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

Friday, July 27, 2012

Obligated To Live!

Can't y'all always tell when something is going on with me? I wear my life drama like designer clothes, it's written all over my body and noticeable at first glance. I can't play poker if my life depended on it.

Not one blog all week long, yep that is a tell-tale for me. Week before last I was cooking with grease. I think I whipped out 5 blogs that week. Then by the end of the week my schedule got crazy and it was hard balancing it all. It's one of my limitations with AIDS; back to back running is not good for my health. If I'm not able to have a day off  with nothing in between a day of a lot, my body literally starts to shut down. That's one of the things I hate hate hate hate about having AIDS.

Book Club!
So I had a full week last week. I was blogging my tail off, filling bracelet and book orders and working on a new anti-stigma campaign I plan to launch in August.  Then on last Friday I went to a book club discussion at my friend Chef Wilbert Jones home, that was photographed by Cuisine Noir magazine. We reviewed E. Lynn Harris book, In my Fathers House and we talked about what E Lynn meant to us. Well it was fun, the hospitality was wonderful and it lasted well into the evening.

By the way, RLT Reads Book Club has gone to hell in a hand basket. For Real... For Real... We are coming back in September, if I'm reading and reviewing by myself. Tweet, Facebook or email me your email address if you still want to be a part or if you want to join..

Ok so then Saturday I went to a wonderful bloggers conference sponsored by Chicagonista... OMG! I learned so much new stuff at BB Summit 12. I was so inspired.  I'm trying to make this blog better for you! The closing speaker Andrea Metcalf blew me away. This blog and my brand is GROWING just watch! I'm doing the hard work in 2012! I can see God moving in my life and work! God helps those who helps themselves... Oprah says, "Luck is when opportunity meets preparation!"

Heart and Soul Photo Shoot!
Back to the drama, Saturday was a long day and I didn't get home until 9:30 a 13 hour day is bad for anyone, but for me, it's short of a kiss of death. Sunday morning I felt like I got hit by a Mack truck, but I had to keep pressing. I started cleaning my house and I went shopping to find a top to wear for a photo shoot for Heath and Soul magazine

Then Monday morning I got up, finished cleaning my house and had that 5 hour photo shoot. I was up again until 12 midnight trying to get my promo cards ready to take to Blog Her conference next week.

BTW-THANK YOU to everyone that donated to help me attend Blog Her bloggers conference.  I could not have gone without the donations. It's the largest in the country! I'm excited about going. I'm GROWING! And When I Grow, YOU Grow!

Honestly, I'm still accepting donations. If you love and appreciate. the Diva Living With AIDS Blog either buy a book, a bracelet or make a donation on the donate button on this blog. Click Here for bracelet website and take an extra 10% off... The Coupon Code is Diva. The extra off will last through the Summer. It ends September 8th.

Anyhoo, Tuesday I attempted work in spite of my body SCREAMING.... "Get the fuck in bed!!!" I mean bracelet and book orders do have to be shipped, so I pressed my way. So by Wednesday my body shut down. I shut down and didn't leave the bed other than to eat and use the bathroom. Didn't do any work either.

 Thursday I was still off my game, for real y'all, but I forced myself to get up and go to my dental appointment. It was hard. For Real, I even got a wake up text and still fell back to sleep.

But I finally crawled out of bed and made it. People living with HIV have more gum disease and I hadn't had my teeth cleaned in two years. It was a vicious cycle. I'll get an appointment months ahead and at the time of, I'd be on IV medication and too sick to make it. Then it would take another 4 months to get a new appointment and then I'll get sick again. I get my dental care at the AIDS clinic and I was determined yesterday not to miss. Self care is important and I had to take care of my mouth. We never think about our mouth in terms of health, but it is. That was made clear yesterday. I had way too much plaque.

Diva AIDS Awareness Bracelet!
So here I am on Friday feeling bad because I didn't say a damn thing to y'all all week long. But honestly I was trying to find a balance for myself. Honestly, I got nervous. When I have too many bad days like this, I never know if I'm headed down the road of an infection or not.

The body shut down could be a couple of things. At best, my body is just tired from the running. With a bad immune system my ability to do normal has become subnormal. I just press my way when I have to and when I don't I give into the extreme fatigue and rest. Or at worst, I could be headed for some infection that's just taking a minute or two to show up.

That's a fear that I live with daily. And since herpes started attacking my body, especially my nervous system I'm never sure if I'm headed down that path again.

It's a crazy way to live your life; But I try my best to be my best! I can't change nothing about AIDS! It's here to stay but I try hard to not surrender to the madness that takes over my body because of a compromised immune system, but sometimes it is what it is.

Chaka Beat The Heck Out of My Face!
I'm grateful for life and I try my best to LIVE in it! To whom much is given much is expected. This is why I press my way, and do as much as I can... Even when I feel like I can't I sometimes do...

 I never want AIDS to take all of my life... I'm alive, and I feel like I'm obligated to live in it! I do my best with what's before, but sometimes something has to give and the blog was the sacrifice this week.

Well, it's been a long week of push and pull but here we are again at another #FuckinFriday and alive! Use a fuckin condom, before you fuck up your life fuckin.

My bottom line, I take what I can get! Life is better than death because I know that I'm still a part of God's earthly plan and so are you! Now make the best out of what's before you!
at 9:11 AM
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