Good Madness

Mama Update:

I’m not purely obsessed with food…

No ma’am. There are other important matters to think about. Definitely.

I also like to discuss beverages.

Especially this week, because on Friday the Newsletter Committee of CBRE Memphis (of which I am a part of) is hosting a Sweet Tea Day. The members of the committee are each bringing in a different type of iced sweet tea so that our coworkers can try the different flavors of the south – for free. It’s our objective to brighten everyone’s day; last month we celebrated Cookie Monster’s Birthday with free cookies, and next month we’re anticipating doing Hot Dog day (August is gonna be Melon Day). It’s our hope that these little pick-me-ups break the monotony of corporate life.

So (finally getting to the point) yesterday I did a practice run of the sweet tea I plan on bringing in. You’ll have to ask Michael for a more accurate beverage-tasting review but for me this is a WINNER!

I was inspired to try the following recipe because I know it as a Mexican-inspired drink. You can order this drink, premade, at some Mexican restaurants (the drink is called Jamaica – pronounced ha-mekah).

Tangy Hibiscus-Lime Iced Tea

(credit: here)

Ingredients

1 cup each of sugar and warm water

Zest of 4 limes, removed in strips

8 cups of cold water

¾ cups dried hibiscus flowers (see *Note)

Ice cubes

Directions

1.       In a small saucepan, bring the sugar, warm water, and lime zest to a boil. Remove from the heat and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain into measuring cup.

2.       In a large saucepan, bring the cold water and hibiscus flowers to a boil. Remove from the heat; let steep for 20 minutes. Refrigerate until chilled.

3.       Strain the tea into a pitcher. Stir in ½ cup of the lime syrup, or more to taste (I dumped all of the syrup in). Serve the tea in tall glasses over ice.

*Note: Dried hibiscus is available at health food stores, Latin markets, and tea shops. If you can’t find hibiscus flowers, you can substitute dried rose hips or Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea (which contains hibiscus, rose hips and other herbs).

Baby Update:

We’re going to the doctor today. I’m assuming it’ll be a pretty uneventful appointment, except to give my doctor the chance to determine if I should start coming to see him more often. I know some gals that are due in the same time frame that I am (give or take a few days) and they have started seeing their doctors every two weeks.

So I’ll give you the low-down tomorrow. J Stay tuned!

Baby-Themed Picture of the Day:

I think I may have decided on the following picture as the mobile that'll hang above Brianna's crib. Don't quote me on that though -- I'm prone to changing my mind at any time. What do you think?