Yesterday, Larry caught me watching Frozen by myself and shook his head at me. But I didn’t turn it on for entertainment. I use it as a dipstick to test my focus, if different combos of EOs are working for me.

I have never been able to watch a movie or listen to a speaker without missing half of what is said. In fact, if I catch half, that’s a good day. It is frustrating and honestly embarrassing to sit around and discuss a film with others and have literally no recollection of the details everyone else seemed to notice. I have shed tears over it, worried what others thought of me because of it, questioned my intelligence over it. It has been rough.

Once I learned attention and focus were the culprits and that I was not stupid (yay!) I have been on a perpetual journey to find coping skills, meds (hated them), and now oils that might make a difference for me.

YESTERDAY. I watched Frozen with the biggest, goofiest grin on my face. It was as if someone took off the blinders and the fog lifted. THIS MUST BE WHAT IT’S LIKE FOR EVERYONE ELSE! I never noticed the horse pushed Anna into the boat, or that Kristoff passes his knapsack to Anna before jumping off the cliff. I never realized that Anna gives Kristoff a ukelele to replace the one that got destroyed earlier in the movie. I noticed everything. Caught every word. Didn’t get distracted once. And I have seen this movie hundreds of times.

The only two differences I can attribute this to are my use of vetiver as part of my focus combo and Mindwise which I started taking as a preventative measure since my mom had Alzheimers and it’s a genetic disease. Needless to say I will stay the course and I am just so freaking excited!

I have never been so open about my personal faults and ailments as I have since starting this oily journey, but I also am excited to share the successes I’ve had and if they help others, then my vulnerability is worth that.

Melaleuca Alternifolia (also known as Mel-a or tea tree oil) is definitely the oil in the kit I was least knowledgable about. But it has been so much fun reading up on each of these, online, in my EOPR and in my Gentle Babies book to see exactly what they can do.

What I know Mel-a can do is keep my skin clear. It’s one of those “don’t want to live without it” oils because it’s a must-have in my face blend.

I have several “can’t wait to try” uses for Mel-a.

One I will be trying TOMORROW: put 10 drops in your shampoo to help prevent dandruff, dry scalp and lice? Why wouldn’t I do this?

I also am just waiting for the opportunity to try these uses for tea tree oil:

Cold sore
Mouth ulcer
Sunburn
Bug bite
Cut/scrape
Raised mole/wart
Yellowing nails
Diaper rash

I didn’t realize how handy Mel-a was until reading up on it! Glad I did and hope it helps you too.

Starting out, peppermint was overlooked by me in favor of more of the ones I knew to help with sleep and kids’ health.

Flash forward a few months later and I am loving peppermint!

I have used it to help with tummy issues for the whole family, for headaches and sinus pressure, and my absolute favorite use in the allergy trio.

I love it diffused for a mood lift and keep a roller of it in my desk drawer for a mid day energy boost and to help with concentration, in lieu of caffeine.

I’m turning to it more often for this use though: oils lay on the skin and you need an oil to drive it on in. This oil is peppermint! I don’t use it every time, but with precious oils like frankincense that I’m using medicinally? Like when treating baby Madeline for her croupy cough? I’m driving in that amazing stuff and want to be sure it gets to do its job.

Peppermint has gone from bottom to near top of the list for usefulness, in my book.

Frankincense. Where do I even begin? It has so many uses I have had to really prioritize my favorite ones and it is also the oil I’ve become most protective and conservative of.

My favorite use for frank is my most recent discovery. It’s got potential for replacing the antibiotic for me which is huge. I loathe relying on them and was excited to have had success using frank in combination with thieves to knock out a sinus infection.

My second favorite is just knowing that daily use could restore cellular health. For anyone with illnesses that could be impacted by cellular restoration, this is major. (Read between the lines.)

My third would be what frank can and has done for my skin. It dramatically minimizes fine lines and also some of my major frown lines, as well as completely annihilating acne which I have battled unsuccessfully since age 11. I am beyond impressed with frankincense!

Citrus fresh has one of the most pleasant fragrances of all of the oils that I have. It’s a blend of tangerine, grapefruit, lemon and spearmint.

Citrus fresh is a favorite of mine to diffuse, since the spearmint is good for immunity and for calming crazy kiddos. I also can be more liberal with diffusing it since it is not an ingredient of any of my rollers or creams, so I don’t worry about conserving it for other purposes.

I have high hopes for citrus fresh in months to come. Once I get a second diffuser, my plan is to take both the diffuser and citrus fresh to school to use in my classroom. It relaxes, calms, uplifts, and helps improve concentration. Yep, I think my students could certainly benefit from that.

I love lemon oil in my water, but at school I could see adding it to my water there through the day to switch things up. It is yummy!

Citrus fresh is a happy oil to have around.

So happy I waited to post on this one. I was tempted to choose it right out of the gate, but have discovered new uses just in the past few days that have me excited!

Originally I used it solely to manage my lower back pain, and let me tell you, that use alone is priceless. I had been taking a prescription pain reliever for my bulging disc, as well as a muscle relaxer which both came with terrible side effects. The panaway completely relaxes my back and relieves the pain and is allowing me to be off these other meds!

Recently, I read to use deep relief for sinus pain and pressure. I did not have deep relief, but read that two is its main ingredients were peppermint and wintergreen (main ingredient in panaway). I made a blend of peppermint and panaway and it knocked that sinus headache out really quickly! Also eliminated the sinus pain and pressure I was having.

I also very recently tried panaway for cramps and was very happy with the results.

Panaway is my go to oil for pain!

Stress Away quickly became my favorite oil, right out of the gate, for several reasons:

1. It’s my favorite fragrance. Lots of gals say Joy is their favorite and wear it as a perfume, but Stress Away has become my signature scent.

2. This is not easy for me to share with you, but I have been embarrassed of and struggled with sweaty palms my whole life. I was always mortified when anyone would try to shake or hold my hand. Since using Stress Away, I can’t say it’s completely eliminated, but I’ve seen a drastic improvement (like from sweating all the time to only in super stressful situations.) That is huge for me y’all!

2. It takes the stress away! It’s one of the key ingredients in my anxiety blend. I’ve forgotten it a couple of times and reverted back to my old sweaty palm self. I’m now so conservative with it because I need it for that blend.

3. I love having it with me with it’s handy roller fitment attachment so I can reapply during the day.

4. AC gets nervous in new situations and using either the Stress Away or Valor helps her to be brave!

I love Stress Away!

Sometimes you don’t realize how valuable something has become in your life until you’re forced to be without it.

A couple of days ago, I ran out of purification yesterday. It’s been ordered and it’s on the way, but I’m antsy and checking the front porch steps obsessively, ready for it to arrive.

What’s so great about it?

First and foremost, for me, it’s the number one acne fighter in my face roller. Since I started using coconut oil to wash my face in combination with the roller, my pores and fine lines are less visible, few if any breakouts, and my sun spots are fading!

Second, it’s part of the one-two punch that keeps the kiddos healthy. If you’ve been following my posts, you know I give a lot of credit to thieves for keeping viruses and sickness at bay, but I do diffuse and pair it with purification. Purification purifies and deodorizes the air, and paired with thieves we have an immunity powerhouse.

I also get relief for a sore or scratchy throat when I rub a drop of purification on my neck.

I have loved dropping a cottonball with a drop of purification in our diaper pail, cat box, or inside a pair of smelly shoes. It completely eliminates odor.

I’m sure there are other uses but these are my favorites. I’m ready to see that little brown box!

Joy is aptly named. It promotes what it’s name implies which is great for anyone who struggles with irritability, anxiety, mood swings, depression, cramps or PMS.

It’s a blend of 10 different oils, including bergamot, ylang ylang, rose, lemon and tangerine.

Many love it as a perfume or to wear in a diffuser necklace. I love the way it smells but I’m sensitive to fragrances so I wear it on my feet.

I don’t leave the house without it!

Lemon oil was the first oil I ran out of for a couple of reasons:

A) I use two drops in my drinking water each day, and it’s a delicious sweet lemon taste vs. sour lemon juice. Here’s why I make sure to drink lemon water each day, and you should too:

http://complete-health-and-happiness.com/happens-body-drink-warm-honey-lemon-water-morning/

Be sure to only use glass bottles or glasses when using lemon oil!

B) It’s a key component for my allergy trio. Must have this time of year!

Some of my other favorite uses for lemon include: fever reducer for kiddos and it’s a must for my sore throat/cough spoonful (thieves/lemon/honey).

Lemon oil is a staple around here!