Roommate Time

Last weekend I headed down to the ridiculously hot state of Arizona for GenVee's wedding.

Yay she's married!

I don't get why people live there. You think Utah water is bad? Arizona water tastes like mud.

Anyways, this was the first time all 5 of us college roommates were together since 2008 when Kristen left us for a mission. Who does that? Sure it was only for 24 hours and Gen was busy with the whole getting married thing, but it was still bliss. It doesn't even feel like 5 years has passed. That is true friendship. 

2006

2013

What?? No mention of doTerra?? Don't worry it's coming. Gen deserved her own post.

Is It Sad That...

the highlight of my weekend was figuring out how to clean my stove burner pans naturally/without ammonia?

Due to my lack of interest in cooking I have a tendency to not pay attention to food as it is cooking. So naturally my burner pans end up looking like this:

This wasn't even the worst. Note to self: Don't let boiling milk overflow.

Brett made a comment about how gross the pans were so I figured it was finally time to clean them. Is it also sad that I probably wouldn't have cleaned them if he hadn't said something? 

So I pulled out my pans, added a little dish soap, and started scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing. No change. 

I pulled out my vinegar, let is soak, and started scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing. No change. 

I added a little baking soda, let it soak, and started scrubbing... No change. 

I tried hydrogen peroxide+baking soda (found that combo on the google) and started scrubbing... No change. 

I quickly got tired of scrubbing.

There is this pin going around Pinterest about how to clean burner plates easily. It involves leaving your plates in a ziplock bag of ammonia overnight. Very little scrubbing is involved. I'd been avoiding it because (a.) I'm too lazy to go buy ammonia, (b.) I'm starting to like the idea of less chemicals, and (c.) I'm lazy. 

I did have some windex though, which has ammonia in it. So basically it's like the same thing.  Except not. Windex most definitely did not work.

Do you know what finally did work?? 

Wait for it...

Surprised? Didn't think so.

Starting out on my week long adventure of cleaning I didn't think to use my oils. Honest. The best part. Very little scrubbing. 

For those who haven't peaced-out yet here is how I cleaned it. 

1. Splashed some water on the burner plate. Probably not necessary.

2. Sprinkle on some/a lot of baking soda.

3. Spray a 1:1 water vinegar mixture on the pans. Enough so that the baking soda/vinegar starts to fizz.

4. Add a few drops of any citrusy essential oil. I'm quite partial to doTerra if you haven't figure that out by now. Refer to post "Why" to find out why. 

5. Let sit for a few hours. A paste should have formed by now.

6. Scrub away the crap that is no longer caked on. I used my fingers. That is how easy it came off. 

7. Rinse and admire your clean burner pan.

or repeat if your pans are insanely disgusting.

I still have the occasional tiny "greasy" spec in areas were I didn't scrub very hard. I feel like that is user error though. Lazy remember. Had I used the scrub brush that was 6 inches way from my hand (or even a sponge which you will never find in my house as I am highly anti-sponge) I'm positive every grimy atom would have been removed. 

Oh and my kitchen smells like oranges not ammonia. Who wouldn't love that.

Allergy Update

For those whose face resembled the cashier in my previous post and think this oil thing is all in my head:

Last Sunday I ran out of Peppermint and Lemon. Sad face. I didn't think it would be a big deal since it is June and allergy season should pretty much be over right? 

WRONG. 

Welcome back constant sneezing, itchy runny nose, and itchy watery eyes. 

Oh and nature keeps trying to pollinate my car. Never going to happen nature. 

(picture brought to you by google images)

Itchy Eyes, Runny Nose...

No More.

One drop of Lavender, Peppermint, and Lemon under the tongue every morning=Goodbye Allergy Medicine. 

I haven't taken an allergy pill since March. Loving it!

I mentioned this the other day to my cashier at Winco who was complaining about his allergies and the side effects of his allergy medicine.

This picture best shows the look he gave me before continuing his rant.

Whatever. I'm not the one getting dizzy from Claritin D.

Peppermint is also amazing for digestive issues. It has saved me from kneeling before the porcelain throne many times. TMI?

Checkout this list for 101 Uses of Lavender, Peppermint, and Lemon.

To learn about the quality of doterra's oils click here.

If you interested in learning more please leave a comment.

Weekend Getaway-Vegas

We took a quick trip down to Vegas a few weeks ago to visit these awesome people:

Brett was in between semesters and in desperate need of a vacation, so while down there we made a point to see something that he is in love/obsessed with.

He's obsessed with cars, not flowers.

We also headed down to the Hoover Dam. Exciting. 

And of course no Vegas trip is complete without a stop at the Bellagio. 

Here is an video of the fountain show we saw courtesy of youtube since I am awesome and forgot to bring our camera. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53vQP84lPXo

(Does it bother anyone else that a section of the fountain seems to be out?)

Lavender

Woke up early to take the Gparents to the airport. My body doesn't do early (anything before 9am) well. Because the snooze button and I are BFFs I poured some Honey Bunches of Oats in a sandwich bag and called it good. 4 hours later I'm starving. Obviously the simple answer it to eat lunch, but that messes with my mind set of the later I eat lunch the sooner I go home...it makes sense to me. I tried eating a plain rice cake. BLEH. They taste like cardboard. Finally found some odd tasting trail mix that did the trick. Odd is better than cardboard.

What does that have to do with the post title Lavender? Absolutely nothing.

Have you ever had a moment where you heart starts to race and you just feel weird/anxious for no apparent reason? No? Neither have I....except for maybe that one time about 45 mins ago. Brett and I were given awesome doterra pouches to hold small vials of our favorite oils. I pulled at my lavender and applied to my neck, throat, and chest. It wasn't a miraculous instantaneous relief, but my body did calm down within 5-10mins. Minus the headache which I am confident is from lack of food I now feel great. And I smell good.

I should probably go eat now.

artfulrabbit.com

Why

I love modern medicine and I hate network marketing. Naturally I never thought I would join a MLM (multi-level-marketing) let alone a MLM  that promoted natural/alternative medicine. Had someone approached me a year ago about "alternative" medicine I would have laughed in their face.

I first heard about essential oils several months ago from my cousin. She mentioned how her son had been congested and after rubbing eucalyptus on the bottom of his feet before bedtime he woke up the next morning significantly better than the day before. (Dear cousin, please correct me if I am remembering this story wrong.) This past cold/flu season has been brutal. Between mid-October to February I was sick what felt like every other week. It doesn't help when every Sunday you have primary kids coughing in your face, picking their nose then touching you, kissing you, licking your face...kids are cute, but really they are just petri-dishes full of germs.

garyzellerblog.blogspot.com

After talking with my cousin I became very intrigued. So I went to the source of all knowledge. The Google. Google's conclusion: Essential oils have many health benefits. Awesome. I then proceeded to forget about them. A few months later another cousin posted on facebook asking about using essential oils. "Oh yeah, remember those?" Back to Google I went. Google's conclusion: Essential oils have many health benefits. Next stop: Amazon. So many brands. Where to start? Back to Google. Google's conclusion: doTerra. Awesome. Back to Amazon? Nope. Again I proceeded to forget about them.

A few weeks later Brett had a classmate, Dan, over to study for an upcoming test. Dan and his wife Kat had a fairytale themed wedding so naturally we had to facebook stalk them. While stalking I noticed that Dan worked for doTerra. "Oh yeah, remember that?" Back to Google. Google's conclusion: doTerra is awesome. A week or so later we went on a double date with Dan and Kat. A date night that was supposed to be spent playing Ticket to Ride was spent talking about essential oils and doTerra. Brett and I both loved what they had to say, but doTerra is a MLM. The general opinion of MLM's is they are the scam right?? The researcher in me had to find out. That night I stayed up until 4am researching doTerra determined to prove that it was a scam. FAIL. The general consensus was that doTerra works; those who use it and use it correctly LOVE IT. It's not a scam. What the??

I wrestled with the decision to sign up as a consultant for doTerra for several weeks, even after Brett and I decided we would join. I googled and googled and googled. Every search came to the same conclusion: doTerra works. Logically joining made sense. I wanted to use the oils and as a consultant I could buy them wholesale. Yet, I was still hesitant. Why? doTerra is a MLM. What will people think of me? What if I fail? What if people say no. I don't want to be THAT person.

Personal conclusion: Who cares.

I've spent 26 years worried about what other's think of me. I think it is about time to let that go.

Failure happens, don't fear it.

There is no escaping the word no. People will say no. That's life. That one person who says yes, and then has an amazing experience using the oils makes up for those numerous people who say no.  The feeling of that accompanies helping another is equivalent to a spiritual high. It is so amazing and worth every no it takes to find that yes.

I'll try hard to not be THAT person, but when you make the most delicious chocolate cake ever don't you want to share it? (The recipe not the cake. Speaking of cake, here is the most delicious recipe: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/03/chocolate-mousse-crunch-cake/). Brett keeps reminding me that I'm not capable of being that person. Love him.

Don't be surprised if my blog now turns into a doTerra testimonial. Clearly from the lack of posts I have nothing else to blog about.

Shout-out to my mom! Love you and thank you for being so supportive! I think you might be the only one to finish this novel of a post besides Brett.