Lessons Learned from My Dog

This quote is attributed to J.W. Stephens, and I love it!  

I have gained new found respect for the photographers of the Cute Puppy calendars.  Every time I try to take a picture of the dogs, they end up looking like red-eyed demons.  My son took this picture and I was thrilled because it perfectly captures Molly's personality. 

Having both children and dogs, I am bound to learn a lot of life's lessons.  Namely: unattended butter is bound to attract puppy nose prints or be smeared on the table. As my children have grown into a teenager and one just three months shy of being a teenager, I've realized lessons learned from older children are complex, ambiguous and hard to pinpoint.  Lessons learned from dogs, however, are plain and simple with none of the ambivalence of adolescence.  So today at least, I am focusing on lessons learned from my dogs.

See the Good in Those Around You.  Love Unconditionally.
Dogs are pretty motivated by food and we feed our dogs, so of course, we're off on the right paw.  Some animal behaviorists will argue it's all about the food.  I beg to differ.  Aside from finding a dead bird in the yard, we are our dogs' everything.  They greet us with wagging tails and goofy smiles.  They don't care that if our hair doesn't look just right, if the house isn't perfect, if we loose our tempers on a bad day, or even if we put them outside or in a room by themselves when dog-shy company comes over.  They ask no explanation, demand no apology, and wag their tails with delight when we reunite, grateful to be let in again without holding a grudge.  Chalk it up to short-term doggie memory, but how much better would our lives be if we all had short-term memories when it comes to seeing the good in the people around us?

Be Curious.
We could learn a few lessons about constantly digging, sniffing, and watching.  How much more aware would we be of others' needs?  How much more could we learn and experience just by being more in-tune with our senses?

When we brought our youngest child (now six) home from the hospital, Molly intently sniffed the blanket-covered baby carrier as I walked down the hall. She sniffed with such interest that she ran into a wall as she was walking alongside me!

I'm told dogs never forget a scent.  If that's true, during that moment, Karlee's scent left an indelible mark on Molly, and the two have grown together.

Be There for Your Friends.
Despite the fact we had to watch Karlee carefully around Molly so she wasn't knocked down by Molly's powerful tail, they have become great friends and co-conspirators while the big kids were at school.  Molly has played games from Candy Land to dress-ups--all with patience. But the relationship has never been one-sided. Karlee, until just recently, would surreptitiously let Molly outside the front door to allow her to run up and down the street unattended.

Unless, of course, they've been let out, dogs are there for you when you want to walk, when you want to sit, and always ready for a trip in the car.  For some reason, they never make plans other than you.

Celebrate the Moment.
How many times have we missed out on moments because we're worried about yesterday or tomorrow?  Call it a limitation, but dogs don't let cluttered schedules take away from the now: a friend's return home, a slightly dry biscuit, a walk outside, deep snow, a pat on the back, are all luxuries to relish.

How Safe is Your Air Freshener? An Air Freshener Skeptic's Journey

If you're spraying something other than For Every Home's patented OAM Spray, chances are you're spraying harmful chemicals--possibly even nerve agents into your air.  OAM is plant-based and natural with out the harmful chemicals and nerve agents of the leading brands.  

OAM Sprays and OAM Gels eliminate odors better than the leading brands without putting harmful chemicals into your air.

That's what the latest 2013 FOR EVERY HOME catalog proclaims.

I, for one, believe it word for word.  That might be because I am the one who wrote the copy.

It is important for me to be honest.  Not only as a Marketing Writer but also as an Independent Consultant with For Every Home.  I've studied and taught rhetoric and visual rhetoric for years.  It's powerful, influential stuff.  I refuse to write what I don't believe is true.  That means, I won't take on a project unless I believe in it.

And I'm a believer in OAM Sprays by For Every Home. I am thoroughly impressed by OAM products.  OAM stands for Odor Absorbing Molecules.  For Every Home's OAM formula is a patented plant/water-based formula unique to FOR EVERY HOME.  Only FOR EVERY HOME has OAM (Odor Absorbing Molecules.)

How do OAM work? They chemically change the odor and neutralize it.  More importantly, does OAM work?

I give you an emphatic YES.

You need to know two things about me.  First, I hate, absolutely hate chemically smells--the world has enough pollution.  I don't need to spray any more into my house.

When Dan and I first got married, we lived in a little studio apartment.  I cannot emphasize too much the word little. The kitchen/living room was smaller than most people's closets. We could sit on our couch and reach the kitchen table.

Small wasn't the problem, though.  It was also stinky. Picture a mixture of scummy goldfish water, stale green peppers, and month-old laundry and you'll get the idea.  This was a time before I knew about OAM, probably because OAM was not yet invented yet.  I scraped together some money from our meager  married student budget and purchased Glade carpet freshener.  What came next was a powder storm similar to old footage of DDT crop dusting.  Powdered particles highlighted by sunlight suspended in the air.

I waited for the dust to settled, vacuumed, and sniffed. What remained was a fragrant bouquet of apples mixed with chemicals and a strong undertone of...the original stench.  We were blessed to find another apartment--with new carpeting--two months later.

The second thing you need to know about me is that I am a skeptic.  Disgruntled, it was over four years before I tried buying another air freshener.  I was expecting our second child and incredibly nauseated.  I tried Fabreeze to get rid of the molded cantaloupe smell in the pantry.  The smell of fragrance and chemicals masked the lingering scent of rotten cantaloupe.  Surely this couldn't be good for my baby!

Years later, when my husband worked for a small fragrance company in Utah, I discovered OAM Sprays.  I   have to admit, I thought OAM Sprays would be like my other bad experiences and I put off trying the bottle of OAM Spray I had.

But then I discovered the mini deep freeze had been unplugged for days without anyone noticing.  The pure stench of the thawed, rotting food makes me gag to this day.  I hauled the freezer onto the front lawn, sprayed it down with the hose, and scrubbed it with antibacterial soap.  The stench remained.   We'd have to get rid of our deep freezer.

I had one last hope: a bottle of OAM Green Apple Spray.  I sprayed down the freezer and shut the lid.  I figured I'd leave it on the lawn to make it easier to haul it away, but when I opened the lid, I was AMAZED. No more stench.  Absolutely no rotten food smell.  And best of all...no chemical smell to go with it!

I've gone through dozens of bottles of OAM Spray since then.  I even started selling it.  I use OAM Sprays on campfire smells, sleeping bags, burnt dinner smells when I forget to watch dinner, bathroom odors, stinky dogs, cars, you name it. I spray OAM Spray on furniture, carpets, in hair, on dogs, even on my kidlets. OAM Sprays even work on cigarette smoke and skunk.  As long as I stick with OAM Sprays, I'm past my skepticism about chemically smelling air fresheners.







 

Never Ever Give Up

Goal: Save $200 every month this year!

It never ceases to amaze me with the uses for For Every Home's O.A.M. Spray.  Dan cooked bacon before school and all I had to do to get the bacon smell out of my hair was to lightly spray O.A.M. Spray in my hair!

Poisonous Concoctions in Most Air Fresheners

You've got a bad smell in your house.  Maybe someone spilled milk behind the couch and you didn't find out until you smelled it.  Maybe someone left a banana behind their bed.  Maybe your aunt gave you a great purse but it emanates cigarette smoke.  Maybe you burned the bacon for breakfast.  Maybe your bathroom smells like a toxic waste dump.  Maybe your dog got sprayed by a skunk.

What you need is a potion to conjure away unwanted smells from your home and workplace. You need something to make bad odors disappear.

So what do you grab?  The closest bottle of air freshener spray to cover up those nasty smells? No one wants bad odors around them. Almost every bathroom has air freshening spray.  Pretty much any commercial air fresheners are a safe, inexpensive way to freshen the air and conjure up a better mood, right? 

Wrong.  

According to a report in ChemicalSensitization.com dated December 27, 2012, Fabreeze is likely to contain over 80 chemicals, many of them harmful chemicals. "Febreze is nothing more than a cauldron of chemicals," states ChemicalSensitization.com, citing the work of scientists from the Environmental Working Group.  

Fabreeze, one of the most popular air fresheners in retail stores, is heavily marketed as a safe solution for bad odors.  Fabreeze showcases a "Breathe Happy" campaign on its website with a vast blue sky as a background.  Promoted as a product with near-mystical and natural properties, Fabreeze has expanded its product lines to include room sprays, scented candles, car air fresheners, and room deodorizers. Unfortunately, all that bottled fragrance is concocted with harmful chemicals. 

Chemicalsensitization.com reported on December 27, 2012:

"Fabreeze...includes chemicals listed amongst the Carcinogenic class, the Genotoxic/Mutagenic class, the Hepatotoxic Class (liver cell killers,) Cell-mediated allergens, Neurotoxins, Reproductive Toxins, Respiratory Irritants/Bronchoconstrictors, Indoor Air Pollutants, and oxidative chemicals which produce allergenic compounds whenever exposed to air.  This product is NOT for small pets and children in any capacity.  Neither is it for respiratory disease patients and those suffering from allergic dermatitis."

Other air fresheners work their magic at a price to indoor air quality as well. SilentMenace.com, a website that promotes awareness about the dangers of indoor air pollution states:

“In no way, shape or form does a chemically-scented fragrance and/or aerosols propelled by butane, propane or other toxins create an indoor environment of fresh air. Chemical "deodorizers" or chemical air "fresheners" only mask other odors. These products do absolutely nothing to improve the quality of indoor air, and in fact, can contribute to a host of ailments from headaches, high pulse rate and nausea; to mention a few.”

So what's a person to do to make bad smells disappear?

Fumigate their family? A lot of people choose this solution unknowingly.

Suffer through the smells? Not pleasant.

Open a window wide? Great option when you are near a window and it isn't too cold or too hot outside.

Simmer cinnamon sticks and cloves on the stove? Great for the kitchen if you aren't a forgetful cook.

Spray lemon, orange, or lime juice? Fresh smelling. Also sticky and attracts fruit flies.

O.A.M. Spray?   What's that?

I feel confident using O.A.M. Spray for what it has (water, plant material, fragrance) and what it doesn't have (the harmful chemicals).  I have found O.A.M. Spray by For Every Home is the best, natural solution for air freshener spays. So much so, that I am a consultant. O.A.M. Sprays by For Every Home are only available from consultants (online or direct sale). I have used Fabreeze and other air freshener sprays but because of my allergies, the minute I spray them, my face starts to break out in cursed rash. 

And now  I know why.

Sources:

http://www.chemicalsensitization.com/2011/07/80-chemical-ingredients-in-febreze.html 

http://www.silentmenace.com/-Air_Fresheners_.html

Green Living Cleaner has Rosy Results

"Your kitchen smells so clean!

"What is that beautiful smell?"

"It smells like grapefruit in here!"  

Get used to comments like these if you use FOR EVERY HOME's Green Living Multipurpose Cleaner and other products. I've always been a fan since their introduction in 2010, but last night when my daughter had the stomach flu, I gained an even deeper appreciation for Green Living Multipurpose Cleaner. 

Not only could I clean up the mess with the cleaner, it COMPLETELY neutralized the putrid stench.  Research has proven pleasant smells increase a person's mood and productivity.  While cleaning up vomit wasn't exactly a pleasant experience, the light citrus mixed with delicate mimosa-flower made it bearable.

I am a believer. 

It's no wonder Green Living Multipurpose Cleaner has topped FOR EVERY HOME's charts as the top-selling product.  Pink Mimosa flower-scented Green Living Cleaner, introduced November 2012, is expected to do just as well. Both 27-ounce cleaners contain only the safest of cleaning ingredients.

Cleaning and disinfecting without harmful chemicals!

Green Living Multipurpose Cleaner was developed when FOR EVERY HOME's founder, Becky Anderson, asked her FOR EVERY HOME development team to come up with a cleaning product that was safe and natural for her infant grandson, William.  William had been diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease (KD).

While the doctors couldn't say exactly what causes KD, they urged Anderson's daughter to remove all chemicals from William's environment and replace them with natural cleaning solutions. The resulting Green Living line of products have not only kept William's environment healthy and clean, they have added a new dimension of environmentally-friendly cleaning to thousands of homes.

FOR EVERY HOME's Green Living Multipurpose Cleaners are just that: multipurpose!  Uses include:

Counter: Spray on counter tops and let sit for a few minutes to clean and disinfect.  Wipe with a dry cloth.
Surfaces: Spray and wipe with a cloth.  For disinfecting, allow the cleaner to sit for a few minutes before wiping. Because of its natural citrus content, test a small amount of Green Living on an inconspicuous portion of stainless steel before cleaning.
Bathrooms: Sinks, counters, toilet, tub. 
Windows and Mirrors: The cleaner will foam more on mirrors than you are probably used to, but will provide a beautiful end result. (Not to mention the beautiful, fresh, non-irritating smell!)
Other Uses: Floors, walls, and cars are other applications for Green Living Cleaners, though the Green Living Dish Soap is ideal for mixing in a bucket of water.  I've even had customers say they clean their dogs with Green Living Multipurpose cleaner!  And why not? It's perfectly safe for people and their pets.

Ingredients:
FOR EVERY HOME's Green Living Multipurpose Cleaners have ingredients including coconut, lemon, lime, mandarin extracts and eucalyptus oil with disinfecting properties.  November also brought another addition to the Green Living Multipurpose Cleaner ingredient list: patented Odor Absorbing Molecules (OAM), making Green Living a cleaner/disinfectant AND air freshener. (Think: no more aerosol air freshener cans with toxic warnings!)

A 27-ounce bottle of Green Living Cleaner is $15 plus tax and shipping and can be purchased at http://www.stacie.foreveryhome.net. It comes in original Pomegranate Blossom scent or newly introduced Mimosa Flower.