Tuesday Tea Time

Full speed ahead!

I do believe I've potentially crossed over to the dark side. No, not coffee, psh! Gross! However, with the melting snow & the weather transitioning to a coming Spring, I have been getting minor headaches. Some of them I'm sure are because of lack of sleep or dehydration. However, for Christmas Momma N got me some of her favorite holiday tea (Nutcracker Sweet by Celestial Seasonings) & it is BLACK & caffeinated.

Caffeine is the dark side!

When I was in junior high (or middle school if you prefer) I was told by medical physicians to hold off on caffeine. I was instructed to either not have any at all or none after 3pm. You're maybe wondering why? Well, I have a crazy health history & one of the little things is that I'm slightly intolerant to caffeine. It makes me nauseas & my motor skills slow down. Some times I even get crazy shaky so my teeth chatter.

Telling a 14 year old (or there abouts) that she's not allowed to have caffeine is sort of crazy. Thus, I still push the limits to this day & occasionally find myself with the shakes. I never thought I'd have a caffeine headache though.

This leaves me wondering: What are you addicted to?

I know, big & bold question, but going big like my headaches & bold like my caffeinated tea.

Be big & bold & share your addictions! Together we can help each other be healthy about them, even if we don't stop taking them in.

Sunday Snippets

Life is currently in the fast lane.

This last week was mostly centered around our regional assignment within the ELCA. We received our first choice region (which is my home region) & will find out more specific assignment information within the next week or two. There's 6 synods we could be assigned - IN&KY are one, there's 3 in OH, & 2 in the mitten of MI.

Any bets on where we'll land?

Outside of that big news, there was more classes, more work, & more getting used to our Spring semester schedules. I had a great sushi date with one of my bridesmaids who's preparing to head over to Malaysia in August for her pastoral internship & later that day I had a splendid time with some other friends over a flight of wine & apps. Then to top it off I called my good friend LMac for the first time in months & we talked for just over an hour. Plus friends came over for a classic movie showing of 101 Dalmatians - the live version.

Today Z surprised me & swept me away to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for something different & then took me for fro yo at Freestyle (my new favorite treat).

Ahead this week: The Oscars tonight! Trying to make Quinoa Pizza Bites from this new blog I pinned, class, work, Zumba, meetings, the end of February, a showing of my friends new documentary The Evidence of Hope & hopefully finding out our ELCA synodical assignment.

What's happening in your fast lane?

Friday Photo Reminder

First, a shout out to my friend Rikki & her fabulous new blog site. 

Check her out over at Thirsty, Nerdy, Cats !

Photo Courtesy of The ELCA

This map potentially defines Z's & my future in ministry. Wednesday night we received envelopes as part of a lovely worship service with our classmates and supports of staff and faculty. The information inside the envelope was that we have been assigned to Region 6 of the ELCA for our first calls as seminary graduates (come May 19). We will learn what synod (which you see by the lines & different number/letters) late next week or early the following week.  For now we wait. Yes, we wait some more. It is truly a lesson in patience and trust.

May the Spirit overwhelm us with patience & trust & peace in this time of unknowns.

Tuesday Tea Time

It's Tuesday Tea Time!

I've noticed since starting this part of my blog, I have been drinking a LOT more tea. It's great b/c I have several teas that I've had for quite some time. In fact, I'm a little embarrassed to admit I have some loose leaf leftover from my time in Hong Kong in 2009.

My wondering today is why do we have edible or useful things and then hold on to them as a precious gem, knowing that they will eventually go bad?

Just the other day I made some tea on the stove to turn into iced tea. I did what I often do when boiling water for tea, I forgot about it. I was trying to update my blog for Sunday Snippits & then Mom P called & then I had to hang up from her suddenly to answer another phone call of a friend who wanted to walk to our staff meeting together.

Lesson: Multi-tasking DOESN'T work well.

I won't say that multi-tasking doesn't work, but we definitely aren't able to give our full selves into multiple things at the same time.

Maybe this is why we buy multiple things (I even ask for tea for gifts most holidays) that we know will eventually spoil, but hold onto them like precious gems. This is definitely a first-world problem.

To close, I haven't tasted the tea I made on Sunday, but it turned a funny color. Almost as if there is lemonade mixed in to make an Arnold Palmer. Anybody else ever over-boil  or over-steep their tea & have it turn a funny color?

Sunday Snippits

Whew! I can't believe it's Sunday again already!

This last week was truly the first week of the Spring semester, so it was odd & busy. It was odd because though Z & I are both addicted to our e-mails & calendars, we weren't familiar with our own or each other's schedules yet. It was busy because there was class & meetings & work & social life all mixed together. Oh yeah, & Ash Wednesday & Valentines happened too!

So outside of starting classes the real fun & neat stuff was Ash Wednesday services & Valentine's Day outing  Plus, a fun little road trip with our friends B&A H to Gustavus College for a choir concert.

At the Ash Wednesday service at Luther Sem, our new campus pastor turned the typical phrase of "From dust you are and to dust you will return" into "You are dead to sin and alive in Christ forever." The power of these words coming from Romans 6:8 overwhelmed me & brought me tears of joy & uncertainty about all that is life right now. Ash Wednesday service at Humble Walk was about smashing the things that we want to get rid. We were given a piece of tile to write down our burdens & then given a hammer to smash it into pieces. It was exhilarating! We then were marked with the ashes (again) & told "From ashes you came, and to ashes you will return." Overall, a very beautiful day & start to Lent.

Valentine's Day was SO much more exciting when I was a kid. No offense to Z, but Momma P always made it special & I was being goofy & nostalgic for a classroom party & all the love you receive from everybody. Z got me a beautiful bouquet of pink roses a few days before Valentine's & then we exchanged cards at dinner on Valentine's Day. We had a fun dinner at the The Happy Gnome where I tried poutine for the very first time & we shared ribs. Then we headed over to Cafe Latté to share a "Swedish Moo" (aka steamed milk with cardamom & maple syrup) & a piece of blueberry peach tart. Only to return home & watch the Charlie Brown Valentine Special on Netflix.

Coming this week: More classes, more work, AND REGIONAL ASSIGNMENT IN the ELCA

Friday Photo Reminder

Life is strange & sometimes we feel trapped or stuck, but the incredible sight of life happening around us in other people, animals, & creations such as Ice Castles gives us hope for a free mind & the peace that surpasses all understanding

Photo taken inside the Mall of America Ice Castle

Tuesday Tea Time...On the Go

My second class of the semester starts on the opposite side of campus in 20min. With my short legs I should've left 5min ago!

I don't have any great insights this week. I've gone through almost 3 boxes of puffs with lotion in the last week & drank a LOT of tea. This morning I'm enjoying a nice herbal mint to sooth my tummy from the antibiotics I just finished taking. (Gotta love having old leftover meds from 2008)

What's in your mug today?

Sunday Snippits

It's a cold, icy Sunday in the Twin Cities! We tried to go to church & got on the highway only to get off at the next exit.

Last week in review:
SuperBowl party was great (though the blackout was dumb)
 *Thanks A&T!
I successfully came down with a head cold & slept a LOT.
I got to visit my college professor at Pub Theology with the community of Humble Walk Church
 *This was great discussion of where we find hope in our every day
Tuesday we spent the WHOLE day doing laundry & I watched the first 3 episodes of season 2 of Downton Abbey
 *Now I'm stuck because I don't have a blue-ray player & it's not on Netflix yet! Help!
We prepped for the Spring semester, which started Thursday
 and then learned that we didn't have classes till tomorrow Morning
I was reunited with another CAP friend who was two years behind me & is considering seminary
 *Shout out to the wonderful MD for her enthusiasm towards life
We went to a lovely graduate dinner at the hotel where we had our wedding reception - and hadn't been there since our wedding reception
 *This really helped set in the multitude of emotions of being a senior.
We celebrated our friend's ordination to be a pastor in the LCMC
 *Congrats B&A on your new journey
Then we had an impromptu date night to the MoA where we enjoyed dinner at Tucci Benucch & a walk around the Ice Castles

There was a lot of fun & good life moments this last week & all that I'm certain of this week is classes, work, meetings, & the Grammys.

Friday Photo Reminder

The best of winter 2013: fresh white snow, blue skies, a blinding sun, crisp air, & a weekend away with 5 fabulous friends.

"When you are in tune with the unknown, the known is peaceful." - Yogi Tea Tag Quote

Tuesday Tea Time...even though it's Wednesday

Yesterday was laundry day. You might wonder why this would prohibit me from updating with Tuesday Tea Time. Well one reason is because I did not have internet access on my devices because we were at our family's home & another reason is because I took the day to vege out, in between the mass amounts of laundry (at least 6 loads), & watch Downton Abbey.

Tea Time was rushed though as I woke up groggy from a head cold I've been fighting & had to run errands to get our car to the shop for an oil change. Yesterday I had a nice English Breakfast blend from the Kurig at Mom & Dad N's house & today, as I write, I'm enjoying the second squeeze of a my Tazo decaf chai with a splash of milk & honey.

Tea Time make me take a a few moments in each day to breath deep & sort out my too often cluttered brain.

Tea Time is a time to be thankful for the hopeful moments amidst the despair of life's everyday news.

Boosted by Pub Theology ( with Humble Walk church ) & the discussion of Hope led by a college professor from my time at CAP I ask this week:

Where do you find Hope in your life & what are some ways to cultivate Hope for our communities?

This blog prompted by Capital University pride & ministers now located in MN

Sunday Snippits

Week 2!

Before I head to bead I leave you with a few snippits from the past week...

Last week was crazy busy catching up with emails & preparing for Spring semester to start this week. Z & I spent the week scrambling through meetings & other appointments & trying not to get the head cold that seemed to get concocted by our long day in the sub-zero temps when we were in Boston (pictures of this trip coming soon!).

Aside from the business of senior event planning & our last semester of grad school prep, there was the girls weekend away. It was a beautiful two days in SE MN by the Mississippi River Valley with 5 of my girlfriends from seminary. We ate a LOT of chocolate, drank some wine, played some card games, read some fair tales, & pampered ourselves. It was glorious!

Coming up: Reading through syllabis, starting classes on Thursday, visiting with a college professor, & a friend's ordination in the LCMC

Cheers to the week ahead!