When Life Gives You Lemons...

...I make lemonade!

I really do make lemonade. Maybe not with actual lemons, but still. I love lemonade. As in, it's delicious. As in, I drink a lot of it. However, the lemonade I make, since not from actual lemons and from a powdery mix, is probably not exactly the healthiest thing I could drink. Yes, it's true that it's better than some things, but I think you get my point. Anyway, I also frequently drink lemon water. Also not with real lemons. How is this accomplished, you may ask? Well, since I don't keep lemons on hand and I'm not fond of them floating in my water n leaving their seeds in my glass, I use (you guessed it) Lemon oil. Though this way of getting that lemony flavor isn't as sweet as with lemonade, it's actually more beneficial for me.

Lemon oil is a pretty good general oil to have. It's considered an antioxidant and can soothe your throat if it's irritated (among many other things). I like to have it in my water on a regular basis because I like the tidbit of added flavor, and I like the idea of having another boost for my health, especially since flu and cold season are upon us.

Another benefit of using lemon oil in my water, is that I don't have to worry about cutting up a lemon and having lemon juice squirt into my eye. I simply pour a couple drops into my water (my actual technique is putting a couple drops of water into my empty glass and then pouring.. I feel like it gets mixed in better that way). I don't know about you, but I really rather enjoy not having citrus fruits squirt me in the eye. But maybe that's just me..

I'll admit that I will also sometimes add a couple drops of lemon oil into a glass of lemonade. It does slightly give it a tangier flavor, but I do it mainly because it makes me feel justified in drinking lemonade. You know, because now it's not just regular lemonade.. Now it's infused with the goodness of lemon oil.. And is now healthy...

My Toothpaste Doesn't Hate Orange Juice

Hello there!

I know, I know... It's been ages since I've posted anything new. But, I am hoping to get back into the habit (not that I was in the habit before), especially now that there is a mobile app that I can take advantage of.

Anyways, on to my toothpaste! As this blog states, I use essential oils. I also use other essential oil products, such as face wash, cleanser, lotion, etc. One product I really like that I use on a daily basis is the On Guard Natural Whitening Toothpaste. It is fluoride-free, unlike most toothpastes we may be familiar with (I believe the ingredient that makes toothpaste get all foamy is a type of fluoride, so this toothpaste doesn't get foamy). I have used this toothpaste for over a year now, and I love it. There have been a couple times when I've had to use a "regular" toothpaste, and my mouth didn't feel as clean.

Anyway, on to the point of this post. You know how after you brush your teeth, if you drink orange juice within a certain time frame, it tastes terrible? Well... (drum-roll please)... This toothpaste doesn't make that happen! This toothpaste likes orange juice and likes that you might like it. I know, eating and drinking right after brushing your teeth may seem to contradict the point (please, still brush your teeth) but it happens. Sometimes I like to take some cold orange juice with me to drink on my way to work; it's delicious and healthier than many other things I could be drinking. However, I'm drinking this orange juice soon after I brushed my teeth, but it's still delicious! My mouth feels clean and I enjoy the taste of orange juice! It does seem weird because I still expect the funky taste, but it doesn't happen. It's awesome!!

Pain, Pain, Go Away

This last Sunday night, I went to bed with my wrist hurting. That weekend I had been camping and canoeing and I think I may have tweaked my wrist while paddling on the canoe and then slept on it funny or something along those lines.

When I woke up Monday morning, my wrist was hurting immensely. I could hardly move it and if I applied any pressure to my wrist , it felt like my whole arm went dead. This was a bit stressful since I had to work that afternoon and at my job, I'm holding, carrying, reaching, etc. with both hands and knew that I wouldn't be able to work very well with my wrist in so much pain.

This type of pain has happened a few times before, and every other time it's gotten to that point, it has taken a couple days, at least, for the pain to go away.

I then put some "deep blue" on my wrist (honestly, the amount was a bit excessive, but I was in quite a bit of pain). It helped a little but didn't feel like it was going away for long. I waited a bit and put some "lavender" on as well, then put some more "deep blue" on my wrist. After a little while I got on with my morning and began getting ready for work when I needed and started my shift in the afternoon.

It wasn't until I got home about 7pm that I realized that my wrist hadn't hurt at all at work and I had even forgot that I woke up with my wrist in such pain. The pain in my wrist was gone! And it has stayed away. :)

Remember What You Already Know

I had another experience where I ignored my instinct and it backfired. While I was getting ready to go with my mom to church for Mother's Day, I noticed that I hadn't shaved my legs in a few days. Granted it wasn't that bad, but I prefer to have smoother legs when wearing clothes that show off any leg than not. Since it was almost time to leave, I ignored what I knew and decided to shave my legs with just a somewhat new razor and water.

Some people don't have issues when shaving with just water, but I am not one of them (unless I'm swimming in a chlorinated pool nearly everyday, but that's beside the point). I need some sort of shaving cream or something to use with the razor. I ignored this knowledge, however, and got what I believe is the worst razor burn I've ever had.

While at church I felt fine, but soon after I got home my legs started to sting horrendously. It got to the point where I mostly noticed only the stinging in my legs. I ended rolling up the pants I was wearing to above my knees but that wasn't helping as much as I'd hoped. I had put lotion on as well, but it didn't really help either.

Finally, I went and put some "lavender" oil mixed with the "hand and body lotion" on my legs and sat there for a bit. After a couple minutes the stinging went away! My legs didn't even look really irritated or red like they had been. I put the combination on again a couple times throughout the rest of the day to keep the irritation at bay. Today, my legs are pretty much fine and feel about the same as when I use shaving cream. It's almost as if I didn't make the poor choice yesterday of not using any shaving cream. ;)

A Day of Essential Oils

Yesterday was a day that I was very grateful for essential oils in my life. At work I had two coworkers that I was able to help since I had my oils with me. For one I gave her "deep blue" for a headache and to another I gave "lavender" for her irritated/itchy hand. In both cases the oils seemed to help them feel better.

Later in the evening I was eating with a friend at Denny's and had what I'm thinking was an allergic reaction to something in the food I ate. Previously I had periodically noticed a weird feeling in my mouth when I would eat this particular item at the restaurant but ignored it since it wasn't that bad and assumed I might have bitten my lip on accident.

Last night however, after I started to get the weird feeling, my lower lip started to swell (causing the friend I was with to say I had Angelina Jolie lips) but I wasn't sure what oil would be best. I decided to try "lavender" since it is a calming oil and rubbed that on the inside of my lower lip, where the swelling was occurring. After touching the area with my tongue and realizing that lavender isn't the best tasting oil, I put some "peppermint" in the same area for the taste, also hoping it might help calm the swelling since it can be cooling. After a short while, the swelling in my lip started to recede. During that time my friend enjoyed the smell of my breath so that was a slight plus. ;)

Though I am appreciative of the oils in being able to help me in this experience, I don't think I'll be ordering the same thing at Denny's anymore. ;)