A little something I came up with while talking to Jenn about all the things we’ve got going on.

One thing is majorly different in life these days.

Ok wait, lots of things are majorly different in life these days.

But one thing… I never wanted to be the kind of person that needed coffee every single morning to function. To the point where I’ve gone through chunks of time where I’d stop drinking coffee for a while so any dependence I had on it would go away.

Nowadays, with the little one’s wakeup calls throughout each and every night, not only am I back on coffee but I have a cup every morning. And it’s delicious. But money’s tight these days, and time’s even tighter. Sometimes I just can’t make it to Starbucks for Fancy Coffee Friday, so I came up with a quickie fill-in for the mocha lattes I love so much.

Ready for the super easy how-to? Scoop 2 tablespoons of dry hot chocolate into your coffee mug. Pour your coffee over it, add a dash of half and half. Stir. Drank. Rinse. Repeat. Win!

Who else has tasty, easy coffee recipes to share?

About a year ago when I was commuting 40 miles south to Mission Viejo every day to a job that was in a less than positive environment, I started doing Fancy Coffee Friday. Instead of drinking the free coffee at work, I’d detour to the Starbucks on the way to the office, get a medium mocha with no whip cream on top, sigh, and pat myself on the back for making it through another week.

Now, a year later, I’ve kept that little ritual going. Except now I’m doing a job I love with zero commute (except for the occasional drive to L.A. for a meeting), and with the prego-ness I’ve made the temporary switch to Fancy Hot Chocolate Friday. It’s nice that the ritual has a happier tone to it now, a more “YAY it’s the weekend!!!” and less “Good god how am I going to do this again next week” feeling.

Do you have little weekly rituals like that, and what are they? Happy weekending everyone!

ok i picked this book up at the las vegas airport on the way home from… vegas! shocking! gayle and i went out there last summer for a few days and had a blasty – when we were heading home there were big chunks of time on the horizon and i had left omnivore’s dilemma in my suitcase instead of throwing it in my purse.

honestly i picked this one because i knew it’d be an easy read, something i could read for a few hours on the way home and then put on a shelf until i’d finished omnivore, the kind of book where you could pick right back up where you left off like a month or two later and not feel lost because everything about reading it is just so easy. plus, i hadn’t seen the movie yet and i always dig reading the book before seeing the movie. and with that, i give you:

hearts and laserbeams book report: confessions of a shopaholic by sophie kinsella

ok I LOVED THIS BOOK. super fun read, super fast read, and before you know it you’re done reading! the main character rebecca is just so flighty and lighthearted, just la la la la la shop shop shop hooray!

but the weirdest thing started happening as i was reading this – while i was having the time of my life reading about her shoppy adventures, as a chick who’s pretty non-shoppy and has lots of living paycheck to paycheck experience, this shopaholic girl was seriously stressing me out!! i’d be reading about her going deeper and deeper into debt, and throwing away late notices and my inner old-lady monologue would scream things like, “YOU’RE RUINING YOUR CREDIT RATING!”

which is a completely uncharacteristically absurd thing for me to think while reading anything. but seriously, girl was freaking me out. other things my brain screamed while i was having a grand ol’ time reading this book:

omg you did not just lie on your resume and say you’re fluent in finnish!! they’re gonna check that!

omg no you did not just blow off the meeting with the bank when you’re gonna start sorting your shit out!

basically, i think part of the fun reading this book was how much it made my practical side sweat. i’ll probably pick up another one in the series sometime soon when i need another fluffy feel-good read! (me thinks that may be the case after my next book report selection, the bell jar by sylvia plath. yup, i’m back on the high school reading list stuff!

ratings:
hearts: 4 hearts – really fantastically fun read, well written and funny!
farts: 1 fart for keeping my inner monologue yelling at me throughout the 350 pages.

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so it’s giveaway time! you want my copy of confessions of a shopaholic to check out for yourself? it’s easy, just leave a comment here about anything at all before monday, october 19 at midnight and you’ll automatically be entered to win! one entry per person, suckas!

it’s funny… any given razr phone has the same smell.

it’s this weird mix of B.O. and electronics. grab someone’s razr and take a whiff, that’s what you’ll smell.

except for mine. which now smells like coffee.

yesterday morning i get to work, sit down with my little cup of joe from the coffee machine. set it on the desk. see josh calling my cell phone. reach across the desk to get the phone and SPLOOOOOOSH!!!!! there was coffee everywhere, and i mean EVERYWHERE. one of the side buttons on my phone is iffy now, but it sorta works, which is better than nothing, which is what it was doing yesterday.

at least it smells like coffee now, that’s all i gotta say about that.

and go buy yourself a copy of blades of glory, it is muy deliciouso!