Tea, Coffee, Soda...What Do YOU Drink During the Day?

If you are anything like me, you spend at least part of your day sitting in a chair behind a desk.

Although I do not drink coffee first thing in the morning like most of the world, by two o'clock in the afternoon my body is crying for caffeine.

For me this caffeine fix comes in the form of tea. I feel there is something magical even in the ritual of the brew.

My fave is black tea, although I know plenty that drink green, white, or herbal tea these days.

I love chai, but I seem to favor it in the winter, and I prefer iced tea in the summer.


My jolt of choice used to be Coke, but after realizing it had far too many calories, and was possibly causing me to gain some weight, I dropped soda altogether, and hopped on the tea wagon.

The most consumed drinks worldwide are:

1. Coffee
2. Tea
3. Orange juice (this surprised me)
4. Beer
5. Coca Cola
6. Wine
7. Vodka
8. Energy drinks

Where is water?

I know many sit at a desk for work, to color, to write the next bestseller on the New York Times list, or even pay bills--and I am curious--what do you drink during the day? If you have any tea faves I'd LOVE to know.

xo

My Favorite Witches

I am getting old.

Not ancient, but old enough to remember some of the most wicked witches in books and movies.

Sure I watched the pretty witches in Charmed and Sabrina for five minutes like everyone, but I am talking about the witches of almost half a century ago.

The first witch that terrified me was on the back of the Disney book Sleeping Beauty. Look at her! Those eyes. Oh and she was a sneaky one trying to pass off that apple as a delicious snack. She was nothing to mess with and it is funny to remember that I would not go into the basement for about a year because she was on the back of the book that rested on top of the bookcase at the bottom of the cellar stairs.

Another Creepella of my childhood nightmares was The Wicked Witch of The West from the Wizard of Oz. If you crossed this one she would take you down. Unless of course you had just altered the space-time continuum in ruby slippers and you were trying to find your dog. She had an over sized hourglass of doom and a huge crystal ball that filled with garnet smoke when she wanted to divine the future.

Witch Hazel from the Bugs Bunny cartoons was pretty bad ass too. She would tie you up and start heating the pot she where you would be cooked, right in front of you--until you started talking about her pet tarantula, Paul. Then she lost it and got all sappy. She also had a wicked laugh and lost her hairpins when running quickly to ask her magic mirror if she was indeed, still the ugliest witch in town.

Endora, Samantha's wicked mother from Bewtiched, would be trouble even if she had no otherwordly powers. She did not like the mortal Derwood, and never had a problem telling him how she felt. As a mother I would be doing the same if my daughter's new husband was trying to make her into something she's not. Girl Power, Endora!

My idea and drawing of a good old fashioned scary witch. Trick or treat ;)

Bellatrix from Harry Potter, Nancy from The Craft, and Minnie from Rosemary's Baby deserve a runners up nod of excellence. They were all wicked and wonderful. 

To be honest, I love almost all the witches. Hermione for being smart, Aunt Clara for being adorable, and all the other ladies that cast a spell on me when I was young, and charmed me when I was older.

Happy Halloween all! I'd love to know your favorite witch.

xo

Kid Coddling--Even in BOOKS--Just STOP IT!

Most of us think our children are wonderful, and most of them are. When we become parents for the first time we are transported and transformed--a new dimension is added to our lives and we will never be the same.

But some of us go off the deep end. 

We get postpartum depression, anxiety, and we are simply tired from an endless lack of sleep.
Sometimes these states lead us to worry for our kids, too. Are they cold, hot, hungry, tired, sick, or scared? Not all of our worries are excessive, but some are.

Some parents want to protect their children from TOO much--they don't want them to experience sadness or fear because they are afraid that it will be too much for their delicate son or daughter. They are not allowed to play outside because they might get hurt, they can't sign up for swimming because chlorine is bad for them, and no cooking classes because they might cut off a finger. 

Sure, you can hover around them and make sure they don't hit their heads when they are young, or not let them go outside when it is raining so they don't catch a cold, but at what cost?

Kids are ferocious--they can be mean and savvy and are born with instincts just like any other wild animal. Of course we teach them to be polite and to have manners, but I think we may also "nice" a lot of their natural urges away. We teach them to share to a point where they give up their own wants and needs because some other kid wants the same thing they do. They are not bad little people because they have opinions and desires, but for some reason our society has made it seem so. 

Books like Where the Wild Things Are speak to that in a child. They are told they are allowed to be fierce and to speak out, and someone will still love them if they do.

Maurice Sendak "refuses to lie to children", and says he will not "cater to the bullshit of innocence". He feels we all, to some extent, lead desperate lives, and no one escapes completely unscathed. 

More and more is expected from our children and at increasingly younger ages. Hiding them from what the real world is and what it will expect from them does not do them any good. 

I am not saying we need to inform them of the atrocities of war or include them in our money woes, but allowing them to experience a full rainbow of feelings, and letting them know that all these feelings are valid, expected, and OK can only help them.

Here is a list of books that lets kids be fierce, sad, angry, curious, and bad, and show them they are not alone.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak--http://www.amazon.com/Where-Wild-Things-Maurice-Sendak/dp/0064431789/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top  

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling--http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Sorcerers-Stone-Book-ebook/dp/B00728DYRO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425751626&sr=1-1&keywords=harry+potter+and+the+sorcerer%27s+stone

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney--http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Wimpy-Kid-Book-ebook/dp/B005CRQ4OW/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425751772&sr=1-2&keywords=diary+of+a+wimpy+kid

Coraline by Neil Gaiman--http://www.amazon.com/Coraline-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0380977788/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=