How to prepare for deployment &/or all that life throws at you

March 17, 2018

Yesterday I shared about something personal that really made me wear my heart on my sleeve. But if I could help even one person, then it was worth sharing. It made me think about something else I had written a few years ago.

My hubby has been in the military for almost 20 years and has deployed twice. We haven't lived near family since we became adults. We have been to 7 duty stations, moved 9 times, and had to leave countless friends behind. I wrote some ideas/tips that I thought would be helpful for someone who had a loved one about to deploy. However, you could also take these tips and apply them to your life even if you have no connection to the military. So, here goes.... I once again open up my heart to you.

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort" (Herm Albright).

It can be overwhelming to think about spending a year away from your loved one, worrying about their safety, and handling all of the household responsibilities. My husband has been deployed twice. He was sent to Afghanistan in 2004 and again in 2010.

I have learned a lot during these times and wanted to share my experiences with you. This is a short and easy read because I know that you will want to spend every possible moment with your loved one before they deploy. I found that looking up quotations helped me to deal with problems I was facing and helped to give me the positive boost that I needed to continue on. I placed some of my favorites in here for you to enjoy. Take my experiences and advice as a whole or in pieces. If even one page of my experiences helps someone, then I will feel successful.

"When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile" (Author Unknown).

One of the first things that my husband and I had to think about was how we were going to tell our kids about the deployment. We decided that we would wait until about a month prior before telling them. We did not want the kids to sit and worry about it for months ahead of time. Our daughter was 7 years old and our son was 4 years old when we told them the news. 

We explained that daddy would have to go to work for a year and that he would be far away. We told them that we could write letters and draw pictures for daddy. We would be able to talk to daddy on the phone and over the computer. We kept details to a minimum and asked them if they had any questions.

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will" (Mahatma Gandhi).

I knew that in order for me to feel prepared to deal with the deployment, I wanted the house ready. We thought about all of the things that should be done during the next six months. We would repeat this again during his R&R (two week leave of rest and rehabilitation). 

My husband was leaving at the end of October so our list included things like packing away lawn furniture, and hanging shelves in the garage so that I could park the truck inside for the winter. I had him stock me up on cases of bottled water (I hate carrying those things!). We also decided to put my car into storage. Our housing maintenance crew will do snow removal if you do not have a vehicle in your driveway. We live in northern New York and the winters here can be tough. We felt it was worth the money to put the car into storage so that I did not have to worry about shoveling the driveway. The spouse that stays home during a deployment will have a lot of responsibility. Preparing your house for the deployment is a great way to ease the load a little bit.

 “Happiness is often the result of being too busy to be miserable” (Anonymous).

I have found that the best way to make the time pass by is to get into a routine. I know this sounds cliché, but it really does work. A routine also helps kids to adjust and feel like things are somewhat normal. Embrace your friendships. This is the time that you will need to lean on your friends. Make a routine that works for you. 

Here is the routine that worked for me. I sent a letter to my husband every day. Some people may think that they can’t do a letter daily. I felt this was very important. It helped my husband’s morale so much. I would write his letter first thing in the morning while I sipped coffee and checked emails. Don’t think you can come up with something to write about daily? The content does not matter. Your loved one will want to simply see your handwriting. They can “hear” your voice through your words. I would just tell him what we did the day prior, or something funny the kids said.

Each Monday I would send him a package. A typical package had food, toiletries, disks with his favorite TV shows, magazines, drawings from the kids, etc. I sent so many packages for two reasons. This helped my husband feel like he had a little piece of home. He could have his favorite snacks. He could keep up on TV shows. Also, these packages helped me to feel that I could take care of him even when he was on the other side of the world.

Each Friday I would have friends over for dinner. We found a TV series to watch and began it from season one. Each Saturday we would go to a friend’s house for the day. While it is important to schedule time with friends, it is also important to have down time. I looked forward to the beginning of the week. I would spend a few nights just snuggling up with my kids. During the winter months, we would spread out a blanket on the living room floor and have picnic nights. We would eat a picnic dinner while watching a family movie. A routine is a great way to help the weeks feel like they are going by quickly.

 “As one person I cannot change the world, but I can change the world of one person” (Paul Shane Spear). Whose world will you change today?!

You need to make sure that you still feel connected to your loved one. There are so many different ways to do this. We had a “daddy doll” made for our kids. It is basically like a stuffed animal but has his picture on the front along with a phrase (we put “I love you”). You can also get them with a recorded voice message placed inside the doll. Our local YMCA had a program where they made a special quilt for children with deployed parents. I submitted pictures and a couple of months later our kids were given a very memorable blanket that they could snuggle up with. The kids and I also picked out one of daddy’s t-shirts to sleep with. I ordered a calendar that had our personal photos used as the monthly photos. I had one made for my husband to take with him and one for us to use at home. Our second deployment was so different from our first. This time around we are able to send email, use webcam, and use social networking sites to keep in touch. I liked to leave messages for my husband with memories from past vacations, funny stories, etc. 

A friend of mine sent me an email with a great tool for deployment. There is an Excel spreadsheet called “The Donut of Misery”. It calculates how many months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds have already been completed during the deployment as well as how many are remaining. I used this tool to help show my kids visually how much time we had left. My husband left on a Wednesday, so each Wednesday on a social networking site I would post my status as “x number of weeks down”. It was helpful to see the progress we were making.

"Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength” (author unknown).

There will be times when it feels like there is just too much for you to bear. I had multiple loved ones diagnosed with cancer during the deployment. My kids were sick for three weeks straight. The stress of day to day activities on top of everything can feel like too much. Of course there is also the possibility of injuries occurring within your loved ones unit. It can cause your stress to rise to all new levels. This is the part when you need to pick yourself up and continue on.

 “Any idiot can face a crisis- it’s day to day living that wears you out” (Anton Chekhov).

Keep in mind that it may not be the big issues that bother you the most. You know deep down that you have to deal with them and so you somehow find a way to get through it. I was having a particularly rough week and a seemingly small issue is what pushed me over the edge.

My daughter needed a tooth pulled but was too scared to allow the dentist to get near her. As the dentist told me that I would have to find a pediatric oral surgeon to remove the tooth, I felt myself breaking. It was the small issue that I just could not pile on top of everything else.

I ended up crying like a baby in front of the dentist. Ok, so not my first choice of how I should have handled it. However, it did teach me that we all have our limits. We need to deal with issues and not just push them aside or it will build until we just cannot take anymore.

“Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall” (Confucius).

The thing that I struggled with the most was allowing myself to be upset. I felt that I had to be positive every day. I felt that I was showing weakness if I had a bad day. I learned that picking yourself up after a bad day can show more strength than never having a bad day. I can honestly say that the burden is so much easier to carry if you open up and allow others to support you as well. It is not a sign of weakness. It shows that you are human. 

  “Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did (Newt Gingrich).

When it comes time for your loved one to come home for R&R, enjoy your time. It will go by so quickly. Do not spend it thinking about having to send them back to finish off the deployment. This time is crucial for you to rekindle your relationship and reconnect as a family.

It is normal to feel overwhelmed when your loved one leaves. It was difficult to think that I still had to go through that entire amount of time alone again. My advice is to get right back into your routine. The routine is what will help the days to pass. Be proud of yourself. You have made it this far and now you know what to expect for the last half of the deployment.

“Forgiveness comes when you give up the hope you can change the past”  (Oprah Winfrey).

A year a part from your loved one can be an opportunity. I chose to use this time to work on myself. I have always had a big heart and cared about others. I wanted to use this time to really try to do more for other people. I wanted to let those I cared about know that I was thinking of them. I wanted to become a better person. I wanted to forgive those who I had past issues with. I won’t let the past actions of others define who I am today.

"The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings" (Ralph Blum).

You can also use this time as an opportunity to further your education. I am finishing up my bachelors degree while my husband is deployed. You could finally take that cooking class that you have been putting off or begin a new hobby. Not only will you feel better about yourself, but it will also help to speed up the time!

"Dwelling on the negative simply contributes to its power" (Shirley MacLaine and my friend’s fortune cookie).

I thought that was pretty profound for a cookie. I have to say, I agree with that little cookie. The only way to get through a deployment is to push past your negative thoughts and to make something positive out of it. You can apply this to every aspect of your life.

One issue I dealt with was how I let other people’s reactions change me. I may have been having a great day and then because of something that I read on a social networking site, I would fall apart. I had to learn to make myself stronger than that. I decided to not let others affect how I handle today…or any day for that matter.

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle” (Plato).

My battle is hard enough. But I do it with a smile on my face, love in my heart, and pride for my husband. I think this quote hits me the hardest. We tend to think that our issues are devastating, while no one else is going through anything. If you find yourself in a situation where someone hurts you, before you respond take a moment to put yourself in their shoes. You have no idea what they are going through. Maybe they had a fight with their family that morning. Maybe they are overwhelmed with everything that they are dealing with. People tend to lash out at those we love most, simply because we feel the most comfortable that they will love us at our most vulnerable.

 “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” (Ralph Waldo Emerson).

If you walk away from reading this with one thought, let it be this… I am strong and can get through this. Find your own way to handle the deployment. Different things work for different people. The key is to understand what works for you and to know what you want to get out of the deployment. Good luck. May your loved ones remain safe.

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances" (Martha Washington).

"I'm a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will" (Antonio Gramsci).

 

Here's me, baring my heart

March 15, 2018

I've debated making this entry for a long time. Some of it is embarrassing. Some of it is putting my heart on my sleeve. Most of my friends know my story but I haven't put much of it into my blog. Today I'm breaking that fear. Today I'm breaking that hesitation. Today I am hoping to bring hope to someone who has lost it.

My story begins in 2013. I was sick. Really sick. I had 2 emergency room visits. I had an overnight hospital stay. I can't count the number of doctor visits that went on for months. I went to a gastroenterologist and had a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. Your body has 100 trillion bacteria in it with about 80% of it being good bacteria. I was put on 3 different antibiotics simultaneously which made my good bacteria count ZERO. I lost 8 pounds in a week because I couldn't eat. My husband was away for military training so my parents came to stay with me to take care of me and my kids because honestly, I could barely move off of the couch. There were days that I wondered if I should ask my hubby if he could ask his commander if he could come home early, because I just didn't know if they would figure out what was wrong with me or if I would pass away before finding an answer. I ended up with very little answers but was told that my symptoms could last a year or could last the rest of my life. Wow. It felt like they just couldn't figure everything out and they gave up on me. Being told that you would just have to deal with symptoms as your new normal stinks.

My hope for writing this is to show you that you don't have to put up with what is your "normal". You have to fight for your health. You have to find something that works for you. The answer may be switching doctors and getting a second opinion. The answer may be finding the right medication. The answer may be turning to natural ways to support your body.

My answer was finding Young Living. DiGize and Peppermint essential oils along with Life 9 probiotic have changed my life. They have given me my life back. I remember sitting on the couch crying because my family wanted to drive a couple hours to the Gulf of Mexico to swim and fish for the day. I had to tell them to go without me. I would worry about missing important events (like my kids award ceremonies at school) because I wasn't feeling well. I would get stressed out and have anxious feelings just worrying that I may end up not feeling well which in turn, you guessed it, made me not feel well. And now.... now that I found a way to support my body the way it should be, I don't have to stay home. I don't have to miss out on important events.

Let me get a little more detailed about what works for me.

DiGize essential oil can be used to speed things up or slow things down in the bathroom. It can be used if your digestive system is being a lil too noisy- say if you are in the stands of a soccer game surrounded by people. Just saying. It can be used on your chest if you eat a bowl full of salsa right before bedtime. Sometimes I don't make good food decisions. It can be used if you fill your face full of two helpings of dinner and still stuff down dessert and you feel so full you don't want to move. Feeling a little nauseous? Yep, it helps with that too.

DiGize is a blend made up of the following:
-Tarragon which improves digestion by stimulating secretion of digestive juices.
-Ginger which calms the digestive system and speeds up the emptying of the stomach.
-Peppermint which relaxes the muscles of your intestines.
-Juniper which helps with cramps and maintaining proper secretions of bile in the stomach.
-Fennel which increases digestion by supporting the liver.
-Lemongrass which stimulates bowel function.
-Anise which calms and strengthens the digestive system.
-Patchouli which aids in the breakdown of food.

Life 9 probiotic. Ah. I had tried so many other probiotics during the past few years and never saw any changes in my wellness. I took Life 9 for one day and saw several changes. Life 9 is in a delayed release capsule so it can bypass the stomach, which improves product efficiency. Basically, it gets the good bacteria right where it needs to go. Life 9 has 17 billion cultures in it and it gets them from 9 different strains. It is just as important to have a variety of strains as it is to have a high number of cultures.

Our gut health affects our bodies in more ways than you think:
-80% of our immune system is in our gut.
-Mood. Our gut is called the "second brain". It has 500 million neurons that play a role in making up 30 neurotransmitters. Such as serotonin-a chemical that regulates our moods.
-Weight. Gut bacteria affects cravings, metabolism, and how many calories your body absorbs.
-Skin. Poor gut health is linked to skin problems.
-Stress hormones attack good bacteria.

Top ten reasons for reduced good bacteria in your gut:
1. Processed food (not only destroys beneficial gut bacteria but also feeds candida yeast).
2. Excessive caffeine.
3. Antacids (your stomach has to have enough acid in it to digest properly so popping too many antacids may be hurting you.
4. Tobacco.
5. Antibiotics (overuse, and man can I attest to that one!).
6. Triclosan (it is now in a lot of our toiletries, think toothpaste, soaps, etc and it does not differentiate between good and bad bacteria; it kills it all ).
7. Steroids.
8. X-rays (too many x-rays can harm gut bacteria!).
9. Fluoride.
10. Aging (yep, another fun fact of getting older).

Yes, I sell Young Living. However, I don't love the products because I sell it. I sell it, because I love the products. They are pure essential oil. No additives, no fillers, no pesticides used on the fields. Young Living only uses the first distillation so the oils are potent and have so many beneficial properties. I can't believe the changes my family has had. From my digestion issues, to my hubby's sleep issues, to skin care, to immune system support, I could go on and on. If you want to support your health in a natural way, I'm here to help. I love researching oils. I love talking oils. I will walk you through your journey. You are not alone. You are enough. You are worth it. Don't settle for this being your "normal".

I started with a Premium Starter Kit. It comes with 11 oils, a diffuser, and some samples. The kit is a great start with a variety of uses and is bundled at a huge savings (it is over $330 retail bundled for $160). You also get a wholesale account when you start with a PSK which gives you a 24% discount on anything that you add on to your kit and anything you buy in the future. If you have questions on what oils would best support you, I'm here.

I'll leave my link for those ready to dive into oils. Click "wholesale" if you'd like to start with a Premium Starter Kit. Click "retail" if you just want a few items. If by telling my story, I help even just one person to feel as though they get their life back- then my heart will be full.

https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/new-start?sponsorid=11918323&enrollerid=11918323&isocountrycode=US&culture=en-US&type=member

Chicken Pasta

February 17, 2018

I love it when a meal comes together. When you see random ingredients, wing it, and it turns out awesome. When the entire family agrees to put it into our rotation. Now let's see if I can remember everything that I threw together. Ha!

I sautéed onion, garlic, green peppers, and mushrooms in olive oil. As they were cooking, I started on the pasta. I decided to cook the angel hair pasta in chicken broth. I make my own broth and I know it's already pretty flavorful so I didn't need to add too much other seasonings. I pulled the cooked pasta and added it to the veggie mixture along with rotisserie chicken and a small container of alfredo sauce. I grabbed some peas from the freezer and threw them into the pot of chicken broth that the pasta had cooked in. They only needed a few minutes then I added them to the pasta. I also added in a little bit of the chicken broth to thin the sauce out a bit.

I actually made this dish a few nights ago and am just now getting around to writing about it. I feel like I added either a drop of Vitality essential oils or maybe even poultry seasoning but I just can't remember which one! That will teach me to stop procrastinating and write down my recipes. Ha! I'm pretty sure that I seasoned the veggies as they sautéed. More than likely I just used salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Most recipes that we make are really not recipes anyway. We grab seasonings, ingredients we like, and wing it. I like looking at recipes to get ideas and then run with it. So hopefully, you'll find an idea in this post and be able to add to your dinner rotation too!

Childhood Favorite for Grown-Ups

February 12, 2018

Days like today, I need to thank my son for my delicious lunch. No, he didn't cook it for me. He was my inspiration though. My boy loves sloppy joes. Like, loves loves them. It is usually the meal he requests on his birthday every year. I found a recipe (Pioneer Woman) so that I could make them from scratch instead of popping open a can. That way he still gets the childhood favorite but I know exactly what is in them and don't have to feel bad about giving in to him. I've made these for years now and they are always a big hit. Today I took it a step further and man, it was so good! I'll get to that in a minute. First, comes the sloppy joe.

I started with 1 pound of local ground beef. Add about 1/3 cup of chopped onion, 1/2 of a bell pepper chopped (I've used every color), and a clove of garlic minced.

Cook over medium heat until the beef is cooked through and the veggies are tender.

Now it's time to add the sauce ingredients. Add 3/4 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon mustard, dash of cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, and salt to taste. In a separate bowl, add a dash of Worcestershire sauce. I prefer to use Black Pepper Essential Oil from Young Living's Vitality line instead of traditional black pepper. This essential oil is strong so I just dip a toothpick into the bottle and then swirl the toothpick into the Worcestershire sauce. I did two toothpick dips (clean toothpick each time). Then add the Worcestershire sauce to the rest of the mixture. If you aren't using essential oil, just add enough black pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and let it cook down to the desired consistency. It usually just takes a few minutes.

You are now ready to have the best sloppy joe! But hold up. Do you want to take it one step further? The answer is yes. Yes, you do. I decided to turn my sloppy joe into a sloppy joe grilled cheese. I used swiss cheese and it was delicious!

Here's a tip for the tomato paste. The small can will have way more than you will need. I separate the rest of the can into tablespoon increments and freeze them. Then when my son requests sloppy joes it is as easy as popping one out of the freezer and it melts right into the sauce.

*I can only speak to the safety of ingesting Young Living's Vitality line of essential oils.

You spent WHAT?!

January 6, 2018

It's always motivating to see a big ol' savings. When I started my 30 day challenge over four years ago (ha!), that is what made me stick with the challenge. It wasn't just that I was spending less on food. It was that I actually transferred the "savings" from that week to a separate account and then watched that grow.

This past December we traveled over 1,700 miles round trip. You can't put a price tag on spending the holidays with family. However, watch me do just that....

Our trip costed us around $75. I know, I know. You spent WHAT to travel that far?? Let me break it down. This past summer the Army had us move again. We spent quite a bit of time in hotel living while we waited for renters to move out of our house. Are you in a hotel loyalty program? You should be. We earned two nights stay for free. Ok, so now that our hotel will be covered, how did I get away with food and gas for so little money?

We paid to eat at restaurants seven times. We also paid for our family and friends that came with us (9 extra meals). This doesn't count the one meal that our family took care of for us. And we all know that gas isn't cheap (especially when your route takes you through Canada). So, how did we do it?

My challenge. The money that we had "saved" from shopping smarter for food almost completely covered our vacation. We paid about $75 out of our regular budget.

If you are trying to save up for something, you need to try this challenge. If you would like a little extra cushion in your budget, you need to try this challenge.

Find the average of what you spend at the grocery store. I shop weekly. I added up four shopping trips, divided by four, and that is what I used as my average. I did the same with restaurant spending. Now your challenge is to spend less this next week. Compare brands, clip coupons, give in less to impulse buys, meal plan, eat at home, get creative with leftovers. Do what you can to make it work.

Then unlike just couponing, when you tally up the week and see that you "saved" $50, actually move that $50 to a separate account (or envelope or whatever). Seeing a savings account grow versus just knowing you spent less is so much more motivating to keep it going. You won't believe how fast that account will grow! If you spend more than your average one week, just count it as a zero. Don't take away from your savings.

We've used it to pay our mortgage (military moved us and we had to pay for two homes for over a year), vacations, a puppy, etc. The new year is a perfect time to start a new challenge. Even if you think you are already careful with spending. Even if you think you wouldn't be able to cut back. You'll be surprised when you start comparing and paying attention to what you spend, just how easy it is to cut back somewhere. How could your family benefit from having a little extra money each month?!

Turkey, Sweet Potato, & Kale Soup

November 21, 2017

I gave the kiddos options of either homemade pizza or soup for dinner. I went to grab the ingredients to make soup and couldn't believe I was completely out of carrots. What?! I always have carrots. How do you even make soup without carrots?! I wanted to make do with what I had so I got creative. You may want to keep this soup in mind for after Thanksgiving. It would be a perfect soup for using up those leftovers. I may rename it Thanksgiving Soup. Ha!

To start, I chopped up onion, celery, sweet potato, kale, and garlic. I sautéed the veggies in a little bit of olive oil. I added in chicken broth, chopped turkey (you could use chicken), and corn. I seasoned the soup with salt, pepper, sage, and basil from Young Living's Vitality Essential Oil line. I added in a couple handfuls of pasta and let it simmer until the pasta was tender.

Oh. My. Gosh. I think I just came up with my new favorite soup! It is so much more flavorful than just a traditional chicken soup. I love the sage and basil. It really kicks the soup up a notch.

From now on, I'll be buying an extra sweet potato anytime I am cooking up a turkey because I know what I'll be doing with the leftovers!

*I can only speak to the safety of ingesting Young Living's Vitality line of Essential Oils.

Chicken Gumbo & Apple Crisp

November 7, 2017

I've been trying to get our restaurant spending back on track. If you've followed my challenge, you know that I use our savings on groceries/restaurants for special events. Right now I am saving up for a vacation. My tip to you is to find your weakness. I know that I am our family's weakness. If I want to go out to eat, we go out. If I suggest a certain recipe at home, we eat at home. So it's on me to make us stick with it! I got groceries today and loaded us up in hopes that we stick around home for the upcoming four day weekend.

While getting groceries today, I saw really nice looking okra. I love okra, even though I really only use it one way. Gumbo. We fell in love with it when we were living in Louisiana. I play around with the recipe and tonight I used chicken. I have made it with shrimp, fish, chicken, sausage, and a combo of them.

Saute 1 cup each of green pepper, celery, and onion along with two cloves of garlic (chopped or through a press). I like to use olive oil to saute the veggies. Once they are tender, add two 14.5 ounce cans of beef broth, 16 ounces of tomatoes (I used home canned but stewed would be ok too), 1 teaspoon salt, a sprinkle of cayenne pepper, and 1 bay leaf. I used to add 1/2 teaspoon each of oregano and thyme. However, now I use Young Living's essential oils from their Vitality line. You get a huge burst of flavor plus all the benefits of supporting your body's systems. I wanted to use my oils to help boost our immune systems. They are pretty strong so you don't even need a drop of each. I think I dipped three toothpicks into the bottle and then swirled it into the tomatoes before adding it into the pot. I'd start with two and see if you want a third. Bring to a boil, cover, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes. If you are using fish, add that next and let it cook for 10 minutes. I used a rotisserie chicken tonight so it didn't need extra cooking time. Next add chopped okra. The pack of fresh okra that I found was about 12 ounces. I cut the top and the tip off of them, then sliced. If it feels a little harder to cut and you can hear it sounding "crispy", don't use that one. It was allowed to grow too long and will be tough. Ok, so add your sliced okra and let it simmer 5 minutes. Remove your bay leaf. I like to serve the gumbo with rice. My favorite rice is Jasmine. I also sprinkle a little bit of Tony  Chachere's gumbo file on top. I don't know what it is about this gumbo recipe, but man, I just love it! So flavorful. Each bite makes me want to say mmmmm. Ha!

Now on to dessert! Seeing as dinner was a little homage to our time living in Louisiana, I figured we could do a little homage to our current home in New York. It's fall in NY and that means one thing: apples! I wanted to kick up apple crisp so that it would not only have more flavor but also give our immune system another boost. I started out with a store bought package of the dry ingredients for the crisp. I softened the butter for it and stirred in 4 drops of Young Living's lemon essential oil and 1 drop of their Cinnamon Bark essential oil. Then mix the butter with the dry ingredients, sprinkle on top of sliced apples and bake. Easy peasy. I think it's fair to say that dessert was a hit. There's hardly any left!



*I can only speak to the safety of ingesting Young Living's essential oils from their Vitality line.