I don't quite remember when I fell in love with tea but I do remember the most special moments of me drinking tea. I was eighteen years old and I went to live with my biological mother for four months. I had just met her months earlier and it was awkward for both of us. She and her ex-husband lived a very quiet life in Boulder, Colorado. He was a professor at one of the universities and she was a housewife. After years of drug addiction and being in and out of jail, she deserved the break. I was homeless so she and her husband agreed to let me come live with them. Each evening my mother and I would find a spot in the living room with a cup of tea and a book.

Now, years later, I'm a self proclaimed tea expert. I start each day with a wonderful English Breakfast tea to get me going. As the day progresses, who knows what wonderful tea I will crown queen. But for sure, I have at least three cups of tea a day. And yes, when I can, I have tea everyday at about 3:00 P. M. I love to invite my friends over for tea and cupcakes and so far everyone thinks it’s a delightful experience. I am always in search of the best blend of tea. Yes, I’m a tea snob, I prefer loose tea but I do like some bags also. I have learned not to judge a book by it’s cover. Some bags can be quite nice. And yes again, any Diva knows, what you drink your tea out of is very important.

Tea for me is a way of life. It's wellness for the mind body and spirit. Here, I will explore every expect of tea possible, with a high concentration on wellness. I will review the best teas, the best places to have tea, the best ways to brew tea, the best tea accessories, what tea goes best with what foods, and the list goes on and on. I plan to share my passion for tea with you. And I've been told, nothing I do is ever boring so be prepared to go on this tea journey with me.





RLT Collection Tea Ball Frosted Clear Beads!

Mint Medley by The Persimmon Tree Tea Company

About This Tea:

Until recently I had never drank Peppermint Tea made with loose leaves. And Honestly, I will probably never go back. The freshness of loose Peppermint Tea cannot be denied. When I open the can of Mint Medley, From The Persimmon Tree Tea Company, I feel as if I stepped into a garden of peppermint leaves. It is a perfect blend of organic peppermint and spearmint leaves grown in the US.

Mint Medley has become a favorite and I find myself reaching for this tea tin almost everyday. It is great for on-going nausea. The health benefits and endless. It relieves muscle aches, headaches, migraines, stress. And now that it feels like someone is sitting on my chest and I have a mean cough, I'm sure it will help to relieve some of this congestion in my chest. Mint Medley has been in my tea cup more than any tea as of late. It has really helped with my winter cough, congestion related to this bout of pneumonia. You can read my full review on The Persimmon Tree Tea Company Mint Teas.


RLT Collection AIDS Awareness Tea Ball!




Welcome to my world of books! As an pre-teen books changed my world. I fell in love with the writers of the Harlem Renaissance period and the more I read the more I wanted to read. The fiction of this period was powerful and empowering all at the same time. It spoke to my own degradation and gave me hope for a better tomorrow. It gave me purpose for my own life and the courage to fight the good fight and never surrender.

I love to read! Inside a book I escape into someone else's life. There is something wonderful about turning to the next page of a wonderful story. Something intoxicating about the smell of the book and the story it brings to life. Reading brings me joy, and these days with my health in the balance, I find solace in my books.

I spent hours in my bedroom sequestered with the door closed reading the classics from the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes, Larsen, Hurston, Wright and Baldwin. Books became my escape and my salvation. The fiction of this period was powerful and empowering all at the same time. It gave me purpose for my own life and the courage to fight the good fight and never surrender.

Reading is the one thing that the pain of my life could never take away from me. It was the thing that helped to make it better. And even today, living with AIDS, books continue to be the safest place for me. It’s the one thing that belongs to me that AIDS cannot take away from me.The RLTReads book club will be books that I choose. It’s me sharing a part of me with you that has nothing to do with AIDS. It’s actually in spite of AIDS.

The RLTReads book club will be books that I choose. It’s me sharing a part of me with you that has nothing to do with AIDS. It’s actually in spite of AIDS. I have read hundreds of books from many different genres and I will pick the best of my reads over the years. I warn you, it will not be exclusively white or black, male or female, fiction or non fiction, it will be all of them.

I’m so excited and I’m grateful to everyone who wants to be a part of this venture. We already have 110 Book Club Members. You can email me @ RLTReads@raelewisthornton.com. The Twitter hashtag is #RLTReads. We can make this book club as wonderful as we want to make it. Who says that Oprah has to have the only ownership to a wonderful book club?

This Month We are Reading In My Fathers House by E Lynn Harris


Read along and join our discussion July 19th at 7 pm CST







For more Tea with Rae "Vlogs" Click here to visit her youtube channel

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Stop Rushing Love!



I've said it over and over again, a man making you feel good between your legs doesn't equate to love.

Nor do you have to have sex with every man that makes you wet between your legs. Sometimes when you feel that feeling, you just need to cross your legs, press your thighs together, smile, enjoy the moment and keep it moving.

We are in such a rush to find that perfect mate that we get locked into the sex before you even know who that person really is and the sex keeps you much longer than you should have stayed.

Now let me be clear, I'm not acting all extra Holy. I'm a work in progress. I understand, good lawdddd there's nothing like that tingle between your legs. But I gotta a news flash for you; you can get that tingle without a man, so don't confuse feel good with love.

I know in my own life I've been on and off this roll coaster ride more times than I would like to admit. You meet a guy, you think he's the best thing since slice bread, then ummm the bread moles and you are right back on that cycle of looking for love with a dry coochie and all.

I've been talking to a man now for almost two months and yes lawdddd he turns me the heck on. He excites me and he values me.  There is mutual respect and admiration. It's a start!

No, we haven't had sex, but we are intimate. Distance has been on our side and its given us the time that is needed to really get to know each other. In many ways distance can also be your enemy. Only time will tell us if it is meant to be. The key is to not be afraid of time.

But even your conversations, what do you spend most of your time talking about? If sex is the focus, then sex defines your relationship. Yes, it can often begin with that physical attraction but if dick and pussy dominates, then your foundation will crumble when you're not fucking.

We rush relationships when we really need to let them mature at a natural pace. While sex isn't love, loving someone isn't being in love.

Love simply stated, "Is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment." It donates a concern for their well being. It's defined as, "An unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another." Love is an emotion you can have toward, friends, family and lovers.

"In love," I would venture to say is an intense feeling of desire and attraction toward a person. Romance is critical to "In love." Sex can but doesn't have to be a part of this factor. You can fall, "In love," with a person before they even touch you. I know that for a fact! Been there, done that! But sex does become a part of the romance and intensifies the attraction. Loving that person should be your first step to falling in love with that person.

It's amazing to me how some people love the sex and don't even really like the person. Your attraction then is to the sex and that doesn't equate to love of person, it equates to infatuation.

Take the time to get to know someone. I'm not telling you how soon is to soon to have sex. I am saying if you have not had the conversation about sexually transmitted diseases, HIV testing and condoms then you are not ready to have sex with anyone, but yourself.

I am saying, you don't have to have sex with everyone that excites you! I am saying that everyone that excites you will not love you or add value to your life.

I am saying don't be in such a rush to have a mate, that you rush what needs time to grow!



















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