Curing Toenail Fungus Using Hydrogen Peroxide

With the parasite issues I have been having, I have been soaking my feet in hydrogen peroxide. If you haven't read my blog posts about that, you can search and find those posts by typing "parasite" in the search box at the bottom of the home page. 

With soaking my feet in the peroxide, I had a fun unexpected discovery. The hydrogen peroxide soaks have been healing my toenail fungus! I basically soaked my feet twice in a week and then my toenail started to grow out pink and healthy. 


The two soaks were about a month ago. I think what really helped was that I took off my fingernail polish. I always have them painted due to the fungus but I took off the polish and then soaked them and it seemed to make all the difference. If you have a fungus, take off any polish you may have on the nail BEFORE soaking them. 


The polish seems to keep the peroxide from reaching into the pours of the nail. I have soaked my feet before but until I took of the nail polish, it didn't seem to heal the nail. 

I will keep the toes unpolished as I continue to soak them until the nail has completely grown out. You can see clearly though that the base of the nail is now healthy. I am very excited that it seems to be growing out just fine without fungus at the base since the soak about a month ago so I think the key was taking off the polish and soaking it several times in a few days.


Basically, I use the same peroxide each time and just pour it back into the bottle. I also write "Feet" on the lid so I know not to use that peroxide for anything else. I also keep it under the sink where no one would use it. I use old bread pans to soak my feet as they are about the right size. I have long feet so I wish they were a bit longer but they work as a foot soak would take lots of peroxide and is harder to set up or clean up so they work for me. 


If you just need to soak your toe, any container could work and I soak mine for about 30-45 minutes each time. I just watch a show or something while I soak them. 

Be careful NOT to get the peroxide on carpet or wood as it can bleach items. I do it on a towel and sometimes even use bags inside the pans if I need to be over carpet as I soak them. I sometimes soak while I am writing my blog. 


I hope the pictures show clearly the pink nail regrowth and that the video explains most of the stuff. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. 

It is nice that I can cure this in the winter when I wouldn't need my toes painted anyway. I will try to add an update to this post when my nail is grown out completely.

UPDATE #1 ******* January 6, 2016

I have soaked my feet only twice since the original post but I wanted to show the healthy growth the nail is having from the original soaks. You can clearly see that the nail color is better, the base is now pink and healthier looking and what you can't see unless you enlarge one of the photos is that there is pink healthy skin on the right side of the nail! It is healing not just from the bottom up but the sides in.
 
In the second picture here, you can kinda see the healthy tissue on the right of the nail. I had the flash on so the nail glares with the flash so you can't see the healthy base as well in the second photo but I wanted to show you the side growing in healing. 

I will try to show you more update photos as it grows out. 

Christmas Hot Chocolate Ornaments Dangling in a Bag - Easy Craft

I saw these really cute Christmas Tree ornaments filled with hot chocolate or cocoa in a magazine recently and thought how much fun they would be to make. I thought I had a bunch of clear Christmas ornaments from a craft I did for our church party a few years back. 
 
As it turned out, after searching for an hour, I remembered I donated them to a second hand store a few years back thinking I didn't want to store stuff I didn't have plans for so I found two boxes I had purchased since then at a second hand store. Funny that I donated about ten boxes and bought two smaller boxes.  


First off, wash the ornaments. I washed them and dried the outside and then hung them on the upper rack pegs of the dishwasher to dry. Be careful when doing this as I actually poked a hole in the bottom by dropping it onto the rack. Set it down gently to dry. 


Once dry, I sat them inside a cup top to fill. I found a funnel that was small enough to fit into the top of the ornament. I put a scoop of hot chocolate into the glob using the funnel. 

Be careful not to shake the cocoa in the globe or it will make a cloud and coat the inside of the ornament so you can't see the lines of definition but it just makes the globe look dirty. 


Once the cocoa is inside, tap the outside gently to level out the chocolate and to compress it down to get it ready for the peppermint or sprinkles. 
 
You can use whatever you want in the globe. Chocolate chips, sprinkles etc. We chose to use crushed candy canes. I liked the blue and white but Princess Five liked the red and white. 

I did try some white candy canes but there was no contrast in color with the marshmallows so that didn't look the best. 

In crushing the candy cane, you can make the cane chunky by putting it in plastic bags and hitting it with the back of a butter knife if you like that crushed look. 
 
If you like the more powdered look, you can use a blender that will do dry items or a coffee grinder. I had some crushed from a project before so I just used the more powdered ones from my coffee grinder.
 
Once you have the chocolate layer and then the peppermint / sprinkle or whatever contrast layer you want, you can put in the marshmallows. However, my globes had small necks and if I shoved full mini-marshmallows in, they weren't coming out. 
 
We wanted the chocolate to be used so forcing in the marshmallows didn't allow them to be used. I washed my kitchen sheers and then powdered them in powdered sugar and then cut the marshmallows into quarters. 
 
I am sure there is a place to buy the mini-mini-marshmallows they use in hot cocoa but I didn't want to take the time or spend any more money on them and I have LOTS of bags of mini-marshmallows for my Christmas neighbor gift. Click here for a recipe and post about my popcorn, chocolate, nut treat.  
 
Princess Five picked out some curling ribbon to use to "hang" the ornament. I had purchased some "clear" blue tint bags at $3 for about ten bags. I was happy with them and figured they would be a great way to display the ornaments as they are see through. 

We weren't sure how to keep them from tipping or mixing up or breaking to deliver them. We came up with a great way between the two of us. At first, we used tissue but neither of us was thrilled with the way it looked and tried different ways of putting it all in the bottom or having some sticking out the top etc. 

Finally, I thought of using tulle and that was that. It looked SO much better. I think you could also use the mylar confetti strands like ester egg grass in the bottoms and that would look good but I really like the airy feeling of the tulle. 

In the end, we got all of them to hang by first tying the string into a knot about an inch and a half above the ornament. Then, we tied the curling ribbon through both handles of the gift bags. 
 
Before tying a knot there, we used a candy cane to anchor the ribbon on so the candy cane would hold up the swinging ornament. I tied a secure knot around the candy cane and then made sure it was across the top of the bag securely so the ornament won't fall and crack in the bottom of the bag. 

I did cut up strips of blue tissue and tried that in the bottom of the bags and it looked "OK" in my opinion but not as elegant as the tulle.

I showed pictures of our first attempts using the tissue just so you could see what it looked like but how much better does the tulle look!

These were really fun to make and if you have boxes, coffee mugs, larger gift bags, you can still hang the ornaments using the candy cane inside those containers. It would work with just about any container. I have a few left that I am going to stick in mugs as I think giving them the chocolate and the mug to drink it in is kind of fun. 

Also, if you used a bigger bag, you could hang several ornaments at different heights inside the bag using a dowel through the top or different candy canes for each ornament. Either way it would be very fun and creative. 

These are a craft / project little ones can help with as they can scoop the chocolate into the funnel or crush the candy canes etc. It is a fun family project that is a little different! I think these are great for neighbor, friends, coworkers, family, teacher, or a white elephant gift. It works for just about anyone!           

I just wanted to also include that I think these would be the cutest wedding "thank you" gifts. If you could "make" the bags or buy them bulk, I think if you are having a December wedding, these would be a fun handout at your wedding! Putting your names stenciled on the front of the glass globe or something with the date would be really cute. Even just hanging them on a few lit trees near the doors that people can take as they leave would be pretty and functional and then you wouldn't need boxes.

The possibilities are endless with this fun craft! 

Baby Tornado - Wouldn't Change a Thing

It has been 16 years since I had a full blown toddler in the house for more than a short visit. I have to say that I am exhausted!!! 
 
I know why God gives babies to the young. We had 7 adults to follow the one toddler around and we all had our turn. 

I guess when most of my kids were small, we had a smaller apartment so chasing them wasn't hard. By the time we had the younger two, we had the older girls to help with that part of parenting. 
 
If I look at it that way, it has been 26 years since I was in this position of having a toddler running around and no one else to help with the running. 

In almost every room there were signs of her being here. Toys left in all corners. I smiled each time I would find something she love to carry around in an odd spot. The 'maracas" which she absolutely loved, a child song book that was just the right size for her to carry or pieces of cereal that would get stuck on her clothes from being in the high chair were strewn all over the floor in many rooms. 
 
We couldn't decorate the tree or put up any of the traditional Christmas things because she can climb now and get into everything. Our stockings would be pulled down causing the holders to topple onto her head. The nativity is glass and the tree is just the right height for her to pull everything off! I pulled out the ornaments after vacuuming tonight so we can hopefully decorate the rest this week. 
 
I washed laundry most of the day and a bit yesterday. Just lots of towels, bedding, cloth napkins, bathroom rugs and our regular laundry.kept me quite busy today. Picking up toys, straightening pillows, afghans, washing off finger prints, vacuuming the floor and putting away the dishes were some of the other things I did today. 
 
Princess Five showed up many hours after Princess One's family left and came in to the messy upstairs and commented that she thought I hadn't done much as the upstairs still looked the messy part of baby tornado. 

I then shared that we have three sinks and three LARGE mirrors in the basement that were all toothpaste spotted, hair in the tub, laundry times four or five loads all washed and folded, bathroom floors done, garbages emptied and scrubbed clean and drying, toilets cleaned and I had worked myself into a sweat. She then called me a "Hard working mama!"  

I spent the evening working on the upstairs and for the most part got most things finished. I have one bed that needs to be made but all the laundry is put away and I even got some things started for a project we want to do tomorrow. I will share that I am really tired and looking forward to sleeping in my clean sheets. 

I also repaired a santa decoration she snapped while visiting but you can see it won't be the first time it has been repaired. This time however, I used screws to repair it so hopefully it will be the last time that I will have to repair it.

Thank heavens we had some left over turkey soup I made from our Thanksgiving turkey. I don't know that I was up to cooking much. I have been shifting some of my thyroid medication and I am really feeling sluggish today. Perhaps I should go back to the 1/2 a pill rather than a 1/4. The thyroid is such a tricky gland. 

I LOVE having family but it is nice to get back into a routine and I am super grateful that my family all returned to their homes safely and that they are feeling better. 

I do miss all the animation that family brings home but as I manicured Princess Five's fingernails for a Christmas performance tomorrow, I could tell she liked having some "one on one" with mom as when the rest of the family is here, her attention goes from being the center of my world to being one of seven that need my attention. 
 
I know she likes having them home as well but she gets displaced from her room and has slept in several spots the past few days. I wonder what things will be like in a few years when more of the girls are married. I put in a full bed in one of the rooms and none of the girls want to share beds so they swap and take turns on the bigger bed, vs the bunk etc. 

I think I will need to empty the rooms out of all furniture and just have bigger beds in all the rooms. If I put bigger beds, there isn't room for much else in a few of the rooms. I guess they really don't need dressers for short trips so maybe that is what I will need to do. 

I am grateful Grand Princess One is so healthy and smart and such a joy to all she meets. I look forward to LOTS more grandchildren in the future!         

The Holiday - Unexpected Extention

We had a great weekend with the entire family here. It snowed but we were all cozy in the house enjoying our left over Thanksgiving dinner, playing games, watching movies, running around chasing a toddler and just being with family. 

I wish I had followed Grand Princess around a few more times and gotten a cute picture of her with each Princess but between getting meals, cleaning up meals and helping the girls get what they needed to take back for finals, it was a busy weekend. 


There wasn't one girl who didn't need something sewn, some supplies, visits about degree's, classes, boys or another subject which turned into late nights each night with a different Princess. In fact, as I was writing this, I forgot that I promised Princess Three that I would help her look up schools for masters degrees while she was home and we were so busy that I never did that with her. 
 
So, I just called her and we discussed it and I spent an hour typing up some questions for different Universities and School districts as she needs to apply soon. 

Now, an hour later, I am back to writing this post. I have LOTS of pictures I want to include in this post as well as some videos on how adorable Grand Princess is. I am hoping I can get these things all in but I may pull out some of the pictures as I don't want to be up all night writing. 


Grand Princess kept dragging this "rat tail" around and getting us to put it on our heads. It holds up phones, and devices so you can watch them standing up. We leave it at the table as Princess Five and I will sometimes watch funny videos after eating. 


We had some good fun with that. She also loved the piano and got some fun rhythms going on the electric piano. She also walked around with two sets of maracas and actually calls them by name. I would sing, "Cha, cha, cha" when she would shake them and she thought that was fun. You can actually see Princess Five holding them in the silhouette picture at the top.


We were playing a game at the table when one of the girls who was napping on the couch quietly got my attention. The baby was talking to herself in the reflection of my mom's national beauty pageant Trophy which is taller than her so she was looking up at her own distorted reflection and singing to herself. I quickly grabbed the camera and got a few cute pictures. 


She loved being at the "big" table as the highchair I have straps onto a chair so whenever we were at the table, she was with us. Isn't she just adorable! SO cute!!!


With the snow, she wasn't sure what to think but went out several times and enjoyed Daddy and Mommy time as the rest of us wanted to stay warm. 

The girls watched a VERY funny SNL (Saturday night live) skit about Adelles new music video recently. She starts her song with these words....
"Hello, its me, I was wondering if after all these years....." 

The girls would then get the baby to say them. Today, she kept saying "Hello" and when we would say, "Hello" back, she would say, "It's me!" We keep laughing about it because when all the girls were here, she wouldn't do it. 


They also taught her what the "fox says" as she knows all the animal sounds but it is cute that she starts dancing when you ask her what the "fox says." If you don't know what I'm referring to, here is that video link.

One thing that Grand Princess went back to OVER and over was the recorded book of "Twas the night before Christmas" that I had my parents record last Thanksgiving for me to put online for all their grand-kids. 

She read and reread it. She LOVES sitting and laying on the my coffee table and she and Princess Three sat and read it over and over and she just kept grabbing that book and for some reason, she would always get on her stomach when she read that book but would sit on your lap for all the other books. I think it is because she didn't need anyone to read it to her. Best choice ever on that one. 


On her sitting on the coffee table, Prince One suggested that because there are little pictures of Christ all over the table, she probably likes it so she can look at the pictures. Here is a video about that.


The girls and I left for a missionary farewell getting up at 4:30 a.m. We were worried about snow. We got to our destination about 3 hours away and got a text saying that Prince one was at the ER not feeling well. It turned out to be something he has dealt with in the past but not to that degree. 

They gave him lots of "Happy drugs" and we turned right around and headed home to help with the baby as Princess One wasn't feeling well and the baby had been up with croup cough while they were visiting so we drove 6 hours straight but I was glad I could be there to help. I am REALLY tired about now though. I was also up helping Princess Five with a few problems so I am ready for bed. 

I am sad they are leaving in the morning but since we are into the December holiday season, our nights are getting busier. I am on a new medication again and need to make some Christmas presents so it is probably good that I will be able to get to those after cleaning up and washing sheets, towels etc. 

We really had a good weekend and I hope Princess One's family gets feeling better soon as they also have lots going on this month. This last picture is so funny. 

She found these head phones we have for the electric piano and just carried them around wearing them. She never could listen to anything on them as they have the big jack on them but she just carried them around. Same thing with "cutie" oranges. Just carried them around and would get mad if you took them away. I LOVE being a grandma!!!!!