RA RA SIS BOOM BA! It's Plugaway Friday!

Photo by Thomas Hawk

Okay, I know today is NOT a Friday, but the real Friday got a little hectic, giving me no time to log on and post this article. So I'm going to go all Lego Movie on you by quoting Wyldstyle and say, "Today will be known as Plugaway Friday, but still on a Sunday!"

Commence Post:

Every third Friday I'll be picking up my pom-poms to plug random persons, places, and things, because deep down, past all the crazy, philosophical hoopla, there is an annoying cheerleader just waiting to pull a double tuck back-handspring. Now keep in mind, if you don't particularly like cheerleading, you might want to beat it because I'm about to build a one-woman pyramid. However, if you love to learn about fantastic new people, places, and yes, even stuff, then look no further! You have entered the Great Domain of Pluggery, where men and woman come to eat crumpets, drink tea, and discover the finer things. 

By the way, it's BYOTea. 

 Here goes nothing...

PLUGERIFIC PERSON:

"I call all of my power back to me now.  I am whole and complete."

- Danielle Laporte

Photo by Chris Guillebeau

Danielle Laporte is a bad ass.  Not because she's a keynote speaker and writer, although those things definitely contribute to her Badassery. No, the reason she's such a boss is that she promotes living truth. In fact, I privately refer to her as the Truth Maven (Soul Ninja Buyu as well) because she has dedicated her life to helping people keep it real.  

I believe that keeping it real is a big deal (hey, that rhymed!). To fully explain why it's a big deal, I'd like to break it up and play with the pieces. So let's do some... 

"Phrase Deconstruction with Nichole Beamer!"

(Be sure to read that like an overly dramatic Game Show Host)

Today's phrase is: "Keep it Real".

Keep is a verb meaning, "to hold as one's own". 

Real is an adjective meaning, "genuine; not counterfeit, artificial, or imitation".

I won't define "it", and not because I'm a rebel, but because it's not really definable, at least, not in the sense that it means something specific or tangible. I think, in this case, "it" simply means you, or your life. 

Based on the foregoing Decon, we see that "keeping it real" means 

holding authenticity.  

Authenticity is a Big Girl word, yet children seem to understand it best. They rock it like Devo rocked these crazy hats: 

My daughter is a perfect example. She loves to wear mismatched clothes in wacky patterns. She is also a talented abstract artist. I don't know about you, but I see a major parallel here. The way my kid dresses and the way she "arts" do not deviate from one another. She follows her truth and puts it out there for all the world to see. 

Essentially, keeping it real is living your truth. We are all here to cultivate a unique existence and to share that existence with the world. Therefore, we must always keep our truth in mind. We must live for ourselves so that others can benefit from the truth held within our hearts. Understand that living for the self is not being selfish. Hoarding the self, keeping it locked away out of fear, guilt, and obligation - this is true selfishness. Take hold of your individual truth, of that Godspark deep within, and create. Share your creation with others. Do not be afraid, for there is no gift more pure than an authentic one. It is quite literally an immaculate conception. 

Danielle is a Creator with an amazing truth. To learn more about her, I shall direct you to her Palace of Refuge (and provide a freebie interview, too)! 

DANIELLE LAPORTE WEBSITE 

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PLUGERIFIC THINGS TO READ:

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.  Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
- Groucho Marx

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

by Marie Kondo

The current "theme" in my life is cleaning out my roots. To the layman, that means I've been clearing my space to make room for new possibilities. My very first post on this blog was all about spring cleaning. The fam, i.e me, the Hubster, and our darling daughter, Sophia, is looking to sell our home. We want to downsize so we can better focus on our life pursuits and travel. 

We are far too zealous for our own good.

Over the last few weeks we've been focused on purging things we no longer need. It's been an interesting experience and one I thought I'd catch you up on, given the synergistic happenings that have occurred since I started. I decided to incorporate the "spring clean" theme into my April Giveway, so I did some nosing around on Amazon, looking for goodies I deem worthy.  I stumbled upon The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and saw that it had some great reviews.  It was also pretty affordable, especially for a best seller, so I stuck it on the ol' Wish List and planned to offer it up as a sacrifice to my readers (you can enter to win the book by signing up for my newsletter).  Later that evening, my daughter and I were picking up a couple of things at Target. We passed the book section and, lo and behold, there on the Bestseller's end cap, sat Miss Marie Kondo! No, it wasn't her in the flesh (if it was, that'd be really freakin' weird as she'd be about the size of a Lilliputian), but it was her book.  I stopped short and stared at it, allowing a big, Cheshire grin to spread slowly across my face. 

Photo by stopsign

You see, I have this thing where I'll get on a certain kick or aspire to accomplish a particular goal, and suddenly life starts working the hell out of whatever it is I'm thinking about. I knew this was a prompt to buy the book. I picked it up and started reading, instantly charmed by Kondo's perspective. What I find the most encouraging about the KonMari Method (that's what Marie calls the way she tidies) is that it focuses on surrounding yourself with the things that you love. It's a revolutionary way of looking at your belongings. Marie is of the belief that, if an item in your home does not "spark joy", there's no reason to keep it. Period. This encourages us to clear away unwanted and unneeded energy. Even if you don't believe in the whole "energy spiel", I'm sure you're aware that our stuff incites an emotional response, and not always the best one.  With that in mind, I thought I'd include Kondo's book as one of my "plugs" since it has ushered a significant amount of joy into my life, or rather pointed out the joy hidden behind the proverbial dustpile.

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PLUGERIFIC THINGS TO DRINK:

"I like the pause that tea allows."

- Waris Ahluwalia

      

AmiteaOrganics, an Etsy Tea Shop

There's just something about sitting alone, a steaming, hot cuppa your only confidante. I, myself, like to chill on our front porch, sipping tea and nature, allowing the quiet to slip down around my shoulders. I openly admit that I am a tea snob. I am also a beer snob, but that's a conversation for another day. Typically, when choosing my teas, I go for fair trade organic brands. My family has stuck to a predominantly organic diet ever since my husband's cancer diagnosis. As for the Fair Trade, I love contributing to their movement. I have a habit of forcing my crazy, organic ways onto others when I buy them gifts, too. And so it was, while shopping for a Mother's Day present last year that I stumbled upon Amitea Organics. This sweet little Etsy gem is located in Carolina Beach, NC and run by an equally sweet woman named Judith. I was lucky enough to try her delectable tea blends when I traveled to TN to see my mom and, suffice it to say, they were delicious! Judith has been hand blending teas and herbal infusions since 2005, using her own recipes. She blends one small batch at a time to ensure freshness and superior quality and her teas are organic/ fair trade!  I also love the name, a take on the word amity, which, as anyone who's seen the movie Jaws knows, means "friendship".

I love diversity and Amitea does NOT disappoint. Judith has a large assortment of different tea blends. My favorites so far are the Organic English Rose, Black Cherry Organic, and Organic French Garden Rooibos. They each had a smooth, distinct flavor and needed very little sweetener. The English Tea Rose and Garden blends both pack a nice floral punch, and the cherry is tart, but not overly so.  

Thirsty for additional tea knowledge, I decided to contact Judith directly for more information. She gave me some great recommendations.  Here's what she had to say:

I am excited about all our new versions of Earl Grey Tea, and my customers seem to like them too, especially the Ginger Earl and the Chocolate Earl. I made up a little sachet gift pack for the book loving Earl Grey drinker, I call it 6 Shades of Grey!  It contains all of the Flavored Earl Greys, plus a regular Earl Grey.  I am taste testing a Grapefruit Earl now, with a Rose Earl coming soon....who knows, maybe I'll get to the 50 Shades one day?

I have also introduced my Organic Sweet Tea Blend. It comes in ready to brew, pre-measured pouches, which makes it so easy to make iced tea (it is not pre-sweetened).

With Mother's Day (and then Father's Day) on the horizon, my gift boxes are becoming popular, and the Tea of the Month Clubs (3 and 6 month) are also much in demand at this time of the year, and even more so during the Holiday Season.

I could go on and on about tea all day! It excites me, it is my life. I am taking Amitea Organics to 2 local markets each week for the summer this year. I tried it last year on a 10 market day fact finding tryout. It was a huge success and I am so looking forward to seeing my customers again, and meeting new ones, too.

Judith is a real sweetie-pie, isn't she? I really like connecting with people who love their job, and she certainly seems to be living her truth. I'm determined to help her share that truth with the world so...the next four people who sign up for my Newsie will get some tea on me from Amitea! 

Note that you can also buy your own tea directly from the Creator at: 

AmiteaOrganics

She has a ton of adorable tea accessories as well. Have fun browsing!  

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Thanks for reading my bloggage. Hope you enjoyed all the fantastic plugs. Perhaps they will fit nicely into your sockets. Now go forth and be fierce. Be free. Be YOU.

 Peace, love, and Happy Little Aardvarks! 

 Nichole