Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue, Poetry Is "Hard"...

...and I love making personal tea blends.

I blended up some fun teas tonight on +Adagio Teas, calling the set of teas "Poetry is Hard".  I was actually hanging out with David and wanted a decaf tea and I have no idea why but the poem "Roses Are Red..." kept running through my head.  So I decided to create some personal blends but with a little twist.  As someone who dabbles as a poet, I enjoy teasing myself and others with "poetry", so this was a funny way to poke fun and get some tasty tea blends out of it.

Roses Are Red

The tea is blended with apple pieces, rose hips, hibiscus flowers, raspberry leaves, natural strawberry flavor, cranberries, natural watermelon flavor, rose petals, strawberries, natural raspberry flavor, and raspberries.

I wanted herbal & fruit blends that fit to the 'poem'. Also I love my hibiscus tea mixed with various fruits, so yay!

Violets Are Blue

The tea is blended with green rooibos tea, rose hips, hibiscus flowers, apple pieces, natural blueberry flavor, blueberries, raspberry leaves, cranberries, and blue cornflowers.

Next line of the poem. You know, the blue part ;)  I was actually starting to get nervous that this blend wouldn't work out but I think I found the right combination.

This Tea Is Sweet

The tea is blended with green rooibos tea, honeybush tea, chamomile flowers, rooibos tea, peppermint leaves, orange peels, marigold flowers, strawberries, apple pieces, natural peach flavor, natural apricot flavor, natural strawberry flavor, natural vanilla flavor, natural orange flavor, apricots

I made up my own third line of the 'poem' Get it? HEHHE The picture on the blend is because kittens are cute and sweet (not tasting sweet though, I do not recommend eating kittens)

And So Are YOU!

The tea is blended with rooibos tea, peppermint, honeybush tea, cocoa nibs, natural chocolate mint flavor, natural chocolate flavor, and peppermint leaves.

Final line of the 'poem' stays the same. I dedicate this 'Poetry Is Hard' blend to my husband, David.  The picture used is the cake table at our wedding this past August.

Anyway, today was PI Day and it was nice to just spend the day with David.  The house was empty today and eventhough David wasn't feeling well I was able to get a bunch done.  I had a few pots of tea today, mostly ones I have had before.  I started out with White Cab from +Short and Stout Tea and have been sampling some of my Adagio blends.  Finally I am ending the evening with Wild Strawberries and Mint tea, my own blend.

Friday...You Have Failed Me For The Last Time...

No seriously Friday, you and I are not on good terms right now.  Friday is supposed to be the fun day, the "win" day, the "thank [insert]* god it's..." today has been insanely annoying.  I have so many "fires" that required skilled "putting out", irate people to talk politely to, and of course the never ending comedy of errors that is the paperwork that comes across my desk for review.  I normally look forward to Fridays because we can dress down and I can be a little more relaxed on my staff when they are getting the giggles about the upcoming weekend.  I kept my grumbles to a minimum and just "gave up" on certain aspects of the day after I couldn't bring myself to be upset any more with SEVERAL not good errors.

I didn't have most of my teas today.  I mixed together a blend of raspberry black tea and forest berry black tea from +Adagio Teas early in the morning.  When the day started to get more insane and I needed cobwebs forcefully evicted from my brain, I ended up drinking my own mix or a "poor-man's" version of Dirty Chai...

"Dirty Chai is a popular coffeeshop drink. It's an espresso drink made of a shot of espresso mixed into a 'chai tea' (or masala chai). It's usually made with a chai concentrate, steamed milk and a single shot of espresso." - excerpt from About.com article.

...and bought my staff, Rich, and David some pie for PI Day.  My "poor man" version is just strong coffee mixed with +Tazo Tea Classic Chai.  It is actually tasty and if you have creamer it makes it smooth but delightfully spiced.  PI Day isn't until tomorrow (3/14/15) but since our office is not open on Saturdays and it is a wonderful excuse to bring in pies for sale, benefiting the activities/morale committee fund on our floor, and we enjoy partaking.

So, some redemption to the day though I could not eat most of the pies because of the additives and crusts having gluten, so I bought a Strawberry pie and just scraped the strawberries and goo off the crust and ate the strawberries. YAY SOLUTIONS!  I am not suffering from Celiac's (THANKYOU!) so I can cut corners like that.  I usually eat minimal amounts of gluten in a week, so my system doesn't go completely haywire but not nearly the amount I used to eat.  I have noticed a small difference in my joints, though it could be psychosomatic.  I don't hold the 100% no gluten life because I just am horrible at 100% denial of things unless absolutely medically necessary.

I am looking forward to the weekend.  No Pathfinder gaming tonight but we might play boardgames or something else at the house.  David and I have plans tomorrow morning and afternoon, hopefully I am having an ok day so we can venture over to a friend's house for a PI Day Extravaganza.  YAY!

OK, maybe more later.  For now, getting the last of the office work done before 5pm.

"So Much Universe, and So Little Time"

quote from Sir Terry Pratchett.

The announcement of Sir Terry's death came as very devastating news.  So soon after Leonard Nimoy's passing...and I'm just drowning in sad.  Its like being punched in the heart until it is bruised and bleeding. :(

I know that this sounds weird that I should be so devastated but I get attached to people that make the world beautiful or make the peace of the universe float in words or actions.  Sir Terry brought so many different ideas and worlds to life and I loved getting lost in them.

I drank a lot of tea today, mostly fruity teas, +Adagio Teas "Wild Strawberry", +One Good Woman "Bingo Blueberry", and +Front Porch Tea Room "Pomegranate".  They are delicious and fruity.  the tang and tart of the different berries makes for a nice cup and something delicate I needed after ugly crying from the news.

Honestly, if you're in to fruity and tart tea that has a smooth and deep taste, the three listed above are amazing.  I would highly recommend all of them.  A little bit of sugar or honey makes it sweet and develops the flavor but is definitely not necessary.

"Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night" - Tweet from Sir Terry's Twitter account

Yep...Still getting hit with random tears.  Going to bed...night night all.

“May we exist like a lotus..."

"...At home in the muddy water. / Thus we bow to life as it is." - Zen saying

The temperature got up to about 50° today.  It was amazing.  I haven't been feeling really well lately the fibro is kind of taking its toll every so often, but even feeling really crappy with weighted limbs, just general lethargy was completely negated by a few moments of warm sunshine.  Had to get my Pilates stuff together this morning, which caused us to run around a little bit discombobulated in order for me to grab some of my teas from the +Front Porch Tea Room.  I ended up just defaulting to my personal blend, "Blood Moon" that I have from +Adagio Teas and Gevalia Ceylon Citrus Spice.

One of David's drawings from dinner

The day of work was kind of standard training Wednesday, we had our biweekly morning training that thankfully I did not have to partake in, and then we ended up having another meeting about a new process and procedure.  So be taking a few more things on my plate, but not a big deal because it actually should help things run a little smoother.    I'm probably going to have to have a meeting with my staff tomorrow to go over the new procedures and how were going to integrate them into our process.  I might bring Eeyore with me again tomorrow, and maybe some of the teas to test them out.

I wasn't really feeling Pilates tonight after we had a fire alarm at 2 PM.  That involved walking down fifteen floors of steps and then dealing with some staff being difficult and refusing to follow the safety rules in place.  I was shaking pretty bad after we got down the stairs, not from fear but it is a lot of slow stop and go on the stairs as we try to evacuate all eighteen floors of people.  David was able to give me some hugs and he took my backpack from me so my body didn't have any additional weight to deal with.  I wrote my Pilates instructor and informed her that I wouldn't be there tonight, and the little guys and we decided we were still going to go to the restaurant/pub that we usually go to.

David drawing at Dinner

When 5 o'clock hit it was really nice the weather was pretty outside and the sun was shining was just a really nice opportunity to feel not so crap because obviously the weather wasn't crappy.  What a difference the sun and a little bit of warmer weather makes.  So we got to the restaurant and requested our usual waitress, Jamie, she was surprised to see us so early but she was also very happy to see us.  We had some nice dinner and a beer or two and just relaxed, I made the guys laugh by taking Instagram photos of them as they waited for our drinks.  David has been feeling inspiration for drawing and so he started drawing some beautiful pen and ink lotuses.  I don't think that alcohol is the cure for much if anything but the chance to sit down and have a tasty meal and good company was wonderful.

A Painting David worked on after dinner

When we got home I took a shower and then made myself a nice pot of tea.  I mixed up a pot of white tea with the last bit of Persephone White Tea from +Virtuous Tea.  It is a nice smooth tea that I really like and obviously really like since it is now all gone.  Except that I have a few teas coming in from several tea companies in the next week or so, I would make a new order now but I want to be able to review new teas as often as possible.  Seriously though, if you're looking for a nice tasting white tea, this one is very pleasant.

OK.  I am going to turn in early tonight but I do plan on having some reviews done of newer teas tomorrow.  If I remember to actually take my breaks tomorrow.  (you have no idea how hard it is to remember to take those breaks, especially when you're single-minded like I am and want to get as much work done and off your desk as possible.)  I do need to take a break tomorrow, at least to write a review or two and post for you all - so here is my stated intent...we'll see if I can actually follow through.

Insomnia and I Are Getting A Divorce

OK, seriously...Insomnia can go suck an egg.  I attempted to sleep from 11pm to 4am...I tossed, turned, flipped, had one leg under the blankets and one leg out, slept under a cover, over a cover, covered my head in a pillow, "slept" on my stomach, back, side...It was a gymnastics event in attempting to sleep.

I had a delicious cup of "Dream" tea to go to bed.  It is a mix of chamomile, lemon balm, lemon grass, mint, and Valerian root.  This should have helped me to sleep but it seems Insomnia and I were having an issue.  I seriously kept trying to think of ways to make myself sleep.  I couldn't take sleeping pills that late because I metabolize sleep meds..well..meds period about as fast as molasses in winter.

So...I got to sleep at about 4am-ish and woke up once more to the "oh crap it's time to get up" slump.  We went to work and I immediately made myself two pots of tea.  I don't mean one and then the other, I mean I actually made two pots right there and then set to work with my tea and some vitamin/supplements to help me at least get through the day.

David was really cute and sweet all day and I couldn't help smiling and blushing every time I saw him.  It really helped me get through the day.  Especially because it seemed like the insomnia was a new bug going through the office and most of my staff were a bit prickly and at the end of their ability to filter.  I had a lot of Earl Grey from +Gevalia and just kept working to get through the day.

I had a wonderful email message from a tea company today too.  I really loved the down-to-earth and honest wording and it was way too cool.  I love getting these emails, positive or negative.  I also cannot wait for the tea samples to arrive.  I am excited to flood social media with my reviews.  It picked me up and got me through the afternoon, other than awesome smiles from my amazing husband, of course.  You have no idea how beyond the moon I am to see him smile and just get to be near him.  (yes, ewww...I love my husband...I'm gross ;P)

When we got home today my package from +Front Porch Tea Room had arrived.  I took a picture and giddily danced through the kitchen.  I made sure to check everything and then took a picture of the teas.  I had a large pot of VERY BERRY.  It is very tasty and exactly what it says it is, very berry.  I really liked it.  I love fruity teas, is anyone surprised?  And I definitely plan on buying more.  So when I need to pick up the Polar Fire tea I was unable to get this last time I will probably be getting a refill of Very Berry too.  So for the first tea from the local shop +Front Porch Tea Room, I say "WELL DONE"  I look forward to tasting the other teas from my order.

Daylight Saving(s) Time Was a Plan Created by ALIENS

Okay, so obviously we're seeing lots of commentary from a John Oliver and every other person that was suffering along with the rest of us not able to wake up this morning.  But seriously, f**k daylight savings time.  As a Spoonie on a medication schedule and a fairly strict requirement for the amount of sleep I have to get, daylight savings time is the devil.  We woke up late this morning, probably because we both forgot to remind our internal clocks that some really dumb invention by some dudes worried about farming and crops were going to mess with our sleep.

So obviously got off to a slow start, or rather a fairly harried start.  My body seriously disliked the "holy crap it's an hour lost" reaction and was struggling to deal with the loss of sleep and the change to the medication schedule.  I brought the new Republic of Tea Turmeric and Ginger and my "best friend" Double Green Matcha, in to work.  Because I was out on Friday, there were several reports I needed to get done as soon as possible, which really didn't leave me a lot of time to get readjusted to the workweek.  Thankfully, I finished the entire pot of the Turmeric and Ginger tea and started to feel right about the time I was receiving several emails from my coworkers regarding random claims and of course phone issues.

I brought Toothless to work with me, it's always nice to have a soft and cuddly stuffed friend to distract me from my never ending supply of reports and work demands.  Don't get me wrong I actually like my job and I like a lot of my coworkers it's just, you know the day-to-day stress of life, the universe, everything and WORK.  I'm a huge fan and proponent of midday siestas, and I could definitely go for much longer allotment of sick days and vacation.

Seriously...we need to get on that.  Paid sick leave and longer (and paid) vacation time!  I think we'd have a much happier workforce and maybe our economy would decide to stop taking the longest most painful dump in history...yes...I just made a potty joke.  It's Monday...my humor is stunted by a lost hour. :P

So, I had been emailing several different tea companies to get samples so that I could do reviews here on this Blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.  Seriously, I want to promote and plug tea companies every single day on every platform available.  Most of the companies that I'm getting positive responses from have been newer companies or ones that are looking to expand either, their social media reach or get the word out about the company.  The companies that I got a positive, "Thank you for your interest, but we are not interested" response, have been the commercially accepted and long-standing companies that don't really have need for a social media presence because their brand is already known.  Believe me, I hold absolutely no ill will to them.  I understand they got their stuff down, they are carried in almost every major food store; their name is known internationally.  Believe me, some nobody on the Internet with blog and crap-ton of social media accounts isn't going to really change their customer totals.  I do have to say though it is a really cool thing to contact these different companies and even if they are not in the market to send me samples, the communication alone is a really interesting and fun experience.  It probably is a fun experience because I don't have to involve the phone, but any time that I don't actually have to go face-to-face with somebody or speak on a telephone is a win in my book.

Anyway, in conclusion...ALIENS*...the crazy dude from the History Channel got it all along.  Daylight Saving Time is totally a dastardly plot by Aliens to try to take over the world...or at least the US and Europe.  Did you know that...China abandoned daylight saving time in 1992...maybe they are in on it...


*footnote: I mean little green or grey men from outer space...cool your horses Arizona I wasn't talking about other kinds of aliens.

5 Ways for Spoonies to Say "Thanks" to Their Significant Others

So, if you haven't read this blog before or just to clarify, I am a "Spoonie" or person living with a chronic illness.  I am actually living with two, specifically Endometriosis and Fibromyalgia.  My husband, David, was actually one of the first people that really encouraged me to seek medical help for the intense amount of pain and sleep deprivation issues I was facing.  He has been helping me every step of the way from helping me go to appointments, encouraging me with activity, making changes and sacrifices to the food and drinks we have, forgiving me for having to change plans when I get too overwhelmed, helping me day-to-day...the list really does go on and on.  Because I had been going through a bad bout of No-Spoons (exhaustion and flare-ups) I got it in my head that I should share ways for Spoonies to thank their SOs (significant others).

This will be a fun post of ways for Spoonies to show their appreciation for their significant others.

1. Order In From Their Favorite Food Place - It is important to have a night "out" but since you may not be able to go out, try to have a night "in".  Remember to order their favorite food and/or from their favorite food place.  If you are in an urban area there are several sites that will deliver food to you that may not otherwise have delivery.  Grub Hub is actually a favorite of several friends of ours.  I don't know if everyone has this capability but what can also be nice is asking friends to pick things up for you.  Obviously if you have dietary restrictions and they do not, please don't put yourself at risk...BUT you can get food from their favorite place and food that you can eat or from two different food locations.  It's the togetherness and special attention to them that is the point.
2. Buy Comfy PJs or Snuggies for You Both - Sometimes we both need to have something soft and comfortable to rest/relax in. Footie Pajamas and Super Hero Snuggies are perfect options (my husband and I are also big nerds) but just remember to get something comfortable for you both that you can both relax in and find comfort in.  You don't have to go outside in them, so don't worry about being "that" couple that has "his/her" stuff, if you aren't that kind of couple.  I know I love fuzzy socks because they feel better when my skin is oversensitive, so why not buy a cool set for myself and a cool set for him to share the awesome fuzziness?
3. Give Them "Moment for Me" Coupons - So a lot of our significant other's time is dedicated to helping us with several different things and they tend to bottle up their own issues, weaknesses, worries, etc.  Give them a "book" or several coupons that give them the OK to talk about them, watch their favorite show/movie, or just let them cry.  We all need to have that reassurance that we are valued not just because we do something for others but because we have value.  Our partners often feel like they need to give up their needs and that is not healthy.  The "Moment for Me" Coupons are an easy way that your partner can feel guilt-free for asking for "Me Time" because they are coupons that you gave them specifically for the purpose of giving them the "ok" to focus on them.
4. A SIGNED Copy of Their Favorite Book - This one is very specific but it's more a suggestion to get them something that is uniquely theirs and make it extra special with something like a signature or collectors edition.  Specifically to the option listed, it might not work to go to a Con or a book-signing but I do know that several authors, illustrators, and actors are amazing enough that if you pen a request they may try to accommodate you.  If you go with the idea of something special and specific to them that isn't a book, movie, comic...Amazon and Ebay are really good places to go to get the purchases delivered to your/their doorstep.
5. Monthly Subscription Box - Another thing that can be paid for up front or in monthly installments that is delivered directly to the person's doorstep.  There are TONS of monthly subscription clubs to belong to, check out My Subscription Addiction for suggestions and easy to navigate payment/subscription set-up.  This one may seem a bit weird but these clubs really offer wonderful options for a variety of interests and it's a nice way to have your SO pamper themselves.  I, myself, am partial to TEA clubs. +Teavana, +Teabox, +Adagio Teas, +The Republic of Tea, and +The Whistling Kettle all have WONDERFUL options.

Honestly everyone, this isn't anything new.  Be we Spoonies or non-Spoonies we have to remember to value our partners.  Give them time for themselves, show your appreciation, and take an active interest in them and their interests.  And because I may not say it enough:

Thank you David.  I love you.  You are amazing and I am so lucky to have you in my life.