My journey: the holistic learning

So, I never thought that the word ‘holistic’ would be apart of my lifestyle, and now, I want to become a home herbalist. Ah, just love the sound of that! Ok, time to explain.

In the last couple of weeks, I somehow began to research natural, chemical/toxic/synthetic, you know, free body products. ( I say somehow because I dive into learning about something with such wonderful passion that I tend to forget how I even got started onto the subject:)

There is a wonderful website called LDS holistic living. Each year, the holistic conference expo is held in June in South Jordan, UT. (My dear Utah friends and families, lucky!! Would love to attend this somehow next year:) Something wonderful is that you can purchase the talks from previous conferences on the site for $4 a talk. Not bad. I was delighted over this, and got a couple talks from Laura Bradford, a holistic skin gal. I learned a lot from her talks, mainly about what we put on our bodies, lotions, cleansers, etc,  goes into our bodies and can do quite a job, either damaging or repairing.

Listening to those talks got the wheels turning about making my own hygiene products that were safer for my body. A fabulous friend pinned on Pinterest a recipe for foaming hand soap consisting of three products; Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap, ( a truly amazing, safe soap) tea tree oil, and water. I made some of it, and it turned out just dandy. My first step towards the wonderful kingdom of holistic land.  Go HERE for the soap recipe. It’s quite easy to make!

From that day, I started researching more, and then, a thought came into my head about essential oils. Two years ago, I was introduced to Doterra Oils, and was amazed at how effective they were for my family. I’ve been using them since then, and have a small idea of how essential oils work, but have realized that I am still a baby in this topic, and have much to learn about oils.

I wanted to learn how to create herbal/essential oil remedies at home, and save some money since Doterra oils are a bit pricey. I wanted the knowledge, and a great opportunity came along in the form of my friend Jonelle Hughes Herbal Academy, a class she was teaching in her home. I was so blessed to snag the last spot in her class, and could not wait to go and learn.

We learned how to make an Elderberry cough syrup, face cleanser, salve, cleansing grain, tinctures, deodorant, counter spray and more. It was SO worth it, and we took home everything we made. I was in heaven. Jonelle taught us that to be a home herbalist is easy, and so rewarding for you and your family. To not leave the house for anything when the kids are sick makes me very happy.

It was such a blessing to be in her home. As I watched her work around in her kitchen, doing her ‘cooking show’ with oils, I feel in love with the orderliness and light of her kitchen. Everytime she paused for a moment to get something, I would look everywhere in her kitchen and get totally inspired.

Inspiration is great, but it doesn’t do a darn good thing if you don’t take that inspiration into action. I went home that day, and went to work in my kitchen. I just wanted it to be more inviting and comfortable.

Not too shabby:)

So now, I’m trying to become more acquainted with essential oils and herbs, and what each one does for the body. It’s quite the mission. I guess start small with a few oils at a time. I just want to learn as much as I can. I love that I can make my own essential oil blends at home! So stinking awesome. Mason jars, empty soap, balm, and salve containers all became gold to me since the academy. Making this from scratch is such a fun process. I love it.

I am so blessed to have this magical store in town called Herbally Grounded. I keep getting drawn back to that place. It’s such a special, holistically wonderful little shop.

I met the great Angela Harris yesterday here this week. She’s a master herbalist, and always has such a big smile on her face. A kind lady, with a passion for all this stuff. She shared with me some neat things about Chia seeds. You put them into water, drink it, and they give you incredible energy, while scraping out toxins inside your body. Interesting! I must learn more about Chia seeds.

Took the kiddos to Star Nursery yesterday, in search of Lavendar and Calendula, good herbs. It was so nice to walk slowly around, and explore all the plants. Here’s the kids in the grape forest, lots of grape vines:)

Ethan’s been loving his Mickey doll lately. So sweet.

Lovely Lavender

Planning on drying these rose petals. They can be used for the cleansing grain recipe. Got lots to work with!

Last, Calendula! Great flower that I plan on making infused oil with. Use the oil for lipbalms, creams, and salves. Am I insane or what?

A few more garden pics. I cannot believe this ‘winter’ we’re having. So far, still getting tons of grape tomatoes from my two Juliet plants. Locals, if you want tomatoes galore next year, go to Plant World and buy a Juliet plant for $5. Heavy, heavy producer of grape tomatoes!! It’s awesome!

Really falling in love with snapdragons! Just makes me think of Grandma’s house, with her snapdragons by the chain link fence outside, and my good old 13 year old glory days.

This last shot is my favorite. I love my garden so much. It’s my little getaway in the morning. Love tending to the plants, and just sitting and thinking. I don’t get to do it for very long, as the kids need me, but I just love coming out here. Growing broccoli on the right. Tomatoes on the left will probably be gone this month when it starts freezing. Next year, I will finally water correctly, 30 minutes every morning in triple digit heat, to keep them living, yea!

So, that’s where I am on my personal education quest, my journey. Next, I need to blog about white flour. That will be the goal, and our Christmas pictures, and other goodies. Have a wonderful day!