I loooove iced tea.  I think it stems from being infused with it on all fronts growing up.  From my step-mom’s big jars of sun tea all summer long to the powdered stuff my grandma made that my uncles loved so much, I drank almost nothing else during the summer months.  When I moved out, one of my first purchases was an iced tea maker.  My step-mom used to use one when we were drinking more iced tea than the sun could make and I’m still happy I have one for those sort of occasions.   You don’t need such a device to make really great iced tea though.  You don’t even need the sun.

I’ve spent this year experimenting with cold brewed teas.  Every now and then I throw some black tea bags (and one mint tea bag) into the iced tea maker, but I’ve come to really enjoy my refrigerator blends.  The process is as simple as you would expect.

1. Fill pitcher with cold water
2. Add bagged tea
3. Put in fridge over night.
4. Drink in the morning.

It’s just as good as any other method and has the bonus of being safer than sun brewing and offers a more delicate taste.

Of course most of the fun comes from choosing the tea.  I have a cupboard overflowing with enough tea to keep me busy for 20 summers.  My favorite so far is plain mint or jasmine.  I love the simple refreshing flavors.

You don’t have to stick with teas either.  One of my successful experiments this summer was a hibiscus vanilla tea made with dried hibiscus bought at Whole Foods bulk section and half of a vanilla bean.  This one takes a little longer to steep because the vanilla needs more time, but if you add a day or two to your steeping time any fruit, veggie or herb can add an extra kick to your favorite summer beverage.

There’s still quite a few hot days left, so try it and let me know what your favorite iced tea recipe is.

Is another week over already? Wow! This year is just flying by. I don’t have a whole lot to say other than ask this simple question: Why don’t the older model iPods go down in price after the new ones come out? Why are new Mini iPods still so much? Shouldn’t they be like thirty bucks by now?

Anyways, I’m looking forward to the rain & cooler weather we’re supposed to get this weekend. I’ll be spending all day Sunday playing board games at an annual event known as CharlieCon, & just relaxing the rest of the week. That’s plan for right now at any rate!

» from WSJ: 10 money moves that will always pay off. Some of these are obvious, but I like the way they put a lot of this stuff. Very frank & honest. I only wish I had a vacation home to sell!

» I just discovered, yesterday, a self-improvement/simplicity blog called RowdyKittens. How can you not love something with a name like that?

» The Food Renegade talks about why she’s not afraid of salmonella. After all, she knows her farmer.

» On the flip side, Mark Sisson talks about why you shouldn’t feel too guilty if you decide to eat stuff out of season. Although I do eat a lot of stuff only when it’s in season, fruit especially, I agree with that notion. I refuse to feel guilty for eating bell peppers in January, ha!

» I love this song. Even if you don’t like country, you should give it a try. The lyrics are just so sweet & true!

» Are your basil plants doing well? Why not make some chopping board pesto!

» This takes a bit to get truly funny, but it’s absolutely worth a watch. It’s funny ’cause it’s true!

Remember back in grade school when everyone would come into the classroom and the teacher would ask you to share what you did on your summer vacation?  Sometimes he teacher would have you draw a picture and stand in front of the class.  Most of the kids talked about winning baseball trophies, visiting family members, or spending a weekend at the lake.  Some of them went more exotic places (like Europe or Hawai’i) and others stayed home and showed animals at the county fair.  I used to love that part of the first week back.  I guess I must like to talk about myself too much, but I really enjoyed hearing what my classmates were getting up to.  Maybe I also appreciated the brief respite before we dove back into real classwork.

I don’t get a summer vacation anymore, but I did kind of take a vacation from blogging this summer.  I didn’t plan on disappearing for so long, and I don’t want you to think I wasted all that time away.  Actually, I’m pretty proud of how I spent my summer so for the month of September, I’m going to have a mini-series of posts called (wait for it) “What I Did on My Summer Vacation.”  Starting this weekend I’ll be posting at least twice a week on some of my favorite adventures this summer.

So, what about you?  What did you do on your summer vacation?

Everyone these days has heard that almond butter is healthier than peanut butter, but wow is it expensive! Did you know, though, that nut butter is incredibly easy to make, & it’s a fraction of the cost of what you’ll pay for it at the store?

Click here to head to Simply Primal to learn how! »

I know the leaves are only just beginning to change, & most of us are still experiencing gross summer heat, but I seem to be getting more excited about fall each & every year. Because I work with teens & am married to a teacher, I don’t think I’ll ever fully get away from September feeling like the beginning of a new year. This year, I thought I’d use September as a way to evaluate how 2010 has been going; re-evaluating goals, re-focusing some wayward thoughts, & giving myself some new challenges.

» My health has improved greatly this year. My skin is clear, my hair is shiny, nearly all internal issues have been resolved, & I’ve lost weight & become stronger. That isn’t to say that I’m in optimal health – although wheat has been bid adieu, I really need to stop letting dairy into my life so often. I (understandably, I think) used the intense heat of this summer as an excuse to stay indoors & not become as active as I’d hoped, so I’m setting myself the challenge of doing at least one active thing each day in September.

» Reading. I set myself a goal in January to read 36 new books this year, & although I’ve read a LOT this year, mostly online, I’ve read a pitiful amount for being a teen librarian. To remedy this, I’m going to read an entire book each week this month.

» The blog! I’ve really let it fall by the wayside, & that’s simply not fun. The thing is, I want to post high-quality stuff, but I don’t seem to have a lot of time to do it, so I’m going to make time at home to work on it. I’ve a list of topics I want to cover that would fill several months, so perhaps now I’ll finally get around to doing it.

“By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summer’s best of weather
And autumn’s best of cheer.”
-Helen Hunt Jackson, September

In addition to reflection, I’m looking forward to autumn in general. Apples! Pumpkins! Cider! Sweaters! Scarves! Pretty trees! Comfort foods! What are you looking forward to?

It was a short week for me! Sunday evening through Tuesday I was visiting my parents. They live in the country, where I escape to relax, & have no access to high-speed. Hence the lack of posting! But while I was there, I visited the county fair: ate the best turkey leg ever, petted all the animals, found the queen in the hive, wasted $2 playing skeeball, & stole pens from all the booths. Best way to spend an afternoon!

For me, fair week is the last week of summer, so bring on fall! The weather’s been just lovely – I had to sleep with TWO blankets last night! There are so many monarch butterflies flitting about the various gardens, & I’m happy to bid this summer adieu.

» The World’s Most Beautiful Lakes. If I could, I’d visit every single one of them.

» Oh my god this cat.

» Found a few new food blogs this week: The Nourished Kitchen, which has lots of yummy recipes using all sorts of natural ingredients (love the focus on Real Food™), & eat make read, with lots of fun recipes I must try. Yum! This weekend, I’m definitely making the coconut bread from Nourished Kitchen, & the carmelized peanuts from eat make read. Cannot wait.

» You’re my awesome.

» The incomparable Gala Darling writes this lovely article that pretty much every woman needs to read: Radical Self-Hate? Stop the Madness!

“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.” e.e. cummings

» Gaiam is having their Annual Sale, if you need some yoga or other fun stuff from them.

» I’m planning to order some socks from them, but check out these silly animals from Maggie’s Organics & Fair Trade! I think one of those penguins may find a home with someone I know…

» Apparently I’m all about the cute this week. Simon’s Cat has a new video!

» I might have to make these meatballs soon…

» You’ve probably already seen it, but I was only just introduced to the Full-on Double Rainbow guy this week. It’s quite spectacular.

» Due to the fair, I’ve been nostalgic all week for 90s country, & re-discovered the beauty of this song by the Dixie Chicks…

So, how was your week? Anything particularly fantastic happen? Anything fantastic to share?

It’s been kind of a quiet week for me, doing lots of background-type things. The weather did finally cool off this week enough to turn the a/c off for three days in a row, which was just lovely. I love falling asleep to the sound of crickets & waking to the sound of happy morning birds!

» Is this not the cutest little maybe-octopus you’ve ever seen?

» Final combat troops leave Iraq – yahoo!!

» Heather talks about the perfect diet for everybody. (Hint: there isn’t one.)

» The Miss Universe National Costumes & commentary @ Project Rungay made my afternoon earlier this week. Part one, part two.

» In case you missed it, I made stuffed tomatoes. They were fabulous!

» 15 things you shouldn’t be paying for – I’ll add cable to the list, since you can watch pretty much everything on Hulu or Fast Pass TV!

» When I finally get an ice cream maker, I’m making this chocolate sorbet. Mmm!

» 365 days, 365 dresses, 365 dollars. Read an interview with the seamstress on Time!

» Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury: for all the book lovers and/or sci-fi fans. Not safe for work or to watch around youngsters, but damn this is hilarious!

How was your week? Anything FANTASTIC happen?

I call them big bowls of awesome. They’re super easy to make, absolutely delicious, & offer a great way to use up all the excess produce August creates. What will you put in yours?

Last summer, I challenged you to unplug for one day each week. I confess that although I spend as little time on the computer as possible while I’m at home, I rarely unplug from everything. But I have learned to let go – I’m fortunate that I don’t have the sort of job that requires me to take it home, so I don’t. I don’t think about work when I’m not there, or at least I deliberatly change where my thoughts are heading while away. Life’s far too short to worry about upcoming book releases & dwindling anime club attendance when I could be living in the moment!

I realize that summer is nearing it’s end, but for most of us, summer doesn’t really end until later in October. So here’s my challenge for you: take a day, any day, & cram as much fun into it as you can. We did this a few weekends ago & attended a local medieval faire. It was hot, but we had a ton of fun there, not resisting the silliness, cheesiness, or bawdiness. We drank tons of lemonade, learned far too many limericks, & spoke in horrendous accents. We were fortunate enough to stretch that day of fun into an entire weekend of fun, & spent the next day with a dear friend, playing board games & enjoying the company.

Too often, we let the day to day grind get to us. Instead of doing something we really want, we instead run to the store to pick up something we may or may not truly need. I read one fabulous idea (alas, I can’t remember where) recently where a family does everything on Friday night that needs done over the weekend. Everyone pitches in & everything gets done – laundry, grocery shopping, dishes, homework, etc. That frees up all of Saturday & Sunday to relax & have fun, & truly live life. Sounds pretty amazing, yes?

So that’s my challenge to you. Take a day, & fill it with as much fun as you can. It’ll make you feel so great, you might just find yourself doing it more & more often.

…taking long hot baths,

making almond flour baked goodies,

cooking lots of yummy food,

taking long walks outside,

eating ice cream sundaes,

reading lots of books,

playing with my kitties,

napping,

& just generally relaxing. Yay!

Never fear – I’ll still be around here. I’m just really excited about this vacation. :)