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This past weekend I went away with my girlfriends I have known since Junior High. We rented a little house a block or two from the ocean in a tiny little town on the coast of California called Cayucos. We had a nice time. I put together a little slide show.
We visited the beach a couple of times and got a nice dose of negative ions. They make you feel good. It’s nice to get a dose of them when you can.
The little house was amazing. It had everything you would need to live in it permanently so staying there for a couple of days was nice.
The town is sweet – full of realty offices and antique stores. We pretty much visited all of the antique stores in a few hours. We had a nice time.
Now that I have iMovies you will probably be seeing a lot of slide shows and hopefully some videos.
In August I went to the beach when I came back and wrote a post about negative ions and how the beach is one place you can get them. You can also get them in the mountains, from waterfalls, and even from the shower. Another place you can get them is a Himalayan Salt Lamp. I have wanted one for a long time but whenever I have seen them they are really expensive. Well, lucky me, I got one for Christmas.
How I got it early might be explained here or my friends and I have been having a Christmas gathering since we were eighteen. For thirty years we have met and celebrated Christmas. Sometimes it is before Christmas, sometimes it is after. We just have always made sure that we did it. It used to be four of us, but life’s circumstances took one of our friends away to another state. For the past five years or so it has just been three of us. But we still meet.
We gather, eat, drink, and exchange gifts. The point of the gather is NOT the gifts, but we always manage to do pretty good with that. The point is to visit and be together, but still we have always managed to exchange something.
This year we were able to fit it into our schedules before Christmas. And a salt lamp was one of the gifts. My house is full of Christmas decorations so I was going to wait to put the lamp out, but I ended up not waiting. When I plugged it in and went to turn it on I was so excited to see it has a dimmer switch – super cool.
In order to write this post I did a search about the lamps and I came across an interesting site that has a lot of information. It gives 10 reasons why you want one (Salt Lamps Cleanse & Deodorize the Air, Reduce Allergy & Asthma Symptoms, Eases Coughing, Increase Energy Levels and more). It also gives advice on what size you might want for the room you are putting it in. I think I might need a bigger one to be effective in the room I have it in now. Or perhaps I can get two for the space. It says that an average size room (which is what?) would benefit from a 6.9 lb lamp, but a 15 lb lamp would be better for larger areas like a living room.
Our house was designed with a great room so the area is very large plus there are cathedral ceilings. The 15 lb one would probably work better in the living room. It could be that two large ones would work best in that space. It is very large. I will take my gift one for my office. Once Christmas is down I will be moving the lamp closer to where we sit and that might help in the mean time. Until I find one (or two) I want to buy for the space.
My hubby has a tea light holder and I use that every once in a while. I am very excited about the lamp. I wonder if we will notice a difference?
Do you have any Himalayan salt around? Lamps? Candle holders?
My last post having something to do with the beach was in April, when my hubby and I had a little get-away. While many people go to the beach much more often, it is pretty good for me to have gotten to the beach again only four and a half months later. I was going with a friend to take a Nia class over the hill. After the class we were going to go have breakfast then go to the ocean. We always figure if we drive over the hill we might as well go to the ocean. Turns out, the Nia class wasn’t being held but we decided to go over the hill anyway. First we had breakfast at a place not too far from the ocean. Then we sat there, at the breakfast place, talking for about an hour. It was kind of overcast and we had no plans so we weren’t in a hurry. But we finally did make it to the beach. It was awesome. Just a handful of people and a nice little cloud cover. First we walked one way on the beach, then back the other way. Then we decided to sit down. The weather was perfect! The sun actually came out around noon. We just talked and enjoyed the ocean. We were immersing ourselves in the negative ions.
I had heard this a long time ago, but never looked into it until now. And I barely glanced into it. But I can tell you that what I am seeing out there in the way of information is that the air is full of invisible particles called ions. Sometimes these ions can be positively charged or negatively charged. Oddly enough, it is the negatively charged or “negative ions” that can possibly have a positive effect on us.
The director of research at the Center for Applied Cognitive Sciences in Charlotte, N.C. is quoted as saying, “Generally speaking, negative ions increase the flow of oxygen to the brain; resulting in higher alertness, decreased drowsiness, and more mental energy.”
The article further states:
Once they reach our bloodstream, negative ions are believed to produce biochemical reactions that increase levels of the mood chemical serotonin, helping to alleviate depression, relieve stress, and boost our daytime energy.
When I heard of negative ions long ago, I had only heard of the ocean as being a place to experience them. Or if other places were mentioned I only remember the ocean. But the WebMD article mentions mountains, waterfalls, and even the shower. So there might be more to it than just feeling good when you are in these places because you are not at work. It could be because of the negative ions in the air.
Unfortunately watching the video or playing it on your computer or device will not give you the same effects. No negative ions via video, but I thought I would share it anyway. Along with some pictures.
My friend and I sure enjoyed our breakfast and our ocean time.
Would you rather go to the mountains or the ocean?
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