The Donut

We're about halfway through every Canadian's favourite time of the year: Tim Hortons' Roll Up the Rim to Win. 

"What are you at?"
"0-7," she says. "I never win anything."
"Oh man, I'm only at 0-4. I used to win a lot more than this!" 

Well folks, I'm at 1-4 now, since "WIN/GAGNEZ UN BEIGNE/DONUT" is looking at me as I type  this. 

You know, it's funny, I find when we talk about winning in Roll Up the Rim, (because seriously, who wins the $100 gift cards or the car?), we never really mention winning a donut. It got me thinking that I'm actually happier that I won a free donut instead of a free coffee. Although winning a free coffee means another shot at rolling up the rim, the donut is a nice treat. How often do you get a free donut? Not very often. 

So, what's wrong with a different kind of treat? Why would I feel a little disappointed initially that I didn't win a free coffee? Who am I to complain? I still won. 

I think the difference lies in our expectations. We expect to win the coffee and we think there's an extra benefit with another chance to win again. Plus, a coffee lasts longer than a donut (which will disappear in about 35 seconds, but coffee you can drag out a little longer).

So why do I feel more satisfied, after thinking about my empty winning coffee cup, with the donut? 

Maybe it's more satisfying to win the donut. Maybe it's more satisfying to encounter something we don't expect. Maybe, when we drop those expectations and are surprised by the donut, or a situation we don't anticipate, we become more open to enjoying the donut or situation. Maybe when we drop our expectations, we stop overthinking and planning and anticipating the impending second shot at winning. It's more about living in the moment. Eat the donut. Enjoy the donut, without downing the free coffee in a hurry to roll up the rim again. Letting go of the desire to plan and anticipate and of our expectations, whether these expectations are of a coffee cup, a situation, or a person, also allows you to let go of the little stresses that seem to plague our everyday lives. 

It's not really about getting another chance to win. It's about appreciating the win you have, and enjoying the donut. It's about not overthinking which cup you may get next. 

Maybe, just maybe, the donut is more satisfying than the coffee. (Who are we kidding, the donut is always more satisfying.) 

Felicia 

Two Minute Tuesday

Before adding anything out of habit, try your coffee natural. #RespectTheBean, as Nabob Coffee says. 

Metaphor: Sometimes we get carried away by how great things sound, we forget what the core values (of our coffee, of our own personal values) are. So before you go adding the milk and sugar and whipped cream, try your coffee black, and appreciate it as coffee, not as a dressed-up drink! 

Thanks Nabob Coffee for inspiring today's blog post idea. 

For more information on Nabob Coffee, visit the link below: 

http://www.nabob.ca/en

Two-Minute Tuesday!

Grab two minutes to indulge in a drink  (like candy cane hot chocolate and whipped cream) from your most reliable coffee shop (good ole' Timmies for me). 

Reliable coffee shops always provide us with the things we need when we need it. Like coffee before an essay is due. They're there for us when other things, ahem, no-money-on-my-sbucks-card, aren't. 

Good friends are like reliable coffee shops. They are the listening ear and lending hand when things get tough. They also offer advice for a lower cost (than say, your extra espresso shot venti latte with three syrup flavours). 

So when you take two minutes today to think about what's a reliable coffee shop for you, consider how you can be a reliable coffee shop to others. 

Felicia 

Be thankful for coffee pots.

What are you thankful for? 

On our first Thanksgiving as bloggers, we're thankful for those who inspire us to continue writing, whether it be our friends who we guilt into clicking this link, or the lemons towards whom we have bitter feelings, who actually inspired the beginnings of Lemon Your Life. 

Take a look at part of this painting I created in the sunshine and cold weather yesterday. It's a metaphor, of course. Each person in our chaotic lives has a part, and contributes to the bigger painting that is our lives. We're thankful for each person represented by these paint specks, whether they're the big blob of paint that took forever to dry, or the tiny speck you can barely see. 

Okay you're probably thinking, what a cheeseball this metaphor is, so here's a caffeinated thought for the day:

When you're passing around the pumpkin pie (Cool Whip, anyone?) this weekend, make sure you ask who wants a coffee or a tea as well. Then make a enough for everyone. Coffee pots were made for sharing you know. 

Happy Thanksgiving, turkey friends! 

Felicia 

xx

Two Minute Tuesday

Tuesday: Pecan coffee. Sometimes the exotic and refreshing can be found in a $0.69 K-cup. Yes, that number was coincidental and doesn't include tax. Also, K-cups are for KEURIG machines, not clothing. Try looking in your local grocery store, not Victoria's Secret. 

"Can I get a coffee-half-hot-chocolate please?"

All of these blog posts have been about tea, and since today is a Monday, it's a coffee day, which constitutes a coffee metaphor. Whether you're living the student life, the working life, or the <insert creative stereotype/> life, Mondays are Mondays and nobody likes Mondays (WARNING: MAJOR ASSUMPTIONS BEING MADE).

Back story: During my very short time as a Tim Horton's employee, I noticed some customers spruced up their coffee orders, asking for a "<insert coffee cup size/> coffee-half-hot-chocolate." Almost all of the time, they omitted adding milk and sugar to their drink. Once I tried this combination, I found my new favourite drink. The machines even have a button for half or a quarter of hot chocolate, french vanilla, or English toffee. It's a thing, people.

Front story (Is that a thing?): Today, I was moping about an ex-boyfriend who seems to be getting over me a lot faster than I'm getting over him. Who's with me in this situation? 

[Cue: melodramatic stereotypical situation. Rainy, cold, windy, lonely day. Piles of school work.]

Here I was, Facebook and Instagram-creeping pictures that showed up on my newsfeed via mutual friends, checking out said ex's pretty new friends, chomping on my bag of "double hit" caramel and butter popcorn. With a big English project to write, I figured coffee was an appropriate post-lunch drink. *crunchcrunch* Instead of adding fancy Classic Syrup from Starbucks, hot chocolate was calling my name.

[Cue: coffee + hot chocolate = a less-mopey attitude]

What's the big deal?

Coffee is synonymous with early mornings, late nights, and breakfast most days. Coffee is waking up and starting a new day. Coffee is your weapon against Mondays.

Hot chocolate is a comfort drink (for me at least, and if you don't like hot chocolate, why are you still reading this?!). Hot chocolate is warm goodness on cold spring days back when you played your heart out on the soccer field, in the pouring rain. Hot chocolate, if you make it from the powder mix and not fondue-style (Italy, anyone? I've tried it there!), leaves a gooey, not-so-melted powder mix at the bottom of your mug once you're done drinking.

Today, with the moping Monday-hating attitude I was in, looked at this leftover chocolate stuff and decided there were 3 options:

1. Soak the mug then wash it. (Add baking soda if there are stains from leaving it unwashed)
2. Get a spoon and eat it. 
3. Add milk and make impromptu chocolate milk. 

The first option was just ignoring this goodness and wasting it. The second was a good idea, but involves scraping against the mug and that's weird unless you're eating cake (No offence, hot-chocolate scrapers), and also feels a little desperate. The third option was making the most out of it and turning the drink into something new. 

[Cue: High School Musical 3's "Something New" song]

Metaphor: Mix the things we rely on to keep us going with the comfort things and turn it around! As much we like to dwell on the old, and creep our exes and mope and hold pity parties for ourselves, sometimes the ways we comfort ourselves on crappy days (hot chocolate in coffee on Mondays), present us with new opportunities. Instead of closing our eyes to these options, turn it into a new drink, a new opportunity. 

Like chocolate milk in the middle of the day. 

And enjoy the caramel and butter popcorn. *chompchomp* I highly recommend it.

And my apologies, lactose-intolerant folks, is there a soy milk substitute? Almond milk?

... HAPPY MONDAY PEOPLE (sad attempt at cheerfulness?)

Felicia 
xx

Tea Time Well Spent

You know how some days you walk in your front door after a long day, and just look forward to sitting on the couch, maybe open up Netflix (I'm just guessing that's what people do, I don't even have a Netflix account), and eat nachos and salsa? Then you're like, wait it's Saturday, I'm supposed to be with people and not in my house, being lonely right now? Isn't that a waste of time? Here are my thoughts.

Sometimes, we just need to be alone.

Spending time with "me, myself and I" (no, not me, you! Just... Okay, just say it out loud and you'll get it) is, sometimes, all the cups of tea we need.

Think of it like this. We spend our whole day around other people (maybe you don't, but just play along). Quite a bit of our time is spent in the eyes of other people. I mean, when we get dressed in the morning, it's great to champion the whole "personal-style-rocks-so-I-don't-care-what-people-think" mentality, but most times, professional and presentable is what stops us from wearing pink leggings and a green shirt. Watermelon, anyone?
But in all seriousness, we do spend a lot of time considering how others view us. So don't you think for one night at least, we deserve to just pull on pajamas that don't match, and watch old seasons of Big Brother? (a shameless addiction of mine, I'll admit).

Cliché? Yes, perhaps. But hey, if that's good enough for you, go, by all means and grab those pjs. (But please, shower or something first and wash off that dirt from the day!)

If not, here's my second way to think of it:
How many of you are particular about the cup you use for tea or coffee? Me too. There's only a certain few I'll drink coffee from, and likewise with tea. And BOY, DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO HAVE YOUR FAVE MUG OR CUP. (That's also called attitude, but I didn't take more than Psychology 1000 so I'm just going to suggest that it exists in my head and not claim fact). Unfortunately, these tea cups are usually pretty small, and today I just *had* to have my tea from the small cup. You'll also remember my very first post about hot tea vs. cold tea. Now, I think I've solved the problem myself. After rummaging through the kitchen cabinets and luckily not breaking anything, I found a personal sized teapot and cup (but I just used the tea pot part) and steeped about two and a half cups worth of tea in this little teapot.

It was the perfect size. 

Not only did my tea stay warm and consistent in steeping taste (is that a thing?), but I was able to indulge in another cup and a half, effectively satisfying all tea cravings for the night, over a few hours. WITHOUT HAVING TO REBOIL WATER. #firstworldproblems, right?
At this point, you're probably thinking, oh my goodness, where is this Felicia's rant going about tea all over again?

So I'll summarize today's metaphor.
Personal tea pot. Solves problems of cold tea, and too hot tea, and lonely tea cup (you). Because instead of boiling water for another tea cup, and waiting for more tea, you just pour it out from the personal teapot.
Self-sufficiency is what I call it. Just don't Oxford Dictionary that.
And while this metaphor is 100% flawed and has many loopholes that I have not yet taken the time to work out, I'm at the point where I don't give a sugar cube. Not because I don't add sugar to my tea and have never actually seen a sugar cube, but because it makes sense in my head and that's all that matters. 
Got the point, yet?

Third and final thought, just incase you're still reading and didn't give up after the first thought:

You are complete, in yourself, and being alone when you think you should be somewhere else does not matter. Sometimes we just need one cup of tea, just a little time to ourselves, before we're ready to just back into the world. Other times, we need a few cups of tea, without worrying about too cold, too hot, and oh-I-have-to-boil-more-now (or what other people think of our watermelon outfits). We all need to take time for ourselves, and if that means finding time for personal teapot time, then that time is time well spent.

Felicia
xx

P.S. I've seen these cute little personal teapots everywhere in grocery stores, so grab one next time there's a sale if you have room in your kitchen, and aren't a hoarder like me. The coolest ones have a tea cup on the bottom, and the teapot sits right on top of the cup.

Love like a hot cup of tea.

As I was drinking my hot cup of blueberry green tea while getting through some reading for school, I thought about how nice it was to have a hot cup of tea. See, usually, I make my tea then forget about it and by the time I remember to drink it, the tea's gone cold. I enjoyed it, then as I got into my book, forgot about it. 
Now you all know what's coming next. My tea got cold. It had this metallic, bitter taste, not the sweet, blueberry green tea taste I had enjoyed an hour ago. It was the kind of taste that made me purse my lips like I had just downed tequila and put the lemon in the shot glass. Yeah, that kind of taste. And since I've been a little nostalgic *cough*lookingupoldpicturesofmeandmyex*cough* lately, cold tea made me think of relationships.
See, when the hot water is first poured into the mug and hits the tea bag and a lovely, clear brown or greenish water appears, it's like the first few weeks of love. It's changing and it's refreshing. Like that first sip of hot tea, you sigh, you smile, and your chest is filled with warmth. 
You're happy. 
You take a few sips and enjoy the hot tea - it's the honeymoon stage of your new relationship. Ouch! Too hot, you burned your tongue. But that's okay, you can still taste the tea, so you take a break, then continue sipping away, more carefully. This is clearly the part when something in the relationship goes wrong - a first fight, a break of trust.. After a while you've got two choices: continue sipping the tea as it slowly gets colder, or down it while its hot like you're a parched camel in the desert. 
Now what? Now you have cold tea or a burned throat. In my case, I have cold tea. And another decision looms: throw it out, or gulp down the bitter, cold tea. As for the relationship? Endure the cold, dying love that was once a warm relationship or bite the bullet and end things. 
Let me tell you one thing. If you try to endure the bitter tea, you won't enjoy it but you'll think, "Hey this is better than wasting it!" But then you won't like the tea and you will become resentful. Same as the relationship you're in. End it when the love ends, and you'll save both of you from resentful, spiteful messy aftermath of attempting to move on while really still holding onto that person. 
So after that long, confusing metaphor, you're like, what the heck does love have to do with tea? Love like a cup of hot tea, my friends. Enjoy it while its hot and know there's a time to throw it out when it starts to get cold. Then turn on the kettle, boil more water, and pour yourself another hot cup of tea. 
Or press a button on one of those snazzy Keurig machines. That works too.

Felicia
xx