My Kitties, Quietly Plotting to Overthrow Humanity

Lucy, short for Lucy Fur, and Hulda were snuggling on my bed.

Lucy and Hulda were snuggling and when I stood in the door they stopped and stared at me like they were up to something and got caught.  I had to share.  Don't they look guilty of something?

Tea Chests, Sunshine, and Whiskers on Kittens

So my tea chests are put together and that makes my temporary tea nook all finished for now. I was home sick with Endo cramps/pain today and got sick of being sick so I put together my second nine-drawer tea chest. I divided up the teas by source and type and put them in the tea chests. Finally I have some form of order to my tea nook. My teapots are on display and I have my Irish blessing plate on display too. It seems like cheating but I do have packets of Thai Iced Tea mix. I also have packs of honey sticks and two honey jars from +The Bee Folks.

Friday nights are gaming nights. We are currently playing +Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.  I am playing a "blood-thirsty" Half-Elf Barbarian named Erzsebet de Ecsed. Because why the heck not? ;) I decided to drink Hot Cinnamon Tea from +Harney & Sons. It has helped me have a tasty cuppa but has not assisted my rolls against the STUPID BARBED DEVIL in front of me!! I have some of the best ability at fighting for the group and I cannot kill this darned thing.

I felt like taking a picture of my adorable furbaby Acheron. He kept me company today while I was sleeping off the effects of my meds.

I ended up mixing up my own blend. I am calling it "Kitchen Sink" not because it tastes bad but because I mixed together a bunch of my favorite teas/ingredients. I mixed white tea, acai berries, green tea, ginger root, and jasmine tea. Yes, it is a weird mix but it is rather tasty. :) Yay me! I will try more strange mixes later this weekend.  I'll keep you all posted.

So we survived the night for our Pathfinder game...though it was almost a TPK (total party kill)...and my barbar got pissed off enough at one point she just chucked her wicked huge two-handed sword at the barbed devil.  I was pretty sure that Erzsebet, had this been LARP, would have had a plethora of curses to hurl at the stupid thing too.  That devil was seriously pissing me off, and the damned thing "hugged" her so it was able to do double damage.  I am the party tank and it took me down, dropped my rage...it seriously SUCKED!  But again, we won...by the skin of our teeth.  Now to bed.  We have a dinner party and pseudo-staff meeting tomorrow.  We'll see how this goes as I have a lot of pain still kicking me in the face.

Good night all!

Sharing Is Caring! Sharing pictures of my Tea Drinking Pals ;)

Mage (left) and Eeyore came with me to work today.  They also helped by modelling with my cup of "Apple Harvest Festival" tea.  I think they make sure adorable models, don't you?

Toothless with a cup of Green Tea - I think this was the Ti Guan Yin from One Good Woman.  SO CUTE!  And such a pleasant companion, he doesn't mind when you squish him with snuggles.

Solar-powered dancing flower was enjoying the view of the snow OUTSIDE. (also gave this video to Amanda Palmer on Twitter - because she's sweet and I felt like being nice)

Early Dismissal for Snow! YAY!

When you hear the words "early dismissal for snow" you think that I might be talking about a school but no, because the streets of our capital are crappy and the city doesn't have a ton of money, we end up having problems with snow and ice on our streets.  So there are some times where we get snow days.  Today was one such.  We actually started off the day with no delay and no real indication of future accumulation beyond a light dusting.  Now, it had rained the night before so all of our vehicles had that super-awesome layer of icepack under the layer of snow, which sucked a bit to remove but the guys were able to clear the snow off quickly and we got to work with only a few minor "thank gods for ABS" exclamations.

We got in to work and I was already feeling crappy, which is actually why there was no post last night.  I made it in though (KUDOS to me *smiles*).  I brought Eeyore and Mage with me to work, which was awesome because they are awesome.  I also brought my +Adagio Teas Pomegranate Green tea with me and a small bag of Matcha to mix in for a morale booster.  I actually started my morning with a personal blend "Apple Harvest Festival" because who doesn't like starting their morning with apple cinnamon tea?? Seriously? ;)

A lot of staff called out of work, many of them come a bit of a distance to get to work and we had heard reports that York was worse off than Hburg.  So we were short-staffed but it was manageable.  While I had a few dizzy spells and some serious fatigue issues, the morning was fairly ok.  Monica was wonderful and when I had a dizzy spell she came over and kept me company for a bit until I stopped seeing double and could move my arms.  David was also sweet and was willing to help me get a new bottle of water on the water cooler/heater so I could have some hot water for my green tea.  About that point we had been watching the snow come down, I had finished a pot of "Apple Harvest Festival" and "Pomegranate Green" when we found out that we were being dismissed early due to the weather.  It was 3 hours early and as luck would have it, the announcement was made maybe 15 minutes prior to the eligibility for the first shift to leave.  I work the "later" shift, so I knew I would be the last or one of the two last Supervisors to leave.

The guys and I went to the cafeteria for lunch because I was not in a condition to walk to a local shop for lunch and we couldn't really rely on driving to get to a lunch spot safely or with enough time to eat and get back to work.  After lunch we got back to the office and I watched the phones to make sure we had enough coverage.  I brewed a mixed pot of Matcha and Pomegranate Green tea, delicious by the way, if you were wondering.  Honestly I think the subtly of the Matcha just makes the Pom Green tea taste a hint more delicate and I love it.  Don't get me wrong, I am seriously in love with Pom Green all on its own and will drink that every day for a long time if I had to, but I like mixing things up and adding my own flair to pretty much whatever I can, so this was my chance. YUM!

Anyway, both the Endo and Fibro were kicking my ass by the time we got home and I laid down.  I haven't been up much since then, I actually don't remember two hours and assume I just slept, no idea.  Always fun when you get fibro fog brain.  Not sure how I'll feel in the morning but I know I will be researching some "moon time" teas.  I know one through +Nuwati Herbals that I like, I am going to look at some other blends too.  I really need to study up on my herbs and their exact medicinal qualities so I can make some good blends for when my Endo is leaving me a pile of sobbing pain.

OK - time for bed.  I need to take some of my heavier meds and those require a while to sleep them off.  Love and hugs to you all!  And to my fellow Endo Sisters - may we one day find a cure.

 

I'm A "Tea Hugging" Hippie! YAY!*

*I would like to note that my theft of their name idea was merely in adoration, I am not affiliated with nor own any rights to the name of the company for which I am writing this review.  Best wishes to them however, they are awesome!

So, this is a picture of the +Tea Hugger samples I received the other day.  I meant to post this photo and review right away but you know how things go, you start typing or explaining something and then there is a bright shiny thing in your line of sight.  I like to call this the "ooh shiny" effect.  To be honest, it is likely just that I really wanted to give them a review they deserved and not something I whipped together when my brain was foggy or I was exhausted.  Why I have fibro fog brain now and I am exhausted beyond imagining, I have Dragon hooked up to the computer and I have been laying down drinking Tea Hugger teas since I got home.  So I'm a little bit relaxed, plus, I actually wrote things down while I was drinking the tea.  So now I'm actually able to put it into the blog. 

Okay starting out with the tea"Blush and Bashful White"...this tea is a mellow and relaxed white tea that has a soft blush when steeped.  It's an excellent gentle sweetness that I actually really enjoy from most white tees, but this one just tasted subtle enough that it really caught my interest.  +Tea Hugger says that the "tea is also forgiving if you over steep".  They aren't embellishing.  I had a meeting mid steep for my second pot and when I came back the tea was still delicious.  I added a dash of sugar just to accent the flavors a little bit more.  This isn't required.  The tea is itself a delicious flavor and able to be had without additional sweetener.

this is a picture of "Blush and Bashful White"in my favor teacup, flanked by my two robins.  I think I was trying to summon spring with this.  No idea.

The next tea that I sampled was Pearyberry, this is a Ceylon black tea with a delicious fruity taste.  Obviously, being a black tea brews up a little bit darker than the "Blush and Bashful White", but I do love Ceylon teas.  The aroma that came off this was amazing.I had two people come over to my desk while I was drinking this tea, they were very interested in the flavor, the brand, and what was in it.  So I kind of got to have an impromptu tea lesson with some of my coworkers, was really quick but it was actually very nice to have.  This is definitely going to be a tea that I purchase and keep stocked.  For anyone that really likes a bold fruity tea.  I would definitely recommend this and you should really contact Tea Hugger. (no, seriously, you should click the link)

this is a picture of the brewed up Pearyberry in my adorable pelican.  He was sad that I didn't want to share.

okay, but seriously back to teablogging, I have now had four of the TeaHuggerGSO samples, and I am beyond thrilled with the quality and taste and variety of the different blends.  "Mrs. Fahrenheit" was an awesome kick it had the punch of chili with the nice subtlety of a peppermint tea, I think I swear there were also peppercorns involved, and it was just phenomenal. I am a girl that likes chilies my chocolate, that likes extra heat in pretty much everything, that thinks that you should always pickle pickles with habaneros.  So, Tea Hugger definitely has a huge and devoted fan in me, Em the Tea Leaf Fairy.  I'll tell you all more about the fourth tea that I am currently drinking later, for now I feel like resting.  Love to you all!  I might go crazy on Pinterest tonight, feel free to check it out.

Seriously!  Check out Tea Huggers!!  They have an online shop!!!

My Solar-Powered Dancing Flower Is Cold and SAD

So some schools in the area have closed due to the inclement weather basically early dismissals. This is usually followed by people from our office leaving because they have kids and their kids will be home alone. So those of us that are stuck in the office or looking outside and seeing the dark skies and dreary weather. Nothing big and scary outside just dark and "blah".
On my break I thought I would brew up one of the tastiest peachy tea ever! This does not taste like the horrible artificial peach flavor you get in other drinks, this tastes like a spiced peach cobbler. I love it. I'm looking at my solar-powered dancing flower and thinking...it's ok the sun is going to make that flower really dance soon.
Below are some photos of the teas I drank today and my notes.

Toothless and I like Wine-Oh!...Maybe That Means We Are...hmmm...

Wine-Oh! Is a tea from One Good Woman. I really like it, very similar to thw Short and Stout White Cab but more bold. I love both...but it might also be my love of wine notes that's helping my review. Don't worry, no alcohol was consumed in the writing of this midday posting!  Happy Tea Tuesday!!!

My second pot is Wine-Oh and some Matcha mixed in! Yum! I might like Matcha a lot... ;)

Spoonie Themed Pinterest Board

Follow Tea Leaf Therapy's board Spoonie on Pinterest.

A Poem From Batman (had to share)

Yes Saadiqi, the laptop is yours...daddy's leg is also yours apparently...

So today was a bit stressful but it had some good moments.  It started well, my friend Jen bought me a gift!  CHIBI JLA SOCKS!!!  OMG THEY ARE AMAZING!

Other than that, the day way somewhat less awesome.  My kidneys seem to hate me at this point, though that isn't terribly new and the up-downs in the weather have been wreaking havoc on my fibro/body.  We went to Rite Aid for my meds tonight and after that I took a hot shower with a +LUSH Cosmetics shower ball.  I was happy to have the nice scent of roses to shower in.

I made myself a pot of +Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer, believe me that after today I need all the tension taming ever.  I love this tea, I know I can count on it to have a positive effect on me whether it is the psychosomatic or real but I WILL TAKE IT!

My cat, Saadiqi, has been laying down with me most of the evening and this always makes me happier.  So when David joined me for bed about 11 minutes ago as I was figuring out what to write about tonight and Saadi (short for Saadiqi) rubbed his face on David's laptop and then laid down right on David's right leg.  This is Saadi's favorite spot other than on my head or pillow (he slept there when he was a kitten) and David is wonderfully forgiving of my furbaby's need to be close to his daddy (or steal his sleeping space).  As I type this and sip on another cup of Tension Tamer, Saadi is laying spread out at David's feet and looking adorable.

The tea and kitten are a perfect combo to make me calm down and now to snuggle up to my husband and sleep, which is the perfect way to sleep and the happiest place I could be.

Full Moon Blends (part 2)

BLUE MOON

The second full moon occurring within a calendar month is usually given this title. Although the name suggests that to have two full moons in a single month is a rather rare occurrence, it actually occurs once about every three years on average.

ingredients & loreblended with white tea, rooibos tea, black tea, blueberries, natural blueberry flavor, natural vanilla flavor, raspberry leaves, natural currant flavor

steep at 200° for 4 mins

STURGEON MOON

In August, the large sturgeon of the Great Lakes is most readily caught. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because the moon rises looking reddish through sultry haze.

ingredients & loreblended with black tea, hibiscus flowers, rose hips, apple pieces, dried coconut, natural coconut flavor, natural hibiscus flavor, natural pineapple flavor, pineapple pieces

steep at 212° for 4 mins

Full Moon Blends - pt. 1

I played on +Adagio Teas and made a bunch of blends for my "fandom/theme" of Full Moons. I think these blends have personality and I am excited for people to try them and enjoy.

BUCK MOON

In July, the new antlers of buck deer push out from their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur.

ingredients & lore
blended with Oolong tea, black tea, Assam melody tea, Ceylon sonata tea, cloves, ginger root, cardamom, natural vanilla flavor, natural cinnamon flavor, cinnamon bark


steep at 212° for 4 mins

FLOWER/MILK MOON

Flowers are abundant everywhere in May. It was also known as the Full Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon.

ingredients & lore:
blended with white peony, black tea, chamomile, natural creme flavor


steep at 200° for 3 mins