Drowsy and bug-eyed

Okay, I know I’m tired when my four-year-old son just kicked my ass at air hockey. Eli spent a long time practicing by himself, so when it was my turn, the puck went click, click, zoom, and then he was yelling, “Yay! I’m really good at this, mommy!” What the hell? I used to be good at air hockey. I must be slipping in my old age.

Now that Christmas is over, the theme for the day was back to my normal theme of being tired. On Christmas, I actually got a chance to rest. Maybe about once a month that actually happens – I get caught up on my sleep. Then Christmas night came with a baby who wouldn’t sleep. I do okay when she’s up in the night, and there’s a resolvable issue, like hunger or a dirty diaper. But last night, she was up from 3:00 – 5:30 am for no other reason than she just didn’t feel like sleeping.

So, this morning, my well-restedness was long gone and I was sucking down my Caribou coffee. I did not feel like attempting to organize all the new toys. I gave cleaning a half-hearted effort, but by mid-morning, we were already missing balls for the Play Center and 1/3 of the train track which Eli decided to set up in the middle of the kitchen floor. Maybe I will try organization again tomorrow.

Tonight, I had every intention of being productive. Then Eric turned on the TV to the Disney channel. High School Musical was on. Apparently, I am waaaay behind. I had no idea this thing was such a phenomenon. The kids loved it. They were both up dancing. And I have to admit, I really liked it too. Has anyone seen this? It was really pretty good. Apparently it’s also a stage show? I had no idea.

Anyway, tomorrow I have to re-focus on work. I have a Passion Party on Friday night in Topeka, which is more than an hour away. I’m not quite sure what the hell I was thinking when I booked that party. . . okay, yes I do. But those dollar signs lose their shimmer a little bit when you’re lacking sleep.

Now, I am going to pop in a Prison Break DVD and wind down. Hopefully I will get a couple of hours of sleep before the baby alarm goes off.

I'm a coffee whore

I’m bad. I’m soooo bad. I have a severe coffee addiction. I got in trouble for this a few months ago because my husband looked at the debit card statement and added up how much I was spending each month on coffee. Woops. I really need to start paying cash.

I just can’t help it. I have been to Caribou four times so far this week. I was addicted to the gingerbread latte, I have tried the falalatte, and then Aaron dropped the other day to drop off my weekly fix, and told me to try the Campfire Mocha. Ohhhhh yeah! I did that today, and it was awesome!! They put chocolate bits and marshmallows on top, which melt down to the bottom. When you get to the bottom, it tastes like a smore. I know I have a tendency to over-use the word orgasmic, but there’s really no other way to describe it.

I need to wear a rubberband on my wrist that I can snap when I want to drive myself to Caribou. This week, Aaron dropped off the Fireside blend of coffee. Eric chose this one. It was good. It wasn’t as strong as the Reindeer blend, and I love strong coffee, so it’s going to be hard to top the Reindeer blend for me. I would say the Fireside was strong, but not bold. I would definitely recommend it.

The great thing about Caribou is that it tastes fresher than any coffee I’ve ever had. Aaron told me that is because Caribou coffee is no more than 14 days old from the point that it is harvested to the point of sale. If they roast it and it sits longer than 14 days, they throw it out, so you always get the freshest beans. That made me wonder how long that stuff in the grocery store sits on the shelf. Hmmm . . . that makes me rethink Maxwell House.

Blessed by Coffee Gods

In case you all didn’t know, I love coffee. I know. Shocker! Even if I had an IV drip of coffee, I would still probably need a four-shot latte before noon. It is the lifeblood in my veins. I mentioned before how I would blog for coffee. Luckily, my friend Aaron, knew I was serious. He now works at Caribou Coffee, after leaving his wonderful job at Hen House where he barely escaped an altercation with a customer (that’s a blog in itself).

Aaron emailed last week and said he had a pound of Caribou’s new Reindeer Blend if I wanted to try it. If?!! Are you freaking kidding me?! He drove it over that afternoon, and we have been enjoying Caribou’s Reindeer Blend for the last few days. Oh, it rocks! It really, really does.

It’s described on their Web site as a classic dark roast holiday blend that is dark, syrupy and smooth.

I love strong coffee (a dark brew), but I really don’t like Starbucks coffee because it is almost bitter, and I drink a lot of coffee. After a four-shot latte at Starbucks, I always have a stomachache. Not cool. You all know that Folger’s sent me some free coffee to try a few weeks ago, and my favorite of theirs was the Lively Columbian. Okay, that was minor league compared to Caribou.

If you like a strong dark roast, you must try Caribou’s Reindeer blend. It’s good. It’s damn good. The aroma alone is enough to make me swoon. Even my husband likes it, and he is not big on the dark roast, but he actually brewed a pot yesterday for himself. Trust me, that’s a good recommendation.

Aaron left a comment on my blog the other day that some of you may have seen. Apparently, he got approval from his manager to hook me up with a pound of coffee a week (!!!) if I would blog about it. Oh yeah, baby!!! Christmas came early this year at my house.

I just thought you all should know why there will be a weekly coffee blog around here. It’s because Aaron is now my dealer and he will be hooking me up with a fix once a week. I’m downright giddy.

In addition, I just about had an orgasm the other day when I tried Caribou’s gingerbread latte. Oh, sweet Lord in heaven, Starbucks only dreams they could make gingerbread lattes this good. Caribou mixes their gingerbread spice with white mocha for their latte. Yum-o! In fact, I feel like jumping in the car right now and heading across town for coffee. Oh what the hell. Off I go for my Gingerbread Latte. I will see you all later. Hope you try out Caribou!