....to pour yourself a BIG OL' glass of sweet tea!

That's right my fans in all corners of the world, we're in the SOUTH! That means fried chicken, bbq, boots, jorts (jeans that were cut into shorts aka cut-offs *idea and definition provided by Miss Cupcake) fried okra, red velvet cake, and most of all sweet tea.

Growing up in Oklahoma we always had a pitcher of sweet tea in the fridge. I distinctly remember watching ninja and kung fu movies with my little brothers, seeing that they were drinking hot tea, and heating up some of Mom's sweet tea to be like our favorite ninja warriors. It wasn't until I was almost 23 that I realized there was even other kinds of tea out there. I just thought there were several brands of the same tea leaves (and of course I was partial to good ol' lipton.) We even used to call it Panther's Blood to make it more manly. Since meeting Miss Cupcake, who has single handedly turned me on to a huge world of different teas, I drink a lot of different types of this magical beverage. However when the weather in sunny Austin hits those record high temps, there's nothing I long for more than a huge glass of southern, tooth rotting, syrupy, amber colored nectar of the God's*, sweet tea.

(*the God's referred to here are Tom Landry former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, and The Duke himself John Wayne. It's believed by many people that Jesus Christ's Dad aka God prefers Coca Cola in an ice cold glass bottle to sweet tea, and we can't fault him for that. Even all powerful beings have a right to their own opinions I suppose. I just know that he must not have tried my Mamier's sweet tea yet.)

So to make some great sweet tea it's simple. There are great recipes all over the internet, but this is how we make it.

Boil a kettle of water. While water is boiling pour between 1 and 2 cups of sugar into an empty pitcher (depending on the size of pitcher.) Use 2 large Lipton regular tea bags in the pitcher. Once the water has got a great boil going pour into pitcher. Let bags brew for 8 min and then remove. Stir, taste, add more sugar if necessary (somehow it always is.)

No thrills, No zest of lemon, or crazy exotic leaf. It's supposed to be a sweet drink for people that have been working in the heat all day. It originally gained it's popularity amongst the poor working class. So if you're at some swanky country club and they have a hibiscus mint sweet tea with orange peel over grapefruit ice cubes with a splash of overpriced and a pretentious twist then feel free to drink up, but it ain't Mama's sweet tea!

Boy I do love the south. When Miss Moody moved down from Seattle the thing she comes back home with after all her adventures is just how nice the people are. And it's true. The best way to drink sweet tea is to be invited into someone's home, and asked to stay for dinner. This week I will be dedicating my posts to some of the things I love about the south.

Now that you've got your sweet tea let's get into uniform. First kick off the shoes (socks too, if you think feet are gross then TOO BAD! I don't know where this hatred of our feet comes from. Just grow up, look down at those callused, worn out dogs and give them a big ol' Thank You. Then LET THEM BREATHE!)

Now go grab some jeans out of the bottom of your drawer (heaven help me if I see any of you in 7's or True Religion or whatever designer brand Brangelina are wearing now.) If you don't have some great beat up jeans that feel like a tshirt ask your boyfriend/husband. If you ask nice then he'll give them up (we don't like to admit we have them, in fear that you will throw them out.) I once kept 3 pairs of beat up jeans hidden from Miss Cupcake in a 400 sq ft apartment without a closet for over a year. In this technological age we live in, there isn't anymore buried treasure to hide, so our old clothes become our gold. Hand me downs that look ridiculous, but provide more than just physical comfort.

Next up you need a beat up shirt. My preference is any old undershirt. Anything that has tears, or is stretched out in some way. Throw that nasty thing on and enjoy. Great for reading a book, playing some cards, whittling on the porch, watching a storm blow in, or even playing fetch with the dog. Whatever you do though just remember to drink up a big glass of sweet tea with it.

I hope you all can take some time to enjoy grass between your toes, and sweet tea over your tongue soon. Have a good night, and I will see you all again tomorrow.

*PS It appears all the beverages I love are not always the healthiest. But you know what? You may live a few years longer if you avoid everything bad for you, but during those years you will hunger and thirst for the truly delicious things this life has to offer. So drink your sweet tea, grill a fatty steak and then slather it with butter. I'm not your nutritionist, I'm just a guy full of good ideas. Oh and it's probably a good one to do a sit up every now and then. You know just to balance it out.