adam. In the "fall" was the promise of full redemption.

The Christ Consciousness is part of the Trinity, known by different names in many religions. The Father is the Will and Power of God, the Son or Daughter, the Christ, is the Love of God, and Holy Spirit Mother is the Thought, Wisdom, Understanding, Truth, Faith and Wisdom of God Goddess.

When did the concept of the Christ come to mean just one person? Was it a matter of control?

The Christ of our time was Jesus.

In every age the Christ Spirit enters an advanced soul to bring higher learning to the people of that time. Moses, Abraham, Buddha, Krishna, and Muhammud, have all come to teach their people a more advanced connection to the Great Spirit. There is always a great teacher who comes toshow us the way and the great possibilities of us as Human/Divine beings. The biggest secret is that God is within each one of us, and also in every atom of space and in every form we see.

This Christmas, let us pray to truly forgive anyone who we may be angry with, including forgiving self. Let the power of Love heal all wounds. Enjoy Christmas and observe the 12 Holy Days December 26-January 6, as a dedication to the 12 months ahead. Let this devotion bring you ever closer to the possibility of the Christ of Love being born within. Let this sacred season bring us joy, peace and healing of all conditions. Let the Christ Consciousness of Love be born within each one of us so that we may usher in the 1,000 years of peace!

Merry Christmas
See you next year:)

Much Love
from Toni