Welcome Aboard the Captain Steph B Blog

Hey there! Welcome to my blog. I’m Stephanie. I’m a wife, mom, pilot and natural health advocate. I have always been a Disney fan, weather nerd, space cadet, and someone who wants to her very best all the time.  

The first question I always get is “what led you into flying?” So, I guess I will start there.

When I was 4 years old, my dad was taking lessons at our local airport. The weather was finally good after weeks of hazy summer days in the Midwest. My mom had to work and my babysitter was busy. It was the weekend after all. My dad was told, “Figure it out. Either take her or cancel the lesson.” He made it happen and I went with him in a small Cessna 172 for a flight lesson. I sat in the back while he and his Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) practiced his maneuvers. I was mesmerized and hooked with flying planes.

Over my teenage years, I would change to my plans to teacher or when Indiana Jones came out, Archeologist but I realized I didn’t love getting dirty and dusty. Then Top Gun…the first one…yeah I am dating myself…came out. My group of friends went to the theater. We were all around 12 years old and watched it on the big screen. That bug that bit me at 4, bit again and I never really changed from that point forward.  

At 15 years old, before I was really driving a car, I started flying lessons. It was in a 2 seater Piper Tomahawk…lovingly referred to as the “Traumahawk”. I ended up taking a few years to get that first license because the balance of school, numerous school clubs and activities, time with friends AND flying was quite a lot. But the satisfaction of achieving my Private Pilot Certificate was huge!

From there I went to Purdue University to study and work on the remaining certifications I needed to be employed as a pilot. My goal was to go to the airlines and travel the world.  

Life has a funny way of offering twists and turns though. As this blog progresses I will share more and more about those twists and turns.

But let’s “fly direct” to the part where I started a natural health path. When they say having kids changes everything, they mean everything. My health took an rollercoaster ride while I still had to raise 3 small humans. The kids shared all the germs they picked up in daycare with the family. We went down!

I was pregnant with baby #3, my oldest child was always fighting something that required a doctor’s visit, medications and me taking time off work. Then the fight to get her to take the chalky, gross liquid made me feel like a monster trying to force her to take it. One of my greatest fears is the trauma imparted by that part of our lives stuck in my sweet girls' hearts.  

My mom was introduced to essential oils by a friend for her circulatory system issues. She felt I might benefit since the pregnancy digestive discomfort was kicking my butt along with a daughter fighting off all the germs in the county. So she sent me some samples.

I thought she was absolutely out of her mind! What are these going to do for us? Well, let me tell you, I rubbed the oil (DigestZen) on my breastbone and stomach and felt relief that I hadn’t felt in 6 months. Lavender helped my girls sleep so much better which let me sleep better too. Little did I know this was start a huge journey that has been going on for 12 years and counting.

Thanks for checking out the blog this far, I hope you stick with me as I share my love of oils, flying, answer some questions along the way and hopefully help you feel better about your own health and maybe a little less fearful of flying.