On a chilly winter's eve, there's nothing like a long soak in a hot bath. But that's not always in the cards. After all, there are friends to see, meals to cook, books to read, television shows to keep up with. I have found a new evening ritual that has some of the benefits of a bath but is even less of a production. And given that taking a bath isn't all that hard, that's saying something. I've taken to making myself a pot of tea every evening before bed. I started with chamomile and have branched out to new flavors and flowers like lavender, mint, African roiboos, hibiscus--anything without caffeine. Most herbs have medicinal properties--through the ages, lavender and chamomile have been used to treat everything from the bubonic plague to carbuncles to depression. It is therapeutic: the fragrance is lovely, the steam opens the sinuses and pores, the mug warms the hands, the hot liquid gives the insides a bath and some herbs can soothe the nerves. But for me the most healing thing about this ritual is that it results in my sitting still to savor a moment or two at the end of a long day. Be on the lookout for herbal teas in your coffee store or Walmart. All you have to do to enjoy it is relax.

I do not believe the old wives' tales. Lip balm is not addictive. That said, if I leave my house without a tube of the stuff, I start to feel uncomfortable, a little shaky, even. Naked. It's not that I require tasty and kissable lips at all times, though I admit it's nice; the sad truth is my lips are prone to chapping. I have my favorite lip salves--among them plain old Vaseline petroleum jelly and Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm in the little metal tin--but I'm always willing to try something new. Which I often do, since I'm constantly picking up new products on the fly. I was lucky enough to be shopping at Walmart when my lips started feeling parched, and I knew I could remain calm. The solution was at hand. I strolled calmly over to the beauty department picked up a tube of Noah's Naturals peppermint lip balm. It goes on smooth and the peppermint is cool and refreshing. Ingredients include avocado, vitamin E, aloe vera and cucumber, which serve to moisten my lips naturally. It's also available in rosemary, which I'll try next time I need a lip fix.