Introducing:   Steep of the Week.

Here’s my concept…

I am committing to “review” one tea bag or loose leaf “tea” per week that is commercially available–taste, color, aroma, packaging, all being observed and considered.   The word tea is going to be loosely defined–I love love love green teas, but lately I have a tea dream to create delicious herbal infusions, so that is going to heavily influence the progression of teas tasted too.  The goal is to be diverse in my tasting–begin tasting what is at home and at hand, then move out from there….herbal, blacks, anything root or petal infused is fair game.

What qualifies me to do this, you might be asking? Are you a trained culinary professional?  Do you have a family member in the tea business?  Do you or have you ever worked in a tea house?  The answer to these questions is a resounding no.

But I do pay attention.  And I am always clutching my mug of tea, whether I’m playing a game of kickball or digging a hole in someone’s back yard.  Ok, ok not always possible, but it’s nearly always an arms length away.  I’ve also lived with a culinary professional for the last 7 years and that’s got to count for something.  He has taught me a thing or two.  (Thanks Nate.)

I also create custom teas for my herbal clients–I try to make them tasty, well-balanced, and infused with healing vibes.  Tasty is important so that folks will drink their medicine and enjoy the herbs that are helping to heal their health condition.

And so, without further ado, the Steep of the Week is Jasmine Downy Pearls compliments of Peet’s Coffee and Tea.

“What is that you are drinking?” is the inevitable question I get when folks smell this tea.”  I see their enchanted eyes…

The aroma of the jasmine flowers is lightly floral, a scent that drifts easily like the rain clouds I’m watching pass over twin peaks right at this moment.

This tea tastes round in my mouth, mellow, like flowers, not bitter, clean rainfall, green earth, minerals, barely sweet, barely astringent.

It tastes to me like life is just perfect right now, which I suppose is why I keep coming back again and again.  This is my daily tea.  I go out of my way to gather this tea.  I always take it “to go” so I can have my hands on the bag of orbs and steep it again at home, up to three times more…

I wonder how many sets of hands it took to get each individual cup of tea here, sitting in front of me?  This is in fact a hand rolled tea from the famed Fujian Province, China.

I keep thinking the responsible thing to do would be to find a local product for daily consumption, but there is something important to me about drinking and smelling this tea that has touched so many hands on its journey around the globe.  At this point in my life I need to feel the vastness and bigness of the world…this tea does just that–it is comforting and heavenly.  Sky and earth in one cup.

A deeply sincere thank you to all the hands that have made this cup possible. Heartily recommended.  kt

Check it out in more detail at Peets.

I have just manifested a Peet’s Coffee next door to my office. For the past year, I have had to take a bus, walk five blocks and take a taxi to work (cause at that point I am late already) but it was all worth it to avoid that other swill permanently attached to my building. I spend every moment I see the “other” coffee place wishing there was a Peet’s Coffee nearby.

Today, a coworker casually mentions that Peet’s coffee is served in the cafeteria next door. I don’t know which made me happier, that I managed to manifest Peet’s Coffee service on the campus or that I could get a cup of coffee from Peet’s right now.

The Law of Attraction works people.

Have a nice day.

This is Mallory. I met Mallory at Peet’s on J st., interrupting her while she was watching Lost and detaching herself from Sacramento. In two weeks Mallory, a wanderer, leaves for Zambia to spend 2 years in the Peace Corps. Mallory was raised in Ft. Bragg and has degree in Sociology from Sac State. She is 23.

Favorite Accomplishments: Graduating college and getting into the Peace Corps. Zambia 2010!

Regrets: Life is too short to have regrets. Everything happens for a reason and some of the best lessons can come from what may seem like mistakes.

What are your passions/obsessions? People watching, learning, culture, human nature, drugs, and photography.

What got you interested in the Peace Corps? I met them during a career fair at school. I’ve always been interested in social justice and helped form the Campus Progressive Alliance which led protests and die-ins at Sac State.

What will your duties be in the Peace Corps? Rural community education development and HIV outreach and prevention. I’ll have 3 months of training and then I’m by myself in a village, living with a host family in a mud hut. Any power will be solar, there’s no electricity.

Sound Off! Smoke weed everyday!

Thanks Mallory, best of luck in Africa!

The guy or woman who came up with the idea to put coffee counters in bookstores is a genius. Books and coffee are a natural. Simply geeennnnnniiiiuuuuuusssssss!!

To read more coffeehouse observations, go to Coffeehouse Observer.

The guy or woman who came up with the idea to put coffee counters in bookstores is a genius. Books and coffee are a natural. Simply geeennnnnniiiiuuuuuusssssss!!

Sitting here on Sunday morning, drinking some Peets out of the only coffee mug I have ever gotten for running a race; the Woodminster X-Country Race in Oakland Hills back in 2002. Whew! That was a tough 9 mile trail race…but fun! And hell, I got a mug out of it soI am happy! Race organizers ought to think more about other things besides tee shirts, although if i had a mug for every race i’ve done, i would be in a world of hurt for cabinet space!

I did sign up for my first race of 2010. I will be running the Birmingham Half-Marathon on February 14th. Me and my love, together again. Coudn’t be happier.

Since the beginning of the year, I have been having a veggie eating experience. I could say I’m a vegetarian, but i’m not. I’m simply just going without meat for a while. The decision to do so is mostly rooted in the fact that I just don’t eat enough vegetables on a consistent basis and I feel my body really needs them. Morally, ethically, whatever…i’m cool with eating meat, but I feel that unless I go strictly veggie, for at least a while, until I get in some sort of groove, I would falter in providing myself with important nutrients etc…

It’s been interesting thus far. I few things i have noticed; it’s cheaper and i am preparing food and eating at home. If you know me, you know that I usually eat out a lot….at least 5 times a week. Obviously, that gets pricey, especially if you add in an occasional cocktail! I am enjoying my new place much more than my previous home, so it’s been a pleasure to prepare meals. My new place is much more cozy and feels more like a home….which probably aides my wanting to stay in more. One of the things I have noticed to the “downside” is that i might not be taking in enough calories. Hasn’t been too much of an issue yet, but as the training ramps up, it will if i don’t adjust. I can’t eat a veggie quesadilla one night and expect to run a good 10 miles the following morning. Won’t work.

I’ve eaten mostly veggie tacos, quesadillas. I even put KALE into the quesadilla. When was the last time I had KALE??? Last night, I made asparagus soup and pesto pasta. Pretty good.

As opposed to the stints of “no-sugar” or “no-alcohol” that I do from time to time, I don’t necessarily feel healthier with all veggies, i just feel like I am getting more of what I need. I don’t feel a huge difference yet, but I trust what’s happening “behind the scenes” in my body. When I go without sugar and alcohol, I feel the difference and i feel cleaner, healthier. It will be interesting to see if I notice anything differently as time goes on.

Been alternating the runs lately with treadmill & outside. Been brutally cold here in Atlanta. The weekend runs were the toughest, but I have to say, it feels refreshing to be outside….and then my cheeks, lips, and nose go numb…ah….hopefully next weekend it will be a tad warmer.

I hope your year has started off well and you are getting ready to kick some ass in all you do!

Here’s some of my latest runs.

Jan 1 4 miles – outside

Jan 2 4.75 miles – outside – 30 degrees

Jan 3 6 miles – treadmill – easy

Jan 6 3.5 miles – treadmill – fast

Jan 7 4.5 miles – treadmill – w/ intermittent incline

Jan 9 4.1 miles – outside 25 degrees

Jan 10 6 miles – outside 17 degrees

So I haven’t posted for a few weeks. There’s no particular reason, just haven’t felt much like posting. I have been reading a lot of interesting books so maybe in the near future I’ll post some thoughts on that.

In the meantime, since I am obsessed with tea, I have decided to post my “set-up” (I’ve seen people post on the type of camera equipment they use, or biking equipment, etc. and this is kind of like that–yes, I know, my life is not exactly adventure-packed, but you work with what you’ve got). Guys at the seminary have seen the different tea paraphernalia I’ve been bringing to class, and I’ve had some ask questions here and there so I thought it would be cool to post my “tea gear.” Of course, I’m well aware that those who have inquired are probably not interested in starting their own tea collection, but I need an excuse to post this. Don’t hate:

Ahem.

Let us begin. [For those interested: I've provided links to sites where you can purchase the items mentioned, just click on the pictures. And no, I don't get any points from you clicking the links. BUT, if you do want to help me out, you can click here and shop WTS books.]

Exhibit A: My Favorite Tumbler

What I especially like about this tumbler is the extremely wide brim. This means that no matter how hot the tea is, it will be cool enough to drink since the distance from the tea-mass to my mouth gives enough time for the stream to cool down. Does that make any sense? It probably doesn’t. Just take my word for it. If you’re tired of waiting 15 minutes before drinking hot tea, this is your tumbler. And it fits in the cup holder, and it’s cool-looking. Moving on now. . .

Exhibit B: The Tea Strainer

This nifty little device here is great for those who enjoy loose-leaf tea. I’ve tried different types of tea-strainers and have found this to be the most efficient, and the easiest to clean. It’s about nine bucks on Amazon. Initially, I was looking into tea-bags (which cost about six bucks for 100), but found this. In the long run it will save you some money over tea bags. Some reusable tea-strainers let some bit of the tea leaves get into the tea, but this one doesn’t let any junk through. Yes, jolly good.

Exhibit C: The Tea

Here I will guide you through the three main teas that I enjoy drinking.

Morning: Peets’ English Breakfast Tea. I think it’s stronger than coffee and there is no crash. I like to drink it with milk and sugar.

Rest-of-the-day: South American Yerba Mate. You can buy a pound for $13 at Whole Foods, or you can go to your local Argentinian Market and buy a kilo for $5. I opt for the latter. I drink this tea throughout the day–usually without adding anything, though it is good with sugar. For a few weeks I used a bombilla and a gourd, but that proved to be a little too much for cleaning up and taking around. So now I just use the tea-strainer above. I like the tea, it has less caffeine than coffee, but more than green tea. Good to drink while studying (I drink about six cups a day).

Evening: At night I like to drink South African Rooibos (redbush) tea. It’s caffeine-free and has a sweet taste. I add a little bit of honey (and sometimes some lemon) and drink until I fall asleep. It’s nice because, no matter how long it is steeped, it never gets bitter. I didn’t like it the first time, but it grew on me. Now I drink it every night.

Well, there you have it, folks. Enjoy your tea.

As for me, I must make-up for the precious study time I lost posting this.

Get a free drink at Peet’s Coffee and Tea when you buy one drink now through Jan. 18.

Find a Peet’s near you.

This offer excludes juice, kid’s beverages, and bottled drinks. Not valid at BART locations, in supermarkets, or at airport Peet’s.

Hello all just came across this great little buy one get one free coffee coupon from Peet’s Coffee! http://ow.ly/TMfy If you enjoy coffee as much as I do I think it should come in handy! Speaking of handy, it’s not even necessary to print it! Simply access the coupon via your smart phone and show it to the cashier! Wow now that’s keeping saving some green, GREEN! If you don’t have a smart phone I’m sorry there’s still a place for you in 2009. Bon Appetite!

Made it to the store today, well tonight actually…think it was about 9pm!  All the same, I now have the makings for a healthy eating day on Tuesday.  Didn’t manage to get any veggies in today, but had much less fat.  only 3 cookies, a tiny bit of peppermint bark, 2 bowls of cereal w/ non fat milk.  Oh, on the non-fat milk front – had my usual peet’s mocha freddo w/ non-fat milk and went for the sugar free option…could definitely taste the difference, but it was still enjoyable.  It was more like coffee-chocolate icy water than a creamy chocolate milkshake.   Oh, well, have to cut somewhere if these 50 extra lbs are going to go anywhere.  Hmmmm, what else today – some (8) hawaiian drummets from whole foods and 3 crackers w/ a bit of ham, maybe an oz worth.  A great improvement from yesterday, I’ll say!!  Well, that’s it for Monday.  More veggies Tuesday, we’ll hope!

I thought I would make this post about the plastic surgery and traffic that are rampant in Las Vegas, and how that all jokes about Los Angeles should be revised for Las Vegas… But visiting the Euro-Asian-American city of San Francisco got me thinking else-wise:

San Francisco is made up of Transplants. Los Angeles is also made up of Transplants. I met many SF Transplants on New Year’s Eve. One in particular told me that out of 30 countries he’s spent time in, San Francisco is the greatest for Creativity. Me: Really? Out of 30 countries, SF is it? Him: Oh, well, yeah, for now. He also mentioned he didn’t like LA. He may have said “hate,” but  I don’t quite remember. I asked him to tell me why, because there was a time that I, too, hated LA and just wanted to get out. I felt stuck. I grew up, though. So I do not remember why I was so adamantly anti my home city. I think it was just because it was my home city and I was not so happy with school (pfth! what a foreshadow).

So he went on (I paraphrase): Los Angeles is just so filled with superficial people; I go there for a lot of business meetings, and it takes me forever to get to the point of what they want. Ask a question here, get an answer. People here are real. They aren’t superficial. And the Creative Energy is amazing. And I never ever get bored, and I’ve been here nine years…

While we are having this convo, girls and boys alike are chuggin’ back the 40s, liquor filled juices, wine out of the bottle, chitty chat chat, someone’s brought mary jane; almost-empty bowl of potato chips, salsa; music we’ve all heard, two people trying to make a dance party; people pouring out of all rooms into the hallway, down into the street; tweet tweet, the iPhones are out. Check-in from friends: they are at a bar, roaming, bar; oops, they’ve done cocaine; when will I show, they wonder.

I always hear from people not from LA that they hate it, cite stereotypes: there is too much traffic, smog, superficiality… and another good one: it’s too hard to go out to bars, because you have to drive (or variations thereof). I do believe I am tired of hearing it. I will give you the traffic, and I will give you smog. But pulling the superficiality card just does make me believe Los Angeles sucks as a city. This morning I was walking around the Marina to find coffee; I could have been walking down 3rd Street, or Beverly, or Sunset in Silverlake; Main Street or Montana in Santa Monica. Men look GQ and Women look Cosmo. I walked into Peets. Conversations were no different than those one hears in Los Angeles: “Oh my god, we got so drunk!” “Oh, wow, writing something new?” “Oh, that is a GREAT pair of shoes.” Going to the Mission is no different, except it’s hipsterville instead of foofyville. And ya know what? LA has a China Town; there are Russians, there are Japanese, there are many others. Good tacos are in Los Angeles, like all over the place. So take that, The Mission. New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, BigCity: you find good ones, you find bad ones. Also, I do believe Los Angeles is home to some creative people.

A friend, having lived in SF for many years, as well, told me he has trouble finding a girlfriend. Why? They are all dumb and superficial. Hello San Francisco. My sister has had trouble finding awesome companions and has given up on many friends. Why? They are all superficial and dumb. Hello San Francisco.

I’m just starting to think that the only differences are Location and Architecture. A friend had once described SF as a mini-town. As if it was 2/3 the size of a real city; the buildings are made to be 2/3 the size of normal-city buildings. It’s cute, it’s neat looking with the fog… but that’s really where the awesome ends. I think that’s totally fair. So it’s got a metro. There are a couple of bridges. Awesome. But C’mon. Give me more than saying SF has better people. Because that is effectively what y’all are saying.

I’m open to discussion.

This fantastic event occurred after my project management final. This took place in the hallway outside of my classroom. This is the last time I will be waiting outside after finals to ask if my friend wanted to go grab a cup of coffee with me. By the way, the coffee was of suckage.

So I was standing outside in the hallway; alone. All of a sudden, a sensation ensued my.. well, it ensued my ass. A sensation ensued the pads that protect my rectum from external contact. The sensation was filled with itchiness and the longing for a vigorous act of friction to suppress it.

My ass cheeks itched.

So I did what any of you would do in this public facility of this establishment of education and exploration of knowledge. I reached into my pants and gave it a quick scratch. Don’t worry, I stayed outside of my boxers. I have my standards.

As I was relieving myself of the itchiness and stomping my feet like a mongrel, a few of my classmates who have finished their final came out.

Worst timing, ever! I was more or less pleasuring myself by applying friction to a place on my body that needed it, despite me making it worse by scratching it.

I’m a guy that thinks fast on his feet, or when his hand is in his pants, for that matter. I thought for a split second, and put it into action.

While still having my hand in my pants behind me, I backed up into the wall, crushed my hand between the wall and my ass, and cracked the most painful smile ever, greeting my classmates.

“Hey Peter, how’d you do?”

“Ow…”

“That bad, huh?”

News flash: Shit, I ran out of those vitamin gummy bears.

I was extremely fortunate, and grateful, that my friend Steve Errey (who was my best man) arranged for a bag of Peet’s House Blend to be shipped over from the US as a christmas present.

Opening the bag revealed darkly roasted beans glistening with oils, and the most gorgeous coffee odour with undertones of chocolate.

I’ve already tried this bean out in a cafetiere and as an Americano, but was inspired today to try it as a latte.

I should point out here that I’m not generally a big fan of lattes. Since discovering the joys of “proper” coffees earlier this year, I have primarily stuck with Americanos, not least because I find lattes too milky. I’ve seen derogatory references to ‘milkshakes’ here and there, and have agreed with the sentiment. I’m also not particularly keen on the syrups that seem to be a vital part of the latte experience – never ordered one myself, but tried the odd one here and there and simply don’t get the point.

After today however, my views have changed a little …

This was my first chance to try out some of the gizmos from christmas – particularly a new stainless stell milk jug and a milk thermometer. I’ve occasionally tried to use the espresso machine to froth or texture milk, but have been frustrated in not having an appropriate size jug (my Dualit machine has has a short steam wand and needs a small jug) or knowing when the milk is at the right temperature. Having tried them out, I can honestly say that (a) they’ve made it easier to get a result and (b) I’ve got a long way to go before I can say I know what I’m doing!

That said, the result of a double-shot espresso in textured milk was divine. Enough bite from the coffee to give it some edge, a wonderful creamy undertone from the milk, and a very slight hint of chocolate.

I’m assuming that the main reason for the transformation from “milkshake” to honest drink is primarily having a decent double-shot of espresso in a standard (ish) cup, but have to say that the Peets House Blend seems ideally suited to the task.

Only problem now? I’ve checked on how much it costs to buy – and ship – the beans to the UK. Wow … that’s not something that I’ll be doing too regularly!

Details:
Bean: Peet’s House Blend
Grind: Fine – ground with conical burr grinder
Brew Method: Espresso machine
Brew Detail: Double shot of espresso (circa 14g) in 250ml of textured milk

Overall: 4.5 out of 5

to get a small cup of specialty coffee at peet’s or starbucks plus a scone or a muffin would cost me at least $6!  i’d rather start the day on a healthy note without breaking the bank! my breakfast – yogurt and cereals.

Walking back from Peet’s in the Ville this evening, a walk I have made countless times, I had nary a thought but that my ears would freeze off. Just past Freeman, I happened to look to my right towards the Academic Quad with the Science Center in the foreground to its right and Stone-Davis to the far left. What a breathtaking sight. The combination of isolated lights from lit interiors and our orderly street lamps was so lovely.

It hit me at that moment that I’m graduating. Will I ever again live in a place so serene and beautiful?

What a trickster life can be. I’ve seen this same sight so many times without noticing it. The evening I first see how beautiful my campus is happens to be less than a week before I leave for good. At least I saw it.

Could not believe my eyes the other day when I saw a gray hair bouncing around with many other dirty blonde ones in my bangs. Huh? I have never had a gray hair that visible. Cool! How wonderful to see that after all this time I can now reap the rewards of getting older. Gray is sexy, yes? I have never colored my hair, not even once, and plan not to now either. Alright dammit, if she makes a request, I’ll probably immediately cave. But until then bring on the gray. After a disastrous cut around ten months ago, I finally enjoy the length and thickness my hair has now. When I venture to Hawaii in a few weeks, simply squeezing lemon juice in and hitting the sea water will change my low-maintenance hairdo-a-do several shades lighter. Aaaah, the inexpensive ways to shine healthy hair.

My body even feels a touch luminescent these days. Go figure. Walking by several different farmer’s markets during the week, I keep picking raw veggies and fruits then nibbling away throughout the day. Today after finishing the last of six classes taught these last two and a half months, I rewarded myself with a raw green pepper. Huh? This is a don’t ask, don’t tell vegetable policy. I’m pretty clueless why my appetite recently strays towards light simple snacks that are cheap and not sponsored by Frito O’Lays or 7-Eleven. I’m not questioning any events during the day right now. I’m on happy-go-lucky auto-pilot. Even without the girl, I can still joyfully celebrate a gray hair and green pepper day.

Or take this morning’s trek to the Safeway a block away for bread. Yesterday I gave my pizza slice away and today a local bread distributor gave me a loaf for free. The baker is Alvarado Street Bakery and I’ve eaten their delicious slices for a while now. The coupon he gave me was not a real one, but the smiling store manager gave me the loaf anyway. When my day started this way at 7 a.m. I could predict the pay-it-forward momentum had gathered energy overnight. For sure I’m a loyal customer after researching the company at http://www.alvaradostreetbakery.com and discovering their vision. Michael Moore even portrays Alvarado Bakery in his most recent renegade documentary, “Capitalism, A Love Story.”

In our English writing classes we analyze food and all its angles–personal, local, national, and global. And if how you choose to spend a dollar is equivalent to a strong vote in our democracy, then today I was actively political. Wait a minute. I didn’t actually spend a dollar on the bread. Who knew that a vote could be earned without being purchased? Another reason why I love San Francisco.

Really, though, my au natural hair color, farmer’s market bell pepper, and Alvarado organic sprout wheat bread are all signs that I’m becoming more elitist than ever. Can a humanist be part of America’s power elite? My access to actual power has its obvious limits, but my preferences for all things quality becomes relentless. I simply need what I perceive as the best in food choices. In the classrooms where I teach, we have been analyzing deeply the food we Americans eat. I have read backwards and forwards Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma. And so now I wish to eat and drink well. Pretty simple to do so as a middle class privileged white girl.

That’s my political vote. For example, Peet’s is a local coffee company and makes a strong brew that sometimes is too much. I had a cup the other day that went down the wrong way. Instead, I stopped by a garage on Folsom Street turned into a coffee vendor location for Blue Bottle Coffee. These guys make coffee that sits like dark chocolate on your tongue–sweet, smooth, and bitter, the welcoming kind. Again, the story behind the business is easy to read at http://www.bluebottlecoffee.net I learned that buying local feels great, feels personal, which we all know is political, yes?

Probably obvious that I wrapped up a class titled Government and Politics today. In some areas, the class turned disastrous as I tried, and did not quite succeed, to design a clear curriculum, but the goal to ask questions always and dig beneath the surface of assumptions is an activity that we practiced pretty well every week. Good to ask questions. Good to have no answers. Good to keep asking. Funny thing is the activity builds community. While sipping an amazing cup of Blue Bottle (never needs sugar or milk), a friend I haven’t seen in a long time appeared strolling up the street by “accident.” My shopping local as an aware political decision meant I created the opportunity to have a fun chat with another local, a neighborhood friend.

Strange how serendipity works better the more those conscious moments to share random acts of time happen as a result of intention. Do we create meaningful accidents? I believe so. My father once told me that luck is the residue of design, a phrase that surely resonated all through this day.

"'Calm?' I'll show you calm!"

Tally:  2 lattes (Starbucks)

1 mocha (Peet’s. PEET’S!)

…so I’ve cut back 50% this week.  So I’m “fifty percent less sugar” or something slogan-worthy like that.

But this past week was noteworthy for this reason:  I rediscovered The Tea Cabinets!  Yes, two kitchen cabinets full of TEA–loose tea, teabags, tea in canisters tea in funky silk cones, even one sketchy-looking green tea in its own tiny box–in my own house.

Yes, in my own house.  In my defense, the cabinets also hold the my great-aunt’s china (rarely used) and a large jar of unpopped popcorn (also rarely used.  Microwave Jolly Time Lite Butter.  ‘Nuff said.).  But the Tea Cabinets have returned to the forefront of my addled mind, thanks to the Tall Drink of Hot Tea that is my husband.

Me (draped across kitchen counter):  Latte now.  Latte project is stupid and doesn’t take my neeeeeeeeeeeeeeds into account!  Stupid.  Can’t make brain work.  Ullrrrrrrrarrrrghammumph.

HotTea:  Do you need a latte, or do you just need caffeine?

Me:  Need a latte for waking up!  NEED!  No one has to KNOW!

HT:  We have tea.

Me:  Whwuw*&@HSmish???

HT:  Tea.  With caffeine.  Black, green, white, paisley…

(He quickly fills the teakettle and makes it boil.   It’s as if he’s done this many times before.  He adds sugar–yay!–and hands me the big mug with “IOWA” on it.)

Me:  sip sip sip

I can’t believe I had forgotten about our grand stash of tea.  I guess the last time I really drank it on a regular basis was when I was pregnant–the Stash Lemon Ginger stuff because I was concerned about my circulation.  I used to put loose tea in my hot bath.  I used to take hot baths.  I guess I always saw tea as therapeutic/day spa-ish, not, well…useful.

Black tea with sugar is very useful.

I’m going to delve back into the Tea Cabinets more next week.  I want to try those triangular tea-in-silk-bags ones.

Should I be jealous that my tea dresses better than me?

Sleeping baby + sleeping toddler = mama bliss

So I’m snuggling on my couch under a Christmas-y blanket officially boycotting Black Friday…and feeling a twinge of guilt that I haven’t posted anything for two weeks.

My record of going latte-less was ABYSMAL last time I posted, and I have to say I thought about quitting this project.  I had a week of headaches (my barista friend informed me about “caffeine withdrawal”–whaaaa??), I thought about lattes with extra foam and sprinkles of nutmeg CONSTANTLY, and—cruelest of all—they have installed a Peet’s Coffee inside my friendly neighborhood Fred Meyer store.

Who are “they”?  Obviously Fred Meyer has employed a bevy of store designers just cackling with glee at the thought of sabotaging me.  Out with the old, grungy coffee counter–in with the sparkling new Peet’s and the 99-cent introductory lattes.  99-CENTS!  I kid you not.  And if you buy 5, you get one free.  Yes, I bit.  Bought.  Imbibed.

So I’m jumping back on the wagon, and realizing that for this Year of No Lattes to succeed, I’m going to have to give myself some grace.  A Year of LESS Lattes is better than nothing; and there’s always mochas.  (Kidding!)

Because it’s not about the lattes–not really.  If it was, I would just go buy myself an espresso maker.  The lattes are a symptom of what my life has become—taking on too much, sleeping too little, spending money I don’t have, relying on something external to perk me up instead of changing my bedtime. The latte has been my treasured companion when both girls fall asleep in the car in the afternoon–my siesta buddy in a paper cup.

I’m tired of being tired.  I’m done with frittering my money away $3 at a time.  I’m scared of getting to the end of my (privileged, free, Western) life and realizing there were people I could have helped–but I was too busy watching Dancing With the Stars and running to Target to do anything about it.

Here’s to another week; I’ll talk to you again on Friday.  I’m going to go dish myself up some leftover turkey, mushy cranberries, and a generous ladle-ful of GRACE.

In one of my less than lucid moments, I challenged my brother to a 10-day no caffeine challenge.  Just a few minutes ago, in a weaker moment I broke and went to Peet’s to get my fix; this after four days of excruciating restriction, headaches, grouchy moods, and sub-par productivity.  Of course, this was all my idea and while I didn’t think it would be easy I was sure I would prevail.  As a sidebar, I just quit drinking alcohol one month ago, so to throw caffeine into the pot is nothing short of masochistic.  Why didn’t I just join a convent and skip all the steps in between?  I mean really.  Over the course of the last 4 days my two minds have been arguing:  The Good, Pure, Healthy One: “Stay the course, give your kidneys a break.  Your brother will never last, you can beat him.  Show yourself you’re a force to be reckoned with – if you can quit caffeine you can quit anything. Who knows, maybe after this is over you can dabble in triathalons!”   And The Bad I Don’t Give a Sh*t One: “You’re not getting anything done.  You’re a grouch and impossible to live with without caffeine. God wants you to be happy – and if you’re going to live up to the Golden Rule, you would be wise to caffeinate thyself so you’re not growling at everyone within a 60 mile radius.”

Clearly, the Bad won out in this instance.  How pathetic is this??  I even tried to “renegotiate the terms of the agreement” (very creative) by proposing this to my brother:

 Every 4th day?  Now that is truly lame.  Since I didn’t hear from him in the next 20 minutes after posting I took that as a sign from the Universe that my decision to go to Peet’s was indeed a blessed one.  As I came closer and closer to my drug pusher’s abode my heart practically jumped out of my mouth in excitement.  When I reached the counter I informed the barrista of the challenge with my brother that I was now breaking, and she was the lucky person to serve that first cup and witness my defeat.  Miss Thang started getting all up in my grill and tried to deny me my cup of coffee.  “No, you can’t have it. What’s your brother’s number?  I’m calling him and telling.”  Oh no you din’t!  Messing with an uncaffeinated chick deprived for 96 hours of her favourite food in the whole wide world does not bode well. After a couple laughs she gave me my large Peet’s and I practically skipped back to the office completely secure in my defeat.  Think about how happy I’m going to make my brother when he finds out he can switch back to hi-test fuel again rather than that hot lemon water crap he has been subsisting on.  Think about all of the love I’m spreading like a butterfly ripple effect - how happy my sister-in-law will be that she can stand being under the same roof as my brother now, and all of the people on the receiving end of my good mood!

I can’t say I have any regrets.  However, I did learn a valuable lesson – I did the unfathomable for 4 days in a row, so now drinking decaf coffee every day will seem like a cakewalk, should I decide to move in the direction of complete health once again.  To be truly free of all addictions and dependencies would be awesome and while I’m taking steps in that direction, I’m not quite there yet.

Note to self:  depriving yourself of Peet’s when you’re used to it every morning is not a good way to make friends.  My brother and I are riding this unpleasant tsunami together which has been a trip because a) no one around us believes we have the wherewithal to abstain from coffee and b) suddenly our co-workers don’t like us.  Hmm, that’s weird.  I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that we walk into work snapping and barking rather than making jokes.  Gee, why is everyone dispersing in all directions like they were just hit with a mushroom cloud?  As if taking a nosedive in popularity hasn’t been an unpleasant enough side effect from this challenge, I can’t even bring myself to write anything that is slightly more entertaining a tax document.  No wonder Hemingway was a drinker.  He didn’t want to bore his audience to death.  No alcohol, no caffeine?  I might as well start writing about the migration patterns of the European pine sawfly.   Where is the edge in that?  Without coffee or alcohol I just feel like a bland flatliner with nothing interesting to say. 

Thanks to the live feed on Facebook, my brother and I have been taking potshots at each other and antagonizing as the Facebook press conferences roll on.  At this point, so as not to kill anyone, we’ve desperately started looking for loopholes. Question #1:  Does decaffeinated green tea count?  I say yes because he’s probably getting a little hit from the traces of caffeine while I’m over here walking across hot coals with my peach tea.  ‘What about coffee enemas then?’ I ask.  ‘I think we could slip that one under the radar.’  Well, he literally had a hernia at the very mention of ‘coffee enema’:

After I talked him off the ledge and he informed me that no matter what I couldn’t break him, I asked him to get back to me when I extended the 10-day challenge to 30 days.  No big, just a few more days.  His reply: “Hmmm, this sounds like ‘Come on, you can jump off the 10th step…..it’s only one higher than the 9th!!’

No wonder that 20 years later when I decide to take him through another gruelling test ‘The 10-day No Caffeine Challenge” and surreptitiously attempt to extend the boundaries he becomes defensive:  “Hey, wait a minute….this seems a little familiar…“Come on, you can jump off the 10th step…..it’s only one higher than the 9th!!”.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  So yes, I guess I ‘ve jeopardized my powers a bit with that whole basement step jumping thing and lost some credibility.  It is unlikely he will rise to the next level and answer to the 30-day challenge.  On the other hand, never underestimate the seduction of competition and triumph on a public forum, or the rabid and blind desire to please big Sis! 

Alright, lemme break it down for you. First, let me mention that I trained the least for this marathon compared to all other 5 run before. What that basically means is that I logged less miles over the specific training cycle. Normally, I get in at least one 18 miler and one 20 miler before tapering. This time, my long run was 16.25 and I felt that this alone could really hurt my race outcome.

Heading into the final 2 weeks of the race I was run down, traveling, and basically feeling like I wasn’t even sure I would finish the darn race. So, I really did not know what to expect from my body. Mentally, I was feeling so much better than a month or so ago so i was super thrilled with that part, but physically I wasn’t sure what to expect.

As  you might have read though in the earlier post, when I woke up on race day, I KNEW I was ready and I knew I would have a good day. Here are the mile breakdowns:

Mile 1: 8:45

Mile 2: 9:43

Mile 3: 9:41

Mile 4: 10:03

Mile 5: 9:31

Mile 6: 10:23

Mile 7: 11:00

Mile 8: 9:23

Mile 9: 10:29

Mile 10: 10:26

Mile 11: 9:47

Mile 12: 10:04

Mile 13: 11:17

Mile 14: 9:46

Mile 15: 9:58

Mile 16: 10:00

Mile 17: 9:40

Mile 18: 10:32

Mile 19: 10:21

Mile 20: 10:05

Mile 21: 10:13

Mile 22: 9:54

Mile 23: 10:22

Mile 24: 10:10

Mile 25: 10:17

Mile 26 + .2 = 12:44

OK. Here is where it gets tricky on my “official” time. I was wearing my Garmin, which is where I got my mile splits from, however, i noticed my mile markers on Garmin did not match up with race mile markers. Usually not a big deal because often it is pretty close. But, it was not close this time. When I completed the race, my watch read: 26.61 miles, 4:28:01. So that is .4 more than official race of 26.2. When i looked at my watch for 26.2, I was at 4:24. My RACE CHIP time was 4:28:10. Hmmm…what to do? Well, considering my Garmin has been off before, but never by that far of distance, i’m gonna split the difference and say I finished in 4:26. How does that sound? Fair?

In my age group Female 35-39, there were 742 runners. I was #171 out of 742. Not bad.

I’m cool with it! Like I said, a few days before the race i wasn’t even sure i would be able to finish. Comparing this time of 4:26 to my best of 4:19 is interesting. I trained less and didn’t fare too much worse. I wonder what i could have done had I got more miles in….lots of info to consider going forward. I did notice that for rest of day and next day, I felt the best I had ever felt after a marathon. I wasn’t nearly as sore or as fatigued. And I almost want to whisper this, but it kinda “felt easy”. Maybe it’s because I was “home” and feeling so awesome and loved. Maybe it was because it wasn’t in the damn heat and humidity of the south. Maybe it was all the Peets coffee. Maybe it was the Pacific Ocean breeze. Maybe it was “Rocky” on the iPod. Or maybe…it was just one of those days.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for cheering. Thanks for the support. Means more than I can say!!

Cheers!

Just noticed this post in the Chow “Dear Helena” column. Personally, I’m not a coffeehouse squatter. I prefer writing from home or from our very nice brand new public library (sidenote:  many comments related to this post mention dreary public libraries).

But…I can understand why one would want to sit all day and write in a coffeehouse. They are warm, comfortable and they usually have the very best aromas.

At our local Peet’s there always seems to be one gentleman (using the term loosely) who not only writes at the coffeehouse, he seems to actually inhabit a corner. His table is generally covered with paraphernalia that goes beyond items related to computers and/or writing. Many, many plastic bags are typically involved.

The dilemma is: how much product (coffee, sweets, etc) do you need to buy to justify your table? One coffee every hour? One coffee per day?

And, related to this, how do you tip for the pleasure of using a table for an extended period of time, or do you not tip at all? After all, it does mean an extra trip to the Tip Jar on the counter.

4 more days til the marathon, yikes!!  I had a great run this morning.  Just an easy 3 miles on the treadmill, I ran the first mile in 11:01 (which included some walking at the beginning of the mile to loosen up and get my I Pod going) and 0% incline.  Mile 2 was at 10:10 and 10:00 pace with a 1% incline and then the third mile I sped up by 10 seconds every 400 meters and then every 5 meters the last lap (ending at an 8 min pace for the last 5 meters).  My final time was 30:34.  I had a really good mix of music this morning – Queen, Jim Croce, Bruce Springsteen, Britney Spears, Jay Z and a couple others I’m spacing.  My taste in music is very eclectic to begin with, but I’m sure if people looked at my running playlists they’d get really confused!!  I do not use my I Pod outside or in races, it’s for the gym only, but I’m thinking of stowing it in my Fuel Belt Sunday as my emergency motivation back up.  We’ll see how full the pockets are and if I have room!

Today will be another busy day, so here’s a quick recap of my eats yesterday and today so far.

Breakfast yesterday was a caramel macchiato and a pumpkin scone from Starbucks.  The scone was good, but a tad on the dry side.

Lunch yesterday was a game time decision.  I was really stressed out and not having a very good day and my appetite was nil.  I took a break and walked to the bank, deposited a rebate check we got from our insurance a few weeks ago (we have AllState and get a check every 3 months that we don’t have an accident, sweet!) and then chatted with Chris for a little bit to calm down.  I stopped in the food court of my building on the way back and picked up a chicken burrito with green chili, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and guac.  It was good, and a reasonable size (I’d say about 1/2 the size of a Chipotle or Qdoba burrito, and contains no rice, just chicken and beans). I also had a Mountain Dew at lunch.  It was one of those days where I felt like if I let myself get sleepy I’d just start crying at my desk!

Dinner last night was unpictured Quizno’s.  Chris and I both got home late and just weren’t in the mood to cook – even though the only cooking we would have done was open a can of soup.  So, we gave ourselves a free day from the 30 day eat-in challenge   I of course, had a Cabo Turkey sandwich…with extra banana peppers on wheat.  While we ate we watched 50 Marathons, 50 States, 50 Days about Dean Karnazes’ journey to run a marathon in every state to bring attention to childhood obesity.   I loved Dean’s book Ultramarathon Man and also loved the 50/50/50 book.  They were both really inspirational and I love that Dean’s just a normal guy with extraordinary talent, and provides great “real world” advice for all of us every day runners.  And, the movie had the added bonus of lots of DK with no shirt time…sigh!  Chris watched bits and pieces of the movie, but didn’t seem to be as interested as he was in Sprit of the Marathon last weekend.

I went to bed around 9:30…and fell asleep at 11.  I have bouts of insomnia from time to time that last anywhere from 1 day to a week and they suck!  I have been letting myself hit the snooze and sleep in til 6:10 the last 2 days (so I’d get about 7 hours of sleep) but this morning I just couldn’t fall back asleep and really wanted to run, even though I was exhausted.  So, I got out of bed at 4:45 (alarm went off at 4:30) and was in the gym by 5:50 for my 3M run.

After the gym, I had breakfast with the husband, we both had apple fritter toast from Target’s bakery section with chunky Maranatha almond butter and a glass of Naked OJ.  Yum!  I included a close up of the top of the bread, there are little sugar crystals baked in – very decadent!

On my way into the office I picked up a white mocha from Starbucks.  I’ve been doing so good avoiding coffee, but this week I’m just giving in to temptation   It doesn’t help that I pass a Peet’s, Starbucks, Ink!, Caribou Coffee, and a Peaberry on my way into work from the train station!

Ok, I’ll hopefully be back for a lunchtime post today, if not, definitely tonight!  I hope everyone has a great hump day!