The Latest PhD Update?!

IMABD! (Instead of fighting all of these acronyms in this world of ours, I might as well join the masses, right?) ABD!

What is ABD?
All. but. done. (True!)
Already. been. done. (Wishful thinking...I have not even begun the dissertation research/writing process.)
A. booty. dance. (Probably something I will do as I put the finishing touches on my dissertation!)
Academia. be. damned. (A feeling that comes and goes.)
A. book. disorder. (Yep, I will be buying MORE books for my shelves.)

NO (seriously), ABD (in my world) means:
All. but. dissertation. =someone who is working on their PhD and has completed all of the requirements BUT NOT the dissertation.

Yes, so I have managed to get through the comprehensive exams, oral defenses, and in late January I defended my prospectus (dissertation proposal) followed by my major professor signing all of the paperwork to officially admit me into PhD Candidacy world. Woohoo! This means that my almighty status as a "PhD student" has been glorified to "PhD Candidate." (The trumpets and angels sing loudly!)

To be honest, the last 8 months since finishing up the two years of coursework has been a whirlwind of stress and excitement. There are a lot of steps (obstacles and hoops to jump through) to this American PhD journey. But, now I have the green light to research my topic of choice. Now what?

A Whole Foods, Plant-Based Diet.

Yep. I am a veggie head, a plant-strong vegan diva, and a whole-grains plant-based adventurer. Officially. So, what does all of this mean?

Ever since my Rubbersoul Yoga Adventure experience and being introduced to a more vegan way of eating, I have decided to shift my diet away from animal protein and dairy to more whole grains and plants. While the Adventure Club introduced the vegan concept and health benefits to me (read The China Study), my own research (check out Engine2Diet, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, and the interview with Bill Clinton) sealed the deal: I am moving to a plant-strong diet! The good news: Charlie proclaimed in early January (the exact date is disputed at this time) that he was interested in joining me on this journey of no meat and dairy. Yea! (Note to reader: NO, I did not hold him down and give him a wet willy or an elbow to the groin before his manifesto to go vegan.)

After a trip to Atlanta to see a special pre-release screening of the movie Forks Over Knives (to be released May 6), we were both sold on the idea, as the movie outlined all of the research we have been following. So, now we are two veggie heads exploring the glorious world of, "crap, I think that has dairy in it" to "my bowel movements are so much more enjoyable" to buying a t-shirt with four large letters scrolled proudly across the shirt--KALE (Charlie made that purchase because he has developed a new love affair with kale). I have to say this lifestyle change has been fun, yet not without challenges, and having Charlie as a partner-in-crime has made it so much easier.

My biggest fear (and a rather large cultural myth) about going without animal protein was the pure lack of protein. Growing up as an athlete I was brainwashed to think that the only thing that would re-build my muscles was animal protein...so I ate lots of animal protein especially when training for the marathons. But, we have learned that plant protein is just as good, if not better, than animal protein. Here are a few examples:
good plant protein: arugula, kale, spinach, etc.,
high-protein grains: quinoa, bulgar, brown rice
legumes: black, white, pinto, chick peas, etc.

Recently, I have been searching out blogs for recipes and stumbled on a few interesting things:
-Did you know that Alicia Silverstone is a veg-head too (and also one of my favorite actresses)? Well, she has a blog dedicated to the book she wrote on "green" living, the Kind Life.
-Oprah just recently presented a week-long show on veganism and encouraged viewers to eat vegan for one week.
-Mark Bittman, a.k.a. "The Minimalist" recipe guru from the NY times has decided to give up his column after 13 years, so he could dedicate his time to focus on advocating for a healthier way of eating: more veggies, more grains, and more legumes.

There is something going on here...a movement of sorts and who knows where it will take us...maybe it will bring back some of the local farmers and rid the American culture of processed and genetically-modified food.

Road Trip to Ohio.

In the U.S., Martin Luther King is celebrated every year with a three-day weekend. This year, King's birthday weekend, January 14-18, consisted of an 8 hour drive up north to visit Charlie's homeland...Ohio. I always love a good road trip with good music, good conversation, and the lovely country side and this trip did not disappoint. The drive up to Ohio takes you through the beautiful national forest in Tennessee and Kentucky before arriving in Cincinnati. Charlie had the drive all planned out, including where we would stop for dinner. The problem was that he had never been on a road trip with me. Thus, he quickly found out NOT to buy me tea or let me drink any sort of liquid beverage, otherwise we would be stopping every 45 minutes to visit the local toilets. Oh, the joys of having a bladder of a small dove! Despite numerous stops, we arrived at a yummy dinner location in Lexington, Kentucky, Alfalfa's. A delicious veggie plate, salad, and soup (woohoo, for a plants-based diet) filled our bellies and we were ready for Ohio.

The trip was great; I got a glimpse into the real Charlie as I met all of his childhood buddies and saw where he grew up. We spent a few days with his parents and I even managed to put in a few hours of writing.

Ever since I have known Charlie...he has talked up this amazing "international market", a.k.a. Jungle Jim's, in Ohio. Of course I had to see it with my own eyes. What an experience...food from around the world, bathrooms made of port-a-potties, singing (plastic) pirates, and a produce section that would make any vegetarian foam at the mouth. We left with goodies from around the world and some homemade salsa that was out-of-this-world-delicious!

Snow Day #3: 5 inches of snow, 1 snow plow...3 snow days. You do the math!

Campus closed, again! Old man winter is alive and kicking in Georgia. The temperature has not risen above 35 degrees, hence the reason we have yet another snow day and a little cabin fever. Time for a walk around campus under the beautiful blue skies filled with sunshine. How many men does it take to shovel the steps to the Geography building? Seven men (eager to stop shoveling for a quick smile and wave to the camera). Notice the snow/ice filled sidewalks and DRY roads. Hmmm...time for that shoveling crew to move to the sidewalks?












Thank goodness we had a stocked kitchen...as our snow-filled days turned into food-filled nights. We made a killer lentil soup one day and an epic miso (with tofu) soup the next day. Nothing better than soup (and wine) on a few cold days. Oh, speaking of wine...time for the wine story. Would you believe that we opened not one, but two, bad bottles of wine during the snowpocalypse? Thus, on the second night of snow-arama I cleaned the kitchen and Charlie elected to schlep through the ice-filled evening with a backpack strapped to his spine and a thirst for more red wine. After a half-hour of treacherous ice walking, he arrived home with a big smile on his face and two new bottles of wine from the 5-points bottle shop. These are the stories we will remember from the brilliant three days of snowdiggity.

Snow Day #2: Desegregation and More Ice!

Campus closed, day two! The snow could not have come during a more important campus event...the celebration of 50 years of UGA desegregation. Fifty years ago on January 9, 1961 two courageous students walked on this campus as the first African-American students to be admitted to UGA. Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton Holmes were greeted with rioting students, tear gas, and a mandatory suspension (to ensure for their own safety).


Hunter-Gault is now a successful journalist for NPR and PBS and she came back to campus to speak during this celebration. While the snow kept many away, there were about 80 of us who braved the weather to see her passionately speak about her experiences and the current low rate of African-American students on campus (0nly 8% of the student body population are African-American). I had read her book, In My Place (an excellent read...will make you laugh, cry, and question the ignorance), in my History of Higher Education class last year, so I was very eager to meet the woman who had shared her life of bravery with so many of us. As she signed my book, I was speechless. What do you say to a woman that spent four years of her collegiate life on a hostile campus all in the name of civil rights and higher education? All I could say was, thank you. But, damn that was a heart-felt thank you. Thank you for braving the hostility. Thank you for challenging an elite and otherwise prejudiced system. Thank you for allowing other students of color to stand on your shoulders. Thank you for sharing your story and compassion with others. Thank you.




As we were walking back to Rutherford Hall, we stopped at the Quad where a group of students had spent the day building a very large snowman and a massive fort. Awesome. This is what snow days are all about...

Yes, that is my car all snowed-in. Wishin' I would have packed that window scraper.

Snow Day #1: FIVE Inches of Snow and Ice!

On Saturday there were mad reports of the impending "winter storm", hence people headed to the grocery store, including me. You can only imagine how long the grocery store lines were; the bread and milk was sold out and people had their grocery carts full of pop tarts, coke, and microwavable dinners.

Campus officials wasted no time to close campus for the following day. We received an email that campus was closed tomorrow even before the snow started to fall. You see, there are benefits to living in a traditionally WARM region of the U.S., there are NO snow plows or snow removal equipment. Thus, when a big storm threatens the region, everything shuts down...even before the snow hits the earth. And, you receive the following messages in your email in-box:

Received 1/09/11 at 7:44 p.m. (before any snow had fallen)

The University of Georgia will be closed on Monday, January 10, 2011. Classes will not be held and offices will be closed. Personnel previously designated for weather emergencies will report.

Received 1/10/11 at 12:40 p.m. (after 5 inches had fallen and iced over)
The University of Georgia main campus at Athens will be closed because of inclement weather on Tuesday, January 11, 2011.

Received 1/11/11 at 11:o4 a.m. (ice, ice, baby)
The University of Georgia main campus at Athens will be closed on Wednesday, January 12. Classes will not be held and offices will be closed.

Received 1/12/11 at 1:50 p.m. (more slip, sliding away...)
The University of Georgia will have a delayed opening on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011 at 11 a.m.

Being from Colorado, this is all very strange for me, but I am not complaining. Five inches of snow turned into, not one, not two, but THREE snow days (they should have called them "ice" days) with no school or work. Okay, so I am not really taking classes this semester (because I am done with that part of the PhD adventure, remember?), but I am sitting in on a few classes (yes, I am officially a nerd). Plus, I have to work. Thus, three days off: blissful, especially when I can sit in my apartment and watch the students have tons of fun with the snow on Meyers quad (right outside my front door). The first night a massive snowball fight ensued with about 70 students, then the second day a large fort and snowman was built, and the third day resulted in a tackle "ice" football game and some red ice (ouch).

This winter adventure, despite the meager amounts of snow, was rather fun. We cooked excellent meals (and Charlie baked cookies...see photo), drank lots of wine, played cards, and even attended a few campus events (that had not been canceled)...see next post.

2011 Intentions

I guess if I post these, there is more accountability. Maybe. Let's see how this goes:
1.) Eat healthy
2.) Simplify! Reuse, Reduce, Recycle
3.) More LOVE & Compassion
4.) Dissertation goals:
-Defend prospectus and become a PhD "Candidate"
-Write 1-3 chapters by May
-Finish up all data collection by 2012
5.) More NATURE in my life
6.) Continue positive thoughts for EUROPE in 2011 (this is where I want to do my dissertation research)

Reflections on 2010

Even though New Year's Eve is becoming less of a party as I grow older, I still look forward to ringing in the New Year because of one simple thing: life reflections. After looking back at my 2008 and 2009 reflections, I have realized that in 2010 I have become a little more long-winded, as this blog post is much longer than previous reflections. Oh well, here goes:

-Trips to the "ATL" (Atlanta): To taste some big city flavor, and escape the little town charm (or isolation) of Athens, Charlie and I made many trips to the ATL this past year. Despite the lack of public transportation and backward politics, I have come to really enjoy Atlanta. For Valentine's day Charlie surprised me with tickets to the spectacular Broadway musical, Mamma Mia. In March we experienced the Oyster & Craw-fish Festival with live music and YES, we ate a lot of craw-fish. We even took a few day trips to cash in our Groupon coupons at Zagat-rated restaurants. During comps, I found myself studying in a coffee shop a few days in ATL. After comps, Charlie took me to see my favorite musician, Michael Franti, kick it at the historic Tabernacle. And, finally at Thanksgiving we spent a long weekend in Atlanta's metropolitan park, Piedmont Park.

-COLORADO: I not only racked up those sky miles with four trips to Colorado in 2010, but I also satiated my thirst for Colorado time. Charlie accompanied me on two of the trips and for the first time experienced the Weimer mafia. That is big news, as it has been some time since I brought a man home to meet the entire family. All four trips were sweet and wonderful in special ways: spring break skiing, an academic conference in May, one of my dear friend's wedding, and of course the annual Weimer Christmas holiday. There is nothing better than time with family and friends who actually know, understand, and love the depths of my passions, quirks, and convictions.

-Believe it! The PhD Adventure Continues: Honestly, there have been many moments over the past 2 years when I thought I would be a PhD drop-out, but 2010 gave me the strength, courage, and yearning to keep going. In May, I watched Charlie walk up to the podium as his name was called and accept his PhD. What an inspiration! Earlier in April, my committee gave me their blessing (that I was ready) to take the comprehensive exams. In the hot and steamy bowels of summer in Georgia, July and August, I sequestered myself in the comps cave and studied, studied, studied. Woohoo, I passed! Took one last PhD course: statistics. Woohoo, I passed! This fall I applied for three large dissertation funding grants. The fact that I am now using the word "dissertation" in my everyday language is rather surreal and so the adventure continues...

-International TRAVEL: Yep, I continue to dust off my travel shoes every year. This year I managed to travel 24,441 miles in less than two months. I spent 6 weeks in South Africa as a teaching assistant for a study abroad program, GlobalLEAD, wherein my father joined me for a week of travel to the vineyards in Stellenbosch and the Cape Peninsula. Then, I flew to Oslo for an academic conference, visited friends in Belgium, Paris, France and Alicante, Spain. An amazing trip loaded with more cultural education and time with dear friends.

-Other GOOD stuff: I continue to serve as the Graduate Fellow of the Franklin Residential College (FRC)...a good way to stay connected to the undergrads. During fall break, we chaperoned 30 FRC students to Sapelo Island off the coast of Georgia. In addition, I started a graduate assistantship position with the Office of International Education....a perfect job for me! And my boss is wonderful. I was also inducted into the international honor society, Phi Beta Delta, and I won the Harold Josephson Award for Professional Promise in International Education.

-Life (outside academia): Despite the fact that Charlie and I cannot wait until the day we pack our bags and leave Athens, we live a pretty sweet life in Athens. We joined the local farm share this summer and began a journey towards healthier eating with local, organic fruits and veggies. Yoga continues to be a sweet escape for me. This past year I not only taught yoga at the Rubbersoul studio, but I also graduated from the Rubbersoul Adventure Club. We also made a few trips North to enjoy and hike the Blue Ridge mountains.

Uh-oh, Mom Falls off the Ladder

As long as I have known my mother, she has possessed a total love and hankering for Christmas decor. This year as she was taking down the outside Christmas lights, she fell off of the ladder, hit the cement (yes, the rock solid cement), and shattered her elbow. I received a panicked phone call from my father saying, "I am taking your mother to the emergency room." Oh my! Luckily, her elbow was the only broken limb, but her entire body was in pain. Good thing for pain meds!

On our last day in Colorado, Charlie and I took down my mother's decorations. Just for the record, my mother has a wicked amount of decorations...like 22 boxes/large bags of lights, stuffed Santas, lawn ornaments, wreaths, angels, etc. Note to self: never...!

All in all, she is recovering and still maintains a zest for her exorbitant Christmas decorations, although I doubt we will see her climbing a ladder to put up lights next year or at least we better not.

Another Wacky Weimer's Christmas in Colorado

This year the snow fell early in the Rocky Mountains making for a brilliant white Christmas. We had the good fortune of celebrating the annual Weimer Christmas celebration in the high-country of Silverthorne, Colorado (elevation: 8,751 feet). We rented a beautiful house on the Silverthorne golf course, which turns into a Nordic center during the winter. This year's festivities included: seven adults, one low-country boil, a night of disco fever (complete with a re-make of the "YMCA" song), an updated rendition of the 12 days of Christmas with whipped cream and snowshoes, wine-tasting, hot tubbin', epic early season skiing, sledding, and of course a mad night of the game, spoons. Check out the highlights in this video:

Another tradition that never seems to disappoint is the annual gift exchange. Here is a simple explanation of the annual GIFT Exchange, from the words of my little kid brother, "Each of you will get the name of one person in the Weimer Family Christmas circle. You will play make-believe Santa for that person, yay!! This means you have to get them a gift, determine where they're spending Christmas, visit them, eat the crappy cookies they put out for him, and discretely place the gift under their tree, woopee! Sounds easy I know, but there are stipulations: first, the gift must be an item or multiple items of clothing, comprising at least some portion--if not all--of an outfit. But not just any outfit, oh no: it must be a goofy, funny-looking outfit, oh my! Hee hee. They have to wear it the rest of the night, and the weirder it is, the more laughs it induces, the better (see photo to left for example of gift goodness)!! Hee hee, we little elves love to giggle! Another criteria: the gift must be from a second-hand store. Goodwill, ARC, Salvation Army, etc. It must cost no more than $10. Sound easy enough? Happy happy Weimer, happy happy Santa, happy happy Elf! (cuz now I can knock off early and go drink some yummy elf whiskey, sing carols with the other little elves, and dance around the mistletoe until I puke my li'l elf guts out! And you know how you humans always oddly see corn in your vomit? We always see Christmas cookies, weird! Hee hee.)"

A Near Miss of the Airplane...Oops!

Another epic travel tale!

Written: December 14, 11:08 p.m. (Eastern standard time)

About 3 hours ago: After a 2 hour drive to Atlanta from Athens, Charlie and I arrived in Atlanta for a relaxing and delicious sushi dinner before my flight to Denver. The sushi was tasty, the conversation was engaging, and apparently I was more relaxed that I realized. Around 8 p.m.ish we paid the bill and headed to the airport (about a 20 minute drive)...plenty of time to catch my 9:40 p.m. flight, I thought. We laughed and told stories in the car, life was good, in a few hours I would be *home*.

As we drove up to the airport "drop off" I suddenly looked at Charlie in PURE PANIC. FML...I forgot my purse at the sushi restaurant. "I have no ID!" (Uh-oh). At 8:43 p.m. Charlie put on his Mario Andretti persona as he drove like a bat out of hell. Back to the sushi restaurant. I cursed a little (insert many four letter words here) and then found some calm. Why waste energy on negative energy? Just accept that I am not going to catch my flight. In the meantime, my driver whipped in and out of Atlanta traffic as if he, too, was a crazy-ass Atlanta driver. As we sat at red lights, my mind ran right out of my mouth as I played out all of the different scenarios:
1.) I could pay an arm/leg to re-book my flight.
2.) If I run fast enough, maybe they will feel sorry for my panting ass and let me board the flight.
3.) Maybe, just maybe, by some strange cosmic energy force the flight will be delayed.

We arrived at the sushi restaurant at 9 p.m. (the same time that my flight began boarding) and AHHHH, the waiter handed me the purse, in all of its glory. Back on the road again. Now, it was the calm before the storm. Literally. To make matters worse, this past weekend I had sprained my ankle (pretty badly) while hiking...so, running to the gates was giving me more anxiety than normal. Somewhere during the breathing and panic attacks, we manages to conjure up a plan of action...arrive at 9:20 p.m. (according the GPS), leave my 50 pound bag with Charlie (yes, and the left/lost baggage saga in my life continues...), and run as if the boogie man was chasing my ass. As we are making the plan of attack, Charlie continues to talk to red lights to coerce them to turn green, while I focus on my breath. At one point, during a FAST turn, the GPS goes flying across the car (weeeeee) and lands under Charlie's seat (uh-oh). At the next red light I take off my seat-belt and put my face between his legs to try to fish out the GPS. I am sure the people behind/on the side of us got a cheap thrill out of that. Now, Charlie is wearing a BIG smile and the GPS is telling us we will arrive at 9:19 p.m.

We arrive at the Delta "drop off" and I grab my stuff and RUN! I try to check-in at the computer kiosk and it says, "Sorry dumb ass, you cannot check in as you only have 18 minutes until your plane takes off." ARGH! So, I run to the counter where the lady very calmly asks, "Would you like to try to run to the gate?" YES, and I am off with my boarding pass in hand. Of course in the security queue I get behind a diva with big hair, hoop earrings, and stiletto heels who is taking her sweet time to strip down to her bare essentials. After a minute of her fussing with her belt I ask if she would mind if I cut in front of her. In a Southern accent, she says, "Sure, sister!" Then I run, run, run (yes, as if I was in a movie) to gate A15 and the Delta dude looks at me with a very serious look in his eye and asks, "Boarding Pass?" He checks his computer and says, "Go ahead!" Ahhhhh, I nearly hug and kiss him...9:35 p.m.! Damn, I am lucky...

If you see me wearing the same clothes for the next 10 days, you know why.

A Little Calm Before the Holiday Hustle & Bustle

Before heading out to Colorado for the annual Weimer Christmas extravaganza, Charlie and I had a quiet weekend escape in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina. Actually, this was the long awaited celebration of Charlie's PhD graduation. We stayed at the Cabins at Seven Foxes, quaint little cabins tucked away in the forest. During the day we hiked to a waterfall in Gorges State Park where I sprained my ankle (the same ankle that I sprained numerous times during my high school tennis years...argh). (Let's hope the ankle heals quickly, as I have some skiing to do!) At night, we found ourselves sucked into the holiday spirit as we experienced a Scrooge-inspired movie marathon. First, A Christmas Carol (1951), then Scrooge (1970), and finally the Muppets Christmas Carol (1992). On Sunday, we woke up to the greatest gift...5 inches of snow. What a great way to get ready for Colorado. After playing in the snow, we headed back to Athens where Charlie got back to the 8-5 grind and I packed for a 2-week holiday in Colorado.

The Brazilians Come to Dinner

It is always a fun evening when the Brazilians come to dinner. This time around we had two additional Brazilians guests as Chico's parents were visiting. We had a lot to celebrate; just one week earlier Chico successfully passed his Master's concert (he plays the bad-ass bass). Mexican food Americano style (big fat burritos) were served up and a mad game of UNO ensued. I am always so grateful of my international friends because they remind me that this Southern bubble I live in is just a place, not a way of thinking, living or being.

Yoga Adventure Club

The plan: dive deeper into yoga. Thus, I signed up to participate in the Rubbersoul Yoga Adventure Club that meets every Saturday (10-7) and Tuesday nights from September to December. Yoga has been a foundation for my life ever since I first tried it back in 2000. While training for the Chicago marathon, and feeling a lot of tightness and cramping in my muscles, I went to my first yoga class with a friend. After totally "blissing out" in the last pose, Savasana (the resting pose), my relaxed heart and mind fell in love with yoga. Ever since then I have been hooked. In Boulder, CO I practiced with an incredibly creative and compassionate teacher for 6 years and then moved to Europe where I took yoga classes taught in foreign languages (Norwegian, Portuguese, and Finnish). It was these two years in Europe, where I could not understand the body alignment cues, that I realized I already knew them. This got me thinking...maybe I should teach yoga. Arriving back in the U.S. I signed up for a yoga certification where I lived in a Colorado mountain ashram, Shoshoni, for two straight summers. While at the ashram I discovered meditation, my own spirituality, and the bliss of sharing yoga with others.

Moving to Athens, Georgia and starting the PhD program was a huge life transition. Luckily, I found the Rubbersoul yoga studio early on and have been teaching there ever since 2008. When I speak of yoga...it is not only the physical practice, but the lifestyle, the breath, and the uncluttering of the mind. Yoga has helped me overcome life transitions. Yoga has brought stillness, calmness, and peace to an otherwise crazy life. Yoga has especially been a nice addition to an academic life where I exist in my head A LOT.

The Adventure Club is not just the physical practice of yoga, but it includes circus skills (yes, I am attempting to learn how to juggle), meditation, vegetarianism, nutrition, and activism. It is much different than my experience at the ashram...as it is a different type of spiritual awakening...one that makes you look at your everyday routine of eating and the impact that you have on the earth and people in your life. Every week we read a book (see photos of books below) and watched a documentary. My mind was spinning from all of the new information and the realization that the meat and dairy industry has a great deal of influence on the public information on nutrition (i.e. food pyramid, school lunches, etc.) I am still working on processing the information as I continue to cut out meat and dairy from my diet and move to a more plants-based diet.

BOOKS (that we read and that I would recommend):
Happy Yoga (all about happy yoga, highly recommended), The China Study (an academically sound study that found animal products correlated to cancer and other diseases), Healthy at 100 (looks at healthy lifestyles of international communities known for their longevity), and Eating Animals (all about the cultural narratives that we use to rationalize eating animals).

DOCUMENTARIES (that we watched and that I would recommend):
No-Impact Man (this was my favorite documentary that we watched...a couple in NY decides to live their life with no-impact...funny yet real).
Food, Inc. (all about the F'ed up U.S. food industry).
King Corn (two dudes decide to grow corn with the feds subsidy, they find that corn is more than we all bargain for).
Wall-E (Disney flick about earth if we do not take care of mama earth, bonus: great love story).
Tapped (Who owns our water? The big companies are bottling municipal water and turning a profit on it. WTF?)

High Tea

On our way back to Athens, we stopped in Historic Roswell, Georgia at the local tea-house for an afternoon of the British-style high tea. When living in Oxford "cream tea" (similar to high tea) became a favorite outing when family and friends would visit. So, when I saw the coupon on Groupon for high tea in Roswell, I jumped on it and bought two coupons for $20 bucks (saving $28...yes high tea is expensive, normally $24/per person). This was the first time Charlie had ever experienced high tea and I must say he was a good sport, despite the fact that he was the only male in the tea-house. The experience included an unlimited number of teas. I think we each had three different pots of tea including such flavors as the smoky lapsang (Charlie's favorite), anti-aging house blend (we are both approaching 40 years), creme au caramel rooibos, Moroccan mint green tea, house chai blend, and evening in Paris. The soups came out first, a beautiful and creamy carrot ginger soup and smooth tomato basil soup. Then, the culminating event...the three-tiered myriad of beautiful sandwiches, desserts, and scones. Of course we went home with a doggy bag and had to stop for a bathroom break as we floated away after drinking all of that delicious tea.

First tier: tea sandwiches, such as Cucumber, Organic Chicken Curry, Mushroom Spread and Smoked Salmon Sandwich.

Second tier: desserts, such as Homemade Apple Strudel, Creampuffs dipped in Belgian Chocolate, Homemade Seasonal Cake and Fruit.

Third tier: fresh made Scones with homemade Lemon Curd.