depends on where I am, who I'm with, and what type of safety i have against the thunder and lightning, oh and how long it lasts! Otherwise I'd stick with the mist- hey, I'm from western WA, we know rain (though probably not the same as the irish mist you're tlaking about, I'll take my chances)
As for the new unknown or the old but proven- it really depends. Working with kids, teaching them life skills (reading, toileting, etc) especially with special needs kids, they really need something that is proven and if that fails we can move on to not as proven. It takes so long to teach some of them things that we really can't afford to waste precious time doing something completely ineffective when it could affect how independent they will be as adults. However, other things that aren't as crucial to quality of life- new is fun to try!
give your mom a card for mother's day or a gift?