A Life-Changing Gift

Recently I've just received the letter from World Vision Singapore.  The cover envelope has shown a little girl with a helpless eyes.  Beside the photo of the girl, few words stated "While tortillas try to fill her belly, something much worse fills it too..."  Behind the envelope stated "They affect more than 1.2 billion people globally.  They're disgusting.  They're everywhere.  And they torment and kill children."

I feel sympathy and sad for the children at China, Ethiopia, Laos, Lesotho, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Zambia.  A person has limited power to help and I sincerely hope that those who read this message will try their best to help those needy children around the world. 

World Vision Singapore has The Child Sponsorship Programme addresses the root causes of poverty and diseases, helping the children, their families and communities break the cycle of poverty. When you sponsor a child for a donation of $45 per month , World Vision helps your sponsored child through the Area Development Programme in his/her community. This ensures that fundamental needs, such as access to clean water, basic healthcare, education, nutritious food and increased food security, and household income are not only available to the child and his community, but they will be empowered to help themselves in the future as well.

From the pamphlet that I received in the envelope, I wish to share their creative ideas on 5 simple ways to share about Child Sponsorship!

1) Throw a Charity Birthday Party
Host a meaningful birthday party by sharing about the needs of children and families living in poverty and the hope that comes through sponsoring a child.  Get your friends to sponsor a needy child as a birthday gift to you.

2) Host a Food-Tasting Gathering
Whet your friends and family members' appetites for Child Sponsorship!  Concoct authentic dishes from a specific country or region as a fun (and yummy!) way to introduce the idea of sponsoring a child from a far-flung area to your loved ones.

3) Spread the Word Online
Share the meaningful cause behind Child Sponsorship with your online community, be it through your Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Vlog or MySpace account and direct your friends to learn more about Child Sponsorship at World Vision's website at http://www.worldvision.org.sg/ and facebook page at www.facebook.com/Worldvisionsingapore

4) Make Your Wedding a Meaningful One
Request that your guests sponsor a child instead of giving you gifts that you probably wouldn't need.

5) Display Sponsorship
Set up tabletop displays and brochures about Child Sponsorship in highly visible community locations like your office, church, or favourite hangout.

With your little help, we may change the world to what we want it to be!  :)

Heard of Thunder Tea Rice?

Known this friend recently nickname Jokercai and his dialect is Hakka.  It reminds me of the Thunder Tea Rice ( Lei Cha), a Hakka tea-based beverage that I ever tried few times at my aunty's house.  It consist of mix tea leaves and herbs that are ground or pounded together with various roasted nuts, seeds or grains.

You could use any type of tea leaf to mix match the taste you like the most, however normally people used green tea and oolong.

Eager to know how it looks like?  Sharing with you the below blogger has show a very nice photos of Thunder Tea Rice and the benefits of it.
http://www.camemberu.com/2009/10/thunder-tea-rice-hakka-lei-cha-fan.html

Below link is the recipe that I've found for you to DIY at home.
http://www.asianeasyrecipe.com/recipes/hakka/hakka-ground-tea.php
 
I don't think my friend Jokercai will see this blog but would like to thank him for giving me the "inspiration" to share this info with my foreigner friends who are visiting my blog. 
 
Jokercai, have a wonderful weekend!  ^___^
 
 
 

2 Flowers 2 Grasses - Cooling Tea

I've just read an article in newspaper.  Interesting article that captured my eyes. 

After Chinese New Year, I believe many chinese friends had eaten alot of fried and oily food.  Besides that, we also slept late just want to gather with friends and relatives on this happy occasion.  Well, my friend...it is time to cool down your body.  Haha!  If you're Chinese, you get what I mean!  I believe some of my foreigner friends don't understand and no idea what do I mean!  :)

Many Chinese believe in "heaty" and "cooling".  In order to balance your body "yin" and "yang", when your body is in "heaty" situation, you need to drink some cooling tea to balance your body "yin" and "yang". 

Nowadays there are instant cooling tea whereby you do not need to cook it by yourself.  Just need to buy it from some pharmacy or shopping mall.  It is in teabag form.  Easy to cary and just need to leave the teabag in a cup and add hot water into the cup.  Look for this 2 flowers: Flos Lonicerae (Honeysuckle flower/ Jin Yin Hua) and Chrysanthemum (Ju Hua), 2 grasses: Spica Prunellae (Xia Ku Cao) and Radix Glycyrrhizae (Liquorice/ Gan Cao).

Wish you stay healthy on this Rabbit year! 

What to do with used tea leaves?

After you drink the tea, what you normally do with used tea leaves?  Many people just throw away the tea bag or tea leaves.  It is a waste to me!

What do I do?
1) Put the tea bag in a cup and leave it in the fridge.  It will help to absorb the bad food odor in fridge.
2) Collect all the used tea leaves and drying it up under the sun.  After that slot in all the dried and used tea leaves into the pillow case.  Tea leaves pillow smell good.  In order to enhance the smell, you could have 2 drops of flower accents on the used tea leaves.
3) Rub your fingers/ hand with used tea leaves for 5 mins after you've seafood meal with hand.  It will help to get rid of the seafood smell like prawns, crabs and lobster.
4) Leave your used tea leaves as the fertilizer of your flowering plants.
5) Put the tea bag in a cup and leave it in the fridge for 10 mins.  Then you could put your tea bags on your eyes for 5 mins.  Do it twice weekly and it will help to reduce the dark eye circle and make you looks good!

Look forward to receive some suggestions and any other methods that you would like to share with me on this topic.  :)

Ginger Tea

Dear Dima,

Hi~  I hope you will see this post. 

It has been such a long time I never update my blog.  Recently you told me that you felt cold at your place at Ukraine.  It reminds me of ginger tea!  Boil some old gingers with water and drink it while it is hot.  It will help on blood circulation.  Make you feel warm!  Although it tastes little spicy because of ginger taste, but try it!  :)

Hope you get well soon.

p/s: I've categorized this topic under BeauTEA as it is good for anyone no matter you're male or female.

Warmest regards,
Camomile

Maum Tea Bags & Christmas Tree Tea Packaging by Wdaru Design Studio

Last night I was chit chating with a stranger from Helsinki, Finland. It was great because from the conversation it reminds me alot of my Finland trip in year 2009 Christmas.

Then I've found the below cute tea bags that reminds me one of the Finnish's activities at Northern, Finland.  Normally after hot sauna in the room, they will walk towards outdoor in naked and jump into the well/hole with cold water (or I should say ice water, haha!).  I think they'll stay for 10-15 mins then close the well/hole with steel cover (before it turn into ice) then walk back to the hot sauna room again.  They'll repeat this process for few times.  In the indoor hot sauna room, I think about 80-90 degree celcius and the outdoor temperature below minus 20-25 degree celsius.  According to Finnish, they'll feel good and refresh after this activity.  They believe in this way will make them stay healthy during winter season.  Me and other tourmates were shaking our head as it is unbelievable if you don't fall sick by having hot cold hot cold process in a short period of time.  Hahaha!!  Oh well....

I hope my this stranger Finnish friend will visit my blog again and do leave me a comment on this post.  Look forward to hear from you.  ^____^

Below are the cute tea bags design by Wdaru Design Studio that have been reminded me alot of sweet memories during my 11 days Finland trip during Christmas season in year 2009. 

The 1st man who looks like swimming on the ice pool.

The 2nd man who catches the fish reminds me of the ice fishing at Finland but of course it is slightly different from the design.  Finnish used a tool to drill a hole then sitting on the ice and waiting for the fish.  Hehe!

The 3rd man looks like who just out from the hot sauna room and enjoying the outdoor ice water pool.  At the same time he covered his face with the hot towel.  :)



Maum Tea Bags from Wdaru Design Studio


The reindeer and the Santa Claus, ie. the symbol of Christmas for me!  During my childhood days, I didn't believe from a tv cartoon show a reindeer able to fetch the heavy Santa Claus and alots of Christmas gifts.  After visited Finland, I had to believe it because we went to the reindeer farm and enjoyed the reindeer sledging.  I've been cheated by the lousy cartoonist's illustration whereby the reindeer size is very big and it is not a normal deer size, ok?  Believe me!! :p

Christmas Tree Tea Packaging from Wdaru Design Studio

More wonderful photos can be found at Wdaru's website.

Hanger Tea-Shirts by Soon Mo Kang

I would like to introduce a simple yet creative design teabags from the designer Soon Mo Kang.  I like it very much as it looks cute when hanging it at your lovely cup.  Cool~

http://www.yankodesign.com/2010/01/07/hang-me-some-tea/

The yellow hanger tea-shirts

The orange hanger tea-shirts