coffee talk

Every morning I get up, get Jasper dressed and we shuffle downstairs. He sits in his high chair eating CHEERIOS! and drinking milk. I start the coffee and think how I should have set the coffee pot to run automatically. (Every morning I think this and yet I can’t make myself set it in the evening.) Then I wait. Finally the coffee pot beeps letting me know it’s done. Jasper excitedly yells, “Coffee!” as soon as he hears the beep, beep. (My thoughts exactly.) I get my french vanilla Coffee-mate out and get my first cup of the day. Ah, bliss. The first sip is the best, isn’t it?

I have a bit of a love affair with coffee. I was ecstatic when a month ago I saw that Starbucks had already brought back the pumpkin spice latte. I’ve had my fair share already this Fall. And whenever I can treat myself I usually enjoy a Starbucks soy vanilla latte. I almost always close my eyes with enjoyment after my first sip. I joke that I have an emotional attachment to coffee. Something about it makes me happy. This morning Jasper and I are going into town to go to Barnes & Noble’s story hour. I spent last night wondering if I could come up with enough change to get myself a Starbucks. I think I’m just going to splurge. It will be a good start to the day.

Last Friday at our favorite coffee shop we decided to enjoy our coffee there instead of to go. Jasper sat in one of the chairs like a big boy and helped Josh eat a scone. Once that was gone though he really wanted to get down and run around. So I handed him my little point and shoot to occupy him. At first I left it off but then decided to turn it on for him. I showed him what button to press at the top and he went to town. Most of the pictures were of his legs and hands but we also got the picture above. I’m excited to share my love of photography with the little guy.

Jasper had his 15 month shots this morning. I was surprised when he only needed one! To keep going on our good day we visited our favorite coffee shop and I got one of the best vanilla lattes. Nice to start off the weekend right!

Things I haven’t done so far today:
- worked out
- showered
- laundry
- taken any pictures
- gone to the bank
- made baby food

Things I have done:
- spilled blueberry jam all over the kitchen
- salvaged some jam by scooping it from the counter back into the container
- worked on pictures
- played with a baby
- continued to wear clothes that had been spit up on by a baby
- drank two cups of coffee
- cleaned up dog poop

The barista at Starbucks finished my drink and called out “Double tall nonfat half peppermint white chocolate mocha with no whip”. I quickly grabbed my drink and pretended like a just ordered a coffee.

“The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat… So people who don’t know what the hell they’re doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino.” -You’ve Got Mail

Every morning while I’m getting ready Josh brings me a cup a coffee. If I’m running late, he’ll set it on the bathroom sink when I’m showering. Seeing that lovely cup of coffee always makes me smile.

Recently while talking about coffee to Jess, she commented “Uh, weren’t you cutting down on coffee?”. Hmm…yeah, that didn’t work out so well. I mean, what’s the point really? Josh and I now make coffee every morning and occasionally in the evenings. I have just accepted it.

Besides I never feel like I can’t get started in the mornings until I have coffee. It just makes me a little happier to get out of bed.

I’m a big fan of coffee…it’s no secret. Jess got me a French Press for Christmas and it’s magical. Josh and I were so excited to try it out for the first time on Sunday. We sat at our kitchen table and watched it for the four minutes it takes to brew. I couldn’t wait to press down! Finally the time was up and I served us some coffee. It made Folger’s taste gourmet. No joke.

Now our lives revolve around when we get to use the french press again. Josh made coffee three times on Monday. I haven’t found a place in my little cupboards for it. For now it just sits on the counter, which is more convenient anyway. So it’s a little bit of an obsession but it really does taste better than regular coffee. You’re more than welcome to stop by for some. Josh and I have plenty of coffee mugs.

- Made the switch to blogger beta yesterday. Now my goal is to add labels to all of my entries. Added a Bebo tag…good grief, I write about my dog a lot. (Also, I switched my template today and not all of the pages changed with it. Still working out the kinks…)

- I got Coffeemate Pumpkin Spice creamer. It is yummy! I’m definitely enjoying my coffee this morning.

- Josh and I are going to Champaign tonight to hang out with Pam and Chris. Josh asked last night if we should take the PS2. Uh, no. I told him not to scare them off…we like them!

- Tomorrow I’m shooting Kate’s 3-month pictures. I’m wishing I had a studio.

- My in-laws are in Costa Rica right now on a missions trip. It reminds me of when I went on my missions trip. (Which I don’t think I’ve ever written about…I’ll have to do that.)

- This week I sold 7 scarves and made a hundred bucks from them. That was pretty exciting.

- Last night I watched some NFL recap show with Josh. I had planned on going to bed but instead got into the show. They did a bit about one of my fantasy players, Roy Williams. I like him even more now. After the show, I pointed out to Josh that I had just stayed up to watch that show with him. He said, “Yeah, I noticed and was confused.” Just keepin’ it interesting, folks.

- I haven’t bought a new purse/bag in awhile. I started feeling the pull again this week. I’m thinking about asking my mother-in-law if I can borrow a purse for awhile. It would be new to me and it’s not like she’d miss one. She has BOXES of purses in the attic. We’re talking Coach, Burberry…a bunch of other names that don’t mean anything to me. It would be like Christmas.

- Speaking of Christmas, I’m really ready to start shopping. It’s not as much fun though when you know you have to stick to a strict budget.

- I really hate the word verification thing on blogger posting (in beta) and commenting. I always mess them up and have to do it again.

Although I’m not what I would call a timid person, I have always been very careful about not offending someone else. I often worried that what I would say would be taken the wrong way. Because of this, I usually did not voice my opinion. (At least when it came to bigger issues, especially political…) I also have never been sure enough of myself to really stand up for certain things.

The past few years though I have slowly been finding my voice and figuring out my opinion. It all started because my strong opinion about an issue was completely reversed. This started a snowball effect. I started researching that particular issue more and developing my own opinion about it, not just what I had always believed. I began doing this about other political and non-political issues.

I now have actual opinions about certain issues. If someone asked me, I can tell them. Of course I don’t have everything figured out so I’m still remaining open-minded and soaking in as much information as I can. It’s exciting though to see how I’ve grown.