I have found a new favorite tea. And if you like strawberries and chocolate I think you will too.

Introducing Strawberry Chocolate Tea by The Republic of Tea.

Yummy, yummy!

Naturally caffeine free (so I can enjoy a cup at bed-time), naturally sweet, smells and tastes delicious. A perfect 0 calorie, aptly named treat. I think I’ll have a cup right now!

Ingredients: Rooibos (red tea), carob, cocoa kernels, chocolate flavor, strawberry flavor, sweet blackberry leaves and bourbon vanilla beans

Try it and let me know what you think.

Do you have any other really yummy teas to recommend?

If corporations are people, then this ad makes perfect sense…..
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Honestly, the ruling that corporations are people may be the worst Supreme Court decision ever. It’s ridiculous – and damaging to our nation. This brilliantly silly attack ad shows one reason why. Not to mention how absurd our campaign finance laws are… which this clip illustrates:
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Thoughts?

It’s 2012 and I love living in the Northwest.

Today, instead of being buried in snow on January 1st, I planted primrose in one of my garden pots.

And I enjoyed watching the dozens of birds at my feeders… including a sweet hummingbird who is so happy I have left out a small feeder for him (in the pot with the primrose).

I also discovered a few other blooms in the rock garden. And wondered if the little blob on my finger was a bug…

… or a tiny slug.

It was the latter.

He’s cute, but will grow into a garden menace so I flushed him down the toilet.

To ring in the new year, I also spent some time playing my new Tibetan bowl.

I have been a bit distressed to discover that my formerly perfect pitch is currently off by 1/2 step. When I first played the bowl, I was sure it was an E-flat or even an E. But it’s a D. AGH!

I downloaded an app to help test/retrain me and I am consistently 1/2 step too high. I know what the note is – it’s just a half step off from the rest of the world. It’s unsettling and I hope that I can come back into tonal alignment (or whatever it would be called).

By the way, I started a new blog awhile ago and have made a resolution to update it regularly. It’s called:

FlowersMakeMeHappy.com

It is devoted entirely to my love of flowers, and it’s where I will post lots of my flower photos. I also have a facebook page where I post additional photos, and twitter feed for it. Follow me

So, how did you bring in the new year?

When I was a tween and teenager, I collected frogs (long before frogs became “cool”). I had, and still have, some awesome frog jewelry, figurines, and some cool stuffed frogs received from boyfriends/husbands/friends over the years. But I’ve never considered myself “collector” of anything (besides clutter or excess pounds, perhaps).

The other day I undertook the monumental task of organizing my ribbon drawer(s) and realized that I actually am a collector…

…of ribbon.

It started in my early 20s. I didn’t have much money at the time, and treating myself to a fancy ribbon now and then seemed like an affordable indulgence.
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This year has gone by incredibly fast – and this month in particular. I can hardly believe that Christmas is only a day away.

Is it just me, or do the holidays feel like they’re rushing upon us like river rapids?

I decided to keep things simple – my only decorations are my horizontal Christmas tree (garland above my fireplace, with some of my favorite ornaments) and a collection of three small sparkly snowflake trees on the mantle.

I was inspired by my son’s Christmas plans, and tried to keep gifts simple, but meaningful. Yet, despite my intention to make it a low-key Christmas, I found myself rushing around to get gifts finished and mailed off in time to be received by the big day.

I got some hair-brained idea that I wanted to sew some gifts this year (which is ridiculous, since I don’t sew). It really would have been much simpler and less time consuming to just go buy gifts. But no, once I got the idea, I was a woman possessed. So it’s my own fault that I lived in chaos (and fabric stores) for 2 weeks.

And now, the holiday is upon us. Are you ready? What exciting (or boring) plans do you have?

Whatever your plans (and do please share them), I hope you have a wonderful Christmas – or whatever holiday you celebrate

I’ve had a few (sometimes inexplicable) celebrity crushes over the course of my life…. mostly in my youth.

Jonny Quest (yes, the cartoon) was the first. He was followed by a string of mostly musicians… teen heart throbs like Davy Jones, Donny Osmond and David Cassidy, etc.

Yes, it’s a bit embarrassing – but admit it… you loved them too, or someone just like them in your own music era. (FYI, I fell for musicians in real-life, too…)

Anyway, during the 80s I developed a celebrity crush on Richard Page, lead singer/songwriter from the band Mr. Mister.
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Aloha! It’s been a very travel filled year for me. I’ve been reminded to be careful what you wish for. As I was approaching my 50th birthday I set the intention that I wanted the next phase of my life to be filled with lots more travel.

Well, the Universe answered with 2 trips to Costa Rica (3 weeks each), San Diego and Salt Lake; one trip to Los Angeles for a trade show, and another to Victoria, B.C. with my friend Jana (where we worshiped flowers and laughed a lot).

Most recently, a last minute trip to Kauai to spend a week with my family, before Brandon & Jen moved to Malaysia.

I have no idea what it is I’m doing in this photo.

There were 16 of us in all – both my kids and their families, plus my sister and her family, with a couple of significant others joining us. We had a great time together – discovered we all share similar world views, and were easy and compatible companions (which isn’t always the case when family, or even friends, travel together).

My granddaughters couldn’t get enough of each other, and Kennedy was missing her cousins 10 minutes after they left for the airport. We definitely need to do this again!

My world still feels a bit like it’s spinning around me, as I try to get my grounding again. I think I’ll stay at home for the rest of the year.

Maybe I’ll even update my blog again.

I’m still working through photos from many of these travels – but here are some of my favorites from Hawaii (and I think this slide show will even work on iPhone/iPad):

If you’re interested in viewing more pics from Kauai, visit Allicat Photograpy. There are a lot of them…

Where have you traveled this year? Where do you want to go in 2012?

So, as you may recall, I returned for another visit to Costa Rica again in June – this time to meet my newest granddaughter, Aysia Mae, born just a week before I arrived.

Isn’t she beautiful?

And doesn’t her family all look so happy to have her in their lives?

I love this family photo… and not just because everyone is color coordinated (yes, I brought clothes for them with me to make sure they would be ) but because they look so content and happy… happier and more peaceful than I’ve ever seen them before. It warms my heart.

Brandon and family had moved from Grecia to Escazu, on the hills outside of San Jose. We spent most of our time just relaxing and enjoying each others’ company, rather than fitting in a lot of touring. But we still kept pretty busy.

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Meet my newest addiction, thanks to Ashley.

I’d never tried a Chai Latte before (I know, can you believe it?) but had a sip of Ashley’s while she here a couple of weeks ago. OMG – love at first sip.

How can it be I’d never tasted this delicious hot, sweet drink? I live in Seattle, after all, the coffee shop capital of the world.

Ashley gave me a rundown of the different types of Chai out there, and insisted that Oregon Chai is the best (or at least her favorite). While at Central Market last week, I discovered Oregon Chai concentrate on sale for 2 for $4.00 – less than half the regular price. I bought a couple of each of the varieties (regular, slightly sweet, and caffeine free – made with red tea instead of black). I like them all – but prefer the sweeter varieties (of course).

Because I enjoy drinking this in the evening, the Caffeine Free variety has become my favorite. I always have it in my Laurel Burch cat mug, a favorite gift from my friend, Jana.

And topped with a little whipped cream and cinnamon, it’s simply divine.

What are your thoughts on chai?

Any brands in particular to recommend? Want to write a chai haiku?

Virtually every morning for the past 2 weeks, I have awakened with one (or more) of the songs from Book of Mormon, the musical, playing in my head. Brandon had purchased the cd, and we listened to it over and over again while I was in Costa Rica.

The songs are so catchy that they just stick in your head and won’t go away. But that’s ok, because I simply love the soundtrack.

Since it was written by the brilliantly funny South Park boys (who refer to this musical as their love-letter to Mormonism), and the musical genius Robert Lopez (Avenue Q) I expected some profanity and crudeness. They have built their career on crudeness and pushing the envelope, and I can handle most of what they throw out on South Park. But three of these numbers are a bit too much for me and I have them “unchecked” in iTunes so they don’t play. Most songs, however, are simply delightful – catchy, fun, clever, brilliant or just plain silly.

If you love musicals you really need to listen to a few of these songs. Even if… no, especially if you’re Mormon (with a sense of humor), since you’ll get all the inside jokes. Some of the best musical theater music I’ve ever heard.

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