You, Me and a Cup of Tea

It's been a long time since I've done a post about tea... which is ironic as my blog title has much to do with tea. When I first put this blog together I had no idea really what it would be about. The main concept in my head though was I would write about books, movies, tea, whatever really and you could enjoy a cup of tea while reading my blog. Thus.... You, Me and a Cup of Tea. So if you aren't enjoying a cup of tea while reading my blog you'v ruined it's message! 😉
The cold of the fall and winter months always put me in the mood for a good hot cup of tea. Like myself, my husband has an obsession for buying tea. We have a big basket full of boxes of tea sitting by our Keurig. Honestly, we buy more than we drink. In the winter though we catch up a bit as our tea drinking and tea buying come to a middle.
Recently my church had a English Breakfast for the women's Christmas party. During it we had a book exchange. Everyone brought a wrapped book and we opened them and stole them white elephant gift style. It was tons of fun. As we opened each book the lady who had given it would explain why she had given that particular book. It was wonderful learning why the ladies brought that book and why it was special to them. There was such wide variety of books, which was delightful.
I ended up stealing my book because it was about tea so I couldn't resist! The book I got is called If Teacups Could Talk by Emilie Barnes (with gorgeous paintings by Sandy Lynham Clough). I'm only partway through it so far but I'm loving the cozy atmosphere of it as it talks about the long tradition of taking the time to sit down and drink a cup of tea just by yourself, with a friend or at a party. It's definitely getting me in the mood for drinking lots of tea.
One of my friends got a book (that I almost stole from them!) called I'd Rather be Reading by Anne Bogel. The title immediately intrigued me and made me want to read it. So I borrowed it from her and could not put it down! I binged it in one afternoon! It's a delightful little book written by a book lover for book lovers. I'm apparently very out of the loop but apparently Anne Bogel is a pretty big name in the blogging world. She blogs at Modern Mrs Darcy and also has a podcast What Should I Read Next. Check them out and check this book out! It's given me a renewed fervor for reading and is a new favorite.
One thing that Bogel talks about in her book is how books find us at just the right times in life and I think her book found me at just the right time. I've been in a reading slump for a few months now and her book has invigorated me love of reading and reminded me why I love it so much. I can't wait to dive back in to the reading world.
So right now I'm looking forward to diving back into the reading world with a cup of tea in one hand and a good book in the other.

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It's Monday! A New Year

Welcome to 2016! I'm absolutely thrilled to be in a new year and perhaps a little bit giddy thinking about all of the new books I'll get to experience in it. :) New Years eve, after staying up until New Year's day playing games with the family, I started reading a book just so I could start the year off right. It felt so satisfying. :)
As I mentioned last week, one side of the family got together this past week and we celebrated Christmas together. My aunt got me tea and a mug.... it's like she reads my blog. ;)
My dear cousins got me a Doctor Who T-shirt that says "Cross my hearts and hope to regenerate" and has two anatomically correct hearts on it. Very Lois approved. :) We spent lots of time playing games together, quizzing each other randomly on movie trivia and laughing. :) I even introduced my cousin to Leverage. :) To top it off we all (all 19 of us!) went to go see (the 2nd time for my immediate family) Star Wars: The Force Awakens!
All in all it was a delightful conclusion to the Christmas season.
But on to reading...

Currently Reading

• The Complete Stories of Flannery O Conner by Flannery O Conner 
• Othello by William Shakespeare (audiobook)
• Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin 

Finished this week

• none

Coming Soon

• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
• Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange

Reviews Posted this Week

• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens 
• Book Review: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier 

What are you excited about for this new year?

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Talking Tea- Chai O My!

I've got a tea buying and drinking problem. It's this cold weather! It does things to me. Anyways, I bought more tea the other day! The flavors I bought were Caramel Chai, and Chocolate Chai black teas and Moroccan Mint green tea. How could one resist such delicious sounding names??????

After trying them all, I decided they all lived up to their scrumptious names. The Chocolate Chai has a slightly odd, but nonetheless delicious, strong vanilla taste to it... like real vanilla. The caramel chai is exactly as it sounds, chai with just that hint of caramel to make it, if possible, even more delicious. The Moroccan mint is like most any other mint tea that you can get but I can tell it has a superior quality in the taste. 

P.S. I'm thinking making Thursdays tea post days? What think you? Nada? Well then tea post days they are!

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Talking Tea- New flavors!

Though my blog is named "You, Me and a Cup of Tea" I honestly don't talk about tea much except in passing. However, in preparing for the impending colder weather, I went and bought some new tea a couple weeks ago so I'd like to share with y'all some thoughts on the different flavors and brands I bought.

These are my newest flavors... as you can see, I do love chai tea. :)

The Private Selection brand is more expensive but there was a deal to get two so I thought I'd try it out. You can tell when tasting them that they are a higher quality. I love the green tea a lot. It's far better than the Lipton green tea that I normally get of the same flavor.

I've always been pleased with the STASH brand of tea. The chai white tea was different than any other chai tea I have tasted but incredibly delicious. It is a subtler, creamier and sweeter taste than black or green chai tea. Chocolate Hazelnut is one of my favorite teas I've tasted yet (my absolute favorite reserved for the Harvest Pumpkin Spice) and it's great that it's decaf so I can get those comforting tastes late at night as caffeine really affects me.

Do you have a favorite flavor or brand of tea? Share in the comments below!

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Fun (and not so fun) Happenings

I write this post from the couch at 3:30 in the afternoon. Why? I am sick, miserably sick. Two afternoons ago I started getting a sore throat and headache and by the evening I was have muscle aches and was shivering. I have been able to get fairly good sleep and mostly have just been laying around. They say rest is the best medicine. :) I've been drinking a lot of tea to keep me going and some chicken broth too.

My new flavors of tea. The pumpkin one is amazing!

Last Saturday we celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday. I doubt last year she could have guessed she would spend it in a wheelchair unable to speak. However, nothing ever really goes how we plan does it? I think we can always be comforted though that everything goes how God planned. Since there was family in town to celebrate the birthday, I was able to have a great time with them and gets lots of laughs in. I also got to shoot a gun for the first time which excited me a lot! :) I forgot to wear my glasses, which didn't help anything. I am though using it as an excuse for my bad aim! My cousin had a board set up with three targets. I aimed for the middle one and hit the left one. :(

Shooting a gun for the first time. 

We also got to sing some Christmas carols with my grandparents. It's so encouraging to sing a favorite of my grandmother's tunes and see her singing along (I'm not sure if she's singing or mouthing to be honest). Since my cousins are from Michigan so have a long trip to make, we went ahead and celebrate Christmas so they wouldn't have to come back for that. I got my own copy of the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice which made me very happy as that is my favorite movie. :) My sweet cousin also made me a gorgeous turquoise colored bag! I'd say I'm pretty happy with my gifts! :)
While I've been sick I've been watching a lot of movies. I watched an old black and white movie with Ginger Rogers and David Niven called Bachelor Mother which was quite funny and pretty good. :) I also watched the 1983 BBC miniseries of Mansfield Park which is okay… I'll right a full review of it soon. I also have been watching a bunch of Disneys that I was never allowed to watch as a child or I only watched once a long time ago and don't remember. I have been discovering that there were very good reasons my siblings and I weren't allowed to watch them. Expect reviews on those in the future as well.
That's all for now. Hope you all are having a great day and that you'll have an amazing Christmas with your family and friends. Merry Christmas! :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

A Little Bit of Everything (Especially Memes)

I know you were concerned that I wouldn't have a blog posts this week and that therefore your week would be woefully incomplete! I didn't want your week to be woefully incomplete so I am giving you a blog post. :) As mentioned in the title, this blog post will just have a little bit about everything (especially memes). So brace yourself!

School

Not going as well as I want it to but it's going. We started clinicals recently and I'm surprisingly really enjoying them. I am giving you some nursing memes today that are pretty good. :)

Tea

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've kind of been in the tea drinking mood recently. I bought some tea actually... haven't bought any in awhile. I now have two different chai teas (one black and one green), an herbal ginger tea, and a blueberry acai green tea. They're all really delicious! I also have some tea memes for you! 

Blogging

You may have noticed I added a whole bunch more tags to my blog posts. This is for two reasons, one to make it easier for y'all to find a post on a specific topic, and two, I'm given to understand it increases blog readership if you have a bunch of tags as the tags are used as keywords in searches... or something like that. I even have a blogging meme for you today! 

And just a couple more random memes to brighten up your day! :)

P.S. Notice my new blog layout? How do you like it? My brother is taking a HTML CSS class and he put the border around the date header. By the time he's done with his class I'll really have some fancy stuff on here. :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

On this Blustery Friday

On this blustery Friday I bring you a quick blog post before I dive into studying.
First off, look to the right... the right side of my blog page. Observe there where it says "Like me on Facebook!" Now, like me on Facebook.
That was simple.
Secondly, get your hoodies out and get some apple cider, hot chocolate and of course TEA cause cold times are ahead!
That's all... have a great Friday! :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Christmas, Candles, and Chai

Now that Thanksgiving is past, I can officially listen to Christmas music and think Christmasy thoughts.  My new favorite pastime is lighting candles, drinking a mug of chai tea and playing some Christmas music.  Of course with finals just around the corner to find such time is rather impossible, so I have made that my study environment.  My friend recently began her own candle making business (Prairie Lights) so I have a ready availability of great smelling beautiful candles.  Between the candles, chai, and music, studying doesn't seem quite so bad. :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Tea in Summer

      The other day I was feeling the need for a cup of tea so I boiled the water and seeped my tea as  I always do.  However, as I went to drink it, I realized how hot it was and thought perhaps I needed a change of plans for the summer.  Iced tea was the obvious solution so I dumped my tea over ice and put it in the refrigerator for awhile and viola! Iced tea.  So for you all that think that summer is a "No Tea Zone" y'all are wrong.  I know iced tea isn't as amazing as a nice cup of hot tea but it is rather refreshing with the current hot temperatures. I have been enjoying iced chai black tea with honey as a flavoring, which is pretty excellent in my opinion.  I also tried some honey vanilla chamomile that wasn't too bad either.  I hope all of my blog followers are enjoying the summer and hopefully I'll be posting some more on my blog in the near future.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Highschool and Beyond: Reflecting on my Past, Present, and Future

Yesterday I went to the store and got a travel mug so this morning I was able to make a cup of tea and bring it with me to work, something I have wanted to do for the last semester.  So now I am sitting at the circulation desk, sipping my pleasantly hot chai tea, reflecting on the past and the future.
This evening I will graduate from high school.  It has taken me about fourteen years of schooling by two diligent parents for me to reach this point.  I can still remember my mom going over with me over and over again that "a" says ay or ah and about the magic e.  Now I have read several thousand books.  There were those days when I would labor into the evening finishing my math lesson, trying to figure out this whole multiplication thing.  Now I have taken Calculus.
I have come so far since then, farther than I ever could have dreamed as a little four year old just learning to read.  College seemed like a joke in those days; something very old people would go to, like teenagers.  Now college is a reality. 
I realize now how little control I have over the future.  Of course the decisions I make and my actions that follow will partly control it but as anyone knows, disruptions are always just around the corner.  No matter how much you can plan out a perfect future, something always tends to go wrong, sometimes disastrously wrong.  It gives me comfort, however, to know that even if something comes up that I didn't expect, it wasn't something that God didn't expect.  So whatever is in my next few years of life: fun, learning, pain, sorrow; I know God is in control.

"And right now, in the good times and bad, You are on Your throne, You are God alone."- Your are God Alone by Phillips, Craig, and Dean

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

As if Life Could Get Better...

I am sitting here writing with celtic music floating in my ears, a mug of tea by my hand and a keyboard made for typing on.  It seems to my best inspiration for writing comes when I have these three things though sometimes I must be content with a notebook and pencil instead of the keyboard.  I love the beauty and liveliness woven into the celtic music which invigorates me and almost seems to inspire what I write.  A mug of tea warms me and gives me a cozy feeling.  And last but not least, I do need something to write with, and whether it be keyboard or pencil it will capture all of my wild and mismatched thoughts.  With spring break poured out in the week ahead, I think I will be doing a lot of this.  I don't know if life could get better... :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

As my lazy Sunday afternoon draws to a close, I sit down to reflect on it.  First off, my kind of Sunday afternoon is one where I can be lazy.  It involves lying down with a book, playing a game with the family, watching a movie with the family, and above all drinking a cup of hot tea or coffee.  As spring and summer make their presence known, I suppose I will have to change that to a tall glass of iced tea or coffee, but I digress.  Sunday is that day of the week were we can just pause.  For my family we begin it by going to church in the morning and then finish it by coming home, eating lunch and then relaxing.  Sandwiched in between a previous week of busyness and a coming week of busyness, Sunday stands alone.  It isn't a "me" time though, it is a God time.  While it may seem like we restrict our God time to church in the morning, my family does carry that into the rest of the day as we spend time together as a family.
Treasure those Sundays of worship and rest.  Treasure those Sundays of family time.  You are blessed to have them.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Tea Time

This evening my little sister and I decided to have a tea party!!!  It was our first in a long while but tons of fun so hopefully we can do it again soon. :)  We had lots of delicious food, great laughs and the wonderful Gaelic Storm as our background music.

Our menu

• Tea
• Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread
• Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies
• Clementines
• Strawberries
• Cheese Slices

Our table laid out for tea time.

My sister and I.  We decided to dress up for this occasion.  I wore my Kimono and she wore a formal.

Pouring the tea.

Betsy drinking her tea.

Drinking my tea.

Betsy and I.

Me and my fan.

"Princess" Betsy. :)

As you can see we had a lot of fun. How can you not when you have a cup of tea? :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Tea vs. Coffee

Yes, I'll admit it, I am not the hard core tea drinker that my blog makes me out to be; I drink coffee too.  Before you stone me let me give my defense; Tea vs. Coffee.

Let us begin with tea: a delicious beverage hot or iced with many different flavors to choose from.  Of course there are the complications of black tea, green tea and the not even really tea at all herbal tea.   There are many pros for tea: tasty, soothing, no calories and fat, or sugar for that matter if you sweeten with honey.  There is only one con I can think of (and it is probably just me) and that is that tea is rather hollow, there isn't much to it, just tea and water (and the sweetener if you have any).  Maybe that is what you like about it, I don't know, it is probably just me. :)

Then there is coffee: the beverage that people cannot live without... supposedly.  Coffee is great in the morning when you need a good caffeinated shock.  It can be flavored in a million different ways from vanilla to caramel.  There have been so many variations made of it (the mocha, the Caffé Macchiato, the latte, ect.) that it is really rather ridiculous.  It has more substance then tea but that also comes with a drawback.  Yes, coffee has a con.  If you are like me then you have a half coffee, a quarter milk, and a quarter creamer (with a teaspoon of sugar too).  Don't ask me how many calories are in that; I don't really want to know.  However, if you are like my friend, then I suppose you are okay as she drinks it straight black.  Of course there is the whole "Is coffee good for you or not?" debate that has been going on for forever.  It changes every year so I won't even try and resolve that.

So there you are tea and coffee.  I like them both, that is legitimate you know. 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Tea and Scones

Tea parties are pretty much a thing of the past unless, like me, as a little girl (if you are a guy forget it, your luck is out when it comes to tea parties) your mother let you have tea parties with your sisters or friends.  However, I look back on those days fondly and I wish tea parties weren't a thing of the past.  Even now I like to have my own mini tea party with a cup of tea and some cheese, cookies, or whatever other finger food is available.  One of my sisters' and my favorite tea time treats as children was hot apple scones.  There was something very English, and therefore very tea timeish about having our scones with tea.  Since then we have continued to make these scones, and we haven't only confided our scone making to our tea parties.  So for all of my fellow tea lovers I am dedicating this post and giving them a childhood favorite recipe of apple scones to enjoy with their tea.  If you are not a tea lover, you are missing out on the tea but you can still enjoy the scones for they are still just as tasty without the tea. :)

Apple Scones

1 medium cooking apple         6 T butter

1 C all purpose flour               1/3 C sugar

1/2 C whole wheat flour         1/4 C milk

1 1/2 t baking powder             2 T milk (see below)

Preheat oven to 400˚. Spray cookie sheet. Peel and chop apple. Measure flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl and stir. Rub or cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Stir in the sugar. Add the apple. Stir in the milk and make a ball of dough. Pat the ball of dough into a round shape about 1 in. thick. Cut the dough into 8 wedges then place on cookie sheet. Brush with milk. Mix together ground cardamom, cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle some on each scone. Bake for 20-25 min.* at 400˚. They are ready when golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!  
Makes only 8 scones so if you have a large family like mine then you may want to double or triple this. :)


*Note- You may need to adjust the time because I remember having a little trouble with it. :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Tea Oatmeal?

     Yes I mean it.  Tea oatmeal.  It really tastes delicious.  All you do is make a cup of tea and combine it with a half cup of oatmeal and then cook in the microwave for a couple of minutes.  Then let set for a bit. For best results finish off with mixing in a bit of honey and butter.  It tastes just like the flavored oatmeal you can get at the store but is probably a good bit healthier.  I couldn't say if it is cheaper or not though.  I like it because it livens up the boring taste of oatmeal.  I enjoyed some today and had tea to drink with it as well. :)  

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Tea and Other Great Thoughts

Due to my recent cold, I have been given a marvelous excuse to drink tea; a hobby I have been lax on recently.  For the past few days I have been drinking three or more cups.  I really think I might be repenting from my lapse of coffee drinking and returning to tea.  Probably is better for me anyways.  I have now been putting honey in my tea, instead of sugar, which tastes oh so much better.  If you haven't tried it you should.  It is also healthier that way, not that I care too much.  I love making a cup of tea and curling up in my bed with a good book, or, for right now, my anatomy flash cards  and charts.  It gives me kind of a homey feeling, especially on a cold gloomy day.  As we move towards colder weather and snow, a good book and tea sounds especially good.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

TOO MUCH SNOW!!!

Sara, Dan, Tim and I have spent half the afternoon shoveling snow! :(  Not the most enjoyable experience! However, when one is able to come inside to hot chicken soup and of course a cup of tea, it doesn't seem quite so bad.  I would like to share an absolutely superbly delicious recipe (obviously this an extra special recipe)!!!

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

1 recipe sweet roll dough

1/4 C. butter, softened

1 1/2 C. finely chopped apples

1 C. sugar

1/2 C. chopped pecans

1 tsp. cinnamon

Prepare dough.   When ready to shape, divide dough in half.  Roll out each half into a 9X12 “ rectangle.  Spread with butter.   Combine finely chopped apples, sugar, pecans and cinnamon.  Sprinkle over dough.  Roll up the long way so it is 12” long.  Cut into 1 inch pieces and place them into a 9X13” pan sliced side down.   Let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.  Bake about 20 minutes in 350˚ oven.  Drizzle with powdered sugar icing.  Best when warm but also good when made Saturday night and eaten for a special Sunday morning breakfast.  Makes two 9 X13 pans. 

You can serve my apple cinnamon rolls with what else but a hot cup of apple cinnamon tea!  Apple cider would also be tasty with these. 

Well enjoy baking and have a wonderful day!

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Tea, History, and Snow!

My fingers are going numb!  I think my family should, without a doubt, move our computer upstairs where it is warmer:)  This morning I decided to indulge in a little history and a cup of cherry tea to try and forget about the snow and cold outside. So I read a little of volume four of  A Basic History of the United States by Clarence B. Carson.  His series of books on American history are very informative and intriguing, though they are sometimes hard to read.  I would definitely recommend them for high school and older.  Also for history lovers, if you have never picked up G.A. Henty's historical novels, do so now! They are the best historical novels I have read yet, covering from Ancient Egypt to the time of Queen Victoria.  The heroes of these books are real men, and the heroines real woman!  G.A. Henty's books leave you with all sorts of snippets of historical knowledge without you even realizing it!  These books work well for middle school age and up (one can never be to old for these), and are a perfect supplement to any history curriculum.  Well enjoy your day and happy tea drinking and reading!

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

A Good Book and a Cup of Tea

There is nothing like a good book and a cup of tea, especially on those cloudy and gloomy days.  My friend Beth calls those Jane Austen days.  You curl up on the couch with a blanket, cup of tea, and a Jane Austen book.  So for my first post I would like to recommend just that.  Grab your favorite Jane Austen book, a cup of steaming hot tea, and indulge in fifteen minutes of wit and humor.  If you have never read a Jane Austen book then I would recommend starting with her very best Pride and Prejudice.  For me I will curl up by our wood burning stove, with a couple blankets, a cup of hot peach tea, and... well I am not sure yet which Jane Austen book to choose. :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.