The Wellness Business

 Source: a friend over at The Elliot Homestead.

Ok you guys, confession time: I started up a business over the past few months, and it's taken up a lot of my time and energy (in the best possible way)! Like many of you, I have a deep interest in natural and homeopathic wellness. And, like many of you, I have played around with botanicals in a (sometimes failed) attempt to be my own healer. (AND, I suspect like many of you, the sight of a medicine cabinet filled with home-brewed potions and salves gives me a thrill.) So, I've done the damn thing. I'm now a "wellness advocate" for doTERRA essential oils, and I'm so in love. 

I think last year's visit to Salem did me some good, too, because I lucked into meeting a doTERRA leader who needed to fill a (highly lucrative) spot on her essential oil team. We chatted for a bit over the phone, and really hit it off, and within a week I was transferred to a leadership spot that pulls in around $2000 a month (sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on a variety of factors). You guys, that's crazy. That's how much I make at my full-time career. Plus, I'm absolutely obsessed with the essential oils I get to work with. I truly prefer them to the other brands I've used over the years (Aura Cacia, Nature's Alchemy, and Mountain Rose Herbs, for those of you keeping count). In fact, because my nose is hypersensitive, and I've now adjusted so completely to doTERRA's lavender oil, I actually had to throw out two bottles of Aura Cacia's lavender because the smell seemed so off. It's tough to believe reviews like that online, but man, the smells are spectacular.

So anyway, that's what I've been up to. Right now I'm helping one of the ladies on my team plan out her next few months so that she can replace her income with her doTERRA biz. I still kind of can't believe that that's actually possible, but I'm living it, so...

What does this mean for One Weird Moon? Not a ton. I'm still going to be terribly flaky and forget to post, but now you'll occasionally also see honest reviews of the oils I play with. It took me months to commit to the idea of trying oils that I couldn't smell in the store first, so if you ever want me to send a small sample bottle of an oil to ya so you can see what they're like, feel free to shoot me an email or leave me a comment. I'd love to start a circle of ladies who want to meet on Skype or something on nights of the full moon to talk herbal remedies, so if you want to be one of those ladies, hit me up.

Until next time. X

Lavender oil for sleepless nights with a pup

I've been an essential oil user ever since I realized tea tree oil works better for blemishes than any other commercial product. I've always kept botanical bottles in my cabinets, but usually for homemade deodorant or skincare products (or because sometimes work is only bearable if I can hold an open bottle of lavender oil up to my nose.) Like any of us looking for a simple, natural lifestyle (seems to be everyone, eh?), I've long know that essential oils have compounds that have actual effects on our physiology, but I've rarely used them (tea tree is the exception) for their compounds. I should also note that I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, so I've never felt like I needed to experiment with lavender oil.

Enter Basket: the lovable, crazy border collie pup.  This dude has gotten into the habit of waking us up in the middle of the night to play (I guess that's what happens when you nap literally all day), which is a minor problem for me, but a huge problem for my boyfriend. It's hard for him to fall asleep, and once he wakes up it's almost impossible for him to get back to sleep.

Last night, I persuaded boyfriend to put lavender oil on his feet, and I did the same. Basket, who sleeps in his crate next to our bed, sneezed a bunch in protest at first (I was concerned that he might have a bad reaction to the vapors) but we all settled in to sleep. I fell asleep right away, but that's not out of the ordinary; more surprising was that boyfriend and puppy slept through the night, too. Of course, lots of other factors could have been at play: boyfriend started a new job that is exhausting, Basket went for a walk around the neighborhood with my and met lots of new dogs and people (stressful and fun, which can be exhausting for a 12-week old pup). I don't think the lavender oil had much of an effect on the boyfriend, but he fell asleep a little faster than usual and I don't think that's something I'm going to write off as a coincidence just yet.

I usually use Aura Cacia or Nature's Alchemy oils because they are relatively affordable and can be found in local natural grocers. I'm definitely interested in trying out other brands -- I'm a firm believer that there is not one brand that trumps all others, but I do think it makes sense that some oils will have lower levels of certain compounds depending on a variety of factors like where it was grown, the season that it was harvested, proper farming practices and care, and the overall climate that year. We will see, I guess.

(I just realized I also use lavender oil on itchy bug bites and on burns -- it still surprises me how well it takes the edge off a burn/expedites healing time. So, I guess I do actually use lavender for "medical" reasons from time to time.)

View from the office

I spend 40 hours a week in my office, so I'm sure as hell going to make sure it's a place that I enjoy. On my way out tonight I grabbed a few pictures of my favorite bits.

We're lucky in my company; when I got my promotion, the office manager told me that I have a decorating budget. A decorating budget! I had never heard of anything so luxurious. I haven't spent at dime, though, because my office also happens to have a big closet full of unclaimed art. I picked three big pieces for my office, and they go a long way towards making the space feel hospitable.

This lovely lass was a gift from one of my old editors. When I left the company for a job at my current publishing house, my editor-manager gave me this arrowhead plant and a kind note. The arrowhead lives on top of my bookcase, and her note is pinned to my bulletin board.

I keep a bottle of lavender essential oil on hand. It's silly, but sometimes a small break to smell some lavender is all it takes to get me back in the swing of things.

I'm in touch with people all day, be it professors, authors, or folks from other departments. I'm a big believer in thank-yous, and keeping this box of cards on my desk reminds me express gratitude (it also reminds me to be thankful for my job, because I really do enjoy it.)

This is Cal. Cal is a palm tree that was going to be thrown out because it got too big for its old home somewhere else in the building. My end game is to turn my office into a literal jungle, so I quickly relocated Cal from the dumpster to my room. Cal is just big enough to live on the floor and be visible from behind my desk.

Bowls are hot commodities in our shared kitchen. Between salads and soups, I use a bowl with almost every lunch, so I decided to drop $6 on this gem from TJ Maxx. When it's not holding soup, this bowl lives on my book shelf as a decorative piece.

During college, my two friends spent a semester in Los Angeles. I flew out to visit them, and we spent a day bopping around all the hip, curated stores you'd expect to find in LA. I can't walk away from a candle (ever), so I brought this one back with me. Seriously, this thing smells so good. These guys have an Etsy shop, and I recommend getting at least one of each of their scents. I can't light this at work, but it makes my office feel more like home.

Do not underestimate the power of a nice desktop background. It ties all of my office decor together and gives the room a nice ~vibe~, but more importantly it encourages me to keep my desktop clear of unnecessary folders and files.


I love hearing about how other folks make their space their own; what's your workspace like?