Take your Vitamins!

Did you know that Young Living not only carries essential oils, but also has a line of supplements? In my 6 months using these products, I've started to incorporate a couple. The first one I've used is Life 9, which is their probiotic. It is similar in price to any other high end probiotic on the market and has been a part of my nightly routine for 2 months now. If you are wondering where to start with supplements, I've learned that most health care practitioners will tell you to start with a probiotic! I love that Young Living adds essential oils to their supplements to help with absorption in the body. I'm not up on all the science of how to explain it because, lets be real, I'm a special ed teacher! But, I can tell you that your body wants a good probiotic!

I tend to get really anxious towards the end of the school year/start of summer. Weird, right? Seems like my nerves would settle down at that point, but not the case for me. So I tried another supplement called Cortistop. When your body is under stress, it produces cortisol. By reading the name of this supplement, you can tell what it does. I'm on week 3 of using it and I have not gone into my full blown swing of anxiety (yet! fingers crossed). Cortistop capsules help to maintain the body's natural balance and harmony. So far, so good.

I guess you could count Ningxia as a supplement too and you know I love that!

I'm looking forward to trying more as time goes on. Young Living carries all kinds.

1) Omega 3's (OmegaGize)
2) Super B Tablets
3) Sulfurzyme
4) Calcium (Super C)
5) Kids Chewables

That doesn't even put a dent in the list, but its a good start. I like to buy my supplements through Young Living because, as a member, I get points back on each dollar I spend. Cash-back always lessens the blow :) Then I can spend more money on the fun stuff (like
Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint, StressAway, Peace and Calming, Frankincense....you know the drill...)

DIY Recipes, Tips, and Tricks with EO's

Over the past few months I've been collecting tidbits of information on what I want to remember involving these little gems that are my essential oils. And because of exhibit A)  my bathroom mirror, I figured it might be a good idea to put it all my notes in one place.  Please ignore the bathroom wallpaper and sea foam green marble. *Work in progress* 

Before I share, I wanted to add that my friend, Krista Bridges, is doing an online class about essential oils where she will answer all kinds of questions about the power of what's in these little bottles. Let me know by commenting and I’ll get you an invite to an online intro class right here on Facebook! And if you let me know before 5/25 I’ll make sure you get a sample too!! 

Now for the good stuff....in no particular order: 

 1) Use Lime Vitality oil to make Key Lime Pie Protein Shakes! Add a drop or 2 of Lime oil to vanilla protein powder and blend. 

 2) Toilet Bowl Cleaner: 
1 cup distilled water
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup Castille soap
20-25 drops of Young Living Tea Tree, Lemon, or Grapefruit oil
Soak bowl 15 minutes before scrubbing

3) Carpet Powder
1 cup baking soda
7 drops purification, Grapefruit, and Lime oil
Sprinkle on carpets for 15 min before vacuuming

4) If you're in to making your own bread, add some orange oil with cranberries or rosemary oil added with other fresh herbs. Use about 5 drops for a 2 lb. loaf.

5) Tub, shower floor, walls: Use Thieves cleaner first with brush. Then, a paste of 1 Cup baking soda and 15 drops of any citrus oil. Rub on the ring in toilet, shower floor, and shower walls. Let it sit, then scrub off. 

6) Glass shower door: Use the same paste listed above with scrub brush. Wipe off. Then clean off the "baking soda film" with a mixture of Thieves cleaner (capful of Thieves, 1 tsp vinegar, 5 drops lemon, top with water in an 12-16 oz bottle). Everything comes off spotless, no need to use gloves for harsh chemicals and no need for bathroom fan or vent. Just fresh and clean!

7) Bring Sexy Back Linen Spray: In a small spray bottle, spritz around the following: 3 oz water, 1 oz Witch Hazel, 6 drops Orange, 3 drops Patchouli, 3 drops Ylang Ylang. Spritz around your room concentrating on pillows and sheets

8) Eyelash Growth Serum: 2 drops Lavender, 2 drops Cedarwood, 1 drop Rosemary. Fill clean mascara tube with Castor oil. 

9) Under Eye Roll On: 15 drops Frankincense, 15 drops Lavender, 15 drops Lemon, 3 drops Helichrysum. Fill the rest with a carrier oil such as Grapeseed oil. 

10) Honolulu Hawaii Diffuser Blend: 4 drops Stress Away, 3 drops Citrus Fresh, 3 drops Cedarwood

11) Paris, France Diffuser Blend: 5 drops Lavender, 3 drops Rosemary, 2 drops Clary Sage
(if you type in Destination Everywhere Diffuser Blends for 7 Cities" it should come up at YoungLiving.com/blog)

12) Morning and Evening Moisturizer: Frankincense/Lavender/Vetiver/Patchouli mixed with cold-pressed coconut oil

13) For Sinuses: Frankincense mixed with Copiaba- rub straight on the sinuses.

14) Face Wash: 1 Tbsp unscented Castille soap, 1 tbsp witch hazel, 10 drops Tea Tree, 10 drops Lavender, 10 drops Cedarwood, 5 drops Frankincense, 5 drops Purification. Add to foaming soap dispenser and fill the rest with water.

15) for Clogged Drains: Baking soda, Lemon essential oil, and distilled white vinegar. Pour it down the drain and let it sit for 45 min or overnight. Flush with about 2 cups boiling water. If the clog is really bad, you may need a snake to push it through. You can even use this as a preventative if your drain clogs often.

Although I have more, I think that's enough for now. I'll save the rest for another post! Try some of these DIY recipes and let me know what you think! Remember to comment if you want to come to the online class and get a sample!

The Droppery

I've written about this before, but I wanted to re-iterate how much I have been referring to TheDroppery.com for trying out new diffuser blends. Not only are there a HUGE variety of blends, but they have the most beautiful and soothing images and captions to go along with them. I feel like the pictures make them smell even better. They appeal to all the senses!

This is the one I have diffusing now and... yes, it IS well in my home!

This website has a page dedicated to blends that use only the Premium Starter Kit oils. Pretty helpful when you're ready to dive in. If you recently got your kit and you're not sure where to turn, turn here! If you WANT to get started with a kit, I can also help with that!

Ningxia!

I heard all bout this Nixgia Red. I was really skeptical. I couldn't see spending my precious oil money allotment on a juice blend. But evvvvverybody who tried it had great things to say. "Oh, you'll notice a difference when you miss a few days of using it!" "Ohh...it tastes so good!" " Ohhh....its a must-have after getting your Starter Kit!" Blah, blah, blah...

I finally broke down and bought it because I know its packed with Antioxidants and who doesn't need an extra dose of that with all the toxins we swim in daily. Although its only been about 2 weeks of using it daily, I do feel a little sharper! A little more energy! An edge, if you will.  I had tried the samples from the Starter Kit so I knew I would like the way it tasted (let's be honest, I rarely come across a food item that I do not like).

I have come to crave it in the mornings. This is what I do: Wake up...shuffle to the kitchen... open the fridge...turn the bottle up to give it a good mix.....pour....and knock back 2 shot glasses full of Ningxia! The best way I can describe it is a puree of tangy and delicious juice. Thicker than juice, not as thick as a smoothie. Its so satisfying when its COLD.

Ingredients:
100 grams of Wolfberries (aka Gogi Berries)
230 g Blueberries
140 g Cherries
1 cup Aronia Berries (highest anti-oxidant of any berry)
125 mg Grapefruit Seed extract
4 Pomegranates
2 Plums
Infused with Orange, Lemon, Tangerine, & Yuzu Essential Oils


Besides loving the way it tastes and noticing a difference in how its making me feel, here are some of its benefits:

-High in antioxidants to strengthen immune system
-Aids circulatory system, including the heart
-Helps the liver function properly
-Supports the eyes (cataracts, glaucoma, and visual acuity)
-Vitamins and minerals in Ningxia aid in digestion
-Helps support healthy blood sugar levels
-Strengthens brain neurotransmitters (therefore helping to combat dementia and memory loss)
-High in B-Vitamin Complex to help convert food to energy
-Reduces pain caused by inflammation
-The Ningxia Wolfberry is high in protein, an essential cellular building block


If you watch Dr. Jim Bob Haggerton like I do: Here's a link to his  quick, 6 min video about Ningxia Red.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK4WPBYJtOY&feature=youtu.be

Drink UP!

What's Your Color Personality?

Who doesn't love a good personality test!? I took one a few months ago and it was spot on for me. This test in particular is very straight forward and it doesn't take much time at all. Under fifteen minutes if I remember correctly. It will give you a phrase and you pick (A, B, C, or D) the one word that you feel correlates best with the phrase. It breaks your personality down into 4 colors: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow. Most of you will come out with a dominant color or two. The fun thing about it is that there are oils that can support each color type. And its free. Before I give you the link to the personality test, I want you give yourself some time to watch Dr. Jim Bob Haggerton's explanation of the personality types and guess which one you think you will be. I guessed correctly before taking the test! I felt inclined to write this post today because I was really sad to hear that the creator if this test, Jacob Adamo, passed away this week. He left behind a wife and two kids. You will hear Dr. Haggerton refer to him throughout the YouTube video.

Now...Here's Jim Bob: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0f53VlNINI (go ahead and scroll about 14 minutes into the video to bypass some of the needless stuff at the beginning)

When you promise you have watched the YouTube video first...here's the Color Personality Test! 

https://jacobadamo.com/personality-colors-quiz/

I'm so excited to hear what color you are! I will tell mine soon, but I want to keep it a surprise first to see if you can guess what I am! 

Trending now: 

-Lemon, Lavender, & Rosemary in the diffuser 

< Spring Cleaning Blend > 

- Lime in my water

April Fooled

At the Southern Women's Show, I got bamboozled into buy a fancy new hair straightener/curling wand. The salesman layed it on thick with the compliments and called me by my first name as if we were old friends. I admit it; I bought into his game. I really do like the flat iron so I can't say I was necessarily bamboozled, but I wasn't in the market for new hair tools. Easter Sunday rolled around and I was overly excited about using my new straighter. I went through all the steps to make sure each section of hair was correctly prepped, flattened, slightly curled, and tousled. Ah, yes- perfection. One trick I like with my oils is to put a drop of Frankincense on my palms, rub together, then through my hair to take out the frizzies. I feel like any oil would work for this because its....well....oil. Truly, I just like the smell of it, using my hair as a diffuser! I went through my whole routine of dropping the oils into my hands and rubbing through my hair, bus since it was Easter, I figured I'd do an extra drop or 2 since it was a special occasion. After all, Frankincense is one of the oils that was given to Jesus when he was born!

It wasn't until after I had slathered myself in oil that I realized that I had not, in fact, used the Frankincense....I had grabbed Patchouli. Yes, the one that most people associate with dirty hippies. Extremely earthy and extremely strong. The strongest oil I own. We're talking....I can smell it on my hands for hours if I have so much as opened the bottle. Its intense.

Oops! It was too late to do anything about it. Of all places, I was going to have to sit in crammed church pews smelling like a HUGE hippie. The only thing I could do was pray that everyone around me felt deeply calmed from sniffling the Patchouli! After all, it is known for its calming and relaxing properties. How appropriate for April Fools Day, right?

On another note, mark your calendars for April 15th! There will be another Essential Oils class that afternoon at my house. You can learn more about the kit you already have, get your own kit if you don't have one, have some wine and apps, and possibly win a little prize :)  All are welcomed and invited to bring friends. I'll send more updates, but I wanted to get the word out!

Need a Diffuser? (or another diffuser?)

If you're like me, you probably need another diffuser. Up until the end of March, Young Living is having a sale on their DewDrop diffuser along with 2 extra oils for $54.19 plus tax. One of the oils is peppermint which is my hands down FAVORITE oil and I've ordered it every month since January when I got my starter kit! The second oil is Tangerine which I have not yet tried but its on my every growing list.

Just to give you an idea of all the things you can do with Tangerine....
-its in the Vitality line which means you can ingest it! Put it in water, add to empty vegetarian capsules for a dietary supplement, add it to marinades or salad as it is the sweetest of all the citrus oils so it adds a little zing!
-diffuse for a sweet aroma
-make a DIY air freshener by adding to a glass spray bottle (30 drops tangerine to 2 cups water and splash of witch hazel or rubbing alcohol)
-put a couple drops on a cotton ball and stash it in the air vent of your car for a DIY air freshener

As for Peppermint....
- Its also in the Vitality line which means you can ingest it! Put it in water, add to empty vegetarian capsules for a dietary supplement. I use my Weight Support Blend in water daily (Peppermint, Lemon, Grapefruit) because I think its so refreshing.
- Diffuse for a fresh, uplifting, and energizing scent.
- Add few drops in your bath for a spa-like experience. I once diffused it when I had house guests and one of them commented that my house smelled like "a fancy hotel."
- This one is also great to put on the skin before a workout to keep you cool.

I'm toying with the idea of going in on this deal myself because I want a diffuser for my kitchen. I currently have one for my bedroom, classroom, and car.