Tuesday Tea Time!

Hello Tuesday teatime friends! I'm coming to you a few days early sitting on my patio drinking a homemade iced chai. I'll be at camp today, when this is posted. But don't worry, I will enjoy Tuesday Tea Time at camp just as much as I would from home or work or wherever! And don't think that I'm so fancy that it's truly homemade chai. It is Tazo Chai that was on sale at Target, my favorite shop, and mixed with Meijer brand unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

I've had a lot on my mind as I think the whole world has these days. This last week has been unreal in many ways. I learned about the Orlando massacre during the prayers of the people in church on Sunday (6/12) morning. By late Monday morning, I learned about an unexpected death of a close family friend, that also happened between Saturday night and Sunday morning. then I believe it was maybe the next day that on the radio on the way to work that I heard about the little boy who was taken by an alligator at the Grand Floridian Resort at Disney World. One piece after another, weirdness and things completely out of our control popped up.

It seems that in the last year I have been reminded of how much is truly out of my control and all the people I know as well. Maybe I just don't know the right people! Kidding! I love the people I do know and in fact I was raised in such a family that I find myself feeling love, philía or brotherly of course, for people I don't know. The last year of life has been completely about things happening that nobody has any control over. We may point fingers at people or at inanimate object's but the reality is that life happens and sometimes it's hard and other times it's wonderful.

While life goes on, lift your chin, lower your shoulders, plant your feet on the ground & take a deep breath. This is where you are, right now & that is where you are for now. Be where you are, who you are & while it may be messy, know that you are loved right in your spot. You are you, & that is good.

Share this with others who need this love - ahem, everybody! - & know that love is greater than hate.

Tuesday Tea Time!

Drinks Time or TeaTime?! 

I know it's just icing, but I wonder if these fun treats taste good. They remind me of something from Alice in Wonderland!

Today's Tea Time includes 

Coconut Chai!

And I'm sitting here waiting for the snow! 

Last week I got to briefly see my bff BGEG when we were both in our hometown for Thanksgiving. Being one of the only non-family members that I still gift with,  I asked her what she would like for Christmas & she gave the most perfect answer.

"A coffee date with you!"

BGEG & I live 8 hours from each other, so we don't see each other very often, but we share a lot of favorites in common, such as tea. Neither of us are really coffee drinkers, unless it's super "weak" or super sugared.

As the holiday season is in full gear with Thanksgiving behind us & Advent just starting up, don't stress about "the perfect gift." The "perfect" gift may just be quality time with your friends & family. Even if it is quality time using Skype, FaceTime, or GoogleHang (check out their props next time you use it, very entertaining). And if I may make a suggestion, send each other a card with your favorite tea (a tea bag fits nicely inside a card) & enjoy tea time together!

Tuesday Tea Time!

Tuesday Tea Time!

Yes, that is a McDonald's cup. In fact, Google said it was a picture from Canada. I'm not sure I've ever seen a McCafé cup like this. At the same time I can't say that I've spent much time or money at McDonald's in general. Nor have I been to Canada in the last fifteen years.

However, it does seem that the most time I've spent in places like McDonald's or Burger King have been in other countries. Why? Because, when you purchase something, you're often given access to their wifi.

So today, I had an international experience with my Coconut Chai - from home - & my $1.06 hash-brown to do some work to prep for a prayer service I'm leading. This all practically in my backyard in the USofA

Life sure keeps leading me to unique places!

What unique places is life leading you to today?

Tuesday Tea Time!

So teacups are something I've collected for years. Seriously, since I was a little girl, possibly starting even in the late '80s. But my new fetish is teacup pigs! SO CUTE!

If they weren't so darn expensive I would've purchased one by now. However, Z & I are truly wanting to get a puppy & most likely a miniature schnauzer because they melt our hearts a little bit each time we see one. Plus, one of our first ever bonding points 4 years ago was that we both grew up with miniature schnauzers.
Ok, that's enough about the cuteness of these little piggys. But darn! They are C-U-T-E!

While my tea time this morning was a good travel mug full of goji berry tea & shared with these guys:

My afternoon tea was a mixture of Oregon Chai Sugar Free & Great Value Light Soy Milk, topped with a sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice. While it's somewhat obviously the taste of sugar free & light, it's still delicious & just a bit healthier than the usual.

Tuesday Tea Time is always bringing fun things to my life. I hope it's the same for you! Even if you're one of those non-tea drinking people. I respect this, but I don't get it. Tea is such a thing of community, history, & connection to the larger world that I've been blessed to travel, that I can't help but love it!

One other thing I want to mention in this Tuesday Tea Time, so that I don't forget, is that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. I shared this photo on instagram a week or so ago:

As a 2x childhood cancer survivor, I remember all that this has meant for my life & my family. It's crazy to be alive to tell the story! Having cancer, not only once, but twice, & two separate kinds - one very rare & commonly found in elderly men - is a huge part of the reason I daily count my blessings. Even when my blessings are as small as encountering begging ducks in the Big Boy parking lot.

So Tuesday Tea Time: teacup pigs, begging ducks, & childhood cancer. There ya have it!

How'd you spend your Tuesday Tea Time?!

Tuesday Tea Time!

TUESDAY TEA TIME!

I've missed this time & am glad to be back to share Tuesday Tea Time with you.

To my surprise this quirky animation is from a t-shirt company called Ript Apparel.

Today, as I drink my chai (a mix of powder & a simple Lipton black tea bag) I'm wondering how am I Living, acknowledging the Spirit, and Sparkling?

This random design for a t-shirt seems to bring Life, Spirit, & Sparkle to life. I'm sure there are more inspiring photos out there, but this was quirky & involved dancing tea, happy tea bags, & singing (or screaming - you choose) spoons.

Recently I have found myself in a weird place between being a full-time student & a graduate still living in student housing, knowing that there's exciting new things coming in the near future, but we don't know what those things are yet. Seriously, I feel all the expressed emotions in this photo. The dancing tea bags because I completed my master's degree (I was never going to do more school after college), the tangled tea "water" because I'm thankful for what I have & hopeful for what is to come (though dealing with friends moving out is sad too), & the singing/screaming spoons...yeah, who doesn't relate to those?!

WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR YOUR LIFE, SPIRIT, & SPARKLE?

I want your answers!

My efforts & encouragement to you. GET OUTSIDE! (Bike, Walk, Swing, Sit in the Sun!)  READ (I'm taking suggestions being recently graduated & also digging into scripture more freely) COMMUNICATE! (Call a friend you haven't talked to in a long time, write a letter, set up a tea time date!) EXERCISE! (Zumba, Yoga, Tribal Challenges, whatever your thing is! EAT! (good summer produce & don't forget to drink your tea!