Random musings........

Today's blog is just a bunch of rambling on a variety of topics! Enjoy......

Starbucks is on my s*&t list! What higher-up at Starbucks decided to start making the stupid Vivanno drinks, which are just a pathetic attempt to steal some of Jamba Juice's customers? In order to carry the ingredients for these juice based drinks (hello? Is this not a COFFEE joint?), they no longer carry the decaf mocha frappucino drink base. STUPID! And if you ask me, this discriminates against those of us who have real allergies to caffeine and cannot have it (although, mind you, if I COULD have caffeine, I would greedily indulge as I need every ounce of energy I can muster!). So, they lamely try to reproduce this delicious, cool, icy sensation for me by making a creme frap with a couple of shots of decaf and some chocolate. It's just sadly not the same and it makes me put on my angry eyes! It's a small indulgence, a trifle really, so why, I ask you? Why do they have to take away the one thing I love? Well, besides the toffee almond bars. Those I love almost as much as my own children. But still...............

You've got mail! I love mail. The real kind, that comes in the mail box. Look how much things have changed, you had to wonder. You thought I was talking about email. Right? Right? But I'm talking about real mail, written in pen, with a stamp and everything. But who gets real mail anymore? Where I used to look forward to a bonafide letter, I now get all excited by a new issue of Ladies Home Journal. The promise of a new magazine now holds the charm a letter once held - unopened, full of surprises, news, tidbits of info., pictures and more. Today I got a bunch of stupid ads, a water bill and a movie from Netflix. Yippee. Is it too much to ask that I receive a real letter or even a postcard now and then? Yeah, I know, I have to WRITE a letter to RECEIVE a letter. And who writes letters anymore?

Camping in the rain. We just got back from a rainy camping experience only to send the kids off to day camp. Tonight is their one and only overnight of the week and it's been raining off and on all day. Where we live, rain comes in all sorts of varieties. Today it was mist followed by steady showers (you know, like the shower you take to get clean?), followed by random sprinklings. When I dropped off additional supplies for the kids (raincoats, boots, a little candy to sweeten the deal), they were all in various stages of soggy. Better them than me, I say! Can't wait for that 4 a.m. "come and pick me up, I'm freezing and wet and I wanna come home" phone call!

Selfish indulgence! I had a great day. First, I put on my biking gear and went out to put my bike on my car so I could ride on the trail after I dropped the kids off at camp. But alas, it was raining and I do not ride in the rain (mostly because I have enough trouble just staying upright on a bike, adding in the elements is risky). So, I quickly changed into my "alternative workout clothes" and took the kids to camp, stopping at Starbucks for a few moments of bliss enjoying my hot mocha and almond twist and reading the paper. On my way home, I decided to stop at a darling little shopping center near my house with unique stores and great ambience. I got lost in the toy store for over and hour, then meandered around the rest of the "village", making selfish purchases (a brown newsboy cap - but it was SO cute!). While in the natural products store, I got a call from my best friend Tonya asking me to meet her at a new pizza joint near my house. Well, I'm not one to turn down a lunch date, so naturally I obliged. There I was, enjoying a beer and pizza buffet in the middle of the day (thank God day camp was babysitting my kids!). Then, of course, I had to take care of some "kid duties" (sigh) but that didn't stop me from going to Starbucks (again! gasp!) and getting my frappucino (well, sort of, see above). And a toffee almond bar. And now I'm home and my husband is making dinner (it involves crab and tomatoes, two of my favorites!) and I am FINALLY going to work out, and maybe later I'll even take a bath. I feel so spoiled today!

Cooking. Why Jeff likes to cook is beyond me. I love to bake (hence the ample hips), but cooking is just WORK in my opinion. First of all, trying to coordinate three or four different dishes and have them all hot and ready to eat at the same time seems like torture to me. Then, when I read a recipe, and it has more than five ingredients, my eyes glaze over and I move on. Oh, but don't let that make you think I don't cook dinner! I do! For example, last night I prepared a lovely orange chicken, fried rice and fresh sliced oranges for my family's enjoyment. They loved it, and eagerly went back for seconds (except Arlie who went back for thirds and fourths of the rice!). Who cares if it was Trader Joe's frozen entrees? I sliced the oranges. Geez.

Baths! I know there are some of you who hate taking baths. Not hate bathing (ick) but actually taking a BATH in your bathtub with bubbles and everything. For me, this is heaven! I could take a bath every night. And in the winter, sometimes I do! It should not be cold enough for baths in the summer, but again, we are in the Northwest, so occasionally a mid-July bath is in order. I LOVE running a HOT bath (read, your skin should be red and scalded for it to be hot enough!), and adding one of my nine or so scents of bubble bath. Add a stack of magazines or my latest book and I can stay in there for a couple of hours. Seriously. I don't get pruny or anything. Well, sometimes. But I'm just saying, a bath is such a nice indulgence and you just show me a grumpy person and I will say put them in a warm bath with "Moonlight Path" bubble bath and let's just see if they are not a happy camper when they emerge. Being submerged in bubbles, reclining in the tub, just relaxes you like nothing else. Candles are a plus! Of course, it helps that my tub is huge (corner soaking tub, which, after my upstairs laundry room, is the single best indulgence my house has!). And that is has jets, which sound so luxe but I have seriously not used the jets in probably six years. One time my kids used the jets. And it didn't turn out so well. Hannah had very long hair, and her hair wrapped around the intake valve, creating a suction reminiscent of "The Krakken" from Pirates of the Caribbean, as she was subsequently sucked against the large intake valve, which caused a hematoma the size of a dinner plate on her back. That sort of killed the joy of the jets. Plus, I found out once that if you turn them on after you've added several capfuls of bubble bath, you create a froth mountain that reaches to the ceiling! While impressive, this was a bit too much bubbly indulgence for my taste. I paid $500 for those jets. Now, I wish I'd saved the money. Could've bought more bubble bath!