Which do you do?

Real or artificial? Which one do you do?  For years I refused to succumb to an artificial tree.  I loved the scent and feel of a real tree.  We love to go out and find that perfect (or usually the imperfect tree).  No matter how imperfect, once decorated, it looked beautiful even if you did have to wire in a branch or pull up a branch with wire to fill in a hole!  LOL.  

This year the price of a 12 ft noble was crazy.  Because of a shortage and several bad summers we knew that tree prices would continue to go up.  So.......we made the artificial jump with a 9' tree from Costco.  We weren't as happy because it just didn't have that wonderful smell and feel of a real tree.  After all the decorations were on, it looked more like OUR tree.  So what was really left was to give it a great smell like a real tree.  So here is a diffuser mix for that Christmas tree scent.  You can either put the mix into a passive diffuser ornament like the one pictured below or put it into your electric cool mix diffuser!  Enjoy!!

Christmas Tree Farm Diffuser Mix

5 drops Young Living Pine essential oil

2 drops Young Living Cedarwood 

2 drops Young Living Idaho Blue Spruce

Ticks!

Spring is here in the Pacific Northwest and the lovely spring flowers are blooming all around us. Here is one of my favorite species plants in our garden called R. ririei.

With Spring here, there are more things coming your way.

Fleas and ticks!  Along with ticks there may be Lyme disease.

In the Pacific Northwest, our winter was so mild that the fleas and ticks are going to be abundant.  Protecting yourself and your pets will be important as you ward off these little buggers.

Did you know that you can use Essential Oils on your pets*?  Here are two interesting websites that talk about what you can do for your pets!!  The first is the Young Living's Blog that talk about essential oils and animals in general. Click Here to read that article.   The second article talks a little more about ticks and the essential oils that you can use to repel them as well as essential oils that you can use to help with the symptom of Lyme disease.   Click Here to read that article.  

My Sweet Standard, Gabby

Here is a list of essential oils that you can use for your dog to repel fleas.  You can put them directly on your dog's collar or even on a shoelace if you don't want to put it on the collar.  Some people even drop the oil on their hands, rub their hands together and then rub the dog's body and legs with their hands.

• Eucalyptus
• Peppermint
• Cedarwood
• Citronella
• Lavender
• Basil
• Tea Tree
• Clove
• Lemon

Whenever you are ready to get essential oils, remember that Young Living Essential Oils are very pure which will make them very effective!!

* Cats process things differently than dogs.  Do not use Citrus oils on cats.  Avoid Oregano and Thyme oils on any animals.

Yup, they work

This morning I got in the shower and did my normal regimen for my No-Poo Shampoo method.  I've done this for almost two years and just love it.  Instead of shampoo I now use a couple tablespoons of baking soda with Lavender, Cedarwood & Rosemary essential oils in it.  Add about a cup of water, swirl to dissolve and apply to hair.  I add hot water which puts some of the oils aromatically into the air.  I love smelling it, especially the Rosemary.  Then I follow up with a couple tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar in a cup of water for my 'rinse'.

This morning after smelling the lovely aroma and treating my hair I was so tired.  All I wanted to do is take a soaking bath and go back to bed.  Hmmmmm.....look at those oils I used.  Lavender and Cedarwood both said to help with sleep.  Yup.....I believe that is the truth!  Have you ever tried them?  Want a sample?  Let me know and I'll give you some to try.  Just leave a comment with contact info in the comment area.

Cedarwood

Since Ann's No Poo recipe used Young Living Cedarwood Essential Oil, we thought that you would like to see more about the oil!

Is No Poo for you?

Last May, Ann was taking her shower.........  we know...TMI.....but hang with us and you'll see why we are starting there.

While waiting for the conditioner to sit and do it's thing, she was reading the labels of her shampoo and conditioner because she had just learned about an ingredient that wasn't so hot. OH MY! There it was......both products had that ingredient and it got her to thinking about what she could use to shampoo her hair without that particular chemical. She was slowly trying to eliminate as many chemicals from her morning routine as possible. What would she try? Then she remembered one of her rubber stamping friends who had tried a No Poo way to keep her hair clean.  Sounds icky but it isn't.....really!!

With a little bit of trepidation she decided to give it a go. After all, if it didn't work, it wasn't the end of the world.

The No Poo way was a follows:

• Two tablespoons of Baking soda in a plastic container large enough to hold about 2 cups of water. (Ann adds 2 drops of Young Living Cedarwood Essential Oil , 2 drops of Rosemary and 2 drops of Lavender)
• One tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar in a small plastic container. She used Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar.
• Take shower like normal. When you are ready to shampoo, add about 1 cup of water to the container with the baking soda mix and swirl around to dissolve the soda.   
• Pour over your hair concentrating on the roots. Rub into the scalp and pull out to end of the hair. There won't be any suds but it will feel soft in your hands. Leaving it in for about a minute is good.  Rinse out.
• Rinse your plastic container out and pour in the vinegar.  Add about a cup of water.  Pour over your hair and let sit a little before rinsing.

You may go through a period of oiliness as the scalp re-calibrates its oil production.  You see ......shampoos strip the scalp of natural oil making it produce WAY more than is necessary.  BUT, don't despair. This doesn't take too long. You'll find that you can go about a week before needing to 'shampoo' and between 'treatments' Ann just wets her hair down massaging the scale without any soda/vinegar just so she can style. Those of you who use hair product would want to rinse out all the product frequently.

Some say that this makes their hair too dry but Ann hasn't found that to be the case for her!  If you do, adjust the amount of soda so you are using less or treat your hair less often.  

Leah said that she was going to be giving this a try. So......one post in the future will give you her feedback.

If you decide to try No Poo, let us know how it went.