Snow Day Soft

Red morning sky

Yesterday dawned all pink and white and ethereal. We had snow on the ground and snow clouds in the sky. The morning light was diffuse and rosy, and just like in the old rhyme, "Red sky in morning, sailors take warning," a big storm was coming. I couldn't capture the beauty of the white snowy landscape and white sky bathed in red dawn light on my cell phone. I wish I could have, because in the evening it started to snow again and now everything looks totally different. Giant golf ball sized snow flakes, my favorite kind of snow and so rare here, were fluttering down by 8 last night. I still have a cough and aching ears so I couldn't walk in it but just made a quick trip down to the corner and back with my husband. This morning we woke to a pristine, snow-blanketed world. We were lucky, only getting about 2 of the 6 inches forecast. The areas of the state with more had widespread power outages.

I took a short walk in the snow with my husband last night because I knew I wouldn't see him for a while. We've hardly seen him at all since Valentine's Day. All this weather means he's been going into work at 3 or 4 AM and staying late. He's worked for the power company since before we were married, so I'm used to him being away during any kind of bad weather. Snow and ice storms, hurricanes, wind, even extreme hot or cold days, I know I'll be on my own. I've done it alone and with brand new babies and even once when a fallen tree barely missed the house, (and when another one didn't miss the shed) and I know I can handle it. I can always use a little help, though.

Today, despite still having a bit of lingering illness, I decided to get out of the house and shovel the driveway and walk. My daughter caught the cold after I did and has been out of school, between snow and illness, for two straight weeks. My other kids have hardly gone any more than she has, and everyone is getting stir-crazy. I've been shoveling snow and ice quite a bit lately, and it takes a toll on my skin. Recently someone asked if the scent of my nail cream from the New Year Nails post could be used in a lotion, so I've been experimenting with that, and I think I've got it. My cold-exposed, snowed-on skin could use a boost right about now!

Lime Face and Body Night Cream

1 cup unscented body cream or lotion, such as Vitamin E cream

10 drops Vitamin E oil

10 drops Young Living Lime essential oil

5 drops Young Living Valor oil blend

5 drops Young Living PanAway oil blend

Mix well and store in a glass jar. Apply liberally at night or when you will not be exposed to sunlight, as the citrus in the lime oil will make your skin sensitive to sunlight.

Oil blend for nighttime skin care, pain relief, and strong nails.

Even though this is exactly the same oil blend as the nail oil it still has lots of great benefits for skin. Aside from headaches and muscle pain, the blend of oils in PanAway and Valor may help fade bruises. Valor also may help remove scars. Lime is a citrus oil, so it exfoliates the surface of your skin, revealing a brighter complexion, and also helps fade broken capillaries, works as an astringent to tighten pores, and may reduce cellulite. All these oils have soothing properties as well. Lime helps with stress and mood, Valor is often recommended for tooth grinding, and PanAway relaxes muscles with menthol. I've even seen Valor recommended for bed-wetting (but haven't tried it so don't know if it works), so this makes a great night cream for many reasons! The blend works fabulously as a nail oil too. I just made my second jar of nail and cuticle oil and my nails are getting long and strong again. As soon as I have time to give myself a manicure I will post an updated photo of my hands. (As always, remember Young Living products and my recipes are not FDA evaluated and not intended to substitute for medical care). Here's where to order the Young Living oils used in this post.

The only change I would make with this cream is to choose a different base lotion. I bought a knock-off generic version of Nivea and it's super-runny even without the added oils. I know a lot of people in my oils group use Cetaphil as a base cream but I wonder if that wouldn't have the same texture. I think next time I will buy pure Vitamin E cream to use as a base. It doesn't have a strong scent and it's thicker, like body butter. The cream I made is really more like a light lotion. It would be good in a pump bottle if you can find a glass one. Citrus oils degrade plastic and cause chemicals to leach into the product stored inside, so you definitely want a glass container. This does have the yummy lime scent I was trying for.

I am in the process of cleaning my office and re-organizing all my fabrics, which is why I haven't posted much in the doll arena lately. I hope to finish soon and then you doll lovers will start seeing new posts again.