I jumped in!

After thinking about it for a while I decided I may as well give it a shot -- I jumped in full force to doTERRA's essential oils and started my own website at www.mydoterra.com/laurenheadrick. I also started a separate blog for doTERRA and essential oils here: http://laurensessentialoils.blogspot.com/

It's been pretty fun so far, and I've been learning a lot. I'm at least enjoying the products that I now get at 25% off, so whether or not I sell anything, I can at least get a discount on what I use personally. I think a lot of people are probably very skeptical about using something like essential oils in their lives -- I mean it's literally like "selling snake oil." But I have seen firsthand the amazing benefits it can have, and if people are even a little bit open-minded enough to give it a shot, I know they will love it! That's what happened to me -- I fell in love with the product as I continued to use it! I am always looking forward to trying new products, making new concoctions, and testing them out. It's like arts and crafts but with natural products that smell wonderful! I love that I am drastically lessening the amount of harmful chemicals I use on an everyday basis. My skincare became all natural and organic now, and now my cleaning products are as well! I am feeling energetic and excited about all of the opportunity that doTERRA brings. Whatever happens with it, I'm learning a lot and I'm benefiting from the effects of the oils. If anyone is interested in learning more, let me know! I'm always happy to discuss essential oils and doTERRA with anyone at all!

Starting an MLM Business

I've been thinking a lot recently about starting my own MLM business that I can hopefully grow so that I can work from home in a few years when our family starts to grow. I know so many people who, at least outwardly, appear to be thriving at it. My cousin, my co-workers, friend, my best friend's cousin, and numerous facebook friends. They are always posting about the benefits of it and how wonderful it is to work from home, etc. I know I have to take all that with a huge gran of salt though, because, of course, they need to recruit people to sell the product so that they can make more money.

I am loving using essential oils in my life. I have read a lot about them and I use them for so many different things. It's a product I truly believe in and that I would enjoy learning a lot more about, using more in my life, and teaching people about. I have been looking at the two major companies that sell them via a MLM strategy and both have some upsides and downsides. I know of people who sell both, so I could always join as one of their team members, but I'm not sure if it's better to start that way or if it's better to just join on my own and start fresh , though that probably doesn't matter either way. Also, I go back and forth between the companies. Both seem to be very high quality. One is an offshoot of the other. The older company has a bigger product line but the newer one has better packaging. Also, for both, I'd need to invest about $300 to get started, and it seems like I'd need to spend about $100 a month to keep it going. I feel like I'd lose money initially, but if I work at it I could grow it enough to actually make a little money. I'm not looking to get rich or be a millionaire. I just want to make enough to pay the few bills I pay and have a little spending money. If I could do that and make even just $100-200 a week, I'd be happy.

So, I may be posting more about this as I continue to think about it and maybe get more involved. Every time I decide to jump in, I end up getting discouraged by something I read online. I wish someone who has done it would lay it out honestly and tell me exactly how they do it. I feel like you can't just rely on friends and family -- I don't want to become a pest to them in the first place, and I feel weird trying to sell to them at all anyway. But then again, it is something that I truly believe is a good thing and I think a lot of people could benefit from it. Decisions, decisions...

Product Review: Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner

It's been a while since I reviewed a product on here and I thought I'd bring that back since I was just noticing how soft my hair feels today. I have mentioned before that I'm trying to get away from a lot of the dangerous chemicals found in normal beauty products, so I have been experimenting with different products to try to find the healthiest products that still really work. This week, I tried Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner, made my Maple Holistics. I purchased them on Amazon.

Argan Oil Shampoo by Maple Holistics

Argan Oil Conditioner by Maple Holistics

I really love these products. My main concern was to try to find a shampoo and conditioner that are sulfate-free. Generally sulfate-free shampoos don't lather very well. This one surprised me. The first later wasn't very sudsy, but the second lathered really well! The other thing that impressed me was the smell -- it is fragrance free, so I didn't expect much, but this has a very light, clean scent. It's really nice - a little bit vanilla-y. It does have vanilla and honey in it, so no wonder. The conditioner has a similar scent - light and clean. I let it sit in my hair for about 3-5 minutes, and rinsed. My hair immediately felt soft. After my shower I towel-dried, and then blow-dried my hair as I normally do. I noticed it dried nicely, but I didn't full realize until today how nice my hair feels. Today, while I'm sitting at work I happened to notice that my hair feels super soft and isn't as knotty or stringy as it can get my this time of day. I hope this continues working this well because right now I'm completely sold!

Walking All Over Me

I feel like I need to be a little less easygoing at work. Overall, everything has been fine, but every so often, I feel like I'm being taken advantage of. I know, that happens to pretty much everyone who works ever, but it gets to me sometimes. I am the only employee in my group who is non-exempt, so I have to clock in and out in order to track my time. The others in my group forget this sometimes, and just do their thing. Foe example, on a holiday weekend, a lot of times, my boss will let everyone go early. She forgets though, that if I leave early, I won't get paid for time time I don't work. I would have to make up the time. If she would tell us in advance, I could make up the time beforehand, but usually it's a spur of the moment thing. Everyone else gets to leave without worry and I have to decide between 2 hours less pay or 2 hours more time.

Last week, we had 1 co-worker on vacation, and there was a day when another had to leave early. I go home at lunch every day to walk the puppy, so I had to be sure my boss was around to cover the department before I could go to lunch. My co-worker left and my boss stopped by to say she just had to drop something off at someone else's desk and she's be right back. I told her I was going to go walk the puppy when she got back. It was around 11:40 and I had to be back at 1 for an interview, so I really had to leave at noon to get my full hour. My boss didn't return until 12:20....I lost 20 minutes of my lunch because of the 1:00 interview (that she scheduled). So I just had to take it.

Finally, my schedule is 8:30-5. My co-worker sometimes would schedule interviews at 8, and I would work 8-4:30. I don't mind doing that, in fact I prefer it; however my coworker just did this to me for tomorrow without asking me first. It's gotten harder to get here at 8 with puppy stuff to deal with in the morning, but I'll do it. I just wish I had been asked first. I feel like people just walk all over me and figure I will be flexible with whatever, so no need to even consult me. Anyway, just needed to get that all off my chest. Thanks, internet! Have a great day!

Sears Update

So we did get our fridge this weekend, but not without more hassle and trouble from Sears. I will never buy from there again. We received our time slot as 8:15-10:15am, luckily enough. And even luckier -- they showed up right around 8:30 -- so it didn't mess up our vet appointment. But that was pure luck. So, the delivery guys came in, took one look at our fridge space after they pulled the old one out and said they could not install the new one. When we asked why he said because there is no shut off behind the unit. We explained to him that the salesperson told us that would be fine. He told us in the store, that if the shut off is in the basement, they won't shut it off, but we can shut it and they'll install it. That was not true. I asked what we need to do and he said we need a plumber to install a shut off for us. I was livid at that point because I was not ready to pay for a plumber to come out on the weekend, without an appointment, and do that. Sears should have paid for that if that was what I needed, after the run around they have given me from the start.

So, after a lot of back and forth, we told him to just leave the new fridge and my husband installed it himself. The delivery guy told him how to do it but refused to touch it. Instead, he took pics of the setup to cover his a@@ and prove that he didn't touch the installation. I am angry at Sears for misleading us after already screwing up our delivery. Now, unless Sears makes this right by offering a discount for our troubles, I will never go there again and I recommend to anyone reading this that you go elsewhere as well. I have never dealt with customer service that was so inept and unhelpful. Goodbye Sears....I never shopped there and now I really know why.

All I'm Asking for...

I'm so frustrated. Last week, our old refrigerator started leaking. For the second time. The first time it happened was right after we moved in. We have a home warranty that we got as part of the sale, so we figured we would use it! Unfortunately, that was a big hassle. The repair people took forever to come out. Of course they can only come from 9-4 on weekdays, so my husband had to work from home to wait for them. When they came, they told us they'd have to order a part. That took almost a month to come in and then it was another few weeks until they could come back out. The second time, my mom came over to wait for the repairman. And, he came in and refused to install the part -- he said the part we had was actually better than the new one, but they only had to go through the part-ordering part so that the warranty would cover it! So shady!! Then, he 'fixed' the fridge and it was fine....until now.

So, now it's leaking again. Worse than before. I eventually want to replace our appliances anyway, so I figured, let's just take the easy way out and buy something new. That will be so much less hassle, right? Wrong. We shopped around like crazy last weekend and finally settled on a stainless steel model from Sears. The price was right, the size was right, and they could deliver Friday (today), which was the day my mom was planning on coming over to walk our puppy anyway to help me out. Everything was set -- we had the perfect fridge, and the perfect price, and the perfect delivery day. Last night, I was starting to empty our fridge after I got a call from Sears saying they didn't have a delivery window yet but they'd call back after 7 and let me know. Then, at 6:27, I got the next call from Sears -- there has been an "unexpected delay" and they need to reschedule and speak with me immediately. I was yelling" No, no no no!" at the horrible pre-recorded message. So I immediately called the number they provided. The man on the phone said pretty much the same thing. There is a 1 day delay and the fridge will come on Saturday. No explanation. No price-discount for my trouble. No nothing! He just said they'd call again tomorrow with the delivery window. I was pretty pissed and just said that it better come on Saturday.

Saturday is not really the best day for this. I had plans. We have a vet appointment for the puppy at 10:30 and we were supposed to have friends over for lunch. Now I have no idea what time the fridge will be here. I have to cook a lunch with no fridge somehow. And I can't plan anything because they don't tell you the delivery window until the night before. And, who knows how many "unexpected delays" they can have? I feel really frustrated and like there's nothing I can do but take it. I think it's not fair that it's ok for them not to honor their commitment. What would happen if I decided I didn't want to honor my commitment to pay for the stupid thing? I really feel like they should give me something -- any discount! Just something to compensate me for this experience. I am not happy with Sears and at this point, unless they do something to make me happy, I will never shop there again. And I will tell everyone I know not to either. (hence, this blog). So much for avoiding hassle by buying new. I can't win. All I'm asking for is what I paid for in the first place. You can't do that now, so make this right.

120 vs 190

I'm talking about calories. Specifically, calories in my morning yogurt. The normal yogurt I eat each morning is either Fage or a store brand of fat free Greek yogurt that is 120 calories. It is 3 weight watchers points plus (not that I track so well these days...but it's always in my head). I recently discovered the Chobani Flips yogurts that range from 190-250 calories. I have only let myself try the 190 ones, I won't venture above 200 for yogurt, but the 190 calorie ones taste so much better. They would be the equivalent of 5 points plus, which is way more than I would have ever had for breakfast on my 26-points-a-day-plan. But I enjoy it so much more. If it filled me up more, I would easily opt for the 190 calorie yogurts, but they seem to last the same amount of time.

Anyway, that's my yogurt rant. Speaking of food - yesterday I was proud of myself for planning ahead and cooking dinner for tonight in the slow cooker while we ate last night's dinner! I made simple enchilada chicken with 4 chicken breasts that I put in the slow cooker with enchilada sauce and some leftover salsa. I let it cook on high for 4 hours and shredded it up before bed. Now tonight I'll reheat that and sauteed it with some onions and peppers and we'll have fajitas! Easy! Just wanted to share that super-quick-and-easy recipe. Have a great day everyone!

Conversations You Know Nothing About

It's so weird when you overhear conversations between co-workers. Especially when they are talking about something you know a lot about. Even more so when they think they know a topic well, but you know more than them. 2 of my co-workers talk constantly about travel and New York City. Now, I'm not an expert in either by far, but I did live in NYC for a year and I went there every other weekend for 3 years prior to that, and my husband lived in NYC for 5 years. Also, my husband worked for 2 major airlines and we took a lot of flights during that time, so I do know quite a bit about how that all works too. So, though I'm not an expert in either subject, I do know that I know more than they do about both topics. They know that about my history too, and still it drives me crazy when I hear them talking sometimes. I don't want to jump in to the conversation because it's none of my business and I don't want them to know I'm listening really, but it's just hilarious sometimes. I could honestly give them some helpful advice sometimes, but I know that sometimes, people just want to do their own thing. Have a great day everyone!

Missing Paul

One thing I haven't done recently is go to a concert. That used to be such a common thing for me -- I'd have shows lined up and tickets purchased months in advance. I'd be the first one on ticketmaster refreshing the screen until the sale came up and stressing about whether to grab the first seats I got or risk losing them for better seats. I had it down to a science - using multiple computers and even taking off work or school to concentrate on ticket purchases.

Now, I feel very old. Haha! I still love going to concerts, but now they are both expensive and inconvenient. When you have to pay $1000 to replace a broken fridge or $1500 to fix a wet basement, money gets put into perspective. Also, when you have 10 vacation days a year and want to both go on an actual vacation and also visit family, that doesn't leave any time to just take a day or two off for little things. The other people in my office don't have that issue because they all have plenty of vacation time, being that they've been here for years and also are exempt, rather than the lowly non-exempt position I'm in.

I just found out that Paul McCartney will be playing 5 minutes from my brother's apartment on October 15th. He lives 4 hours away from us, but, at any other time, I would have been buying tickets immediately. I already missed Paul's show in Philly this summer. But October 15th is a Thursday night...I'd have to take off at least a day and a half on order to do it right. And then we'd have to come back home on Friday and then travel to NYC on Saturday for a wedding. It's just too hard and too expensive. Also, I feel like nothing can top the experiences I had at Paul's shows back in 2001 and 2005. In 2001, I ended up with front row seats, and in 2005, I ended up with entry to Paul's soundcheck, as well as meeting the band and getting 4th row seats to the second night's show. Being that close to the stage is a completely different experience and makes any hassle well worth it. Being up in the cheap seats is still fun of course, but it does lose something, and it's just a different experience. Some day the timing will work out so I can make it to another show - whether it's Paul or Ringo, or thenewno2, or who knows who...but until then, I'm very grateful that I went to shows when I had the time and money to do it and that I had such awesome experiences when I did. Now I am focused on my family and my house, which is wonderful and seems perfectly appropriate for this stage in my life. :) Have a great day everyone!

Monday Blogging

Well I'm back at work after a short, somewhat stressful, but overall really nice weekend. It was only stressful because the puppy was being frustrating the the mornings -- I'd take her out, she wouldn't go, she'd come in, and go inside. Yesterday morning, I took her out 4 times in the course of an hour and a half and every time, she was only interested in eating bugs and leaves and sticks, and then she'd still go to the bathroom inside. I know she knows the right thing to do, overall, she's been pretty good at housebreaking, but for some reason, this weekend, she was just not getting it. She seems better today - maybe because it's Monday and she's back in her routine.

Anyway, this weekend, we bought a refrigerator! That's something I never bought before! The fridge that came with our house was leaking when we moved in. We have a Home Warranty Service, who sent a contractor out to fix it - that was a huge pain. The contractor took at least a week to call, and they only come out Monday - Friday between the hours of 9 and 4 and give a 4 hour window -- not very helpful when we both work full time. My husband worked from home one day and they came out and told us they needed to order a part. The part took at least 3-4 weeks to come in and then we have to schedule them again. This time, my mom came on her day off to wait for the repair man. He ended up not installing the part -- saying it wasn't necessary -- and that our current part was actually better than the new one. He said that they just needed to order the part so the the home warranty service would pay for it. Shady!! My mom tried to insist that he install the new part since he had it anyway, but he refused. We were super disappointed with this, but the fridge seemed ok, so we dealt with it. Now, last week, it started leaking yet again. Honestly, it's not such a great fridge, and I want to eventually replace our appliances with stainless steel anyway, so we decided not to deal with the warranty and shade contractors anymore and just replace it. We shopped around a lot -- looking at Sears, Best Buy, Home Depot, and Lowes. Our main problem was finding fridges less than 68" tall -- most are around 70" now, but out space is only 68". We found about 4 to choose from and eventually went with a Kenmore model from Sears. It comes on Friday, so here's hoping it all works out!

Crazy Morning - What Being Tired Will do to You!

I'm so tired. I know this is just good practice for motherhood, but having a puppy is exhausting. I love it and I love her, but sometimes I feel like I'm going insane. I can't seem to get myself together lately. Just getting dressed and going to work is a huge chore - let alone trying to make coffee, haha. Last night, it was raining, which means Moxie was confused about going outside to go potty. She did number 1 outside, but number 2 was another story. So, this morning, we woke up to a present in her playpen. This happened about a half hour before my alarm goes off. In my sleepy state, I cleaned the pen and then sprayed it with bleach cleaner. I wiped it all up while my husband took her out, and then we put her back in. Cut to about 30 minutes later when she started retching -- presumably from bleach fumes. I took her downstairs to get some water, then brought her outside and got her some fresh air. That helped. But then I didn't want to put her back in the pen with the bleach, so I cleaned it again with our usual pet stain cleaner. Then of course, the normal routine of taking her out, playing, feeding, etc. We usually have a camera on her during the day so we can see her while we're at work. I forgot to set that up this morning.

So now I got to work, and turned the camera on and realized I didn't set it up. Dumb! I wanted to make sure she was ok! Then I googled bleach and found out that it really was a bad idea to use that in her pen. Then I googled the pet cleaning spray and tried to find out what was in that...and came across a warning that says "Do Not Mix with Bleach." So of course, I freaked. Luckily, I was able to run home and check on her and I re-cleaned the pen with simple soap and water and set up the camera correctly. Now I'm back at work. I just feel like I can't do anything right lately. Whatever I try to do gets all messed up somehow. And the more tired I get, the more I screw up. All I can say is this weekend cannot come fast enough. I am so glad we have no plans. I am so exhausted! I know it won't last forever and I want to enjoy her being a cute puppy while she is one, but sometimes it's so frustrating! Now -- I have no work to do at the moment so it is time for me to eat my yogurt and relax a bit. Oy vey!

No-Call No-Show

Good Morning! I have some extra time at the moment because I work in HR and our first interview today was a "No-Call, No-Show." It amazes me how often that happens. Our company has pretty high turnover, especially in our entry-level positions, and because of that we can have up to 8 or 9 interviews on a busy day. Generally, we have about 4-5 a day. Of those, I'd guess maybe 10% or more are no-call, no shows. It simply amazes me that people do that at all! I mean, I'm totally fine with it - it makes my day easier - but how do you do that when you have an interview for a job? Even if you got another job in the meantime or just decided the position isn't for you, wouldn't you call and cancel? Once you are a no-call, no-show, there is no going back....we mark that down and then if you apply again, you are automatically rejected. People don't realize they're burning a bridge that could be easily avoided by a quick phone call or email to cancel.

Something really amazing happened yesterday when one of the No-call, No-shows called me a week after her scheduled interview and explained she had a family emergency and would like to come back in. Who knows if the family emergency explanation was true, but even if it was, a phone call still takes less than a minute and an email, even faster! With communication so easy these days, she should have called when the emergency happened, or at least sooner than a week later!

Just an interesting little HR tidbit that I have learned working here for the past year and a half -- people do some crazy things and they have no idea how dumb they are being. I just had to get that off my chest because I'm still amazed every time it happens, and I'd say it happens at least once a week. So here's a tip if you're looking for a job -- don't be a No-Call, No-Show. If you need to cancel an interview, for ANY reason -- just email or call the person who scheduled it and let them know. It takes 2 seconds, and then if you're every interested in a position at that company in the future, you won't be automatically rejected!

Blog Experiment

So I decided I would try to write at least a little something each day here on my blog. I'm starting out now not knowing at all what I will write about, so who knows where it will take me. I'm very tired today so that may not help matters. I feel like I just don't have time to do things lately. I know that's a problem a lot of women face -- especially when you're working a full-time job. I've gotten more used to it, but sometimes I miss being able to schedule a day off in the middle of a week for no reason at all. My company only offers 10 vacation days a year....and that number doesn't go up until you're here 3 years. I know I should be grateful I get any vacation at all, but it's not easy to manage. I do have some sick time, but I try to save that in case of emergencies or snow in the winter (since my company never ever closes in the snow and doesn't allow me to work from home). We took a nice long summer vacation in June, and we are going to visit family out west in November, so after that I'm down to 0 days.

The main thing I feel like I'm missing is my daily exercise. When I wasn't working I did 3 workouts every weekday -- 30 minutes each. When I started working full time, I dropped down to 1 30 minute workout every weekday. Since our wedding, I have gotten in maybe 2-3 per week, and now that we have the puppy, I haven't done any at all. I know I would feel better if I did it again; however I can't seem to find the time. In the morning, I'm taking the dog out, feeding her, and getting myself ready for work. Then I go home at lunch to walk and play with her. Then, when I get home, I let her out again, get the mail, and cook dinner. By the time my husband gets home and dinner is done, I'm exhausted. We barely have time to watch a TV show since after dinner we mainly play with the puppy and have to let her out often. Of course I could get up earlier but I already get up at 6:30 -- whenever the dog wakes up at 5:30, I can't see actually waking up at that time. So, hopefully I will figure out a way to squeeze exercise back into my daily routine. I think once the puppy is a little older that will help since we won't have to keep an eye on her every minute she is out of her crate. We'll see! I hope everyone out in the world is having a great day!

I'm back!

It's been a while! Over a year! Time has been going so fast lately it's incredible how quickly a year can just go by in a flash! Since I posted last August, we went on our honeymoon to France, bought a house, and adopted a super-cute puppy! Between working full-time and all of that, we've had some hectic times!

Here is a photo of Moxie, our adorable 11-week old Puppy. She is a Cavachon (part Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and part Bichon Frise).

Since moving into our house, it's been so nice having space for everything we have accumulated in tiny apartments for the past 3+ years! And I've come to appreciate just how much work it is keeping a whole house clean and nice-looking. I try to avoid clutter as much as possible...which is now even harder with a puppy running around bringing in leaves and sticks from outside!! One thing I have enjoyed doing is making my own cleaning solutions! I've been on pinterest a lot looking up natural ways to clean just about everything in the house. Combine that with my new found obsession with essential oils has actually made keeping the house clean a fun chore! I love experimenting with the different smells and finding out how beneficial all the oils can actually be! I feel good knowing I'm not filling our new house with chemicals and unhealthy junk in the process as well! I'm hoping to blog more about the cleaning products I have made, but I'll share my favorite one that I use all the time. It is just 1 cup of distilled water, 1/2 cupof vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of Dr. Bonner's liquid castille soap (I used the unscented one) and about 5-10 drops of either lemon or orange essential oil. I learned to make sure to mix these in glass bottles since oil can eat away at plastic containers. I use this cleaner mainly in the kitchen, but it's great to clean pretty much any surface. It is a little streaky on glass, but I have another concoction for that that I'll share soon!

I've also been using oils for random other things as well, such as on bug bites and simply to relax. My favorite oil by far is the peppermint oil because it smells absolutely fantastic. As far as brands of oil, I have really been switching between 2 brands - DoTerra and Native American Nutritionals, after doing a lot of research on top quality oils. I'll explain more on why I chose them later as well.

I've still been cooking and baking, though not as much as I used to with working full time and having a puppy to take care of. I'm hoping to get back into that more soon so that I can share some of the recipes I have made. I haven't done another Stitch Fix for a while -- that is mainly for monetary reasons. After moving in to the new house, we've been putting our resources into that -- a new sofa, decorations, a repair to our basement, etc. That has really eaten up a lot of money, but it's well worth it. I hope everyone out there on the Internet has been doing well over the past year!