Doin’ the Java Jive, again

March 12 POD – soy and coffee “latte”

Technically speaking, is it still a latte if the other half of the drink is not milk? Is not latte very close to lait (French for milk)? Or do I have my languages/root words/meanings mixed up here?

Believe me when I tell you, I feel guilty not only for taking up coffee as a habit again, but putting a non-moo liquid in it too. (Mizz D works in the dairy industry…shhhhh…but don’t tell anyone). I have nothing against dairy….in fact I am very pro-dairy. I love all manner of things about cows! (And, as one of my suppliers put it, so succinctly: cows are very interesting animals, and tasty too, especially on the BBQ.) At the very least, they are responsible for putting groceries in my fridge and keeping a roof over my head!

Sour cream, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, cottage cheese, fluid milk….I love and consume them all. But there is something about the taste of soy milk in coffee or chai tea….well, I just like it, OK?

Last time I was fully caffeinated, I drank it black. And only freshly ground Columbian beans (with a pinch of cinnamon in the mix) would do. Yes, I was a TOTAL COFFEE SNOB. Every morning I would brew (and drink) a big pot for myself. My kids were quite little at the time and I was pretty sleep-deprived. Coffee was my Mommy’s Lil’ Helper.

What got me off the coffee was that it was giving me uber-painful breasts at that special time of the month. My then-doc told me that caffeine was the cause and I wouldn’t believe her. (Typical addict behaviour: outright denial). Until the month came where I was in so much pain that I was popping Tylenol to get through the day…..at that point I thought: well, what if she’s right? I should at least try giving it up and see. And, of course, she was right.

I switched to tea. Became a TOTAL TEA SNOB, of course. Loose leaf tea blends, infusers, special pots, you name it – I had it. I actually had to pack my own tea when going away on business or vacation because goddess knows, the tea bags provided by the hotel might not be up to snuff – then what would I do? Eventually I decided to give that up too, as I didn’t like the feeling that tea owned me, instead of the other way around. So I’d start my day with a glass of water. And have the occasional cuppa herbal. More so in the winter months, to keep warm.

Now I mix it up. Some days water, some days tea – herbal or green. The occasional black tea. And now coffee again.

This go-round I am drinking it only at work (1 cup…ok…mug per day), and with some kind of whitener in it, moo or otherwise, because I am probably deluding myself that a) this makes it less potent, and b) it won’t stain my teeth as much. I’m drinking it mainly for the mental clarity/alertness it brings me. Boss’s Lil’ Helper.

So here is where I am at, with caffeine. I may have to kick this habit to the curb once again, but for now let’s see where it takes me.

Another week closer to….Spring and Everything

See…the plants in my office know Spring is coming. March 8th POD – Orchid sending up 2 spikes for another spring/summer of blooms like last year. Hoo-dogie!

March 9th POD
And the quest for organization continues! Above is a pic of my credenza…er…cadenza….er…the thing behind my desk….whatever it’s called. It’s cleaned up now. I really should have taken a before pic for full effect but sigh….I wuz too ashamed. Nah, I just didn’t think of it. (But I really should have been too ashamed.)
Now this is either March 10th or 11th. Can’t really remember. Let’s just say it’s March 11th because I know I skipped a day somewhere and I think March 10th was overcast. I got up exter early (who talks like this? Someone I know but can’t for the life of me think of who) and headed out-of-doors with Mizz Lucy for an exter long walk. And I brought my camera for a change. Thus was able to capture the sun rising over the forested hills at….wait for it…6:45 a.m.!!!!!

Yes, gentle readers, the sun is actually up that early now! Isn’t it grand? I’m loving it. And am going to be getting up earlier as a result, with the aim of getting more walking in before heading off to my mostly sedentary job.

The ol’ pedometer has not been counting too many steps of late and I’m feeling a bit lacklustre as a result. I also have been remiss in doing regular weight training of late. Only logged one upper body workout this week. And one session of doing sprints in the pool. This will never do.

This weekend I intend to draw up a plan for working out as somehow my exercising is not just spontaneously happening like I apparently deluded myself into thinking. Go figure!

Other unspontaneous happenings this week: we met with the man who is going to perform our wedding ceremony. Al, of Kettle Creek Weddings, is just a lovely warm soul, an ordained minister who performs weddings whenever, wherever, however couples want him to. JD and I were very happy that we clicked, as we couldn’t imagine getting married by someone we didn’t have a connection with.

During our discussion JD mentioned that he has his vows just about written. Eeek! Writing own vows? Are we doing that? And already? Guess this means I have some writin’ to do as well!!! I should’ve suspected he would want to do this though, as he is very creative and was our class valedictorian in high school.

JD said something very sweet when telling Al the story of how we reconnected, after all those years. He said when he heard from a mutual acquaintance that “Mizz D said to say hi”, he felt like “a fog had been lifted.” I’ll have to dig deep to come up with something better than that.

Game on!