Pinterest FAIL

I know on social networks we do a lot of bragging. Look at this awesome picture of me looking awesome with my friends with this amazing scenery in the background. Look at my awesome Pinterest success. Well I want to be honest. We don't always succeed at everything we try. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

I want to tell you about my Pinterest fail. It came so close to being awesome, but it didn't work. I don't know yet if I'll try again. But I think it's worth sharing that I tried to make my own cough drops. I think it's a worthwhile endeavor. The globs of goo all over my kitchen taste good. The ingredients probably have medicinal qualities that help your throat, cough, and health in some way. But everything is not as easy as it looks. And I found that to be the case with candy-making. 

I didn't have a candy thermometer- I only have a meat thermometer. Turns out it only goes to 200° and I was supposed to heat my mixture up to 300. In the meantime my mixture boiled over onto the stove. I tried to transfer it to another pot but in this pot the mixture was shallow and the tip of the thermometer was touching the bottom of the pot, which I know it's not supposed to do. The directions on one post that I found said that I was supposed to let the mixture cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Well when I let it sit five minutes, at which time I poured probably about $15 or so worth of essential oils (thieves, eucalyptus, and peppermint) into the mixture, it became so hard that I couldn't get it to pour into my little silicone mold that I had bought just for this purpose. 

I'm sure there will be some way for me to salvage this mess and break it up into little pieces. And Lord knows I don't waste anything. But I do feel a little dejected. The wind has left my sails a little. But it's all about the journey, the process, right?

I'm proud of myself for trying something new. And now I have that much more experience under my belt. So here's to new adventures and Pinterest fails. All things work together for the good for those that love the Lord (Romans 8:28.)

So if anyone else wants to try, I hope it works for you. Let me know how it goes!

Ridin' Oily

I spend at least 10 hours per week in the car. Not because of my commute to work. My office is located on the campus of Ave Maria University- a whole mile away from home! I rack up the mileage driving back and forth to Naples, of which Ave Maria is a suburb of sorts. I go into Naples for medical appointments, church ministry, shopping, dining, and entertainment. And due to my recent popularity with visitors, I’m a regular at the local airports, which are at least an hour away. So how can I make the most of this travel time? By ridin’ oily.

I brought my mini USB Orb Diffuser home from work last weekend so I could try putting it in my car. It works great! It sits nicely in a cup holder and plugs into my USB car charger. The Orb Diffuser produces more of a “wet” mist compared to the Home Diffuser. And perhaps due to closer proximity to my face, I think it may cause some post-nasal drip. (TMI?) But overall, I like the setup and being able to diffuse while a drive. It’s a lot better aromatherapy than the alternative…

“Even though I hate to admit it, sometimes I smoke cigarettes. Christian folks say I should quit it…

But I would like to quit. I have a weird guilt complex about smoking, as evidenced by the fact that I rarely do it in public. I smoke from the privacy of my lanai (read: Floridian screened-in porch) or car.

Smoking is horrible for my health. As with all bad habits, it’s become an attachment from which it is difficult to break free. When you want to take something away from a baby or toddler, what do you do? The sneaky switcheroo: replace your slobbered-on phone or keys with something you don’t mind them sticking in their mouths. The thing that needs to be taken away from me is my habit of lighting up immediately upon crossing my self-determined anonymity threshold at approximately 1,000 feet from campus.

If I must have a driving ritual, why not have it be diffusing? I could turn on the diffuser right after starting the car while it’s still in park. This way I’m not adding ANOTHER distraction to my already very distracted driving. My roommate says I drive as if it’s the last thing I’m doing, instead of the first, or heaven forbid, the only thing I’m doing.

Take the cigarette out of one hand and the phone out of the other, and I could actually drive with two hands on the wheel like a normal person. I will miss the knee-driving, but it won’t be necessary if my hands aren't doing anything else. With the relaxation that aromatherapy induces, I'm calmer and experience less of an urge to engage in additional activities.

I’ll just listen to my brother’s banjo recordings while taking in the sweet scent of Joy. (My friend just brought me my brother's CD that I forgot at home, and I cannot wait to stick it in the car and have him serenade me while I drive. That's not a distraction, is it??)



While I've been diffusing Joy in the car the past few days, the first oil we tried at my friend’s request was Thieves. It smelled like Christmas, cigarettes, and frog-legs when we got back to the car after a day at the beach- although I can’t blame the oil for the stench of my leftovers or the stale smoke. Perfume, for example, doesn't cover up body odor- it mixes with it.

My friend also pointed out the irony in my simultaneous self-destructive and health-enhancing habits: smoking and diffusing. I'd like to work on consistency- wouldn't we all?

I've enjoyed riding oily so much that I’m ordering another mini orb diffuser so I can permanently have one in both my office and car. Perhaps I will become a healthier AND safer driver... miracles happen every day.

What a steal

After my hiatus up North for Christmas, I returned to Florida anxiously awaiting my Young Living Premium Starter Kit. It includes a selection of 10 different essential oil and essential oil blends called the Everyday Oils Collection.

I was so excited when it arrived- but where to start? Well, I had been pretty sick during the break, and airplanes seem to equal infection for me. I knew my aunt diffuses Thieves to fight against germs and prevent sickness.

Apparently this blend of essential oils was used by grave robbers- hence the name- during the back plague to keep them from catching it from their victims.

I already knew I liked the smell of this blend, which my friend says smells like Christmas. So this is the very first oil we diffused.

My Premium Starter Kit came with a Home Diffuser. The directions said to put in 12-13 drops. I didn't have distilled water but I didn't let that stop me (sh, don't tell my mom.) And I never developed the ear infection that I was expecting to match the one got after my flight to Illinois.