Vanilla Chai Tea Concentrate

Vanilla Chai Tea Concentrate

5 cups water(roughly about a liter)
10 black tea bags
2 cinnamon sticks
3-inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped
7 whole cardamom pods
10 whole cloves
2 whole star anise pods
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons sarsaparilla (optional, gives it a more vanilla taste)
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Bean Paste or on halved vanilla pod
1/4-1/2 teaspoon turmeric(optional, I only use it when I am ill)
1/2 c coconut
1 cup brown sugar


Bring the water to a boil and spices and simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat, add tea bags too the mixture, and steep an additional 10 minutes. Strain and add sugar, it may need to be re-heated to ensure the sugar fully mixes into the concentrate. Cool and store in the fridge(I have no idea how long it lasts as I've never made it to a week without going through it all).

The Concentrate will need diluting otherwise you make just end up seeing stars it is so strong! To make tea, I typically use 1 part concentrate, 1 part water, and 2 parts milk, because I love a good milky chai. This can be drank cold or warm.

The Importance of Letter Writing and Thank You Cards

I have been writing letters for years... however if they ever get sent is another thing. I found a letter to my best friend Stefan from the first week I moved to Santa Cruz in 2004 just before I moved to London in 2010. It was a hysterical and strange view to read what 16 year old me thought and felt, which has lead me to not only want to send letters, but to photocopy them as well because I feel that it shows one's development over the years and gives a broader picture of you as a person, as well as the development of your voice as a writer. It is interesting to read how you interact with various people and how that changes or stays the same over the years.

I recently read "The Lost Art of the Thank You Note: Write a stand-out thank-you note to a hostess or gift-giver with our tips for a thoughtful, sincere message." It was inspiring and insightful, who doesn't like being appreciated for what they have done or getting a letter in the mail! As of today I posted 7 letters and gifts to friends and family, 2 of which were written years ago, but never sent. I took pictures of the card and the message written. I want to keep a catalog of what was sent and when. I will post a few examples to show the variety of what and how I write. As well as the postcards from years ago.

By writing letters and thank you cards, not only will you be expressing your gratitude to those around you, but you will be improving your writing and communication skills. I also believe it is wonderful to instill this habit in children and the best way to do this is to write them thank you notes for the things they do(not EVERYTHING, but when they something especially nice, make you something lovely, or are especially helpful one day). Children who have received thank you letters are far more likely to write a letter as they will remember how happy it made them. You can encourage it by saying, "Remember how happy you were when you got a thank you letter from ____, I think that ___ would love to get a letter from you and hear how happy____ made you." Children need to understand the reasons behind what they are doing.

The rewards for a child are just the same as for an adult, they practice handwriting and writing skills, communication skills, and gain a wonderful habit of thankfulness. Children will begin to understand the reason behind etiquette and manners, they will(hopefully) no longer see it as just another way for their parents to tell them what to do, but understand that it is to be grateful for what you have and to appreciate those around you, just as they want to be appreciated and loved.

So here are my not so wholesome postcards and thank you notes!

My newest Embroidery for Katy and Johnny!

I am having a VERY hard time not posting pictures of their wedding present until I know they have received, which should be on Friday, so instead I will write on here and make the pictures look nice and neat! 

I based the embroidery on their amazing wedding invitation.

I have posted on on etsy for sale, to buy embroidered portraits 

 if anyone is interested in purchasing one of their own!

This is also fulfilling my change of pass it on, where I posted I would make art/crafts for 5 people if they would also post to make art for 5 people. Katy was one of the lucky 5 and the first to receive her art. 

...

Yeah, I know you're jealous! It is AMAZING! 

Below are the pictures of my adapted version of their picture which I hope they love as much as I do. I was so excited to make it, for such an amazing and wonderful lady and her new husband!

Congratulation Katy and Johnny, 

I wish you nothing but happiness, beauty, and adventure!

Three Days to the marathon!

I can't believe that only 8 months ago running for 5 minutes made me feel as if my heart would explode and in three days I'll be running 26.2 miles! I've lost at least 5 inches off my waist and 3 inches since my progress photo in Januray.

I have learned a lot about myself and it has helped me realize that I can acheive so many things that I never thought possible. If you had told me when I graduated high school that I would be living in England, going to university, and running a marathon, I would have told you that you clearly hadn't noticed my Holloway hips nor my giant booty. Somehow, despite my over-sized deriere (which hasn't lost a single inch!) I am running 6 days a week and lifting 4 days and feeling amazing.

I would encourage anyone who wants to be a bit more fit, active, or just needs a general change in life to start it now. You can start out small, for me I'd run as far as I could then walk 2-3 minutes and repeat for 30-60 minutes. It seems futile at first, but after a few weeks you'll be running the whole time and feeling great. I have only lost about 10 pounds over the past 8 months because I have gained a lot muscle, but the inches are falling off, my arms and legs look great- though I still have plenty of work to do. I feel generally happier as well. As much as I am complaining about running 6 days a week I know that when I've finished the marathon I will be overjoyed that I did it. The person who couldn't run at all, the person who was at the back of the wing in rugby and yet still had to run first(for those who are rugby fans you will understand how slow that is).

This has been a long hard road, but so completely worth it. I have been reading the 'Tao of Pooh' again recently, however silly and frivolous it sounds, it has completely changed how I look at the world and my life. I am more at peace with who I am. I am coming to accept the nature of who I am and what is best for me. I am learning to stop forcing things, but to feel out what is best for me and my life. To stop following what others think is best for me and to instead live life for me, but with a mindfulness of others with a giving, wise spirit which seaks not to take from others, but to give happily so long as it also doesn't take from me or my truth. The book also tells all of this in a simple, fun way which is what Taoism is all about. I would encourage anyone to go out and read it. You can buy it for cheap on amazon or ebay and it will change your life. It isn't a long book, but its effect is profound.

Oh, and a happy birthday to me!!

Productivity/Accountability boost

Productivity/accountability boost

I am and have always been a huge fan of lists, my friends love to tease me about my lists about lists and lists found all around the house. If we are planning a project, vacation, party, or just writing about life I will make a list. Shoot, even if I'm journaling I have a list. For me, the moment I stop writing lists and ticking things off I do nothing. I am a fairly lazy and forgetful person to begin with, but if I am without my lists I am lost! I need something in front of me organizing my thoughts and ideas and telling what needs to get done and when. I also need a list of the ideas I want to achieve, the workouts I need to do, and the sort of person I want to be.

I also LOVE vision boards, I watched "The Secret" once in a class at community college and fell in love with the idea. While I don't agree whole heartedly with some of their ideas, one can't deny the power of having a goal reminder looming over your head all the time and positive thoughts guiding you to a positive place! The Vision Board also acts as a reminder of all the things I have achieved since making my first board. Some of my goals now seem silly that I ever had them on there, but at the time seemed far-fetched and spectacular. It is time that I make a new board, as since moving to London I haven't made a proper one and I have achieved so much of my last board. I have a few pictures hazardously hung next to my bed, but it does not fulfill my idea of a vision board, nor does it express all my goals. I am also thinking of having an achievement board which I will use to move my goals to when I have achieved them, to celebrate my success and to keep me motivated.

I have also found a nifty new system to make new goals habits, see below:

http://lifehacker.com/5886128/how-seinfelds-productivity-secret-fixed-my-procrastination-problem

Human Jabba

My runs have gradually gotten longer throughout training and currently are nearly all long. I still can't believe that back in October I was nearly dying after less than 5 minutes and now I'm running for two hours at a time or more. While it isn't always a breeze- I CAN do it. I was pretty certain at the beginning that this was a bit of a pipe dream and that I would NEVER get past 5 minutes let alone a 5k, then once I got past a 5k I thought a 10k would kill me. I read and heard from people about hitting a wall and was often discouraged, but now I feel like it is possible and I can't wait to cross that finish line! Don't get me wrong, I am still absolutely petrified of April 22nd, but I might actually be able to do this!

I recently found out I'm anemic- no biggy really, it just means my iron levels are low and therefore I have no energy and sleep all the time! This is slowly being fixed with daily iron supplements, however it has and is effecting my running. I have little energy to run and after my runs I can't do anything. Lying in bed with a cuppa is the most one can expect of me following any run let alone a 2-3hour bad boy. I am basically turned into a Human Jabba. I would encourage anyone who is feeling more sluggish or sleeping more than usual to visit their doctor, I kept dragging my feet until my friend made me go in. I am so thankful that I did and I am slowly becoming more energetic and focused. 


For those who don't know, I am running I am training for the London Marathon on April 22nd and I am running for Action Deafness and I am trying to raise  £2,500 for their very worthy cause. If you would like to donate please do so here. I am also sewing and selling kitschy, geeky crafts to support them. Please take a quick look and see if anything strikes your fancy. You can find them on etsy.

Running and lifting

It is week 17 of the London Marathon's Beginner 24 Week Training plan and I am 3 weeks into my new lifting regimen

Today was: Jog 20 minutes and run for 10, it the first day in months that I ran outside for my whole run and ran with my running partner. It was nice to run with someone else and be outside, but it was still a bit too cold for my liking. Today was on of those runs that the only thing that kept me going was the thought of my after workout snack of broccoli and chorizo stirfry. I was achey and tired, but mostly just cold. I may have to stick to the treadmill for another week or so. My workout today was roughly 5 miles in about an hour(I forgot the check the exact time we ran out the door).

My lifting workout at home went well, but they always do as lifting is my favorite form of exercise. I love the new lifting routine, I feel much stronger and I love how tired and sore I feel just after. I can see and feel the difference in my muscles and on the scale. I haven't lost any weight, but I can see that I am slimmer in most places, sadly, the Holloway hips will never cease!

I would also like to point out to those women who worry that if you lift, especially if you lift heavy, you will become a big hulking mass of muscle- YOU WON'T! First off, the women who get that way take supplements and injections, secondly, they workout constantly and do bulking diets and work HARD to look like that. We produce different hormones than men which means we do not gain muscle as easily as men and therefore do not get as large. If you want a perky butt, do heavy squats that make you feel like dying and for tight, defined arms lift as heavy as you can.

The thing that probably draw you to lifting heavy most is that muscle burns more calories than fat and is nearly half the size. So, you are slimming your size and burning more calories with less effort in the long run.

For those that are athletic lifting will help your running, swimming, biking, rugby, baseball, softball, or play any other sport. The more muscle you have the harder you can push in a scrum, the faster and harder you can bike, and the longer you can run.

Below is the lifting plan for the first 1-4 weeks, sometimes I like to switch it up and do abs and arms on the same day, just be sure that you do not work out all your muscles in one day. If you work out all your muscle groups you will be too sore to lift the next day. Consistency is key, without it you will not gain muscle, lose fat, nor get faster runs.

I am training for the London Marathon on April 22nd and I am running for Action Deafness and I am trying to raise  £2,500 for their very worthy cause. If you would like to donate please do so here. I am also sewing and selling kitschy, geeky crafts to support them. Please take a quick look and see if anything strikes your fancy. You can find them on etsy.