Before we get started, let me explain what Thieves® actually is, since some of you are probably thinking this post is about how Stacy and Barry recommend you deal with criminals. Sorry to disappoint. 😉 Thieves® is the name of Young Living’s blend of: Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon Bark, Eucalyptus Radiata, and Rosemary essential oils. It is used in several cleaning and personal care products, and it is the oil blend that was our “gateway drug” to essential oils. So…if you’re one of those people who thinks oils are hokey and silly, this actually might be the perfect article for you, because that’s where we were before Thieves®.

First, some history (legend): In France during the 15th century, grave robbers would steal from the graves of those who had been killed by some of the terrible plagues Europe was suffering through in those days. According to the popular legend, the thieves protected themselves by covering their bodies in a combination of clove, rosemary, and other botanicals which kept them safe. When caught, the government showed them mercy if they were willing to share the recipe for this concoction they used to ward off the nasty stuff they were exposed to when they dug up the graves. Young Living’s Thieves® essential oil blend is based on what those thieves used in the middle ages. So what made us decide to ditch all the cleaners and most of the chemical products in our house and switch to Thieves®? [Read more…]

If you follow me on Instagram you know that I love Bible journaling. I repeatedly get asked about it, but I actually don’t know that I have ever written or shared about it. Why? Because y’all, I am not an artist! That is just not my gift or platform, but I absolutely love it.

Let me just say again…I am not an artist! I only took the bare minimum when it came to art in school. But God introduced me to Lisa over at CreativLEI.com. We became friends and she taught me how to letter. She actually has a free 30 day lettering course on her website. And thanks to her, I learned how to get fancy with my letters. I learned Calligraphy and how to be more creative with my writing style.

My love of lettering and lettering scripture morphed into Bible journaling.

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One of the things I do as a big part of my Young Living business is share what I call “my loaner kit”. It’s a small collection of oils that I like to share with people – just to borrow, not to keep – so they can experience the oils for themselves. Whenever I go to pick up the oil kit, I like to give them something just for fun. I usually make them a small essential oil roller bottle to give them as a thank you for letting me share my oils with them.

If this is your first time making an essential oil roller bottle, the most important thing to know is that you absolutely must dilute your oils. Our bodies just absorb the oils properties better when we dilute them before using them on our skin. When you put them on your skin undiluted, they are too strong. Just way too strong. [Read more…]

One thing you should know about me…

I don’t really like to shop in actual stores.

Unless it’s Aldi or Target Dollar Spot – or basically any grocery store – I’d rather shop online. Which means I do a lot of shopping online…a LOT! Anytime I don’t have to load all four kids in the car and then into the store – I am all about it!  If I can buy things online and have them delivered to my front door – I am winning. But there are a few that are my favorites, and probably 90% of what I buy comes from these places. [Read more…]

This is going to be a super short post as I wrap up our brief series on travel (see the other posts here and here), but as Barry and I have been traveling more, I’ve learned a few things here or there that I just want to share. I realize these are super simple things that a lot of y’all might already do. But you know me, if I’ve got a tip, I’m sharing it! These air travel tips save us a little bit of time, money, and stress – and also keep us healthy! [Read more…]

I talk a lot about the importance of taking a travel re-entry day over on Instagram. And y’all seem to really love and appreciate the idea! So, I decided it was high time there was a blog post about it too.

I don’t know about y’all, but the first day back from a trip, I am a complete and total zombie. It’s almost impossible for me to get anything done. I try to stay on task but it’s not always easy. And I try not get frustrated with myself and my kids. That’s usually easier said than done.

But then I realized… maybe I just need to cut myself some slack.

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One of our main family goals for 2018 was to travel more. And I’m just going to keep it real y’all, we don’t just mean traveling with our kids. Our children are 9, 6, 4, and 2. Nobody wants an extended car trip with those ages. Plus, I can’t imagine paying for 6 tickets for the flights! Today, we talk travel tips and answer some questions you asked on social media. [Read more…]

For a long time, I told myself I didn’t need friends – I’m a loner. Women are just annoying and catty, and all they do is talk about each other behind their backs. Who needs or wants that?! But in the past few years, I have made some of the best friendships. And when I started sharing about my new friendships, it was amazing how many of y’all reached out to me asking how to find real, genuine relationships with women that won’t bring you down! So today, I’m sharing some of my thoughts and tips with y’all on how to make friends. [Read more…]

I know a lot of times I talk to you guys about how we try to live our lives free of harsh chemicals. And I also share all about how we try to use products that are safer on the toxicity scale. It’s been about a lengthy process, slowly ridding our home of things that were unsafe and replacing them with better – which is a  natural fit with our essential oil lifestyle. But it has taken so long because we did it slowly on purpose.

We used a method called transfer buying.

When I found out that most of the stuff we were using was NOT safe according to the EWG skin deep database, I was shocked! But I didn’t go out all at once and replace my entire medicine cabinet or all of my cleaning products in one giant shopping trip. No way – that’d be both expensive and also wasteful, because of all the products I already had on hand.  But the way that I could make this a lasting change that could stick long term was by replacing the products we use bit by bit. I would replace things whenever I ran out with a better, less toxic alternative. Slowly but surely, we have adapted to a house that is almost entirely lined up with our essential oil lifestyle. [Read more…]