Simply hers lr 0917

SEPT/OCT 2017

SH SIMP L Y

it’s a woman thing!

BRANCH/HILLSDALE/LENAWEE

HE R S

Tranquil Studio, Inc. Creative Parenting Solutions

Michigan’s Renaissance festival Trick-or-Treat

Halloween Happenings plus pumpkin the gourd that goes the distance

— Beauty Tips — Recipes — home décor

FREE1

FALL FOR COMFORT

St and wit h St yle

Fall in a nutshell: Cool air. Pumpkin spice. Sweaters. From crew to cowl neck, when it comes to cozy layers, we’re not knit-picky—we love them all.

You may not have to do back-to-school shopping, but everyone’s wardrobes could use a little fall fashion refresh. If you’re looking for a little inspiration, check out these fabulous fall looks that offer both style and comfort.

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Bulky Cardigans Pair Bulky Cardigans With Tight Bottoms. You’ve seen those big, bulky, thick cardigans in all the retail stores.

They’re very popular this season and for good reason.

They’re very cute and very warm; however, you’ll want to pair them with the right bottoms before heading out the door. Since they are large and bulky, you’ll want to wear them with tighter fitting clothing on the bottom such as skinny jeans, leggings, or a pencil skirt. It will keep your outfit balanced and will not make you look larger than you really are.

no buttons, baby Leave Your Cardigan Unbuttoned. Cardigans are meant to be worn over clothes to keep you warm. Even though a lot of cardigans have buttons on them, don’t button them! I know that may seem weird, but if you have ever tried wearing a cardigan buttoned or have seen someone else do it, you know exactly why. The buttons usually end up pulling in weird places and it looks like it doesn’t fit you. Use cardigans as an accessory piece to your outfit and not your main shirt or top. If you feel like you need to create more shape, then belt it, don’t button it.

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don’t stick your neck out For those who say it’s too tricky to look chic and stay warm, look no further than one of the season’s coziest trends: the turtleneck sweater. These close-fitting, highcollar sweaters will hug your neck tightly when it starts to get colder outside, making them the ultimate coldweather fashion staple as the temperatures start to drop.

try a little texture Fall is the perfect time to mix in textures, and one of our favorite ways to do so is with a jacket. A great complement is a neutral suede jacket. The suede adds a layer of sophistication, the color is absolutely gorgeous and it can be paired with every single fall hue.

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THE

beauty

OF

PUMPKIN If you’re cooking with pumpkin this season, chances are you might have a little dab left over here or there. Don’t throw it out— it’s beauty gold!

The humble pumpkin is packed with skin-loving nutrients like antioxidants, zinc, vitamins A and C, fruit enzymes and alpha hydroxy acids. Pumpkin flesh can help to nourish, brighten and smooth skin, as well as boost collagen and help tame the signs of aging. So, it’s time to squish some squash on the body.

You can use cooked fresh pumpkin puree or canned if you have some. And, if you have butternut on hand instead, it makes for a perfectly fine squash swap.

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Body sugar scrub If your skin is in need of exfoliation, pumpkin makes a great base for a sugar scrub. Mix together equal parts pumpkin puree and olive oil and add enough sugar until you have a thick slurry. In the shower, gently rub all over with a washcloth or loofah, rinse ,then dry as usual.

Facial mask for dry skin

Pumpkin pedicure

Combine 1/4 cup pumpkin puree with 1 teaspoon olive oil, t teaspoon honey and a whole egg. Mix the ingredients until smooth and apply to face. Leave on for 20 minutes, rinse, and pat dry.

To pamper your tootsies, combine 1/2 cup pumpkin puree with a whole egg and a teaspoon of honey. Massage into your feet and ankles and then wrap in plastic or throw on a pair of old socks. Let sit for 15 minutes before rinsing.

Lip enhancer

Salt foot scrub

Mix equal parts pumpkin puree and coconut oil and bring it in the shower with you. Slather all over and go about your shower business then, rinse off before you get out. Dry yourself gently.

A pinch of pumpkin for the pout does wonders. Mix 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin puree with 1/4 teaspoon coconut oil and 1/2 teaspoon fine sugar. Rub on lips and massage gently to exfoliate and moisturize.

Lick off.

Basic facial mask (all skin types)

Hair moisturizer

Mix together one cup of pumpkin, two tablespoons of brown sugar, one tablespoon of honey and a half cup of yogurt. (The sugar and yogurt are to exfoliate, the honey is a humectant.) Spread on your face and let sit for 10 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water and pat dry.

For great shine and lusty luster, make a pumpkin hair mask by mixing together one cup of pumpkin, one-half cup plain yogurt and one tablespoon of honey. Mush it into your scalp and out to the ends of your hair and wrap your head with a shower cap or towel; let sit for up to 30 minutes. Cleanse hair as usual.

If your feet are suffering from dry skin or calluses, a scrub may be in order. Using salt gives a little more exfoliation than sugar.

Mix together 1/2 cup pumpkin puree with 2 tablespoons olive oil and enough salt to make a loose paste. Over a bowl or the tub, lump it on to your feet and massage well, paying special attention to heels and other dry areas. Rinse with lukewarm water and pat dry.

Body butter

Facial mask for oily skin Put pumpkin’s alpha hydroxy acids to work.

Combine 1/4 cup pumpkin puree with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar and a whole egg. Mix the ingredients until smooth and apply to face. Leave on for 20 minutes, rinse, and pat dry.

Hand revitalizer Hands love pumpkin, too! Give them a treat by mixing together 1/4 cup pumpkin puree with 1 teaspoon almond or olive oil and 1 teaspoon of honey. Massage the mixture into your hands over the sink for as long as it feels good, then rinse with warm water.

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Muscle up - live fit.

Let’s go, ladies!

By Jess Piper ACE Certified Personal Trainer/Senior Fitness Specialist PRIME Fitness Studio

Ladies!! Have you ever been told you can’t do something just because you are a girl? Let’s face it, we all have heard that at some point in our lives. Whether it is playing sports, working out, or in the work force, we have all run up against the “you run like a girl” statement before! A lot of the female clients I work with were not allowed the same opportunities as their male counterparts when they were growing up in school. Sports and fitness were something that the majority of girls just didn’t do because it was considered unladylike.

Before Title IX, things were different. The primary physical activities for girls were cheerleading and square-dancing. Only 1 in 27 girls played high school sports. There were virtually no college scholarships for female athletes, and female college athletes received only two percent of overall athletic budgets. (TitleIXinfo.com). Girls before Title IX did not have the opportunities that girls of my generation had and still have! Girls were told that lifting weights would make them bulky like a man and that they would get hurt playing sports!

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Since Title IX passed, there has been a real growth in the number of women who participate in sports, receive scholarships, and participate in exercise programs.

Studies link sports participation and fitness to a reduced incidence of breast cancer and osteoporosis later in life. These health benefits for women and society alone should be reason to keep Title IX strong (TitleIXinfo.com).

Although we have come a long way in the fitness industry and in the athletic world, we are still fighting for our place! As women, we need to encourage each other to stay active and to stay fit. And, for all the ladies who did not have the opportunity to participate in sports or fitness, remember it is never too late! If you are interested in fitness and don’t know where to start, come and check us out at PRIME Fitness Studio.

The staff here at PRIME will guide you on the right path and help you turn that statement “you run like a girl” into a great compliment!

CONFESSIONS From a Closet Domestic Diva

By Diane K Clow Sewist and Long Arm Quilter Eversew Quilted

For many years, I harbored and protected a hidden secret identity. By day, a business-suited exec working in a financial office environment—attending meetings, writing policy, making daily decisions and judgment calls that affected the company—but by night, a Domestic Diva. Yes, I liked to bake, can tomatoes and jelly, maintain my house, fold laundry, and sew. As hideous a confession as this is, I felt I needed to come clean (no pun intended).

Only my closest friends knew of my obsession to bake homemade cookies, from scratch, at least weekly. And don’t get me started on canned frosting. One friend (and also coworker who shall remain unnamed) would taunt me about how on Friday evenings after a week at work my relaxation was to hand-mop my kitchen floor. And, as long as one is mopping, a batch of cookies should be baking as you are in the kitchen vicinity, anyway. Right, Rae? This same unnamed friend offered the use of a high chair for my granddaughter’s visit. The chair belonged to her grown son whose own daughter had outgrown high chairs. As a thank you, I made a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough and sealed it in a plastic container with a handwritten note of my appreciation. I left it on Rae’s desk to deliver to her son. My thoughts were that said son and his daughter could have a daddy-daughter date baking cookies together. Then came the phone call.

“What is this?” Rae asked. “It’s homemade cookie dough,” I responded. “What do you do with it?” Rae asked. Well, call me silly, but I thought everyone knew what homemade cookie dough looked like and how to bake it. (I should have known, as this is the friend who says her next house needs no kitchen because she never uses it, anyway.)

When my kids were in high school sports, it was my personal challenge to be the “cookie mom.” Over the course of three kids in multiple sports for multiple years, I made cookies for football, soccer, hockey, baseball, softball, track, and wrestling seasons. The Toll House recipe is burned into my brain. When I am ancient and in the nursing home of my kids’ choice, I will be able to recite, verbatim, the Toll House recipe.

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When I was a teen, girls were required to take a class in Home Economics to prepare us for the challenges of running a household. Here we experienced a few weeks of basic cooking and baking, and then we moved on to

“survival sewing” such as replacing a button, sewing a seam, and operating a sewing machine. My teacher had a memorable, high pitched voice and I recall our first “cooking” experience to be something about “Creative Jell-O.” Because my mom had let me experiment in our home kitchen since I was eight, and I was making pies at age ten, this was an easy class to ace. (Can’t say the same for Algebra II.) Today, my impression of what Home Economics would be involves ordering fast food from your cell phone in the form of a text and having an Uber driver deliver. And sewing, forget that. There are duct tape, staples, and MOM to handle that little chore.

We also grew up with 4-H Sewing and Cooking Clubs.

My first 4-H sewing project was a “jumper.” A “jumper” was kind of a dress that you wore over a blouse or sleeved shirt. After picking out the most beautiful dark red flowered fabric, my jumper project was completed. When judged at the fair, my handiwork was only awarded a red ribbon, not the coveted blue ribbon. So much for that.

I’ve never liked making clothes, and this likely didn’t help.

Clothes are expected to fit a person. (Unlike quilts, which only have to be square and lay flat.) However, I can still sew on a button, put in a hem, and repair a split seam.

Today’s domestic divas have so much information available when it comes to homemaking. There are tons of decorating and DIY resources to bring out the domestic diva in all of us. Just plunk three pineapples into a wooden bowl and voila! Tear out a wall and hang up a barn door on rails. Staple gun a map to a coffee table and you’re a designer-domestic-diva!

Now that I’m out of that de-cluttered and organized Domestic Diva Closet, my inner domestic diva can really shine (shine the floors, the pots and pans, etc.) And, in my retired state, I can bake and sew and clean to my heart’s content.

There’s one more confession. My closets, drawers and cupboards are not “de-cluttered and organized.” These are used to hide the sins of my clutter and disorganization.

My comment above concerning a “de-cluttered and organized closet” is Keeping my Husband in Stitches . . . .

business spotlight

Visiting Angels

By Pat Deere

Caregivers aren’t just caregivers, they are Angels. ~Tim Welbaum

Visiting Angels offers companionship.

T

im Welbaum, Jr., co-owner of Visiting Angels South Central Michigan, describes his business as one that offers premier living assistance and senior home care services designed to assist clients with regaining their independence while remaining in the comfort of their own homes.

A family commitment

Sawyer in his Visiting Angels car

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What doesn’t show up in this description is the passion you feel from him when he describes the power and love behind what he and his home care agency are doing within our community. You can’t just “give” somebody that. It comes from real-life experiences that few have shared and understand. That passion shows in the empathetic care he provides daily to his clients and which is just as prevalent when he works with his caregivers . . . known as “Angels.” Making sure every Angel is perfectly matched with the client and ensuring they are comfortable with each other is the only outcome Tim accepts. As he describes it, Angels are not randomly thrown into a home just to check off a list of items that need to be completed. Instead, they are hand-chosen due to their compassionate skillset to become their client’s one-of-a-kind Angel Companion which always includes forging a lasting relationship that both the client and Angel look forward to building upon each day. This strong rapport assists the Angels in providing difficult and sometimes uncomfortable services such as bathing and dressing clients, while ensuring the clients maintain their pride and dignity.

What makes Tim and his business unique, and the reason his compassion run so deep, are the many experiences he has endured while serving our country as a leader in the military.

Although Visiting Angels helps all people with their homecare needs, his 13.5 years of service in the U.S. Army helps him relate to those veterans in need of care in a way others simply cannot. Tim currently serves in the rank of captain which includes five years as a

company commander, two mobilizations and one deployment to Afghanistan and Kuwait.

While deployed to Afghanistan, he and his business partner often spoke about wanting to do something bigger than themselves when they returned home. They knew they possessed the compassionate, caring, and empathetic personalities to do so. After a lot of research, it was obvious to Tim and William that the Visiting Angels franchise was a terrific fit for their outgoing personalities.

As a military spouse, Tim’s wife Summer runs their daily operations at Visiting Angels the same way she functioned as the Army’s Family Readiness Group Leader when Tim’s company deployed. Being the wife of a commander, by default she took on the responsibility of caring for and addressing each of the concerns for the 156 family members of those who served in Tim’s command, which further influenced her passion for helping people. With family roots in Hillsdale and Lenawee Counties, Summer is no stranger to the needs of the people living here.

When asked what he loves about this business, Tim’s response was: “I absolutely love and yearn for the joyous feeling that overwhelms me on a daily basis. It’s such an amazing experience seeing their [the clients’] stress melt away in front of me and knowing that my Angels are going to give them and their family members the peace of mind they’ve desired.”

That comment articulates the most difficult part of his business, which is losing clients who have become part of his Angel family, a very understandable struggle. It is clear that having an Angel in your life at times like this is priceless.

Visiting Angels South Central Michigan 235 N. Main Street, Adrian, MI 49221 517-920-4254 Owner(s): Tim Welbaum, Jr., and William Bruck

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Dark Skies in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula After nightfall most anywhere along the some 15,000 square miles that make up Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula, you can look up to find a sky so filled with stars you’ll be inspired as you imagine the ancients were to spin legends of this site filling you with awe. Some particular favorite spots are Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Isle Royale National Park, Tahquamenon Falls State Park and anywhere along Whitefish Point. Try framing the brightest park of the Milky Ways with trees, though the Lake Superior shoreline location makes it prime for night sky photography (and viewing) in all directions.

Isle Royale. Photo Courtesy of Dave Bryan

Alpena’s Dark Sky Preserves A rural setting is essential when it comes to night sky viewing, particularly as viewing of even the Milky Way gets rarer and rarer. The Alpena area is home to three state-designated Dark Sky Preserves—Rockport State Recreation Area, Thompson’s Harbor State Park and Negwegon State Park. Light pollution in these three are among the lowest measured in the Great Lakes, meaning stellar viewing of stars, meteors, planets, moons and the aurora borealis.

Rockport State Recreation Area. Photo Courtesy of Paul Gerow

Even More Dark Sky Parks The state’s original dark sky parks include Port Crescent State Park in Port Austin near the tip of the mitten-shaped state’s thumb. The park offers some of the prettiest beaches and sand dunes on the state’s east side—the perfect soft mattress for star gazing reclining. Lake Hudson Recreation Area is the only dark sky park near the Michigan-Ohio border, and it boasts a nice beach and picnic area for night sky observation.

The most dramatic of the night sky preserves is the most massive. Book early to reserve one of the rustic cabins or modern campsites at Wilderness State Park, immediately adjacent to the Headlands International Dark Sky Park. There’s plenty of room to pop out that telescope and spread that blanket within its 10,000 acres of landscape and more than 25 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline.

Photo Courtesy of Scott Castelein Photography 81