OH MY GOD I LOVE MARTHA STEWART!
Backstory:
So this anxiety thing is bad, right? But I've been managing it much better, and have made some lifestyle changes. More water, more exercise, more relax-time, and also ABSOLUTELY NO CAFFEINE EVER. This last part is sad because it means no teeeeeeeeeea. Oh, I know, I can have peppermint "tea" (it's not tea, it's an herbal infusion), or chamomile "tea", or cocoa. All these alternatives are nice, but sometimes I just need a good cup chai with ginger and cardamom and milk and just a pinch of sugar. To eat with my afternoon snack, like civilized people do. The need has been especially great since last weekend when Andrew and I trekked to the Indian store to get namkeen.
Anyway, so some time has passed since I've even had teabag tea (god forbid) because it makes me too jittery in the morning and too keyed up to sleep even when consumed in the afternoon before 5pm.
But then on FRIDAY I went to the public library to put some of my back issues of The Nation (which is a good rag, btw) on the free magazine rack. As I was browsing the stuff already there, I came upon some issues of Martha Stewart Living. Having just re-read the entire DTWOF series, I was intrigued.
OH MY GOD I LOVE MARTHA STEWART.
Not only is the lighting in all the pictures amazing, her recipes not too inaccessible, and her decorating simple-yet-elegant (usually), she has tips and tricks for, um, other things!
She told me that I can pour water over my tea source (loose or bagged, she said) and do a quick steep (20 seconds), then dump the water and re-pour, the second brew will have significantly less caffeine. So I tried it this morning. I let steep for 20 seconds (yes, I counted while I put the toast in), dumped the 1st brew in the compost, and did a second. AND I'M NOT JITTERY OR UNFOCUSED! This is awesome! OMG! I CAN HAVE TEA AGAIN!!!!!!!!!
Plus there was this neat trick about paints that dry with chalkboard finish.
This is a happy day.
And she's made me feel younger! That's right: I'm only middle-aged now. Case in point: last night, after coming back from a play and brushing teeth and everything, I was under the covers in bed with the lamp on, reading the Martha Stewart magazine. Next to my husband. Oh, and I like American Idol now.
xo
jaya
So this anxiety thing is bad, right? But I've been managing it much better, and have made some lifestyle changes. More water, more exercise, more relax-time, and also ABSOLUTELY NO CAFFEINE EVER. This last part is sad because it means no teeeeeeeeeea. Oh, I know, I can have peppermint "tea" (it's not tea, it's an herbal infusion), or chamomile "tea", or cocoa. All these alternatives are nice, but sometimes I just need a good cup chai with ginger and cardamom and milk and just a pinch of sugar. To eat with my afternoon snack, like civilized people do. The need has been especially great since last weekend when Andrew and I trekked to the Indian store to get namkeen.
Anyway, so some time has passed since I've even had teabag tea (god forbid) because it makes me too jittery in the morning and too keyed up to sleep even when consumed in the afternoon before 5pm.
But then on FRIDAY I went to the public library to put some of my back issues of The Nation (which is a good rag, btw) on the free magazine rack. As I was browsing the stuff already there, I came upon some issues of Martha Stewart Living. Having just re-read the entire DTWOF series, I was intrigued.
OH MY GOD I LOVE MARTHA STEWART.
Not only is the lighting in all the pictures amazing, her recipes not too inaccessible, and her decorating simple-yet-elegant (usually), she has tips and tricks for, um, other things!
She told me that I can pour water over my tea source (loose or bagged, she said) and do a quick steep (20 seconds), then dump the water and re-pour, the second brew will have significantly less caffeine. So I tried it this morning. I let steep for 20 seconds (yes, I counted while I put the toast in), dumped the 1st brew in the compost, and did a second. AND I'M NOT JITTERY OR UNFOCUSED! This is awesome! OMG! I CAN HAVE TEA AGAIN!!!!!!!!!
Plus there was this neat trick about paints that dry with chalkboard finish.
This is a happy day.
And she's made me feel younger! That's right: I'm only middle-aged now. Case in point: last night, after coming back from a play and brushing teeth and everything, I was under the covers in bed with the lamp on, reading the Martha Stewart magazine. Next to my husband. Oh, and I like American Idol now.
xo
jaya