Herbs and Chinese Lanterns

It's a typical fall day. Rainy and cool. The perfect kind of day for a cup of tea. And i am drinking the most delicious cup. Dr. Cinnamon from "BulkHerbStore." They gave me a sample when i ordered their immune booster tea, which i use to make an herbal tincture. Dr. Cinnamon has cinnamon (no, really), red raspberry, gingko (for the brain, which God knows i need), orange peel, and green tea. I sweetened it with some honey and stevia and it's warming my insides in the most delicious fragrant way. I highly recommend the products from "BulkHerbStore" as they have wonderful quality of herbs, lots of great advice, and you're once again supporting a small family run business.

We also really like their immune booster tea, as it's full of immune boosting properties and it's a whole lot cheaper to make your own tinctures than to buy them. It's also very simple. I take a pint jar, fill it 1/3-1/2 full of the dried herbs (i grind them first to make sure i get the most out of them), dampen the herbs with hot water, just til they're damp, and then fill with vegetable glycerin and follow with a lid. You can buy vegetable glycerin at health food stores or online. Place a towel in the bottom of your crockpot, set the jar on top and fill halfway with warm water. I turn the crockpot on warm, put the lid on and let sit for 3 days, checking every so often to make sure the water doesn't run out in the crockpot. After 3 days, strain the herbs through a clean cloth into a small bottle, label and store. Use whenever you see signs of a cold or flu, and with herbs, a little used often works best. You can't overdose, so i will give as often as every half hour, maybe a 1/2-1 tsp.

Well, my tea is finished, and the children are clamoring to make their chinese lanterns. We're having a chinese meal tonight, orange chicken over jasmine rice, and i discovered the most delightful, easy to make, chinese lanterns at Enchanted Learning. (can't get the link to work) Of course we'll take pictures, all to put in their portfolios to convince the state that these children are actually learning something. ;)

Enjoy the rain, snuggle with the kids, and drink some tea. All i need is my water to break, deliver a baby, and then my world would be complete. All in God's timing, right?