It is just spring and yet it has been very hot these days. I am not complaining about the sun but the extreme lack of moisture/water/rain bothers me. It bothers me because we are prone to grass and forest fires. Yesterday, there was a fire near our place, while my little one and I were taking a nap. Scary!!! Fortunately, the firemen came right away or else it would be harder to put the fire out. We do not know what caused the grass fire. The police is still investigating it. My theory is that someone used a disposable grill and just tossed it away without making sure that it is already dead. I really hope that people will be more responsible in throwing stuff that may cause fire.
Flora Teas (short term for Flowering teas) is a brand of tea from London UK. Before I opened the box, I thought Flora Teas is just loose tea with flowers. I was wrong, but I got excited when I found out that Flora Tea actually is a blooming tea because brewing it is a feast for the eyes. It is not your typical type of tea as the tea leaves tied into a ball and inside it is a flower full of aroma.
I got this as a Christmas gift two years ago. But because of my hectic schedule and the growing number of teas that I have at home, I did not open it and I just saved it for later. It has also expired a couple of months ago but it did not stop me from brewing one.
To enjoy Flora Teas, I used a transparent teapot. A clear glass is alright as well as long as it is heat resistant. Place the tea ball in the teapot, then pour very hot or boiling water into the teapot and watch as the tea begins to bloom.
This is not my first time to brew and drink a blooming tea. However, I still get fascinated every time. Who wouldn’t be?
When it comes to taste, it does not taste like green tea. No hint of green tea taste at all. For me, it has a dried banana (lol. I know. I think my tastebuds were not working that time or it was because it had already expired.) leaf taste, plus the nutty aroma which is a common denominator in all the blooming teas that I’ve tried. The one that I brewed is called Flying Snow which consist of green tea, marigold and coconut fruit fibers.
I can say that Flora Tea has one of the best blooming teas in the market because it is good quality and most of all the tea ball does not turn upside down while brewing it. I find it annoying when the blooming tea turns upside down when it starts blooming. I want it perfect! ๐
Flora Tea is not just for tea enthusiasts like me but for everyone who would like to impress their lovers, friends, acquiantances or to just make tea time extraordinary.
The Box.Sealed for freshness.There are six tea balls in the box. Flying Snow is one of the flavours.The second packaging. It is also vacuum packed in plastic. Ready to brew!Voila! It’s a marigold flower!
My little one’s foot. 4 weeks old here. Five months ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. The birth didn’t go smooth as I hope it would. Well, I pictured myself giving birth in just a couple of hours. I wished! But as a first timer that would be difficult and that’s what happened.. difficult. However, I’m beyond grateful that my baby was born free from any complications and she was born healthy.
As I’ve said, it didn’t go smooth because dilation stopped at 9cm and the contractions’ slowed down probably because ofย the epidural. I had to stand, move around and sit on a fitness ball in order to speed things up but nothing worked. So, the midwives put me on oxytocin drip and reduced the epidural. Then, the delivery room suddenly got busy. Nurses, doctors and midwives were walking in and out of the room. When I asked them if something’s wrong, they would only say that they’re just checking out the situation and that there’s nothing to be worried about. I wasn’t worried but I could sense that they had some concerns because they’re babbling in the corner. Then a midwife came to me and explained that my baby’s starting to get tired or in other words distressed.
The contractions got stronger and finally fully dilated. It’s time to push (which I find the most challenging part of giving birth). I think I asked the midwives twice or even thrice if the baby was really coming because it feels like I need to take a trip to the bathroom for a number 2! ๐ No kidding! The feeling is very similar to when you are very constipated but the urge to push is super strong. Blame it to the nerves!
Anyway, the doctors came to me and gave instructions on how to push. I did what I was told to do but I was already weak so my effort wasn’t good enough to push the baby. That’s when the second doctor came in with the vacuum to assist the birth. To be honest, I got nervous for the baby when I saw the vacuum but because of the doctors’ and midwives’ encouragement, I felt secured again. I gave all of my energy on the last push, and voila my little one’s out (after 14 hours of active labor) and cried her lungs out.
If there is something that I’ve learned from this experience is that we are stronger than we think.
I remember when I was a kid that I would dream about snow and imagine how is it like to experience winter. Friends and family at the northern part of the globe were popular because they were living a dream. Actually, it is still one of the reasons why most of us from the tropics want to travel to cold countries. However, not every one has the opportunity to travel overseas.
It’s been snowing these past few days and I can’t help but reminise my very first snow experience and that was 14 years ago. Wow! I’ve already been living so long here in Norway. Time flies! Anyway, not all winters and snow are the same. Sometimes the snow is powdery perfect or sometimes wet but whatever it is I’m still grateful that despite of the climate issues, we still have the snow.
The temperature lately is below zero degrees plus the cold winds. It’s really cold. I understand that some people complain, but to wish for the winter to disappear is just wrong. We all know that the earth is warmer now than the previous years so we never know how long this will last or if we ever gonna experience snow/winter again in the future.
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great and awesome 2018! Mine was meaningful because of the birth of my baby. ๐ I have no new year resolutions because it doesn’t work out for me but I always do my best to be a better version of myself every year.
My hubby’s Christmas decors. Can you see Santa? ๐
It’s already December and it only means that Christmas is just around the corner. This weekend, hubby took out all our Christmas decors and we started to decorate our home. I’m very excited because this is the first time that I’m going to spend Christmas with my hubby and this will also my little one’s very first Christmas. In short, this is our first Christmas together as a family.
My life these past few months can be describe as a hazy bubble. I thought that I know everything, but the truth is I only knew the top of the whole thing. I was on the verge of giving up. I cried and wept every day, I ignored some close people around me, and every thing was just stressing me out, because all of a sudden things did not go according to plan and the anticipation once I had turned into a nightmare.
Almost three months from now, I became a mom for the first time. (Hence the long absence from the blog world.) Who would have thought that life after pregnancy is just a start of a hard journey? I thought that the birth experience itself is the most painful thing, but I was wrong. Almost 95 percent of my family and friends has told me that having a baby is a bliss. Yes, having and meeting my baby is a bliss. Yet, it is also hard because I have to be strong and give my little one her needs even if it means sacrificing my time, energy and happiness.
Anyway, things are better now though I am still adjusting to my new routine. I am enjoying being a mom and I am grateful for this new chapter in my life.
