I have a horrible time making female friends. As far back as I can remember I have had one very close female friend and than a small group of female acquaintances. At parties in college I was more likely to be talking about political theory or science than where I got my nails done (for the record I have never actually been in a nail salon, shocking I know). To this day I have a hard time discussing 'typical' female topics. I fully admit a large part of it is my fault. I grew up with male cousins that were obsessed with professional wrestling and computers. To make matters worse I was an only child and I loved spending time with my dad, we went to sporting events, on hikes, and watched movies. Now I live in a house full of men. Most conversations in my house involve video games or bodily functions, not necessarily in that order. As I've gotten older I've realized I need to be better and more patient with forging female friendships. I have a horrible habit of getting mad at close female friends and then cutting off contact, or just losing contact through my total lack of being great about remembering to make phone calls. We all have things we can work on and one of mine is definitely being better about getting along with other women. I'm a work in progress.
Our weather has been hot and very humid. Our humidity was 83 percent today and it was 93 degrees. It was horrible. Due to the lovely summer weather I have been making lots of cold drinks. Iced Tea is a family favorite and Mint Iced Tea is a great way to use garden mint. The recipe is as follows.
Adapted from Food.com.
Iced Sweet Mint Tea
Recipe Type: Drink
Summary:
A refreshing sweet iced tea recipe using fresh mint.
Preparation Time: 0h, 5m
Cooking Time: 0h, 20m
Yield: 2 Quarts
Mint Iced Tea
Ingredients
- 12 black tea bags
- 10 mint sprigs
- 2 gallons water
- 3/4 cup sugar (or your choice of sweetener)
- Boil the 2 gallons of water.
- Once water has boiled add water to mint and tea bags.
- Let steep for 20 minutes.
- Discard tea bags and mint.
- In a heat proof pitcher add sugar (or sweetener) and then pour iced tea over.
- Place in fridge until cold.
- Serve over ice and with sliced lemon if you prefer.
This tea is strong and sweet. My husband and I are both fans of strong tea, so if you like your tea weaker reduce the amount of tea bags. The same goes for the sugar. If your like your tea sweet add the amount listed, alternately you can make the tea unsweetened or reduce the amount of sugar to meet your needs. When I make this for my whole family (including my kids) I use decaf tea bags and it turns out just as good.
Oh, sister. I have a hard time making female friends too, and always have. I have only had my nails done once, for my own wedding, under pressure from female relatives. I had them put on Thursday and removed by Monday because I hated wearing fake nails so much. Ugh. I would happily sit and drink mint tea with you, though. You seem like the kind of female I could get along very well with. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't even have my nails done for my wedding, the whole thought just frightens me and isn't my thing :) I do paint my nails at home every once in a while, just the thought of fake nails creeps me out! I would definitely drink tea with you too, we seem to be on the same page on so many things!
DeleteWell, I have never been to a nail salon either. Shocking? No. It's just not my thing.
ReplyDeleteThe sweet mint tea looks so refreshing and perfect for the season.
It's not my thing either :) Glad I'm not the only one!
DeleteThis look delicious I love tea:)
ReplyDeleteThanks :) I'm a big fan of tea too!
DeleteFemales are hard to get along with, so I don't have many, either. Online ones, yes, but not in real life.
ReplyDeleteI agree, they can be very hard to get along with. I'm the same way as you, online I have females friends, but offline not so much....
DeletePatience in any relationship is important. Thank for sharing a sweet tea recipe. I've never actually made sweet tea and it's on my to-do for this summer!!
ReplyDeletePatience is definitely important in relationships. My husband and I have been married almost 11 years and patience is the largest lesson I have learned from being married :) Sweet tea is great during the summer when the heat and humidity are high!
Deleteehehe...good one! Talks to us, you are doing great! Fantastic, cooling tea!
ReplyDeleteela h.
Gray Apron
Online I do much better than in real life :)
Deletei've always had better relationships with guys. i do love my girls, but i feel like my guys friends were always more reliable...no excuses, quick responses, yes or no, no BS! i was just telling my daughter that i feel like i lost my last two girlfriends (because one had a baby and the other became a foster parent and have a child in their home now). i've definitely learned to accept each friend as they are and have gotten to know their quirks. i get mad, too, and always struggle with wanting to give up and cut ties or being patient!
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way. My best friends in high school were always guys. Girls always had way too much drama for me to handle. Glad I'm not the only one that tends to get angry :) I have gotten better as I've gotten older, but it's still something I have to work on constantly!
DeleteI am so like that as well. I have been burned by too many female friends to trust them.
ReplyDeleteI have been burned by a lot of female friends also. I hate all the drama that goes along with female friendships!
DeleteI've come to appreciate my few close friends very much in my middle age. Good friends really are hard to find, so I appreciate 'em when I've got 'em. :)
ReplyDeleteI like the mint in the tea.
I stick to a few close friends as well. I've never been one to have a huge group of girlfriends, just one or two best friends.
DeleteI drink gallons of tea in the summer. It's a perfect refresher!
ReplyDeleteI drink a ton of tea in the summer too. Our summer has been very humid so we have been going thru a ton of iced tea!
DeleteJust perfect for summer! Hope you all are well. Happy Thursday Ann!! xoxo
ReplyDeleteIced tea is great in the summer heat! I have been doing well, I hope you and your family has been doing great as well :)
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