It's Saturday NIGHT!!!

And we're LIVE ... from Ashleigh's living room. 
Tonight's guests: The Walking Dead cast (watching reruns), Shaun Spencer and Burton Guster (Psych episodes), and a local chef will be teaching us how to make a snack (we made apples with peanut butter) 

I had some time on my hands to come up with this as you can see. 
A whole 10 seconds to make all that up. I could TOTALLY do the real SNL and would be hilarious. 
Moving on ... 

I had a great night on Friday. Went to see Les Miserables at the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre and they had amazing talent on the stage. The sets were amazing. There was a rotating stage so the turntable made sets so much easier to see from different angles. And can I totally take a moment to praise the orchestra? 
Even when the mic went out on Fantine and her big number ... the orchestra played low enough so she could belt out those notes and even without a mic on her, she had incredible projection. 

Then today on Saturday ...? 
We went out and did some shopping. I splurged on a pair of socks at a pair of earrings at this new store at Rivertown called Charming Charlie. Then I got to go to Barnes and Noble. Yay me! I love that store. I don't know if you guys were aware of that or not. Then afterward, Ash and I met up with our bestie, Emily at Red Robin for lunch. I love grilled cheese sandwiches. Especially THEIR grilled cheese sandwiches. 
We just had a ton of fun and I enjoyed myself. 

Oh ... and I discovered a new movie that was ... decent. We watched the movie Monsters University on Friday night. Are you guys aware of what the theme of that movie is exactly? 
Now just remember that I'm just picking up on this from a one time sitting. 

The movie actually starts out with a very good message. Work hard. Apply yourself. Be yourself. And you'll get to where you want to go, whether that be a good school, good job, etc... 
That's where the movie's GOOD theme ends. The movie essentially is telling kids ... and this is a SPOILER ... so I will let this pause so you can leave the room or whatever ...




....




Pausing for Spoiler ....






....





The real theme of Monsters University is this. It's OKAY to mess up in college, get expelled, and have no career prospects. There will be no consequences for your actions and as long as you join any company that you want to work for and start from the ground up ... you WILL get the top job. 
I kinda think that's a bunch of Bullshit (sorry family for language) but what is this world coming to ... telling kids that it's okay if you get EXPELLED because ultimately you'll still get the best jobs. 
Not to stand on a soapbox here, but that's not really what happens very often. Let's say you take 100 people. And those 100 people ALL get expelled for whatever reason from ANY university ... I'm going to wager that about 10 of those 100 actually achieve the theme of this movie and start in the 'mailroom' and work themselves up to 'Scarer' like in the movie. The other 90 are more likely still stuck in their minimum wage position in that 'mailroom'. So what exactly are we telling kids these days? I know that with the job market today, it's EXTREMELY difficult to get the jobs we GO to school FOR ... (I mean, let's face it .. I went to school to be an editor for a big time publishing company and I'm making coffee for a living right now) ... but should we really be telling impressionable children in today's media that a college education is essentially unnecessary? No. I still think that if you go to school, work hard, and apply yourself, you may STILL not get that top job ... but you have the MEANS to move forward that much faster. 
It's not like we're exactly living in a society where it's okay that you didn't go to school anymore. Nowadays, it's very literally like 

Me: "Hello, I'd like to apply for a job"
Employer: "That's wonderful. Here's the application form online. Please list your references and schooling"
Me: "Well, I'm not very qualified for this job"
Employer: "Then have a nice day. Thanks for wasting my time" (cue door slamming in your face) 

It sucks, but that's the way it is.

All right, I'm stepping off my soapbox now. I just ... found myself irritated with Disney at that moment and felt I had to say SOMETHING to that effect.

Whatever. 

All right ... I think that's enough for now. It's been a long day and tomorrow I go to church and then drive home for work at 4pm to close. So come on in if you get a chance and I'll make you the best Vanilla Macchiato you've ever had. Let's face it. I may not have gone to school to be a barista ... but I make amazing coffee. 

Be Open, Be Loving, Be Yourself
Taryn

Complications

I was going to title this 'Complicated' but that sounded WAY too Avril Lavigne to me. And yeah, it's her world and we're just living in it, but I still didn't want to copy her. 

How's it hanging in the cyber world? I've been ... kind of avoiding it like the plague lately. Only able to check in occasionally on my mobile phone. 

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to write a blog on a phone screen? Not easy. So I kinda fell off the face of the earth for a little bit. 
But at least it was fun for the time being. Being off the face of the earth, I mean. Trust me when I tell you that my time WAS being used constructively. I have attempted this thing where I read one book a day. 
It has NOT been easy. There were some days where I just charged through the books I was reading and then there were other days where I had this little thing called Work which slowed me down on some of the thicker books. 

Pesky work. 

But I'm grateful. At least I'm GETTING a few hours now. It's not just me pinching pennies, crying myself to sleep for fear of not being able to work more, and me screaming at the top of my lungs into a pillow because I was so PISSED at not having enough work. 

Oh yeah, my life was making me cranky. 

Still ... what do you expect? God throws us the unexpected, but it's nothing that we can't handle, right? 

So here's what you've missed. 
I've read about ... 12 books since you last heard from me. I know, I'm slipping. What a shame. *laughs*
Here we go...I'll try to remember them all. 

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Frostbite by Richelle Mead
Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead 
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (you might have known this one though)
Bite Me, Your Grace by Brooklyn Anne
Mesmerized by Candace Camp 
Insurgent by Veronica Roth


I'm missing two on that list ... but I can't seem to remember what they are or find my lists anywhere. Oh well. The point is I've been reading. A lot. 
The book I am CURRENTLY reading is Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. It's basically about what would happen if the moon was pushed a little bit closer to Earth's orbit and it follows this family as they survive the weather changes and other things. What can I say? I like a good dystopian series. 

So that's me... 

I hope I can update again very soon. I have missed this. I really have.

Be Open, Be Loving, Be Yourself
Taryn

Explanation

I'll bet you've been wondering where I've been the past week and half. 

Here's the story: 

I was on my way to work last weekend, right? I went downstairs and let our big, lumbering yellow lab out. I left the garage door open to kind of remind myself that I was leaving that way to go to my car. Well, sometime between letting the dog back in, I thought ... I forgot something (I think it was my apron) so I ran back upstairs to go get it. Instead of going back downstairs, I went out the front door. I was trying to be OH so careful going down our icy front steps. And when I put my foot down on a step, it slipped out from under me .... and down I went. Right. On. My. Tailbone. 

OWWWWWWW!!! 

Now I sat in the snow right where I'd fallen for several long minutes. I even kept looking at my cellphone that I had taken out of my pocket and kept looking at the time.
"You're going to be late, Taryn" I said to myself as I tried to get up without success. "Taryn, you've got to get going!" FINALLY ... I forced myself to my feet and the pain ... not getting any better. I got into the car and started going to work. 

So .... I haven't exactly been the most FIT company to be writing anything positive, uplifting, touchy feely, or fuzzy wuzzy.
Do you want to know who's been my friend all week? 

I've brought a pillow with me to sit on.

I send you my most inspiring piece of advice right here ... 

Are you ready? 

Okay ...

Don't fall down the stairs and land on your tailbone. Yep! Just don't do it. 

So to make myself feel better, I decided to restart one of my favorite shows on Netflix. Starting with season 1 and ending at season 9. Yeah. Go Grey's Anatomy! I just finished the episode where Izzy is making chocolate cupcakes and she knows she's missing an ingredient and can't figure out what it is. And then she's on this case where a patient is about to undergo surgery on a tumor on his brain that seem to be triggering his 'psychic visions'. Yeah. That's a good episode. 

Anyway ... what's been going on? Have you been in a blind panic without one of my posts? :P 

Maybe not. *laughs* I like to think that my blog is more popular than it probably actually is. Like celebrities are reading it. Or ... Doctor Who is reading it. Or Anne Rice or Jenny Trout. Now THAT would be cool. 

Ohhh! I have a huge book recommendation to throw at you. One of my favorite authors has written another one. This time for Young Adults. 

Such Sweet Sorry by Jenny Trout

Never was there a tale of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo...

But true love never dies. Though they're parted by the veil between the world of mortals and the land of the dead, Romeo believes he can restore Juliet to life, but he'll have to travel to the underworld with a thoroughly infuriating guide.

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, may not have inherited his father's crown, but the murdered king left his son a much more important responsibility—-a portal to the Afterjord, where the souls of the dead reside. When the determined Romeo asks for help traversing the treacherous Afterjord, Hamlet sees an opportunity for adventure and the chance to avenge his father's death.

In an underworld filled with leviathan monsters, ghoulish shades, fire giants, and fierce Valkyrie warriors, Hamlet and Romeo must battle their way through jealousy, despair, and their darkest fears to rescue the fair damsel. Yet finding Juliet is only the beginning, and the Afterjord doesn't surrender souls without a price... 

I have been following Jenny Trout's books for a LONG time now. In her Bloodties series, I was enthralled by Carrie, Nate, and (squeaks) Cyrus. In American Vampire, I kept reading to find out the mysterious beastie holding a town in Ohio hostage. In her Lightworld/Darkworld series, I kept wanting to know who would come out on top in this fantasy series. 
So of course, when I saw Such Sweet Sorrow, I immediately put it on my To Read list and am going to recommend it until the cows come home. 
Pick this up the next time you're hanging out at Barnes & Noble. You can NEVER go wrong with Jenny Trout. 

And I know that this was a short entry but ... I'm kinda getting tired. And ... more in pain. So I'm going to end this for now. But I wish you all the best and I will post again. SOON. I promise. PROMISE PROMISE. :D :D :D :D

Be Open, Be Loving, Be Yourself
Taryn

Scrabble With Anyone?

Another odd week! Don't get it. 

Two days off in a row from work. Today was a little bit better. Full of intrigue. Not really. Just coffee and several tea lattes. People are getting really into those at Starbucks lately, I guess. 

Granted, the only one customers know is ... the London Fog. *sigh* Must I send EVERYONE to the ChocolaTea to brush up on their tea education? 

How is everyone doing this week? 

One of my besties, Faith invited me over yesterday so I could meet her two new kitties. They're very fluffy! One is a calico named Chloe and the other is a cream colored Persian named Kitty-Kitty (though I think they're going to try and change her name). They made me smile. Kitty-Kitty is what I guess you could call a 'flopper.' As soon as you start calling her over to pet her, she kind of flops over onto her side and rolls onto her back which is really CUTE. It definitely reminded me of Gypsum since my little kitty does that too. Teehee. 

THEN ... Faith had to pull me into an AWESOME new Korean drama. It's called the Master's Sun and it's basically about a girl Tae Gong Sil who sees ghosts and helps them pass on messages to the living. Problem? They look REALLY creepy and kinda freak her out. So of course, when she meets Joo Joong-won and finds out that he has the ability to make the scary ones dissipate when she touches him ... she clings to him like glue, much to his chagrin. 

It's kind of hilarious. I just finished Episode 3 (sorry Faith for jumping ahead) and can't wait to watch more. If anyone is interested, you can watch them on Hulu or just go to Drama Fever and you can look it up. 

Still, I'm aware that I have to step AWAY from the dramas or I'll get sucked into it more and more until I can speak fluent Korean. Wait. Is that a bad thing? *shrugs* Oh well.

I DID finish a book this week. 

This week .... I will brag about only two. 

 

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green is about Colin Singleton. He's a child prodigy who fears he will never MATTER in the world. And he's just been dumped by his 19th Katherine. This spurns him to take his best friend Hassan with him on a road trip that will help him discover his 'Eureka' moment and his place in the world. He just didn't know that he would find it in the small town of Gutshot, Tennessee. 

This book is a John Green book, so straight from that point alone, one can guess that it's really good. It was. However, I only give it 3 out of 5 stars on my rating scale. Want to know why? 

It was simply because I had to hear the word 'fugging' WAY too many times along with 'jew fro' and 'kafir' and 'spitspinkler'. Seriously, Mr. Green, we get the nicknames already for this kid. Move on. 

I think the only thing that could make it worse is that they're turning it into a movie so I'll have to hear the words all over again. On a big screen. Oh well. Moving on ...

Insurgent by Veronica Roth. 

I'm not done yet. But I'm halfway through. It takes place DIRECTLY after the events in Divergent. This time, Tris and Tobias are both learning just what it MEANS to be Divergent and how they will play a role in the war against the factions. Meanwhile, Tris has to deal with the ever engulfing guilt and loss over the death of her family, friends, and faction. I'm loving it so far. 

I'm NOT ashamed to admit it. This series is WAY better than Hunger Games. Sorry, Suzanne Collins, but your plot has NOTHING on this. 

All I know is that I'm addicted to reading and ... I have no problem with aforementioned addiction. 

Speaking of which ... is it really all that bad that I ALREADY want to go back to Barnes & Noble. That stinkin' gift card is burning a hole in my wallet and I want to buy a book. SO. BAD. What am I going to do? I want ALL the things. ALL the books.

I think that the only thing holding me back from doing just that is the snow. It's all blustery and cold again. Hello Winter. Welcome back to Michigan, I guess. Good grief. This has indeed been the oddest winters we've ever had. I can't tell you how many snow days I've counted for the schools. Poor kids. They're going to be getting caught up on school in SUMMER at the rate this winter has been going. 

I'm just wanting more hours at work and I can't get them if the snow is making people NOT buy things. Like books. And coffee.
Maybe I should stand outside Barnes & Noble holding a sign that says 'Come Inside. I'll Make You A Caramel Flan Latte'
And then I'll post THIS next to the sign that says 'Bring Your Pooches! They Like Lattes Too'

Aww! Doggy likes a Caramel Flan Latte with Nonfat Milk and Extra Whipped Cream and Sprinkles. 

Well I think I shall have to call it good for today. I'm cold and kinda shaky for some reason. I blame the anxiety disorders today. All flare-y for some reason. Oh well. Time to get a cup of something calming and head home. 

Farewell my dear readers

Be Open, Be Loving, Be Yourself

Taryn

Uh Oh!

It looks like life is getting a chance to start kicking. 

My battery has reached the end of its usable life. Poor Wilbur. This computer's battery has lasted me ... what ... 5 years? That IS a long time. Still, I had had high hopes for a longer life on it. At least until I had put away a bit more money and NOT just threw it all on student loans. 

Okay ... I DEFINITELY want to share something with you on the subject of saving money. My mom and I have been doing this ... thing that someone sent to her. Basically, every week for 52 weeks, you put away a certain amount of money and at the end of that 52 weeks, you should have about $1,052.00 put away. 

See? Now .. I've had to do this a bit haphazardly. I just put away $20.00 into the jar today. Even though I think ... if I'm doing my math correctly (which, let's face it, I'm probably not), it's supposed to be about ... $8.00? And .. I've already put away the majority amount of $52.00 away too. Then I've just been checking off which box I've completed. I feel like I should have a tidy little nest egg by the time this is done.

So what do you think? Anyone interested in doing this with me too? You can start ANY time. No limit to when you can start. Hard to believe how quickly it all adds up, huh? :D 

How I'm trying to look at it is this way. It only LOOKS like it's going to take forever to add it all up. And ... you can cheat on this if you want. It's not a set in stone plan. My mom is doubling it as she goes. So instead of winding up with the $1300 or so ... she'll have DOUBLED that. I'm just doing this like this! "Hey, I found a $5.00 bill. All right. Let's put it in the jar and call that good and then we'll still put in my $3.00 or so at the end of the week.
I'm a bit of a procrastinator. 

All right ... I'm a HUGE procrastinator. In college, I had to have sticky notes all over my dorm rooms to keep me on track. My roommate thought I was a crazy because I would even have sticky notes on the cabinets saying things like 'Suitcase in here' or 'Ravensbruck Concentration Camp started the Siemens Electric company'. They were the only way I'd get assignments done BEFORE they were due. 

Now ... I have to have a theme for today's post, right? 

I don't. I"m a little on the random side today. But that's okay. Because that's how I'm feeling. Let's face it, readers. I'm not going to be enigmatic, charming, and articulate every time I post. I'm human and ... I'm me so I go off on tangents, have feelings and am not going to censor that from you. 

I want everyone to know that I'm normal. A NORMAL human being. Can you believe that? :D 

I get this question a lot and I wanted to share this answer with you. 

Question: Why do you read and write so much? 

Answer: It's very simple. It's because life sucks. It's hard and complicated and overbearing. 

Let's face it! Of course I'm not saying that every day is bad ... because we ALL go through periods where there's nothing but good things. Nothing but happy thoughts, jovial things happening, and peaceful lives. 

But sometimes, I wonder why college didn't just tell me the truth. WRITE THIS DOWN, EVERYONE! College tells you that life is going to be nothing but smooth sailing for you because you'll have a degree to back you up and pad your resume and then ... you step outside those doors, diploma in hand. Hope surges through you. 

The truth is this. No, there is no right answer because what you learned for that test is NOT going to actually help you in the real world. The real world does not play fair. It cheats and leaves you to follow the rule book to the letter, knowing that every outcome is this.... Compared to what we're told, we only get a FRACTION of the good that we're TOLD we're going to get out of it. They say that when we make plans, God laughs. It's true. No matter what we do to try to squeeze everything into these perfectly thought out plans .. life will ultimately throw THIS into your life's game of Tetris (look below) 

Oh yeah ... that does bite. Life is scary. It feels like when you're walking down a long, dark alley and you have that constant fear of someone following you but when you whirl around, no one's there. Life is the dream that you have where you're falling and you feel the scream build up in your lungs but nothing comes out and the pressure is so much that tears prick your eyes and you see the earth come closer and closer and closer until you wake up in a cold sweat. 

That's why I read and write. It takes away my anxiety ... for even a moment of the scary things in life. I can be anyone I want to be when I read. I can be ... Juliet, Nate's best friend in J.H. Trumble's 'Don't Let Me Go'. I can be Scout Finch in 'To Kill A Mockingbird', I can be Alice Peterson, fighting off the ravages of loneliness and her growing feelings for her master in MY novel, I can be Cath in Rainbow Rowell's book 'Fangirl' who is facing her first year in college and scared to show her true colors. THAT'S why I read and write. Because life sucks. 

Now ... I want you to take what I told you to write down ... and TEAR IT UP INTO A THOUSAND PIECES AND BURN IT! 

Because here's the kicker. You already knew all that, but THIS is what I hold onto and it's a couple of verses that have stuck with me the past few days. I've seen them everywhere. On my bestie, Faith's kitchen counter. In a devotional I JUST got from my aunt Donnette and heard in a sermon a couple of weeks ago at church. 

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Another verse... 

Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ...

There you go! (points up) 

Those are what I hold onto. It makes life a little bit ... better, you know? Makes the dark alleyway filled with light. Makes me grow wings in my dream to stop falling. Gives you back those good feelings. Gives you hope. 

THAT is what I've been holding onto lately and THAT is how I'm going to leave you for today. I wish you all very well. 

Be Open, Be Loving, Be Yourself

Taryn

Bit Too Much Today

I ran away from home today.
Not Literally.

I just ... had to get OUT of the house and that was odd considering that I was barely IN the house for an hour before I bailed. 

As previously mentioned, my family has a lot of dogs ... being dog sledders. With this warm weather that Michigan has gotten since the Polar Vortex soared over us in a Snowmageddon ... I think that they've all gotten just a bit too active for my taste. I get home and it's like listening to an out of tune Puppy Choir. 

Woof, Woof, Woof.
Woof, Woof, Woof. 
Bark, bark, bark. Bark-bark.

(And yes that WAS supposed to be the doggy version of Jingle Bells to the best of my knowledge)

So YAY for you, dear readers ... you get a blog post ON TIME for once. Thank the dogs for that! 
Plus, I get some peace and quiet to apply for more jobs here in town and OUT of town again. Have you ever seen Seattle? Me either. But I applied to a job there too. 

All right! I gave you an entire post on books, an entire post on teas, and now .... you get my Overactive Imagination. 

I'm a daydreamer. I got into my head for my first novel about what would happen if a vampire, (no teasing. I wrote the outline for this novel back in the 8th grade. BEFORE Twilight) took a human as a pet. Much like we would have cats or dogs or chinchillas or alligators or what have you. And what would happen if that vampire started to form an attachment to his pet and the pet developed an attachment to her master?
From there, my novel took form. The still untitled novel. I've rewritten the whole thing three different times and I'm pretty sure I've scored a homerun with this last rewrite. 
But all because of daydreaming did it come about. 
I leave no idea left unnoticed. You never know if something is chosen for you for a reason. Also because I have no idea when inspiration will strike ... most of my ideas are stored in VARIOUS notebooks.  
Want to know the Writer's Secret? 

*leans in to whisper* 10. Cent. Notebooks.

Typically, they look just like this (above) and they're generic spiral-bound in different colors. Around the Back-To-School sales at Meijer or Walmart, they put out BOXES of these notebooks and sell them for about $.10 a piece. My bestie Jeanne and I used to raid these boxes every year for PILES of them. The only difference is that I would use or LOSE my notebooks so much faster because Jeanne's handwriting is so cute, dainty, and delicate where mine is usually a hastily written scrawl. 

Either way, the invention of the $.10 notebook was genius. 

So there IS an upside to having an overactive imagination. Especially when you can kind of stare off into dreamland, thinking of a time when you would stay up all night on Christmas Eve playing with your Polly Pockets and waiting for Santa Claus to show up. I never caught that tricky guy. *shakes head in shame* 
Or ... when I was in the middle of a crowded mall and someone pushed me out of the way. On the outside, I said nothing and just kept walking. But in my head, I whirled around and leapt up high in the air (because of course in dreamland, I have mega Ninjitsu skill) and then knocked the guy to the ground and demanded an apology for his coarse behavior. BAM! Dream Taryn wins. 
I owe my imagination to books and stories. Once you get into a good book, it's really true what they say ... it changes you. Whether you know it or not. 

I'm pretty sure that the only reason I read so much is BECAUSE I can imagine myself in a story so easily. 

Like .... when I was reading The Selection by Kiera Cass. I was reading one part where America runs out into the garden to get some fresh air and I could ACTUALLY see myself having her same conversation with Prince Maxon ... but not saying all the STUPID stuff that gets her into so much trouble. OH if you could shake some sense into a character. And my goodness do I wish I DID live in that world. I would show America how NOT to get herself into so much trouble. UGH! She can be dumb. Still really recommend that series though. Just saying. 

*sighs* 

I think I've decided to share some of my randomness with you all. I think you've deserved it, don't you? 

To Breathe Again

Written by Taryn Elizabeth Love

Prologue

                “Come on now, Miss Carraday! Put the gun down!” the cop ordered her. “You don’t want to hurt anybody do you?”

                “How do you know what I want to do?” Beth demanded. “How do you know? You don’t know me. You didn’t know my parents. You don’t know what’s been going on in my life.” She put her finger to the trigger and pointed her gun at the intended target. “My life has been completely destroyed this past year and I’ve had enough of it. I just want it to stop.”

                “Hurting somebody or yourself isn’t going to stop that, now is it?”

                “SHUT UP!” she screamed. “Just shut up!” Then she pulled the trigger.

Chapter One

                Tilda Foster hadn’t spoken to her younger sister in over 16 years. Her niece, Beth had been two years old the last she’d seen her. She had moved to Lemon Grove, CA, opened her store and had tried, without success to not think about her estranged family members.

                Thursday was an ordinary day. Tilda tied her waist-length hair into a tight braid; she burned incense to her goddess and walked downstairs to open the store she owned, Little Wonder-Land. She had just turned on the OPEN sign when Tilda heard the phone ring. She picked up on the third ring and greeted breathily, “Blessed Be! This is Little Wonder-Land, how can I help you?” In just a few short sentences on the other line, Tilda’s world came to a crashing halt. Time stopped and her heart ceased its beating. The music in her shop slowed to an impossible speed, the people on the streets froze in mid-step. And Tilda was afraid to process what the man on the other end of the line was trying to convey to her.

                “Say it again,” Tilda breathed out. “What happened?”

                “Ma’am! We need to know what you plan to do. This is extremely important.” But Tilda heard no more. The phone dropped from her hand and clattered to the floor. Tilda sank down behind the counter and hugged her knees to her chest. She clutched a small pendant in her hand and began to rock back and forth as she stared, without really seeing, out in front of her. Her sister was dead. Her brother-in-law was dead. Her niece was badly injured, but was stable. This couldn’t be happening. Not to her sister. It was impossible. Her sister had always had God of hers on her side. Tilda had believed that He would have protected her from everything under the heavens. And now she was dead and her niece was alone in a hospital in Chicago, Illinois. The bell above the front door to her shop rang and Tilda shook her head slightly to clear her mind. She stood up slowly and forced a smile on her lips as she greeted the customer walking into her store.

                “Tilda Foster, blessed be!” The customer was a regular. Her name was Margo and she’d been a practicing Wiccan for over thirty years. Margo had actually introduced Tilda to her coven, and it had made Tilda feel right at home in such a new city when she was just moving in. Margo approached her now and she furrowed her brow in puzzlement. “Now I know that something is wrong, my dear. Your aura is so dark. What is it deary?”

                “Margo, I have to go to Chicago.”

                “The goddess certainly loves to give us obstacles. It’s her way of showing her divine love. You know that,” the woman gushed.

                “Yes, but I’m afraid it’s worse than that.” Tilda took a breath. “My sister and her husband have been killed. And my niece is all alone at the hospital. I’m just not sure what to do.”

                “Oh my!” Margo came around the counter and hugged Tilda. “Uphold your strength, my sister heart. You will get through this.” She disengaged from the embrace quickly and cleared her throat. “If there is anything that either I or the coven can do for you, let it be known.”

                “Please keep me in your prayers. I do believe that I will need your strength,” she replied to her friend.

                “Consider it done.” Margo looked around the store. It was very clean and tidy, much like Tilda herself. “Now, first things first. You have to lock up and go upstairs and pack for Chicago. If you’re going to go and check on your niece, you can’t exactly do that with a whole shop full of people.”

                “I guess not,” Tilda said, forcing another smile. “Thank you Margo.”

                “You’re welcome. Now shoo!”

There! That's the first chapter of the novel I am currently repairing and editing. I realized how much was flawed with this one. It's about Beth Carraday. She was the only survivor in an 'accident' that took her parents lives. The only relative left is her Aunt Tilda and their lives clash as Beth, a Christian is forced to live with her aunt, a practicing Wiccan who left the Christian faith some 20 years ago. 
It's supposed to be a story of redemption and how God can mend ANY relationship. But then ... somehow the story got REALLY confusing so I'm revamping it. 

I hope that this is a suitable hook to pull you into the story. I thought so. 

Well ... I think it's time to take off. It's been a long day and I ran out of tea. Time to go home.

Be Open, Be Loving, Be Yourself
Taryn

All About Tea

I think you read that accurately. 

All about the tea today. Last week, I talked about books, remember? And I gave you WAY more than you actually NEEDED suggesting to read. Still, it was an impressive list. 

Deemed the drink of the year (in my mind), tea seems to be on the rise all over and everywhere lately. Here in my hometown, we even got ourselves a Teavana.  

Pardon the tone when I say this .... ChocolaTea is better. No question there. the tea is richer and there's more variety. Not that Teavana doesn't have it's merit. Generally, I go in there for the Youth Berry tea and for the Yixing clay tea pots. 

Winter Dragon tea pot! (shown above) The Yixing clay is found in the Jiangsu province of China. It's a red clay and teapots made from this help to "season" tea. This means that it takes on the FLAVOR of your tea and enhances it with each cup. 

They are not what I would recommend for a sporadic tea drinker, because it should only be used for ONE type of tea. Black, White, Green, Oolong, Herbals, or Reds. I personally use the Glitter and Gold tea in mine because it's my absolute favorite tea and I love how much more the flavor has been enhanced with every steep. The clay it's made from absorbs and soaks in the tea's natural flavors and it really can't get any better. 

Now I do want to talk about one of the most popular teas to date. 

Green Tea. 

Many people choose it because of the good antioxidants naturally derived from it. But what else is good about it? How do you get green tea? Does it come from another plant than the Black teas? 

When you hear the words 'green tea' what do you think of? I'm GUESSING that the majority usually see these images come to mind. 

The classic box of green tea bags found at your local grocery store 

<------------ Looks pretty, doesn't it? You read the box and you see the words 'HEALTHY ANTIOXIDANTS' 

   Then above, you have the beautiful glass teacup with the full leaf green tea steeping. It's an iconic image. You get blasted by the information that says 'DRINK GREEN TEA. LOSE WEIGHT.' 

Now of course I'm not denying the medicinal properties of green tea. It IS quite good for you, but there's MORE to green tea that antioxidants which ... let's face it ... no one has any idea what that really means. So let's explore that shall we? What are antioxidants? Why are they important to our bodies? 

In laymen's terms, an antioxidant is simply a molecule. It's found in ... not only green tea, but in many fruits and vegetables that we regularly eat. 

The body needs these molecules because they help us fight off infections and disease, even keeping away serious heart disease and other forms of cancer. 

The most famous antioxidant is Vitamin C which is water soluble. The second most famous is Vitamin E, which is fat soluble. 

Why are they important? It's simple. All living things need oxygen to survive, right? Basically, oxygen creates the necessary functions for us to breathe, metabolize, and use energy. Antioxidants found in the green tea (since that's where I'm going with this) keep what are called 'Free Radicals' or molecules ALSO formed by oxygen from attacking our otherwise healthy cells. Therefore .... we love green tea. :D 

Green tea is made from the Camellia sinensis tea plant and unlike the Black tea, it undergoes a very minimal oxidation process which I covered in a previous post. 

Then there's the different TYPES of green tea. 

Chinese Green tea! 

The most popular is the Silver Needle tea. This tea has a robust flavor other than its more subtle brother, the White Silver Needle tea. 

 See how it has pointed edges on its leave and an almost silvery hue to it? Originally found in the Hunan Province where it is cultivated today. 

Then there's the Japanese Green Tea. In Japan it's called simply 'tea' or 'Japanese tea' though it WAS brought to japan from China during the Song Dynasty. 

Sencha Green tea is the most popular and famous blends of Japanese Green tea. These leaves are exposed directly to sunlight. It has a very full flavor in the first and second flushes. 

See how green it is? It's from its exposure to sunlight. It also has a very grassy look to it because the leaf bunches up and holds in that flavor before steeping. 

Next ... another common form of green tea is Matcha Green Tea. 

It's a ground down tea and in Japan, it is very expensive and usually only used in tea ceremonies because they have the purest form of it. It seems to be getting more popular in the United States. And because it can be sweetened easily, you'll find it in a lot of ice cream flavors AND it's the reason that your green tea latte at Starbucks is so sweet and delicious 

Again, see how powdery and fine, this tea is. It can NOT be steeped in a normal infuser because of it being ground so fine. All you do is mix it directly with steamed milk or hot water to create your perfect matcha tea blend. 

So there is your tea education for the day. I hope it was informative and not too lengthy. I try to make it as interesting as possible when I go on my tea rants. :D 

I love my teas! 

I LOVE MY TEAS!!! 

But of course ... I can understand that people do NOT want to read only about teas so I try to mix it up and have a variety of topics to discuss. Next segment, you might be AFRAID to read as it's going to be my Overactive Imagination bit. Prepare for randomness galore on that day. 

Well perhaps I should leave you all to your day. I do have to close the cafe at Barnes & Noble tonight. So if you're in my area of Michigan, come on in and say hello! I love visitors and am happy to get to know my treasured readers. 

Be Open, Be Loving, Be Yourself

Taryn

(I am going to finish reading another chapter in the Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper)