On Guard and Feet!

Growing up my mother had a friend that was very good at Reflexology. It was fun because she would always work on our feet and tell us what was wrong with us. She could make my nose run by just messing with my toes, a.k.a. my sinuses. Due to my experiences with her, I have always believed the feet are connected to the rest of the body (and not just by the ankles...haha).

Picture: FCO and On Guard

A while back I created a roller ball with 12 drops of On Guard and I filled the rest with fractionated coconut oil. Whenever someone in my family starts looking a little under the weather, I put my On Guard roller ball on their feet. I hear the big toe is a good place, so I always make sure to swipe the bottom of it!

Picture: Please don't judge my toe... Mama doesn't have time for a pedicure!

I think I have fought off a few illnesses by using On Guard. If it can fight off MRSA, surely it can fight off anything I pick up! I have tried using On Guard in a variety of ways and every time I fought whatever illness was coming on. One time, I was feeling awful and I thought the fastest way to get this stuff in my body is probably internally! So I read that I could put a drop of On Guard in a spoonful of honey. I love honey and thought I'm sure I won't even taste the On Guard with the honey. Well, my steady hand allowed for TWO drops to come out on my spoonful of honey. Whew! I sure could taste the On Guard and it had quite the kick. I don't think I will be doing any cooking with it, but it sure did kick the cold like symptoms I had by the next day. Due to the intense clove taste, I normally try to treat illnesses by using On Guard topically, however, I will use it internally in a heartbeat if it will give it that extra boost to get over something!

 

Picture: Local Honey and On Guard

Last night my son had a little runny nose, so I put On Guard on the bottom of his feet. This morning he does not have a runny nose! Maybe it is coincidence or maybe it is On Guard! All I can say is I am not willing to test the theory, sick babies are so heartbreaking.

Happy oil using! ~Amy

Less is not always more!

The past week has been a week of ridiculous injuries for me. I have been very thankful for my oils this week. This post will be about my first injury of the week, but I can't truly explain it until you meet our loveable beast.

Picture: Addy

Above is our 85 lbs. Labradoodle that I adore. Addy was rolling on her back the other day just begging for a belly scratch. As I was bending down to pet her... I sneezed and the absurd happened. Can you believe I threw out my back while bending over, petting my dog and sneezing?

I grew up idolizing my dad and thinking he could only be compared to Superman (I still do!). At 50 he could throw plywood onto the roof in one effortless swoop and leave the 20 year old helping him baffled! However, every Superman has his Krypotonite. My dad would often throw out his back doing the most absurd things, like picking up a piece of paper (True story). So I guess unbelieveable back injuries run in the family... thanks Dad! (Side note: Dad has not thrown out his back in years after some acupuncture and chiropractic treatments... I guess unconventional treatments run in the family, too!)

Back to my back injury, I had a pre-made roller ball of diluted Deep Blue. I began rolling that stuff all over my back! I have used this solution on minor aches and pains and it has worked great. However, this time I began questioning my oils because my back had me feeling like I was 80 years old! I then had a moment of brilliance (rare, I know!) and decided to apply the Deep Blue neat! It worked like a charm! Lesson learned, less is not always more and sometimes you need the good stuff! My back feels much better thanks to Deep Blue applied NEAT!  

Happy oil using!- Amy

Air Freshener

I know I am not the only one that has one of these bad boys of stink in her house...

Picture: Can of stink!

This morning I was on a roll and was uber productive. Perhaps it was due to my extra 1 1/2 hours of sleep, thank you son for sleeping until 7:25AM!  I opened the diaper pail at one point in the morning only to be met by the smell of death! I quickly remembered it was trash day and continued with my productive morning by taking the bag of stink to the curb. I actually managed to beat the garbage truck, which is impressive alone. However, my de-stinking was short lived because my son felt the void in the air and christened the fresh bag within minutes!

I then remembered reading the doTERRA blog about air fresheners and  thought "If I can't get rid of it, then I will hide it!". I modified the recipe because I only have 2 oz glass bottles. I love the smell of lavender, therefore I decided to use it as part of my recipe. I also love how lemon has a crisp and clean smell, therefore I used it too! 

Picture: Air Freshener Ingredients

 

I simply filled my 2 oz bottle with distilled water, then added 3 drops of lavender and 3 drops of lemon. I shook it up and began spraying it all over the house. I even sprayed it right in the stink pail. I liked that when I sprayed it everywhere it didn't make me cough like other sprays (I'm sure you've walked through a cloud of air freshener before!). Or that I didn't have to worry if any of the mist got on my son. Yeah for no chemicals!

 

Picture: Air Freshener Spray

 

The smell, which I dubbed "lemonder",  was very light and fresh. It certainly was not overpowering, but it did mask the stink of the diaper pail. I do not like STRONG smells, so if you like strong smells you may want to use different EOs and/or more drops. I am the type of person that gets headaches in everyone's favorite body wash store, so the light smell was perfect. The great thing about EOs is you can use them how you like! 

Happy de-stinking and oil using! -Amy

 

 

Mask to smooth!

**Disclaimer: I do not condone selfies, however, it is the only way I knew to show you this awesome stuff. To make myself feel less awkward, I make awkward faces. I am a very logical person, I know.  Just be glad I avoided any ridiculousness, like duck face:)

These days I do not get a lot of time to pamper myself, but today I decided to use a birthday gift from my fabulous sister! She sent me Moroccan Lava Clay Powder and Rose Water. If you want to send it to someone you know that needs some pampering, you can find it on Amazon (Right here!). I used this stuff to make an awesome face mask, but I am sure you can use what you have at home, too!

                                           Picture: Ingredients for mask and Frankincense

First,  I put the clay powder in a glass bowl and added a drop of Frankincense (well actually 2 drops, I got a little crazy and an extra one slipped out!). I always use glass when I do anything with doTERRA Essential Oils. I could have mixed any EO I wanted with the mask, but I love all the healing properties Frankincense has and it is great for the skin!

                                             Picture: Clay Powder and Frankincense

Next, I added a little Rose Water until it made a paste. I mixed it with my finger and rubbed the mixture on my face. It smelled fantastic!

                                              Picture: Awkward photo with mask applied

The mask began to dry and I really felt things tightening. It also had a slight tingling sensation! Very refreshing! I let it sit for 15 minutes.

                                              Picture: Awkward photo of mask drying

To wash off the mask, I just took a shower. I was well overdue for one! These days I spend my showers with a screaming 8 month old, so the removal process was not so pleasant. He seems to think he needs to be inside the shower! Hopefully your shower is more peaceful, I mean we are pampering here! On the plus side, my face felt amazing after my shower! It was super smooth, soft and refreshed! I really think the Frankincense gave it that extra kick!

                                Picture: Refreshed after face (Forgive the fresh out of the shower doo!)

My first pampering with EOs was a win. I can hardly see the exhausted bags under my eyes from the perpetual lack of sleep (Only for my son, that I love dearly, would I become sleep deprived). I think I will be doing some more face masks in the future... maybe a Lavender one before bed one night. I hope you take some time to pamper, too!

Happy pampering and oil using! -Amy