DIY Essential Oil Shaving Cream

So, I decided that shaving cream was expensive and full of chemicals that I didn't want to slather on my legs.  I found a recipe online that would use coconut oil, aloe vera, vitamin E, and doTERRA essential oils.  I thought it sounded easy enough to try.

All you need is:

1/4 of coconut oil

3/4 of aloe vera

a couple vitamin E capsules

10-15 drops of your favorite oil

Heat the coconut oil up if it isn't already in liquid form.  Then add the aloe vera.  Mix well.  Take the vitamin E capsules and poke a hole in it and squeeze.  I used a tooth pick and it worked well.  Then put drops of your favorite oil in and mix well.  I found that shaking everything seemed to mix it up better than stirring.

Once you have everything stirred up, pour it into a pretty pump bottle and stick in your shower!  Let me know how you like it!

PS:  I love doTERRA's shampoo and conditioner too.

**Disclosure: I am a doTERRA Wellness Advocate and receive commissions and/or bonuses from doTERRA.  Also, I am not a medical professional. The statements and suggestions given here have not been evaluated by the FDA. I am simply sharing ideas and suggestions on how to use essential oils in everyday life. I assume no liability for the way you choose to use essential oils. Use your good judgment and act responsibly.

Drinking Oils!

If you are thinking about using oils in your water, you need to invest in a glass water bottle.  Essential oils can break down plastics making it possible to ingest them.  EWW! This is a new bottle that I have on my wish list!  There are lots of oils that you can use in your water and they all do different things for your body.  Check out the ones on the following picture.  I love wild orange and lemon both in my water.

 I have seen where people use a rubber band to keep track of the number of bottles they drink.   Do you know how much water you should drink?  Take your body weight and divide it in half.  That is the amount of water you should be drinking every day. Don't let it overwhelm you!  Just do the best you can!

You might have seen many posts on facebook or other sites about the importance of drinking lemon.  I have a friend that drinks a cup of warm water with lemon every day.  She says that she can not start her day with out it.  There are so many benefits to do it, I can understand why she does.  Think about adding lemon to your water in the morning.  There are so many benefits!

Do your body a favor.  Keep hydrated!

Hunting

Hunting is something that has been a part of my life since I was old enough to see over the cut milo stalks in the field and walk several miles at a time.  My dad took me hunting every pheasant season and I was on a boat in the summer at numerous lakes fishing.  Just recently I have become obsessed with deer hunting since my husband has introduced me to it.  He has patiently taught me how to shoot a bow and now we are teaching our children the same.

I understand that there are mixed feelings on hunting.  I feel though that God has provided us with animals on earth to not only care for, but also so that they can care for and nourish our bodies.

Genesis 9:3 - Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.  And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

I completely understand that taking the life of an animal can seem barbaric.  Every animal that makes a sacrifice for my family is not taken lightly.  The first deer I shot I shed many tears.  Tears for the loss of life, tears of thankfulness, and tears of joy for actually being successful.

Hunting is not for everyone.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion of it.  But, in a world so full of hate, don't waste breath on insulting a hunter for what they choose to do.  If they are like us, we are only trying to feed our family the way God intended.  We want to feed our family off the land, with what God provides, and to be ensured that what we are putting in our bodies is healthy.

Truth is, I'm always saddened when I kill an animal, It's not remorse I feel.  I know why I'm a hunter.  It's out of respect. -Donnie Vincent

Essential Oil Necklace

I am really loving essential oils.  They are becoming an addiction almost.  I am trying to learn all I can about natural things I can do to help my family with ailments they have from day to day.  I hate running to the medicine cabinet and pulling out something that was made in a laboratory and promised safe. Now when we have headaches, I have oil.  Stomach ache?  Oil!  Cold?  OIL!  Oils are something that God created for us.  We have been ignoring things that the Bible has been telling us for years.  Why do you think the Wise Men brought such precious oils to baby Jesus?  Wasn't because they were looking for the perfect White Elephant gift for the party.  It was because it was They were gifts fit for a KING.

Matthew 2:11 -  They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother.  Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him.  They opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.

So, while searching the internet (aka Pinterest...lol) I found a way to take Essential Oils with me everywhere I go.  I could make a necklace!  Not only does it look way cooler than the ones you can buy online, you can make it match your personality.  Below is a picture of the necklace I made today.  Looks like a normal necklace but...

 

Inside the locket I have placed a piece of felt.  You can soak the felt with any essential oil you want.  I have chosen Balance.  It is a grounding blend and we all know I need that!  I have ordered some grapefruit and some other uplifting oils to use in it.  Just trade out the felt depending on the oil you want for the day.

Visit the original post to get more ideas about how to make necklaces at the original post I found here!  The options are endless!  Be creative!  Post pictures of necklaces you have found or made!  I would love to see them!

If you are interested in Essential Oils and their benefits I would love to talk to you about it.  If you are ready to sign up and start helping your family make healthier decisions, go here.

**Disclosure: I am a doTERRA Wellness Advocate and receive commissions and/or bonuses from doTERRA.  Also, I am not a medical professional. The statements and suggestions given here have not been evaluated by the FDA. I am simply sharing ideas and suggestions on how to use essential oils in everyday life. I assume no liability for the way you choose to use essential oils. Use your good judgment and act responsibly.

Halloween is Upon Us...

I am sure that everyone has their costume picked out, their house decorated in scary things, and their bowls full of lots of sugary treats to hand out to kids that knock on their door all night long.  I love Halloween.  It is one of my favorite holidays (If you want to call it that!).  I love all the kids in their costumes.  I love dressing my kids up and the excitement from the candy falling into their bags.

With all the excitement, do not forget to be safe!  I found the following safety tips from the Girl Scout page.  Most of them are no brainers.  Just think of it as my PSA for the Trick or Treat season.  :)

Hope everyone has a FUN and SAFE Halloween!!  Post comments of your kiddos in their costumes!

RD in his Ninja Turtle costume at the church's annual Trunk or Treat.

Pear Butter...LOVE Fall.

We made pear butter yesterday.  I searched high and low for a good pear recipe that would work for us and really didn't find anything that fit the bill.  I just did it my own way.  I took several recipes and mixed them together to create two.  The result?  DELICIOUS.  All it took was a Victorio Strainer, a couple pots of boiling water, some sugar and spices, a couple crock pots, and a lots of arm muscle.  I think I ran the strainer for several hours between all the pears for butter and the apples for applesauce.

A friend stopped by the other day to let me know that the pear tree at their parents was full (along with the apple) and that if I wanted to go pick, I could.  After talking with Josh, we decided that we would go Sunday after church.  After the kid and hubby picked several buckets (josh was making a bucket to feed the deer where we hunt), we sent home.  We couldn't do anything with the pears or apples that day because we had to head out to the field to hunt.  It is bow season and we take every opportunity that we can to get out and reconnect with nature.  Oh, and fill our freezer of course if the good Lord lets us.

I invited my wonderful mom over to help me with both the apple sauce and the pear butter.  It is much easier with several people.  Josh works odd shifts and would not be on a shift to where he could help me until next week.  So, not to risk the fruit getting too ripe, mom and I got to work.  First we cut up the fruit.  Apples you can half or quarter depending on their size.  The pears we cutt he ends off and quartered.  Then you throw them in a pot of boiling water for about 15 to 20 minutes until they are soft.  Make sure that you wash the fruit before hand and cut out any bad parts.  The strainer does an awesome job of keeping seeds, skin, etc out of the pulp, but it of course can not tell the difference in good or bad flesh.

You can see how messy my kitchen was.  We had stuff strung everywhere!  Mom would boil the fruit and then I would strain it.  We did this for about an hour on each fruit.  Which is not bad at all when you consider how much work it would be if you had to peal, core, and cut all of the fruit.  The Victorio is my HERO.  Not sure I would be able to can as much as I do without it.

This is what the strainer looks like from the top.  Fruit (or whatever) goes in the white funnel.  You push it down with the red "plunger" as you turn the crank.  It then runs it through a screen.  Out one side (you can see in the bowl) is the pulp and juice.  Out the other (you can see at the top of the picture) is the skins, seeds, etc.  By the way, my chickens LOVED the skins.

Once we got all of the fruit done it was time to transfer it to the crock pot.  There are lots of pear butter recipes out there on the internet.  If you want to check out my canning Pinterest board you can find quite a few.  The two that I used to create my own were the slow cooker vanilla caramel one and just a regular old pear butter recipe.  It turned out vary tasty so I am sure that you can not really screw it up.  Well, unless you dump a whole bottle of cloves in it or something...lol

Can you tell I was cleaning my cabinet while cooking?  I got the Norwex Cleaning Paste in the picture along with my Enviro Cloth.  I love my Norwex cleaning supplies (Shameless plug).  I think everyone should try them!

After I let the pear butter cook on low in the crockpot over night, I added the rest of the ingredients, like the recipe called for (mainly because I had so much anyway, it wouldn't all fit without cooking down some!).  I also noticed it wasn't as creamy as I like it so I took a hand blender and blended everything until it was a smooth creamy consistency.  After all the flavors meshed and it became the right consistency, I started filling jars.  One all twenty jars were filled I put them in the water bath for 11 minutes (adjusted for elevation).

They all sealed and were ready for me to take to the basement the next morning.  BEAUTIFUL creamy color.  Wonderful smell.  LOVELY FALL!  Of course I had to try some too.  The kids and the husband all gave their seal of approval.

Go out and enjoy the smells, sounds, and crispness of Fall.  It never sticks around long enough.

FabFitFun...

I love getting boxes in the mail.  It is an addiction I think.  Getting things mailed to me has always been fun and something that I looked forward to.  Now that I am an adult, with a checking account, I don't have to wait for people to think of me and send things.  I can send them to myself!  And BOY do I!  So much, that I am thinking my husband wished that Amazon Prime was NEVER created!  :)

One thing that you can find on the internet are these subscriptions to "boxes".  It started with a Fit box.  When that was canceled I moved on to a snack box through NatureBox.  These are great, healthy, natural snacks for the family.  We LOVE them.  (If you are interested, comment your email and I will send you link for $10 off!)  I wanted more though.  I started running.  Funny right?  If you personally know me, you know that God built me to "walk slowly and carry heavy things".  I do not have the body to run, nor will I ever.  But I "enjoy" it.  I signed up for a half marathon Jan 1st.  Serious stuff right!?

So anyway, when searching for more boxes that I could have surprise me at my door step I came across the company FabFitFun.  I was thinking to myself....Am I fabulous?  Of Course.  Do I stay fit?  Try to!  Do I like to have fun?  Heck yes!  So instantly I was searching for the sign up button.  I wanted this way cool box!  I patiently waited for the Summer box to come.  And FINALLY it did!!

Once I got the box out of the mailbox I ran inside to see what kind of goodies I was blessed with.  (Even though I had to pay, it still felt like Christmas Day!  :)  It was so pretty when I opened it.  They had tissue paper and a cool VIP sticker.  I felt like a star getting this kind of treatment.

The Big Rev

List of everything in the box and the retail value of goodies.

SO COOL RIGHT?

Inside they has a list that explained what everything was and how much the retail cost was.  I spent a little over $30 and got over $200 in products.  Yes there are always going to be products you might not try, or things that you might not use...but overall I think it is a fun, awesome box full of neat things you wouldn't normally pamper yourself with.  PLUS its like Christmas every 3 months!  Who doesn't like Christmas!?

Some of the things that came in the summer box, also listed beside here, were a FabFitFun infuser bottle (BPA free) and a Thursday Friday Away Mini Clutch/Makeup Bag.  Now, the bottle I will use alot.  It has a pretty funny saying on the bottom, "Grab life by the exercise balls".  Makes me chuckle.  The bag, not so much.  It is cute, but I don't do makeup.  I am sure I can gift it, or put it to use some how.  There is also a facial that retails for $95.  HOLY COW, I would never spend that much money on my face!  There was some SPF.  Everyone can always use that.  No Fizz Oil...Sweet!  Nail polish in a great color, ORANGE.  Lip balm is always great because if you are like me, you have 50 sticks of it and can't find one.  Plus this kind is to makeover your make out.  I am sure that will be interesting...  HA!  PopChips were eaten when I first opened the box, before I took the picture...OOPS!  Shave gel and girly products, two things most women can't go with out.  Last but not least, they included a Slimfast Have your cake... Meal bar.  Sounds like a protein bar I could eat!

A look inside the box.  Don't wait, order yours!

Now, that I have you interested in getting a box of your own, please feel free to use the following code to get $15 off your box!  Only three of you can use it so hurry!  Fall boxes are going to ship out first.  Go to vip.fabfitfun.com and redeem the following code for your discount.  1939452

You will not be sorry that you did.

Ciao!