essential oils

Gardening season has arrived!

Gardening season has arrived!
It feels like we’ve been waiting for this warmer season for months.
Finally, garden centers are bursting at the seams with all kinds of plants, the yard is a beautiful shade of green, we still have lilacs to sniff and enjoy, and our garden is tilled, planted and tiny plants are starting to pop out of the ground. It’s a beautiful thing. Life is good!
This spring I decided to try something different in the garden. I use essential oils in our home, camper, on my animals…. This year I’m expanding essential oil use to the garden. Oils on the plants, the ground around the plants, and the perimeter of the garden.
My first oil I’m using, is peppermint. Certain critters do not like peppermint. Spiders, mice, ants and aphids aren’t fond of it.  I’m sure there’s more. In fact, usually by now the little ground squirrels have helped themselves to our sweet corn.  Currently, they have not feasted in our garden. I’ve sprayed around the garden twice and it’s been planted for about two weeks. I will continue to spray a couple times a week. I'm counting this a win with peppermint. What do you think? Will this be enough to keep the little buggers away? Our cats have thinned them out, but in the past, they still found a way to eat up our planted seeds. 
How do you protect your garden from unwelcomed visitors?

Spring Survival!

Spring Survival!
It’s our first week of Spring!  
We’re gaining daylight, my horses are starting to shed their winter coats and so are the dogs.  Some days are warm, others, not so much.  Here in South Dakota, morning can feel like a beautiful Spring day and we can get a full blizzard by 4pm. But still, birds are chirping and on some days it does mostly feel like Spring! 
I have a few tips for you for thriving through pollen season….if it isn’t 100% here yet, it will be soon! One of my favorite parts of Spring is when the Lilacs bloom, how about you?
Spring Pollen Roller for adults
10 drops each of Lemon, Lavender & Peppermint
 
Spring Pollen Roller for kids
7 drops each of Lemon & Lavender, 3 drops Peppermint
                                        
You can also add Copaiba to these rollers to make them even better!
Add these oils to a 10ml roller bottle and top with your favorite carrier oil. I love Young Living’s V-6 oil.  Roll behind ears and down the side of your neck or on the spine and also on your feet.  If you are going to be in the sun, be sure to roll these oils out of sight of the sun as Lemon can cause skin sensitivity in the sun.
 
Spring Diffuser Blends!
Add any combination of Lemon, Lavender, Peppermint & R.C., Eucalyptus and Thieves
Do you need a new super cute diffuser?  Try this one!   I've included the shopping link and BONUS, it’s on sale with the oils of Lime, Peace & Calming, Peppermint, Stress Away and Lemon Myrtle until March 23 at 11:59pm MT.
 
Spring Capsules
3 drops each of Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint and Copaiba vitality oils in an empty veggie capsules and top it with olive oil.
 
If you don’t have the empty veggie capsules, grab some local honey (super important that it is local) and add a drop of Lemon, Lavender & Peppermint Vitality in a spoonful of honey.
 
Other tips...
Support your digestive system with Life 9 probiotics or MightyPro for kids.  
You can also use digestive enzymes as well, try Allerzyme! Supporting your digestive system is super important!

Quick note... not all essential oils are created equal.  We only use the best and most pure. Not sure where to start?  I would love for you to join my AWAKEN'd tribe and when you do I will send you a gift, plus guide you along the way. 
Thank you for checking in today!  I appreciate you. 
Traci

Spring Fever

Spring Fever

It’s that time of year!

One day we hit 50 degrees here in South Dakota, two days later we’re at zero.  On Saturday we’ll be back into the 40’s.  All of these temperature swings can wreak havoc on our emotions AND our bodies.

It can zap our energy.

It can cause moodiness.

 

Good News!

We are gaining daylight!   Have you noticed? I certainly have. When my two Golden Retrievers start getting impatient to go outside at 6:30am, I see some daylight already.

Warmer days will be here before we know it. I’m ready for them.  We can probably assume, though, that we’ll continue to ride the weather roller coaster along the way.

There are steps we can take to help regulate ourselves and stay on a more even track.

Exercise produces endorphins which are the “feel good” hormones.  Plus, getting enough exercise tires you out and will help you sleep better at night. Go for a walk if outside conditions allow, or get up and walk around the house, do some stretching, find a yoga video on the internet that suits you, or simply run- in place, do some pushups, jumping jacks, go up and down stairs if you can or do some lunges or squats. Get out to a mall that allows walkers. Find a walking buddy and get out and move. Do you have a dog? They would love to accompany you on a walk!

Get outside! Taking a break from screens and getting outside for movement, sun exposure and fresh air also helps us sleep better and can boost our mood.

Take Vitamin D. Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin. It’s always good to have your doctor check your vitamin D levels. Quite often we are deficient, especially this time of the year.

Eat a healthy diet. Let’s face it.  Our food is our medicine or our poison. It’s really that simple. Sweet treats, carbs, comfort foods….they may provide immediate gratification, but eating these actually make you feel worse.  Instead, focus on a healing diet.  Lean protein, leafy greens, and vegetable can help keep hormones in check and boost serotonin levels.  Also make sure you are getting Omega 3 fats.  Omega-3 fats can improve mood and memory. They also help you stay physically healthy.

In addition to these steps, I love to use my essential oils. These little bottles of pure power are like messengers to your whole body. Essential oils have a unique ability to penetrate cell membranes and travel throughout the blood and tissues.  Some of my favorite oils are citrus oils because they are so uplifting. To wrap this up, I’m sharing one of my favorite oil rollerball blends that I carry with me.

I like to call this my Happy Camper blend…

In a 10 ml rollerball bottle mix:

10 drops Joy (a Young Living blend)

6 drops Ylang Ylang

4 drops Orange

4 drops Lemon

Top these oils off with a carrier oil such as Young Living’s V-6 carrier oil, almond oil, or fractionated coconut oil. Roll this blend over your heart, across your chest and on pulse points for an uplift in mood!

I really love using essential oils around our home. We’ve ditched scented wax warmers, candles and air fresheners and our health is so much better since we did!  If you’d like to learn more, please reach out to me.  I’d love to connect with you.

 

 

Roll On!

Roll On!
It's everywhere!  I see people sharing on social media that they caught a "bug" and they just don't feel good.  If this is you, I pray you feel better soon! If you are feeling under the weather, here are some steps you can take to ease the discomfort.
1.  Take a bath. Add a cup of epsom salts or dead sea salts (or both, that's what we do) and soak for at least 20-30 minutes.  This can help pull out the toxins and ease some aches.  You can also add some essential oils to your bath such as the Young Living blend, Pan Away, but also peppermint, lavender, Stress Away, Peace & Calming, Copaiba, and Eucalyptus Radiata.  How much depends on you and what you're used to.  Start low and go slow if you haven't used them before.
2. Stay hydrated.  Drink at least half of your weight in ounces of water.  I like to add electrolytes on occasion to help keep my body balanced.  The YL Vitality Drops taste so good!  It makes drinking plenty of water so easy.
3.  Get plenty of rest! It's a must to help your body recover. 
4.  Stay away from sugary foods and drinks.  Viruses love a good sugar party.  

Scratchy throats seem to go along with what is going around.  
I love this throat spray: 
In a 1 oz bottle I mix 1/2 oz vodka, 1/2 oz distilled water, and the following Young Living oils:10 drops Thieves essential oil blend, 5 drops Lemon, 3 drops Peppermint.  Once mixed, shake it up and spray in your mouth, aiming at the back of your throat. I kid you not, it works!  I've also used it before dental visits to ease my mouth before they go poking around. I keep this spray in our fridge and it's lasted us over year. Just a squirt or 2 does wonders! Gargling the Young Living Thieves mouth wash can also help. 

I have one more recipe to share with you.  To help keep us above the wellness line, we use a roller blend that is easy to mix up at home.  It's called a wellness bomb!  In a 10 ml roller bottle add the following oils:
  • 8 drops Thieves essential oil
  • 8 drops Lemon essential oil
  • 6 drops Oregano essential oil
  • 4 drops Frankincense essential oil
  • 4 drops Melaleuca Alternifolia (tea tree) essential oil
  • Top it off with Young Living's V-6 oil and place the roller on the bottle. 
We apply this roller blend to our feet. We have nerve endings in our feet (vitaflex points) that lead to the rest of our body, plus the skin on our feet is tougher and a great place to apply oils.  For littles, if they aren't used to oils, you can apply more V-6 to the application site to slow absorption.  Apply as needed.

Do you need to order some product?  Here is my link: https://www.youngliving.com/us/en/referral/1350763 I am here and ready to help you on your wellness journey. I share Young Living because I trust this company.  They are the only essential oil company with the Seed to Seal promise.  I love the heart of this company and what they stand for.  
Their purpose is:
A healthy home for each of us, a healthy world for all of us. 
I love that! 
 
With love,
Traci

Natural Boy Mom: Focus!

Natural Boy Mom: Focus!
Focus!
Last week I mentioned that our Golden Retriever, Murphy, was a little stinky.  He definitely still needs a bath, but he does smell much better this week.  We can hug him again without having to hold our breath!   He does love his hugs!  He’s like a big yellow puppy bear.  (Teddy bear, yet a puppy at heart = puppy bear!).  It is time to call the groomer and set up his trim and bath.  
 
This week we are nearing the end of the school year and the boys are getting more and more excited to be done with it all!  So am I for that matter.  We’re in week 35 of 36!  It is so tempting to just toss it all aside and call it good.  However, since the weather isn’t great for being outside today (51 and soggy), we could just as well press on and get some school done.
 
Here are a few things we do to keep school rolling forward with focus:
 
Take breaks:  Boys like to move.  If I fight them on that, it becomes punishment for all of us.  So we find a happy medium and get some work done, then move a little.  Then we focus on school again.
 
Breakfast:  It helps to include some protein and limit sugary foods.  It’s tougher for all of us if sugar is included in breakfast.  My husband and I like eggs.  The boys, not so much.  When I am intentional on getting them a small protein shake or something with protein in it for breakfast, it's easier for them to focus.
 
Grace:  We all have our good days and not so good days.  It is what it is.  Talk it through it.  Let it go and move on. No one is perfect.  How many times has God forgiven us?  A LOT!  
 
Be Flexible:  Life happens.  Just a few weeks ago, one of my horses had a severe colic episode so I spent the day with her while my husband took over school with the boys.   They did what they could for school even though their minds were on me and my horse, Dakota.  I did end up having to put Dakota down and send her, with love, across the rainbow bridge; but was greeted with a lot of hugs when I finally came in.  The next day we picked up what didn’t get done the day before, which was minimal.  They do very well with their dad as teacher.  I am so grateful that my husband was here and he jumped right in.  He's a great substitute teacher!
 
Avoid Distractions:  Turn off the television, set the phones or any electronics aside and focus.  It also helps the two older boys if I keep "T" busy.  
 
I also keep diffusers going both upstairs and downstairs.  One of their favorite diffuser recipes is:
Orange Dreamsicle
  • 4 drops Orange
  • 4 drops Stress Away (TM)
  • 3 Drops Bergamot
 
Other essential oils that have helped us focus or calm down include:
  • Peppermint
  • Lemon
  • Lavender
  • Vetiver
  • Jade Lemon
  • Frankincense
  • Sacred Frankincense
 
We also love the blend Peace & Calming (TM)  because it does just that for me and the boys.
What do you do to keep everyone focused these last days of school?  I would love more tips!
 

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Meet Traci Stensaas, a horse loving, homeschooling, boy mom.

 
Our family used to face constant bouts of illness. My son suffered from reactive airway disease as a toddler. Every passing bug knocked him down. We became well-acquainted with doctor visits and nebulizer treatments, trying anything to ease his breathing troubles. I believed that cleaning our home using store-bought cleaners was a good thing and that I was helping him get better.

Then I discovered the truth. Those chemicals were causing more harm than good. I found there were options that not only cleaned effectively but also boosted our health. I started with simple swaps. We all started a healing journey. The transformation was incredible. He is an athlete and has enjoyed all kinds of sports like football, basketball, cross country, track, and Taekwondo. We're all healthy, happy, and thankful for these positive changes.

I now support other moms and families in replacing toxic products with safe, clean options, one step at a time. If that's you, get in touch—I’d love to help.

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