Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Help, I Need a Pedicure! And a Pedicurist!

Oy, this last week has felt like a string of obstacles to surmount. In no particular order, except the order in which they occur to me, they are: 1) I can no longer see my feet, and can't reach around my big tummy to cut my toenails. So my feet look worse than Paul Bunyan's, I think, but can't confirm because I can't really see them.

Yuck, I just looked down at them and CAN confirm that they are probably even worse than Paul Bunyan's...they probably look like Paul Bunyan's ox's hooves. Nice! Great to be walking around as a spa owner with lumberjack feet.

2) I got the punch-in-the-gut that our wonderful nail technician, Annie, is LEAVING!! Waaaaah. She has been suffering from allergies for quite a while, and they have gotten so bad that she had to spend the night in a hospital recently because she couldn't breathe. Her doctors want her to take a break from the nail industry, so she is doing the right thing and putting her health first.

3) So I start interviewing for nail technicians, and so far, have been striking out. The first one to come through the door seemed very promising, but her cousin needs her help at the family nail salon for the next two months. The second one sent a great resume, but then decided not to relocate to the area after all. Back to square one - I have decided to affirm and trust that no matter what, the Universe will send me the right person. It's better than thinking to myself all the time that finding a good nail technician is hard....that's just the reality I will create if I think that.

Well, if anyone .... ANYONE ... knows of any great nail technicians, let me know. I'll send you a gift certificate for a complimentary pedicure if I hire the person you send me!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Sayonara, Leg Cramps!

Remember how I complained in a previous blog about my godawfully painful leg cramps? Well, I haven't had one since then, and that blog was at the end of March. It's now the end of April, so what have I done?

1. I went to Dr. Kim Millman for muscle testing, and she thought it was a potassium deficiency. She suggested I take something from Standard Process called, "Organically Bound Minerals," 1 pill a day. Check, I did that. She also realized, through muscle testing, that I am also short on Folic Acid. That elicited a big HUH? from me because I've been taking my pre-natal vitamins religiously - and isn't Folic Acid one of the biggest ingredients in pre-natal vitamins? I guess it just goes to show that everyone is different, and we need customized solutions for each of us.

2. I started eating a banana each day. Okay, that's a lie. I hate bananas. It is accurate to say I started to eat a banana a day, but then stopped for a week, and then started having half a banana a day, and now just eat a banana whenever I think of it (or when the husband shoves one in my face).

3. I started doing ankle pumps throughout the day, especially before bed. Nothing stressful, I just raise one leg at a time and start rotating it and then pressing down on an imaginary gas pedal a few times each hour.

4. I started using Eminence's new Lychee & Chestnut Leg Firming Treatment! This is a new product from their Immuni-Tea collection, and I have to give it two thumbs up. In fact, I wish I had more thumbs to give. The product has been clinically tested and shown to improve circulation, which I think is my primary issue - the baby puts pressure on the blood returning to my torso, and my legs get tired and sore very easily. After a whole night of lying on them horizontally, no wonder they want to cramp, with or without my permission. But I've felt an immediate effect upon application, kind of a re-invigorated feeling combined with a cool, tingling, soothing feeling.

If you're on my newsletter, stay tuned - I am going to make a special deal available on this product for my newsletter members, and ONLY for them. Membership does have its privileges...;-) If you're not on the Pavia newsletter, then what are you waiting for? Sign up!

Friday, April 16, 2010

A Flea Manifestation...Er, Infestation

This is a story of how you do bring about what you think about. And how Aromatherapy can help the results.

First, a little background: my husband and I just moved into a duplex. When we first toured it, we saw that the previous tenants had a cat. This set my husband off into a tizzy - he was convinced from the first that the cat had fleas and that we would be plagued by unwanted insect housemates from the moment we moved in. I assured him that the landlord had assured me that he would steam clean the carpets before we moved in, and that all would be well.

Except, all has not been well. At least, not for the hubby. Each night since the first night he has woken up with multiple bites on his lower ankles and legs. He looks like he has been eaten alive from knee to ankle, covered with red bumps. At first, I kept telling him that it must be unrelated to the house, because how could I sleep next to him and live with him and NOT be affected by even a single bite? (That didn't go over too well).

Then, I did some research online and learned that fleas DO prefer certain people to others...except that they should prefer the pregnant person, the one with lots and lots of extra blood coursing through her veins. So, I guess it IS possible that they just find my hubby more yummy than me, but VERY improbable. My husband is like Jack Sprat from the nursery rhyme, who could eat no fat (and whose wife could eat no lean). He has no meat on him AT ALL.

Therefore, I conclude that since I am (on paper) a more attractive candidate for a flea, and yet I'm untouched, that he has manifested his own personal flea infestation by concentrating his energy towards it. Talk about law of attraction working like crazy.

Well, here's where the Aromatherapy comes in: I can't change his belief systems or the way he thinks, but I *CAN* help prevent him getting flea bites. I made him an ointment consisting of 25 drops of Tea Tree essential oil (Melaleuca alternifolia) and 10 drops of Niaouli (Melaleuca quinquenervia, or also MQV), and 1 ounce of Castor Oil. Castor oil is NOT my first choice of carrier oil, by any means, but it was all I had in the house. It is EXTREMELY sticky, thick, and unpleasant to sleep in. I would have much preferred to use Grapeseed oil, but beggars can't be choosers.

Each night I've applied it from his ankles up past his shins, and for 6 days now, no flea bites the next morning. I've also made an anti-flea carpet powder by combining 8 ounces of Arm & Hammer baking soda and 45 drops of Tea Tree essential oil. I shake it around in a baggy until it's good and mixed, then sprinkle it on the carpet. Then, I wait 30 minutes and vacuum it up - the house smells medicinal and clean and I bet the fleas are really unhappy (they hate Tea Tree oil).

Le voila! The best result would have been for him to have released his expectations of fleas, but failing that, the Aromatherapy worked, too, in the end. :-)

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Safety First, It's Not Just for Kids!

While I was visiting friends and family in Los Angeles over the Easter weekend, I heard a piece on talk radio which interested me. The radio segment was discussing a recent incident involving children who contracted the measles while traveling with their family in Europe. These children were unvaccinated. The radio show was focusing on the growing number of parents who choose not to vaccinate their children, or not to vaccinate according to the recommended vaccine schedule, and the issues and repercussions surrounding that choice.

I found it very interesting that the show mentioned that the majority of these people who are choosing to go against the grain of recommended vaccinations are not doing so because of lack of education or finances, or because of religious doctrine. The woman from a local health and disease authority who was handling those measles cases stated that a majority of parents who are choosing not to vaccinate are actually highly-educated.

As I have reached an age where many of my close friends (and now my wonderful Sister, as well) are having children and undertaking the colossal task of choosing what is best for their children in every aspect of their new life, I have become more and more aware of the heated debate on vaccine safety. Today I came across a video series in a newsletter from Dr. Joseph Mercola that also focuses on that hot topic. I have always personally enjoyed Dr. Mercola's newsletter for interesting, helpful, and timely articles which seem to present a multi-faceted perspective on their topics. His site is also ranked the number one most-visited natural health site by Alexa.com.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this series of interview videos, and I feel that it gave one of the most comprehensive presentations of the complex core issues at play as more people begin to question the safety of currently available vaccines. These videos also shed some light on potential therapies for the mysterious and very serious health issue of autism. It takes about an hour to view the videos entirely, but I highly recommend them, especially if you are concerned about the health of children, and adults, all over the world. You can watch the videos here.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

My Cup Runneth Over - My Bra Cup, That is...

I was very happy with my pre-pregnancy bra measurement: 38D. I outdid my gene pool, that's for sure. My mother, who can barely fill a B cup even at her most hormonal, used to always say to me, "What the heck did I feed you?" I'm not really sure, but I guess it worked.

Now, though, I have busted out of all my bra sizes and am reluctant to measure myself for a new one, afraid of what I will find. Also, I'm paranoid about wearing underwire bras because of the blog Claire posted on this topic and also because of the warnings I've received from my holistic doctor (Dr. Kim Millman). So for now, I'm wearing camisoles and Bella bandeaux for that much-needed "support."

The first thing to hit the wall, were I to walk into one, would definitely be my tummy, but I'm sad to say that my boobs are not that far behind. And I'm also afraid that gravity will take hold and nothing will go back to the way it was before pregnancy. Oh well, that's one consequence of not getting pregnant until 37, I guess. Not that I wasn't actively trying to get pregnant from 32 to 36.

I think the extra weight in my front chest is also creating some strain in my back - Daniela always says that the pain in my rhomboids (those little knobbies between the spine and the shoulder blades) are because my chest muscles are understretched, leading the back muscles to be overstretched. Which is why, when I go in for a back massage, she always gives me a chest massage. Seems counter-intuitive, and also not as pleasurable as a back massage, until you get a Daniela massage and then bam! You feel good for 2 weeks straight.

Which is also why, as of April 10th, at 11:15am, I am doing a face-plant down onto her massage table for another Pregnancy Massage. Oh wait, can't lie on my stomach. Guess I will slither onto that coveted surface on my side, then. Nah, nanny boo-boo, you're so jealous!