Out Sick, or, Fueling the Writerbeast

Other than writing, there is one thing that writers frequently excel at: procrastination.

Case in point: I should be working on one of my ongoing projects (two of which need written and two need editing), or one of my knitting projects (two of which are so far past the deadline it's not even funny anymore), or finishing the library book that I've exhausted the renewals on and am still less than half done with, or refreshing my memory on The Hanged Man's Ghost so I can write that review I promised Missouri ages ago, or working on the next "How do you write" blog post that should have gone in this space instead.

But instead, I thought I'd talk to you all about tea.

This is partially because I have only left my bed to go to work this week, having been laid up with a fever and sore throat that necessitated a lot of tea and ice water drinking. I've spent most of this week writing and knitting and need a bit of a break--a tea break, if you will. I'm also in the middle of sampling a new tea I picked up at work, and, well, I thought I might warn you all.

This is the tea corner of our little apartment:



Into that cramped, awkward space we have no less than fourteen varieties of tea, plus three different kinds of hot chocolate (this is what comes of having two writers/anglophiles in the house).

One might argue that this is an awful lot of hot beverage options. After all, don't most people just buy a bag or a can of their favorite coffee and leave it at that?

Like a woman and her shoes, never come between a writer and her tea, unless you want to hear a justification of every single one (but I'll be nice and just give you the highlights):

One of my favorites is this vanilla creme spice I bought at work and have not seen since. It's very sweet and just perfect on it's own. I like to have a cup before bed sometimes, or when I want something sweet without resorting to junk food.

Around that same time I bought a can of pumpkin spice. This one I drink mostly in the fall for obvious reasons, and with a little cream and sugar it tastes like pumpkin pie.

Inside that blue tin is a selection of green teas, my favorite of which is the mint green. These were a gift, and I don't drink them often. There is a packet of oolong in there though, that I've been wanting to try.

Most of what is left is the result of our Never Ending Quest for True British Tea, which is difficult to find in our corner of the world. For the uninitiated, let me explain:

While traveling the UK and Ireland in college, Missouri and I developed the habit of stopping every day for a cup of tea at various cafes around London, Bath, Dublin, and Edinburgh. It's a wonderful tradition that we happily took up, sampling the various treats that afternoon tea entails. On our return to the States, we were devastated to find that none of the teas available in the grocery store were up to par, coming out bitter when allowed to steep, and too weak when the bag was removed early. Thus began our quest.

Thankfully, I work for a retailer that gets a lot of imported snack food, and that allowed us a chance to sample several varieties. For a while the favorite was Oxbridge Afternoon Tea (for which I cannot find an online purveyor), until Missouri was gifted with a box of Ahmed by a client, and it is amazing. Our one remaining concession to American black tea is the Luzienne, which is reserved only for iced tea. (Missouri's recipe, which is WONDERFUL: 1 kettle boiling water, poured over 2 trays of ice, 4 tea bags, and 1.5 cups of sugar. Stir until everything melts/dissolves. Slice 2 clementines in half, squeeze the juice into the pitcher and drop the halves in. Put in the fridge, and serve chilled).

Whatever you do, don't let that box of London Cuppa fool you. It does not taste like the English tea a know, and has the bitter aftertaste of teas from this side of the pond.



My favorite way to drink tea? Black tea with two sugars with cream, if you please, or just honey for an herbal or green tea out of one of these cups. They're imitation, but the pattern matches an heirloom set of my mother's almost exactly. I found the set of six, plus two creamers and sugar bowl at a local thrift store for $10.

Spinning a Tangled Web

So...um...I'm going to preface this by saying that I was following that new healthy plan for a week before I made that last post.

I didn't so much fall off the wagon for 48 hours, as fall, then was backed over and dragged for a few miles.

It started with icecream for dinner, because when you get off work a t 10pm, you often don't feel like cooking, even if it's just mac and cheese (which really, is about as healthy as icecream). It ended with a cookie for breakfast, pizza for lunch (because I forgot the one I'd packed), and my dad's cooking for dinner, which consisted of homemade chicken fingers and french fries. Soooo good, but the kind of food where you can feel your arteries clogging as you eat it.

My internal clock has also been off for the last too days, meaning that my only exercise has been running around putting stuff away at work (which, honestly, I think should count for something. Please be nice to your local retail associates. We work our asses of trying to make people happy, and more often than not we get yelled for things we have no control over).

Okay. Now that I've just written a page of excuses...

Hey look! Spinning!


This hand dyed bamboo. Can you believe it? I love the way it dyed, and it's spinning so wonderfully. I though it would completely fall apart, but it's just fantastic.

The ball of black on the left is also bamboo (both were dyed with fiber reactive dyes). The one on the right is hand dyed, hand carded 50/50 silk bamboo.

Speaking of hand carding, I NEVER want to do it again. Ever. That little ball of silk/bamboo? Sat on my wheel, staring at me for months before I managed to finish it. I was actually supposed to have three times that amount, but I decided I was sick of hand blending the fibers and it was time to spin something that I would enjoy.
(by the way, the bamboo I'm spinning now is the same bamboo that I used in the silk blend.)

Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever shipped a wheel internationally before? How much did it cost?

Ice cream for dinner is healthy, right?

So, a couple of weeks ago, Jennifer (AKA MajorKnitter, whom I had no idea read this blog and I am extremely flattered that she does) suggested giving up processed sugar/sugar substitutes in order to help with my allergies. Since I was already trying three different OTC medications, lost my insurance when I graduated making prescriptions out of the question, and the only other suggestion I'd gotten was snorting lukewarm saltwater, I decided to give it a shot.

I already avoid sugar replacements like Splenda and Sweet'n'low, because the aftertaste is disgusting and it makes me feel kind of ill (also, Alice is allergic to fake sugar, so it usually never crosses our threshold). I figured that aside from the allergies, now would be a good time to cut out the processed bits, since I've been trying to get healthier.

I've set out several rules for myself. They're based on one simple belief: All things in moderation. I'm not cutting out any food group completely (not even sweets). My goal is to find a balance in all things; balance that has been lacking from my life for the last four years. I've got enough stress in my life due to financial issues without adding what I eat to the list. I'm not going to punish myself or beat myself up if I slip. The goal is to find a balance somewhere between only having 15 minutes to eat and NOT eating from a vending machine, and working for hours at the computer but still making time to go for a walk or dance or do something.

Care to join me? Here are my "rules":

1. No fake sugar. No sweetners, high fructose corn syrup, etc. Use the real stuff, and use cane sugar when you can.

2. Only fresh meat, cheese, vegetables, and bread. No wonderbread or anything like that. It has to come from the bakery, because it has fewer chemicals and is fresher. We usually get either Italian or wheat.

3. Frozen vegetables and fruits are good to have on hand as a stand by, but fresh is better.

4. Absolutely no dieting allowed. "Diet" items tend to be full of chemicals and fake sweetners. If you want a soda, go for regular. The Jones sodas are better (made with cane sugar and fewer chemicals), but water is best.

5. I love juice. I'm drinking only juices that are 100% juice.

6. I'm allowed one chocolate indulgence a day. I'm also letting myself have other candies and sweets, but there has to be a movie involved. Why? Because of money, movies are a special treat. So if we go to Blockbuster (maybe once every two weeks) or to a theater or whatever, then I can buy candy there (usually Sour Patch, because those are my favorite), but I can't get it from the grocery store where it's really accessible.

7.I'm trying to work out every day. I have a series of exercises that I'm doing every day. They're just low impact things to help strengthen my muscles again. You remember my knee? Yeah. Caused by weak thigh muscles that couldn't hold my patella in place anymore. I have awful periods and back pain because I don't have any abdominal strength. And my carpal tunnel gets aggravated because I have no arm strength.
My list looks like this:
10-15 push ups (I do mine by bracing my hands on a hip-high counter; I've never been able to do them on the floor. My goal is to get there, though, by slowly lowing the thing I'm leaning on)
15-20 crunches
15-20 knee lifts (just sitting and lifting my legs straight out. I do this with a 1.5lb weight on each ankle. After doing 20 or so lifts, I hold my legs straight out for 30 seconds)
15-20 leg lifts (as in, laying on my side and lifting one leg at a time (again, with a weight)
After this, I switch the weights to my arms and do a "boxing dance" Basically, I punch the air in time to a song (my current favorite is "I Don't Care" by FallOut Boy). The important thing is that the strokes are powerful, creating my own resistance. I go straight out, then straight up, and throw in a couple of lifts from the side as well.

8. I bought a DVD of a cardio workout, which I'm going to try to do at least once a week. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll probably start out doing just the first part, and work my way up from there. It's danced based, and I love to dance, so it should be fun.

I think that's all of it. I might add more if I realize I've forgotten something. As you can see, this is really basic. It's not one of those "loose five pounds in a week" diets. I'm trying to change my lifestyle, so I'm not doing anything drastic, just little things here and there. Maybe my list isn't for you, but you're welcome to use it as a basis for your own small changes.

Basically, the healthiest I've been was actually in Italy, because I walked everywhere and it was almost impossible to even find processed foods. Our veggies came straight from the farmers, and even our "easy meals" were low in salt and preservatives, and didn't come drowning in sauce or gravy. I've never seen butter, white bread, and even snacks that were so healthy. I'm trying to get back to that.

Care to join me? Let me know. Leave a comment. I don't really have a support system for healthy living out here, especially since our choices for groceries are Walmart (mostly chemicals) and Kroger (where everything costs about twice as much as Walmart, and is out of my budget).

Wish me luck!


Do you see what I have to put up with? No help, whatsoever. Lies on his back while I'm trying to work out...he's already killed three of the plants I was starting indoors.