End of the year Tea!

 "It's the end, but it's also the beginning!" This year has been great! A wonderful opportunity for new and old friends to come together to discuss character development, learn new skills, create crafts and have fun! I'm so happy to have been the adviser for another year. Our leaders this year are amazing young women with passion and creativity.

It's been a pleasure to seem them create ideas, work together and put together meeting topics. I'm am proud of them. I am confident that all of our 2012 Seniors will go on to make us proud. I hope you continue to take time to refine your character and be the best person you can be. Remember that being a lady will always lead you in the right direction! You are all a blessing. For our new group of leaders for next year... I'm excited for another year of Tea & Etiquette!
Tea Party Agenda:
Farewell Speech: Julianna Garcia
Non Traditional Tea Meal: Chipotle Burrito Bowls with Iced Tea, Cupcakes and Brownies!
End of the year Toast!
Craft: Decorating our Flower Pots
Certificates and Awards

March

Our March meeting was fun experience. In this meeting we were able to discuss many important topics. One of these subjects was self-esteem. Speaking about this subject was Dalena where she led a good discussion on this touchy subject. We agreed as a group that having a good self esteem is essential. After this we had a very fun Icebreaker. Our icebreaker for this meeting was speed dating. This activity was very fun and all of the ladies had a joyous time doing it. Some of the questions that we asked each other were, "If you could travel abroad anywhere where would it be?" and "Who was your first crush?" In this icebreaker we were able to learn many new things about other in Tea & Etiquette and as well meet new people. After this Mrs. Jordan our advisor gave us a presentation of the origin of Tea. We learned where tea originally came from and its importance.

Next we had a culture event. Since our group is made up of different ethnities we brought three different drinks that represented our culture. Julie and Molly brought a traditional Mexican drink. They brought jamaica which is made of roselle plant often called hibiscus. This drink is often served in celebrations such as birthdays and holidays.

Recipe

4 cups water1/2 cup dried jamaica flowers1/2 cup sugar (I used natural cane sugar this time around)Another 3 cups of cold waterMore sugar to taste

1 lime, thinly sliced

If you prefer, you can sweeten with any natural sweetener of your choice including honey in place of granulated sugar).

First off, pick out a pot that won't stain. Hibiscus has the potential to stain just about anything it comes in contact with including your countertop, cookware, wooden spoons, favorite jeans, etc. So keep this in mind.

Bring the 4 cups of water to a boil. Remove water from heat and add the dried flowers and sugar. Place a lid over the pot and steep for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice along the way to break down the sugar granules.

Pour the infusion through a strainer into a pitcher or jug (this is usually where something gets stained). You are going to want to add about 3 more cups of cold water to the pitcher. Taste and adjust based on your personal preference. You can add a bit more sugar if you think you need it, or more water if you feel like the jamaica is too overpowering. This is usually just about right for my taste. I don't like the sugar to overpower the refreshing natural tartness of the jamaica flower.

Cool completely and serve with plenty of ice in glasses garnished with a slice of lime.

Serves 8.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000172.html

Another drink that was made was Horchata which is another traditional Mexican drink. This drink is made from raw rice, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Horchata is one of the most famous mexican drinks and is served year around. The ladies also enjoyed drinking Tai Tea. This drink was also very delicious. All of the ladies learned about new cultures by drinking these drinks. Lastly Mrs. Jordan treated us to some British tea.

As our craft we made cute bookmarks. This was fun because we were able to experiment with different types shades of colors. Our final product came out adorable.

Overall this meeting was enjoyable and knowledgeable. We were able to come together as one even though we all come from different walks of life.

Yum!

February: Compassion

This was our first tea party of the year and it was a great success! We began our meeting with a powerpoint on Compassionate. We went over an important topic where we discussed when and whee it is important in our lives. After our powerpoint, we went over to sit at our lovely Valentine's Theme Table.

The theme was pink, red, and white which was fitting because of Valentines Day. We each had our own special spot.

We enjoyed a delicious Corner Bakery sandwich, chips, and cookie. Then we enjoyed a yummy drink which of course was TEA. We enjoyed light & dark tea. We also had options to use sugar or go plain.

We enjoyed conversation had fun meeting new people. After finishing eating, we made our craft which was a paper windmill. It was a bit tricky to make but we were able to succeed. They were very cute. When we finished we were able to take home our favor which was a Bath & Body hand sanitizer. This tea party was a lot of fun and if you weren't there you surely missed out.

Many of us brought our lovely teacups!

She's pouring some yummy tea

Teapots

Our Craft!

Great Tea Party!

January: Contemplation

In this meeting our topic was contemplation. The formal definition of contemplation is the action of looking thoughtfully at something for a long time. This topic was fitting because one thing that people love to do in the new year is to make new year resolutions. We discussed our resolutions as a group as well as how we planned to keep them in place. After this we enjoyed making flower pens. This was our fundraiser for this year. The ladies had a good time doing this. We also as a group enjoyed little snacks and drinks. This meeting was a success overall.

Here is a picture of one of the members enjoying making a flower pen.

Flower Pens!

Our delicious treat! Yummy

Our end result...