How I Changed This Week

Every school day this week I did something new.

Tuesday: A few weeks ago, I was wearing a pair of bling-y love-heart earrings.  One of my most entertaining girls at school - I've taught her for nearly 6 years - thought they were gorgeous, and said I should take a photo of them (which I did for this blog anyway) and then use it as the wallpaper on my phone.  Somehow we got onto that topic on Tuesday, and I went to show her the picture - suddenly she had my phone (!) and was telling me I had too many photos and ooh Instagram and then she set the earring photo as the unlock screen -

and picked another -

for the wallpaper.  It took me about a day to stop doing a double take every time I checked my phone for the time.

Wednesday: On Tuesday I had coughing fits to and from work.  I hate these, and they stopped me feeling like I was getting over this cold.  On the way home I realised it was most likely due to the air on the train, and all I was wanting was a cup of hot tea.  So for Wednesday and Thursday, I took a travel mug with tea in it for all trips.  It worked.  The lid of this mug is really well-sealed so I wasn't worried about any spills.

Thursday: If you follow my other blog you'll know about this.  My grade 6 quartet had their first performance last week, and I would normally give the Freddo Frogs as a reward.  But I always do that.  I recently got into cupcakes (baking them, not really eating them), so I made them some mini cupcakes, and decorated them with appropriate musical things.

They were a big hit.  (I do apologise for the not-straight lines in this photo.  Taken in a hurry before leaving for school on Thursday morning.  Meanwhile, how cool is the board underneath?!  It reads: George Frideric Handel - Too Hot to Handel)

Mixing Tea

Despite the hot weather, I haven't dropped my tea consumption.  Especially today, when 4pm brought a need for a remedial cuppa.  Now, last week I wandered into T2... and bought some Madagascan Vanilla flavoured black tea.  I heard the word 'combination' (or something very similar) and had this in the back of my head.  Today, I did something about it.

I combined this new tea with one I received for my birthday, an Apricot and Mango black tea concoction from the Tea Centre, using approximately equal proportions.  This is so exciting!  New flavours for hot drinks... Yum.  It tasted like I was having apricot and mango with a creamy vanilla overtone (how's that for a wanky flavour word).  Next combination: chai with vanilla. 

An Avalanche of Tea

On Saturday a friend was here, who has recently given up coffee (shudder) and all caffeine (so, no green tea or yerba mate or anything like that).  With all my selection, the only one I could brew for her was cinnamon and apple.  Since last Thursday I've been upping my intake of hot fluids, and I know I drink much more tea during colder months.  On Monday I ordered several teas for delivery yesterday.  Yesterday I also received tea as a a gift (yay! thanks Alexander!).

Today I tried the black tea with apricot and mango, as well as the Japanese lime green tea (not in the same cup, obviously).  I've been drinking a lot of echinacea with green tea, and chai (not pictured) is my regular black tea choice.  I'm interested to try the energy tea sometime tomorrow as well as the Japanese garden green tea, but so far I'm loving everything tea.

Other New Things for today:  Last night, the Olympics commentating got to me, so I started a list of questionable comments.  I also made a playlist for a party for the first time ever.

Today's photo:

Today was really quiet.  I rested for most of the day, aside from a quick trip to the supermarket for cake ingredients.  I do like the look and feel of the gift-wrap tinsel-type stuff though so attempted a shot of that.

More Kitchen Rearranging

A little while ago, I rearranged my kitchen appliances.  This required a few tries to find a workable solution, but I think I'm going to stick with the new setup of toaster and kettle to the right of the sink, coffee grinder and machine to the left of the stove.  However, all my teas were stored on the ledge dividing the kitchen from the living room, so today I moved them all.  This also meant moving the toaster and kettle perpendicular to its previous orientation.  Exciting stuff.

It has been really interesting since the original move to see what my arms do before my eyes see what they should be doing.  The number of times I've almost turned on the grinder when I'm intending to boil the kettle, or my brain just gets confused and I stand in front of the stove with a mug in my hand, having forgotten where to go for the tea or the kettle - I'm sure my nosy neighbours must get such a giggle.

I also rearranged my whole living room today.  I had a little concert for some students - thankfully it was really little as we wouldn't have been able to fit in any more! - so now the lovely space is evident.  I'll see how much I like teaching in this layout before deciding if it stays this way or not.

Today's photo:

Another Brisbane winter wonder.  After the concert (which was late morning, and very brief), we had coffee and fruit toast.  I voted for the courtyard as it was beautifully sunny outside but rather chilly inside. 

Beverages

 You know when you embrace change, it just snowballs?  Maybe that's just me, but I have noticed a whole lot of change happening in my life - and not by my choice.  (I'm coping, it's ok!).  Today I had no idea what I might do for something different.  Then, I got up.

Trainer Dan asked for an earlier time, which meant I didn't have my normal Monday morning pre-training breakfast.  Then, after a killer workout (8 fast rounds - my last time was my best, just saying), I got to learn Turkish get-ups.  More about those soon.  And I thought, that could be today's New Thing.  But then I went to the supermarket.

About a year ago I started drinking a glass of vegie juice most days.  It was a suggestion from a doctor-parent as an immunity thing and has mostly worked.  After a few foul-tasting trials, I found a juice I could actually drink - GC Raw, in 3 delightful flavours.  Which are no longer available in the larger bottle.  Although tempted, I decided it was ridiculous to pay that much.  I grizzled in front of the fridge for a while before heading to the long-life aisle.  So this is my new vegie juice.  Woolworths Select, much cheaper, and the tropical flavour helps me drink it without gagging.  Win.

I also needed to buy tea.  On my list was Green Tea with Vanilla.  This is what I drink with breakfast on school mornings, as I know I can't have black tea with breakfast (it blocks iron absorption), and there's no time for coffee.  I'd run out of this on the very last school day last year (superb timing), but neglected to replenish the stock for this year.  Week 5, and I finally remembered on Monday that I needed to buy it for Tuesday.  I spotted this range of teas, though, and thought I'd give it a go.  How pretty is this packaging?  I'm drinking a cup right now and it is one of those Really Amazingly Good Teas.  Very smooth, no bag taste, not in the "I'm herbal, I'm good for you so just forget how I taste and drink me" category at all.  Can't wait for breakfast tomorrow morning!

Saturday January 7 - Tea

Now really, how beautiful is this teacup and saucer?

I had been secretly covetous of these teacups when in T2, but didn't buy one as a) I couldn't decide on a colour (they're all so pretty) and b) it felt extravagant as I have plenty of vessels with which to drink tea.  But when it's a gift.... (thanks Thomas and co.!) problem solved :)

And it really makes such a difference to drink tea from something as beautiful as this.  Yes, it takes longer, but it is far more calming and beneficial to the soul than simply a teabag in a mug.