Terre Pruitt's Blog

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Posts Tagged ‘diffuser’

Revisiting Old Post – Actually Having To Repost

Posted by terrepruitt on January 24, 2015

I am looking through my drafts in WordPress to see if there is anything I started to write that I can finish up and use as a post.  I went to a Nia class this morning and spent the day visiting with a friend, so I am trying to post at the last minute (again).  I am very confused it is showing I have 26 drafts.  That seems like an awful lot because I don’t type my posts in the WordPress editor.  I typed them in Notepad.  Sometimes I type them in the WordPress editor, but not often.  I am confused because I also take copies of my posts after I post them and I am seeing copies of the post in my folder and I am seeing comments on them.  But they are showing as drafts.  WordPress has been changing so much with the admin portion of the site I am surprised crazy stuff doesn’t happen all the time.  As things grow often times the simplicity of things get taken away and now what was one click to the admin page I have to click at least four things to get to where I am going.  “Improvements” is a word they should use loosely.  So I discovered the weirdest things while looking in my drafts.  So far, I have discovered two posts that had been posted in August 2013 that are now showing in draft and are no longer on the calendar.  One had 14 comments on it, so I know that it was posted at one time.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose,  Nia at the San Jose Community Centers, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex City of San Jose, San Jose Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYoSo I thought I would point them out in case they really weren’t posted in the first place.  Which would mean that saminaiqbal27 of Samina’s Forum for police support never had that conversation.  The first one I discovered I reposted as of the date of the original post.  In the admin screen it had showed that there were six likes.  When I reposted it they reappeared so hopefully Samina’s and my conversation will come back.  (It did!)

The first post that I discovered was no longer on the blog was posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2013.  It was a silly post about a silly subject.  It was one of the things I hesitated posted about because it was so silly.  But I remember now that at the time I was really appreciating my husband helping out with the cat’s liter box and I thought it was funny that he was making it funny.  But then as time went on it turned out to be a really good thing.  The post that was gone and is now back is S For Spa, Serene, Spot.

For A Taller You was the second post that was showing in drafts and NOT on my blog, but now it is back, with comments and all.  Strange.

I just found another one, I Smell Something.  Unfortunately I thought I had seen it on the blog still so I deleted the one that was showing up in the drafts, but it turns out that was the one that had been posted.  Good thing I keep copies of all my posts.  I just copied and pasted it into a new post, but with the original post date.  But any likes were lost.  I hesitated reposting this one because that diffuser died shortly after.  They kindly offered to send me a replacement.  And they did.  It lasted for about 5 minutes.  I gave up on that.

Well, at this time, it is late and I want to go visit with my hubby so I will go through all the “drafts” at a later time . . . because I have nothing else to do . . . I’ll probably share again if any others have become drafts.  So weird.

Any of you on WordPress having weird stuff happen?  If you have a different blog platform do you like it?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

I Smell Something

Posted by terrepruitt on September 12, 2013

I have mentioned that I have been using essential oils for aromatherapy. I put a few drops of the oil in an unscented tealight and let it burn. While I believe that is not the best way to diffuse the oil, that is one way I do it. One of the popular brands of essential oils that I am familiar with sells diffusers, but they are – in my opinion – very expensive and at this point, way out of my budget. I believe that diffusing them in the air via steam is the best way. So I had been looking for one that was affordable. I found a decent one on Amazon.

After reading the reviews on some diffusers I decided it was important to have one that indicated when the water was low. Also I wanted one that held a good amount of water and could diffuse for hours.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaThe reviews on the one I ended up getting were mixed, as often in the case. A few people said it was cheaply made, well, it was a very inexpensive product compared to some that I had been seeing. But even a cheaply made product should work, or why bother? Reviews are funny aren’t they? There are usually people who LOVE the product and ones who HATE it. Well, this product was no exception. There was one review that kept me from buying it, but, then when I thought about how much oil I was wasting burning it in candles that same review actually made me take a chance.

The person had said they had bought three. Two worked and one didn’t. So I figured it was kind of a crap shoot. I figured the people who said it didn’t work probably got one that didn’t work or they didn’t use it correctly. I figured my chances were good of getting a good one. And I was going to be very careful and use it correctly.

Some people had said it didn’t diffuse the aroma in a large room. Well, I was planning on using it in a small room. What I find is that it works great in the small room and that the fragrance actually travels into the big room. There are two settings for different sized rooms. I usually use the “small room” setting, but that still gets the scent around. But I find that the “large room” setting works good in the big room too!

I am happy with my purchase. I think it does a great job with diffusing scent of the oils.  It acts as a humidifier.  It even has a light that rotates through several colors.  You might be able to see the steam rising out of it in this picture.

One new oil I bought was Bergamot.  Even though Bergamot is a type of an orange, it does not smell like an orange at all, to me.  That could be the brand I purchased.  This essential oils is associated with the throat chakra and the sacral chakra.  According to Wiki, Bergamot is a common top note** in perfumes.  Multiple internet sources say that bergamot oil is an analgesic, an antidepressant, an antiseptic, an antibiotic, an anti-spasmodic, a stimulant, a relaxant, a sedative, stomachic, calmative, cicatrisant, deodorant, digestive, febrifuge, vermifuge and vulnerary.

And can be used to treat depression, stress, tension, fear, hysteria, infection (all types including skin), anorexia, psoriasis, eczema and general convalescence.

At this point I am still only using my oils as aromatherapy – as in using their scent in the air.  I do not usually (except once) put them on my skin.  And I do not ingest them.  I strongly recommend that if you plan on using them on your skin and/or ingesting them you enlist the aid of an experienced Aromatherapist.

I thought I would give you a heads up on an affordable diffuser.

**Top notes are the most volatile and will evaporate first on your skin.

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Good Clean Scents

Posted by terrepruitt on August 8, 2013

I think I mentioned in a post somewhere that my cat is sick.  For you animal lovers, please know that we have been to the vet and we are working on a treatment and so the cat is getting medical attention and we have a plan.  But with this condition comes some unpleasant symptoms.  As many of you have experienced a situation where someone is sick you might be aware of the unpleasant odors that accompany certain situations.  I love candles and I have many with wonderful scents and fragrances.  I love to burn them to add to the comfort of our home.  Many companies have recently produced a lot of fruity and fun type of scents.  All of those scents are lovely when you are just wanting to light a candle for the ambiance.  But when you want to scrub the air and really have the odor be gone a pretty little tea light is not going to do the trick.  While I imagine a diffuser would be the best way to use the essential oils, I have been put mine in candles.  I actually feel that the essential oils help disinfect the air and not just mask the odor.  I could just be deceiving myself, I don’t know, but I DO know that the essential oils help elevate the smell whereas the fru-fru candles do not.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYoWhat I do is put a mixture of drops in a tealight.  And place them around the house.

Since my cat’s disease involves her digestive system I usually add a few drops of Peppermint to a non-scented tea light.  Peppermint essential oil contains menthol, which is a proven aid to digestion.  While the “proven aid” could mean through oral consumption . . . I hope that breathing it in assist with the digestion.  Because there is no way I can feed it to my cat!  It also helps with nervous stress.

I often use lavender essential oil for calming nerves.  Plus it is a nice scent to have around the house.  I feel it helps deodorize the air.

Another essential oil I use to help scrub the air is Tea Tree.  I think of its strong scent as fighting off bacteria, fungus, and viruses.  I recently used this in the sugar scrub I made for these very same properties.

I use Eucalyptus because of its strong menthol type of aroma.  It really helps combat odor.

I also use Ylang, Ylang because it helps with nervous conditions and is used in perfumes and cosmetics (for its aroma).

Sometimes I will have a candle with Lemon-grass essential oil in it because of its anti-depressant affects and its antiseptic properties.  The Orange essential oil also is an anti-depressant, and has a list of other benefits including aiding in digestion.

Again, many of the benefits might be from taking them orally or using them topically, but I think that having the oil released into the air helps too.  And since I am not going to put them ON my cat or have her ingest them the air release is as close as we are going to get.

I do not put Frankincense into a candle because the one time I did it burned oddly.  It seems highly flammable.  So while I think Frankincense Essential Oil is great to use, I don’t put it in the candles.  I have been pouring it on a paper towel and leaving it in the room.  Many sites recommend this as the one oil to get.  If you are only going to get ONE oil, they say, get Frankincense.  So I added it to my collection.  It has a strong woody aroma.  One of the benefits of it is thought to be help with the digestion so that, in addition to the strong aroma is why I add it to the scents in our home.

I really would like to get a diffuser, but I am not sure what to get.  I feel as if the “good ones” are really expensive.  So I am beginning to look at some less expensive ones and read the reviews.  Reviews are always to be taken with a grain of salt, huh?  One person “loves it, it is perfect” and another thinks it is “the worst thing in the world, not worth the money”.  For now, I mix my own oils, just putting a few drops into a tealight.  Then after it burns the oil is still in the holder and it lets off the scent.  I really feel that essential oils do a better job of removing unpleasant odors then flowery candles or spray deodorizes.  I LOVE my beautifully scented candles, but to me, they are to add to a nice clean aroma not for cleaning the air.  Since I posted when I bought my oils I thought I would share with you how I am using them . . . besides in sugar scrubs!

What do you use to alter the aroma in your home?  Do you know of a good diffuser?

Posted in Essential Oils, Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »