for you :)

I’ll admit I haven’t been as great to myself the past couple months as I should have been. My job keeps me really busy but I am not complaining at all. I have met some of the greatest people here in North Carolina. I’ve captured their moments, their ‘good-byes’, their babies being born, and their children growing up. Hugs, kisses, laughs, tantrums, and I love you’s. Whatever craziness is going on in the world, I can shut off my television and get lost in my work. Some of you know that I keep really crazy hours. If you’re up at 3am and send me an email, you’re likely to get a response back in 5 minutes. I’m up till about 4am, sleep until 6am, get all the kids up and ready for school, back to bed at 8:30, then get up for the day between 11am and 1pm depending on how much sleep I got the day before. During the day I try to find time to answer emails, place orders, conduct sessions, help with homework, cook dinner, have non business conversations with friends [usually with Linda via text messages or Patricia-Love those ladies] proof galleries, post blogs, read, and kiss the kids good night. Then with a quiet house, I try to get more work done. So I load up on a strong caffeinated drink since a regular dose does nothing for me. My drink of choice was a Blue Agave Full Throttle. They taste good but horrible for me and the crash sucks.

Shortly after my birthday, I decided I need to do something good for myself. I’m not old, but I’m not getting younger ;) I don’t require a lot of ‘me’ time, I never have. But I can stop and think about how I treat myself. So, I decided to replace full throttles with a double shot of green tea. Its not spectacular in taste but I grew up with it and it gives me the same boost. I decided to go a bit further and started doing searches on teas and their benefits and stumbled on a tea called Yerba Mate.

 Its tastes very similar to green tea but its benefits are far greater. I’m usually a skeptical person but after a week of drinking 1 cup a day, I feel 100 times better than when I was drinking diet soda or full throttle. And when I come across something good, I like to share :)

Benefits: Boost immunity, cleanse and detoxify the blood, tone the nervous system, restore youthful hair color, retard aging, combat fatigue, stimulate the mind, control appetite, reduce the effects of debilitating disease, reduce stress, and combat insomnia. The vitamins and antioxidants are too much to list but I’m sure its searchable online. I got this box from my mother so now I need to find where I can buy it. My goal is to trade a bad habit for something that is good for me every week. I deserve it. So do you :)