Yarn, Not an Addiction, Just Therapy

For last year's A-Z Challenge I also posted about yarn for the letter Y in which I shared my growing addiction to yarn.

I now have three plastic bins filled with yarn and a basketful of yarn in my bedroom. Robyn, the owner of my favorite yarn store, and I have become even better friends. When my son bought me a gift certificate for her store for a Christmas present (perfect gift), Robyn told him that she loved me.

I'm not here to talk about addictions this year, but hobbies. Knitting and now crocheting are two hobbies I thoroughly enjoy. I gain so much satisfaction producing a beautiful and useful item with my hands.

Hobbies are therapeutic and beneficial. They can

• help us relax
• take our mind off our problems
• enable us to make new friends
• teach us new skills
• keep us physically fit (depending on the hobby, baking might be a problem hobby)
• develop us into more interesting people as we learn new things
• give us something to look forward to
• possibly stave off dementia
• provide endless fun and entertainment.

For me, buying yarn, knitting, and crocheting are not addictions, they are hobbies . . . and therapy.

Can you add anything to the list? What are your hobbies?

Image: debspoons/freedigitalphotos.net

Have You Heard the One About . . .

Have you had a good laugh lately?

My husband and I were filling out health assessments last week because we would receive some extra health benefits through his company's insurance plan by completing them. One of the questions asked referred to laughter, something about did you laugh today, or how many times did you laugh in the last week. I'm happy to report I could say I laugh everyday, normally several times a day.

Chatty Crone

Although I've written about humor before, it's a topic worth looking at over and over again because it is both physically and mentally life-enhancing. Unless you're living through a very difficult and tragic time, you can usually find something to laugh at - particularly if you're willing to laugh at yourself.

 Here's a brief list of how I fill my humor tank:

1. BBC comedy is my not-so-secret addiction. I don't know if it is how they say things in the UK, or the scenarios concocted, but I find them much funnier than U.S. comedy programs. 
2. My husband and sons are funny people, if you find puns funny, that is (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't). But it's nice to live with creative men who possess a great sense of humor. They help fill my daily laughter quota.
3. I've written about humor blogs before, but this one deserves another mention, Chatty Crone. One Friday she wrote something like "It's Friday, time to do your happy Friday booty dance." I burst out laughing. It was so ridiculous, how could I not laugh?

As I wrap up today, let me share something I'm still laughing about days later. Last week my son woke up and said he'd had the strangest dream. He dreamt he was a fertilizer delivery man who used a motor scooter to make his deliveries. Can't you just picture it? My manly, bearded son riding a tiny little motor bike with bags on fertilizer balanced on the back. The only element that could have made this funnier was if he'd been wearing a tutu.

So, this is what makes me laugh. What do you find funny?

You Can Use Coconut Oil for What? - Awesome Giveaway!

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Coconut oil keeps showing up everywhere. I first heard about the benefits of cooking with coconut oil a couple of years ago because I always, always, always look for ways to cook and eat more healthfully. 

Although high in saturated fats, coconut oil contains fats that are good for us like Omega-3 fatty acids and something called medium chain triglycerides that increase our metabolic function, are utilized by our body without turning to fat and are digested easily.  It's important to look for coconut oil that is not hydrogenated, however.

Tropical Traditions sent me a free sample of their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil.  I cooked with it then started researching other uses for coconut oil and found hundreds more uses beyond cooking.  Do a Google search for uses of coconut oil and you'll find more hits then you'll ever have time to check. Here's a teaser:

• as a moisturizer 
• treat insect bites 
• gets rid of "doggy" breath (for your dog, of course)
• controls "doggy" dandruff (and people dandruff too)
• fade age spots
• as a natural deodorant
• hair de-frizzer
• kills lice and lice eggs
• teeth whitener
• energy booster
• treat eczema

People claim many medical benefits, but as I researched I learned that scientific study on coconut oil is in its early stages, so I hesitate to comment on the medical aspect.

I do know that I cooked the most delicious whole wheat blueberry pancakes ever using coconut oil and when I made a boxed cake mix for my husband's birthday using coconut instead of regular vegetable oil it tasted fantastic, like it had been baked from scratch.

Now that I know about dozens (hundreds) of other uses, I can't wait to try my coconut oil in new and different applications.  Do you want to try some too?  Tropical Traditions allowed me to host a giveaway for one quart of their delicious coconut oil.

Here's the commercial first.

Win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?
You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

So, do you want to win?  Enter below.  The winner will be announced Monday, August 13.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tropical Traditions gave me a free sample of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil to try and review.  All opinions expressed are my own