Sunday, December 22, 2013

Tub of Tea

It's nearly Christmas.

Shopping, schedules, shindigs....cooking, crafts, craziness.
We're enduring.
We may be limping, coughing, wheezing, bleary-eyed, over-stuffed, under-rested & generally ready for something a bit more relaxing but oh by jolly, we are enduring.

I know, a tub of Epsom salts would be great.  But, why not consider a TUB OF TEA?

I'm sure you have all you need in your kitchen or house, so there's no need to run off to yet another store.

Here's some things to look for:

Green Tea, Peppermint, Rosemary, Orange peels, Rose Petals, Lavender, Chamomile Tea, Essential Oils (Eucalyptus, Lavender, Tea Tree Oil, etc)

Green Tea: Energizing & stabilizes mood. Also a great antioxidant, anti-aging, healing tea.
Chamomile Tea: relaxing and anti-inflammatory. It's great for irritated or dry skin.
Rosemary: Relaxing, helps with alertness, clarifies skin
Peppermint: Energizing
Lavender: Calming, anti-inflammatory, induces sleep
Sage: helps with acne & oily skin

Here's what you do:

Brew about 2 cups of very strong herbal tea using existing tea or herbs. Strain the tea. Add it to your bath water. You can add essential oils to your bath water as well. If you used loose leaf tea or herbs, once strained, you can take the strained leaves and place them in cheesecloth or a wash cloth. Gather the ends of said cloth and tightly secure a rubberband, hair tie or string around the ends. Place in bath water while you soak all your cares away and rejuvenate.

It's like a mini spa treatment. I think we can endure that!

Friday, December 6, 2013

What Brings JOY

Now that the Holidays are here, I feel sentimental as I'm sure many do this time of year. This feeling leads me down several paths and one being the tea party path. Yes, I'm always thinking what would be a fun tea party, but during this time of year, when there seems to be perpetual busyness, I think of how warm, intimate and refreshing it would be to gather some favorite girlfriends for a party. These are friends whom I love dearly, and love spending time with and to be with all of them together would be like a small, special gift. A gift that feels like Christmas. A gift that doesn't always come at other times of the year.
The Christmas season is special. It's a time of treasuring our loved ones and memories of times past. Sure, we can get depressed this time of year quite easily (I have). But I find that it's mostly due to our commercial culture where we live our everyday lives. A culture where we are constantly bombarded by the marketing of excessive luxury & the idea of joy and happiness. A culture where the images are of happy faces and fun times. Because of this, some of us can become sad & lose sight of what the season is truly about. We can become inwardly focused on the things we don't have instead of focused on the things we do have.
This is the season where, if you believe in the Christian faith, you believe God sent his only son as fully man & fully God to this planet Earth to have relationship with humans.
Relationship. It brings God joy. Isn't that what brings true joy to our lives too?
So how about gathering those close friends & loved ones together for a tea party and celebrate relationships. Reminisce about the past, talk about the future, enjoy the present moment. Get sentimental. I promise you'll feel joy when they're gathered around your table. This is true meaning of Christmas.
Now go put the kettle on and make a few invitations for a holiday tea (& if you need help, I'm truly happy to help you).
jOY