The One that Works for Me

One of my cold-weather trends has to do with my love of tea.

I never used to like tea.

In fact, I found it repulsive.

Then I started enjoying blueberry tea, fixed by my Britt.

Now, I love a variety of teas.

Black. Gingerbread. Chai. Peppermint. Vanilla. Earl Grey.

Pretty much anything.

My hands are always freezing so I love having a hot cup of tea to wrap them around.

The "works for me" part of this monologue enters with my frugal approach to the teabag.

Because I make a cup of tea every hour or two during these cold months,

and I figure drinking this form of a liquid can't do anything but help my body,

I reuse my teabags.

Over and over again.

Until there's no flavor left in them.

Some people may find this habit disturbing.

I, however, do not see any reason not to reuse they flavorful packets.

So, heat up a mug of water.

Add your teabag and steep 2-3 minutes.

Remove teabag and place in a ramekin or other small dish.

Rinse and repeat as desired.

You may not agree, but saving money works for me!

Check out That Family for more great tips!

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So apparently a girl riding her bike is a strange site in this town.

When riding your bike to the bank you should be warned.

People will honk at you.

Turn 180 degrees in their seats to get a better look at you.

You--the bike rider. The anomaly.

They will snicker.

And wave in an attempt to get you to wave back and make a fool of yourself.

It's ridiculous.

Really, it is.

I had this experience as I road this 2.35 miles to the bank.

It was a beautiful afternoon/evening.

I needed to go to the bank.

(Which I was annoyed about because the ATM wasn't accepting check deposits last night forcing me to return.)

But I couldn't be too mad.

I was getting bonus exercise.

And getting out of the house.

AND enjoying the last bit of fall.

(By the way, Michigan apparently has two seasons.

Summer.

Winter.

The transitional seasons in between--fall and spring--are almost non-existent.

Which is really disappointing.

Because it is the mild temperatures and cheerful changes of these seasons that I adore.)

In any case, I deposited my checks.

And ignored the ridicule that is evidently inevitable for a bike riding girl in her twenties.

Before that lame early evening activity, I had a wonderful afternoon.

A good friend from college, Karina, came for a long overdue visit.

Not that she was "supposed" to visit me at my home.

Just that we hadn't gotten together in over a year.

And even our last year at college wasn't quite together.

Though we were housemates.

We had crazy schedules and rarely talked.

And before that we had been in a small group together.

So, you can imagine, I really missed this girl.

We had a beautiful afternoon together.

It was so refreshing to talk with someone who really knows me.

Really cares.

Understands.

Thank you for being my friend, Kari.