Teaism

If you know me at all, you know I have a SERIOUS addiction to Dr. Pepper. I've had at least 2 cans/day since high school. I remember coming into school and getting a can out of the machine and leaving it in my locker for a few swigs between class. I'd go to track practice after school and grab another one on my way home. In college my 2 cans/day grew to pretty much Dr. Pepper being the only liquid I put into my body. AND since I wasn't running track anymore, the calories packed on and I very quickly gained alot more weight than I intended. One of my 2011 resolutions has been to get off of Dr. Pepper. I've tried before but usually within 2-3 weeks I fall off the wagons. The headaches are TERRIBLE and the sugar cravings make me incredibly crabby. But, this year I have been determined!

It is now mid-February and I can confidently say that I am off of Dr. Pepper!!! In fact, I don't remember the last time I actually had one. I must admit that I do keep a case of root beer in the pantry for those times I just HAVE to have some soda. But for the most part, I've completely cut soda out of my life and replaced it with water, coffee, and tea!

I never liked tea until I studied abroad in Moscow and Bishkek and that was the primary drink of choice. It was never my favorite, but I have great memories of all the times I sat down and tea with my foreign families and friends. My mom has always tried to get me to drink tea, but I'm pretty picky.

I went to a tea shop, Teavana, that opened in our mall after Christmas and bought this amazing tea thermos. It brews and keeps your tea hot for over 5 hours! Which is great, because one of my biggest problems is that I only like tea when it is scalding hot. Once it starts to cool, I'm not interested. Unfortunately, the actual tea from Teavana is pretty pricey, so I've only had 2 that I've been rotating and quickly running out of.

This story leads me to today. Every Saturday I go to a Russian class in DC from 11-1. Caleb and I have been taking our Saturday adventures in DC as soon as I get out of class. But today, Caleb said he had a surprise for me. We took the train to Chinatown and got off. I had no idea where we were going. We walked about 5 blocks and ended up at a little shop called Teaism. He told me this was my Valentine's Day surprise/gift and that I could pick something out. How great! They had AMAZING tea kettles and cups that I can dream to have one day. We smelled lots of the tea and looked at all of the cool gizmos. I ended up picking out a mini-pitcher that brews tea and keeps it warm (so I don't have to use my thermos to brew tea every time) and then picked out a few ounces of two different teas: Quiet evening (has chamomille, peppermint, and rose) and Moroccan Mint that has spearamint in it- it smells amazing!

I'm so excited to have some new teas and for my surprise! Caleb did VERY good on Valentine's Day and now I'm wracking my brain trying to think of something just as good for him...

As for the rest of our Saturday adventure, it went a bit downhill from there. The wind was FREEZING and it was pretty miserable outside. We walked a few more blocks to a Mexican restaurant Caleb had seen and thought was cool. Luckily, we read the menu outside before going in. It started with a few weird items like cactus patties, but when I read about the grasshopper tacos, I was out. Grasshoppers... in tacos... EW!

So we walked a few more blocks Potbellys and got sandwiches. Our original plan was to go to the Newseum, but when we got there apparently they were running a Groupon special and the place was SWARMING with people. Tickets aren't exactly cheap to see the Newseum so we decided to wait until a day we could really enjoy it and come back. So, we walked all the cold blocks back to the metro to ride home.... just in time to ride with all of the disgruntled Capitals fans who came out of the game. Awesome.

Oh well, nothing is dampening my Teaism day! Now I'm off to my Moroccan Mint and homework!