Limes and Turtles......

I don't know about you, but life has been a little "over the top" here lately.  During the last few weeks my emotions have been comparable to a roller coaster ride at Six Flags!! Up, down, around, turn, repeat!  I thought I'd been handling it pretty well, until yesterday. Everything hit me like a boxer throwing his knockout punch. No one likes feeling down and out. I am not an exception to this. In the (recent) past, I would have eaten an entire chocolate cake and a half gallon of equally chocolaty ice cream. Instead (trying to break the emotional eating habit)  I reached for my Young Living Essential Oils. I didn't have my entire collection at my disposal, but fortunately I'd packed  few good ones. What am I saying, they are ALL good! 

The first oil I grabbed out of my "magic bag" was Stress Away. 

Stress Away is an Essential Oil Blend (made up of multiple single oils) that, well, helps with stress. 
This blend is made up of Lavender, Cedarwood, Lime, Vanilla, Copaiba and Ocotea.
Lavender is, as most people know, a very calming and soothing oil. It is often used when someone is looking for some help at bedtime.
Cedarwood is high in sesquiterpenes, which are calming and soothing to the nervous system.
Lime is an inspiring and uplifting essential oil.
Vanilla is another soothing and calming scent.
With it's warm, sweet aroma, Copaiba adds something special to this blend.
Ocotea is high in levels of alpha humulene, a compound that helps aid the body’s natural response to irritation and discomfort

Add all those essential oils powerhouses together and you have a warm, sweet, tropical aroma that will have your negative emotions and thoughts simply melting away.

The next oil I applied was Valor II



Valor II is also a  blend of many essential oils, including;  Northern Lights Black Spruce and Idaho Blue Spruce essential oils, along with Ylang Ylang, Frankincense, Vetiver, Cistus, Bergamot, Cassia,  and German Chamomile, among a few others.
This is a very uplifting, inspiring and empowering blend. It is difficult to explain how essential oils can have such a positive affect on your emotions. It truly is something you need to experience for yourself!

While these oils did not magically "make all my cares go away" they did make this emotional roller coaster I was on go from what felt like a runaway train to that of a slowly meandering turtle. Oils are a tool to help you support your body's natural healing process.
I'm simply here to share my essential oil journey with you.

*disclaimer - I am not a doctor. The information found here is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.

Have oils, will travel!!

          So recently (like this past weekend) I got to go on a weekend away with a super cool friend. We went to Austin for the weekend and kept it really weird! :) Austin, sweet Austin. How I love your cooler weather, decreased humidity, strange folk and mellow vibe! We get along well, Austin and I, and I wish I could go more often!

            This trip was my FIRST trip since I became an oil junkie! (see oil junkie; noun; person who can not go an extended length of time without the use of oils in some way, shape or form. Also see addict)  So, as you can imagine I was a bit worried about how to travel with my oils. Which oils to take? How to transport them? To leave them in the room or take with me all the time? So many questions!!! Hopefully, by sharing what worked for me you may find some tips and tricks that will work for you too!

My Travel Oils

          1 - What to take?
                       This was tough! I have probably close to 30 different oils at the house right now. I don't use them all on a regular basis, but I wanted to take enough that I could deal with things that I thought may come up on my weekend adventure. So, what did I take??

Stress away, Joy, Cedarwood, Lemon, Peppermint, Lavender and Tea Tree.

Stress Away and Joy because my trip was supposed to be fun and relaxing. I wasn't going to let anything stop that from happening.

Cedarwood and Lavender to support all of  the systems the help run my body because I wasn't sure if I would have trouble sleeping. With my crazy work schedule and sleeping in a new, strange place I wanted to be prepared.

Lavender, Lemon and Peppermint to support my respiratory system! Being in Austin, I wasn't sure what funky things wold be in the air and I wasn't taking any chances of those funky things ruining my weekend!

Tea Tree because, well, I love the smell and I'm using it for skin care support right now!

Pencil Bag turned Oil Carrier!

         2 - What to take it in?
                      I don't have any of the fancy cases (yet) that are offered by a variety of companies. While I thought about buying one, it was too late to get it in time for my trip. I looked around my house to see what I could possibly turn into an oil carrier. It had to be on the smallish side, I wasn't taking all my oils! It had to be about the height of the 15mL bottle. Much bigger than that and it would allow the bottles to topple over. Viola! I found this! A cheap pencil bag I bought a few years back at the dollar store! It was perfect! My 5 big and 2 little bottles fit perfectly!! I was set! Yes!  I stowed this handy dandy little bag inside my big bag that served as my suitcase. Making sure to keep it rigth side up, and between things so it wouldn't fall over and my prescious oils wouldn't leak all over!

         3 - Leave them in the room or take them with me?
                       I have a 31 bag that I carry around with me in my vehicle. It is my purse substitute. I keep the things I need in it, and take them out and with me as needed. I try not to carry around a purse. I've just never been a purse girl. I'll take my wallet into stores and such as needed, and then chunk it back in my bag. Most of the time, I applied my oils in the morning and let them safe in my room. One day I did take them with me, when it was cool out, and left them shaded in the bag in my truck. Worked out well.

          Traveling with my oils was easier than I thought!  I didn't need an expensive oil carrier to accomplish my goal of traveling with some of my oils. I think it helped that I only brought that ones I thought I'd need. I do wish that I'd traveled with a small diffuser, to use in my room at night. With the weather being so nice last weekend in Austin, we didn't run the AC! We slept with the windows open! I tried putting a few drops of Stress Away on a cottonball and setting next to the bedside table. That didn't seem to work too well. But other than that, I wouldn't change a thing!


          Want to learn more about oils? Have questions you'd like to ask me, or topics you'd like me to blog about? Click the oily tab at the top of this page, or email me at yankecwgrl@hotmail.com