March 2016 Goal: Fit in More Exercise

This year our monthly goals have been focusing on specific tasks rather than multiple goals each month. In January we tackled more decluttering throughout the house and in February we worked on using our slow cooker more to help offset busy nights. We found several recipes to enjoy this past month, and even started tweaking several to create our own recipes. (You can look forward to seeing those sometime in the near future.)

This month we're moving on to something that is definitely more personal to me individually: Get more exercise.

Since college exercising has been one way I de-stress during the week and clear my head. Not to mention all the other pivotal health benefits that come from exercising by staying fit and active. And although the intensity decreased, for many years after having kiddos I still found ways to exercise regularly.

Peppermint Foot Soak

Over Memorial Day weekend two of my incredibly talented friends decided to utilize their fitness skills and run in a local marathon. One friend, after a long and dedicated training period, ran her first full marathon. She ran the course in under 5 hours! Another friend completed her fifth half-marathon, which means that she's run 65.5 miles in just marathon running! I'm incredibly impressed with both friends as I never see myself running more than my small, easy to prepare for, 5k runs.

In honor of their running, I wanted to create something they could pamper themselves with. I love the feel of peppermint lotion on tired feet and decided to experiment with a peppermint foot soak.


The Ingredients: 
8 cups epsom salts
1 and 1/2 cups baking soda
1/2 cup loose peppermint tea
8-10 drops of peppermint oil
(The peppermint oil and loose tea can be found at a local health food or bulk store.) 

For Gift Giving:
Glass containers
Ribbon
Labels (optional)


Directions:
1. Mix the epsom salts, baking soda, and loose peppermint tea into a large bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon.

2. Add in 8 to 10 drops of peppermint oil. (Please note, this is peppermint oil not peppermint extract.) The oil is strong so add the drops slowly until it reaches a scent level you're comfortable with. I used a small dropper we had on hand as my oil did not come with a dropper. Stir with a wooden spoon. If clumps form mush with the spoon or your hands.

3. If you're giving the soak as a gift it's nice to package it into glass containers for easy storage. It also looks pretty. I found these containers at a local hardware store. Mason jars would also work nicely. I had enough to fill the three containers, another glass container, and saved some in a ziplock bag to try on my own feet. 

4. I used our word processing program to create a cute gift label. I made this one fit a running theme. But this soak could work for a variety of people, so the label could reflect the group. For those of you still looking for an end of year teacher gift this would also be much appreciated, teachers spend a lot of time on their feet. If you're looking for clip art, there are lots of options on the internet. I always add "free" to my image search as then I find royalty free pieces. I printed these labels onto white card stock.

5. Hole punch the label and use ribbon to tie the card onto the container. A beautiful (and easy) gift for some tired feet!