Chatting Oils

It's been a few months now since I told you I entered the world of essential oils, and in that time, I've had a lot of emailed questions about what it means, if it's worth the cost, and if participating in this makes me a hippie. OH! And if raising chickens and starting beehives will be the next step.

Well, I'm scared of bees and I don't like poo, so chickens and beehives are OUT.

But just for fun, I decided to keep track of some specific things I noticed along the journey, so I wanted to tell you about them today.

For the record, we use products from Young Living Essential Oils. I know there are many places you can buy oils, both in stores and through companies such as this one. I made my choice based on two things. First, it was the company I had the most exposure to, because many, many of my friends - and even some family members - purchased from Young Living, so as I spent months observing their stories from a great distance, I grew familiar and comfortable with this company. Secondly, when I got to the place where I started asking specific questions and doing research of my own, Young Living impressed me as a company of integrity, not only in business practices but in the production and purity of the oils themselves. So that's how we landed on Young Living, and everything you're about to read is based on our journey using their oils.

* Just a couple of days after our oils kit came, Ryan and I came home to discover our house smelled like something died in it. For the record, I do not believe anything did {Ryan, Braeya and I are all accounted for, at any rate}. I think it was a case of cooked broccoli aftermath, which is why I struggle with cooked vegetables. But regardless of the source, the house was FOUL. We lit a candle, but the house just smelled like coffee, smoke, and dead things, so that wasn't any better. I whipped out the home diffuser that came with my kit and added Purification oil, which as you might expect, neutralizes odors, and in just a few moments, the house began to actually smell better. Not better like "hey, the coffee candle is beating the dead animal smell," but better like "hey, the air actually smells clean!" That was impressive.

* Also shortly after the kit arrived, Ryan's hospital was hit {and by hit, I mean slammed with no warning} with a violent stomach flu. They quarantined entire halls of patients. About half the staff went down for the count. And of course this took place one day after I visited...shook hands and traded hugs with his work buddies...all the good germ-passing activities. So we were both a bit panicked the morning he went in and found out the flu had descended, and the outcome, so to speak, wasn't good. We both dug into our Thieves oil, rubbing it diligently on the soles of our feet, which we'd read would help boost our immune system. I guess I can't say for sure what kept us healthy, but I can report that neither of us succumbed to the horror. I choose to believe it helped!

* I have begun, in small steps, adding oils to DIY versions of things we use at home, like our face wash. I make this for both of us now, it's cheaper than buying any store-bought version, and I know my skin feels better than it ever has. {I started making it for myself, but not long after, Ryan asked if I could start making it for him too. OKAY!!!!} Before our vacation, I made our own "outdoor spray" {I hate the smell and stickiness of regular spray...} and we hiked five miles in the Smoky Mountains to a waterfall while wearing it and came out with no bites. And we smelled good! A few weeks later, we went to his parents' cabin in the woods to do some yard work. I did not have on any kind of spray and came home with a half dozen huge welts from bites that itched and I scratched until they bruised and bled. The next day we returned for a party, and this time I had my homemade spray in hand, and I came home without any new bites.

* Ryan and I do NOT have trouble sleeping at all. We can drink an entire pot of coffee and fall over into a ridiculously sound sleep. So although I'd read that there are oils that can strengthen your sleep, I'd never tried any for that purpose because it seemed unnecessary for us. But one night, after a string of heavy-hearted days for us, I put some Lavender and Stress Away oil in the diffuser and put it near our bed. We overslept an hour the next morning. We laughed about it - and thought maybe it worked a little TOO well. Joking aside, though, we both realized we hadn't just slept like rocks, but we actually awakened FEELING rested. There's a difference between sleeping and sleeping restfully, I think. And for the first time in a while, we'd slept restfully. 

* I don't think I have to tell you that my appetite is, in a word, raging. I wake up eager to eat, spend the day eager to eat, and settle in at night, eager to eat. {Funny that I spent the first week of my life in a hospital unable to keep my food down, isn't it? PROBLEM SOLVED!!!!! Apparently those who prayed for me that week overshot their prayers a bit.} So I read that adding drops of peppermint, lemon, and grapefruit oils to empty pill capsules {which you can purchase at the health food store} can promote feelings of fullness. I'll try anything, so I've been taking them just about every day for three months or so, and for me - it's working. I don't pick up food so quickly on the days I take the oils. The days I forget or am gone and don't have them with me...I could eat my shoe!

That's a quick summary of SOME of what we've noticed here in Shafferland since we started using oils. I'm still new at all this, relatively speaking, so I'm excited to learn even more as I go!

SO!!!!!!

My friend Erica, who helped me get into this wonderful world of oils, is hosting an online class on Tuesday, September 15th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

* This is a no obligation, no pressure class. I watched a couple of classes before I got into all this, because it helped me hear the specifics of what oils are all about, learn the jobs of specific oils, and learn what diffusers and other oily words mean. Best of all, I didn't have anyone breathing down my neck to force me to make any kind of commitment. Erica offered to do this just for you guys so you can learn the same stuff I did a few months ago!

* YOU CAN WEAR YOUR JAM JAMS!!!! The class is online, so you don't have to hire a sitter or leave the house or anything. Curl up and watch and nobody can see you. Isn't that the best?

* Erica will host the class live, so if you DO have questions, you can ask them and she can answer them in real time, which is the best of ALL worlds. {Jammies and immediate answers.} But if you are already busy at that time, you don't have to worry about it, because the link will also be available after that time, so you can watch when it works best for you - or watch it twice if you missed something and wanted to hear it again.

* If you want to be part of the class, you can sign up for it here, and Erica will email the link so you can watch it when the time rolls around. {And I promise I know and love her in real life so she's completely safe and can be trusted with your email.}

* If you DO watch it live, though, she's planning to do a couple of giveaways, so you might win a free something! YAY FOR FREE SOMETHINGS!

Thanks for hanging in there with this long post. I am excited for the good changes that have come about for us since we started implementing oils into our lives, and I am excited that you have the chance to learn how they might fit into your life through the info Erica shares in her class!

{Shoot me an email if you have ANY questions!}