Layering Lavender for Sleep

A night can seem like eternity when you are trying to get to sleep or when you have trouble falling back to sleep.  Although trouble with sleep is common (especially as we age), the consequences can be serious - low energy, impaired judgement, diabetes, depression, heart disease, obesity …  Experts say we should get anywhere from 6-9 hours/night.  Our bodies carry on a lot of maintenance while we sleep which makes us healthy.  Finding a safe and effective solution to getting a blissful sleep can be a life-saver.  

Hoping to get a handle on my on again, off again challenge of a good night’s sleep, I started looking at the consistency of my pre-bed rituals - using music as medicine, no screens, warm shower, no caffeine, sometimes listening to meditation.  Anything that doesn’t involve prescription or over-the-counter medication or even melatonin (it can raise your blood pressure) was worth a try.  After none of these seemed to be real game-changers, I tried the remedy a friend of mine uses - lavender essential oil - and it worked!  Not only does it have a calming effect, but it also makes the room smell nice.  A few drops of lavender in a bedside diffuser proved to be a great way to help me get to sleep and stay asleep.     

Lavender seems to be most commonly used for aromatherapy.  Fragrance from the essential oils of the plant is believed to promote calmness and wellness.  Some think it lowers heart rate and blood pressure.  For my birthday this year, my son and daughter-in-law gave me a nice lavender set which included shower gel, body lotion and pillow mist.  I never really thought of layering my lavender, so I gave it a try and loved it!  A nice warm shower with the lavender shower gel, followed by lavender body lotion and a spritz on the pillows with the pillow mist is the perfect combination to ease into a good night’s sleep.  Having trouble sleeping while out-of-town?  The diffuser is a bit much to pack for those of us who like to travel light, but packing the shower gel, lotion and pillow spritz is a great option for trips.    

Getting better sleep may be as easy as making simple changes like turning off your tech well before bed, taking a warm shower or using lavender.  For me, layering lavender works like a charm.  It may not help everyone, but it’s worth a try.            

Lake Life in 24 Hours

When your friend says, “Wanna go to the lake on Thursday?” a random, last minute invite turns out to be a great 24 hours of lake life.  So many times we miss out on fun and interesting experiences because we feel the need to calendar everything a month in advance or we feel “caught off guard” by a last minute invite.  When our friend, Kathy, invited Patti and me to her lake house with a 2 day notice, we took a glance at our calendars and immediately accepted.  The three of us had worked together as teachers for years.  Grabbing a last minute getaway to Michigan in the early fall sounded extremely tempting.  It was only going to be 24 hours (midday Thursday to midday Friday) but you can pack a lot into 24 hours and this is how we did it:

Early Thursday morning (but not too early) we packed Kathy’s car with lake apparel, wine, enough food for 24 hours and drove 2 hours to her lake house in Michigan.  Not far from our destination, we stopped at a roadside market and picked up fresh calico corn that we would add to dinner and homemade pineapple salsa for a snack.  We knew we had 24 hours to cram in as much lake life as we could so we hit the ground running.  1st on the agenda was a journey around the lake on the pontoon.  Enjoying wine, boiled shrimp and the warm sunshine aboard the pontoon set the tone for our 24 hour lake getaway.  Since it was a Thursday in September, the lake was pretty vacant except for the 3 of us on the pontoon and some beautiful swans.  The water was as still as glass.  We could see an occasional turtle peak his head up for a few minutes.  It was fun looking at the different lake houses and waving to a few of the year-round residents.  

Have a lake house?  Gotta have the toys.  My friend had plenty of toys to play with - ski boat, jet ski, paddle boat, paddle board, kayak, etc.   We spent the next couple of hours getting in some physical activity on the kayak and paddle board.  If you like to kayak and have decent balance, you would probably enjoy paddle boarding.  On a calm lake, it’s pretty easy and great for your core.  After playing on the toys, Kathy took us on a land tour of the lake homes on the golf cart.  We had at least another hour before starting dinner, so we took the speed boat out to the island, anchored it, and jumped in with our floats near the island in the middle of the lake.  Ahhh…just us and the swans.  

Dinner was yummy - grilled chicken marinated in The Shed all natural marinade, grilled asparagus, calico corn from the local farm stand, and a fresh peach and garden salad.  Add some girl talk and a game of our favorite cards and it was the ending to a great day at the lake.  

The next morning, we enjoyed pumpkin and ginger tea while sitting on the deck admiring the bright orange sun reflecting on the water like a mirror.  It was so peaceful.  The swans came up near the shore to say hello and the turtles climbed up onto “turtle island” to sunbathe.  After a 3 mile hike around the lake, we had breakfast and went shopping at Bullseye Marketplace and Farm House Bakery in town.  It’s an adorable market/gift shop with a quaint café that’s perfect for breakfast or lunch.  

With a few hours left, we took another ride around the lake to take advantage of some early season leaf peeping, got in another workout on the paddle board and kayak, and relaxed with a book on the lake floater.    Pretty soon, it was time to shower off, pack and head back to Chicago.

Sometimes, the best getaways aren’t planned and cost next to nothing.  It pays to keep your calendar and mind open a bit for those last minute “hey, let’s go…”  And always, always, try something new.

Get In the Car…Book That Flight…Go!

How many times has a friend or family member asked you to come for a visit?  You have every intention of going but you keep putting it off and never go.  Too many times we wait for the “perfect time” to travel and although some dates are definitely better than others, there never is the “perfect time.”  When my friend of 48 years, Tracey, sent a text, “why don’t you come to Georgia for a few days?,” I started checking airfare and patiently waited (no more than a couple of weeks) until I found a great price.  Fortunately, one of the benefits of retirement is travel flexibility, so it’s easy to grab those flights on unpopular days.  Since I watch my grandson on Wednesdays, traveling Thursday - Tuesday worked out perfectly and allowed me to secure a round trip flight from Chicago to Atlanta for $120.  Can’t beat that!  

About 40 minutes northeast of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is a great place to stop for lunch - Three Blind Mice in Lilburn.  TBM is a warm, comfortable urban eatery, a great place to enjoy food and wine.   Of course we had the Peach Salad (being in Georgia and all) and it was tasty - greens, peaches, cucumbers, spiced almonds, Farmers Cheese and champagne vinaigrette.  Add a glass of sauvignon blanc from New Zealand and you have a perfect girls lunch to launch the perfect girls getaway.   

After a long weekend at Tracey's beautiful home golfing, swimming, and gabbing at the pool, we traveled to Lake Oconee for a few days of kayaking and more girl talk (cheaper than therapy), but first we had to get in some retail therapy.  A girls trip is never complete without retail therapy.  We stopped in Madison (named for President James Madison) on the way to Lake Oconee for lunch and a little shopping.  Understandably, Madison, GA was named the #1 Small Town in America by Travel Holiday magazine and Budget Travel magazine voted Madison as one of the world’s most picturesque villages.  It’s adorably quaint with nearly 100 carefully restored antebellum homes along with many boutiques and eateries.  We chose the Chop House Grill for lunch - the Orchard Spinach Salad was delish while dining alfresco in the near perfect Georgia weather that day.  One of my favorite boutiques in Madison is Laughing Moon (right across the street from the Chop House Grill).  If you're in Madison, it’s worth a visit.  

After arriving at Tracey's SO's beautiful lake house on Lake Oconee, first on the agenda was a glass of wine on the beautiful dock.  It was late afternoon and the lake was incredibly calm and serene.  A yummy place for lunch near Lake Oconee is Sweet Kneads Bakery and Cafe.  They are famous for their chicken salad (Jack’s Favorite Chicken Salad).  We had it over greens with Thai soup and it was delectable.  Try taking home a quart of the Thai soup with the pepperoni stuffed bread - it's a great option for dinner (that’s what we did)!  With the million dollar view of the beautiful lake, hot ginger peach tea and more girl talk on the deck in the mornings for breakfast were priceless.  

My dear friend's request, “come to Georgia for a few days” turned out to be a much needed getaway with a childhood friend who means so much to me.  Take the trip.