I was looking at Alicia's echo for yesterday, and thinking how glad I am that some people are having that peaceful summertime feeling.  Yes, I am still in a funk.  It's the mosquitos fault, I'm telling you.  Even with nine pounds of bug spray on they keep biting me right now.  That sort of makes the outside off limits for now, because I am allergic and the bites get huge for a week after.

Anyway, I don't want this to turn into the mega-complainy blog.  therefore, I am going to spend the rest of the week talking about little things around the house that make my life happier, easier, more comfortable, etc.  That way you read this and think "hey!  She might be a sourpuss right now, but at least she has some interesting information!"  

So, today I am going to discuss essential oils  and how much I love them.  See, I am not a huge perfume person.  Not only are many people in my life allergic to perfumes, but usually the fragrances do not suit my tastes.  Vanillas, orchids, rose, orange...blah blah blah.  Not for me.  I started using essential oil as perfume when I got some from Aveda for my birthday.  That is when I realized that the stuff lasts forever. 

then I started thinking about shampoo.  We just can't afford Aveda shampoo.  Suave $1 bottles are more  in our budget.  But almost all of the drug-store brands smell horrible.  If you want to torture me, make me sit next to or shampoo with any kind of herbal essences shampoo.  Yuck.  They smell awful.  Could someone tell me who gave companies the idea that women like to smell like fake green apple scent?  Gross.  

Well, now I just buy shampoo in unscented and add my own essential oil to the bottle.  Viola!  yummy smelling shampoo that David and I both like using.  My current favorite combo is Ylang Ylang with geranium.  I kind of like grapefruit mixed with this, but I can't afford all those oils at once.  The other thing I have noticed is that people don't seem to have the same kind of sneezing fits with oils that they have with perfume.  Interesting.

The other interesting fact is the scents that I choose naturally are the oils commonly used to treat depression, something I am known to battle regularly.  I did not know this before choosing my oils.  I highly suggest going to a health foods store and just seeing which oils appeal to you.  You might be surprised when you learn what aromatherapy benefits they have.  

Since I also make my own house cleaner I can use the oils in those as well!