Tea-lightful

In university I drank a tonne of coffee. Multiple times a day. Everyday.

I've since discovered my aversion to caffeine. I don't react well at all, so I switched to tea. An herbal natural way to get jacked in the AM.

Tazo berryblossom white tea was my preferred poison. Boxes of this stuff followed me whereever I purched. Home. Work. Boyfriend's. Sister's. And then out of nowhere, it was discontinued. Bam. I couldn't find it anywhere. I was forced to ration my stash, determining if the day was worthy of my finite supply.

I decided it made for a good opportunity to branch out and discover new teas. And it did, but I still had a soft spot for the white tea with the delightful hint of berryness.

One day I came home to a care package from my girlfriend from BC…it was a bubble envelope full of THE tea. She found it, thought of me, bought it and mailed it. So amazing. Another girlfriend, bought up Kensington's supply last weekend.

Do I not have the most thoughtful friends ever?? Yes, and I talk a lot about my tea.

I'm drinking some of it right now, and can't help but think how lucky I am.

Today is oh so worthy.

Here and now

I have a new mantra.

Here and now.

That's it. Not entirely spiritual or profound but for me right now…it says exactly what I need it to.

I gave the Power of Now a go. I'm a start from the beginning kind of girl…but when a book don't grab me, I'm not much of a middle and end kind of girl. I have a hard time getting into non-fiction…non-narrative non-fiction to be precise. So as much as Tolle has changed many lives…I find myself impatient with his words.

I read enough to know that I do not embrace daily what he was preaching. I live in the past. The future. Not so much the now. What a pity. I'm living my life with my head in the clouds...reaching for something, whether it's in front or behind or just in my head. Never enjoying where I am. What's right here.

Missing out.

Since adopting this mantra, I find myself periodically taking a deep breath and taking inventory of the daily wonders right around me.

That's a start!

And it was all Yellow

I grew up without pets. There was a hamster, but that did not end well. So…that was that.

Years later, my brother married a nice girl with a nice dog. She was blond and she was super friendly and she could catch a mean frisbee. Yellow was the greatest dog EVER.

Throughout the years I've been charged with taking care of her. She gained a lot of fans along the way. Every roommate, every visitor, every stranger instantly fell in love with the lab named not for the colour of her fur but for a butterfly in a children's book.

She was gentle and loved people more than her own kind. Who are we kidding...she was part people, right?

Nah, there was a 12-lb turkey incident proving she was all dog, but who could look at those sad brown eyes and wagging tail and stay mad?

Not me.

Alas, her time has come. I'm sad to say farewell to my dear friend. She kept me company on cold nights. She mooed with cows. She chased s-q-u-i-r-r-e-l-s. She understood. She stole my heart.   

Sweet dreams Yellow dog. xox

Lean on Me

The word 'rut' is being thrown around.

Friends are suffering from a bout of great expectations. Mainly their own.

28. 29. 30. 31. They should be here or there, have this or that. Even though every single one of them has one accomplishment, if not several, to be oh so proud of. They're focused on what they don't have…the negative of the frame. I'm as guilty as any.

Pep talks feel hypocritical, but it's so much easier to see the silliness of another's distress rather than your own. The same people I'm shaking my head at because of their deflated sense of accomplishment are mirroring the same gesture back at me. We need the same thing from one another, unable right now to do it for ourselves.

It's like the other night. K and I were at a party sitting on a bed. It was late and all I wanted was a backrest. Some support. Something to lean on. So...we held eachother up.

She had my back and I had hers (...until, of course, she left to do headstands in the hallway)

Thanks for the support, friend(s)!

Extra Coating

It's March. Trigger the impatience for spring.

Cold and snow haven't played too much of a role this winter. So what is my problem?

My problem is with coats. My coat. Your coat. Their coat. Mainly my coat.

My coat has certainly seen better seasons, and will probably be retired at end of this one. No matter…by March I'm tired of wearing, looking and holding this second skin of mine.

Shopping is a pain with the extra load.
Commuting is cumbersome with the extra inches.
Outing is expensive with the extra check. Coat check.

My favourite time of year is that day where you haphazardly shed your coat, even if it's still a little too cold. You do it because it's been four months of handcuffs. Handcuffs in the form of heavy wool plaid with a funnel neck. And then you're free!

Well free to wear your SPRING coat.
Which is fine because it's light and cute and has a lot less mileage on it.