Sticks and stones

I know the old saying " sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is kinda what we heard growing up.

I disagree 100% I totally believe that life and death are in the power of the tongue..

I'm very careful with my words. Especially with my baby. I don't like to say things like " your crazy! " .. instead we say " your a silly girl" or something like that. I know this is one I've said before " your nosey" ... I don't think that nosey is a possitive term. So I like to say " your intelligent" or " curious"

I can remember people calling me " blonde " when I was younger. and looking back at it now, I really believed that I couldn't do certain things right b/c genetically I was blonde. So I always wanted darker hair, so that I would be smarter. Or I can remember people saying " she's clumbsy" well maybe if I weren't blonde I wouldn't be clumbsy..

So I am trying to keep my words and thoughts possitive. I have even tried to take things like " I can't wait"  and change them to " I am very excited "

For instance, the baby will be one very soon, and I am VERY excited to turn her facing the front! Haha. But I knwo that it won't be long before she will be able to sit in a regular seat belt with no car seat and she will grow up so fast. So why rush the future? So when I think, " I can't wait .... " I stop that train of thought and think, I'm going to enjoy this moment of her child hood. Even with teething. I've VERYYYYY excited that her first tooth is popping in, but so so soon, this will only be a memory and a story. It will go all to fast.

Just something on my mind.  Are we speaking " life " or " death " to our kids. Possitive, or negative?

Words can really impact our out come. Encouraging uplifting words can make the difference in someone or a childs confidence... More than anything I want my child to be confident. I don't want her to doubt herself for a second. In the same since I want her to learn humility and humbleness too, so that she isn't " cocky " or " over confident".

Womens Job to feel GUILTY?

I was listening to my radio in the car the other day and the 2 girls were on there talking about various topics. One that they were talking about kinda hit home with me. I'm not sure if it's just b/c I'm a women, or if it's my personality.

They were talking about women feeling guilty ALL the time!

How is it that I can't sit down and watch an hour or tv knowing that I need to vaccuum, or fold the laundry, with out feeling a mountain load of GUILT.

Does this have to do with my genetic make up? Or is it the role of responsibility I have taken on?


Any thoughts?

Snow day

I know everyone is FRETTING about the snow day. I know it's nothing I can change unless I change my location...

I will do my best to stay positive about it.I know that it's " bad for business" and such. I understand that. But I also thing it's great when you are FORCED ( so to speak)  to kinda hide away from the world. Maybe make a large bowl of soup, have friends or family over to play games or watch movies. Just relax some.

By all means after day 2 and my house is spotless, all my craft projects are done, food cooked for the next 2 years, i'm ready to get out! But I think that it might be God's way of just saying. " Be still "

The neighborhood I live in, is like living 15 years ago. The kids are going to be out in the snow all day long sledding. I drive through and there are snowmen all over the place. I know that it's hard for Mom and Dad to take time off to be home with them, but we should feel blessed to have just a few days off with our kids. They wont be that way for long.

I still get a little excited when I hear the weather people broadcasting winter weather, or even strong storms and such. I'm not MORBID or anything like that, but in my deep down sub conscience I'm holding on to what it felt like 15 years ago to hear that news! It was exciting, and we got to get out of our every day routine and our schedule. We got to sleep in, and do board games or whatever.

So I know that the economy SUCKS right now, and that this is a hit, TRUST ME I KNOW! -- But please if you are home with your family and snowed in a little, take advantage of it. Enjoy the ones you love. It's not forever.

Un conventional parenting?

I walked in to the salon the other day to get my hair done, and the girls were all laughing at me b/c my child on my hip was clenching tight to a celery stick.

They were all shocked that she not only was eating it, but that she LOVES it! I was told that I do things so differently and such.

So this got me thinking. Am I doing things that are just out of the norm?

We definitely try to do a wholesome parenting style

Here are a few things we like to implement

  DIET
. As far as her foods, we like to make her baby food. So there are a lot of things that she hasn't gotten to try yet that just aren't ( or haven't been in season) so the baby has had every kind of squash known to man. She loves them. Lots of sweet potatoes, peas, green beans etc. I just go to my local farmers market and gather up a bunch cook them and freeze them in big bulk. I also only work 20-30 hours a week. So my schedule allows. So if I can save money and assure that my baby is getting great food, why not? We are still nursing, and plan to do so until she is 1, and then I will just let her wean herself from there. She is already done with the bottle. When she does get milk with out me around she just gets it in a sippy cup now. We will continue to keep her on a healthy lifestyle with her diet. I try to keep in mind that she is a kid, and she will want suckers and candy and such. But this doesn't mean that she can have un limited ( anything) amounts of it. I say ( for myself too) 80% healthy, 80% of the time. So that is a little wiggle room. :-)


DISCIPLINE
We will teach her responsibility at a VERY young age. We will discipline ( teach) with natural consequences. The example I like to use is " you picked the neighbors flowers.... Oh no, what toy are you going to re pay mrs. so and so for her flowers? .. Also we are going to write her a letter apologizing for picking her flowers" So this will in a way " humiliate " your child. But it will " humble'' her too. She will think twice before picking something that isn't hers.  Another example I like is " it's time to clean up,  whatever toys I clean up, I get to keep in my room, and I will get to play with them ... Whatever you clean up, you can keep " I bet they will scramble to get their things quick." This is the style we have chosen to go with. It's teaching her to take responsibility not only for her feelings and emotions too. I want her to know that it's not always going to be easy. And that I won't be able to make her feel less in some situations. There for I want her to know how to deal.  It seems preposterous anymore to expect your child to clean up after themselves, or help with the laundry or set the table- But I bet she will learn a life skill of responsibility and have the confidence to make it through life. This is called LOVE AND LOGICS. I've been to one of the classes and really got a lot out of it! I will definitely get the books and the other teaching sessions for sure. I encourage all the mommies to check it out! I bet he is on YOUTUBE also. In this teaching it's about cause and effect. You forget your lunch, you will be hungry ( obviously for older kids) -- Etc.... Natural consequences.

EDUCATION
We also have Anisten enrolled in Parents AS teachers This program is designed for children 0-3. This means you can start before your baby is born. It is through the public school systems and we are designated a teacher who we meet with on a monthly basis...  She evaluated Anisten and scores her based on her skills, age and such. We have monthly lessons, like things we need to work on for each month of age. For instance this month we are working strongly on face features, and walking. So, in this case they are able to tell you your babies strong and weak points and give you exercises to encourage your baby in specific areas. We look forward to this visit each month. Lucky for me, my great friend Jessica is my teacher, and we LOVE her!!! Also this program will transition her in to school, and get her ( and MOMMY) as prepared for school as possible. They offer lots of classes ( such as the love and logic class I mentioned above) and play dates almost weekly.

MORALS
We want to raise her in church just as we both were. These values must be a strong part of her make up. This is something we both feel so strongly about. 


So these are a few of the things that we incorporate into our lifestyle as a family and as parents. I'm just wondering how out of the ordinary is this? We want to make sure she has a healthy well balanced life. And for me that means going above and beyond to do what I can to make sure that she does this.

This doesn't mean at all that I look down on parents who don't do the exact same thing as me. This is why it's called parenting. Everyone has their own style! I love learning new things from other Mommies that I can incorporate in to mine.

So what's your parenting style? What are some things that are important to you as a parent??

First trip to the ZOO

We wanted to get out of the house one day so we decided to make a trip to the local zoo. We knew that there were lots of buildings so despite the 50 degree weather, we went. We had a BLAST!!!

The baby seemed to enjoy her time. Even though we skipped a  nap that day, she was very happy and alert.

ROAD RUNNER....  unbelievably hard to take pics of this little guy!

 a little " snow fox " I think is what he was called

wart hogs... hakunnah mata!

 by the snakes.... eeeeeeeelk!!

 Momma look at me!

Anyway we had a good time. I wish we could have done a train ride, or spent more time looking at the Rhinos, girraffes, elephants, and all the cool things outside. But we will definitely be making more trips to the zoo as soon as it warms up.

 

On the move.

She may be tiny, but let me tell you. This kid is EVERYWHERE!

She is very mobile, and very fast!

In to EVERYTHING.

 Ew, I know what's behind this curtain!!!

 Trying to talk her duckie in to takinga  bath.

PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE MOMMY!?!?!?

So what does this mean for me? I have to constantly keep a look out. Never can I turn my head for one minute. I have to make sure that the toilet seat is down, doors are closed, and all cups are picked up from eye level. It means i'm ALWAYS busy! =)

I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Irony of hairdressing

The house keepers house is always dirty.

The irony here is, I work 4 days a week to make other women ( and some men) beautiful! -- I have had my hair colored one time since October. And I've had it cut once since August. I would be all over my clients if they waited this long!

In my defense, I will say that Im doing more of the " natural " color thing. It's been a while since I have had something close to my natural. I'm actually kind of enjoying now HAVING to keep it up every 3 weeks. And it's getting healthier.

I just think that it's so funny that I'm a hair dresser and my hair is last on the list to be done! -- I am going to day to take care of that! LOL. I will be seeing Jaclyn at work to get it touched up. I still won't do too much to have to maintain.

I like this side of the spectrum. I know I have lots of friends who are religious every 6 weeker, and I have some that just get it done a time or 2 a year and have been natural color forever. So I like to play around with the differences. This time last year it was super blonde, and even BLONDER in the summer with my whole under layer hot pink.

I know I have a few hairdresser friends on here that might get a little laugh out of this. And I constantly am getting compliments on my hair, so I would never admit that I haven't spent much time on it!

Christmas 09

This was about 2 weeks ago on a " cake baking" day.. Notice how dirty both of us are!

These are the most recent pics I have of my hair. Which nothing changed from one to another. I also think it's funny that in both pics, I have a child in my arms! That's a whole other blog! LOL. I don't know the last pic I took with out her. hm.

:0)

My 2nd Cake!

Ashtin is having another birthday party for her friends. I decided that would be another great opportunity to practice. So I did. She is just having a party with some of her friends. So I decided not to do as large of a cake. I did a 6 inch bottom  ( I double stacked it ) with chocoate mouse filling, and a 4 inch white on the top.

I wanted to do something bright and girly. After attending Ashtin's first birthday celebration, I got a feel for what she really likes. Bright colors, flowers, peace signs, tide-dye.... You get the point.. Hippy dippy trippy. LOL. I haven't set the cake up to it's full potential yet, but wont until tomorrow, but I wanted to just post a few of the snap shots I took with my camera really quick.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN ASHTIIN!

 

sippy cup please!

Anisten is showing less, and less interest in her bottle. ( SO I hear ) And I'm wondering why. She likes her milk, and I'm not having any problems with her taking milk--- Well I have began to wonder if she is just over bottles and ready to move on.

I talked to my aunt yesterday who says that she was at her mom ( my grandma's) house when the baby was over there to visit, and she was getting her bottle, and decided she wanted down.
She then proceeds to crawl on the floor. To her diaper bag. She dug through her diaper bag and got her sippy cup out that had some water in it, and began to drink it, and looks back at them all like " see? "

We've been slowly just giving her her milk in a sippy cup, or a bottle with a sippy cup nipple. Guess that answers my question as to if she's over the bottle or not! HAHA.

I love my smart baby!!

Man Bashing

NEEDS TO COME TO AN END.

We are still watching the LOVE AND RESPECT series. And one ( of the sooooo many) things that reallly hit home with me, is that we are such MAN HATERS! Listen women, we are NOT better than men. We are just different.

It goes all though me when I hear women, epecially wives about their husbands, bash on men. I understand that their way of thinking and their make up is completely different than ours. Does that make them worst or lesser equals than us? Absolutely not!

We must honor our men and respect them. This is blood to their heart, like gas is to a car. They absolutely have to have respect. If you aren't respecting your husband, or man kind in general you're in the wrong. Period. Men are willing to DIE for us. For their country, their kids... IT's the way they are wired. They deserve to be respected. When you are putting them down, ESPECIALLY in front of other people ( even in a kidding manner) you have no idea what you're doing to him.

Respect your man for the man he is. And you will be pleasantly surprised at the response you will get from him. The sooner we learn ( myself included) this the happier we'll be. I am guilty of this. I think it's just something we've kinda been taught- " oh it's becuase he's a man" --- "  Oh, that's just the testostorone " -- " I do it better because I'm a women"  ..... These are statements that may be true, but that doesn't make them less of a person. There are plenty of things that men can do way better than me. And I"m ok with it!

I am by all means not saying that men are perfect, and that there aren't men who don't do this same thing to women, b/c there are-- I'm just saying maybe adjust the over-all view you have for men ( or your husband) and watch what you say - ESPECIALLY in front of your children! One day your daughter will marry a man, and one day your SON will be one.

Men are very EGO driven. Just the way they are, it will never change, so we must embrace it. What am I saying? --- Stroke his ego. Tell him what a great job he did, how much he is appreciated. Thank him for being such a hard worker, and a strong father. THank him for taking out the trash. Even if he doesn't do it as often as you'd like. Instead of being bitter with him, just thank him for the times that he does. This will energize him to want to " please " you more, and will probably start taking out the trash more often ( or whatever it may be )

This here is a touchy subject, but I'll just touch on it a little becuase I just feel like I should- But Scott and I were talking about " office affairs " and why they seem to happen so much. Coming from my husbands mouth he says " I think it's becuase the women at the office have such a 'respect' for men in authority, and the position they hold'' I was just shocked b/c that makes since!! Men are made to work. They are workers! And it's what they do well!! So, he goes to work, bust his butt so that we can have food, and the things that we need. He's providing. Only to come home and get chewed out for working too late, or not doing enough around the house or not calling etc....  I really thought about this and just came to the realization that men need repect. Period. So women.... respect your husband. =)

I definitely believe in equal opportunity for men and women. Please don't think that I'm saying MEN are better than WOMEN, but that also doesn't mean that we are better than them. Lets just focus on working on ourselves and the things we need to improve, instead of trying to fix them, and try to make them like us. 

We want men to step up and be the head of the house hold, to take care of us. This is the way they are designed and created. Let them do it. Give them the chance, and then thank them for it. Again, you'll be surprised.

I hope that I didn't offend anyone, and if I did, then let me know, and I will make sure that you don't see anymore of my post! LOL. Jk, but I do hope that I may have opened someones eyes like mine were opened.

Just call me Ace of Cakes.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA! JK!

I did my first cake ( that was actually for something!) this past weekend. It was my sweet cousin Ashtin's 12th birthday. SO I used the oppertunity to practice. My family is always so supportive of what ever hobby it is I'm doing this week. Haha. So I decided to go with a pink and black theme. I decided to go with a 10 inch round for the bottom layer and a 6 inch round for the top. I wanted it to be very girly.

I took a few pics with my phone, and have some on Aunt Marcy's camera I will steal and put on here, those came out really good.

This is before the candles, and I put some little jewels on top and propped her "A" on them, on the top layer. This is just a closer, better look at the cakes themselves.

 

I will be happy to get the better pics up. But this is just a gist of the idea.

Still they are NOT perfect! But it will take lots and lots of practice to get there. I have found that the bigger the cake, the easier it is with the fondant. And I have found that 2 sets of hands are easier than just one. You have to be kinda fast with the fondant before it gets hard. But I did it! Now having said that, it doesn't mean I wasn't blowing Melissa's phone up with pictures for her suggestions. And boy I'm glad that I did! So I have to give thanks to her. And also to my cousin Eva. She has started with the cake baking/decorating for some time now. She does some amazing work! But I got alot of wonderful tips from her!

Anyways, I just wanted to put up a few pics of my first real cakes. I didn't even taste them ( i'm not a fan of the fondant) but I think they were ok. -- I just tell everyone that I am sorry if they aren't the best tasting, but they are really just edible decorations! :-)

I'm working on some more now. Gonna try and do some fillings for this one that is due on Friday. It's again for Ashtin's birthday with her friends. Gonna do something a little different. I'm thinking 2 or 3 layers, and lots of different colors. Kinda hippy like. SHe seems to be in to all that, so I will go with it!

GARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.......

Yep that's what my sweet little angel cakes, doll face, muffin pie, sweet heart says. All the time.

" RaRRRRRRRRR"


She will say it OVER AND OVER... She growls. And if you do it, she will copy.
We were in the doctors office the other  day and she was growling, and the resident doctor says "I have a 2 year old son at home who does that!"  She does it when she's excited to. Now, she will growl her words and make them very forcful like " Dahhhhhh Dah!" Sounds like metalica or something! Haha.. But it's cute none the less. It's always funny when people stop to talk to her in the store ( like every single time we are there!) and she smiles, they compliment her beautiful blue eyes, and she GROWLS at them!

Good times :)

Sleep habits... ( Sleep training)

 Anisten began sleeping through the night on her own at about 6-7 weeks. At about week 8 we ( SNIFF SNIFF) moved her to her own room. Up to that point she had slept in her pack and play in our room. Since she was no longer waking 4 and 5 times a night, we decided that we could move her to her room. Not easy.
We started out with her right next to our bed, then we moved her pack and play to the foot of the bed, and then across the room. During the day I would put her in her crib to play, a.k.a. look at the mobile, and also for naps. So it wasn't like just " boink here's your new room sweet heart!" We did the smooth transition.

At 4 months she began waking up again to eat/play/ look around. She was becoming more and more aware of the world around her. So by this time she is so used to her crib that she wouldn't sleep in her pack and play at night, so guess what? We had to walk all the way across the house several times a night to get her. But that went on for about a month. We were both just EXHAUSTED! So almost month 6 I decided that she was ready for sleep training. We were rocking her to sleep every nigh, which I lovee, but it got to the point where she would stay awake for longer than 30 mins. So again, I would set a time to rock for 30 mins and if she wasn't sleeping by then, I would put her in her crib awake/drowsy. She would cry. And eventually go to sleep. So then we got to where we weren't rocking at all, and just put her in bed at or around the same time every night. At first it's hard to listen to her cry, but then you realize, if she's crying she's ok ( so to speak, she's BREATHING ALRIGHT!) And it's ok, to let her cry as long as she's fed, dry, clean etc....
(( A whole other blog, but some people don't let their kids CRY at all.... NEWS FLASH, they are gonna cry!))  So I know that everyone has their " methods " and their way of doing things. This is ours. It worked...
At first we would go in and check on her every 15 minutes ( she never cried longer than 30ish) quietly give her her binky flip her to her tummy and quietly leave. After a week, she was putting herself to sleep. It was work, and it was worth it. Not only does it TEACH them to sleep ( which we are not born with the ability o know how to have sleep habits, we have to be trained) but it frees up your time and your not so stressed at the end of the day.
Now, we lay her down and she is asleep with in 5 minutes. She knows " hey it's sleep time, and no matter how much I fuss, mom aint comin back!" She's learned.

When we started her sleep training she was still waking up. So what we did was ( this is hard b/c your trying to sleep too!) we cut out one wake time at night. So lets say she woke up at 11, 3, and 5. I would  get her up at 11 to nurse, and let her cry at 3, and get her up at 5... She usually cried for 10-15 minutes and would go back to sleep. Now my baby goes to bed about 7 ( kinda varies based on what we're doing but we try to keep it at that time) and sleeps til 7. She takes 3 naps still every day. It's great. I would love for her to drop her evening or morning nap and just add on the time to her mid day nap, but we'll take what we can get =) Anyways, I know that I have alot of mommy friends that read this with smalls ones,and I know how hard and stressful bed/nap time can be, and just want to say I've been there, and I survived! So I am here for ANY questions you may have. I had to go to my friend ( and parent teacher) Jessica. I remember her doing this with her baby when he was younger. And so I went to her as a friend, and a professional... I'm so glad I did. Really you just need to know that shew ill be ok, she doesn't think that you are abandoning her, and that in the long run, you are giving your baby a gift of a life time! Healthy sleep habits.

Day maker....

You know it's a good day when you go to starbucks to order your grande non fat white chocolate mocha on ice, becuase you have a $5 gift card sitting in your wallet burning a hole in it.

The cashier hands you you yummy drink and proceeds to say " Your balance is $15.50"

" WOO HOO!!!!" That's almost better than the drink in the 1st place. HAHA..

Ah, the small things in life.

She's PERFECT

Yep.. that's the Dr's exact words! " She is perfect"

We went in for Anisten's routine check up today. She is 13 lbs and 13oz. WOOO HOO! So, she isn't a fatty. I know, but she is eating 3 full meals a day, still nursing 4-6 times a day and snacks here and there. And keeping it all in! HAHA. But she is right on target with her age range and everything else. She's sleeping 12 hours at night, still doing 3 naps a day.  He says everything just looks swell.

We talked to him about the flu shot, which Scott and I both got.. He says its up to me, and if I want to get it for her then he is all for it, but since she's not in day care or around lots of other kids all the time, then reallly she will probably be ok.

Speaking of dayc care. I talked to them today and we are on the waiting list and she will probably start going 2 days a week for about 4 hours a day. We may go 3 days depending on how we wanna do our routine. She does extremely well with other kids and loves to be around people in general, so I think that she will LOVE this.

Anyway, just wanted to update on her doctors visit. No shots, but that doesn't mean she didn't throw herself a red-headed fit or 2!!!

Tulsa Run

I've always enjoyed jogging for exercise and "destressing". In the past I've only ever just done an average of 2-3 miles on a regular basis. (( This is pre pregnancy and pre baby)).

After Anisten was born I began to run in the fall a little more and did the race for the cure which is a 5k (3 miles) that was about my comfortable limit.

I have decided that this year I would like to kick it up a notch and go for the Tulsa Run. Which is a 15K and around 8-9 miles! So I would indeed have to train and train hard for something like this.

I ask my friend Amber if she would be willing to train with me and she was GAME. So we're going to do it.
What in my right mind makes me want to do something like this you ask? Hm, I ask myself the same thing. But  I guess not only to get in and stay in shape, but I want to go through the training. I want that sense of self accomplishment. That pride that I pushed myself and got motivated for a GOAL and achieved it. So we'll see. I would like to start mild training soon. Atleast get back up to where I was before the baby came along. and then amp it up from there.

This will definitely be a lifestyle change all the way around. It's going to include early morning runs ( maybe evening too) and a diet change - For me this means ADDING lots of protein so I don't lack or loose too much weight -- This means I will be forced to spend more time on myself or with myself.

I think the benefits of this will be great a healthy (physically and mentally) and happy momma and wife, who can pride herself on a huge accomplishment!!

I'll be updating randomly about it once I actually start training and that way I'll have a log so to speak of my achievements.

I will thank you for your support!!

A sweet treat

My good buddy Melissa and I decided to have our hand at cake baking. Well really cake ( fondant ) decorating. And let me say I have so much respect for the amazing people who do this day in and day out. I had a blast doing it. I felt like a little kid playing in all the stuff. It was also just something new and fun to learn. I will admit that we weren't great at it ( Mel is way better than me with her hands!) but I can definetely see where practice and trial and error ( just like any other trade ) will make perfect! Or darn near close.

We started out with just one little cake and split it in half so it really looks like a really thick cookie.. You can't tell but the one that is purply is kind of marbled. It's really pretty, and would be cool if we did them in more bold colors like black and white, or red and white... The swirls were cool though. So we had enough batter to bake 4 of the small little cakes. We really just wanted to practice. And I'm glad we did, but by the time we got to the last one that we decorated, we had learned so much from the time that we started on the 1st one.

So the fondant is white and I have all the little gel colors to make any color you want. So we decided to do something fun and bright. We had no ambition, but to practice. I think if we have a " goal " or an idea of what kind of cake we want to do, that would keep us pretty focused. I will say that you have to come up with things as you decorate, b/c you'll maybe have a little tear here, or a little something that got rolled in the fondant or whatever. But you have to be on the creative side for sure!

So we started with the little yellow one, and took the left over fondant that we had and added red in to it, and made orange...

I like this pic b/c you can see melissa's baby bump is getting powdered!!

We decorated our yellow with dots, and made a little outter ring to go around the orange.. To give it a little, " Sun" effect.

And then we stacked them. We made a mini little 2 layer cake :-)

By all means it is not perfect, but we liked it! And we haven't tried it yet, but who cares what it tastes like!!!

I would love to contine to do this. I think it's a lot like doing hair. You just have to keep doing it to get better. I may look in to taking some classes or maybe a book or something to improve and educate myself a little more. Melissa isn't super keen on it, b/c she's a bit more of a perfectionist that I am. She gets irritated when it's not perfectly smooth! haha.. Which I can understand, since that's the point of FONDONT! So we shall see. We're gonna try some more styles later and see what we can come up with!

The baby decided that she would have her cookie while we played in the kitchen. Between that and the tv, she was pretty occupied. She napped a good part of the day as well.

She's about to make very poor decisions. 

 This is what my kitchen looked like during this fiasco. and yes I'm still alive, and yes it's completely traceless of any cake playing!

Good Morning!

Good Morning! --  I used to be more on the " judgemental " side of coffee drinkers. Like the ones who have to have 700 vente mocha lattes a day to function. Well maybe I still am a little. BUT I have decided to make yummy coffee part of my daily regimen. I quit drinking coke in exchange. You know me, I can't have that much caffine/sugar (etc) in ONE DAY! But I feel like coffee is a healthier choice anyways. I only have a cup some times 2 in a day.  But I don't put sugar and stuff in it. Every once in a while, I will add a little flavored creamer, and I feel like I'm having starbucks! WOOHOO!

But I now know why people love coffee. I'm totally getting to the point where I like different coffees, and want to try new ones and so on.

I am not a fan of the caffeine. I make my coffee 1/2 the coffee it calls for. I make it WEAK so to speak. And alot of times I do half caff coffee and decaff. I refuse to be too dependant on it. I started drinking it in the mornings in the hospital after I had Anisten. As you can imagaine, I was a bit TIRED! And mom and dad made it every day at my house for the next week, so I just started looking forward to it in the mornings... But NOW I just love it and look forward to it each day. Especially in the cold

I also think it's a great " social " thing. There is nothing like meeting a friend and having a cup of coffee. Or on the holidays having coffee in the mornings with all of your family. This is why we meet at coffee shops- It's a great social thing!!

I have always LOVED starbucks. But I've found something that suits me that is comparable.

 

Yep, that's right. MC DONALDS mc cafe's!!!! I love the iced coffees. I haven't tried their hot ones. But I just get a caramel or vanilla iced coffee. And I LOVE it! I have tried the Iced Mocha and it was good too. A little too sweet for every day. I like the favored iced coffee's for the summer mornings. So if you haven't tried Mc Donalds coffees,  HIGHLY reccommend it!

Coffee lovers? Where are you? And what's your take on it?

Hope you're having a great morning!