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Home >> Diet Forums >> Tips for making life in winter better

Tips for making life in winter better

Heather said: "My mom used to use Bagbalm on her hands. I almost forgot about that stuff!"

Heather said: "Thanks for the article, Diamond. Very informative. I've also heard that using lukewarm water for baths and showers can help prevent against dry skin. Just a tip I thought I'd share.."

Heather said: "Yesterday I picked up a humidifier because of the time of the year. The air is so dry and the heater can get the best of you after a while. Waking up with a scratchy dry throat stinks! Anyhow, I put it in our bedroom and I woke up this morning feeling 100% better just because there was a little moisture in the air. If the air quality in your house is bad, it's worth picking one up.. especially if you have kids. The one I picked up cost about $50.00 at Wal-Mart but is well worth the money.. It's made by Holmes and has a digital display that gives you a reading of the rooms humidity. When I first plugged it in it was 21% after running it for less than a day it's at 42%.. a lot more pleasant! Do you have any tips for making life better in the wintertime?"

UniqueMystique said: "If I remember correctly from my jaunts over into Mexico....you need one if you are going more than 20 miles from the US border into Mexico. The border tourist trap towns don't require it but I believe that there are check points after 20 miles."

UniqueMystique said: "Yep...BagBalm was originally for cow udders. I used Mane & Tail on my horse as a kid and now it's sold for human use. And yes...you can still buy the Absorbine in the large yellow bottle at most feed and tack supply stores. My grandmother used it....said that it was much better than that watered down human version. Nice to know there are a few of us country bumpkins still lurking around lakelady! ;)"

UniqueMystique said: "*Laughing* Yep...I know what you mean....and I still actually live in a rural area. My husband is a city boy and wanted a horse after we moved to this area. He didn't realize how much work was involved. After my horse died...who was 25 at the time....he decided to sell his. I think he had his horse for maybe two years. I'd had mine since I was 12 and I got her when she was 5. My horse was my mode of transportation as a kid....I couldn't ride my bike or walk anywhere but if I said that I was going to ride my horse...I could be gone till the sun went down. We had chickens, ducks and guineas....and a pig that was supposed to stay "small"....WRONG!!!!! It was half the size of my horse!!!!! My grandparents had chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guineas, goats, sheep, cows, horses.....you name it, they probably had it at one time! Lakelady....my grandmother was originally from Lincoln, Nebraska....how she ended up in west Texas....I dunno....hehehehe!"

UniqueMystique said: "Spectra.....have you ever tried BagBalm on your feet? If you haven't....you should try it for your callouses and cracking feet from all the running. It's some great stuff. My daughter gets "rips" on her hands from swinging bars in gymnastics...."rips" are calloused and blistered places on the hands that rip open from all the friction. Most kids will get them and it takes the better of a week to heal up....my daughter can put it on her hands at night with a sock over her hand and the "rip" is practically gone by morning. Two nights if it's a terrible rip that has been bleeding."

spectrachic311 said: "Lakelady--You will need a passport to enter as of January 1, 2007 if you are flying in and I think it's Jan of 2008 if you're driving. We're all bringing passports anyways, just in case. My husband didn't have one, so he had to get one. Mine had my maiden name on it, so I had to change it. I'm not going to be down there for a pleasure trip...I'll be doing a vision clinic to help distribute/fit glasses to people who don't have them. I did something similar 2 years ago in Honduras and I loved it. My husband's going to fix cars/trucks for people who obviously can't afford to get their vehicles fixed elsewhere. My mom's going to help do a children's program and my dad's going to attempt to help my husband fix cars and also help build houses. All in all, it's going to be a lot of work but it should be fun. LOL, it'll be weird to have to pack sunblock in the winter :) When I went to Central America, I used SPF 50 and I STILL could only stay out about 15 minutes before I started to burn a little bit. So I didn't go tanning or anything :P But the sunshine is definitely nice!"

spectrachic311 said: "Yeah, Honduras was mostly jungle. And mountains. Every day, we'd get in our Land Cruiser and drive up into these remote little jungle villages and have free clinics for the villagers. I do remember the women carrying the loads of stuff on their heads too. In one village, one of the women complained to me that her neck and back were constantly hurting and I asked her if she carried heavy loads on her head. She said yes and I told her that's probably what was doing it! She told me it's easier to carry stuff like that, rather than in front of her. I remember the cops down there too. They carried huge guns and they were not really afraid to use them. We had 2 cops that escorted our group (to prevent us from getting hijacked by people that would steal our medicine) and one of them asked me if I'd like to shoot his M-16! :dazed052: We did find a couple of really nice springs where we could drink the water, but not many...mostly we had to drink bottled water. We were in Tegucigalpa and then we drove to other, more isolated places. I'd love to go back...the people were really cool. One thing that was really funny: every Sunday after church, the men would gather at one family's house that had television. They'd all sit and watch the soccer game and just hang out and talk about soccer and eat lunch and whatnot. It reminded me so much of how my dad and all his buddies do the same thing...go over to someone's house after church and watch the Packer game and talk football. Small world, isn't it?"

spectrachic311 said: "Around here, we mostly have dairy farms...not too many pig farms around. My father in law actually used to use BagBalm on his cows too. I always figured it was an animal-use only product, but I guess if it's good enough for cows it's good enough for my feet. :) A lot of people don't realize what a lot of work farming is. My inlaws have a 90 acre little farm just west of us and they had to sell all their cows because they just couldn't make enough money on the milk (at the time, the price was something like $11/hundred pounds) to offset the expense of feeding. Now they just grow hay and oats and sell it to pay the taxes on the land. We are considering purchasing a 7.5 acre farmette and raising either a couple of pigs or some hens; possibly a beef steer. Nothing too difficult, hopefully. Someone asked if we'd keep the pig in the house if we got one...:signs053: Pigs are dirty and HUGE. There's no way it'd stay in the house."

spectrachic311 said: "I think she got it at Home Concepts, but I'd have to ask her for sure. I WISH I got to go someplace tropical every year. That'd rock. I live in Wisconsin, so I understand very much where you're coming from. It seems like winter lasts from November to March and then it's blazing hot for a couple months and there's just no in-between. This year, I get a bit of a break though...we're going to Mexico for Christmas and I'm definitely looking forward to longer days and warmer weather."

spectrachic311 said: "Angel--My mom has lots of problems with SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and she bought a full-spectrum light for the winter time. She says it's wonderful...she uses it for reading and just to brighten the house."

spectrachic311 said: "UM---I've heard of BagBalm, but I thought it was only for dogs. I put it on my dog's paws before she goes in the snow and just whenever they are rough and scratchy. I guess I never thought to use it on MY feet! :th_dblthumb2: Good idea!"

spectrachic311 said: "Ha, lakelady...that's awesome. I thought I was the only one geeky enough to use the baking soda trick :) It really works though! I also keep a big ol' tub of petroleum jelly on hand for putting on my feet at night. I slather them in it, put plastic bags over my feet and then put socks over those. I leave them like that for an hour or so and then take the bags off. It really helps keep my skin softer."

DBrew said: "I like to use lotion, but my pants always feel as though they are stuck to me because of it! I try to get out as much as possible to avoid cabin fever. I try to cook things that take longer to make since there is extra time to do so."

klynnfosh said: "This time of year the weather here is great average of 60 - 75 degrees and beautiful with leaves turning. I usually try to enjoy walking the dog after work and getting a little fresh air. I try to make sure and be out some whenever the sun is shining. And with all the dry skin I am thinking Heather's idea of a humidifier would be a big help."

angel_rising said: "One of the things that make winter hard for me is the darkness. I found that having white christmas lights up throughout the winter cheers me up a litte. One new thing I am going to try this year is something that I came across in better homes and gardens. Ice lamps. Basically mold Ice into diffrent shapes and put candles behind them. I am going to try it with the little fake candles that they have for jack-o-lanterns, so hopefully the ice wont melt. The article said that you can even add food coloring to the water for some color. I think seeing my yard decerated with light will help me beet the winter blues Angel"

Diamond said: "Lakelady and UniqueMystique share a love for horses and a common ground in Lincoln, Nebraska. How weird is that? I think it's cool!"

Diamond said: "Winter blues stink. I've heard about those lights, but have never picked one up. I have thought about going to a tanning bed, though. The smell of coconut tanning lotion always sends me to a happy place, even if the weather outside is crappy."

Diamond said: "I decided to read up on home humidity and found this to be an informative article [URL="http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/basics/2004-02-01-home-humidity_x.htm"]http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/basics/2004-02-01-home-humidity_x.htm[/URL] It says that 30% humidity is considered to be too low, so at 21% your room must've been pretty dry. It says 45% humidity is ideal, so that's what you should aim for."

Diamond said: "I make sure to use skin lotion to keep my skin from drying out. Especially my legs. I want to scratch them sooooo bad otherwise!"

Narutard said: "Chap stick, I have to make sure I have a big supply, My lips get so dry so easy. And lotion, I have dry skin as it is."

lakelady said: "We have a small acreage now, and we STILL have guineas, they make the BEST watchdogs 'cause they really kick up a fuss when a stranger is around. We used to have pygmy goats, but had to give them away because they jumped on top of people who came to visit's cars! have a couple of ancient peacocks too. They sit up in this big cottonwood and yell 'help help' ( that's what it sounds like) People who aren't used to them get pretty creeped out! of course we have the horses. That's Kit (kitadon) with me in the pic."

lakelady said: "LOVE Mexico, that's where we usually go! No end of great places there! Check the new border laws, I think you may need a passport to re-enter the country now. A friend who runs a charter flight service here told my husband that. I know I need one for Jamaica, when my son got married there all we needed was certified copies of our birth certificates. It takes at least 30 days to get a pasport if you don't have a current one, even if you pay the extra fee to expedite. I don't KNOW for a fact that you'll need one, seems kinda extreme to me. Maybe it's only for people who fly in, but you'd better check to be safe! Have FUN, FUN, FUN! :th_alc:"

lakelady said: "So...did you shoot the M-16? I think I would've just so I could say I had! Is it near tegucigalpa where they have that REALLY deep mayan sacrificial well? guess I'm gonna have to get out the old home movies of that trip, with us holding pieces of paper saying where we were! My brothers and I had them put on DVD last year, but I haven't watched them yet. Don't know if I can stand to look at my 14-year-old 104lb self! I admire you SO much for going to someplace so foreign and helping other people on your 'vacation' I myself like room-service and drinks with little umbrellas in them on mine!:th_alc:"

lakelady said: "Honduras, I was there as a teen with my folks. All I really remember is jungle, jungle, jungle, and drinking out of green coconuts (delicious) and the clear, clear water (I think that was honduras) I also remember women walking on the edge of the road carrying these HUGE loads on their heads with no hands! We went to chichen itsa (sp?) and some Mayan ruins on that trip too. My dad flew us himself, and I remember these precarious little landing strips on the sides of mountains! I remember in el salvadore customs 'sealed' our plane with a strip of masking tape! maybe I'll go back someday."

lakelady said: "I guess I need to weigh in from farm country! Bag Balm was originally (and is still used primarily for) the udders on dairy cows. They get chapped and cracked from milking machines and, yes, from nursing calves. Another thing that started out on the farm is mane & tail which you can now buy in the conditioner section for your hair. Absorbine jr. is a version of Absorbine, which was a popular horse liniment. Don't know if that's still around though.:lecture:"

lakelady said: "[QUOTE=spectrachic311]Angel--My mom has lots of problems with SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and she bought a full-spectrum light for the winter time. She says it's wonderful...she uses it for reading and just to brighten the house.[/QUOTE] I suffer some from SAD too, so much so that my husband takes me someplace tropical every winter for 10 days or so. It helps, but when it's over, I STILL live in Nebraska! Where did your mom get a broad spectrum light! Do you have to go someplace special? Sounds like something I could really use!"

lakelady said: "Yeah Unique, there's still a few of us farm kids around, QUITE a few in Nebraska! My 14 year old was gritching about taking out the trash this am and I told him when I was his age I was feeding the pigs. he said, "feeding pigs, how hard can that be?" Then I told him to feed pigs you have to carry the bucket in one hand and a club in the other. These city kids view pigs as cute, and pink, with curly tails. They don't realize that they grow up to be the size of shetland ponies, weigh MORE, and are MEAN! :bricks:"

lakelady said: "That's right, Spectra, you're another science chick! I'd forgotten that. I can't stand to sleep wearing anything and I stopped doing it as soon as I started dressing myself, but I DO wear the socks and plastic bags when we ice skate or toboggan and we do that for hours at a time. Im going to try the petroleum jelly then. I know some cold water swimmers use it as an extra layer of protection against the cold. Spa treatment for my feet...cool! :th_coolio:"

lakelady said: "ok, here's from the chemist in me. I keep a GIANT sized box of baking soda in my bathroom closet. throw generous handfull in your bath with whatever else you use. the soda content in the water stops water from being pulled from your skin by osmosis. That's what makes baths dry out your skin. Second tip, this is more perception than anything, but closed up houses tend to get musty and stale smelling and that can REALLY affect your mood adversely. I put springtime fresh dryer sheets behind all my heating vents (loosley crumpled up) , every time the furnace kicks on my house gets a new wave of fresh smell. it makes a big difference for me, and works better than any of the time released commercial things you can buy, it gets through the whole house! :th_dblthumb2:"