It's cold outside but that's it, just cold. I've got plans for the day and am already sidetracked. During this last month I've sort of stashed things out of the way and some of those things were the Christmas decorations. I just pulled them off the tree and put them in my garage where they would be out of sight and out of mind (for the most part). Obviously, you can't live your life always putting stuff off and it's time to get things in order and start thinking straight.
Today I'm cleaning up the garage, putting away my Christmas items and getting out my gardening tools and utensils so I will be ready to plant garden seed in the next couple weeks. I'm also doing laundry which was not my intention. I could have held off another day or two but I simple couldn't hold back!!!
I'm also making Poor Man's Vegetable Soup for supper too. Poor Man's Vegetable Soup? Well, I like to make vegetable soup with leftover roast beef and bunches of veggies; but Poor Man's is made with ground beef and lots of mixed veggies and extra potatoes and tomato sauce. Hubby loves it! I honestly think he likes it because it doesn't have any cabbage in it. "Real" vegetable soup has cabbage in it, especially since I LOVE cabbage!!! LOL! But today is veggie soup for hubby day!!! Shucks - I'll sure miss the cabbage!!
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I have, I think, a fairly decent immune system. I've always felt like I have contributed to my health by using herbs in teas, foods, capsules, tinctures and essential oils, etc. This past month has been extremely stressful and stress is the one area that I have been unable to handle . . . like forever!! I've always been able to cope with any kind of ailment that was going around UNLESS I was stressed. I caught a cold the second week of January and immediately started taking my cough and cold syrup, or "Granny Juice" as hubby calls it, and limited the duration of my cold. In the meantime, both my son and my husband came down with it. I put them on a regimen of Granny Juice and Echinacea Tea. Echinacea Tea is made from the Root of the Purple Cone Flower. I'm a firm believer in Echinacea Tea.
Also, I used essential oils in my diffuser/burner. No one could breath because of swollen nasal passages and these particular oils seemed to do the trick along with promoting expectoration. This particular recipe was simply 3 drops pine needle, 2 drops peppermint and 2 drops eucalyptus. Everyone seemed to sleep and breathe really well with that combination. Thankfully, we're all just about back to normal.
Today I'm using 4 drops cinnamon, 2 drops sandalwood and 2 drops orange. These 3 are helpful for strength when you are feeling fragile. I also have one for depression which calls for 2 drops of neroli and 4 drops of bergamot. Sometimes when you're down a little lift is all that's needed.
Study up on the use of essential oils before using them. Be smart - but essential oils have been really handy for me, especially during the Winter Flu Season and in years past for using as a calming agent. Have you ever diffused essential oils? I'd love to hear from you. What was your experience?