Six days on the Road (and I'm gonna make it home tonight...)

I've been on the road for the past week, first attending classes on tourism/travel marketing and now working a trade show in the Dallas Fort Worth area.  After six nights in hotels, I am ready to be home!

I spent 4 nights and 5 days at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort and Spa near Bastrop, TX.  Although I was there for work (DAYS of classes!), being at such a beautiful place really did feel a bit like vacation. . .

I love my industry, and I am a nerd about things like marketing trends, so spending a week with like-minded people learning was a little like heaven for me.

...and having one free afternoon to spend lounging around the adult pool certainly helped with this "heavenly" feeling!

After the week of classes ended, I loaded up and headed to Irving, TX to set up an Oklahoma Tourism booth at the "DFW Ultimate Women's Expo."  I enjoy working trade shows- it's fun to meet people and get to talk about all of the fun (and almost always unknown) things to do in my great state.  

The show ends today at 5, and I'll be loading up and heading home.  I am so very ready to see my husband, my fury babies and my BED!  

Since I've technically been out of the office for a week, I have to be at work bright and early tomorrow- while I'd love to have a day to rest (read:  clean the house, unpack and get laundry done) I can't complain:  I have a job that I love and business is busy, busy, busy!

I was thinking this morning as I was packing in my hotel room about a few of the travel quirks I have:

* It doesn't matter if I am in a hotel room for a night or a week- I have to completely unpack my luggage.  I use the closet and the drawers in the room- I cannot stand to get dressed out of a suitcase!  My husband finds this hilarious, and apparently this isn't normal...

* I only eat at local restaurants OR restaurants that aren't available around my hometown.  (unless I am ordering pizza in my room- then it's papa johns or dominoes all the way!)

* The first thing I do when I get to my hotel room is turn on the TV, even if I am not interested in watching anything.  For some reason, having that background noise makes it feel less like a hotel room and more like my home.  (This is actually kind of sad-  I am a TV junkie!)

* When flying, I love to get to the airport early.  I find it peaceful to have plenty of time to get to my gate and just read, sip coffee and people watch.  

* Also when flying, I must touch the outside of the plane every time I am boarding.  I just give the big piece of metal and little 'love tap' as I am passing from the jetway into the plane.  It isn't so much a superstitious thing, because I really am not a nervous flyer.  It's just something I do, every single time I fly.  

Do you travel quite a bit?  If so, do you have any weird quirks or habits while on the road?

Bonus Points for you if you know the reference of the blog title! ;)

My Oily Journey has begun!

I started an incredible journey 6 weeks ago, and I've been telling ANYONE who will allow me the time about this new discovery:

I've become oily.

I had been seeing facebook posts here and there from a few friends, talking about loving "their oils" and "Young Living". . .  I started getting curious about this and did some digging on my own.  I researched essential oils, the Young Living Company and diffusing, for starters:  little did I know I was starting a path of constant learning and research.  I certainly didn't expect to become so interested and so thirsty for more information.

The information out there is VAST.   I won't even attempt to educate someone via this post about all of the amazing thing these oils can do.  I will say this:  these oils are natural and safe.  They are safe to use through inhalation, topical application, and some are even ingestible.  Many times you'll see an oil "out of stock" because this company simply cannot "produce" an oil.  These oils are extracted from shrubs, flowers, trees, bushes, roots and seeds.  They are concentrated, pure and potent.  Rather than attempt to go into all of the science and all of the benefits, I am going to share MY journey with you, and offer to answer any questions you may have along the way.

I decided to give this "oily life" a try, and ordered the "Premium Starter Kit."   This kit was the most expensive starter package, but it certainly had the most product for my money.  In this kit, I received a diffuser, 10 "Everyday Oils", a bottle of Stress Away, a roller filament, literature, and sample packs of product.

One reason I decided to give this a try was as simple as this:  enrolling as a "wholesale member" with Young Living didn't put me into some sort of autoship program, where I HAD to order product each month, regardless of whether I needed it or not.   Enrolling as a wholesale member meant that I could receive a great discount and only order what I needed when I needed it.   Knowing that it wasn't some sort of scam company that was going to force me to make monthly orders sold me immediately.

There IS a program (Essential Rewards) that offers a monthly autoship option, as well as the chance to earn points and free product- but it is completely optional.   I didn't enroll in this program right away- but I'll get to that.

Along with ordering this starter kit, I also ordered the Essential Oils Pocket Reference Guide- and it was well worth the $27.  This guide is full of great information and is my go-to for all of my oil needs.  I recommend this book to ANYONE who is interested in oils.

I received my oils on April 25th, and there was no turning back.  Upon using different oils,  I saw a difference in my sleep immediately, a difference in my mood after a few applications here and there and a difference in my skin after about a week.   About 2 weeks in I woke up with a hangover (after a reunion with some college friends) and was AMAZED at the difference these oils made in my overall wellness and recovery time.  THIS was HUGE for me.

Let me stop here for a minute and make a disclaimer:  I am NOT a very healthy person.   I have terrible eating habits.   I love a good, stiff drink or a full glass (or three) of wine.  By no means am I holistic and earthy and organic.  When I was doing my initial research I found SO many blogs and testimonials from earthy, organic, crunchy moms who also homeschool their gaggle of children while keeping their homes tidy and their local craft stores in business.   I praise those women and I respect those women - but I am not one of them. 

After 6 weeks of using oils (and running out of so many!) I enrolled in the Essential Rewards program.  To stay eligible for reward points and free product, you must buy 50 "pvs" a month through your monthly autoship order- this roughly equals out to about $50 per month.  It only took me 6 weeks to realize I would NEVER have a problem filling this requirement! 

Some of these oils are costly.  Some are not.   Getting started is certainly an "investment" at first, but that is common with anything.  I've spent $150 so far, and have an order in for about $200 worth of product this month.  I expect my monthly orders to cost between $50-$100 on average, but I try not to put a price on my wellness.  

I never started this journey thinking I would turn it into a business, or that I would really become as passionate about the oils as I have.  In less than two months I have realized that these oils are truly amazing and I share the information with others as often as possible- not in an attempt to build a business but because I want everyone to benefit from this stuff!

I will go into exactly what I've been using around my home in another post- Until then, if you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below or email me at Jessica_Coody@yahoo.com

If you're interested in purchasing oils for yourself, you can start here.  (I strongly recommend signing up as a wholesale member!)  My member ID is already entered in the boxes for you.)

Lots of Oily Love,

-J.