Everyone agrees that the holidays are a wonderful time of year.  There are holiday events, parties, special music, bright lights, bright colors - - a feast for our senses.  There is also planning and attending events and parties, decorating with the bright lights and bright colors.  Not to mention the list-making, shopping, wrapping, baking, decorating, cleaning, card-writing, visiting and house guests.  I truly understand why Santa Claus has a huge army of magic elves to help with all of this because it is exhausting!  But, since I do not have even a batallion of elves, I go to bed late, wake up early, get ready for the holidays, run here, run there, try not to get run over by others who are running here and running there.  Oh, and of course the normal everyday responsibilities of life are still there... family, job, commitments.  By the time the holidays actually arrive I am so stressed and stretched that decking the halls is the last thing on my mind.

I think we can all agree that the holiday scenario I described above is typical and... well... crazy; but, often unavoidable.  We can do little things to help ourselves de-stress.  Even though the days get busy fast, I try to start each day with quiet time.  I have my dog, my cup of coffee, and daily readings.  I cut out unnecessary things from my schedule; I try to include at least one thing I enjoy each day; I listen to music.  I also use my Lavender Soaps for aroma therapy when showering, and I use my Lavender Lotion Stick on my hands so I can breathe in the calming, natural scent.  When I was the Human Resources Director for a large company, I kept a bottle of Lavender in my desk for emergency aroma therapy - - it truly helped! 

Lavender has been used for centuries because of its calming, relaxing effect. It’s considered a nervous system restorative.  Lavender aroma helps with sleep, restlessness, irritability, panic attacks, nervous stomach and general nervous tension.  

Whether it is Christmas or Hanukkah - -it only comes once a year.  Let's take the time to realize the joyous blessing that it is and refuse to let it be the stressing that society has made it.  The choice is ours.  I choose blessing!

More years ago than I care to remember, I was a biology major at Hood College, in Frederick, Maryland.  Part of my required curriculum was chemistry.  Initially, I thought I had some talent in the subject.  However, halfway through freshman year, I had an experiment blow directly upward and permanently stain the lab ceiling.  That stain was pointed out to new Chemistry 101 students after me each year.  I struggled with Organic Chemistry in my sophomore year and realized I was not nearly as "talented" in Chemistry as had previously I thought.  During my junior year I took Quantitative Chemistry AND Analytical Chemistry.  Disaster loomed in each lab class but nothing disastrous happened, other than my chemistry professor reminding me daily that she hated biology majors and that she thought chemistry was over my head.  It was.  In my senior year, my college advisor suggested that the world would be a better place if I just stopped taking chemistry classes altogether.  I was always spilling something, burning something, staining something, creating noxious fumes, or breaking glassware.  But, I really LIKED wearing my white lab coat.  I decided my college advisor was right.  After all, I never wanted to be a chemist or do anything remotely related to chemistry.  I would certainly NEVER need anything I learned in all those chemistry classes...

Did you know that making 100% natural and organic soaps, balms, lotions, potions, and nearly all products sold by Lather & Love are created in a similar manner as an organic chemist would create something in a lab?  It's true!  What is unbelievable is that I am doing the creating!  I think I just might have saved my old college white lab coat in a box in my attic.  I doubt it will fit.