A New Year, A New Tea

Tea, Glorious Tea

I don’t do New Year resolutions. I might as well write down things that I have no intention of following through on as I always used to break them. Of course I have goals, targets, wants and wishes however these are ongoing.

One of my ongoing wants, wishes and needs is twofold; to continue working away at losing weight via Slimming World and to feel better (healthier) in myself. Last year a friend of mine from SW and outside gifted me a bag full of herbal teas, fruit teas and what not after I was diagnosed as being lactose intolerant which was a blow. I’d been feeling really rubbish for ages and won’t bore / disgust you with the sometimes rather severe symptoms but needless to say having cut dairy out of my diet I feel SO much better. The teas she gave me started me on a journey of really enjoying a relaxing and flavoursome (milk-free) brew (she’s a star!).

Since then I’ve cut my coffee down to two cups a day and am enjoying the health and hydration benefits of drinking caffeine free alternative teas such as green tea. Before Christmas the lovelies from Dragonfly Tea got in touch and asked if I would like to test out some of their teas to see what I thought. Being a new tea fan I was happy to agree and was thrilled when these four boxes appeared.

Mellow, clear, fresh, tasty and deeply satisfying are just some of the words I would use to describe these. My personal favourite (or my special tea as I call it) is the Moonlight Jasmine Organic Green tea although the other three flavours I’ve tested (vigorously), Moroccan Mint Organic Green Tea, Cape Malay Chai (a real warming tea) and Green Gaucho Organic Mate Tea are all delicious!

Thanks to Jackie for introducing me to alternative teas and to Dragonfly for sending these fabulous teas for me to try out. I find cutting the caffeine and drinking more of these types of drinks beneficial to my health , mood and of course my hydration.

Dragonfly Tea – The Company

Dragonfly are a British family-owned tea company with over a hundred years of experience is sourcing, growing and producing specialty or artisan teas, Their Dragonfly Specialty range has been certified by the Organic Food Federation and they are staunch members of the Fairtrade Foundation. All teas are GM-free, the bags are bio-degradable, the teabag wrappers are recyclable and chlorine free and more can be see, read and sampled via their website and you can speak to the lovelies at the company via Twitter.

 

Dragonfly

*I received four boxes of teas free of charge and was asked to write about my experience, good or bad, after testing them. Dragonfly have had no control or influence over my write up and therefore you may be confident that my words are true to my own thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Family Fever

All I Want for Christmas is…..

Christmas

All I want for Christmas this year are some energy efficient, time saving, nice looking appliances. No really!

Last year Roy bought me a steamer mop and an air-fryer and I was thrilled. Christmas isn’t about being bought swanky gifts, of course it isn’t. Christmas is about the kids, about traditions and fun and food and family. That said, if someone wants to buy me something a bit special who am I to argue?

If I had the choice of three appliances this year I would go for…

  1. A Brand Spanking New Microwave
    When my last microwave gave up the ghost I vowed not to buy another. I cook from scratch anyway so why would I need one? I still haven’t bought one and it has been six months now. I don’t need a new microwave, I want I’m not a ready meal fan but the magic that is a reheated cuppa after you’ve left it go cold when in the office, the wonder that are scrambled eggs in three minutes with no pan to scrape clean and the pure genius that is the singing turnip all encourage me to have a new one.
    *Yes, you can microwave a whole turnip (takes anywhere from 14-21 minutes) whole without being pierced, peeled or chopped. You are welcome.
  2. Some Swanky Home Phones
    I use the phone a lot as I work from home full time. We have one handset and our brand of phone is a supermarket value one. I’m all for supermarket value ranges however I have to say that when this one is off the cradle for more than half an hour it beeps loudly and most annoyingly then dies. Besides, the digital display on ours has had it so I can’t work out who are clients and who want to sell me a kidney or reclaim my PPI insurance until I answer. Clearly I need some proper digital DECT phones for my sanity’s sake.
  3. A Really Good Fan
    Yes I am aware that it is November, that it is gloves and hats weather and that we could be expecting snow and ice any minute now. The fact of the matter is my children broke me. Since I was pregnant with Kieran in 2006 my internal thermostat has had a mind of its own. Our bedroom window is open all year round (with a safety catch thanks for any would-be burglars reading) during the night and I have a fan by my side of the bed. I easily overheat so the fan is a must for a good sleep. Roy’s inner thermostat is broken now too however that is more due to me forcing it to bend to my will so it would stop him complaining of the sub-zero temperatures.

Am I the only one shunning jewellery, chocolates, Apple products and the like and secretly hoping for white goods and electricals which will be useful, helpful and much loved throughout the year or are there others like me roaming the internet looking for deals?