Sunday, March 29, 2015

How To Get Started Using Essential Oils

I know so many people who are just starting to use essential oils.  I remember that time so well.  My family has been oily for a little over a year now.  I have to say, it has been one of our best decisions ever!!!  It is also something that we all four LOVE using!!  In the past year, we've learned how to use these oils in ways that work best for us.  If you are still new to oils I invite you to check out the rest of my blog.  I have several posts here to help you learn how to use these oils & gain confidence through using them!  

I did a previous post entitled So,,I Got My Starter Kit..............Now What??.  I'd love for you to check it out .  I hope  you find it helpful.  

 
Today I want to share with you a video that I did for my team.  I know how intimidating it can be to get your kit & you want to try it all & yet you're afraid of messing up!!  Well, this is an intro video to using Young Living's Premium Starter KitPlease let me know if I ca help you in any way on your oily journey!!  You can comment here or email me or find me on facebook. 



Friday, March 13, 2015

Baby Goats are the BEST!

I'd say our baby goats are THRIVING!!!  They are the sweetest things ever!!  Farm life is so much fun.........I feel so blessed & thankful that we're able to raise our girls this way!!!

 Watch our babies play!!

Now, don't that make you want to go get some baby goats!!??!! 

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Beauty In The Everyday


I am the most ordinary person you'll ever meet!!  Seriously.........and I'm okay with that!!  Don't get me wrong, I love to have fun & do things out of the ordinary.  But when it really comes down to it, there is just nothing more peaceful & soothing than an ordinary day.  So, today I decided to really focus on our ordinary, routine day.  Homeschooling has been such a blessing for us.....in so many ways.  We're not different or no more special than any other family & we LOVE being together as a family.  Homeschooling allows us to be together as a family more than we were before.  Now, the girls are home with me all day long.  And they seem to really be loving it & doing well with their schooling.  It seems to me that they are closer to each other than they were before we started homeschooling.  I never dreamed that was possible.  Another great thing is that since they are here so much, they are able to really help out with chores.  And they love being able to help out around the house & barn.  We have adequate time for our schooling and for our chores and the girls still have tons of time to play & be kids.  We're really looking forward to starting our garden in a few weeks!!  

Today I just sat back & watched my girls working & just took some time to be thankful for my completely, ordinary day in this life!!!  We are so blessed....  

Ava & Aubrey love it when I let their pups stay with them during school!!

Now, my challenge for you is to go find the joy in the ordinary this week!!!

Monday, March 9, 2015

What To Do With All Those Empty Bottles.......

When we started using essential oils, I found out really quickly that if this is going to be a way of life for us, then we're about to really go through a lot of oils.  I found myself emptying some bottles really quickly!  For whatever reason, some may call me crazy, I couldn't bring myself to throw the empty bottles away.  I had to come up with a way to recycle these bottles.  I'm sure I'm not the only one to feel this & I'm certainly not even the only one to recycle the bottles in the same way.  But I do think that I recycle them in a great way & I want to share that with all you.  I hope it will help & inspire you to keep your bottles & continue to reap the benefits of using YLEOs.

So, what happens at this house when we have a bottle (or several bottles) that we've just emptied on it's goodness??
I start by taking the sticker off of the cap (I always add a homemade sticker or a one from YL to my bottle caps so I don't have to lift each bottle to find what I'm looking for) & I remove the white plastic ring under the cap.  Then I fill my two decorative containers with epsom salts. 
After filling the containers with epsom salts, I then put the EO bottles & caps top down in the containers of salts.  These containers sit on the edge of my tub.  I let the EO bottles stay in the salts for several days.  Then I pull them out of the containers & place them in the tub at my bath time.  By doing this, I get the benefits of the oil infused salts that are stuck to the bottles & I get to soak the bottles to finish the cleaning process. 
I usually leave the bottles in the tub for my baths for several days.  During this time, the label is also softened so that I can peel it off.  When all this is complete, I then run the bottles & tops through my dishwasher.  Now the bottles are ready to reuse to make roller bottles (which I LOVE) or to share samples or to reuse for travel.....the possibilities are endless.  AND besides having the bottles the reuse, I also got EVERY DROP of oily goodness out of the bottle & now I have oil infused salts for therapeutic baths!!!  WIN WIN!!!! 

Friday, March 6, 2015

Living the Oily Life

We've been using Young Living Essential oils for a little over a year now.  After only a couple of months using the oils, we were already accustomed to reaching for oils instead of traditional medicines.  Now, don't get me wrong.........I AM NOT against doctors or medicines.  BUT if I can have a more natural means of caring for my family & myself then that is what I'll choose every time!  So, this is just a way of life for us now.  We only reach for OTCs or prescriptions when we have to & in the past year I can count on one hand how many times that has happened!!  Isn't that amazing!?!?!  To say we LOVE these oils was be a huge understatement!!  Because of our great love for these oils, I thought I'd give you a peek into what a normal day is for us!! 

We each have our own little oily routine.  My hubby's routine centers around bedtime. It took us a while to determine what was working for him & what wasn't.  We did find out that there are a couple of oils that give him headaches because of the way they work chemically on the brain.  So, after trial & error we've learned which to avoid.  What finally worked best for him for a long while was a sleep capsule at night before bed.  I would put 4 drops of lavender, 1 drop of cedarwood, & 2 drops of peppermint in a capsule & then finish it off with olive oil.  He would take this about 30 min-1 hour before going to bed.  Lately he has preferred to use Tranquil topically instead of taking a capsule.  Tranquil is so GOOD SLEEP, let me tell'ya!!!  
Now, I'll talk about my girls & their routines.  My oldest daughter has eczema. So I keep a cream made from coconut oil, lavender EO, & Purification EO.  She uses this as the need arises.  Besides this she tends to get an upset tummy frequently.  DiGize has been a lifesaver for that.  I do not have a picture of her eczema cream or DiGize.  But they are things that she uses several times a week.  I keep a prediluted roller bottle of DiGize made for her.   She can roll it on as she needs it.  I think some of her tummy issues are caused by nervousness & worry.  She gets that honest......but I sure wish I could take it away from her.  She gets things on her mind & gets very anxious & upset sometimes.  I'm thankful that we've figured out how to use the oils to deal with this.  Her routine now is to apply these oils before bed each night.  She will also apply them during the day IF she feels she needs them.  Right before going to bed, she puts a drop of Joy on her heart & Stress Away behind her ears & DiGize on her tummy.  Then she applies Tranquil on the back of her neck for sleep & Valor along her bottom jaw to help her not grind her teeth in her sleep!!
Now I'll share what I use for my youngest daughter.  I keep a prediluted roller bottle of the allergy trio mixed up & a prediluted roller bottle of R.C. mixed up.  The allergy trio consists of Lavender, Lemon, & Peppermint essential oils.  These are great for helping with seasonal allergies & cold symptoms.  So I use this on Aubrey when she is feeling stuffy or congested or coughing.  My girls say that R.C. is "magic for a cough." 
Because Aubrey's immune system has always seemed puny, I wanted her to start using Inner Defense.  However, she is too young to swallow a capsule.  In order for her to get the benefits of these amazing immune supporting oils, I made up a roller bottle of the oils that are part of Inner Defense.  I used Thyme, Thieves, Clove, Oregano, & Cinnamon Bark then filled the rest of the way with olive oil.  We roll this on every night before bed & then several times a day if she isn't feeling well.
Aubrey is the one in my family that LOVES Peace & Calming.  She loves how it smells & I love how it helps her sleep!!!  Seriously, she can roll P&C on & in about 15-20 minutes she'll be asleep........I mean mouth hanging open asleep!!!! Good stuff!!
One of my favorite ways to use these oils is to make my own roller bottles.  I keep Panaway in a prediluted roller bottle & carry it everywhere with me.  We all use it.  It is great to roll on for headaches!!  Probably my favorite use for Panaway, though, is for growing pains!!!  Both of my girls periodically have horrible growing pains in their legs.  They'll wake up in the night crying with their legs hurting.  Panaway comes to the rescue everytime!!
Now I'll share just a few of MY favorites ways to use the oils.  I use the citrus oils in my water.  And my favorite lately is Stress Away!!  I roll it on my neck & just feel the tension start melting away.  I am also loving it lately in the diffuser.  I have also started taking a drop of Frankincense each night in a capsule.  Everyone needs Frank.........it is good for so many things, skin, cold, anxiety, cellular health, & the list goes on & on!!!
Deep Relief is another personal favorite.  I use it for headaches or neck aches or any kind of pain ailing me.  It also comes in a convenient roller bottle.  

Did you know you can add 1 drop of Lavender essential oil to your tube of mascara for thicker eyelashes??  I'm trying that now too!!
How do you know a true oiler????  Well, maybe this is just me........but I consider myself a true oiler.  My oils go everywhere with me!!  Here is a look at the bag that is in my purse anytime I'm away from home!!! 
I hope you've enjoyed this look inside our oily life!!! 

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Winter Snow Storm 2015

The week after the ice storm & the baby goats, we had another weather maker. We had a big snow!!  I didn't measure the actual amount, but I think we had at least 5 inches!!  It was just beautiful! And, of course, being in the south where we don't get a lot of snow action, we were super excited & had to get out & play & take pictures!!  What a fun day this was......lots of snow play & even a snowman!!


Our doggies even enjoyed playing in the snow..........
Bama
Trixie
Saban
Buddy
Family snow pictures!!! 
Now we're ready to look forward to spring!!

Baby Goats

In my wildest dreams, I never believed that I would love goats!!  But let me tell you...........we bought our little herd last year & goats are some of the sweetest & funnest animals ever.  Not to mention they have the cutest babies!!!  
I shared in my previous post about how busy our February was.  Let's add baby goats being born to that list!!!  Remember the icestorm??  Well, don't you just know that on that FRIGID winter night prior to the storm was when Jojo had her babies.  WOW!!!  She had 2 bucks & 1 doe.  There really isn't anything cuter than baby goats.   They are precious & we are already in love with them.  Because of the extreme cold temps they were born in & the fact that 2 of them wandered away from their mom, we've had to take extra care & caution with them.  The third one is the biggest one & he stayed close by momma.  So, we were able to leave him out with her while his brother & sister got a little TLC & warmth inside.
The next day we were able to return them to the barn & reunite them with their momma & brother. 
That afternoon while we were checking on them we realized that Addie was in labor too!!  So, it was time for more baby goats!! She had a buck & a doe!!  So in the course of two days we gained 5 new precious baby goats. 
This is almost too much preciousness for one picture!!! 
My girls are in love & they are excellent helpers! 
Now we just patiently wait for our three youngest does to have their babies!!! That should happen around the first of May!!  Babies, babies, babies!!!