It's OK

This is my first time linking up with the lovely Neely and Amber for "It's OK" Thursday.




It's OK that I haven't blogged consistently in nearly a year. I've been busy. Doing life. But I miss doing life with y'all. Take me back? Pretty please?

It's OK to finally admit that after many faithful seasons of watching, I am completely over Project Runway. I even deleted it off the DVR. Sorry, Heidi.

It's OK that I pluck out every single gray hair I find. I am OK with being 30. I am not OK with gray hair.

It's OK that I am already counting down to Christmas, even though it's not even technically fall yet. I can't help it.

It's OK that I'm cheating on my Starbucks caramel macchiatto. Darn you, salted caramel mocha!

I spy with my little eye.....

Something RED!

The red cups are back at Starbucks.

The trees are out at Macy's.

The peppermint mocha creamer is at the grocery store.

The lights are going up at the John Deere store (hello, how Southern does that sound?!).

The Container Store is tempting me with their holiday wrapping paper.


You know what this means, right? Christmas time is officially upon us.

And I couldn't be more excited! Who's with me?

Coffee Lovers of the World, UNITE!

It's National Coffee Day.

I'm not sure who decides that kind of thing, but I definitely love them. And if someone could make it a national holiday, I'd love that person even more. Then I could sit in Starbucks all day long and do nothing but drink coffee and read a good book.

As it is, National Coffee Day is not yet a national holiday, so I made due by working from home and sipping coffee in my pajamas all day while I goofed off on the computer worked. Guess that will have to be good enough this year.

And I'm totally going to Starbucks for the second time today before Nate's soccer game. Gotta support National Coffee Day and all. They don't just give away national days, you know.

The Neurotic Versatile Blogger

As promised, my other award from the talented (and recently promoted!) Cole.

For the Versatile Blogger award I need to tell you all 7 things about myself.

1. I always flush the toilet with my foot in public restrooms. Yes, I realize the stall door and the sink handles have just as many germs, but I can't help myself.

2. I have this obsession with headbands. I want to wear them so badly. My favorite barista at Starbucks wears one nearly every day and looks darling. I want to look darling too! Sadly for me, I've got a big fat head, so all I end up with is a big fat headache to match.

3. I currently owe $2.25 in library late fees. If I can't renew a book I'm reading, I'll just keep it until I'm finished. Bad, library patron, bad!

4. I hate it when people mispronounce the words indicative [in-dik-uh-tiv] and preferably [pref-er-uh-buh-leel . If you can't pronounce it correctly, you shouldn't be using it in a sentence.

5. After that last one, I might as well admit this one too: I love dictionary.com! More people should use it.

6. I like to keep my email organized. I have at least two dozen folders in my Yahoo account and file everything accordingly. I realize this makes me a dork. But I'm a dork who can find any email from the last 7 years.

7. When Nate's out of town, I always sleep with the bedroom door locked. I don't know why this makes me feel safer. All it really does is slow the bad guys down long enough to wake me up so that I'm fully conscious when they come to get me, but whatever. If it helps me sleep at night, that's all that really matters.

Your turn! Give me one random fact about yourself in the comments.

Tuesdays at the Table

Anyone who's read around here for any length of time knows that I am addicted to coffee in any shape or form. Liquid, chocolate, brownie, shake - if it's got espresso in it, I'll take two!

So when I ran across this recipe in People magazine, I ripped it right out! Espresso? Cake? Microwave? 150 calories? I might have died and gone to Heaven. Care to join me?

____________________

Espresso Cake in a Mug
via Hungry Girl

Ingredients:
1 tsp instant coffee granules
1 tsp mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tbs devil's food cake mix
1 tbs fat-free sour cream
1 tbs fat-free liquid egg substitute
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 no-cal sweetener packet

Instructions:
1. Place coffee and chips in microwave-safe mug sprayed with nonstick spray.
2. Add other ingredients on top and mix well.
3. Microwave for 1 minute and 45 seconds.
4. Cool slightly before eating.

There's a boy who works at Starbucks....

To promote their new Any-Way-You-Want-It Frappuccinos, it's Frapp Happy Hour at Starbucks from 3-5pm every day this week! Although, technically it should be Happy Hours, since it's actually two hours, but whatever! As long as they are giving me a frappuccino at half price, I don't care what they call it!

I tried their new Extra Coffee Caramel Frap with non-fat milk yesterday and it was delish. The more coffee, the better in my opinion!

So in honor of Happy Hour week, here is a little tribute to Starbucks from one of my favorite Broadway stars, Kristin Chenoweth. Makes me giggle every time!

The Fantastic, Magical World of No Calories

I was happily eating inhaling a Qdoba Naked Burrito the other night when I thought to myself: I could eat this every day for the rest of my life and be perfectly content.

Which got me thinking - if I could only eat five meals for the rest of my life what would they be? Assuming calories are no object, of course!

{Image found here}

1. Qdoba Chicken Queso Burrito & Dark Chocolate Brownie - I was reluctant to try Qdoba when we first moved here. It seemed weird to me. Who wants to build their own burrito? Turns out, THIS girl loves to build her own burrito. Like, at least once a week. When Nate asks where I want to go for dinner on a weeknight, 9 times out of 10 the answer is Qdoba.

{Image found here}

2. Petro's Chili and Cornbread - Petro's specialty is chili over Fritos with all the fixin's. OMG. Best stuff ever. Too bad for me, we now live six hours away from the Knoxville-only chain. Probably good for my waist-line though.

{Image found here}

3. Chili's Triple Dipper Platter with a Frozen Raspberry Margarita - Many Friday nights you will find my happy butt parked in a booth at Chili's. I never get tired of that place, even though I order the same thing every.single.time - Triple Dipper Platter with chicken fingers, sweet buffalo boneless wings and the oh-so-scrumptious Southwest eggrolls. I split it straight down the middle and eat the second half for lunch on Saturday. Two for the price of one!

{Image found here}

4. IHOP Stuffed French Toast w/ a side of pancake - Yet another place I don't get to visit nearly often enough. Their french toast is stuffed with vanilla cream cheese. Makes me go all gooey on the inside just thinking about it. But no trip to the International House of Pancakes would be complete without at least one pancake. A short stack of 3 if I'm feeling really ambitious.

{Image found here}

5. Starbucks caramel macchiato and a cupcake - Because in my world, coffee is a meal. And a cupcake is just, well, icing on the cake.

If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

You know you're married to a chemist when...

...you drink your coffee out of a mug that celebrates the wonder that is Hydrogen gas.

Signs of the Season

Red cups at Starbucks.

Peppermint milkshakes at Chick-fil-A.

Amy Grant on my ipod.

Sparkly new ornaments in my shopping bag.

Tickets to a Biltmore House Holiday Tour this weekend.


All signs point to one thing...

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME, BABY!!

Become one with the Starbucks

I've been looking forward to Halloween since the last day of September. That's the day we got invited to our first grown-up Halloween costume party. I can't even recall the last time I dressed up for Halloween, it had to be at least 15 years ago, possibly more. So when we heard about the neighbors' costume party, I was stoked. My first thought was "Ooh! Wig!" followed quickly by "Ooh! False eyelashes!" followed by....nothing. I thought about it for days and couldn't come up with a single good idea. Being that it was a family-friendly party, "Naked from the neck down" didn't seem like an option. I had to come up with something.

Then one Saturday, I'm standing in line waiting for my venti non-fat caramel macchiato when suddenly it hit me! My sister made this genius costume for herself last year and what screams 'ME' more than this?


And so, I give you my prize-winning Halloween costume. Made by my ridiculously crafty and creative sister, Katie. She didn't miss a single detail - from the 'Careful this beverage is hot' safety print to the yummy drink order down the side. She even came up with a clever The Way I See It for the back of the cup.


Is that perfect for me or what? Everyone that the costume was genius and I even won second place in the costume competition. Guess what the prize was? STARBUCKS CARD!! CHA-CHING!

Nate won third place for his costume as Master Chief from the video game Halo. Yeah! Another Starbucks gift card for me!

Amen

Queen for a Day Week

Guess who is my local Starbucks' customer of the week?!

That would be Yours Truly.

Know what that means? Free coffee for me ALL WEEK LONG!

That's right. Not just a free cup of coffee once. The drink of my choice EVERY SINGLE DAY THIS WEEK.

And they cheer whenever I walk in the door.

I could get used to this.

Happiness in a bowl

{image via breweddaily.com}

Dear Starbucks,

As if I was not already enough of a Starbucks crack whore addict, you had to go and make your deliciously delightful morning cup of joe into an equally delicious and delightful evening cuppa bowl of joe. And then you send me coupons. On a weekly basis.

Darn you, Starbucks and your genius evil ways.

Sincerely,
Addicted in Indianapolis

I'm (not) lovin' it....or why Starbucks has nothing to worry about

My love for the Green Goddess is well documented here on this blog. But another thing I just can't resist is a freebie. So when I saw a coupon for a free drink from McDonald's new McCafe, I just had to check out the hype for myself.

Much has been made about McDonald's attempts to steal a corner of the coffee market from Starbucks. The same has been said for Dunkin' Donuts. Honestly, I just don't see that happening. If you are a true lover of the 'Bucks, then you know there is just nothing else like it.

But I took myself to Mickey D's with coupon in hand, determined to give the McCafe a fighting chance to change my opinion. It was about three in the afternoon and there were only two cars ahead of me in the drive thru. My Starbucks order normally includes extra hot, non-fat milk but I decided to take it easy on Mickey D's and just ordered a small caramel latte.

Strike one: The total before my freebie coupon was $3.04. For a SMALL. I can get a venti at Starbucks for $3.98. Twelve additional ounces of velvety goodness for less than $1.00 more? I'll pay that $1.00 any day.

So I pull up to the second window, expecting my coffee to be ready. Because McDonald's is a fast food place, right? Isn't that part of their argument against Starbucks? That it takes so long (four or five minutes) for your drink? Any addict true coffee connoisseur knows that the good stuff is worth waiting for.

Strike two: My coffee is not ready. I am asked to pull forward and wait for my drink. Um, ok.

Twelve full minutes later, I finally park in a space and march into the store to hunt down my drink, only to discover they haven't even started making it yet. Apparently there is only one person in the entire place who knows how to work the machine. And by 'knows how' I mean, is capable of flipping through the instruction book while pushing random buttons.

Strike three: If you're going to push premium coffee, you need to make sure your employees can actually make said premium coffee.

Needless to say, I was pretty peeved by the time I finally got my drink (twenty minutes after I placed my order). I'd like to say the wait was worth it, but it totally was not. Not even close. It was basically like coffee with milk in it. I am not sure they even use actual espresso. The McCafe coffee has the same problem as every other neighborhood coffee joint - the taste is just too sickly sweet. There is just nothing like a strong, bitter, espresso drink from Starbucks.

Starbucks, you've got nothing to worry about.

I think I'll stick to marathon shopping

It was a big weekend around Wang Manor. We had friends visit for the weekend, Nate ran his first half marathon and I finally found a local dealer Starbucks to supply my crack rock espresso brownie obsession.

This weekend was Indy's big 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. It's the largest half marathon in the US with something like 35,000 runners. Who knew there were that many people that think it's actually fun to get up at the crack of dawn and run 13.1 miles?

Our friends Caleb and Lisa came up to hang out for the weekend and run the Mini. We were up bright and early at 5:00am to make sure we had everyone to their corrals by 7:30. True to form, we seriously over-estimated and were actually there by 6:30.


So what's a girl to do with four long hours on her hands? Fortunately for me, my favorite place is one of the few places open at such an ungodly Saturday morning hour. I kicked back at Starbucks with a caramel machiatto and a new book. The ten-block walk was totally worth it when I discovered espresso brownies in their pastry case! Like any good addict, I bought two.

It was perfect weather for the run (50's and cloudy) and I think all three of them had a good time.


I was very proud of Nate for running his first Mini!

Let the celebrating commence....

Nate kicked off my birthday celebration a few hours early by bringing home these beautiful flowers and offering a trip to Starbucks after dinner.

Both gifts were a wonderful surprise...but I have a sneaking suspicion that the Starbucks trip was more about cruising in his new ride than celebrating the birth of his darling wife....

Because he's smooth like that....

Last weekend on the way to the airport, I told Nate he wouldn't have to bring me a souvenir from his trip if he'd just bring me a Starbucks espresso brownie from the airport. I am crazy for those things and they can only be found in airport Starbucks. I am only slightly ashamed to admit that I will take great pains to fly through Atlanta or Chicago just because I know I can my grubby little paws on one (or half a dozen, but who's counting?).

Nate does not understand my obsession and tries his best not to encourage my manic Starbucks habit so I had no illusions that I would actually get one.

We hadn't been home five minutes when I was already eyeing the gift bag he'd been carrying. I oh-so-casually asked if he'd brought me anything and could it perhaps be in that bag right there?

To which he grinned slyly and pulled out this...

WTH?

And then it hit me what it was....


Kinder Eggs! The world's (well, at least Germany's) greatest chocolate! When we traveled through Europe in college, I practically lived on Kinder Eggs, Twix and Sprite. The eggs are milk chocolate on the outside, white chocolate on the inside and when you break them open, there's a cute little toy inside. I had totally forgotten about these things, but Nate had remembered how much I loved them. Aw!

It was almost enough to make me forget about the espresso brownie that I didn't get....until he reached into his other bag and....TADA!!! One little square of chocolate and espresso heaven, just for me, all the way from Chicago.


Because he loves me like that....

You know you go to Starbucks too often when...

...you get personal invitations to attend their training classes!

Did you know that there are different levels of barista? I didn't, until this morning. Apparently, there are your basic green apron kind and then the 'coffee expert' kind that wear black aprons.

So I popped in to Starbucks while I was out avoiding cleaning my house running some very important errands. To say that I am a regular there would be an understatement....they all know that I work from home, write a local blog, and even that Nate is away for the week. Don't judge.

Anyway, my favorite barista, Sarah says to me, 'I have something for you and I know it's kind of weird but I'm going to give it to you anyway'.

I am fairly certain that my face lit up like a five-year-old's on Christmas Day. What can I say, I'm easy like that.

It was an invitation to her Coffee Master seminar to qualify for her black apron.

I'm not sure whether to be super excited or embarrassed that I am there so often I now get invited to training nights.

Wonder if there's free coffee at this shindig? Keeping fingers crossed....

Perfect Day

As usual, the weekend flew by way too fast and a new work week has arrived. I'd like to say that I'm not complaining because I'm just happy to get a paycheck, but that would be a bald faced lie - I am not at all pleased to see a new work week come, paycheck be damned.

We had an unprecedented Saturday here - neither one of us worked the whole entire day! Woohoo! I am often a Work Widow on Saturday mornings. Nate gets up super early, even on the weekends, and more often than not I wake up to find him gone, getting in a few extra hours in the lab. And my work has taken up more than a weekend or two over the last several weeks. Needless to say our 'To Do' list is a mile long, the house is a disaster and neither of us has been too pleasant to be around. So with Nate's business trip starting on Sunday, we decided to play hooky all day Saturday - no work, no cleaning, no laundry. Just the two of us, doing whatever tickled our fancy.

Numero uno on my list? Sleeping in! Which I did like a champ until 10 o'clock, while Nate went for a seven-mile run at the local park as training for the torture Mini Marathon he's signed up for in May.

We had plans to meet friends for lunch at a place that wasn't too far from the mall - how very convenient (at least for those of us who enjoy malls)! After much cajoling, I finally convinced Nate to head out just a tiny bit early and let me do a little shopping. I have been keeping my shopping in check for the last six weeks, so I was practically salivating at the thought of going to the mall! I managed to be a very good girl and only bought two things, one of which was on clearance. Plus I had a 30% off coupon that was good even on sale stuff. Score! It would have been a crime not to use, right?

I got this super soft yellow tee. I don't own anything this lovely butter yellow. I'm super excited to dress it up for a date night.


As if letting me out of my shopping cage wasn't enough, Nate also went to Starbucks with me after lunch. Yes, seriously! Those of you who know Nate, know this is basically unprecedented behavior. He gives me grief on a daily basis about my, uh, 'habit' and usually refuses to set foot in one as a matter of principle. But someone at work had been raving about the 'Chow tea' and said he should try it. I laughed in his face politely told him it's actually Chai tea and I would be happy to treat him to one with my fancy Gold Card. There are several kinds and I gave him my thoughts on the ones I had tried, trying to steer him towards the Apple Chai, but he wanted Berry, so Berry he got. After one sip he pronounced it 'piss in a cup' and drank less than 1/4 of his Grande cup. But, hey, I've got to give him credit for even going. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and grilled steaks, asparagus and potatoes for dinner, then watched one of Nate's favorite movies, Road Trip.

All in all, a fantastic day and one we need to repeat more often!

Confessions of a Blog-aholic

Leah over at Thinking Out Loud tagged me with this meme awhile ago but with all the work insanity lately I haven't had a chance to do it. Since today is all about doing anything to avoid housework taking it easy, I am catching up on fun internet stuff and watching all the trash TV I've Tivo'd in the last two weeks.

Step 1: Respond and Rework.
Answer the questions on your own blog. Replace one question that you don't like with a question of your own invention. Then add one more question of your own invention.

Step 2: Tag six other un-tagged people!

1. Make a list of things you can see without getting up.
Two desks, two computers, my camera, receipts to be put in the check register, and a venti caramel machiatto from Starbucks.

2. Favorite Football Team.
University of Tennessee Vols and Indianapolis Colts




3. What are you wearing now?
My work ‘uniform’ – purple track pants, a striped tank top and a purple track jacket (I am a little obsessed with purple this season!)

4. What's the last thing you read/are currently reading?
I just finished Nicholas Sparks’ latest book, The Lucky One. I liked it well enough but not as much as some others, like Dear John and The Notebook. Next up is James Patterson's Cross Country.



5. Who was the last person you hugged?
Nate, earlier today when he came home from work. Yes, he was at work on a Saturday. Boo. We like to hug longer than necessary because it drives the furbabies bonkers for us to hug each other!

6. What's your current obsession/addiction?
Job hunting. I have also developed an unhealthy addiction to gummy worms lately. The red and white ones are my favorite.



7. What was the last thing you said aloud?
Oliver, you’re so silly – to Oliver, the dog. Yes, I talk to my dogs as if they are (very small and furry) humans.



8. What was the last thing you bought?
Technically it would be Starbucks and groceries, but that's a pretty boring answer. The last non-essential stuff I bought was a lightweight gray sweater and a bright pink scarf, both from The Limited.

9. What are you listening to right now?
The sound of my heater warming my feet and Lola snoring.



10. What is your favorite weather and why?
Sunny Autumn days, when the leaves are just turning and there’s a little crispness to the air. I have no idea why I love it, I just do. I missed the beautiful Tennessee colors this year. Indy doesn’t even come close!

11. What is your most challenging goal right now?
Waiting patiently to become a mother.

12. Say something to the person who tagged you.
Leah, I miss you making it fabulous every day! Bring back the clothes! We want to see how you dress your cute little bump as it gets bigger.

13. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished, anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Charleston, SC – It’s close to home and I have always loved the city. There is a mile long list of places I’d like to visit all over the world, but very few that I’d want to settle down in.

14. Favorite vacation spot?
A tropical island with all expenses paid. We’ve done it twice and it’s the best type of vacation. Not a care in the world and all the mimosas your little heart desires.



15. Favorite children's book ?
Anything by Robert Munsch

16. Name one thing you just can't resist no matter how bad it is for you.
Just one? Who made up that rule? I would say Starbucks, but since that’s the only way I ever drink milk, I can make a valid argument that Starbucks is actually good for me. So I guess I will go with cupcakes. Show me a fluffy vanilla cupcake with a mountain of icing and I lose all semblance of self-control.



17. What would you do if you won the Lottery?
The Dance of Joy, of course! Then I would tithe 10%, buy Nate an Aston Martin, and then invest the rest and live off the interest.

18. What was the first tape or CD that you bought for yourself?
I don't have the slightest idea what the answer to this question is, so I will replace it with this one:

18. Do you sleep with the covers on or off?
I always sleep with the covers pulled up to my chin. When I was a kid, I used to think that if every single part of my body wasn’t covered by the sheet, someone would chop off the protruding parts while I slept. Yes, I was a strange little kid. It must be a subconscious thing now because I am never comfortable without a sheet or blanket pulled over me.

19. Describe your perfect day.
A spa day with my mom and sisters, a little shopping in the afternoon with my Daddy-o and dinner at the Melting Pot with Nate.

20. What is your favorite accessory and why?
I have to agree with Leah on this one, I am currently rocking the scarf on an almost daily basis. It adds a little pop to any outfit and keeps me toasty warm too.

21. What is the accomplishment you are most proud of and why?
I am probably most proud of my career accomplishments. I went from being a lowly fleet coordinator to managing $40 million dollars in under four years. I am still trying to figure out how to convey the magnitude of this in a resume format. ‘Hire me, I kick ass’ just doesn’t seem like it will work.

And my added question:
22. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I tag these eight people:
Joy in the Journey
The Bleeding Heart
Honesty is the Best Policy
Count to 10
Consider the Lilies
Pink Polka-Dotted Dreams