Chocolates, a Highway, or...?

Life is a funny thing.  It can be many things to many people.  A box of chocolates, a highway, or as I have recently decided, a random combination of three things.

It can be a thing you cannot change, a thing *think* you can change, or a thing you *can* change.  Let me explain ... 

Things you cannot change are things that have already happened but you dwell on them.  Unnecessarily.  And for a long time.  I got married just over three years ago and it still annoys me that I forgot to tell the photographer that we were going to high five instead of kiss (whoops).  It was an awesome moment not captured on film.  Then, at the other end of the day, hubby and I both forgot about the traditional carry over the threshold thing (whoops again!).  But who cares!  I can't change that, and even if I could, would I really bother with the hassle of it all.  I've seen a lot of time travelling movies, there are way too many risks and rules involved.  A thing I cannot change.

Growing up I remember stumbling upon scrapbooks that my Mum made.  Scrapbooks that were actually scrapbooks, not these awesome, amazing, crafty things that they are now.  But actually books with pages that look like they were made old scrappy paper and you just cut and paste things onto them.  The scrapbooks that Mum made were just filled with cards that she had received from people at various milestones.  I always looked through the ones from my first birthday or my baptism.  There is something bizarre and heartwarming about reading something that someone wrote to you 10 years before you even understood how that person fitted into your life. 

Naturally, when planning my baby shower last year, these scrapbooks came to mind.  I am a sentimental person.  But I am also a ruthless, crap-hating non-hoarding person.  My husband likes to remind me of this every now and again by saying “Remember when someone gave you a present that you hated so much that we dropped it off at the op shop on the way home?” (Yes, I’m actually that ruthless, but no…I waited until the following day to op shop it).  Anyway, I knew that if I got a million cards from people that I wouldn’t be able to throw them away, but I also would hate keeping them.  So, I decided that this was something I could change (first mistake!) and came up with this brilliant idea that instead of people wasting money on a card (honestly, guys, you can pay like $10 for these things that are literally just pieces of cardboard folded in half) they could buy a children’s book and write their inscription/well wishes on the inside cover.  I wrote an awesome, cute, rhyming poem (second mistake!) explaining my simple request of a book instead of a card and included it on the invitation.  Problem solved.  Nope.

What I actually ended up with was a RIDICULOUS amount of books, like SO MANY BOOKS I might start a library.  Which is great, my girl Lou is going to be a book worm just like her mama.  The amount of books isn’t the problem.  The amount of cards that I also got is the problem.  So, I spent the afternoon after my baby shower writing on the inside cover of every single book who it came from and the date.  And then, I just stared at the pile of greeting cards feeling defeated.  Those over-priced, glorified pieces of card with their fancy matching envelopes bested me.

Some things you think you can change but you can’t.  Or maybe you can, but using a cute little poem isn’t the way to go about it?

But this is the best part.  There are things in your life that you actually can change.  Like, for realsies.  I’ll prove it with one simple word: oils.

Eek!  Even just saying that makes me so excited.  And I think I deserve to be excited by it.  Oils, guys!

Since the start of this year hubby and I have been trying to buy cruelty-free AND chemical-free products.  It’s hard.  And expensive.  And exhausting.  Then I discovered essential oils.  Now I don’t have to waste time staring at labels and Googling company after company in the middle of a supermarket aisle trying to figure out who owns what brands and whether or not they test.  And what the heck is formaldehyde!?  And then once you finally get it all sorted, you are left with 100mL of natural, organic, NZ-made something-a-rather that costs twice as much as everything else that comes in a bottle three times the size.  I wasn’t kidding when I said its hard, exhausting and expensive.

But then I discovered oils and changed my shopping experience completely.  I can make my own window cleaner.  I can clean countertops with things I keep in my pantry.  Because essential oils (EO) are amazing.  And the best part is that it doesn’t end there.  I love how I got into the oils, to find an easier, safer, cheaper alternative to harsh chemicals and animal-tested products, but I’ve stuck with them for so much more.  Just today, I have enjoyed grapefruit EO in my smoothie*, I’ve fought off sickness by using a beautiful protective blend of EO on the bottom of my feet, I cleaned my grapes with water and lemon EO before eating them*, I used tea tree EO and lavender EO in my shampoo and frankincense EO in my moisturiser.  Essential oils are versatile and allow you to take control over so much in your life.  I’m not helping companies unnecessarily test their products, I’m not filling my home with a crazy amount of chemicals that I know nothing about, and I feel healthier and happier.  Oils, you guys!

Life is a random combination of three things, the unchangeable, the unchangeable disguised as changeable, and the changeable.  But all of these things are great, don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.

*I need to add in here that not all oils are created equal.  Please do NOT ingest essential oils unless they are pure, therapeutic grade and safe to be ingested.  Haha, you thought I was going to leave you with a link to go buy oils from me, didn’t ya!? :)