Monthly Archives: December 2015

Get Clued In’s Year in Review- 2015

blogging, life, year in review

Last year‘s review was a personal inventory into life, time management, and learning the technique of lowering stress.  2015 brought a lot of change in the fourth quarter, with health and wellness leading the way as we go into 2016.  We didn’t travel as much as past years, but we did a lot of fun family activities including our first family cruise on Disney Cruise Lines!  I would say the theme for 2015 for Get Clued In is continuing to balance family, work, and life.  I am also trying to introduce wellness and health with essential oils, and more natural eating towards the end of the year.  I am so grateful for all that we have and another year with you all!

Here are my top posts for 2015, not necessarily because of traffic to the site, but because I enjoyed writing them and sharing with you and some of them did receive more traffic and attention than others.

  1.  Milestones & Memories – Princess Party Fun! We hosted a big birthday at our home for our little princess who is not so little anymore.  She turned 6!  It was a cold, snowy February day and we were sure everyone would cancel, but no, alas, we live in Colorado where people run in 6 feet of snow!  More people showed up than RSVP’ed because let’s face it, what else can children do when they are trapped at home on cold, snowy days in Colorado?  It was crowded, it was insane, but it was fun, and hailed by our little princess as “the best party ever!”
  2. Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Dream- Top 20 Tips for First Timers- We loved our first cruise as a family, and sailing Disney is like none other.  It’s quite a treat to travel or do anything with Disney.  The pictures of this post say it all.  It was our parents’ 70th birthday, and we had our whole family together.  It was quite the treat.  We had a blast and cannot wait until our next sail date.  It was the only family trip we were able to squeeze in this year, with no phones, or emails, so I have to say it was quite special.
  3. Am I cheating?  This post was hilarious to write, fun and honestly, got a ton of traffic. All you people love reality TV and a good scandal even when there is none.  It explains why Trump is leading the GOP side of things too — we all love drama and can’t stop reading/watching/hearing it.  Anyway, politics aside, I am glad I got your attention.  This post is awesome!
  4. Sherlock Holmes in Denver– The Game is Afoot!  I got the privilege to blog for Mile High Mamas and go on a murder mystery through The Denver Museum of Nature and Science at the Sherlock exhibit.  We had a great time and enjoyed the evening of mystery and solving crimes.  I had a lot of fun writing this post too, so it made the Year in Review.
  5. My Top 10 Oils – There’s an oil for that!  Honestly, all my essential oils posts are in this Year in Review and you can read about them at my ESSENTIAL OILS tab from my home page but they have helped so much this year.  Last year, I was sick nearly every month with something new, something extreme.  While I say these do not substitute for medical treatment, I know they have helped me and my family this past year for wellness, symptom relief, and just over all feeling great!   Other top posts are my DIY Body Wash and DIY deodorant, naturally.

Happy New Year! Here’s to a great 2016!

Postscript:  As the clock hits midnite here in Florida, I raise my glass for one big toast to you, my neighbors and dear friends affectionately entitled, K***e Krazy.  This past year we were so thankful for you, and we look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.  Our hearts are full with how much love, care, and affection we all have for one another, and not just with words, but with actions. This Year in Review is dedicated to you, Krazy bunch 🙂  Happy New Year and so many more to come with you all.

 

 

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DIY Fragrance Stones for Essential Oils

consumer, essential oils, home, life, oil

I got this recipe from my friend Barb’s blog, Mom Off Track, and I have to give her and Sarah all the credit.  Sarah blogs at Moose and Tater and has some amazing posts and recipes for essentials too.  I got the idea and recipe from them and I use these stones for so many things.  Now that I use essential oils, I find them invaluable to have in the house and on all the trips I go on, so wanted to share here.

2015-12-24-21.46.27.jpg.jpegFragrance Stones are a must to have around any home along with essential oils, of course!  I use my stones in the garbage can, the washer, the garbage disposal, and for a bath when you are on the road and don’t have bath salts.  I love my fragrance stone when showering too — so great when you are feeling under the weather to put a drop of Eucalyptus and a drop of Peppermint and just breathe it all in!   I do this for the kids too when they are sniffling.  It works, and it’s so simple to make fragrance stones.  You can do this!  I promise.

  1.  Buy or get a silicone mold – it will not work with metal ones.  I got mine on amazon, but others have reported getting them at Michael’s or other craft stores.2015-12-24-21.42.46.jpg.jpeg
  2. Here is the recipe (makes about 25-30 small stones as seen in my picture) – double or triple it if you want more: 1/4 cup water to 1 cup of baking soda.  Mix it together by hand and make sure it is NOT runny or watery or they will break apart and crumble. You can even add water as you go so you do not add in too much. The drier the better.20151224_173058.jpg3. Place molds in a preheated oven (400 degrees) for about 25 minutes, and pull them out of the molds after cooled.  These make great gifts too with a bottle of essential oil.  I love, love my fragrance stones and give them out to my friends too!

2015-12-24-21.48.42.jpg.jpegUses for Fragrance Stones:  Put your favorite oils on these stones and use as you wish.  Here are some suggestions:

  1. Place one in your garbage can with purification essential oil and lemon (one drop each).
  2. Place one in your washer machine when it stinks to clean it- place 2 drops of purification on the stone,
  3. When I had a particularly difficult garbage disposal smell, I put lemon, peppermint and purification (1 drop each) and let it dissolve in there with hot water.
  4. You can put one stone in your car to get rid of a hard to find or get rid of an odor– use lavender and purification.
  5. You can put in stinky shoes and remove before wear, but my favorite uses are to bathe with them to get a good smell in the morning, or just wake up.  I used it in the kids’ steam shower when they were sniffling.  The best oils for colds are Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Wintergreen, and Lemon combo, but I think Eucalyptus can do the great job alone too.
  6. I like to take these on travel with me and put them in baths to relax or unwind. One drop of Lavender, and one of stress away and you are guaranteed a good night’s sleep in a loud hotel room.*

I am so glad Barb and Sarah introduced me to fragrance stones because they are wonderful and I love to have them on hand always.  I also give them away at craft events.  I hope you will find them useful too!

*Disclaimer:  These statements are not FDA approved.  The statements made here are my own and not attributed to young living.  The experiences are real, and my own.  I received no compensation for this or other posts on essential oils.  I am a distributor of these products because I believe in them.

**If you want pure essential oils for this and other great things, don’t forget to read all my posts on Essential Oils, and get started on the starter kit.  It is a life-changing journey.

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DIY Lice prevention spray & oil

consumer, essential oils, oil

ant-lice formula with essential oilsAs soon as school started, we got the notice- the creepy crawlies at school!  But thankfully, we had the tools to take preventive measures this time. Can I prove this stuff works?  No.  I can’t prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, but I just know we use it and we have managed to avoid lice this past school semester.  Here’s my theory on this.  Kids will be kids.  They will share brushes, they may lay down on the same mats, and rub heads together (ewww), so I do whatever it takes to make it harder on lice to hang out in my kids’ head and lay eggs.   I got this formulation from my friend, JoAnn and I modified it slightly and made an oil formulation to go with the spray to use on their clothes and belongings. I recommend both because a little extra protection never hurts and will save you from a lot of trouble later.

Regarding lice, they are not airborne, they do not jump from head to head, but can quickly move from one to another if kids rub heads or a strand of hair or wisp even touches the infected head.  Some use hair spray to keep whisps down and this is a good idea. Also, tying your kid’s hair up is a good idea and not letting them wear it long and down during these times.  It does not attach more to clean hair over dirty hair.  Lice is indiscriminate to how clean your child’s hair is or smooth.  There is no rhyme or reason. The less contact your kid’s head has with another is the best.  Tell them to not share helmets, hats, or combs.  It is hard to do in elementary kids but worth a nice talk and reminder so hey don’t forget and reminder to spray down these things with the spray below IF someone else has used their things, or sanitize them.  But prevention includes lack of the head rubbing, tie up the hair as much as possible and hairspray down stray hair, and … essential oils.

20151221_222559.jpgEssential oils are amazing and they also have preventive and healing properties.*   For lice prevention, the two most commonly used are TEA TREE and ROSEMARY, but others are helpful too: PEPPERMINT and LAVENDER are added for a nice fragrance, but optional.  Buy pure essential oils and you get that with Young Living’s seed to seal guarantee.

Add oils to their shampoo

I also added 1 drop of rosemary and 1 drop of tea tree oil to the girls’ shampoos.   The shampoo still retains the original smell.   I used a glass spray bottle I bought on amazon.com for the spray and a plastic bottle for the hair oil.

Hair Oil:

To make the hair oil, fill the bottle 2/3 full of sunflower or coconut oil – whatever is good for your kids’ hair.  I put three drops of tea tree in it – it dries out hair, so will balance with the oil okay, and one drop of spearmint or peppermint i20151221_222619.jpgn it (for smell), and 2 drops of rosemary.  I shook the bottle up and then massaged one or two drops in their hair. You can do this daily.  Honestly, the hair is smoother after shampooing too – oil does that!

I buy my bottles for all my spray potions at amazon (see affiliate link).
 
This is the same botthle I use for the DIY Hair Detangler.
 

Spray:

Fill the bottle with witch hazel (buy at your local store), then add in the same mixture as above – rosemary, tea tree, and lavender or any of the mint oils for a nice easy smell.  I like to use this spray for head-gear, hats/jackets, and sleeping bags, etc., especially if they are taking fuzzy things to a sleep-over or movie day at school.  Make sure to become a Young Living Preferred member and get 24% off all your oils. 

It never hurts to protect yourself, so feel free to spray down your stuff too especially if you hung out at the school for sometime and set your things down.  I am no fear mongering mom, but I am seriously mortified of lice entering my home.  I lost beautiful long hair (WAS down to my knees) to lice when I was a kid and it was traumatic.  I prefer not to have my kids and I go through that again.

*Disclaimer:  These statements are not FDA approved.  The statements made here are my own and not attributed to young living.  The experiences are real, and my own.  I received no compensation for this or other posts on essential oils.  I am a distributor of these products because I believe in them.

**If you want pure essential oils for this and other great things, don’t forget to read all my posts on Essential Oils, and get started on the starter kit.  It is a life-changing journey.

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