If you have stopped by to visit here very often you have likely seen a number of posts I have done on Essential Oils.  Did you know that essential oils were used as far back as in ancient Egypt and Bibilical times?  Just think...what were the 3 gifts that the wise men brought baby Jesus? Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.  The amazing part of that is that the likely reason for Frankincense and Myrrh being brought to Christ was that these were some of the most valued medicinal substances in ancient times.  We still see the amazing medicinal properties of these plants and trees today.

Essential Oils are a bit different today then they were in ancient times...they are now produced by low heat steam distillation, a little different process then was used in ancient times, but the medicinal properties are still there in abundance.

What Are Essential Oils?
     Essential oils are the plant's true essence.  They are the oils that protect the plant from predators, diseases, pests, bacteria and also aid in some plant reproduction. Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, and flowers of plants. They can be both beautifully and powerfully fragrant, eliciting profound emotional responses. Yet the use of essential oils goes well beyond their fragrant appeal. Used throughout history for their medicinal and therapeutic benefits, essential oils can be used as natural alternatives in holistic self-care practices. Their unique chemistry allows them to be used aromatically and applied topically to the skin, while other essential oils can be used as dietary aids to promote vitality and well being. They are extracted from the plants via low heat distilation from the plant material and the resulting oil has a very concentrated powerful set of properties that absorbs into the skin almost instantaneously leaving behind no residue.

Essential Oils are 100% natural. 
   The other fascinating thing is that plants have similar building blocks to people in that our bodies recognize and can metabolize essential oils easily.  Plant based medicine is as old as humankind.  Even the father of modern medicine...Hippocrates...used plant based medicine.

    However, somewhere along the way we got off track.  We decided that medicines full of synthetic compounds and harmfull additives were the best way to go.  We then began using those as our first line of defense when we had symptoms or became ill.  But, are we really doing what is best for our bodies?  Before you answer that one...just look at the side effects from any given medication.  Don't get me wrong...there is a time and a place for medicine and I sure am glad that in an emergency I can seek medical treatment.  But, for the everyday illnesses I prefer natural remedies which is where essential oils come into play.

Essential Oils are POTENT.
     Essential oils are very potent compounds.  These oils have many facets with some being antifungal, some antiviral, some antiviral.  A commonly cited example is that 1 drop of pure peppermint oil contains as much potency as 25-35 cups of peppermint tea!  In some instances it can take up to 4 tons of plant material to produce 1 lb of essential oil.  
     What does this mean for the user?  You can gain an amazing amount of benefit from a very small amount of pure essential oil.

How do you use Essential Oils?
    There are 3 ways to use essential oils. 
1.  You can use them AROMATICALLY by diffusing them into the air or inhaling a drop placed into your palms
2.  You can use then TOPICALLY by putting them directly on the area needed or on the soles of your feet.
3.  You can use some essential oils INTERNALLY ...but only from a trusted company that markets their oils as safe for internal use and only oils that have dietary supplement information printed directly on the bottle.


Still Curious about this "Hippie Hype?"

I have to share a little secret with you...my all time favorite gifts are ones that can be used by our entire family to make memories.  When you need an idea for a large family...think outside the box.  Most moms I know really appreciate one gift that serves the family rather than lots of small individual gifts...because that one gift usually serves to help create memories.  Over the years we have been given a box of "family game night" goodies (new board games, popcorn, movies snacks) We have been given a gift card to take the family out for dinner, tickets to the movies, a trampoline...you get the idea.  The awesome thing about it is that the family can then create the memory using something that they enjoy doing together.  

My parents know this and for a few years have done something so amazing, they have given us the gift of an overnight stay at a nearby indoor waterpark.  My children LOVE this gift and it is not something in our budget so it is an over the top gift.  We just came back from taking advantage of this gift from not last Christmas but the one before (we waited as last year we had a very new newborn) and it was a fantastic reprieve from the ridiculous amount of snow we have had of late.  We all enjoyed ourselves so much and it was nice to get away!

The orignal recipie was handed to me by a dear friend at church when she and her husband and me and mine worked together to put on "Feliz Navidad" as the theme for our adult Christmas fellowship.  I have to say that knowing this friend greatly improved my Mexican cuisine on all fronts and I will forever be indebted to her for that!  I altered the original recipie a bit to fit our family's palette and this is the BEST!  No more plop out of the can with that mound of can shaped beans when you make tacos or burritos, this is the true, authentic, flavorful stuff!  When I make it I make a large pot, serve it as a side with whatever Mexican cuisine is on the menu and then use the leftovers to make bean and cheese burritos which I then wrap individually and freeze for a quick meal when needed.

1 lb dry pinto beans
4-6 FRESH garlic cloves (no powdered or dry herbs here)
4 T olive oil
1/2 white onion, finely diced
2-3 jalapeno peppers, de-veined and seeded
3 chopped tomatoes (or 1 can diced tomatoes)
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup diced cooked bacon
1 tsp salt

I start early in the morning by doing a fast soak on the beans.  I just fill a pot to the top with water, dump in the dried beans, bring it to a boil and then pull it off the burner and sit it off to the side for about an  hour.  After that process I rinse the beans and dump them into a large crock pot with the olive oil and fill it to just barely cover the beans with water.  I turn it on high and walk away for about 6 hours.

When the beans are fork tender that is when the second step comes in.  I fry up the bacon and remove the bacon saving the grease to saute the other vegetables (onions, garlic, peppers and tomatoes) I saute those together and then add the crumbled or chopped bacon back in along with the seasonings above. When all the veggies are fork tender I go to my beans, you only want enough liquid in the beans that they are barely covered and not dry but not so much that they are soupy.  I use about half of the beans by scooping them out of the crock pot and putting them into a food processor with the sauteed vegetables and bacon.  So now I have a flavorful mix of mushed beans and peppers with the tomatoes and seasonings I dump that back in my skillet and "re fry" the pureed mix for about 10=20 minutes until it is good and flavorful.  Then I add back to the crock pot so we have a nice mix of whole beans, pureed beans and so much flavor I dare you not to stick a chip in there and try it!  

So now you not only have a side dish but also plenty of beans to plop a dallop onto a tortilla shell, sprinkle with cheese and roll up burrito style then wrap in foil to freeze individual bean and cheese burritos...when you are ready to eat them just pop them out one by one and microwave for 1-2 minutes, top with sour cream and enjoy all over again!

So what do you do on a cold snowy day in lieu of recess?  Well, you could ask dad to take you sledding...but if the roads are bad?  Well then you just ask him to hook up your sled to the 4 wheeler and you go for a ride!  Little one and I sat inside and watched the fun for hours as they went round the house like this and we could hear the squeels of delight above the motor.  When everyone finally tumbled back into the house with crimson cheeks they proclaimed that country sledding was the best invention dad ever had!

I usually get up early to blog, work on my essential oils business, read the bible, etc.  But what that means is the first one out of bed has to be the first one to let out the pup...again I did not want this puppy so this is a bit of a love hate relationship.  I love the fact that the kids and hubby are so happy with her, and they really do a good job taking care of her since this animal I am kind of "hands off" with as I was not on board with her coming to share the house with us.  But, well hate is a strong word, I really dislike going outside at 5 or 6 am in sub zero temps to let a pup go do her business.  The other morning was just one such as this...but I have to admit that the beauty of all that new fallen snow had me captured, it was exquisitly peaceful and it amazes me just how quiet it can be with blankets of snow covering every surface, you can almost hear the snowflakes softly rest where they may.  And, yes, I admit, on this particular morning, with my fuzzy bathrobe covered in flakes the little pup did look pretty cute bounding around outside with her belly scraping mounds of snow as she sunk with each step.  I am starting to get used to her...

Her name is Ava (Ahhh Vah).  Hubby and the kids picked her up last weekend and she is the new "toy" of the moment.  I have to admit that this breed has the most human-like eyes I have ever seen.  I was not fond of the idea of having another animal on the farm but hubby is so excited to have a new hunting dog and the kids of course are over the  moon.  Even the baby chases the 8 week old puppy around calling Duh Duh for "Dog".  At the moment she is confined to the laundry room, kitchen and living areas that have only tile for obvious reasons. I guess if I had to admit it, she is pretty cute.

The windchill is so bitterly cold right now that I would just as soon cocoon myself until spring.  Farm chores are not at all pleasant and hauling water wears a farmgirl out.  I find myself longing for the summer days with my full garden in bloom.  I had planned on starting my tomato seedlings this weekend but the days have gotten away from me so that will likely be next week's project.

I have been battling congestion after caring for my two little sick ones and as my readers know I am a fan of natural medicine so teas, herbs, and essential oils it is.  I came across this that a friend shared with me and OH MY!  It is not for the faint of heart but it works SO well!  I was using this remedy 2x's a day for a few days and I am all cleared up.  Love it!  If you are interested in the oils mentioned in this video, you can purchase the Lemon, Melalueca, Oregano, and Peppermint by clicking on my store address here:  www.mydoterra.com/incidentalfarmgirl/

leave me a comment if you try this!

I came up with this recipe because sausage sounded good, I needed a last minute dinner option and I had some cabbage and some vegetable stock on hands. Plus, let's face it, hot stew in the winter always works.

Recipe:

1lb sausage
1/2 cabbage cut into 1" chunks
1/2 finely diced onion
2 cans kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cartons vegetable stock
salt & pepper

I browned the sausage in a stock pot and when it was finished I added the onion and cabbage and sauteed them in the sausage and drippings.  When the cabbage and onions were cooked through I added all the other ingredients and then brought the stew to a boil then returned it to a simmer for about 20 minutes.  Yup, that's it...it was FANTASTIC!  Serve with fresh bread and you've got a meal!

February is fast underway, the month is almost half over already!  I just realized that I have not yet begun starting seeds indoors for my tomatoes and tomatillos.  I pulled out all of my seeds to admire things to come and snapped a quick shot.  I may still have to purchase a few more seeds (I like to keep my collection growing) but I have the majority of my seeds saved from last year's garden.  This picture is just a bit of what I have saved.  I have never started seed indoors this early before but a sweet wise older lady was giving me tips at a garden club meeting last year and told me February is when she starts her tomatoes inside.  I purchased a few tomatoes from her (heirloom ones of course) last year when I inadvertently froze a whole flat of my seedlings.  Her tomatoes were the first to bloom and I had the ripe delicious globes well before anyone else I knew!

I am planning on starting the seedlings this weekend in the laundry room as it is warm but has lots of natural light. With any uck I will have pictures to post of the process as well as some new seedlings to admire in a few weeks.  For those who don't know, tomatillos (a tomato cousin that green or verde sauce (mexican cooking) is made from.  Are VERY long germinators, it took some of mine a few weeks to emerge so starting early this year is the best bet for that scrumptious sauce I love.

This magazine that my mother just shared with me says it all...

If you have been reading my blog for long at all you know that I am a proponent for natural remedies and often prescribe to times gone by ways of doing things.  The tingling, numbness and pain of carpal tunnel is no exception to this rule.  In my life before becoming the incidental farmgirl I was an investigative social worker with Child Protective Services.  I held this position for 15 years and with investigations comes a litany of paperwork.  That, in addition to my penchant for writing has caused me to have all the classic symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.  This was exacerbated by the hormones during pregnancy/post partum nursing to the point of it becoming a huge problem. (hard to carry water buckets and work in the garden when one cannot feel your fingers!)

I have no desire for surgery and therefore sought out natural remedies.  As you know I prescribe to the use of essential oils but even the recommendations of lemongrass and wintergreen as well as a muscle rub did only so much to help with the pain but did nothing for the underlying nervous system issues of tingling sensation and numbness.   Talking of this problem to family and friends yielded some hope as even my grandmother has suggested the use of vitamin supplements to help, and I don’t think it will hurt. So after also doing some online research I used a combination of Vitamin B6 (50mg) and Vitamin B12 (1000mcg).  Some medical studies suggest that Vitamin B6 needs to be taken in excess of 200mg for weeks before one sees relief, and then they caution that if taken between 200mg and 500mg the vitamin can cause neurapathy (kind ofsimilar to what I am already trying to fix).  However, since Vitamin B6 is generally recognized as safe in the range under 200mg I decided to start low. 

After using the lemongrass/wintergreen combination of essential oils and a muscle rub for pain I also took the vitamins daily.  After about a week the episodes of tingling were lessening (I wasn’t waking multiple times in the night with numb hands) and somewhere between two and three weeks I noticed the problem had pretty much ceased.  I have noticed however that if I stop taking my vitamins (ie. I get too busy and forget a day) the symptoms slowly creep back).  I may have to be on these vitamins long term but for me, I would rather take daily vitamins then steroids or surgery.  Let me know if you have also used this natural remedy and seen relief with a comment below.

A certain canine who resides at the incidental farmgirl's homestead is currently under lockdown.  This canine has developed an intense taste for...chicken.  What this farmgirl did not know is that a determined canine can actually climb out of a 6 foot tall chain link kennel when there is a desireable morsel strutting by.  Okay, mistake addressed.  The kennel got itself a top.  We lost 2 hens to that mistake.   But then, this canine decided that KFC was no match for what strutted by her kennel.  She became a houdini of sorts and somehow not only climbed out of a 6 foot tall kennel but also opened a chainlink piece covering the top of the kennel.  I stand amazed.

When the farmgirl's family came home from church there was quite the unpleasant sight awaiting...feathers...lots of feathers.  We have now lost several of our prized egg layers, including "Paco" who laid green eggs for us.  

I do have to marvel at the ingenuity of a canine with a penchant for chicken.

A year ago today we welcomed our sweet baby boy into this world in the loving environment of our own home (see homebirth story on the sidebar).  He is so very loved by all of us and was our very first homebirth.  Today we celebrate his first birthday with snow covered ground just like that cold February morning last year when God blessed us with this little one.

We just finished our missions conference at church, this is something I look forward to every year as we get to attach faces and stories to the people our church supports on foreign fields.  I love meeting the women and hearing the stories about life in other countries.  I count myself fortunate to have made some sweet friends over the years who are serving on foreign fields in the countries of Haiti, Costa Rica, Romania and now soon to be India.  During our recent conference I met a mama who was so sweet and had a little squish that I had the opportunity to cuddle while she presented us with information regarding her mission field.  She struck me as so sure and brave as well as confident.  A truly amazing young lady.

 I often think of the deputation that missionaries to through (deputation is the time period in which they will travel to different churches, usually across the country) to round up support to enable them to go to the field in which God has called them to.  When I think of deputation I think of it as a mother.  The couples, or families in this case, travel from church to church sometimes stayin in stranger's homes and other times staying in hotels.  Lots of driving involved and then think of having little ones.  It must be difficult.  All I can think about is how my own children become creatures of habit and often will not nap in other people's homes or go to bed easily, oh and how I have one who HATES the car and just screams when in a carseat. So, to be on deputation for months on end would be trying to any mama.

I noticed that the young lady I referenced was carrying her beautiful baby but thought to myself how much easier it might be if she were able to wear him (if you have been following this mama of many for very long you know I am a fan of baby wearing...often out of necessity!) Posts here, here and here.  I asked if this mama had a carrier and she did but not one that I would classify as excessively easy for quick in and outs.  I asked if I could share with her but as luck would have it my littles became sick and I had to send my teenaged daughter back to church with the ring sling I wanted to share with her.  I asked another mama at church to show her how best to use the sling and then hoped it would be a help.  This is the same thing that another baby-wearing mama did for me when I had our last baby.  I have worn my babies for years but didn't have a good ring sling and a mama just gave me one of hers and showed me how to use it, made a world of difference!

I am hoping the mama I shared with will allow me to share a picture of her baby-wearing when she arrives in India and that after she is done with the ring sling she will either pack it away for her children's later use or she will share it with another mama who needs one.  It becomes a bit of a sisterhood of mothering, we share with one and other and encourage one and other.  I am consistantly amazed by some of the mamas I meet and what they are set out to accomplish!

Here is the sling I sent to a continent far away, I hope with her permission I may share a picture of that lovely mama wearing this same sling in a foreign land in the future.

I have been missing blogging for several days as I have been tending to two little boys who are miserable.  My best intentions to get up early in the mornings and blog has been thwarted by all night rocking and cuddling sessions with sick little boys.  I am thankful however that we are starting on the mend and with several natural remedies becoming our tried and true go-to's we are making progress.  I will hopefully be back on track with my early morning blogging sessions very soon!