Red Velvet Chocolate Tea

Also known as one of the most amazing teas in the universe.  Perfect way to spend a chilly spring evening after a crazy busy week.  Phew, I certainly need some time to relax!

But that's not all I wanted to talk about, or type, about.  Today was pretty awesome, and that's what I wanted to discuss.  A couple months ago a day like the one I had today would have been boring, depressing and really long (I blame the lack of vitamin D that england gets in the winter months, it is seriously brutal).  Now, however, I am in a place where I was able to ENJOY the day for, well, kind of being all of those things.

I have a lot of studying to do, but not so much that it's all I need to be doing.  Focusing on revision for certain periods of the day has helped me to better structure my day and just be more productive.  Sometimes when I don't have a billion things to do I don't do anything at all.  Recently, I've been trying to focus on making everything deliberate, even my random internet surfing, in order to feel a better sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.

So, the little accomplishments that made my day, despite the cold and the rain, absolutely lovely:

-Studying with friends in the library.  Seriously, I cannot tell you how much getting out of my room helps me to study.  Yes, the library in my hall is kind of depressing, but on a rainy day and with friends it feels like university.  I'm okay with not having a great ambiance to get work done in a communal environment.

-Cooking lunch.  Oh my gosh, it was only roasted vegetables, tofu and a wholewheat roll with marmite, but it was amazing.  Totally fueled me for my afternoon and made me feel proud about cooking myself food I actually enjoy.

-Translating articles.  I hate going over verbs tenses, they bore me and at a certain point aren't going to help me learn Italian.  Working on translation allows me to measure how much I've done, helps me learn vocabulary and, since I get to pick the articles, can actually be entertaining.  Winner.

-Doing Yoga.  I was insanely sore from going to the gym yesterday and sitting outside in the freezing cold to watch A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Seriously felt better after doing some deep stretching.  Plus, yoga is a good way to set and achieve goals.

-Eating Valrhona chocolate.  Enough said.

And now I still have some of the evening left, with my red velvet chocolate tea.  Relaxation, here we come!

Un bacione,

Emilia