Tea in a new way

For the past two weeks I have been drinking tea in a new way: smoothie form. It is just like being back up in MQT and sipping away on a smoothie from Smoothie King. Only, this isn't any plain jane strawberry banana smoothie. My smoothie: a Matcha smoothie.

A couple weekends ago I ventured out and went to a "Tea Cupping" class at Light of Day Organics in Traverse City. It was a pure delight. One of the best classes I have been to in a long time. (More to come on the delights of this class in a later post). For now the focus is Matcha. 

Matcha is:

"the oldest and most premium variety of green tea in Japan- the mother of all green tea! For over 800 years, Zen Buddhist monks have been using Matcha green tea as a meditational drink. Matcha is very exquisite; only a few dozen tea farmers in Japan own the extensive knowledge required to produce this tea. Matcha tea leaves grow slowly in shaded tea plantations. The fresh leaves are primarily handpicked, dried and ground by low friction granite stone mills into an ultra fine, jade green powder, and finally whisked traditionally with a bamboo whisk or can be prepared in a smoothie. The result is a unique, creamy velvet, full-bodied cup of premium green tea- extremely high in antioxidants, amino acids and other nutrients." 

To sum it all up Matcha is healthy. Very healthy.

In it all I decided to kick start a new lifestyle: a healthier, more productive, happier one. The Monday after returning home from a vacation I rolled out of bed at 5:30am. I spent the next hour of my morning on a bike ride, riding down to Holland State Park and beginning my morning alongside the lapping shore of Lake Michigan. Once I returned home I ate breakfast, jumped in the shower, and then enjoyed a cup of Chamomile tea all before 8am. By mid-morning I had scratched off half of the things on my to-do list.

I remember sitting outside that morning with my freshly made Matcha smoothie thinking to myself, "what a day it is going to be!"

Matcha Smoothie Recipe
In a blender blend:
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup coconut milk or almond milk
1 banana (or fruit of your choice)
1/2 tsp. matcha powder (purchased at http://lightofdayorganics.com/).

Thanks to Light of Day Organics.

Tea, tea, and more tea

I have been attempting to post everyday this week. And while I have a couple posts in progress none are quite ready for their reveal. So I thought I would post a photograph. A photograph of all the tea we purchased while Up North. I have tried almost all of them (minus Sunday Morning, which I am waiting to make until Sunday morning, just for kicks).

All I can say is that spending those 10 days Up North visiting different tea shops, trying different teas, and learning more about tea increased my desire even more for a tea shop someday. Although that someday is a far ways off, I (with fingers-crossed) have a few possible "tea training" internships for next summer. 

Beauty

So often I get caught up in what beauty is. The world portrays a message to us, all of us young and old, that beauty is perfection. I believe beauty is the perfection of the imperfection (if that makes sense). To simplify: beauty is the signs of life being lived:

Florence Photo Credit: Sarah Huizenga

Sun-kissed skin. Fresh freckles.

The painting of a young child.

The weathered hands of an elderly woman.

Beauty is the little things.

I did a tiny bit of research and looked up beauty in the dictionary. Here is what I found. Beauty is "the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind". And you know what, I fully agree with that definition. Beauty is what pleases you. The qualities present, whether big or little, that bring joy. 

Tea, tea has a quality to it that brings me joy; therefore, I find a refreshing cup of tea beautiful. 

What got me thinking on all of this was a piece I read this morning. It is from a recent purchase of mine, a book of inspiration. Here is a part of what I read: 

"The beauty of life is everywhere around you. Open your eyes and see it, absorb it, appreciate it, reflect it and become a part of it. When you expect to see beauty, you will see it; whereas when you expect to see ugliness, you will do so. The choice is always yours". 

Soak in the beauty of life; for life is beautiful.

Stones as Art

June 7, 2012:

Tonight I reached new heights. I skipped a stone, 7-8 skips, over the still waters of Lake Michigan. 

Now I can skip two, sometimes three times, it isn't that I have never skipped a stone before. I just happened to skip a good one this time. 

Photo Credit: Sarah Huizenga

I have spent the past three days perfecting the art of stone skipping. Searching the sand for the right stone: smooth, not to big, or to small. One that I can get a good grip on, allowing for a good spin when released from my hand. Tonight I stumbled upon the perfect stone. 

The water was still, like glass. The sun was beginning to dip behind the treeline. Creating the perfect setting for the perfect skip. And it was the perfect skip. Days of practice finally paid off. No one was there to watch me or snap a picture. Just me and the water. Priceless. 

I have always been a stone collector. Picking up one after the other. Finding a hint of beauty even in the dullest of stones. I let the water wash over the stone to let its true identity shine. 

I was that little girl on the beach picking up stones until my tiny hands could hold no more. I would bring each one home with me, not wanting to leave any behind. 

With my love for stones one would think I should have gone into the field of geology. But the thing is I don't care about how the stone formed, what glacier smoothed it, or what kind of it is. I like stones for their beauty, their color, their pattern. To me stones are art, not science. They are little pieces of art that litter the beach; God's gift of beauty to the shoreline. A gift I don't feel the need to examine or study, but rather, to enjoy. 

Hushed Voices and Quiet Giggles

I felt like a little kid all over again. There I was lying alongside my five year old cousin... talking. Talking in whispered voices as if making sure no one heard our conversation.

I had been babysitting Evan and his older sister, Anna that evening. As the night wore on, bedtime arose. Bedtime. The dreaded bedtime. The "but Mal we aren't tired", "can't we stay up with you", and "are you going to stay the night".

Once they were both in bed with the lights out I settled down in the chair with my book in hand. Before long Evan came out, "will you come lay in bed with me". I told him no saying it was time for him to go to sleep (knowing if I went in there he would talk to me the whole time). So back to bed he went. A little time passed by before I once again heard his footsteps in the hallway. Looking up from my book I see him standing there, again asking if I will come lay with him. Needless to say I gave in this time.

Before crawling into bed with him, he made sure I had two stuff animals and a blanket. So there I was two stuff animals in hand and a blanket that covered only my legs; listening to Evan as he told me one thing after the next: funny jokes, stories from school, and more.

And there we were, Evan and I in his little twin size bed. He as innocent as a five year old and me regressing back into childhood. It made me think what if I would've had a sibling to whisper with late at night? Only to realize that wouldn't have changed the happiness of my childhood, rather only would've created different memories. It made me look forward to the day that I have kids of my own. Kids to lay alongside one another at night whispering about the secrets of life. To be a mother and hear their hushed voices and quiet giggles.

I am glad. Glad that I gave in to Evan's plea for me to join him. Glad to have had the moment to bring me back to the wonders of being a kid.

Still here, still brewing ideas

Catch up. An update of sorts. A preface to the following chapters yet to be written... posted.

I have been on vacation, am on vacation, and will continue to be on vacation for the rest of the week. I have not abandoned my blog, merely given it a vacation as well. But ideas have been brewing (along with the countless cups of tea I have had, including the cup of Mid Summer Peach that I am sipping away at now). Ideas have been thought of, revised in my head, and written down.

Also, I am looking at making some design changes, so don't be surprised if the next time you stumble on the site that there is a new layout filled with new colors and fonts. Even though there will be design changes it will still be me. Still writing about life... still drinking tea, a cup of tea.