Morning Zen

We had a super busy day planned yesterday. Parker started rehearsal for another Shakespeare play with our amazing local homeschoolers, Josie had a full day of shooting for a short film, and Rob just got back from North Carolina so he had a lot of work to do. I was catching up on laundry and other day to day tasks which went neglected so I could do some organizing and purging. I dropped two bags of usable to someone, but we need it out of our house, stuff at the IDEA Store and one load of books to Orphan's Treasure Box. I have seven more bags of things to take to consignment stores or donate. I've just made a dent. 2017 is going to be my year to minimize.

After Rob leaves for work and before the kids wake up, I try to take a moment to refocus and relax. I don't need long, but I've found it really makes a huge difference in my day. I have more patience, I feel more focused, and I'm a happier person.

Yesterday's moment of morning zen was brought to me by...
Golden Masala Chai from Blue Lotus Chai. It was on sale at my local food co-op and I've enjoyed Blue Lotus Chai before. I was so excited to see a variety with turmeric since I usually add a bit of turmeric to my morning beverage anyway. The chai tea also contains cloves, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, and other beneficial spices. Their chai tea has less caffeine than coffee which can be helpful on busy days. Sometimes coffee makes me jittery and I have a hard time focusing, this doesn't happen with chai. I sometimes add non-dairy milk, but I don't usually sweeten my chai like most cafes do. I add my homemade blend of dark cocoa powder and cinnamon instead. It is a delicious and relaxing way to start a busy day.

Blue Lotus Golden Masala Chai with a splash of unsweetened soy milk and a shake of dark cocoa powder and cinnamon.

You can see my 2017 American Greyhound calendar in the background. This is the organization we adopted Gracie from and I board a lot of the fosters and adoptees in this area. It is such a pleasure to get to know each Greyhound and their unique personalities, but also fall deeper in love with the breed. They are so gentle and sweet, love walks, most of them are huge cuddle bugs, and funny!

Reasons to eat dark unprocessed cocoa powder.


Why I add cinnamon to my cocoa powder sprinkles and why I'm happy to drink tea with cloves.


More info on cinnamon.

I've blogged about turmeric before.