Thoughts: On Recovery & Return to Work

I'm an English teacher, so it goes without saying that I probably enjoy reading. One of the reasons I, and many others from what I glean, love to get lost in the pages of a book is because they allow us into the lives of characters who remind us that we're not alone. They show us that our feelings are real and our experiences have been lived out by others. Even if these others are only fictional characters, they came from some living breathing human. Since my concussion, I haven't been able to read as voraciously as I used to. This being said, when I can I try to read novels, articles, and blogs. I've found comfort in reading medical articles and personal blogs about concussion and recovery. So, since I have appreciated others' written word and since the world keeps dropping hints to write...

Over the last 5 months I've felt my injury and eventual diagnosis of post-concussion syndrome change and evolve. With each new level, seems to come new challenges physically and emotionally. It would seem at times that I would solve one problem (a pain, a pressure, a tightness) only to discover or develop another as my body balanced itself out again. It's like I would open my curtains to a sunny day full of potential then by the time I applied my sunscreen and grabbed a hat it would have started to rain. One day, I would start to feel like myself (with a few bonus headaches), the next might have less headaches but the third will find some new version of all the things I thought I had just gotten rid of. My list of triggers is long (light, screens, fast movement, loud anything, ... essentially anything fun) and their ability to effect my brain varies greatly each day.

This last shift in recovery has resulted in a lot of stress and anxiety. Trust me, I was also in disbelief when my body gave me all my "you're stressed" signs despite having been off work and being unable to identify any "valid" stressor in my life. Recovery is stressful. The thought of (not) getting better gives me anxiety. I want nothing more than to feel like myself again. At the very least, I crave to be some close version of that person.

As the summer comes to an end, teachers begin to prepare to go back to work. Typically, this time is stressful and anxiety ridden for any educator. Unfortunately, this year, I'm more apprehensive than usual. Some of my fondest classroom memories are those rare times when you can stop and observe the organized chaos that is high school students who are fully engaged with a task and each other. It's loud, it's messy and it's beautiful. The classroom I know and love is fast-paced, requires the use of a variety of skills at once, is full of conversations and questions, it's full, bright, loud, and... terrifying. Now, I sometimes can't handle the radio while I drive.

My Dr. and I have deciding that I'll go back on a gradual basis, starting with one class a day and my 40 minute drive there and back. In a few weeks, if all is well and I'm still standing, I'll take on the rest of my classes.

The last two weeks have been my best so far. Shout out to my mom for being my backup driver on a few test drives to Windsor and for reminding me that all teachers want to cry when they see their classroom for the first time after summer break. I feel good about where I'm at in my recovery and I'm anxious yet excited to get back to work. I've started doing yoga and meditating daily and am working on being mindful and kind to myself. One of the most important things I've learned through this process is the value of self-care and mindfulness. I think about the Harry Potter quote above often; it's comforting. Of course, all of this is happening inside my head... and it is my reality.

Photo Session: Dillon, Devin & the dogs.

This winter I got a message from on old friend asking if I would like to join a volleyball team. I immediately said yes and began to spend my Monday nights on the court with some great ladies. The person I have to thank for that message is Dillon! I'm so happy she asked me to play volleyball and to capture herself and her two and four legged loves. 

After weeks of scheduling and rescheduling thanks to the long process that is post concussion, we finally found a date that we and my head agreed with. We took a drive out to Wheatley and down Pier Rd to Holiday Harbour Campground. If you've never been there, you need to change that! I'm sure once you're done with these photos you'll want to visit the beach where they were taken.

As the sun set, we rolled around in the sand (okay, that one was mostly me.), got cozy and took in what nature and the campground had to offer in the way of beach wood and greenery. If I didn't have a camera in my hand and people sitting quite perfectly in front of me I could have drifted away on that beach. 

Koda was the most excited for the shoot, he told me all about it on the car ride there. Thunder the Retriever wasn't far behind in spirits but, was happiest when lounging on the beach. I yelled about cookies, squirrels, and treats all the while reassuring them of what they already knew that they we're indeed good boys. Humans and dogs alike couldn't have looked better against  nature's most beautiful backdrop: a beach at sunset. 

Thanks so much to Dillon, Devin, Koda, Thunder and their amazing friend and dog wrangler Rhiannon who held the dogs while they were out of the frames. I also need to send a huge thanks out to Holiday Harbour for letting us use their beach to make these sweet photos happen. 

Photo Session: Linkin Cake Smash

Sometimes as a photographer you just get lucky. One of these instances is when you meet a baby like my little cousin Linkin. Linkin was a natural in front of the camera! To make this shoot happen, Jenn made a cake, found an outfit and created the best balloonscape. I waltzed in, added my banner and some lights and we were ready to go. Linkin was so content to eat his cake, look into my lens and listen to the click of the shutter. A special bonus was the sweetest reaction to yelling, "cheese!" as seen below. Thanks again to Jenn and Mike for making such an attentive, sweet and beautiful baby and for asking me to capture this milestone.

Thoughts: On Self-Reflection & Recovery.

As part of recovery, I've been working a lot on self-reflection; really listening and being attentive to what my body is feeling and what stimulus or sources cause those sensations. Like myself, you might have assumed that concussion is a strictly physical injury. Well, I'm here to tell you that if you should ever be diagnosed with a concussion there is a high likelihood of emotional symptoms as well. In my case, and typical of many others, I experienced mood swings, anxiety, irritability and dealt with depression.

At the beginning of my injury I couldn't do much more than lay in bed without getting intense headaches, light-headedness, dizziness, and nausea. I had light and sound sensitivity, couldn't read or focus on detail and had a hard time generally moving and focusing on any one thing. Multi-tasking has always been an integral part of my functioning and suddenly I could only draw my attention to one single thought or idea at a time. Driving created a terrible cocktail of symptoms and was to be avoided. Most of the time these feelings would lead to panic (will I ever be able to function typically again?), usually accompanied by anger (this is such a simple task that I've done a thousand times, why is it so hard?!), and finally the general apathy, sadness and defeat as I'd retire to the couch with an eye-mask for a few more hours sans stimulus.

The best way I've found to describe the experience of recovery is kind of like restarting and recreating your daily routine. This meant, "reprogramming" my brain in a way so that it was no longer in a protective state and therefore creating symptoms. I've been working with medical doctors, a chiropractor, a physiotherapist, a massage therapist, and an optometrist over the last 3 months in order to get my variety of symptoms in check.

I'm happy to say that each day is getting better. This is all I can ask for, and something I'll gladly accept and show gratitude for. There was one point about a month in where I had made a lot of progress and then suddenly lost it. I was back two weeks in recovery, and was unable to do tasks that I had once reintegrated and done with ease. This was the hardest part. This part of the journey brought along a new companion: fear. The only thing my doctors and I could find as a cause was that I had just tried to move too fast literally and figuratively. Although I was following my prescribed activity levels and exercises, I had over exerted myself and my brain had something to say about that.

There are thousands of studies that exist about support systems and how they can effect someone's resiliency, recovery, and overall well-being. To imagine doing this without my family, husband, friends, and colleagues is unfathomable. I'm sure it wasn't easy for you either, and if I haven't already I'd like to take a second to apologize if you've had the joy of seeing some of my less than appealing emotions, but also thank you for being there despite them. Throughout this whole process I've had friends and family recommend doctors and therapies to me that have really helped get me to where I am.

I continue to see a physio and RMT weekly and have lists of vision, balance, and strengthening exercises that I go through daily. I've rekindled and grown my love for yoga, which has admittedly become a huge part of my days and my recovery. I've also been told  to go for walks and finally jogs (head permitting) as much as I want so if I'm not home, you'll probably find me and koda up on the creek banks. I'm beginning to reintroduce activities through my creative work, and it feels good. Every day is a new adventure and some days I make it further down the path than others, but at least I'm moving forward. I tell myself to "do good things" in the broadest sense because deadlines and timeframes are still a struggle if I truly listen to my body and stop when it tells me to.

On that note, I can feel my shoulders coming up to my ears, my neck getting stiff and my eyelids involuntarily wanting to shut; this means it's time to quit, take a break, breathe, exercise and try again later. I'm not out of the woods yet, but I'll be sure to do it in my own time. Although, I do pray that my timing coincides with the academic calendar so I can be back in the classroom this September.

Recipes & Ramblings: Vegan ravioli and taking care of me.

One thing that I've learned recently is that if I want to feel good I need to take care of myself. Over the course of recovery I've started to notice how certain foods effect my body, my anxiety levels and my overall functioning. I tried not to listen, but worst of all my body has rejected two of my favourite beverages: alcohol and coffee. But, it's worth it to feel like my head is screwed on straight. One day I'll be back on the margaritas and Starbucks.

As part of my intention to honour my body by filling it with good things I've decided to accept my lactose intolerance. This is really an easy choice seeing as both Jeff and myself don't digest dairy so well. Tonight's lactose-less dish was Thug Kitchen's creamy ravioli with house marinara. Although, admittedly, it wasn't exactly like it's real cream counterpart, this ravioli was a great substitute! Next time, I'd like to get some interesting local mushrooms to add to the filling. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the full recipe to share online but if you're looking for vegan recipes I highly recommend Thug Kitchen!

Another small victory today came in the way of completing my first 5k walk/run. I've been walking almost everyday and each time the itch to move a little faster got worse. Today, I scratched the itch and I feel good.

Every day I seem to feel a little more awake, a little more like myself and a little more able to function. I'm so grateful for progress, beautiful weather and for good food.

Bird's Nest Orange Carrot Cupcakes for Easter

I think I might be getting a little too into cupcakes.... oh well! For easter with the family this year I offered to make carrot cupcakes. Why carrot? because that's what the easter bunny eats, duh. Now, I got myself into a little pickle and got two different recipes then couldn't decide which one to use, so obviously I made both! Here's the first recipe. 

A huge thanks to my (future) mother-in-law Renee for sharing this amazing recipe with me! 

Orange Carrot Cake  

INGREDIENTS

Makes 24 cupcakes

Cake 

3 cups All Purpose Flour 

2 cups sugar 

1 cup coconut 

2 1/2 tsp baking soda 

2 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp salt 

2 cups (4 medium) shredded carrots 

1 1/4 cups oil 

2 tsp vanilla 

1 tsp grated orange peel 

11 oz can (1 cup) mandarin oranges, undrained

3 eggs 

Frosting 

8 oz package cream cheese, softened 

2 tbsp margarine or butter melted 

1 tsp vanilla 

3 cups powdered sugar 

1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts (optional) 

Toppings 

2 to 3 cups sweetened coconut 

72 mini eggs 

INSTRUCTIONS  

Cake

Heat oven to 350 degrees farenheit 

Grease (not oil) 13x9 inch pan OR prepare two cupcake tins with liners 

In a large bowl, blend all cake ingredients; beat two minutes at high speed 

Pour into greased pan 

Bake at 350 for 45 to 55 minutes OR 15 to 20 minutes for cupcakes; until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
Cool. 

Frostings

In medium bowl, blend all the frosting ingredients except the nuts; beat until smooth. 

Spread over cake OR use a piping bag to ice cupcakes
Sprinkle with nuts if desired 

Toppings 

Spread coconut evenly over a baking tray 

Bake at 300 for 5 to 10 minutes; keep a close eye on it as it will burn quickly 

The Assembly: Ice the cupcakes making sure there's a little extra on the outside edges to help make your nests. Sprinkle the cupcakes with toasted coconut. Place  3 eggs in the centre of each cupcake and voila! 

Tips & Tricks: I left out the grated orange peel, still delicious. Also, use a food processor to shred your carrots! So quick and painless. 

Yummy Rolo Cupcakes

In my last placement every Thursday was pot luck, aka my favourite way to eat. I was nominated to make dessert and I remembered I had this super awesome giant cupcake holder, so obviously my first choice was to make cupcakes! But what kind? After scouring my cupcakes board on Pinterest and remember my favourite chocolate bar I decided on Rolo Cupcakes. 

Makes about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

2 cups flour

¾ cup cocoa 

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup full fat mayonnaise

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups freshly brewed coffee

3 packs (about) Rolo chocolates - chopped 

40 (about) caramel candies (like chewy caramels)

Mini Rolos for decorating

Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Icing

I barely had enough to ice all of them, I'd recommend a double batch if you plan on using lots like I did.

1 cup softened butter

3 1/2 cups icing sugar

dash of vanilla extract

dash of cream

2 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/2 cup melted dark chocolate - cooled but still runny

Instructions 

Cupcakes 
Preheat oven to 180' C / 350' F .
Add all the ingredients in a mixing bowl except for the freshly brewed coffee and mix on high speed until combined
Add the coffee bit by bit until it is all mixed in
Add the chopped up rolo chunks and mix
Fill some prepared cupcakes liners so the bottom is covered
Drop a single caramel candy the cupcake liner so it sits on top of the cake mixture
Cover the caramel with the remaining cake mixture but be careful not to over-fill (¾ way is perfect!)
Bake for about 20min. (I usually check after 15 min and take them out at about 18min)
Let them cool completely before frosting them

Frosting
Caramel Drizzle 
Make sure it isn't too hot or it'll melt the icing! 
And that's it!! Enjoy some delicious, chocolatey, chewy, caramely cupcakes. They we're a huge hit in the staff room, I had NONE to bring home and a few requests to bring in the recipe to share!
The original recipe I adapted this from can be found here at Bits of Sunshine. 

In an electric mixture, mix butter and icing sugar until smooth and fluffy, adding the cream bit by bit until a nice smooth piping consistency is reached.
Add the vanilla essence and mix a bit more
While the mixer is running, slowly add the chocolate and beat.
Ice your cooled cupcakes as you wish!

Melt the rest of the caramel candies using a double boiler and add 1-2 tbsp of cream, when the consistency is runny enough drizzle over frosted cupcakes.

You snuck up on me there. 

I love a new month, it's like a little restart. The best part about this month? One more month until the most wonderful time of the year, December.

I think it's beneficial to set goals for yourself, so with a new month comes some new goals:

Take more pictures
Stay on top of school work
Start "shredding for the wedding" 

Goodbye my love!

Welp, one of my best friends has just left for a new adventure in Alberta! I'm incredibly happy for her, but also sad (obviously!). 

We've gone to elementary, high school and university together, so here's some gems I've found from those times! 

In honour of her departure a few of us got together for some apple juice and delicious lasagna. Nothing makes me happier than getting together with some good friends. Too bad it was a rather depressing occasion, for the record I only cried once. 

I'm sure she'll do great in Alberta, and I'm so happy to call her one of my best friends and now bridesmaids... but's that's another post.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

BACK TO SCHOOL. 

Call me crazy, but I absolutely love back to school time! This really validates my choice to become a teacher. Although, when I'm the one doing the teach I have a feeling I might not enjoy it that much.... But until then I'll enjoy the crap out of new binders and making lunches. 

This year I'm going to be commuting to school and living and my parents house, nothing like saving a few (hundred) bucks a month. This being said, back to school this year is a little more... intense. I'll be leaving my house early every morning, driving an hour, and coming back later that night. That means I can't forget things, I can't be last minute, I better pack enough food and make sure I have breakfast... you get the idea. I'll be heading into the faculty of education so my time will be split between university classes, and high school placements..

So, here's some of my student/teacher must haves and tips for the academic year! 

You might have to pee every hour, but if you're allowed to leave class this often do your best to drink tons of water and tea. I always bring a giant reusable water bottle that I can refill, and my favourite tea mug for a morning green tea pick me up. This year I'm using a 32 oz. pull top bottle from Victoria's Secret PINK. I've also still got my favourite Teavana Contour Tumbler, I shit you not it will keep your tea hot for hours! Seriously, I need to leave the top off to let it cool down so I can actually drink the contents.  

Get a planner and stay organized! I chose one small enough to fit in my purse, but size doesn't matter. It's what's on the inside that counts. I prefer to have a monthly calendar and a section for everyday. This allows me to see the whole month at a glance, as well as plan my days out. Colour code everything! I have so many highlighters and tabs it's ridiculous, but I love it. I actually went out and bought new markers just so all my classes could have their own colour for coding (I'm a little obsessed). I also use iCal on my computer to write down all my classes, under the "notes" section I write what I have to complete for each class. I use "all-day events" to mark any big projects, tests, essays, or quizzes I might have due so they stand out. Do I even need to mention that it's obviously colour coded to match my markers? I bought my planner at Target, other good options are Chapters/Indigo and Staples.

Feed your brain, and your belly! Make good food choices. This can be one of the hardest parts of being on campus for long periods. I mean, Pizza Pizza is just two steps away and they have a buy one get one free deal this week.... and all semester. Don't give in! Pack lots of healthy snacks and meals that you enjoy eating and will look forward to. In the long run your body and more importantly your brain will thank you for giving it the nourishment it needs to make you look and feel good. I'm hoping to keep you posted on some of the lunch ideas I come up with during the year. But until then, here are some of the sites that I go to for inspiration. 100 days of real food is a mom trying to feed her family good, clean food. She posts tons of her girls lunches! Another site that has tons of recipes is undressed skeleton, she has hundreds of meal and snack ideas. More recently she's moved on to offering clean recipes, which is great! When in doubt I think leftovers make the best lunches though. I just ordered these EasyLunches Bento Boxes from Amazon and am beyond excited to try them! Another staple of my lunches are Annie's Cheddar Bunnies and Gummy snacks. They're a great little treat, are easy to grab on the go and don't have buckets of chemicals in them.
Oh ya, one more thing, maybe the most important food tip, EAT BREAKFAST. Please, just do it. I'll come at you later with what I've been doing for quick on the go breakfasts. 

Most of all, enjoy it! I always hear people saying high school/college was the best time of their lives... I've also heard the opposite. Don't fixate yourself on the though that you should be having like, the best time ever... enjoy what's in front of you and make yourself happy! 

PS - I'm just going to pretend I never left the blogesphere, even though it's been months... okay, all summer, since I've posted. Now that I'm starting a new routine I'm hoping to include blogging into the mix again! I've missed it.  

healthy dark chocolate "brownie" bites!

Oh, wait, I have a blog? No, I haven't forgotten. I'll just be honest and say I got real lazy folks. So what's happened in the last month? Well, I moved back home with my parents, I worked as a supply teacher, photographed my sister's prom, and most recently I'm working as a historical interpreter at the Milner Heritage House in Chatham. I'll be working full time at the Milner house for the rest of the summer! The job is amazing, I get to pretend I'm from 1905 and show people around a historical home.

 There's only one downside, I have to pack a lunch. I haven't packed a lunch since high school, and even then I would grab a Michelina's pasta dish from the freezer and run out the door. As delicious as Michelina's are, they don't exactly top the health scale and since I've started trying to eat fresh and healthy foods they're not as tasty as something I could make myself. 

While grocery shopping for some snacks I could grab and go with I came across Dole's Double Dark Chocolate Bites. Uh, YUM. They're new and they have no artificial preservatives and are made with real chocolate. I loved the taste, but the fact that brown sugar was the third ingredient might have something to do with my love affair. After eating this bites of goodness on a daily basis and dissecting them as I ate I decided, I can make these myself... but healthier. So began the creation of my first recipe! They're not as sweet as the original Dole version, but I still think they're delicious. Bonus, no added sugar! So without further ado, here's my recipes for healthy dark chocolate "brownie" bites. 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup mixed nuts 

1/2 cup rolled oats 

1/4 cup ground flax

2 tsp cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

2 bananas 

1 tsp vanilla 

1/8-1/4 cup honey 

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions 

Preheat oven to 350

Chop the nuts until they're as small as you'd like, I used a slap chop and it worked great. 

Mash (I used my mixer) banana until smooth, add vanilla and honey and mix. 

In a separate bowl combine the chopped nuts, oats, flax, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined.
Last, but not least add the chocolate chips and mix.
Place bites in a greased mini muffin tin and bake 10-12 minutes
Drizzle with some extra chocolate for looks and enjoy! 

Enjoy these bits of deliciousness and don't feel guilty about eating them! Stay tuned for some more lunch friendly recipes and updates about my summer-time life.

"Why I Hate School But Love Education"

It's funny, I had a similar conversation with my dad today. He's a financial advisor and was sharing with me how he believes that we should be teaching students budgeting and money skills. School is to teach kids what they need to know to live and work, right? I spend money almost everyday. At some point in everyone's life they will have to spend money and budget, but are we taught how? Unless our parents show us, then as far as I know school doesn't teach this valuable life skill. This is only one skill that we fail to teach students. Personally, I think the school system is failing at reaching it's full potential to truly educate students.

These two spoken word videos share the same general idea. Watch the whole thing, they're simply amazing and deal with a huge epidemic in our education system. Sure, we're educating more people. But, are we teaching them what they need to know? 

Speak up, speak out we can't fix a problem if we don't talk about it. 

Don't find sulibreezy to be a credible source, what about Albert Einstein? 

Last day of undergrad

Today is a sad day, mother nature seems to agree and gave us cold and rainy weather to match. It's officially the last school day of my undergrad! On Monday I had my last DRED class with my year, and last night I TA-ed my last DRED class. I held it in, but so you're all aware I was bursting on the inside! I try to live in the moment as much as I can and decided to not think about how sad I'll be, but just to let it be because all good things must come to an end; this is one of my saddest ends. Of course, I'm happy to be done school but my university experience ended up being more than just school. 

You know how there's those days you never forget? Those, moments of impact (I watched the Vow this week...) that change the course of your life, getting in to DRED was one of those moments. 

I was working on a fashion show at my high school, choreographing a group of teachers, when I got a call from the office saying my dad was on the phone. We were in the gym, so I went to the gym teacher's office and picked up the phone to hear my dad tell me that the University of Windsor had called and they wanted me to call them back! I got the number and hung up on my dad, promising to call him back as soon as I could. I dialled the number for the University and I waited until who I now know as Gail answered and told me that I had been accepted into the Drama in Education & Community programme. Some screaming and some crying went on until I heard Gail say again "So, do you accept?", of course I said yes and the rest is history! Speaking of history, had I not gotten into DRED that's the programme I would have went into... what was I ever thinking! 

It's not easy to walk into a class and say whole heartedly that I like everyone there. Yes, sometimes some people annoy me, or I'd rather not work with someone (I'm only human!). But, I can wholeheartedly say that there is something I cherish about each and every member of my DRED class, you're all amazing.

As we all move on to bigger and greater things we'll take a little bit of each other and a lot of DRED with us. This programme taught us to be teachers, educators, community leaders, critical thinkers, story tellers, designers, artists, and even clowns. But, more importantly it taught us about ourselves and how to be the best person we can be. By learning about our talents and strengths, DRED gave us the ability to master them so they can be used to help others. No matter where we take our degree I believe that fundamental ideal of helping others is at the core of us, and is ultimately what brings us all together... we can't help but help each other! I've spent the last four years with 20-something people, of course we lost a few along the way, and in this final year gained a few more amazing additions to our class. I'll never forget a single one of you and I'll never forget some of the amazing moments we've had....

"Cheating is a developmental milestone!"
Getting way too into role drama and hiding under boxes and refusing to come out as we devised a plan to repopulate the earth in case of human extinction...
"DRED seshes"

Pedagogy & Praxis (duh) 

4th year Tina was much more loved than 2nd year Tina (sorry!) 

Setting fires in class, on purpose. 

Having my water break on stage 

Being rocks, or trees, or keys, or waterfalls, or cats, or 2nd graders (or was it 2 year olds??), or principals, or psychiatric patients, or cats (yes, again), or anything really because the first rule of improv is to always say yes.

 "Let's eat movies and watch popcorn!!"
We've been serenaded by a british clown who tells the dirtiest jokes 

Making digital narratives 

We've sat on mats (that later evolved into chairs for some) 

staying up all night writing logs 

Having little to no guidelines, but making a presentation anyway

The Catalina wine mixer 

We've rolled and writhed around on wood floors 

Tequila birthdays 

We know how long a Gail paper should be, say it with me: As long as it needs to be. 

We've had teaching partners that have turned into best friends 

We've had sushi dates and celebrated birthdays together 

We've had pot lucks & pre-drinks 

We've had the time of our lives.

DRED class of 2013, It's been a slice, I'll always miss you and good luck with the rest of your lives!!

I'll leave you with this gem of a song by Jake & Seth, makes me tear up every time... 

Monday pick-me-up

Ah, yes, Monday again. Luckily, it's the last week of classes! The last week of my entire undergrad, WHAT?! I'm excited and a little said. I've got my last DRED class today, this is the 20 something people I've been in class with all 4 years at the University of Windsor, I'm pretty sad to be leaving them. But, I don't want to be upset so if you're dreading Monday like I am here's a little pick me up! I laughed so hard at this, mostly because I know it's very likely it'll happen to me and Jeff.... things rarely go perfectly for us and that's what makes it fun! 

I might have a problem...

Today I went to my usual tea spot, Teavana and the guy working says "Back again, we need to get you a frequent customer card!"... does this mean I might go there too much? But really my first though was, omg do they have those cards? I'm all for discounts. I settled for signing up for the e-mail list to receive a 10$ off coupon. 

Tea has become my treat lately it brightens my day (and my mind) when I'm overwhelmed or just relaxing, any occasion calls for tea. I've come a long way from buying the poorly stored loose leaf I found at Bulk Barn! I've got 5 cute little glass jars (hello Dollorama!) that I keep my tea in, they hold 50 grams perfectly. I've got a constant rotation going, so whenever I empty on I can go buy more! It's like a little gift to myself. Being as obsessed as I am with tea, so much so as to put it in my blog title I wanted to share the teas I'm drinking right now...  

 This tea is great with a little honey if you like things sweet, Jeff loves this tea without the honey so it's really up to you! You get the kick of a green tea and the sweet flavour of the cherry. To tell you how much I love this tea, I can say it's the first one I bought 100g of, that's commitment. I officially recommend it to anyone looking for a new tea to try and am officially calling it my favourite! Did I mention it smells like a fruit roll-up? YUM. 

I only just bought this tea yesterday and I've had one cup and I'm already sold! I picked this tea by name I figured, hey I like peach and I could use some tranquility in my life... I was right! The first thing I noticed was, wait, fuzzy peaches? Yep, it smells like one of my favorite candies! I usually drink white/green/herbal teas with honey but the first time I try something I like to get the natural flavour and it turns out this tea is sweet enough without any honey. This one is going to be great to wind down with at the end of the night

Well, now I really need a cup of tea. Hopefully you're craving one too, next time you're out try one of these teas! I doubt you'll be disappointed. 

You should nap.

If you read my last tweet, you'll know that my eyes are slowly drooping and my bed is starting to feel more like a cloud than a proper work desk. I've been hard at work all day, cleaning the house with the help of green tea and songza, and now finally sitting in my room doing homework. Part of this homework was to write a speech, a persuasive speech so after some thought I realized... who doesn't like to nap?! I could probably persuade my class to do that, and in the process I totally persuaded myself. So, if you're looking for a reason to nap, look no further! Here's a few reasons you should take a nap, right now... or when you can... 

• An ideal nap lasts 20-30 minutes, but napping is personal so go with what best suits you.  

• A nap of 60 minutes can improve alertness for up to 10 hours

• Siesta cultures (afternoon nap) have a lower rate of coronary heart disease 

• 1% or 1.9 million car accidents are cause by fatigue, don't be tired... take a nap!  

• More than 85% of mammals are polyphasic sleepers, humans are in the minority of monophasic sleepers, meaning with have one distinct sleep period and one distinct wakeful period

• A study at NASA on sleepy military pilots and astronauts found that a 40-minute nap improved performance by 34% and alertness 100%

Tips for taking the perfect nap(s): 

1) Find a cave, aka make sure it's dark. Your body responds to light so you'll have a harder time sleeping the brighter is, suck it up and get a goofy eye mask! Or make your own like this... 

2) Take a blanket. Your body temperature lowers slightly when you sleep, so don't risk waking up because of a chill. Or you could wear this really cool Harry Potter snuggie, ten points for gryffindor!!

3) Set an alarm so you don't oversleep. Make yourself laugh and give yourself some motivation while you're at it.. 

Well, if you're ready to take a nap now I've done my job. Sweet dreams!! 

sources: http://michaelhyatt.com/why-you-should-take-a-nap-every-day.html 

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/napping

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/press-release/19-million-drivers-have-fatigue-related-car-crashes-or-near-misses-each-year

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/ss/slideshow-worst-jobs-for-sleep

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/video/health-benefits-napping