A Way to Remember... The Small Things

I love that right now my one daughter is obsessed with Frances Scott Key and the other sings to herself 24 hours a day.  I loved that for a 6 month period years ago one daughter would only wear blue and last year the other one had a massive crush on her dance teacher.  I never want to forget these small things.

So every year I start a scrapbook page.  I put a recent picture in the middle and the year and I hang them in the kitchen and every once in a while I write down something that is going on in their life.  Favorite books, phrases they latch on to, best friends, school play parts.  Anything that might be forgotten over time.

At the end of the year I let them fill in the blank spaces and we add the page to their scrapbook.  And we read over the ones from previous years and take a wonderful trip down memory lane.

YOUR TURN
Start your own simple way to remember the small things.

Words To Live By... Where Should You Put Them?

Do you have a word or a few words that you are striving to embody? 

I have a list of seven.  Secure. Luscious.  Vulnerable.  Accepting.  Authentic. Insightful. Free.
I developed this list over the past few years.   I looked at words that were the opposites of the behaviors that I was trying to eliminate.  I looked at words that came to mind when I noticed traits on other people that I really admired.  I looked at words that popped up in quotes that I loved.  And I finally settled on my seven.  And I wanted to be reminded of them every day.

I considered a tattoo.  I have one already.  It states my soul purpose.  And I love it.  But I wasn't sure if I wanted my seven words on me all the time because I thought they had the potential to change over time.  My husband did get his words tattooed on his arms and looks forward to adding to them as they change over time.

I thought about putting them on a shirt but I didn't love that I would nit be able to read them or that they might get stuck in the laundry for weeks at a time.

So I had them made into a necklace.  I worked with Silver by Keri, a designer I found on Etsy.  I loved the style of her work and as we began working together I loved her as a partner.  She related a perfect necklace for me... both beautiful and inspiring.  It was the perfect place to put my words.

YOUR TURN
Think about the words that you want to become and put them somewhere that you can see whenever you want to.. a tattoo, a shirt, a piece of jewelry, a wall hanging, a scene saver.  Whatever feels right!

Great Fighter of Lice, Germs and Bad Energy... On Guard Essential Oil

I love when i find something I didn't even know I was looking for and it turns out to be the cure for all that ails me!

I took a series of chakra balancing classes a few months ago .  I love my chakras so I am always excited for something new.  I loved the instructor but well, the content was a lot of stuff I knew and the meditations were so relaxing that I always found myself alone on the phone line snoring 45 minutes after the call ended and then there was Hurricane Sandy and I had seriously sketchy phone service.  But I found the class utterly priceless.  Because of some little bottles of oil.

Part of the class was using essential oils to help balance our chakras.  One week I was an issue with my solar plexus chairs and I used the oil each day and I really was amazed by how much it helped me to release.  I checked out the website and ended up ordering an oil for creativity, one for focus for my daughter, one for serenity and one called On Guard.

I bought the On Guard because I was finding that I felt covered with other people's bad energy.  My friends, my family, total strangers emotions and negativity were just sticking to me.  Using the On Guard made me feel so much better! 

Then one day I started to feel sick and I remembered that the On Guard could be used for colds and I dabbed some on.  And I felt better and never got any sicker.  (It could also be my water trick. But every little bit counts, right?).

Then came the great lice outbreak of 2013.  I was out of that great lice prevention shampoo and every online tip I could find required something I didn't have and my braiding skills were less than sufficient with my cast.   So I covered my daughters' heads with on guard.

Over the next few weeks almost every child in my one daughter's class was out with lice or the flu or a stomach bug.  Dancing school was at half mast.  My block was covered with extra cars while parents stayed home with their sick selves and kids.  And my girls have not missed a day! 

And I will admit that last year my kids were on what felt like a 3 month long sick day.  So something this year is working and I have to imagine the On Guard has a little something to do with it.

YOUR TURN
See if there is an essential oil that can help you out this year!