Free Time? What's That Again?

How is it possible that something as innocent and simple as preschool can drive a grown woman to full on, ugly cry face?  Today I had full on, ugly-cry face. My little Twinkers started preschool. Ok, so, it’s hardly even preschool. They are out of the house for three hours every Friday. It’s not like they are going to college in Prague. That might actually not be a bad thing as long as mom can visit.
The Twinkers know full well what today is. They went into major meltdown mode this morning when they weren’t allowed to leave for school with their big sister. Trying to explain the concept of time to a three-year old is like trying to explain racism to a Trump supporter (I promise that’s the only political remark I will make. This week.). They have been running around all morning wearing their backpacks and yelling “Go to school! Go to school!”. It’s actually an improvement over their usually morning yells of “That’s the wrong color spoon! She’s pulling my hair! You poured my milk wrong!”. I have no idea how one pours milk wrong but apparently I do it every morning.
Meanwhile, I’m rushing around my house trying to get all of my usual Friday chores done. Not only is this mom prepared to be thrown into pits of mom depression over the thought of her babies growing up, she’s also incredibly thrilled to have three hours of free time. What is a mom to do? I might read a book. I might get caught up on Scandal. I think I’m only about three seasons behind. I might take the opportunity to play a video game and swear as loudly as I want when my fictional avatar inexplicably launches them self off the side of a cliff and dies before I get to a save point.
Believe it or not, I did actually have a plan for my free time. Upon purchasing this house, I inherited a gardener’s dream. In addition to flowers beds surrounding the exterior of my house, I have flower beds surrounding the exterior of my garage and two tilled garden plots. My Queen Bee has these glorious dreams of colorful flowers everywhere and enough vegetables to feed the whole town. She doesn’t yet know that her mom use to kill plants for fun. Figuring out 100 different ways to kill a flower remains my best science project ever. I thought I would spend my free time outside, pulling weeds, digging in some dirt, and maybe even planting a few things. Mother Nature had other plans. Sometimes I need a reminder that I live in Minnesota. Today is a great reminder. It’s 35 degrees outside and the wind is blowing hard enough to knock the Twinkers off their feet. That’s not ideal gardening weather.
So what am I going to do instead? Make myself a chai latte and curl up with a book in the sunniest corner of my house. It’s going to be amazing. I should probably set an alarm so I don’t forget to pick the Twinkers up at the end of the day.
I am a huge fan of chai lattes. The town where I do most of my shopping has five or six different coffee shops. I’ve tried the chai at all of them. The best chai come from none of those places. It comes from my house. What’s my secret. TeaSource. TeaSource has the perfect chai mix. Unfortunately the nearest TeaSource to my house is over two hours away. Thank higher beings for the internet.
Chai lattes start with the spice mix. The spice mix from TeaSource can be purchased here: http://www.teasource.com/products/teasource-chai-spice-blend-chai-tea?variant=8087825795
I mix the spice concentrate (or goop) according to the TeaSource directions:
1 Tbsp of spice mix
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
Combine ingredients in desired container. The jar I used is an old pizza sauce jar. They were such cute, practical jars that I just couldn’t bring myself to toss them. It’s a great jar for my goop.  After combing the ingredients, I usually give the jar a good shake before popping it in the fridge. You could use the goop right away but I like to let mine sit in the fridge overnight first.


To make a chai latte (This is my way of doing things. You might have a way that works better):
Pick your favorite black tea. TeaSource recommends using their Breakfast Assam. That’s my personal favorite but I will use other black teas if I don’t have any Breakfast Assam on hand. I have found a nice black tea from Aldi that comes in K-cups if I am in a little bit of a hurry and don’t have time to brew a pot of tea.
Brew the tea as directed. If you want to make an iced chai latte, brew your tea a little stronger than normal. While tea is brewing add 1 Tbsp of chai goop for every 8 oz of tea used to your favorite mug/pitcher/glass.
Once tea is brewed, pour over chai goop and give it a good stir. Sometimes I find I need to add just a little extra milk. If you want things just a little sweeter, use the creamer from a previous post. I have a few friends who like some vanilla with their chai. If you make a vanilla creamer, it makes a great addition to a chai latte. If you want an iced chai latte, add the desired amount of goop to a glass, fill glass with ice, pour hot tea over ice, and give it a good stir. Today I am enjoying my chai latte hot. Not warm because I’m going to be interrupted a hundred times while trying to drink but hot!  Tomorrow, it’s possible, my latte will need to be over ice. Welcome to Minnesota.
Target clearance is a wondrous thing.
Originally Published on April 1, 2016

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