Tag Archives: Beauty

Augusta National’s Natural Beauty

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Augusta National Golf Club is home to The Masters Tournament, held the second weekend in April each year since 1934 with exception to 1944, 1945, and 1946 due to World War II. The 365-acre course is renown for its natural beauty, which is at it’s best during the prestigious Masters event.

Everywhere you look the course is ablaze with color from the Azalea’s to the Dogwood trees it is a spectacular scene. Augusta National’s tees and fairways are made up of Bermuda grass, a warm weather grass, but over-seeded in the fall with rye grass to give that rich green color. The greens are made up of bentgrass a cool season grass. One reason that the course remains in such great shape is Augusta National is a seasonal course. They close the course from May to October thus eliminating the additional wear and tear on the greens during the hot summer months.

Augusta National has a state-of-the-art irrigation system, a soil lab, and an on-site weather station to help tackle any problems the maintenance crew might face. They are also committed to the environment. Radar and airflow technology is used to predict rain and reduce the need for fertilizer, pesticides and water. Trees are mulched to prevent erosion, conserve water, improve the soil quality and serves as a way to recycle tree waste. Trees, flowers, greens and shrubs are even hand watered to prevent excessive run off. There are 55 acres to the left of the 11th hole to provide a wildlife habitat and home to 1000’s of migratory birds and the club has an ongoing reforestation project. The parking lot is left unpaved to prevent excessive run off and provide habitat for ground nesting birds.

The property was originally an Indigo Plantation then became a nursery during the 19th century. Many trees and plants were imported from all over the world and remained on the property after the nursery closed in 1918. In 1930 co-founder and retired golfer Bobby Jones was in awe with the natural beauty of the property and decided to build a golf course on the discovered the property that was purchased for $70,000. He found an investor, Clifford Roberts and set out to hire Dr. Alister Mackenzie, a British surgeon and golf course architect to design the course. A course that is now the envy of golf courses worldwide with less than 300 prestigious members including Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

Getting Enough Beauty Sleep?

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Do you get enough Beauty Sleep?

If you are like me, you stay up late and wake up early. Then when you finally do fall asleep it seems that the alarm sounds way too soon. Then you hit the snooze button at least a couple of times to get those few extra minutes of beauty sleep.

Then the horror when you realize how late it is! So you jump out of bed, grab a cup of caffeine to get your eyes open, and your brain functioning, rush to get dressed, grab a bite to eat and run out the door. By the time you get to work you feel tired already!

Can you relate?

Do we really get enough good quality sleep to keep ourselves healthy mentally and physically?

Does everyone need the same amount of sleep?

Not everyone needs a full 8 hours of sleep a night. If you try to sleep more than your body needs it can lead to insomnia. Sleep time can vary anywhere between 3 and 12 hours of sleep. If you sleep that much (or little) and you feel fine, then that should be all you need. Don’t let others tell you otherwise just because their needs are different.

Do you ever feel drowsy during the day? Or you can’t stop yawning? Then maybe you are not getting as much sleep as you should.

Did you know there is a thing called “bad sleep”? If you tend to toss and turn, or get up several times in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, you are not getting a full night’s sleep.

Here are some tips to help you get good night’s sleep to rejuvenate and help you stay healthy.

1. Don’t eat in the last few hours before you go to bed, (especially sweets!). A full stomach can interrupt sleep, and cause gain weight. If you really must eat something try to eat foods such as milk, turkey, yogurt, ice cream, soy beans, tuna, and peanuts. These have high levels of Tryptophan which help the body produce Serotonin that relaxes the body.

2. Don’t exercise in the few last hours before you go to sleep, exercise boosts your heart rate, gives you energy, and keeps you wide awake. I’m guilty of this one (sometimes it is the only time I have)!

3. Don’t drink less than an hour before you go to sleep, and using the bathroom right before you go to bed can help prevent those middle of the night trips to the bathroom.

4. Don’t read, watch TV, listen to music, or anything that engages your mind when you’re getting ready to sleep. This is a hard one as many people have a TV in their bedroom. Note- this also can diminish you sex life!

5. Avoid drinking alcohol before bed which will make you feel sleepy, but can actually reduce the quality of your sleep.

6. Avoid caffeine late at night (similar affect to #2).

7. Avoid taking naps during the day, or you may toss and turn all night and awake up more tired than when you went to sleep.

8. A lack of physical exertion during the day can also reduce the quality of your sleep. The body does it’s repairs and recovery during sleep. But if there isn’t much exertion to recover from, your body’s sleep cycle could be disrupted.

Regular exercise can help you have a deeper, more restful sleep.

Taking a nice hot bath or shower before bed can also help you sleep better.

Good rule of thumb:

Don’t stay up if you feel sleepy.

Don’t go to bed if you’re not sleepy.

When you get the right amount of sleep for the specific needs of your body you will feel rejuvenated, more healthy and beautiful.