Feel the burn...or not??

            I'm sure y'all can tell from the title of my blog that I live in Texas. I don't know how many of you reading this are living in or are from Texas......but Homecoming is a BIG DEAL here! I mean, huge! The Homecoming game is THE highlight of the football season. Well, unless you make it to State! Our local homecoming game was this past Friday. I was working, from what I understand the kids played hard, but couldn't bring home the win. There is always next year!

            So, with the annual Homecoming game comes......another Texas tradition.....drum roll please................. the Homecoming Mum! What? What is a homecoming mum you ask? A homecoming mum is a gigantic display of school spirit with a burst of individuality mixed in that is worn to school on the Friday of the homecoming football game. They say everything is bigger in Texas, and the mum pays serious homage to this slogan. The bigger, the better! They range in size from Mini Mums for the elementary and middle school kids all the way to triple (or larger) mums for the high school girls. Don't worry, the boys are not left out. There are garters for them to wear, mostly on their upper arms. These don't get nearly as large and showy as the mums the girls wear, but they are still a sight to behold.  See some examples below!  The large triple was worn around the neck, and the singles were pinned to the shirts of those wearing them.

Large Triple for a High School Sr.

Same mum as above, just shown with lights on. Yes, lights!

Regular single hippie themed mum

Large single in school colors with some turquoise thrown in

 

 

 



            So, the construction process for these babies includes a great deal of two things. Staples and hot glue. It is the hot glue that leads me to the topic of this post, feel the burn! I was working on a super mini garter for a 1 1/2 year old boy to wear in support of his favorite football player when the inevitable happened. Tiny craft object, my big fingers and hot glue do not make for a winning combination. I had placed some glue on the cardboard backer that holds the flower in place. There is a small hole in the middle that the stem of the flower sticks through before it is trimmed. Right through said hole into my fingers fell a huge, smoldering hot glob of glue. Said glue fell right above my wedding ring. Just as quickly as it fell I brushed it off with one of my other fingers because I didn't want it damaging my ring. Probably not my smartest move, because that poor, helpless finger became the casualty of the evening.  Even though I wiped the glue off on my pants as soon as I could, a good size bright white blister had already formed where the glue had landed.  Instant blister!

            Talk about burn! That stuff hurts!! If you've never had the 'pleasure' of being injured by a hot glue gun, I suggest you NEVER try the experience. It is not pleasant. Don't say I didn't warn you! Being fair skinned and red-headed I am no stranger to blisters. Every summer for longer than I can remember I would spend a few days nursing at least one major sunburn that blistered my shoulders and upper back. You do NOT put cold anything on blisters. It just makes them worse. No, I had something else in my arsenal that I was pretty sure would help in a big way. Turns out, I was right.

            Enter Lavender and Frankincense!  I raced to my Young Living Premium Starter Kit and grabbed the two bottles that would lead to relief from the horrible burning on my finger. I twisted the caps off and applied one drop of each. The relief, it was almost instant! It was amazing!!! I quickly finished up the mini garter I'd been working on and cleaned up. It was very late and I needed to hit the sack since I had to be up early the next morning for an appointment. Before bed I applied another drop of each essential oil to the blister, which kept the pain at bay long enough that I could fall asleep. I woke up in the morning to find the blister still there, but the pain was gone. A few days after that, the blister it self was gone.

            I have to say, I never ever thought that these oils would be so useful! It seems like every week I'm finding yet another use for them.  Want to find out what oils can do for you? Interested in a more natural, holistic approach to some of the curve balls life throws at you! Feel free to contact me, I'd love to talk you about what oils can do you and your family!