It's amazing what can happen in a year! If you had told me January 1st, 2014 that within twelve months I would be, well, A) blogging, or B) have an essential oils biz that's growing and flourishing, or C) found something as wonderful as my Facebook oil discussion group LEMON DROP LOVE -- which is NOW over 750 members... I never -- I mean NEVER -- would have believed you. That's what happens, you see, when your dreams get dashed again & again. The long story I could tell can really be abbreviated by "Fool me once, shame on you... Fool me twice, shame on me!" So this time around, I wasn't setting any major goals or dreaming big. Instead I was ready to roll up my sleeves and just see what God and His sense of humor (which I adore about Him,) had in store for the year. But one song that my dear friend, Leslie, had played for our Community Bible Study group during Leaders' Training the previous September was Hillsong's amazing anthem "Oceans"! It had been such a blessing to me again & again, knowing that my job was to get out of the boat and T-R-U-S-T God without understanding nor knowing where He was leading... Well, a year ago... January 6th to be exact, was Lemon Dropper Appreciation Day. The first one! I had no idea what was going to happen as A) [yes, I'm enumerating again,] I had just come out if the oily closet on December 10th, and under a month later I didn't want to inundate my newsfeed with all things oils!!! And B) I had no idea what they were going to do... And I was uncomfortable posting much on Facebook before -- I couldn't guarantee all my FB friends wouldn't de-friend me within an hour with posts going every 30 minutes All. Day. Long. So there I was, sitting at my laptop in a complete quandary, when BAM! I got an idea! "Make your own group!" I heard clearly. "What?" I asked myself. "Just do it!" was the reply... But I wasn't the one talking to myself. So I did. And SUZI'S LEMON DROPLETS was born. I added ONLY those people I had already been talking to about the oils... About 20 peeps tops. And then I let out a HUGE sigh of relief. Maybe it wasn't the parting of the Red Sea... Or Peter walking on water... But I really felt like I trusted without knowing. And the result? Not yet 365 days later, this amazing little group -- renamed LEMON DROP LOVE -- after our team of "Lemon Droppers" and because my leadership team has grown leaps & bounds and it's no longer just MY group but OURS -- we have 754 members. And I am so grateful because that number represents many lives that have been changed because of these amazing essential oils... Both due to the medicinal nature of them, as well as the financial blessings they represent to my team members. So here's my lesson for 2015: I'm willing to trust again. I'm willing to get out of the boat. And that, once again, is a small miracle if its own. |
#grateful #justoneyear
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This morning I had the pleasure of bringing fresh, hot croissants, chocolate croissants, and French baguettes to my son's middle school. Although he is enrolled in a Spanish class this year (and don't even get me started... I have nothing against him learning Spanish, but my first love is -- I know, it's a total shocker -- French. But his advanced math class and the only French class were scheduled at the exact same time... and guess which one got the boot?) Anyhow, I digress. So earlier this year at Back to School night I went and told my tale of woe to the French teacher and somehow these words came out of my mouth. "If you ever need anything, I am happy to help you!" Fastforward a couple of months, and I got an email a few weeks ago asking if I would mind helping out with French Club and their annual Christmas breakfast. "Sure! No problem at all!" I said... until I saw the time. "Please be at Giant Food at 6:30 a.m. so that you can get to the school by 6:45. We will set up and the kids will start arriving at 7." EEEK. Anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a morning person. But... I already promised. Plus, she said I'd be able to speak some French with the kids. So... This morning I was somehow able to get out of bed rather easily at 6:00 a.m. Okay, yes, I did grab a rather large coffee with -- get this, FRENCH VANILLA--- hahahaha, ahem. Then I grabbed my Clarity essential oil and took a few good sniffs for good measure. And God bless Sebastian. He really was a good sport. This isn't even his gig, and he was willing to get up and out at o'dark thirty! We got to Giant fully expecting to wait at the bakery and whine for them to please get their ovens on, pastries warmed, and quick, out the door rather quickly. Huge surprise -- and the good kind! My new friend, Peggy, who works the morning shift at the bakery was not only on time, she was ahead of the game. She already had my cart packed... Beautiful steaming chocolate croissants and oh-how-can-you-resist Baguettes all ready to be transported... And by 6:59 Seb and I were walking through the front doors of the school! I know, I am a complete language geek. So ask me how happy I was to come through the doors of the classroom where the teacher had put 4 desks together and had red tablecloths with flowers on each of the "cafe tables" in the rom. Honestly, I could have kissed her! The water was boiling for Cafe Francais and chocolat chaud (that's without the mini marshmellows because the French do NOT go for that sort of thing in their morning drink.) The jams I had gotten -- abricot and , bien sur, cassis -- were mouthwateringly perfect for the croissants or baguette. The students were hilarious. The looks on their faces when I was asking them what they'd like..... "Bonjour! Comment ca-va? Est-ce que tu veux un croissant ou un petit pain au chocolat? Ou peut-etre un peu de baguette avec la confiture?" Yup, horrified. But I did have one girl with a huge, proud smile on her face after she offered a "BONJOUR!" and a "MERCI" after grabbing her mini croissant. Of all the memories I have of my older statesman's middle school years, this is the one I could most relate to. My son, thanks for humoring your old mother today. There are times when almost 30 years have gone by in a blink and today was one of them. Are you a fan of the Harry Potter series? I've had several friends posting awesome pics to Facebook with their selfies at Universal Studios in Orlando. It's still a goal to get there and bring my hubs and boys... All of us have listened to the book series on tape as we drive up and down the East Coast (especially to OBX). But even I have cracked open a book or two penned by Ms. Rowling and man, that woman can write!
At first I was very skeptical because the concept seemed to be glorifying "bad things" which -- growing up in the {ahem*1970s*ahem} -- I heard I wasn't supposed to touch with a ten foot pole. When the movies started coming out, my little toddler seemed too innocent to ever be ready for such scary concepts. I listened to my HP vs non-HP friends who both had good points about the appropriate nature of "Harry Potter's Wizarding World" with their arguments. But as the years wore on, and my son grew to the age that J.K. Rowling's books were more appropriate, I relented. Yes, it's true, I let my kid read the series. And then... I did, too! (Again... man, that woman can write!) One of the most fascinating parts of the book series -- and even the movies... (although if you haven't read the books you are missing a vast amount of awesome details) -- is the magic. Sometimes I wonder how the author came up with those ideas and I am so impressed by her imagination. So many times throughout the books I just wished that it could be REAL. Do you ever have those crazy thoughts when you're reading a great story? Hermione Granger is one of the main female protagonists in the Harry Potter series. She was BFFs with Harry and had a crush on their 3rd musketeer, Ron Weasley, pretty much the whole time. Although she was Muggle-born (meaning, not from a magical family,) that girl KNEW her spells, her potions, heck -- she knew pretty much EVERYTHING! So this is what I've been thinking: What if Hermione had set up her own shop in the premier business center for magical peeps: Diagon Alley? I know, for those purists, but just give me a moment here, and put yourself in Hermione's shoes. She & Ron are married and maybe they're looking for some extra income. And you just know who the brains in the family belong to (and it's not Ron)! Well... what if Hermione opened this shop? Do you think she might have the most incredible concoctions that would help with the most basic of issues? I am 100% certain that this girl might have concocted the cure for the common cold as well as those pesky little issues like allergies to owls (their main form of postal communication), or stomach aches from drinking too much butterbeer (like rootbeer). How about a magical formula for anxiety for a stressful job at the Ministry of Magic? Or a little help with motivation and clear thinking for students about to take their O.W.L. or N.E.W.T. exams? So here is my question to YOU: What would be something you just WISH could be a reality? Is there an issue that you have been struggling with but you think it would take time, money, a specialist, and possibly Hermione Granger herself in order to possibly solve? When was the last time you felt like you *were* Hermione and had a magical kind of control over your family's daily health issues? Well I certainly am no Hermione, but I do know someone who is just as smart, just as perfectionistic, and even more driven than our Hogwarts friends were. His name is D. Gary Young and this man could almost be magical himself. A scholar of history and the essential oils that healers have used for centuries -- even thousands of years -- this man has enabled Young Living Essential Oils to become the most significant essential oils company in the world. The single oils and blends that they create are no less powerful than something that Hermione Granger could concoct with all the imagination that J.K. Rowling could imagine. Young Living produces from Seed to Seal, 100% pure, therapeutic grade essential oils which help with little and B I G issues alike. I invite you to put Young Living's "magic" to the test and see if these essential oils are more wonderous as even J.K. Rowling's imagination could invent. [email protected] Sometimes, just sometimes, do you ever want to go back and rewrite history? Given our high tech gadgets -- smart phones, tablets, laptops or hybrids that are able to conduct business or pleasure 24/7 anywhere (okay, most anywhere) around the globe -- do you realize how history as we know it would be drastically different if these inventions were introduced earlier into the space / time continuum? For many who are politically and historically minded, there are a million different ways a text notification, simple phone call, or Skype meeting would have prevented, ended, or started revolutions, wars, friendships, alliances which would vastly effect our present. But this is actually way deeper than I want to touch on today. It's the little things that really affect me in my day to day life. Here's a case in point: what if I could curl up with one of Jane Austen's novels that she wrote later in life? Perhaps she did in fact find true love, was fortunate to have an Anne Elliot type of fairy tale ending and get to finish out her days being the mistress of a beautiful country house complete with servants. Alas, Jane Austen contracted an illness which she possibly could have avoided. Her epistolary novels, which are a source of much amusement and comfort to me, were only 6 in number: Sense & Sensibility Pride & Prejudice Emma Persuasion Northanger Abbey Mansfield Park Each of these six are such classics that a myriad number of remakes have been make, but also, the themes weaving through these books are contained in countless other works including books, the small screen, and the big screen. Old as well as current popular movies still echo with Jane Austen's trademark plots. Here is my quandry: Could essential oils have saved Jane Austen? Or, at the very least, could the healing properties of these oils have given her a few more years? Would she have finished a couple of her unpublished writings, or could there have been a monumental work even greater than Pride & Prejudice that Masterpiece Classics would be featuring year after year, remake after remake? Perhaps. It makes me wonder. For a bird's eye view into the life of this 41 year old writer who has influenced the life of so many, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_austen Moi ?
I'm a Jane of all trades, essential oil-loving, Jane Austen addict with a background and love of French language. New to the essential oil craze, I am still avant-garde compared to many of my Chick-Fil-A eating, get your praise on, soccer mom friends. Sold out to my Savior, my faith helps keep me sane, grounded, and is the reason I am still walking this earth with my hubs, boys, M&D, friends, and family. Born and bred a New Englander from naissance through universite, I have been living in the Mid-Atlantic for more of my life. Married to my college sweetheart,Mark, we are crazy about our two boys with wonderful names that work in French, German, & English due to our proclivities to all things Brit, Francais und Deutsch. My chocolate lab rules more than just part of my heart. I am a die-hard Jane Austen fan. I was late to fall for Mr Darcy and Miss Elizabeth and Miss Austen and I would have been the best of friends. I just know it. Yes, I get frustrated at Pride & Prejudice "remakes" that shorten, ridicule, or lamely recreate what surely would have killed our dear authoress if she hadn't already died a painful death. Yet I am strangely amused by how much her themes resonate with most women who dream of iphone-less, Facebook-free, blog-devoid yesteryear. I could tell you about why French has been such une grande partie of my life since my early years... but I'll wait on that. Suffice to say is I hold a Masters degree PLUS (aka, if I could skip the oral exams on all the major periods in French literary history and jump to the dissertation, I'd be done in a heartbeat, but I can't deal with Baudelaire or Andre Gide so tant pis for me!) And my oils... oh, my oils... Where do I even begin. Well, I guess at the beginning. But that's gonna have to wait for now. It's my bedtime and I have a headache... so I'm grabbing my Peppermint and will catch you all on the flip side. Bonne nuit et faites de bons reves ! (Man, this is hard to write without all those accents!) |
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