Wednesday, September 29, 2010

National Coffee Day!

Happy National Coffee Day!

I tried to round up a Free Coffee Coupon for you, but it looks like everyone is being rather stingy with their coffee this year.  The only thing I could find is "select" Dunkin Donuts are giving away free coffee.   So... if your Dunkin Donuts is select, you should go and get a cup of joe! Here are a few fun coffee-related items:

Study on the caffeine content of various drinks:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/AN01211 

Target sells coffee-scented candles (but only online):
http://www.target.com/Coffee-bean-pillar-candle/dp/B0029KBRQU/ref=sc_qi_detailbutton

This auto-heated coffee mug can plug into your car adapter OR the USB port on your computer!!
http://www.amazon.com/NEW-Auto-Heated-Travel-Coffee/dp/B000S0NJW8/ref=pd_sbs_k_14

Does anyone else have random tid-bits of coffee knowledge?

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Soup and Gloves

I love fall.  One of the things I love most is soup!!  Wildflower Bakery has some delicious pumpkin soup (they usually only have it for one month, so you have to  be there at the right time).  mmm  I also love chicken tortilla soup.  Last fall I decided to make chicken tortilla soup for a work function.  I made it from scratch.  I spent a few days searching the internet for the best recipe.  I was going to make the soup the night before and let it simmer in a crock pot. I carefully measured the ingredients, cut the onions, the peppers...  The peppers.  Jalapenos.  I cut and cut and cut those peppers.  And my hands started burning.  I washed them and continued cooking.  And my hands continued burning.  And they got worse.  By the time I was done making the soup my hands burned so badly I was almost crying.  I googled everything I could think of,  "pepper burn",  "salve for jalapeno".  I WebMD'd it.  I guess many people have been afflicted with deathly jalapenos.  Things I tried:  bleach, ice water, milk, vinegar, aloe vera, and found the best thing: sour cream.  Ahh... relief.  But one problem: I needed to go to bed.  Solution:  found some random plastic gloves in garage.  Put sour cream on hands, then put on plastic gloves. Gross, but tolerable.  If only I would've put the gloves on BEFORE I cut the jalapenos.  ::Sigh::  Lesson learned. 

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Why Are You Talking To Me?

 Yesterday I went to Target to get some thank-you cards and found myself perusing the bedding section.  (They had 600 thread count sheets on sale for $30)  I noticed some exciting red "CLEARANCE" tags peeking out from the Shabby Chic aisle.  That doesn't happen often, so I had to check it out.  The aisle was congested.  Evidently there were other ladies who couldn't resist pink floral sheets with a sale tag.  There were a couple ladies taking up more than their fair share of room, I was trying to get around them so I could see what was on the bottom shelf, and then...  another lady started talking to me.  WHAT?  She pointed to a bedspread, "This is on sale."  I smiled, hoping she'd think I was mute or didn't speak English.  Didn't work.  She pointed to an identical bedspread on the next shelf down, "Isn't this one preeettty?"  "Yes.  Looks like it is a twin size."  "Ohhh.... that's not big enough."  I squeezed by the two lady space-hoggers and ran to another aisle before she could point out another identical sale-priced, pretty, twin-sized bedspread on the third shelf. 
 
It made me remember all the times random people talk to me in stores.  Once I was in WalMart and a lady talked to me for 45 minutes in the plastic laundry bin aisle.  Not kidding.  I just smiled and nodded.
 
Then today I went to DMV (even though the giant sign on the building reads "MVD" I will always call it DMV).  Somehow I only waited 10 minutes and J645 popped up.  I went to Counter 9 and was greeted by a lady with red frizzy hair and reading glasses.  I told her why I was there and she proceeded to tell me she has 3 payments left on her truck.  $499 a month.  (I hope it is a nice truck)  And she has to leave by 12:30 because she has an appointment.  And she loves the hamburgers at Greasewood Flats, and her daughter's friend's dad owns Buffalo Chips (and they have bullriding on Friday nights), and she never gets any time to herself and I should wait to have kids because life totally changes. 
 
I sat there and thought, "Why is this person talking to me?"  But you know, I'm glad they do talk to me.  It makes life entertaining.  Life would be so boring if random people didn't share random details.  Wait, isn't that what a blog is?  Sharing random things that go through your mind with the potential of complete strangers reading it?  AH!  I'M ONE OF THEM!!!

Friday, September 17, 2010

Friday Surprise

I can't go to Starbucks every day (it would be around $960 a year), but I have been going on Fridays the past few weeks.  This morning I pulled up to the insanely long line at the drive-thru and ordered my grande caramel latte.  When I finally got up to pay the nice lady said, "The person in front of you bought your drink.  It's been going on for about 20 cars.  Would you like to buy for the person behind you?  No obligation.  If you don't want to you're all set."  Seriously?  That's pretty cool.  Sign me up! 

Happy Friday :)

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

I Don't Eat Fast Food... Sort Of

I think I might have an eating disorder.  Don't be fooled by my small build and constant snacking.  Oh no, there is something else and it isn't normal.

In the past 6 months or so I feel like it has become increasingly trendy to say, "I don't eat fast food."  I can understand the reasoning behind a statement like this.  Fast food is not healthy, contains questionable ingredients, is poor quality, and not worth the money.  I get this.  I've seen Supersize Me.  I even worked at Wendy's a couple summers.  I don't want to eat fast food either!

But...

I don't really want to make my lunch everyday. I'm lazy.  It is my major flaw.  So...  here's what happened:  One day last week my lunch break appeared at the usual time. I got in my car and had my normal daily inner dialogue, "What do I want to eat today?  Not fast food...  but what else is there?  Umm..."  and then it hit me!  I could go to Whole Foods and pick up some fruit!  Excellent.  Except, when I got in that store I suddenly wasn't hungry for fruit anymore.  It's all organic so it lacked that glossy sheen like the fruit in the real grocery stores.  Lackluster fruit?  Gross.  So I forced myself to get a couple non-glossy plums and some overpriced $5 juice that I'm convinced was just bottled kool-aid with a fancy wrapper and made-up vitamins (seriously, "Bioflavonoid Complex"?).  So I took my bag containing 2 plums and "juice" to my car and went to Wendy's drive-thru.  Spicy chicken sandwich with no mayo, lettuce, or tomato, and add a packet of ranch dressing.  Perfect.  And that's when it happened.  Without thinking I took that bag and put it in my Whole Foods bag.  And I went back to work and carried in my Whole Foods bag containing contraband (The security guard looked quite pleased that I wasn't carrying in fast food.  What he doesn't know won't hurt him), settled in at my desk and opened bag one and bag two.  I ate my fast food and non-glossy plum, and drank my bioflavanoid complex kool-aid.  I did it!  A lunch that wasn't fast food... sort of.

If you ever see me with a Whole Foods bag please don't say anything.  Just let me be happy with my own version of "not eating fast food".



Saturday, September 11, 2010

My Most Embarrassing Moment. Ever.

I had just moved to a new town and didn't know anyone.  I was entering 6th grade middle school.  Middle school!  The world of gym class uniforms, band, lockers, and changing classes.  Why did that seem so glamorous as a 12-year-old?  After the first couple days I found a routine and started to feel comfortable.  One major problem:  I never had time to go to my locker and change books, so I kept all of my books in my backpack.  (Keep in mind I was a scrawny little 12-year-old girl and textbooks are heavy.)  One day during the second week of school I was walking from my Second Hour class to my Third Hour class.  I had a library book in one hand, my 50 pound backpack strapped to my back, and 2 of the coolest girls in school decided I could walk with them.  Every 6th grade girl's dream!  Awesome!  Except, I dropped the library book I was carrying.  When I bent down to pick it up the weight of my backpack threw me on my back.  It was so heavy I couldn't get up!  I was in the middle of the packed hallway, with the two coolest girls in school standing there, and I was laying there squirming like a dying bug.  I tried to get up a few times, but I kept falling backward.  The girls were laughing at me and I couldn't get up!!  I finally rolled to my side and got my humiliated butt off the floor.  The girls never walked with me again. 

The next year I home-schooled.

 
I thought my 6th grade yearbook photo would be a great addition to this post.  So... 15ish years later I found myself digging through a dusty old box and thumbing through a yearbook.  Names and faces I had totally forgotten.  Guess who I found?  The boy in 6th grade who "asked me out".  I didn't have any intention of posting this, but it is so good I have to.  Consider it a weekend bonus.

I had never actually talked to this boy.  We didn't have any classes together or the same lunch time.  (Why did I think this was cool?  How did he notice me or figure out my name or anything about me?  Creepy.)  In true middle-school style he asked a girl to ask me if I'd go out with him, I told her to tell him yes.  That day after school he came to my locker and said, "Are you going to the show tonight?"  (for some reason people in that town called the movies "the show")  I wasn't allowed to go to "the show" so it was an easy answer, "No,"   He walked away. On Monday I asked the girl to tell him I wanted to break up with him.  So there it was.  Friday to Monday.  My first "boyfriend".  Last night I ran across his name in the yearbook, googled him, and guess what?!  It looks like he is now the manager of a liquor store.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Bad Blind Date That Wouldn't End

Episode 1:  Bad blind date.  Coffee at Starbucks.  Theoretically he’s a good guy: great job, tall, intelligent, likes to do things, close to his family, never been in prison.  But…  when I walked into Starbucks I totally didn’t see him.  I looked right at him and didn’t see him.  That’s not good.  He talked the entire time.  He crossed his legs (men should never cross their legs).   He made a couple comments about religion that I totally disagreed with (my eyes might have bugged out of my head).  Completely uncomfortable.  It ended with him asking if I wanted to meet again.  I gave him the “Uh... Umm..  Suuuure….”

Episode 2:  He left me a voicemail the next day saying I was a very attractive lady, but he didn’t think there was a connection.  Yay!  I was off the hook.
 
Episode 3:  One year later I started going to a new church waaay across town from where Bad Date and I lived.  I sat at a table (yes, a table at church) with one of my girlfriends.  The lights dimmed and we sang a few songs.  When the lights came up and I noticed a few more people had joined our table during the singing.  We exchanged simple introductions, and then, I saw Bad Date sitting there.  Right across the table from me.   In all his cross-legged splendor.  He introduced himself.  He had no recollection that we had ever met.  I about died.  There had to be 20 tables and he sat at MY table?  Wouldn’t you know that that night the church decided to have snacks afterward!  They served a whole tray of snacks to each table.  I couldn’t take it.  I got up and changed tables. 

Episode 4:  One month later I found myself at a singles BBQ.  I was enjoying my hot dog and baked beans, chatting it up with some friends.  The place was packed!  Every seat in the place was full!  Our host pushed an empty chair by me and yelled to a late comer, “Hey Bad Date!  You can sit over here by Amanda.”  Seriously?  There were 40 people there.  Why put the chair by me?  Bad Date proceeded to sit down and introduce himself to everyone at the table.  He crossed his legs and I about died laughing.  Yet again, he had no recollection of ever meeting me. 

Present Day:  I continue to see Bad Date at church once a month or so.  I avoid him.  Maybe he has a brain injury like Ten Second Tom on 50 First Dates?