<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/P8080030.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-7133" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/P8080030-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>I work with THE greatest people on the planet.

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A couple of weeks ago, they humored me by volunteering in a <strong><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/07/30/day-303-spray-your-friends-with-this-its-fun/" target="_blank">Summer Hydrating Mist experiment gone awry</a></strong>.

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On Day 316, they showed up to my Tea Leaf Reading in the cafeteria.

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In the morning, I sent out the invitation to a few or more people whom I thought would be interested in this sort of thing.  I expected 2 or 3 to accept.  What I didn't expect was that nearly all invitees accepted, and they even brought along friends!

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/24/day-269-madame-michelle-analyzes-your-dreams/" target="_blank"><strong>Madame Michelle</strong> </a>was back in the <em>HOUSE</em>!

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I was armed with absolutely no experience in Tea Leaf Reading (with the exception of Nana's "readings" when I was a kid) and a very pricey Tea Leaf Reading kit that I purchased at one my new fav <strong><a href="http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&amp;rls=en&amp;q=frances+vintage&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;oe=UTF-8" target="_blank">boutique</a>.</strong>

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But hey!  When you're equipped with a Tea Leaf Reading lexicon and a table full of eager women on a tea break, magic is bound to happen!

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/P8080027.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7134" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/P8080027-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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All of my Tea Leaf Reading guinea pigs were asked to begin by concentrating on an area in life where more insight and guidance is needed (love, career, health, etc.).

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We then added 1/2 teaspoon tea leaves to our mugs with just enough boiling water to cover the leaves.  Apparently milk and sweeteners muddy the movement of the leaves, so unless you like your tea black and unsweetened, this tea is strictly for reading only.

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For the next step, we infused the tea leaves with our energy by placing one palm over the top of the cup for 1-2 minutes.

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<img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7135" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/P8080033-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" />

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Holding our cup's handle, we gently swirled the tea 3 times around the sides of the cup while tipping slightly so that the water gradually spilled into a bowl leaving the tea leaves scattered through the cup.  The directions warned, "This may take a little practice so you do not lose all the leaves as you spill out the water!"

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Guess who messed up at that part?

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Bloody hell!  I am hopeless with directions!  I always want to figure things out on my own!  Fortunately, I had Tiana aka Hollywood to intervene and bring me back to task.

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Although...

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Now that I am rereading these directions for this post, I noticed we stopped right there -- at Step 4 -- and missed steps 5 &amp; 6!  Oopsie!  Sorry, girls!  We never "set" the leaves by turning the cup upside down and rotating 3 times.  :-o

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It's all good.  Our leaves had patterns to read.

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<span style="font-size: medium; color: #800080;"><strong>Step 7: "Take your time.  Reflect.  Your inner attitude a the time of tea leaf reading is important."</strong></span>

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I tried really hard to ground myself and be serious.  I asked the girls if they would like to read their own leaves by using their intuition, or would they prefer Madame Michelle's interpretation?

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They unanimously requested Madame Michelle's services.  I explained that I charged Sedona prices, and it would be $2 a minute.  I then remembered that I was instructed to check my attitude.

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Ahem.

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Here I am goofing around when these women are looking to me for spiritual guidance!!!

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O.k., o.k.  So they're really looking to me for entertainment during the afternoon slump but still...

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I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

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I believe that all of us expected a lot of silliness and fun to ensue.  (Which did.)  What we didn't expect was that some of these "readings" were spot on!

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[caption id="attachment_7137" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Becky Jo infusing her energy into the leaves. I&#39;m not the only animated one in the building."]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/P8080034.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7137 " title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/P8080034-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

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I don't want to go into great detail because these are my friends' private lives.  They are gracious enough to show up and share in the blogiliciousness with me.

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I will tell you what I "saw" in the various mugs:  a dragon, autumn leaves, a mountain, a dolphin, an hourglass, bonsais, and a kite.  I had never looked at the Dictionary of Symbols before.  I had just opened the kit!  We were all pretty amazed by the symbols' meanings.

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I will highlight the details of my own reading with you.  The area in my life that I focused on was "love" (big surprise!).  I found that I couldn't read for myself, so Little Michelle grabbed my mug and saw a camel.  We deciphered through the Dictionary of Symbols:  "Temperance and endurance as you cross the desert and find the oasis".

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<span style="font-size: medium; color: #800080;"><strong>Considering that I live in the Dating Desert (literally and figuratively), we all found this to be stunningly accurate.  </strong></span>(I'm not making this up.  Years ago, AOL named Phoenix as the "Worst City in America to Find Love".)

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I gasped, "How long until I stumble into this Oasis?!?!?!"

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Little Michelle contemplated thoughtfully.  "3 months!  Or maybe it's 3 weeks!  Or 3 days!  I'm not sure -- 3 of something!"

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I made a wisecrack about how it better not be 3 years.

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And then we all returned to our desks as good little worker bees should.

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*****

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Have you ever tried a Tea Leaf Reading?

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If you, perchance, happen to find a symbol in the bottom of your teacup today, share it with me, and I will "read" for you.  Madame Michelle hath spoken.

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